Hostess Lemon Pie

Last week, as I stood in line at a corner store, the Hostess treats stand caught my eye. Twinkies, HoHo's, Suzy Q's, SnoBalls, Zingers (the raspberry ones with coconut!), Ding Dongs, Hostess Cupcakes with the swirly design and powdered donuts had me smiling and drooling. I stopped when my gaze landed on first row of the stand. That's where the Hostess Pies were lined. Without hesitation, I grabbed a lemon pie.

Hostess Lemon pies remind me of field trips and Mt. View Elementary School. The night before a field trip, Mom would take me to Ray's Market to pick out treats for lunch. I always chose the same things - Funyuns and Hostess Lemon pies. In the morning, we would make my lunch. I would pack my lunch bag while Mom wrapped a frozen soda in aluminum foil.

By the time our lunch break rolled around, the soda would be slushy and cold - truly a favorite part of my field trip lunches.

I sat in my car, holding that lemon pie, smiling. I hadn't had one of these things since I was a kid! Quite silly how excited I was to eat this. I broke off the corner, popped it in my mouth. I didn't taste the lightly frosted crust. I didn't even taste the tangy lemon filling. I was too busy savoring memories...

Long bus rides, singing "99 Bottles of Beer" and stopping before we were out of the 80s, enthusiastically pumping arms in hopes one of the truck drivers on the road would sound his air horn, cheering wildly when a trucker obliged. I know one trip was to see the King Tut exhibit when it hit Los Angeles in the 70s. I could not tell you one thing about that collection. What I can tell you is how fun it was rolling down the grassy hill of the George Page museum. I do remember holding onto my glasses for dear life because I couldn't imagine trying to explain to my Dad how they broke! I do remember shrieking and laughing - that pure and joyful sound that escapes when, in that moment, all you know is glee and fun. Oh, how I giggled! The sheer delight of dizziness and nausea as I lay at the bottom of the hill. The uncomfortable I'm-covered-in-grass itchy feeling during the long bus ride back to school was easily tolerated because there was so much fun behind it all!

All that from a Hostess Lemon Pie.

NaBloPoMo 11.3 ~ My Last Meal Menu

For today's post, I decided to use one of the NaBloPoMo writing prompts:

If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal,

what would you want it to be?

For this post, I am giving myself all day to eat my last meal. Actually, I'm rather intrigued by the 'why would this be my last meal?' What dastardly deed did I do? Well, that's another prompt for another day...

Breakfast: a short stack of Tis the Season (pumpkin) pancakes from the Griddle Cafe in West Hollywood CA. My most favorite breakfast ever - pumpkin filling, melted butter, a dusting of powdered sugar. The Griddle pancakes are the size of a Frisbee. Serious. Most people attack the stack from the outer edge, working their way to the middle. No no no. Read this to get it right. OMG. I kinda want this right now.

Snack: malasadas from Leonard's in Honolulu and a cup of coffee.

Lunch: a selection of formaggi e salumi from Cube Marketplace on La Brea. Cube is one of my most favorite places to chill with friends, sip wine, eat good eats. Mole' salami has to be one of the meat selections. Actually, I'd be okay if it was the only selection. Cheese...mmm, cheese...brillat savarin, humboldt fog, a hunk of tasty parm would have to be included. And, the accoutrement! Almonds & assorted nuts, prosecco jelly, dried fruits, warm crusty bread, apricot jam, but no olives. I don't like olives.

Snack: 2 of my mom's awesome Dunkin' Platter cookies that have been popped in the microwave for 20 seconds and a glass of milk with ice.

Dinner: OK, I'm about to go CRAZY! Let's pretend I have a hollow leg or I won't get full or sick...Braised short ribs on a bed of polenta, spinach or collard greens, my mom's awesome potato salad (is it Thanksgiving yet?!), my mom's corn casserole, mac n cheese with toasted bread crumbs on top and King's Hawaiian dinner rolls. I would also have my favorite sushi rolls from Midori Sushi in Studio City ~ Ginger roll, Bonzai roll, Fire roll and Spicy Crab Nugget. Dessert would be my mom's awesome chocolate dessert and my grandma's made-from-scratch lemon meringue pie sans meringue.

Dang. That's a lot of food. ::shoulder shrug:: Go big or go home! :)

What would be your last meal menu?

