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Duck House without Yarom!

Oct30

Restaurant: Duck House [1, 2, 3]

Location: 501 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 284-3227

Date: April 3, 2022

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Good duck

Duck House is a staple SGV restaurant for my gang. The food is good, it’s on the closer side, and the owner is incredibly nice. I’ve even housed a birthday dinner here. But this is my personal first return after the pandemic.

The logistics of this dinner were a bit odd as we had two tables and about 14-15 people so there were like 7 at each. Yarom had organized and preset the menu but his plane returning to LA was severely delayed/canceled and so Yarom wasn’t at his own dinner! This has never happened before, not in the approximately 400-500 dinners I’ve eaten with him! He never cancels or misses for anything. He’d show up with a freshly amputated leg if he had to. Also there was a full copy of each dish ordered for each table so there was way too much of most stuff.

Peanuts. They always have these on the table.

Bang Bang Chicken. A bit of numbing. This was one of my favorite dishes actually, all owing to the “crack” sauce.

Squirrel Fish with the super goopy super sweet sauce. Too sweet. Too heavy.

Lobster with ginger and scallions. Very succulent. Totally solid Cantonese lobster.

Eel Sticky Rice. Tastes very Japanese somehow.

Peking Duck. Duck House has very good duck. The skin is nice and crispy. They serve it in this old school manner which has the advantage of lots of skin but the disadvantage of being a bit cool (it was carved back in the kitchen) and the meat being a touch dry.

Condiments. They have proper thin spring pancakes and good hoisin.

Duck Bones. The regular version just roasted. I didn’t really like these.

Duck Bones stir fried with cumin. Much better flavor but not a whole lot of accessible meat.

Cabbage with Chinese Sausage. Delicious, although the cabbage was a bit mushier than I like. It should have some crunch.

French Style Beef. Very sweet. Tender, but still very sweet. Boring.

Salt and Pepper Pork Nuggets. Very tasty but quite salty.

Sweet Sesame Mochi Soup. These weird sweet Chinese soups are never good.

Cherry Ginger Limonade Sorbetto – Fresh squeezed Lemons, Limes, and Avignon Cherries were blended with house-made Ginger to make this delightfully tart and tingly frozen treat — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #lemon #lime #cherry #lemonade #ginger

This wasn’t the greatest dinner. Sure, the duck and lobster were excellent, but we had too much of each dish and a super tame boring order with too many sweet “crowd pleaser” dishes I’ve had many times before. I could totally do without squirrel fish, french beef, or salt and pepper pork chop. But they do have a very good kitchen and a big menu so there are plenty of different options for the more creative orderer. I’ve gotten some of them before.

And it was so weird being at a Yarom dinner with no Yarom. Haha.

But still, service was absolutely first rate as always. Our big private room was nice and we were spoiled. So fun as always and I’d definitely say that Duck House is a great SGV gateway drug place for those who need to baby into the more extreme and different stuff.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Atlantic Blvd, BYOG, Chinese Food, Duck House, Gelato, hedonists, Peking Duck, SGV

Major Manzke

Oct28

Restaurant: Manzke

Location: 9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035. (424) 500-9575

Date: April 1, 2022

Cuisine: Modern American French

Rating: Really good

There is no question that Walter Manzke is one of LA’s most influential chefs of the last decade or so. His Republique is iconic and I’ve eaten dozens of meals there.

Manzke is his new “tasting menu only” spot located in the former Picca space above Water’s Bicyclette. Manzke is sort of a full restaurant version of the kind of special Walter tasting menu meal I’ve been getting for years at special events in the Republique private room.

The build out is lavish, two leveled, and features a big open kitchen.

There is a full bar of course.

One of us got an Old Fashioned.

The four of us had one of the larger tables upstairs on the balcony — which is the place to be — and they are made of lovely wood. The whole restaurant isn’t that loud (unlike Republique which is super loud) but the balcony is nice and calm.

Our menu for the night.

Jacques Selosse Initial. 93 points. A lovely drop. This smelt a bit fresher, less oxidative than usual – perhaps because it was fairly newly disgorged, with a very chalky, stony mineral tones to the nose, along with some stone fruit – think yellow peach – apples, and a touch of kumquat, all ringed with a little bit of spice. A really entrancing nose. The palate too felt really fresh and linear, with a spine of lemon acidity and beautiful stony mineral strecthing its way through bright expressions of green apples and limes. As always, there was plenty of power and depth to the chapmpagnem but this was wed to lovely freshness and purity. Together with a nicely fine mousse, the wine presented itself both with a delicious open, generous fullness, as well as having at the same time a really nice sense of cut and definition, with that deep mineral structure to it. Absolutely lovely – it dissapeared from the bottle very quickly.

Potato Chips with smoked Trout Roe & Tzatziki. Lovely tangy quality to the yogurt. A bit of a take on Taramasalata.

Baja Tuna Tostada. Yummy, if tiny.

Served along side it was the “Salsa Fresca” which was a “extract” clear liquid version of the salsa which was pretty awesome and tasted exactly like said salsa.

Japanese Hamachi, Kaluga Caviar, NV, Bolieu, Fleur de Craie, Champagne. Really awesome tiny bite. Could have eaten 6.

2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Narvaux. 92 points. Open-knit aromatics show pretty lemon, mixed flowers, and crushed stone. As with my last bottle, I’m surprised to see this shows a bit more weight than the usual lithe Roulot, given the lighter vintage. Very good.

