"Got Milk?" Campaign with Milk

One day, I received an email invitation to attend the Got Milk Open House at Milk, Chef Bret Thompson's eatery in Los Angeles. It certainly wasn't a reach as to why these two got together. I'm just surprised it took so long. The purpose of the Open House was to introduce milk-based recipes developed by Chef Thompson to be featured as exclusive summer treats on the Got Milk website and for invitees to do a tasting of those recipes. I've always been curious about Milk, especially after having heard repeatedly how wonderful their ice cream bars were, but I just hadn't had any opportunity to stop by yet. Strangely enough, a couple of weeks after the invite, I dined with friends at a nearby restaurant and since we were in the neighborhood, I swung on over to get a preview.

Once I stepped into Milk and looked at the menu board, I was a little surprised. I thought that Milk primarily was an ice cream/dessert shop and yet, on the menu board were everything from salads to soups to sandwiches, but after having already filled up at dinner, the only thing on my mind was something sweet. After "oohing" and "ahhhing" over the cuteness of the cupcakes in a cone and puzzling over what was making the blue velvet cake "blue", I was finally torn between the rose ice cream sandwich and the butterscotch banana ice cream bar, but the ice cream bar prevailed.

When I finally got the bar in my greedy little hands, the first word that came to my mind was "big." That ice cream bar was quite substantial. I wasn't even sure I'd finish half of it, but somehow I did. I loved how the ice cream had a fresh banana taste to it, almost like eating a frozen banana. While I liked the butterscotch covering, especially with the nuts, I would have liked it just a little thinner so it would have been easier to bite into it without the butterscotch breaking off each and every time.

Overall, I could see why people raved about the ice cream bars. I also managed to take home whoopie pies, which had a lovely fluffy marshmallow filling and lemon bars, which I thought were a bit too tart for my taste, but okay overall. After my initial visit, I was definitely looking forward to the Got Milk Open House.

Finally, the day arrived and after having checked in and given a raffle ticket, I walked into Milk and was immediately greeted with my first tasting, the Savory Butternut Squash Soup. I absolutely loved this soup. I've had butternut squash soup once or twice in the past that seemed too candied; yet, Chef Thompson's version definitely had other flavor nuances. I checked out the recipe and saw that he included ingredients like onion, bay leaf and lemon juice, which definitely added a wonderful richness, at the same cutting down the sweetness of this soup.

While we were all sipping our soup, Tatum Wan, a representative of RL Public Relations, welcomed us, many of whom were bloggers, to Milk and than introduced Chef Bret Thompson, owner of Milk, and Steve James, Executive Director of the CMPB (California Milk Processor Board). Chef Thompson talked briefly about his recipes and about how they were all hand-made and Mr. James talked a little about the Got Milk campaign and how they ended up partnering with Chef Thompson. Apparently, Chef Thompson will be helping to promote this partnership by serving as a spokesperson in some upcoming media events that will happening all over California. After the brief introduction and a message that they will be raffling some prizes towards the event, we went back to our tasting.

Soon after the soup, the other 6 items came out in quick succession and believe me, my taste buds were ready for action. I don't quite remember the order that everything came out in, so next, I'll just talk about the other savory item on our tasting menu, which was the Cornbread with a Raspberry Jelly and Whole Corn Kernel Filling. After my last extremely disappointing corn bread experience at a soul food restaurant in recent months, I had high hopes and they were met and in fact, exceeded my expectations by Chef Thompson. Teenage Gluster said it best when he described the corn bread as tender and cloud-like. I'm more of a restaurant goer than a cook, but even I felt inspired (almost) to break out the pots and pans just so I can have a taste of this recipe whenever I wanted. Of everything we sampled, this corn bread was my absolute favorite of the bunch.

Now on to the sweet stuff. First, the Ice Blended Green Tea, which was quite refreshing, but there was really nothing that unique about it. The cuteness factor came to play (remember the cupcakes in the ice cream cones?) when the Banana Dulce de Leche Ice Cream was served in miniature ice cream cones. The banana ice cream, just like the ice cream bar I had on my first visit, tasted like fresh bananas and considering that the recipe calls for fresh banana pulp, it's easy to see why.

