Sunday, October 14, 2007

Eating with NWA

Why does INK always experiment on herself by requesting the vegetarian meal when she flies overseas? It's a mystery. Rather, she masochistically enjoys the mystery of what she'll get. It's never good, but occasionally it's better than the meat options. That's not saying much.

Delicacheena vacationed abroad this summer, as usual, and tried NWA (sorry, we can't help but giggle when we use the acronym) for the first time. Unfortunately, most airlines think if you're ordering the vegetarian meal you're on a diet and prefer eating artificial chemicals instead of real ingredients. Or the meal means a cornucopia of beans.

The chicken meal came with a lump of mashed potatoes and green beans all drowning in gravy. Typical airline fare. The sides included cheese and crackers, a spongy roll and a iceberg lettuce salad with firm, bland tomatoes and a bean and couscous mixture. Dessert was a not too bad brownie.

The veggie meal was actually the pasta that was offered to the regular meal patrons--sodden vegetable lasagna in tomato sauce with the same side salad. Except the roll was a dry, hard orb and dessert was horrible sugar-free red gelatin, not Jello.

On the return trip, the regular meals were much of the same, but with products from Europe which made them seem that much more appealing. But what's with the strange "pear gratin" that INK had to eat. The sweet soggy, doughy mess was more like dessert. The "dessert" was a dry gingerbread, sliced like a piece of rye.

[Did we mention that we were stuck in Holland because Northwest had to wait for a plane part from the U.S.? We thought it would be an adventure until, 1. we realized we would not have luggage, 2. we woke up at 5 am to get to the airport before 7 to learn that the plane still wasn't ready, 3. work deadlines were looming, 4. we wasted our time standing in lines and trying to get a straight answer from NWA.]

Chicken MealVeggie Meal

Don't leave us Tia Juana

Tia Juana
11785 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064-1211
310-473-9293

The rumors were true. The westside tradition of comfort meals at Tia Juana near Olympic and Barrington is coming to a close on November 4th. Word is they lost their lease when the new Bed Bath & Beyond opened up. (Dern evil big box stores that tempt us inside, despite ourselves.) Adios to the funky faux finish walls and murals depicting dancers in Mexican dress and mock signs advertising abogados for quick divorces. Gone will be the asi asi margaritas, but quick friendly service. No more delicioiusly bad refried beans. No more melt-in-your-mouth tacos barbacoa. No more slap slap of the tortilla ladies patting out thick handmade corn tortillas and lovingly placing them on the gas griddle near the door. The handmade tortillas at La Cabana don't approach the corn flavor of Tia Juana. Best of all, it was just down the street. Guess we'll have to drive a bit longer to get our soft taco and corn tortilla fix. Reminds INK of when she moved away from La Taquiza and Tacos El Unico in south L.A. . .

Those of you in the OC can rejoice. Tia Juana has a new incarnation as La Choza. . . all the way down in Huntington Beach. Tell them Delicacheena says hola. They'll probably give you a bemused look, but do it anyway.

La Choza Restaurant
7402 Edinger Ave.
Huntington Beach
714-842-7888

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Sprinkles What? Sprinkles Who?!

Dainties
11058 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

Ah, yeah! It's all about the cream.

Hidden behind Winchell's, one block east of Sepulveda on Santa Monica, is Dainties with the best cupcakes Delicacheena has ever tasted.....at least for now.

Pure GoodnessAt $3 a pop, most cupcakes would not be worth it--Dainties is. The bakery, which developed from a catering company, sticks to the batter they perfected: moist chocolate. Each cupcake is dipped in ganache and then injected and topped with flavored, fresh whipped cream. There are ten daily flavors. On a Thursday, we used our KCRW certificate for a free half dozen (hey, that's only two per person): banana, tiramisu, strawberry, caramel, vanilla bean, peanut butter.

The dainties are easily transported in a blue and white stripped box with a slot for each cupcake. We decided to tackle the generous-sized desserts in the packed order, alternating delicate and strong flavors.

