Archive for Los Angeles – Page 2

Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab

Nov19

Location: 3377 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 115, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Date: November 15, 2012

Cuisine: Cajun Seafood

Rating: Negative frills, but really tasty

Good food doesn’t always have to be fancy. My most recent Hedonist adventure was to The Boiling Crab, the Korea-Town outpost of a cajun seafood joint.

The place is located in a built up K-Town food oriented minimall.

And, boy, is it popular. This was a random Thursday and the wait was over an hour. I’ve heard that on weekends it can be 2-4!

Hedonists events require that everyone bring a bottle of wine. I brought three! Just in case. On this particular night, we had eleven people, but only a few wine drinkers. Boiling Crab doesn’t even serve wine, so I’ve learned to bring my own glasses (Riedel restaurant grade) in my rolling wine carrier. The wines are shoved in the back along with some icepacks (whites) and a bunch of cork screws and the like.

Le menu. Simple, and pretty much all market price. The market price was damn reasonable too, for example, just $17/lb for main lobster and $8/lb for blue crab!

And this is because TBC does not spend any money on extras. There are no plates. No glasses. No utensils. Food is served in plastic bags. Yes, that’s right, plastic bags. I’ve never even seen this before!

Given that this place serves seafood covered in spice, butter, and garlic, two of us brought good German Rieslings.

Parker 93, “The complex 2003 Riesling Auslese Erdener Treppchen boasts a nose of honeysuckle blossoms. Medium-bodied, supple, and silky-textured, it exhibits an expressive flavor profile composed of red fruits, pears, and spices. In addition, this luscious, pure wine possesses a long, fruit-filled finish.”

This one had a little age and a hint of classic Riesling petrol.

TBC is bib worthy. In fact, it’s the messiest restaurant I can remember eating at.

This is Dungeness Crab with Sha-Bang sauce (cajun, lemon pepper, and garlic butter). It comes just like that, crab in a bag with sauce. No utensils, you just reach in and crab the hot crab.

Then you pull it apart with your hands. They throw a couple lousy nut crackers on the table. Again, no forks. No plates! But it was delicious!

We also had a bag of king crab legs. Here’s one that escaped.

From my cellar: Parker 96, “After a performance like this for a Spatlese, the warning was hardly necessary! Donnhoff’s 2009 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese offers a riot of herbal aromas reminiscent of but far more intense and diverse than that of the corresponding Grosses Gewachs, and here, too, accompanied by grapefruit and passion fruit in a manner that calls to mind Sauvignon. Horehound, licorice, sage, mint, black tea, nut oils, candied grapefruit rind, and crushed stone inform a silken-textured palate. As with the corresponding Brucke, there is a remarkable interactivity on display, and a depth of mineral and animal savor that goes beyond crustacean shell reduction or veal demi-glace, leaving me salivating helplessly.”

This was my Riesling, and it was considerably sweeter than the first one. In my opinion, both paired fantastically with the spicy garlic seafood.

Some really yummy cajun sausage. It didn’t even come by itself but was “in the bag” (literally) with the shrimp.

Here are the shrimp (and some refuse). Again, bag of shrimp. You have to reach in and grab them. By the time you do, your entire hand is coated to the wrist with spicy garlic butter!

Parker 93, “David Powell consistently excels with The Steading, an 8,000 case blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Shiraz. Aged 22 months in 300 liter hogsheads (foudres), it represents Australia’s version of Chateauneuf du Pape. The 2002 The Steading’s big, spicy, earthy nose reveals notions of cherry liqueur, licorice, pepper, dried Provencal herbs, raspberries, and leather. Ripe, medium to full-bodied, chewy, and heady, it is best drunk during its first 7-8 years of life, although it will last a lot longer.”

This was a nice wine, but I thought it clashed pretty badly with the food. Really any red would.

Cajun fried catfish over cajun fries. Pretty delectable, hot as Bejesus, and had a nice earthy catfish taste. Eaten with your hands, of course.

Some of the shrimp on the table. The cost savings here is passed onto the consumer: you have to de-head and de-leg and de-vein your own shrimp. They were, however, awesome, and probably even better than the crab. The sauce was literally finger licking good.

And we also had a bag of corn. It was a little mushy, but very sweet and I loved it with the salty garlic sauce.

Sweet potato fries.

Parker 94, “The 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape is dominated by Grenache with major amounts of Mourvedre, Syrah and other authorized varietals. Its dense ruby/plum color is followed by aromas of smoked meats, roasted Provencal herbs, a gamy character and lots of kirsch, black currant and blue fruits. Rich and full-bodied, it is softer than most young vintages of Vieux Donjon tend to be.”

Very nice, smooth wine, but too strong for the food.

We ordered up a lobster. $42 for a 2.5 pounder!

Quite the fellow, and delicious.

Here is his tail, sitting in a bloody pool of cajun juice.

And a bit of repulsive leftovers. We had to periodically venture forth, grab some plastic bags from the counter, and then return and sweet this crap away. It’s very self serve.

But I doubt they’ve ever had a party that brings 4-5 of their own wine glasses each!

Despite the mess, this place was pretty fantastic. And what a deal, $39 all in for each person (including tax and tip). The above was food for five too! You’re paying entirely for the seafood, and nothing extra. I don’t mind the atmosphere or mess (it is what it is), but I wish there wasn’t such a long line :-). I guess nothing is too good to be true.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for more crazy Foodie Club meals.

At The Boiling Crab, even girls get their hands dirty (this is some random adjacent table).

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Boiling Crab, Cajun, Chateauneuf du Pape, corn, crab, Donnhoff, Foodie Club, hedonists, Lobster, Los Angeles, Riesling, Sausage, Seafood, shrimp, Spätlese, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Hedonists at Dahab

Nov09

Restaurant: Cafe Dahab

Location: 1640 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, Ca, 90025

Date: November 6, 2012 & September 21, 2015

Cuisine: Egyptian

Rating: Tasty!

Just a mere three days after the Hedonists tore up Totoraku, we return to this nearby casual Egyptian cafe and Hookah bar: Dahab.

This was a decidedly more casual affair, although the basic rules are the same. Each person needs to come with at least one great bottle of wine. Standards aren’t as high as for a stellar meat dinner like Toto, but there was still some great stuff. And this drew a crowd of over 20!

The Dahab menu can be found here.

This is a third of the table. It was a crazy warm November night and we sat outside, filling the entire patio. There were so many of us that Yarom (our fearless organizer) had to float chairless! There also wasn’t even close to enough space on the table and the restaurant doesn’t even own wine glasses. Good thing I brought 8 Riedels of my own and several others did as well.

We started with this champagne brought by white and bubbly maestro Ron. The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty wine.

Olives and pickled radishes.

Parker 95, “This year there is also only one Willi Haag wine with the name 2006 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Auslese, athough for the record this carries the A.P. #6. It mingles white peach, vanilla, honey, and nut oils in a wine of uncanny refinement, delicacy and palate-saturating richness, representing a classic example of the magic in the Burgerslay section of the Juffer, whence Marcus’s father drew some of the greatest (if too-little appreciated) Middle Mosel wines of the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s. Juicy melon and white peach and kinetic citrus are beautifully folded into a creamy, vanilla-tinged envelope, then burst forth in a lusciously long finish with a distinct note of slate stone. It’s impossible not to compare this Auslese with the great 1975, and I believe it to be the masterpiece of Marcus Haag’s career thus far. If you are lucky enough to latch on to bottles of this incredible value – and I have seen them floating around at prices far lower than the already low suggested retail price noted above – treasure them and if possible wait 8-10 years before opening. There exist more than enough wonderful 2006 Mosel Auslesen you can enjoy younger. This one may well be worth following for 30 or more years.”

Warm pita bread.

A dry styled Oregon Riesling and “The opaque blue/black/purple-colored Noon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is even more impressive from bottle than it was from barrel. This is a great effort displaying first-growth quality. It boasts a stunningly pure nose of creme de cassis, cedar, licorice, smoke, and vanilla. As it sits in the glass, notions of chocolate also emerge. This full-bodied Cabernet builds incrementally in the mouth. The finish lasts for 45 seconds. A magnificent example, its seamlessness and concentration are profound.”

Another third of the table.

An awesome shaved rice sake with that soft anise thing that I love from great sake.

Things are just starting to get going.

Ron, always good for great white Burgundy, brought this 2008 Dom Dublere Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 92, “Here too mild wood sets off extremely fresh aromas of pear, green apple and wet stone the latter of which is also reflected by the vibrant and overtly muscular broad-scaled flavors that possess impressive drive and length. Interestingly, this is not as complex as the Chaumées though it’s longer.”

I actually convinced my lovely wife to join us this time. She’s a sucker for the vege plate (below).

I brought this older Grand Cru Mazy-Chambertin (1996). It also had a funky nose that blew off, but this bottle wasn’t nearly as good as the other 3-4 I’ve opened recently of the exact same wine. Pity, those previous bottles were fantastic.

Parker 91-93, “The 2007 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast displays plenty of raspberry and floral notes, has a deep ruby/purple color, nicely integrated wood, medium to full body, and a spicy finish. Drink it over the next decade.”

Lana was generous to donate this Parker 100 blockbuster, “The 1998 Cote Rotie La Landonne is a perfect wine … at least for my palate. Its saturated black/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of smoke, incense, tapenade, creosote, blackberry, and currant aromas. It is densely packed with blackberry, truffle, chocolate, and leather-like flavors. The wine possesses high tannin, but perfect harmony, impeccable balance, and gorgeous integration of acidity, alcohol, and tannin. It is a tour de force in winemaking.”

From my cellar. Parker 95, “The profound 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul (85% Grenache and the rest equal parts Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault) tips the scales at 15% alcohol. From an old vineyard and cropped at 15 hectoliters per hectare, and aged only in foudre, it boasts a dense purple color in addition to an exquisite nose of violets, minerals, blueberries and blackberries. Pure and concentrated, but atypically tannic, it requires considerable aging as it is one of the vintage’s more backward, broodingly powerful efforts.”

Big assembled feast plates of various vegetarian mezze. In the center, grape leaves stuffed with rice, chopped tomato, parsley and special seasonings. The white stuff is lebnah, Middle eastern style yogurt mixed with mint, red pepper & topped with olive oil. Then clockwise are falafel: ground fava beans and vegetables with special seasonings. Next hummus: ground garbanzo beans with garlic, lemon juice and special seasonings. Then foul: pureed fava beans with garlic, tomatoes, onions and special seasonings. And last, babagannouj: eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings.

This alternate version has in the 7 o’clock position, yogurt salad: yogurt with chopped cucumber, mint and garlic.

Below then are detail pictures of most of the mezze:

Tabouleh. Chopped parsley, onion, and tomato mixed with lemon and special seasonings.

hummus: ground garbanzo beans with garlic, lemon juice and special seasonings.

lebnah, Middle eastern style yogurt mixed with mint, red pepper & topped with olive oil. I love this stuff, particularly with the meat.

babagannouj: eggplant dip with tahina sauce and special seasonings.

foul: pureed fava beans with garlic, tomatoes, onions and special seasonings.

Gibna bel tamatim: feta cheese and chopped tomato mixed with olive oil and special seasonings.

Parker 97, “The 2006 Broken Stones (63% Syrah, 24% Grenache, and 13% Mourvedre) blew me away. An inky/purple color and a dazzling, explosive bouquet of black raspberries, camphor, cassis, forest floor, and spring flowers are followed by a rich, elegant wine offering laser-like precision as well as a striking minerality. It is a powerful yet graceful effort.”

The other side of the bottle.

Parker 89, “The 2008 Ventillo 71 is named after the address of the old winery and is 100% Tempranillo. It has a soft, leather-infused nose with strawberry, mint and a touch of orange blossom. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and ample freshness. There is a core of wild strawberry and red cherry fruit, finely integrated oak and a composed, elegant finish. This is a commendable Rioja.”

Fattoush salad. Romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, onions, and suemock topped with pita chips.

Another salad, more classic middle eastern.

Cole slaw like salad.

Falafels. Chickpea paste fried with tahini sauce.

Meat pies. Falaffel filled with a meat patty. Delicious.

Kobehbah. Beef and pine-nuts covered in burgur wheat and fried. Hot and delicious.

Parker 90-92+, “Aged completely in demi-muids, the 2008 Syrah Halcon is a tannic, young, promising effort that may merit an even higher score next year if it puts on the weight and flesh that the 2007s did in barrel. At present, it reveals abundant blue and black fruits intertwined with hints of forest flora and spice. While not as powerful as the 2007s, it exhibits lots of minerality and structure.”

Shrimp kabob: 10 pieces of shrimp grilled to perfection served with rice and green salad.

Parker 87, “Soft, ripe, and fruity, with big, smoky, charred berry-like scents intermixed with tobacco and plum aromas.”

A line of trouble makers.

Parker 94, “A spectacular offering, the 1998 Command Shiraz (which spent 3 years in French and American oak) is the type of wine that is impossible to duplicate outside of selected Barossa and McLaren Vale vineyard sites. An opaque purple color is followed by spectacular aromas of toasty oak, camphor, blackberry liqueur, and asphalt. It is humongous in the mouth, decadently rich, and luxuriously fruited, with a viscous texture as well as a 40-second finish. Low acidity and ripe tannin add to the succulent impression.”

