Lola Vida | Lola Tapas

el Fin

2010-06-04T07:44:00.001-07:00

Spanish Fly

2010-05-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

THIS is Lola.

What she ate...and what he wants.

2010-04-28T17:31:00.001-07:00

Thank you Michele, whoever you are, for making our gambas dish look so beautiful on Chow Bella. Your illustrations capture so much more than the food...

And, thank you Mr. Champiñones for coming in regularly to eat the mushroom tapa. I know what you want.

Mushroom recipe coming soon...

Boh-Cah-Dee-Oh

2010-04-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

The perfect union of rustic bread, organic greens, and Spanish Jamón, the BOCADILLO is now on our lunch menu. We will be changing this little morsel weekly, so check back to see if something catches your appetite.

Also new this season is our Gazpacho Bloody Mary. Full of healthy anti-oxidants, our gazpacho bloody mary is the answer to "I had too much sangria the night before".

For those of you who do not indulge in such things such as vodka spiked gazpacho, I've also started making Hibiscus Iced Tea. It's tart, cranberry-like flavor is made from an infusion of flor de Jamaica (Hibiscus flowers) and is high in vitamin C. C for C'mon, have a Gazpacho Bloody Mary.

the Underdog

2010-04-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

Devoured Culinary Event 2010, Phoenix Art Museum

Well here I am with my Paella Crew, wearing my vintage apron as promised earlier.

Pretty much the underdog as far as our setup went, we were proud of our little LOLA. She cranked out over 500+ mini servings of paella that afternoon, in addition to samples of marinated olives, and occasional free advice.

If you missed the event, no worries, paella is now a permanent item on our lunch & dinner menu. And, just because we felt like the underdog, doesn't mean we didn't leave feeling like champions. Viva LOLA!

LOLA Spring Festival

2010-03-25T19:09:00.001-07:00

"Sweet springtime is my time is your time is our time for springtime is love time and viva sweet love. "
-- e.e. cummings

Please join us April 10th 11-2pm for our first annual Feria de la Primavera! Flamenco + Sangria Bar.

Being Devoured

2010-03-11T14:34:00.001-08:00

So this year, along with 50 other independent restaurants, I will be participating in the "Devoured" event held this weekend at the Phoenix Art Museum.

I am excited for a couple of reasons: ONE, I get to join forces with other small restaurants in preparing small dishes for our lucky ticket holders, and TWO, I will be one of the few restaurants participating that is woman owned.

So in honor of my humble beginnings, grandmothers, and homecooks everywhere, I am tossing aside my box of a chef coat for this event. I am wearing an apron. I refuse to be devoured by this man's world called the restaurant business - I mean have you seen the chef coats out there? Perfect if I was size XXL and 6 ft. tall. So c'mon Phoenix, devour me in all of my cuteness this Sunday - I'll be making Paella while wearing a vintage Mexican apron circa 1955, representing women everywhere.

www.phxart.org/devoured

Moroccan Memories

2010-01-15T10:56:00.001-08:00

This week I've been longing to travel. Somewhere far, colorful, exotic, and tasty.

Since that's not happening anytime soon, I've decided to think about one of my favorite travel experiences: Morocco. Yeah, I know - being nostalgic is not the same as a being there, but I do love thinking about it.

I loved Morocco. I loved the maze of gritty streets, communal ovens, the most unforgettable spice markets, and the call to prayer on the public intercom.

I remember getting henna done on my hands, getting lost, cleansing my body with enough sweet mint tea to detox all of the wine I had in Spain, buying kilos of spices just to experience the souk, and eating in little restaurants and cafes. I loved the freshly squeezed orange juice made by the man in the mysterious white cocktail jacket, rosewater lemonade, and of course the earthy tagines.

When I returned to the States I was so taken by Morocco that I bought a Le Creuset Tagine, learned how to do henna, and suddenly found myself making Moroccan spice blends while walking around in my red leather Moroccan slippers. (Somehow, it made my spice blends feel more authentic).

I thought I would share two recipes with you that were inspired by my trip. Feel free to adjust them to your liking - slippers not required.

Moroccan Lemon Dressing

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. cayenne

2 crushed garlic cloves

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 Tbsp. sugar

Combine all of the spices, salt, and sugar in a small bowl, mix with a spoon. Add the lemon juice and crushed garlic, stir. Slowly add the olive oil and whisk. That's it. This dressing works well with any type of fresh or sauteed greens or roasted vegetables.

