Un, Deux, Trois

  I am not quite accustomed to introducing myself to the “world.” I am sure you're wondering why I put world in quotations. Well, I am not active on social media platforms--I'm more like a possum that plays dead. Why? Well, I'm a private person. I don't like to give myself away to "friends" or "followers." Frankly, I am not that cool. If I had a reality show, well let's just stop there it would be nonexistent because my life is just that routine. But, I am okay with that because I enjoy the simple things in life. If I had it my way I would have large windows in my room with a cool breeze flowing in, fresh flowers, and delicious and healthy food everyday. Those, my friends, are a few of my favorite things. (And who would watch a reality show like that?!) So there you have it. I'm simple (and not the way Southern women use "simple" to offend others) oh, easy-going! That's the better phrase. My name is Ana-Alicia and I am easy-going. I don’t think everyone should or has the right to blast their opinions online, but they do anyway. I’m looking at you Jaden Smith!

Doing this blog is a bit out of my comfort zone, I mainly enjoy sharing my thoughts to the people closest to me, but here I am, sharing it with the "world." I’m sure one day my snooping offspring will read this and see how lame I was. (Go do the dishes you crazy kids!)

My blog will mainly be about the one thing that is essential to our survival: FOOD. Let me answer your questions 1. No I will not give you recipes nor show you how to cook/prepare dishes. 2. No I will not go to restaurants and analyze the food myself because I am too poor to visit the various restaurants this great city has to offer. 3. Why yes! I will focus on how food creates cultures by looking at review websites and restaurants with large fan bases. I chose this as my topic because food has always been associated with happy moments in my life. Growing up food was used at celebrations and today (when I splurge on myself) I eat because I have accomplished something. Oh yeah, of course I eat to survive, but in this blog food will mostly be referred to food from upscale or trendy restaurants. I have always been pushed to be adventurous with food I do have a wide range of favorites; Thai, Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican, iMeanTheListCanGoOnandOn! Since I have been "on my own" as a college student I have made a conscious decision to try new restaurants. What I have discovered is the cult-like fans of some restaurants and the good, the bad and the ugly about Yelp. 

This has inspired me to dive deeper into the trench of foodie-ism.Some questions I will ask include: How do they discover these restaurant gems in the city? How does word spread about new foods? 

 Has veganism, paleo diets and other different patterns of eating (eating organic, locally grown foods, grass-fed animals) have urged restaurants to broaden their menu options? What's up with the increase of popularity of food trucks?

I will try to stay away from focusing too much on restaurants and their dishes. Instead, I will incorporate how exterior factors that have lead to the popularity of the particular restaurant. And I will examine the restaurant's fan-base--are they families, college students, wealthy old people that drive long Cadillacs?

Happy reading!

 And just because I mentioned him earlier,  below are some of Jaden Smith’s tweets:

Jaden Smith @officialjaden

I Watch Twilight Every Night

Jaden Smith @officialjaden

20 Slizered Unicorns XxYxŸ

Jaden Smith @officialjaden

Jonah Hill Is A Genius

Jaden Smith @officialJaden

School Is The Tool To Brainwash The Youth

It was difficult to find blogs about food and culture because there's so many damn foodies out there and they mostly review food. Many of the blogs that I sorted through ranged from food review blogs to food photography blogs. I don't think I have the authority to rate food, nor do I have the knowledge to give you food recipes, and the only camera I have is on my phone. And I do not know how to use it properly. And that my friends is why my blog is about the cultures that surround food.

The name of the blog is "Eating L.A." with the clever tagline "it's your city, you might as well taste it."Thanks for the advice Pat! Pat is a writer from the Silver Lake area. She has written for Variety and she has other blogs that she writes for as well: Silver Lake Story and hipstavore. She has been bloggin' since 2004 and has written phenomenal blog posts.

 Pat is consistent about posting blogs and her latest post was on February 25, 2014. A blog that I enjoyed reading was about a new bar, the Hyperion Public opening up in Los Feliz. It was interesting because the community was concerned about having a "sports bar" in their neighborhood and the typical "sports bar" character doesn't quite fit the neighborhood's persona. (I mean who doesn't like a beefed up jock?) At least that is what the neighborhood is claiming. Pat mentions, "The upstairs bar does have TVs showing sports events, but with bingo, karaoke and live music nights, the owners are working hard to make sure the bar has something for everyone in the community." This gives me something to think about, because my blog is about food and culture and it never occurred to me that restaurants may have a hard time fitting in with the area. It definitely says something about the area. Are they too good for an old fashioned sports bar? Do they want to keep the jock-strap bro outside of their community? According to the blog the Hyperion Public has tried its best to fit in. They have revamped the interior to make it look chic and they also serve food that is appealing to the community.

