Roach Coaches Evolved: The Lobsta Truck

Not a place I had originally planned on visiting but Sol brought it up.  And since I'm about to get hitched I figured I'd better start listening now.  That, and it sounded freaking good after doing some research.  Yes, it's true I research places to eat sometimes.  So what did I find out, they fly lobster (click previous link for more info about the lobster truck) in from Maine almost daily.  It brought me back to a memory when I saw people eating fresh caught lobster in Maine for super cheap.  It was on the Travel Channel or the Food Channel, you know one of those shows.   Sounds good right?  The funny thing is I'm not a big lobster buff like my lady.  BUT the idea of eating something fresh really gets me all hot and bothered.  So, off we went.

Saturday morning we woke up and checked facebook.  That or twitter is how you find out where the Lobsta' Truck is going to be, kinda' new age techy right?  It was about 5 miles away on Melrose Ave.  Didn't take us too long to get there, thank god, after the traffic the night before on our way to Mozza I was dreading it.

 
I drove right by it, I was expecting a giant red food truck.  What I found was three big trucks parked in line as if it was the new restaurant row.  A new fad that I had yet to discover.  I was a little disappointed that I was behind the times but also very excited that there was something new and exciting that I could explore.  Ssomething that didn't take dressing up, a 3 hour dinner, and $300.  On to the Lobsta' baby.

We arrived at the truck and the line only seemed to be maybe 8 people long.  I was relieved, I thought it might be anywhere from 20-40 people long after seeing all of the comments and press it had recently received.  I hate lines and I hate waiting.  Unfortunately my perception did not meet my reality, the line moved slow.   Once we ordered that process was even longer.  Apparently some cow ordered a bunch of Lobsta Rolls and more clam Chowda.  It wasn't just that they were slow.

Above you see the extensive menu of entrees.  They do only a few things and they do it well.  Unfortunately they were out of crab that day so we had our choice of a Lobsta Roll or Clam Chowder.  We made it a little interesting by getting two Lobsta Rolls one with butter and one with Mayo. 

 Finally they called us, bliss.  We pulled our food out of the window from the guy hunched over in the truck.  Added some salt and peppa and walked away with a smile on my face.  We settled into our proper table and chairs, the curb and our laps and took a bite.  The lobster was cold and the bun was warm and lightly toasted.  What I tasted was the freshest lobster I have ever had.  Soft and suculant, lightly buttered and seasoned.  I hope the picture depicts what it was.  Because it was wonderful, Sol is even sitting here trying to bite my toes because she thinks they are lumps of Lobsta.  Seriously, though, awesomeness.  The butter was better than the mayo.  I think the mayo masked the freshness a little much, but that one was still good.  The soup was a little watery, but flavor wasn't bad.  Overall this was a very pleasant experience and when in LA next time i will definetly go a little out of my way for this.

I hope the Lobsta Truck comes to San Diego soon because I will be there waiting in line again. 

Osteria Mozza - "the Mozzerella Tavern"

We arrived to LA, no traffic, wow.  Spoke to soon, shit.  We left 40 minutes early to get to Iron Chef's Mario Batali's Osteria Mozza.  We arrived 50 minutes later, it was 5 miles away.  Yes, I am serious.  After our relaxing drive we walked in, thank god it was worth it.  I felt like we walked into a hot spot in NYC, it had been open for about 10 minutes and it was already filling up.  Then I looked outside and saw a Chevron and a 7-11 and remembered we were in LA.  We knew we were going to sit at the bar until the greeter asked us which one, huh?  She asked if we wanted to sit at the Mozzarella Bar or Amaro Bar.  What's the difference we asked?  She said at the Mozzarella Bar we could watch people make food and at the Amaro bar we could watch them make drinks.  Which do you think we chose?

We took our seat at the Mozzarella Bar, since the name of this place translated is: Mozzarella Tavern.  The bar top was littered with little Italian trinkets and small bowls with spices and herbs.  There were girls dressed as chefs and maids behind the bar working away.  But the difference between a real bar and this one was that we had a server not a bartender.   We were in quite the hurry but we were determined to enjoy ourselves in the hour or so we had.  Everything was in Italian so I kind of had to trust the waiter when making our first two appetizer selections.  First thing I asked was what is the Affettati misti with gnocco fritto .  He said it was cured meat, one of my favorites. 

The white stuff in the bottom left is Lardo, a type of salume (Italian charcuterie) made by curing strips of fatback with rosemary and other herbs and spices.  Top left Prociutto di San Danielle, bottom right Copa, top right a salame.  The gnocco frito (fried dumpling) the pillow in the middle that I melted some lardo on is basically some fried salty puff pastry.  There were probably about 6-8 of these I just put one on the plate for pictures sake.  But it's completely hollow and very different than the typical bread that comes with salumi plates.

