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Food Inspired Art from a Legend... Nicer TATS Cru

Ok so this isnt about Food, but ya can't lie and say it isnt DOPE.

Much Respect to King Nicer & the entire TATS Cru, hands down the OG Mural Kings.

The National Food Holidays of September 2013

September is the month where many people begin to realize they haven’t spent enough time focusing on what needs to be done to prepare for the hectic last few months of the year that lie ahead. Yes indeed, many of us worked hard on our Summertime bodies so that we could “turn up” by the pool or at the beach (please let the term Turn Up disappear next year) but what the major holidays that now sit right around the corner that consume some of us for weeks ahead of time, putting menus together and figuring out who is going to have the best feast to partake in.

The decorations for Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas are in full force at just about every store you walk into and then before know it, its New Years and the routine starts all over again. This year we vowed to take a stand against the mundane routines that we fall victim too and are going about things a bit differently around these parts. Stay tuned to the site and see just how we spruce up the next few major holidays, The Supreme Plate style.

September is:

National Biscuit Month

                        Better Breakfast Month

National Chicken Month           

                        National Cholesterol Education Month

                        National Honey Month

                        National Organic Harvest Month

                        National Papaya Month

                        National Rice Month

The 1^st week of September is National Waffle Week

The 2^nd week of September is National Biscuit & Gravy Week

The 2^nd week of September is National Vegetarian Awareness Week

The 4^th week of September is National Wild Rice Week

September 1 National Cherry Popover Day

September 1 Wine Season Begins

September 1 Oyster Season Begins

September 2 National Blueberry Popsicle Day

September 3 National Welsh Rarebit Day

September 4 National Macadamia Nut Day

September 5 National Cheese Pizza Day

September 6 National Coffee Ice Cream Day

September 7 National Acorn Squash Day

September 8 National Date Nut Bread Day

September 9 Weinerschnitzel Day

September 10 TV Dinner Day

September 11 National Hot Cross Bun Day

September 12 National Chocolate Milkshake Day

September 13 National Peanut Day

September 13 National Pickle at Snack Time

September 14 National Cream Filled Donut Day

September 14 National Eat A Hoagie Day

September 15 National Linguini Day

September 16 National Guacamole Day

September 17 National Apple Dumpling Day

September 18 National Cheeseburger Day

September 19 National Butterscotch Pudding Day

September 20 National Rum Punch Day

September 21 National Banana Festival

September 21 National Pecan Cookie Day

September 22 National Ice Cream Cone Day

September 23 National White Chocolate Day

September 24 National Cherries Jubilee Day

September 25 National Food Service Employees Day

September 25 Crab Meat Newburg Day

September 26 National Pancake Day

September 27 National Chocolate Milk Day

September 27 National Corned Beef Hash Day

September 28 Strawberry Cream Pie Day

September 28 Drink Beer Day

September 29 National Coffee Day

September 30 National Hot Mulled Cider Day

Fly Food Art Part Fifty-Eleven

Happy National Donuts Day - JAYLIB - Red (Video)

Strip House at Planet Hollywood: A Steak House & Bar Worthy of Vegas Sized Accolades

Nothing is wrong with eating, drinking and enjoying the fruits of your hard labor. Celebrating a noteworthy highlight in life is sometimes all that you need to put you on the right course of action. Sometimes eating at an establishment you really love can be a double-edged sword. Having so many things on the menu that you truly wouldn't mind indulging yourself with can leave you feeling as if you’re in dire need of a nap, which may ruin the remainder of the evening for all parties involved.

Hence why it is sometimes imperative to take a different approach to dining at many of the latest and greatest restaurants that can be found just about everywhere you look. True, in a large number of restaurants frequented by the masses the more is more approach is appreciated. With many Chefs reaching deep into their culinary bag of tricks, sometimes the over abundance of combining great flavors can become too much to handle for anyone looking to continue on with their evening after eating. 

