Sometimes You have To Ignore The Letter In The Window!

Daisy Diggin' Into MOMOFUKU

    I like food, I like to go out to eat with the wife and kids. I like everything from fine dining to food trucks. I also think that sometimes when looking for somewhere to eat you have to look past the letter in the window (LA County establishments have a letter given to them by the health board). What makes for somewhere to eat better then just reputation and where all the hipster kids are calling "cool"?

    On Monday my daughter Daisy and I went to Central Fish Market in Downtown Fresno,Ca. so we could get groceries for dinner, but first we needed ramen! We ordered a couple of bowls of ramen, she had a Japanese soda and I had a can of Sapporo. As we sit eating we are digging through my MOMOFUKU book so we can figure out what we need to buy.

    Central Fish gets busy, I mean super busy. It took us almost 35 minutes to get out food and like always it was worth it. Downtown Fresno has a bunch of places to eat but there is something about Central Fish. If you sit long enough everyone is going to walk through the door. When I say everyone  I mean white guys, black guys, business people, old people, constructions guys...I mean everyone!! This is one of those times where the local know best.

   Just because there are a bunch of fixed gear biks, dudes in jean cut offs and they sell Pabst does not mean it is the cool place to go. Sometimes I do not mind a table that is a little beat up and grimy with the smell of fresh seafood next door in a neighborhood most people won't hang out in after dark.

   Do you know what the locals know?  More importantly are you a local and you do not know where the gems are in your town? If not I think it is time to see what is in your own backyard.

   
  

4 Chefs I follow on Instagram

   Alright, so here is the deal I love Twitter and Instagram and so I have decided to share with you guys my list of favorite chefs I am following on Instagram. This list is in no particular order.

Chopsticks for nose picking..DOPE

1)Jamie Bissonnette (jamiebiss): I found out about Jamie becuase of a book called Primal Cuts (a must own). Jamie is the chef/owner of Coppa Boston and is an old hardcore kid, so this automatically made me a fan.

Cosentino and Denis Leary

2)Chris Cosentino (offalchris): I consider Chris Cosentino one of the most important "nose-to-tail" chefs in California. If you have not check out his book "Beginnings" you should especially if you are into cooking seasonally

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3)Michael Voltaggio (mvoltaggio): Owner of LA's INK and INK.SACK and oh yeah he won Top Chef season 6. There is just something cool about the guy. If you can slurge for INK do it. If you can not then you need to go to INK.SACK and have the Crab Cake Chips!

4)Nate Appleman (nappleman):  Best New Chef of 2009, James Beard winner and walked away from Pulino's in New York to go work for Chipotle. Yeah you heard me right, Chipotle (which I love by the way)! He left for his son. Anyone willing to give it all up for family is tops in my book.

Election is over....Now we eat!!!

    So the election is over and in the state of California one of the most talked about propositions on the ballot was prop 37 "Genetically Engineered Foods Labeling".

   I got up this morning kicked on the news to see that it actually was voted down on. I was quite suprised. For the supporters of this bill it was very straight forward, let us know what is in our food. That was it. It was supported by a union (UFW) and some other organizations.

   People that were against it had a huge list of reason (price hikes for food, effects on farmers, lawsuits...etc). They were concerned about exemptions for some foods and not others. The people that were for "NO" for this bill were Coca-Cola, Nestle and some other major chemical companies (BASF to name one).

   Now that labels are not going to be put on our food by the state what is next...It is really simple. It is our responsibility as consumers to pay attention to what we are buying and eating. Spend the extra money at your farmers market, ask questions of your butcher (find a real butcher). It is not hard to find out what you are putting in your body...Just start paying attention.

    I understand why people wanted to see 37 pass and I thought it was going to, but now it is up to us to take care of ourselves and our families without interuption from the government or big business!!

    Now go eat!