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Archive for ribs

Mister Bossam & Cheese Pork Ribs

Mar11

Restaurant: Mister Bossam

Location: 338 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 388-5379

Date: January 26, 2020

Cuisine: Korean Ribs

Rating: Awesome, but heart burn central

_

On a chilly, quiet Sunday night — where in the best of worlds we should have had a Chinese dinner going — Yarom and I met up for a small Korean dinner.
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Yarom saw this sign and we couldn’t resist trying it out.
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The interior is very small and casual.
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The menu is pretty specific with just a couple variants on two main themes (bossam and cheesy ribs).
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Banchan.
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pickled spicy raddish or turnip.
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kimchee.
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macaroni salad — our least favorite.
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pickled cabbage.
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fish cakes — I ate 3 bowls of this one, love the chewy texture.
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marinated daikon.
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Sauces. A spicy one left and a sweet one right.
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Lettuce wraps.
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The burner.
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green onion + garlic bossam and sliced pigs feet — the luke warm pork (bossam) was much better than the feet.

Bossam is a pork dish in Korean cuisine. It usually consists of belly pork that is boiled in spices and thinly sliced. The meat is served with side dishes such as spicy radish salad, sliced raw garlic, ssamjang, saeu-jeot, kimchi, and ssam vegetables such as lettuce, kkaennip, and inner leaves of a napa cabbage.

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Cheesy spicy pork ribs with cheesy eggs, corn, and hot dogs.
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The cheese melts and they cut up and stir up the ribs. This part is scrumptious and very rich. At first it’s a little weird eating a Korean flavored spicy pork rib covered in cheese, but it tastes amazing. We ordered medium spice and it was actually very spicy with a long chili oil type heat. Gave me some heartburn. Cheesy eggs and hot dogs were good too.
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Overall, this is a small place with a small menu. The bossam was I suspect good for bossam, but it’s not my favorite dish ever. The cheesy ribs were pretty awesome. Not a place you’d come all the time, but really interesting and tasty to try.

Click here to see more Eating Israel posts.

Related posts:

  1. Thanksgiving – Pork Insanity
  2. Cheesy Pork Cutlet
  3. Ethiopian BBQ Ribs?
  4. Forma – Cheese Bowl!
  5. A Night of Cheese
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: bbq, Korean cuisine, Ktown, Mister Bossam, pork, ribs, spicy

Thirds at Majordomo

Mar22

Restaurant: Majordomo [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1725 Naud St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (323) 545-4880

Date: February 28, 2019

Cuisine: Korean Fusion

Rating: Big dishes amazing

_

It’s with gigantic expectation that NY restaurateur David Chang opened his first LA outpost last year and since then it’s become a regular foodie and wine destination among my friends. Tonight 6 of us core Foodie Club guys head on out for another great evening.

Looking on the map, I was pretty skeptical of the weird between Chinatown and Dodger’s Stadium location — a totally annoying spot for me to get to during traffic! Two brutal hours!

The area is extremely warehousey, much like the “Arts District” but even newer.  This particular time, dropping off at night, we joked about our life expectancy.           

The have a sort of hipster city built down here out of old warehouses.

With lots of bespoke graffiti.

And Majordomo, of course.

Which has a pretty big enclosed and outside space (which we ate in this third time). Have to say, the outside space was actually preferable. Less crowded and quieter.

As you can see.

Inside is one of those cavernous loud warehouse spaces.

High naked ceilings. Don’t come here when it’s raining! They also have the currently hip bathroom setup with the coed shared sinks exposed out in the main room. Not my thing. What if you want to clean up in private?

