Another Segway Tour

My friend Thom had never been to the Farmer’s Market at Fairfax & Third, so prior to our taking our fourth Segway tour, we stopped by the Grove and Farmer’s Market for lunch.  I walked him around first the Grove, then we walked around the Market looking for lunch.  If you have never gone, I think it’s something you must do at least once.  It can be a little overwhelming as it is very tightly packed, and there are lots and lots of options.

We settled on Phil’s Deli and Grill as there were two seats available at the counter.  They have a basic diner/deli menu, and serve breakfast all day.  Thom ordered the burger combo, and I the Philly Cheesesteak combo.  The Cheesesteak was very tasty- seasoned well.  The fries were very crispy (yea!).   Thom seemed to enjoy his burger.

After lunch we made our way over to our Segway tour with Another Side Tours (www.AnotherSideTours.com) on La Cienega.  We had a Groupon to use (we still have a couple more Segway tour Groupons for other places yet too). 

I have to say, Another Side really impressed me.  They gave us a bottle of water and snacks while we were waiting, were very friendly, and took their time training people for their first time on a Segway.  Since Thom and I were veterans, they didn’t have to train us.  Our group was a total of six, plus the guides.  That’s another thing that impressed me – they have two guides on a tour.  No other tour I’ve been on yet has done that.

Our guides were Rusty and Kayla.  They were patient, informative and fun.  This tour was down to the La Brea Tar Pits, so they took us up La Cienega to Wilshire, then down Wilshire to the pits.  We stopped at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study building, where we learned it had originally been a water treatment plant.  It is a beautiful building.

As we made our way down Wilshire, we stopped at the Flynt Publications building (yes, the infamous Larry Flynt).  There’s a statue of John Wayne out front, which I find amusing.  Then we visited the Saban Theatre, which we found out is where the film the auditorium scenes for Glee. 

But by far the most interesting place we stopped was a building that had pieces of the Berlin Wall on display, thanks to the Wende Museum (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/10/its_not_often_one_sees.php#wall-5 ).  The front side, which is facing the street, was the side that faced West Berlin and had been painted/decorated by West Berliners.  I lived through that whole era, watching the Berlin wall coming down – so to see pieces of it in LA were fascinating.  I plan to go back to get a closer look sometime.  But let me also mention the reverse side, which was facing East Berlin, to me – that was more interesting and there was some original graffiti left.

We finally made it to the Tar Pits.  I’ve seen them many, many times – but I am always amazed to see them.  The thought that they have pulled out so many bones and skeletons out of the pits over the years – mostly from the ice ages – fascinates me.  Not to mention the fact that asphalt bubbles up through the ground (all around this area too, not just the park where the pits are). 

After spending a little time cruising around the park, we headed back to the storefront to end the tour.  It was a wonderful tour and fun time.  I highly recommend doing it sometime.  Of course, I love the Segway tours and try to take them wherever I go, but this tour is definitely worth it.

These Burgers Truly Were Badass

Who doesn’t love a good burger?  I lucked out with the lunch truck down the street from my office and Baby’s Badass Burgers (www.babysbadassburgers.com) was parked today.  I had only heard of them and never seen them anywhere – they were named LA’s Best Burger by the Travel Channel.  And they do live up to it.  Honestly, I don’t think anyone, yet, has earned the title of “Best Burger” for me, but I’d definitely rank them as one of the best around. 

I ordered the “She’s Smokin!” burger – an 8 oz patty topped with smoked cheddar, crispy onions, bbq sauce, and bacon (mmmmmm bacon!).  It comes on a King’s Hawaiian bread roll.  Very, very tasty.  The burger was very juicy (but not dripping all down your arm) and the bbq was tangy and sweet.  The burger seemed big enough that I could have split it and shared it with a friend and still felt full!  I complimented it with some curly fries and a coke.  The fries weren’t bad, but it’s hard to satisfy me on the fry front – I readily admit that.

One thing I noticed with their burgers is that it appears that they form their own patties rather than used the standard, flat, uniform ones that tend to be heavily processed.  These were very plump, but still cooked thoroughly and didn’t appear uniform at all……I like that.  That to me says they put more thought into their burger.  Hat’s off to you, ladies!  Job well done!

Are ya hungry yet??

It’ Wednesday.  That means food truck parked down the street from my office at lunchtime.  Last week they didn’t have one, but today, thankfully, one showed up!  I have to say, the food trucks in L.A. continue to impress me.  Me So Hungry (www.mesohungrytruck.com) was offering up sliders and burgers.  Mmmmmmmm beeeeeeef.

I decided to go for the KTM Sliders – marinated short ribs, pepper jack cheese, crispy onions and spicy crème fraiche.  I ordered the combo, which comes with fries, and a soft drink.  The sliders were just the right size (they give you two), and the meat was spiced just right and had a hint of heat thanks to the cheese.  Two of these were more than enough for a lunch meal. 

