March 13, 2010
12 of 12, March 2010
Hello again and welcome back to Chad's last year of 12 of 12. Who is this rockstar named Chad? Click here.
(If you really love Bon-photos, I'm also participating in a Spynotebook-generated project called Snapshot a Day. Yup. 365 photos in 2010. Click here to check that out at Flickr.)
As always, please enjoy my 12 of 12. Click any photo to enlarge. :)
2:10am: Home from class. (I got my oxygen back.) It's been a great night, but I've got an early day, so it's time for sleep, like it or not!
6:28am: Hello, pretty kitty. Keith has left for Runyon and Salema has decided my hip is a good pillow. *Yawn!* Good morning, Friday!
9:57am: I'm leaving a little bit late for my ladydate, but I feel good about traffic and my awesome "Do Not Eat iPod" shuffle filled with traveling music. Time to head out from the driveway and into the world!
12pm: Ahh... Babycakes. AnnaVo went downtown yesterday and blew a C-Note on gluten-free, vegan deliciousness. We've eaten a lunch of leftovers (so delicious) and now it's the main event: CUPCAKES! Good news: In addition to being gluten-free and vegan, they're also only 100 calories apiece. (Note: There's one little ballpark estimate-slash-lie in that last statement. Humor me.)
12:10pm: And now, introducing: IZZY! That's Izzy Schmata Tarquinio. She's a four-month-old Italian Greyhound. She is precious and really sweet.
1:04pm: We spent most of the day in AnnaVo's lovely VO studio-slash-office, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube viral darlings, discussing marketing vs. advertising, renting vs. owning, relatives vs. family, setting limits, trust, and living our dreams. We also spent a lot of time petting and playing with a puppy and a kitty (Pilky. Never saw Biscuit on this visit).
1:06pm: Anna with the tongue bandit. Such sweetness!
2:13pm: This is how Izzy spent several hours: in my lap, sleeping. She is such a love! I can't wait to be a homeowner so we can have puppies!
3:15pm: Best! Magnet! Ever!
3:45pm: Heading back to the beach from the Valley along with a few hundred thousand of my closest friends.
4:04pm: Made really good time, even on a Friday afternoon! Crossing from Brentwood into Santa Monica and getting ready for some of my favorite views: the sexy strip of exercising beautiful people running along the divided and tree-lined San Vicente, all the way to the beach.
5:27pm: Sugar coma from the cupcakes. It's time for a nap. Keith's still working on my computer (it had a spa day, today), so I'm gonna go down for a sleep cycle and then get to work!
7:10pm: Sid the MacBook still has another few hours to go, before getting back from the spa, so I'm reading another script. Defragging has been going on for quite some time, at this point, but hopefully the directory restructuring and the few passes through this process will get all its blocks back in the right places and have Sid happily running efficiently again soon.
(Sure enough, here I am working on Sid at just after midnight. So far, so good! Very nice to catch problems before they become ridiculous issues of data loss.)
As always, thank you, Chad, for another lovely 12 of 12. :) Having a blast and ready for a blissful weekend! See y'all next month! Thanks for the comments, thanks for the visits, thanks for the love. <3
Posted by bonnie at 12:09 AM | Comments (3)
March 11, 2010
GSFiSCC: Chef Marilyn's Soul Food Express
What is the Great Southern Food in Southern California Challenge? Click here for the low-down. Want to see reviews of all stops on our tour? Click here. Wanna see any photo below, only larger? Well, click it, for heck's sake!
Our fourth stop on the GSFiSCC was Chef Marilyn's Soul Food Express, 5068 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, 90019.
Technically, Chef Marilyn's was supposed to be the third stop on the tour, but when we arrived at the restaurant for our dinner Tuesday night, we learned that Chef Marilyn's is NOT a restaurant.
Nope. It's a takeout joint.
Now, maybe I should've picked that up by "Express" in the name of the joint, but seriously, shouldn't "takeout only" be mentioned somewhere on the flippin' website? Crazy! I combed all through that site and saw no way I could've figured out we'd be entering an establishment with no chairs or tables. I just thought "Express" meant fast. Ah... lesson learned.
So, because of our discovery upon arrival--and not wanting to lose out on a tour stop--we wandered down Pico to Roscoe's, which became tour stop number three (see previous entry). And, not wanting to give up on Chef Marilyn--especially because that food looked and smelled so good--we each bought a little takeout and did our critiques of the cuisine from home via email the next day.