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Tonight’s menu.
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From my cellar: 2007 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 96.  Taittinger’s 2007 Comtes de Champagne will be nearly impossible to resist upon release. Soaring aromatics, mid-weight structure and soft contours give the 2007 its alluring personality. Lemon oil, white flowers, mint, chamomile and green pear add brightness and freshness throughout, with a persistent, clean finish that makes it impossible to resist a second taste. Today, the 2007 comes across as a slightly more open version of the 2004, with freshness that makes that wine so appealing, and a touch of textural richness that recalls the 2002. Although the 2007 does not have the explosive energy or verticality of the profound 2006, it will drink better earlier. The 2007 has been positively brilliant on the three occasions I have tasted it so far.
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Bing is this Korean bread thing. Pretty much like a thick crepe or pita bread. They have various “toppings” you can get with the bing.
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We got some free shaved chilled poultry liver.
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Spicy Lamb. The lamb was vaguely Greek/Turkish or something with the yogurt and the stewed meat quality. Yummy though. The eggs were more complex and pretty excellent. You mash it up a bit to get the roe, egg, chips etc on the bing. I put the ham on at the same time for max effect and it was very good.
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Eggs & Smoked Roe bing. This was pretty excellent. You mash it up a bit to get the roe, egg, chips etc on the bing. I actually skipped the bing itself this time in a vain effort to avoid some carbs.
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Jacob brought: 1996 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. BH 93. A stunning nose that offer simply wonderful complexity leads to racy, pure, intense and mineral-laden flavors of real length. This is an elegant wine that will require many years to come together completely even from a regular 750 ml bottle. An extremely pretty wine and one of Latour’s best recent efforts with this wine. Mostly consistent notes though I should point out that another recent magnum seemed a bit thin on the mid-palate and while the essential character remained the same, it didn’t have the same buffering material that the wine described above did.
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Fried Cauliflower. Fish sauce vinaigrette, red onion, cilantro. Cauliflower is the new Brussels Sprout. But I actually love the vegetable and particularly when paired with acid like this.
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Stuffed Peppers. Benton’s sack sausage, buttermilk ranch. Hehe, I said sack. These are like Jalepeno poppers — sort of. Shishito poppers.
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Fried Oxtail. Salsa seca, chili, peanuts. Very interesting and different dish. You gnaw the bone for the meat. Then it was covered with the breakfast granola-textured but vaguely Chinese flavored pile of goodness. Great texture too. Like spicy trail-mix.
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Kirk brought: 2011 Sine Qua Non The Moment. VM 93. Bright yellow-gold. Ripe pear, creme brulee and candied ginger on the powerfully scented nose, with notes of anise and smoky lees adding complexity. Pliant but focused candied citrus and orchard fruit flavors gain weight with air, picking up a dried fig nuance. The pear and smoke notes carry through a smooth, palate-staining and strikingly long finish that shows surprising vivacity. This wine was raised in a combination of concrete eggs, new French oak, used barrels and stainless steel tanks.

agavin: Rhone style. Kirk likes to bring these.
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Uni pasta special. Always amazing and a good pairing with the Rhone style wine.
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Walker brought: 1998 Prunotto Barolo. VM 89. Moderately saturated medium red. Flinty aromas of marzipan, underbrush and violet. Fat, sweet and smooth; this is quite accessible already. Solidly structured wine with nicely buffered tannins. Still a bit youthfully aggressive but tasty right now.

agavin: sadly our bottle was gone.
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Walker brought: 1971 Fratelli Revello Barolo. Nice and still in good shape.
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Mafaldine. Dungeness crab, bread crumbs, lemon. Mafaldine twice in a week or two! This one had a less tripe-like texture. Blew my “no carbs” thing for the night (along with the uni and several other dishes).
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Warm Raclette cheese. This was for some other dish but they just gave us some on the house!
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Erick brought: 1996 Sylvain Cathiard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts. BH 88. There is still enough wood to notice on the attractively spicy dark berry fruit nose that reflects moderate secondary development. There is good detail and vibrancy to the middle weight flavors that suffer from a slightly hole on the mid-palate before culminating in a mildly edgy if persistent finish. The edge to which I am referring is not astringent or excessively acidic yet there is clearly an element that is not as well-integrated as it might be. In sum, this is pretty enough but it lacks the concentration it needs to avoid its shortcomings.

