Southern California - Part 2 - Los Angeles

Hi readers (all 5 of you!)

Who wants to know about the rest of my trip to Southern California?

Ok, here goes.

More breweries, as we drove from San Diego to Los Angeles. First up, Alesmith. More flights of beer. I was designated driver so stuck to having a bit of whatever stout looked most interesting to me. A took full advantage of having a personal chauffeur. We kept exclaiming over how spacious breweries and tap rooms are in the US, compared to the squashed confines of railway arches in London. Plus, as we were doing a weekday brewery hop during a late morning / early afternoon drive, there were only a handful of other similarly geeky beer tourists around. Good if you want to spend your time tasting / discussing beer with the knowledgeable staff. Bad if you want atmosphere.

Ballast Point was next door. They are more established, which was obvious from the much more expensive décor and fully bustling restaurant and gift shop. I am appalled that I did not write much down but there were definitely some beers here that were right up my alley. Too bad I’ll never remember what they were.

As it was a Monday, another brewery close by wasn’t open (Green Flash) and we decided to skip Karl Strauss as we’d had a few of their beers in San Diego and two breweries in a morning seemed like a pretty decent achievement.

Back to what I care about – lunch options! Both Kotija Jr Taco Shop and Carnitas’ Snack Shack are in Del Mar, and why eat at one when you can eat at both? We started with a fish taco and taquitos at Kotija – again a pretty great example of what a bit of freshly grilled fish and shredded cabbage can be when done right, and the taquitos were full of greasy childhood nostalgia. Then we hit up Carnitas’ for their famed Triple Threat pork sandwich (our AirBnB host in San Diego raved about this). I’m glad we tried it, but it was just too over the top for me. Deep fried pork loin, pulled pork, and bacon smothered with aioli and relish – even having half of it made me feel a few years closer to a heart attack.

With some lunch, A was ready for another brewery so we went to Stone’s headquarters in Escondido. It was really difficult to find as there isn’t much signage out front and looks like a weird office building complex, but in the back there is a pretty incredible beer garden. While this is where they do most of the brewing for their mainstays, the location in San Diego has a lot more experimental beer, so if you were choosing to visit one, I’d recommend going to the San Diego location (which is also surrounded by a lot more stuff to do).

While Rip Current and Latitude 33 were also on our map, we were keen to get to LA before dark so we ended up skipping them. Leaves us some places to visit on the next trip…

Our first two nights in LA, we stayed with C in Pasadena. She took us to a great casual Italian place for hearty bowls of pasta and broccoli rabe which helped me cleanse after the crazy pork sandwich for lunch.

The next day was a downpour unlike anything I’ve ever seen in LA. This meant that A and I could only see things from the car – Griffiths Observatory was a bust, and we made a quick stop at Squirl for some avocado toast (fine) and bread pudding (way more than fine, I would eat this over and over again). Maybe the rain is the only reason why we managed to find a table and get served without a long queue. We then proceeded along Sunset Blvd heading west, going at a crawl and pointing at things through the blurry windows. 

Another stop at one of the many outposts of Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, for, you guessed it, chicken and waffles – we really liked the fried chicken as it was juicy and crisp. I know it can be variable in quality but we hit a good one. We decided to hide out at the cinema and watch The Hateful 8 in 70mm, as the rain just never stopped, and afterwards drove around Hollywood and Beverley Hills, gawping at mansions, until it was time for our reservation at Pizzeria Mozza.

Pizzeria Mozza gets its own paragraph. I’ve heard endless raves about the pizza, the butterscotch budino, the warm atmosphere, both here and at its sister restaurant next door, Osteria Mozza. It lived up to it all – my friend K met us for dinner (C couldn’t make it, sadly) so between three of us we attempted to stuff ourselves silly. Arancini and bone marrow for starters (A’s first bone marrow!) and then two phenomenal pizzas (mixed mushrooms, and a Brussels sprout and pancetta special). A, whose top gripe about pizza is when the crust is too thin/soggy to hold up to toppings, pronounced these excellent and we had no trouble finishing it all. Then, because we couldn’t decide between the butterscotch budino and the caramel coppetta, we got both. A preferred the caramel, I preferred the butterscotch, K didn’t discriminate. It was perfect. I love it when places meet your high expectations.

