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Archive for pork – Page 2

Homestyle Korean Double Dinner

May15

Restaurant: Seong Buk Dong

Location: 3303 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 738-8977

Date: May 7, 2015

Cuisine: Korean

Rating: Super flavors

_

My friend Liz Lee of Sage Society wanted to take a bunch of us out to her favorite homestyle Korean restaurant, but they don’t allow alcohol, so we decided to do a “double dinner” with a part 1 at Republique (including wine) and a part 2 at Seong Buk Dong.

We sat near the Republique bar, early in the evening.

I just had to show off their Normandy butter.

Tonight’s menu.

Liz, being Liz, whipped out a bottle of P2! (Dom Perignon’s high end cuvee). Check out the fancy box.

1998 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon P2. VM 95. Pale gold. Intense, mineral-tinged citrus and orchard fruit aromas, with a suave jasmine nuance adding complexity. Smoky and penetrating on the palate, offering vibrant orange, anise and toasted brioche flavors and a touch of poached pear. Shows outstanding clarity and power on the mineral-driven finish, which clings with remarkable tenacity and resonating florality. This late-release bottling was formerly called Oenotheque; P2 stands for Plenitude Two.

agavin: Fresh, bright, and delicious. Got better and better in the glass.

Oysters, 3 types.


Bread and normandy butter.


2000 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. VM 97. Very pale color. Extraordinary nose reminded me of a great riesling from schist soil: pineapple, wet stone, iodine, spring flowers, even a hint of petrol. Compellingly rich and ripe but extremely dry, with great breadth and depth of flavor. Coats the palate with liquid stone. Builds slowly and goes on and on; all minerals and white flowers today, not yet fruity at all. A wine of great precision and suavity, but with its richness and sweetness it comes across as less sharp than the Forest. I couldn’t get this wine out of my head on my drive to Paris the next day and on the flight home: is that long, or what?

agavin: fine, but not as good as the 2002


Tempura. Green beans, zucchini flowers, sweet onions, fresno chilies, basil aioli. Some great tempura, amplified by the pesto-like aioli. The zucchini and chilies were particularly good.


2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. VM 96+. Very ripe but unforthcoming aromas of wet stone, honey and oatmeal. Extremely primary on the palate, with bracing grapefruit and mineral flavors and superb vibrancy. This offers great sweetness and breadth without any impression of weight. Finishes with explosive citrus and mineral flavors and great finesse. Wonderfully refreshing wine that’s the perfect antidote to dry mouth. Like the young 2003, the finish of this wine seems to come in waves.

agavin: awesome depth and complexity.

Crispy Soft Shell Crab. Just pure fried crab — awesome!


From my cellar: 1995 Pierre Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 92 points agavin. Fresh, young, still some reduction. Meursault richness, very nice.

Charcoal grilled Atlantic Calamari and razor clams. Very fresh.

Chips and Dip. Crispy pork rinds…

Ora king salmon crudo, cucumber, yogurt. Really good stuff. I particularly liked the dill.


1991 Domaine Groffier Bonnes Mares. agavin 90. No nose, but a nice palette.

Grass-fed beef tartare. tarragon aioli, pickled red onion, potato chips.


1996 Domaine Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots. VM 92-94. Excellent deep ruby-red color. Subdued but vibrant aromas of cassis, blackberry and violet. Superb sweetness and flavor intensity; penetrating flavor of spicy blackberry. Lovely acidity gives the wine juiciness and great cut. Very persistent and fine on the finish. Has fruit of steel. Great Nuits-Saint-Georges premier cru.

agavin: Really nice with a sexy nose and that classic Leroy style. Lots of depth.

Charcuterie. All sorts of amazing pates. Pickled vegetables. Spiced persimmons which were to die for, cured duck, and salami.

Duck Liver mousse — amazing and some other kind of potted meat.

Duck filled agnolotti in brown butter sauce. Amazing pasta. Rich too, no surprise.


The wine lineup.

We ubered over to K-Town to visit this slice of Korea.

Looks the part inside.


The menu.

Barley tea.

Banchan.

Delicious Kimchi.

Pickled spiced green.

Pickled spiced green.

Egg custard with greens.

Chewy sweet beans.

Marinated bean sprouts.

Seaweed.

White rice, necessary to sop up the spicy sauce.

Godeungeo Jorim. Braised Mackerel in a spicy soy sauce mixture with white radish and kimchi. Amazing sauce and very tender fish. I particularly loved the daikon radish.

Galbi Jjim. Braised Beef Short Ribs. trimmed of (some) fat, seasoned in a sweet soy sauce & braised until tender. So tender, this was some of the best “beef stew” I’ve ever had.

Jaeyuk Bokum / Kimchi Bokum. A stir fry of sour kimchi, fatty pork, & green onion. Amazing dish. The pork was full of flavor and the kimchi sauce was awesome and balanced. This is actually relatively similar to the twice cooked pork we had the previous night at Lucky Noodle King, but about 10x better.

Samgyre Tang. Ginseng Chicken Soup. Tender whole young chicken stuffed w/ ginseng, jujubes, sweet rice and whole garlic cloves & simmered until tender. Homestyle Korean chicken soup, which is much like any chicken soup. A bit mild for my taste, but certainly very tender.

Jogi Gui. Grilled yellow croaker. Classic grilled fish.

Haemul Pajeon. Seafood and green onion pancake. Tender young green onion steams folded into a flour batter with squid, clam meat, and oysters. Pan fried.

The all important pancake sauce.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  2. Fraiche – Ultimo Wine Dinner
  3. Friday Night Heights – Shabbat Dinner
  4. Sam’s by the Beach – Mom’s Annual Dinner
  5. Eating Tuscany – Villa Dinner
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burgundy, Dom Pérignon (wine), Kimchee, Mackerel, pork, République, Sage Society, Seong Buk Dong, Wine

Forget the Duck Soup, More Meat!

Mar04

Restaurant: Tasty Duck [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1039 E Valley Blvd. Ste B102. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 572-3885

Date: February 28, 2015

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Great Duck!

_

Tasty Duck is a regular spot with my Hedonist food and  wine club. Tonight is not only duck night, but “high” (or at least higher) end wine night.


The interior is jammed and the turnover is high. There isn’t even a space inch to stand while waiting for a table as the serves need what little space there is to reach the tables.


NV Charles Mignon Champagne Cuvée Comte de Marne Millésime Grand Cru. 90 points.  Medium(-) lemon, fine sub-mm bubbles enamanating from numerous point sources. Medium(-) aromas of lemon, cooked green apple and biscuit. Dry, medium(+) tart acidity, medium(-) body and alcohol (@12.5% abv). Medium flavors of green apple, lemon, mineral, and touch honey/biscuit. Focused finish, medium length with cutting finish. Soft delicate mousse. Great as aperitif.


The main event: Peking Duck. Not only was this delectable, with fantastic crispy skin and delicate meat, but it’s artfully arranged. We had two plates of these per table and it was a feeding frenzy!


Here are the traditional accompaniments, starting with excellent pancakes. One mystery question I must ask: why do Chinese restaurants insist on putting far too few pancakes and too little hoisin sauce on the table?


Hoisin sauce and green onions.


From my cellar: 2000 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Burghound 93. Surprisingly open and expressive with wonderfully complex and nuanced aromas that reveal a dazzling array of floral and fruit elements followed by rich, ripe and somewhat more full-bodied flavors than usual but the additional weight is more than buffered by the racy finishing acidity and almost painfully intense back end. This is presently a good deal more forward than the ’00 Bâtard though there is clearly enough material to suggest that this will benefit from another 3 to perhaps 5 years in the cellar.

agavin: our bottle was round, open, with caramel notes. Mature and delicious.


Cumin lamb. Strong, but not spicy. A typical specimen, but with tender flavorful lamb. Some places border on mouton.


A 1971 Riesling Kabinett. I can’t even find this on Cellar Tracker. I think this was more than a bit past by my standards.


Their interesting take on “walnut shrimp.” The fried shrimp, sweet mayo sauce, and walnuts is supplemented with pineapple! Not my favorite rendition of this dish. We’ve gotten spoiled.


1976 Hugel et Fils Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive SGN Sélectionneé par Jean Hugel. 92 points. Metallic nose like wet pennies with some candied nuts. Earthy funk initially this really started gaining weight in the glass coming up with some ripe red apple notes later on. Still good and interesting to drink.

agavin: this one was pretty good, if fully mature.


Sauteed A Chop. We had no idea what “a chop” was but it’s apparently some kind of boc choy? Anywhichway it was a pretty good garlicky green.


From my cellar: 1990 Georges Noellat Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots. agavin 89. At first this was lean with a bit of a funky/cork vibe. After about 30 minutes this blew off and I found it rather nice and enjoyable, if fully mature.


Crispy whole red cod with sweet and sour sauce. A really nice fish, similar to a couple weeks ago at the Shanghai place.


2007 Forey Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 90. Here the aromas run more toward cassis flowers along with pretty and wild red berry fruits that are followed by rich, full and quite minerally middle weight flavors that are beautifully detailed, textured and solidly persistent, all wrapped in a subtle oak influenced finish. I like the intensity here and the balance is impeccable and if not a wine of great depth, there is enough here to be more than just interesting.


Some amazing Shanghai style soup dumplings (XLB). Tasty little morsels stuffed with pork and broth. We got about 4 orders of these.


2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. Burghound 87. A high-toned raspberry and cranberry fruit nose that also displays subtle spice and menthol hints introduces round, supple and easy to like flavors up until the finish that is overtly warm if attractively sappy. Be sure to keep this cool because the warmth really comes up if the temperature rises even slightly.


2011 Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. 89 points. Plum notes, pepper spell on opening, strong tannins. Decanted for 4 hours and opened up. Probably should not decant more than an hour.


French style Beef. Extremely tender and delicious, almost sweet, morsels of filet.


2011 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon Yountville. 86 points. The heavy tastes were present: some cocoa, some tobacco, some rose hip. But none of the lighter stuff needed to even it out. The nose was quite nice and lighter than the palate. Mouthfeel was a bit too sharp.


Sticky rice with BBQ eel. A new dish. The eel was great. The rice had a nice texture, but the flavor was a bit earthy?


2005 Canon la Gaffeliere. Parker 94. For opulence, decadence, and sexiness, this 2005 is hard to resist. One of the vintage’s most flamboyant efforts, it is a gorgeous blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. With a stunningly exotic nose of espresso roast, a juicy meat and herb concoction, spice box, chocolate, incense, and copious quantities of sweet, ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit, this full-throttle St.-Emilion exhibits good structure (because of the vintage’s sound acid levels) and high, but velvety tannin. It is a brilliant effort from proprietor Stephan von Neipperg. I would not discount its aging potential as the 1990, which I thought would have a short aging curve, is still going strong at age 18. The 2005 should easily last 20-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030.


Oyster mushrooms. These looks and felt a bit like Shanghai rice cakes. They were pretty delicious though.


2008 Alban Vineyards Grenache. Parker 93-95. The 2008 Grenache is just plain beautiful at this stage. A striking bouquet redolent of dark red fruit, flowers and spices melds into a core of textured fruit. This is all purity and finesse. I can hardly wait to taste the finished wine. This is very fresh for a wine that has been in barrel for nearly three years. The 2008 Grenache is 98% Grenache and 2% Syrah. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2018.


Beef rolls with BBQ beef and cilantro. Really nice, tasted like rolled up Pho. The shell was a bit chewy and tough, which detracted.


2004 Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella Superiore. Parker 93. Sweet, open aromatics lead to hints of dark blueberries, blackberries, spices and minerals as the 2004 Valpolicella Superiore gradually opens in the glass. Today the wine comes across as shut down, but the imposing tannins are also rather fine, suggesting that with time the wine’s inner sweetness will gradually emerge. Readers who want to try their luck with this wine earlier should open the bottle a good eight hours or so prior to drinking it. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019.

agavin: even having been open and decanted for hours, it was still massive.


Pork hock. Some kind of crazy pig leg. Some serious fat here and the skin was a bit mushy, but the meat fell off the bone and was incredibly tender and delicious.


A very nice mixed fried rice.


This ancient 1959 Beerenaulese came out like motor oil. Ridiculously dark. It wasn’t perfectly balanced, but it was surprisingly likable if you have a taste for the sweet and thick like I do.


Pan fried noodles. A bit greasy, but okay.


