Antojitos Guerrero - Highland Park

Address: 5623 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042, United States

Celebrating the last of the 3 day Hoorah, we've decided to go to one of our favorite places in Highland Park. Nothing fancy, nothing stressful, and definitely nothing that will break your wallet. But, it's definitely something that is delicious.

Antojitos Guerrero is a small hole in the wall that you will probably miss driving down York blvd. My heart is set on a few of their dishes, but their tostadas is definitely on top of my list.

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chips and salsa

It was hot in Los Angeles today. Really hot. So sitting outdoors, closing my eyes pretending like I'm in Mexico wasn't so luxurious anymore after over 30 minutes of waiting for our food. There was a huge part of me that said I would never come back, NEVER! Especially because the table behind us got their food first even though we ordered before they even got there (don't you HATE that?). I didn't feel hungry, but my temper sure made me feel like I was. I was giving them the benefit of the doubt, that maybe they have to marinade the seafood. Over 30 minutes later, with sweat dripping down my back, shoving chips and spicy salsa down my throat, this baby and the others started flying out.

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Tostada Mixta -  $7.99

This is their tostada mixta. Their fish ceviche is one of my favorites and it's definitely something we order every time with extra avocados. But today, I wanted something with shrimp. Noticing their Mixta consisted of Shrimp, octopus and imitation crab meat, we've decided to go for it with their success of making a legit fish ceviche. What a treat this was to see fish mixed in. I am assuming they didn't have any imitation crab meat today. EVERY SINGLE seafood you see here, is executed to perfection. The octopus was tender, the shrimp had a snap, and the fish was plump and slightly tart from the lime. The cucumber and the avocado helps balance the citrus. From this day forward, I will always order this. And, this saved them because now I must return in the near future to devour. By the way, the best part of this tostada is how every ingredient is kept to it's integrity. A lot of tostadas I've had, is extremely finely minced where you can't appreciate texture and the full flavors of the seafood. You definitely know what's in your mouth with Antojitos tostadas.

Their handmade tortillas are to die for. Go ahead and get ready to die. I love the thickness, the chewiness, and how it soaks up all the juices and salsa that you load in. (If you want to find a similar tortilla, go to Trader Joes. They have a corn tortilla that is similar to this). My favorites from this place is their lengua and their adobada. The first time I had adobada was from Antojitos. Not knowing what it was of course. Adobada, here, is pork marinaded and cooked in a red chile (not spicy). The other you see is lengua (Beef tongue) which is also one of my favorite cuts stewed to perfection. Their handmade tortillas run for $1.99 each, and they are worth it. Like why wouldn't you go for handmade tortillas?

If you decide to come, be ready to wait for your food and don't blame me for it either. Not sure what magic happens in the kitchen, but I highly recommend their ceviche/tostadas which seems to be made to order. They have other items, but it's a hit or miss. I'm definitely going back again to try their Molcajete.

Eat well!

#Foodwithinreach

Daiisies

Poke Salad Bar - Pasadena

"Summer is over" says the last 3 day weekend before all hell breaks loose for the rest of the year. I'm trying not to think about work, or the amount of money that's going to be spent now till next February.

The weekend, so far, has been absolutely beautiful. The weather was nice, sunny, and not too unbearable even though there were some heat in Pasadena. John and I went to the flea market today at Pasadena City College. It's only on the first Sunday of every month. There's no entrance fees, just find street parking, grab a Starbucks and head on over. The market is inside their parking structure and outside their lot. It's really a fun treat if you want to kill some time, be outdoors, getting some exercise, or just looking for unique items to decorate your homes with. Most of the little vendors are cash only, but once in a while you will find some stands that takes credit cards.

After spending about 45 minutes to an hour browsing through the aisles, we were hungry and ready to grab a snack.

By the way, breakfast consisted the usual bacon and eggs.

Since we were in Pasadena, we decided to head into Old Town. After little thought, we wanted to try this little joint called Poke Salad Bar.

What's great about PSB is the toppings that they offer, for free. I know this may sound weird, but I love imitation crab meat. I don't know why. Don't judge me either. There's just something comforting about how sweet it is... and growing up eating California rolls thinking it was sushi really made me appreciate them differently.

