Yes, We Khan

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Val

Mongolian Cultural Festival and Fair
Los Angeles, California

L.A. City Hall towers over the 1st Mongolian Cultural Festival

L.A. City Hall towers over the 1st Mongolian Cultural Festival

Discuss aspects of Mongolian culture with most Westerners (particularly Americans) and the conversation is likely to gravitate to two topics: Genghis Khan and Mongolian BBQ. Fortunately at the first of what hopefully becomes an annual Mongolian Cultural Festival and Fair held recently on the South Lawn of Los Angeles City Hall, Angelenos had the opportunity to get a glimpse into the reality of the proud heritage and diverse culture of the Mongolian people. Although Genghis Khan is known throughout the annals of history across the globe for creating an empire, modern-day Mongolians strive to show that what they represent transcends that legacy.

A typical but stripped down yurt

A typical but stripped down yurt

At the festival, scanning the grounds to try to find the big, domed grill typically found at the center of your friendly neighborhood Mongolian BBQ would only result in massive disappointment when you discover that the namesake cuisine is not even remotely Mongolian. Despite the clever advertising, Mongolian BBQ was a late 20th century Taiwanese invention. As our gracious host Sarnai Shuherjav explained, Mongolian cuisine employs what ingredients can be extracted from the mountainous terrain – primarily meat and dairy products. The few dishes with limited varieties of vegetables are influenced by the country’s nearest neighbors, China and Russia. Of the food offerings at the festival, the meat of choice was beef, but in Mongolia the food might feature lamb, goat, camel or even marmot (a variety of groundhog). Although I found the thought of devouring Punxsutawney Phil appealing (especially in boodog, a dish made from stuffing hot stones into the hollowed gut of a marmot) the fearless and vigilant government of the State of California would never allow this at a public event.

Sarnai Shuherjav prepares to devour the huushuur

Sarnai Shuherjav prepares to devour the huushuur

So what’s a food adventurer to do at a toned-down Mongolian cultural event? Simple – seek out the most exotic item at the festival, a task made easier when Sarnai brought us to the spot where a woman was ladling out Styrofoam cups of what looked like milk. The drink was airag, a Mongolian favorite made from fermented mare’s milk (yes, mare – a female horse). The beverage was slightly sour and had a mild alcoholic bite, but despite or because of the unusual flavor (similar to Persian doogh) I was compelled to continue drinking it. Chinese-influenced dumplings were being made at several booths including a steamed variety (buuz) that were filled with hot broth and mildly seasoned with green onions and a larger, fried dumpling (huushuur) that is rolled flat prior to its hot oil bath. These would traditionally be stuffed with mutton (lamb) or beef, but there was no shortage of beef at the festival. The dough used for the dumplings is made with a simple flour and water mixture, again a nod to the tradition of making do with the materials available.

A celebratory harvsai stack

A celebratory harvsai stack

At one table were artistically assembled harvsai, a festive celebratory stack of what looked like soft Bavarian pretzels crowned with cookies and crackers. The large fried dough pieces (referred to as “Mongolian doughnuts” are typically stacked in odd-numbering rows with the width and height of the stack based on the age or importance of the person being honored.  The little bits strewn about the top may have looked like shortbread but were actually made of aaruul, dried milk curds. The aaruul was also featured on plates with tiny cubes of very mild cheese, and to the untrained eye it was difficult to tell them apart (hint: the aaruul had a sour taste to it).

Livestock anklebone targets in the game of shagai

Livestock anklebone targets in the game of shagai

There is very little (if any) sweetness found in Mongolian cuisine, a fact attributed again to the shortage of sugary fruits and foods in the region. One booth had unfortunately sold out of the milk tea, which Sarnai proudly stated contains tea, milk and a dash of salt. During our gastronomic tour of the festival we were treated to traditional and contemporary music blasting from huge speakers framing a stage with a Mongolian flag backdrop. Zula Damdin (president of the Los Angeles Area Mongolian Association) gave us a brief but thorough walk through the country’s culture and the spirit and pride of the several thousand Mongolians residing in the greater Los Angeles area.  As she spoke with us in satiny Mongolian costume and regalia, a nearby competitive game of shagai, or ankle bone shooting, was taking place (a sport involving shooting makeshift wrist rockets at livestock anklebones stacked on a chessboard-sized platform).

