Archive for bbq – Page 2

Park’s Finest BBQ

Nov04

Restaurant: Park’s Finest BBQ

Location: 1267 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026. (213) 481-2800

Date: October 13, 2015

Cuisine: Filipino BBQ

Rating: Rich & tasty

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Park’s Finest BBQ is a sort of Filipino / American BBQ hybrid located over in the North corner of Downtown.

The location isn’t much to look at, nor is the back of the building which literally abuts on the 101 freeway!

The menu.

Elote. Corn off the cob served with mayo, freshly grated parmesean cheese, topped with cayenne pepper. Delicious stuff. The cheese knocked up the corn.

Ann’s Cornbread Bibingka. A special take on cornbread – cornmeal is combined with rice flour, baked on a banana leaf bringing elements of a traditional filipino dessert. Wow was this tasty! Like cornbread with a bit of a sugar glaze.


Mt. Taal chicken. seasoned and smoke-roasted chicken. Pretty straight up.

Beef tri tip. tender season-crusted sirloin beef, cut deli thin and paired with home made horseradish sauce. Good, and lean as it goes for today’s fare.

Mt. Mayon hot link medley. smoked, sliced spicy sausages with sweet filipino longanisa. Awesomely tender, flavorful, and fatty.

Mt. Malindang pork ribs & riblets. seasoned, slow-smoked st. louis pork ribs and rib tips. Rich, fatty, and very smoky tasting.

Mama Leah’s coconut beef. smoked chuck roll, cubed, and stewed in a coconut cream. Awesome creamy beef — a must over rice.

Steamed white rice. a warm bowl of long grain jasmine rice.

Coconut banana leaf flan. Incredibly soft, rich, and delicious flan.

This wasn’t light fare by any means, but it sure was tasty. Definitely some of the most flavorful BBQ I’ve had in LA.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Holy Cow!
  2. Eastern Promises – BBQ Joint
  3. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  4. Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc
  5. Adventures in Street Food
By: agavin
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More Meat at Totoraku

Oct16

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

Location: 10610 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Date: October 14, 2015

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

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About twice a year my Hedonist group makes a regular pilgrimage to Totoraku, LA’s “secret beef” restaurant.  Toto (as its affectionately known) serves a refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

We often oscillate between 30 person mega dinners — quite the madness — and more intimate 10-15 person affairs. This was the later, with about 10-12 drinkers, and I much prefer this size. You can talk to everyone, bottles go all the way around, and the quality of the wines is generally more consistently higher.

The outside is basically a shell. The “Teriyaki House” has nothing to do with the food within, and the phone number is incorrect. The place is like a beef speakeasy!

The interior is a tad “minimalist.”


Here, chef Kaz Oyama, himself a part time Hedonist, sharpens his knives. Uh oh!

Bonus from my cellar: NV Vilmart & Cie Champagne Grand Cellier Brut. VM 92. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint, crushed rocks and almonds are some of the notes that meld together in the NV Cuvée Grand Cellier. The flavors are brisk, nuanced and pure in this refreshing, saline-inflected Champagne. Chardonnay plays the leading role in the Grand Cellier, and that comes through in the bright flavor profile. This release is 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, 50% vintage 2010 and 25% each 2011 and 2012.

The appetizer plate. Lots of yummy little tidbits.

Uni risotto balls.

Salmon wrapped in daikon, stuffed with avocado and other vegetables.

A very soft gelatinous thing that probably had some crab in it, certainly veggies.

Fish with tomatoes.

2005 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard. VM 95. It’s interesting to taste the 2005 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard next to the Lauren. Here the flavors are quite a bit more mineral-driven, with plenty of graphite and crushed notes. Hints of orange peel and white truffles add the final layers of nuance. The 2005 Ritchie is a bit more forward than the Lauren, and has also aged with a bit less overall finesse, but that is a pretty small critique at this level.

Egg with pear, potato, and some kind of crisp.

Foie gras, some kind of fruit.

A white fish sashimi.

Shrimp with caviar.

Sesame tofu with pea.

Scott brought: 1977 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia Vino da Tavola. 91 points. I’ve never had a Sassicaia this old and at first it was a touch thin, but it really opened up and was quiet nice and interesting.

Beef carpaccio with special salt, flowers, and some onion family derivative. Very yummy. This is eaten raw.

1988 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia Vino da Tavola. 90 points. Perfectly matured yet fresh Cab nose, lovely red fruits, mineral, also cassis, lead pencil, strong presence of iron which is different than the last bottle, a hint of ash and tar and flower. Medium concentration, silky palate, strong presence of iron/mineral, nicely integrated tannins and seamless long finish. Other than a hint of tar, I would guess it as a perfectly mature classic cab if served blind. Lovely.

agavin: consensus at our dinner was that the 77 was a bit better than the 88

Two kinds of beef sashimi, eaten nearly raw. On the left beef tataki (rib eye) and on the right (in the cup) beef throat sashimi. Also on the plate is a bit of Korean style hot sauce (the red stuff), some intensely strong garlic (yum) and micro julienned ginger.

The throat was very chewy, more about texture. The rib eye soft and more flavorful. All went well with the garlic and ginger — I particularly liked the garlic.

From my cellar: 1986 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 100! The late Michel Delon always thought that this was the greatest vintage he had produced. We often tasted it side by side with the 1982, because I always preferred the latter vintage. Of course, the two vintages are quite different in style, with the 1986 a monument to classicism, with great tannin, extraordinary delineation, and a huge, full-bodied nose of sweet, ripe cassis fruit intermixed with vanilla, melon, fruitcake, and a multitude of spices. The wine has always been phenomenally concentrated, yet wonderfully fresh and vigorous. The wine still seems young, yet it is hard to believe it is not close to full maturity. It is a great example of Leoville Las Cases, and another compelling reason to take a serious look at the top Cabernet Sauvignon-based Medocs of 1986. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2035.

agavin: really fabulous. Super smooth and balanced, mature with a youthful power. Long way to go here.

A raw beef dish. Marinated raw beef is seen here with ginger, raw egg, cucumber, daikon, pine nuts, and something orange. Apparently, this is a Korean dish called Yukhoe. Actually, I’ve had it at Korean places, but in any case it’s delicious.

The elements are mixed together and then eaten. It’s hard to describe why it’s so good, but it is, with a very complex flavor and texture interplay.

The tabletop grill we cook the rest of the dishes on.

Mark brought: 2000 Vega Sicilia Unico. Parker 93-98. In the absence of a 2001 Unico, Vega Sicilia has re-released the 2000 Unico which I reviewed in Issue 189. The 2000 Unico is deep crimson-colored with an ethereal perfume aided by its extended upbringing. Aromas of Asian spices, lavender, incense, truffle, and confiture of black fruits are compelling. Sweet, forward, rich, and hedonistic, it nevertheless has the balance and structure to continue evolving for another 5-10 years. In strong vintages Vega Sicilia drinks well at age 50 and I would expect the same of the 2000.

Beef tongue with salt. After cooking, you dip it in lemon juice.

Don’t put your tongue on the grill!

Larry brought: 2001 Penfolds Grange. Parker 98+. It is always a treat to taste Australia’s most famous wine, Penfolds’ Grange cuvee (the word Hermitage has been dropped because of legal issues). The 2001 Grange is one of the few vintages of this cuvee to be composed of 100% Shiraz (the others being 1951, 1952, 1963, 1999, and 2000). Aged 17 months in 100% American oak, and tipping the scales at 14.5% alcohol, the 2001 is undeniably one of the top examples of this wine. At this stage, it appears to eclipse the 1998 and 1996. Inky/blue/purple to the rim, with a stunning perfume of blueberries, blackberries, chocolate, graphite, and earth, it boasts good acidity, huge tannins, magnificent concentration, and a multilayered, textured mouthfeel. It is a big, but impeccably well-balanced Shiraz that should shed some of its structure and tannin over the next 4-5 years, and be at its best between 2010-2030+.

agavin: regarded by most at our dinner as the WOTN!

Filet Mignon with bell peppers, onions, and sisho pepper.

Filet on the grill.

2008 Penfolds Grange. Parker 100! Very deep garnet-purple in color the 2008 Grange reveals a truly decadent nose with tons of spices, fruit cake and black & blue fruit compote notes along with nuances of chocolate and potpourri. The full and rich, multi-layered palate has a little oak still showing, it is going through a little bit of a structural stand-out stage, but it doesn’t detract on the long and complex finish. It still needs a good few years to develop, though this very opulent, expressive Grange shows the very best of this vintage and the vineyards it hails from.

The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon. The vegetables do help to move along the fat and protein heavy meat.

They are served with this spicy sweet miso dip.

Momotaro tomatoes with a vinaigrette. These are supposedly incredibly good tomatoes, as a hater, I didn’t try them. I think Oyama-san gets them from some special place in Orange Country.

Brock brought for Crystal: 2007 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero. VM 96+. Vietti’s 2007 Barolo Riserva Villero is a flat out stunner. Dark red fruit, Villero spices, leather, tobacco, smoke and menthol come alive in a rich, sensual Barolo that captures the essence of this site. Rose petals, mint and sweet red berries flesh out on an inviting wine loaded with class and personality. Over time, the powerful, explosive style of the year becomes more evident. The fruit turns darker, more balsamic and also more intensely mineral.

agavin: too young, but you can tell it was an enormous and balanced wine.

Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.

The outside rib eye on the grill.

After being flipped, green onion is added.

Yarom brought: 2001 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard. Parker 98. Having performed spectacularly well last year in the retrospective of ten-year old Napa Cabernets, this 2001 remains incredibly young, with all of its potential waiting to burst forth. Its dense purple color is followed by notes of mulberries, creme de cassis, blackberries, licorice, graphite and subtle smoke. The wine reveals fabulous fruit along with full-bodied power and a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, alcohol and wood. Forget it for another 4-5 years and drink it over the following 25-30 years.

agavin: really nice “for a California.” Very balanced and smooth.


Inside rib eye.

The inside rib eye on the grill. Probably my favorite cut.

Another bonus from my cellar: 2010 Dominique Lafon Meursault. 92 points. The 2010 Meursault emerges from the glass with notable elegance and class. This is a slightly more restrained, nervous style than fans of Comtes Lafon have become used to over the years. The 2010 is made from parcels in Petit Montagne, Charmes and Narvaux that belong to Dominique Lafon and that were once used in the Comtes Lafon Meursault.

As any regular Totoraku goer knows, any new dish is a big deal here, as the menu is very consistent. This is one of TWO new specials chef Kaz whipped up for us tonight, Sawara, a kind of Spanish Mackerel. It is considered the best kind of Mackerel in Japan. Not only it is a big variety, but its comparatively white flesh is succulent in almost any kind of cooking! Here we have it miso marinated and raw. We lightly seared it on the grill and enjoyed!

Awesome and very rich! One hell of a piece of grilled fish.

Kirk brought: 2002 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch. Parker 100! The 2002 Madrona Ranch possesses an opaque blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, enveloping, massive aromatic profile consisting of spring flowers, charcoal, lead pencil shavings, blueberries, raspberries and blackberry liqueur. In the mouth, there is sensational texture, full-bodied intensity, and terrific freshness, precision and vibrancy, despite what is undeniably a massive, rich, intense wine that should age well for another 25-35 years. The 2001s were about as profound as I have ever tasted from Abreu, but the 2002s may be even sexier since they are slightly more evolved.

