Tito's Tacos

11222 Washington Pl.,
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 391-5780
www.titostacos.com

Although this place serves its standard Mexican fare, it's tacos that reign supreme. At $1.95 with cheese ($1.50 without), the shredded beef tacos are worth the long lines on a daily basis. Open 9 am-11:30 pm daily.

California Chicken Café

2005 Westwood Bl.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 446-1933
www.californiachickencafe.com

Excellent portions of dark & white meat chicken, salads that'll make you unsure as to what you want to order. However, it's the wraps that I go there for. The combo wrap that has chicken, avocado, jack cheese, sprouts, Italian dressing, lettuce, tomato, and mayo is the most popular one, and the one I go almost every time. Its $7.50 and it's worth the price. Open 11 am-10 pm, M-F; noon-10 pm on Sat. They're closed on Sundays.

Diddy Reese Cookies

 

926 Broxton Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 208-0448

For the sweet tooth in me, I head to this place for some excellent ice cream cookie sandwiches. It may be a challenge trying to find a parking space and the place is near UCLA, but once I go inside, I'm in heaven, and you will be too. Call for hours.

Kampung chickens are chickens reared in people's backyards and in and out of their homes. They live as they jolly well please from the time they emerge from eggs, to when they are slaughtered for food. They are one reason why there is no starvation in Java where about twenty percent live on about one dollar a day. In Java, it would seem that there's a chicken in every pot. It is an accepted practice that if you are chicken-less and hungry, you walk along till you encounter a chicken poking around, entice it, and make off into the shrubbery before its squawking protests brings the owner out. Owners deprived of a chicken, or two in this manner are at worst momentarily irritated and after a cursory look this way and that, go back in to finish their chicken soup.

As food, kampong chickens are considered very nutritious because they fend for themselves, feed prolifically on whatever is lying around, and are considered organic. In modern supermarkets, these scrawny, barely fleshed birds fetch higher prices than plumb range fed chickens. Plucked and asleep in supermarket freezers they seem just as pugnacious and defiant, as they were when alive.

Unlovable, But Who Cares?

Kampung Chickens have never been endowed with “good looks.” Even day-old chicks it are difficult to fuss and coo over. They grow rapidly to teenage. At this time they are equipped with scaly, lanky legs, a bomb of a body, a long neck on which is loosely affixed an atrociously ugly head. Their mothers abandon them pretty quickly. By early middle age they are scarred, defeathered in parts and sport a limp. Thankfully they are dispatched by late middle age. This is the time when they are judged to have absorbed enough nutrition to be “good for you.”

Who Owns Who?

Kampung chickens are never actually reared. They are nearly always inherited from one's father, grandfather and so on. The current generations of chickens are likely to be descendants of a long line of illustrious chickens. Like a Patek Philippe they are never owned but held in trust for the next generation.

Sometimes it is unclear who owns who? The chickens officially have the rights to forage in the backyard and the neighborhood. However they are tolerantly allowed to use the house, very much as it were their own. They strut around with their chicks freely. Eggs are laid on the family sofa. Hatching is often done in the clothes cupboard. They have a strong preference to roost in the back of the television cabinet. Consequently it is not unusual to hear the five-o-clock crowing with the early news.

Land of Plenty of Chickens

Java is all volcanic and extremely fertile. Everything grows in this island.Kampung chickens therefore have an extensive menu. They eat without a break, except when roosting or during sex. When bored with what Nature has laid out for them they peck at and gobble up what man has discarded. Newspapers, plastics, buttons, shoe laces, cigarette butts and nails are fought over and polished off with great relish. Yet these birds never seem to fatten up. They are immune from all blights and diseases. They remain scrawny but tough. The female of the species is stronger than the male. The cock is all show with little substance. The female is a smart bundle foraging and pecking around, it seems, with set business-like objectives. The humans amongst kampong chickens seem to have somehow acquired their characteristics.

