At the risk of sounding coarse…

Here are my dirty mags…

Rockenwagner Bakery

So sleepy and cold this morning that I stopped at Rockenwagner Bakery for an Americano. The menu said 2.50, but when the guy said “would you like an extra shot?” I answered yes without hesitation. My mistake. For those of you that don’t know, an Americano is espresso and water. No fancy syrups or milk necessary. You would think it would be cheap, but no. My drink this morning cost $3.52. It’s a decent Americano, but I doubt I will ever buy one from them again. Like the drink, the rest of their menu, composed of pre-prepared food already packaged and ready to go, is overpriced and mediocre at best. Another restaurant on 3rd street that I will never say “hey, let’s go there.”

The Wok of My Life

My friend had told me about the stir fry she had made; the combination of pre-lunch hunger and the delicious ingredients she used only made me think “I NEED A WOK.”

Fortunately, they were on sale at Sur La Table! I bought a stainless steel 14″ wok for less than 20 dollars. I was so excited and equally as intimidated. The wok came with preparation instructions. Apparently, for shipping purposes it had to be coated with a food-safe lacquer that needed to be heated off. And then of course the wok needed to be seasoned. Thoughts along the lines of “what if I do it wrong?” and “TJ’s frozen meatless meatballs are easier to make” clouded my head and for a week my shiny new wok sat around the stove collecting dust as I lazily lived around it.

Along with laziness and cooking insecurities, I still had not found a recipe I wanted to use. I kept running into two different problems in my search: the recipes were complex and required expensive ingredients or the recipes would make me think “that sounds nice, but would I really want to eat that for 3-4 meals? So, I just bought the basics: oils, noodles, random vegetables and some precooked chicken (I wonder if this has a -phobia name with the definition: fear of cooking chicken and getting sick). With the much needed help of my roommate, I was taught the basics on how to make a stir fry. The whole idea of it reminds me of a creative art class. The wok is the tool, now do whatever comes to mind! Which is awesome, but I am still a naive beginner and also the boring girl that enjoyed drawing inside the lines required lines to color with (My coloring books were as creative and outrageously colorful as a Banana Republic catalog).

I used kelp noodles as a rawlternative to regular noodles, fresh vegetables from the farmers market and I also added some egg whites at the end to give it the chow mein feel. And of course a big spoon full of chili garlic sauce to add some heat. I loved this dinner so much that I have been making a stir fry every week. I am altering the ingredients and spices each time to find my perfect stir fry. I plan to bring more cash with me to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market so I can buy some local seasonal vegetables to help me become more creative and confident cook. Any suggestions or tips are welcome! Wok on!

Houston’s

I recently had an hour to kill at the Santa Monica Promenade. I got a glass of wine and my favorite (unlisted) side dish at Houston’s: the artichoke! It’s one of my favorite vegetables ever and I have found Houston’s to be the most delicious. However, for thirteen dollars a plate, I am willing to try to make it at home.

Houston’s - Santa Monica
202 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 576-7558

Masa of Echo Park

Finally, after months of wanting to go, my boyfriend and I went to Masa of Echo Park. Masa is notorious for their Chicago deep dish pizza, a style of pizza that I have become more interested in over time. It was the perfect time: free metered parking Sunday. We arrived around 3pm, missing the lunch rush, but beating the dinner crowd.

As I alluded to in the first paragraph, the place was not very crowded. I had always heard that it was best to call ahead and order the deep dish pizza because it takes approximately 40 minutes to bake, but I figured it would not be a big deal on our lazy Sunday adventure. We sat down and immediately ordered the Pepperoni Deep Dish. And to eat while we waited, I ordered the wild green salad and the Masa Honey Blonde Ale Beer.

I loved the beer, specially made for Masa by the Firestone Brewery, and thought it worked well with the salad. I was very tempted to order another pint to go with my pizza, but knew that having two beers was probably not the best idea in the afternoon. The salad was big and healthy and came with a big “puff ball” of bread which was good and tided us over until the pizza came.

The pizza seemed larger than life in comparison to the thin crust I am used to. And I loved it. Even though 1 slice was more than filling, I was able to eat my way through two. We took the leftover pizza home and ate it for the rest of the week. In the end, the service was friendly and the food was delicious. Win, win. I would love to go back again sometime, but next time I will call ahead to order my pizza.

Masa of Echo Park
1800 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 989-1558

Hello March