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Jun. 30th, 2009

mugsy

[info]jennifatt

lamb and mint pie from harrods (london)

harrods
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London
SW1X 7XL

i had to go to harrods while i was in london, because i saw on their website that they carried hello kitty baby perfume. since it was going to be carmen's birthday right after i got back home, i decided that hello kitty baby perfume was just what she needed. she loves hello kitty, and she loves babies! and the perfume is like a combination of the two!

after getting the perfume from the children's section, we wanted to wander around the food area. i saw that they had little meat pies, and i was sold. i got a lamb and mint one, and matt got a lamb and coriander one.



the next morning in the office, i heated my lamb pie up in the strange and complicated uk microwave, while the other people in the office were shocked at my choice of breakfast food. i really didn't understand that, i mean, the english breakfast that all the breakfast places boast about has maybe 3 types of meat, eggs, toast, and a whole highland cow thrown in. but everyone kept saying "a meat pie for breakfast?" as if it was the most unusual thing they'd ever seen. but they were jealous of how good it smelled. all lamby and minty.

and that's how it tasted too. the crust was kind of dry, so i didn't finish all of it, but the lamb filling itself was a very nice way to start my work day. i wonder if it would have been better if it hadn't sat in our is-it-closed-or-is-it-open hotel room fridge all night, wrapped only in a little paper. it seemed like it needed more juice!

lamb and mint pie from harrods
2 out of 5 overpriced luxury items
mugsy

[info]jennifatt

chicken and cider glazed ham pie from three greyhounds (london)

three greyhounds
25 Greek St
London, W1D 5DD, United Kingdom
+44 20 74940953



one my last friday in the london office of h&p, the creative team took me to their regular spot on fridays for a liquid lunch. however, i need food constantly, so i ordered some while they drank. they did seem skeptical of me eating from this pub, but i have a hardy stomach! one of the guys suggested that i get the pie for a true pub experience, ha! and i thought, hooray, meat filled dough!



i got the chicken and cider glazed ham pie with carrot potatoes and leeks. for some reason when i ordered it i thought that everything would be inside the pie, like a big dance party. but it was a chicken and ham pie, and then carrots mashed with potatoes, and cooked leeks.

the pie was pretty good! i'm a fan of meat pies in general, and i find that i have rarely found one i didn't like, if ever. this one had a nice wine-y gravy, and the chicken and ham went well together. it ended up being too much crust for me, but i ate all of the pie's guts. i also finished off the carrot mash since the carrots evened out all of the butter in the mashed potatoes. unlike the sausage and mash i had gotten the night before from bunch of grapes, which as matt said, was just mashed butter. the leeks were bland and seemed boiled with nothing else. i had a few for the greenery and then i gave up on them.

chicken and ham pie from three greyhounds:
3 out of 5 greyhounds, just like the name!

Jun. 25th, 2009


[info]mattifer

Beef burger at The Bunch of Grapes (London Edition)

The Bunch of Grapes
207 Brompton Rd
London, SW3 1LA,
United Kingdom
020 75894944

We were getting hungry after going to Harrods Department Store in Knightsbridge.  There are only so many products one can peruse without bleeding from the eyes and gurgling at the stomach.  My cousin Gordon had told us about a good gastropub in the neighborhood called Sway and Tail, but when we asked the Harrods doorman Steve if he knew of its location he looked perplexed.  Steve, however, was a very helpful man.  Not only did he hold the doors for people entering and exiting the establishment, he also turned out to be a genuine pub expert and enthusiast.  Steve, a jolly, slightly portly, middle aged man with bad teeth, told us in his cockney accent that there was a delightful little pub called The Bunch of Grapes down the street.  He told us to walk right on past the Mickey D's (no matter how difficult that might be) and walk right into the Bunch of Grapes, one of the oldest pubs in London.  He assured us we would find beautiful drinks and beautiful food and we would have a wonderful time.  He also said that we would come back and thank him.  "You will say thank you, Steve, for your wonderful recommendation".

Steve seemed like he would have been a lot of fun.  Unfortunately he was on the clock so we had to soldier on without him.  The structure and decor of the Bunch of Grapes was appealing, they seemed to have changed very little about it since it was established in the 1700's.  I sauntered up to the bar and ordered Jen a Pimm's cup and a pint of Fullers for me.  I don't remember having had a Fullers before, but I really liked it.  I cursed myself for not having tried it sooner in my life and for having wasted so many nights drinking zima out of a coffee mug.