Grilled squab. Yum.

Liver. Quiet good, tender and with a lot of flavor.

Peppers, tahini, and garlic paste (for chicken, yum!).

On the left the 2004 Kosta Browne Russian River Pinot.

On the right, Parker 95, “Chapoutier makes no bones about the fact that he prefers his 1996 Cote Roties to his 1995s. Wealthy readers with access to Chapoutier’s wines will have fun determining whether the 1995 or 1996 Cote Rotie La Mordoree is the superior wine. Both are terrific examples of Cote Rotie with 20-25 years of evolution. Chapoutier prefers the 1996. The 1995 is a superb wine, but I am not sure the 1996 isn’t a point or two better. Both wines possess intensely-saturated black/purple colors, and smoky, black raspberry, coffee, and chocolate-scented noses with black olives thrown in for complexity. The 1996 may have greater length, but that is splitting hairs at this level of quality. Both are medium to full-bodied, rich, extraordinary examples of Cote Rotie that possess power as well as finesse. Both will require cellaring to reveal their personalities. I suspect the 1995 needs 4-5 years of cellaring.”

Getting the buzz on.

Bamia: okra.

Robin brought this 1994 Heitz (regular) and it was drinking very well, youthful even, full of tasty tannins.

A big meat plate! We have shrimp, chicken, shish kabob (felit mignon), and kofta (ground beef and lamb mixed with onions and parsley).

An Amarone (I can’t read the details unfortunately).

Another view of the meat.

Rice pilaf.

French fries.

Parker 91-93, “The extraordinary 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau offers up aromas of chocolate, black cherries, dusty, loamy soil, scorched earth, garrigue, and spice. This full-bodied, powerfully concentrated, meaty, expansive, substantial wine should age well for a decade.”

Koshari: traditional vegetarian dish (lentils, brown rice and pasta served with a spicy tomato sauce & topped with fried onions).

Parker 89, “The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon (545 cases) reveals evolved fruitcake, cedary, tobacco, roasted herb, and cassis aromas, as well as rich, concentrated flavors. It is impressively rich, with an herb-tinged, black currant personality, medium to full body, sweet but noticeable tannin, and excellent purity, all framed by toasty new oak. The wine gives every indication of being ready to drink with another 2-3 years of cellaring.”

Yarom playing the hookah!

Parker 88, “The evolved, medium gold color of the 1990 is prematurely advanced, raising questions about future longevity. It possesses plenty of intensity, and an unctuous, thick, juicy style, but high alcohol and coarseness kept my rating down. There is bitterness as well as fiery alcohol in the finish. The wine does not offer much delineation, so cellaring should prove beneficial as it does have admirable levels of extract. Suduiraut can make powerful, rich wines that are often rustic and excessively alcoholic and hot when young. I am told they become more civilized with age, and certainly older, classic Suduiraut vintages have proven that to be true. I feel this estate’s propensity to produce a luxury cuvee (Cuvee Madame) in vintages such as 1989 tends to have a negative impact on the regular cuvee.”

Various traditional desserts. The gooey white toped one at 1-2 o’clock was particularly awesome.

Another plate of traditional sweets, including rice pudding in the middle.

In case the Hookah isn’t enough.

Little baked donut ball like pastries.

Rice pudding.

It was actually a birthday pudding!

The donut balls coated in Nutella. Certainly two good things are even better.

A coconut dessert.

This was another fun evening. Super casual and more than a little crazy. Dahab is a tasty little restaurant serving delicious Egyptian food, but they aren’t really set up for either 20+ parties or wine nuts like us. They did manage with the food, and we managed the wine. It was cozy, but made extra fun by the warm evening and outside setting.

For more crazy Foodie Club dining, click here.

On September 21, 2015, we went again. I integrated the food pictures above, but the wines from that second visit are here:

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Billecart-Salmon, Cafe Dahab, Cafe Dehab, Dahab, Dehab, Dessert, Egypt, Egyptian Food, Foodie Club, hedonists, Hookah, kabob, Los Angeles, Middle Eastern, Mosel, Restaurants and Bars, Riesling, Wine

N/Naka Birthday

Sep28

Restaurant: N/Naka [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 3455 S. Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034. 310.836.6252

Date: September 14, 2012

Cuisine: Modern Kaiseki

Rating: Awesome

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I first went to the amazing Omakase only N/Naka last summer. After a bit of a hiatus the Foodie Club returns. Now bear in mind that this lovely restaurant has only a set menu (they offer it in two sizes, plus vegetarian) but the talented young chef Ms. Niki Nakayama has whipped up an entirely different meal (with similar structure) every time we’ve gone!

The setting is elegant, minimalist, and very Japanese.

This time around we went with wine pairings. Sommelier Jeffery Stivers just a fantastic job with these and even more so given the difficulties in pairing Japanese flavors with wine. Very little red wine works (good Burgundy with some dishes) and with a small number of people so many courses are hard to pair by bringing bottles.

Our first pairing: French Sparkling Wine, Domaine Rosier ‘Cuvee Jean-Philippe”, Blanquette de Limoux, France 2010.

Saki Zuke (A pairing of something common and something unique) – Fanny Bay Oysters that have been butter poached and are wrapped in a bird’s nest of crispy Maui Onions and is topped with fresh Uni from Santa Barbara, a leaf of baby Red-veined Sorrel and a Flower of Pansy both of which are from Niki’s garden, a dusting of onion powder and sits in on a sauce of spicey Russet Potato and Dashi and a gelee of Sanbaizu (a combination of mirin and dashi).

This is a vegetarian or fish substitute. I’ll indicate these with VS:

On a Bed of Julienned Crispy Bull’s Blood Beets sits Norwegian Smoked Salmon along side of Junsai (water shield), topped with a shochu Crème Fraiche, Chives, a Flower of Pansy, Gold Leaf and a Puree of Roasted Nasu (Baby Japanese Eggplant).

Verdejo, Martinsancho, Rueda, Spain 2010.

Zensai (Main seasonal ingredient presented as an appetizer)

Seared scallop, a Sauce of Yuzu Pepper, Roasted Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes,a chip of Bull’s Blood Beet, Micro-mache.

Maine Lobster on top of Flower and Herb-infused Rice Paper, Sauce of Tamal (head of Amaebi).

Olive Oil Poached Ono from Fiji on a sweep of White Corn Coulis.

A Cucumber roll that is stuffed with Canadian Snow Crab and Unagi (Freshwater eel), Onion Sprouts and topped with a gelee of Sanbaizu. This was amazing, with a light smoky flavor.

Goma Dofu – Sesame and Green Tea Tofu topped with a tie of Green Asparagug and Konbu Dashi.

The no shellfish variant.

Olive Oil Poached Ono from Fiji on a sweep of White Corn Coulis, a Sauce of Yuzu Pepper, Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes, a chip of Bull’s Blood Beet, Micro-mache.

A Daikon Roll of with Hirame (Halibut) and Ponzu.

Tasmanian Sea Trout that is pan-seared along with fresh Lemon.

Pinot Blanc, Dopff and Irion, Alsace, France 2008.

Modern Zakuri (A modern interpretation of sashimi) – Tartare of O-toro of Big Eyed Tuna, White Scallions, topped with Caviar of American White Sturgeon, Uni Butter, Soy Reduction, Chives and Konbu Dashi.

VS: no uni butter.

Roero Arneis, Giovanni Almondo “Bricco del Ciliegie”, Piedmont, Italy 2011.

Lobster Shinjo – A Mousselin of Maine Lobster in a Broth of Momotaro Tomato, Fennel Root and Dashi topped with Fennel Root and Chive.

Once the soup has been added.

VS: Kurodai Suimono – Pan-seared Kurodai (Black Snapper) that is stuffed with Mitsuba and is in a Yuzu Dashi Broth.

My favorite sake: Sake Junmai Ginjo, “Shichida” Tenzen Brewery, Saga, Japan.

In the glass. It tastes like licorice.

Otsukuri (Sashimi) – Toro of Big Eyed Tuna, Kumomoto Oyster with Ponzu, Live Hirame (Halibut) from Jeju, Korea, Kanpachi (Amberjack Tuna), Tai (Japanese Snapper), fresh sweet shrimp from Santa Barbara, all served with Freshly Grated Wasabi, Ponzu and Niki’s Special Soy Sauce.

Toro of Big Eyed Tuna, Live Hirame (Halibut) from Jeju, Korea, Kanpachi (Amberjack Tuna), Tai (Japanese Snapper), freshly Grated Wasabi and Niki’s Special Soy Sauce.

Muller Thurgau, Kurtatsch Cortaccia, Alto Adige, Italy 2009.

Agemono (Fried dish) – Tempura Pompano along with the Crispy Bones with Multi-colored Peppers, Scallions and a Sauce of Sweet and Sour Dashi, Butter Lettuce Leaves.

The fish is cooked table-side and then wrapped in this lettuce.

To taco-like effect.

Picpoul de Pinet, Domaine de Laurier, Languedoc, France 2010.

Yakimono (Grilled dish) – Hotate Yaki – Live Diver Scallops from Boston grilled in their own Shell with the Roasted Liver, Shiso Leaf, Shiitake Mushroom, Yuzu Zest and Dashi.

VS: On a hot rock sits roasted Nasu (Japanese Eggplant) that has been cored out and filled with Maguro of Big Eyed Tuna, Shiso Leaf and Miso.

Greco di Tufo, Villa Mathilde, Campania, Italy 2010. This is a volcanic white wine (DOCG) from near Mount Vesuvius.

Shiizakana (Not bound by tradition, the Chef’s choice dish) – Spaghettini with Black Abalone from Monterey, Pickled Cod Roe, Shaved Italian Summer Truffles, Garlic, Soy and topped with Daikon Radish Sprouts. An unusual, but truly unworldly pasta.

Someone doesn’t like abalone.

VS: Spaghettini with Mentaiko (Pickled Cod Roe), shaved Italian Summer Truffles, Garlic, Soy and topped with Daikon Radish Sprouts.

Pinot Noir, Ampelos Cellars “Fiddlestix Vineyard”, Santa Rita Hills, CA 2008.

Niku (Meat Course) – American Wagyu from Washington State Rib-cap Steak with a Canele of Russet Potato Mashed, Nanohana (Broccoli Rabe), Roasted Carrot with a Ponzu Demi-jus American Wagyu from Washington State Rib-cap Steak with a Canele of Russet Potato Mashed, Nanohana (Broccoli Rabe), Roasted Carrot with a Ponzu Demi-jus.

VS: Pan-seared Ono from Fiji that sits on a sauce of Yuzu Cream and topped with a fresh Yuzu Foam and paired with Micro Mache, a Chip of Bull’s Blood Beet and fresh Lemon.

Sunomono (Salad) – On thinly sliced Baby Cucumbers from Nki’s Garden along with a Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato is marinated Hirame (Halibut) with Ponzu.

On the side is: Yuzu Sake, Yuzu Omoi, Yamamoto, Japan.

Sake Suijin, Asabiraki Brewery, Iwate, Japan.

Fresh ginger.

Shokuji One & Two (Rice dish – Sushi) – Tai (Japanese Snapper); O-toro of Big-eyed Tuna.

Wild Aji (Spanish Mackrel); Amaebi (Sweet Raw Shrimp).

VS: for the shrimp, halibut I think.

VS: Yellowtail or similar.

Seared Toro and Fresh Uni (Sea Urchin).

So good it deserves a close up of the Uni.

And the seared toro.

It’s worth noting that this time around, IMHO, the sushi had really improved. The above flight, while small, was sublime.

Soba Noodles served with Freshly Grated Wasabi and Konbu Dashi.

Closeup of the sauce.

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Delas, Rhone Valley, France 2010.

Dessert – A creme brûlée on the left and a passionfruit hollowed out with added cream and those asian gelatinous dessert cubes.

Close up of the brûlée.

And the passionfruit. This was stunning. I love passionfruit and creamy desserts and this was so good I sucked the desiccated husk.

Artisan Hojita tea.

A special bit of red Italian passito.

And Ice Cream of Dark Chocolate with freshly whipped Cream and Organic Fresh Raspberries (for my father’s birthday).

N/Naka really is a very special place. All the meals I had here were spectacular (here for the first, here for the second, third here, fois gras). The place keeps getting better and better. This is thrice wonderful because often one finds a slight bloom to come off a place on repeat meals. I’ve recently eaten at two Jose Andres set menu restaurants where the menu barely changed in eight months, but at N/Naka everything is seasonal and constantly rotating.

Try it!

Click here to other LA Japanese restaurants.

Jeffery Stivers

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dessert, Japanese, Japanese cuisine, Kaiseki, Los Angeles, N/Naka, Niki Nakayama, Sushi, Wine

Sotto – Sicilian & Sardinian Scents

Sep24

Restaurant: Sotto [1, 2, 3]

Location: 9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035 310.277.0210

Date: September 13 26, 2012

Cuisine: Sicilian and Sardinian Italian

Rating: Bold flavors, off to a great start!

