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Shaanxi Garden

Nov06

Location: 529 E Valley Blvd #178a, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 787-5555

Date: October 1, 2017 & January 12, 2018 & February 19, 2019

Cuisine: Shaanxi Chinese

Rating: Really good (and interesting) stuff

I love heading off to “unusual” (i.e. not Cantonese) Chinese food. We’ve been to Western Chinese before but it’s not the most typical in that it specializes in knife cut noodles and the like from the region near the old Tang capital of Xian.

The mini-mall frontage.

Shaanxi is in the mini-mall next to the Anhui place we ate at recently (which is how we found it). The interior is very typical. Sadly the Anhui place is closed now.

Some of the gang.

Seaweed salad (2/19/19). Rather excellent actually, with a nice tangy quality.

Cabbage. I enjoy this lightly stir fried cabbage and this version was no exception.

Cabbage with dried shrimp (1/12/18 and 2/19/19). A slightly funkier version — also great.

Wontons in chili oil (1/12/18 and 2/19/19). A nice version of this dish. Lots of flavor. Really excellent.

Bean curd with chili oil (10/17 and 2//19/19). Nice dish actually and interesting thin tofu texture.

Pork bun (first visit and 2/19/19). Sweet BBQ pork in a bread bun.

Tangy pork bun (1/12/18 and 2/19/19). With a more vinegar based sauce.

Beef and tendon and tripe with chili oil (10/17 and 2/19/19). Really tasty pastrami-like beef with garlic and lots of very hot mala chili. I ate a ton of this.

Chicken noodle big plate (10/17). Giant bowl of chicken in brown sauce with potatoes and knife cut noodles.

Check out those noodles!

Potatoes (10/17). This dish has a slight vinegary note and a little bit of heat. With a bit of extra sauce it has a great texture and is delicious.

Pork with chilies and noodles (10/17).

This was very similar to some Vietnamese dishes, particularly the signature Hoi An dish Cao Lou.

Fish filets in chili sauce (first visit and 2/19/19). A solid rendition of this Szechuan classic. No numb taste and very oily though.

This oil was so hot that touching it gave me a second degree burn!

Lamb dumplings in sweet and sour soup (10/17 and 2/19/19). Very unusual, sourish broth, rich lamb dumplings.

Eggplant (10/17 and 2/19/19). A bit like the Szechuan version of this dish. Tasty and not as hot though.

Fried chicken with chilies (10/17). Very eggy batter. Good though.

Pork belly coated in rice flour (2/19/19). Another classic Szechuan dish. Good too, but a slimy texture that put off some people (I, being adopted Chinese, like it).

Sebastian keeps thinking that hole-in-the-wall Chinese places adhere to typical American resteraunt memes. So he thought he was ordering Yellowtail. But alas:

Yellow Croaker (2/19/19). Delicious whole little fish in tangy sauce with all the bones, eyes, jaws etc!

Szechuan style clams (2/19/19). This is a typical Szechuan dish and was actually quite good here with lots of flavor and easily accessible clam meat. It wasn’t as spicy as the OG version, but it was excellent.

Beef with ripped bread (10/17). A kind of noodle / bread ripped into little pieces and mixed with a spicy meat sauce. I guess like a Western “ragu.” Really loved it. Very filling though.

Garlic (pickled).

Lamb with ripped bread (1/12/18). The even more classic version — delicious — with pickled garlic.

The lamb with ripped bread on a different day (2/19/19). Maybe even a slightly different dish.

Spicy beef with chilies and onions (10/17). Green pepper fun.

Beef with bamboo shoots (1/12/18 and 2/19/19). Excellent!

Beef noodles (10/17). Another fun noodle dish.

Lamb noodles (2/19/19). Because you really have to love knife cut noodles.

Epic noodle pull! It must be one giant noodle.

Cumin lamb skewers (10/17 and 2/19/19). Pretty much the usual.

I brought gelato (10/17) from home. Three flavors: Zabaione, cappuccino caramel, and lime basil.

The 2/19/19 gelato:

Strawberry Basil Hendrick’s Sorbetto – Strawberry and Hendrick’s Gin Sorbetto laced with Fresh Basil. Strawberries from Avignon — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #sorbetto #strawberry #basil #Hendricks #Gin #cocktail

Butterscotch Butterscotch Caramel Popcorn Gelato – I made my rediculously decadant homemade butterscotch, crafted a gelato from it, layered it in, and added caramel popcornjust because I could! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — oh my! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #NomNom #dessert #butterscotch #vanilla #popcorn #CaramelCorn #sauce #sweet!

Salty Peanut Fudge Reese’s Gelato -Salty Chunky Peanut Base with homemade Valrhona Chocolate Fudge Ribbon and mini Reese’s Peanutbutter Cups! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — oh my! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #NomNom #dessert #peanut #salty #reeses #peanutbuttercup #fudge #Valrhona

Overall, another great SGV find. Some really yummy and different western Chinese!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Wines from the 10/1/17 evening:

2/19/19 wines:

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Chinese cuisine, Gelato, hedonists, SGV, Shaanxi Garden

SGV Nights – Seafood Palace

Oct27

Restaurant: Seafood Palace

Location: 684 W Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 289-0088

Date: September 24, 2017, July 14, 2019, and October 24, 2021

Cuisine: Chaozhou Chinese

Rating: One of LA’s best (and most authentic) Chaozhou places

My Hedonist group has been coming here for years, same location, same food, different name – formerly Seafood Village.

It’s actually in the mini-mall with Sham Tsem and the “hooker motel secret room” (see the post I linked in this sentence). Mysteriously, even thought he “construction” period transforming Seafood Village into Seafood Palace was like a year there is no apparent update. It’s still the same over-lit drop ceiling “palace” as before.

Pickled onions and boiled peanuts on the table.

Jellyfish (7/14/19 and 10/24/21). Nice crunchy texture.

Sliced cold pig’s feet (7/14/19). A bit gelatinous, but surprisingly delicious. Better sliced like this than whole!

Special order turtle soup. Since we had turtle soup at World Seafood Yarom has been determined to try it again.

The broth is delicate and savory, with an almost tea-like taste.

And all the crud that made the broth is as follows: bits of turtle, turtle fat, chicken feet, ginger, organs, god only knows. We actually picked at this repulsive looking plate and the meat was quite tasty.

We also selected two large lobsters.

Chaozhou style duck (2017 and 7/14/19 and 10/24/21). Sort of like the duck version of Hainan chicken.

A vinegar sweet sauce for the duck.

Roast pigeon (2017 and 7/14/19 and 10/24/21). Tasty little fellows.

Causeway style shrimp (7/14/19). Whole prawns crusted in garlic. Super delicious and so well cooked they could be munched whole.

This is what most people come here for, the house special Chiu Chow Style Crab (Dungeness) – (2017 and 7/14/19 and 10/24/21). This is basically battered crab, fried with chilies and lots of garlic. I’ve also heard this called “Causeway Style.” Good stuff with lots of flavor. You end up sucking out the meat or just chewing on through.

House special garlic lobster. Not causeway style, but very tasty.

Roast pork (2017 and 7/14/19 and 10/24/21). Cured like a pastrami and very flavorful — also quite fatty as you would expect.

Scallion omelet (2017 and 7/14/19 and 10/24/21). Eggs and green onions.

Special fried fish (2017 and 7/14/19 and 10/24/21). Lots of garlic flavor. Simple, but extremely tasty.

Mutton curry. Very strong flavored (but delicious) meat in a nice mild curry sauce.

Bean curd with duck in Chui Chow brown sauce (10/24/21).

Oxtail and lilly bulb with brown sauce (10/24/21). Star anise and black cardamon.

Lettuce Cup Chicken (7/14/19). Yeah, PF Chang’s didn’t invent it wholesale!

The lettuce cups and hoisin sauce.

Frog with chives (10/24/21). Delicious.

Chilies with ground pork (2017 and 7/14/19 and 10/24/21). I’ve never seen Jalepenos per se in China, but they do have lots of peppers. Regardless, this was a fabulous dish as the pork was cooked in a great black bean sauce and the combination of the mild heat and the slightly sweet meat was wonderful.

Special Chiu Chow Style “lettuce” (2017 and 7/14/19). Evidently a classic. It head a bit of a porky taste so there must have been something in there with the veggies. Not bad.

Rice porridge soup (7/14/19). A sort of congee-like concoction.

Special glass noodles with meat (earlier and 10/24/21).

Salty garlic fried rice. Excellent fried rice with a salty fishy taste.

White guy shrimp (aka walnut shrimp). Very heavy mayo’d version.

Scallion beef (7/14/19). Slightly different, very succulent.

Cumin lamb or beef. Really tasty full flavored nuggets. Pretty tender too.

Sweet and source pork nibblets (10/24/21).

Sweet and sour pork ribs (7/14/19). Someone ordered the sauce on the side. Salty crunchy pork slabs (with some bone) with the sweet sticky stuff.

Chili sauce.

As usual now-a-days I brought some home made gelati from Sweet Milk, my private gelato label. Green Apple Moscato Sorbetto.

Rosemary Chocolate Gelato. Valrhona chocolate and milk infused with rosemary from my own garden.

The 7/14/19 gelati:

Chocolate Peanut Pretzel Gelato — testing a new 80% chocolate fondant base made with Valrhona and Callebaut Chocolates — then layered that with a house made salty peanut pretzel ganache — you can’t see the base, it’s under the 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 #peanut #chocolate #valrhona #Callebaut #ganache #pretzel

Testing out two variants on a theme, first one: Bellini Sorbetto! — French White Peaches and Prosecco — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — I love the Pozzetti (round tubs), but I do need to figure out how to decorate the small batches in an attractive way — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #Bellini #peach #Prosecco

Testing out two variants on a theme, second one: Dark Mimosa Sorbetto! — Blood Orange and Valencia Orange juice mixed with Prosecco — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — I love the Pozzetti (round tubs), but I do need to figure out how to decorate the small batches in an attractive way — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #Mimosa #orange #bloodorange #Prosecco

The 10/24/21 gelati:

Strawberries & Mascar-Creamy Gelato — A base infused with Mascarpone Cheese then blended with house-made Strawberry Curd — created by me for @sweetmilkgelato — my vain attempts to pipe a pretty decoration on top were uttery foiled by timing –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #cheesecake #mascarpone #cheese #strawberry #cream

Overall, Seafood Palace is just like Seafood Village and there is nothing wrong with that because it’s still great. Last time we had a few “more interesting” dishes and in 2017 there was a LOT of fried. Still, awesome meal!

Back again on 7/14/19 I thought execution was even better. This is probably my favorite Chaozhou place — a bit like Cantonese but not exactly the same, slightly more “unusual”. Lots of garlic!

Our return visit on 10/24/21 was also spectacular. Just a really great place.

It’s not really worth writing up the “motley cru” of wines that come to Chinese, so I’ll just list the photos here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Chaozhou Chinese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, Gelato, hedonists, Lobster, san Gabriel valley, seafood palace, SGV, Sweet Milk, turtle soup, Wine

Marino Ristorante

Sep15

Restaurant: Marino Ristorante [1, 2]

Location: 6001 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 466-8812

Date: August 2, 2017

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome. One of the best Italian meals I’ve had in LA

Restaurants in Los Angeles are constantly changing, opening, closing etc. One of the recent changes I miss the most was the shuttering of Il Grano — certainly West LA’s best Italian, particularly in the fancy/modern department. I really miss it – as it was one of my favorites and has 9 write ups on the blog (I think the most of any restaurant).
But the amazing chef/owner Sal Marino has relocated (back) to his original family haunt, venerable Marino Ristorante on Melrose and continues to cook up his unique blend of amazing modern Italian. And if anything, he’s gotten even better. Wednesday during summer is always tomato night, so tonight’s tasting menu is heavily tomato focused.

NV Jérôme Prévost Champagne La Closerie Extra Brut Les Beguines. VM 94. A more than worthy follow up to the spectacular 2009, the Jérôme Prévost’s NV (2010) Brut Nature Les Beguines, is stellar. Bright, clean and focused, the 2010 stands out for its delineation and energy. Some of the more slightly oxidative overtones that are often found in the Beguines are absent, at least today. Instead, the 2010 is all about mineral-infused cut. Both bottles I have tasted so far have been outstanding. Prévost describes 2010 as a very difficult year with significant disease pressure. I am not sure how he did it, but the 2010 Les Beguines is fabulous. Cellaring for another few years will only help, but the truth is that this is am impossible wine to resist today.

NV In Florescence Champagne Champagne Blanc de Noirs Brut. 90 points. Not a formula Champagne. Small medium quantity bubbles. High quality. Golden yellow color. Enjoyable with or without food. A bit pricey but special.

Tomato “sushi.” Slices of heirloom tomato on Italian rice.

1989 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. BH 88. The nose offers lovely complexity followed by precise, somewhat angular flavors that unfortunately lack mid-palate density. The finish is also distressingly short and while this could still use some time to resolve itself fully, the absence of sufficient sève does not bode well for significant future improvement. In sum, this is perfectly good but hardly special.

agavin: our bottle was great and very young

Tuna tartar with tomato powder.

From my cellar: 2012 Azienda Agricola Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. VM 93+. Light orange-yellow. Forward but racy aromas of tangerine, ginger, white flowers, sweet spices and medicinal herbs on the complex nose. Rich and round, but with lovely acid lift and energy to the concentrated flavors of apricot, pear and botanical herbs. Finishes long and pure. Not the most concentrated young Trebbiano d’Abruzzo from Valentini, but has a rich, ripe seamless personality that is hard to resist. Good to go right now but ought to age for 15 years at least. Really lovely wine.

Yellow tomato gazpacho.

2006 Remoissenet Père et Fils Bâtard-Montrachet. BR 90. As a contrast to the Bienvenues, the Bâtard has deeper but much tighter aromas. In the mouth likewise, it’s hiding it’s complexity. If there is one area where this pulls rank, it is the intensity of the mid-plate, but overall this is showing in a very tight way so gives an ‘easy win’ to the Bienvenues for drinking today.

agavin: our bottle was premoxed

Red tomato gazpacho.

Tomato and scallop.

Tuna and tomato.

Yellowtail sashimi with, you guessed it, tomato!

1999 Maison Leroy Bourgogne. BH 85. An expressive and nicely complex nose that is now beginning to turn to secondary with earth and subtle spice nuances that complement rich, round and sweet flavors that offer good punch and while this will be capable of additional aging, it is essentially ready now despite the still moderately firm finishing tannins.

Apulian burrata and tomatoes.

1998 Domaine Michel Gaunoux Pommard 1er Cru Les Arvelets.

Pizza with fresh ricotta and tomatoes.

1996 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes. BH 88. Old vines intensity shows beautifully elegant and pure Gevrey fruit mixed with intense earth notes which lead to very rich, delineated and exquisitely long flavors. This is not an especially big or concentrated wine but it is classic Bachelet in that it is perfectly balanced.

Fresh sardine, red peppers, and tomato.

Erick brought: 1983 Domaine Jean Gros Richebourg. 96 points. Very bright, no sign of rot, very powerful but not heavy, silky texture, great length. A wonderful complex Richebourg which could last for ages but drinks well now.

1993 Jean-Pierre Mugneret Echezeaux. 92 points. Medium red color – no bricking. PNP, drank 1 glass over an hour plus. This was the second time having the pleasure to drink this beauty in a short time. This bottle was just as good as the last IMO. Just great nose, so complex, earthy, funk, horse, so much forest floor here, rose, some metals, and deep red fruits. and spices The palate has great minerality, metals, savory, sauvage, spices, horse, deep red fruits, well integrated.

From my cellar: 2002 Gros Frère et Sœur Richebourg. VM 95. Medium red. Highly perfumed, ineffably complex aromas of strawberry, currant, bacon fat, cocoa powder, gunflint, coffee and smoked meat. Dense, sappy and wonderfully intense, with exhilarating flavors of smoked meat, spices, minerals and underbrush. Conveys a powerful impression of soil tones. Builds almost freakishly on the back end, finishing with a kick of spice and a flavor of pink peppercorn. A wonderfully suave, extremely long Richebourg that offers great early appeal but has the spine to develop in bottle for 10 or 15 years.

Tomato, pork, and rapini pasta on the left. Ravioli in a candy-shaped twist-shape on the right — fresh tomato sauce.

