Fast Food Nation - The Movie.

You've read the book, and seen "Supersize Me", now watch "Fast Food Nation", the movie - free and before its official premier this Friday . . . thanks to a screening by Fox Searchlight Pictures (and also Slow Food L.A.'s Website, which informed me of this.)

Where: ArcLight Theaters, 6360 W. Sunset Blvd. (close to the Hungry Cat, Magnolia & Bowery, among other restaurants)
When: Wed, November 15 7:30 p.m.
RSVP info: Go to the the Fast Food Nation Webpage and click on the upper-left corner ("Attend a Free Screening") - and they ARE required for entry.

Alas, I have prior engagements for Wednesday night -- but I will be watching this, even if I have to pay.

Upcoming Foodventure: Holy Tamales (Indio, Dec. 2-3)

A heads-up to fellow foodies reading this, Indio will, again be doing their International Tamale Festival on the first weekend of December (2nds and 3rd) - their 15th annual. Go early and bring an ice chest & some freeze-paks!!--there are dozens of tamale boothes - selling both traditional and modernized varieties. Stomachs being large as they are (unless you participate in competitive eating), there are plenty you'd want to bring back on your long drive home. Frozen baggies & sharpie markers also help--it's easy to mix 'em up, and if you're like me, you wanna keep a record of what's good and what's not.

Based on my 3 years of experience with the Indio Fair, here are some delicious boothes to watch out for:

*Grandma Lupe (always an hour wait at least, but her strawberry & cream cheese, as well as her traditional beef & pork, are SO worth it - and she only makes tamales for this event!)
*Corn Maiden (for those interested in the more modernized stuff, I have a weakness for their sweet yellow corn + cheddar cheese as well as their belgium chocolate + caramelized walnuts + raspberries)
*Molly's Tamales (hailing from Phoenix, Arizona - last year their salmon tamales, made with wild sockeye salmon, according this Arizona Republic article, converted me to seafood tamale fillings)

And of course, I went to the L.A. 2nd Annual International Tamale Festival that took place this past weekend, but that holds no candle to the 15th Annual Indio one (which I've attended for 3 years straight). And yes, I will be posting a special foodventure for the former very soon.

Hope to see y'all @ Indio! (if you see someone hauling an ice chest on wheels with a digi-camera, probably me ^_~) - for more info (directions, parking, vendors, etc.) go to www.tamalefestival.net.

Mini Foodventure #15: O-Bar (West Hollywood)

Every other time I'm in or passing by the WeHo area w/o other dining plans, O-Bar's on my mind, and usually I cave and visit, tonight being no exception.

O-Bar is a Thomas Schoos creation that just recently celebrated their 3rd anniversary. Their drinks are always yummy (and a potent bang for the buck), food are consistently good (and I definitely go ga-ga over their seasonally-rotating desserts - thanks to their in-house pastry chef Lyn Meadows), and they have 6-8pm happy hour with half-priced drinks - every single day! (not to mention some of the best tasting mojitos around - runner-up only to the ones I mix myself ;) - and the varieties include Scarface, with champagne & S Guaro, a premium blend with 10 Cane Rum, Eden with apples & bananas, and the straight-up "missionary style".)

Not wanting to risk DUIing since I'm driving myself home - I opted out of their famous & strong mojitos (comes in a shaker - 2-3 drinks worth) and went for my other favorites . . . the first being Apple-Ginger Martini ~ a fairly stiff apple pie in a glass!

And at the bartend's suggestion - a Washington Apple (a mix of bourbon, Apple Pucker & cranberry juice) ~ I can taste the apple & bourbon, but it lacks that one level extra (mintiness in mojitos, the gingery-bite in the above martini) -- not bad though, and I did ask for something lightweight.

And of course, I had to get something for my sweet tooth. While the Thomas "O" Cookie (think BJ's Pizookie, but only 100 times better!) is a good ole' reliable, I don't have that big an appetite & wanted to check out one of the rotational items, so I opted for a Gingersnap Cheesecake (with pear sorbet, apple & pecan pieces & pomegranate syrup).

