Experience Taste

Black Market Liquor Bar

2011-07-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

Had dinner there last night, it was a Saturday evening and we arrived shortly after the place opened. We were seated immediately, they only take reservations for parties of six or more.

I had read some reviews about the place and many of them mention the excess noise level. That's definitely not a problem if you arrive early. The menu has a wide variety if ingredients and flavors. They also have a nice variety of cocktails listed in order of heaviness.

We started with a few cocktails and the Dill Chips, served with Malt Vinegar Aioli. My cocktail was the City Fizz (gin, absinthe, lime, cucumber, mint, egg white), it was a nice a refreshing drink and not overly sweet. We also had the Red Hot and Bothered (Jalapeño-infused vodka, strawberry, blood orange, agave, ginger beer), which ridiculously good. The chips were very good, not greasy and the dip was great.

We decided to order our food in waves, three dishes at a time. Our first round included Mussels, Deviled Quail Eggs and Soft Shell Crab Po boy. The mussels were delicious, the broth was buttery and aromatic. I liked the fact that they served the dish with three slices of bread, one for each person at the table.

The Soft Shell Crab Po Boy was served on a Brioche Bun the size of a slider. The crab protruded from all sides of the bun. It was fresh and perfectly fried. The cabbage and Sriracha sauce were nice complements. This dish reminded me a lot of the Fried Chicken Sandwich at Son of a Gun.

The Deviled Quail Eggs were good, but nothing special. There was a strong taste of dill which was not mentioned on the menu. The flavor of the tuna was masked by the dill and egg.

For round two, we ordered the Burrata panzanella with onion, olive, roasted pepper and mint pisto, Crispy Collard Greens with Benton Ham, Cheesy Grits and Soft Egg, last but not least the Fried Cauliflower with Lemon Aioli.

The Burrata was delicious, the sliced olives added a nice salty touch. This is a interpretation of a panzanella salad, the bread is more like croutons and the items are not tossed together. But the dish is really good and a nice combination of flavors.

The collard greens with soft egg and ham, really good. There should have been more grits, but the dish was simple. Maybe a bit of acidity would help out, but that's getting picky.

Fried cauliflower, cooked perfectly, the lemon aioli nice complement. For dessert we ordered the Deep Fried Fluffernutter. For those of you that don't know, a fluffernutter sandwich is marshmellow fluff and peanut butter between two slices of bread. BMLB adds banana to this sandwich and deep fries the whole thing. I didn't taste this, but judging by the reactions of my dinnermates, it was good.

All the dishes were served on wood blocks with the Black Market name, smart move. The service could have been quicker considering how bust it was, but overall it was attentive. I do look forward to coming again and enjoying the nightlife. Congrats to Chef Antonia, great food.

Bouchon - Bastille Day 2011

2011-07-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Bastille Day at Bouchon, I like it!

The courtyard outside Bouchon is beautiful. We arrived early to enjoy some drinks at the Bouchon Bar. The patio was full of people enjoying classic French dishes, oysters, steak tartar, escargot, etc...

We walked up to the restaurant located on the second floor and we were seated immediately. I had been to the Bouchon in Las Vegas, the design and layout of the BH location is similar, but quite a bit smaller.

We ordered several starters escargot, foie gras terrine with sauterne gelee, heirloom tomato salad, goat cheese with frisee salad and oysters. Each dish was simple, but had amazingly fresh ingredients. My only criticism would be that the sauterne gelee was too sweet for me.

Our table did an amazing job of ordering a variety of dishes and it wasn't even planned. I had the a Bastille Day special Truffle Risotto, which was piled high with shaved white truffles over a rich risotto. It was a bit too thick, but the rice was not overcooked. Other dishes were the Moules au Safran, Gnocchi à la Parisienne, Truite aux Amandes, Steak Frites and Salmon served with vegetables. I sampled the dishes and everything was good. But because it's Bouchon, the expectations are high and so are the prices. The experience with friends is priceless, but similar to my experience at Bouchon Las Vegas, I was expecting the food to have a "wow" factor and it was just good.

Lazy Ox Canteen - Brunch

2011-07-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed my dinner experience here, so I was excited for brunch. Brought a group of friends, all first timers. It was carmageddon weekend so I didn't think there would be a need for reservations. Took the Metro Red line and a short stint on the Gold line.

The brunch menu was impressive. A nice variety of small plates and entrees. We had a party of six, so getting a taste of several dishes would not be a problem. We ordered the following:

fried eggs with crumbled sausage, semolina & salsa verde
bellwether farms ricotta fritters with saffron honey
turkey and pork belly sandwich with bacon & yuzu aioli
8 oz lazy ox burger with cantal cheese & green peppercorn mustard
roasted shell on fava beans with mint
pig ear "chicharon" with pickles, radish & horseradish
crispy surf clams with caper & pickle aioli
grilled green cabbage salad with piquillo pepper, caper & shrimp
roasted cauliflower with chile, mint & pine nuts
pork & beef ragu with egg pasta & fried egg
butterscotch pudding

There were several highlights in this list. But the pig ear "chicharon" was my favorite. The crispy exterior and the slightly chewy interior, the horseradish and pickles add a nice acid and heat.

My entree was the turkey and pork belly sandwich. The sandwich itself was a bit dry and bland, more aioli would have helped. But the worst part about the sandwich was the fact that it arrived 10 mins after we had eaten all of the other dishes.

Overall brunch was delicious, besides a few execution issues.

Village Idiot

2011-07-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

It was July 4th weekend and I expected lunch here to be crowded. It wasn't, got seated right away. A DJ was playing some good tunes and the menu looked interesting.

One dish jumped out at me, it was a sandwich. The ingredients were as follows: cannellini beans, goat jack cheese, pickled jalapenos, arugula and a chipotle tomato sauce for dipping. All of these ingredients sound good together and very different from anything I've had before. I asked how the beans were prepared and they told me it was like a "patty". I decided to add a fried egg to this sandwich.

When the sandwich arrived the first thing I noticed was the bread. It wasn't a crusty artisan style roll, but more like the hoagie rolls you can get at the market. I prefer a bit of a crust. The cannellini beans were more like a spread than a patty. But the overall taste wasn't bad. I could have used more pickled jalapeno, but I liked the unique flavors and creativity behind it.

The atmosphere is nice during the day with large windows and the service was attentive. The cocktails we had were also decent.

Malibu Seafood

2011-07-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

A beautiful summer afternoon and fresh seafood, these are the things that bring me to Malibu seafood. It had been awhile since my last visit, so I was excited.

We arrived just after it opened and most of the tables were already taken. I made the mistake of ordering a healthy option, Grilled Albacore Tuna with salad and fries. My friend did the smart thing and ordered the fish and chips. We got lucky and nabbed a seat in the lower area. Our food didn't take long either.

As I grabbed the tray, I looked at my food and my friends food. It was too late, I chosen the wrong path. Oh well, I really do like grilled tuna and I did get fries, so I was hoping for the best. Unfortunately, I felt the fish was overcooked, especially for a place selling fresh fish. I expected it to be more rare. There was also no seasoning at all. But it definitely tasted healthy.

I looked over at the table next to me and the fish sandwich looked delicious. My friend loved her fish and chips. Gotta stick with a smart game on my next visit.

Kin Shop - Kicked up Congee

2011-06-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

I love congee, but this version from Chef Harold Dieterle looks amazing.

Harold Dieterle, "Sausage, Congee, Duck Egg" from Eater NY on Vimeo.

Volt Ink

2011-06-16T14:58:00.001-07:00

Taste of the Nation

2011-06-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

It seems like there is a food event every other weekend in Southern California. Some of these events are worth trying and some of these events should be an annual pilgrimage. Taste of the Nation is a food event that should not be missed and maybe LA's best. This was my first time attending and I can't wait till the next year.

My plan was not to over indulge, but that would be tough. I headed straight to most visually appealing food first and that was Nona Sivley and Kerry Simon's lamb lollipops with hibiscus glaze on fava bean puree. It was nicely cooked and a great start to the day.

What happened next was a complete blur. The Bazaar/Tres served their signature olive spheres, a burst of pure unadulterated olive flavor. They also served a delicious grilled octopus tacos, served in bib lettuce with flowering cilantro. The octopus was tender, the taco itself was good, but could've used some acid.

Then came Campanile's olive oil fried egg served on grilled bread with olive tapenade and a tomato concasse. Putting a fried egg on top of perfectly grilled bread, is not fair. Simple but delicious.

Chaya restaurant group was the next food tent and I was not sure what to expect here. But Chef Shingefumi Tachibe really impressed me, as a matter of fact, my favorite single bite of food was the Hamachi Mole Pressed Sushi. Clean, great texture and perfectly seasoned. Their Sukiyaki short rib with porcini mushroom puree was also delicious.

I had to grab a beverage, so I headed over to The Spare Room and they were offering the Nantucket Sound. Boy have cocktails come a long way, this drink included the following: chamomile and lemon balm infused Plymouth gin; Bianco vermouth; and cantaloupe juice, served over spiced ginger sorbet. So refreshing, but back to the food. Up till this point there really weren't any lines, but at Go Burger, had a line, all for a burger? This better be good. I grabbed a lamb slider with minted goat cheese and grilled fava relish. If grading on looks, this burger would get an A, but for flavor this burger got an A+. Perfectly cooked medium rare, well seasoned and just great lamb taste. I want another one right now.

I'm still pacing myself at this point and skipping any dishes that I may have tried before. So I decide to head over to the VIP tent to try out what Chef Michael Voltaggio had to offer. Wagyu beef tongue cold cuts with pickled red onion, pumpernickle bread and mustard snow, the tongue was perfectly cooked, super tender and all together the dish was delicious. He also had an ice bar, with micro-cones, ice cream flavors included olive oil, bacon and blueberry pancake. I tried the olive oil and it was really good, so rich and creamy with a subtle olive oil finish. They also had my favorite cocktail of the day, their version of a Pimm's Cup using gin, sweet vermouth, Triple Sec, orange bitters and Peychaud's bitters; he combined it with fresh lemonade and garnished it with cucumber, mnt, borage, freeze-dried apples and strawberries.

AFrame served their signature pop corn, Buttered furikake kettle corn topped with Benton's bacon, dried pineapple, and fresh shiso. Lukshon served chicken pops, The Red O, had pork belly sopes and grilled blue mazatlan shrimp served on fresh jicama "chips". All of these dishes were good.

Okay, so this was just one side of the venue, I had yet to visit the other side. Next up, Osteria Mozza served porcini rubbed barbecued short ribs with salsa verde. This reminded me of kalbi, but a touch too sweet for me.

I missed the king crab chive dumplings at WP24, but I did get a taste of their chow fueng roll with braised beef short rib. This was a successful interpretation, but it just doesn't compare to the delicate chow fueng made at most dim sum restaurants.

The torta de lengua from FIG restaurant was another amazing preparation of beef tongue. And the escabeche served with the sandwich was awesome. Border Grill's offerings were Cold poached Alaska salmon on a jicama tostadita, topped with tomatillo herb salsa; Alaska crab and quinoa fritters with aji amarillo aioli, piquillo pepper romesco. I enjoyed the crab on the quinoa fritter, but the salmon was pretty bland.

All of this food and I only had about half of what was available. So much for my plan. I expected the food to be amazing and it was. But the surprise was the amazing cocktails being served at this event. Some of the best I have ever had. Thanks to everyone that contributed and donated their time for this event. You did an amazing job.

Hunan Chili King

2011-05-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles magazine listed this place as #2 on the Top 10 Chinese restaurants list. With so many places to choose from in SGV, that's quite a statement. I was with my parents and my mom is the Simon Cowell of Chinese restaurant reviewers. But to her defense, shes an amazing cook and has great taste.

We arrived on a Saturday at about noon, there were plenty of tables available. As we were seated, a plate of boiled peanuts and spicy pickled daikon was placed at our table. If this dish was a barometer of the heat level we were to expect, our mouths were in for a challenge.

A great thing about this place is the menu, it has pictures and English!! Yes English! But with my parents there that didn't matter, for future tho, it's going to be importante.

We ordered Cumin Lamb, Sauteed Frog, Spicy Chicken, some type of fried fish and a sauteed bamboo like vegetable. See even with a English menu, I couldn't figure out half of the dishes we ate. The frog dish tasted a lot like the chicken dish, surprise, surprise. Both were good, but trying to eat meat the with all little bones was challenging. The cumin lamb dish was my favorite, subtle cumin flavor, tender thinly sliced lamb with a ton of cilantro, chilis and scallions.

The bamboo dish was a nice contrast from all of the oily spicy dishes. The fried fish dish would have been good, but they were over cooked, bordering burned. The prices of the dishes were on the high side, but as far as authentic Szechuan cuisine goes, Hunan Chili King has that covered. The spice level is high and the service is decent.

Son of a Gun

2011-05-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

Delicious, simple, creative and fun. This is how I would describe the food and atmosphere of this place. The first thing I would recommend is sitting at the communal table. Twenty two seats available for walk-ins only. So be patient, go for a walk and wait for some seats to open.

We were seated at the end of the table, it was crowded but the energy was contagious. As we reviewed the menu, we could see all of the other dishes being ordered by our table mates. We started our meal with the shrimp toast sandwich and mussels. Both were delicious, the mussels were removed from their shells and submerged in the tarragon, fennel and pernod sauce. This was the best mussel dish I had in a long time. The shrimp toast sandwich was spicy, rich and full of flavor. The bread was fried in butter.

For the next round we needed something to break-up the richness of the first two dishes. We ordered the hiramasa and the fried chicken sandwich. The hiramasa was fresh and light, very subtle in flavors. The fried chicken sandwich has changed my impression of every chicken sandwich I have ever eaten and will ever eat. The combination of the spicy slaw, rooster aioli, buttery toasted brioche and the most tender, juicy and crispy chicken, was truly amazing.

I didn't know if I should eat anything else after that sandwich, I thought I should end the meal on a high note. But since we had split all of the items between three people, I was still hungry.

So for our final round we ordered the brandade with soft egg. And just when I thought the fried chicken sandwich was unbeatable, in comes the brandade. Another amazing dish, simple, luscious and rich.

Cannot wait for my next visit to this place.

Daikokuya

2011-05-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

In my attempt to visit the top ramen restaurants in Los Angeles, I had high expectations for Daikokuya. It was a Saturday afternoon and the crowd outside was dense. We were told the wait would be about 45 mins. An hour later, we were seated.

My friend brought a bottle of Riesling and the restaurant did not have a problem with that. But they didn't have wine glasses either. I guess that should have been expected. We ordered teriyaki chicken, gyoza, and pickled vegetables to start. For my entree I had the Daikokuya Ramen combination with the Unagi Bowl.

