129 replies to this topic

[CaliPoutine]

We walked back to Rockenwagner bakery. This is the view down 3rd street promenade. 3rd street promendate is kinda sentimental for me. Julie and I went on our first date at this AMC movie theater 18yrs ago.







This was another stop on the walking tour. We tasted 4 things from here.

This bakery is known for their soft pretzels. They are authentic because they are boiled in Lye.



We bought a soft pretzel, a muffin for Julie and a double chocolate chip cookie( pics to come later)

Its time for dinner.

[CaliPoutine]

Next stop, Santa Monica Seafood. Its been around since 1939, but not in its current location. Sometime while I was away, they moved to a bigger location and added a cafe/oyster bar.







The seafood here is amazing.

[CaliPoutine]

Here are the goodies we bought today.



We shared the cookie for dessert.

Here is the best bargain at Santa Monica Seafood. Chowder pieces for 5.99lb. I dont like salmon or tuna so I I request that they not include that.







I sprinkled some penzey's southwest seasoning on them and J grilled them for me. I made fish tacos. I *love* fish tacos. I know these are not traditional, but they are still delicious. I always have corn tortillas in my freezer. I warm them in a skillet. I picked up some coleslaw at Santa Monica Seafood too and made a quick pickled red onion.

Edited by CaliPoutine, 10 October 2011 - 08:12 PM.

[nikkib]

That pretzel looks delicious!

[CaliPoutine]

I also love traditional fish tacos where the fish is fried. I have a huge fear of frying, I've tried it numerous times and I just think its better left to the profesionals. So far, the best fish taco I've had in Cali has been at Mijita in San Francisco( at the Ferry Plaza ).

Julie has lived in this condo since 1994. About 10yrs ago, she had the cabinets refinished. Its definitely time for a remodel.
Did I mention that my kitchen is the size of a postage stamp? Its really small and very inefficient. Its also falling apart. There are doors missing from cabinets and there are doors that dont close( hence the painters tape). I'm only including this pic because we are currently gathering quotes for a full remodel. We're also having the kitchen extended out into the dining room. It will be bigger and way more efficient. We recently bought a new oven, over the range microwave and dishwasher. All we'll need to buy is a new fridge. We have a cabinetmaker coming on Friday morning to firm up his quote and design. I'm not sure I want to tackle this project before the bar exam. The turn around time for the cabinets is only 2 weeks though, but we need a lot more work such as lighting and painting and tile, etc.

[EatNopales]

I also love traditional fish tacos where the fish is fried. I have a huge fear of frying, I've tried it numerous times and I just think its better left to the profesionals. So far, the best fish taco I've had in Cali has been at Mijita in San Francisco( at the Ferry Plaza ).

Julie has lived in this condo since 1994. About 10yrs ago, she had the cabinets refinished. Its definitely time for a remodel.
Did I mention that my kitchen is the size of a postage stamp? Its really small and very inefficient. Its also falling apart. There are doors missing from cabinets and there are doors that dont close( hence the painters tape). I'm only including this pic because we are currently gathering quotes for a full remodel. We're also having the kitchen extended out into the dining room. It will be bigger and way more efficient. We recently bought a new oven, over the range microwave and dishwasher. All we'll need to buy is a new fridge. We have a cabinetmaker coming on Friday morning to firm up his quote and design. I'm not sure I want to tackle this project before the bar exam. The turn around time for the cabinets is only 2 weeks though, but we need a lot more work such as lighting and painting and tile, etc.

Grilled Fish tacos are not untraditional.. in fact they are more common throughout Mexico than the battered / fried style.. which makes the Ensenada style a bit more "special" or "exotic". There is no coastal village in Mexico where char grilled fish, thrown on a tortilla with a local salsa & condiments isn't one of the most common things to eat.

[ChefCrash]

Nice to see you blogging Randi, thanks for showing us parts of the U.S. I've never been to. I envy you for all the seafood available to you.

How did you make the quick onion pickles?
Thanks

[Kouign Aman]

Grilled fish tacos are the best. Great idea to use the chowder pieces for them. Must remember that.

EatNopales, I thought the fried fish tacos originated in San Felipe? No? Huh. Learn something every day.

[CaliPoutine]

EatNopales- I didnt know that, thanks for telling me. The first fish tacos I ever had( years and years ago at The Reel Inn) were grilled. Thats how I fell in love with them.

ChefCrash I made the quick pickled onions with garlic, salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar. I let them sit at room temp for an hour.

