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It's Grammy Night, Catering My Last Grammy Event!

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  It’s Grammy Night! 11 years ago was the last Grammy party I catered… I remember we had to arrive at the Biltmore Hotel by Noon, due to security restrictions. We set up our area in the largest kitchen I’ve ever worked in and then down a long ramp to the ballroom where we had our food tables. There were two restaurants serving food in each ballroom with two bars and a live band. Knowing we would be locked down before & during the ceremony down the street, we brought in lunch from Cielito Lindo (Olvera Street) and enjoyed our taquito plates, it’s been our Grammy tradition for 4 years and not my first rodeo. THAT and I forgot we were invited to a pre-game meal in the Biltmore Employee Cafeteria. See What Jay Eats #2 - 2 Beef Taquitos 1 Tamal w/bean and cheese from Cielito Lindo (Olvera Street) After getting a few items prepped and showing the culinary students what to do and the night’s game plan, I shared some completed dishes with the Biltmore kitchen staff, who served me whate

Coco Bread Sandwich with Jerk Chicken

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Who Doesn't Like Jerk Chicken??? OK, I'm Sure There Are Some, A Few, One, Maybe Two... This is Maybe My  Favorite  Sandwich! At least the one I think about when wanting  a great 'Sandwich'  comes to mind. Chef Yonette serves this sandwich as an every so often special at her restaurant, Caribbean Gourmet in San Gabriel, CA. The sandwich consists of Jerk Chicken and a Slaw for texture and balance on a house-made Coco Bread, a buttery soft circular flat bread (aka "Butter Flap" in Guyana) Like most awesome sandwiches, it's the bread that makes it great. As I pick-up my sandwich on Sandwich Saturday. Whenever I pick up pastries or patties from Caribbean Gourmet, it's very hard to make it home. Smelling the Jerk Chicken... See What Jay Eats... Yup, I caved and it didn't make it home... Follow Caribbean Gourmet's IG account and Stories for the next Jerk Chicken Sandwich Special Saturday. @caribbeangourmet On sandwich day, be sure to be there at Noon,

The New Costco Cookie (January 2024)

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  The Costco Cookie... Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie at Costco The Cookie that replaced the popular Costco Churro. Served Warm All Butter Bittersweet & Semi Sweet Chocolate See What Jay Eats... First of all, it's a Huge cookie. It's just like it's advertised, served warm. After I took a bite, it broke or I should've said, it folded.  Yes, there's a lot of butter used. IMO, it's not too sweet for me, probably due to the chocolate used, "Bittersweet & Semi Sweet Chocolate" I enjoyed this cookie and would probably order it again in the future, but not every time I get food from the food court. Until we eat again...

Sushi Hanada Closing (November 4, 2023)

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One of the BEST sushi restaurants is closing today. Sushi Hanada was a hidden gem in Port Hueneme (Oxnard) where some of LA’s top sushi chefs would drive over an hour to get to on their days off to eat here. YES, it was that good!   Not because they received top notch quality seafood from Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo, but just the opposite.    Sushi Hanada used a lot of local sustainable seafood and the preparation was the real secret.    Chef Yuki Hanada was the master at bringing out the flavors of local ingredients. Sushi Hanada served Edomae-style sushi, made from seafood caught in Tokyo Bay.    Small fish, Japanese tiger prawns, clams, sea eel, etc. were cured or lightly cooked before serving.    200 years ago, it wasn’t about toro or uni in sushi, you needed to know what to do with what you could get your hands on and how to bring out the flavors. Chef Yuki did all of those things and more.    The 3 or so times I’ve dined there, he never disappointed and each time I had different

Poncho’s Tlayudas - South Los Angeles

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A couple of coworkers and I had been talking about going out for Oaxacan  food and one of  them knew about  a place in South LA. We gathered up a few others after work one Friday afternoon and headed to  Poncho’s Tlayudas . Look for this sign, cause it’s “Tlayudas Friday” AND it leads to the backyard. (talk about being in the know) Head down the driveway and order at the grill. They only serve Tlayudas, a traditional Oaxacan dish, but you select the meat: (They don’t have a menu, but here are the choices) Asada - grilled beef Chorizo - Spanish sausage  Tasajo - Oaxacan-style beef steak Moronga - pork blood sausage Like any backyard party, look for the refrigerator  for drinks, help yourself. Beer, Water, Coca-Cola ($5) I love the spoon artwork on the back wall Tlayuda $10 Served on a very large crispy tortilla with a siento (a dark lard), beans,  cabbage and Oaxacan cheese. Your meat choice is served on the side. The picture doesn’t show how  large the tortilla is, maybe 18” in diamet

majordōmo - Los Angeles

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I’ve driven by this David Chang restaurant many times,  majordōmo , which lies in an industrial area between Chinatown and Lincoln Heights. (Downtown Los Angeles) Opened in January 2018,  this is David Chang’s first restaurant  in Los Angeles. I waited for the crowds to die down, BUT it’s still a task to get a reservation. OR You can come early and sit at the bar. Sitting at the bar waiting for friends and perusing the bar menu. “Mule” with vodka, Japanese cucumber, Shiso and ginger. I thought it had a bit too much ginger but a good cocktail. A Mule and an Old Fashioned  walk into a bar... Friends arrived on time for our 5:45 pm reservation  and we were promptly seated. It’s more of an Asian Fusion menu. NOW, what to order... But First... An Asian Pear app or palate cleanser, not sure (wasn’t paying attention) See What Jay Eats... We started with a couple of Bings (a warm flatbread for toppings) This was the Foie Gras, Ricotta  and Jam Bing. A “Bing” is a flour-based Chinese flatbread,

Porridge + Puffs (New) - Historic Filipinotown

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A hidden gem in Hi-Fi (Historic Filipinotown) It may not look like much on the outside... BUT, on the inside  The Food is Excellent! Rice and friends pics on the wall... BTW, this place serves rice porridge, (hence the rice on the wall) aka “congee” My first taste of Chef Minh Phan’s Porridge + Puffs at Smorgasburg LA in 2016. Since then, I’ve been to a couple of Chef Minh’s pop-ups. I couldn’t wait for her to open a brick & mortar location, dreams do come true! (for me anyway...😂) Opening Menu See What Jay Eats... Asian Slaw  With rau ram, shiso, holy basil, peanuts and sesame. A nice lunch starter... Shortrib Porridge  A slow braised short rib with jujubes and fresh five spice. Turmeric fermented mustard greens and seasonal edible flowers on top. I was too late to get a soft egg, as it was already sold out. Can’t have Porridge without Puffs! You really can’t... Poultry + Mushrooms  Sweet soy braised chicken, turkey and mushrooms with crispy shallots, celery pickles, scallions an