1989 Raymond-Lafon. Parker 91-92. The 1989 exhibits aromas of honeyed pineapple/tropical fruit and toasty new oak, as well as an exotic, flashy perfume that is not as pronounced in either the 1990 or 1988. The 1989 exhibits less botrytis than the other two vintages. The wine possesses an opulent, full-bodied, exotic, lavishly rich personality, moderate sweetness, and huge quantity of extract, glycerin, and alcohol in its finish. The wine is also extremely young and unevolved. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2025.

agavin: Nice, although a little unbalanced.

Overall, another fantastic meal. The total damage, including tax and a whopping 30% tip was $42 a person! “Inflated” because of our multiple ducks. They were very friendly and willing to serve us the dishes one at a time over a long period, but the restaurant was a bit over busy and the duck came the microsecond we sat down. It was frustrating to be dealing with opening the wine, pictures, and the like and to be launched into the feeding frenzy. In previous trips we’ve had the cold appetizers. Then they got going a little too fast with the food. We had to tell them to slow down (which they did). Plus as we were jammed into the back corner and there was only one narrow entrance point the overworked servers had trouble handling the “basics” like water, plate changes and the like. As the place emptied out they caught up a bit. They certainly try hard and are extremely nice. It was just too crowded and too little space.

The duck was first rate, as good as Peking duck gets — more or less. Some other dishes, like the pork hock, and the XLB were amazing too. A few others just so so, like the shrimp. The eel was interesting, and a nice addition. Tasty Duck is all about the duck.

For more Hedonist adventures or

For more LA Chinese reviews click here.

Instead of the mild Chinese desserts we headed over to Salju for some shave ice:


Pineapple snow with passion fruit, almond jelly, blackberries, and boba.


Mango snow with strawberries, blueberries, passion fruit syrup and almond jelly.


Coffee snow with coffee jelly, syrup, and almond jelly.


Coconut snow with peanut butter cups, egg custard, and condensed milk.


Green tea snow with chocolate chips.

Related posts:

  1. Tasty Duck Lives up to its Name
  2. Tasty Duck Will Bring You Luck
  3. Spear your Meat
  4. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  5. Lasagne Bolognese Minus the Meat
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Alhambra, California, Chinese cuisine, hedonists, Hoisin sauce, Peking Duck, pork, Salju, Tasty Duck, Wine

Gwang Yang – Beeftastic

Feb04

Restaurant: Gwang Yang Korean BBQ

Location: 3435 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 123. Los Angeles, CA 90010. (213) 385-5600

Date: February 2, 2015

Cuisine: Korean BBQ

Rating: Very good high end KBBQ, if a little pricy

_

The K-town Korean BBQ places have been growing increasingly high end of late. I recently tried out Madang 621 and now my Hedonist gang has descended on the new Gwang Yang.


Located in one of these high-rise plazas across the street from the every popular Boiling Crab. The sign claims someone thinks it’s the best restaurant in Seoul.


The interior is sleek, with a whole lot of glass caged private rooms. We took two! Sort of. The Hedonists had one an loosely associated non-wine foodie group had another.




The menu.


NV Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut. IWC 90. Light gold. Musky orchard fruits and dried fig on the mineral-accented nose. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering smoky pear and nectarine flavors and a hint of honey. Finishes on a gently spicy note, with very good cling and a touch of bitter lemon pith.

No Korean place could look at itself in the mirror without banchan, the little (often) pickled sides placed on the table and infinity refilled. Gwang Yang has only four, all classic.

Kimchi. The most classic of the classics.


Potato salad. Sweet. Actually pretty good.


2000 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling Kabinett. 89 points. A nice mix of acidity and sweetness.


Korean glass noodles. Vaguely sweet, I like these.


Seasoned Korean Spinach.

From my cellar: 2003 Weingut Graben-Gritsch Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Schön. 89 points. Nose of lychee pineapple lemon, creamy lemon and peach on the palate. Bright acidity medium finish with a bit of an herby quality.

agavin: Korean food can be a hard wine match and I wanted some white to start. This mildly aged Gruner hit the spot. It’s complex and almost herby/spicy fruit allows it to handle the pervasive Korean red chili.


Korean salad.


2011 Kistler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. 92 points. The wine has a beautiful garnet color, light in the glass with almost no legs. The nose was light with hints of fruit and minerals. A light fruity taste that is tart and not sweet and a smooth texture. The finish is long and the wine really improved with air and I probably opened this years to soon. A very nice Pinot.

agavin: there was a tiny touch of “funny” to our bottle, may have blown off later.


A spicy bean and seaweed salad. Quite nice.


2012 Seven of Hearts Pinot Noir Curmudgeon Cuvée Armstrong Vineyard. IWC 92. Dark red. Delicate, focused aromas of red berries, potpourri and Asian spices, with a bright mineral nuance adding lift. Fresh and lively on the palate, offering tangy raspberry and strawberry flavors that show very good energy, lift and cut. A fresh, elegant, weightless pinot that finishes with very good energy and drive and silky tannins. This racy, balanced wine puts on weight with air but maintains a sense of elegance and restraint.


Gwang Yang Bulgogi. Gangnam Style. Do your best horse trot dance. This is the famous marinated beef without bones.


It’s just grilled up straight in a big pile.


Some accompaniments. Garlic, pepper, and a fermented miso bean paste that I really loved — not too different than natto.


2008 Rhys Alesia Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. IWC 91. Vivid red. Strawberry, raspberry and spicecake on the nose, with a sexy sandalwood quality. In a distinctly vibrant style, with the sexy spice and red berry qualities following through in the mouth. Sappy and fine-grained wine, finishing on a suave note of candied flowers. This will be the last vintage for this wine.


American Kobe Yukhwoe. Korean style beef tartar. Green stuff. With both heat and a bit of sweetness and an intense texture invoking the slimy with a bit of crunch. Really wonderful.


2012 Morin Pere et fils Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d’Oc. 85 points. Light fruity pinot young and bright. Don’t expect a Burgundy. Perfect with light meals and cheese.


Yook Jeon. Beef pancake. With green onion salad.


1980 Château Trotanoy. 92 points. Starts off a bit strange and quite unpleasant with a big cheesy whiff and some strong volatility on the nose. A big shake in the decanter and it improves immeasurably. There are notes of black olive, leather and there’s a pleasant floral perfume. In the mouth it is lightly creamy and there is cassis fruit sweetness. Tannins are chewy on the finish and it is fresh and vibrant.

agavin: ours was a little stirred up and cloudy, but was surprisingly decent for such a shitty old vintage.


Gwang Yang Bulgogi. LA Style. More marinated and sweeter than the Gangnam style. We all liked this better. You eat it cooked on the grill.


2000 Monbousquet. Parker 93. Although still youthful, I do not think the 2000 Monbousquet will develop much more complexity. It is a seductive, rich, generously endowed effort revealing plenty of spice box, herb, black currant, kirsch, espresso, and toasty oak characteristics in a decidedly modern, but opulent, fleshy style. Enjoy this endearing, long, velvety-textured St.-Emilion over the next decade.

agavin: great wine, although more like a big Cal Cab than a Bord, and very young. Tons of round fruit though.


Prime YangNyeom-Galbi. Marinated Prime Beef Short Ribs.


Grilled up as usual. When cooked, these were tender, fatty, free of bone, and absolutely scrumptious. Clearly my favorite. Others were split between liking these and the LA Style Bulgogi best.


1989 Couly-Dutheil Chinon La Baronnie Madeleine. 91 points. Fresh, but dry and dusty in that Cab Franc way.


Dolsot Bibimbap. Hot stone Bibimbap. Vegetables and egg over rice in a hot stone pot.


You dump in some hot sauce and mix it all up. Great stuff.


From my cellar: 1996 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage la Chapelle. Parker 92. The 1996 Hermitage La Chapelle is immensely impressive. The acidity is high. The color is black/purple, and the wine is extremely concentrated, but unevolved and impossible to penetrate. It could turn out like the 1983 and never develop as well as its early promise suggests. Nevertheless, it is a massive effort with extraordinary concentration, but the high acidity requires a minimum of 10 years of cellaring.

agavin: Most of us thought this the WOTN. Just a really nice solid mature (but not old) Syrah. Tons of ripe fruit.


Pa Jeon. Assorted seafood and veggie pancake. Like Korean okonomiyaki.


2009 Chapoutier Hermitage la Sizeranne. Parker 90-94. For starters, there are 1,627 cases of the 2009 Ermitage Monier de la Sizeranne. Lots of peppery, meaty notes are found in this dense purple-colored 2009 along with sweet tannin, a full-bodied, layered mouthfeel and outstanding purity. Three to five years of cellaring will be beneficial, and the wine should keep for two decades.

agavin: a baby. Clearly a great Syrah, but a total baby.


An extra order of LA style (so you can seek it cooked).


Red rice. Red beans and rice.


2012 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon. 89 points. Nose: Medium expressiveness, kirsch, black berry, and cassis. Palate: Full bodied, sweet dark fruit attack, decent balance, starts strong up front and dissipates quickly from the mid-palate thru the back-end. Clean and smooth from front to back just lacks mid-palate density. Finish: Medium length dominated by subtle, but tasty, dark fruit and spice. For a Napa Cabernet you pretty much get what you pay for here.


Buljip Saeng Samgyepsal. Samgyepsal-sliced Kuro Pork Belly.


It’s grilled up with onions and kimchi.


Reducing.


And reducing.


Finally the fatty bits can be eaten inside these big lettuce pieces.


2006 Carlisle Zinfandel Pietro’s Ranch. IWC 92. Deep ruby. Explosive blackberry and candied raspberry aromas are complicated by rose, violet and lavender. Juicy and fresh, with vibrant dark berry flavors, silky texture and a big jolt of baking spices on the back end. Impressively fresh, pure and sappy zinfandel with outstanding finishing lift and thrust.


Eundaeku Jeongsik. Grilled black cod with spices and potatoes. Really good stuff. The cod was super flavorful and tender.


A kind of sweet roasted cold tea. Kinda yummy actually.


Here is about a third of our private room.

Overall, Gwang Yang did serve up some of the best K-BBQ I’ve had — and we had a LOT of food. It wasn’t cheap though, as the Korean places down the food chain are often very reasonable. Although it should be noted that while our table was $110 a head all in, the non-wine group in the next room over hit only $50-60. Of course they didn’t waddle out like we did.


And, lacking dessert, we waddled across the street to this interesting dessert stand.



The options basically involve a small set of ingredients, mostly the “True Milk Ice Cream.” As far as I can tell, it’s not cream at all, but ice milk, ice cream’s less creamy cousin.


And a lot of fresh honeycomb.


Honeymee. True milk ice cream and fresh honeycomb.


Dear. True milk ice cream, Ghiradelli chocolate sauce, and sprinkles of French sea salt.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Shin Beijing Cubed
  2. Madang 621- Beef++
  3. Where in the world is Yanbian?
  4. Better than Tangiers
  5. Lucky Ducky
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Gwang Yang, hedonists, Honeymee, Korean BBQ, Korean cuisine, pork, Wine

Eastern Promises – BBQ Joint

Jul15

Restaurant: BBQ Joint

Location: 216 East Dover Street, Suite 201. Easton, MD 21601. 410-690-3641

Date: May 24, 2014

Cuisine: BBQ

Rating: Some of the best BBQ I’ve had

_

The Eastern Shore of Maryland is usually considered a seafood zone, being known for its awesome blue crab, but local residents don’t turn their nose at any Southern American favorites.


Located in quaint old Easton.


The menu.


The house made sauces (mostly a choice of sweet or spicy).


Sawdust floors.


Some sides, like applesauce, mac & cheese, and cornbread.


A pulled chicken sandwich and collard greens.


Salad. I like the “paper” plate.


This side plate has a roll and slaw.


Part of our BBQ sampler. featuring ribs (wet), BBQ chicken, chopped beef brisket, and pulled pork.


A pulled pork sandwich (front right). The pulled pork is a Carolina style. In the back are ribs “dry” and in the front baked beans (with pork of course).

The BBQ joint is as described, pretty straight up BBQ, but wow, was it tasty. This was some darn good smoked meat!

For more Washington dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eastern Promises – Brightwell
  2. Eastern Promises – Holly’s
  3. Eastern Promises – Azeen’s Afghani
  4. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  5. Western Smoke House Meats
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, Barbecue chicken, bbq, BBQ Joint, Easton Maryland, Maryland, Meat, Pig, pork, Pulled Pork, ribs

Shin Beijing Cubed

May01

Restaurant: Shin Beijing [1, 2, 3]

Location: 3101 W Olympic Blvd – Los Angeles, CA 90006. 213-381-3003

Date: April 28, 2014

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: very solid electric Chinese

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The Hedonists return to one of our regular haunts, Korean Chinese Shin Beijing for some reliable (and somewhat closer than the SGV) Chinese eats — oh, and another birthday party.


