Dine LA: Johnny Rebs

Taking a break from the wedding posts to bring you some Southern gluttony in da LBC

Thanks to Dine LA, we were able to try out Johnny Rebs in Long Beach. I had never heard of the restaurant until I saw it on the website.

I know it's probably not authentic but it's one of the best sweet teas that I've ever had. Other places use so much sugar it becomes syrup juice and you can't taste the tea at all. This version was not too cloyingly sweet but still very refreshing. We liked it so much we're going to order gallons of it for our cocktail reception.

Fried green tomatoes. I have heard of these but had never tried it. I'm definitely a fan! Can't wait to order it at the next place that has it.

Jerry had the full rack of baby back ribs, fries, cajun rice and corn bread. Ribs were decent, cornbread too dry, and cajun rice was yummy.

I had brisket (too dry, but I'm spoiled by Jer's brisket), hot links (spicy!), bbq baked beans (average), corn bread and sweet potato fries (they were $2 to upgrade from regular fries- well worth it). This is why America is fat.

For dessert we all chose diff things- this was apple cobbler. The crust was so yummy, dusted in cinnamon sugar.

My key lime pie. It was alright. Prolly not the best there is, but good enough for my newbie Southern palate. :) My favorite dessert was the pecan pie but no picture of it. We also tried the peach cobbler. Good, but doesn't beat the Cobbler Lady!

There was so much food that I was able to use the leftover meat to pack 5 lunches for us (total not each). I make rice ahead of time, portion them into glass pyrexes, and then I add whatever prepared/leftover protein/veggies we have lying around. I've been making a habit of spending an hour or two on the weekend to make all our lunches for the week- that way before work we just grab and go. So it's easier on wknds when we go out to eat, b/c then I just repack the dinner as lunches.

I think the food was just okay, although some things stood out. Even though it was kind of pricey ($63 for the two of us) the fact that we were able to spread it over 2 dinners, 5 lunches, and one late night snacking session (while I was packing the lunches we got hungry and decided to eat what was leftover haha) made it worth going. If I ever were to come back, it'd be for the sweet potato fries (although you can't really mess it up, can you?), cajun rice, pecan pie, and refills of the sweet tea.

Johnny Rebs

4663 Long Beach Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90805

(562) 423-7327

www.johnnyrebs.com

Anyone else try out a Dine LA restaurant? I had a friend that went to 6 of them! Yikes!

Goldilocks Venue Hunt part 2

In addition to visiting sites such as the Torrance Cultural Arts Center and the Lindley Scott House, we thought we'd stop by some Chinese restaurants in SGV. I already mentioned how I felt about Chinese restaurant decor, but I was quite surprised to see some of the overly Chinesey decor be toned down quite a bit from what I remember as a kid. Though we mainly wanted to get pricing and menus (to compare with Chinese caterers) the more modern decor gave me some second thoughts about being more open minded. We visited 888 and New Catipal ahem I mean New Capital (when are they ever going to fix their sign!?).

(actually taken in Feb 2008, as of Aug 2009, sign not yet changed)

Finally, the last place of the day that we went to was Almansor Park in Alhambra. I had forgotten about this place until my mom reminded me. On our way to dinner with my parents, we stopped by and barely just made it before they closed for the day. We got the sales pitch blah blah. Weddings take place at Almansor Court. There are 3 ceremony time options. Here's the kind of food you can get for your reception (but Chinese food only on Sundays). You get x number of chairs. Blah blah blah.

But why had I forgotten about this place?
While I don't remember every single one of the nice weddings that I've been to, I sure remember the bad ones! Maybe about 10 years ago, I attended a family friend's wedding at Almansor Court with my mom. It was our first time eating non Asian food at an Asian wedding. And it was terrible. We left hungry. Now, don't you HATE leaving weddings hungry? I feel the same way now as I did 10 years ago. Now, I know a lot has changed in 10 years, but there was no way I was going to find out by using my wedding as a guinea pig! :P

Since Almansor Court offers 3 different times for the ceremony, we toyed with the idea of doing a ceremony only there, and then having everyone make the short drive to a nearby restaurant b/c of the abundance of Chinese restaurants in the area (besides 888 and New Catipal, there's also Elite, NBC, Lunaisa (formerly Triumphal Palace), Ocean Star, Empress Harbour, Empress Pavilion (not quite SGV, but Chinatown is a hop and a skip away). Mission 261 was out of the picture b/c they are closed for renovations through 2010. (One of my bridesmaids (hi Susan!) got married there, food is delish)

Almansor Court + fobby Chinese restaurant would have been a nice idea if...
1. The ceremony grass wasn't astroturf (didn't rub Jer the right way)
2. The lake behind the ceremony site wasn't full of trash and algae (although they promised that it was temporary and they were going to drain/clean/refill with water)
3. It wasn't so expensive for a freaking 2 hour dealy (and they didn't even provide much)
4. We had felt right about it

So back to the drawing board we went...