agavin: sometimes Allen Meadows is insane. This wine was much better than 88, maybe like 93 (Burg 93).
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From my cellar: 2003 Gros Frère et Sœur Grands-Echezeaux. BH 89-92. This too is very toasty but the spicy black fruit nose manages to transcend the wood and complements powerful, dense, borderline massive flavors of superb depth, all wrapped in dusty, firm and ripe tannins. This is a big wine and while it’s no model of elegance, one has to admire the muscle and sheer concentration. This will take its time coming around.
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Roasted Duck Crispy Rice. Citrus, dates, turnips.
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There was a kind of “jus” that was poured in.
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Then it was all mixed up — amazing fried rice. Loved the egg in it too.
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Smoked Cabbage. Brown butter, macadamia. We would have sworn that this excellent cabbage dish had bacon in it — but no, it was just the smoked factor — awesome!
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Kirk brought: 1999 Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe. VM 95. A powerful, imposing brute, the 1999 Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe blasts across the palate with serious intensity. Next to the Vignolo, the San Giuseppe comes across as lacking finesse, but it is still super-impressive. Melted road tar, smoke, licorice, plums and black cherries race across the palate in a pulsating, tense Barolo that is all about structure. Readers who like virile, imposing Barolos will flip out over the 1999. Today, the only real competition comes from the Vignolo, Cavallotto’s other Riserva.
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If you go, you must order this even though it’s very expensive! Whole Plate Short Rib (4-6 people). Smoked bone-in APL-style ribs. Served with beef rice, shiso rice paper, ssämjang & condiments.
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The huge chunk of Texas style cow comes out on the cart with the stuff.
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Lettuce wraps — yay, no carbs.

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Rice paper for those who don’t mind.
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Kimchee, pickled daikon, and a spicy Korean paste that is delicious and salty.

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The “thin sliced” mode, which was amazingly flavorful. The fattier end cap slices which were to die for tender.
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And the knaw on the bone for extra flavor bones.
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And some of it goes back into the kitchen and emerges as beef fried rice — crazy good.
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Jacob brought: NV Gosset Champagne Grand Rosé Brut.

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They always have a shave ice (modernized Korean). This one had various exotic fruits and was light and delicious. Very refreshing.
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A banana chocolate pudding. Not bad, even though I hate banana.

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This time, no cake cutting fee for my BYOG. The staff loved it too!

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

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

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

and a tiny bit of:

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

Overall, we had a great time at Majordomo. You do need a decent sized party for the awesome large dishes and you need to preorder. One time, even when we got there at 6:45pm there were only 1 each of the beef and pork left!

The service and wine service were both spectacular. I was really surprised as these loud hipster places often don’t have good wine service but we were really taken care of and this added a lot to the evening. We had a great (large) table in the back corner of the patio and a huge unused table next to it for our gear, wines, etc. They were super attentive. Really unusually good service for this level.

The larger pre-order dishes like the rib and chicken are amazing and insane. Tonight the food seemed even better than the first time, even if we did have a lot of (delicious) carbs. Pastas and the fried rice were amazing too. Really liking everything about Majordomo other than the distance to get there.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for epic Foodie Club meals, here.

Related posts:

  1. Is Majordomo a Major Deal?
  2. Thirds at Smoke Oil Salt
  3. Major Coche to the Dome-O
  4. Bad Boys at Michael’s
  5. Burg at Kagura
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: bbq, BYOG, David Chang, DTLA, Foodie Club, Gelato, Majordomo, ribs, Wine

Is Majordomo a Major Deal?

Jun20

Restaurant: Majordomo

Location: 1725 Naud St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (323) 545-4880

Date: May 16, 2018

Cuisine: Korean Fusion

Rating: Big dishes amazing

_

It’s with gigantic expectation that NY restaurateur David Chang opens his first LA outpost.

Looking on the map, I was pretty skeptical of the weird between Chinatown and Dodger’s Stadium location — a totally annoying spot for me to get to during traffic!

The area is extremely warehousey, much like the “Arts District” but even newer.

The have a sort of hipster city built down here out of old warehouses.

With lots of bespoke graffiti.

And Majordomo, of course.

