Gelato Bar: A Taste of Italy in Studio City

Saveur.com recently posted An Eater’s Guide to LA. Although the list pales in comparison to Jonathon Gold’s extensive “99 Things to Eat in LA Before You Die,” I did appreciate the handy dandy categories into which Saveur placed its food and drinks.

Listed under Saveur’s “Valley Gems” category is Gelato Bar in Studio City. After sampling and falling in love with authentic gelato in Italy a few years ago, I’ve tried gelato after gelato in state after state trying to find something that comes close to the rich deliciosity of the real stuff. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it and share with you all…

So, with a recommendation from Saveur, next on my gelato-sampling agenda was Gelato Bar.

Gelato Bar is owned by Joel Gutman and Gail Silverton. After visiting Italy and experiencing the camaraderie of the Italian piazza, Silverton wanted to recreate the communal atmosphere where people of all ages come together to relax, chat and eat–three very, very good things. Silverton and Gutman even imported the light-up ice cream cone that stands outside from Italy!

Gelato Bar’s interior is instantly welcoming–happy, bright and colorful with a vintage flair.

In addition to dessert, the cheerful little shop also serves free trade coffee, pastries, light breakfast (I’ll be back for the Acai Bowl!) and paninis.

Gelato Bar offers twenty-four choices daily including flavor staples such as stracciatella and rotating specials such as salted caramel. True to Italian style, the gelato is hand-decorated with garnishes related to the flavor.

Gelato Bar gives its samples on real spoons, which is both eco-friendly and a classy touch.

Already, I was excited.

When you order gelato, you order 2+ flavors, with your first flavor choice being the one you get a little more of. On the left, we have Fragola Chips (strawberry with chocolate chunks) and Bignolata (hazelnut with chocolate chunks) and, on the right, Fragola Chips and Pistachio.

Gelato is different than ice cream because no air is added, which makes its flavor richer and the dessert itself denser. Gelato is also supposed to be made with fresh ingredients, which makes the flavors taste more like the food or fruit they’re actually supposed to taste like.

These flavors certainly fit the bill and were absolutely delicious, rich and full–the best gelato I’ve had outside of Italy.

I’ve heard complaints about Gelato Bar’s prices but, at $4.50 for each of these small cups, the tab came out to be less than the two self-serve frozen yogurts that a friend and I had gotten a few nights before.

Vibe+menu+extremely legit gelato= love. I’ll definitely be back soon!

Gelato Bar

www.gelatobar-la.com

4342 1/2 Tujunga Avenue

Studio City, CA 91604

(818) 487-1717

Dim Sum Truck

Foodie friends, there’s a new truck in town. Everyone, say hello to The Dim Sum Truck. The Dim Sum Truck has yet to officially launch but got its start in the VIP Lounge of the LA Street Food Fest and has been slowly rolling out ever since with private tastings and afternoons at the T-Lofts, which is where I got a taste.

The brainchild of USC alum Alex Chu (’09), the Dim Sum Truck is the product of a BA in Entrepreneurship (and International Relations), an interest in the restaurant business, a love of dim sum and an acknowledgment of the hellish drive time required for most Angelenos to get to any delicious dim sum.

I’ve been dying to try their food ever since I first heard about them and was glad to get to visit before the crowds of hungry dim sum-lovers descend upon it!

The Dim Sum Truck has its dim sum pre-made for them and steams them fresh in the truck since, as Alex said, “I don’t know how to make this!”

Pork and Shrimp Shu Mai ($2.50) are dim sum staples, and these were delicious. Moist and wonderfully flavorful, it was love at first bite.

The secret sauce was also a nice touch, adding a sweet and spicy kick.

The har gow (shrimp dumpling, $2.50) was also great–fresh, tender and everything I hoped it would be! Again, the secret sauce’s tang played nicely off the mild flavor of the dumpling.

The last dumpling we sampled was the shrimp and chive dumpling ($2.50). I would have liked just a little more shrimp in these, but, overall, they were wonderfully plump and had great flavor.