We had a private room with two of these tables!


From my cellar: 2011 Domaine Tempier Bandol. 91 points. Black-tinged very dark purple red violet color; tobacco, dried black fruit, smoke nose; tight, intense, dried berry, roasted black fruit, tar, tart black cherry palate.


Kimchi. No self respecting Koreans would do without.


You know the seafood is fresh when it moves!


2003 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot. Burghound 90. A subtle background hint of wood spice frames the baked green apple and pear fruit aromas as well as the powerful, rich and robust flavors that do a slow build from the mid-palate to the explosive finish that is almost painfully intense. This is blessed with massive amounts of dry extract if not great elegance and I do like the purity.


Cold appetizer plates are traditional at real Chinese restaurants.


The sauces come separate and are dumped on table-side.


Aromatic braised beef in black bean jelly. Cold jellyfish with wasabi sauce. Shrimp with mustard sauce. Special house salami.


1998 Château Monbousquet Blanc. RJ 91 points. Straw, lemon grass, mineral nose; earthy, lemon grass, mineral palate; medium finish (100% new oak).

agavin: Our bottle was either oxidized or in a very weird closed state.


Tonight we had a bunch of Vegans and so ended up with a log of vegetable dishes.


2004 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Felsentürmchen Spätlese. IWC 89. Subtle aromas of white peach, lime and sweet spices. The lip-smacking acidity makes this spatlese appear light and elegant. Salty minerality and lively spice character animate the finish.

agavin: nice, and paired well with the spice.


Spicy fried eggplant. Very tasty, and with some kick.


1997 Domaine Charles Schleret Tokay Pinot Gris Herrenweg de Turckheim. Our bottle was tainted.


Spicy fried shrimp. These were good, but I prefer the “fried shrimp in hot sauce” which is a saucier version of this dish.


2009 Schloss Schönborn Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Kabinett. 89 points. Pear on nose, also syrupy apple; acidic and fruity, low residual sweetness.


Vegetable friend rice.


2006 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. 93 points. Rich for an auslese. In blind tasting would have considered beerenauslese. Just about ready with lovely acidity and fruit. Drink for decades.

agavin: my favorite of the Rieslings tonight. Really nice.


Seemed fish with ginger. There was someone else at the table with a boring dietary restriction. A fine fish, just bland.


2006 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Vista Verde Vineyard. IWC 91. Dark red. Finely focused red berry, cherry, floral and mineral scents are given a pungent character by smoky herbs. The fresh, sweet strawberry, raspberry and bitter cherry flavors pick up dusty tannic grip on the back end. Finishes bright and brisk, with excellent persistence and echoing sweet red berry flavors that really cling to the palate.


Better fried rice. With more goodies.


2007 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Vista Verde Vineyard. IWC 92. Medium red. Ripe, smoky cherry and dark berry aromas are brightened by fresh rose and minerals. Cassis and blueberry flavors coat the palate, with velvety tannins providing shape. The minerality gains power with air, adding urgency to the deep, sweet dark fruits that dominate the finish. You could serve this with a rich lamb or beef dish.


Beef. Tender morsels.


2012 Saarloos & Sons Pinot Noir Motherhood


Vegetable noodles. Fine for what they were.



2009 Cayuse Grenache God Only Knows. IWC 93. Good medium-dark red. Very ripe aroma of strawberry liqueur. Intensely flavored and gripping; broad without coming across as heavy. Wild berry and smoke flavors are accented by a peppery element. Finishes subtle and long, with substantial fine, dusty tannins.


Sweet and sour fish. Okay, but nowhere near as good as the same dish last week at Beijing restaurant.


Some plan steamed buns.


2003 T-Vine Cellars Syrah Duarte Vineyard. 92 points.  T-Vine wines sure do have personality. Here is a good-natured and self-assured wine. Ebullient nose of black fruit, toast and pepper. Typical tooth staining extract, it fills the mouth with sweet juicy fruit, smoke and grilled meat. The tannins are still somewhat drying and maybe it could use a little more bottle time, but this wine has loosened up quite a bit since I last had it. I think that you can overanalyze a wine like this and it kind of misses the point. The winemaking is serious (it’s very well made), but this is an easygoing wine that is comfortable in its own skin (no pun intended). Note that it is more of a straddle wine that may overwhelm many dishes. Still, you don’t care so much when you are sipping it while cooking or enjoying a glass after a meal. Surely a fan favorite.


Been sprouts.


From my cellar: 1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin. 92 points. A little funky at first, but after a few minutes, this wine shows sweet cherries, sharp minerals, and forest floor on the powerful nose. Initially the palate is a bit shy, but with time it gains concentration and volume until it explodes with deep red and black fruits. This is medium bodied and elegant but the fruit is intense, the acids are lively, and there is a strong spice note on the finish. There are still some hard edges and this is probably 5 years from its peak, but it’s wonderful now. Paired beautifully with peking duck.


Green onions for…


Peking duck! Fabulous as always, I ate 6 pancakes worth.

2006 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon. 92-94 points. Young but already showing beautifully. Aromas of spice, leather, and tobacco. On the palate it’s smooth and succulent with notes of cigar box, graphite, leather, and black plum. Long finish. An excellent wine that will only get better over the next 3-7+ years.


Special pork. Super fatty but very tasty bacon.


1998 Neyers Syrah Hudson Vineyards. IWC 93. Saturated ruby. Sauvage, highly complex aromas of black fruits, maple syrup, bacon fat, roasted game and leather; I would have picked this for Northern Rhone syrah, perhaps a cross between Cote-Rotie and Cornas. Dense, sappy and pliant, with impressively intense flavors of spicy black fruits and enticing inner-mouth perfume. Finishes with a whiplash of dark berry flavor and a firm tannic spine. A great California syrah.


Crab in black bean sauce. Also great.


2011 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard. IWC 92. Good medium red, not too bright. Deeply pitched aromas of plum, raspberry, strawberry, mocha, loam and brown spices, lifted by floral notes of lavender and rose petal. Rich, broad and concentrated; more about spices and flowers than primary fruit today but sophisticated and complex nonetheless. A faint mintiness provides lift. Spreads out nicely on the back half, finishing with a light dusting of tannins and plenty of energy. This one needs a few years in the cellar.


Lobster in garlic and ginger sauce. Yummy, but hard to crack into at times.


2010 Opus One. IWC 95. Good saturated medium ruby. Riper on the nose than the young 2011, offering scents of blackcurrant, minerals, graphite, licorice and leather. Wonderfully suave and silky in the mouth, with terrific concentration and aromatic lift to the savory dark berry, crushed stone and mineral flavors. Really stains the palate without leaving any impression of weight. Boasts great clarity and outstanding depth, not to mention a finesse of texture rare for California cabernet. “Maybe my best vintage yet,” said winemaker Michael Silacci. A beauty.


Chinese plate pics are never lovely, but there’s the pork!


1989 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey. IWC 88. Very sweet, thick and honeyed in the mouth, with a slightly fungal Tokaj quality and a hint of damp earth. Very concentrated but a bit syrupy-sweet and on the soft side. Something odd lurks just beneath the surface. Since the early days for this wine, I’ve found it slightly oxidized and lacking in shape and grip.


Iced leechee for dessert. Chinese restaurants aren’t known for their desserts.

Overall, this was a great evening. Shin Beijing turned out to be a great find with a nice ambiance (as far as Chinese restaurants go) and terrific food. They really treated us well too. It’s not so easy to handle a boisterous group of this size and they managed perfectly. The price was very reasonable too.

Service was as good as it gets for Chinese. They provided us with plenty of wine glasses, brought the dishes slowly, and were extremely friendly.

Tonight’s only problem was that somehow the vegetarians “hijacked” the menu. Not that they did anything on purpose, but the requests for some vegetable dishes resulted in not just a few for them, but in 4-6 orders of mostly vegetable dishes. I’m just too much a omnivore for that much sauced vegetable.

Discover more crazy Hedonists adventures on my Hedonist page or

For more LA dining reviews click here.

The birthday girl with Yarom

Related posts:

  1. Shin Beijing Again
  2. Hedonists go to Beijing
  3. Birthday Party, Hedonist Style
  4. Big Bottle Madness at Kali Dining
  5. Feasting Lunasia
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beijing, Corton-Charlemagne, hedonists, Héritiers Louis Jadot, Kimchi, Korean Chinese, pork, Shin Beijing, Wine

Totorakuly Epic!

Mar13

Restaurant: Totoraku [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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

Date: March 12, 2014

Cuisine: Japanese Yakiniku

Rating: Best beef in town!

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About twice a year my Hedonist group makes a regular pilgrimage to Totoraku, LA’s “secret beef” restaurant.  Toto (as its affectionatly known ) serves a refined version of Japanese Yakiniku, which is Beef BBQ originally from Korea but filtered through Japanese sensibility.

This time, after some of our 30 person mega dinners, we kept it to just 11 people and vetted the wines to an even higher standard, basically close to 100 points, high pedigree, age, or some combination thereof. As you’ll see, we really tore it up and in terms of pure pleasure this was the most epic Hedonist event yet.

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


NV Billecart-Salmon Rose. Parker 90. The NV Brut Rose emerges from the glass with the essence of freshly cut flowers, berries and minerals in a mid-weight, gracious style. It shows gorgeous inner perfume, along with persistent notes of chalkiness that frame the long, sublime finish. Year in, year out, this estate’s NV Brut Rose is one of the most consistently outstanding wines in the region.


The appetizer plate.


Jellyfish sunomono.


House made black sesame tofu.


Octopus and tomatoes.


On the left abalone (very tender), special marinated okra, and in the middle a yellowtail avocado roll.


2006 Agrapart & Fils Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Venus. Parker 95. The 2006 Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Venus brings together the best qualities of the house style. Rich yet weightless, the Venus impresses for its refined, layered personality. Sweet floral notes, Chamomile, spices and citrus resonate with tons of class and sheer personality. This is yet another great showing from Agrapart. The Venus is made from a tiny parcel in Avize measuring just 0.3 hectares and is farmed entirely by the horse for whom the wine is named.


Uni risotto balls on the right.


Shrimp with endive and caviar.


Mozzarella (or burrata?) with a bit of fruit and fish. On the right a very soft gelatinous thing that probably had some crab in it.


1970 Latour. Parker 98-85. The aromas suggest this wine has peaked with dusty notes of old leather, dried figs and grandma’s room. The tannins have gone a little powdery with the medium+ level of acidity taking centre stage in front of the remaining bits of fruit. Medium to long finish. Perhaps slightly past it but still provides an interesting glass.

agavin: I put in the unusual reverse order because this is a wine in decline, and even Parker has noted it. Our bottle tasted like chocolate coffee syrup. It was interesting, but pretty far gone.


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


1985 Mouton-Rothschild. Parker 90. The rich, complex, well-developed bouquet of oriental spices, toasty oak, herbs, and ripe fruit is wonderful. On the palate, the wine is also rich, forward, long, and sexy. It ranks behind both Haut-Brion and Chateau Margaux in 1985. I am surprised by how evolved and ready to drink this wine is. Readers looking for a big, boldly constructed Mouton should search out other vintages, as this is a tame, forward, medium-weight wine that is close to full maturity. It is capable of lasting another 15+ years. This estate compares their 1985 to their 1959, but to me it is more akin to their 1962 or 1953.

agavin: Our bottle was in great shape and drinking very nicely. Still, this won’t be getting any better.

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.


1988 Lafleur. Parker 93. Consistently one of the strongest candidates for the wine of the vintage, Lafleur’s 1988 has a dark plum/ruby color and a gorgeous nose of white flowers intermixed with kirsch liqueur and raspberries. The wine is full-bodied, sweet, round, and beautifully pure, with moderate tannin, medium to full body, and great elegance and complexity. This wine has come around faster than I would have thought.

agavin: Still needs some time, but was pretty darn nice!


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.


2004 Coche-Dury Meursault. Burghound 91.  Soft mineral reduction does not materially detract from the green fruit, citrus, stone and slightly smoky nose that introduces detailed, pure and attractively intense middle weight flavors that possess excellent vibrancy on the taut, linear and refined finish. This isn’t quite as complex or concentrated as the ’02 version (see herein) but the sheer persistence is most impressive. And in the same fashion as the 2002, this has reached an inflection point of maturity where it could be enjoyed now or held for a few more years depending on how one prefers aged white burgs. For my taste, I would hold this for another 2 to 4 years but many people will find the current state of maturity to be perfect now.

agavin: Burghound must hold Coche up to some very high magical standard, because even though this is a village wine it was fabulous, reduced, and just plain hedonistic.


