Most Kick Ass Thing I Ate Last Week: Red Velvet Ding Dong (Essential Chocolate Desserts)

Week Of: 9/17/12 - 9/23/12

Restaurant: Essential Chocolate Desserts 

Address: 10868 W. Washington Blvd, Culver City (MAP)

The Kick Ass Thing: Red Velvet "Ding Dong"

Price: $5

Thoughts: You've probably enjoyed Essential Chocolate Desserts before without even knowing it - the Culver City bakery supplies many of the city's best coffee shops with their pastries and muffins. That doesn't mean it's not worth making a visit to their Washington Blvd. headquarters though. Packed to the brim with a wondrous array of chocolate truffles, cookies, cakes and Lappert's ice cream, you really cannot go wrong. You can, however, go totally, totally right with their Red Velvet "Ding Dong." It's an indulgent massive square brick of red velvet cake and vanilla buttercream, surrounded by a thick-ish layer of housemade dark chocolate. With the buttercream and dark chocolate it offers touches of adulthood, but let's be honest, it's your childhood all over again - minus braces and puberty. So... screw Hostess, for Ding Dongs go to ECD because it's the Best-ess... ((That sounded good in my head.))

Awesome: Hawaiian ice cream company Lappert's makes a special Red Velvet flavor just for ECD using their own red velvet cake. 

Annoying: A rich man's dilemma: maybe TOO MANY choices, so just go Ding Dong.

Photo Courtesy Essential Chocolate Desserts

Save 10% On The 4th Annual Taste Of Italy

The friendly people at the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles passed on this discount for all Unemployed Eater readers: 10% your entire online order for their upcoming 4th Annual Taste of Italy event. The event, which will feature some top notch Italian-American cuisine and wine from the likes of Osteria Drago, Locanda Del Lago, Il Grano and Nonna's Kitchenette (fresh from this season of "The Great Food Truck Race"), amongst many others, will take place on Saturday October 13th in Downtown LA. Also on the docket: appearances by Italy's top reggae band, an opera company, a virtuousa, and even Richard Grieco -  which, let's be honest, may be worth the price of admission by himself. Proceeds benefit the restoration and exhibit upkeep of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, (the former) Little Italy's longest surviving building.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit their website. The code for the discount: ITAL10.

Fresh Corn Grill Coming To Santa Monica... Somewhere

Fresh Corn Grill, fast casual purveyors of grilled veggies and meat salads, bowls, entrees and sandwiches, and a personal UE lunch favorite (Fresh Corn Vegetable Bowl w/ Asian BBQ Grilled Salmon ftw!), is expanding to Santa Monica. The exact location has not been nailed down yet, but a FCG rep says they are aiming for something near the SM/Brentwood border. 

This will be FCG's third location following the Westwood and West Hollywood establishments.

Most Kick Ass Thing I Ate Last Week - Spiced Chipotle Chicken Flatbread (Westside Tavern)

Week Of: 9/10/12 - 9/16/12

Restaurant: Westside Tavern 

Address: 10850 W. Pico Blvd, LA/Westside Pavilion (MAP)

The Kick Ass Thing: Spiced Chipotle Chicken Flatbread

Price: $14

Thoughts: Anyone who has ever read U.E. before knows I'm basically obsessed with Westside Tavern [Here's 5 Questions With Former Chef and Manager Partner, Warren Schwartz]. It's just a really solid spot. Sure, over the past few years LA has seen an influx in similar styled gastropubs, but I still find myself eating more at Westside Tavern than any other sit-down restaurant. I love the Chicken Club and their rotating soup menu, they make one of the city's best Caesar salads, occasionally feature some incredible steak sandwiches as their daily special and always offer intriguing beers on tap. My recent obsession however has shifted away from the sandwiches to the flatbreads. On my most recent visit I actually was mere seconds away from ordering one flatbread when the bartender (I always try to sit at the bar as the WT staff are incredibly genial) informed me there was a new addition to the menu - Spiced Chipotle Chicken. I am glad she did - because it was rather delicious. A tasty combination of chipotle-spiced rubbed chicken, smoked mozzarella, roasted red peppers, red onion and cilantro (along with a little green onion) atop their usual thick-cracker, yet chewy crust? Yes, please, may I have another? 

Awesome: On all their flatbreads Westside Tavern covers the crusts with cheese to the very edge. Obviously simply a minor choice in the kitchen, but this leads to a cheesy carmelization every couple bites that enables the WT flatbread to transcend most of the competition. 

Annoying: It is both a blessing and a curse that the restaurant is located adjacent to The Landmark movie theatres. We were incredibly lucky to only have to wait ten minutes for a spot at the bar on the first Saturday night of "The Master." Prepare accordingly. 

