Expo Comida Latina And The Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo 2010 (Los Angeles): Tasting The Latest In Food And Drinks

That'a Way Maaan


Last week I was lucky enough to get a last minute invite to the Expo Comida Latina and Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo that took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The email came on the actual weekend that it was taking place! BUT unlike any other expo that would had only been around for the weekend, this expo stayed around until the food service sabbatical aka as Monday! Bless the dedicated, hard working few who work through those weekends! I was able to make it on Monday.


It Was Crackin'


I will not lie, I found this event quite awesome. This was an event strictly for the movers and shakers of food in the world. There were whole aisles for those things in a restaurant that I--as a foodblogger--never really put much thought into otherwise. Specialized things like those blinking "open" or "closed" signs that hang from windows, things like those touch screens order computers that servers and bartenders use when taking frenzied orders (there was a waterproof one!!!). Even the latest in chef kicks...Birkenstock Clogs?!


Get Yo' Open/Closed Signs Right Heere!



I Mean....Water Was Being Poured All Over It?!



Birkenstock Clogs For The Hippie Chef?: Naaawh!



The Movers and [Salt & Pepper] Shakers Too?


And of course, there were a few aisles exhibiting the latest--and tastiest--in easily purveyed gourmet food. Meaning...free sample buffet!


Tsukiji Express: Straight From The Source


There was everything here, I mean everything. I almost did a back flip when I saw that there was a booth for the Tsukiji Market! They were showcasing some of their newer, premium varieties of fish such as this



Japanese Amber Jack


All the greats were here. Even the people behind Tapatio hot sauce!


Representin'


There were even the guys from Bolis!!! A latino childhood staple food found in freezers. You have to break these in half on your knee in order to get them open to eat. ha ha. Oh, how I miss those days.


Bolis!


As if that wasn't enough, there were the innovative folk of the legendary Orange Bang! here too. Another food I grew up on. For those of you that are bang virgins out there, this frothy drink is what an orange agua fresca would taste like if a couple of creamsicles fell in there. This drink is pretty much a unmissable staple in one a many East L.A Chinese Food & Donut establishments.


Orange Bang!


There were some new companies that were trying to break in to the market too. Oh, how happy I was when I saw these guys had a booth here.


Pulque: Never Forgotten


Pulque 1881 is a new company that's trying to bring Pulque back in the alcohol game. Labeled as "Agave Wine" this is my all time favorite alcoholic drink, its made from the fermented sap from Agave plants. Tasting sweet and milky, not too different from the Korean unfiltered rice wine Makgeoli. It actually has a higher alcohol content than a can of light beer, that's right...its a 'creeper-upper' alright. Although I like it slimy, 1881 has to pasteurize their sap that they get from Tlaxcala. I've been a fan of this company since the first time I saw their $2 cans for sale at Ramirez Liquor in Boyle Heights.
There were these guys from SunJewels Organics that are trying to break in AGAVE SWEETENED frozen yogurt. Best of luck to these guys man, I ate that whole swirl and didn't have any sugar crash after at all. No more settling for CLOYogurtland hopefully soon.


Agave Sweetened Frozen Yogurt: Yeeeah


Now for the aisle where I did the most extensive research on...


Karl Strauss Brewery: Reliable 'Ol Red Trolley Ale


The San Diego brewers Karl Strauss were there with their nutty-almost-toffee flavored Red Trolley Ale, a favorite a mine. They also had some unique Imperial Pils beer that was pretty damn good too.


There's A Serrano Chile In My Beer!


The technically-Mexican (100% Mexicali!) brewery Cave Creek were their with a superb "Chilli Beer" that surpassed my gimmicky stereotype of it. Basically, a medium bodied lager with a whole Serrano in each bottle. It was surprisingly pretty damn lip synge-ing and pleasurable, I wouldn't mind putting away a six pack of these with some Tacos de Marlin or something.

But enough tomfoolery, now for the most full bodied beer I've probably ever had.


