Meatball Wars Part 1: Daves Chillin and Grillin vs Bay Cities Deli

Daves Chillin and Grillin.

The stoner vibe feels right at home in this funky Eagle Rock neighborhood. A withered Red Sox cap sported by head honcho assures some sort of East Coast authority, tevas suggest Bachelor of Arts from Boulder(Colorado University) or the University of Vermont

On to the meatballs.

My first test is the "is it as big as my forearm method?"



Result: Pass



This sandwich is a true torpedo. Incredibly long. As a result the sandwich holds its composure as you bite down. One does not run out of bread towards the end but its not for a lack of meatballs. Dave's loads his subs up with plenty of small round meatballs but they are available in limited supply. After ordering a 10 inch they declared they were "out for the day" - at 1pm on a Saturday no less.





In addition to the meatballs, Daves' lays on a nice sweet red sauce and pairs it with a subtle but potent spicy pepper spread along with some mozzarella. The baguette isn't winning any awards here but is more than competent at delivering a solid meatball experience. The meatballs are nice moist due to a breadcrumb mixture but are not tempting enough to say order on their own. This sandwich does strike a very good balance of savory, sweet and heat and I seriously doubt you will be able to put this one down till the very last bite.



Bottom Line:
I can't call Dave's Chillin and Grillin the best meatball sub in the city but I would easily go back for another. And more importantly I would go back and try their other sandwiches, most notably the hot roast beef which may be Los Angeles' answer to Chicago's Italian beef.

Bay Cities Deli



Easily the most talked about deli in town, and rightfully so. They have the best bread, a huge and varied cased meats selection and plenty of loyal fans . . . which is probably why the last time you craved a mortadella sub it took you 45 minutes to get one to go.



They have great meatballs. On a prior visit I was moved by the prepared foods section so much, I had to get something to munch on. I opted for these dangerous little balls of coarse ground meat, seasoned up to the nines yet stone cold. And I could not get enough of them. To me a perfect meatball is a combination of meats, textures and herbs. Now keep in mind these meatballs are NOT the ones used in their sub but the recipe is still the same.

Forearm test:



Result: Pass. Though not as long as Daves' it was a bit wider.



The secret of the ooze. I like opening up a sandwich and seeing the sauce bleed through the wrapper. A meatball sub can be many things but restraint should not be one of them.



The sauce is sweet and tangy, more tangy than Daves'. The meatballs are big moist and savory. The bread is incredible here, chewy like a croissant, fresh like sourdough in San Francisco. What is lacking here is anything else on the sandwich, I give credit to Daves' for adding the spicy pepper salad in his sandwich and gooey mozzarella, all I got at Bay Cities was meat, sauce and bread.



There are hints of shaved Parmesan on the sandwich though hard to really see here. I guess a good Meatball sub doesn't need a lot more than meatballs, sauce and bread but it doesn't hurt it either.



Fennel buried in a massive meatball. That's what gives Bay Cities their edge.

The Bottom Line:

Bay Cities wins with their bread alone, even better for a hot saucy sub than the cold cut sandwich. Also I'm feeling full after half . . . yet I still muster the strength to finish the whole thing.

Mexico 2010: a few delicous moments

Mexico.

People take care their time. You wait longer, drink more and eat better. No short cuts in the preparation of the cuisine. Cochinita Pibil is served Saturdays and Sundays because its made the old fashioned Mayan way, buried in the ground and cooked over 12 hours. You want Huevos Rancheros? 10 minutes later someone arrives in the restaurant with a handful of eggs. At the same place a woman asked "why the chicken is taking so long?" The waiter replied "Senora, we haven't killed it yet"(Thanks Holly eats)

One of the tastiest parts from this trip was the charcoal(carbon) we used to grill our food. In the US, most charcoal comes in a bag with some label, mass produced in a factory, with fillers, and metal and who knows what else. The stuff we got in Mexico came in a huge ass unmarked bag, I was giving a bucket of diesel fuel as a starter and the carbon was made from Mexican Sequioa. It was flavorful as hell, the same stuff Mayan's used to BBQ their meat so long ago. It took BBQ to a new level.



Taking to the mellow pace of life of small Mexican island does not happen fast. Which is probably why I, in a rush to get all my shopping done in one shot, purchased a packet of boneless skinless chicken breast from the local market that just screamed Ralph's or Costco. But the carbon was the great equalizer, that and an interesting rub I picked up at the same store that featured several chili powders, lime and salt. This turned into some of the best chicken tacos I have ever had.



When your neighbors on the island happen to be fishermen . . .



. . . and they owe you for blasting techno music all night till noon the next day, you just may find of these sitting at your door on ice. There is nothing like freshly caught fish. Snapper is not one of my favorites but when it's this fresh, the flavor is as equally clean and savory as a freshly shucked Kumamoto oyster. Of course it helps when your fish was swimming in the same water you were in less than two hours ago.



