Order the Pink Tacos

So as White Pepper mentioned in a previous blog, our food experience in CA was not all bad. One example, Pink Taco. Once I was able to get out of bed after being poisoned at Craft, Mexican food sounded good. Mainly the chips b/c they seemed comforting--and you can't get poisoned by your run of the mill chip.

I'd heard of Pink Taco, mainly for it's notoriety in AZ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Taco), because some concerned citizens were disapproving of the restaurant's name. We were in Century City, near a mall that housed the large chain restaurant. Upon walking in I was pleasantly surprised. It is a very kitschy, but larger-than-life, ambiance. The music was rockin', staff was friendly and food was muy bueno...as they say in Mexico.

But alas, again it was bittersweet b/c I was only able to stomach about a 1/8 of my plate and white pepper not much more. We could tell it was delicious. The chips came w/ two salsas--a regular and a roasted tomatillo, we ordered a side of guacamole, didn't even put a dent in it, WP had the chicken tacos, me the famous namesake, Pink Tacos. I had a beer, she a watermelon margarita (we were able to finish the beverages). We tried to pack it up and take it home--but didn't have a fridge to keep it safe. Usually I would have said fuck it, but not this time...

The good news. I happened to find myself in the same LA neighborhood about 3 weeks later. So I made a point to return. Again, upon walking in I was pleasantly surprised. It was FAT TUESDAY, which equals party time at Pink Taco complete w/ djs, drink specials and beads. I ordered almost everything the same and we were right the first time the food is awesome!

Hope a Pink Taco opens in Seattle.

More pictures from Pink Taco

Thank you for the wonderful post Carbo. Here are some pics from when we were at Pink Taco at the end of January. I swear I meant to post, but I am glad you did.

Craft

It was just about a month ago when I traveled down to LA and San Diego for a short vacation with CarboOverload who was there for work. I wish this was the right venue to share the highlights from the rest of the trip but it wouldnt even come close to doing it justice, it was beyond interesting. It has taken me longer than I would have liked to write this post but here we go.

If you watch Top Chef you know who Tom Colicchio is and he also happens to own Craft Restaurants. I was invited by Carbo to enjoy a dinner with her on the first night I arrived in LA, and everyone at the hotel said Craft because it was just down the street. We called to check if we needed a reservation but they had room for us regardless. The restaurant is in a non-descript office tower complex down a narrow walkway in the middle of Century City and not surrounded by much. It is definitely a destination eatery. When you walk in you are right in the bar. This bar was small and awkward, it had too much lighting and was more like a lobby. They offered us a seat in the bar but we told them we would take the dining room.


When we were seated I looked around and noticed the simple design and subtle art. The lights hanging from the celiing and the large booths made the energy very comfortable. For some reason it made me feel like I was in Las Vegas or something, but I dont know why.


We were seated and greeted with some water and a box of bread. The butter that came with it was very rich and sweet.

After the bread the server came back and dropped off some complimentary sea urchin custard. It was still a bit warm and had a very fish stick like taste. The texture was hard to enjoy, I tried my best to eat as much as possible to see if I was just missing the genius...Carbo barely had one bite.

After the custard our server returned and helped us pick out a wine. I leave that up to Carbo, I rarely have bad wine when she orders.

Carbo settled on something she has had before it was a Holus Bolus 2006 Santa Ynez Valley Syrah. I thought it was nice and rich with some deep fruit flavors, but do not know much about wine. Good choice and cool bottle.

By far the best thing that I ate at Craft was this beet salad. They were amazing pickled and roasted baby beets from local farms mixed with gorgonzola. I wish I had more words to describe them...besides awesome.


Next we shared a few gnochi which contained chestnuts and marscapone cheese. On top of the gnochi was a rich buttery red wine sauce with a touch of rosemary. They were pretty good but you couldnt eat a whole plate of those alone without getting too stuffed. They were really heavy to me.

We ordered a few sides to accompany the meal including Swiss Chard which was very well cooked and perfectly salted.

As well as some risotto, which was thin but the small bites of pork were very rich and buttery.
In the back are the diver scallops which we shared as one of our entrees. I thought they were too fishy and sort of dirty tasting. Really rustic presentation with capers and slivered almonds. I only had one...

Our other shared main was the berkshire rack of pork. The pork was light and very soft. Although you cannot see them, this dish had jalapenos which made everything pop. This pork would make a good sandwhich. Delicious.


After our meal the server showed up with another complimentary item. It was a meyer lemon soda with coconut sorbet. It was sour and sweet. I could have drank a whole glass of this if I didn't just eat a huge meal. Very good.

Although the soda was a nice touch we also decided to share a dessert. We went with the peanut cup with peanut butter brittel, caramel gelee and little caramel gelato. The peanut butter cup had a really tasty chocololate crust. This dessert was salty and rich, I loved it. The guy who makes this won LA pastry chef of the year. He knows whats up.


Now I thought we were done but arrived was another complimentary item...mini cupcakes with cinnamon frosting and a bite of what can best be described as apple and cotlets. This was a gross dessert on all levels. Dry and tasteless. Pointless as well.

Upon paying we als recived a to go pastry....nice marketing idea, but the thought of eating it even the next day was too much.


