And The Winner Is...Skaf's Grill, North Hollywood

As a food blogger, I often get asked what my favorite restaurant is. And instead of coming up with one intelligent answer, I freeze and stumble as if aliens came and stole my brain. "Ummm, yeah, like it's hard to name just one, you know. Um, this place is good; they have blah, blah, blah. Oh, and this place is really yummy too, like they have this stuff that's to die for. Oh yeah, and you haaaaave to go to this place 'cause blah, blah, blah."

Idiot.

Because of this, I'm pretty sure I've lost some cred with people as a passionate and knowledgeable food blogger and just became known as "that dumb ho." But really now, how does one choose just one favorite restaurant when we have so many wonderful and extremely diverse choices here in the southland?

I do have several restaurants on the top of my list, and the restaurant of the moment usually depends on my mood, hormonal cycle or current financial situation. If I had to pick an all time fave, though, I'd have to consider the criteria a little more carefully.

First criteria would have to be good food. (Like duh, right?)

Second criteria would be good value. Because I'm not rich and I like my hard earned dollar to go as far as it can.

Third criteria would be service and atmosphere. Though nice, I'm not talking waiting-on-you-hand-and-foot kind of service and I'm not talking award-winning designer decor kind of atmosphere either. I'm talking the kind of service and atmosphere that make you feel right at home and where the staff is proud of their food. I could care less if your sleek leather banquettes were imported from Italy.

Fourth criteria would be consistency. Everyone's entitled to an off day. But an off day every other day is not a favorite of mine, restaurants or otherwise.

Fifth criteria would be some kind of personal significance, like having had some great times or life changing events occur at that particular eatery. Totally subjective, I know, but that's what this whole thing is about, n'est-ce pas?

So that being said, and after some thought, I am proud to announce that my favorite restaurant is Skaf's Grill in North Hollywood!

When I started my old gig over in the 818, I never in a million years thought that I'd come to love a place at the seedy 7-Eleven strip mall on the corner where we sometimes went to buy our lotto tickets. I never knew Skaf's even existed until a fellow food-loving coworker told me about it and raved about their hummus. So on one smoggy, hazy afternoon sometime circa 2004, my coworkers and I made the five minute pilgrimage on foot in search of this heavenly hummus.

One would hardly think that this small, no frills space, nestled between a generi-yaki Japanese restaurant and a Twelve Step recovery center, and whose decor is pretty much limited to a few fading posters of Lebanon, has anything going for it in the atmosphere department. At least that's what I thought the first time I entered Skaf's. But after seeing and hearing owner Sam Skaf and his sons talking about their food with such pride, and after seeing how much they appreciate their customers, I felt more and more at home each time I returned (which was, by the way, at least once a week every week until I left that company). It's places like Skaf's that have taught me that great atmosphere is not about how stylish a restaurant's decor is or how prim and proper the front of house and waitstaff are. It's about making me feel so welcome that I feel like I'm having a meal at a friend's house. It's about people remembering your name and what your favorite dishes are. It's about people being happy when you bring your friends and family there for the first time and then remembering their names and what their favorite dishes are.

While I've had close-to-euphoric experiences with chichi tasting menus with wine pairings and all that jazz, there's just something missing there in the comfort department. Skaf's, on the other hand, serves the kind of simple, comforting stuff that qualifies for Last Meal status.

Each of Skaf's entrees come with hummus, pita, and cabbage salad, which to me, are just as good as the entrees themselves. I've had friends make their whole meal out of the hummus, pita and cabbage salad if that tells you anything. Their hummus, in my opinion, is a work of art: little glistening pools of oil and brightly colored dots of paprika sit atop a velvety garbanzo and tahini canvas. Waiting for my entree is always a double-fisting ordeal: scoop up hummus with a piece of freshly grilled pita with one hand, eat the crunchy, deliciously garlicky and lemony cabbage salad with the other. If I happen to add on their delicious babaganoush, my pre-entree dining experience takes a little bit more coordination, but is well worth the effort.

Skaf's always has a handful of daily specials that you can either find on the dry-erase board behind the counter, but usually it's Mr. Skaf himself who will tell you what specials he's serving up that day. If you've ever had the chance to have him tell you about his daily specials, you'll be able to tell how much pride he has in his food. But it sometimes makes me feel guilty because as tasty as his specials are, I'm there for the regular menu items of kabobs and grilled meats. "They are delicious," he said of his daily specials with his usual enthusiasm one day. "Oh, I'm sure they are," I replied, feeling guilty, "but I'm going to order my favorite." To which he said, "I know you like the kebab! After all, we are Skaf's Grill."

