J. Gold's 2nd Annual Union Station Zocalo Speakeasy Cocktail Fundraiser And Finally Being Legal To Go

What's The Password?: 213


Oh, how does time fly. I swear it was just a couple of months ago that I was on The New Yorker for not being able to attend this very event last year!

What can I say other than it was pretty cool, especially since I was asked by the charming Zocalo girls to cover the event.

I got there a little after it started as I had a long night of other destinations ahead of me. The password to get in was "213".



Braised Pork, Squash Flan, Smoked Sage Jus: Grace Restaurant


Despite my 21 year old stereotype, I dug into the food before the booze. Stand outs were the obvious, providence went all out and was serving the straight up good shit. Buttery pieces of Japanese Kanpachi Sashimi with a sliver of tendon and Vietnamese style fish sauced slaw. While Grace Restaurant (pictured above) went for comfort and served smoky, tender joy.

The drinks were awesome as well with my favorites being the conservative style of The Varnish's hand shaken Plymouth Fitzgerald. Simple with Plymouth Gin, lemon juice, sugar and Angostura Bitters but effective with its spicy, sour taste. Caña's "Cruzan Rum Ace Of Spades" was more complex and not bad at all neither, basically a Daiquiri with Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum and Cacao bitters.



A Twain Of Plymouth Fitzerald's: The Varnish


It was nice to see everybody in da' club all snazzed up in their speakeasy best but I made like a banana and split after a while, The Gears were playing a show at The Redwood and my jet white T.U.K faux dress shoes needed to be dirtied up a bit.

Salud! to Jonathan Gold for being bad ass and basically making me. And to Zocalo for keeping it real and supporting the scene.

Looking forward to even more controversial panel topics and even more eating and drinking next year!


Zocalo Public Square

Hungry in Cholula [1] (Puebla, PUE; Mexico): Bate, Bate El Tejate!

Bate, Bate El Tejate!


Our second day in Puebla was not going to be taken lightly in the least, our destination was Cholula. Again, the idea to come here was incepted by a particular art blogger of sorts. I was told I would like it and I took her word for it. Like our trip decision to Puebla, I went with an open mind, not having any idea what would be waiting for us when we arrived.

We stepped into a Combi, old Volkswagen bus’s whose vintage fate is revamped as a mini public bus with a daily fixed route. The drivers of these makeshift public vehicles drive with elegant gusto as they weave nonchalantly in and around the larger Camiones.

We were told to catch one that slated the opaque location placard bearing “Capu”, the name of the main bus terminal (Camionera) of the city. “Pero el que entra hasta dentro porque hay uno que te deja a una cuadra.” So there was one that dropped you off a block away apparently too?



A Roaming Camote On The Bus: Cooked In Honey



Once inside Capu, we were oriented to the local terminal of bus’s--to the left of the bustling station--aside from the national terminals. We embarrassedly asked around and found our bus, not before almost departing on a wrong one though. The ride over was shorter than I though, about half hour. It didn’t hurt that my socialite of a dad had made friends with a vendor who sold honey’d goods in the style of San Pablo, Puebla.

The trip was now short and sweet thanks to sweet potatoes, figs and apricots all braised in wildflower honey, an acquired snack way past the point of cloying. My dad ate one whole without water, milk or anything just like that. This was his version of being a kid in a candy store.



Cholula: Que Chula!


The ambiance in Cholula was a more serene one than that of downtown Puebla’s. And word on the bus was that the annual feria was in town, meaning booths and vendors increase at least tenfold. And it was evident as I walked down the street and saw a girl whipping up a chocolaty, foamy storm. Her sign read “TEJATE”. Ultra score.



Girl Meet Foam: Boy Has Foam Mustache


I asked her just to be sure. I’ve never seen such a voluminous head of foam.



Tejate: The Frappuccino Of Pre-Hispanic Mexico


Tejate is Horchata’s cooky, cacao based cousin of the South. Getting its fame in Oaxaca, this is the pre-hispanic Mexican version of a Frappuccino. A base of toasted corn, cacao, sugar and the black pit of the Mamey custard fruit are all ground and made into a chocolate-milk like substance. There are other regional renditions of course, like the one I was about to imbibe had some toasted fava beans. Whatever the chosen solids are, it is ultimately whipped until a thick layer of foam forms.

