When you have the distinguished privilege of judging three consecutive Los Angeles Cupcake Challenges you learn a few things about cake’s little sister.

First, ENOUGH WITH THE BACON. We get it, it’s savory’s most gluttonous item baked into and atop a gluttonous frosted cupcake! Whoa. Awesome. That was so unique… in 2009. And if you are going to go the bacon route, you better make sure it’s well done, almost chip-like. If I’m handed one more undercooked bacon topped-cupcake, I’m going to throw it back in your face.

Secondly, where the hell are the sprinkles? In the entire 2012 CC, there were maybe two cupcakes decorated with sprinkles. Cupcake bakers – do not forget your roots. Third, it is almost impossible to properly bake the cake of hundreds of mini-cupcakes. However, the best bakers always find a way.

And, finally, just because you’re being original with your Challenge entry does not mean you have a free pass for it to suck.

My five favorite 2012 entries below prove my case…

4. Chocolate Salted Caramel – The Cake Mamas – Despite the fact I’ve probably had way too many salted desserts after the past two years, the richness of the chocolate, caramel and salt in this cupcake really surprised me. The sea salt caramel brittle atop and some mini chocolate chips added just prior to baking raised this cupcake above the competition.
 

3. Chocolate Bourbon – Wonderland Custom Cakes – Whoa! Major bourbon taste. And I love bourbon. Wonderland does it right – a dark chocolate Valrhona cake with a bourbon cream cheese frosting and a bourbon ganache.
 

2. Chocolate Wasted – Frosted Heaven Cupcakery – The only disappointing thing about this decadently chocolate cupcake is the name – which may or may not be a reference to the horridness that was “Grown Ups.” That aside, in a competition chock full of chocolate cupcakes, Frosted Heaven Cupcakery’s was by far the best. Valrhona cake, dark chocolate ganache, chocolate buttercream topped with mini Valrhona crunchy chocolate balls.
 

1. Evil Twin – Wonderland Custom Cakes – I can’t tell you how much it hurts me to admit Pasadena once again provided the LA Cupcake Challenge with its top entry. Two years ago it was Polkatots’ Lucky Charms cupcake and this year it’s Wonderland’s mischievously delicious Evil Twin, the perfect combination of a moist jalapeno-carrot cake with a sharp cheddar frosting. It’s next available at Wonderland on Friday, 2/24, so mark your calendars: “Drive to Pasadena. Eat amazing cupcake. Order an extra one for Mike. Bring to his house.”
 

Read more of Mike’s daily food musings on UnemployedEater.com or follow him on that Twitter thing @UnemployedEater…

Full disclosure: I ate a lot of crap in Twenty-Eleven. Too much. Like the Furby, most of it was soon forgotten. Fortunately though, like Dakota Fanning, some of the dishes live on. In fact, some of them were so good I sort of wish I didn’t brush my teeth, so I could still taste their remnants in the far corners of my mouth. That sounds creepy, but you know what I mean…

With this in mind and in keeping with the tradition inaugurated last year, I present the top eleven things I devoured in the Los Angeles city limits under $11. In 2011.

((NOTE ON LIST: 2011 MUST HAVE BEEN FIRST YEAR IN WHICH I TRIED SAID FOODSTUFF AND $11 OR LESS PRICE BEFORE TAX))

11. Szechwan Long Beans at Nick + Stef’s – To say most of America’s great steakhouses’ side order menus are a little long in the tooth is an understatement. Here’s potatoes. More potatoes. Even more potatoes. Here’s potatoes with cheese! That’s what makes Nick + Stef’s so special. On top of hearty meat cuts, they offer the most eclectic steakhouse side order menu in town. The star: the Szechwan Long Beans, perfectly roasted with a slightly spicy sauce and those beautiful pink peppercorns could make anyone, man or woman, love pink for a dinner’s length.

10. White Chocolate Caramel Blondie from Embrace Sweets – Embrace Sweets does brownies better than anyone in LA. Their hiddem gem? The brownie’s slutty stepsister, the Blondie.

