A Trip Down Sensory lane

Greetings, Readers!

Temperature have been really heating up here lately in Los Angeles, so summer has officially and finally descended upon the city. As I've said in past years, one of my favorite foods to eat and grill at this time of year is the hot dog/sausage.

While spending time at Tony's Darts Away this past weekend, enjoying a beer and sausage, I started to reminisce about all of my favorite outings since the blog began. So let's take a look back at some of my favorites from previous year.

Hit up the links below!

The Hot Dog Days of Summer

North Hollywood's Hot Dog Heaven

So Long, Summer

Pinch Me, I'm In Beer Heaven

It May Be Winter, But It's BBQ Time

Greetings, Readers!

I must admit that only a few weeks into the new year, and I've already broken some of my resolutions.

Mainly the one with trying to eat more pork.

This past week I visited a place that has been on the back of my mind ever since they went under renovations last year: Kansas City BBQ Company of North Hollywood.

Now I know you may be skeptical. How could any place in North Hollywood create BBQ as good as the city it's named after, which itself is a bastion of delicious BBQ?

Well, bear with me for a moment here, because you may be surprised.

Back to my breaking of resolutions...

When I arrived at Kansas City BBQ, I had planned to order the sliced pork sandwich and it was on the tip of my tongue when I was asked for my order, but at the last moment I ordered the sliced beef brisket sandwich (hey it's listed as one of their most popular items!).

The sandwich is impressive in size. A double-decker sandwich with three slices of standard white bread, the sliced brisket was delicious. Cooked in their barbecue sauce for twenty (yes TWENTY) hours prior, this thinly sliced meat falls apart in your mouth with each bite.

The brisket is full of smoky (from hickory wood) and spiced flavors (a secret combination of in-house spices) that just permeate your being. The white bread isn't even a factor in this sandwich really. It holds together, but its true function is just to serve as a vehicle for the brisket to be eaten.

So does it live up to the standard of true Kansas City barbecue? Well, I'm sure that if you sat down to a traditional barbecue place in that area, you'd find some pretty amazing restaurants, but honestly The Kansas City BBQ Company does an amazing job at creating delicious barbecue sandwiches far away from the area generally associated with the style of food.

For sides, definitely get some of the baked beans (full of smoky flavor and shredded beef) as well as the potato salad (a mildly spicy mustard based style). You won't be disappointed.

So Readers, I'll be wrapping up for a bit here in Los Angeles, as I will be back east next week and sandwiching in Philadelphia, New York and possibly DC. I have some ideas picked out, but if you have any suggestions, I would gladly take them.

Until next week...


Sliced Beef Brisket Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
Kansas City BBQ Company of North Hollywood
10863 Magnolia Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
http://www.thekansascitybbqcompany.com/

Federal-ly Mandated Burgers

Greetings, Readers!

I hope that in the last week you've put my burger recipe to use, or at least pondered what your own special concoction would be.

This week, I continued my summer burger run by visiting a bar/restaurant in my own neighborhood: The Federal.

Now I've visited The Federal a few times before, but only for drinks. This swank throwback-style bar on Lankershim in the NoHo arts district has become quite the hotspot since it opened.

From looking at the burger menu (and beer menu as well) it's obvious the Federal has a great selection for you to choose from. I settled on the Greco burger as I have yet to have a lamb burger for the blog.

This thick lamb patty came topped with a heathy dose of feta cheese, a handful of parsley, sliced tomato, olives and covered with tzatziki sauce.

The lamp patty was delicious. Cooked through nicely, but still thick, juicy and flavorful. The pungent feta cheese and tzatziki sauce added their contrasting flavors or pungent cheese and cucumber yogurt to the mix. In such a heavy sandwich, the refreshing cucumber tzatziki was an excellent, yet expected, addition.

Despite this burger being absolutely delicious, there were two problems that held this burger back from greatness.

The first problem was the parsley. Now the idea of adding parsley to the sandwich, I totally agree with. But in this sandwich, the stalks of the parsley were just too thick. So thick in fact that it usually took more than one bite, or gnawing, to get through them, not allowing for quick and clean bites of the burger.

The second problem was the bun: it did not hold together. I made it about two-thirds of the way through the sandwich before the bun was just in tatters. Part of it came from the fact that the sandwich is fairly large, but also that the tzatziki sauce had caused it to break down after a few bites.

Both of these problems should not deter you from trying the Greco burger, but they both had their part in holding back this burger from getting closer to five stars.

Until next week, Readers...