I ordered the "beef burger" which was pretty delicious.  It came with gigantic steak fries and a side of bbq sauce.  The burger itself was very flavorful, chock full of various spices and seasonings and medium rare just the way I like it.  Jen liked her sausage of the day but the mashed potatoes were inedible.  I think they just whipped some butter and threw it on a plate without adding the potatoes.

All in all we were satisfied with our first pub experience of the trip.  Sadly we didn't have time to return to Harrods and thank Steve profusely for his recommendation.  But I did send a letter addressed to him that read simply,

"Steve, The Bunch of Grapes was terrible.  You are now my sworn enemy.  If I see you in the street I will gut you like a fish.

J/K!  Loved it!  -Matt

Addendum:  I just discovered while researching the place for this post that the Bunch of Grapes is a chain!!   WHY???!!!!!


Beef Burger:  3.5 jolly doormen out of 5
 


Jun. 24th, 2009


[info]mattifer

club sandwich at Patisserie Valerie (London Edition)

Patisserie Valerie
15 Bedford Street, Covent Garden,
London WC2E 9HE
Tel: 0207 379 6428

A perplexing thing about eating in London is that you think you've found the most charming, homey little local cafe to eat in.  Upon leaving, however, you walk around the corner and you see the same restaurant.  London cafe's are masters at concealing the fact that they're part of a chain.  On one hand I like that; every location feels like it's own entity with homey decor and fresh food, but on the other hand it was a little depressing to leave Patisserie Valerie my first day in London and find that I had just dined at the "Applebees" of Patisseries.

Regardless the quality of the food was good, and I ended up going there at least three times on my week long stay in London.  They are known for their pastries and I had amazing scones on our last day there.  But this review is about Meat Filled Dough. I must uphold my end of the bargain, reviewing the most boring Meat Filled Doughs while Jen gets to wax eloquently about squid and lizard filled dumplings. That's okay though.  I like boring foods like sandwiches and burgers.

I tried to find the exact name of the sandwich I ate on the Patisserie Valerie website, but it seems it doesn't exist.  As far as I can remember, it was some kind of club deal with ham, chicken, tomatoes and maybe some bacon on granary bread.  Pretty standard.  It was a decent sandwich, nothing too memorable.  But as previously stated they are primarily known for their pastries and sweets.  The granary bread was the most unorthodox component of the sandwich, it was kind of like eating a sandwich enveloped by giant Ok Mak crackers, dry, rigid with an aftertaste of cedar.  I know that sounds horrible, but the texture actually worked with the sloppy fillings.  I was just grateful to eat something after wandering around greater London for five hours.

While eating I had to endure some fat, British prick berate a poor waitress because she didn't speak English well.  I gave him a glare but it didn't seem to deter him from inhaling a giant portion of Eggs Benedict in thirty seconds.  I found that an after lunch eclair made me feel better about the world as well...


club sandwich at Patisserie Valerie: 3 out of 5 blubbery brits



Jun. 3rd, 2009

mugsy

[info]jennifatt

tacos from Homegirl Cafe

Homegirl Cafe
130 W. Bruno St. (at Alameda St.)
Los Angeles, CA 90012

today i got to take a lunch out to homegirl cafe. i've seen this place from the train every day and seen it profiled on tv (homeboy industries), but i had never eaten there. well, now that i have, i want to go back!



i got their plate of 3 tacos, which was actually a lot of food. they really pile those tacos up! there's maybe a dozen different types of fillings that you can choose for the tacos, and those fillings can also be used to make tortas instead. they also have sandwiches and salads, but i really wanted to try one of the taco meats.

what i got was, from the bottom of the picture up (closest to farthest): Grilled Chicken with Tamarind and Orange Salsa, Cochinita Pibil with Habanero Pickeled Onions, and carne asada.

the grilled chicken was good, but they used all white meat, and i'm not the biggest fan of white meat, so i don't think that i would get it again. but the fresh oranges and the delicious tamarind sauce made a nice medley of flavors in my mouth.

the cochinita pibil was what i really wanted to try. i had to look it up before i went there to find out that it's pork, and i love pork! anyway, this one was super messy with all the bright orange colored oil leaking out... but it was amazing. amazing!!! the flavors were great, with a nice sweet type finish. i think that next time i go i will get this in a torta. i used 3 big napkins to eat the one taco, i can only imagine how many i would need for a torta.

