LA Foodie -

Podcast 036 - Creole, Harold & Belle’s, TCHO Chocolate, Sam Adams, Japan

The food dudes take a step out of SoCal for a moment to explore some exotic flavors. Drew & Ben welcome their friends Yasmin & Jason Dunn to talk about Creole food culture and a good place to get some Creole food here in L.A. Brian brings some Sam Adams Longshot winning brews that they pair up with some sumptuous chocolates from TCHO. And Ben & Lisa file a report on their progress in Japan thus far.

What’s the difference between Creole and Cajun? What have Ben & Lisa been up to in Japan? What the hell is roux? Tune in to find out!

Thank you for listening, and please share with your peeps!

Yummy, yummy étouffée and potato salad. Photo courtesy of Harold & Belle’s Facebook page.

BALEENkitchen Brunch & Bloody Mary Bar

We had the pleasure of making it down to Redondo Beach for brunch to test out the new make your own Bloody Mary Bar at BALEENkitchen. I mean honestly, what else needs to be said? If you are a fan of Bloody Marys, this alone is reason to come and boozy brunch it up. The bar was kind of insane. They had different kinds of infused vodka, and tons of spices, sauces, and garnishes. AND they had like 20 different kinds of hot sauces! It’s you playing Bloody Mary bartender, so you can go Plain Jane with your recipe or get creative and make a spicy fireball. I’ll just say as a word of caution, don’t add Tabasco AND cayenne pepper to yours. As for garnishments, I highly recommend putting in a stalk of celery and a strip of bacon. Yes, they have STRIPS OF BACON as garnishment!

Podcast 035 - Greg Kindra, Vanilla Bake Shop, Stout Burgers & Beers, ConfeXion Gelato, Sour Beer

The food dudes welcome their friend, dessert guru Greg Kindra to the podcast! The guys dive right in to some cupcakes from Vanilla Bake Shop and chat about vegan and gluten free cupcake options in the City of Angels.

Podcast 034 - Keith Ely Sleight of Hand Beer Tasting

This episode of the podcast is for all you beer nerds out there! The guys visit their buddy, amateur brewer Keith Ely, for the debut of his Sierra Nevada Beer Camp beer “Sleight of Hand.” Keith tries his own beer for the first time ever ‘live’ on the podcast! Hear his thoughts on how it tastes and how they made such a delicious brew. Learn yerself about some beer!

Please share with your peeps, and thank you for listening!

Ben, Keith, and Drew stand outside of Blue Palms Brew House in Hollywood where Keith’s beer Sleight of Hand made its debut.

LA Foodie Podcast 31, Hot Dog The Rapper

Hot Dog The Rapper joins the Food Dudes for the latest podcast. If you’re an audio type of person, then you’ll want to listen here (unless iTunes is your thing, or maybe Stitcher Smart Radio is your thing):

The entire video podcast, complete with DVD style navigation and menu (you can skip to any part of the show from any other part of the show—oh yes), is right here:

Hot Dog helps the guys prep their killer ‘staches for Movember before trying Salted Caramel Macarons from ButterSweet Minis in What Did We Put In Your Mouth? The guys try out some Lollibakes cake pops in Free Samples, and Brian brings a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon for everyone to try in Brian Brings Booze. Hot Dog and the guys then talk BBQ in LA.

Here are links to each video segment of the show on YouTube:

A few other links for your pleasure:

Special thanks to Luigi from www.essentialstyleformen.com, a good friend of L.A. Foodie, who helped enormously with shooting the video podcast. Thanks ESM!