The BBQ Pork Bun ($3) was the only dish that wasn’t a home run for me. The buns weren’t as hot as they should have been and had a low filling to bun ratio. Also, the buns weren’t as sweet as those I’m used to ordering off of rickety dim sum carts.

Finally, we ordered the Lotus Sesame Balls ($2.50). With the crunchy sesame seeds on the outside and the delicious, sweet filling on the inside, every bite was full of wonderful flavors and texture contrasts.

I’m glad to see that the Dim Sum Truck went the traditional route with most of its dishes; good dim sum doesn’t need a “twist”…it just needs to be devoured.

The Dim Sum Truck will also serve specials such as a Spicy Tofu Mulita (inspired by La Taquiza, a favorite among USC Trojans) and a Peking Duck Taco.

The Dim Sum Truck serves delicious food of a great quality at a great price. I’m also glad to see a Trojan who graduated in ’09 working. Let’s keep it that way: visit the Dim Sum Truck.

The Dim Sum Truck

www.twitter.com/dimsumtruck

www.thedimsumtruck.com

Chano’s Drive-In

Chano’s Drive-In is a USC-area institution, famed for its cheap, tasty eats. Operating out of a questionable-looking stand on Figueroa, Chano’s serves Mexican fare such as tacos, burritos and enchiladas as well as burgers and sandwiches. On Sundays, they also offer menudo and pozole.

Some argue that Chano’s is only for the drunk or hung-over, but I’m here to tell you that it’s an excellent decision any time you want some good Mexican that’s bad for you.

Their nachos are piled high with meat (in this case, steak), pico de gallo, guacamole and cheese. The chips are thick and crunchy, the pico de gallo is flavorful, and there’s a lot of meat. I always end up stuffing my face when I order these.

My favorite dish from Chano’s, though, is the combination plate with two tacos (here, I ordered shredded beef and hard tacos) served with rice, beans and pico de gallo. I just love the contrast of the soft meat, pico de gallo and sour cream with the satisfying crunch of the taco shell. This plate is probably one of my favorite things in the whole world.

If a shady stand with a drive-thru speaker that sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher isn’t your thing, you can class it up down the street at Chano’s 2, which used to be a KFC. Awww yeahhh.

I’m sure that Chano’s food is absolutely terrible for you, and my workout was really hard the next day but, still, Chano’s…you have my heart (and J’s heart, although he was once given his nachos sans chips).

Chano’s Drive-In
www.theoriginalchanos.com/

3000 S. Figueroa St.

Los Angeles, CA 90007

(213) 747-3944

Tasty Garden and Fosselman’s

Periodically, someone will tell me that the place for Chinese food is Alhambra. I then Google Map “Alhambra,” see how far away it is from me and then go, “Ohhhhh, that’s why I’ve never been there.” Recently, however, I decided to make the trek (an hour in gridlocked traffic that made me want to kill myself) in search of some delicious Chinese food and to catch up with some friends at Tasty Garden.

I had heard that, despite Tasty Garden’s pretty ample seating, there is usually a wait, which I took as a good sign. Arriving at 8 PM on a Friday night, we waited for around 15 minutes for a table for four, which I thought was very reasonable. Plus, we had the picture-filled menu to keep us occupied while we waited.

As a side note, if you’ve never ordered “family style” at a Chinese restaurant, I highly recommend it. Because Chinese dishes aren’t served with sides and usually come in large portions, it’s a great idea for everyone to order one thing and then share with the table. Everyone’s tummy wins!

J and Anthony started with the Won Ton Soup. Expecting a tiny bowl of soup with a couple of crispy won tons thrown in, I thought that the $5.50 price tag was a little steep. Little did I know that the soup was served in a huge ramen bowl and was more than enough for two. Tasty Garden also does one better than crispy, calorie-but-not-nutrition laden wontons and adds dumplings to their soup. These were awesome! They tasted like a combination of shrimp and pork, and I had to stop myself from filling up on soup before the rest of the food came.