As any regular Totoraku goer knows, any new dish is a big deal here, as the menu is very consistent. This is one of TWO new specials chef Kaz whipped up for us tonight, Sawara, a kind of Spanish Mackerel. It is considered  the best kind of Mackerel in Japan. Not only it is a big variety, but its comparatively white flesh is succulent in almost any kind of cooking! Here we have it miso marinated and raw. We lightly seared it on the grill and enjoyed!

Awesome and very rich!


2004 Chave Hermitage Blanc. Parker 95. The 2004 Hermitage blanc, which hit 15% natural alcohol, is another superb effort, continuing a succession of totally profound white Hermitages from 2003, 2004, and 2005. As many readers know, this small family producer has been making wine in Hermitage since 1481! The 2004 (about 1000 cases) reveals a light gold color, terrific finesse and elegance in spite of its enormous power, unctuosity, and richness. Of course, it is not as honeyed as the otherworldly 2003 (which hit 16% natural alcohol) but it is an amazingly full-bodied, powerful wine with pervasive honeysuckle, peach liqueur, and nectarine notes intermixed with licorice, quince, and acacia flowers. This is gorgeous wine which should evolve for 20-25 years.

agavin: Unfortunately our bottle was a little corked or oxidized.


Beef tongue with salt. After cooking, you dip it in lemon juice.


1989 Lynch Bages. Parker 99+. The 1989 has taken forever to shed its formidable tannins, but what a great vintage of Lynch Bages! I would rank it at the top of the pyramid although the 1990, 2000, and down the road, some of the more recent vintages such as 2005, 2009 and 2010 should come close to matching the 1989’s extraordinary concentration and undeniable aging potential. Its dense purple color reveals a slight lightening at the edge and the stunning bouquet offers classic notes of creme de cassis, subtle smoke, oak and graphite. Powerful and rich with some tannins still to shed at age 22, it is still a young adolescent in terms of its evolution and will benefit from another 4-5 years of cellaring. It should prove to be a 50 year wine.

agavin: Best Lynch ever, and still an awesome monster.


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


Filet on the grill.


1989 Latour. Parker 89. Neither the 1989 or 1990 wines has budged in quality or development since I first tasted them in cask. I am still disappointed by the 1989, wondering how this chateau produced an elegant, medium-weight wine that seems atypically restrained for Latour. The deep ruby color is followed by a wine with surprisingly high acidity and hard tannin, but not the depth, richness, and power expected from this great estate. This closed wine is admittedly in need of 5-6 years of cellaring, but what is so alarming is its lack of weight, ripeness, and intensity, particularly when compared to the 1990. I suspect there is more than what has been revealed in recent tastings, but this looks to be an excellent as opposed to outstanding wine. In the context of the vintage, it is a disappointment.

agavin: I’d certainly give our bottle better than an 89, but I’d probably agree that Lynch made a better wine in 89!


Outside rib eye with special salt and garlic.


On the grill.


Inside rib eye.


The inside rib eye on the grill.


1998 Lafite-Rothschild. Parker 98. A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, this wine represents only 34% of Lafite’s total harvest. In a less than perfect Medoc vintage, it has been spectacular since birth, putting on more weight and flesh over the last year. This opaque purple-colored 1998 is close to perfection. The spectacular nose of lead pencil, smoky, mineral, and black currant fruit soars majestically from the glass. The wine is elegant yet profoundly rich, revealing the essence of Lafite’s character. The tannin is sweet, and the wine is spectacularly layered yet never heavy. The finish is sweet, super-rich, yet impeccably balanced and long (50+ seconds).

agavin: This was a contentious wine at our table. I loved it, thinking it had tons of complex character. Some thought it was corked (there was a hint on the nose but I didn’t taste it).


Short rib. It was certainly good, very salted.


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.


From my cellar: 2000 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage A Jacques Perrin. Parker 97. The 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage a Jacques Perrin is a blend of 60% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Counoise, and 10% Syrah, the standard blend for this cuvee except for the 1998, which had 60% Grenache and only 20% Mourvedre. The 2000 possesses an impenetrable black/purple color as well as a sumptuous bouquet of melted licorice, creosote, new saddle leather, blackberry and cherry fruit as well as roasted meats. Sweet and full-bodied, with great intensity, huge power, and a finish that lasts for 67 seconds by my watch, this is an amazing tour de force in winemaking. Even in a flattering, forward-styled vintage such as 2000, it will need 7-8 years of cellaring.

agavin: I’m biased, but this was my favorite wine of the night. It was just staggering.


1982 Penfolds Grange. Parker 97. The 1982 is another superb example of that. One of the jammiest, most precocious Granges when it was released, it has never gone through a closed stage and continues to drink beautifully. A full-bodied, opulent Grange, it reveals an inky/purple color to the rim as well as a beautiful nose of crushed blueberries, blackberries, smoke, toast, roasted herbs, and road tar. This dense, plush, expansive, seamless, seductive 1982 has not changed much since I had it nearly a decade ago.

agavin: Also fab, but amazingly (for a 32 year old), it could go for decades more.


You have to special order the lamb, which like all of Kaz’s meats, is pretty wonderful.


Grilling up the chops.


One hell of a chop.

2004 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto. Parker 96. Giacosa’s 2004 Barolo Falletto is so compelling it will be hard not to drink it in its youth. This gorgeous Barolo reveals a deeply structured frame layered with sweet dark fruit, mint, spice and pine. At once delicate and powerful, it is a beautifully finessed wine that is sure to provide much pleasure. A recent bottle of the 1982 is a testament to the virtues of this great site as interpreted by Bruno Giacosa.

agavin: too young.


Skirt steak.


Grilling.

2002 Torbreck Run Rig. Parker 99. The 2002 Run Rig (97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier aged in 100% new French oak) represents the essence of old vine Barossa fruit. Extraordinarily opulent and rich, but playing it closer to the vest than the 2001, it gets my nod as one of the most remarkable wines made in either the Southern or Northern Hemisphere. An inky/purple color is accompanied by a sumptuous bouquet of apricots, honeysuckle, black raspberries, blackberries, licorice, and a hint of roasted meats. The wood has been soaked up by the wine’s extraordinary concentration. Fashioned from four sectors of Barossa (Maranaga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, and Greenock), it spent 30 months in primarily new oak, and was bottled without fining or filtration.

agavin: also massive and delicious.


Here is our second “newcommer” for tonight. Bacon!!!!! Specially marinated.


And grilled up. Amazing!

2001 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. Parker 99. More mature and evolved (or maybe it just has more to it), the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard tastes like a great vintage of Pontet-Canet or Mouton Rothschild. This profound Napa Cabernet Sauvignon reveals gorgeous notes of creme de cassis, a celestial floral and espresso character, an inky/purple color, a dense full-bodied mouthfeel and hints of wood smoke and a volcanic/burning ember note. Quite intense with a prodigious mouthfeel and a nearly 60-second finish, this wine can be drunk now or cellared for another quarter of a century. Bravo!

agavin: Massive!


Hmm, can’t remember which meat this was. Too much wine!


Or this one.

1978 Rieussec. Parker 82. The 1978 Rieussec just missed the mark. While quite good, it is not special. Too alcoholic, and a trifle too heavy and overblown, this wine has a nice honeyed character and rich, unctuous flavors, but evidences little botrytis.

agavin: Parker didn’t love it. It certainly isn’t perfect, but we sure enjoyed it!

There was also a 1903 port that I forgot to photo! The bottle was two thirds empty from evaporation but the wine was amazing.


Toto serves homemade ice creams and sorbets as dessert.


So chaotic was this giant night that they brought out all five flavors on each  plate and just placed them about the tables. I like the ice creams better than the sorbets here. The white chocolate was fantastic. Still, it’s all great.

Notice the smokey haze

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.

This evening was our best time yet. The limited number of people (11), the quality of the wines, and our discipline in pouring them in order really upped the ante. Toto is always fun, but when we have 25-30 people it’s so crazy you can’t even keep track of the wines (let alone the conversation). In that circumstance if someone grabs a bottle away it’s gone forever. Here, it will go around easily and still have a couple inches left for seconds.

We also struck up a couple conversations at adjacent tables and swapped some wines (scoring an 89 Mouton and something else great).

A spectacular evening — really, truly, deeply epic. It was about 5 hours of mind boggling wines and crazy beef.

Me with chef/owner Kaz Oyama. Obviously, he was sharing in the wine!

More crazy Hedonist adventures or

LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Epic Hedonism at Totoraku
  2. Totoraku Double Meat Madness
  3. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  4. Hedonists at STK
  5. First Growths First
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, hedonists, Japanese cuisine, lamb, Meat, Parker, pork, sawara, secret beef, Totoraku, Yakiniku

Tsujita LA – Artisan Noodles

Sep20

Restaurant: Tsujita LA

Location: 2057 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Tel. 310-231-7373 Fax. 310-231-7375

Date: September 5, 2013 (original) and August 8, 2014 (annex)

Cuisine: Japanese Ramen

Rating: Really, really tasty

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For a year I’ve been noticing this “artisan noodle” join on Sawtelle with the huge line, so I figured I needed to try it.


At lunch they have a simple menu with basically two dishes (both will be pictured below).


On the table are the condiments. Various pickled ginger and the like.


Char Sui Tsukemen. This is a version of Tsukemen, which is basically noodles with a dipping sauce/soup (below). The noodles above are served along with super fatty (but super tasty) sliced BBQ pork.


Here is the “soup.” It’s a flavorful, almost curry-like pork broth. There is a pickled egg in there too (ajitama). You take the noodles above and dip them in the soup then eat. It coats them thickly. Delicious. You can dip the pork too.

The Tsukemen was a new thing for me, and I have to say I love it. I wrote this 10 days after trying it and I crave it so much I’ve returned at least once a month for over a year!


Or add condiments if you like. Seaweed on the right. Green onion on top. Bamboo shoots and wood ear mushroom on the right.


Spicy tuna don. A bowl of rice with said tuna.


This is Hakata Nagahama Tonkotsu Ramen, the other dish (you can order variants). It’s a rice pork broth slowly simmered for 60 hours. Thin ramen, boiled egg, and various condiments go in. I used to get this stuff at 2am in Fukuoka with my former boss. Yum! One of the best ramen types. I like to jazz it up with the red pickled ginger. It’s excellent on a cold day.


Tsujita is so popular they opened another location right across the street, called the “Annex.” This, somewhat mysteriously, offers a slightly different take on porky ramen.


Two versions of it here. With char sui pork, egg, sprouts, and onions.


And with peppers. This is a good ramen, but it just doesn’t have that incredible luscious porkiness of the dipping noodles (Tsukemen) at the original.

Tsujita really is all about the Tsukemen dipping noodles. This just isn’t quite like regular ramen and has an intense pork quality that is really mind bogglingly good. No wonder there are huge lines! They need to change up the single song they play (loudly) though. It was great the first 3 times, but the 30th?

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Hawaiian Noodle Bar
  2. Yojie – Deep Boiled Noodles!
  3. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
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  5. Food as Art: Little Saigon
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Boiled egg, Fukuoka, Japanese cuisine, Noodle, noodles, pork, ramen, Sawtelle Boulevard, Tonkotsu ramen, Tsujita LA, Tsukemen

Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka

Apr11

Restaurant: Hoy-Ka Thai Noodle

Location: 5401 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027

Date: April 8, 2013

Cuisine: Thai

Rating: Really tasty!

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This Hollywood Thai is in a sketchy neighborhood, but the reasonable price and excellent food more than make up for it. Plus, they have no liquor license and let us bring our own wine with no corkage. Always a plus!

Hedonist regular Penny, who is Thai, did the ordering, which didn’t hurt either.


2009 Jacques Bavard Bourgogne-Aligoté. Chardonnay gets the bulk of the white Burgundy attention. Aligote is a pleasant diversion, a simple wine that nevertheless has multiple layers to savor. The nose is flinty and faintly fruity, with a slight citrus note accented with a bit of peppery spiciness. Noticeably acidic up front, but that sharpness is quickly balanced out with a bit of honeysuckle and just a little bit of creaminess in the finish. Pleasant enough to drink on its own, but this really is at its best as a table wine to complement food. There is a good amount of sapidity (salty flavors).


The Western Sausage served with fresh vegetables: garlic, peanuts, ginger, and cabbage. Very tasty sausage and the garlic was intensely strong.


