Read, Listen, Eat (+ Trois Familia!)

OMOGMOGMOMGOGM

My holiday party is Saturday night and I've done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I have about 30+ peeps coming over, so prepping my appetizers and pie and cookie bar, plus brewing (?) my mulled wine and whisky cider is going to keep me up all Friday and I am so RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED about it, I might keel over. Thank god for Jaimie and my mom who have offered their assistance, because you know Imma be sipping on some champs and listening to the holiday music and totally forget about the cookies in the oven.

In other news, I just accepted a position with Fork Monkey for a freelance writing gig. So now I get to be compensated for eating and drinking and telling people about it. (Fork Monkey curates unique, high-quality culinary experiences you’d be hard-pressed to uncover anywhere else: underground supper clubs, private dinner parties and pop-ups that will leave you with a lasting impression of “wow”.) My first event is with the Whaling Club and their cocktail making class on Saturday, so I'll definitely have a piece out soon and I'm sure you're all waiting with bated breath.

And for your brief Read, Listen, Eat this week:

READ:

1. The Story Behind David Bowie's New Album (being released in Jan. 2016) - "We're were listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar."

2. Kind of a meta rec, but picking up some of the recommendations from the Guardian's Best Books of 2015, especially Julian Barnes. He wrote "The Sense of an Ending" which was one of my favorites this year.

3. Jaimie turned me onto Susan Miller's Astrology Zone and well, I'm kind of obsessed.

4. Also just read this piece of Circular Dating from Mind Body Green, and roughly it's what I do, though both Jacy and I took issue of the references to "making someone fall in love with you." LBR, I don't need to make anyone fall in love with me... they already are. *Insert obnoxious hair flip.* (Hopefully, you picked up on my oozing sarcasm).

LISTEN:

1. Obsessed with the Chainsmokers recently - great for the overly melodramatic, wannabe cigarette smoking, Parisian-esque ingenue. 

2. Bob Dylan - I'm back on that wagon again. He needs no link, you should have him on your playlist already.

3. Everything by Denitia and Sene, more specifically Divided. So hot.

EAT:

Trois Familia - the newest venture form Chef Ludo in Silverlake in the old Alegria spot. Wait was about 40 mins. Sort of beachy, communal chic atmosphere with a self-proclaimed Mexican-French theme. The issue is that here, as well as Jon and Vinnys, menu items are hit and miss. The Chicken Milenesa I would die for, with the pickled radishes and such. However, the nachos, smothered in watery béchamel sauce, and sort of bland broccoli(!), and three dots of chorizo jam for an extra five bucks. Definitely pass on that. Then we got the crepe for dessert, that had too much colour, too much fluff, and a tasteless caramel that should have passed as dulce de leche. Moral of the story, try it out. Pick the chicken and get Alfred Coffee before.

Alfred Coffee 

Meh nachos

Chicken Milenesa - Must Get

Awful crepe

Salad Nicoise and My Life in General

So I've been incredibly successful with this taking time for myself business.

Friday:
Met Ellie, Travis, Ivana and Arianna at the Satellite for The Peach Kings plus Two Boots after.

Saturday:
Hike at Griffith plus brunch at Home for a feast with Evan and Sophie
Music and Beach with Grant, Evan and Sophie



Sunday:
Hike with Jacy
Brunch (brioche with raspberry lavender brioche toast with almond butter at Sqirl) and thrifting with Ellie in Echo Park
Dinner with V, Grant and Matt and my mommy and aunt :)





Monday:

Matt and I did some stuff around the house. I went to Superking for the first time I ca't even deal, such amazing produce. So then I juiced and made an Amber version of a salad nicoise for Ellie, Evan, Matt and Patrick. Of course, we all had sweet teeth, so we got five slices of pie from House of Pies:

1. Peanut Butter Pie: great texture, but need at least a chocolate drizzle
2. Lemon Meringue: I'm never a huge fan of this business bc the curd is never real enough for me. Although this was one of their most popular pies, I didn't love it... or even like it that much.
3. Raspberry Marble Cheesecake: UM WINE. A perfect goddamn cheesecake
4. Dutch Apple: traditional pie with a crumble topping. Pretty good.
5. Chocolate Banana Cream Pie: My second favorite next to the cheesecake. Real chunks of fresh banana with the right ratio to the chocolate cream. Yum.


We were meant to go to the Echo to see two of our favorite bands, Kera and the Lesbians and Andrew Sheppard. But the food coma kicked in and we were half human, so we called it a night.

And then, finally, Ivana and Brooke came home from gallivanting about Big Sur at 3am. So happy to have my housemate home :) and we're cooking kale tofu ramen tonight and drinking organic beer.

Oh and I got my taxes done. Let's make it rain, mofos.





Recipe for Amber's Salad Nicoise (aka totally made up and not traditional):



Salad:
2/3 Package of quality small heirloom tomatoes (washed)
4 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
a couple of handfuls of sauteed green beans
six small new potatoes, parboiled whole in salted water, then quartered.
A head of butter lettuce, chopped.
- Assemble prettily on a plate

Salad dressing: 
one clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
tbsp dijon
pepper
salt
some minced dill, basil, thyme (may a 1/2 tsp chopped each - like whatever)
two chopped up anchovies
a few capers
- mix up in a mason jar (duh) and then drizzle over salad.