1994 Gaja Barbaresco. 91 points. brillant red color , red fruits and spices , after half hour also come the coffee and chocolate . On the palate is round with smooth but still perceptible tannins , it seem younger , great and vibrant acidity .

1998 Gaja Barbaresco. VM 91. Good deep medium red. Deeply pitched aromas of plum, mocha, licorice and dried flowers. Dense and chewy with extract; compelling, sweet flavors of currant and licorice. Tannins are sweeter than those of the ’99 Barbaresco. Finishes with a suggestion of nutty oak.

Swordfish with tomato puree.

From my cellar: 1982 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia. 95 points.

2000 Domenico Clerico Barolo Percristina. VM 90. The 2000 Barolo Percristina has held up well. It shows considerable freshness in its dark red fruit, leather, licorice and sweet spices. The French oak remains very much present. It’s hard to see the fruit lasting long enough for the oak to every truly integrate.

Octopus with squid ink and tomato.

1977 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. 94 points. The 1977 Montepulciano from Emidio Pepe is absolutely stunning and at its peak of brilliance at age thirty-seven, soaring from the glass in a magical aromatic blend of red and black cherries, wild fennel, botanicals, a touch of discreet tariness, roasted pigeon, a dollop of menthol and a topnote of woodsmoke. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and exquisitely balanced, with a rock solid core, still a bit of remaining, buried tannin, great interplay of bitter and sweet and stunning length and grip on the resolved and still very vibrant finish. A great wine that is absolutely à point today.

1983 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. 95 points. The 1983 and 1985 vintages from Emidio Pepe make great bookends, as both wines are fully mature and drinking at their peaks today. The ’85 is perhaps a touch more elegant, with the ’83 a shade deeper at the core and a bit more structured for the long haul. The stunning nose of the 1983 offers up scents of red berries, forest floor, botanicals, lovely spice tones, a fine base of soil, an autumnal touch of acorn, dried herbs and a topnote of spices meats. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and complex, with a fine core, tangy acids, beautiful balance and a very, very long, poised and classy finish that closes with excellent grip and bounce. Another absolutely classic vintage for the Pepe Montepulciano.

Wagyu beef with peppers and crushed tomato.

1961 Château Pape Clément. flawed.

1988 Château Rieussec. VM 90. Deep, oaky aromas of honey, coconut, vanilla and creme brulee Sweet and plump in the mouth; the flavors of coconut and tropical fruit are initially dominated by spicy oak notes. Finishes with slight heat (the alcohol is a relatively high 14.7%) but also excellent persistence of flavor. This showed more development of flavor as it opened in the glass.

Some gelati I made and brought from home: Cioccolato e Vaniglia Fiorentina “Old Fashioned” Gelati – a pair designed together with a shared double entendre. The vanilla is from a 500+ year old recipe, milk steeped with vanilla and orange peel. The chocolate is made with 100% Valrhona cacao and infused with Knob Creek bourbon and Angostura bitters.
The normal Marino menu looks great, but is certainly more classic than Sal’s special dinner fare like above. If you like adventurous modern Italian, I’d see if he can do a special tasting menu — likely he’ll be up for it. Or several people could put together something really interesting from the regular menu if they think outside the normal appetizer, entree, dessert box. But it’s with this kind of special dinner — and not to mention the great crew and our awesome wines — that Sal’s cooking really knocks your socks off. He is a nut for detail and ingredients. He grows tons of stuff at home — like over a 100 varieties of heirloom tomato — and really knows how to adapt and pair with wine.

Now I’m not normally a huge raw tomato fan, but I actually managed to eat and enjoy all these dishes which is a testament to how good Sal’s cooking is.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long food trips through Italy.

Or more crazy Foodie Club meals.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Marino, Sal Marino, Wine

Sauvages 2 at Upstairs 2

Sep08

Restaurant: Upstairs 2 [1, 2, 3]

Location: 2311 Cotner Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90064 Tel. 310-231-0316

Date: July 14, 2017

Cuisine: Modern Tapas

Rating: Bright flavors and a lot of options.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Upstairs 2 is located just above the Wine House on Cotner. The main room serves an eclectic tapas menu, but as this was a special Sauvages du Vin lunch (always a lunch, always Friday) we gathered upstairs in the private room for a special menu and flights of themed wine. This time around Grand cru Red Burgundy from the village of Gevrey-Chambertin, vintages older than 2006.
The group gathers in the private room.

Starter white:

2012 Christophe et Fils Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu. 92 points. Just a beautiful mix of salt water and citrus elements in a light to medium weight wine. Not as heavy feeling and much more lively than some 2012s. Very, very nice. I continue to be impressed by the Christophe line up for its classicism and purity.

Flight 1:

1996 Jean Raphet et Fils Charmes-Chambertin. 95 points. Medium ruby red color with a subtle 5mm bricked margin. Slow-O for 2 hours before serving. Drank 1 glass over an hour. This really was everything I had hoped for. The combination of maturity, depth and elegance is hard to beat. Great nose with cherry, earth, dried forest floor, and spice notes. The palate is resonant, with sublime red fruits of berry and more subtle cherry here, well delineated, intense forest floor, lifted, great balancing acid, mushroom, mineral, and a burst of spice on the long finish. Everything is right where I want it to be. This is at peak now. I only wish I had more left….

1996 Frédéric Magnien Charmes-Chambertin.

1995 Claude Dugat Charmes-Chambertin. VM 94. Brilliant ruby color. Blueberry, violet, smoky oak and floral aromas convey an almost syrupy sweetness. Dense and extremely concentrated; this shows an almost painful intensity today yet has no rough edges. Pure Pinot sap. Totally convincing grand cru. Builds and builds on the palate and aftertaste.

1996 Domaine Henri Perrot Charmes-Chambertin.

Grilled beef tenderloin skewers. Blue lake beans. Heirloom cherry tomatoes. Castelvetrano olives. Capers. This wasn’t the best dish at all. The salad was a bit limp and the beef tasted like “home beef” rather than restaurant beef.

Flight 2:

1996 Dominique Laurent Charmes-Chambertin. VM 92-95. Very good deep red-ruby color. Highly perfumed game, coffee and rose petal aromas; this to me is far more typical of Charmes terroir than the serie rare example from Mazoyeres. Terrific intensity in the mouth; supple, stony, powerfully structured. Again, one senses the soil behind the grapes. Fabulous authoritative finish. This will be a real vin de garde for the vintage.

1999 Dominique Laurent Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. VM 94-97. Deep ruby-red. Noble, wonderfully complex, slightly liqueur-like aromas of framboise, cranberry, blueberry, rose petal and violet. Liqueur-like fruit and velvety texture on the palate; already shows compelling inner-mouth perfume. Like an essence of pinot noir, confectionery but not at all heavy. The longest of Laurent ’99s to this point. Finishes with great verve and grip. “Like the ’96, except that the ’96 was more closed at a similar stage,” notes Laurent.

From my cellar: 1998 Dominique Laurent Mazis-Chambertin. 95 points. Showed good complexity and depth, excellent balance, and a medium finish. Flavors of black raspberry, cherry, spices, dried leaves, and forest floor all emerged after a time. The acidity held everything together nicely. Good freshness of flavor both on the nose and palate. I think this is nearly at peak or plateauing nicely.

Pappardelle pasta, wild mushroom ragu, roasted garlic & thyme cream sauce. This was the best of the dishes. Didn’t look like much, but a nice rich pasta.

Flight 3:

2002 Bernard Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques. BH 91-94. This resembles the 1er but this is a complete wine, combining power, concentration and stunningly elegant aromas and flavors into a harmonious whole. The acidity is higher as is the sense of minerality yet this retains a velvety, indeed silky quality to the round, fresh, focused flavors. This is indisputably of grand cru quality with complexity to burn. A great effort.

2001 Camille Giroud Chambertin. BH 92-95. As with the Malconsorts and Romanée St. Vivant, there is another dimension here and the complexity is nothing short of staggering and I use this word advisedly as it was frankly difficult to believe that so much nuance and depth could be crammed into the nose of an as yet unfinished wine. Very ripe, pure, blackberry fruit nose leads to massive, hugely forceful, vigorous, solidly structured flavors that epitomize what the finest Burgundies seem to do, e.g. manage to deliver power without weight and the finish here goes on and on for minutes. This should really be something to see when it attains its majority and I would not be at all surprised if my score is ultimately found to be conservative.

2002 Hubert Lignier Charmes-Chambertin. BH 91. A wonderfully exuberant, expressive and generous nose of ripe, earth and elegant red pinot fruit aromas blend into sizeable, rich, intense and palate staining flavors that are both energetic and opulent. This is quite powerful but retains an elegance and subtle reserve that is most appealing, especially on the long, exacting, classy finish. If there is a nit, it’s that this is more about pure pinot fruit than profound complexity but to be clear, this is nonetheless a beautiful and altogether elegant wine.

2002 Domaine Joseph Roty Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes. BH 95. A heavily toasted nose with spice, wood and tar nuances frames ripe but fresh black pinot fruit and cassis aromas that also display an extraordinary panoply of secondary nuances, including earth, underbrush, leather, soy and spice. The powerful, rich and utterly delicious big-bodied and very concentrated flavors coat and stain the palate and completely buffer the now softening tannic spine on the superbly long finish. In short, this is flat out incredible juice and while it’s clearly quite oaky, the wood somehow works quite well with the wine even though it’s far from invisible. As to drinkability, I would probably opt to hold the ’02 Charmes for a few more years but it could easily be drunk now with pleasure.

Spice Rubbed Pork Belly. Sauteed Baby Spinach. Creamy Polenta. Red Wine demi. Nice course. Like a rich slab of sorta bacon.

Flight 4:

2005 Dupont-Tisserandot Mazis-Chambertin. BH 95. A background touch of wood spice surrounds red, violet, animale and earth tones that are more complex still and this depth continues on the earth-inflected, sappy and moderately concentrated but gorgeously balanced flavors that possess real character and excellent power on the impressively long finish. This has both style and personality and it is very Mazis in both style and character plus it will age for decades. A classic Mazis in the making.

2005 Lucien Le Moine Mazis-Chambertin. BH 94-96. An explosive nose of red berry pinot fruit of fantastic breadth and depth features the ripe and classic sauvage and animale character that continues onto the wonderfully intense, driving and energetic big-bodied flavors that retain a beautiful sense of delineation on the layered, sweet and mouth coating finish. This is a big but balanced wine that carries the weight and power with effortless grace.

2003 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. BH 91-94. The incredibly rich, powerful and complex flavors are introduced by classy, pure, spicy and ripe aromas of dark pinot fruit notes and obvious earth nuances all framed by an interesting hint of sandalwood. There are buckets of pinot sap that coat and stain the palate and all but completely hide the very firm tannins that presently dominate the finish yet already seem perfectly integrated. The acidity is on the low side the explosiveness of the finish is more than just impressive, it has the ‘wow’ factor and this should age for two decades or more.

Grilled New Zealand Lamb Chops. Roasted Fennel & Potatoes. Natural au jus. Not bad chops.

The cryptic notes.

Our chef!

Because there was no dessert — or even cheese — I brought a pair of gelati. On the bottom is my pistachio with nuts from Bronte Sicily. On the top is coconut sorbetto (coconuts from Thai land) with home-made coconut caramel!

Overall Upstairs 2 did a solid job with this lunch. Wine service was good and the food was good, but not as good as last time we came (that salad was just so-so). Wines were awesome and a lot of great showings from Gevrey, particularly the 90s wines. Sauvages is always a great time.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Burgundy, BYOG, Gelato, Red Burgundy, Sauvages, Upstairs 2, Wine

Eating NY – Grom

Aug30

Restaurant: Grom

Location: 233 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014. (212) 206-1738

Date: July 5, 2017

Cuisine: Gelato

Rating: Good gelato

After brunch at Baker & Co we just walked by Grom and of course I had to try it.

I like the open to the sidewalk format, fairly close to one in Italy.

They don’t have that many flavors and use the closed tin system popular at the very high end places in Italy. It keeps the gelato better but I have a sweet spot for the big pans of decorated gelato.

Here are the current flavors. Mostly classics.

And the high New York prices.

Chocolate and Stracciatella.

Pistachio and Cassata. The pistachio was good, not quite as good as mine, but good. Texture on both were great. The cassata was pleasant, but didn’t have the more intense almond flavor I like.

Tasting just a few flavors this tasted like real Italian gelato. The sugar balance and temperature were Italian style and made for that nice mouth feel. It was clearly not “mix gelato”. So as American gelato goes, very good. Fairly conservative (i.e. Italian) in flavor selection.

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating_new_york, Gelato, Grom, New York

Eating NY – Laboratorio del Gelato

Aug21

Restaurant: il laboratorio del gelato

Location: 188 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002. (212) 343-9922

Date: July 3, 2017

Cuisine: Gelato

Rating: Good, but not amazing, and tiny expensive portions

Since this top rated Gelato place was just a few blocks from the Tenement Museum (go if you haven’t been), I just had to try it.

Lower Manhattan for sure, just across from Katz’s Deli.

Check out the prices.

We were here at 11am and the tubs were like this, so they don’t make it every day. Little tubs too without the “styling” often found in Italy. That might not be that cool to New Yorkers though.

Passion fruit and chocolate. Notice the ridiculously tiny scoops. This was $4.50!

Orange chocolate (or something like that, I can’t remember) and hazelnut.

I’m not too bothered by the price, hey although the portions are deceptively tiny. This was good gelato, but it was a little cold/hard and the flavors slightly muted to my taste. For example, the hazelnut had very nice Italian hazelnut flavor, but it wasn’t as intense as I make it — or like it. Plus they had a 2 taste limit with “limited” my sampling so I really didn’t get the best sense of it.

I wasn’t massively impressed. You can find better gelato in Italy if you try 2-3 shops at random. I liked Grom better (review coming in a few days).

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: eating_new_york, Gelato, il laboratorio del gelato, New York

Summer at 71Above

Jul10

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

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

Date: June 6, 2017

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Awesome in all ways

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

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

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

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

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

The current menu.

Some bonus rose champagne from our host Emil.

Plus we opened both these bottles side by side:

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

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

Butter and cheese pasta. For my son. Haha.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The dessert menu.

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

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

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

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

The group of us.

Heading down!

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

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

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

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

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

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

Top Island Seafood

Jan06

Restaurant: Top Island Seafood

Location: The Marketplace, 740 Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 300-9898

Date: December 29, 2016 & July 17, 2017 and March 10 & September 15 and December 22, 2019

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Great — and great value — Cantonese

The San Gabriel Valley is just oozing with new Chinese Restaurants to try.

And no category is more crowded than the Cantonese Banquet House. Top Island fits right in the middle of this pack, offering up all the luxury ingredients in a big format at reasonable prices. Look at that sign on the left, lobster for $8.99!

And check out “party like it’s 1989” cove lighting in the giant banquet hall!

And a big pano of it.

2002 Gardet Champagne Cuvée Charles Gardet.

Boiled peanuts.

Sweet and sour goose webs (3/10/19). Goose webs are goose feet. These had the weird texture, but a really nice interesting sour flavor.

BBQ pork and jellyfish (3/10/19). Awesome sweet BBQ pork and first class jellyfish. Not all jellyfish is that great but this one was.

The super deluxe BBQ plate (earlier and 12/22/19) with pork, chicken, jellyfish, pork hock/foot and more (9/15/19)!

Westlake Beef Soup (9/15/19 and 12/22/19). Really addictive soft textured mix of ground beef (or maybe pork), tofu, egg white etc. Very mild but delicious.

NV Jean-Noel Haton Champagne Grande Réserve.

Walnut shrimp. Sure it’s a white guy dish, but this was delicious.

Salt and Pepper squid (9/15/19). Tasty calamari.

Salt and pepper shrimp (9/15/19 and 12/22/19). Someone doesn’t know how to mix up the preps. Very salty, but delicious.

Fish filets with black bean sauce (3/10/19). Really nice light fish.

2006 Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard. VM 89. Dark red. Subdued, brooding aromas of dark cherry and chocolate. Fresher red and dark berry flavors are brightened by zesty minerals and given grip by dusty tannins. Finishes with very good persistence but limited definition. A serious, deeply concentrated style of pinot that needs some cellar time to loosen up.

