I love Monkey Brains

by Sasha Milena

Sushi Bar

I started school last week and spent all of last Friday studying and taking an online quiz which I bearly passed.  So, I needed something to cheer me up and help me forget my scholarly worries.  A sushi date in the Valley seemed to be the answer.  I drove about an hour to get to my boyfriend’s house and as I hopped into his Jeep I could feel and hear my tummy rumbling.  My boyfriend said he know the best Sushi spot in the Valley, Sushi Raw, and after a 15 minute drive we pulled into a shopping center. He told me not to be alarmed at the location and to trust him. 

I knew I wanted a couple pieces of Yellow Tail Sushi and Miso Soup. I left the rest up to my Sushi Raw veteran.  He said we absolutely had to order the Monkey Brains. My first reacton was of course, “yuck! What kind of name is that?” He once again said to trust him.  Didn’t realize I was going to be doing so much trusting in one night! 

  

The Miso Soup and Yellow Tail came out first.  The soup was hot and had just the right amount of seaweed and tofu.  The Yellow Tail pieces were large and tender. We ordered another roll that had Unagi (eel) , avocado, shrimp and tempura on top with a sweet sauce.  I devoured that instantly and looked up to see a plate full of brains, Monkey Brains that is.

The Monkey Brains roll was a stuffed mushroom with spicy tuna and crab, all deep fried and sliced in halves.  The dipping sauce was red and yellow and bursting with flavor.  

I think everyone should try Monkey Brains at least once in their life. Go to Sushi Raw in Granada Hills. Just go. Please. Try it, at least just once. Thank you.

Giordano’s. “Corporate, But Still the Best,” He says.

Took off on a jet plane to Chicago for a family visit. Naturally, I had food on the brain and was excited to dive into some authentic Chicago stuffed pizza. We were staying at my cousin’s house 30 miles from the city, and I hopped on the train my last day there to explore the city and get my much needed pie. I walked around downtown, not finding a single pizza joint. What the deuce? I thought there’d be one on every corner. I ask a local what his favorite pizza place is. He replies : “Giordano’s” I say ” that’s a chain right? I want something legit.”  He says ” it’s corporate but still the best.” He gives me directions and I begin my trek.

By the time I got there I thought I was going to pass out. Boy was I starving. The hostess seats me, surprised I was there solo. The restaurant is busy, my favorite aroma is seeping through the air, garlic. The pizzas are served on silver pedestal like things and everyone looks extremely pleased. I wanted to be one of those people. I order a water and a garden salad and continue to look at the pizza selection. I create my own personal stuffed pizza with garlic, pepperoni, and jalapenos. The waitress tells me it’s going to take 30, yes 30 minutes to make this deep dish stuffed creation. I sit patiently and people watch, read my book. The pizza comes and it’s definitely meant for one person, but it looks delicious.

I smell the garlic and see the jalapeno, but where’s the pepperoni and the cheese? INSIDE. What? I thought the crust was stuffed.

Regardless, this pizza was scrumptious. I was very pleased, relatively well priced. I even ate the crust, which I rarely do. I sat next to 2 italians and they had heavenly looks on their faces, everyone in Giordano’s was in the same boat, except the staff, I’m sure.

Mi piace molto,

Chy

Avocados are Expensive but Guacamole is Delicious.

Going for $1.69 each, I only buy ten avocados and the rest of my super spicy guacamole ingredients:

2-3 jalapenos (red and/or green)

2-3 habaneros

2-3 serrano peppers

store brand salsa (the chunkier the better)

crushed garlic

1 lemon

1 lime

garlic salt

1 – 2 tomatoes

Lots and lots of salt

To start, let’s get rid of that skin. There are a few ways of doing this, but I cut the avocado in half, circling around the pit. Then I spoon out the pit or squeeze it into the guacamole-making trash bag. I spoon all the delicious avocado into a big mixing bowl. I like to buy really really ripe avocados and I like making smooth guacamole.

Next, I squeeze the lemon and the lime into the bowl. But first I roll them on the counter before cutting, to release the juices.

Then goes the salsa, not more than a cup. Crushed garlic is next, I usually eyeball it, but I think it’s roughly a bit more then a tablespoon.

Now it’s the fun part! Pepper cutting time! I made the mistake the first time I made this fire-in-mouth concoction by not wearing gloves. I cut habaneros and forgot to wear gloves. Idiot. I had pepper hands for a week. So, strap on a pair of gloves. Dice up all the peppers you’re using, and if you want to dispose of some or all of the seeds, that’s fine, but for me, the hotter the better. Throw those bad boys in there and you’re almost done.

Next dice up the tomato(es) –add to bowl.  Stir until it gets to the consistency you like. Then, salt and garlic salt it up — to taste. And voila! Guacamole, Chynna style. You won’t be able to stop dipping!

Mi piace —

Chy

At Last, A decently priced delicious neighborhood cafe!

Sasha and I had been cleaning house all day in our short shorts, her in flip-flops, me wearing my St. Bernard slippers to prepare for a potential roommate. We scurried to shower and the girl came by to look at the room, then left. Leaving Sasha and I starving. Dissatisfied  by the girl’s reaction to the room’s size, we decided to treat ourselves to lunch. We walked around the corner, down 2nd street and stopped at Orange where we sat outside of At Last Cafe.

Our server came out to take our already known order quite promptly. Sasha and I both ordered the Goddess Salad. Mixed greens tossed in their own goddess dressing and topped with avocado. We’ve both had it before and it’s completely addicting.