While LA is packed with Italian restaurants, Sotto is fairly unique in embracing a rustic southern Italian style. This isn’t your old school Sicilian or Neapolitan American either, but the hearty traditional fare of Italy’s Spanish and Moorish influenced regions. I’ve been here a number of times before, but it’d been a while, and the place is good, so it was time to return.

The loud but chummy interior.

The menu.

Parker 91, “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.”

“Marinated sardine crostini {English pea macco, pickled onions, mint}.” Really tasty mix: a sort of caprese with fish and it works perfectly.

“Mixed greens and shaved beet salad {wheatberries, lemon vinaigrette, Fiore Sardo}.”

“Grilled mackerel in scapece {cauliflower, cured lemons, crispy buckwheat, pesto pantesca}” This was a delicious fish dish.

“Eggplant involtini al forno {tomato passata, burrata, breadcrumbs}” It’s hard to ever go wrong with baked eggplant, cheese, and tomatos, and this was no exception. Yum!

Parker 94, “The 2005 Shardana is an awesome Carignano endowed with exuberant dark fruit, smoke, licorice, sage, rosemary and tar. This is a fairly big, masculine wine with great intensity, depth and roundness. It needs another year or two in bottle for the tannins to settle down. The Shardana is formidable, though, and a terrific choice for hearty cuisines.”

“Casarecce {braised lamb ragu, egg, pecorino}” The pastas here are fantastic with a really chewy homemade mouth feel.

“Fileja calabresi {nero di seppia, cherry tomatoes, peperoncino}” This seppia pasta was terrific, sweet, briny, and really chewy.

“Margherita {tomato, mozzarella, basil, EVOO}” Classic woodfire pizza.

“Salsiccia e friarielli {sausage, rapini, mozzarella, chilies}” Even better, with meat!

“Grilled lamb blade steak {white beans, calabrian chilies, almond salmoriglio}” The lamb was good, but the beans underneath were even better!

“Whole-grilled orata {braised artichoke acquasale, olive-pistachio vinaigrette}” A really nice fresh grilled fish.

The dessert menu.

“Cannoli Siciliani. ricotta, orange marmalade, pistachios, chocolate.”

“Bittersweet chocolate crostata. hazelnuts, salted rosemary caramel.”

The menu is fairly consistent here, with perhaps only 10-15% turnover in the year since I last visited. The food is hearty and delicious, with bright seafood Mediterranean flavors. A LOT of flavor! The only place I’ve been in LA that is similar is Hostaria del Piccolo.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.For my another of my reviews of Sotto, click here.

Or for a review of Drago, another Sicilian restaurant.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dessert, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Pecorino Sardo, Restaurant, Sicilian cuisine, Sotto

Tomato Night at Il Grano

Sep17

Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886

Date: September 12, 2012

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Modern Italian to die for

After my stellar birthday meal at Il Grano, and with the closing of Drago, Il Grano has become one of my favorite westside Italians. Every Wednesday through the summer and early fall the restaurant has “tomato night,” where a crazy bounty of the fruits are used in every conceivable dish.

Chef/owner Sal Marino has some kind of mega tomato garden in his backyard where he grows approximately a 100 varieties of heirloom tomatoes in staggered progression (some have slightly different seasons). Here you can see just a few of them. I’m not even a tomato fan but I have to say they look gorgeous!

This spectacular Barbaresco comes from my cellar. Parker gives it 93, “The classic 1997 Barbaresco Santo Stefano is evolved and flamboyant. A medium ruby/garnet color with an amber edge is followed by a sweet perfume of black cherries, tobacco, leather, spice box, licorice, and tar. Full-bodied, with a creamy texture, superb concentration, and an exquisite finish.”

Fresh bread and olive oil. The pottery is evidently by the chef from Mori sushi!

First course is a pretty straight up Neapolitan pizza with arugala and… you guessed it… fresh tomatoes.

Then two sorts of gazpacho made from single varieties of tomatoes. Here is the garnish, which includes that dark stuff made from olives.

This green one is “Green Zebra.”

Since the GZ is an extra tart tomato, this made for a great gazpacho with a bracing vinegar flavor.

This variant was made from a red heirloom instead, I can’t remember which one.

A “carpaccio” of heirloom tomato, raw red snapper, and burrata. Il Grano uses only sushi grade fish!

Fresh wild blue fin tuna tartar (not yet fully extinct) with arugala and those lovely yellow and red puppies.

A tomato, arugala, burrata salad. As you can see, tomato haters should stay away from Wednesday.

Seared sushi grade Saba (Japanese Mackerel) with a green tomato slurry and roasted micro tomatoes. The fish was spectacular, with no fishy notes at all, and paired really nicely with the acidic slurry.

“Faux tomato.” While this is actually made from a number of tomato parts, it’s not a “real” tomato, but a construct with an artificial skin and a tomato mouse inside. Interestingly, I had a very similar dish at Calima in Spain. That one used an avocado “soup” and shrimp, but was otherwise nearly identical. It was good either way!

A cheese manicotti (homemade) with a very Neapolitan fresh tomato sauce. Yum!

Spaghetti vongle. The classic Neapolitan and clams. Not so much tomato but this was amazing with a nice heft to the pasta and a satisfying clamminess.

Fresh Carolina grouper, simply cooked (salt and pepper) with tomatoes. This fish was melt in your mouth.

Fried zucchini blossom with what has to be one of the best tomato purees I’ve ever had.

A bit of filet minion with the same sauce and some rappini. The dark stuff on top are sun dried and perhaps smoked tomatoes that had an almost ham like quality to them.

Tomato dessert!

Sal’s maniac grin and he literally whips it up.

This is a tomato sorbet made in the same manner as The Bazaar’s liquid nitrogen signature drinks.

And the result, topped with ground olives. Not your usual dessert and halfway between sweet and savory. The texture was that ultra-smooth one that comes from liquid nitrogen freezing.

While similar in format, Tomato Night shows a different palette for Il Grano. Everything was executed in spectacular fashion. Sure, I’m not a total raw tomato lover, so perhaps I prefer a more “normal” meal, but these were some of the best tomatoes I’ve ever had. Two of the people at the table were tomato fiends and were in heaven. And I love when a restaurant can keep mixing it up. If you like higher end Italian cooking (and who doesn’t?) you should absolutely rush over here. Make sure you get a tasting menu. I don’t think appetizer and entree selected off the regular menu would do the place the justice it deserves. I’m sure the dishes would be great, but this cuisine is about more than just two notes.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long journey through Northern Italy.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Barbaresco, Chef, Dessert, Gazpacho, Green Zebra, heirloom tomato, Il Grano, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, pasta, Santa Monica California, Spaghetti vongle, Tomato, Wine

The Counter

Sep07

Restaurant: The Counter

Location: 2901 Ocean Park Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 399-8383

Date: August 25, 2012

Cuisine: Burgers

Rating: Food Coma!

For some reason LA has a love affair with the burger shack. It really does. We have tons of them, and at every economic level. The Counter is one of those middle/high end attacks on the genre, offering totally custom burgers. Not only do they have a lot of options on the bun but there are relatively updated takes on the traditional “accompaniments”: shakes and fries.

The inside is both modern and harkens back to the 50s.

These are some of the special menus. The full menu is here. It includes the exhaustive burger customization grid.

“Banana Split Shake. Vanilla ice cream with stawberries, banana & caramel, topped with chocolate syrup.”

“Caramel Java Malt Milkshake.” The shake was out of this world. True, it’s not really hard to make a great shake. The secret: good ice cream and lots of it, but this one rocked. I’m still feeling it four hours later.

“The fifty-fifty: sweet potato fries and crispy onion strings.” Fries were good too. These sweet potato ones in particular.

Chipoltle, BBQ, and ranch sauces. The later two were particularly excellent in combination with the fry.

“Kids grilled cheese.”

“2/3 pound beef burger with blue cheese, bacon, and chili on a pretzel bun.” I didn’t order right. The chili on the side thing didn’t totally work for me. And I should have gone for the nice looking caramelized onions and a more goopy cheese.

Overall, this was all very tasty, but I can feel my arteries clogging. I also like Umami’s funkier take on the whole burger concept, but The Counter was good too.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: burger, Burgers, Cheese Burger, fries, Los Angeles, milkshake, Santa Monica California, The Counter

Sugarfish – Sushi by the Numbers

Aug27

Restaurant: Sugarfish

Location: 11640 W. San Vicente Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049. Phone: 310 820-4477

Date: August 13, 2012

Cuisine: Sushi

Rating: Fish is good, format is annoying

My relationship with sushi goes way back. My parents first took me to Washington DC’s (then) single Japanese restaurant, Mikado, in the 70s and I started on sushi by eight years old. In the 80s I constantly evangelized sushi. To people’s unanimous response of “yuck, raw fish?” I’d respond, “but it’s SO good.”

Fast forward to 1994 and my move to California. Sushi was just going mainstream and I was an experienced devotee. I’d been to Japan, I knew the names of most fish in Japanese, I’d had a sushi poster over my bed since high school. Still, Sushi Nozawa, conveniently located just 5-10 minutes from Universal Studios (where we were then making Crash Bandicoot), was hands down the best I’d ever had. There were a couple funny things about it:

1. The rice was warm and fell apart easily

2. There was often vinegar like sauce on the fish (which was really good)

3. The seafood itself was incredibly fresh and not fishy at all

4. Chef Nozawa, who made everything personally at the tiny sushi bar, enforced all sorts of rules in a Seinfeld “soup nazi” like manner. No cel phones. No mentioning California or Spicy Tuna roll, no asking for anything. Just “trust me” he said.

All and all an amazing experience.

Fast forward again 10+ years and I’d long been dining happily at what Nozawa spawn restaurants: Echigo, Sasabune, Sushi Zo, and the like. These chefs trained with the master, and deliver fantastic sushi in his format (sometimes including cel phone and roll rules — although at Sasabune I have twice seen Brett Ratner pacing back and forth between customers with his iphone/blackberry glued to his ear).

Then we have Sugarfish, Nozawa’s direct progeny. It’s a problem child for me, mostly because of the format: It’s a chain (albeit a small one) and the chef is missing. Any chef. There is still a vestigial sushi bar, but there are no knife-wielding Japanese guys in white hats behind calling out as you enter or leave. Instead you order packages of “trust me” off a short men and caucasians bring it to you. This seems… unclean… improper.

The Sugarfish menu (see here: Lunch Menu) feels like a packaged corporate imitation of the whole experience. Converting what is essentially a handmade and human relationship (diner and chef) into a by the numbers formula. And besides, even “The Nozawa,” the largest package, is like a snack for someone like me used to gigantic omakases (sample some on my sushi page)!

But here it is:

I’ve never been a huge edaname fan. These are fine, but the oil gets all over your hands.

“Tuna sashimi.” The fish is good, but the whole thing is dominated by the sweet vinegar sauce. Not that I mind, as I love sweet vinegar sauce.

“Albacore sushi.” Tasty enough, and melt in your mouth.

“Salmon sushi.” Good enough fish, but blander than some.

“Yellowtail sushi.” Also nice pieces of Hamachi. Nothing wrong with it, but like almost everything else on this menu, a bit boring.

“Halibut sushi.” Also nice fish.

“Toro hand roll.” Felt a tad bland for some reason.

“Blue crab hand roll.” This was tasty, and the crab hand roll was always a highlight at Nozawa, but this felt like an 80% imitation, perhaps not sweet and crabby enough.

“Halibut fin sashimi.” Bizarrely served at the end. By normal Japanese standards this should have come before any rice. Still, it was a fine dish, again amped up by the vinegar sauce.

Overall, Sugarfish has good fish. Not great fish, but the typical good fish that is now widely available in LA. But the whole thing is so watered down, a packaged imitation of the real sushi experience aimed at dabblers. The room was filled with women catching lunch. They like sushi, may even recognize that better places are tastier, but they aren’t committed to the experience. Unless I’m in a real hurry, I’ll take a human chef who can recommend what is fresh or make me something I haven’t tried before. Nozawa once said to me, “today I have seven types of fish and every day, I ask myself, can I do seven fish well? Should I perhaps do only six?” This espouses the very Japanese sentiment that any small thing can be done exceedingly well with enough focus and concentration. That doesn’t seem to dive with corporate packaging.

For more sushi reviews, click here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brentwood, California, Japan, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Nozawa, Sugarfish, Sushi, Sushi Nozawa, Universal Studios

More Maison Giraud

Jul30

Restaurant: Maison Giraud [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1032 Swarthmore Ave, Pacific Palisades, Ca 90272. 310-459-7562

Date: Winter/Spring, 2012

Cuisine: French

Rating: French “home” cooking at it’s best

Maison Giraud is the closest fine dining to my house. Pacific Palisades doesn’t have a lot of great food, but this restaurant/bakery is from acclaimed LA French chef Alain Giraud.

The Swathmore Ave frontage has been revealing itself in stages since at least the 4th of July.

Inside the chef peers down at your from the French-style board.

My wife and I had our Valentine’s Day reservation here, which turned out to be a damn good choice as the day before I crushed the bones in my left hand, and couldn’t have managed to travel further. There was a set menu, which can be hit or miss on this overcrowded holiday, but turned out great at MG.

