Fab(ulous) Hot Dogs

One Sunday after church, some friends wanted to grab a quick bite and demanded that we go to Fab Hot Dogs.  One of my friends was getting his wisdom teeth pulled the following week and wanted Fab Dogs to be the last solid food he could eat for a while.  I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.

Fab Hot Dogs might be a tiny store hidden near the intersection of Tampa and Vanowen, but it’s gaining in popularity everywhere with its appearance on  “Diners, Drive-in’s, and Dives,” a popular show on the Food Network.  The show is hosted by Guy Fieri, who travels around the U.S. finding the best of every kind of food.  Fab Dogs had been chosen to be on the show, making it the only restaurant in the SFV to get that honor.

Fab Dogs started when Joe Faborcini, who use to own Italian restaurants, started traveling around the U.S.  He discovered that different parts of the country had different styles of hot dogs, and he wanted to bring these different dogs to the same place.  Also, he was shocked to find that nowhere in SoCal could he find the hot dog of his home state of New Jersey, “the Ripper.”  The Ripper is a “hot dog fried in vegetable oil creating a charred dog with an extra crunchy texture,” according to the Fab Dogs Web site.  The menu includes hot dogs for $3-$5 from places as varied as Kansas, Carolina, Coney Island, Chicago and L.A. (For full menu click here.)

Suitably, the L.A. Street Dog is its most popular dog.

Carolina Slaw Dog

I ordered the Carolina Slaw Dog, and it came with a hot dog drizzled with chili and mustard and covered in cole slaw.  The slaw seemed pretty random at first, but after tasting it on the dog, I marveled at why I hadn’t tried a dog like this before.

OK, so let me now tell you about my love at first bite with Fab Dogs (I started a new paragraph for emphasis, it really was that amazing.)  What sets Fab Dogs apart in my book is the dog itself – the casing around the dog is tight so when you bite into it, the dog snaps and there is an explosion of flavor and meat inside your mouth.  Add to that the soft hot dog bun, chili dripping everywhere, and tangy, crunchy slaw and you got a hot dog to die for.

Coney Island

My friend got a Coney Island dog which comes with melted cheese and carmelized onions (as you can see!)  We also ordered tater tots which seemed to be covered in salt, instead I prefer the garlic fries although it really makes your breath stink the rest of the day!

Writing this post makes me want to go back there again…seriously the best dogs I’ve had in the Valley

Location: 6747 Tampa Ave, Reseda, CA

Mediterranean Bistro

Taking a break from Asian food…

During a lunch break last week, I drove over to meet a friend at a Porter Ranch shopping center, and we decided to skip the usual Subway and eat at Mediterranean Bistro.  The restaurant was a cozy little place nicely decorated with mirrors climbing up the walls to the ceiling.

We both ordered the same thing: the $9.95 Combo Plate lunch special which came with Fattoush Salad, rice, and Chicken and Louleh Kabobs. These lunch specials are available Tuesday to Friday from 11-3.

The salad was very fresh and had just enough dressing to cool me down on this hot hot day.

Chicken and Louleh Kabobs

The main dish of Chicken and Louleh Kabobs with rice and yougart sauce was flavorful and not too dry.  Louleh kabob is made of ground beef and spices cooked on a kabob.  The only thing was that after bringing leftovers home with me the smell of the meat was so strong that it filled up my whole car.

The lunch special I tried was pretty simple and decent for a quick lunch, but the portion sizes aren’t big enough if you’re really hungry.

Location: 19735 Rinaldi St, Porter Ranch

Sam Woo BBQ

When I return home to the Valley on breaks, this is usually the first stop I make on the way home from LAX – Sam Woo BBQ in Van Nuys, after which we go buy groceries at the 99 Ranch Market (a Chinese grocery store) next door.

Roasted Duck

Sam Woo BBQ is part of the history of the Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles.  Restaurant manager John Lau explained to me that  Sam Woo BBQ started in 1979 in L.A.’s Chinatown.  According to Lau, authentic Chinese restaurants didn’t exist until the 1970′s, before which they only had Chop Suey houses that served American-Chinese food.  Sam Woo BBQ claims to be the first authentic Cantonese cuisine, first selling only BBQ duck and pork and fried wontons but later on became a full restaurant. The restaurant starting opening in other areas where there was a high concentration of Chinese people such as Rowland Heights and Alhambra.