The chowder pieces are the best deal. I got sea bass, swordfish, halibut and wahoo. I could have had albacore and salmon too. I think I might make those tacos again for dinner, they were yummy.

[CaliPoutine]

Breakfast today was the sour cream blueberry muffin from Clementine. I dont know why this muffin was voted best blueberry muffin in LA. It had no discernable blueberry flavor and was a tad greasy. My Jordan Marsh Big Blues are so much better. I had some non fat milk too. Ignore the peanut butter, that was for my doxies morning medicine.



Julie had the muffin from Rockenwagner and she said it was dry.

My cooking life has really changed since I've moved back to Cali. In Ontario, my small town had 3 fast food restaurants( Subway, McDonalds and KFC). There were a few other restaurants, but nothing that I thought was worth spending the money on. If we wanted to go out to a nice restaurant, we had a 40 min drive to London. So, I cooked every night and I cooked a lot. I also baked a lot for my ex to take to work. I baked as a side business and I did some personal cheffing and catering on the side. As you can see, the kitchen here is very small and inefficient. A couple years before I left Ontario, we redid out kitchen and it was a dream to cook in.

I do try to cook dinner a few nights a week. Mostly the nights when Julie is working. She is usually home by 7pm and is exhausted after 12hrs so I'm not going to make her go out for dinner. Last night, she grilled a turkey burger( from Costco) and had it on a La Brea bakery sourdough roll. She had some coleslaw too. I'm not sure what she'll have tonight, maybe the same thing. I'm going to make those fish tacos again.

[EatNopales]

Grilled fish tacos are the best. Great idea to use the chowder pieces for them. Must remember that.

EatNopales, I thought the fried fish tacos originated in San Felipe? No? Huh. Learn something every day.

Hi Kouign... Rubio's popularized that notion.. the truth is that exact origin is unknown. The proponents of the "Japanese influence" make the argument that the battered fish taco was a cross pollination of Tempura & taco traditions... that a Japanese immigrant fishing village lies just south of Ensenada (there are no Japanese communities along the other Baja coast) and because Ensenada is the major fishing & trading port of Northern Baja that the most likely occurrence of the fusion would have been at the fisherman's wharf there.

Another current of thought points out that Tempura is of Iberian origin not Japanese (entered its cuisine through the Portuguese colony in the Japanese islands)... that battered fish dressed with homemade spicy mayo is a common dish in Sonora & Sinaloa where many of San Felipe's residents come from... and the taco is just a logical market vehicle for what is a classic dish.


In the end there are many styles of Fish & Seafood tacos throughout Mexico (in Southern Baja it is smoked Ahi or Marlin stewed with tomato, onion, jalapenos & olives, in the area around Acapulco its fresh, meaty deep sea fish stewed in a similar sauce put into an uncooked tortilla, folded & sealed like an empanada & deep fried, in Yucatan they like sauteed baby octupus in its ink, in Campeche its all about Cazon shark etc., etc.... they are all good. But the concept of fish tacos go back millenia... the Spanish explorers describe them at the market in Tenochtitlan.. and in Xochimilco you can still get the same type of tacos they described 5 centuries ago.

[Kouign Aman]

Thanks EN.
Before Rubio's, my friends and I first ate the fried fish tacos in SF, and had heard of them from there before that. But hey, its not a wide penisula.

Like CaliPoutine, the first ones I ever had were grilled. My roommate made them for a spring break party.

And back to Chain City... take it away CaliPoutine!
I got a chuckle out of the 'Clemen'taschen. Have you ever tried them?

[Kim Shook]

I'm loving all this, Randi! I've enjoyed each one of your food blogs and this is no exception. Oddly enough, I actually knew about the Santa Monica ex-pat British thing. My stepdad is English and when we lived in Reseda (1969) we used to go to a pub in Santa Monica called the Mucky Duck (long gone now) and eat fish and chips made with plaice - first time I'd ever tasted it. Your fish tacos look fantastic. I am in love with fish tacos, but have to make them for myself because I've never had one at a restaurant that wasn't too spicy (another supertaster here, I've been told - I like strong flavors, but can't do heat). I remember your Canada kitchen redo - I'm amazed at what you can accomplish in so much less space in California - quite a change in space and comfort. Funny what love does to you, huh ?

[Shelby]

Enjoying your blog, Randi!

Do you think you'll ever get back into catering or anything like that? Do you miss it? I'm pretty sure you don't miss the Senior Center stuff, though lol.

