agavin

Author Archive for agavin – Page 18

OOToro Double

Mar21

Restaurant: OOToro [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

Location: 1569 Fairway Dr, Walnut, CA 91789. (909) 598-8299

Date: August 13, 2022

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi (with slight nod to China)

Rating: Ends of the earth, but very good

Chef Kaz of Totoraku, an occasional hedonist, sent us far east to this Sushi restaurant in 2016 and it was such a fun time that we had to return again for a sixth visit — it’s now become a twice a year thing. This is my second return since the pandemic — although some in the group went once in the middle for a meal that was supposedly not quite up to snuff. Because a bunch of us have engaged in a special Sushi Series this fall (tasting all the best LA sushi places) I figured I’d include OOToro in the mix.

And by far east I mean REALLY REALLY far east — to Walnut California. 40+ miles from my house. 20 miles past Alhambra (which most people consider to far to drive for food). It took an hour and twenty minutes on a Saturday night!

The slick looking location is in the heart of the affluent Chinese American San Gabriel Valley. But yes, it’s Japan, if perhaps catering to Chinese taste. This photo was shot at about 10pm after everyone else had left.

Here is the private room — the only way to go.

Edamame.

Mango, Avocado, Hairy crab, Some kind of Jelly (ponzu?). This was a new dish, and quite refreshing. Many in the party loved it. I thought the mango and crab bit was a touch too sweet, but was pretty good.

On the right Octopus with Caviar and Yuzu. On the left Scallop with Uni. The yuzu part was great. This was a lovely dish, although they don’t use the best quality caviar here and there is an overreliance on uni.

White fish tempura. The name sounded like “pea soup.” The tempura was dusted with wasabi salt which is traditional. Nice, but slightly dull tempura.

Abalone, jellyfish, shrimp tempura (wrapped in potato), sea snail and “katsuloco” (the yellow sponge). The abalone was great for that creature. The jellyfish was a bit bland. The shrimp great, the snail nice, and the sponge a fishy spongey texture I really enjoyed.

Sashimi of toro, ikura, uni, and a white fish. A bit of rice was hidden underneath. This was a lovely (and rich) dish.

Oysters 3 ways: with black tobiko, ikura, and uni.

Wagyu toast with caviar and balsamic. This used a “truffle oil caviar” that was kind of gross. Otherwise it would have been a nice dish but the truffle oil only detracted.

The stain!

Kumadai and another snapper with yuzu and wasabi. Lovely bright fish.

Kama-toro. The ultra rich tuna collar. Always an awesome bite.

Seared Ruby Snapper. Very sauced and lovely.

Crab, Red Snapper, Truffle Oil Caviar and Yuzu miso sauce. The dish was nice except for that truffle oil in the caviar which was a minor negative. It basically should never be used.

Kimchi uni noodles. Great. Kinda spicy.

Ron’s “non spicy” creamy version.

A5 Wagyu. Simple but delicious.

Clam miso. Lovely.

Green Tea Cheesecake. Very straightforward, basically just cheesecake with matcha powder in it.

I jazzed ours up with my own private stock of Valrhona 70% and house-made Hazelnut Brittle.

The room.

This group of “kids” (20s) were celebrating a birthday and we toasted them with some extra Krug.

Wines for tonight:

Overall, OOToro — while always good — showed again that the private room is really the way to go. This was a great meal and much more subtle and sophisticated than some of the front room fare. Really great stuff — although we should have gotten the largest omakase for max variety. Tonight I felt was the weakest OOToro in a while — although it was still very good — but somehow there were a few dishes that I didn’t love. Maybe it was the truffle caviar. Maybe it was the fact that I had a massive Longo Dim Sum Lunch only a few hours before.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Also, after dinner, instead of the surprisingly fun Courtyard Marriott view parking lot, we ended up at this terrible picnic table at some even cheaper dive hotel Ron was staying at. Kinda dingy and depressing. Never again.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Champagne, hedonists, Japanese cuisine, Omakase, ootoro, SGV, Sushi, Wine

Robo Eats – Anarbagh

Mar19

Restaurant: Anarbagh

Location: 22721 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. (818) 224-3929

Date: September 20, 2022

Cuisine: Indian

Rating: Ok old fashioned Indian

During my son’s robotics team meetings I have a chance to explore random spots in the Western San Fernando Valley, so I’m nicking naming this the “Robo Eats” series.

Anarbagh is a well rated Indian with several branches.

Obviously this location was once some kind of mid century restaurant.

Inside it has that drop ceiling and booth “classic” Indian restaurant vibe. Part of the classic style has always seemed a near absence of customers. I guess most people order takeout.

Papadam and chutney’s to start.

Chicken Tikka Masala. A little heat, fairly sweet. Decent, but not savory enough. Nowhere near as good as at Akbar.

Lamb Korma. Decent, but still not enough flavor.

Shrimp Sag. Pretty good.

Eggplant Bharta. Also pretty good, but not the best I’ve had.

Free bit of Persian-style sweet.

Anarbagh is fine, but it’s that kind of old school Indian where all the curries are vaguely similar, vaguely sweet, and pretty thin. They don’t have a lot of personality. They are heavy, and it’s still enjoyable, but it’s so hard to find really good Indian restaurants in LA. Akbar is my favorite and a few others — like Mandovi — are at least much more interesting.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: curry, Indian cuisine, Robo Eats, SFV

Fred loves N/Naka

Mar16

Restaurant: N/Naka [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Location: 3455 S. Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034. 310.836.6252

Date: August 12, 2022

Cuisine: Modern Kaiseki

Rating: Awesome

ANY CHARACTER HERE

The Foodie Club returned to N/Naka (again) with the (brief) return of remote member Fred. This meal is part 1 of a 3 big wine meals in 24 hour extravaganza. Woah!

The busy street corner on National.

The empty interior.
Our table — before we got to it.

Tonight’s menu.

Welcome drink. Sake mixed with juices.

Sakizuke. Hokkaido Scallop, oyster aioli, fermented asparagus gelee, scallop roe “dust”, beets, carrots, caviar, sunchoke chips.

The sunchoke chip is presented a minute after. I accidentally stuck it on “backward” so as to not maximize the sunflower and leaf motif they intended.

Zensai.

Tomato Okra Salad.

Abalone, uni, tosazu gelee, shiso.

Unagi, duck liver terrine. This had that PB&J quality that certain foie terrine creations do.

Watermelon lime “mojito”.

Shisito, minced wagyu. Very savory.

Corn, squash, yuzu ponzu, thai basil.

Homemade tofu, edamame, ginger soy. Very mild.

Modern Zukuri. Summer Tuna, pickled fennel, yamaimo, uni shoyu.

Uni shoyu for dipping. The instructions were to take some fish, a bit of pickled fennel and dip it. This was quite good. The Yamaimo yam was a bit slimy.

Owan. Shiromi, eggplant, junsai, hasu imo, ume. Very mild dashi-type soup.

Otsukuri. Traditional Sashimi. Ocean trout (looks like salmon), toro, and a white fish.

Yakimono. Binchotan Roasted Unagi, sudachi butter vinaigrette, yuzu pepper, lotus root “kabayaki.” This was actually quite “spicy” with the hefty amount of yuzu-combined pepper. This gave it an almost green coconut curry-like vibe.

Mushimono. Kegani, California Box Crab, egg (tamago), sakura mochi rice, dashi ankake.

Shiizakana. Spaghetti, abalone, pickled cod rod, truffles. The classic N/Naka pasta, double size. Awesome as always, but still small (even doubled).

Niku. A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Beef, arugula, baby corn, roasted peach, citrus fern, onion crumble. Very melt in your mouth beef.

Sunomono. Cucumber, grapes, tomato, shiso cucumber ice. Shot of yuzu juice.

While it tasted like sunomono, the ice gave it a very interesting texture and temperature factor.

Shokuji. Traditional Sushi.

Miso soup.

Blue Crab Handroll (as bonus to “fill us up”).

Mizumono. Watermelon Lime Sorbet, compressed watermelon. Very watermelony.

Peach Panna Cotta, peach sorbet, nata de coco, red beans, shiratama, anmitsu. Had that mild, soft, and sweet thing like a Filipino dessert.

Hojicha Latte Gelato – Ceremonial Hojicha Roasted Green Tea base, topped with 70% Valrhona and house-made Hazelnut Brittle — 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 #matcha #Hojicha #GreenTea

Matcha.

Passionfruit yellow bean paste “candy“.

Take home blueberry muffin and tea. Muffin was very gooey and mild — not my taste.

Old Grand Cuvee.

2000 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Caillerets. BH 93. Awesome and bright. This has now peaked and is drinking beautifully with a fully mature nose of honeysuckle, peach, apricot and very subtle spice notes that can also be found on the enveloping flavors that possess a wonderfully seductive mouth feel and ample dry extract that both completely buffers the still firm acid spine and coats the palate on the long, lingering and strikingly perfumed if ever-so-slightly warm finish. One character that Coche seems to consistently be able to achieve is how his wines are at once generous yet retain a fine sense of focus and precision and this wine certainly displays this. Lovely stuff that is perfect now. Tasted thrice with consistent notes. (Drink starting 2016)

agavin: Nice nose even.