When The Time Comes

When the time comes for them to be dispatched for the pot, all the children in the neighbored are recruited along with the canniest adults to catch the doomed

chicken or chickens. The chase with much shrieks and squawks could last for an hour or so and cover several square kilometers. But once caught the birds stop squawking and stoically accept their fate-“If a chicken has got to go, it's got to go.”

Millions of chickens go every day to be part of nourishing meals all over Java. Kampong chicken transportation is big business employing thousands and involving hundreds of vehicles. Not unusual considering the millions of chickens dispatched daily. Trains, buses, trucks, taxis, rickshaws, bicycles and bunches of these poor birds hitched up like saddle-bags on motorcycles are the preferred means of transportation. In emergencies it has been known for chickens to fly concealed on board commercial airlines. Their silent acceptance of their fate is particularly helpful during surreptitiously devised conveyances.

Chicken Cuisine

At their destinations Kampung chickens are reserved for the healthier recipes at establishments known for their nutritious cuisine. They are never part of Hainan Chicken Rice and are shunned by Kentucky Fried. They are destined for much nobler purposes; the nucleus of a cuisine of a healthy and virile Java.

There is an extensive range of healthy kampung chicken recipes. Fortunately you can sample them without much searching and presumably get to be really healthy in no time.

Everywhere in Java, in every street you will find rows of carts, tarpaulin covered cafes,

warungs,rumah makans and regular restaurants. The main courses are the respective unique” house” recipes of kampung chicken soups, bowls of noodles, porridge and soto(noodles, bits of chicken in a light curry).

Hungry and weary tourists should lookout for these signs on food carts or food stalls,” SOP AYAM” (Chicken Soup). They are prolific and exist on every street. Or you may hail a motorcycle “SOP AYAM” or “BUBUR AYAM” (Chicken rice porridge) mobile kitchen hitched up on the back seat. There is much choice in establishments and well as “brands” and you may want to take your time to select what seems to appeal most. A generous bowl will cost you no more than 50cents with side dishes and a clutch of sauces. Hot tea is extra. A tip of ten percent will be received gratefully.

You will emerge strengthened and refreshed and mentally alleviated. There is no good taking a recipe home to mother, even if you can coax it out of the chef, unless you can take the main ingredient along and that of course is impossible. Kampong chickens travel poorly.

Chicken Economy

Thanks to kumpung chickens it is estimated that nearly 30 million people are full-time or part-time employed in the chicken soup or chicken porridge industry. These include the cook, his or her assistant, the cleaning-up guy, shared bucket carrier, waste disposal guy, the slaughterers, the pluckers, the marketers, the middle-men (there must always be middle men in Java) and the premen(the brawny protectors of roadside businesses). Allied beneficiaries are the spice, condiments, chilies, secret herbs, crackers, soy sauce, tofu, spring onions, cloves, and garlic and onion traders.

Chicken feet procurers buy in batches of five kilogram bundles which they sell at a good profit to Dim Sum restaurants in the cities. The Kumpung chicken industry and its various spin-offs was one of domestic engines which generated wheels of redeeming economic activity during the Asian Crisis of 1998 and kept the country's head above rough waters.

Tourists anxious to meet and make the acquaintance of kampong chicken will have no difficult in encountering them. They are everywhere. It mustn't be forgotten that Java is probably the most densely chicken populated island on earth. Simply look around and you will meet at one of them with minutes of your arrival in Java.

Proben or chicken proventiculus barbecue or deep fried

Proventiculus is the internal organ of the chicken that connects the gizzard and the crop. It can be barbecued or coated w/ flour and seasoning before frying.

IUD or Isaw - Chicken intestine barbecue

It was named IUD because it looks like the contraceptive material used by women in order not to get pregnant. These are boiled and seasoned before grilled.

Balun-balunan or chicken gizzard barbecue

These gizzards were already sautéed before grilled. Helmet or chicken head barbecue.

It was named helmet because it resembles a helmet. The heads were already sautéed and ready to be grilled.

Adobo o barbecue atay (chicken liver barbecue or adobo)

Chicken livers are sautéed w/ garlic, onions, laurel leaf, pepper and seasoned w/ soy sauce and vinegar. They can be put in a stick for barbecue.

