From Pils to Grut Beer, and Beyond

LearnAboutWine, an LA-based wine education company, has also been routinely hosting unique, non-wine classes/events that seemed very interesting, so I contacted Ian Blackburn (the owner) and he invited me down to their German Beer Tasting event with beer scribe Tomm Carroll on Sunday (disclaimer: I joined this event for free per Ian's invitation).

Although LearnAboutWine started out holding events at different restaurants, they have now acquired Loft218 and hosted most of their classes there, which logistically probably works a lot better for them.

Loft218 is actually a loft in industrial downtown LA. You have to buzz in to get into the building, but the setup that Ian has created was a wonderful white tablecloth setting that took me somewhat by surprise.

They had also set up a cheese and dried fruits platter that can be paired with the beers we were drinking, including some wonderful dried cherries from France, smoked gouda, and gruyere.

So. Beer. Before this, I didn't know much at all about beer. Sure I drink hefeweizen, and sure I have a few beers that I like. But my knowledge about different beers extend only to the difference between lager and ale. So after tasting these twelve german beers at this event, I came to learn more about beer than I thought there was to know.

And luckily they gave a handout of the beers with description, history, etc, and I took notes! Because after about 3 oz X 12 beers, I was definitely feeling a buzz ... Let's get on with the beers, shall we?

1. Reissdorf Kölsch
From the town of Cologne (Köln), hence the name. A very light and dry ale - a nice one to start off with.

2. Bitburger Pils
A very dry and bitter beer, IMO ... I didn't like it that much although I got used to it after a few gulps.

3. Hofbrau Original Munich Helles
First lager of the day. Bitter, but maltier than #2.

4. Bayrischer Banhof Berliner Weisse
Arguable the most interesting beer we had! Originating from Berlin, this wheat beer is surprisingly sour, due to the additional lactic fermentation (on top of yeast fermentation). A lot of people would be turned off by it and that's why it is typically served with some woodruff or red raspberry syrup. In our case, we were given some woodruff syrup ("waldmeister").

I actually liked this beer the way it is. Although sour, it had a nice crisp taste with a clean finish that is refreshing. The waldmeister does cut the sourness and adds a nice fragrance, but I think I prefer the taste of the beer itself.

5. Bayrischer Banhof Leipziger Gose
This might be my favorite beer of the day. A wheat ale made with coriander and salt, this beer reminds me of champagne. It's on the sweeter side, but a little malty and you can taste the salt in the finish.

6. Schneider Edel-weiss Hefeweizen
Let's learn some German: "Hefe"=yeast, "Weizen"=wheat.
A nice ale that is a little acidic.

7. Spaten Oktoberfestbier (Märzen)
The original Oktoberfest beer, this was named Märzenbier because it was brewed in March. Since this beer predates refrigeration and the cold temperature is necessary to brew lagers, they had to brew in the winter.
Amber-colored, medium-bodied, but crisp and a little bitter. I thought this went well with some of the smoked gouda.

8. Einbecker Mai-Ur-Bock
Named so because the last cases leave the brewery towards the end of May. A sweet, heavy, and a little malty, this pretty brown-colored beer is at the same time dry & crisp as it has a sharp, bitter finish.

9. Uerige Sticke Dusseldorfer Altbier
A very dry beer. Acidic and bitter. A pretty strong beer with ABV of 6.5%

10. Köstritzer Schwarzbier
This is a dark lager beer that has a roasty, coffee-like aroma, but is surprisingly light and acidic with a dry finish. Because of this, it is aptly known as "the black beer with the blonde soul."
Because of the slight chocolaty flavor, this beer paired very well with the dried cherries!

11. 13th Century Grut Beer
A wheat ale made with ginger, caraway, rosemary, anise, and other spices. It has a nice, strong, "spice" aroma and doesn't taste at all bitter. One of my faves of the day.

12. Aecht Schlekerla Rauchbier
My very first smoked beer. Unpasteurized and made entirely from smoked malt, this beer has a very strong smoked nose. Take a whiff and you'd think you were smelling smoked jerky. It has a lo~ng malty finish, and (as you can imagine) paired well with the smoked cheeses.
I definitely would not drink this on a casual basis. Might be nice for a bbq party though.

Although the class is not cheap ($50 if you register in advance), I thought that it would be worth it, since it isn't just about drinking the 12 beers and eating cheeses, but also the information you get out of it. Not sure if it is worth $75 though, so please do register in advance.

