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Eating NY – Joy Luck Palace

Aug18

Location: 98 Mott St, New York, NY 10013. (212) 219-2828

Date: July 3, 2017

Cuisine: Cantonese Dim Sum

Rating: Not nearly as good as the best in the SGV

Of course I had to try some Chinese in New York, and since I didn’t have time to go out to Flushing I figured I’d play it safe by looking up a top dimsum place. Eater raved about this one in Chinatown.

It’s in the center of the crowded old school Chinatown streets.

Inside it’s pretty typical of these big one room Cantonese joints. Crazy cove lights. On the “low decor side.” Not nearly as glitzy as something like Grand Harbor. There were no white people — I took this as an encouraging sign.

They still use the cart system. That went out 5+ years ago in the better LA (i.e. SGV) places. I hate the cart system. It’s fast, but the food has been sitting, and it’s hard to get them to come by at the pace you want.

Har gow. These crystal shrimp dumplings were fine. Nothing special. As usual it took some work to get water and sauces.

Sui Mai. Pretty typical as well.

Peanut and more dumpling. Stickier skin, pretty good.

Bean curd with pork and shrimp. Just fine.

Fish balls. Slightly different, but also nothing special.

Pigs inside pigs. Chinese sausage wrapped in bao dough. Cute at least.

Shrimp rice crepe. Not the greatest version of this dish.

Vegetarian fried rice crepe. Slightly different and actually pretty good.

Sticky rice steamed in lotus leaf. Fine but not amazing.

Pig shaped custard buns. Cute again.

Besides the cute pig shaped dimsum this place was fine but utterly mediocre. It was about on par with the Palace in Brentwood, which I consider just passable. The cart system made it hard to get anything interesting and we even ended up repeating. The service was worse than Chinese typical. The atmosphere pretty much unappetizing. If this is Manhattan’s best (and I have no other datapoints to judge by) than it has a LONG LONG way to go to even get in the same league as the 5+ best SGV dimsum houses.

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cantonese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Dim sum, dimsum, eating_new_york, Joy Luck Palace, New York

Eating NY – Marea

Aug16

Restaurant: Marea

Location: 240 Central Park S, New York, NY 10019. (212) 582-5100

Date: July 2, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great “fancy” Italian

My family loves Italian food and New York is famous for its Italian, so I figured we try a bunch at a bunch of different levels.

Marea is the modern style of fancy Italian, which some Italian-American lovers dismiss, but is actually fairly representative of high end (Michelin) restaurants in Italy. I know, I’ve eaten at plenty of them. And in fact, Marea has 2 stars itself.

The menu. We all went for the 4 course “deal.”

An amuse of sardine/anchovy and cheese on polenta.

They had a lot of very nice breads like this olive focaccia.

And since two groups ordered the whole fresh Branzino, the fish came out first to show off — just as they do in the Mediterranean.

2013 Azienda Agricola Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva Villa Bucci. 91 points. I visited this winery 2 years ago. The nose was alive with saline-minerality and zesty citrus tones. On the palate, I found soft, lifted textures with tart citrus, spice and mineral tones. It finished fresh and lively.

Insalta. Sesonal greens, sherry dressing, almond, nectarine, parmigiano.

They have a lot of crudo al taglio on the menu, like this: Tonno. yellowfin tuna, oyster crema, crispy artichoke.

Scampi. Pacific Langoustine, murray river pink salt.

And my Assaggio di tre. From left to right: Scampi Pacific Langoustine, murray river pink salt. Passera. Long island fluke, stone fruit, almond, chive blossom. Dentice. Pacific snapper, lime coriander, crispy skin.

These were nice. I’ve decided that these “western sauces” are MUCH better on crudo (aka sashimi) than on sushi (like Sushi Gari). It doesn’t play well with the rice.

Polipo. grilled octopus, smoked potatoes, radish pickled red onions, chilies, tomato.

1999 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici Riserva. VM 90-93. Good ruby-red. Red plum, sweet spices, roast coffee, flowers and a loamy nuance on the open-knit nose. Then juicy and stylish in the mouth, combining peppery and soft red fruit qualities with a subtle touch of oaky sweetness. Not a hugely concentrated wine and surprisingly forward, finishing with suave, spreading tannins and an almost sweet quality. There’s nothing wrong with this balanced wine, although I would have expected a little more complexity and depth; I wonder if the production of the 130-year anniversary bottling in the same vintage caused this Riserva to be less concentrated and deep than it might otherwise have been. Readers should take note that 1999 in Taurasi was characterized by a cool growing season, and thus was nothing like the outstanding ’99 vintage in Montalcino or Barolo. Still, I always felt that 1999 in Campania was unjustly overlooked by wine critics at the time, and I think that the wines are starting to show well now.

Twisted trofi pasta with pomodoro sauce. Great texture.

My son’s lizard toys get their own plate of parmesan.

Gnocchetti. Gulf shrimp, chillies, rosemary. First there was Gnocci, then there was gnocchetti.

Spaghetti neri. Seppia, ink, mussels, fresh chili, saffron.

Pansotti. Lamb, bagna cauda, english peas. How can you go wrong with fresh made pasta stuffed with meat and covered in butter?

Rosotto funghi. Wild mushrooms, parmigiano. Perfect creamy texture.

Branzino. Here comes the fish, perfectly filleted.

With sauces.

Brodetto di pesce. Adriatic seafood soup, clams, langoustine, scallop, prawns, bass.

With the broth. The flavor was great and the seafood fresh. It wasn’t the strongest or richest broth, channeling a lighter more delicate vibe rather than the more southern heavy garlic/tomato thing.

Tagliata. Grilled creekstone 50-day dry aged sirloin. braised romaine.

Fingerling potatoes, rosemary.

Wild arugula and lemon.

Market beans, romesco, almonds.

Wild mushrooms, savory.

Dolce.

Trio of sorbetti. Cherry amaretto, strawberry balsamic, blackberry lemon.

Chocolate gelato.

Affogato. vanilla gelato, espresso, amaro, almond sbrisolona. I haven’t seen affogato (mostly) straight up on a 2 star menu before.

Semifreddo tropicale. coconut semifreddo, passion fruit, kiwi, mango, basil.

With a gooey center! This dessert was an 11 by my standards. A perfect expression of coconut and bright tropical fruits. I will make a coconut gelato with almonds and passionfruit coulis to riff off of it.

Cioccolato. domori chocolate, white chocolate ganache, almond stracciatella gelato.

Petite fours. Raspberry pate de fruit.

Mini tiramisu.

My son likes dressing up now.

Overall, Marea was very good. Execution was top notch across the board. Pastas were amazing. Interesting that it’s Adriatic in style, most closely resembling these places I’ve eaten at on Italy’s Adriatic coast: Madonnia del Pescatore and La Frasca. The format is a bit different more American at Marea, with fewer larger courses. I, of course (pun intended), prefer the more smaller dish format. Marea plays it fairly safe too, avoiding some of the weirder (to American taste) choices you might get in Italy. But it is quite Italian.

Service was top notch. Our server was simultaneously very New York, punky, not explicitly Italian, and excellent. Very nice, knowledgable, responsive, accommodating, etc.

The wine list was good and only slightly high. Clientele was more staid and there were quite a number of wealthy Chinese.

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating_new_york, Italian cuisine, marea, New York, Wine

Eating NY – Sarabeth’s

Aug14

Restaurant: Sarabeth’s Central Park South

Location: 40 Central Park S, New York, NY 10021. (212) 826-5959

Date: July 2, 2017

Cuisine: Breakfast

Rating: New/old school?

Sarabeth’s is a New York breakfast mainstay, located right along the south side of Central Park.

We had to wait over an hour, even at 9am!

The place is huge, and mobbed.

Cappuccino of course.

The menu.

Spinach omelet.

French toast with strawberries.

Pancakes.

Oatmeal with strawberries and banana.
Omelet and muffin.

I had a crab Benedict, but I guess I forgot to take a picture of it. Sad, as it was the best thing (for my taste).

Overall, Sarabeth’s was very classic. The menu wasn’t super interesting, but execution was solid. Still it’s pricey. And the format is oddly old-school with the white tablecloths and liveried waiters. Certainly fun to try but I’m not sure I would crave it.

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Breakfast, eating_new_york, New York, Sarabeth's

Eating NY – Cosme

Aug11

Restaurant: Cosme

Location: 35 E 21st St, New York, NY 10010. (212) 913-9659

Date: July 1, 2017

Cuisine: Modern Mexican

Rating: Interesting ultra modern Mexican

Cosme made #3 of New York restaurants on a list of the best 100 restaurants in the world.

