Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Val

The Glendon

Los Angeles, California

The Glendon in Westwood Village on a busy night

The Glendon in Westwood Village on a busy night

When I arrived at The Glendon’s new menu item media tasting, I noticed the fare for the evening was billed as tapas. Although tapas has a centuries-old history starting in Spain in the 13th century, it has come to encompass a plethora of plates of bite-size food that’s designed to share, with The Glendon’s presentation being more of a tribute than a traditional take. The menu is still a work in progress and is scheduled to be unveiled around Valentine’s Day, so some of the items may not show their tiny little faces, but the offerings that night reflected influences from around the globe. The wine list was designed with a sense of humor with suggestions for wines to order on a first, second and third date. Since it was my first visit to the Glendon (which in previous lives had been a sushi bar and a swanky hang-out for the likes of Ol’ Blue Eyes), I opted for a nice red off the “First Date” menu – that and I liked the sound of “Radio Boca Tempranillo”. I have difficulty telling a zinfandel from a Thunderbird; I may not be a connoisseur, but there was something I really liked about this wine – it was a creamy, slightly spicy wine that I discovered came from Valencia, Spain. I was imagining in my head someone chopping fruit and dumping it in a pitcher of the tempranillo to make sangria and thought it would be a shame to add anything to this glass. I had to laugh when I looked to the right of the First, Second and Third Date wine menus to the Cocktails column and found a drink featuring Bacardi, lemon, mint, and something called “twisted cabernet” with the unfortunate title of “Twisted Bitch” – I assumed this was “10th Anniversary”.

Roasted eggplant with goat cheese

Roasted eggplant with goat cheese

Once the dishes started arriving I started to like this idea of small bites and wondered if they employed elves as sous chefs. The benefit is that you get to talk through the meal without your food getting cold, but if the conversation starts heading south you always have something to pop in your mouth. One of the things I had some difficulty with was the names of the dishes; while some were more than self-explanatory, others offered only a hint of what to expect. The first plate out was a black bean hummus that had the familiar garlic and olive oil essence you’d expect, yet not a hint of chick pea to be found. This Mexican spin on a Middle Eastern dish had a sprinkle of a spicy red sauce, which I discovered to be rich with Sriracha, an ingredient that permeated most of the sauces and dips presented that night. I jokingly asked Chef Nick Jacobs if he bought a pallet of the stuff off an unmarked truck, but I get the impression he really likes working with it. Once I got used to the black bean substitute it became a great starter to go with the tempranillo. An unusual little glop of caprese tartare featuring buffalo mozzarella and ricotta was brought out that had an egg-like taste to it, even though there was none employed. One of my favorites were the roasted eggplant slices with goat cheese – there was a slight taste of cumin in the tomato, which caressed the top like a pasta sauce – the slight crispiness of the eggplant and the cheese and tomato gave the dish a taste like a tiny doughless pizza.

Raise your glass - of potato bacon soup

Raise your glass - of potato bacon soup

The first dish with a naming issue was the potato and bacon soup shooter. This sturdy offering was like drinking a loaded baked potato, but the consistency was in the realm between soup and mashed potatoes. I always think of a shooter something you down to get the taste past your tongue as quickly as possible, reserved for rotgut like Jose Cuervo, but with the rich smoky taste of the bacon and the thick consistency, this was something I wanted to savor. The other difficulty associated with this dish was the presentation – because of the consistency, it did not want to slip free of the confines of the shot glass willingly but necessity being the mother of invention, I deftly plucked the straw from my water glass and put it to work, getting every last dollop. The next dish that arrived can only be described as calamari as close to perfect as I’ve ever had – tender as hell, light and golden, not greasy or dry. If there was any negative it was that it was slightly salty, but the quality was outstanding enough to encourage me to ask Chef Jacobs his secret. He unlocked the briefcase handcuffed to his wrist and told me that the squid pieces are first sautéed in garlic and butter and then refrigerated; they are then flash fried prior to serving. The accoutrement de jour for these golden wonders was a red pepper aioli, but the mollusks were so good I didn’t dip.