Marodsous Abbey: Those Belgian Monks Are On To Something...


Actually brewed by monks still. I was taken into a flight of the Maredsous 6 Blonde, the Maredsous 8 Bruin and the Maredsous 10 Tripel. And oh golly, my eyes were nearly rolling to the back of my head with its intense but balanced flavors of hops and caramel. Each one at different ratios with each other, think the the honey-like flavor of the blonde was actually my favorite.

Alas, it was great to peruse both of this years expo and looking forward to coming back to next year and stay in-the-know with both the front--and back--of the house world of restaurants.

Passion Makes Perfect: A Recipe For Jashmine Corpuz's Seasonal Olallieberry Pie

Passion Makes Perfect: It Only Seems Hard

There is something to be said when someone chooses to follow their passion no matter what...for better or for worse. Maybe it will never 'make sense', maybe it will never be the most 'rational' nor is it ever going to be anywhere near the most 'secure' choice neither. But...material wealth and security are mere frailties in life when you do not spend it doing and perfecting what you truly love. And that intangible feeling of pure unexplicable happiness and ever-understanding mental satisfaction--is priceless.

That being said, I will now share a seasonal Summer pie recipe courtesy of Jashmine Corpuz, the bon vivant pastry chef of Drago Centro. I was lucky enough to try it but don't think I realized just how great it really was until now.

High quality berries can be found at the Murray Family Farms stand during the Wednesday morning Santa Monica Farmers Market. Her unique addition of Tapioca starch retains this pies moistness quite nicely so it won't look like a bloody murder scene upon slicing, it also adds a more stable body to the cooked berries. Also, a respectable amount of both fresh lemon zest and juice keeps the berries intense fruity-tart flavor train going. This recipe was made with pure fresh Olallie's but you can make from whatever berries that are lucky enough to bless you, boysen's, blue's, raspb's a mixture even with Rhubarb even, its all up to you...


Dessert Devotchka

Jashmine Corpuz's Seasonal Olallieberry Pie

*preheat oven to 500

Pie Dough

2 ½ C AP flour
1tsp Salt
2TB Sugar
½ C Shortening
1 ½ sticks Butter (unsalted)
7TB Ice water

Measure shortening and butter first. Cut fat into small pieces. Place in freezer for about 20 min. This will keep your dough cold.

Measure other dry ingredients and place in a food processor.

Scatter frozen butter in processor and pulse until the fat are the size of peas.

Pour the mixture into a medium sized bowl.

Add the ice water, and with a pastry scraper gently fold and cut into the dough. Do not knead it! This will only make your crust tough.

Once it forms a ball, shape it into a disk and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Olallieberry Filling

3pints Olallieberries
3pints Blueberries
1C+1TB Sugar
1tsp Lemon Zest
2tsp Lemon Juice
¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon
4TB Tapioca Starch
2TB Butter (unsalted)

1. Place berries in a medium bowl.

2. Zest lemon and juice. Place all other dry ingredients over berries and gently fold.

3. Let this sit and marinate for a bit.

To Assemble:

1. Lightly flour dough and roll out to 1/4 “ in thickness. Use flour when necessary to avoid sticking.
2. Gently use the rolling pin to pick up the sheet of dough and roll over a 9” pie pan.
3. Lightly press the inside of the pan. With kitchen shears cut around the pie tin leaving 1 ½ “ off of the edge.
4. Save the dough scraps and roll out again. Cut into 1” strips. You should have at least 8 of them
5. Fill the pie with the berry mixture. Add the 2 TB of butter to the top of this.
6. Take 4 strips and lay them across the pie horizontally. Fold back every other strip.
7. Lay down a strip vertically. Unfold the horizontal strips. Next fold back the other horizontal strips and repeat the process.
8. Cut any excess hanging strips.
9. Fold the crust over the strips to seal the lattice. Pinch the edges all around the crust.
10. Lower the oven temperature to 450. Place pie in the oven. After 30 min lower the temp to 400 and turn the pie. Bake for another 30 min.
11. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 1 hour.






