Monthly Archives: April 2013
In yesterday’s recap of the Taste of Eastside Festival at Barnsdall Park, I mentioned that I took part in a cooking demonstration with my friend, Yoko Isassi. We spoke to a group of 30 eager “students” who watched and listened as we taught facts about sushi and offered informative cooking tips in the form of a quiz. Oh, yes! School was in session. Don’t worry, it was fun!
Here are five fun facts I bet you didn’t know about sushi, but should:
FACT #1. Contrary to a popular misconception, sushi does not mean “raw fish.” It actually refers to the flavoring of the rice with vinegar. You can make vegetarian sushi without adding any fish or meat whatsoever. Yes, Mom, those cucumber avocado rolls we ate were actually sushi! You did it!
FACT #2. Sushi doesn’t only have to be seasoned with rice vinegar. You can also use citrus like lemon juice or orange juice to flavor the rice. Some Japanese mountainous regions use the Yuzu fruit to season sushi. Yum!
FACT #3. It is not considered rude to eat with your hands. In fact, if you are sitting at the sushi bar and are being served directly from the sushi chef, it is actually encouraged. The sushi chef will watch how you eat the sushi (using your hands or chopsticks) and customize your experience preparing for you more delicate pieces of nigiri.
FACT #4. Don’t linger with your fish. I know it looks pretty but you’re not supposed to leave the sushi sitting too long on your plate. In a good restaurant, a lot of care goes into making each piece and making sure the rice is at the right temperature (body temperature is best). You’ll have better manners if you eat the food right away instead of letting your dish get cold. (Here’s looking at you Instagrammers! — I know, I’m equally guilty!)
Fact #5. Never leave your chopsticks sticking up in your bowl. This actually is a symbol for offering food for the dead. Yeah. That, AND it’s tacky, so there. Don’t do it. Proper placement is across the lowest place setting below your plate.
These (above) are called “Sushi Cupcakes”. They are in fact sushi made in little cups instead of in a roll. It is a popular snack or dish made in Japanese homes perhaps as a party favor or quick appetizer. You can get creative with the molding and flip them over into a unique shape. Yoko tells me she has seen large cake-sized sushi made from a cake mold. Woah!
In this demonstration, Yoko used lemon juice and orange juice to flavor the rice instead of vinegar. She added easy to find ingredients like ham, cheese and smoked salmon as well. Sounds weird, I know, but it was very tasty!
Here’s the recipe for “Sushi Cupcakes” courtesy of Foodstory. Thank you Yoko for the recipe and inviting me to be a part of your cooking class!
Want more recipes? Check out ifoodstory.com for Yoko’s list of classes. There’s even one on sushi etiquette, so you have no excuse! Manner up!
Still hungry?
Watch Yoko in action and learn more about her story in a recent BackyardBite video, here.
Another beautiful sunny day, another Los Angeles food festival. This time I got to check out a very pleasant, very well organized, Taste of the Eastside fest, featuring popular eateries from Silver Lake, Glendale, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Eagle Rock and Highland Park.
Often events like this are massive and confusing to navigate, but the smallish size of of the park lent the perfect backdrop for this delicious and lazy Sunday. I loved that unlike other big festivals, I didn’t have to wait in a super long line for meager offerings. The bites here were generous and filling. Although it was packed, it never felt too crowed. It was easy to sip and sample, chill on the grass and hear some great music. And that’s just what we did.
My favorites of the day included freshly grilled oysters from Little Dom’s, sea salted caramel, white chocolate gelato with lavender from Pazzo Gelato, a fresh arugula salad from Mohawk Bend and a Vietnamese chicken curry tostada from Xoia.
The slightly spicy sausage from Maestro’s definately piqued my interest as well, along with a shrimp taco with jalepeño from Diablo Taco.
To refresh, the always tasty Intelligentsia offered a Columbian iced coffee blend, Silver Lake Juice Bar gave away aromatic juice samples, while blueberry iced tea from one of my newest favorites, the Salvadorian Bakery, Cuscatleca made me swoon.
Throughout the day, the VIP tents offered various cooking demos from local chefs. I had the pleasure of assisting my friend, Yoko Isassi of Foodstory in making sushi cupcakes! Check back tomorrow for the recap on our cooking demonstration and for the recipe!
It was a family and dog friendly event and I couldn’t help but make some new friends while I was there.
Whippet. Whippet, good.
After the booths ran out of food, we meandered back over to the beer and wine tent and sipped some rosé from Silver Lake Wine and listened to the danceable beats of KCRW DJ Holly Adams. We thought about grabbing some more ice cream, but the line at Pazzo Gelato however was still ridiculously long. Considering the warm temps, it was the only booth people didn’t mind waiting for.
Special props to Sustain LA for doing a great job with providing and promoting responsible recycling!
From Sqirl to Heriloom LA to Cliff’s Edge, there were truly too many delicious vendors to include in this post. Just do yourself a favor and make sure to check them out at some point. Plus, there’s always next year!
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The last time I went to Coachella was eight years ago. Back then, it was a fairly large festival, but nowhere near the size it has ballooned to in recent years (100k+). Still located on an open stretch of land in Palm Dessert near Palm Springs, the yearly music and arts fest is a loud, romping party that lasts over two weekends and features six stages, dance tents, two VIP lounges, various larger than life art works and a giant ferris wheel.
I was blown away by the food — so many different types of cuisine (not just the hotdogs and pizza that I remembered from years before). They arranged the food booths in an open market, carnival-style theme and featured recognizable Los Angeles hallmarks like Pinks Hot Dogs, Coolhaus, Kogi and Border Grill. It was a little slice of home away from home.
And speaking of slices, at the food booths you’ll find everything from meatball subs to vegan options, steak salads, sushi, burgers, fresh organic fruit, hot dogs (which proved to be a great meeting point ‘meet me by Pinks!’), Philly cheese steaks and yes even New York(ish) style pizza.
Then, there was the food fashion. I loved watching all the cool foodie Tee’s and prints I saw on people walking around – I got some good ideas for next year!
On Sunday, we ventured over to the 21 and over section near the beer tents to see what else we would find. There we found The Lime Truck, Kogi, The Churchill and Clover Juice for some healthy options.
Other than dancing and listening to my favorite bands, I found the food to be my favorite part of Coachella. You really have no reason not to eat well here. Sure, I can can visit all of these vendors anytime in my LA neighborhood (and I do!), but there’s something about being out in the middle of the hot desert, knowing you can get a healthy quinoa and arugula salad with roasted beets and goat cheese while sipping a cold beer listening to the Chili Peppers jam out on a nearby stage.
Who says you have to eat crappy food at a concert? I mean, you can if you want to, but why would you want to!? You gotta conserve your energy for the night’s festivities after all…
I actually found myself eager to eat, all the time, even though I wasn’t hungry, just so I could try more things. I ate the chicken tenders and garlic fries (twice!), a toasty meatball sub sandwich, a giant watermelon slice, a slice of pizza, tacos from Border Grill, a warm salty pretzel and my favorite hit of the weekend, coffee ice cream from Black Bean Ice Cream which made their debut at Coachella this year.
Unless you have a severe aversion to good music, good food and fun times, I recommend that you go – at least once in your lifetime.
Oh, and don’t forget the sunscreen.
Need more Coachella info? Check out my guide to what you must bring to the festival and more tips for what you can expect and how to prepare!
