BEST OF LOS ANGELES - HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP

Only found at Bricks & Scones in Larchmont.

http://www.bricksandscones.com/menu.html

And you can awesomely pair it with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Tell Jinah I said hello...

Restaurant Review - Larkin's part 2

I went there over the weekend and had the catfish. Amazingly crunchy with not so much of a fishy taste. The breading had a nice crunch to it.

And Larkin came by the table to say hello... yeah, I probably go here too much. :)

Restaurant Review - Larkin's

Dear Larkin’s…



How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Now granted the parking situation isn’t the best and the food takes a while, BUT before you stop reading, let me entice you with the food ordered by my food cohort, Emily, and I. (Emie’s edits and insights are in bold.)

BBQ Meatloaf w/ Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Fried Okra
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Hot Link Corn Dogs (w/spicy mustard)
Sweet Tea
Banana Pudding (Southern Culture on the Skid’s ‘Banana Pudding’ song already has me dancing in my seat, anxious and antsy to put this banana pudding to the test)
Black and Blue Berry Cobbler (you read that right. Blackberry and Blueberries together in heavenly bliss. It’s like they knew Rachel and I because these are our favorite fruits, kinda creepy, kinda delicious)

Now let me/us break it down for you (break it down! Break it down now!).

Em and I have been trying to hit here for a while and when the opportunity arose we jumped at it.

We started off with the Mac and Cheese. Scrumptious beyond belief. Cheesy, gooey, piping hot and way too big for an appetizer or a side dish. But a great way to start the dinner. (Side Note – Larkin, his real name, owns Mac & Cheeza downtown in LA. Yeah, I gotta try that soon. http://www.macandcheeza.com/ )

Then the Hot Link Corn Dogs came with a small green salad. Now as many of my friends know, I am not one to rave about salads, but the balsamic vingrette on this made my taste buds tingle. The tart, sharp flavors jump started my mouth into anticipation for the invigorating spices that were coming (And served as a much needed, light cool down after the hotness o’ the links). I am all about using mustard on hot dogs… Dijon mustard to be exact… but these Hot Links were not Hot Dogs. And these Hot Links were hot. Yet the slightly sweet corn breading (batter) around them helped to ‘soften’ the blow of (the) Hot Links. Needless to say, the Dijon that came with the dish was not needed.

Right now, I would like to take a moment to give praise to an amazing glass of sweet tea. Mind you, I am not big about sweet things to eat, but drinking them is ANOTHER story. The sweet tea not only hit the spot, but also the sweetness helped cut the heat (that may have been overwhelming otherwise) to make the dinner delicious.

Then came the BBQ Meatloaf, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Fried Okra.
1. When the Meatloaf came to the table I had to ask if it was the meatloaf because it was the size of decent steak (and sorta resembled one in the fact that it wasn’t a perfect square cut out from a loaf like one might expect from a typical meat loaf and it was DRENCHED in BBQ sauce – see #2).
2. The BBQ sauce was a bit overwhelming.
3. I’m not a big fan of gravy on mashed potatoes, but I do love Larkin’s gravy. However, next time, I would have to pass on it. With the BBQ as spicy as it was, you needed just the potatoes to help calm the flame in your mouth (yeah the potatoes were rich and full of flavor and texture, the farthest thing from an instant white lump as you can get. Very good but almost a little overbearing with everything else we had going on, on the plate).
4. Let’s just say at one point I stole the fried okra from Emily (uh, sorry about that! It’s okay!), and I could have eaten it all day (once you pop the fun don’t stop!)! Fried to the perfect crunch and not sopping or gushing with oil. This will have to be a staple side when I come back here in August!

So at this point we are both barges. Barges = we ate too much, cannot move, needing to be rolled out of the building, much like a barge. ☺ And yet we both have a dire need to order dessert (‘I can’t liiiiiiive, livinnnn’ without you (dessert)).
In the HUGE selection they give us, the Black and Blue Berry Cobbler catches my ear and the Banana Pudding catches Em’s…

Flashback – As a kid, my grandmother had half of her backyard in the suburbs dug up so she could garden. And although I love raspberries, I LOVED BLACKBERRIES. And to be honest, I didn’t know that they were called Blackberries till a few years ago. My grandma used to call them Thimbleberries, because as a 6 or 7 year old, Blackberries fit perfectly on your finger tips and you can eat them off like olives. And they looked like thimbles. One of the many things I learned about food in Michigan.

