Cuisine Eating with Sai: A look at the various food the Shaman consumes in his daily life

[Sai]

This is a thread I'm making if only to try to entice people to come and converse or even to just come and drool over the pics of delicious food. I will be treating this thread almost like a personal meal blog in a sense detailing my many misadventures with the kind mistress known as food.

Some things posted and talked about will be from the many food and wine tastings I participate in, others from restaurants I go to and some will even be my own cooking. Just a warning, I by no means have what I consider a healthy diet and I don't suggest anyone eat completely like I do as it will be detrimental to your health and your wallet. That said, I do have to say I eat very well and very fattening (as several mods can attest to)

With this thread, feel free to post comments (both positive and negative...I don't mind being called a fat ass), questions or even pictures of the food you've had. I do ask that if you post your own food pics to please try to describe it.

So, to start things off, I will be showing you some of the dishes I ingested this fine Tuesday evening.

If I was the have any place like the Cheers bar in the area this would be it. Everson Royce Wine and Spirits. They're a local wine shop with a bar attached. I'm friends with the owner and frequent both here and his other shop Silverlake Wine constantly. Every Tuesday night, they hold a tasting (which I sometimes partake and sometimes don't, but I always have wine regardless) at which they've also invited the absolute best Food Truck in AMERICA. Not just Los Angeles, but the whole nation. Heirloom LA, they're a farm to table food truck with a constantly rotating menu depending on the ingredients they get. Their food is always fresh, delicious and better than many many restaurants I've tried. Below you shall see how I dined tonight.

Spoiler: Heirloom LA Gourmet Food Truck at Everson Royce Wine and Spirits

The Wine opened tonight is only the beginning and this isn't even nearly all the bottles we opened tonight...I only had the forethought to take a picture in the beginning but didn't get some of the other excellent bottles opened. On the right we have a sparkling red wine. Speciffically a Sparking Burgandy. NV Parigot and Richard Bourgogne Mousseux Rouge Tradition. It sounds fancy, but it's not. It's an excellent just daily drinking sparkling wine. Though it is rare to find a sparkling red like this and this is one of the few if not the only I see nowadays.

To the left we have Locations - CA by Dave Phinney. This is an excellent blended red wine using the different varietals found in California. Amazing value bottle (I believe it's currently only in the 20-30 dollar range)

Domestic Lamb Ragu Meat Pie with Arugula Salad and Flaky Pastry Dough. This was my favorite of the night. The lamb was seasoned with raisins, walnuts and cinnamon and ground into a ragu. The flavor was stupendous. A bit of sweet, a bit of salty, nutty, with that bit of umami that's always ever so satisfying. I enjoyed the meat pie enough that I went back and asked for 2 more to go so I can eat them for breakfast tomorrow morning

Smoked Brisket Panini with Caramelized Onions, Melty Cheese and Garlic Aioli served with Fingerling Potato Salad. The brisket was tender and well seasoned, onions nice and caramelized, bread soft with crunchy on the outside, cheese all nice and melty. It's just a great sandwich all around. 'Nuff said.

Butterscotch Pot De Crème Budino with Whipped Maple Crème Fraiche, Homemade Graham Cracker and Salted Caramel. THIS...This is the reason I live. I don't really have the words to describe how delicious this Butterscotch Budino was other than orgasmic.

 

[c_k]

Sai, you make me wish I was over there and eating your food...

 

[Sai]

omg! a c_k! I like never see you anymore...I thought you died >.>

 

[Dried Ambrosia]

The wine...the butterscotch ...btw, I'm expecting healthy and meatless stuff, as we agreed!

 

[Sai]

I'll be including some healthy food as well.

 

[c_k]

The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated~~

Anyway, I hope to see lots of delicious, high class meals with some super unhealthy food thrown in~

 

[Sai]

Since Ancy is a hippie and would like to see some vegetarian dishes, I do remember this last Sunday doing a wine and food tasting at my other haunt, Silverlake Wine. Here, on Sundays, they typically bring in local caterers and restaurants to showcase their dishes while pairing them with wine. Sometimes we get guest wine makers coming to tout their fine wares as well (i.e. Kent Humphries of Eric Kent Winery...who's sister was in the movie Mallrats as Trish the Dish. She's now the head of marketing for her brother's wine operations. The owner is also friends with Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, whom happens to also be very into wine making).

