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Back to the Borgese’s

May30

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

Location: Santa Monica

Date: October 11, 2022

Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking

Rating: Awesome

Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple. Tonight’s dinner follows hot on the heels of a Billecart dinner I did here a few weeks before. It’s so close that the Halloween decorations were even more opulent.

The Borgese’s LOVE Halloween and so their house was already decorated for the spook season in epic style!

The dynamic Borgese team consists of Rocco, his lovely wife (and the main kitchen chef), and his daughter (helping out with service).

Plus all this incredible wood fired oven set up.The wine lineup. Not too shabby.

NV Moussé Fils Champagne l’Or d’Eugène Blanc de Noirs Brut.

Tonight’s menu.

From my cellar: 2005 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut. JG 95+. The 2005 Comtes de Champagne is a stunning young wine. The bouquet is deep, pure and youthfully complex, as it offers up a very classy blend of pear, delicious apple, fresh almond, incipient notes of crème patissière, chalky minerality, brioche and just a whisper of vanillin oak in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and rock solid at the core, with exquisite balance, refined mousse, crisp acids and simply superb length and grip on the seamless, youthful and oh, so promising finish. The style of the 2005 vintage gives this some early accessibility that was not evident with the more tightly-knit 2004 out of the blocks, but this wine has the structure to also age long and very, very gracefully. It has been a year since I last tasted this wine and it has started to show more precision to go along with its early generosity and is a classic in the making. My gut feeling today is that it will be superior to the 1989 version, to which I compared it to a year ago. Brilliant wine. (Drink between 2015-2045)

Ricciola Sashimi Cucchiai. Yellowtail Sashimi Spoons.

2018 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Côte Bouguerots. VM 94. The 2018 Chablis Bougros Côte de Bouguerots Grand Cru is well-defined on the nose. Quite stony and terse at first, it opens with orange rind and crushed pebble scents. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, tight and energetic with a zesty, minerally finish. This meliorates in the glass, ending up quite nuanced and tensile. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 white tasting. (Drink between 2024-2040)

From my cellar: 2005 Mongeard-Mugneret Grands-Echezeaux. JG 96+. The 2005 Grands Echézeaux from Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret is going to be a great, great wine, but it is still a puppy and needs at least another decade in the cellar. The bouquet is young, but stunning, as it soars from the glass in a blaze of red plums, red and black cherries, a hint of blood orange, a gorgeously complex base of soil, cocoa powder, gamebirds, woodsmoke and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still quite primary , with great depth of sappy fruit at the core, seamless, ripe tannins, outstanding soil signature and a very, very long, tangy and laser-like finish. This is an utterly brilliant bottle in the making. (Drink between 2025-2100)

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

1989 Château Latour Grand Vin. JG 95. The 1989 vintage of Château Latour was not considered a great year for this superb property, which was purported to have started a mini-slump after the release of the brilliant 1982 vintage at the estate. However, though I did not buy this wine on release (believing the critics of the time and their assessment of its relative inferiority), on the couple of occasions where I have been lucky enough to drink it again in recent times, it has been clear that this wine was underrated at the outset and really is an excellent vintage of Latour. The most recent bottle was getting close to full bloom, but not quite there yet, offering up a deep and complex bouquet of cassis, sweet dark berries, cigar ash, Latour’s classic gravelly, dark soil signature, cedary oak and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and plenty deep at the core, with firm, well-integrated tannins, excellent mineral drive, very good acids for the vintage and a very long, balanced and complex finish. This is getting close to really drinking well as it closes in on its thirtieth birthday, but it is an old school Latour and will still be an even better drink at age forty than it is today. (Drink between 2018-2085)