From my cellar: 2001 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Caillerets. VM 90. High-pitched, high-toned aromas of peach and minerals. Quite dry following the Rougeots, with less texture and pliancy. This is very closed today (my sample from barrel a year ago was far more accessible and giving), but does not seem to have the depth of the Rougeots. Perhaps a bit rigid. This needs at least a few years in the bottle.

A touch closed and “bitter” at first, but opened up to become lovely.

1990 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. BH 93. An utterly beguiling nose of smoke, minerals and crushed herbs leads to big, muscular, rich and gorgeously nuanced palate staining flavors that offer huge length and real power plus class and breed to burn. I have had wonderful luck with this wine and while it is now fully mature and, it must be said, no longer what it used to be, it should still continue to drink well for another 5 to 10 years, perhaps even a bit longer.

Amazing!

1992 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. VM 98. The 1992 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru from Coche-Dury is a brilliant wine – period. It has a refulgent silvery hue that belies its age. The aromatics are perhaps more Puligny-like than Meursault in style: taut at first with subtle melted butter and yellow flower aromas. It is blessed with astonishing delineation and returning to my glass after 90 minutes…wow…popcorn, roasted almond, beeswax, linseed, certainly more Meursault-like in character. The palate is crisp, fresh and tensile at first, with wonderful salinity. This just gets the taste-buds going and there is tangible mineralité. Like the aromatics, it becomes more Meursault-like with aeration, gaining complexity with rondeur, hazelnut and smoke towards the mercurial finish. This is utterly sublime. Two bottles tasted at Tour d’Argent with consistent notes. (Drink between 2018-2035)

Also very fresh and nice.

2000 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses. VM 90+. Good medium red. Complex, very floral aromas of strawberry, cinnamon and rose petal. Sweet but also juicy and precise, with the strong floral character following through on the palate. A precise, perfumed wine with lovely cut but no shortage of texture. Stylish, flavorful and quite long.

Some great juice tonight!

Chef Niki comes out to say hi.

Fred and his lovely fiancé (now wife) Maria.

The setting is elegant, minimalist, and very Japanese. N/Naka really is a very special place. All the meals I had here were spectacular. Plus we even did an amazing all foie gras meal here once. The place keeps getting better and better. This is thrice wonderful because often one finds a slight bloom to come off a place on repeat meals. At N/Naka everything is seasonal and constantly rotating.

Coming back to N/Naka after the pandemic I thought they were really firing on all cylinders. This was the best meal I’ve had there since the incredible Foie meal. I think her sushi has gone from “okay” to “great” and with regard to other dishes she has toned down a bit of the “theatrics” slightly but really upped the flavor balance and intensity. There weren’t some of the more interactive dishes of years past, like cooking your own item on hot stones, but the cooking was even more on point.

Service is also spectacular, highlighted all the more by the extremely low understaffed standard currently found in LA.

Click here to other LA Japanese restaurants.

Or other Foodie Club extravaganzas.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, coche, Foodie Club, Fred, Gelato, N/Naka, Niki Nakayama, White Burgundy, Wine

Major Major Major

Mar13

Restaurant: Majordomo [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 1725 Naud St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (323) 545-4880

Date: August 4, 2022

Cuisine: Korean Fusion

Rating: Big dishes amazing

It’s with gigantic expectation that NY restaurateur David Chang opened his first LA outpost last year and since then it’s become a regular foodie and wine destination among my friends. Tonight is my fifth visit, and my second time with the Hedonists.

Looking on the map, I was pretty skeptical of the weird between Chinatown and Dodger’s Stadium location — a totally annoying spot for me to get to during traffic! Two brutal hours!

The area is extremely warehousey, much like the “Arts District” but even newer. This particular time, dropping off at night, we joked about our life expectancy.

The have a sort of hipster city built down here out of old warehouses.

With lots of bespoke graffiti.

And Majordomo, of course.

Which has a pretty big enclosed and outside space (which we ate in this third time). Have to say, the outside space was actually preferable. Less crowded and quieter.

As you can see.

Inside is one of those cavernous loud warehouse spaces.

High naked ceilings. Don’t come here when it’s raining! They also have the currently hip bathroom setup with the coed shared sinks exposed out in the main room. Not my thing. What if you want to clean up in private?

But we setup outside on the patio at a large table.

The current menu.

From my cellar: 2007 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. VM 96. Taittinger’s 2007 Comtes de Champagne will be nearly impossible to resist upon release. Soaring aromatics, mid-weight structure and soft contours give the 2007 its alluring personality. Lemon oil, white flowers, mint, chamomile and green pear add brightness and freshness throughout, with a persistent, clean finish that makes it impossible to resist a second taste. Today, the 2007 comes across as a slightly more open version of the 2004, with freshness that makes that wine so appealing, and a touch of textural richness that recalls the 2002. Although the 2007 does not have the explosive energy or verticality of the profound 2006, it will drink better earlier. The 2007 has been positively brilliant on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. (Drink between 2018-2047)

Kanpachi – kombu, wasabi, lemon. This had a very nice, very zesty whallop of flavor.

Somewhat annoyingly, the wine “theme” at this dinner turned into SQN. I just don’t get this stuff as all the reds taste the same (overwhelmingly big). The whites and pinot are ok.

2006 Sine Qua Non The Hoodoo Man. VM 94. Sine Qua Non’s 2006 White Wine The Hoodoo Man is insanely beautiful. Remarkably fresh for a nine year old white, the 2006 The Hoodoo Man will change readers’ perceptions about what California white wines are and can be. A rich mélange of apricot, peach, honey and exotic white flowers graces the palate as this voluptuous, intense, yet remarkably vibrant wine shows off its utterly compelling personality. Slightly reductive, the 2006 needs a good bit of air. Today, the 2006 shows no signs whatsoever of fading. It should continue to drink well for another 5-10 years. The Hoodoo Man can only be called an absolute triumph in viticulture and winemaking. Time and again, I thought I had mixed up my glasses and that this was 2013 White Wine Résisté. The Hoodoo Man is 39% Roussanne, 31% Viognier and 30% Chardonnay; 75% from John Alban’s vineyard and 25% from Eleven Confessions. The wine was aged in 58% new oak, the rest 1-2 year-old barrels and a dollop of stainless steel. (Drink between 2015-2020)

Tuna special with lettuce wrap, tuna tartare, habanero, and rice crisps. Quite delicious and slightly different take on the tuna tartare. Good texture and quite a bit of heat actually.

Wrap in progress.

2008 Sine Qua Non Kolibri. VM 93. Deep yellow-gold. Ripe pit and exotic fruits on the nose, with complicating notes of honey, sweet butter and green almond. Becomes more floral with air, picking up suggestions of jasmine and chamomile. Lush but focused, with a spine of acidity adding structure and carrying through a very long, sappy and gently sweet finish. Krankl said that he’d serve this with a rich shellfish dish.

Benton’s Country Ham.

Cave Aged Butter & Caviar.

Bing bread. This pita-like bread is spread as desired with the ordered condiments (in our case the hame, butter, and caviar).

Combined the lot of them Jose Andres style.

Stuffed Peppers – benton’s sack sausage, buttermilk ranch. Very crispy, but delicious with the ranch sauce.

Little Gem Salad – anchovy, miso, smoked trout roe. Not your typical salad. Far saltier than most, but delicious.

From my cellar: 2008 Domaine Denis Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. BH 91-94. A very ripe plum and floral nose also reflects notes of warm earth and minerality that slides into very fresh, rich, round and forward medium plus weight flavors that are quite generous, even fleshy yet there is good delineation on the serious, delicious, powerful and persistent finish that is supported by fine tannins. This is a lovely wine of distinction balance and harmony that is built to age over the next decade or so as the underlying material is superb. (Drink starting 2018)

WOTN, of course.

2003 Sine Qua Non Pinot Noir Omega. VM 91. Dark red.Deep, very ripe aromas of blackberry and chocolatey torrefaction. Large-scaled and deep, with the blackberry, black cherry and black raspberry flavors carrying a strong load of chocolate, not to mention 15.5% alcohol. Finishes impressively broad and uncompromisingly dry, with very good length and decent grip. A big fellow.

Macaroni & Chickpea – miso, black pepper. The texture isn’t typically Italian (a bit softer with a bit more sauce) but this did have a lovely cacio e pepe flavor.

Spicy Fusilli – pork jowl, kimchi, garlic. This was a bit polarizing. Very saucy and with a good amount of heat. Some people didn’t like it but I enjoyed the quite piggy tone, the crunchy pork jowl, and the moderate spice. Wine killer for sure though.

Shrimp Crispy Rice – Thai chili, corn, sun gold tomatoes. Disc of crispy rice that is then mixed up with all that stuff.