*I always prefer to grind my own spices for recipes, but use whatever is easiest for you.

The Souk's Spice Blend

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. tumeric

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. red chili flakes

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Be creative - use this blend on roasted or grilled meats, roasted vegetables, or in a tagine.

Tempting Tempranillos

2009-11-30T09:42:00.001-08:00

juicy Granada details

2009-11-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I was walking through Granada, whose namesake means "pomegranate", when it all happened. This blood red, juicy symbol was popping up everywhere. I first noticed the manhole covers. How could something this boring be so photo worthy? Pretending not be a tourist, I stole a shot and went on my way. Between the iron gates, fire hydrants, gardens and menus, I was in love with all of this city's juicy details.

And now to Phoenix. Symbol: the phoenix bird. Pomegranates are now in high season here in Phoenix. They are growing fat on my street, in my parent's backyard, and for sale in just about every farmer's market right now. Perhaps because we are so much like Granada, (the phoenix bird IS represented on all of our city vehicles), I thought I would offer you a refreshing recipe using our own Phoenix Pomegranates.

Pomegranate Sangria

Seeds from one large Pomegranate

1 cup Triple Sec

1 bottle Spanish red table wine

2 cups Pomegranate Juice (I used POM)

5 Tbsp. honey

1 cup seltzer

1 lemon, cut in slices

Place the pomegranate seeds and lemon slices in a pitcher, then add the triple sec. Using a wooden spoon, mix the triple sec into the fruit, then pour in the red wine, honey and pomegranate juice. Stir. It's best to chill the sangria for a couple of hours to allow the flavors of the fruit to infuse with the wine. If you don't have the time, add the seltzer immediately. I usually can't wait. Serve with ice.

three little birds

2009-09-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

this is eric. he makes me think of the bob marley song "three little birds" when i get stressed out. he uses words like: got it. no problem. done. did it. already wrote it down. finished. started. made a list. don't worry. and my all time favorite: i took the liberty of....

we work side by side each day cranking out ideas and food. some people may think i only greet customers on fridays and saturdays, or, just pay bills and buy flowers. truth is i am in the kitchen each day making sauces, desserts, specials and orxata - all while paying bills, calling in orders, taking phone calls and shooing away the random homeless man who steals my oregano. some days everything don't seem all right.

knowing that eric and the rest of my staff "took the liberty" to organize the pantry or refrigerator just makes my day and it is at this time that i start humming this bob marley song in my head:

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!"
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing" - I won't worry!
"'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right" - I won't worry!
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, oh no!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!

...and that's her life!

2009-09-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

About Lola. Lola is a girl that knows lots of foods. Like caperberries and chorizo and jamón and that's her LIFE!

Lola was bored.

She found the sidewalk chalk and headed out to the restaurant patio. I was thinking another Spanish Flamenco Mermaid, but Lola had something else in mind.

I guess this was her grassroots effort slash journal entry for the day exclaiming that chorizo was her life. I had no idea - but I guess when you are in the restaurant business as much as she is, chorizo kind of does become your life.

Paloma's Good Combination for a Wine Tasting

slices of Spanish chorizo

caperberries

pieces of manchego cheese

baby grapes (champagne grapes)

olives

crusty bread and olive oil

Paloma said to arrange the ingredients on a big plate - you can make it pretty with fresh rosemary. Serve it with red wine - or in her case, pomegranate juice so that everyone thinks you are drinking wine.

Modern Frida - dirty hands

2009-07-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

A few years back, a friend of mine gave me the nickname "Modern Frida" after listening to me talk about how I love getting my hands dirty. I love Frida Kahlo, so I was down with this nickname.

There's something raw and sexy about jeweled stained hands and dirty vegetables.

Some of my favorite stains come from peeling roasted beets. My hands have a ruby hue that lasts almost all day! And saffron? It IS the most expensive spice in the world. Having golden stained hands just screams bling no? But my favorite: pomegranate. Taking out those juicy little seeds one by one shows everyone how patient you are and that you just don't care what anyone thinks. I think Frida would approve.

Today I was in the kitchen washing leeks. I love how all of the dirt sneaks into every little crevice. What a reminder where vegetables come from when you still see earth clinging on to them. I think that is why I hate packaged baby carrots. They're too perfect and I feel as though they are suffocating in that plastic bag.