Peking Duck (earlier and 3/10/19 and 9/15/19 and 12/22/19). This particular duck came with buns instead of pancakes. These were really nice buns, smaller than some. The meat was great, as good as any LA peking duck.

The skin was in the first picture, most of the meat was here. Needed more hoisin sauce as usual.

The “meat” section of this duck is actually pretty edible. Some places it’s just a carcass.

Duck second way (3/10/19 and 12/22/19).

Zoom on the second way (12/22/19).

You put this in the lettuce cups and add hoisin. Nice crunch.

2013 Boundary Breaks Vineyard Riesling No. 198 Reserve. VM 90. Quite reduced on the nose, with slightly shy aromas of Asian pear, white pepper, champagne mango and chamomile. The palate is quite honeyed and coats the cheeks and tongue in a soft layer of sweet fruit. A strong acidity keeps the palate in motion and prevents the wine from feeling fat. 58 grams per liter of residual sugar.

2012 Domaine de l’Ecu (Guy Bossard) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Taurus. The top broke off (the glass!) and so few of us dared try it for fear of broken glass.

From my cellar: 2006 Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. VM 93. Ripe peach, orange and hazelnut on the nose; a real essence of Charmes. Then opulent, sweet and rich but with very good inner-mouth tension to the ripe peach flavor. A seamless, highly concentrated wine with a wonderfully silky texture and a very long, fruit-driven finish. This fruit was harvested early, noted Boillot.

Seb brought: 2005 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex. 92+. There is no doubting this is Sauvignon blanc – it has that straight out green grass, a bit of lime, definitely very crisp although not tart. When NZ makes SB, this is what they are going for I think. Very well done version of that style.

Lobster noodles. A solid lobster dish. Maybe a touch “fishy” and while the noodles looked gross, they tasted great with the drippings.
2012 Giesen Pinot Noir The Brothers. VM 90. Bright medium red. Perfumed aromas of strawberry, rose petal and spices. Juicy and intense, offering very good concentration to its brambly red berry and cherry flavors. Finishes with firm but smooth tannins and very good tactile persistence.

Lobster Causeway style. Covered in crunchy garlic bits. Awesome! We ate the salty garlic by itself too afterward.

Dungeness Crab with garlic sauce (3/10/19). Very light fry. Delicious sauce and shell was soft enough you could crunch through it.

We didn’t have the King Crab the first couple of times I went but we should have. So we got one on 3/10/19. Only $17 a pound or something!

King crab causeway style (3/10/19 and 9/15/19 and 12/22/19). Might have been fried but those garlic bits were so good!

King crab with garlic (3/10/19 and 9/15/19 and 12/22/19). Tender and delicious.

Conch. Chewy and interesting.

Curried Meat. Can’t remember which meat, maybe beef or mutton. Pretty delicious though.

Fried pork chop. I didn’t love the oily taste.

Sweet and sour pork chops (3/10/19 and 9/15/19). MUCH better than the oily ones.

Roast pork with crispy skin (12/22/19). Really great meat flavor and nice crispy skin.

Seb brought: 2010 Marcassin Pinot Noir Blue-Slide Ridge Vineyard. 95 points. In a great place. A showy wine highlighting ripe red fragrant fruits with a sweet edgy appeal. Quite pretty for a large scale pinot as slightly faded sour cherry fruits are well integrated with bright acidity and baking spice. Finishes really lasts. Quality stuff.

Pigeon (earlier and 3/10/19 and 9/15/19 and 12/22/19). Straight from the Promenade — but actually quite nice.

100 Flower Chicken (12/22/19). This is pressed chicken with crispy skin and shrimp paste. This particular version was excellent, quite awesome.

Chopped pork and string beans. Classic dish. Excellent verison with crunchy beans and lots of pork.

Chinese greens. tasty (surprisingly).

A different tasty green (3/10/19 and 9/15/19).

Stalks with Chinese sausage (3/10/19 and 12/22/19). Love that salty/sweet sausage. Offsets the fibrous stalks nicely.

A different type of stalky vegetable (12/22/19).

Fried tofu (3/10/19). Similar garlic crunch to the causeway style.

2015 Château Doisy-Daëne Grand Vin Sec. 93 points. Tasted like Durian! Very dry and very interesting.

Fried sweet and sour fish. Not bad. Typical orange sauce.

Fried rice.

Yin yang fried rice (earlier and 9/15/19 and 12/22/19). Fried rice is underneath and covered with pork and shrimp sauces. Delicious!

2002 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate. VM 93. Good deep ruby-red. Highly aromatic nose combines musky redcurrant and tobacco. Plush, broad and fine-grained; atypically sexy and showy for this wine, in much the same way that Montelena’s basic 2002 Napa cabernet is unusually pliant and rich. Finishes with big, dusty, but rather suave tannins. This offers early accessibility but has the material and structure for extended aging. The alcohol here is 14.3%, the highest since the 1978, which was 14.4%.

Chicken chow mein. I love these crispy noodle dishes. Great and very addictive once the sauce softens the noodles.

Adam brought: 2004 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red Wine. Parker 98. Another rating identical to that which was given in 2007 (when first tasted from bottle), the 2004 Harlan Estate is performing essentially the way I suggested in 2007 as it is one of the more precocious and accessible of the Harlan Estate wines to date. A great showing at this retrospective, this wine, which seems like a hypothetical blend of a Pauillac, St.-Estephe and Graves, represents around 1,500 cases from 40 acres of beautifully manicured hillside vineyards overlooking Oakville. Still dense purple to the rim, with notes of creme de cassis, charcoal, blackberry and sweet toast, the wine is full-bodied and voluptuously textured with the tannins largely resolved. But the density and richness suggest this wine can go a long, long way, even though the window for drinking it seems open and inviting already. A world-class, first-growth wine if there ever was one from Napa, this is simply an exquisite Harlan Estate that has atypically reached mid to late adolescence at the age of ten. That is great given the fact that these are 30- to 40-year wines – possibly even half-century wines. Drink it over the next 30 years.

Black pepper beef (earlier and 9/15/19). Vietnamese style dish, quite good.

French style beef with mushrooms (3/10/19). Very tender flavorful beef.

Steamed fish with ginger and soy. Too plain for my taste.

Coconut buns (earlier and 3/10/19).

Buns with pepper or something (12/22/19). Very plain buns with the dusted seasoning. Hmm.

I brought some pistachio gelato from home (which I made).

Red bean soup for dessert. Looked like the output of a bad case of food poisoning.

Close up 9/15/19.

After my advanced gelato class, trying a slightly new pistachio formulation — Pistachio Madeline Gelato — base uses my same awesome Pistachios from Bronte Sicily but also a small amount of egg yolk for extra body. I baked the Madelines from scratch and soaked them in hand made Grand Mariner syrup — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — oh my! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #NomNom #dessert #Pistachio #lemon #orange #Sicily #GrandMariner #Madeline #cookie #baking

Getting whacky — Thai Peanut Coconut Lime Chili Gelato — Salty peanuts, Thai coconut cream, lime zest, and serrano chillies — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — almost too spicy! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #NomNom #dessert #chili #spicy #thai #peanut #coconut #lime #SavorySweet #Serrano

9/15/19 two more gelati:

Cherry Cioccolato Fondente Gelato — working to squeeze the most chocolate humanly possible into a dairy gelato. This is 70% cocoa Valrhona and 100% Callebaut Chocolate base is my best yet — only 17% milk it has an INTENSE chocolate taste, plus house-made White Chocolate Amareno Cherry Ganache rounds it out — 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 #chocolate #valrhona #Callebaut #cherry #amareno

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

I like how they tagged Yarom’s chair with the bills.

Great wine lineup tonight (for Chinese).
The big boy with the manager.

Overall, a great time and really solid meal. Orignally, I thought Top Island isn’t in the league with Elite or such for high end Cantonese, but this whole feast was $35 a person with tax and tip! So considering with had Peking Duck, Lobster etc and it was all very tasty this was a steal. All the dishes were enjoyable and they have a huge menu. Plus, as Yarom says, “they treated us like Pharaohs.” I.e. we had great service as they were very warm and brought out all the dishes “slowly” (by Chinese standards). Too bad they don’t have this sort of quality on the Westside!

I also must chime in that in light of our 3/10/19 dinner I have to upgrade Top Island to one of the best SGV Cantonese places. The service is really great. They brought us our dishes in a carefully selected (wine friendly) order, one at a time. The prices on sometimes expensive things like lobster and king crab are really fabulous, and overall dish quality is extremely high. Almost every dish was excellent that night (and on a previous trip a couple weeks before I missed). Great place!

For the 9/15/19 and 12/22/19 dinner I continue my thinking that Top Island has a really top notch Cantonese kitchen. Food is really really good. Service is great too, although the place is a bit of a zoo given how big and popular it is. Our 12/22/19 was a hilarious CF of a dinner though — not in any way the restaurant’s fault. We had a table they said seated 12-14, which really seated about 10-12 (and 12 was pushing it) and then ended up with 15 people (because it’s hard to manage the numbers at these things). We were so packed in at this table, sitting an extra foot away so the chairs made it around. But most problematically, with 15 people the dishes only got around to about 12ish — and so it turned into a “lord of the flies” style frenzy. Total chaos — if a touch amusing.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

And a bunch of wines from the second night:

12/22/19 wines:

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Cantonese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, crab, Gelato, hedonists, Lobster, Peking Duck, san Gabriel valley, SGV, Top Island, Top Island Seafood

Molti Marino

Dec19

Restaurant: Marino Ristorante

Location: 6001 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 466-8812

Date: December 14, 2016

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome. One of the best Italian meals I’ve had in LA

But the amazing chef/owner Sal Marino has relocated (back) to his original family haunt, venerable Marino Ristorante on Melrose and continues to cook up his unique blend of amazing modern Italian. And if anything, he’s gotten even better.

The menu for tonight’s special Foodie Club year end dinner.

1996 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame. VM 95+. Deep, highly complex aromas of citrus skin, nutmeg, porcini mushroom, toasted almond and clove. Rich, dry and impressively deep; superconcentrated and oily. A chewy, spicy Champagne that seemed to grow fresher as it opened in the glass. Really explosive on the aftertaste, finishing with a clinging quality and powerful spicy, nutty flavors. A major mouthful of Champagne, at its best at the dinner table. Displays the combination of high ripeness and high acidity of this vintage at its best. This thick, rich, very powerful wine is still a bit youthfully disorganized and will be even better for a few years of additional aging. One of the standouts of my recent tastings.

Mexicola avocado and Dungeness crab. Eaten skin and all! Like a super fresh Italian California roll.

Snapper Tartar.

Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. VM 94. The NV Grande Cuvée is absolutely stellar. This is one of the very best Grande Cuvées I can remember tasting. The flavors are bright, focused and beautifully delineated throughout, all of which make me think the wine will age well for many, many years. Lemon peel, white flowers, crisp pears, smoke and crushed rocks race across the palate in a vibrant, tense Champagne that epitomizes finesse. This release is based on the 2005 vintage and was disgorged in winter 2012/2013.

Amberjack & white truffle.

2002 Pol Roger Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 95. Pale gold. Intense, mineral-dominated aromas of candied citrus fruits, pear, anise, smoky lees and chamomile, plus a sexy floral nuance and a hint of sweet butter. Palate-staining orchard and citrus fruit flavors show outstanding depth and energy, picking up chalky mineral and spice notes with air. Strikingly concentrated and precise wine with strong finishing punch and noteworthy persistence. This concentrated, deftly balanced Champagne is built for a long, graceful evolution.

Sawagani – wild river crab. These little fellows were live and scampering in the bowl.

Then flash fried. No longer live, they are eaten as a whole bite and had a touch of spice. Amazing crunch and flavor!

From my cellar: 2010 Borgo del Tiglio (Nicola Manferrari) Collio Friulano Ronco della Chiesa. VM 94. Borgo del Tiglio’s 2010 Ronco della Chiesa shows what this hillside site in Cormons can do in cooler vintages. Still bright, focused and intensely saline, the 2010 bursts from the glass with grapefruit, lime, mint and crushed rocks. The 2010 will probably be appreciated most by readers who like tense, vibrant whites. Next to some of the other vintages, the 2010 lacks a little mid-palate pliancy, but it is quite beautiful just the same. I especially like the way the 2010 opens up nicely in the glass over time.

Nantucket Scallop Crudo, citrus salad. Delicious bright. Awesome pairing.

Buri Crudo. Amazing Italian/Japanese slices of large Buri.

Persimmon & Burrata. Best Persimmon I’ve ever had. Sweet and soft and non of that weird dusty finish. Amazing with the cheese too.
From my cellar: 2001 i Clivi Brazan. 93 points. Geraniums and menthol on the nose. On the palate, pear, apricot, white flowers, and notes of pineapple and lemon on the medium finish, with good acidity. Unlike a previous bottle, this didn’t show any significant oxidation, and it held up well over two days without fading. Well-stored bottles with good corks should be good for at least a few more years.

Hokkaido scallop, sea urchin, caviar. Amazing combo of umami and rich flavors.

1976 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Clos Vougeot. 95 points. Amazing shape for the vintage. Lots of cherry.

1983 Domaine Pothier-Rieusset Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens. 92 points. For a Burgundy that should be over the hill it’s drinking nicely. Crystal clear and very light ruby color. Poured straight from the bottle but with a little glass time it really started to show its stuff. Quite fruity and approachable. Has notes of cranberry cocktail with a twist of lemon.

Pizza al tartufo bianco.

With shaved white truffles!

This was one amazing pizza slice. I could have eaten the whole pie. Super soft (fontina?) cheese.

1996 Domaine du Clos de Tart Clos de Tart. JK 94. Fairly closed and tight nose of spicy black fruit framed in subtle new wood followed by medium weight, intense, relatively powerful flavors yet the tannins are elegant and quite fine. The overall impression is one of discreet breed and this delivers impressive if not incredible persistence. For the patient.

2003 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui. VM 91+. Full red-ruby. Brooding, superripe aromas of medicinal black cherry and cassis. Huge, chewy and backward; boasts impressive flesh and phenolic material but quite closed today, and not particularly sweet. This very rich but youthfully sullen wine finishes with substantial tannic spine. “Jammy but not cooked,” notes Gros.

Black Bass, stinging nettle, dehydrated olives. Great piece of light fluffy bass. As good as bass gets.
1982 Leoville-Las Cases. Parker 95-100. I have had perfect bottles of this cuvee, but, perplexingly, the bottles from my cellar tend to be broodingly backward and require plenty of coaxing. This huge wine is, in many ways, just as massive as Leoville Barton, but it possesses a greater degree of elegance as well as unreal concentration. Classic lead pencil, cassis, kirsch, cedar, and spice characteristics are abundant in both the nose and full-bodied flavors. The tannins are still there, and, at least from my cellar, this 1982 does not appear to have changed much in the last 10-12 years. One wonders how much patience admirers of this brilliant St.-Julien will continue to exhibit. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050.

From my cellar: 1985 Gaja Barbaresco. ? points. This was stewy and very “mature.” I liked it, but many at the table considered it totally flawed — which it probably was — I just kinda enjoyed it.

Black tagliatelle Lobster. Home made squid ink pasta with chunks of moist lobster. Amazing.

Chef Sal Marino shows off his pasta dough. Eggy!

1998 Azienda Agricola Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT. JG 91. The 1998 Pergole Torte is a bit deeper-pitched and more black fruity than the more vibrant and red fruity 1999, but despite its slightly “cooler” profile, this too will be a fine bottle of wine at its apogee. The nose is deep and complex, as it offers up scents of black cherries, plums, a touch of bitter chocolate, herb tones, road tar, damp earth and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still quite tannic, with fine focus, a solid core of fruit and very good length and grip on the firm, chewy and well-balanced finish. The 1998 does not possess the same generosity of youthful fruit as the 1999 or even the 2001 for that matter, and hence would be a bit more difficult to drink before it reaches full maturity, but with its sound acids and lovely complexity, it will be a delightful drink once it reaches its peak.

Cassonetti, celery root filled ravioli, black winter truffle.

With the truffle. This was an absolutely amazing pasta. The melt in your mouth shells, and the slick buttery sauce with the truffles. 11 out of 10!

1985 Antinori Solaia Toscana IGT. VM 94. The 1985 Solaia kicks off a flight of Early Classics. I have had the 1985 twice recently and it has always been impressive. It is also very much a wine of its era, which is to say if anything, it is too polished. This was an era in which wines were squeaky-clean. Well-stored bottles still have plenty of fruit although further upside appears to be limited.