As for the Milky Way Malt, I was digging the blending of the vanilla ice cream, the chocolate and caramel syrups and the rest of the ingredients, but one thing was missing, the malt. I didn't really taste any malt at all. On its own as a Milky Way Shake, it would have been just fine, but as a malt, it was missing all that malty goodness.

The cuteness radar reared its again when the mini Arroz Con Leche Ice Cream Sandwich was being served. My friend who came with me really enjoy the textures of the crispy macaroon and the creamy ice cream. As for me, it's more of a preference thing. My perfect ice cream sandwich is ice cream put between two soft, chewy cookie halves, preferably either chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies. I did enjoy the ice cream itself. With hints of cinnamon and vanilla, I almost felt like I was eating a frozen Horchata drink, but the crisp macaroon cookies themselves were just not for me.

When it came to my favorite Chef Thompson sweet creation, it had to be the Berry Tres Leches Cake. One word. WOW! For those of you who didn't know, Tres Leches is a sponge cake that is soaked in three different kinds milk: condensed milk, evaporated milk and whole milk, which can make for a rich, but if done wrong, dessert that can be way too sweet. What's unique about this recipe is that Chef Thompson purees blueberries and than strains the juices into the milk mixture. How ingenious. Not only do you get great antioxidants from the blueberries, its tartness adds a unique flavor nuance to the tres leches cake.

By the way, remember how I had mentioned the blue velvet cake earlier? I was thinking that it was probably just chocolate caked dyed blue. Isn't that the process with red velvet cake? It turns out that there isn't any chocolate at all in the blue velvet cake. Like the Berry Tres Leches Cake, blue puree was used in the blue velvet cake.

I also chatted for a while with Chef Thompson about how long it takes for him to develop recipes, to which he replied "37 minutes." Hmmm...not even a round number. He elaborated by generally saying that when it comes to recipes, you don't really have to re-invent the wheel. Sometimes, all it takes is getting a recipe and just tweaking it and making minor changes and voila, the dish is something just a little different. When I asked him about what inspires his Milk menu, he mentioned that Milk is all about American Cuisine, but he's also influenced by the ethnic diversity to be had in Los Angeles or even in his own personal/working life. For example, the rose ice cream sandwich came about because his partner is of Middle Eastern descent.

Overall, this was a fun tasting event and it was a great reminder of the different ways we can incorporate milk in our cooking and in our diet, from something as simple as an ice blended drink to something that may take a little more effort like a tres leches cake. In the end, "milk truly can do a body good" so it's important to get your daily allowance, but if that liquid goodness can come, every once in awhile, in the form of heavenly berry tres leches cake, that's even better.

As for Chef Thompson's Milk restaurant, if his delicious desserts are any indication of how good the rest of his menu is, than I'm definitely looking forward to having a meal there one day.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157605240818291/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157605294507230/

Milk
7290 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 939-6455
www.themilkshop.com
www.gotmilk.com

Stone Cold Sober at 3 Drunken Goats

 

Maybe not as bad as Stone Cold, but doesn't that title sound better than just Cold Sober at 3 Drunken Goats? Anyway, before I really get into my dining experience at this new tapas restaurant in Montrose, I want to mention that my visit was during a soft opening, which basically meant that there were still kinks being worked out before this eatery could find its footing. So even though my thoughts on 3 Drunken Goats may not be overwhelmingly positive, that doesn't mean that a later visit would not yield a meal more worthy of praise.

On that note, I'll go ahead and start. When my friend first told me about a restaurant called 3 Drunken Goats, I actually laughed because I didn't believe that was the actual name of the restaurant, but after Googling it later on, I saw that I shouldn't have doubted her even for a second; however, I really didn't find out where that restaurant name came from until I read a recent Yelp review. Basically, the "3" refers to Chef Jason Micheaud from Cobras and Matadors, Owner Brandon Kim and General Manager, Daniel Sevilla. "Drunken Goats" is an artisan goat's milk cheese from Jumilla, Spain that gets its irresistible name from its seventy-two hour soak in Doble Pasta wine before being aged for a couple of months. So there you have it, the mystery of the unusual restaurant name solved.