I've never had a fish taco. They are something I've always wanted to try, but I haven't because my husband turns his nose up at them. He has it in his head that they are like a regular taco and he hates anything tomato (like salsa) with fish. Sigh. I need to show him a picture of yours.

[CaliPoutine]

Enjoying your blog, Randi!

Do you think you'll ever get back into catering or anything like that? Do you miss it? I'm pretty sure you don't miss the Senior Center stuff, though lol.

I've never had a fish taco. They are something I've always wanted to try, but I haven't because my husband turns his nose up at them. He has it in his head that they are like a regular taco and he hates anything tomato (like salsa) with fish. Sigh. I need to show him a picture of yours.

Shelby,


I hate raw tomatoes, I never eat salsa( unless its mango salsa) so tell your hubby you dont have to have salsa with fish. Can you get corn tortillas where you live? A fish and chips shop opened on the corner in my former town in Ontario. I bought some of the fried halibut, brought it home and made fish tacos out of it( with corn tortillas that I brought back on a previous visit to Cali). I brought one up to the shop so the owner could try it, but he just didnt get it at all. LOL. I couldnt even buy corn tortillas in Exeter, I think most ppl who dont know about them or havent been exposed to them, prefer flour. We have quite a few Mexican markets here that make their own tortillas, I could eat them warm out of the package and be very happy.


My catering days are long over. I only did it in Ontario out of necessity. I have psoriatic arthritis and its really hard on my joints to be cooking non-stop. The arthritis is the reason I went back to college and law school, because I couldnt cook anymore. I do still bake a few times a month. For instance, I baked my aunt and uncle an anniversary cake last month, I baked a few things for Rosh Hashana and I'm going to bake a cake this week for a "cakewalk". Anyone ever make a "boob" cake?

Whenever we go to my aunts for dinner or to a potluck, I always bring a few things. I belong to a few foodie groups and I'm throwing a big retirement party for Julie next month. She's also in the airforce reserves and she is retiring from that after 27yrs. All those things satisfy my cooking needs. Oh, I also bake stuff for Julie's work a lot. Cops will eat anything, as long as they know where it came from. LOL.

Edited by CaliPoutine, 11 October 2011 - 04:53 PM.

[CaliPoutine]

I'm loving all this, Randi! I've enjoyed each one of your food blogs and this is no exception. Oddly enough, I actually knew about the Santa Monica ex-pat British thing. My stepdad is English and when we lived in Reseda (1969) we used to go to a pub in Santa Monica called the Mucky Duck (long gone now) and eat fish and chips made with plaice - first time I'd ever tasted it. Your fish tacos look fantastic. I am in love with fish tacos, but have to make them for myself because I've never had one at a restaurant that wasn't too spicy (another supertaster here, I've been told - I like strong flavors, but can't do heat). I remember your Canada kitchen redo - I'm amazed at what you can accomplish in so much less space in California - quite a change in space and comfort. Funny what love does to you, huh ?

Thanks Kim, I was a bit weary about blogging again because of the change in my relationship and culinary life.

Funny you mention the kitchen. When I told my mom I wanted out of my marriage, she said " but you have such a great kitchen". I said " Mom, I cant stay in a bad marriage for the kitchen". I know we will redo our kitchen here within the next 5 months so its all good. Love is grand : )

[IowaDee]

I'm am so enjoying this. I grew up in your neck of the woods. Our first apartment was right across the street from Santa
Monica High School. I was too young to appreciate the wonderful foods available to me and too poor to buy them anyway. I
love going back and seeing all changes. Culver City and Venice are entirely new worlds and the restaurants are amazing. Off
topic a bit, but I seem to remember you mentioning that you were an eBayer in your last blog. Do you still do that? I find it almost too
easy to buy cookbooks from there!

[Shelby]

Enjoying your blog, Randi!

Do you think you'll ever get back into catering or anything like that? Do you miss it? I'm pretty sure you don't miss the Senior Center stuff, though lol.

I've never had a fish taco. They are something I've always wanted to try, but I haven't because my husband turns his nose up at them. He has it in his head that they are like a regular taco and he hates anything tomato (like salsa) with fish. Sigh. I need to show him a picture of yours.

Shelby,


I hate raw tomatoes, I never eat salsa( unless its mango salsa) so tell your hubby you dont have to have salsa with fish. Can you get corn tortillas where you live? A fish and chips shop opened on the corner in my former town in Ontario. I bought some of the fried halibut, brought it home and made fish tacos out of it( with corn tortillas that I brought back on a previous visit to Cali). I brought one up to the shop so the owner could try it, but he just didnt get it at all. LOL. I couldnt even buy corn tortillas in Exeter, I think most ppl who dont know about them or havent been exposed to them, prefer flour. We have quite a few Mexican markets here that make their own tortillas, I could eat them warm out of the package and be very happy.