1990 Antinori Solaia Toscana . VM 94. Tasted next to so many other great wines, the 1990 Solaia actually suffers a bit. I am sure it would be magnificent on its own, but here it comes comes across as a bit one-dimensional, with less opulence than vintages like 1994 and 1997, but less structure than the 1988 tasted immediately before. Overall, the 1990 is a hugely attractive wine that stops just a touch short of being truly profound.

agavin: both were great, but I liked the 1990 better.

Chicken & Polenta. Local farm polenta and chicken. Super moist and soft. Usually chicken doesn’t have enough flavor to handle this kind of treatment, but this certainly did.

2002 Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT. Parker 94. The 2002 Redigaffi is sweet and balsamic in its expression of jammy plum fruit, elegant and ample on the flow and with an expanding volume, firmness, and grip which should guarantee maximum pleasure for another decade and a half.

Lamb Ossobuco. This was bone sucking good. Super rich, stewed and fatty. Ron and I were literally gnawing on the bones.

Wagyu tagliata, sunchoke, pea tendrils. East meets west version of the New York strip, but with Japanese breed beef. Grilled bread was amazing too.

Sal through in: 2004 San Michele Appiano (St. Michael-Eppan) Sanct Valentin-Comtess Passito. 96 points. Awesome complex sticky.

Panettone. This ain’t your grandmother’s panettone. It was more like bread pudding.

Ramen Roll Gelato, made by me. I brought these in but Sal’s crew plated them. In the front is Macha White, green tea with white chocolate. In the back my amazing Hazelnut Caramel with pure traditional hazelnut (made from Italian Hazelnut Regina paste) and house made caramel.

The normal Marino menu looks great, but is certainly more classic than Sal’s special dinner fare like above. If you like adventurous modern Italian, I’d see if he can do a special tasting menu — likely he’ll be up for it. Or several people could put together something really interesting from the regular menu if they think outside the normal appetizer, entree, dessert box. But it’s with this kind of special dinner — and not to mention the great crew and our awesome wines — that Sal’s cooking really knocks your socks off. He is a nut for detail and ingredients. He grows tons of stuff at home — like over a 100 varieties of heirloom tomato — and really knows how to adapt and pair with wine.

I had a lot of great meals at Il Grano, but this was probably the most on point of all of them. Every dish was pretty much a knock out. Bright fresh ingredients coupled with bright fresh flavors. I’m still dreaming of that truffle Cassonetti.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long food trips through Italy.

Or more crazy Foodie Club meals.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Foodie Club, Gelato, Italian Cusine, Marino, Sal Marino, Salvatore Marino, Wine

Yamakase Seven

Nov09

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

Location: You wish you knew!

Date: November 4, 2016

Cuisine: Japanese

Rating: Always awesome!

Yamakase is just hands down one of the most fun evenings in LA. Not only is the “modern” Japanese cuisine incredible, but the convivial nature of the place is just great. It’s not very big and as usual we take the entire sushi bar, but not tonight.

The location is in a good neighborhood, but something about this particular strip mall is a bit sketchy. Maybe it’s the 7/11. There are a lot of strange characters hanging about.
Inside, chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto rules over the sushi bar.

This time, being a Friday and a smaller party, we were 4 at the bar (of 11) and the place was packed with a total of 21 people!

Have a little tuna/toro! With the big crowd he went through two of these.

Larry brought: Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. VM 94. The NV Grande Cuvée is absolutely stellar. This is one of the very best Grande Cuvées I can remember tasting. The flavors are bright, focused and beautifully delineated throughout, all of which make me think the wine will age well for many, many years. Lemon peel, white flowers, crisp pears, smoke and crushed rocks race across the palate in a vibrant, tense Champagne that epitomizes finesse. This release is based on the 2005 vintage and was disgorged in winter 2012/2013.

Homemade sesame tofu and uni. A “typical” Yamakase tofu dish. Great interplay of textures and flavors.
Abalone with eel sauce. The crunchy chewy mollusk simply served and delicious.

Persimmon butter sandwich with marcona almonds. This is an odd one, but delicious. The orange stripes are dried persimmon which has been hung to dry for months. This is a traditional Japanese New Year preparation and very highly prized. The lighter stripe is frozen high end butter! Almost like a little petite four.

Mantis shrimp, baby peach, scallop, giant clam, and seaweed. I loved the sweet/tangy sauce too. Very lovely. The baby peach was incredible.

From my cellar: 2002 Maison Leroy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Le Charmois. 94 points. Reductive, fresh, and delicious.

Oyster, uni, quail egg, caviar. One of these super Yamakase spoons of crazy umami-rich ingredients.

Steamed/boiled cod sperm sacks with truffles. Sounds scary, but tastes great.

Roasted unagi with tomato sauce and truffles. Unusual combination that tasted like an Italian seafood dish — pretty awesome.

Frozen toro, uni, and blue crab on toast. This toast and rich toro/crab combo is so good. Like a super high end version of a tuna sandwich.

Hokkaido scallop in a dill sauce. A new treatment of some familiar ingredients. The dill sauce make for a different (and tasty) take on things.

Seasoned rice, baby fish, and marinated blue fin. An amazing dish with that fish over rice quality I really love.

Have a little foie!

From my cellar: 1994 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia. 97 points. Absolutely exquisite. Soaring, kalediscopic nose, with swirling aromas of salted caramels, vanilla, honey, jasmin, ginger, almonds, and orange peels. Just mind boggling. Sensuous, smooth, and nutty on the palate, with a level of refinement that the other (also excellent) LdH blancos just can’t reach and a salty finish that leaves your palate tingling for what seems like minutes. A masterpiece that will last for ages.

Foie gras, toro, quail egg, truffle cheese, blue crab. Wow! This dish was absolutely out of this world. Just crazy rich and delicious. You wouldn’t think it works, but it’s amazing.

Hokkaido ready spikey crab. Never had these before!

Crab, steamed. Simple steamed fresh crab.

The master stirring the pot.

Larry brought: NV Krug Champagne Brut Rosé. 95 points. The current release of Krug Rosé is a beautiful wine, which is comprised of a blend of fifty-nine percent pinot noir, thirty-three percent chardonnay and eight percent pinot meunier. It was disgorged in the spring of 2013 and includes reserve wines in the blend back to the 2000 vintage. The wine is beautiful and still very youthful and discreet on both the nose and palate, wafting from the glass in a lovely and blossoming blend of white cherries, tangerine, wheat toast, stunningly complex minerality, delicate spice tones and a topnote of dried rose petals. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and seamlessly balanced, with a lovely core, pinpoint bubbles, bright acids and exceptional focus and grip on the pure and still quite primary finish. This is very easy to drink today, but it deserves some cellaring time to really blossom.

Ultimate ramen bowl. This foie gras based seafood broth was topped with crispy onions and filled with yummy seafood bits. Underneath are the ramen noodles. There was crab, beef, oyster, and who knows what else in here. Absolutely stunning. So rich. So good. The broth had quite a white pepper kick too which was amazing.

Slicing the beef.

Look at that A5.

The documentation to prove it, including nose print.

Miyazaki goes beyond Kobe!

Miyazaki beef with truffle pepper sauce. Melt in your mouth with a bit of pepper kick.

Some people got sashimi instead of sushi.

Blue fin sushi. Bordering over to chu-toro. Just a lovely bit of sushi.

Amberjack. Amazing.

Sea bass. To die for.

Chu or O toro. Lethal. We had several pieces of this each.

Prepared to make the rolls.

Uber handroll. Uni, king crab, toro, shiso. You’ve never had a handroll quite like this powerhouse! Had two of these.

Hazelnut biscotti gelato. I made this gelato and brought it in (I have a special traveling cooler now for my gelatti). A pure hazelnut gelato with Italian (waffle) cookies and hazelnuts!

A small taste of baby peach sorbet. Super light and refreshing. Yama makes a very pure sorbet, no stabilizers, probably only fruit, water, and sugars.

There are different was to experience Yamakase, depending on you number. This was the first time in 4-5 years that I haven’t taken the entire sushi bar (and usually we have the whole restaurant on a weeknight). This time it was just 4 of us in my party — at the bar — and on a Friday with a crazy busy crowd. At the tables there were mostly young Asian power couples. Quite the date night!

The food was as great as ever, and Yama added some extra staff so the service remained top notch and super attentive. The energy is a bit different with so many others and the space was packed. It’s louder, but with people staying more in their chairs. When we have the whole place, people are up and hanging out quite a bit. Yama also had to work like a banshee to produce nearly twice as many of each dish. He was right in front of me and it was impressive how fast he had to chop, plate, slice, dice, simmer, boil, etc. The knife was a flying! Those crabs had no chance. He is a total master and I’m proud to have him as my partner in Ramen Roll.

Food-wise, this was one of my best meals this year — really quite excellent — and regular readers know I have more than my share of great meals. A really great format. Yama’s cuisine keeps gaining in strength and power. Really quite incomparable. He is unquestionably a genius. Yama has a tremendous range within Japanese cuisine, first rate ingredients, and a savvy palate. He is quite skilled at very traditional more subtle Japanese as well, but has tuned up the typical Yamakase meal with high end ingredients and bolder combinations for a more contemporary wow factor.

Oh, and that toro cheese dish and foie gras “ramen” are just to die for.

Click here for more LA sushi reviews,
Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.

By: agavin
Comments (5)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, Japanese cuisine, Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, Sushi, Yamakase

Doing it All Right – Christophe Emé

Sep30

My friend Eric Cotsen’s house is again host to another amazing food & wine event. French chef Christophe Emé, formerly of Ortolan, “whips” up an epic dinner with wines brought by the gang — with the organization of the evening arranged by Stewart.

First the setting….
Which is decidedly first class.

Look at that view!

Then the first time I’ve eaten at the inside table.

And chef Christophe Emé works had in the kitchen — he was slaving away intently the whole evening.

Have a few champagnes!

And the apropos fish theme.

1985 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. BH 94. I have had a number of bottles, even from the same cellar, that have been showing plenty of age and even occasionally flirting with oxidative hints yet this most recent bottle (from my cellar) was among the freshest I’ve had in a while with its intensely yeasty and toasty aromas of white orchard fruit, citrus peel, marmalade and orange peel. This is arguably the most complex vintage of the 1980s (though not necessarily the most vibrant or the most complete) and in particular I like the way that the mousse has managed to maintain most of its original vigor on the sweet yet ultimately dry finale that delivers very fine persistence. While this bottle was admirably fresh it’s clear that it’s time to drink up sooner than later unless your taste runs to post-mature characters.

agavin: really awesome bottle, one of the best of the night.

1990 Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. An older GC!

Gougeres. The classic French cheese puffs.

1998 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame. VM 90. The house’s 1998 La Grande Dame reveals notable clarity and precision. This focused, poised wine emerges from the glass with well-articulated flowers, pears, smoke, crisp apples and minerals in a medium-bodied style. The wine appears to have enough freshness and sheer depth to support another decade or so of aging. La Grand Dame represents a significant step up from the estate’s other wines. In 1998 La Grande Dame is 64% Pinot Noir (Aÿ, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay and Bouzy) and 36% Chardonnay (Avize, Oger, Mesnil-sur-Oger). This is Lot 510 2572, disgorged between December 2006 and January 2007.

agavin: big flavors (for champ)

An amuse of grains, beet, and leaf. Gorgeous, huh?

1998 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Rosé La Grande Dame. VM 92. Copper-pink with a frothy mousse. Smoky strawberry and cherry aromas are complicated by buttered toast, blood orange and dried flowers. Deep and chewy, with vivid red berry and bitter cherry flavors underscored by dusty minerals. Gains power on the broad, focused and gently nutty finish. Already complex, and ready to drink.

1995 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon Rosé P2. VM 95.5. The just-released 1995 Dom Pérignon Rosé P2 is stunning. Young, delicate and vibrant in the glass, the 1995 has it all; expressive aromatics, crystalline fruit and fabulous overall balance. Cranberry, mint, hard candy, cinnamon and dried rose petals are laced into the super-expressive finish. The 1995 P2 is sweet and layered, but with lovely veins of chalky minerality that give the wine its sense of energy. A delicate, floral finish rounds things out nicely.

agavin: LOVED LOVED this champy — and so did everyone else.

1997 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. VM 95. One of the surprises in this vertical, the 1997 Salon is super-polished, delicate and refined. The 1997 offers lovely detail and nuance throughout. Hints of candied lemon peel, white flowers and white pepper add an element of brightness that complements the wine’s natural richness. Although 1997 doesn’t belong to the group of elite vintages at Salon, it does come close to that level. Perhaps even more importantly, the 1997 is aging gracefully and should continue to drink nicely for a number of years.

agavin: another amazing champy!

1990 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. BH 95. This is a wine that I know extremely well from 750 ml and it’s one that is beginning to tire though I hasten to point out that it’s still enjoyable and just beginning to show signs of fatigue. However there are no such concerns with the same wine from magnum that remains magnificently fresh and while it’s clear that the aromas are mature, that’s not at all the same thing as describing the yeasty and baked apple suffused nose as tiring. There is equally good depth and vibrancy to the beautifully delineated flavors that are supported by a fine and firm mousse that allows the texture of a well-aged Dom to be easily appreciated. For my taste this has arrived at its peak though note well that it should easily be capable of effortlessly holding for years to come.

Foie gras terrine, toasted brioche, pear and apple chutney. Awesome foie terrine — serious fat!

Look at this house baked brioche!

And sliced open like pound cake.

The next course arrives from outer space.

The classique scrambled eggs caviar served in the shell. Can you saw Champagne pairing?

2001 Marquis de Laguiche (Joseph Drouhin) Montrachet. BH 93. Perfumed aromas of honeysuckle and ripe peach that display just a hint of secondary development introduce rich and solidly concentrated big-bodied flavors of limestone, citrus and an attractive nutty quality that are underpinned by good depth and outstanding length. This has lost the robust character that it displayed early on and has now matured into a delicious, round and relatively forward effort that is drinking perfectly for my taste even in magnum format though it should easily continue to drink well for much longer. As is often the case, I preferred the magnum to the 750 ml version (see herein), if only slightly.

agavin: needed like an hour in the glass.

From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 94. Like all great examples of Ramonet Bâtard, the nose is simply gorgeous with immensely complex aromas of peach, white flower and ample minerality, which leads to big, rich and muscular full-bodied flavors that retain excellent focus and incredible intensity plus first rate precision on the hugely long finish. While approachable now, for my tastes I would be inclined to wait another year or two first as it still is on the way up. In a word, masterful. Tasted multiple times with consistent results.

agavin: I loved this very Batard batard

1998 Coche-Dury Meursault. BH 88. A touch of botrytis adds nuance to the otherwise clean, pretty and notably elegant aromas that merge into relatively dense, pure and round flavors that are supported by solid finishing acidity. As is often the case with this wine relative to its upper level siblings, this isn’t really built for the long haul and 2 to 3 more years of cellar time should see it at its best.

agavin: big reduction!

1980 Château Haut-Brion Blanc. In great shape considering. A bit amber, but delicious.

Lobster spaghetti, artichoke barrigoule, and parmesan.

I’ve had some versions of this amazing pasta years ago at Ortalon. This was a nice lobstery one — wrapped in spaghetti!

The chef at work.

1996 Domaine Leroy Richebourg. VM 94-97. Restrained but vibrant aromas of violet, licorice and cassis. Offers great volume in the mouth, but this is more muscular, more musclebound, than the Romanee-Saint-Vivant. Fabulous subtle flavors of black fruits (creme de cassis!) and minerals. Superb richness and powerful structure. Less giving and perhaps less subtle, but even more impressive on the finish. Will be more difficult to taste early on than the Romanee-Saint-Vivant.

agavin: a serious pedigree red Burg packing serious big flavor.

From my cellar: 1996 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. VM 94+. Very good deep red-ruby. Black cherry, boysenberry, rose petal, licorice, minerals, shoe polish, mint and white pepper on the nose. Extremely unyielding today in the middle palate, and dominated by its rather large structure. Exotic hints of citrus fruit keep the flavors bright and sharp. Then extremely long and authoritative on the back end. A wine of great potential, but it’s all nose and finish today. May ultimately merit a considerably higher score.

agavin: very elegant.
2006 Camille Giroud Vosne-Romanée. BH 86-89. eduction. The delicious and rich flavors are attractively sweet and full with fine depth of material and good punch on the firm finish that offers just a bit more overall complexity. A serious villages.

