FoundChris You found me!

For any parents out there (or for anyone generally interested in general health recommendations for children), check out this guide from the World Health Organization:

I follow @TheDelicious along with many other LA food-types.  I live in LA and like food; it’s what I do.

One afternoon, I happen to see a tweet from her mentioning a ticket give-away to a Jonathan Gold and linking to this blog post.  So I followed the directions and tweeted, and forgot about it.  Then I got a DM from Sarah (TheDelicious) linking to this post, which I correctly presumed would be announcing the winner.  I hadn’t presumed I’d won the contest though, and I did!  This has to be one of the first contests I’d ever won, and it was a good one to win if you live in LA and like food.  Details of the party can be found on the Zocalo Public Square site, but in summary:  Some of LA’s top restaurants and bars provide finger foods and creative libations, while you listen to soothing latin music, enjoy a panel discussion featuring Jonathan Gold and several key players in LA’s restaurant/bar scene.  All of this is $500 value that is helping raise funds for Zocalo.  Awesome right?

The night was excellent and I’ll simply share some pictures rather than write much of the experience.  I will mention my favorite dish both for flavor and for originality:  Bacon-wrapped Matzo Balls with Horseradish aioli, courtesy of “The Gorbals.”

And now, the photos:

Yum.

Any excuse to try new food experiences is a good excuse.  dineLA’s “Restaurant Week” just wrapped up (ok, maybe not “just”:  it wrapped up almost 2 weeks ago, but I just had a baby boy, so this post was delayed going to press) and I loved it.  Many restaurants in LA participate, which means they offer a prix fixe menu consisting of one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert.  I would have preferred two entrees and no dessert, as I think many participants scale back the portion of their entree for this offering.  So you don’t get stuffed, but it’s generally tasty.

Let me share the establishments that I visited during this event, along with pictures.  I won’t be doing much post-game analysis, but wanted to share some food porn.

First I went to dinner at ”Gordon Ramsay” at The London hotel in West Hollywood.  I later found out that Ramsay sold the restaurant and is no longer affiliated; maybe you should change the name then?  My selections here were pan roasted scallops, Pacific black cod, and a chocolate souffle with vanilla ice cream.  One line summary:  Everything was tasty, but uninspired.

Next up, I went to Wolfgang Puck’s “Red Seven” in the Pacific Design Center; conveniently and not coincidentally, this is the building in which I work.  I’d been to Red Seven before (due to convenience) and had found it to be a solid lunch spot to grab something tasty and slightly overpriced.  My expectations weren’t not very high, but I was pleasantly surpised by the creativity of the dishes.  I ordered an heirloom tomato salad, Korean short rib with kimchi sauce, and a mango custard with candied cashews, raspberries, and pineapple.  All dishes were tasty and I feel that I received a good value (although I could have used bigger portions, natch).

The last restaurant I’ll mention is Jer-ne in Marina Del Rey.  Situated inside a Ritz Carlton along a road I often drive, my wife and I had been wanting to try Jer-ne for a while, and now we had the chance.  First impression:  underwhelming; severely underwhelming.  The staff was more interested in chatting amongst themselves than finding us a table, and our waiter seemed clueless about the menu, not to mention that he exuded an air of “Joe Budweiser”:  not the elegant help you’d expect from a fine restaurant.  Anyway, the food:  I ordered a butternut squash soup that was pretty good; the highlight here was the freshly torched cedar that really convinced all of my senses that it was autumn and this was an autumn dish (nice touch!).  My wife started off with some mexican shrimp that were big and delicious.  Filet mignon all around for the entrees, and they were small but tasty.  Finally, dessert:  My wife ordered a deconstructed peanut butter and jelly dish that looked as nice as some innovative sushi rolls I’ve seen; it was tasty too!  I ordered pumpkin creme brulee, and it didn’t dissappoint.  One other note-worthy comment:  I ordered a drink that contained Patron Silver and muddled berries, but when it came out, it was basically Patron on the rocks with a few decorative berries.  If I was up for partying at the time, I would have been grateful, but to call this a cocktail from the bartender’s menu is a generous title indeed.

See my flickr highlight photos of some of the dishes mentioned above.

I forget the source, but I somehow came across this blog post on lataco.com.  A tournament of tacos from LA’s best tacquerias:  I had to participate.

My type of tournament

Work got in the way of participating in the actual event, so a few of us from SocialVibe finally got our act together and picked a few accessible taquerias to compete in a Friday morning Taco Royal Rumble.

The contenders for our first round:  Tito’s Tacos, Tacomiendo, Tacos Por Favor, and El Taurino.

When the contenders arrived at work this morning, we took over the sales desks, setting up a taco picnic.

Taco Picnic

The four of us judges (@findchris, @jessealbini, @hapaboy, and @countzen) each took one taco from each contender, and did some synchronized tasting.

Tacos Por Favor

First on the tasting menu was Tacos Por Favor.  See for yourself:

Tacos Por Favor

These were a strong opener, and a great basic taco.  That’s what we thought until we tried…

El Taurino

Contrasted with Tacos Por Favor, El Taurino’s tacos had a more complex flavor palette.  There is a subtle lime note that really added to the overall flavor profile.  These carne asada tacos needed no salsa beyond the light drizzle of salsa roja applied by default.

El Taurino

Tacos Por Favor were good, but only after contrasting them with El Taurino did the judges unanimously agree that El Taurino had the better asada taco.

Tacomiendo

Tacomiendo

After tasting the perfectly complete flavor profile of the El Taurino tacos, the completely plain asada tacos from Tacomiendo seemed a hopeless contender.  The flavor of the carne asada alone was surprisingly good, enhanced further by some salsa verde.  Although the taco as a whole could not defeat El Taurino, the judges agreed that the meat from Tacomiendo was the best of the lot.

Tito’s Tacos

DISCLOSURE:  I grew up in Culver City and have always loved the distinct fried corn tortilla shell of Tito’s, despite a strong and vocal anti-Tito’s contingent (see the Yelp reviews).  The chips and salsa from Tito’s stand out from the lightweight and unremarkable selection in the field, although we (the Taco judges) were not going to be making any decisions based on chips.

One look at tacos from Tito’s reveals that these are not your traditional Mexican soft taco.  The soft, shredded beef is fried inside of the corn tortilla shell, locking in flavor and juices.  Shredded iceberg lettuce and lots of coarsely shredded cheese top each taco.

Tito's Tacos

I personally consider it a requirement to put a ton of Tito’s blended salsa on top of each taco, as the stuff is so tasty you can literally drink it (I have been known to do this upon occasion).

The Votes

Although they look like something from Taco Bell, three of the four taco judges voted Tito’s “best tasting”, with one judge giving his vote to El Taurino.  Everyone agreed that the award for “Most Classic Mexican Taco” went to El Taurino.

Who knows when Taco Tournament Round 2 will occur, but results will be posted here.

For another good resource on LA’s taco’s, check out http://tacohunt.blogspot.com.