007 or chicken wings barbecue

It was derived from the number of James Bond which is 007 because they appear to look like number 7.These are sautéed or marinated for hours before they are grilled.

Adidas or chicken feet barbecue

It was named adidas because it resembles the famous logo of adidas shoes. They are already sautéed and then barbecued.

Betamax or chicken blood barbecue

This is curdled and dried chicken blood, cut into cubes and barbecued. It's called “betamax” because its shape and color makes it look like a tape of a betamax. These are boiled, sautéed and barbecued.

Day-old or one day old chick barbecue

Young chicks are served as a food for Filipinos. They are dressed, boiled, sautéed and barbecued.

Abnoy (Filipino slang for retarded) or incompletely hatched chicken egg barbecue.

Even the incompletely hatched eggs are eaten. The eggs are boiled first, the shell are removed and dipped in an orange food coloring to make it appear more delicious before it is grilled.

Kwek-kwek o tokneneng or deep fried spoiled chicken egg

Eggs which do not qualify for hatching are also cooked and eaten. It is boiled, coated with yellow-orange-colored batter and deep fried.

Robin or chicken spleen barbecue, Guya or ovary duct of a chicken

The sautéed ovary duct of a chicken is the main ingredient of a snack called guya added with rice porridge. It is similar to arrroz caldo. Another variant of this is the egg caldo. Instead of adding ovary duct or chicken meat, an egg is added on the rice porridge.

Note: No. 1 to no. 12 are eaten by dipping it in a specially made sauce, ketchup or w/ vinegar seasoned w/ garlic, onion, pepper, salt and msg.

Here's a list of popular chicken recipes in the Philippines:

Adobong manok or chicken adobo

The chicken is sautéed in garlic, onion, laurel leaf and seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar.

Pinaupong manok or chicken steamed in salt

It is cooked by steaming a whole chicken in upright position in a bed of salt.

Tinolang manok or Chicken Ginger Stew with Vegetables

Sautéed chicken with unripe papaya and pepper leaves.

Sinampalokang manok or chicken stew in sour broth

Its only difference from tinolang manok is the tamarind leaves and the vegetables.

Litsong manok or roasted chicken

It is most popular recipe of cooking chicken in the Philippines and the favorite of everybody, young and old alike. What makes this a favorite is because of the sauce.

Arroz Caldo or chicken rice soup

A snack usually preferred to be eaten during the colder months and rainy seasons. It is best served while it's hot.

There are still a lot of chicken recipes in the Philippines aside from the above-mentioned list. These are the most popular and familiar recipes I know. Next time I might include dinuguang manok and pininyahang manok (this recipe is published in Note Cook). Watch out for more about chicken.

These following foods from the world cuisine are not only peculiar in their ingredients, but they also appear to be very violent in their preparation and inflict great suffering on animals. Some of the following pictures and videos are pretty graphic, and should be approached with caution. They are included to present visual examples of these types of foods, and to show that these kinds of dishes are not rare in the world, but instead exist daily in many cultures.

1. A Monkey's Brain

The following dish is actually quite a murderous scene, and the ensuing feast can be quite gruesome. A captured monkey is first forcibly pulled to the dining table. The monkey is tightly held with hoops over its hands and legs. One of the diners uses a hammer to knock hard enough to actually create a hole in the live monkey's head. Its cracked skull opens from its head and the diners use a stick of iron rod to extract the monkey's brain. The monkey usually screams terribly before dying near the table.

Some of the more aggressive and "hungry" diners may actually use their spoons to scrape through the bloody monkey's brain, eating in a greedy manner as though they have not eaten in a long time. The diners continue to eat the raw brain completely, often with their fingers and hands covered with smelly blood. Others may prefer to dip the raw brain into a traditional herb soup in order to add to the aroma while eating.

