Blogger Prom 2010 at Yamashiro

Faithful readers may be wondering where Kiki Maraschino has been lately. Just the usual really, living a life of glamour and intrigue. Last night we attended the Blogger Prom soiree at Yamashiro above the glittering lights of Hollywood. Yamashiro, set on the hill above The Magic Castle is so glam The L Word used it for Jenny's movie premiere, and we all know what a diva she was.

I wore a metallic knee-length dress and my favorite long burgundy smoking jacket. Bob told me I looked like movie theater curtains. I had my hair done in waves at Frenchy's salon. It was serendipitous that I had found a top hat at It's a Wrap the week before made with a fur felt, such a score. I returned for a cummerbund and white tux scarf later. Super dapper.

I chose to bring my little point-and-shoot and not to bring my heavy camera. It seems that there was a ghost following me around all night jumping into all of my pictures, so thank goodness for ace photographer Heather Kincaid, who took all of these gorgeous black and white pics. This is the Committee, who put on one hell of a party. Shout out Lindsay! Caroline! HC! Esther! And all the Superbloggers!

Passed hors d' ouvres and a taco station were provided by Yamashiro's Chef Brock, whose fish is just slammin'.

They offered our favorite, ahi sashimi on a tortilla chip as well as charred albacore on a crisp. Also passed were ribs, chicken skewers coated in crushed rice cakes, and salad on a skewer. Figure that one out. Too bad the ghost got in the way.

The tacos were Cabernet and soy-braised short rib, a very meaty Miso-sake black cod, Hoison smoked duck confit with black plum salsa, and the special, Klewno Farms with maple-black pepper aioli. smoked sausage.

But have we mentioned the drinks? We started out with Dalmore Whisky. The bar served up a variety of drinks, including Pinky Vodka's  Pinky Confidential created by Natalie (a.k.a The Liquid Muse).

Pinky Confidential

2 ounces Pinky vodka

1 ounce Chambord

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

½ ounce simple syrup

½ ounce egg white (optional & NOT used in the bloggerprom version)

Powdered sugar (for garnish)
Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Dry shake for 15 seconds. Add ice, shake again. Strain into a powder sugar-rimmed martini glass.Then there was Cabana Cachaca, used to make caprinhas, which is where I went astray.

The Cheese Godess, umm I mean, The Cheese Impresario (she is a goddess to meeee) was there, but I missed out on Cheese SEX!!!! Grrr. I chatted her up and may just follow her around one day. Seriously, this woman knows her cheese.

Coolhaus was on hand, and there is nothing more VIP than eating Coolhaus without waiting in line! I tried the green tea and went bonkers for the salted caramel.

There were also yummy Sprinkles cupcakes!

The set-up was well thought-out, with tables scattered around the space. It seemed like we were always in transit. There were a lot of people I wanted to chat with, but we were being pulled this way and that way as everyone alternately craved ice cream, tacos or more drinks. Fun to hang with Joz, trying to get her name projected on her face...

The ultracool Julie and ice man Michel

Real women aren't aghast at wearing similar dresses. They celebrate it!

What else? There was a table for Beer Chicks, Y Drive LA, an amazing idea finally here from Europe where sober drivers arrive on fold-up scooters, stick them in your trunk, and drive you home. Lots of people push it and don't call taxis because they don't want to leave their cars behind. Y Drive leaves your car safely at home and gets you safely to bed! There was also a raffle table and a display for the official charity, Operation Frontline, for which Blogger Prom raised over $2,000,

The official prom queen (ahem) leading lady was JozJozJoz, and the "leading man" was Neil of "Food Marathon".

I apologize to everyone who was obliterated by the ghost.

...AND it was a full moon! well, a waxing gibbous moon anyways...

The Popcycle Rolls In

 LA's newest traveling food recently made its debut near the Silverlake Farmers Market. With flavor combos like Salty Cucumber Lime, Lemon Mint Blueberry and Cantaloupe with Anise, these are not your standard frozen fruit bars. And at $3 a pop they are an affordable splurge.

The custom-made bike and freezer box created by owner John Cassidy are based on a Dutch design to ride on two wheels instead of the standard three-wheeled bike. There is no truck or a hitch, so sales are limited by leg work. They can only go as far as John can pedal.

Paletas were one of the inspirations for the frozen treats. Michelle Sallah, a professional chef, was excited to discover the paleterias when she moved to LA and eventually married her love for playing with flavors and partner John Cassidy's love for bikes to create Popcycle treats. Michelle comes from a diner family, and has worked at the Spotted Pig in New York and Bar Marmount in LA. She knows from experience that owning a restaurant is a 24-7 job. She and John wanted to work together, but in a project that would still allow them freedom. They worked and developed their idea throughout the last year.

