Cruisin' Claremont

Our friend Sean has been living in the IE, Pomona, CA. to be specific, for a while now and we've made a handful of visits out to see him over the years.  This time around we were asked to travel inland to see folk singer, Slaid Cleaves, perform as well as check out some local eateries and watering holes.

Sean lives really close to the Pomona-Claremont border, which worked out to be very convenient because the show we were going to see was taking place in Claremont.  We took the short walk into Claremont and looked around for a place to stuff our faces.

Claremont has a really nice feel to it with a good amount of eateries, boutique shops and bars.  Since there is a handful of colleges in the area, it seems like the perfect place for an overworked student or 9-5er to go out and let off a bit of steam.

After wandering through the area we found ourselves at Eureka!, a burger place whose tag line is 'Gourmet Burgers & Craft Beer'.  They had us at burger and beer, thus we settled in and started the evening.

Eureka! was pretty busy, which is a good sign, so we headed over to the bar while waiting for our table to become available.  Upon taking a seat at the bar, in front of a plethora of very interesting beer taps, we were handed a quite lengthy drink menu that consisted of all craft beers and even some whiskeys.

Al and I had to think for a few minutes on what would be best to whet our whistles, but we quickly spotted a beer that is brewed close to our hometown in Palos Verdes, called Blonde #5.

The first one was quite delicious, so we had to make sure that it held up a second time around.  After we were seated outside, it was time to make it two Johnny...two!

The second one was almost better than the first.

The appetizer list looked like a treasure trove of goodies, and it was hard to make a selection, but when in doubt it is always wise to  roll with the corn dogs.  Eureka! had Lollipop Corn dogs with a Spicy Mustard Porter sauce and a Cheddar IPA sauce.  The dogs and sauces were all delicious and made for a perfect primer for the burger goodness that was soon to arrive at our table.

I had the LuLu Burger which was a brilliant combination of ground lamb and ground beef mixed with diced onion and cilantro and topped with melted brie cheese.  Under the patty was a nice bed of lettuce, tomato and onion.  The kicker was the sweet mint aioli.  I can't say I've had a burger quite like it before.

Sean had the Cowboy Burger which was a burger topped with onion rings, bacon, cheddar cheese and barbeque sauce.  Alison had some burger, but between lettuce instead of bread, so we will forego a picture for that one.

After dinner we went up the street to the Folk Music Center to check out Slaid Cleaves perform.  The Folk Music Center was pretty cool, especially for someone like me who freaks out on stringed instruments.  When not a venue, the joint is an instrument shop with all kinds of stringed treats (not cheese, instruments).  The walls of this place had every stringed instrument imaginable and I will definitely need to make a trip back to further investigate.

Slaid Cleaves' performance was two sets of him playing some pretty insightful songs that ranged the gamut from quitting drinking, to the death of a legendary logger to a perspective on the way people are treating each other under the guise of religion. There was even a song about the Horseshoe Lounge in Austin, TX., which we tend to imbibe at in a couple of weeks... stay tuned!  In between playing he shared stories, which shed light on the song he was setting up.  He played two sets, which went rather quick, but made for an entertaining evening.

Here's a couple of videos we took at the show:

Everette - http://youtu.be/e_F0KsJrMxs

Wishbones - http://youtu.be/bnDaK6NKwFk

Drinkin' Days - http://youtu.be/aSdEQhvzJyg

Afterwards, we went out to a local watering hole and knocked back a few cold ones and some peanuts.  One made you thirsty, then the second made you hungry and that's pretty much how the night continued.  I'm glad I had the big beer.

Culinary Gringos

From time to time, we find that it's nice to settle down to a nice homemade meal in the 'Mexican Food' genre. Just like the abuelitas we never had used to make. Our south of the border repertoire includes the usual taco, burrito, enchilada, etc. We fancy ourselves pretty good Mexican food cooks, after all there's practically a Mexican joint on every corner where we live in San Pedro. That being said, if we really want to be real with ourselves, we know that what we're making is probably generic "Acapulco", "whitey-style",  or "gringo" Mexican food. That's cool. It's what we are, right? White folks making food inspired by our neighbors from down south and the variety of cultures that surround us everyday right here in Los Angeles.

The only bummer about cooking Mexican food is that whenever our Mexican or South American friends see how we cook Mexican food, they roll their eyes and tell us about the prized recipes that have been in their families for generations. Now I don't know about you, but that just makes us jealous that most of the time our Mexican culinary prowess involves purchasing a Lowrey's packet and throwing it into some ground beef.

