fleshy eats at bludso's bbq

once there was a boy that liked meat. A LOT of meat. he ate so much meat that he errr....had problems in the water closet. but as fate would have it, he fell in lust with a girl that didn't. in fact, the heavens were quite cruel to him because she was a vegetarian. oh poor meat eating boy!

so this boy tried, he really did when he ate with her. he would masticate greens and tofu when in his heart of hearts, all he really wanted to do was to grip a piece of medium rare beef between his incisors and tear the dead flesh apart. oh the madness of craving beef was driving him mad! to further the insanity, he tells me that once in a while, he would sneak in a bag of chicken to throw into his food when the girl wasn't looking. mayhaps the girl has a nice booty to drive him to these tricks? regardless, i never understood why he was never candid with her about it.

knowing how smitten he is by this girl who loves greens, i'm glad he does not know about this place.

a place that glorifies all that is meat in such a good damn way! BLUDSO'S BBQ in compton would have turned this love struck boy around. yes....meat, bring it.

i went there not too long ago to wrap my mouth around some toothsome meat. yes. not knowing what to order, i ordered a combo package which had enough dead flesh to make 5 vegetarians shudder....the texas sampler ($28.50) which included spicy beef links, pulled pork, rib tip, beef ribs, bbq chix, and beef brisket. yes, this was a formidable man trough if you will. since i was driving home with this hearty man trough, i asked the bbq sauce to be put on the side. i asked for one of each, the spicy and the mild. holy smokes, the best bbq sauce EVER. it would seriously make most meat eaters weep from joy when inhaling this deadly combo.

for the choice of sides, i got the mac & cheese which was extremely cheesy. though tasty, i could only eat a bite or two before it overwhelmed me and i had to drop it for....more meat.

i really enjoyed the greens. the bitterness from the greens mixed with the aromatic pork was a home run in my homestead. i had a bit of an internal struggle trying to willingly share this one.

and this is how a meat eater rolls. i hope that boy can find inner peace between lust and flesh or both or none at all. anyways, he must never read this post. it will self destruct in 5 minutes to avoid contributing to any temptations or maddening cravings that may follow....

Bludso's BBQ
811 S. Long Beach Blvd.
Compton, CA 90221
(310) 637-1342

www.bludsosbbqandcatering.com

price: $$
verdict: omg, i love it!

french comfort food at petrossian

after an epic meal of fat belly proportions, one must take a certain amount of time to digest all that was heifed down. once digested, the words and the pics of this belly adventure can then be regurgitated for your reading displeasure. ahh, so is the vicious cycle of eating and ruminating about food.

first off, thanks to kung food panda for the invite to an all out heif-fest at petrossian. danny (or mr. panda if you're nasty), convinced chef ben bailly to create an extensive tasting menu of french comfort food for a group of food bloggers to enjoy. was it comforting? oh yes, it was. it was as comforting as getting smushed into grandma's boobies after a lousy day at school. oh how i love grandmas....*cue in warm fuzzy feelings....*

we first started off with buttermilk fried frog legs. if i knew kermit's legs tasted this good, he would have been amputated a long time ago. crispy and froggy...what isn't there to love about this snack? (excuse my jaundice-like photos. i was gifted a new camera and um...don't know how to use it. me sucka? yes.).

a verrine of crazy beautiful smears came out next: salmon rillettes, chicken liver parfait, eggplant caviar, and brandade de morue.

holy crap! forget about everything else. once the chicken liver parfait graced my tongue, like an arrow locked to the center of a bull's eye, all i could nom was "chicken liver parfait." oh man, what a lusciouly smooth, creamy spread for the corner of my bread. and the slightly bitter twang from the red wine gelee provided the absolute perfect contrast to the creamy liver that i mounded on my slice of carbs. i was head over heels in love with this one. if you can have a harmless crush on food, then i certainly found what made my heart go pitter patter and thumpity thump.

of course, one must wash down the decadence with a caviar-tini. the small cube you see was a compressed block of caviar. that olive...also stuffed with caviar. to top that off, there was enough alcohol in that drink to give your dining companions a nice buzz after sniffing your caviar-tini burp. no really. you know i don't jest.