“Special” beef. I think it was a form of sirloin. It was certainly good, very salted.

Grilling.

Brock brought: 2003 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 95-98. The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin is a blend of 40% Mourvedre, 40% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and 10% Counoise (normally this cuvee includes 60% Mourvedre and 20% Grenache). A 50-year effort, it is closed, backward, and formidably tannic at present, but the color is a deep ruby/blue/purple, and the nose offers up scents of graphite, blueberries, black truffles, earth, smoke, and licorice. Ripe, full-bodied, and powerful, but searingly tannic, it will need at least a decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050. The irony is that in spite of the much higher percentage of Grenache, it is still extremely tannic and backward, even more so than the 2001, 2000, 1999, or 1998.

You have to special order the lamb, which like all of Kaz’s meats, is pretty wonderful.

On the grill.

One hell of a chop.

We char broiled it.

So much so that ash rained down from our efforts.

Brian brought: 2012 Sine Qua Non Grenache Stein. Parker 97-66. Starting with the Grenache release, the 2012 Grenache Stein is a blend of 76% Grenache, 16% Syrah and 8% Mourvedre, aged in 14% new French oak (15% was in concrete), that comes mostly from the estate’s Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, but also includes grapes from the Cumulus, Third Twin (Syrah) and Bien Nacido vineyards. Checking in at 15.7% alcohol, it’s no lightweight, yet it has considerable elegance in its sweet blackcurrants, white pepper, licorice, baking spices and hints of violet-like aromas and flavors. Possessing the hallmark purity of the estate, it’s full-bodied, concentrated, rich and textured, with sweet tannin barely noticeable on the finish. I don’t think it’s one of the greatest Grenaches from the estate, yet it’s still an incredible effort that will benefit from short-term cellaring and have 15-20 years or more of overall longevity.


Skirt steak.

On the grill.


Toto serves homemade ice creams and sorbets as dessert.


So chaotic was this giant night that they brought out all five flavors on each  plate and just placed them about the tables. I like the ice creams better than the sorbets here. The white chocolate was fantastic. Still, it’s all great.

To show the epic white chocolate raspberry, I had to turn around the plate.

This place is all about the beef, which is arguably some of the best I’ve ever had. Certainly the best yakiniku/Korean BBQ I’ve ever had. There is a perfect tenderness to every cut that’s fairly transcendant. I’m not even that much of a steak fan — but I’d take this stuff any time over even a spectacular cut from Mastros or Cut. The food here does not vary much from visit to visit. There is no menu. The quality however is utterly consistant. So while it isn’t an everyday sort of dining experience, perhaps once every 6-9 months, I love to return for my fix.

This evening was quite awesome. We had a smaller party (12-15), with a few non drinkers. Thus every wine easily made it all the way around. Additionally, everyone really stepped up and we had some pretty epic grapes. At least 3 official Parker 100s!

More crazy Hedonist adventures or

LA dining reviews click here.


Related posts:

  1. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  2. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  3. Totally Totoraku
  4. Epic Hedonism at Totoraku
  5. Totoraku – Secret Beef!
By: agavin
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Barrel & Ashes – BBQ Go Big

Mar20

Restaurant: Barrel & Ashes

Location: 11801 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604. (818) 623-8883

Date: March 16, 2015

Cuisine: American BBQ

Rating: Amazing Meats

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My Hedonist group will eat anything — well anything good. It can be fancy or casual, but there’s (almost) always wine.


Barrel and Ashes is a collaboration between restaurateur Bill Chait, Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, Chef Rory Hermann and mixologist Julian Cox riffing on the classical pairing of bourbon and barbecue.

The menu focuses on family style service with daily specials from both executive chefs Timothy and Rory, and Chef de Cuisine, Michael Kahikina.


Barrel and Ashes features picnic style seating on the front patio, communal and traditional seating inside, and additional seating on the rear patio that showcases a Texas style food trailer.


The menu.


2005 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Coeur de Cuvée. Vinous 93. Bright yellow. Sexy, smoke-tinged aromas of ripe citrus fruits, poached pear and candied ginger. Spicy, penetrating and pure, offering intense Meyer lemon and bitter pear skin flavors plus hints of honeysuckle and chamomile. Shows impressive urgency and focus on the finish, with the floral note echoing.

agavin: awesome champy


Pear & Endive Salad. Goat Cheese, Walnut, Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette.


2010 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc. VM 94. Pale straw-yellow. Lemon, chamomile, vanilla, ginger and a faint lactic nuance on the restrained, minerally nose. Pliant and sweet in the mouth, offering good concentration and fat to the vinous lemon, guava and grapefruit flavors. Very minerally on the long finish, showing lingering notes of peach, vanilla and coconut. This should age splendidly and will probably be at its best between 2020 and 2035.

agavin: Dave had opened this a couple days before to get it to open up. Quite nice with a lot of minerality.


Caesar Salad. Tuscan Kale, Romaine, Crouton. A nice cheesy salad.


From my cellar: 1998 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée. Parker 95. The 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve showed the warmth and richness of the vintage, with knockout kirsch and blackberry fruit, garrigue, game and leather aromas and flavors that literally come jumping from the glass. Full-bodied, rich, textured and beautifully focused, if not still structured, it’s a rock-star to drink through 2020 or so.


Frito pie. Fritos smothered in chili, beans, cheese, sour cream etc.

agavin: This is oh so easy to digest! (but tasty)


1994 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Tinto Pesquera Reserva Especial. 93 points. Fabulous, mature tempranillo from a top estate in Ribero. This was packed with red cherry flavours, gentle tannins and perfect acidic balance.


Spicy Pork rinds. Malt Vinegar Mayonnaise.

agavin: actually, some of the best pork rinds I’ve had.


2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 98-99. Still a young wine at age 12, the 2001 Insignia exhibits a dense purple color along with a sweet bouquet of camphor, blackberries, cassis, incense and spring flowers. Full-bodied, rich and heady with sweet tannin, stunning concentration and a fabulous finish, this remarkable Insignia has 25 or more years of life ahead of it.


Smoked Chicken Wings. Shaved vegetables, blue cheese sauce.

agavin: really great wings, although hardly good wine pairing with that blue cheese sauce!


Grilled Blue Prawns. Chili, cilantro, lime.

agavin: These were actually a freebee, given to us at the end of the dinner, but properly they are an appetizer.


Boning it again.


2006 Booker Vineyard Fracture. Parker 91. The 2006 Fracture is the most backward of the 2006s, yet it is well-endowed, muscular, and dense as well as promising. Forget it for several years, and drink it over the next decade.


Mary’s Free Range Chicken.

agavin: soft and tender.


2005 Saxum Rocket Block James Berry Vineyard. Parker 96. Another superb southern Rhone-like blend (Chateauneuf du Pape-like actually) that comes from a single block of James Berry Vineyard, the 2005 Rocket Block James Berry Vineyard offers off-the-hook levels of sweet blackcurrants, black raspberries, exotic spices, crushed flowers and hints of incense on the nose. Full-bodied, super-concentrated and sweetly fruited, with a voluptuous and rounded texture, this beauty is drinking perfectly now, and should continue to thrill for another 4-5 years.


Sausage – Electric City Butchers. O.G. and Jalapeno cheddar.

agavin: the cheesy ones were insane!


2004 Alban Vineyards Pandora. Parker 96-97. The 2004 Pandora (80% Grenache and 20% Syrah), is deeper in color and completely opaque. Slightly more voluptuous and rich, with the Syrah giving some heft to the mid-palate, it offers up layers of black raspberry, black currants, cured meats, iodine and crushed rock-like minerality on the nose. This flows to a full-bodied, beautifully textured and seamless wine that has no hard edges, thrilling richness and a blockbuster finish. Gaining a tad more richness with time in the glass, it still has only hints of maturity and has a long life ahead of it. Enjoy bottles anytime over the coming decade (or more).


Spare Ribs – Salmon Creek Farms.

agavin: really great tender ribs with lots of flavor.


2006 Pax Cellars Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard. Parker 91. From a cool Green Valley site, the deep ruby/purple-tinged 2006 Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard exhibits hints of lard, blackberries, asphalt, and smoke, medium to full body, sweet tannin, and a spicy finish. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.


Pork Short Rib. Heritage Berkshire Pork.

agavin: a table favorite, totally fell off the bone.



2004 Hundred Acre Vineyard Shiraz Summer’s Block Ancient Way. VM 92. Dark ruby. Deeply pitched aromas of cassis, dried cherry and singed plum, with a smoky overtone and a suggestion of cured tobacco. Lush, sweet and smoky on the palate, offering superripe dark fruit flavors with suggestions of cola, chewing tobacco and mocha. Extremely rich and verging on thick, in the style of this bottling, but showing surprising vivacity, especially at a decade of age. A peppery note adds lift and bite to the long, smoky, gently tannic finish.


Brisket – Greater Omaha C.A.B.

agavin: the #1 favorite at the table. Hands down the best brisket I’ve had. If only I knew how to make it like this at home!



2007 Sine Qua Non Grenache Pictures. VM 95. Deep, bright ruby. Wild aromas of black raspberry compote, mocha, Asian spices and incense. Expansive and deeply concentrated, with obvious sweetness to its very intense red fruit, floral and spicecake flavors. Shows real spine and outstanding finesse for a rich wine. Finishes vibrant and extremely long, with great spicy perfume.

Parker 97. 2007 Pictures Grenache: A blend of 87% Grenache, 11.5% Syrah, and 1.5% Viognier, this wine has wonderful floral notes intermixed with black raspberries, black cherries, licorice, graphite and some camphor. In the mouth, more white chocolate notes appear, along with meatiness and some silky tannins. Its great purity, density and richness make me think this wine could even improve a few points and flirt with perfection. This stunning wine should drink nicely for another 10-15 years.


Miner’s Potatoes.

agavin: I’m not that into this kind of potato.


Coleslaw.

agavin: nice to have some “greens.” haha


Hoe Cake.

agavin: insanely good too, like cornbread deep fried in butter.


Shells and Cheese.

agavin: mac and cheese, but a good one.


Pork n’ Beans.

agavin: I love baked beans, even if they don’t love me, and this was a fabulous one with tones of bacony pork.


Hush Puppies.

agavin: not bad for fried corn balls.


Braised Greens.

agavin: I skipped this. Too healthy!


Turtle Ice Cream Cake. Pecans, Salted Caramel, Chocolate.


With the caramel. Awesome stuff. Nice textural play between the cold, warm, crunchy, and soft.


Cobbler. Spiced apples, Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

agavin: great apple cobbler.


Banana Pudding. Toasted meringue and ‘nilla wafers.

agavin: I don’t like bananas but this had a nice texture and slightly “spicy” (nutmeg?) flavor.


Lemon Pudding Cake. Thyme, White Chocolate.

agavin: yum.


Barrel & Ashes was some pretty awesome BBQ. First of all, we sat outside on this lovely warm night. Second, the service was first rate. As usual, they weren’t really equipped to deal with our kind of group (not very many wine glasses etc), but they really went out of their way to pull it off. The pacing started out great with slow apps, then we got all the entrees in one giant wave. Our fault, as we didn’t specify. Next time we need to stage out the entrees two at a time or something to give us more runway on the wine. Didn’t matter though, because it was awesome fun and totally delicious.