Recipes To Get Your Mind Right: Mixed Drink Recipes from the Great Googa Mooga, in Brooklyn

Last weekend, New Yorkers relished the opportunity to take in the best the city had to offer in the way of music, food & drinks at the annual Googa Mooga festival in Brooklyn.  Despite a rainy backdrop, thousands of adults packed Prospect Park to listen to the likes of Matt & Kim and The Flaming Lips while sipping on some top-notch cocktails made by a few premier NYC mixologists.

Knowing that our readers love strong drinks, one of our good friends shot us a few recipes they had booming in their booth at the event. With names like Quiet Storm & One More Chance, yeah the groups performing might have been a bit on the rock side, but the drinks sounded all Hip Hop. Over all the 3 day event saw over 50 food vendors and 75 beer and alcohol manufacturers do their thing for the lovely people of BK. Heavyweights from the big East Coast in the form of food and drink on hand serving up everything from duck sausage to grilled Maine lobster and Guiness stout brownies to fois gras doughnuts, this years food line up was something to behold.

Check out these drink recipes for new ways to kick up your next back yard function, picnic or whatever you choose to call it.

Enjoy Responsibly.

Uncle Buck

Ingredients:

1 ¼ oz Tequila Don Julio Blanco

¾ oz Pineapple Juice

½ oz Fresh Lime Juice

1/3 oz Ginger Syrup

1 tsp Green Chartreuse

Directions:

Combine Don Julio Blanco, pineapple juice, fresh lime juice, ginger syrup and green chartreuse in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

Shake well

Strain contents into Collins cocktail glass over fresh ice.

Quiet Storm

Ingredients:

1 oz Bulleit Bourbon

¾ ounce lemon juice

1 oz extra dry vermouth

¼ oz simple syurp

Top with ginger beer

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing tin

Strain contents into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

Garnish with 1 mint sprig and lemon

One More Chance

Ingredients:

1 ¼ oz George Dickel Rye

¼ oz Gran Classico bitters

¼ oz maple syrup

¾ oz lemon juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing tin

Strain contents into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

Garnish with 1 orange half wheel

Finding Heaven in the City of Sin: Ferraro's Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar, Las Vegas

Moments shared over an astounding meal seem to provide memories that can last a lifetime. First dates much like a perfectly prepared meal should be savored, flowing smoothly from start to finish without any distractions. A first date or an important business meeting can quickly turn sour, should some unscrupulous food make its way into the mix. Be honest with yourself, not too many things can compare to sitting in an intimate location, looking into the eyes of someone you find yourself hopelessly falling for, eating bite after delicious bite of handmade old-world gourmet faire.

World renowned for its never ending, over the top excesses in all categories of life, the Las Vegas Strip draws foodies, thrill seekers, gamblers and lovers in by the millions annually.  And what better way to keep your guests stuck at the gambling tables than by stuffing them with delicacies created by big name celebrity Chefs? The problem with many of the new eateries helmed by these über Chefs becomes not only getting a reservation but, eating creations that resemble outer space creatures instead of delicious food. Not to say pushing the culinary envelope isn’t needed in this day and age, we strongly believe that taking things to the next level will help elevate everyone’s palates. But what about those nights when you want a dish that was created a few hundred years ago and can only be found in select regions further away than you’re willing to travel? In steps a place like Ferraro’s, an Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar that hands down has everyone beat on the strip when it comes to dishing out authentic Italian cuisine.

Buttermilk Biscuits w/ Guava Jelly

When you wake up in the morning and you start to yawn… that means it is time to make some breakfast and get yourself ready for the day. With breakfast comes the needed energy and nutrition to help power through the day until your next big meal. That is unless you are making breakfast in bed for either yourself or someone else and if that is the case, well then you need to check out these buttermilk biscuits that will surely set the day off on the right foot.

Light and fluffy, not dense and dry is our theory when it comes to making biscuits and this simple, tried and true recipe produces just what the Doctor ordered when it comes to having a little something, something to sop up your morning gravy with.

