La Boulangerie · 915 W Belmont Ave (between Wilton Ave & Clark St) Chicago, IL 60657 · Neighborhood: Lakeview
I guess I wasn’t too surprised that my friends in Chicago had never heard of the Cronut. After all, this croissant-donut hybrid pastry has just recently caught on in Los Angeles after taking New York by storm this past Spring and it seems to be a fad that only foodies have been obsessing over…
Being that I was a tad underwhelmed from my first sampling at California Donuts just a few weeks earlier, I wasn’t particularly looking for it in Chicago, but as fate would have it, the Cronut gods’ had another idea…
The Chicago rain forced me to duck into Le Boulangerie for cover, and while there, I just so happened to discover this French bakery’s delicious croissants, chocolate eclairs, macarons and pastries… among them, The Crognet.
Since the actual name “Cronut” has been trademarked by the French baker who first created them, Le Boulangerie gave them a new name – but you get the general idea… It’s the Cronut in disguise!
These ($5) donut shaped pastries featured all the standard hallmarks of what a Cronut should be; light fluffy layers of croissant dough (to give the height) and sweet syrupy donut-inspired glaze for effect.
I liked the variety they provided here. A simple sugar glaze…
…a chocolate topped version…
…and my personal favorite, the bacon-maple glazed.
Yes, I know it sounds cliché, but the bacon one truly had the best texture and flavor – sweet and salty, crunchy and flaky.
Perhaps Le Boulangerie has restored my faith in these trendy (possibly overrated?) pastries.
This location is located just off the Belmont Brown line stop but there is also another one in Logan Square. Call ahead before you go, just in case they are cro-not in stock.
Will Cronuts last or be the next passing fad? Only time will tell…
A few weeks ago, I drank wine. Lots and lots of wine. Stop #4 on my Eventbrite blogger LA tour was at the 8th Annual LA Wine Festival at the historic Raleigh Studios on Melrose Ave. My ticket gave me access to over over 500 wines, spirits & brews, lifestyle exhibitors, seminars, cooking demos with Celebrity Chefs (Eric Greenspan and Chang Sivilay) and oh yeah, food trucks.
The two day event featured a handful of popular LA food on wheels like Heirloom LA, the Lobsta Truck and gelato from Palazzolo’s. There was also live music and a photo booth. Did I mention there was wine? Cause there was… and it flowed like water.
This was an event to celebrate all things grape-derived. Not to be outdone, there was also a good variety of other alcoholic beverages. The beer line for Stella Artoiswas impossibly long…
…so instead I decided to dip over to the Peruvian, Pisco Portón for a cocktail. And I was glad I did, this was such a refreshing treat! Probably my favorite drink of the whole event!
There were cheese pairings, spicy Tabasco Brand chocolates, mini sandwiches fromSolo Tapasand the Korean wine, Kooksoondang which had a fruity and smooth taste that reminded me of Japanese sake.
I stopped by to say hi at the Farm Fresh to You booth. They are a local farm-to-door delivery service of organic produce, which I wrote about in a previous post, here.
There were so many vendors, it was impossible to try them all. Good thing, the event spans two days!
Overall, it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon with friends. Compared to other LA wine events, I’d say the size was medium. (Not too huge, not too small).Check out the slide show below for more highlights from the festival.
Special Note:
This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Eventbrite LA. Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. It’s also a destination for people to discover awesome events going on in THEIR city! Whatever your desires, hobbies, or interests – from photography workshops and wine classes to food festivals and industry conferences, there’s an event on Eventbrite waiting for you to attend! Keep up on the goings-on in LA by following Eventbrite LA on Twitter, liking them on Facebook, or signing up for their monthly newsletter! Planning an event? Go ahead and create an account to get started.
That’s right folks. I found a local donut shop in L.A. that sells the coveted New York based CRONUT! You know, that croissant/donut hybrid that has caused many New Yorkers to give up their first born son, all for a taste… of this magical stuff…
Ok, now, before you grab your keys and head out to your car in a fluffy croissant-inspired flurry, let me share with you my discoveries on this delectable sheeted pastry dough (fried up like a donut, rolled in sugar, filled with vanilla cream, and glazed and topped with sugar)…
So, it all started last Sunday morning when I had a freak impulse and stopped at K-town donut gem, California Donuts to pick up these:
While in line, suddenly, I discovered, THIS.
