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No Balcony, but Excellent

Jul22

Restaurant: Juliet

Location: 8888 Washington Blvd Suite 102, Culver City, CA 90232. (310) 643-5853

Date: October 17, 2023

Cuisine: French

Rating: Very good modern French Bistro

Walker invited me to a Champagne themed dinner, so of course I had to go.

Juliet is a new restaurant in the heart of Los Angeles, serving bright, thoughtfully composed dishes with a seafood focus.

An ode to the way Parisians are dining now, We applY classic French techniques and global influences to west coast seafood and seasonal produce.

We take A lot of pride in our wine program, showcasing hundreds of hand-selected wines from regions across France. we also offer cocktails and select wines by the half glass.

Located near Platform.

Le menu.

Huîtres / daily oysters / cucumber / trout roe. Bright flavors.

Poisson Cru / sliced amberjack / meyer lemon ponzu / serrano oil. Very strong zingy taste with a bit of heat and nice firm but soft texture.

Tartare et Caviar / sea bream tartare / kaluga caviar / herb crème fraiche. Quite excellent with a bit of smokiness.

Mousse au Foie de Volaille / chicken liver tartlet / apple gelée. Delicious and rich.

Carpaccio de Thon / bluefin tuna / preserved pepper / mustard seed. Also bright.

Courgettes / summer squash / labneh / chimichurri / hazelnuts. I don’t even like squash and this was pretty good.

Risotto au Mais / corn / sungold tomato / sage. First rate rissoto texture with a delicious bit of sweetness from the corn balanced with a bit of acidity from the tomatoes.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques / seared scallops / meyer lemon butter / trout roe. Very lovely with a great caviar beurre-blanc.

Cigares de Confit de Canard / duck confit “cigars” / sauce valois. Super crispy with a deep “fried” flavor. Awesome creamy sauce.

Côtes d’Agneau / lamb rib chops / chickpea puree / olive tapenade. Straight up but excellent.

Assiette de Fromage. Cheese plate / honeycomb / sourdough bread.

Pineapple Ginger Sorbetto — Fresh Pineapple infused with Fresh Ginger — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — nice little ginger ale like kick — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #pineapple #ginger #GingerBeer #sorbetto

Eclairs Maison. dark chocolate / sea salt. Nice.

Gâteau au Fromage. crème fraîche cheesecake / passion fruit gelée. Lovely.

Madeleines au Beurre Noisette. Brown butter madeleines / salted honey chantilly. Extremely soft. Not the most typical Madeleines but absolutely delicious. No hint of citrus.

Overall, the food was really good bright modern French “Paris cafe” food. Quite excellent.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Champagne, French Cuisine, Gelato, Hoffmans, Julient, Walker, Wine

El Patio at Taito

Jul16

Restaurant: Tiato Kitchen + Garden

Location: 2700 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90404. (310) 866-5228

Date: Oct 4, 2023

Cuisine: Vietnamese Fusion

Rating: Great food, funny location

The An family — of Crustacean fame — has this unusual spot in Santa Monica, right down the street from Naughty Dog’s office.

It’s a weird office park location with a pretty courtyard.

Mostly the food is fairly casual, but we had a custom menu.

Tuna “tacos.” With that classic Vietnamese sweet chili sauce.

Goat Cheese and Walnut puffs.

Chicken liver on toast with berry sauce. A bit livery for my taste — like shades of Rosh H.

Black Truffle & Parmesan Tapioca with toasted bread crumbs, uni & toasted butter bread roll. Very creamy, rich, and airy. It had a mild and pleasant flavor. Not strongly uni with a foamy and crunchy texture. Interesting and I really enjoyed the texture.

The roll was pretty awesome.

Coconut Shrimp Roll with red lettuce, fresh herbs, toasted coconut & peanut crumble. Very fresh and pretty awesome. A super fresh/Californian take on the Vietnamese spring roll (the fresh, not fried, style).

Jidori Chicken Dumpling with porcini mushroom broth. The dumplings were awesome, like a great tortelini, and the mushroom broth was first rate.

Filet of Sole with a white wine saffron sauce, heirloom tomato & roasted corn. Very nice with bright acidic flavors.

Wagyu Steak & Potatoes with fermented creama & smoked habanero salmon roe. This was the worst dish by far. Weirdly sweet and tangy at the same time. Just not that savory. The potato balls didn’t have much flavor either.

Sesame Crusted Lamb Roulade with a white peppered yogurt and fresh carrots. Stuning! This was kinda spicy actually, with very strong flavors reminiscent of the Western Chinese style of roasted chili lamb. I really enjoyed it and much to my surprise it actually went with SQN.

Awesome house-made cookies.

Matcha Almond Latte Gelato – Ceremonial Matcha Green Tea and Sicilian Noto Romano Almond gelato base — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #almond #matcha #GreenTea #Sicily

Overall, this was a super fun night. I very much enjoyed the wines because there were a mix of styles. I didn’t actually drink much of the post-Burgundy reds. Just a bit of the Euro ones. And I did have some SQN with lamb. I didn’t even try the QC or the Ridge — not my thing. Food was great (except for the beef which was just fine) but all the other dishes were really excellent. And the atmosphere, service, and setting were A++. The location (7 min from my office) was A+++.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, garden, Gelato, hedonists, patio, Vietnamese Fusion, Wine

Sauvages – LQ goes Italian

Jul14

Restaurant: Laurent Quenioux

Location: Pasadena

Date: September 22, 2023

Cuisine: LQ Franco Italian

Today’s Sauvages lunch was graciously hosted by Tim at at his beautiful home in Pasadena. This event is held outdoors and features Cru Baroli, 2007 & Older. We enjoyed a Northern Italian inspired menu prepared by Chef Laurent Quenioux.

Gorgeous ridge-top setting.

So we hid under the shade and cracked some champagne!

Grilled peppers bruschetta with prosciutto.

beef meatball. with a bit of a yellow curry vibe.

The menu.

Bordier Butter and La Creme baguette.

SEARED COD. Lightly breaded | basil beurre blanc with lemon zeste.

CHANTERELLES TAGLIATELLE. Sautéed Chanterelles | Garlic | olive oil | Parsley | aged reggiano. Mushrooms were great. Pasta was quite nice, but could have used a touch more emulsion of the sauce to bring it all together.

Braised Oxtail in cabernet | caramelized onions | soft polenta. Carby, but a fabulous dish with an onion soup vibe, believe it or not.

Stuffed veal scaloppini | braised with tomatoes marinara style | herbs. Very flavorful, packed tightly, and extremely “LQ.”

COW: CAMEMBERT WITH BUFFLONNE MILK ITALY – EWE: MOLITERNO AL TARTUFO – COW: PARMIGIANO REGGIANO – plum jam. Perfect cheese plate.

My son’s favorite — Triple Chocolate Cloud Gelato – The base is made this time with Valrhona 70% Guanaja Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Ganache, and chopped Oreos! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #oreos #ganache #icing

Gelato all’Amarena — a very simple and elegant Tahitian Vanilla Bean White Base (no egg) with Amarena Cherries in syrup — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #vanilla #amarena #cherry #syrup

Expresso.

Overall, an extremely fun lunch and a good way to “pause” on my weekday lunch festivities for a bit while I concentrate on work. Every wine was fabulous! Really just a fabulous setting and great company. Thank you very much to Tim for hosting!

Barolo was generally great as well :-).

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Barolo, BYOG, Gelato, Laurent Quenioux, LQ, Sauvages, Wine

Bistro 1968 at Night

Jul11

Restaurant: Bistro 1968 [1, 2]

Location: 402 S San Gabriel Blvd Ste A, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 766-1968

Date: January 4, 2024

Cuisine: Chinese Dim Sum

Rating: One of the current best

Bistro 1968 opened with considerable fanfare (for the SGV) at the tail end of 2022. It serves up a large but focused menu of Cantonese dim sum and unusually is not two restaurants in one like most of the Cantonese places. Instead they have the same (dim sum focused) menu for both lunch and dinner.

This visit involves a Foodie Club Sunday Chinese dinner with combined dim sum and other.

The underground parking lot here sucks. Upper level was full and the lower level had this mechanical gated “resident only tow zone” that was poorly labeled and easy to get trapped in.

Escaping the parking lot involved this endless corridor.

Peanuts and Candied Walnuts.

The menu.

They have moderately fancy tea service.

Chili paste and mustard.

Egg Tofu with Abalone Sauce. I love this soft silky tofu. Although we got it more or less twice.

Seafood Dumpling with pumpkin.

Shrimp Har-gow.

Seaweed and Shrimp Paste Cake.

Chili Oil.

XO Sauce.

Pork & Shrimp Siu-Mai.

Selections.

Shrimp Rice Noodle.

Supreme Beef Balls.

Jumbo Sticky Rice Wrap.

Seafood Chow-mein w/ Crispy Noodle. Solid version of the classic with nice noodles and sily seafood.

Pan Fried Seme Cicoria w/ Duck Meat. This “orzo” with bits of duck was awesome. Very much like a fried rice.

Barbecued Iberian Pork w/ Honey. Too lean and too sweet, so while it had good flavor it was a bit chewy.

Egg Tofu with Mushrooms and Vegetables. Delicious dish. This is my kind of “veggie.”