A tapas standard - fried calamari

A tapas standard - fried calamari

A personal serving of baked brie on toast was drizzled with honey and topped with a syruped fig for a sweet and smoky treat that combined a variety of textures without merging them – I was pleased to see that the rind was left on the cheese. I could smell the barbecue sauce in the whiskey BBQ pork and beef meatballs as they were brought to the table, and the savory sauce was kicked up a notch with caramelized onions and garlic. It seemed like the hits just kept coming until I had to think again when the inappropriately named “Korean pork belly tacos” came out. I would have rather been enticed with the name “pork belly tacos” instead of dissecting the dish and combing through the cured, marinated pork belly and shredded cabbage looking for kimchi. Naturally, this tidbit was crowned with a light application of Sriracha. The final morsels to come out of the kitchen were unfortunately the least impressive: fried asparagus. It was a nice try, but the difficulty with asparagus is eliminating the stringy segments and in this case, getting the batter to stick. The dish was tasty but it was like eating your way through a box of Cracker Jacks with the prize being a woody piece of vegetable. Fortunately the dish was augmented with a garlic aioli (oh, yeah, and an artistic swirl of Sriracha).

Carl Larsen describes the meal while Chef Nick Jacobs looks on

Carl Larsen describes the meal while Chef Nick Jacobs looks on

Finishing with chocolate and caramel cheesecake bites and a cup of coffee I realized that the presentation was perfect for an evening of sharing – food and well as conversation. The concept of the first, second and third date wine list was ideal for this type of dining, and even though I was breaking bread with other media folks instead of a date it made for an enjoyable evening nonetheless; I just hope my fellow diners found me to be more like the zinfandel and less like the Thunderbird.

The Glendon
1071 Glendon Ave.
Los Angeles (Westwood Village), CA 90024
GPS Coordinates: 34°3’39.90″N 118°26’40.09″W

GALLERY: See images from Val’s media dinner at The Glendon in Los Angeles, California

NOTE: This cost for this meal was provided by the restaurant. The content provided in this article was not influenced whatsoever by the organizer of the event

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Let’s Talk Turkey

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Val

Huber’s Cafe

Portland, Oregon

The original old dining room at Hubers

The original old dining room at Hubers

Portland is a quirky place that prides itself on being slightly off-center (and often a little off-kilter). Nowhere is this more obvious than downtown, where signs throughout the area urge Portlanders to “Keep Portland Weird”, with the largest sign conveniently painted on a brick wall across from Voodoo Donuts. In addition to the off-beat, Portland also holds dear sites of cultural and historical significance so Huber’s Cafe (the oldest restaurant in Portland) became a “must-see” item on my Portland itinerary. Huber’s is located across the street from a large food cart pod on the corner of SW 3rd Avenue and Stark Street in the Oregon Pioneer Building. This wasn’t Huber’s first location; the restaurant started when Frank Huber purchased the Bureau Saloon on 1st and Alder in 1879 (which technically makes it even older). They relocated several times (losing their first location to a massive flood on the Willamette River) until settling into their current location shortly after the building was completed in 1910. Huber took a Chinese stowaway named Jim Louie under his wing in 1891 which allowed Louie to cook while Huber tended bar. It was after Louie came on board that Huber’s became known for serving turkey, primarily in the form of sandwiches which were offered to free to patrons who purchased drinks. Louie ran the business upon Frank Huber’s death in 1912 and was able to keep the business running through Prohibition by billing it as a cafe specializing in turkey dinners (although secretly they were also a speakeasy). The cafe operated under joint family partnership until Huber’s son sold the family interest in the cafe to Louie’s son in the early 1950s.

