Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee

  

  Some of the most delicately soft and chewiest doughnuts I've ever have managed to have tried in my life. What impresses me is the lack of over the top sweetness you would expect from anything else that dons the title, yet you get something so wholesome it's mind boggling . Despite the sheer amount of quality that obviously goes into each and everyone of these, the result seems almost effortless in how good they actually are. One quick note to add, these babies don't come cheap, think 2-3 bucks a pop. But for me I see it as paying for the extra quality, that's well worth it in the end. Seriously I'm still thinking about them.

  On top of that they serve premo coffee, from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, to enjoy. I enjoy mine straight up black the way it should be when paired with sweet treats.

  -Maple Bacon- A good balance of salty & sweet, the bacon is crisp (which is a must). It surpasses virtually  every other maple bacon incarnate I've had around the So Cal area, but it's definitely not the Maple Bacon Bar over at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland (my undisputed #1). 

  -Huckleberry: Wonderfully potent in flavor, bright & rich without being to sweet. The acidic citrus bite from the berries provides a clean finish.

  -Vanilla Glaze Twist: I just basically got one of these because they just where just out of the oven and freshly glazed. Now I don't even care what variety you get, anything that comes fresh is like buttery melted gold in your mouth. Did I mention the glaze has real bits vanilla bean sprinkled about? Now I gotta say it's not so drastically different from any other good glaze twist I've had, taste-wise, but it's the wonderful texture that makes it so special. 

  I have found my happy place. 

270 E. 17th St.

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

 

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

Here's a quick one for those who have a hankering for that sweet & salty combo. Originally I was going to use this as treat to finish off the last Thanksgiving dinner I hosted, but I already had enough on plate to deal with that day (literally). I just now saw it fit to give this a go after so long on being in my to-make list. Just prepare to clean up a sticky mess with plenty of hot water!

Recipe here.

The John Coffey Special

Recently I just finished re-watching The Green Mile and it was around the end, during Michael Clark Duncan's most powerful scene, he was asked what would he like as his last meal. He request was simply "Meatloaf would be nice, mashed potatoes, gravy, okra, and maybe some of that fine corn bread your misses make [referring to Paul Edgecomb's spouse]".  For some reason that line struck a chord, I got an insight into what kind of man this character was, simple and seeking something that resembled home. Call me a sap, but I was absolutely compelled to recreate this dish in honor of him, part of me wasn't satisfied of the fact that I get to see this dish be enjoyed. Haha

When it came to deciding how I wanted to approach this, simple and as old school as possible would be the right choice, no fro-froing today. The only thing I'll a stickler about is putting a little more emphasis on the meat rather than the loaf aspect, I've had way to many breaded-down versions in my time (and I'm sure you have too). 

Meatloaf: I got my recipes from a jumble of sources but a southern cooking post can't go without at least a nod towards the queen of southern comfort, Paula Dean (hold the 10lbs of lard and sugar).

Okra: This post is a bit convoluted, but I really enjoyed it for the back story/history and attention to detail. To save you all the jumping, skipping and back tracking, I'll just give you the nitty gritty right here. Now he didn't exactly give us exact measurements, so it'll be something you'll have to eyeball.

-Cut Okra into half inch slices (removing tip and stem base), liberally adding salt to help absorb the moisture.
-Toss in a bowl a couple times with enough cornmeal to lightly cover the Okra and season with pepper. Let it sit in the bowl to allow the cornmeal to adhere (I went up to an hour).
- Pour into skillet with just enough oil to come up halfway on the sides of the sliced okra. Heat oil to the hottest point without smoking and add enough okra to cover the whole pan completely.
-Turn the heat down to medium high, cover over the pan with a tight-fitting lid and let it sizzle for a 2-3 minutes-  check undersides for browning. 
-Flip for a couple more minutes, until browned. Serve immediately 
-
Cornbread: I would play with the temp./time settings. Mine got a little too dark after just barely 30 minutes. 

Mashed Potatoes : Dead simple, and absolutely fantastic. 

Pho 79

I’ve been coming here for a years and this place never disappoints. The quality is consistent (always awesome), the servers are quick and to the point ( just give them your order, don’t lag). Here the price is definitely right and you always get more for what you pay for. It’s cash only, so for you dummies that never carry on you, now is the time to start. Just order an Ox Tail, a Medium bowl of whatever meats you want, and happiness is achieved my friend. If you have any room left, order the avocado shake. Sounds weird, but you’ll love this offbeat dessert. haha

P.s. Just watch out during the busy hours, parking and seating could be a pain.

9941 Hazard Ave

Garden Grove, CA 92844

One last hurrah in Los Angeles

With only a couple days to go, J. Kao and I head out for one last trip to LA to just chill and chow. For so long I was promised a Hong Kong style breakfast, yet much like a recent post, it wasn't until the end till I was finally taken out... but hey I can't complain, since I'll be having the real deal in few months. (WOOT) 

But damn was I shown what was up, as soon as we sat down we ended up getting the whole shebang (pretty much anyways). Being only two people between us, it's amazing at the fact that we had a single bowl left to go. But it was seriously not that hard to put in work on this spectacular feast, personally I love love love Chinese breakfast and this hit me right in the sweet spot. Thank you very much for giving me a preview.

(Photography only lasted up until the first bite, seriously, I forgot about everything else as soon as I dug in.) 

1.Pineapple Bun w/ Butter: No real melon included, it's just named after it's appearance. It's my personal favorite combination of slightly sweet bread and salty butter (magic). -

2. HK-style French Toast w/ peanut butter: It's as good as it sounds, straight up.

3. Fermented Egg Congee: There's something about this one that makes it so much better than others. Savory chicken broth perhaps?  