Food Review ~ The Bazaar

It's no secret I like to eat. Dare I call myself a 'foodie'? Well...okay!

I traipse over the hill to meet friends at The Bazaar, a dark bar/restaurant/hip spot in the SLS Hotel on La Cienega. The bar looked cool - all dark with its tall glass-topped tables and cushy bar stools. That's really all I saw as we were immediately whisked off to our table.

We were seated in the dark dining room with a view of the bright white, well-lit kitchen. The room was bustling, movement of all sorts going on; mainly waiters dashing about carrying plates of delicious looking food. Our waiter - young and adorable - greeted us and recited his spiel like a seasoned server should. He explained the tapas menu then took our drink order. "Three 'Winter Wonderland' drinks please."

Winter Wonderland is one hell of a drink. I could write an entire post about this drink alone. An entire post! But, I won't.

So, over to our table comes young and adorable waiter #2 pushing a cart. For a minute there I thought were were getting table-side guacamole service. Nope. It's table-side drink service - even better!

This is what I remember of the Winter Wonderland - delicious, crushed nuts, liquid nitrogen and a lot of alcohol. Oh, yes, the drink is made with liquid nitrogen. It's scooped into a glass and served with a spoon. I know! Ohh, it's so yummy.

Then, there's the food. Oh, the food! Here's what we had:

• Sweet potato chips with yogurt sauce - not sure who started the whole sweet potato chips/fries thing, but, thank you whoever you are.
• Green asparagus tempura - these things were huge. Huge! I can't even...I mean...they're like...like...Oh! They are the size of those jumbo pencils at Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm. You know what I'm talking about. THAT was the size of the asparagus. Fact.
• Endive with goat cheese - for me, if the description reads "...with goat cheese..." I'm IN. The goat cheese had a light and lovely citrusy flavor to it; perfect pairing with the endive.
• Beef hanger steak - much too rare for me, though I'm sure it was tasty.
• Tortilla de patatas "new way" - this was very interesting...potato foam/soup + egg 63 *in an egg shell*! Clever. Yummy.
• Jicama-wrapped guacamole - Oh. My! Tissue paper-thin jicama slices filled with guacamole. Ohh, yes. Simple. Very very good. I would eat that plus the little sandwiches and be perfectly happy.
• Philly cheesesteak - these little air pockets of bread filled with beef and melted cheddar. It's no Geno's or Jim's or Pat's. These little sandwiches stand on their own as far as cheesesteaks go. The vegetarian version (Hilly cheesesteak) has mushrooms instead of beef. These are ordered per person. Do yourself a favor and order at least two. You're welcome.

Somewhere in between I ordered my second drink - Hendrick's gin and tonic. Not too exciting except for the ice ball. The perfectly shaped ice ball kept my drink cold through the rest of dinner and into dessert and it kept me fascinated.

After dinner, we were escorted to the Patisserie for dessert. The dessert bar had a fantastic selection of bons bons, cookies, candy (chocolate covered Pop Rocks anyone?), cakes and assorted pastries. I had a lovely, light green tea cookie and an absolutely delicious eyes rolled into the back of my head chocolate coffee bon bon.

The Bazaar is a wonderful food and drink experience. The sights, the sounds, the tastes all add up to something good. Bring friends and plenty of cash.

The Bazaar
at SLS Hotel
Reservations: 310.246.5555

Review - Chef Brian's Comfort Truck

Thanks to Twitter, I have developed a mild fascination with gourmet food trucks in Los Angeles. On any given day, trucks can be found from the Valley to the South Bay selling their tasty wares – dim sum, Korean BBQ, Indian food, burgers, sushi. Even popular restaurants and food establishments like Sprinkles cupcakes, In-n-Out and Border Grill are jumping on this mobile bandwagon. I have tracked down the Grilled Cheese Truck, twice; and happened upon the Sweets Truck when I walked out of my office building for a break. My ‘must try’ list has four trucks: Frysmith (fries as a meal), Cool Haus (gourmet ice cream sandwiches), Buttermilk Truck (breakfast favorites) and the Comfort Truck (sliders, wings and wraps). Yesterday, I crossed off the Comfort Truck from my list.