2005 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. VM 98+. Wonderfully ripe, deep aromas of lime, minerals and crushed stone. An incredible mouthful of stones and minerals, with uncanny intensity, juiciness and lift. At this point in my marathon tasting with Boillot, my handwriting was degenerating and I was using exclamation marks rather than adjectives. Flat-out great white Burgundy. Incidentally, Boillot changed his supplier of Corton-Charlemagne as of this vintage; he now works with vines in Aloxe-Corton that face full south.

Mantou. Santa Barbara Uni. A bit too much bread to the uni. I was hoping for one of those delicate Western Chinese soup dumplings.

This little base has soup poured into it.

Dungeness Crab. Green Thai Curry. Delicious with a quite authentic curry flavor. Little bits of crab shell though.

Laminated Brioche. Rodolphe le meunier butter. Insanely good croissant-like bread. Butter took it up to 11.

The awesome Normandy butter.

Table-side grilled prawns.

Santa Barbara Prawn, brown butter, meyer lemon (and roe). Very tender.

European White Asparagus, Kaluga Caviar, Roasted Almond Beurre Blanc. Very much (the start of) the season for White Asparagus. The Beurre Blanc (and Caviar) are the perfect classic accompaniment.

House-baked baguette.

More butter.

Maine Sea Scallop, Abalone, Maine Lobster, Black Truffle, Cauliflower Royale. Awesome dish. Very rich, like a Lobster Newburg or something, but incredible. Had to get more bread to wipe up the sauce.

1998 Château La Mission Haut-Brion. VM 96. The 1998 La Mission Haut-Brion is the standout of the Nineties. It shows more purity and exuberance than the 1996, featuring sumptuous scents of black cherries, black olive, freshly rolled tobacco and hints of gravel, all wonderfully defined and quite precocious. The palate is likewise sweet and ripe, offering pliant tannins and layers of blackberry, blood orange, blueberry and tobacco. It tightens up toward the finish, as if to say, I’m in for the long haul. Give it a couple of hours’ decanting, or cellar it for longer if you wish. Tasted at dinner at Chez Bruce. (Drink between 2021-2042)

Dover Sole with Morel Mushroom and “smoked bacon reduction”. The smokey (tasted like bacon without having bacon) sauce really made this a red wine friendly dish — and a delicious one.

Japanese and American Wagyu Beef, potato mousseline, sauce bordelaise. Really some awesome beef. Melt in the mouth smooth. Sauce was potent but great (I love Bordelaise sauce).

1986 Château Raymond-Lafon. 92 points. Golden colored in the glass, in the bottle in appears a decade+ lighter than the vintage would suggest. Honey dipped peaches and orange on the palate with moderate sweetness and enough acidity to keep things lively. No botrytis. Drinks much younger than 34 years — it would not surprise me if this could go another 34.

Mango, Passion Fruit, Kaffir Lime Panna Cotta, and Macadamia Nuts. Great dessert. Very refreshing. Interesting textures. The kaffir lime leaf infusion in the panna cotta gave it a refreshing bitterness.

Hojicha Madeleines.

Hazelnut Hot Chocolate. Super delicious and rich.

Cassis and Kumquat Chocolates and Chocolate Chewy Cookie.

Mint Infusion. Refreshing.

Manzke is a great addition to LA’s anemic tasting menu scene. Overall the food was extremely good, very “butter forward” in that he cooks with a lot of butter. As I mentioned before it’s somewhat similar to custom dinners Walter has cooked at Republique. I’ll be very curious to see how often the menu changes. The space itself is lovely and they even have a nice (quiet) private room with a gorgeous large table. Plus the location is good. So I look forward to returning.

It should also be noted that service was spectacular. Walter really knows how to run a very good crew. I’m sure it would be an awesome place for a very high end birthday party or similar too. We even ran into one of our good friends hosting a (wine related) work dinner.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beverly Hills, Foodie Club, Manzke, Pico, Walter Manzke

Angelini Palisades

Oct26

Restaurant: Angelini Ristorante & Bar

Location: 1038 N Swarthmore Ave, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. (424) 238-5870

Date: March 31 & May 4, 2022

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great for the Palisades

Angelini Palisades is finally a second decent restaurant to join Rick Caruso’s Palisades village. The other one, Blue Ribbon Sushi, while not super exiting, is also “solid” (if pricey).

Angelini is a “branch” of the Hollywood Osteria Angelini which has been one of LA’s best Italians for years.

Angelini Ristorante & Bar builds on Angelini’s storied history in Los Angeles; his eponymous Osteria has been a staple for hungry Angelenos since its opening in 2001. Known across the city for his pasta creations, Angelini offers anticipated favorites featuring Lasagna Verde ‘Nonna Elvira’; Tagliolini Limone; and Linguine with Santa Barbara Sea Urchin alongside soon-to-be new classics!

The new Palisades version has a nice “Caruso-style” build out.

With a semi-outside bar and patio.

And a swank interior.

Menus on two different days. Minor differences only. The menu is a bit small.

Bread.

Insalta Angelini. Cannellini beans, avocado, cucumber, toasted pistachios, parmigiano.

Insalata Tricolore. Endive, radicchio, arugula, shaved parmigiano.

Insalata di Aragosta. Fresh Maine lobster, golden apple, mixed greens, pomegranate seeds.

Burrata and Prosciutto. San Daniele 24 month aged prosciutto, Italian Burrata cheese, arugula.

Gluten free alla Nerrano. Zucchini, basil, parmigiano.

Spaghetti alla Nerano. Zucchini, basil, parmigiano.

Linguini Ricci di Mare. Sea urchin, shallot, chives. This is an Angelini classic.

Risotto Frutti di Mare. Riso Acquerello, cuttlefish, lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams.

Lasagna Verde “Nonn Elvira”. Homemade spinach pasta, beef & pork ragu, béchamel, parmigiano.

