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Author Archive for agavin – Page 22

Salty Saturday 2021

Aug10

Salty Saturday is the traditional family bagel and lox brunch we do on the Saturday after ThanksGavin.

For the last couple of years it’s been hosted at my cousin Matt’s house. This year (2021), it’s a touch more subdued than usual due to cooking fatigue, the pandemic, etc.

In his sunny dining room.

Across the way is the kids table.

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The more restrained spread this year.
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Philadelphia bagels.
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Onions.
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Lox.
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Cheese.
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Herbs.
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Snacks, cucumbers etc.
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Tomatoes, capers, cream cheese, whitefish salad, olives.
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Freshly made goat cheese fritata.

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And here is my plate — delicious but it did induce ridicule for including 4 full bagel halves!

 

To combat the salt, I also tried a strategy of pounding a cold press coffee, which seemed to work (a bit). Then we got in the car and drove off to New York!

See here for more ThanksGavin posts.

1A4A8689Made by my young cousin Audrey from my Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

Related posts:

  1. Salty Saturday 2019
  2. Salty Saturday 2018
  3. Salty Saturday
  4. Salty Saturday 2014
  5. Salty Saturday 2017
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bagels, Cream Cheese, Lox, Salty Saturday, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2021, thanksgiving

China Gourmet – East Coast Far East

Aug08

Restaurant: China Gourmet [1, 2]

Location: 2842 St Vincent St, Philadelphia, PA 19149. (215) 941-1898

Date: November 26, 2021

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Pretty decent Cantonese

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As part of the traditional ThanksGavin progression of meals we often have a second home feast on Friday Night, but this year because my cousin Matt and his wife were justifiably out of steam from the big event the night before, we quested around for tasty place that could take nearly 20 people.

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Much to my pleasure we selected this local Cantonese banquet hall.
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Fairly typical interior that is pretty much straight out of the SGV.
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The menu. Clearly they do a lot of takeout.
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This meal involved some really complex ordering.  This is the main adult table. This had a mix of adventurous and cautious eaters and even a couple with restrictions.

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And then the extra challenging kids table, which due to size restrictions also ended up as the overflow for really picky eaters and those with highly specific dietary needs.
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Peanuts.
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Fish maw and crab soup. Mild MSG delivery vehicle.
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Because some people thought “fish maw” was too weird, we also got Hot and sour soup (which is always delicious).
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Lobster with minced pork. Not sure I’ve had it with the pork. Extra yum.
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Clams with black bean sauce.
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Peppers stuffed with shrimp paste.
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Steamed striped bass.
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Quail.
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Garlic fried chicken. Very tender and moist.
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Salt and pepper pork chop.
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Snow pea leaf.
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String beans.
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Beef on crispy noodles.
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Salt and pepper tofu.
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Seafood fried rice with salty roe. I didn’t tell everyone about the “roe”.
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Oranges.

Really a pretty good place, on par with a medium level SGV Cantonese. Not the best ever, but not Chinese American either (at least the way I ordered). Everyone enjoyed it too so my “something for everyone” ordering seemed to have worked out.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

To see more ThanksGavin meals check here.

Related posts:

  1. Derek moved to China Red
  2. China Red by Day
  3. Silk Road Journeys – Shaanxi Gourmet
  4. Back East – IHop
  5. Zaytinya – East made Easy
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cantonese cuisine, Chinese Food, Lobster, ThanksGavin 2021

ThanksGavin 2021 – The Feast Itself

Aug05

This year, after a brief pandemic induced hiatus, ThanksGavin returned to Philadelphia in 2021 — at my cousin Matt and his wife Andrea’s place.

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Matt is in the back starting his kitchen prep.

For whatever reasons, possibly ennui, my photos are slightly more minimalistic than usual.
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The savory spread.
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Bread.
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Butter.
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Brussels with walnuts.
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Squash.
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Leeks.
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Doubling down on the red are the roasted beets.
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Potatoes Lyonnaise.
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Cranberry jelly.
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My mom’s cranberry chutney with a bit of citrus and cayenne — probably my favorite.
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Veggies.

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Turkey #1. BBQed in the Big Green Egg. And Turkey #2 was Done in the webber over charcoal.
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Turkey!
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More Turkey.
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Stuffing.
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Stuffing without butter.
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My official plate for 2021!
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Whipped cream I “whipped up.”
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And some super decadent butterscotch sauce I also whipped up — given that I’m not the master of anything that belongs with gelato.
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Brownies etc.
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A spice/fruit cake.
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Pumpkin pie.
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Pecan pie.
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Here is my pancreas busting plate.
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Overall, some of the best ThanksGavin food yet, even beating out the awesome 2017 and 2018! It usually is, as the standards keep going up and up! To see a list of all ThanksGavin meals over the here, click here.

Related posts:

  1. ThanksGavin 2019
  2. ThanksGavin 2018
  3. ThanksGavin 2017
  4. ThanksGavin 2011 – The Main Event
  5. ThanksGavin 2012
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2021, thanksgiving, turkey, Wine

Whacky Wednesday – Argana Tree

Aug03

Restaurant: Argana Tree Restaurant

Location: 620 Greenwood Ave, Jenkintown, PA 19046. (215) 887-7400

Date: November 24, 2021

Cuisine: Moroccan

Rating: Slow but good

_

After 2 years off for the pandemic the ThanksGavin was back on in its habitual Philadelphia. On Wed night before the holiday we always go out somewhere interesting, in this case just down the street to:

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It’s really down the street from my cousins’ place. We walked.
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The menu.
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The dining room.
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NV Henriot Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut.
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Bread.
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Olive oil.
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Assorted Moroccan Appetizers.
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Greek Salad. Feta cheese, Olives, Tomato, Cucumber, Boiled Egg and Red Wine Vinegar Dressing Over Mixed Greens.
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roasted beet salad. Crispy goat cheese, grapefruit, raspberries pistachio, arugula, mustard dressing.
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Falafel and yogurt.
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From my cellar: 1976 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots.
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From my cellar: 2012 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Anrecht.
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Kefta Kabob. Ground lamb in Moroccan spices.
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Spinach Briwats. filo filled savory pastry with Spinach, onion and feta.
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Vegetable Briwats. filo filled savory pastry with carrots, leeks, zucchini.
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From my cellar: 2000 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. VM 93+. Bright deep red. Exotic aromas of jammy red fruits, cinnamon and smoke. Juicy, tightly wound and powerful, with brooding flavors of black fruits, minerals and mint. Quite different in style from the basic bottling, with a structural underpinning that’s rare for the vintage. Finishes very long and firm, with strong flavors of dark berries and spices and somewhat austere but ripe tannins. Should prove to be long-lived in the context of the vintage. (Eric Solomon/European Cellars, Charlotte, NC)
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Seafood Pastilla. Baby Scallops, Shrimp, Calamari & White Fish. served over Rice Vermicelli with Moroccan Spices
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Lamb Shank.
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Paella Valencia. Saffron Rice, Shrimp, Calamari, Baby Scallops and Chicken. I guess it came south from Spain.
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Lamb Tagine w/ Caramelized Onions and Almonds.
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Chicken Tagine with Apricots.

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Seabass. Someone likes it plain.
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Halibut.
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Argana Tree was pretty tasty. I can’t say that it was fast, or that the plating was modern and slick, but the food was enjoyable and we had a great time. It was certainly great to see everyone again after 2 years hiatus!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach
  2. Inotheke – Modern Greek
  3. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  4. Eating Jerusalem – Pergamon
  5. ThanksGavin 2017
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Moroccan Cuisine, Philadelphia, ThanksGavin, ThanksGavin 2021, thanksgiving, Wine

Hakata Izakaya Hero

Aug01

Restaurant: Hakata Izakaya HERO

Location: 1929 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (424) 832-3304

Date: November 19, 2021 & July 26, 2022

Cuisine: Japanese Izakaya

Rating: Very good Izakaya

_

At this quick little dinner right before Thanksgiving Paul and I hit up the relatively new Hakata Izakaya HERO on Westwood Blvd.
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The inside is small.
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But we sat outside on the patio. I love patios.
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The varied little menu of Japanese comfort foods.
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Paul brought: 2019 Xavier Monnot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. VM 90-92. The 2019 Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru has a relatively understated and delicate bouquet, discreet compared to other Les Charmes this vintage. The palate is well balanced with just a little reduction at the moment. Good weight in the mouth, a tang of marmalade toward the finish and a little viscosity. Give this 2–3 years in bottle. (Drink between 2023-2035)
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2017 Buisson-Charles Meursault 1er Cru Bouches-Chères. 93 points. Very good. very good balance. Minerals, fruit, medium to long finish.

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Garlic Shisito Peppers. Nice.
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Today’s Assorted Sashimi Special (for 2). A variety of nice fresh fish.
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Marinated Sardine Sashimi. Very nice.
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Cucumber with “death miso” — it was pretty spicy. Cucumber had a nice crunch.
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Spicy Cold Tofu. Good, but the spicy miso had a fairly hefty kick and kept making me cough.

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Spicy Agedashi Tofu. I love agedashi tofu (fried basically). This was good as usual.
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Crispy Fried Chicken Gyoza. Classic little dumplings. Nice mix of soft and crispy.

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Uni special. Just uni with shisto leaf.
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Oysters.
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Oyster sauce (basically a ponzu).
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Shirako (cod sperm sacks). Really delicious!

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Shrimp Tempura with Mayo. Sort of Japanese “Walnut Shrimp” — kinda awesome.
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From my cellar: 2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. VM 93+. Bright, deep red. Pungent, sexy aromas of strawberry, raspberry, cocoa powder and incense. Wonderfully fresh and gripping wine whose sheer sappiness and extract suggest a long and graceful evolution in bottle. But this beauty is also impossibly sexy today. Finishes vibrant and very long, with palate-dusting fruits, minerals and spices.

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From my cellar: 2009 Domaine René Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques. 91 points. Definitely Gevrey nose. Dark and red fruit, with slightly rusticity. Medium+ body. Long finish. Very good.
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Jidori Chicken Karaage. Hard to go wrong with crispy fried chicken!
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Pork Belly Wrapped Skewers. Lettuce, Tomato, Chinese Chive, Cilantro, Scallion.
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Short Rib Kalbi Platter. Super tender and juicy beef with a sweet dashi sauce. Delicious.

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Prime Outside Skirt Steak Harimi platter. Sizzling and very tender. Really nice.
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Dippings sauces.
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Lemon Ramen. I’ve never had this and it was pretty much as described: a light shiro dashi style ramen with lemon. Kind of refreshing and delicious.

Overall, Hero was a nice little place with good food and a fun casual (lots of UCLA students) atmosphere. I’m glad there are more Izakaya’s opening up around town. It’s a great varied little cuisine and used to be quite rare (in the states).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Japanese in China – Izakaya Akatora
  2. MTN – Upscale Izakaya
  3. Hurry Curry
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Hakata Izakaya HERO, Izakaya Hero, Japanese cuisine, Wine

Capital Sauvages

Jul28

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

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

Date: November 12, 2021

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Not their best meal

_

Sauvages has been on a fantastic (and “sold out”) tear since resuming in 2021. This lunch is a return to Capital Seafood in Beverly Hills with a (fake, AKA American) Chardonnay and Pinot Noir theme.

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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.

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The space looks pretty Chinese, even in Beverly Hills.
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Coves. Gotta have the coves!

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This particular lunch had the annoying 2 table and double wine format. We were set up in the bar area.

Champs to begin:

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These were (in my mind) the “real wines” before all that buttery chard came in.1A4A7809
Candied walnuts.
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Peanuts.
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Our special menu.
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The double table wine menu.
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Some various sauces.
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Smashed garlic cucumbers.
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Pickled jellyfish.
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Stuffed scallop with shrimp.
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Tony, who organized the menu, had them individually plate everything. This looks great and is a bit easier but it just doesn’t work well at Chinese restaurants. They aren’t used to it, and the time it takes them to do it means that everything is a bit cold by the time it hits the table. Plus, I’m a glutton and then I can’t take seconds :-).
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Steamed egg and lobster.
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Steamed live fish.
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Plated.
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Dum sum platter. A bun, a little rabbit dumpling (cute!) and a (single) hargow.
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So cute!