Friday was a particularly taxing day at work. By late afternoon, I tweeted my sentiment: I sure could use some @ComfortTruck right about now. Within minutes, my tweet was re-tweeted with an invitation to find them over the weekend. I hoped for a location close to me in the Valley but knew I would drive almost anywhere in L.A. to give the truck a try. The event location and time revealed via Twitter, I made my plan to find the Comfort Truck.

Chef Brian’s Comfort Truck took to the road in March of this year with Brian Hill at the wheel. Hill is a former Top Chef contestant and current featured chef on Private Chefs of Beverly Hills.

Waiting to turn at the intersection of National and Exposition, I was greeted by the sight of that iconic red KFC building and a soon-to-be just as iconic red Comfort Truck. To my surprise, and utter delight, there was no line. I parked my car and called Lys – “I am at the Comfort Truck!” Before I could focus on the menu, I was greeted by a happy voice from within the truck “What’s up, girl?” It was Chef Brian! His smile was wide and warm even through the screen separating us. I told him how my need for the Comfort Truck on Friday lead me to seek it out on Saturday. Nikki, one of his co-workers, joined him at the window.

“Wait, that was on Twitter, right? What’s your name?”
“Rissa. Rissadee on Twitter.”
“Yeah! I’m glad you found us.” Brian slid open the screen and gave me a fist bump. Holla!

Unfamiliar with the menu and not sure what to order, I asked Chef Brian’s opinion. He hooked me up with BBQ chicken sliders, jerk beef sliders and an order of his infamous ‘crack’ tortilla chips with relish. Before I left, Chef Brian came out from the truck to give me a hug and said “Thank you!” Holla!

I called Lys to tell my Comfort Truck tale only to lose her in Laurel Canyon; but not before she could ask me to write a guest blog about my experience (that’s how I wound up here, in case you were wondering). The food smelled delicious, the bag was giving off heat, my mouth watering. I could not drive home fast enough. I pulled into my apartment parking space, grabbed a fistful of napkins from my glove compartment (a necessity for professional in-car eaters) and ripped open the bag. No shame in my game!

First stop: BBQ chicken sliders. I’ve said this before: the second bite is my favorite. The first one, you’re just trying it out – the temperature, the texture, checking to see if it’s a combination of flavors you can tolerate. But, the second bite? Ohh, that’s where it’s happening! The soft and unobtrusive roll, that tangy and somewhat familiar bbq sauce, the crispy and tender fried chicken topped with melted mozzarella all came together…mmm. Oh, sorry – I’m salivating.

Next stop: jerk beef sliders. Same soft and unobtrusive roll with a nicely done (inside and out!) beef patty, I got a double whammy on my second bite. That’s when the jerk seasoning hit me and, to my surprise, a bite of pineapple. Aloha! What a clever and tasty pair, which may not be so surprising to some. As a Hawaiian, I am a firm believer in keeping pineapple off of pizza and burgers. I shall now recant and amend my statement to include only pizza.

Third and, sadly, final stop: fried tortilla chips and relish. 1) Chef Brian’s relish of corn, white beans, cilantro and seasonings is a meal on its own. 2) ‘Crack’ chips are appropriately named. WOW! After one bite, I knew one bag of chips was not going to be enough for me. I kept breaking them into smaller and smaller pieces only to make them last longer. And once they were gone, don’t think it didn’t cross my mind to drive back over there. No shame in my game.

If you’re in LA, go find Chef Brian and get your Comfort Truck on. Holla!

*Fist bump*

RA RA AH AH AH(men)

I had beef-flavored Cup o'Noodles for lunch today. Sometimes, you just gotta have ramen, y'know? Sitting in my office, I remembered when there was a time if I never saw ramen noodles again, that would be too soon.

In 1993, I was engaged to a not-so-nice guy. While both of us worked, we never seemed to have enough money to cover things other than rent (read: food). There was always enough for his beer; not enough for a jar of peanut butter or loaf of bread. He stocked up on top ramen noodles, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and cans of tuna. Yes, this is what we lived on for most of the last year we were together.

He would say: Starvation is the mother of invention then prepare some concoction using 2 out of the 3 items above plus whatever condiment packets were around. I got so sick of ramen noodles and Kraft M&C! I swore never to eat that crap again. Even if I only had one dollar left in my pocket, ramen noodles would never pass these lips!

Yeah, well...the best laid plans...