Anthony ordered spicy fried chicken wings. I’m not a huge fan of fried chicken, but these had a thin layer of delightfully crispy and flavorful skin and tender meat. They also weren’t too, too spicy.

Jamie ordered the Honey Ginger Chicken Hotpot. The chicken had a great sweet flavor, and there was more than enough chicken for four people to share. My only complaint is that there were bones in every piece of chicken (which were small pieces) and, at some point, I stopped eating them because I was tired of having to nibble around the bones.

I ordered the Honey Walnut Shrimp, which I’d heard was awesome and was the reason I not-so-arbitrarily chose Tasty Garden out of all the other Chinese restaurants in Alhambra. This dish was exactly what I wanted. It had a nice, thick layer of crunch on the outside and a generous covering of the mayo sauce. NOM!

J ordered the Beef Chow Fun, which was also delicious. I was glad that the dish was liberal with the amount of beef included! You can also get the dish with gravy, but I’d advise against it. The chow fun has enough flavor already.

Tasty Garden delivered exactly what I wanted–delicious Chinese food that tasted like the food I grew up with. Mission accomplished.

At some point after our meal, while the four of us were sitting around letting our food settle, we realized, “Isn’t Fosselman’s nearby?” Dessert time!

Fosselman’s is an old-fashioned ice cream shop that makes all of its own ice cream and sorbet…alllll 40-something flavors.

As you can see, they have a pretty extensive (and delicious) list of ice cream flavors.

I ordered chocolate-covered strawberry. YUM! The chocolate chips were teeny tiny, like those in Baskin Robbins’s mint chocolate chip ice cream. The strawberry base was also awesome.

J ordered taro, which tastes a little coconut-y and is, basically, mind-blowing. For those of you unfamiliar with taro, it is a plant grown as a root vegetable that is used to make the Hawaiian dish poi. Fosselman’s also makes ube (purple yam) ice cream, which tastes suspiciously like the taro but whatever. It’s good. Order it (or, well, either one, I guess).

I’m not sure exactly what the prices were, but my cone and J’s cup together cost $5. Not too shabby…

Anthony ate his scoop of Cookies n Cream before I could snap a pic and Jamie ordered… vanilla. Wah Wah.

If you like delicious ice cream, then I highly recommend that you visit Fosselman’s and try one of their amazing, unique flavors. (Don’t be like Jamie 😉 ).

Tasty Garden

www.tastygarden.us

288 W. Valley Blvd, Suite 110

Alhambra, CA 91801

(626) 300-8262

Fosselman’s Ice Cream

www.fosselmans.com

1824 W. Main St.

Alhambra, CA 91801

(626) 282-6533

LAMill Coffee Boutique

One of the (very few) upsides to being sick is that you will, eventually, have to leave the house and can visit places that you’ve been meaning to but just haven’t had the time to visit (unless, you know, cabin fever is your thing). This is how I finally got to LAMill on a bright, sunny weekday afternoon.

LAMill is beautiful, relaxing little shop in Silverlake that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and boasts an impressive coffee, espresso and tea list. They also recently obtained a liquor license and are adding not only beer, wine and sake to their menu but also specialty combination drinks such as Tea Champagne (Alcohol AND caffeine? Woohoo!).

I absolutely adore classic, vintage chic decor and, with LAMill’s murals, chandeliers and oversized chairs, it was love at first sight.

I ordered a cappuccino and was instantly delighted to see that there was a heart on it. Flavor-wise, however, it wasn’t one of my favorite cappuccino’s I’ve had. It was still fairly bitter after I added some brown sugar cubes to it and was also only lukewarm. The best cappuccino I’ve found in LA still at The Conservatory in Culver City.

J ordered the Cough**Wheeze**Sniffle Herbal Tea…which is what I should have also ordered. This had an incredible, sweet flavor that was also really soothing on the throat. This is a must if you’re feeling under the weather.

