First Ever Chipotle Cultivate Festival

Last last weekend was the first ever Chipotle Cultivate Festival. It was held at Lake Carolyn in Irving on Saturday, October 18. And the best part? Admission is free!

I first found out about this festival when I went to pick up some dinner at Chipotle. They had a poster up. Food festival? Free? And FOOD?!? I'm soooo there! I immediate looked it up online and sent the info to all my friends to let them know about it. I also told my fiance we were not to schedule anything else for that day! haha.

Other than the reasons I've already presented... I was super excited because there were also chef cooking demos and the line-up was fantastic.

First up was Chef Paul Qui from Austin. I love this guy. I first cheered for him on Top Chef Texas, which he won. Woot! Then I was lucky enough to dine at his restaurant (Qui) over Christmas last year and got to meet him!! Can you tell I'm a fan?? haha. And he is just the nicest guy ever. He made Filipino Squid Adobo. 

I haven't had much Filipino food in my lifetime but I'd really love to try. But I do love baby squid, my mom used to cook it a lot when I was young. It looked so good. I wish it was one of those demos where the audience could sample the finished product... Oh well. After the demo, people lined up to take pictures with him. Of course I was there! I got my picture. And better yet, he signed my CHOMP! shirt. *Squeal* Oh and did I mention that my fiance was actually wearing the shirt? hehehe. I know I got a good one when he lets other dudes sign his chest. :P So the day started off really well. I was super psyched to check out the rest of the festival.

After the demo, we walked around for a bit. They had several areas set up with different exhibits and demos. You can learn about fresh vs. processed foods, GMO (genetically modified organisms), how livestock is raised in factories vs. those that are responsibly raised and more. The festival was created by Chipotle to celebrate food that is "responsibly raised, skillfully prepared and delightfully enjoyed." It's such an awesome way to spread awareness for better processes and ingredients for food.

I was hungry so we went to find some lunch. There wasn't that many options for food, but they all sounded really yummy.

ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen (a new concept of Chipotle) 
Meatball Bowl (Jasmine rice, green curry, green papaya slaw, herb salad, charred green beans with chili jam & crispy garlic) $6~ 

My fiance got this. I wanted to try it too. I absolutely loved it. The meatballs were super tender, and that green curry was delicious. It had a spicy kick to it too. The papaya slaw on top added a crunch and freshness to it. It was the best dish of the day, in my opinion. It was a little too spicy for him though, he ended up liking my kale salad more. Seriously though, we totally need a ShopHouse in Dallas (currently there's only 2 or 3 states in the US that has it)!!

Kale Salad (Baby kale, roasted corn-escabeche, crumbled cotija, crispy tortillas, and chipotle-honey vinaigrette; Choice to add grilled steak) $7~ 

I'm loving the whole kale craze because I think it's a great vegetable and so good for you too. It was a little salty... I think they were a little heavy handed with the cotija. I do like the steak addition, it had a lot of flavor. Overall it was good, lots of textures and flavors. But the meatball bowl was better.

Sofritas® Tacos (Sofritas® organic tofu, in soft corn tortillas with fresh tomato salsa, Romaine lettuce and shredded cheese) 2 for $6~ 

A friend of mine got this. I have to say, it looked a bit sad. Other than the lettuce and hot sauce, I didn't see anything else. I tried a bite. The tofu was cut into little teeny tiny pieces and I really couldn't get much of it at all. I wonder if their chicken taco was better...

Next, we moved on to the Artisan's Hall. There were many local vendors showcasing and selling their products. More food! Yay! hehe. A lot of the products looked yummy, but I had to choose one... I was already a little full.

Texas Honeybee Guild
Whipped Honey (cinnamon) $9~ I've never even heard of whipped honey but it sounds cool! My fiance said he's had them before and it's awesome. So he got a jar of the cinnamon one. I tried it when we got home and it's pretty tasty. And I'm not even a huge fan of honey!

