The Monster Dog vs. the Colossal Burger

Papoo's Hot Dog Show is often overshadowed by the popular and iconic Bob's Big Boy across the street in Toluca Lake. And to be honest, well, Hot Dog Show is kind of weird. Decorated like an old-fashioned ice cream parlour and populated with bar flies, the restaurant has a strange air of desperation. The servers are friendly, but somehow you get the feeling that everyone has kind of given up.

In contrast to the general weirdness, the food at The Hot Dog Show is amazing. As old-school chili sizes and onion rings go, this is the place. It helps if you think of it as a bar that happens to sell food as opposed to a restaurant that happens to sell beer.

One thing they love here is extreme food with extreme names. So we decided to pit the hyperbolic Monster Dog against the Colossal Burger. As the names would suggest, they are both gigantic. The burger is topped with delicious pastrami that has been cooked on the grill. The monster dog is split and grilled, and bursting with fat. Topped with a delicious truck stop-style chili, it is a force to be reckoned with.

The contest was neck and neck until we stripped away all of the bells and whistles and judged the two solely on the meat. The patty, although moist, is pressed flat and could not be described as juicy. The hot dog on the other hand, bursts with fat and flavor. So in the end, the Monster Dog emerges victorious. Now pour me another beer and let's try to ignore the drunk guy babbling about politics at the end of the ice cream counter.

OK, remember when Homer Simpson was the voice of Poochie the Dog on the Itchy and Scratchy Show? This is the exact character. Coincidence?



All dogs go to heaven ...but how is he holding the harp without any arms?



Who doesn't want a barbecue beef-ham fountain? I had one at my wedding

Ceci n'est pas une nacho

I don't often patronize chains, but occasionally co-workers talk me into it. "It's El Torito Grill, not El Torito." The place appeared to be a Wolfgang Puck-inspired El Torito with a long bar and hard liquor. OK, fine. I could go for some nachos anyways.

I got up to answer my cell phone and when I returned, my friend had a strange look on his face and said, "They don't have nachos." So I looked at the menu and I saw "The Mexican Platter"

Chicken and shrimp taquitos, steak nachos, cheese quesadilla, chipotle barbecue ribs, tomatillo-avocado sauce and red pepper dip. 12.99

I called the server over.

"Aren't these nachos on this platter?"

"No."

"It says Steak Nachos"

"yes, but they aren't nachos"

"how are they not nachos?

"They are not made with tortilla chips. They are made with tortillas"

"You mean you cut a tortilla up and deep fry it?"

"Yes"

"OK. That's how you make a tortilla chip"

"No. It is not a tortilla chip"

"That's OK. Can you just bring me that? On whatever it is?"

"Well, it is not like what you think of as nachos. Each chip has the individual beans and cheese and steak on it."

"OK, could you bring me the menu item that is beans and cheese and steak individually placed on deep fried tortilla pieces?"

"Certainly madame. More iced tea?"

Mariachi Night

I spend so much time as an observer, taking pictures and documenting events of other people's communities, sometimes it is nice to get a reminder that I am part of a community too.



For my mom's birthday the family got together for the local church's Mariachi Night. The church I grew up in, where I went to school. The steps I sat on when I had detention. For 20 bucks you got a taco plate, a few drink tickets and lots of family fun.



I like watching them make the carne asada





And then I like eating it.





Later we realized you could get additional tacos and beers for a dollar each and that made it a much better deal. I noticed they hadn't punched my nephew's ticket, and I said, "Hey, you could get another plate." He turned it over and showed me the reverse side





Then there was the entertainment. Ballet Folkloriko was a lot of stomping and big colorful butterfly skirts when I was younger, but I am seeing more and more of these simple flirty dances lately



It's too dark to see the lasso, but at least you can hear the mariachis



The mechanical bull was a popular attraction for the kids. Why is it so funny to see a little kid fall down? We should all be ashamed of ourselves.



But the important thing is that my mom had a good time.

Jazz at Jitlada for Gina

Everybody loves Jazz, proprietress of one of the best Thai restaurants in Los Angeles. This video shows her endless charm. Here she discusses the proper foods for new mothers while Sinosoul figures out how to program her I-Phone to Twitter, hence the seemingly odd exclamation of "OK, I know how to follow people now" at the end.

Tea at the Langham: Hats off to London

I like my tea with bubbles



Last June The Langham Huntingtom Hotel and Spa held its Anniversary Tea Celebration. They "turned back the clocks to 1865" OK. I didn't know clocks told years. Maybe that's the third hand. Anyways, back in 1865 The Langham served up the first tea to none other than the Prince of Wales. For this anniversary event, the afternoon tea was priced at 1 shilling, or 15 cents.



