Potential Gold

Random Photos in Los Angeles

These pictures were taken on Beverly Boulevard near BLD.

I think this place was an old car mechanic shop - what a perfect place for a cool outdoor eatery (except for the residential neighbors...)

Interesting how its stayed vacant for so long.  I'm sure someone is holding on to it for that right moment $$$$.

Spain & The World Table - Classic Sangria & White Sangria

My first real experience of Spanish sangria was at a bar in the Spanish island of Ibiza.  I remember my eyes jumping at the pitcher of blood-colored liquid love.

I now am trying to recall the taste of what I experienced in Ibiza to the Sangria I've made here, in Los Angeles.  I remember the Sangria being tannic from the red wine but I also remember it being very strong on the citrus peel notes - I remember blood oranges and apple - so roughly chopped up that there were seeds, pith and peel floating around as well (probably adding to the authenticity of the pitcher).

Sunshine Mountain Vineyard

My friend Cassie and her family started this winery a little while ago and I had the great opportunity to taste some of the fine wines they make.  The Cabernet Franc is just spectacular and I even was able to get a sneak peak of what's to come with some barrel tastings.

I doubt they will be going commercial with this product but if you ever see it, pick it up!

Metaxa

Friends of mine brought over this tasty bottle of Metaxa from their recent trip to Greece.  With many similarities to Brandy, this beverage is tasty both neat or on the rocks.

There are lots of interesting flavors in this bottle - some of which include the oak casks in which it is aged, rose petal, lavender, nutmeg, and other spices and herbs.

The amount of stars on the bottle represent how many years the Metaxa has been aged.  This bottle has five stars so it has been aged for five years. 

There are other varieties which include a three star version which is younger, winey and sweet.  A seven star, a twelve star, a sixteen star and a thirty star (grand reserve) also are available.

They say that Fidel Castro shared a glass of Metaxa with the inventor, Spyros Metaxas, onboard a ship to Cuba.  Good times!

Fried Chicken at BLD

Every Tuesday night at BLD in Los Angeles you can try some of the best Fried Chicken.  Mike and the rest of the chefs at BLD make one of the best Fried Chicken dinners I have ever had.  It will cost you about $25 for the meal + bev, tax and tip but it is WELL WORTH IT.

I can't say how long the special Tuesday Night fried chicken will last and I'm not sure if it's permanent, so try it while its still there.

Chilito Verde, Bakersfield, California

Coming home from the Lake Isabella area, we stopped for as bite to eat in Bakersfield.  We used the Audi navigation system to suggest a Mexican restaurant nearest to our destination.  El Chilito Verde is what came up first and that's where we went.

The chips at this place were pretty damn good.  They were thin and fried fresh for our visit with a good amount of salt.  N, one of the fellow diners at this lunch, loved drenching the chips in lime juice which made them soggy, yet amazing.

We ordered taquitos and jalapeño Poppers as starters.  The taquitos I don't recommend at all but the poppers were tasty.  Very deep fried and greasy, but homemade and not the typical frozen popper you normally see.

DMB - Live @ the Staples Center

L bought some tickets to see The Dave Matthew's Band last night at the Staples Center.

It was my first of his show and I was able to understand many more words then just listening to his albums.  It was unfortunate that the concert fell on the same day that a band member passed away.  Dave seemed to be in good company with his "family" on stage and the crowd loved the show (so did L).

Fun times!

"Hlalem" a Jewish/Tunisian Dish

For Jews, Tisha B'Av is a holiday in which prohibitions are usually observed.  My family and I are not very religious but one thing that has stuck around is that we don't eat meat around the three weeks prior to Tisha B'Av.

One dish that I can remember my grandmother making is called Hlalem.  This dish is my brother's favorite out of all the dishes my mother and her family makes.

The Hlalem is the chickpea and pasta stew that you see above, on the right side of the plate.

I remember my grandmother hand-rolling pieces of dough into a large strainer for a few days prior to making the Hlalem.  She'd sit out on the balcony, overlooking beautiful Malha, a suburb of Jerusalem.

When it was time, the chickpeas would soak, then the stew would magically come together. 

The closest western dish this resembles is refried beans with favas, chickpeas, and cavatelli.  Stew that for a couple of hours with the right spice combo and it will be very close to my family's version of Hlalem!

Recipe is available upon demand!

(clearly these are leftovers as there's a nice lamb chop on my plate and meat isn't eaten during the Tisha B'Av period)

Beef Tenderloin Butts at Lake Isabella

This becomes my job at all the social outings although R has shown some interest in learning the right way to peel the silverskin off of the tenderloin.  His skills are promising!

What do you eat on your camping trips?  And how many of your friends bring along air mattresses these days?!?!(is that still considered camping???)

How do you cool your watermelon?

When at the lake, do as lake people do:

Try not to let it escape - it will be cool in the center if you leave it in the water a couple of hours before you want to eat it...

Structural Steel...It's What I Do

So - many have wondered over the last few months what I have been up to.  After Fra' Mani and the wonderful time off (traveling) I have finally made the move back to Los Angeles.  I grew up only 10 minutes away from where I currently live and a lot of the time I am glad to be back in LaLa Land.

