LA by Food and Turkey Tacos

Earlier this month, I went to visit a cousin who lives in Los Angeles. It was my first time to visit California which was exciting all by itself, but the fact that my cousin is an LA native made it all the more exciting. Over the course of my four days there, we went to the beach, did massive sight-seeing, went on fun adventures, and above all else – we ate really good food! While I didn’t think of it before I went, so there is not proper documentation, now I know that I want to chronicle the food on my trips to share with you all along with my recipes. I will do a better job in the future of providing visual aids to the tasty tidbits I will bring back to you. In a few weeks I’m headed to Abilene, TX. Honestly, I’m not sure what I will eat that will be worthy of sharing, but I’ll do my best to bring back something delicious.

We ate a lot of places – Asian fusion, Mexican, sandwich shops, smoothie places, and so forth. Two of the places we ate where I took photos were Barney Greengrass at Barneys New York and Musso & Frank Grill. Barney Greengrass is on the rooftop of Barneys and it’s beautiful up there. Check out the view from our table! I ordered a chicken sandwich with olive tapenade, mozzarella cheese, and artichokes with a delicious side salad. My cousin ordered a cobb salad with brisket! Yep – brisket! Weird, I know. He said it was pretty good, actually. I polished off my sandwich and my salad while visually feasting on the hills of Hollywood. It tasted fresh, a little salty and briny from the olives and the artichokes, chewy from the bread, and creamy from the cheese. Chicken is an odd flavor to try to describe, but it was good, moist chicken! It’s definitely a sandwich that I would like to emulate here in my own kitchen in Central TX.

In the window at Barneys

We look good and so does our food!

My yummy sandwich!

What our eyes feasted on!

The last night I was in LA, Bob took me to Musso & Frank Grill which is the oldest restaurant in Hollywood. It opened in 1919 is sort of hard for me to wrap my brain around. It’s older than my grandparents. Charlie Chaplin ate there – he has a special booth. The waiters there are trained in the art of waiting – the art of customer service. They aren’t aspiring actors or singers looking for their big break. They are committed to creating the best experience for their patrons. One side of the restaurant is the bar side and the other is the grill side. You can sit at the bar or you can sit at the grill to watch them make the steaks and other cuts of meat. We sat on the bar side at a circle booth and people watched. Bob had the prime rib and I had the filet mignon, both with sides of baked potatoes and we shared broccoli with Hollandaise sauce. We also got cocktails which come in these tiny martini glasses AND they bring you the rest of the cocktail in a little jar to keep on the table! Mine came on ice as it was a chilled beverage. It was as cute as could be! When our steaks came, I had really be mindful to eat it slowly so that I could really savor how tender and flavorful it was. I kid you not, it was one of the best pieces of meat I’ve eaten in a long time. Heck, it was all good so we wasted no time in devouring the deliciousness.

Oldest in Hollywood, baby!

All cocktails should be served this way!

Beef: It's what's for dinner!

Waste not, want not.

Late last week I had my debut as a guest blogger on my friend Julie’s blog, Elisharose News. I’ve known Julie most of my life and only recently learned that I am one of her favorite people. It brings me joy and is humbling to know she thinks so highly of me, and that she was willing to post a recipe I sent her for Turkey Tacos. Seriously, y’all, go over and take a looksee; you won’t be disappointed. I made the dish for Sunday dinner, and then proceeded to eat the leftovers every day for the entire week. Every.day. No lie – I ate the same lunch every day and didn’t get tired of it. It was as delicious Friday as it was Monday. While you’re over on Julie’s blog, check out her Tuesday Tips because she’s got lots of great nuggets of information for how to live a simpler and more healthy life. Deep in my heart, I want to be a writer so being a guest blogger was a small step toward feeling a little more like a “real writer” than I did before. Thanks so much, Julie!

Happy eating, everyone – wherever you are!