Los Angeles :: Page 5 :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for Los Angeles – Page 5

Fraiche – Ultimo Wine Dinner

Jul14

Restaurant: Fraiche Santa Monica

Location: 312 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401. Phone : 310.451.7482

Date: July 13, 2011

Cuisine: Cal French Italian

Rating: Epic!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Last weekend I was eating at one of my favorite local spots, Sam’s by the Beach and chatting with the owner, Sam. He mentioned that he was co-hosting an epic wine dinner at Fraiche in Santa Monica and that he had two available spots. As soon as he sent me the food & wine menu (below) I called up my Foodie Club partner in crime and we jumped on it. You’ll see why in a second.

Of course the food looks great, but the wines! While anyone who pays attention to the wines I bring will have noticed that I almost never drink from the New World — I am willing to make exceptions when no less than eight Parker 100 pointers are involved!

The event was held in Fraiche Santa Monica’s lovely back room (shown here on another occasion in its normal configuration).

For us it was arranged with a single table.

And an extensive staging area for the wines.

Here’s Sam, supervising.

Along with our other hosts: Amir Ohebsion president of the combined Fraiche operation on the right, and Mazen Mustafa their brand new Executive Chef on the left. Believe it or not he started on Monday (this dinner had been planned for some time) and had to leap into the fire first thing.

As a little amuse we had some classic bruschetta (I’ve had just a tad of that lately, like here), with marinated tomatoes, garlic, and mozzarella. The marinate was enough for me to handle the tomatoes and I enjoyed the crisp brightness of the flavors.

A little olive oil and balsamic on the table. There was bread too of course, but I forgot to photo.

So we begin with the wines. All of the wines at this dinner came from The Redd Collection, who was also co-hosting. Click their link for an inventory of their wines.

1985 Dom Perignon, Parker 96. A mature champagne in perfect shape. “Fresh and lively, with remarkable intensity, fruit, and perfume. An example of how effortlessly some vintages of Dom Perignon can age.”

1990 Salon Le Mesnil. I found it brighter and fruiter than the Dom. Wine Spectator 97. “Brilliant stuff. Vinous, with a patina of nutty maturity offset by a citrus and honeysuckle-tinged freshness, all embraced by a taut silky structure. The best is the finish, a kaleidoscope of biscuit, fig and walnut that goes on and on.”

Accompanying the champagnes we have a trio of fishes. “Santa Barbara Sea Urchin with American caviar and pea puree.” Yum yum. Some really great Uni, showcased perfectly. Notice the Uni/Caviar combo which Go uses so often at Go Sushi.

“Yellow Fin Tuna Tartare with Russian Caviar.” The flavors here were really bright and delicious. One of the best tuna tartars I’ve had. Similar to Sam’s usual tartar, but without the “secret ingredient.”

“Kampachi Sashimi, watercress, and black truffle.” Nothing wrong here!

2007 Peter Michael Point Rouge Chardonnay. The finish on this went on and on. Certainly the best non-white-burgundy Chardonnay I’ve had. Parker 98. “The 2007 Chardonnay Point Rouge (280 cases) has moved out of the restrained state it was in a year ago, and now exhibits splendidly intense, nearly over-the-top levels of honeyed tropical fruits, hazelnut, almond paste, quince, and peach liqueur. Full-bodied, thick, and rich yet braced by considerable acidity, this is a remarkable tour de force in Chardonnay that should age for a decade or more.”

2006 Marcassin Estate Chardonnay. Very very good, just not quite so good as the Peter Michael. Parker 96+. “As for the 2006 Chardonnay Marcassin Estate, it is a more mineral-dominated wine displaying a liqueur of crushed rocks/wet stones, pears, and subtle smoky, honeysuckle, quince, and citrus oil notes. It also possesses exceptional length and richness as well as a full-bodied mouthfeel. Given the history of the vintage and the challenging conditions for Chardonnay, I would suspect these wines will evolve quickly by Marcassin’s standards, meaning they are probably best drunk in their first decade of life.”

“Bouillabaisse — modern.” Here we have some fish, muscles, clams, corn etc, but we have them reinterpreted in a light broth instead of in the classic tomato and garlic broth. The newer style showcased the freshness of the fish to a T.

1937 Chateau Caillou Sauternes-Barsac. This bottle was a gift from Frank Sinatra to a local collector! It was almost almond/rose colored, sweet but not unctuous. Probably a tiny bit past its prime, but still delicious, particularly with the foie below.

“Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras, grilled Nectarine, Aged Balsamic.” Pretty much straight foie, but fabulous. There was a bit of nectarine puree, and the fat of the duck paired perfectly with that and the Sauternes. The Nectarine was stuffed with pistachios and was amazing!

Now on to the reds. We start with a trio of Rhone style blockbusters.

2008 Sine Qua Non Grenache “The Line.” This was the lightest of the three, but still having that thick front of the tongue quality that most Rhones have. Parker 96-98+. “The 2008 Not Yet Named Grenache will be aged in barrel for around 20 months as opposed to the extended time the 2007 experienced. Composed of 87.5% Grenache, 11 % Syrah, and 1.5% Viognier, it initially appears to play it tight to the vest, but I think that’s part of 2008’s vintage character. Many vineyards had significant frost issues in 2008, and those who waited to harvest fared better. Manfred Krankl did not finish picking until the end of November, which no doubt explains the extraordinary purity, richness, and aromatic and flavor complexity found in this wine. Although slightly more muted aromatically than his other Grenache cuvees, when the wine hits the palate, there is tremendous density and power as well as an inner core of steely richness, and a flavor profile and length that build incrementally. It is not the sort of wine you pick up and are wowed by. But the more you think about it, as well as the longer it sits in your mouth, the more nuances and aspects emerge. This should be another superb example of Grenache from the New world’s number one practitioner of that varietal.”

2007 Sine Qua Non Next of Kyn Syrah “Cumulus.” This was my favorite, the brightest and closest to a great Hermitage. Parker 94-96. “The debut release from the new home vineyard on the steep hillsides of Ventura is the 2007 Next of Kyn Syrah Cumulus Vineyard. Composed of 96.5% Syrah and 3.5% Viognier, it sees only 20% new oak in its upbringing. From a six-acre parcel of vines, it may be sold under a different label than Sine Qua Non. Krankl had not made up his mind at the time of writing. In any event, it is a very impressive debut release that should be bottled after 25 months of barrel aging. Sweet notes of creme de cassis, camphor, acacia flowers, licorice, pepper, and meat are followed by a wine with fabulous intensity and purity, a full-bodied texture, and a long finish. Unfortunately, only 125 cases were produced … from six acres!”

From here on down, it’s all 100s baby!

2007 Saxum Syrah “James Berry VYD.” Parker prefers this, which was delicious, and utterly massive — in need of a bit more cellaring. Parker 100! “Utter perfection, and one of the most profound Rhone Ranger wines I have ever tasted is the 2007 James Berry Vineyard Proprietary Red, a blend of 41% Grenache, 31% Mourvedre, and 28% Syrah (15.8% alcohol). It would be an amazing wine to insert in a tasting of the most profound 2007 Chateauneuf du Papes. As with many prodigious wines, the extraordinary freshness, purity, equilibrium, and singularity of this effort is breathtaking. Its dense purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary, incredibly pure, all enveloping, intense, sweet nose of black raspberries, kirsch, spring flowers, spice box, and pepper. Full-bodied with not a hard edge to be found, it is stunningly concentrated with unreal purity, a voluptuous texture, and remarkable freshness for a wine of such power, depth, and concentration. This 2007 will be approachable young, although I would not be surprised to see it close down given the relatively elevated proportion of Mourvedre, and it should drink well for 12-15 years.”

General Manager Vito hard at work on setting up the reds. Doing this many pours is actually hard work!

The Rhone styles and the sauternes on the table.

“Duck breast and turnips,” pretty close to straight up. This was a lovely piece of duck, cooked (or not) to perfection. It didn’t need more, as it the wines paired perfectly.

And we begin a trio of perfect Cab based Californians. They were all so good, and I was getting drunk enough, that this round blended into just a prodigious ode to Cabernet.

2007 Scarecrow. Parker 100! “Scarecrow’s inky/purple-colored 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is a prodigious effort. It reveals a liqueur of crushed rocks intermixed with a smorgasbord of spring flower, blueberry, creme de cassis, and assorted blue, black, and red fruit characteristics. It also possesses extraordinary concentration, but what sets it apart is the fragrant aromatics combined with uncommon purity and elegance for such a full-bodied, massively concentrated wine. Its perfect balance suggests it can be drunk at a relatively young age, but it should easily evolve over 30-35 years. Congratulations to all involved!”

2002 Shafer Hillside Select. Parker 100! “One of the world’s most extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignons is the 1,800-2,400-case offering of Shafer’s Hillside Select. It was a treat to re-taste the utterly perfect 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. A dark purple color is accompanied by a gorgeously powerful nose of pure creme de cassis, pain grille, flowers, licorice, and spice box. Full-bodied with multiple dimensions, superb purity, layers of fruit, and a blockbuster finish, it is an amazing offering. This wine should drink well young yet evolve for 2-3 decades.”

2007 Sloan Estate. Parker 100! “The 2007 Sloan, now in bottle, has lived up to the extraordinary quality it exhibited from barrel. A world-class, perfumed nose of charcoal, espresso roast, white chocolate, black currants, sweet plums, Asian soy and a Grave-like scorched earth aroma soars from the glass of this dense purple-colored wine. Full-bodied and seamlessly constructed with a multidimensional mouthfeel as well as a phenomenal finish, this 2007 carries considerable tannin, but at present it is concealed by the wine’s luxurious levels of fruit, glycerin and intensity. This spectacular 2007 should drink well for 25-30+ years.”

“Seared Wagyu Couloote Steak, served with fried baby broccoli.” This meat was fantastic, just perfectly soft and juicy. The broccoli was amazing, like little popcorn.

But this beef jus that went with it was the real stunner. Amazingly rich. Everything of course went perfectly with the perfect Cabs.

And now we have the Cab blends, and even more blockbuster trio.

