I haven’t bought meats or eaten there but I’ve heard good things about it from local Oaxacans
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We get our dried chiles there now that somehow no supermarket in Santa Monica sells them
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Yum!
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It’s Oktoberfest. I grew up in Ann Arbor, which in the 1960s was probably 60% German. I have very fond memories of festivals at German Park with grilled bratwurst, spaetzle, and potato salad. I think only @secretasianman is left of the Ann Arborites as @linus is long gone.
At any rate I made an Oktoberfest dinner tonight: bratwurst from https://www.schreinersfinesausages.com/, with spaetzle, bacon, sauerkraut and onions. To cut the fat I served edamame slaw which makes it fusion.
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@tonyc no longer participates, but he was also an alum. he does an occasional yelp review so i check his yelp page periodically.
the german influence wasn’t so obvious on campus. friends in berlin tell me that they’d rather eat italian food there as they are not big fans of german cuisine. a chacun son gout. i think i’d like to try a decent spaetzle some day though.
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Pizza! I’ve been readings about pizza in Marseille recently and have been super curious about using emmentaler as the cheese. Surprisingly delicious, with ham and home made pickled Hungarian peppers. Home oven on a screen btw
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A defunct pizzeria we used to favor made eggplant and Gruyere pies. Great combo.
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Interesting variation on pesto with Spaghetti with Pesto Pantesco - the pesto is made with almonds, tomatoes, basil, parsley, capers, anchovy, garlic, red pepper flakes and olive oil.
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Probably 20 years ago my brother and I went to a lovely Hunan restaurant in San Jose. The highlight of the meal was stir fried kielbasa with black beans and chilis. It was delicious but seemed a bit strange as the only Chinese sausage I knew of was lap cheong which is way too sweet for my occidental palate. Years later I read about Harbin sausage, Harbin Red Sausage, and realized kielbasa was the closest thing to Harbin sausage the chef could find.
I have twice tried to recreate the wonderful dish. Last night I used smoked kielbasa from https://www.schreinersfinesausages.com/. Turned out beautifully.
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What a cool story! Looks good 
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Not very photogenic (as the piece just disintegrated) but very tasty - frittata with swiss chard, red and yellow peppers, king oyster mushrooms, red peppers onion, parmesan, camembert, thyme, pine nuts eggs and milk.
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This is totally fascinating. I’m ethnically Chinese. Grew up in the US but in the SGV, so I’ve been exposed a decent amount of Chinese food.
Partner is white and grew up in Whittier.
He has a sweet tooth; I do not. Ex: ice cream doesn’t do much for me (I like a few bites but am perfectly satiated by that). He LOVES ice cream, candy, etc., etc (incl the berry-flavored goldfish which I find bizarrely artificial tasting). But there are some Chinese items he doesn’t like b/c they are “too sweet.” I don’t perceive them as being that sweet. And there are lots of western items that I find disgustingly sweet (generally all US pastries and desserts).
I never would’ve thought of Chinese sausage as sweet until reading your post. And, now that I think about it, it is.
Has anyone else noticed this? US stuff is infamously sweet, but I’m talking more about some Chinese items being too sweet for non-Chinese folks. Is it a general East vs. West thing? Or is more of a Chinese vs. US specifically palate thing? A sugar vs. high-fructose corn-syrup thing?
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I think it is more of a savory versus sweet thing. Most American/Western European mains are savory. There are exceptions; pork is often served with fruit, but for the most part savory dishes are salty not sweet. The same is true with warm spices. My grandmother made incredible cinnamon rolls. When I taste cinnamon in a savory dish I have to work against memories of Christmas breakfasts with luscious glazed rolls dripping with butter. This holds true even though many western sausages have warm spices. My wife is a licorice fanatic, but hates five spice. I don’t like licorice, but have developed a taste for five spice.
Asian cooking incorporates more elements that American/European. More balance of savory and sweet. It takes some getting used to. When I make Korean food I have to cut the sugar in half or my wife won’t like it. Most Chinese/American dishes are Cantonese; soy, garlic, ginger, scallion based. Americans aren’t familiar with say northern Chinese dishes that are sweeter than those of Guandong.
The other topic you bring up is interesting - dessert. I think this plays into it as well. As far as I know dessert in Asia, at least traditionally, was not the rich, sweet course it is in European cuisines. Although the pastry cases at 99 Ranch, and the Galleria Korean market indicate things have changed.
These are my thoughts. I could be wrong, but I think childhood influences have much to do with how the savory/sweet balance in food is perceived.
I miss my grandmother’s cinnamon rolls!
Thank you for bringing this up. I enjoyed thinking about it.
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Thank you for such a thoughtful post!
So interesting you mention spice and sense memory. The cardamom (I think) pastry at Clark Street totally weirds me out b/c, whenever I eat it, all I can “see” is shrimp…
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The best pizza I’ve made so far squash blossoms with burrata. Finally getting the process more consistent still could improve but figuring some things out through trial and error.
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looking good!
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Looks amazing!! I love that you added Daikon! I love Daikon in soups. What noodles did you use?
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yessss. daikon is the best. the noodles are Hime/J-Basket brand - pretty good balance of quality and cost performance. (Japanese Ramen Noodles 25.4 OZ (720 G) - H Mart)
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