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Archive for Seafood – Page 2

Sometimes You Want to Get Crabs

Sep18

Restaurant: Seafood Village

Location: 684 W Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 289-0088

Date: September 15, 2013

Cuisine: Chiu Chow Chinese

Rating: quite tasty!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Chinese food is incredible regional, and we are blessed in SoCal with a lot of very specific resteraunts (mostly in the San Gabriel Valley). This time, my Hedonist group has head out for some Chiu Chow (also Chaozhou) which is a Southern Chinese style originating in Eastern Guangdong province. This is a fairly ingredient driven Chinese regional cuisine that often features seafood. It has a relationship to Cantonese and is often found in Singaporean cooking (as many Teochew people settled there).

Seafood Village is regarded as one of the best Chiu Chow places in California. It has the usual glamorous SGV exterior.


And interior. But hardly the PF Chang tourist crowd!


Starting off with a little champagne.


Peanuts are traditional on the table in China. I suppose that the allergic are just put out of their misery quickly.


1998 Château Monbousquet Blanc. 91 points. Straw, lemon grass, mineral nose; earthy, lemon grass, mineral palate; medium finish. A very pleasant white Bordeaux with mineral flavors.


A typical cold appetizer platter. In the center, jellyfish. Starting with the top and heading clockwise: roast duck, cuttlefish, pork gut, fried tofu (yummy), pork stomach, and pork knuckle.


In case you want to spice it up!


2008 Cold Heaven Viognier. 90 points.


And it’s worth noting this interesting feature of authentic Chinese restaurants. After you eat a lot of some dish, they will “replate” or “consolidate” it into a smaller dish to preserve premium table space.


2005 Wittmann Westhofener Morstein Riesling Trocken. This was a more or less dry riesling, and quite nice.


This is what most people come here for, the house special Chiu Chow Style Crab (Dungeness). This is basically battered crab, fried with chilies and lots of garlic. I’ve also heard this called “Causeway Style.” Good stuff with lots of flavor. You end up sucking out the meat mostly.


2012 Recuerdo Torrontés. 88 Points. A very floral light white made by Jose, one our very own Hedonists!


One of are party wasn’t into “weird stuff” and ordered themselves some orange chicken. Go figure. It was fine, but nothing special.


From my cellar, 1970 Gros Frère et Sœur Vosne-Romanée. 92 points. It was still very much alive and drinking quite beautifully. A veritable chameleon in the glass, the aromas kept changing every time I brought the glass to my nose. First sour cherries, then papaya, then raspberries, then red clay, then lemon rind, then caramel — it was intoxicating. The palate, on the other hand, was a bit simple and one-dimensional, but I thought the nose more than made up for it. A lovely wine! My favorite of the night — being a Burghound!


Special Turtle Soup. This is a very pleasant broth with lots of umani flavor.


And in case you wondered f it was authentic enough, check out the chicken foot!


2000 Araujo Estate Syrah Eisele Vineyard. IWC 89. Full ruby-red. Rich, smoky aromas of plum, blackberry, bitter chocolate, smoked meat, minerals, tobacco and licorice. Sweet, lush, chocolatey and seamless; a distinctly warm-climate syrah with exotic notes of roasted berries. But there’s also lovely lift from the blackberry and violet notes. Finishes firmly tannic, oaky and long, with notes of spice and bitter chocolate.


Chilies with ground pork. I’ve never seen Jalepenos per se in China, but they do have lots of peppers. Regardless, this was a fabulous dish as the pork was cooked in a great black bean sauce and the combination of the mild heat and the slightly sweet meat was wonderful.


2009 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph. IWC 93. Opaque ruby. Expansive, seductive aromas of blackberry and blueberry preserves, cherry pit and fresh flowers, plus a sexy incense note and a touch of licorice. Stains the palate with dark berry and spicecake flavors, with smoky minerality adding cut to the back end. Blends depth and vivacity smoothly, finishing with outstanding clarity and lingering sweetness.


Sautéed jellyfish heads with asparagus. Not bad — for jellyfish.


2011 Luisi Barbera d’Asti. 82 points. I didn’t try it, as I’m not much of a Barbera fan. Works occasionally with pizza.


Rock fish steamed with ginger and garlic. This was a lovely fish and the meat was perfectly done and very succulent.


2009 Orma Toscana IGT. IWC 92. Fully saturated ruby-purple. Sexy aromas of ripe dark plum, Asian spices, licorice and cocoa powder, with a floral quality adding lift and freshness. At once suave and penetrating, with very good energy and definition to the flavors of sweet red cherry, dark plum, mocha and fresh herbs. In a distinctly ripe style, but with a vibrant, long finish thanks to harmonious acidity. The sweet, broad tannins show a distinct chocolatey ripeness.


Duck with mushrooms. It’s hard to tell them apart (the duck has bones) as the heavy gravy gives it all a brown sheen. This dish might look a bit sketchy, but it tastes great with a rich heady earthiness to the sauce and a pleasant spongey texture to the woody mushrooms.


2011 Vigilance Petite Sirah. I didn’t try this either.


Special Chiu Chow Style “lettuce”. Evidently a classic. It head a bit of a porky taste so there must have been something in there with the veggies. Not bad.


2008 chin chin syrah. Another wine by Jose.


Beans, lotus root, and oxtail. Interesting mix of flavors and textures. The meat was fatty of  course, but full of flavor.


Clearly someone had too much pork gut.


2007 Lillian Winery Syrah. IWC 94. Opaque purple. A kaleidoscopic bouquet evokes black raspberry, cola, incense and olive tapenade, with a sexy floral quality that gains power with aeration. Lush, palate-staining dark berry preserve flavors are complemented by exotic spice and violet pastille qualities and are lifted by zesty minerality. Gains weight with air but retains its energy, finishing spicy, smoky and with outstanding persistence. Readers should also seek out Maggie Harrison’s excellent Antica Terra pinot noirs from Oregon.


House Special Chiu Chow Style Pan Fried Noodles. There are also shrimp, pork, mushrooms, and sprouts in here.


This might not seem like the most sophisticated dish, but the sauce was really really good with the tender noodles. I used to get a similar dish as a kid and found not not only delicious, but deeply nostalgic.


This Vin Santo was a rather wonderful sticky of the passito/Sherry PX variety. Oddly, it’s from Greece (Santorini) — doesn’t matter, as it’s very good.


Taro with Ginko dessert. God only knows what the white stuff was. There were grapes and ginko nuts, blobs of taro, and a gelatinous mass that that was supposedly snow fungus. The net effect was sweet and vaguely chewy. I think it’s a Chiu Chow speciality.


Jose brought some (apparently) 19th century Madeira in this little flask. It was good. Caramelized, complex, and well… like good Maderia.


Almost mochi filled with red bean, mung bean, egg custard, and taro. Not as good as true ice cream mochi, but enjoyable the same.