The meats and sides were pretty off the chart delicious — particularly the meats. The brisket, links, pork short rib. Wow!

The giant wines worked for once too 🙂

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

The back seat of Dr. Dave’s car as he pulled up — ready to go obviously!

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka
  2. Thanksgiving – The Prequel
  3. Luminous Lechon Pigout!
  4. Newport goes Westside
  5. Gwang Yang – Beeftastic
By: agavin
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Holy Cow!

Mar16

Restaurant: Holy Cow

Location: 264 26th Street. Santa Monica, CA 90402. 310-883-6COW

Date: November 24 and December 1, 2014

Cuisine: American BBQ

Rating: Great meats

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I’m always excited about anything new this close to my house (15 minutes), and seeing as we have absolutely no good BBQ closer than maybe Culver City, the opening of an up-to-date smoked meat place at the Brentwood Country Mart is great news.


The frontage is right next to The Little Door and across from Sweet Rose.


The interior is fast casual, you order at the counter. While I hate that for dinner places, I’m a big fan for lunch joints like this that one might tend to visit alone.


The menu.


I ordered a three meat combo.


BBQ Brisket. Dense, but tender. Delicious with the sauces too.


Pulled pork. This is where it’s really at. Great stuff, with a soft texture and nice smokey flavor.


Hot links. Spicy porky fatty goodness. Can’t complain.


Tri tip. Tasty and tender. I have mixed opinion about those fatty bits at the end, but hey, that’s just me.


THE HOG. Smoked pulled pork, Carolina sauce, slaw, crispy onion, B&B pickles, brioche bun. Pretty superb sandwich. Like a great slight update to the Carolina classic.


Mac & Cheese. Vermont white & yellow cheddar, munster, gruyere, béchamel. This was okay, but could have been more intensely cheesy.


Fried cornbread. This was the only disappointing dish I ordered. Basically these are hushpuppies. They had a chewy texture but didn’t give me that soft cornbread goodness that I was looking for.

Overall, this was some great BBQ. I’ll have to return and try more stuff, like the baby back ribs! BBQ is all about the meat and the main meats were all fabulous. Very modern presentation and nice selection of sauces and pickles. It all reminds me of The BBQ Joint in Easton MD, which is only a good thing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eastern Promises – BBQ Joint
  2. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  3. Zengo 2 – part deux
  4. Cheesy Pork Cutlet
  5. Ford’s Filling Station
By: agavin
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Eastern Promises – BBQ Joint

Jul15

Restaurant: BBQ Joint

Location: 216 East Dover Street, Suite 201. Easton, MD 21601. 410-690-3641

Date: May 24, 2014

Cuisine: BBQ

Rating: Some of the best BBQ I’ve had

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The Eastern Shore of Maryland is usually considered a seafood zone, being known for its awesome blue crab, but local residents don’t turn their nose at any Southern American favorites.


Located in quaint old Easton.


The menu.


The house made sauces (mostly a choice of sweet or spicy).


Sawdust floors.


Some sides, like applesauce, mac & cheese, and cornbread.


A pulled chicken sandwich and collard greens.


Salad. I like the “paper” plate.


This side plate has a roll and slaw.


Part of our BBQ sampler. featuring ribs (wet), BBQ chicken, chopped beef brisket, and pulled pork.


A pulled pork sandwich (front right). The pulled pork is a Carolina style. In the back are ribs “dry” and in the front baked beans (with pork of course).

The BBQ joint is as described, pretty straight up BBQ, but wow, was it tasty. This was some darn good smoked meat!

For more Washington dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eastern Promises – Brightwell
  2. Eastern Promises – Holly’s
  3. Eastern Promises – Azeen’s Afghani
  4. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  5. Western Smoke House Meats
By: agavin
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Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc

Mar26

Restaurant: Hoa Tuc

Location: 74/7 Hai Ba Trung, Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Date: March 22, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Fresh flavors

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For our first real dinner in Vietnam a friend of ours sent us down the street to this upscale Vietnamese place (imagine that — in Vietnam no less!). Although, actually, there does appear to be a wide variety of Japanese, Chinese, and other cuisines in Ho Chi Minh City.


The interior is nice and there is a lovely patio outside for those willing to brave the 80 something evening.







The menus here seem to be gigantic.


Shrimp chips take the place of bread on the table.


And in true Vietnamese form every dish comes with its own sauce. Left peanut, top tamarind (with chili), right sweet, fish chili, on the bottom salt and lime.


Fresh spring rolls with pork and white rice noodle. In America, we’d call these Saigon spring rolls. Well, how apropos. Here they are delicious. An immunologist I know told me to stay away from any leafy washed vegetables — but since that would meaning eating only Pho, we throw caution to the wind and enjoy these delicious puppies (with the peanut sauce).


Fresh homemade tofu pan fried in light batter with mint, chili, and lime. Very light and fluffy.


RYO – char grilled beef in betel leaves with white noodles and rice paper. A bit of each of the wild collection of greens, some noodles, and one of the beef rolls are all assembled in a sheet of rice paper, rolled, and dipped in the fish sauce. In that pile are baby banana slices, star anise, mint, basil, cucumber and more. The combo tastes great. Very fresh and bright.


Mini rice and coconut pancakes with shrimp and spring onions. Another pile of greens! Also very soft and interesting flavors.


BBQ sea bass with avocado mango salsa. A nice light fish.


Chicken wings in a sweet chili sauce. Yummy, like Vietnamese fried chicken.


Braised duck leg in mandarin zest and ginger sauce. Tasty, but a little hard to saw the meat off the bone.


Prawns fried in “green rice” with passionfruit dipping sauce. The green rice turned out to be puffed rice, much like rice crispies!


Passion fruit custard. Yum!

Red bean and black sesame rice balls. Very asian, warm and sticky.


Banana fritter with vanilla ice cream.

Overall, a tasty meal full of bright delicious flavors.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Little Saigon
  2. Taking back Little Saigon
  3. Good Morning Vietnam
  4. Quick Eats: Chan Dara
  5. Red Medicine is the Cure
By: agavin
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Seoul Sausage Kingdom

Sep16

Restaurant: Seoul Sausage Co.

Location: 11313 Mississippi Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90025. (310) 477-7739

Date: September 20, 2013

Cuisine: Korean… sorta

Rating: Tasty!

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LA is a funny kind of foodie town, being divided into both wildly experimental cuisine, classic ethnic, and a not-so-in-the-closet love affair with fast food. And let’s not forget Asian fusion. One of the current trends seems to be updating classic American fast foods with crazy cross-cultural insertions. This is nowhere more obvious than in the rash of new gourmet food trucks that offer things like “kalbi tacos” and “Thai shrimp burgers.”


Seoul Sausage Co. has a storefront, but it’s very much in this vein, offering up a tiny menu of fat and flavor driven Korean/American hybrid dishes.


This is a tiny place affording only counter service.


The short little menu.


Some of the rice balls waiting to be re-heated.


The sandwich makes for easy take-away.


Kalbi Sausage. Handmade Korean BBQ beef sausage w/ garpic jalapeno aioli and kimchi relish. This was a pretty delicious “hot dog.” The sausage was succulent and flavorful and the aioli added a nice brightness.


A pair of balls and their sauce. These balls are like vaguely Asian Arincini (a similar Italian food consisting of deep fried rice balls — it may even date from the Roman Empire!).


On the left, the Lil’ Osaka Ball. Japanese curry rice ball w/ ground kalbi and potatoes served w/ shoga siracha mayo.

On the right, Flaming Ball. Cheesy kimchi fried rice w/ spicy pork served w/ DMZ sauce (garlic jalepeno kimchi siracha aioli).

Neither was actually hot (by my standards). Both were tasty,  a bit mild, and I liked the Osaka Ball better (it tasted like Japanese brown curry).


Next door is Blockheads, a shaved ice joint.


I experimented with this classic sweet ice (shaved frozen sweetened condensed milk) and chocolate, almonds, and brownies. I should have gone with Mango or some other fruit version.

Sawtelle has morphed in recent years into a rather excellent lunch destination, offering up a bevy of yummy (and quick) eats. There is a lot of traditional Japanese and Korean, plus these newer more experimental places.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

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  5. A-Frame – Ultimate Picnic Food
By: agavin
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Hedonists Cook the Goose

Dec19

Restaurant: Sham Tseng BBQ

Location: 203 West Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA. 626-289-4858

Date: December 17, 2012

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Awesome goose!

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It’s time for the next Hedonist adventure, this time out into the San Gabriel Valley for some really serious Cantonese.


The interior is typical of Inland Empire Chinese restaurants.


We had a private room and (for a Chinese restaurant) excellent service.


The menu. Haha. You can find one in English here.


Parker 90. “This 100% Semillon made from relatively young vines in the Haut-Brion vineyard is crisp, steely, with plenty of grapefruit, lemon zest, and white currants in a medium-bodied, fresh, lively style.” Very youthful for a 15 year-old white, it had plenty of mineralogy and floral components.


These peppers were on the table in case things grew too bland.


The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.


c

A bonus wine from my cellar, “Incorporating fruit principally from Wehlener Nonnenberg, Graacher Himmelreich, and Bernkasteler Johannisbrunnchen, the generic Prum 2010 Riesling Kabinett displays an archetypal Mosel Riesling nose of fresh apple, lemon, and clover allied to faintly cheesy, leesy youthful “stink”; and comes to the palate bright and zippy, with hints of wet stone, and prominent cyanic piquancy of apple pit invigoratingly extending its mouthwateringly juicy, if tart and relatively simple finish.”


And another lovely Riesling, this one with more age and sweetness. As I’ve said before, Riesling pairs very nicely with Asian food.


Sliced suckling pig. The layer of fat notwithstanding, this was some delectable stuff. It had the plum based duck sauce on the side too which I love.


Another white, in the Sancerre style more or less.


A vegetarian dish combining mixed Chinese vegetables and this kind of spongy stuff I’ve had lots of times but have no idea what it is. It’s one of those textural Asian ingredients that is a bit weird to the American palette.


Some more whites.


Crispy roast goose with sweet sauce. This stuff was awesome, like Peking duck, minus the pancakes, but even darker and richer. It went perfectly with the sweet sauce too.


Parker 92, “The 2002 Pinot Noir Kistler Vineyard offers wonderful sweet raspberry and cherry fruit with a hint of framboise, a deep plum/ruby/purple color, medium body, and good vibrancy in a medium to full-bodied, feminine style.”

Not bad for a new world pinot, and in the Burgundy style. Of course it’s no Burgundy.


Parker 91-93, “Following the brilliant success of Kistler’s 2007s, Steve Kistler and his sidekick, Mark Bixler, deserve kudos for what they have achieved in the more challenging 2008 vintage. This is the first vintage in which 100% of the fermentations were indigenous, and, fortunately, all their Sonoma Coast vineyards were far enough south that they were not tainted by any of the smoke from the ferocious fires that spread through Mendocino. The 2008s appear to be slightly more fruit-forward, with a touch less minerality than the 2007s.”


Duck tongue in spicy oil. These looked disgusting. The idea is repulsive, but hey, they tasted pretty damn good. Sweet and very fried.


The last of the new world pinots.


Soy sauce crispy quail. Also very good, although there is that high bone to meat ratio that is always the case with small birds.