Very light and airy for a Western-style cheesecake - though not a whole lot of spice action (save for the crust made from gingersnap cookies -- which is something I do for my cheesecakes as well.) But overall, this dessert pairs extremely well with the apple-ginger martini - glad I ordered both at the same time.

I can't wait till I can do a full-meal visit of this place -- for researching for this blog, of course ^_-

O-Bar
8279 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA
323-822-3300
www.obarrestaurant.com

Foodventure #14: Red White + Bluezz (Pasadena)

Ever since Red White + Bluezz opened earlier this year, my interest has been piqued every time I pass by this place (much of it attributed to their clever naming - it's a wine bar that also features live jazz music, thus the reds, whites, and blues!) It sits on the south side of "Old Town" Pasadena area on Raymond & Green, where there is a growing wine presence in the area, with another fairly new Bodega wine bar in the Paseo, the Nose wine cellar in Playhouse district & the upcoming Vertical wine bistro in the northside of Old Town.

(sorry about dim picture - will see if I can make an improvement on this later.)

Anyways, I was promptly seated and given a large one-sheet menu, one side devoted to all its food - the reverse, to all its wine flights & cheese flight pairings. The prices don't look too bad for what they are, and the menu(designed by Gabriel Contreras, a cordon bleu graduate with cooking experience at Marriot Hotel & the Parkway Grill) is full of interesting items, familiar foods with a definite twist such as fried mac'n cheese with sun dried tomato fondue, maple-mustard glazed halibut with grilled pineapple, and a pasta carbonara with craisins, pinenuts and applewood-smoked bacon. I think it's a nice mid-way, nothing too boring for adventure-seeking tastebuds, nothing too scary for the conservative eaters.

With blues being a big component to this restaurant, I definitely expected nice decor - which it delivered, the dining area looking like a contemporary villa bistro - accented with brick walls, large oil painting and lighting that's dimmed but also warm and inviting. And of course, groovy jazz music in the background (on Thurs-Sun. they boast live performers in the nighttime.) Very versatile - good for business colleague, group of friends and a date. The hostess was very attentive as well, very open about her preferences on the menu & since dining room is not packed, giving parties option of seating from the quieter corridor to the more bustling bar area, or the window tables for those wishing to peer out into the city streets. (there is also a back area where the jazz musician plays with a limited selection of food served - alas, no performances when I was there.)

Of course, going to a wine bar - I have to check out some wines. Here I decided upon one of their pre-arranged flights (they have 8, ranging from $12-$18) - the one I ordered in particular was the full-bodied blondes:

which includes a French Rosé, a California Chardonnay (Santa Maria) & a Paso Robles Viognier in 1.5 to 2 oz. pours in miniature wine glasses that I first thought was cute, but later discovered to be an impediment to me smelling the wine. I was also mildly turned off by the tasting notes on the wine placemat - relatively experienced wine folks know what to expect and probably prefer evaluating them w/o pre-conceived notions, and I'm sure less-experienced tasters would appreciate the actual waiter or sommelier coming over and briefly talk about it as opposed to reading it off the wine placemat. But having said that, all the wines were good - nice peachy and pineapply flavors (and of course, the buttery toastiness from the Chardonnay).

Along with the 3 wines, I got my appetizer -

Maryland Blue Crabcakes with a Mango-Papaya Chutney & Passion Fruit Aioli - jeebus this was yummy - lightly breaded (my guess would be with panko), full of lightly seasoned crabmeat and barely any mayo or filler, interestingly accented by the fruity chutney & aioli (which has more passion fruit taste than garlic.) The dish paired very well with any of the three wines -- a close-up inside look below:


Wanting to save room for dessert (not to mention some waistline inches and greens in the wallet), I opted for a salad as my main course. At the hostess' and waiter's suggestion, I dove for the:

Watermelon & Maytag Blue Cheese Salad with balsamic-tossed baby greens & a Tahitian vanilla honey drizzle - their signature salad, one of the few that I actually felt worth shelling out money for (though later I discovered that Gabriel disclosed the salad's not-so-secret recipe to Pasadena magazine Arroyo Monthly.) So many different textures and tastes - cool refreshing melon, the sweet wild honey, crumbly and slightly briny blue cheese and the sweet-tart leaves. A perfect summertime salad, even in November (in SoCal.) and went especially well with the Rose wine.