2007 Screaming Eagle. Parker 100! “The most profound Screaming Eagle since the 2002 and 1997, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (an 800-case blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc) offers up a prodigiously pure, complex nose of cassis, spring flowers, licorice and black currants, the latter component being so intense and lingering that it makes this cuvee stand apart from other Napa Valley wines. Full-bodied in the mouth, like a ballerina on her toes, this wine glides gracefully across the palate with a cascade of purity, equilibrium and compelling complexity. Extraordinary balance and elegance combined with power make for an utterly stunning wine that should drink well for two decades or more. Even though the estate is being reconstituted and a new winery built, this wine still came from the old sector of the vineyard (15.5 acres) that was used by the previous proprietor, Jean Phillips.”

2002 Harlan Estate. My personal favorite of the group. Not only massive, but just so bright and fruity! Parker 100! “Very deep garnet-black colour with a purple rim. The nose is still a little closed giving notes of blackberry, black cherries, dark chocolate, tobacco, cigar boxes and cinnamon. The palate displays faultless structure and balance: very finely grained, firm tannins, medium to high acid and incredible intensity. Perhaps paradoxically, this wine is at once rich and full bodied yet exquisitely elegant. Although taut, it is already irresistibly tempting to drink. Epic finish with lingering flavours of Chinese dried plums, truffles, and an interesting iron/stony nuance. Drink 2009 – 2030+. Tasted November 2008.”

1997 Harlan Estate. Parker 100! “The 1997 Harlan Estate is one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines I have ever tasted. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this enormously-endowed, profoundly rich wine must be tasted to be believed. Opaque purple-colored, it boasts spectacular, soaring aromatics of vanilla, minerals, coffee, blackberries, licorice, and cassis. In the mouth, layer after layer unfold powerfully yet gently. Acidity, tannin, and alcohol are well-balanced by the wine’s unreal richness and singular personality. The finish exceeds one minute. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2030.”

To go with this trio of stunners we have “Grilled Venison Chops, shaved black truffles, mushrooms, and a squash puree.” Not quite as amazing as the beef (that was REALLY amazing), but great too.

Just a small sampling of the glasses on the table. Unlike some, I was keeping up with mine and only had the Cab blends. But some folk were starting to worry, “Oh my God, if I don’t finish all these perfect wines Dionysian Maenads will flay the skin from my flesh!”

Passion fruit sorbet as pre-dessert. I love passion fruit, and this was one of the best passion fruit sorbets I’ve had. I spent about fifteen minutes eating it incredibly slowly by shaving off just a sliver on the spoon, then adding to the mouth-mix an alternating trip of perfect wines. It was actually, IMHO, the best pairing of the night.

R.L. Buller Calliope Rare Muscat. Yum Yum! Parker 100! “Giving aromas of dark brown sugar, black strap molasses, licorice and preserved walnuts, the deeply brown colored NV Calliope Rare Muscat is again incredibly sweet and viscous with a good amount of acid to balance and is decadently rich and nutty / spicy in the very long finish. All these vintage blended fortified wines are bottled to drink now and though are stable enough to hold, they are not designed to improve with cellaring.”

This was about as good as “Chocolate Lava cake with vanilla Ice Cream” gets. The extra elements added a little texture, but the inside of the cake had that perfect runny chocolatly goodness. It of course went perfectly (getting a lot of use out of that word tonight) with both the Cab blends and the Muscat.

Good to the last scrape.

The full line up!

This was some rather serious dining, and some even more serious drinking! Really an embarrassment of riches. I was very impressed with the cooking. It betrayed both hints of Sam’s signature (and awesome) palette, and a bold kind of styling and presentation that I am guessing comes from our budding new Chef Mustafa (who has cooked in many great kitchens before this too). The dishes pretty much concentrated on fantastic ingredients and bold but not over-layered flavors, which showcased perfectly (there it is again!) the epic wines.

Click here for some tamer meals at regular Fraiche Santa Monica or Culver City or:

here to see more Foodie Club posts.

By: agavin
Comments (9)

Posted in: Food

Peace in the Middle East? – Mezze

Jun10

Restaurant: Mezze

Location: 401 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.657.4103

Date: May 31, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Middle Eastern

Rating: Really tasty!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

For a long time in the 2000s Sona was my favorite restaurant in LA, and I was sad when they closed last year. Mezze is a totally new restaurant that opened in the same space. It’s much more casual, a modern middle eastern with a mostly tapas style menu and an emphasis on farmer’s market ingredients. I love middle eastern flavors, so I was excited to see what they’ve done with the concept.

The chef, Micah Wexler, has a star studded pedigree too, having worked variously in LA at Vincenti, Melisse, Patina and Craft.

All the wines are from my cellar as usual. I had gotten a case of this Cal Pinot in 1997 at the vineyard and I noticed it in the corner of the cellar while picking wines. This was the last bottle — most of the rest probably having been drunk over a decade ago — and it turned out that the extra years really served it well. Having been well cellared its entire life the wine came out of the bottle like a middle aged burgundy, slightly brick in color and deliciously pinot fruity.

The menu. Even the “large” plates aren’t that large. We ordered around three things per person and it was about right.

The old Sona space has been opened up and repainted, lending a lighter more casual style.

“Spring Tabouli, Green Garlic, Fava bean, Pancetta, Almond.” A very nice tabouli, made richer by the addition of big ham chunks. This is from the grain school of taboili, some are a bit stronger on the parsley/mint thing.

“Beet Salad, Chickpea, Sheep’s Milk Yogurt, Haloumi.” Beet salads are a menu staple in recent years, but this one was as good as any with the yogurt serving well as the “fat.”

“Wild Salmon, Purple Onion, Rye Bread.” This dish was made entirely by the fish, which was sashimi grade and top notch.

“Fluke Crudo, Cherry, Green Almond, Tahini.” This dish was just a little bland. The cherries were yummy, but the fish, while impeccably fresh, didn’t have a lot of flavor.

Parker gives this Chateauneuf du Pape a 95. “Bottled at what I suspect is the whim of Paul Feraud, the 1989 and 1990 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Laurence were tasted side by side with the Cuvee Reservee. Although the Cuvee Laurence is no better than the Cuvee Reservee, they are more evolved, with more complexity from the extended cask aging. Ultimately, I think the Cuvee Reservee will surpass them, since the development of that wine will take place in the bottle, not in wood, but it is more backward and less evolved. The 1989 Cuvee Laurence is slightly sweeter, richer, and more opulent than its younger sibling. However, both wines are enormously constituted, thick, rich, classic, old style Chateauneuf du Papes the likes of which are rarely seen today. Both wines carry 15+% alcohol. They will be worth a special effort to find and purchase.”

We also ordered a series of flatbreads (aka pizza). This one is “Green Cauliflower, Moroccan Olive, Feta, Golden Raison.” The feta/raison thing worked: sweet and salty.

“Flowering squash, syrian cheese, zatar.” This was good too, but more mild.

“Merguez Sausage, Fontina, Tomato Jam, Aleppo Pepper.” I had high hopes for this one, but it just didn’t have enough punch. There was nothing wrong with the flavor, but the sausage was too mild, and the tomato muted.

“Grandma’s Chopped Chicken Livers, Sour Plum Mostarda, Challah.” This tasted exactly as advertised, like homemade chicken livers!

The challah is a perfect bread for it too.

“Soft Shell Crab, Heirloom Cucumber, Gem Avocado, Smoked Egg.” Nice and interesting combo, although it was a small dish and split by 6 people resulted in merely a bite.

“Shawarma, Amba, House Pickles.” Nice little meat, pickle and flatbread sandwich. Although I would have liked the meat to punch out a bit more in the flavor department.

“Poached Egg Shakshouka, Yogurt Emulsion, Sweetbread, Pita.” I liked this dish a lot. It tasted mostly of tomato and yogurt, a bit like “ricotta and gravy.”

“Lamb Shoulder, Green Wheat, Dukkah Spice.” A very nice lamb dish. The meat had that full on lamb flavor. This was not a sweet lamb prep like some middle eastern ones, but more on the salty/meaty side.

“Sea Urchin, Israeli Cous Cous, Lemon, Mint.” Very soft tapioca type texture, with a some sea urchin flavor — very pleasant.

“Veal Manti, Almond Milk, Black Lime.” Manti are a type of dumpling, like Afghan Mantoo (see here). While we each only got a bite this was a very good dish.

“Hashweh Risotto, Lamb, Burnt Onion, Fried Lemon.” Nice. Rich too and gooey.

The desserts.

Parker 94. “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.”

This is an amazing wine, deep grape.

“Semolina Pound Cake, black lime, Indian lime, mulberries, hibiscus.” This was my least favorite of the desserts, although there was certainly nothing wrong with it — just a mild sweet cake with fruit.

“Roasted Aprium, honey, basil, pistachio.” Aprium made me think of a Latin noun, but they’re just apricots crossed with plums. In this particular incarnation however, they were wonderful — and the ice cream went perfectly!

“Lebne Cheesecake, rainer and brook cherries, rose.” A wonderful light cheesy fluffy, which went classically with the cherries.

“Strawberry Parfait, sasame, sumac, halvah cream.” This was probably my favorite. The strawberries were really intense and the cream — well exceedingly creamy.

“Rose Malabi, rhubarb, market berries.” Also fantastic, this was basically rosewater (which I love) flavored pannacotta with berries.

We recieved a little parting gift of spicy saseme bright. I totally dug this stuff, and it had a bit of a burn.

Part of the surgery done on the old Sona space is opening up the kitchen.

Overall, I was very impressed by Mezze. Not every dish was spot on, but they varied from good to great and they get serious points for having a big menu full of interesting flavors and a tapas style format that really favors sampling a lot of stuff. The prices are pretty reasonable too considering the quality of the food and how much we pigged out.

For other LA restaurants, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chateauneuf du Pape, Dessert, Food, Los Angeles, Melisse, Mezze, Middle Eastern, Modern Middle Eastern, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Rye Bread, side dishes, Sona, vegetarian, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Waterloo & City

Jun01

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

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

Date: May 21, 2011

Cuisine: Gastropub

Rating: Really tasty!

There has been real growth in the gastropub catagory here in LA during the last few years. Part of this is probably the recession which has encouraged somewhat lower key dining, but there’s probably more to it. When I first moved to LA (early 90s) things were dominated by flashy higher end “event” restaurants each with its own blend of novel fusion cuisine. Good examples of this would by Chaya, Matsuhisa, Chinois, Spago, Abiquiu. The next wave after that were the farmer’s market driven joints like Josie or Gjelina. In any case, on to Waterloo & City.

