Zoka Coffee Roasters

Over the years, I've really started to develop a taste and love for coffee. Maybe it was my taste buds maturing as I got older. Maybe it was that my job has me starting work at 5 o'clock in the morning. Whatever the case, I'm happy that it's in my life. And as time goes on, I've been able to try a wide variety of coffees, everything from the bitter and acidic to the smooth and robust. Now, I feel like I can honestly say what is my favorite coffee: Espresso

When it comes to a lot of food and drinks, I tend to take on the saying "Go big or go home". When you are gonna go big with coffee, you go the espresso route. You get the boldest flavors and the most kick out of a shot of espresso.



My favorite espresso to this point isn't the one pictured at the top of the page. It's actually Illy. To me, Illy is the top dog when it comes to espresso. Smooth, rich, with no bitterness to be found. Plus, it's strong as hell. One shot before work will get you flying!

As much as love Illy, it's not the only one out there. I've tried a few other and have been greatly disappointed. I started searching Amazon and came across this one. There weren't that many reviews, but all were good and the price was comparable to Illy.

I placed an order, and about a week later it arrived. Before I even opened up the bag, the aroma of the beans hit me and I knew I was in for something good. Then it hit me that I ordered whole beans and don't have a grinder.

Ok, before we go any further, let me just get this out of the way. Yes, I've been drinking coffee this long and didn't have a grinder. I had always bought ground coffee and was comfortable doing it. After tasting it fresh ground, I realized I had been making a HUGE mistake. Don't worry, I've been kicking myself in the ass since I tasted it.



After a quick trip to Target, this is what I came back with:

Now it was time to try my new coffee. I ground up a few tablespoons of beans and brewed the espresso through my stove-top espresso maker. When it finished, I poured myself and small cup and gave it a taste before adding anything to it.

Before I even tasted it, I saw that the color was a little lighter that what I'm used to seeing. That isn't a bad thing at all.

In most cases, all I add to espresso is a little sugar. I try not to mask any flavors that are naturally there. I tasted the coffee pre-sugar, and it was a bit much for me. I then added about 1 teaspoon of sugar to it. And guess what? It was too sweet! So, I knocked back that sugary concoction and used only about 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar in cup number 2. Now I could get a better sense of what I was working with.

Like the bag said, it did have a slight nuttiness to it. It was very smooth with a strong finish, but not strong enough to back you off after a small amount. It did seem like there was a tiny amount of bitterness to it. If you take your espresso with steamed milk, that would probably be more than enough to cover any bitter taste that is there.

Overall, I'm really happy with my purchase. I still think Illy is better, but Zoka is a pretty close runner-up.

Check out the link and see for yourself if Zoka is something you might be interested in.

Zoka Coffee

Stay safe my friends!

J. Miller

Meet Nadia G. And The Baron

If you have no idea who either one of these characters are, don't fret. Hopefully, by the end of this post, you'll want to see for yourself what all the talk is about.

The lady on the left is Nadia G, host and creator of the show "Nadia G.'s Bitchin' Kitchen". The gentleman on the right with the raised eyebrow goes by Baron Ambrosia. He is the host of "The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia". These two have a few things in common besides being the topic of this post. First, both of their shows can be seen on The Cooking Channel. Second, both shows had their humble beginnings as series' on the web. Thirdly, without a doubt, these have to be the most unique and creative food shows on the air right now and possibly ever. They really are something you have to see to believe.

Since I believe in ladies going first, we are gonna talk about Bitchin' Kitchen. The show will start off like many cooking shows do. She will start each show by explaining the inspiration behind the meals being prepared in the episode. The inspiration could be something like preparing dinner for the in-laws to cooking on a meager students income. And that is where the show stops being like all the other shows.

Once the show gets going, you can quickly see this isn't your average cooking show. From the bright colors of the set to the high heels she's got on, there's a lot coming at you visually. And it doesn't stop with her, in the most literal of terms. She isn't the only character on the show. She is joined by a trio of guys to help explain some of the ingredients being used in finer detail. Here they are:

From left to right we have Panos, Hans, and the spice agent. Panos is the meat and fish guy. Hans is the food correspondent and usually has no shirt on and explains the heath benefits of certain foods. The Spice Agent talks about......SPICES! Never would have seen that comin'!

What I forgot to mention earlier is that everyone on the show is CRAZY! From Nadia to the three stooges pictured above, all of them are a bit nuts. And it's that insanity which makes the show hilarious.

