Apron Factory!

So great to see this warehouse!! Hedley and Bennett. Made-in-Los Angeles!! I am saving my cash to buy a chef shirt and an apron.

N'awlins

Thanks to a brilliant radio show called Good Food on KCRW (that I only extremely recently discovered), I heard about this market in Chinatown, Los Angeles called the Little Jewel of New Orleans. It has a kitchen, as well as a market for all of your southern cooking needs. Now YOU can go home and make red beans and rice - properly - with the right ingredients.
We were on our way out to a gallery show not too far from there, and decided to stop in for a quick meal and peruse the market to find anything that might strengthen my gumbo game (impossible!). And actually, they sold tasso! I have only used it once in my gumbo (on advice from a southern friend) and it has brought my gumbo game up a notch! Thankfully, now I/we have two sources for it in Los Angeles. In addition to many of the products I've seen in New Orleans (Zapps, Abita, chicory coffee, Camellia beans, Crystal hot sauce) they also have an old school candy aisle that's just fun!
I will return, this time with a decent sized cooler, and ingredients list so I can take a stab at more recipes from my southern cookbooks. Like bbq'd shrimp and grits, red beans and rice, maybe even something with okra!

Pinche's Tacos

I had not eaten at Pinche's Tacos in so long! But last night we were up in LA, taking care of some business, and attending an art show that my husband had some work in, so we went. It was great! I love the atmosphere. And now I want to redo my breakfast nook into a Pinche's Junior, complete with paintings of Lotería cards on the walls, statues, skeletons and skulls (check), oilcloth and pink! I really enjoyed the gringo tacos as well as an old favorite, the street corn.

There is a Pinche's located right across the street from a 10-week Baking class I'm taking. Weekly lunches here will give me the opportunity to branch out and actually try some new things! Can't wait!

Guisados

Guisados is in a sketchy area right by Dodger's Stadium. But it is no secret as I've been here a couple of times and it's always packed!

They only serve tacos (brilliant!) and the menu is on the board at the cash register. It shows you all of your taco filling options. Under each heading, like Pork for example, they list the many pork options. Even the Vegetarian section had 5 options! I also really liked the list, written on the wall in Sharpie, of all the ingredients that they use at the restaurant. I found it refreshing so that anyone with food sensitivities wouldn't have to ask. Plus it makes you aware of how delicious food can be with regular ingredients that you stock at home! Photos of this awesome-ness - next time.

Day of the Dead

at Hollywood Forever Cemetery was … pretty cool. I enjoyed seeing the altars and listening to people's traditions. I also enjoyed seeing the different ways people honored their friends and relatives who have passed on.
It was very crowded though (and this was during the daylight), that we only stayed for 2-3 hours. I think we saw enough to know that they do it right! After experiencing this tradition deep in Mexico, I knew nothing else could compare. But I was pleasantly surprise with the celebration in Los Angeles.

Many people wore painted faces and had costumes.
This was something I didn't really see in the cemeteries in Mexico.
But traditions differ from town to town, city to city

Outside the mausoleum

There were several interactive alters, this was one I really liked.
Quite simply, you write the name of your loved one on one of these sticks
and place it in the dirt. This is a way of reaching out to them,
keeping the connection between loved ones alive 

Inside the mausoleum