With neither course being too heavy, I felt less guilty about getting my week's worth of sugar, coming in the form of:

Black Forest Cube - with dark and white chocolate mousse over devil's food cake with a cherry within & on top. The wickedly sinful cube is then enrobed in chocolate and covered with sauce (the menu said caramel, but it tasted more like fudge.) The red syrup didn't have much taste (esp. after tasting the cake first), but I suspect that it's made with the maraschino cherry liquid - sticking with the dessert theme.

A peek inside -

A great dessert, just rich enough and very chocolately (though the white chocolate mousse definitely took a backstage to all the other dark components of the dish.) My only regret was not getting a cup of coffee to go along with this - it's just one of those sweets that cries for a caffeinated pairing. And so concludes my mainly-light and mostly-positive dinner at this jazzy joint.

The bill:
Crab cakes - $9 ($10 on menu)
Salad - $8
Dessert - $7 ($5 on menu)
Wine flight - $14
Pre tax/tip total - $38

The ratings:
Decor: 4.5/5 (this atmosphere works for me - there's not much of an outside view, but the combination of music and decorations keeps my attention to the interior.)
Value: 3.5/5 (I felt it was OK to good in terms of value, but I dined on their lighter dishes (which is around the $10 range) - not sure how money-worthy are their heavy entrees, priced around $20-$30.)
Service: 8.5/10 (Overall nice and knowledgable staff, the waiter was however slightly heavy on upselling)
Food: 18.5/20 (Yummy, delicious, Mmmmm...., Wowzers - how many different ways can I put this? nothing I had was disappointing in the slightest - only downer was the small wine glasses for the flights.)
Bonus/Demerit: -1 for actual prices differing from the listed menu ones, and no warnings about such change prior/during ordering.
TOTAL: 34/40 (A few minor miffs here and there - but definitely will be back.)

Other notes:
- Street metered and public parking available - usually not hard to find a spot on the street, so just bring some coins.
- Live jazz starts at 9pm (sometimes earlier, check their schedule) Thurs to Sun.
- They also feature 2 hour wine flight classes with sommelier doing wine lessons (I believe there's also some food served) - ranges from $40 to $60 per person.
- Also a good selection of cow/goat/sheep cheeses available, they even have cheese flights selections ($14) that correspond to their wine flights.

This wine bistro experience is a pleasant one, and while I look forward to other foodventures with other places - this seems like a reliable back-up place to bring out-of-towners or friends who want something a little different.

Red White + Bluezz
70 S. Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA
626-792-4441
www.redwhitebluezz.com

Special Foodventure #13: Japanese Tea Ceremonies (Downtown/Little Tokyo)

Of course, what better way to ward off an unlucky review #13 than going to a place of worship? Actually, I found out about this special event almost last minute through Slow Food LA's site/blog. Having had numerous British afternoon teas with scones and finger sandwiches, Chinese "yum cha" with dim sum galore, Indian inspired masala chais and, of course, boba milk teas under my belt, I figured it's time to carve another notch by going to my first ever Japanese Tea Ceremony, taking place at the Zenshuji Soto Mission temple in the Little Tokyo district (which is rapidly becoming gentrified with urban renewal condos, chic shops, and fast casual eateries - something that I'm ambivalent about.) But I digress - and here are some shots of the temple:

The half-day event started off at 11 am with an hour long "chasen kuyo" worship/prayer service with alternating English and Japanese sermons, with a door prize drawing afterwards (various materials [fans, wall tiles, etc.] with japanese kanji calligraphy and some jade/amehyst bead bracelets.) The chasen kuyo ceremony room was very beautiful and ornate with lacquered wooden furniture, gilded decoration pieces, porcelain statuettes and wonderful flower arrangements (but no photos since I'm sure it would be totally inappropriate to be taking them - and the ceremony room was closed-off afterwards.)

After the service, I (along with about a hundred other guests) were free to explore the temple and participate in its epicurean events (2 tea ceremonies and a luncheon.)

My first stop was a Ryu Rei ceremony, prepared on a special table with the person seated on a chair. I arrived in the room to find this minimalistic yet elegant set up.