Overall, an incredibly fun evening as usual. We even went next door afterward to overwhelm the minimall’s $15 an hour foot massage place, which is always great except that Yarom got screwed since we had one person more than they had masseuses. These Chinese outings are great fun with really interesting, tasty, and reasonable food.

The Seafood Village staff treated us great, bringing the dishes one at a time, and being extremely friendly and helpful — if occasionally confounded by our lack of Mandarin (or perhaps they spoke the Chiu Chow dialect, I wouldn’t know). Great fun.

We were also joined (see below) by Chef Kaz Oyama of the amazing Totoraku, who is now an honorary Hedonist, and he took it seriously by consuming his fair share of libations.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

This dinner included Chef Kaz from the the amazing beef joint, Totoraku! (right)

Related posts:

  1. Shanghai #1 Seafood Village
  2. Dim Sum is Shanghai #1
  3. Where in the world is Yanbian?
  4. Food as Art: Ping Pong
  5. Hedonists Hunan Style
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chaozhou, China, Chui Chow, crab, hedonists, san Gabriel valley, Seafood, Shellfish, Singapore

Shanghai #1 Seafood Village

Apr18

Restaurant: Shanghai #1 Seafood Village [1, 2, 3]

Location: 250 W Valley Blvd. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 282-1777

Date: April 13, 2013

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Very authentic Shanghai style

_

The San Gabriel Valley is a veritable treasure trove of Asian dining, particularly regional Chinese. Shanghai #1 Seafood Village is the LA branch of a high end Shanghai chain specializing in banquet dining.


The decor is Stark meets Chinatown. Interestingly, as cheesy as it is, it’s fairly authentic.


As this is a Hedonist/Foodie Club wine diner, we prearranged a banquet and reserved the usual giant table.


The menu is like a giant full color fashion catalog for food, but I thought I’d show a couple pages by way of example.


2011 Domaine Collotte Bourgogne Rosé Marsannay. This is one of my go-to roses, as it’s all Pinot Noir from Burgundy. A wonderful sunny weather wine, it paired very nicely with the sweet and sour tones of the Chinese. There were a few rose-haters as usual, but this really is a great wine, bright and full of strawberry flavors.


Our “appetizer” spread.


Marinated legumes (lima beans?). A very mellow sophisticated taste, and some of the best lima beans I’ve had.


Squid with a sauce not unlike eel BBQ sauce. Very tender and tasty.


Lotus root stuffed with sweet rice in a tea marinate. Very interesting texture and a lovely tea flavor.


2011 Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen Riesling Eroica. IWC 88. Pale yellow-straw. Sexy aromas of nectarine, ginger and nutmeg. Moderately sweet but not at all cloying, with nectarine, apple, pear and brown spice flavors complicated by a saline quality and perked up by white flowers and CO2. Not particularly gripping and very easy to drink. Finishes just off-dry, with a menthol nuance and a suggestion of crab apple that brought my score down.


Marinated cucumbers (pickles) in a sweet soy vinegar.


Marinated turnips in a tangy chili oil. Really nice crunch.


Some kind of marinated mushrooms. Very earthly and delicate.


Classic smoked Shanghai fish. Smokey and crunchy.


Roast duck in a heavy sweet soy. Bony, but very tasty.


2004 Albert Mann Riesling Schlossberg. IWC 90. Very pale color. Highly aromatic nose offers underripe pineapple, flowers, mint, stone and flint, along with a leesy nuance that reminded me of Champagne. Juicy and moderately sweet (12.5 g/l. r.s.), with pure peach and nectarine flavors firmed by a stony underpinning. This is precise and detailed, and long on the finish-and not nearly as austere as some past vintages of this consistently excellent bottling. But it still calls for at least five years in the cellar.


Shrimp two ways. On the left, salt and pepper fried shrimp (extremely tasty) and on the right, white sauce popcorn shrimp (pleasant but mild).


Chili fried scallops, with a little heat.


2000 Denis Mugneret Père et Fils Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru. BH 88-91. Black fruit and spice just explode from the glass. This is Boudots at its best with abundant Vosne spice and solid Nuits character in a classy, medium weight package that offers good power, density and quality length. While it doesn’t offer the size of the grands crus and it’s not classically structured, it is deliciously complex and fine. I like this a lot.


Special Shanghai BBQ red pork. Oh so fatty and oh so tasty!


Chicken with scallions and soy sauce. It looked a little scary, but it tasted great (except for the requisite bone).


1995 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja. IWC 90. Good full red. Deeply pitched aromas of smoke, minerals, leather and truffle. Supple and silky but nicely penetrating, with ripe, intense flavors of cherry, minerals and oak perfectly framed by harmonious acids. Subtle, textured Rioja finishing with good grip and thrust.


Crab dry cooked with coconut? Hard to say, but it tasted great. A dry, slightly spicy crab that emphasized the flavor of the crab itself.


Chicken soup. Pretty much like moms’.


It came in this pot.


1985 Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Grésy Dolcetto d’Alba. I’ve never had an old Dolcetto, and wouldn’t have assumed they lasted, but this was brilliant. It tasted very much of Dolcetto, grapey and all, but had a real depth to it.


Shanghai style sweet and sour fried fish. This was one of those goopy straight up orange sweet and sour sauces, but it was awesome. Particularly dripped over rice. And the method of flaying the meat out and frying it created a much crisper effect, even if the appearance is a bit horror movie.


Fried rice. Simply one of the best fried rices I’ve ever had.


2007 Tenute Niccolai Rosso Di San Gimignano Uno di quattro. A very nice Italian Syrah. Yeah, odd, but it is.


Shanghai noodles. These are pan fried rice cake with scallions and sweet soy. Odd soft texture, but delicious.


Crispy meat buns. A really great film skinned take on the soup dumpling.


The inside. These were great with vinegar poured in.


2010 Montirius Gigondas Terres des Aines. IWC 91-93. Bright ruby. Spicy cherry and blueberry aromas lifted by mineral cut and a floral overtone. Nicely focused and pure, with very good energy to its dark berry flavors and seductive lavender and spice accents. Finishes spicy and long, with a late note of anise hanging behind.


Beef ribs (short ribs?), with garlic, green and red peppers, etc. Tasty, but certainly not the best dish of the might.


2003 Maculan Acininobili. Parker 96. The 2003 Acininobili is utterly mind-blowing in its expression of candied apricots, orange peel and cinnamon. Constantly changing in the glass, it reveals superb intensity and a stunningly gorgeous purity, with superb length and phenomenal poise. Acininobili is a selection made from botrytised Torcolato fruit. It is aged for two years in new French oak.


Mango or some other fruit in a coconut yogurt like sauce. Nice and refreshing, and and absolotely brilliant pairing (not by any foresight) with the Passito above. Really first rate combo.


Our menu for the staff!

