FBxHC Travel Tip!!!

     First I just found out that September 3rd we will see the final season of No Reservations....This makes me sad!

    So this weekend the wife and I took another trip to L.A. and in all reality you guys should not be surprised by this. This trip was not about finding cool food but as a barber I had the chance to participate in a cool promo event with a local LA barbershop. When I got done on Saturday we were trying to figure out what we were going to do for dinner.

Chinatown Summer Night

    When I travel out of town I never eat at restaurants that exist where I live. So this trip I had caught wind that there was a big event in Chinatown called Chinatown Summer Nights. Kung Fu movie blasting on a wall, about 10 food trucks, dj's and craft vendors. Just a super cool event to hang out at (wish I would of  had my girls with me, they would of loved it). Oh yeah, it was free!!!

    So here is my travel tip. You go on holiday to a place that has Disneyland, Magic Mountain or Knott's Berry Farm why are you going to spend your time and money at crappy corporate chain restaurant when there is so much more to the city and surrounding area! Grab a local paper (OC or LA Weekley in So.Cal),check the internet for cool local events or local restaurants and when in doubt ask. Trust me it is worth it!!

    Enjoy your travels and enjoy the city you are visiting.

  

  

   

INK....Another 24 hours in the City of Angels

The only picture I took!

   On one of our last trips to Los Angeles the wife and I went out of our way to eat at Micheal Voltaggio's sandwich joint called Ink.Sack (which is on the same block as INK). Last time we already had dinner reservations at The Playground in Santa Ana so Ink was going to have to wait.

   Last week the wife and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary and due to unforeseen circumstances we really did not do anything, but as soon as a few things cleared up I called down and made a reservation for us. It was kind a late reservation but considering we did not leave the central valley until almost 1 pm on Sunday that was a good call!

   Checked into the Westin at LAX around 5 relaxed for a bit and then headed out. We got to INK a little early so we grabbed a couple of cocktails at the bar while we waited. As we sat with our drinks Micheal Voltaggio is working his own line. The restaurant is laid out with two kitchens the hot kitchen and the cold kitchen (I think the bar tender said "They use a lot of liquid nitrogen in the cold kitchen". Sorry if this is incorrect!)

   When we sat down Beth already new she wanted the scallop dish, but we have decided next time to come with more cash so we can do his tasting menu! Below is exactyle what we ate for dinner:

• hamachi, dashi sponge, soy-yuzu, radish, rice cracker
• baja scallops, egg yolk gnocchi, mushroom hay
• brussels sprouts, pig ears, lardo, apple
• wagyu beef, carrots, tendon, horseradish tofu

   I am going to be honest...this was hands down one of the best meals I have ever had. I think I ate most of the brussel sprout dish, the egg yolk gnocchi was so good (I think this was Beth's favorite dish of the night) and the Wagyu beef was so tender. I wish I could explain how good and odd the hamachi dish was. The menu had three pork items and I wish I could of tried them all (I love pork)

   You will notice there are no pictures, well the reason was...I could not bring myself to be that dude!! I believe that sometimes there is a time and place for busting the phone out and taking picture but I think if you are out at a nice restaurant with your wife for your anniversary you should keep the phone down and so I did.

   My last trip south I had the chance to meet Mr. Voltaggio briefly and he signed my copy of VOLT Ink (which I have read straight thru). As I read the book it made me a big fan of these guys and in the book I found this calculated genuis in the way they looked at the food they prepared. Now that I have had the chance to eat at Ink I am hoping to re-read the book and maybe get a whole new perspective. I told Beth that I would do dishes at Ink if it meant I could learn as much as I could possibly learn.

   Thank you Ink for a great dinner and nice evening!

Yay for noodles! The rise of noodles in America.

    I grew up eating ramen even to this day it is a common thing around the house. Ramen in a cup, a package and really what ever form we can find. Seriously, my 13 year old if she could get away with it would eat noodles everyday!

   I have had noodles when I went to Japanese resaturant but it was not until we moved to Spokane,Washington that I had PHO. I noticed there were quite a few PHO joints and they always quite busy.

   The days of ramen being connected to broke college kids has almost gone the way of the buffalo so to speak. The truth is the way people view noodle in general seems to have changed.

    When it comes to noodles at home people seem to be finding to ways to eat there noodles differently, preparing them with other ingredients then just the broth and noodles. In our house we actually own the "Momofuku" book by David Chang and we will make our own broth ad other ingredients to have with our noodles. We love going out for PHO as a family and turns out this is the case of a lot of people.

#26 seafood PHO!!