The fries I opted for were the garlic parmesan fries.  They were very crispy – which my experience with food truck fries this is usually not the case.  It helps that they were thin cut.  While tasty and enjoyable, when I compare to the garlic parmesan fries from The Counter, the fries from The Counter definitely win.  However, they were not a disappointment since I really like crispy fries!

I washed it down with a Pepsi imported from Mexico (real cane sugar!).  It seems that many of the food trucks are carrying these imported colas – you’d think Pepsi and Coke would get a clue!

The young lady who took my order today also gave me a flyer for an event in NoHo on the 24^th – The NoHo Taco Cookoff Festival (www.nohofoodtruckfest.com).  It is being held in the parking lot of the Sears on Victory Blvd.  I hope to check it out!

Best Roast Chicken!

Yeah, I was low-key last week.  I have been busy with work, and lazy with my blogging.  Today I am posting and it’s my Roasted Chicken and Pan Gravy recipes.  Last weekend I made this, giving me several days of leftovers. 

To make a good roast chicken, start with a good whole bird (around 5 lbs. is a good size).  Other ingredients you will need for the chicken and gravy are:  an orange (or other citrus), two cloves of fresh garlic, one small onion, olive oil, chicken stock/broth, white wine, and butter.  Also, keep salt & pepper for seasoning and some flour for thickening, in reserve.  I recommend your using a good roasting pan that you will be able to throw on the stove after baking to make your gravy.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

Make sure your chicken is fully defrosted.  Remove the packaging.  Here’s the gross part – you will need to remove the gizzards and other stuff from the cavity.  Some providers will have put them in a plastic pouch, but most don’t and so you’ll have to dig them out.  You can fill the cavity with water to help.  If you like organ meats, by all means, set aside and use later.  If not, just toss in the garbage.  It you have cats or dogs….if you cook them up, they love this stuff.  After you’ve got the cavity cleaned out, rinse the whole chicken off, including the inside of the cavity.  Set chicken in your roasting pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Hygiene note:  with raw meats, WASH YOURS HANDS OFTEN.  Never touch other foodstuffs with hands that handled raw meats as you can contaminate them.  Also, clean works surfaces after handling raw meats and before using them for other prep work.  A bleach solution is usually ideal to kill any bacteria.

Back to the chicken.  You probably were wondering what the orange, garlic and onion were for.  You are going to stuff them into the cavity of the chicken.  Section the whole orange and onion (peeled, of course), and coarsely chop the garlic.  Stuff the pieces into the cavity, as much as you can fit.

Pour a little olive oil over the chicken (you can use butter if you prefer).  Rub it into the skin and get the whole chicken good and coated.  Season the bird with salt and pepper, and maybe some garlic powder.  Flip the chicken breast side down in the pan.  Cover the pan with some foil and tent it up, keeping the steam inside while roasting. 

Slide the chicken into the oven and close the door.  Let roast for 30 minutes at 450.  After 30 minutes, open oven and take the pan out.  Pull the foil off and flip the chicken over so breast side is up now.  You can re-season again, maybe pour a little olive oil over to re-coat.  Put the chicken back in the over without the foil and lower the temperature to 375 degree.  Cook for 45 minutes, then check to see if browning well.  Also, insert a meat thermometer into a thick portion (breast works) and check the temp.  A done chicken is 170-180 degrees.  If you’ve hit that mark, but the skin isn’t brown enough, crank up the temp on the oven and cook for about 10 minutes more.  If the temp wasn’t high enough, roast chicken for another 20-30 minutes and recheck.

Once the bird is cooked, pull it out of the oven.  Have a plate or pan ready to set the chicken in to rest while you make the gravy.  Move the chicken to the resting plate, and cover with the foil you used earlier to keep it warm. 

Now you can use the drippings to make the gravy.  Put the roasting pan on the stove (probably will take up two burners) and set the burners at a very low heat.  Add some white wine (bubbly works well too) to deglaze the pan.  You don’t need much – a quarter to half cup.  Using a whisk, loosen the bits stuck to the pan.  Once it’s starting to cook down, pour in 2-3 cups of stock/broth (depends on how much gravy you want!).  You might want to crank up the heat just a little at this point. 

Keep whisking the liquid in the pan and cook to reduce and concentrate flavors.  After about 5 minutes, this would be the time to start thickening.  I use a flour sifter to add the flour to the gravy.  Just sift a little bit of flour into gravy and whisk around.  Let it cook a little and keep adding flour slowly until it starts thickening.  Taste to see where you’re at flavor-wise.  Season to taste with salt and pepper (you can probably get by with very little to no salt – but that’s your call).  Once the gravy has gotten to the consistency you want, turn the heat off.  Pour the gravy into a gravy boat (or whatever works for you for serving – I use a pyrex measuring cup!).

