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Posts Tagged California

King For A Day

Mar 1

Posted by val in Events | 3 Comments

Pismo Beach, California

Monarch Day

No expense spared to herald Monarch Day

No expense spared to herald Monarch Day

Europe has its crowned heads, and North America has is own monarchs – the Monarch butterfly. Probably the most recognizable butterfly in North America (or at least a close tie with the yellow and black tiger swallowtail), the Monarch’s reign ranges from the southernmost parts of Canada in the summer to Mexico. Unlike other American butterflies that can survive the cold weather, the Monarch migrates south to Mexico and in the west congregates north through California along the coast. One particular vacation paradise for the Monarchs is the Pismo Beach Monarch Grove, located in a thick stand of eucalyptus at the south end of the North Beach Campground. The Monarchs begin arriving in October, and the height of their population is at the beginning of February, prompting February 5th to be declared Monarch Day by the California State Legislature (California Western Monarch Day Bill/SCR 66). Read the rest of this entry »

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Cock-a-doodle-doo

Feb 22

Posted by val in Asia, Tasty Animals | 4 Comments

Rooster Testicles

Mon Land Hot Pot City, San Gabriel, CA

Fresh rooster testicles

Fresh rooster testicles

Although I’ve never seen a rooster strutting around the barnyard “balls-out”, I was surprised to learn that they actually have testicles. As a food adventurer, it occurred to me that after having had just about every part of the chicken, I was missing out on this delicacy. Desperate to find them locally, I turned to friend, writer and fellow blogger Eddie Lin who had the balls to suggest Mon Land Hot Pot City in San Gabriel, California (and no, this is not the last of the puns). I enlisted Josh (Trippy Food’s webmaster and usual partner in crime), as well as a few friends to join me in San Gabriel for a sack lunch (I warned you).

Mon Land Hot Pot City - we sat outside

Mon Land Hot Pot City - we sat outside

Since it was a warm, sunny day we opted for the patio and were seated at a table with a stone top, a circular opening neatly cut into it (reminding me of a Korean BBQ). Instead of the familiar grill, our waitress placed a heating unit under the table and into the hole a huge metal bowl partitioned in the middle in the “ying/yang” style of Yunnan Province. One side was filled with a milky, beige broth and the other with a menacingly red one. These were heated to a rolling boil, and the steam coming off the liquid was pure, intoxicating, aromatic bliss. The red broth was spicy, with what appeared to be Tien Tsin chilies drowning in the oily abyss; both sides were flavored liberally with garlic, cloves, ginseng, ginger, goji berries and other unidentified spices. We had ordered our dishes from a pick list, and I was transfixed by the vapor when our food started to arrive. Read the rest of this entry »

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In Defense Of The Twinkie

Jan 25

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | 2 Comments

Deep fried Twinkies
The Chip Shop (New York City), The Dessert Factory (Pasadena, CA)

The taste sensation sweeping the nation - fried Twinkie

The taste sensation sweeping the nation - fried Twinkie

How can something so wrong be so right? Just the thought of eating a Twinkie sends a chemically-induced sugar rush up the back of my spine, so what would prompt me to brave the cellophane-wrapped snack that looks like Sponge Bob’s coffin? The opportunity to have it deep-fried. There was still a high degree of risk, but I wanted to see what the frying process did to make this foam brick from Hell edible (or more inedible). The invention of the deep fried Twinkie in 1992 is said to be attributed Shea Apple, a transplant from Great Britain who opened a chip shop in Brooklyn, New York (appropriately named “The Chip Shop”). Unlike your neighborhood chip shop (or “chippy” in the UK), The Chip Shop batters and fries everything that will survive the Frialator including pizza, macaroni and cheese, and Mars Bars. After experimenting with various snack items, he found the Twinkie to fry up quite nicely. They use the same batter used for frying fish (for the fish and chips); it is served sliced lengthwise, dusted with powdered sugar, sitting on a berry sauce-drizzled plate. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tastes As Great As Its Name

Jan 4

Posted by val in Tasty Animals, USA | 4 Comments

Alhambra, California
Stinky tofu and blood soup (Lee’s Garden)

Stinky tofu, no further description needed

Stinky tofu, no further description needed

Think of the gleeful cries of joy when you tell the kids to get in the Wagon Queen Family Truckster for a road trip to get some stinky tofu just like momma used to make. I know, the wave of excitement is indescribable, after all, who wouldn’t want to try the Taiwanese taste treat without having to fly there? If this sounds like you, then I have the answer to your culinary prayers at Lee’s Garden in Alhambra, California. Lee’s Garden is in a storefront of a strip mall that you might drive past several times without realizing it’s there. Hui, a friend who turns us on to some amazing and unusual Chinese cuisine told us about the place and mentioned that they had other food unusual to our Western sensibilities that we might enjoy. The sign is slightly smaller than its next door neighbor, Dr. Lee’s Family Dentistry – I’m not sure if there is a link between the two but I feel not knowing in this case makes me a happier person. Inside is a testament to simplicity – no cork sculptures or laminated panels on the wall here, just tables, chairs and a hand-written menu on a big whiteboard that changes daily. We knew we wanted an order of the stinky tofu (which was listed on the menu as “fried odor bean curd”, a delectable title to be sure), but when I saw pork blood soup and chitterlings with garlic sauce I was sold. Read the rest of this entry »

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Right Is Right And Left Is Wrong

Jan 1

Posted by val in Trips, USA | No Comments

Pasadena, California
Fork in the Road

The fork in the road at the fork in the road

The fork in the road at the fork in the road

The road to life often forks, leaving you to wonder which path to take. At the intersections of Pasadena Avenue and St. John Avenue in Pasadena, California you can only go right, but you may want to linger for a bit to admire the fork itself. Local artist Ken Marshall erected an 18-foot tall steel-reinforced wooden fork at the intersection of the two streets as a prank for the birthday of The Ice House founder Bob Stane’s 75th birthday during Halloween in 2009. A permit is required when erecting public art in Pasadena, but men dressed as CalTrans workers erected the sculpture surreptitiously in the middle of the night. Pasadena’s mayor has expressed no desire to have it removed, noting that it brings people to the area and has a positive impact on the community, but the traffic island is under the jurisdiction of CalTrans and may eventually have to be removed. The fork is painted silver, but the fact that it is made of wood may make it temporary anyway.

You can eat a lot of meat with this fork

You can eat a lot of meat with this fork

The fork is not the first of its kind, nor is it the largest. In 2000, artist Stephen Schreiber created a 31-foot tall fork from steel and aluminum, also located at a fork in the road in Milan, New York. A giant steel fork in Springfield, Missouri stands outside an ad agency – it was originally in front of an Italian restaurant but purchased and moved when the restaurant went out of business. Although probably the largest fork in the world, it is disqualified here since it not only doesn’t stand at a fork in the road, but also is hidden behind the building. The Pasadena fork can safely be called the largest wooden fork in the world. Recently a food drive was successfully conducted at the site of the fork, and with all the positive publicity it will probably be around for awhile, or at least until they’re told to get the fork out of here.

Forks in the Road:
Intersection of Pasadena and St. John Avenues
Pasadena, CA 91105
GPS coordinates: 34°7′51.81″N 118°9′17.27″W

Intersection of New York 199 and New York 308
Milan, NY 12571
GPS coordinates: 41°58′13.52″N 73°49′15.23″W

Large fork:
2215 W Chesterfield Blvd.
Springfield, MO 65807
GPS coordinates: 37°8′43.49″N 93°19′23.81″W

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