I hope to see the event become an annual occurrence; I was truly humbled, walking away knowing much more about the rich culture of the Mongolian people than I ever could have imagined. I think the next time I visit a Mongolian BBQ I’ll ask if they have any marmot.

Mongolian Cultural Festival and Fair
South Lawn, Los Angeles City Hall
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles CA 90012
GPS coordinates: 34° 3’10.34″N 118°14’36.58″W

GALLERY: See images from Val and Eddie Lin’s visit to the Mongolian Cultural Festival and Fair at Los Angeles City Hall

PODCAST: Listen to Deep End Dining’s Eddie Lin’s coverage of the festival for KCRW’s Good Food

NOTE: This cost for the food at this event was provided by organizers of the Mongolian Cultural Festival and Fair. The content provided in this article was not influenced whatsoever by the organizer of the event.

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Food Porn

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Val

Pig penis

The finished product - Dick-on-a-Stick

The finished product - Dick-on-a-Stick

By now you’ve seen the word “penis” twice; if the sound of the word or penile imagery makes you uncomfortable, this is fair warning that you will probably not enjoy this article.  Before you ask Bertha Bumiller to round up the Smut Snatchers of the New Order, I should tell you that the penis in question recently belonged to a male sus scofa (the domesticated Kunekune pig of New Zealand). I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that this article may redefine the oddly named photographic phenomenon known as “food porn”. Forgive the penile puns and double-entendre, but the penis as food is not a new aspect of modern gastronomy or a hardcore adaptation of the “nose-to-tail” movement; other cultures have been eating this member of the meat family for millennia (as covered previously in articles on bull penis).

Newly-opened Lindy & Grundy butcher shop in L.A.

Newly-opened Lindy & Grundy butcher shop in L.A.

Up front, let me state for the record that I did not scour the meat department of my local 99 Ranch Market looking for Porky’s personality; I had responded to a tweet by friends and friendly neighborhood L.A. butchers Lindy & Grundy who stated that a pig came in packing heat (they are normally removed prior to them receiving the carcass) and that they were looking for any takers for the less-than-mighty pork sword. I doubt anyone was surprised when I laid claim to the economy cut, and since friend and colleague Eddie Lin was in the area, he offered to swing by and grab my penis (“fair warning”, remember?).

The terrible pork sword

The terrible pork sword

The issue of actually eating the object was never in doubt, but it took a while to decide how to prepare it. After deliberating over several ideas, it was decided that it would be the perfect way to break in the gleaming new deep fryer I received for my birthday, but we still had to come to agreement on a recipe. The somewhat diminutive size of the meat whistle ruled out any preparation involving slicing, dicing or julienne frying, which led to the obvious conclusion – corn dogging the thing. Using an online recipe for corn dog batter, we whipped up a batch of the tasty dip and slid that bad boy in. I’ll give credit where credit is due; my lovely wife Claudia christened the dish with a name far superior to my “penis corn dog” – the poetic and lyrical “Dick-on-a-Stick”.

So how did it taste, you ask (or maybe don’t)? Well, I won’t spoil the fun and cinematic splendor of letting you see for yourself the preparation and consumption of the dish in our little porn flick below. My only regret is that we couldn’t get Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg to do the theme song.

Lindy and Grundy
801 North Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90046
GPS Coordinates:  34°5’9.46″N 118°21’42.02″W

GALLERY: See images of Lindy & Grundy, the butchers who supplied the meat and Val and Eddie Lin preparing the dish

VIDEO: The making of Dick-on-a-Stick by Trippy Food and Deep End Dining


NOTE: The pig penis was provided at no cost by Lindy and Grundy, butchers. The content provided in this article was not influenced whatsoever by Lindy and Grundy although the double entendre was free-flowing.

