Celebrating Mardi Gras with Po’ Boys!

Posted on by tinycookba
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In honor of Mardi Gras a couple of weeks ago, we decided to check out Uncle Darrow’s Cajun Creole Eatery – twice in one week!  This was easy to do because it was delicious and it happens to be right around the corner from our house.  I don’t have any good pics from our first night’s feast because we were hungry and we ate before I could snap any pics.  On Fat Tuesday we had File Gumbo (with seafood, sausage, and chicken in a perfect dark roux), Fried Chicken Wings (with amazing hush puppies), Jambalaya, and an Oyster Po’ Boy (with homemade bread).  Everything was flavorful and a little spicy, but my favorite was the po’ boy: the bread was delicious, the oysters were succulent with a crunchy cornmeal coating, and the sandwich was dressed well with just enough mayo and lettuce and some pickles that added the perfect balance to the sandwich.  On our second trip to Uncle Darrow’s we had a Crawfish boil and a Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy (both specials that were not on the regular menu).

I’ve never had crawfish before and it was really fun eating them.  I twisted the tail off and sucked the head (which was spicy since they were boiled in lots of spices)……yum. The Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy was so satisfying – great bread, sweet crab, lettuce, mayo, and pickles.  I will be back again and again and again for those Po’ Boys.

Rattlesnake and Rabbit Sausage?

Posted on by tinycookba
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My good friend had a 2 hour layover at LAX last night and so we went out for some late night grub at Wurstkuche, a new place in Venice with exotic sausages and lots of German and Austrian beers on tap.  We are both foodies so went for 2 of their very exotic sausages: Rattlesnake, Rabbit, & Jalapeno (described as butter and mildly spicy), and Duck & Bacon with Jalapeno Peppers (described as juicy and packed with flavor), along with the double dipped Belgian fries with chipotle aioli and tzatziki dipping sauces.  We got peppers and caramelized onions to go with the sausages, but didn’t really use those toppings since we wanted to taste the flavors of the sausages.  The Rattlesnake, Rabbit, & Jalapeno sausage was my favorite, mild, juicy, and flavorful.  It didn’t taste exactly like chicken, but that’s the closest comparison I can think of, as trite as that is!  The bread really surprised me (and I’m picky about bread) – it was soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, thanks to a minute on the grill.  The Duck & Bacon with Jalapeno sausage I found a little disappointing.  It was drier and the smokiness of the bacon just overpowered the whole thing.  I didn’t taste any jalapeno whatsoever, so I added my own spicy peppers, which helped the whole thing along.  The double dipped fries are definitely not for the faint of heart.  These fries are dark, some of them maybe a little too dark, but boy did I enjoy them.  I switched back and forth between the spicy chipotle aioli and the cooling tzatziki  and my mouth was very happy.  I didn’t get to try any of the beers since I was driving…..but there’s always next time.  As far as the ambience goes, it’s very dark and a bit loud with a dj playing music.  A lot of the tables are big communal tables making it a great place for a large group.  I will be back!

A Greasy Spoon and Bowling

Posted on by tinycookba
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We recently went bowling with the kids for the first time, along with their cousins, at El Dorado Lanes in Westchester, near LAX.  The kids had a great time bumper bowling, and the adults had fun drinking beer and perfecting our best Big Lebowski moves.  Afterwards we hit up KJ’s Diner, which is attached to the bowling alley.  It was the perfect greasy spoon that pleased the adults and kids alike.  I decided to go for the Philly Cheesesteak and, to my surprise, it was delicious!  The meat was tender, and the peppers, onions, and mushrooms were fresh and not soggy, and there was plenty of gooey cheese.  The skinny french fries were just how I like them, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside – and they were seasoned with a very tasty seasoned salt blend.  My husband had a burger, which he loved, and the kids enjoyed Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes with chocolate chips while they were coloring their menus.  I can’t wait to go there for a greasy breakfast one of these days.  Good food + good beer + good bowling + good prices + good company = good times!

Homemade Sushi for Valentine’s Day

Posted on by tinycookba
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Since yesterday was Valentine’s Day I wanted to make it special by cooking up something fun with my kids, so we decided on sushi (spicy tuna rolls, asparagus rolls, beet rolls, nigiri tuna and scallop sashimi).  The kids were leery of raw fish, but enjoyed making and eating asparagus sushi. Here is peanut #1 spreading the rice:

I learned to make sushi from Nick Nishi, who owns Hamakaze Sushi & Izakaya, when he taught a class last year.  His restaurant is amazing and not only includes sushi, but small Japanese tapas-style plates.  I highly recommend it if you are looking for a great sushi place in West LA!