{ hot dogs done right }

To my fellow carnivores,

I have a new found love for hot dogs. But wait...I am not forgetting about the amazing hot dog carts on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood that are prepared to feed the drunkies that stagger out of the bars and clubs at 2am. There's something so satisfying about eating a bacon wrapped hot dog with grilled peppers and onions after drinking a few shots of Jameson. In Seattle, their hot dogs include the option of mayonnaise and Sriracha, but what tops the hot dog is the addition of the crunchy fries. But not all the carts add the fries, so if you're ever in downtown Seattle, make sure you ask before you order. The fries are a must-have.

But getting back to my new found love...
There's a perk about living in Venice, and yes, I will eventually write about all the food trucks of LA, but today I just want to focus on one, Dogtown Dogs.

In 2009's LA Times, Dogtown Dog was featured, introducing Mike Rosa and Ryan Bailey, the general managers at Ma'Kai in Santa Monica. Wanting to be part of the food truck movement,  they noticed the trend being set on gourmet burgers and wanted to do the same for hot dogs by "using nitrate-free, grass-fed dogs from Rocker Bros."  Did they succeed? Hell. Yes.

Their menu offers ingredients that remind you to think outside the box. They take LA's traditional bacon wrapped hot dog and add a fried egg on it. Why hasn't anyone ever thought of something so simple as a fried egg to go with your bacon? My favorite, that I like to call "fancy dog", is the California dog. An all beef hot dog with avocado, arugula, basil aioli, tomatoes, fried onions, and a lite vinaigrette.

Where can you taste this? Follow them on Twitter! Or you can usually catch them in the parking lot at The Brig on Abbot Kinney in Venice or down by the Santa Monica Pier.

{ street view of The Brig on Abbot Kinney and Palms }

When you order a hot dog, be sure to order a side of tater tots. My favorite is their chili-cheese tater tots with pico de gallo. It's not on their menu, but they'll gladly make it for you!



{ chili-cheese tater tots in the parking lot of The Brig }

 Enjoy your meal!

{ the fifth taste }

To my fellow carnivores,

Let me introduce to you a new burger that will treat your taste buds the way they deserve to be treated. Being an avid carnivore, I thought I knew what a good burger was when I tasted one. My standards must have been low if a "decent" burger was smothered in sauce and cooked a few temperatures more than what a real burger could offer me. And then I discovered Umami Burger, high on a pedestal of what a quality burger should be. 

The Japanese word, umami, is popularly referred to as savoriness, or the fifth taste. In Wikipedia, they explain the science behind it using big words like ribonucleotides and glutamates but what caught my attention and my appetite was when they described the word as a "pleasant 'brothy' or 'meaty' taste with a long lasting, mouthwatering and coating sensation over the tongue."

Amazing, right?

The concept of Umami Burger was brought to you by Adam Fleischman, a self-taught chef and food and wine entrepreneur. His burgers are considered "fine-dining fast food" where they grind their own meat, process their own cheese, and pickle their own vegetables. Their prices range from $9-$12, and at the Santa Monica location, they offer a nice selection of craft beers from Belgium, Germany, England, Japan, Canada, and Oregon. There are 5 locations in all, but two of them have their liquor license, although beer and a burger sound like the perfect couple.

{Hitachino Stout}



So what to get when you go? There's always the signature Umami Burger, their Manly Burger {beer-cheddar cheese, smoked-salt onion strings}, and my favorite, a burger so good, every bite you take falls apart in your mouth, the Truffle Burger {house-made truffle cheese and a truffle glaze }. Here, it's all about the quality, not the quantity, so get a side or two with your burger. I'll let you in on a little secret. It's not on the menu, but order their cheesy tater-tots. Large tater-tots with melted cheese in the center, served with their house-made ketchup.You will thank me later.

Alan Richman, of GQ named Umami Burger the Best Burger of the year, calling it "half beef and half beyond belief." So do yourself a favor and check out a burger that will satisfy all five taste buds.

Enjoy your meal!

{ Animal } rawr.

To my fellow carnivores,

There's a special place in my heart for the restaurant, Animal, in LA. My boyfriend knew I had a love for bacon so while researching for a location for our first date, he stumbled upon Animal. Imagine looking up the word, "bacon," on Google and Animal showing up among the results. Ah-may-zing. To this day, John and I celebrate our anniversary every 6 months as an excuse to treat ourselves to Animal.

Behind the restaurant are two chefs, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, who opened Animal in June 2008. They've taken pig to a whole new level, with dishes like pig tails, 'buffalo style," with celery and ranch, pig ears with chili, lime, and fried egg, and my favorite, barbecued pork belly sliders with slaw.

I am obsessed with pork belly and you should be too. There is something about pork belly that makes my taste buds tingle and my appetite purr. At Animal, they serve their pork belly sliders with brioche bread, a union that melts your mouth with every bite.

But don't take my word for it though. Check out their reviews on Yelp and try it out for yourself. The restaurant suggests you to make a reservation about five days in advance, and bring change for parking at the meters.  

And if you love pork belly and want to try other varieties of this delectable meat, check out Musha in Santa Monica. They offer Buta Kakuni, pork belly boiled for 4 hours that tenderizes and reduces the fat. So tender, they say you can cut it with your chopsticks.

Another place that offers it in a sandwich is Mendocino Farms in Marina Del Rey. The chef's take on a traditional Vietnamese sandwich is transformed with Kurobuta pork belly that is braised and caramelized with housemade picked daikon and carrots, cilantro, cucumber, jalapenos, and chili aioli on panini grilled ciabatta bread.

Enjoy your meal!