[[ALSO SEE: 5 Questions With Embrace Sweets]]

The list continues below…

»continue reading The Unemployed Eater’s Top 11 LA Foodstuffs Under $11 of 2011

The 2nd 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational: Cherish The Cheese

The LA culinary scene is great, but if I eat one more pork belly sweet potato hiramasa short rib foie gras terrine beet salad, I may regurgitate. Every once in a while you just want to say fuck it, give me a goddamn grilled cheese sandwich. And that is what makes the annual Grilled Cheese Invitational such a refreshingly joyous event. Every year, hundreds–both professional and amateur–put their grill cheesing skills on display for the hungry public.

Don’t get me wrong. The GCI is weird. Really weird. There is cheesy poetry. Something called “Cheese Calling.” Some dude named the “Mayor of Cheese.” There’s even a “Dr. Cheese.” Then there are the sandwiches themselves, which vary from the basic to the downright friggin’ odd (frozen carmelized Twinkie grilled cheese, anyone?).

One could argue though that the event’s eccentricity is what makes the GCI so special. Annually, jocks, dweebs, foodies, kids, parents, chefs, home cooks and Goths congregate over their love of bread-butter-cheese. The 2011 GCI was no different. Even though it has rapidly expanded from its intimate initial incarnation in founder Tim Walker’s apartment into a 7,000-8,000 attendee, major-sponsored downtown movie studio parking lot bacchanal, it still very openly lets its freak flag fly.

It started all about grilled cheese and it remains all about grilled fricking cheese. There are four categories: Love, American Style (only white bread, orange cheese and butter), The Missionary Position (any type of bread, butter and cheese), The Kama Sutra (savory in nature, any type of bread, cheese and additional ingredients, but the sandwich must be at least 60% cheese) and The Honey Pot (sweet in nature, any kind of bread, butter, cheese and additional ingredients, but must be at least 60% cheese).

Photo gallery & Mike’s winning pick below.

»continue reading Grilled Cheese Invitational Photos, Results & Judge’s Field Report

Photo by Lindsay Flinn. Full gallery below the jump.

Forrest Gump put it best when he astutely stated, “Life is like a box of cupcakes. You never know what you’re gonna get.” The crazy thing is how right Tom Hanks always is–life is indeed like a box of cupcakes… especially at the 2011 Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge, the annual cupcake clash between Los Angeles and Orange County’s top bakers.

Last year, I admittedly made some mistakes. I ate too many cupcakes in too little time and paid for it. This year, as an official event judge? I ate too many cupcakes in too little time and… felt just dandy walking out of the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel. The difference? For some reason there were eight less entries in the Challenge. SO, I ONLY ATE 32 CUPCAKES IN AN HOUR IN 2011. Way easier to digest.

And, now, a Lilliputiancake-by-Lilliputiancake breakdown of all 32 entries and full photo gallery below…

TRADITIONAL CATEGORY

1. Chocolate W/ Meringue (Bitter Sweet Treats) – A honey brittle adornment demonstrated the creativeness that made baker Danielle Keene a finalist on the first season of “Top Chef: Just Desserts.” The overall cupcake? Showed why she didn’t win “T.C.”

2. Chocolate S’Mores (Blue Cupcake) – S’Mores was a trendy cupcake in the 2011 competition; Blue Cupcake separated themselves from the pack courtesy of a surprisingly rich fudge insert in the middle of the cake.

3. Red Velvet (Cake Pop) – The cake popsicle (rolled cake covered by a chocolate shell), much like the bagel chip, seems to have arisen from a baker’s ingenuity regarding the reuse of old product. Cake Pop’s Red Velvet transcends this designation and should be your first cake popsicle if you seek such a thrill.

4. Chocolate Zin (Double D Cupcakes) – Awesome chocolate cake. Awesome chocolate frosting. Awesome red wine tasting center. Awesome.

