The Bear Pit

With amazing vintage murals of cooking bears, saw dust on the floor, and wagon wheel chandeliers, the Bear Pit is one of the most charming restaurants I have seen in the greater Los Angeles area.  The wait staff was downright country friendly. The kid's menu was cute and included a mini rack of ribs, "The Rib Tickler," which my kids split.  The meal that Husband of Food and I shared had a to go box that was heavy to carry back to the car.  These portions were Fred Flinstone huge.   The prices were reasonable, the sodas plentiful... So why am I a wee bit disappointed?  To tell the truth, the taste of this Barbecue just didn't quite live up to the rest of the terrific experience.  The sauces had no kick and without the BBQ sauce, the meat was dry and bland.  We were given two sauces, one sweet and the other tangy.  The sweet sauce was my favorite, but could have used some tang, the tangy one was fairly gelatinous and really left me cold.  The sides were better, the baked beans yummy, the hush puppies were different from others I've had, but tasty, and the garlic bread nice.  As a whole, I had a fine meal and I certainly enjoyed the atmosphere, but for great tasting meat, I'd go down the road a bit, that road being Sepulveda, to Dr. Hogly Wogly's. 

The Best Burger I Have Ever Had

The first time I entered Father's Office at the Helms Bakery, I was a little disappointed. All of the reviews I read about it led me to believe it was an upscale restaurant with a decent bar. I looked forward to a nice sit down meal being served by a doting waitstaff and an elaborate menu.



It turned out that Father's Office is not a restaurant at all, but a bar with a limited menu. You are greeted not by a Matre D, but a bouncer, you are served not by waitstaff, but by bar tenders and bussers, your children are not allowed in. In addition, Father's Office is only open certain hours, not, let's say, for lunch on a Thursday. On the plus side, there is a huge selection of beer on tap. So, it's a bar. It doesn't matter. Father's Office is special. Fathers Office has a non-liquid attraction that lures me.

I have had only one thing and I want only one thing when I go to Father's Office; THE BEST BURGER I HAVE EVER HAD.

I admit, I am not a big red meat eater, I could ignore most burgers (I often go to In and Out and have the grilled cheese,) but this burger makes my insides happy. The cooked medium burger is served pink with crispy bits on the outside covered in barbecue sauce and blue cheese and onions caramelized perfectly soaking its juices on to a leafy lettuce and a fine roll. I am getting so hungry writing about it. There are two kinds of fries you could get to accompany this burger, sweet potato and shoestring. Although I do like the sweet potato fries, the shoestring fries are some of the best you can get. Garlicky, thin, crisp, I can think of no better side dish to go with the best burger in the world.

I took Husband of Food to try this burger, and he said "You know what would go great with this? A Beer." Well, Husband of Food, I know this great bar...

http://www.fathersoffice.com/

3229 Helms Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
TEL: (310) 736-2224

Three in Austin

Travel kept me away from the blog, but don't worry... I brought you something from my trip to Austin, Texas. No, it's not a t-shirt that says, my blogger went to Austin and all I got was this lousy t-shirt(although I know where you could find such a shirt). No, I bring you reviews! If you are going to Austin in the near future, or you are there right now, here are a few places for you to try.

For Breakfast or Brunch, I would recommend The Old Pecan St. Cafe. The service was excellent, although we may have had special treatment because we had our incredibly adorable twin babies with us and our server was a twin herself. The food was quite good. My turkey and spinach omelet may have seemed a run of the mill choice, especially next to the many crepes on the menu, but boy was I glad I ordered it. It came with terrific potatoes and a homemade sweet cake that was just Divine. Husband of Food had the French Toast and I think he was jealous of my meal.

For Lunch or Dinner you may want to stop for some tasty Texas dining at the Iron Works Barbecue. Man, was this meal good. Brisket, Chicken, Ribs, and of course barbecue sauce; accompanied by, to quote Friend of Food, "the sweetest potato salad I've ever had." Another Friend of Food tried to take a jar of the BBQ sauce home, but her sweet memory of Texas was confiscated at the airport. Don't worry, Friend of Food, the terrorists haven't won, you can order another at the Iron Works Website.
http://www.ironworksbbq.com/

For an evening of Fun, I will suggest something a little different. We had a great time at The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. This theater is known for it's campy interactive movie shows. Now, what does a theater have to do with food? First of all, they have it, a full menu and wine and beer bar. We went to the Elvis Sing Along for Elvis' birthday and the special of the night was Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches. The seats all have a bar in front of them where your food can rest and waiters quietly take orders written on slips of paper during the show. I wish I could get that kind of service at an Arclight! If you stop by the Drafthouse, also check out it's cool t-shirt making service in the lobby. It's a great place to get that "My Blogger Went to Austin..." T-shirt I didn't get you at the top.

The Old Pecan St. Cafe
310 East 6th Street
Austin Tx, 78701

Iron Works Barbecue
100 Red River
Austin, TX 78701

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
320 E 6th Street
Austin, TX 78701

Pizzacue

Making pizza at home is easy, fun, and less expensive than eating out or ordering in, for convenience many supermarkets carry fresh pizza dough or pick up some dough from your favorite pizza parlor. I like fresh dough because it is more flexible and tastes better.

Try this recipe for a different pizza. Spread the dough and cover with your favorite barbecue sauce (bottled is fine), now covers sauce with a mixture of cheeses; mozzarella, cheddar and Monterrey work well. Top it off with sautéed onions, peppers and some shredded cooked chicken seasoned with cumin and chili powder. I like to serve some coleslaw on the side to garnish the pizza with a cool crunch. Brush your pizza pan with a little olive oil and sprinkle some corn meal on it for a crisper crust. Notice I give no real measurements on ingredients because this recipe is only a suggestion and guide. Bake at 425-450 degrees for about 20 minutes. You might want to add the chicken during the last 5 minutes to avoid overcooking it. Now enjoy!