He also ordered the brioche donut holes, which were beautiful to look at and a delight to eat. They were crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside (sort of like a mini-malasada covered in confectioner’s sugar). Be sure to order the side of cream with these!

I ordered the Prosciutto Cotto French Baguette with cooked prosciutto and Tal eggi o dop Uero Ciresa cheese, which came with hand-cut potato chips, olives and a preserved cippolini onion.

The cooked prosciutto tasted more like sliced ham ham rather than the thin, dry-cured meat I was hoping for. It’s always a little sad when you don’t get what you think you’re going to get but the sandwich was, never the less, good, and I really enjoyed the thick-sliced, crusty bread as well as the coarse-grain mustard and the sweet cippolini.

The potato chips were also tasty–very thick and crunchy like chips should be!

The service at LAMill is average at best (indifferent at worst) but, given the atmosphere and extensive number of caffeinated offerings, isn’t a dealbreaker for me.

I think one variation of a perfect day for me would involve spending all day at LAMill with my laptop, camera and a book, eating and sipping my way throughout the day. On second thought, maybe I should be sick more often.

LAMill Coffee Boutique

www.lamillcoffee.com

1636 Silverlake Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90026

(323) 663-4441

Being Sick Could Only Mean: Langer’s

I don’t know what I used to eat when I was sick before I knew about Jewish food. Now, thanks to J, it’s my go-to at the first sign of a sore throat or the sniffles. The food is so warm, hearty and carb-a-licious that, even if I still feel like crap when I’m done with my meal, at least I’m a little happier. And so, today, it was Langer’s to the rescue!

Langer’s, located in Westlake, is famed for its menu’s #19–the pastrami sandwich that many claim is the best pastrami sandwich in the US. I, however, have only braved the crowded, busy streets of Alvarado in the fog of a headcold or amidst a flu-induced coughing fit (which, given the pretty shady area, is maybe not the best idea but c’est la vie) and have never actually tried this famed sandwich. The fact that they close at 4 PM every day also has something to do with this…

In the 1920s, Westlake had a primarily Jewish population and was the LA equivalent of New York’s Upper East Side. Upon stepping into Langer’s, you certainly get a blast from the Westlake past and completely forget that you’re in the middle of a busy, urban area.

The interior definitely has the diner/deli kitsch factor going with its counters, quilted booths and more shades of brown and orange than you knew existed.

I ordered my standard “I’m sick and in need of comfort meal”: Matzoh ball soup, potato knishes and kasha varnishkes. For you goys out there like me, knishes are a snack food made of dough wrapped around a filling (in my case, potato) and kasha varnishkes is bowtie pasta cooked with buckwheat and onions.

I don’t know what to say about kasha varnishkes other than that it’s delicious and absolutely perfect when you’re sick (or any time, really). Some places serve it with gravy, but I really like getting the flavor of the onions and buckwheat in every bite and being able to feel the difference in texture between the buckwheat and the pasta.

I hate 99.9% of soups. I just don’t understand it. It’s not filling, but it’s not light, and I get bored of eating it. I do, however, love matzoh ball soup, and Langer’s is delicious. The matzoh ball is soft but not so soft that it falls apart when you dig in with your spoon. The broth was also flavorful and was really soothing on my throat.

I’ve eaten more than a few knishes in my days, but I’ve never seen ones like this! They were practically the size of baseballs! These were really yummy, but the outer layer of dough was a little thicker than I’d have liked and, after a while, I scooped out the potato from the middle and ate that with ketchup.

This huge amount of food all came out to about $17–not too shabby–and I still have leftovers. In fact, I’m going to go eat some kasha varnishke right now.

