A Horse Thief Among Us

Greetings, Readers!

Today, before I even get to discussing the sandwich of the week, there's something I must get out in the open. This week's blog is an incredibly special milestone, one that I could not have achieved without all of you reading my blog each week.

This is the 200th entry on the blog. Seriously. 200.

That's insane. When I first started this blog, I couldn't have imagined that the blog would still be going this long, despite my strong love of sandwiches. So I owe a great deal to you and your readership.

Now, onto the sandwich of the week.

While in downtown Los Angeles this past weekend, I stopped into one of my favorite spots to eat down there: Grand Central Market. It had been a little while since I last visited, and the changes that have happened since then were noticeable.

The market still had lots of its old taco stalls and produce sellers, but now there were a few newer places that had opened. One of the most noticeable was Horse Thief BBQ, on the edge of the market.

On this warm and sunny Saturday afternoon, the idea of authentic Texas barbecue with a refreshing lemonade sounded like a spectacular idea. When I saw that there was a brisket sandwich on the menu, I couldn't pass it up.

The bun here is nothing special, but really would I have expected it to be? The bread simply serves as a delivery mechanism for the delicious brisket. It's obvious through the taste that this brisket was given ample love through the cooking process. The meat was full of a deep, rich and savory flavor with a smooth infusion of smoke and burnt ends. Each bite pulled apart easily and nearly dissolved in my mouth while chewing.

All brisket should be made like this.

For the sides, I chose the cornbread (slightly sweet with some crispy edges) and the absolutely phenomenal bacon and blue cheese potato salad.

Yeah, I said that.

The blue cheese imparted its characteristic flavor, but not with the usual punch that accompanies it. This is a good thing though as too much blue cheese flavor would have been way too intense. Along with the crispy bacon bits and well cooked potatoes, this was an excellent side to have along with the brisket.

If you're downtown in LA, I would always recommend stopping for lunch at Grand Central Market. Now with the revamp, along with the classic taco stands and produce sellers, I recommend it even more. A visit to Horse Thief BBQ should be your first stop.

Thanks again, Readers, for your following over these past 200 posts, I hope to keep you engaged and hungry for 200 more and beyond if you'll allow me.

Until next week...



BBQ Brisket Sandwich
**** Stars
Horse Thief BBQ
324 S. Hill Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
http://www.horsethiefbbq.com/

The Judge Has Ruled...Deliciousness!

Greetings my Dear Readers!

This past week, I somehow managed to be called to report for jury duty for the second year in a row. Not only was I called, but I was selected to be on a jury again.

Despite this, I was not disappointed for the fact that now I had the ability to wander the downtown streets, while everything was open, in order to have sandwiches for you all to read about.

One of my favorite places to wander into downtown near the courthouses is Grand Central Market. Knowing that I may only be downtown for a day or two, I took my time selecting a place to eat among all of the attractive vendors.

The tacos in this places are amazing. But let's not discuss that here.

I stopped by a newly opened stall called La Mamma's Burgers which looked exactly like an old lunchroom counter, completer with swirling stools.

The burgers here are straightforward options of beef or turkey, but are fully customize-able with different cheeses, sauces and vegetables.

I went for a basic turkey burger with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and jalapenos.

Oh, and garlic fries. With huge chunks of garlic. Those were damn good.

The burger patty was delicious. Cooked to medium, full of flavor, and maybe just a bit greasy.

The vegetables were also fresh and crispy, adding a needed crunch to the sandwich. The main problem here was the bun. With the grease of the burger, it was not able to fully stay together through until the end.

But as always with a great lunch counter, the waitstaff and cooks were entertaining, and fun to talk with on my break from jury duty. It was nice to sit down and not have to hear testimony for five minutes.

Definitely give it a shot when you're downtown during the week.

So, one week down of my jury duty blogs, and one more entry to go on my week downtown for jury duty.  Then I will begin a series of blogs detailing sandwich shops in Burbank that I've started with Bryan Mahoney of The Burbank Leader. Make sure you follow him on Twitter (@818NewGuy) as well as myself (@danger_sandwich).

Until next week...


Turkey Burger w/ Cheese
3 1/2 Stars
La Mamma Burgers
Grand Central Market
317 South Broadway,
Los Angeles, CA