Where the magic happens at Hubers

Where the magic happens at Hubers

From a historic standpoint, the story so far would be reason enough to visit Huber’s but I would be remiss if I didn’t share the trippy aspect of this revered slice of Portland history. The 3rd Avenue front has awnings shading the windows that face the food cart pod across the street, and looking in affords a view of a wood-paneled restaurant that oozes tradition, however the entrance through the building takes you to the rear of the building and the original cafe from 1910 (the front room was added years later after Huber’s acquired the space). Stepping inside is like entering a portal to days gone by – the original tile floors and wood paneled booths are still intact and most of the antique fixtures are still in use; old globe lights and stained-glass panels provide the light in the cafe. The only thing that detracted from the experience on my visit were the flat panel televisions, but I was informed that they are not normally there – the televisions were brought in for that night only in order to broadcast what I am told was a very historic BCS National Championship game between the Oregon Ducks and Auburn Tigers. I was willing to overlook the modern intrusion in the name of history, but unfortunately the Ducks lost the game.

The famous young tom turkey dinner at Hubers

The famous young tom turkey dinner at Hubers

The menu is a nod to Jim Louie’s original turkey sandwiches – you can get turkey in a dizzying variety of preparations, from piccata to marsala with even a roasted turkey leg thrown in for good measure. I was having a severe moment of indecision and asked the waiter what the most traditional item was on the menu; he directed me to the roasted young tom turkey. As I read the details of the dish, I realized that what they were hawking was simply Thanksgiving dinner. The dish is served with a combination of dark and white meat, steamed vegetables, sage dressing, cranberry sauce and a choice of mashed potatoes or yams, and while I’m more of a Sith than a Jedi (I like my turkey on the dark side) I decided to go for it since I can’t remember the last time I was able to have Thanksgiving dinner in January. Before the meal arrived the waiter brought a plate with a couple of slices of their homemade beer bread. He told me that the bread is made with off-the-shelf Anheuser-Busch beer, but it takes on a character of its own when baked; bringing the bread up to your mouth introduces the beer aroma, tamed from the baking process. As suggested, it is the perfect tool for sopping up the delicious turkey gravy generously flowing over the turkey and potatoes. Although I am probably not going to be eating white meat turkey any time soon, theirs was delicious – hot, juicy and full of flavor. The trick, it seems, is that their turkey is cooked in a convection oven which keeps the meat moist, then carved and skinned in small batches and allowed to wade in the turkey broth. Huber’s roasts 5 to 6 turkeys daily for the meat for all the dishes; the young tom dinner is served year-round, every day Huber’s is open – naturally, Thanksgiving Day is their busiest. According the waiter, if you don’t have reservations by August, your only chance of getting their dinner is ordering it to go or queuing up in line in hopes of getting a seat at the bar. The vegetables were simple – lightly steamed broccoli, still bright green and with some crunch and nearly raw shredded cabbage. The dressing is made with homemade croutons and packed with turkey and sage flavor.

A bartender prepares a Spanish coffee

A bartender prepares a Spanish coffee

When the waiter returned to clear away my cleaned plate, and I told him I had one major problem with the dish – it made me crave a slice of pumpkin pie. As if in anticipation of my request, he said he’d bring one right out. Their pumpkin pie was sweet and spicy, topped with sugared vanilla whipped cream accents and dotted with fresh blueberries. While savoring the pie, I was treated to a show that Huber’s is renowned for – the bartender preparing Spanish coffee at tableside. Jim Louie’s grandson James had seen Spanish coffee prepared downriver at the Fernwood Inn (now Amadeus Manor) in Milwaukie (which I assume tastes as great as its name); he liked the idea and started preparing it at Huber’s where it has been a tradition since the 1970s. The preparation starts with a flaming glass of Bacardi 151 rum which is then acrobatically swirled about while the bartender pours a steady stream of Kahlúa from an arm completely outstretched in the opposite direction. Apparently the drink is so popular that they were the largest consumer of Kahlúa of any independent restaurant in 1990. After the Kahlúa stream is complete, coffee is added from a full hot carafe in the same manner, and the drink is topped with Triple Sec, whipped cream and nutmeg. I asked if they had ever done the drink with a shower of ignited cinnamon sparks, and he said that they had but found it made the drink taste burnt; I was thinking it sounded like a fast way of recreating a Rhode Island Great White concert in the wood-paneled room.