At least now the choice is mine to make.

Four Days in November

11.26 ~ Thanksgiving at my sister's house. Since Grandma died, our family spends the day with my sister and her in-laws. She's got it good - she cleans the house, everyone else brings the food then cleans up. I bring my Tupperware and a fork (I'm good that way!). I really wasn't in the mood to be social, put on the happy face, etc. But, it's family. And I needed a hefty dose of it! My brother + his kids were in San Diego with his wife's family; but my niece was in from Las Vegas (she's in the Teach for America program). I got to talk with Dad for a while, got to cry to Mom for a while, got to laugh with Trey & Mia for a while, got to eat for a while. It was all good. I left that night feeling full of food and family.

11/27 ~ Connected with my cousin Nepunnee at Duke's in Malibu. All she wanted was to drink with family! And I, of course, was more than happy to oblige. I'm so impressed by her - she was this extremely shy child, clingy with her mom, barely talked; now, she's talkative, bright, funny and wants to have a drink with her favorite cousin! :) We shared family stories - hookers, dogs, Transformers, Grandma's pies, cousins + family. It was a great time! Makes me want a family reunion...

11/28 ~ Had an incident at the hair salon - glasses off (can't see a damn thing!), hair in foil, Glamour magazine at my nose, trying to read. Next to me is an empty salon seat then two stylists each with a customer. The 4 of them are talking about the Tiger Woods incident...blah blah blah...

"Well, he is half black and all black men are violent. Just look at that Chris Brown."

I lowered the magazine, squinting my eyes to see who's talking. It's 2009, right? I didn't hear that, right? It's 2009, right? I don't even know what kind of look was on my face. Probably not a very good one.

Stylist #2: "That...was...just one incident." I was fuming, so anything said after that was static and noise.

I wanted to say something intelligent and wise. All I could think to say was something vile and angry. And, I sat there. Silent. I'm still shaking my head.

Later that night, Diana, Scot, Rochelle and I met at the Troubadour in West Hollywood for the English Beat show. We danced up in the VIP loft area which is all fine and dandy; I just love dancing down in the crowd. It was a very good show! I've been to a lot of Beat shows. A LOT. And this one was very good - everything fired on all cylinders: the band, the crowd, the vibe, the songs, everything. They're off to Hawaii this week; then back to ring in the new year in Redondo Beach.

11/29 ~ private shopping event @ Nordstrom! We get food, personal shoppers and the store to ourselves for at least an hour. I did some Christmas shopping and holiday shopping for meeeeee (boyfriend blazer, 2 sweaters, adorable holiday top). I'm in love with a fabulous Marnie hobo bag - navy leather, brown strap, big and gorgeous. It's even marked down to $1,290.90!

Left the event to have sushi @ Midori (our favorite all-you-can-eat sushi place) with Joe. LOVE HIM!! I'm glad we had the chance to catch up, haven't seen him in a while. We always have a good time together, no matter what we do. Just seems that we have a particularly splendid time eating at Midori...

And, today...it's pay rent and back to work. Pffttht!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving used to be a trip to San Pedro to visit my grandparents. They had the tiniest house; somehow there was plenty of room for everyone.

Though the usual Thanksgiving grub sat on the table, I was more interested in the sticky rice and chicken adobo and Spam. Grandma would spend the entire day cooking and baking. Ohh, the baking! Everything from scratch. People would place orders for her pies. She would bake pies for the sisters and priests in the rectory behind the house. She would bake pies for our Thanksgiving dessert as well as bake pies for families to take home. And she would bake a lemon meringue pie without meringue just for me...

At Grandma's funeral, someone (Uncle Nicky maybe?) mentioned her pies. There was a collective groan from the crowd.

Not sure why this memory came to me. I'm sure glad it did :)

Rissa's Guide to Pancakes at The Griddle

Creative Writing homework assignment 06.18.09 ~ describe in detail a meal you've had recently...

I’ve enjoyed quite a few pancakes in my time ~ IHOP, Denny’s, summers at Girl Scouts’ Camp Azalea Trails, Mrs. Gilbert’s god-awful blueberry mess, my Mom’s Sunday morning smiley face masterpieces. If a place serves pancakes and I’ve been there? Chances are I’ve eaten pancakes. However, the pancakes at the Griddle in West Hollywood are thee best pancakes I have ever had! They’re huge; they’re filled and/or topped with yummy deliciousness and taste just as yummy as they look.