5. Abuelita’s Chocolate Cupcake (Frandise Pastries) – Very tasty cake due to hints of cinnamon, cayenne and chunks of Nestle Abuelita chocolate.

6. Salted Caramel Chocolate (Goodie Girls) – I love salted caramel. I love chocolate. I didn’t love this cupcake.

7. Bridal White Cake (Hansen’s) – For the second consecutive year Hansen’s reminded me just because you make everyone’s favorite birthday and wedding cakes, it does not mean you automatically make good cupcakes.

8. Mallow Delight (Hollicakes) – Tasted like a Ho-Ho. Still not sure if that’s good or bad.

9. Red Velvet (Jus Minis) – The best cupcake in the Traditional category. More on this RV later…

10. Red Velvet (My Delight) – Incredibly moist cake, but nothing else distinguished this cupcake from the seemingly millions of Red Velvets I’ve had in recent years.

11. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Sugar Babies Cupcakery) – A regal name for a commoner’s cupcake at best.

12. Pink Velvet (Sweet E’s) – The thick frosting was tasty. The cake – well, like all things pink, it sucked.

13. Chocolate Truffle (The Cake Mamas) – Although the cake was a tad dry, the chocolate mouse frosting with chocolate shaving swirls certainly made up for it.

14. Red Velvet (The Cake Shop) – Not sure how to describe the taste, but it almost didn’t even taste like Red Velvet. What did it taste like? A boring cupcake.

»continue reading 2011 Cupcake Challenge–A Cupcake-by-Cupcake Analysis of All 32 Entries

10. Sweet Potato Waffle Fries at Bru’s Wiffle.
9. Epinards (Sauteed Spinach) at Bouchon.
8. The 8th 1st Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational.
7. Komodo 2.0 Burrito on the Komodo Truck.
6. Butterscotch Crunch Sundae at Sweet Rose Creamery.
5. Chicken Apple Sausage at The Slaw Dogs & Sundried Tomato and Mozzarella Sausage at Wurstkuche (tie).
»continue reading The Unemployed Eater’s 2010 Top 10 Under $10 LA Foodstuffs

The people behind the Grilled Cheese Truck summed up the 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational perfectly: “This… is like Christmas.”

The throwdown, which started humbly back in 2003 in founder Tim Walker’s downtown loft, took over Los Angeles Center Studios this past Saturday for six hours of fun, sun and grilled cheese. An estimated seven thousand grilled cheese-loving attendees tasted the best in bread-butter-cheese in three categories: Missionary (traditional ingredients), Kama Sutra (at least 60 percent cheese) and Honey Pot (more of a dessert grilled cheese). There were also grilled cheeses for sale from some of LA’s top cheesers, including Eric Greenspan and Mark Peel.

To be completely honest, the sandwiches from both the pros and the amateurs were amazing. I actually found myself unable to determine which were the best because they all reminded me of a better version of what my mom used to make. Sorry, Mom…

Like usual though, I do have some thoughts. Here are the good and the bad of the 8th G.C.I….

THE GOOD

–The Professional Grilled Cheeses. Seriously, they were very, very good. In the professional competition, Mark Peel’s (Campanile, Tar Pit) very basic grilled cheese with onions and whole grain mustard was incredibly tasty. The same could be said of Eric Greenspan’s (The Foundry and the upcoming Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese) apple chutney and pastrami sandwich.

–Amateur Hour. This is obviously the heart and soul of the G.C.I. Hundreds of locals competed in the three categories and pumped out some amazing grilled cheeses. Some of the favorites: Granny & Gorgonzola (gorgonzola, apples and ginger snaps), the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills’ duck prosciutto sandwich, the People Who Don’t Hate Fun’s Frito and chili grilled cheese and a grilled cheese with macaroni and cheese grilled inside.

Continues with full photo gallery below.