I did a double take and while the little label behind the glass confirmed my suspicions, I had to ask the employee to be sure, “uhm, excuse me Miss, are these… cronuts!?” And she smiled and said, “why yes, they are… croissant-donuts.”
Jackpot.
I couldn’t believe what I had happened upon. People have been freaking out lately over wanting to try these things, paying shameless scalpers on craigslist or standing in line in NYC for hours themselves.
The employee proceeded to tell me that they played around with their recipe and launched them a few weeks ago. Not many donut places in LA make their own croissants in house, she told me, but because California Donuts does, they thought they might have an edge. So they tried it as a special for a few days and then took it off the menu. People demanded that they put it back on. So, here it is.
I ordered one (of course), and couldn’t wait to get home to see what all the fuss was about. The cronut looked kinda like a smashed donut. In other words, how you might imagine a donut/croissant hybrid to look. There was no frosting, no creme, no glaze on this one. Just, you know, your everyday, typical croissant/donut pastry.
It was sprinkled with a rose colored sugar and while crispy and tasty, the texture was not as flaky and buttery as I would have imagined a fried croissant to be. It also wasn’t warm. Guessing that they make these quite early in the morning, they are probably freshest at the crack of dawn. I got mine around 10:30 AM. I have read that the real cronuts in NY have a high standard for quality control and have a shelf life of about six hours. So, that could explain the not-so freshness and lack in fluffy layered texture.
I am also pretty sure these are no where near French pastry chef, Dominique Ansel‘s original (*trademarked) creations,with their layers and glaze and painstakingly perfected recipe… But, if you are DYING to have a taste and don’t want to
1) fly to New York or
2) pay a scalper$100 bucks to try them, you can drive down to K-Town so you can at least say you had a taste. While you’re at it, grab a few donuts too (because that’s what they do best). The cronuts here are tasty, but I might be heading to New York after all to get a taste for the real thing…
[Update: As of this posting, I have been alerted by a fellow foodie that cronuts have also been spotted at DK’s Donuts and Bakery as well!]
**Want more CRONUT? Read about my experiences with a worthy impostor, Crognets in Chicago!**
1000 S La Brea Ave · Los Angeles, CA 90019 · Neighborhood: Miracle Mile
June 21st marks the official start of summertime. Whoohoo! What could be more “summer” than a roast beef sandwich and a chocolate milkshake on a hot day? Oh, what’s that you say? BBQ? They got that. Onion rings? Check. Banana Cream Pie Custard Dessert? Yep. Curly Fries? Uh huh. Soda floats? They got all that too.
The sandwiches at Top Round are the kind of roast beef you might have grown up on or at least wish you did. It’s true, every city has their own version of the oven roasted beef sammie. Personally, I never particularly liked going to Arby’s and I never really got into roast beef until very recently, but this place feels like the kind of classic joint I might enjoy, say on a sunny afternoon after a mid-day showing of Beetlejuice at the $1 cinema (that we snuck into anyway). A sheer guilty pleasure.
Owners include Anthony Carron (800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria), Noah Ellis (Red Medicine), Steven Fretz (XIV, Curtis Stone), and Jamie Tiampo (NYC’s dell’anima, L’artusi). A good collaboration of people who like to play with their food and they do it well.
The vibe is new-old-school and there’s a throw back diner feel that almost begs for rollerskating waitresses to serve you in your car. Along with six different styles of sliced-to-order roast beef sandwiches, curly fries smothered in gravy and an insane(ly awesome) ice cream/shake/malt and custard dessert menu inspired by the St. Louis frozen custard shop Ted Drewes, going to Top Round feels like you left L.A. for a moment and went back in time to the 50’s. Never mind the fancy cars whizzing by on the corner of Olympic and LaBrea.
It may feel a bit mid-west in it’s simplicity of menu. A word of caution, you may have a hard time ordering just one thing.