Cosme is a restaurant in New York City’s Flatiron District serving contemporary Mexican-inspired cuisine. World-renowned Chef Enrique Olvera and his team create dishes rooted in Mexican flavors and traditions, while also celebrating local and seasonal ingredients from the Hudson Valley and surrounding region. Cosme’s beverage program focuses on artisanal spirits and mirrors its cuisine, letting the high quality ingredients shine.

The interior mostly subscribed to the “keep it really dark so they won’t see our minimalist decor.”

The bar area.

It was very crowded and loud.

The menu is all share plates.

A sort of compari/aperol old fashioned. Pretty good.

For my son, a cheese quesadilla (off menu).

Chips with a kind of romesco-like paste. The paste was great.

Cobia al pastor, pineapple puree, cilantro. A nice crudo with sweet and savory notes.

Uni tostada, avocado, bone marrow salsa, cucumber. I liked this a lot, despite the tomatoes. The uni was very briny. We had an uni virgin at the table and she was not a fan — but it is an acquired taste.

Lobster, shiso, ginger mojo, brown butter. You could really taste the lobster. Next biggest note was ginger and butter.

Ayocote bean salad, market greens, charred cucumber vinaigrette. Nice salad, beans were at the bottom.

Morel haurache, fava bean salsa, epazote, black lime. I loved this dish, but it was very spicy. Long serrano type heat.

Pink peppercorn and axiote seafood aguchile. Cerviche basically. Strong lime flavors.

Soft-shell crab with salsa verde and tomatoes. Nice crab.

Branzino a la talla. Very delicious seabass with a lot of flavor.

Duck carnitas, onions, radishes, cilantro. This dish was very highly recommended and it was pricey ($89!). But it’s also about 3 times the food of the other dishes. Lots of duck, maybe most of a duck. It did have the texture of pulled pork too.

There were various condiments that went with it.

So I loaded it up on a blue corn tortilla.

Emmoladas, ricotta, hoja santa, queso fresco. Basically a dark mole with various dairy additives. We had to get the dairy on the side for one person. I love mole and I loved this dish. I basically ate it on tortillas.

Short rib, scallions, cipollini, avocado. Nice chunk of meat.

More tortillas.

The dessert menu.

Husk meringue, corn mousse. I didn’t know what to expect from this dish, but it was fabulous. Very light and fluffy, with a mousse-like texture blending with the crunchier meringue. Light pleasant sweet corn notes.

Rhubarb sundae, chile ancho, shiso, lemongrass ice cream. Super delicious also with unexpected flavors and textures.

Flourless chocolate cake, peanuts, coconut-lime creme fraiche. The second half of it was served “on the side.”

peanuts, coconut-lime creme fraiche. Made for an excellent dessert all by itself.
Trio of weird sorbet. Calamansi, raspberry, chamoy. All three were made with a very low sugar concentration for sorbet so they weren’t sweet enough even to my Italian tuned taste. The orange one which was a kind of passionfruit/mango with chili (like one of the Mexican candies) was my favorite. Extremely adult.

Overall, an interesting place. It was too loud. Not that trendy new places in LA aren’t too loud, but I don’t like this trend so I’ll call it out. One of my New York friends who sent me there thought so too. We had a hard time talking at our table of 7.

Service was not up to snuff for a restaurant of this quality. It was pleasant, and we didn’t get any attitude (which some people complain about online) but the waiter, while extremely nice and helpful, barely showed up. We “let him go” at the beginning because we were talking and then had to wait about 20 minutes before we saw him again to order drinks (I hate that). Also once we took the order runners brought the food and he didn’t come by for a long time. We got everything in just 2-3 flights which resulting in too many dishes at one time, but he explained that he did this on purpose because we had so many dietary restrictions (which we did) so fair enough.

Food was excellent, but I wasn’t totally blown away. Flavors were very bright and interesting but I thought that Hoja Santa in Barcelona (similar style food) was quite a bit better. Part of this was the format. Hoja Santa was a long small item tasting menu and because they catered to the dietary restrictions on an individual basis made for a much more civilized experience. Staff was just more on point there, but it is Spain and an Adrià brothers restaurant. In summary, I would say that the Cosme kitchen is excellent and doing some really good work but that the whole “experience” needs a bit of tuning to take it from a “trendy NY eatery” up to the level of a world class restaurant.

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Cosme, eating_new_york, Mexican cuisine, New York

Eating NY – Eat

Aug09

Restaurant: Eat

Location: 1064 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10028. (212) 772-0022

Date: July 1, 2017

Cuisine: New York Deli

Rating: Solid updated deli

My 2017 New York trip kicks off (appropriately) with some Zabar Deli, specifically the Upper East Side Eat.

Baked goods in the window.

Lots of deli on display.

The menu shows of the Upper East Side Manhattan prices! Deli isn’t super cheap in LA, but you’d have to hunt around to find a $24 grilled cheese!

Bread was impeccable.

Cappuccino.

Cinnamon bagel with whitefish salad. Interesting how they cut one of the sides down to reduce the overall carb-factor of the two whole bagels. The bagels were those smallish chewy really good NY kind, not the oversized bland ones. The whitefish salad was solid. Not a whole lot here on the plate though for $22. Pickles were very light dill, like a grav lox marinate.

Smoked salmon, cream cheese, bagel and capers.

Egg salad on pumpernickel bagel. Side of potato salad.

Plain bagel and cream cheese.

Stuffed salmon. Baked with spinach and onion/fennel.

Scrambled eggs and lox with salad.

Omelet and rie.

They sell gelato and it looked fairly hand made but it was all melted and refrozen.

The mustache cookie!

Solid deli in a very NY style. NY prices of course, but it’s right next to the park on Madison Ave!

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eat, eating_new_york, New York

Last Minute Shunji

Aug07

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

Location: 12244 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. (310) 826-4737

Date: June 28, 2017

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

A last minute cancelation changed up the Foodie Club dinner plans — so we gathered up some Burgundy and headed out for Shunji’s omakase!

Shunji, which took over for the “Mr. Cecil’s BBQ” in this oddball looking building on Pico has developed quite a reputation.

At night, Shunji offers an amazing and advanced mix of traditional and modern raw and cooked dishes.

Chef Shunji Nakao was an opening chef at Matsuhisa in the day, then opened Asanebo, then The Hump (one of my old favorites). It has quickly risen to the top of the LA Japanese scene.

Fred brought: 1990 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. BH 97. 1990 is one of my favorite vintages ever for this storied cuvée because while the vintage was on the riper side the high yields allowed the fruit to retain a very good level of acidity which made for balanced and ageworthy wines. While I have had the pleasure of tasting the ’90 on a number of occasions since its release, the last time was alongside the 1985 and the 1988, and as admirable as those two vintages are, the 1990 is head and shoulders above them to my taste. The fantastically complex nose is comprised of an abundance of yeast and toast characters that don’t completely dominate the essence of apple, pear, citrus, spice, acacia blossom and discreet orange peel scents. There is equally good depth to the delicious, full-bodied and powerful flavors that possess a lovely sense of vibrancy thanks to the still firm but fine mousse that shapes the delineated, delicious and impeccably well-balanced finale. In my view 1990 is one of the greatest vintages for this wine of the last 25 years and one that is still drinking well. While there is no additional upside development to be hand, neither is there any rush to drink up as this should continue to hold effortlessly for years to come.

Marinated vegetables and jellyfish. Before we went I predicted marinated vegetables and dashi gel — this pretty much qualifies. But it was pretty tasty in a sunomono way.

Ikura. Shunji’s salmon roe is unusually sweet and delicate. Lovely.

Goldfish sashimi with radish. Yep, goldfish. Mild, but nice.

Seasonal fig, cauliflower, and okra. On the right, Opal eye sashimi.

A trio of Toro (in the back), blue fin tuna, and chibiki. The last was unusual, all three were great.

Gorgonzola tofu, honey, and cherry tomato. I’ve never had gorgonzola tofu before. It totally worked. Nice soft texture.

From my cellar: 2004 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur. BH 94. This is a much different and classically styled with an ultra pure nose of ripe but austere green fruit brimming with oyster shell and seawater notes that introduce elegant, pure and sweet flavors all wrapped in a beautifully balanced and wonderfully detailed finish that also displays some austerity. This is built on a base of pungent minerality and will require ample time to come around. A Chablis lovers Chablis.

Fred brought: 2004 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot. BH 94. Fairly strong wood spice and vanilla presently mark the nose, framing the otherwise pretty white flower and floral aromas though there is plenty of mid-palate density to the rich, round, intense and powerful medium full flavors that despite the richness retain a fine sense of finishing detail. There is good minerality, buckets of dry extract and fine balance with almost painful intensity and superb finishing persistence.

