Taco Truck and Bar Crawl

The Route of our crawl

Tacos at El Pique

The guys enjoying their tacos

Carne Asada at La Estrella

No tables here!

Reviewing the menu at Taco Zone

Condiments and Salsa at Taco zone

The taco truck craze in LA is phenomenal! I had to find out what the hype was all about and enlisted one of my very talented friends, John Lopez to map out a night of tacos and beer madness. John not only was born and raised in LA but writes for the LA Times and Vanity Fair, I thought he'd be the perfect ring leader. After doing a little research myself, I told him that a definite spot to hit was Highland Park.








To start, we met up at my loft in downtown where we quickly swished down a few Coronas, tortilla chips and freshly made guacamole. All 5 of us piled in John's car and away we went to Highland Park. Our first truck, the famed La Estrella, where we orderd a few carne asada and carnita tacos. Sad to say they had not finished cooking up the al pastor which I hear they are known for. Regardless, the carne asada was delicious, moist, flavorful with a perfect spicy red salsa. We decided to compare the same tacos next door at El Pique. Unfortunately, the carne asada was not as tasty as La Estrella but no complaints as the salsa was vibrant and spicier which complimented the taco nicely.








Next stop was Verdugo bar, dark, dingy, and 90s music with various beers on tap, my kind of place. We chilled for awhile and wanted to get a little loose before our next taco stop but unfortunately the line at the bar was unbearable. So, after our beer we moseyed over to Taco Zone in Los Feliz. We kept it consistent and ordered Carne Asada and Carnitas. We also tried the Mulita, a vegetarian delight of cheese sstuffed into a corn taco. Suadero (beef brisket) is a highlight there. Taco Time had a variety of condiments and salsa which I highly praise. However I found the carnitas to be dry and the carne asada bland. The Suadero was awesome, very flavorful.

It was midnight, we were tired and our plans of hitting Coles or the Association in downtown came to an end. All and all it was a fun time and I'd love to do it again, hey, maybe I'll make this an annual thing. Any other suggestions?

Istanbul

blue mosque

upon entering you have abide by these rules

inside the blue mosque

one of many lentil soups

lamb meatballs with turkish bread
turkish pide (pizza)

woman making lavash bread

inside the grand bazaar, turkish candies

inside the spice market

man selling hot cocoa

roasted chestnuts

If I only had one word to describe Istanbul, it would be intriguing. From landing at the airport, to taking the train back to the airport, it was all an adventure. The weather was an absolute debauchery. Rain, cold, and wind will be what I recollect the most from my trip. But food, people, and mosques are close behind.

The city is full of life with street vendors, restaurateurs heckling you to eat at their restaurant, and of course tourists everywhere you look. For the most part, Istanbul's economy seems to thrive on visitors. We were victims of a few restaurant hawkers who convinced us they have the 'best' lamb or the 'best' seat in the house. Best lamb indeed, in fact, I think that's what I ate everyday, lamb and tzatziki. Turkey claims to have discovered everything the greeks are known for: vineleaves (grapeleaves), doner kabobs, and baklava.

Other favorites was their love of eggplant and lentils. Every restaurant offered their special version of lamb meatballs, eggplant, and lentil soup. Who ever knew there were a thousand different ways to cook an eggplant. One of the best dishes was a hearty 'ottoman style' beef stew over warm eggplant puree. Oh, the the pide, (Turkish pizza)! We ventured into a locals' place with the BEST crusted pizza ever. The Turks are also known for their bread, something I can never find in the states. In my eyes, a hybrid of foccocia and pizza crust, it is sure a great vehicle for dips and mezzes.

The sights were beautiful especially the Blue mosque. Also the grand bazaar and spice market were extremely lively. The Turks love their tea and sweets (Turkish delights and Baklava), there was a shop on every corner in the city. The people were all very friendly, I mean don't get me wrong, there was an occasional scream which you never get used to hearing, 'hey you, you Japanese or Korean?', other than that, everyone was nice.

Istabul is a bustling and are in the works of really trying become a modernized European city. I would recommend a visit to everyone. We didn't have time to check out the ancient ruins and cities like the old Troy or Ankara but I have heard nothing but great things, oh well, definetly next time.