The seabass (for the below dish) in its salt/dough shell.

Opened up to reveal the fish.

Sea bass en croute de sel with clams and lemon confit and artichokes. Great broth. I actually liked the artichokes the best. Some bones in the fish.

1998 Guigal Cote Rotie la Mouline. Parker 97-100. The awesome 1998 Cote Rotie La Mouline is a seamless, full-bodied classic with many characteristics of the 1997 La Landonne , but more structure, tannin, and muscle. It will need two years of cellaring, and will last for twenty years. Stylistically, it is reminiscent of the 1988.

1990 Montrose. Parker 100! The final blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc was harvested between September 14 and October 3. The spring was cold, yet summer was extremely hot and dry – one of the hottest vintages since 1949. The fact that virtually no rain fell in September served as a catalyst to get all the grapes ripe and in cellars. Some bottles of this wine have a definite brett population that gives off the notes of sweaty horses, but this one did not. The ones I have had from my cellar – where I have had it frequently – are quite pure and clean. I suspect that the brett population is in all of them, but unless the wine hits some heat along the transportation route or in storage, the wine will not show any brett. This one tasted at the chateau, as well as those I’ve had from my cellar, have been pristine and not showing the sweaty horse notes that can be in evidence in brett populations that have flourished in the bottle because of external temperatures. This wine has an incredibly complex nose of spring flowers, blackberry and cassis liqueur, scorched earth and barbecue spice. It is full-bodied, majestic and opulent, with low acidity and fabulous fruit. It is close to full maturity. The wine should continue to drink well for at least another 30 or more years, but it is showing secondary nuances in the perfume. The wine is absolutely magnificent, broad, savory and mouth-filling. This is one of the all-time modern legends from Bordeaux as well as Chateau Montrose.

agavin: great bottle.

2006 Haut Brion. Parker 96. Tasted at Bordeaux Index’s annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Château Haut-Brion has a more ostentatious bouquet than the comparatively reserved La Mission: quite feisty blackberry, briary, kirsch and red plum scents, hints of leather and sage tucked just underneath. This is a bouquet determined to make an impression! The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, well-judged acidity, a gentle build to a concentrated, earthy, truffle-tinged finish that lingers long in the mouth. This seems to have the upper-hand over the La Mission and probably has a longer future. A thoroughbred from Jean-Philippe Delmas and his team. Tasted January 2016.

agavin: babykill

1986 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins. Parker 96. Few Chateauneuf du Papes from this vintage turned out well, and the few that did required consumption during their first decade of life. Bonneau’s 1986 is just hitting full maturity. It offers a concoction of jammy, concentrated licorice-infused black cherry fruit, with hints of tobacco, cedar, beef blood, smoked herbs, and Asian spices. As the wine sits in the glass, aromas of licorice, Peking duck, and other exotic scents emerge. An amazing effort, it may be the only Reserve des Celestins I own that can be classified as fully mature. Anticipated maturity: now-2020.

agavin: looked a little cloudy, but tasted awesome.

Seared squab filet, wild mushroom, crispy potatoes. I liked the long gnocchi like things.

Partial lineup.

Les fromages.

1989 Chateau d’Yquem. Parker 97. The favorite sweet wine of millionaires, Chateau d’Yquem has, not unexpectedly, turned in a brilliant effort with their newly released 1989. It is a large-scaled, massively rich, unctuously-textured wine that should evolve effortlessly for a half century or more. It does not reveal the compelling finesse and complexity of the 1988 or 1986, but it is a far heavier, richer wine than either of those vintages. It is reminiscent of the 1976, with additional fat and glycerin. The wine is extremely alcoholic and rich, with a huge nose of smoky, honey-covered coconuts and overripe pineapples and apricots. As with most young vintages of Yquem, the wine’s structure is barely noticeable. These wines are so highly extracted and rich yet approachable young, it is difficult to believe they will last for 50 or more years. The 1989 is the richest Yquem made in the eighties, and it has an edge in complexity over the powerhouse 1983. It remains to be seen whether this wine will develop the extraordinary aromatic complexity possessed by the promising 1988 and 1986 Yquems.

agavin: awesome!

1999 Chateau d’Yquem. Parker 92.

Mille feuille caramelise with vanilla butter cream. Perfect contrast between crispy/butter pastry and the creamy filling.

1994 Broadbent Porto Vintage. 90 points. not bad at all.

Chocolate tart, fig and cream de praline. Looks dry, but tasted great.

1983 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Eiswein. 95 points. Great stuff — very mature, but awesome.

Artisanal gelato by moi. On the left macha green tea white chocolate straciatella and on the right rose water white peach sorbetto. Eric Cotsen called it by describing the rose one as like eating a “perfectly textured really high end bath soap” (he loved it though).

Overall a really epic evening. Super great combo of superb food, crazy sick wines, and great company!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Christophe Emé, Eric Cotsen, French Cuisine, Gelato, Wine

Italian House Party

Sep19

The Hedonist gang periodically converges for a some house party goodness, this time for a home cooked Italian meal by Linda di Franco.

Elisabeth and Jake were very generous to host us at their lovely 20s Hacienda.

This setting always shows off some interesting views, in this case a cool orange reflection off some far off buildings.

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Light orange. Vibrant strawberry and orange zest aromas are complicated by notes of tea rose, smoky lees and chalky minerals. Bright, incisive red fruit flavors pick up a toasty nuance with air. Fresh, incisive and refreshingly tangy, with impressive finishing clarity and stony persistence.

From my cellar: 2011 Villa Diamante Fiano di Avellino Vigna della Congregazione. 92 points. Excellent, one of the best white wines I’ve had in some time. Beautiful golden color, with delicious fruit but not too fruity. It has the composed, focused quality of a Jobard from Burgundy. I can imagine that this wine would age nicely, but it is awfully good right now.

2013 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis. 93 points. It’s late summer, we were dining outside. So we brought this. Fabulous.

Cheese.

Crackers.

2008 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros. BH 92-95. A classic Chablis nose of mineral reduction, oyster shell and green fruit aromas merges into sappy, rich and powerful flavors that possess more refinement than usual on the long, sappy and beautifully detailed finish. I’m impressed that this seems to have to rusticity and in this sense, it’s a bit atypical.

Gorgonzola stuffed figs wrapped in prosciutto. Very nice soft fresh sweet figs and paired very well with the salty ham and gorgonzola.

2014 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne. BH 94. Mild notes of wood and reduction mask the underlying fruit though I can say that it appears to be ripe. Otherwise there is outstanding volume and concentration to the big-bodied and openly muscular flavors that exhibit evident power and punch on the hugely long finale. This is presently very compact and like the Perrières very clearly built to age. I should note that while this is certainly going to need time it is not especially austere and I suspect that it will begin to drink well after only 5-ish years or so if that’s your preference.

Younger than my fiano!

Zucchini mint onion frittata on a bed of baby greens.

2011 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. VH 90-93. A restrained, indeed almost mute nose of Granny Smith apples and citrus aromas is in keeping with the rich and full-bodied but reserve flavors that possess very good size and weight, all wrapped in an intense, deep and sneaky long finish where noticeable wood surfaces. I like the concentration and this should be a rare Corton-Charlemagne that will be approachable in its youth.

Cannellini and Italian Salsiccia Crostini. A classic dish of central Italy, certainly including Tuscany and Umbria.

2014 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill. 91 points. light-to-medium deep yellow core with nice viscosity. As others have noted, nose is quite reminiscent of a very good PC Chablis (or better?). Lemon zest, apple, pear, wet stone/minerality and a deft touch of oak; quite pretty. Palate of white flowers, apple pie, peach pit and minerals. Lovely, balanced, medium-bodied wine with no sharp edges that should pair nicely with most foods, unlike many of its Cali counterparts. Good acidity, as it should have, along with a nice midpalate and reasonably long finish. With the acid and minerality and balance I wonder if this would age like a good Chablis? Hmmmm . . . .

Bresaola with Parmiggiano. The dog liked it so much he licked the edge of it (dangerously close to the table edge). Rolled up with the cheese was a great meaty/cheesy snack boosted up by the olive oil drizzle.

Linda (right) making pasta with some “help” from Jennifer.

From my cellar: 2004 Podere Il Cocco Brunello di Montalcino. 94 points. I love this rare bio-dynamic Brunello.

2010 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino. VM 94. The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino is one of the very best wines I have tasted here in recent years. Dark red cherries, mint, game, smoke, tobacco and licorice are all deeply expressive in a mid-weight, very classic feeling Brunello long on class and personality. Big yet silky tannins frame the dramatic, intense finish. The Valdicava wines are always big, but the 2010 is a bit pulled back, and striking.

2006 Le Presi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. 93 points. Nice!

Lasagne with Besciamella.

2008 Tantara Pinot Noir Le Colline Vineyard.

Pizza with prosciutto.

Cheese pizza.

2009 Rocca di Frassinello Maremma Toscana Baffonero. VM 91+. Full ruby-red. Cool, brooding aromas of cassis, blackberry, violet and minerals. Concentrated, densely packed, minerally and brisk, with ripe black fruit and coffee flavors carrying through to the creamy, ripe, very long finish. This is an important wine for this estate, and one that it would like to become one of Italy’s most important merlots in the future, in the mold of Masseto or Messorio.

agavin: very nice giant ripe merlot

1997 Bava Barbera d’Asti Superiore Stradivario. 91 points.

2003 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate. VM 91. Bright ruby-red. Sweet aromas of black cherry, flowers, menthol and creosote. Supple, sweet and fine-grained, though not especially nuanced for this wine. Strong note of chocolate. Finishes with a fairly fine dusting of tannins and lingering notes of cherry and licorice. This seems a bit less vibrant than it was from barrel a year ago. Barrett noted that the December 2005 bottling date was quite late for this wine, and my sample had not yet recovered.

2012 Chris Ringland Shiraz. BIG!

Balsamic beef rags with arugula. Very thin tender meat, a little like Korean BBQ.

Roasted red potatoes with rosemary and garlic.

2003 Château Duhart-Milon. VM 88-91. Bright ruby-red. Blackcurrant, blueberry, black cherry, violet, tobacco, fresh herbs and currant leaf on the slightly medicinal, quintessential cabernet nose. Then broad, fat and rich, with a layered texture and enticing sweetness. Showing its cabernet side today, but this is thoroughly ripe, seamless cabernet.

Hand made mushroom agnolotti with butter and sage. I love these classic butter and sage pastas. There wasn’t a lot, so we each got about two.

2003 Château Gravas. 87 points. pale golden yellow; honey, apricot, dried pineapple and mango aroma; full-bodied; a relatively unimpressive palate as a Sauternais; short finish.

Tiramisu.

I brought this in my new Gelato cooler, made by moi: Gianduia Gelato – not only is this from a hardcore Italian recipe, properly stabilized for that gooey texture, but I used all Valrhona chocolate and Piedmontese hazelnut paste. Seriously it’s like frozen Nutella! A huge hit if I do say so myself — and I do!

A lovely group of ladies!
This one is a little less dignified.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Linda di Franco, Rose, Wine

Hong Kong Style – Henry’s Cuisine

May27

Restaurant: Henry’s Cuisine

Location: 301 E Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801

Date: May 22, 2016 & January 29, 2017 & October 30, 2022 & March 19, 2023

Cuisine: Hong Kong style Chinese

Rating: Really tasty

Another week, another trip to the San Gabriel Valley for Chinese!

The oddly named Henry’s is a Hong Kong Cafe, an unusual blend of Cantonese and slightly more western influences.

The interior looks like an IHOP! Maybe it was a few years back.

The menu.

1996 Cristian Senez Champagne Brut Millésimé. 91 points. Nice, with a touch of age appropriate oxidation.

Corn and chicken soup. One of those very pleasant mild Chinese soups. Taken up a notch by adding some vinegar and/or chili oil.

Drunken Pig Feet. Freezing cold, nearly frozen texture. Revolting. Yarom and a few Chinese liked this dish, everyone else hated it (or didn’t try it). I’m just not into the cold flaccid pig skin texture.

Drunken Chicken (aka Hainan Chicken) but without the sauce or rice. I don’t like this dish in general, but this one had a nice flavor. However, all but a few pieces were mostly bone and very difficult to eat.

2014 Sine Qua Non Gallinita. 93 points. 50% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 12.5% Syrah, 12.5% Petite Sirah….open in bottle for an hour and a half…..PRETTY brilliant rose color….GORGEOUS nose of smoke, strawberry fields, crushed cherries, dusty exotic wood spice…..exotic nose…reminds me of a young Vosne Romanee! Definitely big for a Rose..but I’ve seen bigger……the flavors from the nose translate to the palate….very bright and crunchy acidity…tart and sour….awakens the richness. Not the perfect of balance though….15.9 alc comes through a little strawberry martini-ish…but not too too much heat. The Rhone varietals add some interesting flavors….smoked underbrush, stem funk, garrigue, spice box, dried roses…..definitely a spice and heat kick on the finish! A Rose to drink and ponder with each sip like a red…..tasty…..and just so dog gone FUN!

Smoked Pork Leg. An amazing hunk of pig. Really moist and full of pastrami-like flavor. The skin was delectably crispy too.

Bone it!

2001 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Achleiten. 92 points. Another excellent 2001 Austrian. Loads and loads of acidity and minerality, yet plenty of richness and body to balance it all out.

House special Vietnamese style lobster. Lightly fried with a mild pepper flavor. You could really taste the meat.

Spicy Garlic Lobster. This was an interesting Chinese lobster prep, halfway between “dry” and “wet.” It was pretty fried and there was garlic, but the garlic wasn’t heavy or crunchy like in a real “Typhoon Style.” The meat was extremely moist and excellent. It wasn’t spicy at all. Only Cantonese Chinese “spicy” (aka a visible pepper or two).

From my cellar: 2005 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. BH 94. This is a mild step up in overall class and elegance with a gorgeously perfumed white flower fruit nose introducing linear, precise, intense and powerful medium full flavors that remain splendidly focused on the stunningly long finish that drenches the palate in dry extract. This is a striking 1er and one to buy as it easily delivers grand cru quality.

Sautéed Shrimp with salted egg. The batter is drinking with egg yolk and is very pasty. These were super well executed for this dish, although I prefer a “lighter” fry myself. I don’t usually like this prep, it’s too salty and grainy. This one wasn’t grainy at least but it was salty. The shrimp was nicely done. Overall just “ok” but good for this type of dish.

Crispy Walnut Shrimp. A weird version of this dish as the mayo was on the side. It was very fried. I think if it had been tossed in the mayo nicely it would have been great. This way it was just fried shrimp.

House Special Tiger Prawn with Glass Noodle. The prawns were overcooked and had a shrimp paste funk to them, not super pleasant. People liked the noodles (I didn’t try for carb avoidant reasons). They had a bit of a pepper flavor.

Salt and pepper shrimp (1/29/17). Tasty!

We’ve sure had a lot of shrimp dishes here!

2012 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet. BH 89. Here too there is enough reduction to push what appears to be ripe fruit to the background. The pure and well-detailed middle weight flavors possess a highly seductive mouth feel along with lovely balance and excellent persistence for a villages level wine. The class of a fine Puligny is very much in evidence and this is worth your attention.

Stir Fried Fish Filet with Honey Peas and Golden Chives. This was a great dish. The fish was super delicate and light and the sauce super savory and full of “flavor” (MSG). The snap beans were crunchy. Very enjoyable, if light and sort of “Chinese American” (really just Hong Kong style).

Vietnamese Style Deep Fried Fish with Basil. The ultimate fish sticks. Very moist and light fish with a great batter.

Roast Pigeon. One of the best roast pigeons in the SGV, crunchy, juicy, and full of deep dark meat flavor.

Szechuan Spicy Deep Fried Free Range Chicken. A bit too much bone and not enough spicy heat. Not bad, but this dish is better at a Szechuan place.

1991 Bodegas Mauro Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Vendimia Seleccionada. 92 points. Very nice mature Tempranillo.