Needless to say, this dessert was my fav. ☺

I LOVE BLUEBERRIES. I just do and if you do too, you will love this. This banana pudding was made from scratch, with fresh bananas in it and crumbled up bits of nilla wafers on top, old school southern style. The banana flavor was rich and refreshing, although it’s on the soupier side. I prefer a more held together pudding, texture wise, but all the flavors hit the right spot. And beware! They give you A LOT of dessert. One dessert was enough for two people, but one per person is good if you need a midnight snack.

I’m not a big fan of Bananas, but the creamy gooeyness of this would make anyone melt.

I can’t wait to head there again… Actually, I will be there Saturday if anyone would like to say hi.


http://www.larkinsjoint.com/


http://www.squidoo.com/banana_pudding

My St. Patty's Day Partay

The line up!

I had a belated St. Patty's Day party due to the fact that St. Patrick's day was on a Wednesday this year and the stew I was making took four hours to cook. (Yes, you read that right.)

Lately, I have not been a big fan of beef, or at least my stomach hasn't. But the rest of the recipe made this soooo enticing. Guinness beer, parsnips, turnips, etc. I did follow one person's advice on the stew and I used not so many parsnips and turnips and substituted the rest with potatoes.

And of course, I burned the bottom of the pan in the browning process, but no one else can taste it in the stew. (Either I am crazy or they are... )
Try it! - http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1963989



Steaming stew of amazingness!



Steaming stew of amazingness! part 2.



The final product with parsley on top.

And I couldn't pass up the chance to make a turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. To my surprise, the turkey meatloaf was delicious and moist. Ground turkey does not always make a good substitute for beef. If cooked just a few minutes too long, all the juices drain and you get hockey pucks... seriously.
Pretty amazing. - http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1639,154188-242194,00.html

My infamous garlic mashed potatoes (no garlic for Kat) were a hit. This is my mother's simple recipe, doctored a little by me. Here it goes.

INGREDIENTS*
Red Skinned Potatoes - Do NOT peel them.
Sour Cream
Garlic Salt

*Note - there are no measurements for a reason. Also, Red skins are the best potatoes to use, per my grandfather who ran a restaurant.

Cut potatoes in half or quarters so they cook quicker. Boil potatoes in salted water till tender with a fork. Drain. Put back in pot. Add some sour cream. Now add one more big scoop of sour cream (a little too much is the perfect touch.) Douse with garlic salt (Mind you I make at least 5 pounds of potatoes at a time and remember my disclosure of me forgetting salt... it may not be as much as you think.) And mash, skins and all.

My improv green bean casserole goes something like this.

INGREDIENTS
3 cans of green beans
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
French fried onions

Mix beans and soup together in a large casserole dish that has a lid. Top with French Fried Onions. Cover with lid and place in oven preheated at 350 degrees. Cook for a half an hour.



Ah, comfort food!



The amazing meal!

Thanks to my great friends (Kat, Steph, Francis, Steve, and Matt) we also had plenty of wine, Guinness and Guinness cake. awesomeness!

Foodie Beginnings

Things you will find in this blog –
A variety of LA and Detroit (Warren), MI area restaurant reviews. As well as restaurant reviews from wherever else my traveling wanderlust takes me.

Rachel’s Recipe Reviews (Triple R threat! Say that 3x fast!) – I’m always experimenting and tweaking new dishes that I find from a variety of online and print sources. I’m always on the hunt to find that flavor or to try that new ingredient.

COMFORT FOOD. There is no denying that I love comfort food and that means you will find all things mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, burgers, pasta, etc. on here. I also love ethnic foods, including but not limited to, Mexican, Greek, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Polish, German, Irish, etc. And when it comes to my flavor favorites I love bringing out those bitter/sour notes, i.e. sauerkraut, pickled veggies, beer, etc.

Things You Won’t Find in this Blog
Shredded Coconut and certain other sweet treats. We all have texture issues and shredded coconut and orange juice pulp top my list. I will have no entrees that are sweetened or have sweet sauce. This actually dates way back to growing up with a type one diabetic mom, which meant limited sugar intake, and can be attributed to my lack of a sweet tooth for dinner. And despite my love of savory dishes sometimes I subconsciously omit salt from certain recipes because I can’t stand things too salty.