Branzino al sale. Whole Mediterranean branzino, roasted in sea salt, aromatic herbs, served with sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes.

Sogliola Romagnola. Except this sole was prepped with the branzino prep: aromatic herbs, served with sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes.

Torta Caprese. Soft chocolate cake, almond flour (GF).

Bread Pudding. Brioche, butterscotch sauce, vanilla gelato.

Tiramisu. Mascarpone cheese cream, layered lady fingers, soaked in espresso. Pretty good Tiramisu. No Zabaione, but otherwise “correct.”

Vanilla, Chocolate and Pistachio Gelato, made at Hollywood branch. Gelato was good. Very classic, not as intense as mine, and boring flavors, but proper gelato.

Angelini might not be cheap (it certainly isn’t) but it is now hands down the best Italian in the Palisades. This is a pretty low bar as Palisades Italians have always been either extremely dated or terrible, but Angelini is quite good. The location and setting is very nice too. The only problem is really the limited menu and the fact that it’s not particularly innovative, still, I’ll take it (2 min from home).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Angelini, Angelini Palisades, Angelini Ristorante & Bar, Italian cuisine, Palisades Village

Sauvages Carousel

Oct24

Restaurant: Carousel Restaurant Glendale

Location: 304 N Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203. (818) 246-7775

Date: March 25, 2022

Cuisine: Lebanese

Rating: Best Lebanese in the city

The March 2022 Sauvages lunch was at Carousel, a classic (for good reason) Glendale Lebanese banquet restaurant. The wine theme was originally supposed to be Northern Rhone but mysteriously allowed in a bunch of Cabs at some point.

The hall is big and very themed.

2008 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Millésimé. 92 points.

Bonus from me: NV Henriot Champagne Brut Souverain. VM 90. Light gold. Lees-accented orchard and citrus fruit aromas are complicated by sweet butter, iodine and smoky minerals. Dry and expansive on the palate, offering lively pear and melon flavors and a refreshingly bitter touch of orange pith. Ample but lithe brut, with very good finishing punch and repeating smoke and pear qualities.

2001 Château de Fieuzal Blanc. RJ 93. Light medium yellow color; aromatic, deep lemon, lemon peel nose; oily textured, mature, tart lemon, preserved lemon, saffron, mineral palate; medium-plus finish

Our menu today.

1996 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon. VM 92-94. Saturated ruby. Deep aromas of cassis, blueberry, game, woodsmoke and iron. Thick, powerful and gamey in the mouth; has the texture and thickness not yet shown by Chapoutier’s ’96 Hermitage Méal. Primal dark berry and violet notes. Explosive fruit on the very long aftertaste, which features huge, chewy tannins. Neither particularly <I>sauvage</I> nor especially austere. Should be a beauty with seven or eight years of bottle aging. A great performance for the vintage.

1999 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon. VM 93+. Full medium ruby. Classic Hermitage aromas of dark berries and gunflint, with a suggestion of bitter chocolate. Concentrated, sweet and expansive, with inky and minerally components suggestive of the granite soil. Finishes with impressively ripe fruit flavor and huge, spreading tannins that take over the palate. From a crop level just under 30 hectoliters per hectare.

2000 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon. VM 92+. Saturated ruby-red. More reserved aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice, minerals, cinders and spices. Juicy and tight, with a varietally accurate raw currant character. Fresh, intense and structured for the year. Finishes very long, with firm tannins and strong spice character.

From my cellar: 2001 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon. VM 95. Saturated red-ruby. Explosive, superripe aromas of black raspberry, boysenberry, black olive tapenade, licorice, coffee and smoked meat. Wonderfully opulent and voluptuous in the mouth, with a texture like liquid silk. Coats your mouth, cheeks and whatever other surfaces it can find. Finishes with extraordinarily fine tannins and great sweetness and persistence. The best bottle of Pavillon I’ve tasted in at least a decade.

Hummus. Garbanzo with sesame seed oil, tahini, lemon juice and garlic. Great version of the classic.

Moutabel. Roasted eggplant with garlic, sesame seed oil, tahini & lemon juice.

Sarma. Fresno grape leaves, stuffed with rice and vegetables. This was hands down some of the best stuffed grape leaves I’ve ever had. They were very soft and very tangy (sumac I think).

Beef Tartare. Filet Mignon with Olive Oil. This Lebanese/Armenian version is blended into a pasty texture and very soft.

Fatayer. Turnovers stuffed with shite cheese and pan fried. These were scrumptious, particularly when used like bread to scoop up other mezze.

Fattoush Salad. Cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, spices, toasted pita bread in a sumac-citrus vinaigrette. Very tangy.

2000 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District.

1999 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon. VM 90+. Deep medium ruby. Sexy nose of roasted black raspberry, cassis, root beer, meat and spicy, toasty oak. Lush, dense, sweet and powerful; an outsized wine with rich flavors of black fruits and spices. Still, I’d like to have found a bit more verve and finesse. Decant this wine well in advance if you plan to try it now.

1998 Dalla Valle Maya. VM 93. One of the biggest revelations in this tasting, the 1998 Maya is drop-dead gorgeous. Expressive aromatics lift from the glass, followed by small red berries, pine, menthol and leather. The 1998 is all about detail. What a wonderful surprise the 1998 Maya has turned out to be. There is also little doubt the 1998, from a poorly regarded vintage, has handled time with far more grace than the 1997. (Drink between 2014-2020)

Muhammarra. Crushed walnuts, red pepper paste and pomegranate. I love this stuff.

Kbbeh. Spheres (bullets) of beef and cracked wheat, stuffed with minced beef, onion and pine nuts. Also awesome.