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Whole suckling pig.
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Plated. Notice how they have to stick some random vegetables on the plate so it doesn’t look empty. Fortunately, they didn’t plate the whole thing so there were fairly unlimited seconds of it available.

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French style filet mignon and String Beans. Tony just can’t resist ordering this dish. It’s tender but boring.
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Braised Tofu & Pea Leaves with Garlic.
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Fried Rice with Red Chicken Sauce and Shrimp Cream. This is the “classic” yin yang rice.
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Macau style egg tart.

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Baked Crispy Pastry with Almond milk. Cool but a bit odd.
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Fresh fruit.

Overall, Capital Seafood is quite solid SGV-style Cantonese banquet (as well as dimsum). I’d say that the food quality is about on par with middle of the road SGV Cantonese. Price is higher, but still not bad. They lean heavily on the MSG too. But today’s lunch was probably one of my least favorite meals here. The two table and individual plating thing meant that portions were small and the food was a bit cold.

Also, the whole two table thing is just not as fun as a single (even large) table. Having half the wines at one and half at the other is very chaotic.

I didn’t really like the white wine. There were a couple that were decent, but they are so heavy. I’d happily drink $20 2019 Fevre Chablis Villages over almost any of these, so I’m not even gonna bother to write them up. Some of the Pinots are pretty nice. Not like a great red burg, but at least like an enjoyable young red burg.

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

Related posts:

  1. Capital Sauvages
  2. Dirty Dozen at Capital Seafood
  3. Capital Dim Sum
  4. Sauvages Roccos
  5. Sauvages AOC
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Capital Seafood, Chardonnay, Chinese Food, Gelato, lunch, Sauvages, Wine, wine lunch

Return of the Khan — Meteora

Jul25

Restaurant: Meteora

Location: 6703 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 402-4311

Date: July 21, 2022

Cuisine: Primal Elfin

Rating: Late Red Medicine reborn

_

 

Meteora is the latest restaurant by Jordan Kahn. I’ve been following him for years, from Old Red Medicine, to Late Red Medicine, to Vespertine (on site), to Vespertine (at home), to Destroyer. He’s one “out of the box” chef for sure! Meteora is a new high end ala carte concept. it’s currently in soft opening, but as a “regular” customers (who ordered a bunch of takeout from Vespertine) Erick and I got invites.

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It’s located in the old Auburn space (which was a great restaurant, BTW, and I was sad to see it close). I’ve actually eaten in at least 6 restaurants in this space: Citrus, Alex, something else, Hatfields, Auburn, and now Meteora. It’s a gorgeous space but must be somewhat cursed (probably too large).

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Jordan clearly has a substantial investor pipeline because the build out is not only so “him” but is quite extensive. Really, the bones of the Auburn space are largely unchanged but they have grafted on a ton of primal, forested, elfin, Michael and Roger Dean details. It’s very dark, and really weird ambient music blares. It’s also scented like a forest. You just have to experience it.

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The bar area and its whacky decor. It’s darker and moodier than these photos make it look, I brightened them up so things were visible.

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The bar is like a weird Sleestak cave. Or something designed by Catalan genius Antoni Gaudí.
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The cocktail tables, like most everything, are totally form over function. They are tiny, made of rock, and not even level. Barely usable at all!
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The cocktail menu. Weird stuff. There is barely any wine yet. We brought ours. They do allow corkage fortunately, although it’s not cheap.
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Pressed melon juice, anise hyssop, melon seed milk, aged grape liqueur, bee pollen-agave spirit.
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Freshly-pressed sugar cane juice, lemongrass, jicama, ginger, biodynamic lime, wild corn and cane spirit.
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Ancient purple corn, pressed plum juice, apricot seed, avocado leaf, opuntia, aged corn spirit.1A4A1685-Pano
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The main dining room is just as weird as the bar — only larger. The open kitchen from Auburn is still there, only mostly blocked off. This space is huge. You can see how they have scaffolded the Alien Forest Gaudí details over the old Auburn interior.

It should be noted that the lighting in here is extremely minimal, and Jordan doesn’t like flashes, so photography was VERY difficult.
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Welcome cocktail of “kombucha”.
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From my cellar: NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Sous Bois. VM 92. Bright yellow. Pungent orchard fruit and lemon curd scents are complemented by suggestions of vanilla, anise and smoky minerals. Toasty and silky in texture, offering juicy pear and tangerine flavors plus a deeper suggestion of candied fig on the back half. Closes sappy, focused and long, with repeating smokiness and strong mineral cut.
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The current menu.
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Live Scallop. Lightly marinated in deep ocean water, dressed with smoked donganiza sausage, crunchy lovage steams, preserved apricots, Indian mallow, and crisps of giant kelp.
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A liquified rendering of sausage was poured over it and then ground sausage sprinkled. The kelp can be seen on the left side. It was way too fragile to actually support placing the mix of scallop et al on top. But the unusual flavor of the scallops was delicious. Very rich with all that sausage fat. This set the pace for various systematic qualities of Meteora cuisine:

  1. concealed ingredients
  2. flowers, leaves and foliage on top
  3. high fat “sauces”
  4. complex and unusual pairings, tending to include sweet, savory, and “herbal”
  5. very varied textures
  6. bright colors mixed with earth tones
  7. awkward methods of eating that don’t allow all the ingredients in the mouth at once
  8. black bowls and awkward flatware

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Bigfin Squid. Quickly grilled and seasoned with wild spruce and bird’s eye chile, with young coconut, ripe cherimoya, crunchy jicama, and a vibrant dressing of macadamia nut milk.

This was certainly a flavorful dish, one of our favorites. The black crisp was almost solid enough to support the squid, although it tended to break into small pieces. The textures were both soft and crunchy and firm. The flavors were spicy and assertive and distinctively southeast asian. There was a coconut acidic tone.  Excellent.
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Avocado Pie. Biodynamic avocados cooked in hot ashes, flaky crust of avocado leaf and einkorn flour, grilled strawberries, caramelized lettuce, herbs and leaves of the moment, finished with spanish peanuts, burnt onion and a warm bone marrow vinaigrette (pure fat again!).
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Here after they basically poured molten bone marrow on top and sprinkled with the peanuts. This giant “tart” fragmented instantly. It did taste great but the failed attempts to get any reasonable percentage of the components into one’s mouth at any one time were a bit frustrating.
riesling
From my cellar: 2012 Prager Riesling Federspiel Steinriegl. 94 points. Screwcap. Slightly off-dry, barely any development. Didn’t have the exotic fruit that I sometimes get from riper vintages in Austria but instead it had lots of tart yellow fruit accompanied by an impressive steely minerality. Liked this a lot, a textbook Riesling. Just a shame this producer is so difficult to source here.

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Caramelized Lobster Rice. heirloom indica brown rice crisped in black claw, grilled lobster glazed with black jaggery and sugar kelp, roasted fruits of the moment, black butter, sea lettuce, and a crisp of roasted brazil nuts and allepo chile.

The rice and lobster were (as usual) hidden under the foliage. This was a powerfully flavored dish — bursting with all sorts of tastes — except that of lobster. It was very good, but mostly tasted of exotic spices. The texture was primarily “wild rice” like. It was pretty spicy and so went well with the riesling.
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Wild Pacific Dungeness Crab. Gently warmed over the embers and dressed with coconut fat infused with roasted crab shells and allspice, cucumber molasses, slow roasted turnips, and slices of heirloom banana.

You can’t see it in the photo but there was actually a lot of crab under the layer of greens. Once mixed up it had lots of crab in butter flavor. The other elements were interesting. I fortunately did not seem to get a bite of banana, which I hate. People thought it an “unusual” pairing. As you can see, this had most of the hallmarks of Meteora dishes.

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Red Sea Bream. Grilled on the skin and wrapped in banana leaf, dried cacao flower, wild iceplant, served with a praline of smoked chiles, hazelnuts, and clove.

The net effect here was grilled fish with an excellent and powerful mole negro (black mole). The sauce was spicy with a hint of chocolate, cinnamon, and clove. This was one of our favorite dishes. It was also quite spicy.

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Wildflower Porridge Bread. Baked in a clay pan and brushed with coastal wildflower honey and aged goat’s milk cheese, served with a condiment of charred heirloom peppers and passionfruit juice, with fresh buffalo milk curds.
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The bread was dense and crispy under the pile of cheese. Much like a cornbread. The white topping was basically a buffalo ricotta. The red one tasted like Muhammara. Fairly nice, if very rich. The combo of the dairy and the “Muhammara” is something I do all the time at Lebanese and Armenian places by putting lebneh and Muhammara on pita together. This variant worked as well.

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Wild Fire Morels. Grilled over smokeless coals, served with swiss chard stuffed with a jam of roasted duck jus, overripe plantain glazed with tamarind, spruce tips, and a griddled flatbread of young coconut and burnt wheat.
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This is the flat bread. It was thick and delicious. I stuck a bit of everything else in there. It was quite good, very meaty, and rather unusual. The spruce was INTENSE. Most chefs do not cook with spruce!

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Erick brought: 2005 Dom Pérignon Champagne Rosé. VM 94. The 2005 Dom Pérignon Rosé is an attractive, persistent wine with plenty of character. Sweet dried cherry, mint and rose petals are some of the many nuances that develop with air. Savory notes that are on the edge of vegetal and a real feeling of tannin from the 27% still red Pinot in the blend give the 2005 a decidedly savory edge. (Drink between 2020-2030)
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Smoked Beef Rib. Rubbed with wild pine resin and gently smoked overnight, served with an array of grilled heirloom cucumbers, green melons, tamarind reduction, and a spicy paste of green peppercorn and coriander.
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In the back here is the ring of odd “condiments” and the fabulous spicy pesto-like green paste. The meat itself was very rich and pastrami like with a great smoked flavor. It worked very well with the spicy paste. The crunchy cucumbers and the like were more “interesting.” Pine resin. haha!

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Tamarind sauce on the left.
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California Lamb. Coated with a paste of roasted cacao and panca chiles then slow-smoked over live oak embers, served with candied green papaya, charred collard leaf, roasted beats, and a sauce of elderberries and aged rum.
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As usual for Jordan the protein was all hidden under some vegetation. There was actually plenty of lamb here (once one broke through). It was a bit well done but had tons of flavor.
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The beets actually tasted fairly “normal.”
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The dessert menu.
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Strawberries. Lightly warmed over the embers, dressed with cherry pit kombucha and virgin almond oil, an ancient almond “cake” wrapped in aromatic fig leaf, whipped buckwheat cream.
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This is the hard crunchy “ancient almond cake”. It was very crumbly, like shortcake, and you took some of the buckwheat cream and sauce and strawberries and made a kind of falling all over the place nordic strawberry shortcake. Very tasty though, even if it adhered to almost all of the “rules” of Meteora cuisine, including it’s inability to stay on the terrible modernist wooden flat flatware.
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Buckwheat cream.
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Cherry pit kombucha.
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Redwood Ice. Ripe California kiwi dressed with green olive oil, sweet cream custard infused with crushed lemongrass, shaved coconut, puree of roasted almond cookies.

This was my favorite and was like a Filipino dessert with Thai and California redwood flavors.
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Sweet Corn. Frozen sweet corn custard, crispy ancient cereals, a caramelized crepe made from almond, coconut, and psyllium husk, roasted pecan butter, wild candycaps, and a light cream of aged rum.

Mild and soothing flavors. A lot of textures going on here. It wasn’t super sweet, more primal and foresty.
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We closed out the place, so I got to take a picture after it was empty.

Meteora will be polarizing for sure. I found it largely successful, at times brilliant. The experience is one-of-a-kind. The dishes are beautiful, unique, and mostly delicious. They are weird and a bit hard to eat, and you certainly wouldn’t want to come here alone — or really with 2 people — it pretty much requires exactly 3-4. I will repeat some of the features of the food:

  1. concealed ingredients
  2. flowers, leaves and foliage on top
  3. high fat “sauces”
  4. complex and unusual pairings, tending to include sweet, savory, and “herbal”
  5. very varied textures
  6. bright colors mixed with earth tones
  7. awkward methods of eating that don’t allow all the ingredients in the mouth at once
  8. black bowls and awkward flatware

And add some odd details about the service experience:

  1. Decor is really cool, but very form over function. For example our mushroom shaped table was very uncomfortable. There was no where to put one’s legs.
  2. It’s so dark that a phone light is absolutely required to read the menu or see the food.
  3. The odd shaped table barely fit one dish.
  4. Odd (but appropriate) ambient music was quite loud. At the same time the servers were instructed to whisper.
  5. The whole restaurant is scented (like a forest)
  6. Staff were all super nice and very excited to be there.
  7. Plates, wine glasses, flatware etc were all gorgeous but marginally functional. The flatware was hyper flat and food fell off it. The wineglasses had no steams, were heavy, not of crystal, and had a hyper annoying turned in lip that made them difficult to actually drink from.
  8. Dietary restrictions seem like they would be impossible to navigate. The dishes have so many ingredients and are so integrated.
  9. Not good for anyone who likes to know exactly what they are eating.
  10. Beverage options for those not bringing wine or loving really exotic cocktails are fairly limited.