Joining me for the fourth stop on the GSFiSCC were Eric, Masasa, Ryan, and Susyn. We were all excited about our little styrofoam containers of southern cookin' and probably could've stood right there and eaten, if we had to. Luckily, the food travels and reheats well. :)
Here's Susyn's review of Chef Marilyn's food:
chicken legs: falling off the bone good
meatloaf: great
collard greens: yum, with a kick stronger than Roscoe's
yams: scrumptious
mac and cheese: yum
corned beef and cabbage: really good, with a nice kick
You may recall that I mentioned in the last post that Susyn told us about something called "chicken bog." Here's the scoop on that! "The official description is it's a conglomeration of rice, spices, and chicken, topped with bacon. It is a South Carolina delicacy cooked in a pot, which gives it that boggy, soggy name." Sounds awesome! Maybe our tour needs to include a good ol' fashioned home cookin' stop!
(Ooh, how I wish I had been hungry enough to order some fish. It looked sooo good.)
Here's Eric's review of Chef Marilyn's food:
Out of the microwave ('cept the banana pudding) at 12:36.
35 minutes later. Damn, that's gooooooooooooood mac and cheese! ♥
Oh, I probably would have finished off the chicken bones too, but i did need to make room for the banana pudding. :)
Hee! That did look good. Eric was so pleased to be able to get his CRISPY mac and cheese. He even asked for extra crispy edges and they scooped out more for him!
More, please!
Here's Masasa's review of Chef Marilyn's food:
I stand by my aversion to meat floating in juice, and my hot link experience did not sway me from that philosophy. As for the sides, I say "PLEASE, Chef Marilyn, can I have some more?" I got a plate of greens, yams, cabbage, and mac and cheese. Back in the day, Scoe's used to have my most favourite mac and cheese ever, but sadly in recent years, I have found theirs to be lacking in the cheese department. There's nothing worse than a "cheese tease," I always say, so I actually stopped ordering it from Scoe's all together. Having said that, Chef Marilyn has MASTERED the art of mac and cheese! And from now on, should I happen to have a craving, I know just where to go.
After having paid proper homage to the cheesy carbs, I moved on to the veggies, and I was not disappointed in the least. Each one was perfectly seasoned and had just the right amount of love. Although I prefer my cabbage to be a little more al dente, the seasoning and other veggies mixed in made up for that. I finished my feast with the candied yams and they were like a yummy little dessert, they were so good!
As for me, I ordered collard greens, black-eyed peas, and mashed potatoes. $4.50. And the helpings were huge. Seriously, two days of leftovers, here!
The collard greens were peppery and delicious. Black-eyed peas were exactly like Momma used to make, and I didn't think I would ever be able to say that about anybody's beans! They were awesome! The potatoes were fine. Nothing terribly special. Still, good eatin'.
Let's see how Chef Marilyn's measures up, in the criteria I set out when issuing this Challenge.
- Is the eatin' good?
Absolutely. Super yummy!
- Is the eatin' authentically southern?
For sure. No question about it, this is true southern food.
- Is the price right?
Absolutely! There's a whole section of 99-cent specials and it's a ton of food you're getting. Holy crap, what a great deal!
- Does the staff make you feel like you're sittin' at your grandma's table?
Well, no, because there is no table. But you're welcomed and joked around with and encouraged to call in orders for free delivery. (I asked, "How far will you deliver?" "Anywhere, if you order enough," was the reply.)
- Is the place worth visiting, if you grew up on the type of food they say they make?
Sure thing! Just be sure you have a next destination, as you will not be able to eat your food here. I imagine a catering situation would be pretty wonderful.
- How does it measure up to other stops on the GSFiSCC tour?
I actually stopped at Miss Peaches for a piece of butter cake last night and, yep, they're still in the lead for service, atmosphere, food, and best overall experience. And, yes, I told Connell that was the case. He wasn't surprised. In fact, he has invited us back for a Sunday book signing and "high-end food" event (coming soon). Everyone who is currently on the southern food mailing list (via Facebook) will be invited. Food will be free, but you'll have to buy a copy of Connell's brother's book. ;) Be ready! The items he's talking about fixing sound outrageously good.
Posted by bonnie at 3:02 PM | Comments (1)
March 10, 2010
GSFiSCC: Roscoe's
What is the Great Southern Food in Southern California Challenge? Click here for the low-down. Want to see reviews of all stops on our tour? Click here. Wanna see any photo below, only larger? Well, click it, for heck's sake!