The next day, the same downpour meant another curiously indoor day. The Broad Museum was my kind of place – small enough that you could see the whole thing in a couple of hours, big enough that the collection was interesting. Also your free tickets come with an audio guide that really helps you understand what you’re seeing – I am getting really into audio guides lately as they are transforming my experience of museums. After, we headed to Little Tokyo for lunch. I don’t have pictures or the name of the restaurant, but it was a pretty standard bento box experience and we’d go back, if we could ever find it again. For dessert, we hit up The Pie Hole, which was doing a special Yoda pie – green tea and salted caramel. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about pie. I think I like it? But then when I look at the picture I don’t crave it.

A and I stumbled across Joe’s Restaurant Office while we were on Abbot Kinney and took advantage of their happy hour margaritas. The bartender was outstanding (and outstandingly friendly) but sadly their website says they have closed after 24 years…

Then we met up with K again in her neighbourhood and went all out for dinner at Leona. There was some homemade cheese, another mushroom pizza, duck confit, beef shortrib, fries and roasted Brussels sprouts. Again, lots of exclamations of delight (and the two lovely bottles of red that K brought didn’t hurt!) I think we were too full for dessert (or I just didn’t take any pictures).

Finally, on our last day, LA showed off what it’s known for – sunshine and warmth, even in January. Thank goodness, because I think A was starting to think that I was a massive liar. With bright blue skies and T-shirt temps, we headed to the beach, first to Venice, where we shared a breakfast burrito at The Sidewalk Café. It was fine, but the view is the real draw. Then we visited the Getty and soaked up sunshine at the outdoor amphitheatre, and took the PCH up to Malibu. 

We capped off this drive with one of my favorite meals of the trip – fried clams and grilled fish at Malibu Seafood. Something about fresh seafood by the seaside in blazing sun just amplifies the blissfulness of each individual component. 

And the last thing we did before catching our flight was getting a quick Double Double at In N Out – can’t come to California without at least one stop there.

Southern California – Part 1 – San Diego

A and I were lucky enough to be able to plan a week in Southern California before coming back to London. We decided to split our time between San Diego and LA – I went to both quite a lot as a kid, but A hadn’t been to either, so we had plenty of exploring to do.

San Diego was exactly as expected – sunshine, dudes in baseball caps, and a booming craft beer scene. We stayed in North Park for the first two nights, which is full of breweries and hipsters and made us feel right at home. A few of the places we dropped in on, in roughly chronological order:

Mike Hess Brewing – you can get flights here (which come with a souvenir glass which is shaped like a beer can and labelled with one of their brews). A loved some of the IPAs he tried; I struggled a bit more as I’m a wimp when it comes to hops but did taste every stout/porter they had on and liked the seasonal pumpkin one the best. I’m such a sucker for seasonal pumpkin flavours, mainly because they’re not common in the UK so I go a little nuts on them when I’m back in the US.

City Tacos – we needed a quick snack after an evening of trying beers so picked up a mahi mahi taco and a carnitas taco. Both were decent but were topped with the same mango salsa, which A and I both found too sweet and fruity for our tastes.

Breakfast Republic – this place was rammed already at 10.30am on Saturday, but there’s free coffee for those waiting and it’s warm and sunny outside, so A and I get caffeinated and bask in the glow. When we finally secure a table, we know what we want – crab cake benedict and French toast with fresh strawberries. I think the anticipation that built up over the wait and seeing how eager other people were made our food a slight disappointment – nothing was wrong, but it wasn’t the kind of breakfast that you talk about for the rest of the day, either. My hash browns were distinctly undercooked. But lovely outdoor seating and a friendly waiter.

Barleymash – we stopped in here for an afternoon drink while walking around downtown. I had a hard root beer (why is this deliciousness missing in my life?!) and A had another IPA (surprise!). While drinking, we looked at the menu and got fixated on the range of mac&cheeses they do. So… we came back for dinner and split the version with confit duck and duck scratchings. Again – something that had been built up in my head for too long; the sweet hoisin-esque sauce ruined it a bit for me. I’m really glad we shared it, we saw another couple start with a giant pile of nacho fries, then order a separate mac&cheese each, which I’m pretty sure should kill you on the spot.

Cat Eye Club – we headed here after dinner to catch their Saturday night happy hour – they do an excellent mai tai for $5 until 8pm. We couldn’t stop drinking these. The balance between sweet, dry and bitters was absolutely perfect, and then the jazz band that came on added to the atmosphere. Sadly I discovered that three mai tais is my limit – but we headed home feeling like we’d stumbled on some magic place.