Overall, this was a really great meal. First rate Chinese and quite authentic and typical of high end banquet meals in China. We didn’t have the totally tricked out menu with all the sea cucumber, shark fin, and the like, but I don’t love that stuff anyway. Nearly every dish was wonderful. Service was fine (for Chinese). They brought things a little rapidly, but it was fine. Great experience.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
  2. Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab
  3. Birthday Party, Hedonist Style
  4. Ocean Avenue Seafood
  5. Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: China, Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, Foodie Club, hedonists, Seafood, Shanghai #1 Seafood Village, Wine

Hedonists at STK again!

Feb27

Restaurant: STK [1, 2, 3]

Location: 755 North La Cienega. Los Angeles, CA 90069. 310.659.3900

Date: February 25, 2013

Cuisine: Steakhouse

Rating: Gluttonous fun!

_

It’s been six months since we Hedonists last hit STK and so it was time for a return. Being a steakhouse, STK is a great place to pull out all those beefy reds!

The space is chic and modern. Above is the La Cienega entrance.

These look like Glazed Pop’ems, but they’re savory. And that sauce is pretty much a under-spiced chimichurri.

Arnaud Margaine’s NV Brut Premier Cru is gorgeous. White flowers, crushed rocks and green pears literally jump from the glass in this beautifully delineated, energetic Champagne. Vivid, crystalline and beautifully layered, the Premier Cru impresses for its balance and exceptional overall harmony. This is a great effort in its peer group. The Premier Cru is 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, 50% vintage 2009 and the remainder reserve wines back to 2002. I would give the Premier Cru another 6-12 months to be fully expressive post-disgorgement.

“DIVER SCALLOPS.” coriander crust – young coconut – textures of corn.

Burghound 94, “2005 Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru White. A ripe and classic nose of distinctly discreet and reserved green fruit and floral aromas that are airy, pure and lightly spiced merge into intense, precise and penetrating medium full flavors blessed with terrific acid/fruit balance and huge length. This is really a lovely wine that is presently a tightly coiled spring and in need of extended bottle aging to really put on display the superb potential here. An understated stunner of a wine as well as ultra refined and one of the best examples of this appellation in 2005.”

“Seafood tower, medium.” While this was good, it wasn’t exactly towering.

Parker 93, “1996 Domaine Tollot-Beaut et Fils Corton Bressandes. This estate’s Corton-Bressandes is a wine I search out in vintages with good ripeness. It is never huge, muscular, or a blockbuster but can often be sultry, seductive, detailed, and simply lovely. A recently tasted 1990, while at least three years from maturity, was fabulous. The 1996 displays sweet red cherry and Asian spice aromatics as well as a gorgeously refined character filled with candied and delineated cherries. This elegant, sexy, and feminine offering is medium-to-full-bodied, silky-textured, and possesses a long and refreshing finish.”

“BLUE ICEBERG.” smoked bacon – blue cheese – pickled tomato.

Parker 86, “The 1997 VINHA BARROSA VINHA VELHA is a single vineyard wine (hence, says the winery, the “vinha velha” rather than plural for old vines, “vinhas velhas”) maturing, showing a little oxidation, and seems a bit older than it is. That said, and despite some astringency still on the finish, there are some things to like here, as the fruit has opened up. There is a distinctive touch of mint on the finish. The wine’s structure is outliving its fruit, so this seems to me to be a good time to drink it, although it has both the tannin and acidity to hold a good, long while. Drink now-2017.”

From the getgo, this wine had a barnyard funk, which at the beginning was actually pleasant, if rustic. As it sat in the glass the barn intensified in a very horse manure direction until it overwhelmed. Just smelling it made me smile — and called to mind visions of sweaty horses packed into the stables.

“HEARTS OF ROMAINE.” garlic crouton – parmesan lemon dressing.

 

92-94 points, “13.1% ALC, 96% Cabernet, 4% Merlot, 1% Cab Franc – Again this was much like the 1975 and 1979 on the nose with the pungent, sweaty, locker room nose. I knew again that this was the same producer and close in age. This had some notes of sweet fruit on the nose like boysenberry with good viscosity and good balance. The tannins were seamless but the finish brief keeping this my #2 of the night.”

There was a bit of funk, but it was still a very pleasant wine.

“TUNA TARTARE. soy emulsion – avocado – taro chips.”

Parker 95, “When I think back to the top California Cabernet Sauvignon wineries twenty-two years ago (1973), it is shocking to see how many of the finest wineries in 1973 have fallen behind today’s leading Cabernet producers. For example, Beaulieu, Heitz, Inglenook, Mayacamas, and Freemark Abby were undisputed leaders in the early seventies, but in 1995, they have been surpassed by thirty or forty other producers. I can think of only three wineries that were making fabulous Cabernet Sauvignons in 1973 that have continued to produce great wines, with no qualitative slumps through 1995 – Caymus Vineyard, Ridge, and Chateau Montelena. Because Chateau Montelena is “old” by California standards, it is easy to overlook the extraordinary wines produced by Jim Barrett and his son, Bo. Remarkably, there is not a bad vintage of Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon to be found. While hitting the peaks in top years, this winery makes fine Cabernets in vintages where other producers flounder. A recent example of this is the 1989 Estate Cabernet, a superb wine that continues to languish on the shelves of retailers. For that reason, an invitation to a vertical tasting of Chateau Montelena’s estate Cabernet is one of the most exciting tickets in town.”

For a 20 year old Cab, this was very youthful!

“BEEF TARTAR. black truffle – sliced radish – soy caramel.”

Parker 93, “1999 Barolo Brunate/Le Coste—Medium red. As is usually the case, the Brunate/Le Coste takes things up a notch. It presents a deeply mentholated, balsamic nose along with layers of dark fruit, licorice and tar flavors that develop in the glass in a potent style that captures the essence of the vintage. The Brunate/Le Coste is the richer and bigger of the two Barolos here, yet it also shows more elegance in its finer tannins. Still reasonably priced, Rinaldi’s Brunate/Le Coste remains the best traditional Barolo most people have never tasted.”

“Shrimp cocktail.” Classic.

Fresh green tomatoes.

Some oysters on the halfshell.

Just a bit of the chaos.

Probably around 90 points, a pleasant mature shiraz.

Probably a porterhouse or ribeye.

“Bone-in porterhouse.” Have a little beef!

From my cellar, Parker 95, “The great glories of this house are its Cote Roties, of which there are now five separate offerings. The single-vineyard 1994s were singing loudly when I saw them in July. All of them scored significantly higher than they did during the two previous years, which is not unusual as Guigal’s upbringing (elevage) of the wines results in better examples in the bottle than in cask. All three wines flirt with a perfect score. At this tasting, they reminded me of Guigal’s 1982s – opulent, sumptuously-textured, forward, rich, precocious, flattering wines that will drink well throughout their lives. The 1994 Cote Rotie La Mouline possesses extraordinary intensity. A dark ruby/purple color is followed by a penetrating nose of sweet black raspberry fruit intertwined with aromas of coconut and apricots. Jammy black fruits continue on the palate of this full-bodied, silky-textured, sumptuously-styled wine that is glorious to drink – even from barrel. It is an amazing La Mouline that offers all the elegance, suppleness, and sexiness this cru merits. It should drink well upon its release in 1998, and last for 15 more years. Guigal is one of the cellars where the wines always taste better after they are bottled than they do from cask, although as the scores in this segment indicate, some profound wines can be found in the 1994, 1995, and 1996 vintages Chez Guigal.”