It was a very informative class where I got to try not only beers I've never had before, but beers I never even knew existed.
We also learned a lot about the histories of German beers and of the different types of beer. We all had a great time (the alcohol helps, I'm sure). We also got a souvenir glass :)

Ian has set up an enjoyable class setting and also a series of great classes!
I'm really looking forward to the Port, Chocolate, and Cheese class in December (I hope it won't sell out after telling you guys this ...)!

He has also started a more comprehensive, perhaps more geared towards trade professionals, credentialing program, that he calls the LAW school (and you take the BAR exam at the end -- cute).

LearnAboutWine is definitely a source of great events in Los Angeles, on top of a resource of wine knowledge. I hope to see it maintain and expand its unique series of classes! I've also heard great things about Ian's knowledge on wine and so will probably drop by for a wine (perhaps wine & chocolate? :) ) class.

Lobster Binge!

It's lobster fest! I had to take just a couple hours away from work just to splurge on fresh boiled Maine lobsters!

There are lobster festivals in long beach and redondo beach also on other weekends, but last year I've found that the San Pedro one gives the best deal lobsterwise.
$6 admission (using the $2 coupon from their website), $17 for a 1.25 lobster meal or $31 for 2 lobsters on a plate! It isn't that cheap but is still cheaper than going to a restaurant!

I got ... a 2-fer of course. I was late and got there around 2 pm, but the line was not too bad. There was about a 5 minute ticket line and a 5 minute lobster line. We also managed to find seats in the back tent, and then got to chowing down our lobsters.
The lobsters were nice, big, and fresh! I thought it was well worth $31.

We were in lobster heaven :) It comes with lemon, butter, dinner roll (don't bother eating it), and cole slaw.

Since we were starting to get thirsty, I got a strawberry lemonade from a lemonade booth.
Yummy. A little on the sweet side for me, but still so delicious and refreshing. They had a few already made beforehand waiting for you - but then the girl taking the orders was so slow they might as well making everything fresh each time.

Then I had to get my favorite festival food: roasted corn on the cob.
It was pretty good here, although I have had better, sweeter corn on the cob.

I also then decided to get a Smoothie by the Yard - since refills are $5 regardless of the size, I went for the big yard cup!

We were stuffed at this point, so we just walked around. I considered playing one of the carnival games so I can get a large lobster stuffed animal, but then I decided against it...

Besides the food and some knick knack/jewelry booths, there wasn't much else so we started heading to our car.

We parked on the event parking lot on 1st street, which was about 3-4 blocks away. We decided to walk it and that way get a feel of the shops/restaurants around there. Walking along the pier was pretty nice (although the water there is pretty stinky). They had cute shops and tons of seafood restaurants.


They also had little carts along the walk, so the fruitaholic among us got distracted and got a box of pre-cut mangos.
They weren't quite ripe yet, but at least not too sour.


He also got further distracted by a fried plaintain+churro cart, and got a small thing of fried plaintains.
Pretty yummy. Sweet and nicely caramelized.

As you can imagine, we all had food coma on the drive back home ...
I really enjoy going to lobster fest ... will be back next year!

Another Sunday Offering

Another event to keep in mind for this Sunday (especially if you like beer!) is LearnAboutWine's German Beer Tasting.

This Sunday (Sept 21), 3-5.30 PM.

LOFT218

530 Molino St Los Angeles, California 90013

You will be tasting the following beers:
Altbier
Berliner Weisse
Bock
Dortmunder Export
Gose
Hefeweizen
Kellerbier
Kölsch
Maibock
Märzen (the original Oktoberfestbier)
Munich Helles
Pilsner
Schwarzbier
Rauchbier
Roggenbier
Zwickelbier

That's a lot!! You will learn about these beers from "beer scribe" Tomm Carroll, who has written for LA Times, among others.

This class costs $75. There's an advance special price of $50 (may be too late now ...) or if you become a member of LearnAboutWine, then the event is $40.

This will be my first LearnAboutWine event, so I will definitely report back after Sunday!

Don't Forget: Savor the Season

Don't forget to join Savor the Season this Sunday, benefiting Break The Cycle, the leading organization that raises awareness and provides support for teen victims of domestic violence!