As for the food, as you might imagine, there’s nothing really healthy about it. If you have guilt issues, suffer from self loathing and/or are trying to squeeze into that too-tight speedo just in time for the 4th of July, you might want to keep on driving cause this place won’t help that problem. You wont be able to resist the sweets. Even my crossfit training friend who’s on a strict paleo diet caved and ate TWO sandwiches, TWO curly fries and an ice cream shake. (hello, food coma!)
I tried the Bar-B-Cue Roast Beef Sandwich (fried onion & jalepeno straws, BBQ sauce, onion bun), the “Dirty” Fries (gravy, provel, caramelized onions & round sauce), a Pistachio Shake (simply wowsa!), The Banana Cream Pie Concrete Custard (Bananas, Nilla Wafers, Fudge, Whipped Cream) and the Hawaiian Custard (Bananas, Pineapple, Coconut, Macadamia Nuts).
Top Round is not quite a Philippe’sor Cole’s French Dip, instead think of it as the In-N-Out Burger of roast beef. It’s fast food. It’s cheap. And it’s a fresh take on a classic American English tradition.
Here’s a video recap on Top Round I shot courtesy of Tastemade.
BYB Tip: Faves included the Pistachio Shake, “dirty fries” and Bar-B-Cue or Beef on Weck.
1515 Griffith Park Blvd · Los Angeles, CA 90026 · Neighborhood: Silver Lake
Filipino food has been getting a lot of attention in the last few months. Well-known food personalities like Anthony Bourdain, Evan Kleinman and Roy Choi have been exploring why this underdog of cuisines hasn’t really gotten the love and exposure that it has deserved here in Los Angeles. My best friend and roommate in Chicago was Filipino, and somehow we never once talked about the type of meals he grew up on. Why had I never tried it before!?
I wanted to find out more about the Pinoy food culture once and for all…
Naturally, I hit up my blogger pal Karena Higgins, who runs the Filipino centric, Pig Parts and Beerblog. Karena took me to a few of her favorite neighborhood gems and taught me a thing or two about the local Filipino culture on the Eastside. Lucky for me, I got an edible education along the way.
Our first stop was at United Bakery in Silver Lake. Shop owner, Andrea de Guzman first came to the United States in 1978 with just $10 in her pocket. The bakery was her husband’s idea and they went from making traditional dishes (like pancit, lumpia, assorted hopia and siopao) in their apartment to the full fledged bakery that is there today.
As with any business, it wasn’t without hardship. Despite the “gang infested” neighborhood and fears of deportation when they started out, they were able to survive the violence and gentrification and have become a favorite among locals in the Silver Lake neighborhood.
189 The Grove Dr · Los Angeles, CA 90036 · Neighborhood: Mid-City West
This weekend, you may notice something different happening at The Grove. Don’t worry, you haven’t been accidentally teleported to China, though it might seem that way.
There will be people practicing Tai Chi and masked men dancing in costumes changing faces. The traditional Frank Sinatra songs on The Grove speakers will take a pause so that you can instead hear, witness and share a slice of Hong Kong.
This 3-day celebrationof East meets West brings to The Grove (my old neighborhood stomping ground), a variety of cultural performances, cooking demos, food from Michelin-starred restaurant chefs, music and other fun family activities.
I fought through the crowds and jockeyed for position to get a good view of the Opening Ceremonies.
I sampled some tasty appetizers from some of China’s culinary masters, chef Kam-Fu Cheng of Celebrity Cuisine, chef Kwai Pui Mak of Tim Ho Wan (Dim Sum Specialists), and chef Mango Tsang of Ming Court Restaurant at the Langham Place Hotel.
My standout favorites were the deep fried crab claw stuffed with minced shrimp (from chef Cheng), the baked bun with BBQ pork (from chef Mak) and the crispy sole fillet with Yuzu honey (from chef Tsang).
I was eager to try some truly authentic Chinese cuisine, so I gleefully dug in to what these Michelin-star chefs had to offer. They did not disappoint… perhaps a trip to Hong Kong will be in my near future…
If you happen to be in the neighborhood or simply want something fun to do this Father’s Day weekend besides donning those goofy 3D glasses and watching yet another Superman movie, (though who can resist?) check out the line up for the weekend’s entertainment.