   The fact is people just love noodles. I hit up Eddie Huang of BaoHaus in New York city and asked the question "Why do you think ramen has become so popular in the U,S, lately?" and this is what he had to say...."It's been popular but I'm not the biggest fan... Would rather a bowl of soba, kalbi tang, pho, or beef noodle soup any day"

     I think the only real point I have to make is go eat a bowl of noodles...trust me!! If you have never had noodles outside of a packet of dry noodles from the store you do not know what you are missing!!

Tako Tuesday!!

on Twitter @Takobbq

    So today instead of sitting around the house I rolled into Fresno,Ca with the wife and hooked up with the kid over at Fresno City College to check out the newest food truck to hit the scene here in the area. The truck is called Tako Bbq.

    Before I really get into the food of the Tako truck I want to kind of say that the food truck culture is really new to this city. This is not LA or San Francisco, but this is a town that kind of seems to not be the most supportive of a scene that really wants to grow it's legs and run.

   So if you are looking for a decked out truck with cool graphics wtapped around it you are going to miss it. This looks just like any taco truck in Fresno. They have there logo on it but really other then that it is not anything special looking. But do not judge the truck by it apperance.

Facebook: Takobbq truck

      So I was not sure what to order so we ordered one of each taco and the kimchee quesadilla. Lindsee ordered the Kogi burger. So I started with the Kimchee quesadilla that had colby jack cheese and the truth is I would never of thought of putting kimchee and cheese together.

   They had 4 kinds of tacos and the truth is they were all really good. next time I will be ordering the Tako dog!!!

    Support local food trucks. Follew them all on twitter and facebook becuase the more the trucks get support from us as consumers then hopefully we will see more trucks hit the pavement. I look forward to the day that we see a food truck meet up in  Fresno!!

FOODxCORE.....Sweet Chili Pulled Pork

Sweet Chili Pulled Pork is a working title.So when getting ready to prepare this unless your neighborhood market has a real meat counter find a real meat market who actually know something about meat. I personally visit Glick;s in Visalia,,CA or The Meat Market in Fresno,CA. There is something about going to a meat market that has a staff that knows about what cuts of meat are what but more importantly selling meat that has been cut there in house....Enjoy!!

After cooking for almost 12 hours...There were no leftovers!

 
Ingredients:
1 T oil
2 chopped onions
6 minced garlic cloves
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 oz chili sauce (1 small bottle)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 T Worcestershire
3 lb. pork shoulder






Supplies:
Crockpot
Small Sauce Pan

Saute the onions in the oil until soft. Add garlic, chili powder, and pepper and cook another minute or so. Add chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Heat till boiling stirring constantly.

Put the pork shoulder in the crockpot and pour the sauce over it. Cover and cook on low 12 hours or on high 6 hours, until pork is basically falling apart.(Leave it in a little longer, it will not hurt anything). Shred the meat with a pair of forks and return to the pot and keep warm in the sauce. Serve over buns on a pile of steamed rice.

This makes a LOT of pork but I have found that if I am making it for a show there is not going to be anything left. In the off chance you have leftover you can freeze it for later!

6 lbs. of pork shoulder at 7 am!!

Now hipsters have there own little corner of the planet!

To all you guys still wearing your sisters pants, eyeglasses that I wore when I was in the 4th (I had to wear em and it was not to be cool), ya flat iron your hair more then not and you just kind of look like you asking for a butt kicking. Girls wearing leggings and cardigan sweats that belonged to your grandpa and for some reason the exact same glasses. Do not forget the fixed gear bikes that crowd around the the local starbucks.

So Travel + Leisure recently released a list of Hipster friendly cities. First here is Tavel + Leisure's definition of a hipster "A smirking attitude toward mainstream institutions means they tend to frequent cool, often idiosyncratic restaurants, shops, and bars—the same kinds of venues that appeal to travelers looking for what they can't find at home." My definition are just people that annoy the crap out me at shows.

So here is the top 10 Hipster friendly towns cities:
1. Seattle, WA
2. Portland, OR
3. San Francisco, CA
4. New Orleans, LA
5. Portland, ME
6. Providence, RI
7. Austin, TX
8. San Juan, PR
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Denver, CO

Frankie The Barber presents....FOODxCORE

I am really happy to be doing this show because anytime I can do a show to get kids in our community to think about something other then themselves it is a good thing!!

Leaders (Facedown Records)
Darasuum (Riverside, CA)
Farooq (Fresno)
Hands On Deck (Visalia)
special guest

Cost is 7 bucks (5 bucks with donation of 2 or more non perishable food items). Below is a list of food items we are looking for.

Dinuba Youth Center
214 South L St.
Dinuba,Ca 93618

Meals in a can (stew, chili, soup)
Tuna and canned meat
Peanut butter
Canned foods with pop-top lids
Low-sugar cereals
100% fruit juices in single serving boxes
Canned fruit packed in juice