Grilled ayu. A traditional sweet river fish of the smelt family. There was even an instructional video on how to debone it! Which actually helped. Delicious and sweet meat.

Our chef prepares the truffle rice.

Erick brought: 1978 Camille Giroud Beaune 1er Cru Grèves. 93 points. In fabulous shape.

From my cellar: 1997 Joseph Drouhin Romanée St. Vivant. 96 points. Bright shimmering ruby appearance in the glass. Ready from the moment opened, and didn’t really change much over the course of several hours. Enticing nose of red fruit and sweet grilled herbs, a touch perfumed as well. Great purity and class in the glass, with loads of mature Pinot flavors alongside a gentle smokiness that added heft to the wine. A great showing for the vintage, no doubt.

Truffle rice! Both white and black truffles. Very mild and lovely.

Marinated egg.

The egg notches up the truffle rice.

Wagyu sukiyaki. Delicious!

House-made ginger. I probably ate a pound.

Needle fish or trumpet fish.

Here is the head to prove it.

Sweet lips. Ugly fish, tasted good.

Hokkaido flounder.

Amber jack.

Porgi. As you can see Shunji really knows his “white fish.”

Shimaaji (mackerel).

Sweet shrimp. Succulent.

The heads look on in horror.

Then become shrimp miso soup.

Seki aji (premium Spanish mackerel).

A rare fish comes with a serial number!

Stone snapper or maybe sea ball belly.

Belt fish.

Scottish salmon.

Barracuda. A bit smokey.

Chu toro. Melt in your mouth delicious.

Kohada. A bit marinated.

Tasmanian trout. Amazing, but like salmon.

Hokkaido scallop in nori.

O-toro. This bad boy was stunning.

Dueling uni. Santa Barbara on the left, Hokkaido on the right.

Roasted tea.

Seasonal fruit plate, includes mulberries!

Truffle ice cream and chocolate mouse.

Midori melon.

All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, easily in the large repertoire of top LA sushi restaurants. This was a really great take on sushi kaiseki style dishes, combining both innovations with a solid grounding in traditional Japanese flavors and seasonal ingredients. There was some really unusual stuff too. I prefer Shunji at the sushi bar with a smaller group — and more nigiri — which this awesome dinner bore out. Sometimes the (non sushi) vegetable dishes are a bit too subtle, even if I appreciate them for their delicate dashi-scented ways. But Shunji is a master of the white fish and he has an exceptionally wide variety of mouse watering nigiri.

Service is attentive and excellent. Be prepared to open up the wallet as this is premium sushi — in a completely different league than your average Spider Roll — particularly if you go for the truffle rice.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Champagne, Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Omakase, Shunji, Sushi, White Burgundy, Wine

Top Island Two

Aug05

Our hedonist group returns to Top Island for a second round of Cantonese goodness…

Click here for the full post on all the dishes.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Top Island

For the Bun of It

Aug03

Restaurant: Mama Lu’s Dumpling House

Location: 153 Garvey Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91755. (626) 307-5700

Date: June 27, 2017

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Tasty and cheap

Two days in a row I head to the SGV for Chinese yummies.

This time it’s Mama Lu’s, one of a small mini-chain of casual inexpensive dumpling places.

This is classic SGV. Look at this sexy corridor — right out of late 90s China — the restaurant bathroom can be found here too.

And the interior, vintage early 21st century SGV interior. Booths, drop ceiling, fish tank, dangling wires, all that.

On the table are sugared peanuts and cucumbers.

XLB. The classic pork soup dumplings. Skin is a touch thick and there wasn’t much juice, but the meat was tasty. I’ve certainly had better of these but like pizza and some other things, XLB are always at least good.

Pork, shrimp, and chive dumpling. Soft classic boiled dumplings. Not bad.

Spicy wontons. Disappointing. Not really spicy at all either and kinda bland.

Zha jiang mian. Not the really traditional version, but pretty tasty. Mild, despite the peppers, and no super strong bean flavor. Just kinda nice.

Crispy shrimp. Fried shrimp with mayo. I like this Chinese-American dish.

Shredded pork and bean curd. Really a Szechuan dish. This was fine.

Pea tendrils and mushrooms. What can you say.

Mama Lu’s certainly wasn’t mind blowing. It was cheap and tasty. If it were close to me I would go all the time. They have a big menu and are very crowded. Atmosphere is either hideous or quaint if you are an SGV aficionado like me. While everyone inside was Chinese, it feels slightly Chinese American. Maybe it’s just catering toward people who have been here 15-20 years rather than young folk just off the boat. Certainly there is no trendiness.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, dumplings, Mama Lu's Dumpling House, SGV, XLB

The Legendary Restaurant

Aug01

Restaurant: The Legendary Restaurant

Location: 2718 Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91803. (626) 872-0616

Date: June 26, 2017 & September 21, 2018 and January 6, 2018

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Solid Szechuan in the land of so much solid Szechuan

It’s actually been awhile since I tried a NEW Szechuan place for lunch. But part of my 2 part back to back days in the SGV I figured lunch buddy Larry and I would give Legendary a try — the name after-all is very impressive. Wait, that must be Szechuan Impression or maybe Chengdu Impression :-).

Anyway, a year and change later I came back for a revaluation.

Typical frontage. It was 100 degrees in the SGV today!

The interior is just hinting at having some style. Not much. And it used to be some tikki restaurant called Bamboo Lounge and the signs aren’t even all changed over. haha.

It should also be noted that they have a liquor license and a tiny selection of beverages.

Short menu with nice pictures.

By 2018 there was a MUCH glitzier picture menu — printed in China and quite gorgeous. I forgot to photo it though.

Big pitcher of smoked plum juice. A must with Szechuan.

Special Bean Jelly (9/21/18). Oh, Szechuan bean jelly, how I love thee! I can never get enough of the slippery texture and hot tangy taste of this dish.

Hot and sour fern root starch noodle (1/6/19). This was an amazing dish with a really fabulous hot and sour tangy sauce and a cool slippery buckwheat-like noodle.

Chongqing street noodles. Basically noodles in the chili oil broth. Not bad, but I like good dan dan better. Nice noodles though.

Shredded garlic pork (1/6/19). Not exactly shredded, but it was garlicky and porky. Basically garlic cured cold bacon you dip in sesame sauce. Pretty delicious.

Sichuan boiled wontons with chili sauce (1/6/19). Sauce on the side for Ron who is a spice hater.

Shredded eel with dried chili (9/21/18 and 1/6/19). Actually quite delicious. The eel was very fried, very crispy, and not fishy at all. It had that nice salty/aromatic quality from the chilies. This is, of course, very similar to the chicken dish, but more eel!

Second time we had this dish (1/6/19) it had a fairly off-putting “urine-like” taste.

Peking Duck (1/6/19). I was surprised they had it — we had to pre-order, but still, this was pretty darn good. The mean quality was excellent and I liked the way they cut and presented it. The skin could have been a touch crispier but this was great.

Pancakes to go with the duck.

Boiled Fish with Peppercorns (9/21/18). To say that this dish had “peppercorns” will always be an understatement. There must have been an entire bag of Szechuan peppercorns in here — and it gave the fish a delightful (and intense) numbing factor.

Crispy shrimp (1/6/19). Shells, on, a bit sweet, but tasty.

Fried shrimp in hot spicy sauce. I’m not sure I would call this a sauce. Fried shrimp bathed in dry hot peppers is more like it. The shrimp were tasty though.

Griddle Cooked Chicken (parts) (9/21/18). There are any number of griddle cooked dishes, and they taste pretty similar regardless of the protein, but this one was basically all chicken giblets. I must have eaten 10 hearts! Not bad, considering that.

Boiled beef in chili sauce. This was probably my favorite dish. Nice mala broth. Tender beef. TONS of garlic and interesting tofu noodles and lotus rooms underneath. Really great over rice.

Black pepper beef (1/6/19). Well executed with a good bit of flavor, but not a regionally appropriate dish.

Kung Pao Chicken (1/6/19). Pretty good version of the classic.

Braised special pork (1/6/19). Sweet, fatty, delicious.

Smoked lamb chops. Or mouton chops as the case happened to be. Very fatty and gamey. I liked them, but I don’t mind a bit of mouton — but YMMV.

Griddle cooked cauliflower (1/6/19). Nice flavorful vegetable with good crunch.

Trick eggplant (1/6/19). Eggplant and 1000 year old egg. Nice umami savory quality.

Tofu with Crab Roe (9/21/18 & 1/6/19). I discovered this dish on my recent China trip and have been addicted ever since. It has that soft Mapo type texture, but is mild, salty, with a lot of umami.

Second time I had this, 1/6/19 it was not as good. Fine, but blander.