The banana, oh, the banana, was topped with a banana slice. Yes, there are three bananas in that sentence because the essence of perfectly ripened fruit enveloped our taste buds.

It got better.

UE declared that the tiramisu was even better than the real thing--chocolaty with a jolt of espresso. We found with each cupcake, the ganache gave the tops a nice slightly chewy bite, like the edge pieces from a pan of brownies.

Then we sank our teeth into number three topped with a slice of strawberry and chocolate shavings. Inexplicably even better than the first two. Who needs ice cream when you have whipped cream that tastes like sun-kissed summer?

And caramel is no Kraft brand cubes; it's buttery, homemade melted sugar goodness. We cleared our palette with pure vanilla, flecked with vanilla bean from Madagascar. INK would almost give up ice cream if all whipped cream was like this.

We ended with a peanut butter bang! Topped with chopped peanuts, not waxy candy sprinkles, this cupcake is how chocolate and peanut butter were meant to be together. How can it be this rich and soothing, without being too heavy?

Quite content and quite full, we were planning our next visit in order to indulge in all the other flavors. There's coconut and New York cheesecake, Crème De Menthe and mango, Nutella, green tea. . . Good thing they're closed on Sundays.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Scary

We were clicking on various parts of this blog and realized that we could find out who had our profile items in common. We are not alone in our interest in bread, corn and bananas...

Side Dish: The Counter

The Counter
2901 Ocean Park Boulevard
Santa Monica 90405
(310)399-8383


It's good to have choices. And we always say, "Why choose? Have both!" AKA the INK special.

That's one of the reasons we like The Counter. You can go crazy and build your own burger, drowning in a multitude of toppings and a sea of sauces. Start with beef, turkey, veggie or grilled turkey in 1/3, 2/3 or 1 pound sizes. Are you one of those poor folks foregoing carbs? You can even go with the burger in a bowl sans bun.

But alas, Delicacheena gets overwhelmed by so many options so we went with the pre-designed creations. UE ordered the Unique Veggie, JM opted for the Taco Turkey and INK, ever the lover of the limited engagement requested the Burger of This Month, Peruvian Style Alaskan Halibut Burger. "Flavored with Sweet Onion Annatto Paste. Served over Chopped Watercress and Shredded Jicama. Topped with Hearts of Palm and Pickled Red Onion. Served on a Hamburger Bun with Pebre Aioli." The halibut was smoky and moist and the toppings which seemed liked they would be overwhelming added just enough crunch and acidity. Oh, and did we mention all three are quite aesthetically pleasing?

After the generous, but not gratuitous burgers (and orders of breaded and fried dill pickle chips and the fifty/fifty with half onion strings and sweet potato fries), we decided to share the shake of the month. Our server was gracious enough to give us each our own cup with a third of the s'more shake of vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, graham cracker and mini marshmallows. Besides the chunks of cracker and marshmallow, the tasty shake was a bit thin, but we really couldn't handle anything more substantial.

[Also serve wine and beer]

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Side Dish: Wilshire

Wilshire
2454 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310)586-1707

Creme Brulee TrioWe really wanted to like Wilshire. It started strong enough, with a savory crispy poached organic egg and an original, tangy and sweet fall tree fruit salad. Unfortunately, the main courses of pork chops and beef shortribs fell short of their price points. Wilshire redeemed itself at dessert. The creme brulee trio and the doughnuts were a perfect way to forget about a mediocre meal. Go for decent, overpriced food or anytime for dessert.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Say goodbye to the summer. . .

Well, the summer's officially over and it's back to pushing paper. But the reminiscing lingers. Soon you can read about Delicacheena's European vacation (bratwurst and beer!), INK in NYC and various other meals to remember. . . or to try to forget.

Opa?
In the meantime, have the gyro salad and spanakopita at
Papa Cristo's
.
2771 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90006
Phone: (323) 737-2970 -- Fax: (323) 737-3571