Comment: I personally cannot understand how these people swallow this bloody delicacy with no apparent regret and without nausea. I think that it is unbelievably disgusting to see how they chew hungrily on the bloody brain. While researching this article, I found many videos on this popular custom but I decided that they were just too violently graphic to use, and I decided to spare you the trauma of these painful scenes.

2. A Baby Rodent

This apparent delicacy consists of a newly born rodent, a small selection of seasonal vegetables, and a traditional eating custom. The diner initially uses a special skewer to stab the live rodent. The first "chi" sound is apparently heard as the rodent, who cannot bear the pain of being pierced, squeals as it is impaled on the skewer. As the diner dips the still-live rodent into the boiling oil, the second "chi" sound is said to be heard.

As the well-fried rodent is finally placed into the diner's mouth, the third "chi" sound is allegedly heard one last time. Such a delicacy is actually quite simple, but the diner obviously needs to have certain degree of courage, energy, and very possibly, a real culinary open-mindedness to try it.

Comment: It is perhaps not as disturbing for those who eat this delicacy as compared with those who enjoy preparing this extremely graphic type of food. Maybe they should be put in jail instead for abusing these animals in such a terrible manner. How strange it is to see people laughingly enjoying this cruel delicacy in such a happy mood!

3. Turtle Flesh

This dish begins with a live turtle being covered with appropriate seasonings and herbs, while a pan of water is being heated. As the water begins to warm, the turtle is then put into the water. Due to the extreme heat, the turtle will actually begin to drink the water as its body begins to become cooked by the hot liquid. The cook then allows the turtle to remain alive in the herb soup in order to create a good flavor. As the water gradually becomes hotter, the turtle will begin to struggle helplessly in pain.

Comment: It is really quite disturbing to see a live turtle struggling hopelessly in the extremely hot water. Do humans really have to torture the helpless animal in this manner just to satisfy their own eating instincts?

4. Roasted Duck Legs

Here is another popular food that begins with a live animal. A live duck is placed on a slightly hot frying pan. Prior to this, an appropriate amount of seasonings is rubbed all over the duck's body. Due to the heat of the hot-plate, the duck will obviously try to make every attempt to get off of the hot metal, and from time to time, it will try to jump out of the pan.

Finally, the legs will become fully roasted, while its body is still actually alive. The cook will then cut off the duck's legs for them to be placed on a plate to be ready to serve hot to the diner. The remaining part of the duck is then put in the freezer for other future uses.

Comment: This is an extremely disgusting and cruel delicacy when it is viewed from the initial moment of preparation until it is finally served to the diner.

5. Donkey's Meat

This queer delicacy involves eating fresh donkey meat, where the flesh is actually eaten raw without cooking. The diner uses a special fork and spoon to scoop out some of the flesh from the donkey. The meat is then totally dipped into the fresh red blood before it is eaten. According to tradition, the more the diner heard the screaming of the donkey, the more excited they will then be to dine on this delicacy.

Comment: What types of human being are these? They appear to be quite inhumane as they show no benevolence towards the donkey's painful screaming. This unusual eating behavior is among the cruelest in the world's delicacies that I encountered.

6. A Dried Chicken

To make this dish, the cooks need to work fast in order to create it. With the chicken completely alive, they quickly peel off the chicken's feathers, taking out the heart in an astonishingly short time. Later, they fill the chicken's abdomen with seasonings before sewing it up. Finally, they hang it up to dry it out before serving to the diner.

During the preparation, the chicken is still alive, and it will keep on making a noisy sound. It will often struggle violently to get away from the cooks. The cook's hands eventually become totally bathed in large amounts of red blood.

Comment: This chicken has to bear an extremely painful torture as first its feathers and then its heart are removed. The diner eats this dried-alive chicken with apparent pleasure. Indeed, the one time I saw this personally, it caused me to me vomit while looking at the other diners eating it in such a high-spirited mood.

7. A Flesh of Live Shrimp

This seafood dish is not only raw, but served while the shrimps are still alive. First, a cup of Brandy, Whiskey or Vodka is poured onto the live Shrimps. Then, the diner eats these live shrimp, apparently with great excitement.