2011 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett. Aromas of passion fruit and nut oil. The creamy tropical fruits flavors are light, well-balanced and elegant. Certainly fun to drink. IWC 88.


Fried fish balls served with spicy sweet sauce. Interesting chewy texture too.


2011 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. Elegant aromas of Bing cherry, apple blossom and roasted pine nuts. Sweet and delicate but nonetheless creamy on the palate, with sweet herbs and a touch of vanilla. Lemon curd and slate animate a compelling finish. IWC 90.

Very very nice.


Pork jerky. Deep fried sun dried, marinated pork, served with spicy house sauce.


Chicken larb. Ground chicken with lime juice, onion, ground chili & rice powder.


2002 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Central Coast. Sweet herb and forest floor scents jump from the glass of the dark plum/ruby-tinged 2002 Pinot Noir Coastline Vineyard. Broodingly backward, rich, dense, and promising, its masculine, tannic, stacked and packed personality suggests 2-3 years of bottle age will be beneficial. Parker 91.

Not bad for a new world pinot. Still some oak — too much.


Yum Woosen. Silver noodle with ground pork, shrimp and vegetables seasoned with spicy lemon dressing.

A bit sweet and very very tasty.


Papaya salad. Shredded green papaya, green beans, tomatoes, and dried shrimps, crispy pork, seasoned with lime juice and chili.

A great papaya salad.


2008 Terredora di Paolo Aglianico Campania IGT. The estate’s 2008 Aglianico is a gem of a wine. Wild cherries, dark raspberries, spices, leather and licorice come together beautifully in this medium-bodied red. Floral notes waft out from the glass on the finish. There is nothing fussy here, just a flat out delicious bottle of unoaked Aglianico readers are sure to enjoy. Even better, this is a terrific value. Parker 90.

While not a bad Aglianico, the flavor profile was really off for Thai.


Hoy Ka Noodle. A noodle with ground pork, BBQ pork, pork meatballs, pork loaf and liver.

This soup was superb, one of the best I’ve ever had. Just really good and addictive, with a good bit of heat.


Hoy Ka Noodle. A noodle with ground chicken, sliced chicken, and fish balls.


Noodles with pork in a liver and pigs blood broth! Also super tasty, and much heartier, than the above soups. I liked the first a bit more, but you’d never know this was pig’s blood!


Red curry in coconut milk, sweet basil, bamboo shoots and fresh chili. A great version of the classic.


This Pozzan Merlot was a decent wine, but the big bold flavor profile was stunningly wrong for the food.


Pad See Eiw. Stir fried noodle with Chinese broccoli, egg, black soy sauce, and beef. Yum!


2005 Saxum Booker Vineyard. A blend of 92% Syrah and 8% Grenache, the 2005 Booker Vineyard is the debut vintage of this 400-case cuvee produced from a hillside vineyard situated on the west side of Highway 101. It exhibits plenty of crushed rock, sweet black fruit, and underbrush/forest floor characteristics along with sweet tannin and a structured, muscular personality similar to a northern Rhone. Big and powerful yet precise and well-delineated, it should drink nicely for 10-15 years. The bottled 2005s are all performing well. Parker 94.

This wine was SO BIG that it smashed right through the spice and actually worked!


Crispy Pork Ka Prao. Stir friend crispy pork with chili, basil, green beans, and house special sauce. Like bacon Ka Prao!


Ka Prao pork. Stir fried ground pork with basil, chili, and green beans. Also very tasty with some real heat.


Fried rice with pineapple, shrimp, chicken, and curry. The dominant flavor is yellow curry. Nice finishing dish.

Overall, this place has a great kitchen, and almost every dish was really well executed. The first pork soup in particular was amazing and it’s too bad they’re so far (about 45 minutes) from my house, or it would make an awesome lunch by itself.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists at Jitlada
  2. Hawaiian Noodle Bar
  3. Hedonists Cook the Goose
  4. Hedonists at Dahab
  5. Hedonists at La Paella
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Fritz Haag, hedonists, Hoy-Ka, Joh. Jos. Prüm, noodles, Pinot noir, pork, Riesling, Thai, Thai cuisine, Thia food, Williams Selyem Winery, Wine

Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

Dec21

Restaurant: Din Tai Fung

Location: 1108 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia,California 91007. (626)574-7068

Date: December 8, 2011 & February 28, 2012

Cuisine: Chinese Dumpling House

Rating: Amazing Taipei spinoff

_

I love dimsum so much I was willing to drive 45 minutes out into the wilds of Arcadia to try this place. And it was well worth the journey. The “juicy pork dumplings” alone were worth the price of admission.


Classical Arcadia was a place of legendary beauty, filled with bucolic green hills, lazy shepherds, and nubile nymphs. Arcadia Ca features strip malls.


The chefs hard at work in their little glass tank.


Din Tai Fung is so popular we had to wait 30 minutes on a random thursday at 1pm. But they are nothing if not organized. The staff all wear secret service ear pieces and our order was taken before we even sat.


The huge menu. And it has pictures!


Some stuff appears to be take out friendly.


The setup of chopsticks, tea cup, and ginger.


Marinated cucumber in a sort of garlic ponzu type sauce. Nice and crunchy, but I was saving room.


“Hot and Sour Soup (pork).” A well implemented version of the classic.


“Seaweed and Bean Curd in Vinegar dressing.” Interesting “salad”.


Chicken and veggie bits over noodles. Looks bland enough but it tasted great.


“Juicy pork dumplings.” These are sometimes called Shanghai style “soup” dumplings. I’ve had lots of them but these were easily the best ever. These succulent little mouthfuls were superbly balanced.


“Shrimp and Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce.” This was absolutely delicious. The dumpling could have been almost anything as the sauce made it more about texture than flavor, but they would have been good plain too.


“Pork sticky rice.”


This sticky log of rice contained bonus roast pork. Yum yum. You’ll notice the DTF food is heavy on both the carbs AND the pork.


“Noodle with mince pork sauce.” This was yummy too, although I have had better of this dish — in Xian China.


“Noode with spicy sauce.” This was actually tastier than the pork ones as the sauce had this nice spicy vinegar tang.


“Braised beef soup.” You can’t see them, but the soup is filled with more of the spaghetti-like noodles. The beef tasted like short rib.


“Vegetarian dumplings.” These were some of the better veggie dumplings I’ve had. Still, they don’t hold a candle to the meaty ones.


“Shrimp Fried Noodle.”


“Pork and Shrimp Shu-mai.” Not only did these look great, but they tasted fantastic. These were my second favorite after the straight pork ones.


“Shanghai rice cake with chicken.” This tasted fine (like soy sauce, in a good way). The rice cake has a weird chewy texture, not unlike jellyfish. It was actually kind of fun.


“Pork buns.”


Unlike the typical BBQ pork buns, these just had the slightly spiced (buy yummy) pork balls inside, not the sweet red BBQ pork. Still good.


“Juicy Pork & Crab dumplings.” Like the pork ones, but with a slightly weird crab aftertaste. We all preferred the plain pork ones, but I still happily kicked back about 5 of these.


“Sautéed mustard cabbage with garlic.” Fine for what it was. Boring!


“Sauteed Bok Choy with Garlic.” You’d swear it was the same as the mustard greens, and you’d be wrong!


“Pork Chop Fried Rice.” Pretty much exactly what you’d expect.


Yum yum, drown that baby!


“Fish dumplings.” I haven’t had a lot of fish dumplings, but these were superb! Almost as good as the pork. Well not quite, but they were really good.


Now the dessert buns. First the “black sesame.”


This were really good, with a sweet nutty taste. The bun itself is identical to the pork bun.


Then two other experimental types: “sweet taro” and “red bean.” All were pleasant, but the taro was like a bun stuffed with whipped sweet mash potato and the red bean — well like red bean.


Some kind of specialty “sweet rice” with bits of fruit and red bean paste.


I actually enjoyed this dessert. It’s sickly sweet with a peculiar Chinese flavor and very sticky.

Overall, Din Tai Fun was awesome. I’m so hungry just writing up this post and I want to go back right away. I don’t want to drive the better part of an hour just this second, but I want the “juicy pork dumplings.” It’s also a good deal. Four of us completely polished off the above. And yeah we pigged out. And it cost like $65!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Mark’s Duck House
  2. Food as Art: Ping Pong
  3. More Mark’s Duck House
  4. Christmas is for Dim Sum
  5. More Modern Dim Sum
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: China, Chinese, Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, dimsum, Din Tai Fung, Din Tai Fung Dumpling House, dumpling, Dumpling House, Hot and Sour Soup, Noodle, pork, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Shanghai, Taipei

Food as Art: Ludobites 7.0

Sep02

Restaurant: Ludobites 7.0 [1, 2]

Location: 227 East 9th St, Los Angeles, 90015

Date: August 31, 2011

Cuisine: Eclectic Modern

Rating: Very interesting (& tasty) array of flavors.

_

Last year my friends and I very much enjoyed Ludobites 6.0 (review here), one of LA’s most notable “popup” restaurants. So some of us Foodie Club members camped out on OpenTable.com to score ourselves a large party reservation. It took five of us hammering independently on the computer to get one in the approximately 70 seconds the entire run booked up. And it was nearly a month in. But score we did.


The walls are festooned with Ludo’s amusing cock & swine logo.


This year Ludobites is back at Gram & Papas. I guess they do it here because the restaurant doesn’t itself serve dinner. The space is small and casual.


One of the big advantages is that G&Ps does NOT have a liquor license. This means that my special BYOB “grape juice” was corkage free. Good think I brought a cork screw.

Very nice Burg from my cellar. Parker 93. “I loved the sweet cassis aromas of the 2002 Echezeaux as well as its powerful, intense, syrupy personality. Medium to full-bodied and gorgeously ripe, it bastes the palate with thick black fruit flavors. In addition, this wine reveals great depth and a lengthy, fruit-packed finish. Projected maturity: 2007-2017.”


Le Menu. With eight people we ordered two of EVERY dish. Worked out just about right. There was a small issue of our sole vegetarian. Not a single dish on the menu is actually free of meat, and our request initially phased the kitchen. But they recovered quickly and offered to make veggie variants of a number of dishes which worked out excellently.


“Lavender Ginger Lemonade.” Non-alcoholic. I liked the strong ginger kick, but the lemonade was too sweet and not sour enough. I like my lemonade painfully sour and strong.


“Bouillabaise Milk Shake.” This tastes exactly like it sounds. Like a fish milkshake. Basically the same flavor profile as real Bouillabaise, but with milk. I can’t say it was my favorite dish. Probably least or second to least.


“Choucroute Tart Flambe.” This “tart” is really a pizza or flatbread. But it was fantastic. The ham/bacon on top was great, as was the cheesy creme fraiche and onion thing going on.


They also made us a vegetarian version which was very good.

Neiman Cabernet “Caldwell Vineyard” 2000. Parker doesn’t rate this, but it’s a top top notch cabernet, probably 94 points or so. The years and a lack of over oaking left it very smooth. I picked up this wine at the Redd Collection, a cool new tasting/wine dealer I met at the Food Club Ultimo Wine Dinner.


The chicken wings (below) came with surgical gloves to keep the hands clean!


“Burgundy Fried Chicken.” The real burgundy was finished, but the wings were very very tasty. Succulent and perfectly cooked with a sweet BBQ style sauce.


The remnants!


This is a custom vegetarian salad they made up.


“Squid, Black Ash, Chorizo.” The squid was nice and tender, and the orange “chorizo” sauce around the edge really tasty. I’m not sure I was super keen on the ash texture, but it was certainly a decent dish.


This spectacular Brunello (the 2006 il Cocco) is totally unavailable in America. I got it at the vineyard from the owner on my mega Italy 2011 trip. He makes 7,000 bottles of wine a year, perhaps 3,000 of Brunello, and does 100% of the work (fields and cellar) himself! Probably a 94-95 point wine.


Prawn ceviche, Aji Amarillo, Red Berries. This reminded me of a Red Medicine type dish. It had very interesting and strong flavors, with a lot of vinegar/lime.


“Salt Cod Panna Cotta, Whipped Fingerling Potato, Smoked Tapioca, Black Olive Bread.” This was an interesting dish. The cod itself was not dominant at all. It mostly seemed like a panna cotta, or even like one of those Japanese seafood egg custards like I got here at Takao (about a third of the way down). I liked the little tapioca balls too, and the bread added some nice texture, just needed a little more cod flavor.


“Oxtail Beef, Rainbow Carrots, Shallots, Green Salad.” This was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The beef was just amazing. And rest went really well too.