All mixed up it was delicious.

Grilled Gai Lan – xo sauce, mint. A jazzed up take on a classic veggie.

2016 Sine Qua Non Grenache Dirt Vernacular. VM 98. Sine Qua Non’s 2016 Grenache The Vernacular is a classic Sine Qua Non wine. Rich, powerful and aromatically deep, the 2016 has so much to offer. A rush of sweet dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, lavender and spice builds in an opulent, flamboyant wine that hits all the right notes. Mourvèdre, Touriga Nacional and Petite Sirah add striking sepia tones throughout. This is a stunning showing. (Drink between 2022-2031)

2013 Sine Qua Non Grenache ♀. VM 96+. Huge tannins wrap around a core of voluptuous fruit in the 2013 Grenache Female. Dark-fleshed fruit, graphite, spices, savory herbs and lavender are some of the signatures. Today, the 2013 is quite imposing and shut down, so readers will have to be patient. The blend is 78% Grenache, 19% Syrah and 3% Mourvèdre, done with 88% whole clusters, which is high for Sine Qua Non. (Drink between 2017-2028)

2010 Sine Qua Non Syrah Stockholm Syndrome Eleven Confessions Vineyard. VM 97.5. Lavender, violets, smoke, menthol and new leather are some of the many notes that inform the 2010 Syrah Stockholm Syndrome. A huge, seamless wine, the 2010 boasts magnificent richness and a totally voluptuous personality. The powerful finish dazzles with its combination of fruit, acidity and minerality. (Drink between 2016-2025)

2007 Sine Qua Non Syrah Labels. VM 94. Opaque purple. Sexy, expansive aromas of blackberry, kirsch, potpourri, sandalwood and black pepper. Sweet and rich, but juicy, with superb floral lift to the flavors of bitter cherry, dark berries and fruity pepper. A real essence of syrah: this is all dark berries, flowers and spice, but no game, with plenty of fruit to support the oak (64% new) element. Harmonious, ripe acidity and velvety tannins give shape to a long, sweet finish.

2004 Sine Qua Non Syrah Poker Face. VM 96. The 2004 Syrah Poker Face remains deep, inky and powerful, even at eleven years of age. A host of black cherry, chocolate, licorice and smoke meld together in this dark, voluptuous Syrah. As good as the 2004 is, it’s also quite clear just how far Sine Qua Non has come since the Poker Face was made. The blend is 96% Syrah, with drops of Mourvèdre and Viognier. Vineyard sources are 33% Eleven Confessions, 27% White Hawk, 22% Alban, 16% Bien Nacido and 3% Alta Mesa. (Drink between 2015-2022)

Grilled Wagyu Zabuton – maitake, koji, egg yolk.

The sauce and yolk were to be mixed, then one was supposed to dip the meat in the sauce. Not a bad dish, but not the best of the night by any means. Certainly our weakest main.

Crispy Potatoes – garlic, chili, lemon mayo. These were awesome. The potatoes were incredibly crispy and coated in a very “Buffalo Wing” style sauce. The sea of lemon mayo was extremely ranch-like and so the overall vibe was like a much better, much crispier, “Buffalo Wing” kind of thing.

Smoked Half Bo Ssam – ssam, condiments, rice.

Comes with white rice.

Greens and lettuce.

Hoisin and pickles. You make a lettuce wrap (I didn’t use the rice). Some argued that the pork was a little dry, but I didn’t think so if you loaded enough moist pickles etc in there. Very rich and satisfying.

Whole Plate Short Rib with Beef Rice – ssam, condiments, beef rice.

Various condiments for the beef. Pickles, spicy Korean chili paste etc

The huge short rib.

Our server sets to work carving the rib.

Most of it is arrayed in a flower pattern.

Then the ribs themselves are added on. Overall this is scrumptious meat, particularly when wrapped in lettuce with all the condiments. Like a great BBQ Brisket.

This is the special beef rice that comes a bit later. It’s delicious but we were crazy full.

2013 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet Domaine. BH 93. Here the wood treatment is well-integrated though not invisible as it combines with elegant, pure and cool aromas of white orchard fruit, acacia blossom and plenty of citrus character. There is good size, weight and punch to the delicious, tangy and energetic middle weight plus flavors that offer a lovely sense of precision and excellent length. While this classy and stylish effort should reward at least a decade of bottle age it should also be approachable after only 6 to 8. (Drink starting 2023)

Almond Chocolate Cloud Gelato – The base is made with Valrhona 62% Satilla Chocolate and then layered with Toasted Sicilian Almond Cream and chopped Classic Toblerone! — 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 #Valrhona #chocolate #creamcheese #ganache #icing #almond #Toblerone

Overall, we had a great time at Majordomo. You do need a decent sized party for the awesome large dishes and you need to preorder. Tonight we had 8, which is perfect as the big dishes easily go around 8 ways and the smaller ones you can order two of.

The service and wine service were both spectacular. I was really surprised as these loud hipster places often don’t have good wine service but we were really taken care of and this added a lot to the evening. We had a great (large) table in the back corner of the patio and a huge unused table next to it for our gear, wines, etc. They were super attentive. Really unusually good service for this level.

The larger pre-order dishes like the rib and pork and chicken are amazing and insane. We planned on also getting the chicken, but we were so stuffed we had to cancel it. Tonight the food seemed the best yet, even if we did have a lot of (delicious) carbs. Pastas and the fried rice were amazing too. Really liking everything about Majordomo other than the distance to get there — well and maybe how I felt trying to sleep later after all that fat, salt, and massive red wine.

I’ll make an interesting observation about the SQNs in this kind of dinner format. Despite the massive wines and massive ratings, we had about 40% of each of the big reds left at the end of the night. My Champagne, my Red Burg, the SQN pinot, and the Chevalier (opened at the end too!) were the only bottles that were empty — and quickly at that. The massive reds are just so punishingly rich — not to mention completely interchangeable — that I just poured a couple at random and sipped lightly.

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: BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Korean Fusion, Majordomo, Meat, SGN, Short rib, Wine

Far East – Beijing Tasty House

Mar10

Restaurant: Beijing Tasty House [Crawl: MK BBQ, Peking, Bafang, Spicy Home, Beijing Tasty ]

Location: 1380 Fullerton Rd Ste 105 Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (626) 573-8518

Date: July 31, 2022

Cuisine: Beijing Chinese

Rating: Okay, but not as good as Alhambra branch

Crawls generally need a good “closer” meal at the end where the group can mop up to a satisfying level. In this case, we chose the newish Hacienda Heights location of Beijing Tasty House.

I’ve eaten at the Alhambra branch at least half a dozen times and always enjoyed it, even if their service is a bit “unrefined” and their execution at times uneven. This one is way out east in a typical strip mall.

The interior is nice enough but much smaller and more cramped than the Alhambra branch.

The menu. Very small writing.

Hot and Sour Soup with Rice Noodles. Name was weird but this is exactly the dish I hoped it was. The “soup” is very tangy with a bit of spice and numbing. It’s warm and the noodles provide interesting texture.

Smashed Cucumbers with Garlic. Properly done.

Fire Exploded Kidneys. For the water sports enthusiast.

A-Choy with sesame sauce. A bit weird, bits of lettuce with a sesame sugar paste.

Peking Duck. Very solid spring pancakes and hoisin. Skin was good and crispy but the meat was very dry and low fat. Not bad, but probably a B+ Peking Duck, even by LA standards. I really should put this place in my Ultimate Peking Duck guide as they do serve proper Beijing Peking Duck, it’s just not the best in town by any means.

The meat with skin on top.

The usual condiments.

Real spring pancakes (certainly NOT tortillas).

The contents of the “bing” or “burrito.”

Duck Bones with Cumin. Not a bad version of this dish, quite spicy too.

Beef (and pork belly) Dry Pot. Quite tasty with very tender beef. Extremely spicy.

Lamb Ribs and cumin. Also similar, but the ribs were awesome and tender.

Strawberry Cheesecake Gelato — strawberry cream-cheese base with strawberry ripple and house-made graham cracker crumble — 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 #cheesecake #strawberry #GrahamCracker #ripple #creamcheese

Overall, food is very similar to the Alhambra outlet, but it’s further, smaller, and has no liquor license (although they let us use tea cups with the bottles hidden). So no reason to go this far, just visit the closer one for a better experience.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beijing Tasty House, BYOG, crawl, Gelato, hedonists, Peking Duck, Rowland Heights

Home Sweet Spicy Home

Mar08

Restaurant: Spicy Home [Crawl: MK BBQ, Peking, Bafang, Spicy Home, Beijing Tasty ]

Location: 1635 S Azusa Ave, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745. (626) 636-1128

Date: July 31, 2022

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Great kitchen

I think we inserted this fourth stop on the crawl as well because the first couple really sucked.
I’ve been to Spicy Home a number of times, usually just for a dish or three (as they don’t allow wine). It’s a great casual Sichuan place.

The menu.