What started as a simple visit to a local historic landmark pushed the needle into the red on the Trippy Meter – I was at the oldest restaurant in Portland, owned by the same Chinese family and serving year-round Thanksgiving dinner while offering the dazzling pyrotechnical display that is the making of Spanish coffee – it doesn’t get any better than that. I don’t just recommend Huber’s; I think if your Portland visit doesn’t include the roast young tom turkey dinner, then you’ve missed the boat. Don’t worry though – perhaps you can hang out in one of the bars over the Shanghai Tunnels and find yourself on that boat anyway.

Huber’s Cafe
411 Southwest 3rd Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204
GPS Coordinates: 45°31’12.22″N 122°40’28.96″W

GALLERY: See images from Val’s dinner at Huber’s Cafe in Portland, Oregon

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Mmm. This IS a Tasty Burger

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Val

Skyline Restaurant

Portland, Oregon

The famous Skyline Restaurant in Portland OR

The famous Skyline Restaurant in Portland OR

Ah, hamburgers; the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast. But where do you go for that burger to beat all burgers when you’re out retrieving property for Marcellus Wallace in the rainy northwest woods of Portland, Oregon? You need not look any further than the little diner that has been clogging Portlandian’s arteries since before anyone can remember – Skyline Restaurant. The Skyline has changed hands several times since its initial inception; the staff thinks it was started back in the 1920s and a picture on the menu is captioned “Circa 1935” (although some of the cars in the picture look like 1950s convertibles). Facts don’t usually stand in the way of taste, and like the throngs that flock to see the Shroud of Turin (even though it has been dated to the 12th century or so), the faithful still take the mossy, winding roads up the mountain to eat at Skyline Restaurant. The inside looks like it may have been modernized in the early 1970s, and there was no shortage of red paint and vinyl when the place was “retroed”. One corner wall has some old photos of the Skyline, but the rest of the place appears to be decorated by Mrs. Saperstein’s 3rd grade class at P.S. 201 with crayon art festooning most of the walls. The menu is typical 50s diner, although they have a variety of milk shakes including one chock full of the local favorite, marion berries. On my visit, I wanted the one thing that brought people back, their pièce de résistance; the waitress said that all of their burgers were popular, but when I asked about #14 (the Everything Steak Burger), she said it was her personal favorite, which was good enough for me. This magnum opus was composed with a 1/2-pound ground sirloin patty with everything on it including cheese, bacon and a fried egg. As impressive as this bad boy was, there was a sinister, formidable behemoth on the menu that somehow slipped in under Adam Richman’s radar – #19: The Giant Giant Burger. This harbinger of arteriosclerosis combines 2 1/2 pound patties, each with its own layer of cheese – you can further hasten your coronary bypass with the choice of up to 6 pieces of bacon for a mere $3 – that’s about a third of the co-pay for your next cardiologist visit. I asked if any one ever finished one, and she told me that a lot of people do; the winner of the Portland marathon came in and ordered one, finishing the Giant Giant, an order of fries, and a shake. She let me know that she serves an average of three of these silent killers a day.

#14: The Everything Steak Burger

#14: The Everything Steak Burger

I thought about a side dish, but wanted to keep it simple. I saw an order of fries delivered to another table that were skinless and uniformly thin, but still golden brown and crispy looking, but I decided to risk the onion rings. The rings were brought out with the burger, which was breathtaking in its artistic beauty. The burger was cleanly halved, and the strata was perfectly formed – pickles under a layer of mayo, under a layer of tomato, under a layer of onion, under a thick layer of lettuce, under a layer of egg, under the burger, under a generous melt of cheese, with a layer of Mesozoic fossilized sea creatures just under the bun (I may be making that last layer up). Several strips of bacon poked their crispy little arms out from under the bun like the victim of a pork pedestrian fatality. The meat was seared dark on the outside and cooked through with just a hint of pink (the waitress didn’t ask how I wanted it cooked, and it arrived medium well – hot, tasty and juicy, but not bloody). Each bite was heaven, and the ingredients complemented each other so well that it was difficult to tell that there was a layer of raw onions in there. I sat there with burger juice dripping from my wide grin in the misty morning fog with our hearts a-thumping and you – my Everything Steak Burger. The onion rings were passable – they seemed uniform in size and texture, but they weren’t greasy or soggy. For the most part, each bite didn’t free the cooked onion like some tiny white eel; they stayed crispy and hot, redeeming their diminutive size.