Peking Duck. This was a rather lame Pseudo Peking Duck. Kinda dry and the cleavered style of Cantonese roast duck with the buns.

No cucumbers but there were scallions.

They served both the more “real” hoisin and the standard thin Cantonese type that usually goes with PPD.

Poached Tofu Skin w/ Pork Bone Broth.. Soup was a pork bone broth and pretty delicious. Rest of the dish was meh.

Pan Fried Mix Mushrooms with Egg White. Kinda boring dry version of this dish. It was much better at Colette.

Curry Rice with Baked Eel. The eel was really good. The curry rice was a touch dry and very much that English yellow curry.

Poached Watercress with Fish Ball. Bland this time around.

Strawberry Jam Gelato — an awesome dairy Strawberry base swirled with Strawberry Jam — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — sugar time! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #strawberry #jam

To the right was an Almond Zab blend. It was pretty old. Tasted great but had some ice cystal formation. Could easily have been almost 2 years old from the label.

Flavorless sweat bean puffs.

Mango “soup” was actually pretty good.

Overall, Bistro 1968 was interesting at night. It was a Sunday night and deserted. The kitchen didn’t feel particularly on point but the dim sum was still great and most of the dishes very enjoyable. They seem to be floundering, as more recently (early summer 2024) they have switched to $20/pp AYCE dim sum — which will doom them. No way they make money on that.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Bistro 1968, BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Wine

Sichuan Modern – 19 Town

Jul09

Restaurant: 19 Town

Location: 18065 Gale Ave, City of Industry, CA 91748. (626) 669-7089

Date: September 3, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Sichuan Chinese

Rating: Very tasty, unusual modern style

19Town is the new modern fusion Sichuan place by the folks that brought us Sichuan Impression.

Tucked away in the corner of a giant parking lot with a Home Depot.

It’s going for a more bar-like feel.

There are a couple of private rooms.

We had this large table in a nook at the back of the resteraunt.

The menu.

Small cold drinking “snacks” are traditional in Chengdu.

Spinach Ball with Black Sesame Paste. Bonito Flake. Tightly packed in there.

Wasabi Edamame. Soybean sauce. Good for edamame.

Assorted Pickles. Bell pepper, lotus root, pickles, cauliflowers. Really crunchy, really hot, and really vinegared. Loved them.

Oil Bath Mushroom. Shiitake mushrooms, termite mushrooms. Nice little mellow mushrooms.

Bamboo Shoots Salad. Cordyceps flower, sesame oi. Crunchy with a bit of heat.

Shisito Numbing Tofu. Avocado, roasted green chili sauce, green Sichuan peppercorns. Delicious. Nice soft texture and some good heat and flavor from the salty sauce.

Cucumber with Sesame Paste. Elegant.

Dry-aged Salmon Tartare. Avocado, fennel, pickle capers, crisp wonton chips. A bit sweet, but very interesting flavors.

Slow-cooked Beef Tongue. Salt and spring onion sauce, red onions, garlic. Really tasty with some nice zing.

Scallop Ceviche. Shallots, yuzu sauce, pickles. Had that limey sour quality and I really enjoyed.

Grilled Octopus. Lime, vinegar, sauce of sous vide egg with black truffle. Pretty much like classic Spanish octopus.

Jiaoma Steak Tartare. Medium-rare ribeye steak pickled egg yolk, green onion, capers, peppercorn powder, rice crackers. Texture like a western tartare, but there was a very distinct Sichuan peppercorn flavor which I really enjoyed.

Sichuan Style Spicy Bullfrog. Chili oil, orange peel, dried chilis, baby arugula. One of the best Chinese frog dishes I’ve had. Yeah there were still the bones, but it had this nice flavorful spice to it.

Fire Belly. Kurobuta Pork, Butterhead lettuce, shisito peppers, dried chilis. Some good heat, but not overwhelming. Nice porky flavor.

Flaming Pork Jowl. Fresno Pepper, peanut butter, Everclear 120 Moonshine. Not spicy, with a distinct rich porcine note. Quite lovely.

Sauced Crispy Shrimp. Eggplant, garlic, green onions, roasted peppers, white flour. Really delicious and very fried.

Cheese Mapo Tofu. Roasted peppercorn powder, mozzarella cheese, baguette. The cheese really works. They do, however, chop up the tofu very fine in this version and I prefer the larger silky cubes.

Jasmine Tea-smoked Duck Leg. Cantaloupe, lavender, rosemary, thyme. Perfectly cooked. Both cured and juicy. Nice crispy skin as well. Interesting “alchohol” flavor? Delicious.

Farm-fed Silkie Chicken with Spicy Sauce. Chili oil, konjac knots, green onions. Great dish. Closely related to bang bang chicken and spectacular.

Slow-cooked Beef Ribs. Roasted pineapple, Fresno peppers. Well done, but tender.

Grilled Turbot with spices. Interesting like this with all the spices. But Turbot is best simply steamed.

Gnocchi con le Cozze. Mussel, garlic, pickled pepper, mozzarella cheese. Quite enjoyable.

Slow-cooked Oxtail. Dried-pickled Chinese mustard greens, dried chili pepper, rice, quinoa. Lots of bones as usual straight up.

Mixed up. Really nice and comforting when mixed up (without the bones).

Creamy Seafood Stew Noodle. Mussel, squid, shrimp, scallop, dairy. Interesting. Mild. Not my favorite dish of the night but certainly fine.

Waffle Fries with Salted Egg Yolk. Waffle fries!

Grilled Dry-aged Duck Breast. Sweet and sour vegetables. Cooked almost the same way as the leg — also fabulous.

Lamb Shank Paella. Carrots, peas, bell peppers, mushrooms, sugarcane, saffron. This was very addictive too, particularly the rich with the rich and flavorful meat.

served with pickles.

Black Sesame Cheese Tart. Barley.

Lemon au Courant Sorbetto and Mud Pie Gelato.

The wines.

Overall, 19 Town was REALLY good. It’s the most unusual Chinese cooking I’ve had in a while and is very fusion and hybrid, but instead of just making me want some “real” Chinese food, mostly these dishes were just excellent unto themselves. Occasionally I like the traditional versions better, like with the texture on the Mapo Tofu — and I love my traditional Chinese. But this was delicious and very interesting. It doesn’t replace traditional at all, but is a great compliment. Service was excellent too.

Yarom and the chef.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 19 Town, BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, SGV, Sichuan Cuisine, Sichuan Impression, Wine

Harlan part 1

Jul07

Restaurant: Cut [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 9500 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 276-8500

Date: September 5, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Steakhouse

Rating: Amazing special meal

Michael Palmer arranged this incredible Harlan tasting dinner in two parts. Not only did he procure the wines, but he organized with Piero Selvaggio our total takeover of the Cut lounge and a custom menu.

The special menu.

A5 Wagyu on Chicharrones! Delicious.

Tempura fried oysters with caviar. I don’t normally love fried oysters, but these were great.

Blue fin tuna on wonton crisps.

The chef.

Black Trumpet Mushroom Chawanmushi. Crispy 36 month aged Prosciutto di Parama. Very unusual egg custard with a smoky rich “thick” top and a definitive bacon flavor.

Long Island Black Bass. Creamy eggplant, roasted figs, red wine reduction. Normally you wouldn’t think fish would go with Harlan but the smoky eggplant and the incredible sweet cabernet reduction really brought it together. I licked the plate clean!

Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto. 36 month aged parmigiano reggiano. Fabulous risotto with a perfect texture and mancurata. It was mild, with no pepper and not as much cheese as I would have liked on its own, but it did pair great with the wines.

Roasted Liberty Duck Two Ways. Really nice duck breast and confit leg bits. The breast had a hammy gamey quality and the leg meat was braised with a bit of black pepper — really fabulous.

Australian Wagyu Westholme New York Strip. Bone marrow custard, sauce bordelaise. Very tasty meat amped up by the addition (and I spread it on top) of the bone marrow flan.

30 Month Aged Comte. Grilled fruit & nut bread, market blackberry jam. Really spectactular cheese dish. Sweet, but I ate the entire bread and jam because the 3 way pairing was divine.

Pure and Concentrated Evil — Kentucky Mud Pie Gelato — Expresso Knob Creek Bourbon Custard Gelato base with layers of house-made Crushed Oreo Valrhona Fudge Ganache, and house-made Vanilla Coconut Cream Cheese Icing — The Plaid Mode of Gelati and includes a hefty Caffeine kick — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #coconut #valrhona #chocolate #ganache #expresso #bourbon #custard #oreos #icing

Overall, this was a really special dinner. The wines were incredible, even if California isn’t my favorite, and the food was out of this world. The special room — aka full longue takeover — and hyper attentive service under Pierro made it a one of a kind evening!

The gang.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cut, Gelato, harlan, Piero Selvaggio, Wine, Wolfgang Puck

Iki Ramen Insanity

Jul01

Restaurant: Iki Ramen

Location: 740 S Western Ave #115, Los Angeles, CA 90005. (424) 419-2772

Date: August 24, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Japanese

Rating: Big fun!

Michael K organized this omakase buyout at Iki Ramen.