Featuring food and wine, and live and silent auctions, this event should be fun fun!
Here's the chef lineup:
Aaron Robins, Boneyard Bistro
Michael McDonald & Renee Ward, Brix@1601
Lisa Field & Corinna Conti, Catering by Field
Gerardo Ochoa, El Cholo Los Angeles
Bijan Shokatfard, Geoffrey’s
Chad Minton, Jer-Ne at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey
Scott Floyd, Salt Creek Grille
Gautam Chaudhry, Tanzore
Nano Crespo, Tasca Wine Bar

(Check out LA&OC's post for what they are serving!)

And if you guys want to splurge to get into the VIP Tasting Garden ($250, but it's for a good cause!), here's a list of what I think are the highlights:
Andrew's Cheese Shop - I've heard great things about this place recently
Beverly Hills Caviar - Caviar ... mmm
Girl Meets Grapes (Bonnie Graves) - a champagne tasting
Ventura Limoncello Original - I have such a weak spot for limoncello ...

WHEN: Sunday, September 21, 2008
6 to 9 p.m

WHERE: Vibiana, 210 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
A former cathedral, the luxurious and elegant Vibiana elevates events with sophisticated ambiance. For more information and photos, visit www.vibianala.com.

VGT Omnivore's Hundred: My Turn!

I've been wanting to do the VGT Omnivore's Hundred list for a while ... but I cheated and waited until AFTER I ate bugs! So here goes:

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - Well, I had gator tail (Garlic Fest), does that count?
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - loves my plum wine
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream - pistachio? I've even had basil ice cream!
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries - a friend picked one near the Palace of the Legion of Honors in SF ..
23. Foie gras - like, all the time ..
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda - Hmm .. no but it sounds good
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - First trip to SF ... did all the touristy stuff
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar -I also don't and will never smoke. But I do like cognac ..
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects - Very recently, see it here.
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu - No ... can't decide yet if I should ..
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I go for the fillet o' fish ..
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV - Maybe? Like what?
59. Poutine - didn't know what this was, but looks appealing on Wikipedia.
60. Carob chips - Why would you eat these by themselves?
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin - maybe as a part of a stomach Chinese stomach medicine
64. Currywurst - haven't heard of it, but from the name, it sounds delicious.
65. Durian - Ohh My favorite!! What can I say, I'm Indonesian!
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis -
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu - Could barely hold a sip.
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - Le Bernardin in NY
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare - Well, I had rabbit?
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - me no really drinkie coffee ...
100. Snake - I had rattle snake, also at garlic fest ..

Wow seems like I've got quite few left too go ..

Taste of Santa Monica - A Taste and More

So I went to the Annual Taste of Santa Monica this past weekend after getting $20 tix from Goldstar. I thought with $20 it seems worth a try! There were a lot of different little things everywhere but I will just give you a sampling of what was there - I didn't visit every booth and didn't take photos of everything I visited either!

The type and amount of food they give you there vary a lot, and so did the lines. Some booths had a really long line, like the one serving oysters and also this crepe booth:
Acadie Hand Crafted French Crepes:
Buckwheat crepes with mozzarela tomato and basil; and also one with Nutella
The filling was nothing spectacular as you can see, but I did like the buckwheat crepe. Different and gave a bolder taste than normal crepes.

While waiting in the long line for crepe, I sustained myself with a panini I grabbed from the not-so-crowded booth next to it:

Chicken pesto panini from Panini Garden.

Decent panini - bread was pretty nice. A decent-sized portion too I may add. We grabbed one and it was enough for two.



I loved the Green corn tamales from El Cholo.
This was a sweet tamale filled with cheddar, cheese, and ortega chili.
I really liked the sweetness of it and thought it worked well also with the cheese (although the cheese is not evenly distributed, but oh well).

They gave you a regular sized tamale, which really started to fill me up!

Shrimp and seabass cevice from The Lobster
Not bad .... I guess? I just came back from Peru so I have high expectations for my ceviche, and this one doesn't quite cut it. Also, too much onion.

The mussels from i cugini.

This was hit or miss. I got two mussels and one was practically a shrunken little thing, while the other was a nice, plump juicy piece.



Prosciutto melone fromIl Fornaio
A nice little combination and easy to just grab and eat. The prosciutto was just okay, but the whole thing was pretty refreshing. (There's only one place giving out drinks here so any ice cream/gelato/fruit booths were a blessing for me!)

Chilled shrimp with arugula, and tomato black olive relish
from Cezanne @ Le Merigot
The shrimp was big, fresh and crisp. Nice texture and refreshing taste!

