Jon Hochstat

So far I have written two postings about my mid-November three-day weekend in Miami.  The first posting was about The Best Burger in America and the second one was about Robert Is Here farmstand in Homestead, Florida. Here we go with one more post about my trip…

On my last day in Miami, which was a Monday, I had a lunch with a good chef friend and his family at a killer Cuban place in Coral Gables called Havana Harry’s which was referred to me by a good friend in law enforcement in South Florida.

Cops and chefs always know the best places to eat, that’s for sure.  So, my cop friend says “When you go there for lunch order the Chicken Vaca Frita (Shredded chicken with onions, in a garlic and sour orange mojo, served with moro rice and sweet plantains.)  All I will say is that when the waitress came to the table, I said, “I’ll have the Vaca Frita,” the waitress responded, “which one chicken, beef or the one not on the menu?”  I asked what the one not on the menu was and was told it was chicken, beef and pork.  All I have to say is that was a damn good lunch and blew away my expectations by a country mile.

You may be wondering why I am telling you this when the subject is Palacio de los Jugos.  Here’s why.  When we were all saying our goodbyes my chef friend said “Since you are headed to the airport, you MUST stop by El Palacio de los Jugos at 5721 Flagler Street as it is right by the airport.  I was VERY full and wondered what the big deal was about a juice place.  The only answer I was given was “Oh there is MUCH more than fresh fruit but that’s all I am telling you.” WOW was he right!

READ ON for more on Jon’s final day in Miami…

For anyone who reads this blog, here is the opportunity of a lifetime.  I received the following information via email the other day and thought it was too good not

As I find myself not traveling somewhere this weekend – my next trip is Miami in three weeks –  I thought now would be a good time to just go through the RSS feeds and both my personal and Hidden Track twitter feeds to see what is happening in the food world.

BoozyNYC tells us what to drink at Dram in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Based educated us on where to find Local, Organic, Affordable Food.

For anyone who lives near McCarren Park, there is a new coffee bar opening at 595 Union Ave. (via Brownstoner).

If you were thinking of doing a Pumpkin Ale Taste-Off, don’t sweat it, Sarah DiGregorio of the Village Voice tasted, rated and reviewed five different ones.

Serious Eats posted their NYC Food Events for the Weekend (and Beyond).

READ ON for more of this week’s F4tF…

Even though I still have more to share from my food adventures in Los Angeles (here are Part 1 Part 2 Part 3), I thought I’d tell would you about the food trip I am taking to Montreal. I am flying out of NYC to Montreal tonight, dropping my bags off and heading right to Au Pied de Cochon.

Here is an excerpt from an article that Peter Meehan wrote for the NY Times in 2008…

P.D.C., as the locals call it, was a pizzeria before Mr. Picard got his meaty mitts on it, and a blazing fire in a wood-burning oven greets guests at the door. Beyond it, the restaurant is long and narrow, bright but not too bright, with a mirror running down one side and an open kitchen on the other. The bare wooden tables are crowded with boisterous eaters of every age and description. And the chef — look for the unshaven man with a shock of untamed black hair — frequently works both sides of the bar, talking and drinking with customers and cooks.

Mr. Picard put his restaurant on the gastronomic map when he put foie gras on poutine back in 2004, just after the restaurant opened. Many dishes at P.D.C. are conceived with that same wicked sense of humor — who puts foie gras on French fries? — and carry an unspoken threat of a cholesterol-triggered overdose. There’s a even a whole section of the menu dedicated to the fatty livers: foie on a burger, foie on a pizza and, most compellingly, the Plogue à Champlain — a dizzying combination of buckwheat pancakes, bacon, foie gras and maple syrup.

That last dish Plogue à Champlain sounds amazing (just saying)

The other restaurant we will be hitting this weekend that is also on my restaurant bucket list is Schwartz’s Deli in Montreal

READ ON for more about Jon’s foodie trip to Montreal…

When I went to LA, I got recommendations on where to go from friends, co-workers, chef’s I know, people they know…you get the idea. My chef friend who I was staying with said to me on my FIRST DAY in LA, before you leave on Sunday, make sure you go to Mashti Malone’s which is near the corner of La Brea and Sunset in West Hollywood. So on the day before I left, I went for a walk down Melrose Ave, starting at Fairfax and walking to La Brea, then made the left and took La Brea past Sunset eventually to 1525 North La Brea Avenue, home to Mashti Malone’s.

