The Juicy Lucy. A Hot Mess of Awesomeness! Dog Haus. Pasadena & Alhambra, CA.

A bigger and better Dog Haus.

The Dog Haus is a mecca for tube steak excess in all its multi-toppings glory. With selections like the Double Dog Dare (a monster meal in between buns consisting of 2 hot dogs, white American cheese, grilled jalapeños, onions, the option to top any one of these cardiac concoctions with a fried egg) and their third location open in a little over a year, the Dog Haus has successfully convinced healthy, sensible Southern Californians that living a long life and looking good naked is not all that if you can't stuff your face with an Abe Froman (one of Dog Haus' popular sausage rolls) or two.


Wet & wild!

Although famous for their fully loaded dogs, there are other classic (and over-the-top) favorites at Dog Haus. Their version of the Juicy Lucy, a cheeseburger with a cheese stuffed beef patty, is a delicious hot mess... literally. By the time you take bite number two of the Dog Haus' Juicy Lucy, the eight King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (4 on top, 4 on bottom) that sandwich the patty will have dissolved into a King's Hawaiian sweat roll, all soggy and mushy. Most likely you'll end up finishing this burger with a fork.

The Juicy Lucy absolutely lives up to its moist moniker of juiciness and loosiness as you'll experience upon your first bite when a gush of hot, liquified American cheese penetrates your gullet like a UC Davis cop dousing students with pepper spray ― it's a shock at first but then it gets tasty.

Topping your Juicy Lucy with a fried egg may be as unnecessary as Lindsay Lohan requesting one more shot of booze for her Long Island Iced Tea, does it really matter? In this case, the fried egg did contribute a satiating crispiness to the burger thereby further confirming the notion that topping anything off with a fried egg does in fact make it taste better.

The success of the Juicy Lucy is really the sum of all its extreme parts. Kind of like the Avengers, when all those super freaks assemble, then they become extra awesome. The fusing of the nicely charred 1/3 pound Angus beef patty, molten cheese infused with meat juices, soft and sweet King's Hawaiian dinner rolls and the fried egg upgrade is a dream team-up (in a hamburger kind of way). The combination of all these flavors and textures mingling and melding creates a delectable exorbitance that you can only experience with the Dog Haus' take on the Juicy Lucy.

FYI, grab a side of the Sweet Tater Tots. They're like crunchy, hot, sweet potato donut holes. The best tots ever!


Odd couple or perfect pairing?

You may hate yourself for eating at the Dog Haus but there is salvation right next door in the form of an LA Fitness gym. Coincidence or conspiracy?


Yes, you can!

Who cares. Just be glad you now can has a Dog Haus Juicy Lucy cheezburger. Right, LOL kitty?

Dog Haus (original location)
105 N Hill Ave
Ste 104
Pasadena, CA 91106

626.577.4287

Dog Haus (newest location)
410 E Main St
Alhambra, CA 91801

626.282.4287

Dog Haus Biergarten
93 E Green St
Pasadena, CA 91105

626.683.0808

A Bloody Good Bloody Mary at TAPS in Brea, CA. But Is It the World's Greatest Bloody Mary?!

Mary, Bloody Mary!

The scenario: You are hungover. Badly. Your recollections of the prior night are only a notch above those of an amnesiac. Clues of what might have transpired are strewn here and there like a bourbon drenched version of the film Memento: A Mercedes hood ornament. A book of matches from a local dive with 6 digits scrawled inside the cover. Black lipstick stains on your sleeve. A VHS copy of Deliverance from the public library. Suddenly your throbbing headache shifts into high gear and becomes a pounding, driving, power drill-to-the-brain headache.

A Bloody Mary probably sounds pretty good right now. But not all Bloody Marys are worth downing even in your compromised condition. It's especially in times like these when you need to treat yourself to a bloody good Bloody Mary.

TAPS Fish House & Brewery in Brea is ballsy enough to name their version of this "hair of the dog" cocktail the "World's Greatest Bloody Mary". Superlatives aside, it is a really delicious and effective Bloody Mary. As far as what goes into TAPS' World's Greatest Bloody Mary, there is quite a bit of stuff.

