Monthly Archives: February 2013

by | February 7, 2013 · 9:19 pm

Casa Sirena

If you’ve met me or followed by blog over the past few years, you may have noticed that I absolutely adore abandoned things. If it’s bedraggled, desolate and haunting, I’m guaranteed to be enraptured by it. Today, I came across such a place.
amIt’s possible Casa Sirena was considered a nice, even beautiful hotel back in the day. Waaaaay back in the day. According to the reviews right before they closed in 2010, it looked to be in about the same condition then as it is now. Kind of reminds me EXACTLY of the hotel of death I stayed at in Indio.
am1Welcome to Casa Sirena.
am2The pool may need a little work, but with the weather as brisk as it is lately, why would you want to go swimming anyway?am4And it’s not quite cold enough to need a hot tub either.am5If your kids are into skateboarding, this makes for a great skate park! Just be sure they avoid any broken glass and used needes.am3All of the offices are still full of furniture, paperwork and stripped of any remaining computers by vandals and looters. The walls make for fun potential arts and crafts if you can find any space among the graffiti.am9am10am6am11am7am12The Lobster Trap restaurant also sits abandoned with tablecloths still carefully laid across each table, full salt and pepper shakers poised in the center, waiting for that shake that will never come. It closed a month after the hotel.

Bedraggled, desolate and haunting: Just the way I like it.

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by | February 5, 2013 · 3:03 pm

Daniel Irons Oatmeal Stout French Toast

Superbowl Sunday morning. Lazy cups of coffee slowly sipped, pans gently warmed over the stove, a beer cracked open… Wait, what?
AM4French toast soaked in oatmeal stout. It seriously doesn’t get any better than this!

I recently and belatedly came across The Beeroness and after perusing every single recipe on her site and subsequently wiping up the drool, I decided that it was time to start cooking. Since I happen to have anytime access to Enegren Brewing’s beers, I used their sweet rich, chocolatey oatmeal stout.

Daniel Irons Oatmeal Stout French Toast – Printable recipe available HERE.
(Lightly adapted from The Beeroness)
Ingredients:
1 loaf challah bread, left out overnight to slightly stale
1 cup almond milk
1 cup Enegren Brewing Company’s Daniel Irons Oatmeal Stout (or any rich, malty stout)
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
1 tsp pure almond extract
2-3 tsbp butter

1. Slice the challah bread into 1-inch thick slices.
2. In a large bowl, combine the almond milk, stout, eggs, brown sugar and almond extract and stir until all sugar is dissolved.
3. Pour the mixture into a large flat pan for easier dipping.
4. Places the slices of challah into the mixture for 1 minute on each side.
AM15. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat and place the soaked bread to cook, 2-4 minutes each side or until cooked through.
AM26.Place on a large plate, top with powdered sugar, maple syrup and pair with a beer coffee. Try to grab a slice before three hungry brewers devour the entire loaf.
AM3Prost and bon appetit!

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by | February 2, 2013 · 10:32 pm

Superbowl Saturday

Enegren Brewing and Custom Melt joined forces today for a Superbowl Saturday Extravaganza!
am10Food and brews for six hours straight. We prepared for a heavy onslaught of hungry and thirsty revelers.
am1The menu was set – partly created by our very own Brianne Braun Enegren! She created these short ribs with Daniel Irons Oatmeal Stout for a brewery “family dinner” a few weeks ago, and the owners of Custom Melt decided to turn it into a sammich. Yes, please, thank you very much.
am2The food was prepped right outside the roll-up door behind the brewery and the smells were devastatingly tempting to all of the hungry souls inside.
am3About twenty minutes before Custom Melt officially began serving…
am4And this is what the brewery looked like for the rest of the day – a constant flow of brewery and Melt fans alike poured through the door. Those of us working behind the bar didn’t have a single chance to sit down, let alone enjoy a full dish from our in-house chefs. In between inhaling bites while hidden below the bar, I went around snapping pictures of other people’s food in order to have some sort of commemoration of what had graced our presence.
am7Mac ‘n cheese with parmesan crumbles.
am8Zesty chili paired with a Daniel Irons Oatmeal Stout.
am6Mac ‘n chili dog! My personal favorites of the day were a tie between the EBC short rib melt and the mac dog – both of which went unphotographed as they were being quickly consumed in between pouring glasses and washing said glasses.
am5It was an incredibly successful day full of happy, patient people, delicious foods and brews and incredibly sore feet. I’m attempting to heal with a Maui Brewing Sobrehumano Palena’ole. It’s not quite killing the ache yet.

Tomorrey is Superbowl Sunday! I’ve got a few recipes up my sleeve that I can’t wait to share with you!
amI have it on good authority that Daniel Irons Oatmeal Stout French Toast might be on the menu in the morning. Stay tuned!

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by | February 1, 2013 · 3:29 pm

Golden Road with Pops

My pops came into town for a business trip and was staying in Burbank, so I hopped into my new car and cruised down to pick him up for dinner.
AM3Golden Road was only ten minutes away and we arrived right before the dinner rush.
amFigueroa Mountain’s Stagecoach Stout for me…
AM1Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout for my pops!
AM2We split two dishes – slow cooked ribs with housemade balsamic, hefeweizen barbecue sauce and cornbread…
AM4and cast iron lasagna full of tender noodles, ground chuck and piping hot cheeses alongside fresh garlic bread. Thick, warming stouts ended up being the perfect pairing for these rich dishes – espresso, chocolate and high alcohol (at least for the Yeti) enhanced the richness of both the ribs and the deep dish of cheesy goodness.
AM5I topped off the meal with Golden Road’s Berliner Weisse with Woodruff syrup – dessert! Since I was designated driver of the night, I really appreciated the option of a 2.8%ABV brew. I was hoping to show my pops inside Chloe’s, the new semi-private beer industry space connected to the pub, but was told that they were having a private event.

“A private event… I recognize almost everyone going into Chloe’s right now… The L.A. Beer Blogger event was tonight!” – My thought process. Since I’d signed up to attend and completely forgotten that the blogger gathering was that evening, it worked out extremely well for me to be able to give my dad a glimpse of the cute little pub-like area.
AM7Kip Barnes of Bierkast was the originator of the event which was kindly hosted by the PR peeps of Golden Road, Cambria and Frances.
AM6It was almost as jam packed as the invitational grand opening night! Drew Beechum and John Palmer made guest appearances to give talks on writing about beer and homebrewing. After checking the place out we said a quick hello to blogger and beer friends before making our way down the street to Glendale Tap for a rousing game of billiards and more craft brews.

Tomorrey is Enegren Brewing’s Superbowl Saturday event with local deliciousness Custom Melt! Come down for some amazing grub and brews between 12pm-6pm!
am10SHORT RIB MELLLLLLLLT!!!!!

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