“Oyster & Champagne Gelee.” Notice the aphrodisiac theme.

“Tender Greens & Beets Salad. Citrus Vinaigrette, Goat Cheese.”

“Burrata Agnolotti. Hearts of Broccolis, Pomegranate Seduction.”

“Scallops ‘Valentino’ Piquillo, Cauliflower, Chorizo.”

“Red Snapper. Saffron-Fennel Broth. Spring Peas.”

“Veal Tenderloin. Spinach Cream, Red Wine Sexy Sauce.”

“Macaron Harmony for Two. Litchis & Rose Cream & Raspberries.” This dessert was absolutely amazing. I love rosewater and this had that classic soft flavor. The texture of the Macaron was also perfect.

Below is a composite dinner built from 2-3 visits.

From my cellar: Fin Amour, a blockbuster wine that redefines that cliché with energy and precision. Those centenarian vines of Grenache and Carignan pictured above are actually located in Maury, a miniscule appellation across the Spanish border in Roussillon that’s traditionally famous for immortal dessert wines (we had a recently released Maury from 1928 in the shop the other day, to give you an idea of their longevity). The appellation is conservative about their stickies, so Case and Shiverick did forgo the classification to make a low-yield Cotes de Catalanes dry red wine of 70% Grenache and 30% Carignan. These Bonsai like vines stubbornly live on an outcrop of chopped up schist, which is ideal for giving the few grapes they produce their incredible Catalonian minerality and aromatically spiced fruit.

“Vegetable Salad. Seasonal Market Vegetables with Coriander and Lemon.”

“Grilled octopus special.”

Pistou is a classic southern French soup, cousin to minestrone.

“Soup ‘Au Pistou’. Farmers Market Vegetables, Pearl Pasta, Almond and Basil Pistou.”

You can see the minestrone resemblance here. The French version is a little milder.

“Farm Eggs. Town and Country. Light Mushroom Custard, Rustic Egg Cocotte.” I like the creamy fraiche inside the egg thingy.

“Loup de Mer ‘Barigoule’. Baby Artichokes, Basil Pistou, Tomato Confit.”

“Colorado Lamb Filet. Spring Onions, Fava Beans, Fennel Panisse, Black Olive Sauce.”

“Side vegetables.”

“Steak special. Sauce Au Poivre.” Simple French classic.

“Classic boulibase.” MG serves a modest sized portion, which actually can be a good thing. I paired this with a nice Provencal Rose.

“Chocolate Soufflé Traditional Soufflé, Crème Chantilly, Crème Anglaise.” A total classic, and as good as any Chocolate Soufflé I’ve had.

“Vacherin Glacé Lavender Ice Cream, Strawberries, Meringue.” This is a Giraud staple and rather wonderful, particularly because of the Lavender thing. It has certain similarities to the Valentines Rose flavored Macaron, but is crunchier.

We also go frequently for Brunch/Lunch.

“French Toast. Brioche, Crème Chantilly, Homemade Preserves.” I’d kill for this Crème Chantilly.

“House Burger Caramelized Onions, Tomatoes, Aioli.”

“Maison Giraud ‘Cobb’ Salad, Blue Cheese Vinaigrette.”

“Le Plateau.” Everyday they offer a set plate with three items. This particular day it included a salmon caesar to the right, scallops in the center, and a bit of bread pudding.

So far, I’m very pleased with Maison Giraud. The food is essentially French comfort food with a bit of international adaption, but everything has been spot on fresh and well done so far, and the bakery is outrageously good. Given how incredibly lame most of the Pacific Palisades food offerings are this is all incredibly welcome.

For my previous review, see here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Alain Giraud, Brunch, Cauliflower, Chorizo, Dessert, French Cuisine, Goat Cheese, Grenache, Los Angeles, Maison Giraud, Pacific Palisades Los Angeles, Roussillon, Snapper, Soufflé, valentines day

Saam I am again

Jul23

Restaurant: Saam [1, 2, 3]

Location: 465 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.246.5555

Date: June 7, 2012

Cuisine: Spanish influenced Molecular Gastronomy

Rating: Awesome, but needs to mix it up.

I’m a bit of a Jose Andres groupie as not only have I been three times to Saam, at least 10 to The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE), but also to brunch at Trés, and even to é by José Andrés (twice) and Jaleo in Vegas and several places in Washington D.C.

For those who don’t know, José Andrés is perhaps America’s leading practitioner of my favorite culinary style: Spanish Molecular Gastronomy. This school of cooking, a radical interpretation of the preparation of food, was begun at El Bulli outside of Barcellona. Andrés cooked and studied there with master chef Ferran Adrià. I first encountered Andrés’s cooking in Washington DC at Cafe Atlantico, and its own restaurant within a restaurant, Minibar.

I’ve eaten molecular a number of times in Spain, for example at Calima and La Terraza. The Bazaar and Saam brought molecular style to LA.

Saam is the “secret” prix fixe only room within the Bazaar, open Thurs-Sat.

Tonight’s menu, which follows very closely on the typical Saam/é formula.

Tonight begins with a “Kaviar Kir Royale” which is a deconstructed cocktail consisting of cava. You can see the miniature ”kaviar” (spheres of kir) more clearly here, looking every bit like fish eggs. Basically it’s mostly cava, but at your whim you can bit into the little balls of flavor for bits of kir flavor blast.

From my cellar: “The 2007 El Pecado is 100% Mencia from the DO of Ribera Sacra. Its ethereal aromas are reminiscent of a great vintage of La Tache (readers will surely think I’m exaggerating) leading to a layered, sleek, elegant wine with tons of spice, that seems to melt in the mouth.”
The extraordinary wines of Raul Perez must be tasted to be believed. Words simply cannot do them justice. The problem is that they are produced in minuscule quantities. I was only “allowed” 1-2 bottles of this particular wine and I’m lucky to get even that.

“Beet & Yogurt.” This couldn’t have weighed more than an ounce and has a texture not unlike styrofoam (in a good way). It actually tastes great, tart and sweet at the same time.

“Oyster and Jamon.” A little spoonful of oyster with some ham powder and a crispy crouton. It tasted exactly like it sounds. Like intense oyster and a good dollop of HAM!

“Jicama wrapped Guacamole.” Micro cilantro, corn chips. The vegetarian substitution for the ham.

“Parmesan Macaron.” Tastes like… parmesan.

“Seabeans in Tempura.” Fried and salty, they could have been anything.

“Jose’s Combination.” Jamón Ibérico de Bellota with a blob of real caviar. This ham is regarded as the best in Spain, and among the best in the world. They are fed on acorns. Salt on salt here. A very savory combination.

“Ottoman Carrot fritter.” Apricots, pistachio sauce. Vegetarian substitute for ham. A deep fried ball of flavor, with a very exotic taste.

Deconstructed “patatas bravas.” In spain this is a common dish basically being roasted chopped potatoes with a cayenne mayo. This preserves the flavor, but changes up the texture into a little fried cigar. The inside was fluffy and soft. Quite tasty.

“Chicken Skin & Cigala.” This is a bit of crispy chicken skin with a fresh shrimp or crayfish body on top. It was salty and soft/crunchy, and quite good.

The vegetarian sub for the chicken/shrimp. There are artichokes here.

“Not Your Everyday Caprese.” The mozzarella has been through the same sphere process as the olives above, then we have a peeled cherry tomato, tomato seeds, a bit of basil, sea salt, little crackers, and a very fine house made pesto genovese (with extra virgin olive oil). I’m not even a raw tomato fan and this is delectable. The pesto cheese combo really makes it. This pesto is as good as mine (recipe here).

“Crispy Nigiri.” A bit of red snapper on a blob of crispy Spanish rice.

A fantastic special risotto also using bomba rice, with a chunk of fresh santa barbara uni, some black garlic paste, and a bit of bbq eel. It was tremendously good.

“Mushroom risotto.” Instead of the normal Italian risotto rice it used a premium Spanish one, calasparra bomba, and extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. Very tasty.

“Chipirones en su Tinta.” More or less a classic Spanish dish, octopus in it’s own ink. Plus some squid ink chips. Very soft and tender meat, complemented by the sweetness of the ink.

“Baby beets, citrus, pistachio, goat cheese.” A nice variant on what has become an LA classic substituted for the Octopus.

“Banh Mi.” A brioche bun with wagyu beef, tofu, cilantro, pickles, pickled carrots, and a kind of mayo. Tasty tasty sandwich. A mix of soft and crunchy too, but the pickles give it a very distinct tang.

“Banh Mi, vegetarian.”

“Carrot or Scallop.” Crunchy marinated carrots over seared scallops.

“Brussel sprouts, lemon puree, apricots, grapes, lemon air.” This was a big hit, the sprouts aren’t bitter at all, and have a light cabbage-like texture. The lemon air is the best part, adding a nice zing.

“Mirugai.” A bit of geoduck giant clam, radish, and a watercress puree. This wasn’t my favorite dish, being a bit “clammy.”

“Waygu & Mushroom Escabeche.”

Replacing the beef for the vegetarian was a pomegranate cous cous.

With a poured in broth.

“Wild mushrooms in papillote with duck liver.” Sautéed, then heated with a rich cream and mushroom sauce in the bag.

Pop. These are “lobster mushrooms” with a really thick meaty texture and almost lobster/abalone like flavor. There is some foie gras in there too, which just “juiced” it up.

“Japanese Baby Peaches.” Burrata, hazelnuts, arugula.Really interesting. The peaches were so tart off the trees that they were soaked in simple syrup. Paired with the blobs of burrata (a favorite of mine), the nuts, and arugala it was pretty divine.

“Dragon’s breath popcorn.” The pre dessert. A gimmick, but neat.

Breath on a spoon.

It tastes like… carmel corn, but you can exhale it through your nose for a dragon-like effect.

“Frozen Apricot Timbale with Amaretto.” This is essentially a semi-fredo, and as it was intensely apricot, and I love apricot, was downright amazing.

“Dessert desert.” This is chocolate ice cream and something nutty “powdered,” hence the “desert” part of the whole thing. The flavors were nice but it was a tad dusty.

“Birthday spun sugar.” Tastes… sweet.

The usual Bazaar “sexy little sweets,” a number of flavored chocolates (flat and in domes) and very good pate de fruits. One of the great things about the brunch at Trés is that they have an all you can eat tower of containing all of these!

A little chocolate hazelnut cube and the menu as a “parting gift.”

Overall, Saam is a tremendous meal, even if not every dish is successful (geoduck!). My biggest observation this time around is that both Saam and é need to mix things up more. I ate twice at é nine months apart and that menu barely changed a dish. Saam fared a bit better, since they mixed up perhaps 25-30% of things. The best new dish was the apricot dessert. The first time you eat one of these meals it’s very impressive, and their exclusive nature doesn’t lend itself to repeats (particularly in Vegas). Still, when cuisine is this innovative, they need to keep innovating like Ferran did at elBuli. With the avant garde, stagnation is death!

For a previous Saam meal, click here.

For a meal and The Bazaar proper, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bazaar, Ferran Adrià, José Andrés, La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, Molecular Gastronomy, Saam, The Bazaar

Il Grano part 2

Jul09

Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886

Date: June 19, 2012

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Modern Italian to die for

After my stellar birthday meal at Il Grano, I just had to go back — 8 days later as it turned out. This recent find has been around awhile and chef/owner Sal Marino and Chef de Cuisine Water el Nagar churn out absolutely first rate modern Italian cuisine. On this particular occasion I just dropped in and they whipped up this 8-10 course tasting menu on the fly. Service was impeccable again as well.

This spectacular Barbaresco comes from my cellar. Parker gives it 91, but it was way better than that. “The 1996 Barbaresco exhibits a dense ruby color as well as a forward nose of cherry liqueur, earth, truffle, mineral, and spicy scents. Rich, full-bodied, and seductive, with its moderate tannin largely concealed by the wine’s wealth of fruit and extract, this gorgeously pure offering gets my nod as the finest Barbaresco produced by Gaja since 1990. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2016.”

“Il Benvenuto. tomato gazpacho and copper river salmon tartar, cucumber caviar.” The amuse. Both were spectacular, showcasing the tomato and the salmon in equal ways.

Various crudo. Left to right: “Wild big eye tuna, Hokkaido scallop, Wild Japanese snapper, Wild Japanese baby yellowtail, and Hokkaido scallop ligament.” Unfortunately, tonight’s photos are a little out of focus because I accidentally locked my camera onto a focus point in the corner and didn’t notice — too much Barbaresco I guess.

The tuna, scallop, and snapper. Sal does a wonderful job with these sashimi like crudos. They have just hints of Italianate flavor to mix them up and the fish is absolutely first rate. You just have to check out my Sushi Index to see I know what I’m talking about too.

The yellowtail and scallop ligament. The ligament (that orange stuff in the right hand corner) was surprisingly tasty.

Bread.

“Insalata di porcini. Seared porcini, arugala salad, shaved porcini, Sal’s 1st of season sun gold heirloom tomatoes.” A lovely little salad.