For me, as most of this doesn’t bother me too much, this is the best incarnation yet of the “Jordan Khan” style. The food was delicious and had more “protein” than Vespertine. He’s a very talented “chef” (artist?) as is able to push the boundaries of what you expect food to be like while mostly still keeping it delicious. I found Meteora tasted better than Vespertine and was closer in style and spirit to “Late Red Medicine” but more advanced. It’s in this primal forest elfin style that doesn’t really have a clear definition. Hard to explain, but there is a consistency to all the elements food, decor, music, scent, style, and even the hard-to-use flatware.

I hope they change up the menu frequently, which knowing Jordan is likely. If they do it’ll be interesting to keep trying.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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Related posts:

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  2. Return to Esso
  3. Return to Rocco’s
  4. Yamakase Return
  5. Vespertine does Alinea
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Foodie Club, Jordan Kahn, Meteora, Wine

Old Baroli at Etta

Jul23

Restaurant: Etta

Location: 8801 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232. (424) 570-4444

Date: November 10, 2021 and June 10, 2022

Cuisine: Italian Wood-fire grill

Rating: Tasty, hearty

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Etta is a new “transplant” from Chicago bringing a sort of modern Italian American wood-fire grill thing to LA.
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It’s located adjacent to the Shay boutique hotel in Culver City.

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The interior is large and attractive with a lively bar scene.
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On 11/10/22 we brought an all Italian slate of mostly old Baroli, plus this bonus white of mine.

2015 Azienda Agricola Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. AG 93+. Good bright yellow. The pure, complex nose suggests lime, yellow apple and botanical herbs. Then very precise, intense and penetrating, if still youthfully unevolved, conveying a powerful, three-dimensional impression of extract and a deep, textured, multilayered mouthfeel. The wine closes very long and juicy, with herbal and saline elements that titillate the taste buds. Another outstanding wine from Valentini, who never misses a beat with his Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.

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1937 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.
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1958 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.
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1961 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.

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1964 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.
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1967 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.
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1970 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo.
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1978 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva.

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The menu in November 2021.
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And in June 2022.

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Fire- baked focaccia. Ricotta, honey, truffle. Nice and fluffy.

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Meatballs. Sunday sauce, fire-wilted kale, herbed yogurt, grilled bread. A bit of heat.
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Roasted eggplant. Tahini ricotta, buttered hazelnuts, Calabrian chie, herb salad. Pretty darn spicy actually.
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Bubbling shrimp. Ginger, chiltepin chile, mint.

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Rack-roasted oysters. smoked-tomato butter, lovage, lemon.
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Grilled pork jowl. Smashed cucumbers, peanuts, herb salad.

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Little Gem Salad. Avocado, cucumbers, creme fraiche vinaigrette. Nice textures.

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Pizza toppings.

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Wild Mushroom Pizza. Goat cheese, black truffle raclette. Excellent except for the truffle oil.
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Fire Pizza. Sausage, giardiniera, chile de arbol. Spicy sausage basically.
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Cacio e pepe agnolotti. Pecorino, black pepper.
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Lumache. Sun gold pomodoro, basil, olive oil.
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Casarecce bolognese. Parmesan fondue.
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Spaghettone. Uni, lemon, black pepper.
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Orecchiette. Crispy sausage, cavolo nero, tomato jus, fennel pollon. Lots of hearty flavor. Some spice.

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Cacio e pepe. Mafaldine, pecorino, black pepper. Lovely, nice emulsion.

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Orecchiette with red sauce.

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Brussels sprouts. Honey dijon vinaigrette, crispy bacon, dill yogurt, herbs.

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Market haricot vrt. Grilled romano beans, sweet peppers, lemon vinaigrette, purslane.
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40oz bone-in hearth-roasted short rib. This is the fixings tower.

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Herbs.
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Pickles, sauces, and more herbs.

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The actual meat. 40oz bone-in hearth-roasted short rib. You made your own pita/taco like things out of this. delicious.

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Bread and “sauce”?

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Dry-aged whole branzino. Brown butter, capers, parsley, lemon.

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Spinalis. Last of the season tomatoes, wild arugula, parmesan & date vinegar.
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Hanger steak. Tamarind glazed bok choy, pepita butter, charred cipollini, crispy buckwheat. Nice steak.

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Dessert menus from the two days.

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Mint chip semifreddo. Devil’s food cake, creme de menthe, chocolate sorbet.
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Chocolate ice cream. Caramel, brownies.

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Strawberry ice cream. Olive oil, sea salt.
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Double Chocolate Mousse. Feuilletine crunch, dark chocolate cremeux, banana sherbert, oreo crumbs.

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Etta was good. Hearty and perhaps just as much American as it is Italian — maybe more than 50% — but it is pretty tasty. The space is large, loud, and attractive. Service was pretty good. Very friendly for sure, although I had to go “grab” some glasses because I’m impatient.

Our wines on this Barolo night (the second visit was more casual) were really awesome. Old Borgogno rocks!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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Related posts:

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  5. Palmeri again
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barolo, Culver City, Etta, Foodie Club, Italian cuisine, pasta, Pizza, Wine

Chengdu Impression

Jul21

Restaurant: Chengdu Impression

Location: 21 E Huntington Dr, Arcadia, CA 91006. (626) 462-9999

Date: November 7, 2021 and May 1, 2022

Cuisine: Sichuan Chinese

Rating: Great kitchen, terrible service

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I wanted to go here for years but a combination of distance, the pandemic, and the challenge of getting Sichuan groups together made it a bit hard. Finally I got here in late 2021 and the kitchen was so good we swore to go again.
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It’s located in the North SGV, more Arcadia, on a busy street.
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The interior is modern and deserted. Both times almost no other customers. They have 2 privates rooms as well.
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This is the upstairs. The first time we ate up here.
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The second time we had the large private room.
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This is the menu — however, both times, despite my attempts in advance to pre-order stuff, they were “out” of a mysterious range of items. I think it’s staff shortages in the kitchen honestly.

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Cold Tossed Cucumber. The second time we tried to order this (on the second visit) they were “out” supposedly because the chef declared that the sauce was “too complicated.” This has to be some kind of staff shortage.

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Hot and Sour Jelly Noodle. Good, but could have used a bit more sour to my taste. Texture was on point. Notice the take out container. They really wanted to service us everything in these crap containers with plastic forks and spoons. I went and had a talk with the manager and only by playing up the blog card managed to get them to use real plates. I think they have returned their rental dishwasher or something.
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Sliced Pork Belly with Spicy Garlic Sauce. The sauce in particular was incredible. Really awesome and on the second visit when we tried to reorder, again the chef declared the sauce “too complicated” and wouldn’t serve it. Weird!
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Boiled Pork Dumplings. Because they were out of the wontons on the first visit. These were basic.

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But on the second visit we managed to get wontons! Numbing Spicy Wonton. Nice soft wrapper, very intense numbing sauce (almost a soup).

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Couples Sliced Beef and Tripe. Good sauce, beef was a bit tough.1A4A6148
Chinese bread for the beef.
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Pungent and Spicy Chicken. Sauce was full of chilis and quite excellent. I particularly liked the bamboo shoots in here.

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Chicken in Chili Sauce. Different, less “oily” variant than I usually find.

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Cold Chicken Noodles. Really excellent noodle dish with that sweet and tangy quality.
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Pickled garlic!
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Sliced Sole Filet and Tofu in Sichuan Peppercorn Sauce. Delicious and perfect rendition of the dish. Super moist and soft fish with lots of numbing. Not as spicy as Sichuan Impression.
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Kung Pao Shrimp. Delicate and almost floral. Incredible version. There might be some lychee in here for sweetness.

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Spicy Lobster (preorder). Nice tender meat and good flavor. They did charge a LOT for this, however. Pre-ordered and brought too early because they can’t resist bringing the pre-order stuff.

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Bullfrog Dry Pot with Sichuan Vegetables. Awesome version of this dish, particularly the crunchy lotus root and soft potato.
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Braised Sea Cucumber with Minced Pork. The pork was awesome. The cucumber was a bit chewy (and not so strong on flavor).

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Bullfrog Stewed with Spicy Ginger Broth. One of the classic Sichuan Bullfrog variants. Quite nice meat.

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Beef Tendon. Very jiggly, but nice.
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Shredded Beef with Sour Sauce. Interesting.
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Chengdu Style Beef Jerky. Very dry but a lot of flavor.

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Honey Roasted Duck (Pre-order). Really excellent, super jucy sweet duck. Polarizing as Yarom and David didn’t like the sweet. The rest of us loved it.

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Country Style Sliced Pork with Shisito Peppers. Excellent meat with great salty flavor.

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Angus Beef Ribs. Interesting. Very fatty, but quite a lot of flavor.
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Crispy Spciy Diced Chicken. Fabulous version of this dish with plenty of aromatic chili vibe and a very darkly 2-3 time fried chicken.
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Wok Fried Cabbage with Garlic and Minced Pork. Super delicious with a nice crunch and good pork flavor.
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Twice Cooked Pork. Perfect. Leeks were great.

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Dan Dan Mein.
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Mixed up. The flavor was quite good, if a touch sweet.

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Mapo Tofu. Very good version of the dish. Not that hot, but lots of numbing and deep flavor.

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Raspberry Sorbetto — French Raspberries, a touch of lime juice, and a splash of Amaro — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — I had to add a bit of Amaro for my “art” otherwise it would have been too simple — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #raspberry #amaro
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Hazelnut at the Ritz Gelato — Nocciola (hazelnut) custard base made with Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste then mixed with house-made caramel and crushed Ritz Crackers (for that salty offset) — 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 #hazelnut #nocciola #caramel #caramello #ritz #crackers
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My son’s favorite — Triple Chocolate Cloud Gelato – The base is made with Valrhona 62% Satilla Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Ganache and chopped Oreos! — 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 #oreos #ganache #icing #NestléCrunch

So in summary:

I think the actual Sichuan kitchen here is great, maybe the best I’ve had in the greater LA area. But there are serious problems with the operation.

They are clearly “barely in business.” The restaurant is empty and given how crowded most SGV restaurants are this is hardly a good sign. They tried both times to serve on plastic wares. The front of house staff, while friendly, lounged around a good deal of the time. They didn’t replace plates, clear stuff very often, or bring napkins etc. We had to constantly go out to find them to get things and to order — only to discover them chatting with each other in the hall. The kitchen was out of items both times. Oddly out of stuff. We also had a third “failed” dinner between these two where they canceled it on us because they were “doing renovations.” I suspect they were just short staffed or had some permitting issue. The unavailability of basic dishes like cold cucumbers because the sauce was “too complicated” was laughable. Even in the private room where they will give you real plates they gave us mostly plastic silverware.

Additionally, the second visit was oddly expensive. It seems they priced the pre-order dishes (like the lobster and duck) really high. Maybe $200-300+ for just the lobster!

Anyway, it’s really a shame that they have these logistical issues because the subtlety of the cooking is for the most part very good and they do have a lot of interesting items on the menu (when they are in “stock”).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Chengdu Impression, Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, Gelato, hedonists, SGV, Sichuan, Sichuan Cuisine, spicy, Wine

Quick Eats – Pasta Sisters

Jul18

Restaurant: Pasta Sisters

Location: 3280 Helms Ave, Culver City, CA 90232. (424) 603-4503

Date: November 5, 2021

Cuisine: Pasta

Rating: Good pasta, weird fast casual format

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I met John G for a nice little lunch in Culver City on this particular Friday.

