Tijuana [Part 2]

Our first day in Tijuana had exceeded my already high expectations. But the second day? It was, to borrow a phrase from Teddy Roosevelt, "just constant epic awesomeness".

We started the day at El Mazateño for seafood tacos. As good a breakfast as I can imagine.

Like the escabeche at Tacos Salceados, this complimentary broth had a lot more depth of flavor than you would expect from something so non-central to the meal.

It was at this stop where I learned, from Bill, to use "taco" as a verb. Here is my taco de camaron enchilado, or chilied shrimp, pre-tacoing. And here are my taco-ing supplies:

Result?

One of my favorite tacos from the trip. Seriously. And this is a trip during which I must have eaten around 20 tacos, all delicious. Spicy, chewy, crunchy (thanks to the lightly fried tortillas), and creamy all in the right ways.

The smoky, creamy marlin taco was no slouch either. I also got to try a little of the fish taco, which had an incredible seasoned batter. Everything I'd eaten so far was ridiculously good, and this was only the first stop of the day.

We headed next to Tacos El Poblano to try some carne asada tacos.

Here they use a blend of different cuts of beef cooked over mesquite, unlike the flat top prepared carne asada in LA.

Ok, you can't see the meat here. But it was delicious. The char on the meat makes all the difference.

I also had a tostada, which had a much smokier flavor than the taco. It was nice to experience the carne asada in two distinct ways.

Our next stop was Tortas Wash Mobile, a shack named after the adjacent car wash that has since closed.

They do one thing at Tortas Wash Mobile, which is make the best damn sandwich I have ever had.

The ingredients are simple: a ciabatta-like house made roll toasted on the grill, butterfly cut steak grilled over mesquite and left to rest in its own juices, a bit of mayonnaise, vinegary tomatoes and purple onions, and creamy guacamole. It may sound simple, and it is. It's also perfect.

Okay, they don't only make amazing tortas. This horchata was ridonkulously good, with a beautiful creaminess and a subtle yet rich flavor. If I could have just one meal from Tijuana available to me in LA, it would be a torta and horchata from Tortas Wash Mobile.

For my companions, this was about the time that belly fatigue began to set in, hard. After a full morning of non-stop taco consumption, finishing this torta proved beyond the limits of a normal human being. What my companions began to realize at this time is that I am not a normal human being. According to Wasima at Tiffin Unboxed, I sat on the trolley enthusiastically eating my torta, totally tuned out to the fact that my companions were watching me in awe. It's an image in which my husband finds endless amusement and about which I waffle between pride and embarrassment.

Bill made a change in plans and instead of another taqueria, we went to El Conchal, a shack across from the Mercado Hidalgo, for some incredible Sinaloan style seafood.

The aguachile, served in a molcajete, was sublime, with spicy yet delicate raw shrimp and scallops. We also had fresh clam on the shell. A delicious respite from the heavier fare earlier in the day.

Aaaaand, sadly, those were the last my pictures for day 2. We stopped by Caesar's, the original birthplace of the Caesar salad, which had been recently reopened by Chef Javier Plascencia, and a brewery for some drinks and snacks.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from our amazing meal with Chef Javier at Erizo Cebicheria. Suffice it to say that if you ever have the chance to eat his food, do not miss out. Our nine course tasting menu included tostaditas with different types of ceviche, a mindblowing octopus carpaccio, scallop ceviche in squid ink, a dreamy sea urchin "cappuccino", tacos with swordfish prepared like cochinita pibil, sopes with abalone chorizo, and seafood risotto. So much deliciousness and creativity. An outstanding experience.

We started day 3 of awesomeness with Tacos Aaron, which specializes in tacos varios or tacos de guisado. As Bill says, this style of taco "represents Mexican home cooking at the taco stand." Bill recommended the milanesa, chorizo español con huevo, and the chile relleno tacos.

I loved these tacos. They practically taste like comfort, and instantly evoked feelings I normally associate with foods I've eaten since childhood.

Tacos Aaron is one of two trucks we visited that day. The other was the legendary Mariscos Ruben.

As Bill likes to say, "Mexican Twitter is parking in the same spot for 20 years."

It is a testament to the quality of Bill's selections that each of them managed to impress despite competing for attention with each other. The marlin taquito was smoky, crunchy, and delicious beyond belief. The almejas gratinadas, or clams au gratin, are good enough to make you weep.

How else to close but to thank Bill, again, for the amazing trip? I came with high expectations and was still surprised at every turn. I cannot wait to do a trip like this again.

Lazy Ox Canteen [Little Tokyo/Downtown LA]

I went to Lazy Ox Canteen in Little Tokyo for New Year's Eve with a few friends (and friends of friends) after seeing the musical "Next to Normal." I'm a fan of gastropub restaurants/places that serve little gourmet dishes to share so I was pretty into the idea of coming here. The service was good, especially since it definitely sucks to be working on NYE.