Urban Solace – our AirBnB host recommended the Sunday bluegrass brunch and I’m glad we went with it. The band was great – they play outdoors in a covered patio area. I had the beef cheek hash (YES!) and A had the full kitchen sink – sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy (YES AGAIN!)

At this point we moved on the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina for one night – I have no idea what this place is like in the high season, but it was quiet, luxurious and very well situated for our stay.

El Pescador Fish Market – stunning selection of fresh fish. We tried the fish tacos – because they forgot our order, they also brought us some clam chowder on the house. Clam chowder was good (but not as good as the San Francisco sourdough bread bowl one we had a few years ago) and the fish in the tacos was fresh, but sadly pretty bland. A hell of a lot of shredded cabbage.

Oscar’s Mexican Seafood – another attempt at a fish taco. This one was my favorite, and finally helped A understand why people go nuts for them. Grilled fish, avocado, crispy cheese, just enough cabbage for crunch. This is when I started to realize that fish tacos are not fast food – every place so far was making them to order, which is fantastic, but it does mean there is a bit of a wait.

Stone Brewing World – this is the touristy outpost but actually the more interesting of the two, since they do smaller batches of more creative beers here but they still have the full list from the main brewery too. It being January and Sunday, the place was pretty empty, but that just made it all the easier for me and A to get two flights of beer. They do food too, but my constant fish taco ingestion made that unnecessary.

Modern Times – my favorite interiors of all the breweries we visited (though many were pretty spectacular). One, they had a mural of Michael Jackson with his monkey, made out of post-it notes. Two, they had a wall made out of book covers. Three, there were some spectacular lights / chandeliers. And of course the beer was good too – their unusual addition is their own coffee, cold-brewed and available by the growler. When you’re brewery and a coffee producer, you obviously then make some beers with that coffee, and I really liked the one I tried.

Pizza Port Ocean Beach – A and I were both a little surprised by how casual this place is (and how many tv screens there were showing various sports) – they make their own beers and there are certainly some unusual options available. I think I had some version of a hefeweizen, I’m assuming A had another IPA, and then we ordered kale salad and a pizza. What surprised me most is that the kale salad was one of the most delicious things I’d eaten all day, and the pizza paled in comparison. I can’t believe I’m saying this about a pizza place, but go for the kale salad?

Hodad’s – couldn’t resist popping into this burger joint staffed by a bunch of surfer dudes who were the friendliest, most chilled out waitstaff you could ask for. There were definitely some strong weed scents floating out from the back, accompanied by drum solos on the grill played with spatulas, but they delivered a juicy burger and fries quickly and competently (and even pre-sliced it in half since they knew we were sharing).

Olive Café – our last meal in San Diego and we wanted a traditional American breakfast. This was perfect – pancakes, eggs, hash browns and bacon (it’s one dish but A and I split it and it ended up being just the right amount to fill us up for the morning). A quick walk on the beach and we were ready to hit some of the breweries between San Diego and LA.

Phew.

Feta and Scallion Tart

UPDATE: It's now over two years since I first posted this and it's become a go-to staple whenever I have feta and spring onions in the house. Some edits below to reflect how I usually make this.

I love the idea of a super quick "pizza" at home, and all I needed in addition to things in my cupboard were feta and scallions, so it was a simple decision to make this. I have seen people suggest adding vodka to pastry before - apparently it evaporates very quickly and keeps the pastry tender? - but may have to try this once without vodka to determine whether it is a significant addition. I always make it without vodka now - no noticeable difference. Also, I think maybe my sheet pan is smaller than the one the recipe calls for - 1/4 cup of olive oil meant the tray was swimming in it, and I think the temperature for the oven is too high as well as it quickly meant that smoke was billowing out of the oven and I almost asphyxiated A and myself. Also I no longer use the olive oil coating on the sheet pan. Just some parchment paper works fine. I also skipped the butter as I had issues with topping feta with butter. And never bother with the butter either. Thankfully the end result was fantastic (having the leftovers tonight, in fact) so I am going to tweak this and make it again, even though the original recipe was a bit of a disaster. New recipe is anything but a disaster!

Feta and Scallion Tart

Serves 4

Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup (245g) water
1 egg
1 1/4 cups (160g) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Kosher salt
200g crumbled feta
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Method

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 200C / 395F. In a large bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, water, and egg and whisk until everything is evenly incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together flour and baking powder. Gently whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until a batter forms, making sure to whisk out all the lumps.

Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour batter onto sheet pan, tilt so it coats most of the pan, and sprinkle with feta and scallions. Bake until feta is beginning to brown and crust is crisp and golden, about 25 minutes. Sometimes if the bottom isn't crisp enough when I take it out, I take it off the sheet pan and pop it directly on an oven rack for a few more minutes, like you'd do with an oven baked pizza. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Other things I have thrown on top - frozen peas, parmesan, rocket, etc. I've never tried any meat products as I quite like having a quick veggie option at home, but I don't see why any cured meats such as pepperoni / salami / prosciutto wouldn't work well (you might need to add it a little later in the baking time so it doesn't burn though).

Earlham Street Clubhouse

35 Earlham Street
London 
WC2H 9LD

When P emailed me about a place that was 90s themed and served cocktails and pizza, I immediately made arrangements with him to visit. Those are three of our favorite things! Walking in, I was struck by how much they tried to stuff it full of Americana - battered metal signs advertising PBR, license plates everywhere, etc. This whole obsession with the US is at full throttle in London.

Since P and I arrived at 6.45pm, we were able to take advantage of both the before 7pm special and the after 7pm special on this Tuesday night. Before 7pm, you can get a gigantic pizza and bottle of wine for £25. After 7pm, they had a 2-4-1 deal on one of the cocktails (Rolling with the Homies, Ketel 1 vodka, peach and strawberry purees, fresh lemon and sugar, topped with fizz). We opted for a "Ross and Rachel" pizza which meant you could get a half-and-half pizza - we chose the Vincent Vega (tomato, mozzarella, spicy Calabrian sausage and fresh basil) and the Ferris Bueller (tomato, mozzarella, chilli chicken, spicy salami, scotch bonnet chillies and red onion). Neither half was all that spicy, but I still really enjoyed the thin crust pizza. It took forever to eat the whole thing as it was so enormous! The wine was drinkable, and the cocktails were long and boozy and sweet, so all in all it was a pretty decent success. Just be warned - around 9pm the music suddenly got turned WAY up so P and I left in order to avoid screaming at each other for the rest of the night.

Lardo

205 Richmond Rd
London
E8 3NJ

I’m becoming very fond of going to the movies on Sunday afternoon or evening – it’s something to look forward to on a day which usually just feels like the end of freedom. Sometimes we need a bit to eat before the movie as well, so on this occasion, P, AJ, A and I had an early bird dinner at Lardo. My octopus starter was great – chewy yet tender octopus chunks interspersed with briny capers and fresh greens. This was a light beginning which was then followed by pure indulgence – a pizza topped with lardo, spinach and a just-set egg. I loved it, though the rest of the table thought it was over-the-top and couldn’t quite get used to eating pig fat. They liked the margherita pizza more. A wild boar pasta and a hen-of-the-woods pasta were also perfectly savory with a good al dente chew to the fresh noodles. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and it’s a good option for Italian if you’re not friends with AJ who can cook all this stuff at home!

Ireland Day 2

We started our Sunday by finishing the Dublin hop-on hop-off bus tour that we abandoned the day before - thankfully the tour guides were all much easier to understand and we had an informative trip (if a bit chilly and blowy) before leaving the city.

Next up, the Wicklow mountains. We decided to drive through them on our way to Kilkenny since our travel guide said they were worth a visit, and they were - some of the scenic landscapes were unusual and stunning. We got a little hungry at one point and stopped by a stream for a lunch picnic - only to realize after a little while that there was a plaque on the bridge to commemorate someone who died in an accident there.

We arrived in Kilkenny and went to the castle first - due to a stroke of luck entry was free so we toured the rooms inside and learned a bit about how much went into renovating and preserving it. A quick stop at the Kilkenny Design Centre afterwards mostly served to show us all that we weren't particularly interested in Irish crafts... but enthusiasm was soon regained when we headed to Kyteler's Inn, one of the oldest pubs in Ireland, for a pint of Kilkenny ale.

After Kilkenny we headed to Thomastown to see Kilfane Glen and Waterfall. While it was quite pretty, it wasn't exactly a huge waterfall - I wouldn't go out of the way to see it but if you're in the area, it's nice. Also, most of the year it isn't open to the public so definitely check before you go, and also make sure you go before 5pm!