Peppercorn Sauce Chicken. Sauce was great but the chicken had a very high bone percentage.

Scrambled Egg with Shrimp. Solid version of this dish with fluffy shrimp.

Sautéed Shredded Cabbage. Really great version of this dish with a nice “oily” flavor.

String beans with eggplant. Garlic eggplant into which string beans was mysteriously thrown. Not particularly great.

Tea Smoked Duck. Awesome. Very juicy with a pastrami / ham like quality.

Sliced Pork Belly with Tofu Dry Pot. Great flavor and textures. Not super spicy but nice. Best dish so far.

Spicy Home has a great kitchen and implements solid rustic Sichuan. It’s very informal though and has no liquor license so doesn’t feel like a “proper” dinner location. But for pure tastiness of the dishes it’s extremely solid, excellent even.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: crawl, hedonists, SGV, Sichuan Cuisine, Spicy Home, Szechuan cuisine

Quick Eats – Bafang

Mar06

Restaurant: Bafang Dumpling [Crawl: MK BBQ, Peking, Bafang, Spicy Home, Beijing Tasty ]

Location: 1552 S Azusa Ave Suite B, City of Industry, CA 91748. (626) 778-1958

Date: July 31, 2022

Cuisine: Chinese Dumplings

Rating: Bleh!

For stop 3 of our I’ll fated July far SGV crawl we (more or less me) inserted this dumpling place into the roster.

I’ve been wanting to try this for months as the website and online reviews made it look great. But as a dumpling only specialist I was never going to make a specific trip 40+ miles east just for this.

But boy was I in for some confusion. I hadn’t expected this “fast food” (or slightly “fast casual”) counter order format. Or the incredibly limited menu.

What I didn’t realize about Bafang was that it’s a super simple dumpling place reframed as a fast food chain.
Weird messages about their quality that don’t match the experience.

The menu is microscopic. It’s basically two shapes of dumplings, with 3-4 fillings, and a couple of simple noodles. Then a few extras.

The sauces, so important for dumplings, were just wretched. There was just plain soy sauce, vinegar, some gross packaged chili sauce. No proper dumpling sauce which is a mix of soy, vinegar, sugar etc. This completely ruined the taste for me (later).

They do a have a dumpling making room.

Signature pork dumpling, “potsticker” style. Pretty decent, interesting long shape, but a bit under seasoned.

Kimchi and Pork, boiled. Not too bad, but nothing stunning. A little spicy.

Corn and chicken potsticker. I liked the texture, but it didn’t have a massive amount of flavor.

Just in case you didn’t know.

These had a hint of mala, but looked kind of sad and tasted like the sauce was a mala tomato sauce. Very odd. Super overcooked noodles too.

Very mediocre. Almost any mom and pop dumpling place is better. If one of these was in a very convenient location and I needed a 15 minute solo meal I might consider going again — otherwise no — and certainly not an hour away. The dumplings themselves might be passable on a real plate. It didn’t taste BAD — I mean they are dumplings — but still.

I hate eating at crappy tables. I hate eating out of takeout containers and with plastic wares. I hate dumplings with no good sauce. Yuck. Just nothing to recommend. It wasn’t even that fast.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bafang, Chinese cuisine, crawl, dumplings, Fast food, SGV

Quick Eats – Peking Restaurant

Mar04

Restaurant: Peking Restaurant [ CLOSED? ] [Crawl: MK BBQ, Peking, Bafang, Spicy Home, Beijing Tasty ]

Location: 19240 Colima Rd Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (626) 363-4961

Date: July 31, 2022

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Sloppy and not worth recommending in any way

This particular crawl was not well researched. In fact, it was slapped together mostly from yelp or driving around to include places in the “far SGV” (Rowland and Hacienda Heights). This is our second stop after one tucked in a Supermarket!

I love the look of these dives where they took some old 1950s-70s place and converted it into a Chinese restaurant.

The menu is big — just not good.

At least they let us open wines.

Cucumbers were just plain chopped cucumbers. Not marinated. Not smashed. No garlic. Nothing.

Jellyfish. Very mild flavor like they just dumped some distilled vinegar on them.

Cold appetizer plate with MORE jellyfish, ok cold beef, and shrimp with ketchup and Chinese mustard. The shrimp tasted just like shrimp cocktail Chinese style. Lol.

“Peking” duck. Wasn’t very crispy and the meat was quite dry. Total hack job.

Messy pile of scallions.

Gunky shredded cucumber.

Hoisin was not so great.

Tortillas! Yep, not spring pancakes. Packaged flour tortillas. Way too heavy and ruined the whole vibe.

Fried sweet buns. Fried Chinese dough with a bit of sweetened condensed milk. This was probably the best dish. lol. It was best dipped in a 50/50 soy sauce and vinegar mix.

Oranges.

This place appears to have closed (gone out of business). Not exactly surprised, it was one of the worst SGV Chinese restaurants I’ve ever eaten at. Kinda grungy inside too.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, crawl, hedonists, Peking Duck, Peking Restaurant, Rowland Heights, SGV

Quick Eats – MK BBQ

Mar02

Restaurant: MK BBQ [Crawl: MK BBQ, Peking, Bafang, Spicy Home, Beijing Tasty ]

Location: 18414 Colima Rd, Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (626) 616-1826

Date: July 31, 2022

Cuisine: Chinese BBQ

Rating: Not bad

This was part of an extensive (but ultimate meh) crawl in the far SGV.

Yarom found this BBQ joint online, and being a sucker for any kind of straight meat, put it on the list. But it turned out to be a counter tucked in a skeezy market.

Hanging meats.

Wieners in juice.

Duck or pork, that is the question.

!?!

BBQ duck we ate on the hood of our cars. Actually not bad at all.

See, glamorous.

I can’t say I’d recommend this unless one lived nearby and was grabbing some takeout. But for that, it’s actually pretty good.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: bbq, Cantonese BBQ, crawl, duck, MK BBQ, SGV

Wolfing it Down

Feb27

Restaurant: Wolvesmouth [1, 2, 3]

Location: Los Angeles

Date: July 30, 2022

Cuisine: Modernist

Rating: Very tasty and great night

Second July in a row I went to a Wolvesmouth dinner. My previous visit was great fun, but it was for a long time a complicated “application based” dinner and I’m kinda lazy about such things. So when some of my friends decided to buy out the night and invited me I jumped at the chance to return.

In these uncertain times, albeit in the relatively optimistic early/mid summer window, this dinner was held in the Chef Craig Thornton’s home.

The dining table is right in front of the open kitchen.

Ribeye cap. Roman gnocchi. cherry onion jam. fermented tokyo turnip. salsa verde. al taglio. An odd first dish, but delicious. The salsa verde was very chimichuri like and gave the whole thing a sweet and salty succulence.

Scallop. corn. tomato. sungold. chorizo. melon. Bright flavors and very strong corn flavor. Quite lovely.

melon gazpacho. mascarpone. melon. marcona almond. This was quite sweet and summer-like.

Halibut. grilled asparagus. poblano. pickled radish. beet. sopes. garlic labneh. My least favorite dish, fairly heavy, probably from the poblano and beet.

Albacore. cauliflower. charcoal chili broth. freeze dried thai basil. mint. coconut curry. coconut arancini. kaffir lime. green papaya. thai chili. galangal. chive. Extremely intense “Thai” flavor. The base liquid pretty much tasted like the most extreme Thai salad dressing ever, albiet less salty. Delicious but a wine killer.

Pork belly. japanese sweet potato. yuzu. black plum. shiso. Super delicious. Sweet and savory with Chasui like quality.

Cornbread blini. togarashi honey butter.

Quail. white bbq. pinquinto beans. blueberry. dill. cheddar biscuit. hatch chili cheddar. Awesome. Deep fry like a corndog with a scrumptuous tangy white sauce. The bisquit was amazing too.

Financier. butterscotch mousse. nectarine. chewy nectarine. apricot ice. burnt meringue.

Buttermilk vanilla panna cotta. strawberry. concentrated strawberry. strawberry vanilla crumble. strawberry ice. Strawberries and cream.

Feeling creative — Pistachio Basil Gelato – Milk blitzed with fresh Italian Basil leaves and melted together with Pistacchi di Bronte DOP from Bronte Sicly (duh) — 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 #basil #pistachio #sicily

Matcha Almond Latte Gelato – Ceremonial Matcha Green Tea and Sicilian Noto Romano Almond gelato base — 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 #almond #matcha #GreenTea #Sicily

Le chef.

This was a fabulous night. Great wines and atmosphere, but most importantly wonderful company and some really tasty food. I was very impressed. There was no obvious “theme” to the menu, but each dish was very strongly executed with bold and powerful — and tasty — flavors.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Craig Thornton, Gelato, Hollywood, Skylar, Wine, Wolvesmouth

Big Night at Capital

Feb25

Restaurant: Capital Seafood Beverly Hills [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 50 N La Cienega Blvd #130, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. (310) 855-1234

Date: July 29, 2022

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Great again

Sometimes (particularly during a week day) people don’t want to drive all the way to the SGV — and when that happens there is always Capital Seafood Beverly Hills. Tonight a bunch of us gathered for a big wine night.