Anyhow, this last weekend paired Slavic wine from Kabaj Winery or Slovenia (which sadly, I forgot to get pics of the bottles since the room was so full) with vegetarian food from Elf Cafe, an up and coming all vegetarian restaurant over near Echo Park (which to some of you is just more LA).

My memory is a little hazy as to all the elements of these dishes, but I will do my best to describe them for you.

Dish #1: Housemade potato chips with a goat cheese 'dip' that had sumac, olive oil and I think some kind of pickled cabbage. The flavor was excellent. Lots of creaminess and tanginess from the goat cheese, sumac added some great spice without adding heat, the 'red stuff' on top which I think was cabbage, but I could be wrong, added some needed acidity that helped to really cut through the fattiness of the dip and of course, the chips, were perfectly salty and cruchy. This was something very much up my alley. I had even made mention to the chef afterwards how I could have easily downed a bowl of his chips and dip on some weary afternoon while watching cartoons. This would be like the perfect movie snack.

Spoiler

Dish #2: Cabbage Sandwich
This was quite literally a sandwich of house made saukraut, spice, pickled peppers all between two slices of house made focaccia bread. Its actually reminded me quite a bit of a reuben sandwich and still somehow provided a sense of meatiness without any meat (or even any fake meat). bread was soft and flavorful, the saurkraut was dressed up with spices (including sumac which was the spice of the day) that made it taste a bit like cold pastrami along with saurkrauts usual tang and acidity.

Spoiler

Dish #3: Orzo Salad
I don't really have much to say about this dish. It was pretty straight forward. It was like Macaroni salad but made with orzo instead of macaroni and with a Mediterranean twist in how it was seasoned. This was served with some house done pickled peppers for a bit of heat.

Spoiler

Dish 4: Pita and Hummus
Not much to say here either. Both items were very straight forward. The only catch was they were both made from scratch.

Spoiler

Overall the tasting was enjoyable and while I didn't get a picture of the wines at the tasting I did get a couple of pictures of the bottle we opened after the tasting:
Saxum by James Berry Vineyards. A Paso Robles vineyard that has really come up in stature. It used to be their bottles only went for about $35 a bottle on average. Nowadays it commands a much more premium price of around $115.

Spoiler

and just as a 'bonus' vegetarian something, I went to Souplantation for lunch and made myself a salad

Spoiler

 

[Dried Ambrosia]

omaigosh....after reading all this (seriously, only after reading), I got so hungry...and the funny part is that I've had my dinner.
Sai, the description was absolutely delicious. I've virtually tasted these meals! You're a food porn god!

 

[Sai]

lol Ancy, i enjoy writing about food. slowly, I'd like to expand my food vocabulary though so that I might be a decent enough writer to possibly do this professionally.

For tonight, I'll be posting about scotch since I'll be doing a scotch tasting.

---------- Post added October 25, 2013 at 12:22 AM ---------- Previous post was October 24, 2013 at 12:40 PM ----------

For tonight's post, I shall be sharing with you all the Scotch tasting I partook in tonight. So let's dive right in!

Scotch #1: Isle of Skye 12 Year
Tasting Notes: Scotch had a clean nose without too many discernable scents. Nothing overpowering. A bit of what I would call the smell of night air. On the palate, the forefront had some hints of vanilla with a tiny bit of herbal notes on the back. Overall, it was very smooth with a bit of spiciness on the first sip, but mellowed out quickly. Great value blended scotch.

Spoiler

Scotch #2: Tomatin 12 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch
Tasting Notes: Immediately, the nose was that of burnt sugar or caramel with a hint of spiciness that reminded me of tequila with some background of vanilla and oak. On the palate, there were hints of citrus and vanilla amongst the woodiness. Overall finish was long and smooth with just a bit of tingle on the throat.

Spoiler

Scotch #3: The Arran 16 Year Isle of Arran Single Malt Scotch
Tasting Notes: Immediately the whiff of this one smelled dusty like a woodworking shop after sanding down some oak. That woodiness permeated throughout along with the taste of barley and wheat with some very subtle hint of citrus on the finish. Something else I noticed was a smell that I can only describe as plastic model glue (like testors). That's a smell I typically get with a lot of bourbons, but rarely see in scotches.