Pop Star Handcrafted Popsicles
Cucumber Lemon Mint $3~ He also got a popsicle. Personally I would've opted for the strawberry lemonade flavor but I had my eyes set on a different vendor. The cucumber popsicle definitely tasted like its listed ingredients. It wasn't too sweet and was very refreshing. He really liked it. That combo isn't for me...

Butterfield Gourmet
Chocolate Pie Slice (topped with whipped cream) $5~ I got a slice of pie. It looks so ooey gooey, I just had to try it. Yummers! The filling was dense and gooey. A bit too sweet for my friends but I liked it. I wish I had some ice cream or milk though. The bottom of the pie had kind of caramelized so it was even sweeter during a few bites. It's definitely very decadent. Thumbs up.

 

They also featured several other businesses that have partnered up with Chipotle for the event. One of them was Tabasco! Holla. Shout out to one of my favorite hot sauces. And I'm traditional, just the original flavor for me thanks. All the mini sample bottles were so cute!

Then it was time for the next chef demo I was waiting for... Matt McCallister of FT33. The hottest restaurant in Dallas right now I'd say. And I agree, I think it's probably the best restaurant in town. 

I was lucky enough to go to a special event there with my friend and got to eat a 3 course meal prepared by the chef. I ate lamb! I never eat lamb because I don't like the flavor, but his dish, I cleaned it. That's a VERY big deal. We got to the tent after it had already started so I wasn't sure what he was preparing. It was a porridge of some sort? But using different grains/oats that I wasn't as familiar with. He showcased his knowledge on a variety of ingredients. And the final product looked delicious. I also got a picture with him and he also signed the CHOMP! shirt! :) Wheeeeee!

After the demo, we hit up Ben & Jerry's. Another partner business and one of my all time favorite ice cream brands. They were giving out free samples! Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

It was soooo chocolatey and decadent. I pretty much love all their flavors and their creative names. I would LOVEEEE to work for Ben & Jerry's some day. :P
The next chef demo we watched was Chef Kent Rathbun, a big name in the culinary world (especially Dallas). Most of you have probably heard of his restaurants Abacus and/or Jasper's. 

He also owned Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen which was my favorite restaurant in Dallas for the past many years. I found out this year that it closed down. :( I was devastated... He was demoing chili, but not your typical ground beef stuff, this was giant chunks of choice steak. When the breeze came through, you can smell the aroma. OMG! Salivating! We can definitely tell that he's more seasoned in doing demos because he seemed very comfortable on the stage and talking to the audience. Afterwards, I got to ask him about Blue Plate Kitchen and he told me to "stay tuned", things are in the works. That cheered me up some. I can't wait to see what he's going to do next.

It was a great day. The festival was going on til 7PM but we left around 3:45PM. Amanda Freitag was going on next, but we missed her... She's frequently featured on Food Network's Chopped as a judge and also competed on the Next Iron Chef. I wish I could've met her. I love all those shows.

I would say the festival went very well. It was well organized, all the people/volunteers were very friendly. They featured great food, information, demos, and oh yea, live music! There were multiple bands playing on the stage throughout the day. So a little bit of everything for everyone. :) I definitely look forward to next year's event. I would love to see them add more to the chef's demo list and also more vendors in the Artisan's Hall!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

LA Burger

It's been too long since I was at LA Burger... So I decided I needed to get a good burger and meet up with some friends before I leave for my Japan/Boston trip on Saturday! I got a big group together (as always) and hit up LA Burger on Friday night.

LA Burger
10045 N MacArthur Blvd.Ste 113
Irving, TX 75063
(972) 501-9188
http://www.la-burger.com/
Price: $

We had a group of about 15 people, but we were not the only large group there. The place was packed!! Another large party was there for a birthday I think, but other people kept on walking in throughout the night. I'm so happy to see their business doing so well. And as always, it's BYOB!

I noticed a couple new things on the menu since the last time I was there. Which isn't saying much since it's been over 8 months since my last visit. haha. Time sure flies! But they added sweet potato fries and onion rings under the sides. In the burger section, they added a few new choices as well including a turkey burger.

