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The Fat Dog - Pau & Johnny - Part 2

March 1, 2016

To continue from Part 1 where Pau, Johnny and I were hanging out at the Idle Hour, we decided to make our way to The Fat Dog.

11050 Magnolia Blvd - North Hollywood, CA 91601

After having a liquid brunch, we were literally turning into Zombies with no sense of direction. I mean, Pau literally lunged to the streets without looking and stopped traffic with her super powers as we trickled behind her. She was on a mission. A mission for Swedish meatballs.

I love it. I went to tinkle and came out with food already on the way. Since we were just snacking, they do have some fun nibbles that are worth to try. Let's start with the sliders shall we.

Any beer loving fiend would love cheeseburgers of all sizes. These little decadent-pinky-worth buns with bacon, meat, cheese and guacamole can keep you fixated with your eyes crossed for a good minute.

Comes with fries. But, I would order more for other reasons I will share with you in a bit. But deng, I just love finger foods so much. I don't count calories, but I do think about the amount of food I consume at the end of the day. So little bites like these (x's 54674861231) makes me extremely happy because that means I can try more food. And who, who, does not want to try more food? For goodness sake. Look how delightful Johnny looks in the back enjoying a bite of a mysterious item. I swear it wasn't candid at all.

I really... really.. enjoyed these wings a lot. I'm not sure if it was from all the beer I drank, but these were zippy. It felt almost as if the wings were marinated in buffalo sauce or rub, and then deep fried. I really don't know how they did it, but it reminds me of dry rubbed ribs. Served with celery and carrots, with their house bleu cheese dipping sauce. Thumbs up. I am ready to come back for this one.

If you love IKEA Swedish Meatballs, you will love the ones at the Fat Dog. Served in a heapfull, there are plenty of reasons to share. There's nothing fancy with this dish as there is nothing fancy at the ones you would find at IKEA. But, these are comforting as F#$k as they should be. This is where the extra fries would play along. Or, just order the fries with this gravy and lingonberry sauce to top off. Money.

I will be back really soon because there were still a lot of items I would like to try. Love you Pau & Johnny dearly.

Until next time. Eat & Drink responsibility.

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IDLE Hour - Pau & Johnny - Part 1

February 25, 2016

I've known Pauline and Johnny for quite some time. I would say 14 years or so. Johnny and I have stayed friends after High School and I really consider him as one of my best friends. I still kept in touch with Pau from time to time mostly through social media. It wasn't long before Pau and I geeked out over our love of food. And it was about time we rekindled our friendship after a decade of not seeing each other.

Pau arranged our meet at the IDLE HOUR in North Hollywood.

4824 N Vineland Ave - Los Angeles, CA 91601

As punctual as I am, I can't believe that I was the last one to arrive. Don't worry, that will be made up shortly with a few drinks. It was weird to see Pau again. But, it didn't feel different. And it almost feels like just yesterday that we were in High School all over again. There wasn't much awkwardness at all if any. And it literally took no time before the first round of drinks started.

Pau's first drink was a mimosa while Johnny dove into his bloody mary. I steered away and ordered a Ballast Point IPA. And, it wasn't long before we ended up doing rounds of IPA.

Besides the usual work and stuff, life really just went on. There wasn't much to catch up on since Johnny and I have kept in touch, I see the life of Pau through Instagram and Facebook and vice versa between them. So basically, we just talked about food and really digged into the roots of our favorite things to eat. One thing I love about these 2 are the love of food they have for all cultures. There isn't anything these 2 would not try. And you know what? It's hard to find true foodies that embraces all foods of the world.

We didn't order much to eat. Just beer. And more beer. Until we realized we really should order food before getting passed out drunk on the sidewalk. Pau wasn't too hungry. Johnny was contemplating over short ribs. And I had my eyes on the chilaquiles. We decided to go for the chilaquiles since something to share was satisfying enough from all the beer we had.

The chilaquiles were large enough to share between 3 of us. The sauce was flavorful with a slight kick of heat that creeps up after. Some queso crumbles topped with 2 perfectly sunny sides. Yes I will order this again.

After ordering another round of beer, I've became a total snapchat guru. Though, I don't remember how to use it now. I'm sure it will all come back to me once I have my hands on a beer.

This was probably around 2. Stay tuned for part 2.

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800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

January 27, 2016

I'm pretty sure all of you know by now that I love to drink. And if you didn't, know you know that I do. I also love tacos too, and fried chicken... and burgers.. and french fries and pasta and sushi. I know I get carried away.

It was my coworkers birthday, celebrated on a Friday night. I was staying back a bit at work to help out a colleague with some reports. Our anxiety was off the charts. But that's what booze is for. The first stop we headed to was Edward Mills in Old Town Pasadena. With $3 drinks and appetizers till 7, it doesn't get any better than that. Or, does it?

Thinking the party was almost over, I was hungry and ready to roam the streets for food. One coworker was ready to head over to King Taco which is genius after the drinks. I didn't know what I wanted. I just wanted something good.

I don't know how it happened, but we ended up here at 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria. My colleague mentioned an Instagram special where you order their pizza of the day. $5. No substitutions. But, you better check instagram first to know what the pizza of the day was. We were lucky and they were kind enough to let us slide. But next time we don't check, we just get bread sticks.

This is their Bianca with red onions, spinach and smoked provolone. A definite wowsers.