Spoiler

Scotch #4: The Arran Sauternes Cask Isle of Arran Single Malt Scotch
Tasting Notes: The nose of this one was incredible. With aromas of vanilla and sweet caramel and of course oak. However, the taste itself had a weird funk to it. I can only describe it as mossy and a bit dusty. It was better with a few drops of water to even it out, but because too diluted with the addition of ice. Perhaps with the addition of a large premium pure ice cube that wouldn't melt so quickly, it may be been better. Of the bunch, this was my least favorite.

Spoiler

Scotch #5: Glenfarcias 17 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey
Tasting Notes: This one has a definite woodiness on the nose along with an ever so slight whiff of that modelling glue smell I mentioned earlier. The overall flavor was very light with a bit of citrus. This is as refreshing as scotch gets to being. Simply easy to drink and pleasant to the tongue.

Spoiler

Scotch #6: Highland Park 12 Year Orkney Islands Single Malt Scotch
Tasting Notes: Immediately the nose had a slight peaty/smokiness to it that made me think this was an Islay scotch at first. The palate was sweet with hints of vanilla but also herbaceous with a flavor that almost reminded me of asparagus in a way.

Spoiler

Scotch #7: Octomore 10 Year Islay Single Malt Scotch
Tasting Notes: This one was the one I looked forward to the most in this tasting. It's a rare bottle of what is supposed to be quite exemplary of the ideal Islay Single Malt. Just to note, Islay Single Malts are my favorite of all the different scotch styles. The nose on this scotch is truly that of an Islay scotch with a heavy peatiness. By peatiness, typically I mean smoky and salty. Almost like a campfire on a nice cool beach. Definitely something that reminded me of sea breeze here. The smokiness of the nose continued into the palate itself alongside the usual oak and a flavor I can only describe as maple bacon with some hints of vanilla on the background. As I thought going into this tasting, this was my favorite of the bunch and I even ended up buying a bottle.

Spoiler

Scotch #8: Kilchoman Loch Gorm Sherry Cask Islay Single Malt Scotch
Tasting Notes: This is a brand I'm well familiar with as I have one of their 12 years amongst my stash. The nose on this was peaty and smoky as expected of an Islay scotch, but much less pronounced than the Octomore 10 above. The palate itself was fascinating as it was sweet and spicy. Definite vanilla and oak as you'd expect from scotch in general, but the spiciness was fascinating as it was kind of a sweet spice that reminded me of the kind of sweet heat you'd get from Sriraccha sauce.

Spoiler

That does it for the scotch tasting, but I can't really just leave you all with something as inaccessible as scotch. As such, here is a shot of some of the food my group of friends and I had for the proceeding dinner at Slater's 50/50.

Spoiler

Bulgogi Burger

Snap Crackle Pop Shake
Tasted of toasted marchmallow and rice crispies

Chili Frito Burger

 

[M3J]

You lack pizza, Saichan.

 

[Sai]

Funny you mention Pizza Milly, because that's what I had last night.

I was originally going to go to a champagne tasting last night, but was also gonna head to a friends place to play some board games and hangout. I ended up deciding that driving to the champagne tasting was too far to do first so just ended up hanging out with some friends.

For dinner, they had voted for Pizza and since they live in the middle of Culver City, there was plenty to choose from. We ended up getting some pizza take out from a place down the street called Wildcraft Sourdough Pizza. All the crusts are made from sourdough, hence the name and that's their specialty.

Spoiler: Pie of the Moment - Bacon Pizza (don't remember the name)

I don't remember the exact description, but it was essentially all sorts of different bacon with more bacon and cheese and some olive oil drizzle to finish it off. Was bacon-y. 'Nuff said.

Spoiler: Burrata Pizza

Pizza had Squash Blossom, Provolone, burrata, fried rosemary, shaved pistachio and orange oil. Probably my favorite of the 3. Weird considering it's a vegetarian pizza (which also means Ancy can eat it). It was very nutty and cheesy and I love the chew of the sourdough crust

Spoiler: Spicy Sausage Pizza

Topped with fennel sausage, fior di latte mozzarella, garlc chips, provolone and calabrian chilies. Pizza was delicious and meaty with a bit of spice. Though personally, I could use with a bit more heat. I do often find when someone says spicy it's never really all that spicy for me...

 

[Dried Ambrosia]

mmmm burrata pizza. so many favours . I'd love to order it, but I'm pretty sure I can't find it in NL.

 

[M3J]

Why are the pizzas so small? That's offensive.