A regular filet.

Parker 96, “More European in style than some of its siblings, the 2008 exhibits good acidity, more noticeable tannin (but it is extremely young), and plenty of crushed rock, espresso roast and licorice characteristics intermixed with a volcanic minerality. Full-bodied, ripe and opulent, with a closed, formidable personality.”

This was a pretty fabulous, albeit young, Cab.

A different looking filet.

“Bone-in porterhouse.” Have a little beef!

Parker 98, “From a single 9-acre parcel, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard exhibits extraordinary aromas of acacia flowers and violets along with an irrefutable minerality, an abundance of blueberry and blackberry fruit, outstanding texture, full-bodied richness, great depth, and ripe tannin. This Cabernet will benefit from 4-6 years of cellaring, and should evolve for 40 years.”

Powerful and delicious!

“Bone-in filet with lobster and bordelaise.” Certainly a great steak, and bordelaise makes EVERYTHING better.

“Bone-in filet” naked.

“New York strip with salt.”

Parker 93+, “A hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon (800 cases), this is still an outstanding wine, with classic graphite, creme de cassis, blueberry and floral notes all well-presented in the perfumed aromatics of this full-bodied, rich, concentrated wine. It has some noticeable tannins to be resolved and is not as seamless and flawless as the monumental 2007”

I thought this was better than a 93.

Just some of our sides!

“Creamed spinach.”

“Sweet corn pudding.” We took to calling this stuff “corn porn” it was so good. We ordered 5 of them too!

Mushrooms and brussel sprouts.

Some stellar mac & cheese.

“Parmesan truffle fries.”

This is my own personal stem collection!  I don’t like to be rushed. The more I do these wine diners the more I take things into my own hands, like:

1. Bringing my own stems (I didn’t need to here, but I often do).

2. Stealing stems off other tables or from behind the bar. Tonight I looted stems from half the tables in the room. 🙂

3. Opening my own bottles (I travel with several openers). In the bar, I asked for stems and then just opened a bottle and poured.

4. Pouring – of course!

Some very old Sauternes. This was very interesting stuff. A bit flawed perhaps, but entirely, totally, and extremely enjoyable. Like honey wine.

“Sticky bread pudding.” The sauce on this was to die for.

“Banana chocolate torte.”

“CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE. warm baked cookie – vanilla ice cream.” Also pretty spectacular.

The overall evening was spectacular. The place treated us really well with swift and friendly service you hardly noticed. Plus, there was the excellent company and all our amazing wines! As a steakhouse, I find it much like Mastro’s but about 5% worse on average — although there are some different starters and sides, many of which are excellent. It’s also quite a bit cheaper than Mastro’s, and lets us skip the corkage, which is huge! We were out of here for $110 a person, including tax and tip, which is pretty amazing for such an enormous feast at a high end steakhouse.

Our previous STK outing.

For more crazy Foodie Club meals, click.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists at STK
  2. Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab
  3. Hedonists at Dahab
  4. Hedonists Cook the Goose
  5. Hedonists climb the Peak
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Champagne, Corton-Charlemagne, Dessert, hedonists, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Pinot noir, Premier Cru, Seafood, Steak, Steak House, steak tartare, STK, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab

Nov19

Restaurant: The Boiling Crab

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

Date: November 15, 2012

Cuisine: Cajun Seafood

Rating: Negative frills, but really tasty

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


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


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


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


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


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

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

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

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


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


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


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


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


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

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


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


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


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

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


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


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


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

Sweet potato fries.


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

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


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


Quite the fellow, and delicious.


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


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


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

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

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for more crazy Foodie Club meals.

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

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists at Dahab
  2. Tidewater Crab
  3. Hedonists at La Paella
  4. Totoraku – Hedonists Beef Up
  5. Hedonists at STK
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Boiling Crab, Cajun, Chateauneuf du Pape, corn, crab, Donnhoff, Foodie Club, hedonists, Lobster, Los Angeles, Riesling, Sausage, Seafood, shrimp, Spätlese, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Split Croatia – Konoba Nevera

Aug10

Restaurant: Konoba Nevera

Location: Firula Road 17, 21000 Split. Tel: 021/388-736

Date: July 17, 2012

Cuisine: Dalmatian

Rating: Tasty

_

Our first stop in Croatia was Split, a seaside town in Northern Dalmatia. During the third century AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian “retired” to Split and built a great pleasure palace by the sea. He had toured all of the known world and pronounced Dalmatia to be the loveliest part of it. It sure seems like a pretty choice spot. The Adriatic is sparkling blue, the weather is warm, but seasoned by a brisk maritime breeze.

As we were fresh off the transatlantic haul, we chose a casual place not far from our hotel. Konoba seems to roughly translate as “tavern” in English and appears to mean a traditional and informal eatery.

Despite the casual vibe, Konoba Nevera rates #3 for split on Trip Advisor. Nothing like a good kitchen!


Konoba Nevera is a block or two back from the water with a delightful breeze.


The interior is cute and casual.


Perhaps leaning a hair toward kitcsh.


This is one of those huge multipage menus. I was lazy and only photoed about a third of it. As latter travels would prove, the contents are archetypically Dalmatian. Menus don’t vary a lot here, but execution does.


Posip (pronounced Poshipa) is a popular Dalmatian white varietal mostly from the Island of Korcula. It’s medium bodied, maybe even full bodied, and not unlike a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi. Fuller, less sapidity, and more fruit perhaps. A very nice food wine and not boring like many international whites.


This was good home baked rustic bread.


“Caprese.”


“Fish soup.” There is rice, not to mention a lot of olive oil, in this soup.


“Treasures of the sea.” This is a mixed appetizer plate. We have some marinated octopus, sardines, anchovies, fish carpaccio and a bit of salad. The balls in the scallop shell are an awesome tuna salad cousin that is sweeter and more briny than the American standard. This was all nice stuff, all fresh and light.


“Spaghetti pomodoro.” A very light olive oil, tomato sauce with a bit of herbs.


“Seafood risotto.” I love this form of risotto and this was a fine example with a nice bright tomato and brine taste and very fresh shellfish.


Some really tasty grilled vegetables.


“Dorade, grilled.” Salty and succulent, fresh white fish doesn’t really get much better than this. Very very similar to the same dish in Italy or Greece — and probably much of the rest of the Mediterranean for that matter.

