We stopped at the Madonna Inn in Morro bay even though we were still full from the BBQ. Really, I never eat there anyway. The coffee shop isn’t very good at the Madonna Inn. The only thing I ever remember eating there was chicken salad. I’ll put it this way…it would be a nice place to take your grandmother. There is a very high blue-hair ratio there. There are only two reasons to stop at the Madonna Inn:
1. Freakishly huge pastries
2. To blow people’s minds
On our last morning My husband Bob and I went to check out Nitt Witt Ridge, one of those places like the Watts Towers where an enterprising free spirit takes a pile of glass and shells and with a little cement, makes a home. It was something to see, but we were 2 hours early for the tour, so we didn’t see much of it. On the way down the hill, we met a disheartened couple who thought that maybe there was nothing on Nitt Witt Ridge…as in, “Haha, you’re the nitwit for climbing the hill! Gotcha!” We assured them it wasn’t just a practical joke.
Back in Cambria, we went into a little used bookstore. The prices were outrageous. I figured if the owner was that picky, she was the person to ask for restaurant recommendations. She recommended the Main Street Grill, which sounded kind of corporate. From the facade, the building looked kind of corporate.
But on the patio was a humongous Santa Maria-style wood-burning BBQ pit. It was the biggest Santa maria BBQ I have ever seen. Even bigger than the ones I’ve seen pulled by trucks. It was covered with slab after slab of ribs. The patio itself was flush with bikers…always a good sign at a BBQ.
Cambria Pines Lodge is a beautifully landscaped wedding factory. One of those places that just churn them out, three a day. Instead of the weddings being disruptive, they were kind of fun to watch from afar, because some people were dressed like cowboys or wore top hats like Abe Lincoln. One couple inexplicably had hand puppets. And kind of creepy hand puppets at that.
before we even knew it as “blogging” we were sharing our travels on www.roadfood.com Here is an oldie from 2006:
We drove up the central coast of California last weekend to celebrate my mother’s birthday in Cambria, a little resort town between Morro Bay and Big Sur. It’s a beautiful drive, with tantalizing glimpses of the Pacific Ocean, and giant rocks that look like petrified dinosour bones. The trip is mostly through Sycamore trees, with tufts of yellow grass and Pampas growning inbetween. When passing through a city, everything turns to Oleander. Occasionally you are graced by a sweeping panorama of ocean, and on this trip I spotted a whale and a school of dolphins. It must already be time for migration.
Just like an anniversary or a partner’s birthday, Mother’s day can sneak up on you. But you aren’t doomed to just buying a sad bouquet on the freeway offramp. Kiki is here to help with some ways to give your mother what she really wants — your time.
FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2011 6:30pm-11:00pm
“A NEW DAY” art exhibit to benefit Japan
Artist Alevé Mei Loh organized this group exhibit for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief. Admission is free and paintings start at $100. Curated by Henry Lien, Owner/Director Glass Garage Gallery, the exhibit features works from over 30 artists. Lien describes the show thusly, “This exhibition is ultimately a portrait of the impulse in art to find meaning and renewal in loss,” So take your mother out for a genteel evening of VeeV Acai Spirits, wine, and fine art while helping all of the mothers in Japan. Bellrock Media, Inc. 2917 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
(Pictured) Jon Measures “Rejuvenation 1” 2011. Mixed Media on Board.
Over the winter the Tourist Board of Toronto hosted a dinner at Highlands Hollywood with Toronto Chef, Guy Rubino. Rubino is co-host of Food Network Canada’s “Made to Order.” The purpose of the dinner was to promote Toronto’s “luxury hotel boom”, and new “cultural developments”. You don’t have to sell me on Toronto. As regular readers know, I am already a big fan. I am also a big fan of their Westin.
I was curious to try some more Toronto haute cuisine and see this this chef’s spin on fusion with ingredients like choke cherries and saskatoons. Since it was also a wine tasting I brought along my friend Lyssa to be my expert in that field.
Cheese Sex is a voluptuous, buttery cheese spread with a sudden sharpness and smooth finish. Its discovery by local cheese aficianados lies in a sourcing expedition by “Cheese Impresario” Barrie Lynn to Joe Widmer’s Cheese Cellars in Wisconsin.
Widmer is a third-generation cheesemaker and the only person in the world making “brick cheese,” using bricks to press out the whey. The resulting cow’s milk cheese is in the stinky family along with Limburger, but it’s a distant relation with just a hint of funk.