Next, I asked what the best Burrata was as there were multiple selection on the antipasti menu.  Burrata is a form of mozzarella, too long to explain.  But creamy goodness is what it really is.    The server said the one with the Bacon was the best, and knowing that anything with bacon is fantastic, I said bring it on.  So we got the Burrata with bacon, marinated escarole (endive) & caramelized shallots.  It was a bruschetta of sorts, the shallots were caramelized in a balsamic reduction which was rich and flavorful.  It had contrasting flavors that melded together.  It was like a rave (one of the wild parties that go on all night with glow sticks and ecstasy), a rave in my mouth. 

Next was the pasta, we didn't really have time BUT I couldn't leave this Italian wonderland without having some pasta. So, we had something traditional, but something neither Sol or I had ever tasted. It was something we saw on No Reservations (Anthony Bourdain) and couldn't wait to try.  It was Bucatini alla Amatriciana.  The pasta looked like spaghetti but was a little thicker.  It was al dente for sho!  Sol said that pasta is cooked that way because its healthier.  I don't know, let me go look it up real quick. My dictionary Wikipedia doesn't say anything about that, I'm all ears if any of you agree!  I'm prepared to say this was the best pasta dish I have ever had. 

This is a split portion

It had some guanciale-cured pork cheek, which I didn't know was going to be in there but am so glad it was.  The sauce was red and a bit spicy, and the al dente pasta was damn good.  There was Pecorino cheese grated over top.  Honestly it was so good I didn't stop to enjoy the true depth of this dish.  I have to say if you live in LA, you'd better get here.  If you don't live in LA make it a spot to check out when you visit, its located in Hollywood.

Service was fantastic, even though the waiter didn't really have much common sense at times.  We told him we had somewhere to be and he took care of everything very quickly.  He had great recommendations, and was very knowledgeable. 

Hope you get here soon my friends.  Eat Well.

And-Here-We-Go

So kind of a weird feeling right now, I'm going to LA and super excited, I've probably been there 100 times, but this is in fact, my first trip as an adult.  I've been there with my Dad when I was little and he paid, I've been there with the frat in college when no one wanted to pay but now I go as an adult, choosing what we get to do and where to eat and I get to pay.  Ohhhhh and where to eat...we'll get to that.  But it should be a fun weekend.  The start to my 8 days off, whoo-hoo!!!)  Sol's taking a half day and we're going to try, to beat the traffic, try.  Then checking into our hotel in Hollywood.

From there we'll go to the Pantry, a childhood favorite of mine and my dads, and his parents too, and it will be my kids favorite too! Whether they like it or not, lol.  Then mine and Sol's first Laker game!!!  Tomorrow we'll hit the Lobsta' Truck and Pink's Hot Dog Stand and STK, yes we are going to STK in LA!  For those of you that remember the one in NYC we are going back for an encore.  We'll probably do some sight seeing and walking around and who knows maybe we'll run into some of the girls from the Hills....lol

I look forward to writing some blogs after the weekends over.

Eat Well my friends, if its some place good, then lemme' know!

Flaming Moe & the End of the World

Tonight wanting some good beer, I swung by the house and picked up Sol.  We headed over to Ralph's and I stood in front of the beer section for 5-10 minutes, back and forth, this one or that one...  Lots of Stone, saw a New IPA from Widmer that I tried the other day called Dead Lift that's pretty good (I tried it at Stadium Sports Bar).  I also saw a new brand called Moe's Backroom from Wisconsin.  Very intriguing since I am a huge Simpson's fan, hehehe. Who didn't want a flaming Moe????   I finally landed on Stone Levitation Ale, a beer i'd tried at the Brewery but didn't remember too much and "La Fin du Monde" also known as the End of the World....oohhhhhhhh yea you know this is about to get good!

I digress to Moe's Backroom for a minute, once I got home I checked it out on Beer Advocate, widely known for rating beers, gave them a "C' on two different types of beer.  However, since I like to formulate my own opinions I might give it a try anyways.  Even though nothing good ever came from Wisconsin...nudge*nudge*

I will start with  Stone, a brewing company that's gained quite a bit of popularity over the last 5 years.  After working in the industry in San Diego for almost 6 months now it has come to my attention that there are TONS of breweries here in San Diego, Stone just happens to be one of the largest and biggest distributors.  Basically, they're damn good business people.  But if you go into the right pub or store you can find an abundance of GREAT San Diego beer, I'm talking 20+.  It amazes me how the craft beer business has taken off over the last few years.  I lllllove it!  Anyways, if you want to know about the Levitation Ale, it was good, not too hoppy but it definitely could stand up to some spicy food or some good short ribs.  Sorry if I wasn't too descriptive but it's Stone, it's a go to beer.  For those of you outside of Cali, that only have access to Stone Pale Ale and Stone IPA, sucks to be you.