“Foe Gras, Corn and Coconuts.” Amazing and interesting dish. Another favorite of the evening. The foie was foie — and nothing wrong with that — but the corn coconut soup was awesome with it. Sweet like a corn soup, with the crunchy texture of popcorn, and with this coconut curry / lemongrass vibe on top. Wow!


My wife even got a vegetarian version, without the foie, which really was almost as good (good as the foie was).


“Pigs Head Compressed and Mimolette, Barbeque Gelee.” This sounds awful, but tasted just okay. Flavor wise thought it just tasted like some kind of meat sandwich with a really tangy mayo. The sweet sauce helped a bit. One of my other lessor dishes of the evening.


“Egg, Sea Urchin, Caviar, Champagne Beurre Blanc.” Really tasted a lot like scrambled eggs and caviar. Which was pretty darn good. The Uni (sea urchin) was present, but subtle. I could have done with more. But the egg and caviar thing is really good together, so I enjoyed it a lot.


This is no Uni version. The egg tasted stronger and saltier without the sweetness of the Uni, but it was still a very good dish.


“Plancha Tandoori Octopus, Yogurt, Cauliflower, Grapefruit.” The octopus itself was very tender with a nice tandoori flavor. The cauliflower texture was really interesting. I think the yogurt could have had more punch, or more of it, but still a nice dish.


“Duck, Cherry, Spicy Saucisse, Beets, Radish.” There are two meats in here. A sausage (which was really yummy) and a very nice rare duck breast. Both were excellent with the cherry sauce. The beet/radish thing seemed a little orthogonal, but it didn’t stop this from being terrific.


“Lamb cooked in fat Moroccan style Artichoke, Mint.” There was some serious fat on this lamb. Serious fat. But it tasted damn good with the cooked dates. That was the whole key to this dish for me, tender lamb with a sweet sauce.


The peeps, midway somewhere.


The meal took awhile and so we could have used an extra bottle of wine, but i only brought four. This dessert Riesling, the every reliable, Parker 97! “White peach preserves, luscious Persian melon, fresh red raspberry, cooling lime, green tea, iris and gentian are all projected on the nose of Donnhoff’s 2009 Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese, then take on a fleshy, silken, yet svelte form that combines infectious juiciness, invigorating salinity, uncanny buoyancy, and vibratory interactive complexity, leaving my tongue tingling and my head buzzing. The depth of savor here is such that to speak of nut oils or of shrimp or lobster shell reduction merely points in the correct, otherwise ineffable general direction. “Creamy, dreamy, transparent” were the last words I could pronounce in the presence of this natural wonder that will certainly be capable of spreading joy for at least the next quarter century. “There was a tiny bit of perfectly dry botrytis here,” notes Donnhoff, “and to get much over 90 Oechsle you usually need that.” Needless to say, its presence has in no way precluded the utmost purity of fruit, clarity, or subtly electrical energy of which Riesling is capable in this amazing site. “I-m warning you, they’re not necessarily better,” said Helmut Donnhoff with a grin when serving me his two 2009 vintage Auslesen.”


Now our whacky “cheese course” the “Pick-Up Stick Cantal Cheese, Curry White Chocolate.” The cheese almost tasted like slivered apple.


“Lavendar Tropezienne Tart, Aloe Vera, Lychee.” This wonderful pastry reminded me of a giant lavender Macaron. I love certain kinds of exotic herbaceous flavors like rosewater and lavender and I love custard.


“Chocolate Cake, Chipotle Ice Cream, Orange.” Wow! This was a 10/10 dessert (and the lavender was like a 9/10!). The chocolate slab was great, you can tell just by looking at it, but that ice cream. It tasted like bacon! Really. The combo was incredible, and a bit spicy.


“Pistachio Brown Butter Cake, Marcaspone, Red Berries.” This was the weakest of the three desserts, but it was still very good, with a nice pistachio flavor. The Marcaspone could have used a little more kick or sweetness.

Overall, maybe it was a good thing coming into Ludobites 7.0 after a couple of weeks. Things were really on point with the food. Service, which very pleasant, really isn’t up to the food standards. There is no slick Michelin 2 (or 3) star type management of the table like at a place like Melisse, but the attitude was fine and there were no problems. Water service was sluggish and we had to self pour our “grape juice” into water glass type glasses. But actually I don’t mind self pour or opening my own wines. I could have used some more water 🙂

But the food was really standout. A large variety of very creative dishes, and some were fantastic, particularly the desserts. So bravo.

Click here for a review of last year’s Ludobites 6.0.

The Food Club extravaganzas.

Or all LA dining reviews.


Me, with the big macro-lens-and-flash rig.


Mirella gets her crazy on.


Swag! (not that I bought any)

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Ludobites 6.0
  2. Food as Art: Hatfield’s part 2
  3. Food as Art: Bistro LQ
  4. Food as Art – N/Naka
  5. Food as Art – Takao
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bouillabaise, California, cerviche, chicken wings, Cooking, Dessert, duck, Foodie Club, Los Angeles, Ludobites, Ludovic Lefebvre, Pizza, popup restaurant, pork, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, salt cod, Squid, vegetarian, Wine

Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Arnolfo

Jul09

Restaurant: Arnolfo Ristorante

Location: Colle di Val d’Elsa, Italy

Date: June 16 & 23, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

Rating: Awesome, but hard to find

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Just fifteen minutes from our villa and Siena lies the city of Colle di Val d’Elsa and its two star rated Michelin restaurant, Arnolfo. So we went twice! This is an amazing restaurant in a gorgeous location atop the old city. The rub, however, is getting there. The first time the GPS insisted we drive into a masonry wall (closed road). We gave up with that, parked, and ended up walking over a mile, including taking the elevator up to the old city. The walk back wasn’t no fun either and the staff told us that to actually drive here you have to go 6km out of your way to the next town and then come back by one particular approach — but then there is no parking in the old city.

So the next time, feeling all smart, I tried to park in the “close” (only 500m) lot below the old city. But the first entrance I tried was so narrow that I almost got stuck and had to back up my 9 seater van down 200m of alley and around a 90 degree turn — only took 30 minutes and soaked through my suit in the 88 degree humid weather. Then we had to hike up the half mile.

But it was worth it.


They have a gorgeous patio which far from “being in the middle of a city” looks out on the Tuscan hillside.


Even the non-view direction is lovely.


Grissini, first of several bread courses.


The menu on June 16 (the last of the “spring menu”).


And the new “summer” menu on June 23, as we luckily straddled the change.


Compari and soda.


Stating with a little prosecco to cool off.


In the glass.


Then comes a tray of amuses. From left to right. Green pea mouse, tomato stuffed with mozzarella, apple disc with prawn, veal croquet, and gorgonzola and fig jam sandwich. These were all good, but the last was incredible.


Like most great restaurants Arnolfo caters to every restriction. This is a variant amuse plate for vegetarians.


For example this beet and goat cheese mini.


Bread course number two, tomato bread and with lardo (sliver of pig fat).


And for those not so into the pig, the one on the right is onion.


Nor are the gluten free left out. Various potato and rice triscuits!


I’ve come to like Vernaccia, which is a D.O.C. white from San Gimignano. Very light, but with more flavor than a Pinot Grigio.


“Scampi, Goose Liver Escalope, Strawberries.”


“Sea Bass, Strawberries.” A variant for the shellfish impaired.

My notes failed me a little here, but I think it’s some kind of fish (possibly a pork belly though) in a pea soup.


Heads up, bread course three!


“Red mullets, Peas, Silver skin Onions.”


“Asparagus, Ricotta Cheese, Eggs.” Now this was an interesting dish. The white asparagus were grilled and wrapped in pancetta (bacon). The white and yellow stuff is deconstructed egg (yolk and white as powder). The ricotta is in the upper right and was delicious. The powder wasn’t as successful as the bonus egg, shown below.


This is more or less a coddled egg. I dipped the asparagus for extra umph.


This was a small production local Chianti Classico that the sommeler recommended. Good too, and like 30E. Try to find a decent wine at that price at a French 2 star!


“Guinea-Fowl, Chick-peas, I.G.P. Tuscan Ham.” Good stuff.

“Spinach soup with sea bass, tomato.”


“Perlina Aubergines, Tomato, Watermelon, Buffalo Mozzarella I.G.P.”


“Prawns, Peaches, Yellow Pepper.” Yummy. The pairing of the delicate shellfish was delicious with both the fruit and the peppers.


Arnolfo has very nice presentation, which I couldn’t photo every aspect of.


“Goose Liver, Red Onions, Spices, Cherries.” Oh wow yum. And that is some kind of cheese foam/ice cream on top. This was really good stuff.

And two extra goose liver preps for good measure. A sort of Napoleon and a little pistachio coated truffle, solid fois inside.


“Rabbit, Bloack Olives, Ratatouille.” Not your everyday Ratatouille. Notice the white asparagus too.


“Turbot with mozzerella.”


“Tortelli with chicken from Val d’Orcia, with asparagus and red pepper soup.” These are serious homemade pastas.

“Tortelli, Red Onions from Certaldo, White Beans from Sorana.”


“Mezzelune pasta, Courgettes flowers, Wedge shells.”


“Tagliolini, Rabbit, Black Olives.” In the front, out of focus, are discs of rabbit meat to go with the chunks of bunny in the pasta.


“Ravioli, Aubergines, Ewe’s Ricotta, Red Pepper.”


Gluten free pasta too!


“The 2006 Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva is a pretty, juicy red laced with cherries, dried flowers, tobacco and underbrush. The tannins dry out a touch on the finish, which is the only thing that keeps the score from going higher. Still, this forward, fruit-driven Chianti should drink nicely over the next few years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2016. “


“Cod, with onions.” And some other stuff.


“Fish soup, Crustaceans, Mollucs, Vegetables.”


“John Dory, Asparagus, Datterini Tomatoes, Capers from Pantelleria.”


“Dentex, Gazpacho, Aubergines.”


“Swordfish, Roasted Peppers, Candied Tomatoes.” You can see that each dish is quite complex.


A brunello recommended by the sommelier.


“I.G.P. Chianina Veal Steak and cheek.”


“I.G.P. Chianina Veal Tartar and vegetables.”


I didn’t used to be into tartar, but it’s really been growing on me over the last several years. Quail egg on top.


“I.G.P. Chiania Veal Steak, Potatoes.”


“Cinta Senese Suckling Pig, Porchetta, Leg, Loin, Leaf Cabbage, Beetroots.”


This town evidently produces 14% of the world’s crystal. Italian shopping hours being what they are, despite three visits, we never saw one open.


Ah the suffering involved in dining in one of the world’s great wine regions. 93 points from Parker. “Consulting oenologist Carlo Ferrini has turned out a beautiful wine at this historic estate, a property which he speaks of in effusive terms. Talenti’s sublime 2001 Brunello Pian di Conte exhibits a deep, translucent ruby color. It opens with captivating, vibrant aromatics, with notes of freshly cut roses, raspberries and licorice. Gorgeously expressive yet delicate on the palate, it offers layers of dark fruit, earthiness and sweet oak supported by a refined, classic structure, with exceptional length and fine, silky tannins on the fresh finish. It is a superb effort. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2021.”

We are assaulted by a battery of pre-desserts. Vanilla ice cream with cherry rhubarb “soup.”

“Almond Mascarpone, pistachio ice cream.”


“Ricotta Cheese, Orange, Honey.” Tart and sweet.


“Selection of Tuscan Sheep’s-milk and Goat’s-milk Cheeses.”


And some nice condiments.


I can’t even remember what this one was.


“Zuccotto, Star Anis, Coffee, Fennel Ice Cream.”


“Grand Dessert Assortment.” Because one isn’t enough. Chocolate cake, Passionfruit sauce. Coffee something. Strawberry flan. A bit of the above Zuccotto, and something else.


“Zuccotto, Pinenuts, Alkermes, Chocolate Sorbet, Fleur del Sel.” The central thing was basically a meringue.


“Fruit and custard mille fueile.”


“Apricots, Almonds, Lavender Ice Cream.”


Worth a bit of zoom.


And this too.


We also had a birthday (mine more or less), so there was this bonus cake!

And just a few petite fours. Lemon jelly in the center. A little fruit tart on the right.

More, on the second night. Berry tart. Ricotta vanilla dome. Pistachio burger. Blackberry mouse. Almond marzipan.