You can cut up you chicken, or pull it apart, or however you want to serve it now.  I tend to pull off the legs and cut off some breast meat….and of course, get as much of that delicious roasted skin as I can, and put it on a plate, then pour on some gravy.  Side dishes are up to you and to your taste.

Once you’re done with dinner, you can pull the rest of the chicken off the carcass (once it’s cooled down) and put them in some containers for leftovers.  Yum!  Save the gravy too!  It tastes even better the next day.  You use the leftovers to make open faced sandwiches the next day. 

Enjoy your roast chicken!

Saturday in Santa Monica

Weekends are meant for relaxing, enjoying life, and spending time with friends and family.  After a busy week, yesterday my friend Thom and I headed to Santa Monica for brunch and a Segway tour (we had a Groupon).  We got down there just before noon and met my friend Wendy down by the beach at Cora’s Coffee Shop (www.corascoffee.com), which she had recommended as one of her favorite breakfast/brunch places.

They had a very extensive menu for a coffee shop (think upscale, but without the upscale prices).  I was more in a lunch mood, so I chose the short rib tacos.  Wendy had her favorite, the Smoke Salmon Benedict, and Thom ordered an omelet with mushrooms and sausage.  The tacos were juicy, but without the bbq sauce, would have been terribly bland.  The meat wasn’t seasoned – but the sauce did make them tasty.  It was served with a side of white beans.  I did envy Wendy’s Benedict as I do love salmon…..it looked so delicious, but for the eggs (I am not an egg person).  Maybe I should go back and order it minus the eggs!  Thom said his omelet was very good.  Overall, not a bad experience.  Given then use very fresh ingredients, and Wendy’s recommendation, I will try it again and opt for something else on the menu.

After brunch, we just walked down the street to Segway Los Angeles (www.segway.la).  This is the mothership to the Long Beach location we went to last month.  We had a Groupon that we needed to use (plus, we just love Segwaying).  After being overcast in the late morning/early afternoon, it cleared off in time for our tour at 2:00pm.  It was clear, cool and breezy….a welcome respite from the blazing hot Valley!

Since we’ve done a few of these already down in Long Beach, they didn’t need to really train us, so we just waited around until they trained the others, and also put some of the other riders at ease by letting them know that it really was pretty easy , and a lot of fun once they got used to it.  Our guide for the afternoon was DJ.  He took us down the hill from their Ocean Ave. location to the boardwalk near the Santa Monica Pier. 

It was a busy afternoon on the boardwalk, but we still were able to go along at a pretty good clip, coasting down to the Venice boardwalk and pier.  It really was refreshing to be cruising down the boardwalk in the salt air, sun on my face and watching the waves crash on the beach (the surf was amazing since they were still getting some intense waves from the storms in the South Pacific).  We stopped at one point where there was a grassy peak that gives you a great outlook towards the beach.  It was a great picture spot. 

We went all the way down to the Venice Pier and went out to the end of it.  This was a good spot to get off the Segway, stretch out legs, and get some pictures.  It was little brisk, which had a few people shivering (but I was really enjoying it!).  Then we slowly made out way back, cutting through the crowd on the Venice boardwalk (it was packed!).  The entire tour lasted about 2 hours, which is enough time as the Segway can be tough on your legs and feet to be on it non-stop (I’m sure it gets better if you do it all the time). 

Keep an eye out for the Groupon deals for Segway tours.  Segway Los Angeles has two locations:  one in Santa Monica and one in Long Beach.  They seem to be offering deals about once a quarter.  The normal price is $79 for a two hour rental or tour.  The Groupon is usually about $39 – a steal!  If you get to the Long Beach, be sure to ask for Anita – and tell her CJ and Thom sent you.  She’s one of the best tour guides, and a lot of fun.  Oh, and after having several tours now, I’ve decided that I would like to become a guide and will be looking into that. 

Panini

I tried another food stall today at the Century City Farmer’s Market.  On the way in, I did stop by Wasted Cupcakes (www.wastedcupcakes.com) to pick up some Lemon Drop cupcakes to take home (and got to finally taste one as a sample).  Yummmmm!

Anyway, after picking up some strawberries, my co-worker Madeleine and I made our way towards the back to the market where most of the food stalls are located and saw one I hadn’t seen before:  a panini booth.  I was intrigued, so I decided to get one. Paninoteca Arugula (www.facebook.com/ArugulaPanini) offers up a pretty good menu.  I spoke with Emmy from Arugula, and she told me that currently they only do the Century City and Brentwood Farmer’s Markets, and they cater.  I think they are trying to build some traction.

I ordered the Prosciutto di Parma with mozzarella and pesto.  It comes on either white or wheat….and the bread is very thin and crusty (which works well for this type of sandwich).  It was complimented by some kalamata olives on the side.  The panini was very tasty and had a little crunch to it (from the bread).  The pesto complimented the prosciutto very well.