On to the End of the World... 

Made by Unibroue, not Uni-brow, pronounced... shit I don't know how its pronounced, I couldn't even find it on the Internet, if you can speak french I think it's french.  This beer is Canadian.  Characterized as a Belgian Strong Ale this beer packs a punch.  Judging from the look of it you would never know it's a whopping 9%.  Here's a beer secret, the color of the beer has nothing to do with the alcohol content, though many times there is a correlation, it's not a rule.  The bottle you might be able to read says triple fermentation.  What does that mean you ask?  It means they get rid of all the bad stuff 3 times and kept all the good stuff.  Click on the link above if you want a more scientific answer.  If you take a big drink of this and let it fill your mouth it makes everything tingle.  Or maybe its the Habanero jam I'm eating...at any rate this 25 oz bottle of beer was $7.99, yes people good beer costs money just like good wine.  Not a very well known beer this is a winner in my eyes.
 
Hope you guys enjoyed, PEACE!

Smashburger

I went to Smashburger not to long ago with Sol.  There was one in Del Mar that we strolled on down to.  I was stoked to go because in Dallas there was one that was always talked about, so I figured it had to be good.  I was wrong.  Two days later I had the bacon-ater from Wendy's that was better than that.  And further more the Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl's Jr trumped both of those.  So really, how good was it?  Not that great...The only good news is that there was an ice cream place next door that had root beer ice cream - tasted like a root beer float!  With out the Root beer!

Kitchen 1540

Last night me and Sol went to visit our first wedding photographer. She wanted to meet at L'Aberege (Luh-Bearj) Del Mar, a boutique hotel right on the coast. Since I've been back in Cali I've heard about this place from a few people, so I was pretty excited. We met in the lobby/lounge which was very white. I felt like I was in a huge beach house in South Carolina, very cool atmosphere. You knew you were a nice place but it wasn't stuffy at all. After our meeting (we really liked the photographer for those of you wondering) we decided to try out the restaurant, Kitchen 1540.

We walked into the to a sleek modern restaurant with again lots of white and some orange accents. We started with a glass of champagne, I guess to celebrate something, though I'm not sure what it was we were celebrating. Just being happy I guess.

Sol started with Egg & Bacon app with house made pancetta, 62 degree egg, brioche, & smoked ketchup. What is a 62 degree egg you ask? Well, let me tell you. According to the chef it is when the outside of the egg is cooked and the inside is not runny, but still velvety and soft. The bacon was a thick tender cut - so good with the egg yoke. The whole dish was kind of set up like a Benedict but overall, very well put together and quite tasty I might say.

Sorry it's off center, super dark and it was my camera phone!

For my app I went with one of my favorites, Scallops or Scollops as Chef Gordon Ramsey says. It had popcorn puree, candied almonds, salted caramel, nasturtium. What's that last word and how do you pronounce it? Well to be honest I forgot to ask, but I just looked it up and its basically the scientific name for watercress. It sounds like an interesting dish right? It was amazing, it had some fresh popcorn that went well with the Carmel. Great texture. The diver scallops were huge! They were cooked so perfectly, a light sear on the outside and sooooo tender in the middle.

Yes, that's popcorn.

We ordered our next glass of wine, Sol a Pinot Noir and I was leaning toward a merlot/malbec but the server correctly steered me the right direction of a great Cabernet.  She did everything right, it was higher priced and it was the correct pairing.  I haven't mentioned the service yet but it was definitely spot on.  The hostess knew the menu, the server seemed like she was a cook in the kitchen she knew so much.  She had great things to say about what we ordered was VERY knowledgeable about the entire menu.

And the entree's arrived....

I ordered Natural Beef Tenderloin  (Filet Mignon) with Smoked Potato Croquettes, green beans (and white), lobster mushrooms, Roasted Tomato-Cabernet Reduction.  It was great, the steak perfectly cooked.  I used the croquettes  to sop up the sauce.  The veggies which I self admittedly am not a fan of were damn good.  Overall I loved it. 

Sol ordered  a Braised Pork Shoulder.    It was very tender, the server said it had been braised for 7 days.  The little shell looking things on the side is gnocchi.  Soft but firm.  This dish definitely had a lot going on but it all melded together well.  I would mos def order this one next time.