From my cellar, the first of the “real” pinots. Burghound 95, “A perfumed, complex and mostly still primary nose offers up earthy red berry fruit, underbrush and a touch of animale that can also be found on the generous and quite fleshy flavors that possess excellent volume as well as buckets of dry extract that almost render the firm and ripe tannins invisible on the massively long finish. Wow, this is a stunner of a wine with still plenty of upside potential remaining.”


Shredded potato with dried chili. It is what it is.


This Burg was my favorite wine of the night and, alas, I didn’t bring it. It had mellowed into that wonderful brick colored secondary flavor vibe that older Burgundy gets. Lovely.


Green Mustard greens with garlic in supreme broth.


From my cellar. This puppy was still a bit closed and the fruit was hiding. Nice, but it should have been better.


Deep Fried Crispy Intestine with Fruit Nectar. Okay, this stuff LOOKS nasty. It tasted so fried that you couldn’t really tell what it was. I’m still feeling a little queazy.


Another grand cru. Parker 91-93, “The Bocquenet 2005 Echezeaux – from high up in the Rouges du Bas section, adjoining Les Beaux Monts – exhibits abundant, nose- and palate-filling black fruits, prominent sweet spiciness, formidable though fine tannins, and a long, sweet, smoky, very lightly cooked and caramelized finish that is sumptuous even with the tannins. It will take years for them to round out, but some progress may well be made in tank prior to bottling.”


Goose intestine stir fried with green onions.


Parker 93, “Based on the strength of his 1994s, proprietor Roman Bratasiuk was named one of my “Wine Producers of the Year” in issue #108. His skill in turning old head-pruned vines into majestic wines of extraordinary richness and purity has been confirmed with the release of the 1995s. These wines are massive and rich as well as extraordinarily well-balanced and pure. I have never tasted an Australian Merlot that was more concentrated than Penfold’s Grange, a Shiraz-based wine. Clarendon Hills’ 1995 Merlot (250 cases available for America) is an opaque purple-colored wine with a knock-out nose of raspberry liqueur, chocolate, smoke, and spice. The wine is enormously extracted with a density and texture reminiscent of pre-1976 vintages of Petrus. Sumptuous, and almost over the top in its richness and density, this unctuously thick, full-bodied wine is fabulous to smell, taste, and consume. This is great stuff! As youthful as this Merlot is, I have no doubt it will last for 15 or more years. These are amazing wines.”


Crispy tofu with 3 ingredient. This stuff was pretty good. Very soft and fluffy, like tofu marshmallows.


Parker 90,”The 1999 Altagracia, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon cuvee from estate vineyards, is the debut vintage. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with low acidity, and plump, sweet, pure, black currant fruit intermixed with mineral and licorice notes. This delicious Cabernet is on a faster revolutionary track than its more profound sibling, the celebrated Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.”


Crispy fried frogs. They tasted like fry but had all sorts of little bones inside.


Parker 91, “Smoke, cedar, tobacco and earthiness are among the nuances that come to life in the estate’s 1999 Barbera d’Asti Vigna del Noce. Some of the primary fruit has melted away, resulting in a highly complex, engaging Barbera that is very rewarding to drink now.”


Honey BBQ Ribs with Black pepper. Good stuff. Another of my favorite dishes. A tad chewy, but very tasty (and fried).


Parker 93, “This is unquestionably a profound Grand-Puy-Lacoste, but it is excruciatingly backward. It reveals an essence of creme de cassis character which sets it apart from other Pauillacs. The wine is displaying plenty of tannin, huge body, and sweet black currant fruit intermixed with minerals and subtle oak. Massive, extremely structured, and with 25-30 or more years of longevity, this immensely-styled Grand-Puy-Lacoste will require 7-8 years of patience, perhaps longer. A superb, classic Pauillac.”


Goose webs (feet) in brown sauce. Ick!


Another new world red I don’t know much about.


Crispy fried fish. Good, and again, very fried.


One of those Rhone style new non-AOC French wines. Not unlike their Spanish counterparts, these are big, bold, grapey beasts.


Sweet and sour pork. Also really tasty, because of all that fry. There were little bones and gristle bits in here, so you kind of gnaw pleasantly on them.


A big, bold classic Saint-Joseph. A bit rustic, but full of flavor.

Black cod with Ginger, Green Onion & Dry Bean Stick.



This was way, way too young, but it is a raison/grape monster and actually fairly enjoyable. Imagine mixing Welches Grape Concentrate with a 1/4 the water you should.

Parker 94, “The 2009 Bone Rock is a round, enticing red laced with sweet, succulent dark cherries, plums, flowers and spices. It shows remarkable intensity and fabulous balance. Bone Rock is made from the first blocks planted in the James Berry vineyard and is predominantly Syrah, while the James Berry Vineyard (the wine) is Grenache focused. In 2009 the blend was 57% Syrah, 31% Mourvedre and 12% Grenache. The Syrah component was vinified with 100% stems and saw a maceration lasting 50 days. The wine was aged in 60% new oak. Smith bottled the 2009 in May 2011, earlier than the norm (around 30 months), as he wanted to preserve the freshness he had in the tannins.”


Red cod with soy sauce and green onion. Another fish. I think half of this one was actually our fried fish! Pretty typical Chinese whole fish in this prep.


Mango pudding. These were tasty little mango cups. There was some sweetened condensed milk on the side too one could add on top. A nice finish.

Overall, this was fabulous fun, food, and wine. There were a number of really outstanding dishes (like the goose, roast pig, etc) and everything was well executed — even if a few were a little squirmy for my taste (intestines!). Things were very fried, but that’s this cuisine. I actually like many other regional cuisines in China better than Cantonese. Szechuan for example, but that didn’t stop this from being a wonderful meal.

Umm, that goose was so good!

For more crazy Hedonist and Foodie Club meals.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Yes, he’s chomping down on a goose foot!

Related posts:

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  2. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
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  5. Hedonists at Dahab
By: agavin
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Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up

Nov05

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3]

Location: 10610 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Date: November 1, 2012

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

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The Hedonists ride again, this time to my favorite Japanese beef joint, Totoraku. I‘ve reviewed this peculiar (but fantastic) invitation only restaurant before. It serves a very refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

The outside is basically a shell. The “Teriyaki House” has nothing to do with the food within, and the phone number is incorrect. The place is like a beef speakeasy!

At Hedonist events everyone brings a bottle of two of great wine. We open with this champagne. The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.


The only thing that really changes at Totoraku is this impressive looking appetizer spread. This is for four people. Everyone gets a bite sized bit of each.


Sockeye salmon wrapped in jicama, with avocado and a kind of soba.


Melon and salami, a different take on the classic.


Tuna sashimi in a sauce.


Little cubes of tofu.


Hard boiled qual egg stuffed with cod row and crab. Tasted like a deviled egg!


Asparagus in a butter sauce.


Really tender fresh abalone with yuzu pepper.


Shrimp on radicchio with caviar.


Chef Kaz and his assistant plating the food in the kitchen.


This older 1984 Grace Family Cab was a surprisingly fresh entrée into the world of reds.


Beef carpaccio with special salt, flowers, and some onion family derivative. Very yummy. This is eaten raw.


We moved up to a more recent vintage of the same wine. Parker 90. “The 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon (260 cases) offers plenty of up-front sweet black currant fruit mixed with toasty new oak and mineral characteristics. It is medium-bodied, plump, and accessible, revealing good fruit in its subtle, restrained personality.”

Two kinds of beef sashimi, eaten nearly raw. On the left beef tataki (rib eye) and on the right (in the cup) beef throat sashimi. Also on the plate is a bit of Korean style hot sauce (the red stuff), some intensely strong garlic (yum) and micro julienned ginger.

The throat was very chewy, more about texture. The rib eye soft and more flavorful. All went well with the garlic and ginger — I particularly liked the garlic.


A new release from Vega Sicilia, Spain’s most renowned winery, is the 1995 Valbuena (magnum). A plum/ruby color is followed by aromas of sweet black fruits intermixed with licorice, earth, and spicy oak. Full-bodied, with excellent concentration, a juicy, layered texture, and fine purity, it is forward and plush.


A raw beef dish. Marinated raw beef is seen here with ginger, raw egg, cucumber, daikon, pine nuts, and something orange. Apparently, this is a Korean dish called Yukhoe. Actually, I’ve had it at Korean places, but in any case it’s delicious.


The elements are mixed together and then eaten. It’s hard to describe why it’s so good, but it is, with a very complex flavor and texture interplay.


One of my favorites. Parker 99+! “The 1989 has taken forever to shed its formidable tannins, but what a great vintage of Lynch Bages! I would rank it at the top of the pyramid although the 1990, 2000, and down the road, some of the more recent vintages such as 2005, 2009 and 2010 should come close to matching the 1989’s extraordinary concentration and undeniable aging potential. Its dense purple color reveals a slight lightening at the edge and the stunning bouquet offers classic notes of creme de cassis, subtle smoke, oak and graphite. Powerful and rich with some tannins still to shed at age 22, it is still a young adolescent in terms of its evolution and will benefit from another 4-5 years of cellaring.”


Beef tongue with salt.


Don’t put your tongue on the grill!

BBQ to perfect, and add a bit of scallions, then dip in lemon juice and enjoy. This is about the most tender tongue I’ve had (and I’ve had plenty). It’s still a dense slightly rubbery texture, but delicious.


Parker 89, “The 1988 has an aroma of exotic spices, minerals, blackcurrants, and oak. In the mouth, it is a much firmer, tougher, more obviously tannic wine than the 1989. It is a beautifully made 1988 that will last 20-30 years, but the astringency of the tannins is slightly troubling. Patience will be a necessity for purchasers of this wine.”

I agree with Parker, this was full of heavy duty Bordeaux-style sour tannins. Not really a very pleasant effort.


Filet Mignon with bell peppers, onions, and sisho pepper.


93 points, “Deep garnet purple color. Aromas of chocolate malt, vanilla, berry pie, and toffee with a supple dryish medium-to-full and a craisin, pencil shaving, baked apple, brown spice, and earth with chewy tannins. Very nicely balanced and elegant.”


Filet on the grill.


Parker 91, “The medium to dark ruby-colored 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Champoux Vineyard displays creamy, sweet, Connecticut white corn, and black cherry aromas. Medium to full-bodied and satin-textured, it is an intense, blackberry and dark cherry-flavored wine. This expressive, flavorful offering has outstanding follow-through from its attack to its long, seamless, and focused finish.”


Momotaro tomatoes with a vinaigrette. These are supposedly incredibly good tomatoes, as a hater, I didn’t try them. I think Oyama-san gets them from some special place in Orange Country.


The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon.


They are served with this spicy sweet miso dip. The vegetables do help to move along the fat and protein heavy meat.



Parker 95, “There are 475 cases of the 2007 IX Syrah Estate, which offers up flowery, roasted meat, balsamic, tar, and blackberry characteristics in a full-bodied format. The wine reveals sweet tannin, and layers of fruit, including a note of lavender that emerges as the wine sits in the glass. It should drink well for a decade.”

We also had a Colgin Cab, but I can’t remember what year and I missed taking a picture of it.


More meat on the grill.