Lightly fried pork buns. These were basically pan fried XLB. Loved ’em. Ate most of this plate. Could have eaten another plate. These unfortunately were out of stock on 1/6/19.

Yang Chow Fried Rice (1/6/19). Solid everything fried rice.

The gang on 1/6/19.

Overall, on my first visit, I found Legendary a solid Szechuan place with a bit better style to the plating than most. Food was good, but not quite as good as some others. They didn’t seem to use MSG though which is great. It was also dead empty so they might not last. I’d certainly go back but the competition is fierce in this area. It isn’t Legendary though, I’d give it a blue, no purple for sure.

Second time around, in September of 2018, I was more impressed with Legendary. We got some different dishes (well totally different, and only a couple I’ve had exactly at other places) and they were all spectacular — except maybe the chicken hearts. They weren’t crowded at all, and same funny Bamboo Lounge vibe, but I this this is a first class Szechuan joint, up there with Chengdu Taste and Szechuan Impression.

Third time, for dinner on January 1, 2019, Legendary continued to impress. 8-9 out of 10 dishes were great and there were a lot of really good ones, including, surprisingly, the Peking Duck. There were a few misses like the eel this time around, but also some other unique and “legendary” dishes like the fern root noodle.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Wines from dinner visits:

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Legendary, SGV, Sichuan, Szechuan cuisine

Toppers!

Jul30

Restaurant: The Penthouse

Location: 1111 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (310) 394-5454

Date: June 17, 2017

Cuisine: American

Rating: Quite good, Greek influences

It’s date night again with my wife and we decided to try the Penthouse (atop the Huntley Hotel) after a long absence.

This space has always had a great view of Santa Monica and the bay — it was a cheesy Mexican joint in the 90s called Toppers but got a “Stark-style” white redo around the Millennium which has been kept up.

They have a new chef – places like this always do.

From my cellar: 2002 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale. 91 points. Ruby red. A nose that screams Pinot, sous Bois, Earth, plums, raspberries, strawberries and a light cinnamon dusting. Medium body with more velvet than silky mouthfeel. Fruit purity on the palate with a sour cherry midpalate. Medium plus acidity and fine tannins. At peak.

Yummy looking bread.

Beets & Goat Cheese. Pistachio, mustard frill, arugula.

Wagyu steak tartare. Bone marrow, black truffles, foie gras, quinoa. Super rich, but totally delicious. Different than a normal tartar. Fattier, lots of pepper. Good stuff.

Wild King Salmon. Artichokes, fingerling potatoes, piquillo peppers, cerignola olives.

Shrimp Saganaki. Ouzo, San Marzano Tomato Sauce, Baby Fennel, Feta. Tasty, although not as cheesy as a traditional Saganaki.

Mac & cheese. Solid. There is a truffle/lobster one too, but this was the “normal.”

The dessert menu, but we were too full.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Penthouse. The view and atmosphere has always been great but the new chef is doing nice things. This is a slick menu, and execution was pretty on point.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Santa Monica, The Penthouse

Quick Eats – Popcorn Chicken

Jul21

Restaurant: Popcorn Chicken

Location: 2224 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. (424) 832-3076

Date: June 21, 2017

Cuisine: Taiwanese

Rating: Taiwanese fast casual

More Chinese on Sawtelle – yay!

It’s in the row of fast casual joints by Daikokuya.

And it’s sort of a hybrid boba tea shop fast casual Taiwanese place.

Pictures on the menu.
Passionfruit green tea with boba. There is the usual vast array of such drinks.
Grapefruit green tea with boba.

Popcorn chicken. Tasty. Very fried.

Fried squid balls. Yep. If you’ve got the balls, eat ’em.

“lunch’s” come with this microscopic egg drop soup. It wasn’t bad.

Szechuan fish filet noodle soup. The fish itself wasn’t the most amazing and it wasn’t seething in peppers like at a real Szechuan place but it had some mala (numb taste) and a whole bunch of noodles. Not bad.

Scrambled eggs with shrimp over rice. Weird as these egg, sauce, rice dishes are — I kinda love them.

House fried rice. Always tasty.

Sesame Balls. 2 balls in one day! Filled with red bean paste.

Popcorn Chicken is sort of like a low end version of Little Fatty. Or Little Fatty is like a high end artsy Popcorn Chicken. Nothing wrong with that. Good extra option to have on Sawtelle.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Popcorn Chicken, Sawtelle Blvd, Taiwanese Cuisine

Republique 2017

Jul19

Restaurant: Republique [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Location: 624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. (310) 362-6115

Date: June 23, 2017

Cuisine: Modern Bistro French

Rating: Nice (loud) space, tasty hip food, great service

This is my 10th time writing up Republique! Woah. This time for a Sauvages lunch (White Burgundy). It’s even the second Sauvages lunch I’ve done here.

We were up in the private room with a custom menu — really the only way to do Republique. I’ve learn too that breakfast lunch is now sort of fast casual (you order then sit). Ick for this sort of restaurant. But up in the room is great.

Our special menu.

3L bottle of 2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. BH 96. Prost was, justifiably, extremely proud of this wine and observed that it may be the best “straight” Chevalier that he’s ever made. Not surprisingly, this is a good deal more elegant than the Bâtard with gorgeously pure floral and white fruit, stone and subtle spice aromas that seamlessly merge into the almost painfully intense and vibrant flavors that, like the Perrières, possess crystalline purity and huge length. This is a knockout Chevy and if you can find it, don’t miss it.

agavin: Stunningly fresh in the big format. Fabulous.

The famous bread and Normandy Butter. We ate about 9-10 loaves of this. Not kidding. Plus I bought some to take home.

2011 Lucien Le Moine Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets. BH 91-93. This is presently very leesy and while there are background notes of citrus and dried flowers, this is hard to read today. By contrast the concentrated flavors pack plenty of punch and an abundance of both minerality and palate coating dry extract, all wrapped in an attractively textured, austere, serious and austere finish. This is a brooding and quite serious wine seemingly extracted from liquid rock that will require plenty of time to mature.

agavin: our bottle stank. Thin with no fruit!

2010 Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Tete du Clos. BH 91-93. The fresh, cool and beautifully well-layered nose exhibits white flower and lemon zest scents that give way to restrained, refined and energetic flavors that possess plenty of underlying tension on the balanced and ever-so-mildly austere finish. Like the La Romanée there is a distinct salinity to the finish and this should age well.

agavin: not drinking too well either, but way better than the Le Moine.

2009 Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Le Cailleret. agavin 91. Nice wine. Young, but tasted like it should have.

2004 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Boudriotte. BH 89. A deft touch of wood frames citrus and earth infused ripe chardonnay fruit aromas that lead to rich, full and fleshy flavors that are robust if not especially structured, all wrapped in a delicious and easy to like finish. There is good freshness here if not great underlying tension with fine overall balance and fine length. In sum, this is a generous and easy to like effort that should repay a few years in the cellar.

agavin: Meadows is being a hardass because this was the best wine of the flight by far.

Spot Prawns. Corn puree. Hazelnuts. Corn. Nice dish. I like sucking the heads.

2003 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. BH 93. A gentle touch of wood frames explosive and very ripe green apple fruit aromas that despite the ripeness remain stunningly pure and elegant with dense, hyper-intense and powerful flavors of serious intensity and persistence. All I could say was “wow” and it’s the rare Corton-Charlemagne that can not only follow a terrific Montrachet but not be found wanting in the offing. Great juice.

2001 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet. BH 94. The purity here is mind bending and this is perhaps the most transparent wine in this entire group. Elegant, fine and crystalline with superbly detailed fruit and flavors with a positively brilliant, almost painfully intense finish that is astonishingly long. Classy and altogether imposing with its unmatched combination of complexity, depth and focus. While I cannot argue that this has better material than either the Montrachet or the incredible Corton-Charlemagne, I can say that stylistically, the Chevalier is my personal favorite. This is unquestionably a great wine.

2004 Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 95. Perhaps the most backward and reserved wine to this point as the nose reveals only hints of white flower and green fruit aromas that are framed in a subtle touch of pain grillé but the flavors explode on the palate as there is a chewy texture to them yet there is ample minerality present, particularly for Bâtard. This too is blessed with abundant dry extract and a finish that won’t quit but for all of the size and weight, this is impeccably balanced. This has that “wow” factor and in terms of style, it’s almost like a muscular Chevalier.

agavin: drinking nicely

From my cellar: 2005 Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 95. An intensely floral and still exceptionally fresh nose is nuanced with hints of spice and citrus where the latter can also be found on the textured and borderline massive flavors that display absolutely no sense of heaviness on the exceptionally rich finish that drenches and stains the palate. This is a big wine yet there is a firm acid backbone that keeps everything in ideal balance and overall, it’s an extremely impressive effort. While the abundant dry extract enables this, like many ’05s, to drink with pleasure now, in magnum format I personally would allow for at least another 4 to 5 years of bottle age.

agavin: our bottle was a little advanced. Improved in the glass.

