2013 LA Street Food Fest

This past Saturday I went to my first LA Street Food Fest held at the Rose Bowl and boy was it hot. I mean it was literally 100 degrees. Luckily, the event organizers were prepared but it was still hot as Hades out there. This event is outdoors so come prepare with sunscreen and a large brim hat. The lines can be long and at some stands very slow moving so wear comfortable shoes. I saw people bring in trays like the ones from cafeteria lines. I wish I would have thought of that. The trays were helpful because you can then collect a bunch of samples and head to a shady spot to enjoy sitting down while everyone else has to eat their samples right away in order to free up their hands to get more. You might also want to bring wet wipes because food will get everywhere. I mean you are there to pig out, not look like a pig.

I've only ever been to the Rose Bowl to run races so this was a complete 360. Hold on, I take that back. This event is kind of like a race in that it is a game of how well you can pace yourself when faced with more food than your stomach can possibly hold. Sure, you can try to strategize and plot your plan of attack and many do but you won't win because it's mathematically impossible with over 100 vendors. Needless to say, this event had me beat half an hour into the eating fest. By the end of the second hour I couldn't even stand to look at another piece of food. Oh but what a day it was!

Dante Fried Chicken (Sock-It-To-Me Fried Chicken) - served w/ a tiny little biscuit covered in honey. There was a lot of hype about Dante's since they were a vendor from last year and many food bloggers said that they were a must-try, so it was on my short list of pit stops but it was just okay for me. I went back to try to get another sample but they ran out pretty quick.

(left) Starry Kitchen (Singaporean Chili Crab Gumbo w/ Buttermilk Beer Beignets) - this was one of my favorites. The buttermilk beer beignet was rich and fluffy and I could have eaten a million of them.

(right) Short Order (Mini Pork Belly BLTs) - this sandwich had a very good flavor with one slice of bread smeared with an avocado cream and the other with BBQ sauce.

Then we entered The Taste of Mexico Area. Fasten your seat belts because it is about to get even more caliente!

La Casita Mexicana  (Green Ceviche & Ceviche Nayarit-style) - the green ceviche was made with a white fish, while the other one was made with shrimp. Both were excellent! Nice lime flavor.

Ceviche Project...oh boy was the line for this ever so long! I think we waited about 30 minutes to get a sample. The chef was very meticulous with prepping each sample, which explains why the line was moving so slow.

Tuna Tiradito w/ Spiced Plantain Chips - the tuna tiradito was amazing! It was topped with sorbet. Unique! The shrimp ceviche was not as good. The shrimp tasted weird, it had a mucky taste that I didn't care for. Maybe some of the uni sauce got on it by accident. I don't do uni, I don't care how unsophisticated that makes me sound. It is just a taste that I never got accustomed to and I eat Japanese food pretty regularly.

The master at work.

John Sedlar/Rivera - Tortilla Florales Tacos

Look at the neat edible flowers pressed right into the tortilla topped with a sweet Habanero jelly. So good!

Badmaash (Badass Butter Chicken) - I love Indian food and this is one of the reasons why. I could have eaten an entire plate of this stuff.

Fred 62  (Slow Smoked Pork Belly w/ Rojas con Crema Macaroni & Cheese) - what's not to like about a fried mac n' cheese ball stuffed with smoked pork belly? Absolutely nothing. This was another vendor on my short list and I'm glad I got a chance to taste this. They also put out these tiny pop-tarts later in the evening that I unfortunately forgot to take a photo of that were pretty tasty.

Dang Brothers Pizza

Mariscos el Mazateno (Tijuana, Mexico) - Taco de Camaron Enchilado - this vendor came all the way from Tijuana to take part in this event and let me tell you...this taco ranked very high with me. I'm pretty sad that they are so far away.

A collage of all the amazing foods that never made it into my belly.

Ice Cream Social Area - did someone say dessert? So many dessert...no...too many dessert is more like it...so little stomach space.

The Donut Snob - what can I say, they were worth the 50 miles I'm going to have to run this week in order to burn off all this food.

Cupcakes from the Cupcake Vineyards truck - this is what it looks like when two cupcakes kiss.