From my cellar: Parker 96, “The 1995 is spectacular. When Emmanuel Reynaud said it was evolving quickly, in essence repudiating this vintage, I immediately drank two bottles of this glorious elixir. It does not reveal the over-ripeness of the 1990, bringing to mind a hypothetical blend of the great 1989 and 1978. Deeply-colored and still young, with black currant/creme de cassis-like characteristics, huge body, yet great structure and delineation, this is a classic Rayas that is totally different than the 1990. It should continue to improve in the bottle and may merit an even higher score. While it can be drunk now, it will be even better with 3-4 years of cellaring.”


Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.


Parker 94+, “A very great wine, the dark garnet-hued 1980. Still a young wine at age 29, it exhibits massive earthy, meaty, bacon fat notes intermixed with notions of scorched earth, blackberries, currants, pepper, and spice. Full and rich with slightly rustic tannins, it has a good 20 years of life ahead of it.

Grange, Penfolds’ flagship wine, is, by many accounts, the most renowned and world-famous wine produced in Australia, and these six vintages from my cellar all acquitted themselves well. These wines are almost always Shiraz, but many vintages include less than 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and there are cross-appellations blends from vineyards in the Barossa and McLaren Vale.”


Inside rib eye.


Parker 95-98, “The 1998 Syrah E-Raised is great stuff. The blended Syrah comes from different vineyard sources, primarily the Alban Vineyard in San Luis Obispo, and Bien Nacido and Stolpman Vineyards in Santa Barbara. These wines are always amusingly named (Black and Blue, Against the Wall, Imposter McCoy). All the components were tasted, and even the least impressive cuvee was tipping my olfactory and sensual charts at 93 and 94 points, with the finest cuvees ranging up near perfect 97 or 98 point totals. It is black-colored, jammy and super-intense with awesome concentration, terrific, chewy, explosive flavors of blackberries, cherries, and cassis interfused with creosote, pepper, and vanillin. All the cuvees are gorgeously pure, thick, and rich. As they sit in the glass, notes of roasted coffee, licorice, smoke, and barbecue spices emerge, giving them another dimension of complexity. It is hard to make a prediction at this point, given how sensational previous vintages have been, but it would not surprise me to see the 1998 Syrah turn out to be the finest yet from Sine Qua Non.”


I’ve been to Toto at least 10 times, but this is the first time I’ve ever had the lamb, which like all of Kaz’s meats, is pretty wonderful.


This was really a loaner from a neighboring table, but we drank some anyway. 1,000 thanks!

Parker 96-100, “During its first 10-12 years of life, this was a perfect wine, but it now seems to be in a stage where the fruit is still present, but the previous exuberance and intensity have faded slightly. There is plenty of amber at the edge, and this medium to full-bodied wine shows notes of menthol, cedar, spice box, plums, and black cherries. Owners of 750 ml bottles should plan on consuming it over the next 4-6 years. Magnums should be less evolved, and merit a score 4 to 6 points higher.”


King crab legs.


From my cellar: Parker 96, “What sumptuous pleasures await those who purchase either the 1996 or 1995 Pichon-Lalande. It is hard to choose a favorite, although the 1995 is a smoother, more immediately sexy and accessible wine. It is an exquisite example of Pichon-Lalande with the Merlot component giving the wine a coffee/chocolatey/cherry component to go along with the Cabernet Sauvignon’s and Cabernet Franc’s complex blackberry/cassis fruit. The wine possesses an opaque black/ruby/purple color, and sexy, flamboyant aromatics of pain grille, black fruits, and cedar. Exquisite on the palate, this full-bodied, layered, multidimensional wine should prove to be one of the vintage’s most extraordinary success stories.”


“Special” beef. I think it was a form of sirloin. It was certainly good, very salted.


Another loaner (they sure had great wine). Parker 98, “A magnificent example of Chateau Margaux and one of the most tannic, backward Margauxs of the last 50 years, the 1986 continues to evolve at a glacial pace. The color is still a dense ruby/purple with just a hint of lightening at the rim. With several hours of aeration, the aromatics become striking, with notes of smoke, toast, creme de cassis, mineral, and white flowers. Very full-bodied, with high but sweet tannin, great purity, and a very masculine, full-bodied style, this wine should prove nearly immortal in terms of its aging potential. It is beginning to budge from its infantile stage and approach adolescence.”


Special beef on the grill.


And the final loaner. This was a total stunner. Parker 100, “For the fourth time, the Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has been produced, and for the fourth time, it has received a perfect score although I might back off the 2000’s perfect score based on the fact that it seems to be more of an upper-ninety point wine than pure perfection these days. The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee da Capo has distanced itself ever so slightly from the 2003 Cuvee Reservee. Before bottling and immediately after bottling, these two wines’ differences were not as evident. At present the Capo reveals that extra level of flavor, power, complexity and richness. It is a big wine (16.1% alcohol – less than in the 1998, but more than in the 2000 and 2007) boasting a dark plum/garnet color as well as a stunning bouquet of aged beef intermixed with pepper, herbes de Provence, and steak au poivre. This unctuously textured, full-bodied Chateauneuf possesses enormous body, huge flavors and sweet, velvety tannins. Still youthful, it has not yet begun to close down, and I’m not sure it ever will given this unusual vintage. It is a modern day classic that should continue to provide provocative as well as compelling drinking for 20-30+ years.”


Skirt steak.


This is a tasty but sometimes tough cut. Not here, soft as butter.


t

An unusual dessert wine from the town of Massandra in the Crimea which was an ancient Greek settlement. The Tzar had a palace here and for centuries they made special wine for the royal family. Raisin in a glass, this particular vintage must have been served up to Stalin!

Cool box.


And its own wine “passport.”


Toto serves homemade ice creams and sorbets as dessert.


Lychee and pistachio.


White chocolate and expresso. I like the ice creams better than the sorbets here. The white chocolate was fantastic.


Blueberry.

Chef/Owner Kaz Oyama on the left, Hedonist organizer Yarom on the right with the cigar.

And this place IS all about the beef, which is arguably some of the best I’ve ever had. Certainly the best yakiniku/Korean BBQ I’ve ever had. There is a perfect tenderness to every cut that’s fairly transcendant. I’m not even that much of a steak fan — but I’d take this stuff any time over even a spectacular cut from Mastros or Cut. The food here does not vary much from visit to visit. There is no menu. The quality however is utterly consistant. So while it isn’t an everyday sort of dining experience, perhaps once every 6-9 months, I love to return for my fix.

This was a spectacular evening with some really great meat, amazing wines, and good company!

For other Foodie Club meals, click here.

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  5. Manpuku – Not so Secret Beef
By: agavin
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Peking Duck at A-1 Chinese BBQ

Jun02

Restaurant: A-1 Chinese BBQ

Location: 2014 Pacific Coast Hwy. Lomita, CA 90717. (310) 325-6709

Date: May 19, 2012

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Great Duck

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I recently joined a meetup.com foodie group and I noticed in the feed that people were talking about this place for great Peking Duck. I’ve long been a fan of the crispy foul, to the tune of eating it three nights in a row in Beijing, and it is scare represented on the Westside, so I thought a pilgrimage was in order.

If you decide to go you must call ahead to reserve/prep a duck. It takes too long for them to do to order.

This establishment is not about looks. It makes Din Tai Fung look like Cesar’s Palace.


Although, I do have to say the inside is one step up form Totoraku, and that is a high end joint!


Another great thing is: no liquor license, which means no corkage. Bring your own cork screw. This is a reliable (although not awesome) negotiant 1re cru. We had to drink it out of plastic “pizza hut style” glasses, so that didn’t help either.

NOTE: big menu, so keep scrolling for the food!

The menu is grungy and enormous.


We started with these “prawns with spicy salt, headless.” This is generally called “salt and pepper shrimp” and this particular version was one of the best I’ve had. I particularly appreciated the lack of head.


Then out rolled our feathered friend. He was carved back in the kitchen.


And served with the usual Hoisin sauce and the often seen in China but not as often here doughy buns instead of pancakes.


You put some sauce, some scallions, and some duck on the bun and enjoy. This was definitely some of the best duck I’ve had in California. The skin was perfectly crispy, and there was some, but not too much fat.


After this we switched it up to this awesome Rosso. “The 2009 Rosso di Montalcino is totally beautiful and elegant in its expressive bouquet, silky fruit and understated, harmonious personality. This is a wonderful, impeccable Rosso from Le Potazzine. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2017.”


This is “Chow Ma Mein” (I think). A spicy soup with noodles, shrimp, beef, chicken and various vegetables. It was good.


“Orange peel chicken.” Fairly typical of the type, but not bad.


“Dry braised string beans.” I like this dish when I usually have it, but this wasn’t the greatest version. It was too oily and lacking in garlicky punch.


“Sweet and sour pork.” The pork was a little tough, but flavorful. The sauce a bit goopy. Just so-so.


The check was awesome. $20 a person all in with tip.

Overall, the duck was fantastic, the shrimp and soup were very good, and the other dishes a bit mediocre. It was a very nice meal, and with a little more trial and error ordering probably could be totally first rate. I’m curious if any of you readers know any other places with great Peking Duck in LA. I’d love to find one that was 40 minutes from my house!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Mark’s Duck House
  2. More Mark’s Duck House
  3. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
  4. Food as Art: Ping Pong
  5. Zengo 2 – part deux
By: agavin
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Singapore – Long Beach Dempsey

May01

Restaurant: Long Beach Dempsey

Location: 25 Dempsey road Left turn to Dempsey via Holland Rd (before Peirce Rd) Singapore 249670 Tel: 6323 2222

Date: March 23, 2012

Cuisine: Singaporean

Rating: Amazing Crab

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On my way back from the Maldives (see here for that food) we stopped for a day in Singapore. I’d been told this pretty and modern city has some of the best eating in Asia. The Raffles hotel (where we were staying) sent us to this local chain for some chili crab. It wasn’t fancy by western standards, but the crab was phenomenal.


Got to love these Asian picture menus.


This is “sweet and sour shrimp.” Heavily fried but oh so good.


And a different kind of fried shrimp, the “House Specialty Prawn.” These were good too, a bit like shrimp tempura with a slightly more Chinese taste.


And for the trio of main event items this is “classic white pepper crab.” There were a choice of crabs between $68 and $220 dollars. We went for these “popular” Sri Lankan crags. They were huge and delicious, and not nearly as expensive as the Alaskan King Crabs and the like. The white pepper crab had an awesome and delicate white pepper flavor. Not cloying in the least.


Here is the “Famous Black Pepper Crab.” It was also great, perhaps a little more powerful in taste than the white. Spicier. I think I might have liked the white slightly better.


Then comes the “world famous chili crab.” This guy is drenched in a curry-like chili sauce. The sauce was incredible.


It was so good we got these bread balls to scoop it up with. But that wasn’t enough. We spooned it and more (see later).


Next were some “Dong Po ribs with honey sauce.” These were some of the best Chinese-style pork ribs I’ve had. They melted from the bone.


“Renowned Crispy Duck.” Also good, but a little dry in comparison to everything else.


When we ordered this clam and noodle dish the waiter sold us we wouldn’t like it, “too local.” It was odd. Like steamed clams in gravy covered in strips of fried clams.  By gravy I mean Turkey gravy or the like. As I said, odd.


My poor wife had to watch the other seven of us devour all that before she got anything she could eat. This fried grouper in sweat and sour schezhuan sauce. It was good too.


After finishing the crab itself and dipping up a storm with the sauce we just couldn’t let it go.


