Silver Lake's Secret Pork Bun

The first bite is just the beginning of delicious. Pork Bun from United Bread and Pastry.

If you're living in Silver Lake, chances are you're a hipster stretched very thin financially. Whisky and weed take precedent over paying rent and most certainly expensive meals. So if you're looking for some cheap eats in Silver Lake check out United Bread & Pastry's Pork Bun.

Pork buns wait inside steaming for your love.

This little Filipino bakery sits quietly amongst one of Silver Lake's busiest areas - Sunset Plaza Triangle. Yet, many people don't know the deliciousness that hides in the drab, unassuming building between Pine & Crane and Yummy. At United Bread & Pastry, you can find bread, fresh roasted nuts and traditional Filipino desserts and groceries. But what I go for when I want a hearty snack is the pork bun.

Behind the counter filled with pastries is where the secret treasure is kept. A steamer box with several shelves sits near the wall. It's windows are steamy with beads of condensation, but you can see the buns inside just waiting to get into your belly. When you order the bun, it will come wrapped in a plastic baggie and ready to eat on the go. Make sure to pull the paper off the bottom. Unless you're into that sort of thing.

Hot out of the steamer. Pork bun from United Bread & Pastry.

The pork bun is a soft, pillowy dough that surrounds tender pieces of shredded pork spiced to perfection. It only costs $1.25 and one, most definitely two, will fill you up. They also have chicken available. Pop next door to Mornings Nights Cafe and grab an iced-tea and you're set!

UNITED BREAD & PASTRY
1515 Griffith Park Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Silver Lake Neighborhood

Morning Masterpiece

Fig Yogurt with Banana, Guava, Honey and Cinnamon

I love fruit. I've been called a fruit. But sometimes fruit can feel a little boring in the morning. Making overnight oats or dumping some yogurt, granola and fruit in a bowl doesn't always give me extra satisfaction I sometimes need in the early hours of the day.

So when I need an little extra visual fulfillment or just need to impress a stranger who stayed over the night before, I like to put my best fruit forward and make a lovely looking plate filled with healthy ingredients to start the day.

I stop thinking of my food as ingredients, and more as materials for art. After assessing my materials I start thinking of the shapes, colors and textures before me. I begin cut shape profiles and lay them out on the canvas, which in this case is now a white plate. A dollop of yogurt, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon completes my edible art.

So, next time you have guests over for brunch, or just want to make sometime special for yourself in the morning, take a few extra minutes for plating and make your own morning masterpiece. If you create something I would love to see it. Upload your breakfast to Instagram and use the hashtag #morningmasterpiece.

Mac and Cheese Waffles, Leftover Makeover!

Mac and Cheese Waffle topped with Sarayo by Xhico

My aunt sends me emails constantly of stuff to try cooking. I think somewhere in the flurry of her emails I saw something about Mac and Cheese Waffles. I never read the article, but remembered it today when I was thinking of what to do with all this leftover amazing Mac and Cheese. So I decided to pull out the waffle iron and give it a go.

I gave the waffle iron a light coat of non-stick cooking spray and heated it up on medium-high. Then I saw some smoke and could smell a burning odor. Oops. I put the cooking spray onto way too soon. But I kept going. I sliced out a piece of mac and cheese from the casserole dish. I laid it in the waffle iron and it began to sizzle. I pressed the waffle iron until it was tight. I could hear the cheese crackling away and I could begin to smell it in the air. It was delightful. I waited and waited for about 8 minutes and thought it was done.

When I opened the waffle maker my macaroni surprise fell apart. The center feel right out as the top stuck snuggly to waffle iron. I pried it away from the top and bottom and set the crispy bits on a paper towel. I tasted them and they were salty, cheesy, crispy goodness. I had to make this work. Being a designer, makes me a good problem solver among other things.

After a quick wipe down, I let the waffler get hot. This time I sprayed a nice coat of non-stick cooking spray right before I put the slice of mac and cheese in. Also, I just gave it a gentle pressure as I closed it and didn't force it in too hard. This time I waited with anticipation. Would my adjustments give me a magic-mac-cheesy-waffle?

The aroma of the cheese crisping was promising. The crackling sound was another sign things were going good. After about 10 minutes I opened the waffle iron and it came away from what has become a golden crunchy crust of cheese. "Yahoo!" I exclaimed. I was so excited that I had actually accomplished this leftover make-over. I took the waffle out and could hardly wait to eat it. I threw it on a plate, topped it with some Sarayo and got to work on that salty, crackly, gooey, cheesy wonder waffle.