A view of the bar. This is a pretty big place.

The menu.

The drink menu. I didn’t feel like wine, so we tried out some of these.

“Oh Rickey! Russian Standard Vodka, Fresh Raspberries, Lime, Soda.” This tasted like fresh raspberries. It was sweet, but not too sweet. Good.

“Tamarindo Fever. Tequila Blaco, Tamarind, Grand Marnier, Habanero, Lemon, Lime Salt.” I’ve been trying a lot of these “hot drinks” lately. I like them. This was good, sour and hot at the same time. But it was really hot. Not enough to bother me, but enough that I worried about heartburn if I drink say, 2 or 3 of them.

This special cocktail had vanilla Stoli, fresh lemon juice and some other stuff. It tasted like a lemon candy.

Bread.

Waterloo has a lot of charcuterie. This was a small plate on the left, on the right are “Shrimp & Zucchini Blossom Fritters, piri piri hot sauce.” A tempura fried variant on the Italian favorite (in that case usually stuffed with ricotta).

“Yellowtail crudo, shallot & ginger dressing, spring salad.” This was very tasty. Besides the fish there was a bit of burrata and tomato in here too. But the fish was very succulent, and the ginger based dressing delicious. With all this stuff, including the radish, there was a very complex but harmonious flavor/texture thing going on, not unlike a dish at Red Medicine.

“Steamed mussels, red thai curry, lime ginger, ciabatta.” A very nice adaption of the french classic.

“Hand-cut pasta, English Peas, Italian Sausage, Parmesan.” Even though it was two nights in a row I couldn’t resist this dish, as it is close to one of my favorite pasta types. Yesterday’s version was a little better, but this was very nice. The sausage was flavorful and after chopping it up a bit so some could get in each bit made an excellent foil to the buttery sauce.

“Wild mushroom pizza, smoked mozzerella, truffle oil.” If I didn’t know better I’d have said that this was a bacon and mushroom pizza! It was really good. First of all, the crust was thin and chewy, but not over burned. The cheese was gooey, and the smoked mushrooms really really meaty. Good stuff, I should have tried their Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza, as they stole my idea!

“Beef Wellington.” Sweet and sour onions on top of a puff pastry, sitting on bacon wrapped asparagus.

Inside is the medium steak (could have been a bit rarer), fois gras, and maybe some more bacon/pancetta. Certainly rich…

“Crispy confit pork shank, spring potato, bacon salad, peas & favas.”

Look at this sucker! Confit (twice cooked in it’s own fat)! Then deep fried! It was just a ball of piggy goodness.

The dessert menu.

Special. Glazed beneits with creme anglais and raspberry jam. These were REALLY sweet, coated in a bit of carmel I think too (you can see it pooling beneath). Very much to my taste, but not for those that don’t have a MASSIVE sweet-tooth.

“Sticky Toffe Pudding, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Ice Cream.” Also excellent, with a not so dissimilar flavor profile. Both were intensely sweet. The ice cream helped cut it.

Overall I was very impressed with Waterloo & City. Things were extremely tasty, and there was a lot of stuff on the menu that I wanted to try but couldn’t. I’ll have to head back. It’s, however, not a light cuisine. Which is perhaps why it suited my taste.

For a second review of W & C, click here.

For another recent gastropub visit, check out Ford’s Filling Station.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Locanda Portofino – In the Neighborhood

May30

Restaurant: Locanda Portofino

Location: 1110 Montana Ave. Santa Monica, Ca 90403. 310-394-2070

Date: May 20, 2011

Cuisine: Northern Italian

Summary: Tasty neighborhood Italian

ANY CHARACTER HERE

For whatever reason Los Angeles has a lot of Italian restaurants. There’s a lot of competition and innovation, and as far as I can tell we’re about tied with NY as the best town in the US for this wonderful (and justifiably popular) cuisine. This also means that there is a total and ridiculous excess of neighborhood Italians. I’ll try any of them once, but I pretty much never go to 75% of them a second time. There are just too many good ones to eat some ho-hum boxed pasta. In any case, Locanda Portofino is one of the good ones.

The menu.

I’m very partial to Amarone. They’re pretty much all drinkable (and grapey).

“Ceasar salad.”

“Bresaola con rucola. Thinly sliced cured beef with virgin olive oil, lemon, rucola and shaved parmigiano.” A very nice rendition of this classic.

“Penne vodka. Penne with light cream tomato sauce, shallots and vodka.”

“Tagliatelle alla boscaiola con salsicce. Green and white egg tagliatelle in a light cream sauce with pancetta, ground sausage, mushrooms and green peas.” I love love this pasta. It’s not far off from al carbonara either, but isn’t eggy in the same way. I love the combo of the peas, the two types of pig, and the peas. No wonder my cardiologist gives me a hard time.

Pretty much anything on the menu here is well done, but this was just Friday date night and so there are only a couple pics. Still, if you live on the Westside, forget those chain Italians, or the lame kitchen “red sauces” and go to Locanda Portofino, Delfini, Palmeri, Osteria Latini or the like. Or if you want higher end: Capo or Drago.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Amarone, California, Italian cuisine, Locanda Portofino, Los Angeles, Montana, Olive oil, pasta, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad, Santa Monica California, side dishes, United States, vegetarian

Go Go Go Sushi!

May29

Restaurant: Go’s Mart [1, 2]

Location: 22330 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, CA 91303 818.704.1459

Date: May 28, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: Possibly LA’s best sushi!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

The Food Club has been talking about taking a trip to Go’s Mart for months, but we finally got around to organizing it. For those of you who don’t know, Go’s Mart is a tiny strip mall joint in Canoga Park with some of the best sushi in the entire LA area. Go has a unique take on the art, as you will see below. My partner in crime, Erick, has been coming here for over ten years and he called Go (the owner/chef) up and arranged for a “special” omakase for us. For scheduling reasons we decided on a very long Saturday lunch.

So I went down tot he cellar and prepped the above lineup of sushi friendly wines, mostly whites and a couple lighter red Burgundies. Go doesn’t have a liquor license, so there is no corkage!

The storefront is about as unassuming as can be.

The master behind his counter.

Most people sit at the cramped little sushi bar.

Go’s has pretty much NO decor. It started as a Japanese market and they still sell various drinks and products.

Oddly, this includes video tapes — and what appears to be racy Japanese video tapes at that! Who even has a VCR in 2011?

We had the table (about half of it shown).

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.”

Ginger.

We open with a kind of sunomono. Pickled cucumbers, very orange salmon, shrimp, bonito flakes, flying fish eggs. It had a strong vinegar tang of course.

Then a lovely preparation of Akimo (monkfish liver). Sweet fermented miso sauce, sesame, seaweed, goji berries, gold flakes (Go loves gold flakes). This was wonderful.

Finished off the first wine already.

From my cellar, parker gives this Rhone white 95 points. “The 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape blanc is even better. Meriting the same rating as I gave it last year, it is a delicious, beautifully textured, light gold-colored white revealing plenty of white peach, apricot, nectarine, and honeysuckle notes as well as a distinctive florality and minerality. More honeyed and fuller-bodied than its 2008 counterpart, it should drink beautifully for 7-8 years, then go into an oxidative state. It is somewhat of a gamble as to what will happen thereafter. Beaucastel’s limited production luxury cuvee first produced in 1986 is their 100% Roussanne Vieilles Vignes offering. Fifty percent is barrel-fermented in one-year-old barrels, but no new oak is utilized.”

Kani (king crab) with fresh Japanese scallop in an uni (sea urchin) sauce and topped with real caviar. Erick licked his plate. The scallop and the uni were particularly wonderful.

The first round of Go’s unique take on regular sushi. Starting with the pink one on the right, and proceeding clockwise: Kime-Tai (special red snapper), butter fish with kelp, halibut with kelp, and kanpachi (young yellowtail). Everything was dusted with a bit of ancient sea salt, some of the fish had shiso, some yuzu, some the marinated kelp. You can see the little dark sliver of fresh black truffle on all the fish except the kanpachi. Not only was each piece of fish exceptionally fresh, but the additional elements gave them a unique (and complex) flavor profile.

Two of our friends even brought their four year old. She didn’t eat the omakase 🙂 But she did handle the LONG (4-5 hour) meal pretty darn well.

Santa Barbara jumbo prawn, uni, caviar. These were all females, with the roe (the red stuff). This was a succulent bit of prawn, but of course the uni/caviar thing just boosted it.

A fantastic Burgundy, Parker gives it 92, but I’d give it more like a 94. “The 2003 Clos Vougeot explodes from the glass with licorice, dark cherries, and a myriad of spices. A wine of considerable depth, it is packed with suave black fruits immersed in chocolate. Well-structured, ripe, and exceptionally long, it will merit a higher score if its alcoholic warmth is absorbed into the wine with time (something that sometimes occurs with Pinot Noirs). Projected maturity: 2008-2017.”

Oooh Toro, two ways. On top is O-toro (special extra fatty tuna belly) with onions and caviar. On the bottom is kawagishi toro (shredded) with sweet sauce, stronger onions, and gold flakes. Both were amazing, but the o-toro was mind blowing.

Scottish salmon, look how orange this stuff is! The one on top is smoked, the bottom raw. Both have a little bit of onion and are dusted with hibiscus salt. The smoked one tasted like lox sushi.

For a lunch party where half the people are going back to work afterward (Uncharted 3 has a big E3 deadline coming soon and many are Naughty Dogs), we cruised through the wine fast enough. 2003 Vosne-Romanee clos du chateau monopole, domaine du comte liger-belair.

On the left Saba (mackerel) and on the right seki-aji (mackerel from Kyushu, considered the best). The saba had truffle, and the second goji berry, which gave it a bit of a sour and salty taste. Great examples of these fish, and continuing Go’s interesting arrangement of flavors.

“Special albacore roll.” Slightly spicy crab wrapped in avocado and albacore and topped with toasted garlic. I’m not normally a crazy roll fan, but for this I made an exception!

Starting at the right (pink one) and going clockwise: ebi (sweet shrimp) with gold and salt, japanese scallop with yuzu and caviar, geoduck giant clam with shiso, and Santa Barbara abalone (with truffle). Yum!

The ebi heads return in fried form.

The cooking process weakens the molecular bonds in the complex sugar that makes up the shrimp shell, allowing to just be crunched whole. We left a few antennae behind.