Walking into the restaurant, I really liked the dark brown color palette. To my right was a small wine retail area and to my left was the bar. In front of me was the main dining room and to the back, the kitchen was open to anyone who wanted to take a look at the action. It wasn't very full so we were seated really quickly. The first thing we noticed was the glass candle holder which was a bit spotty. It's not a big deal by any means, but I would think presentation is important, even when it comes to candle holders Then my friend was given a water glass with lipstick on it. Granted, when she told our waiter, he did replace it with a new glass, but what stuck in my head was if a glass with a lipstick stain was able to get out of the kitchen on a night when only a quarter of the restaurant was full, what happens when it's packed to the gills? Something to think about.

Finally, we placed our order of 7 different tapas. While we were waiting for our first course, we somehow got a sampling of the corn chowder. Unfortunately, it was a bit lukewarm and it also wasn't that flavorful. We were hoping that it wasn't an omen of things to come.

Then our first dish arrived, but before we even really got a chance to sample it, the other 6 dishes arrived in quick succession, both cold and hot items. What the heck??? Generally, tapas are something that should be paced: cold before hot and arriving at the table one by one allowing for some time between the courses. I looked around expecting to see a huge crowd anxiously waiting to be seated. Why else would they give us everything at once, if not to hurry us along to accommodate all these starving people. But no, the restaurant was still fairly empty. I just didn't get it. Well, all the food was before us so we just dug in.

While eating our way through the 7 dishes we ordered, I didn't find anything spectacular about any of them or I may have liked some of them better if not for a component of the dish that didn't work for me. For example, there was the Belgian Endive with Grilled Radicchio, Almonds and Apples. Belgian Endive can be a bit bitter and pairing it with radicchio, also a bitter leaf vegetable just didn't work at all. However, the sweetness of the apple and the nuttiness of the almonds were the perfect counterpart for the Belgium endive and was a much more successful combination.

Then there was the Mussels with Chorizo, Protocolo Wine and Fingerling Potatoes, which I found to be a little salty, both the broth and the mussels themselves. I don't think I've ever had salty mussels before. I found out later that there were two types of chorizo in this dish, one that was more on the sweet side and the other which wasn't as sweet. Definitely, more of the former and less of the latter would have made a tastier dish.
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The Braised Pork Shank with Onion Confit could have easily been one of two possible favorite dishes of the evening. The meat was meltingly tender, but it didn't have much flavor. Also the bread it was sitting on became mushy because the dish was sitting there for awhile before we got to it; whereas, if it had been properly coursed out, the bread still would have been crispy.

As for the other dish which would have been a home run, the Pan Roasted Striped Bass with Fennel Two Ways had a lot going for it. First, there was lots of oomph to the palate that was missing in the pork shank. The fish meat was tasty and I also enjoyed the two different fennel presentations; however, while I totally loved how the fish skin was left on and enjoyed its crispiness, the skin was also a bit salty.

I do have to say that my dining partner absolutely loved the Bacon Wrapped Dates with Chorizo. For me, it's a preference thing. I like the smaller, less meaty dates and I found these dates to be too big and a little mushy, but at least, out of the 7 we had, there was at least one dish that someone found perfection in.

When all was said and done, I was pretty disappointed in my overall meal and although I knew that this was a soft opening for 3 Drunken Goats, I wasn't sure if I wanted to make a return visit. However, two things changed my mind. First, let's talk desserts. We shared two, the Queen Nut Cake and Housemade Churros. The Queen Nut Cake had great flavors, nutty and with a hint of citrus from the zest mixed into the batter, but was a bit dry; however, the addition of some chocolate sauce that came with our Churros on top of the cake made a wonderfully tasty difference.

As for the churros, wow, they were some of the best I've ever had: light, crispy and just the right amount of sugar for sweetness, but not to the nth degree. Honestly, the churros were so good on their own, the chocolate sauce was just an after thought.

Second, as we were walking out of the restaurant, we ran into the Chef Micheaud and Owner, Brandon Kim taking a break. Earlier, we had mentioned to Brandon about the spotty candle holder, the lipstick on the water glass and also that the coursing of the meal was way off, all of which he took in stride.