At the suggestion of the staff we ordered some egg fried rice and just spooned the sauce on over it. Yum!


Then we got a pair of peculiar Asian desserts. These are like panacotta with in one case caramel and the other chocolate.


You can see it closer here. It was steaming like dry ice. The flavor was mild and sweet, making it a pleasant was to end a very pleasant evening.

This meal might not look like one of my crazy Michelin places but it sure was fantastic!

For more dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach
  2. Sam’s by the Beach 3D
  3. Sam’s by the Beach – Mom’s Annual Dinner
  4. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  5. Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica
By: agavin
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Cocoa Island – Decadent Dinner

Apr24

Restaurant: Cocoa Island

Location: Maldives. Tel +960 6641818 Fax +960 6641919 Email res@cocoaisland.como.bz

Date: March 16-22, 2012

Cuisine: International

Rating: International Flair

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We head back to Cocoa Island (and its single restaurant) to cover the last meal of the day. If you missed the endless breakfast, find it here or the spectacular Languorous Lunch.


Usually we ate on the beach. Even at night the temperature hovered around 80.


This is our jumbo long table.


For dinner, the restaurant has two common configurations. Seafood BBQ and ala carte. The BBQ isn’t available every night but the menu is.


The BBQ consists of a number of stations plus the above grilling station. You can order up as much of whatever variety of sea creatures you can stomach.


There is also a “salad” table.


This includes basic sushi. The variety might not be up to LA sushi standards, but the quality of the fish was very high.


Oysters on the half shell.


Various oyster sauces and little shooters of ceviche.


Crab shooters.


A seafood salad.


Papaya and mussel salad.


Another seafood salad. In general these were very light.


Broccoli and almonds.


Potatos.


Grilled vegetables.


Greek salad.


A grain salad.


Raddichio salad.


Classic prosciutto and melon — and this in a country that is supposed to have no ham.


Cheese and fruit.


Crackers.


Then we come back to the seafood grill. There are fish, lobsters, big prawns, tuna slabs, etc.


Any of them could be grilled up on command served with various sauces.


 Then there was the regular menu.


This was a gazpacho.


Served with avocado.


“Cold smoked yellowfin tuna, oyster cream, apple & mint.” Lovely presentation.


“Duck liver parfait, spiced oranges & toasted brioche.” This was as good as any chicken liver I’ve had. Yum.


They had lovely breads here, particularly the naan.


“Black ink noodles with sautéed squid, chorizo & chili ink sauce.” Good stuff!


“Roast tomato, buffalo mozzarella & basil risotto with lemon & shaved fennel.”


“Baby chicken Biriyani with mint raita, tomato & red onion salad.” Chicken pot pie, Indian style. Inside, under the crust, was a a mixture of rice and chicken. It was pretty delicious.


“Basil oil poached snapper, bean, olive, caper, lemon & dill salsa with Jerusalem artichokes.”

The dessert menu.


This is actually a kind of flan with spiced pears and a homemade ice cream. It was darn good.


Homemade ice cream, always good.


One of us wanted some whipped creme, so they whipped it up to order.

It’s pretty amazing that a restaurant can do this breath of styles with such excellent execution, but they did. Everything I had was great, and the same 2-3 guys in the kitchen did it all (even the breakfast, lunch, desserts, and baking!).

For more dining reviews click here.


dec

Related posts:

  1. Cocoa Island – Languorous Lunch
  2. Cocoa Island – Endless Breakfast
  3. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
  4. Fraiche – Ultimo Wine Dinner
  5. Friday Night Heights – Shabbat Dinner
By: agavin
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Western Smoke House Meats

Nov17

Restaurant: Western Smoke House

Location: 10640 Woodbine St. Los Angeles, CA 90034. (310) 837-3544

Date: November 12, 2011

Cuisine: BBQ

Rating: Solid Texas BBQ

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This time of year we have a lot of birthday parties to go to (my son is three). Due to rain (drizzle) one got moved to this western (Texas) style BBQ joint! Boy, is that a lot better than luke-warm delivery pizza!

The unassuming Palms frontage, literally across the street from the amazing N/Naka.


The menu.


Lemonade (sweet but real, not packaged) came in jars! Moonshine style!


The decor is full-on Lonestar State.


Slaw.


Potato salad.


Cornbread, one of my secret weaknesses.


Greens, in case you get stopped up.


Chips for the kids.


Likewise with the chicken fingers.


Brisket! I love good BBQ brisket, and this was good.


BBQ chicken. This was tender and very smokey. Not the heavily sauced style, but just nicely smoked.


Sweetish and tasty baked beans.


Some birthday cake!


And two kinds of cobbler.


I’m not sure what this is. Trifle? I didn’t get a chance to try it, but I’m actually a big fan of these custard-based old school desserts.

Not a fancy joint, but tasty. I have to go again and try the ribs. I love ribs.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Mark’s Duck House
  2. Food as Art: Sushi House Unico
  3. Waterloo & City
  4. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  5. Brunch at Tavern 3D
By: agavin
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Loving Lukshon

Oct22

Restaurant: Lukshon

Location: 3239 Helms Ave, Culver City, CA 90034. 310.202.6808

Date: October 20, 2011

Cuisine: New Asian

Rating: Pretty damn tasty

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A couple of years ago my office was in Culver City, and the restaurant revolution there was already well under way. But the trend continues apace with Lukshon, a sort of re-imagined southern Asian (vaguely Chinese — sort of) joint opened by the same owners as adjacent Father’s Office. I’ve been itching to try it for better on six months and we finally got the Foodie Club together for an impromptu meeting.


The modern interior space. There is also a generous and attractive patio.


The menu. We ordered about two thirds of it, for eight people, all family style.


“atlantic fluke  pickled watermelon, black sesame, cucumber, kinh gioi.” Light flavored, but tasty. The black sesame lent it a pleasant gritty texture.


Lukshon does not allow corkage. I didn’t know that and Foodie Club co-president EP and I hauled four bottles to the table. I was skeptical at first of the small wine list too, as it’s devoid of big name offerings. But with some help from the Sommelier we put together what turned out to be a very enjoyable trio.


We had the 2010, but the 2009 got 92 from parker, “Ollivier’s 2009 Muscadet de Sevre et Maine Sur Lie Clos des Briords is as perfumed and lusciously-fruited a wine of its genre as you are likely to encounter, though that by no means precludes depth of mineral character. Scents of pear, clover, Persian melon, and fennel inform the nose and migrate to a buoyant yet expansive, mouthwateringly juicy palate tinged with a shimmering crystalline sense of minerality characteristic for this cuvee. This sensational value finishes with an uncanny combination of soothing refreshment and vibrancy. It is apt to be even more ravishing in another year or so and be worth following for at least 3-4.”


“shrimp toast  rock shrimp, cilantro, chiles, tiny croutons.” These are little fried balls with a sweet and spicy sauce. They tasted pretty fried, with an understated flavor.


“baby monterey squid!! chiang mai pork sausage, candlenut, mint, rau ram.” Really tasty. The fried tentacles in the center were pretty straight up calimari. The bodies were stuffed with the yummy sausage.


“duck popiah.  cilantro stems, pickled jicama, hoisin chile sauce.” With the texture of a Saigon Roll, these duck rolls were packed with meaty flavor inside. Plus, being a sauce guy, I love hoison. One of my favorite dishes.


“spicy chicken pops!! shelton farms’ drumettes, garlic, kecap manis, spicy sichuan salt.” Nice little “wings” with a lot of flavor and a bit of heat. A kind of BBQ sweet heat.


This was a very interesting wine. Old fashioned — like 2,000 years old fashioned. Evidently, it’s kept in amphorae, large greek/roman style terra-cotta vessels. While a white, it was so unfiltered as to be almost cloudy. But damn good.


“kurobuta pork ribs.  spicy chicory coffee bbq sauce.” The meat just fell of the bones. A bit of char. Seriously good ribs, what cheap Chinese restaurant ribs aspire to be.


“rib eye steak yam neua. gem lettuce, radish, carrot, tomato, herbs, spicy lime vinaigrette.” This was fine, but just kinda beefy.


“foie gras ganache!! carob, ceylon cinnamon, tamarind gastrique, almond, puffed rice.” These were more a dessert than a savory. The creamy foie texture and richness leant them the character of some kind of ultra rich mousse.


“lamb belly roti. canai  chana dal, cumin, mint, raita, pickled cauliflower.” Another of my favorite dishes. A kind of vaguely middle eastern, vaguely Asian pizza. The little sour marinated crunchy cauliflower was good too.


“garlic pork belly  do ban jian, rice cakes, cabbage, garlic chives.” Probably my favorite dish. This had some good heat and that rich fermented bean paste flavor. The meat was rich, but not too fatty, and under the sauce you could only tell it from the rice cakes by texture. They added a chewiness to complement the some pork.


“short rib rendang!! malay spices, red chile lemongrass rempah, coconut cream.” More meat. I liked the sauce better on this one.


Parker gives this very solid Riesling 90 points. “Pepper-laced pears and apples are found in the nose of the zesty, vivacious 2002 Riesling Eiswein Oberemmeler Hutte. This molasses, brown sugar and white fruit-flavored offering sports eye-popping acidity, loads of depth, and a long, sweet finish. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025.”

“heirloom black rice  lap cheong, onion, roasted garlic, lilly’s farm fried egg.”


Mixed up. This was pleasant, rich, sweet, and ricey.


“gai lan aged ham, shaoxing wine, garlic.” Nice stir fried greens. But I wanted more ham flavor.


“chiang mai curry noodles  chile, tumeric, lemongrass, chicken, prawn, yu choy, rice noodles.” A curry with noodles. Nothing wrong with that, as I love curry.


“dandan noodles!! kurobuta pork, sesame, preserved mustard greens, sichuan peppercorns, peanuts.” I really liked this too. Noodles with a pretty spicy Chinese pork ragu. I had a better version in western China, but this was pretty damn good. Decently hot, but not nearly real Szechuan hot. I guess the sauce isn’t so different than Pocked Marked Old Ladies Tofu (yes, that is a real dish).


Dessert is “free” (as Matt Groning said, “at no additional perceivable cost”). They bring out one per person, but three types. I would’ve liked to try each, but I had the leftmost, which was a delicious form of deconstructed pina colada. Some kind of pana cotta with coconut and pineapple. The middle was chocolate, the rightmost more fruity.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For other Foodie Club meals (all crazy great) see here.

Related posts:

  1. Red Medicine is the Cure
  2. Christmas is for Dim Sum
  3. Quick Eats: Tofu Ya
  4. Swish Swish – Mizu 212
  5. Food as Art: Ping Pong
By: agavin
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Manpuku – Not so Secret Beef

Oct16

Restaurant: Manpuku

Location: 2125 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025. (310) 473-0580

Date: October 14, 2011

Cuisine: Yakinaku

Rating: Tasty BBQ, good value

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Manpuku is a Yakinaku (Japanese style Korean BBQ) joint in the heart of the Sawtelle little-Tokyo area (just a few stores down from awesome Kiriko Sushi). It’s been a lunch favorite of mine for years because it offers really good BBQ at value prices. It isn’t the ultimate Yakinaku, a title reserved for the amazing Totoraku, but it is about 10% of the price!


This mini-mall is packed with delicious Asian lunch spots.


Just in case you wondered what you might find inside.


