In-N-Out: It’s What Valentine’s Day Dinner’s All About

Valentine’s Day dinner at In-N-Out is a long-standing tradition for me and Justin. We began the fuss-free tradition early in our relationship to ease the pressure that comes with the holiday and to spare ourselves from overpriced prix-fixe menus (we were in college, after all). We may be older now, but February 14th will always mean Animal Style cheeseburgers and celebrating our relationship in a low-key, quirky way that feels uniquely “us.”

Whether you’re coupled up or celebrating special friends and family, I wish you a happy Valentine’s Day full of love, laughs and delicious eats. 

For locations: www.in-n-out.com

Mid-Week InstaNom: Michael Voltaggio’s Monte Cristo Burger for Umami Burger

Here’s your mid-week InstaNom to help you over the hump:

File Michael Voltaggio’s Monte Cristo Burger for Umami Burger under “so wrong, it’s right.” The burger begins with Umami’s signature beef patty, which is topped with prosciutto, smothered with Gruyere fondue and then sandwiched between a custard-soaked, deep-fried bun. A generous dusting of powdered sugar and side of maple syrup top everything off. The gooey mix of sweet and savory totally hit the spot– especially when dipped in the accompanying syrup. I highly recommend splitting this bad boy with a friend (or three) unless your stomach has super strength.

The Monte Cristo burger is available at all Umami locations for a limited time. To ease your conscience about embracing gluttony with reckless abandon, $1 of every burger will be donated to the Los Angeles Mission, which helps homeless men, women and children. 

For locations: www.umami.com

A Picture Perfect Birthday Weekend

Over the weekend, I rang in my 25th birthday and celebrated the occasion the best way I know how: surrounded by delicious food and great friends.

My official birthday and party weren’t until Sunday, but my boyfriend wanted to make my big 2-5 an extra special one and planned a surprise “Birthday Adventure” for us on Saturday. The day kicked off with a map showing the location of and activity at each of our stops, but I was left to fill in the blanks. While I was embarrassed to correctly guess only one stop, I was also tickled by the idea of a whole day full of surprises.

For our first surprise stop, we headed downtown to Bread Lounge to fuel up. The new-ish bakery specializes European-style pastries such as croissants and focaccias and, of course, bread. Bread Lounge’s industrial-inspired décor may be sparse, but its menu offerings were anything but. Between the chockfull menu boards and the bountiful display case, we first time visitors needed a few moments to take everything in before narrowing down our options.

Eventually, I zeroed in on the Gringo, a pizza-like focaccia topped with two eggs, bacon, crumbled feta and cherry tomatoes, which was heated to order. Funnily enough, this focaccia was the very reason that Justin decided on Bread Lounge as our first stop. He knows me so well! Boasting a crispy yet pliable crust that rivals some of the best pizzas in the city and generous, hearty toppings, the Gringo was pretty much flawless. With bacon n’ eggs and a latte in our bellies (and a fruit pastry to-go), we set off for our next surprise stop.

Filling our apartment with fresh flowers is one of my absolute favorite indulgences and, for our second stop, we visited the Flower District to stock up.

How funny is this sign?



There’s no flower I love more than the soft, delicate and feminine pink peony and looking out on this sea of them made my heart flutter and nearly caused me to dance through the market Sound of Music-style.

Justin treated me to two bunches of peonies and some hydrangeas, and now they fill every room in our apartment. *Swoon*

My Birthday Adventure itinerary advised me to save room for our third stop, and, when we pulled up to Langer’s Deli, I was glad I listened. Opened in 1947, Langer’s has earned kudos for its pastrami from even the most die-hard New Yorkers and is a spot that I’ve always meant to try but, somehow, never have.

To start, I ordered a Vanilla Egg Cream, soda fountain throwback made with seltzer, milk and vanilla syrup, which was delightfully frothy and sweet.

Langer’s has served more than 4 million pounds of pastrami in its 65 years, and it’s safe to say that much of that was served as a #19, its most popular sandwich. In the #19, a mountain of hand-cut hot pastrami, coleslaw, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese are served on double baked rye bread. Justin and I both loved the tender pastrami and agreed that the crisp, double baked bread was Langer’s secret weapon in the battle for pastrami sandwich domination.