You can click herefor the schedule of activities and see below for a photo recap of the kick-off event.
First things first. Allow me to address the elephant in the kitchen. You are probably wondering a few things like, why is this FOOD blogger writing about an NBA coach? Will Phil be sharing a pancake recipe of some sort? And will he be returning to the Lakers??
If you will indulge me for a few moments, I will explain.
I grew up in Chicago in the 90’s. You remember the 90’s right? Once upon a time when Will Smith was a “Fresh” young TV actor, Mark Wahlbergwas a bulging young rapper and Whoomp, there it is! was as common a phrase as Urkle’s “Did I do that!?”
Yes, for many living in Los Angeles, Phil Jackson is known as the 5-time championship coach of the Lakers, but to me, he will always be the SIX-time championship coach of DAAAaaaaBUUUUUlllllls.
I grew up glued to the television watching MJ, Pippen and the rest of the supporting cast dominate for six years. Heck, I even named my dog after BJ Armstrong, their guard. (Yes, I was obsessed).
All that being said, I really wanted to see the winningest coach in NBA history in person, and hear a few words of wisdom from the Zen Master. He was known for bringing conciousness and mindfulness to his players, inspiring not only perfect body conditioning but “mind training” as well. His philosophy reminded me of a meditative food film I once saw called, How to Cook Your Life. It’s #8 in my Top Ten Food Films post.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one interested in hearing him talk, the line for the sold-out crowd wrapped down the street and was a good mix of Chicago Bulls and Laker fans young and old.
The talk took place at the historic Alex Theater in Glendale.
When the 6’8″ former ball player came to the stage, the audience rose to their feet and chanted loudly, “We want Phil! We want Phil!” They were showing their appreciation and referring of course to his absence which was felt at the Staples Center this year. The Lakers (with their new coach) didn’t make it past the first round of the playoffs.
The talk was moderated by the witty, John Salley (a former Bull AND Laker under Phil). The boisterous crowd acted as if they were watching a Laker game. They shouted at the stage, clapped, boo’ed and were very verbal (in a loving way). We all listened as the two on stage reminisced about old times; they gossiped about Shaq, Michael, Kobe and all the other star players who were lucky enough to be coached under Jackson.
A few facts about Phil:
He studied psychology in college, made only $12,000 his first year in the NBA, and although he was originally dedicated to become a minister like each of his parents, he “escaped” and instead won 11 NBA titles. Whoomp! There it is!
He rarely yelled during the games but instead, as John Salley remembers, “he would just look at you, and then look down the bench, wouldn’t say a word… then suddenly you’d score 6 straight!”
He was known for his Buddha-inspired, holistic coaching practices. He taught mindfulness saying things like, “What you do for yourself, you do for others and what you do for others, you do for yourself” and other such Phil-isms.
He got Michael Jordan to embrace selflessness, transformed Kobe Bryant into a mature leader of a multi-championship team, inspired Shaq to get in the best shape of his life and ultimately become a better player, and he even coached the wild and “uncoachable” Dennis Rodman.
Hearing him tell stories about his life, successes in his lifelong career and his “fear of failure,” made me respect the man even more. It also got me thinking… How can I bring the same sort of mindfulness and dedication to my culinary adventures? Might I learn to appreciate food more? Taste more clearly? Teach on, oh wise one.
Perhaps the best part of the night, (other than seeing Phil of course) was my concession stand chocolate chip cookie from Porto’s Bakery! Quite the perfect ending to an already perfect evening. I am wishing I had one right now. Mmmm. If you haven’t been to Porto’s yet, you are seriously missing out. More on this a dedicated post…
Zen Cookies… Mmmmm
These Live Talksare a super cool way to get up close and personal with your favorite authors, artists, leaders, musicians, scientists, business leaders, etc. Previous Q &A’s included Tina Fey (interviewed by Steve Martin), Deepak Chopra and his brother Sanjiv Chopra, Amy Poehler and Jane Lynch. I had never heard of the talks before, but am now following their twitter page so that I can keep tabs on who is going to be speaking next!