When asked what we thought of our meal, my friend and I didn't hold anything back. What was cool is that Chef Micheaud really listened and even talked through adjustments he could make to improve some of the dishes For example, he mentioned adding more sweet chorizo to help lessen the saltiness of the Mussels dish. He talked about creating some kind of citrus sauce to top the Queen Nut Cake with that will complement the orange zest already in the cake plus give it some moisture.

Now I don't know if any of these things he mentioned were actually implemented since I haven't made gone back yet, but I really appreciated Chef Micheaud's willingness to take our critique seriously and without any type of prima donna attitude. I think that's really admirable and speaks well of Chef Micheaud. Although I wasn't very satisifed with the food, the to die for housemade churros and a Chef who's willing to listen to his patrons is definitely worth a return visit to this very memorably named restaurant. After all, how can you resist a restaurant called 3 Drunken Goats?

3 Drunken Goats
2256 Honolulu Ave
Montrose, CA 91020
Neighborhood: Glendale
(818) 249-9950

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Sizzle and Fizzle at Hunan Seafood Restaurant

A couple of years ago I had my first experience with Hunan cuisine at Hunan's Restaurant in Alhambra. Overall, it was a tasty foray into this new food and I was looking forward to trying more. Unfortunately, several months later, it burned down, but like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, Hunan's Restaurant re-invented itself as Hunan's Seafood Restaurant and moved from Alhambra to Rosemead.

For my dining group's second return, we opted to share 8 dishes. Of the 8, only one really knocked my socks off, one in a "Damn, this is so hot, my lips are burning" kind of way, but also in a "Damn, this is hot, but it's so good, I can't stop eating it" way. So what's the name of that dish? It's the House Special Lamb Rib with Spicy Sauce. All you have to do is look at it to see why it's so incendiary.

First, the lamb ribs are completely covered with a mound of red peppers and than there are the seeds and I'm talking chili seeds plus the peppercorns. Yikes! At first, I thought everything was for show, but one bite of my lamb rib and I knew that this was one show that wasn't going to have a closing night. It was such a hit at our table, we actually placed another order for it. Suffice to say, we were gluttons for punishment.

As for the other menu items, there was a running theme among some of them that bothered me a lot. For example, the Clams with Black Bean Hot Sauce was the first to land on our table. The slight saltiness of the black bean sauce along with its heat went well with the clams, at least when there were clams. I'd say 1/3, if not more of the shells were empty of clam meat. The House Special Chicken with Hot Sauce paired well with the earthy mushrooms that came with this dish, but the chicken itself was quite bony. Forget "Where's the Beef?" It was more about "Where's the Chicken?"

The Steamed Hunan-Style Fresh Fish that I absolutely was gaga over at Hunan's Restaurant stilled packed lots of flavor punch, but was about half the size of what I had before and like the chicken, the fish was too bony and didn't have enough meat to it. Even as we were digging into the lamb ribs, I almost like using a shovel so that we could find that meaty goodness underneath all the peppers. It wasn't as if I was expecting a lion's portion of food, but how can bony chicken and fish and half-empty clams be acceptable by any restaurant standard unless you're a restaurant that cares more for the bottom line than feeding your customers and making them happy.

As for the rest of our menu for the evening, the Stir-Fried String Bean and Ground Pork was nothing spectacular, but at least, the restaurant was generous with the beans. I found the Steamed Hunan Ham we ordered to be a little too salty for my palate, which is a problem I had with in the past with other dishes that I tried at Hunan's Restaurant. The Boiled Fish with Hot Sauce was a bit of a mystery. It looked like a soup intially, but the "sauce" was actually very oily. Some of the group just ate a little bit of the fish and left it at that. I actually poured that sauce over my white rice and ate the fish with it. The rice became a little greasy; yet, it worked for me.