the carne asada isn't on the online menu, but there are lots of things there that are also not listed online. it was good, with a citrusy flavor to it, and the meat was very tasty. but by the time i got to this one, i had just eaten the pork and i was already stuffed to capacity, so it was almost painful to eat it. but i couldn't stop eating, everything tasted so awesome. AWESOME!!!

they have various beverage options, and i got the "sarah's drink," which was mango and raspberry juice with lime. they make all their fruit juices fresh every day, and there are big vats of it behind the counter. sarah's drink was very summery and yummy! i also got to try "angela's green potion," which was delightful and refreshing.

oh, and i got a florentine cookie from them too, and it's one of the best florentine cookies i've had here. crisp and almondy and thin... mmmmmmmm

grilled chicken taco: 3 napkins
cochinita pibil taco: 5 napkins
carne asada taco: 3.5 napkins

i'm already planning on going back on monday! weeeeeeeeeeeee!
Tags:

Jun. 1st, 2009


[info]mattifer

turkey sandwich at Lees Hoagie House

Lee's Hoagie House
2269 E Colorado Blvd Frnt
Pasadena, CA 91107
(626) 577-2250

This place has been around for a while, yet somehow it has eluded my famous sandwichdar.  I finally tried it a few weeks back.  When I entered I was enveloped by famous quotes about eating lining the walls and ceiling of the homey establishment.  you know like, "As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices:  take it or leave it." -Buddy Hackett or "The belly rules the mind" -Spanish Proverb, or "rom romoflofl floorflkjfjk froofgorousos (sound of man eating an entire Gray Whale in one sitting) -Luciano Pavarotti.  The gray-haired guy at the counter, who I assume is the owner, was very nice and accomodating.  I ordered a turkey sandwich, which, for me, acts as a barometer for the overall quality of a restaurant.  This was unfair, perhaps, as they are renowned for their "hoagies" and mediterranean food, not necessarily their boring as mulch standard sandwiches on whole wheat.

The sandwich was okay, it didn't come close to the turkey sandwich at Lovebirds Cafe, but it was adequate.  Nothing stood out about the ingredients, thin-sliced turkey (pre-packaged?), shredded ice berg lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise.  It could've used a little extra zing, maybe some spicy mustard or something.  That said, I need to go back.  I hear their chicken hoagie is to maim for.


turkey sandwich at Lee's Hoagie House:  3 out of 5 dead tenors.


May. 5th, 2009

mugsy

[info]jennifatt

Short Rib Taco from the Kogi Truck!

Kogi Taco Truck
locations vary

finally!
i had been hearing about the kogi truck for a long time, but i have also been hearing about the long lines... long lines that form before the truck even makes it to its location. so since i'm not a fan of waiting a long ass time for my food, i never even bothered to track down the kogi truck. but today one of my co-workers spotted the truck down here and caused an immediate rush of people going out to get some tacos. even though everyone had already eaten lunch and weren't even hungry.



i got their famous short rib taco. it was a very nice medley of flavors in my mouth. almost sweet and sour at the same time. and the little corn tortilla was an interesting mix in with the asian style beef. i would definitely get these tacos again, but i still wouldn't wait in a line of 200 people for one.

...although, my appetite has been strange lately, it makes me wonder if i would go nuts for these if my stomach was its regular expando self?...

kogi truck short rib taco:
3.5 out of 5

Apr. 22nd, 2009


[info]mattifer

mini sirloin burgers from Jack in the Box

Jack in the box
all over the world
just google it

One good thing came out of the Giants drubbing at the hands of the Dodgers a couple weeks ago.  All the fans received free sirloin burgers from Jack in the Box.  You've probably seen the commercials with little cowboy dwarfs running around roping miniature cattle.  Lord knows I love dwarfs as my tivo can attest to.  I have to watch Little People, Big World ever week or I go into diabetic shock.  There are no little people in the burgers, however.  What's wrong with you??  Nope, just cow groin.  Why they don't call these burgers cow groin burgers is a mystery to me.  Anyway, I do like little burgers.  They trigger sentimental memories of buying the burger buddy six pack from Burger King when I was younger and fatter.  Now I'm thinner and balder, I'm not sure which is better.