This was a great first taste of Croatian cuisine. I found it flavorful, yet light. There isn’t a lot of butter or animal fat in most of these dishes. They lean toward seafood and olive oil. Somewhere between Italy and Greece, literally and a culinary way. I’m liking it so far.

For more Croatian dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Croatia
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Adriatic, Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Croatia Split, Dalmatia, Diocletian, eating-croatia, Konoba Nevera, rissoto, Seafood, Split

Cocoa Island – Decadent Dinner

Apr24

Restaurant: Cocoa Island

Location: Maldives. Tel +960 6641818 Fax +960 6641919 Email res@cocoaisland.como.bz

Date: March 16-22, 2012

Cuisine: International

Rating: International Flair

_

We head back to Cocoa Island (and its single restaurant) to cover the last meal of the day. If you missed the endless breakfast, find it here or the spectacular Languorous Lunch.


Usually we ate on the beach. Even at night the temperature hovered around 80.


This is our jumbo long table.


For dinner, the restaurant has two common configurations. Seafood BBQ and ala carte. The BBQ isn’t available every night but the menu is.


The BBQ consists of a number of stations plus the above grilling station. You can order up as much of whatever variety of sea creatures you can stomach.


There is also a “salad” table.


This includes basic sushi. The variety might not be up to LA sushi standards, but the quality of the fish was very high.


Oysters on the half shell.


Various oyster sauces and little shooters of ceviche.


Crab shooters.


A seafood salad.


Papaya and mussel salad.


Another seafood salad. In general these were very light.


Broccoli and almonds.


Potatos.


Grilled vegetables.


Greek salad.


A grain salad.


Raddichio salad.


Classic prosciutto and melon — and this in a country that is supposed to have no ham.


Cheese and fruit.


Crackers.


Then we come back to the seafood grill. There are fish, lobsters, big prawns, tuna slabs, etc.


Any of them could be grilled up on command served with various sauces.


 Then there was the regular menu.


This was a gazpacho.


Served with avocado.


“Cold smoked yellowfin tuna, oyster cream, apple & mint.” Lovely presentation.


“Duck liver parfait, spiced oranges & toasted brioche.” This was as good as any chicken liver I’ve had. Yum.


They had lovely breads here, particularly the naan.


“Black ink noodles with sautéed squid, chorizo & chili ink sauce.” Good stuff!


“Roast tomato, buffalo mozzarella & basil risotto with lemon & shaved fennel.”


“Baby chicken Biriyani with mint raita, tomato & red onion salad.” Chicken pot pie, Indian style. Inside, under the crust, was a a mixture of rice and chicken. It was pretty delicious.


“Basil oil poached snapper, bean, olive, caper, lemon & dill salsa with Jerusalem artichokes.”

The dessert menu.


This is actually a kind of flan with spiced pears and a homemade ice cream. It was darn good.


Homemade ice cream, always good.


One of us wanted some whipped creme, so they whipped it up to order.

It’s pretty amazing that a restaurant can do this breath of styles with such excellent execution, but they did. Everything I had was great, and the same 2-3 guys in the kitchen did it all (even the breakfast, lunch, desserts, and baking!).

For more dining reviews click here.


dec

Related posts:

  1. Cocoa Island – Languorous Lunch
  2. Cocoa Island – Endless Breakfast
  3. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
  4. Fraiche – Ultimo Wine Dinner
  5. Friday Night Heights – Shabbat Dinner
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barbecue, bbq, Cocoa Island, Dessert, Maldives, Restaurant, Salad, Seafood, Sri Lanka, Travel and Tourism

Ocean Avenue Seafood

Nov08

Restaurant: Ocean Avenue Seafood

Location: 1401 Ocean Avenue. Santa Monica, CA 90401. 310-394-5669

Date: November 5, 2011

Cuisine: Seafood

Rating: Good, but overpriced

_

I’ve been going to Ocean Avenue Seafood for probably fifteen years, but while it was once a staple in our rotation it’s been a few years. OAS offers classic American seafood right above the bluffs overlooking the Pacific.


The have both an extensive ocean view covered patio and a clubby inside.


The menu.


Fresh baked sour dough bread.


A green salad.


A sampler of six various Pacific oysters with cocktail sauce, horseradish, and mignonette sauce. Each of these six were different, but all were good.


Their clam chowder. It’s not as goopy creamy thick as I ideally love, but it did have a nice bacony flavor.


Grilled salmon with mash potatoes and asparagus. Pinot noir reduction. My wife is a connoisseur of salmon, and she likes this one.


Lobster roll. The fries and slaw were good. And while this roll had lots of lobster it was somehow lacking in flavor.


Expresso so I can stay up through the movie we are going to see.

Overall Ocean Avenue Seafood has a lot of competition. Both the Blue Plate Oysterette and the Hungry Cat have very similar cuisine and are located nearby (the Blue Plate about a block away). Both are a little less expensive than OAS and a little more “modern.” OAS does have more different types of fresh fish if that’s your thing, they have 7-10 grilled fish at all times. Just depends what you want.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Blue Plate Oysterette
  2. The Lobster claws at the pier
  3. The Hungry Cat chows Santa Monica
  4. Picca Potency
  5. Villetta – More Italian in Brentwood?
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Clam chowder, Lobster roll, Los Angeles, Ocean Avenue, Ocean Avenue Seafood, Pacific, Pacific oyster, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Restaurants and Bars, Santa Monica, Santa Monica California, Seafood

Blue Plate Oysterette

Oct21

Restaurant: Blue Plate Oysterette

Location: 1355 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90402. 310.576.3474

Date: October 18, 2011

Cuisine: American Seafood

Rating: Good eats

_

Blue Plate Oysterette is a relatively new (couple years) addition to Santa Monica’s high turnover Ocean Ave restaurant strip. And I’ve been meaning to do for awhile.


The location is prime, with a gorgeous view of the park and the ocean.


Today’s menu.


We sat at the raw bar, looking into the busy kitchen.


Oysters were of course mandatory. These are a number of different types of Pacific oysters Ximemez style (with aged sherry vinegar, tomato, mint, and EVO). They shellfish were all good, but  I really liked the tangy sauce.


We were interested in the yellowtail special on the menu but the waiter cross-sold us to this yellowtail ceviche. Peruvian food is on fire right now. It was a good ceviche, with that potent lime taste, but it pretty much obliterated the subtlety of the fish. I wish we’d stuck with the original — but again, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a very fresh and well done implementation of ceviche.


New England clam chowder. Cherrystone clams, light cream broth, bacon. This tasted good, with a nice smokiness from the bacon and lots of clam. They lightened it from the traditional in a concession to modern tastes. I like my chowder loaded with heavy cream and butter. And no wonder I’m not the thinnest guy in the world!


Another case in point, this “Lobster mac & cheese. gruyere, herbs, truffle oil.” This was real good stuff, with a lot of big chunks of lobster meat.