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Little Bit O’ Soul

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Val

Ernie’s Restaurtant
Charleston, South Carolina

Ernie's, not "No Loitering"

Ernie's, not "No Loitering"

One of the areas lacking in my culinary repertoire is soul food – I have only on occasion enjoyed the basic, hearty, home-cooked food that truly makes you feel good. Soul food for me is the epitome of keeping it simple yet delicious, although I must caution that this is good food that might not necessarily be good for you – it is usually high in fat, cholesterol and calories. In the unlikely event that I ever find myself on death row I think I might select soul food for a last meal and eat myself to death. Prior to setting out on my recent Charleston, South Carolina adventure I was told that a trip to Charleston would be incomplete without a visit to Ernie’s for their lima beans. I’m sure your initial reaction might have been similar to mine – my mother prepared lima beans for us in our formative years, and although not unappetizing the thought of a scoop of the starchy, thumbnail-sized legumes hardly seemed like the basis for a side trip.

Welcome to Ernie's in Charleston, SC

Welcome to Ernie's in Charleston, SC

On the last day of my trip I remembered the recommendation and drove off in search of Ernie’s. Apparently it is a word-of-mouth operation – they have no web site, don’t advertise or even have any signage to indicate that you’re there. In a conversation with the desk clerk at the hotel in which she asked what places I had been to, I mentioned that I was having lunch at Ernie’s and her response was forceful and immediate: “How do YOU know about Ernie’s?”. It is so elusive an establishment that I drove past it twice while verbally berating my GPS for losing me in a residential neighborhood. I briefly considered a return trip to 82 Queen for another bowl of she-crab soup when I saw someone walk out the door with a plastic bag with what looked like a Styrofoam to-go container inside.

Part pig, part lima bean, all delicious

Part pig, part lima bean, all delicious

The interior is as plain and unassuming as the storefront; faux foliage hung from latticed walls, lit by bare florescent bulbs on the ceiling. A hand-made “Ernie’s” sign on what looked like a palmetto leaf painted white at the end was the only indication that I was in the right place; as a walked in the few patrons and staff in the restaurant looked up, waved and flashed a smile. There were no menus to be had, but a board behind the counter listed their regular offerings which included turkey necks, fried chicken and other dishes in my comfort range. I ordered the lima beans and took a seat after following the recommendation to have a homemade sweet tea to accompany the meal.

Lima beans and pork neck and tails over rice

Lima beans and pork neck and tails over rice

A dish of fragrant rice arrived at the table first, followed by one of the most beautiful sights of my life – a big bowl spilling over with a manly portion of slow cooked lima beans covering huge chunks of pig tails and pork neck. I spooned the thick stew over the rice, watching as tender chunks of pork fell away from the bone. It is my belief that if Charleston had been hit with a category 5 hurricane at that very moment they would have found my lifeless body with a spoon in one hand, a pig vertebrae in the other and an ear-to-ear grin. The sweet tea was the perfect beverage to chase the food and when my server returned to ask if I wanted desert I declined, presiding over a plate of skeletal porcine remains.
How Ernie has managed to keep the place a well-kept secret since their opening in 1982 is beyond me, but I’ll never regret the geographic challenge it took to make Ernie’s a part of my Charleston itinerary.  Next quest: finding Waldo’s…

Ernie’s Restaurant
64 Spring Street
Charleston, SC 29403
GPS Coordinates: 32°47’31.57″N 79°56’36.26″W

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Good Morning, Vietnam

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Val

Bánh mì
Vietnam

The namesake Buu Dien Sandwich

The namesake Buu Dien Sandwich

To the untrained eye, banh mi might resemble a “five dollar foot-long”, but under the hood you’re likely to find the ingredients a tad less Western. The term bánh mì actually describes the baguette used to create this Vietnamese staple, a diminutive loaf of French bread made from wheat and rice flour. Bánh mì can have a variety of fillings, but traditionally features slices of ham and/or head cheese and stuffed silly with fresh crunchy vegetables including cilantro, hot peppers, cucumber and picked, shredded daikon radish and carrots. In Southern California there are a few hot spots where you don’t have to travel far to sample traditional and localized preparations of the workingman’s salad sandwich, including San Gabriel Valley and Little Saigon in Westminster.

