Loteria, Farmer’s Market, Los Angeles California

Tacos are something I really enjoy but don’t think of as being very versatile. I am a midwestern boy and tacos are filled with ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and salsa. I have started to revise my view on this through such chefs as Rick Bayless, and now I have one half of my LA hosts to thank for broadening my view of the ubiquitous taco. Stephanie and I went out shopping at the Farmer’s Market and in Beverly Hills while Ian and Aaron went to the studio to record some drums for a film score Aaron is working on. We strolled leisurely around the market taking in the sights and sounds of a truly great open-air public farmer’s market, the kind I wish we had in Dayton, and really enjoyed ourselves. There are shops covering a lot of geography and even more culinary ground, I was in heaven.

Stephanie informed me, “You have to eat at Loteria, they have the most amazing tacos!” To be honest I was not really in the mood for tacos given my perception but I was willing to give it a go. When a Guatemalan girl says, “Eat a taco here, they are great” you do as your told. And so we ordered. I ordered three different tacos, as I wanted a well-rounded view of this little taco stand. I got the chicken and chorizo (not surprisingly), the braised shredded beef, and on Steph’s suggestion, the potato and goat cheese. To drink I ordered horchata a Mexican rice drink, similar to a milk shake. The beef taco was about what I expected, tender and rich, with a fair amount of chipotle heat, the chicken taco was also braised and was aided in flavor by the addition of chorizo which was really tasty. I will say that I have eaten a lot of chorizo in my life and a lot on this trip and LA certainly has the finest chorizo I’ve ever had and some of the best Latin American food I’ve ever had outside of Latin America. Lastly, we come to the potato taco. I was hesitant about this and if Steph had not intervened in my order I never would have had this wonderful experience. The potatoes were cooked just to the point if being mash-able then they were dressed with fresh cilantro and lime. The whole thing was topped with a mild and salty goat’s cheese that added some much needed salt, fat, texture, and dimension to the taste of this little wonder. All of these tacos were wrapped up in housemade corn tortillas hot off the grill. I am in love with this taco stand. I demand a Dayton outpost of Loteria soon be opened adjacent to or in conjunction with Mexi-Hole!

Shopping, tacos, food porn at the Farmer’s Market, Ralph Lauren in Beverly Hills, all made this day great and it was certainly a high water mark for the whole trip! Ten out of ten!

Churro Cart, Santa Monica California

Hey kids check it out huge churros on the Santa Monica pier! You gotta be careful that the seagulls don't snatch up your tasty snack. Churros are the perfect thing to keep you going when traffic and lame tourists get you down, plus they are a nice way to tide you over till you scarf down Pink's Hotdogs. Sugary, cinnamony, deliciousness!

Fogo de Chao, Beverly Hills

The Brazilian steakhouse concept is not one that is used very often in restaurants mainly because of the high cost of operating an establishment like this and the market to which you are appealing is a small niche of the whole restaurant going public. The concept is that you are given a coin one side is green for go and one side red for stop. Roaming carvers or gauchos (the Brazilian word for cowboys) walk around with fourteen different meats on spits and carve freshly roasted meat onto your plate. In addition to every type of meat imaginable they have a phenomenal salad bar.

Ian, Stephanie, Aaron, and I went to Fogo de Chao yesterday for lunch. Let me say that this was a hell of a meal to eat in the middle of the day, so much so that it essentially rendered us useless for the remainder of the afternoon and well into the evening. First I was in awe of the Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches we passed to get to our Hollywood lunch spot. Next I was struck by the fantastically appointed dining room. Deep rich wood tones, Frank Lloyd Wright style glass, and lush carpet abounds. Our server, who was excellent, suggested that we start with the salad bar then move onto the main event. Salad bar offerings include marinated olives, asparagus, artichokes, and mushrooms, roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella, salad greens, antipasto items such as Prosciutto, salami, Manchego cheese, and several balsamic vinegars and olive oils to choose from. To be honest I could have made a whole meal out of this wonderful spread, I would have been happy and probably would have eaten too much of this as well. But then came the meat…