Which has a pretty big enclosed and outside space.

As you can see.

Inside is one of those cavernous loud warehouse spaces.

High naked ceilings. Don’t come here when it’s raining! They also have the currently hip bathroom setup with the coed shared sinks exposed out in the main room. Not my thing. What if you want to clean up in private?

The menu.

As always, Fred wanted to go all out so this is our modest wine lineup for 4.

Fred brought: 2010 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères. VM 92+. Reticent, pure aromas of white peach, hazelnut and minerals. Densely packed and urgent but youthfully tight, showing outstanding intensity and energy for village wine. The resounding, palate-staining finish displays outstanding structure and life. From a tiny crop, this almost painfully young wine should benefit from seven or eight years in the cellar.

agavin: I never understand how the pro reviewers will give a wine like this, which just sings, a lower score than some random Chablis.

There is a Korean fusion amuse cart.

Serving pickles.

Kombu Cured Diver Scallop, Pink Lady apple dashi. Very sweet.
 Bing is this Korean bread thing. Pretty much like a thick crepe or pita bread. They have various “toppings” you can get with the bing.

Benton’s reserve ham bing. Put the ham on the pita.

Eggs & Smoked Roe bing. This was pretty excellent. You mash it up a bit to get the roe, egg, chips etc on the bing. I put the ham on at the same time for max effect and it was very good.

Marinated Mushroom, pistachio, radish, pea tendrils. Awesome mushroom dish. Nice flavors and textures. Good fiber too.

Special Foodie Club guest Andrew enjoys his wine.

Erick brought: 1999 Château Latour Grand Vin. Parker 93-95. A terrific effort, this sexy, open-knit, opulent effort possesses plenty of tannin, but it is largely concealed by the wine’s wealth of fruit, high extraction level, and noticeable glycerin as well as unctuosity. Dense ruby/purple-colored, with a sweet, evolved nose of black fruits (cassis, leather, and blackberries), cedar, spice box, and liquid minerals, this powerful yet seamless Latour will be surprisingly accessible at an unusually young age. Long and full-bodied, with the acidity, tannin, alcohol, and wood all beautifully integrated, it will be at its finest between 2007-2030. A classic!

Andrew brought: 2003 Haut-Brion. Parker 95. Clearly the best wine made in the Haut-Brion stable in 2003 (the last vintage of the great Jean-Bernard Delmas as administrator), the 2003 Haut-Brion is a blend of 58% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc that hit 13% natural alcohol, which seemed high at the time, but given more recent vintages is modest. Dark ruby/plum in color, with no amber or orange at the edge, the wine exhibits an abundance of roasted herbs, hot rocks, black currants, plum, and balsamic notes. Quite rich, medium to full-bodied and more complete, with sweeter tannins than La Mission Haut-Brion, this full-bodied Haut-Brion has hit full maturity, where it should stay for at least a decade. Bravo!


If you go, you must order this even though it’s $190! Whole Plate Short Rib (4-6 people). Smoked bone-in APL-style ribs. Served with beef rice, shiso rice paper, ssämjang & condiments.

The huge chunk of Texas style cow comes out on the cart with the stuff.
 They carve it up into various modalities.

The “thin sliced” mode, which was amazingly flavorful.

The fattier end cap slices which were to die for tender.

And the knaw on the bone for extra flavor bones.

And some of it goes back into the kitchen and emerges as beef fried rice — crazy good.

From my cellar: 1999 Gros Frère et Sœur Richebourg. 95 points. Bright, deep ruby-red. Complex nose melds violet, bitter chocolate, earth, meat and a hint of medicinal austerity. Dense, rich and thick; a wine of compelling richness and sweetness, but also solidly structured despite its accessibility today. Finishes with lush but firm tannins and exhilarating notes of cassis and violet. Lovely pinot noir.

We also pre ordered Boiled Whole Chicken (2-3 people) rice, morels, hand torn noodles. This amazing dish has apparently changed and no longer has the fabulous noodles.