Soujuk Flambe. House-made Armenian beef sausage flame broiled at the table.

Frog Legs Provencal. Pan-fried frog legs with lemon juice, garlic, and cilantro. So addictive!

Lamb Kastaleta. Prime Australian lamb chops, seasoned and charbroiled. Nice char and well cooked.

Mantee (Shish Barak). Mini meat pies, oven baked and topped with a tomato yogurt sauce. I love these. This has derived both in name and style from dumplings brought west by the Mongols. It’s clearly closely related to the Afghan version.

1997 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve. VM 93. Bright medium ruby. Sexy aromas of dark berries and earth complemented by mellow mocha and coffee tones; inviting and mature but not at all old. Wonderfully suave, silky dark berry, spice and floral flavors are framed and extended by harmonious acidity. The tannins are serious but less dusty than those of the special Anniversary bottling and the juicy, subtle, rising finish avoids tartness. Showing beautifully today–and more refined than a bottle, rated 92 points, that was part of my big Beringer vertical tasting in 2015. (Drink between 2017-2028)

1993 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietor Grown Pritchard Hill. VM 92. One of the most surprising wines of the night is Don Bryant’s 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon. The 1993 won’t last forever, but it is in a gorgeous place right now. The brightness and purity of the fruit remain alluring. This is one of the all-around favorites at the table, and it is easy to see why.

1995 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon. VM 96+. Togni’s 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is simply dazzling. Deep, unctuous and explosive, this Cabernet Sauvignon screams with the essence of exotic spices, iron, graphite, leather, smoke, game and dark fruit. The 1995 gets better and better with time in the glass, revealing myriad shades of dimension and extraordinary balance. Although stunning today, the 1995 has at least another decade ahead of it. The 1995 was made from the original vines that were ten years old at the time. (Drink between 2015-2025)

1992 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon. 93 points. Another superb bottle of this. Popped and poured. The nose is just gorgoeous. Cherry, flowers, herbs and truffles. The wine is beautifully integrated with black currant, cherry, earth and lead pencil. Well balanced and long on the finish. Excellent. Too bad this is my last bottle of this.

Chicken Breast Kebab (Shish Tawook). Boneless and skinless chicken breast, marinated and charbroiled.

Beef Shish Kebab (Lahem Meshwey). Cubed beef filet mignon, marinated and charbroiled.

Lula Kebab (Beef Kafta). Minced lean beef mixed with fine chopped onions, parsley, seasoning and spices.

Frri (quail). Pan-fried quail sautéed with sumac pepper and citrus sauce. Sauce was very tangy with a hint of spice and delicious.

Veal Liver Kebab. Fresh veal liver cubed and marinated with special spices, broiled tomatoes topped with cumin.

French fries.

Toum (garlic aioli).

2004 Dolce Winery Late Harvest. 92 points. Extra sticky, mostly honey flavored, good dessert wine if you like this style of late harvest.

Passion for Pistachio Gelato — Sicilian Pistacchio di Bronte DOP custard gelato base with just a touch of Grand Mariner, ribboned with bits of Valrhona Dark Chocolate Passionfruit Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #pistacchio #bronte #Sicily #Valrhona #Chocolate #Passionfruit #GrandMariner #Ganache

Peach Rose Sorbetto — A blend of White and Blood Peaches from Avignon with a bit of Persian Rosewater! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — I’ve tried variants of this flavor several times and am at 1/8 the rosewater I started with, still titrating down! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #BloodPeach #rose #rosewater #peach

Plated (by me).

Ashta B’aasal. Authentically prepared ashta (condensed milk) layered over french banana with honey and pistachio. This was awesome… except for the banana (which I had to pick around).

Basma.

Baklava.

Lebanese coffee. Good for knocking all the alcohol out of one’s system.

Food was amazing. So much of it and nearly every dish was incredible. Really really tasty. Much fresher, better cooked, and zestier than almost any other Lebanese/Armenian place I’ve been too. For sure the best I’ve had in LA.

Hermitages were nice, but the new world wines were… well new world. At least they had some age on them.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Carousel, Gelato, Glendale, kabobs, Lebanese cuisine, lunch, Mezze, Sauvages, Wine

Yakiniku Osen

Oct22

Restaurant: Yakiniku Osen

Location: 3503 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026. (323) 426-9455

Date: March 18, 2022

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Good, but I hoped it’d be better

Yakiniku Osen is a newish A5 Yakiniku place in Silverlake. I imagined it was somewhat like Yazawa.

It’s just street-side on Sunset in busy Silverlake.

There is a fairly tight interior.

And a small but nice set of patio tables with built in grills.

We sat outside.

From my cellar: 2005 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. JG 95+. The 2005 Comtes de Champagne is a stunning young wine. The bouquet is deep, pure and youthfully complex, as it offers up a very classy blend of pear, delicious apple, fresh almond, incipient notes of crème patissière, chalky minerality, brioche and just a whisper of vanillin oak in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and rock solid at the core, with exquisite balance, refined mousse, crisp acids and simply superb length and grip on the seamless, youthful and oh, so promising finish. The style of the 2005 vintage gives this some early accessibility that was not evident with the more tightly-knit 2004 out of the blocks, but this wine has the structure to also age long and very, very gracefully. It has been a year since I last tasted this wine and it has started to show more precision to go along with its early generosity and is a classic in the making. My gut feeling today is that it will be superior to the 1989 version, to which I compared it to a year ago. Brilliant wine. (Drink between 2015-2045)

2010 Dominique Lafon Meursault. 93 points. The 2010 Meursault emerges from the glass with notable elegance and class. This is a slightly more restrained, nervous style than fans of Comtes Lafon have become used to over the years. The 2010 is made from parcels in Petit Montagne, Charmes and Narvaux that belong to Dominique Lafon and that were once used in the Comtes Lafon Meursault. (Drink starting 2013)

1976 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle. 92 points.