I go to the Griddle for pancakes about once a month; and have been doing so for at least five years. Here is Rissa’s Guide to Doing Griddle Pancakes Right:

1 – Which to order? With close to 20 pancake choices, your head will undoubtedly spin. If you like bananas, try the Banana Nana – brown sugar-coated bananas mixed in buttermilk batter; Feeling like Violet Beauregard? Try BLUESberry – blueberry pancakes topped with blueberry sour cream and powdered sugar. There are pancakes that taste like coffee cake, all cinnamon swirled and streusel topped. Eyes Wide Open with chocolate chips and a shot of espresso. Or, my favorite ~ Tis the Season – pumpkin pie filling in the pancake mix, topped with whipped cream, more pumpkin pie filling and powdered sugar. Mmm! Oh yeah, they have plain good ol’ fashioned pancakes, as well.

2 – How to order. These are not normal-sized pancakes, my friends – ohhh no no no. The Griddle calls them “over-sized.” I call them huge. HUGE! They’re bigger than my head. Let’s see…they’re the size of a…a Frisbee. Possibly bigger. These pancakes are so big, they hang over the edge of the plate. Now THAT’S big! A regular order is 3 pancakes. That’s A LOT of pancake! A short stack is 2 pancakes – this is what I usually order. Of course, you can order just one pancake.

3 – How to prep your pancakes. The plate of huge pancakes comes to your table steaming, with lots of yummy goodness on top ~ be it melting butter, whipped cream, pumpkin pie filling, powdered sugar or blueberry cream. I’m giving you my personal prep technique: Take your fork and spread all that yummy goodness all around the pancake, avoid the edges (reason for this to follow). Push that pat of butter over the hot pancake, let it melt…let it seep in…concentrate all that yummy meltiness in the middle. Use your fork to cut a hole smack-dab in the middle ~ push some of that mix of butter, pumpkin and whipped cream in there; let your entire stack be touched by the yummy goodness. Mmm!

4 – Eat! A couple of things: you probably won’t finish the stack. I never have. No, I’m completely serious. I’ve never eaten an entire short stack of pancakes. And, come on now, I. CAN. EAT. The other thing? With these pancakes, all the goodness is in the middle; so, start there, avoid the edges (you’re welcome).

The second bite is my favorite ~ the first one, you’re just trying it out…testing the texture…the temperature…checking to see if it’s a combination of flavors you can tolerate. But the second bite? Ooh, yeah ~ the cool whipped cream hits the tip of your tongue, that hot fluffy pancake soaked with hot buttery goodness, a smattering of pumpkin all comes together…mmm! Oh, sorry – I’m salivating.

So, there you have it ~ Rissa’s Guide to Doing Griddle Pancakes Right. Whaddya doing Saturday morning?

Davio's - I love you!

Dropped by Davio's for soup and wine. The restaurant is part of the Club Quarters hotel. Lys and I had dinner at Davio's last year - yummy!

So, I'm at the bar...drinking Zinfandel ("The red one?" "Is there any other?"), perusing the bar menu. All I read was Roasted Pumpkin soup. Done!

Out comes the guy with a bowl on platter and a pitcher of some sort. He places the bowl on platter in front of me - the bowl has short ribs. Huh? What? He then pours the contents of the pitcher over the short ribs. I know! I grabbed the menu when he walked away - Roasted Pumpkin Soup over Cinnamon braised short ribs! Ohhh yeah!

Delish. I want it again.

If/When you're in Philadelphia ~ eat at Davio's!

NaBloPoMo ~ Q

I couldn't decide which 'Q' to use, so I'll post both. Lucky you.

Queso
Last night, I went to Cube with The Princess and the Debutante. Cube is this great cafe/marketplace in West Hollywood; and it's become our celebratory place - birthdays, promotions, new jobs and all things good. The cafe has a wonderful menu, but we go for the cheese and meats. Well, that and the whole no corkage fee! (Which is a rare find in Los Angeles)

Our typical M.O. is to order several different meats and cheeses, have some wine and enjoy. Last night, we let our server, Natalie, choose for us - which I love. I mean, she works there, tries all the cheeses and can make recommendations. Damn if she didn't pick winners last night! Below are the cheeses we deemed 'favorites':

• Emigrant: cow, Utah
• Torta de Cabra Don Mariano (renamed 'Dan Marino'): goat, Spain
• La Tur: cow, sheep & goat (Trifecta!), France
• Gorgonzola Dolce: cow, Italy (the one we order every time)

We tried lamb prosciutto, white prosciutto, chorizo and - our absolute favorite! - mole salami. Mmm mmm mmm!