Pop-up: Maestro Sausage Sandwiches Available For The First Time In 38 Years

I guess pop-ups aren't just for the nouveau anymore. Maestro Sausage Company, an LA fine Italian sausage institution since forever, will offer their own sausage sandwiches for the first time in 38 years at the upcoming LA Beer Week. Led by Executive Chef Andres Moya of South Pasadena's Griffins of Kinsale and The Foundry Chef Josh McKnight, the one day pop-up will feature three Maestro special sausage sandwiches (menu below).

Founded by Domenico "Maestro" Pontrelli, MSC originated in the Eastside Market Italian Deli in the roaring '20s, but eventually left the Market (and sandwiches) in 1974 to pursue manufacturing possibilities. Now headquartered in Vernon, Maestro sausages today can be found at many of LA's top Italian grocers (Bay Cities, Sorrento Italian Market, Eagle Rock Italian Bakery) and fine Italian and pizza joints (Vito's, Bottega Louie), amongst many other locations.

Truth be told: the sausage is darn delicious and the perfect compliment to all the beer you're going to consume. Don't trust my word? Take this dude's. Besides, all sausage sandwich proceeds benefit charity! You're eating sausage and getting credit for philanthropy!

Here are the details:

Maestro Sausage Pop-up

          Executive Chef Andres Moya (Griffins of Kinsale)
          Chef Josh McKnight (The Foundry)

Sunday, September 30, 2012
12:00 - 4:00 PM
4^th Annual LA beer Week Festival
Union Station, Downtown Los Angeles
All sausage sandwiches will be $5

All proceeds to benefit the Real Medicine Foundation.

To purchase discounted pre-sale tickets to LA Beer Week, go here.

Most Kick Ass Thing I Ate Last Week - Slow-Cooked Turkey Breast Sandwich (Fundamental LA)

Week Of: 9/3/12 - 9/9/12

Restaurant: Fundamental LA.

Address: 1303 Westwood Blvd, LA/Westwood.

The Kick Ass Thing: The Slow-Cooked Turkey Breast Sandwich

Price: $10 (for sandwich) plus $1 (side salad)

Thoughts: I adore Fundamental LA's Chicken Torta, but this visit I really wanted to try something new. However, I wasn't felling adventurous enough to tackle the Pork Belly Banh Mi or the Braised Short Rib sandwich, so I sort of nonchalantly ordered the Turkey without thinking too much of it. And since I never enjoy sandwiches on healthy-ish bread, I requested they put it on brioche instead of the normal 12-grain (honestly, one grain is TOO MANY for me). Little did I know that I was about to experience the best turkey sandwich of 2012. What's not to like? Thick, fresh turkey breast slabs with apricot jalapeno jam, lemon aioli and just enough arugula. If you've read U.E. in the past, you know I'm constantly on a search in LA for homemade turkey sandwiches. I am so sick of Boar's Head at this point and Fundamental's sandwich personifies the difference in-house turkey makes. Oozing with flavor, the turkey is perfectly complimented by the stellar jam. Definitely returning ASAP.

Awesome: For an extra dollar you can get housemade chips or a side salad. I usually opt for the side salad, a solid mix of Mesclun greens and parmesan cheese with a mustard vinaigrette. 

Annoying: As you can see above, I just could not get this picture right. I took it dozens of times and (if you can believe it) this is the least blurry copy. 

Dude Traveling Country With Only Bacon As Currency

Photo Courtesy BaconBarter.com

Ala Groupon a few years back, Oscar Mayer is sending a man cross-country with only one item and this time it's... BACON. Yeah, a dude is driving from New York to L.A. with no cash, no credit cards, no gold. All the Bacon Barter, Josh Sankey, has to make it from the Empire to the Golden State is a trailer full of Oscar Mayer's new Butcher Thick Cut Bacon bricks. Although Josh looks nothing like him, all I can picture is John Goodman's Walter character from "Big Lebowski." This seems very much like a Walter-thing. And it may be amazing. Or it may be the very en vouge bacon's Jump the Shark moment. Either way, it is intriguing. And making me hungry.  

For more information about the Bacon Barter and to see how you can help (and acquire some bacon bricks), check out the site or follow him on Twitter at @BaconBarter. 

Schulzie's "Bread Pudding Parlor" on Lincoln to Open In "Next Several Months"

At Sunday's THE TASTE Flavors of L.A. event I had the distinguished pleasure of meeting Sarah Schulz, the mastermind behind Schulzie's, purveyors of 108 different flavors and some of the city's best bread pudding. Sarah is exactly what you want the owner of a bread pudding-only shop to be like: energetic, bubbly and above all, freaking excited about spreading the bread pudding gospel.

As a fellow bread pudding admirer myself, I decided to ask her about the long-gestating second location of Schulzie's on Lincoln Blvd. in Venice, adjacent to Wurstkuche. With signage up for a while, it did not appear any progress had been made. I was wrong - as the renderings above and below attest. Sarah informs me the new "bread pudding parlor" will open "hopefully in the next several months," and will serve 20 warm and chilled puddings daily (compared to just chilled at the original location on the nearby Venice Strand). It will also feature an old school soda fountain slinging homemade sodas and full coffee service using the highly-lauded Blue Bottle Coffee.