Decanted into a narrow/tall water beaker. Moderate sediment. Initially, watered down and a muted nose of red fruits. Two hours later, aromatics increased – the most unbelievably ridiculous nose of dried red berries . Light bodied. Moderately long finish. A gorgeous wine. I don’t know if it improves, but it held in the beaker and only improved with air.

1978 Rioja.

1997 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli. VM 92. Intense garnet with ruby reflections. Opens with wonderfully sweet tobacco scents and spicy cedar. In the mouth there are nicely delineated, fresh flavors of anise, mocha and roasted coffee, the whole supported by very soft tannins, and the rather smoky close conveying an essence of raspberry. Although there are no hard edges in this sleek and mellifluous medium-bodied wine, it does not possess quite the depth and concentration of the best Brunellos of this vintage. (Winebow, Hokokus, NJ)

1997 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill. 93 points. Dark red violet color; intense, ripe cassis, berry, plum nose; tasty, berry, cassis, plum, cedar palate; medium-plus finish.

The menu is long. We ordered almost everything!

A5 Wagyu Beef Uni. A5 Wagyu Beef Tartare with Uni, Garlic, Crispy Sea Trumpet and Caviar. Delicious. Sweet sauce on the beef pretty much hid the uni.

A5 Wagyu Gyoza. Groudn A5 Wagyu Beef, Tofu, Mixed Vegetables, Glass Noodles. So (temperature) hot that it could have been anything inside.

Chawanmushi. Japanese Steamed Egg Custard with Uni and Caviar. Fairly runny custard.

Amaebi Carpaccio. Yuzu oild dressing, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Chive. Not the greatest shrimp, but the pepper and dressing were pretty good.

Staemed Awabi (abalone) with abalone innards dressing.

Lobster Carpaccio with Caviar and Somen Noodle, Creamy Dressing. Butter-like sauce was reat on the noodles.

A5 Wagyu Tataki Salad with Spicy Citrus Dressing. Delicious strong tanyg/sweet sauce. Microgreens had a nice bite. Meat was quite cold.

A5 Wagyu Beef Diced Steak with Sweet Shrimp and Chimichurri Dressing. This is was one of the weakest dishes.

Honey Citron Sorbet.

Gas grills.

Tallow to grease the grill.

3 Kinds of sauce: salt and pepper, house-made wasabi, and yuzu-koshu

Assorted Vegetables and Mushrooms.

Veggies on the grill.

Mushrooms at the ready.

3 Kinds of Japanese A5 Wagyu. It comes on this cool tower.

On the grill.

Beef cooked.

Beef Tongue.

Cooked.

A5 Japanese Wagyu Sukiyaki.

Marinated A5 beef for the sukiyaki.

Egg to dip it in.

Truffle A5 Wagyu Beef Hot Pot. A5 Wagyu Beef, Chive, Ala Minute Dashi Rice, Fresh Black Truffle, Sesame Oil, Tsuyu, Shoyu Marinated Egg Yolk.

Smash that yolk.

Sukiyaki pot beginning to boil. For those that don’t know, Sukiyaki is like the sweet soy/dashi stock version of shabu shabu. You coat the beef in raw egg and then cook it briefly in here, or cook it then coat it with raw egg (which will cook on the hot beef).

Short Rib.

Special Alligator from the chef.

Cooked gator.

Berry Panna Cotta.

Red Bean Ball.

Sesame Ice Cream and dried fruit.

Sesame Ice Cream, Red Bean Cake, and Syrup. Like most of these very Japanese desserts, sweet without intense flavor.

Sesame Ice Cream, Cake, and Syrup.

Very fun meal and good food. Far away (Silverlake is not only far but one has to battle some significant traffic). Many of the dishes, particularly the straight up grilled A5 and the sukiyaki, were quite good, but many of them were hit and miss. The chef is trying some new things here, but not always successfully. It’s not nearly as focused nor as good as Yazawa, although it is quite a bit cheaper.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: A5, bbq, Foodie Club, Meat, Wagyū, Wine, Yakiniku, Yakiniku Osen

Mischief & Mayhem at Marino

Oct20

Restaurant: Marino Ristorante [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Location: 6001 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 466-8812

Date: March 3, 2022

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Superb

Marino is a favorite haunt for many of my wine groups. Tonight my friend John arranged a special dinner with the owner of “Mischief and Mayhem”, a relatively new Burgundy producer.

The amazing chef/owner Sal Marino cooks at his original family location, venerable Marino Ristorante on Melrose and continues to whip up his unique blend of amazing modern Italian. And if anything, he’s gotten even better.

Post pandemic they’ve turned the parking lot into a cute patio.

This is the main interior, or at least some of it.

But we were set up in the private room which really is private. It’s totally separate, connected to the main dining room via the kitchen and even has its own bar and bathroom.

Wines at the ready.

Various Champagnes.

Our menu tonight.

More Champagnes.

Smoked trout with roe.

2018 Mischief and Mayhem Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières.

2018 Mischief and Mayhem Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts.

A selection of starters.

Tuna. Stuffed Mexicola Avocado.

Octopus Crocce.

Razor Clam.

Snapper Tartar, Salicornia.

2017 Mischief and Mayhem Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain.

2016 Mischief and Mayhem Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain.

Bass, Salsify, Spring Veggies.

2014 Mischief and Mayhem Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras.

2012 Mischief and Mayhem Clos St. Denis.

Lamb Pappardelle.