In the mix: Tomato juice, orange juice, fresh lemon juice, freshly grated horseradish, fresh shallots, Worcestershire Sauce, Tabasco and spices.

The Vodka: 2 ounces of Skyy.

On the rim: Coated with TAPS blackened seasoning — over 16 spices, dried herbs and other ingredients.

The garnish: You won't find the requisite celery stalk, instead there's a skewer with a giant prawn, cherry tomato, pimento-stuffed olive, sweet salad pepper, pepperocini, tomolive and dill pickle, like a drunken salad bar.

You'll fork over $9.50 for the "World's Greatest Bloody Mary", and it's teamed with a 7 ounce Cream Ale chaser — one of TAPS most awarded beers. The Cream Ale chaser comes off like dessert after a few sips of the savory, salty, spicy Bloody Mary.

This Bloody Mary is most in demand during TAPS' Bloody Sunday Brunch, er, I mean, Sunday Brunch. Unfortunately, the World's Greatest Bloody Mary is not refillable, but the rest of the brunch is.


You say ersters...

You'll find fat Oysters on the Half Shell being feverishly shucked and served as fast as humanly possible. These oysters were satisfyingly plump but not as briny as I prefer, still good.


Git yer buffet pants on!

Other favorites included the juicy Prime Rib, Jambalaya and Pecan Crusted Salmon. The sassy jambalaya was dense with spicy sausage and dotted with awesome okra. The Pecan Crusted Salmon with a Cream Ale Lobster Bisque was a selection that I almost passed up and am glad I didn't. Crunchy and crispy on the outside, moist and flavorful on the inside, it's one of the best items on this brunch buffet. The Cream Ale Lobster Bisque just gives it that much more flavor and depth while adding a creamy sweetness.


Get some huevos, ranchero!

Another surprisingly amazing item was TAPS' Huevos Rancheros. Satisfying upon the first bite, you get a bunch of great flavors and textures with a fried egg, black beans, freshly made salsa and fragrantly crispy corn tortilla at the base, all served on a small cast iron skillet. If you're bad ass enough, put 2 drops of Blair's Habanero Death Sauce on top, burn a hole in your gullet then head over to Farrell's across the street for a Pig's Trough to put out the flames.

Your experience at any buffet may vary. As a rule, I say wait for the fresh batch of the item you want to be brought out and then grab it immediately. Selections like fish can dry up pretty fast on the buffet line. Stalk and swoop that buffet!


Like a mini-Vegas buffet with over a hundred tasty items...

So then, is TAPS' Bloody Mary the world's greatest? With all those great ingredients, it might come close. But even if it isn't the Muhammad Ali of Bloody Marys, I can say without hesitation that TAPS' "World's Greatest Bloody Mary" can knock down a pretty brutal hangover. And that's pretty great in my book. Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!

TAPS Fish House & Brewery (Brea)
101 East Imperial Hwy
Brea, CA 92821
714.257.0101

Eating Placenta is Good for January or Anytime of the Year!! January Jones Mad About Placenta. Afterbirth―It's What's for Dinner!

Actor and Placentophagist, January Jones.

So maybe you heard that January Jones of Mad Men fame has been promoting placenta pills and their powers in battling the postpartum blues.

Her placenta pills, fashioned from Ms. Jones' very own afterbirth, are usually made by dehydrating, drying and grinding the fresh placenta then filling a capsule with the placenta powder. Finally, whenever the new mom feels a little down, she simply gulps down the easy to swallow pill. Clearly, based on public reaction to her story, the concept of consuming your own placenta is not so easy to swallow, even in gelcap form.

If you're familiar in the slightest with Deep End Dining, you'd know that I have no problem with placentophagy or the act of eating placenta. The problem I have here with the January Jones story is that she's not really "eating" placenta. She's just popping a pill. It's no big deal. It's not gruesome. It's also not the best way to consume it if you're serious about the organ's positive health effects.

I firmly believe that pulverizing a placenta into powder form destroys much of the beneficial elements, such as T cells and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone), so that's a great argument for putting on a placenta bib, picking up a fork or chopsticks and chowing down on a placenta.

Besides, telling people you had your own placenta medium rare or bundled in a tortilla de nopal is much cooler than saying you took it with some Vitamin Water.