I ordered salmon and yellowtail with all the fixes minus the pineapple. I also added a yuzu vinaigrette which flavors were not present. John doubled down on the salmon with additional spicy tuna, but he did not go loco with the fix ins like I did.

The flavors were satisfying. I was also happy with the portions considering it being larger than Flour and Tea on Lake (which I'll never go again). I parked at the Fair Oaks structure since it's 90 minutes free. A quick lunch and a visit to Crate and Barrel did not run my time over 90 minutes.

I highly recommend this place if you are hungry, want something tasty, affordable, satisfying, and wouldn't feel too ripped off. The total for 2 after taxes came out to $21-ish.

Try it and let me know what you think. They also have other options like shrimp, tuna, and scallops. Rice can be substituted with salad and you can also make a burrito!

Now that the sun is going down, and dinner will be soon... it's time to get drunk. OH! And John found $5 on the floor which he made me pick up. I feel terrible, but at the same time, finders keepers losers weepers.

Happy 3 days! Cheers.

Daiisies

Instant Ramen - Frozen Dumplings - Egg. dead.

What time is it? Whether it's 2am, 10am, or 2pm, it's always a good time to whip up a quick meal before dinner time. I went to the gym today and was starving when I got out. I was thinking about everything I wanted to eat while spinning. As I closed by eyes, I started going through what I had at home. Within no time, my hour on the bike was up. Peace out 20 miles, it's Friday and I shouldn't be at a gym.

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Instant ramen, dumplings, and egg.

Ingredients are simple. Get your favorite instant ramen or whichever one you are craving at the moment. Frozen dumplings. Don't know which ones to get? Sorry I don't know either. HAH! Just kidding but not really. If you go to an Asian Market on the weekends, there will probably be samples with a lot of bags going on this blowout sale. That's when I would buy a few body bags of frozen dumplings. I am not going to pay $6+ for a bag, so wait till they go on sale for like $2.50-$3ish. It's a steal.

Timing. The first thing that I do is heat up a non-stick pan with some oil heated on medium high to high depending on how hot your stove is. I like my pan HOT (By the way, I used canola oil). I also started heating water for the ramen. Once you drop the dumplings in the pan, it will start sizzling like sh*t. This is when I would tuck my arms in like T-rex. After about 1 minute, I would add water and cover it with a lid to steam the dumplings. Add enough water where it cooks out after 3 minutes or so. If there is still water left, don't worry it will cook out/evaporate.

Once your dumplings are steaming, drop the ramen in the boiling water to cook. This will be quick. After your noodles are done, pour it into your bowl and arrange your dumplings (the bottom of your dumplings should have a nice golden brown). Now, quickly crank up the heat on the same pan you used to make your dumplings, add some oil and fry up an egg. I season my eggs with salt and togarashi pepper. Slide your egg on top of your noodles and voila, I am your BEST friend.

The egg should be crispy with a nice golden butt. The yolk should goo lusciously all around.

Comfort Food. E N J O Y.

Daiisies

Honey Badger Noodle Shop

One of my best friends Dom hit me up this week to catch up. It's always random with this guy because our lives are so busy. But, it's so easy for us to get together. Catch up? ok. When? ok. Place? ok. Time? done. Nothing complicated, no over thinking, just go.

What I love about Dom is how he loves to try new restaurants like I do. He doesn't think too much of it either. He just knows there's of a new place and recommends us to try it without any doubts... unless there was a ton and he never mentioned in. He's a therapist. He's good at keeping his cool when things are totally NOT cool. He keeps me calm that way. With his soft voice "no no Daisy don't do that", "no no Daisy remember what we talked about?", "no no that's the angry Daisy", and my favorite of all "nooooo no no no". Love you Dom.

Honey Badger is located on Main street and corner of 5th:

555 W Main St
Alhambra, CA 91801

The menu was pretty simple and straight forward. I didn't read into what they are about. If the food is good, I would want to know more. Well, if the food is bad, I would want to know more about the background of the creators and why they think their food is acceptable. Like really, I pay for this so I expect answers. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!

The restaurant is very hip for Alhambra. It's a new twist and something I would expect walking into in Downtown Los Angeles. The place was pretty empty walking in around 6pm, so of course seating was not an issue.