Every table comes equipped with it’s own BBQ. I apologize for the mediocre pictures. My snapshot camera is in the shop and so I had only the iPhone4 (I wasn’t going to lug the big camera). On the plus side, the photos did magically sync to my Mac via photostream, which is pretty sexy. Canon needs to add at least Wifi to their regular cameras. I’m sick of pulling out that card.


The lunch menu.


Kimchee on the left, the delicious sweet sauce (for use on the meat after cooking) on the right.


I ordered the “prime rib lunch set” ($15, and sometimes on sale!) and it comes with all you can eat Japanese salad.


And miso soup.

And rice.


Plus one of these plates of marinated prime short rib and a few vegetables.


The meal is simple. You BBQ to taste (rare in my case), dip in the sweet sauce, let cool on the rice, then eat!

There is nothing to complain about here. The beef is fresh, tender, and tasty. If you enjoy this, and are want to really max out on the variety this cuisine offers (every cut of cow) then check out Totoraku.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Totoraku – Secret Beef!
  2. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  3. No Beef with Mastro’s
  4. Quick Eats: Tofu Ya
By: agavin
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Memorial Day Pig

Jun08

One of my friends always throws a “hog wild” Memorial Day BBQ.


The beginnings of the spread.


Pulled pork! This stuff was mouth watering good.


Baked beans cooked in molasses.


BBQ. This was a little sweet for my taste, even the hot.


BBQ turkey.


All this needed some wine from my cellar.

The shafer had enough age to be really nice, although I had cork problems. Parker gave it 90, “The Cabernet Sauvignon Stag’s Leap District has jumped in quality as John Shafer‘s son, Doug Shafer, abandoned sterile filters in favor of no fining and only a polishing, coarse filtration at bottling. That, plus less acidification, giving the wines a higher PH, has resulted in a more revealing and beautiful expression of the gorgeous fruit obtained from the Stag’s Leap District vineyards. The 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon Stag’s Leap includes 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Merlot. It offers a wonderfully pure cassis nose, a velvety texture, plenty of ripeness, and some structure and tannin in the medium to full-bodied finish. It should drink well for 10-15 years. This winery continues to build on their fine reputation, pushing the quality to higher and higher levels. Shafer’s 50-acre estate vineyard, located in the heart of the Stag’s Leap District, is supplemented by an additional 70 acres in Carneros. The winery continues to be innovative, offering a very good Sangiovese called Firebreak that has a small percentage (usually less than 20%) of Cabernet Sauvignon included in the blend for color and bulk.”

The 2001 Beaucastel is wonderful as always, 96 points. “Beaucastel has been on a terrific qualitative roll over the last four vintages, and the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape (which Francois Perrin feels is similar to the 1990, although I don’t see that as of yet) is a 15,000-case blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, and the balance split among the other permitted varietals of the appellation. This inky/ruby/purple-colored cuvee offers a classic Beaucastel bouquet of new saddle leather, cigar smoke, roasted herbs, black truffles, underbrush, and blackberry as well as cherry fruit. It is a superb, earthy expression of this Mourvedre-dominated cuvee. Full-bodied and powerful, it will undoubtedly close down over the next several years, not to re-emerge for 7-8 years. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025.”

And the Brunello also 96, although it needed a few more years. “The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Paganelli emerges from the glass with masses of scorched earth, leather, tar, licorice, menthol and dark fruit. The Riserva shows a touch more inner sweetness, richness and depth in its fruit than the regular bottling, plus a bit more French oak as well. For now, the Riserva is quite reticent and requires air, but with time its awesome richness and power come through in spades. This dark, brooding and authoritative Riserva from Il Poggione is simply gorgeous. Readers who don’t want to pay the premium for the Riserva in 2004 need not worry; I tasted the 2004 regular bottling (twice!) while preparing this article and it is every bit as promising as my review last year suggested. In 2004 the Paganelli vineyard was harvested on the 13th of October, quite late for this estate. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039.”


Salmon for those who aren’t into pig!


And spicey hot links!


Then the desserts start to come.


Fruit tart, pie, cupcakes for the kiddies.


This yummy red velvet cake with a cream cheese frosting.


And ice cream from Sweet Rose Creamery. Mint, salted carmel, vanilla, caffe luxxe coffee, strawberry etc.

Related posts:

  1. Thanksgiving – Pork Insanity
  2. Food as Art: Ortolan
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  4. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  5. Thanksgiving Proper
By: agavin
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Fogo de Chao – Beef!

Apr27

Restaurant: Fogo de Chao

Location:  133 North La Cienega Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90211-2206  (310) 289-7755

Date: April 21, 2011

Cuisine: Brazilian Grilled Meats

Rating: Meat meat meat!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I’m not normally a big fan of chains, but Fogo is one that works for me. It took the formula found is various independant Churrasquero restaurants and made it into a solid reliable festival of meat. And at lunch it offers tremendous value, particularly in comparison to a typical good American steak house. In case you’ve been living under a rock, this is a style of Brazilian BBQ where skewered meats are pulled fresh off the fire and carved at the table.


The fully carnivorous menu of meats. Fogo only offers two dining options. Salad bar, or salad bar + meat. Both are all you can eat.


The salad bar is extensive enough by itself, offering not only some token vegtables but a range of cheeses and cured meats.


Potato salad type salads.

Bacon!


Regular salad.


Dressings.

Cured meats and cheeses.


A giant full drum of real parmesan.


More salad.


I go sparingly in this department because I’m really here for the seared flesh.


The way things work at this kind of Brazilian BBQ is that the servers bring by the skewers of up to 15 different meats and cave them onto your plate. Fogo’s innovation here — and believe me it is a solid innovation — is this magic disk. Each person has one and you can flip it over. Above is the stop side.


And the go side. They key here is that you can control the awesome flow of meat onto your plate. Before the disk invention, you either got barraged or you were forgotten. Now, if you need a fifteen minute breather, no problem. Go red, then back again!


Beef sirloin. Delicious pure beef.

Prime rib eye. Fatty goodness! Actually, a bit too fatty for my taste, but many love it.


Chicken legs and pork sausages. They manage to make even chicken taste great, and the sausages are rich, hearty and delectable.


Here is all that, plus some pork rib, loaded on the plate. The rib on top, chicken and sausages on the left, sirloin on the bottom, the ultra fatty prime rib in the middle.


The pork BBQ ribs. This is one of my favorites.


Watch that soft piggy cut!


Filet minion. Lean and tender.


The garlic sirloin. This had an awesomely intense garlic beefyness to it.


Garlic sirloin on the left, filet on the right.


Lamb chops.


On the plate. Super tasty and tender. Sizzling hot.

Chicken breast (left) and filet (right) wrapped in bacon.


bacon truly does make everything better. They chicken might even have been tastier than the beef.


Picanha, one of the house specialties. A bit of prime sirloin seasoned with sea salt.


The bacon-wrapped filet, pork rib, and picanha (left to right). The last is a really tasty cut.


Fogo also throws a lot of sides on the table (included in the price). Cheesy mashed potatoes.


Fried polenta with parmesan.


Fried plantains. There is also cheese bread, but being passover, we didn’t take any and so I don’t have a photo.


The decor is sleek and modern, and they have a lot of hearty wines.


It’s easy to let your eyes exceed your stomach here. This refuse is just one person’s “leavings.” At lunch all this gluttony costs only $32.50, which is pretty impressive. You can easily make an entire day’s meal out of it!

For another take on excessive BBQ meats, see the Japanese Secret Beef joint.

Related posts:

  1. Totoraku – Secret Beef!
  2. Quick Eats: Momed
  3. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
  4. Swish Swish – Mizu 212
  5. Red Medicine the Relapse
By: agavin
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Totoraku – Secret Beef!

Apr09

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3]

Location: 10610 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Date: April 7, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

Six or seven years ago my friend and then-boss Shuhei Yoshida took me for the first time to the “secret beef” place. He warned me. It’s hard to find, is unlabeled, there are no walk-ins, and the door is often locked. I’ve been back at least 6-8 times since and am now friendly with chef/owner Kaz Oyama. This place is invitation only. Some one in the party needs to know Oyama-san (that would be me this time). It serves a very refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

This particular meal is the March Foodie Club meeting. And yeah, we’re late by a week (for March). We took eight people.

The outside is basically a shell. The “Teriyaki House” has nothing to do with the food within, and the phone number is incorrect.

The “decor,” is almost amusingly spartan (ugly actually). Nor is this a big place.

One of my favorite things about Totoraku is that the wine is all BYOB, hence no corkage, and the food (being mostly beef) goes so spectacularly with big red wines. You can see some of the bottles left over from previous guests, many of which are of the very highest level. We’re talking 1945 Petrus, La Tache, or Hommage du Jacques Perrin.

The wine prepped in my cellar and ready to go.

This unusual Spanish white earn 92 from Parker, “The 2007 Gorvia Blanco was sourced from a single 3 acre vineyard planted exclusively to the indigenous variety Dona Blanca (used in the past mostly for grappa production or as a table grape). Medium straw-colored, it reveals aromas of apple, pear, slate/mineral, citrus, and acacia. Crisp, concentrated, and intense (in the style of top-level unoaked Chablis), in the mouth it is vibrant, complex, and impeccably balanced. It should provide both intellectual and sensual pleasure for another 5-6 years.”

There are three dipping sauces. Left to right, a sweet teriyaki-style sauce, lemon juice, and light soy sauce.

The impressive looking appetizer spread. This is for four people. Everyone gets a bite sized bit of each.

Pear with prosciutto. Very sweet and soft, with a hint of salty.

Black sesame tofu. Highly unusual and delicious. Nutty, gooey and chewy.

Akimo (monk fish liver). Some of the best I’ve had, very soft and not very fishy.

Vegetable jelly. Interesting texture, tasted like… vegetables.

Sockeye salmon wrapped in jicama, with avocado and a kind of soba.

Fresh steamed abalone on zenmai Japanese royal fern), a sansai, or mountain vegetable. Delicious. Very tender abalone, and the vegetables nicely pickled and earthy.

Kohlrabi in a kind of potato salad like prep. Excellent crunchy texture and a nutty flavor.

Hard boiled qual egg stuffed with code row and crab. Tasted like a deviled egg!

Shrimp on endive with caviar. The endive lent a nice crunch and slightly bitter tang.

I always like to start the reds with Burgs. Parker gives this 92, “Bachelet’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes – from 60- to 70-year-old vines both below the route nationale and north of Gevrey in Brochon – offers lovely black fruit aromas with hints of anise and mint. A truly palate-staining intensity of vividly-fresh, tart but ripe black cherry and blackberry is underlain by firm, fine tannins (not precluding an emerging silkiness of texture) and augmented by bitter-herbal and stony notes. Although palpably dense and abundantly tannic, this outstanding village wine still comes off as juicy, sleek, invigorating and refined. Put it away for at least 5-7 years.”

Beef carpaccio with special salt, flowers, and some onion family derivative. Very yummy. This is eaten raw.

Two kinds of beef sashimi, eaten nearly raw. On the left beef tataki (rib eye) and on the right (in the cup) beef throat sashimi. Also on the plate is a bit of Korean style hot sauce (the red stuff), some intensely strong garlic (yum) and micro julienned ginger.

The throat was very chewy, more about texture. The rib eye soft and more flavorful. All went well with the garlic and ginger — I particularly liked the garlic.