my belly got no rest as the truffle pomme croquettes were rolled out. just as quickly, i rolled them into my mouth and bit into the crispy spheres of fried batter. the lovely truffle aroma rose quickly to my nose when the soft creamy insides exploded in my mouth. YUM.

next up were the petite cups of chilled potato and leek soup. creamy. heavy. man, my belly won't be getting a break from the decadence now will it? when i felt the soup coat my insides, i also felt the first button that held my jeans together go *pop.*

the warm lentil salad with crispy egg was not jenny craig approved either. just.look.at.it. dang! if you think you spotted bacon...you did. jenny craig spotted the bacon too and wept a little.

the poutine which had peppercorn gravy, grafton cheddar, and sharp cheddar cheese with a sunny-side up egg ON FRIES was probably the weakest dish of the night. two words: salty lah.

our palates were cleansed with the calvados granite which in pedestrian terms was a heavily spiked applesauce amongst other things. if i had four thumbs, all four of them would be up. the wine-ho in me approves.

a duo of gratin de coquillette came out, one with ham and wild mushrooms and the other with dungeness crab and sweet corn. think of decadent mac & cheese in a giant's bowl. right about this time, i was ready to roll over and take a nap. truly, too much of a creamy thing will kill you. delicious? yes. over the top? yes, yes.

thinking that i couldn't stuff another thing in my mouth, the desserts came out. goddamn! the caramel pot de creme was delicious as are all things that are pots full of cream. flanked on the sides were the vanilla creme brulees.

and to stretch our bellies a little more, chef bailly also made PISTACHIO creme brulee. omg, i wished i had enough belly real estate to eat a whole one on my own. alas, a spoonful was enough to take me over the top.

the night ended with a lot of smiles, belly rubs, and discreet burps. thank you danny for your invite and oh how grand it was to see gastronomyblog, hong of ravenous couple, gourmet pigs, catty critic, the food ledger, two hungry pandas, and will from fooddigger amongst other lovely guests...all who made this gorge-fest a truly comforting night.

Petrossian
321 N. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 271-0576

www.petrossian.com

verdict: omg, i love it!

better late than never at mo-chica

"better late than never"....like the 40 year old virgin when he finally got laid. "hey, better late than never" when i show up 2 hours late to my friend's birthday party. oops...."better late than never" when heidi montag finally realizes spencer pratt is nuts. yes, some things in life are definitely better late than never, like me FINALLY going to mo-chica contemporary peruvian restaurant located in downtown's mercado la poloma to FINALLY get my grub on. sheesh.

for one who was late to the mo-chica game, the urge to order everything was hard to resist, but i reigned in my urges because i was being treated to a fine meal there and i am not one to take advantage of the situation....though i will if you allow me to. just let me know ok, i am open to it.

i started off with mo-chica's blood red chicha morada ($2) which is purple corn tea. it's a tad too sweet for me and after sipping my friend's maracuya (passion fruit juice), i thought his drink was the better choice. shucks.

i started the grub fest with the ceviche del dia (market price). the huge kernels of peruvian corn and the hard stone-like toasted corn added great texture to the dish. the limey sauce and the sweet sting left on my tongue by the ribbons of raw red onion was a loud gustatory wake up call for my belly. yummy! nothing like good ceviche to start the meal off right.

although there were a ton of intriguing dishes to choose from, the choice was an easy one as i decided on the oxtail risotto ($13)...something about that beefy tail makes me weak in the knees. the small mound of meat heaped in the middle of the cheesy risotto pool was tender to the touch and literally melted in my mouth. the risotto was rather smooth and uber cheesy, requiring a slow-down-and-savor approach to the meal. i was quite satisfied with this dish and burped a loud appreciation for it to the dismay of the well mannered folks that surrounded me.

although i did not wreck havoc on the menu, the two dishes i've tasted thus far at mo-chica has given me more than enough reason to head back for a second tasting. i am glad that i was "better late than never" rather than "a day late and a dollar short." there is something seriously tasty going on in that food court and oh you lucky usc students, it must be crazy busy when school is in session for y'all.