Anyway the burgers came in a pack of three (I already ate one when I took the picture) and comes with ketchup, AMERICAN cheese (no commie cheese for me), grilled onions on a sweet bun.  Overall I thought they were okay, slightly better than expected.  They packed a lot of flavor for a small package, most of which was probably just chemical infused fat, but I enjoyed it.  I actually think they would have been better without the cheese, but I hate American cheese anyway.  The onions and bun were adequate.  Overall, pretty good for free food.  I think you'd be better off dropping ten dollars and ordering an umami burger, however.  Those burgers will haunt your dreams.  wet dreams.  I'm sorry.


Mini sirloin burgers:  2.5 groins out of 5 (c'mon out little burgers, don't be bashful)





Mar. 18th, 2009

mugsy

[info]jennifatt

sausages from Wurstküche

Wurstküche
800 E 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 687-4444

friday matt had a hankering for sausages and we went to little tokyo to try wurstkuche. they serve their sausages in buns so it's like meat filled dough. and of course, once we were there we had to order from the "exotic" sausage options. i got the rabbit, veal and pork with white wine. the menu called it a "light" sausage, and it was was! flavorful, but light tasting, and you can taste the wine in there too.



i realized today that i should have take a picture of the sausage after i took a bite. because all you see there are the toppings. you can choose 2 toppings for free, and i picked the sweet peppers and carmelized onions. yay, yummy!

we also got the belgian fries, which are delicious. potatoes are my favorite food group, and these were made especially awesome because of the dipping sauces that they make. a small order of fries comes with one sauce, and a large comes with 2. since there were 3 of us, we had 1 small order and 1 large order, which meant that we got to try 3 of the dipping sauces: pesto, bleu cheese and bacon, chipotle aioli. we all decided that the chipotle aioli was where it was at. the bleu cheese and bacon was just too chunky for dipping, but maybe next time i'll spread it on my sausage. heh heh, spread it on my sausage, yeah... insert other sausage jokes and snickers here... insert sausage, ha!

i want to go back to wurstkuche to try the other sausages, but maybe next time on like a tuesday or something. it was packed on friday night, and the uber hipster crowd there, complete with super skinny guy in tight clothes dj'ing on his macbook in the corner, was fucking distracting! fucking amateurs.

rabbit, veal and pork sausage: 4/5 bad jokes

Mar. 5th, 2009


[info]mattifer

Al Pastor Tacos at La Estrella

La Estrella
502 N Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91103
(626) 792-8559


I guess this place started as a popular taco truck in the 80's and has since expanded to three locations in Pasadena.  I have had their very good, cheap tacos before but figured it was torta time!

As usual there was a line to order, but  I finally got to the front and ordered an al pastor torta...bbq pork for the super-gringo.  Typically the pastor items I order from Mexican restaurants are very vinegar-y.  Vinegar is good to a point, but it shouldn't totally overpower the flavor of the meat.  I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into the torta and all i tasted was rich, tender, perfectly seasoned pork.

As you can see from the gratuitous pic, the torta is overflowing with additional toppings, mostly mayonnaise.  That's one thing about most Mexican restaurants, they don't skimp on the mayonnaise.  One time in Mexico I ordered a one dollar hot dog that came with about thirty-seven toppings.  I was clear to say "sin mayonnaise, no mayonnaise", but I think the doling out of mayonnaise is so ingrained in the Mexican food culture that my request did not compute.  The woman proceeded to scoop three heaping  tablespoons of the stuff on top of my hot dog. 

Anyway, the torta was good.  I recommend the place.  The website, however, leaves a little to be desired.  I feel a little guilty critiquing the site, but it's hard for me to believe that these spelling and grammatical errors have not been corrected.  A few excerpts...

"WELCOME TO LA ESTRELLA RESTAURANT
Is been aur pleasure to have yuo as acostumer for twenty years
Since 1988, La Estrella Restaurant has been making all your
Mexican favorites the way you like them
"


or my favorite...

"Mexican, American, African there is no race  food lovers contribute to la
Estrella Restaurants"


Huh?!


Al Pastor torta:  3.5 out of 5





Feb. 21st, 2009


[info]mattifer

umami burger from Umami Burger!

Umami Burger
850 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 931-3000

This place just opened up last week, but upholding our commitment to the discovery of new MFD, we wasted no time in going.  The picture on the link was what really intrigued me.  The burger was so beautiful with a golden brown bun, obviously high quality beef, a jenga stack of fries and homemade ketchup!  I felt awful all day yesterday, that green blob in the mucinex commercial was setting up shop in my nose so I knew I only had a small window of time before my tastebuds were rendered useless.