Their beef and lamb shish kebabs' nicely charred exterior gives way to a tender, slightly pink interior. An all time favorite of mine, kafta kebab, is a wonderful mixture of ground beef, onion, parsley, mint and other spices shaped into a log and grilled. My favorite thing to do with kafta kebab is break up the bits of meat and eat it with the fluffy basmati rice that's been dusted with lemony sumac--so good! If spit-roasted meat is what's floating your boat, Skaf's has some kick- ass chicken and beef shawerma that you can have either in plate form with rice & the works or in a pita sandwich.

And where in most restaurants the chicken dishes leave a little something to be desired, the Shish Tawook at Skaf's proves that chicken--and white meat chicken for that matter--can be anything but boring. These chunks of chicken that have been partying in yogurt, garlic and spices come out super moist after being grilled; a nicely charred exterior adds some texture and depth. What's even better is that your order of shish tawook at Skaf's always comes with a little cup of their homemade garlic sauce which, in my opinion, rivals that well known chicken/garlic sauce chain we've all been too. Smear some of this potent white paste on your shish tawook and you've got heaven on a stick. Usually though, I get my shish tawook via Skaf's Combo Grill plate which for about thirteen bucks gets you one shish tawook skewer, one kafta skewer and one beef shish kebab skewer along with all the other goodies like basmati rice, a nicely charred tomato, their heavenly hummus and pita, and their refreshingly tangy cabbage salad. It's alot of food which I can sometimes finish in one sitting, but it's usually enough food for two meals. And trust me, I am very, very possessive of those leftovers. Now how's that for good value?

There used to be a company right around the intersection of Laurel Canyon and Oxnard which was acquired by a bigger powerhouse and sadly, is no longer there. I would say that I learned much of what I know today career-wise at that company, and more importantly, I met some awesome people there who I am good friends with to this day. It was major good times, and you bet your ass that many of those good times were spent over lunch at Skaf's. We bitched, we ate, we ranted, we craved, we pondered life, we laughed our asses off. Sometimes, despite knowing that we had to get back to the office, we would defiantly order a pot of Lebanese coffee which Sam would serve to us in the most interesting long handled pot and demitasse cups. It's a strong, muddy brew that tastes even better paired with some mamoul--slightly dry in texture and subtley sweet Lebanese cookies filled with dates, walnuts, or pistachios--and will give you a nice, even stream of energy throughout the day. It's not your cheap huge-energy-jolt-that-sends-you-crashing-down-an-hour-later-crap...this is quality stuff. The minutes would tick away as my friends and I sipped our coffee, whining about not wanting to go back to the office but having what were probably the most fun, relaxed and carefree times in our professional lives.

On a recent visit to Skaf's, I introduced my ten month old baby boy to Mr. Skaf, who being so happy to meet him, pat my son on the head with a smile and said, "So nice to meet you! You are going to be a future customer!" It was such a warm gesture, but I have to say that Sam Skaf was wrong. Judging by how much my boy was loving the bits of shish tawook and pita I fed him, I'd say he's already a customer.

Skaf's Grill
6008 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91606
(818) 985-5701



(Skaf's has a second location in Glendale at 367 N. Chevy Chase #A, though funny enough, I've never been there. My heart--and stomach--belong to North Hollywood. I'm sure it's excellent though.)

Also, read my previous posts about Skaf's from Daily Gluttony!

P.S. I was thinking of making this a meme, but was too freaking lazy. So I'm opening it up to you if you care to participate: leave a comment or write a post about what your favorite restaurant is!

Mama Would Adopt Them If She Could: Dot's Cupcakes, Pasadena

Who needs that other cupcake place that always has a line when you've got Dot's Cupcakes?

I love Dot's Cupcakes. No, I mean I loooooooove Dot's Cupcakes.

It's partly because their cupcakes have the perfect frosting to cake ratio and are as cute as a button. It's partly because their cupcakes are moist but not too dense. It's also partly because their cupcakes aren't too sickeningly sweet.