2018 Mischief and Mayhem Clos St. Denis.

2010 Mischief and Mayhem Corton-Bressandes.

Duck.

Ancient Cheesecake Gelato — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Base crafted from Galbani Whole Milk Ricotta and Sicilian Toasted Noto Romano Almond Paste with a touch of the sugar subbed out for Sicilian Honey. Mixed in is more Honey and Chopped Pistachios! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #dessertgasm #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #ricotta #almond #RicottaCheese #cheese #Sicily #honey #pistachio

Chef Sal and John.

Another awesome dinner. Food was great, I’ve had more elaborate meals from Sal, but all the dishes today were excellent. Sal’s a fabulous chef when you let him go all out and today’s lunch was very on point and paired extremely well with the wines.

I hadn’t really heard of Mischief & Mayhem before but these turned out to be lovely wines. And owner Michael Ragg was a very interesting and fun guy to hang out with so this turned out to be a great evening.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long food trips through Italy.

But, as the dinner was calibrated for mere eating mortals, Erick and went to Izakaya Sasaya for our infamous second dinner.

Toro sashimi.

Bulgolgi.

Crab rice congee.

Sukiyaki veggies

Sukiyaki pork belly. There was a Sukiyaki pot, but I forgot to take a picture of it.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, BYOG, Gelato, Italian cuisine, Marino Ristorante, Michael Ragg, Mischief & Mayhem, Sal Marino, Second Dinner, Wine

A.O.C. Brentwood

Oct18

Restaurant: A.O.C. Brentwood

Location: 11648 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (310) 806-6464

Date: March 10 and April 5, 2022

Cuisine: Vaguely Spanish New American

Rating: Tasty

A.O.C. has been a Hollywood staple for two decades. Founded by chef Suzanne Goin, they’ve had this former Hamburger Hamlet space in Brentwood for years, running it as Tavern. I think the pandemic knocked out that particular restaurant and they decided to reboot it, giving the landlord back some space, as a Brentwood outpost of their Hollywood original.

Not exactly Rembrandt.

The interior is basically the bar area of the old Tavern. They’ve let go the cool back sun room.

The menu.

a.o.c. rustic boule & salted butter.

bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with parmesan.

Salad of citrus, arugula, maxorata, paprika, alornea olives, & quicos.

Grilled white trumpet mushroom focaccia, asiago, raclette & sherry.

Grilled seabream, coconut rice, mustard greens & kumquat sambal.

Clams, sherry, sliced garlic & toast.

Hand-cut noodles, rabbit sausage, maitake, nettles & mustard creme fraiche.

Lamb chops, swiss chard bread pudding, tomato confit & olives.

Hanger steak, chermoula, toasted pepitas & james’ arugula.

Cauliflower, curry & red wine vinegar.

A.O.C. is a useful addition to Brentwood in that it’s a pretty tasty New American style place. Brentwood is dominated by Japanese and Italian, so this allows for more options. It’s a tasty place, even if the menu is fairly small. Theoretically it’s supposed to be a bit Spanish, but barely. It is at least relatively free of the overused Asian influences dominating many similar places. Of course I love Asian food, but I don’t always need it mixed into EVERY cuisine.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: AOC Brentwood, Brentwood, New American, Suzanne Goin

Amazing Angler

Oct16

Restaurant: Angler

Location: 8500 Beverly Blvd Suite 117, Los Angeles, CA 90048. (424) 332-4082

Date: March 1, 2022

Cuisine: American Asador

Rating: Very pricey, very good

Angler is a sea-life focused restaurant from Chef Joshua Skenes and Saison Hospitality located in the heart of Los Angeles. However, in 2019 Skenes seems to have “stepped back” from daily operation of his restaurants. Not sure what that means.

The location is — really oddly — in the bottom of the Beverly Center. I loathe malls and nearly everything about them, and they rarely have any kind of decent restaurant.

Angler is basically wood fired “stuff” aka an Asador (Spanish word for a wood fire grill).

The interior is like an updated version of that SF Seafood “ship’s cabin” feel.

They have live creatures. Some are staggeringly expensive like the crab who was over $2000!

From my cellar: 1992 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots. JG 93. The ’92 Coche Rougeots is totally into its apogee of maturity, and towers above ninety percent of the wines of this vintage. It has retained a degree of freshness and snap that is fairly uncommon these days with many of the 1992s, which have aged at rather surprisingly brisk paces. The bouquet is classic Coche: ripe apples, passion fruit, a touch of grapefruit, almonds, iodine and a fine framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and refined, with sound underlying acids, excellent focus, and great length and complexity on the finish. At age ten it is drinking beautifully, with no signs that it will have any difficulty cruising another decade or more. (Drink between 2002-2010)

agavin: our bottle was like a 98, just amazing.

1999 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères. VM 96. This 1999 Puligny-Montrachet Les Ensegnières perhaps sums up why Coche-Dury is so revered. How did Jean-François extract such a stupendous wine from a Village Cru? It exhibits breathtaking precision on a nose that is actually reminiscent of one of Lalou Bize-Leroy’s wines from d’Auvenay. Both the nose and the palate effortlessly convey so much energy and tension. There is the depth and length of a Grand Cru with a tangy, spicy finish that urges you back for another sip. Magus Jean-François in full effect! (Drink between 2021-2032)

agavin: our bottle drank great, but it wasn’t in the same league as the Rougeots.

2011 Coche-Dury Bourgogne-Aligoté. 90 points. Well developed, floral and perfumed aromas in the direction of Sauvignon Blanc. Some toast comes in addition. Light, tight and quite tart for an Aligoté. High class, though.

agavin: this came from the restaurant. They only had one bottle left though.