All of the starters were delicious, nothing amazing but very good. The ramen on the other hand, was spectacular. The noodles were perfectly cooked and had nice chew. The pork was tender and unctuous and the broth was savory and rich. Each of the accompaniments green onions, marinated boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and sesame seeds added either texture or another dimension of flavor.

Let's not forget about the Unagi bowl. The fatty eel with the Kabayaki Sauce was delicious served on top of rice. I understand why I waited an hour and why Daikokuya has always been mentioned as one of the best ramen restaurants in LA. Can't wait til next time.

Osteria Mozza

2011-03-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

I finally made it to Osteria Mozza, after several attempts I made it.

It was a last minute decision and we were able to reserve a table for 5 at 5:15 on a Sunday. I was with a group of food lovers and we had just enjoyed ourselves at the Gold Standard Food event.

We arrived as they opened at 5:00pm and seated immediately. The restaurant is nicely decorated and not too dim. It's nice, but also casual at the same time. Since we weren't starving we decided to order a few starters and entrees to share. We also order a few cocktails and a bottle of wine. Before our meal started, we were served an amuse of crostini with burrata, olive tapenade and julienned basil. It was a nice little bite.

Our starters included Crispy Testina con salsa di gribiche, Grilled Octopus with potatoes, celery & lemon, Burricotta with radicchio, spiced walnuts, honey & fried rosemary and an arugula salad.

The Crispy Testina was delicious, it was sort of a terrine of pork fried and served with a garlic aioli with fried capers and parsley. It was rich and salty, but perfect to be shared among five people.

The grilled octopus was awesome, perfectly cooked and tender. The celery and lemon added a fresh bite. The dish was simple and very clean.

Next up from the mozzarella bar, we had the burricotta. I've never had that before, it was very much like ricotta, much lighter and very mild. The grilled radicchio added a nice charred bitter note and the walnuts were sweet.

For our entrees we ordered a nice selection of pastas. Squid Ink Chitarra Freddi with Dungeness crab, sea urchin & jalapeno, Ricotta Gnudi with garlic and parsely, Ricotta & Egg Raviolo with browned butter and Fiorentini with guanciale, tomato & spicy pickled peppers. Each dish had a different flavor profile and base sauce.

The squid ink pasta was a cold dish and the urchin added a really nice sweetness. I thought the squid ink was very subtle and I missed the brinyness of it.

The gnudi were so tender and light. The simplicity of the dish really shined, each ingredient stood out on it's own and combined they were harmoniess.

The ravioli with ricotta and egg was the highlight of the night. As you cut into the plate sized ravioli, the egg yolk oozed out and mixed with the delicious brown butter. It was so decadant, so delicious.

The last dish was the Fiorentini with guanciale, tomato & spicy pickled peppers had the most familiar Italian flavors. With a tomato based sauce, the pasta cooked al dente. The guanciale was diced into small pieces and the spicy peppers weren't that spicy. But the dish was good.

Desserts and digestifs were next, but I was up to my eyeballs with food. My friends ordered some Grappa, Madiera, some cannolis filled with ice cream and the Torta della Nonna. Was told everything was delicious.

I was pleased and excited to have finally experienced Osteria Mozza. The food was good and the ambience was nice. The service was attentive and informed. I am looking forward to my next visit.

The Gold Standard 2011

2011-03-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

The day finally came, the 3rd Annual Gold Standard event. This would be the second straight year the event was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum. We had VIP tickets which would allow us to enjoy the first hour of the event with a smaller crowd. It was definitely the way to go. After we grabbed our gift bags, we headed up to the second floor. A great sponsor this year was Knork, a knife and fork combo that was very useful at this event.

The first booth I noticed was Susan Feniger's Street, they served a Vietnamese Crepe wrapped around a bean sprouts, carrots, pickled daikon and peanuts. They execution of this dish was off, my serving was a mouthful of fish sauce. There was no balance in the dish.

Immediately after my bite of the crepe, I headed over to the Fathers Office booth. I thought they might serve their signature burger, but instead they offered Stout Braised Ribs with a Spicy Orange Blossom Honey Glaze. This dish was also not executed well, I noticed the ribs were in steam trays without sauce, it was sauced before serving. While the meat was very tender, the flavor just didn't penetrate the meat. This wasn't the way I expected the event to start off.

As we split up to conquer separate booths, I headed off to Mozza. They were serving a Roasted Cherry Tomato on top of Burrata and pesto. Nancy Silverton was plating along with the rest of her staff. It was a simple plate with great flavors. The burrata was silky smooth and the ingredients all complimented each other. I grabbed an extra plate and headed over to Bistro LQ.

Next up, Chef Laurent Quenioux was offering a set of dishes. The first was a Hare Terrine and Stuffed Duck and Pickled Huckleberries. Delicious. The next item was pork cheeks with a Chocolate Sauce served over polenta. The pork cheeks were perfectly cooked and the sauce was subtle but flavorful.

We gathered with our selections and each of us sampled each others plates. We had Irish Car Bomb doughnut holes from The Nickle Diner, Tripe Soup and Cochinita Pibil from Chichen Itza and the best single bite of the day. It was Raw Scallop with tiny rice puffs wrapped in a nasturtium leaf. It was delicious, clean and so creative, Providence represented.

At this point, the VIP hour was coming to a close and we had only sampled a third of the booths. The tent was divided into three rows, with the middle row being beverages. Then another handful of booths outside. We decided to attack the next row of booths before the lines got too long. I headed to Slaw Dogs and Waterloo and City. Slaw dogs offered something they called the "Spring Fling" and Waterloo and City had a Chicken Liver and Foie mousse.

As we met back at our table, I started sampling. The chicken liver and foie mousse was really good, the sweetness came through and balanced the richness. The Slaw Dog was weird, actually it was bad. The first issue was the fact that you couldn't fit your mouth around the entire thing and they had some type of Parmesean and Bacon wrapped around the hot dog, disgusting. My friends brought over some dishes from La Casita Mexicana and Ethiopian from Meals from Genet.

Every dish from La Casita had heat, but also good flavor. A cheese and jalapeno tamale, chile relleno made with a jalapeno stuffed with beans and cheese, it was roasted, not fried. The third dish was a roasted pork tostada, which also had a ton of heat. I was happy they didn't tame the heat.

Meals from Genet was a plate of Ethiopian fare. Collard greens, split pea puree, lentils, salad all served on Injera. I really enjoyed the collard greens and split pea puree. The flavors were so unique.

I'm getting full at this point, but there were still several places I needed to try. We headed to Akasha to try some cheese and there chutneys and jelly, the pear chutney was awesome. Then to Palate, to try the Pork Ear, Lardon, Pistachio and Kumquat banh mi. The portion was ridiculous, the flavors were awesome, a bit to sweet from the Kumquat, but really good. Then it was CUT serving Braised Kobe Short Ribs with Indian spices. Really good, a little cold, but tasty.

Then across the aisle was Mo-Chica serving mussels topped with Peruvian salsa. This dish has flavors of Ceviche, a lot of acidity and fresh veggies. Next door was Drago Centro serving Foie Gras Pannacotta with duck confit and beet croutons. The most beautiful presentation of the event and very good.

We headed outside, the first booth was Little Doms. They were serving grilled oysters, it was awesome, incredible, ridiculously good. Parks BBQ had Bulgogi with fried rice, nothing special. The Gorbals really surprised me with their Fried chicken gizzards with Romesco sauce, it was really good. The Foundry served an award winning grilled cheese, it had Raisin bread with Taleggio Cheese, Arugula and Roasted Red Bell Peppers.

I thought the event was a great success. The lines were always manageable and the food was delicious for the most part. Looking forward to the next one!!

Lazy Ox Canteen

2011-01-29T22:32:00.000-08:00

Voted best new restaurant for 2010 by Los Angeles magazine, it had been on my radar for awhile and I was really excited for my first meal.

We had reservations for 6:30PM, Saturday Night, for a party of four. We arrived about ten minutes early, but we were seated immediately. The restaurant is not big, it's cozy with a nice outdoor patio. The noise level is a bit high, but I thought it was appropriate. Our table was located near the pass and we could see Chef Josef Centeno, seasoning and tasting all of the dishes as the went out.

We decided to order two entrees and share five small plates, between the four of us.

We ordered the following small plates:
Fried Rabbit Livers
Crispy Bone Marrow and Lentil Salad
Lamb Neck Hash with Quinoa and a Fried Jidori Egg
Charcuterie Plate
Brussels Sprouts

Our Entrees:
7oz Lazy Ox Burger
Pappardelle with Shaved Black Truffle

Desserts:
Butterscotch Pudding
Chocolate Pate

The highlights were the Pork Rillette, Chicken Liver Mousse, both were part of the charcuterie plate, the Fried Rabbit Livers and the burger. The rillette was meaty and rich, as good as the version at AOC. The chicken liver mousse was so airy and smooth, both items on grilled toast were delicious. The rabbit livers were perfectly fried and not greasy at all. I just took a bite of the burger, but it was very tasty. My only gripe about the burger is that it seemed very small, like a bigger slider.

The rest of the dishes had execution problems. The lamb neck hash was over salted and could have used some more starch. The crispy bone marrow was not texturally pleasing. My love for bone marrow comes when it's paired with some crusty bread. You would think because it's fried it would have texture, but it was just "mushy". The pasta with black truffle was good, but the shaved truffle was flavorless and considering how much the dish costs, we were expecting more.

But the surprise of the night was the Butterscotch Pudding, it was amazing. I'm not exaggerating, it was one the best desserts I have ever eaten. I would go to Lazy Ox just for that dish. Not too sweet, great flavor and balance.

The service overall was decent, except we were never served our brussels sprouts. The prices are a bit high, but you get some very interesting dishes in a very cool environment. Besides Animal, there are not many restaurants doing this kind of food in LA. Looking forward to dining in the outdoor patio on a beautiful summer night.

XIV

2011-01-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

Took advantage of DineLA week to try out XIV. It wasn't my first choice, but it was a restaurant I had heard good things about. I remember this location way back in the day, it was Coconut Teaser, yes I'm old.

We arrived for our 6:30 reservations on time, but we were not seated until the entire party was in attendance. We had a nice table near the fireplace and also a nice view of the kitchen pass. The prix fixe menu had a standard variety of dishes and my approach was to try out the more unique dishes, sorta. I did order a chicken dish for my entree.

Before we ordered, a nice individual basket of garlic naan bread and some type of herbed yogurt was delivered, it was really good.

Started out with the Butternut Squash Bisque with Spiced Marshmellow, Salted Peanuts and Apples. My entree was the Jidori Chicken with Mac and cheese and broccoli. Last but not least, my dessert was the Bourbon Glazed Doughnuts and Banana Ice Cream.

The bisque was poured at the table and was the only disappointing dish I had all night. I felt it was a bit bland and could have had more spice. My chicken dish was a nice portion and well seasoned. The chicken could have been a bit more juicy, but was still good. The mac and cheese had a very sharp cheese flavor and the little elbow macaroni were cooked al dente.

When dessert arrived, the plating of the doughnuts looked beautiful. The doughnuts were a bit heavy but matched with the ice cream it was a nice ending. We also ordered the Root Beer Float with Chocolate Chip Cookies. I was told the cookies were the amazing, and I must admit they were pretty awesome chocolate chip cookies, chocolate all the way through.

The service was pretty good, but I thought there could have been more descriptions given for items being served. I'm looking forward to another visit and experiencing the entire menu.

Gjelina

2011-01-23T17:28:00.000-08:00

My first visit to Gjelina, I'd heard so much about and I really like the Abbott Kinney area. We tried showing up on a Friday night at around 8pm. We were told it would be an hour wait. So we had a few drinks at The Brig, we waited an hour and came back.

They seated us at one of the tables near the charcuterie bar. It was dark and noisy, but the overall ambience was casual and fun. We ordered the brussels sprouts, goat cheese, mushroom and truffle oil pizza, charcuterie plate and pork belly with polenta.

The brussels sprouts were delicious, perfectly charred and the bacon and dates worked together so well. The charcuterie plate was okay, there was not enough toast, pickles or mustard. The pizza and pork belly were both delicious, but the star was the brussels sprouts.

Looking forward to my next visit to try out more menu items.

9021Pho

2011-01-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

It's only been open a couple of weeks, so they may be still trying to get their act together. But for now, this will not be on my list for Pho options.

My review is based on two separate visits, the first visit was solo and I sat at the bar. The was during their first week being open. The restaurant was pretty empty when I arrived. I ordered a "33" which is a Vietnamese beer and a bowl of "Pho Bo" with beef tendon added on.

After my order was placed I watched the kitchen in action. It seemed like many of the kitchen staff were being trained throughout the night. I watched as the owner Kimmy Tang instructed the line cook how to prepare a fish dish and each cook checking with Kimmy on the preparation. This was a good sign, quality control.

What was not a good sign, was the confusion with the servers and the timing on the delivery of the meals. I was told many of the servers were from the existing restaurant, which was a Wolfgang Puck Bistro. They did not seem to have very much knowledge about the menu or Vietnamese food in general.

When my bowl of pho arrived it smelled good, the greens that came with the noodles were bruised and could have been fresher considering the prices. The noodles seemed to overcooked, as was the meat. The broth was the only thing that was decent. I talked to the cooks and they mentioned that there was no MSG used in the broth, which was nice.

On my next visit, I had the Prawns with Green Papaya Salad. It was okay, but for $17, I expected a lot more flavor, not to mention shrimp.

My biggest issue which was not a surprise, was the cost. I understand this restaurant is in Westlake Village, but $22 for a beer and a bowl of pho, is not within my budget. I would much rather drive 10 more miles and have better food at cheaper prices.

Ramen Jinya

2011-01-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

I love good ramen. And I am always looking for good options closer to home. I first read about Ramen Jinya on Rameniac's blog.

He gave it a very good rating and I was excited. It's located in a strip mall on Ventura Blvd., in Studio City. It seats about 20-30 people inside and has patio dining as well. I was surprised at how much they promote sushi in the restaurant, I thought it was a specialty ramen restaurant.

I started with a tomato and avocado salad which I thought was an odd item for a ramen restaturant. I also ordered the classic tonkotsu ramen. The salad wasn't special, but it was what I expected. The tonkotsu ramen came in a large ceramic bowl, with a ginormous spoon for slurping up the earthly broth. Oil from the pork shimmers on the surface of the cloudy broth. Two thin slices of chashu float along with spinach and a pickled radish of some sort. The noodles were good, but I prefer the noodles at Santouka. The star is the well balanced, deep flavored broth.

A good option ramen option, closer to home. I'm happy.

A&E Restaurant

2010-11-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a trip to China. I missed the food and had to satisfy my craving.

Decided to search for a new option in Alhambra. A&E had a lot a of good reviews and looked like the comfort food I was looking for. Four of us arrived at about noon on a Saturday. We were seated immediately and greeted by the wonderful staff. The menu has photos and English titles, several members of the staff also spoke English.

