OC Fair 2017 - Our Visit in Haiku

A post shared by MonsterMunching (@monstermunching_oc) on Jul 30, 2017 at 1:25am PDT

OC Fair Express.
Irvine to Costa Mesa.
Seven dollars saved.

Giant wheel of lights.
Smoke billows to the night sky.
Bodies back-to-back.

Cute racing pigs race.
Acrobats defy physics.
Corn roasted in husks.

Chicken Charlie line.
"Two drumsticks please, and a breast."
"Can I have some Ranch?"

Something sweet perhaps?
Every year: Lazy Toucan,
For funnel cake fix.

Full of fried foods now.
Another OC Fair: done.
Now summer's complete.
OC Fair
88 Fair Dr.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 708-1500
http://ocfair.com

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
Legado Bar + Kitchen - Laguna Niguel

"Stacked" Bowl at California Gogi Grill - Irvine

A post shared by MonsterMunching (@monstermunching_oc) on Jul 29, 2017 at 8:08am PDT

This is the "stacked" bowl at California Gogi Grill.
It's now neat and compartmentalized. Before, it was a mess.
But for $8 a pop, it does the job.
No more; no less.

The kimchi's too sour,
The potato salad, too runny.
Yet it's still better than the other alternatives,
The best deal for the money.

You get rice, 6 sides, 2 meats,
The noodle dish called japchae.
It's all built by assembly line.
Yes, it's the Asian Chipotle.

This is the "stacked" bowl at California Gogi Grill.
For $8, it's cheaper than Panda Express.
And like I said, it does the job.
No more; no less.

California Gogi Grill
4237 Campus Dr Ste B157
Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 854-0000

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
Oak & Coal - Costa Mesa

Beard Papa's - Monterey Park

A post shared by MonsterMunching (@monstermunching_oc) on Jul 17, 2017 at 6:32pm PDT

How many engineers does it take to run the best Beard Papa's franchise in California?

Answer: Two. And they're both friends of mine.

Kenny (who handles the business side of things) and Bonnie (who handles the day-to-day) and I go way back. We went to UCI Engineering together, but after graduation we took different paths.

Kenny went into insurance. Bonnie went to design jets for Northrop and then to culinary school. Now they're working together, here at the Beard Papa's shop underneath Ocean Star in Monterey Park.

But it's Bonnie--previously the sous chef at the much-lauded The Spice Table--who has made this Beard Papa's shop unlike any other I've ever visited. To complement the usual cream puffs with those crackle-crusted shells and cool vanilla cream fillings, she's added meticulously crafted drinks that uses ice cream, custard pudding, and syrup that she makes all herself, from scratch.

Why is she putting all this thought and effort when her competitors are using powders and squirts of high fructose corn syrup? Because that's the Bonnie I've always known.

It's also why you should visit!

Besides, where else can you buy a cream puff and wash it down with a drink made by a Le Cordon Bleu grad who used to work on fighter planes?

Beard Papa's
141 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
https://www.instagram.com/beardpapa_mpk/

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
Pacific Hideaway - Huntington Beach

The Jucy Lucy at Matt's Bar - Minneapolis, MN

A post shared by MonsterMunching (@monstermunching_oc) on Jul 16, 2017 at 11:22am PDT

I went to Minneapolis and had what may be one of the most iconic foods in the city.

It's called the Jucy Lucy and from what I can gather, it's to Minneapolis as the Red Hot is to Chicago.

Matt's Bar is the place that invented it. There's routinely a line outside, which is largely due to the Travel Channel.

But since it's still very much a dank, local bar, like a real-life Moe's Tavern, its fame seems all the more incongruous.

Heck, President Obama ate here. There's a picture of him, smiling, arms around the family that now owns it.

Of course, he had a Jucy Lucy, which is essentially a burger with cheese embedded in the middle of the patty, served between a dense bun with grilled onions bits and three slices of pickle (yes, exactly three).

When you bite into the burger, a scalding torrent of cheese is supposed to flow out of it like a Hot Pocket made of meat. And mine did.

Mostly.

Honestly, it only spurted out cheese just from one side of the patty. The rest of it was actually cheeseless. But it was still a treat--a great burger made by a great place that was once visited by a great President.

Matt's Bar
3500 Cedar Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55407

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Half-Order Carne Asada Super Nachos - Alberto's - Tustin

A post shared by MonsterMunching (@monstermunching_oc) on Jul 1, 2017 at 6:46pm PDT

Is it just me or does this half-order of carne asada Super Nachos from Alberto's remind you of a flower? Look at the petals of freshly fried tortilla chips blooming from the meat, cheese, bean and guacamole!

Or maybe it looks like it because it's been a while since I've allowed myself one of these. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. And this is the kind of food that would do just that--not to mention do a lot of other things to your heart.

You're not kidding yourself when you eat it. You know it's junk food. But it's the best junk food. Particularly late at night, in front of the TV, while binging on Netflix.



And if you live in Tustin/Santa Ana/Irvine, there's yet another joint where you can pick one up, scarf it down, and feel guilty for days. I got mine at the brand new Alberto's on Newport near Walnut, in what used to be Omega Burgers.

The price is a little more expensive these days than I remember--around $7 for the half order. And you should always opt the half since the difference between it and the full order is nominal. It's still worth it, though, especially when you consider how little $7 can get you elsewhere.

If you go, you should always ask for the pickled carrots, which are free. Think of it as the card that goes with your nacho bouquet. Just be careful not to make these nachos too much of a habit, or else you might actually get a bouquet with a card that says "Get Well Soon!"

Alberto's
14551 Newport Ave
Tustin, CA 92780

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
TRADE - Irvine

Ten Asian Bistro - Newport Beach

Buddhas are fixtures in a lot of Asian restaurants. Go to a traditional Vietnamese joint in Little Saigon, Thai Nakorn in Garden Grove, or Chinese place in San Gabriel Valley and you're likely to see a small Buddha statue set in some quiet corner surrounded by offerings and incense--they're essentially religious shrines used by the business owner for prayer and to bring good luck.

But here at Ten Asian Bistro in Newport Beach, the Buddha is interior design, decorative kitsch, theming, eye-candy...tchotchkes. There are so many Buddhas placed at random spots throughout the restaurant, I lost count.

I saw Chinese Buddhas, Thai Buddhas, Buddhas that might not have even been Buddhas.



The food Ten serves here, of course, is non denominational. It's literally all over the map. I had sashimi, a caterpillar roll, uni sushi, which were all Japanese, but I then chased them with a Chinese banquet-style honey-glazed walnut shrimp. If I wanted, I could've gotten pad Thai or something Vietnamese. And it was all decent to good--Asian food aimed not for the Asian palate, per se, but the palate who generally knows Asian flavors and is willing to pay a Newport Beach premium not to schlep it to four different restaurants to have all of it together, on the same plate.

Don't get me wrong: there were Asians there enjoying it. Some of them might also be Buddhist. And as far as I can tell, none were offended that the symbol of their religion has the same function here as an Elvis jacket at a Hard Rock Cafe. Neither was I. In fact, it tickled me so much that I tried to take pictures of all the Buddhas as though I were on a scavenger hunt.

But it did make me think of how a restaurant with Christian symbols and Jesus statues all over the place might make people feel.

And what kind of food would it serve?

Ten Asian Bistro
4647 MacArthur Blvd.
Newport Beach, CA 92660

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OC Weekly Summer Issue - Jewish Food in Montreal