Halibut. Chanterelle mushroom pea and pork cheeks. The sauce was all about the butter and pork.

2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. BH 92. This is presently quite reticent and it requires considerable aeration to coax aromas of airy white flowers, spice and limestone that precede textured, pure and defined energy-filled flavors that possess a linear mouth feel, all wrapped in a focused and mouth coating finish of impressive length. Perhaps this is just going through a phase but it seems a bit awkward at present, and while all the component pieces appear to be in place, I wasn’t knocked out despite the length of the finish. One thing that is clear though is that this definitely needs more bottle age before it’s ready for prime time. Tasted only once in bottle.

2004 Antonin Guyon Corton-Charlemagne. BH 92. A complex and perfumed nose featuring subtle wood spice and elegant, pure and layered green apple and white orchard fruit aromas, particularly pear. The powerful, intense and mouth coating flavors are sleekly muscled with a fresh, forward and wonderfully textured finish that goes on and on. This is structured yet there is so much mid-palate fat that it should be approachable after 5 years or so in bottle.

agavin: advanced

Spinach Cavatelli with morels, another mushroom, cheese, butter, and more butter and then a butter sauce. Fabulous texture to the pasta and the butter was great. They don’t go so far as to use the Normandy butter here, Strauss butter actually, but it’s still great.

2009 Remoissenet Père et Fils Montrachet Le Montrachet. VM 96. The 2009 Le Montrachet, from a parcel on the Chassagne side, is fabulous. Layers of exotic, tropical fruit flow effortlessly from this broad-shouldered, kaleidoscopic wine. There is plenty of freshness in the glass to support the fruit in this magical, captivating wine. I especially like the way this turns delicate, subtle and refined on the finish.

2009 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne Quintessence. VM 95+. Bright pale yellow. Sexy smoky oak and strong minerally silex on the nose, lifted by a violet high note. A densely packed wine with terrific force, offering outstanding cut to its citrus, apple, floral and mineral flavors. At once laid-back and powerful, and extremely unevolved. This really titillates the taste buds on the long, rising, lemon-and-stone finish. Wow! Girardin purchased a bit more Corton-Charlemagne in Aloxe-Corton this year but it’s unlikely to find its way into this special <i>cuvee</i>: he wants the Quintessence bottling, which is always from the same 80-year-old vines in the heart of the hillside on the Pernand side, to remain rare.

2010 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 93-95. In relatively stark contrast to the expressiveness of the prior wine, this is distinctly restrained if not out and out mute as the nose only grudgingly allows glimpses of the lemon grass, honeysuckle and lemon/lime aromas. There is outstanding intensity to the round, generous and quite seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that possess that wonderful quality of underlying tension which adds a real sense of lift and vitality to the spherical and harmonious Zen-like finish.

Pork belly on risotto. This was a weaker dish. The pork was very fatty.

Chef Walter Manzke.

Our Somm did an awesome job. She replaces Taylor (who was awesome before her).

Les vins.

Cryptic notes.

The giant box for the 3L Bouchard.

1976 Zach. Bergweiler-Prüm Erben Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. 93 points. Deep uric color, orange golden hues; golden raisin, Pledge, orange, lemon custard, still very fresh; delicious palate, has lost some sweetness, honey, apple, persistent; could easily have gone another 20+ years; everyone amazed at age.

agavin: he said uric!

Les fromages. The soft one (probably a Camembert) was slightly better, but both great.

Overall, a great lunnch – Savauges lunches always are.

Wines were for the most part fabulous. 3 of us sat at the bar downstairs afterward and drank another of my bottles over the next couple hours too.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: République, Sauvages, Walter Manzke, White Burgundy, Wine

Dragged out for Duck

Jul17

Restaurant: Duck House [1, 2]

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

Date: June 11, 2017

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Interesting stuff

Big surprise that for my birthday dinner I chose — you guessed it — Chinese food! And because it was my birthday I managed to drag the rest of my family all the way out to the SGV. I went for a return to Duck House (previous recent visit here), as they have Peking Duck (no duh), it’s on the west side of Alhambra, and because it isn’t spicy or too weird. But I did pre-order a bunch of interesting dishes.

From my cellar: NV Demière-Ansiot Champagne Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs. VM 91. Vivid yellow. Bright, mineral-accented aromas of orange, pear, anise and white flowers are lifted by a gingery topnote. Lively and precise, offering intense orchard and citrus fruit flavors and a hint of buttered toast. Shows impressive clarity and mineral cut on the finish, with the pear and floral notes echoing. This elegant Champagne should age well on its balance.

Slightly sweet soy marinated chicken wings. Always on the table here to start. Boney and cold, but nice taste.

My 8 year-old tried these fried buns. Basically the soft bao dough fried with sweetened condensed milk on the side.

2005 Seigneurie de Posanges Savigny-lès-Beaune. Not a bad young village.

Peking Duck. Served here with the meat and skin. We had it only 1 way, but two ducks. This is solid, but Tasty Duck and a few others have slightly better duck. Mostly I think they just need better Hoisin.

Egg with tofu. My wife liked this. Steamed egg with tofu and a vegetarian brown sauce.

Eggplant with garlic. A little mushy, and not as spicy/garlicky as the best Szechuan versions, but certainly nice.

Sweet and Pungent shrimp. Basically fried shrimp in sweet and sour sauce. Love it!

Vegetable crispy lo mein. With the sauce on the side.

Here is the sauce. Lots of ginger.

From my cellar: 2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Cote de Bouguerots. BH 96. An exceptionally elegant high-toned and strikingly layered nose of oyster shell, mineral reduction and perfumed cool green fruit is extremely seductive and serves as a fascinating introduction to the concentrated, serious and powerful yet refined flavors that ooze a fine minerality on the mouth coating and hugely long finish. This is blessed with buckets of sap that completely buffer the firm acid spine. This is a flat out great effort that is indisputably a “wow” wine.

Treasure Island, which somehow I keep mis-remembering as “buried treasure.” This was a special pre-order dish and I’ve never had its like before. Napa cabbage smothered (it’s huge) in egg yolk and crab meat sauce. Topped with goji berries. Unusual. Very mild and pleasant, but certainly a LOT of cabbage.

Steamed black cod. For the healthy folk.

2004 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. VM 95. Opaque ruby. Incredibly powerful bouquet encompasses cherry, blackberry, cassis, candied plum, dark chocolate, licorice and garrigue Positively mouthfilling, with potent, liqueur-like dark fruit, licorice and mocha flavors, but also with surprising freshness and cut. As weighty as this is, there’s a sense of elegance, too. Finishes juicy, sweet and impressively long, with persistent cassis and blackberry flavors. Wow!

Jan, your ass is big!

Buddah’s chicken. Another special order dish. Whole roast chicken stuffed with seafood, taro, and I don’t know what and smothered in brown sauce.

Inside it’s like Chinese Thanksgiving! Cool texture.

2014 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. Can we say vanilla?

Sticky rice with BBQ eel. I don’t know why they always have this dish at duck houses, but they do.

Truffle Lobster. Can’t go wrong with a giant fried lobster in truffle sauce!

I was far too stuffed for cake, so had to have my candle in some eel rice!

Overall, a fun night and great to share it with the family and friends. Not sure I need to order the Treasure Island again, but it was very interesting. The sauce was actually great over rice, but there was so much of it!

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By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Duck House, Peking Duck, SGV, Wine

Wolf

Jul14

Restaurant: Wolf

Location: 7661 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046. (323) 424-7735

Date: June 11, 2017

Cuisine: Contemporary

Rating: Nice brunch

Meeting friends for brunch on my birthday!

We decided to venture east to Wolf, a casual new place by my fried, Chef Marcel Vigneron (check out a meal he cooked at our house here). Off the bat it gets cool points for the uni-wolf.

Inside is casual and funky. They share a kitchen with Beefsteak his adjoining vegetarian restaurant.

The brunch menu.

Bloody Mary. It had some other name and was very smoked.

Turmeric Latte. Turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, honey, almond milk. Tasted great. Very earthy. No caffeine though.
Matcha Latte. Matcha, spirulina, maca, vanilla, coconut oil, almond milk. Very creamy and nutty. The almond milk offset the bitter matcha qualities nicely.

Hibiscus Latte. Hibiscus, almond milk. Not as popular with those that tried it.

The fat stack. Pancakes (minus the strawberry/rhubarb sauce).

