Midnight In The Garden Of Food And Evil

Where have I BEEN?! This post shall reveal all!

It's been a while since you've gotten a food truck review from me (and honestly, what am I thinking, that's my job forgodssake!) And I know you are all waiting soooo patiently to see what my #1 Bite of Bite Club is (especially since #3 was such a shocker.)

But the truth is I have been exploring the gothic, gorgeous, humid, historic, scrumptious South. I took a good-old-fashioned American Road Trip, and it landed me in the lush Southeastern U.S. In my travels, I had pistachio pizza in Phoenix, Kolaches in Kerrville Texas (see, I even eat alliteratively. WTEFF?!) and lots more in between.

A flat tire in Louisiana on the first day the roads opened into New Orleans post-Isaac kept me from the World's Largest Gummy Bear that a technicolor freeway billboard had promised. I'll have to hit it on the way back...

And now I am here:

 

Yep. I live in this tree.

Ha! No, not really. But if you did decide to live in a tree, this tree would make a pretty dreamy candidate, wouldn't it? It's such a positively dramatic tree. And it has a friend, in front of the beautiful Savannah Public Library.

This library achieves something that many modern libraries fail to. It says "Come hang out with me for hours and hours on a rainy day, after you eat a lavender shortbread cookie sandwich, and before you eat a banana because you feel bad about the aforementioned shortbread cookie sandwich."

I know. Kind of a loquacious library, really. But that's what I did. Today. This library is stellar at self-marketing.

And the bakery where the oft-mentioned shortbread cookie sandwich was purchased and dispatched to my stomach, had this clever thing inside, which made me feel a sudden tenderhearted-ness towards the surly "Pinterest." For it was, upon inspection, so delightfully "pinnable."

I know it has not missed your attention that I have not mentioned a single bite of food yet. My plan surfaces!!!

I had a fantastic dinner the other night with a gentleman and his lady in Charleston. He is a food blogger, and she his muse. They are lovely people to spend an evening with, and I will be forcing myself into their plans as long as I am in this region. (But there, I gave them a head's up so now it's completely ok and not weird at all.)

They love amazing food just as I do, and to read about the night's capers (adventures, not briny berries) you will have to stop in and see him, and I promise he'll tell you every delicious detail.

He lives here: http://www.foodmancingthegirl.com/

Ok, Ok. Here's a little something.

This burger came with a fried egg...and a death wish.

The First Rule of Bite Club

I’ve been on the food truck beat for 2 years now, and it has proven to be an amazing and constantly surprising adventure. Like The Wiz, or the Ralph's in North Hollywood.

But at heart I am an intense lover of food, almost all food. Eating it, writing about it, and talking about it tend to fill a hefty portion of my daylight hours. I don't always eat standing up, and I wanted to share with you some of the best things I have eaten in LA while sitting in a chair, perhaps beneath a gust of frosty air conditioning, with real utensils.

I have made a list. The lovely freedom here is that this is my list. It is my Ten Best Bites in Los Angeles, and it is completely subjective. Things both dramatic and quotidian have captured my heart. No effort has been made to cast a wide net of locations, or to make sure a diverse or trendy set of neighborhoods is represented. I have not eaten absolutely everywhere in L.A., and I may never get to. But I eat. Trust me. I EAT.

And if you ever need a restaurant recommendation anywhere in the country, hit me up. I keep a little black book for just such an occasion. This is simply a list of the bites that make me value living and eating in L.A., the bites I want again and again, despite my addiction to trying new places.

The one egalitarian effort I did make however was to try to include only things that you, too, can have. It's insanely frustrating to be told how mind-blowing something is, and how you absolutely-must-have-it-RIGHT-NOW, the whole time knowing you'll wait 3 months just for a reservation. Or to read about something that was a temporary special once, or a dish that was lovingly and expertly crafted at a restaurant that is now closed.

I love reading food based lists because I treat it like a To-Do list,and I wanted you to be able to as well. So here goes. One at a time, you guys. One at a time. Get in a countdown mood.

And if you get very homesick for a food truck adventure, they are all listed to the right of this and each subsequent post. New ones will follow, as soon as the last of my 10 Best Bites has been listed. And we can Get Right Back To Where We Started From.

Oh! And of course the first rule of Bite Club? Tell everyone you know about Bite Club. :)