4. Chinese Churro w/ rice wrap and peanut sauce: Guilty pleasure, stretch pants not included.

5.Ham & Egg Sandwich: Bare bones in simplicity, but I find a certain charm about in how it reminds me about my younger days. I'm told this a traditional thing for the old men to snack on before they go out to spend their days playing Mahjong  

6. Horlick: Not as sweet as I was expecting to be but incredibly refreshing and a pleasant palate cleanser. 

7. Ovaltine: J. Kao's personal favorite drink growing up.

After a brief interlude through downtown, what could a trip here be without visiting our favorite watering-hole, Handsome Coffee Roasters? See that simple menu, love it! The fine print makes it sound pretentious,
but it keeps the Starbucks crowd out. 

After deciding to stay local we ended up with the mega cravings for noodles, and since the ever-so-popular Daikokuya, is always packed we gave a quick search on yelp only to discover an equally intriguing spot only a few doors down. 

Being the group that we are, this cordial dinner turned into another veritable feast! Bowls and tempura for days, some of the notable side orders where the deep fried egg (possibly duck) which carried a deep yellow yolk, soo good. Among all the other bowls, the highest of recommendations can go the Uni Udon! So magnificently rich and decadent, that it has actual (generous I might add) chunks of tasty sea urchin floating about on ever bite. As a friend would put it, it looked like a hundred sea urchins died to make that dish, I have no shame. 

What's amazing is the lack of notoriety this place even gets! Half the people in here look like stragglers who didn't want to wait an hour plus over at Daikokuya and decided to compromise on the "other noodle place". But unbeknownst to their know, their about to get the rug pulled from underneath them. No matter tho, let all the attention go the hype machine and I'll just continue strolling in with only a few minutes wait. Haha

With our conquest of gluttony a success, the only thing left is one last drive through downtown and enjoy the lit up skyline as we say good bye one more time.  

Delicious Food Corner

2327 S Garfield Ave

Monterey Park, CA 91754

Marugame Monzo

329 E 1st St

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Pork Chili Verde

With a only a few weeks left to before J. Kao moves back across the Pacific to Hong Kong, we've decided to host little meal sessions where we're able to experiment with new recipes that we had our minds on but never really had the chance to try out. It'll  be taking place at our respective homes, one night each and every week until it's time finally say goodbye. This week I began our little series with a humble stew I've been craving since I've came back from the frosty Manhattan isle. It's a classic Mexican dish  that I grew up on and favored during chilly nights, stewed pork in chili verde salsa. For the Salsa Verde, I've come to really appreciate this version, as it comes close to my moms boiling method over the roasting variations I've seen everywhere else. Unless otherwise, you can acquire decent Salsa Verde at your local Mercado (Latino market) or even find it at Trader Joes, believe it or not.

• -Canola Oil 
• - 2lbs Boneless Pork Shoulder (cut into 1" cubes)
• - Salt & Pepper 
• - 2 cups Salsa Verde 
• - 1 cup Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
• - Medium Onion ( Yellow Spanish preferred), quartered 
• - 1 Large Bell Pepper (cut into large chunks)
• - 1 lbs Fingerling Potatoes 

-Heat oil in a large skillet on high and sear pork until they brown on the the outside, then transfer to a slow cooker/oven-proof pot. You might have to work in batches, so try not to over crowd the chunks.

-Once all the pork is cooked and transferred, add the broth to the skillet and scrape up any little bits of flavor using a wooden spatula. Once the broth starts to simmer, pour into the slow cooker/oven-proof pot along with the Chile Verde, Onion, and Bell Pepper.

-For a slow cooker; set on high for 4 hours until the meat is super tender, add the potatoes in the last hour. For a oven-proof pot; pre-heat the oven at 300F and set for 2 hours, add the potatoes in the last 40 minutes. *Be sure to skim some of the free floating fat off the surface, no need to use it anymore, it's done it's part.

-Serve in bowls with plenty of Tortillas and Lime wedges.

IL Dolce

I've been anticipating my upcoming trip to New York for over a month now, and the entire time what I've almost instantly been relating to that city is pizza. Don't get me wrong, that city has sooo much to offer aside from this classic staple, but ever since John Stewart's  brazen, if not ballsy professing of how superior NY pizza is over "Chicago-style", it was damn near impossible not to have it on my mind all the time.

Luckily J. Kao finally introduced me to a local shop that she claims is the best I can find anywhere around the OC. She's been talking about this place for so damn long I nearly felt that it was some old wives tale used to tease me, as it took her a couple years to finally bring me here! But I trust her in her claims, having she just been to Italy just a couple weeks ago, I was taken aback when she finally said she'd take me! 

The place is completely unsuspecting, being in the shadow of a strip mall, right off the turn of a freeway that leads straight to the beach. Inside had a very modern appeal despite it actually having a legit mom & pop kind of vibe. Our hostess (mom) was very delightful in taking care of us, and we could easily see pop get to work as soon as he got the orders in. Our orders where as followed.

-Prosciutto & Fig: Terrifically savory, the baked figs added only a nuance of sweetness that brought everything together, the cheese selected (I can't recall off the top of my head) was an excellent closer for the pallet. 

-Margarita: Had a bright, sweeter that expected sauce that rings in a balanced combination with basil. The delightfully chewy crust had that rustic charm as you picked up notes of the char from the wood oven. 

The place looked surprisingly empty for the lunch hour on a sunny Saturday in Newport Beach, we hoped it was some sort of off day for the business because it would truly be a tragedy to have lost such masterful  craftsmanship as a result of lacking a recognition. But I'm glad I was finally able to make an acquaintance with such a hidden gem. My cravings for good pie continues.

With that being said, I'm off to the east coast!

*Chicagoan discretion advised for the John Stewart link.

1902 Harbor Blvd.

Costa Mesa, CA 92627