Two Guns Kitchen

After a move to an interim place (AirBnB), then finally moving into a new apartment, I have not had any energy nor desire to cook, so it's been a good reason to revisit some old favorites for meals as I rest and restore my cooking desire.

Two Guns in El Segundo is known for their coffee, but I also enjoy their breakfasts and lunches. I stayed at an Air BnB in El Segundo so it was a 5 minute drive to downtown and places I loved when I lived there. 

My go to is the salmon toast with avocado, cream cheese, capers, tomatoes, dil, and micro greens.

The spicy fried chicken salad was not only refreshing, but actually spicy!

The spicy chicken sandwich uses the same spice level, but on a bun with coleslaw, the intensity of the spice is lessened, so if you want a milder taste, go for the sandwich.

Their pastries are wonderful if you want a bite of heaven to begin your day, get a pain au chocolat with flakey buttery layers and great dark chocolate.

A sweet breakfast treat is their French toast with fruit which I could not finish...but I enjoyed trying!

For a truly hearty breakfast/brunch get their full breakfast plate of maple sausage, eggs any way you wish, potatoes, grilled tomato, toasted bread, and the great gravy. You will want to take a nap, but hopefully you will enjoy a delicious dream:)

Colossus Bread 2021

My first post about this small bakery in San Pedro was written right before the world changed, and I'm happy to report that some good things are still around to keep us going until we are able to share bread with others as we did before March of 2020.

It was a pleasure to find that good sourdough has survived the pandemic, and they have pivoted to make it easier to place and prepay before you arrive at their window, so you can just pick up your goodies when you arrive. They also have a few items on display if you are lucky enough to get there early. They practice social distancing, have hand sanitizer, use tongs to gather the pastries, and wear face masks.

I got a chocolate chip cookie for the first time here and it was so good I think next time I will pick up a few as a reward for the trek down to San Pedro :)

Bakerfield Road Trip

I learned that I needed to drive 300 miles at under 3000 rpm to get my catalytic converter to pass my smog test, so after driving to Long Beach and Camarillo, I took a road trip to Bakersfield to make sure I drove more than 300 miles! 

Of course any road trip must include a food stop or two. New Vintage Grill was in the same small complex as Bakers Outpost, so since it was lunch time, it was also time to have a take out car lunch. Even though they offered both indoor and outdoor dining, there were too many maskless people for me to feel comfortable eating anything other than take out. I was not even comfortable in their take out waiting area inside because of the many patrons either wearing masks covering only their mouths or no masks at all!

Their Greek salad had fresh ingredients and a hearty portion of chicken for $13.59. I found the chicken a bit dry, the sliced pepperoncini a bit strange, and the olives a bit overwhelming, but overall it was a good version made for American palates.

I ordered the avocado caprese salad for $14.59 to take home and it had a sweet balsamic glaze and dressing that were surprisingly good with the fresh basil chiffonade accented salad.

Since Bakers Outpost had just opened and I was tired of baking bread, it was the main reason for my destination pick. This is their sandwich sourdough loaf for $10 which was not as sour as is my preference, but the quality of grains and ingenuity of baking a sandwich sourdough loaf won me over.

The more classic version of sourdough with multiple grains was more traditional and hearty for 410. Again not as sour as my preference, but a great quality loaf for $10.

My favorite item was the coconut cookie that was made with so much care that you could taste the love that they put into this fantastic warm hug of a dessert. I would drive the 110 miles again just to get another cookie!

Divine Delvigne

Delvigne sells their marvelous croissants and breads at both the Culver City Farmers Market and the Studio City Farmers Market, but they also have a Window on Venice Blvd that is open on Saturday from 10am-1pm if you want to pick up a French treat for the week-end. You may order ahead until 2pm for a next day pick up from their menu.

Since January is the time of year for my favorite, the galette des rois, I ordered ahead for a Saturday window pick up via their Instagram page and while I was there, got a few gigantic croissants for $4 each :)

They use grass fed butter from France and the flavor and layers belie their expertise.

The galette des rois for $35 was a very generous portion for 8 with delicate flakey layers surrounding the classic almond filling. The baker, Samuel, told me that he used an almond for the fève to help cut down on tooth damage that can result from using the old fashioned porcelain figurines ;)

I didn't need a paper crown to feel like a Queen eating this :)

Colossus Bread

I love bread and I am a fan of anyone who has the patience and skill to source quality ingredients and then allow them to ferment and proof naturally. Colossus Bread recently opened in San Pedro in a small storefront, serving only coffee, bread and pastries. My friend who live there are happy to have a quality bakery in town, and I was happy to not only taste their Whole Grain Wheat and Olive Cumin, but also a few of their viennoiseries. My favorite was their Olive Cumin, studded with olives and with the earthy spice of cumin, this was fantastic toasted and spread with a bit of cream cheese or olive oil. They also freeze very well, wrapped and double bagged in plastic, so no worries if you can't finish the gigantic fresh loaves in one sitting.

Their viennoiseries were good, but a bit too dense and too salty for my taste. Colossus is a bread bakery, and it is rare to find any bread bakery who bakes great bread and also does great pastry. 

I would absolutely get a pastry here to go with some coffee if I was in the area, but I would not go out of my way to come for the viennoiserie. I would however make the drive for the bread, so taste both for yourself and see what you think.

I am always encouraged to find artisan bakeries in places where there are not any, so kudos to Colossus for breaking new ground in San Pedro, and I hope the gathering of people in and outside the shop when I went is a portend of more customers to come in the months to come.

Dominique Ansel Bakery

I never went to the Dominique Ansel NYC location, so I was thrilled when they opened at the Grove, saving me a 5 hour plane ride :) The presentation of pastries is gorgeous, but you must get here early if you want one of the Cronuts that he made famous. 