Pan Fried Shrimp and Egg. This is a simple dish but Henry’s example was as good as it gets. Very wet, fluffy eggs and succulent shrimp. Great with chili oi.

Beef with mushrooms (1/29/17).

Lamb with mushrooms and peas. Tender meat.

Sautéed Sliced Lamb with Garlic Leaves. Slightly weird flavor but kind of enjoyable. Nice texture. The garlic leaves were very nice. In 2023 slightly weird flavor but really enjoyable. Nice texture. The garlic leaves were very nice. I think this was better than in November.

2014 Joseph Drouhin / Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu. VM 92. (Drouhin used to purchase fruit from the top part of this property but then bought the entire vineyard; this sunny slope is one of the first parcels Drouhin harvests): Pale, slightly hazy yellow. Ripe aromas of lemon peel, pomelo and apple, lifted by a rose petal topnote. Densely packed and pliant, offering a lovely balance of fruit sweetness and acidity (4.5 grams per liter). Finishes floral and long.

Stir Fried Green Bean with Garlic Sauce. The beans were nice and crunchy.

1995 Maison Roche de Bellene Clos de la Roche Collection Bellenum. 93 points. Very powerful, expressive floral nose that jumps out of the glass upon opening (pop and pour). Still very concentrated and rich, this will likely improve over the next three-five years, as it still has a lot of light red fruit and is just starting to show signs of secondary flavors.

Chestnut and Free Range Chicken in Hot Pot. I hadn’t had this dish before. The chicken was very tender. The sauce was a bit sweet and the chestnuts added a nice nutty crunch. Really good.

Ginger chicken (1/29/17). Very simple but tasty well cooked chicken with ginger.

Broccoli with garlic. About as good as straight up broccoli gets. Actually very nice for American broccoli, but still just broccoli and very basic. Would have been better with a different green.

Greens (1/29/17). Typical Chinese colon sweeper.

Mixed light vegetables (1/29/17). Nice crunch.

Stir Fried Lotus and Wood Ear. Another excellent dish with the same white “flavor” sauce as the fish, so the peas were the same. Basically this was nice salty/savory crunchy veggies.

2011 Saxum James Berry Vineyard. VM 96. Dark red plums, exotic spices, crushed flowers, menthol and new leather are some of the nuances that blossom as the 2011 James Berry Vineyard opens up in the glass. The use of 33% whole clusters adds texture and aromatic complexity in a wine that impresses for its purity. Some of the Grenache was done in concrete, which allows the true personality of the fruit to shine. Hints of tar, game and licorice meld into the expressive finish.

Honey Pork Chop. Sweet, fried, and delicious.

2004 Ovid Experiment E0.4. 92 points. This is the only Ovid Experiment wine that predates the first release of its proprietary wine, so it must be from relatively young vines. Good cab franc-centric nose of violets, cassis and a little pepper. This is a rich, almost heavy, wine tasting of cassis and spices. The oak and alcohol were evident to me but not too off putting. This is a good wine but for me it lacks the balance, complexity and seamlessness of the Ovid wines that have come after it (of which I am a huge fan). It will last for several more years but I don’t know if it will get any better.

Singapore Curry Beef. In a mild yellow curry with tender beef, weird gelatinous tendon and potatoes. This is one of the best yellow curries I’ve had. The sauce itself, probably coconut milk based, was extremely delicious and a straightforward version of the English/Hong Kong yellow curry. The meat is tender put packed with collagen and/or tendon.

Lamb stew (1/29/17). Very mild, and lamb was super tender, but good flavor.

2011 Peter Michael Les Pavots. VM 92. Opaque ruby. Smoky, deeply pitched aromas of cassis, blueberry and dark chocolate, with a hint of truffle adding a musky, earthy nuance. In a substantial style for the vintage, offering sweet dark fruit preserve flavors and a touch of candied licorice. Tangy acidity adds lift to the round, gently tannic, persistent finish, with the blue fruit note echoing.

Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables. We didn’t try this, but I took a picture next door as this seemed a super popular dish. Light, I’m sure.

2000 Mckeon-Phillips Cabernet Sauvignon Ardison A.D. Valley View Vineyard. 91 points. Medium bodied cab. Fruit forward but not overpowering. Goes down easy but not a long finish. Decanted for two hours prior to drinking. Opened up well. Drink now as it has evolved as much as it will.

Crispy Noodles with Pork and Mushrooms. I just love this stuff once the sauce seeps through into the noodles. Excellent version.

Meat and seafood over crispy noodles (1/29/17). Love this southern dish — always have — and this was a good version.

House Special Fried Rice with Seafood and Minced Garlic. Great stuff.

Lasagna! (1/29/17). Yeah, being a Hong Kong cafe they have some weird western stuff.

Spaghetti! (1/29/17). Tasted like spaghetti-o’s!

1983 Château Suduiraut. 91 points. Medium golden yellow in color. Full, forward & attractive nose of complex, developed, lush, ripe fruit aromas of apricots, peaches & dried figs with floral notes of honeysuckle, caramel, honey, spices, minerals and a bit of vanilla. Medium bodied with a good concentration, balanced, smooth textured, mature, develop & lush ripe fruit flavors of apricots, peaches, almonds, honey, caramel, spices minerals and a touch of vanilla. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present and although it may be at its peak of development, it has the fruit/structure to hold onto this present plateau for a few more additional years although any further development would be minimal.

Hong Kong Egg Waffle. Fresh baked and light.

Yar! Ghostly skeletal praline pirates are marauding — Pecan Pirate Praline Gelato — An eggy Texas Pecan base layered with my creepy skull-shaped New Orleans style Vanilla Bourbon Pecan Pralines and Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Pumpkins — 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

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

Chocolate Butterfinger Crunch Gelato – The base is made with Valrhona 62% Satilla Chocolate and then layered with Peanutbutter Cream Cheese Ganache and chopped Butterfingers! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #creamcheese #ganache #icing #peanut #butterfinger

The owner (Henry) at the table

Looking at the photos on Yelp, I wasn’t expecting too much from Henry’s. There were a bunch of breakfast dishes and odd “macaroni and ham” Hong Kong fusion plates. But I have to admit I was dead wrong. The place is great. It’s not the oddest or most extreme Chinese, but Henry’s really delivers on execution and flavor. These were for the most part darn tasty dishes. Lots of great ones, and the rest quite solid. The overall effect was a great meal somewhat in the vein of Newport Seafood or Boston Lobster. I guess in all three cases it’s that hybrid of Southern Chinese and “Vietnamese” (in quotes because this seems to me more of a Vietnamese influence on Chinese food than actual dishes as I experienced them in Vietnam).

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Wines from another night and below are the wines from 1/29/17. I’m too lazy to write them up:

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Cantonese cuisine, Gelato, hedonists, Hong Kong Cuisine, Wine

Brandon DiFiglio – Post-Maudern

Jan25

Restaurant: Brandon DiFiglio at the Villamalka

Location: The Villamalka

Date: January 23, 2016

Cuisine: Modernist

Rating: Best “home cooked” meal I’ve had

January 23, 2015, my wife and I hosted a second annual special fund-raising dinner at our house. And given our penchant for details, things were bound to be off the charts epic. Last year was a blast, so we had really high standards and wondered how to take it to the next level…

Our “solution” was Chef Brandon DiFiglio (right), formerly head chef of Maude, and before that at elBuli, the French Laundry and more! Brandon (and I) came up with a staggering menu, and then he worked like a dervish all week brewing up a storm of components to generate this amazing meal. Brandon is a highly technical chef with a passion for combinations and textures. There were literally hundreds of ingredients. When he arrived at 10 in the morning the day of the party his entire car was packed with them! And so soon was our kitchen.

I might like modernism in my food, but when it comes to the decorative arts my wife and I agree things have been on a downhill slope since the mob stormed Versailles. We’re both history buffs and have gone to some length to recreate the fantasy of a 1730s Italian villa. So, in that vein, guests are welcomed into the Chinoiserie Drawing Room for champagne and snacks.

NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. AG 94. The NV Grande Cuvée is absolutely stellar. This is one of the very best Grande Cuvées I can remember tasting. The flavors are bright, focused and beautifully delineated throughout, all of which make me think the wine will age well for many, many years. Lemon peel, white flowers, crisp pears, smoke and crushed rocks race across the palate in a vibrant, tense Champagne that epitomizes finesse. This release is based on the 2005 vintage and was disgorged in winter 2012/2013. The blend is: 44% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 19% Meunier.

Smoked Salmon Toastie, smoked salmon & cream cheese, everthing bagel crumble.

Malt Pain Perdu, salmon roe, crème fraîche, fingerlime, chive.

NV Pierre Gerbais Champagne L’Originale. 92 points. Strange to be 100% Pinot Blanc; waxy richness, full, seemingly vanilla; firm palate, long finish, big mid palate; different.

Artichoke Croquette, liquid center.

Gougere, french pâte à choux, carmelized sunchoke puree filling.

The table is set, and with Riedel Sommelier stems too, as it should be. The walls of the dining room were painted by my mother from photos we took in Italy.

All wines are from my cellar and served by 2/3 Master Sommelier Chris Lavin. By 2/3, I mean he’s passed 2 out of the 3 of those torturous tests detailed in the Somm documentary. Which really means he’s an amazing Sommelier.

This year, I just sent Chris off to browse my cellar (virtually) and he picked 2 wines per course to pair — a massive volume and some phenomenal pairings.

2013 Prager Grüner Veltliner Stockkultur Smaragd Achleiten.

2010 Borgo del Tiglio (Nicola Manferrari) Collio Studio di Bianco. AG 95. Weightless, crystalline and pure, the 2010 Studio di Bianco appears to float on the palate. White pear, crushed rocks, oyster shells and lime jump from the glass. A beautifully delineated, vibrant wine, the 2010 captures the best qualities of the year. Stylistically, the 2010 is brighter and more focused than the 2011, with a bit less body but more sheer drive and personality. What a gorgeous wine this is.

Cauliflower Custard, cauliflower cous cous & chips, curry foam, raisin & almond soil. An awesome start to this awesome culinary journey.

2004 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune. AG 95. Pale, bright yellow. Ripe pineapple, liquid stone and exotic honey on the nose, with a spicy lift that suggests an oak influence this wine does not possess. On entry, this is sweeter and creamier than the Frederic Emile, but it livens up quickly in the middle, showing powerful minerality and sharply delineated flavors of liquid stone, pineapple and citrus peel. Still, this conveys a distinctly glyceral impression that suggests more sweetness than its 5 grams of residual sugar, no doubt a function of the 20% or so botrytized berries (in contrast to the Frederic Emile, which included no botrytis). Communicates an impression of power with elegance, finishing minerally and long but not austere. Pierre Trimbach compared this wine to the estate’s great 1990. This is already showing more Rosacker terroir than riesling character. About 9,000 bottles were made from 1.5 hectares of vines.

2011 Veyder-Malberg Riesling Bruck. 96 points. First beautiful straw chablis like color, nose of oil can like and lead pencil, the finish is very long smooth and lasting for over a minute. Awesome wine.

Cured Ocean Trout, crisp ocean trout, radish, wasabi. This dish was amazing. Sashimi grade fish and fabulous bright flavors.

2005 Luneau-Papin / Domaine Pierre de la Grange Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Le “L” d’Or. VC 94. Opens nice and light, saline, with that curious note you often get in older Muscadet that suggests oxidation, but goes away with some air time. Elegant, refined, medium-light bodied; not a ton of depth and complexity, but well-integrated and health-giving. A good bottle.

2012 Domaine Comte Abbatucci Cuvée Collection Général de la Révolution. 92 points. Full yellow. This was also a large scaled white wine but not nearly as satisfying as the Diplomate d’Empire. For one, it has an underlying core of oxidation.

Chef Brandon DiFiglio.

Beet Salad, glazed, roasted, chip, merengue, salted, paper, Lenora cheese, hazelnut. Tasted like a great beat and goat cheese salad — but super interesting and complex testimonies.

2011 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling “Diabas”. 92 points. Justin brought this because he knows I like it. As usual, very crisp and precise on the nose – light and pure: powdered stone, light citrus. Gentle now with just the right touch of sweetness to round it out a bit while still having it stay exciting. Lemon and stone, nice balance. This is great. Spicy nose: cinnamon, nutmeg, petrol and apple. Quite dry on the palate. Gentle, balanced, spicy with good acid. Apple. Apple/spice finish.

2009 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese. VC 96. Tantalizing aromas of papaya, sweet herbs and incense. A discreet but intense apricot flavor rises from the mid-palate, accompanied by a subtle acidity. Animated, finely spiced spatlese with a deep, long finish.

Tuna, avocado, kimchi pear, puffed rice, lime. A nice deconstructed tuna/avocado dish.

2007 Paolo Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco Pagliaro. 96 points. Still amazing. Today it showed more cumin herbal notes, anise, black licorice, and orange peel. Still powerful, integrated, complex, and dynamic in the glass.

2010 Azienda Agricola Montevetrano Montevetrano Colli di Salerno IGT. AG 96. The 2010 Montevetrano is flat-out gorgeous. Vibrant, floral aromatics lead to layers of beautifully delineated fruit in this finely sculpted chiseled Montevetrano. A wine of extraordinary beauty, the 2010 impresses for its clarity and nuance. I don’t think I have ever tasted a young Montevetrano with this much pure silkiness and finesse. There is a level of precision and delineation in the 2010 that is truly marvelous. I can’t wait to see how it ages. The 2010 is also notable for a much higher percentage of Aglianico (30%) than has been common in the past, while the international varieties are less prominent in the blend. In 2010 Montevetrano is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Aglianico and 20% Merlot, which means the Cabernet Sauvignon now plays a much smaller role in the blend.

Carrot and Smoked Parsnip Soup, carrot crumble, herb puree. A smokey / interesting complex soup.

1985 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. 88 points. A little tired, but not oxidized at all. In great shape considering it’s 30+ year old Chardonnay!

1995 Pierre Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 96 points. Liquid butterscotch. Arguably WOTN. Just an amazing MP, drinking on point.

Challah Crusted Branzino, parsley, saffron, whipped tofu. This dish was an 11. The fish was incredibly moist and soft, and the blend of the pseudo chili sauce with the cool parsley and interestingly sweet tofu were awesome.

2000 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve. 94 points. Light in colour with cherry, stalks, floral spice and musk – really quite bright and appealing. So refined on the palate, this steps it up to the next level. Beautifully layered and with great depth. Superb – an effortlessly great wine. The other contender for WOTN.

2001 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon. VM 95. Saturated red-ruby. Explosive, superripe aromas of black raspberry, boysenberry, black olive tapenade, licorice, coffee and smoked meat. Wonderfully opulent and voluptuous in the mouth, with a texture like liquid silk. Coats your mouth, cheeks and whatever other surfaces it can find. Finishes with extraordinarily fine tannins and great sweetness and persistence. The best bottle of Pavillon I’ve tasted in at least a decade.

Toasted Bread Cavatelli, cured tuna heart, zucchini purée, braised little gem. Awesome chewy texture on the pasta.

1999 Forey Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Gaudichots. AG 90. Medium ruby. Nuanced aromas of raspberry, Oriental spices, espresso and mint. Powerful, closed and severe in the mouth; boasts strong fruit but comes across as rather dry today. Finishes with huge tannins but also very persistent dark fruit flavors. My score assumes that this wine will benefit from another four or five months in barrel.

2002 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. Burghound 92+. More elegant and finer than the Brulées though this doesn’t have the raw muscle, spicy exuberance or power. As is usually the case, there is an appealing note of minerality on both the nose and the slightly chalky, sappy, very stylish flavors that build in intensity to an astonishingly long finish. This too is blessed with impeccable balance and undeniable class.

Hen Egg, baked potato. This basically tasted like baked potato. The egg added a lovely richness, but there was also sour cream and the like. Really nice.

2004 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo Le Brunate. AG 92. There is notable clarity and detail to be found in the 2004 Barolo Le Brunate. The wine possesses lovely density and richness, with very typical balsamic aromas and flavors that swirl around the dark fruit. This shows terrific purity and balance, yet the firm style will require quite a bit of patience.