Later that day, I passed out on the field of the Rose Bowl in a food coma. The grass is so well cared for that it is amazingly soft and feels just like carpet. Yeah it's just like passing out in your living room floor but better because it's the Rose Bowl and how often can you even do that.

What a day! See you next year!

2013 Pasadena Chalk Festival

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of going to see some amazing artists in action at the 2013 Pasadena Chalk Festival. I use to draw when I was younger but somewhere along the way I've really lost touch with art. My heart still skips a beat whenever I see an artist bring an image to life. The process of creation, from the heart/mind, through the arms/hands/fingertips, onto the paper, canvas and in this case...sidewalk. From the moment I arrived at the festival, I was mesmerized by the colors, the techniques, creativity...so much to take in. I wanted to see it all. I definitely had a kid-in-a-candy-store moment there.

Here are some of my favorites.

This one was at the top of my list. Gorgeous!

I love watching the artists at work.

They were auctioning off a helicopter ride at the silent auction.

And we are clear for take-off...

Sensory overload in the best way possible!

Another Blogger Date: Catal Restaurant & Uva Bar Event

Last week Heather asked me if I was free for dinner the following week to attend an event as her 'plus one', so I checked my social calendar and noticed that I had already penciled in 'laze around on the couch playing iPad games' but seeing that it was Heather I thought that just this once I could blow off my other engagement.

It took me an hour and half to get from work to this event that was only 16 miles away. Traffic be crazy! But when I finally found a parking spot and started walking towards Downtown Disney all that stress just disappeared. Here's a fun fact about me...I've lived in Southern California almost my entire life and have never been to Downtown Disney. It is safe to say that I will be coming back in the near future.

So once I got to Downtown Disney, I walked around for a while looking for the restaurant where the event was held but at last had to admit defeat and stop to ask for directions. A park attendant pointed me in the right direction and told me to just walk until I see a huge outdoor bar. So I did and lo and hold there was a giant outdoor bar right in front of the Catal Restaurant [part of the Patina Group]. By the way...it is pronounced CAT-TAUL (rhymes with 'haul'), if you pronounce it any other way no one will know what the heck you're talking about. Don't be unsophisticated like me and pronounce it CATTLE! Yeah that was only a little bit embarrassing.

Park attendant: What's that, you're looking for CATTLE? Well, I think you need to go to a farm. Oh, you mean CAT-TAUL, well that's just right down that way until you hit the giant outdoor bar.

Me: *melted into a puddle of embarrassment on the pavement*

I met up with Heather shortly after I got there and we checked in to this deliciousness...

Cocktails, wine, candied nuts, dried fruit and the biggest servings of cheeses I've ever seen.

Then the appetizers started coming out! Mini tuna tar-tare tacos with avocado and micro-greens, goat cheese/caramelized onions on an endive leaf [not pictured], and air-puffed bread filled with melted goat cheese topped with a piece of prosciutto. They were all fabulous in their own way but my favorite was the endive leaf. It was light and rich all at the same time. I love food that offers a little bit of everything.

The grande finale was this humongous pan of paella x2. I'm a huge paella fan and was super happy when I saw two cooks carrying this out from the kitchen. It was that big that it required two guys to carry it. It was also big in flavor. I dare say that this was one of the best paellas I've ever had. I hope my fiance is reading this...'take me here for dinner, fiance'.

Plus, check out our view for the evening. It's really not a bad way to spend a Thursday. Almost as exciting as lazing on my couch paying iPad games. I kid but I do love my iPad games. I need help.

Thanks for the fun date Heather! Heather also introduced me to Angry Julie and Kelly who came to join our table so we didn't look totally out of sorts because we all know how fun it is to go to an event especially as someone's plus one and not know anyone there.

Catal Restaurant
1580 Disneyland Drive
Anaheim, CA 92802
714-774-4442

My Sister's Wedding!

Hello! It's been 14 days since I last blogged, which means that it's been 14 days since anything noteworthy has occurred in my life. But enough about my lackluster social life and on to more exciting news.

My sister who blogs over at A Case of the Runs got married this past weekend! It was super fun! They had a nice Jewish ceremony followed by one of the coolest dragon dance ever. When two worlds collide! :) I will let her tell you more about it when she returns from her honeymoon.