The two gripes I had were: since there was no room inside, we had to sit outside at night. We had asked the hostess to let us know if any tables open up inside and she never once came out to give us an update. Kind of not cool. Secondly, the prices are a bit too much for me/the dishes itself. Don't get me wrong, the food was all delicious; if each dish was a few dollars less, then it would be more worth it and warrant a second visit. There were five of us, which meant we could try a whole bunch of dishes (they had a regular menu and a "blackboard" menu of specials). They also had a very nice list of unique beers other restaurants probably wouldn't serve, which was great. Since there are too many dishes to talk about (and I don't want to bore you), I'll let the photos do (most of the) talking.

Bellwether Farms ricotta fritters with saffron honey (7). I'm a huge fan of ricotta, so having them with a bit of honey was fantastic.

Dashi marinated yellowtail with avocado, hash brown and tonburi (15). The hash brown was a bit awkward in the dish, as the yellowtail and avocado has more of that citrus taste. Take away the hash brown, and this was a pretty good dish.

Beef lengua (tongue) and chorizo croquette with harissa. I didn't expect the tongue to be diced up so small but the flavor was still there. Subtle, but there.

Crispy bone marrow with lentil salad. Airy and light, I didn't even know I was tasting bone marrow! Pretty fun to try.

Rose (8) and Proseco (12)to start the festivities!

Marinated anchovies with piquillo pepper. I'm not a fan of anchovies, but I tried this anyway. The marinade was good; so were the peppers. This has a very anchovy taste which overpowered everything else...so if you like that, this is right up your alley.

Squash blossoms with ricotta and prosciutto. Basically a squash tempura filled with ricotta. The batter was very delicate and light, which gave me more of the squash and ricotta flavor. I didn't taste any prosciutto though.

Hand-torn pasta with fried egg and herbs. The pasta was really delicious. I don't know what kind of sauce they used (actually I shouldn't use sauce, more of a drizzle of something but I want to know so I can make it!

I very rarely eat lamb (not a fan of gamey meat in general), but the taste wasn't overwhelmingly gamey. Very moist and tender.

Butterscotch pudding with pine nut cookie (8). I didn't have any of the cookie but the pudding was really delicious. A hint of salt and a slight bitter aftertaste counters the sweetness and richness of butterscotch. I was worried it would be too heavy, but it was a very light pudding.

The first rice pudding (9) I actually enjoyed. Light, airy and subtle, the hazelnut on top of the pudding, as well as the caramel and cream in the other two dishes, really elevated this dish.

Lazy Ox Canteen
241 S San Pedro St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Hironoya [Gardena, CA]

Let's start the new year off right with an awkward thumbs up photo and proof that I am, indeed, a glutton.

Hironoya just opened up in the Tozai Plaza in Gardena, right next to Lee's Tofu. The restaurant is so new that a huge yellow banner with "GRAND OPENING" still adorns the outside. The place is unassuming--the small restaurant sign is affixed right next to the entrance--with very little decoration. The servers were all friendly and ever smiling, and the main man behind the sashimi counter (who is also the owner) both greeted and bid us adieu.

The clientele is mainly Japanese, which is always a good sign.

Since I went with two other friends, I was able to sample a lot more than I usually could. We went there for lunch, so there were four lunch options, as well as the regular menu, the sushi menu, and a sashimi menu.

We chose the Hironoya Bento Box ($14.95), which comes with an assortment of really fresh sashimi, grilled fish, shrimp and veggie tempura, a sample of simmered summer vegetables and rice. The grilled fish was nicely done--not dry and with enough flavor that it didn't overpower the actual fish. Usually I'm okay with tempura, it's not something I need or crave. The tempura here had a very light batter and it wasn't oily, so I was pretty impressed with that. The sashimi--as well as our a la carte order of the hamachi (yellowtail; $7.95)--was really great. Since it was super fresh, it had a great taste (good descriptions, Vivian).

Close up of the grilled fish.

The sashimi that came with our bento box as well as our side order of hamachi.

We also ordered the tempura udon, which came with a side of eel rice--both good ($12.95). What I like about Hironoya is that the flavors are subtle with a lot of ~depth~ and you're not always going "I wish it was more salty/less salty/more, etc" which is always a great sign. The chicken katsu was also one of the better ones I've had. It wasn't dry, like many I have encountered, and like the tempura, the batter was not heavy. In the battle ratio of batter:chicken, chicken wins!

The place is a bit pricier than normal (although lunch prices are decent), but it's worth it for well made, really fresh Japanese fare. I'm definitely going again.