Our second meal here was slightly better than the first for some reason, but both were top notch. Service was spectacular all around. Highly recommended as a very updated medium modernist take on Tuscan cuisine. The quality of local ingredients was impeccable, and they know how to modernize playfully without letting the techniques get out of control.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Dietro Le Quinte
  2. Eating Siena – Trattoria Pepei
  3. Eating Monteriggioni – Il Pozzo
  4. Eating Castellina – Albergaccio di Castellina
  5. Eating Staggia – Pozzo dei Desideri
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Arnolfo, beef, Bread, Breadstick, Chianti, Colle di Val d'Elsa, Colle di Val d’Elsa, Cooking, Dessert, eating-italy, fish, Gluten-free diet, GPS, Italian cuisine, Italy, Michelin, Michelin Guide, pasta, pigeon, pork, Shellfish, Tomato, Tuscany, veal

Eating Monteriggioni – Il Pozzo

Jul03

Restaurant: Il Pozzo

Location: Monteriggioni, Italy

Date: June 13 & 22, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

Rating: Classic Tuscan

ANY CHARACTER HERE

This local resteraunt in the cute little walled town of Monteriggioni pretty much typifies Tuscan cooking at its traditional best. We initially went here on the basis of our villa owner’s recommendation. He has good taste, and we came back a second time. This is probably the best of all my reports to get a sense of the classic Tuscan courses.


The restaurant is located in the main square of this qaint medeval village.


The name seems to mean well, shaft, or pit. There is an old well in the square right outside the restaurant, so that’s probably it.


The menu.


The interior is cute and traditional.


And they also have this lovely side patio.


The usual bread.


We started with a white from San Gimignano, Vernaccia, an old school but very pleasant DOC white.


Beetle juice anyone? Compari and soda.


Incredibly common, Tuscan ham with local melon.


Classic, caprese.


Smoked salmon served with a bit of salad and butter.


Local “pici” pasta with basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan and olive oil.


Spaghetti pomodoro.


Pappardelle al Cinghiale, boar ragu. This was a scrumptious rendition of this wonderful dish, with perhaps a little cinnamon or nutmeg in the ragu.


Pasta with butter and cheese for the under 10 set.


Polenta with porcini mushrooms and cheese fondue — a rare out of focus photo.


A fantastic meat risotto. Basically a Bolognese sauce with rice. Really good.


The basic salad, but very well done.


Zucchini and walnut salad.


Fried fresh zucchini blossoms. Unlike in the states, these had no ricotta inside (which does frankly improve them), but they were still really good.


A good local Chianti Classico Riserva. It’s hard to really go wrong with some of these riservas at the local prices.


Grilled fillet of Tuscan cow. Rare (always)!


Guinea fowl braised and served in a sauce with slices of fresh truffle. No hating this.


Pork Senese, in a sweetish Vin Santo and fennel sauce. I liked this sauce which complemented the pork perfectly.


A total Tuscan classic, Salsicce con Fagioli — franks and beans. Tuscan sausage with stewed fava beans (a favorite of Hannibal Lector, but he uses the other other white meat).


Grilled lamb chops. Tuscans do love their Griglia (grilled meats).


Plenty of aperitifs available to wash down those slices of animal flesh.


The dessert menu.


Vanilla Gelato with hardened chocolate shell.


Creme Caramel. One of my personal favorites.


Tiramisu.


Cheese cake, Tuscan style.

You can really see the rhythm of a Tuscan meal here. The only things missing are the bruschetta and the minestrone, but those are shown in lots of other reports like Trattoria Pepei. First with have the antipasta, in this case cured meats, fish, etc. Then the pastas, then salads and vegetables accompanying grilled meats, followed by the cake-like desserts.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Staggia – Pozzo dei Desideri
  2. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
  3. Eating Siena – Trattoria Pepei
  4. Eating Castellina – Albergaccio di Castellina
  5. Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Dietro Le Quinte
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Chianti, Colle di Val d'Elsa, Defensive wall, Dessert, eating-italy, ham, Il Pozzo, Italian cuisine, Italy, lamb, Meat, Monteriggioni, pasta, Pine nut, pork, Restaurant, San Gimignano, Toscana, Tuscany, Vernaccia

Memorial Day Pig

Jun08

One of my friends always throws a “hog wild” Memorial Day BBQ.


The beginnings of the spread.


Pulled pork! This stuff was mouth watering good.


Baked beans cooked in molasses.


BBQ. This was a little sweet for my taste, even the hot.


BBQ turkey.


All this needed some wine from my cellar.

The shafer had enough age to be really nice, although I had cork problems. Parker gave it 90, “The Cabernet Sauvignon Stag’s Leap District has jumped in quality as John Shafer‘s son, Doug Shafer, abandoned sterile filters in favor of no fining and only a polishing, coarse filtration at bottling. That, plus less acidification, giving the wines a higher PH, has resulted in a more revealing and beautiful expression of the gorgeous fruit obtained from the Stag’s Leap District vineyards. The 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon Stag’s Leap includes 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Merlot. It offers a wonderfully pure cassis nose, a velvety texture, plenty of ripeness, and some structure and tannin in the medium to full-bodied finish. It should drink well for 10-15 years. This winery continues to build on their fine reputation, pushing the quality to higher and higher levels. Shafer’s 50-acre estate vineyard, located in the heart of the Stag’s Leap District, is supplemented by an additional 70 acres in Carneros. The winery continues to be innovative, offering a very good Sangiovese called Firebreak that has a small percentage (usually less than 20%) of Cabernet Sauvignon included in the blend for color and bulk.”

The 2001 Beaucastel is wonderful as always, 96 points. “Beaucastel has been on a terrific qualitative roll over the last four vintages, and the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape (which Francois Perrin feels is similar to the 1990, although I don’t see that as of yet) is a 15,000-case blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, and the balance split among the other permitted varietals of the appellation. This inky/ruby/purple-colored cuvee offers a classic Beaucastel bouquet of new saddle leather, cigar smoke, roasted herbs, black truffles, underbrush, and blackberry as well as cherry fruit. It is a superb, earthy expression of this Mourvedre-dominated cuvee. Full-bodied and powerful, it will undoubtedly close down over the next several years, not to re-emerge for 7-8 years. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025.”

And the Brunello also 96, although it needed a few more years. “The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Paganelli emerges from the glass with masses of scorched earth, leather, tar, licorice, menthol and dark fruit. The Riserva shows a touch more inner sweetness, richness and depth in its fruit than the regular bottling, plus a bit more French oak as well. For now, the Riserva is quite reticent and requires air, but with time its awesome richness and power come through in spades. This dark, brooding and authoritative Riserva from Il Poggione is simply gorgeous. Readers who don’t want to pay the premium for the Riserva in 2004 need not worry; I tasted the 2004 regular bottling (twice!) while preparing this article and it is every bit as promising as my review last year suggested. In 2004 the Paganelli vineyard was harvested on the 13th of October, quite late for this estate. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039.”


Salmon for those who aren’t into pig!


And spicey hot links!


Then the desserts start to come.


Fruit tart, pie, cupcakes for the kiddies.


This yummy red velvet cake with a cream cheese frosting.


And ice cream from Sweet Rose Creamery. Mint, salted carmel, vanilla, caffe luxxe coffee, strawberry etc.

Related posts:

  1. Thanksgiving – Pork Insanity
  2. Food as Art: Ortolan
  3. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  4. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  5. Thanksgiving Proper
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, bbq, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Counoise, Dessert, Memorial Day, pork, side dishes, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, vegetarian, Wine

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.

Related posts:

  1. Fraiche Santa Monica
  2. Saturday is for Salt
  3. Fraiche take on Franco-Italian
  4. Food as Art: Ortolan
  5. Sicilian Style – Drago
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bacon, Benjamin Ford, Chocolate chip cookie, Cookie, Cooking, Culver City, Culver City California, Dessert, Ford's Filling Station, Harrison Ford, Home, Ice cream, Los Angeles, Meat, Mint Chocolate Chip, North Carolina, Pig, pork, Pulled Pork, Sandwich, vegetarian

Taking back Little Saigon

Apr28

Restaurant: Little Saigon

Location: 6218 Wilson Blvd, Falls Church, VA 22044-3210 (703) 536-2633

Date: April 22, 2011

Cuisine: Vietnamese

ANY CHARACTER HERE

One of my favorite places back “home” (Washington D.C.) is Little Saigon, a local hole in the wall Vietnamese place with absolutely stellar food. I reviewed it once before, but I’m back again for more.

This is just a page of the 6 page menu, for the whole thing look at the older review.

A nice sparkling wine goes well with Vietnamese.

My dad also brought this old cab. But it was corked, and probably not the worlds best wine to begin with :-).

Table condiments.

This is marinated raw beef, soaked in fish sauce, with onions, chilies, and basil. Not a typical American flavor, but amazing nonetheless.

These are an interestingly different take on these classic soft Vietnamese rolls. Besides some of the usual veggies (lettuce, mint, bean sprouts, vermicelli, shrimp, etc) they also have a bit of spicy pork sausage.

With the crucial dipping sauce. These are really tasty.

This is a four person portion of the rice noodle pork soup with some kind of dumpling. There’s also cilantro, scallions, peanuts and who knows what else. But it’s certainly delicious with one of those complex flavor and texture profiles that is typical of good Vietnamese.

The individual bowl (approximately a quarter of the first bigger bowl).

Chicken wings sauteed in butter and garlic. Basically Vietnamese fried chicken. Sweeter and crunchier than the American equivalent and way strong on the garlic. Very good for sure.

Crispy orange duck. This must be Chinese inspired, but it’s amazing, totally amazing. The duck is perfect, and the sweet/bitter tang of real orange peels (not to mention the schechuan peppers) delectable.

Mixed seafood (all the S’s – shrimp, scallops, squid) in lemongrass sauce. Nice tasty subtle flavor to the sauce. This is a fairly exotic taste, but really good.

Little Saigon never disappoints. And this whole meal was like $80 for four!

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Little Saigon
  2. Red Medicine the Relapse
  3. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  4. Red Medicine is the Cure
  5. Quick Eats: Brentwood
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Cooking, Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh City, Home, Little Saigon, pork, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Seafood, side dishes, Soups and Stews, spring roll, United States, vegetarian, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Here Piggy – Botin Madrid

Dec29

Restaurant: Botin

Location: Madrid Spain

Date: July 1, 2010

Cuisine: Classic Spanish

 

At the end of our month in Spain we wanted to hit up a totally traditional Spanish place for our final dinner. This place in Madrid claims to be the “oldest restaurant in the world.” True or not, it does serve a narrow but good menu of traditional Spanish fare. And this means pig — lots of pig!

The storefront in the heart of old Madrid.

The speciality of the house is roast baby piglet. They told me they go through 50-60 complete pigs a night! You can see them lined up in their terrines waiting for the ovens.

Oink oink!

Their fiery doom.

“The 2007 Les Terrasses is the same blend as the Camins cuvee but entirely sourced from old vines. It spent 12 months in 20% new French oak. Aromas of mineral, Asian spices, espresso, black cherry, and black raspberry lead to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, smooth-textured wine. Savory, moderately structured, and approachable, it may evolve for 1-2 years but can be enjoyed now and over the next 6-8 years.” Parker gives it a 92.

The building sure looks old.

This traditional Gazpacho was very good — and included the tray of “additives” (cucumber, tomato, crouton). Even I — a consummate raw tomato hater — loved it.

Pimientos Rojos with Boquerones in Vinegar. I love this dish. Anchovies have a bad rap here in the states, but these fresh Spanish ones are amazing. I love the vinegary tang, and the contrast with the marinated peppers. Yum!

Here is the pig in the foreground — with potatoes — the Spanish love meat and potatoes. In the background is roasted lamb shoulder.

The lamb plated. Smokey, rich and tender. The piggy was someone else’s, after looking at the little pigs I just couldn’t bring myself to chow down on one. I didn’t see the lamb.  Bah!

Perfect flan for dessert. Rich custardy goodness and sweet dark carmel.

The funky old school Spanish decor.

the register certainly looks antique.

The cellar.

By the entrance, where they keep the olives they put on the table, is this sad little photo of babe.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Calima
  2. Food as Art: Capo
  3. Food as Art: Ortolan
  4. Food as Art: The Bazaar
  5. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: anchovies, Cooking, Dessert, eating-spain, flan, Food, Gazpacho, lamb, Madrid, meal, Pig, pork, Restaurant, Spain, vegetarian

Food as Art: Ping Pong

Dec04

Restaurant: Ping Pong

Location: 900 7th Street NW. District of Columbia 20001. 202-506-3740

Date: Dec 01, 2010

Cuisine: Chinese Dim Sum


I’ve been going to Dim Sum for thirty-odd years, and it’s long been one of my favorite cuisines. Basically, this follows from the “law of appetizers,” which reads: “appetizers are always better than the main course.” Dim Sum is all “appetizers.” Ping Pong represents a modernization of the traditional Dim Sum concept. There are no carts, everything is made fresh to order, and there are modern variants on traditional favorites. Most of this is good, and they did a great job. The only downside is that it’s about twice as expensive as a hole-in-the-wall traditional place. However, particularly if you have a vegetarian in the party (traditional Dim Sim is nigh on impossible to appreciate as a vegetarian), it can be worth it.

