Lucero Giggin'

Well, I'm a little late on this post since things have been pretty busy over here at The Tasty Morsel.  Since we got back from the east coast, I can promise you that we've been having tasty culinary adventures, imbibing a bit and generally carrying on.  In that time, I've been sitting on writing this article for our gig-going adventures at a few Lucero shows.  So, I figured since I'm (Bob) taking time to slow down for a bit while doing a cleansing fast (isn't it funny that I'm slowing down on a fast?).

Let's rewind back to May 14th at Alex's Bar in Long Beach where we caught Lucero.  Opening for them was Black Joe Lewis & The Honey Bears who were really something else.  They played southern blues with horns.  I think there were about 8 dudes in the band.  Must be tough when getting paid, although I don't think they're really in it for the money... it's always about the music.  With these guys, I would believe that to be true.  Watching them is a ton of fun, now I just have to get some of their records to really understand what's going on.

Lucero came on shortly after and played their usual long set, but this time with a few songs that were new to us.  The new tunes sounded a wee bit different, a more evolved Lucero.  I didn't have my camera with me that night, so I missed the boat on my photography duties.

The second night was on the 15th at the Troubadour.  The gig went much the same way.  Lucero did pretty much all the new songs from the night before with a bunch of requests mixed in for good measure.  The one truly fun thing about Lucero shows is that they'll play almost any request you can throw at them (their own tunes).  The gig was packed with a lot of kids and the band was having fun and drinking plenty, a good fuel to a good show.  We sat in the back behind the bar where we could sit on our asses and drink $6 Buds.  The Troubadour really needs to work on their prices.  After the gig, we were able to talk to some of the guys from the band and hang out a bit.  They're pretty cool about that and it's always nice to meet the artists that you're into.  Hell, they're just people too.  Enough of my rambling.  Here's a few photos:

Lucero will sometimes pull out the accordion.  Do you like accordions?

Here's Ben Nichols.  He's lit well, or well lit...

Ben going to get a sip of Jameson (what did we tell you about Lucero coupled with Jameson and Budweiser?)

Man, Are My Potatoes Stuffed

On Sunday night Bob was commissioned to cook a gourmet meal for a 6oth birthday party. It was an intimate party of four and the host and hostess asked Bob to develop the menu for the evening. Bob waited until Sunday morning to decide what to cook and being that Saturday night was spent with friends drinking Jameson and soda, we let our hangover guide our selections. It should come as no surprise then that we settled on the fancy version of a burger and fries; flank steak (red meat= hangover cure) with chimichurri, stuffed potatoes and a mozzarella salad. 

Actually, I have a confession to make, the private party Bob was cooking for was actually his parents and I. It was, however, really his Dad's birthday and Bob likes to cook for his parents' b-days in lieu of going to the mall and buying them gifts (who ever knows what to buy their parents anyway?). 

Let me now delve further into the menu. The potatoes were stuffed with  adult goodies (no, not those kind of goodies), appealing to both the traditional yet eclectic palate like; sour cream, horseradish, sauteed garlic, onions, bacon, jalapeño, avocado and pepper jack cheese.

The flank steak was marinated simply with just olive oil, salt and pepper, as to not compete with the chimichurri sauce. Picking up on the flavors in the potatoes, the sauce consisted of pureed jalapenos, cilantro, parsley, bay leaves, olive oil and a special vinegar ingredient that Bob will not divulge. It was the perfect accompaniment to the beef and I will find myself yearning for it next time I am forced to use that one ordinary and boring steak sauce, or even worse catsup. 

To balance out our meal we prepared a fine salad of tomatoes, bocconcini (small balls of cheese), basil, parsley, and green onions. Yes, a salad with cheese as the main ingredient is still a salad, in fact it is the best kind of salad you can have.

We paired our Argentinian-Mexican-Redneck American-Italian fusion meal with a bottle of Fuerza. It is a lovely Argentinian wine, available at Trader Joes for 3.99, if you can't find it at Trader Joes you can contact me and I'll give you my aunt's address in SLO. She has pretty much bought every bottle in California.

The host and hostess of the evening declared this meal, "One of Bob's best ever," and I would have to agree. FYI Bob is available to cook for private parties if the images from Sunday night are making you hungry, but there are some conditions. You must have a state-of-the-art kitchen, an ocean view and clean up after his super-sized mess.