Step By Step Lattice Visual Guide:









She served it to me with a dollop of freshly whipped Lavender cream and it was a slice I will never forget...

Manila Good-Ha!!!: My First Filipino Breakfast

Filipino Nostalgia

It's funny how you don't realize just how delicious some things are in life until you really think back on them and reminisce. It is only through that hazy nostalgia that the then-unappreciated grace is fully admired...and missed.

Not too long ago, I had the for granted pleasure of being introduced to my first Filipino breakfast. And since first bite, it was instant affection.


Topsilog: My Filipino Breakfast I Took For Granted

The dish was topsilog, a simple and satisfying meal revolving around the salty, vinegar-cured, spiced thin beef strips known as Tapa. The typical breakfast is served with soft-fried eggs along with a healthy amount of unseasoned garlic-fried rice. It was a breakfast unlike any other I've had before, exceeding all my self-set weird breakfast standards. The jerky-like strips were highly flavorful and the fried eggs were warm and consoling. The rice was bland but I did not care. I knew it was meant to be like that and bite after bite--I slowly learned to appreciate its acquired toasty simplicity without falling to my soy/fish sauce dousing habits. I liked it, a lot.


Dasilog

It was the little things that this little quirky Filipino breakfast eatery had that really drew me in. Things like catering to my seafood slanted cravings by also having Dasilog, almost the exact same thing but with blackened fish instead of beef. They even had some nice tofu and greens sometimes in addition to 5-6 different renditions of pork something.

I still chuckle when I think of the name of the place, "Good-Ha!!!". Its ambiance was comforting with its colorful walls and patrons of only humble Filipino elders.



I haven't experienced any breakfast like this one since then and so far, don't know if I'll find any other like it...


Manila Good-Ha!!!

231 S Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004

(213) 387-2492

Around $5 for complete Topsilog breakfast

Otafuku: Let's Get Rid of New York

"Lets Get Rid Of New York"

- Randoms (Dangerhouse Compilation Album: 1977)

Don't know what came over me that Cyber Monday afternoon, Mattatouille had sent me a text first thing in the morning and told me that there was some great deals on Virgin America. So I did, with the rationalized excuse that I was going to check out NYU finally and decide whether I want to attend their Food Studies program or not...once and for all.

And now...I'm here.



Brooklyn Heights

Every time I step out of the tiny place I was fortunate to be able to stay at, I am hit with ten thousand piercing needles that is typical East Coast climate. Chilly L.A Winter twilights of 40-50 degrees definitely did not prepare me for this. All of my L.A Winter clothing that I have scarcely acquired over the years have only proven to be futile during those breezes that make me forget I have fingers and feet. Four layers, five layers of clothing...no difference to me.

I will not lie to feeling a little overwhelmed being in a new city, even if not long. Culture shock aside, the overwhelming masses of people brushing you left and right seem unescapable no matter where you are, the 2x priced public transit is not easy to grasp for a transit deprived born and raised Angeleno and the winds only seem to be getting stronger and colder.

Nonetheless, I came for food. And food is what I shall do.


Otafuku: Saves the Day

After getting snootily turned away from a tour at the NYU Welcoming offices, I still decided to check out the scattered campuses by my self. At the Stern building, I gawked at the tall, slender Asian goddesses as they scurried frantically to get to class, at the Tisch School of the Arts, I compared the Hipster look to that of L.A, slightly more formidably colorful I must say. But at the Steinhardt campus I ate Japanese griddled deliciousness.


Standing Room Only

My first restaurant meal in the city was take out from Otafuku, a tucked up Takoyaki dispensary right in front of campus. Chiquito pero picoso!, this two by four take out only place slanged one of the best lunches I've had in my life. All they have on the menu is Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba, more than plenty when it comes to quality, taste and portion.