1990 Château Latour Grand Vin. VM 98. Tasting the 1990 Latour is like running into a long-lost friend. Still dark, deep and spectacularly flamboyant, the 1990 possesses remarkable textural richness from the very first taste. Time in the glass brings out a whole range of pencil shaving, dark fruit, chocolate, licorice and spice flavors, but more than anything else, the 1990 is a wine of pure and total voluptuousness. While I never think of wine as a competition, the 1990 is quite a bit more complex, layered and intriguing than the 1982 served alongside it at the same charity dinner. Its longevity will ultimately be determined by the quality of the cork and storage conditions, as the wine has several decades of truly exceptional drinking still to offer. In a word: magnificent! (Drink between 2019-2039)

1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque. VM 96. Griotte and kirsch complicated by roast coffee, smoke, mocha and a whiff of game; complex and ineffable. Lush, sweet and very intensely flavored; sappy cherry flavor complicated by a peppery quality. Seems a bit higher in acidity than Guigal’s ’95 La Mouline, and the tannins are distinctly firmer. Again, quite explosive on the aftertaste.

Pasta Fresca di Tonna. A fresh spaghetti with tuna and olives. This lent it a slightly “Spaghetti alla puttanesca” vibe, although not as pungent as that dish. Quite delicious and perfectly textured.

1996 Château Haut-Brion. JG 94. The 1996 Haut Brion is less hermetically sealed than the 1998, and is beginning to hint a bit at its secondary layers of aromatic complexity, though it still remains a very young wine. The bouquet is deep and classic, as it jumps from the glass in a mélange of black cherries, dark berries, Cuban tobacco, incipient notes of the black truffles to come, and a fine base of Graves earth. I assume that the 1996 saw the same amount of new oak as the 1998, but there is little sign of the wood at the present time. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and very intense, with a quite powerful profile for Haut Brion. The wine is rock solid at the core and very tannic, though the tannins are ripe and well-integrated into the wine. The finish is very, very long and soil-driven, and this will clearly be one of the most powerful vintages of Haut Brion to emerge since the 1959. It will be superb, but one will require plenty of patience. (Drink between 2025-2075)

1996 Château Latour Grand Vin. VM 94. The 1996 Latour is a wine that I often find overrated and did not achieve everything that might have been possible in this favourable growing season. That said, this might well be the best of around two dozen bottles I have encountered over the years. As usual, the 1996 is decidedly austere at first, standoffish, looks down its nose at you. Yet it coalesces with time and develops engaging cedar-scented black fruit tinged with pencil box and a touch of iris with time. The palate (again) is a little muted at first but it soon found its voice and evolved very fine tannin allied with a crisp line of acidity. It is not quite as demonstrative as it was even just a couple of years ago, gained some detail and perhaps it will continue to meliorate. Very fine, very fine indeed – but not a patch of say, the Château Margaux or perhaps even Léoville Las Cases. Tasted at the International Business & Wine Latour dinner at Ten Trinity. (Drink between 2018-2040)

1997 Château Mouton Rothschild. VM 90-91. Very good red-ruby color. Currant, cassis, roasted nuts, gunsmoke, chocolate and a note of surmaturite Fat, sweet and expansive, but with sound underlying structure. Lowish acids and a confit note (due at least partly to passerillage, or drying of the grapes by the wind and sun) contribute to the wine almost voluptuous texture.

Quaglie Ripiene. Stuffed Quail. Stuffed with sausage (and some veggies) on a bed of polenta. We’ve had this several times before and it’s a fabulous dish.

1998 Penfolds Grange. VM 97. Very deep red-ruby. Smoky, deeply concentrated fruit bomb of a nose: blackberry, dark plum, cassis; creamy vanilla and lightly toasty coconutty oak; and ethereal background notes of white pepper, smoked meats, musky spices, tar and licorice. Profoundly concentrated but velvety-smooth and seamless; impressively muscular and thickly coated with oak, and bound by drying, astringent tannins. Without question the most concentrated Grange of all time, utterly steeped in blackberry flavors; a real show pony. It’s also the most alcoholic Grange ever made, and at a declared 14.5% does taste warm and spirity – the first Grange to do so. It also ventures to some degree into the realm of currant and prune. No doubt a brilliant wine, but only time will tell if, with its elevated alcohol and its superripe flavors, this 1998 version ranks with the very best Grange vintages.

