Lobsterfest-ing @ Quality Seafood

September may signify the end of summer, but for lobster-loving Angelenos, it's also the month of lobsterfests. With three successive festivals taking place on consecutive weekends in Long Beach, San Pedro and Redondo Beach, it can be hard to figure out which festival to go.

My personal choice this year, none of the above. Instead, my friend conbon and I took off to Redondo Beach's Quality Seafood, already well known for their live steamed crabs & other seafood fare, for their monthlong Lobsterfest special.

Instead of paying a $10-15 admission for the other three festivals, and then another $20 or so for the meal, our hearty lunch at Quality Seafood clocked in at a reasonable $18, and it included a 1.25 pound lobster (but it felt heavier than that), whole ear of corn, steamed potato and "butter" for dipping.

And the meal was great, the lobster meat was firm, succulent and faintly sweet, and the corn & potato were nicely cooked as well. They're fine with the butter, but I enjoyed them even more with the tomalley (five year old FDA warning be damned, especially since I only consume this once-twice a year.)

For $2 more, you can get a tall boy of PBR to wash it all down (though the wiser choice would be to hauling your thirst a few stalls down afterward and quench it with some craft brews at Naja's Place, which we did.)

I know, the other lobsterfests offer music, entertainment and rides too -- but if you're going purely for the food, you might as well save yourself some money (from the admission) time (from long lines) and scheduling hassles (from trying to figure which location which weekend) and go to Quality Seafood instead, any day through the 30th.

Quality Seafood
130 International Boardwalk
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(310) 372-6408
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Recipe: Stir-Fried Pepper Corn

I know nothing beats shucking kernels off a freshly steamed/boiled/grilled cob, but this stir-fried pepper corn is excellent too, especially when fresh corn is out of season (you can swap in frozen corn!) And no matter what time of year, its sunny hues, sweet crunch & fiery heat (from a chili-infused oil) make for an instant, delicious throwback to warmer, brighter summer days.

This recipe is adapted from Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, my go-to reference for all things wok-related. On top of easy-to-follow recipes and useful ingredient & preparation tips, the book also includes numerous tales of how this simple cooking technique & instrument followed the Chinese population where-ever they traveled, sometimes merging with other cultures and cuisines to create dishes like Chinese-Jamaican Jerk Chicken Fried Rice and Stir-Fried Bagels (which I've tried and actually enjoyed), other times being the only means to get a taste of home no matter where they go.

Of course, there's a plethora of familiar & authentic recipes too, such as yang chow fried rice, kung pao chicken and stir-fried ginger beef (last of which she gave a video demo on.) But her summer pepper corn is one of my reliables for a party, it's a cinch to make and is a great vegetable side that easily complements many main dishes.

Tips for The Taste

Since the 2013 The Taste is coming up this weekend, I figured it's time to do a repost from my old blog, which has some observations & tips based on last year's series of events.  

Personally, I'll only be able to make it opening night this year, but the rest of the lineup sounds promising too. So snag a ticket while you can, there were some that sold out ahead of time last year -- to the disappointment of quite a few who expected to buy at the door. 

It's been three weeks out and I still can't get over the sheer gluttony & indulgence at The Taste LA, the three-day, five-event L.A.Times-organized extravaganza highlighting the amazing bites & sips this city has to offer.

Taking place over Labor Day weekend, The Taste was a series of events structured around different themes, from the family-friendly Labor Day Picnic on Monday to the more spirited Cocktail Confidential to profiling SoCal's signature eats with Flavors of L.A.

Overall, I had a fun time, from . . .

 

. . . tasting dishes from some of my favorites around town, from Huckleberry's baked goods to the mini lamb burgers at Haven Gastropub to the Autumn Maple beer from The Bruery.

 

. . . to trying new fare, like FigOly's crab-topped gazpacho, lobster rolls from the Terranea resort and beer cocktails made with Hangar 24's Orange Wheat by the Golden Gopher.

 

. . . to attending the demonstrations & presentations, such as this one on beer cocktails with LA Times' Betty Hallock and The Beer Chicks.

   

. . . to, of course, meeting the chefs, bartenders, proprietors and fellow bloggers & writers in-person and upfront (which, frankly, is too many to list unless I want to turn this blogpost into a NaNoWriMo production!)

 

That being said, like most other food events in town, there are always room for improvement--while The Taste was held on the lovely Paramount Studios set, it had a dearth of devices to deal with the crazy heatwave that weekend; fans, misters, or an A/Ced room would've been much appreciated. (I was, however, plenty thankful that Icelandic Glacial provided plenty of cold bottled water to the hot & parched masses.)

Then there are mishaps typical at most food fests, oppressively long lines at some stalls, vendors running out of foods/drinks way early into the event, not enough seating for demos/discussions and some tables turning into a precarious garbage Jenga (the trash cans aren't that far away, people!) 

And in anticipation of The Taste's comeback next year, here's some handy tips to keep in mind to maximize your fun at this event:

1. Buy tickets early. A no-brainer, but especially worth mentioning here - the price from it's initial pre-sale to day-of purchase went from $50 to $75 a person, a 50% hike! Also, Flavors of L.A. completely sold out ahead of time.

2. Strategize & prioritize. Study the map and note which restaurant/bar/vendor are must-trys and hit those up first to minimize the chance of them running out by the time you get there.

3. Buddy up. While one of you wait in that uber-popular (and ultra-long) line, the other(s) can go hit up the shorter lines in adjacent stalls, making that wait a lot less grueling (and a lot more tasty.) 

4. Share your plates (at least for the first run.) The small sampler portions are deceptive, but they add up and before you know it, you're beyond full and not even halfway through the venue. Divvy up that first plate with your line buddy, and if you really like it, go back for your own seconds. It also helps cut down on the food waste.

5. Swaps and subs are a no-no. Generally, what you see is what you get, so don't break the cadence of the production line (who are already swamped enough as is churning out hundreds, if not thousands, of dishes & drinks) with special requests.

6. Get to demos/discussions early. Like, by 10 to 15 minutes -- even if they are running behind schedule. Those seats fill up fast!

7. And, if they are not in a rush cranking out orders, chat up the vendors. These people are definitely passionate about the places they work or the products they represent, and you might even get the scoop on an insider tip and be the cool cat who knows about the off-menu dish or upcoming changes. Or even a gift card/coupon for a future visit.

 

Just a few things to keep in mind for next year's Taste, which I look forward to checking out again!

Disclaimer: My admission to the Taste events was hosted.

Additional photos on flickr set here