Greece - Athens and Santorini

view from hotel, Aegean Sea
black sand beach in Santorini
stray cats all over!
moussaka
fava bean puree
marinated octopus
sea bream
tomato keftedes
tzatziki
saganaki
baklava
more moussaka
theater of dionysus
the partheon
ouzo and raki

chicken stuffed pastry and Pizza





Alright, it's time for me to share pictures with you from my trip. I've been a little traumatized since I came back, caught some sort of stomach virus and am finally off the anti-biotic and most importantly can eat normally, woo-hoo!!!





Greece was awesome, from the old ruins in Athens to the Santorini hospitality, it was all very beautiful. The only gripe I have was the weather in which we endured torrential downpour and a bit of flooding. Nonetheless, we took advantage and ate and drank well. My favorite dishes were Tzatziki, no where else can you beat the fresh quality yogurt and then there's the authentic moussaka. Of course, every restaurant had Eggplant salad and Spanikopita but surprisingly no hummus instead a fava bean puree which was mediocre at best. The Seafood was extremely fresh but when it came to the table, was poorly executed, either overdone or undercooked. One of my favorite dishes was fried kefalotiri cheese with bacon and honey and another neat cheese dish was the popular saganaki.






Most of the amazing views were from our Hotel rooms; looking off the cliffs onto the Aegean Sea with 'active' Volcano in the background in Santorini and the sun setting behind the Acropolis in Athens, truly breath taking.







The Greek love to drink Ouzo, a licorice tasting liquor that I could not seem to swallow. I enjoyed it's cousin, Turkish Raki much better. As for the wine, they claim that Santorini has the best of the best, I disagree, any California table wine is way better.





This was just the first half of my trip, an Istanbul post is up next!

Burgers Galore!

Bison Burger!
Turkey Burger
Salmon Burger



Got on this kick where I just wanted to make all sorts of burgers! So, a few weeks ago, I dedicated a weekend to inviting friends over and cooked up Salmon, Turkey and Bison Burgers. Let me start off by saying Bison meat is AWESOME. Lean but yet flavorful with a hint of gaminess. My new favorite meat, I used it the next day to make bison sausage for a pizza. I highly suggest buying bison meat ASAP, it is fairly inexpensive too.





I used a new recipe for the Salmon burgers. Instead of grinding up (processing via Kitchen Aid) raw salmon, I baked it first, then added scallions, onions, breadcrumbs, egg and pan fried. For a little flavor, I added dill, mustard, and chickpeas for a little crunch. The burgers came out good and the texture was great and not as mushy compared to my usual technique. All and all, it was fun times in the test kitchen and I've decided to start selling Bison meat as another side job. Just kidding, seriously, please try it!





Here's my recipe for the Salmon Burgers, serves 4:





Salmon, cooked 6 oz





Breadcrumbs, regular 1/2 cup





Onions, diced, cooked 1/2 cup





Scallions 1/4 cup





Dill, finely chopped 2 T





Mustard, dijion 2 T





Chickpeas 1/2 cup





Egg 1





Salt and Pepper to taste



Garnish greek yogurt or Tzatziki



1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake Salmon for 15-17 minutes or until done.





2. Meanwhile, sautee onions, scallions, and dill until fragrant, 3-4 minutes.





3. Break up and mix cooked Salmon with onion mixture, mustard, chickpeas, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.





4. When the salmon mix is cool or at room temperature, add in egg.





5. Form about 4-6 patties.





6. On medium high, add oil to sautee pan, pan fry each patty for 2 minutes on each side.





7. At 375 degrees F, bake patties for 12-14 minutes.





8. Garnish with yogurt or Tzatziki if desired.

Mom visits!

Morning Glory and Ginger Chicken

Beef and French Fry Stir Fry
Egg and Pork Omelette
Church and State Bistro
Hamachi Crudo
Escargots
Roasted Farmer's Market Vegetables
Loup de Mer
Duck Confit










I love it when my mom visits. Vietnamese food, family dinners, good retaurant eats, and of course I get to spend time with her. She cooked one night for my friends, a plethera of my favorite dishes. Morning Glory, Egg and Pork Omelete, Ginger Chicken, and Beef French Fry Stir Fry.










One night we went to eat at Church and State in downtown. Very cute restaurant with good food. Hamachi Crudo, Escargots, Roasted Chicken, French Onion Soup Duck Confit, and Loup de Mer.










During her visit, I took her to eat Sushi and we also enjoyed a few meals in Little Saigon. We had great time and she even bought me a housewarming gift...a flat screen TV. Thanks Mom for being you and for everything!