Southern California in Food Photos

This is the 3rd part of the Food Photos series, covering my June trip to the United States. After covering San Francisco Food Photos, New York Food Photos, we're now onto Southern California.

I lived in Southern California for a good chunk of my life. But the photos shared only cover the items I enjoyed upon my June visit. The cities include Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Orange County and San Diego.

So without further ado...

Southern California

If you live in Seattle or are planning to visit, check out the Foodsherpas.com "Ate8" city guides on Foursquare and Foodspotting. It's 8 foods/restaurants to check in at and try some food!

LOS ANGELES FOURSQUARE FOOD LIST

LOS ANGELES FOODSPOTTING GUIDE

SASABUNE
Los Angeles
Albacore sashimi, the first dish in the Omakase special at Sushi Sasabune in Los Angeles, CA. FoodSherpas.com review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/01/sushi-sasabune.html

ENTERPRISE SEAFOOD Co.
Santa Monica, CA
Lobster Bisque covered in Puff Pastry from Enterprise Seafood Co. in Santa Monica, CA. FoodSherpas.com review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/01/lobster-bisque-covered-in-puff-pastry.html

PHILLIPS II BBQ
Los Angeles, CA
BBQ ribs with beans from Phillips II in Los Angeles, CA

ROCK'N FISH
Manhattan Beach, CA
Navy grog from Rock n' Fish in Manhattan Beach, CA

ROCK'N FISH
Manhattan Beach, CA
Macademia nut encrusted mahi mahi with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables from from Rock n' Fish in Manhattan Beach, CA

JAY BEE'S HOUSE OF FINE BAR-B-QUE
Gardena, Los Angeles, CABBQ ribs and beans from Jay Bee's House Of Fine Bar-B-Que in Gardena, Los Angeles, CA

THE BOILING CRAB
Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA
3 Lbs of crab legs and shrimp with sweet potato fries from the Boiling Crab in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA

THE BOILING CRAB
Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA
The AFTERMATH of 3 Lbs of crab legs and shrimp with sweet potato fries from the Boiling Crab in Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA

Frankie & Johnnies
Marina del Rey, CA
The rare GREAT NY style pizza in Los Angeles from Frankie & Johnnie's in Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, CA

SANTA BARBARA FISHOUSE
Santa Barbara, CA
Bacon wrapped scallops and onion rings from Santa Barbara FisHouse,  Review on FoodSherpas.com at  http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/06/santa-barbara-fishouse.html

SANTA BARBARA FISHOUSE
Santa Barbara, CA
Huge New England clam chowder bowl with bacon from Santa Barbara FisHouse,  Review on FoodSherpas.com at  http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/06/santa-barbara-fishouse.html

SANTA BARBARA FISHOUSE
Santa Barbara, CA
Grilled lobster and onion rings from Santa Barbara FisHouse, part of their weekday $19.99 special. Review on FoodSherpas.com at  http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/06/santa-barbara-fishouse.html

NORTON'S PASTRAMI
Santa Barbara, CA
Much needed hunger relief after a days hiking in Santa Barbara, hot patrami from Nortons Pastrami in Santa Barbara, CA

ENTERPRISE SEAFOOD Co.
Santa Barbara, CA
Lobster bisque topped with puff pastry (front) and seared ahi with caramelized onions, eggplant and red peppers (back) from Enterprise Fish Co. in Santa Barbara. Review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/06/santa-barbara-fishouse.html

ENTERPRISE SEAFOOD Co.
Santa Barbara, CA
Lobster bisque topped with puff pastry (front) and seared ahi with caramelized onions, eggplant and red peppers (back) from Enterprise Fish Co. in Santa Barbara. Review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/06/santa-barbara-fishouse.html

MARKET BROILER
Orange, CA
Tasty crab cakes and a corn salad from Market Broiler in Orange, CA.

MARKET BROILER
Orange, CA
Mesquite grilled halibut with crispy coconut shrimp with a pina colada sauce with rice and steamed vegetables from Market Brolier in Orange, CA.

