The Magic Mushroom, The Pioppinno

Today while I was at the Silver Lake farmers' market, I stopped by Kane's Family Farm booth to see their beautiful mushrooms. It seemed Marissa gave her husband the day off and she set up a beautiful display. She quickly brought to my attention that she had something very special today. She showed me a small tray of mushrooms that looked less than special. They seemed to be long spindly shiitakes. But they weren't. Marissa revealed that they were rare Piopionno Mushrooms, also called Block Poplar. But what made these fungi so special? 

"Unlike other mushrooms, when you cook these, they get crispy," Marissa said excitedly with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. That twinkle sold me. So did the intrigue of how these shrooms would cook up. 

She advised me to cook them at high heat in a skillet with a little olive oil. I did so and threw a little garlic in at the end. 

The mushrooms cooked magically to perfection. They got super crispy and were delicious. I fried up a couple pieces of Canadian bacon, mounded it with some smashed red potatoes and topped it with the crispy Pioppinno mushrooms. It was a delicious treat. 

I'm gonna keep this one in my pocket for the future. They would be the perfect topping to a nice risotto or salad. 

Ricky's Fish Tacos - LA's Best Fish Tacos!

After just coming back from Mexico City, I couldn't just have an al pastor or asada taco anywhere because I knew I would be disappointed. So I had to go with a California classic, a fish taco. Not any fish taco, but Ricky's Fish Taco. Ricky's Fish Tacos are the best I have had in Los Angeles. They are always super crispy without being greasy. They come topped with cabbage, tomato onion, and just enough jalapeño for a little kick. You can then top you taco with their white cream sauce or salsas. They also have shrimp tacos. The only thing missing for me is lime wedges (and I've been known to take my own). They also have a choice of sodas and aguas frescas - usually horchata, jamaica and cucumber-spinach-mint, which is refreshing and a great compliment to the fish tacos. It's always my choice.

Ricky's Fish Tacos, Los Angeles

Ricky's Fish Tacos is kind of hard to find. There is not really any signage. You will see a food truck and yellow striped awning in the parking lot of some sort of abandoned beauty salon, where someone may or may not currently reside. It's on Virgil just below Sunset Blvd across from the Vons where East Hollywood, Los Feliz and Silver Lake collide.

Ricky's Fish Tacos

Neighborhood: East Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake

1400 N Virgil Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 906-7290

Yuca's Burrito Love

Mexican food is at the top of my list and Yuca's is at the top of my Mexican food. I was fortunate enough to be near the original Yuca's yesterday on Hillhurst in Los Feliz while doing a little baby gift shopping. So how could I pass up a carne asada burrito, torta or carne asada anything from Yuca's? I almost always automatically go for the Torta there because it is pretty amazing. This time I went for a carne asada burrito. I am never disappointed. The burritos here are so simple, yet so satisfying. Burritos here, unlike Northern California burritos are made with a combination of four simple ingredients, well five if you include love. Each burrito consists of stewed pinto beans, your choice of meat (ASADA!) and their pico de gallo salsa (to give it a little kick) carefully folded into a flour tortilla. When you unwrap your burrito, there is it is - a perfectly wrapped pack of delicious. Don't forget to ask for a roasted jalapeño if you like spicy heat!

Check out Yuca's if you are in the Los Feliz, Silver Lake or East Hollywood neighborhoods. They have two locations:

Yuca's
Los Feliz

2056 Hillhurst Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90027

(323) 662-1214
The original Yuca's is a tiny taco hut on Hillhurst Ave across from the Albertson's Market. Order at the little window and go next door to the liquor store to pick up a beverage and come back just in time for your name to be called. There is a small outdoor patio for seating.


Yuca's on Hollywood
East Hollywood

4666 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 661-0523
The second Yuca's in located on Hollywood Blvd near Vermont across from Umami Burger. They have more food options on the menu and also have indoor seating as well as a patio.

Yuca's on Hollywood is also a MOGL Partner, so if you pay with a credit card linked to MOGL, you will receive 10% cash back on your order. It totally works, I've already gave it a try! Sign up for MOGL and see participating restaurants here.

Fruit Freak: Meyer Lemon

Citrus is among my favorite fruits. Well, I am a fruit freak, so I love all fruits near equally. However in the lemon universe there is one lemon that is galaxies beyond the others, the Meyer Lemon. It's sweetness overcomes the acidity of other varieties of lemons. It's soft skin is an intense hue of yellow and very fragrant. The Meyer Lemon is a cross between a regular lemon and an orange (possibly a mandarin variety).

It's delicious over chicken or fish. I also use it often with my vegetables.

Meyer Lemons, California

Fruit: White Sapote

White Sapote Fruit, California

I picked up a variety of fruits this afternoon at the Silver Lake Farmers' Market. One interesting fruit was the white sapote. White sapote is a drupe fruit with a very thin, delicate skin that can be scratched off with your finger. Inside the fruit is a soft creamy flesh with a taste that is slightly like a pear and pineapple. The flesh usually contains four pits (seeds) that easily separate from the flesh. When ripe the fruit is soft like an avocado when ripe. These fruit are relatively small - about 2inches in diameter. Wikipedia claims the skin is inedible, but I eat it. It's slightly more tart and tangy than the flesh. Eating much of this fruit can make you feel drowsy. The aztec word for the white sapote was "cochitzapotl" - meaning "sleep sapote".

Color: Red Walnuts

These "Red Walnuts" have a beautiful, deep red-purple hue, almost the color of red wine. Product of California.