Also of note: a San Francisco (Hayes Valley) Schulzie's starts construction in the next few weeks and will be very similar to and open around the same time as the Lincoln Blvd. location.

Now, all this typing about bread pudding makes me want bread pudding, so someone get me some bread pudding!

-------------------

Schulzie's 

701 Lincoln Blvd, Venice.

Most Kick Ass Thing I Ate Last Week - Beer & Bacon Caramel Corn (Next Door By Josie)

Photo Courtesy of Next Door By Josie

Week Of: 8/26/12 - 9/2/12

Restaurant: Next Door By Josie

Address: 2420 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica

The Kick Ass Thing: Beer & Bacon Caramel Corn

Price: $5

Thoughts: Like its adjacent sister restaurant, Next Door By Josie quickly established itself as a Santa Monica neighborhood staple. And the staple's menu staple? Definitely the Beer & Bacon Caramel Corn, the ultimate man snack. Crunchy, hoppy, salty, bacon-y, sweet-y.

Awesome: Great always - while watching a football game, while waiting for dinner, as a dessert...

Annoying: Next Door by Josie offers a solid Happy Hour drink menu with some good deals, but most of the food remains the same price, including the Beer & Bacon Caramel Corn. What is this, China? At least take off a dollar or so!

The Six Best Things I Ate at The Taste 2012's Flavors of L.A.

Like Disneyland for foodies, LA food festivals offer a dizzying sampling array of some of LA's top eats and a bounty of alcoholic options to wash it all down. This past weekend's Los Angeles Times The Taste fest was no different. Three days of endless eating and imbibing, with some star chef appearances (some dude named Thomas Keller?) thrown into the mix, and you can safely say the 2012 Labor Day Weekend event lived up to the hype.

But, like with most greats, there was a best-est of the best. In fact, in a day of endless face stuffing, six favorite foodstuffs from Sunday's "Flavors of L.A." event co-hosted by Jonathan Gold and Evan Kleiman rised above the rest...

Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake (Valerie Confections) - Valerie Confections may have grabbed a lot of attention at the event for their reincarnation of The Brown Derby's Grapefruit Cake, but in my mind it was their take on another restaurant of yore's dessert that really shone. Approached last year by the LA Times to recreate the famous cake from the former Northern and Southern California stalwart restaurant, Valerie nailed it with a wonderful sponge cake layered with a light coffee whipped cream frosting and topped with "bits of crunch." Makes me want to try all the Silverlake bakery's classic cakes. 

Unagi Causa Roll (Mo-Chica) - It comes as absolutely no surprise whatsoever that Chef Ricardo Zarate's eel and mashed potato roll was one of my favorites. You would be hard pressed to find anything the chef puts out at either of his restaurants that Los Angelenos do not absolutely adore - and this apparently extends into his food fest appearances.

Smoky Fried Chicken (Plan Check) - I have yet to make it to Sawtelle to sample Plan Check's fare, so I was pleasantly surprised to find them featured at Flavors of L.A. I found myself even more pleased when I bit into this delicious fried chicken - fried Jidori chicken, smoked milk gravy, yam preserves and a spicy pickled okra. Really as solid of a fried chicken plate as I've had in a long while - and even more impressive when served in bulk at a major event like this.

Al Pastor Taco (Border Grill Truck) - As a frequent customer at the Border Grill Truck in Venice, recently I've been concerned with a slow, yet steady decline in quality. Nothing alarming, just a subtle difference in taste amongst the tacos and quesadillas. Not so at Flavors of L.A. With the Border Girls on hand (Mary Sue truck-side chatting up festival goers, Susan doing a nearby cooking demo), the Al Pastor Taco was incredibly delicious, packed with flavor. Here's to hoping the roasted pork and chicken, pineapple salsa and pickled red onion tacos find their way to The Brig parking lot soon.

Millie Vanillie Bean Bread Pudding (Schulzie's Bread Pudding) - I freaking love bread pudding. I'd honestly kill my first-born if he somehow got in the way of my bread pudding consumption. Schulzie's Venice shop offers a crazy 108 varieties! A dozen or so of them were available on Sunday and of all the flavors I tried, the vanilla bean (with a little caramel sauce atop) was the best and will certainly get me to take a walk down to the Venice strand to try again very, very soon.

Fresh Artichoke Souffle (Sam's By The Beach) - Sam's was one of the more finer dining options at the fest and their Artichoke Souffle with a Roquefort cheese and chive sauce was incredibly indulgent. Although probably a bit too rich for an outdoor food festival (85 degrees plus), the souffle was simply too good not to point out.