Dreams do come true for these 4 best friends. 👏
Jeffry Undiarto (former n/naka GM), childhood friends Sabastian Karyadi (owner of ramen nagomi in New Jersey and formerly work at Mori sushi in LA) and chefs Hiroyuki Masato (formerly owner Poke Tendo, chef and manager at sushi chain sushi Mac) and Andy Juliady (owner seafood company based in downtown LA), together they co-founded Iki Ramen.
Giant shoutout to Michael organizing this private dinner to create more fantastic memories with new & old friends 🥰 Mary A Chevy Bonnie Joe Andy Erick Larry Brent Sebastian Aedyn Brad Gordan Conrad David Emily Fred Danielle David Linda Jio Jovi Jordan 🥂🍾🍷

The interior before we swamped it out.

A salad of white fish sashimi, greens, yuzu koshu, and pear. Very zesty and delicious.

Just a few of the bottles.

Tuna with truffle and a sweet soy. Delicious.

Incredibly tender octopus with sunomono.

Miso glazed cod.

White fish “custard” (more a thickened stock)?

Uni and squid ink pasta with truffles. This was an incredible pasta with a great chewy texture and absolutely delicious briny flavors.

Scallop, burrata, and tomatoes. Who would have thought this would have paired — but it really did.

Salmon, Tai, and crab sushi.

Toro, uni, and wagyu sushi.

Ginger.

Yuzu Shio Ramen. Yuzu citrus + sea salt seasoned organic chicken broth+house dashi. slow-braised niman ranch pork belly, hanjuku tamago, menma, nori, scallions. Really awesome and complex flavor.

Soft Shell Crab Bao. fried soft shell crab bao, cucumber, spicy mayo, chili garlic.

Cucumber Cut Roll.

Hand rolls.

Uni Sushi.

Toro sushi (chopped).

Truffle Butter Tonkotsu. Rich, shoyu seasoned pork bone stock, with truffle butter, pork belly, egg, kikurage, sweet corn, scallions, nori. Very rich.

Toro Uni Ikura don. Sushi rice, toro tartare, sea urchin, dashi ikura.

Crispy Japanese dessert. The shell wasn’t sweet at all, but it was crunchy.

Coconut Crunch Gelato — Coconut dairy custard base with Strawberry Wafers and house-made White Chocolate Coated Crunch Berries — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #coconut #crunch #crunchBerries #WhiteChocolate

Almond Gelato and Chocolate Expresso Sorbetto

Just a few bottles — the whole front row were ours!

Overall, this was a crazy fun evening. 23 people, very chaotic, over 30 wines, and tons of food. We had the whole place to ourselves so it was just a bit of a party. There were so many wines that things didn’t really run out either. Good times — except for the next morning.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, Japanese cuisine, ramen, Ski Ramen, Sushi, Wine

Tony Lau Colette

Jun23

Restaurant: Colette [1, 2, 3]

Location: 975 N Michillinda Ave, Pasadena, CA 91107. (626) 510-6286

Date: October 29, 2023

Cuisine: Contemporary Chinese

Rating: Weird Tony Lau dinner

There is a lot of buzz about Colette, which is part of the “next generation” of LA Chinese restaurants. They opened in a cafe-like space and are serving both Cantonese-esqe and dim sum. From their website:

Colette is a Cantonese-based creative Asian restaurant that welcomes people from all walks of life for all occasions. Our goal is to provide you with an inviting experience whether you’re joining us for a fine new Asian cuisine, after hiking, a friend or family gathering, a business meeting, a date, or other special occasions.

Whatever the occasion, our ambiance, and setting at Colette will serve your needs. Whether you are on the go or want to bring your pets to relax and hang out with friends, our indoor seating area and the outdoor patio are designed to offer you a cozy and comfortable space for you to enjoy your meal. In addition, our food is cooked to order and is prepared with quality in mind. Whenever it is possible, our food is prepared using ingredients from local farmers’ markets.

At Colette, we believe dining is an experience involving all senses, not just taste. Therefore, we try to ensure that our guests will enjoy the service provided by our staff and our decor, in addition to the excellent quality and taste of our menu items. We want to offer a memorable experience to each guest so that you will return with your friends and family.

Our special menu for this Tony Lau Chinese dinner series.

Bonus dish (on the house) of Salt & Pepper Squid. Very delicious, highly fried, crunchy calamari prep.

Lettuce cups with shrimp, pine nuts & jicama. These had a mixed soft and crunchy texture and a nice mild flavor. Good in the lettuce with a bit of chili oil etc. I think this is off-menu as Tony has a list of dishes he often “makes” resteraunts cook and this is one of them.

The lettuce itself.

Deep fried baby abalone. Very tasty, as they were fried with bits of mild Jalepeno. The abalone itself wasn’t that strong.

Char Siu. Super sweet and tender. Great BBQ pork — but controversial as they were so sweet and so fatty.

Crispy stuffed Chicken / 脆皮百花鸡.
Deboned air-dried chicken, shrimp paste. Crispy skin on shrimp paste — was isn’t to love? Could have used perhaps a touch more “flavor.” Some people added salt.

Baked Crabmeat with cheese inside Crab shell. Very gooey Bechemel-like texture. Quite delicious though.

Branzino Fillet Rolls. This is another Tony dish, and one that is excellent at Embassy kitchen. The fish is rolled around ginger and fried. Tasty, but the ginger was too mild or there wasn’t enough of it — it helps balance the heavy fry.

Stir-fried sliced conch with XO sauce. This is another Tony dish. Nice chewy texture and crunchy veggies.

Pan fried pork patty with salted fish. Like a slightly fishy Southern pork sausage (the kind that goes inside an Egg McMuffin). Delicious.

Stir-Fry Steak Cubes with Macadamia Nuts. Yup, a version of the Gweillo Beef. Super tender chunks and nice veggies, but still a slightly boring dish.

Off menu Singapore Chili Crab. Two whole Dungeness crabs drowned in sweet and slightly spicy eggy chili sauce. Delicious. Not exactly exactly like the one I had in Singapore, sweeter perhaps, but still super delicious.

Stir-Fry Asparagus — also with some squash and mushrooms.

Funny but delicious Chinese dessert. Sort of a gooey sesame ball.

Yar! Ghostly skeletal praline pirates are marauding — Pecan Pirate Praline Gelato — An eggy ultra-smooth Texas Pecan base layered with my creepy skull-shaped New Orleans style Vanilla Bourbon Pecan Pralines — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #vanilla #bourbon #pecan #praline #candy #halloween #spooky

Colette continues to show that it’s an excellent Cantonese dinner place. I think I like their menu stuff a bit better, as here Tony was making them do a bit too many of his favorite dishes and they don’t show off all their strengths being more classically Cantonese, still it was a very enjoyable meal — even if I was hit hard by all the “flavor” (MSG).

Our mostly order off the menu meals were considerably better.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Chinese Food, Colette, Gelato, Pasadena, Tony Lau

Roccos Redux

Jun21

Restaurant: Dinner at the Borgese’s [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]

Location: Santa Monica

Date: August 2, 2023

Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking

Rating: Awesome

Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple. Tonight’s dinner was another Hedonist dinner featuring whole lamb.

Lovely night out on the patio.

The menu.

Bistecca chilling out.

Rocco in the kitchen.

The dead and dying shrimp section (they had just been split open).

Amuse of burrata and prosciutto.

Amuse of caviar, creme fraiche, and blinis.

Carpaccio di Tonno. Tuna Carpaccio. Super salted — in a good way — the sea salted offset the olive oil nicely.

Bronzino alle Vongole. Bronzino with Clams in Cherry Tomatoes. Interesting take on things. Quite nice though. Drank the entire (delicious) broth.

Risotto ai Calamari. Calamari Risotto. Salty and delicious. Way better than the risotto I had the night before at Mistral.

Cozze con Guanciale. Mussels with Pork Cheek. Who doesn’t think that Guanciale makes everything better?

Pasta di Granchio. Crab Pasta. A very matured, incredibly savory, tomato and probably anchovy etc based crab sauce. Delicious with great texture.

Pasta di Granchio. Crab Pasta. A very matured, incredibly savory, tomato and probably anchovy etc based crab sauce. Delicious with great texture.

Bistecca alla Florentina. Wood-fired Florentine Steak. This was one of the better Rocco steaks. Medium rare and with a salty crust.

Verdure Grigliate. Roasted vegetables. In this case little baby potatoes.

Verdure Grigliate. Roasted vegetables. In this case rapini.

My partial plate.

Back from Türkiye with a new flavor — Sultan’s Delight — Iranian Saffron base with house-made Pistachio Cremino, Chopped Pistachios, and Rose-Water Pistachio Turkish Delight — many ingredients from the Istanbul Spice Bazaar — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #saffron #pistachio #cremino #TurkishDelight #Türkiye

Strawberry Margarita Sorbetto! — like a frozen cocktail — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Strawberries from Avignon, blended with fresh lime, Reposado Tequila and Cointreau –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #strawberry #Margarita #cocktail #Tequila #Cointreau

Bowled up.

The wines.

Another amazing meal at Roccos. I think I might prefer the seafood (or mostly seafood) dinners.

Very fun night with an awesome (and typical) crew and great great wines. Food was really fabulous as always, and there was tons, although I’ve had Rocco’s meals where I liked the mains more. Tonight’s standouts were the clams, quail, and pasta.