Langer’s

www.langersdeli.com

704 S. Alvarado St.

Los Angeles, CA, 90057

(213) 483-8050

My Nommy Valentine: Bottega Louie and In-N-Out

Last year, for my first coupled Valentine’s Day, I freely admit that I was a huge Valentine’s-Day-zilla. I wanted a box of pink and red V-day themed Sprinkles cupcakes, a leisurely brunch, gifts, flowers, homemade dinner–the works. I also may or may not have cried a little when I didn’t get a few of the above-mentioned things.

In any case, that was last year. I’ve since mellowed and, this year, really just wanted to spend a low-key day with J, celebrating two of the things I love most–him and food! I was bummed about having to work from 8:30-5, but this homemade acai bowl (my favorite breakfast!) and Valentine’s Day card got my morning off to the right start. (As a side note, the “Kitty” on the card is a reference to my obsession with Hello Kitty).

Right at 5 PM, J and I kicked off the Valentine’s Day festivities with a trip to the wonderfully New York-esque Bottega Louie downtown.

Bottega Louie was fully decked out for Valentine’s Day, and I was loving the pink that was everywhere in the restaurant!

Even their delicious French macarons were made especially for the day.

I’m not 100% on what these are but goshdarnit they’re cute.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen any prettier chocolate covered strawberries!

Took home some Valentine’s Day-themed sweets of my own thanks to my sweetie.

Now, normally, I’d say that $3.50 is a little steep for a chocolate covered strawberry but 1) I made sure to pick the biggest one in the display case to make it worth it and 2) it was not only the prettiest but also the best-tasting chocolate covered strawberry I have ever eaten. The strawberry was fresh and sweet, and the chocolate was top notch.

I just love Bottega Louie’s French macarons. They have a wonderful, light flavor, and the cookies are so delicate that they practically melt in your mouth. These flavors are raspberry, raspberry cream, vanilla, rose and strawberry.

Let’s be honest: who doesn’t love In-N-Out? When it comes to delicious burgers that give you a bang for your buck, In-N-Out is second to none. I usually order a #2–with an animal style cheeseburger, animal style fries and a strawberry milkshake (talk about a calorie splurge…).

In light of the strawberry and macarons in the car, however, I decided to get regular fries and stick with a Diet Coke. Definitely was NOT willing to forego the animal style cheeseburger.

Afterwards, we headed to the Egyptian Theater for a screening of Casablanca to see it in gorgeous 35 mm–the way these films were intended to be viewed. They had an incredible print, and the theater was packed with other cinephiles who clapped, laughed and cried together. I strongly suggest checking out their screening list and paying the Egyptian or the Aero in Santa Monica a visit.

What a lovely, lovely (tantrum-free) day. I can’t imagine a better Valentine’s Day with a better Valentine!

Bottega Louie

www.bottegalouie.com

700 S. Grand Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90017

(213) 802-1470

In-N-Out

www.in-n-out.com

7009 Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90028

LA Street Food Festival: The Bad

Yesterday’s post was LA Street Food Festival: The Good, and there was a lot of it. Today, The Bad and, well, there was a lot of that too.

The Entrance Line:

Be on-time and up-front with us

Let’s begin with the line to get in. This was a madhouse. Short of using another venue, I don’t know what could have been done about the fact that the line had to wind down the block, through a parking lot and back out onto the street. Fine. Whatever.

I do know that if I show up 20 minutes before an event starts, I sure as hell don’t want to wait 90 minutes in the sun to get in…forty minutes after the event was supposed to start. I’m not sure if they let in VIP ticketholders first and let them have first dibs on the food trucks but, if they did, hey, great–they’re paying $25 more than I am. I just would have appreciated being told that VIPs were going to be let in at 11, and I was going to be let in starting at 11:30. I’m pretty sure other people agreed because, at around 11:20, people in line started abandoning ship.

The Tickets:

PRE-SELL, PRE-SELL, PRE-SELL!!!!

It was really smart to sell VIP tickets ahead of time, but they should have done the same for the $5 general admission tickets as well. This would have not only allowed those putting on the event to have an idea of how many people were coming but would have also sped up the entry process. There could have even been two lines–one for people with tickets and one for those purchasing at the door.

