Crocodile Consumption, Drawing at Cafecito Organico

Remember that time I saved my purse from a crocodile? Me too! I'm just down at Cafecito Organico in Silver Lake doing a little drawing of an re-enactment of that fateful afternoon. 

National Burger Day at Haché

Karma Burger, Fries and Alagash White

What better day than this beautiful sunny California day to head down to Haché LA in Silver Lake for a burger. Excuse me, a "Steak Haché". Whatever they call it, I call it a burger and it definitely qualifies for National Burger Day.

If you haven't been to Haché yet, it sits on Sunset Blvd. in the old Tarasco's Tacos space. It's a welcome addition to the Silver Lake neighborhood with affordable prices, a nice patio and delicious selection of beer to go with your burger. Steak is ground in-house daily to make fresh, juicy patties which are served on a brioche bun with karma sauce, cheese and the basics for only $5.95.

Mmmm...Karmmmmaaaa.... Burger

Grab a Karma Burger with some of Mick's Triple cooked fries and a burger and celebrate the best of American holidays, National Burger Day. Aside from Thanksgiving, that is. 

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. 

Juiced Served Here, Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake to be Exact

"Clean Greens" to get your day going

Sunset Junction is writhing with health-conscious hipsters. Yoga pants have become mainstream fashion in this neighborhood with yoga mats slung around the shoulder as an accessory. Pilates studios, warehouses of spinning women and weekend dancing at the Sweat Spot provide the perfect consumers of fresh cold-pressed juices and vegan-gluten-free-nut-free-lactose-free-flavor-free treats for several of Silver Lake's green-eats restaurants.

 

Choose your Juice or Make it a Shake!

Though it seems the Silver Lake area has plenty of choices for healthy (and needless to say expensive) bites, they keep adding to the roster. Introducing... Juice Served Here.

Juice Bar now open in Silver Lake

Juice Served Here is a small chain of juice shops in Southern California. The new juice shop just opened today on Sunset between my favorite shoe store, Undefeated, and Pazzo Gelato. Their clean, minimal branding is fresh and bright and reflects the quality of their ingredients. You can go for one of their pre-made cold-pressed green juices or have a healthy shake whipped up just for you. They also offer juice cleanses starting at $55/day. #jshcleanse

Cookbooks and organic goodies for your body and soul

If you've lived in the neighborhood for awhile, it will definitely be hard to break your Naturewell habit as they blend their juice fresh and it's right across the street. Either way, in Silver Lake you're gonna be paying some major green to drink green!

Of course, what else goes with juice besides luxury goods?

JUICE SERVED HERE

3827 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Silver Lake Neighborhood

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

Pizza Slut in Silver Lake

I was on my way down to Silver Lake Ramen and saw this great sticker art on Sunset Blvd. I'm a big fan of street art stickers. This cheesy, pepperoni slice looked so good, it almost made me change my mind and order pizza delivery. Mmmm... Tomato Pie is sounding good right now!

Blue Corn around the Corner in Silver Lake

Blue corn quesadilla with potatoes and chorizo

Today I had quite a pleasant surprise when I was walking home from Dinosaur Coffee and ran into the blue corn quesadilla lady of Echo Park. She happened to be working an event at Mack Sennett Studios. I couldn't resist a quesadilla.

Street food is my favorite. Just like in Mexico City, potato and chorizo quesadillas are my number one choice.

One of my favorite ladies in Los Angeles. Making some homemade tortillas from blue corn for quesadillas.

National Cheeseburger Day at Haché LA

Habanero Burger at Haché LA, Silver Lake

 It's amazing how much your neighborhood can change in three months. As I spent the summer in Mexico City, my barrio of Silver Lake was busy making some changes of it's own. New shops and restaurants popping up as others shutter down. One of them to close it's doors was Tarascos on Sunset Blvd. I won't lie, I won't miss it. It was replaced by a burger joint. Haché to be exact.

I was happy to hear that we have a burger place in the neighborhood. But I was also fearful it was going to be a fifteen-dollar-hipster burger. On this glorious American holiday known as National Cheeseburger Day, I found out that I was wrong.

Haché is a welcome addition to the restaurants in Silver Lake. In fact, it's just what we needed. A non-pretentious environment with affordable food (and craft beer too). Burgers come in around the $6-$7 dollar range starting with their Karma Burger. It's a burger with all the standards with a patty that's not so standard. The patties that fill the burgers at Haché are made in-house daily from ground Angus sirloin and seasoned on the outside like you would your sirloin steak.

One of the lovely workers rockin' one of my banana stickers on her hat.

They offer a few other varieties of burgers like the "Swiss Onion" with Gruyere cheese and carmelized onion. There's also the "Habanero" with a four-chile mix, garlic mayo and queso fresco. I had the Habanero and it was quite good. However it was pretty mild and I didn't really get any of that fruity habanero flavor, it was more of a jalapeño burger.