Thankfully, we made it just in time.  Jen and I both ordered the Umami burger (they also have the So CAl burger, the pork and stilton burger, even a lamb burger I believe) because we felt we should probably try the signature burger.  Umami is essentially one of the five basic flavors sensed by the receptors on the tongue.  The waiter described it as a savory, brothy, meaty flavor found in protein-heavy foods.  The burger came with a roasted tomato, mushrooms, a frisbee of parmesan and their homemade ketchup.  It was profoundly delicous, much better in my opinion than the Father's Office burger, which is too heavy on the caramelized onions and too light on the blue cheese.  All the flavors complemented each other expertly and the meat was cooked to perfection.  And look at it!  A single tear rolls down Claes Oldenburgs' face.

The fries took a bit to get used to, as I kept thinking I was eating fish and chips due to the slightly briny, fishy flavor.  After a while they grew on me.  Although I'm not a huge fan of steak fries, they really were quite aesthethically pleasing.

The service was a bit spotty.  The guy was very nice, but kept forgetting things.  After having been sitting for ten minutes  I finally had to get up and request a menu.  Also the table next to us had just ordered drinks when the waiter returned to the table a few minutes later to ask if they wanted drinks.  I'm sure these kinks will be ironed out shortly however.  We will definitely be back for the Pork and Stilton burger!


Umami Burger:  4.25 out of ...wow look at that bun...incredible.  What?  What are you talking about?  who are you to judge me?  Oh, go sit on an egg, Randy.



Feb. 13th, 2009

mugsy

[info]jennifatt

chilean sea bass and raviolis from maison akira

maison akira
713 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 796-9501

Last week was the second week of restaurant week. yes, it's called restaurant week even though it lasts for 2 weeks. but the beauty of restaurant week is that you can eat at a super expensive restaurant for a more reasonable cost, and it's all 3 course pre fixe menus! so basically, for the uber expensive restaurants, you get a 3 course meal for the price of one of their regular entrees. score!

oh, and by the way, i noticed on their website that they're extending their restaurant week menu and pricing through the end of the month. so go and get yourself some french-japanese food!

anyhow, matt had wanted to try maison akira for a while, but we could never afford to go there. when we saw that it was participating in restaurant week, we made our reservations fast. this sea bass and ravioli plate was my appetizer.



technically, this isn't meat filled dough. the fish is served on raviolis, but the raviolis themselves were filled with mushrooms. but this place was so good that i had to figure out some way to talk about it. the chilean sea bass is the famous dish at maison akira. apparently, chef akira made it for the emperor or japan. they had an appetizer size version of it on the special menu, so i had to try it. at first matt tried to give me guilt over it, since he says that chilean sea bass is endangered (and fish are the kittens of the sea, according to peta). but then he tasted it, and said that it just melted in his mouth. it was some good meat topped fungus filled dough.

i just wanted to briefly mention what else we ate there. before our appetizers, we were given an amuse bouche of salmon mousse on toast. yummy! matt had a good sized salad as his appetizer. i got the smoked duck for my entree. i don't know if it's the smoking, but it tasted like i was eating pork. and i love pork, so hurray! matt had the kobe steak, which was all flavorful and good too. for dessert we got the lavender creme brulee and the timbal elysee lassere. the creme brulee was a little too lavendery, but the timbal elysee lassere was amazing. it's a cookie shell with vanilla bean ice cream, fresh berries, and a hard caramel web basket thingy.

i thought it was hilarious that every table in the restaurant had people furiously taking photos of their food. throughout our entire meal i kept seeing flash bulbs going off. as we were leaving, one table even asked to take a picture with our waitress, because they "saw her on facebook." ha!

chilean sea bass with raviolis: 5/5 sea kittens!
actually, i should say, food at maison akira: 5/5 food porn photos

Jan. 29th, 2009

mugsy

[info]jennifatt

house special dumplings from bamboodles

bamboodles
535 W. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626.281.1226

this restaurant opened late last year, and after i read about how they made their noodles from scratch every day (in limited quantities) with a big bamboo log, i talked matt into going there with me. i also read somewhere that "bamboodles" is a weird translation of the actual chinese restaurant name, which is something along the lines of "fragrant bamboo stick noodles."

of course, once i saw that there were a couple of dumpling options at the bamboodles, i had to try one. we got the house special dumplings, which are like potstickers, only they are boiled instead of fried.