Our meal started with two cold dishes, bean curd with mustard greens and a bean curd with mushrooms. Both dishes were light and had a subtle flavor. Next up came the beef and tendon noodle soup. The spice level was perfect and the noodles had a great chew to them. Some scallions and cilantro would have added some freshness, but it was delicious nonetheless.

The Thousand Layer Pancake came and the Pan Fried Meat Bun arrived shortly, followed by the Fried Chicken Plate. The Fried Chicken was great, it was served on a plate of rice, some chopped Bok Choy and Pickled Mustard Greens. That dish alone with some hot sauce would be make A&E worth trying. Just so comforting. The Thousand Layer Pancake was good, but the Scallion Pancake was better. The Pan Fried Meat Bun was meaty and delicious.

The last item to arrive was the XLB, what the dumpling lacked in soup it delivered in meat flavor. The filling was meaty and flavorful. With all of these dishes we barely dented the menu. After just getting home from China, A&E was a great option and fulfilled my craving for authentic Chinese food. I look forward to my next visit!

Susan Feniger's Street

2010-11-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

It was a last minute decision to go out and have dinner. I had my Blackboard Eats discount that expired in one day, so I decided to take advantage and try out Street.

I was lucky enough to get a table for two at 7pm on a Friday night. We arrived a bit late due to traffic, but we were seated immediately. The interior has an odd layout and the decor is unusual, but all of this in a good way. The menu is has a nice variety of dishes and drinks. I ordered a drink from the Eiixir portion of the menu, don't remember the name exactly, but something "Indian", it was nice and refreshing.

The meal starts off with a curry flavored "rice cake", nothing spectacular, but different. And that's how I felt the entire experience was at Street. Our server Sara was helpful and explained how many dishes we should order and what the popular items were. The dishes are meant to be eaten family style and the portions in the medium range.

We ordered seven dishes:

Kaya Toast - Very popular dish, too sweet for me

Spinach Varenky - Similar to perogies, served with lemon marmalade, also too sweet

Lamb Kafta Meatballs - Good stuff, more my style

Romaine Leaf Salad - Don't let the name fool you, interesting twist on a "salad"

Tatsutage Fried Chicken - Rock Star, nice contrast in temperature from cold soba noodles, very rich

Portuguese Mussels - New dish in place of the Malaysian Black Pepper Clams, the mussels were delicious and the broth was something new. Chorizo, coconut milk, curry leaf and other ingredients combine as a great combination.

Black Kale with Refried White Beans - So full at this point, but this was also an interesting dish. Served crostini style with anchovey butter it was tasty.

With so many flavor profiles, I thought the biggest problems would be conflicting dishes. But that wasn't the case, instead I think the problems had to do with execution of some dishes. The service was great and we even got a visit from the restaurant manager and Chef Feniger herself. If you're looking for a place that has dishes that are out of the norm, Street is a good option.

Kouraku

2010-09-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

I can see why this place is such a favorite for late nighters. A friendly environment and staff, with simple Japanese food.

My sister has been here plenty of times and was excited to have me experience the place. She ordered her usual, Chicken Katsu. I had a hard time deciding, I ended getting the Koraku Tenshin Chahan. It's basically a large shrimp omelette served over a huge mound of fried rice. It also comes with a small bowl of soup. I was told the process was to dip a spoonful of the rice and omelette into the soup. It was pretty darn good. It would been even better if I was drunk.

I don't know when I'll be back with so many options downtown. But I'm happy I was finally able to try one of my sisters favorite places.

Wurstküche

2010-09-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

Had to check out this place since I was thinking about hosting a party here. Really wanted to take a look at the "private room", I knew the food and beer would be decent.

We ordered the Filipino Maharlika with carmelized onions and spicy peppers. Also had fries with white truffle oil and chipotle ketchup. The sausage was good, but I thought the flavor was very subtle and overpowered by the onions a peppers.

I really like the decor of the place, it's industrial and everybody sits at long communal tables. Didn't try any of the beer, I'll be back for that.

Los Agaves

2010-09-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

This was my second visit to Los Agaves. My friends live down the street and it's on the way to the Santa Barbara Bowl.

We got there around 5:30 and it was packed. We waited in line for about 10 mins, once you've ordered they have people that start getting your seating set-up. They've got the process down.

I ordered the special Seafood Molcajete, other items at our table included the lengua special and the Tampiquena. I prepared for my meal, by getting some salsa from the salsa bar. Some really nice salsas, the avocado sauce and habanero salsa are fantastic. As each plate arrived at our table, there was one thing missing, my meal. Some how they didn't get my order in, so I had to wait...and wait. It seemed like an eternity, but my meal finally came. It was delicious, the fish was grilled and placed on the top with sliced avocado, the clams, mussels and shrimp were in the simmering lava rock bowl. The tomato based broth had a nice spice, it reminded me of a Mexican style cioppino. Dipping the fresh tortillas into the broth with the melting cheese was great and the portion was big.

Besides the delay with the meal, everything else was on point.

Yung Ho

2010-09-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, I must admit the only reason I ate here was because Bamboodles next door had a huge wait.

I was not familiar with the menu or any of their specialties. I took some time to peruse the menu and since I can read Chinese I was pretty much screwed. They do have English names for their menu items, but as we all know the English names don't match the Chinese names we are accustomed to.

I went with things I knew would be hard to mess up. Scallion pancakes, fan tuan (which is a sticky rice roll wrapped around different fillings), soy milk and marinated cucumbers. My server looked at me strangely as the items I ordered must have seemed like a strange combo.

The scallion pancakes were flaky and think, different than many I've had recently. Definitely a nice change of pace. The soy milk was nice and the fan tuan was decent. The cucumbers were marinated in a spicy sauce and I thought it could have been better.

Next time I will be prepared to order, but overall I thought Yung Ho had a lot of potential for a simple Taiwanese breakfast.

Kam Hong Garden

2010-09-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

Oh man!! Chinese comfort food, I love it.

I've been stuck in a rut recently, it's been Dim Sum and Shanghainese food every time I visit the SGV. I've been craving something else.

Kam Hong Garden satisfied my craving. Spicy Beef noodle soup with knife cut noodles, pan fried buns, scallion pancakes, Zha jiang mian with hand pulled noodles, beef roll and sauteed knife cut noodles with pork and mushrooms.

The beef roll was excellent and on par with 101 Noodle Express. There was the right amount of hoison, cilantro and cucumber, combined with delicious beef and a chewy wrapper.

The knife cut noodles were great and had that great texture you get from the thickness of knife cut noodles. The spicy broth of the beef noodle soup was well balanced and slightly spicy. The beef was perfectly tender without being mushy. The sauteed noodles were good, but the soup version was the way to go.

We ordered the regular scallion pancakes, they also offer a "thick" onion cake. It was also delicious, not to greasy and comparable to Earthen. The pan fried buns were good, filled with pork and mushrooms, they were large and one order was enough for four of us.

I can't wait to come back to Kam Hong Garden to try more delicious dishes. BTW, the service was excellent, our server spoke decent English and offered great recommendations.

Arigato Sushi

2010-08-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

Arigato is the goto sushi restaurant for my good friends that live in Santa Barbara. I have eaten here before, but it had been awhile, I was excited. We were in sort of a rush so we didn't enjoy everything Arigato had to offer, but we did have was great.

We sat at the sushi bar in front of Brian. Our meal started off with Halibut Carpaccio and Yuzu Pepper Tai sashimi. Both were delicious, the tai sashimi was really fresh, there was a little too much sauce on the carpaccio and it over powered the fish.

Next up we had Ankimo, delicious! The chefs made a few special items for us, didn't know the names or all the ingredients, but they were incredible. The highlight was a thinly sliced seared scallop topped with a crab mixture and tobiko. It was also served with cilantro oil and black sesame sauce, it was awesome.

Looking forward to my next visit. See more photos here.

Church and State

2010-08-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Missed my opportunity to eat Chef Manzke's food, but Chef Josh Smith still delivered a great meal.

It was a birthday celebration, table for four on a Friday night at 8:30. It's not in a great part of town, but the actual location is pretty cool. We arrived early and sat at the bar to have some cocktails. Don't remember the names, but they were delicious and very inventive.

The place is bustling and the energy spread throughout the room. We sat down and perused the menu, classic French bistro fare with a few modern interpretations. The bread arrived shortly and was nice and hot, the outside crust was crunchy and the the crumb was fluffy, great start.

So many of the starters looked good and we were starving, so we asked our server if we could order starters and then order entrees if we were still hungry. With a little hesitation, he said that wouldn't be a problem. We ordered the following:

Moules Marinières
Steak Tartare
Escargots de Bourgogne
Rillettes de Porc
Salade Frisée aux Lardons
Gratin de Macaronis et Fromage

They were out of the Crispy Pig Ears.

The mussels were good, tender and fresh, the broth was flavorful, but could have used a little more salt. I was disappointed with the Pork Rillette, it was dry and just didn't have the texture I've had from Comme CA or AOC, I also wasn't a fan of the prune. The Frisee salad, Escargot and Steak Tartare were all decent, several of the dishes were served with french fries, they were tasty too.

The star for me was the Macaroni and Cheese. It was so rich and cheesy and the blend of cheeses was delicious. I couldn't stop eating it.

We never made to ordering entrees and decided to go somewhere else to have dessert. I would love to come back and have a more structured meal, maybe even lunch.

Kyochon - Korean Style Chicken Wings

2010-08-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

I love all kinds of chicken wings!

So I had to try Korean style chicken wings. These weren't bad. But I would definitely go for the fried version versus the grilled version. The fat is rendered out so the skin is much crispier. I love anything spicy, so the spicy version I found much tastier than the sweet version. It definitely had some heat.

We also tried out the Sal Sal chicken strips. These were chicken tenders that were battered with flour mixed with small rice balls. Definitely better than your average chicken strip, so much crispier. The dipping sauce options were not good, all of them were cloyingly sweet and one of them was supposed to be garlic.

They were the best chicken wings I've ever had, but I can see having a craving them.

Banh Mi Cho Cu Bakery

2010-07-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

I'm not out in the Westminster area very often, so I had to find a quality Banh Mi. Cho Cu Bakery was the place.

We ordered the #9, #3 and there most popular #1. The #9 was the egg banh mi, I loved this one. The egg was rich and well seasoned, in combination with the fresh vegetables and crusty bread, it was perfect. The #3 was the bbq pork, which is a classic, was also delicious. The pork had a nice char siu flavor. The most popular banh mi was #1 which is a combination of pork and ham. Not sure why this was the favorite, it was good, but I just didn't like the meat as much as the other choices.

The best things about this place, is the bread. It is amazingly light and crusty. Another highlight is the friendly staff, I never got her name, but the girl that helped me was so nice and informative. If I'm ever back in Westminster and I'm looking for banh mi, I'll be here.

Five Guys Burgers

2010-07-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

Heard about them and read about them, but never had a chance to try out Five Guys. I heard they were the number one contender to the fast food burger crown out here on the left coast, that crown owned by In n Out.

Their main menu consists of hamburgers and "little" hamburgers. The hamburgers have two four ounce patties and the "little" hamburgers have just one. The key difference is at Five Guys is they have BACON! That is a great option that In n Out doesn't offer.

There are also burger topping options and they are all free. So if you're feeling simple, you can have just ketchup. Or you can be creative and get grilled mushrooms, bbq sauce and jalapenos.

I went with the classic combination of lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and mayo. All of that on a "little" bacon cheeseburger. The fries are fresh and fried in peanut oil, salted or cajun style. I went with salted and a side of cajun seasoning.

I like the fries much better than In n Out, thicker and fluffy on the inside. I also liked them salted versus cajun. The burger was good, but not better then In n Out, something about the flavors of the beef from In n Out just make it better. To compare apples to apples, next time I'll need to get my burger without bacon. The Five Guys beef lacked flavor and the cheese was pretty bland. The bun was soft with sesame seeds and nicely toasted. The grilled onions were nothing like In n Out, there was no carmelization.

As Jelp mentioned in his review, it is a bit noisy. But I didn't find it to be that big of a deal. The topping options are nice and the prices are comparable, but the burgers just aren't as good as In n Out, IMO. Looking forward to another visit to try out other combinations.

J&J Jin Jian Restaurant

2010-07-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

With Mei Long Village being next door, I've never thought about going to J&J. But my last few visits to MLV, I noticed lines at J&J, so I decided to try it out.

The place seats about 35 people and specializes in Shanghainese food like it's neighbor MLV. The Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings), have been getting a lot of fanfare recently, as well as other steamed dumplings. They have a pretty lengthy menu, with Chef specialties, noodles, dumplings and rice.

We ordered a lot of dishes, our meal started with the following:

Sauteed Spinach
Marinated Smoked Fish (Cold Plate)
Chinese Mustard Greens with Bean Curd (Cold Plate)

The spinach was not the freshest, but it was sauteed nicely with a hint of garlic. Both cold plates were good, but the fish was really delicious. It had a similar flavor to Chinese red braised beef, a little sweetness and some saltiness. The next set of dishes were:

XLB
Scallion Pancakes
Shanghai Noodles
Steamed Vegetable Dumplings
Shengjian mantou

I thought the XLB was good, but not better than MLV next door. The dumpling skins were too thin and broke on contact, letting all of the delicious broth leak out. The Shanghai Noodles looked promising, but lacked seasoning. The Scallion pancakes, were crispy but also lacked salt. I did enjoy the vegetable dumplings and shengjian mantou.

Typical service for a Chinese restaurant in SGV and he prices a comparable. This is another decent Shanghainese restaurant, but there are so many, each with strengths. At the end it just comes down to your preference.

Bottega Louie

2010-06-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

Great space. Great Service. Good food.

Showed up around 11:30 on Memorial Day. We had a party of three and no reservations, we were seated immediately. None of us had been here before, so we browsed the menu thoroughly. The top half of the menu broken down by salads, soups, pizzas, entrees, sandwiches and pasta. The bottom half has small plates, poultry, meat and seafood.
It's kinda confusing how it's broken up, but in the end it all works out.

We ordered the following, Mache Salad, Gazpacho, Aranchini, Yellowtail Crudo, Cauliflower Gratinee, Chicken Carcioffi and the Kobe Beef Burger.

The salad and soup started off our meal, both were delicious. The salad was light and refreshing, it included shredded chicken, avocado, green onions. celery, mache, lemon and olive oil . Just a really clean and simple salad, the chicken was seasoned perfectly.

The gazpacho was poured at the table, with the vegetable condiments prepared in the bowl. It was a well made gazpacho, but would have been better with a little heat.

The small plates were good, the arancini and crudo were a bit pricey for what they were. I thought cauliflower was a bit under cooked and could have been a bit cheesier.