The menu and our order. I like this “check your order” type menu, like an old school sushi menu.

Jasmine tea, the way they do it in China. The ball expands.

Into a pretty flower. Ping Pong has a very extensive drink menu, alchoholic and non.

Sauces are essential at Dim Sum. These are two kind of chilies. They had good soy, vinegar, etc. The odd missing one, which we asked for, but they didn’t have, was Chinese mustard. I love Chinese mustard.

Baked pork puff. This is a standard, and they did a great job of it. The pastry was buttery, and the pork sweet.

Here is an example of a welcome “modernization.” A vegetable puff. Same dough, but inside was honey-roasted vegetables. These did a pretty good approximation.

Vegetarian spring rolls, with a very nice sweet and sour sauce.

Spare ribs. Ultra soft (and fatty), with a very nice sweet flavor.

Asian leaf and three mushroom salad.

Crispy hoisin duck rolls. Tasty. Who could tell what was inside, but it had a nice meatiness to it. Like a duck taquito.

The tower of steamers begin to arrive. I personally love the steamed dumplings best of all. In China I had a 64 course Tang Dynasty style Dim Sum meal that was one of the best meals of my life.

Classic lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice. An excellent example of the species. The rice is mixed with pork, chicken etc.

Crabmeat and prawn, what’s not to like. Also very hot! They are steamed after all.

Classic Pork Shu Mai. I made the mistake of getting greedy on these and could barely taste them as I seared off my tongue. What I did taste seemed good.

This is a bunch of seafood and vegetable cooked on a griddle. A sort of Chinese seafood sausage. They call it a seafood cake. My father and I ordered these at random from an entirely non-English speaking greasy griddle at a rooftop restaurant in Shaimen China. These were better.

“Crab, shrimp, and scallop, carrot pastry.” These were great too, with the shell almost like a fresh ravioli.

Jumbo shrimp and coriander dumplings. Light and succulent. The coriander mixed it up a little.

Spicy pork dumplings. I loved these, and they have a significant kick. Basically ground pork spiced with Schezuan peppers. In Western China we would get these at hotel breakfasts.

Classic “Har Gau,” or shrimp in a light translucent pastry. Yum, but I missed the mustard.

Vegetable and beans in black bean sauce over coconut rice. Kinda light a high end weight watchers dinner.

Another example of a modernized lightened classic. Vegetable steamed bun, with sauteed vegetables and fresh baby corn. Really good. Almost as good as the pork version.

Spinach and mushroom pan fried dumpling, in crispy wheat flour pastry. Almost like meat.

Spicy Basil, rice noodles and chili. Interesting flavors.

My favorite of the meal, “black prawn, garlic and shrimp, black squid ink pastry.” There was a succulent sweetness that complimented the shrimp brilliantly.

The decor too is modernized as compared to your traditional place.

I was impressed with Ping Pong. On average the dishes were fresher than you get in the typical cart driven place, and the introduction of new flavors was very subtly but nicely done. I particularly appreciated having really well done vegetarian versions of classics. Bravo!

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Little Saigon
  2. Food as Art: Calima
  3. Food as Art: Bistro LQ
  4. Food as Art: Sushi House Unico
  5. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
By: agavin
Comments (8)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: China, Chinese cuisine, crab, Dim sum, dumpling, dumplings, Food, modern chinese, pork, Restaurant, reviews, Salad, scallop, shrimp, steamed, vegetarian, World Cuisines

Thanksgiving – Pork Insanity

Nov27

On our third night of ThanksGavin craziness, after Wednesday, and the incomparable thursday, we move into our traditional Friday evening at my cousin Abbe’s. This year Abbe settled on roast pork sandwiches — a meal with deep South Philadelphia roots.

We begin with the pork roasts going into the over, basted in white wine. They came pre spiced from Fiorella’s on Christian Street in the Philly Italian market. They only do pork (specializing in sausage) and have been in biz since the 19th century.

Broccoli Rabe sauteed in garlic.

Roasted long-hots. Serious peppers.

Parker 93 points, “The 2008 Vico made from 100% Mencia with 30% whole clusters and aged for 9 months in seasoned French oak. Opaque purple-colored, it offers up a slightly reticent bouquet of damp earth, mineral, incense, black cherry, and black raspberry. Dense and loaded on the palate, the flavors are already complex and mouth-filling. Impeccably balanced and with a 45-second finish, it has the stuffing to blossom for another 2-3 years but can be approached now. It is a great value.”

A very nice super tuscan.

The 2001 Beaucastel, RP 96! “Beaucastel has been on a terrific qualitative roll over the last four vintages, and the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape (which Francois Perrin feels is similar to the 1990, although I don’t see that as of yet) is a 15,000-case blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, and the balance split among the other permitted varietals of the appellation. This inky/ruby/purple-colored cuvee offers a classic Beaucastel bouquet of new saddle leather, cigar smoke, roasted herbs, black truffles, underbrush, and blackberry as well as cherry fruit. It is a superb, earthy expression of this Mourvedre-dominated cuvee. Full-bodied and powerful, it will undoubtedly close down over the next several years, not to re-emerge for 7-8 years. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025.”

The Merlot was great too, tasting more like a Pomerol than a Cal Merlot.

Chef/Host Abbe chops grilled artichokes (from Claudio’s in the Philly Italian Market).

Our token white, “2009 Dönnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spatlese Even the “off-vintages”, if there are any, for Donnhoff’s most renowned wines get high scores, and are of the finest quality and greatest longevity. Niederhauser Hermannshohle is one of two famous single vineyards which Dönnhoff farms, and the 2009 delivers a wallop, serving up a subtle olfactory treat of blood orange, pear, stone fruit, and talcum powder. In the mouth, incredible concentration comes to fore, as vivid flavors of orange pulp, blueberry, and wild cherry balance racy acidity, luscious mineral notes and a creamy, almost decadent, mouthfeel! A succulent, loaded offering that promises to delight for several years to come…that is, if you can possibly resist drinking it now!”

The heart stopping cheese selection. Camembert, Epposises, quince paste.

More options.

The bread.

And Thursday night’s Tapenade.

The wine keeps on rolling. A 2005 by Raul Perez, spectacular. And the Hall, “The dense purple-colored 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain reveals abundant aromas of cassis interwoven with hints of bay leaf, licorice, and underbrush. Moderately high tannins give pause, but the sweetness of the fruit as well as the level of glycerin and concentration bode well assuming the tannins fall away at a reasonable pace.”

Some folk don’t like the other white meat, so panko crusted pan fried flounder was on the menu for them.

The pork roasts emerge!

Cousin Matt invested in a meat slicer just for the occasion.

The pork was intended to be assembled into sandwiches. Here is salad, artichokes, and provolone fresh from Philly’s Italian market.

Chef Abbe presides over the fish, the broccoli rabe, the “juice” and rolls.

A fish sandwich.

My pork sandwich, with the spicy peppers, cheese, artichoke, broccoli rabe, etc. Pork is soaked in the juice (gravy) ala French dip style.

Mom levers her special “Apple Drapple” Cake out of the pan.

Lo and behold, a second pecan pie!

The Apple Drapple, dressed for my son’s second birthday.

 

ThanksGavin Calendar:

Wednesday night dinner

Thursday night Thanksgiving Feast

Friday night pork roast (this post)

Saturday Deli Brunch

Related posts:

  1. Thanksgiving Proper
  2. Thanksgiving – The Prequel
  3. Ghost of Thanksgivings Past
  4. Food as Art: Ludobites 6.0
  5. Food as Art: Hatfield’s part 1
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Apple Drapple, bbq, Chateauneuf du Pape, Cooking, Dessert, Donnhoff, Food, Italian Market Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Mourvèdre, pork, Pork Sandwich, Roast pork, Salad, side dishes, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, Wine

Thanksgiving – The Prequel

Nov25

Restaurant: Umbria

Location: 7131 Germantown Ave. Philadelphia. 215-242-6470

Date: Nov 24, 2010

Cuisine: Modern American

 

Our traditional family feast, which we could dub the Thanksgavin, begins with the Wednesday night forefeast (to borrow a term from the Greek orthodox). In 2010 it was at an American place in Germantown outside of Philadelphia, called Umbria. Curiously the name might lead one to believe it was an Italian restaurant, but no.  regardless, it was very good. There were 14 of us.

Yesterday I blogged a bit about our PAST THANKSGIVINGS, and tomorrow I will cover the main event itself.

We really don’t mess around with the wines at these dinners. For the white lovers we had a brand new “2009 J.J. Prum Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr SpatleseFrom the sultry bouquet which exudes saline minerality, bounded by a medley of baked pear, raspberry, and lime skins…to the sweet, succulent attack of white fig, lemon and lime skins, and orange cream…to the mid-palate laden with pepper and dark blueberry and candied Meyer lemon flavors…I think that you can get the picture. Namely, this rich, vibrant wine is one of the most complex I have had the pleasure of tasting in 2010! Lithe minerality is present on the back palate and rich lemon ice notes reverberate on the 75+…yes, more than 75 second…finish. Pure ecstasy in a bottle? Quite possibly so!”

Next up. Parker gives the Nuits-St.-Georges 93 points, “An assortment of candied cherries explode from the glass of the 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Perrieres. This seductive wine’s character is drenched in black cherry syrup, rocks, and earth. Medium-bodied, it has outstanding depth, concentration, and a long, expressive finish that reveals copious quantities of ripe tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018.”

Then the 91 point “2004 Brunello di Montalcino is a fresh, vibrant offering bursting with dark cherries, violets, underbrush, minerals and sweet toasted oak on a medium-bodied frame. The wine reveals terrific balance in an energetic, focused style, with firm yet ripe tannins. The finish is long, clean and refreshing. This is a gorgeous effort from Loacker. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2019.”

And then the 94 point, “2005 Shardana is an awesome Carignano endowed with exuberant dark fruit, smoke, licorice, sage, rosemary and tar. This is a fairly big, masculine wine with great intensity, depth and roundness. It needs another year or two in bottle for the tannins to settle down. The Shardana is formidable, though, and a terrific choice for hearty cuisines. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021.”

The menu tonight.

The room, or at least half of it.

Bread.

“Roasted butternut squash ravioli, sage hazelnut and wild mushrooms.” A fall take on an italian classic.

“Mixed green salad, asagio cheese, balsamic vinaigrette.”

“grilled fennel sausage, sweet and spicy fig sauce.” Wow! Wow! The sausage itself was amazing, and the sauce was basically what you would get at a thai or vietnamese place for fried spring rolls. Wow! The combo was amazing, with the sweet tangy goodness against the rich meaty sausage.

Escargot special.

Special “crab and wild mushroom soup.”

“Filet of salmon, cedar roasted, maple glaze.”

“lump crabmeat, fresh herbs, extra dry vermouth.” This emphasized the crab, without a lot of added fat or butter. It worked.

“Pork loin chop, apple bourbon grilling sauce.”

Grilled swordfish special.

Beef short rib special. The meat was seriously falling from the bone here, with a wonderful smoky flavor.

Hmmm.  Not sure. But it was a white meat or fish 🙂 This might have been the swordfish, and the above the chicken.  Hard to remember.

For the deserts, it was time to bring out the big guns — sweet wise — the motor oil vicous PX. Pure sugar in a bottle. Yum!

Carmel almond sundae. Wow!  This was amazing too.  The nuts toasted into a praline like whatever, and the homemade carmel with a bit of sea salt.

Pound cake with fruit.

Classic “creme carmel.” Good, and I love flan, but not as divine as the sundae.

ThanksGavin Calendar:

Wednesday night dinner

Thursday night Thanksgiving Feast

Friday night pork roast

Saturday Deli Brunch

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Hatfield’s part 2
  2. Food as Art: Saddle Peak Lodge
  3. Food as Art: Capo
  4. Food as Art: Hatfield’s part 1
  5. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Brunello di Montalcino, crab, Dessert, Food, Meat, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Philadelphia, pork, Restaurant, reviews, Riesling, Salad, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, turkey, Umbria, Vinaigrette, Wine
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