the restaurant "guarantees" that the dumpling skins won't break, and these were some thick skinned dumplings. maybe the thickest dumpling skins i've had in a restaurant. which made for a fun chewy dumpling. those of you who prefer thin skinned dumplings probably won't be too thrilled. the filling was pork, with a lot of green onions. i was still trying to get over a cold, so i can't tell you what other subtle flavors there were, but i enjoyed the dumplings regardless. but i think that even if i weren't sick, they wouldn't have stood out as the bestest dumplings ever, just standard dumpling goodness.

but the main reason we went to bamboodles was for the hand made noodles. and boy were those good! matt and i both got the green tea pork noodle soup. i got regular noodles, and matt got the spinach. (they also have carrot, extra egg, or sesame noodles right now.) despite my stuffy nose, i loved the noodle soup! the noodles had great bite, and the pork was melty and delicious.

matt, who wasn't sick, said that he could taste the spinach in the bright green spinach noodles, and the green tea in the pork. he also said that since the green tea pork noodles were so amazing that he would probably never order anything else from there because he can't imagine anything else possibly being as good.

i can't wait to go back for more noodle soup. or maybe going to try their cold noodles once it gets hot. you can also buy their freshly made noodles to go and cook it at home yourself. but i think it's limited to 2 servings per person, since they only make so many servings each day. maybe next time we'll actually catch the noodle master kneading them out with that giant bamboo log!

oh, i should also note that the honey lemon tea i ordered was actually a lemon toddy. just lemon juice and honey and hot water. which was perfect for my runny nose. score!

house special dumplings: 3/5 tissues
green tea pork noodle soup: 4.5/5 oinks
Tags:

Dec. 8th, 2008


[info]mattifer

pastrami sandwich at Dave's Chillin'-n-Grillin MFD of the YEAR!!

Dave's Chillin-n-Grillin
2152 Colorado Blvd
Eagle Rock, CA 90041
(323) 490-0988

I believe I have to grant the Meat Filled Dough establishment of the year award to Dave's Chillin-N-Grillin in Eagle Rock.  This honor is bestowed unto Dave's not only for it's early nineties slang inspired restaurant name, but for its tremendous food and absurdly friendly service.

I've been to Dave's a couple of times before, each time ordering the Pastrami sandwich, and I've never been disappointed.  Their menu is pretty basic, a few sandwich melts, sausage sandwiches, chili dogs, etc. but what gets them consistently high marks on Yelp and other restaurant review sites is their commitment to quality ingredients and the friendliness of the staff.  Also, their smoothies are pretty delicious.

Whenever I enter the place, it's like I'm attending a Wahlberg family reunion.  Most of the guys that work there must hail from Massachussetts, because they sport thick Boston accents.  They are much more friendly and accomodating then the Wahlbergs, however.   I don't believe in Karma, really, but if it does exist, then Dave and his crew have earned a surplus of it.

Just today, I was craving one of their Pastrami sandwiches with yellow mustard, pickles and provolone.  So I stopped on my way home from work and ordered one.  Dave was his usual friendly self.  But then he did something that approaches sandwich sainthood.  I realized too late that they only take cash.  (REPEAT:  THEY ONLY TAKE CASH) and I only had four bucks on me.  Dave was so amazing about it, saying not to worry, and I could pay him back next time I was in.  And it wasn't like I was short twenty cents or something.  I was short a whole THREE DOLLARS!  I thanked him profusely and promised him I'd be back shortly.  Which I surely will.  I guess it makes perfect sense.  Someone who cares so much about the delicious food he makes does not want to deprive anyone of it, even if they're a few bucks short.

Thanks Dave!  

Small Pastrami Sandwich at Dave's:  4.5 sandwich saints out of 5



Nov. 18th, 2008


[info]mattifer

pulled pork sandwich at Gus's Barbecue

Gus's Barbecue
808 Fair Oaks Ave
South Pasadena, CA 91030
(626) 799-3251

When I used to live in South Pasadena, I always felt a little sense of comfort driving by the giant, neon Gus's barbecue sign, featuring blinking pigs and chickens, all the cute animals that go in your mouth!  I knew that it had been there for decades, and I couldn't imagine it ever coming down.  I had no real strong feelings about the food, however, having eaten there only once.  It was decent, affordable fare with no real identity or pizzazz, and if there's one thing I love it's PIZZAZZ!!!!!!!

That's why I was extremely excited to try the revamped Gus's, after hearing that the interior had been renovated and the menu refurbished by the two brothers whose family opened the first Tops restaurant in East Pasadena.  Rumors were that the brothers had decided to actually honor the barbecue in the restaurant's name and slow cook their food Southern style with applewood and hickory.