1999 Penfolds Grange. VM 91+. Full ruby-red. Sexy aromas of raspberry, cola, root beer and coconut. Thick, dense and concentrated, with exotic, slightly candied dark fruit, caramel, toasted coconut and mineral flavors nicely shaped by firm acids. Shows strong fruit and a major dose of oak on the powerful, backward finish. This can’t quite match the 1998 for sheer depth of fruit, but it’s built to age.

2003 Penfolds Grange. VM 93. Inky purple. Seductively perfumed nose offers cassis, blueberry, cherry-cola, violet and dried fig scents, with a suave undercurrent of smoky minerals. Deep, finely etched cherry and dark berry flavors are complicated by mocha and candied licorice, becoming riper with air. Cured meat and black cardamom notes arrive with air, adding further interest. Full, fleshy and sweet on the impressively long finish, which is nicely braced by dusty tannins. This is more energetic than most wines from this vintage.

Risotto a Costine. Short Rib Risotto. Chef Jen made a 2 day short rib ragu and then it was integrated into this fresh risotto. Yum, now that’s my kind of risotto! Actually I love most good risottos but this one is particularly great.

2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe2O3~2a, b & c. VM 100. The 2005 Grenache Atlantis Fe203-2a has been absolutely thrilling both times I have tasted it within the last year. A huge, vertical wine, Atlantis graces the palate with deep, voluptuous red fruit, crushed rocks, smoke, tobacco and mint. Even with all of its intensity and explosiveness, the wine remains light on its feet, with great balance and class to burn. The inclusion of whole clusters adds gorgeous lift and perfume, especially on the finish. At nearly ten years of age, the 2005 Grenache Atlantis is in a perfect spot right now and should continue to drink well for another 5-10 years, perhaps longer. (Drink between 2014-2024)

2013 Sine Qua Non Grenache Jusqu’à l’os Eleven Confessions Vineyard. VM 96+. A darker, more potent side of Grenache comes through in the 2013 Grenache Jusqu’a’ l’Os. This powerhouse wine is nowhere near ready to drink. Swaths of tannin enshroud a core of plum, dark fruit in this muscular, brooding Grenache from Sine Qua Non. Readers will have to be patient. The 2013 is 79% Grenache, 18% Syrah and 3% Petite Sirah, all from Eleven Confessions, done with 89% whole clusters. (Drink between 2023-2033)

Braciola di Vitella Ripiena. Stuffed Veal Chop. Perfectly cooked and super juicy. The white meat was similar to a great pork chop, but milder. It was stuffed with provolone, prosciutto, and tomatoe.

With veggies.

You can see the stuffing here.

Funghi. Wood fire grilled 3 mushroom medley.

Melanzane. Grilled eggplant.

The return of the polenta, this time with the shortrib ragu on top — insanely good.

Hazelnut Hojicha Gelato – Nocciola (hazelnut) base made with Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste and infused with Ceremonial Hojicha Roasted Green Tea — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #matcha #Hojicha #GreenTea #hazelnut #Piedmont

Chocolate Nutter Butter Gelato – a base made from 100% Valrhona Chocolate and South American Peanuts layered with chopped “Nutter-Butter” cookies — 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 #chocolate #valrhona #peanuts #PeanutButter #reeses #NutterButter #cookies

The wine lineup.

The gang.

The lovely ladies of the house.

Overall, this was another amazing dinner, and the Borgese’s just keep amping up the quality.

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

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

Wines have crept up in “biggness” here — and I don’t mean their caliber (which is fine) but too many big reds. This food has a bit of a ramp and there were two seafood dishes and then a quail, so we could have ramped through Champs, 2 flights of whites, and then red Burgundy before getting to a few bigger wines. Not everything needs to be gigantic — or SQN (at least there were only 2).