Capital is the latest SGV place to move west, occupying the Newport Seafood Beverly Hills location that failed to work out. Not that I love even the original Newport, but Capital is fairly straight up banquet / dimsum Cantonese.

The space looks pretty Chinese, even in Beverly Hills.

Coves. Gotta have the coves!

Candied Walnuts.

Peanuts.

It’s alive!

Jellyfish. Nice texture and a good slightly tangy sauce.

Shrimp Egg Rolls. Nice and crunchy.

Har Gow. Well made with a great filling, although they had sat on this plate for a bit too long and so were starting to sag.

Live prawns.

Boiled Live Spot Prawns. Normally I don’t love these sea bugs, but with the sauce they were quite nicely cooked, sweet and delicious.

Sauce for the prawns.

Live lobster!

Typhoon Style Lobster. Great with a nice garlic flavor.

Live crab!

King Crab Body with Basil. Lovely basil flavor and well cooked crab.

King Crab legs steamed with garlic. Juicy, fresh, and delicious.

Pseudo Peking Duck. Not bad, but no pancakes, which makes it more or less Pseudo Peking Duck (see my Ultimate Peking Duck Guild for details).

Buns instead of pancakes.

Wines chilling!

Duck bones with cumin. Actually one of the best duck bone preps I’ve had. Really nice “cumin lamb” style prep. Lots of meat and a bit crunchy.

French style Filet Mignon. Sweet and a bit of black pepper. Boring dish but this was a nice version of it.

Salt and pepper Pork Ribs. Excellent version of this dish. Very fried but not too salty.

Beef rib with Garlic XO sauce. Very savory garlic/MSG sauce. Meat was a touch over cooked, but it was delicious.

King Crab Shell Fried Rice.

Pea Tendrils steamed with Garlic. Nice for a green.

Stir fried fungus with fresh lily and asparagus. Not bad at all for straight vegetables.

Macau Tarts.

Peach shaped buns with bean paste.

Raspberry Lemon Curd Gelato — an awesome dairy Raspberry base swirled with house-made Lemon Curd — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — tangy and sweet! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #raspberry #jam #lemoncurd #curd

Gift from the kitchen: pork buns.

Overall, this was one of our best Capital Seafood (BH) meals ever — and I’ve been a lot! Really fabulous food — partially as we had some really regular customers. Wines were incredible too.

For my catalog of Chinese restaurant reviews in China, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beverly Hills, BYOG, Cantonese cuisine, Capital Seafood, Chinese Food, Gelato, hedonists

Coche In at Brothers Santa Monica

Feb23

Restaurant: The Brothers Sushi Santa Monica

Location: 1008 Montana Ave #1, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (424) 330-0270

Date: July 28, 2022

Cuisine: Modern Sushi

Rating: Awesome (and close)!

Our Foodie Gang has been going to the incredible “The Brothers Sushi” in the valley for some time now, and it was with much glee that we welcomed in the brand new (and somewhat delayed) Montana Santa Monica location.

The space used to be the repulsive Louise’s Trattoria, serving not exactly Italian for decades. But Brother’s has given it a major new makeover.

This particular visit was during their soft opening and Chef Mark Okuda was there to personally handle our omakase.

The build out is gorgeous. Here the bar is for omakase only and the tables are for à la carte only.

More details.

Chef Mark Okuda on the left and his chef de cuisine Moriyuki Kanamaru.

2014 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly Cuvée Nicholas et Mathis. 93 points. Flinty nose, but not very giving. Lemon infused palate, crisp and acidic with lemon rind elements and a chalky texture. Much more closed than the very open 2013.

What better way to inaugurate a new sushi bar than with coche night!

2008 Coche-Dury Meursault. VM 91. Peach and white flowers on the nose; a real essence of Meursault perfume. Then creamy-rich and sweet, with soft citrus flavors dominating. Finishes with lovely lingering sweetness of fruit. Ridiculously sexy village wine.

2011 Domaine & Selection Meursault Coche-Dury. 92 points.

2012 Coche-Dury Meursault. 94 points. Sexy aromas of orange oil and brown spices. Bright and penetrating, with peach and soft citrus flavors firmed on the tactile back end by saline minerality. Really excellent texture and length for village wine. (Incidentally, don’t hesitate to snap up Coche’s 2012 Bourgogne Blanc if you can find it. This ripe, fruit-driven wine, from rocky soil around Coche’s house, is as good as most Meursault village wines. The very rich, tactile, classic Meursault Narvaux, which is usually sent to the U.S., was just at the beginning of its malo, and the Rougeot hadn’t even started at the end of May.)

2013 Coche-Dury Meursault. 93 points. Pale, bright yellow. Stone fruits and a honeyed nuance on the inviting nose. Concentrated, ripe and dry, conveying a musky complexity to the flavors of peach, pear and minerals. Finishes with excellent energy and a positive phenolic edge. (Burgundy lovers who routinely snap up the Coche-Dury Bourgogne Blanc when they’re lucky enough to spot it in a retail shop or on a restaurant wine list will love the very sexy 2013 version, which offers intense white peach and lime flavors framed by lemony acidity and finishes with noteworthy refinement for its humble appellation.) (Drink between 2017-2023)

2016 Coche-Dury Meursault. 93 points. A cooler and more restrained nose features notes of spicy green apple, acacia blossom and the hallmark hazelnut wisps. There is excellent density to the finer and more mineral-inflected flavors that possess almost painful intensity on the focused, powerful and strikingly persistent finish. This too is a seriously good performance for a villages level wine that should age effortlessly for at least a decade. (Drink starting 2026)

Marinated Seaweed, Scallop, and Okra. Sunomono sweet and tangy quality with beautiful textures.

2 week aged King Salmon, Marinated Momotaro Tomato, Ponzu Jelly, and Ice Plant. Delicious.

Smoke infused dry aged medium Chu Toro with wasabi. The smokey flavor is lovely.

Chawanmushi with Dungeness Crab and Santa Barbara Uni. A very lovely sweet and briny custard.

Maryland softshell Blue Crab, lightly fried and marinated with pickles. The acidity served as a nice offset to the grease of the fry.

Spring snapper.

5 day dry aged Amberjack.

Shima Aji from Kushu Japan.

Golden eye snapper. Had a touch of char as he blow torches some charcoal over it.

Marinated Maguro (blue eye toro).

Sweet Ebi from Japan.

Special brined Ikura over rice and topped with wasabi.

Sea Perch.

O Toro. Some of the softest, fatiest otoro I have yet had.

Anago Sea Eel from Kushu. Lovely soft texture.

Another round of chu and o toro

Clam miso. Lovely briny flavor. Very satisifying.

Tamago.

Hokkaido uni “wrap”.

A5 Wagyu nigiri.

Hokkaido scallop.

Toro Takuan Handroll.

Hamachi.

Ikura.

Ngawa. Haven’t heard of this fish but it was super tender and delicious, almost unctuous.

Seared Chu Toro “Zule” with homemade soy sauce.

Matcha Cheesecake.

Leche Quemada Gelato — “burnt” some milk with Cinnamon and Vanilla and then cooked into the mix a light Water Caramel. I didn’t have any Animal Crackers so I decorated with Stroopwafel — 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 #cookie #cinnamon #vanilla #BurntMilk #stroopwafel #caramel

Chef enjoying some gelato.

Bonus!

Overall, another perfect night of sushi and white burgundy!

Instantly Brother’s Santa Monica has leapt into the top tier of westside sushi bars along with Miyagi and Shunji. It’s combination of perfect nigri and very refined “other dishes” are really great. It’s slightly different from woodland hills in personality, with some dishes in common and some specific to each — just enough to keep things interesting.

For more Italian dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brothers Sushi, BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Mark Okuda, Moriyuki Kanamaru, Omakase, Sushi, Wine

Dirty Dozen semi Grand

Feb21

Restaurant: Grand Harbor [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 5733 Rosemead Blvd, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 280-2998

Date: July 24, 2022

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Solid Cantonese

It has become traditional for the Dirty Dozen (our blind tasting group within a group) to do white wine lunches over dim sum — but this time we mixed it up slightly and combined with Sunday night dinner into a Cantonese banquet Dirty Dozen White dinner. I think this was originally white Burgundy themed, then opened up to Rose Champagne for this event.

Grand Harbor is a relatively new Hong Kong place in Temple City from Jackie Zhou, having opened in 2012. It is part of the NBC Seafood Restaurant group, which has several other locations throughout the Los Angeles area.

The restaurant was designed to provide an elegant and upscale dining experience, with a focus on fresh seafood and high-quality ingredients. The owners of the restaurant were inspired by the traditional seafood restaurants of Hong Kong and wanted to bring a similar experience to the United States.