TAPENADE
La Jolla, San Diego, CA
Fantastic French tapas from Tapenade in La Jolla, CA, including a perfect Coq au vin

Want more? Check out the Southern California Food Photos on Picasa

Want to explore more? Try the FoodSherpas.com
Food Photo Map of Southern California

Read more »

New York in Food Photos

Continuing the city-by-city recap that started with the San Francisco Food Photos, we're on to another city from from June trip, New York. Just a few items/photos made the cut...

New York

If you live in New York or are planning to visit, check out the Foodsherpas.com "Ate8" city guides on Foursquare and Foodspotting. It's 8 foods/restaurants to check in at and try some food!

FoodSherpas in NYC: New York Foursquare List

FoodSherpas in NYC: New York Foodspotting Guide

VIRGIL'S BBQ:
From all my BBQ journeys throughout the USA, it always seems strange to me that my favorite Memphis style rib comes from NYC of all places. I'll put Virgils dry rub up against anyones. Memphis ribs served with mashed potatoes and gravy, corn bread and grilled vegetables. FoodSherpas.com review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/01/memphis-bbq-ribs-from-virgils.html

STAGE DELI
My #1 "Turkey Fix" when visiting the US, specifically NYC, is the Stage Deli in New York City. Hot open-faced turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, complete with cranberry sauce (provided once they realize I can't get cranberry sauce in Buenos Aires)...and a tall glass of cranberry juice. Happy Thanksgiving regardless of the time of the year. FoodSherpas.com review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/07/hot-pastrami-potato-knish-from-carnegie.html

VIRGIL'S BBQ:
The beacon of light that calls me to one of my BBQ homes.
FoodSherpas.com review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/01/memphis-bbq-ribs-from-virgils.html

THE ORIGINAL RAYS PIZZA (27 Prince St)
As NYC residents and travelers have noticed, there are tons of different pizza places with the name "Ray" included. But this is from the original: Ray's Pizza on 27 Prince St. A rite of passage for all pizza fans.

CERCLE ROUGE:
Escargot from Cercle Rouge in New York, NY

CARNEGIE DELI:
One of my favorites for pastrami: Carnegie Deli in New York. While the pastrami is in a tight race with Katz's for supremacy, Carnegie has perhaps the best knish: tasty mashed potatoes in a buttery shell. FoodSherpas.com review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/07/hot-pastrami-potato-knish-from-carnegie.html

KATZ'S DELI
Perhaps the best of the best: Katz's Deli hot patrami and a cream soda. The famous NYC landmark never disappoints and the old country Romanian Jewish recipe makes Katz's something special.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY:
Memphis rib app with skillet cooked corn bread from Southern Hospitality in New York, NY

JOHN'S PIZZERIA ON BLEEKER:
One of the best: John's Pizzeria on Bleeker, a tasty cheese & fennel sausage combo

SERENDIPITY 3:
Peanut Butter Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity 3 in New York, NY. There's an argument to be made that this is the best dessert on the planet for peanut butter fans. Dislike PB, then go with the regular version.

STAGE DELI:
Hot open faced turkey sandwich with gravy fries and cranberry sauce from Stage Deli in New York, NY. More at  http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/07/hot-pastrami-potato-knish-from-carnegie.html

VIRGIL'S BBQ:
Perhaps my favorite Memphis dry rub ribs w/ collard greens & mash potato at Virgil's BBQ in New York. Always worth a 2nd trip to Virgil's. FoodSherpas.com review at http://www.foodsherpas.com/2011/01/memphis-bbq-ribs-from-virgils.html

BLUE SMOKE:
From Blue Smoke in New York, 5 rib sampler (2 Memphis, 2 KC, 1 Texas), hushpuppies w/ jalapeño marmalade, pulled pork, sesame slaw, baked beans, and corn bread.

GRAN RANCHO JUBILEE:
A tasty Dominican soup from Gran Rancho Jubilee in Queens, Dominican joint near LGA airport.

GRAN RANCHO JUBILEE:
Fish stuffed with shrimp, clams, squid in tomato sauce w/ yellow rice from Gran Rancho Jubilee in Queens, Dominican joint near LGA airport.