The VIP Tickets:

All I get is a bathroom and a gift bag?

The $30 VIP tickets gave you:

“access to above street-level VIP patio with a bird’s eye view of the fest, goodie bag, exclusive bites not available to general admission attendees, private bar, access to indoor restrooms and more”

So, you’re paying $30 for a place to sit down, pee (or is this the same thing as a place to sit down?), a bag with BBQ sauce in it and a dim sum sample? Color me unimpressed. I decided that this wasn’t worth it when I realized that, after paying $30, I’d STILL have to pay for all of the food I wanted.

The LA Street Food Fest should have take a page out of the book of the Big Apple BBQ Festival and pre-sold different levels of fast passes, which grant you access to a separate line and food credits to use at different vendors. For example, paying $100 for a BBQ festival (or street food festival) might seem like a heavy chunk of change, but, when you consider the lines you’re by-passing and the food credits you’re given, it might be worth it.

The Venue:

Way too small and congested

I think that the LA Street Food Fest team sorely underestimated how much Angelenos love them their food trucks. LA Center Studios had a big space but definitely not big enough.

This part of the festival had trucks lined up facing one another in a pretty narrow area. Add people in lines for food and people trying to get to beer for a “suggested donation,” and you have a disaster. This was really poorly planned and was next to impossible to get through as the day wore on.

The Lines and Crowd:

Wait, they’re still letting people in??

When Josh, Aaron and I left J in the LudoBites Line to go get Get Shaved, the place was, overall, pretty crowded. When we came back, however, it was unbelievable how many people were there and how significantly all of the lines had grown. Probably around the 90 minute mark in the LudoBites line (where we had a good view of the General Admission line), I thought, “They’re still letting people in?? Can’t they see how crowded it is?”

The number of new people let in throughout the day was disproportionate to the number leaving and the festival, essentially, became a huge clusterf*ck the later it got. There definitely needed to be a cap on the number of people admitted at some point because I really don’t think it was worth the time anyway if you were one of the people who got there later in the day.

Some of the clusterf*cked-ness, however, was because there were so many people…and no real lines. People had to snake all over the place wherever they could fit, and you couldn’t even tell which line went with what truck. There should have been cordoned off lines designated where you line up for which truck–like this, again at the Big Apple BBQ Festival:

Photo of Big Apple BBQ Festival from NTang

There also really, really, REALLY needed to be more places to sit down. My legs are pretty strong from lots of time spent with my Jillian Michaels workout DVDs, but even I was dead by the end of the day.

So, there you have it. My two cents. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what the LA Street Food Festival did right and did wrong. Who knows? Maybe we can help them out for next year…

LA Street Food Festival

Oh, LA Street Food Festival. I have waited so long for you. Today, over 30 trucks, street food vendors and local designers and artists gathered at LA Center Studios for one day of extreme gastro-nomming.

After the Haiti Food Truck debacle, J and I decided to get there sooner rather than later. The two of us plus my friend Josh and his buddy Aaron arrived at 10:45 (15 minutes before the scheduled opening) and found ourselves at the end of a line that weaved down the block and through a parking lot. I stopped complaining, though, when I saw how quickly the line behind us grew (and, boy, did it grow). The line started moving at about 11:30 (after people had already begun deserting), and we got in at about 11:40…starving and ready for some serious nomz.

Because none of us had eaten yet, our group went to Mama Koh’s Chicken first, which had almost no wait time.

The wings were really sweet and tasty. I didn’t know that such little bites could have such flavor.

Next up, The TastyMeat Truck. J has had his eye on them for a while, and we were all glad to see that they were here today. Inspired by the doner kebab, The TastyMeat Truck aims to please your inner carnivore.

The TastyMeat truck had some dishes that aren’t on their menu online. One of them was Feta Fries with tzatziki sauce. I wish that these had been topped with crumbled feta, but, none the less, I really enjoyed the tanginess of the sauces and loved these fries.