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Pasta Sisters in located on the corner of Helm’s Bakery.
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Yep. Helms bakery location.
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Small interior space with very little (or no?) interior dining space.
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The fast casual menu at the counter.
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A bit of focaccia bread.
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Spaghetti Truffle. A daily special simple pasta with white truffle.
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Spaghetti Bottarga. Dry Sardinian mullet roe, olive oil, garlic.
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Tagliatelle Porcini. Fresh Italian porcini, cream, parsley.
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Gnocchi Pesto. Pine nuts, basil, parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano, extra virgin olive oil.
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BRESAOLA CARPACCIO. air dried carpaccio, arugula, shaved parmigiano reggiano, lemon olive oil.

This is pretty good pasta, but it is served in an odd fast casual format. Typical counter ordering where you pair the very small number of pastas with a variety of simple sauces. The results are quite “tight” (aka good) but very very “classic.” They aren’t new style more integrated pasta dishes like at a place like Felix. As such, I’d only come for a quick lunch. I don’t do fast casual formats for dinner. But if I was near Culver City and craving pasta it’s not bad at all. There is a very nice patio too.

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After lunch on this particular day we went down the block and tried some ice cream.

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This place specializes in home made (simple) ice cream put inside cookies.
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Voila.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

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By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Culver City, pasta, Quick Eats

Loire at Akbar

Jul14

Restaurant: Akbar [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 3115 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292. (310) 574-0666

Date: November 4, 2021

Cuisine: Indian

Rating: Bold and balanced flavors

ANY CHARACTER HERE

It’s time for my my Hedonist group to return to LA’s best Indian restaurant, Akbar (Santa Monica branch). Too many Indian places focus on low cost buffets of very over cooked food, but Akbar cooks everything to order — even baking their own Naan when you place the order. They are more focused on the cuisine of the Punjab (Northern India), with very good curries and kormas. You can get anything from extremely mild to blow the top of your head off. Once I had the “pepper lamb” on 5 (max heat) and my scalp sweat for hours.

Tonight’s event is a Dirty Dozen blind tasting focusing on Loire wines, both sweet and dry.

Fellow Hedonist Chef Avi commands the kitchen!

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NV Henriot Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. VM 91. Pale yellow-gold. Fragrant melon, white peach and tangerine aromas are complicated by smoky lees and floral honey. On the palate, supple melon and pit fruit flavors are energized by smoky minerality. Shows a gently sweet touch and finishes with excellent cut, clarity and persistence.
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2009 Domaine Huet Vouvray Pétillant Réserve Brut. VM 93. The 2009 Vouvray Pétillant Réserve is dry and bracing. A wine of substance and power, the 2009 has a lot to offer. Today, I especially admire its breadth. Yellow orchard fruits, plum, dried flowers and chamomile abound, but the 2009 remains a wine endowed with tremendous palate presence. It is very much a wine for the dinner table. (Drink between 2020-2027)
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Tonight’s special menu. It was custom designed to “try” to pair okay with the Loire wines, which is a bit of a challenge considering how strong and flavorful (in an entirely good way) Akbar’s food is.
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Gobi Manchurian. Cauliflower breaded, fried, and tossed in a super spicy super delicious Chinese inspired sauce.
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A non spicy variant.
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Shrimp Makhani Cocktail.
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2018 Didier Dagueneau Sancerre Les Monts Damnés. 90 points. Quite tight at first, air coaxing out an herbal profile, dried hay, perhaps the slightest bit of tropical fruit such as kiwi. Acidity is more balanced than expected. Give this time. Peter 91. This started out quite stinky and herbal and smoothed out after 15-20 min. slight kiwi here as well, high acidity, very nice, taught. Guessed ’18 Dagueneau. Very young. Will improve with 2-5 years+. Although I haven’t had any Dagueneau’s so far that have aged well past 10-12 years. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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2014 Didier Dagueneau Sancerre Les Monts Damnés. Peter 93. Like yellow with green hints; nice citrusy notes, slight herbal, kiwi flavors, clean, great concentration but balanced and silky mouthfeel. Really superb. My #1, came in 8th/12. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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2008 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex. Peter 89. Golden color, waxy note, honied, nutty; This was really dark and seemed like it had a lot more age on it than it did. Would have been ok for a 1998, not a 2008. Prematurely aged. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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2018 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex. Peter 92. This was very pale in color; neutral nose at first, closed. Really blossomed after 20 minutes or so. Rich nicely textured silky body with nice balancing acidity, deep but quiet at first. Light herbal quality, ripe grapefruit blossom. clean minerality. Very nice and ended up first place out of the 12 Loire whites. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites. Try again in 2-3 yrs.
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Kerala Shrimp.
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Chilean Sea Bass Tandoori style.
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Naan.
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2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg. Peter 92. Dark orange; lots of apricot, aged kind of peach pit, honey, molasses, sauterne sweet. This was delish, but thought it had 20 more years on it than it did! (guessed ’96 Quart de Chaumes). Probably b/c the color. Very good, but curious about the color. Could have been a storage issue that did not significantly affect the quality (for a ’15 I’m pretty sure it should have shown brighter and a bit fresher). DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont. Peter 92. Gold-amber; minty note, apricot juice, herbal note with floral honey thing going on, med. sweet (not like 1er Trie); bright, clean for a Vouvray, high acid. Very cool, interesting to compare with the ’15 1er Trie side by side. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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2016 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg. Peter 89. Med. gold, slight orange; almond, honey, med.- sweetness (as far as sweet wines go), a little bitter finish, wheat bread aspect, lower acidity on this. OK, but a top Chenin must have good acidity in my opinion. Not my fav. Interestingly enough, this came in 2nd place. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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2016 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont. Peter 89. Medium dark orange, slightly less than the ’15 1er Trie. Not sure why these are showing so dark so young. Like the ’16 Clos de Bourg Moelleux, med. acidity, and slightly nutty, just a slight hint of age/oxidation? So far not a fan of ’15 or ’16 in Vouvray, unless these have bottle issues. This got 11/12th place, with no votes. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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Chicken Tikka.

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House favorite Chicken Tikka Masala. Another perfect batch of this amazing dish. The chicken itself is all super tender chunks of white meat. The sauce has this snappy tang and complex flavor.

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Chicken Akbari. Milder creamy sauce.
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Mushroom Pillau (rice with veggies).
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1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Mont. Peter 91. Medium gold-orange; almonds, minty, herbal, old nutty aspect but just as it should. Med+ acidity. Nice stuff. Aged well. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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2002 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance. Peter 93. Dark orange, very sweet, nutty, honied, with great lifting acidity, complex and tasty. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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2002 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru. Peter 90. Darker golden-orange; honey, nuts, excellent structure and acidity. NOtes lacking on this one. Interesting next to ’89 Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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1996 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru. Peter 93. Dark brown, pecan, botrytis notes, orange liqueur, orange peel, quite sweet but with good supporting acidity making it light on its feet, slight bitter phenolic finish, really good stuff. Like this vintage, sailed above the ’02. DD at Akbar blind–Loire Whites.
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Rack of lamb.
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Gosht Lazeez. Mutton Lazeez. Literally translates to delicious mutton, it is a dish of melt in mouth mutton cooked in mild spices, mixed in yoghurt and cream.
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Saag (spinach).
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Eggplant Bharta.
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2019 Domaine Luneau-Papin Terre de Pierre.
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2005 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre.
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2015 La Source du Ruault Saumur-Champigny Clos de la Côte.
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2016 Domaine de la Haute Olive Chinon.
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2003 Kalleske Shiraz Greenock.
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Hazelnut at the Ritz Gelato — Nocciola (hazelnut) custard base made with Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste then mixed with house-made caramel and crushed Ritz Crackers (for that salty offset) — 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 #hazelnut #nocciola #caramel #caramello #ritz #crackers
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t
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The outside setting was really fun.
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Akbar has long been my favorite LA Indian, and this meal was probably my best yet — and very different than usual. Chef Avi really turned out a lot of unique things tonight as he tried to adapt to the wines. And the wines were really great too. However, I’m not sure the amount and strength of the food made for a perfect “fair” tasting. And also not sure how much the mix of sweet and dry in the same blind tasting works — but who cares when it’s this much fun?

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. All Things Akbar
  2. Akbar – Curry not so Hurry
  3. Ultimate Akbar
  4. Akbar – Big Flavors, Big Fun
  5. Amazing Akbar
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Akbar, BYOG, Dirty Dozen, Gelato, Indian cuisine, Loire Valley

Girl & the Goat

Jul11

Restaurant: Girl & the Goat [1, 2]

Location: 555-3 Mateo St, Los Angeles, CA 90013. (213) 799-4628

Date: November 2, 2021

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Very tasty, 2 bottle limit

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Last fall (yes I’m very behind in my posts), “people” kept going on about how great this new Chicago transplant by Chef Stephanie Izard was. So off we went.
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They are located in a fairly cute offshoot area of downtown I don’t think I have been to.

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Swank build out, although we (fortunately) sat outside.
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The menu.
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Marked up with our orders.
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One disadvantage to GATG is that they have one of those new terrible wine lists with most domestic weird cheap wines at inflated prices, COUPLED WITH (and they usually go together), a nominal 2 bottle corkage limit. I’m not going to rant again too long about the 2 bottle limit but… places should just charge a fair (unlimited) corkage that approximates their profit.

We did buy 2 bottles off the list. As usual there were basically no reds I would want to drink on the list, most are grapes I would never drink or way too young. There were 1-2 pleasant whites. Not sure there even was a white Burg, and if there was it would have been some off location village wine.

Agro de Bazan Albariño Rías Baixas Granbazán Etiqueta Ambar. This was a fine wine. Of course it was like $80 for a $20 bottle.
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NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. Always great, but like 4X what I’d normally pay for it.
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Roasted Oysters. Clam baguette, sausage butter, oyster sauce mayo, finger limes.
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The guts slid out onto a toast (which is how you are supposed to eat it).
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Hamachi crudo. Browned goat butter, goat crema, pickled apple, tempura crunch, sesame seed.
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Shrimp and crispy greens. Avocado, tangerine, pickled veggies, pepita crunch, limey-herby dressing.
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Pan-roasted scallops. Chili relish, peanut-popiah crunch.
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From my cellar: 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. VM 93. The 1990 Châteauneuf-du-Pape has a compelling bouquet of plump red fruit, oxtail, leather and morels, all well defined and full of chutzpah. The palate is smooth in texture and, at 29 years old, has certainly mellowed. There is a core of sweet fruit here, but it has softened with age and delivers a smorgasbord of second flavors: meat juices, clove and touches of fennel. It does not possess the audacity of the Hommage à Jacques Perrin, yet it has retained effortless charm. (Drink between 2019-2036)
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1972 Xavier Vignon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Xavier 1972. This is not really a 1972. It’s blended or reconditioned.
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Pork liver mousse. Crumpets, biscuit crackers, pickle persimmon, blueberry mostarda.
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Duck tartare. Gochujang mayo, sesame, plums, fried brussels.

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1989 Château Rausan-Ségla. VM 94. The 1989 Rauzan-Ségla is a vintage that to my surprise, I had not tasted since September 2007. Just like then it represents the high point of the decade and augured a much brighter future in terms of quality. At three decades old it has a beautiful bouquet, so elegant with brambly red fruit, cedar and rose petals, very Barolo in style and less exotic than previous bottles. The palate remains youthful and like the aromatics, comes across so finessed with superb delineation and natural balance. There is even a dab of honey on the sensual finish. Certainly à point, this Margaux is highly recommended. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at Hatched restaurant. (Drink between 2019-2035)
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Roasted shishitos. Harissa-tahini yogurt, parmesan, garlic crunch.
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Confit Goat Belly. Tasty broth, plum pickle relish, spiced pecan crunch.
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Grilled corn. Spiced coconut caramel, cotija, tajin.
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Beef short rib. Gochujang, apple-cucumber salad.
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1999 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia. VM 95. The 1999 Ornellaia (magnum) does not disappoint. This vivid, energetic wine emerges from the glass with a myriad of graphite, menthol, licorice, leather and dark fruit wrapped around a powerful core. The bouquet alone is worth the price of admission. Though not as opulent as the 1997, the 1999 offers exceptional length and a finessed, regal close. The 1999 Ornellaia is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The wine spent 18 months in French oak (60% new) prior to being bottled. (Drink between 2009-2021)

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Special pre-reserved giant goat back with all sorts of salad, sauces and breads. Meat was actually a little bit dry but all the condiments juiced it right up. A LOT of food.