Want more details, see these New York food photos in Picasa

Want to explore more? Try the FoodSherpas.com
Food Photo Map of New York

Read more »

Southern BBQ Pulled Pork Empanadas, Shepard's Pie Empanadas, Pizza Burger Empanadas & more

Southern BBQ Pulled Pork empanadas

Shepard's Pie empanadas

BBQ Pulled Chicken empanadas

Pizza Burger empanadas

BBQ Tri meat: pulled pork, chicken, beef

Gourmet Empanadas (cooked)

One of the luxuries of staying at an apartment for a vacation, is the option for home cooking while in a new city. After 5 nights of great restaurants in Santiago, Chile, last night was prime time for some homemade gourmet empanadas.

I've never quite understood how in the empanada eating culture, the options are always so limited. Perhaps it's due to the prevalence of the tasty filled treat in Argentina, where culinary variety is not something the natives find to be of importance. But in the culture of cooking empanadas at home, the empanada could be the greatest invention to "left overs".

Of course, in Argentina, one can scour the refrigerator section of their local supermercado and find rows and rows of "ready made" empanada crusts. In the US, etc, one can save some time with a "ready made" pie crust. Oddly, in Santiago, where the empanadas are a bit larger and just as popular, the only option last night was to make our own empanadas shells...which was well worth it. No need for short-cuts.

Southern BBQ Pulled Pork Empanada:

It's pretty basic: take the USA BBQ favorite of slow roasted or smoked pork shoulder, hand separate the meat, and combine with a tasty BBQ sauce. We topped the meat off with some sauteed and delicate onions.

BBQ Pulled Pork Empanada (before)

BBQ Pulled Pork Empanada (cooked)

Shepard's Pie Empanada:

The "carne" empanada is one of the more popular options around the world. Whether it's "sauve" or "picante", the real hit-or-miss factor can often be in the texture of the meat used. When the meat is in a paste form, it's usually a strikeout. If you're fortunate enough to get one with large hand cut chunks of beef, it can be good...depending on how long the meat has been sitting out. The most tasty beef empanadas I've had are usually the most simple: a light sautee of ground beef with some onion, hard boiled, egg, etc.

But as a child growing up eating Hachis Parmentier, a French Shepard’s Pie, and being a fan of both carne and various potato empnadas, it's certainly time for an empanada form of the classic pie that combines them both.

Shepard's Pie empanada (before)

This is one of those empanada types that allows for all sorts of flexibility. We opted for the simple approach: garlic mashed potatoes, with peppered sauteed beef & grilled diced onions, topped with a few sauteed onion strips. It's also a great way to work in vegetables like corn, carrots, peas, etc as another layer.

Shepard's Pie empanada (cooked)

Pizza Burger Empanada:

Like the late-night diner food, but in empanada form. Parents used to buying snacks for their kids, or high school and college kids with limited cooking skills would think of this as a gourmet "hot pocket".

We tried two versions. One was more of a burger form, with a mini beef patty, topped with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. The other version we mixed together sauteed beef, diced mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.

BBQ Pulled Chicken Empanada:

Very similar to the pork version above. Pulled chicken meat, mixed with BBQ sauce and wrapped up. This is more similar to the classic "pollo" empanada, but with BBQ sauce as the sauce base.

Tri-Meat BBQ Empanada:

This one was made like a Neapolitan ice cream in presentation, but with meat: BBQ pork, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Beef, each one mixed in BBQ sauce and placed in a column, and topped with sauteed onions.

Since you can rarely find new and fun options for empanadas at restaurants, there's always the option to try something new at home on your own.

Feel free to share your empanada concoctions here, any photos, links, etc too, and I'll add them here!

Read more »

Chicago Food Photos

I don't have many food photos to share from this quick Chicago trip. It was supposed to be a two night visit to catch (2) Yankees @ Cubs games. But due to poor weather in New York and a cancelled flight, the trip ended up being just a single night.

So just the basics...

