Gina Lee's

Desert at Gina Lee's

Ballast Point Beers at Whole Foods

We went to this tasting a little while ago, so my memory isn't very crisp on these. Oops. hic! Some beers of note here though:

Wahoo Wheat Beer (pictured): I remember this being my favorite of the night, a very nice drinkable whitbeer, very refreshing. Should try again in a head-to head taste test with some other whit's (!)

Calico Amber Ale: I remember this having a very step-like hop taste, not overwealming but distinct on when it hits you in the sip.

Yellowtail Pale Ale: I recall neat nutty or toasted sesame pilsner like taste to this one

Big Eye IPA: Don't remember much other than it being an IPA for IPA drinkers.

They were out of Black Marlin Porter, evidently it was very good and the tasters the night before bought the lot of it off the store.

Instead the poured us from a different porter, I can't remember which one, which I tasted to me exactly like a good english stout, like mackelson or something and made me want to try stouts again (I went through a brief but intense Stout kick in 2004ish before I think I really appreciated them, but was starting to). I think it was Port Old Viscosity, which would explain confusion of the tastes. Remember this one being the runner up of the night.

 

 

http://www.ballastpoint.com/

http://www.portbrewing.com/

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/elsegundo/

Incredible Cafe

Brian's thoughts by taste:
Ruben - Pretty decent. See my rant about Rubens in our Billy's Deli notes. Something seemed different about the texture of the meat, like a pastrami kind of texture, but tasted like ok corned beef. Greasier than average, but rubens always are a tad bit messy to handle. Good seasoned salt on the fries.
Overall - Complimentary chips and several salsas out where you can refill for yourself is pretty hip in my book (I could live off of chips n hot sauce though, maybe its just me). The green salsa had a funky somewhat artificial texture, I thought the red was decent though. Place lacks ambience or grace, its really the standard Los Angeles strip-mall burgers/burritos cafe, but its a good one at that and fits the bill for quick cheap lunch or breakfast. We've tried their especial breakfast burrito on several occasions and its very good. We'll have to blog that and the rest of the great breakfast burrito quest another time perhaps.

Coney Island Brew at Whole Foods

Brian's thoughts by taste:

Provalone Tomato Grilled Cheese - I can tell we're in for a treat when Dave (specialty dept in El Segundo Whole Foods) starts making grilled cheeses. This one was the 'normal' one, but was stellar on its own and good comparison for everything to follow. I've gotta start trying tomato in my grilled cheeses. mmm.

Albino Python - An interesting but dissapointing excursion on my whitbeer kick - not as fruity or yeasty or smooth as other whits I've had recently. Had the flavor of a distinctly different part of the orange peel than I'm used to which was neat, but thats about all I'd say about it.

Sword Swallower - Hoppy (an ale) but definitely not overkill. What impressed me the most on this beer was how it matches the first grilled cheese. Made the hops seem toastier and butterier and stronger, and really brought out the juiciness of the tomato and melted cheese in the sandwich.

Asiago, Truffle Butter, and Prosciutto Grilled Cheese - omg holy f&*@)% crap these were amazing. Memorize this formula. Those three ingredients in combination would probably turn anything they touch into the most savory and ahhhhh feeling inducing dish. Only downsides were they were pretty small (but cmon! each one probably cost more than the 5$ entry to the tasting to make), they were like 2 inch diameter circles, and they left us all looking for napkins.

The Shmaltz - We all got scared when Dave talked this one up as "brain-twisting" but I found it to be a very straightforward and agreable lager. Several of us came to the same conclusion of the Newcastle-like mellowness in the middle of it really making its taste.

Mozzerella, Pesto, and Tomato Grilled Cheese - Decent but not as clever of a beer pairing as the previous sandwiches. Mozzerella is hard to get to melt all the way!

Anvil (AleSmith) - Very nice mix of hops flavors. Something that usually drives me away from ales is when they only have one really jabbing kind of bitter hop flavor. This one blends between several. Not sure how they managed that, but it was appreciated.

AleSmith X - An 'EPA', for Extra Pale Ale. Considering that of most of us sitting at the table a regular IPA is our collective least favorite beer type, its not really fair of me to share my thoughts on the Extra. Interesting experience to feel the difference in texture from a normal IPA and from the Anvil.

Gu Gu Sushi and Roll

GuGu Sushi & Roll - Hermosa Beach
Hands down my favorite sushi place in the south bay. Yes the service may be a little slow or hard to communicate but they’re always nice and the sushi is always top notch. Usually we get a table but have done the sushi bar before as well and it's nice to see the fresh fillets of fish and the chefs hard at work making rolls and sushi. They have an amazing list of different rolls from your basic rainbow, caterpillar, dragon to specialty rolls. My favorite so far is the lobster roll. I've never ordered off the actual menu, just marked rolls and sushi off the paper menu they give you. Eaten here too many times to count and never gotten sick or even worried about being sick. Fish always tastes and looks fresh with great texture and color. They sauces they use on some of the rolls is really the icing on the cake.
The place itself isn't much, small place, uncomfortable chairs and small tables but the food is worth it. We always get a large Kiran or Kiran Light whenever we go. You can't go wrong. Prices are fair for a good quality sushi place. Not the hip, fun crowded atmosphere of some sushi places but I'm going to eat not hang out and look at other people eating.On the bad side…no website..?!?

Gu Gu Sushi & Roll
1121 Aviation Blvd
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
You can find the menu here. http://www.menupix.com/losangeles/restaurants.php?id=202156

Ragin' Cajun - Hermos Beach

Decided at the last minute to grab a quick lunch and Ragin Cajun happened to be on our list of places to try. It was a nice day and even better when we walked in and remembered that today was Fat Tuesday! Place was done up for Mardi Gras, along with their regular New Orleans decor. We decided to split a couple dishes to give us a sample of everything.

Swamp Bog Beer (don't remember the exact name - Decent dark beer with neat nutty hops, came in a super frosty mug which I liked. Really seemed to go with the place. Real cool that they did their own brew. Wish more places would try that. I didn't have this one but I had a good old Abita Purple Haze.

Fried Catfish Crawfish and Shrimp - Great batter with some zip to it - spicy but not hot hot. Good fish and swamp bugs and good dips. Nice and hot too. Not sure on authenticity since I'm ashamed to not have had too too much cajun food, but it was nice. This was an appetizer platter and a large one at that. Great to share. Little fried crawfish pieces, fried shrimp and good size chunks of fried catfish with a cocktail sauce that was more like ketchup but still good, and a tartar sauce leaning towards the mayo side. Nice spice to the batter, not too greasy considering it was all fried, not too heavy on the batter. Spice wasn't too hot for a wimp like me but it was close, kind of crept up on you.

Jambalaya & Red Beans and Rice - Tasty and filling. I liked the Jambalaya a lot, it was fluffy and clumpy and savory like good fried rice. Rice in the Jambalaya was perfect, fluffy but moist, loads of flavor. Chicken and sausage in there too. Red beans and rice was what I expected, fair amounts of sausage in there too. Good comfort foods, filling, easy to eat and delicious. For lunch the combo plate is $7.50 and enough to fill you up and last with you for the afternoon.

Oh yeah and even the little slices of white bread are tasty. Don't know why it's been so long since I've been back to this place. Fun, loud, casual place right before you get into the annoying part of Hermosa Beach. I've never been to Cajun country so I have no idea how authentic it is but it sure is good.
Another place with most of the menu on-line
Ragin Cajun http://www.ragincajun.com/main.html