Chicken and waffle. Buttermilk, maple whip, hot sauce. This was a great chicken and waffle. The combo of sweet, salty and hot was perfect. Nice fried chicken, very sweet maple whip, and a good bit of heat from the chili oil like sauce.

Waffle. Maple syrup, berries, whipped cream, powdered sugar.

Herb omelet. Mushrooms, goat cheese, side salad. The omelet eater didn’t love this dish.

Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise, coddled egg, spinach, smoked pork.

$10k Burger. avocado, sunnyside egg, muenster, watercress, potato roll. Most of the stuff was on the side here by request.

Bacon.

Avocado.

Sunnyside egg.

Crispy Potatoes. Aji amarillo aioli, lime, cilantro, serrano. Very crispy with a nice soft center. I really liked the potato texture. It came off like an excellent potatoes bravos.

This is just brunch of course, but overall the food at Wolf seemed both interesting, hip, and for the most part on point. I’ll have to try it for dinner.

Service was fabulous. Our waiter really knew what he was doing and handled our giant picky table with ease.

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By: agavin
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Tagged as: Brunch, Marcel Vigneron, Wolf

Finding the One at One Pico

Jul12

Restaurant: One Pico

Location: 1 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 587-1717 (inside Shutters Hotel)

Date: June 10, 2017

Cuisine: American

Rating: Solid food, great setting

I don’t go to One Pico very often but I have a soft spot for it in my heart because it was here that my wife and I went on our first date.

So when our anniversary rolled around we decided to head back to the lovely white paneled room by the beach.

Tonight’s menu. I’m sure they’ve had several chefs since our first meal here!

When celebrating, you can never go wrong with Champagne:

From my cellar: 2006 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. VM 97. Broad, ample and resonant on the palate, the 2006 Cristal dazzles with its pure richness and volume. Readers need to give the 2006 another 4-5 years in bottle, perhaps longer, as the wine appears to be shutting down a bit. Tasted next to the 2002, today the 2006 is a bit less opulent but just as intense, layered and deep. This is a fabulous showing.

Little gem caesar. parmesan croutons, red endive, white anchovies.

Rainbow cauliflower soup. apple curry madras. A little bit of heat and a distinct curry tone.

grilled country bread. Always good with soup!

Corn ravioli. piquillo pepper, lime yellow corn shoots, pecorino romano. Not a tomato sauce but a very Spanish tasting pepper puree.

Bucatini. Maine lobster, roasted tomatoes, capers, spicy Calabrian chili peppers. A touch of heat, plenty of meat.

Sea bass with a pesto puree. A nice crispy-skinned fish.

The dessert menu.

Bonus mini-tiramisu with a candle.

Salted Caramel Sundae. Candy Popcorn, chocolate brownie, and caramel ice cream. I should make a gelato with salted caramel, chocolate, and popcorn. This was a nice confection. Sweet, and good textural contrasts. Not sophisticated in flavor, but good.

Overall a very tasty meal at One Pico. It’s a great room too. Sure the prices are nice hotel prices, but they do a very good job.

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By: agavin
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Tagged as: Champagne, One Pico, Santa Monica, Shutters

Summer at 71Above

Jul10

Restaurant: 71Above [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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

Date: June 6, 2017

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Awesome in all ways

This is my fifth visit to one of LA’s latest and hottest event restaurants, 71Above. The first can be found here. Tonight is my wife and her sister’s birthday so we slogged through nearly 2 hours of traffic to downtown.

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

This is no casual opening, but a massive (and gorgeous) multipart buildout that encompasses the entire floor. Above is part of the lounge/bar.

And behind that is the stunning dining room with its computer controlled auto tinting windows. Beyond that the view continues all the way around with the chef’s table and several more intimate private dining areas.

The view alone is worth the price of admission, and offers varied sights depending on your 360 degree angle. Notice how even the second tallest building downtown (seen under construction here) is below eye level! On a clear day you can easily see the vast sweep of the Pacific and several mountain ranges.

The current menu.

Some bonus rose champagne from our host Emil.

Plus we opened both these bottles side by side:

From my cellar (and the restaurant has it on its list): NV Savart Champagne Bulle de Rosé. JG 93. The Savart “Bulles de Rosé” is excellent wine. The cépages is seventy percent pinot noir, twenty-two percent chardonnay and eight percent still red wine (also pinot noir). The wine was finished off with a dosage of six grams per liter and offers up a very complex and still fairly youthful nose of strawberries, blood orange, chalky soil tones, fresh baked bread, caraway seed, orange zest and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, complex and beautifully balanced, with a fine core, lovely soil signature, refined mousse and a long, crisp and complex finish. This is superb juice.

From my cellar: 2005 Morey-Blanc Corton-Charlemagne. BH 94. More evident wood with hints of spice and vanilla frames the green fruit and spiced apple aromas and a trace of it can also be found on the full-bore, rich and intense big-bodied flavors blessed with excellent concentration and muscle, all wrapped in a minerally, delicious and serious finish of superb length.

Butter and cheese pasta. For my son. Haha.

Gem Lettuce. Lemon, caper, parmesan, chervil, anchovy, garlic breadcrumbs.

Beets. Chocolate wheat berries, blood orange, kumquat, cocoa nib.

Hamachi. Crudo, matcha, tofu, mulberry, masago, fresno chile, basils.

English Pea. Chilled soup, shiso, hazelnut, mint, buttermilk. Really yummy soup. Gazpacho-like.

Carrot. Pickled raisin, kefir, chermoula, sunflower seed, mint.

White asparagus. XO sauce, uni aioli, basil, sea bean.

Morels. Cavatelli, english peas, pistachio, pecorino cream, mint, lemon.

Foie gras. Mousse, strawberry, rhubarb, black pepper crumble, wild fennel, cashew. Soft and sweet with interesting textures.

Halibut. Fava, sugar snap peas, asparagus, carrots, lemon verbena.

Young chicken breast. Swiss chard, beets, black truffle, buttermilk, dried cherry, jus gras.

Spring Lamb. Loin, crepinette, ramp panisse, fava, plum, pickled mustard.

The dessert menu.

I brought some gelato I had made for my wife’s birthday: Amareno on the left (white base with cherry’s I picked myself) and Stracciatella on the right (white base with chocolate drizzled in).

Creme Faiche Mousse. Cassis Lemon Curd, Creme Anglaise, Dill Kefir-Cassis Foam, Creme Fraiche Ice cream.

Caramelia Custard. Laproaig 10yr Scotch Caramel. Coconut sorbet, smoked pork powder, praline hazelnuts, Himalayan pink salt. Amazing flavor combo and texture. Really good. Particularly the pork powder really brought it up.

Chocolate. Cremeux, gel, ganache, smoked yogurt sorbet.

The group of us.

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 here 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.

Then the menu has a creative format with a fixed price (currently $70) and three savory courses. You can pick from six options per category. If you are a glutton like me, you can add extra courses – and of course dessert. At the chef’s table one gets a 6 course (+ a few bonuses) for a very reasonable (considering what you get) $110 a person!

It should also be noted that an interesting menu wouldn’t be anything without great execution. As you can see in this post, the plating is modern but approachable and highly attractive. But the flavor on the dishes is paramount, and really quite excellent, particularly considering their complexity and textural variation. There is a balanced quality between opposite forces in Chef Abgaryan’s cooking that pulls from Chinese culinary theory, while that specific flavors and combinations are largely American/European. It’s both approachable and sophisticated. Bravo!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 71above, birthday, BYOG, DTLA, Emil Eyvazoff, Gelato, Vartan Abgaryan

Drappier at Petrossian

Jul07

Restaurant: Petrossian Beverly Hills

Location: 321 Robertson Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90048. (310) 271-6300

Date: June 3, 2017

Cuisine: Caviar +

Rating: Perfect food for Champagne!

Liz Lee of Sage Society organizes some of the best wine maker dinners. Tonight’s showcases Drappier Champagne, a house in Southern Champagne near Chablis that splits the line between House and Grower.

And what goes better with Champagne than caviar? Not much.So she hosted it with a special meal in the private room at Petrossian Beverly Hills.

Before we step into our room I’ll show the front area which splits caviar bar and restaurant.
All sorts of high end delectables like macarons.

Chocolates.

Tons of caviar of course.

Fancy salts, etc.

And Louis XIII.

The private room is lovely.

NV Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut. VM 89. Light yellow-gold. Pungent aromas of orange pith, dried apple and toasty lees, with a hint of chamomile in the background. Fleshy and broad on entry, then tighter in the middle, offering bitter pear skin and quinine flavors and a touch of blood orange. Finishes with good grip and cut, leaving a subtle smoky note behind.

While we sip champagne some foie gras gougers.