Homemade smoked beef tongue. Tasted just like a good pastrami.

A raw beef dish. Marinated raw beef is seen here with ginger, raw egg, cucumber, daikon, pine nuts, and something orange. Apparently, this is a Korean dish called Yukhoe. Actually, I’ve had it at Korean places, but in any case it’s delicious.

The elements are mixed together and then eaten. It’s hard to describe why it’s so good, but it is, with a very complex flavor and texture interplay.

I went to this vineyard in 2009 and convinced the owner to sell me a case of this spectacular old vine, but little known (and little made) wine before it was even released. He had to put the labels on hismelf. Parker 96. “The top effort, the 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau Fleur de Confiance, is awesome. An inky/blue/black color is followed by a stunning bouquet of scorched earth, incense, blackberry jam, coffee, and spice. This full-bodied, massive, stacked and packed Rasteau is destined for two decades of life. Its sweet tannin and textured mouthfeel are compelling. Give it 2-4 years of cellaring and consume it over the following 20 years.”

Chef/Owner Kaz Oyama, fleeing from the “paparazzi” with a glass of the Rasteau.

The raw is finished, and so out come these humble little BBQs.

Beef tongue with salt.

So many moo-less cows.

BBQ to perfect, and add a bit of scallions, then dip in lemon juice and enjoy. This is about the most tender tongue I’ve had (and I’ve had plenty). It’s still a dense slightly rubbery texture, but delicious.

Filet Mignon with bell peppers, onions, and sisho pepper.

These are all grilled up. You can eat the beef however you like, I prefer rare to medium rare. The peppers even had a bit of heat, but not so much, but a delicious flavor.

The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon.

They are served with this spicy sweet miso dip. The vegetables do help to move along the fat and protein heavy meat.

Momotaro tomatoes with a vinaigrette. These are supposedly incredibly good tomatoes, as a hater, I didn’t try them. I think Oyama-san gets them from some special place in Orange Country.

Parker gives this blockbuster 96 points. “The 2008 Flor de Pingus had been in bottle for 2 weeks when I tasted it. It offers up an enticing nose of smoke, Asian spices, incense, espresso, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it displays outstanding volume, intensity, and balance. Rich, dense, and succulent, it has enough structure to evolve for 4-5 years and will offer prime drinking from 2015 to 2028.”

I had asked special if we could get a bit of seafood thrown in just to “break up” the meat. These are nice jumbo shrimp.

Shrimp on the barbi!

Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.

Cooked here with the scallions.

To medium rare. Then eaten with the sweet sauce. Personally I like this better than the filet as it’s fattier and has more flavor. It’s slightly less uniform in texture.

Chilean sea bass with a bit of dressing and peppers. Tasty, but not as fantastic as the beef.

Sashimi grade salmon with pepper and lemon. Simple, but the fish was so good it was delicious.

Inside rib eye.

It’s hard to compare the inside and the outside. I think the outside might have been very slightly better.

“Special” beef. I think it was a form of sirloin. It was certainly good, very salted.

A little early for this massive Parker 98. “The 2007 Espectacle is 100% Garnacha sourced from 120-year-old vines located at La Figuera on the northern edge of the Montsant DO. The vineyard is managed by Rene Barbier’s Clos Mogador team and is aged in one 4000-liter vat at Celler Laurona. The 2007 Espectacle reveals a sexy bouquet of mineral, Asian spices, incense, truffle, and black cherry compote. This leads to a full-bodied, plush, succulent, impeccably balanced wine which admirably combines elegance and power. It will evolve effortlessly for several more years and have a drinking window extending 2013 to 2022 if not longer. It is Montsant’s benchmark wine and a world-class expression of old-vine Garnacha.”

Short rib. Close to the Korean galbi. This is way more tender than what you’d get a typical Korean BBQ house and was my favorite of all the cooked meats. It’s also probably the richest — go figure!

Raw.

Less raw. Goes in the sweet sauce — yum!

Skirt steak.

This is a tasty but sometimes tough cut. Not here, soft as butter.

A bit of a “bonus round” with left to right, short rib, filet, outside rib eye.

Were cooking now!

The lynch is always one of my favorites. Parker gives the 2000 96 points. “Beautiful creme de cassis, and cedar in a surprisingly full-bodied and evolved style that could be drunk now. I originally predicted 2008-2025 for the window of full maturity, and that looks accurate, as this wine, which exhibits a little amber and loads of glycerin, is probably the biggest, richest Lynch Bages produced after the 1995 and before the 2005. Succulent, with lots of juicy black fruit and silky tannin, this is a beauty that can be drunk now or cellared for another 15-20 years.”

The final savory course is a rice and egg drop soup. You could get it spicy or mild (this is spicy). Apparently in Korea this is called Gukbap. It helped wash down the beef.

There are some special ice creams and sorbets.

On the left White Chocolate, bottom Espresso, right Lychee, top Blueberry, back pistachio. I liked the ice creams better than the sorbets (which isn’t usually the case). The sorbets were a bit mild, although certainly very nice. The White Chocolate was my favorite, followed maybe by the Pistachio.

I had brought 12 wines (for 8 people) but we only made it through 6. I was a bit disappointed because I never got to my biggest gun, a 1970 Palmer, because I opened 6 bottles at the beginning to breathe. But still, the “little” guns were pretty great. Big reds always go extraordinarily well with this very beefy meal.

And this place IS all about the beef, which is arguably some of the best I’ve ever had. Certainly the best yakiniku/Korean BBQ I’ve ever had. There is a perfect tenderness to every cut that’s fairly transcendant. I’m not even that much of a steak fan — but I’d take this stuff any time over even a spectacular cut from Mastros or Cut. The food here does not vary much from visit to visit. There is no menu. The quality however is utterly consistant. So while it isn’t an everyday sort of dining experience, perhaps once every 6-9 months, I love to return for my fix.

For other Foodie Club meals, click here.

Fellow Foodie Club Chair – EP

Related posts:

  1. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  2. Quick Eats: Tofu Ya
  3. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  4. Red Medicine is the Cure
  5. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
By: agavin
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Zengo 2 – part deux

Mar08

Restaurant: Zengo [1, 2, 3]

Location: 395 Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Tel. 310.899.1000

Date: March 4, 2011

Cuisine: Latin-Asian Fusion

Rating: Color me confused — It’s in a mall, and it’s pretty good.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

A month to the day after my first visit (REVIEW HERE), I went back to Zengo. As I discussed previously, this is a slightly commercialized but pretty tasty mall restaurant whose appearence has accompanied the rooflift of Santa Monica Place. This one is Latin-Asian fusion. Sort of Asia de Cuba meets Rivera.

Today’s menu. PDF version HERE. The menu is pretty much all tapas style (hooray!) where you order 3 or so dishes per person and share them all.

“Hot & sour egg drop soup, foie gras-pork dumplings / enoki / green onion.” This is one of two repeats from last time. It had a very inserting note to the sour, from tamarind I think. The richness of the dumplings too is very nice as is the texture of the enoki.

“Thai shrimp lettuce wraps, chorizo / peanut / cilantro / tamarind chutney.” The second repeat. All three ingredients are combined like most “Thai wraps.”

Close up. The shrimp has a nice crunch and texture. The sauce is tamarind, and quite sour. Overall very nice.

“Peking duck-daikon tacos, duck confit / curried apple / orange-coriander sauce.” These were YUMMY. The meat was very soft and BBQ flavored. You could hardly tell it from some good Carolina style BBQ-pork, but it wasn’t pork (duck). The sauce is light and sweet, the apple mostly for texture, and the daikon an interesting and very slick and cool (it’s wet) take on a taco.

Close up. The smoked flavor of the meat comes through strong, and it’s darn good. The other elements provide complementary notes and texture.

“Achiote-hoisin pork arepas, corn masa / avocado / crema fresca.” These are serious flavor bombs. The meat tastes a bit like a good short rib, and goes perfectly with the typical pairing of avocado and crema fresca. There is just a bit of heat from the chilies.

“Scallops al mojo de ajo, roasted corn-edamame salsa / bacon, cotija cheese / roasted garlic soy, yuzu-sriracha aioli.” Probably the least successful dish of the lot, but certainly not bad. The scallops themselves were tasty. The rest was like a slightly coleslaw’ish succotash, with bacon chunks. The bacon was really good though — when isn’t it?

“Pork carnitas rice noodles, pork shoulder / mushroom / cashew / soft egg / hot ’n sour sauce.” Another winner. The noodles are tossed first, allowing the poached egg to break an coat them with yolk — Korean style? These overall had a really nice flavor: salty savory. Like Thai egg noodles with meat, but with more things going on.

As I said last thing, Zengo is not subtle cuisine, it’s full of crazy bold flavor combos. But I’m still impressed, and doubly so considering it’s a mall restaurant. The all tapas style menu gets my vote too because I’m sometimes a more is more kind of guy, and I hate getting stuck with just two dishes.

If you enjoyed this, check out the previous REVIEW HERE, or just across the deck the interesting Dimsum Xino.

Related posts:

  1. Mall Eclectic – Zengo
  2. La Cachette Bistro part deux et trois
  3. Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica
  4. Red Medicine is the Cure
  5. Rustic Canyon 3D
By: agavin
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Quick Eats: Tofu Ya

Jan10

Restaurant: Tofu Ya

Location: 2021 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, Ca 90025. 310-473-2627.

Date: Jan 06, 2011

Cuisine: Korean BBQ & Tofu Soup

 

Some friends of mine wanted Korean for lunch so I found this Westside place on Zagat (it was the best rated west of the 405 at 23 for food). Boy, is this place a great value! And good to boot. I’m not nearly as experienced a Korean eater as I am at Japanese, but this was certainly very tasty.

The tiny little Sawtelle shop front. Random Thursday afternoon at 12:30 and there was a 20 minute wait. An excellent sign.

The simple menu. Besides the ubiquitous BBQ meats this place seems to specialize in “soft tofu.” I didn’t know it exactly by this name, but this is my favorite kind of tofu. I’ve often gotten this in Japan. Served differently, but the same tofu. We’ll see some of it in a bit.

Not a big joint. Smells like BBQ meat. Yum!

The usual spread of small Korean dishes. Kimchi, sprouts, noodles, spicy marinated cucumbers, marinated tofu, eggs, etc.

The spicy tofu soup. I should have gotten a picture after the bubbles settled down. The soup is filled with lots of “soft tofu,” beef, and various seafood. I ordered it medium spicy and it wasn’t very hot by my standards, pleasant though. The soft tofu is that kind of medium-firm off-white tofu that has a luscious smooth texture.

It comes out sizzling. Click on this picture above to see a video of it going nuts.

Steamed rice.

Bibimbap. I’ve always liked this dish. Various veggies and meats. You jump the above steamed rice in.

Then add korean red sauce and stir.

Looks like this. Tastes good.

Galbi. Beef ribs, marinated to perfection and BBQed.

Bulgogi. More or less the same thing, but with no bones, and onions. After awhile the onions caramelized. Beef and cooked onions always goes well together. Full as I was, I could have eaten two plates of this stuff.

Teriyaki Chicken.

The tiny prep area.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Chan Dara
  2. Quick Eats: Taverna Tony
  3. Quick Eats: Mon Ami Gabi
  4. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini 2
  5. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
By: agavin
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