 

[Utsune]

That cheese.........! Yuuuuuummmmmm

The portion is tiny though :/

 

[xi0]

A smaller pizza is easier to eat, in my opinion.

 

[Sai]

They were medium size pizzas...Enough to taste and share...it's also why we ordered 3 of them.

---------- Post added November 11, 2013 at 08:43 PM ---------- Previous post was October 30, 2013 at 07:59 AM ----------

Been awhile since I updated here. I've been trying to pull together a post about Sushi, but uploading those pictures and writing that up takes a while and it's hard to do when I've been so busy with real world activities (and work).

However, I did do my usual Sunday wine tasting over at Silver Lake Wine last night and have some pics from that.

Last night's tasting was catered by one of my favorite companies ever, Heirloom LA. These guys are truly revolutionizing the catering and mobile food scene out here with their amazing dishes. You've seen me post about them here before and you'll continue to see me post about them more. For yesterday's tasting they were showcasing their holiday lineup paired with some solid California wines from all over.

I forgot to take pictures of the wine bottles, but the line up consisted of:

Habit Sauvignon Blanc McGinley Vineyard Happy Canyon 2012 (the wine maker was actually in attendance and I got a signed bottle from him)

Spoiler: Paired with Salmon and Brussel Sprouts

Here's what the Salmon looked like in it's whole form

Here is how they plated for the tasting

The wine itself was delicious. Very clean, lots of acidity and citrus. Very much had a flavor of grapefruit to it. It went very well with the slightly fatty/oily salmon (not to mean oily in a bad way, but Salmon is simply an oily fish). The acidity really helped to brighten up the salmon and the sprouts. Excellent combination. Also, I could really go for a big bowl of just those sprouts the way they roasted them. I don't remember exactly what was said about their preparation, but they were amongst the best I've had.

Dragonette Cellars Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills 2011

Spoiler: Paired with Turducken and Stuffing

You read that right, it was paired with their take on a turducken. Though technically in this case it should be a Turchuck (Turkey - Chicken - Duck). Here, rather than roasting the whole bird in a bird in a bird monstrosity that you would normally see, they used only the turkey breast meat, skinned and flattened and then same with the chicken and rolled over a duck breast and then covered with all the skins. The reason for this is because of how each should be cooked. The turkey takes longer to cook than the chicken which takes longer to cook than the duck (and duck is really the best at a nice medium rare). So it cooks form the outside in and the skins on the outside seep their delicious fatty juices into the turkey which as it cooks seeps it's juices into the chicken and so forth to the duck. All of which is then cooked so that the duck keep at a nice medium rare and all the meats are perfectly cooked.

The stuffing is more like a savory bread pudding than a traditional american stuffing and, I have to say, it is THE best stuffing I've ever had. It's not too dry or too moist and kind of has a thickness like a cake to it. It's savory and soft on the inside but a bit of a crisp on the outside and works are a perfect sponge for that turducken gravy. The pinot it was paird with is a bigger/bolder california pinot that has some jamminess and holds up well to all the spices and meats of the dish.

Harrington Secateur California 2012

Spoiler: Paired with "The Beef" and Smashed Potatoes

The Beef in it's whole form

The Serving of the Beef on a bed of mashed potatoes with a horseradish red wine reduction sauce

The beef I believe was a grass fed tenderloin, but I don't remember exactly. I do know that it was as tender as it gets (considering how easy it was to eat with a plastic fork), cooked to a perfect medium rare with an excellent 'pink' sauce (which had horseradish, other spices and red wine in it) over some of the best mashed potatoes I've ever had. There are lots of chefs out there who love doing a super smooth potato puree which I do like, but nothing beats a good old hand smashed fresh and chunky mashed potatoes with plenty of bite to it (and lots of cream and butter...because holidays are built on cream and butter). The wine here was a blend of many varietals. Very bold, very delicious.

Denner Vineyards "Mother of Exiles" Paso Robles 2010

Spoiler: Paired with Pumpkin Pie with Toasted Marshmallow topping

Scratch made pumpkin pie with toasted home made marshmallow topping with a crust made with crushed chocolate cookies...'nuff said.

Wine was a typical Paso red. Sweet, spicy, easy to drink. Excellent wine and bold enough to go with dessert without being a dessert wine.

 

[Kiki]

wow Sai, you should continue this thread. I will join you