The chicken carcioffi was nice, but because it is served a la carte, there was no starch to help the saltiness of the dish. With capers and artichoke hearts, the sauce was just too salty. The dish had a lot of potential but just wasn't well executed.

I didn't taste the burger, but it looked pretty good. The fries were average. Last but not least, were the desserts. We had the lemon tart and budino, I don't have a sweet tooth, so I skipped this course. But I was told they were both delicious.

Kanda Sushi

2010-05-03T20:23:00.001-07:00

I'd been reading reviews on Chowhound about this place. Could it be true? A traditional sushi restaurant in the Conejo Valley that doesn't make all kinds of specialty rolls with ridiculous sauces?

It's true! We sat at the sushi bar on a Saturday night, it was 7pm. The sushi bar which seats about 15 people was empty. Two sushi chefs worked behind the bar and a server took our drink orders. The owner and head sushi chef is named Mitsu, he was the previous chef at Sushi Tei in Oak Park several years ago. His focus is on fresh fish with several varieties flown in from Japan.

We our meal consisted of the following:

Ankimo appetizer - Monk fish liver steamed in sake with grated spicy radish and yuzu ponzu
Albacore Nigiri
Wlid Alaskan Salmon Nigiri
Kohada Nigiri
Amberjack Nigiri
Tuna Tataki Sashimi
Raw Octopus Nigiri
Hamachi Nigiri
Japanese Uni
Shishito Peppers
Spicy Scallop Handroll
Toro Handroll

Everything was fresh and simply prepared. All of the nigiri was seasoned or sauced by Mitsu-san, so there was no need for any dipping. The Kohada, Amberjack, Albacore and Octopus were excellent.

The handrolls are not what you normally see, instead of the "sno-cone" rolls you see at most sushi restaurants. Kanda's handrolls are more like cigars, a uniform tube shape. They also don't use mayonaise for their sauce. So the Spicy Scallop Handroll was a bit strange for me, the sauce was too sweet and seemed like it had miso in it.

We sat at the bar for about two hours and the bar never got full. As the their websites states Kanda does not offer any soy paper or "unauthentic" items. Their decision not to offer the typical sushi experience may hurt their business.

The service was excellent, the prices were on the high end. But if you're looking for a wider variety of fish that is fresh as can be, then Kanda is a great option. I'm looking forward to Kanda being my local sushi spot.

More photos here

AOC

2010-04-27T13:49:00.001-07:00

Photo courtesy of 90PlusWines

It's been awhile since I'd been back to AOC. I was looking forward to the casual atmosphere, great wine selection and simple but well executed menu.

We had reservations for party of two, Saturday night at 9pm. We arrived about ten minutes late, but we were seated immediately. The restaurant was pretty quite but most tables were full. We were seated at a nice table next to the wine bar.

AOC has an extensive wine menu and I left the decision making to my dining companion. We ordered a carafe of a Syrah, sorry I don't remember the winery or the year. Each carafe contains a little more than two glasses of wine. For food we kept it simple and pretty light.

grilled leeks, burrata, salbitxada
avocado, cara cara oranges, little gems
clams, sherry, wild mushrooms and garlic
arroz negro with squid and saffron aïoli
chocolate "french toast" with crushed hazelnuts and coffee ice cream

My favorite of the night was the arroz negro with squid and saffron aïoli. The rice is very hearty with a deep savoriness, a very satisfying dish. The avocado salad was also a nice combination with the oranges, very simple but well executed. For dessert we paired the Chocolate French Toast with a very nice Madeira. It was recommended by our server and it a great way to finish the meal.

AOC is a great option for fine dining in LA. With their small plates you are able to try many of the menu items, nice casual dining atmosphere and great service.

Don Diego's

2010-04-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for a casual place to have dinner within walking distance of the Palm Desert Best Western? Well Don Diego's, is not a bad choice. Especially if you're looking for ginormus margaritas!

We sat outside in patio area it was a beautiful spring evening. The menu has the typical American-Mexican dishes, but it was all centered around the cocktail menu, literally, it's dead center in the menu. I ordered a Tres Generations margarita, then I was asked what size. Size? These things come in sizes? I figured I would play it safe and go with the medium.

The chips and salsa were delivered and they were mediocre at best. We also had a side of guac, it was also so-so. Then our drinks were delivered, with a fork lift. J/K But it was quite a surprise, the medium margarita was probably equal to three "normal" size margaritas. Definitely not a sad site to see. It was well made and I knew I had mission ahead of me to finish it.

I ordered the Ensenada Fish tacos with a side of rice and beans. The fish tacos were okay, I had the fish charbroiled and it seemed to be pretty fresh. It comes with a mayonnaise based "chipotle" sauce, which I ordered on the side. That was a good decision, the sauce was very bland and did not add any hint of heat.

The service was excellent, the location is perfect if you're looking for a short stroll. The food is what you would find at most Americanized Mexican restaurants, no inspiration or originality.

And yes I did finish the margarita.

Wood Spoon

2010-04-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

So we decided to try this place out before going to the Yelp Elements party. It's a quaint little place with pillows that aligning the banquet.

The water is served to each table in a carafe with different "ingredients". Our carafe had a few sprigs of rosemary, which imparted a nice savory flavor. Other carafes had cinnamon sticks, orange peels, etc...It was a nice touch.

The menu is simple and straight-forward. I had read about the pot pie, but it sounded too heavy. So I went with the fish sandwich. We also started off with the mix plate, which included the following Coxinha, Potato Croquette, Portuguese Croquette, Pastel Portuguese & Kibe.

Coxinha - Brazil’s most popular street food (made with chicken)
Portuguese Croquette - potato salted Cod
Kibe - bulgur wheat, mint & ground beef
Pastel Portuguese - dumpling stuffed with shrimp, coconut sauce

These were served with some type of "aioli", I think it was parsley. The Pastel Portuguese was by far my favorite, mainly because the flavor combination was so unique. The other items were very similar and did not have the "Wow" factor.

The fish sandwich was served with either a side of yam fries or salad. We went with the salad, which was nicely dressed in a mile vinaigrette. The fish looked to be pan seared with a nice seasoning. Tilapia is not my favorite fish, but it was bad. Usually the flavor is a bit muddy to me. The avocado, tomatoes and cilantro made it a nice balanced fish sandwich. It's a nice portion size too. This was all washed down with their house sangria which was delicious.

The service was a bit scattered, considering it wasn't that busy. Overall a nice place downtown.

East 180

2010-03-22T10:50:00.001-07:00

Probably one of the nicest decorated Chinese restaurants I've been to lately. But as we all know with nice decor and ambience you usually sacrifice quality and authenticism.

East 180 is located about an hour and a half from where I live, so it was quite a trek. My mom had recommend it and we decided to head out on a Saturday afternoon. It's located in Diamond Bar and along the way you will pass many exceptional Chinese restaurants.

Reading some of the Yelp reviews, was prepared for something less than exceptional. The first thing you'll notice when you enter is the decor, it's pretty darn nice. The building used to be a Sizzler and you would not be able to tell. The restaurant was pretty empty, maybe four or five tables were full. Not a good sign on a Saturday afternoon. But once we sat down and started to review the menu, we knew why. On weekends the the dinner menu is served all day, which means the prices are pretty high for lunch.

We ordered the some items that my mom had tried before and some standard items. Beef Fried Rice, Sauteed Spinach, Salt Baked Chicken, Shrimp and Rice Noodles with Black Bean Sauce, Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs and Salt Pepper Fish.

The shrimp dish arrived first and it was the best dish of the day. The rice noodles were sauteed with black bean and served on top of the sauteed shrimp. The black bean added a nice saltyness. All of the dishes were garnished with some pickled cucumbers.

Several dishes arrived at once, the ribs which were incredibly sweet, not to my liking. The salt baked chicken was presented by our server in the clay pot and taken back to be plated. It was very nice, the chicken was moist and the salt added nice flavor to the chicken. The dipping sauce served with the chicken was strange, it looked like a sesame sauce, but tasted very tart.

The salt pepper fish was okay, not enough seasoning and the batter was not crisp. Spinach was well done and the beef fried rice wasn't too bad. The restaurant prides itself for using organic ingredients and no MSG. This is unusual for most Chinese places. But that is part of the reason the prices are high. If that is important to you, then East 180 is a good option.

Since we ere celebrating my mom's and sister's birthday, we ended the meal with their Taro Almond dessert. My mom and my sister both loved it.

Unless I'm in the neighborhood, I probably won't make the trek again. There are just so many great Chinese restaurants, that it was an opportunity to mark it off the list.

Valentino

2010-03-22T09:46:00.001-07:00

Friday night, dinner reservations for two at 7:00 pm.

This would be my first visit to Valentinos which has been one of the top restaurants in Los Angeles for several years. After getting a discount offer from Blackboard Eats, this was a perfect opportunity.

I was looking forward to enjoying the set tasting menu, but after hearing about the specials and reviewing the menu, I had second thoughts. Our servers name was Paul and he couldn't have been more helpful. He suggested that we order what we wanted and he would see what he could do. So we decided to go with the Prosciutto e Burrata starter, as well as the Il Timballo di Funghi. For our entrees we ordered the IL Risotto Nero ai Frutti di Mare and the Grilled Seafood Trio special.

Since we were planning on sharing, Paul said that we could make our order into a four course split tasting with wine pairing, Nice! The bread served was forgettable, breadsticks, some smaller white and poppy seed rolls. But I was not here for bread.

The Prosciutto e Burrata was the first started delivered and it was paired with a full glass of Proseco. This dish was so simple, but so delicious, the ingredients were top notch. The burrata was so creamy, and complimented the salty prosciutto. It was also served with something they called "gnocco frito", which was a little fried piece of dough. This dish was a perfect way to start.

Next up was the Il Timballo di Funghi, this was a savory flan made with wild mushrooms, served with a Parmesean and Saffron Fonduta. The mushroon "flan" or custard was so delicate and subtle. A nice earthly flavor which was paired with a sauce that was light and silky. I thought the sauce could have had a bit more seasoning, but the whole dish was very nice. The mushroom dish was paired with a Rosé,

First entree up was the IL Risotto Nero ai Frutti di Mare. A squid ink risotto topped with a seafood medley, which included calamari, shrimp and fish. Wow! I loved this dish. The risotto was delicious, the squid ink added a subtle ocean flavor and saltyness. The color contrast between the black risotto and small white pieces of seafood, was beautiful. Overall this was just a very nice and well balanced dish. Our server brought over the wrong wine for this course, so he actually poured two glasses of wine, one was for the last seafood course. He let us decide which one we though paired better and the one they choose was perfect. Sorry but I don't remember what the two varietals that were chosen.

I was getting pretty full after the risotto course, but the last course was the Grilled Seafood Trio. This plate included grilled dover sole, grilled turbot, lobster claw meat and grilled branzino, grilled asparagus was also included to add color. The seafood was served with a trio of sauces, a heirloom tomato butter sauce, a brown butter sauce and a caper berry and citrus sauce. Once again the quality of the ingredients really shined. The sole and turbot were delicious and perfectly cooked. The sauces were okay, but the brown butter sauce was the star and paired well with all of the seafood.

We closed out our meal with the Molten Chocolate cake, served with pair ice cream. Our server brought out a 1997 port for this course, that was awesome.

I can see why Valentinos has the reputation it does. The service was flawless and the food was delicious.

The Old Place

2010-03-22T09:45:00.001-07:00

Ah, The Old Place.

A very appropriate name...the location seems like it should be historical, if it's not already. The restaurant is only open Thursday - Sunday and has a capacity of about 60-70.

It was a Thursday evening and my friend invited me to check this place out. He's a regular so maybe the experience might be a bit different then your first time. But whether you're a regular or first timer, the staff is amazingly courteous and the ambience is incredibly welcoming. That is the highlight of The Old Place. We sat at the end of the bar where I was introduced to the manager Tim. Tim gave me a brief rundown of the location history as well as the history of the restaurant.

We started off with beers, we had an amazing Telegraph Ale, just not sure which one. We were joined by a lovely wine distributor that was coming by to visit Tim. So of course we had to do some wine tasting as well.

At this point I had to get some food into my system or Friday was going to be unbearable. We ordered all starters, Grilled Octopus, Mushroom Toast, Grilled Vegetable Salad, Noodle Bake and the Steamed Clams.

The star was the Noodle Bake, but then again I'm sucker for mac and cheese. Egg noodles served with a nice cheese sauce, all browned in a small cast iron skillet. Homey goodness. The grilled vegetable salad was simple and the grilling on the open fire really adds some smokiness.

The clams which were a popular item, were delicious but the broth lacked some flavor and seasoning. The fresh sourdough bread served with the clams was nice and warm, delicious. The grilled octopus was a little overcooked, which caused it to be too chewy. The mushroom toast had a nice assortment of mushrooms including local Chantrelles. It was served on toasted sourdough bread with melted cheese. Very good.

We ended the meal with a berry crumble, considering how full I was and the fact that I don't have a sweet tooth, it was a delicious ending.

The Old Place is a wonderful restaurant with a lot charm and personality. The ambience is what makes it a destination. The staff will keep you there.

FFY Noodle House

2010-02-17T18:35:00.001-08:00

This place was way out in Rowland Heights, which for me was a bit of a trek. It was Chinese New Year, so my mom wanted to take us to a new spot. I had read a few blogs about this place and was looking forward to lunch.

We were seated immediately and I noticed the open kitchen where they were making dumplings and buns from scratch. We ordered Green Onion Pancakes, Cucumber plate, Steamed Pork Buns, Shrimp and Pumpkin dumplings, Beef Roll and Pork and String Bean Gyoza.

The stars were the Steamed Pork Buns, and the Shrimp and Pumpkin dumplings. The buns had a perfect ratio of dough to filling and the dumplings had a substantial amount of Shrimp and pumpkin. The Green Onion Pancakes were too oily and can't compare to the ones at Earthen, which is a few miles away.

This owners originally owned the Noodle House on Garvey, which a tiny little place. This location is a lot bigger and feels very new. The service was typical for a small Chinese establishment. Nothing fantatstic, but efficient.

There were a lot of items on the menu that I look forward to trying the next time I'm out there. Until then I recommend you check it out.

Umami Burger

2010-02-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

Not sure if it's all about the fifth taste profile as the name implies. But the burgers are pretty tasty.

It was a Saturday night, around 7:30 and the place was full. We were told there was a 10 min wait, so we put our name on the list and headed to the bar. Just as we were being served our beverages, our table was ready.

This was my first visit, but I had an idea of what I wanted to order before I got there. It was all about the Hatch Burger. I love green chili cheese burgers, so I had to try it. There was four of us, so we had a variety of burgers, The Truffle Burger and The Manly Burger were also on the menu.

For our sides we order onion rings, sweet potato fries and thin fries. We were really hoping or the jalapeno hush puppies, but they were sold out (at 8pm?). With each side you get a free condiment, we got Umami Ketchup, House Spread (Thousand Island?) and Dijon Mustard.

