Juliano’s Raw
August 09, 2007
Nina and I went to check out Juliano’s Raw recently. Now, I have never been a big fan of raw foods, but wanted to try it based on the recommendation of a few people. Nina is probably as hardcore a foodie as you’re going to get, so she was pretty excited to check it out.
We started out with some Kale Chips…described on the menu as “Oniony Green cotton candy”. Sounded great to me…unfortunately what arrived was a green, sort of gelatinous leafy substance that was probably one of the more unappetizing looking things I had ever seen. And that was the the high point. One taste, and I had discovered one of the most horrifying tastes to ever pass through my lips. Now, like I said, I am not the biggest fan of raw foods, so I delayed any reaction until Nina had her taste. When I saw the mile-wide grimace and unnaturally distorted eyebrows (a highly rare occurance for anything I’ve ever seen her eat), I knew she agreed. We passed the dish off to the couple sitting next to us, who was monitoring our reactions since we had gotten into a conversation and let them know it was our first time.
For the main entree, i went with the Bacon Western Double burger: Mushroom nut burger w/ macadamia cheese on a sprouted buckwheat bun w/ pickles, tomato, onion, guacamole, heirloom ketchup, mustard & French fries. Sounded pretty tasty….but I’m wary at this point. Again, disappointment at what arrived on the plate: a small meatball sized blob of a burger which didn’t look anything like what was on the menu, on top of some assorted strewn veggies. One bite of the “burger” and I had had enough.
Nina went with the Tom Gyi (Spicy coconut cream in a brew of lemongrass, lime leaf, galangal, mango, chives, mushrooms, chopped almonds.) and the Blood drink. I’ve seen Nina eat things like balut, instestine, and various other things that scared me, but she also found it impossible to finish her meal.
There were a lot fo words floating around my mind at this point…ridiculous, overpriced, pretentious were a few. Tiny, tiny portions for an over-inflated price for food we couldn’t stand. We couldn’t wait for our waitress to bring our check and get out. As soon as we stepped one foot outside the door, we both shot each other a look, and took of running for the car, headed for some real food. While we were discussing our expereince, Nina came out with the line to sum it all up:
“I’d rather live happy than die miserable”.
Posted by Rich Rodecker at 1:10pm
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LUSH Pomegranate Juice (Cocktail)
August 09, 2007
While wondering through my new local Farmer’s Market in Larchmont Village last weekend I came across LUSH Pomegranate Juice. Eureka! I’ve been trying to find real pomegranate juice that: wasn’t from concentrate, didn’t have any other juices added and didn’t have any added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Go ahead, next time your at the store, take a minute and actually read the labels of what’s in all those juices. It’s scary. LUSH is just pomegranate juice, water and potassium sorbate. It’s $5 for a liter, market special of 6 bottles for $25.
I was inspired that night and put together this little cocktail:
- 2 oz. Pomegranate juice
- 2 oz. (Belvedere) vodka
- 1 oz. Cointreau
- 1/2 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 oz. simple syrup
(Simple syrup is just a mixture of sugar and water. I keep some handy in a glass jar in the fridge.) Feel free to play with the amounts, I did; the measurements above are close though. Mix ingredients together in a shaker with ice, pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist. Repeat as necessary. Enjoy.
Posted by Frank Rust at 4:01am
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Blue Tea
March 31, 2007
I first tried Blue Tea at the Vital T Leaf in Seattle and loved it instantly. Blue Tea is actually a green tea, and a good source of polyphenols and antioxidants. It’s slightly bitter and sweet at first, and I get hints of smoke and tobacco as well. You can get it online at Vital T Leaf—a best seller.
Posted by Frank Rust at 4:29pm
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Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
March 31, 2007
A friend got some Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (Original Schlenkerla Smokebeer) for us to have with some smoked pork chops (from George’s Market, of course.) Wow, easily one of the most unusual beers I’ve had, but it pairs well with smoked meat. It’s malty and sweet with a real strong Hickory smoke flavor. This one’s for sipping, maybe on a cold day around a campfire or cook out. It’s made in Bamberg, a town in Bavaria, Germany.
Posted by Frank Rust at 1:18pm
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George’s Market
March 23, 2007
As luck would have it, Rachel and I pulled over in Calimesa, CA to get something to eat on our way to Palm Springs, that’s how we discovered George’s Market (German Style Specialties). George is the butcher extraordinaire and the shelves of his market are lined with thousands of imported goods from Germany. I’m not kidding, anything and everything you can imagine (and some things you can’t) are all here: meat, bread, sauerkraut, pickles, chocolates, candies, drinks, jams, desserts, cheeses, mustards, wine and beer—yes beer. (I’ll get to that in a bit.)
The first thing that struck us when we got inside was the crowd; the place was packed! Not only that, but several people came right up to us and told us their favorites that we absolutely, “had to get.”
I’m not joking, one man told us, “George’s bacon is the best! You have to try it. I brought it on my last camping trip and people were still talking about it on the way home.” Another said we had to get the Rye Bread while we could. “It’s delivered fresh twice a week and it always sells out.” They weren’t kidding either, it sold out before we could get to it. Someone told us we had to try the Smoked Pork Chops—which we did. “They’re the best, they will spoil you.” I can honestly say, I’ve had them, and they will.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the refrigerators along the back wall are stocked with hundreds of amazing German and Belgian beers. This is my Valhalla!
My litmus test for German beer is Weltenburger. This beer is from the oldest monastery brewery in the world, established in 1050. Yes, you read that right—1050—and I can never find it. When I see it, I stock up. Not only did George carry it, he has more varieties of Weltenburger than I’ve ever seen. I always stock up.
George’s Market has become a mandatory stop for us whenever we head out to Palm Springs now (sometimes we even stock up on our way back.)
George’s Market
1023 Calimesa Blvd, Calimesa, CA 92320
(909) 795-5320
Posted by Frank Rust at 6:55pm
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Ocean Seafood Dim Sum
March 22, 2007
A bunch of us (finally) got to try the dim sum at Ocean Seafood in Chinatown here in Los Angeles. We’d read all the great reviews and were ready to be blown away. I should preface that I’m from San Francisco, so I’ve had my share of dim sum—both mediocre and great. I was hoping for the later since I don’t make it home as much as I’d like.
There were hits and misses. Let’s start with the hits: the Har Gow (shrimp dumpling) and Char Siu Bao (BBQ pork bun) were both great. The Dow Sa Bow (sweet bean paste bun) and braised duck, not so much. In fact, the duck was served cold and was real fatty. I tried the Dow Sa Bow twice, neither had any bean paste in it.
The selection was kinda bleak too. Generally a steady stream of carts come by with a tempting array of goodies, not here. The same dishes came by again and again, and many never appeared (taro root anyone?) And the service…
Probably the worst service I’ve had in Los Angeles. Trying to end on a high note we asked for more BBQ Pork Buns not once, not twice, not three times—four times! Our party waited an extra 30 minutes. Nada. I finally had to go up to the register to pay the check, no one would come back to our table.
Proceed with caution.
Ocean Seafood
747 N Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90012-2819
Posted by Frank Rust at 1:19pm
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