Post 89: London Olympics Opening Ceremony Royal Potluck

To celebrate the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, I originally thought it would be fun to celebrate at a local pub and drink gallons of beer.  Somehow my thoughts of sitting on a bar stool and chasing Jameson with New Castle evolved into a British themed potluck with friends at my apartment.  This is the e-mail I sent out to my guests.  In case my poor attempt at Shakespearean English cannot be understood, colloquial English is provided in green.

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!  Listen up bitches.

From thine host to thee, the sirs and madams of Camelot, Arcadiashire and the Thames, might I trouble you to save the fifth day of thine work week for the royal potluck in celebration of the Queen's crowning athletes and the knights of the roundtable?  The awesome potluck to celebrate the Olympics will be on Friday.

Please grace us with your knighted presence and thine bountiful British booty at six hours past the time of the highest sun.  The jubilant stroll of our friends and foes begins at seven and two quarter hours past the time of the highest sun... sharp.  Please arrive around 6.  The Parade of Nations starts at 7:30 sharp.  Don't be late.

Details for the festive feasting will be distributed by the Royal Palace via electronic post by the hour of the Royal Prince's return from his laborious work in automotive data analysis with the peasants of Yorkorange County.  I will e-mail more details after I get home from work.

The invited guests have been knighted with the following names: Allison of San Diego Abbey, Catherine of Cerritobridge, Christina of Taipei Castle, Elizabeth of the Royal Family, Erin of the Southern Riverbend, Grace of Arcadiashire, Ken of the San Marino Cathedral, Ronbernie of the Land of Lettuce and Leprechauns, and Stephanie of the local district.  No peasants allowed.  These are the guests.  No assholes allowed.

The Royal Prince of Cambridge  Michael

And these are the dishes that the royal guests brought to the royal potluck.

Tea sandwiches by Erin of the Southern Riverbend,

a variety of finger foods (pinky up) with turkey and bacon, curry chicken, and sun-dried tomato... a dainty way to start off the night.

Sausage rolls by Catherine of Cerritobridge,

baked up plump American style as pigs in a blanket... maybe to show some national pride (USA! USA! USA!) before she weds Mr. Mulholland and becomes a Scottish man's woman?

Cottage pie by Christina of Taipei Castle,
a traditional British dish made of ground beef and minced onions topped with buttery, fluffy, mashed potato.  The lady of Taipei Castle used shallots as well as onions, grated carrots instead of chopped carrots, and zucchini to sub for peas (the lady of the castle hates peas).  And it was all simmered with a cup of Merlot.  'Twas bloody good comfort food.

Bangers and mash by yours truly, the Royal Prince of Cambridge,
using a fusion approach to the traditional English pub grub.  Rather than Cumberland sausage, I subbed in some spicy Italian sausage, and I simmered the onions using not only pinot noir and worcestershire but some soy sauce with a heavy dose of course ground black pepper as well.

English trifle by Allison of San Diego Abbey,
in individual cups with layers of pound cake, strawberries, bananas soaked in orange juice, and custard... homemade whipped cream and fresh blueberries adorned the top.  The clear cups made it easy to see all the colorful layers of trifle.  And it made it even easier to see all the ground beef and cottage pie stashed beneath the custard in my cup.  Christina of the Castle is quite the sneaky one...

Of course Ron of the Land of Lettuce and Leprechauns arrived with a little Olde English (well played, Sir), and Stephanie of the local district doused the potluck with a Jameson tea party.  The Newcastle and Guiness were good choices too.  Ah, and we closed the ceremony with some tea and cookies from Jessica of Arcadiashire.  We've eaten quite a bit of potatoes now, haven't we?

Although this is long overdue, we wish all of the olympic athletes well.  We will be cheering for the home team... USA! USA! USA! Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120727

Post 80: By Invitation - Clifton's Cafeteria Facade Unveiling (LA: Downtown)

It's been quite a while since I've visited Clifton's Cafeteria.  In fact, it's been at least 15 years since I last visited Clifton's Silver Spoon location on 7th Street in Downtown LA.  When I would visit my dad at work on the weekends, he would take me down to Clifton's for their fried chicken and mashed potatoes or sliced turkey and stuffing.  On birthdays and other special occasions, my dad would bring Clifton's multi-layered chocolate cakes home to share with family and friends.  I loved Clifton's fried chicken.  It was crunchy and crispy and eons apart from the Pioneer and Kentucky Fried Chicken that I was used to.  On the occasions that I ordered the turkey and stuffing, I munched on the bread stuffing as slow as I could so that I could make the savory taste linger around on my tongue.  I always remembered those times because it was rare to have things like mashed potatoes or chocolate cake.  It was such a treat to have classic American fare because I was so used to having traditional Chinese and Taiwanese food at home in my younger years.  Anytime that I could get away from a taro birthday cake from the local Chinese bakery was a cherished moment in my eyes.  Clifton's has definitely been missed.

So imagine my excitement when I was invited to attend the revealing of the original Clifton's Cafeteria facade.  The building's facade at the Brookdale location had been covered with metal grating for almost half a century, so few people know (or remember) what the classic cafeteria actually looks like.  New owner Andrew Meieran (who also owns The Edison) put plans in to renovate Clifton's and restore its facade and entryway as part of the Bringing Back Broadway project.  Local media and fellow culinary cohorts were invited to have lunch at the cafeteria and watch the revealing of the facade.  How freaking cool.  The first person I thought to bring along was my dad.

Okay, so the facade needs a little work.  But we'll let the pros handle that.  In the meantime, though, I'm eagerly anticipating the classic cuisine of Clifton's Cafeteria from back in the day... except now it's going to be made with all organic produce and sustainable ingredients.  Other areas that the newly renovated Clifton's will bring are the bakery, a bar and lounge area, and a classic soda fountain the 50s.  The famous indoor waterfall will also be preserved.

During the media lunch, we were first treated to the cafeteria line... buffet style.  I went straight for the mashed potatoes.  The pot roast was definitely a side to my mashed potatoes.  There were plenty of choices for salad, but classic Caesar can't be beat.  Clifton's macaroni was prepared in the simple old fashioned way as mac n' cheese rather than macaroni drenched in cheese sauce.  The slightly burned cheese crust was magnificent.  I kept lunch light for fear of a food coma induced faltering of work place productivity.

For dessert? Raspberry jello, of course.  Personally, I think that jello has got to be one of the worst culinary inventions in history.  Truly, for the lack of a better word... yuck.  But I was in a cafeteria.  And when in Rome... raspberry jello it was.  Luckily, there were a variety of cupcakes at the dessert counter.  No multi-layered chocolate cake, but these red velvet cupcakes kept my nostalgia at bay.

Thank you, once again, to Arpi and Barbara for inviting me and my dad to attend this historic unveiling.  It brought back some cherished childhood memories for me, and it fueled the anticipation for Clifton's grand re-opening.  18 months and counting... can't wait to see it when it's complete!

Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20120208