2007 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos. VM 96+. Bright yellow. Subtly complex nose melds Asian pear, violet, lavender, ginger, iodine and powdered stone. Tactile and dense on entry, then creamy in the middle, conveying an impression of great volume without weight. This extremely backward, youthfully understated Clos firms up dramatically on the back end, finishing with palate-saturating citrus and talc flavors that refuse to fade. One of the longest Chablis bottlings I tasted for this issue, this truly transcends chardonnay.

2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Narvaux. 93 points. Punchy and broad. With most vivid palate among all village-level wine tonight. Hint of Santalum toward the end.

The menu.

Ice Cold Bivalves (aka oysters and clams). Very clean and delicious.

Tai Bream Ceviche. Unusual look with the crispy plantain on top, but extremely acidic and delicious.

Lobster Toast, Coconut, Gluten-Free While Grain Toast.

Bluefin Tuna with Tomato Jelly and Shiso. Looks weird but tasted great.

Parker House Rolls and Cultured Seaweed Butter. Lovely looking rolls. Very soft and tender.

Dungeness Crab with Garlic Aioli. This crab came from the tanks of course.

Here is the garlic aioli and drawn butter.

Whole Main Lobster. “Only” $100/lb! Simply done but gorgeous.

Spot Prawns with Harissa Butter. Small but delicious.

In case you need a weapon to slay your meat.

Here is the charcoal factory.

And the bed of charcoals they cook over.

2006 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT. VM 99. I remember the first time I tasted the 2006 Masseto. It’s that kind of wine. The 2006 is every bit as magnificent today. Dense, richly-textured and potent to its core, the 2006 is a wine for readers who can be patient. I love the brooding intensity and sense of gravitas the 2006 conveys. Tonight, it is stellar, but still so young. (Drink between 2020-2036)

agavin: brooding monster

Baby Artichoke with Miso and Spiced Butter. Delicious.

Angler Potato with Sauce from Sonoma Cheeses. Like everything else it was cooked on the grill. It was sliced into sheets and nice and crispy with the rich sauce to offset.

28 Day Dry Aged Prime NY Strip. NOT overcooked.

Whole Pastured Chicken Roasted in the Wood Oven. This was actually one of the best roast chicken I’ve ever had. The skin was crispy in a sort of Chinese style. The meat was incredibly juicy.

“Buffalo” type sauce for the chicken.

The dessert menu.

Chocolate Bar. Ganache mostly.

Soft Serve Sundae.

Caramel sauce was added. It was pretty delicious.

Overall, a stunning meal. I’d heard Angler was expensive, and it was, but the food was very very good. Simple ingredients but the charcoal cooking is precise and lends a ton of subtle flavor.

Our wines were stunning. hehe. And it was just a very fun night.

For more LA dining reviews click here.
Or for epic Foodie Club meals, here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Angler, Beverly Hills, Chicken, coche, Foodie Club, Seafood, White Burgundy

Ji Rong Update

Oct14

Click here to see the full post.

Peking Duck.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chinese Food, duck, Ji Rong, Peking Duck, SGV

Little Cambodia – Hak Heang

Oct12

Restaurant: Hak Heang Restaurant

Location: 2041 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA 90804. (562) 434-0296

Date: February 23, 2022

Cuisine: Cambodian Chinese

Rating: Cambodian drifting toward Chinese

Yarom and I went down to Long Beach in February 2022 to check out a bunch of Cambodian restaurants in a mini crawl. Alas we couldn’t convince anyone else to come with us on this particular day.

Our third stop was Hak Heang which is a Long Beach Cambodian institution.

The interior is vast, dingy, and typical of Chinese banquet halls. On one side a bunch of older Cambodian guys were playing cards and drinking tea.

The many is VAST with a hybrid of Cambodian, Chinese, and Cambodian Chinese dishes. Presumably the owners are ethnic Chinese from Cambodia.
We tried to order Cambodian dishes and asked the server for recommendations. But because we were two people and this was our third stop could only handle two more dishes.

Curry Fish (073). Mam Bo Hoc Nuoc Dua. TONS of flavor, very spicy, and unusual herbal notes.

Ground chicken, Shrimp, and Lemon Grass (098). Ga Tom Xao Cai Ot. Also very delicious and unusual. As can be found at many Thai restaurants this “meat paste” was served with chunks of veggies as a kind of dip or topping.

Hak Heang also has a huge menu and it would definitely be possible to do a large group dinner here. The two dishes we had were delicious and interesting. However, I can’t say the dingy old Cantonese banquet hall vibe — like a relic of the late 70s or something — is super appearing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cambodian Cuisine, Chinese cuisine, food crawl, Hak Heang, Long Beach, Lunch Quest

Little Cambodia – Sophy’s Cambodia Town Food

Oct10

Restaurant: Sophy’s Cambodia Town Food

Location: 3240 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90804. (562) 494-1763

Date: February 23, 2022

Cuisine: Cambodian

Rating: Very good, huge menu of diverse dishes

Yarom and I went down to Long Beach in February 2022 to check out a bunch of Cambodian restaurants in a mini crawl. Alas we couldn’t convince anyone else to come with us on this particular day.

Our second stop was Sophy’s Cambodia Town Food. Very odd long building with the entrance hidden in the back. We had to walk all the way around to find it.

Inside there are a selection of take away snacks.

The large interior was clearly a diner or family restaurant decades ago.

The huge menu. Food here “overlaps” in a Thai and/or Vietnamese direction. I’m not enough of a South East Asian culture buff to know if that’s just that, being adjacent, “town food” in Cambodia is loosely similar to Thai and/or Vietnamese or if this particular restaurant just leans that way.