After spending all morning with the human love of my life, I turned my attention to my four-legged one. When Justin and I adopted our dog Mona about two and a half years ago, we noticed that the intake date on her shelter paperwork was coincidentally the same date as my birthday. I took this as a sign that she and I were always meant to be and decided to celebrate her “birthday” on the same day as mine. To celebrate Mona’s special day, we took her to Three Dog Bakery for a doggie sundae and some “pupcakes.” Mona enjoyed herself so much that she got downright stubborn when it came time to leave.

Later, armed only with a suggested dress code and our reservation time, I hopped in the car and we set off for dinner, stopping finally at chef Michael Voltaggio’s ink…but more on that here.

Perhaps my favorite surprise of the entire lovely day was my birthday cake, which was carefully selected by Justin and drew an audible gasp from me when we picked it up from Valerie Confections. Appropriately pink and girly, the Rose Petal Cake was made with vanilla bean cake, rose petal passion fruit ganache, covered in white chocolate glaze and finished with candied rose petals. If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know my obsession with both rose and passion fruit, and I’m hard-pressed to come up with any cake more perfect for the occasion.

On Sunday, I practically had to roll myself out of bed for my party at Sunny Spot…

…but of course found room for a Bottomless Rum Punch and a Two-Fisted Burger…with a fried egg (previously written about here).

As the weekend drew to a close and I headed into the office, I thought my days of birthday gluttony were behind me, but my amazing co-workers had other ideas and ordered a special delivery from Donut Snob (previously written about here).

Where to begin?!

Thank you to my friends and family for celebrating with me and for making my 25th birthday truly the most wonderful one yet. Thank you especially to Justin for planning one of the best days I’ve ever had and to Mona for being your adorable, wiggle-butt self.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some research on juice cleanses to do.

Bread Lounge
www.twitter.com/breadlounge
700 S. Santa Fe Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 327-0782

Langer’s
www.langersdeli.com
704 S. Alvarado St.
Los Angeles, CA 90057
(213) 483-8050


Valerie Confections
www.valerieconfections.com
3360 W. 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(213) 739-8149


ink
www.mvink.com
8360 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(323) 655-7225

Sunny Spot
www.sunnyspotvenice.com
822 Washington Blvd.
Venice, CA 90292
(310) 448-8884

Donut Snob
www.thedonutsnob.com
www.twitter.com/DonutSnob

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The Amanda Foundation
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Recipe: Sweet Barbecue Kim-Cheese Burgers

Sweet Barbecue Kim-Cheese Burger 

pictured w/ fresh grilled corn

When it comes to Memorial Day weekend, firing up your grill for a BBQ is practically a requirement. Instead of defaulting to a standard, uninspired burger recipe, impress your guests with this Sweet Barbecue Kim-Cheese Burger (from Serious Eats’ seriously awesome J. Kenji Lopez-Alt), which is one of my favorite homemade meals in recent memory. The savory bulgogi flavors combine perfectly with the tang of the crunchy pickled vegetables and heat of the juicy kimchi, and the American cheese adds just the right amount wrong. It’s In-N-Out meets KBBQ, and what could be more patriotic than celebrating with this cultural melting pot of flavors? A delicious, delicious melting pot…

I’ve also included some notes in case you don’t have a grill or prefer to cook these in a pan.

Ingredients:

Burger:

1 small cucumber, seeds removed, cut into thin matchsticks (about 1 cup)
1 small carrot, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks (about 1 cup)
     *Note: Matchsticks can be cut by hand or mandoline. You can also grate the cucumber and carrot on the large holes of a box grater
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
18 ounces freshly-ground chuck
1/2 cup store-bought bulgogi sauce (I opted for an MSG-free one I found at an Asian market) or 1 full recipe Bulgogi-Style Marinade (see below)
4 slices American cheese
4 burger buns (I used King’s Hawaiian Buns for added sweetness)
1/2 cup chopped kimchi
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

Bulgogi-Style Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons gochujang (I use this brand)
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon crushed ginger root
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 green onions, minced

*Mix all ingredients.

To Make:

*Combine cucumber, carrot, 1 teaspoon salt, sugar and vinegar in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.