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Pickled salad (and sauces).
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A mushroom salad.

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Breads.
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Goat Curry. Masa chips, radish, pickled vegetables. Yummy! Getting very full.
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A sort of butterscotch type thing. Descriptions are vague because they just brought and comped the desserts and I didn’t see any menu.
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Chocolate.
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Chocolate and orange or something.
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Fruity.
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Food here is really good. Almost all of the dishes were really tasty. Very savory, fatty, salty and all that, but full of zest and punch. Chef Izzard was in the house on the night we went.

Service was also quite excellent. Very nice, attentive, and all that. The patio location outside was fabulous.

I’ll try to go back again this year and try more dishes (even if we did a pretty good job on the menu). It was really delicious.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for epic Foodie Club meals, here.

Related posts:

  1. Black Goat at Mirak
  2. Goat Herding at Tar & Roses
  3. Tar & Roses got your Goat?
  4. Story of a Girl
  5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 2 bottle limit, Chef Stephanie Izard, Girl & the Goat, goat, Wine

Happy at Happy Harbor

Jul08

Restaurant: Happy Harbor

Location: 1015 Nogales St, West Covina, CA 91792. 626-965-2020

Date: October 30, 2021

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Great cantonese

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Yarom discovered this place during the day (for dim sum) not too long ago and as it was really great in that mode we decided to hit it for Sunday dinner.
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Happy Harbor is a medium sized Cantonese located right next to Mandarin plaza, a “far east” (Hacienda Heights ish) area we have eaten at again and again.
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The interior is classic Cantonese.
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With the tanks.
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And the over-decorated private room which was where we set up shop.
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On table to start, cucumbers. A bit sweet.
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Peanuts.
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The show off the live “creatures.”
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Cold plate. Roast Pork, Roast Duck or Chicken, Jellyfish, Macau style pork belly.
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Tofu with preserved egg. Oddly sweet and not one of my favorite versions.
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Lobster with garlic and ginger. Very tender.
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“Spot prawns” in a crunchy very fried Typhoon style. Not immensely garlicky but the prawns themselves were very well cooked.
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Quail. Excellent version.
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Peking duck skin. Not enough, but good. Buns unfortunately instead of pancakes.
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Peking duck meat/bones. Lots of meat here, more should have been cut onto the other plate.
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Duck letuce cups (from same duck). Good but no hoison at the time. Radically insufficient hoison.
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The actual lettuce.
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Chicken “Knees.” Great flavor!
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Beef ribs and egg plant. Nice.
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Vermicelli pancake with beef and eggy sauce. Delicious “pizza.”
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Pork chops. Very friend. Ok.

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Tripe.
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XLB. A little under-seasoned.
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Free custard buns. Nice.

1A4A6942Pistachio Cardamom Gelato — Sicilian Pistachio di Bronte with Cardamom infused milk — pretty awesome new flavor! — 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 #pistachio #cardamom #sicily

Happy Harbor was quite seriously good, definitely in the top tier of Cantonese kitchens (of the many) in the SGV. A bit further than most, but excellent.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

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Related posts:

  1. Happy Table 2X
  2. Fake Chard at Grand Harbor
  3. 888 Seafood – Banquet
  4. Tong Tak – Epic Cantonese
  5. Happy Duck – Double Duck part 1
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Cantonese cuisine, Chinese Food, duck, Gelato, Happy Harbor, hedonists, SGV, squab, Wine

Tiempo de Tatel

Jul02

Restaurant: Tatel

Location: 453 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (310) 651-8553

Date: October 26, 2021

Cuisine: About half Spanish

Rating: Tasty, great service, loud

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This Vega Sicilia Unico dinner moved around a little bit but eventually settled on the new (for LA) Tatel in Beverly Hills.

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Tatel is a Spanish restaurant with locations in Madrid and Ibiza that recently opened here in Beverly Hills in the classic Nic’s Martini bar in Beverly Hills.
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The interior is updated a bit but still filled with gorgeous booths.
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Sebastian with the chef.
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The menu.

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From my cellar: NV Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve. VM 92. The NV Brut Cuvée de Réserve Grand Cru is fabulous. A Champagne of tension and energy, the Cuvée de Réserve has real presence, not to mention tons of class. Citrus, jasmine, mint and crushed rocks are some of the many nuances that race out of the glass. In this release, the Cuvée de Réserve has a light tropical quality that is both exotic and hugely appealing. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: March, 2021. (Drink between 2021-2028)

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Burrata Salad. Tomato, basil. Pretty modern salad, not particularly Spanish.

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Bluefin Tuna Tartar. Avocado, Fresno chili, chive. Kind of a nod to modern dining.

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Spanish Carabineros Prawn. Avocado escabeche. Not exactly gambas pil pil.

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1989 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. AG 95+. Saturated dark, fresh red. Exotic dried fruits complicated by minerals, cedar, cigar box and nuts on the nose. Huge, dense and solid, with great sappy redcurrant and wild strawberry sweetness buffered by powerful acids. With its huge concentration and extraordinarily chewy extract, this has fruit of steel. The wine’s explosive, extremely long finish and great thrust go beyond 99.99% of the world’s wines. (Europvin/Christopher Cannan Selections; importers include Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY and Diamond Wine Merchants, Oakland, CA)
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1994 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 95+. Full ruby-red. Knockout nose combines roasted blackberry, minerals, cedar, graphite and flowers; reminded me of a very ripe vintage of Chateau Lafite. Creamy and sweet, but with penetrating, perfectly integrated acids and a structure of steel. Powerful yet wonderfully elegant wine, with flavors of crushed redcurrant, minerals, flowers, chocolate and truffle. Finishes with great length and grip. An outstanding vintage for Unico, with the sheer acid structure and flavor intensity to go on in bottle for at least another two decades. . (Europvin/Christopher Cannan Selections; importers include Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY and Diamond Wine Merchants, Oakland, CA)

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Steak Tartar. Dijon, chives, shallots, sourdough. Pretty classic but very nice tartar.
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Jamon de bellota 100%, COVAP D.O. The real deal ham.

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Bread with tomato and garlic. This is a fairly deconstructed version of the pan con tomate. You rub the garlic on the bread. However usually they pre-chop the tomatoes for you. Personally I think the best combo is the ham ON the tomato bread.
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Ham Croquette. Tomato Sugo, parsley. Solid version of the classic.

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1996 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. VM 94. Deep ruby. Complex, heady bouquet of kirsch, candied plum, cured tobacco, licorice, dried rose and cedar. Pungent herbal notes build with aeration and repeat on the palate, adding complexity to the deep, ripe cherry and dark berry liqueur flavors. Remarkably elegant wine with precise cherry/berry flavors and a slow-mounting mocha quality on the long, sappy finish. There’s a very impressive interplay of fruit and tannins here. (Europvin USA, Oakland, CA)
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1999 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único. AG 96. Ruby-red. Shockingly deep in color for a ten-year-old wine. Explosive aromas of cherry compote, black raspberry, blood orange, Asian spices and smoky minerals. Pure, vibrant and sweet, offering intense cherry and red berry flavors, with tangy mineral spine and an exotic smokiness. Extremely deep but energetic, with a powerful echo of minerals and singed orange on the endless finish. This is remarkably youthful but highly alluring already. (Europvin USA, Van Nuys, CA)
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They have a couple different types of “rice” (risotto and paella). We ordered this and two paellas.

Tatel Risotto. Semolina Orzo, parmesan cheese, truffle. Nice risotto, even if that form of rice isn’t old school Spanish.

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Roasted Cornish Hen Paella. Porcini Mushrooms, thyme.
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Individually plated.
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Carabineros Paella. Carabineros prawn.
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A more seafood variant. Nicely cooked and good flavor.
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Grilled Colorado lamb rack. Very well executed, but pretty “international.”

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Tatel Veal Milanese. Soft poached egg, Black truffle. Rich and bit mild in flavor.
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Boomsdale Spinach. Garlic.

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1989 Château Suduiraut. VM 90. The 1989 Suduiraut has always shown better than the 1990. The bouquet is quite vivacious with quince and frangipane, hints of pear and crème brûlée, certainly responding to aeration. The palate has similar weight and texture to the 1990 although, there is slightly more tension here with orange rind and marmalade imparting Barsac-like notes towards the finish. It lacks the sophistication of 21st century vintages but there is joie-de-vivre here. 89gm/L residual sugar. Tasted at a private dinner in Switzerland. (Drink between 2019-2029)
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Dessert menu.
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Apple Tart. Good, but grainy mild ice cream.
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Tatel World Famous Cheese Cake (Basque Cheese Cake, but not burnt). Perfect creamy light texture on the cake. Ice cream mediocre. The interior was stellar actually, and on point for Basque cheese cake, but the top wasn’t really burnt.1A4A6700
This was a great evening. Wines ruled, of course — Unico duh!

The build out and and service at Tatel was top notch for modern high end restaurants. Additionally, given that we were a 4 person “wine group” at a trendy Beverly Hills restaurant I was surprised how nice and accommodating they were. None of that trendy place BS. Food was very high quality. I was skeptical going in as it looked pretty international, and it was in its way, but the kitchen is good and dishes were generally well executed. I’m slightly weirded out by the mix of classic Spanish dishes (again, well done) and what I think of as “boring BH staples” like Burrata Salad or Tomahawk Steaks. Half the restaurants in 1st tier cities has devolved into the Tomahawk. It’s like the goat cheese and beet salad, burrata, or hamachi with jalapeño and ponzu. So personally I would have preferred an updated (and Tatel is updated) take on roast lamb shoulder, suckling pig, etc. Or better yet LA desperately needs anything good smacking of the kind of modern Basque restaurants to be found in… well the actual Basque region. So Tatel feels like a Basque Mom who married Arnie Morton.

It should be noted that La Paella is the old school 1970s variant of this kind of place (minus any of the trendy). It’s a good place too and quite Spanish, but it’s also very dated and “old fashioned.” It’d be nice to get more modern Spanish in LA.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Unico at La Paella
  2. Vega Sicilia – Hearth and Hound
  3. Seminal Somni
  4. Dirty Dozen at La Paella
  5. Hedonists at La Paella
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Foodie Club, Paella, Spanish Cuisine, Tatel, Unico, Vega Sicilia, Wine

Seafood Palace Redux

Jun28

Check out the detailed post here.

Typhoon style crab. Perfect crunchy garlic

Related posts:

  1. SGV Nights – Seafood Palace
  2. Hayato Redux
  3. Dinner at the Palace
  4. Tar and Roses Redux
  5. Rustic Canyon Redux
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: seafood palace

Rockin’ Ten Raku

Jun20

Restaurant: Ten Raku

Location: 4177 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 380-8382

Date: Oct 21, 2021

Cuisine: KBBQ

Rating: Solid old school KBBQ

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Chevy setup tonight’s dinner and he chose KBBQ because he loves meat and any excuse for big red wines.  Not that I’m complaining too much.
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Ten Raku is a classic KTown KBBQ place place.

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It’s kinda old school, and given the state of the pandemic was fairly quiet.

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The menu has a decent number of options. This is good, sometimes I feel that some Korean places are too focused.
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1995 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Cuvée Fleur de Champagne. VM 88+. Strong mousse. Restrained aromas of lemon rind, lime, honeysuckle and chalk. Tightly wound, firm and quite refined; almost hard today and distinctly backward. Finishes long, brisk and dry, with bracing lemony acidity. (I also tasted a far less fresh bottle, which showed tired aromas of apple and pear.) There’s been a change of importer since last year, so ask your merchant for this fall’s shipment. (Allied Domecq Wines U.S.A., Healdsburg, CA)
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From my cellar: 2018 Azienda Agricola Valentini Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo. VM 92. Bright pink. Minerals, fava beans, pomegranate and violet on the bright nose. Then very harmonious in its acid-fruit-tannin profile, with lively balanced acidity nicely extending the flavors similar to the aromas on the long back end. Strikes me as a rather refined, sneakily concentrated Cerasuolo. (Drink between 2019-2025)
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Typical “free” salad.
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Banchan.
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Bean sprouts.
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Mac Salad.