This was some absolutely first rate chicken. Pretty much Hainan chicken with the spice already rubbed on, much more Chinese than anything else.

The hand torn noodle soup was like some of the best (Chinese) mushroom noodle soup you’ll ever (not) have (as they discontinued it :-().

The dessert menu. I didn’t have the guts to BYOG (Bring Your Own Gelato) on our first trip to Majordomo.
 Strawberry Trifle. Buttermilk panna cotta, chiffon cake.
 Horchata Kakigori. Coffee, riche, dulce de leche. This was basically a good shaved ice.

Overall, we had a great time at Majordomo. They have some annoyances, like the custom website reservations a month or so ahead of time that book up instantly. We ignored those and scored a late (9pm ish) reservation 2 days out. I don’t do that long advance planning thing.

The service and wine service were both spectacular. I was really surprised as these loud hipster places often don’t have good wine service but we were really taken care of and this added a lot to the evening.

The larger pre-order dishes like the rib and chicken were amazing and insane. The other dishes were good but not as memorable. But I’d totally go back for either ribs or chicken, and I hope they keep mixing up the menu too.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for epic Foodie Club meals, here.

Related posts:

  1. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  2. Melisse – How much would a Woodcock…
  3. Simon Says Melisse
  4. Hedonists climb the Peak
  5. Pig Ear is Here – Taberna Arros y Vi
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 1st growth, bbq, Burgundy, Chicken, Chinatown, coche, David Chang, Dessert, DTLA, Foodie Club, haut brion, latour, Majordomo, ribs, Richebourg, warehouse, 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

Singapore – Long Beach Dempsey

May01

Restaurant: Long Beach Dempsey

Location: 25 Dempsey road Left turn to Dempsey via Holland Rd (before Peirce Rd) Singapore 249670 Tel: 6323 2222

Date: March 23, 2012

Cuisine: Singaporean

Rating: Amazing Crab

_

On my way back from the Maldives (see here for that food) we stopped for a day in Singapore. I’d been told this pretty and modern city has some of the best eating in Asia. The Raffles hotel (where we were staying) sent us to this local chain for some chili crab. It wasn’t fancy by western standards, but the crab was phenomenal.


Got to love these Asian picture menus.


This is “sweet and sour shrimp.” Heavily fried but oh so good.


And a different kind of fried shrimp, the “House Specialty Prawn.” These were good too, a bit like shrimp tempura with a slightly more Chinese taste.


And for the trio of main event items this is “classic white pepper crab.” There were a choice of crabs between $68 and $220 dollars. We went for these “popular” Sri Lankan crags. They were huge and delicious, and not nearly as expensive as the Alaskan King Crabs and the like. The white pepper crab had an awesome and delicate white pepper flavor. Not cloying in the least.


Here is the “Famous Black Pepper Crab.” It was also great, perhaps a little more powerful in taste than the white. Spicier. I think I might have liked the white slightly better.


Then comes the “world famous chili crab.” This guy is drenched in a curry-like chili sauce. The sauce was incredible.


It was so good we got these bread balls to scoop it up with. But that wasn’t enough. We spooned it and more (see later).


Next were some “Dong Po ribs with honey sauce.” These were some of the best Chinese-style pork ribs I’ve had. They melted from the bone.


“Renowned Crispy Duck.” Also good, but a little dry in comparison to everything else.


When we ordered this clam and noodle dish the waiter sold us we wouldn’t like it, “too local.” It was odd. Like steamed clams in gravy covered in strips of fried clams.  By gravy I mean Turkey gravy or the like. As I said, odd.


My poor wife had to watch the other seven of us devour all that before she got anything she could eat. This fried grouper in sweat and sour schezhuan sauce. It was good too.


After finishing the crab itself and dipping up a storm with the sauce we just couldn’t let it go.


At the suggestion of the staff we ordered some egg fried rice and just spooned the sauce on over it. Yum!


Then we got a pair of peculiar Asian desserts. These are like panacotta with in one case caramel and the other chocolate.


You can see it closer here. It was steaming like dry ice. The flavor was mild and sweet, making it a pleasant was to end a very pleasant evening.

