Showing posts with label farmers market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farmers market. Show all posts
Jury Duty in Downtown LA - The Food
After 4 posts on downtown sites and landmarks, ultimately for me it all comes back to the food. So the final installment of my jury duty adventures is about the local food.Lunches there had to be short, inexpensive and fairly quick due to the absolute need to be punctual. Getting in involves going through a security check, having your bags x-rayed and being NYC style aggressive about getting on the elevator. It took up to 15 minutes for each ride in which we were crammed like sardines!
There were no facilities for refrigerating or heating up food and the cafeteria in the court house left a lot to be desired.
On top of that, I had a fellow foodie friend on jury duty at the same time in the same building as well as couple of friends who worked in downtown. Between those prospects and my solo exploring, I definitely hit the beaten path on local food.
Here is a quick photo summary of my 1 month of jury duty eats. I didn't take my good camera due to multiple security checks during the day at court.
Let me go in order of preference, beginning with the better options. Some I went to after jury duty, so they are not quite a lunch time walk away.
Hopefully it will give some visual ideas to the next person who gets a multi-week term of jury duty.
Back to the Cathedral I wrote about on this last post, the Galero Grill cafe was basic but good quality food. I ate a tuna melt and Starbucks coffee, so did not memorialize that lunch.
I also joined a friend who works in downtown for happy hour at Nick & Stef's Steakhouse. We enjoyed some great oil marinated olives with garlic confit, citrus zest and toasted almonds.
The beautiful brick building, our dinner site one day after court, is The Spice Table I've been here a couple of times and enjoyed it. You can see larger photos and read detailed dish descriptions on a previous post, here.
The Oyster and Crab Pan Roast, on the right middle, with coconut milk, lemongrass, fish roe, grilled British toast was new to me. The shellfish was beautifully tender, but the coconut milk broth was too creamy for such delicate flavors.
We had a tasty Beef Rendang, but I misplaced the photo, so this photo from Kevin Eats, on the lower right, captures the dish.
While waiting for The Spice Table to open, we hung out at The Far Bar, within this narrow entryway.
Vampiros at Mexicali? No brainer. I've already written about these over here.This one is a crispy quesadilla filled with carne asada and their special garlic sauce. I loved the side of blistered Guero peppers in Cantonese-Baja style seasoning.
Colburn Cafe at The Colburn School - Khmer beef with sesame and pears.
On top of that, I had a fellow foodie friend on jury duty at the same time in the same building as well as couple of friends who worked in downtown. Between those prospects and my solo exploring, I definitely hit the beaten path on local food.
Here is a quick photo summary of my 1 month of jury duty eats. I didn't take my good camera due to multiple security checks during the day at court.
Let me go in order of preference, beginning with the better options. Some I went to after jury duty, so they are not quite a lunch time walk away.
Hopefully it will give some visual ideas to the next person who gets a multi-week term of jury duty.
Back to the Cathedral I wrote about on this last post, the Galero Grill cafe was basic but good quality food. I ate a tuna melt and Starbucks coffee, so did not memorialize that lunch.
I also joined a friend who works in downtown for happy hour at Nick & Stef's Steakhouse. We enjoyed some great oil marinated olives with garlic confit, citrus zest and toasted almonds.
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The Oyster and Crab Pan Roast, on the right middle, with coconut milk, lemongrass, fish roe, grilled British toast was new to me. The shellfish was beautifully tender, but the coconut milk broth was too creamy for such delicate flavors.
We had a tasty Beef Rendang, but I misplaced the photo, so this photo from Kevin Eats, on the lower right, captures the dish.
A Lobsta Roll from the Lobsta Truck hits the spot every time. Do I need to say anything besides "fresh Maine lobster on a toasted split top roll with butter"? That was a rhetorical question.
This doesn't photograph that well, but the made to order revueltas pupusas at Sarita's Pupuseria in Grand Central Market is comforting and filling, though the huge line there takes a bit of time.
The curtido, or cabbage salad mixes perfectly with the rich pupusa. The gentleman there gave me a free side of caramelized plantains.
One day I picked up a decadent breakfast of this Liege waffle from Syrup Desserts, stuffed with bananas and sprinkled with tiny chocolate chips and powdered sugar. It was an intense trial that led me to this type of treat.
This authentic Belgian waffle has crunchy crystals of sugar in the batter which automatically sweetens them. It is also made to order and comes out steaming warm.
My friend also on jury duty gave me this after court treat from The Sandwich Smith in Little Tokyo. It tasted like shortbread oatmeal cookie with peanut butter and jelly inside. I love the crumbly texture against the creaminess inside.
Shrimp ceviche from Grand Central Market. For $4 it's a great lunch on a warm day. I couldn't figure out the name, but it's the stall just to the left of the Broadway Street entrance.
I enjoyed this burger from the grill to order at LADWP building cafeteria. The fresh pico de gallo, avocados, onions and crunchy house made pickles really works on a sunny Southern California day. I believe this huge burger was under $5.
The cafeteria has great prices and a huge selection. You have to sign in and go through security to get there.
