food – Page 5

What’s Cookin’ at the CulinaryLab?

October 4, 2015Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to tour the brand new CulinaryLab inside the popular Anaheim Packing House. This new addition turns the eclectic food hall into even more of a destination. The space is the brain child of a collection of chefs, bakers, cake masters, and other culinary masterminds. In addition to being a beautiful event space, this modern culinary experience transforms students into skilled industry-ready cooks, placing them in restaurant apprenticeships while they train to become chefs. This is especially fitting because Orange County is continually proving itself as a force to be reckoned with as far as food destinations go.

We were lucky enough to watch two demonstrations. One involved the preparation of locally caught tuna prepared two different ways, and liquid nitrogen ice cream.

Raw, locally-caught tuna cured with seaweed and topped with crisp veggies.

Bacon ice cream topped with maple nuts.

As you can see, this a multi-purpose space that will be doing great things! One of the first to look forward to is their dinner with Chef Mark McDonald of Old Vine Cafe. Click here to learn more and purchase tickets: http://bit.ly/1Pk4FEE.

For more information on CulinaryLab OC, visit https://www.facebook.com/CulinaryLabOC.

Broken Spanish Doesn’t Need Fixin’

September 4, 2015Leave a comment

After the openings of B.S. Taqueria and Broken Spanish, I was counting down the days until I got to visit Chef Ray Garcia’s creations. Between the overwhelmingly positive media attention and drool-worthy Instagram photos, I decided it was safe enough to venture to for my birthday dinner, even though I had never been there. (It’s very unlike me to not choose a tried and true favorite). I couldn’t be happier that I chose to celebrate my birthday at my new favorite DTLA restaurant! We chose a bunch of dishes to share:

We started off with fresh corn tortillas served with whipped carnitas fat. Yes, you heard me right.

My parents got the Shrimp Cascabel with Pequin, Guajes, and Pineapple. It looked amazing, and made me wish I wasn’t allergic to shrimp.

My dad ordered the Green beans served with a Poached Egg, Sofrito, Salsa Chapuline, and Cotija.

This Oxtail Quesadilla served with Plantains, Habanero, and Salsa Quemada was another favorite of mine.

The largest dish we got was the Red Snapper served with Leeks, Green Clamato, Clams, and Avocado. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the clams were very complimentary to the snapper.

My favorite dish that we ordered was the Lamb neck Tamales, with King Oyster Mushrooms and Queso Oaxaca. I love lamb, but only lamb that is cooked well. This just might be the best lamb dish I have ever had. The masa wasn’t too thick and the lamb was so juicy and tasty. I highly recommend this dish!

Of course, we couldn’t skip dessert! Their Tres leches Milk Sponge cake with Dulce Cream, Strawberries, and Crema Sorbet was so delicious without being overly sweet.

Chef Ray Garcia truly has a masterpiece on his hands with this one. His dishes are creative and the vibe is casual and cool. Its proximity to LA Live makes this a hot-spot in Downtown and definitely my go-to for any pre-event dinners in that area.

For more information, visit http://brokenspanish.com/

Outside Lands 2015

August 30, 2015August 30, 2015Leave a comment

Outside Lands is a music, food, and arts festival, and it just so happens to be in my favorite city – San Francisco! I was lucky enough to be invited to the 3-day festival in San Francisco to cover the gourmet food and beverages offered at the event! Read on for my favorites!

For the past couple of years, Outside Lands has incorporated the most amazing ‘LANDS’ to the festival.

Wine Lands was filled with old friends and newcomers, but the payment method was much more smooth this year, since it was incorporated into everyone’s pre-registered wristbands. My favorites were from Hobo Wine Company, Ghost Pines, The Prisoner Wine Company, and Union Wine Co..

We happen to mosey through Beer Lands on National Beer Day and found some favorites: Ace Cider, Anchor Brewing, Golden Road, Sierra Nevada, and Stone Brewing Co..

As for the food, the selection was the best it has ever been! Here are some of my favorites:

Chimichurri Fries from 4505 Meats

Porchetta Taco from La Urbana

Chicken Arepa from Pica Pica

Fry Bread Taco from Precita Park Cafe

Poke Platter from Pacific Catch

THE BEST PORK BELLY BURGER EVER from Big Chef Tom’s Belly Burgers

Okonomiyaki Japanese Pizza from Namu Street Food

Are you drooling yet? Now, on to the music! The first day was filled with an eclectic mix of some new artists that I have been wanting to see live and old favorites, including Leon Bridges, The Drums, Glass Animals, Iration, George Ezra, Lake Street Drive, Chet Faker, and Mumford & Sons. The second day started out with a BANG with Misterwives, then Mac DeMarco, Cold War Kids, Milky Chance, Billy Idol, Tame Impala, and The Black Keys. I’m bummed that we didn’t try to venture from one stage to another to catch Kendrick Lamar’s set (which I heard was amazing!), but The Black Keys put on THE SICKEST SHOW. They made a fan out of me. The third day was definitely my favorite, and not just because it was my birthday! We started out the day with St. Paul and the Broken Bones, James Bay, Hot Chip, Slightly Stoopid, Axwell & Ingrosso, Sam Smith, and of course, SIR ELTON JOHN. He put on the most amazing 2 hour show, and I could not have asked for a better birthday!