“Carpaccio di filetto al fegato grasso d’oca. Foie stuffed prime filet carpaccio, Murrary Farms summer berries, micro greens.” This was a very interesting blend of flavors. A lot going on here: The meat, the berries, the richness of the foie.

“Calamaro Ripieno. Seafood squid ink risotto sutffed wild Japanese calamaro, black foam, orange oil.” I’m a big fan of squid ink and this had that characteristic briny quality.

“Cannellone al branzino. branzino stuffed cannellone, lobster sauce, Santa Barbara prawn, lobster roe.” Sort of an Italian take on the classic Lyonnese Cannelle. Really good though, and totally made by the prawn sauce which is that kind of bisque-like shell fish reduction I love.

“The 2003 Riesling Auslese Wehlener Sonnenuhr displays hints of minerals lurking below its wafts of sulfur. A seamless, creamy-textured wine, it is easygoing, plump, and exhibits flavors reminiscent of poached pears, cotton candy, and sweet minerals. Drink it between 2010 and 2020.” This was a really interesting medium mature Riesling that tasted of hot asphalt.

“Bigoli aai riccio di mare. Squid ink pasta, Santa Barbara channel sea urchin sauce.” Wow! One of the best pastas I’ve had in a while. The uni (sea urchin) literarily melted like butter.

“Agnello. Colorado lamb chop, baby purple artichokes, sunchoke puree, lamb reduction.” Some darn fine lamb. Just a great piece of meat with a nice savory reduction sauce.

This is a white passito DOGC from Emilia-Romagna (near Parma, Modena, etc.). A very nice sticky with notes of honey, apricots, and flowers.

“Panna cotta alle cilege: Cherry pannacotta, cherry crumble, cherry spherification.” Wow. This wasn’t a super showy dessert in the usual sense, but instead a really nice showcase of the in season cherry. Really delightful.

I was doubly blown away by Il Grano. Not only did they nail it the first time I went, but they knocked it out of the park on the second with only one repeat dish. I love when a restaurant can keep mixing it up. If you like higher end Italian cooking (and who doesn’t?) you should absolutely rush over here. Make sure you get a tasting menu. I don’t think appetizer and entree selected off the regular menu would do the place the justice it deserves. I’m sure the dishes would be great, but this cuisine is about more than just two notes.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long journey through Northern Italy.

By: agavin
Comments (5)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Barbaresco, Campania, Chef, Hokkaido, Il Grano, italian, Italian American, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Sal Marino, Santa Monica California, Water el Nagar

N/Naka Reprise

Jun27

Restaurant: N/Naka [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 3455 S. Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034. 310.836.6252

Date: May 31, 2012

Cuisine: Modern Kaiseki

Rating: Awesome

ANY CHARACTER HERE

The setting is elegant, minimalist, and very Japanese.

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.”

“Saki Zuke (A pairing of something common and something unique) – Goma Dofu – Fresh Tofu of Sesame and Green Tea topped with a Knuckle of Maine Lobster, Uni from Santa Barbara, a Flower of Pansy from Niki’s Garden, Gold Leaf and a Smokey Dashi.”

After the dashi (fish broth) is added. I love these opening dishes of Niki’s as they are intensely subtle and Japanese. There was a very fresh summer feel to it.

“Sakizuke (A pairing of something common and something unique) – Goma Dofu – Sesame and Green Tea Tofu topped with a Tie of Green Asparagus, Leaf of Red-veined Sorrel, Gold Flake and a Flower of Pansy from Niki’s Garden and Dashi.” This is the vegetarian version of the above lobster dish. In general, two or three variants of each dish will be represented. First the “normal” version, then vegetarian, and then sometimes followed by a special diet version.

With the broth.

“White Asparagus Tofu topped with Ikura, Baby White Asparagus, Red-veined Sorrel, a Flower of Pansy from Niki’s Garden, Butter.”

“Zensai (Main seasonal ingrediant presented as an appetizer) – Pan-seared Tasmanian Sea Trout, Roasted Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Meyer Lemon with a Green Asparagus Butter, Ponzu Reduction and a Chip of Bull Blood Beet.”

“Zensai (Main seasonal ingrediant presented as an appetizer) – A Roll of Shiitake Mushrooms, Haricot Verts wrapped in Leaves of Kale and served with a Sauce of Sesame Seeds.” Vegetarian substitute for the salmon.

“Modern Zakuri (A modern interpretation of sashimi) – Diver Scallop from Hokkaido, Japan topped with shaved Italian Summer Truffles, Drops of Ponzu Reduction, Fresh Lemon, Dusting of Parmigiano Reggiano and Zest of Yuzu and garnished with Daikon Radish Sprouts and a Flower of Borage from Niki’s Garden.” Hokkaido scallops are divine.

“Modern Zakuri (A modern interpretation of sashimi) – Roasted Bull’s Blood Beets with Roasted Nasu (Baby Japanese Eggplant), Leaves of Cress, Shaved Parmesean Reggiano and a Vinaigrette of Balsamic and Hazelnut.”

The vegetarians get this instead of the scallops, with a drizzled sauce.

“Tartare of O-toro of Baby Spanish Blue Fin Tuna, White Scallions, Caviar of American White Sturgeon, Chives, Soy Reduction and Dashi.”

2007 Montenidoli “Carato” Vernaccia di San Gimignano. The current release is, yes, five years old from the first Vernaccia to be aged in Barrique from a fine selection of free run grape musts, one can taste and feel the Leroy influence here. Deep minerality floated in creamy clouds. Grandiose, wild, and important. Here’s a pic of where this wine comes from. I discovered it last summer while Eating Italy.

“Otsukuri (Sashimi) – Maguro (Tuna) of Spanish Baby Blue Fin Tuna, Hirame (Live Halibut from Jeju, Korea), Kumamoto Oyster and Ponzu, Kanpachi (Amber Jack) with Freshly Grated Wasabi and Niki’s Special Soy Sauce.”

“Otsukuri (Sashimi) – Roasted Kabocha Squash, Black Konnyaku, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, White Asparagus Tofu, Nanohana.” Vegetarian sub.

Uni instead of oyster for a special diet person.

“Agemono (Deep fried dish) – Fried Pompano along with the Crispy Bones with Multi-colored Peppers, Scallions and a Sauce of Sweet and Sour Dashi, Butter Lettuce Leaves.” The fish is cooked in the thick sweet sauce until the bones grow soft, then wrapped in the lettuce and eaten like a taco.

“Mushimono (Steamed dish) / Agemono (Fried dish) – Chawanmushi – A traditional Egg Custard with Shiitake Mushrooms and Shaved Italian Summer Truffles; Tempura of Yamaimo, Carrot and Shiitake Mushroom with accoupaments of Fresh Lemon and Okanawan Finishing Salt.”

The vegetarians had this custard (pictured here in more clarity) and the carrot/mushroom fritter.

Parker 98! “Unquestionably one of the vintage’s finest wines, Jadot’s 2003 Bonnes Mares bursts with roses, violets, cassis liqueur, and black cherries. Armed with magnificent depth, concentration, and extraction, this full-bodied beauty expands on the palate to reveal oodles of black cherries slathered in chocolate. Its finish, which lasts for a minute, reveals additional layers of jammy fruit as well as loads of sweet, round tannin. Though immensely ripe and low in acidity, this gem has the profundity of fruit and structure for considerable cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2022+.”

“Shiizakana (Not bound by tradition, the Chef’s choice dish) – Spaghettini Vongole ala Niki – Fresh Manila Clams sauteed in a Sauce of Roasted Garlic and Campari Tomato Cream.” A different, but exceptional, take on spaghetti with clam sauce.

“Shiizakana (Not bound by tradition, the Chef’s choice dish) – Spaghettini with Shaved Italian Summer Truffles in a Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce, Daikon Radish Sprouts.” Vegetarian sub.

“Spaghettini with Meintako (Pickled Cod Roe) and Italian Summer Truffles.”

“Niku (Meat Course) – American Natural Angus Beef Rib Eye served along side a canele of Russet Potato and Leek Mashed, Roasted Carrots and a Ponzu Demi-jus.”

“Roasted Vegetable Course– Roasted Loaf of Tofu and Mochi with a Spicy Ponzu Sauce.” Vegetarian sub.

Sake- shichida, sago japan. This is an ultra-ultra rare sake. It comes in various types. I’ve had the sweeter type before, but this is the dry one. The previous one was one of the best sakes I’ve ever had. This was merely good.

Fresh ginger.

“Shokuji One & Two (Rice dish –Sushi) – Tai (left), O-toro (Fatty Tuna) of Spanish Baby Blue Fin (right).”

” Shokuji One & Two (Rice dish –Sushi) – Baby Cucumber with a Plum Sauce (left); Avocado; Okra, Roasted Nasu (right).”

“Amaebi (Sweet Raw Shrimp, right), Aji (Spanish Mackrel, left).”

“Roasted Shiitake Mushroom (right); Roasted Kabocha Squash (left).”

“Uni (Sea Urchin) from Santa Barbara, Seared Toro (Fatty Tuna).”

A fried something handroll.

“Miso Soup with Head of Amaebi.” It’s traditional to recycle the shrimp head in miso soup. This makes for a more briny oceanic miso.

” Soba – Traditional Buckwheat Noodles in a Vegetarian Broth with Shaved Scallions.”

“Dessert – On a sweep of a Sauce of Dark Caramel sits a Cheesecake of Kabocha Squash rolled in Graham Cracker Crumbles, Whipped Cream, Fresh Organic Fruits of Blueberry, Strawberry and Kiwi; Crème Brulee of Sesame Seeds.” Both were great, particularly the Crème Brulee.

Artisan tea.

N/Naka really is a very special place. All the meals I had here were spectacular (here for the first, here for the second). This third was, if possible, slightly more refined, which was always wonderful because often one finds a slight bloom to come off a place on repeat meals. I’ve recently eaten at two Jose Andres set menu restaurants where the menu barely changed in eight months, but at N/Naka everything is seasonal and constantly rotating.

Try it!

Click here to other LA Japanese restaurants.

Or other Foodie Club extravaganzas.

By: agavin
Comments (14)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Asparagus, Butter, Foodie Club, Hokkaido, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, N/Naka, Niki Nakayama, Omakase, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Restaurant, sake, Shiitake, Wine

Back to the Bazaar

Jun22

Restaurant: The Bazaar [1, 2]

Location: 465 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.246.5555

Date: May 7, 2012

Cuisine: Spanish influenced Molecular Gastronomy

Rating: Awesome, one of LA’s best places.

I’m like a José Andrés groupie. I’ve been to every possible variant of his restaurants in LA, Vegas, and many in Washington. I covered some introduction to The Bazaar in a previous review, but it’d been almost two years so I figured it was time for another review.

The current dinner menu can be found here.

Grilled “tomato bread” with spanish Manchego cheese. A snack to start, and popular with my three year-old. Yes, he comes to meals like this. In fact, he’s been to at least four José Andrés restaurants, not to mention a couple Michelin two stars.

They have all sorts of interesting cocktails, but the signature one is the nitro caprina. Dry ice is used to freeze the rum and lime concoction down without added ice or water.

“LN2 Caipirinha. Brazilian cachaça, fresh lime and sugar frozen by using Liquid Nitrogen. Tableside service.” The result is above. It tastes like a sherbet, with a highly unusual smooth texture, but it’s intensely potent (in terms of proof). Goes down all too easy.

Then I pulled out this wine from my cellar (I’ve brought it here before). The 2007 Laurel. Yum. As I mentioned in my review of Calima this is a fantastic Spanish wine buy. Parker gives it 94 and says, “The 2007 Laurel, a blend of 65% Garnacha and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep purple-colored with a bouquet of wet stone, Asian spices, black cherry compote, and incense. Dense and sweet on the palate with tons of spice, it is super-concentrated, rich, and smooth-textured. Give this lengthy effort 2-3 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2013 to 2027. Laurel is produced from the young vines of Clos Erasmus as well as from the results of a triage in the vineyard and cellar of the flagship wine.”

Then we have “Spanish olives, traditional” (right). Classic olives with pimentos and anchovy. This is followed (on the left) by “Spanish olives, modern.” Pureed olive has been “sphereized.” The flavor is basically the same, but these pop in your mouth to deliver a concentrated burst of olive.

This first dish is “Sweet potato chips, yogurt, tamarind, star anise.” The crisp chips are used to scoop up the fluffy cool yogurt, which has a pleasing fruit tang.

“Smoked yellowtail and crispy rice. Yoghurt, grapes, capers, radish.”

I’m nuts over Jose’s Gazpacho. I’ve even made it from his recipe a number of times at home. The intense sherry vinegar vibe is awesome.

“Not your everyday caprese, cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella.” This is a near perfect deconstruction of the caprese. The mozzarella balls explode in your mouth, and pair great with the pesto and the little crunchy crackers.

“Sea urchin and mango spheres.” Interesting texture. Interesting flavor.

“Japanese taco. Grilled eel, shiso, cucumber, wasabi, chicharron.” These are really good. Some other people at the table wused out so I had to eat three of them. Poor me.

“Organized Caesar. Quail egg, Parmesan.” The classic salad… constructed.

“Sautéed cauliflower “couscous”. Cauliflower purée, harissa, lemon, crispy quinoa.”