“Crabcake.” Lots of good creaminess and soft blue crab in here. While not as good as the crab torta at Capo, it is a very respectable crab cake. Yum yum.


And the “lobster roll.” Another favorite of mine. I didn’t actually order this, but they have it on the menu, and so I found a web photo, because I love lobster roll. It looks good. Next time I’ll try it to compare to the excellent one a mile north at The Hungry Cat.

All and all, this was a good lunch, with classic (and new Peruvian) seafood. The fish was all very high quality, and being a seafood lover, I’ll be back.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats – Gladstones by the Sea
  2. The Hungry Cat chows Santa Monica
  3. The Lobster claws at the pier
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Blue Plate Oysterette, Business and Economy, Clam chowder, Crab cake, Los Angeles, New England, Ocean Ave, Oysters, Peru, Santa Monica, Seafood

No Beef with Mastro’s

Sep21

Restaurant: Mastro’s

Location: 246 North Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, Ca 90210. 310-888-8782

Date: September 17, 2011

Cuisine: Steak House

Rating: My favorite LA Steak joint

_

America is full of steak houses at every level from Sizzler to Cut. But I haven’t found one that I like as much as Mastro’s. Granted I’m not a plain steak fan (I prefer my beef more like this, or tartar, or even Fogo). But Mastro’s gets the steak house think right.

The Cannon drive entrance, just a block north of Spago. Inside the place is a ZOO. Sure this was Saturday, 8:30pm on Emmy weekend in Beverly Hills. But this huge restaurant was packed to the gills, including both bars. These are a sure scene. It’s hard to tell the merely underdressed and over siliconed ladies from the pros.

Our table was right in front of the rat pack. It was much more crowded than in this photo.

The PDF of the menu can be found here.


We were celebrating the engagement of one of my oldest friends so I brought some big guns from my cellar. This wine was the first truly GREAT wine I ever bought (circa 1996). This is the second to last of two cases I once had. It has constantly and without fail scored 100 points from Robert Parker. You will find no better expression of Syrah.

“The 1991 Hermitage La Pavillon follows the pattern of the 1989 and 1990 – it is another perfect wine. The saturated black/purple color is followed by a compelling bouquet of spices, roasted meats, and black and red fruits. Enormously concentrated yet with brilliant focus and delineation to its awesomely-endowed personality, this extraordinary wine should age effortlessly for three plus decades. In a short period of time (Michel’s first vintage was 1989) Chapoutier‘s Hermitage Le Pavillon has become a wine of mythical proportions. Produced from extremely old vines, some dating from the mid nineteenth century, with yields averaging under 15 hectoliters per hectare, this is the richest, most concentrated and profound wine made in Hermitage. There are rarely more than 500 cases.”


Everything at Mastro’s is well done, and that includes the bread. I’m partial to the pretzel rolls myself.


Five of us ordered the seafood tower. The quality of the seafood here is impeccable and the only thing we had to complain about was that there wasn’t enough! Really for five we would have expected the two or three story version 🙂 Still there were amazing shrimp, lobsters, claws, king crab (didn’t taste frozen), and oysters.


One of the things that really makes the Mastro’s seafood tower are the sauces. We have cocktail, a spicy mustard, and the Atomic Horseradish. They use this particular magic brand (you can buy it here). The stuff is — pardon my French — fucking awesomely potent. I’ve taken to buying it myself for home. No other horseradish is this punishing. It has a nice flavor too. I particularly like it mixed in with the cocktail sauce. It can have you literally pounding the table in pain — ahem pleasure.


Beefsteak tomato and mozzarella. With pesto.


Since both I and my newly engaged friend were born in 1970, I grabbed from the cellar this puppy. Parker gives it a mere 95 points. Sure it isn’t quite the 1991 Le Pavillion, but it gets extra credit for age. “The 1970 Palmer is one of the great wines of the vintage. It exhibits a dark, opaque garnet color, and an emerging, fabulously complex, exotic nose of licorice, over-ripe plums and blackcurrants, soy, cedar, and minerals. Rich and concentrated, with medium to full body, a sweet inner-core of fruit, firm but silky tannin, and a long, rich finish, this remains a youthful, potentially superb Palmer. While approachable, it will keep through the first 10-15 years of the next century.


Here comes the beef!

Like most steak houses Mastro’s serves up the entrees bare (all the better to extract more cash from you). This is the New York Strip.


The bone in filet (12 ounce). This is my favorite cut of steak. It has both the filet tenderness and some extra flavor from the bone.


The straight petite (8 ounce) filet.


And the bone in filet, oscar style. Yes this was mine. Like King Robert, I’m trying to eat and drink my way to an early grave. “Oscar Style” means that it’s topped with asparagus, crab cakes and bearnaise sauce. Bearnaise sauce (French: Sauce béarnaise) is a sauce of clarified butter and egg yolks flavored with tarragon and shallots, with chervil and tarragon simmered in vinegar to make a reduction. Lean and mean baby!


Salmon steak. Looking lonely.


But it need not fear, the sides are here!

This is “Gorgonzola mac & cheese!” Oh so light, oh so yummy.


And even better, the evil “king crab truffle gnocchi.” Yes that’s right. Cream, cheese, truffles, crab, potato. What could be better?

In case you don’t get the idea, you have to see it up close. Oh so good.


Then the light “lobster mashers.” That orange stuff, that’s butter.


And for those not seeking an instant heart attack, the “sauteed spinach” (cooked in butter).


We continue to suffer on the wine front as well with this third gem from my cellar. Parker 96 points. “The 2008 Flor de Pingus offers up an enticing nose of smoke, Asian spices, incense, espresso, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it displays outstanding volume, intensity, and balance. Rich, dense, and succulent, it has enough structure to evolve for 4-5 years and will offer prime drinking from 2015 to 2028.”


So now we get to the desserts. This is “Mastro’s signature warm butter cake ala mode.” Basically a pound cake with an extra four sticks of butter or something. It’s really sweet and really good. Goes well with the magic whipped cream (see below).


Because of the incredible whipped cream here, we ordered up some fresh strawberries. Combine with below.

The photo is a little blown out, but Mastro’s has the most incredible whipped cream. You can just chow down on it my itself. Made fresh with really good cream and LOTS of sugar.


I couldn’t resist their key lime pie either. I LOVE key lime pie and they make a real good one. Plus it goes really well with the whipped cream.

Overall Mastro’s, while a zoo, and very expensive, is a spectacular steak house experience. You can really feel your heart palpitating as you roll out of here!

For more LA dining reviews click here.


The wines lined up in my cellar. I even brought a bottle of 1996 Dom P that I didn’t even open (not enough Champagne fans at the table). Another night.

