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

Whole Foods Beer Tasting

Ok, This isn't really a restaurant but there is food (and beer) involved. We went to Monday Feb. 23rds beer tasting at The Tapas bar in Whole Foods El Segundo. This day was devoted to The Bruery's line of beers. I have to say this was probably my favorite beer tasting so far. Craig was the man behind the counter and an obvious beer enthusiast. All the beers followed a Belgin style which I am a big fan of so this was a good night. Food at these tastings has gotten way better too. We had several different cheeses, ham, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, flat bread, and amazing grilled cheese sandwiches, grilled with truffle butter...mmm


Orchard White - A very flowery Heffenweisen. Strongest nose of any beer I've had I think. Interesting and powerful taste. Not something I'd drink all night, frankly it didn't match some of the finger foods and reminded me of hand lotion or air freshener after a while, but perfect exotic taster-starter. I actually really liked this one, didn't think it was too fragrant, had a lot of flavor, good wit beer, thick and cloudy but smooth. Fruity but not over done. Not the kind of beer I'd drink a bunch of but one nice ice cold one would really hit the spot.
Black Orchard - good, but most dissapointing of them: I was the most excited about this one from its description online, it sounded very exotic, but it had one of the plainer tastes of the set to me. Had a lot of zip to it - reminded me of Chimay. Looks of it were very deceiving too since it had the appearance of a stout in my glass, but was light and crisp and anything but a stout. This one was my least favorite of the night but still better than a ton of beers out there. It reminded me of a cross between Chimay and New Castle if that makes any sense. Some interesting flavors but nothing compared to the others. Not a dark beer, stout or porter by any means.
Saison de Lente - Started getting into the solid Belgian style beers here. Had the nice honey and doughy taste but was really refreshing. No bitterness at all to this or any of the beers after. Our server, Craig, gave us a double taster of this one since he could tell we liked it which was pretty cool. I thought it was the Trade Winds that he gave us a double pour? I can see why this is their spring beer. It's refreshing and light but still rich and flavorful. Not as fruity and flowery as the White Orchid but holds it's own for sure.
Trade Winds - This one might have been my favorite. Very similar in my mind to the Saison de Lente but with rounder fuller flavors. Kind of seals the deal for me being a nut about this style of brew. This one was my favorite. The best of all the beers, lots of flavor but not too much fruit or flower, refreshing, not too hoppy or thick but still rich. And at 8% alcohol it gets my thumbs up for sure.
Saison Rue - A good finish, belgian Saison style again and same type of brew as the Trade Winds, but much differ punctuation to the taste. Slightly champagney to me, which I liked, but deeper and more serious like a good beer, but still no bitterness to me. Didn't seem champagney to me at all but a great beer. Craig's favorite. Another one I could only drink one of but it's a great one for that.

Over all a great night of different Belgian style beers (and grilled cheese). Why more people don't stop in to the Whole Foods tastings is beyond me

Whole Foods El Segundo http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/elsegundo/
The Bruery http://www.thebruery.com/index2.html

Lazy Dog Cafe

After a filling lunch at Billy's we weren't very hungry for dinner but I need to run to Lazy Dog to pick up a gift card so we decided to go for a night snack of beer and a couple appetizers. I've been to Lazy Dog before a couple times with family while going to the AMC theaters right above the place. And of course, I'm a sucker for the dog décor but the place actually does look pretty cool, low light but still bright enough to see everything, cute black & white pictures of dogs everywhere, nice comfy booths.
We both ordered our own sampler of their beer which comes with five 6oz servings, a Chocolate Porter, Honey Blonde, Hefeweisen, Pale Ale, and Amber Ale. While they don't actual brew the beer themselves it is brewed for them at two Southern California breweries, Bayhawk and Firestone. Nothing too crazy on the beer front, the Chocolate Porter was surprising for such a dark beer, actually kind of light and easy drinking, just a teeny tiny hint of Chocolate. The Honey Blonde on it's own wasn't much but mixed with food or the Porter it really brought out the honey flavors and ended up being our favorite. The Hef was standard, actually a really lemony, I wished I would have tried it first before squeezing my lemon wedge into it. The Amber was a little too hoppy for my tastes which is odd because I usually like ambers. The Pale Ale was your basic pale ale, nothing too different or distinctive.

