Duck – The Unvegan

9/4/2018 Events Saint Paul

Minnesota State Fair 2018

State Fairs are often an afterthought. A relic of times past when most of us lived in rural areas and guessing the weight of a pumpkin was the best entertainment of the month. They offer variations on the same rides, foods and entertainment that you find at your local Memorial Day Carnival or County Fair and, I mean, how many people even go to those? But the Minnesota State Fair is so far from an afterthought that it seems to be on the minds of Minnesotans for the 50 weeks of the year in which it is not in operation. Plans are made, new foods are devised and longed after; then, just like that, it’s over again. This year, however, the Unvegan paid a visit to see how it would all stack up.

Bacon Beers Cheese Cheese Curds Chicken Duck Events Greek Italian Meat Meatballs Minneapolis Minnesota Minnesota State Fair Northwoods Pork Pork Belly Sandwiches Sausages St. Paul State Fairs Travel Turkey

4/26/2016 Reviews San Gabriel

Perfect Shanghainese at Emperor Noodles

There is a saying attributed to Jonathan Gold that goes something like “‘A’ is for ‘American’ Chinese food, ‘B’ is for ‘Better’ Chinese food and ‘C’ is for ‘Chinese’ Chinese food.” The letters, of course, are in reference to the health code and if you’ve ever been to China, you would know this to be true. Thus, when I heard great things about the dumplings at Emperor Noodles in San Gabriel and then found out it had a “B” rating, I got pretty excited to try it out.

Chinese Duck Dumplings Emperor Noodles Kung Pao Chicken Los Angeles Restaurants San Gabriel San Gabriel Valley Seafood Shanghainese Sheng Jian Bao Shrimp Soup

2/29/2012 Reviews Los Angeles

Golden Road to Unlimited Libation

First off, no, there is no such thing as unlimited libation at Golden Road Brewing. But I just couldn’t resist making the painfully obvious Grateful Dead reference. Especially because there was nothing at all Grateful Dead about the brewery. As one of the few microbreweries in LA, Golden Road resides in a sketchy part of Glendale and is kind of personifies a blend of collar and hipster, at least in decor and architecture. The food menu tries to bridge that gap as well, but leans heavier on the latter than the former, with a frightening number of vegan menu items and a couple of sandwiches to scare any blue collar visitors back to the smelting plant.

Beer Duck Glendale Golden Road Brewing Los Angeles Meat Microbrewery Restaurants Sandwiches Sloppy Joes

1/18/2012 Reviews Los Angeles

Dining in Cooks County (REBRANDED)

EDIT: Cooks County is now running around town going by the name of Market Provisions. No idea what that means for the food.

You may think that as a meat blogger I am constantly defining which restaurants my girlfriend and I eat at. Often that is the case, and for no other reason than that people are constantly giving me suggestions, but this weekend we reversed the trend and she took me out to dinner at a place from her own to-eat list. The place was Cooks County in Mid-City and although a quick Google search will reveal no county named Cooks, there is certainly at least one Cook County (in Illinois), which may be some sort of basis for the naming of this restaurant.

Cooks County Duck Lamb Los Angeles Meat Mid City Restaurants

1/6/2012 Reviews Los Angeles

Beer Belly for My Fearless Belly

Two of the things I love most in this world are beer and my belly. No, I don’t have a beer belly…much, but when a gastropub in Koreatown called Beer Belly opened up, I figured I had to try it out. I was meeting a group of people, and arrived to find the place packed. And this was not a big place. Like about 8 tables and a few bar stools big, and all of them were loaded. Plus, it was first come, first served, so we got to hang around the tables like vultures surrounding a wounded gazelle. It was the tail end of happy hour, though, so I ordered a beer and hoped a table would clear out soon. Fast forward thirty minutes and we’re still waiting when a woman working the place asks if we’re waiting for a table. Uh, no, lady, we’re just standing here awkwardly for the hell of it. She then proceeded to ask us if we wanted to be on the list. This “list” was new to us, and apparently also new to her, as she told us she had just started it. Well, at least we wouldn’t have to stand awkwardly any longer.

Bar Food Beer Beer Belly Duck Fries Gastropubs Grilled Cheese Koreatown Los Angeles Mac and Cheese Meat Sandwiches

11/12/2009 Reviews Mobile

More First Fridays with the Flying Pig (CLOSED)

Who wouldn't eat from a bright pink truck? — Who wouldn’t eat from a bright pink truck?

EDIT: While the truck is grounded for good, the Flying Pig has spawned some brick and mortar that may or may not be anything like the truck.

For my second course on First Fridays in Abbot Kinney, I headed out to one of LA’s newest food trucks, the Flying Pig. When I first read about this Mexican-French fusion truck, I wasn’t too amazed by what I read. Fusing Mexican food with Asian is one thing, but to try to fuse it with French as well seemed like a strange niche that I didn’t need to explore. Lo and behold, my opinion changed when I saw the truck and the happy customers outside of it.

Abbot Kinney Duck First Fridays Flying Pig Food Trucks French Meat Mexican Mobile Taco Trucks Venice

The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan

A Quick Bite at Burrito Express

Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus

Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘Duck’