The Vitals: the spot: The Goat Mafia 625 N. Alvarado St Los Angeles CA  the eats: Goat tacos(birria and cabrito) the bucks: $2 the full nelson: goat tacos dressed like they were served at a top tier restaurant. And for $2 a pop.

Tacos can be delicious in so many ways. They can be authentic street renditions that make you feel like Anthony Bourdain traipsing through Mexico City. They can be horribly Americanized, served in a crunchy shell filled with ground beef, shredded lettuce and cheese and still draw deep admiration from a loyal base(gringo and Latino alike). They can be fancy/pricey and still satisfy the soul because meat and tortilla fill the belly at any price point. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Mr. Menudo 15323 Atlantic Ave Compton, CA the eats: Menudo the bucks: $9  the full nelson:  a full on Menudo only specialist working the streets of Compton CA

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The Vitals: recipe: Instant Pot Lamb Dum Biriyani  difficulty: medium - lots of spices/ingredients, a fair amount of prep if you're not used to making Indian food on the daily health rating: indulgent. If you do this right with fatty lamb, whole milk yogurt and white basmati rice, you hit a cheat meal 4 sho  time: Instant Pot time 6 minutes + natural pressure release. 30 minimum minute marinade time. 1 hour prep. 

Much to my chagrin, the wifey scored an Instant Pot during Prime Day last year and I could not be happier to be wrong about getting a new kitchen gadget. The Instant Pot is a fabulous excuse to try time consuming, slow cooked recipes within the context of modern life, i.e. cooking meals on the fly. Since getting an Instant Pot I stopped buying carnitas by the pound at the local Carnicería and ordering Indian takeout. Now it takes a few solid recipes + trial and error for me to full on quit takeout on genres like Indian and Mexican but they are out there. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Everson Royce Bar 1936 E. 7th St. LA CA 90021 the eats: Single Burger the bucks: $10 the full nelson: a delectably simple statement on a burger that much like LA will take all your money and leave you wanting more

And this is the moment when Bang for your Burger Buck jumps the shark. (more…)