When Widmer first offered Lynn his version of brick “Cheese Spread” she politely accepted in spite of unpleasant flashbacks to Cheese Whiz. To her surprise, the mixture of brick cheese and cheddar delighted her palate and she immediately added it to her pairing repertoire.
I love Don Julio. I have loved Don Julio since certain members of the press were sneaking it into our peach nectars one night while on a press junket to rescue turtles in Mexico. It was with great excitement I sat down to a pairing with Top Chef season two winner Ilan Hall, whose restaurant, the Gorbals, has long been on my to-do list.
OK, so by now you all have a basic idea of how this blogger thing works. Sometimes I just go to a restaurant on my own dime and tell you what I think. But sometimes restaurants, liquor companies or benefits host “events” and they invite bloggers to cover them. In return, they expect us to come take pictures and tell you all about the fun.
When Don Julio invited me to try their tequilas paired with Ilan Hall’s food, I eagerly packed my camera and prepared to check out The Gorbals. Don Julio was super-responsible and super-swank by sending cars for those of us who didn’t want to risk driving drunk. Bravo!
It is a strange thing being on Betty Crocker’s email list. It’s a blessing and it’s a curse. I don’t mean to be a food snob — I have eaten my share of mayonnaise, Top Ramen, and instant cake mix. But some of her suggestions just blow my mind.
Take for instance the upscale Supreme Green Bean Casserole. What makes it supreme? Truffle shavings? Caviar? God forbid, FRESH green beans? REAL fried onions? No way, that’s just not Betty’s style.
Remember that tear-jerking story-song, Rocky?
She said, “Rocky, I never cooked Thanksgiving before, don’t know if I can do it… but if you’ll let me lean on you, and take my hand, I might get through it…”
Thanksgiving is actually much easier than a lot of dinners I’ve cooked. It’s one of the easiest. People just become intimidated by the sheer size of everything, and the fear of being judged. Just think of it as cooking a giant chicken. Gone are the days where you have to get up a hundred times all night to baste the turkeys. Overcooking turkeys dried them out. Don’t let the charts and graphs freak you out. They are there for reference. And remember, everyone at the table is just so relieved they didn’t have to cook, you can get away with murder.
So let’s do this thing!
It is Autumn, and that means one thing — truffles! OK, Autumn mean a lot of things, but for the sake of this article, let’s just say it means one thing. And that one thing is …truffles! Bouchon in Beverly Hills will be celebrating truffle season by featuring both white and black burgundy shaved truffle as an optional addition to any dish (shaved white truffle mousse, anyone?). The restaurant recommends adding the white truffles to carnaroli risotto, scrambled farm eggs and the Croque Madame. Or add fresh Burgundy truffles to your Le Burger or NY Strip Steak.
This week’s KCRW’s Good Food with Evan Kleinman airing on Saturday, November 20, from 11am-noon was recorded primarily at the farmers market in Santa Monica. The show will be archived, available as a podcast or on-demand, after 12 noon on Sat., Nov. 20 here. Evan Kleinman will be talking to chefs about vegetarian and ethnic Thanksgivings, turduken, and backyard farms. Jonathan Gold will be talking about Roy Choi’s A-Frame and Lesley Bargar Suter of Los Angeles Magazine will be discussing the best Mexican food in LA.
On Sundays, Palate in Glendale offers a 3-courses featuring produce from the local farmers market. Reservations are suggested for the Sunday supper that runs from 5-9PM. This Sunday, November 21st the menu features oxtail stew / nshima / sweet potato / collard greens $ 12
The United States is often described as a melting pot, and Thanksgiving is representative of our diversity. We have Southwestern turkeys, Cajun deep-fried turkey and turkey mole with chorizo stuffing. This year, Chinatown is all over Thanksgiving. Restaurants are offering “BBQ roasted turkeys” to take home. Available only during the month of November, the turkeys are steeped in a soy sauce marinade which is made with two different kinds of vinegar, a sweet syrup, and star anise.
LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade took place last Sunday on the stately grounds of the mansion at Culver Studios. Gone with the Wind was filmed there — does it get any more chichi than that? The well-tended grounds were strewn with checkered picnic blankets, and the air was alive with the laughter of children, making the easygoing event feel more like a church carnival or small town fair than an elegant ball at Tara.
The enthusiasm was contagious as everyone carried on the spirit of of Alex, a little girl with cancer whose front yard lemonade stand grew into a foundation that raised over a million dollars before she passed away. The foundation continues hosting lemonade stands large and small, in her name. LA Loves Alex ‘s Lemonade was definitely on the larger end of the spectrum, with world-renowned chefs pitching in to raise money for children’s cancer research.