Across the board the burgers were all delicious and perfectly cooked medium rare. The grind of meat is pretty coarse and very well seasoned, there was also a nice charred crust. But my Hatch Burger was disappointing in one respect, the chilis were bland and had no heat. By far my favorite burger was the Truffle Burger. The Truffle flavor was very pronounced and work really well with the meat, that was umami. The Manly burger was not bad either, but I lost the taste of the lardons.

All of burgers are served on airy brioche buns and are about 8 ounces. The sides were decent, with the onion rings being the standout. The sweet potato fries were seasoned with cinnamon, which I did not like.

The service was adequate, nothing special. I look forward to visiting the other locations in the future.

Jitlada

2009-12-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

It was a cold Christmas Eve night, Jitlada was our location of choice. We showed up at 6:30, the restaurant was mostly empty. The neon sign outside says Spicy Southern Thai, that's what we came for a family of Chiliheads.

We reviewed the menu and ordered some standard Thai dishes and some items we had never had before. For starters we had the Papaya Salad and the Thai Toast. The salad was delicious and refreshing, a bit spicy. The Thai toast wasn't what I expected, it looked like fried plantains, but tasted like some sort of deep fried seafood cake, tasty and it came with a sweet dipping sauce.

Next up, the Spicy Sweet Pork and Spicy Seafood Padthai. The pork dish was really good, the sauce was a nice combination of sweet and spicy. But like the salad, the portion size seemed a bit small. The Padthai was good, but too sweet for me.

We had the Chinese watercress, Spicy Fried Rice and Steamed Whole Seabass with Spicy Lemon sauce. All of these dishes were good, but none of them were spicy enough. We requested the condiments too late, because they added the kick I was looking for.

To finish off the meal, we split a Mango Sticky rice. Jitlada has gotten a lot of praise for being one of the best Thai restaurants in LA. Our meal was good, but I was expecting a lot more spice and balance of flavors. The price of some of the dishes also seemed too high.

Next time I will request Thai spicy when ordering.

Animal

2009-12-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

Oh Animal, Oh Animal, Thy Food is so delicious!

Yes this place did live up to the hype.

Our reservations were for 6:45, we arrived about ten minutes early and were seated immediately. The restaurant was about 80% full. Our server explained to us the different ways we could order, all apps, no apps, a lot of apps and entrees, etc...But we had to make sure to order all at once versus piece meal. That wouldn't be a problem.

We ordered a bottle of the house Cabernet to start and perused the menu. We decided to go heavy on the apps and split an entree. For our apps we had the Chicken Liver Toast, BBQ Pork Belly Sliders, Melted Petit Basque and Chorizo, Sweetbreads, Poutine and the Pig Ear with Fried Egg.

The Chicken Liver Toast was amazing, so simple, but so well balanced. The liver puree was so smooth. The BBQ Pork Sliders were good, but there was too much sauce for my taste. The pork belly was so unctuous and the slaw was not too sweet. Melted Petit Basque was not bad, but the flavor of the Chorizo was lost.

The Sweetbreads were amazing, it was served on top of creamed spinach, with Hen of the Woods mushrooms, capers and lemon segments. When everything was eaten together there were so many flavors that all worked well together. The Pig Ear with Fried egg had a nice spice, but the pig ears could have been a little crispier. The Poutine was the only dish that I thought was unsuccessful. It was too salty and I thought the gravy was too thin.

For our entree we decided to split the Quail Fry. Another well executed dish. The crispy fried quail went well with the slab bacon and creamy grits. The quail was cooked perfectly.

I was looking forward to the donuts for dessert, but they had taken them off the menu. We ordered the Bacon Chocolate Crunch bar. It was nice and chocolaty, but the bacon part of it just brought a little smokyness no bacon flavor.

Animal is casual and the atmosphere is very minimal. The service was excellent and the price is not bad. The standout dishes were the Chicken Liver Toast, Sweetbreads, and Quail Fry. I hope to go back and try some of the other dishes soon.

Eric Ripert and Alan Richman with Costco food

2009-11-24T18:20:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love a slider...mmmmmm White Manna

2009-11-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Buried Kimchi!!

2009-11-12T16:30:00.000-08:00

Nari Kye's Nyam Nyam Episode 1: Buried Treasure, Kimchi! from Nari Kye on Vimeo.

David Burke - Las Vegas

2009-11-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

Our reservations were for 7:30, party of three. I had never been to a David Burke restaurant, but heard a lot of about his cooking style and creativity.

The restaurant is located among many of the other fine dining establishments in the Venetian. The interior has a modern feel with some whimsical lamps and art. Humpty Dumpty artwork displayed throughout the restaurant.

The menu is divided into three parts, starters, soups/salads and entrees. There are also a la cart side dishes for the entrees. Our server was very helpful with explaining the dishes and offering suggestions.

Before our starters were served, bread was served. The bread is a Brioche pop-over served with butter and Hawaiian sea salt, good stuff. Fresh and warm and so buttery.

For starters we ordered the Grilled Octopus, Angry Lobster and Day Boat Sea Scallops Benedict. The octopus was served with chickpea puree, celery, confit tomatos, olives and chili oil. The octopus was a tiny bit overcooked, but the dish itself was successful. The lobster had nice flavor, it could have had more meat, but it was good. The scallops benedict, was definitely the star, the chorizo oil, lobster foam and quail eggs combined to make a delicious dish.

I ordered the Pumpkin Soup, we also had a Spinach Salad and a Caesar Salad. The soup was poured into a bowl with a piece of Jerk Chicken and a dollop of Maple Cream. It was smooth, rich and hearty. The spinach salad was delicious as well, the goat cheese, bacon vinaigrette and he candied pecans were a great combination. The caesar salad was pretty average, a few anchovy filets served with the salad were delicious.

At this point we were all pretty full, but we still our last course coming up. I ordered the Grilled Double Pork Chop with bourbon smoked beans, bacon, apple-celery slaw and onion fondue. We also had the Seared John Dory and "Bronx" Style Veal Filet Mignon. My pork chops were overcooked and very dry, the accompaniments were good, but the pork seemed like it rested too long. I don't know if they brined the pork chop, but if they didn't they should have. My friends John Dory was also overcooked. The veal filet was perfectly cooked.

Along with our entrees we also ordered a couple of a la cart items, the bacon fat fries and cavatelli pasta. The fries were incredibly crispy and well seasoned, but the bacon flavor was absent. The fries were much better then the fries we had the night before at Bouchon. The cavatelli pasta was delicious, it was served in a mushroom sauce, I couldn't stop eating it.

The meal was pretty darn good up until the entrees. But the service made up for that. Our server Jeffery was terrific. He and the food runners were very attentive and could not have been more helpful. After we mentioned that the pork and the fish dishes were overcooked, he went out of his way to have the fish removed from the bill and offered us a complementary dessert.

We weren't planning on ordering any dessert and I don't really have a sweet tooth, but this dessert was phenomenal. It was called the "Egg" streme Chocolate. Caramel, Milk Chocolate Cream, Vanilla Panacotta, Cookies and Cream ice cream, all served in a dark chocolate egg shell. An amazing dessert.

With all of the options in The Venetian, David Burke's restaurant is great one. With an eclectic menu and a friendly staff, I would recommend trying it out if you haven't.

Beijing Noodle #9 - Las Vegas

2009-11-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I understand this place isn't going compare to any of he excellent Northern Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. But, I so hopeful after speaking to the staff, many of which were from China. They described the food as being excellent.

The first problem with the place were the prices. I expected the place to be overpriced, but this was ridiculous. I guess the lease in Caesars Palace doesn't help, nor does the beautifully decorated interior. All that being said, I expected the quality of the ingredients and the quantity of each dish to be much better.

We ordered the Pad Fried Dumplings(Gyoza), Braised Baby Bok Choy, Mapo Tofu, Beef Noodle Soup and Pan Fried Pork Pancakes. None of these dishes were spectacular. The Bok Choy was okay, the gyoza were very small and the quantity was pitiful. The highlight was the Beef Noodle soup, it was good and the chunks of beef were nicely braised. The mapo tofu was terrible, nothing like what it's supposed to be.

The service was good and they have some interesting beverages, but this place definitely caters to the American tourist. Like many of the other reviews you can get all of the dishes served here for half the price in any Chinatown.

Bouchon - Las Vegas

2009-11-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

I was expecting so much more from a Thomas Keller restaurant. The night started off poorly when we had to wait almost 30 mins for our table, party of three at 9PM.

As we waited for our table we scanned the menu and decided we would order dishes to share. Our server started off being very helpful, but slowly lost interest as the meal progressed.

For starters we ordered the Assiette de Charcuterie and the Salade de Frisée aux Lardons et Oeuf Poché. Before the starters arrived, bread was delivered, it was nice, but not impressive. The starters took a lot longer then they should've, considering there was minimal cooking involved. The salami was okay and should have been served with more bread. The salad was good and the egg was well poached, the vinaigrette was delicious. The toasted Brioche served with the salad was amazing. As our plates were cleared, our table was covered in crumbs. The crumbs were never cleaned from our table. I noticed several other tables being crumbed between each course.

For our entrees we decided to split the Croque Madame and the special of the evening, a Pan Seared Duck breast served with roasted Sunchokes, Satueed Chantrelles, Chestnut Pain Perdu and a Huckleberry Gastric.

The Croque Madame was delicious, the mornay sauce was rich and bread was so buttery. The fries served with the sandwich were under seasoned and very ordinary. We were so excited for the duck dish, but it couldn't have been more disappointing. The duck was over cooked, the entire dish was cold and bland.

Our server seemed very distracted and forgot to bring over items we asked for and never really checked on us. For the cost of the meal and the reputation of the chef behind the restaurant, I expected the food to be well executed and the service to be on point. None of these things were true.

Dean Sin World

2009-11-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

After reading about this place and seeing all of the positive reviews, I was excited to finally try it out.

The place is very small, it seats maybe 12-15 people, max. They specialize in Northern Chinese dishes which are mainly dough based. So you will find the standard potstickers, wonton soup and green onion pancakes. But I was there to try the Shen Jian Bao (pan fried buns), argued to be the best in SGV. We ordered two orders of the pan fried buns, eight come in an order. The buns were served screaming hot, the bottoms were crispy and the dough had a great texture sprinkled with black sesame seeds. The filling was okay, but there could have been a bit more. Overall, the buns were good, but I'm not sure they were the best.

We also ordered a variety of baked pastries that just came out of the oven. One was filled with ground pork, another was filled with green onions and they gave us a complimentary sesame filled pastry. The pork filled pastry was great, the filling was similar to the filling used in the pan fried dumplings, but the ratio was much better.

The staff is very friendly, the prices are reasonable considering the work involved with making these items. We talked to one of the owners about the handmade filling she used for the sesame pastry and she told us everything was made from scratch.

I'm looking forward to trying out the wonton soup and the xlb.

Mastro's Steakhouse - Thousand Oaks

2009-11-02T09:22:00.001-08:00

If you're looking for high quality meats and great service in the Conejo Valley, then Mastros is your best option.

The dimly lit dining area is quaint, but feels very exclusive. The menu is straight forward and beef is the main attraction. Everything is A La Cart and the portions of the side dishes are enough to share. There is a nice assortment of bread, there is a full bar with a nice wine list.

Our meal started off with an order of Fanny Bay and Blue Point oysters and a couple of wedge salads. The oysters were served with fresh horseradish, cocktail sauce and lemon. The oysters were delicious, the wedge salads were typical, nothing to write home about.

For our entrees, I had the Veal Chop, we also ordered the Bone-In Filet and the fish of the day, which was Halibut. For our side dishes we had, Lobster Mashed Potatoes, Macaroni Cheese and the Sauteed Asparagus. The meats are served unadorned, there are no sauces and no garnishes. My Veal chop was cooked perfectly and the seasoning was on point. I had a taste of the Filet and it was delicious. But the side dishes always seem to steal the show. I love their mac and cheese, made with five cheeses and browned nicely on top. At this point I'm completely stuffed. But the dessert selection is pretty good.

We ordered the Vanilla Gelato and Creme Brulee, our declared that this was not enough. And since it was my birthday, he said he would bring out something special. So in addition to the gelato and brulee, he brought out Mastro's signature dessert, the Warm Butter Cake. The plate was decorated nicely with a birthday message written in chocolate. If you go to Mastro's, you have to try the warm butter cake. It's ridiculous and I don't even like sweets.

The service at this location is impeccable. Our server Bobby, answered all of our questions and offered many great suggestions.

In my opinion Mastro's Steakhouse is a great option. I like it better the other "chain" steakhouses like Ruth's Chris and Flemings. Though it may not be at the level of CUT or Wolfgangs, the prices are much more reasonable.

Bellavino

2009-10-09T20:26:00.001-07:00

2.5 Stars

So this was my first visit to Bellavino. I was having dinner with friends and they decided on the location. I arrived on time for dinner reservations at 6:30 on a Thursday evening. The restaurant wasn't very busy, probably about a third full. I was first to arrive and waited at the bar. The ambience is very nice, casual yet sophisticated. There was live music and a full bar.

We were seated on the patio next to the fireplace. One side of the menu consisted of charcuterie and cheese, the other included appetizers, salads and entrees. We started off with a three cheese selection, we selected Purple Haze, Manchego and the Eppoises. Unfortunately the Eppoises was not available and neither was our second selection, the Explorateur. They probably don't get a lot of orders for these cheeses. We settled on the Fromager D' Affinois and creamy Brie. Considering this was a cheese plate, it took awhile for it to arrive. The portions of cheese were a bit small and it was served with sliced baguette and water crackers, there was also some dried fruit.

For our main courses, we had the Filet Mignon, Grilled Ahi and I had the Pasta Provencal with Prawns. My pasta dish was okay, it lacked seasoning and the individual ingredients did not stand out. The Filet looked a bit over cooked, but I was told both of the other dishes were good. The highlight of our meal was the 2006 Morgan Pinor Noir, we had two bottles. Surprisingly enough the vineyard is in Salinas. The service was good.

Overall not a bad place for some wine and cheese. I would like to go back with they are fully stocked with cheese.

Sushi Yusho

2009-10-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

A last minute decision to go out for sushi in the Conejo Valley and we ended up at Sushi Yusho in Newbury Park.

I had been here a couple of times before and had decent experiences, so we decided to try it again. The first round of items included Spanish Mackerel, Red Snapper, and Albacore, all ordered nigiri style. Also had a spicy scallop hand roll and green mussels. All of the fish was decent, the green mussels were prepared a lot differently then I'd had them before, they weren't very good. I think they were broiled and just has some type of miso sauce ladled over the top.