Now onto the food…We ordered two appetizers, the Ahi Poke and the Inside Out Quesadilla. Where to start, both dishes were scrumptious. The ahi is probably one of the best presentations of ahi poke that I've had. It was served on a light and crispy wonton with green onions, sesame seeds and avocado with some kind of dressing drizzled on top. It also came with something that reminded me of an Asian version of coleslaw that was alright. Next up was the inside out quesadilla which didn't look like what I expected from the name but after tasting it looks didn't matter. The only thing really different about this from your regular quesadilla is they put a little extra cheese on the outside of the tortilla and grill it up so the cheese gets that interesting flavor of being cooked but not burned. The guacamole and salsa that came with it weren't have bad either. I'm sure we'll be back here again at some point, especially if we have time before or after seeing a movie.

Brian's thoughts by dish:
Porter - Great mellow taste, not nearly as dark as it looks. Would have been interesting in a Red Stripe or Newcastle kind of way in a bottle instead of draft.
Amber Ale - Seemed more like a "Red" to me, hoppy and bitter. Lighter than its equivalent at most brewpubs I thought.
Pale Ale - Not bad, but not as memorable to me as the rest.
Honey Blonde - My favorite and the best contrast to the rest, nice mead-like taste. I could have drank a liter of this by itself.
Hefeweizen - Thick and lemony even without its lemon in it
Ahi Poke - Very very nice. Great ginger, avacado, green onion, and sesame tastes. Contrast of textures between the wonton and tuna was fantastic (even if it made it hard to eat elegantly).
Inside out Quesadilla - I liked the toasted cheese taste a lot, and thought the salsa and guacamole it came with was perfect; lots of tangy and smokey flavors I wasnt expecting.
Overall - Definitely want to go back some time for a nice real dinner.

525 Carson Street Torrance, CA
http://www.lazydogcafe.com/

Billy's Deli & Cafe - Torrance

So we decided to try Billy's for a quick lunch on Monday Feb 2, 2009. Having been there many years ago when it was called something else and was more of a diner I was a little disappointed to see the decor hadn't changed. It has the overall feel of an old run down diner that caters to the early bird, blue plate special crowd. Not too bad, clean, open, just outdated and Denny'sish.

We sat in a booth with a window view of the parking lot, waitress was really nice and the new menu has a ton of options, almost every type of sandwich you could think of, breakfast, meatloaf, fried chicken, all that good stuff. Brian & I decided to each order a sandwich and split them, we got the Philly Cheesesteak and a Ruben, one with macaroni salad, one with fries. The waitress was nice enough to have them split onto two plates, even splitting the sides. We also got a little cup of their pickles which tasted homemade. Pretty good but they were sliced and not spears and a little sweeter than I like. Now for the good stuff...I was pretty impressed with both sandwiches. The corned beef had a lot of flavor, tender, lean and tasty. The rye bread and thousand island dressing were both delicious, only thing I would have changed was maybe a little more sauerkraut. Now on to the Philly, the roll was a little disappointing (but I'm a huge bread fan) but the rest of the sandwich was great. Not sure if Philly Cheesesteak diehards would call this a true Philly sandwich but I've never lived back east and had the real thing so to me it tasted just fine. Mushrooms, green bell peppers, cheese, thin slices of steak...mmmm Both sandwiches were nice and meaty, no skimping on anything here. We both left full and satisfied.

So would I go back to Billy's...sure. Prices are decent, actually slightly higher than I would guess by looking at the place but more than fair for the quality and amount of food. (I think they have daily specials which may be a better deal) Service friendly yet not overbearing and it did feel cozy, casual, and comfortable. Seems like the kind of place where you could become a regular real quick if you wanted. I wouldn't recommend it if you're trying to impress a date but for a laidback easy meal I'd say go for it.

Brian's thoughts by dish:
Billy's Ruben - I'll start by saying that the Ruben is the sandwich by which I form my opinion of any deli (the same way a carnitas burrito is the standard by which I get to know a Mexican food spot, pad Thai for a Thai place, etc), and Billy's passed my test. I got a double amount of good thin sliced corned beef, got the saurkraut right, good (homemade?) thousand island dressing, and toasted rye that didn't fall apart too bad. Nothing was out of place, but then again nothing stuck out (I agree with Ronda, a little more kraut or dressing or more flavorful cheese would have made it one of my favorites). I'm a pretty tough judge of Rubens, but I like this one, very solid.
Philly Cheesesteak - Great mushroom taste and savory flavor! The meat and cheese were well done (figuratively and literally) but the mushrooms stood out. One of the better philly's I've had in California (I was spoiled at an early age by Texadelphia sandwiches in Dallas and Austin).
Overall - I'd like to try them again in the morning, their breakfast menu looked good. See link below!

5160 W 190th St Torrance
http://www.billysdeli.com/ Oh and they have then menu on line - Huge bonus points.