An Interview with Me

Check it out guys, a fun interview with my good friend Michelle Van Der Water. Michelle's a very talented entrepreneur and actress, please check her awesome website and business!

http://www.lilshoppa.com/blog/lilshoppa-friend-file

Trucks in LA and Street Restaurant

Meatballs w/Romesco Sauce

Asian Marinated Chicken Tacos

Bool Gogi Chicken Tacos
Bool Gogi Beef Pastel


Banh Mi - Vietnamese Special

Kaya Toast with Egg

I'm one lucky son of a gun. I got to take a mini tour of LA's finest trucks and finshed off in style at Street Restaurant. This was all for work!!! Everything we ate was awesome. I especially liked the Banh Mi at Nom Nom Truck, Asian Marinated Chicken at Komodo, Bool Gogi Beef at Bool BBQ and lastly, the Kaya Toast at Street Restaurant. Enjoy the pictures!

On the Road

There's something to be said about traveling on the road...yes, it's exactly like, 'Up in the Air', except most people don't have all the perks like Mr. Clooney's character does. I mean, you have to travel alot ALOT and even then it's not even worth it.







I mean, yes, all meals are on the company, acquiring points are fun, and most of all being out of the office is always a nice change. But mediocre food, sitting at a restaurant/bar for one, uncomfortable hotel beds, unlimited crappy shampoo/conditioners and lotion, in the end, just ain't worth it.







To break away from chain restaurants and eating by your lonesome, I tend to get snacks or just order room service. I mean, you can eat and drink as you please while watching TV, surfing the web, and talking as loud as you want on the phone.







In regards to a recent trip to Salt Lake City: I decided to shy away from my usual local brew pubs, Squatters and Red Rock Brewing Co. and ordered room service from the Marriott hotel. This is what life is like, see pictures. I decided to critique the food tonight.








Chicken Noodle Soup: Watered down, too much dried oregano and way too many chucks of chicken, barely any carrots and noodles, need more than I can handle salt and pepper.








Salmon 'Po Boy': Pretty darn good, nice Asiago/Parmesan bun and salmon was nicely seared, thank god was not fried, liked the tartar sauce







Steamed Veggies (substitution for Fries): Bland, bland, bland with a touch of butter, pretty gross but I guess that's steamed veggies for you







Highlights: PICKLE







Dessert: Haribo 'Fruit' Salad from 7-11, that's what I call dessert!!!







I wanted to rent a movie on demand but it was 14.99 to see 'Couples Retreat'. I decided to save the company a little money :(

How Tu: Make Moussaka

Coming back from Greece, I was enamored by the cuisine, especially their famed, Moussaka. We tasted a few different versions in Greece, some with potatoes in it, others heavy with béchamel sauce, and most that used allspice and nutmeg.






I did much research on recipes and decided to make a version with generous portions of meat sauce and vegetables, light on the béchamel sauce and no nutmeg nor allspice. Turned out that Moussaka is quite labor intensive! From sautéing the eggplant and zucchini, to preparing the meat sauce, whipping up the béchamel sauce, assembling and finally baking, it took me 2 hours! All and all, my first try was decent enough and satisfied my craving and memories of the Aegean Sea.





Ingredients





• 2 large eggplants


• 2 medium zucchini





Meat Sauce





• 1 cup onion, chopped


• 2 garlic cloves, minced


• 1 handful fresh oregano leaves, chopped


• 2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped


• 2 pounds ground turkey, lamb, or beef


• 2 tablespoons tomato paste


• 1 (16-ounce) can crushed tomatoes





Bechamel Sauce





• 2 1/2 cups milk


• 1 egg


• 1 1/3 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese





Prepare eggplants and zucchini. Cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Salt and pepper all pieces. Add oil to sauté or skillet pan and heat over medium. Sautee the eggplant in a single layer, turning once, until brown on both sides. Do the same for zucchini and sauté. Put both eggplant and zucchini off to side as you make the meat sauce.





Meat Sauce





Add oil to the pan and toss in onion, garlic, oregano, and parsley. Cook and stir until soft and aromatic. Add the ground meat, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and crushed or whole tomatoes. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.





Bechamel Sauce





In another medium saucepan melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and, when hot, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk, stirring until smooth and thick. Season with salt, to taste, and whisk in the egg.. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese and set aside, covered, while you assemble the casserole.






Assembly:





Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.



Line the bottom of a glass or ceramic baking dish with 1/3 of the eggplant slices; they should completely cover the bottom with no gaps. Spread 1/2 of the meat sauce over the eggplant, evening it out with a spatula. Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired. Next, layer zucchini again, topping with meat sauce. Repeat the another layer of eggplant and meat, finally toping with the Bechamel sauce. Cover and bake the moussaka for 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

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?