The Greco Burger
*** 1/2 Stars
The Federal Bar
5303 Lankershim Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 91601

Finally...Something Mildly Healthy

Greetings, Readers!

You know, sometimes sandwich places are hiding right under your nose, ad you may not even know it.

This past week I was scanning Yelp looking for more ideas for my upcoming trek with writer Bryan Mahoney when I decided to look for more sandwich shops on the main strip of the Noho Arts District.

When I happened upon Healthyca, I was surprised to find that it was one block away from my front door. Looking over the menu on their website, not only did everything sound amazing, it seemed to fit my latest need to find a sandwich that wasn't clogging my arteries.

While they do have completely vegan/vegetarian sandwiches, I was drawn to the Albacore sandwich.

Made with fresh local white tuna, tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts and purple onions. The tuna was also made using a vegan mayo.

The tune was excellent. Not too fishy, not to mayo-y, it had a very smooth flavor backed up with the earthy sprouts and fresh vegetables.


You are also able to decide which bread you would like your sandwich made with from a wheat wrap, ciabatta, wheat ciabatta or multi-grain wheat. All are excellent choices, but for this time I went with the regular ciabatta.

The bread was fresh, fluffy and did an excellent job at holding the sandwich together. While I will want to try another option next time, this was an excellent choice for my first sandwich at Healthyca.

Also, with each sandwich you are given the option to pick a side from quinoa salad, mixed greens, wild rice salad, herbed rice, and fresh fruit. I sampled both the quinoa salad and wild rice salad. Both had fresh flavors from the cucumbers mixed in, but the wild rice salad was also packed with dried cranberries which gave the salad a nice contrast of tartness.

It's great to know that this healthier option sandwich shop is so close by. Now when I've been on a deli binge (like my upcoming blog excursion), I will have a place close by enough to satisfy my sandwich needs and the need to still have a working circulatory system in 5 years.

Until next week, Readers...


P.S. - while I don't normally talk sports on this blog at all, I would like to wish the Flyers best in defeating the Penguins tonight.

Albacore Sandwich
**** Stars
Healthyca
4724 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91602
http://www.healthyca.us/

That's Amore!

Greetings, Dear Readers!

Sorry to those of you who may have shown up at the regularly scheduled time this morning to not find my new post. Your faith sandwichologist is a bit under the weather today and could not finish the post in time. 

But, enough of this pity party! On to this week's sandwich.

As you may have seen in the last few weeks, I've been trying to get to know my neighborhood a little bit better. The Noho Arts District, and adjoining Toluca Lake, are filled with numerous cafes and restaurants each with their own styles and flavors.

For this week's entry i simply crossed the street to Little Toni's, an Italian restaurant on the corner of a six-point intersection. Which is also impossible to get to without going south about 5 blocks and then crossing over.

But this isn't called the DANGER sandwich for no reason, so we ran quickly across the middle of the street to get there. 

Now, a warning for those that may not have been to this restaurant before, it can be quite a wait when the place gets packed. The times I've gone to Little Toni's, even after being seated, it's been some time since I've even seen a server.

This just gave me more time to consider which sandwich I've wanted. This time it happened to be the Meatball Sub. 

This sandwich was excellent. The meatballs were fully cooked, but moist and full of flavor and spices. The cheese was layered on above and below the meatballs, sealing in the delicious sauce (gravy for you crazy Italians). There were some points where too much mozzarella was in a mouthful, but it wasn't that much of a problem if you enjoy cheese, which I do. 

Lastly, despite all of this weight on top of a lightly toasted Italian roll, the sandwich held together very well, even with the roll soaking up some of the sauce during the sandwich. 

All in all a delicious experience, especially for someone who doesn't normally crave Italian food.

Don't forget that next week is the top 10 sandwiches of the last 100 posts. Will yours make it onto the list? Which sandwich would you put on the list if you were me?

Until next week...

Meatball Sub

**** Stars

Little Toni's

4745 Lankershim Blvd

North Hollywood, CA 91602

Who you callin' jive, turkey?

Welcome Back Dear Readers!

I hope your sandwiching this week has been most excellent.

I recently noticed that I am quickly approaching one year of sandwiching and blogging (i tried to combine these words, but every possibility seemed hopelessly clunky). Despite this, I have such a long list of suggestions of places to try, not only in Los Angeles but numerous other cities as well, and I thank you all for helping me on this road to discovering sandwich greatness with your suggestions.

This week I tried a local shop in Hollywood that is beloved by its closest followers and is quickly spreading its name among LA foodies.