So a certain friend posted a story about this tea at the time and it started a flame war! About afternoon tea! Comments included such amazing accusations as that we received "pecuniary remuneration". Pecuniary? Really? And it had the most amazing riposte retitle ever, "This Tea Was So Stupendously Enjoyable That I Jizzed in My Pants, and I Guarantee You Will Too."



I love the grounds at the Langham, previously the Ritz. I imagine men from Masterpiece Theater playing badminton in their white wool sweaters.



Traditional Tea

Your choice of tea

VerbenaMint Chrysanthemum
English Breakfast, Earl Grey Passion, Vanilla Bean, Earl Grey

The vanilla bean tea was stellar. Serves piping hot on its own little teapot table, the pots was constantly replaced and refilled to keep the temperature right.



Caribbean Shrimp with Watercress Pesto on Herb Bread

Cucumber with Citrus Mint Cream on Sourdough, Hearts of Palm and Grapefruit

Prosciutto di Parma with Herb Burrata Cream on Squaw with Cantaloupe Caviar and Micro Greens

Egg with Herb Garlic Mousse on Potato Peppercorn with American Caviar

Smoked Salmon Profiteroles with Caramelized Shallot, Caper Cream, Dill Sprig and Lemon Zest

Menus are so damned detailed I expect them to start adding "15 grains of freshly milled pepper and 20 grains of sea salt" one day.



OK, so... some of the items on the tea trays had clearly been prepped the day before. The items made the same day were fresh and delicious and wonderful. But then the other half were dried out and old. It was a shame. It could have been a perfect tea.

The Caribbean shrimp was nice, but the shrimp had been cooked and shelled too soon. It was a nice take on the traditional cucumber sandwich and we were very pleased with it. The prosciutto and egg sandwiches were fine, but the herbed cream an mousses on them were fantastic. It would have been nicer to just have little finger sandwiches filled with mousse. I did not eat the salmon. I almost never do.



Pain Turn Cookie
Lemon Raspberry Tart
Almond Financier
French Macaroons
Creme Brulee Tart
Passion Fruit Gateau
Milk Chocolate Citrus Torte

The pain turn cookie, French macaroon and especially the almond financier were just perfect. Nicely baked. But the tarts had rock-hard shells, and the chocolate torte had been made so long before the chocolate had gummed up. Lesson of the day: make less menu items and make them all fresh.



The gateau was that exact same gateau you see on every upscale buffet table from your last cruise to your cousin's wedding. The sponge cake was sponge-y and the mousse was nice enough. It was fresh and it was moist.



Lemon Poppy Seed Tea Bread
Scones with Devonshire Cream

Sorry, the scones were not working for me. I didn't touch them after an exploratory bite. The scones were D R Y. I didn't eat them, but my friend seemed happy to have any vehicle for Devonshire Cream, which makes her swoon.



So, really, the champagne and tea and about half of the sandwiches and sweets were nice. Not bad for 15 cents. Just to sit there was worth it, really, the place is so lovely.



It sucks being an out-of-work actor in LA because you end up being a footman for the Ladies Who Lunch







"The Langham Hotel and Spa in Pasadena offers afternoon tea Thursdays through Sundays in their gorgeous lobby Lounge."



My friend also stated that she wanted to swim naked in the Devonshire cream. Now that is worth 15 cents!

Kiki Maraschino's Time Space Continuum

Ok, let me explain the Kiki Maraschino Time Continuum. When I am blogging about a trip, I like to finish the trip blogs before moving on. Some of these trips take weeks to write up and meanwhile the world keeps spinning.

But I don't want to interrupt the flow and have you dear readers jumping all over the globe. So I often backdate posts because I believe there will come that fantasy day when I catch up on all of my posts and am blogging real time. The posts dated 3 weeks ago were written last night. And they could cover any event up to 3 months ago.

Today is October 23rd. In June of 2009 I attended the upcoming tea. But I am going to backdate it to somewhere around October 5th since one day I will catch up on all of my posts and need those open dates. Otherwise I would be writing in the future, which would really be confusing.

Vancouver: Ricky's

We did stop at a chain diner for breakfast. Ricky's diner has "evolved into one of Western Canada's premiere, mid-scale family restaurants. And we've achieved this by offering a delectably impressive menu selection in a comfortably modern environment..."



I had to try the breakfast of 3 eggs, 7 perogies and Bavarian sausage with toast. Bavarian sausage is kind of like Polish sausage. The perogies were really delicious for a chain. Perogies are seriously underrated, The Southland needs a really good perogie place.



I think my nephew got "The Works" omelette - Ham, Portobello and button mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and 3 cheeses, topped with a slice of bacon



No one went for the super-Canadian "benny" their version of an eggs benedict. Back bacon, eh? "With two strips of maple bacon and sliced tomato" It should come with a Molsons.