This meal was a slew of Rocco staples, like the quail, but it also featured the unique veal chop.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: bbq, Bordeaux, BYOG, Dinner at the Borgese's, Gelato, Grange, Grill, Italian Cusine, Lala, Wine

The Rooster Crows

Mar16

Restaurant: The Rooster

Location: 2301 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404. (310) 264-0999

Date: January 31, 2020

Cuisine: Wood-fire grill and California / pseudo-Italian

Rating: Tasty, but too pricey for its vibe

Continuing our streak of family dinners during my mom’s 75th birthday week, the gang of us headed off to the Rooster.

Bruce Marder, The Rooster’s chef/ restaurateur, lists Capo, The Brentwood, Cora’s Coffee Shop, and Marvin as his current successes. Renowned for his world class cuisine, his skills encompass a deep appreciation for international flavors that he unabashedly blends into an American style menu that celebrates our cultural diversity.

Bruce Marder’s latest addition to the Santa Monica scene features dishes kissed by almond-wood flames including tender, grilled meats served up family style, to pizzas and flatbreads baked in the wood fire oven.

The finest of ingredients, sourced from the farmers’ market, our personal garden, and highly regarded local ranchers, are the foundation of a cuisine that exemplifies the purity of the flavors without unnecessary adulteration.

Big, colder, more casual dining room and wood-fire grill.

Open kitchen.

I’ve always been a fan of Capo, despite a bit of attitude there, and have been at least 40 times, so I was interested to see what they did here in this larger more casual space.

The menu.

From my cellar: 2013 Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Beaux Sens. 93 points. This is 100% Pinot Meunier. One of the few vineyards where the wines have not been grafted. Mostly because it comes from a vineyard of purely sandy soil. There’s spice and sunflower seeds and a very nice balance to the wine. Soft bubbles. Very well done.

Fried bread and eggplant spread

Artichokes. Lemon, horseradish. These were nice wood-fired artichokes.

Eggplant. Rocca reggiano, tomato sauce. Basically a kind of skillet eggplant parm, this was quite delicious.

Warm seafood salad. Beurre blanc sauce. Incredible sauce. Really tender seafood. Seafood was grilled. I’m not normally a huge fan of the warm seafood salad, but this one was fantastic. Big hunks of very tender and flavorful seafood, and then the beurre blanc was perfect. Same one basically that’s on the crab torta I love at Capo. They even threw in the bread to sop it up.

From my cellar: 2004 Tenuta Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino. 93 points. The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is a fresh, vibrant offering bursting with dark cherries, violets, underbrush, minerals and sweet toasted oak on a medium-bodied frame. The wine reveals terrific balance in an energetic, focused style, with firm yet ripe tannins. The finish is long, clean and refreshing. This is a gorgeous effort from Loacker. (Drink between 2013-2019)

Spicy pepperoni pizza. Solid wood-fired pizza, although nothing stunningly original.

Simple pasta.

Cacio e pepe. Nice, but a touch disappointing. Maybe not creamy enough, or peppery enough. I’m not sure.

Spaghetti Roma.

From my cellar: 1999 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Vecchie Vigne Sorì Paitin. 94 points. The 1999 Barbaresco Sorì Paitin Vecchie Vigne is dark, powerful and opulent, with more than enough stuffing to age well for the better part of the next decade. Smoke, menthol, tar, black fruit and French oak blossom in the glass as this resonant, exuberant Barbaresco show off its unique, totally compelling personality. The French oak is present, but well balanced at the same time. (Drink between 2014-2022)

Loup de Mer.

Babyback ribs. Very tasty with lots of meat. Not super sauced or anything.

Lamb chops. Excellent lamb.