For the most part, I enjoyed the flavors of the food. Those lamb ribs were spectacular, but for a restaurant to be so spare and scant in the meat portions of some of their dishes, it doesn't serve themselves well and literally, doesn't serve their customers well either. Maybe, I'll make my way back to Hunan Seafood again, but for now, there are still so many other restaurants to check out that it'll probably take another year or two before I do a return visit.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157605008831699/

Hunan Seafood
8772 E. Valley Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91772
(626) 289-8389

Joy at Izayoi

Having experienced eating tapas-style in the past, my first foray into izakaya dining was at Izayoi in Little Tokyo. For those of you who didn't know, the name "izakaya" is a compound word consisting of "i " (to remain) and "sakaya" (sake shop), showing that izakaya originates from sake shops where a night out consisted of dining on bar food in between bouts of sake and beer, very similar to the concept of eating tapas paired with wines. Since I'm not actually much of a drinker, it was all about the food and for our meal, we sampled 15 different dishes, from salads all the way to dessert. Being a first-timer, Izayoi has definitely set a pretty high standard for future izakaya outings because except for 2 or 3 items that were just so-so, everything I had was extremely tasty.

First to arrive was the Cooked Broccoli Served Chilled with Spicy Cod Roe Dressing. This dish was pretty straightforward but I really enjoyed how the sweet and tangy onions along with the slight salty-heat of the dressing added great flavors to a vegetable that a lot of restaurants normally cook to an unappetizing mushy mess. Along with the broccoli came the Mustard Greens and Fried Bean Curd Tossed with Sesame Dressing, which was fresh and even re-freshing. Both were great starters for the meal to come.

A couple of dishes later, the Homemade Tofu with Ground Sesame Paste landed on our table. At first, it didn't look very appetizing. I kept thinking about camouflage colors every time I looked at it. After a few bites, I did end up appreciating how the fairly creamy tofu absorbed both the nuttiness and a tinge of bitterness from the sesame sauce for a duet of flavors that somehow worked well together. The Steamed Clams with Sake Broth also hit the spot. Though not a hearty soup, it's a bowl of goodness, tasty and light, that would be great to have on a chilly evening when you're not in the mood for a heavy meal.

Something that else that stood out for me was the egg custard presented in a tea cup with a little wooden spoon. It was a perfect complement to a meal with ts fair share of grilled and deep fried items. Both creamy and silky, it helped give our taste buds a rest in between courses and in a way, was a great palate cleanser as well.

Other delicious offerings from Izayoi were the Garlic Sauteed Scallops and Mushrooms, though a tad oily, still packed a lot garlicky punch while the Miso Eggplant was on the other end of the flavor spectrum because of the delicate sweetness of its miso glaze. Overall, most of the dishes we sampled were quite stellar, but there were those 2, even 3 items that did disappoint.

First, there were the tempura squid legs. The tempura wasn't light or crispy. In fact, I found it to be a bit heavy. What I also found unappealing is that when trying to take a bite out of the squid legs, the whole thing literally came out of the tempura. I felt like a cat in front of an aquarium looking perfectly innocent while a part of a fish was hanging out of its mouth. Get the picture? The whole squid leg section was just too big to have been fried because there was certainly no way anyone could eaten the whole thing in one bite. Second and third actually because both the Miso Duck and Ponzu Grilled Chicken had the same problem. Both meats were a little too over cooked and as a result, a little chewy.

In the end, to have only 3 out of 15 items not quite come up to par, definitively speaks well of Izayoi. People have told me that izakaya food actually tastes better with sake and/or beer, but in my book, Izayoi's food really doesn't need any further enhancement. Their menu can definitely stand on its own merit.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157604544263808/

Izayoi
132 S Central Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 613-9554

One Dish Quickie at El Zarape

My one dish quickie at El Zarape was the Beef Chile Colorado with rice and beans. Although I did have chips and salsa beforehand, I don't count that as an entree, so we'll skip over that and go straight to my main dish. First, let's talk about the sides. While I tend to avoid refried beans, the addition of the cheese definitely gave it more appeal, so thumbs up! The Mexican rice was a little dry and didn't have much flavor, so thumbs down!