While searching the internet for a new sandwich to try, I stumbled upon reviews of The Oaks Gourmet, an excellent eatery in Hollywood. Not only does it have an inspired selection of food, coffee, and drinks, but it's close enough to a few fun after dinner entertainment spots such as Upright Citizen's Brigade and my favorite coffee spot, The Bourgeois Pig.

I was drawn to The Oaks Gourmet because so many people praised the Pulled Short Rib French Onion Dip sandwich. Two of my favorite sandwiches so far, Short Rib Sandwiches and French Dip, the combination of the two had to be spectacular.

But instead of trying this out, I decided to switch it up a bit. Besides last week's Chicken Cubano, I had been eating a lot of red meat sandwiches lately, and thought that maybe I should stay away from the red meat for another week.

My doctor agreed.

So after a bout of indecisiveness, I chose the Oven Roasted Turkey & Camembert Cheese sandwich. Combining freshly cut turkey, red onions, creamy camembert cheese, baby arugula, a sherried fig and shallot aioli all combined on toasted dark honey wheat bread, this truly was an upstart young sandwich looking to make a name for itself.

The turkey was delicious. Fresh and thinly sliced, this delicious deli meat was a generous portion stacked high on the sandwich.

Something that was completely unexpected with this sandwich was the sweet taste that was so prominent. With oven roasted turkey, creamy camembert and earthy arugula, i did not expect so much sweetness to be present, but it was an excellent surprise. The sherried fig and subtly sweet honey wheat bread combine to evenly match the savory turkey and camembert.

My only problem with this sandwich was the bread. The dark honey wheat definitely added to the sweetness of the sandwich, and tasted great, but the level of toasting was sub par. It was so lightly toasted, it didn't seem toasted at all, more like the bread had been a little stale on the outside. With a slightly higher toasting level, I think this problem would be easily remedied.

This sandwich is definitely worth your time though.

Until next week, dearest readers!

Do the DANGER!


Oven Roasted Turkey and Camembert
**** Stars
The Oaks Gourmet
1915 N. Bronson Ave (Corner of Bronson and Franklin)
Los Angeles, CA 90068
theoaksgourmet.com

A late night at the corner diner...

Welcome dear readers, for another lesson in DANGER!

There is something that you should know about me before we begin today: I have a deep love of diners.

Don't begin to worry though, this love has been deemed healthy and safe by a number of medical professionals, so i'm in the clear. Thank you for your concern though.

So what is it exactly about diners that I love so much?

Is it the atmosphere? The muddy coffee? The regulars? Or is it the waitress who once asked "you need anymore coffee, doll?"

It could be a combination of all of those, but then again if that was all I talked about, this foodie blog would leave out the crucial aspect of food reviewing.

Now for anyone who has ever eaten at a diner, you know for a fact that diner food can quite often be very hit or miss (there are some notable exceptions to be had though). And so, when a good meal is found it's definitely worth being passed on to others.

Enter the Reuben at North Hollywood Diner.

I've been coming to this diner since I first interned in Los Angeles in 2005, and I've tried at least half of the items on their substantial menu, but the Reuben is something new for me this time around.

Corned Beef, Jack cheese, and a healthy dose of sauerkraut on grilled rye bread seems like an easy enough sandwich, but in my position, I also know it's something that can easily be screwed up. The wrong proportions, or badly prepared meat can lead to an unsatisfying mess in your hands.

The Reuben at the North Hollywood Diner could have been improved upon had the meat cooked a little longer. The problem with corned beef is that if you don't take your time in cooking the meat long enough, it can be quite tough and take away from the experience. The seasoning for the corned beef was great, producing a subtle tangy flavor, but every once in awhile i'd have to put my incisors to work a little more than i normally like to.

The sauerkraut was perfect: not too sour, but not too weak either. The cheese was melted until it was creamy and blended well with the healthy dose of sauerkraut.

The grilled rye bread could have spent a little more time on the grill. There was a slight crisp to it, but was still very soft in most parts. Even the butter used on the bread was still noticeable, and a sure sign it hadn't been fully cooked. If you're going to grill rye bread for your sandwich, go hard or go home, is what i always say.

Overall, if you find yourself in North Hollywood and looking for a satisfying meal, the North Hollywood Diner will certainly tend to your needs. This sandwich, though, was passable but there are plenty of other delis and diners in the area that can easily do much better.

Until next time, may the DANGER be with you.

*** Stars

North Hollywood Diner

11329 Magnolia Boulevard

North Hollywood, CA 92601