I don’t usually show the bill, but I thought I would tonight to make a point. We had 6 people (eating). So basically $100. Not crazy, but we didn’t order drinks or dessert. They charge for bread/butter. Corkage was a perfectly fine 3X$35. I have no problem with that. I had expected the Capo deal of high corkage, 1 or 2 bottle limits, and vetting to make sure one’s bottle was not “on their list.” I did see any of that and they just let me open my 3 bottles. This may have changed because Erick said that when he went months ago they had the limits. Limits suck, but for this 1/31/20 dinner and my experience, corkage was totally fine.

Food is actually quite good, if a bit too much emphasis on the wood-fire. Now I like wood grills, but (almost) everything is a touch much. The space feels loud, colder, and not “cozy” like Capo. Menu is more limited (but with some pizza).

Service was very friendly, but our server was a touch good-naturedly confused. 4 of us guys shared dishes and she brought them out in the weirdest order. I had to send a thing or two back (for a bit) because it made no sense. I’ve presented it here in the post in the order it SHOULD have come in. But they brought the pizza, pasta, and eggplant all right away, then thought to bring the artichokes as a “side” with the meat? Strange. The 20% service fee is also included and mandatory. I always tip 20% anyway and so this feels a bit weird.

It was Friday night and they were half empty. I don’t think the feel of the place warrants the pretty high prices. Capo is very expensive, but manages to make it feel LA swanky in this way that works. I suspect the Rooster will have trouble and at the very least change format a bit.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Grill, pasta, Pizza, Santa Monica, The Rooster, Wine, Wood-fire

Charcoal – First Foray

Sep16

Restaurant: Charcoal Venice

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

Date: July 21, 2018

Cuisine: New American Grill

Rating: Interesting so far

We were out on a family bike ride and decided to stop at Josiah Citrin’s (owner/chef of Melisse) newish more casual eatery for brunch.

It’s located on Washington Blvd about 2 blocks in from the ocean.

The space is contemporary and attractive.

Maybe about 3000 square feet.

Grilled Cucumber Gazpacho. Persian Cucumber, Calabrian Chili. I’m not sure what else was in this, other than certainly a lot of olive oil — but it was delicious. Roasted vegetable flavors, very roasted, lots of vinegar tang.

Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits. Pepper Honey. Being moved by a 9 year-old, hence the motion blur. Nice and cheesy. Excellent biscuits.

Hanger Steak Salad. Chopped Salad, Tomato, Havarti, Bacon, Grilled Onion, Kalamata Olives, and Jo-Jo’s Vinaigrette.

Fries. My 9 year-old didn’t like the spicy ketchup, I did.

Charcoal Benedict. Grilled Ham, Tomato Compote, Poached Egg, Charcoal-Infused Jet Black Hollandaise. Never had black hollandaise sauce before. The color made my mind think it should taste like squid ink. I can’t actually say that I tasted the charcoal at all, although clearly you can see it. Tasty classic Benedict either way.

Three Egg Omelette. Wilted Spinach, Avocado, Aged Cheddar, Grilled Spring Onion and Tomato.

Kitchen and interesting menu seemed promising, and several friends like it for dinner, so I’ll have to give that a try one of these days.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Charcoal, Charcoal Venice, Chef Josiah Citrin, Grill, Josiah Citrin, steakhouse, Washington Blvd

Odys + Penelope

Dec16

Restaurant: Odys + Penelope

Location:127 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. (323) 939-1033

Date: December 8, 2016

Cuisine: churrasco or asador?

Rating: Nice smoky flavors

Odys + Penelope has been on my list for over a year.

Located on La Brea, it’s not far from Republique and the like.

The interior has a great build out. Old brick walls, steel, wood, and this huge kitchen structure in the middle.

Odys + Penelope describes itself as a churrasco and grill (which is more or less what churrasco means). It’s certainly a grill, but also doesn’t really feel that South American to me. Anyway, they have a ton of wood fired stuff.