Our third stop on the GSFiSCC was supposed to be Chef Marilyn's Soul Food Express (see next entry for why it was, instead, our fourth stop on the tour. Yes. Two stops in one night, technically). Instead, our third stop on the GSFiSCC was Roscoe's, 5006 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, 90019.
Now, Roscoe's is a Southern California institution, but I've never been sure why folks consider this place "southern," as there has never been a waffle served with chicken at any southern dinner I ever had. But it's a place that got mentioned several times when I first posted about seeking out some good, authentic, southern eats back on 1/1/10. It's also the place my first LA boss took me in 1993, when he promised my mother he'd be sure I ate good, southern food. I reported back to my mother that he was no judge of such things and not to be trusted.
Still, due to the technical difficulties that will be revealed in the next post, we ended up at Roscoe's for the third stop on our tour. Waffles and all.
As Eric said, if we had excluded Roscoe's, we'd have been asked about that choice, so it's fine that we ended up there. Heck, the food was very good, so let's say it was more than fine that we ended up there!
Now, there are a lot of rules at Roscoe's. I didn't even get to the credit card signs or the solicitation signs (yet, strangely, there were two very eager and friendly women roaming the restaurant offering tours, free drinks, and coupons of indeterminate value for a karaoke sports bar for the "luxury car set" -- Is that right, Ryan? -- across the street). But there are rules to visiting Roscoe's. Yes, one in our party was still bold enough to ask to make a substitution. No. No substitutions. Read the sign.
We passed the case of merch and went to table one, after making the staff aware that we'd likely have one or two joining us after they learned we were not down the street at Chef Marilyn's Soul Food Express. No worries, we were assured. A chair could pull up to our table with no issue. Cool. (That did turn out to be true, BTW.)
Now, I usually check out a menu before I visit a restaurant for the first time. That's mainly due to issues with wheat gluten, but also because I'm one of those annoying diners who needs to read the whole menu to decide what I want, rather than just magically spotting something hopping up and down at me from the page, begging to be ordered and eaten. Still, the menu at Roscoe's is not too long, so we were able to figure out what we wanted (yes, even me) by the time our drinks arrived. And I, for one, was hongray.
As for atmosphere, the signs are about it. (This one exists at every table.) Well, there's also art. There are flat-screen TVs (all turned off, from what I could tell). And while we strained to hear if there were any music playing, I still think--if we heard anything--it was someone's iPod. Eric says the Long Beach Roscoe's is the homey-est and this one is more like a diner. Ryan mentioned expansion at the Gower St. location (the only one I have visited, although that was nearly 20 years ago), which should mean it's a bit roomier than I recall.
Joining me for the third stop on the GSFiSCC were David, Eric, Ryan, Susyn and technically Masasa (more on that in the next post, I promise). Our time together included talk of (and quotes from) Bring It On, discussion of Light My Fire (a booth at the Grove specializing in hot sauce), and a domain check on BackYardPorn.com, which David will now not be able to snap up, as it's already taken (.org, however, is available, which Susyn says is a great option, since that could stand for "orgasm"). We also verified that the "Carolinian" in North Carolinian and South Carolinian are pronounced differently (the LIN in the latter is said with an EE sound) and Susyn told us about something called chicken bog, which I'll also cover in the next entry.
So... let's eat! My goal was to order the most traditionally southern meal available. I decided that was the #23, for $13.40 plus tax.
Collard greens (which I've decided I'm ordering at every stop on the tour, as that will be the great equalizer, when tabulating the votes at the end of this journey), candied yams (called "candy yams" on the menu, and, um, that's probably more appropriate, because I swear they tasted like dessert), a fried breast of chicken the size of my head, and cornbread served with a pat of butter (where "pat" is code for "tablespoon of fluffy goodness"). Yum! Good decision-making on the ordering, there, Bon.
Traditional Roscoe's fare: chicken'n waffles, add a side of mac and cheese. All three gents ordered exactly this, but Eric did request the most "baked brown" mac and cheese possible. No-go. This was as dark-brown as it got. Well, 'til David added hot sauce and pepper to his. That was pretty badass, actually. (Note: David refused a Birthday Biscuit Bottom when I offered it, once he realized it was the uneaten part of a biscuit with a fake candle mounted upon it. Pff. That's gratitude for ya!)
[NOTE: I'm going to leave this next bit in, even though I've since been corrected and will set the record straight after this little story. But the story is funny and well-written, so in it stays, just for fun.]
