My Favorite Napoleon

Pastry dough, custard, pastry dough, custard ... repeat, repeat, vanilla icing, chocolate piping.

A napoleon. But this isn't your impulse buy from the Vons refrigerated bakery section. This is the hands down, foot stomping-est, thickest custardy napoleon ever I've had the fortune of tasting.

I had it imported at great personal expense.

Ok. My girlfriend was in the neighborhood, and I made her promise to buy me a couple. But she did have to bring them all the way from San Diego to LA. And my first bite was well worth her time and effort.

If you're ever in the neighborhood, DZ Akins' bakery department is the source for these luxurious pastries. And if you're feeling impish, try a josephine -- same deal, but with strawberry (or raspberry ... something red) layers alongside whipped cream (oh, and the restaurant has great Ruben sandwiches ... but that's for another post).


Lunchtime leftover factor: I have two, and at about 4x6" each, and about a million Joules, it'll take me a couple days to eat each. I don't know what I'm having for lunch in the cubicle Monday, but I know what I'm having for many small snacks. Oh, hell, I'll just eat it as lunch.

My Cha Cha Cha

We hit up Brazilian classic Cha Cha Cha the other night.

I'll go three stars out of five because my spidey sense tells me we didn't catch the kitchen on their best night. Prices were reasonable (and I don't mean LA reasonable)

The funky little dining room is cute, if not overly comfortable. We felt genuinely welcomed by the extremely friendly service, from our great server to the manager.

The goat cheese quesadillas would have been too strong without the welcomed spread of guava inside to cut the dairy. Try their vegetarian empenadaditas; they're crispy, doughy inside, and so comforting.

The downturn came with our entrees. Rice and beans came on the side of both our dishes. The rice was nominal. Beans were watery. My pork chops sounded good with the apricot sauce, but they were presented thin (menu said double cut) and overcooked. The sauce was tasty, but full of too much dried rosemary. The flavor was overpowering, and the leaves were too dry to chew.

My girlfriend's gambas negras shrimp tasted a little fishy. The black pepper sauce was good, but if I'd had more than a bite, I think it might have started to get too strong.

I really wanted to love the place. Maybe I'll go back for breakfast sometime -- the banana French toast looked good.

Be aware, there's not much street parking, which forces you to use their valet.

My Day of Rabbit Food

I was in the mood for vegetarian goodies today. A coworker had to run into Burbank on an errand and offered to bring back some food from her favorite Chinese place, Joy Feast. Apparently, my last paycheck writer lists it as the best in class.

I proceeded on said coworker's opinion that the veggie dumplings are top notch, and ordered such.

I hesitate to base my opinion of a restaurant on one rapidly cooling dish driven half way across town, but this was pretty pathetic. When I, of all people, have a hard time finishing a dish, you know it isn't all that. The fillings were pretty sparse: cabbage, ginger, and carrot. The wrapping was too thick, which combined with its doughiness made for a chewy, gummy workout for my already TMJ-ridden jaw.

I will withhold judgment of the Joy Feast as a whole until I revisit (though I'm not in any particular hurry to go back).

Thankfully, my palate was refreshed thanks to another coworker who brought in tomatoes from her lush Pasadena garden. They were perfect, and I spent most of the day sniffing them for pleasure. Dare I say apple-style-eating-worthy? With juice dribbling down my chin, I say most certainly yes!

Anatomy of a Green Curry

I'd almost say I'm getting tired of Thai food after having it twice since Friday. I'd almost say that, but I'd be lying, because ... c'mon ... Thai food.

My boss took me out to lunch as a post-birthday celebration, and we hit up our favorite Thai spot within driving distance of the office -- you know, aside from those other four. It's called Original Thai. After the amazing lunch I'd had on Friday (half the remains of which I'd eaten for my cubicle lunch yesterday) I felt compelled to compare apples to apples.


I ordered the two best things from my Friday meal: salad rolls and green curry. It's really weird; I used to think Original Thai was pretty good. I'm here to tell you that after being reacquainted with Takhrai in San Diego, OT just kind of ... sucks. Seeing as I've not found anything remarkable Thai-wise in the two years I've lived in LA, I guess my palate had been impressed by the bare minimum.

The rice paper on the salad rolls were overly sticky, which gave the impression of poorly made mochi. The lettuce inside was iceberg (cheap!), and the mint was probably a few days old. Contrast that with Takrai's lusciously fresh mint you could smell from inside the wrapping and what I think was bib lettuce, and the south rises again.

But it's the green curry that really set the restaurants apart.

Ingredients: Original Thai
Tofu; green beans; red bell pepper; bamboo shoots; old, brown Thai basil, a little coconut milk.

Ingredients: Takhrai Thai
Golden tofu; snap peas (fresh); baby corn; red bell peppers; green bell peppers; broccoli; cabbage; eggplant; copious coconut milk; a solid amount of spice; and amazingly fresh, delicate Thai basil.

Price difference for the two dishes, a couple bucks, and look at all they pack into Takhrai's plate. And I'll tell you this: they have a rocking produce distributor.

I wonder if 135 miles is within Takhrai's delivery zone ...