Gastronomy 101

It's true that there are taco stands galore in Los Angeles. It is almost mystifying to think how any one of them could distinguish themselves. Taco stands are basically made to be a place you go because it's close, it's cheap, and the food is of the type that, even if it's not the best example of its kind, it's also really hard to go badly wrong with a basic taco or burrito. Tito's basically resembles most taco stands. It has the same basic dishes (taco, burrito, enchilada, tostada) and it's cheap. But there's something about these tacos that makes you want them even if you're not nearby. I have driven from Koreatown to West Los Angeles at lunchtime for these tacos and it is a miracle if you can get me to go somewhere that's out of walking distance. A modern foodie would probably be mystified. There's nothing immediately special about the food at Tito's. It's far from authentic, it's not healthy, nor is it fused with any other int...

Without these "things" I may never have tried this coffee. Or not for a while anyway. I like my coffee in the morning, but not enough to drive all the way out to Silverlake to get it. Not to mention to get a morning coffee that costs about 4x as much as my regular coffee. But this is some pretty special coffee, and a special occasion (like going to see the Clientele at Spaceland) deserves a special cup (or two) of coffee. So we decided to head into LA Mill for dinner. This will be one of the fanciest coffee places you go - they appear as a nice restaurant and they do serve food, and their menu matches their decor. Slightly upscale dinner fare, but nothing too fancy. Jason had sliders and I had a Spanish-inspired panini or pork, manchego cheese and piquillo peppers. The food was good - nothing drop-dead amazing but just solidly delicious. What we were really waiting for, however, was this coffee that was so special. As soon as we began to peruse the coffee menu, we could tell ...

I really have a real post, that I will hopefully put up tomorrow, but I want to take a break to put up some cool pictures I have accumulating. First, we had some people over to our house to watch the Oscars last month and our lovely guests brought the most amazing cupcakes from Big Sugar Bakeshop . Each cupcake had an image representing a Best Picture nominee or an Oscar on it. They came in vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet flavors and all were delicious. I really cannot talk up this bakery enough. It is in Studio City, very near my former workplace and it is one of my favorite bakeries I've been to in L.A. They are extremely creative, but the stuff they make is not overly complicated or unbalanced. For example, their cupcakes are my top cupcakes in Los Angeles. Most of the trendy cupcakes seem to load on frosting completely out of proportion to the amount of cake and it's gross. I end up lopping off most of the frosting and leave it on the plate. These cupcakes have a correct...