Oh, and incase you were wondering, although he sometimes feels he can get back onto the court, the reality is, he says he’s done.
Phil Jackson will not be returning to coaching. Well, at least I have the Porto’s cookie to console me.
This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Eventbrite LA. Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. It’s also a destination for people to discover awesome events going on in THEIR city! Whatever your desires, hobbies, or interests – from photography workshops and wine classes to food festivals and industry conferences, there’s an event on Eventbrite waiting for you to attend! Keep up on the goings-on in LA by following Eventbrite LA on Twitter, liking them on Facebook, or signing up for their monthly newsletter! Planning an event? Go ahead and create an account to get started
I am often perplexed when it comes to the subject of wine. In restaurants, it’s usually an “eeny meeny miney mo” type of situation and I end up blindly guessing, hoping that I’ll like what I order.
What if there was a class that aided in taking all the guess work out of drinking wine? What if there was a way to learn more and get drunk have fun at the same time?? I think you know where I’m going with this… cue, Learn About Wine.
Lucky for me, stop #2 on my Eventbrite tour of LA was an Intro to Wine class through Learn About Wine downtown at Eat Drink Americano, in the old Cafe Metropol location.
I had so many questions. What is the proper way to taste wine? Do I smell then swirl? Or swirl then smell? Why must I aerate and for how long? How does one go about picking out a nice bottle for oneself or for a birthday gift perhaps? How important does region or origin play in the taste? Does a newer year = cheap wine? Do my purple lips = cheap wine??
Our Instructor, Ian Blackburn was chock full of information about wine and was equally quite entertaining, providing interesting facts and even a few bits of light comedy.
Every bottle we sampled truly had a story of its own, and the two hour long seminar flew by like a good movie.
I was really into it… as you can tell from all notes I took!
Although I wrote a lot down, I never once felt like I was overwhelmed with information. Ian does a good job of getting into the specifics about each of the wines’ origin, grape size and taste difference. He gives you a detailed history about the grower and how long they’ve been around.
We sampled a nice variety of six California wines and one crisp and delicate French Burgundy. We discussed everything from the color (hold a white napkin behind it to see more clearly!) to the aroma, to the mouthfeel, and we compared a few side by side.
Did you ever notice how you can tell a wine’s alcoholic content just by smelling it? Basically the stronger the wine, the bolder the aroma will be. If you can get your whole nose in there and the smell is still very light, (like the Chardonnay Bourgogne Blanc Burgundy we sampled – below left), you can almost bet there is less alcohol content in it. (Ah, so THAT’s how the French are able to drink every day and not be wasted all the time…).
You now know le’ secret!
Then we observed the Duckhorn, Merlot from Napa Valley. It’s very dark in color, it’s made from grapes with thicker skins and has a HEAVY tannin. In other words, make sure you get a lyft after drinking this one cause it is quite strong. Bold, good, and STRONG. It’s also a $45 dollar bottle so you’re probably not drinking this one every day. (below – right)
Of our 15 or so person class, there was a good mix to the group; some teachers, filmmakers, wine novices and repeat students. There were couples on dates and one young lady came with her mom. It was a casual and fun afternoon and as we listened, we leisurely snacked on dried cherries, apricots, chocolate and gourmet cheeses which paired nicely with the wines.
I completely recommend this course for anyone wine-curious. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon and is a most definately a great date idea!
Although this was an “Intro to Wine” class I felt I got a lot more from it than just the basics of wine. Plus, by the end of the class, I was happily sauced, a bunch more wine savvy, and I left eager to return again and learn more.
This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Eventbrite LA. Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. It’s also a destination for people to discover awesome events going on in THEIR city! Whatever your desires, hobbies, or interests – from photography workshops and wine classes to food festivals and industry conferences, there’s an event on Eventbrite waiting for you to attend! Keep up on the goings-on in LA by following Eventbrite LA on Twitter, liking them on Facebook, or signing up for their monthly newsletter! Planning an event? Go ahead and create an account to get started.
If you have been reading the LA blogs, and fanatic tweets from local foodies, I’m sure you’ve heard by now … the Big Gay Ice Cream truck is back in LA! But just for a few days. I’ve previously written about my favorite New York based Dairy Queens and I just had to pay them another visit while they were in town.