Michelle is playing with mixes of savory herbs and juices as well as other innovative recipes. For example, the "Arnold Palmer" is Raspberry Iced Tea and Lemon. The produce is purchased at the local farmer's market and they use organic ingredients. Michelle is careful to use only as much sugar as the treat needs. The flavors are intense, but not so strong or unusual that children won't enjoy them too. The bike only had 2 treats left when we arrived. They had saved them for me after I tweeted, begging them to wait while I zoomed over. So we only tested out the Lemon Mint Blueberry, which was an explosion of flavors, like a frozen lemon bomb.

The bike can hold up to 200 frozen treats at a time, but will usually roll with around 100. Michelle wants it to be non-stressful for them, and a special experience for customers. There is a modern-day treasure hunt element to chasing food trucks and bikes, and she hopes there will be an exciting element to rotating flavors. Keep it small, keep it local, and you can maintain a personal vibe with customers as well as quality.

Philadelphia Freedom: Franklin Ice Cream

...and so, back to Philadelphia, where last we left our heroine...





The Franklin Fountain is a throwback to the ice cream fountains of the olden days. It's kind of strange since they only opened in 2006, the 300th birthday of Ben Franklin. The ice cream is freshly churned, creamy and intensely flavoured. Plus, they are open until 11pm on weeknights and midnight on weekends! I practically moved in.



The parlour has outfitted itself with genuine old-timey equipment and details down to the white paper hats. Over the years, many companies named "Franklin" have opened and gone out of business. Owners Eric and Ryan Berley are antique collectors and have collected vintage signage with the Franklin name. They are conservationists who have maintained the building's tin ceilings, and and old mosaic tile.



There is a definite indie vibe to the shop, with smiling, friendly servers who clearly love the place.



My first taste of Franklin's was cherry vanilla, with giant chunks of dark bing cherries and visible specks of vanilla.



They are generous with the samples, on real spoons. The Teaberry, fashioned after the old school gum really did taste like the gum.



One treat that was too extreme for me did not deter one of my friends. She bravely dug into

ROCKY ROAD ice cream coated in thick peanut butter sauce and paved with crumbled salt pretzels. William Dreyer and Joseph Edy concocted the first batch of rocky road ice cream in 1929 following the great stock market crash to give consumers something to SMILE about during the impending Depression.









When I saw this bust, I turned to Ellin, and in a hushed town cryer voice said, "Let it be known that there shall be no edifice built that doth not bear the resemblance of Benjamin Franklin."





They also serve up malts, egg creams, phosphates and sodas made with fresh syrup and soda water from a genuine antique fountain. They make their own sharp root beer for the city's best root beer float.

As they state on their site,

The Franklin Fountain aims to serve an experience steeped in ideals, drizzled with drollery, and sprinkled with the forgotten flavors of the American past.

Philadelphia Freedom: The Terminal Building Kept me Alive

The Reading Terminal Market was conveniently located right across the street from my conference. Thank God! I was thus rescued from group lunches at Chili's. The Terminal Market is like Seattle's Pike Place or San Francisco's Ferry Building - a combination of delis, meat counters, bakeries and fresh produce.

The history of the market stretches all the way back to William Penn. When Philadelphia was established the various mongers and farmers were grouped together in an area eventually known as Market Street. The open-air market eventually started to interfere with traffic so in 1849 the markets moved indoors. The resultant Farmer's Market and Franklin Market were later joined to become the Reading Terminal market in 1892.



In the 1970s the Reading Corporation went bankrupt and made plans to sell off the market. During the 1980s the market was revitalized. The trains stopped running and a new convention center brought in new crowds. The market now has more than 80 merchants.











The first place I hunted down was Hershels East Side Deli, which had come highly recommended. It did not disappoint.





Thick slices of juicy pastrami made from brisket on fresh and mild Easy Coast rye proved too much for me and I had to take half of the half sandwich to go. The matzoh ball soup was so flavorful and comforting. The matzoh ball had the texture and authenticity I have been searching for for years.





On another day I tried the meaty brisket and an Italian macaroni salad







On the way out I stopped at Bassets, which has been serving up ice cream since 1861, since 1893 in the Terminal Market. They used to churn the ice cream using a mule. Now this is the kind of American History I like.

People think these unusual savory ice cream flavors are a new fad, but in 1955 Basset made borscht sherbert for Nikita Khrushchev. That was not on the menu during my visit. On the recommendation of the lady behind me in line I ordered "Butterscotch Vanilla — Swirls of rich butterscotch laced through creamy Bassetts vanilla ice cream make a taste treat never forgotten."



I like to get pictures of smiling counterpeople handing me my food. This guy is like, "You WILL eat this ice cream. Stop taking my picture and eat the damn ice cream already."





Chocolate marshmallow