Since its opening, Grand Harbor has become a popular destination for diners seeking delicious seafood dishes and a luxurious dining experience. The restaurant has received numerous accolades and positive reviews from food critics and diners alike, and has become a go-to spot for special occasions and celebrations.

The dining room is huge and opulent in that chintzy Chinese way. I would have thought from all the overzealous cove lighting that the space was built out in the 80s, but apparently it’s only a year or two old!

Real marble blends non-so-seemlessly with faux-alabaster. They have wine too like many of the new high end places. Mostly big young red wine like Bordeaux which totally fails to pair with Cantonese Chinese, but it’s the thought that counts.

We had a private room — pretty much a necessity given the crowded main room.

Peanuts.

Smashed cucumbers. Slightly spicy sweet sauce. Not sure what the deal with dumping this kind of spring roll sauce on top of the cucumbers is.

We had the champagnes in flights but I’m too lazy to do anything more than present the photos of them in the order they were served.

And thus ends the champs.
Cold appetizers. Jellyfish, roast pork, pork belly, roast duck. Roast pork and duck were good.

Sauces for the cold apps. The hoison like one and sweet duck sauce.

Walnut shrimp. Lightly fried, very mayo, a bit sweet, and quite delicious.

“Peking Duck.” Skin is a bit soft and mushy and there are buns, but still tasty. This is “pseudo peking duck” like most of the Cantonese restaurants server. For more legit versions, check out my Peking Duck Guide.
Condiments.

Scallops in XO sauce. Very nice, not super strong.

Lobster steamed with garlic. Nice light prep.

Duck meat as lettuce cups. Good texture.

Pork belly with preserved vegetables. Mild and very fatty but very good. Mild is a theme tonight.

Fried pork chops. Very fried but not super salty.

French style beef with mushrooms. Super tender but why, why do we keep ordering this dish?

Bok Choy. Lightly flavored.

Everything fried rice.

Plated.

Truffle chicken. Chicken itself was very tender but the truffle was canned truffle with rancid truffle oil. I could only handle one bite.

Pan fried noodles with beef and egg whites. Topping was pretty good but noodles had a slightly odd flavor. Overall pretty mild (aka under seasoned).

Double Mint Oreo — Base made with Fresh Spring Mint infused milk and then laced with Crushed Mint Oreo Thins and Chopped Valrhona 70% Chocolate! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — lovely strong mint flavor and color is all natural — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #dessertgasm #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #mint #valrhona #chocolate #oreo

My gelato is DOTN (dessert of the night) by about 5 orders of magnitude.

Light honey and plain sponge cakes.

Sweet soup with sesame mochi. Sweet egg drop anyone?

The gang.

The results.

By July of 2022, Grand Harbor had come most of the way back since it’s immediate post pandemic low, but it’s still not quite as good as it was before 2020. The dishes look good, but there was a slight but consistent under seasoning that made a little one dimensional — except for the truffle chicken which was disgusting. Say no to truffle oil! Still, one could always bring some a shaker of “flavor” (MSG) and Grand Harbor a very solid Cantonese with top notch rooms and service. From those who have visited more recently I’ve heard they have rebounded even further.

And I do like Rose Champ with Chinese food.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: blind tasting, BYOG, Cantonese Chinese, Champagne, Dirty Dozen, Gelato, Grand Harbor, hedonists, SGV, Wine

Date Night at Addison

Feb18

Restaurant: Addison

Location: 5200 Grand Del Mar Way, San Diego, CA 92130. (858) 314-1900

Date: July 18, 2022

Cuisine: California Japanese Fusion French

Rating: Best meal I’ve had in California in a while

My wife and I snuck away during July 2022 for a romantic getaway to San Diego and managed to snag (thanks Jeffrey!) a reservation at San Diego’s best restaurant, Addison — then 2 Michelin stars, now recently promoted to three!

Addison is a renowned fine-dining restaurant located in the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, a luxury resort in San Diego, California. The restaurant is named after Addison Mizner, a famed architect from the 1920s who specialized in Mediterranean-style architecture.

It’s located at the glamorous and woodsy Fairmont Grand Del Mar.

The outside patios are very 2000.

The restaurant has a sophisticated and elegant — if slightly overdone — ambiance, with a modern European design that includes chandeliers, high ceilings, and polished marble floors. The dining room has an open floor plan with tables set with white linens and comfortable chairs. The restaurant also has a private dining room that can seat up to 20 guests for more intimate gatherings.

Regular menu.

Pescatarian menu.

Addison’s cuisine is described as contemporary French with a California twist, and the menu changes frequently to highlight the freshest seasonal ingredients. The restaurant has a strong emphasis on fine dining techniques and presentation, with each dish carefully crafted to provide a feast for the eyes and the palate.

Welcome drink of fermented pineapple with a bit of a funky quality.

Wagyu tartar with a squid ink cracker.

Chicken Liver Churry. Soft and crispy textures.

Chili Churro. The vegetarian variant.

Sake Cured Kanpachi “Nigiri” with shiso leaf. Very nice crunch paired with the softness of the fish and an shiso finish.

Iberian Ham, Crispy Potato, Black Truffles. Decadent little bite.

A glass of rose to start.

Kanpachi Sashimi, Salted Kiwi, Shiso, Melon. Formed into a floral shape each piece of fish could be dipped into the citrus and shiso sauce.

Shellfish Chawanmushi with scallops and Haikkado Uni, Broccoli, Bok Choy, and Daikon.

Vegetable Chawanmushi Broccoli, Bok Choy, and Daikon.

Even though I brought wine, the $100+ (maybe even $150) a bottle corkage drove me to the not-too-badly-priced wine list. 2019 Bouchard Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières Domaine. BH 91-93. Moderately firm reduction overshadows the underlying fruit at present. Otherwise there is very good volume to the nicely concentrated and more finely textured middle weight flavors that brim with minerality on the youthfully austere and lemon zest-inflected finale that isn’t quite as structured. (Drink starting 2027 — oops we started a bit early — that’s restaurant wine lists for you)

The wine is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes, which are hand-picked and carefully sorted to ensure only the highest quality fruit is used. After pressing, the juice is fermented in French oak barrels, 25% of which are new, where it undergoes a malolactic fermentation, which adds richness and creaminess to the wine.

The resulting wine is a brilliant golden color with aromas of lemon, pear, and white flowers. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and complex, with flavors of citrus, vanilla, and a hint of minerality. The wine has a long, elegant finish that lingers on the palate.
Regiis Ova Reserve Caviar, Koshihikari Rice, Smoked Sabayon, Sesame. Very soft rice texture, rich and creamy with a nutty quality but not overwelmingly sesame. Quite lovely.

Salt and Vinegar Chips, Toasted Dill, Burnt Onion Dip. Basically fancy “sour cream and oil chips” — delicious.

The dip.

Golden Eye Snapper, Flavors of summer. Very moist and subtle and pleasant.

Truffle Tamale, Squash Blossoms, Quesillo, Pork.

Can hardly see it under all that truffle!

Tom Kha Gai Goong, Thai Basil, Coriander, Coconut. Very authentic but extra smooth and clean.

Lime to add into the soup.

Crispy vegetable fritter.

Sourdough Bread, Goat’s Milk, Browned Honey Butter.

Browned Honey Butter.

Goat’s Milk.

2013 Domaine Perrot-Minot Chambolle-Musigny. VM 90-92. Bright, dark red. Aromas of cherry, spices, rose petal and menthol are accented by a piquant suggestion of blood orange. Distinctly brambly aromas of berries, rose and menthol. At once lush and bright, with a firm tannic spine giving the wine structure and grip. A very serious village wine in the making. (Drink between 2020-2027)

A5 Wagyu, Black Garlic, Maitake Broth, Negi. Super buttery/tender beef very much in the true wagyu vibe. Scrumptious.

Maaitake Broth, Negi. Very pleasant and extremley Japanese.

Wild Mushrooms, Black Garlic, Crispy Kombu.

This (vegetarian) dish also came with a broth.

Chef William Bradley in the kitchen. He’s the executive chef of Addison. He joined the restaurant in 2006 and has since become known for his contemporary French cuisine with a California twist, showcasing the finest seasonal ingredients.

Chef Bradley began his culinary career in his native Florida, where he attended culinary school and worked in various restaurants. He then moved to California to work for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco and later the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles, where he earned a Michelin star.

In 2006, Chef Bradley joined the team at Addison as the executive chef, where he has continued to elevate the restaurant’s reputation for exceptional cuisine. Under his leadership, Addison has been awarded multiple accolades, including five stars from Forbes Travel Guide, five diamonds from AAA, and a spot on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Chef Bradley is known for his attention to detail and his innovative approach to cooking. He draws inspiration from both classic French techniques and local California ingredients, combining them in unexpected ways to create dishes that are both elegant and inventive.

Overall, Chef William Bradley’s career has been marked by a dedication to excellence in the culinary arts, and his contributions to Addison have solidified the restaurant’s reputation as one of the best fine-dining destinations in the United States.