The old modern retro look of the Skyline Restaurant

The old modern retro look of the Skyline Restaurant

On my visits to Portland I usually try to find the traditional, the unusual or the delicious, and the Skyline Restaurant delivered on all three counts, regardless of the fact that it may be lying about its age. Now if I can just figure out why all this light is coming from this damned briefcase.

Skyline Restaurant
1313 NW Skyline Boulevard
Portland, Oregon 97229
GPS Coordinates: 45°31’54.42″N 122°45’17.82″W

Jules Winnfield apparently eats at the Skyline Restaurant

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You Don’t Know Jack

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Val

Jackfruit

South and East Asia

The jackfruit (with cucumbers for size comparison)

The jackfruit (with cucumbers for size comparison)

While durian is referred to as the “king of fruit”, it is generally dwarfed in size by the jackfruit, the largest tree-borne fruit in the world (attaining a weight of up to 80 pounds). The jackfruit is similar in appearance to the durian but it is unrelated – the jackfruit is covered with small, dull bumps, while the durian looks like something that might grow in Gene Simmons’ yard; although a slight unpleasant smell may be present on the outside of the ripe jackfruit, it doesn’t adopt its spiky neighbor’s nasty habit of smelling like dirty gym socks stuffed with old onions. Originally found in South and East Asia, the fruit has been dispersed to other tropical areas (primarily by Portuguese traders in the East Indies). The Portuguese were the first to describe the fruit to the western world, but there is enough evidence to substantiate that it has been harvested and eaten for millennia. Jackfruit is found in Indian, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, and Southeast Asian cuisine and is sold in markets worldwide fresh, canned in syrup and as fried chips; it is also used for shakes and smoothies and can be found in ice cream.

Separating the sweet yellow pods to eat raw

Separating the sweet yellow pods to eat raw

Other parts of the tree besides the fruit are used for a variety of purposes – the sturdy wood is used to make furniture, the milky-white resin found in the stems is used to make adhesives, and even the leaves are used in cooking. In its unripened (young) form, the jackfruit is only edible when cooked, but the ripened, older fruit can be eaten raw (although overindulgence of the fruit has been said to bring on the Hershey squirts). The woody outer parts are difficult to eat, and the large seeds can be eaten but need to be boiled or roasted first; the fresh, fruity part is the yellow pouch-like segments scattered within. The fleshy pods have high water content and have a slight smooth, sweet and citrus taste like the merging of a pineapple and a banana.

The outstanding jackfruit curry at Samosa House

The outstanding jackfruit curry at Samosa House

In Southeast India, the young fruit is cooked in curry, and since even the pulpy section is used the jackfruit takes on a meat-like characteristic. The texture is similar to white albacore tuna, with the taste somewhere between the poultry and pork spectrums. In Los Angeles, Samosa House is a vegetarian Indian restaurant that has jackfruit curry on the menu almost daily; the flavor is indescribable but I’ve become addicted to it like a crack whore, sometimes having it for lunch twice a week. Samosa House doesn’t have table service – to order, you walk through the tiny grocery featuring fresh foods such as okra, various types of eggplant, Indian bitter melon and even fresh jackfruit to the counter where the offerings of the day are presented in glassed-in steam trays. Hand-written signs advertise what is on the menu, but most people go for the combination plate, which includes three vegetarian dishes, a yogurt sauce, basmati rice and nan. I always get the jackfruit, but gravitate towards the saag (spinach) and bitter melon curry as well when it is available. There’s no fancy tablecloths, silverware or cloth napkins here, but it’s easy to dispense with the formality with the collection of Indian heaven gently ladled into the Styrofoam compartments on the tray. After eating, take a stroll down the aisles of the grocery, featuring all the spices and dried, fresh, canned and frozen food items you’d need to make a splendid Indian feast at home. There’s also a wide selection of teas and British items, a reminder of India’s old colonial days (you can even stock up on your Marmite here).

