Cafe Angelino - still the best in LA.

Went to Cafe Angelino the other night. I still think this is my favorite restaurant in the city. It's just so reliable, so delicious, and my favorite thing on the menu (Farfalle Ai Carciofi) is really fun to say in Italian.

Everything I or anyone else has ever ordered has been fantastic. I sampled some of Mom's Spinach /Ricotta Raviolis, which were rich but amazing. The Caprese had a really good, gooey mozzarella. I keep vowing to try new things on the menu, but I go here infrequently enough that the Carciofi delight lures me in every time.

And even on a Friday night, we only had to wait about 15 mins for a table. This place never disappoints.

Artisan Cheese Gallery - Grilled Italian Veg. Sandwich

There it is. This right here is the best vegetarian sandwich in Los Angeles. I still make the trip down Ventura to have lunch here every few months. I have memorized this sandwich's ingredients, and fantasized about buying a panini grill, for the express purpose of one day attempting to recreate this masterpiece. But part of me fears that I would only anger the sandwich gods by trying to emulate their work.

The rest of the sandwiches are good too. Many people I've brought here have ordered what they proclaimed to be the "best sandwich" they'd ever eaten. The side order of spicy pickles that comes with the sandwiches is awesome, and the store stocks creatively flavored sodas and attractive gourmet foods like PBLoco peanut butters.

But seriously, that sandwich. If I ever leave this fair city, it will be truly missed.

Artisan Cheese Gallery
http://artisancheesegallery.com/

Alameda Marketplace

So to further this theme of "making the best out of the culinary asshole in which my office is located" I went with a few friends to the Alameda Marketplace for lunch yesterday. It's pretty nuts to have this gourmet market in Alameda, which has always seemed to me to be a sleepy little midwestern sort of small town america thing, accidentally misplaced in the geographic center of the wacky bay area. My first impression of the place was formed on an 8th grade field trip to the now defunct naval base, to tour the USS Enterprise, a real life aircraft carrier. I remember my teacher suggested I call the base to ask about arranging the trip, and I told the woman who answered that my eight grade class wanted to tour the Starship Enterprise. Dammit.

I spent the bulk of the trip with Terry Barrios, making ding-dong sounds under our breath whenever a bell-bottomed sailor would saunter past. It was HILARIOUS. Terry was (had?) this figure that loomed large in my life in junior high, and then we lost touch in high school and I didn't see her for a few years. Then at some point we ran into each other again in college, and somehow in the course of conversation it came up that she had never heard of the band Green Day. Which seemed crazy to me, because Dookie was all over the radio and arguing about whether this was a serious, punishable betrayal or merely the inevitable selling out of anything that captures the teenage imagination sufficiently was an extremely frequent topic amongst my friends. It would come up sometimes three or four times a day. Was she living under a rock?

Anyway, I went with C, E and Z. They all seemed pretty happy with pizza slices from the bakery. I went to the deli counter next to it and got a roast beef sandwich. Apparently they do the beef roasting on the premises, and it was delicious. They make it with a mild bleu cheese, which works really well.

Also got mac&cheese on the side, which was voted Best in Alameda by somebody, but tasted just ok. It's always just ok, though. I can count on one finger the mac&cheese I've had that manages to transcend just ok. (Fred 62 in Los Feliz. Open all night long. Why isn't there a place like that in every neighborhood? Sigh.) I've got to stop eating like this, but I'm giving myself the rest of the month. And then it's primary colored sweat pants with running shorts over them and a headband and a foreigner song and only blended foods with raw egg, cause it's time to get in shape. Montage!

Tomato Pie Pizza Joint

Thank you yelpers for leading me to this most delicious pizza joint. I've had takeout from here twice and it is awesome.
1) It is 3 blocks from my house
2) Amazingly, they also have really good salads.
3) The pizza is the best I've had in LA (fancy Mozza pizza etc. aside). The owner explained to me in great detail the triple filtration system that reduces the LA tap water to the purest of nectars with which he makes the pizza dough. And even then, the water isn't as good as it is in New York. It is the only pizza I've had in LA that actually makes me involuntarily moan my approval while eating, so it wins. The picture is a gourmet "Grandma Pie". Seriously, yum.

www.tomatopiepizzajoint.com

Getting the obvious out of the way

Okay, so this is pretty much the best cheap shit EVAR, and the place I eat more often than any other - Taqueria El Farolito on International in Oakland.

Everybody I've ever met has heard me rail against the bullshit lunch options near my office (Panda Express?! Is that some sort of sick fucking joke?! blah blah blah and so on) but there is one consolation and his name is Chile Verde Super Burrito con todo. Paired with delicious green salsa from the serve-it-your-own-damn-self salsa bar (the chips are disappointing, but without a little pain how can we ever expect to truly appreciate the sweet sweet glory of g*d's own forearm-sized pork bundle unleashing its flavor explosion all up in that piehole) and a little foil bindle of the standard pickled jalapeno/onion/carrot ménage à trois, it's pretty much that which all other lunches aspire to become yet cannot be. Apologies to anyone who might take a stab at diagramming that previous sentence. The prose is tortured, but the burrito is poetry.

Plus they gots Mexican Coke. Viva it.

-K

ad hoc

Evidence of our indulgence in Yountville last July. Instead of the skirt steak, I got a ratatouille-like concoction with really fresh tomatoes and squash. Our fantastic waiter didn't blink an eye at my vegetarian request, and the wine pairings at this meal were perfection. Also, as I recall, the prices were high but reasonable considering the amazing food and the four bottles of wine we drank. We will be going back here for sure.

MILK it for all it's worth

We've made a few visits now to MILK on Beverly. It is always a struggle to choose just one thing; the ice cream sandwiches in the freezer look tasty, but I am helplessly drawn to the shakes & malts menu.

Most recent taste: Black Cherry float made with real cane sugar soda, and a very solid vanilla ice cream.

Everything so far has been super tasty. Will be going back to try ice cream sandwiches and a malt.

http://www.themilkshop.com/