"Cheena" in Baja

Delicacheena ventured south to La Salina in Baja for the holidays. It was a week of cold wind, wild children and questionable plumbing, yet it was oddly relaxing.

La Salina is about forty minutes of Ensenada and twenty or so miles from there is La Bufadora. La Bufadora roughly translates to "the blowhole," where ocean water shoots up along the cliffs after being drawn into a underwater sea cave. It was not as spectacular as INK imagined, but it still evoked oohs and aahs and numerous poor photo attempts.

Si, the aquamarine sea and sky made a more delicious experience, but we had some fresh and pretty good fish and shrimp tacos at Mariscos Moreno, the stand closest to the blowhole. It was $7.50 or 75 pesos for five items. What a view if you choose to sit at the benches and enjoy your tacos garnished with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and hot sauces on site.

Instead, we meandered down the shop-line street to check out the deals. Lessons learned: bargain or it's no deal, get the gordidtas de nata. The sweet pancake smell tempted us on the way to the blowhole and we submitted on the walk back.

At $2 for four hockey puck diameter gorditas, INK kept being reminded that Baja wasn't dirt cheap for the tourists, but eight chewy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside disks were happily consumed by babies and all.

Dios mio! How could we forget the fresh churros sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar--cranked into hot oil, emerging curly and golden and so much better than the frozen sticks found in Los Estados Unidos.

Tamale-Mobile

Los Angeles International Tamale Festival
MacArthur Park

Mama's Hot Tamales Cafe
2124 West 7th S.
Los Angeles, CA 90057
213-487-4300

Delicacheena loves an all over L.A. weekend: French-influenced dinner in Santa Monica, the game at Barney's in West Hollywood, early morning rowing in the Marina, shots in Beverly Hills, street festival at MacArthur Park.

It was misty at home, but the clouds were holding back around downtown and didn't turn the Los Angeles International Tamale Festival soggy on Sunday. UE and INK were ready with umbrella and, most importantly, empty stomachs. We joined the foodies and mostly Latino local families crowding 7th St. along the south side of the park. The soundtrack was five second snippets of classic rock and americana, a megaphoned street evangelist ["Jesus Cristo es el salvador del mundo."], hyperspeed dance remixes and blaring canned mariachi. There was a brief reprise from the medley when The Smiths' "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" en espanol was played in its entirety while we waited in line. [Hear Mikel Erentxun. Unfortunately you hear the audience singing more.] We ahhhed the tot clad in cowboy hat, vest and bandana astride the pony getting his photo taken, surrounded by wedding photogs hawking their talent, cookware demos, and citizens for Bill Richardson or Hillary Clinton.

The first stop was a booth frying up taco shells and taquitos, but they were temporarily sold-out of tamales so we moved on. We stopped at one of Mama's Hot Tamales Cafe booths. Mama's is a non-profit training restaurant and has a permanent location across from the park. Tamales were $3 at all the booths. According to the Mama's menu, the normal price is $2.75. They call themselves "The Tamales Capital of the World" and don't offer just the usual corn husk-wrapped variety. There were five available; we bypassed the vegan veggie and ordered chicken with vegetables from Honduras, the chicken and mole from Oaxaca, the Gutamalan pork, and chili cheese from Oaxaca. Only the cheese tamale was wrapped in corn husk, the rest were kept moist in banana leaves. The chicken with vegetables had a fry-sized length of potato, some peas and raisins and a green olive, no pit. The chicken with mole was oozing the rich, black sauce that would have been good with some rice. The meaty pork had red sauce and rice dough. Our hands-down favorite was the cheese with red and green jalapenos (rajas) that had a bit of kick and lots of flavor. Later we found that the earned best cheese tamale.

We had double-grease-torta envy even while we clutched our warm cornmeal bundles and sipped our two buck grande horchata, but a chewy on the outside, gooey on the inside cheese popusa is the only time we deviated from the tamale diet. Me Gusta Gourmet Tamales was winner of five of the six categories at last year's festival so we had to give them a try. This year they were named best beef and best pork tamales so that's what we ordered. They were wrapped in corn husks. The beef were hefty with masa, too much so, but the meat and red sauce were flavorful. The pork with green sauce were on the skinny side, but we were charged less for them. They were decent and tasted better with the mild red salsa poured on top. The cornmeal in both was fluffy and moist, but not as moist as Mama's.

We returned to the Mama's booth to find that they now had dessert tamales on sale-- strawberry and sweet corn. Delicacheena has enjoyed dessert tamales at Christmas time with pineapple and corn, but strawberry was something new. We were skeptical, but then even more delighted with the comfort food. It was like corn pudding (think New England), smooth and mushy, but with the sweet tartness of strawberries cooked down to nothingness. The sweet corn tamale was later devoured by JM. As we unwrapped the husks, the comforting smell of sweet corn revealed our treasured treat. The tamale did not disappoint as each bite melted in our mouths.

Fortifided with cornmeal and cheese, we headed off in the newly-christened Tamale- Miata-Mobile to make deliveries to the sick and infirm that could not join us that day. . .

Side Dish: Josie and Vodbox

Josie Restaurant
2424 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310-581-9888

Vodbox at Nic's Martini Lounge
453 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-550-5707

Normally, this would constitute a full review, but, if you haven't noticed already, Delicacheena likes to be "in the moment" on birthdays, not on the job.

TTO not-so-subtly hinted that she wanted to go to the intimate Josie Restaurant on Pico. Delicacheena was happy to oblige. We drank a fruity syrah and started with frog legs--INK insisted because she wanted to see if they really were just like chicken and she likes brown butter and capers--and the bacon-wrapped quail. Both were as expected; the former is like chicken, but a bit gamier and the latter a bit dry, but elevated by the bacon.

The entrees were Australian barramundi (a meaty fish with meaty maitake mushrooms), campfire trout with crisp corn and intensely-flavored tomato, and jidori chicken breast with polenta. Truffle fries are often maligned, but we enjoyed the hot frites along with a side of fried rapini, a new preparation for us.

Dessert was sublime. The almond crust of the lightly-sweetened peach cobbler was between a traditional pie crust and a flaky pastry. The chocolate bread pudding was airy like an eggy souffle.

We moved on to Vodbox, located in Nic's in Beverly Hills. And that's what it is--a box of vodka. We envisioned the glass walk-in refrigerator to be larger, like in the Icehotel in Sweden with an Icebar to "chill" at. Nevertheless, it was fun to don the fake leopard furs and be introduced to vodkas from around the world. We liked Pinky. How much did each cost? Luckily we managed to stick with the ten buck shots.

Side Dish: Bluebird Cafe

Bluebird Cafe
8572 National Blvd
Culver City
310 841 0939

INK's office manager was given a large box of assorted Bluebird Cafe cupcakes from her "secret admirer." Hey, gotta love the mystery guy.

The flat, broad cupcakes--red velvet, coconut, chocolate, vanilla and carrot--look like what you'd find at a school bake sale, but two to three times larger. . . and for $2.25 instead of fifty cents. Some had sprinkles or coconut flakes, all were heavily frosted. Because they were right up against each other, it was difficult to grab one without getting frosting on your fingers.

INK opted for the red velvet with cream cheese frosting. The cake had a delicate crumb, was moist, and not too sweet. The overabundant frosting was almost salty at first, but became sweeter with successive bites. A fine cupcake, but not particularly memorable for INK. She had high expectations after hearing others rave. [It's difficult to write in third person this much!]

Dainties is still #1.

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.]

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

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.

At $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.