All in all we had a terrific visit, no issues what so ever.  Food was great no glitches in the service.  Ambiance was outstanding.  And the hotel was different than anywhere I've even been before.  If I could afford it I would spend the night just because.  If you have a special someone, this is a great place to take them.  With each item you order it keeps you on the edge of your seat.  I can't wait to go back.

George's at the Cove, La Jolla

Here we go finally a place worth blogging about!  Wanting to go out to eat somewhere nice we were contemplating where to go, Encinitas, Del Mar, La Jolla, San Diego?  We settled on La Jolla and went to George's at the Cove.  During restaurant week this place caught my eye, but working nights I didn't have a chance to go.  Not wanting to "sit down" for dinner we went over to the bar.  This place has 3 floors, Ocean Terrace & Bistro, the Bar, and California Modern. Each floor had its own way of doing things.

A different concept but cool. 

We started with 2 of our favorite cocktails Sol a Hendrick's and Cucumber Martini and I enjoyed a Sidecar.  Mine was great, i sucked it down pretty fast.  I had a taste of  Sol's, she mentioned that the one at STK in NYC was better.  It was a  little tart and needed to be balanced a but by some bar syrup or Agave.

We started with a Charcuterie.  The Prosciutto (La Quercia) on the Charcuterie platter was probably the best of I have ever had. I'm not sure why, maybe because it was a bit thicker maybe not cured quite as long?  I don't know but it was tasty.  It also came with Pecorino cheese, typically hard and a bit tart.  This one on the other hand was much softer and slightly sweeter.  It's made from sheep's milk, fyi. The plate also came with a mustard fig compote.  It was good but it was chunks of fig with mustard seeds.  I think it could have been a bit better if it were more of a jelly with a bit more mustard.  Still over all a  very good plate of food!

Our other app was what our server called deconstructed bruschetta.  It had grilled bread, and a puree of butternut squash (very fall) and ricotta cheese.  On top of that was some goats cheese.   It was very smooth and a bit nutty.  Kinda tasted like pumpkin but it was super good.  It was very different and I am not sure that I would necessarily call it bruschetta but still, it was inventive.  But...where were the tomatoes?  According to my bible, wikipedia, it says Bruschetta is grilled bread rubbed with garlic, olive oil and can include various array of toppings.

We waited for a little wile before dinner I had a few Ballast Point IPA's (Brewery out of San Diego) and Sol had another a "New fashioned" rather than an Old Fashioned.  Eh.  We finally decided on dinner, and geez louise I have to say this kitchen puts out their food faster than McDonald's.  So when you order you'd better be ready to eat.

Even though we were at a seafood-ish restaurant I was in the mood for some beef.  But I thought better of it and ordered seafood.  Well kind of.  It was Garlic Roasted shrimp with Chorizo & Piquillo Pepper Risotto, roasted fennel and shaved almonds.

A nice looking dish, unfortunately you cant see the piquillo peppers and chorizo but they look exaclty the same.  This is a nice touch that good chefs excecute well.  The almond actually added some very nice crunch to the softness of the risotto.  Unfortunately...the risotto was WAY too soft, over cooked.  And ladies and gentlemen for the first time that I can remember I sent-it-back.  I had to it was in-edible and I might has well have burned money.  So after a while it returned cooked perfectly.  I felt bad but I've watched Hell's Kitchen for a long time and Chef always makes them taste the  risotto before they send it out.  So they either didn't taste it or didn't give a crap that it was over cooked and sent it out anyway.  It was a very well though out dish but it just didn't deliver.  Maybe it was too simple?  I'm used to risotto that's a bit more rich and this didn't have the flavor I was looking for. Oh well, can't win them all.  Risotto can be amazing but it really is hit or miss.

Sol ordered Sesame crusted Tombo, baby bok choy, oyster mushrooms, leek fondue, miso-soy vinaigrette





First of all what the F*&$ is Tombo?  Am I the only one who has never heard of this?  Guess it's a fish, actually its Tuna or albacore.  Who knew?  I just found that out right now so I guess I don't think its so crazy any more.  But why don't they just called it Ahi Tuna like every other place?  Anyways I tried a bit and like mine, it sounded good, it looked good but it just didn't blow me away.  I really wanted to love this place, but all in all it was good, i'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. 

We even wanted dessert, it looked good but decided against it.  I told Sol I think if our Entrees had been better I would have wanted to order one.  But that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

I can't even think of a good conclusion to this blog.  I am either not inspired by this place or I'm rusty.  You decide...