Cheese & sausage deep dish pizza from Giordano's at their
223 W. JACKSON BLVD, Chicago location

Deep Dish Pizza is fairly self-explanatory: It's more of a pie in it's form: crust on the bottom and sides and stuffed with meat and cheese combinations, then topped with tomatoes. Each pie takes about 30-45 minutes to cook, so plan accordingly.

Perhaps my favorite meal of the trip. An Italian Beef from Al's Beef from the original location. Got hot and sweet peppers, double dipped, and served unwrapped

The Italian Beef sandwich is similar to the popular French Dip...thinly sliced pieces of roast beef on a hard roll and dipped in au jous. But for the Italian beef, it includes sweet and hot peppers giving it a more powerful flavor. It's messy food to each but well worth it.

Read more »

Food Vendors at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle

It's always great when you are traveling and when in a city, they happen  to have a local festival with a strong focus in food.

And that was the case this past weekend in Seattle for the Northwest Folklife Festival.

With about 50 food vendors, we had some tough choices to make. In the end, our  choice was to go for the more obscure cuisine options...culinary types I personally seldom find with ease in Buenos Aires or US cities.

So our choices at the 2011 Northwest Folklife Festival were:

Russian Beef Dumplings from Pel'meni:

Pork Lumpia which is a Philipino pork eggroll from Espi's:

And Spicy Beef Sambusa from one of the Kenyan food vendors, Kenyan Kitchen.

Here's the complete list of food vendors. Many will be there again for the Taste of Seattle event on July 15th.

Food Vendors

Get your tastebuds ready…

Bagley Roadway and Food Triangle

• Biringer Farm-Favorite desserts from a local berry farm
• Chutney’s Grille- Indian and Northwest fusion
• The Corn Roasters- Corn on the cob, served on a stick with a variety of spices
• Espi’s Sausage and Tocino Company- Filipino and Pan Asian food
• Little C’s Funnel Cake
• Pico De Gallo- Mexican seafood with a Northwest twist
• Ray’s Veggie Stir Fry and Teriyaki Chicken
• Viva! Vegetarian Grill- All-American classics, all vegan
• Warthog Barbeque Pit- All your BBQ favorites
• Washington’s Own Apple Dumpling Gang- Apple and peach cobblers with vanilla ice cream
• Ziegler’s Bratwurst Haus- Authentic German sausages and those famous fries

Center Square

• Klassique Kollections- Delicious Cajun cooking
• Peanut Butter Goodness- Deep-fried PB&J… yes, you read that right
• Seoul Short Ribs- Kalbi marinated chicken and beef

Fountain

• Mighty-O Donuts- Vegan, organic donuts
• Piecora’s New York Pizza
• Scotty’s Northwest- Fresh Northwest seafood and salad
• Thai Heaven

Key Roadway

• Ahepa- Authentic Greek food, fast!
• Asian Breeze- Small bites of Pan Asian cuisine
• Big City Burritos- Vegetarian burritos, a Festival favorite for over 25 years!
• Blue Elephant- The ever-popular elephant ears and more
• Bombay Grill- Healthy Indian cuisine
• Crab Cakes and Seafood Specialties
• Horn of Africa- Authentic food from the East African coast

Kobe Bell

• Bahn Thai
• Crepealicious- Savory and sweet crepes with a Seattle twist
• Eloi: Taste the Caribbean
• Island Noodles- Buckwheat yakisoba noodles with fresh veggies
• Kaleenka Piroshkys- Freshly made bread dough and authentic fillings, a Festival staple for over 30 years!
• Shishkaberry’s- Chocolate-dipped fruit on a stick

Mural Roadway

• Bumpus Burgers
• Gyros! Gyros! Gyros!- Authentic Greek cuisine
• Hi’s Fruit/New Orleans Beignet- Frozen chocolate banana, fruit smoothies, beignets and more
• Kenyan Kitchen- Dine on Sambusa , beef, veggie or chicken Piripiri, followed by a jolt of Matunda juice
• Pat’s Philly Steak Sandwiches
• Pel’Meni-Popular Russian dumplings with a Northwest touch
• Southern Kitchen- Down home cooking featured on the Food Network’s program “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”

Read more »