Our table also had a variety of cut rolls, all of them were decent, but nothing special. The star of the night was the Sho Chiku Bai Junmai Nigori Sake. This sake is unfiltered and has a great sweetness. With a few of those the sushi became the supporting cast.

Santouka Ramen - Torrance, CA Mitsuwa Market Food Court

2009-10-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

4 Stars

Finally made it out to the Torrance Mitsuwa market and go to the try Santouka Ramen. There are a lot of options in this food court, but Santouka is definitely one you should try first.

I ordered #31, which is the regular sized Hot Miso Ramen. Their trademark shio ramen was perfectly cooked and the spicy miso broth was delicious. The ramen is served with thick slices or roasted pork belly, green onions and naruto. This was a superior bowl of noodles.

I look forward to visiting the West LA location and trying another version of their delicious ramen.

A.O.C. Tuscany Flights and Bites on Monday Nights

2009-08-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the week again! Monday is just a few days away and this week we are flying to Tuscany. We will be featuring two flights of Tuscan wines paired with an assortment of complimentary small plates.

monday, august 31, 2009: tuscany

flight 1...chianti
2007 poderi del paradiso, chianti colli senesi
2005 podere il palazzino, la pieve, chianti classico
2006 dalla pancia, chianti

flight 2...la gerla
2006 la gerla, rosso di montalcino
2004 la gerla, brunello di montalcino

bites
*two cheeses
*pancetta wrapped market fish with yellow tomato sauce and aioli
*marinated eggplant and roasted pepper antipasto with prosciutto

Los Angeles Grand Central Market

2009-08-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Being a foodie in LA, you would wonder why I haven't been to the Grand Central Market. I have no excuse. But I was in downtown to get my knives sharpened at Ross Cutlery and the market is located directly across the street, so here was my chance. I had heard of a place specializing in pupusas, so I thought that would be my go to spot.

The market has mostly Mexican food stalls, but there are also Chinese, Japanese and a few other types of foods available. With many of the visitors being Hispanic, the Mexican food had got to be good. After wandering around the market staring at all of the customers enjoying their food, I decided this would be a multi-course tasting trip. I ordered a spinach and cheese pupusa from Saritas Pupuseria. Pupusas are made of masa and filled with cheese, other ingredients may include beans, chicharrón or vegetables. All the pupusas are made to order and may take a bit of time. I sat at the counter of the food stall when I got my order, they offer a side of pickled cabbage. The pupusa was not bad, but definitely lacked flavor. The hot sauce added some flavor, but the cheese and masa were very subtle. Spinach may not have been the greatest accompaniment, should have gone with the chicharrón.

Before deciding on the pupusa, I saw quite a few foods stalls serving traditional Mexican fast food, Gorditas, Tortas, Tacos, Stews and Ceviche. I stood in front of one particular stall called Tacos, Tumbras and Tomas. The first thing that caught my eye, was the large crowd, the second thing were the huge tortas they were making. I love tortas and they made a version I had never had before, torta milanesa. The tortas have everything, avocados, beans, lettuce, tomatos, a white sauce and the milanesa, all of that on a nice fresh roll. I ended up ordering the carne asada and could only eat half. It is definitely the food stall I plan on visiting next time.

All in all the Grand Central Market is a place all Angelenos should visit at least once, it's part of the LA culture. The prices are great and the food is delicious.

More Photos

President Thai

2009-08-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

My mom recommended that we visit this Thai restaurant in Pasadena. I had not heard of it before, but my mom has suggested many terrific restaurants. The restaurant is located on Rosemead Blvd and the building is inspired by traditional Thai architecture. Not only is the building beautiful, the interior was more impressive. But beautiful decor does not good food make. Some of the best Thai restaurants in Los Angeles have a very modest decor, so I was skeptical.

It was lunch time, so they had a large assortment of lunch combo plates and your standard lunch specials. We decided to order ala carte since this was our first visit. We ordered the Pad Kee Mao, Larb, Yum Pla Muk, Pla Filet Lard Prik, Thai Fried Rice and Shrimp and Squid Kra Pow. Besides recommending good places to eat, my mom also loves to order way too much food. The Yum Pla Muk, which is a spicy squid salad, was delicious. The squid was cooked perfectly. Out of the six dishes we ordered, only two were "Thai Spicy", the squid salad was one of them. My family really likes spicy food, so none of the dishes really met the challenge.

Next up was the Pad Kee Mao, Larb and Pla Filet Lard Prik. The Pad Kee Mao and Chicken Larb are two of my favorite Thai dishes. Both of them were good, not great. The flavors were good, but lacked a punch, adding the traditional Thai condiments helped. The Pla Filet Lard Prik was a deep fried fish filet with a overly sweet Thai chili sauce. The fish was very crisy, but the sauce was too heavy and sweet. The final two came, Thai fried rice and the Shrimp and Squid Kra Pow. Both of these dishes were also good, not great, the show stopper was the spicy squid salad.

With so many Thai restaurants in Los Angeles, President Thai sits in the middle of the pack.

More Photos

The Hummus Bar and Grill

2009-08-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

The Hummus Bar and Grill is located in Tarzana. I was told about this place over a year ago and finally had a chance to try it. We went on a Friday evening and did not need to wait very long for a table.

Immediately some side dishes and freshly baked laffa bread are served. I don't remember what all of the sides were, but one of them was a mixed salad and there was also a tomato based pepper dip. The fresh bread was delicious. They have a sampler salad selection, it is 10-12 small dishes of a variety of salads. This is a good way to go if you like a lot of different flavors. My favorites were the Cherry Tomato salad, chicken liver salad, two eggplant salads and jalapeno salad. Using the term salad to describe these might not be appropriate, some are more like dips. There are free refills for each and it costs about $6 per person.

We made a mistake and didn't order the namesake hummus, but we'll have to try that next time. I had a hard time deciding what to order for my entree. The menu isn't very big, but I wanted to try something different. We ended getting, the grilled chicken breast and splitting a lamb skewer and filet skewer. Our sides were rice, steamed veggies and fries. The chicken had good flavor and was a decent portion, the sides were not impressive. Surprisingly enough the chicken would be the most flavorful entree. The lamb and beef skewers were good, but not great. They were both a bit overcooked, but it's pretty difficult to properly cook small cubes of meat medium rare.

All in all the Hummus Bar and Grill is good food. if you haven't tried it I suggest you schedule a visit. I will be back to try some other dishes, including the hummus!

Laurel Tavern

2009-08-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

The Laurel Tavern is another addition to the LA gastropub scene. It is located on Ventura Blvd, just past Laurel Cyn Blvd. The place was designed by the same designer who worked on The York in Highland Park, they look very similar. This was my second visit and I was not as impressed this time around. There's no doubt the selection of beer and wine is worth a visit, but the menu still needs a bit of work.

On my first visit, we sampled the Burrata and Heirloom Tomato salad and the Chorizo Fondue. Both items were simple, but executed very nicely. On my second visit I thought I would go for some more unique fair. I ordered the Grilled Artichoke which came with a tangy dipping sauce. For my entree, I ordered the Roasted Marrowbones, served with parsley salt and toast, I also ordered a side of fries. The artichoke was a bit scorched, but not bad. The dipping sauce, was pretty bland and could have used a bit more seasoning. I should have been happy with the artichoke, because my entree was difficult to eat. I've had great roasted marrowbones, CommeCa was the latest. Laurel Tavern's Roasted Marrowbones had a very old taste, very minerally. They were also undercooked, so the marrow was not as smooth as it should be. If that wasn't bad enough, the parsley served with the salt was not very fresh. The fries which are supposed to be fried in pork fat, were not very memorable either.

So all in all, stick with the basics at the Laurel Tavern. The beverages and the atmosphere are worth checking out. And when ordering food, stay away from any non-standard items.

More Photos

CommeCa - Julia's Block Party

2009-08-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Julia Child's birthday and the release of the new movie Julie and Julia. CommeCa is throwing a block party this Sunday, Aug 9th. Here's the menu:

Here's more information

Right across the street, Lucques is having their Annual BBQ Round up, more info

1st Annual Korean BBQ Cook-off ... This Saturday Aug. 8th

2009-08-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

Here's more information

Pie n Burger

2009-07-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Seize the opportunity...that's what I was thinking when I had a business meeting out in the City of Industry. I knew on he way back we would be passing through Pasadena and have a chance to finally try Pie n Burger.

This famous LA burger spot has been around since 1963 and not many things have changed. As you walk in you notice it's a long restaurant with a counter to the right and a few tables on the left. When I say it's "long", by no means do I mean big. The place probably seats 20 at the counter and another 15 at the tables. The original menu is still on the wall, the kitchen is right in front of the counter. We sat at the counter right in front of where the pies are kept. Looking at the menu on the wall, it's not difficult to figure out what to order. The hamburger is listed front and center. We ordered two cheeseburgers and split an order of fries, splitting the fries was recommended by the waitress.

While we waited for our food, we scanned all of the pies that were available, Apple, Pecan, Peach, Strawberry, Cherry, Custard, Lemon Meringue, Ollallieberry, etc...the list goes on and on. Our burgers and fries where delivered and I couldn't hold back, I dove right into the burger. Thankfully my co-worker had enough discipline to take a few photos before diving in. The burger is a quarter pound beef patty with lettuce, red onion, American cheese, housemade Thousand Island and pickles. The bun is a typical soft hamburger bun, that is toasted. Just looking at it brings back memories of the All American classic. With the first bite I understood why so many argue it's the best burger in Los Angeles. The combination of beef flavor, pickles, and dressing with the crunchy texture of the lettuce and bite of the onion was perfect. Another great thing about the burger was the size, not overwhelming, not too small, just a perfect size. The burger was delicious.

The fries were average, but definitely not seasoned enough. Surprisingly I was pretty full and didn't think I could eat another bite of food. But sitting in front of the case of pies was too difficult to bear. We split a slice of custard pie and it was perfect, not too sweet and a nice smooth texture.

Pie n Burger is a classic American diner with a delicious burger. Whether or not I think it's one of the best is yet to be determinded, there are still too many burgers I have yet to try. But it's definitely up there with the ones I've had so far.

Genwa Korean BBQ...and more.

2009-07-19T14:03:00.001-07:00

This was my first visit to Genwa Korean BBQ. From the reviews I read, I thought it would be a good place to bring some Korean BBQ newbies. Genwa is located on Wilshire Blvd between La Brea and South Highland blvd. The first thing you notice when you walk in is the decor. It has a contemporary Asian feel and is very clean. It reminded me a lot of Gyu Kaku Japanese BBQ locations. The bbq grills are the same as Gyu Kaku as well, they are the circular grills and there are no overhead exhaust fans. The tables all seat four comfortably, but once you start ordering food, it gets crowded. With all the Panchan, appetizers and grill, there isn't much space for anything else.

The food came fast, we started with the Beef Mandu and Nakji Somyun. The dumplings were good, very similar to a steamed gyoza. The Nakji Somyun was described as a stir fry of vegetables, calamari and noodles, in a chili sauce. The portion was big and the dish had a nice spicyness to it. Immediately after we got our first entree, it was the Sizzling BiBim Bap, they mixed it for us and divided it into individual bowls. The Bibim Bap was good, nice mixture of vegetables and spices. But by dividing it up, it lost it's appeal and they did not have the classic egg mixed in.

Next up were the meats, we started with the Prime Galbi. The portion was nice and the meat was fresh. My problem with Genwa is the size and heat of their grills. With the circular grill, there is a lot less surface area and it didn't seem to get hot enough. I like a char when eating Korean BBQ. Genwa also offers duk bo sam, which are the rice wrappers and Daikon wrappers as well. The Galbi with the wrappers and a little Gochujang was good stuff. They also served the actual short rib from the kitchen, I always loved to gnaw on the meat off the bone.

Our final bbq item was the Bulgogi. Both of the marinated meats had a few vegetables that were also thrown on the grill. But a nice little surprise was the little pieces of duk that were also thrown on the grill. As with the Galbi, the grill just didn't get hot enough for the Bulgogi. The flavor was good, as was the portion. But nothing spectacular.

Genwa, is a decent option for Korean BBQ in Los Angeles. But with so many choices, it's probably in the middle of the pack overall. The one thing that sets it apart, is it's service. The staff was attentive and very accommodating. My friend brought a few bottles of wine, their corkage fee was $15 per bottle. The prices are reasonable, the total of our meal was $158. So another Korean BBQ restaurant marked off the list. I will be back, but it may be awhile since there are so many others on my list.

At the end of our meal we were still craving some food, possibly some dessert. We headed back toward home and stopped at the Aroma Bakery and Cafe in Encino. Open til 4am, it was midnight and we waited 30 mins to get a table. With an wide variety of food, this is a decent late night eatery. Another gastronomic adventure in LA.

Thousand Oaks Farmers Market

2009-07-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

A nice article about the Thousand Oaks Farmers market in the LA Times last week.

Read the story

Fine Dining Fast Food

2009-07-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

Found a clever site that takes fast food and converts it into beautifully plated fine dining meals. Obviously the taste is going to be an entirely different story.

Fancy Fast Food

The first post...

2009-06-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

Experience Taste is a food blog based in Southern California. We will attempt to share all of our experiences in dining out, food trends, cooking equipment, recipes and cooking techniques.

We hope to update the site regularly with content, photos and videos.

For now, here are some upcoming events:

Tickets for The American Food and Wine Festival go on sale tomorrow July 1st.
Get more information

Luques 9th Annual Rib Roundup is happening on August 9th.

more to come.

Birthday...Lucques!

2009-05-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Mike invited me to his birthday dinner this weekend. The dinner was at Lucques, one of LA's top restaurants. I had eaten at AOC, one of Suzanne Goin's other restaurants. I really liked AOC, so my anticipation for Lucques was really high.

The reservations were for 7:00PM on a Saturday evening. We arrived 15 mins late and the restaurant was bustling. There were nine people in our party and we were seated immediately in the area between the main room and the patio. The restaurant has a very comfortable atmosphere and the noise level makes it feel very casual. Lucques is famous for it's Sunday Supper, but the reason for it's success is based on the simple menu with top ingredients.

Lucques menu is a single sheet with a handful of starters and entrees. The meal begins with a basket of nice rustic bread, fleur de sel, oil cured almonds and the namesake olives. This was the first time I had ever had these olives and I can see why they named the restaurant after these olives. They were delicious. Mike is a wine connoisseur and he brought five bottles of amazing wine to be paired with our food. The starters all sounded very interesting and unique. I order the veal sweetbreads with grilled cornbread, wild mushrooms and pedro jimenez, the most popular starter at our table was the fried squash blossoms with manchego, marcona almonds and green romesco. When the starters were delivered, they had swapped the sweetbreads(SB) with squash blossoms (SB), the server said it would take 6-7 minsutes and apologized. So while everyone else ate, I waited for my dish and tasted everyone else's food. The green garlic soup with crushed potato and salt cod crostini was very good and the squash blossoms were incredible, the green romesco definitely gave the dish some pop. When my sweetbreads finally arrived, I dove right in. The grilled cornbread which was the base for the mushrooms and pan fried sweetbreads, was very soggy and had lost all of it's integrity. The overall flavors of the dish were great, but it was lacking in texture. There were some bumps in the service, but the meal was off to a good start.