*Divide meat into four even piles and shape into burger patties about 1/2 inch wider than burger buns. Season liberally with salt and pepper and set aside.

*Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over half of coal grate. Alternatively, set half the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to pre-heat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.

*Place burgers directly over hot side of grill and cook until well-charred, about 2 minutes. Flip patties and brush with sauce. Cook on second side until well-charred, about 2 minutes longer, brushing with sauce occasionally. Flip burgers again, transfer to cooler side of grill, brush with more sauce and continue to cook, continuing to brush with sauce occasionally, until patty registers 125° F to 130° F on an instant-read thermometer for medium rare, about 5 minutes total, or 135°F to 140° F for medium, about 6 minutes total. Top each burger patty with 1 slice cheese, then transfer to a large plate and tent with aluminum foil.
     -Note: If you don’t have a grill, you can also cook these in a pan. A good guide can be found here.

*Toast buns directly over hot side of grill until browned, about 30 seconds.
     -Note: If you’re using a pan for this recipe, just pop the burger buns in a toaster oven.

*Place bottom buns on a cutting board and top with burger patties. Top each burger with chopped kimchi, carrots, cucumber, and scallions. Close burgers and serve!

Yield: Serves 4
Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Now take a look at these “Ten Tips for Making Better Burgers” and get grilling! Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend.

Holstein’s Shakes and Buns (Las Vegas)

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…unless you bring home a few extra pounds and a slightly squishier mid-section.

Earlier this month, my boyfriend and I spent a weekend in Las Vegas to celebrate our anniversary (our fifth, for anyone interested). We much prefer sitting on our couch to being in da club but tailored our weekend itinerary to our food-centric tastes, opting to forgo usual Sin City trappings. We may not be partiers, but we are certainly eaters. 

For our inaugural vacation meal, we visited Holstein’s Shakes and Buns at The Cosmopolitan.

Bursting with graffiti and cheeky cartoon cows, Holstein’s perfectly complements the Cosmopolitan’s playful vibe. The restaurant sits near the Marquee Nightclub, the Cosmo’s big moneymaker (and subject of this simultaneously amusing and appalling GQ article), which makes for sublime people-watching (OK, judging).

Our meal began with a pail of complimentary popcorn. Our server described it as salt and vinegar popcorn, but the freshly popped kernels tasted decidedly like lime to us. Either way, we enjoyed munching on it while we waited for our dinner.

The Truffle Lobster Mac n’ Cheese ($16.50) seemed like a no-brainer but was ultimately underwhelming. With pasta firmer than al dente, a wimpy amount of lobster, and a taleggio-mascarpone sauce that fell short of our creamy and cheesy expectations, this dish left us reaching for more of the popcorn.

Holstein’s offers sixteen unique “Big Buns” options, running the gamut from a vegan burger to a decadent foie-gras topped one.

For my entree, I ordered the Gold Standard ($17.50), a dry-aged sirloin burger topped with smoked bacon, aged goat cheddar cheese, tomato confit, baby arugula and garlic-chive aioli and added a fried egg for $1.00. The burger combined classic flavors with elevated fixings, and the fried egg added both a richness and textural element. This hit the spot. 

Justin fared less well with his Nom Nom Burger ($16.50), a combination of a Kobe beef patty, cheddar cheese, potato chips and Thousand Island dressing. In theory, the burger is a funky hybrid of high and low class, but, in practice, the flavors were rather one-note, and the patty overcooked. 

For dessert, we split a “Bam-Boozled” Tiramisu Shake– emphasis on “booze.” The shake featured blended mascarpone ice cream, ladyfinger crumbs, and Patron XO Cafe Dark as well as whipped cream, cocoa powder and espresso bean toppings. The milkshake was perfectly enjoyable but ultimately unremarkable. 

At the end of our meal at Holstein’s, Justin and I were happy to have food in our bellies after a long drive and pleased to check it off our list but considered it a warm-up for better eats to come.

*FYI: Check in on FourSquare to receive a free beer. You know, in case you’ve struck out at the casino downstairs. 

Holstein’s Shakes and Buns
www.holsteinslv.com
The Cosmopolitan Hotel, Level 2
3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 698-7940