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Pickles.
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Spicy pickled cucumber.
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Kimchee.
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My personal favorite the chewy fish cake.
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Another spicy something.
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Seafood pancake. Egg batter with flour, green onions, belly peppers and octopus served with a soy vinegar dipping sauce.
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Fluffy egg soufflé.
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Besides beef, Ten Raku specializes in octopus, so of course we had to get some. This is some kind of Jeon Gol, a Korean Stew with octopus and various vegetables and noodles.
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It all gets cooked down and then…
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Served up like this for some chili flavored deliciousness.

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Then they dump a bunch of rice into the broth and fry it up into spicy fried rice (with a lot of flavor).
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1994 Château Haut-Brion. VM 93-95. Fabulous smoky, roasted, black fruit and tobacco nose, with a sappy urgency. Like liquid velvet in the mouth; gives a saline impression of extract. Very fresh and bright, with uncanny sweetness. Explosive finishing fruit buries the uncommonly fine tannins. One of the very few ’94s that truly stains the palate.
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1996 Château Cos d’Estournel. VM 93. The 1996 Cos d’Estournel has a fragrant, Pauillac-tinged bouquet with the melted tar and graphite leitmotifs that I remarked upon in previous encounters. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy-textured tannin. I feel that the 1996 shows a tad more maturity than a few months ago, with undergrowth and peat-like notes surfacing with aeration and then a dash of white pepper streaking across the finish. However, it evinces fine persistency and embraces the classic tropes of the 1996 vintages. Though not a top tier Cos d’Estournel, it remains an excellent Saint-Estèphe. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical at the property. (Drink between 2018-2035)
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1997 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon. VM 94+. Bright deep ruby. Blackberry, violet, tar, shoe polish and game on the nose, plus a light floral note; at once vibrant and surmuri. Superconcentrated, remarkably intense flavors of crystallized black cherry, cassis and licorice. An extremely persistent wine of noteworthy finesse, yet also one with a powerful structure for aging. One of the standouts of the vintage.
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1997 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne. VM 93-95. Full, saturated ruby, by a wide margin the darkest of these ’97s. Spicy, high-pitched aromas of cassis, black cherry, licorice, flint and tar. Densely packed but currently tightly wound and dominated by its structure. Shows a restrained sweetness and complicating hints of leather, flint and tar. More tannic than the Mouline or Turque but here, too, the tannins are quite fine. Very long on the palate. A lovely expression of syrah from a very ripe year.
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1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia. VM 94. Full ruby. Supersweet aromas of blackberry, cassis, bitter chocolate, espresso and tobacco. Thick and seamless yet bright and sharply defined. Very long and spicy on the aftertaste, with excellent grip. Sweet tannins coat the teeth. Williams says the selection for Insignia is based on quality and concentration rather than on a particular flavor profile.
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1995 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. VM 89. Healthy dark red. Plum, coffee and chicory on the nose. Savory redcurrant fruit is complemented by well-integrated oak notes of coffee and chocolate. With good salinity and energy, there’s nothing heavy about this Cabernet. Finishes with firm, fine-grained tannins that avoid dryness. No easy sweetness but nicely ripe and persistent. À point right now. (Drink between 2016-2020)
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1997 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Vigna di Pianrosso. VM 94. What a treat it is to taste the 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Pianrosso on this day. Medium-red in color, it offers an expressive, ethereal nose with notes of roses, tar and tobacco that float out of the glass along with soft, perfumed fruit in a delicate, captivating interplay of sensations and aromas. Although this bottle had been decanted for three hours prior to my visit to the estate it nevertheless appeared somewhat closed. Still fresh, it promises to provide memorable drinking for at least another decade although my guess is that the wine’s structure will ultimately outlast the fruit. Regardless, it is utterly irresistible right now. Anticipated maturity (Drink between 2013-2014)

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Cold mustardy noodles with beef and veggies.  They actually put ice in here that melts.to get it nice and chilled.  They are both spicy, tangy, and mustardy.
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Korean style beef tartare. Always a great take on beef tartare as it has bits of pear and a sweet and tangy marinate.
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Our full spread of uncooked meat! This is the core KBBQ deal.
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Some close ups of all that beef. KBBQ doesn’t actually photo that well as it’s really tedious to remember all the different cuts and show them cooking and then cooked.

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Some cut on the grill.

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And a few minutes later.
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The big rib eye.
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More meat.

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Daikon slices in case one wants to wrap up the meat.
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Pickles, garlic, and chiles.

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Spicy bean paste. You can add all the elements and some meat together to make a delicious Korean wrap.
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Pork belly on the grill.
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And more cooked.
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Strawberries & Mascar-Creamy Gelato — A base infused with Mascarpone Cheese then blended with house-made Strawberry Curd — created by me for @sweetmilkgelato — my vain attempts to pipe a pretty decoration on top were uttery foiled by timing –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #cheesecake #mascarpone #cheese #strawberry #cream

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This was a fun and solid meal. Some of the beef was a bit too “straight up” for me — aka not marinated — but there were a bunch of interesting extras like the noodles, pancake, and octopus stew. Quality was high. Service good. If you want the classic 80s/90s KBBQ style (ignoring AYCE which I always do as it’s pointless), this is a great place. There are newer glitzier places like Gwang Yang which have a much hipper vibe, but the actual meat isn’t much different.

Our wines were generally great even if there were a couple new worlds in there. Unfortunately one of mine was a bit corked. Sigh.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Kang Ho-dong Baekjeong
  2. Quick Eats – Park’s BBQ
  3. Reaching New Heights at 71Above
  4. Sauvages Roccos
  5. Molti Marino
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, KBBQ, Korean BBQ, Ktown, Meat, Ten Raku, Wine

Shunji Second Stage

Jun16

Restaurant: Shunji [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 3003 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 826-4737

Date: October 19, 2021

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate omakase

_

I’ve been going to Shunji for years in its Pico Blvd location but very recently, during the pandemic in fact, he’s moved to a new space over on Ocean Park. So of course we had to go and include him in our Sushi Series of top LA sushi places.

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The outside is nearly anonymous.

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But inside the whole format and layout is totally different. Gone is the bigger space of tables and now there are two extremely elegant rooms with small gorgeous sushi bars. Each space has its own chef, Shunji himself in this case, and the format of the menu has been vastly simplified. No ala carte at all. Just omakase. Which is how I like it.
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New Shunji was so new that all the flowery Japanese congratulation signs were still up.
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Even the wood of the sushi bar is stunning.
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2002 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons. VM 97. The 2002 Brut Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons, the original release and aged on crown seal, is tremendous. Wow. Ample, sweeping and dramatic, the 2002 is utterly captivating. Smoke, graphite, ash, apricot jam and pastry are some of the many nuances that come alive in the glass, with a top note of reduction that is very appealing. On this day, the regular release is just a touch ahead of the Oenothèque. It’s hard to say exactly why that is, but I suspect that the post-disgorgement time is optimal. This is the finest bottle of the 2002 I have ever tasted. Disgorged July 2010. (Drink between 2018-2028)
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1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. JG98. I had not drunk a bottle of the 1996 Krug in several years, as I had deemed the wine still in climbing mode and I am not generally in the business of drinking Krug before its time. But, a friend recently opened a bottle and I was very impressed with how the wine is evolving in the bottle since its release. The bouquet is now starting to show some lovely secondary layering of complexity in its blend of apple, peach, a touch of sweet walnut, patissière, a refined base of minerality, caraway seed and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine flavors on the attack echo the nose nicely, with the wine’s full-bodied format sporting excellent depth at the core, still plenty of the vintage’s snappy acidity, great focus and grip and a very, very long and utterly refined finish. Though this remains quite racy structurally, I really like the point it has reached in terms of aromatic and flavor complexity and it is really not a crime to be opening bottles up at this point in its evolution, though it still has room to grow with further bottle age. A great, great vintage of Krug. (Drink between 2019-2060)1A4A6131
Vegetable purée. Uni caviar. Egg. This wasn’t one of my favorite dishes as it had a very distinct “Shunji” vegetal taste. Sort of a mellow carby flavor that distracted a bit from the uni/caviar.
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Matsutaki mushroom Faux Chawanmushi. Winter melon. Eggs. King crab.
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Halibut sashimi. Sauce of sake and salt. Shredded Plum. Very mild “salty” taste.
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Sake sauce.
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King mackerel. Seared skin side. Smoked with green tea. With sea salt and wasabi.
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1999 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. VM 93. Bright, pale golden yellow. Pure but subdued nose shows sexy floral, truffle and balsamic hints, plus a hint of mocha. Juicy and delineated more than thick on the palate, with its strong citrus and floral flavors given cut and lift by brisk acidity. Boasts terrific energy for a 20-year-old white wine. Quite penetrating and long on the aftertaste, dominated by citrus fruits. Perhaps not quite as complex as the ’00 but this wine offers broader appeal. (the yield in ’99 was 60 hectoliters per hectare) (Drink between 2019-2028)
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2008 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. VM 96. Bright yellow with a green tinge. Classic Montée de Tonnerre aromas of lemon ice, crushed rock, iodiney minerality and white flowers. floral, lemon ice, straight and classic. Tactile, juicy and utterly gripping–in fact still almost painful today. Powerful salty minerality and penetrating acidity currently dominate the wine’s lemon oil, grapefruit and floral flavors, with the wine showing a weightless impression. The dusty mineral-driven finish stains the palate and builds inexorably. (When I first tasted this wine from the barrel, I suggested that it might be the longest Chablis premier cru of the vintage.) Drink the 2010 for lunch now but hold this magical wine for another couple years, as its spring is still tightly coiled. This was my favorite wine of the tasting. The 2014 and 2010 vintages may be richer and deeper, as Isabelle Raveneau suggested to me three years ago, but this ’08 is utterly classic. (12.69% alcohol; 3.14 pH; 4.4 g/l acidity; the days were sunny but the nights were quite chilly during the relatively early harvest of 2008, which concentrated the sugars and acidity, noted Isabelle Raveneau) (Drink between 2021-2042)
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Fall bonito. Nori.
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Shunji at work.
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Abalone sushi with liver sauce.
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2006 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. VM 96+. Full yellow. Broad, deep and initially quite closed on the nose, this opened to show white peach, crushed stone, and fresh hazelnut and almond. Then powerful, vibrant and palate-staining, with terrific cut to the flavors of white peach, lemon, liquid stone and white flowers. Wonderfully tactile wine with an almost painful intensity. Finishes with superb cut and length. This has only 3.8 grams of acidity yet conveys outstanding balance and verve. “If we had allowed the malolactic fermentation to finish, the wine would have ended up with less than three grams of acid,” Lardiere observed. A great 2006.
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2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. VM 94. Aromas of white peach and crushed stone. Sweet, dense and powerful, with strong minerality giving it a strong sappy quality. The ripeness here is almost exotic, and yet this very sweet, long wine comes off as young today. I’d wait four years. Interestingly, winemaker Philippe Prost believes that the ’06s are both riper and more primary than the saline, creamy ’05s, and that they need a bit more time in bottle than the earlier set of wines.
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Sweet white miso soup with shrimp in two textures and yuzu. Lotus root for crunch.
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2008 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. VM 94. An almost completely inexpressive but relatively high-toned nose of lemon rind, acacia blossom, ripe peach and apricot gives way to almost painfully intense full-bodied and overtly muscular flavors that offer exceptional richness on the magnificently long, mouth coating and palate staining finish that is wrapped around a very firm core of ripe acidity. Chez Pernot, I typically prefer the Bienvenues but as good as it is, and it is very good, in 2008 I give the nod to the Bâtard, if only by a nose, no pun intended. (Drink starting 2016)
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Monkfish liver “pate” with toast.
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Duck.
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Prepping for the sushi.
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Ginger.
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Red snapper.
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Goldeneye snapper.
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Snapper.
DSC02154
Pomfret.
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Shima aji (Japanese Mackerel).
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Blue fin tuna.
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Toro.
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O-Toro.
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Hokaido Uni.
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Sea Perch.
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Baracuda.
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Shirako with uni rice.
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Wild yellowtail from Hokaido, 10 day aged.
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Salmon Eggs (Ikura).
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Artsy Japanese ceramics.
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Sweet shrimp cured with kelp and dusted with botarga.
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Toro handroll.
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Eel. Super soft. Nice Japanese flavor.
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Tamago.
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Enoki mushroom miso.
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Japanese Pears and Grapes.
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Roasted Tea Ice Cream.
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Roasted Tea.
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The wine lineup.
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All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, easily in the large repertoire of top LA sushi restaurants. His move to the new location and increased focus on omakase has only improved his already great food. The meal is much more precise and orchestrated now with a natural progression of different techniques and seasonal ingredients. His very fine nigiri continues to shine. Just plain excellent.