The food isn't bad at all. I think it is about par with a lot of the other shows out there. I do like that she uses raw sugar in place of regular granulated. But, to be honest, It's not the food that brings me back. It's all the characters and quirkiness of the show that has me looking forward to each episode.

Now for the Baron.

If I had to compare this show to any other show out there, it would be Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. He doesn't actually cook anything himself. He visits small local eateries showing what any tourist would probably never see. And that's where the similarities end. The Baron's show is more like a sitcom than a cooking show. There is a plot to each episode, along with some fairly bad acting. But that's ok! The show is meant to be campy.

The show is unique in that food just happens to be there. If you take out the food, it would still be a show. There's that much going on in each episode.

One of things I like about this show is his weird sense of humor. One episode, he was given a food that he was told was an aphrodisiac. After tasting it, he responded "This is the type of food I would have before a date....with an entire harem.". That's the kinda shit I'm talkin' about!

There are also a couple other things I really like about him and his show. First is that he reps the bronx to the fullest. I can respect that. Second, he always gets a lot of black and brown faces on his show. He is all about ethnic flavors. I absolutely love that. You'll see more black faces in one episode of his show than you will see all day on Food Network.

Here's a trailer for his show before it got started.

Now check out Nadia G doin' her thang.

All in all, both shows at least deserve a look. I like 'em. Some people can't stand 'em. It's really your personal taste. Honestly though, how many times can we hear "My take on a classic" at the start of a cooking show and not feel like we've seen that a million times? While these two shows may not be the prototype of future cooking shows, I believe that they are gonna open up the doors for creativity in the cooking show realm. If the web can spawn these two delights as well as other hits like Epic Meal Time, I think the future of food television is headed for big things.

J. Miller

I claim no ownership of the pictures presented in this post. All pictures were found online through google search.

Los Cotijas Taco Shop

When I make that decision that I'm not going to cook dinner, I start going through the list of "Usual Suspect" restaurants that I can depend on for good, inexpensive grub. When I'm in the mood for Mexican food, I know this place will do the trick.

Now, this isn't the type of place you take a date to. At least one you plan on spending more than one night with. It's more of a hole-in-the-wall with only a few seats to go around. I almost always get my food to go, but since I was just getting off of work, I figured it would be nice to sit down for a bit and relax.

This place claims to have one of the best fish tacos in the O.C. I've had them before, but it had been a while since then. I knew they were good, so I ordered 2 fish tacos, 1 shrimp taco and a drink. Here's what I was looking at:

Now, I'm not an expert on fish tacos. I can't say whether or not they have the best fish taco in town or not. What I can tell you is that I really liked it. The fish was fried perfectly, the slaw on top was good, and a squeeze of lime brought it all together. It was really good eatin'!

Here's a closer look:

I love shrimp, so ordering the shrimp taco was a no-brainer. Check it out:

This taco kicked ass! Plain and simple. No elegance needed for this one. It was fucking good! I don't know what they cooked it in, but the sauce with the shrimp was delicious. It had a little heat while not overpowering the shrimp.Not overcooked at all and became a great pairing along side the fish taco. 

While the fish taco was good, it was also a little tame. The shrimp taco had fire to it. A brightness and intensity to it that was a pure delight. OK, that last line was a bit more refined, but the taco still kicks ass!

If you ever happen to stop by this place, order these two together. If you aren't a fan of fish, then I'm shocked you even kept reading! But don't worry, they have lots of good stuff on their menu.

Los Cotijas Taco Shop

11951 Euclid St.

Garden Grove, CA 92840

(714) 636-3944

That's it. 

Well, that's not quite it. I wasn't even going to share this, but since this happened there, I'm gonna tell you.

After I placed the order, I sat down and started using my phone. At that point, a woman stepped up to the counter to place her order. She had her back to me and, as a guy, I did what I usually do: I checked out her ass. And you know what? It was nice. There's a lot I would've done with that booty. Then she turned around, and I noticed something that put all those previous thoughts to rest. She must have been 6 or 7 months PREGNANT!!! I was shocked! I honestly couldn't tell from the back view.

I felt a little bad about it. Eye-Fucking pregnant women is not my M.O. I'd like to think that I draw the line somewhere. 

So, that is officially it. To sum it up, Tacos are good. Eye-Fucking pregnant chicks is not good.

J. Miller