So what’s the big deal? Well, their ice cream is soft serve at it’s best (with a few delicious bells and whistles) and it makes me melt, EVERY. TIME. Los Angeles quite frankly doesn’t have any really great soft serve ice cream, especially none with a “pretty” unicorn on the truck.
As expected, I was met with a line of devoted fans and others who were trying them for the first time. Some snacked on bacon wrapped hot dogs and corn while they waited. Ain’t no shame.
“Was it good for you!?” Someone shouted at me from the line. “Oh, yes. It was good. Indeed.”
You can peep their website for the remainder of their LA schedule (hint: today’s the last day!), here.
Some of my fellow foodie friends really wanted to check out Myung In Dumpling in Koreatown, so we made plans to visit and double date in a week’s time. Ever since Anthony Bourdain talked about the Korean-Chinese Dumpling dive on his latest show Parts Unknown, it has been noticeably busier and prompting many to have to make multiple trips to get a taste. It’s a small operation and apparently they run out of food. My friends and I arrived at 8:30 pm, one hour before closing time on a Friday night to find this hand written note taped to wet floor sign propped up on a chair. Dumpling Fail. Thanks Tony.
Plan B took us just a few blocks away to BCD Tofu House, (think a Korean version of a Denny’s) for some steaming tofu soup. It was packed at 9pm and being that it is open 24 hours, the crowd never let up while we were there. Our food came out very fast and was quite filling. I love this kind of stuff to warm me up on a cold/ rainy day. We were given a few plates of the requisite kimchi along with white rice to cool our burning tongues.
Although we were pretty full, I couldn’t resist going to Mr. Coffee just up the street on Western Ave. for dessert and coffee. Open late, we hung around watching Sports Center on their flat screens and devoured a sweet chocolate custard dessert that went perfectly with my pretty mocha latte.
I couldn’t help but noticing all the students studying and working on their laptops on a Friday night. Well, I guess if you’re going to get some coffee and work through the night, this is the place to do it! It’s very cozy, they have free parking and they are open until 4 am on weekends!
The best part of the night was the lovely surprise gift my friends gave me; two humongous and bling pineapple earrings! Ah, they know me well!
And thoughts of thoughts of Maui pineapplesreturn to mind…
Lucky for me, stop #2 on my Eventbrite tour of LA was an 
I had so many questions. What is the proper way to taste wine? Do I smell then swirl? Or swirl then smell? Why must I 
Our Instructor, Ian Blackburn was chock full of information about wine and was equally quite entertaining, providing interesting facts and even a few bits of light comedy.
Every bottle we sampled truly had a story of its own, and the two hour long seminar flew by like a good movie.
I was really into it… as you can tell from all notes I took!
Although I wrote a lot down, I never once felt like I was overwhelmed with information. Ian does a good job of getting into the specifics about each of the wines’ origin, grape size and taste difference. He gives you a detailed history about the grower and how long they’ve been around.
We sampled a nice variety of six California wines and one crisp and delicate French Burgundy. We discussed everything from the color (hold a white napkin behind it to see more clearly!) to the aroma, to the mouthfeel, and we compared a few side by side.
Did you ever notice how you can tell a wine’s alcoholic content just by smelling it? Basically the stronger the wine, the bolder the aroma will be. If you can get your whole nose in there and the smell is still very light, (like the Chardonnay Bourgogne Blanc Burgundy we sampled – below left), you can almost bet there is less alcohol content in it. (Ah, so THAT’s how the French are able to drink every day and not be wasted all the time…).
Then we observed the Duckhorn, Merlot from Napa Valley. It’s very dark in color, it’s made from grapes with thicker skins and has a HEAVY tannin. In other words, make sure you get a 
Of our 15 or so person class, there was a good mix to the group; some teachers, filmmakers, wine novices and repeat students. There were couples on dates and one young lady came with her mom. It was a casual and fun afternoon and as we listened, we leisurely snacked on dried cherries, apricots, chocolate and gourmet cheeses which paired nicely with the wines.
I completely recommend this course for anyone wine-curious. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon and is a most definately a great date idea!
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