I cannot believe how fast Sprinkles jumped on the retail bandwagon! New at Williams-Sonoma! And you even get the B.H. bakery "visual signature" cupcake decoration...I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. I cannot wait to test this out and compare against the real deal from the bakery. And if it lives up to standard, I will be very happy to know where to get a sprinkles fix given my upcoming departure from L.A. :(
On Friday night, my best friend and I ventured out of Silver Lake to try a restaurant by the name of KILLER SHRIMP [sweet logo,right?] 
I have never been so excited to try a new restaurant since my Dad visited L.A. last year and we went to A.O.C. (a meal I will never forget) We walked in, and I seriously was so excited I couldn't talk. The low-lying haunt in Studio City exudes the dark, seedy aura of a dive bar but with the lively decór of a 70's disco roller rink (yes, those are plastic beads hanging from the ceiling). They serve one thing for dinner: Shrimp. It's served Louisiana-style in a big bowl of cajun-spiced, buttery broth. A heap of crusty french bread in a paper-napkin lined metal colander arrives with the broth, along with some naked spaghetti noodles and a serving of white rice. Classy. And killer. In fact it's so good, you can only eat about 15 bites before you die. But not from the shrimp. From the let down that ensues when eating a dish you get sick of so fast [Side Note: there needs to be a phrase for that..."killer shrimped" perhaps. As in: "The pasta was good at first, but then the overpowering flavor of fennel killer shrimped it."]
Killer Shrimp promises a lot, and it does deliver—but only for about the first 10 minutes. Then it's over, and your taste buds are left, wanting, needing more. So we ordered a bottle of wine and asked for the dessert menu. We certainly weren't leaving this one-of-a-kind, killer environment just yet. And it's a good thing stayed, because the ginormous slice of chocolate cake with raspberry filling could never be killer shrimped.
Killer Shrimp, Ventura Blvd. & Colfax, Studio City, 818-508-1570
"Life itself is the proper binge.”
-Julia Child
Breakfast today was a decadent, sinfully delicious homemade cupcake. Ok, full disclosure: TWO decadent, sinfully delicious cupcakes: Chocolate with Cream Cheese Frosting and Vanilla with Vanilla Frosting, both with those multi-colored sprinkles that remind you of the third grade. I started to feel guilty about my sugary a.m. indulgence, and then I remembered the above statement by my heroine Julia Child.
I'll count the calories when I'm dead and catching up on all that sleep. Thanks for reminding me how to be proper Jules.
BTW, my favorite cupcakes in L.A. are at SPRINKLES
in Beverly Hills. I know this is old news, but their Red Velvets are to die for. If you know of rival bakeries, do tell. I'd love to do some taste testing...
Wednesdays are my favorite: Food & Wine Section day. This week's section was a particularly scrumptious one, LAT. If you don't have time to check out whole section, be sure to at least scan these gems.
“AN HERB WITH OUTRE GLAMOUR”
Experimenting with greens is high on my list right now. And Amy Scattergood, LA Times Staff writer, has convinced me to take my interest in this previously harmless (predominately nutritional) experimentation to a potentially dangerous level. I’ve never cooked a leafy green that involves warning signs and the suggestion to wear gloves. I relish the challenge: bring on the stinging nettles. [Click for full article]
“A TASTE OF THINGS TO COME”
There is something about the image of a conference of culinary wizards and gastronomic magicians that, in my mind, is likened to a particular scene in Roald Dahl’s The Witches: At a convention in a hotel in England, there is a little boy hiding out, praying not to be detected by his child-hating company of witches—whose world he has found himself given total access to. In Milan, I would also be hiding out, praying not to be detected, but by secret-guarding chefs, revealing their classified techniques and off the record innovations taking place among the most creative in the world of “molecular gastronomy.” [Click for full article]
"AT CAFE ROUGE, DINNER IS THE SHOW"
yuzu kosho: a paste of yuzu citrus zest, green chile and salt. YUM. Personal food critic fan moment: "Irene, I am jealous you have tried it, I can't wait to try to make it, and this review—of which was as brilliantly nuanced as the food it described—was one of your best!" Review Here
Normally I'm not such a negative nancy. But this morning was a special one. It's my best friend/roommates birthday, and in an early-morning moment of dedicated love, I woke up extra early to get breakfast treats—croissants and lattes—to celebrate her quarter century mark. My horrible singing forced her out of bed, and we headed to The Back Door Cafe in Silver Lake. I need to emphasize here, that Back Door is the ONLY traditional bakery/cafe in "East Silver Lake" (Cafe Tropical is a Cuban-inspired alternative, but it's farther from the reservoir epicenter) that is independently owned, making it the ONLY non-Starbucks option for the likes of coffee and early bird snacks within walking distance to the Silver Lake reservoir. This simple fact, in my opinion, is an utter tragedy.
You see, at the Back Door Cafe I imagine the mantra goes something like this: "We have no competition, (and we know our clientele has no viable alternative within walking distance) so we can suck at everything—service, cleanliness, you name it. And we can charge as much as we want!" Though the doors open at 7 am, at 7:40 am today—on my best friend's birthday—they didn't even have the freshly baked goods out of the oven yet. You're a bakery. Get it together. Get up earlier. And this wasn't a one time deal with the pastries. I'm in there getting coffee many mornings after walking my pup Beau around the lake, and rarely is there a stocked counter. LE disappoint.
I officially nominate the Back Door Cafe for The Worst Bakery in the world award. As soon as I win the lottery I'm going to open Cafe Front Door. Across the street. May my croissants, danishes and muffins be piping hot, ready to serve the minute the doors open. At 6:30 am. Consider yourself warned, BDC. Oh, and my employees will also a) know how to smile; b) get paid enough to want to do so.
Feel free to nominate your "Worst Bakery." Be sure to comment where and why!
By contributing writer the raven is dead
After a pretty disgusting chocolate and alcohol gorgefest in December, I'm for reals committing to eating more fresh vegetables this year. A lovely organic foods delivery service is making it all that much easier.
For $29 a week, Organic Express will deliver a box of super fresh seasonal organic vegetables and fruit to your home or office in the SF Bay or LA areas.
My roommate and I subscribed just last week, and in our first box, we got some gorgeous red chard, cauliflower, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, an acorn squash, oranges, grapefruits, and pretty little fingerling potatoes. It's all really fresh and pretty affordable, especially if you factor in the amount of time it normally takes to battle your way into the nightmare that is Trader Joe's on any given weeknight or some other horrendously overcrowded market filled with "organic" Mexican imports.
So, anyone know how to cook chard?