Luckily we only had to wait 18 more hours.

2009 TV

TV is one of those things that can be highly useful but also a big fat waste of time.

Useful:
I increase my knowledge of pop culture (mundane and unintelligent as pop culture can be, it's needed in our society to communicate with others)
It makes me hungry (Top Chef), gives me sparks of creativity (Project Runway), and increases my thirst for travel (Amazing Race).
It gives me something to read about on the internet the next day (twop, tvsquad)
It is plain entertaining (Glee, HIMYM)
Some TV shows have nice eye candy (Demitri (FF), Pacey aka Peter (Fringe), the doctor from Survivor, Voltaggio brothers on Top Chef, etc)

Big fat waste of time:
I already spend too much time on the internet
I feel really numb and dumb if I spend the entire night watching TV
More but I'm lazy to write it out

I present to you the shows that have been clogging up the DVR and killing my brain cells:
Monday: How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl, Big Bang Theory
Tuesday: Hell's Kitchen (at least it finally ended!), The Good Wife, The Hills, The City, Deadliest Catch (will start up again soon)
Wednesday: Glee, Top Chef, Modern Family
Thursday: Flash Forward, The Office, Fringe, Grey's Anatomy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Project Runway
Friday: Numb3rs
Saturday: Usually reruns of Say Yes to the Dress
Sunday: The Amazing Race
There are probably more but I don't remember.

Luckily some shows are re-running already thanks to baseball so I'll be able to catch up on them in the next few weeks. I pretty much will watch one or two shows the night they air and the rest I catch up on weekends or re-run/bye nights.

What are your must-watch shows? Does anyone feel the same way that I do?

Goldilocks Venue Hunt part 1

This is how the wedding venue hunt started:
"It's too expensive."
"It's too far."
"It's too small."
"It's too big."
"It's not us."
"It's too ghetto."
"It's too fancy."
"It's too 1800s."
(Btw, why isn't there ever an "It's too cheap?")

With stacks of books and magazines, a whole folder of bookmarked websites (which I had been compiling before I met Jer lol), and this AMAZING spreadsheet courtesy of Brandon from Mission Impossible: Budget Wedding in LA, we set out to find our just right venue.

Note: Don't go venue hunting on a hot day. Or when gas is expensive.

The first place we checked out was the Torrance Cultural Arts Center. It sounded nice in the description but when we went to visit it was just okay. I didn't get the vibe.

The reception area. Felt like a more fancy MPR. Which it is.

One of the choices for ceremonies. Not digging the high school campus vibe.

The next place was the Lindley Scott House in Azusa. It had the distinction of not being noticeable from the main road (can be a good thing, but also bad b/c we completely missed it and had to backtrack), but yet, it was flanked by another road that had noticeable car traffic noise.

Behind that ledge in the back is a popular road that feeds to a main road.

I'm not a fan of gazebos personally, but they do make for nice pictures. I have seen very nice wedding photography done at LS House.

The reception place was okay, but I didn't like that we had to use their caterer. Who had a very strict menu. You all know how I feel about Chinese food.

The outside is nice, the inside is very vintage, but not my style. I'm not a fan of old style wallpapering. That aesthetic works for other brides, but not me. Moving on...

Stay tuned for part 2!

Voluntary versus Have-To

This topic comes up when Jer and I have random conversations- how people treat their volunteerism of their own time as have-tos.

For example, blogging. Unless you do it for a living (dooce, pioneer woman) and you make your sole income off revenue from the site, why should you apologize to readers for not blogging? You don't owe the public anything. Why should there be expectations that you must blog x amt? Sometimes I feel this way though. In my mind there are tons of topics that I'd like to talk about, but I never get around to it. It becomes part of my real to-do list...but why should it be real? I blog b/c I want to, not because I feel obligated to my readers out there that I have to. So, I shouldn't feel like I have to blog, and if I don't, I shouldn't feel guilty for not doing so. But I like to blog so I'll keep doing it...albeit sporadically and un-apologetically. Am I making any sense? Probably not. But my stupid internal alarm clock woke me up way too early on a Sunday morning. *Yawn*

Another example- meetup.com. I joined a cooking/eating group, but I've yet to go to events b/c I've been busy, or the RSVPs fill up before I'm able to commit. So I have never met any of the organizers, and while I'm sure they are nice people, anal much?

