Weekend Eats + Newly discovered food book

Eight tacos freshly made at Dockweiler State Beach thanks to my friends Chris and Grace who diligently grilled fresh carne asada and chicken tacos on the beach. My idea of a great Saturday.

Dinner was In-n-Out, something one rarely savors but appreciates so much more if consumed with thought and intellectual exercise. I never realized how essential the toasting of the buns was to the overall texture to the burger. In addition, I'm pondering the excess of cheese in a standard double-double and wondering if one slice of cheese would better balance the meat and vegetables. The fries are passe and need to be blanched before a final crisp. This wouldn't help the in-and-out aspect as this would invariably increase overall cooking time, thereby making even more people wait for their meal. If I were the president of the company, I would figure out a way to streamline the process to allow for the double-frying/blanching of their fries. People would flock to In-n-Out in even greater droves than they already do. Fries can make or break a meal.

Sunday was ordinary. I had one meal, some leftover pizza and oversalted clam pasta. My appetite's been waning as of late - not a good sign for a gastronome.

In other news, I discovered a swell summer reading book called "The Artful Eater" by Edward Behr. It's a distilled, more approachable "The Art of Eating" (by MFK Fisher). The writing is superb and the subject matter fascinating for the budding gourmet like myself. A Salon.com interview with Behr discusses the book here. I'm so thankful that Glendale has Brand Bookshop, one of the best used bookstores in LA, if not the country. The selection changes rapidly so I pounced on this book as soon as I saw it in the food book section. Don't have any specific food-related plans this week though I'm sure I'll have a fine meal tonight in Koreatown with the family just before my sister departs for the motherland for two-and-a-half weeks. I'll be peaceful without her bugging me about spending time with her. I'll miss her too, though.