The Van Nuys restaurant sells the usual barbeque duck and roasted pork fare, but also has a wide variety of Hong Kong-style food from rice dishes to noodle dishes to seafood, beef, and porridge.  Lau says his customers are about 80 percent Chinese immigrants and the rest are people who live around the area.

Sam Woo doesn’t let you make reservations and the restaurant is almost always packed, so be sure to come early (dinner rush is around 6 o’clock).  They’ll make you take a number when you come in, and because the capacity is fairly small in comparison to the amount of people who come here every night, you usually have to stand around waiting for tables to clear up.  The prices for most dishes range from $6 to $10 (the higher end is mainly for their seafood) and it’s best to eat these dishes family-style so you can try a little of everything.

Preserved Egg with Pork Porridge

We ordered Preserved Egg with Pork Porridge (although you can’t really see the egg in the picture…or the pork for that matter).  If you’ve never had this type of rice porridge before, what it is is white rice cooked in chicken broth until the rice is very soft.  Then they add preserved eggs – which are known in Chinese as “1,000-year-old eggs” which are black-looking eggs that have a distinct flavor.  It tastes really good in the porridge, but really nasty with orange juice. Trust me.  The Porridge at Sam Woo has just the right mixture of taste and texture so that it’s not too salty, but good enough to eat by itself.

Beef Wonton Soup

Beef Wonton Soup is always one of my favorites, the noodles are skinny but firm, and yeah, the soup base does taste a lot like MSG, but that’s what makes it taste so good.  Just be sure to have a cup of tea ready in case it gets too salty.  The soup is filled with bok choi, large chunks of beef, and savory wontons with skin that fits perfectly around its meat filling.

Shrimp Fried Rice

The Shrimp Fried Rice might be a common dish in a lot of Chinese restaurants, but the one here again is seasoned to perfection.  It’s not too oily or too salty like some other kinds of friend rice, but its light and filling to eat with other food or by itself.

Fried Tofu

The correct way to eat Fried Tofu here is to 1) take a fried tofu and place it in your plate. 2) use a spoon to cut through the fried outer layer. watch the steam rise… 3) use the spoon to scoop some of the soy sauce dipping sauce, and 4) pour the sauce into the tofu.  Biting through the crispy exterior, you’ll find the soft tofu inside…but be careful not to burn yourself, it’s always piping hot on the inside.

Beef with Satay Paste Chow Mein

To be honest, I’ve never been too big of a fan of Chow Mein.  I just can’t really handle the concept of making crispy noodles soggy with sauce – I want it either to be crispy or soft, one or the other.  But I did like the Satay flavored beef and other toppings on this dish.  Satay sauce is a kind of salty and spicy sauce that is actually made from a mixture of seafood, peanut, garlic and soy sauce.

Pudding Tofu

Finally for dessert, I got the Pudding Tofu.  Not sure that’s what it’s called exactly but it is comprised of very very soft tofu in a sweet soup that is usually ginger-flavored.  This is melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and when I got my wisdom teeth pulled a few years back, I ate this everyday.  No joke, this was pretty much all I was capable of eating.

Anyway, I’ve introduced a number a dishes in the post, but one of my favorites that isn’t pictured is the Ying-Yang Fried Rice, or as it’s called in English, Shrimp & Chicken Friend Rice (Cream & Tomato Sauce).  It’s fried rice, half of which is covered in a white creamy sauce with shrimp while the other half is covered in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce with chicken.  It’s made to look like the Ying-Yang symbol, with half of it red and half of it white.

I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone who enjoys authentic Southern Chinese food.

Location: 6450 Sepulveda Blvd # G, Van Nuys (in the shopping center with 99 Ranch Market and Pho)

History of the Valley

One time my brother and I were just flipping through books at a local bookstore and we stumbled a book about the history of the San Fernando Valley.  It was so crazy to see black-and-white photos of the hill on which our house now stands, and finding out that it used to be a meeting place for Native Americans, who had named the hill something like “Black Snake Hill”. It’s so hard to fathom the lives of the people who stood on this same ground 200 years ago.

Anyway, on the topic of the history of the Valley, I found this site called The Valley Observed that is completely dedicated to “San Fernando Valley history, lore and sense of place.”  It’s written by Kevin Roderick, the author of The San Fernando Valley: America’s Suburb (which might have been the book we picked up…but it’s been so long that I can’t say for sure, and I want all my facts accurate before I make such allegations).  It’s a really interesting read with news, history and links, but what I really like is seeing those old pictures from back in the day when Ventura Blvd was just grass and cows.