Yes, it's all those things that make Dot's Cupcakes the best cupcake shop in LA, in my opinion. But there's one more reason why the folks at this tiny little Pasadena cupcakery have my heart: I especially, especially love them because they had my back when I was a raging, hormonal, pregnant bitch.

It went something like this:

A very pregnant DG was craving red velvet cupcakes and drove to Dot's on Arroyo Parkway to get some.

Guy in front of me buys the last two red velvet cupcakes.

While he is choosing his other cupcakes, one of Dot's other employees starts to help me.

I ask if they have any more red velvet cupcakes. They don't.

I say sonofabitch!

Last-two-red-velvet-cupcake-thief is still there and sees that I am obviously hungry, pregnant, and irrational but does not offer to let me have one of his. He ducks out before I get a chance to sock him.

Dots owner goes in the back and pulls out a mini red velvet cupcake that has a little dent on the side and offers it to me on the house.

I told them that I love them.

And I do.

I really, really do.

Dot's Cupcakes
400 S. Arroyo Parkway
Pasadena, CA
(626) 568-3687

Second location at:
21 N. Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 744-7719

www.dotscupcakes.com

Opening Rant: Getting Laid

Off, that is.

Laid off.

Yes, my friends, just recently I became yet another statistic in this jacked-up economy of ours.--one of the almost ten percent unemployed within California's population. It was a Wednesday, I had just come back from a doctor's appointment, and while I knew in advance that some unfortunate souls would be getting their fate handed to them that day, I was naive enough to think that I wasn't one of those unfortunate souls. No, not me. I worked hard. I did alot for the company. I was smarter than so many in so many ways. I was also cute and fun to be around. You get the picture.

It already happened. I am late so I'll just get the story from my buddies later. Poor people.

Undercover Security Guy was sitting in our lobby with pages of photos of the newly unemployed in one hand, walkie-talkie in the other. His eyes followed me as I walked toward the elevator.

Wow, they're really being extra cautious that people don't come back in and go postal.

Not two seconds after I put my bags down did she come over to find me. "Can I talk to you for a minute in my office?"

Shit.

Next was something about the economic climate, and the company cutting costs, and how several people were let go that morning via email (yes email) and something about how I unfortunately was one of those people.

Me? Me?????? Why me???

Something about how this was a really difficult decision and how I was definitely a valuable part of the team and if I ever need anything.

But I have a baby at home...

Something about how that just makes it all that much harder and it was a really, REALLY difficult decision and again if I ever need anything.

I even gave you people a Christmas card with my kid's picture on it.

And then something about how I was only supposed to get my purse and any "essential" things and go downstairs where HR would be talking to us about our packages and something about how I can arrange to have my things packed up later.

OK, whatever you do, do NOT let them see you cry.

The next hour or two were spent in the big conference room with all the other poor saps who were let go waiting to get our packages and walking papers. A little selfish on my part, but I was glad to see a few other people from my department already down there because after all, misery loves company, right? Alas my name was called, my ties to the company were officially broken and I was escorted out to the lobby. I kept the promise to myself not to let them see me cry, but after getting in my car, this little piggy cried wee, wee, wee...all the way home.

And then all I could think about was writing again. Because while I sat and stared for two days, suffering from a bad case of mental diarrhea, still angry and offended from the fact that I was chosen to be let go, thinking back to different happenings at the office during the last few weeks of my employment that would have pointed to me being laid off and kicking myself in the ass that I didn't pick up on it sooner, worried about the fact that we are a dual-income-dependent family with a 7 month old baby and a mortgage, and depressed by the fact that all our investments and retirement accounts are worth less than half of what they were just a few months ago, there was one word that made me feel grounded again...

Home.

Because the truth is that the job I had just lost kept me away from it. It kept me away from my husband and baby from at least 7 to 7 Monday through Friday, it kept me away from the physical dwelling of my home which was always in disarray because I was hardly in it. It kept me away from LA because I had to drive to fucking Orange County everyday. It kept me away from writing...

It feels good to be home again.

Now why not just continue writing for Daily Gluttony, you ask? It's a symbolic move on my part, I guess. The loss of my job, although scary, signals a fresh start for me in more ways than one. It's still me, but with a slightly new look and a lot less disposable income to spend for the time being on eating out. While food is still my primary passion, I think this new angle will give me a little more wiggle room to write about other things I love, because after all, eating (craving) costs money. Complaining (ranting) does not.

Thanks for reading. I'm planning on sticking around this time. I hope you do too.