The presentation of it all is fun ~ presented on blocks with the names written in chalk and accoutrements like jams, nuts, dried fruit arranged on it. It's fun to find the right pairing - gorgonzola dolce spread on flat bread, a dab of fig jam and topped with a walnut; or flat bread, slice of mole salami, La Tur and apple butter.

2.5 hours, 10 cheeses, 5 meats and 2 bottles of wine later we left happy women! When you come to L.A., I'll take you there.

Q (okay, I couldn't think of a synonym for 'rude' with the letter q, so...whatever)

Decided on Panda Express for lunch today. Went with the Manager and the VP out to Glendale, to the Vons store on Glendale Ave. Panda is inside - never busy; and today was no exception.

VP ordered first. I'm standing at the counter, telling the gal I had 2 to-go orders. Now, normally, in Panda Express, you follow the person scooping your food down the line as he/she moves. Right? So, she's talking to me; the gal behind her is talking to someone behind me. My gal and I both get distracted because the woman behind me is talking loudly. We lean in towards the glass protection so we could hear. And I'm hit with a shopping basket. Repeatedly. Bam. Bam. Bam. "Move. Move. Move." For each 'move' she muttered, she rammed me with the shopping basket. Seriously. I turned around, thanked her and said just a moment, I'm ordering. And she let's loose - I can't see! I want to order, too! You're rude! Move out of my way! Move a little bit! You're rude! I can't see! Can't you move?! I ignored her and spoke a bit louder. That didn't make her any happier. :::shoulder shrug::: As my gal moved, so did I. The woman turned the cart parallel to the counter and rammed it into me again until I moved (well, it was move or fall over) so she could be right in front of the glass. The whole time she's yelling about me.

I'm paying at the last register; she's next to me. As she turns to leave she sneers "Thank you for being so gracious." I look her in the eyes, smile sweetly and coo "Oh, you're more than welcome."

Crotchety old broad.

Gleaming the Cube

Jaimes & Bizek took me to Cube last night for a belated birthday celebration. I love love love this place! It's a cool cheese bar/deli/restaurant on La Brea. They don't have a liquor license thus no corkage fee. WhatyoutalkinboutWillis? Seriously. Bring you own bottle(s), they'll crack 'em open for ya. And provide the glasses. Cube *has* applied for the license and currently awaiting...Adam ensured us the corkage fee would be 'nominal' (read: less than $12). I'm hoping for $8 corkage.

Anyway, Cube has a regular menu - pasta, salad, etc. But ya gotta do the cheese & meats samplers! The cheese bar list is categorized: hard cheese, soft, semi-soft, bloomy rind, blue. We picked six cheeses (including blondies best and tallegio) and 5 meats (including the yummy mole salami - "it tastes like Christmas!"), added a Divine salad, 2 bottles of wine (an excellent big Seghesio Zinfandel and a tasty Hamel Pinot - mmm!) and chowed down. Cube gives you roughly an ounce of each cheese & meat (surprisingly, enough to split and share), presented on separate chalkboard trays, each cheese labeled with name, origin (cow's milk, goat's milk) and 'geographical location' in chalk. And there are accoutrements: nuts, crackers, jellies/jams. Really goooood stuff! On our 2nd round, we had the best blue cheese ever - gorgonzola dolce. I could *not* get enough of that stuff. Sooo good on spread on the lavash bread with a slice of prosciutto. T to the A to the S-T-E-Y. Our most excellent waiter, Adam, even brought me a caramel brownie - with a candle! - for my birthday 'cake'. Love that Adam :)

Ohhh, I got a bottle of wine from J&B: Bitch. Yep. Bitch Barossa Grenache wine! Do I have great friends or what?!

Let me know when you're in L.A. or when you want a mellow night out - I'll take you to Cube. And, I'll bring the wine!

Cheers!