Remember to not over work the dough when rolling it out, or that will surely result in dry, heavy, disgusting biscuits.

After the biscuits come out of the oven, we like to slice em open with a fork (that helps to create nooks and crannies) and slather a bit of Guava Jelly & Butter inside to help give the rest of the meal some extra kick.

Enjoy!

(click Read More for the Entire Recipe)

Student Walkout at Culinary Institute of America

The Culinary Institute of America. [Photo: CIA / Facebook]

(Paula Forbes & Eater.com recently ran this piece which is direct evidence that no matter what you do, always question what you are being told, especially when it involves your future and your bank account.)

Students at the Culinary Institute of America staged a walkout protest yesterday, with about a fifth of the school's attendees demonstrating. According to the New York Times, they were protesting "a weakening enforcement of educational standards," including perceived lowered standards for admittance and graduation as well as rapid expansion. Students at the protest wore nametags declaring the amount of debt they had accrued going to the CIA; one student who spoke to the Times owes $87,500.

But are academic standards weakening? According to the school's provost, admissions standards, at least, are actually going up. The president of the student government told the Times he finds the protest "childish."

This is not the first time the spirit of revolution has seized the students at the CIA. Back in 2008, students demonstrated against CIA president Tim Ryan, complaining that the school's relationship with corporate food led to students learning institutionalized food preparations and lowered academic standards overall.

Students involved in the protest yesterday told the Times they were trying to preserve the reputation of the school, in order to protect their investment in their education. But is culinary school even worth the massive debt, regardless of academic standards? Eh, people have mixed feelings about that.

*The Supreme Plate - Editors Note: As a former graduate from a major Culinary institution here in the United States, who upon graduation was also handed an outlandish bill for my less than 2 years on campus I understand where these students are coming from. The interest in being a Chef or working in the food industry has blown up beyond what anyone could have predicted, especially those currently working in the field. The problem that Culinary many students are facing (i.e. tuition and the taxation that is applied via Sallie Mae & other lenders, the inability to find a good job after graduation and more) is something that most college graduates are forced to deal with upon completing their “program” of choice. You will hear the usual gripes of “I am now a Chef, I deserve to be making $65,000 a year and running a restaurant by now” or my favorite so far “I really didn’t learn anything that I didn’t already know” but the most alarming of them all is “I have graduated and now I really don’t want to go work in a kitchen” or I just simply refuse to pay dues. What it all boils down too, is the frightening fact that we truly live in a day and age of instant gratification. The majority of the students attending Culinary schools across America are very young in age (18-22) and have no clue what they want to be in life so they jumped at a choice to attend a college aimed at making them the most popular thing to be on TV these days, a Chef. I was speaking with a Chef Instructor of mine recently who had left his position at Le Cordon Bleu and had gone back to working in a restaurant. He was telling me that yes he loved the light hours he worked while being a teacher but that the overall lack of desire and the over crowding of the classes (which can directly be attributed too greed and the overall goal of making money,) drove him right out of a job he truly loved performing day in and out. The commercials make it seem as if you go to school, graduate and become a celebrity overnight, which is far from the truth. As in any career the desire to perform the necessary tasks to help you achieve your goals must be present and with today’s students having little to no desire to hustle up a career, it is frightening to think of who will be manning the helm at our favorite eateries over the next decade or so. I applaud the students who took the risk of walking out of class to prove their point, that in itself could have been grounds for dismissal at an institute as prestigious as CIA, but must ask this question did you truly not listen to what the enrolling agent was telling you about the completion rates, final costs and added interests to your loans would be & finally did you not think to ask around from previous graduates as to what they experienced upon completing such an expensive program?   

The 11th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational 2k13 (What Better Way To Spend 4/20?)

What better way to celebrate the unofficial National holiday that has become 4/20 than by hanging out with friends, enjoying quality crafted libations & beers and grubbing on some of the finest Grilled Cheese Sammich’s you may ever experience in your entire life?