Hironoya
1745 W Redondo Beach Blvd
Gardena, CA 90247

Tijuana [Part 1]

I've come to the conclusion that, even though Bill Esparza may think I have "blogger chops" when it comes to eating, I am not so cut out for the actual blogging thing. But it doesn't feel right to bow out without first posting about Tijuana.

I started reading Bill's blog, Street Gourmet LA, early this year. It quickly became my favorite LA food blog, partly because it was about delicious, fast, cheap food, but also because Bill writes about culture as well as food. His posts on restaurants in Mexico and Latin America didn't just make me hungry, they made me want to travel.

So when Abby of Pleasure Palate gave me an opportunity to join her in Tijuana on a weekend food tour organized by Bill, I jumped on that chance like Vivian on Totoro merchandise. It turned out to be an amazing weekend, with so much good food I can hardly believe it. See for yourself!

First stop: Tacos El Franc, home of some freaking delicious pork adobada/al pastor. I'm sorry, did you want to look a little more closely at that?

Yeah. This trip was going to be awesome. I spent whole minutes just staring at the spit. And the pork tasted as good as it looks. Juicy, flavorful, with an amazing char on the outside.

I had three items here: an al pastor taco, a cabeza taco, and a mulita, which is somewhere between a quesadilla and a taco. That is to say, it's awesome.

Before dinner, we stopped at La Diferencia for tamarind margaritas. I'm not much of a mixed drinks person, but these were insanely good. Not overly sweet and perfectly tart.

For dinner, we were headed to Tacos Salceados. I'd read about it on Bill's blog. In fact, that post was likely what convinced me to sign up for the trip in the first place. Let me show you why.

Behold: the quesataco.

Yes, that is a corn tortilla with fried cheese wrapped around the filling of your choice, and topped with fresh avocado, cream, and salsa. If you are anything like me, your reaction to this is that the quesataco sounds like the best idea ever, and you are wondering how soon you will be able to try such a magnificent concoction. It is indeed glorious. I had three of these bad boys: a New York steak and scallop quesataco, a shrimp quesataco, and a sweet quesataco. I do not recommend three quesatacos for the faint-of-belly. They are massive, and also topped with fried cheese, in case you forgot. Only those with unreasonable appetites like me should attempt such a thing.

I was able to snag a seat at the counter, where I could observe both the preparation of the food and the chicas in our group flirting brazenly with the cute taquero in the black shirt. One thing that is immediately evident from watching these guys is the amount of dedication and care that goes into this preparation. That turned out to be a theme at each place we visited, and it really seems to have made a difference. Each filling was paired with two or three excellent salsas. Even the condiments were impressive. I wish every meal came with complimentary plates of grilled pickled onions and fresh cucumber topped with cream.

The escabeche in particular was superb, delicately seasoned with herbs and locally produced olive oil. It could have been an afterthought. With such great tacos, who would blame Tacos Salceados for having mediocre escabeche? But this too was prepared with great care. It's one of many simple things which captures how great the trip was.

Stay tuned for chilied shrimp tacos, aguachile, tortas, and other incredibly delicious things!

Shake Shack [[Flatiron District, NYC]]

I finally made my way to Shake Shack this past Sunday, after being thwarted twice this past month (mostly, my friends and I decided to meet somewhere else for dinner). I thought the line was long but apparently it sometimes goes around the park and outside, too. While waiting for 45 minutes, I thought about hype versus genuinely good food. The wait is the same (long, very crowded), the reviews are all favorable. So instead of doing school work, I braved the sun and the people for my chance to try this beloved New York burger.

Since the menu is on the side, if you don't already know what you want you'll have to quickly scramble over before placing your order. Luckily for you, I took a photo, complete with prices. These don't include special custards or milkshake flavors, nor does it give descriptions but it's a nice heads up:

I ordered the Shake Stack, which was a beef patty (they didn't ask me how I much I wanted the beef to cook, but thankfully it was medium), a fried portobello mushroom melted together with gruyère cheese, tomato and lettuce and American cheese. The buns were toasted, which I'm always in favor of.

Two things to note: 1. It is quite expensive since it doesn't even come with fries or anything and I will definitely not make this place a habit; 2. It is quite small. It fits in my hand. I mean, I wolfed it down as ladylike as possible (oxymoron) under 5 minutes. Weirdly, the last few bites were super salty, but I think that's because the bun has probably been soaked by the cheeses and oil.

I also ordered a black and white milkshake, which is basically half chocolate and half vanilla. The shake was pretty creamy and SUPER rich. I was actually thirsty afterward, that's how rich it was.

Overall, the patty itself is nothing too special although I did enjoy the fried portobello mushroom and gruyère cheese together. The wait is way too long if I'm hungry (i.e. impatient and cranky) and too expensive to make it any more than a treat.