Since I never get out early, I settled for his other famous pastry the DKA, or  Kouign Amann for $5.75, a savory sweet viennoiserie made with salted butter.

The flaky layers and caramelized crunchy crust are addictive enough to make you want another pastry or viennoiserie, but I had the willpower to resist!

 I will post again when I finally wake up early enough to get the Cronut :)

Proof Bakery

In a previous post I had mentioned that Proof Bakery is the home of my favorite croissants in Los Angeles. I was willing to wake up at the ungodly hour of 9 AM on Saturday morning to make the 25 mile trek to Atwater Village for their ethereal layers of perfection. I badly needed two cappuccinos upon arrival which they thoughtfully served in to go cups :)

It is IMPERATIVE that you get there by 10 AM if you want to ensure that you get a croissant. As a reward for the loss of my beauty sleep, I got FOUR! 

Wanting something a bit more substantial, I got a ham and gruyère croissant to eat there as I waited for the caffeine to get into my system; I would have been a danger on the road if I had neither coffee nor food in my system for the drive home.

I love the flakey buttery layers of all their viennoiseries and the ham and Gruyère was no exception.

Still hungry, and seeing the fresh out of the oven onion tart being put into the case, I had to get a slice of the tender crusted cheesy tart that was a savory testament to why you should eat pie for breakfast!

I must admit that I have not always made it there early enough to get croissants, but this veggie galette was a marvelous substitute with a fabulous carrot and potato filling on a superbly crumbly crust. I also picked up their lemon poppyseed scone but demolished it before taking a picture because sometimes hunger supersedes snapshots!

Bread Bar El Segundo

I drive past Bread Bar on my way home, so I tried to stop in, but parking in their tiny lot and the surrounding streets was too difficult, so I ended up walking to pick up some bread. The place in El Segundo is basically their main office, so do not expect a bakery or cafe; there is NO WHERE to sit and eat your goodies, so plan on taking your purchase home or eating it in your car. The small selection available on the day I went was three kinds of loaves and about 6 kinds of pastries. I chose the sourdough loaf, an apple turnover, and a pain au chocolat.

 The sourdough loaf was a solid choice, with a very nice crust

 and nicely chewy inside crumb texture.

I was less impressed with the pain au chocolat which was more like bread and chocolate than a true viennoiserie. Kudos for the good quality butter and chocolate.

The apple turnover had nice flakey layers, but very little filling. What there was of the filling was done well, with cinnamon, but more filling to pastry ratio would have made this much better.

I toasted up a slice of the sourdough with some Irish butter and Italian prosciutto to make a delicious snack after my trek, so it was a good day :)

Eataly Sweet Finale Part 3

The Eataly finale ends on a sweet note :) 

After perusing every sit down or take away option, my friend and I decided to eat lunch elsewhere. We made our decision based on our very picky standards; she has lived in and traveled extensively through Italy, and she has even taken cooking classes in Italy. I am just picky, especially after having eaten incredible meals in Rome for very reasonable prices. 

The rotisserie had a lamb special that day, but once we got to the counter, they said, "Sorry, no lamb today, they sold it yesterday by mistake, so we have tri tip today". Neither one of us wanted to pay over $20 for a small pizza or plate of simple pasta plus another $20 for a decent glass of wine. 

Being in the newly remodeled Westfield Century City Mall, there were many other wonderful options, so we went to my old favorite Rock Sugar, and came back for a coffee and pastry.

We looked through all the pastry and dessert cases,

and the candy cases, including the chocolate cases, and gelato stand,

 but we decided on coffee and viennoiseries.

 I chose the raisin twist,

and she chose the almond cream. We tasted both but we each wisely chose our favorite. Because there were no seats, we ended up having our coffee standing up at the coffee bar, just as we would have done in Italy :)

Since we were fortified with some sugar and caffeine, we wandered upstairs to shop in the cookware and toys section, where we saw the SMEG500, a Fiat fridge! 

For the ultimate Italian wine cooler/conversation piece! As the saying goes if you must ask how much it is, you should not buy it (you must apply to purchase it)!

Eataly Introduction Part 1

I must confess that I did not like Eataly in Rome. There were beautiful products, from pasta to condiments, many counters serving snacks and sweets, and several options for eating both inside and outside, but it made no sense to me to shop or eat there when I was in ITALY, with authentic local options literally surrounding me. The only people I saw buying and eating anything there were tourists and they were mostly American, seeking perhaps the comfort of a known brand name from the US. The equivalent of this experience would be going to chain lobster restaurant in Maine instead of a local joint, or *shudder* buying a supermarket baguette in France instead of getting one from a boulangerie. WHY?!?!?!?! Just DO NOT do it. Taste at least one peach, ripe, fresh off the tree; you can always open a can of peaches afterwards, if you still prefer them :)

Eataly in Los Angeles offers a few products that are a challenge to find here, but those who know good Italian and European markets can easily find most things for for less. Bay Cities in Santa Monica is still my all time favorite place to shop for any Italian ingredient. A1 in San Pedro has a nice selection, and Eagle Rock Italian Bakery and Deli has many great products. I like keeping small businesses alive, and the personal interactions are as important to me as the presentation, so even though I love to peruse the big name financed stores, when it comes to actually buying, I will continue to spend my money with the smaller shops.

If you prefer one stop shopping with gorgeous presentation, then Eataly Los Angeles is your new mecca. Just as Paris has the gorgeous La Grande Epicerie, and tourist centric Lafayette Gourmet, Eataly is a feast for foodie eyes. My next three posts will be mostly photographic, so enjoy the eyefest:)