Potpourri
21 Aug 2009

Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey

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Over a year and a half ago, while I was still living in Saigon, I was tapped by the producers of Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey to appear on a segment they were taping in Vietnam. I wasn’t hip to Mr. Stein’s culinary accomplishments at the time, but was glad to be of service. After all, sharing the virtues of Vietnamese food is easily one of my favorite things to do.

The show finally aired on BBC Two in the U.K. last month, and the above clip features a little glimpse of yours truly—Thanks to Graham of Noodlepie for digging it up on You Tube. I always get a kick out of meeting bloggers in real life or seeing their mugs revealed, so I thought I’d share this little snippet with you.

To view the episode in its entirety, click here.

Now Closed
20 Aug 2009

Crumbs Bake Shop – Los Angeles (Beverly Hills)

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I think about cupcakes a lot. Aside from baking them, buying them, and analyzing their merits on an all too regular basis, I also read about them in the paper, in cookbooks, and online. After a great deal of thought and introspection on the sweet subject, I’ve concluded that cupcake lovers can be divided into two camps: In-the-Box and Out-of-the-Box.

Team In-the-Box seeks a cupcake that tastes like it came from Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines’ oven. The cake is fluffy and airy, while the frosting is unabashedly sweet and messily applied. These folks are of the thought that nothing tastes better than childhood nostalgia and embrace joints like Yummy Cupcakes (Santa Monica, Glendale) and Violet’s Cakes (Pasadena) with all of their sugary hearts.

Team Out-of-the-Box desires a more unique and thoughtful product—a cupcake so special that it cannot be replicated at home, unless of course one’s pantry contains Madagascar bourbon vanilla and imported sprinkles. The cake tends to be dense, yet moist, while the easier-on-the-sugar frosting is always stylishly applied. Cupcakeries like Sprinkles Cupcakes (Beverly Hills) and Dots Cupcakes (Pasadena) hit a home run with this crowd.

As Captain of Team Out-of-the-Box, Crumbs Bake Shop didn’t sweep me off of my feet. The vanilla cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting ($2.95) tasted disappointingly ordinary with strangely buttery tones—I swore I was eating a pound cake. While the cupcake was pleasant enough to avoid being tossed in the bin half eaten, it lacked the “specialness” that I desire in a boutique cupcake experience. After all, if I’m going to go through the trouble of procuring a premium-priced cupcake, it sure as heck better taste better than something I could crank out at home. Another factor working against Crumbs’ cupcake was its bulk. Even with my extraordinary chompers, I could not manage a clean bite from top to bottom. Please note that Crumbs offers an even larger size than the one I ate for $3.75. That’s crazy talk, I say.

POWER RANKINGS

Sprinkles Cupcakes > Dots Cupcakes > Vanilla Bake Shop > Crumbs Bake Shop > Auntie Em’s Kitchen > Yummy Cupcakes > Violet’s Cakes.

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Crumbs Bake Shop
9465 S. Santa Monica Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 310-550-9811

Restaurant Review
19 Aug 2009

L'abricot – Tijuana

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5 p.m. I’m this close to wrapping up Day 1 of the Baja culinary blitz! Just one French brasserie, a fancy pants Baja Med dinner, and we’re finally moving on to Day 2. It was a whirlwind of an adventure at the time, and reliving it again as I write has been spectacular. Tijuana really does offer much more than donkeys disguised as zebras and cheap shots of tequila on Revolucion.

Our penultimate stop of the day brought us to L’abricot, a French eatery run by Maribel Villareal Sosa. Chef Sosa honed her culinary chops in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu and Ritz Escoffier. L’abricot is a charming spot offering classic French dishes and pastries.

Even though we’d endured eight meals prior, the restaurant’s terrific display of sugary creations had our group gawking as we walked out to our al fresco table. If there’s one thing I learned on this trip, it’s that the mind and the stomach are oftentimes at odds.

Chef Sosa prepared three dainty bites, including a poached quail egg with a Dijon vinaigrette (left), crème brûlée (right, top), and French onion soup (right, bottom). I wasn’t expecting a particularly strong showing from a French brasserie located in the heart of Tijuana, but each of the dishes was deftly prepared. Underneath the French onion soup’s thick blanket of cheese lay a deep, rich broth with caramelized onions. The crème brûlée, with its teeny tiny black vanilla specks and perfectly candied top, had me sold. L’abricot is the real deal.

Chef Sosa already had the group eating out of her hands, but to further seal the deal, she brought out plates of linzer torte cookies. As every glutton knows, two desserts are better than one.

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L’abricot
1910 Antonio Caso Boulevard, Zona Río
Tijuana, BC, Mexico
Phone: 664-634-0643

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BAJA BITES: 2 Days, 3 Cities, 18 Meals
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