Here is some of the dancing flame — and a big smoker.

The menu.

Adam brought: 2006 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. VM 93+. Bright yellow with a green tinge. Cool aromas of crushed stone, citrus peel and white flowers. Dense, sweet and minerally, but quite youthfully closed and strict today, showing none of the honeyed character of the 2006 vintage. In fact, this broad, rich wine boasts terrific verve and finishes with palate-staining citrus and stone flavors. This is 13% natural alcohol with four grams per liter of acidity. It will be fascinating to compare this and the more austere 2005 a decade or so down the road.

Fried wild mushrooms, Persian garlic sauce. Nice fry.

Smoked lamb lettuce cups, green hummus, pickled onions, yogurt, mint. Savory.

Ginger chicken sausage, fresno chili-apple jam. Very soft, sweet sausage.

Grilled acorn squash salad, creamy parmesan slaw, pepitas. Very light, white and cheesy.

Bacon wrapped chicken thigh, lemon date sauce. This was one of the least successful dishes for me.

Smoked + grilled Mary’s chicken. Awesome for BBQ chicken, particularly given that it was minimal on the sauce. Super moist and tons of flavor.

Dry rubbed rotisserie pork, cherry mostarda, fingerling potatoes in grainy mustard butter, apple salad. AKA porcetta. Melt in your mouth perfect smoky pork belly. Wow!

Maple rosemary glazed beef ribs. Dish of the night. The fat was so integrated through the entire body of the meat, like Wagyu or as if they had massaged it — and the smoky deep flavor. This was some serious rib.

Charred broccolini salad, roasted beet hummus, hazelnut dukkah.

Creamy cauliflower + millet, walnut pesto. Another stand out. Hard to believe it was cauliflower. In combination with the beef this was like osso bucco over polenta.

From their list: 2006 Cecile Tremblay Echezeaux. BH 91. The best wine in the range, which is not completely a surprise given how many excellent to genuinely superb examples of Echézeaux were produced in 2006. A pretty red berry fruit that is highly spiced with hints of animale, mocha, plum and warm earth, all of which can be found on the rich, full and dense flavors that display chocolate and dry port nuances while finishing with a mouth coating, powerful and seductively sappy finish. I noted last year that this lacked a bit of freshness but that is not the case from bottle as there is actually good vibrancy present.

agavin: mature for it’s age. Very junior producer, but drinking nicely now.
The pastry menu.

Gingerbread copetta, mascarpone mousse, ginger-beer granita, butterscotch ice cream.
Warm caramel cake, poached pear, almond toffee, vanilla-almond ice milk.
Chocolate rye pie, peanut crumble, vanilla malted ice cream.

Overall, this was a great meal at Odys (my one and only so far) and I really enjoyed it for it’s unique “grill style”. Sort of like a BBQ crossed with a small plates place. Very old school and very modern at the same time. It bills itself as a churrasco, and there are certainly South American flavors here, but they don’t predominate. Certainly when I was last in South America (some time ago) the places were much more limited and old fashioned, not so far off from Fogo. Odys reminds me more of a Basque Asador — where all sorts of things are grilled up.

Doesn’t really matter because it’s good — as long as you like the taste of fire!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: bbq, churrasco, Grill, Odys + Penelope

Totoraku – Secret Beef!

Apr09

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: April 7, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

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

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

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

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

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

The wine prepped in my cellar and ready to go.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vegetable jelly. Interesting texture, tasted like… vegetables.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beef tongue with salt.

So many moo-less cows.

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

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

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

The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon.

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

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

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

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

Shrimp on the barbi!

Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.

Cooked here with the scallions.

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

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

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

Inside rib eye.

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

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

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

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

Raw.

Less raw. Goes in the sweet sauce — yum!

Skirt steak.

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

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

Were cooking now!

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

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

There are some special ice creams and sorbets.

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

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

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

For other Foodie Club meals, click here.