Inside is a very nondescript interior with the main focal points being all of the signs and information on the walls. You get the feeling real quick that these guys are passionate about what they do and have been doing it since 1980 (30 years!) at the same location.

Here is an excerpt from a 2006 LA Times review

Mashti Malone’s. For those expecting Iranian-Irish fusion, the only place you’ll get that is on the street sign. This is a classic ice cream store run by two Iranian brothers who took over a place called Bugsy Malone’s about 25 years ago and only changed half the sign. Whatever works — the ice cream sure does, and they’ll turn any flavor into a shake for you. You’ll find the traditional American flavors, but also some fabulous Middle Eastern infusions: saffron-rose water with pistachios is the most popular. Laced with floral notes and the terrific flavor and texture of the nuts, this makes a fabulous shake, though ginger-rose water and orange blossom are pretty fabulous too. Or try the pomegranate sorbet or “herbal snow,” a white, icy concoction made with basil seeds. 1525 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 874-0144, http://www.mashtimalone.com . Shakes, $4.82.

• F4tF in Los Angeles: Part 1, Part 2

READ ON for more on Jon’s Los Angeles Adventure…

Last week’s introductory post, F4tF: Los Angeles Adventure, Pt. 1 – The Neville Brothers @ Hollywood Bowl started out my recollection of my recent first trip to Los Angeles where I had the opportunity to see some wonderful places as I was staying with an old friend who is a private chef and showed me all of the markets and local places to check out. Since last week’s story took place on the Wednesday evening of my week-long trip I thought I’d share with you what I did earlier in the day.

We went to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market

The Wednesday market has been around since 1981. Here is the history of the market from its website:

The Wednesday Market opened in Santa Monica’s downtown retail district with the modest goals of providing reasonably priced, high quality produce to the city’s population, and bringing more foot traffic into the area. The market met with instant success in its first year. Now, more than twenty years later, it’s widely recognized as one of the largest and most diverse grower-only CFM’s in the state. Some nine thousands food shoppers every week, and many of Los Angeles’ best known chefs and restaurants, are keyed to the seasonal rhythms of the Wednesday Market. It’s hardly an exaggeration to say, at mid-week in the heart of the city the mother of markets comes to town. Whether you’re looking for a common, exotic or experimental variety of fruit or vegetable, this market is a treasure trove of agricultural diversity.

That last line about the market being a “treasure trove of agricultural diversity is so true.” Upon our entry, one of the first things I wanted to try was fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juices. I found two separate vendors. Some of the best juice I have had in a long time. First stop was for Valencia Orange Juice from Polito Family Farms. Refreshing doesn’t even begin to describe the taste of locally grown and squeezed oranges juice.

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday For the Foodies…

When I decided to take my vacation in Los Angeles this year, one of the first things I did was go on JamBase to see what bands were performing the week I was going to be out in the Southern California sunshine. The one show that stood out was The Neville Brothers, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the Hollywood Bowl.

You may be asking yourself, why is the food guy’s first post from an LA food trip about a concert? Well here’s why – like everyone who reads this blog on a regular basis, one of the important things to consider when going to a show are pre and post show eats as well as options available during the show.

Pre-show eats wound up working out really well. One of the places I really wanted to check out while in LA was Pizzeria Mozza.

Here is the information on the about page on the Mozza website:

Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich meld their prodigious talents to bring Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza to the heart of Los Angeles. With the devout commitment to product, environment and hospitality, the two unique but equally engaging concepts provide dynamic templates for displaying the group’s profound passions.

Dinner reservations can be real hard to get but lucky for me my cousin works as a waiter there. He told me that since Mozza is open 12-12 every day straight through, the best times to go are between 3-5 pm. He happened not to be working the day we wanted to go so he joined me and my friend Wayne who is a Private Chef in Los Angeles (and a damn good one too!). So Wayne and I met my cousin at Mozza at 4 PM the day of the Neville’s show. Upon being seated we said to him “You work here and know the food and the staff, we trust you, order for all of us and tell us what we owe at the end.” What followed was a tour through the menu hitting various dishes, flavors and cooking styles.

You can see the entire Pizzeria Mozza menu here.

READ ON for more on Jon’s California Adventure…