The 11th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational is happening on April 20th, 2013 at Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown Los Angeles and will be the biggest, cheesiest, MOST imperial delight to ever land on the toasted, melted shores of Los Angeles.

NOWHERE will you find more hot cheesy goodness than at the GCI, with vendors such as The Grilled Cheese Truck, Heywood Grilled Cheese, The Counter, Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese, The Oaks Gourmet, Melt It, Elbows Mac & Cheese, Cheesy Amigos, Dogtown Dogs & many more, you’ll be able to pack your belly until your ready to burst with hot cheesy goodness!

Plus, there’s music!  The infamous RICHARD CHEESE AND LOUNGE AGAINST THE MACHINE will be playing the GCI at 12:30pm!  ALL THIS CHEESE will definitely turn it up to 11!

There’s cooking demos, costume contests, poetry contests, cheese calling contests, music, food, beer, glory, glory and MORE glory!

What? You haven’t bought tickets yet! Well not to worry.

Tickets are on sale now! Even though they have reached capacity for official judges for 2013, don’t you worry because you can still vote in the People’s Choice awards by purchasing as many hot and fresh grilled cheese sandwiches from the vendors that space and time will allow.

The Sponsors this year are totally the best people EVER!

The 11th Annual GCI is presented by The Grilled Cheese Truck, the most followed food truck in the world and creator of the infamous “Cheesy Mac & Rib,” a powerhouse sandwich with Sharp Cheddar Cheese, House-smoked BBQ Pork, Southern-style Macaroni & Cheese and Caramelized Onions on French Bread.  

At the event, you can participate in their “MotherLoaded Eating contest, which takes place at 4:20pm. 

Enter the contest here!

GCI’s exclusive cheese sponsor, CABOT CREAMERY, has teamed up with bread sponsor La Brea Bakery and will be providing samples of grilled cheese made from award-winning cheddar and other delicious cheeses. Also on hand will be free samples from Boulder Canyon potato chips, Kruegermann Pickles and Jarritos soda pops!

Visit the fundraiser Beer Garden curated courtesy of Beer Belly to get tastes from New Belgium Brewing, Lagunitas Brewing, Sierra Nevada and more.

Proceeds from the beer garden benefit the Rotary Club of Los Angeles.

The GCi committee has pulled out all the stops for the event this year and it should be one for the record books. 

On 4/20, there’s only one place to be and that’s at the 11th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational!

Places to Eat at Coachella 2013

Palm Springs is world renowned for its leisurely activities. Whether in town for a weekend at one of the many luxurious spas, a few rounds of golf or taking some time to act a fool with a few friends at Coachella, Palm Springs is an out of the way gem amongst the many places to find a bit of peace and tranquility in California. With Coachella just a few days away, now is the time to put together a game plan for where you will want to eat after a few live shows, some good ol’ fashioned pushing and shoving to move through the crowds and of course some over priced drinks.

The food court is going to be amazing this year with heavyweights such as Ruths Chris, The Lime Truck, Clover Juice, Spicy Pie, Epic Burritos and our favorite Pink’s Hotdogs providing food for the masses (should you have access to the areas they may be located in.) That being said, when the lines are too long and you just can’t seem to see waiting any longer, check out a few of the great restaurants located below, because thanks to our good friends over at Eater, a list has been compiled of the local haunts you may want to check out when it comes time to refuel and escape the hipster madness.

To everyone who will be attending Coachella this weekend and the following weekend, be safe there will be a tremendous amount of police on the scene so be discrete with your methods of tom foolery and once again stay hydrated.

Rooftop Cocktails with a Beautiful Summertime View (WP24 @ The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles)

The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles announces the return of its rooftop cocktail garden, with new produce, herbs and seasonal fruits, now blooming at the Downtown Los Angeles hotel. Surrounding the hotel’s 26th floor BLUE pool deck, the cocktail garden’s fruits, herbs and flowers are expertly combined with premium liquors in the second season of the hotel’s signature garden-to-glass cocktails.