Seared toro with gold and sweet ponzu. What can you say, excellent. Although, I do prefer it raw.

Our four year-old got this interesting sushi lollipop.

Blue crab hand roll. These had little sprigs of truffle in them, which took the whole thing to another level.

Starting with the darker fish on the right. Snapper, flounder fin (yuzu and salt), black cod (salt and kelp), and flounder body. Many of these (all but the black cod) had shiso, all were dusted in the hibiscus salt. I’m not a flounder connoisseur, but I was told that the fin (behind soft) was some of the best that can be had. Go’s prep certainly livens up even these “dull” whitefish. Of course the fish itself was impeccable.

Scallops with flying fish eggs and truffle in a truffle sauce. Yummy!

The 2003 Walter J. Oster Riesling Auslese. I got this at the winery in 2005. As we wound down the wine this sweeter take went perfectly.

The “volcano!”

I’m not exactly sure what was inside, but it was some kind of whitefish, real crab and seaweed, along with seaweed, sesame, flying fish eggs, and lots of dynamite. The whole thing was pretty damn tasty!

In the front snow crab, and the back kani (alaskan king crab) with uni and caviar. Well, if top grade crab isn’t good enough: add uni and caviar!

Two kinds of eel. Unagi (freshwater) and Anago (sea). Both in the sweet sauce, with a bit of kelp. Great eel!

Kanpachi (young yellowtail), with shiso, truffle, and yuzo.

And finally another round of Toro because we couldn’t resist!

Go finishes up with a bit of fruit drizzled in sweetened condensed milk. Very nice finisher. There are oranges, rasberries, strawberries, golden-berries, mulberries and blueberries.

Some of the fish in the cabinet. You can see the toros in the middle front.

More fish.

Close up on the toro.

Prawns and scallops.

So I do have to say that Go is some of the best Sushi in the city, and by extension all America. It’s up there with Urwasawa, although more straight sushi oriented (even if with unique flavors). Less traditional than Sushi Sushi, but blows away Sushi Zo and Sasabune (not that they aren’t great too on the scale of things).

And as an extra bonus there was a Chinese foot massage place right next door where we waited out our buzz for only $19.99 an hour!

A second Go Sushi review, here.

For more LA Sushi, click here.

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

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Asian, Chablis, Chateauneuf du Pape, Cooking, Foodie Club, Go's Mart, Hamachi, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Old vine, Omakase, Rhone, Sashimi, Sushi, Wine tasting descriptors

Rustic Canyon 4

May22

Restaurant: Rustic Canyon [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 1119 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, Ca 90401. 310-393-7050

Date: May 13, 2011 & December 2, 2011

Cuisine: Farmer’s Market Californian

Summary: Excellent Seasonal New American

ANY CHARACTER HERE

As a seasonal market driven California restaurant Rustic canyon can be counted on to mix up the menu a bit fairly frequently. It’s a friday night favorite for us, and we return every two months or so. Many of the specific dishes change, but the overall types and categories stay consistant. If you are interested in the previous meals at Rustic Canyon, meal 1 here, meal 2 here, and meal 3 here.

The front.

The menu on the two different days contained in this post.

Spanish style – olives on the table.

I got a glass of Riesling.

“Burrata, roasted artichokes, fava beans, stinging nettle pesto, ramps toast.” This is sort of like make your own cheese bruschetta as the blog of Burrata (here for more on this wonderful cheese) can just be slathered on the toast.

A slightly different take on this in the winter with figs.

“Asparagus soup, asparagus tips, smoked bacon.” It was of course the lardons that made this entire dish.

“Windrose farms dandelion greens. Honey dates, pine nuts, capers, lemon, pecorino-romano.”

“Roasted beets & farro, roasted beets, feta, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, fennel, yogurt.”

“Pork meatballs. Spicey yogurt, pickled chilis, mint.” I’ve had a different version of this here before with lamb.

“squash blossoms. goat cheese, mint.” The classic Roman (as in the city) dish.

This was a special, not on the menu. A squid ink homemade pasta with botarga and fiore di sardo (Sardinian peccorino). Very nice, with a sweet and briny flavor.

“Cripsy duck leg. roasted apples, smocked bacon, brussels sporuts agro dolce.” What could make duck leg confit even better? Bacon!

Bone licking good.

The desserts, which are very good here, but we were full.

Check out other LA meals here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burrata, California, Farmer's Market, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica California, Wilshire Boulevard, Wine tasting descriptors, Zorik Gordon

Sushi Glutton – Takao Three

May19

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

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

Date: May 15, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: 9/10 creative “new style” sushi

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

House cold sake. Masumi “Okuden-Kanzukuri” Nagano prefecture.

Heirloom totmato salad with sesame dressing.

Tai (red snapper), with garlic, salt, red peppercorn, onions, olive oil. A very bright flavor, and the peppercorns, not spicy at all, add a nice textural component.

Seared bonito sashimi with scallions and ginger in ponzu.

Miso soup. I think if you ask they have a couple different types. This is the basic scallion and tofu.

Uni (sea urchin) tempura with shiso leaf and seaweed. Sea salt.

There is also the classic tempura dipping sauce.

Here is a closeup of one of the Uni fries. This stuff is yummy! With the crunch of the fry, the minty flavor of the shiso and the briney soft taste/texture of the sea urchin pairing wonderfully.

“Scottish Salmon ‘to-ban’ Taki.” Salmon and vegetables cooked on Japanese earthenware ‘to-ban’ with special Miso sauce.

Rock Shrimp Tempura Dynamite. The underlying component is in itself tasty. Sweet rock shrimp perfectly fried. Then you ad some dynamite with it’s zesty zing and it gets even better. For those not in the know Dynamite is a warm sauce consisting of mayo, sriarcha hot sauce, and masago semlt roe.

The big sushi plate. This was all mine! And so were most of the preceding dishes.

Kani (Alaskan king crab) sushi.

Japanese scallop sushi (raw).

On the bottom, Ika (squid), perfect chewy pasty texture. Underneath was shiso leaf.

Scottish Salmon.

Kanpachi (young yellowtail).

Uni (sea urchin — from Santa Barbara).

kura (salmon eggs).

O-toro (ultra fatty tuna belly). Like butter!

Unagi (fresh water eel) BBQ, with sweet BBQ sauce.

Tamago (sweet egg omelet) sushi.

And this wraps up the custom omakase.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Below is the Salmon Terriyaki “set dinner,” it comes with everything shown.

Salad.

Mixed tempura.

Miso soup.

Salmon Terriyaki.

Rice.

Choice of dessert, in this case vanilla mochi balls (ice cream coated in sweetened pounded rice).

The chefs at work, Takao himself on the right.

For more LA area sushi, see here.

By: agavin
Comments (9)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Black pepper, Dessert, Fish and Chips, Hamachi, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Miso, Nagano Prefecture, sake, Sashimi, Sea urchin, Shellfish, Sushi, Takao, vegetarian, Wine tasting descriptors

Sushi Sushi – Small Omakase

May17

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

Location: 326 1/2 Beverly Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 277-1165

Date: May 10, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: Old school sushi – fantastic fish and presentation!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I had the sushi craving and went back again to my new favorite sushi place, Sushi Sushi. Since I have previous tried ala carte, the medium omakase and the giant omakase, I figured I’d give the small omakase a try for completeness. Here is the pictorial record.

We begin with a lovely little sashimi plate. Two items instead of three with the bigger omakases.

Spanish mackerel.

And a slightly different variation on the plate.

Seared bonito, with miso vinagrete (common to both plates). This was delicous, melt in your mouth. I enjoy the extra textural components of the various garnishes too.

Santa Barbara uni (sea urchin). It tops a pile of squid bits and includes pickles and wasabi. The combo is delicious, and all texture.

The rounds of regular sushi begins. Note that all the sushi here has been pre-applied with sauce, even when it’s just soy sauce. This red yummy is maguro (Blue fin tuna). This is some of the best tuna I’ve ever had, totally melts in the mouth.

Tai (Red Snapper), with a ponzu and shavings of the yuzu. This is a lighter fish, but I’m very partial to it.

O-toro, the top grade fatty toro. It melted in the mouse like butter. Always one of my (and everyone else’s) favorites.

“Buri yellowtail.” A special high end type of Hamachi.

This was a piece of scottish salmon. One of the best pieces of salmon I’ve ever had. Incredible!

Aji (Spanish Mackerel) on the left, with only the very slightest bit of fishy. Again, a great mackerel. Shimaji mackerel on the right.

On the left Ebi (sweet shrimp) and on the right Japanese scallop. Both wonderful.

Ikura (salmon roe). Perfectly fresh, with just the slightest hint of brine (good). Wonderfully taught, they explode in the mouth like little brine balls.

They say you should judge a sushi chef by his tamago (sweet omelet). By those standards Sushi Sushi rules.

Diced Toro handroll. This shiso leaf and shaved yuzu inside, which added texture, tang, and the exotic and wonderful flavor of the leaf.

U nagi (Fresh water eel). BBQ, with the sweet eel sauce. This was some damn fine eel, as good a piece as I’ve had.

Shirasu. Dried anchovies with plum and shiso. Very interesting and different tasty. Salty and sour.

These last two handrolls were extra, and not included in the Omakase. This one is Mentaiko, cpicy cod fish egg. This is a big slab of cod row, very salty and fishy.

King crab handroll, more approachable than the previous two.

After this extensive survey at Sushi Sushi, trying all three omakases, I’ve concluded that the medium one is the best deal hands down. It is only $15 more than this small one, and has numerous extra dishes. The grand one, while better than the medium (bigger) is only very very slightly different.

Check out more LA Sushi reviews here.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beverly Hills California, Hamachi, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Omakase, Sashimi, Sea urchin, Sushi, Sushi Sushi

Matsuhisa – The Private Room

May08

Restaurant: Matsuhisa [1, 2]

Location: 129 N La Cienega Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90211. (310) 659-9639

Date: May 6, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Fusion

Rating: As good as it’s always been!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Some good friends were in town who had never tried Nobu Matsuhisa‘s particular blend of Japanese Peruvian Fusion. As popular as this has become in the last fifteen years, and how every derivative restaurant in America throws a few of his dishes on the menu, the original still rocks. I also scored a Friday night reservation in the coveted and private “Omakase only room,” where his cooking is showcased to the best effect.