First of all, the Borgese hospitality was awesome, the house lovely, and the food absolutely incredible. One of the best “home cooked” meals I’ve had. Maybe ever if you restrict it to chefs cooking in their own home kitchen. Just amazing. Every dish was great. Rustic but extremely delicious style. Superb homemade pastas.

Service was handled by the youngest Borgese (teen daughter) and was better than most restaurant staff. Super friendly and you can tell they do this a lot.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Rocco Borgese, Roccos, Wine

Feel the Mistral

Jun18

Restaurant: Mistral

Location: 13422 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. (818) 981-6650

Date: August 1, 2023

Cuisine: French

Rating: Old school, but good

I haven’t been to Mistral in a long long time. It’s an old school Sherman Oaks French place, common in the 90s but now a nearly vanished breed.

Tonight was a hybrid of Hedonists and George who has been going here for decades.

We had this lovely patio table.

They turned the parking lot into patio during the pandemic.

Bread.

Gougères. Always yummy.

Tartar of “Sushi Grade” Ahi Tuna, Toast Points, Cucumber Rounds. Solid.

French Fries. Great crispy thin French style fries.

Ketchup and mustard.

Shrimp “Scampi” in a Beurre Blanc sauce. Really great lemon butter white wine sauce and fresh shrimp. Quite nice.

Wild Burgundy Escargots “A la Bourguignonne”. These were served on a bit of risotto. I prefer them in the classic manner, good for bread dipping. I think that’s what you normally get when you order then here, but they did this little variant given our large table size.

Crab Cake. Lovely soft crab cake with leeks and another (different) butter sauce. Quite delicious.

Moroccan Cigars, Green Yogurt with Fresh Mint, Salad of Cucumbers and Greens. Little beef rolls. Delicious with the yougurt based sauce.

Salad of Mixed Greens with Warm Goat Cheese Croutons.

Classic French Onion Soup “Gratinée”.

A very nice rendition of the classic. Totally the “classic way” — which is how it should be.

Crisp Duck Confit, Orange Grand Marnier Sauce. Chives Whipped Potato, Roasted Brussels sprouts. Very nice confit. Slightly sweet reduction was excellent.

New York Steak, Sliced Garlic, Parsley and Butter. 14 oz. USDA Prime, French Fries and Green Salad.

Steak au Poivre with the sauce on the side.

Au poivre sauce — delicious.

Lamb shank with risotto. Not as good as the confit or steak. Risotto wasn’t creamy enough.

Grilled Lamb Chops, Thyme, Rosemary, Garlic and Bread Crumbs. Potatoes au Gratin, Green Beans, Rainbow Carrots.

Fresh Peach & Strawberry Cobbler, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Berries and cream.

Chocolate Soufflé. House Whipped Cream.

Pistachio Chocolate Fudge Gelato – a new high nut and no egg formulation with Pistachio di Bronte DOGC produces an intense pistachio base, mixed with Valrhona 70% Chocolate Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #pistachio #Sicily #nuts #Valrhona #Chocolate #Ganache

Overall, a very fun evening. Food was surprisingly good. Slightly dated class “LA French”, but it was very fresh and well executed.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Wine

Colette at Night

Jun16

Restaurant: Colette [1, 2]

Location: 975 N Michillinda Ave, Pasadena, CA 91107. (626) 510-6286

Date: July 30, October 29, 2023 and March 03, 2024

Cuisine: Contemporary Chinese

Rating: Pretty great for dinner if you order correctly

Colette is a Cantonese-based creative Asian restaurant that welcomes people from all walks of life for all occasions. Our goal is to provide you with an inviting experience whether you’re joining us for a fine new Asian cuisine, after hiking, a friend or family gathering, a business meeting, a date, or other special occasions.

Whatever the occasion, our ambiance, and setting at Colette will serve your needs. Whether you are on the go or want to bring your pets to relax and hang out with friends, our indoor seating area and the outdoor patio are designed to offer you a cozy and comfortable space for you to enjoy your meal. In addition, our food is cooked to order and is prepared with quality in mind. Whenever it is possible, our food is prepared using ingredients from local farmers’ markets.

At Colette, we believe dining is an experience involving all senses, not just taste. Therefore, we try to ensure that our guests will enjoy the service provided by our staff and our decor, in addition to the excellent quality and taste of our menu items. We want to offer a memorable experience to each guest so that you will return with your friends and family.

This is the regular menu.

Deep fried baby abalone. Very tasty, as they were fried with bits of mild Jalepeno. The abalone itself wasn’t that strong.

Winter Melon Soup. Full of pork, chicken, and the soft melon chunks. Good, but could have used a touch of white pepper.

Off menu Geoduck sashimi. This was cut from the body of the giant clam. Great version of this dish. Very fresh, not too chewy, but with a nice bite, and with that pleasant “taste of the sea.”

Soy Sauce for the geoduck.

The neck of the clam was fried. This was a fabulous “salt and pepper” fry with a very crispy delicious batter.

Golden Yolk Shrimp. Hot and rich.

Szechuan style Chicken Salad / 川味口水鸡. Chicken drizzled with chef-special chili oil. Not super hot but the “bang bang” style sauce was delicious and addictive.

Faux Gras Shimeji Mushroom /鹅肝酱抓菇.
white beech mushroom with faux gras sauce. Super crispy yummy fried mushrooms with this “hint” of fois in the batter. It wasn’t a sauce per se, but more a livery quality to the pasty coating of the fry. Well seasoned (salty) and delicious.

Golden Yolk Fried Pumpkin /金沙南瓜绦.
Pumpkin fried with salted egg yolk. Surprisingly delicious. Nice fry.

Seafood Scrambled Milk/ 海皇炒鲜奶.
Scrambled milk and egg white with assorted seafood. Light and creamy and very enjoyable with some vinegar.

Off menu live Turbo, steamed with garlic and ginger. A perfect rendition of this fish with the fabulous soft juicy texture of both the meat and collagen — plus the “sauce” was very subtle and addictive.

Off menu “faux shark fine.” A similar egg white dish with bean sprouts and I’m not sure what, but a really nice crunchy and soft texture.

Off menu Singapore Chili Crab. Two whole Dungeness crabs drowned in sweet and slightly spicy eggy chili sauce. Delicious. Not exactly exactly like the one I had in Singapore, sweeter perhaps, but still super delicious.

Butter-fried bread for sopping up the garlic sauce.

Fried Cabbage with Bacon / 培根炒高丽菜.
Sauteed cabbage stir-fried with house bacon. I always love this dish when it has the pork — and tonight was no exception.

Char Siu. Super sweet and tender. Great BBQ pork!

Braised Tofu with Mushroom / 杂菌烧豆腐.
Braised tofu with assorted mushrooms. Very nice mushroom/tofu. Great texture and flavor.

Crispy stuffed Chicken / 脆皮百花鸡.
Deboned air-dried chicken, shrimp paste. Crispy skin on shrimp paste — was isn’t to love? Could have used perhaps a touch more “flavor.” Some people added salt.

Cheese Lobster Noodle. Weird but hyper addictive.

Laksa Seafood Spaghetti / 喇吵海鲜意粉.
Homemade Laksa sauce (a spicy soup from South-East Asia) with spaghetti, mushroom, and Seafood (Scallops, crab, shrimp). I was very full but I loved this. Strong laksa flavor, not as strong as Cassia or anything, but still strong. Noodles were almost like thin ramen noodles and there was lots of lump crab. Delicious.

Yangchow fried rice.

Funny but delicious Chinese dessert. Sort of a gooey sesame ball.

Summertime calls for — Yuzu Meyer Lemon Sorbetto — Japanese Yuzu Juice, Fresh Meyer Lemon Juice — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #yuzu #meyer #lemon

Lemon Cookie and St Agur Fig Walnut.

Overall, a very fun night and I was quite impressed with Colette’s food this time around. I think their dinner menu and execution are better than with the dim sum, which was also pretty decent. Skipping the nasty Pork Trotters also helped. Service and wine policy were great. The only problem is the location. Pasadena is actually a good 15-20 min FURTHER than the SGV. It’s noticable. And it doesn’t have handy foot massage (or at least I haven’t looked for it there).

Best ever!

Overall, this is a weird place. It feels like an American breakfast cafe, but it’s Chinese. The food is mildly fusion. It’s partially dim sum, partially other Chinese. Dishes were hit or miss but nothing really stood out as amazing and it’s not actually “better” in any way than most SGV restaurants. But that’s just the dim sum. A follow-up dinner here turned out an absolutely first class meal. So while I think Colette is nice enough at lunch, it really rocks for less dim sum oriented Cantonese — more on that in another post.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Chinese Food, Colette, Gelato, Pasadena

Home on the Grange

Jun12

Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]

Location: 419 Cold Canyon Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302 (818) 222-3888

Date: July 27, 2023

Cuisine: Modern American

Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.

Ever year, both in the summer and winter, we Hedonists return to Saddle Peak Lodge. It’s pretty much the perfect venue for both a winter or summer food and wine blast, with gorgeous lodge patio, game driven food, and awesome wine service. For those of you who don’t know, Hedonist events have amazing wines (each diner brings at least one bottle).

Tonight’s dinner was Penfolds Grange themed.