The next stop was Inistioge, where we thought we'd be able to have dinner at Footlights, only to find that it closed a few years ago. So we went for a wander through one of the most picturesque villages of the trip - it's where Circle of Friends was shot and for good reason. 

We also discovered another restaurant (aptly called Circle of Friends) where we decided to have dinner instead, and I'm really glad we did as we had some of the best chips I've ever eaten! The menu outside seemed really basic but just inside the door was a list of specials which were much more appetizing. I had a wonderful whole grilled trout (so did C).

A's mussels were superb. And P loved his pizza (even though I didn't take a picture).

And then we headed off to find our next Airbnb night in Owning, which was a beautiful and spacious house but a little bit in the middle of nowhere. If you don't mind staying somewhere without nightlife, go for it.

Pizza Brera

Upstairs at the Lyric Hammersmith

London

W6 0QL

More fun activities with A. This evening, he had suggested that we get tickets to see Morning by Simon Stephens at the Lyric Hammersmith (mixed reactions from the three of us - I thought it was ok, A & F were not impressed at all). F joined us there and we went with the easy option of pizzas at Pizza Brera, eaten out on the roof garden. While this bit of Hammersmith is not exactly lovely, the roof garden did a good job of hiding the less scenic views behind wooden structures and vines. Mine was a Parma pizza with tomato, mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, parma ham, rocket leaves, and parmesan shavings. I happen to love a forest of rocket leaves on top of my pizza, but A and F were a little less enamored with the greenery. I think A had a Piccante - tomato, mozzarella, fresh chilli, ventricina salami, roasted peppers, fresh thyme, and oregano, though my memory is not too sharp, and F went for my pizza without the heaps of rocket on top. A thin, crispy base complemented the pizzas well and it was certainly a massive step up from most chain pizzerias, so I was pleased. Even my giant appetite was unable to defeat an entire pizza though - I think two people could easily share one pizza with something on the side. I wouldn't head out to Hammersmith just to have this pizza, but it is a decent option if you're seeing a play.

Dock Street Beer

701 South 50th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19143
USA

One of the best parts of going to Philadelphia for work was getting to see old friends. M & K moved to Philadelphia recently so it was great to see their (palatial) new apartment and also find out about their first pregnancy. We decided to have dinner in their neighborhood and they suggested Dock Street Beer - I can't remember which beer I had with dinner but it was pretty good, and dinner itself was a lot of fun. The fried calamari above plus a mixed basket of fries, sweet potato fries and fried leeks was a nice way to kick off a feast. I then had a roasted beet salad in an attempt to get some actual nutrients (but M's sausage pizza was far tastier). Not sure if I'll be back in Philadelphia any time soon, but I would recommend this place to anyone who's a bit closer...

Franco Manca

4 Market Row
Electric Lane
London
SW9 8LD

Franco Manca is a bit of an institution and has been written about by a lot of people already, so I won't get into its history. A and I got to try it on a Thursday lunchtime, when it was easy to get a table. Our waitress encouraged us to get a salad along with our pizzas and it was a good recommendation - the dressing was tangy and went well with the bowl of fresh leaves. The pizzas came out quickly and were enormous - the plates in the picture above are much bigger than usual plates. We had a pizza from the regular menu with ham and one of the daily specials - a white pizza with wild boar salami and rocket. Both were pretty fabulous, though I liked the ham pizza a bit more, probably because the tomato sauce was perfectly balanced with the cheese and ham. I wish it was easier to get to and the opening hours were more extended, but it was worth the visit to Brixton and the market is pretty interesting to wander around.

Pizza East

56 Shoreditch High Street
London E1 6JJ

Pizza East has been written about by loads of people already, but it took me a while to get there. While it's not that far from where I live, it's just inconvenient enough for me that there were always other places to try first. P and J happened to be in the area for some talks though and persuaded me to meet them there for dinner. P had been before and said that he remembered that the appetizers were great, so I started with fried whitefish (above), which were crispy and briny but unfortunately a bit one-note in flavor by the time I reached the end of the plate. P's selection of cauliflower carbonara (cauliflower baked in a creamy sauce with bacon) was excellent, as was J's crab dip. Since I don't see any of these on their online menu, I assume they must change their menu regularly. I had to get pizza for my main, seeing as how it's a pizza place, so the sausage and broccoli pizza above was ordered and it was pretty decent, though a bit under-seasoned. The crust was chewy and crisp, which is better than a lot of pizza in London, so I think I'd go back here and try some of the other toppings.