Rants and Craves

Los Toros Meat Market, Rosemead: All I Ever Need For A Lazy Weekend At Home In The San Gabriel Valley

2011-02-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

Everyone in Southern California seems to have their favorite carneceria. Mine just happens to be Los Toros Meat Market in Rosemead. When I'm feeling particularly lazy but am still craving some serious grub, it has everything I need for a weekend at home in the San Gabriel Valley.What I love about many ethnic markets in Southern California is that they carry a wealth of delicious prepared foods

Singing The Braises Of Guisados, Boyle Heights

2010-12-21T23:29:00.000-08:00

While trying to keep yourself toasty this winter, think outside the Ugg boots and heater. Staying warm in the winter for me means doing it low and slow, which translated into Get-Your-Mind-Out-Of-The-Gutterese means braising and stewing. When that thermometer dips, there's nothing better to eat than some hearty, tender food that's full of flavor, falls apart easily yet still maintains integrity

A Stove Top Haiku

2010-11-26T23:00:00.000-08:00

Stuffing from a boxJust add water and butterI'd like some more, please.To accompany our organic free-range Thanksgiving turkey prepared Judy-bird style, we had roasted organic brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes with pancetta and thyme, homemade giblet gravy and...Stove Top stuffing.No homemade gourmet stuff. No mixture of cornbread, sage, fancy charcuterie, chestnut or random autumn fruit

Eating Italian At Eatalian Cafe, Gardena.

2010-10-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

"It's called what?!" I asked my coworker at lunch one day."Eatalian.""Wait, what's it called?""Eatalian. Like Eat. Talian.""Hmm. OK."My coworker had just told me about some new Italian joint in Gardena that had been featured in the LA Times Food Section's "The Find." But I couldn't get past the name. It sounded like something you'd name a mediocre-at-best restaurant in a business park. A

The iPhone 4 & Food Photography: How a Cellphone is Helping This Food Blogger Lighten Up...Literally.

2010-09-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

8oz Burger Bar Chorizo Mac & CheeseSo I finally broke down and traded my stone-age "regular" cell phone for an iPhone 4 a couple of months ago. It was life-changing in that, amongst other things, I can get directions to practically anywhere without printing out directions beforehand, and I can show the world what I'm eating or doing with Twitter or Facebook instead of waiting until I get home to

Farro Tricolore: How To Impress Your Foodgeeky Friends In Just One Picnic. Plus a Giveaway!

2010-09-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

As if organizing a potluck/picnic for a bunch of food-obsessed parents and their toddlers wasn't enough to think about, I also had the mind boggling task of coming up with what the heck to bring to this shindig.When fellow food blogging mommy Reservation For Three contacted me to see if I'd like to co-host our first ever GastroTots potluck picnic, I was thrilled at the idea of finally being able

No. 1 Noodle House, Rowland Heights: 1 of 10 Reasons My Job Is So Cool

2010-08-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

A Daily Gluttony blog just wouldn't be a Daily Gluttony blog without the irreverent food/work combo posts so here goes.My job kinda rocks.But interestingly enough, not very many people understand what it is that I do without having worked in the retail industry. My own mom to this day couldn't tell you exactly what I do. She still tells her old Chinese mom friends that her daughter works in

Phototasting at Cube Café & Marketplace: They Shot It, and Then They Ate It.

2010-08-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

There are only two human pleasures I can think of that involve all five senses. One of them I won't mention in this post. The other one is eating.We taste sweet, salty, bitter, sour and sometimes, umami.We feel the shiny globules of fish roe burst on our tongues.We hear the crunch of perfectly fried pork skin as it gets crushed between our teeth.We smell a truffle's wonderful earthy aroma.We

Phototasting at Cube Marketplace and Cafe 7/31/10

2010-07-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

Taking pictures of what you ate is kind of becoming the norm these days. Look around any restaurant and you're bound to see diners snapping away with their cameras, whether they be ginormous DSLR's, standard point and shoot cameras, or smart phones.Are you one of these people? Do you wish that your food photography looked a little better? Ever wondered how to get one of those cool looking

The Journey Ends With Bourdain: We're Not Worthy, Part 2

2010-06-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

(**Semi-spoiler alert for any of you who intend to see Bourdain on his Medium Raw tour. Proceed at your own risk.**)My journey continues and ends here.The setting was perfect: I fucking love Royce Hall. I remember falling in love with its majestic beauty as a prospective freshman way back in the day, its soaring towers and romanesque arches calling out to me: "Study here, study here..."

A Pilgrimage Westward For Petrossian and Bourdain: We're Not Worthy, Part 1

2010-06-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

On Wayne's World, Wayne and Garth drove all the way from Aurora, IL, to Milwaukee, WI, in Garth's blue pinto to see Alice Cooper live.Like Wayne and Garth, I scheduled my entire day around being able to see someone who I would bow down and chant "We're not worthy" to in a heartbeat. I made the journey all the way from the San Gabriel Valley to Westwood to see my food hero-slash-heartthrob,

Osteria Mamma: Love To My Mama and My Mamma (Mini Gluttony's Very First Blog Post!)