The original storefront.

This aged 1st Cru white burgundy from my cellar was the very expression of mature chardonay.

As you can see from the color. This wine is ready, more than ready, as it might have been a tad better two years ago. Still it had a wonderful floral perfume to it.

The private room seats eight, and has it’s own sushi bar and kitchen.

“Seafood springroll with heirloom tomato and caviar.” This is the only repeat of the night, a Matsuhisa classic.Fry is always good, but it’s actually the combination with the spicy tomato chutney/salsa that really sells the dish.

One of the private kitchen chefs working on the appetizers.

Grilling up some conch!

Different members of our party got slightly different versions of this quartet of amuses.

“Seared salmon, new style.” That is with sesame, ponzu, and warm olive oil.

Kanpachi (young yellowtail) with a bit of red peper and ponzu on a radish.

Red snapper carpaccio, with chives, garlic, and vinegar.

A second version of the plate.

Lobster cerviche.

Tai (red snapper) sashimi, new style.

Yellowtail collar marinated in miso (a Nobu classic), baked, and then served with a bit of garlic and texture on letuce. You wrap it up and eat it like a soft taco.

Japanese baby conch, sauteed in garlic butter (escargot style).

The creepy crawly himself. Chewy and a little bitter, in a good way.

Burgundy goes very well with the Matsuhisa flavor profiles. The first time I ever went here, in 1996, I brought a Gros Frere Clos Vougeot. This 2005, Parker gives a 92. “The 2005 Clos Vougeot from Drouhin’s two parcels in that famous cru, is much more earthy and less fine-grained than the majority of their wines from this vintage, but it exhibits impressive concentration. A bone meal-like meld of mineral and meat dominates the nose and suffuses the palate along with black raspberry, plum and cherry fruit accepted by faintly bitter fruit pit notes. This is quite full and rich, but without being heavy; overtly tannic and chewy, but without being coarse. A promising more tart than sweet juiciness of black fruit mingles with roasted meat and stony, chalky minerality in the finish.”

Sashimi salad, with yellowtail, seared blue fin tuna, various dressings, and hearts of palm.

Par boiled Santa Barbara prawn with a tiny bit of salad (including hearts of palm). This was really yummy, even better than the cooked version we had last time. The meat is very sweet and succulent, delicious warm but essentially raw.

Sea bass on a bed of mushroom “risotto” with white truffles. The little spears are pickled ginger shoots.

“Fois gras, seabass, mushrooms, in a very rich reduction sauce.” Very meaty and tasty, the sauce was a pretty awesome blend of all three contributors of yum: salt, sweet, and fatty. The little red fruit is a pickled leeche.

Another very nice, red burgundy, this one (unlike the others) from the restaurant’s list. We drank more than I thought. 🙂

Grilled Toro, with enoki, aspargus, and other mushrooms.

American Kobe Beef with asparagus, garlic, and a spicy sauce and mustard. Really yummy (and rich) dish.

Each person gets a little sushi plate, there were a couple variants, this one has no shellfish.

A version where everything is cooked.

The “normal” plate for those who eat everything.

Chu-toro (medium tuna belly). Perfect!

Kanpachi (young yellowtail). Like butter.

Orange giant clam.

Uni (sea urchin).

Anago (sea eel), in the classic sweet BBQ sauce.

The pretty laquer soup container.

Inside is snapper soup. I haven’t had this one before, although it’s a classic mild Japanese fish broth with cilantro and scallions. The fish is soft mellow whitefish in this context.

My brother got a special surprise, the eye. The chef’s convinced him to try it. “Good for the sinews and joints.”

Taco (octopus). Very tender.

Japanese Sea Scallop sushi, with a bit of yuzu. Always one of my favorite sushis, and this didn’t disappoint.

Kohada (gizzard shard).

Baby squid, battleship style. They’re raw, but tossed in a kind of sweet miso-lemon dressing. Really tasty.

And we finally make it to desserts. Fruit tart with ginger ice cream. This was a total fan fave with the ladies.

Green tea tiramisu with chocolate gelato. Both were good, with the pastry having a nice creaminess and the ice cream a deep richness.

Butterscotch cream brulee with a citrus ice cream. Also really nice and creamy.

Coffee ice cream with chocolate crunch. This was great too, probably my favorite. The crunch added a really nice texture.

Shave ice. Below are a couple balls of vanilla ice cream (very good vanilla ice cream), red bean sauce, and very finely shaved ice.

Then green tea sauce (or maybe just tea) is poured over it. In the end, a very interesting (and Asian) mix of flavors and textures.

Even the urinal is cool.

The main room.

The chefs at work back in our private room/kitchen.

This was probably the best meal I’ve ever had at Matsuhisa, and I’ve had a LOT of great ones. Because I’m jaded now, and used to the cuisine, it wasn’t utterly mind blowing innovative like the first time I ever ate here. But the cooking is as good here as it ever was. Nobu (and his sucessor cooks) still really know their stuff.

For a previous meal at Matsuhisa, see here.

By: agavin
Comments (6)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beverly Hills California, California, Dessert, fish, Fusion cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Japanese Peruvian, Los Angeles, Matsuhisa, Nobu, Nobu Matsuhisa, Olive oil, Omakase, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sashimi, side dishes, Sushi, vegetarian

Palmeri again

May05

Restaurant: Palmeri [1, 2]

Location: 11650 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (310) 442-8446 ‎

Date: April 3, 2011

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great, and good value.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Palmei is one of our Sunday regular places. I’ve already covered the basics in my previous review. But it’s an always reliable and reasonable Italian with a very good kitchen.

The menu.

A nice little half bottle of Brunello. Parker gives it 92. “The 2005 Brunello di Montalcino is impressive for its open-knit, expressive bouquet of violets, dark cherries, minerals, menthol and grilled herbs. Medium in body, the wine delivers gorgeous length and a polished, refined finish. It is a strong effort in this vintage. The estate’s Brunello is made from vineyards in Castelnuovo dell’Abate (70%) and Canalicchio (30%). In 2005 La Gerla did not produce their Vigna gli Angeli bottling and opted instead to add that fruit to the regular bottling. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020.”

Palmeri has very nice bread, including the ever popular homemade grisini.

And best of all, they have this “amuse” (with the bread) ofmarinara sauce and ricotta baked. With bread, pretty much like pizza.

“Special Caprese of burrata and heirloom tomatos, olive oil and basil.” For my detailed write-up on burrata, see here.

Barbiatelli, beets, goat cheese, a bit of nuts and fruit.

Penne pomodoro, for our toddler.

He likes his parmesan.

“Ravioli, Crab meat filled black pasta in a saffron sauce topped with rock shrimp.” I love good pasta in these butter sauces. These are soft and the sweetness of the crab and shrimp go perfectly with the butter.

“Special pasta stuffed with ricotta and spinach.”

Pizza Fornarina. Mozzarella, St. Daniele prosciutto, argugla, parmigiano reggiano and truffle oil. I’m particularly partial to this pizza. The dough is very tasty and thin but chewy. The salad like combo of toppings top notch, and the bit of truffle oil lends a little extra zing.

For our previous Palmeri review, click here.

Or for a different Brentwood Italian.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brunello di Montalcino, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Marinara sauce, Mozzarella, Olive oil, Palmeri, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pasta, Pizza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, San Vicente Boulevard, side dishes, vegetarian, Wine tasting descriptors

Ford’s Filling Station

May03

Restaurant: Ford’s Filling Station

Location: 9531 Culver Blvd, Culver City. 310-202-1470

Date: April 28, 2011

Cuisine: Gastropub

Rating: Always great for lunch.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

It was a gorgeous day (again) in LA, so I headed out to find another good lunch spot with outside dining. We ended up in Culver City with its rather large selection of good lunch spots and specifically at Ford’s Filling Station, which is run by Benjamin Ford, son of Han Solo. The place has been around awhile but before this he had another place in Beverly Hills which was very good — but I can’t remember the name.

Notice the “pig country” sign. They offer on the menu a 8 person minimum whole pig dinner with a whole roast pig!

Outside, there are two different patios. In general, Culver city has a lot of outside dining which is nice. For some mysterious reason LA restaurants often lack al fresco. This makes no sense given our weather.

The menu.

“Bacon wrapped dates, stuffed with cheese.” Um yum! I love this dish, and I’ve had it at many places (like recently at Upstairs 2). These were as good as any, showing off the sweet and salty.

“Shrimp Curry, jasmine rice, marash pepper and applewood smoked bacon.” Also a really great dish. Very similar to the one I had at Gladstones. The bacon made it even better.

Sliced serrano peppers in has you want to spice it up.

“Pulled Pork Panini, melted gouda and spicy pepper relish.” The beans were awesome too, with a nice smoky porcine flavor.

A close up of the sandwich itself. I had expected something like a North Carolina pulled pork sandwich. That’s kinda tangy. This was more the succulent roast pork with cheese. Yum.

The dessert menu.

“Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich, chocolate chip cookie and mint chocolate-chip ice cream.” The ice cream was great, very similar to the mint ice cream I had at Sweet Rose Creamery, tasting as it did of fresh mint leaves. The fudge was good too. The cookie needed more butter, it was a little dry. Not bad, and the overall dessert was still very good, but with a really awesome cookie, it could have been… really awesome.

Inside, the stripped down old-school culver city building provides a nice deconstructed interior. I’ve never been here at night but I bet it’s a good watering hole.

Another good Culver City place is Fraiche, here for review.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Seconds at Sotto

May01

Restaurant: Sotto [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: April 26, 2011

Cuisine: Sicilian and Sardinian Italian

Rating: Bold flavors, off to a great start!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

We needed a restaurant to celebrate the end of passover that was very bready. Our first choice was Pizzeria Mozza, but even a week in advance they were booked until 10:30, so that was a no go. Instead we went back to Sotto which has a host of extremely robust homemade pastas and pizzas.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.

Sotto is up there on the new (and admirable) trend of having serious mixologists behind the bar. This is a vodka orange martini of some sort. There is more in there, but apparently it was very good.

And this was a vodka, lime, fresh mint, and some really interesting stuff I can’t remember. Again, it was supposedly really good.

The menu.

This unusual Italian white from my cellars was wonderfully flavorful. Almost bright yellow in the glass it had the kind of interesting floral taste that is completely absent from so many generic whites.