Combo C Is All I Need: Takoyaki and Squid Okonomiyaki

Maybe it was the fact that I have had always wanted to try Takoyaki since the first time I saw a weird video of it on Mikey Hates Everything blog, or maybe it was just that I hadn't had breakfast today, or maybe it was the simple fact that it was only $9. Whatever it is, these savory griddle cakes were LOADED with the tasty Japanese street lipids of Mayonnaise, wide flaked Bonito flakes, powdered Nori, Ichimi Togarashi(Japanese Chili Powder) and that sweet, umami intensive Takoyaki sauce.

Like a pancake sphere with the tender gift of a chunk of octopus in the middle, I relished alternating the donut hole-like Takoyaki with the crispy edged, thick Okonimayaki filled with shredded cabbage, spicy ginger and several pieces of chewy squid.

Maybe New York isn't so bad after all, although I certainly held it up to L.A standards last time I was here...

My Earlier NY Posts.

My First Night in NY: Pizza Epiphamy and GOOD Vegan (Lombardi's and Teany)

Glutster goes To N.Y!!!

Night In N.Y: Dabbling with Dumplings and Truly Living the Good Life

3rd and Last Day in N.Y.: Not-Your-Average Lunch at the C.I.A. (no not "C.I.A.", The Culinary Institute of America

Otafuku
236 East 9th Street
New York, NY
10003-7503
(212) 353-8503
Open Weekdays 1pm-10pm; Weekends 11am-10pm

So it finally came, I'm 21 (Booze, Blood and Punk Rock)

So it finally came, I’m 21. Who would of known I would of made it this far? I swore and lived by the punk Manisfesto of “Live Fast, Die Young”, albeit a little bit more responsively than most of my friends apparently.

What does this mean for a burgeoning young foodblogger?

THE WORLD IS MINE.

No more getting sadly turned away from food events for being “underage”, no more ordering drinks with know-it-all terminology to better the chances of not being checked ID, no more using “I’m not 21” to rationalize from not going out and the most significant for me…no more having to depend on a passerby bum or guy with a beard to buy me some craft beer at Ramirez Liquor.

And what better rite of passage than throwing my own backyard gig in my house in East L.A?


Punks Not Dead

Almost every single weekend since 6th Grade, I’ve been coming to these in and around East L.A. They have served as the ultra-thin lifeline that has kept the local punk scene stable since the 1970’s.

For my shindig, I had gotten the evolved, bluesy sounds of The Shag Rats, old friends from Middle School, these guys broke out of the stereotypical power-chord punk rock rut and have developed a mellow, groovy beat of their own.


Dance Inducing and Fun Producing: The Shag Rats

And my nephew, DJ H1N1 spinning all classical and requested genres of punk.


Spinning It Up

Declaring it BYOB (Had food rather, not common in gigs but then again it was me!) I found out I had some really generous friends…

Chuy Nomas showed up with three bottles of Real De Mexico Tequila, two Blancos and the other Reposado. He works for them so he hooked it up like no other, setting up an impromptu cocktail bar out of my backyard shambles. He just happened to always carry Jalapeños, Cilantro, Pineapple Juice, Simple Syrup and Limes I guess, constructing their signature cocktail, The Real Mexican, an authentically spicy, tangy sweet drink that my dad even loved. Muddling the ingredients and everything, he came through profusely for the first half of the night.


Hookin’ It Up Sick!: El Compa Chuy Nomas

A gift from the blue-haired homie Lance Thomas, my second drink of the night was a pint of an Imperial IPA from Rogue Brewery, the ceramic bottle and nifty, metal hinged top had caught my attention back at Ramirez Liquor.


Bitter, Syrupy with Hints of Raw Cacao Without The Exclusive Heaviness of a Traditional Stout: 9.5%


At 86 Proof, This Was By Far The Most Complex Whiskey Ingested Thus Far (Sorry Jack): Smooth and Smoky Taste Reminiscent of Mezcal

Third of the Night was a shot of Lagavulin, a Single Islay Malt Whiskey given to me from the infamous Noah Galuten of Squid Ink blog.