The TastyMeat truck, like most of the other trucks, changed its menu for the day to be more of a tasting/sampling menu. We ordered their “Just the Meat” dishes with beef/lamb and falafel. All four of us were impressed and would definitely like to try their wraps in the future.

Afterwards, J got into line for LudoBites from Chef Ludovic Lefebvre, who has previously set up pop-up restaurants at Royal-T and Breadbar. Angelenos love their LudoBites, and its line was already winding around the area.

J was clearly going to be there for a while, so Josh, Aaron and I decided to head elsewhere.

First up was the Sweets Truck. I was almost shocked by how many sweets they had! They were definitely not going to have a repeat of the Haiti Festival.

I decided to branch out from my standard red velvet and ordered a Banana Shooter. It was yummy, but a little thicker than I thought it was going to be. Thank goodness for the free water tent!

Josh wanted to try one of their Red Velvet Cookies and, judging by how quickly it was gone, he really enjoyed it.

Aaron and Josh then headed to Yum Yum Bowls for some Thai food.

I recommended the Panang Curry, which is impressively good and is definitely of restaurant quality. Luckily, isn’t too spicy because it was a really hot day.

By this point, we were all melting and decided to leave poor J behind and brave the crowd to visit the other side of the festival.

Nothing beats shaved ice on a hot day, and Get Shaved came to our rescue! In addition to their normal sizes, Get Shaved was offering shaved ice shooters for $1 and “UFO’s” for $2 but, hey, it was hot! I ordered a medium, and Josh got a large.

I branched out this time and tried the Melona flavor (ok, so maybe one new flavor out of three isn’t really “branching out”), which was awesome. I think this may replace Pog as one of my regular flavors…

The plan was to take them back to the LudoBites line, but mine didn’t quite make it that far. Woops.

Eek! Think we can make it back?

By the time we got back with our shaved ice, J was almost to the front of the LudoBites line…which was when we heard that it would be another hour wait after ordering to get the food. Apparently, two of their burners were out. OY. Some people bailed after hearing this, but, after waiting an hour and a half…was another hour really that much more?

LudoBites number in hand, the four of us then made our way to Uncle Lau’s BBQ, which used to be Chef on Wheels but is rebranding and revamping its menu. They didn’t have their signature shrimp scampi (which is second only to the famous Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, in my book) but were serving Pulled Pork, Brisket and Kal-bi Sliders on Hawaiian sweet bread.

The pulled pork slider topped with coleslaw was a pretty bland. I was not a fan. The kal-bi slider was topped with kimchi and had a delicious flavor, but the meat was way too tough. I hope that Uncle Lau’s can figure everything out soon because 1) I looove their shrimp and 2) because everyone who works there is really friendly.

And then, the moment we had been waiting for arrived. LUDOBITES! The truck was serving chicken fried into balls and flavored with rosemary. The chicken was incredibly tender, and the crust was sweet and flaky. The rosemary and the sweet and spicy dipping sauce added wonderful flavor. This was my favorite dish of the day (although maybe the ordeal to get it is influencing my decision).

I couldn’t pass up the chance to snap a pic with Chef Ludovic. When I told him that we’d waited for a total of about three hours, he apologized profusely and said, “These had better be worth it, then!” What a sweetheart!

I really wanted to try Fresser’s and The Grilled Cheese Truck, but those lines were completely out of hand. I also really wanted to try QZilla, which was serving its meats on Texas Toast. NOM. I guess those will have to wait til another day!

Having a group of four at the festival definitely worked in our favor. I don’t know what we would have done if we had to focus on one truck at a time. Well, actually, I do know; we would have spent a lot of time at LudoBites and not eaten as much as we did…

What a fun day with great friends and yummy food! Yes, it was a day full of waiting in lines, but this definitely didn’t detract from the experience since we we came prepared to wait. I’m still thinking about all the great things I ate today!