Harry’s Berries Strawberries, Cucumber Jelly, Whipped Orange Blossom. Super intense berries, fabulous “strawberry and zabione” style dish.

The Sweet Treats.

Praline and Cocoa Crunch, Passion Fruit, Toasted Fluff. Lovely crunchy texture and rich chocolate flavor.

Yuzu Custard, Green Tea. Lite and bright.

Chocolate Wafer, Pistachio, Sour Cherry Jam.

Berry-Beet Tartelette, Verjus, Vanilla. Very intense berry flavor.

Wildflower Honeycomb. Glucose spike!

“Gift” of granola.

Addison was flat out great. First of all, it’s a lovely setting, really quite magnificent. Then the atmosphere and service are absolutely at the level of a European Michelin 2 star, which is so rare in America. The food also feels like 2 star food — and now that it has a US 3 star that puts it where it should be because the best US 3 stars match up with European 2 stars. There just aren’t places at the Euro 3 star level in the states, not really.

Anyway, on to the food. It’s very refined, beautifully plated and artfully presented. Every dish tasted bright and delicious. Overall, there is a very pronounced Japanese influence, which is typical these days for high end California restaurants. The techniques are largely modern French, although there are dishes like the Chawanmushi which are pretty straight up Japanese. Otherwise, even with the French techniques the ingredients are at least half Japanese, so it has the feeling of a great Japanese omakase.

As a “date night” it turned out to be one of those perfect romantic evenings — spectacular even.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Addison, California French, Chef William Bradley, Date Night, Del Mar, Golf Course, Japanese Fusion, Michelin 2 Star, Michelin 3 Star, Romantic Dinner

Date Night at AR Valentien

Feb16

Restaurant: A.R. Valentien

Location: 11480 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037. (858) 777-6635

Date: July 19, 2022

Cuisine: California Bistro

Rating: Solid for a hotel spot

My wife and I went for a romantic mini vacation to San Diego July of 2022 and stayed at the Iconic Lodge at Torrey Pines where we stayed just before our son was born.

It’s a lovely spot in full California style, located in La Jolla, California, just north of San Diego. The lodge is nestled in a grove of pine trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the famous Torrey Pines Golf Course. The hotel is decorated in a Craftsman-style decor, with hardwood floors, custom furnishings, and hand-crafted details that evoke the warmth and character of a bygone era.

The Lodge is also known for its proximity to some of the most beautiful natural areas in Southern California, including Torrey Pines State Reserve, which is home to rare and endangered plant species, and miles of hiking trails. Other nearby attractions include the La Jolla Cove, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, and the San Diego Zoo.

Overall, the Lodge at Torrey Pines is a stunning destination that offers a luxurious and relaxing retreat in a breathtaking natural setting.

The sunset view from the Lodge’s signature restaurant, A.R. Valentien. The restaurant highlights regional San Diego cuisine served in an elegant, timbered indoor-outdoor dining room overlooking the 18th hole of Torrey Pines Golf Course. Executive Chef Kelli Crosson sources only the best local provisions, and the menu changes frequently based on seasonal fare available. The restaurant takes its name from a talented early 20th-century California artist whose works are exhibited throughout the restaurant.

The menu.

A favorite — can’t even remember if I brought the bottle or we bought it off the list — NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this cuvée, but with no lack of vivacity.

Vegetarian amuse.

Stonefruit Salad. Young Lettuces, Whipped Goat Cheese, Marcona Almonds, White Balsamic Dijon Vinaigrette.

Applewood Smoked Rainbow Trout. Burnt Onion Cream, Shishito Relish, Crispy Potato.

Braised Alaskan Halibut. Miso Broth, Bok Choy, Sprouting Cauliflower, Torpedo Onion, Cauliflower Mushroom.

Roasted Liberty Duck Breast and Confit Leg. Caramelized Fennel Flan, Hazelnuts, Roasted Grapes, Frisée.

Bonus of wax beans and romesco.

Cheese with Spiced Nuts and Jams. Caveman Blue. Rogue Creamery, (Cow’s Milk). Cave Aged Marisa. Carr Valley, (Sheep’s Milk). Lake Effect. Blakesville Creamery, (Goat’s Milk). Wagon Wheel. Cowgirl Creamery, (Cow’s Milk).

Beignets and candies.

Certainly a very pleasant romantic meal.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: A.R. Valentien, Date Night, Lodge at Torrey Pines, San Diego

Camphor Cool

Feb14

Restaurant: Camphor

Location: 923 E 3rd St Suite 109, Los Angeles, CA 90013. (213) 626-8888

Date: July 14, 2022

Cuisine: Modern French Bistro

Rating: Great fusion of flavors

Camphor is a modern bistro located in DTLA’s bustling Arts District led by Co-Executive Chefs Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George. It seems to merge French style with some Indian flavors.

Jeffrey and Erick and I, collectively the Foodie Club or Bottom Feeders, set off to try it out — and of course ordered almost the entire menu (as we are wont to do).

They are located down in the Arts District — ugly location, but a nice build out. It’s the same space that used to house Nightshade, another place I liked that shut down during the pandemic. Some of the owners and/or staff have carried over.

The interior. It doesn’t look that different than Nightshade did.

The menu and our marked up version.

1996 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 92 points. Best attribute is a long finish, with good balance. Notes of white flower and tree fruit.

From my cellar: 1996 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 94 points. When they are on the wines are really incredible, this bottle was flinty and completely alive and delicious, everything you could want but the success rate is pretty much 50% on these wines for me so as long as you are comfortable with that reality they are worth seeking out, I’m not sure I’m going to be buying anymore myself. Even at 2x the average retail price on these which is basically what the cost is when you have to pour out every other bottle, they are still a relative bargain compared to any other older White Burg but it’s a frustrating experience opening them.

Amuse in the form of a light delicious foam in a chickpea shell. Very nice refreshing bite.

Saucisson with brown pepper. Tasty thin salami.

Baby shrimp “gunpowder.” Incredibly tasty little salty crunchy shrimp with a hint of curry and/or lemongrass and basil.

Clam barbajuan. Tasty, but the ratio of fry made it taste like there could have been anything in there.

Clams with garlic parsley butter. Quite tasty.

Tartare of beef with an herb tempura. This was a fabulous “creamy” tartare and particularly delicious on the crispy herbs.

Herb tempura to put the tartare on.

A5 wagyu otoro carpaccio. Also creamy. They like the sacues here.

Barbajuan of Dungeness crab. There was also probably spinach in there. I thought there was a nice (but subtle) crab flavor. The shell was great.

Sauces for the barbajuan of a creamy butter sauce and incredible pickled sweet Peruvian peppers.

Special onion tart with anchovies. This was very good, but not as good as Jeffrey wanted.

From my cellar: 1989 Daniel Moine-Hudelot Clos Vougeot. Amazing!

Special dover sole with brown butter beurre blanc with capers and bread crumbs.

The browned butter.

Breadcrumbs.

They like to sauce at the table. Very soft and rich and delicious fish.

Lobster with coral bisque. Super tender lobster tail with a sauce that was basically lobster bisque.

The lobster claws in a ridiculously rich and delicious hollandaise-like foam.

Lentils and Lamb. Under this foam was a lentil soup with a hint of curry and a touch of lambiness. Not much meat but it was delicious.

1993 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge.

Chicken with Thyme and chicken jus. This was a soft log of chicken and super delicious. The sauce was vaguely curry-like and so we called it the “curry wurst.”

Asparagus and béarnaise. Salty and good.

Special of layered crispy potato. This was great and the sauce beneath had a complex sweet and sour flavor that reminded me of chaat puri (the Indian street food).

Special of ribeye from a special source with a slightly different bearnaise sauce. Very nice meat but I was very full.

Soft sweet bread.

Chocolate and hazelnut. There was icecream and crunch underneath. Quite good.

Special of strawberry and cream in a crispy shell. Fabulous. Again, too bad I was full.

The chefs.

Little madeleines.

This was a super fun dinner, one of my favorites of the year, and I loved Camphor. First of all, I really enjoy these small Foodie Club/Bottom Feeders outings to new restaurants. They are free of drama and chaos of some larger dinners. Then I really enjoyed the food. It’s precise, and very very saucy — but I like saucy. Be prepared for it. Everything is sauced. Béarnaise, beurre blanc, reductions, it’s all there. But sauce adds fat, salt, and flavor to otherwise plain proteins. And I really enjoyed the precise French style paired with bolder more assertive Indian flavors, without getting too heavy. The DNA is mostly French.

Oh and our Burgundies turned out very well tonight. The 1989 Clos Vougeot was one of those magical wines. So lucky when those happen. Some people have complained that Camphor dish size is too small. This is actually a plus in my book and just an opportunity to order more dishes. Look at how much we got through with just three gluttons!