LA Foodie Podcast 30, Kasey’s Kitchen

Kasey from Kasey’s Kitchen stops by to hang out with the Food Dudes to talk about easy, delicious eats. If you’re an audio type of person, then you’ll want to listen right here (unless iTunes is your thing or maybe Stitcher Smart Radio is your thing):

The entire video podcast, complete with DVD style navigation and menu (you can skip to any part of the show from any other part of the show—oh yes), is right here:

Ben and Drew raid Kasey’s Kitchen and try some tasty treats. Then Kasey gets blindfolded for What Did We Put In Your Mouth? and tries to guess what kind of cupcake she’s eating.
Ben and Drew talk pizza with the release of LA Weekly’s top 10 pizza list. They also chat about chocolate chip cookies. 3-2-1 Cake is piquing Lisa’s Pinterest. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich and Spherical Ice Trays get LA Foodie Approved, and Olio features on Yelp/CounterYelp.

Here are links to each video segment of the show on YouTube:

Here are links to other fun things:

Bob’s Big Boy Broiler - Downey

A reincarnated classic. Drew wrote about the transformation of this joint a while back, but long story short: this great old burger joint (née Johnie’s Broiler, née Harvey’s Broiler) was bought and remodeled into a Bob’s Big Boy franchise. It’s a beautiful old Googie place that lights up neon when the sun goes down…

Photo by Kathy Gonzalez, obv.

It’s got your standard solid Bob’s Big Boy cheeseburgers, though we made the mistake of ordering the plain-jane kids’ burger. No one should do that to their kids.

The shake that we got was outstanding. So thick that it kept well for our entire drive back to Culver City. If you love this kinda place, you already know you gotta get over here. But for casual fans, this one’s pretty great and hey, it ain’t far off the freeway.

View The Best Drive Thrus in L.A. in a larger map

The Money Pit - San Marco

On our way down to the Color Run in San Diego, we were hankering to try out a notable drive-thru for dinner. After consulting Yelp for a few miles, Lisa led us to a local favorite 40 minutes outside San Diego in (what we thought was Escondido, but is actually just across city lines into) San Marco… The Money Pit. With a menu covering burgers, dogs, and sandwiches, there is a drive-thru, but it would be a shame to skip the ridiculous interior.

The food? The place is basically a solid hometown diner with a drive-thru.

The cheeseburger had a big slices of fresh iceberg lettuce and tomato with a helping of special sauce—a great hometown-diner-style burger. However, the onion rings were undersalted and underwhelming. As tempting as it sounded, the Rings Dog (a hot dog sheathed in onion rings smothered in BBQ sauce) just didn’t have a great sausage either, making me want to just order this the next time I’m at Vicious Dogs to see where Willie goes with it. The piping hot zucchini fries were good dipped in the ranch sauce, but let’s get to the main event…

We had to check out the decor inside. It’s an interesting space; it has the wide-open windows and bright lights of a fast-food place, but the awesome/cheesy decor of a homebrew money-themed T.G.I. Friday’s. If you’re nearby, like a good burger, and want your next profile pic to be taken next to a penny mural, [INSERT TERRIBLE MONEY PUN HERE].

Humble Potato - Westchester

We recently had the opportunity to go to Humble Potato in Westchester. Eric, the owner, loves to use basic ingredients to whip up wholesome, palatable creations that are heavily influenced by his childhood in Japan and Indonesia.

Podcast 022 - Zach Selwyn, Carney’s Hot Dogs, Secret Squirrel Cold Brew Coffee, Yelp/CounterYelp

In today’s episode, the guys discuss Carney’s Restaurant and Secret Squirrel Cold Brew. Carney’s is the subject of Yelp/CounterYelp, and guest Zach Selwyn blindfolds up for What Did We Put In Your Mouth?

Our guest is Zach Selwyn. TV host, stand-up, songwriter, and good dude. Check out his website, where you can download and listen to songs from his new CD, Moose Knuckle.

This video podcast (this episode can be found below) and other LA Foodie videos can be found on YouTube. Or even better, subscribe to the LA Foodie YouTube channel! The cool part about putting our video podcasts on YouTube is that the interactive menu allows you to skip around to your favorite parts of the show. Return to the main menu at any time, or skip to the next section. It’s easier than watching a DVD.

Please enjoy and share with your friends. Thanks for listening!

Drew, Zach Selwyn, and Ben.

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