Tejate’s foam is a product of natural fat separations of the cacao and toasted corn, this fluffy stuff is hard-peaked enough to satisfy even the most nitpicky of Venti consumers.

With my Tejate mustache in full sheen, I spotted some dark blue disks being griddled in the distance.

It was time for a typical lunch in Puebla, Blue Corn Quesadillas….

A Mexican Christmas Winter Ponche Recipe & My Last Two Weeks of Illegal Drinking-Driven Debauchery

So, as you all may have noticed, I fell DEEP into 'Holiday-Relax' mode this last year.

For the first time in the whole year, I took some damn personal time to be twenty finally. You know, enjoying complete meals without ever whipping out a camera? Ok, ok...I did sneak in a couple of shots of my moms awesome Duck Tamales, Buñuelos and Ponche but nonetheless enjoyed a couple of meals without exercising my hunger's last moment discipline...it felt great to just eat.


Duck Mole Tamal, Achiote Spiced Guacamole, Nopal (Cactus) Salad, Refried Great Northern Beans, Radishes: My Christmas & New Year Dinner


Buñuelos (paper-thin flour tortilla fried in Grapeseed Oil & dusted in cinnamon-sugar)


Ponche: Mexican Christmas Cinnamon Tea Filled with Anything and Everything eg. Guavas, Mexican Crab-Apples, Prunes, Sugar Cane etc. (Recipe Posted Below)


My Older Sisters Dessert Spread: Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tea Cookies & Sweet Potatoes in Piloncillo Syrup

Uhhh...it also kind of just hit me that I am turning the big, effin 21 in just two weeks, two freakin weeks. Do you guys know what this means for a restaurant blogger? YES! I am now going to be able to legally drink, no more using the risky technique of "Walk in like you own the place" or hope that my glasses and increased posture will get me through. No more GETTING DENIED entrance to a food event for not being of age, and most importantly...not having to ask a passerby bum or stranger to buy me beer and end up with the wrong kind!

Ok, so not much will be different since it hasn't really stopped me from drinking before but somewhere between blogging, writing 100 word radio commentaries and getting mentioned in the New Yorker...I tend to forget that I am twenty sometimes. So for the last couple of weeks (ooh-ee New Years Eve, jeez!) and until I turn twenty one, I will live up my last two weeks of illegal drinking driven debauchery...


A Pair of 40 oz. King Cobras at Fourteen: My Introduction to Alcohol in Moderation via the East L.A Punk Scene

A Dear Recipe From My Holiday Break:

Ponche (Mexican Holiday Cinnamon-Fruit Tea: Familia Cabral Style)

1 Gallon of Water (Purified or Tap doesn't matter, will boil)
4 Medium Sticks of Cinnamon
1 Small Handfull of Dried Hibiscus Blossoms
1/2 lbs of Fresh or Frozen Sugar Cane
1 Large Apple, Deseeded, Quartered (Fuji, Gala or Granny Smith; No Red Delicious please)
1 Large Orange, Peeled and Segmented
1/2 lbs of Tejocotes, whole (Mexican Crabapples; available frozen in Mexican-American Markets)
1/2 lbs of Small Fresh Guavas, whole

*this is a mix that I have habituated, feel free to alternate amounts or even add dried fruits like prunes, apricots, raisins, fresh pomegranates...possibilities are virtually endless.

1) In extra large stock pot, lightly crumble all the cinnamon sticks in the one gallon of water, add the hibiscus blossoms, turn heat highest and boil until color changes and the scent makes people in your household swoon...

2) Once color changes, lower to low heat and carefully drop in the fruits.

3) Simmer under low heat for 1-3 hrs until fruits become tender and soft.

4) Enjoy, while contemplating winter, family and life.

--Con Piquete (A generous shot of Tequila traditionally thrown in it to truly keep one warm) is up to you!

...my mom fancies Sauza brand Blanco though if you do.