“Baby beets, citrus, pistachio, goat cheese.” A nice variant on what has become an LA classic.

“Sautéed shrimp garlic, guindilla pepper.” In Spain usually called Gambas pilpil. Basically shrimp boiled (fried?) in olive oil and garlic. These were very typical of what I must have had 30 times in southern Spain. The quality of the shrimp here was higher than is often the case at cheap places in Spain.

“Bunuelos, codfish fritters, honey aioli,” these are specular (but hot, right out of the fryer). The sauce gives them an almost Chinese flavor. Fried fish always works.

“Croquetas de pollo chicken béchamel fritter.” Awesome, I barely caught them before they disappeared. The inside is filled with fluffy béchamel. I love béchamel.

“Grilled Wagyu flank steak piquillo pepper confit.” This tastes like the melts in your mouth steak and peppers.

“Wild mushroom rice Idiazábal cheese.” Nice tangy mushroom risotto.

“Boneless Mary’s Farm chicken wings Spanish green olive purée.” These bits of hearty fried chicken are topped with a blue cheese sauce. They taste like wings, but go down so much easier.

My personal favorite along with the cheese steak, “Cotton candy fois lollypop.” The little cube of fois pairs with the sugar like a Sauternes. Oh so yummy.

The deconstructed “Philly cheese steak” (right) is one of my favorites. The bread is super crispy with liquid cheddar. the beef is wagyu. The vegetarians got “Hilly cheese steak” (left) with mushroom instead of beef. Same cheese.

You can see the cheese oozing out.

“Nitro coconut, floating island, passion-fruit, banana.” I don’t like bananas (had too many with half a bottle of whiskey in ’91), but the nitro island was delicious. Cold, refreshing coconut.

I’m a huge flan fan and this Spanish classic didn’t disappoint.

“Creamy Chocolate Heart. Coffee and cardamom.”

“Grapefruit and Olive Oil. Olive oil ice cream, mint and textures of grapefruit.” Really bright and fresh.

“Chocolate rice crispy.” There is a hint of peanut butter.

The passion-fruit “Pate des fruits” packed a wonderful wallop of fruit flavor. The others are clementine and berry.

No other restaurant in LA has the combination of ultra modern chic and whimsical playfulness that The Bazaar does — plus everything tastes great and you get to experience an great melange of flavors in one meal. One note, I ‘ve done The Bazaar’s “set menu” twice, and ordered myself four times. If you know what you are doing doing it yourself is the better way to go, particularly because they don’t mix up their set menu enough. However, if it’s your first visit, letting them handle serves as a fine introduction.

I’ve also been to Saam, the fixed menu back room three times. Overall, I like the front room a tad better. Saam is great, particularly the first time you go, but they don’t change it up that often. Here in front you can really control what you get, and the prices are more reasonable.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for a full swath of all my José Andrés restaurant reviews, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: California, Clos Erasmus, Grenache, José Andrés, La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, Olive, SLS, SLS Hotel, The Bazaar

Il Grano Birthday

Jun13

Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886

Date: June 11, 2012

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: One of the best Italian meals I’ve had outside Italy

This year, when my birthday rolled around, I spent some time searching for a dining destination worthy of a full Foodie Club outing and finally settled on Westside Italian Il Grano. I’d been a couple years ago, but a tasting menu post by fellow food blogger KevinEats.com had recently drawn my attention. Kevin covers the history of the restaurant and it’s chef/owner Sal Marino and Chef de Cuisine Water el Nagar better than I can.

I called up Sal and arranged for a custom menu for the night. He was incredibly nice and accommodating. I asked if I could bring wine and he suggested I send him a list of bottles and he would stage the food to match. I love putting my Sommelier skills to work, and given my recent certification in Italian wine I went for an all Italian slate.

We began the evening with the 1996 Dom Perignon. Parker 98 points! “The nose gives intense toasty, biscuity notes with an underlying fruit character of warm strawberries, golden delicious apple slices, oyster shells and chalk dust. Very crisp, fine, youthful and fresh in the mouth, the finish provides layers of minerals, citrus fruits and a pleasant creaminess in texture and flavour.”

Il Benvenuto. A trio of amuse. Sal may be a Neapolitan Italian American, but Il Grano is anything but old fashioned. It features a very Californian (and Italian) emphasis on first rate fresh ingredients, coastal Italian cooking, filtered through modernist techniques.

“Liquid Spinach Salad.” This is perfectly illustrated by this amuse. Spinach puree that has been spherized along with a dollop of goat cheese, olive oil, and a bit of fruit gel. The flavors of this deconstructed dish hit your mouth all at once.

“Maine fluke tartar, boysenberry, green almonds.” Three simple ingredients, but quite a flavor punch. The sweet berry paired perfectly with the subtle bit of sashimi.

“Pistachio soup, exotic fruits.” And my favorite of the trio. A bit of candied, or at least caramelized, fruits…

And then the addition of this wonderful “soup” of ground pistachio (and I suspect cream). There’s also a bit of chili oil at the bottom. Intensely pistachio — in a good way.

Bread.

Our second wine was the 2010 Castello Ducale Falanghina Sannio. This is a simple, classic, Italian coastal white from Campania. Crisp acidity, bright fruit, and a good bit of sapidity.

“Gamberone: Tomato gazpacho, santa Barbara prawn crudo, GGL cherries, sal’s 1st of season heirloom cherry tomatoes, yellow corn.”

To this already appealing pile of ingredients is added a bit of classic Andalusian tomato gazpacho. The soup itself tasted pretty much like the version we make at home, adapted from Jose Andres’ recipe. Some of us sucked the head dry.

Charred red snapper instead of the prawn for the non shellfish cadre at the table.

And with the gazpacho.

2010 Nugnes Falerno Del Massico Bianco Vite Aminea. Another white from Campania, this was quite different, with far less acid and a much more aromatic quality. Very, very interesting bouquet.

A trio of crudo.

“Wild big eye tuna & cucumber caviar.” This lovely bit of tuna is graced with cucumber in the modernist form. The caviar is a bunch of tiny balls of puree coated in calcium alginate. Pretty wonderful.

“Japanese snapper & blood orange caviar.” And so was this Tai, with a bit of fruit.

“Hokkaido scallop caprese.” But best of all was this scallop, drizzled in olive oil and with a bit of burrata and heirloom tomato. Incredible fusion of Japanese and Italian flavors.

The scallop is substituted with salmon in this variant.

“Zuppa di Porcini: Porcini soup, seared porcini, spuma al gorgonzola.”

The soup itself had a pronounced vanilla bean sweetness which made an extraordinary match with the mushroom and gorgonzola. The strongly aromatic Vernaccia only added to the mix.

“2008 Nugnes ‘Caleno’ Falerno del Massico Riserva.” The Caleno Riserva is a flagship rosso from Nugnes and, once again, it over delivers. This meaty, full-bodied red is produced from Aglianico and Piedirosso, two historic grape varietals that are thought to have originally been planted by the ancient Greeks. The nose opens with dark fruits with layers of coffee, cigar box, and roast meats with hints of earth. The palate has sweet blackberries, plum, tobacco and a note of pepper. This is a wonderfully earthy Campanian red.

“Calmaro con caponata: Monterey Bay calamari, summer caponata, apricot-saffron emulsion.” The caponata had a bit of veal in it. The calamari itself was wonderfully tender.

“Vongole e piselli: boston steamer clams, English peas, green air.”

Tuna is substituted for the clam in this variant.

2004 San Giusto a Rentennano Percarlo IGT. Parker 96! “The estate’s 2004 Percarlo (100% Sangiovese) explodes from the glass with a stunning array of aromatics that meld seamlessly onto the palate, where endless layers of fruit burst forth in a composition of exquisite balance and sensuality. Packed with sublime, expressive notes of black cherries, minerals, menthol and licorice, it is an utterly captivating wine in every way. The 2004 Percarlo is without question one of the vintage’s finest wines and shows the heights Sangiovese is capable of reaching. Though irresistible today, readers who want to experience this wine’s fullest potential may want to wait a few years.”

“Prosciutto di Quaglia: House made quail prosciutto, Murray Farms summer berries, taleggio.” Not your everyday Turkey Bacon! The combo of quail, fruit, and sharp cheese was a wonderful reinterpretation of classic carpaccio.

The no meat crew received asparagus.

With asparagus soup.

2004 Le Potazzine Gorelli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. Parker 93. “The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, from vines in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, is gorgeous, layered and elegant in its violets, tar, licorice and cherries. The finish is long and impeccable, but this is a somewhat ethereal style, with aromas and flavors that are already a touch forward relative to most 2004 Riservas. Ideally the wine is best enjoyed within the next decade.”

“Spaghetti con funghi, piselli e fave: Fresh egg pasta with our pancetta, chanterelle, pom poms, english peas and fava beans.” This wonderful pasta is in the “ham and pea pasta” family. A classic Italian variant can be seen at this restaurant in Modena. Of course everything is better with bacon, but Sal and crew add a smokey mushroom note and tone down the heavy cream / parmesan vibe. Really first rate.

The vegetarians, sadly, miss out on the bacon.

2003 Conti Boca, a new favorite of mine. “Shimmers on the palate with layers of fruit, mineral, and herbs. Stylistically the 2004 is a much more expansive, generous wine than the 2005, with layers of fruit that radiate with notable energy through to the mineral-laced finish. This fresh, vibrant and impeccably pure wine is a jewel.”

“Risotto alle Spungnole e fegato grasso d’oca: Acquarello organic carnaroli risotto, morels, shaved foie gras.” The “forest floor” and mushroom notes of the wine sung perfectly with this incredible risotto. Certainly it was one of the best risotto’s I’ve had in recent memory, up there with Roberto Cortez’s stunning coffee/Syrah version. The bits on top. Not truffles, but foie gras!

1997 Barolo Bartolo Mascarello. A stunning showing from this mature barolo. Parker gives it 94 points and says “I underestimated this wine from barrel, but now that the great old man of the village of Barolo, Bartolo Mascarello, has gotten it in bottle, it is an impressive, old style, heavyweight effort that will age for three decades. A dark plum/garnet color is accompanied by a striking bouquet of cinnamon, balsam wood, roses, tar, minerals, and cherry liqueur. There is good acidity, a broad, full-bodied, super-concentrated palate, and tell-tale truffle, leather, and dried herb notes. Powerful and long, this well-delineated, gorgeously pure, structured Barolo is a classic from the old school of Piedmontese winemaking.”

“Pappardelle al cacao con sugo di coniglio: Homemade cocoa pasta with hand cut rabbit ragout, apricots.” Sweet and savory!

Purple potato gnocchi with squash blossoms and butter sauce.

“Salmone: Copper River salmon sous vide, baby purple artichokes, suchoke puree.” This had that awesomely smooth sous vide texture. Medium rare, but even, and incredibly soft. Sal couldn’t stomach the idea of us pairing the salmon with my next wine (the Amarone) and threw in a round of pinot noir to match!

2008 Latium Campo Leon Amarone. I thought a rich Amarone would pair nicely with the cheese, they are after all a bit port-like, the grapes being pressed after drawing on straw mats in the sun (into raisons).

Apricot sorbetto for pre-dessert!

“Il Formaggio: Rinconada Dairy sheep’s milk cheeses, black truffle soft pecorino, asiago stagionato, Carol’s dry fruit cake.” A very nice little cheese plate. I liked the peppery “jelly” in the middle.

2006 Terre di Pantelleria Khareb Muscat Passito di Pantelleria. This famous passito is from an island off the coast of Sicily and is like apricot nectar.

Fresh summer fruit: Apricots, berries, strawberry. I have to say these were some of the best fresh fruit I’ve had in a long while!

I was really blown away by this meal at Il Grano. It was everything I like: showcasing bright ingredient driven flavors, with numerous standout dishes, impeccable and surprising combinations, and just plain tasty. Combined with the epic twelve bottle tasting flight (you’ve never seen so many glasses on a table), it was a fantastic meal and birthday. Really, on par with the top 2-star Italian restaurants I enjoyed last year in Italy like Osteria Francescana, La Frasca, or Arnolfo. Il Grano is less formal, but the food was just as innovative, and perhaps more reliably delicious. Sal and staff were impeccable hosts too. They really pulled out all the stops, even recovering deftly from some minor goofs (involving which special needs diner got what). I find the kind of grace under pressure and flexibility they demonstrated to be hallmarks of really great restaurant experiences.

We’ll be back soon. I’m sure Il Grano knocks a normal dinner for two out of the park as well, but if you can, go tasting!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or experience my gluttonous month-long journey through Northern Italy.

Or more crazy Foodie Club meals.

By: agavin
Comments (7)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Campania, Foodie Club, Gazpacho, Il Grano, italian, Italian American, Italian cuisine, Italy, Los Angeles, Prawn, Salvatore Marino, Santa Monica California, Walter el Nagar, Wine tasting descriptors

Obika Mozzarella Bar – Mall Good

Jun06

Restaurant: Obika Mozzarella Bar

Location: 10250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Upper Level, Los Angeles, CA 90067

Date: March 3, 2012

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: It’s in a mall, but it’s actually pretty darn good

The day I took my Italian Wine Specialization exam a bunch of us went to lunch. I passed the test, but I didn’t know it then so was both stressed and in serious pain from my recently broken wrist.