If you do just want a lemonade or something, there is a "B" line so you can avoid those New Yorkers hankering for the meatier stuff. They also offer hot dogs and crinkle cut fries, but I already spent $14 on lunch and was like...um no, I ain't made of money!

P.S. I don't know why these photos are uploaded blurry. They shouldn't be! But if you click on the photo, it will direct you to the original in all it's SLR glory.

Shake Shack in Madison Square Park
E 23rd St & Madison Ave New York, NY 10010

Yakitori Taisho [East Village, NY]

I decided on a lark that for dinner, I would walk on St. Marks and find a Japanese place that looked good--on menu at least. My roommate, neighbor, and I decided to enter Yakitori Taisho, a small and narrow little place brimming with people. Lots of people on a Tuesday night? That should already be a good indication, no? Luckily, we didn't have to wait.

The menu has a lot of yakitori options, but nothing will compare to Shin Shen Gumi in terms of diversity. In addition to yakitori, there were ramen and yakisoba dishes, some rice dishes, and a lot of tapas. We decided not to share any of the tapas which is probably a good call because I would have ordered EVERYTHING, running up the bill.

I did have a hankering for some ramen, but decided that I wouldn't try any ramen until I went to Ippudo. So instead, I ordered 1 skewer of: tsukune (chicken meatballs), gyutan (beef tongue), butabara (pork), yakitori (chicken), and 2 orders of tebasaki (chicken wings). They came on a bed of chopped cabbage, which was odd because I was expecting them to come on a plate with marinade. The marinade was at the bottom of the plate, but very watered down.

My favorites were the gyutan and butabara: both were flavorful and very tender. I wish I ordered more of these. The chicken was also good (thigh meat) but I was surprised it didn't come with some chopped scallions or onions. My least favorites had to be the tebasaki chicken wings and the tsukune. The tsukune was not very flavorful and it lacked the depth that I am used to at other yakitori places. The tebasaki was burnt in places, and not very meaty. Usually I see them cooked as fatty chicken wings but these were very lean and offered very little to munch on.

My neighbor, Kurtis, ordered a rice bowl that came with a few skewers and some kimchi. He agreed that the tsukune was average, although he didn't react as strongly as I did to the taste. Since I couldn't even finish the meatballs, I gave him the rest of mine.

He got the memo that this is an awkward eats blog.

My roommate Sadie was hankering for some noodles and although there were a handful of choices, she ordered a staple. Yakisoba with sliced pork and garnished with fish flakes. Judging that she finished the entire dish, I assume she was happy with it.

Overall, I am still on the lookout for a yakitori place that will blow Shin Shen Gumi out of the water. There are some gems at this place, especially ones I want to try next time like the salmon cream yakisoba. The prices are decent ($1.75-2.75/skewer, dishes range from $6-15+) although I wish the tapas were just a tad bit less expensive (a plate of 5 takoyaki for example was $6).

Yakitori Taisho
5 St Marks Pl
NYC, NY 10003
(212) 228-5086

Simple lunch

I have a few posts brewing about NY eats but I just want to preface/post this entry first to tell you that I rarely go out to eat. It's expensive, I'm lazy and a homebody, and I can control my portions at home.

This is a meal that I make that is very versatile. You can exchange the beef for another protein (I also added tofu for heartier fare), you can add veggies, and you can make do without tomato sauce and eat it with rice (which I will also do).

I cooked three portions: one for lunch today, one for a meal some other time (also with pasta and sauce), and one without sauce to eat with rice.

Ingredients
(note: Since I just eyeball everything, the measurements are definitely not professional)

• Olive oil, salt, savory spices (I used Trader Joe's 21 Spice Salute)--to your liking
• Half an onion, diced or sliced--depending on your preference
• Ground beef--however much you want. I added more than I would eat because I was making three meals!
• Chopped tofu
• Pasta of your choice (I used fusili)
• Store-bought tomato sauce (I used Prego's Roasted garlic and Parmesan sauce to make it more flavorful and fragrant).
  

Directions:
1. Heat up pan and drizzle olive oil. In the meantime, chop onions and boil water for pasta. When the pan is hot, cook the onions until they are slightly brown (sprinkle some salt and seasoning).

2. While the onion is cooking, make little balls from the beef. Add these to the pan (Again, sprinkle some salt).

3. Add sliced tofu to the pan, mix gently.

4. When everything is cooked, you can either remove from heat and eat as is (with rice, optional) or keep it on the stove and add a little bit of tomato sauce to the pan. Stir until everything is coated.

For another meal!
5. Add cooked pasta and stir until your pasta is completely covered with sauce.

6. Add a side of salad or garlic bread if you choose.