My catering days are long over. I only did it in Ontario out of necessity. I have psoriatic arthritis and its really hard on my joints to be cooking non-stop. The arthritis is the reason I went back to college and law school, because I couldnt cook anymore. I do still bake a few times a month. For instance, I baked my aunt and uncle an anniversary cake last month, I baked a few things for Rosh Hashana and I'm going to bake a cake this week for a "cakewalk". Anyone ever make a "boob" cake?

Whenever we go to my aunts for dinner or to a potluck, I always bring a few things. I belong to a few foodie groups and I'm throwing a big retirement party for Julie next month. She's also in the airforce reserves and she is retiring from that after 27yrs. All those things satisfy my cooking needs. Oh, I also bake stuff for Julie's work a lot. Cops will eat anything, as long as they know where it came from. LOL.

I can't get the "good" kind of corn tortillas, but I can get them. I'm definitely going to make these...I just won't tell hubby what he's actually eating LOL.

I'm sorry about your "Arthur" as I call it. I have a tiny bit in my hands already, but nothing as severe as yours....I can imagine how hard it is to cook.


I've never made a boob cake, but I've eaten pasta shaped like boobs before...

[CaliPoutine]

Lunch today

I had the chicken mushroom pastry thingy from The Tudor House. I forgot to mention that they cost 3.25. It was very flaky, made me wonder if it is made with lard. I had some knudsen cottage cheese on the side. I was very, very thirsty a couple hours after eating this.



Dinner tonight is a repeat of last night for me. I'm making Julie a copycat of the salad we had the other day. I went to Sprouts today and bought Organic romaine hearts( a package of 3 for 1.50). I also got organic celery for 1.50. Everyone says that groceries are so expensive in California, but I havent really found that to be true. Maybe I just know how to shop.




Morning iced. I told you, I have a lot of those tumblers.


I remembered another thing I miss from Ontario. Liberte yogurt. I can find it here at Whole Foods, but not the big canisters and not the lowfat variety.

[CaliPoutine]

I'm am so enjoying this. I grew up in your neck of the woods. Our first apartment was right across the street from Santa
Monica High School. I was too young to appreciate the wonderful foods available to me and too poor to buy them anyway. I
love going back and seeing all changes. Culver City and Venice are entirely new worlds and the restaurants are amazing. Off
topic a bit, but I seem to remember you mentioning that you were an eBayer in your last blog. Do you still do that? I find it almost too
easy to buy cookbooks from there!

I went to Santa Monica High School. I remember walking to Tommy's on Pico for lunch sometimes. Everytime we go back to Santa Monica, I see another restaurant I want to try. Yesterday, I saw 3 places that I put on my list.

Good Memory. We ebayed a lot. My ex would go out yard saleing( sp?) and I'd list and ship from Michigan. A lot of the items were sold were vintage kitchen items. For instance, we sold a vintage le crueset pate terrine, a vintage Le Creuset hot chocolate pot, various copper pots and those metal ice cube trays. Those ice cube trays were the start of our ebaying. I dont sell anymore, I dont have the time and I cant find those great bargains at yard sales/thrift stores/rummage sales anymore. Most of the people we sold to were in California. The last time I went yard saleing, I bought a vintage armetal platter for 2.00. I ended up keeping it because I left so many of my kitchen servingware back in Canada.

[Darienne]

I remembered another thing I miss from Ontario. Liberte yogurt. I can find it here at Whole Foods, but not the big canisters and not the lowfat variety.

I'll raise my spoon to you, CaliPoutine, tomorrow morning as I eat my (whole fat) Liberte yogurt from the large size container.

[CaliPoutine]

Dinner tonight.

I pan seared some chicken cutlets for J's salad. She enjoyed the salad a lot, she said it tasted just like the restaurant. I did use their dressing.

[Peter the eater]

I'm catching up on another great Calipoutine eG Foodblog. Thanks for sharing!

I very much like the look of those fish tacos. Nobody makes them out my way which is damn shame. Only time I've had one was in New Hampshire and the vendor said he was trying to emulate the Tacos de pescado from a beachside restaurant in LA somewhere. What I remember most is the crunchy corn shell with grilled Mahi-mahi inside with lots of sriracha mayo. Does that sound traditional?