We both ordered sides, and Sasha ordered the pasta salad. Bow ties with a balsamic like tang with cherry tomatoes and shredded parmesan cheese.

For my side, I ordered the pan seared vegetables. You can’t tell in the picture, but there were more than just carrots and string beans, I forgot to snap a photo before I indulged, so this is all that was left. I don’t know what else he does to those vegetables, but if vegetables tasted like that normally, I’d eat them all the time!

Our check was roughly 20 bucks. Perfectly reasonable for a gourmet lunch. At Last Cafe is a good idea regardless on what you order. I hear the Creme Brulèe is to die for. Next time!!!

Mi piace!

Chy

Bistro Delight

 

YesterdayI took a drive down the 405 to the Irvine Spectrum and met my friend Courtney at Toni and Guy for a hair makeover.  After all the pulling, coloring and head abuse I looked fabulous but my stomach was feeling a bit neglected.  We hopped on over to the Cafe Bistro inside Nordstrom. 

 

Courtney ordered the Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad that looked amazing!  The shrimp were huge and the tortilla crisps on top were the perfect touch.  I went with the Bistro Club Sandwich and a glass of Pinot Grigio.  The sandwich was stuffed with sliced chicken breast, greens, bacon, tomato, avacado, french green beans(kinda different but yummy), and the bread was spread wtih a garlic aoli.  The french fries were crispy and seasoned to perfection. So tasty and so satisfying! 

I expected an overpriced pretentious cafe and it turned out to be pretty casual and reasonably priced.  I’m glad I gave it a try and I will most likely go back next time I’m down there for a new do.

 

written by: Sasha Milena

Love Letter

One long night of seemingly endless Jack and Diet Cokes and an order from the local pizza joint that’s open til’ 3, and you have a hungover Chynna. Graziano called asking to go to lunch– a surprise. Where are we going? Well, if we didn’t get on so many wrong freeways (The boy even has GPS) I could tell you. We pull into a semi-strip mall-ish type parking lot and I see foreign writing on the signs and a really faded life-size cut out of the Verizon guy in an old cell phone store. I am way too hung over for this.

 I was curious as to what I was getting myself into- as Dan nor I like Asian food, these signs look Chinese. He walks a bit ahead of me and says “Love Letter, that’s what it’s called.” I followed him inside; Lunch time on a Saturday and it was pretty dead. As the friendly server walked us to our booth I saw a young girl sleeping in one of the booths- I think she was doing homework. I look around at the walls: I see a fairly large photo of hot wings, some with sauce, some without. A large picture of pizza– all with Asian writing. Still haven’t figured out what’s going on. 

Our waitress promptly brought us an interesting looking plate of salad. Cabbage, corn, hot sauce and a thousand island like dressing. We eat it with chopsticks. It was actually very good. We like anything spicy and a spicy salad eaten with chopsticks was a new venture. Then she takes our drink order. Dan orders a Korean beer (Finally! I know what region of Asia we’re looking at a menu from) She asks “Large or small?” The sizes on the menu for the beer are in cc’s…. Us being Americans, bigger’s always better and he goes for the large Hite. I get a Peach iced tea. AKA a tall glass and a bottle of Peach Snapple. So far so good. She brings the drinks. A PITCHER of beer, an 8 oz. glass and my tea. Weren’t really expecting a pitcher…. But okay. We like beer. It tastes a bit like Coors, light and gets the job done. Perfect for Korean pizza and hot wings. 

Dan orders a pizza, Supreme and with sweet potato stuffed crust. I ordered us hot wings. Half fried cajun and half hot and spicy with a side of the extreme sauce. We enjoy the salad and our server comes in less than 20 minutes with our food. The pizza looks good. So do the wings. They came with a side of radishes- not too stoked on those and the extreme sauce had sesame seeds in it. Dan dives into his pizza, I get to working on the hot wings. Keep in mind I had this exact meal the night before. The extreme sauce was surprisingly really really good. Dan devours one slice of his pizza and gets to the crust. He likes the sweet potato. I take a piece of the pizza, take off the toppings I’m not too fond of and dip it in our spicy sauce. Not bad. I just wish I wasn’t eating something I ate less than 12 hours ago. It’s okay, Dan didn’t know. I got to the crust part and the sweet potato was pretty good. Nothing to write home about really. 

 

The only things I really did enjoy were the beer and salad. Dan was fairly pleased with everything. The cajun wings weren’t too cajun-y, oh well. 46 bucks for a semi-exotic lunch, a bit too much, I’d say. I don’t think I’d go there again. Also, I completely forgot to mention that they played Korean pop songs the entire time we were there…. 

 

Mi piace un po’

– Chy

Buon Appetito!

After 3 cups of coffee, a delicious sandwich and 7 hours, my spaghetti is finito! The sauce itself takes the longest, as it cannot ever be boiled. The meatballs are my favorite part– kneading all the meat, eggs and breadcrumbs together. I also like chopping the garlic. The smell of it is so comforting and after splurging on a decent chopping knife, dicing is a breeze. I would give the recipe out… but I can’t this time… Family secret! BUT, you can come over and indulge. 

 

I made too many meatballs and ending up flattening them out and frying em’ in olive oil. Mom used to make them for us – called them patties. We’d eat one or two for breakfast and smell like garlic the whole day at school. 

The only way I ever know if pasta is al dente is if I throw it at the wall. If it sticks: done. If it falls: not done! Strain it through a spool of pasta and I’m done! 

I fixed myself a bowl of my concoction – more delicious then I thought it to be. Sprinkled some parmesan formaggio on top and chowed down!

 

Mi piace

                 -Chy