Reading what Roderick writes really gives me a sense of ownership of the place I call home.  See what rich and unique history we have gives the Valley an identity that is more specific than just being a part of the LA County or a location on a map.  It makes me proud to say I’m from the Valley.

Like, omigosh, soooo totally proud.

Gyu-Kaku, Japanese BBQ

I know most of you have had Korean Barbeque before, but what about Japanese BBQ? Thankfully, there is a restaurant inside the Topanga Mall that will put all your wonderings to rest:  Gyu-Kaku (pronounced GEE-YOO-KA-KU, I think).

This is not your usual mall food.  With the aura of a high scale restaurant, each table has a grill for customers to barbeque their meat and vegetables themselves.  What is unique about the food, essentially what makes it Japanese is the different marinades of the meat.  They have traditional sauces of miso, white soy, sweet soy, and garlic.

The restaurant opened in 2007 on the first floor of the mall near Target. Although Gyu-Kaku has only been in the states for six years with 8 restaurants in California, 2 in New York, and 2 in Hawaii, it has long been a franchise in Japan with about 800 restaurants.

Gyu-Kaku offers meat and vegetables a la carte, in different all- you-can eat sets (the more expensive the set, the more variety of food you can choice from), and from set courses that have a recommended amount of mouths it can feed.  Last time I went, we ordered the Shogun set which recommended to feed six people, but in actuality the eight of us ate to our fill with this order.  Here is what the set came with:

The Spicy Chigae Soup is pretty salty so I’d recommend eat it with rice (they have this garlic rice that is really tasty and flavorful), and it is quite remincent of kimchi soup so it really warms you up.

Spicy Chigae Soup

The Sukiyaki Bibimba is a type of fried rice in a stone bowl mixed with beef and an egg (similiar to Korean Bibimbap).  For the meat, each one has its own unique  flavors that sets it apart from any other Asian BBQ, and  everything smelled deliciously like butter.  We also ordered garlic mushrooms a la carte, which came wrapped in aluminum foil and we just placed it on top of the grill for 2 minutes of each side and it is seriously the most tender and juicy mushrooms ever.  Another time I came here, we ordered the all-you-can eat BBQ and we ordered about 8 of these garlic mushrooms.  It was that good.

Last peice of meat

I was so busy eating that I forget to take pictures, but here is a shot of the very last peice of beef before we cleared it out.  It’s always fun to gather around the grill with family or friends because it’s so much more hands-on than other more traditional restaurants.  There’s just something about the combination of cooking your own food and laughter and good conversations just fits perfectly together. Just remember to dress appropriately because I guarantee you that you will smell like barbeque afterwards.

They also have a special promotions that kids eat free on Sundays with the purchase of an all-you-can eat set.  Also on Sundays from 5 pm-9 pm, they have all night happy hour where drinks are 50% off, and beer is $.99!

Rating: 8.7 (the mushrooms adds the .7!)

Address: Topanga Mall 6600 Topanga Cyn Blvd, Canoga Park

FREE Events in the Valley

Nothing is more fashionable now then “free”.  Especially with the recent recession keeping us cash-strapped, all we want is to spend less – free news on the Web, free apps for our iPhones and free shipping and handling even if it means we buy an extra book we didn’t really need. (For more on this phenomenon, read the book “Free” by Chris Anderson).

Anyway, here I present to you (free of charge!) a list of fun FREE things to do in the Valley this summer:

Los Angeles Public Libraries: all over the Valley, addresses here.

I’ve been reading articles from all over the country stating that due to the recession, more people are going to libraries than ever before.  One trip to the Platt Library confirmed it for me.  In the middle of the afternoon, the parking lot was full and to find a spot, I had to venture out to the overflow parking behind KFC.  Besides having AC, which by itself is a big bonus, unlike going to read at Barnes and Nobles, you don’t need to shell out that extra cash to buy a drink at Starbucks that you don’t really want. Besides have all the FREE books you want (albeit temporarily), the library also has books on CD for your long commutes, internet access, and you can also rent FREE movies.  I was impressed to find recent titles such as Slumdog Millionaire at the library, and it made me wonder why anyone would go spend money renting movies.