Related posts:

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  5. Capo Valentines
By: agavin
Comments (8)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Atomic Horseradish, beef, Beverly Hills California, bone in filet, Chapoutier, Dessert, filet, Horseradish, Los Angeles, Mastros, oscar style, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Seafood, Steak, Steak House, Syrah, whipped cream, Wine

The Hungry Cat chows Santa Monica

Sep16

Restaurant: The Hungry Cat

Location: 100 w. channel road. santa monica, ca   90402. (310) 459-3337

Date: September 11 & 25, 2011 & January 1, 2012

Cuisine: Seafood

Rating: Can never get enough seafood

_

I’ve been trying for months to find a convenient time to go to the new opening in our neighborhood, the Westside branch of The Hungry Cat. This particular spot, on the corner of PCH and Channel Road is a bit cursed. Years ago it was the Beach House, which got destroyed in the middle of the night by a crazy driver (who literally crashed into the dining room). Then it was the Brass Cap, a lousy and ill-fated brasserie. After 3-4 years empty it’s now reopened as The Hungry Cat. This is a very raw bar and seafood oriented joint.


I started with a “Dark and Stormy,” the classic Bermuda cocktail. Excellent.


The interior doesn’t look too different than it did in it’s previous incarnations, but it was always a pretty looking place.


Oyster crackers substitute for bread. I’ve always had a weak spot for these puppies, shades of my Eastern Shore of Maryland upbringing. The menu can be found here.


The cat has one of those reasonable corkage policies where they waive the corkage for each bottle you buy off the list. This almost always makes me buy a bottle.


“hawaiian albacore / cherry tomato / cucumber / opal basil / tomato water.” Lots of bright vinegar/citrus flavor hear. Plenty tasty.


“marinated hamachi / stone fruit / shisho / togarashi / lime.” Another nice sashimi dish, although none-too-much fish.


A special. Raw scallop, uni (sea urchin), various salad bits. The combo is great. The scallops tasty. The sea urchin was a little “fishy.” Maybe it’s the Sunday factor, I don’t know. Overall I enjoyed it, but slightly better Uni would have sold it.


“heirloom tomato / watermelon / red onion / persian mint / french feta.”


“heirloom tomato / opal basil / red onion / arugula / burrata / red wine vinaigrette.”


This is the two tier “medium” seafood tower. It was certainly good, although not quite as tasty as the Mastro’s one, but more reasonable also.


On top are shrimp (two types), a bit of trout caviar, Alaskan crab legs, and a half lobster.


Beneath are oysters, muscles, and two types of clams (littleneck and cherrystone).


A seperate order of peel and eat shrimp (already peeled). These are good meaty steamed shrimp.


A nice assortment of sauces.


Off the kids menu. Basic pasta with parmesan.


Fish and chips, also from the kids menu.


A softshell crab in a sort of thai chilli sauce. According to its killer, delicious.

Another special, lobster roll with fries. This was SOLID. As good as a lobster roll gets — and I’ve had plenty. On par with this one I had back east last year.


A seared scallop special. Really quite good.


The dessert menu. But we were too full.

We didn’t try too many things. And I seriously have to come back with some crustacean lovers and get a huge raw bar tower, but I enjoyed this little feline foray. So I’ll return soon enough.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

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By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beach House, Bermuda, Cooking, Dark 'N' Stormy, hungry cat, Los Angeles, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Santa Monica, Santa Monica California, Sea urchin, Seafood, the hungry cat, Westside

Eating Poggibonsi – Babette

Jul18

Restaurant: Ristorante Babette

Location: Poggibonsi, Italy

Date: June 19, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan Seafood

Rating: Great food, great value

ANY CHARACTER HERE

After our self selection failure on Saturday, we got another restaurant recommend from our host (the owner of our villa). He sent us to this casual but very good seafood restaurant in Poggibonsi.


As usual there is a nice outside dining space.


And a gigantic menu.


This being all seafood we got both a prosecco.


And a local white from San Gimiangano. This is one of those joints where the wine is like E10. I like this light quaffable, almost Greek-style, white.


Caprese.


One of my friends and I ordered this “assorted fish appetizer, min 2 people” which was E10 a person, it came with this and EVERY dish until the pastas! An amazing assortment. This one was “Tuna with balsamic dressing.”


Marinated white anchovies and onions.


Crostini with white I think is a fish row mayo.


Marinated Salmon with red peppercorns.


What I think are winkles, or little sea snails, in a delicious garlicky sauce.


Octopus pulp. Also garlicky.


Muscles.

Scallops stuffed with a kind of pesto scallop paste.

Some tasty but undetermined shellfish “stew.” Wow, that’s a lot for two people and E20 total.


Home made pasta with a kind of tomato pesto.


White Risotto with mixed seafood. This was good, and unusual in that usually seafood risottos have some tomato in them.


Risotto with squid.


Strozzapreti with Fish ragu. This was highly unusual (for me) and really good. It was essentially a ragu made using shellfish instead of ham. It was very salty, with a significantly briny taste, but very tasty. The al dente shells were a fantastic foil.


Pizza Margherita.


Mixed fried fish. Lightly fried and delicious.


Branzino, simply grilled and filleted at the table.


A very very typical fish preperaration all over the Medditeranian, but done very well here.

The final presentation of the fish.

Not only was this restaurant a bit different, being all seafood, and very good, but it was an incredible deal. The bill was less than E20 a person and we had an incredible amount of food.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

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  5. Eating Cervia – Locanda dei Salinari
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Babette, Chianti, Cooking, eating-italy, Fish and Seafood, Italian cuisine, Italy, Olive oil, pasta, Pizza, Poggibonsi, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, San Gimignano, Seafood

Eating Milano Marittima – Al Caminetto

Jun24

Restaurant: Al Caminetto

Location: Cervia / Milano Marittima, Italy

Date: June 10, 2011

Cuisine: Adriatic Seafood

Rating: Great service, great food

ANY CHARACTER HERE

For our anniversary my wife, me, and our family went out to what the locals described as “the best restaurant in town.”


This is a large, lovely, and lively joint — packed to the brim with large parties. We must have observed at least half a dozen birthdays or other assorted celebrations.

The poured us all glasses of prosecco right out of the gate.

And brought some pre-bread, basically pizza dough.

Then tehy came around with these steamed clams and chickpeas.

Seen here closer up. We thought these were all freebees, but they did turn up on the bill!

Just a bit of menu!


We started with this Gavi white. Not bad, but not really my favorite Italian white of the trip.


Various butters.


Pickled onions.

Raw food, eaten on toast with the onions. Yum.

Salted peel and eat shrimp, like at a chinese restaurant.


Fritto Misto!


One portion.

Insalta Misto. You will continue to see a lot of these.

This wine i really liked. Soave is a very nice white.


Some mongo crabs in the tank, about twenty inches across each.


Penne gorgonzola.

Linguine with salmon and cream.


Mixed grill! I don’t know what the flat purple backed creatures are, and while they tasted fine, they sure had a lot of legs.