Fourth was a pint of Straffe Hendrik, this heavy Belgium Bruges Triple Ale. At a bold 9% proof, this was remarkably bitter since its made with a few different Hops, A nice winter brew for sure.

Fifth of the night was a Leffe longneck, a Blonde Belgium Ale with an interesting light bite, notes of toffee mostly with aromatic hints of chrysanthemum. A gift from Angel Rodriguez, we used to drink Popov vodka in water bottles during lunch back in High School.


Smooth: 6.6%

Ok, by this point I was pretty much thrashed and plastered, double fisting strangers bottles and doing the H.B Strut nonchalantly by myself in the circle pit.

But I kept on going of course.

Sixth of the night was half a bottle of this Malbec that my yoga buddy Blair Whittington had gotten me from Fresh N Easy. But I have no idea what year nor what vineyard, I could only tell you it was smooth enough to be drank by swigs…l would of drank all if Bricia hadn’t fortunately taken it away from me and refilled it with water.


Seventh of the night was a couple of cringing swigs of Ulises Ruiz, a snazzy bottled complex Mezcal from Oaxaca with the most elegant of burns and deep of tastes, courtesy of the Oaxacan Restauranteur, Bricia Lopez.

And last but certainly not the least, a pint of the beer that started it all for me: Delirium Tremens. Chocolaty and robust, this cork-topped Ale is bottled from a family brewery in Belgium. Fernando Lopez, the other power behind the Guelaguetza restaurant dynasty, was responsible for this tasty night clincher.



After all this drinking, The Shag Rat’s were done and another friend’s band wanted to play: Informal Society. Their music is probably the complete opposite of the Shag Rats, hard, fast, loud and proud that warrant a little more vicious chaos in the pit. And these sort of pits are no mans land for lanky, intoxicated, Spaghetti framed people like me…


Bloody and Boozed: Christening Adulthood

All I remember is a sudden colorful flash like those made famous in loony toon cartoons and people wrapping bandana's around my head. Sure enough someone had knocked me down, probably the local gangbangers not understanding the friendly concept of slam dancing.

I was not about to let that ruin my Birthday night in the least though, within ten minutes and half a hydrogen peroxide bottle later, I was back down and dancing again. With those same gangsters giving me hard high-fives and saying, “you’re pretty down”. They left shortly after that.


Bad Influence: Bloody, Boozed But All In The Name of Punk

The singer from my old band kept badgering for us to play, so we made drunk fools out of ourselves trying to stay in sync. I played both bass and guitar for the night since our bassist had already passed out earlier, surprisingly enough, some random people actually know how to play our songs on the guitar and volunteered.

And I am happy to say I woke up with NO HANGOVER, but only a bloody pillow and a bunch of leftover love...


Responsible Adulthood…Here I come

Addendum:

I totally forgot to add a pint of Pulque I babied all through the night, I had smuggled it into the states and had been saving it for this big day. Stayed true to my roots...

M Cafe Beverly Hills: Vegan-Macrobiotic and What? (Along With 2010 Life Realizations)

Its a new decade, and more than ever... The Glutster is in full eating swing. Media press dinners are--slowly but surely--becoming more common in my inbox and the level of my dedication is only growing after every bite of food, sip of drink and recipe I post.

I've come a long way since I started my dainty, little picture-less blog back in 2006, 11th grade and lost in life. Never in my hungriest dreams would I have ever imagined to come to the ranks that I have worked up to be as of now.

Something is to be said when I start to get invites to places in neighborhoods that I otherwise would have no business stepping into, neighborhoods where my punk rock, East L.A upbringings would have caused me to feel like a fish out of water. Culture shocked? Culture Blasted.

Nonetheless, I am ready for anything...

I never thought a food blogger P.R lunch for M Cafe De Chaya with fellow blogger and cool girl EstarLA would arouse such life realizations but food--as I have come to finally accept--has become a gateway to help me figure out life. So here ya' go.