Comment: This seems simply disgusting, and although it looks harmless, I was still shocked and disgusted by this peculiar eating habit.

8. Grilled Unborn Lamb

First, an entire pregnant female goat is butchered and thrown onto a charcoal fire to burn until it turns a golden brown color. When it is entirely baked, the cook will then cut through its abdomen to take out the cooked, unborn lamb from inside its mother's body. It is said that in this manner, the softness of the young lamb can offer the diner an especially pleasing taste.

Comment: This is another delicacy that just seems tasteless.

Quesadillas

Quesadillas is the first Mexican food I have ever tasted. It is also the top of my favourite Mexican food. The ingredients of Quesadillas are chicken, potatoes, refried beans, sausage, ham, scrambled eggs, black pepper, salt, butter and mushroom. In some part of the Mexico, cheese is also added. Quesadillas is also a part of Mexican culture and tradition. If you live in Mexico or go to Mexico, you can easily find Quesadillas in every restaurants, stadiums and theaters.

Tortilla

Tortilla is made from finely ground maize or wheat flour. It is one of the symbols of Mexican kitchen. Tortilla is a kind of omelette which is made with layers of eggs and sliced potatoes. Tortilla is made not only in Mexico but also in Panama, USA, South America and Central America. Eggs and potatoes are main ingredients of Tortilla.

Gaspatcho

Gaspatcho is one of the popular Mexican soup. Unlike Quesadillas and Tortilla, Gaspatcho is served cold. The ingredients of Gaspatcho soup are tomatoes, green pepper, red pepper, cucumber, olive oil, bread, salt and vinegar.

Tacos

Tacos is one of the traditional Mexican food. Tacos is made from corn flour, meat, chicken and mince. All these ingredients are mixed in a special pot called Taco. Most of the time, Tacos is mixed with spice.

In recent years, foods with black or dark colors have been recognized as a health food with medicinal effects. Japanese scientists discovered that black-colored food is rich, not only in antioxidants that prevent cancer, heart diseases and menopause, but are also loaded with isoflavins, minerals and anthocyanins. Scientists from the University of Georgia have proven that these foods are indeed very beneficial for the kidneys. Let us examine some black-colored foods and learn about their unique their benefits.

Black Rice

Emperors of China began eating black rice nearly 3000 years ago, although this was a food that was at that time forbidden from the ordinary people. Vitamin B, Niacin, Vitamin E, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron and Zinc are found in much higher levels in this rice compared with white rice. Moreover, this is a specially enriched in anthocyanins and a highly nutritional food, although it is not readily available. Some types of black rice turn into purple color when cooked.

Silkie Chicken

Surprisingly, the feathers of the Silkie chicken are white in color even though its skin color, meat and bones are black. The meat of this chicken is very tasty and rich in iron and it is useful when used in the preparation of foods for the improvement of the blood.

Mushrooms

Black mushrooms like Shiitake and Black Trumpet have a high nutritional value. It is known that Shiitake mushrooms have anti-tumor and anti-viral properties and can treat arthritis as well as severe allergies.

Blackberry

The antioxidants are very rich in these in blackberries when compared to other fruits. The polyphenol antioxidants in these fruits can help regulate the metabolic processes.

Black Soy

Black soy beans are very rich in proteins, fiber and anthocyanins. In some cultures, a tea is made with these soy beans that strengthens the bones. Studies show that black soy beans reduce the LDL cholesterol.

Vinegar

Black vinegar is a combination of rice, wheat and sorghum. Japanese use a brown colored rice for the preparation of this vinegar. The acetic acid in this vinegar reduces hypertension, LDL cholesterol and improves blood circulation.

Black Tea

Black tea is a tea made with oxidized leaves. The leaves are fermented and dried due to which they turn black. This tea has shown to be beneficial in the prevention of cancer.

Black Sesame Seeds

The Chinese traditionally begin their day by consuming this drink made from ground black sesame seeds mixed with hot water. This drink is rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, proteins and fatty acids.