Salmon
- two filets -> marinate in this for a hour:
1/2 can beer (light beer - i.e. heineken)
the juice of lemons
the same herbs as above
pepper
salt
some dijon
- pan fry salmon, so skin is crispy

Cream sauce:
Also take leftover marinade, place in sauce pan, through in a tbsp of flour, let thicken, add some half and half so its creamy (duh).

Place salmon on top of dress salad and put a dollop of the cream sauce and enjoy!

xx

Your Best Weekend Ever - LA Version

Dude, we aced it this weekend. The locations, the food, the people - all were a welcome break from the craziness of my work schedule. In between trafficking cases, the police brutality one and CEDAW petition, I was grateful for a busy, but relaxing weekend.

Locations Featured:

Blue Plate
1415 Montana, Santa Monica
Order the Breakfast Quesadilla and the Mac and Cheese Pancake (?)

Highland Cafe
5010 York Blvd., Highland Park
Order the hemp latte and chilaquiles.

The Greek
Griffith Park, Los Feliz
See the Lumineers - like omg.

Golden Road Brewing
5410 W. San Fernando, Glendale
Play cornhole and get the IPA.

El Caserio 
401 Silverlake Blvd.
Silver Lake
Order the Maduros con Queso and the Salchipapas (grilled plantains with burrata/sausage and potatos).

Caffe Vita
4432 W. Sunset Blvd
Silver Lake
Order the Iced Americano (duh) and get a cookie.

Silverlake Ramen
2927 W. Sunset Blvd., Silverlake
Order the Spicy Pork Belly Ramen and the Crispy Rice and Spicy Tuna Roll

Friday started off with wine, cookies from Sweet Lady Jane, and frozen yogurt from Yogurtland plus a lovely home-cooked meal by Christina. Sophie, Christina and I watched about 15 minutes of a horror movie before crashing and woke up for a walk on Montana and brunch at Blue Plate. 

We ordered the breakfast quesadilla and the mac and cheese pancake. Holy mother of god. First of all, I'm always disappointed by breakfast quesadillas - too much egg, too much cheese, too soggy, etc. But this actually might be the best one I've had. The mac and cheese pancake was interesting. It's actually a plain pancakes with spoonfuls of mac and cheese cooked into it, served with powdered sugar and syrup. The taste was good, the concept a bit disconcerting... it was a bit too much for me.

After that, Sophs and I headed home for a walk and then met Jacy at Highland Cafe for hemp lattes (my fave) and some work time. Evan and Ladi met us and tasted the delicacies that Highland Cafe has to offer. I went home and worked a bit more, took Soph on another walk and then had some delish Mexican food on York with Annie and her two friends, Hollis and James.


I picked Aline up for the Lumineers and we headed to the Greek. I heard amazing things about the show from Evan, who had gone the night before. I had purchased the tickets fan pre-sale, whatever that means, the seats were legit. Except we didn't have seats... we were in the pit. The show felt so intimate and of course, the venue is one of my favorites, so I was on a high. Until my gas light went on when we were stuck in the parking lot and I almost had a heart attack. But you know, so it goes.






Aline and I headed to Golden Road to meet up with Annie, Hollis and James again where I witnessed the epic stick throwing game. Literally throwing sticks. Like I can't. I have to go back - they have cornhole and giant jenga.
   
I was planning on like working on Sunday. That was a fail. I was quickly swept into a mimosa brunch at El Caserio in Silverlake, a place I had been meaning to try for their gorgeous patio. Minus the fact they were NOT dog-friendly (get with the times people) and a little bougie, the food was an interesting Latin American fusion and they were heavy on the champagne pours. We had a great group: Aline, Nora, Hollis, James, their friend Marsen, Jenaba, and Christina.






We hit up Caffe Vita for iced Americanos to get our heads on straight and then headed home to recharge. I napped for a bit and then met Evan for some life-giving Ramen at one of our favorite spots and we didn't have to wait that long - just about a half hour.



Exhausted, I came home and... worked. But for an epic weekend, pounding out some research wasn't so bad.

Now I want someone to come visit me so I can do it all over again.

Sophie was sleepy after our long weekend :)

LA Catchup

Things have been madness since I returned last Friday.  I'm so grateful for my family and friends and how fun this week has been and all the wonderful things that will happen. A brief synopsis:

Saturday:

• Law Review Orientation
• Late lunch with Annie (new housemate - she's amazing, fyi), Veronica, Grant, Aline, Max and Lauren (our fave subletter ever) at Square One at Echo Park Lake. I got the Squash Blossom Burrito - delish. (Grant - we need to do our vegan dinner soon; Max - you need to get on board with face touching; Veronica - can we just get married already?)
• FYF - I love you Devendra Banhart (and Jacy, Aline and Evan - I've missed you more than you can imagine).