(verbatim from email)
RSVP: Please do not RSVP “yes” unless you are certain you can attend. A few members of our group seem to RSVP “yes” or “maybe” for just about every event, but I/we have yet to meet them because they invariably pull out for one reason or another closer to the event date. In fact, their withdrawal has become predictable. Please use common sense and common courtesy. If you are unsure whether you can commit to the event, do not RSVP. But if you definitely can commit, please specify what chocolate dish you plan to bring.

WHAT TO BRING: Please bring enough food for ALL participants. That means if there are 8 participants, you should bring enough food for all 8 people. In other words, a skimpy dish that serves only 1-2 people will not suffice. Since we cannot possibly eat all the fabulous chocolate desserts in one sitting, participants should also bring containers (e.g., Tupperware); this way, participants have ready containers to store and take home various chocolate desserts.

GUESTS: Participant guests are usually not permitted for two reasons: 1) lack of space; and 2) the problem with free-riders, who are people who consume services or products (in this case, they consume food and drinks) without contributing anything in return.

No Shows and Last-Minute Cancellations: A Three-Strikes Policy:

With these meet-up events--and it is not exclusive to the South Bay + Long Beach Cooking Meet-Up--there is a curious tendency for people to pull out of events without considering how their non-participation, non-action, and non-communication affect others. Pulling out of an event at the last minute or failing to give the event organizer timely notice of non-participation is most ungracious. The event organizers spend a great deal of time and effort into organizing the events, and some may travel quite a distance to organize events. Please be courteous to all the event organizers and to your fellow meetup participants.

In order to minimize the no-shows and last-minute cancellations, I will keep track of the no-shows and who pulled out of the event at the last minute. For THIS event, last minute means 5 days or less. This is because all participants need an accurate head count in order to be able to assess the amount of ingredients they need to purchase for their potluck dish. An "X" will be denoted next to a member who completely flaked or who withdrew from the event within the 5-day timeframe. An X signifies a "strike" (not a smooch), and upon the third strike, the member promptly will be removed from the group.
(the email is much longer but I only c&p-ed the whiny parts)

The thing is, being an organizer in meetup is voluntary. No one is holding a gun to your head forcing you to do it. If you don't like the way people act, don't do it. If you have to come from soooooo far to organize an event and it's such a burden to you, don't do it. If it's such hard work and effort that you feel like people aren't appreciating it, don't do it. Organize things with your own friends. But don't go all Nazi on strangers- makes me feel like I don't want to participate in events with a bunch of uptight people. Instead of sending out a verbal berating of how to not be a flake, or the punishment for being a flake, they should just take Jer's suggestion: request a security deposit for events. When people show up, give them their money back. If they no-show, use the money to offset the cost of the event. But maybe I should give it a try before I knock it. The tone of the email just gives me a really bad vibe though. Or maybe b/c it's way too early on a Sunday morning and I'm grumpy b/c I can't sleep in.

Love at First Slurp- JTYH Restaurant

What does JTYH stand for? No one knows. But if the owners are going to stick with the acronym-that-doesn't-make-sense theme, how about L@FS, or Love at First Slurp? For now, I remember it by "Just the Young Hos, courtesy of Louise at LA Food Blogging.


Celery appetizer. Crunchy, flavorful. What a great way to get my daily doses of veggies.


The dumplings are plump and juicy. They sell a bag of 50 frozen ones for about $15. I would have bought some but our freezer is completely full to capacity. I need a second fridge.


The star of the restaurant- Niu Rou Mian (beef noodle). This is the real deal- knife shaved noodles, flavorful broth and beef so tender it melts in your mouth. I wanted to lick the bowl when I was done. Oh wait, I did.

JTYH Restaurant
9425 Valley Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 442-8999

And yes, Jonathon Gold has eaten here.

Ord Noodle

It's places like Ord Noodle in Thai Town that makes me wish it didn't take me 4 freeways to get there. Granted, I'm only on the 405 for about a minute before I transition to 105. But sympathize with me for a moment.


It's a good sign when the majority of patrons are Thai. Natalee Thai, your customers are white. Take note.


Quite possibly one of the most memorable first bites I've ever had. Succulent yet crispy pork accompanied by fragrant basil and perfectly fried green beans.


The broth had a deep richness to it and the portion included plenty of duck. Now that's how you serve a duck noodle soup.

Ord Noodle
5401 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 468-9302

I want go to back already. Like last week.

Throw/Sink/Hug Pillows

Our sofa has been in need of pillows- specifically, or unspecifically, the kind that can be thrown around, sunk into, or hugged to the chest when in need of comfort or during a scary movie. And the kind that accompanies a nap on the couch.


Pillows, IKEA for $2.99 ea. Fabric, $2/lb at Michael Levine loft (across the street from the actual Michael Levine store)


Fabric with lines in the design makes hemming so much easier


Just a peek through


I pretty much freehanded this. I roughly measured how big the pillow was, allowed a couple inches for the puffiness and then hemmed the shorter edges. I folded over edges and sewed the sides.


