McDonald's History Tour

On a gray day in April 2006, I embarked on the McDonald's History Tour led by McHistorian Chris Nichols. For many, the McDonalds were thought to be fictional characters and that Ray Kroc was the actual founder of McDonald's. In actuality, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald were real people and they truly started the McDonald's legacy. This tour tells some of their story.

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The day started with over 50 of us meeting at the McDonald's in Downey, which is currently the oldest working McDonald's in the world, but is actually the 4th McDonald's ever opened. To start off our tour, we had breakfast of what else but an Egg McMuffin, hash browns and a choice of OJ or coffee.

From there, we took our tour bus to Sierra Madre, the sleepy little town that first drew the McDonalds brothers from New Hampshire in 1920. In the 1920's, Sierra Madre was a land of citrus trees and farmland. In fact, to get a taste of what Sierra Madre would have looked like in those times, we stopped at E. Waldo Ward Ranch, the only working orange grove in Los Angeles County. On this 3-1/2 acres of land, you will see the original red barn, built in 1902, which also houses old equipment and utensils of days gone by as well as a small grove of orange and kumquat trees. The fruit from these trees are made into various kinds of marmalades, jellies and jams all of which can be purchased at the farm.

Tired of working 9 to 5 jobs and inspired by the lush Southern California citrus industry, the McDonald's opened up their first restaurant called the Airdrome, which sold orange juice, hot dogs, coffee and tea in 1937. This restaurant was adjacent to the Monrovia Airport, which used to be on Huntington Drive. In fact, the Albertson's store across the street depicts murals in remembrance of the airport that finally shut its doors in 1953, which we passed by on our way to San Bernardino. On our bus ride to San Bernardino, we learned even more about the McDonalds brothers.

In 1940, the McDonalds brothers moved the Airdrome to San Bernardino and converted it to a BBQ restaurant. This BBQ restaurant had a 25-item menu, 20 car hops and made the McDonalds brothers a very comfortable living.

However, eight years later, it was time for a change. While studying the menu and tracking orders, Dick McDonald discovered that hamburger sales generated 80% of their business. Looking to simplify how their business was run and to maximize profits, the McDonalds brothers came up with their "Speedee Service System".

This system was literally a diagram of how to run an assembly line kitchen efficiently and quickly and they actually worked on this system by drawing an exact chalk diagram on their tennis court in front of their home. While occasional rain bursts would wash out the check, it would just keep prompting them to redraw and refine their design until they got it perfect. It is this system that they put in place at the re-opening of their new concept restaurant.

In October 1948, McDonald's Barbecue Restaurant was no more and in December, 1948, re-opened as McDonald's Famous Hamburgers13 years later, Ray Kroc buys out the McDonalds brothers for $2.7 million dollars and through him, the McDonald's Corporation was born.

The site of the original McDonald's Hamburger restaurant is where our tour picks up again. The Airdrome, which went from, primarily a snack shop to than a barbecue restaurant and finally a hamburger restaurant was finally torn down in 1953 to make way for a building more in keeping with the McDonald's restaurant in Downey. Finally, in 1972, that building was demolished as well and the current building was constructed in its place in 1974.

After changing hands a couple more times, the original site of the first McDonald's as well as the current building was purchased in 1998 by Albert Okura, founder of Juan Pollo Restaurants. Mr. Okura converted half of the building to house his offices, but the other half is dedicated to McDonald's memorabilia. Admission is free and Mr. Okura was even on hand for our tour to answer questions. At this unofficial museum, you'll see everything from old pictures to a collection of Happy Meal toys to hats, uniforms and costumes. It was quite an eclectic collection.

Once we looked our fill, back on the bus we went. Another place of interest that we passed by was a machine shop where the McDonalds came up with a lot of the inventions that were utilized for speedier service like a hand-held pump that spurted a precise amount of ketchup and mustard on each burger or a lazy Susan allowed 24 buns to be dressed at a time at a staging area away from the grill.

Our last stop before heading back to Downey was the #7 McDonald's in Pomona. What a shadow of its former self, this #7 store was. Compared to the beautifully restored Downey McDonald's, this store, now a donut shop, was a bit run down and saw better days. At least, you could see hints of what was once there by the red and white striping of the building and if you can envision the red arch in the sign as yellow, that too, will take you back to days gone by.