You know me... always trying to change it up. So I ordered a LA Burger with the turkey patty instead of regular beef. LA Burger (sauteed Korean spicy cabbage, cheese, fried egg, jalapenos) $6.95~

I really liked the turkey patty. First of all, it was huge! And had so much flavor. It was almost like a turkey sausage patty. As always, I love the sauteed kimchi on top and the egg that is just cooked perfectly with the yolk oozing out. I'm not sure if they changed the bread but seemed like this time it got soggy faster... not good. Still one of my favorite burgers in Dallas though.

My bf ordered one of their newer burgers. Something Cali? It had lettuce, tomato, onions, fried egg on top of an Angus patty. He loved it. It was just a bit messy. hehe.

And since I love sweet potato fries, I asked if they could do the K-Fries with them instead of regular fries. $5.95~

Of course! They are very accommodating. It was fantastic! I loved the slight hints of sweetness from the sweet potatoes with the salty and spicy sauteed kimchi. I might have to try the "K-Onion Rings" next time. haha.

My friends brought other friends that have never been there. They all loved it. Especially raved about the K-Fries.

Another fun and delicious time at LA Burger. If you haven't gone yet, where have you been? And when you go, tell them CHOMP! sent ya! :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

**FYI..I'm writing this as I'm sitting in the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka. My first time in Japan! Stay tuned for Japan-food-awesomeness in the next few weeks!! **

LA Burger

Went back to LA Burger Friday night. :) This time I brought like 10 other people with me! hehe. Gotta help spread the word! Half the group had been already and the other half were new. But everyone loved it!

LA Burger
10045 N. MacArthur Blvd. Ste# 113
Irving, TX 75063
(972) 501-9188
http://www.la-burger.com/
Price: $

Of course the LA Burger (fried kimchi, fried egg, American cheese, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato) $6.95~ was the most popular choice.

I was promoting it big time! haha. One guy said he's found his new favorite burger in Dallas. Yay~

K-Town Burger (fried kimchi, lettuce, tomato, teriyaki sauce, spicy sauce, jalapenos) $5.95~ So I did something kinda funky... I replaced the beef patty with the salmon patty and got it "naked", hehe, which means sans bun and wrapped with lettuce.

They've never done this before but was more than happy to accommodate. They did say "at your own risk" when I ordered it though. haha. None of us knew how it was gonna turn out. I just wanted to try the salmon patty but I didn't want the components of the Salmon burger. I still wanted the fried kimchi and jalapenos and stuff. It was quite interesting. Not what I imagined in my head though. I liked the sear and texture of the salmon patty, but felt it was a bit too fishy. And I didn't care for the teriyaki sauce. It was a little runny and quite messy. But I still loved the fried kimchi and the lettuce wrap definitely made it a "healthier" option. I did miss the bread though since their buns are pretty awesome. So my concoction didn't really work out. But at least they were very accommodating to my requests. :) I'll stick to the beef patty next time.

Oceanside (I think is the name?) Burger (Salmon patty, lettuce, tomato, mayo, pineapple, teriyaki sauce) $6.95~

Another friend of mine ordered the actual salmon burger. He said it was ok. The LA Burger is still definitely the winner. He felt the same about the fishiness of the salmon and the messy teriyaki sauce.

Seoul Dog (Hot dog topped with bulgogi and fried kimchi) $4.95~

My bf ordered this since he hasn't tried it yet. It looked amazing! And it was definitely yummy. We both liked how they sliced the hot dog in half. There were more sides to sear! Topped with the kimchi and bulgogi...added so much flavor. One thing I wanted was a bit of freshness though. Maybe some shredded lettuce or fresh herbs or something would make it even better.

K-Town Fries (fried kimchi, onions, bulgogi, cheese, cilantro) $5.95~

I requested cilantro on the side for ours since I don't care for it. We ordered a bunch of these among the group. Everyone liked it. I ate wayyy to much of it. haha. Good thing I chose the lettuce wrap on my burger to kinda offset the carb level. haha. :/

We had a great time! Again, the service was great. We'll definitely be back in the future and hopefully everyone takes more of their friends there as well. :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

LA Burger

Ahhhhh! I FINALLY got to go to LA Burger in Irving! I've been hearing about it for the past month or so and my bf has been there like 4 times already... I was beginning to feel left out! haha.