Guests will enjoy season-inspired cocktails with fresh garden bounty at WP24, Wolfgang Puck’s modern Chinese fine dining restaurant on the 24th floor of The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles and BLUE rooftop pool bar – created by Klaus Puck, Beverage Director of WP24 Restaurant and Lounge.

“The cocktail garden provides our beverage team with the inspiration for the garden-to-glass approach to mixology,” said Klaus Puck, Beverage Director of WP24 Restaurant and Lounge. “With the garden’s fragrant citrus trees and robust herbs, we have the opportunity to work with the freshest ingredients to provide our guests with a one-of-a-kind experience.”

This season’s garden cocktails include a Kalamansi Lemonade with Skyy vodka, Kalamansi lemon puree and honey-lemongrass syrup made with lemongrass from the cocktail garden, fresh lemon juice and Sprite; Rhubarb Shiso Fizz with Ketel Oranje, housemade rhubarb simple syrup and freshly picked shiso leaves and a Pinarita made with pineapple tequila, Luxardo Triplum, fresh lime juice, simply syrup and freshly picked Thai basil.

The cocktail garden boasts more than 15 varieties of fruits, herbs and plants highlighting the temperate Southern California climate including – strawberries, stevia, cilantro, fennel, lemons, limes and oranges.

 For more information check out: WP24 @ The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles

900 W Olympic Blvd  Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 743-8824

Two Degrees, Buy Their Products & Help Feed Hungry Children Worldwide

Brands built on the premise of giving back and helping the inhabitants of this world see another day, should be praised and spoken about frequently. Two Degrees, a company whose main focus is to help feed hungry children recently caught our attention at the Natural Products Expo, in Anaheim.

We took notice of Two Degrees, not because they had silly dressed characters passing out free samples, but because their mission statement was so prominently displayed. Their obvious desire to help any child who is hungry, get a square meal was felt after only a few seconds of conversation with one of their cheerful reps.

Too many companies nowadays say they are helping people who can’t seem to find a square meal no matter how hard they try, but in all actuality they are only lining their own pockets and avoiding having to pay taxes on their earnings. Two Degrees is not one of those "Culture Vulture" kind of companies.

TwoDegrees manufactures nutritious, delicious bars that are healthy, natural, and gluten free. They are consciously crafted with real fruit, nuts, seeds and heritage grains like chia, quinoa and millet.

We took a few days to snack on a couple of their bars such as the Apple Pecan, Cherry Almond & Chocolate Banana and found ourselves having bit more energy throughout the morning. A delicious snack that you can feed to your Vegan friends, that actually is involved in World affairs is a brand we respect and admire.

TwoDegrees makes it simple for their customers to do good. For every bar sold, they give a meal to a hungry child. The support from their customers allows them to fight childhood hunger both domestically and globally.

At Two Degrees, they purchase nutrient rich meals and medically formulated nutrition packs and whenever possible, these products are produced locally in the region they will be distributed - in this way, the purchase a customer makes of one Two Degrees bar also supports local economies.

Working closely with reputable companies such as Valid Nutrition, Two Degrees also helps communities begin to thrive by creating jobs for the locals and source most of their ingredients from local farmers. 

TwoDegrees provide meals to regions around the world that have been with famine by working alongside a network of non-profit partners in developing countries. Each of these organizations has dedicated distribution channels for the meals through health clinics, schools, and community groups in areas where children are suffering from chronic hunger or malnutrition. By donating one locally produced meal for each Two Degrees bar purchased, Two Degrees helps these organizations to provide needed meals to children.

To date, Two Degrees has donated regionally produced and supplied meals to children in the United States via Feeding America, Haiti, India, Kenya, Malawi and Somalia through Action Against Hunger, Akshaya Patra, IMA World Health, Partners in Health, Relief International and Valid Nutrition.