What I love about Neapolitan Pizzas is how thin they are. It also has a nice chew with a beautiful unique tang/sourness from the yeast. And honestly, the simpler the better. I feel like with Neapolitan pizza, it's all about the dough, the fresh sauce, cheese and just a few ingredients. Drink with a glass of wine or a nice cold brew is something I can envision myself doing on a casual afternoon.

For $5, it's definitely worth it. Seats were plentiful. I left my cellphone, and was definitely thankful no one took it... yet at least.

Find them on Instagram @800degreespizza to figure out what the next pizza of the day is. You might find me there.

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Smitty's Grill

December 23, 2015

Back here again for a Holiday lunch. I mentioned before that I would love to come here to slug a few martinis, but today, I slugged a few old fashioned. Who care it's the holidays! right? Our waiter came by and presented the daily specials. I was craving salmon, but when he mentioned hanger steak, I knew that's what I needed to order no matter how much steak I will be eating this week. And since we are in the holidays, I asked for a side of horse radish cream because I am addicted. It's been kind of my new thing lately to eat all my steaks with horse radish cream. Try it, I'm sure you will like it too.

Hanger Steak here with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The steak is grilled and served with demi-glace sauce. Of course, it's medium rare or die. The meat was very flavorful, and tender, but more towards the center. I was in a happy place. The old fashioned made this taste even more decadent than it looks. I'm a carnivore and I love a red steak, but I could never order a rare steak. Medium rare is as far as I would go, unless I am eating tartare or carpaccio, of course.

I do recommend their specials. I noticed a lot of people order their pot pies. That will be my next hit list! Though I really want to have prime rib... Steak always prevails! but we will see next time.

Cheers and get grubbin!

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Tacos Tu Madre

October 31, 2015

Hello,

Today I've gotten the opportunity to enjoy an amazing treat hosted by Damon Eats (@damoneats) for the soft opening of Tacos Tu Madre.

Tacos Tu Madre is a little shack with dia de los muertos art outside of the restaurant. Being a taco lover all my life, this was definitely a tasting I am excited about. I grew up eating street tacos such as: lengua, cabeza, buche, chicharron, Suadero, and tripas. So you can imagine my appreciation for the craft.

Tacos Tu Madre is a contemporary take on the classic tacos with a few spins on ingredients such as Duck Foie Gras.

Menu

Prices are still unknown at the moment, but you can see a large variety of tacos to test. Come with a group. Or someone who is really hungry that can eat. Like me. I always like to eat. So you can try a lot of them.

Course

This was one of our favorites, hence the first image. The chorizo had good flavor, and was not dry like a lot of chorizo I've had. The eggs were cooked perfectly over easy with a surprise ooey gooey center that became a finger licking madness. I was a bit intimidated by the size of the chorizo, but it was perfect with the eggs and handmade tortilla. I would definitely order this in a burrito.

Another favorite. I'm a huge fan of a simple tartare. Simple, some dishes should be left that way and they did a great job at this one. The tuna was plump, was perfectly seasoned and not overly dressed with the sesame oil, ripened avocado, with a touch of furikake. I would love them to make a LARGE crunchy taco out of this. Just saying.

Fried

Fried Chicken and Fried Shrimp. I love fried anything. Especially in a taco. I have to say, their tortillas held up really well for all the dishes. The chicken had a tangy worcestershire/katsu sauce. The shrimp had a good fresh take with crema, salsa and pickled onions. Both were perfectly fried, and seasoned ever so slightly.

Taco Porn

Top Left: Asada, carnitas. Bottom Left: Korean, Al Pastor.

Delicious everything. Though, I did feel some tacos didn't need cheese. It masked the flavors of the marinade and seasonings of some dishes, but the cotija that they used was very tasty.

Drinks

Don't forget to tip the bartender. At food events with open bar, people think the bartenders are just there to pour you drinks. No. It's common courtesy to tip the bartender even if it's free.

All drinks were exciting and fun. And Yes. I think I drank all 3 in less than an hour. No I am not an alcoholic, I just like cocktails. The one with the lime is their El Diablo: Tequila based, Ginger Beer, and Creme De Casis. Vampire Punch is the one with pomegranates: Gin Based, Compari, Orange Juice and Soda. Death before Dinner is the Vader looking one: Rum Based, Grapefruit, maraschino, lime, and a few drops of charcoal.

Sweets

This was so freaking amazing. I can't even tell you how good this was. It was a perfect warm day in Los Angeles in the high 80's and this will definitely be something I will be driving out here for. You taste the creaminess and roasty flavors of the rice, with the perfect amount of sugar and cinnamon ratio. I'm so glad this was something I did not miss and definitely something I don't regret going in my belly.

We waited a long time for these because they ran out. But it's ok. When there's a wait, it gives you every right to drink. These churros are denser than what I'm used to, but their cinnamon sugar and cream cheese frosting were delicious.

And then, it all came out at once.

When churros fly out of the kitchen, you need a photo bomb huddle. What's not to love right?

It was a very fun afternoon spent with local foodies, eat a shit load of tacos, and have plenty of drinks. The turnout for this event was great. This shack is small and quaint, so make sure you don't bring a family/friends of 10 and expect to find seats. Opening tomorrow, November 1, I am appreciative that I was invited to this social media event. What better way to snap photos of food, but with a group of foodies who get it.

I took over 200 shots today. Pretty impressive.

1945 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

By the way, they open late, so yeah. Drunk or Hungover, they will take care of you.

Happy Taco Hunting!

Daisy

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Wine & Dine

The Fat Dog - Pau & Johnny - Part 2

IDLE Hour - Pau & Johnny - Part 1

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

Smitty's Grill

Tacos Tu Madre