Samosa House, a vegetarian Indian restaurant in LA

Samosa House, a vegetarian Indian restaurant in LA

Fresh jackfruit is somewhat formidable-looking, but its flavor and versatility makes it a fruit worth checking out. In fact, I may have to put in a word to the guy in the suit and the giant ping pong ball head to add it to their menu – they wouldn’t even have to change the name.

Samosa House
11510 West Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
GPS coordinates: 34°0’3.52″N 118°24’58.38″W

GALLERY: See images of fresh, canned and curried jackfruit

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Out With The Bad Air, In With The Good

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Val

A recap of Trippy Food in 2010

Happy New Year - toasting with absinthe at The Edison

Happy New Year - toasting with absinthe at The Edison

As the stormy waves of aguardiente crash along the shore on the rocks of what was 2010, I look back on the year that was with a smile and a tear. I like to think I’ll carry forth the exciting and new experiences, forgive the personal injustices and learn from mistakes to make 2011 the best year to date, but it will probably end up that what happened in 2010 stays in 2010. Last year, Trippy Food as an electronic print medium was still in journalistic diapers; it started as a way to relate the stories and images of an ongoing lifetime of culinary and travel adventure, and it has picked up momentum to become the runaway train I’m piloting like some modern-day Casey Jones with a keyboard and a camera. Since I started 2010 without a rent-paying gig, my road trips were fewer than in previous years. In February I headed to Boston with the prospect of a jam session with musicians I spent my musical career with; unfortunately it never materialized. There’s an old saying that goes, “When life deals you lemons, make lemon merengue pie” (I may be paraphrasing here), and so it was an opportunity to revisit some of the sights and tastes I’d grown up with, including fried clams at Woodman’s; the giant Hood milk bottle and the Babson College globe; ice cream smorgasbord at Putnam Pantry; coffee Jell-O at Durgin-Park; and the chance to make Fluffernutters, brown bread and scrapple.

At Boston's oldest restaurant, Union Oyster House

At Boston's oldest restaurant, Union Oyster House

2010 marked my first visit to the wonderfully quirky Portland, Oregon, which felt like someone took two of my favorite places (New England and Austin, Texas) and threw them together in a blender, right down to the “Keep Portland Weird” sign and the brilliant autumn foliage. In addition to hitting the infamous Voodoo Donuts, I enjoyed the historic oyster stew at Dan and Louis Oyster Bar, sampled the famous food carts, got lost in Powell’s Books, and visited roadside attractions such as the Church of Elvis, world’s smallest park, giant Paul Bunyan statue and various other oversized statuary. I also put the 49th pushpin in my map of the 50 U.S. states with a road trip to Boise, Idaho where I experienced first-hand the famous “smurf turf” at Bronco Stadium, enjoyed The Bourgeois (russet potatoes fried in duck fat and sprinkled with black truffle salt) at Boise Fry Company, hit my first Five Guys, had the fried dough monstrosity the locals call “scones” at Merritt’s and stuffed myself stupid with rich, delicious Basque cuisine at Epi’s. As part of my quest to visit all 50 states in 50 years, there’s one more stop on the Trippy Train left – South Carolina, which will become my primary focus at the beginning of 2011. I’m shooting for more visits to New England/New York and am hoping for visits to Denver, Cartagena (Colombia) and Asia before the year is over, with the goal of doing next New Year’s Eve in Times Square.