One of the instructors, Diego (he’s not pictured, above is Stefano), took us to Obika Mozzarella bar in the Century City mall. I usually loathe mall restaurants, and I detest the parking at CC for sure, but this place turned out to be a surprise.

The inside is clean and modern, fairly small.

People brought wine. Big surprise! I wasn’t in the know before hand so didn’t have a chance to divest myself of some of my oversupply. These were all Italian, of course, and generally fall into the camp of really good terrior focused inexpensive wines. A few of these whites were really interesting. “The San Vincenzo is a fat, generous white with plenty of ripe apricots and peaches. The soft, caressing style flows through to the long, pretty finish.” It blew away your boring Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.

This one is from Basilcata, a province in the insole of Italy I didn’t even know about before taking my class, but have recently become very fond of.

We began the meal with traditional meats and cheeses. Above is salami, proscuiotto, and mortadella di Bologna.

And the cheese, left to right, Burrata from Apulia, Buffalo Mozzarella from Campania, and smoked Mozzarella.

My plate. Good stuff. I love me some proscuiotto wrapped mozzarella (which I often had in Napoli), but truth be told, Burrata is best.

This Alto-Aldige white is pretty much in the Austrian style, but perhaps with a bit more Italian flair.

Because straight up mozzarella isn’t enough, we had both kinds fried with some fried artichokes as well. The smoked in particular was very yummy.

And this salad, a salmon, mozzarella, avocado, arugala salad. You’d NEVER see this in Italy, but it was surprisingly delicious.

You wouldn’t really see this either, burrata with beets, pine nuts, spinach, and balsamic dressing. It was great too, and you do find variants of these combinations all over LA. It’s typical that we American’s reinvent with Italian ingredients but without regard to their traditional pairings and forms.

A vegetable pizza. The crust was good. I would have liked to taste the sausage pizza, but such was not to be.

Diego was very excited for this buttery Risotto Milanese. Just straight saffron, good rice, butter, and cheese. Very rice and tasty.

Primitivo is also a rarely seen wine here in the states. It’s a relative of Zinfandel (the red, not the white), and has an incredibly fruity/spicy lushness. Very typical of Apulia, on the heel of Italy.

And finally, this Barbera D’Alba. “The Barbera d’Alba Superiore offers up dark cherries, flowers and licorice. The Superiore has a little bit more mid-palate juiciness and presence than the straight Barbera, but remains very much a classically built wine. I especially like the plush finish for its sheer sexiness.”

Out front they show off the meats. Only a few compared to some places in Emilia-Romagna which are graced with about 20 pigs worth.

And tubs of mozzarella (smoked).

And “plain.”

We didn’t really try and entrees. This was a “light lunch” and the meat, cheese, and simple risotto were more tuned to show off the wines, but if you’re catching a movie in Century City you could do far far worse than catching a bite here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Apulia, Buffalo mozzarella, Burrata, Italian cuisine, Italian Food, Italy, Los Angeles, Mozzarella, Obika, Obika Mozzarella Bar, Olive oil, Wine

Ink – At the Cutting Edge

May17

Restaurant: Ink

Location: 8360 Melrose Ave. Ste 107. Los Angeles, CA 90069. (323) 651-5866

Date: May 5, 2012

Cuisine: ?Modern?

Rating: Very tasty, hard to pigeonhole

I’ve wanted to go to chef Michael Voltaggio’s Ink since I first heard of it last fall. One glance at a few photos of the food told me it was the kind of place I like. But the midtown location and the difficulty of getting reviews — not to mention my busy dining schedule and broken arm — delayed maters considerably. But then Foodie Club member Ryan’s birthday rolled around…

The location is that of the former Hamusaku east (a decent high end sushi place I used to eat at all the time in Westwood). Even planning a week ahead, we had to take a 9:45pm reservation (on a Thursday) and wait nearly half an hour to sit.

The bar.

The cocktail menu. Like most modern LA joints Ink employs some serious mixology. Being a wine nut and pseudo-pro sommelier (I recently got my Italian specialization, working on Burgundy) I’m not really that knowledgeable about cocktails.

Still, I tried this: “Tequila. jalapeno, passion fruit, agave, lime.” It was good, spicy, and somewhat of an attack on the palette.

And this “Scotch. toasted coconut, ginger, lime, cardamon.”

The space is sleek, cold, and very loud. It even still has a sushi bar.

They had both a tasting and ala carte menu. We ordered from both, supplementing the tasting meal with… well pretty much a whole extra meal.

I brought this Brunello to from my cellar to start. “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. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2019.”

“crab, charred avocado, whipped fish sauce, mushroom chicharron.” While these dishes were hard to split four ways, they sure did taste good. Like Red Medicine (which has a similar presentation), it’s a little hard to get all the flavors in the mouth at once. I liked the sweetness of the crab with the avocado and the fish sauce. The chicharron made me think a little too much of pork rinds.

“carrots, coconut ice, cardamom soil, pea tendril mojo.” This was a surprising and amazing dish. The vegies are what they are, but that white dusty stuff is basically nitro-frozen Tom Yum Goong! It melted in the mouth and really made all the produce spectacular.

“spaghetti, giant squid, squash, hazelnut pesto.” The noodles under there are actually made from squid. This was tasty too, with a bit of an uni type vibe without any uni. The pesto itself made the dish.

“beef tartare, hearts of palm, sea bean chimichurri, horseradish, rye.” I was a little disappointed in this dish. It sounded great, and there was nothing off, but the beef itself didn’t really pop the way it does with truly great steak tartare.

“foie gras, waffle, smoked maple, hot sauce.” But this was wonderful. I love foie in this kind of mouse-like texture profile. It went amazingly with the smoked maple.

Here is the tasting menu for tonight. This had to be done for the whole table and the portions, while individually smaller, resulted in considerably more per dish per person.

Boca is one of my new favorite wines, a total insider’s wine from Northern Piedmonte. 70% Nebbiolo, 20% Vespolina and 10% Uva Rara. It shimmers on the palate with layers of fruit, mineral, and herbs.

“east coast halibut, caesar tempura, melon, espelette.” The individual components of this dish were great, but the whole thing didn’t mesh fully. The tempura is actually balls of caesar dressing, and they were great. The melon was fantastic and good with the fish, but it overwhelmed and him the subtle halibut.

“morels, egg yolk gnocchi, mushroom hay, sorrel.” This was a great mushroom dish and paired perfectly with the Boca’s earthy tones. The gnocchi had an interesting texture, like circus peanuts.

“black bass, fava bean guacamole, puffed corn tortilla.” Mostly, this was just fish. Good fish, but not as exciting as some of the other dishes.

Glee star Matthew Morrison across the way.

“milk-fed veal, asparagus, curds and whey of buttermilk.” Pretty tasty.

“poutine, chickpea fries, yogurt curds, lamb neck gravy.” This was amazing, but ridiculously rich. Again with the circus peanut texture, but I was digging it.

“lamb shoulder, lamb’s quarters, tongue, vadouvan, yogurt.” Also very good, and very rich. We probably over ordered, but we still managed to kill it. The fact that the vegetables are tempura fried perhaps threw us over the edge.

“yuzu curd. rhubarb, matcha, jasmine, chamomile.” This was the weakest dessert, but it was still wonderful.

“apple, caramel, burnt wood ice cream.” This one was amazing. Unexpected interplay of textures and flavors.

“chocolate, ice cream, spiced tofu, sesame cake.” Also excellent. Notice the similarity

“greek yogurt, strawberry, japanese peach, coconut.” This also was great. Like strawberries and cream with a wonderful granite. Or maybe like a perfected Hawaiian shave ice?

Coffee made table-side.

Overall, Ink was pretty spectacular. Not every dish worked, but it’s very modern and experimental in a good way. The interplay of textures and flavors — not to mention the “dust and ball” style plating — reminds me of Red Medicine when it first opened (before the even more experimental Elfin period). Despite the very similar look, the flavors at Ink remain much more grounded in American modern and a sort of gastro-pub sensibility. Still, the textural experimentation alone puts it at a very high level. Roberto Cortez has a similar kind of modern too, although his preps are more sophisticated and his palette more subtle and balanced – but that’s beyond restaurant food.

With this kind of uniqueness, it’s no wonder Ink is doing well. It also seems Voltaggio mixes up the menu frequently, so I’ll be back soon — provided I can score a convenient reservation.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

See more Foodie Club meals here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brunello di Montalcino, California, Cocktails, Dessert, Fish sauce, Foodie Club, Ink, Los Angeles, Michael Voltaggio

Umami Burger at UMAMIcatessen

May12

Restaurant: Umamicatessen

Location: 852 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014. 213-413-UMAMI (8626). @umamiburger

Date: April 20, 2012

Cuisine: Gastro Burger

Rating: Top Burgers

UMAMIcatessen is a rather peculiar concept (albeit one that works). Grafting Umami Burger, The Cure (high end deli) and P!GG (pork oriented charcuterie) together under one roof. Not to mention E&O donuts!

The triple menu. Click here for PDF.

Truffle cheese fries. Oh my!

Onion rings and sweet potato fries. These alone would be damn good.

But we have five sauces. Homemade ketchup (this one actually is better than Heinz) and four others. Spicy, mustard, etc. All were great.

Smushed potatoes. Dutch yellow creamers, double fried with some kind of aioli.

The cure bagel. Lox, creme fraiche, onions etc. A very (very) slightly lighter high end version of the classic.

Manly burger. Beer-cheddar cheese, smoked-salt onion strings, bacon lardons. Wow!

Shrimp Burger with Yuzu-Kosho. Wild shrimp patty with japanese spices.

Ahi Tuna Burger. Hand chopped ahi tuna, crushed avocado, gingered pickles, wasabi flake.

The greenbird. Shelton farms turkey, crushed avocado, green cheese, butter lettuce, sprouts, green goddess.

And after a “light” meal like that, donuts!

Carrot cake, rum raisin, cream cheese. Pretty much like what it sounds like, a carrot cake donut!

Tres leches, cajeta, ceylon cinnamon. Yep, tasted like tres leches.

Beignets, chicory, cafe brulot, burnt sugar. The carmel alone was to die for!

The concept here of glomming together a bunch of different high end comfort food joints is kind of interesting. Basically it works as the flavors are unified by fat, plus the execution is good. It’s casual, fun, modern (not in an avant garde way). Basically jammed with flavor, so what’s to complain about?

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bagel, burger, Cheese Burger, Cream Cheese, Deli, donut, Donuts, H. J. Heinz Company, Hamburger, Heinz, Los Angeles, Lox, Pigg, S. Broadway, The Cure, Umami Burger, Umamicatessen, veggie burger

The Big Break

Apr12

Accidents are by their very nature accidental. And you never know when something that might change your life is around the corner. Our vacation was almost over, our flight back home from San Francisco to Los Angeles just hours away. After visiting the cable car museum, we drifted down to nearby Chinatown.

It was about noon, February 13.

For some reason, my 3-year-old son was fascinated by the Peking ducks hanging in the windows. It had just rained, and the sidewalk was wet and gritty. My son darted back toward the butcher shop and it made me nervous, him running like that a few feet ahead near the busy street. I turned to go after.

The minimal treads of my Prada sneakers flew out from under me on the slick cement. I went down hard on my butt, instinctively, I put my left hand out to break my fall. The slightly loose stainless steel band of my watch slid down to my wrist. I felt it bite into the skin on impact.

Hard. Real hard.

“Shit!” I say, a wave of pain ripples up my arm. That was hard.

Clutching my wrist, I look.

Damn! wrists aren’t supposed to do that. Thoughts flash through my head. “That has to be broken. I’ve never broken anything, but that has to be broken. That means hospital. The car is like a blocks away. Uphill. Will I make it? Do I hail a cab and have my wife and son meet me? Will we miss our flight?”

We start walking. I’m holding my wrist. The pain isn’t that bad yet, but I feel funny. There are no cabs. I don’t know how long I’ll last. I pound up the steep hill. The car is near the top, on Nob hill. Our son is lagging. He’s not one to hurry and I’m shouting back. “Pick him up!”

As we reach the car, the pain really mounts. Getting the kid buckled into the car seat takes an eternity. My wife fumbles and drops the GPS. There are like 30 hospitals. We call a friend, a bay area radiologist, she tells us to go to UCSF. The pleasantries are like stabs of agony. We key the GPS. 3.2 miles.

It takes 30 minutes. Agonizing minutes.

I don’t wait to deal with the car, but stagger into the emergency room. My wife follows after. They triage me fast through the paperwork stage. Spelling out your name and address is never fun — 1000x less so at pain level 8 and rising. The guy helps me get the watch over my hand and my Mark Jacob slate leather jacket off. This makes me feel better. I wouldn’t want them to cut it.

I’m in a room within 15-20 min. And waiting. Maybe another 30 before someone authorized to prescribe something takes a look. “Broken arm,” I say.

“We can’t know that until the x-ray. Distorted left wrist,” she says.