For kids, each branch has its own FREE Summer Reading Club (it started June 21 and runs until August 6), where they have reading logs, and prizes for reading.  At Platt, they have FREE events such as the Musical Coopers on July 16, 4 pm (“a musical sea-faring adventure” according to the library) and on Augus 6, 4 pm, Geebo the Clown will be visiting the branch.  I really don’t know many people who are not afraid of clowns, but if your child isn’t, bring them there!

Family Film Festival: Edwards Cinema at the Calabasas Commons

At the movie theater at the Commons, there will be free family movies on Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 am.  For example, this week they will be showing Madagascar 2 and Everybody’s Hero.  To find out the movies shown on future weeks, consult the Commons Website.

Sun sets – Calabasas Summer Series: Calabasas

The City of Calabasas is putting on a number of different concerts and events on Sundays, some of which will be in the new-ish Calabasas Civic Center Plaza, which is behind the Commons.  The list of performances are here, but per usual, I’ll help you out a bit.

July 26, 2009, 6 pm -  WBG tribute to Johnny Cash at the Civic Center Plaza, where you can bring your dinner and listen to this band recreate the unique voice of Johnny Cash.  Or for the younger generation you’ll know Cash as the “guy played by Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line”

August 2, 2009, 6 pm – Salsa Night with Figueroa de la Cominacion by the Calabasas Lake (next to the Calabasas Swim and Tennis Center).  Bring your dancing shoes for some salsa dancing, or just come to swing your hips and pretend that you’re salsa dancing.  It’s all good.

August 16, 2009, 6 pm – Dan Crow Family Concert at the Civic Center Plaza.  This guy looks friendly enough in his picture.

Dan Crow, courtesy of www.cityofcalabasas.com

Restore the lands of the Santa Monica Mountains

If you are interested in helping make the world a better place or just wanting to find a fun way to get community service, you can help with restoration at Malibu Creek State Park, Cold Creek Preserve, Solstice Canyon or Topanga State Park.  On the weekends at 8:45 you can go to plant, water and weed the area for community service credit.  However, you need to first reserve at spot through volunteer@treepeople.org.  Full schedule here.  They also have family events such as:

August 8, 2009, 9:30 am – Part of the Youth Naturalist Program, children ages 8-12 will learn about reptiles and amphibians and take a hike to find some in the wild.

September 12, 2009, 9:30 am – This time children ages 8-12 can learn about mammals.

Theatricum Botanicum Herta’s Roundtable Discussion: Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, Topanga

Come chill with a Theatricum artist to talk about the plays in the upcoming season and read excerpts of hte plays.  The next (and last) roundtable will be on August 9, 2 pm and will be covering The Miser.  Totally FREE, this will be a way to really know the background of these play before you watch them.  For directions and more go here.

Concerts at Warner Center

I mentioned this one earlier, here is the schedule again for upcoming concerts!

THE GRAND FINALE OF FREE STUFF – Metro Art Tour

This one isn’t exactly in the Valley, but I thought it was so very cool.  There are FREE tours of the transportation art project around the Los Angeles County.  “From bus stops to rail stations, streetscapes to bus interiors, construction fences to poetry, art creates a sense of place and engages transit riders,” said a Metro brochure.  Tours are offered the first Saturday and Sunday of every month, both at 10 am at the Hollywood/Highland Metro Rail Station on Sat and at the Union Station on Sunday.  How cool. I want to go.  The site for the Metro is metro.net, but somehow I couldn’t find the info on the site.

courtesy of www.metro.net

OK! I hope you find something to do for FREE! And save up your money for something else like…red velvet cupcakes? I don’t know, something worthwhile

SFVguide is getting some coverage!

So, after I started this blog, I went out get some business cards made at Office Depot in order to make my guide more legit and to have something to pass out to restaurant.  A week later, I got a call telling me that I was the winner of the Biggest Small Business Sweepstakes at Office Depot.  I got all excited, thinking that I won money (I can dream, right??)

But what I ended up winning was something else.

In an e-mail I received with various forms attached, I got this message: “If you accept the prize, your business card will be displayed 7/27 – 8/02/09 on the electronic billboard at Pico and Exposition (north side of street facing east).  Your business card will appear approximately 108 times per day.”

Okay, so Westwood isn’t exactly the Valley, but keep your eyes peeled for the billboard.  This might be the closest I get to being famous

Hello, cupcake!

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve started teaching summer English classes (to pay for all the meals I’ve been buying).  I know, I know, that’s no excuse, but to make up for the lack of posts, I present to you a very delicious post.

