State Bliss Blog — los angeles

For most of human history, we had no way of identifying what made certain dishes so delicious. We could describe sour, sweet, bitter, and salty sensations, but not savory. That is, until 1908, when Kikunae Ikeda discovered the fifth taste — umami. Umami is the essence of savory, giving life to some of the world’s most delectable ingredients like meat, soy sauce, and fish paste.

That same year, Ikeda identified the molecular happenings that take our taste buds on this journey. In short, he found that an amino acid called glutamate is largely responsible. Scientists have since expanded on Ikeda’s findings, saying there are nucleotides found in many foods that, when combined with amino acids, intensify the umami experience. It’s this interaction that gives alcohol and meat pairings so much depth, as the amino acids in alcohol pair exceptionally well with the nucleotides found in all meat.

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It can be hard to find good comfort food when trying to live a plant-based lifestyle, especially when it comes to breakfast. This is largely because living this way encourages one to pay attention to the ramifications of any excess consumption. Part of it is because, well, most comfort food relies on some sort of meat. To this, Munchies Vegan Diner in Santa Ana, CA scoffs.

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Michael Jordan beat three teams on the way to his first NBA finals appearance during the 1990-91 season: the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons. After losing a total of one game in those three series, MJ trounced the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals to begin his reign in the league. This summer, Nike honored this playoff run by releasing the Air Jordan 1 Mid SE “Rivals,” a shoe featuring each team’s colorways. More recently Jordan brand released an accompanying Rivals clothing line featuring the same bold colorways and retro style. To celebrate the release of this collection, Foodbeast and Foot Locker have teamed up to open the “Rival’s Cafe” Pop Up in Los Angeles during the next two weekends.

The “Rival’s Cafe” will open up in Foot Locker’s flagship store at Hollywood & Highland as a pick-up window that will be available to anyone buying a piece from the Jordan Rivals collection. The pop-up will be open during the weekends of Oct. 24-27 and Oct. 31-Nov. 3 from 5-9 PM Thursday-Saturday and 3-7 PM on Sundays . Here, we’ll be dishing out iconic menu items specific to the flavors of Los Angeles and Chicago.

The LA vs CHI menu pits two cities, and their corresponding versions of two iconic street foods, against each other. Let’s break it down:

First up, the hot dog. The LA Dirty Dog will have a bacon-wrapped hot dog, grilled onions, peppers, charred jalapeño, mayo, mustard and ketchup. It’s opponent, the Chicago Hot Dog, features an all-beef dog, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, dill pickle spears, tomato, short peppers, and mustard, all served on a poppy seed bun.

The other juxtaposition we see is the two city’s variations of a beef sandwich. The LA French Dip is a white roll stacked with thinly sliced roast beef and a side of beef broth, as well as the option of Swiss cheese and onions. The last menu item is the famed Chicago Italian Beef, which is an Italian roll stuffed with simmered beef, hot giardiniera, and sweet peppers.

What menu item, and city, will come out on top? It doesn’t really matter. Both cities win, purely for having these delicacies grandfathered into their culture.

But, really, it would be a shame if I had to try every item to see what I like best. A real shame.

Created in partnership with Foot Locker. 

The world as we know it would not be the same without the SPAM® brand. The delicious and affordable product  has been beloved worldwide since providing aid to U.S. and allied troops during WWII. To this day, the SPAM® brand is deeply ingrained in  cultures near and far including Hawaii, Japan and Korea. You could write a book on the iconic brand. In fact, people have. Famed for its ability to be incorporated into any dish, SPAM® products are kitchen staples. To celebrate this great-tasting, meal-time favorite, Musubi Madness, a pop-up restaurant serving all kinds of wildly tasty SPAM®-based dishes, will be up and running at LONO Hollywood in Los Angeles the first three Saturdays of September.

The pop-up will feature a Build-Your-Own-SPAM® Musubi Bar with more than  20 delicious ingredients from around the world to choose from. Once you’ve selected your ingredients, an expert chef will hand-make the musubi right in front of you. Maybe an American Burger SPAM® Musubi with American cheese, onions, lettuce, and thousand island sounds good. How about a Vietnamese-inspired musubi with daikon, carrots, and vermicelli noodles? The possibilities are endless.

The additional options on-hand at the pop-up, while not as customizable as the musubi, are equally delicious. The SPAM® Classic and Shrimp Hot Dogs are dipped in a nori batter and fried until they resemble the fair treats that we all know and love. SPAM® soft serve sundaes, topped with teriyaki caramel, furikake is a must-try for all. This is sweet and savory at its craziest. 

At this point, you’re probably wondering how you’re supposed to eat all this deliciousness with no beverage to wash it down. We got you covered. Musubi Madness will be serving tropical-themed drinks. And, yes, they’re served in the iconic little blue cans.

If you want to get in on one of these Saturday SPAM® Musubi pop-ups, make sure you RSVP at foodbeast.com/spam.

 Created in partnership with SPAM® 

Korean fried chicken is special for a number of reasons: its batter is lighter than your typical American buttermilk-based fried chicken, it’s generally not as greasy, and most importantly, it’s fried twice. This Korean fried chicken, from Michin Dak in Los Angeles, CA, is special for another reason: it’s in a taco and seasoned with ranch.

Based in Koreatown, Michin Dak will be turning out a spicy ranch Korean fried chicken taco in honor of the FOODBEAST Coast 2 Coast Ranch tour, presented by Hidden Valley ® Ranch

This cultural fusion starts with the star ingredient, with chicken strips dredged in flour and batter.

What’s unique about this chicken is that it is double fried, which is responsible for the unbeatable crunch that Korean fried chicken is cherished for. This technique works by using a lower temperature than one would normally fry chicken at, ensuring that it slow cooks and renders the fat out of the skin, turning it thin and crispy.

Once ready, the strips are slathered in a sweet honey orange sauce and generously dusted with Hidden Valley Original Ranch Seasoning. Then they’re tossed and then placed in a tortilla, where some house-made yogurt slaw, dill pickles, and a drizzle of homemade habanero sauce joins the flavor combination.

The habanero sauce works hand in hand with the Hidden Valley ranch seasoning and coleslaw to give the chicken some heat, while not letting it get out of hand. But, in case it’s too much, the taco is served with a generous portion of Hidden Valley Restaurant Style Ranch, a cool and creamy dipping sauce to help beat the heat.

The Korean Fried Chicken Taco will be available for all ranch fanatics throughout September. And, because this is just one of the ways you can use ranch seasoning to make a delicious meal, head on over to foodbeast.com/ranch to learn where the other stops of the Coast 2 Coast Ranch Tour, presented by Hidden Valley Ranch are located.

Created in partnership with Hidden Valley Ranch. 

A Top Chef runner-up is bringing her dumpling game to a brand new Los Angeles food hall, including an exclusive wonton stuffed with mac and cheese that’s part of a limited collab.

Located at the new The Fields LA food hall in Exposition Park, Ms Chi is Chef Shirley Chung’s playground to transform Chinese-American dishes to new heights. One of the ways she’s doing that is with Mac N Cheese Wontons, stuffed with creamy, cheesy pasta and served with a spicy chili oil ketchup.

To celebrate the new food hall, just outside of downtown Los Angeles, and Chef Chung’s newest spot, she’ll be giving out these wontons through the Hubert’s Food Truck on Friday, November 9th, at The Fields. They’ll be paired alongside bottles of Hubert’s Blackberry Lemonade.

If you’re interested in trying out this spin on wontons for yourself, head to foodbeast.com/huberts for more information on how to get in on this exclusive culinary drop.

Photos by Pete Pham

Created in partnership with Hubert's Lemonade