Of course there's also french fries, strawberry basil lemonade and a very friendly staff. So grab a burger and brew at Haché sit outside on the patio and enjoy friends and music.

Taco Tasting Pop-up Food Photography

Thank you to everyone who came out to my Chow with Xhico Taco Tasting in Silver Lake at the beginning of the month. Photographer Jennifer Jaimes aka @photojeninc was on hand to take photos of the event. She just sent me these wonderful photos. Thanks Jenn!!

Chow with Xhico: Taco Tasting

I'll be doing a Taco Tasting in LA this weekend. I'll be serving up beer-braised beef, achiote orange chicken and veggie tacos. There will be homemade salsas, fennel slaw and aguas frescas. If you want beer, wine or whatever, you have to bring your own booze. It's first come, first serve. Eat what you want, pay what you want.

SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2014

5-7PM

GET FULL DETAILS HERE

Silverlake location will be posted 3 hours before the event.

Filipino Street Food in Los Angeles...Only $1!!!

Authentic Pinoy Street Food in Los Angeles

Anytime I see a crowd of people standing around fire, I always hope for the best and that there is something delicious roasting over the coals. As I drove down Temple through Historic Filipino town, I passed a very unassuming yellow food truck. There were two BBQ's aflame, a huge line of people and the small mini mall was packed with cars whose hoods had become make shift dining tables where people were eating, congregating and having a great time. From the looks of things and wonderful aroma in the air, this was most certainly going to be something delicious.

I got quail egg, shrimp balls, lumpia and chicken feet.

The nice ladies of Dollar Hits!

I made my way through the smoke, closer to the slow jams blasting out of a large boom box neat the truck. There was a huge table in front of the truck filled with trays piled high with all sorts of finger foods -many things that had been skewered and many things that had been fried, and some had met both fates. I wasn't sure where to begin, so I started at the sign that says "Line Starts Here". A very sweet lady greeted me and I explained that I was new to all this. She explained that I was at "Dollar Hits" and everything was a dollar each. You pick either a small tray if you want a few things or a large foil tray if you're taking the party home. Then you proceed down the line picking all the amazing street foods that you want. Then you start adding up the dollars. There's worse ways to use your dollar bills: buying useless things at the dollar tree, making it rain at Jumbo's Clown Room or making origami cranes. I would much rather make countless trips through the line of this food truck.

BBQ's fired up with lots of goodies

I ended up getting the shrimp balls, deep fried quails eggs, lumpia, BBQ pork and BBQ chicken feet. I had never had chicken feet before. They were skewered and doused with sauce. Once you start sucking that sauce off, you really get into it and begin suckin' them bones clean! Lumpia is very much like a egg roll. It was fried to perfect with a flaky crust filled with spiced vegetables. Everything was delicious and I still have more to try when I go back. Also, if you get the melon (cantaloupe) drink, it's only $1 and free refills!

Free refills on Cantaloupe punch!

Only a five minute drive out of Silver Lake, you can find Dollar Hits Food Truck at the corner of Temple St. and Carondelet St. (just a few blocks from Rampart). They are there Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights from 6pm-11pm.

Follow Dollar Hits on Instagram

Follow Chow with Xhico on Instagram

Donut Friend, Donut Lover

Donuts at Donut Friend in Highland Park

Sometimes you want to make love to a donut. Sometimes the donut just wants to be friends. That donut would be found in Highland Park at Donut Friend. At Donut Friend you can build a donut any way you like it. They have a selection of cakes, glazes and a plethora of fillings and toppings to make either a sweet or savory treat with your own unique flavors.

I went there to pick up some donuts as a treat for my colleagues at work. It was early, I hadn't had my coffee yet and I had no patience to customize fifteen donuts for everyone. So, I took the easy road and got a box full of their signature donuts with unique flavors like nutella, maple-bacon and classics like chocolate with rainbow sprinkles. Oh, an their "minus the bear claw", actually looks like a claw with pecans for the nails on each toe!

The "Caramel Assault" is sweet and sticky with a bit of sea salt. Another and even better sweet and salty treat is "Bacon 182" with sweet maple glaze and topped with crunchy bacon. You can never go wrong with the "Nutellavision" filled with Nutella and a dash of olive oil. They also have gluten-free and vegan options for your donuts so don't be afraid to go get a bite.

Donut Friend also has some very cute murals along with a cute donut/apple logo. It's a great place to take kids or fun for a date night and build your own donuts together.

Xhico in the donut hole. Photo via @chasedesigngroup

Evan is happy for the donut surpirse! Photo via @paula112

Toppings for DIY Donuts at Donut Friend in Highland Park

DIY Donuts at Donut Friend in Highland Park

A dozen delicious "Donuts Done Differently"by Donut Friend

Cute Mural "Donuts Done Differently" at Donut Friend

Donut Friend
5107 York Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90042
Neighborhood: Highland Park
213-995-6191

Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tues-Thurs: 8am to 9pm
Friday & Saturday: 8am to Midnight
Sunday: 8am to 9pm