The equipment set upon the beautiful table consisted of a bowl to hold water, a container for matcha tea powder, a bamboo tea whisk & mixing bowl, tea scooper, water scooper, and an iron pot for heating.

Soon the tea preparer came and began her meticulous ritual of cleaning the various tools and, of course, preparing the tea with the utmost care.

As I observed in awe of the attention to detail in this ceremony (from the careful folding and unfolding of the silk cleaning cloth to the delicate handling of the container lids,) we were served tea sweets - which I believe are rice cookies, on a decorated napkin:

Very airy and ever-so-slightly sweet -- it's pretty unbelievable that something so simple can be so good (that can actually be the motto for the whole afternoon.)

Soon after nibbling away at the cookies - we were served our matcha tea -

Definitely very yummy stuff for an unsweetened green tea (served in a thick irregularly shaped bowl with all sorts of bumps, grooves and spotty coloring, which I guessed, and later confirmed, that it was highly prized and a marker of quality craftmanship [hand made]) . The tea itself had great nutty flavors with hints of sweet grass and just enough bitterness to round it all out. I slowly and steadily sipped this steamy, foamy drink away.

After finishing the tea, we were free to examine the bowls, as well as the other equipment used in the ceremony - which gave me an opportunity for a more close-up shot of the pretty wares.

Feeling a bit famished afterwards and seeing the other tea ceremony was still in progress, I went to the basement cafeteria for their vegetarian luncheon ~ again, another delight for the eyes.

A varied mix of veggies from a slaw-like salad to a mushroom-flavored sticky rice, and square of goma dofu (sesame tofu) in teriyaki sauce, and a fried sweet chestnut - served with a hot and soothing winter melon-ginger soup & very smooth sake that smelled faintly of ripe bananas. There were very few seasonings used in this entire lunch, but it tasted anything but bland -- the unadulterated flavors of the various leaves, tubers, roots and gourds shone through in their purest form ~ and they complemented each other very well.

Following the satisfying meal, I head to the Hon Seki ceremony - prepared in a tea room with the hostess in a seiza (a kneel-sitting position which I'd imagine would put feet to sleep in minutes.)

Like the ryu rei area, the hon seki (literally "tea room") is pretty much free of unnecessary adornments - which in turn highlights the few decorations that are there, such as the tea tools, plant and calligraphy wall scroll.

Soon, the guests of honor were escorted onto the hon seki and the tea hostess came out and started her preparations (similar to the ryu rei, except in the seiza position almost all the time - it was interesting - and mentally painful - watching her change positions and shuffle along while maintaining the kneel-sit.)

As she prepares the tea and chats with the guests of honor (interspersed with many bows by both parties), our tea sweets are served.

I liken this best to a red bean mochi, except of course the exterior is yellow sticky rice. Sweeter than the cookies from last ceremony, but still pretty mellow on the sugar.

Soon, our yummy matcha arrives . . .

Again, quite yummy - and I can hear moans of pleasure from the other tea tasters as they slowly sip away.

This time, only the guests of honor were allowed to examine the tools (which I understand, it's quite hard for anyone to move, being super crammed into a small space) but we were free to admire our bowls -

and that pretty much wrapped up my day. Took a stroll at the gift shop where I admired more tea accessories (didn't buy anything) then left - it was 3:30p.m. All in all, a great experience that was worthy of my half-day and my $40 (all-inclusive, and I'm sure a significant portion is donated to the temple). It's definitely something I recommend everyone trying at least once - but do have a lot time available, a lot of patience and an appreciation for minimalistic Zen-style arts. And of course, being prepared to feel like an outsider if you're not Japanese (everyone working the event were very nice people, but like any culturally heavy event - even culinary ones - it can't be helped that certain gestures, actions and sayings are going to be relevant to just that group.)

I believe the Zenshuji Soto Tea Ceremonies are a once- or twice- a year event, but here's their address and info in case you're interested in going there just because (and to keep an eye out for the next one.)

Zenshuji Soto Mission
123 Hewitt St.
Los Angeles, CA
213-624-8658
www.zenshuji.org