So we decided to go ask the Internet, who is an ancestor of us all, for a good Mexican recipe. We found a good one for Enchiladas and Calabacitas.


First, we chopped up about 16 Roma tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, as well as just the right amount of onions and threw them onto an oiled cooking sheet. Then into the oven they went to get nice and roasted. After roasting, we threw this mix or mezcla of vegetables into a blender and pureed it up into a sauce for later use.



We diced up some green chiles to add a little fuego and color to our enchiladas. But, they were Anaheim chiles. Nice and mild just how us whiteys like our chiles.



We seasoned up our chicken with cumin, paprika and chile powder, then proceeded to pan fry those chicken tits.


Our chicken tits got the chop chop treatment into bite-sized bits, perfect for wrapping up with a warm tortilla hug.


Since we know how to multi-task in the kitchen, we prepped some zucchinis and some summer squash for a little roasting while we wrapped up our enchiladas.



During the assembly process we didn't miss a beat with a little chicken, cheese and chiles gingerly arranged on a tortilla, which had been dipped in simmering chicken broth. The broth bath really helped in making the tortillas tender and vulnerable - just the way we like them - so that they didn't give us any trouble when we turned them into little bundles.  It also helped the tortilla to get friendly and bind to itself when going into the cooking dish.



After rolling up those bad boys or chicos malos, we smothered them in cheese and chiles, as well as our roasted tomato, garlic and onion sauce from earlier.


Into the oven with our enchiladas.



While our enchiladas cooked up in the oven, we added some onion, corn and seasonings to our roasted zucchini and cucumbers and sauteed. After the saute was finished, we topped the veggies with a little oregano, and just like that we had our calabacitas.



Once the enchiladas were done, it was time to plate everything and add some of our favorite toppings.

Of course we had plenty of left-overs, which tasted even better than the first-timers. Maybe that's the secret to good Mexican food. They are always serving you yesterday's food and the stuff you see them making fresh in the kitchen is for mañana.
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My Summer Vacation by Bob

Remember when you were a kid and returned to school after summer? Remember how you had to give a presentation on what you did over summer? Well, it was probably an excuse for your teacher to phone in the first day of class so they could shake off their hangover and get their business together after a long summer of procrastinating.

In the case of this blog, we've for passed procrastination and have been phoning in doing anything with the blog at all. So I'm going to phone in our lack of effort by doing a 'My Summer Vacation Story'. Replace 'Summer' for 'The Last Year and a Half.' Then replace 'Story' with 'Cell Phone Photos with Captions'.

Budweisers at Walker's

Shrimp Scampi at Big Nick's

Tim Barry at Alex's Bar

Breakfast Burrito and Corona at some restaurant in Sedona, AZ

Frosty beers at a really old bar in Jerome, AZ

Spirit Shirts purchased in Sedona, AZ

Chili and Cheddar at Pacific Diner in San Pedro

We didn't eat here, but I heard the portions are small

We saw The Gaslight Anthem. Mainly because Tim Barry was opening, but Gaslight turned out to be a great show

Fartbarf played in downtown San Pedro. You can see a video here.

The wall-o-boots at Robert's Western World in Nashville, TN

Tots and a dog at The Dog of Nashville

Two Cow Garage killing it at the Basement in Nashville, TN

Glossary was epic too. Probably one of my top 5 live shows.

Al enjoying her supper at The Loveless Cafe. This place was amazing. Really off the beaten path in Tennessee.

Home of the best biscuits I have ever had. If you don't believe me, you better book a flight.

Turkey, fried green tomatoes and mac and cheese / Pork, sweet potatoes and hush puppies.

Faith No More at the Palladium.

It seemed like they never broke up...

The presentation was better than the flavor. Some chain restaurant.

Dogs, a Mexican Coke and a Mexican Pepsi at the Corner Store in San Pedro.

Old Crow Medicine Show playing in 'Pedro. I spent most of my time at the beer tent since I wouldn't be able to see anything either way.

Food trucks a been comin' to 'Pedro...

... Maybe we'll write about it.

That's a hell of a Monte Cristo. Rex's in San Pedro.

Niko's in San Pedro now has a Greek section in their menu. The above was delicious.

The Pine Hill Haints played on the Rocket Boat in Long Beach. It was crowded and the boat did not rocket.

So that was what happened the whole time we weren't writing. Nothing more, nothing less. We are planning on bringing back normal stories, recipes, bands, adventures, etc., etc., etc., so keep yer eyes peeled.