The Secrets of Santa Maria (and The World’s Best Sandwich)

25 Feb 2011 6 Comments

by scolgin in Eating Out, On the Road, Recipes, World's Best Sandwiches Tags: , , , , , , , ,

This is all I got, folks. My greatest sandwich. And I give it to you. I give and I give and I give…

But to get there we must first take a side trip on a long country road. Midwesterners and Southerners may boast of having the best barbecue. But we in California have our own claim to grilling fame. I’m talking about Santa Maria-style, and in particular the tri-tip. We’re not tiptoeing our way around a dainty rack of candied baby back ribs, people. The tri-tip is a wonderful cut that gives you rare and well-done in the same piece of meat. (If you don’t have anyone who wants well-done, you can save the tip and chop it up for tacos the next day!) Akin to Texas barbecue, this is meat at its most elemental. A beefy tri-tip, our own fragrant coastal oak and fire.

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Responding to the Avant Garde

22 Feb 2011 5 Comments

by scolgin in Observations, On the Road Tags: , , , , , , ,

Ferran Adria & staff on the beach at Cala Montjoi

I once exchanged emails with el Bulli. If you’re one of the increasingly few people on Earth who have not heard of el Bulli, it’s a restaurant on an isolated bay called Cala Montjoi on Spain’s Costa Brava, a couple hours north of Barcelona. And even if you’ve not heard of it, you’ve been eating its influence whether you recognized it or not for years. More

To Market, To Market…

18 Feb 2011 10 Comments

by scolgin in Markets & Stores Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I do a lot of driving around going to markets.

One of the greatest things about living in (near) Los Angeles is the number of great markets we have. (Do YOU have an Indonesian market near you!?) I once told a non-food-obsessed friend about all the markets I go to. He said, “You have a problem.” My biggest problem is that they’re not all lined up next to one another in a strip mall. So like I said, I drive.

I have been accused of being bourgeoise for my relentless proselytizing about eating fresh and shopping often. And I do realize that I am fortunate to work for myself and actually have the time to drive around to markets. More

A Valentine to My Kitchen

14 Feb 2011 3 Comments

by scolgin in Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: , ,

Some of my friends have “man caves.” Converted garages, bonus rooms, dens, workout rooms and tool-sheds where wives and children tread lightly; places where an exasperated male can retreat to play a video game, take a hit of weed, read a magazine or god knows what else… (I’ve never actually been in one, so this is all just speculation.) More

Sexy, Sultry Sangrita

11 Feb 2011 3 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes Tags: , ,

I’m not typically one for trends. And I become sullen when something I’ve “discovered” becomes trendy — i.e. mojitos, small plate dinners, salted caramels, etc. But my friend, Dan, likes tequila. He brings me tequila when he comes back from Mexico. I like Dan. And separately, coincidentally, we stumbled onto sangrita.

Fine tequila, itself, has become something of a trend. Where years ago if you went to a Mexican restaurant, you’d eat enchiladas and have a margarita made with Cuervo — or maybe Don Julio if it was an upscale joint and you had some cash — now you can sample a range of small artisanally produced tequilas and mezcals with your Oaxacan molé or Yucatan cochinita pibil. More

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