I had less pink fabric than blue fabric, so the overlap is not as deep as I would have liked.


You can tell what a difference it was here. I also made a boo-boo on the blue one and put the longer flap on the outside. But I was too lazy to rip off my seams, and they're just pillows. No one will notice except for me.

I deliberately made it easy to take the pillows out so we could wash the cases every once in a while. I forgot to preshrink the fabric so we may have to air dry them.

They have made TV watching more coma-inducing than ever.

Wedding Catering Part 1

Memories of weddings past have always conjured up images of good, hearty Chinese food. I've been to dozens of weddings and nearly all of them have at a Chinese restaurant. That's all I've really ever known, and I knew that that's what I wanted. But I also wanted an outdoor reception- dragons on red velvet walls didn't quite do it for me. Although as kids I do have great memories of hanging out with my cousins at the fish and lobster tank during the boring parts of the wedding. Anyways...

When we first started planning this shindig, we had no idea if Chinese food could be served outdoors. I mean, how is a real Chinese chef supposed to operate away from his 100,000+ btu stove and his woks??

So we set out to google every single combination of the terms "catered" "chinese" "10 course meal" "wedding" "chowhound" etc in every search engine of Google, theknot, weddingbee, project wedding, etc, and we came up with a few hits.

1. Furiwa
2. Grace Catering
3. Pearl Catering

Furiwa didn't have an updated website, but quite a few people had reviewed about it here, here, here, and here.

I thought that Grace Catering was funny in that they are also known as Hotel Banquet and Dragon Catering. There is another domain that he bought but I forgot the name. The reviews were not as extensive, but I did find some stuff here and here.

Finally I didn't find much on Pearl Catering. Their menu was in Chinese but all my friends and I seemed to have forgotten how to read despite years, nay, decades, of Chinese school.

Even though most of the reviews indicated that it would be possible to cater a 10 course chinese meal off site, Jerry and I knew that we had to at least taste the food in order to be sure. Luckily, I found out about a tasting that Hotel Banquet was holding. And off we went.


We were kinda taken aback by this store front.


It was a busy tasting! All you need to reserve a seat for the tasting is to send in a refundable check for 100 bucks. At the tasting, he promptly gave us back the check. The bride and groom are free, and each additional person is $40.


Jerry thought it was good...I thought it was just okay. But maybe b/c this is one of my favorite dishes and I have higher expectations.


I liked it! Jerry had a minor complaint...but I forgot what it was. Oh yeah, too much cilantro. Well, I love cilantro. Haha.


Exceeded our expectations for fried food.


Very good and acceptable. I would have liked just a touch more mayo.


Way too garlicky, but then again I'm not a garlic person (do you see those whole cloves?!). The beef was very tender though!


Tasty! Real abalone!


FAIL. This dish was just made of fail. I have never ever seen cherry tomatoes at a chinese restaurant. I dunno what went wrong here.


Nicely seasoned and great presentation.


Fine with me. Jerry is the fried rice expert so he thought it was good enough.


It's nicer than the sliced oranges, but I didn't really care either way.


Nothing special (it's not included anyway)


We were the only couple who took notes. We like to be prepared :)

Afterwards we were sooooooo full. Like, tummy hurts full. But it was a really good experience to have. We both agreed that while some dishes needed help, for the most part we couldn't go wrong with Grace Catering if that was our only option for off site Chinese catering. But before we made any decisions, we still had another catering consultation to attend. Stay tuned for the next post!

Free Friday

I took today off to run some errands. It was my first free Friday since April and while I didn't get to relax, I got a huge sense of accomplishment.

Our original plan was:

1. Wait for cable guy to come
2. Do house deed stuff for my mom in Norwalk
3. Visit Clarke Estate to get some ideas
4. Sign our catering contract in GG
5. Ring stuff in Irvine
6. Meet with potential photog in SD

We only managed 4 out of 6, so now:

1. We have DVR (renter took the tivo with him)
2. I have 50% interest in my mom's house (it's weird that I own half a house now). I am well versed on how to transfer and record a deed. More on that next time.
3. My ring fits me so much better- I had it resized from 4.75 to 5. We also had this one wonky diamond in my halo setting fixed.
4. We put down a deposit on a photographer. But not the one in SD...more on that to come later. Yes, I know we drove 2 hours each way to meet with someone for 45 min, only to not hire them.

On Sunday we'll be checking out Clarke Estate and then signing our catering contract, and on Monday I'll be putting a deposit on the hair and make up team...so that should be it vendor wise!

...Until it's time to find an officiant and videographer (if we go that route).

I am going to snuggle in bed with some magazines now. Manhattan Beach 10k tomorrow.