BBQ pork banh mi from Lien Hoa

BBQ pork banh mi from Lien Hoa

I was invited to join The Minty on a bánh mì through L.A.’s Chinatown, and after the fun I had getting my Salvadoran on at her pupusa crawl, I eagerly signed up. She had planned 5 stops, which included a not-so-gourmet food truck and an upscale bistro serving up Anglicized versions of the sandwich at the end of the yellow brick road in Little Tokyo. There were four foodies in tow (myself included) and we quickly agreed that we would order one or two sandwiches at each stop and quarter them (a sensible survivor skill when dealing with multiple bread bombs). The first stop was Bưu Điện, a small storefront at the end of a parking lot alley with iron folding plates over the window. The menu featured about 10 variations, all listed on a banner on the wall, and we quickly agreed on the Bánh Mì Bưu Điện (their signature Bưu Điện Sandwich) and the Chả Lụa (a Vietnamese pork sausage). The Bưu Điện Sandwich was their version of the traditional sandwich featuring a pork pâté and sliced ham and chock full of the aforementioned vegetables. The bread was firm but not stale and it neatly postponed bites bursting with flavor and texture; the sausage was an odd shade of red and was crumbly and dry. While a refrigerator held soft drinks I was intrigued with the two fountain bubblers at the counter that held a brownish-black fluid and something that looked like lawn clippings run through a blender. I opted for the dark, murky beverage which turned out to be a tasty blend of five different teas.

The remainder of my meatball banh mi at LA Sandwich

The remainder of my meatball banh mi at LA Sandwich

Our second stop was a confusing little place billed as “Liên Hoa Chinese Deli & Seafood Market”. Inside was a row of steam tables holding limbs and organs of undetermined fauna and a meat case holding executed whole roasted ducks hanging from hooks, illuminated by what looked like klieg lights. As I prepared to preserve Donald in digital celluloid the woman behind the counter shouted out, “No pictures”, obviously assuming I was going to copy their inimitable style and open my own Chinese deli in Laguna Beach. We ordered the Vietnamese Special and BBQ Pork sandwiches and waited while she “toasted” the bread. Since Liên Hoa serves up hot food but doesn’t have any place to sit, we opted to partake of our purchases on a bench out front, hoping that the belief that everything tastes better outdoors held true. Sadly, it did not. Both sandwiches were dry, doughy and salty and even though they featured different ingredients did not have much variance in taste.

Fried catfish banh mi at The Spice Table

Fried catfish banh mi at The Spice Table

Discouraged but not beaten, we crossed back over the street and into a nondescript indoor mini-mall to LA Sandwich, a place that looked like a Subway counter you might find at in a truck stop on I-5. The climate inside was so diverse that I expected hail over the cash register; one particular spot felt like it was under a heat lamp and the store was filled with the smell of burnt toast. LA Sandwich offered 6 sandwiches and we decided on the #2 Pate Chả Lụa (Vietnamese sausage pâté) and #6 Xiu Mai (steamed meatball). We sat at a burnished aluminum table in the hallway where we divided up the goods – the bánh mì gods must have been smiling upon us since the smell of charred bread was not emanating from our meal; the bread was toasted but soft and the buttery Vietnamese mayo was prominent in the sandwiches. I particularly liked the course-ground steamed meatballs which were complemented by the spicy, fresh cilantro, frisky jalapenos and cool, crisp cucumber.

French bread, tools of the trade at The Spice Table

French bread, tools of the trade at The Spice Table

We looked for the Nam Thai Vietnamese Truck at its stated location, but being a vehicle we were outsmarted by its mobility. With only one stop on the crawl left, we traveled the mile or so to Little Tokyo to the upscale Spice Table. The interior of the antique brick building was well lit but looked like it would be more at home in Tuscany than Los Angeles. I wasn’t sure we were in the right place since every printed word in the place was in plain English. The Spice Table’s menu features five bánh mì sandwiches (simply referred to as “Sandwiches”). I wanted to stay with tradition, ordering the “Cold Cut” sandwich (featuring ham, pâté and head cheese); we also ordered their take on the meatball bánh mì and the bizarre fried catfish. The cold cut sandwich had the potential to be fresh and flavorful but sadly it was doused in a red Sriracha-like sauce that overpowered the dish. The meatballs were zesty and delicious and garnished with peanuts and fresh herbs, but I found the over-use of the red hot sauce annoying on this sandwich. It seems as though they douse all the sandwiches with the fiery brew, but it actually worked well with the fried catfish. The catfish nuggets were coated in a cornmeal batter that formed a crust, sealing in the juices and resulting in moist, tender bites. I laughed a little thinking that the assembly of the catfish on the baguette along with the hot sauce made the sandwich seem more like a po-boy than a bánh mì.