And buckwheat blini with with creme fraiche and caviar.

The first round of “official” Champy (more details later).

Tonight’s special menu, so long it ran to both sides of the paper!

And a special kosher-style variant for my wife!

Here is Liz introducing our guest:

On the left: Charline Drappier of Drappier Champagne! Charline is 8th generation (I think) owning and operating Drappier.

This flight is all zero dosage offerings:

NV Drappier Champagne Brut Nature Dosage Zero. VM 91. Light yellow. Vibrant quince, orange zest and green apple aromas are complemented by smoky minerals and honeysuckle. Stony, sharply focused citrus and orchard fruit flavors show very good energy, turning juicier and deeper with air and picking up a melony quality and a hint of anise. Finishes on intense notes of dusty minerals and ginger, with very good clarity and persistence.

NV Drappier Champagne Brut Nature Zero Dosage Sans Ajout de Soufre. VM 89. The NV Brut Nature Pinot Noir Zero Dosage André et Michel Sans Ajout de Souffre is the same wine as the Brut Nature Pinot Noir Zero Dosage (although from different base vintages) vinified and aged with no sulfur. This is a relatively soft, caressing zero dosage Champagne with a relatively round, open core of candied, perfumed fruit. Tasting the two NV Brut Natures together it is hard to say with precision how much of the wines’ characters are due to the sulfur treatments versus the underlying vintages themselves. Sweet, earthy tones add a touch of complexity to a very Aube-like expression of Pinot.

NV Drappier Champagne Rose Brut Nature. VM 90. Pale orange. Mineral-accented red berries and citrus fruits on the nose, complemented by hints of candied rose and white pepper. Stony and precise, offering lively strawberry and orange zest flavors that expand slowly with air. Closes spicy, stony and tight, with very good clarity and floral persistence.

Chilled Shellfish.

Oyster with Ponzu.
Blue Crab with Green Apple & Avocado.

Maine Lobster with Creme Fraiche. Perfect with the rose! Really nice and meaty lobster.

Quinoa Salad, smoked almonds.

This flight is all blended Champagne with different grapes and styles:

NV Drappier Champagne Charles de Gaulle Brut. VM 91. Light yellow-gold. Potent, mineral-tinged Meyer lemon, pear and buttered toast aromas show very good clarity and a hint of anise. Sappy and focused on the palate, offering bitter pear skin and blood orange flavors that deepen and expand with air. Rich yet lithe Champagne with strong finishing cut, lift and stony persistence.

NV Drappier Champagne Blanc de Blancs “Signature”. VM 91. Pale gold. Candied lemon, lime pith and white flowers on the fragrant nose, with deeper orange and buttered toast qualities emerging with air. Juicy flavors of pear and Meyer lemon show impressive depth and cut, with a gingery nuance adding energy. Bright, focused and mineral-driven on the clinging finish, which leaves behind notes of honeysuckle and brioche.

NV Drappier Champagne Quattuor IV – Blanc de Quatre Blancs. VM 91. The NV Brut Blanc de Quatre Blancs Quattuor is laced with hazlenuts, almonds, orange peel and dried pears. There is an attractive, oxidative quality that mkes the the NV Quatre Blancs quite appealing. A gracious, crystalline finish adds considerable finesse and weightlessness in this expressive, layered Champagn., The wine keeps getting better and better with time in the glass, so some advance aeration is probably a good idea.

Cool knife.

Toasted Brioche.

Smoked Fish Plate. Tsar Cut Natural Salmon, Smoked Sturgeon, Cold Smoked Trout, Creme Fraiche.

Smoked Fish Plate, Tsar Cut Natural Salmon, Smoked Black Cod, Cold Smoked Trout, Creme Fraiche.

2006 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée. VM 92. Vivid yellow. Potent citrus pith, poached pear and floral scents are underscored by a smoky mineral quality and pick up a buttery nuance with air. Fleshy and dry on the palate, offering ripe orchard and citrus fruit flavors and a deeper suggestion of buttered toast. Shows very good energy and thrust on an extremely long finish of building florality and spiciness.

2008 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée. 91 points. Big bodied, lots of newly baked bread, yellow apples, slightly nutty, softish – yet decent acidity.

Caviar Egg Royale. Soft Scrambled Egg, Caviar, Chive. A purer version than the richer Melisse take (with creme fraiche). This tastes like omelet with caviar — lots of caviar.

Celery Root Soup, candied chestnuts, croutons, chives. Really nice veggie soup, very creamy.

NV Drappier Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 89. Dark orange-pink. Exotically perfumed scents of raspberry, pungent herbs, candied rose and smoky minerals. Fleshy and supple in texture, showing a floral accent to its red berry compote and tangerine flavors. Lush and broad but lively too, finishing with a hint of spiciness and good floral persistence.

2008 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée Rosé. JG 94. The 2008 Drappier “Grande Sendrée” Brut Rosé is composed of a blend of ninety percent pinot noir and ten percent chardonnay. The wine is produced using only first pressing juice, with the saignée method utilized with a three day maceration for the pinot noir, before the chardonnay is added. The 2008 was finished with a dosage of six grams per liter and was aged six years sur latte. The bouquet is outstanding, offering up a superb synthesis of delicacy and complexity in its constellation of wild strawberries, white cherries, wheat toast, dried rose petals, a lovely base of chalky soil and gentle smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, crisp and complex, with a fine core, elegant mousse, brisk acids and excellent focus and grip on the very, very long and youthfully zesty finish. Very refined juice that will only improve with further bottle age.

1996 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée Rosé. 92 points. Very full, rich, and vibrant… many years left on this great grower champagne and a historic year.

Beef Tartare. Prime Flat Iron Steak, Capers, shallots, chives, crostini. Very nice tartar.

Beet Tartare, red beets, crostini.

2002 Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut.

1995 Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut. VM 93. The 1995 Brut Carte d’Or, tasted from magnum, is gorgeous today. Light honey, smoke, dried pears, spices and toasted almonds are some of the many nuances found in this rich, textured wine. This magnum was disgorged in December 2008, which has allowed the wine to develop gorgeous tertiary complexity. The 1995 is in a gorgeous place. It can be enjoyed today, or cellared for another decade-plus, especially of readers want to experience more tertiary nuance. This big, broad-shouldered Champagne captures the essence of the Drappier style to the fullest.
Grilled Octopus. Beurre Blanc, Leek Fondue. Super tender.Truffles Risotto. Very mild and spring-like.

1990 Drappier Champagne Grande Sendrée. VM 93. The 1990 Brut Grande Sendrée shows the warmth of the vintage in its dried apricots, flowers and honey, with pretty suggestions of mint on the finish that add an element of freshness. Soft and enveloping throughout, the 1990 Grande Sendrée impresses for its overall balance, restraint and enveloping sense of harmony.

1989 Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut. 91 points.

Seared Foie Gras & Yellowfin Tuna. Ginger Ponzu, Cilantro, Sesame, Nori. Really nice combo of bright acidic fish (because of the ponzu) and the foie.

Yellowfin tuna, ginger ponzu, cilantro, sesame, nori.

1979 Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut. VM 87. Pale copper color. Mature, enticing aromas of meal, toffee, brioche and melted butter. Creamy, toasty and soft on the palate; completely resolved and best suited for near-term drinking. Lacks real grip and verve but offers lovely ripeness and good depth of flavor. A bottle of 1969 Carte d’Or Brut was well past its best days.

agavin: under rated, really very very good

1976 Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut. 92 points. Rather youthful, minty, ripe, honeyed nose – honey on a piece of rye bread. Very friendly and likeable.

1959 Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or Brut. 95 points. Super youthful. Very lively beautiful old moose. Long Carmelly finish.

Cheese from the Beverly Hills Cheese Shop. St Angel triple creme, cow’s milk. Le Secrete de Compostelle, raw sheep’s milk from Basque. Comte, 36-month aged raw cow’s milk from France.

The lineup.

And the water lineup.

Another stellar dinner from Liz and Sage Society! Very educational with Charline Drappier there and the way in which Liz has arranged the wines. Different flights explored different aspects of the Drappier style: like zero dosage, the broader blended style, or the more focused vintage styles. We wandered across the decades as well and the older vintage wines showed particularly well.

Plus Liz does an absolutely amazing job with the food pairings. There was plenty of food, and lots of different items, not the anemic 3-4 courses some people do with giant flights. Petrossian’s food was very good too. I’ll have to go back with a smaller group but it certainly won’t be this epic if I do!

