New Blog, New Life!

I haven't physically moved yet but I've gotten a jumpstart on my new blog, An American in Ireland. I leave in two weeks and wanted to hit the ground running as soon as I arrive, hence setting up the new blog now. Though I'm heading into the great unknown, knowing you'll share in my adventures makes me feel a little less nervous! Please head over to An American in Ireland to see what's up with me!

My First Story for LAWeekly.com

I'm very excited about my first story for LAWeekly.com's food section, Squid Ink. Check it out here:

Finally, an Update...and it's a Big One!

Snaps from Drogheda, the town where I will be living

It's been way too long since I've updated my blog; my only good excuse is that I've been in the midst of plotting and planning a big move, which has distracted me from just about everything else in my life for the last couple of months. But I'm happy to announce that all of my efforts have paid off: On March 3rd, 2010, I will be moving to Ireland.

For the last few years, I've been itching to live abroad - something I've never done in my life. My job as a freelance writer is quite flexible, and I can really do the work from anywhere, so I finally decided to take the plunge late last year and apply for a special crafts (writers/artists) visa in Ireland. Last week, they actually said yes!

I guess I better learn to love Guinness!

I have a lot to do before my move, but I'm absolutely thrilled to start this new chapter of my life. My goal? To immerse myself in Irish culture, cuisine and people and to write about those experiences for various publications and perhaps even in book form. My hope? That this will change my life in more ways than one. Vague, I know, but right now I feel like anything - and everything - is possible.

Downtown Drogheda

This isn't goodbye; I will be starting a new blog once I arrive and am in the process of setting it up right now. Check back soon for a proper link, click it, and follow me on my new journey! And please feel free to leave recommendations and advice in the comments section...

Sidestreets in downtown Drogheda

Lazy Ox Menu is Here!

Josef Centeno's Lazy Ox Canteen is opening its doors next week (or the week after, you know how these things go), and the menu is prepped and ready to go on his website. Highlights - at least for me - include the chicken livers with whole-grain mustard and guanciale, the charred octopus with pickled shallots, corona beans, garlic rapii and calamari vinaigrette, and the grilled beef petite tender with kennebec frites and warm marrow butter on toast.

This weekend, the chef will be getting inventory and prepping. All of the inspections are done, with the exception of the health department who comes tomorrow. The staff will spend the next week getting trained and the chef will break in his new kitchen, including the woodfire oven. The tentative opening date is December 17th, which, in a cruel twist of fate, is the same night I have reservations at LudoBites. Then again, I could have bigger problems than having to wait a day for Lazy Ox while feasting on Chef Ludo's magnificent creations, right?

Local Flavor: Quinn Hatfield Talks Tongue Tacos and Hostess Baseballs...

Welcome to “Local Flavor,” a new weekly-ish column on Rainy Days and Sundays. Every column will feature a local chef, sommelier or tastemaker talking about his/her favorite local eats. Featured this week is Chef Quinn Hatfield, of the much-lauded Hatfield’s restaurant. Foodies all over town are waiting with baited breath for the opening of the new Hatfield’s location, which takes the place of Red Pearl Kitchen on the corner of Melrose and Highland. According to the chef, he and his wife, business partner and pastry chef Karen will start cooking “friends and family” dinners in late December and are aiming for a January 1, 2010 open date. Needless to say, I can’t wait!

1) Favorite neighborhood joint?

Quinn: I love to walk down to Blue Jam Cafe on Melrose for breakfast. “Kamil's Breakfast” is a favorite race day meal, on days that I have bike races. It is kind of a good luck tradition!

2) Favorite high-end restaurant?

Quinn: My last meal at Providence was really fantastic.

My Favorite Hangover Breakfast, Chocolate Cake, Steak and More...

I was going to write about some of the food I’ve been cooking this week, but sadly my camera needs some TLC (the filter is so bent from being dropped that it cannot be removed, and there are a few pieces of lint conveniently tucked in between the filter and the lens, adding beautiful black specks to every photo I take) and therefore I don’t have any photographic evidence of my cooking conquests for the week.

Seems to me that this is the perfect opportunity to do a list of some sort (I do love me some lists, let me tell you!). Today, I’m featuring the long-winded yet appropriately titled, “Foods that I Generally Love and Where You Can Get the Best of Said Foods” list. I’m a bit brain dead today, so please forgive the literal and lackluster title. Hopefully, you’ll find the content more appealing.

A Great Sandwich

It’s simple, really: Two slices of bread and a number of fillings in the middle does a sandwich make. However, it wrecks my head how difficult it can be to find a good-tasting, well-constructed sandwich. Some sandwiches are tasty, but perhaps the bread is so overly toasted or thick that it scrapes up the roof of one’s mouth, while others may be well-constructed but ill conceived otherwise (example: layering lots of “slick” ingredients on top of each other like roasted peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers and having it all squirt out one side as you take a bite from the other). There are sandwiches so big, taking a bite requires surgical restructuring of one’s jaw. There are others that are too soggy from over mayo-ing or saucing, and some so dry you feel like you’re competing in a Saltine eating contest. Ever try that? Without water, it’s nearly impossible to eat 10 Saltines at once!

One of the most memorable I’ve had was a shrimp po’ boy at the Sandcastle Café & Grill on Saint Simons Island in Georgia. The lightly battered and fried shrimp, still warm from the fryer, sat atop a bed of freshly shredded, cool iceberg lettuce and was coddled between two slices of a chewy/crispy baguette that was lightly brushed on the inside with a tangy house mayo. Two, thin slices of red, ripe tomato added a slight sweetness and balance to the savory notes of the sandwich. The best part? Bite after bite, the sandwich held together beautifully. The photo above was the last bite of one-half of the sandwich, and look! Everything is still in its rightful place. I seriously dream of this sandwich!

Local Flavor: Chef Albert Aviles Talks Rivera, NomNom and a Distate for Molecular Gastronomy...

Welcome to “Local Flavor,” a new bi-weekly column on Rainy Days and Sundays. Every column will feature a local chef, sommelier or tastemaker talking about his/her favorite local eats. This week: Albert Aviles, Executive Chef of Corkbar, a casual, California wine-inspired bar/restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Aviles’ “Test Kitchen Tuesdays,” which features an off-menu, tapas-style dish for a mere $2, is fast becoming a favorite among locals. What SoCal eats inspires this laid-back chef? Let’s see…

1) Favorite neighborhood joint?

Albert: Tinto Tapas Espana on Santa Monica.

2) Favorite high-end restaurant?

Albert: It’s a tie between Rivera and Itacho. Not sure if they are considered high end but they're both good. Rivera was cool experience. Truthfully it was the tequila; they have so many and they are all good! The food was very good and well executed. Chef John is a talented man.

Itacho was a great mistake. My wife and I couldn't get into Angelini Osteria next door, so we walked into Itacho. Very good traditional, simple Japanese food. The kitchen is the size of my shoe, and they put out well executed food, on time and on point.