M Cafe de Chaya first caught my attention back in 06 too. A victim of PETA brainwashing had made me a poser vegan and basically running to the place to relish in eating a slice of chocolate layer cake again without guilt. And plus, my then-shifu of food had written it up as well.

According to their website, the Chaya Food Dynasty has actually been around since the Imperial Edo period, that's over 390 years ago, "feeding weary horseback travelers of Japan" under the shade of a tree.

Kept alive by the same family (Tsunoda), who would of thought they would have a successful outpost in the frou-frou epicenter of the U.S?


The Patrons: From Weary Horse Travelers to Health-Seeking Cubicle Raiders

Any given day, pretty looking visiting Europeans or just health seeking mid city Angelenos swarm to this place.


Deli Full-O-Organic Goods

A Macrobiotic lifestyle abides entirely by food's believed effect on the body, thus a premiere emphasis on whole grains, vegetables, fish and a limitation on sweets. Stereotypically, brown rice and root vegetables but oh does M Cafe prove hater misconceptions wrong with their contemporary, seasonal, vast selection of mouth pleasing, rich foods.

We started of with teas and naturally sweetened/colored drinks.


A cooling, soft Mint-Green Tea ($2.50) and a Beet-Colored Lemonade: Refreshing and Lightly Sweet

Then gave the macrobiotic bounty of the M Cafe legacy.


Specialties of the House: BBQ Tempeh and Seared Tuna Tataki

Tempeh is a soybean (whole) cake that is fermented a bit to give it a meaty bite, here its smoked and glazed like good ol fashioned BBQ. Tuna Tataki tasted fresh and fork tender.


Deli Salads (Clockwise): French Lentils, Scarlet Quinoa, Spicy Peanut Kale, Celery Root Slaw, Sesame Soba Noodles, Creamy Coleslaw

Every salad proved to be impressive, each rich and sharing the common trait of umami intensity. They are can be bought two ($7.45) or three ($9.75) of them in a plate.


Piping Hot N Crispy: Thin-Cut Organic Fries w/ Shiso, Nori & Sea Salt served with Macro Ketchup ($3.50), Sweet Potato Fries w/ Chili, Sea Salt & Lime served with Spicy Yuzu Mayo ($3.50)

Umami is a key taste here, prevalent in everything; seaweed and Japanese herbs was ethereal in reg. fries. Limes acidity cut sweet potatoes sweetness swiftly. Beet sweetened ketchup and spicy yuzu mayo only elevated the experience.


Specialty Salads: Wild Salmon Salad, Curried Tempeh Salad, Dilled Organic Tofu Salad

Wild Salmon's (vs. farmed) flavor is usually more leaner and cleaner tasting, just like this. Curried Tempeh kept true to its Indian theme, all out flavor and textures esp. with the aid of curry cashews used. Dilled Organic Tofu Salad was just as firm as egg whites, with a nice and balanced amount of herby dill.

Now for the real bounty.

MMMMMMMM CAFÉ PATISSERIE

Believe it not, no eggs, no dairy and no refined sugar is used in what your about to gawk and salivate at:


Chocolate Layer Cake ($6.25): Macro-Choco Decadence

Of course, it does not taste like cream, sugar and eggs but I did not miss those ingredients here neither.


Tiramisu: And Damn Good Too!

More Trifle-like in texture, this had immense flavors of spice! Cinnamon? Nutmeg? Clove? And the finish was just like sipping a good coffee with full fat cream...


Carrot Cake: Truly For The More Health Inclined

Grainy, and the only "cardboard" tasting thing all day, would of been a complete shame if not for that luxurious cream and filling.

After this great experience, walking down Beverly Blvd to the 720 bus stop was quite contemplative ordeal. Buzzing off such a great encounter and listening to The Dickies, I realized something while watching everyone stare at me as I swaggered by with my purple leopard creepers, I realized...2010 will be my decade.