LA Burger
10045 N. MacArthur Blvd. Ste# 113
Irving, TX 75063
(972) 501-9188
http://www.la-burger.com/
Price: $

My weekends are pretty jam packed so Sundays are typically the only day I can drive out to try something...but they are closed on Sundays! *tear* I didn't think I was gonna be able to go this weekend again, but last minute my scheduled opened up on Saturday and I snatched that opportunity!

It's located in a more residential area in a small strip center. Walking in, the decor was pretty basic and you place your order at the counter. I liked the style of their menu on the wall. It was written in colored chalk and has a fun little design to each option. It brings a cute and relatable factor. I also got a kick out of their "Soju St." street sign on top of the register. haha. There were only a few tables when we arrived, but as we ate, more and more people came in. I'm glad business is doing pretty well!

Of course I had to try the famous LA Burger (fried kimchi, fried egg, American cheese, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato) $6.95~

I've heard so many great things about it and seen so many pictures. Can't go wrong with kimchi and a fried egg on top! It was a good sized burger. Slightly bigger than those you would find in In-n-Out or Mooyah and stuff. It was pretty freaking amazing! Sorry my picture does not do it justice at all. The meat was juicy and tender. I love love loved the sauteed kimchi and egg. Next time I would definitely request more kimchi though. Since it's sauteed, the kimchi wasn't too sour and just added a hint of spicy. Personally I wanted it spicier so I dunked it in some sriracha which was awesome! haha. And the egg...cooked perfectly. The yolk was just runny enough but not too runny to explode all over your hands. Every bite was delicious and all the elements worked together. And it wasn't too heavy or greasy! I liked the buns as well. It was soft but held up to the juiciness of the ingredients well. It definitely did not disappoint! Even after my super high expectations!

One of my friends got the K-Town Burger (fried kimchi, lettuce, tomato, teriyaki sauce, spicy sauce, jalapenos) $5.95~

It's similar to mine minus the egg plus teriyaki sauce. I just tried one small bite. You can taste the teriyaki sauce but it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet, which is good. But it wasn't as good as the LA burger cuz it's missing that egg! hehe. So if you are not an egg person, you can opt for this one.

My bf got the Asian Hogi's (Dejigogi - Korean style pork marinated in spicy sauce; lettuce, tomato, mayo in a lightly buttered and toasted hogi bun) $5.75~

It looked soo good! The hogi was FILLED with pork. The pork was super tender and had just enough fat. The flavors were bold and really great. And the hogi bun had great texture and held up to the meat well.

Another friend got the Asian Tacos (Bulgogi - traditional Korean marinated beef; onions, cilantro, spicy sauce served on 2 fire-grilled corn tortillas) $4.95~

He wasn't too hungry so the tacos were just the right portion. You get 3 tacos to an order. I'm not a fan of corn tortilla so I didn't try a complete bite. I tried the bulgogi and it was pretty standard. I think they should actually sautee the bulgogi with kimchi and put that in the tacos. That would add a lot more flavor! My friend really liked it. He said the sauce on it was awesome.

And we HAD to get the K-Town Fries $5.95~

It looked amazing! Fries loaded with sauteed kimchi, onions, bulgogi, cheese and cilantro. It's a meal by itself! It is easily shareable between 2-4 people depending on how hungry you are. The bulgogi and kimchi flavors were great. This is what needs to be in the tacos!! I would also get more kimchi on this as well. It was delicious!

All the ingredients were fresh and the burgers are made with 100% certified Angus beef. The flavors were interesting and worked together beautifully. I don't think I can have a regular burger again...since I loved the sauteed kimchi so much!!! haha.

I also got to meet one of the owners, Ben. He was super nice...goes around checking on all the customers to make sure things were great. I will definitely be going back in the future. I just hope they can open on Sundays and maybe relocate to Plano in the future!! hehehe.

Go check it out!! You won't be disappointed! :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~