Farmer's Market days were super exciting for me, although I enjoyed the produce stalls more than the food. The Creole stall served a runny jambalaya, but their hush puppies were fabulous. The batter included a pop of chile and herbs which were subtle but flavorful.
I tried the most delicious strawberries ever as a sample, but the purchased basket did not taste the same, sadly.
The empanadas were amazingly satisfying, though somewhat rich. I had the beef and the wild mushroom, both different shapes and flavors and equally good.
For a small dessert bite the size of a cookie, they had a $1 mini empanada with bananas and dulce de leche filling. They were all warmed perfectly and available frozen to bake at home.
Farmer's Market days were super exciting for me, although I enjoyed the produce stalls more than the food. The Creole stall served a runny jambalaya, but their hush puppies were fabulous. The batter included a pop of chile and herbs which were subtle but flavorful.
I tried the most delicious strawberries ever as a sample, but the purchased basket did not taste the same, sadly.
The empanadas were amazingly satisfying, though somewhat rich. I had the beef and the wild mushroom, both different shapes and flavors and equally good.
For a small dessert bite the size of a cookie, they had a $1 mini empanada with bananas and dulce de leche filling. They were all warmed perfectly and available frozen to bake at home.
Other than the food, the silver jewelry options really thrilled me, with great price points (if you pay cash and bargain). I got this mother pearl and butterfly rings, both made in Thailand as well as a pair of rhodium teardrop shaped hoop earrings.
One of my fellow jurors kept hoping our trial would last long enough for her to come back and buy rings also.
I would never expect a school to have Cambodian food in their cafeteria.
But a performing arts school? Maybe the talented students like more variety.
This location has that and more exotic choices at decent prices. Those are pears in the dish, not potatoes. It's an interesting combination although I would have preferred some sauce as it was rather dry when mixed with the rice.
We had a very hurried lunch at Josef Centeno's very trendy Tex-Mex restaurant, Bar Ama. The menu looked so exciting, we wanted to order everything. Unfortunately it was not my favorite choice. The food was too heavy, oily and not spicy enough for me.
The house made Truck Driver hot sauce amped things up a bit.The Cauliflower and Cilantro Pesto dish was divine though.The caramelized florets were perfectly cooked were dressed with cashews, pine nuts and lime.
The Puffy Tacos (grilled shrimp and lengua) as well as Ama's Enchiladas didn't really wow me. Too much oil dripping down into my hands and too much of gut bomb. I will stick to Centeno's Bäco Mercat which has similar flavors that are more complex, in my opinion.
The food options and variety in Downtown L.A. does not ever disappoint me, and it was great to try various lunch options as a "local".
The Puffy Tacos (grilled shrimp and lengua) as well as Ama's Enchiladas didn't really wow me. Too much oil dripping down into my hands and too much of gut bomb. I will stick to Centeno's Bäco Mercat which has similar flavors that are more complex, in my opinion.
The food options and variety in Downtown L.A. does not ever disappoint me, and it was great to try various lunch options as a "local".
Dine LA: Short Order - More Than Just Burgers
During this recent DineLA restaurant week period, I availed of 3 participating locations all starting with the letter "S".Short Order, located at the Original Farmers Market, is the collaboration of Nancy Silverton and Amy Pressman, who met almost 30 years ago at Spago and stayed friends ever since. Pressman's passing during fall of last year shortly before this special project of hers came together really encouraged me to support her efforts.
My group and I arrived just before the dinner rush since they do not take reservations, and we were seated upstairs at the communal table immediately.
The communal table definitely served as fun people watching since it contained a couple of Top Chef former contestants. I didn't really stare at the whole group, who were circulating quite a bit, but fairly quickly recognized Marcel Vigneron and Alex Reznik. Both chefs whose food I've loved.
Among quite a few menus the beverage choices stood out, especially the "adult milkshakes". Most notable is the Charlie Brown - a vanilla custard shake with chocolate ganache and roasted Spanish peanut infused bourbon (infused in-house in an immersion circulator).
They serve custard shakes which are more popular in the east coast and midwest. An interview I read of Amy Pressman just before her passing mentioned that they were inspired by Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack in Manhattan, making custard ice cream and hand-spinning shakes into four flavors.
The daily special vanilla custard shake with crushed graham cracker and caramel and the chocolate shake with Guinness practically overflowed from their jars. Each of us ordered different flavors.
Being a big fan of malt flavors, I decided on the Coffee Malt shake. The jar size is just right with a creamy yet not too heavy consistency. One doesn't have to wait to get the shake through the straw. I loved the frothy texture, especially on the top, which reminded me of the foam you'd find on a cappuccino.
The menu contains regular, classic fries or these Spuds, torn pieces of baked potatoes fried to a crispy golden color. The dipping sauce of baked potato fixins such as sour cream with chives and bacon bits cling to all the rivulets on the spuds to add punches of flavor.
I didn't know if Chef Christian Page, formerly Chef de Cuisine at Eva, would remember me, especially with all the chef buddies around. But he did and spent a fair amount of time chatting with us (and posing for a couple of fun pictures with a colleague).
He gave some good tips on the menu and I have to say, between the hat, button down shirt and cool apron, definitely one of the chic chefs I've seen around town. I've tried his food and loved it, which is another reason for wanting to come to Short Order.