Now, I'm not sure whether my momma tried to save me from the harsh realities of what chitlins actually are, but my whole life I was led to believe that they were chicken necks. So, tonight I decided to finally try one when Susyn offered, thinking that it couldn't be that bad. And it wasn't. Tasted like deep-fried beef jerky. Fine. And then I came home and started to post this blog entry, which involved looking up chitlins (well, chitterlings), to be sure I was spelling everything right and, uh...
I ate pig intestines. Awesome. No regrets. But, I think I'm done with eating chitlins in my lifetime. Maybe. We'll see. Maybe I just need to let it all sink in.
[Okay, so those aren't chitlins at all. They're chicken giblets! As Susyn informed me just now over at the Facebook, "While I have eclectic food tastes, I don't think even I would eat chitlins! Giblets--I was always told--are the stomachs, hence the tough, chewy taste. After doing some research this morning, the official word is that giblets can be the heart, liver, and gizzard (secondary stomach). But, what I had was clearly the gizzard. And yummy it was! :) There you have it!" So, thank you Susyn for setting me straight! I ate chicken innards, not pig innards. Hee!]
Here are the chitlins chicken giblets with the rest of Susyn's dish: a biscuit, eggs, grits, and collard greens. Everybody shared everything (I sampled everything but biscuits, eggs, and waffles, I think) and everyone agreed that everything was tasty and plentiful. I actually said to Ryan, "Oh my god, I think this is the first time in a year of eating together that your plate got cleared before mine did." (He's a notoriously slow eater and likes to keep his food around even if he's not going to finish it, just in case.) His response, as I continued to pick at my food long after I was full: "I couldn't stop!"
We sat for a bit and talked and laughed while enjoying the wet-naps the waitress brought us and each other's company, then it was time to head out. Eric offered me a plastic bag as a souvenir, to which I replied, "No thank you; I'm de-cluttering." (Thank you, David, for capturing that, plus for telling us all about the Dragon Dictation app, which I must remember to download, seeing as I now recall you're the second cute boy to tell me about it in 2010 [I'm lookin' at you, Bill the DILF].)
As we left the restaurant and headed back west on Pico on foot toward our cars (still parked at Chef Marilyn's), we were greeted by the smell of a lovely incense burning in the bushes just under a Roscoe's window (let's just say something else was burning off the back of the parking lot, probably justifying the very large portion sizes provided at Roscoe's) and then spotted the sign offering us information about the scent. There was a table, but no one manning it. Perhaps we were too late to buy any incense. Oh well, we weren't too late to get back to Chef Marilyn's and experience our fourth stop on the GSFiSCC tour. But more on that, next post.
Meanwhile, let's see how Roscoe's measures up, in the criteria I set out when issuing this Challenge.
- Is the eatin' good?
Yup. If you like lots of food, come on by. Several locations to serve you. The chicken is almost "broasted" (roasted in a pressure cooker, according to Eric), but the waitress assured us it was deep fried in oil, and the reason it tasted so moist and flavorful was "a secret."
- Is the eatin' authentically southern?
What is on their menu that is southern is certainly authentic enough. The collard greens had a kick. The grits were buttery. I didn't try the sweet iced tea -- Did they offer any? -- but I think I got more than enough sugar for the day in my yams.
- Is the price right?
Looking at the menu, I thought the prices were high ($13.40 for one chicken breast and two sides, plus cornbread, for me), but when the food came it became clear that there was way more food on the plate--scratch that, it was a platter--than I had anticipated. Five were fed for around $87, plus tip. Not bad at all!
- Does the staff make you feel like you're sittin' at your grandma's table?
We decided no, mainly because your grandma would allow substitutions (says Susyn) and offer water without you having to request it. She wouldn't share the secret to the fried chicken flavor either, but she'd tell a joke or two to take the sting out of that.
- Is the place worth visiting, if you grew up on the type of food they say they make?
Hmm... well, I can't find where Roscoe's says they serve southern food. I think folks around here just made that up and decided to tell their southern friends that there's good southern eatin' there. So, since Roscoe's doesn't seem to want to be southern and is really just offering good, down-home soul food (which, naturally, happens to include a good number of authentic southern options), I'll say, sure! You can get your southern grub on here just fine.
- How does it measure up to other stops on the GSFiSCC tour?
Miss Peaches is still in the lead for service, atmosphere, food, and best overall experience. South is our only alcohol-serving contender at this point, but that'll change at stop five, later this month. All three stops have involved loads of fun and lots of laughs, plentiful food, and good times. And isn't that what southern eatin' is all about?
Posted by bonnie at 1:21 AM | Comments (3)