I was going to go for the classic Taiwanese beef noodle soup, but I wanted to try something different from their signature noodles selection. Truffle Mushroom medley noodle. Like ok my mind was set. Especially with the fried egg on top.

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Mushroom Medley truffle noodle

Ok I was extremely excited when this came out. It looks hearty, portion was sized good, and the fried egg was cooked perfectly to my liking. BUT... to be honest, the dish lacked a lot of flavor. Some of the mushrooms could've been cooked out more to release the moisture and to create a nice caramelized exterior which normally gives a dish like this the umami you are looking for. Salt was not present in the mushrooms as well. PS> huge pet peeve when the food is not seasoned well. The essence of truffle was minimal to none. The noodle was good, but there was an awkward chew to them. I've had noodles like this before, but I've never had to really chew for each bite like I did with this. In the end, I had to add salt, black pepper, and a little soy sauce. And since I couldn't taste the truffle, I ended up putting some sriracha on it.

Will I come back? Probably, but not anytime soon. With that being said, I know what I ate had potential to be great. Not trying to give a negative review to the restaurant, just being honest. It's tough to do what they do with so many other restaurants surrounding them within a one mile radius.

I'm just amazed at how downtown Alhambra has changed. It used to be a sh*t hole and I hated going there. But now, there's so much more life and restaurants to try that I think about heading out during the weekends.

Downtown Alhambra has not seen the last of me yet. Stay tuned for more local eats in Alhambra.

Thanks Dom for the great conversations, belated dinner, and for your beautiful soul that I am going to take from you.

daiisies

Elote "Mexican Corn"

Elote is also known as Mexican corn. I grew eating this as a little kid. My brother and I would be playing PlayStation or Counter Strike 1.5 when we hear the bell. Sorry, it's the bell. If you grew up in this era, you would know there is that one moment of silence, to hear that bell ring again to make sure it's the corn man. Now hurry and find a dollar! One dollar can get you a corn on a stick, brushed with some mayonnaise, lime juice, cheese, cayenne and some yellow gooey cheddar cheese which we are skipping today. Though, I'm not sure how much it runs for nowadays... $1.50?! Blasphemy!

For this recipe, I got frozen corn instead, but feel free to use the cob. AND I also made this in a dish, because it's easier to eat and I don't want spicy cayenne pepper spreading around my face. You know how that is...

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Elote "Mexican Corn"

Recipe:

• 3 cups of frozen corn, microwaved till edible.
• 1/2 lime
• 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup of good mayonnaise (or 1/3), it really depends on how creamy you like it.
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne to mix
  • Cotija cheese crumbled on top (I used Cacique)

The recipe is pretty straight forward. I got a plastic zip bag to microwave the corn kernels. Afterwards, by opening the zip a little bit, you are able to dumb out any excess water. I then squeezed in the lime and sprinkled with salt and cayenne. Now, you mix it all together. It might be hard with your hands because the corn is still hot, so I used a spoon.

Next is the mayonnaise. Don't get that olive oil base mayo. I get it. But you want to keep it classic. After it's done mixing, just pour it out onto a dish of your choice. It may be a little watery because of the heat melting the mayonnaise. If you want, you can always pop it in the freezer for about 15 minutes to make the mayonnaise clump up again, but I think its better hot. Crumble your cheese and top off with a dash of cayenne. If you don't use cayenne, and you know you are sensitive to spicy foods, then I would leave it out and just dash a little bit as you are eating this. Just adjust along the way. This is how it is if you get it on the streets. They ask you want on your corn so there isn't really a wrong way to do this if you stick to the right ingredients. Don't blame me for any butt fire incidents though...

I like to eat this with chicken, tortilla chips, tostadas, or just as it. By the way, cotija cheese is a little robust so if you are not a big fan of cheese, I recommend getting the Cacique queso fresco it's like my favorite for all my mexican dishes!

QUICK TIP: If you are using fresh corn on the cob, remove the silks but leave the husk. In the same bag that you loaded your corns in (clear plastic that is in the produce aisle), put your corns back in and just microwave it to cook! No need to boil water. If your husks are a little dry, just moist them a little with water. I normally microwave my corn for 3 minutes (one corn). Now thank me if I changed your life.

You can always serve it for parties like I did below:

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party size

enjoy the butt fires!

daiisies