This was a long tour, starting at 10:00 am and ending at 5:30 pm. At the same time, it was quite enlightening. Ray Kroc may have played a large part in the McGlobalization of over 30,000 restaurants worldwide and have founded the McDonald's Corporation, but it was truly Dick and Mac McDonald's innovative and forward thinking that founded the basic principles that McDonald's was built on in the first place and for that, they truly deserve their due.

To see all the photos, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157619666886712/

McDonald's
10207 Lakewood Blvd.
Downey, CA 90240
(562) 622-9248



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Checking Out the Summer Select Prix Fixe Menu in The Dining Room

After I blogged about the Chocolate Afternoon Tea at the Langham Hotel, I was invited back to check out the Summer Select Prix Fixe Menu at their restaurant, The Dining Room. Again, I have to say thanks to Tara of When Tara Met Blog and the Langham Hotel. Given that The Dining Room was the only hotel restaurant to receive a Michelin star in 2008 under Executive Chef, Craig Strong, I was really looking forward to the meal; however, I should note that by the time I dined at The Dining Room, Chef Strong had taken a new position with Montage Hotels in Laguna Beach.

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Before I talk about the meal that my guest and I shared, let me tell you about this "Summer Select" menu. First, it consists of three different appetizers, main courses and desserts and was designed by Chef Strong. Highlights include Beef Carpaccio, Pork Belly Confit and a Chocolate Tart with Whiskey Ice Cream. This menu is available Tuesday through Thursday nights and is priced at $59 per person, not including alcholic beverages, tax or gratuity. Finally, it is available until July 30, 2009. Now on to the food itself.

It all started with bread and I especially enjoy it when I'm a presented with a tray of different types of bread to choose from. Decisions, decisions. First, I tried the Brioche, which I liked, but I absolutely loved the Black Olive Bread, which was crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. I wouldn't mind having one right now with pats of butter.

Before our first course arrived, we were treated to an Amuse Bouche which was liquid polenta, quail egg and Serrano ham. I wasn't that much of a fan of the liquid polenta. On its own, it tasted like a salty cornmeal flavored soup. When mixed with the yolk of the quail egg, the salt was cut back enough so I enjoyed it a little better, especially when eaten with the Serrano ham. I think I would preferred a polenta pancake or cake, but perhaps that's too conventional to be interesting.

My guest and I ordered two different items items from each course so that we could sample at least two thirds of the menu. When it came to our appetizers, we shared the Squash Blossom Tempura and the Oven Dried Tomato and Grilled Eggplant Terrine. First, the Squash Blossom Tempura which were stuffed with brandade and came with micro greens and a Romesco sauce. This was actually my first experience with brandade, a puree of salt cod, olive oil and milk and it was an eating experience I enjoyed a lot. It reminded me of a better version of a tuna salad and I could see myself eating it with a cracker. As for the squash blossom, its preparation was on target. The light tempura usage gave just the right amount of crispness without overwhelming this delicate flower with too much batter. I also appreciated that the squash blossom themselves weren't mushy.

The second appetizer was the Oven Dried Tomato and Grilled Eggplant Terrine with baby lettuce, balsamic walnut vinaigrette and shaved aged goat cheese. I'm an eggplant lover so just the name of the dish already pre-sold itself. While not outstanding, it's a solid dish and prepared well, although I do think that the terrine needed a little more seasoning though. Perhaps, fresh herbs?

Soon it was main course time. I started out with the Pork Belly Confit with semolina gnocchi, Tuscan cabbage, carrot and cassis mustard sauce. The pork belly meat itself was fatty, juicy and tender, just the way I like it. What threw me off was the topping. I think it was some kind of hard cheese? I really didn't think the pork needed it and in fact, I found it to be dry and distracting; however, I absolutely loved the bitter notes of the Tuscan cabbage and the soft tart and sweet flavors coming from the cassis mustard sauce.

After I had my share of the Pork Belly, I sampled the Skate Piccata with fingerling potatoes, spinach, preserved lemon butter sauce and fried capers. Unfortunately, this was the most disappointing dish of the whole night. Simply, it was too salty. I think we honestly should have returned it and given the kitchen a chance to rectify the situation. Considering the level of service at The Dining Room, I don't think this would have been a problem, but having a Filipino sensibility of being too polite stopped us.