Let me reiterate that his constant relaxed state and grace under pressure really really impressed me yet again. We had a lot of hiccups in our service, to put it mildly, between their recent opening and a new server who was nice but was not familiar with DineLA!
Many components of our meal were forgotten and we had to remind the staff repeatedly. It was hard to stay positive, but the chef definitely helped me to roll with the punches.
The shake won as the best thing to order but unexpectedly, this Bean Salad won for me as a close second. The mixture of green and yellow wax beans, gigante beans, garbanzo beans, red onion, oregano, parsley, and lemon vinaigrette melded perfectly.
It's always good to try a well seasoned salad as well as a high protein salad, since I'm always looking for sandwich (low carb) lunch alternatives. Chef Christian mentioned that many of the staff eat this salad daily and I can see why. I took most of mine home and it might have even tasted better the next day, still crispy.
The salad of market greens, persian cucumber, celery, dill, champagne vinaigrette also provided a light, crispy side for the entrees.
For the DineLA menu we were given a choice of 3 burgers for the entree. Nancy's, Ida's or Amy's. I had read that these burgers were meant to be the simpler flavors that chefs enjoy when they are not working. They are named after the people who inspired them, which is true to eating what the chefs actually make at ahome.
As much as a I love high quality beef burgers, and heard Ida's burger was inspired by In N' Out Burger, I opted for Amy's Turkey Burger, based on the recommendation of food critic Jonathan Gold.
It contained organic turkey, sage cheddar, melted celery, leeks, mustardy mayo. Very clean and light, I particularly enjoyed the all green condiments and the notion of melted celery, which was probably braised or sauteed. I loved the seeded mustard, choice of lettuce, juicy turkey and general lightness of it all. Even the bun, which I usually do not eat, was delicious and light enough to eat.
Was it a burger I'd crave? Probably not. In fact I've enjoyed other burgers more. It was solid though, and a burger you don't feel guilty about eating afterward.
They offer burgers made with various meats, including lamb, so I'd definitely be willing to give others a try.
I'd gone to a brunch earlier that day at friends' house and did not have a huge appetite to begin with, so had packed half of everything to go. At this point Chef Christian kindly came out with a tray of more items to try - Pretzel Dogs and Pretzel Pups.
I'd been eyeing this dish of mini pretzel dogs at a neighbor's table. Even though I didn't eat it until the next day, it heated up well. I loved the La Brea Bakery pretzel bun, well seasoned dog and lightly pickled cabbage kraut, along with mustard. My third favorite dish on the menu so far.
My friends took home the Corn Dogs with Anson Mills corn batter, mustard. If they were the same dogs with batter instead of the bun, they were probably also tasty.
These cute little decorative touches, like the banana peel doorstop, add a great whimsy to the open air setting upstairs.
The staircase lies next to the original clock tour, which looked charming at dusk.
This charming table upstairs contains one of a couple of beautiful in-table fireplaces.
Upon walking out, I saw this sign outside the kitchen, explaining the story behind Short Order.
My group walked over to Bob's Coffee & Donuts, one of my favorite vendors in the market and an L.A. institution. They had run out of most of their items since it was near closing time.
I decided to do a quick visit to Short Cake and Single Origin, around the corner from Short Order and utilize the $5 certificate they'd given us as part of the DineLA menu.
The decor exuded a very happy, energetic vibe. Even 5 minutes to closing there was no lack of customers in line.
Items in the case included uniquely intriguing flavors such as: chocolate cardamom cream cake, double baked croissants, curry raisin/buttermilk blueberry/sesame date/feta scallion scones, brown butter cranberry muffins. I picked up a sesame date scone for breakfast and a cookie for late night snack. It is indeed a delightful bakery.
I'd only tried one of Amy Pressman's creations, an extremely elaborate Peruvian-inspired dessert, at Test Kitchen during a Ricardo Zarate dinner.
Despite not having a huge sweet tooth and being insanely full, almost everything appealed to me from the cases. I'm sure her spirit is extremely proud of this swan song.
Tijuana's Mercado Hidalgo
When traveling, or showing someone my town, one of the things I love to do is visit the local open air markets. It shows so much what that society and daily life there is all about.During last year's Baja trip, the group got to spend an hour or so touring through the huge Mercado Hidalgo.
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| chiles |
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| cinnamon |
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| "little cow" beans |
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| bulls blood beans |
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| blue corn |
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| sunflower sees, dried chile, peanuts |
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| tamarind pods |
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| local herbs |
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| sea salt |
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| sea salt |
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| dried hibiscus leaves |
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| honeycomb |
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| poblano and california chiles |
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| sweets |
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| cajeta - goat's milk caramel |
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| queso |
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| flowers |
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| candied lime stuffed with coconut, mangoes, musk melons |
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| guavas |
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| nopales - cactus paddles |
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| dragon fruit |
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| pomegranate seeds |
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| nanchy fruits |
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| fresh coconut juice and pulp |
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| aguas frescas |
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| chicharrones |
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| pinatas - Hello Kitty, Batman, Spiderman |