The most fun part of the festival was probably watching the "Molecular Ice Cream Lab" where they make ice cream in these kitchen aid mixers using dry ice:
The ice cream was tangy and the different "flavors" didn't really come out, mostly due to the dry ice which gives it that tangy flavor.
But it was still such a fun addition to the festival!

Of course, we didn't manage to get seconds ... we didn't end up filling up our card and there were still quite a few booths we didn't visit. Oh well. We were full though and for $20 Goldstar tickets, the event was well worth it. Not sure if I would pay $40 though! Maybe if I didn't have to go to the BBQ fest ....

You will probably end up having to buy drinks - they have a full bar and already prepared a hundred cups filled with muddled mint for mojitos!

Backpost: Osteria Mozza and My Mozzarelas

This is a backpost from ... oh I don't know months ago. This was my trip to Osteria Mozza and after loading the photos I lost access to my desktop due to many reasons. But now here it is! See if I remember anything.

We made a reservation and got there right on time but the table wasn't ready anyway, so I had to wait at the bar for 10 minutes. Oh, well :/

First I ordered the mozzarela tasting appetizer since I am at Osteria Mozza after all!

Bufala, burrata, and fior di latte. This was waay too much cheese for 1 person (or 2 when one of us doesn't really like cheese). They also put lots of olive oil on it as you can see. I mean, it's yummy but seems a bit too fatty.

I couldn't really distinguish the tastes, but the textures definitely had noticeable differences. I liked the bufala a lot in the beginning but after eating a half of it, I found I liked the burrata's texture better.

We also split an order of gnocchi (this is a half):

The gnocchi was great and the sauce was tasty. It was supposed to be "wild boar ragu" though which was the reason I ordered it, but there was not much wild boar to it. Still tasty food though.

We also shared the Crisp Duck al mattone.

Impressive presentation, IMO :)
Duck was definitely crispy. Pretty juicy, flavorful. But ... a weeee bit too overcooked - just a wee bit dry ...

Now ... I'm so sorry but I don't remember what I had for dessert. Whatever it was it wasn't anything too special.


Overall I liked the food, although I would wait until the hype has gone down before coming back, so that 1)I can get reservation semi-last-minute and 2)I can eat in peace ...

Osteria Mozza
6602 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
1.323.297.0100

Guest Chefs at The Exclusive Athenaeum!

We were just talking about the Athenaeum at the FoodDigger's hosted dinner last night ...
The Athenaeum is a private club at Caltech exclusive to Caltech/JPL/Huntington Library/Palomar Observatory affiliated people. So, as it happens, I'm a starving (yeah, right ...) grad student at Caltech and I've been paying my dues so I can stay a member!

Good food on campus - seems strange right?

So why am I suddenly posting about this? Because ... annually the Ath hosts a Guest Chefs Night, and the next one is coming up! Similar to the 5x5, each one of these chefs will be preparing a dish for the night:

• Chef Nigel Patrick Didcock (Granite Club, Ontario, Canada)
• Chef Christopher Eme (Ortolan, Los Angeles) (!!!!) -- there were rumors that he was joining the 5x5 but true or not, he is definitely joining the Ath Guest Chefs Night
  
• Chef Bruno Marcy (C...Is for Chocolate, Burbank and Sara J. Pastries & Cake, Canoga Park)
• Chef Craig Strong (The Dining Room at the Langham, Pasadena)
• Chef Kevin Isacsson (The Athenaeum, Pasadena)

The menu is not yet up, but this is all happening on Tuesday October 28, 2008.
The dinner is $100 per person, which includes wine!

The Ath is a private club so unfortunately only members can go ... but if you foodies want to go, let me know! I'll see what I can do (i.e. how many I can bring).

More Comfort Food - Curry House

Sawtelle is a popular destination and was my hang out place when I was at UCLA. I used to go eat at Curry House a lot (still do, somewhat) so I thought I should finally make a post about it. Good, cheap (relatively) comfort food that I crave when I'm feeling a bit under the weather.

They have (unfortunately) getting more and more crowded and during a weekday dinner there can be a 15-20 minute wait :( And they used to be my "fast" food go-to place too.

Besides curry, Curry House also serves spaghetti, gratin, and 'hamburger' (Japanese style - grilled ground meat) on a sizzling hot plate. My favorite item there though, is their curry pan! When fresh, the crispiness of the bread is amazing!