This meal might not look like one of my crazy Michelin places but it sure was fantastic!

For more dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach
  2. Sam’s by the Beach 3D
  3. Sam’s by the Beach – Mom’s Annual Dinner
  4. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  5. Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Asia, bbq, Black pepper, Chili Crab, Chilli crab, crab, Long Beach Dempsey, Raffles Hotel, ribs, shrimp, Singapore, Sri Lanka

A-Frame – Ultimate Picnic Food

Jan01

Restaurant: A-Frame

Location: 12565 Washington Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90066 – tel: 310-398-7700

Date: December 15, 2011 & February 28, 2012

Cuisine: Gastro Picnic

Rating: Really yummy

_

A-Frame’s building used to be an IHOP — hence it’s architecture and the name.


It has, however, been really revamped.


A nice Burgundy to begin.


The menu is fairly short. We ordered everything tapas style, regardless of the category.


“Heirloom pickles.” I like pickles, but perhaps better with rice al la certain Japanese dishes.


“Island Farmer’s Market Salad.” A nice pleasant salad with Asian notes.


“WAGYU BEEF TATAKI with sliced pearl onions, ginger, pickled jalapeño and shoyu vinaigrette.” This was a wonderful dish. Very tangy with great texture.


“BLUE CRAB CAKES with lemongrass creme fraiche, bibb lettuce, and perilla leaf.” These crabcakes were to be eaten “thai-style” wrapped in lettuce. They were quite good.


“CHARRED BABY OCTOPUS with carrot kochujang puree, bok choy, pickled vegetables and nori seaweed.” Another nice dish.


“SESAME LEAF WRAPPED SHRIMP TEMPURA with fresh cucumber, herbs and shoyu dipping sauce.” This had shiso (a Japanese mint relative), which pretty much means I adored it.


“CLAM CHOWDER with green curry, lemongrass, pancetta, coconut milk and toasted sourdough.” A really nice take on “clam chowder.” Essentially it tasted a lot like one of those creamy coconut milk/lemongrass thai soups, but with a nice bacon richness somewhat akin to a great New England chowder. Bravo!


“BABY BACK RIBS air-dried and hoisin-chili glazed.” These were some great ribs too, with a rich “Chinesy” taste and a good amount of vinegar.


“ROASTED LAMB with toasted sesame oil, shoyu and garlic served with fresh herb salad and salsa verde.” This dish was fine, but it didn’t have the flavor impact I was looking for.


“CRACKLIN BEER CAN CHICKEN with kimchi, century egg, salsa roja and verde.” Good fried chicken.


“Lamb Meatball Skewer.” These were nice ground lamb skewers, but they seemed a bit expensive for what they were.


“Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts. with rice cakes, kimchi bacon puree and diced apples.” The bacon sold it.


“BANANA BACON CREAM PIE vanilla cream, caramel bananas, and bacon brittle.” I hate banana, but this was still good. The bacon sold it!


“THICK ASS ICE CREAM SANDWICHES with black pepper szechuan ice cream and salted chocolate cookie.” This was a wonderful ice cream sandwich. I loved the peppery ice cream.


“CHU-DON’T-KNOW-MANG pound cake cinnamon churros, with malted chocolate milk and vanilla ice cream.” And this was the complete winner in the dessert category. These were some of the best churros I’ve had, and that milkshake-like thing was awesome.


Happy times!


The chickens going around and around.

Overall, I was very pleased with A-Frame and will totally be back. This was a pair of VERY tasty meals with a unique take on fairly uncomplicated food. Essentially, it’s very contemporary without being avant garde, and fuses eclectic flavors from around the world with American comfort foods.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Ludobites 7.0
  2. Ultimate Pizza – The Comeback
  3. Food as Art: Hatfield’s part 2
  4. Food as Art: Ludobites 6.0
  5. Food as Art: Melisse
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: AFrame, California, Clam chowder, Culver City, gastropub, Los Angeles, Public house, ribs, Santa Monica California
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