Chayote squash, and Poblano peppers take to the carbon's flavors just as well. I threw some mexican onions on as well but too many slipped through the wide spaces of the grill great. The salsa on top of the fish was made from tomatillos we grill-roasted over the fire.



This is the best chile relleno ever.




And that's why. It's every bit as rich and as savory as it looks.(Another thanks Holly Eats)



Bean soup better taste really really good when its over a 100 degrees out and you're sitting in a place with no a/c. It needs to be exceptional when it's paired with a chile relleno like the one posted above.

I finished the bowl.


El Varadero. The hardest to find restaurant on Isla Mujeres.







Going Cuban in Mexico

Large shrimp(not local) bathed in a spicy garlicky tomato sauce and Grouper sauteed and finished with a hint coconut milk and lime, both from a tucked away shack cooking up amazing Cuban food.


And now some final thoughts on tacos.



Does your local taqueria serve this?

This was a taco stand in Playa Del Carmen called El Fogon, and a favorite among the local taxi drivers. We ordered the parilla(mixed grill) which is basically a ton of grilled meats; chorizo, two different types of steak, pork chops, chicken, cebollas and nopales(cactus), all kept warm over smoking embers of carbon - it was a massive smoky mound of goodness. While I love a good taco, it's way more fun to make them yourself. The Salsas were on point, the tortillas as fresh as can be. BEST TACOS EVER.



I may miss this the most about Playa Del Carmen.

Kogi Korean Tacos: its time to burst the bubble

The Kogi taco truck just maybe the most talked about food truck/taco truck ever. It brought national media attention to what many Angelenos already knew, some of the best food around, comes from food trucks. His fusion of Korean BBQ and the corn tortilla spawned many imitators, encouraged other chefs to turn to the mobile kitchen with their own culinary vision(Banh mi, Indian Frankies, burger and BBQ) and most importantly encourage more of the public to forsake the image of a "dirty roach coach" and embrace street food in the 21st century.

With all this I thank Kogi for what he has done, but I cant say I'm that wild about his tacos. I like tacos, in fact I love them, especially after drinking, and I enjoy Korean BBQ but the combination does not match the hype and certainly does not justify the time spent in the insanely long lines the Kogi Truck often touts.



I went with a sampling of the Beef(short rib) the Chicken and the Pork. Pork was the winner by a mile, a bit spicier than the other two, juicy and embraces the culinary fusion experiment the best. Chicken was second and frankly, a bit boring compared to the pork. After two tacos I "get" the Kogi experience, its a taco with a sweet and sour flavor that takes to some meats better than others. When I got to the beef I guess I hit the wall . . .



. . . Taco let down.

Normally I find beef to be my most favorite thing about Korean BBQ, especially short rib. In taco form however, the beef flavor is diluted in the sweet and sour flavor effect and is not complimented by the cabbage filler.

End of the day, give me a straight up Carne Asada taco(or even better, Suadero) any day over one these tacos. Im glad Kogi is around and am forever impressed with what it has accomplished but dont expect to find me in one of these lines unless I'm so blitzed that I think Im at Taco Zone.

Meat me in Philly

The Italian Market in Philadelphia is the oldest working outdoor market in the US. At least thats what it says on the website. They got all kinds of stands fresh produce, seafood, cheese stores and most importantly, meat. They got great meat, no frills butchers who arent afraid to have a jug of bleach sitting on the cutting board to salumeria's toting ridiculous varieties of cured meats.





Its a crime what passes for Sausages at many super markets, I wont even touch the travesty that is Aidell's pre cooked sausage that people attempt to bring to my BBQs. This stuff is not only the real deal taste wise, but its cheap. $5 bucks of this stuff will calm the hunger of your drunkest most voracious BBQ guest. I like to sizzle these guys on a medium to low fire and wrap em up in buns and some roasted peppers. Leftover rule when making pasta the next day, just heat em up in the sauce.



The marbling in this porterhouse was insane.





Even when its freezing cold you can count on the Italian Market to offer great veggies and a cheap price. I think the burning Oil Drum gives it a great "Children of Men" post apocalyptic feel.



And then there is their seafood. I love going to other parts of the Country, hell, the world and trying out their local seafood. Even excellent West Coast mainstays like oysters and tuna get a unique twist in other waters. And the Atlantic is no different.



For some reason I had pork on the brain so I picked up a loin from one of the butchers. I didnt take any pictures inside the shop because I was too scared. These people had lots of knives, a room straight out the movie Saw and lots of bleach. They did cut my roast to order without hesitation. They also added the "belly" to the loin roast, so basically the roast is self basted in uncured bacon fat. They rolled it up and trussed it, and I walked out with a 5 pound roast for $19.





I soaked some figs in some port, simmered them then pureed it into a nice sauce but this pork needed no help in the flavor department. Juicy beyond expectations as seen by the trails left on the cutting board. Italian Market, mission accomplished.