Conquering The Meat Mountain

Courtesy of BusinessInsider.com

Greetings, Readers!

Look, sometimes sandwich shops come up with crazy ideas that actually end up being quite interesting, innovative, and indescribably delicious.

Sometimes, it's like they set out to create Frankenstein's Monster between two slices of rye bread.

Take for example a new sandwich that was brought to my attention this week: The Meat Mountain, a new secret menu item at sandwich chain Arby's.

The Meat Mountain lives up to its title. Composed of two chicken tenders, 1.5 oz. of roast turkey, 1.5 oz. of ham, one slice of Swiss cheese, 1.5 oz. of corned beef, 1.5 oz. brisket, 1.5 oz. of Angus steak, one slice of cheddar cheese, 1.5 oz. of roast beef, and three half strips of bacon between two halves of a bun.

The sandwich is a mouthful. Literally.

I haven't tried this yet, but I have been thinking, maybe this sandwich truly is dangerous. Something that I should seriously pursue.

Not really to rate it (because I'm sure we all know about how many stars this will probably receive from me), but just so I can say I've pursues sandwiches from all sectors of dangerosity.

I mean, I did the Double Down years ago for the blog. Maybe this is the next stage in the progression.

What say you, Readers? Maybe I could tackle this to raise money for charity, or for my impending medical bills after sampling it.

And one last note, as if The Onion isn't already on point with their satire, here is an article they wrote about Arby's over two years ago.  

Until next week, Readers...

An Evening Local and Pleasant

Greetings, Readers!

If you're like me, you also like going to a great local spot, for some delicious food, conversation and atmosphere. Personally, I prefer the pub-style spots, where I feel at home and the servers know a lot about their food and their beer. 

It's a place I can feel comfortable asking my server to surprise me in regards to my beer choice. 

Recently hearing about a gastropub in Sherman Oaks called The Local Peasant, I quickly checked out the menu and their website and was thoroughly drawn to trying out dinner there. 

Upon arriving, Charlene and I were greeted by a full house. People seated at the bar watching the Dodgers game or seated at small tables lining the walls of the pub. Open windows allowed the sounds and air of Sherman Oaks enter the pub, without being intrusive.

Settling down with my first Belgian beer for the evening, we perused the menu which sounds a lot easier than it was. Every option from the appetizers to the desserts looked amazing. I decided to go a different route than I had been lately by sticking away from red meat and instead opting for the Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich. 

My problem with fried food is that in the end most of those foods leave a very distinct fried oil aftertaste. They're usually thickly covered in batter and take away from the flavor of the actual meat being fried. 

This was not the case with this sandwich. 

The light batter covering actually complemented its counterpart, keeping the juices sealed up inside while adding a secondary flavor of batter and spices with a light crunch follow through. On top of the generous cut of chicken was an heirloom tomato, red wine vinegar, lettuce and jalapeno dill spread, all offering lighter flavors than the fried chicken, creating a delicious contrast between two halves of a brioche bun. 

This well crafted and balanced sandwich is a winner from top to bottom, with contrasting textures and flavors sure to leave your mouth happy. 

Besides the sandwich though, the beer selection is phenomenal providing a number of local favorites as well as some excellent Belgian inspired offerings (my absolute favorites). For dessert, I couldn't recommend the Bread Pudding anymore if I tried. It is fantastic and will blow you away. 

So if you're looking for a great place to have a night out and enjoy some good food with a great atmosphere, make sure you stop down at The Local Peasant. 

It's one of my top picks in the Valley at the moment. 

Until next week...

The Local Peasant

14058 Ventura Blvd. 

Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

http://thelocalpeasants.com/

Brisket, Beer and Beachwood BBQ

Greetings, Readers!

As my love for beer increases over the years, I believe it's fairly obvious that I will be visiting more brewpubs and breweries that serve food in order to satiate both of my loves.

This week, and next week's post, will serve to underline that mission.

On a cool Saturday evening recently, we headed down to meet some friends for an Art Walk and dinner in Long Beach.

My prior visits to Long Beach hadn't been very detailed, and usually involved a visit to a local comic book store, so being able to take in the sights and feel of this town were a great way to spend the evening with friends. Even better, we had dinner at a spot that has been on my list for quite some time: Beachwood BBQ & Brewing.

Settling down with their fantastic Mocha Machine Porter (a dark beer with coffee and chocolate flavors), it took awhile to decide between all of the fantastic sandwiches listed on their dinner menu. After debating back and forth, I finally decided on the simplistically straightforward Brisket sandwich.

But just because I phrase it like that, don't expect that it's just plain ordinary.

The sandwich is slow cooked and served on a toasted potato roll with sweet and spicy barbecue sauce. The sandwich is filled with a healthy helping of the shredded brisket soaked in the barbecue sauce. Each bite fills your mouth with competing flavors of smoky and tangy. The meat is tender and cooked so long that it melts in your mouth with each bite. This is barbecue at nearly its finest.

The roll, didn't add too much but was a perfect vehicle for the brisket and held together until the end.

I also added Blue Cheese Grits my side, and I cannot recommend getting these more. Creamy with a little texture, and a mild blue cheese flavor, it's a great complement to the heavily flavored brisket sandwich.

The brisket, combined with delicious grits, amazing beer (besides the Mocha Machine, I tried their hop bomb IPA, Hop Ramen), and a great night out with friends in a great town make this stop at Beachwood BBQ and Brewing a must visit in the city of Long Beach.

Next week, I have a review about a great little Pub in the heart of Sherman Oaks. Until then...

Brisket Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
Beachwood BBQ and Brewing
210 E. 3rd Street
Long Beach, CA 90802

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

A New Summertime Favorite

Greetings, Readers!

