Smashburger Comes to Culver City

Smashburger is the brainchild of Tom Ryan, who has 20 years as a fast food executive under his belt, from Quizno's to McDonald's. Before all that, though, he had a PhD in Flavor and Fragrance Chemistry, and it showed in all his creative new ideas. You'll see his idea for Smashburger in just a bit.

Smashburger creates a special burger for different locations, and the one we have, the L.A. Burger, happens to be my favorite out of the few burgers I tried. The LA Burger combines the ethnic influences we have in this town with crispy wonton, fried egg, cilantro, cucumber, lettuce, tomato and Japanese steakhouse ginger dressing on a black and white sesame seed bun.

It may sound kind of weird, but this was a delicious and interesting combo. The price point is very friendly as well at $5.99 for a regular (you can also go "big" or "double").

So, back to Tom Ryan's idea and the name of Smashburger. The beef patty at Smashburger is literally smashed. They do this to create space so the heat can percolate up more evenly. The patty is then seasoned while searing.

We tasted the patty on its own right of the griddle and you get this really beefy taste.

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Travel: Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina

I was initially skeptical upon reading all the recommendations for Recoleta Cemetery as a sight to see in Buenos Aires. Really, a cemetery? But Recoleta is no ordinary cemetery. The travel sites and guidebooks all say it is the resting place of the famous and wealthiest of Buenos Aires, but that still didn't prepare me for what I was about to see.

Think Hollywood Forever Cemetery was impressive? Think again. Cementerio de la Recoleta contains massive rows of stunning, ornate mausoleums that tower over you. Each mausoleum belongs to one family and multiple generations are buried there.

Some are as big as a two-story house with sculptures, mosaics, and paintings.

You can tell which mausoleum is the most famous and visited by the amount of flowers left on the door. It is one of the reasons people visit Recoleta cemetery: the resting place of Eva (Evita) Peron. You won't find her under the name Peron, however, as it is Argentinean custom to bury husband and wife separately.

It is not the most extravagant crypt there but you can spot it by the unusual number of people standing/taking photos nearby, the flowers, and the plaques talking about Eva Peron.

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Getting To Know The Wines of Ribera del Duero

I don't profess to know much about wines (yet) but I like attending wine seminars because I learn so much. Most recently I attended a seminar for Ribera del Duero wines of Spain at Red O. The sommelier leading the seminar told us that there are three great wines of Spain: Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Priorat. Ribera del Duero has higher elevation and thus greater diurnal shift. The hot summers ripen the fruit while the cold winters allow retention of acidity. This region is almost entirely planted with Tempranillo, and a third has vines that are older than 50 years.

Tempranillo is a thin skinned grapes which is highly aromatic. Apparently delicate grapes usually do not work well with oak but tempranillo is the exception to the rule. For the seminar, we tasted 5 different wines.

Bodegas y Vinedos Monteabellon, S. L. Avaniel 2011

This wine is 100% tempranillo all aged in stainless steel, which means it was meant to be drunk young.
Aroma: sourdough. Bright, good finish.

Bodegas Valdubon S. L. Cosecha 2010
The term "cosecha" (or sometimes "joven") means that there's been no oak aging. Just like the previous wine, this is 100% tempranillo in stainless steel, and ready to drink. Aroma: dill.
There's a sweet and sour character on the palate. I liked this better than the Avaniel. They're both 14% ABV but this tastes smoother.

Bodegas y Vinedos Ortega Fournier, S. L. Urban Ribera 2009
This wine has been aged in French oak for 3 months (which is not long enough for the next labeling, "crianza"). According to the sommelier, almost all across Europe, the wines in 2009 have a ripe fruit character, almost jammy. This wine is spicier and a little heavier than the previous, with subtle vanilla and spice notes.

Valduero Reserva 2004
This was even spicier than the Fournier, but still balanced. 

Alejandro Fernandez-Tinto Pesquera, S.L. Pesquera Reserva 2008
This wine was aged 2 years in American oak and a year in the bottle. This was heavier and had less acid than the Valduero but still tasted bright.

Next we had some bites from Red O and tried pairing them with the various wines.

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