As for the Beef Chile Colorado itself, there were definite positives. The red chili sauce was wonderful. It had lots of flavor and just the right amount of heat. The meat was tender and moist. Overall, it would have been a real hit, except for one thing. It was just a tad salty, not so salty that it was inedible, but just enough that kept me from enjoying my eating experience wholeheartedly.

So what's the verdict? Based on just one dish, I wouldn't say that El Zarape is a place I'd go out of my way to visit, but if I were in the neighborhood, I might be willing to give it another try and this time, I'd ask for a lighter touch with the salt.

To see all the pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157604628446993/

El Zarape Grill
1601 S. Mountain Avenue
Monrovia, CA 91016
626-599-8680
www.elzarapemonrovia.com

A Side of Route 66 with My Omelet at Flappy Jack's Pancake House

Unassuming on the outside, I wasn't really expecting much from Flappy Jack's Pancake House in Glendora. All I was hoping for was a good breakfast from a place I have never set foot in before. Imagine my surprise when I got a little or actually a lot of Route 66 along with my omelet and pancakes that morning. Granted, the shape of the restaurant sign should have given me a hint of what was to come, especially since Flappy Jack's is on historic Route 66, but I remained completely clueless until I stepped through the doors of the restaurant.

Once inside, my eyes were immediately drawn right in front of me to the now recognizable shape of a traffic sign a la the Route 66 sign mimicking the signage outside, but in a glowing orange neon. That neon didn't hold my attention for long because once I looked up, I almost forgot why I came in there in the first place. Before my peepers was a colorful mural using famous personalities to depict the Route 66 starting in what I think was New York and ending in Hollywood. Along the way, there were images of Louis Armstrong, John Wayne and James Dean with Marilyn Monroe hugging him from behind as they were riding a motorcycle.

Then I walked into the dining room to my left and painted on the side wall was another mural with a stylized painting of the restaurant surrounded with bright racing red and yellow roadsters. Even the chair and booth upholstery got into the act with the familiar Route 66 traffic sign being heavily featured as well as images of old gas pumps, motel signs and the "Mother Road" laid out on the fabric. I think the wait staff is probably used to first time customers gawking because she was quite patient as I slowly made my way to my booth and finally sat down. After placing my order, I wandered around a bit, camera in hand, took snaps of the front entry way and did a bit more exploring.

In the dining room on the other side of the restaurant, there was another mural that piqued my interest. The focus on that painting was more on the cities of Glendora and Azusa, both Foothill cities that Route 66 also crosses. This mural also had some well-known faces, specifically, Elvis, Marlon, Lucy and Ricky. I didn't even have to mention last names and I bet you knew who I was talking about. Also, on the walls were vintage advertisements and old 45s with popular hits of the day. A smaller dining room featured a large painting with a city scene and public trains. I wasn't quite sure how that fit with the Route 66 theme, but the Route 66 traffic shapes with either a male or female silhouette painted above the bathroom doors certainly did.

Finally, my hunger pangs kicked in and I tore myself away from my famous friends and sat down to breakfast, just in time for my food to arrive and my, oh my, what a meal. I ordered the Mediterranean Omelet with tomatoes, feta cheese, mushrooms and spinach. I kid you not when I say that it looked like a torpedo. It was huge and more than enough for 2 or 3 people and it also came with a side of pancakes that could have been breakfast all on its own minus the omelet. As for how everything tasted, it hit the spot. I found the omelet a little dry and under seasoned, but a little salt, pepper and even Tabasco sauce added the zing I was looking for. The pancakes; however, were yummy and thick, but still with a fairly light and fluffy texture.

Overall, not being a big breakfast eater or a good morning person, a breakfast would have to be really fabulous for me to want to get out from under my warm covers. I'd say the food was decent. If I were in the neighborhood, I'd stop by, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there. A few weeks later, I was actually in that part of town, stopped by and this time ordered bacon pancakes. Savory and sweet? How could that not work? Although real bacon pieces were mixed into the batter, they were a little burnt and even worse, tasted burnt. Again, the pancake part of that dish was pretty good. Before I had placed my order, customers seated next to me mentioned that the sweet pancakes were to die for. I should have listened, but there's always next time.