With appetizers and our main courses behind us, it was time for dessert. Unexpectedly, we were served a dessert amuse bouche which included a slice of chocolate pound cake, chocolate gelato (with coffee bean and vanilla) and a cherry brandy and tarragon sauce. One bite of the chocolate pound cake was enough since it was quite dry. The chocolate gelato with hints of coffee and vanilla was a hit and that cherry brandy and tarragon sauce was killer.

Finally, the two desserts we ordered arrived at the table. The one I tried first was the Lavender Panna Cotta with blueberries, candied almonds and lemon poppy seed cake. Just like the green tea panna cotta that I had at their Chocolate High Tea, this one was stellar. It was creamy and I could definitely taste the lavender. What I found interesting was that the the tartness of the blueberries and the sweet nuttiness of the candied almonds complemented as opposed to overshadowing the lavender.

I also enjoyed digging into the Chocolate Tart with the Whiskey Ice Cream. The chocolate itself was rich and dense, as chocolate should be (at times). Since I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, I can't say without any certainty if the ice cream tasted like whiskey or not, but I liked it and its light flavors complemented the richness of the chocolate tart.

At this point, I thought our meal was over, but not yet. To the right of our table was a table that held trays of various mini desserts and after our two empty plates got swept off the table, our waiter served us a plateful of these little goodies, which included Madeleines, Vanilla Bean Cakes, Shortbread Cookies, Coconut Roches, an Apricot Gelee and a Berry Gelee. Of the six, my favorites were the Coconut Roches, which tasted like macaroon cookies and both Gelees.

I did wonder if Chef Strong's presence would have meant a different dining experience, but that's really hard to say. After all, even the most talented of chefs and kitchens have better days than others. Overall, it'll be interesting to see what changes as a new chef is brought in and puts their own stamp on the menu.

For now, while there were hits and misses to this meal, I think that what was good was good enough for me to make a return visit one day, especially when the new executive chef is on board. After all, with an overall experience that included service that was spot on and a nice setting, the Dining Room still has a lot to offer and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

To see all the pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157619344270844/

The Dining Room
The Langham Hotel and Spa
1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue
Pasadena,, CA 91106
(626) 568-3900



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Shrimp and More at Mariscos Chente

If I had to choose my favorite non-fish seafood, it would be shrimp all the way and if you're a shrimp lover like me, than Mariscos Chente should be on your to go list. I had actually paid a visit to the Marsicos Chente location in Lennox a few months back and loved my meal there, so I was really interested in seeing if the consistency would be the same at their other location in Mar Vista. Bill aka Street Gourmet LA made all the arrangements for our meal there and what a feast it was. To learn more about the Sinaloan cooking represented at Mariscos Chente, read Bill's post here.

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Our meal started with a shot of Tequila, straight from Tijuana, and also a popular Mexican cocktail made with Squirt, tequila and salt. Interestingly enough, that cocktail tasted just like a margarita on the rocks without having to use a margarita mix.

First to arrive at our table were individual shrimp tamales. Inside each tamal were two whole, cooked and unshelled shrimp. Some ate their entire tamal, including the shrimp, from head to tail while others ate selective parts of their shrimp with the masa. The shrimp were cooked just right and retained its sweetness while the masa was moist and had a light; yet, dense texture to it that I liked.

Up next was a plate that included the Ceviche de Aguachile and the Ceviche de Camaron, which were both raw seafood preparations. This is my second time having the Ceviche de Aguachile and second time around, it was just as good. That lime-jalapeno salsa was both tart and spicy and the freshness of the shrimp was quite evident to my taste buds. One thing to mention is that the Owner, Magadelana, purchases their shrimp and other seafood directly from Mazatlan every week and brings it through customs to the US. I have to give her props for really caring about the quality of the seafood she brings to her restaurant.

As for the Ceviche de Camaron, it was my least favorite of everything we tried. The quality of the ingredients showed through, but taste-wise, it was a bit bland. On its own, it probably would have been fine, but when eaten with the stronger flavors of the Ceviche de Aguachile, it lost something in the translation.

After our raw sampling, it was time for 3 different cooked shrimp dishes with 3 different sauces, which included the Shrimp a la Pimienta, the Shrimp Borachos and the Shrimp a la Diable. Other than the shrimp, the common ingredient across all three was butter. This was my second time having the Shrimp a la Pimienta, which was cooked with chili and black pepper. I love black pepper so this was easily my favorite of the 3.