Sunday:

• Jeff - thank you for always putting up with my craziness - I love you, almost as much as I love coffee and Banh Mi.
• Brunch wtih Christina at Red Hill - get the mimosa with the homemade sorbet and the kale salad. Also despite the crazy people around us, Christina was the funniest and most amazing. I love her so much and can't wait to go out with her again).
• FYF - Beach House and Washed Out for the win. And reuniting with Molly was the icing on the cake.

Monday - Thursday:

• Classes - wow. I forgot how to read. 
• Hermosillo welcome back - I love my friends almost as much as I love deep fried brussel sprouts (special thank you to Anthony and Jackie for traveling to me - I felt so loved!)
• Walks around Silverlake Res, hikes at Elysian, nachos with Cassi at El Chavo, fun work meetings (more on that later), and general merriness.

Friday:

• Edendale dinner (Omg the Eden Dip) with Veronica, hightailing it around the Eastside, including Bar Stella, 4100 (oh the views) and Footsies. 

Saturday:

• Coffee at Square One with the pups and Jacy (becoming my favorite dog walk, especially with Sophie trying to chase the heron pictured below).

• Catching up on Orange in the New Black (so amazing, I want the new season - did she or didn't she?)
• Scoops ice cream with Annie and Ariana - yay for roommate bonding and salty oreo.
• Reuniting with Lennie and Jenaba - I've missed them.
• Eat.See.Hear with Sam, Jacy and Christable - Pulp Fiction, hot dogs with avocado, arugula, and basil aioli and hot chocolate from Brasil Kiss. Yum. Sam - thank you so much for introducing me to such a legit event and thank you to Christable and Jacy for putting up with my craziness and listening to my stories and for being so great in general).

• Brew Co/Daily Bruin reunion with my faves, including Alene, Anthony, Jess, Machiko and Matt Stevens. 

Sunday:

• Relaxed with brunch with my mom, Labor Day Sale shopping with my aunt, and yummy Indian before cleaning my room and getting my life together.

Monday:

• work work work in the morning.
• Lunch with Priyah and Whitney at Wurstkuche - You can't go wrong with the Austin Blues. Also I've missed Priyah tremendously since she moved and so happy I got to spend a couple of hours with her.

• Massage with Aline
• BBQ with Paige and Aline - adobo steak, corn on the cob, fresh green salad and dessert: bananas with melted truffles, marshmallows and vanilla ice cream.

The next week is crazy - I have a report due for my consultant position with LAFLA due tomorrow. I start back at Hadsell tomorrow and Hoffman on Wednesday. I need to sift through some law review articles and do my reading for class. Thursday - HH with Lorna and Haley and dinner with the girls (Aline, Alene and Seda) on Thursday.

Also starting my new workout plan - Beachfit and YogaHop on Wednesday and applying for some fellowships. Shit is about to get real, but I'm hoping to keep up the updates on this blog as we go along.

xx

Black Hogg

Saturday was a beautiful way to start Spring Break. Ellie, Jacy and I grabbed iced americanos and hiked with the pups at Elysian before doing a short workout. Then I headed to Santa Monica to meet Christina and her lovely new bf, Brandon, for mimosas at Sonoma Wine Garden. SWG is beautiful and is on the top floor of the Samo mall. Brandon was able to get us a coveted spot outside and I tried the variety of delish mimosas: peach, apricot, elderflower, traditional and pomegranate. Yum. 

We then toddled down Third Street and did some shopping at Lush (where I got to see Ellie in action!) Christina and I then relaxed with some coffee and Brandon, who is an amazing musician, played us some music. 

Afterwards, I stopped home to cuddle with Sophs and then met V for a late dins at Black Hogg, which I have been wanting to try forever. I am so spoiled by dinner in LA. It's ridiculous. On the menu:


Popcorn Bacon with Maple Cream: Deep fried pork belly dipped in maple cream. UM. WHAT. I can't even talk about it. It was the best thing I have ever had in my life. It tasted like everything good about pancakes and bacon in a bite. I died so hard.

Carne Asada Fries: Meh. The carne asada was okay, but there was far too much lemon juice. A bit harsh on the tastebuds.

Brussel Sprouts Hash: We got two servings of these brussels with the delicious poached yolky egg and bacon vinaigrette. Perfectly cooked, beautifully flavored, so rich. Sometimes you think that veg is just veg, but dude, Black Hogg takes these brussels to a new level.

Roast Pork Belly, House-Made Corn Tortillas, Apple Slaw, Jalapeno Relish: I am just now realizing how much bacon, lardon, pork belly I had on Saturday. I'm actually okay with it. This was the most entree-ish thing we got and I can't imagine anything better. Beautiful contrast of flavors and textures. I'm drooling again, fml.

Chocolate Pot thing: Rich and dense and more dense and more rich and then chocolate and more chocolate. We couldn't actually finish it because it was so rich, but with the cab we were imbibing, it was such a lovely end to the meal.

Although the wait was bit long, the service was five-star. I need to go back for all the bacon dishes. Don't judge me.