Saddle Peak Ranch used to be a game lodge back in the early part of the 20th century. The rich and famous used to come up and hunt Malibu’s finest, such as this poor fellow. Now the deer are just served up on the menu.

The menu.

Amuse of potato leek soup. A bit too “carby” for my taste.

Pretzel bread.

CAST IRON JOHNNYCAKE. Maple Butter. Like dessert cornbread.

WHITE SHRIMP “COCKTAIL”. Cocktail Sauce & Charred Lemon.

PORK BELLY. Vietnamese Flavors, Pickled Vegetables, Herbs, Nuoc Mam, Lime. Nice tangy & fatty flavors. Rich. Some reach crunch to the pork.

6 INCH SPLIT ROASTED BONE MARROW. Chimichurri Sauce, Grilled Ciabatta.

HAND ROLLED CAVATELLI PASTA. Périgord Truffle Sauce, Potatoes, Parmesan, Fine Herbs.

CAESAR SALAD (w/ anchoives). Romaine, Parmesan, Grilled Ciabatta. Oddly sweet dressing.

PINK LADY APPLE SALAD. St. Agur Blue Cheese, Arugula, Shallots, Candied Pecan.

“Tomato salad” (made up by Yarom).

A simple green salad.

NEW ZEALAND LAMB. Chanterelle Mushroom, Farro, Artichokes, Black Truffle Butter.

CHEF’S GAME TRIO. Rabbit | Miso Mash | Baby Carrots | Balsamic Onions | Red Wine Jus Elk Tenderloin | Braised Bacon | Morello Cherry | Celery Root | Sweet Potato Bison Short Rib | Smoked Miso-Potato | Blistered Asparagus | Spicy Pepper & Apple Salad.

Rabbit | Miso Mash | Baby Carrots | Balsamic Onions

Sweet Potato Bison Short Rib | Smoked Miso-Potato | Blistered Asparagus

Red Wine Jus Elk Tenderloin | Braised Bacon | Morello Cherry | Celery Root

2LB BONE-IN WESTHOLME WAGYU BEEF TOMAHAWK FEAST. Westholme Australian Wagyu Beef Ribeye (Marble Score A5-7) | Cooked in herbs & butter over charcoal with Seasonal Accompaniments Served Table Side | Spring Accompaniments: New Potato Puree, Asparagus Cooked 3 Ways, Mushrooms “Bordelaise”.

BRUSSEL SPROUTS. (sweet, sour & salty).

Spinach.

ASPARAGUS

MASHED POTATOES

The dessert menu.

Nocciola Crunch Gelato — Nocciola (hazelnut) base made with egg yolk and Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste mixed with Nestle’s Buncha Crunch — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — new higher fat base formulation — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #hazelnut #nocciola #Chocolate #Nestle #crunch

Salty Pistachio Gelato NSA – Pistachio di Bronte DOGC produces an intense pistachio base to which I added just a touch of salt — this version was formulated No Sugar Added with Allulose — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #pistachio #sicily #nuts #salt #nsa #allulose

The wines.

The gang.

Fun evening, and the wines were incredible. But I do remember Saddle Peak’s food being better than this. Both menu and execution getting a touch tired. Service was awesome though.

Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,
Or for Hedonist extravaganzas.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, game, gealto, hedionists, Meat, Saddle Peak Lodge

Majordomo 2023

Jun06

Restaurant: Majordomo [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

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

Date: July 17, 2023

Cuisine: Korean Fusion

Rating: Big dishes amazing

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

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

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

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

With lots of bespoke graffiti.

And Majordomo, of course.

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

As you can see.

Inside is one of those cavernous loud warehouse spaces.

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

But we setup outside on the patio at a large table (actually the 2022 pic).

The menu.

Crudo plate.

Tuna Tataki. Honey, citrus, habanero. More sweet than spicy.

Yellowtail special crudo. Kinda bland actually.

Dungeness Crab Salad – ginger, melon, asparagus. Nice, with a sweet and tangy flavor. Very crabby.

Bing plate. This pita-like bread is spread as desired with the ordered condiments.

Lady Edison Country Ham. Very tasty ham. Like American prosciutto.

The actual bings (very addictive).

Whipped Ricotta, Jam, Chili Crunch. This was a really tasty blend of soft cheese, aged strawberry jam, and the chili. Very interesting blend and quite effective.

Smoked Eggplant & Pine Nut. Tasty.

Butter, Honey, Black Truffle. Delicious combo — although sweet, of course.

Heirloom Tomatoes – sherry vinaigrette, stone fruit, sesame.

Grilled Yu Choy – yogurt, plum, chickpea. I didn’t actually try the veggies (they were gone) but the yogurt had a delicious and very interesting flavor.

Clam Lo Mein – garlic, thai chili, lemon. A nice pasta.

Fried Shrimp – salsa seca, walnuts, honey. Really delicious shrimp. I had like a third of a plate. Quite sweet, garlicky, and a touch spicy.

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

Smoked Half Bo Ssäm – (feeds 4-5) ssam, condiments, rice.

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

Rice.

One of these snuck in.

Whole Plate Short Rib – (feeds 5-6) ssam, condiments, beef rice.

The short rib all sliced up. Awesome thin slices and great tasting, but a bit chewy meat on the bone.

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

Veggie wraps.

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

Beef rice. Very tasty — rich of course.

Smoked Prime Rib – au jus, horseradish, BS fries. This was the best prime rib I’ve ever had. So so much better than regular prime rib with that fantastic smoked flavor. Super tender too.

Horseradish.

BS fries. Very good, particularly with the sauces.

Béarnaise sauce.

Boiled Whole Chicken – rice, domojang, ginger scallion, hand torn noodle, soup. Very tender and delicious. Some fabulous moist chicken breast with a lot of flavor (both types).

Hand torn noodle, soup. Actually pretty awesome — even if we were all very full — with a great pepper flavor. Like the peppery version of classic chicken noodle soup.

Back from Türkiye with a new flavor — Sultan’s Delight — Iranian Saffron base with house-made Pistachio Cremino, Chopped Pistachios, and Rose-Water Pistachio Turkish Delight — many ingredients from the Istanbul Spice Bazaar — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #saffron #pistachio #cremino #TurkishDelight #Türkiye

Wines for the night. Thank the lord we ditched all those over-saturated SQNs.

Yarom dual wields the bones.

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

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

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

So good to not have the SQNs and return to some decent wines.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for epic Foodie Club meals, here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: bbq, BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Majordomo, Meat, Wine

Brothers Dom

Mar10

Restaurant: The Brothers Sushi Santa Monica [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: June 6, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Sushi

Rating: Awesome (and close)!

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

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

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

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

Oyster with yuzu, shiso, and sea salt. Bright and lovely.

Firefly squid, basil udon, and tomato. The basil udon (more a spaghetti) was amazing.

Sea bream with transparent shrimp, lotus root. Steamed with seaweed dashi. Very light and delicate.

Smoked baby bluefin tuna with wasabi. Strong smoke flavor (which I like).

What is Larry learning?

Chawanmushi with hairy crab, Hokaido uni, shiso, and sweet corn. Soft and delectable.

Maryland soft shell crab. Very zesty and lovely miso dressing.

Saba. Nice and oily.

Cherry Salmon. Super soft and lightly smokey. Cured in kelp.

Fan clam with Hokaido uni and salt. Very unusual and delciious.

Tuna. Superb balance of soy and tuna flavors with a long briny finish.

Goldeneye snapper.

Dry aged o-toro. So good. Just incredible.

Wagyu truffle.

WOTN — haha.

Shima aji.

Uni risotto with sea perch, ikura, and wasabi. Unique and wonderful.

Another o-toro — had to do it!

Sea Eel.

Negi toro handroll. Incredible.

Clam miso.

Uni crab handroll. Lots of uni!

Strawberry Jam Gelato — an awesome dairly Strawberry base swirled with Strawberry Jam — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — sugar time! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #strawberry #jam

Sweet milk strawberry gelato with Harry’s Berries and a jelly.

Roasted Tea.

Overall an incredible night of incredible eats and some really fabulous wine. Lots and lots of P2! These were all so young, even the 96s! The 2008 1996 had a little age on it, but still.

Overall, another perfect night of sushi and champagne!

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

For more Sushi dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brothers Sushi, BYOG, Dom Pérignon (wine), Gelato, Montana, Santa Monica, Sushi, Wine

Spanish Sauvages 2023

Feb23

Restaurant: Teresa Montana [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: Flintridge

Date: May 26, 2023

Cuisine: New American

Today’s Sauvages lunch is a lunch in honor of late Co-Poobah Steve Levin. It’s graciously hosted by Paul at at his beautiful home in Flintridge. This event is held outdoors in memory of the Zinfandel barbecues that Steve would hold for our group every summer at his home (it being Paul’s idea to maintain this fine tradition). To that end, we always enjoy a few Zinfandels at this lunch in addition to the theme wines for the lunch. The annual lunches at Paul’s home always rate very high on the scales for ambiance, camaraderie and food quality.

The main wine theme has evolved to a tour of some of the best Spanish wines to go along with Spanish food by chef Teresa Montana.
This California style building isn’t the house itself, but the amazing top of the integrated cellar.

Trying to give you a sense of the mid century space.

This year (2023), we sat on the other side of the main house at a single large table.