As for work - I am currently the Estimator and Project Manager for a steel fabrication company called Ironman, Inc.

This field is completely new to me and the learning curve has been tough and often times aggravating but the give from the food industry is nice.  What's crazy is that time passes by so quickly and I have been with Ironman for a year already.

I've been through four projects with them and below are some photos of one of the latest projects almost 100% complete.

This is the Moorpark College Academic Center

Some more pictures are in the continuation of this post.

Structural Steel is a great trade to be in. 

With steel being in such a fluctuating market these days, I'm always on top of price changes and fluctuations and I am always trying to get my projects done in the quickest and most streamlined manner.

It's a fun game to be playing and I'm glad it's what I do...FOR NOW!

Spain and The World Table

In the next few couple of weeks months, I will be posting about my experiences cooking through the book Spain and The World Table.  This fantastic book is full of beautiful photographs and recipes that will get you cooking Spanish quickly.

Spain and The World Table

My plan is to go through almost all of the recipes.  At first I thought to go from the front to the back but that means that one night we'll be enjoying many types of tapas and one night we'll be stuffed with many varieties of paella.

Since then, I have changed my view and the plan is to go through the book at my own pace.  I won't be cooking any pork recipes at my house but I do hope to get to those recipes too.  For all those disappointed with that, Jamon Serrano, Jamon Iberico and the beloved Pata Negra do not count as pork to me, so those should get on Potential Gold sooner or later (also some chorizo).

Stay tuned and keep a look out for the Spain & The World Table link on the right to jump straight to those posts.

The Best Chocolate Cake EVER

More like a tart than a cake, the 'mille novecento venti' or 1920 is by far my favorite dessert. 

The cake pictured on this post was given to my by  Bergonzi family Eddy from Al Vedel where I staged in Italy.

'La Torta Mille Novecento Venti'

With the permission of the Bergonzi family I hope to share the recipe but I will have to post this up later as we are currently lost in translation...

More about this cake:

BLD for Brunch - Los Angeles

Another stop on Justinians quick weekend tour was Sunday Brunch - actually - it may have been Saturday Breakfast at BLD on Beverly Boulevard near Fairfax.

We arrived at BLD around noon and found a nice table ready for us on the sidewalk, just what we wanted.  The restaurant was busy as all the tables in the dining room were full of people devouring their salads, pancakes and egg dishes.

(Wow...look at all those Fra' Mani offerings - I really had such a great experience there...)

Another look at the menu and I decided on the Huevos Rancheros.  Limor chose a Frittata and Justin, the poach.

Justin is a true fan of poached eggs and a true fan of pork and luckily for him they put it together on a menu!

These eggs were really good but the only shitty thing about this dish was that the bread or brioche used was days old and hard as a rock.  Not something I would expect and not something of the norm for BLD so it may have just been Justin's bad luck.  The Pork was braised very well and the Potatoes BLD does with the Spanish Chorizo is simply amazing.

Father's Office - Los Angeles - Best Burger & Sweet Potato Fries

Father's Office!

My friend Justin was in town the other week - he was visiting from Minneapolis and needed to get some real, good food into him FAST.  One of our stops on that weekend was to Father's Office in Santa Monica.  After hearing all the hype and rave reviews, we had to try it for ourselves.

To the bar we went because there aren't any servers to take your order.  After a short line, we were helped by one of the friendly bartenders.  For a beverage, Justin was ok with water as the night before we visited Tokyo Delves and anyone who is familiar with Tokyo Delves knows that you can't leave that place sober unless you're the DD.

The bartender helped me choose a glass of Great White from Lost Coast Brewery.  This beer resembled the Hoegaarden which I like so much.

For a snack we ordered the amazing sweet potato fries which are served in a mini shopping cart with a small side of strong blue cheese dipping sauce.  My beer went really well with this.  As we waited for our burger, we took in the atmosphere and had a few laughs.

We arrived at Father's Office at around 5 PM on a Saturday so in my opinion there weren't too many people there, and it wasn't a problem to order and get your food.  It's pretty simple - you order at the bar and get a plastic number - your food magically appears at your seat in a few minutes.

I didn't get the vibe that they don't want you there or that it's a foodie only type of place.  Its much more of a neighborhood bar type of place.  Simple and easy.  If we had bigger appetites, we would have ordered much more food.  Although the prices or above market average, it seems like you really get quality stuff.

Our burger arrived and it looked so good.  It was not what I was expecting.  The oval shaped burger was already cut in half which made it much easier to share.  The meat was cooked medium just the way we ordered it and after the first bite, it was very very good.

I can see how people say that this is the most amazing burger and bla bla bla but in my opinion, the burger was very very good - executed to the dot and I'm sure its exactly what the chef is trying to put out.  The bun was fresh and tasty - it was more bread then a bun - the meat was juicy and well seasoned.  The arugula was tatsty and added the right flavors that worked overall.  The blue cheese was on the money - not too much or overbearing and not too little - all of it was just right.

I can't wait to get back to Father's Office.  I want to go more hungry, and with more friends as it seems like a really fun place to let loose and have a good time with great beers and very tasty food.