Preparing to be defeated by Orochon Ramen Special #2

Preparing to be defeated by Orochon Ramen Special #2

I attended multiple events in 2010, some of which were personal goals and others that just happened. There were homages to the vegetable gods (the Castroville Artichoke Festival and the California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria), my new annual ritual of the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the SWEA Swedish Christmas Fair, L.A. County Fair and the Moon Festival in Chinatown; I attended my first Burns Night supper where I was fortunate enough to have a second go at haggis; I browsed the plethora of handmade crafts and food at Artisanal L.A.; and I was overwhelmed by the huge amassing of food vendors at the L.A Street Food Festival and food industry folk at the Los Angeles Times Celebration of Food and Wine. Many of the gourmet food trucks I’ve known and loved were at the events, including Ta Bom, Smokin’ Willies, The Grilled Cheese Truck and the Dim Sum Truck, but I also got turned on to some new rolling kitchens there and on the street such as Coolhaus, the DosaTruck, Street Hawker, and Rescue Juice. I had an amazing experience tagging along with author, blogger and radio and TV personality Eddie Lin at The Hump in Santa Monica (where we dined on live lobster sashimi and cod sperm sacs) and at Gueleguetza (enjoying chapulinas, huitlacoche and scorpion mescal with Bricia Lopez), and have had the pleasure of working with Eddie on several podcasts that  are linked on the web site.

Picking a spider crab at HC Seafood, Channel Islands Harbor

Picking a spider crab at HC Seafood, Channel Islands Harbor

2010 saw my first tastes of a wide variety of food and drink – Rosca de Reyes, glögg, Cole’s French dip, the maple bacon bar at Voodoo Donuts, a wide variety of top-shelf rum, the insidious McRib, toasted mealworms, Cynar, Chinese turkey, live sea urchin, the artery-clogging bacon explosion, lutefisk, bunny chow, wild mushrooms, huitlacoche, bacon-wrapped bull penis and grilled baby octopus, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I had several opportunities to explore Brazilian cuisine and took a class on making kimchee; in 2011, I’m setting my sights on revisiting German, Eastern European, Southern U.S. and South American cuisines. I’ve met some wonderful folks – chefs, gourmet food truck operators, bloggers and writers that I feel richer to have made their acquaintance. Please forgive me if I leave anyone out, but there’s just not enough room to acknowledge all the people who have left a lasting impression on me, including Tom Jackson (Rescue Juice); Elise Thompson (LAist, Kiki Maraschino); Ben Ford (Ford’s Filling Station); Ilse, Jackie and Julie Marques (Ta Bom); The Minty; Dave Danhi and Michele Grant (the Grilled Cheese Truck); Christina Ansautagui (Epi’s); Arianna Armstrong (Food Truck Times, Grapesmart); Bill “Smokin’ Willie” Kelley; Shuji “Professor Salt” Sakai; Alex Chu (Dim Sum Truck); Vivianne Lapointe (LIVE F>A>S>T); Chris and Kosta Tsangaris and Danielle (Redondo Beach Cafe); Adam Borich (Lucifer’s Damned Good Pizza); Valentina Silva (Eastside Food Bites); Alex Peña (La Morenita Bakery); Jill Flomenhoff (Bangers and Smashed); Erika Nakamura (Lindy and Grundy); Gary Green (TV Food and Drink); Shawna Dawson (SauceLA); Kimmy Song and E. J. Jeong (Cham Bistro); Edward Allen (The Barry Group); Chef Lupe Liang (Hop Woo); Edward Hah (8 oz. Burger); Kat Nguyen (JS² Communications); Natasha Case (Coolhaus); Travis Schmidt (WorldFare); Brendan Collins (Waterloo and City) and the folks at Boobs4Food.

Saying goodbye to 2010 (Santa Rosa CA)

Saying goodbye to 2010 (Santa Rosa CA)

If it seems like the negative experiences of 2010 are missing, I assure you it is intentional. With all the wonderful things to accommodate the five senses, I prefer not to waste pixels on bad juju; besides, it’s difficult enough hoping I’m able to reach you and entice you to experience the things I write about to suggest what to avoid. I’ll let you decide that for yourselves, but if you truly want to know, drop me a line and I’ll give you my honest opinion. As we forage on through 2011, I hope to see you all along the way – I’ll give everyone advance notice on the Trippy Food Facebook page when I’m going to check out a new site or dish, and hope you can tag along or meet me there and make wonderful travel and culinary memories that we’ll be looking back on in 2012. Feel free to comment at Trippy Food, or send me an e-mail at [email protected] – I promise not to distribute your information or try to sell you anything. I look forward to the coming year and continuing to share my experiences with you – see you on the road!

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