tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:47:34 +0000I just love food. Follow me on my trails...http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Hailey)Blogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-5575837522627656162Sun, 23 Jan 2011 02:54:00 +00002011-01-22T18:55:09.278-08:00It's winter. At least it is everywhere else, except for LA. This is the time of year conjures cravings for stews, curries, soups and hearty one dish meals. When I lived in London, I made Moroccan Tagines (a sweeter, lighter version of curry) with lamb, dried apricots and shaved almonds.   They are called Tagine because of the funnel pot it is cooked in. Moroccan cuisine isn't very popular in LAhttp://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/moh-ro-co-lamb-dinah.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-3303058344191205460Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:00:00 +00002011-01-18T11:00:04.778-08:00SASHIMI Salad is what I call it. Nothing funny or exciting, just straightforward. It's like a mezze platter with Japanese or Asian food. My Brother slicing tuna sashimi I start with mixed greens because I like the way the taste the best and they are higher in vitamins. Then, I added soy beans, cucumbers, seaweed salad, daikon (pickled or raw), green onions, avocado, ginger, roe, and shiso http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-favorite-sushi-inspired-salad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-3329290762524929001Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:01:00 +00002011-01-17T11:01:00.063-08:00Highest-quality, fresh, artisan, special, Italian flare: Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica is a dream come true. They use the best meat from Niman Ranch, farmer's market produce, organic flour, etc. The design of the restaurant is modern, clean and elegantly casual. Chalkboards on the tops of the walls hold the menu and specials. Immediately, you are transported to to an upscale farmhouse, http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/huckleberry-finn-without-finn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-2576695257691756645Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:03:00 +00002011-01-16T21:03:53.049-08:00Who's the boss? Tom is. He is the oldest, bleached-blonde, Japanese man behind the sushi bar. He cracks jokes, makes amazing rolls and slices the sashimi beautifully. I get a kick out of him. Beware, it looks sketchy on the outside, with funky black windows, and the decor inside isn't anything exciting, but I promise you will love it. You can't judge this book by its cover. Trust me... Top: http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/one-of-best-sushi-places-in-la-boss.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-3799321724966050409Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:16:00 +00002011-01-12T10:16:34.411-08:00Mammoth week is finally over. I hope you enjoyed my food account of the trip. Now I'm back in LA and will hit the trails here.http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/back-to-la.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-3789838875690077403Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:15:00 +00002011-01-12T10:15:28.892-08:00 Front Sign My family and I used to ski Mammoth or Utah every year. Even as a child, I had a sophisticated palate and loved good food. We have been to Nevados Restaurant many times and it's always been delicious. It's fancy and pricey for Mammoth, which is not judged at the same standards as LA. It's bustling, so be prepared for a noisy room. Even a physical therapist in my dad's office http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-remembered-it-being-so-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-4950051932002203281Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:14:00 +00002011-01-10T19:14:10.610-08:00It's strange they don't have Margarita pizza on the menu... We had to customize it. They had BBQ Chicken, various forms of vegetarian, a 'Meatlovers' style, and Spicy Thai, but no classic, traditional, every Italian restaurant has one- Margarita pizza. Menu So we ordered a mozzarella, basil, garlic and tomato pizza on a regular crust, instead of thin. It was delicious! They really should it http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-pizza-in-mammoth-giovannis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-373675728540042916Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:58:00 +00002011-01-10T18:58:01.695-08:00Pomegranates are still in season... Look how gorgeous they are when they're ripe! I never fully appreciated these blood red seeds before this year. They always tasted bitter to me. Now, I love them. I put them with greek yogurt for breakfast; the acidity helps break the salty flavor and the crunchy texture counter-acts the creaminess. The seeds are also great thrown in an Asian style salad. http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/gorgeous-red-rubies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-6383087944227133957Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:38:00 +00002011-01-06T17:38:22.859-08:00Here's the real deal about Schat's Bakery: Cookies were pretty shit.... VERY DISAPPOINTING Almond Lacey, Oatmeal Raisin & M&M Peanut Cookie The 'Elephant Head' was delicious though! I don't want to write off Shat's Bakery yet, because I've been there years (alot of years) ago and it was great. It's just some of the cookies too crunchy and stale. I'm going to give it another try so more to comehttp://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/shits-not-schats.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-2285271920896697483Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:18:00 +00002011-01-06T17:33:16.192-08:00Schat's Bakery is pretty famous in Mammoth. It's a quaint dutch bakery with two locations, about 45 minutes from each other. My family and I always try to stop there while we are skiing there. We pulled up, and my Dad yelled out, "Look it's Shot's." Dad, "it's SCHAAT's," I corrected him. It was about 5 o'clock when we got there. They were cleaned out. There wasn't much left to choose from, but http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/shats-or-shots-it-doesnt-matter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-1056308146564705239Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:00:00 +00002011-01-05T19:00:39.156-08:00This week, I will be blogging about the food/restaurants in Mammoth Mountain. Please add comments to my posts if you have been to any of these places! It's a small town, and not too much changed in the past 10 years.http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/food-scene-in-mammoth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-5525099431325590357Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:22:00 +00002011-01-04T12:22:11.615-08:00I wish I could say I made the ravioli by hand, but I didn't. They're from Whole Foods, but they were made from a small Italian artisan, much better than Whole Foods own brand- 360.  