The Shrimp Borachos consisted of deep fried shrimp sauteed with tequila, garlic, cilantro and Worcestershire sauce (Salsa de Ingleterra). I enjoyed the fact that shrimp wasn't too over fried and even with the sauce, it still retained a little bit of crispiness.

Last, but not least, was the Shrimp a la Diable which was shrimp cooked with butter, nuevo mexico chile and chile de arbol. Of all the shrimp dishes on the menu, this one was supposed to be the spiciest. What I liked about the Shrimp a la Diable was that flavor wasn't sacrificed for heat. With the shrimp being cooked in butter, there are buttery aspects to the sauce, but the chilies that were used also added some smokiness that really livened up my palate.

The grand finale for the meal was their Pescado Zarandeado, a Snook fish grilled with a marinade made of butter, soy sauce, chioptle and Mandarin orange juice. It came with a dipping sauce of butter, red onions and Worcestershire sauce. My favorite whole fish dish is the Bangus, a Filipino fish that is marinated in vinegar and than grilled. It still is my favorite, but this Pescado Zarandeado came really close to jumping to that top spot. How can you resist a fish that tastes fatty, buttery, salty, a little spicy and also has citrus notes? The sweet-saltiness of the sauce which reminded me a little of Filipino adobo sauce also complemented the Snook really well. Overall, if you're coming in with a group of two or more, this fish is a must order.

Technically, our meal was over, but a few of us stayed afterwards to chat and were treated to raw sea snails and scallops seasoned with lime and chili pepper. I've had raw scallops before and it's been a hit and miss experience with the miss happening when a scallop tasted a bit slimy. Yuck! However, these scallops had a clean texture with a little hint of sweetness. This was my first experience with raw sea snails and they had a chewy texture and strangely enough, tasted like cheese. I prefer them cooked in soup, which I've had in the past at Vietnamese restaurants.

Overall, my 2nd time around at Mariscos Chente was just as good as my first visit. I was able to re-visit a couple of dishes that I really enjoyed and was able to sample a few new ones that I savored to the last bite. Like La Casita, Mariscos Chente has really expanded my view of what Mexican cuisine is all about and I look forward to sampling more on future visits.

To see all the pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157619116077076/

Mariscos Chente
4532 S. Centinela Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90066
(310) 390-9241




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Crawling Lennox(ico) with Street Gourmet LA

I first found out about the city of Lennox from my friend, Bill aka Street Gourmet LA. Click here to read his original post about it. Simply, the stretch of Inglewood, between Century Boulevard and 111th Street, is a residential neighborhood that has been zoned for businesses, which means that homes have been converted to restaurants and other Latino-owned businesses. As soon as the words "restaurant" was mentioned, my ears perked up and after some arm pulling (actually, it wasn't that difficult to convince him), I brought together a few adventurous eaters from Pleasure Palate to do a 4 restaurant dining crawl led by Bill in Lennox or Lennoxico, as he affectionately refers to the city. Bill already posted his write-up on the experience, so I'm definitely behind the 8-ball, but such is the life of a food blogger. Technically, our first stop was at Don Rogelio, which is a Tex-Mex restaurant where we placed the order for food that we were going to share family-style.

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As the Don Rogelio cooks were preparing our dishes, we walked over to Lennox Pollo to check it out and even pick up a bird or two. With its blue roof and orange walls showcasing chickens cooking over flames, Lennox Pollo was definitely not hard to miss.

Walking in, the small dining room area was about as big as the kitchen itself and just as hot. I have to give real props to the kitchen staff for being able handle their cooking duties in that heat. I would have melted away. As we waited for our chicken, all our eyes were on them. From skewering the chickens, putting them into the fiery oven, taking the cooked ones out and then cutting them to put in plastic containers for people's orders and repeating, they got the job done efficiently and with purpose.

The end result was a juicy chicken that came with salsa and tortillas. You could get one for $6.99 or for $3.00 more, you could get two. Our hungry crew went for the twosome and luckily, Don Rogelio kindly let us devour our chicken along with the 6 other dishes we ordered from them.

Of those 6 dishes, two of them didn't do much for me. The Carnitas Mole had a "Southwest"-inspired mole sauce that had a grainy texture and a sour tangy flavor that I didn't like.