Some of the dishes come with soup and you can choose either miso soup or their corn potage. I always get the corn soup - I love it! I love corn, and their soup is semi-sweet and creamy. It's not an earth-shattering soup, very simple. I mainly love it because it's the kind of soup we used to sometimes have at home.

When I come here, I like to get pork katsu in some form or fashion (although sometimes I have to get the crab omelette curry too!). This time I ordered the pork katsu curry in the stone pot.
The food came in a sizzling hot stone pot and the server will ask if he should mix it up for you with the curry sauce.

Curry House also have an assortment of desserts, starting from the ever present parfaits to somethings a little different like tofu cheesecake, or, what we got that night, sweet potato cake:
Their desserts are not bad, a bit heavy on the whipped cream usually, but it's a better version that the kinds of stuff you normally expect from this type of place.

For everyday dining, Curry House is such a great place to have nearby! I'm sad now that at Caltech there's nothing remotely close to it :(


Curry House
2130 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 479-8477

Greek Fest. Opa!

As you can see from the "upcoming food events" calendar, this month is crazy! This past weekend was both the Long Beach lobster fest and also the LA Greek Festival at the St Sophia Cathedral.
On Saturday I decided to check out the Greek Fest with a friend of mine. Silly me didn't check the time, so I went there at noon and .... they don't open til 1 pm. D'oh!!! What kind of festival opens so late >_< Oh well. We swung by Wien Bakery real quick then came back.

I ran into LA&OC Foodie while waiting in line. Small foodie world :)

Upon entering we were greeted by this fine man in toga who was handing out FREE grapes. Cool guy in toga giving out free food - what more can you ask for?

Inside the festival, there's a looong line to the food court. We waited there for a bit then decided that we really would rather have some gyros instead! So we left the line and went around the corner, where they are slicing up some gyros.
Gyros ($8) in my hand, we went to find a seat. They had a nice seating area near the dance stage - but most of them were taken already. We finally managed to find one way in the back though.
The gyros were great! Delicious and the meat was pretty good quality. I also like the fresh pita that they were wrapped in.

Of course you can't forget to grab a bunch of pastries either to eat there or on the way out! Their selection was not bad. I got some baklava (of course!)
The baklava was delish! Crunchy flaky buttered pastries .. yumm.

I also got some kataifi (I get the ones with nuts in them, do you guys notice?)
The pastries are pretty good and I should've bought more baklava!! Sigh, darn you stingy gourmet pig >_<

Overall I thought the festival was pretty fun and the food was great. It was kind of small though and there was not much to see otherwise. There was a cooking demo at certain times, and also a salsa performance - which I still don't understand the connection to a Greek festival ...

Chabuya: Best of Sawtelle Ramen, Not Best of LA

Ahhh, Ramen. There's hardly anything else that would hit the spot like a nice bowl of ramen would. But what if you can't make it all the way to Daikokuya? Much less Asa or Santouka? What if the best you can do that night is Sawtelle? Well, Chabuya was the obvious option in my mind.

I'm a sucker for miso, so of course I ordered the miso ramen with pork. I also added an egg (+$1).
Pretty good, pretty good. I like the addition of sesame seeds and fried shallots. The soup is not nearly Daikokuya-level. It's not bad and is actually pretty flavorful and rich, but somehow ... rather boring. I agree with rameniac's contention that Chabuya's soup is a "one note samba". Still, I could live with ... at least temporarily. It is actually quite good compared to the other ramen-yas on Sawtelle.

They also have the "Zembu" option which, like the name says, contains ALL the toppings. Although actually it doesn't have all the possible toppings they offer. This bowl below also had tofu that cost $1 extra.
So the $1 for additonal toppings can be pretty expensive. I mean, extra tofu for $1 is fine, $1 egg is okay, but $1 for green onions ... ? You serious?

Anyway Chabuya has its faults, but overall it's still a good bowl of ramen, and at least there' no 30 minute wait out the door. When I can't drive all the way to Daikokuya, Chabuya is still my go-to place.

Chabuya
2002 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles, CA, 90025

(310) 473-9834

Bug Bites!

Somehow the members of my lab got to talking about bugs and eating them a few months ago. Finally we managed to get people to go down to Typhoon in the Santa Monica airport tonight.
Typhoon is a Pan-Asian restaurant just below The Hump (I think owned by the same people also). Definitely has a nice view with the small planes there and all.

There were 10 of us and we ordered family style - bugs and nonbugs.