Beef Jerky. Sophy’s signature dish. Flank steaks deeply marinated, then oven-dried and then deep fried. Served with garlic and vinegar sauce. Definitely dry, definitely flaky and full of flavor.

A sour soup of chicken, maybe fish, and watercress. Unusual flavors but kinda delicious.

Banh Cheo. Pan fried crepes filled with ground chicken, shrimp, bean sprouts and onion. Served with assorted vegetables, a variety of mint and crushed peanuts in our tasty sweet and sour sauce. This can (more or less) be found at many Vietnamese restaurants and is probably typical of the Peninsula (aka South East Asia). Regardless, it was delicious here. The egg, tangy fish sauce and herbs all combine to make a lovely fresh combo.

Sauces and peanuts.

Yarom with the owner.

Sophy’s was quite tasty and given the vastness of the menu could be good for a full on 12-15 course dinner. I guess it’s in the “Cambodian corner” of the spectrum of fancier traditional “town food” found in South East Asia and as such has many overlapping dishes with Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, but it’s certainly got plenty of uniquely Cambodian ones as well.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cambodian Cuisine, food crawl, Long Beach, Lunch Quest

Little Cambodia – A&J Seafood Shack

Oct08

Restaurant: A&J Seafood Shack

Location: 3201 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA 90804. (562) 386-2000

Date: February 23, 2022

Cuisine: Cambodian

Rating: Well… it’s a shack

Yarom and I went down to Long Beach in February 2022 to check out a bunch of Cambodian restaurants in a mini crawl. Alas we couldn’t convince anyone else to come with us on this particular day.

Our first stop was A&J Seafood Shack.

It’s well know, but it really is a shack.

The menu and our order. This place is basically intended for a grabbing a quick lunch plate.

Grilled oysters. Fresh, sustainable oysters are grilled and served with zingy lime juice and pepper sauce as well as fried garlic.

Cracking them, they were pretty much just grilled oysters. The “sauces” were all on the side.

Grilled Beef Stick. Using the best cut of beef, marinated with fresh lemon-grass, garlic, turmeric and spices. Nice bit of char.

Khmer Sausage. Known as “Kwa Koh” in Khmer, this link is packed with flavors. Filled with hand chopped beef, rice, garlic, galangal and spices. This was my favorite, slightly sweet and fatty.

This stuff was kinda tasty, and the prices are right (aka very inexpensive). Unfortunately, it’s not all sold ala cart and it’s just a shack with a counter to eat at, so good mostly if you want a quick and tasty lunch.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cambodian Cuisine, food crawl, Long Beach, Lunch Quest

Quick Eats – Malibu Pier

Oct06

Restaurant: MALIBU FARM cafe

Location: 23000 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265. (310) 456-8850

Date: February 19, 2022

Cuisine: Brunch

Rating: Solid quick brunch

Today my family made a quick stop at the Malibu Pier for some brunch.

At the base of the pier is their restaurant, but it had a 2 hour wait or something. Look at this terrible February weather!

The view looking back.
So we headed toward the end of the pier and the cafe.

The menu.

The cute room.

Swedish Mini Pancakes. Whipped cream and Berries. The pancakes were for my son but I ate the cream and berries, it was pretty good.
Grilled Salmon on Brioche Bun, Black Olive Aioli, Arugula, Tomato, Red Onion, White Rice with Quinoa.

Crab Cake Sandwich on Brioche Bun, Lemon Aioli, Avocado, Tomato, Cabbage Slaw, Baby Potatoes.

Surfer’s Rancheros. Fried Eggs, Squash, Potatoes, Salsa, Corn Tortilla, Sour Cream, Avocado, Feta, Peppers, Onions, Black Beans, Slaw.

Fine casual modern brunch fare in a scenic location. We will have to go back sometime and try the real restaurant.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Brunch, Malibu, MALIBU FARM cafe, Malibu Pier

Kappo Miyabi

Oct03

Restaurant: Kappo Miyabi

Location: 702 Arizona Ave Suite BB, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 260-0085

Date: February 18, 2022

Cuisine: Japanese Izakaya

Rating: Too much of too many good things

Jeffrey talked this place up, but he tends to “over like” Japanese restaurants in walking distance of his house and work, like the middling Soko. Kappo Miyabi, formerly known as Kappo Onsen, is technically an Izakaya I guess, but it has a very wide range of Japanese food including Izakaya, sushi, skewers, rice pots, hot plates, udon, etc.

The vast — too vast — menu.

Edamame.

Seaweed Salad.

Sunomono. Not enough “marinate.”

Agedashi Tofu. I like agedashi tofu in general, but this one was a bit doughy.

Potato Salad.

Miso Glazed Eggplant.

Charcoal Mentaiko. Grilled fish roe. Interesting.

Wagyu Gyoza. Hard to tell it’s wagyu.

Salmon and Tamago Sushi. The sushi here is the slightly large middling sushi a lot of middling places have.

Scallops with Uni. This didn’t quite pair.

Marinated Snapper Carpaccio.

Popcorn Shrimp Tempura. Can’t go too wrong with this.

This came as a set.

Miso Black Cod.

Salad.

Potato Salad.

Skewers.

Chicken Wings and Chicken Meatballs.

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Pork Belly, and Chicken Tails.

Plain Udon.

BBQ Eel Bowl. Not bad.

Everything at Kappo Miyabi is just “kinda decent.” They have way too many different kinds of food and way too white a clientele to be really good. It’s not truly any particular type of Japanese Cuisine. It’s not a sushi bar, nor a yaki tori place, nor exactly an Izakaya — but it sort of tries to be all of them.

For more LA dining reviews click here.