Here the chef can be seem working the kitchen.

Starting with some champ.

Our special menu.

The chef gives the speil.

Spanish whites.

Sicilian Crudo. Yellowfin tuna, fluke, pugliese olive oil, olives, lemon, flowers, caviar. This generous crudo was flavored strongly by the grassy (and lovely) olive oil from Southern Italy and the hefty dose of sea salt. Very pleasant.

Riojas.

Chicharro y Tonnato. Charred snap peas, tonnato sauce, garrotxa cheese, bonito. These fresh veggies tasted great with what was essentially a thick “lemon-less” cesar dressing. Very rich, savory, umami sauce and ridiculously delicious.

Unico!

Pizza al Pistachio. Stracciatella, pistachio, parmesan, mortadella. The toppings were great. The dough was a touch heavy. It was still a very nice pizza, but it wasn’t the super light and chewy dough of the very best pizzas. Still good though and the mortadella and added pistachio was great.

Priorats.

Txuletas de Iberico. Grilled montaraz Iberico pork chops, charred spring vegetables, xato sauce. Really yummy pork chop with bone and great meaty flavor. The romesco-like sauce was awesome as well.

Older Riojas.

Chef’s Special Cheeses. Selection of handpicked cheeses, fruit and honey, with housemade walnut raisin sourdough.

Pretty!

Bread.

My son’s favorite — Triple Chocolate Cloud Gelato – The base is made this time with Valrhona 70% Guanaja Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Ganache, and chopped Oreos! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #oreos #ganache #icing

Baileys Irish Gream Gelato — Stabilized 13% Bailys Irish Cream recipe, with a touch of seasonal coloring! — I have trouble resisting these once a year flavors — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #expresso #whiskey #baileys #StPatricksDay #cream #green

A bit of wine!

Overall, a delicious afternoon — food and wine both! An awesome range of Spanish wines and some great Spanish food.

We did have WAY too much wine for the number of courses. We could have used an easy 2 or 3 more courses to stage it out. A couple years ago we had one more course and we could really use that as there is that extra Zin flight.

The setting really is magnificent. The weather was perfect, if a little cloudy. Just an ideal afternoon in the yard!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, lunch, Paul Wools, Sauvages, Spanish, Teresa Montana

Superb Shoku

Feb12

Restaurant: Shoku

Location: Private

Date: May 20, 2023

Cuisine: Japanese influenced Ultra Comfort Food

Rating: Incredible — and priced that way

Shoku is a team of hyper talented chefs who whip up some incredible high end interpretations of comfort food with incredible ingredients.

Tonight’s special dinner was hosted at the industrial chic DTLA appartment of a friend.

Shoku is an exclusive Private Dining Concept with a very talented team of chefs who come to a place of your choosing and cater an insane meal of mostly American comfort foods reinterpreted in an Asian-esque style with crazy high end ingredients. This was my first time and from their IG I was very excited.

Here are just some of the luxury ingredients including Hoikaido Uni, the very best Japanese Toro and A5, Umbrian truffles, and Astrea’s top caviar.

Gratuitous zoom!

The staff show off some of our live shellfish minutes before their demise.

Hokaido Tarabagani King Crab!

Hokaido Hairy Crab.

Don’t eat me!

Just because I’m a Champagne guy doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate its “distilled” variety — a tasting of Louis XIII !

In these amazing bespoke crystal glasses with the sunflower pattern.

Our special menu tonight.

The welcome cocktail is presented.

A vanilla, orange, strawberry, Don Julio 1942 beverage in this insanely pretty flask.

Onion “Soup” Ring. This fried ring contained caramelized onions and was served with a caviar riddled mustard sauce. It was so meaty that it invoked both hamburger and onion ring vibes. This sauce would make the best burger sauce too. Really fabulous.

Toro Nigiri. Yamayuki toro. 48 month barrel aged kombu. Sumidaya rice. An incredibly delicate and etheral (two) bite(s) of sushi. Incredibly soft and uniform with a light sweetness, salinity, and a hint of acidity.

Wagyu Chalupa. A5 Kobe strip. Chipotle lime crema. Charred tomatillo. Lots of flavor and great textural contrast in this one. Rich, soft, and crunchy, and the fat factor was offset by the crema. The Chalupa itself was light, crispy, and airy.

Black Pepper King Crab. Live Hokkaido tarabagani. Zanzibar black peper. Fermented white pepper. The crab itself was delicate and moist but the intense pepper sauce was so good! Of course this evokes the Singapore style Black Pepper Crab but at a much less messy, much more refined level. Needed evil bread and a bucket of the sauce. It’d be an amazing steak sauce too.

Astrea’s top caviar just for a bump. Grand Selection Oscietra. Russian Oscietra (aka Osetra or Ossetra) are from sturgeons originated in the Caspian Sea. This world-famous caviar is delicate and refined in taste, perfect for special occasions. A truly luxurious indulgence. It might not be a 4lb tub but the quality was very high.

King Crab Po’ Boy. Hokkaido Tarabagani. Old Bay remoulade. Private Reserve Ossetra. This was one of my picks because of the awesome video and it didn’t dissapoint — except perhaps for being tiny (although I did manage to get a second). Just the best little “fried fish” sandwhich I’ve had. That buttery bread and the remoulade alone would have been worth it.

Uni Bucatini. Hokkaido Bafun uni. Calabrian chili butter. Private Reserve Ossetra. Arguably my favorite dish. The bucatini had a nice chew and thickness and the uni, once mixed in, was ultra creamy. The caviar just upped the savory ante and the bit of chili really just made it zing without overwelming the delicate flavors. Bravo!

This beef has a certificate from the cow and the owner!

Tournedos Rossini. A5 Kobe chateaubriand. Seared Hudson Valley foie gras. Sauce Rouennaise. Presented before being covered in truffles.

Now you can barely see it. Sorry Heroic, this version is richer! Very rich, well balanced, soft, and delicious. The sauce was amazing.

Now time for the little crabs to do their thing.

Ooops, it’s shellfish Hannibal Lector.

Ridiculous butter sauce.

And crab meat IN the sauce. We snitched a few.

Kegani Donabe. Hokkaido hairy crab. Dashi butter. Private Reserve Ossetra. This was like the ultimate crab fried rice. Plus caviar, plus truffles (comming in a second). Both the body and leg meat was here, in that butter sauce.

On come the truffles again.

Bit of citrus to cleanse the pallate.

I shouldn’t have eaten this much rice but it was just too good. It was almost dessert sweet from the crab and so buttery. Just a to-die-for crab rice.

Cookie and Cream. The “cream” was sphereized and exploded, making a bit of a mess.

Burnt Basque Brie Cake. Madagascar vanilla. Triple Creme Brie. DOP Mascarpone. Rich, soft, with a bit of firmness. This was the best BBCC I’ve had outside of Northern Spain.

New Flavor — Cherry Bakewell Tart Gelato — While watching every episode of the Great British Baking Show I was introduced to the Bakewell Tart, which I liked it enough to make a gelato — Sicilian Noto Romano Almond Custard Base is layered with house-made Honey Almond Graham Crackers and Cherry Preserves. For extra fun I made an Almond Icing and glazed the Grahams with it in the traditional pattern (first time trying it) — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Sicily #Almond #Cherry #GrahamCracker #BakewellTart #tart #bakewell #jam #icing

I thought this would play nicely with the cheesecake. They plated it up in a bowl on the side. Definitely one of my best flavors. That almond rules.

Strawberry Shortcake Bar. Harry’s Berries. Tahitian vanilla. Valrhona white chocolate. This was very nicely made and delicious, but the Ivoire dominated the strawberry, so it was like a crunchy white chocolate bar with a bit of strawberry. The ice cream texture wasn’t very obvious.

Strawberry Jam Gelato — an awesome dairly Strawberry base swirled with Strawberry Jam — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — sugar time! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #strawberry #jam

I’d made this for my son, but I chose to bring it to “test myself” against the strawberry shortcake. It delivered. Texture and light stawberry and cream flavor was perfect — if I do say so myself.

Overall, this was a stunning meal and a great evening. Fun meeting lots of new people, plus Louis XIII, great wines (which we paired nicely), and some really amazing food. I knew it’d look good and have amazing ingredients, but I was pleasantly surprised how great everything tasted and how technical the preparation was — all executed at a very high level of skill. Not cheap, but pretty epic.

For more dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Caviar, cognaq, Gelato, popup, Private dinner, Shoku

Gaja at Charcoal

Feb09

Restaurant: Charcoal Venice [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 425 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292. (310) 751-6794

Date: June 14, 2022

Cuisine: New American Grill

Rating: Some great meats

Our second Gaja dinner of the Spring (there were rival factions). Back to Charcoal, a favorite.

The menu.

Bread with Beurre De Baratte

smoked paprika mustard chimichurri, red wine chipotle bbq sauce, J-1 steak sauce, and charcoal marinade.

Yellowfin Tuna, Pickled Cucumber, Avocado, Citrus Vinaigrette. Classic, but good. Kinda sweet.

Sweet potato chips.

Oysters on the Half Shell. Garnished Traditionally and Creatively. Nice small oysters.

Very nice, tasted like Sav Blanc with a lot of petrol.

Super hot, flabby, and tending toward sherry.