From just briefly talking to one of the wait staff, I was told that Flappy Jack's wasn't actually around during the heyday of Route 66 and that another restaurant stood in its place. Unfortunately, that's all the info I was able to get and online research didn't turn up anything else. Still, I really appreciate how Flappy Jack's Pancake House is keeping the spirit of Route 66 alive. How can you not appreciate a little nostalgia with fluffy pancakes and besides, eating across Elvis Presley isn't necessarily a bad thing either.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157603921510034/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157604214457996/

Flappy Jack's Pancake House Restaurant
640 West Route 66
Glendora, CA 91740

(626) 852-9444

http://www.flappyjacks.com/

I Scream. You Scream. We All Scream.....for Cheese?

Yes, as the title suggests, there was lots of screaming for cheese, specifically oooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwiches. So where was all this yelling and carousing happening? Well, at the The 1st 6th Annual National Grilled Cheese Invitational, which was held at Griffith Park this past Saturday. And why were people yelling and carousing? More on that later, but first, let's start our tale with a little bit of background.

Since 2003, organizers from behind the Burning Man festival have been organizing a rowdy grilled cheese sandwich making contest referred to as the Grilled Cheese Invitational. With the mantra, "Bread. Butter. Cheese. Victory!" spurring them on, both amateur and professional chefs would compete side-by-side in different categories to see who would reign supreme in hot cheesy goodness. This year, a new category was added for a strong, flirty foursome. You'll know what I mean by "flirty" when you see the names of the category below.

The Missionary Position: white bread, orange cheese (cheddar or American) and butter or margarine only.

(NEW Category) Spoons: any kind of white bread, any kind of butter and any kind of cheese (or combination of cheeses) but no additional ingredients

The Kama Sutra: any kind of bread, any kind of butter and any kind of cheese (or blend of cheeses) plus additional ingredients.

The Honey Pot: any kind of bread, any kind of butter, any kind of cheese (or blend of cheeses), and any additional ingredients, but a sandwich that is sweet in flavor, or would best be served as a dessert.

Initially, this event was on a smaller scale and much more underground. Most people heard about it through word of mouth. In fact, there was such an aura of mystery surrounding this event, similar to a rave, that the location address wouldn't be published until the week of the event itself and that's a tradition that continued this year as well.

As time went by, more and more cheeseheads wanted to get in the action. So this year's Grilled Cheese Invitational was the first one open to the eating public and with over 100 cheese chefs competing in one, two or all four categories, there was a lot of cheesy action that happened on the day of the event. Since the last 5 years haven't really been open to the public, that's why this year's event is referred to as the 1st 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational. Get it? Enough background! Let's get to the good stuff.

Once I got there, I canvassed the area. On one side of the park, there were picnic benches all grouped together, which were sectioned off primarily by tables covered with bright orange plastic covers. That area served as the general kitchen area. There were two competitors to a bench and each was allotted a portable burner to cook with, as well as given a gift bag that contained a frying pan, spatula and other items for their use.

Right next door to the kitchen area, there was a Kraft Cheese booth and they provided free grilled cheese sandwiches while Izze Sparkling Juice also had free offerings of their apple, grapefruit, pomengranate, blackberry and orange beverages from start to finish. My favorite Izze drinks were definitely the blackberry and apple. I found them light and refreshing and I think they went well with all the rich cheese offerings that were to be had.

Finally, the organizers took the stage and gave an introduction and quick explanation of how judging was going to happen. Basically, here's the breakdown of the process. Each competitor has to make enough sandwiches to make 20 portions for each category they choose to enter. The portions could vary from half size to quarter size to bigger or smaller. It didn't really matter just as long as there were enough for 20 people. Each portion is put on a paper plate which has a ballot stapled to it. As soon as you sample your sandwich, you fill out the ballot and drop it in ballot boxes being carried around by volunteer staff.

So are you wondering yet where the screaming comes in? Well, as the sandwiches are cooked, either the competitor or one of their runners would bring out the sandwiches to be distributed to the waiting cheese-a-holics waiting behind the tables in front of the cooking section. Just because these sandwiches are free, it didn't mean that you don't have to work for them. That's where the screaming came to play or should I say enthusiasm? Nah, there was a lot of screaming involved. If you wanted one of those sandwiches, you had to get yourself noticed or you'd passed by for the noisier person standing right next to you or even behind you.