»continue reading Cheese-Butter-Bread-Victory: The 1st 8th Annual Grilled Invitational

Grilled Cheese was the staple of our childhoods. And now, wonderfully, it can be the staple of this Saturday afternoon.

The 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational comes to the Los Angeles Center Studios this Saturday, April 24th, from noon until 6 pm.

Described by its founder as “shaping up to be the biggest thing to ever hit mankind,” this year’s event will feature tons of grilled cheese, plus “comedy, cheesy music and more contests for the audience, like poetry, costume and Cheese Calling”.

NOTE: If you can’t make this glorious event, I will be on hand attempting once again to sicken myself by consuming too many of the event’s offerings and live to blog about it.

The 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational
This Saturday, 4/24/2010
12:00pm – 6:00pm
Los Angeles Center Studios
1201 West Fifth Street
Los Angeles, CA – America
Tickets

Above poster by Splat Worldwide/Dan Le Creative. Limited edition prints will be sold at the event.

Does anyone else wish we could go back to the food truck gold rush of a mere year ago? When guys would dart out of bars–giving up the chance of drunken hook-ups–in hopes of grabbing one of the last Kogi short-rib tacos. When gourmet food truck culture was not just new to Los Angeles, but it was actually gourmet.

Well, I am happy to report the new World Fare food truck, in Clark Kent-fashion, has swept in and saved the day. World Fare joins the likes of the Border Grill truck in the exclusive pantheon of trucks that aren’t just good “for a food truck” but rather simply good for being damn good.

And, to be honest, it isn’t even fair to call World Fare a food truck. I wouldn’t call it a “bustaurant” either (though its owners do) because, well, that’s lame. But it certainly is an experience. Combining the wonders of South African street food, fine blackboard cuisine specials, Albert Hammond Jr. tunes and the touristic voyeurism of a double-decker bus, it really takes the Los Angeles food culture to another level. Literally.

»continue reading World Fare: Putting the Fuck Back in Food Truck

»continue reading Add This One to the Awesome Dept: Alcove Green Velvet Cake

Some may say cupcakes are passé at this point. I say those people are idiots. The hundreds of participants who took part in Saturday’s sold out annual Nesquik Cupcake Challenge at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood this past Saturday seem to agree.

As a cupcake devotee, this was like returning home to the Holy Land. Forty different mini-cupcakes from twenty-five local bakeries? Jackpot. Everywhere I looked there were cupcakes and good-looking girls eating cupcakes. It was like a summer Cupcake Fantasy Camp.

Making sure I did not squander the greatest opportunity of my life I did the most reasonable thing: I SAMPLED ALL FORTY CUPCAKES … IN LESS THAN AN HOUR. A night of stomachache and ginger ale followed, but it was totally worth it, in a getting-with-a-bridesmaid-at-your-sister’s-wedding-sort-of-way. Not prudent, yet enjoyable.

Below, for your reading pleasure, is a minute analysis of all 40 cupcakes along with a photo gallery…

»continue reading All 40 Entries in the 2010 LA Cupcake Challenge–A Cupcake-by-Cupcake Analysis

Another year. Another ton of food in my belly. Before I take part in my yearly New Year’s purging ritual – a pastrami sandwich every New Year’s Day whether it makes my gentle stomach upset or not – I thought I would share the eleven things I enjoyed most in 2009. There are two simple parameters. First, 2009 had to be the inaugural year in which I consumed the food item. And, secondly, the item needed to be priced low enough that former bankers could afford them.

BEST CHICKEN SANDWICH
Chicken Club
Westside Tavern (West L.A.)
As a noted chicken sandwich connoisseur amongst my friends and parents it is safe to say I know my shit. And the Westside Tavern, probably my favorite new restaurant of 2009 overall, does the chicken sandwich right. The bacon is awesome. The sourdough is awesome. The chicken club is awesome. [Photo from hungrykat.blogspot.com]
 

BEST PIZZA
Mushroom and Peppers Pizza
Nicky D’s (Silver Lake)
There’s a reason I’ve convinced multiple Westside buddies to venture to the outskirts of the desert (a.k.a. Silverlake) for Nicky D’s. Simply put, The Best Pie in Los Angeles. Try it with mushrooms and peppers – you won’t be disappointed. If you are, go back to Papa John’s, you fucking idiot.
 