For my entree I ordered the stuffed jidori chicken with hand-cut noodles, pancetta, asparagus and morels. Other entrees at our table included the alaskan halibut with black rice, sugar snaps, kumquat sambal and carrot-coconut broth, grilled lamb loin chops with turnip purée, citrus-glazed carrots, tamarind and dates, suckling pig with whole grain mustard, curly endive and warm artichoke-potato salad and tasmanian salmon with potato cake, cucumber salad, yogurt and pistachio aillade. All of the dishes had unique flavor profiles and ingredients, but the plating was simple and not pretentious.

My chicken my incredible and maybe the surprise dish of the night. The sauce was rich, the chicken was stuffed with a nice mixture of vegetables and the skin was nice and crisp. The hand made noodles really made the dish feel hearty. I sampled some of the other dishes the halibut and salmon were both very good.

We closed out the meal with several desserts including, churros y chocolate with cinnamon and dulce de leche ice cream, hazelnut milk chocolate cake with coffee and salted caramel, lemon curd and ricotta tart with blueberries and three cheeses with currant and walnut toast. The desserts were all delicious, my favorite was the hazelnut cake.

I thought Lucques lived up to my expectations and I think Chef Goin's dishes were all very inventive. I looked forward to trying the Tavern her new restaurant concept and coming back to Lucques for Sunday supper.

Golden Deli

2009-05-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delayed post. On our way back from Coachella, we stopped for lunch at the Golden Deli Vietnamese Restaurant in San Gabriel. I had heard alot about the food at this place and was excited to try it out.

We arrived just passed lunch time on a Monday. The restaurant was still very busy. My friend ordered the #1 and summer rolls. I ordered the Bun and some type sausage dish. The #1 at most Pho restaurants is the classic Beef Noodle Soup, with sliced rare beef, beef tendon and other beefy goodness. The pho looked great, but it's all about the broth. The sausage dish was very interesting, it was served with all kinds of condiments and summer roll wrappers. The peanut dipping sauce was delicious. My bun was also fantastic.

Overall the dishes we had were all very good. But in my opinion some of the Pho restaurants in the SF Valley are all just as good.

The Counter - Westlake Village

2009-04-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

The Counter has finally unveiled there Westlake Village(WLV) location. The burger joint which opened on April 7th, has locations all over Southern California. I had been anticipating the WLV opening for quite awhile.

So a few of us went for Easter dinner. It was busy, but there was no wait. For those that have not been to the Counter before, there tagline is "Custom Built Burgers". When you are seated, you will get a clipboard with a step by step process of how-to build your custom burger. You start off with selecting the meat, Beef, Chicken, Turkey or Veggie, then the toppings, premium toppings, sauce and bun. They claim there are over 312,000 combinations. They also have a Signature Burger menu with classic combinations and plenty of sides.

My friend Mike brought a bottle of wine, 2003 Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. This was a beautiful red wine that paired very well with the burgers we ordered. Our meal started with an order of the Fifty/Fifty, regular fries and Sweet Potato fries. The fries were cooked well, crispy exterior and soft and fluffy interior. They were served with some type of Thousand Island style dipping sauce. A good quantity of fries for three people to share.

My burger might have been more appropriate for breakfast, I went with a combination of English Muffin, 1/3 pound beef patty, Jalapeno Jack cheese, Honey Cured Bacon, Horseradish mayo and a fried egg. I ordered my beef patty medium rare, the patties are served medium regularly. My burger was good but not the best I've ever had, then again I wasn't expecting that. The meat was cooked properly, not seasoned enough though. The bacon strips were so small, I didn't see them and thought they had forgotten to add them. I'm not sure I even got any Horseradish mayo on my burger. All in all it was good, but knowing I can get a burger from In-n-Out for half the price and much more flavor, I was left wanting more.

My friend's burger looked amazing and he stated it was the best burger he had ever had. Sarah's "Burger in a bowl" looked pretty healthy, but she didn't have much to say about it.

The Counter serves beer and wine, this location also has a couple of flat screen TVs and a seat yourself bar. It's a nice casual place to grab a basic burger and hang with friends. For my next visit I'm going with a basic combination and I'll let you know how it is.

Los Angeles Taco Trucks

2009-04-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

Evan Kleinman's radio show Good Food now has a video series. The first episode talks about LA taco trucks, if you haven't tried one, you should. I'm waiting for the day to try out Kogi.

Cafe Luck

2009-03-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

Cafe Luck is located in Santa Barbara just off of State Street a few doors down from The Palace Resturant. The restaurant opened Sept 2008 and it's menu is French Bistro inspired. I'm lucky enough to be great friends with the assistant to the owner and looked forward to the meal.

The restaurant has a very casual feel, as do most places in Santa Barbara. There were three of us and we had reservations for 8pm on a Saturday night. We were seated immediately seated and I started to peruse the menu. I wanted to see if menu had what I was expecting for a French Bistro. The menu was divided into standard bistro style categories, Fruits de mer, soups et salads, hors d'oeuvres, plats principaux, and plats du jour decorate. I was hoping to see some classic French dishes and most were included, Steak Tartare, Moules Mariniere and Duck a L'Orange. Since this was my first visit and my hosts had eaten at Cafe Luck several times, we decided to get some dishes that they had really enjoyed and some items they have never tried.

The meal started with a half dozen oysters, a mix of Fanny Bay and Blue Point, served with a Mignonette Sauce. The oysters were very mild and not very meaty, but not bad. The oysters were paired with Champagne, Baumard Carte Turquoise Cremant De Loire Brut NV, it was very crisp, a bit pricey but nice. Next came the Escargot and Steak Tartare, the Escargot was served without the shells and bathing in garlic butter. It was very good, not chewy but had just enough texture and what can be bad about butter and garlic? The Steak Tartare was not as impressive, the tartare was missing just a bit of acid, the tartare I had at Comme Ca was much better.

The last of our starters was the "Farmers Salad", a version of the classic warm Frisee salad with Poached Egg, for anyone that enjoys bacon and eggs, this is a great starter. We ordered two of these salads and one of them had a poached egg that was overcooked. The yolk is very important to the success of this dish. Nonetheless the lardons, the vinagrette and the fingerling potato chips all worked well together.

It was time to move on to the Entrees and our first bottle of wine. We had a hard time trying to figure out what to order, we were kinda full, but also wanted to try something different. I had my mind set on the Whole Roasted Chicken with Truffle Butter. Since we had "connections" we went to the source and asked the executive chef what we should get. He suggested that if we get the chicken, we should get the whole fish en croute. We went with his suggestion, even though the chicken would take 45 mins to prepare. We were also recommended the 2007 Brewer-Clifton Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir to go with the rest of our meal. The chicken, fish and wine were all high ticket items and my expectations were also high. The wine was very good, I'm not a connoisseur of wine, but I do know what I like. This wine was good.

The whole fish was brought out with the salt crust partially removed. The fish was then removed from the bone and plated with roasted fingerling potatoes and assorted vegetables. The vegetables included grilled pearl onions, grilled tomatoes and baby zucchini, they complimented the subtle flavors of the striped bass. The bass was moist and the salt crust added a nice flavor, the roasted potatoes were very salty. Overall the fish en croute was very good, unfortunately our appetites weren't and we still had the whole chicken coming.

The roasted chicken was presented whole in the roasting pan. The chicken was then carved and served on a platter. It was served with the Pomme Puree and Roasted Baby Vegetables and Croutons. The Pomme Puree was super smooth and rich, I'm afraid to know how much butter was used to make it. The roasted baby vegetables were also very nice, there were baby carrots, Swiss Chard and Pearl Onions. But a very nice surprise were the croutons served with the vegetables. When you dipped the croutons into the delicious pan juices from the chicken and then dipped it into the pomme puree, it was close to heaven. That's saying something when your completely full. The chicken skin was nice and crispy, the meat was moist, but there was no sign of truffle flavor. Most of the chicken was packed up in a to go container.

The surprise of the evening was still to come. With barely any room for air, we decided to take a look at the dessert menu. We ordered the Pot de Creme and a Passion Fruit Sorbet. The Pot de Creme was a new add on to the menu,let me just say this, it was awesome. It was an absolutely perfect way to end the meal. The custard was silky smooth and had a very nice sweetness. Normally a creme brulee is served in a ramkin style dish, Cafe Luck served their creme brulee is a more of a cup like container. It had a smaller opening on the top so their was less of the bruleed sugar. This was nice, the sugar was not needed as the custard was the star.

Overall Cafe Luck was good, but the price is way too high for the French Bistro dishes they offer. Even with a discount, our bill exceed $280. If I do go again, I will try to tame my cravings to taste everything.

Mu Dung San BBQ

2009-03-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

I took some friends to AYCE Korean BBQ for lunch this past weekend. I decided to take them to Mu Dang San, my last visit there was good and the price is right. We arrived at a little past noon and the restaurant was mostly empty. We order the all you can eat for $16.99 each. The panchan was nothing spectacular, but I really like the Gaeran Jim they serve (Steamed Egg), a great way to start the meal. We ordered the standards, Galbi, Bulgogi and the marinated chicken to start off. I was really impressed with the Galbi on this visit. The cuts were thicker then usual, the bulgogi and chicken were also very tasty. One of my favorite things about Mu Dang San is their duk bo sam (rice noodle wrappers), a nice change of pace from rice. Wrapping the grilled meat with sliced jalapenos and pickeled bean sprouts or cucumbers is amazing.

Our meal continued with more Galbi, BBQ Pork and Beef Stomach. Everything was great and we left completely stuffed. AYCE Korean BBQ is fun, delicious and affordable, not to mention everybody loves it. Look forward to trying, Parks BBQ and ChoSan Galbi.

Cafe Firenze

2009-03-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try Cafe Firenze for awhile now. With Chef Fabio Viviani making it to the finals of Top Chef and his restaurant being pretty close to my house, I thought why not. I also heard that it was really good.

The occasion was my sisters birthday and we had a party of four. Our reservations were for 6:30 on a Thursday evening. Located in Moorpark, CA. the building used to be Bauduccos, which closed over a year ago. The entrance leads directly into the martini bar, martini happy hour goes on Mon-Fri from 4-7pm. The decor is rustic and has a old world feel. Our table was well lit, almost too much light. We ordered a bottle of Acacia Pinot Noir and we also had a couple of martinis from the happy hour menu. With a quick glance at the menu, I noticed the specials right away. There were two things that stuck out to me, there was a Squid Ink Pasta with Clam and Sea Urchin Roe sauce, the second item that stood out was the Rabbit Cacciatore.

Before we jumped into the entrees, we started of with an appetizer trio and the Beef Carpaccio salad. The trio consisted of two small crab cakes, a shrimp wrapped with Panchetta and Burrata served on top of a grilled eggplant. The star of the trio was the Burrata, it was silky and smooth with a drizzle of Olive Oil. The shrimp and crab cakes were good, but nothing special. The Carpaccio salad was delicious, the bitterness of the arugula went well with the beef and Parmesean.

I decided to go with the pasta dish, the rest of the group went with the Grilled Ribeye steak, the larger portion of steak had a mushroom sauce. We also ordered a Fettucini Bolognese Arribiatta to share. I was so excited to see my pasta dish, but the looks were deceiving. It was completely bland and I honestly thought there was no Sea Urchin in the dish. The steaks were inconsistently seasoned but were cooked well. The best dish was the Fettucini Bolognese, which was very spicy and the pasta was cooked perfectly. My Squid ink pasta was bland and tasted like pasta tossed in oil. We did order a Flourless Chocolate Cake which was served with a scoop of Gelato. I didn't have any, but was told it was good.

With the prices of these dishes and all of the hype surrounding the chef, I was very disappointed with our meal. The one thing I have yet to mention was the service. I have rarely experienced service so poor that I contemplated giving the server no tip. Our dinner took over two hours, this was not due to the number of courses or the kitchen not expediting our food quick enough. During our two hour meal, our server literally checked on us four times. The time between her visits were up to 30 mins. The bus boys did their job keeping our water glasses filled and clearing plates, but our server was missing in action. We noted all of this on a comment card, but I'm not sure I'm going back.

Sasabune

2009-03-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

Finally. After all these years, I finally had dinner at Sasabune. My friend had been saying I need to try the sushi there for the last year and a half. I read about Sasabune on several blogs and food review sites. It was always spoken highly of and I was looking forward to the experience.

Chef/Owner Nobi Kushuhara is a disciple of Sushi Nozawa and his restrictions are similar. As you walk in you see a handwritten sign that says "No California Rolls, No Spicy Rolls...", this place specializes in warm rice sushi and sashimi. The sushi bar is only for omakase, chef's choice. We asked for a table and our server asked if we would like omakase or pick n choose, we decided on the pick and choose. As I scanned through the sushi list, I noticed a nice variety of fish, many I had never tried before. I started to check items I wanted to try, Kanpachi, Golden Snapper, Spanish Mackerel, Hotate(Japanese Scallop), Hamachi, Albacore and a Blue Crab Handroll. As each order of nigiri was delivered to our table, the server would comment whether or not to use soy sauce. The majority of items we ordered were sauced pretty heavily, mainly Ponzu. I felt the saucing was to heavy made the rice fall apart. But the fish was very fresh and subtle. The blue crab handroll was also delicious, classically made. After all of those items, I asked if they had Lobster in Miso sauce, the server answered "yes". I was brought a Lobster miso soup with a portion of the Lobster head. Not what I was expecting, but delicious.

All in all Sasabune lived up to it's reputation. I'm planning on trying the omakase in a couple of weeks. The service was excellent and the prices were very reasonable.

Masa Sushi - Camarillo

2009-01-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

I work in Camarillo and have never really given sushi in Camarillo a chance. So yesterday for lunch we tried out a place called Masa Sushi, located off the Los Posas exit. I did some research online and found some decent reviews of the place.

The restaurant is pretty small, a sushi bar that seats about 10 people and tables for an additional 30ish customers. The restaurant is named after the owner, who works behind the bar. He wore a hat that proudly displayed his name. Behind the sushi bar there is a huge list of rolls and specials.

Since this was a lunch visit, I wasn't planning on trying everything. So we ordered Hamachi, Albacore and Salmon Nigiri, each of these were very fresh. Then followed that with some of their specialty rolls. We ordered the La Bamba roll, Chilean Lobster Roll and California Roll. The La Bamba roll was described as a Tuna cut roll with Avocado, Tomato, Cilantro and Jalapeno, I thought the salsa would be incorporated in the actual cut roll. But it was just spooned on to each piece, definitely could have been more refined. It was an interesting flavor combination and the jalapeno added a nice kick. The Chilean Lobster roll was decent but I expected larger pieces of lobster, instead the lobster was mixed into a crab salad consistency and lost it's subtle flavor.