Get my BAKED MAC AND CHEESE RECIPE here!

Roly Poly Potato Recipe

Roly Poly Potato with Cream and Sarayo Sauce

Potatoes are my favorite carb so I'm always looking of new ways to prepare them. I thought I had the fabulous idea of making one similar to an "awesome blossom" aka bloomin' onion. I later learned on Facebook that my idea wasn't so original and these potatoes are actually called Hasselback Potatoes. I don't care, I call them "Roly Poly Potatoes" because they look like the little roly poly bugs I used to play with in the garden as a kid. So, I find it great that these potatoes look like giant bugs or crustaceans.

This potato recipe gives you a tender inside and a crispy texture on the outside. It's a great side dish with meat and perfect substitute for a baked potato. It's very easy to prepare and good to make for just one person.


ROLY POLY POTATO RECIPE (Hasselback Potato Recipe)

INGREDIENTS:
1 Potato (I used Purple Potatoes because they look pretty on the inside)
1 Clove of Garlic
Olive Oil
Butter
Sea Salt

Cut slices evenly and place garlic between each slice

METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 425º F (215º C)
2. Starting at one end of the potato, cut the potato cross-ways downward in direction. The slice should be about 1/8" thick. Don't cut all the way thru leave about 1/8" connected at bottom of potato. Continue to cut slices down the entire length of the potato.
3. Slice thinly one clove of garlic.
4. Place one slice of garlic in each slot that you have cut into the potato
5. Coat bottom of baking dish with olive oil. Put potato in dish.
6. Generously drizzle potato with olive oil.
7. Sprinkle with sea salt (make sure salt and olive oil gets into the slots)
8. Bake uncovered for 40-60 minutes. Depending on size of potato and your preference of the doneness of center and crispiness of the outside.

• Melt 2tbsp of butter and drizzle over top. If you want it extra garlicky, then add sliced garlic to your butter as you are melting it. I also enjoy it with crema (Mexican table cream) or Sarayo Sauce.

Provecho!

La Cadencia Lonchería in Mexico City

(Xhico en México)

Alambres de Pollo al Pastor

If you're looking for a good bite to eat in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, check out La Cadencia. It's more than just a stop for cyclists and local hipsters, it's a little loncheria offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. The funky decor made of bike parts supports their menu of traditional Mexican dishes with a twist. The food is freshly prepared in huge portions. The staff is friendly and efficient. My friends and I have eaten here several times and always had excellent service from Adrian. He's one of the best waiters we've had in Mexico City. My friend Tara swears by the Molletes and I'm a fan of the Mole Chilaquiles and Alambres.

If you're a vegan or vegetarian, they have plenty of options for you, including tofu! They are also pet friendly and bike friendly too. They have a great lunch deal for comida corrida, so check out La Candencia Lonchería for a good bite.

Chilaquiles with Chicken and Mole Sauce

Molletes, Tara's Favorite

Coffee and Fresh Orange Juice with Breakfast

Agua del día: Melon

La Cadencia Lonchería Logo

La Cadencia Lonchería
Tonalá 183B, esquina Chipas
Colonia Roma, Delegación Cuauhtemoc
México, DF 06700

Bringing the Perfect BLT to Mexico City

( Xhico in Mexico City )

I'm going to be making deliveries in Mexico City soon! So I've been working on some classic American recipes to bring to the mouths of the people in Mexico via ComeCasero. I decided to start with one of my favorites, the BLT, sometimes the BLTA.

The perfect BLT on Ciabatta from Panadería Rosetta

That's right, the simple Bacon Lettuce Tomato and add Avocado if you want it California style. Who thought getting this sandwich right would be such a challenge. First, of course, there was the bacon. I had to figure out where to get good bacon and an efficient way of cooking large amounts in a tiny kitchen. First of all, finding good bacon in the grocery store isn't going to happen. The butcher there will not have it, so I needed to head to a carnecería at my local market. That took me to one of my favorite places, the mercado, Mercado Medellín to be exact.

There amongst the fruits and vegetables toward the back corner you will find the meat men. An array of butcher stands that specialize in poultry, pork, fish, beef and sometimes other things. I began to collect samples of bacon as I visited a few stands and made sure to hit up the butcher where I bought that amazing chicharron prensado from the trip before. Mostly because I like it when the guy calls me "patron".