Even with all the yelling, there's still no guarantee that you'll get a sandwich. If you came expecting to be stuffed with grilled cheese sandwiches, you would have been sorely disappointed. Even if you managed to get 4 or more sandwiches, the small portions were not going to fill you up by any means. It got to the point that if one generous person got a sandwich, they would sometimes share it with 2 or 3 other people who may not have gotten one at all, which meant for an even smaller sampling.

I managed to try one sandwich and vote on it, but after awhile, I opted to go into the cooking section where my friend, Cecilia, was competing in all four categories. The vibe was less frenetic, but still very busy as the cheese chefs were working hard to send their offerings out to the hungry crowd. At one point, I was recruited to be a runner. Now that was fun.

I'd have my plates of Cecilia's sandwiches and as I approached the crowd, eyes pointed towards me and soon symphonies of sound, like waves, crashed around me. There was pleading and yelling. One or two people got down on their knees begged. Small children were used by their parents - their big, round innocent eyes pleading with me. I even got a proposal of marriage thrown at me. The first couple of times it was a bit overwhelming and I thought to myself, "Did I look that crazed when the shoe was on the other foot?" I probably did.

Soon, I got the hang of the whole thing and even got on a bit of a power trip. I felt like a Greek Goddess trying to decide which sycophant to bless with my gift of cheese. Hmmm...was she worthy enough? Did he beg enough? Are those children cute enough? Ok, I wasn't that bad, but I could have been if I let it go to my head. In general, the reaction of the crowd was just so much fun..

What I liked being in the cooking section was seeing the real camaraderie among the competitors. They in turn, supported and egged each other on. There was also swappings of cheese sandwiches going on so that they could taste each other's creations. The competitors themselves were also a quirky lot. Between a very tall man wearing a red velvet dress and a green madhatter hat and someone in a gorilla outfit wearing an apron, quirky may still be too tame a description. Into the mix were also professional chefs. In fact, Cecilia shared her bench with the Artisan Cheese Gallery and the winner of the Kama Sutra category was Eric Greenspan, chef of The Foundry Restaurant.

Finally, after the heat of the competition was over, the awards ceremony were held that evening. As mentioned, Chef Greenspan took honors in the Kama Sutra category. My friend, Cecilia, first-time competitor, took first place in the Missionary Category. To see all the winners, click here!

To wrap it up, is the Grilled Cheese Invitational for everyone? Probably not. If you're expecting a more formal kind of judging where competitors are at individual stations that allow you to pick which sandwiches you want to sample and vote on, you'll be disappointed. If you're expecting to sample the majority of the sandwiches, if not all of them, you'll be crushed.

In the end, although the name of this event is the Grilled Cheese Invitational, there definitely weren't enough grilled cheese sandwiches to go around for everyone to try. I think what you get is actually beyond just the sandwiches themselves. What I saw was a fun and lively atmosphere. What I saw were generous people willing to split a quarter of a sandwich with 2 or 3 other people just so more people could have a taste. What I saw were competitors using their creativity and taking a simple comfort food to the next level. Whether it was a grilled cheese and anchovy sandwich or a dessert sandwich that consisted of guava jelly, marscarpone cheese and chocolate chips, these cheese chefs were limited only by their own imagination.

What I also saw was the spirit behind this event. How can you not appreciate all the hard work and time the organizers and volunteer staff put into something that was at no cost to the attendees? There aren't very many freebies in this world, especially when you consider that culinary events can cost as little as a $15 entrance fee to a food festival up to $400 for a 10 course tasting menu. Then there's the competitors who basically donated their time and money. They weren't given a stipend to pay for all the ingredients for their sandwiches. That was all their own money. I have to give them props as well for their generosity.

Overall, it wasn't what I expected; yet, it somehow also exceeded my expectations in a weird sort of way. I'm already looking forward to the 2nd 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational or is it 1st 7th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational?

For more info, click here for the Grilled Cheese Invitational Website.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157604631335780/