If you feel like getting dirty, visit your local farmers market. Although small, my favorite is the Wednesday market at Town & Country, with my favorite stall being McClendon's Select. Let me know what you did with your dirty find...I won't tell anyone.

Town & Country Shopping Center

2021 E. Camelback

Phoenix, AZ 85016

A little road trip. A little shopping. A little taco stand.

2009-07-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I closed the restaurant as usual for a small break from the scorching heat. My passport, ready to be used, was tucked away for another time, because this mama could only afford California. No complaints though...I had a great time.

Whenever I travel, I love getting somewhat lost. It is with this "luck" that I find the best markets and small places to eat. This trip was good for getting lost with all of it's one way streets and sudden on ramps to the freeways.

While wandering around downtown on foot, I found the Grand Central Market on Broadway. Mostly a Latino market, it's filled with spices, pre-made molé, tons of produce, and food stalls. After grabbing a Mexican hot chocolate, I bought whatever made me happy: fresh oregano, Persian yogurt, kidney beans, beets, eggplant, and a whole lot of other produce. I didn't know what I was going to make yet. The meal was forming on it's own.

I left the market in deep concentration as to what I was going to do with all of these vegetables. Then I was sidetracked by the Pupusa stand. Making the pupusas right there on the sidewalk, the "Pupusa Lady" was stuffing those little balls of masa with so much cheese and black beans they were screaming to be eaten before they exploded. I kept walking, one hand with my market bag, the other with a pupusa. I still didn't know what I was going to do with all of my vegetables.

The next day my friend and I went driving around. Literally. He had eaten at a tiny taco shop called Yuca's days before I arrived and now wanted to take me there. After a few U turns, we found the little shop, stand, restaurant? I was in love with it before I even ordered. All of the seating was outside, which is the only thing you could do because the kitchen was all of 100 square feet. You go up to Dora, who takes your order on a paper plate, and then you wait. I waited for Conchita Pibil tacos and and fresh pinto beans. They were both so good that I went back and ordered more, this time a green chile burrito with pork. Turns out that Dora's little Yuca taco stand won a James Beard award a few years back! No wonder it was so good.

I couldn't help but to smile at the staff working the kitchen. It was so tiny. Tinier than my kitchen at Lola. I know what it is like to work day in day out bumping elbows, reaching over someone, all while trying to get the food out. That little kitchen was like my pupusa the day before: stuffed so tightly with beans, cheese, and cooks.

My trip went by so quickly! I ate and cooked. Visited family and ate some more. I was super reluctant to head back to Phoenix. I mean it was only 112 degrees, but still. I was just getting used to the Michael Jackson fans....

My friend and I headed back to Phoenix. Once into Phoenix we went to Pizzeria Bianco where I stopped by to see my friends Chris and Susan. I had a great pizza, cold beer, and a plate of roasted vegetables. Man! that is what I should have done with all of those vegetables! I've been going over menu ideas for Lola, relaxing, reading, and thinking of where I want to go next. . .

Grand Central Market

317 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles

Yuca's

2056 Hillhurst ave located in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles

Pizzeria Bianco

623 E. Adams in downtown Phoenix

Rice pudding, I need to get married....

2009-06-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

Latinos/Hispanics love a good story. In our kitchens, stories are told, repeated, and elaborated. Recipes are exchanged. Food is prepared. Songs are sung and memories are created. All while getting the latest chismé.

As a child, I remember trying to sing the nursery rhyme "Arroz con Leche". Although, there are many variations of this song, they all have the same theme: Rice pudding and marriage. Of course.

Everything has a backstory. Growing up I learned how to make sopaipillas from my mother who learned from her mother and so on. Preparing this delicious "bread" wasn't just about the ingredients, it was also about your mood. According to my grandmother, if you want your sopaipillas to rise and be "happy" you needed to be in a good mood. The sopaipillas were empathic. So sadly, if you were preparing them for guests and/or your family, and they turned out flat, everyone would know you were not happy. How embarrassing. We are funny like that.

Even the names of our dishes are mini stories. I have these fritter-type pastries I like to make called "Suspiros de Novia" (Sighs of the Bride). Sounds like a Venezuelan telenovela, but no, they are tasty little pastries just as delicate as a young bride.