Ever since Sprinkles cupcakes became the new big thing in LA, these bite-size desserts have been all the craze.  The cupcake phenomenon is similar to the fro-yo trend I posted about last month… after Sprinkles, it seems like cupcake shops are becoming a more and more frequent sight.  And here in the Valley, we have our own old-fashion bakery: SusieCakes in Calabasas.

Located across the Commons in the Courtyard at the Commons, SusieCakes (one word) calls itself “An All-American Bake Shop.” Take a step inside, and you’ll be greeted by the warm smells of freshly-baked cakes and pies.  The small bakery holds a few tables and a window into the kitchen, however it’s hard to take notice anything but the rows of decadent cupcakes, pies, and layer cakes tempting you from under the glass display case.

SusieCakes first opened in the summer of 2006 in Brentwood and the Calabasas shop opened at the end of 2007.  It is reminiscent of a 50′s-era bakery with desserts baked fresh everyday created in the old-fashion way – everything baked on site in small batches from scratch and no artificial preservatives, said general manager Becca Coffman.

I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the bakery, so this was taken back at home, and yes, the Red Velvet pictured is half-eaten, I couldn't wait.

Their most famous cupcake is their award-winning Red Velvet cupcake, pictured above.  After buying the cupcake, I was planning on saving it to share with my parents, but on the whole car ride home, I couldn’t help but scrape off the AMAZING cream cheese frosting.  Maybe I lack discipline, but more likely, the frosting is just simply irresistible.  I’ve talked to friends who tell me their Red Velvet is better than the one at Sprinkles (I’ll be honest, I’ve never been) and I don’t doubt them.  Although at first $3 seemed a lot to pay for such a small cake,  the quality definitely made up for the quantity.  This was an amazing experience.

A half-melted Strawberry-filled cupcake

The summer special is a cupcake with strawberries baked into the cupcake and topped with its smooth frosting.  It’s funny because since I was in kindergarten, I’ve always hated frosting – it just seemed to always get in the way of the good stuff.  But with SusieCakes, the frosting IS the good stuff.  The above picture really doesn’t give the cupcakes justice because it was taken on a hot hot day, so the frosting was melting in my hand.  For real mouth-watering pictures, check out SusieCakes’s site.

Cupcakes cost $3 each while 6″ layer cakes come in at $33 and 9″ at $46.  They also make custom layer cakes that can be designed to your liking (think Ace of Cakes..)

Location: 23653 Calabasas Rd. Calabasas, CA

4th of July Fireworks!

Tomorrow, we will celebrate the 233rd aniversary of the nation’s independance with our family members and friends.  We will gather around our grills out in the sun eating barbeque, corn-on-the-cob, apple pies and celebrate all things American.  But seriously, what would July 4th be without fireworks? Yeah they might be illegal to light your own, but thankfully, there will be places around the Valley where you can enjoy these firework displays with the ones you love.  And maybe, if you live close enough, you won’t even have to leave your backyard.

For a full list of all the fireworks showings in the LA County, check out this site.

Calabasas High School: 22855 W. Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA

Fireworks will go off at 9:00 p.m., tickets can be purchased for $10 but must be purchased before tomorrow. There will be rides and games and even a dance party afterwards by Jack Mack & the Heart Attack! For more info check out this.

Malibu: 80 Malibu Colony Road AND 30100 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA

Fireworks at both locations will go off at 9:00 p.m. from barges off the coast.

Porter Ranch: 19700 Rinaldi St., Porther Ranch, CA

Fireworks at Shepherd of the Hills Church will go off at 9:00 p.m.

Hansen Dam: 11770 Foothill Blvd. Lake View Terrace, CA

An all-day event with rides, prizes, games, concerts, etc and fireworks going off at 9:00 p.m. For more info check it out here (turn your speakers down before clicking, learn from my experiences…).

Woodland Hills: 21820 Califa Street, Woodland Hills

This was mentioned earlier about concerts at Warner Park, and this one will include big band music along with fireworks at 9:00 p.m.  Man, I’m guessing 9 p.m. is the ONLY time for fireworks.

Studio City: 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City

“Summer of Love” put on by CBS 2/KCAL 9 and  Studio City Chamber of Commerce.  They’ll be magicians, music, barbeque and of course fireworks at 9:00 p.m.  Tickets are $20 at the door, $8 for kids under 12.

Ok everybody, have a safe and fun fourth of July weekend!!!