[CaliPoutine]

I'm catching up on another great Calipoutine eG Foodblog. Thanks for sharing!

I very much like the look of those fish tacos. Nobody makes them out my way which is damn shame. Only time I've had one was in New Hampshire and the vendor said he was trying to emulate the Tacos de pescado from a beachside restaurant in LA somewhere. What I remember most is the crunchy corn shell with grilled Mahi-mahi inside with lots of sriracha mayo. Does that sound traditional?

Hi Peter,

The fish tacos served out here are mostly deep fried( mahi mahi or halibut) in a soft corn tortilla( usually two tortillas, one on top of another, not fried), with shredded cabbage, a white sauce and a squeeze of lime. Sometimes they add salsa.

The very first fish tacos I ever tried were from The Reel Inn( used to be on 3rd street promenade and one in Malibu). They added cheese to the tortilla, which they melted and grilled the fish. I cant remember much else about it, except that I loved them.

There is a fast food chain out here called Rubios. On Tuesday, their fish tacos are 1.50. They used to be 1.00, then 1.25. I can't stand them. The tortillas is hard and the fish looks like a fish stick.

[CaliPoutine]

Breakfast.

My version of Migas. Torn corn tortillas, eggs( in my case, 1 whole egg, 2 whites), red onion, black japonica rice, spinach and some leftover chicken. Also topped with some "authentic Mexican cheese"( a blend from Sargento). It looks like crap, but it was good. Lots of protein, so It will keep me full for awhile. When I do it again, I'll leave out the spinach. Too strong.



Today is Officer appreciation day at Julie's station. Local businesses bring in food for all the officers. Breakfast, Lunch and dinner. I asked her to take some pics. She said she thinks one of the businesses might be Outback( chain steak house restaurant).

Edited by CaliPoutine, 12 October 2011 - 08:47 AM.

[heidih]

The migas look and sound good to me. Was the rice leftover? I have not explored the colored rices other than brown. Can you describe the taste and texture as well as how you have been using it?

I may have to head around the corner to Bed, Bath & Beyond to check out those tumblers

[CaliPoutine]

The migas look and sound good to me. Was the rice leftover? I have not explored the colored rices other than brown. Can you describe the taste and texture as well as how you have been using it?

I may have to head around the corner to Bed, Bath & Beyond to check out those tumblers

Yes, the rice and spinach were leftover. I was going to make a quiche with a rice crust( a recipe from a Culinary Mystery Novel), but I didnt get to it. The rice is nutty and chewy. Similar to brown, but with a bit stronger flavor. I cant remember the last time I used it. I was looking for brown in the pantry and I came across that.

Make sure you use a 20% off coupon for Bed, Bath and Beyond. Those cups range in price from 14.00-19.00.

[Toliver]

I remembered another thing I miss from Ontario. Liberte yogurt. I can find it here at Whole Foods, but not the big canisters and not the lowfat variety.

Talk to the Whole Foods manager and see if they can order the larger containers and/or the lowfat variety. It doesn't hurt to ask.
Thanks for blogging again!

[ScottyBoy]

There is a fast food chain out here called Rubios. On Tuesday, their fish tacos are 1.50. They used to be 1.00, then 1.25. I can't stand them. The tortillas is hard and the fish looks like a fish stick.

They have crept all the way up here to NorCal as well. I went once...done with that.

Always lame when a chain restaurant claims something so sacred like a fish taco and screws it up.

Finally went into a certain chain that claims "worlds best hamburgers".............bleh. I'm starting a class action lawsuit

[andiesenji]

The migas look and sound good to me. Was the rice leftover? I have not explored the colored rices other than brown. Can you describe the taste and texture as well as how you have been using it?

I may have to head around the corner to Bed, Bath & Beyond to check out those tumblers

Yes, the rice and spinach were leftover. I was going to make a quiche with a rice crust( a recipe from a Culinary Mystery Novel), but I didnt get to it. The rice is nutty and chewy. Similar to brown, but with a bit stronger flavor. I cant remember the last time I used it. I was looking for brown in the pantry and I came across that.

Make sure you use a 20% off coupon for Bed, Bath and Beyond. Those cups range in price from 14.00-19.00.

That quiche with rice crust sounds lovely. Which culinary mystery? I love them.

I'm certainly enjoying your blog. It is reminding me of all the things I miss since moving up here. It was so easy to jaunt over the hill to Santa Monica and West L.A. (and points further south and east) when I lived in the valley. Now it takes most of a day for a round trip. Sigh!