Mama Koh’s Chicken

www.twitter.com/mama_kohs_chkn

The TastyMeat Truck
www.twitter.com/tastymeat
www.tastymeat.org

The Sweets Truck
www.twitter.com/thesweetstruck
www.thesweetstruck.com

LudoBites
www.ludolefebvre.com/ludo-bites

Yum Yum Bowls
www.twitter.com/yumyumbowls
www.yumyumbowls.com

Get Shaved
www.twitter.com/getshaved
www.getshavedice.com

Uncle Lau’s BBQ
www.twitter.com/unclelausbbq
www.unclelausbbq.com

Mac & Cheeza

The LA blogs have been abuzz about the soft opening of Mac & Cheeza downtown. Announced this summer, Mac and Cheeza is the brainchild of the founders of Larkin’s Joint, a delicious little place in Eagle Rock that serves up contemporary soul food. Let’s see: Larkin’s owners, mac & cheese and downtown LA? I’m in!

Mac & Cheeza is reportedly looking to do most of its business in take-out and delivery, which makes sense when you see the layout. They’re located in a tiny space on 8th Street and have only two benches and a few small tables.

A “Baby Mac” (the only size they served at the soft opening) costs $5, a “Momma Mac” with one addition costs $10, a “Daddy Mac” with one addition costs $15 and, finally, there’s the “Mac Daddy” with one addition for $25. Extra additions are $1.

You begin by choosing your type of noodle (regular or rice) and your base (cheese or soy cheese).

Your choices of veggie add-ins are: collard greens, black olives, peas, jalapenos, green onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach.

Meat add-ins are: Ground beef, BBQ chicken, hot links, tuna, bacon, ham, chorizo and veggie sausage.

Finally, you have your choice of a topper: a cheese blend or spicy toasted walnuts.

The mac and cheese is made assembly line style. The noodles are first poured into the containers, then the cheese is ladled over the noodles. After that come the add-ins and the topper. The whole thing is then popped into a conveyer belt oven and then into your eager, waiting arms.

Mac & Cheeza also carries specialty sodas and desserts.

J ordered his with regular noodles, regular cheese, BBQ chicken and the cheese blend topper. The chicken was flavorful and tender, but the dish, overall, needed a little crunch. I think it could have benefitted from a second, vegetable add-in.

I ordered mine with regular noodles, regular cheese, bacon, collard greens, and the cheese blend topper. The bacon was nice and thick, and its crunch added a nice change in texture. The tang of the collard greens also provided a nice counterpoint to the cheese’s mellow flavor.

I wasn’t sure how great cheese ladled onto noodles was going to be, but I was really impressed by the flavor of the cheese. It was rich and creamy, and I was in mac and cheese heaven.

I couldn’t pass up dessert! I opted for the banana pudding with Nilla Wafers and fresh banana slices. It’s a very simple dessert (I mean, even I’ve made it) but a wonderfully scrumptious one. It’s an interesting choice, though, for a pre-made dessert that sits in a refrigerated case. It doesn’t take very long at all for the pudding to make the Nilla Wafers soggy, and this is definitely a dish that needs crispy wafers. At $6, it’s also a little pricy for what it is.

My only real complaint is that they weren’t particularly generous with the add-ins. Gimme my meat! I’m gonna give them the benefit of the doubt, though, and chalk this up to the fact that this was their soft open and that they were erring on the side of caution in light of the publicity they’d received (I mean, people were lined up 30 minutes before they opened).

I also hope that they bring in some sides and/or baked goodies such as corn bread like those they have at Larkin’s Joint. I don’t know if having just mac and cheese will cut it downtown, where there are so many great dining or snacking options.

I’m feeling a little under the weather and was disappointed that I couldn’t hit up the rest of ArtWalk (one of my favorite nights of the month), but Mac & Cheeza was the highlight of my sleepy, sore-throated day.

Mac and Cheeza
www.macandcheeza.com
223 W. 8th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 622-3782