Smoked Mushroom and Beet, Crème Fraiche, Currants. Tastes like liquid smoke, but really nice actually.

Grilled bread.

California Avocado Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes,Fresh Tagliatelle. Bright and enjoyable, but not as sexy/rich as a “normal” (very good) pesto.

Some kind of shrimp special, with a salsa-like sauce.

Gorgeous.

Grilled Lamb Chops, Cilantro Mint Emulsion. Well cooked, very tender, and tons of flavor.

Smoky Grilled Chicken Wings, Oregano, Chili, Vinegar. Good, but I like Vietnamese wings better. Still, these had a really great char flavor.

21 Day Aged Half Liberty Duck, Honey, Coriander. Amazballs. Sweet but very ducky and delicious. Pretty stupendous tasting, if bad for the blood sugar.

Cabbage Baked in the Embers, Yogurt, Sumac, Lemon Zest. Really great veggie.

Coal Roasted Carrots, Sheep’s Milk Ricotta, Herbs, Honey, Black Pepper.

Boneless ½ Chicken Salsa Verde. Some of the best straight chicken I’ve had in a while.

Little Gems, Shaved Market Vegetables, Bread Crumbs, Grilled Scallion Vinaigrette. WIth the breadcrumbs on the side this was a very enjoyable bright salad.

16 oz Prime Ribeye. Nice meat. Not overcooked at all 🙂

Roasted Wild Mushrooms, Parsley Breadcrumbs, Fermented Garlic Dressing. Yum — and fiber too!

Steak Fries with Ketchup, Mustard.

Probably a bit cooked, but grapey and enjoyable to my taste.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake, McConnell’s Double Peanut Butter Chip Ice Cream. Really nice.

Apple Crumble, McConnell’s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Nocciola White Gelato — Nocciola (hazelnut) base made with Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste mixed with house-made Valrhona White Chocolate Hazelnut Bark — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — one of my signature flavors –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #hazelnut #nocciola #white #Chocolate #bark

Overall, a super fun evening. I liked the Gaja’s slightly better tonight than at the previous Gaja dinner. They were more differentiated. The San Lorenzos were my favorite actually, which makes sense, as they are softer.

We became friendly with this mother/daughter pair at the next table.

For more dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Charcoal, Gaja, Gelato, Wine

Rocking Roccos

Jan30

Restaurant: Dinner at the Borgese’s [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Location: Santa Monica

Date: May 11, 2023

Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking

Rating: Awesome

Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple. Tonight’s dinner was another Hedonist dinner featuring whole lamb.

Lovely night out on the patio.

Rocco and gen prepping.

Some big tomohawks at the ready.

Tonight’s special feature was a whole saddle of lamb on the spit!

Our menu tonight. Some new dishes and some old favorites.

Cozze con Guanciale. Mussels with Pork Cheek. The sauce on this mussel dish was essentially like a all’amatriciana except that it was also saturated with mussel-juice. Pretty awesome actually, particularly the crispy little guanciale chunks.

Tartra di Manzo. Beef Tartare. Very good straight beef tartare. I like the capers — classic.

Quaglia Ripiena. Stuffed Quail. Quaglia Ripiena su Polenta. Stuffed quail over polenta. Now this is a to die for dish. The polenta is nice and juicy and the stuffing is amazing.

Pasta all’ Oliva. Olive Pasta. This is like a Pasta Puttanesca without the anchoives. Actually it was one of the best olive pastas I’ve had. It had that fresh olive flavor, and lots of it, but it wasn’t offputting at all. The texture was perfect and the oily caponata-type sauce. Really good.

Yarom gets “just the sauce.”

Sella di Agnello a Legna. Wood-fired lamb saddle. Impressive, but I can’t say I adored this lamb. It was very smoky, but it had just a touch too much lamb “funk” for my taste and a texture more like steak. I really like roast lamb when its falling off the bone, more middle eastern style. These are nitpics though.

Bistecca di Tomahawk Cotta a Legna. Wood-fired Tomahawk Steak. Very rare! Great steak, but I’ve liked some of his other steaks a bit better. I like it a little more “medium rare” and a bit more bark. Plenty of salt though. Rocco does like his salt.

Midollo Osseo. Wood-fired Bone Marrow. The bone marrow was great for “juicing” up bites of steak and lamb. Too bad there wasn’t more.

Polenta. This stuff is always amazing. Lots of butter or something.

Aglio Broccolini Arrostiiti. Garlic Roasted Broccolini. One of my favorites of his vegetables. Really nice crunch. Salty though. Really salty. But tasted amazing.

Cannoli and Baklava’s Evil American Lovechild — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Base crafted from Galbani Whole Milk Ricotta and Sicilian Toasted Noto Romano Almond Paste with a touch of the sugar subbed out for Sicilian Honey. Mixed in is Malibu Honey, California Pistachios, and house-made Gluten Free Honey Graham Crackers (almond flour and so good you can’t tell them from the wheat flour version)! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #dessertgasm #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #ricotta #almond #RicottaCheese #cheese #Sicily #honey #GrahamCracker #pistachio

Pistachio Chocolate Fudge Gelato – a new high nut and no egg formulation with Pistachio di Bronte DOGC produces an intense pistachio base, mixed with Valrhona 70% Chocolate Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #pistachio #Sicily #nuts #Valrhona #Chocolate #Ganache

Snickerdoodle Gelato NSA — A cinnamon vanilla base, but this version is No Sugar Added and formulated with Allulose — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #snickerdoodle #cookie #cinnamon #vanilla #nsa #allulose

Rocco works my gelato.

Epic wine lineup.

The gang at the table.

Service was handled by the youngest Borgese (teen daughter) and was better than most restaurant staff. Super friendly and you can tell they do this a lot.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, Italian cuisine, Rocco Borgese, Roccos, Santa Monica

Northern Cafe Temple City

Jan26

Restaurant: Northern Cafe

Location: 9608 Las Tunas Dr, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 286-5288

Date: May 5 & July 23, 2023

Cuisine: Northern Chinese

Rating: Great private room experience

Normal Northern Cafe is a solid but casual fast casual spot but…

Northern Cafe in Temple City sure is a bit different than the ones in Century City or West LA as we shall see in this special dinner organized by Eve and another I put together myself.

The normal dining room is fairly normal NC.

But they have 5 private rooms, a smaller one being shown here.

We set up in this larger one.

It’s pretty big.

It even has a bit of a lounge area, perfect for organizing our wines.

I think this is the “regular” menu.

And this epic tome is the special menu!

Spicy Cucumbers. Nice garlicky cucumber salad.

Cold Flavored Pork Head. Very chewy texture that was offputting to some with a lovely, but highly porcine, flavor.

Up first came this big installment of Geoduck sashimi. This is the body meat and it was served on ice with Astrea Caviar that Eve brought. Turns out geoduck is excellent with caviar! And this was some very fine geoduck with a very clean mild sea flavor and a nice chewy texture.

It was served with soy sauce and (faux) wasabi.

We had pre-ordered several large live lobsters and the tails were served as sashimi. Probably the best “Chinese” lobster sashimi I’ve had. Quite lovely and subtle.

Eve also brought her own King Crab! They sell it on the menu, but she BYOCed.

King Crab Salty Egg Yolk. The crab might have been a touch overcooked in this prep but the yolk batter, which is not normally my favorite, was quite good as it wasn’t too salty or too pasty.

Bamboo Shoot with Shredded Pork. I loved this dish. It was a pretty classic brown sauce, but very tasty, and the crunchy bamboo was delightful with that bit of porky flavor (classic Chinese velveted slivered pork).

Pork Spareribs with Garlic. Chewy, salty, and very tasty.

Pork and Scallion Pancake. This is a kind of classic Beijing meat pie with a filling that is probably the same as standard dumpling filling: pork, ginger, green onions. They were super greasy, but great.

House Special Smoked Duck. It was served with a bit of hoisin and some Northern style pancakes. The meat was really flavorful, but VERY salty, almost to the Smithfield ham level. Speaking of that, because it was salted, smoked, and cured, it tasted not unlike ham — just ducky ham.

This are the flaky pancakes for the duck.

Next they brought out this lovely Cloisonné hot pot.

This is the basic broth, but Eve ordered it as “mushroom chicken” and so…

They added a mess of mushrooms and…

Some raw chicken.

This mix was allowed to boil for 20-30 minutes (covered).

Here is the result.

First we were served cups. The broth was incredible, with a very deep woodsy and comforting chicken and mushroom flavor. The short boil had extracted a lot of flavor.

For extra things to add to our hot pot we kept it fairly simple, enjoying the legs of our crab. Boiled for 20-30 seconds they were incredibly sweet and succulent.

These lobster “bits” were chopped up and reason to be tossed into the pot.

Also some tofu.

And greens. We kept drinking this broth (with the stuff) throughout the evening as it was delicious.

As was this incredible delicious of live Grouper.

The grouper meat cooked in a bout 30 seconds and was subtle and delicious.

Rib Eye and Lamb Shoulder to boil in the pot. These meats, alone of what we had tonight, is better (IMHO) with the spicy broth served at various Sichuan hot pots.

Some extra fish was also fried up “salt and pepper” style — aka MSG style.