BEST FOOD TRUCK
Border Grill
It also almost feels like cheating categorizing Border Grill amongst their fellow food truck pedestrians. That’s the way it goes though. Everything is good: the fish tacos, the carne asada quesadillas, the butternut squash soup. Tip: I once found a free coupon for a taco literally under the menu board. [Photo from Gastronomyblog.com]
 

Best Bread Pudding, Best Fish and Chips, Best Morning Muffin, Best Israeli Couscous, Best Drink, Best Garlic Bread, Best Cake and Best Breakfast Potatoes below.

»continue reading The 11 Best Things I Ate This Year in Los Angeles (In This Economy Edition)

Zack over at Lost Angeles is asking for a little help.

He’s the creator of the beautifully-named “Zack and White”–an ice cream sandwich made with Canter’s Black and White cookies. It’s fucking brilliant.

As a B&W aficionado myself, I encourage people to order the “Zack” next time they’re hungover and inexplicably find themselves at Canter’s.

If enough people request the sandwich, Canter’s has promised Zack the holy foodie blog grail: a spot on their menu. Good luck, dude.

Instructional photo from Lost Angeles.

Kiss My Bundt bakery on Third Street has written an open letter to the food blogosphere asking for help.

Due to the rising price of commodities (and, probably, stupidly ridiculous LA monthly rent), the bakery finds itself in grave danger. If this was just another local bakery I could care less, but Kiss My Bundt is not just another local bakery.

They sell bundts–-those cakes your aunt used to bring over to the house for no apparent reason. And they do them right. They come in all sizes and flavors.

Also, KMB is like the Costco of bakeries: free fucking samples! They won the 2008 myFoxLA best cupcake award, which, honestly, means nothing to me. But, more importantly, they won the 2009 Mike Birthday Dessert at Work Selection award, which, honestly, is the highest honor a bakery can receive.

As of yesterday, according to KMB’s Twitter they were a measly 200 bundts away from their goal. If you’re in the 3rd Street area this week, please do give them a visit. Maybe get some for your aunt and tell her this is how bundts are supposed to taste.

Kiss My Bundt Bakery
8104 W. 3rd Street

Because Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa shopping for my mother can never start too early, I headed all the way down to the South Coast Plaza Williams-Sonoma on Thursday to get Chef Thomas Keller to sign a copy of his newest cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home.

I’ll admit to some butterflies in my stomach anticipating what I would say to the man behind French Laundry and the Beverly Hills Bouchon opening this Wednesday, November 18.

After a three hour wait (no joke) I finally got Chef Keller to scribble his name illegibly, so “Nancy” will be all impressed and shit. I said some stupid things that I don’t remember. He smiled.

Here are some observations from my afternoon in this Orange County mall…
»continue reading Thomas Keller: The Taylor Swift of the Cooking World

Dear Father’s Officers,

There is only one thing worse than spotting your parents downing a pint in your favorite burger and beer joint: finding your aunt and uncle instead.

And, I’m reluctant to report, this recently occurred at Father’s Office in Culver City. At first I thought I was seeing shit. But, nope, they were there. Eating and drinking and being merry. And when I approached I quickly found out this was not their first visit. In fact, they consider themselves “semi-regulars.”

It is with this pronouncement I make another: Father’s Office has officially jumped the culinary shark.

Look, I love my aunt and uncle. I even crashed at their house for two summers back in college. And I know my freaking mom is going to email them a link to this post so I’m going to be in trouble. But, let’s be honest, no one wants to see their middle-aged aunt and uncle at the bar you frequent. It simply makes the place so un-cool I can no longer go there.

»continue reading Beacon: The Culver City Father’s Office Solution