2004 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Cannubi Boschis. AG 98. Just as impressive as it was at the outset, the 2004 Barolo Cannubi Boschis remains fresh, vibrant and absolutely impeccable. Black cherries, plums, spices meld into mocha, menthol and leather as this plush, inviting Barolo shows off its alluring personality. As good as the 2004 is today, it truthfully still needs time to show all of its cards. The towering, statuesque finish is a thing of beauty. I hope to do a vertical someday with the 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 just to see how the vintages stack up. There is little doubt the 2004 is one of the best vintages of the Cannubi Boschis in recent memory.

Crisp Salmon, liquid center polenta, caper, cured egg, truffle. The gnocchi here are “sphereized” in the elBuli style.

1995 Louis Jadot Echezeaux. 92 points. Impressive deep ruby-red. Perfumed, slightly candied aromas of red berries and smoky, charred oak. Supple and sweet, but a wine of only moderate intensity. Finishes with slightly dry tannins.

2002 Louis Jadot Echezeaux. Burghound 93. Strong oak spice presently dominates the nose with round, sweet, rich and impressively complex flavors that deliver stunning length. This is quite a powerful wine yet there is almost no rusticity and I very much like the obviously high quality material. As with several wines in the range, my score awards the benefit of the doubt regarding the oak.

Australian Barramundi, ramen gnocchi, mushroom consommé, pickled fungus. Super yummy smoky consommé.

2007 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc Le Méal. AG 94. Pale greenish gold. Orange, pear, hazelnut, sweet butter, truffle and minerals on the nose, with a slow-building floral quality; like a serious Chassagne-Montrachet. Palate-staining sweet citrus and orchard fruit flavors are underscored by smoky minerals and talc. The minerality seems to gain power on the finish, which is strikingly pure, focused and persistent. More energetic than the l’Oree, and in need of more patience.

1989 Troplong-Mondot. Parker 96. The 1989 Troplong-Mondot is an extraordinary wine. It is slightly less evolved than the 1990, with more muscle and tannin, but equally rich and compelling. The color is an opaque dark ruby/purple, and the wine offers up aromas of licorice, prunes, black cherries, and sweet cassis fruit intermingled with high quality toasty new oak and smoke. This is a full-bodied, rich, layered, concentrated wine that should evolve more slowly than the 1990. It is a spectacular achievement in this vintage!

2000 La Fleur de Gay. Parker 94-95. I have always thought this was the best Fleur de Gay since the 1989 and 1990, and it showed extremely well in the 2000 horizontal tastings. Dense ruby/purple, with notes of melted caramel and mocha, along with raspberry and blueberry, the wine has that endearing combination of elegance and power. Layered and multi-dimensional, with silky, sweet tannins, the wine seems to have hit full maturity, where it should last for another 20 or more years. This is a beautiful wine.

Cheese plate. Not only were all four cheeses great (We made a family outing of tasting — I mean selecting — them at Andrew’s Cheese Shop), but the chefs arranged and decorated to great effect. The plate is one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen!

Grapefruit Mousse. As a palette cleanser.

1946 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Convento Selección. Parker 100! The 1946 Don PX Convento Seleccion produced with Pedro Ximenez grapes dehydrated under the sun at the time of the Second World War, was only bottled in September 2011. This is an extreme wine, my first descriptor was ultra-mega-super concentrated. It is unbelievably powerful, both in the nose and the palate, full of umami, with sweet cinnamon, Christmas cake, camphor, petrol, lemongrass, Belgian chocolate and butter. Incredibly complex and rich, sweet, balanced and smooth in the palate, it is both very sweet and somehow salty, and with time it develops a black olive note. It combines the texture of the 1962 and the elegance of the 1949. It is as decadent as it gets. 825 bottles were produced. This wine will survive all of us. These wines are kept for generations and offered in very small quantities, but it’s amazing that you can still buy and drink something so old, and I’m even tempted to say that it might represent good value for what it is. A real tour de force sweet wine. Drink it if you ever have the privilege to do so from 2013-2060.

Comes in a cool box too — with a vial of the stuff for “sampling.”

Blood Orange Cheesecake. Very much deconstructed cheesecake. Tastes like it too.

Black Forest. Deconstructed black forest cake. Yummy! You dig down to get all the elements.

Gelatti, chocolate grapefruit, szechuan peppercorn.

Sorbetti, blood orange campari, blackberry madeira.

I made these myself for the dinner. You readers might not know, but I’m fairly serious about my gelato/sorbeto fetish. I’ve made perhaps 70 flavors. These were all interesting and quite excellent. Most are my own variants/inventions. The chocolate grapefruit has an awesome creamy texture. Somehow it tastes like chocolate orange, even though it was infused with grapefruit rind. The szechuan peppercorn is my unique creation and was actually rather incredible with a spicy citrus character and a bit of mala numbing heat. The blood orange is tangy and bitter and refreshing, and the blackberry madeira uses the fabulous Bual from Marcel Vigneron!
They even blend well together.

Mignardises. pate de fruits, macarons, nougat, brigadeiros. I love these little desserts, so we sourced all this stuff ourselves.

Roy Rene Nougat de Provence, flavored with honey and lavender.

Francois Doucet, Pate de Fruits. apricots, “Orangés de Provence” and pear “William des Hautes Alpes”.

Brigadeiros, Brazilian chocolate/dulce de leche deserts in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla coconut, pistachio, and lime. Sourced from Simply Brigadeiro.

Macarons from ‘Lette Macarons. Chocolate, vanilla, coconut, raspberry, and almond.

We even printed up the menus.

Bundt cakes to go from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Can’t have a truly epic dinner without “parting gifts.”

7.5 hours — 28 bottles for 18 people!

But what was really epic was the length. Over 7 hours for dinner! A marathon of gluttony, but everyone had a fabulous time. Brandon’s cooking was on point and inventive, and no one went home hungry. In fact, the “wafer thin mint” joke was bandied about more than once.

Everything was amazing, and we ironed out a few kinks from last year. But the food was just crazy good. I was staggered at how efficiently Brandon and his team (who only met that day) were able to churn out so many complicated dishes. A lot of it was due to Brandon’s multi-day prep. And they really tasted great. There wasn’t a miss amoung them. Probably the “worse” was about an 8 on the 10 scale. Some, like the Branzino, were 11s. Just really interesting and memorable.

The wine pairings were really amazing too. These weren’t always the easiest dishes to pair with — modernist cooking can be tough — but Chris pulled all sorts of unusual stuff out of the cellar and all were dead on.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brandon Difiglio, BYOG, Christopher Lavin, Gelato, Modern Cuisine, Molecular Gastronomy, villamalka, Wine

Eating Rome – Trastevere

Jun26

Restaurant: Eating Italy Rome

Location: Trastavere, Rome

Date: June 8, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Fun and tasty

Just a week or so before leaving for Italy my mom learned that one of my second cousins actually lived in Rome, and not only that, that he ran a gourmet food tour business. Turned out some of our other cousins had been on one of the tours and loved it — so we hastily signed up.

We met in this typical looking church square on an island in the Tiber. This particular tour was a four hour later afternoon/evening stroll around Trastevere trying out all sorts of various little eats.

Our lovely and vivacious guide was Jasine.

Here is the map and menu so to speak.

First stop is Da Enzo, a popular trattoria.

Not a giant place as you can see. We began with some Prosecco, but I forgot to photo it.

Burrata, Prosciutto, melon. A classic bit of antipasto. The burrata might have warmed up a bit much as it was making a valiant effort to return to the milk from which it came. Still, a yummy start.

And the vegetarian version featured eggplant instead.

Next up is Spirito di Vino — an auspicious name.

And down into the ancient cellar.

Really down.

2013 Molino a Vento Nero d’Avola Sicilia. A robust Sicilian red. Not my usual wine “level” and a bit over-oaked, but nice enough.

Baked pasta. A layered baked dish of pasta, cheese, and tomato sauce. Like lasagna meets baked ziti.

Ancient pork. A pork shoulder recipe from ancient Rome!

Cheesy grits. Not really, but mashed potato or polenta mixed with cheese. Delicious.

Third is a bit of mid dessert. Innocenti biscotti (cookies).

They make traditional tarts.

And various cookies. This kind had an apricot jam layer.

Then on the left chocolate dipped and on the right hazelnut macaroons, not so different than my mother’s Passover macaroons, but those use almonds.

Fourth is cheese at Anitica Caciara.

Dairy on display.

And the fresh stuff that never is that great in the states.

It goes on and on.

But we came for the Pecorino Romana, here seen aging. Notice the olive oil drip to the right. It literally oozes oil as it dries.

Fresh Pecorino. Nutty and mild.

Aged Pecorino Romano. Stronger and delicious.

After cheese is meat! Antica Norcineria.

Specializing in the famous Porchetta!

Have a few cured meats.

Or olives.
The “white pizza”, otherwise known as focaccia.

And the porchetta itself, drizzled with olive oil.

These last two are assembled into the “sandwich.”

And the vegetarians got some olives, ricotta, and honey.

Next, on to I Suppli for more snacks.

Fried stuff.

And this kind of Roman pizza by the slice.

The Suppli is really well fried and served piping hot.

Inside is a delicious mix of risotto, cheese, and meat. Really delicious.

Enotecca Ferrara is where we will fill up apparently.

Typical cute inside.

Some slightly sweet prosecco.

This Italian Merlot doesn’t even make it onto Cellar Tracker. It wasn’t too bad for a YOUNG merlot.

Ricotta with cheese and pomodoro sauce. A bit of a peppery kick too, quite nice.

cacio e pepe. The classic Roman pasta. Love it.

Gnocci with scamorza (smoked mozzarella).

And what would an Italian food tour be without gelato? Fatamorgana.

All organic, this gelato place was has very interesting flavors like “pears, porto wine, and elder”!

I got passionfruit and grapefruit with orange or lemon. The grapefruit in particular was amazing, with a 10 minute finish! This place is a little less creamy (I think they use less dairy) but VERY tasty.

And they have gelato sushi!

Or some of these Italian ice cream confectionaries.

All in all, a delightful evening of really yummy treats. If you are in Rome and love food I highly recommend it. The wine was too young and casual for my taste, but the food, without being fancy, was fabulous. It showed up the kind of street food and ingredient focused items that would easily be overlooked, but make Italy just so tasty.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating-italy, Gelato, pasta, Rome, Trastevere, Wine

Century City Heat

Sep26

Restaurant: Meizhou Dongpo

Location: Century City Mall Dining Deck. (310) 788-0120

Date: September 9 & 18, 2014 and October 27, 2017 and March 8, 2020 and August 15, 2022

Cuisine: Beijing/Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Good to have on the westside, and now as good as some in the SGV

My faithful readers know I frequently venture out to the SGV for great Chinese, but I’m always looking for a fix closer to him. So when I heard (back in 2014) there was an actual Szechuan place in the Century City mall I went right on over. I’ve been a couple of times and more recently for a 6 person dinner in March of 2020 (on the eve of the pandemic) and a big gang dinner in August of 2022.

Yeah, it’s a big premium American mall!

Meizhou Donpo (sure doesn’t roll off the Western tongue). I’ve been told this is a high end (like Houstons) chain in China that has opened a branch here. This must reflect the influx of Chinese tourists into LA. All good in my view.

The interior is sort of new Chinese mall-swank.

They also have a huge patio (where we ate in 2020 and 2022).

Smashed cucumber with garlic (3/8/20 & 8/15/22). This was an excellent multi-dimensional cucumber salad. A bit of tangy, lots of garlic, and a little spice.

Sausage plate (3/8/20 & 8/15/22). Four different types of pork sausage. Some spicy. All very tasty.

Chicken potstickers (3/8/20). Pretty much as you imagine.

Cold chicken with ratan pepper (3/8/20). Very delicious boiled chicken with that numbing and bright green flavor.

Cold mung bean noodles with chili (3/8/20). This was a spectacular version of this Chengdu street dish. Tons of flavor and a hot of heat.

Cold noodles with spicy chicken (8/15/22). You mix it up and douse in the sauce. Quite nice cold noodle dish with good texture and flavor.

Beef tendon soup (3/8/20). I didn’t try it.

The lunch special comes with hot and sour soup (2014). I’m always a fan and this was a straight up classic version, with more heat than most American ones normally have.

Then I had to try all the Schezuan classics: Dan dan noodles (2014). Not your totally typical take on it, as it’s fairly wet. Most authentic ones I’ve had you mix up and are a tad drier. Still, this had a nice chili + schezuan peppercorn taste. It was hot, but not really hot. Just a mild burn. Not so much of the nutty flavor.

Cold Szechuan Noodles (2014). These are closer to what I usually think of for Dan Dan noodles. They had a nice chili oil spice, but maybe no meat.

Sweet potato glass noodles in hot and sour sauce. (10/27/17). In general, I love this dish because of its spicy/tangy balance. For example at Beijing Tasty. This version, unfortunately, looks ok, but has no balance. It wasn’t that hot. Wasn’t that tangy. Mostly it was just salty. This seems to be a problem at MZDP.

Numb taste wontons (2014 and 10/27/17 and 3/8/20). They just called these Szechuan Wontons, but they’re supposed to be numb taste. Great flavor. Sauce was a little sweet but boy was it tasty.

Not too hot, and a really savory pork filling.

Ma Po Tofu (lunch special) (2014). Also on the plate: rice, string beans, squash, spring roll. The beans were great, but the tofu was a bit salty (MSG I think) and not too hot or numbing. Okay flavor, but the most disappointing of the dishes, particularly given how when done right this is one of my favorite dishes ever.

Peking Duck (2014). Because peking duck is so important, I’m going to SEPARATELY write up my thoughts in 2014 and 2020. This duck is expensive compared to the SGV, although they do sell a half duck (which is what we got).

The usual condiments.

And pancakes.

The meat in 2014. This duck looked great, but the hoisin was a little salty and lacking in that plummy punch and somehow the meat felt a little flat or flabby.

Duck soup (2014). Comes with the duck (optionally). Very straight up and dull.

Peking Duck (3/8/20). We ordered two whole ducks for 6 people! They carve it tableside.

This is half a duck (2020). We had four of these plates. This was some of the best peking duck I’ve had in a while. About the same quality as the excellent NC Peking Duck. It’s cut in the modern style with much of the meat combined with the skin. It was super succulent and juicy. The skin could have been just a touch more crispy. But the pancakes were great and the overall combo delicious.

Peking Duck (8/15/22). Skin was very good and the meat was a tiny bit dry but tasty. Pancakes are perfect. Biggest problem is that the hoisin isn’t quite sweet/strong enough. But still in the top five ducks. Tonight they cut it for us the “meat and skin” way (because Yarom requested it), but he can also cut it together which I think I prefer. The duck itself is from long island and isn’t as fatty as a Chinese duck (not available). A detailed discussion of Peking Duck can be found in my Ultimate Peking Duck Guide.

Condiments for the peking duck.

The duck here comes with ultra-thin pancakes — as always much better than the buns.

Bones (3/8/20) from the duck meat.

Duck bones fried with garlic and cumin (3/8/20 & 8/15/22). This was a stunning dish. There was a lot of bone, but the crispy fry was amazingly tasty.

Stir fried shrimp (3/8/20). This may look simple, but the shrimp was super succulent and well cooked. Delicious.

Sole Filet with green onions (3/8/20). Very lovely as well with nice thick filets. Lots of “flavor” (MSG).

Sole filet with pickled cabbage (8/15/22). Dish of the night. The spicy/numbing/tangy “soup” with pickled chilis was first rate. Lemony flavor.

Scallops with vermicelli (3/8/20 & 8/15/22). A nice dish, but not my absolute favorite of the night. Interesting. Scallops maybe a touch overcooked but the sauce was very good.

Live lobster with secret house sauce (8/15/22). It included garlic, ginger, butter and a touch of cheese. Very silky and light with extremely well cooked lobster you could actually taste.

Aromatic fried chicken with chilies (10/27/17). Another typical Szechuan dish. This version wasn’t that spicy (despite all the peppers) and was notably sweet. It was still pretty good though, but the balance was off.

Szechuan green beans (2014). Tasty rendition of this dish.

Bacon brocollini (8/15/22). Not very good at all, mostly because of the American brocoli.

Garlic Eggplant (10/27/17 & 8/15/22). A 7/10 version of the dish. Not as much super garlicky flavor as there should be, but good nonetheless. In 2022, nice but a little sweet. Texture was very good though.

Kung Pao Shrimp (2014 or 2017). Very nice. A bit of heat and lots of peanuts.