“Maharrones de pungiu (sugo semplice, fiore sardo).” A wonderful homemade take on a simple tomato and cheese pasta. The choice of fiore sardo (a Sardinian cheese) gave it a slightly different tang.

“Casarecce (braised lamb ragu, egg, pecorino).” This was one damn fine pasta. The pasta itself had exactly the right texture and firmness of good homemade egg pasta. The ragu was nicely flavorful and meaty. Yum! I love great ragu, and this was my favorite pasta of the night. Some other great takes on ragu can be found here at Drago or at Capo.

“Squid ink fusilli lunghi (pistachios, bottarga, mint).” These long firm ropes had a really interesting texture. There was no overt taste of squid, just a slight sweetness and a rich nutty quality to the pesto-like sauce. Tasty, but also fairly mild despite the “frightening” sounding ingredients.

“Toasted grain capunti (ragu bianco, black trumpets, rapini greens).” Another great pasta. The noodles themselves had an almost whole wheat quality to them, but they still had the nice al-denta pasta fresca thing going on which is a hallmark of all the Sotto pasta. The sauce was cheesy, earthy and delicious.

“Ciceri e tria (tagliatelle, chickpeas, baccalá).” The last of these ingredients is salt cod, and this is essentially a fish pasta. But without any fishiness. Instead it has a creamy salty taste, one of the better fish pastas I’ve had. The noodles were nice and firm, with a toothy feel and the little grissini added some nice texture contrast.

As we move up to the heartier pizzas, I pulled out this Amarone (from my cellars). “The 2000 Amarone has developed relatively quickly. The fruit remains fairly opulent, but suggestions of earthiness and worn-in leather suggest early signs of oxidation are creeping in. Ultimately the 2000 comes across a touch rustic and four-square. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2012.”

“Pizza Marherita (tomato, mozzerella, basil, EVOO).” Your basic Marherita, but well done. These pizzas have a VERY wood fired taste going on, much like those from Gjelina, they are a little over-fired to my taste. The dough is good, but they taste very strongly of the grill (char, smoky flavors). When I do them on the stones in my hot gas grill (see my Ultimate Pizza) they showcase the dough and toppings a bit more.

“Campagnola (sunchokes, fennel, mozzarella, marjoram, house-cured lardo).” A more mushroomy pizza. It was actually fairly mellow, possibly because we had them leave off the lard (which would have added a definite porky richness). Still it was very good.

“Guanciale (house-cured pork cheek, ricotta, scallions, fennel pollen).” This was my favorite pizza of the night. They have REALLy good ricotta here at Sotto, as good as I’ve had outside of Sicily (although certainly not close to that, which is incredible). The mellow softness of the cheese blended perfectly with the rich fattiness of the bacon. This also was not a hit you over the head pizza, but it was very good.

The dessert menu.

Classic Sicilian cannolis. Because of the quality of the ricotta, these were good, on par with the other high end cannolis in town (like from Drago). Still, not in the same league as those in Sicily, but they never are. A slice of candied orange shoved through them would have pushed it up a notch.

“Bittersweet chocolate crostata, hazelnuts, salted rosemary caramel.” This looked amazing, and the texture was fantastic and very chocolaty. There was a slightly odd flavor tone in here, which might have been the rosemary. I’m not sure it added, although certainly I enjoyed it.

“Sheep’s milk yougurt panacotta. Thyme, honey, almond amaretti.” This was a yummy! Like tangy yoghurt with all sorts of sweet goodies. I love amaretti too.

Overall there is a bit of split opinion among our party about Sotto. Some of us love it for exactly the same reason the other don’t. The flavors are bold, the preparations original, traditional (in their own way), and unabashedly not fully censored in an American way. The ingredients are great too. They could probably use to tame down the burn factor on the pizzas, but I love the rest of it, and the pastas are amazing. However, if you prefer the straight up and simpler tones of boxed pasta and sauces with only a single flavor note, look elsewhere.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.

Also, since this is a Sicilian/Sardinian place, I would like to issue my Cassata Challenge. Above is a photo of a Cassata di Siciliana that I took in Palermo. This is perhaps my all time favorite dessert and I have NEVER found anyone who makes it for real in America. Surprise me! Do it!

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

Or for a review of Drago, another Sicilian restaurant.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Calabria, California, Cook, Dessert, Food, Italian cuisine, Italy, Los Angeles, pasta, Pecorino Sardo, Pizza, Pizzeria Mozza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sardinian (sheep), side dishes, vegetarian, Wine

Sotto – Sicily con Sardo

Apr18

Restaurant: Sotto [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: April 16, 2011

Cuisine: Sicilian and Sardinian Italian

Rating: Bold flavors, off to a great start!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

This new venture into the crowded LA Italian scene is a welcome change of pace. Sotto offers very reasonably priced regional Italian dishes (southern, with a Sicilian and Sardinian slant) with an unabashed traditionalism of a sort. There is no real effort on this menu to cater to the long standing American Italian palette, as influences as it is by late 19th century Southern Italian cooking. This is no red sauce (restaurant with red and white checkered table cloths and chianti bottles).

Located in the rising lower Beverly Hills district we had to fight through crowds leaving shul to descend into the packed, loud, and hard surfaced interior.

The short but very reasonable menu.

James Suckling gives this 2004 Poggio Il Castellare Brunello 94 points. “A decadent and ultra-rich red, with plum tart, prunes, cooked meat and berries. Full bodied, with soft and silky tannins and a long, flavorful finish. An aromatically beautiful wine. Best after 2012.”

“Pittule pugliese (vincotto, ricotta).” These little fritters tasted like supreme funnel cake, and were delicious with the fresh ricotta and vincotto (which is a sweet grape must). The amusing thing, for me, about this dish is that it’s pretty much straight out of Apicius, the 1800+ year-old cookbook. Delicious any way you cut it, but very filling.

“Blistered little gems (anchovy garlic pestata, breadcrumbs, pecorino moliterno.” An interesting salad with a smoky grilled flavor.

“Shaved beet and mixed chicory salad (wheatberries, lemon vinaigrette, fiore sardo).”

Olives. There was a little wait between the first and second courses and they brought us these complementary olives.

“Bruschetta lardo.” And this gratis charred bread spread with lard and fennel pollen. Very wood fired (not to mention rich taste). I was in danger of extreme over eating before the entrees even came.

“Casarecce (braised lamb ragu, egg, pecorino).” This was one damn fine pasta. The pasta itself had exactly the right texture and firmness of good homemade egg pasta. The ragu was nicely flavorful and meaty. Yum! I love great ragu. Some of my other favorites are here at Drago or at Capo.

“Pizza Salsiccia e friarieli (sausage, broccoli di ciccio, mozzarella, chillies).” A very nice meaty sausage paired with the bitter tones of the Italian brocoli. Interesting, and good.

After 11 and the place is beginning to thin out a bit. I really enjoyed Sotto and it BOLD take on Italian. This is heady stuff, and the homemade pastas were totally amazing.

For a second review of Sotto, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Upstairs 2 – Modern Tapas, Lots of Wine

Apr17

Restaurant: Upstairs 2

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

Date: October 10, 2010 & April 15, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Tapas

Rating: Bright flavors and a lot of options.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Upstairs 2 is located just above the Wine House on Cotner. This is one of the two great wine stores on this road, the other being Twenty Twenty Wine Merchants which is even more erudite (and closer allied to my taste in wine). Upstairs offers not only a big wine list and extensive by-the-glass offers (in multiple sizes) but a rich and varied menu of modern American tapas. As you know, I love tapas style dining because of the ability to try more than 2-3 flavors and the much more flexible composition of dinner menus.

This review is a composite of two different dinners. I show both a small set menu and a variety of “regular” tapas off the menu.

The menu.

The bread and olive oil.

Tonight there’s a little tasting menu with wine pairings. It appealed to me so I gave it a try.

This riesling was to my taste.

The cold cucumber soup, creme fraiche, and dill, not as much. I was hoping for something a little closer to middle eastern yogurt salad. This was very cucumber and dill. I enjoy those flavors but the thin texture of the soup (almost watery: the texture not the flavor) put me off somehow.

I funky powerful white.

“Half lobster tail, spinach polenta, black truffle butter.” This was the best dish of the three. The green stuff was rich and creamy and went very nicely with the firm lobster meat.

A pleasant barolo.

The osso bucco itself was tasty. The meat was firmer than a traditional osso bucco, and tasted almost like lamb. The succotash was okay.

I should have ordered ala carte. The dishes were okay, but I could have done better picking myself.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

And so, here is a collection of modern tapas designed to be shared by the whole table.

“Blood Orange Caesar Salad, Pumpernickel Croutons, Shaved Parmesan.” Very close to a traditional caesar, just with a little extra sweetness thrown in.

“Grilled Mahi Mahi, Crispy Corn Pancake, Black Bean Hummus, Avocado Mousse.” Sort of a modern fish taco!

“Medjool dates wrapped in serrano ham, stuffed with asiago cheese.” These are always yum central. The sweetness of the dates, the savory of the cheese, and the salty bite of the ham blend wonderfully.

“Lobster BLT on brioche, bacon, frisse, roma tomato, housemade mayo.” Another winner. I didn’t even mind the tomatoes here.

“Tandoori chicken salad, artisan greens, grape tomatos, raita, meyer lemon dressing.” This was great too. Somehow tandoori chicken does okay on salad.

“Crispened eggplant, fresh mozzarella, ricotta, marscapone cheese, chunky tomato and basil.” Mini pizza-like in flavor.

“Mixed heirloom tomatos, rainbow microgreens, citrus vinaigrette.”

“Lamb sausage flatbread, Moroccan red sauce, asiago cheese.” Not so mini pizza!

“Grilled Local Sea Bass, Purple Potato Ravioli, Ginger Beur Blanc, Black Sea Salt.”

“King crab ravioli, veronique sauce.” I love these butter sauces on delicate pastas.

“Grilled bison hanger steak, yukon smashed potatoes, red wine sauce.”

“Slow Roasted Kurobuta Pork, Sticky Rice, Oregano and Citrus.” This was really tasty, with a sweet asian pork thing going on.

“Moroccan Roast Chicken, Plums, Olives, Capers, Couscous.” Lots of flavor here as well.

“lamb meatballs, ouzo and mint.”

“Pappardelle Pasta, Veal ragu, Fresh Basil, Asiago Cheese.”

Dessert menu.