Clams with Basil. This is the classic Chiuchow dish that’s a bit Vietnamese/Cambodian. Some nice basil flavor and a good number of succulent clams. I enjoyed this, even if the clam meat was a bit evasive.

Sauteed Cabbage. I always love this classic and it didn’t dissapoint. This was a simple rendition with a lot of garlic and oil, but cooked perfectly. It didn’t have either the ham (and its nice lardy flavor) or dried shrimp or chilis that some versions of the dish have, so it wasn’t the most flavorful I’ve ever had, but the crunchy texture on the oily cabbage was lovely.

French Chopped Beef with snowflake. Chunks of filet with black bepper sauce. I don’t generally love this dish as I consider it a bit boring, but this one had a real black pepper kick which in combination with the onions was quite enjoyable.

The geoduck neck came back fried. Quite nice, but not nearly as delightful a fry as the Longo version.

Eve also brought not one but two Turbot!

Turbo steamed with ginger, garlic, spring onions, and soy. This fish is best done this way, simply, so that the soft mild flesh and generous cartilage can be enjoyed “as is.”

Crab Custard. This is the third dish from our King Crab.

The custard was a bit stiff, and while still delicious, didn’t have that silken texture I really love.

Yang Chow (or everything) fried rice. Absolutely awesome fried rice with big whole shrimp and chunks of fried pork.

Walnut Shrimp. Fu ordered this guilty pleasure classic, joking that it was for the white guys, but this was a first rate example. The shrimp were succulent and the fry nice and crispy, perfectly offset by the sweet mayo and walnuts.

Fried fish with green batter. This is a Hangzhou dish. There green tea is added to the batter. I’m not sure it was tea here or some other variant, but it was a nice tempura-style deep fried fish. Right out of the frier too as it was very hot and juicy.

House Special Smoked Duck. Very salty, but very good. With that smokey cured pastrami-like flavor. Lots of “flavor.”

Pea Tendrils with Garlic. Great version of this basic dish.

MaPo Tofu. Not a bad version at all. Some Ma and a bit of meat.

Beef & Scallion Roll. Awesome version of this with some hoisin and cilantro. Quite lovely.

Boiled dumplings. Probably pork. Delicious for sure. I didn’t (finally) manage to get some black vinegar for them. Really I like a proper dumpling sauce, but vinegar will do.
XLB. Solid versions.

Scallion pancake. Bready, but really tasty — particularly with some black vinegar.

Inside.

Pan fried dumplings. I’m not sure if this was the same filling. It was late, but they were also good. Skin was a little thick on these, not like the amazing You Kitchen variants, but like all decent dumplings they were hot and delicious.

Nocciola Crunch Gelato — Nocciola (hazelnut) base made with egg yolk and Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste mixed with Nestle’s Buncha Crunch — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — new higher fat base formulation — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #hazelnut #nocciola #Chocolate #Nestle #crunch

Hojicha Latte NSA Gelato – Ceremonial Hojicha Roasted Green Tea base with No Sugar Added (Allulose) — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #matcha #Hojicha #GreenTea #Allulose #NSA

Cannoli and Baklava’s Evil American Lovechild — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Base crafted from Galbani Whole Milk Ricotta and Sicilian Toasted Noto Romano Almond Paste with a touch of the sugar subbed out for Sicilian Honey. Mixed in is Malibu Honey, California Pistachios, and house-made Gluten Free Honey Graham Crackers (almond flour and so good you can’t tell them from the wheat flour version)! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #dessertgasm #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #ricotta #almond #RicottaCheese #cheese #Sicily #honey #GrahamCracker #pistachio

Cap’N Crunch Gelato – Smooth Peanut Base with house-made White Chocolate Coated Crunch Berries! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — oh my! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #peanut #cereal #CrunchBerry #CapNCrunch

Fu makes off with a bit of booty for the family.

Meal 1 (May 2023), was a super fun night. Awesome wines — and only one red thank Dionysus (given the food). Company was amazing too and the food really stood out. I enjoyed this slightly northern twist and they seem to have an excellent and very flexible Chinese kitchen and great private rooms. Who would have thought at a Northern Cafe? Service was super friendly and excellent too. We did get too many dishes too fast because no one gave them the “one at a time” instructions and fast is the Chinese default. Still, an awesome time and awesome food. That broth was really amazing!

Meal 2 (July 2023).

For more dining reviews click here.

Just a bit of great wine!

And some fire water.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Babykillers, BYOG, Caviar, Chinese cuisine, Foodie, Foodie Club, Gelato, geoduck, hot pot, Seafood, SGV, Wine

Spring Crustacean

Jan11

Restaurant: Crustacean Beverly Hills [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Location: 468 N Bedford Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (310) 205-8990

Date: April 4, 2023

Cuisine: Vietnamese Fusion

Rating: Awesome as always

Crustacean is one of our regular haunts and one of the few places with the stems, food, and service to handle a serious wine dinner. This was a return to Hedonist form with a mixed dinner of all new traditional Vietnamese food inspired Crustacean creations.

Back in our “usual” private dining room and patio.

Yarom, always posing with owners and the ladies. In the print dress is Elisabeth An.

Our special menu.

Served on this cute wooden toadstool is:

King Crab “Banh Khot”. Royal Kaluga Caviar, dungeness crab, coconut bechemel. A tiny but delicious bite. Great champagne pairing too.

A trio of traditional rolls. Filet Mignon “Bo Nuong” Roll (right). Lemon grass, Ho Fun Rice Noodle. “Cha Gio” Roll (center). Jidori Chicken, crispy rice paper, black mushrooms, jicama, lemon chili. Fresh Langoustine “goi cuon” roll (left). Taito, rau ram, carrots, roasted peanut bean sauce. These were some great spring rolls. Each was just ever so slightly “elevated” from its usual version.

Another trio, this time with sambal, chili oil, and siracha. I was particularly fond of the sambal.

Vietnamese “Banh Xeo” Crepes. Rice batter, organic beech mushrooms, prawns, dice chicken, bean sprouts, pickles. The only thing missing on this wonderful classic Vietmamese dish was the sweet fish sauce.

Escargot “Bun Oc” soup. Escargot, fresh tomatoes, tamarind, ginger chili broth, angel hair rice noodle. I’ve never had this dish before. Both the tender snails and the flavorful snail sausage were awesome. The broth was tangy and a little bit spicy. Delicious!

This was for dipping the snails.

Tasting of An’s Famous Garlic Roasted Dungeness Crab and An’s Famous Garlic Noodles. Roasted garlic and An’s Secret Sauce. The classic never fails to dissapoint. The noodles were “fortuantly” a tiny portion (good given my carb avoidance).

These came smoked.

Lemongrass Cramelized “suon rang” pork spare ribs. Lemongrass, soy, shallot, fish sauce. Very distinct smokey flavor and lots of meat. Yum!

Salt block pork belly for the fried rice.

Rich and flavorful.

XO Garlic Fried Rice. Poached egg, pork belly, XO, Vietnamese Sausage. Awesome rice. Can’t hate on the Vietnamese sausage (which is pretty much like Cantonese sausage).

The icky flight.

Wagyu “Bo Kho”. Snake River Farms Wagyu, su su “Buddha’s Palm,” heirloom carrots, garlic rice. My least favorite dish. It was fine, but mostly beef stew and rice.

Kung Pao Eggplant. Thai Basil, Thai red chili gastrique. Crispy and delicious.

Coconut Tapioca “Che.” Exotic Fruits. A really pleasant mix of the soft and silky textures with the potenent coconut notes offset by the zingy fruit.

I love this flavor — Peppermint Bark Gelato — Base is pure peppermint milk (subbed the sugar with crushed peppermint candies) and it’s laced with house-made double-sided peppermint bark, Valrhona Dark Chocolate and Ivoire White! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — The Peppermint Bark recipe was developed by a famous pastry chef and author, the mum of a Naughty Dog Alum @nancy_baggett — this year I added the two layer thing which is awesome — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #dessertgasm #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #peppermint #bark #Valrhona #chocolate

Hojicha Latte NSA Gelato – Ceremonial Hojicha Roasted Green Tea base with No Sugar Added (Allulose) — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #matcha #Hojicha #GreenTea #Allulose #NSA

We had a few wines.

Overall, our best dinner at Crustacean yet — and that is saying something given how many great ones we’ve had. I really like the slightly elevated traditional Vietnamese. It’s a nice change of pace from the fusion, which is quite good as well. They really executed on all levels tonight. Elisabeth joined us and supervised. Her mother was supposed to do all the cooking, but she got sick and ended up spending hours with the cooks over zoom giving them instructions. Obviously she is a good teacher because everything came out great. Wines were awesome and I like a nice progression like this. The cabernets were — as I suspected — too much. The Colgin was the most drinkable but the 2016 — oh my! Service was flawless.

Discussing the food analytically. Very good, and most dishes varied from good to great. The Vietnamese influence is far more subtle, less heavy handed, then at most newer fusion places like Little Sister / LXSO or the more contemporary small plates style Khong Ten. Definitely more roughly 2000 in formal fine dining style — which I don’t mind at all. In some ways it feels like a millennium event fine dining place with Vietnamese — and to a lesser extent Thai and Chinese — notes. It’s a pretty fancy place, and priced accordingly — but particularly during these last two dinners have really knocked it out of the park.

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