I may have liked the Stewed Tongue with Ranchera Sauce more if I didn't know what it was. Organ meats or tongue meat, in this case, have never been that appealing to me. I did taste a sliver, but although everyone else commented on how tender the tongue meat was and how good the sauce was, I couldn't get past my mental block.

Of the remaining dishes, I couldn't get enough of their housemade guacamole sauce. Made of avocados, tomatoes, green onions, lime and Texas seasonings, it was one of the best guacamoles I've ever had.

Their Chile Verde, which was diced pork simmered in tomatillo and Texas seasonings, was also one of my favorites of the meal. The pork was tender and moist and the tomatillo sauce was on the mark.

I thought the Barbacoa was also quite good. Just like the pork in the Chile Verde, the beef was tender and while the sauce wasn't that complex, it had a sweetness to it that was tasty. Overall, I found the food at Don Rogelio's to be solidly good and it would merit a return visit.

Two restaurants down and the next one we walked over to was Mariscos Chente, a Sinaloan seafood restaurant. At the time of our visit, Chef Sergio was at the helm. He has since moved over to their Westside location in Mar Vista. I've heard rumors that the current chef at the Lennox location is not on par with Chef Sergio, so you may still want to make the trek to where Chef Sergio is currently manning the kitchen.

Except for one fish dish, it was all about the shrimp with the first one being the Aguachile Shrimp which was raw shrimp with a lime-jalapeno salsa, onion, cucumber and salt. This was my first experience with raw shrimp and I loved how the spicy jalapeno sauce paired well with the sweetness of the shrimp.

Next to arrive was the Camarones Culiche. This time it was a cooked shrimp with a creamy poblano sauce. Even cooked, the shrimp still retained its sweetness and balanced well with the sauce which had a definite bite to it.

My favorite shrimp dish was the Camarones a la Pimienta which was shrimp with a butter and pepper sauce. How can you go wrong with a sauce made with butter? With the addition of the chili and black pepper, I enjoyed the zings of flavor that hit my taste buds with every bite.

Our sole fish dish of this meal was the Chicarron Pescado. This dish was fried fish skin cooked in soy sauce. There was actually still quite a bit of fish attached to the skin. The skin was delightfully crispy, but overall, I found the Chicarron Pescado a little too salty for my taste. Maybe, a little less soy sauce?

Last, but not least was the Camarones Checo, shrimp cooked with garlic, ketchup, lemon and Mexican salsa. The ketchup was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. It added a hint of sweetness to the tart and pungent flavors of the lemon and garlic.

Mariscos Chente definitely awed my entire group with how good their seafood was and I told myself that this was one restaurant, I definitely needed to make a return trip to, sooner rather than later. A few months after this visit, the story of the delicious seafood at Mariscos Chente broke out all over the blogger sphere after Bill's write-up on his blog; however, it was nice to know that we got a preview of what was to come. Most of us were stuffed and actually didn't plan on making another restaurant stop, but soon found ourselves at Angelica's.

At Angelica's, we kept it a lot more simple and just sampled really small portions of 3 items. One of those items was a Chorizo Pambazo Sandwich, but we had such a small section that I can't really remember what it tasted like. We also had a Mole Verde Beef (beef with green mole) and Trocitos de Res (chopped beef in red sauce). I really liked the Mole Verde Beef. The only other time I had a mole verde sauce was at Guelaguetza, but the version at Angelica's was thicker and in my opinion, was better. I can't really explain why other than that it had a more intense flavor. I didn't think the Trocitos de Res was anything special. In fact, the red sauce seemed really bland.

Overall, this was quite a dining marathon and definitely introduced me to a part of town one may not expect to find good food. It just goes to show that if you take the time to do some exploring, you may discover one or two tremendous food finds. Either that or have a friend like Bill, who can do the exploring for you.

To see all the pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157618284648942/

Lennox Pollo
10822 Inglewood Avenue
Lennox CA 90304, USA

Don Rogelio's
10618 Inglewood Avenue
Lennox, CA 90304
(310) 677-1510

Mariscos Chente
10020 Inglewood Avenue
Inglewood, CA 90304
(310) 672-0226‎

Angelica's Restaurant
10533 S. Inglewood Ave
Lennox, CA 90304
(310) 412-7861



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