“Valrhona Chocolate Chip Gelato.”

“Sticky Toffee Pudding, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.” This was good, not amazing, but good, particularly with the ice cream. I wanted even MORE toffee flavor, but I’m an extremist.

Overall Upstairs 2 is a good place, particularly in that it offers a lot of variety and really strong flavors. It’s particularly good with a part of 4 or 6 and people willing to just order up a storm and share it around. The good, extensive, and flexible wine options are great too. Also if you buy a wine downstairs, there’s no corkage.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cook, Cucumber, Dessert, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad, side dishes, Soups and Stews, Tapas, Tasting menu, Truffle (fungus), Upstairs 2, vegetarian, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Bastide – Chef Number Six

Apr16

Restaurant: Bastide

Location: 8475 Melrose Pl, West Hollywood, CA 90069 323.651.5950

Date: April 14, 2011

Cuisine: Cal French

Rating: Good, but a little uneven.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

For the April Foodie Club meeting, following hot on the heels of the March one, we decided to tackle Bastide. This has always been a curious restaurant. It’s about half outside in a courtyard with a lovely olive tree(s). But this place has gone through more chefs in a few short years, and more good ones, than pretty much any I can think of. I’ve eaten here perhaps seven times, and certainly under at least four, maybe all, of the previous chefs.

I had a spot on ethereal Alain Giraud meal here in 2003, a whacky but great one with Lefebvre (I will never forget “chocolate spaghetti al carbonara,” a dessert with parmesan ice cream and pancetta chunks!), a phenomenal chef table tasting with Manzke, and another great meal with Shoemaker. I wasn’t so impressed with Mahon’s “simpler” (I don’t like simple when it comes to food) menu.

So back I came to try out number six: Sydney Hunter, who has worked at many a LA restaurant, including at least two stints at Bastide under other chefs.

The signature entrance and the courtyard beyond.

The current savory menu. We asked for the “nine course tasting menu.” The dishes were more or less on the menu.

Bastide is one of those rare restaurants that doesn’t allow corkage. Normally I hate this, but they had this gem on the menu at a stunningly low $159. The rest of the list was good and pretty reasonable too.

The 1985 Domaine Leroy Beaune les Pertuisots. I’d gladly paid this at retail. I’d buy two cases. Parker gives it an 88, but he’s so wrong. This wine was drinking at a 96 point level, and in impecable shape — impressive for a 26 year-old burgundy.

“Much has been written about the dynamic Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy. Some of it has been malicious and motivated strictly by insidious jealousy. From time to time I have complained of her pricing structure. Yet there should never be any criticism of her philosophy of what burgundy should be. Her wines are among the noblest and purest expressions of Pinot Noir in Burgundy. They are treated with the care of a pampered child, never filtered, and bottled barrel by barrel. Given the size of her wines and their power and structure, in a cool damp cellar they will last 20 to 25 years. Bize-Leroy thinks 1985 is one of the two best burgundy vintages in the last twenty years, the other being 1978. Given the range of wines I tasted, 44 in all, 16 were exceptional, 21 very good to excellent. Thirty-seven very good to exceptional wines out of 44 is an amazingly high percentage, and I would be proud to own any of them.”

A page on the list, includes our wine.

They have good bread. I think it used to be more interesting, but the onion focaccia-style bread was very good.

“Asparagus, spring truffles, peas, parmesan, lemon jus, olive oil.” And over on the side a single seared scallop, and two types of citrus. This was a delicious salad. The citrus and scallop were delightful together, and the main salad itself complex and wonderful. Plus, yummy white truffles.

“Albacore, white turnip soup, fried shallots, ponzu cubes, daikon sprouts.” This was wonderful also, with a very interesting and complex flavor and texture profile. The soup was really good too and the tuna itself sushi grade.

“Hamachi, pickled carrot, orange, sherry vinegar, watercress, cocoa nibs.” This was also amazing. The interplay of citrus, fish, dusted flavors etc was fantastic. The blob in the front was some kind of savory ice cream — also spectacular. The pickled carrots had a nice crunch.

“Spicy octopus salad, cherry tomatoes, chickpea panisse, sardinian pasta, cucumbers, chorizo oil, pineapple.” Another top top dish, arguably the best. The octopus was really tender, and the mix of vegetables really tasty with a very nice textural component.

“Seabream, romesco, baby zucchini, artichokes, tomato confit, lemon sauce.” The fish itself was just fish — good fish, but still fish. The Romesco had a very fine texture, much finer than my own homemade version (SEE HERE), but didn’t have as much of a punch. The artichokes were wonderful and the lemon sauce pretty intense.

EP joked: “The only way to make seabream exciting is to drown it in a strong curry.”

“Steelhead salmon trout, manila clams, parisian potatoes, haricot vert, fennel pollon.” The fish was medium rare, and very soft and flavorful. But the buttery sauce with the little potatoes the real winner.

“Jidori Chicken, potato & celery root gratin, pickled peppers, pea tendrils, Baby corn, pimenton hollandaise sauce.” The chicken was good, but it was after all, chicken. The star of this dish was the potato gratin, which had a bit of a curry flavor (they must have heard EP’s seabream comment). Like potatoes Lyonnaise gone south-east-asian. The little corns made me think of the Tom Hanks movie Big.

“Beef tenderloin, pont neuf potatoes, baby spinach, mushrooms, and beef marrow.” The tenderloin was very good. I didn’t care so much for the potatoes, I like my french fries thinner 🙂 The marrow was tasty, but too gooey fatty for me (not that it wasn’t good marrow, but I was starting to get full and a whole segment of fat…).

“Blood orange sorbet.” Very nice refresher.

After killing 3 bottles of the Burgundy (with 4 people) we ordered this fantastic Sauternes. Parker gave it 95 points, and this time I agree. “The 1990 continues to develop exceptionally well (better than I thought), and now looks to be a worthy rival of the dazzling 1988. The superb aromatics (pineapple, acacia, vanilla, and honey) are followed by a rich, full-bodied, atypically powerful Climens that possesses adequate acidity, high alcohol, and even higher levels of extract and fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030.”

Just a wonderful wine.

The desdert menu.

“Ricotta fritters, hot chocolate milk, cinnamon ice cream.” The fritter itself was very nicely chewy, and the fruit sauce made it like a little jelly donut. The tiny blog of cinnamon ice cream was tasty too, but tiny. The little milk thing reminded me of the chilled rather than frozen milk shakes I used to get as a kid in the Pennsylvania mountains.

The four of us got this very dinky selection of petit fours to split. They were quite miniature, and we each only got to taste one. I had the macaroon, which was good (for more about macaroons, see here). While tasty, we were disappointed in the number and variety of the desserts. They could have brought more and mixed it up more.

Overall Bastide “take six” got off to a strong start. The wine was fantastic, and the first four courses equally so. But by the time we reached the entrees things slipped from amazing to merely very good. I wanted to be more blown away by the mains — but where was the cheese? — plus while the dessert was yummy they could have done more (at least giving one petit four of each type per person).

Service, by the way, was excellent, no problems there.

Perhaps it’s also that we felt the the tasting menu was just an serial assembly of dishes from the menu. There was something a bit missing from the overall progression. And the cheese. Never forget the cheese.

For other Foodie Club meals, click here.

By: agavin
Comments (8)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bastide, Beaune, Burgundy wine, Dessert, Drink, Food, Foodie Club, Los Angeles, Pinot noir, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad, side dishes, Sydney Hunter, Truffle (fungus), vegetarian, West Hollywood California, Wine

Sushi Zo

Apr15

Restaurant: Sushi Zo

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

Date: April 8, 2011

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 finally went.

Unfortuantly, this outside shot is all you get, because they don’t allow photography. Bummer, because the sushi was good.

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 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.

The chef had a bit of an attitude. Bordering on brusk. First the no camera bit. Then the sushi-nazi style directions on the table about proper sushi etiquette, the hurried pace, and the “no soy sauce” or “yes soy sauce” commands — barked.

But food wise, this is overall the best warm-rice style sushi I’ve had in recent years. I really should go back to Nozawa, but it’s been way too long for me to give him proper perspective.

But I’m thinking I prefer Sushi Sushi (reviews HERE, HERE, and HERE). The deal is a little better, it has more variety of style, the fish is just as good, and I prefer the more traditional Tokyo (cold rice) style, the friendly chefs, and the emphasis on the taste of the fish.

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

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: fish, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Osaka, raw fish, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Rice, Sashimi, Sea urchin, Soy sauce, Sushi, Sushi Sushi, Sushi Zo, Uni

JiRaffe is no Joke

Apr11

Restaurant: JiRaffe [1, 2]

Location: 502 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401. 310.917.6671

Date: April 1, 2011

Cuisine: French American

Rating: Santa Monica Classic

To me, it seems JiRaffe has been here forever. It opened in 1996, and to have made it 15 years in Santa Monica is no small feat. The space next door (which is a really nice two floor space) has had 7 restaurants in the same period! JiRaffe remains not only in business, but busy — and good. It is headed by Chef/Owner Raphael Lunetta and serves creative California adapted French influenced flair with a concentration on farmer’s market ingredients. Lunetta was ahead of the recent trend exemplified by places like Gjelina, Rustic Canyon, and Fig. His style is more classic, but not in the least outdated.

The nice two floor space. There is a loft (not visible) with a number of tables too.

The cocktail menu.

“Blood Orange Cosmopolitan, Grey Goose Vodka, Key Lime and Fresh Blood Orange.” This is the kind of real cocktail I like to see, not the saccharine kind of concoction I got the other week at Gladstones (see here), but a drink made from fresh ingredients and no flavored alcohols. It was tart, but really flavorful.

The appetizers.

A variety of breads.

The amuse, a mushroom cream cappuccino. Very tasty, almost truffle flavored and very rich. They actually goofed slightly and brought this after our appetizers, making it more of an intermezzo, but it didn’t matter.

“Roasted Organic Beet Salad, organic beets, carmelized walnuts, dried cherries, goat cheese cream, banyuls-ginger vinaigrette.” This dish has become ubiquitous, but I suspect JiRaffe was one of the earliest to offer it on their menu (it might have been an 80s Wolfgang Puck invention, but I’m not sure). This particularly implementation has always been one of the best I’ve ever had. The sweet of the beets pairing beautifully with the sharpness of the goat cheese, and the chewy crunch of the walnut/cherry combo adding to the effect.