Grilled veggies.

Spaghetti del mare.


A single portion.


Close up.


The wave of desserts begins with limon sorbet mixed with prosecco.


Mixed cookies.

Some moscato. Two dessert drinks!


An anniversary tiramisu with sparkler.

A slice of that. Tasty, full of cream.

Then they bring by the dessert cart.


And I can’t resist a slice of cassata. I never get cassata, and while this is only the mainland Italian type, and not my all time favorite cassata di Sicilianna, it was still good.


A profiterole, drowned.

Then some “bonus” (again on the bill) fruit. Pretty spectacular.


I wander to find they have a pizza oven. What doesn’t this place have?

Ladies even get a parting gift of merengues. This place was pretty darn fun. Everything tasted wonderful too. The only downside was the bill, but hey you only have your 10th anniversary once (well at least you SHOULD only have it once).

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting
  2. Eating Milano Marittima – Palace Hotel Breakfast
  3. Eating Milano Marittima – Notte E Di’
  4. Eating Milano Marittima – Ristorante La Frasca
  5. Eating Cervia – Locanda dei Salinari
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cervia, Dessert, eating-italy, Emilia–Romagna, Food, Italian cuisine, Italy, pasta, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Seafood

The Lobster claws at the pier

May07

Restaurant: The Lobster

Location:  1602 Ocean Ave. Santa Monica, California 90401.  310.458.9294

Date: April 29, 2011

Cuisine: Seafood

Rating: Great view, decent food.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Every couple months we go to the Lobster. It’s located right at the top of Santa Monica Pier and has a tremendous view of the pier and the ocean, lots of seafood, and a lively scene. It is a little overpriced, but view spots tend to be.


The top of the pier.


The main room inside, with views of the ocean.


The menu.


Typical sour-dour seafood resteraunt bread.


A kind of chimichuri dipping sauce for the bread.


The wine list. I got a couple glasses of the ever reliable J.J. Prum Kabinet Riesling.


“Organic Country Fresh Farms Baby Greens. Fennel, Cherry Tomatoes & Shaved Parmesan with Red Wine Vinaigrette.”


“Manila Clam Chowder. Applewood Smoked Bacon & Weiser Farms Fingerling Potatoes.” This was a slightly different take on the New England clam chowder. I liked the clams in the shell factor, certainly makes it pretty. The broth had a nice flavor, but without the thick creamy whiteness of the totally traditional variant. It was a bit more like a corn chowder, or certain types of traditional Irish soups.


“Grilled Wild Columbian River King Salmon. Coleman Farms Baby Broccoli, Caramelized Onion, Weiser Farms Fingerling Potatoes & Tart Cherry Gastrique.” This would have been good except for the fact that while it was ordered medium well, it was medium-rare, and the pink inside didn’t have the firmness it should, but had turned into that kind of salmon mush. We actually sent it back. Cooked right it would have been fine.


“Butter Poached Lobster. Tutti Fruitti Farms Sweet English Peas, Wild Mushroom Ragout & Lobster Mash.” I usually get this, and there’s a reason. I love lobster. I love buttery bisque-style lobster sauces. I love pees, and mash potatoes go well with all of the above. Really, what’s not to like.

The hopping bar scene. It was even more crowded outside on the patio.

The Lobster is fairly typical of mid-high end ocean-view American places. The food is better than Gladstones (see below), and if you order right can be very good, but it certainly isn’t a stellar kitchen. Still, it can be a fun place and a very enjoyable meal, particularly if you enjoy our favorite North Atlantic crustacean.

For two reviews of Gladstones, check HERE and HERE.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Houstons
  2. Quick Eats – Gladstones by the Sea
  3. January in Paradise Cove
  4. Figs are in Season
  5. Parlez Vu Modern?
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Clam chowder, Dessert, Fennel, fish, Fish and Seafood, Lobster, New England, potatoes, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salmon, Santa Monica California, Santa Monica Pier, Seafood, Shellfish, side dishes, Soups and Stews, United States, 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

Not so Glad about Gladstones

Mar21

Restaurant: Gladstones Malibu [1, 2]

Location: 17300 Pacific Coast HwyPacific Palisades, CA 90272. (310) 454-3474

Date: March 18, 2011

Cuisine: American Seafood

Summary: Fast bordering on brusque

 

Two months to the day after I tried the slightly revamped Gladstones (REVIEW HERE), we decided to go back for a dinner. The two of us walked in the door at 6:30. They had us walking out at 6:55. A new record in whirlwind service. So fast that I was in physical pain, my stomach in spasm from having wolfed down the food.

“Dragonfruit mojito.” This concoction was disgustingly sweet, tasting of artificial strawberry and whatever weird kind of fruit is baked into “dragonfruit bacardi.” I dislike this trend of overzealous corporate marketing and lazy bartenders in which drinks are made with “flavored” alcohols instead of actual mixers. There is really no circumstance where this kind of factory flavored drink tastes better than just mixing. It is “easier.” Like pre-mixed Chernobyl green margarita mix. As the rest of the cocktails were this sort, I moved on to a glass of wine.

Bread. Warm sour-dour. Nothing to complain about here.

“CRAB CAKES  Remoulade, Arugula & Fennel.” These arrived as the words of our order were hanging in the air, but they were tasty enough. Not on the level of either the Houstons or Capo crabcakes, but respectable.

“BAKED SALMON CARTOCCIO  Saffron Potato, Roast Fennel, & Olive Herb Tapenade.” Must like what we made at our own dinner party the week before. But not bad either. Too bad it arrived while I was still working on my appetizer — and I’m a fast eater.

“CURRIED COCONUT SHRIMP  Jasmine Rice, Yellow Curry, Thai Basil & Passion Fruit.” I had ordered this two months before and enjoyed it immensely. Something was really wrong with it tonight. Maybe the fact that they cooked it in 3 minutes flat? The sauce was totally out of balance. The curry flavor very muted and the lime massively dominant. It just didn’t taste good that way, being almost unpleasantly sour.

The bus boy was pulling our plates from us as I was literally forking the last couple shrimp. I mean I had to reach into the air to get them. The waitress teleported over, asked if we wanted dessert, hearing the negative, slapped the check down. They weren’t rude or unpleasant, but it was all so rushed that I felt an almost compulsive need to hurry in order to match their pace. I don’t mind a fast dinner sometimes, but this was ridiculous.

More fundamental, I also worry about quality control in the kitchen. Things just seemed much more lackluster than the previous time I was here. And it’s very expensive — overpriced in fact. So I don’t think I’ll be back for a while.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats – Gladstones by the Sea
  2. Red Medicine the Relapse
  3. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
  4. Quick Eats: Brentwood
  5. Fraiche take on Franco-Italian
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Australia, Chernobyl, Cocktail, Dinner, Fish and Seafood, Gladstones, Home, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Seafood, side dishes, Thai Basil, vegetarian
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