And the whole setting is much more pleasant and calm without the bevy of tables behind you.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Last Minute Shunji
  2. More Shunji Omakase
  3. Gasping Fish Shunji
  4. Shunji Sushi – Nonstop Nigiri
  5. Shunji Super Omakase
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Foodie Club, Omakase, Sashimi, Shunji, Sushi, Sushi Series

Awesome Asuka

Jun12

Restaurant: Asuka

Location: 1553 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024. (424) 832-7284

Date: October 16, 2021

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: Great neighborhood sushi

_

At one of our endless expensive sushi places Joe and Bonnie insisted that we  try Asuka, which is a Westwood “local” or neighborhood sushi place they feel has really good quality. So of course we took them up on the offer.
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The menu.
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2002 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. VM 99. The 2002 Cristal is now entering its first plateau of maturity, which makes it a terrific Champagne for drinking now. Hints of apricot, brioche, lemon confit, honey, hazelnut, baked apple tart and spice give the 2002 striking layers of nuance. Rich and generous, the 2002 show plenty of the natural opulence of the year and yet retains terrific freshness as well. As always, Cristal is a blend of Pinot from Ay, Verzenay, Verzy and Beaumont sur Vesle, and Chardonnay from Mesnil, Cramant and Oger. Dosage is 9 grams per liter. This is the original 2010 disgorgement. What a wine. (Drink between 2019-2039)
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2005 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. VM 94. Bright yellow-gold. Heady floral-accented citrus and orchard fruits on the nose, with smoky mineral and floral overtones adding complexity. Velvety and chewy in texture, offering deep, juicy orange and poached pear flavors and suave honey and chamomile nuances. Blends precision with power, finishing with a distinct mineral quality and excellent persistence.
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2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. VM 99. The 2008 Cristal is one of the most complete, most dazzling Champagnes I have ever tasted. A stunning wine from any and all perspectives, the 2008 simply has it all. Spherical in construction, with superb persistence. The 2008 takes hold of all the senses and never gives up. One of the many things that makes the 2008 special is a combination of ripe fruit and bright, piercing acidity. Marzipan, lemon confit, dried flowers and orchard fruit all build into the explosive, resonant finish. “We learned from the mistakes of 1996, when we picked more on acid than ripeness, as was the norm in Champagne back then” Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon told me recently. “In 1996, the best fruit turned out to be the last picks, where the fruit was physiologically ripe. Today, we aim to pick all our fruit with that criteria.” (Drink between 2020-2050)
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2012 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. VM 98. The 2012 Cristal is another absolutely stellar wine this flight of recent releases. Rich, vinous and beautifully textured, the 2012 has been nothing short of magnificent on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. In the glass, the 2012 is radiant and luscious, yet it possesses remarkable transparency and striking aromatic depth. Light tropical notes develop in the glass, giving the 2012 a real feeling of exotic beauty. The 2012 is the first vintage of Cristal done with 100% organically-farmed fruit, an approach introduced gradually starting with the 2007 that has profoundly changes Cristal, especially in its aromatic breadth. Two thousand twelve is the vintage where endless trials and experiments in farming and winemaking are fully realized. The 2012 is just stunning. It’s as simple as that. Dosage is just over 7 grams per liter, the lowest it has even been for Cristal. (Drink between 2022-2052)
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Appetizers.
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Oyster with yuzu-kosho. Great.
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Duck and monkfish liver. Both great.
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Tofu with uni.
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Eggplant. Not my favorite.
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Popcorn shrimp tempura. We ordered again it was so good.
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1992 J.M. Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 87. Fat, rich, generous fruit laced with notes of botrytis followed by big, intense flavors that show good breed but not much cut or acid balance and as such, this has become a bit top heavy.
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1990 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet.
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Sashimi (toro, scallop, red snapper).
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Crab Chawanmushi. Lovely.
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Chilean Seabass. nice.
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Octopus. Way too charred.
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Red Snapper (tai).
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Albacore.
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Bluefin tuna.
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Scallop.
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Kanpachi.
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Clam miso soup. Very nice.
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2008 Louis Latour Romanée St. Vivant Les Quatre Journaux. BH 93. A subtle touch of wood sets off a strikingly elegant and very pinot nose interlaced with spice, violet and soft earth notes that can also be found on the complex and youthfully austere flavors that possess really lovely finishing balance and excellent length. This is not especially dense yet it actually is relatively powerful for RSV plus there is a beguiling sense of harmony and completeness here. (Drink starting 2013)
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1964 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. BH 91. Sweet, pure, elegant and remarkable spicy with rich, round, moderately full flavors that have not lost their focus or precision and a long, rich, velvety finish that has a bit of acid poking through now. The tannins are not fully resolved and give a certain edgy quality to the flavors though not to the point where the overall balance is seriously compromised. Drink up. Note: another recent bottle was completely oxidized and essentially undrinkable.
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Lamb chop.
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Toro.
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Negi-toro handroll.
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Spicy tuna on crispy rice.
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King salmon. Ikura. Uni.
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Sea eel.
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Macha custard. Lovely.
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Roasted Tea.1A4A6070

The quality here WAS really good. Service was great, and while they have a big menu everything we had, particularly the sushi was quite good. It’s not quite at the level of the mega high end places — nor does it try to be — but it’s a “real” Japanese place with very solid sushi, way better than the likes of Kantana or Roku. Very enjoyable and quite reasonable for what it is.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Awesome Auburn
  2. More Awesome Dimsum – King Hua
  3. Post OOToro
  4. Food as Art – Shiki Sushi
  5. We Toss’em They’re Awesome
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Asuka, Sushi, Westwood, Wine

Sauvages Bordeaux

Jun08

Restaurant: Private Chef, David Slatkin

Location: Bel Air

Date: October 15, 2021

Cuisine: American

_

This particular entry in my series of Friday afternoon wine themed Sauvages lunches was set at…
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Member Jeff’s lovely backyard and features food by private chef David Slatkin.
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We dined at this lovely table — it would be romantic except this is about a dozen old winos :-).

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Getting the wine going.
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1808 Henriot Champagne Brut Millésimé Rosé.
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Salmon from Jose. Great, but very salty.

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Korean Short Rib Taco — sweet but great.
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2018 Château Cos d’Estournel Blanc. VM 92. The 2018 Cos d’Estournel Blanc is showing nicely in bottle, partly because of the increased proportion of Sémillon in the blend. That lends complexity on the nose, which displays gorgeous honeysuckle and yellow plum aromas, if perhaps more oiliness than I found from bottle. The palate has tightened up a little, feeling less rounded than before, with intense orange pith, apricot and tangy marmalade toward the finish. A lovely Cos d’Estournel Blanc that I am intrigued to see age in bottle. (Drink between 2021-2032)
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2019 Château Brane-Cantenac Blanc. 90 points.
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Miso Potsticker — a bit salty.
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Mango and burata toast.
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BBQ pork belly.
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2000 Château Angélus. VM 92. The 2000 Angélus (which, incidentally, was the first vintage where the bottle was embossed with the château name) is one that I have tasted many times, though not recently. Showing minor degradation at its rim, it displays a core with a healthy deep hue. The bouquet is concentrated and intense, plenty of red fruit mingling with melted tar and leather, and perhaps a little more gourmand/animally than I was expecting. The palate is medium-bodied with a slight bitterness on the entry, and delivers good weight and girth, though compared to recent vintages it is patently clear that there is not the same clarity or tension. Quite ferrous, especially with aeration. (Drink between 2021-2032)
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2000 Château La Mission Haut-Brion. VM 97. The 2000 La Mission Haut-Brion is a vintage that I have not tasted for several years. At age 21, it has retained its youthful nose of vivid black cherries, wild strawberry and iodine, and shows less of the black olive tapenade element that I noticed in its youth. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins that belie that backbone of this La Mission. Beautifully balanced and quite peppery, with fine salinity, it is less sauvage than many other millennial Bordeaux, leading to a succulent, sensual finish. This is only just beginning to show what it is capable of. 13.4% alcohol. Tasted at the château with Jean-Philippe Delmas. (Drink between 2022-2050)
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2000 Château Magrez Fombrauge. VM 88-90. Saturated ruby. Musky aromas of black raspberry, violet, game and burning tobacco. Intensely flavored, firmly structured and tightly wound, but seems a bit dried by the extraction. Seems rather tough today and not showing its personality. But undeniably concentrated. Finishes with somewhat gritty tannins.
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Fish with cous cous and lobster.
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1989 Château La Conseillante. VM 97. The 1989 La Conseillante is one of the top performers in Pomerol and arguably now one of the best values. This bottle confirms that exuberance and joie-de-vivre on the nose, displaying the telltale crushed violets in bloom, with precious but controlled red and black fruit underneath. The palate is sumptuous from the start, presenting cashmere tannin and perhaps a little more glycerine in this bottle. The bravura finish leaves you grinning from ear to ear. Stunning, and it will remain on its plateau for many years. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at Hatched in London. (Drink between 2019-2040)
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1989 Château Montrose. VM 98. The 1989 Montrose is a magnificent wine and this represents one of the best bottles I have encountered – one that was purchased on release and not moved from Berry Brothers’ cellar since. I have encountered perfect bottles of the 1989, and this flirts with that magic figure. It is blessed with a captivating bouquet of blackberry, raspberry, sous-bois and black truffle, the veins of blue fruit just toned down a little compared to previous bottles. The palate is supremely well balanced with those filigreed tannins that in some ways are atypical of Montrose. It delivers silky-smooth texture and an intense finish that glides across the senses. I cannot give a perfect score on this occasion, but without question, this is one of the great Montrose releases. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at Hatched in London. (Drink between 2019-2050)
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1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron. VM 95. The 1989 Pichon-Baron repeats its performance from the vertical tasting in May 2018. It storms from the glass, bearing copious blackberry, cedar and perhaps a little more mint than I noticed on the previous bottle. There is so much youthful zeal to this harmonious, refined Pauillac that you would barely guess it is 30 years old. Long and tender with a graphite-infused finish, this bottle might be even better than the ex-château example. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at Hatched in London. (Drink between 2019-2038)
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Duck confit with egg.
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1996 Château Lafite Rothschild. VM 97+. The 1996 Lafite-Rothschild is consistent with the bottle shown at the Hong Kong vertical. It has an intense bouquet with blackberry, cedar and a pencil box of graphite. The adjective I use whilst writing this note is that the aromas are “cool”. Perhaps given its provenance, this is one of the most backward bottles of 1996 that I have tasted. There are those fine but rigid tannins that lend this Lafite such beguiling symmetry, copious cedar and graphite with vein of brine and oyster shell. I love the precision of this wine and the sappiness on the finish. At the moment, maybe more impressive than enjoyable, so if you can, cellar it for another 5 to 8 years. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate. (Drink between 2025-2055)
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From my cellar: 1996 Château Haut-Brion. JG 94. The 1996 Haut Brion is less hermetically sealed than the 1998, and is beginning to hint a bit at its secondary layers of aromatic complexity, though it still remains a very young wine. The bouquet is deep and classic, as it jumps from the glass in a mélange of black cherries, dark berries, Cuban tobacco, incipient notes of the black truffles to come, and a fine base of Graves earth. I assume that the 1996 saw the same amount of new oak as the 1998, but there is little sign of the wood at the present time. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and very intense, with a quite powerful profile for Haut Brion. The wine is rock solid at the core and very tannic, though the tannins are ripe and well-integrated into the wine. The finish is very, very long and soil-driven, and this will clearly be one of the most powerful vintages of Haut Brion to emerge since the 1959. It will be superb, but one will require plenty of patience. (Drink between 2025-2075)
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1986 Château Léoville Las Cases. VM 97+. Saturated dark ruby. Cassis, shoe polish, camphor and rose petal on the nose; this reminded me of a great vintage of Latour. Dense and extremely concentrated; explosive yet totally backward. There nothing playful about this infant claret. Finishes with extraordinary, slow-building persistence. Very serious juice; one of the great Bordeaux of the 1980s. Drink 2010 through 2035.
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Lamb ravioli with truffle. Yum!
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1990 Château Montrose. VM 95. Full ruby-red. Wild, exotic aromas of crystallized redcurrant, leather, tobacco and minerals; distinctly exotic, even overripe. Then lush, sweet and opulent, with an atypically velvety texture for Montrose. But extremely young and structured, finishing with powerful tannins and great grip and length. Almost California-like in style; in Bordeaux, they’d refer to the fruit expression of this wine as “original,” which is not necessarily high praise. Drink 2008 through 2030.
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1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse). VM 91. Deep ruby to the rim. Extravagant aromas of black fruits, violets, and toffee. Voluptuous and sweet; this has outstanding concentration but with so much baby fat there’s little delineation on the palate. Finishes with a kick of alcohol and substantial ripe tannins. Very dense, but while a flight of other top right-bank wines were sending off fireworks in the glass, this chunky wine sat like a lump of coal.
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1982 Château Mouton Rothschild. VM 98. The 1982 Mouton-Rothschild continues to be the extravagant Pauillac that it has always been. This has an irresistible, exotic bouquet of precocious kirsch, hoisin, graphite and blueberry scents that gain intensity in the glass. The palate is a little headier than previous bottles, sensual and almost glossy, presenting a glycerin-rich smorgasbord of dark cherries, black currant, crème de menthe and mint that almost knocks you off your feet. Fabulous. Tasted from an ex-château jeroboam at the Palace of Versailles charity dinner. (Drink between 2019-2040)
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Beef.
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1995 Grande Maison Monbazillac Cuvée Madame.
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1998 Alois Kracher Grande Cuvée TBA #10 Nouvelle Vague. 95 points. The fat and soft fruit of chardonnay are here perfectly allied with the freshness and spice of welschriesling. Caramel and pungent botrytis augment aromas of honey and tropical fruits. In the mouth, this is the most dynamic of any of Kracher’s ’98s, with insistent fruit acid and firm expression of wood allaying its formidable thickness. Flavors of quince and apple jelly, with musky notes from the welschriesling and a chardonnay-typical caramelization of tropical fruits. Mandarin orange and brown spices join the fruit parade in a formidable finish. 2 stars.
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Persimon Souflee.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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Coconut Cream Pie Gelato — Coconut dairy custard base, house-made GF Graham Crackers, and house-made Coconut Caramel — 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 #coconut #caramel #grahamCrackers #cookies
1A4A5959
Apricot Amaro Passionfruit Mango Sorbetto – I like blending compatible fruits together — 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 #sorbetto #amaro #apricot #passionfruit #mango
1A4A5963
Epic cheese plate.
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No comment.
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Overall, a great lunch with really good food and amazing wines — all of which were drinking in great form. I don’t buy too much Bordeaux anymore, but they are really great when you give them a few years.