When I entered the restaurant there was nary a blue hair (or wrinkler) as my dad likes to call them (though now he is one) in sight.  Previously, when entering there would be 20-30 empty tables and the ones that were occupied were taken by old people with no taste buds.  Not a good sign.  This time, the crowd was young and vibrant, and the interior was much more inviting.  There was a line out the door, and I had to wait a while for my take out, but I didn't mind because I knew it would be good.

I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, some cornbread and potato salad.  Jen got the sweet potato fries, and we tried to order their special butterscotch pudding, but they were out.

The sandwich was incredible!  The pork was obviously slow-cooked for a ridiculously long time as it was extremely tender and infused with the aformentioned wood flavor.  The bun soaked up the vinegary bbq sauce beautifully.  The potato salad was decent, it did seem to have large chunks of bacon in it, which is never a bad thing.  And the cornbread was also delicious, baked with some kind of honey glaze.

Overall I was extremely pleased to find a restaurant that finally lived up to its sign!  We will be back very shortly.


Pulled pork sandwich:  4 out of 5 bluehairs agree!


mugsy

[info]jennifatt

various treats from ap-petite

AP-Petite
140 N. Lake Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101

matt heard about this place and went there last friday to pick up some little delights.



technically, the only meat filled dough i had was the little sausage roll. it was good, and i think that it would have been better warm. (i ate all these the next day, after they had been in the fridge overnight, so everything was cold and slightly harder than when they were fresh.)

the thing with what looks like salami on top on the left of the picture was also good. it was actually sausage, but i totally thought that it was salami. a nice zest to it. on the right side of the picture, with the egg on top, is the liver (pate) sandwich. i love pate, and that was some yummy stuff. it was flavorful and seasoned.

i didn't eat the two top items, but i did have the two puff balls in the center. one was a bacon pogi and one was a cheese pogi. they're like mini biscuits with stuff on top. i love biscuits, and i love things in miniature, so double yay! the bacon one was definitely the better of the 2. there are little bacon bits inside the biscuit too. i could have kept eating them all day. that doesn't mean that the cheese one wasn't good -- it was -- but baaaaacon! it's bacon!

sausage roll 3/5
sausage sandwich 3/5
liver sandwich 4/5
bacon pogi 4/5 (i imagine that if this was freshly baked and warm it would be an even higher score... i want a whole bag full of these just thinking about it!)
cheese pogi 3.5/5

Oct. 24th, 2008


[info]mattifer

Uptown Turkey at Corner Bakery

Corner Bakery
345 South Lake
Pasadena, CA 91101
P: (626) 578-1281  F: (626) 578-9048


Alright Corner Bakery, I gave you one last chance.  And not because I wanted to.  It was because I'm a sucker for free or near-free sandwiches.  With a tight grip on my 3 dollar off coupon I marched straight into the Corner Bakery on Lake with a sense of purpose, of duty.  No eager anticipation or expression of joy was evident on my face, merely a look of steely eyed determination. 

I ordered the Uptown Turkey sandwich, with smoked turkey, applewood smoked bacon, avocado etc on harvest toast because, I figured, how could they fuck that up?? 

Thankfully they didn't.  Besides the bacon being a little chewy, the sandwich was a delight, the lettuce crisp and the tomatoes fresh.  And the pickle was a tasty bonus!  But like I mentioned before any turkey and bacon sandwich from any sandwich place in the world is bound to be good, so I'm not letting Corner Bakery off the hook just yet.

Nonetheless, they've redeemed themselves somewhat in my eyes.  Thoughts of tossing molotov cocktails into their always crowded establishments with down home decor will not cross my mind with as much frequency anymore.  But they have a long way to go for me to make room in my heart/belly with the likes of Lovebirds and Sandwich City sandwiches...