Butcher cutting my smoked bacon into slices

After testing all the bacon for flavor, thickness, fat content and how it held up after cooking, the butcher that calls me "patron" was the winner. Their bacon was smokey and perfectly marbled and the butcher could cut the bacon to my preferred thickness. Now I had to figure out how to cook large amounts of bacon in a tiny kitchen. After some skillet tests and oven tests, the oven was going to be the method. Now I thought I had it down.

Perfect smokey, marbleized bacon from Mercado Medellín

I just needed good bread now. Then I realized that I'm in the land of tortillas. There aren't many bakeries around and most of them specialize in pan dulce - sweet bread and other pasteries. Finding a good fresh loaf of bread was not easy. I started with the supermarket bakery. This made me appreciate my supermarket bakery in Los Angeles much more. There was no beautiful loaf of brioche. The bread here was dense and mealy, and the interior crumb, was just that – crumbs. The loaf was beyond disappointing. This challenge led me on a hunt for the best bread that I could find in Mexico City.

Making my bread at Panadería Rosetta

Going for coffee at Panadería Rosetta

I hit up some of the bigger chains like La Espiga and Globo, as well as some artisanal bakeries. They were all dissapointing (though those donuts in Globo smelled and looked delicious - I had to resist, because I'm was on my mission). I had a few more high-end artisanal bakeries to explore. My friend, Tanya, had reminded me of a bakery we went to once to have pan dulce and coffee, Panadería Rosetta – but it was too busy and we went down the street to La Puerta Abierta.

Ciabatta Test: Panadería Rosetta (left) vs. Pan Verde (right)

I finally made it to Panadería Rosetta for a coffee with Tanya. We sampled some pan dulce and it was delicious. The roll was airy and light and the scones were fluffy, moist and had a nice outer crunch. I had a good feeling about this place. I left with ciabatta and a loaf of pan blanco (which is the closest thing I could find to sourdough or good white bread). I arrived home with some bread from other bakeries as well.

3rd Place: Ciabatta from Pan Verde

Slicing, buttering and toasting was how it spent the next hour and a half. Making notes and taking pictures in between. Then I had to make sandwiches and see how they all held up. This brought me down to the top three breads to use for my BLT. They were Cibatta from Pan Verde and a Ciabatta and Pan Blanco from Rosetta. Ideally I would have used the pan blanco because it was more like a traditional BLT slice. But the bread was difficult to slice into even pieces because of the shape of the loaf. This left me with the two ciabattas and Panadería Rosetta was the clear winner. The ciabatta had a wonderful cloud-like inside with a slightly salty crust and they were easy for preparation.

2nd Place: Pan Blanco from Panadería Rosetta

1st Place: Ciabatta from Panadería Rosetta

After nailing down those two main ingredients, my BLT was well on it's way. It just need some lettuce, tomato and some of my secret sauce. It will remain a secret, but where to find amazing bread in Mexico City won't. Panadería Rosetta is the bakery where you want to be buying bread.

Panadería Rosetta
Colima 179
Colonia Roma, Mexico City

Meet the Dandy Sailor of Mexico City

( Xhico in Mexico City )

It was just another day of quesadillas filled with chorizo and potatoes at the Tuesday Tianguis. I had picked up some tlayudas to make for breakfast the next day. As I was leaving down one of the corridors of men offering samples of papaya and mamey fruit, I saw a sailor. Yes a sailor. A handsome sailor with a gleaming smile is bound to make me stop and cast my anchor. This man was the Dandy Sailor. The captain's hat topped the head of an affable man named Charwin. With his winning smile, he proceeded to offer me a sample of his wares. I wasn't going to say no!

He had these little, caramel-colored cookies with a soft cross hatched design embossed on them. I put one in my mouth and it crumbled and melted at the same time. It was beyond rich. It was something my grandmother would absolutely love. They were soft and buttery with a delicious brown sugar, caramel flavor and a hint of cinnamon. They were almost unreal. He sells small and large baggies, carefully wrapped with  well-crafted logo. Did I mention that he is also brilliant at branding? 

I chatted with Charwin a bit in English after learning that he was also a foreigner in DF. He had brought this recipe from Holland and is now sharing it with the people of Mexico City. You can find him on Tuesdays at the tianguis at Sinaloa and Veracruz in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. He also delivers! You can follow the Dandy Sailor on Facebook.