And since this is also a food blog, I wanted to show you this very large loaf of challah bread that was served at the wedding. I love challah and this one was blessed!

Finally, I just wanted to mention that I am failing miserably with my candy ban but I blame it mostly on the end of Daylight Savings. Every year around this time I suffer from SAD (Seasonal Awareness Disorder). I know people must think this is a mental thing but for me it is more of a physical thing in which I get extremely fatigued coupled with an insatiable appetite. Last week, I basically sat around and ate...A LOT! I am slowly coming out of it this week and my activity levels have started to ramp up again. Good thing too because I have a marathon to run in a little over 2 weeks. I've put in my time training for it so whatever happens I'll be okay with it.

Summer Menu Tasting at Z'Tejas

Last night I was at Z'Tejas sampling their new summer menu. I caught wind of this event from Heather who was also there last night with her friend Snork. We exchanged some pleasantries and then found our seats. The general manager came out to greet everyone shortly after and gave a little speech on the event and announced that the food would be coming out shortly. So I did what any normal food blogger would do and whipped out my camera. Apparently, this is where things got "weird" since Snork did not know that I was a totally ridiculous foodie blogger that took photos of all the food before eating it. According to Snork, this behavior is not normal. Then, get this, she started taking photos of the food and blamed me for being a bad influence. After a couple of drinks, everyone was taking photos of the food. Okay, that's not true, it was still mainly just me...and Snork.

Okay, enough of that. I'm here to talk about the summer menu that Z'Tejas will be serving up to their customers this summer. In fact, I think the general manager said that it was already in rotation at some of their other out-of-state locations.

We started the tasting with some warm freshly baked skillet cornbread and sweet honey butter. I wish the cornbread was a little bit sweeter but it was good. There was also some freshly made chips and salsa. The chips were really greasy so I only had two pieces.

Moving on to the main courses. We were served four dishes family-style so we got to taste a little bit of everything. This worked out nice because I was really full at the end of the tasting. They were very generous with some of their portion sizes. 

BBQ Smoke Duck Tacos - the duck was tender and rich which was made even better by the addition of sweet BBQ sauce and avocados. Everyone pretty much loved these tacos and you get three for $13.95 with a side of drunken beans. It's a must try!

Lobster Ravioli - personally I really liked this dish. But then again I love raviolis and I love lobsters, so putting the two together is like a no-brainer. However, my date did not like these very much. He said they were fishy. But then again he thinks most shellfish smells fishy, so take that as you will. I loved that the raviolis were made with squid ink. Don't be afraid, squid ink doesn't really have a taste, it is mostly for visual appeal. I found it very appealing! The roasted green chile sauce is very delicious! You get five raviolis to an order but they are a pretty good size, plus this dish is rich so five is enough for the average person. 

Citrus Glazed Barramundi - I didn't really like this dish very much. The Barramundi is a white fish that they seared and topped with a mango salsa and served over a bed of succotash. The fish was kind of dry to me but on the plus side it was a very healthy dish so if that is important to you then this dish fits the bill. This dish was on the large portion side.

Apricot Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin - the pork was cooked perfectly and the apricot mustard glazed really enhanced the sweetness of the pork. So good! I would order this dish again.

White Grape Cilantro Margarita - very strong! I hear all their margaritas are served very strong here so if you like your margaritas strong, this is the place to get them.

Skinny Pineapple Honey Faux-Jito - I don't have a photo of this drink but it was refreshing. I tasted a hint of coconut in there but there was no coconut anything in it. This drink is one of those that tends to creep up on you if you are not careful. Just sayin'. Plus it is a "skinny" drink so all you lushes out there can get your drink on while maintaining your figure.

21 Berry Trifle - they call it the "21" berry trifle because it has uncooked tequila in it so you have to be 21 and over to order one. And why wouldn't you order one? It's got strawberries, blueberries, sponge cake, pudding, whipped cream and yes even tequila. I didn't really taste the tequila but then again I was feelin' pretty good by this point if you know what I mean. This was a darn good end to a good meal and that's just not the tequila talking!

Special shout-out to our super cute and upbeat waitress who took such good care of us and described all the dishes so well that we were drooling well before the food came out. Thanks Z'Tejas! This was the first time visiting your restaurant but it won't be the last.