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beverly Hills, Caviar, Champagne, Charline Drappier, Drappier, Liz Lee, Petrossian, Sage Society, Wine

Big Ride to Big Oaks

Jul05

Restaurant: Big Oaks Lodge

Location: 33101 Bouquet Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91390. (661) 296-5656

Date: June 3, 2017

Cuisine: Roadhouse

Rating: Terrible, but pretty location

After doing some seasonal cherry picking we took a deserted California road and ended up at this biker bar.

Like a set out of Sons of Anarchy ! This is barely a restaurant, but a total pub/roadhouse/biker bar with food. It’s apparently for sale too! The location is gorgeous in a Southern California Hills sort of way.

Lemon Slushy. Tasted like frozen Country Time.

Fries. Not too bad.

Italian Sausage and peppers with onion rings. The “sausage” was a desiccated and dry thing on an over toasted bun. The onion rings were lousy onion rings, but still half decent because how bad can onion rings get.

Hot dog. A picture is worth a 1000 words.

Tri tip sandwich. Barely qualifies for the label.

Cheese pizza. Straight outta the box and into the oven.

Pepperoni Pizza. Same.
BBQ Chicken Pizza. Did they actually have this as a boxed option or is it a modified cheese? Hard to tell.

Great location, and on this perfect SoCal day the breeze was great — food was what you expect. Odd that so many people were drinking. The idea of driving a motorcycle through those hills after a couple whiskies is more than a little terrifying.

Service was slow, but extremely friendly. Food came out at a glacial serial pace. Clearly the “pizza oven” can only handle one at a time.

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Big Oaks Lodge, Biker Bar, Roadhouse, Santa Clarita

Belle Vie

Jul03

Restaurant: Belle Vie

Location: 11916 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (424) 832-7375

Date: June 2, 2017

Cuisine: French

Rating: Cute French Bistro

French restaurants used to be everywhere, but in recent years they have faded more into the Los Angeles background.

Belle Vie seems to be a relatively new one, a neighborhood bistro up in the not-so-neighborhoodly area of mid Santa Monica.

The interior is cute with a large selection of mysterious black & white photos of a mustachioed gentleman.

The menu.

And specials on the chalkboard.

From my cellar: NV Drappier Champagne Rose Brut Nature. VM 90. Pale orange. Mineral-accented red berries and citrus fruits on the nose, complemented by hints of candied rose and white pepper. Stony and precise, offering lively strawberry and orange zest flavors that expand slowly with air. Closes spicy, stony and tight, with very good clarity and floral persistence.

Beef Burgundy Tacos. Beef Bourguignon on a corn tortilla, raw mushrooms, pickled carrots and onions, crispy bacon, spring onions and Dijon mustard. Interesting taco and very tasty.

Petit Mesclun. Mix green salad.

Special with asparagus, thyme, ricotta, hazelnut and croquant lemon.
Gratin de Coquillettes. French mac and cheese with truffle cream, Compte APO and bread crumbs. On the dryer side for M&C.

7 Hours Lamb Leg. Braised with garlic thyme and rosemary, served with spring vegetables, Harissa. Not bad. Very tender and a good bit of flavor.

FFF (Fresh French Fries). 100% homemade with Kennebec potatoes, fried with beef tallow, seasoned with parsley, garlic and Porcinni mushrooms. Too thick for my taste. I prefer the classic thin French Fries.

Overall Belle Vie was okay. Nice in that it modernized bistro food a bit, a little medium in that execution wasn’t perfect and no dishes stood out as amazing. Some were good, and some just okay.

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Belle Vie, French Cuisine

Tallulas – Segundo Mexicano

Jul01

Restaurant: Tallulah’s

Location: 118 Entrada Dr, Santa Monica, CA 90402. (310) 526-0027

Date: May 28 & September 9, 2017

Cuisine: Contemporary Mexican

Rating: Tasty flavors, tiny portions, awkward service

Tallulah’s is a new “updated” Mexican spot in the same location as the old Marix – a kid oriented old school Mexican joint. I had high hopes as the new place is run by the group that brings us Rustic Canyon, Cassia, Sweet Rose, Milo & Olive, and Huckleberry.

They haven’t changed much since the Marix days except for opening the windows and getting rid of the koi pond in the middle. The building is a bit odd anyway as on the exterior it is Japanese (must have been a Japanese restaurant in the 80s or something) but rustic and beach like in the middle. The space was loud before and somehow even louder.

The bar has been repainted and switched over from old school Margarita’s to “mixologist” cocktails.

Strawberry Margarita. Tapatio Blanco Tequila, Fresh Lime, Strawberry Puree, Agave. This was an insipid and totally awful take on a non-frozen Strawberry Margarita. It just tasted like mild strawberry water. It was so disappointing I went out to the store afterward and bought ingredients to make a proper Strawberry Margarita the new day for Memorial Day.

Paloma. Tapatio Blanco Tequila, Aperol, Housemade Grapefruit Syrup, Steigl Grapefruit Raddler, Peychauds Bitters. Much better than the Margarita, but very light. Tasted like grapefruit soda and I finished it in about 2 seconds.

A Cadillac margarita (9/17). Pretty good, but at least $18 (might have been more).

(9/17) A smokey slushy drink that was pretty tasty too.

The menu. One of those menus were I had absolutely no idea what would actually come for anything I ordered. Yeah I saw the ingredients but I had no way to imagine how they were prepped. Things were even more different (and smaller) than I expected.

chile fundido. panela & oaxaca cheeses, blue corn tortillas. $12. I basically wanted chili con queso. This tiny dish had some cheese in it, but I hadn’t expected it to be fundamentally “red” (tomato? pepper?). It was fine, but as I expected, not what I expected.

Nachos “sencillo” (9/17). The “other” cheese snack, very similar to the first one, but with fried chips. Neither is actually as good as a great chili con queso.

Guacamole, salsa, & chips. Pretty good quac, but you do have to pay $11 for it.

Grilled baja halibut tacos. mexican sauerkraut. malt aioli, epazote. I don’t normally complain about prices, but this was $18! Lol. And where is the halibut? They tasted fine, like nice coleslaw tacos.

mexican white shrimp. rancho gordo hominy polenta, anahein chile, leek, salsa de madre. Shrimp and grits! Again not exactly what I expected. I thought maybe bigger prawns. I think there were 3 regular cocktail shrimp in here for $18. Decently tasty but swamped out by the grits.

duck cilaquiles. duck confit, cracklings, beans, queso fresco & jack, sauce colorado and organic egg. $19! Mostly it was chips soaked in a duck ragu. It was the best dish, and quite tasty, but so chip heavy it felt like eating matza brie.
arroz poblano. Green rice, spring vegetables, saffron aioli. $17. A sort of green light risotto. Not creamy at all (not that it needed to be, but to distinguish it from real risotto). Not bad, but kinda pricey for rice.

Organic turkey enchiladas (9/17). black recado sauce, quinoa, shaved cabbage, cotija. Pretty good enchiladas, entirely because of the sauce (which was a bit like a mole). Not sure the quinoa added.

Monterey squid (9/17). spicy eggplant, kohlrabi, peaches, purple basil.

Grassfed hanger steak carne asada (9/17). shaved onion, padron peppers, chipotle, tortillas. Tasty meat with a bit of a kick. $33 though.

Dessert menu.

Vanilla rum flan (9/17). poached pears. Solid flan.

Service was pretty lousy on my first visit. They are a brand new restaurant, and having done it, I know organizing good service is hard. But they are a very experienced group. We were seated fairly quickly (in the bar) but they took 20-30 minutes to come by. Then took only the drink order. That took another 20+ minutes to come. Had to almost grab their hand to put int he food order. That came quickly, but all brought by different people. Hard to find the server. Mandatory 19% auto-grat.

Drinks need serious work. Bartenders are very slow. There were several of them and both my drink orders took more than 20 minutes each.

On my second visit drink service was much swifter, although they still took a mysteriously long time between taking the drink order (and bringing them) and taking our food order. The waiter himself was absent for a good stretch. Once we ordered it came fast.

Food was fairly tasty but portions were way smaller than I expected using the price as a guide. Good thing I always over order. Menu needs a serious rewrite because without even the slightest suggestion of prep method you can’t imagine what you are going to get. Also, like many of the restaurants in this group, there is nothing even vaguely kid focused. The flavor combinations are such that most kids wouldn’t touch a thing on here — yet the basic concept, the previous restaurant, and the location are all highly child focused. So parents will bring them (saw it in action) and be disappointed. Of course, as I know from experience, they probably don’t want kids because their cover average is so much lower. sigh. But I’d have to see the cheese quesadilla from their kids menu to know if it was plain enough that I could come here with mine.

Only way to park is $9 valet.

I’ll try it again, as it’s close and this is a very good group and they just opened, but management needs to tune things up even more, and I’d like some more things on the menu without tortilla, and some playful takes on favorites (like a real chili con queso).

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