My sister-in-law and son find us. I rattle off instructions about making sure the camera is in the trunk. Anything to keep my mind off the rats gnawing on my bones.

The nurse fits me with an IV and gives me a shot of morphine. It takes the edge off, but less than I would’ve thought.

By about an hour and a half in, they wheel me to xray. This only takes 10 minutes. 3 images. Flat, 45 degrees, and sideways. The latter two hurt more.

We wait. I think about what I did wrong. Nothing really. I pushed to walk around Chinatown. My wife didn’t really want to (Chinese food isn’t her thing). Was that stupid? I chose to turn on the street where it happened. I almost look a different watch on the trip, one with a leather band. We almost went to Muir Woods instead, but it was raining. I’d have preferred the mud!

It’s clear the 4pm flight is a bust. We call the airline. They want $250 a ticket (x4) to change it. LOL. We can write a letter and ask for a refund.

Someone is coding in the hall. Staff swarm. I hear “clear!” and the beepy noise. It could be worse.

A doctor finally shows. She looks at the wrist for 3 minutes. “We have to wait for ortho,” she says.

“You saw the x-ray? It’s broken?” I ask. You’d think she’d volunteer.

“It’s broken.” She does up my pain meds. IV Dilaudid. It works better, I start spinning and feel queasy. They give me a shot for that too.

Ortho takes about four hours to show. The staff apologizes. He’s in surgery. By the time he arrives, with a plastic surgeon in tow, I’ve had time to practice my story so it goes fast. They want to try a “reduction” which is doctor code for setting the bone. First they have to numb me up.

Plastics does that. Lidocaine. He explains to an intern as he does. “Wait until you feel the needle slide along the bone.”

Actually, it doesn’t hurt that bad, and after, even when they hang my hand in traction, I’m in the least pain since this started. But I am very hungry and thirsty and they don’t let me have a thing in case they need to operate.

Ortho finally tries to set it at around 8pm. The good news is that he’s a Harvard/MIT MD/PhD. We bond. The bad is that he wrenches my shattered wrist around for 20 minutes. Then he takes a break to get someone “stronger” to help. I take him up on the offer of a shot of Fentanyl in between. Good thing too. That stuff hits hard and fast but I actually hear the bone snap as he works.

And he can’t get it back in place, so surgery for me. No flying either, so we have to drive back LA in the morning and find a surgeon there. In the meanwhile he throws on a cast the size and shape of Massachusetts.

It takes until 11pm to get discharged and another hour to pick up the pain meds (Vicodin). My sister-in-law had taken the boy back to our hotel a few hours earlier. We eat some room service, and I pop two pain pills. Five minutes later I’m breaking my 21 year “no puke” record. But you get used to the narcotics and that was the only time.

Surprisingly, with my throbbing arm floating on a mountain of pillows, I do sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED…

By: agavin
Comments (13)

Posted in: Uncategorized

Tagged as: Chinatown, GPS, Health, Hydromorphone, Los Angeles, Muir Woods, Prada, San Francisco, Wrist

Sushi Zo – This Time With Pictures

Apr10

Restaurant: Sushi Zo

Location: 9824 National BlvdLos Angeles, CA 90034. (310) 842-3977

Date: March 29, 2012

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: Top warm rice style sushi.

LA is a sushi town. I eat a lot of sushi (just take a look at my LA Sushi review page!). People say Zo is the best in town. I’d been once before for lunch and they denied me the use of my camera (at the sushi bar) but this time, at a table for dinner, they didn’t hassle me.

Zo is omakase only. You sit down. They bring you stuff. They charge you by the piece but don’t really tell you how much. They keep bringing you sushi. Eventually you get full (not me, but normal people would) and they hand you a (stiff) bill. It’s closest in style and format to Sasabune (my detailed reviews of that, with photos, HERE and HERE).

This is Osaka-style “warm rice” sushi, like Sasabune, and presumably descended from the same Chef Nozawa source. The individual pieces are made one at a time, no precutting, and given to you in a hurry. The fish is superlative, although each piece seems to have been placed in a miniaturization machine set to 70%. I’ve never seen sushi this small. This was particularly humorous when it came to the “battleship” style ones like Uni (sea urchin). They just looked so cute and diminutive (maybe 50-60% size for these). But I’m not sure this size issue resulted directly in less value. At the end I was still just as full as at Sasabune, although it cost perhaps 10-20% more. I perhaps had more pieces numerically. But each was certainly smaller.

The fish was a bit better than Sasabune, and certainly better than Echigo. The preps are very similar, with 90% being “no soy sauce” — a fact of which we were emphatically reminded each and every time. There was a lot of use of vinegar, yuzu and other brightening flavors. I do like these, but I think it did tend to distract slightly from the fish — which was stellar.

There is no menu here. It’s just omakase. They start with miso soup in a very small bowl.

It’s worth noting here that this is my first meal out with the Canon 5D Mark iii (for more on Foodie Photography, see here). I was shooting with the 50mm compact macro handheld in low light. Usually, with the Mark ii, this would’ve made me fight to get decent focus and enough depth of field even at the slightly noisy ISO 6400. Plus, the focus sucked on the mark ii/50mm CM combo. With the Mark iii focus was effortless and I was able to stop down to 7.1 and still get 1/50 and relatively low noise. Pretty incredible.

Kumamoto Kaki/Oyster with a bit of ponzu, scallion, and the like. A very nice sweet oyster.

The sake menu is short. This $90 Kimura though is fantastic with exactly the kind of anise flavor that I like in my sake. A really really good sake.

Maguro/Tuna Sashimi. The fish was excellent, although I felt the homemade real wasabi was a little weak. Compared to what is to come, this is nothing.

Ika/Squid Noodle with Uni/Sea Urchin. Yum. This combo is similar to a favorite at Sushi Sushi.

Hirame/Halibut. One thing to note about Zo is that each normal sushi piece is ludicrously small. I guess in the end, this allows for more variety, but each does feel like a tease. On the plus side, they are uniformly excellent and this bit of halibut was no exception. It was drizzled with a touch of yuzu that brought out lovely soft texture.

Fresh marinated ginger. I ate like 6 containers of this stuff.

Binnaga/Albacore. Melts in the mouth good.

Aji/Spanish Mackerel. This fish can be somewhat fishy, but not here. This is some superlative Mackerel.

Hotate/Scallop. I love raw scallop – as long as it’s fresh – and this one was spectacular.

Hamachi/Yellowtail. An overused fish in the novice sushi world. Still, when I first started eating sushi in 1978 and through the early 80s this was one of my favorites. This particular piece reminded me why.

Butterfish with a sweet miso paste. This is a bit cooked I believe and is very approachable and warm.

Chu-Toro/Medium Fatty Tuna. These were certainly some great pieces of toro. Like butter. Sometimes I prefer the chu-toro to the really fatty o-toro too because while less rich it often has a more consistent texture.

Pompano.

Kinmedai/Golden Eye Snapper.

Amaebi/Sweet Shrimp. Soft and sweet, with a bit of chew.

Shima Aji/Striped Jack.

Ankimo/Monkfish Liver. Certainly monkfish liver doesn’t get much better than this, not even a hint of fishiness.

Giant clam. Chewy, with a nice bit of yuzu. Not my favorite sushi, but this was a great example of type.

Kanpachi/Amberjack.

A snapper of some sort.

One of the light white fishes with a bit of yuzu.

Madai/Red Snapper.

Kurodai/Black Snapper.

Ha-Gatsuo/Skipjack Tuna. Also melt in your mouth good.

Another light white fish with salt.

Sake/Salmon with kelp. Nice sweet salmon, although this is one fish where I think Sushi Sushi is a little better.

Meji Maguro/Baby Tuna. Real bang of flavor here.

Uni/Sea Urchin & Ikura/Salmon Eggs. While tiny, both were excellent examples of the type.

Anago/Sea Eel. A wonderful smoky flavor, and without the sweet sauce. One of the best pieces of sea eel I’ve had.

Toro handroll. A really great toro roll.

Crab handroll. Again, pretty spectacular (if a little small). I could have eaten about 8 of these.

Yuzu Juice. This strange bit of Japanese lemonade is served as dessert. Nothing wrong with it, and it clears the palette, but it isn’t exactly creme brulee.

Overall, I was much more impressed with Zo on this second outing. Yes, the pieces are tiny, but the quality of the fish and the preparation is truly first class. One could really use two of each (or just bigger though) as each flavor is so quick as to become ephemeral. In the end you do get to try a large number of fish. It’s expensive but on par with what you get, not like Sushi Mori which feels extremely overpriced. A definite contender in LA’s long list of really great sushi only joints.

For more sushi reviews, check out my LA Sushi page.

By: agavin
Comments (13)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Asian, Japanese, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Miso soup, Omakase, Osaka, Soy sauce, Sushi, Sushi Zo, warm rice

Waterloo & City – Fat=Flavour

Feb13

Restaurant: Waterloo & City [1, 2, 3]

Location: 12517 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90066 310.391.4222

Date: January 27, 2012

Cuisine: Gastropub

Rating: Really tasty!

I have reviewed Waterloo & City twice before, but it’s been a couple of months and the menu has changed up, so it’s worth a reprise.

The current menu.

“The Brunello di Montalcino from Poggio Il Castellare is a dark, inward wine imbued with dark cherries, plums, tar, smoke, licorice and new leather, all of which come together on a powerful, incisive frame. This burly, somewhat rough around the edges Brunello shows plenty of length and richness, even if the tannins might benefit from a measure of added polish. Still, I see this working well with boldly flavored dishes. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024.”

This is a “prince” sized charcuterie. We also have the chicken liver (yum yum), the salmon and egg terrine and the fois gras and prune (good, but heavy), and a duck and walnut country pate.

The duck on the left (yummy) and the salmon on the right. The chicken liver was the really winner here.

“Yellowtail Crudo, Shallot & Ginger Dressing.” Slightly underwelming as the fish was muted by everything else.

“Arugula, Grilled Bartlett Pears, Smoked Almonds, Parmesan.”

A special pasta with parmesan and…

Fresh piedmontese white truffles! This was a really spectacular classic.

Parker 90. “Proprietor Comte de Neipperg is doing everything possible to elevate this estate’s reputation. Readers should take note as prices are sure to rise once the world discovers just how sumptuous recent vintages of Clos de l’Oratoire have been. The 1996 is even better out of bottle than it was from cask. The wine boasts an opaque plum/purple color. Intense aromas of Asian spices, espresso, roasted meats, and sweet, exotic cedar and blackberry fruit soar from the glass of this exotic, ostentatiously-styled St.-Emilion. It is medium to full-bodied, with moderate tannin, a sweet mid-palate (always a good sign), and a dense, concentrated, long, powerful finish. This muscular, impressively-endowed offering should drink well between 2002-2017.”

“Diver Scallops, Parsnip Ravioli, Chamomile, Mandarins, Basil, French Horns.” A nice scallop dish.

“Roast Colorado lamb. English peas, fois gras sauce.” The meat was good, but the pea sauce even better.

More of the “sauce” which was really very rich and good.

Brussels with bacon. Bacon does indeed make everything better.

A can’t remember what exactly was under there, but it included this Indian-style poofy bread.

The desserts here are really good too (see my previous reviews) but we were so stuffed that it would have been fatal to indulge.

Overall, Waterloo & City is still going strong and this was a great (albiet rich) meal.

Or for more LA Restaurants.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brunello di Montalcino, Culver City, Culver City California, gastropub, Los Angeles, Waterloo, Waterloo & City, Waterloo & City line

Uh no, Takao again!

Jan09

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

Location: 11656 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (310) 207-8636

Date: December 10, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: 9/10 creative “new style” sushi

I’ve already covered Takao in some detail HERE and then separately here, here, and here, but we went back (we go often). The full menu and some information on the history of the place can be found through the first link.

This particular meal is another take on the medium sized omakase, which is a very good deal (in a relative high-end sushi kind of way).

We started off with a lovely “shaved rice” style cold sake. I’ve become increasingly fond of this old-school premium form of sake.

A starter trio. Some crab in miso, fresh salmon sahimi with onions, and marinated ginko nuts.

Spanish mackerel salad with spinach. The fish was marinated and grilled and they formed a nice fresh contrast.

Scallop sashimi with a trio of sauces.

And fresh octopus sashimi with the same sauces for contrast.

Then some top grade toro sashimi. Like butter baby!

New style sashimi with warm olive oil, sasame, chives, ponzu, and sliced truffle.

King crab legs with a sweet vinaigrette.

Traditional Japanese egg custard with mushrooms and fish. Like creme brulee without the crust or the sugar and with fish!

Seared at the table beef (in a teriyaki-style sauce) cooked as you like it in a cast iron plate.

Eel tempura. Tasty, I think this was the first time I’ve had eel as tempura.

Classic miso soup.

A little sushi flight. Left to right. Toro, yellowtail, salmon, tai (red snapper), and tomago (sweet omelet).

And finally green tea creme brule for dessert.

Another intensely satisfying Japanese meal down the gullet. As you see, we keep going back to Takao and while the style remains the same, the ingredients mix it up substantially each time. Awesome place. More reviews here: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

For more LA area sushi, see here.