Another blog that caught my eye was about a Yelp review. Apparently, Pizzeria Delfina in NYC was clever enough to make t-shirts out of their bad Yelp reviews. Now that's a knee slapper!

This blog does not specifcally relate to my work, but it does provide some interesting insight. The posts seem to vary on details, but the blog would help me best for my own blog ideas. I don't think its an academic blog, because it is targeted toward Angelinos that do want a taste of the city.

Natalie is a NJ in LA (which looks like NINJA when you are quickly glancing at it.) I can't see her bio, but if you don't mind me taking an educated guess, she was from New Jersey and had moved to Los Angeles. Chasing the dream are we? The subject of her blog is food. (Whodathunkit?) What Natalie does is food reviews many different restaurants across the Southland and posts magnificent photos of the food. Her blog is clean and crisp.

I went through several pages of her blog and many compose of voice--both personal and professional. The professional voice in the blog is to be read as an objective point of view of the food she is reviewing. The personal voice is then lightly sprinkled and gently mixed in with Natalie's professional voice. Personally, I think having both is vital for a food blog. Here are some examples:
  
"I was psyched when I was invited to 800° Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria in Westwood because   recently my friend Whitney was telling me how much she enjoyed it – not to mention, how perfect of a spot it was for a casual date. AND CUZ PIZZA!"  

Right here she is introducing the restaurant she is reviewing, but also letting us know her personal feelings about the food. She starts off lady-like and calm, but she then transforms to this giant who is ecstatic and hungry for her favorite food. I understand, girl. 

"It wouldn’t take you long to realize from looking at my Instagram to know how much I LOVE BURRATA."

The giant also loves burrata. 

"This style of pizza is eaten with a knife and fork in Italy but since I was in Westwood I didn’t feel any pressure. There’s something about holding a slice of pizza like a little baby in your hands that feels rewarding."

This is a simile. A simile is a figure of speech which compares one thing to another. Here she is explaining how you are supposed to eat the pizza, but she is a rebel. And giant has developed feelings for PIZZA. These feelings are absolutely parallel to a mother's love for her child. 

"Ethiopian cuisine is one of my greatest culinary loves so I was psyched when a friend of mine from the Craft & Folk Art Museum invited me to come eat at his family’s new restaurant, Azla Vegan."

Pretty normal sentence, but the use of the word psyched caught my attention. She could've use other words, but she didn't. That's a good thing. The word "psyched" reminds me of this down-to-earth person who can get excited about the little things. The word "psyched" has a lot of voice within itself because, usually when I hear it, it is said from a close friend. Did we just become best friends?!

 "I had a tall glass of refreshing Sorrel with ginger, which complimented my meal, a drink that spoke to this Mexican American girl forever in love with  jamaica – hibiscus to much of the world."  

This. I was bummed when I couldn't read her bio because I like knowing a bit about the author. But, when she revealed her identity I felt as if I can relate to her more. First, she mentions "Sorrel" and when it is in italics it makes it seem as if it were the most precious and mysterious liquid delicacy that only a few people in the world have actually drank. Pfft. But then she mentions her identity (yay, yo tambien un mexicana-gringa) and reveals it's just jamaica. Immediately I wanted tacos. I think I'll get some King Taco later. When she writes "hibiscus" I believe she is simply explaining what jamaica is. It's "hibiscus."   

"DID SOMEONE SAY ETHIOPIAN PIZZA?"

1

Once again instead hearing the blogger who has a trendy blog with a sophisticated voice, we hear the giant. And she is ready for more pizza.

 So after reading these blogs (as well as many others from Natalie) I  assume she has a pleasant personality. She doesn't over share her hopes, dreams, and wishes. She is excellent with combining her personality into her work without overdoing it. This type of work makes me like her because I can relate to her (especially on the part about pizza!) but I can also fully respect her line of work because she does not over share.