For more Italian dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Camphor, DTLA, Foodie Club, French Cuisine, Sauce, Wine

Not all Dim Sum are Created Equal

Feb11

Restaurant: Five Star Seafood Restaurant

Location: 140 W Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 288-1899

Date: July 9, 2022

Cuisine: Chinese Dim Sum

Rating: Meh

Once or twice a year the hedonists (and Yarom’s family) trek’s out to the SGV for a two part Saturday featuring dim sum and some banquet dinner. Locations vary but several times we’ve been to the awesome Juicy Dumpling.

This is the same maxi-mall with Juicy Dumpling and Spicy City (now sadly closed I think). 5 Star has a comanding position in the corner, high above everything else (you need to take an elevator up above the market).

It’s a giant room with a decent view, classic Cantonese.

And a cart place. I haven’t been to a cart place in a while and 5 Star reminded me why.

Our table.

Pan fried meat and chive patties. Oily and delicious.

Greens. Just were. Not much garlic.

Red bean sesame balls. One of the problems with carts is the totally random order. Actually it’s not random, it’s bad to better.

Fried shrimp paste balls on sugar sticks. Luke warm (or even cool) by the time we got them.

Disgusting pig trotters the way Yarom likes ’em.

Chicken Feet. Same deal as the pig’s feet.

Pork ribblets. Pretty tasty, if boney.

XLB. Doughy version and not very warm at all, but still tasty.

Veggie roll. This is normally a great dish — here a bit meh.

Eggplant stuffed with fried shrimp paste. Not so great. They love the shrimp paste here.

DEEP fried wontons with mayo.

A different deep fried roll, I think with shrimp paste — and more mayo.

Yet another deep fried roll with mayo. Hard to tell the difference, maybe different (fried) wrapper.

Lotus Sticky Rice. They do have all the classics here.

Siu Mai. Took us a long time to get these and even when we did they were luke warm. They were passable.

Scrawny.

Beef ball. Very “processed” and almost sweet like a jewish meatball.

Chive and shrimp dumpling. One of the best dishes. Somehow, despite this being a dim sum place, I basically had to ambush the dumpling carts at the kitchen and rip the steamed dumplings out of their hands — they were very determined to push more over-fried stuff.

Har gow. Very hard to get, surprisingly, and just fine.

Baked pork bun (char siu bao). Ok. You can see from the picture it’s a bit flabby.

Pineapple bun. Excellent actually.

This was some pretty mediocre dim sum for the SGV. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s still tasty. Even bad dim sum is pretty good. And this wasn’t terrible, it’s not like some of the horrible ones in downtown or further west, but there are about 10 much better places within a mile or three! And it’s a cart dim sum which basically sucks. It’s hard to get the dishes you want. They’re cold when you do. You get them in the wrong order. Hungry party members insist on loading up on the bad fry they always drive by first. Much better to order from the sheet in waves.

After this I got two different two hour massages (because I couldn’t convince my normal place to do longer than two hours). THEN we went off to Shanghai #1 Seafood for an awesome dinner (way better than lunch).

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Cantonese Chinese, Chinese cuisine, Dim sum, dimsum, hedonists, parlay, SGV, Wine

Eating Geneva – Le Chat-Botté

Feb07

Restaurant: Le Chat-Botté

Location: Quai du Mont-Blanc 13, 1201 Genève, Switzerland. +41 22 716 69 20

Date: July 6, 2022

Cuisine: French-style 1 Star

Rating: Lovely

On our way out of Sardinia/Corsica we couldn’t get a direct flight to the states and so had to spend a night in Geneva. Oh well, this served as a chance for a quick exploration of that lovely city and to hit up another Michelin starred restaurant.

Le Chat Botte was conveniently located right near our hotel.

With yet another lovely patio — something American restaurants could learn a thing or two about.

And a view of Lake Geneva and the water spout.

Amuses. Rice crisps with vegetable blobs.

Savory Macaron.

Crispy shell with mousse and bacon.

The menus.

2017 Ballot-Millot & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. BH 92-94. A trace of mineral reduction sits atop the pretty and very floral-inflected aromas of various white-fleshed fruit and citrus scents. The caressing yet intense mineral-driven flavors possess outstanding complexity on the balanced and impressively long finish. This is at once delicate yet powerful and should also age effortlessly. (Drink starting 2027)

Watermelon gazpacho with fruits. Just a bit of a pepper finish.

Bread and brioche. The brioche was to die for.

Lime olive oil.

Gluten free bread.

Lobster from Brittany with green zebra tomato, Thai basil, and nectarine. Very lovely and fresh.

Colored tomatoes, burratina, green shiso.

Mackerel from Lorient, smoked eggplant, and imperial caviar.

Ring of tomatoes.

With the gazpacho added.

Kid pasta.

Zucchini flowers.

Swiss salmon, chanterelle mushrooms, and pistachios. Very rare and tender. Nice crunch to sauce.

Even more bread.

2016 Domaine Chanterêves Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Damodes.

Duckling breast from the Dombes, carrots, flat peach with ginger. With the sauce. Better than the 3 star duck breast.

Swiss salmon, chanterelle mushrooms, and pistachios. 4 course portion of this was larger.

All Swiss cheeses. 3 cream with a tangerine compote, washed rind with 70% chocolate, and a blue cheese with sherry reduction and walnuts.

Cherry blossom tea. Very light with subtle berry character.

Tea leaves smelled amazing.

Lovely sunset.

Pre-dessert of something herby and cherry.

Crunchy with hibiscus.

A strawberries and cream type dessert.

Chocolate gelato that the chef jazzed up a bit.

Mirroring the amuses is a fruit version of the dessert amuses.

More dessert macaron.

White chocolate cups with pistachio.

Overall, a lovely place and a great way to finish out a fabulous trip.

For more French dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chat-Botté, Eating Geneva, Eating Switzerland, Lake Geneva, Le Chat Botte, Wine

Eating Corsica – Beach Lunch

Feb03

July 5, 2022 we took a Ferry ride across the Mediterranean from Sardinia to Corsica to visit some friends of ours.

The have a beach-side house on the east coast of Corsica, not far from Bonifacio. This is really an incredible spot.

The house is lovely and the patio looks out on the incredible view of the sea above.

Our friends prepared a traditional Corsican lunch, including wine of course.

Moroccan olives that are almost sweet.

Empanadas with caramelized onions and cheese and a Corsican herb.

Watermelon and avocado salad.

Tripe made by the local priest. very tender but smelled and tasted “fecal.” Eww.

Cannelloni with cheese and spinach.

Green beans.

Fresh melon.

Flat breads.

More wine.

Pecorino and fig jam.

These were the best packaged gelato I have yet had.

Overall, this was just one of those peerless afternoons. The food was nice, but it wasn’t about that per se, but really the location, weather, company, and all that.

For more French dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Beach, Corsica, Eating Corsica, tripe

Eating Baja – Somu

Feb01

Restaurant: Somu Ristorante

Location: Piazza Ventaglio, 07021 Baja Sardinia SS, Italy. +39 349 120 0682

Date: July 4, 2022

Cuisine: Italian 1 Star

Rating: Very nice

For second Sardinian 1 Star and final meal in Italy we trekked 20-30 minutes to the town of Baja Sardinia.

The restaurant was a touch difficult to find, as it was tucked away down at the harbor piazza (where there was no parking).

Finally we located it.

The have this gorgeous sea-side patio.

So we had this table looking over the bay/cove.

Amuses. Crunchy rice crisps with tomato and basil. Delicious and looked like jellyfish.

Rice crisps with steak tartare.

Veggie “tartare.”

Rice crisps in various flavors like saffron and squid ink and tomato.

Pork Jellies. Cute little piggies.

Vegetarian bites.

Refreshing fruit and wine “soup” (cold).

Brioche like bread.

Butter and lard.

Mushroom butter.

The menus. We had a bit of an issue at first where they really wanted us to all have the same menu — and since some people were vegetarian/pescatarian that really wasn’t going to work. This was unusual for a Michelin starred restaurant. I think it was the particular person we had as a manager came over and completely changed the tune and was very accomodating.

Amuse of oyster with various flavors.

Vegetable creams with basil oil.

Crispy Sardinian Bread.

Grisini.

Bread.

Carne Salata. Strong meaty and briny flavors with sesame.

Tomato terrine.

Black Garlic Ravioli. Lovely pillow-like texture, nice pasta bite, and great flavor.

Egg yolk.

Gluten free version.

Green tomato risotto. Very interesting flavor and perfect creamy texture.

Spaghetti.

Kid pasta 1. Was almost sweet.

Kid pasta 2.

Red Mullet. No hint of fishiness.

Risotto with sweet and sour peppers (from identity menu)

Suckling Pig. Great texture.

Stuffed vegetable.

Pre-dessert.

Pecan.

Beans, oat milk, and citrus.

petite fours.

Gluten free petite fours.

Chocolate cannelés.

Liqueur soaked pastry balls.

Passionfruit jelly.

Chocolates.

Overall, a fabulous fancy Italian meal. Not quite as approachable as ConFusion, as Somu was slightly more complex and cerebral, but really good. Lovely setting too.