As I showed last week with revisiting two places that I had eaten at and reviewed previously, there is an inherent problem with this blog: While trying to bring you all fresh new experiences and sandwiches each week, I sometimes don't get the chance to repeat at some of my favorite places.

Take for example Sweetsalt in Toluca Lake. I love this place. It's fantastic, with a great atmosphere, and it's right in the middle of a lot of great shops and stops on the main street of Toluca Lake.

So on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we headed back to this quaint lunch spot.

The previous sandwich I reviewed from them, their duck confit, is still a standout sandwich, but this time around something new caught my eye. Something I've been wanting to try for quite sometime anywhere I could find one: A lobster roll.

Stacked between two halves of a brioche bun, this sandwich is packed with thick chunks of Maine lobster, topped with cucumbers, shallot, dill, and sundried tomato aioli. The creamy smooth texture of this sandwich is punctuated with the pop of lobster chunks and the crunch of the fresh, green cucumber. The lobster is smooth without an overpowering seafood flavor, and the cucumber helps to cut through all the other flavors offering a complementary taste.

The brioche bun, with its buttery flavor, held together until the end.

Overall, this was excellent and gives me hope for the future of lobster rolls to come. So if it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon (which for the next few months here in LA it will be), drive on down to Sweetsalt, pick up a cool drink and a refreshing summer sandwich like their Lobster Roll.

Until next week, Readers...


Lobster Roll
**** Stars
Sweetsalt
10218 Riverside Drive
Toluca Lake, CA 91602

Double Dose of Deliciousness

Mo's Royale with Cheese

Greetings, Readers!

I sit here at my desk, composing this week's blog sans glasses! For those of you who did not know, I can still see fairly well without them, though reading a computer screen is mildly more difficult.

Like nose 8 inches from the screen more difficult, so I apologize for first wave typographical mistakes.

But one thing I will not be making a mistake about is the level of deliciousness provided in this week's sandwiches. 

SandwichES. Plural.

I've reviewed sandwiches from both of these places before, so this is more like a quick update. 

The first stop was Mo's in Burbank. Previously I have stopped here while sampling the best burgers of Burbank in which I thoroughly enjoyed their Menage a Trois burger. While I did want to return to that delicious offering again, I decided to switch it up with a Royale with Cheese.

The Royale is an Angus beef burger topped with tempura fried dill pickles, with cheddar cheese, Sriracha Thousand Island and crispy pancetta between two halves of a brioche bun. The pickles and Sriracha Thousand Island added great flavors of sweetness, spicy and a bit of sour pickling tastes. All were great contrasts to the mellow flavor of the medium-cooked Angus beef.

But the crispy pancetta. Wow. Little chunks of crispy-outside, chewy-inside pork not only added a delicious bacon-y flavor, but were a great textural contrast.

The only problem with this sandwich was the bun. While adding its own sweet flavor, it wasn't much to write home about. It held together until the end and did its job though. 

For the second of this week's sandwiches, I returned to Philadelphia and a small tavern called Three Monkeys. My trip back east was a brief whirlwind, but there was still time to get a sandwich and beer with my dad. 

While I previously reviewed their Caribbean Pork Sandwich, this visit was all about the daily special: A grilled cheese sandwich on Texas Toast with 5 oz. of crab meat in the middle. 

I know, fantastic. 

The garlic and butter grilled toast was delicious, added a contrasting flavor to the very mellow and smoky flavoring of the melted cheddar cheese and the crab meat, which was well seasoned and incredibly delicious. 

As far as I know, this sandwich is only a weekend special, so if you happen to be in the area on a weekend, you should definitely stop in and see if it's available. It will be well worth your time. 

Well, thank you Readers for joining me on this double dose of deliciousness this week. I hope it was enjoyable for you, and inspiring as well so that you go out and either try these exact sandwiches or something close enough. 

Until next week...

Royale with Cheese

**** Stars

Mo's Restaurant

4301 W. Riverside Dr.

Burbank CA

Crab Meat grilled Cheese

**** 1/2 Stars

Three Monkeys Cafe

9645 James Street

Philadelphia, PA

A Stroll In The Heart Downtown

Greetings, Readers! And welcome back after a self-imposed exile last week. Apologies for that, I did not mean to deprive you of sandwich goodness, so let's waste no more time and get to this week's sandwich.

While recently walking through Downtown Los Angeles I stopped in at the Artisan House at 6th and Main Streets. Half market, half restaurant this place has a great atmosphere with a beautiful interior of exposed brick and a modern look.

Settling into a seat with World Cup games playing at the bar, I ordered a Snapshot Wheat from New Belgium and looked at their sandwich menu. With a bit of deliberation, I settled on The Artisan Burger. What better choice than to go with a burger named after the place?

Served on a wooden platter, the Artisan Burger is made from grass-fed beef, topped with cheddar cheese, organic wilds baby arugula, tomato, caramelized onions with aioli and dijon mustard. The burger was delicious and juicy, while cooked to a nice pink medium. The arugula and dijon mustard added a slightly peppery spice kick to complement the smooth and delicious beef. The buttery bun held together mostly until the end and the cheddar cheese was a great choose that still pushed some flavor through all of the other tasty ingredients.

If you're looking for a great place to unwind on a Sunday afternoon with a burger, a beer, and some sports on the television without being in a place that is overly noisy, The Artisan House is a great place to head to. If you're looking for a good burger to enjoy any day of the week though, you can't go wrong with the Artisan Burger.

Until next week, Readers...

The Artisan Burger
**** Stars
Artisan House
600 S. Main Street
Los Angeles, CA