Mo-Chica Contemporary Peruvian Restaurant
3655 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 747-2141

www.mo-chica.com

price: $$
verdict: tasty, try it!

margarita heaven at gilbert's el indio

this man knows his firewater.

he told me you can find it here, at gilbert's el indio in santa monica.

i listened cuz i am a recreational drunk. looking at all those glasses hanging in the air, i knew i wasn't alone and that they must lure people like me to their libations like lindsay lohan to crack.

i wrung my hands in anticipation once i placed my order. omg, wow. omfg wow! this is the best ice blended margarita ($4.50) that i've ever tasted! i want to bottle it up and nurse my margarita bottle throughout the day. would that be appropriate? yes!

though i would have been sloppy happy with just this drink, i decided an empty belly filled with firewater does a car accident make. i decided to ply myself with their complimentary chips cuz i lovee their spicy salsa and their tart pickled carrot slices which i pop into my mouth like chips.

my eating companion dared me to eat a red chili on top of the salsa on top of the chip. he thinks i'm tipsy from drinking the firewater and therefore gullible.

i told him to shove it and ordered the extra super mule ($8.95) instead. not earth shattering like the margarita, but it will do its job to keep your belly satiated. besides, the thirst induced by this monster sized mule will give you more than enough reasons to quench your thirst with MORE MARGARITA. yes please!

i really love gilbert's. i really do. i love the kitschy environment, the friendly staff, and those freakin' awesome margaritas even though the food is just so-so but i forgive thee. listen to me and listen to the man with the headdress, the firewater is goot so bring a wad of cash and prove us right.

Gilbert's El Indio Restaurant
2526 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 450-8057

gilbertselindiorestaurantmenu.info/

price: $$
verdict: omg, i love it!

savoring savoy kitchen

finally.

i.finally.ate.at.savoy.
it wasn't crowded. whut?!
i didn't have to wait. whut?!
that's.why.i.finally.ate.at.savoy.because.we.didn't.have.to.wait.

whenever we drive by this place during peak chowing hours, i always see prospective diners waiting by the entrance as thick as flies for a chance to land a seat. this sight usually encourages me to push down harder on my gas pedal to go somewhere else....but lucky for us, it was actually slow and gosh darn it, i finally get to check savoy off my belly list!

we opted to sit outside to enjoy the warmth and to witness a fender bender that was narrowly averted. seriously, i have NO IDEA why reckless drivers always seem to drive expensive cars. what a waste. anyways, i gripped my iced cappuccino ($2) tightly in my hands and made a loud gasp. fortunately, the lady finally located her brake pedal and twisted metal was avoided.

ready to refocus our attention on the food, we started off with the shrimp rolls ($5.50) which were crispy and flaky with enough grease to leave a nice sheen on my lips. kissable? totally.

the three of us also shared the cold pasta salad with smoked duck ($7.75). this salad was cool to the mouth and pretty hearty for the belly. even though the extra carb load was unnecessary for this padded booty of mine, i enjoyed the way the pasta soaked up the dressing especially since i suspected that the dressing contained duck drippings amongst other ingredients. a total smash hit.

the belle of the ball and the main reason why people flock to savoy is their hainan chicken rice ($6.75). i growled a little when i found out there was an extra $2 charge for dark meat...oh come on now! who else but the asians would choose dark meat over breast meat and after looking around, there weren't a lot of breasts to be seen....$2 x a lot of asians....

anyways, i found this poached chicken to be rather salty and the ginger and chili sauce only enhanced its salty nature. although delicious, i couldn't eat more than a few pieces before my tongue abandoned ship for slightly less thirst inducing flavors. on the other hand, the rice cooked with chicken broth was delectable. although i was full to the brim and had to loosen my belt buckle not once, but twice, i.couldn't.stop.eating.the.rice. it was so good.

seriously, i would come back just for that rice and that salad. considering all the carbs that i fell in love with at savoy, in hindsight, i'm HAPPY that they are super busy because it just means i get to maintain my current pant size since i'm not willing to brave the wait.

Savoy Kitchen
138 E. Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 308-9535

price: $$
verdict: tasty, try it!