This review is bittersweet because I had the best time sharing this meal with one of my best friends, we laughed talked to the awesome servers, drank and had some really amazing food but the next day proved to change my whole attitude about the night. Now, because you cannot prove it I do not want to make harsh accusations about Craft, but the next day Carbo was bedridden from what we think was food poisoning. I had stomach issues all day but nothing half as bad as her. We think it was the scallops, I only ate one and she ate the other three. Looking back and thinking a piece of fish was too fishy and dirty that should be the heads up to pump the brakes. Im not sure if I will eat scallops again for a long time.

Let me end this on a good note, our trip was fun, lots of great memories. Thanks for taking me out to dinner Carbo. See you on our next vacation.

10100 Constellation Blvd
Los Angles, CA

a proper chinese birthday

my mom's birthday was last week, and being the low-key woman that she is, i asked if she even wanted to do anything...a sunday dinner, perhaps? she said she wasn't sure and would let me know later. the last thing i wanted was for her to prepare dinner for "the kids"...it was her birthday, after all.

a couple days later, my e-nbox pinged, and my mom invited us out to her house for hot pot! yay! i love hot pot, but it wasn't really a food tradition in my family. heck, i didn't even think my parents would break out the burners for the real deal. boy, was i wrong.

my parents bought the hot pots with the divider in the center so that we had both a hot and a "normal" broth. they went for extreme variety, offering chicken, beef, and vegetarian broth (whee!).

yeah, i took a picture of the blue flame, so sue me for nerding out!

the spread included spinach, baby bok choy, lotus root, bean sprouts, snow peas, green onion, purple basil, cilantro, fresh and fried tofu, shrimp, chicken, pork loin, and two types of beef, one sirloin (i forget..?) and one "ungraded" per vietwah. mmm, check out that red broth! i would've gone hotter, but with the temp and the spice combined, i was pretty satisfied.

here's my brother dunking some chicken into his broth. delicious.

i had a lot of fun engaging in the communal activity that is hot pot. i love interactive food, and this was super tasty, filling beyond words, and a fantastic way to celebrate my mom's birthday.

thanks for dinner, guys!!

Frozen Custard!!!!

While walking to work the same way I walk everyday I came across a new poster in a store window about a new restaurant opening...

OLD SCHOOL FROZEN CUSTARD
(check the link for a menu!!!)

As you may have read in prior posts, I love custard and haven't had anything close to the stuff I grew up on in the puget sound area. I am so excited and can't wait to try it. After doing some research I found out they will open this spring and they will also be serving Nathan's hot dogs. L. Nopen and I will be the first people in line.


Located at 1316 E. Pike

A Fish Story

It was a dark and stormy day as we boarded our chartered 36' Bertram for a day of deep water fishing between Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Several of our party of 6 were a little green from a night of Tequila in Playa but were determined to give it their best effort.














Pushing thru 14 to 18 foot swells and with Jim (you will learn more about him later) chumming his last 2 meals over the side of the boat, I heard the mate yell "Fish On!" I pulled back on the pole and set the hook. It was then man against fish. I was determined to win. In the 45 minutes it took to boat the 40+ lb Dorado (aka Yellow Fin) we went through a down pour of rain and increasing swells. By the time the fish was in the boat my arms were rubber and my back was
screaming uncle. By now the weather had worsened and the rest of the charter boats had headed in. We did the same.
Once tied up at the marina, we were the stars of the day. We were one of only 3 out of 14 boats out that caught fish that day. My fish was by far the largest.
The mate quickly and efficiently filleted my catch. We knew we would never be able to eat the whole thing, so we gave the other half to the captain & mate.








That evening we fired up the grill at our villa and Jim proceeded to put together a meal of saffron rice, refried beans, tortillas and, of course, grilled Dorado in a lime butter marinade. Which was washed down with ice cold Sol and tequila! It should be noted that even after grilling enough of this fish for 6, there was enough for 2 large bowls of ceviche and a breakfast.

5 Spot......Another Great Place For Breakfast!

1502 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 285-SPOT
8:30 am to Mid Nite Daily

Most know of this venerable breakfast spot in Upper Queen Anne. Get there on a week end after 9:30 and you likely won't get a seat for awhile. On a recent week day B, Principal R, and myself set off to the 5 Spot for breakfast and Bloody Mary's.
We were fortunate enough to get a table right away with a great view of the open kitchen. Our server was on us like a fat kid on a cup cake with waters, menu's and a rendition of the Special Specials!
B and Principal R both had Huevos Rancheros. Lots of places make this dish, but the 5 Spot's set up is by far my favorite. It is simple, but fresh with 2 fresh salsas. a black bean chili with cheddar cheese and 2 eggs, perfectly sunny side up.

I had the Red Flannel Hash. The hash is corned beef, potato, and beets with a couple of eggs on top. It was pretty good and really filling. But was a little bland. I took care of that with some Tobasco and another Bloody Mary! BTW....this is probably the best Bloody Mary next to Etta's. No mixes here. Each made to order with plenty of heat!
I haven't done more than breakfast here so can't say how lunch and dinner are. But I drive home over the top of the Hill on my home from work and there is always plenty of people waiting for seating.