I used Martha Stewart's recipe as a guideline, looking at ingredients and then building off it with what was available and sounded good. I used sweet onion instead of shallots and sauteed them in olive oil first to http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/fail-seasonal-pumpkin-ravioli-with.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-2634228617701170601Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:29:00 +00002011-01-03T16:30:23.212-08:00I love a good man-egg, also called an egg-in-a-hole. This one is made with a gingerbread cookie cutter in the spirit of the holidays, using a wheat sourdough bread from the farmers market. It's simple, you just crack an egg into the space, while its cooking in the pan. To have the egg cook more evenly, you can cover it with the pan lid.   Spice it up with Cholula Sauce http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2011/01/gingerbread-man-egg.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-6005796204192810132Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:16:00 +00002010-12-31T13:16:30.952-08:00 Fresh Walnuts from Farmers Market   Using whole wheat sourdough bread from the farmer's market that had a surprising aftertaste of honey, I made a twist on classic french toast with orange zest, vanilla and lots of cinnamon. I added a touch of freshly ground nutmeg and ground allspice, one egg and a little milk. It's so easy it took less than 10 minutes to make. The best part of using that http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/todays-breakfast-bloody-apple-n-fig.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-7052300351029951005Fri, 31 Dec 2010 06:13:00 +00002010-12-30T22:13:10.648-08:00BUTTERCAKE Bakery- what a great name. I mean, they do use a ton of butter in their treats, which is why they are so scrumptious.... It was a tiny neighborhood bakery when they first opened their shop on Pico Blvd. Now, they have another location on Sunset Blvd in the trendy restaurant complex beside Le Petit Four, Clafoutis and Chin Chin. Hands down, they make some of the best banana bread I http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/another-bakery-in-less-than-24-hours.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-6893755560387890770Fri, 31 Dec 2010 05:50:00 +00002010-12-30T21:50:02.796-08:00Sometimes weird is better... I have driven past Hotcakes, a tiny bright pink bakery nestled in between a liquor store and Mexican costume shop, a bunch of times and never stopped in. If the exterior wasn't so pink and frilly, I might never have noticed it. The only I reason I even checked it out was because it won Food Networks' 2009 Cupcake Wars for their Tres Leche and Spicy Mango cupcake. http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/no-plain-in-hotcakes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-2730517872876697533Thu, 30 Dec 2010 06:47:00 +00002010-12-29T22:47:09.505-08:00I think it's a bad sign when you walk into a small family restaurant, and it's completely empty. Immediately, your stomach rumbles with thoughts of food poisoning, bad tastes and contracting some sort of nasty disease. My brother said he's eaten there before and it's been good, so we sat down and prayed for a moment. For $16 each, we had a sushi combo platter that was very disappointing. The http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-cant-stand-fishy-fish.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-8959915232703017245Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:21:00 +00002010-12-20T19:25:12.801-08:00 I heard that people love Kate Mantilini restaurant on Wilshire Blvd, and from the outside it looks sleek and modern. My favorite thing about the restaurant are the place mats! They are very cool. Other than that, I wasn't impressed. Place Mat Somewhat private wooden booths line the windows, which makes for a perfect business lunch or meeting. The drip-coffee was good, but the http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/classic-doesnt-stay-on-top-forever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-2105757665318073810Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:43:00 +00002010-12-16T22:45:24.510-08:00I came across this daily inspirational message on my work's Facebook avatar from a group we must have joined. It's hyper-religious, but true... For everyone that needs a little 'pep' in their step: If there is a future there is time for mending, Time to see your troubles coming to an ending. Life is never hopeless however great your sorrow, If you’re looking forward to a new tomorrow.If therehttp://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/never-give-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-2583025139966416676Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:14:00 +00002010-12-14T14:14:35.264-08:00 People are starting to flock to the Sunday morning Farmer's Market in Mar Vista, and I'm glad to see it. It's a little gem and undervalued farmer's market.  Santa Monica's Wednesday market still is the best, but on the weekend I prefer going to Mar Vista, over Santa Monica (SM).  I see chefs all the time and even met Raphael Lunetta, owner/chef of Jiraffe in Santa Monica. It was so exciting http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/mar-vistan-gem.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-2522156042186800063Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:13:00 +00002010-12-30T21:53:26.954-08:00 Roy Choi's new restaurant in Culver City A - Frame, well I refer to it as, "you know the place by the Kogi truck guy" has churned up a tornado of rave reviews. After last night's dinner, I have to agree. It's fun, trendy and unpretentious. The menu is a wonderfully innovative mix of Asian-fusion and Hawaiian cuisines, but most importantly- the food is fantastic! The restaurant is housed in an http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/frame-scores-a.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-4414698054093970520Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:01:00 +00002010-12-06T23:01:23.333-08:00Staples Center, Lakers, Phillipe's, Santee Alley, high-rise buildings and music --this is how I picture Downtown LA. I didn't go to USC and I don't work there, so Downtown is basically foreign territory. New buildings and restaurants are fitting themselves in nicely. I spent two nights exploring new places. On Saturday night, my friend and I met at BottleRock, an industrial yet cozy wine bar http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/lowdown-on-downtown.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923003325226039411.post-645160548510409913Fri, 03 Dec 2010 23:36:00 +00002010-12-03T15:36:08.079-08:00Why can't I write? I have so much to say. I read and talk and think about FOOD all day.... I have attempted a blog twice before and failed miserably. Third times' a charm, right? Something keeps me from just buckling down and writing. Too much pressure to be the best? (Possibly) Well, I know I need to do it, not only for myself, but for my future career. I'm working in Social Media Marketing at http://hailstrails.blogspot.com/2010/12/im-starting-food-blog-for-real-this.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hailey)0