Uptown Turkey at Corner Bakery: 3.5 out of 5

mugsy

[info]jennifatt

kobe bacon bleu burger from lucky devils

lucky devils
6613 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323)465-8259

last night after the ad agency treasure hunt my company hosts every year, carmen, jeannette and i skipped out on the second half of the happy hour to get some food. since we were already in hollywood, we went to lucky devils, because i had been thinking about sweet potato fries all day.

the sweet potato fries there are awesome! crispy, with nice chunky salt on top. plus, the garlic aoli it came with was super flavorful. but, i guess sweet potato fries aren't meat filled dough, so on to the burger!

the lighting in lucky devils is very dark and red, and i didn't have a real camera on me, so my picture came out really bad. sorry.



the beef in this burger is very good (so good!). the bacon on it is very good (thick sliced and crispy). the brioche bun is very good (buttery and delicious). the slice of melty gruyere cheese to help adhere the bleu cheese to the patty was a nice touch. BUT there was only one sad little clump of bleu cheese right in the middle of the burger. not even enough bleu cheese to put on a cracker. now, they could have been having an off night, since i've had this burger before and it had more bleu cheese on it (though now that i think about it, not that much more, maybe 3 clumps instead of 1). i don't see how you can call something a bleu cheese burger if it barely has any bleu cheese on it! liars! or maybe someone was zoning out in the kitchen? in any case, that lack of bleu cheese really bummed me out. doesn't anyone in this town make a bleu cheese burger with enough bleu cheese to taste??? sheesh!

still, i have to say that this burger was better than the burger at father's office. and the sweet potato fries were better too. suck it, father's office!

kobe bacon bleu burger at lucky devils: 3 out of 5 shopping carts
that center bite that actually had bleu cheese in it: 4.5 out of 5
now just imagine if there was bleu cheese through out the entire burger!!!
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Oct. 22nd, 2008


[info]mattifer

Momos at Tara's Himalayan Cuisine

Tara's Himalayan Cuisine
10855 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 836-9696

On Saturday Jen and I met Asha in his neck of the woods at Tara's Himalayan Cuisine.  Asha had been there before and spoke highly of the place so Jen and I were eager to compare it with the great Himalayan place we frequent in Pasadena.  Tara's was warm and homey and the wait staff descended upon us in the friendliest way possible.  There aren't a lot of meat filled dough options in Himalayan food, so we ordered the chicken momo's, which are potsticker style dumplings with two delicious dipping sauces (one is tomato based and the other is okra curry).  They came out pretty quick and we dove into them.

The first thing I noticed is that they were luke warm, which was a little unsettling, but once I got past that I noticed they were perfectly seasoned.  I think I detected some ginger, cardemum, maybe even cinnamon or it could have been the gallons of spiced tea I was drinking.  Either way, they were very tasty, though I have to take a star away because of the fact they were fairly cold.

We also ordered some lamb korma, which came in an orange, coconut based cream sauce.  For some reason I tried it expecting the same korma flavor one gets in an indian dish,  and the fact that it tasted completely different threw me for a loop.  To my cold-infested taste buds and brain, the sauce tasted like the chef had dropped in a whole pack of velveeta.  No one else seemed to think this, and I'm sure it was just the creaminess of the coconut milk, but I couldn't seem to overcome that notion.

A diminutive, older lady kept coming by during our meal and checking up on us, asking us if everything was good and if it was the first time we'd eaten Himalayan food, etc.  We figured she was Tara.  Then, halfway through our meal she said good-bye and walked right out the door.  For some reason, it was pretty funny, as if she didn't even work there and was just a very curious, friendly stranger spreading joy and good cheer.


Chicken momo's at Taras Himalayan cuisine: 3 lukewarm stars out of 5


Oct. 17th, 2008

mugsy

[info]jennifatt

cabeza taco from grand central market

grand central market
317 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013

today carmen and i took the train one stop to grand central market for lunch. she needed to get some spell casting candles from a shop by there for her friend. her friend who's clearly going to cast some looooove spells.

we went to her favorite stand in the market, roast and go, and when i saw the cabeza on the menu, i knew what i was going to get. some cow cheeks! unfortunately, i didn't have a camera or a phone with me, so i wasn't able to take a picture. but here's an image of where the meat in my taco probably came from.

meat filled dough

i've been wanting to try some cow head meat for a while, so this was very exciting for me. i believe i did a little happy bounce as i was eating. it was meaty, tender, juicy, yummy! i didn't notice that they had tongue also until after i had already ordered my cabeza taco and my carnitas taco. i really should have only gotten one taco, they make them HUGE over at grand central market. my stomach is about to burst forth an alien baby from my abdomen. maybe a queen alien. and then it'll knock my head off and dribble acid drool on me. ever notice how fast those little alien babies grow up into full sized toothy creatures?

oh yeah, and the carnitas taco was also muy sabroso. it was nice and fatty, just how i love my pork!

cabeza taco: 3.75 out of 5 cows
carnitas taco: 3.75 out of 5 pigs
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