“Purple Peruvian Gnocchi, rock shrimp, pearl onions, mandarin tomato concassé, herb infused tomato nage.” Although these gnocchi look like the grubs I encountered in china (as a breakfast condiment for congi), they tasted delicious. The sauce was extremely buttery, and paired perfectly with the soft little pillows and the tender shrimp.

Les entrees.

“Crispy Scottish Salmon with parsnip puree, white wine braised fennel, and an aged balsamic nage.” Note that the fennel was substituted out here for spinach.

“New Zealand Lamb Rack, yellowfin potato samosas, vegetable moussaka, thyme-scented lamb jus.” The lamb itself was delicious, exactly what you’d want. The jus perfect as well. My only complaint was the samosas which were very bland, tasting only of potato. I’m not such a plain starch fan. They were okay soaked in the jus, but I would have preferred a strong curry flavor or something.

JiRaffe also has a VERY yummy looking dessert menu, but we were too full to partake. The full menu can be found HERE.

Overall JiRaffe is a Santa Monica classic, and for good reason. This is a solid kitchen and everything is very tasty. The menu remains consistant. It does change, but in a slow evolutionary way, mostly swapping out seasonal ingredients and preserving what is essentially the same dish. They could experiment a little more, but they do have a good thing going.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Blood Orange, California, Cocktail, Farmer's Market, JiRaffe, Key Lime, Los Angeles, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica California, side dishes, United States, vegetarian, Wolfgang Puck

Totoraku – Secret Beef!

Apr09

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: April 7, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

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

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

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

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

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

The wine prepped in my cellar and ready to go.

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

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

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

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

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

Vegetable jelly. Interesting texture, tasted like… vegetables.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beef tongue with salt.

So many moo-less cows.

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

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

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

The “salad.” Cucumbers, carrots, daikon.

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

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

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

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

Shrimp on the barbi!

Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.

Cooked here with the scallions.

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

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

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

Inside rib eye.

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

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

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

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

Raw.

Less raw. Goes in the sweet sauce — yum!

Skirt steak.

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

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

Were cooking now!

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

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

There are some special ice creams and sorbets.

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

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

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

For other Foodie Club meals, click here.

Fellow Foodie Club Chair – EP

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Parlez Vu Modern?

Mar29

Restaurant: Vu [1, 2]

Location: 14160 Palaway Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292 310.439.3033

Date: March 25, 2011

Cuisine: Modern

Rating: Very creative, worth a trip, but needs a little tuning up

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Vu is a new place in Marina Del Rey. While I lived there in 1997-1998 MDR was a bit of a culinary wasteland. It hasn’t exactly had a renaissance, but it is improving, and Vu is certainly an example of that. This place is nicely situated along the Marina with good views — sort of oddly tucked into the ground floor of some apartment or office building — and it’s got very novel and even somewhat molecular food. There’s a lot of ambition here on the menu, and I give them an A for effort. But they need to tune it up a bit to rich the heights possible with this sort of cuisine. In LA, the current molecular champ (and there aren’t many contenders) is The Bazaar, and it’s tasting room Saam. This type of cuisine originated in Spain, and you can see some native examples HERE or HERE.

The menu offers both extensive small plates (front) and a few entrees and desserts (back). As I’ve said again and again, I love the small plate format.

The bread is homemade cornbread, with jalapeño butter. I approve. As a partial southerner, I love cornbread, and this was a good example of type.

The drink menus. The wine was all California, which is hard for me, a dedicated European Wine lover.

2009 Brander Sauvignon Blanc. Despite being New World, I enjoyed it, much like a good Sancerre.

““Reconstructed” Caprese Salad, balsamic-injected cherry tomatoes, basil-infused fresh mozzarella, red hawaiian sea salt, micro basil.” This was my wife’s favorite. A tad too much tomato for me (being a tomato hater). The texture was really neat though, almost like a merengue.

“Hamachi, bbq spice, collard green fluid gel, micro cilantro.” I was a bit disappointed with this dish. Maybe it needed a slightly better grade of fish, maybe more spice, but it didn’t have as much flavor as I would have expected.

“Grilled Cheese, toasted brioche, “midnight moon”, tomato jam, micro basil.” Overall nice. The sauce was very pomodoro sauce like. The cheese was maybe a bit tangy for the combo somehow, but good.

“Peas & Carrots, carrot noodles, pea puree, carrot chips.” The textures here were really neat (particularly the chips). The overall flavor was pleasant but very subtle and muted.

“Chicken-Fried Watermelon, pickled ring.” The fry here was great fry, and since you can fry anything it more or less worked. It was a little odd or surprising to bite into fry and get watermelon, but as I said, it was great fry.

“Lobster Tail, citrus, popcorn jello, fritos.” My favorite dish hands down. The raw lobster had a really nice texture, like raw scallop, and the crunchy crisp of the fritos really went nicely. Overall it showed off both the subtle lobster flavor and had a bit of zing (from the citrus I assume).

“Lamb “Lollipops” sweet tea poached, rosemary, roasted grape relish.” My second favorite. Very nice and meaty. Not a middle eastern lamb flavor as I might expected, but very tasty nonetheless.

“Buttermilk Panna Cotta, liquid nitrogen coke-a-cola, carbonated blackberries.” This was a little bit of a disappointment. I guess it should have been sweeter to my taste. The Panna Cotta itself was a little sour, like a yogourt and/or I expected the coke-a-cola topping to be VERY sweet to counter (it was instead subtle). The blackberries I loved. They had some serious zing. Overall it was pleasant, but it could have been great.

The view is, for the most part, very nice.

The menu here at Vu is really interesting and innovative. It has a good format (with lots of small plates) and is well priced. But I think the kitchen needs to tune things up a bit. I’m not exactly sure where the issue is, but the dishes were often just nice instead of wow — and it seemed they could be wow. It might be ingredients in a couple cases (like the Hamachi), or maybe it’s just a certain amount of zest or the ratios. The flavors were often a bit muted for my taste. It’s even possible that this is just a slightly flat execution by the kitchen (and the test recipes are good). This kind of cooking needs to really balance the flavors and have the whole thing jam through. Saam is a great example of this. At our tasting menu there a couple weeks ago, nearly every dish jumped off the plate and straight into your hind-brain.

But I very much applaud the effort, far too many restaurants churn out the same boring stuff. So I’ll check back again and see how things have developed.

Check out a second review at Vu here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Caprese, Cook, Cornbread, Dessert, Hamachi, Insalata Caprese, lamb, Lobster, Los Angeles, Marina del Rey California, Modern Cuisine, New World, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sancerre, side dishes, vegetarian

Fraiche Santa Monica

Mar23

Restaurant: Fraiche Santa Monica [1, 2]

Location: 312 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401. Phone : 310.451.7482

Date: March 19, 2011

Cuisine: Cal French Italian

Rating: On the way up.

This particular location adjacent to the Barnes and Noble on Wilshire near the promenade has a fairly checkered past. Two or three years ago the Fraiche group turned it into Riva. This was supposed to be a coastal Italian, but to my taste wasn’t really Italian at all — although they made a decent Pizza. In any case, it failed and they rebooted it as Fraiche Santa Monica with an entirely new menu and staff, albiet an identical interior. This is sort of a spin off of the Culver City location (REVIEW HERE).

One corner of the back room. I didn’t have much of a wide angle lens (food after all). It’s a pretty nice space.

The wine by the glass list.

“Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Les Chapitres de Jaffelin, Burgundy, 2009.” As a burghound this was about the bare limit of drinkability for Pinot Noir. A little sour and acidic and decidedly unbalanced. But then again, I rarely expect much from “Bourgogne” (Burgundy which is not AOC to a particular village or vineyard).

The bread was hot out of the oven, and very nice and crunchy. Oilve, mashed and oiled.

Today’s menu. This is actually the second time I’ve eaten at Fraiche SM (I did so once right after they opened) and in the meantime they have moved the menu to be much closer to the new one at Fraiche Culver City (detailed review of that here).

“POACHED PEAR SALAD, Endive, baby wild arugula, candied walnuts, Point Reyes blue cheese, red wine vinaigrette.”

“Baby Beets, House Made Ricotta / Orange / Pistachio.” Sweetness of the beets meshes with the cheesy sauce. Beet salads have become very passe, but when well done (like this one), I like them.

“ROASTED PEPPERS ARUGULA & BURRATA, Shallots, 12 year old balsamic and extra virgin olive oil.” This was as good a Burrata as I’ve had at a restaurant. They still aren’t quite as sensual as my own take on the cheese.

“Valpolicella Ripasso, Classico Superiore, David Sterza, Veneto, 2008.” Much better than the generic Burgundy. This was a fine wine of the type. Grapey, but not as much so as an Amarone.

“MUSHROOM RISOTTO, Arugula, Pine Nuts, Pecorino.” Nice nutty, mushroomy risotto.

“AGNOLOTTI, Mushrooms, mascarpone, truffle butter.” These are really good. The pasta is nice fresh egg pasta. It tastes mostly of butter and mushroom. Butter!

“GARGANELLI, Mushroom Bolognese, Parsley, House Made Ricotta.” I actually expected this to be a meat pasta, but it’s vegetarian with the “ragu” being made from mushrooms. It was tasty, particularly the ricotta which, being homemade, was more like a real Sicilian Ricotta than one usually gets here. The mushrooms leant it a fairly rich taste, but it wasn’t heavy at all (like a meat one would be).

“Rigatoni, Beef & Pork Ragù / Scallion / Gruyère.” This one was great. basically a Bolognese, but really good. Close even to one of my ultimate pasa favorites, the lamb ragu at Capo (SEE HERE).

We were too full for desserts but Fraiche has really good ones, so I snuck in a photo of the Budino from a trip to the culver city joint. You can look there for a bunch more dessert photos. The dessert menu is nearly identical.

“Carmel Budino, Vanilla Mascarpone, Sea salt.” Mildly carmel/creamy with that nice salt factor. Good, but not quite as good as the similar dessert at Gjelina (SEE HERE).

Fraiche SM seems to be settling into its groove. It was better than last time, and quite a bit better than Riva. It isn’t a lot different than the Culver City location, but the menu is slightly smaller, and missing the assorted “pots of stuff” that are fairly unique over there. It does still have the very good fresh pastas. I need to try I nice meaty one.