After the dinner proper a couple of us hung out on the lovely terrace and sipped our vast array of wines (and munched on the cheese plate).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

7U1A4441

Related posts:

  1. Sauvages Bordeaux
  2. Sauvages AOC
  3. Heroic Bordeaux
  4. Upstairs with Sauvages
  5. Sauvages Roccos
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bordeaux, BYOG, Gelato, Jeff Leve, lunch, Sauvages, Wine

Old California at 71Above

Jun04

Restaurant: 71Above [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]

Location: 633 W 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Date: October 12, 2021

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Awesome in all ways

_

71Above is one of my favorite LA restaurants and I’ve been many times. In fact there are 10 previous write ups! Original Chef Vartan Abgaryan has moved on to his own new place, Yours Truly (which the pandemic has sadly done in), and 71Above is now seamlessly helmed by his disciple, Chef Javier Lopez. Today the location plays host to a special old California dinner owner Emil Eyvazoff organized with an equally special menu. This dinner is the spiritual sequel to a much older Old California dinner back in 2015.

Besides being located on the 71st floor (950 feet up!) of the US Bank building, being the highest restaurant west of the Mississippi, it’s owned and operated by my friend Emil Eyvazoff!

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On one of these visits, Emil gave me a quick tour of their new “patio” on the 70th floor below where they are serving up Mezzes and drinks.

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Gorgeous build out upstairs for the main event.
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Look at the crazy view and the crazy fog on this weird spring night.

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We set up shop for this evening in the private room.
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Just a few glasses at the ready.

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Our special menu.
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The wine list.
1A4A5621
Bread and butter.
1A4A5692
1984 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay.
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1985 Kalin Cellars Chardonnay Cuvée L. JG 93+. The Cuvée L chardonnay hails from a warmer section of Long Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, where the sun in principally of the afternoon variety, and like the cooler section where the “Cuvée LD” comes from, this is planted with Wente clones. The 1985 Cuvée L is a lovely bottle, with a slightly more fruit-driven personality from the predominance of afternoon sun in this section of the vineyard. The bouquet delivers a fine blend of fresh apricot, baked peaches, a nice touch of soil, a bit of citrus zest and a topnote of toasted walnut. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and seamless, with a lovely core, a very refined personality, great balance and a very long, refined finish. This is more elegant than the 1986 Cuvée LD served alongside of it (differences in vintage character?), but the 1986 Cuvée LD is the slightly more complex of the two wines today. (Drink between 2016-2035)
1A4A5695
1985 Kistler Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard.

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Yellowfin Crudo. Mango, avocado, passionfruit, daikon, cucumber, habanero, Thai basil. Bright and full of flavor.

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1987 Hanzell Chardonnay.
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1989 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay. 92 points.
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1985 Kalin Cellars Chardonnay.

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Charred Avocado. Sungold Tomatoes, uni, trout roe, za’atar, lime, mints. 71Above excels at this sort of unusual combo. Totally worked.

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1961 Hallcrest Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. 91 points.
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1966 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon California Mountain.
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Crispy Octopus. Shishito, almond, sprouting cauliflower, polenta, meyer lemon gastrique.

1A4A5708
1968 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve. VM 98. Medium-deep red with a greenish-amber rim. Highly complex aromas of raspberry, cherry, mocha, dark chocolate, celery seed and balsamic cedar, with a hint of volatile acidity contributing personality and lift. This legendary wine still boasts bulletproof fruit and a compellingly juicy texture, with a sexy hint of truffle adding interest with air. A wine of great class and balance, finishing subtle, fresh, firm and very long, with sweet, fine-grained tannins. André Tchelistcheff called 1968 his greatest vintage and this wine is still going strong a half century later, with no end in sight. Its balance of sweetness and acidity is stunning. This wine was full-bodied in the early going, in contrast to the initially austere ’69, according to current winemaker Trevor Durling. (12.5% alcohol) (Drink between 2019-2038)
1A4A5709
1973 Simi Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve Alexander Valley. 88 points.
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1974 Beaulieu Vineyard Red Blend.
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Cavatelli. Poblano Mascarpone, corn espuma, ramps, pepita breadcrumbs, squash. Awesome.

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1974 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon. 92 points.
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1974 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. JG 94. The 1974 cabernet from Merry Edwards’ first vintage at the helm at Mount Eden is drinking beautifully out of magnum today, and though it is a bit more powerful in personality than the 1973, it is still a superb example of the vintage. The bouquet is deep, complex and now wide open, offering up scents of cassis, pomegranate, a touch of mint, cigar ash, chipotle peppers, dark soil tones, a touch of spice (vaguely reminiscent of nutmeg) and cedary wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with a rock solid core of fruit, fine focus and grip, tangy acids and a long, complex, still gently tannic finish. This is a beautiful wine with decades and decades of life still ahead of it (particularly in magnum). (Drink between 2016-2050)
1A4A5717
1973 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. VM 96. The heady, full-bodied style was unmistakably Napa Valley. The 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Eden was equally brilliant. It was perhaps a touch richer, deeper and more powerful than the Sterling, but what stood out most was the wine’s intense, brooding personality.
1A4A5719
1978 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve. JG 86. Of all of the great cabernet producers of this era, Beaulieu Vineyards was probably one of the few wineries that did not really capture all of the potential of the vintage. I have been drinking this 1978 since the mid-1980s and while many bottles were quite tasty back in the day, I have never hit a truly exceptional example. Back in this era, I have always found that BV was more successful in the vintages of 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976 and 1980 than they were in the more famous years of 1978 and 1974. The only caveat one needs to mention about the great wines that Andre Tchelistcheff fashioned at BV in the decade of the 1970s is that their style has not proven to be quite as ageworthy as many of their contemporaries, and most of these beautiful wines are now in varying stages of decline. This most recent bottle of the ’78 Georges de Latour was okay, but starting to get fairly oxidative and was a bit past its best, offering up scents of black cherries, plums, chocolate, a nice touch of Rutherford dust and coconutty new oak underneath the touch of cookie dough-like maderization. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and plush on the attack, with a solid core and still a touch of backend tannin on the long and moderately oxidative finish. The oxidation here is not yet so bad that the wine is undrinkable, but it is ever present on both the nose and palate and detracts a tad from the enjoyment of the wine. (Drink between 2016-2025)
1A4A5722
1982 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. JG 92+. It had been at least a dozen years since I last tasted the 1982 Dunn Howell Mountain, and the wine remains still a tad young for primetime drinking, but it is getting closer to its apogee and has been progressing very nicely in the right direction over the last decade. The wine has dropped most of what was a fairly formidable wall of tannin while retaining its substantial core of brambly mountain fruit. The bouquet is quite complex and is now blossoming very well, as it offers up a complex mélange of black raspberry, red currant, stony minerality, woodsmoke, gentle notes of fresh sage and a bit of petroleum jelly in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and quite soil-driven, with a lovely base of minerality, still a touch of tannin to resolve and a long, complex finish with fine grip but with a slight edge of austerity. This is a very good bottle that may even move up a bit in score as it fully blossoms. If the wine eventually loses the slight edge of austerity it currently displays on the backend, then my score will seem conservative. But a fine bottle in any case. (Drink between 2009-2035)
1A4A5723
From my cellar: 1984 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. VM 88. Healthy full red. More reticent on the nose than the ’83, showing a touch of cardboard and an earthy quality, if not an obvious TCA smell, along with its cherry, redcurrant, plum and earth aromas. A step up in texture from the ’83, but less juicy in the middle palate and even drier on the finish. This doesn’t have the personality of the ’83 and it turned drier with aeration. (I’ve had better bottles of the ’84 in the past, although I hadn’t sampled this vintage in at least five years.) (13% alcohol) (Drink between 2018-2024)
1A4A5725
1986 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve. 89 points.
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1986 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Signature. 89 points.
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Grilled Ribeye. Charred Broccolini, crispy shallot, date puree, jus.1A4A5678
With the jus.
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Cheese Plate. Julianna, 1655 Gruyere, Ameribella, Seasonal Accompaniments.
1A4A5750
This is a signature Sweet Milk flavor — Italian Lemon Cookie Meringue Pie — Limoncello Zabaione base with lemon cookie flavor mixed with Italian Lemon Creme Cookies and Sicilian Candied Lemon and topped with house-made toasted Meringue — 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 #lemon #LemonCookie #cookie #Sorento #Limoncello #Meringue #LemonMeringuePie

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The extensive wine lineup.1A4A5729
And the gang.

Heading down!

Overall, 71Above is just a seriously well conceived and executed one-of-a-kind restaurant. Really, it’s more like a NY, Singapore, or Tokyo kind of concept. First of all, the view is just awesome. I can’t wait to come back on a really clear day. Particularly once they begin brunch service, a nice winter day will offer an observation deck like panorama.

But then Emil and crew built out such a lovely space to capture the drama. It’s modern, but welcoming. Not too loud, you can hear the conversation and the music both. And from when you enter off the double elevator ascent it folds from one experience to another: lounge, dining room, more intimate corridors, chef table, quiet and romantic view areas in the back, and a series of two adjustable private dining rooms. The attention to architectural detail is amazing.

Today’s dinner excelled on all counts. Service, food, company, and of course the wines. I’m not normally a California wine guy, but these older wines are much softer, nicer, and more Bordeaux-like.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. California Dreaming
  2. 71Above Birthday
  3. Reaching New Heights at 71Above
  4. Sauvages 71Above
  5. DRC at 71Above
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 71above, BYOG, California Cabernet, DTLA, Emil Eyvazoff, Foodie Club, Gelato, Wine
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