The first one that came definitely had a shock factor and was probably the grossest of them all. This was the chicken-stuffed waterbugs:First of all, we were shocked (and disappointed) that there were only two bugs on a $10 plate ... and since there were 10 of us it was a bit hard to share ...
So they were salty and crunchy ... with an aftertaste. The chicken? Could barely taste it with all the bug's exoskeleton pieces swirling around in your mouth ... They remind me of fried shrimp skin- salty and crunchy and otherwise doesn't taste like much.

We actually didn't order this but I guess they thought we did anyway ... this was the scorpions on shrimp toast:
Again, there were only two of them - plus the scorpions were tiny. I didn't get to have this one so can't tell you how they were.

Then we had the seaworms, also deep fried and served on lettuce wrap:
I was actually most scared of this one, but it turned out to taste and look pretty harmless. The seaworms to me tasted (and looked) like anchovies. My first bite was incredibly spicy and my mouth was burning. It didn't happen again though, I think it was just a piece of green chili in there.
Next we had the crickets, which rumdood said it was good (if he remembered correctly from years ago).
The crickets were somewhat small, but these were probably our favorite out of the bugs.
The potato strings do mask the flavors though, so you have to try the crickets by themselves.

The last one was the Chambi ants, also served with potato strings. Looks like an ant hill ...
The ants were harder to pick out to see how they taste, since they're so small. Eating them with potato strings mask the possible ant flavors. I think they do give subtle but distinct taste to them, but with the deep fried salty potato strings it's hard to be sure.

All in all, it kind of felt like the bugs were just a gimmick. They don't really taste like much - but then again that is not necessarily the fault of the restaurant. The prices definitely insane though, $10 for two pieces of cockroach-looking waterbugs.

Obviously the bugs - although drained our wallets - didn't really fill us up, so we ordered some "normal' stuff. Among others we got the Mongolian lamb:
This was actually really good. They served it with a bunch of this flaky bread that was delicious. The lamb retains its "lamb taste" which we liked, and the spices were pretty good.

Typhoon
3221 Donald Douglas Loop S.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 390-6565

Scoops: The Ultimate End of Summer Loot

Summer's almost over, and it's still hot. The only good thing about this heat is how much better it makes certain things, like icees, smoothies, and of course - ice cream! So it was time for me to check out Scoops on Heliotrope. (this is a backpost from a couple weeks ago - when it's even hotter!)

It seems like such a weird location. A small, cute place decorated with christmas lights next to dark industrial buildings on a small street. But it's known to be the best ice cream in LA, so the crowds still gather, sitting on small tables outside.Scoops offers a variety of flavors - from really unique flavors to dairy-free and vegan selections.
We ordered the large one - 6 flavors!! It was less than $6 and it ended up being 2 large full styrofoam containers! They are very generous and much cheaper than, say, gelato places!
So the flavors we got were:
Strawberry Lingonberry, Chocolate coconut, lemon mint sorbet, raisin and white wine, black sesame

(I didn't take a picture since we got it to go and everything was in a styro container with the lid on)

AMAZING! I felt like I have not had ice cream this good in a long time! The strawberry lingonberry was my favorite. Their ice cream is very smooth and creamy, their sorbey really refreshing. Their chocolate ice cream was wonderful - very chocolatey.

Of course, we couldn't finish it all so we ended up taking one container home. It didn't refreeze too well :/ (melted on the way home) but it was still very good. It's a bit far from my place, but nonetheless, mark my words, I will be back, even when it's no longer hot outside!


Scoops
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 906-2649

Cheap Eats Under $5: Sam Woo's Wonton Noodle

More on good, cheap eats around LA! Unfortunately most of the ones under $5 will be around the San Gabriel area, but this one has branches all over, so you can find it in, say, Van Nuys too!

Sam Woo BBQ is pretty popular and has branches in downtown, Van Nuys, and of course, the San Gabriel area. They are usually popular for their roast duck and chashu (BBQ pork), but more on those another time! Right now I want to focus on their cheap wonton noodle soup: $3.95!This particular bowl is from the Alhambra location. It's a pretty big bowl and will definitely fill you up. They give you about 4 wontons, stuffed with pork and even shrimp. I really love the thin noodles - the thinness creates this wonderful texture in my mouth :)
The broth is pretty fishy compared to higher quality places, but it's flavorful and for the price, I think it's a great bowl! It hits the spot and doesn't hit your wallet that hard.

Sam Woo BBQ
514 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 281-0038