Boiled beef in chilis (2014 and 3/8/20 & 8/15/22). A classic Szechuan type dish. While this wasn’t inferno hot like the best ones in the SGV it did have a bit of Szechuan peppercorn and a nice flavor.

Sautéed Chinese Tomahawk (8/15/22). A bit weird and overcooked, but tasty enough with the sauce.

Braised pork hock with special sauce (8/15/22). Super delicious umami/msg/savory sauce. Rocked. “Special” obviously means MSG.

Fried rice with chicken (3/8/20).

Fried rice with shrimp (3/8/20). Slightly more moist than the chicken dish.

Mango Passionfruit Sorbetto – 56% mango, 44% passionfruit, plus a bit of Amaro to offset the mango — 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 #mango #passionfruit #amaro

Overall writing in 2014 and 2017, I’m psyched to have Meizhou Dongpo, despite it being a bit blander, saltier, (and more expensive) than the SGV Szechuan places. It’s tasty enough and close. Too bad it’s inside the mall, because parking and getting into that beast is a nightmare. I hate that parking lot. It’s the biggest most confusing mall parking I’ve ever been too. Every direction looks the same. Ditto with the mall. I’m always getting turned around in there. Too bad the balance is off on the dishes. Service was a little slow/sloppy too on 10/27/17. The very first time I was here it was very nice, so maybe it’s just hit or miss.

Coming back for a 6-7 person dinner on 3/8/20 I had a vastly improved experience. Almost every dish was very good, some great. The peking duck was first rate. Really really good. Many of the appetizers were awesome too like the green chili chicken and cold mung bean noodles. Flavors were far less salty and much more balanced. Service was fairly good too and we had a nice large table outside on the terrace. They were super nice to us too, particularly about the corkage. I’ll have to try again to see if this is consistent, but I am raising my overall opinion substantially. On this particular night at least, this was as good as many SGV places (but certainly not as good as the best). Really a great option. The menu is nice, but not super large either.

Continuing in 2022, standards were pretty close to that of 2020. Our duck wasn’t quite as good because Yarom “made them” cut it with the skin all separate, which usually makes the meat dry. And they keep altering the menu slightly and some favorite dishes have gone away. But overall quality was very high, certainly great for the Westside. Dish consistency is just a bit random as they are a big place and probably have several chefs.

For more LA Chinese reviews click here.

The mall is also home to a mini Grom, which is a solid chain gelato place. I reviewed one in New York here.

Hazelnut on the left, cafe expresso on the right. Texture was perfect. Flavors were about 8/10. Very good gelato for America. I wish they had more flavor variety in the store though.

Wines from the 3/8/20 dinner:

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Gelato, Grom, Meizhou Dongpo, Peking Duck, Szechuan Chinese, Tofu, Wonton

Hedonists go to Beijing

Apr22

Restaurant: Beijing Resteraunt

Location: 250 W Valley Blvd. Ste B2. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 570-8598

Date: April 20 & Sept 7, 2014 & May 30, 2015 & March 3, 2019

Cuisine: Beijing Style Chinese

Rating: Really tasty

Ah, the riches of the SGV (San Gabriel Valley), so many delicious Chinese regional cuisines to chose from. Tonight’s entry is Beijing Restaurant, in the very same minimall as Shanghai #1.

Boiled peanuts are a traditional opener all across China.

From my cellar: 1994 Ulrich Langguth Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Auslese. 92 points. Tons of petrol, still sweet, but not too sweet. A great wine with this food.

Cold cabbage salad (3/3/19). Like Chinese coleslaw, quite delicious actually and very refreshing.

Cold cucumber salad (3/3/19). Not quite as good as the cabbage salad, but very good, with a cucumber cilantro taste.

Cold garlic pork (3/3/19). Slices of roast pork and a garlic sauce.

Shredded potato. Cold. The “mild” version of this dish. Like vinegar potato sticks.

Squirrel fish (3/3/19). Fried whole fish with tangy sweet and sour sauce. Nice.

Fried sweet garlic fish. I used to get this dish as a kid at a restaurant called Szechuan in DC. I don’t think it’s actually a Schezuan dish, but it Beijing’s version was delicious. Like fish and chips in goopy sweet sauce. Doesn’t sound so great, but it is.

Lobster (3/3/19). Lobster with garlic in a light breading. Tasty.

2005 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel. 92 points. This was beautiful and in a great spot. An expressive nose that struck a fine balance between expressive floral notes, vibrant fruit, and chalk. On the palate the wine exploded in the mid-palate with a melange of stone & tropical fruits with a long mineral driven finish. Outstanding, my favorite Riesling of the night.

Meat pancakes. Sort of like a scallion pancake (and there are scallions inside).

But also one of those delicious Chinese meat patties (pork or beef?). Oily and scrumptious.

Leek pie. The vegetarian variant.

1990 Zind-Humbrecht Tokay Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes. 90 points. Medium yellow in color this seems to be an off bottle. Very earthy on the nose, maybe too much so. Very dry. Not a terrible wine but not what this wine should be.

Peking duck (3/3/19). The meat carved in that style with a bit of skin on each piece. Pancakes and the usual scallions, cucumber, and hoisin. A very solid duck. Not as good as in Beijing, but very good.

Duck meat in soy sauce (3/3/19). Also with the duck came this Shanghai-esque dish with various duck meat in a sweet soy sauce. Lots of gamey duck taste. Delicious.

Eggs and pork. This has to be a homestyle dish. Scrambled eggs, pork, in a sweet and sour sauce. In fact, it tasted like great hot and soul soup. Really, really fabulous. Not fancy, just fabulous.

Eggs and tomato. Again, the vegetarian variant.

2012 Loosen Bros. Riesling. 84 points. Too sweet for me. Nose is full of flowery notes and little bit of honey. Short finish.

Cumin lamb. A fine version of this typical Western Chinese dish.

2012 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese. IWC 94. Seductive aromas of mango, banana, sweet herbs and honey. Rich, spicy tropical fruit flavors show a vague hint of botrytis and creamy depth. Certainly a touch on the sweet side, but nicely balanced and intriguingly long, this is one of the best spatleses of the vintage.

Lamb blintzes. I don’t know what else to call them. Inside the panfried crepe was a lamb version of that ground meat yummy stuff.

Meat pies. A different shaped take on the same basic ingredients, in this case pork and leeks, like in a potsticker. This has a higher meat to dough ratio and the thick skin holds in the yummy juices, so is one of the best.

Dry hot pot. This wasn’t actually ours, they just put it on our table by accident for a second.

Dry hot pot (3/3/19). You can pick what goes in here. I added bean curd, luncheon meat, wood ear mushroom, lotus root, etc. It had a great flavor and nice crisp textures.

2012 A.J. Adam Hofberg Riesling Kabinett. IWC 89. Fresh bouquet of pear, apple blossom and lemon zest. Delicately sweet on the palate, with a nice interplay of apricot and luscious citricity. Lip-smacking elegance on an appealing finish. A textbook kabinett.

Schezuan chicken. A drier peanut free kung pao. Might sometimes be called twice cooked. This had a LOT of taste, and both red Schezuan peppers (heaven facing?) and Schezuan peppercorns — for that tongue numbing effect.

Kung Pao Chicken. A more straight up version with softer meat chunks and the peanuts.

Cumin Lamb. With cilantro and onion. Really tasty dish.

Meat balls and cabbage (3/3/19). Not sure I’ve had this exact variant before. Meatballs were slightly sweet. I enjoyed it, as I usually like Chinese cabbage dishes and this was even better with the meat balls.

Soy sauce fried rice. Very tasty, with shrimp, egg, and bits of a spam like stuff in there.

Pork dumplings. These aren’t the lightest or most elegant dumpling I’ve ever had, but with a little vinegar they were pretty delicious.

Crystal shrimp. This hot pot contained all sorts of Schezuan pepper goodness, cabbage, and…

These flavorful little shrimp. The sauce was awesome over rice too.

2006 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Romas. IWC 94. Vivid ruby. Exotic Asian spices and smoky minerals accent fresh raspberry and boysenberry on the nose; shows more perfumed anise, patchouli and vanilla notes with aeration. Sweet black raspberry and cherry-vanilla flavors are sharpened by tangy minerals but betray no rough edges. This really stains the palate, leaving deep dark berry liqueur and candied floral notes behind, eventually. This is irresistible now.

Lamb burger. Roast lamb on a weird Western Chinese bread. The meat was tasty, the bread kinda heavy.

Shrimp and Spam. The same shrimp, and the yummy spam-like stuff in a dry hot pot.

Spareribs. Tasty hot cumin laced fried pork ribs.

Pork Noodles. The noodles were a little heavy and pan fried, but it was certainly tasty. Green beans, garlic, and pork round it out.

Cabbage and egg? Another homestyle dish of cabbage, egg, pork, mushrooms, and maybe even some spam. Really tasty tough.

Toothpick lamb. Another lamb dish, very similar to the skewers.

Cabbage. I have to say, this was probably the best cabbage dish I’ve ever had. How can a vegetable this humble be so tasty? Maybe it was the porky soy sauce.

Broccoli with garlic. Pretty straight up.

Eggplant in garlic sauce (3/3/19). A nice version of this dish. Not the spicy kind, which I prefer slightly, but still good.

String beans (3/3/19). Always like this dish. Solid version, some crunch on the beans.

Ma Po Tofu. Always one of my favorite dishes. This version had that numbing delicious schezuan flavor. It wasn’t super hot though.

Xia Xia Noodles. You mix all the stuff together and…

This savory concoction emerges. The sauce is a sort of sweet and tangy meat sauce.

Roast Mutton. Delicious fatty cuts of BBQ lamb (mutton being older sheep) with a spicy powder. Quite rich and flavorful.

Crispy beef. The pure form of this classic beef and celery dish.

Crispy potatoes. Like chinese potato sticks! Nice and very crispy.

Vermicelli. This was a nice savory dish with bits of pork and a silken texture to the noodles.

Some gelato by me on 3/3/19:

Noce e Heath Gelato – trying out my new Northern Italian Walnut I decided it needed something else, and something sweet, so Heath bar seemed to fit the bill — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #walnut #noce #HeathBar #heath #toffee

Danish Lakrids Licorice Gelato – I haven’t made this in 2 years and wanted to update the recipe. Polarizing, but surprisingly addictive — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #lakrids licorice #LoveItOrHateIt

Apricot Aperol Sorbetto – This is an old RnR favorite but I haven’t made it a while. Apricots from Avignon — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #sorbetto #apricot #aperol

Overall, I was very impressed with Beijing Restaurant. My first two feasts here ran $27 and $24 each with tax and a huge tip. The third was $38, but we ordered 12 dishes for 4 people! It wasn’t fancy, but nearly every dish was incredibly tasty. Really good fun. The cuisine has a western feel, lots of Schezuan elements and dishes. I love that stuff. It’s also breadier, or doughier than many other areas of China.

For more LA Chinese reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beijing Resteraunt, BYOG, Chinese cuisine, Gelato, hedonists, San Gabriel, San Gabriel California

Eating San Donato – Pizzeria Pretorio

Jul22

Restaurant: Pizzeria Pretorio

Location: San Donato, Italy

Date: June 22, 2011

Cuisine: Pizza

Rating: Best pizza we had on the trip

ANY CHARACTER HERE

The wine guide who took us to Montacino seemed to have very good taste in food, and so we’d asked him where the best pizza in Tuscany was. He was confident it was a place in the tiny town of San Donato called Pizzeria Pretorio. We trekked for 30 minutes each way just to find out.

San Donato is one of those pretty small stone towns. It wasn’t very big, so it didn’t take long to just stumble into the joint.

And they turned out to have such a terrible view.

And cramped unappealing terrace — not!

The menu.

One thing about this terrace — it was hot hot hot in the Tuscan sun. So I took an artsy water bottle shot.

And we felt that pizza called for beer, in this case the special premium “silly beer!”

Here is pizza margherita with mushrooms.

Calzone Napoli: Ricotta, prosciutto, cotto, salami piccante, mozzarella.

La fabrizino: small tomatoes, sausage, porcini, mozzarella and arugala.

Then the piece du ressistance: the four seasons. We don’t know exactly what was on this, but clearly the green pesto & zucchini part was spring, the sausage winter, the squash part fall, and the remaining one summer.

Overall Pretorio was some damn fine pizza in an impeccable location.

Then walking out we stumbled onto this: an artisan gelato place.

Oh the hardship. This turned out to be one of the three or so best gelatos I had in Italy too.

The didn’t have a lot of flavors, but those they did were really good.

Chocolate.

Lemon.

And my trio: Cassata di Siciliana (ricotta with candied fruits), chocolate with cherries!, and nutella. All three flavors were fabulous, but the nutella was hands down the best nutella gelato I’ve ever had (and I’ve had plenty). It was so thick I wondered if it just WAS nutella, but really I know better as even at fridge temperatures nutella becomes unspreadable.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cooking, eating-italy, Four seasons, Gelato, Italian cuisine, Italy, Mozzarella, nutella, Palazzo Pretorio Ristorante, Pizza, Pizzeria Pretorio, Pretorio, ricotta, San Donato, Tuscany

Eating Florence – Gelateria Santa Trinita

Jul21

Restaurant: Gelateria Santa Trinita

Location: Florence, Italy

Date: June 21, 2011

Cuisine: Gelato

Rating: Awesome!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

On our first day in Florence we had walked by this Gelateria with huge lines (not far from Nove IX). And then coincidently I was talking to our wine country guide who was a definitive foodie and a Florentine native and he recommended the very same place as the best in Florence.

So on our second day we had to try it.

I mentally think of gelato as falling in two broad flavor groups. These are the “non fruits” (i.e. chocolates and cream flavors).

Some more of them, and some hybrids like cherries and cream.

Then we have the fruits.

A couple more angles on this stuff.

Yum.

I went for “creamy” this time, with pannacotta and tiramisu type flavors.

Half the group going to town.

This was indeed one of the best Gelato places we ate at on the trip, although there were certainly lots of very good ones. I asked them for a sample of their pink grapefruit too and it was totally spectacular, making me want to get a whole second cup.

As a second opinion though, my wife thought Vivoli, was more to her taste because she loved the “chocolate mousse” fluffy style flavor. In 1986 I spent five days in Florence, and I went to Vivoli at least twice on each of those, as at that age, and not having much gelato it was mind blowing. It was certainly still good, but I thought Santa Trinita was a little better personally.

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: chocolate, eating-italy, Flavor, Florence, Food, Gelato, Ice cream, Italian cuisine, Italy, Santa Trinita

Eating Staggia – Pozzo dei Desideri

Jun25

Restaurant: Pozzo dei Desideri

Location: Bologna, Italy

Date: June 11, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

Rating: Good food, good value

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Today we drove through the mountains between Forli in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, then down past Florence to Staggia a small town near Siena. As this was a transitional day and we were settling into our new (temporary) home we just popped down into town for a quick local dinner.

This joint is in the center of this one horse town.

It has a big menu of typical Tuscan fare and very reasonable prices.

This being the heart of Chianti we chose a local Chianti Classico. This was probably about an 89 point wine, but it had some decent age on it making it fairly nice.

It was old enough that they decanted it.

In this modern age, the old adage, “don’t order seafood in the country,” no longer applies. This was billed as Zuppe di Mare. There wasn’t a lot of “soup” but it was tasty with a hearty garlic tomato sauce and various and mysterious shellfish.

Torte of Zucchini in a Pecorino sauce.

One of the MOST typical of pasta dishes, Pappardelle Cinghiale (wild boar ragu) with olives. The Cinghiale is the local hairy wild boar of tuscany. Click here for some pictures of this delightful creature.

This is a big wide fresh pasta with pomodoro and pecorino.

Gnocci with pecorino, tomato, and arugula.

The omnipresent insalata misto.

And another Tuscan classic, the block of beef. This is a fillet in balsamic sauce.

Notice how it’s served rare. Really rare. Tuscans don’t believe in cooking their beef. It was tasty though. Leaner and a bit tougher than an American filet, but full of flavor.

Overall the place was very good for just being a casual inexpensive local spot. We did however run an odd service quirk when they brought out a second steak a full hour after everyone else got their food (they had forgotten the order). Unlike in America they didn’t want to pull it from the bill (although it was only about 10 euro) and instead insisted on boxing it up for us.

Then we walked across the street for gelato. The place was humming at 11pm, packed with kids.