Fourteen different meats are walked around the dining room by the gauchos for your carnivorous pleasure. Here is a short list of offerings I remember: Linguica sausage, ancho rubbed ribeye, pork ribs, beef ribs, leg of lamb, lamb chops, bacon wrapped filet mignon, bacon wrapped chicken thighs, garlic flavored sirloin, and bottom sirloin. The sheer amount of meat that was continually heaped on my plate regardless of my coin facing red side up was ridiculous. The true standouts here were all the pork items especially the Linguica sausage. Also the ancho rubbed ribeye was really excellent, smoky and spicy but rich and full of fatty ribeye flavor. I would like to say that I conquered Fogo de Chao, that I fought the good fight, but I have to say this restaurant defeated me. I ate and ate and I wanted so badly to eat all fourteen meats but I am afraid that I simply couldn’t do it. The meat bested me, there was too much for me to experience all of it.

The service here was really attentive and warm. Our waiter had a sense of humor without being too familiar. He tended to our every need with out being too pushy or hovering around our table. I think it also helped that the gauchos were there about every five minutes to carve so that if our server was not around they were able to get a clean plate or pick up a dropped fork. This was a very decadent meal, especially for lunch. I can’t see eating at a place like this more than a few times a year. I had a really great time with my dining companions and the meat was delicious! Nine out of ten (mainly because I ate so much I was sick until the next morning!)

That mouse can make some coffee!

I visited Disneyland for the first time yesterday and I have to say that Mickey can brew a mean cup of java! Sure it cost three dollars but it was the best thing to take on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and if you keep your receipt that mouse will fill your cup all day long. Viva caffeine!

Airport Sushi in Atlanta? One Flew South!

Let’s face it airport food courts are not exactly the place to find haute cuisine. A meal at an airport usually involves a fruit cup with under-ripe cantaloupe, a soft pretzel with fluorescent orange cheese sauce, and a six-dollar bottle of water. On our way to Los Angeles Ian and I happened upon an Asian-American bistro called One Flew South in the Atlanta airport.

The first departure (pun intended) from your traditional airport food was an actual dining room with a hostess and servers. Not the usual carry your food on a tray and bus your own table type setup. Next surprisingly was our server, Sopee. She was pleasant, knowledgeable, and efficient. The menu, which I have included here, is very well put together and was a nice break in an otherwise long and bizarre travel situation. http://www.oneflewsouthatl.com/foodanddrink.html

So we ordered the braised pork belly sandwich and the Kobe beef burger. Kobe beef in an airport! The pork sandwich was excellent! Pork belly braised slowly in rice wine and seasoned with Asian spices was succulent, rich, and juicy. The pork was heaped on toasted foccacia bread and topped with in-house pickled jalapenos, and fresh avocado. The sandwich was served with a rich dark mole and an asparagus cheese sauce for dipping as well as a portion of Napa cabbage slaw. The two sauces were out of this world. I am a sucker for a good mole and this was it. Deep chocolate flavor, bitter, sweet, and then just enough spice at the end. I have never considered mole a sauce to use for a sandwich. Mole is something that usually is used as a means of braising tougher cuts of meat like pork shoulder or chicken thighs. It was used here masterfully. Ian ordered the Kobe beef burger, which has sautéed shiitake mushrooms and creamy goat cheese on it. The burger was cooked to a beautiful medium and accompanied by a heap of five-spice seasoned fries. Ian loved the burger and wolfed it down. He turned his nose up at the fries claiming, “a bad experience with seasoned fries in the past” so I was only too willing to help him out.

This meal was an oasis, everything from the service, to the gorgeous dining room, to the wonderful food was a complete surprise and not at all what you would expect from a food court. Well done One Flew South, ten out of ten!