Another dish found in one of my many cookbooks is called "Arroz del Jueves de la Madre de Ramón San Martin" (Thursday's rice from Ramón San Martin's Mother ???). What would this be called if you made it on Wednesday using Thursday's rice? I am sure some grandmother out there already figured this out.

Anyhow, I need to decide on my upcoming specials for the restaurant. Maybe I will have some fun and prepare some dishes such as the ones mentioned. Fun for my staff at least. I can see it now. "Tonight we have asparagus prepared in the way of Felicia's Spanish landlord Joaquina Meres Trujillo and a gypsy's arm for dessert".

Arroz con Leche Song

Arroz con leche
me quiero casar
con una señorita de la capital
Que sepa coser
que sepa bordar
que ponga la mesa en su santo lugar.

Arroz con leche (Rice pudding)
I'd like to get maried
to a young girl from the capital
Who knows how to sew,
who knows how to embroider
who's able to set the table in its rightful place

Growing up in "la Cocina"

2009-06-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

Since the days of carrying her around in a Mayan sling, Paloma has always been in this business. Now eight, and on summer break, she spends much time with me at the restaurant, or, with her father at his coffeebar. While at the restaurant, she colors, watches dvd's, practices her knife skills, or plays with dolls.

Fortunate to have been brought up around food, she has a great palette. A friend of mine once asked Paloma what her favorite food was to eat. After a little hesitation, she told him it was fennel. My friend wasn't familiar with fennel and asked her to describe it. She replied, "Have you ever had black licorice? It's kinda like black licorice mixed with jicama". What a great description. I was proud.

On this day she is peeling garlic with Eric, my main chef at the restaurant. He keeps her busy with little jobs that she takes seriously. Paloma really feels part of the restaurant and loves giving her input for menu ideas. She recently asked if she could have her own business cards.

Her current favorite item on the menu is our Andalucían Spinach with Garbanzos. Simple and so nourishing for a hardworking girl like Paloma. I will teach her how to make this eventually, but for now, her favorite dish to make is scrambled eggs with manchego. She does everything from start to finish, I just turn on the gas.

The two of us are always at the restaurant Wednesday evenings to enjoy dinner. Come by and see us and maybe she can give you some suggestions for your next tapas party.

~ Paloma's Recipe for Eggs with Manchego ~

4 large eggs

milk

7 pieces of Spanish chorizo

a handful of shredded manchego cheese

salt and pepper

olive oil

*parsley

First, whisk the eggs with the milk. If you want to know how much milk to use, you have to pour it slowly and count to 10. Then, add the chorizo and manchego cheese. Heat up the pan and add a little olive oil. When the pan is hot, but not too hot, add the egg mixture. Cook very, very slowly using a spatula. When the eggs are done make it pretty with chopped parsley, salt, and pepper.

*Paloma's suggestion is to use parsley from a garden.

the door

2009-05-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

La Cocina del Infierno - Hell's Kitchen

This mop-stained door is "my" door. It is my entrance, it is my exit. It is a perpetual reminder that I am a Chicana who owns a Spanish restaurant.

I flirted with Spain at a young age. Flamenco lessons and polka dotted gypsy dresses carried me through my teenage years. New Mexican "Spanish" rice was soon replaced by paella, and bolero jackets were sneaking into my wardrobe. I was in love, and couldn't wait to meet her.

My sister met Madrid when she was 18. I was excited and green at the same time. I mean, it should have been me! I had to listen to all of her stories about the two of them eating together, staying out late, and drinking cheap wine. Married, young, and itching to travel, my ex-husband and I went to visit my sister and Madrid.

She was everything I had imagined. She even liked her coffee the way I did. She seduced me with her favorite restaurants, bars, alleyways and friends. I didn't want to come back. So I stayed, and the three of us had a six month relationship. It was during this time that I learned so much more about food and it's importance to a culture.

Cooking was always a natural curiosity for me. I grew up on New Mexican green chile, fat tortillas, and homemade beans and dried corn. We had grapevines, fig and pomegranate trees, citrus and a garden. I loved our food. I loved cooking our food. But something stirred within me while staying in Spain. I fell in love with her.

And so little Lola was conceived. The lovechild of a Mexican mother and country named España. She has grown into a beautiful soul. And each day, as I pass through my door, I am reminded about my humble beginnings, my ancestors, and the ritual in which we eat.

Lola Vida, Coming Soon

2009-05-18T01:08:00.000-07:00

Check Back Soon For More!