I always have fun on The Minty’s crawls and enjoyed the variety of choice in what is otherwise a simple sandwich, but short of booking a flight to Ho Chi Minh City I am now intrigued enough with bánh mì to head out to San Gabriel and Westminster in search of the real deal. Big A, I still crave your steak and cheese, but I now have a new sandwich to love.

Bưu Điện
642 N. Broadway
Los Angeles CA 90012
GPS Coordinates: 34° 3’34.77″N 118°14’20.28″W

Liên Hoa Deli & Seafood
721 N. Broadway
Los Angeles CA 90012
GPS Coordinates: 34° 3’39.27″N 118°14’20.91″W

L.A. Sandwiches
736 N. Broadway #106
Los Angeles CA 90012
GPS Coordinates: 34° 3’40.90″N  118°14’19.16″W

The Spice Table
114 S. Central St.
Los Angeles CA 90012
GPS Coordinates: 34° 2’55.20″N 118°14’20.65″W

GALLERY: See images from Val’s eatventure on The Minty’s banh mi crawl in Chinatown and Los Angeles, California

Read The Minty’s take on the banh mi crawl in L.A.’s Chinatown

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It’s The Big One, Elizabeth!

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Val

Renaissance Pleasure Faire
Irwindale, California

A village monger demonstrates how it does not come fresher

A village monger demonstrates how it does not come fresher

The mere mention of the phrase “Renaissance festival” conjures up off-season Trekkies mustering up their best Shakespearean bravado and adorned in chainmail while brandishing a turkey leg; they have that too. Methinks, however, that thou doth do thineself a grave injustice by dismissing this cultural event off as a foray into geekdom. The Renaissance Pleasure Faire is a festival of Elizabethan proportions (the first one, not the current regent) and the event that begat all others across the country. Originally started nearly 50 years ago in a schoolteacher’s backyard, this annual extravaganza features costume and revelry, food for the most part with a traditional slant, games such as jousting and throwing tomatoes at the village fool and crafts relevant to the European Renaissance including period clothing. Don’t worry if your jerkin, doublet and codpiece are at the cleaners – if you’re not keen on shelling out your last doubloons on the elaborate Elizabethan couture available for sale you can visit the tailors’ tent and rent yourself some Renaissance street cred.

A young server up at bat at the turkey leg stand

A young server up at bat at the turkey leg stand

Friend and fellow bard Sir Edward Lin joined me on an invitational tour to sample the cuisine at the area that gives new meaning to the term “food court”, downing a pint or two of hard cider and mead along the way. Our main goal was to partake of the turkey legs that the Renaissance Pleasure Faire made a stable of, not only at Renaissance festivals but at state and county fairs as well, and to avoid the cinnamon-sugar lance we know as the churro. Along the way we met some wonderful characters, indulged in uncharacteristically delicious and unusual cuisine and got lost in the spirit of Elizabethan England.  I could entertain you with mere written word as our host Will Shakespeare would have back in the 1600s, but I’ll let the audio and video take you back to those bawdy, boisterous times when the only thing you had to worry about was a ridiculously short lifespan. Please enjoy our joint Trippy Food / Deep End Dining podcast and make the effort to open your mind and indulge in the revelry of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.

There’s still time to take in the weekend festival in May, but remember, if you wait too long the Renaissance Pleasure Faire will be history.

Renaissance Pleasure Faire
Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area
15501 East Arrow Highway
Irwindale, CA 91706
GPS coordinates: 34° 6’34.30″N 117°56’49.32″W

GALLERY: See images from Val and Eddie Lin’s visit to the 2011 Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale, California

PODCAST: See Eddie Lin’s (Deep End Dining) and Val’s multimedia podcast highlighting their adventure the 2011 Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale, California:

NOTE: This cost for the event and the food was provided by organizers of the Renaissance Pleasure  Faire. The content provided in this article was not influenced whatsoever by the organizer of the event.

Posted in Trippy Happenings (Events) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s The Big One, Elizabeth!