2010-06-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Mini Gluttony!You might know my Mommy. She's Daily Gluttony, the lady who writes this blog.Well she keeps saying something about how there aren't enough hours in the day and how she's tired. I don't know why grown ups are always tired and want to sleep. Who needs sleep anyways? I don't! In fact, I like to wake up every night between 1 and 3am. It's super fun! Anyways, my Mommy is

Tita's Pupuseria Truck, Buttonwillow: The Anti-Fast Food Food

2010-05-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a post by the Glutster a while back, my latest road trip to Northern California didn't involve a food pitstop at one of the several usual fast food chain suspects. Located in lovely Buttonwillow, a less-than-bustling town popular amongst Highway 5 road travellers, Tita's Pupuseria was a delicious way to refuel ourselves after refueling our car.Although standard taco truck fare is

What's In Morrissey's Trader Joes Bag?

2010-05-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

A cashier at my local Trader Joes in South Pasadena saw my Smiths "The Queen Is Dead" shirt yesterday and proceeded to tell me that the Pope of Mope sometimes shops at their Pasadena Lake Avenue store. Now although I'm not as big of a fan of solo Morrissey as I am the OG Smiths (my favorite band of all time, by the way), I still got the teeniest bit excited and couldn't help but wonder what the

Pop Went The Monkey: 2912 Rowena Pop Up Shop Starring Cake Monkey, et. al., Silverlake

2010-05-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

If I fall off the weight-management bandwagon, surely the Cake Monkey weekend pop-up shop on Rowena Avenue would have had something to do with it. Out of the three weekends that they were in operation, I went twice. How's that for self-control?I'm a sucker for Cake Monkey and all its nostalgic-treats-reminiscent goodies, but special trips to Silverlake Wine, Umami Burger and even Intelligentsia

Popping My Nouveau Food Truck Cherry With The Nom Nom Truck

2010-04-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

It's not because I'm a prude or anything like that.I eat tamales sold out of some random lady's trunk at the supermarket parking lot. I eat animal feet and intestines and stomach linings.So no, I have not waited this long to eat at a nouveau food truck because the idea of eating food made in a truck scared me. It is definitely not that.I guess I just never thought it was a big deal.Whereas all

Who Took My Muffin Tops? How A Food Blogger Lost 19 Lbs In 12 Weeks

2010-04-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

(Not Photoshopped, I swear!)Twelve weeks ago, I couldn't button up half of the jeans I own without major muffin top spillage over the waistband. Twelve weeks ago, I committed myself to losing as much weight as I could without doing anything drastic so that I wouldn't have to throw out half of my wardrobe. Of course I had the possibility of winning a little cash to keep me motivated, and even

Bibimbapquinoa: A Healthy Twist on a Korean Favorite

2010-03-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

Although Korean food purists will probably write me off after reading this post, I don't really care. Why? 'Cause I've lost 18 effin' pounds since embarking on this Biggest Loser journey and none of it could have been possible without creative modifications on some of my favorite dishes.With some inspiration from some of those bougie healthy food places, I came up with a healthier twist on a

Nice Package: Sake Steamed Mushrooms En Papillote

2010-03-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

If you're ever in the mood for a bunch of 'shrooms (the legal kind), give them a nice sake steam bath en papillote for a dish that's full of earthy and slightly sweet flavors plus health benefits to boot. Research has shown that mushrooms have anti-cancer properties, help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol and boost your immune system. Plus some of you who have had enoki mushrooms might

Cheaters are Losers: A Spicy, Oily Indulgence at Shufeng Garden, Rowland Heights

2010-03-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

I've been good.I've pretty much kept my daily caloric intake to about 1400 a day.I've been working out 5 days a week, some days at a pretty high intensity.And I've lost 15 pounds since I've started this Biggest Loser challenge about 6 weeks ago. Not too shabby, eh?But that 15 pounds lost hasn't all been a result of me being good. It is also, in my opinion, a result of me being very, very bad.No

They Shot, They Savored: Phototasting, Checkers Downtown, 02.06.2010

2010-02-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

There were people there who actually have food blogs.There were people there who blog mainly about non-food subjects with the occasional post about food.There were people there who owned food businesses.And there were people there who simply wanted to know how to use their cameras better.But no matter what their backgrounds and interests are, all the participants and the first Phototasting

Sunomono: Another Foodie-On-A-Diet-Friendly Food

2010-02-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

So what do you know, I've lost almost nine pounds since starting this Biggest Loser challenge! Not bad for a food blogger on a diet, eh?I guess trying to lose weight while being a food enthusiast has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. It's pretty clear what the disadvantages are. It's even worse when you're so tied in to what other food perverts are up to; it takes a lot of self

Phototasting: A Gastrophotoblogging Experience, Checkers Downtown 2/6/2010

2010-01-26T15:11:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been with me since the beginning, do you remember when my food photos looked like this???Well, it took four long years of experimenting with my photography for sushi to represented in a much better fashion on my blog. (OK fine, I got a new camera, but you know what they say. It's not the camera...) Now, I can make photos of sushi look more like this!Where was

Tofu Salad With Wakame Seaweed and Shaved Bonito: A Meal That Won't Break My 1400 Calorie-A-Day Budget

2010-01-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Ohmyfackinggawd watching calorie intake is hard work!According to a bunch of those health websites out there, I'm supposed to keep my calorie intake to about 1400 a day if I want to lose weight, and that's with three to five days of exercise a week.1400 calories a day???One medium apple is 95 calories, and one medium banana is 105 calories. Could I eat only 13-14 apples or bananas a day and be

A Failproof Recipe For Muffin Tops

2010-01-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:YourselfInstructions:Have a baby sometime in your mid-30's, and then after you stop nursing, think that you can eat like a pig and not gain weight.Because my weight has recently crossed over into a territory that's technically considered overweight for my height, I decided to participate in a Biggest Loser contest at my office. In two months, the person who loses the highest