Overall Masa delivered a decent sushi experience. I would love to go back and try more nigiri and have Chef Masa San make some of his specialties.

Photo Courtesy of Wilmar D.

Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know

2008-12-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know

My Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving for my family is a bit different then what you would expect. Turkeys are non-existent, instead you'll find rice, some sort of poultry and chili paste. This year we decided to have dinner at NBC Seafood, a location we normally go for Dim Sum. With new owners and a face-lift, I was excited to sample some new food.

The meal started off with Duck two ways. They serve the crispy duck skin with steamed buns and scallions. The duck meat is minced and sauteed with water chestnuts and other vegetables. The minced duck meat is served with lettuce cups. For a roasted duck dish, it was good, but not comparable to the classic Peking Duck.

I was so hungry I had a bit too much of the duck and forgot we had several more dishes coming. The next dishes to arrive were Salt Pepper Pork Chops, my sister favorite, Lobster Chow Mein and some sort of Sea Sponge and Baby Bok Choy. None of these dishes were executed very well. The pork chops were over cooked, the meat came out very dry. The Lobster Chowmein was ok, the Lobster was fresh, but the noodles were bland. The sea sponge which was not what we ordered, was very salty.

The last dish to arrive was the Chili and Honey Lamb Chops. The dish needed seasoning and the lamb was overcooked. The most unappetizing thing about the dish was that it was so oily.

The restaurant was full and has always had great dim sum. But I was not impressed with the dinner service. The food was not impressive and the service was poor. Add those two things together along with the cost of the meal and I don't plan on going back for dinner, only Dim Sum for me.

Thomas Keller and Protégé to Go 20 Rounds - Diner’s Journal Blog - NYTimes.com

2008-11-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Thomas Keller and Protégé to Go 20 Rounds - Diner’s Journal Blog - NYTimes.com

This would be a dream dinner.

Giang Nan

2008-11-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

After a review posted on Chowhound about this place, I decided to check it out. My mom had been there before and said the food was pretty good.

We got to the restaurant pretty early, around 11:15. Giang Nan is located in a small strip mall and the place looks very unimpressive. But the interior is much nicer then you would expect. When we arrived the restaurant was still empty. I let my mom do all of the ordering, but did request some items I had read about. And as usual my mom goes overboard on the number of dishes. We had eleven items total for a table of four, most of it we brought home.

Our meal started of with one of my favorites, on their menu it's called Dried Bean Curd with Vegetable. That might be the most uninspiring name for a dish that is so simple and delicious. Finely minced bean curd is mixed with a unknown Chinese vegetable, a little sesame oil, seasoning and that's it, it's served cold and so good.

Next came the House Special De-greased and Braised Pork Knuckle. This is a braised ham hock with a typical salty sweet Shanghainese sauce. The pork is super tender and falling off the bone. The layers of pork fat melt away from the meat. The meat in this dish is delicious, but there is a lot of fat. They serve some spinach under the pork "knuckle" which soaks up the sauce, so good.

I was pretty satisfied at this point, but we had 10 more items coming. The next few dishes arrived, Sauteed Eel, Shanghai Rice Cake with Chicken, and Roast Duck in Supreme Sauce. The Shanghai Rice Cake was delicious, not over cooked. The Sauteed Eel was okay, much better at Green Village. I did not like the Roast Duck in Supreme Sauce at all, the sauce was overwhelmingly sweet. The next round of dishes arrived, Soup dumplings, Beef Fried Rice, Salt/Pepper Pork Chops and Sauteed Chinese Spinach. The dumplings and pork chops were good, I did no even attempt to eat the fried rice or Chinese Spinach.

The food at Giang Nan was good and the prices were very reasonable. Giang Nan is on par with other Shanghainese restaurants like Mei Long Village and Green Village. Another great option in the San Gabriel Valley.

Baconnaise

2008-10-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Are you kidding me?!!! This is absolutely the most incredible invention since sliced bread!!!

read more...

Watermark on Main Restaurant

2008-10-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

Watermark on Main is a new restaurant in the City of Ventura that opened about two months ago. The first thing you will notice about this restaurant is the beautiful decor. The building that houses this restaurant was built in the 1920's. And much of the original decor still remains. The first and second floors contain the restaurant and the third floor is the W2O lounge. The main dining room has a full bar and beautiful high ceilings. The room is dimly lit and has the feel of a classic New York eatery. The food is your basic surf and turf with some house specialties.

Our meal started off with a a couple glasses of wine, I had a glass of the Tobin James Reisling. It was nice, clean and slighty tart. The bread came with two compound butters, a Sundried Tomato and a Garlic Parsley butter. There was also a Olive tapenade served. We ordered Chili Dusted Prawns with Roasted Garlic and a Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad for starters. Both dishes were very pedestrian and not impressive at all. The prawns were small, not seasoned enough and there was too much butter. The beets were under cooked, but the Goat Cheese was delicious.

For our main course we ordered the signature Cioppino and Grilled Ono. The Cioppino was mediocre, the quantity of seafood was impressive, but the "cioppino sauce" was bland and lacked any seafood flavor. The fish in the Cioppino was overcooked and the Mussels were a bit rubbery. For the cost of this dish, $45, I expected a lot more. The Grilled Ono looked very nice, but was a bit overcooked. We skipped dessert and headed up to the lounge.

The W2O lounge was unexpected. The atmosphere was completely different then the restaurant. With flat panel TVs and neon lit tables, this bar was much more contemporary and hip. The food menu in the lounge included several items from the main restaurant, but was tapered down for the bar. The lounge seems like it will be the main stay of the Watermark, the restaurant on the other hand needs some work.

Ocean Star - Dim Sum

2008-10-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Dim Sum is one of my favorite types of meals. I love the variety of flavors, textures and cooking techniques. Ocean Star is the place I've been frequenting lately. On this trip I went with a few friends and all of us were completely satisfied.

We arrived at approximately 10:50, which beat the rush which starts around 12:30. Ocean Star like many Dim Sum restaurants is a large banquet style restaurant. The large room can be divided into smaller rooms with separators. On this day, there was a memorial service which took up about half the restaurant.

As we were seated the carts started arriving immediately. The first cart to visit our table had all the classic items, Shrimp Har Gow, Pork Shumai, Pork Spare ribs and Stewed Chicken feet, we got one of each. I was so hungry, I forgot to take pictures before we attacked each dish. A delicious start and to my amazement, the chicken feet which are an acquired taste, were gobble-up. This group was ready and willing to try anything, which we'll learn more about later. We passed up many of the more filling items like, Steamed Pork Buns and many of the savory pasteries. Next we order Steamed Chinese Broccoli, Fried Shrimp Dumplings, and Soy Sauce Chicken, this was round 2.

The carts seemed to be coming by less often, but in actuality the restaurant was filling up and they just had more tables to visit. As we talked and scanned the other options we waited until something special caught our eyes. Our appetites had been fulfilled, but we wanted more. The next round brought Steamed Chive Dumplings, Crab filled Har Gow and the infamous Cubed Pigs Blood with organs. I had never tried the Pigs Blood so it was more of a challenge to try something new. It is served in a bowl with Pig skin, Tripe and a boiled root vegetable. It can look intimidating but not for this table, we had some real adventurers. The Cubed Pigs blood had the texture of very firm tofu and tasted like a mild liver. Overall it was pretty uneventful, the tripe was delicious. I was impressed that everyone tried with barely any prodding.

We ended with some sweet items, Egg Custard Tarts, Sesame Rice Balls and another new item I've never had, they were Sweet rice balls covered with toasted Almonds. Inside had a custard like liquid that was incredible. Overall the meal was great. And we did it right, we took our time, tried several new things and had great conversation.

Since we traveled all the way to Monterey Park, I have to visit the Chinese market. I bought some noodles and misc items. But we were not finished. Near the market, there is a Vietnamese sandwich shop and my friend had never had a Bánh mì. These our the best deals in town, a freshly made sandwich made with your choice on ingredients on a fresh baked French Baguette. I ordered a few to take home and we had a sandwich at the shop. Wow...talk about being full. What a wonderful day.

See more photos

Amazingly Cool

2008-10-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

I'm not even a huge fan of cupcakes but these are pretty cool...check out the ingredients

The Omnivore's 100

2008-08-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

The Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Wake and Bacon

2008-08-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

I want one of these alarm clocks. See how it works.

Tama Sushi - Studio City

2008-07-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

My second visit to the Studio City Sushi Corridor. My culinary school teacher recommended Tama Sushi to me several years ago. I finally made the trip to try it out. We got there at about 5:15 on a Saturday, we were the only people in the restaurant. I was looking forward to a Omakase meal with a couple of friends.

As we sat down we were presented with a Sake menu and on the wall behind the sushi bar, the different Omakase prices were listed. We ordered a large bottle of Hakkaisan sake, it was so good. We also went with the mid level sushi Omakase, which was 12 pieces of sushi and a roll for $45.

Our meal started of with Toro and Maguro, both delicious. We asked for ponzu sauce and they also gave us a thick dark soy that was really good. The next set came, it was Japanese Red Snapper with shiso leaf and sea salt, one of my favorites of the evening. The sea salt is such a nice addition to a light fish. Next came Kampachi, Spanish Mackerel and Halibut, all very good.

The second half of our meal included, live sweet shrimp, uni, live abalone, albacore, and a vegetable hand roll. Everything was delicious and fresh. I definitely could have eaten more, but it was a good time to end. I'm looking forward to my next visit to Tama, I promise pictures next time.

Thomas Keller to open Bouchon bistro in Beverly Hills - Los Angeles Times

2008-07-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

Thomas Keller to open Bouchon bistro in Beverly Hills - Los Angeles Times

Exciting times in the food world for Los Angeles. The countdown starts...

Sushi Raku II

2008-06-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

My second outing to Sushi Raku and they didn't disappoint. I went to meet my friend Laura for dinner and to catch-up on current events. The restaurant was pretty busy, we got two seats at the sushi bar.

In my first visit I ate a whole lot of food. Tonight was going to be a little more mellow. We both started of with a Spicy Scallop Hand Roll. I didn't order this last time, it was good. Their Scallop mix didn't have any mayonaise or at least very little. I thought it was good, not great. Next I ordered Ono nigiri and Laura had Salmon nigiri. I love the Ono, they serve it with some fried onions and a special mayo type sauce, excellent.

Next up was Spanish Mackerel for me and a special cut roll for Laura. The roll was a imitation crab mix on the inside, with slices of tuna and avocado on the outside. The ingredients were pretty standard, but the sauce was a bit different. It was some type of white miso sauce, kind of sweet. My mackerel was awesome, super fresh.

Sushi Raku has an incredible menu of specialty rolls. I watched as all kinds of dishes were being created and delivered to tables. I'm not much of a roll guy, but they did look good. I finished with an order of Halibut Fin nigiri, which I've only had at Uerukamu. It was a huge portion, but I liked the touches at Uerukamu better.

Overall Sushi Raku has become my favorite local spot for sushi. The ambience is nice and the sushi is fresh. I'll be back...soon.

Bittman - What's Wrong with What We Eat.

2008-06-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Interesting and informative presentation on the World's food issues and the Western Diet.

New Restaurants!

2008-06-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

Some new restaurants are scheduled to open this summer in the Westlake Village area. Wolfgang Bistro is another one of Mr. Pucks restaurant ventures. The website describes it as "innovative twist on regional favorite dishes, to complement Wolfgang's Eat, Love and Live (WELL) program." It might be a decent option for this part of town.

But the place I'm most excited about is The Counter. The Counter is a hamburger joint that originated in Santa Monica, but now has locations opening throughout the U.S. The concept at this place is "Build Your Own Burger" with over 300,000 combinations.

I know these are semi-corporate establishments, but in this area you take what you can get. BTW, these places are both opening across street from the Four Seasons, next to Dakotas.

How to judge a dude by his food - Food on Shine

2008-06-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Do women really think this way? I know I would love to meet a girl as interested in food as I am. But that's going to be pretty difficult, considering I'm a freak about food.
How to judge a dude by his food - Food on Shine

Recipe Dealbreakers

2008-06-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Michael Ruhlman for those of you that don't know is an author and cook. His blog is both educational and informative. I really enjoyed a recent post about recipes and a NY Times article about following them.

ruhlman.com: Recipe Dealbreakers

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

Better then late then never. Last Sunday my friends Mike and Sarah had a Pool Party/BBQ at their lovely home. The weather was awesome, the food was fantastic, the cocktails were inebriating and the company couldn't be better.

I brought over some Deviled Eggs with Truffle oil and my moms famous Fried Chicken Wings with a Spicy Asian Chili Sauce. Some other delicious apps included a Spinach and Feta baked in puff pastry, very much like a Spankopita, Roasted Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Spicy Citrus Grilled Shrimp and some great dips and cheese.

If you're having a party at Mike and Sarah's, you cannot forget to mention the wines. On this day we enjoyed several lovely wines,'99 Domaine Matrot - Meursault Perrieres,
'99 F&L Pillot - Chassagne Montrachet - Vide Bourse, '05 Pio Cesare Barolo,'06 Amisfield Pinot Noir - Central Otaga New Zealand and '06 Under The Radar Babcock Winery Syrah - Santa Barbara County.

Then came Tony's famous Margaritas. Dangerous! So smooth, but so dangerous. After a couple of those I was feelin good. More noshing and I was was full, really full. So it was time for a dip in the pool.

Dinner Time! Mike and Sarah had a great menu planned, BBQ Tri-tip, Chicken Kabobs with a Tatziki sauce, Herb Rice and Salad. But, I was still full. Like they say no pain, no gain...so I toughed if out and ate a plate full of food. It was tasty. Dessert included some great Chex Mix Cereal Bars, Coconut Caramel Bars and Chocolate Cake.

See more photos here.

A Nice Refreshing Beverage? Try this...

2008-05-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

With the weather getting really warm, a nice refreshing beverage is needed. Here's one that will be hard find(not many bars have Pimms), but worth the effort. I was introduced to this cocktail a few years ago. Since then my quest to find it at bars has been difficult. I did find it in a nice bar in Shanghai. But most bars around my part of town just don't have it. So make it at home, you'll be happy with the results. So delicious!

Recipe

Now that's a kids show

2008-05-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Barney? Teletubbies? Dora the Explorer? The Wiggles? American kids shows seem boring and not very educational. But what do I know, I don't have kids. Now this Japanese kids show looks really good. Maybe it's because it's all about sushi!!!

Mothers Day

2008-05-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

My parents and I planned to celebrate Mothers Day on Saturday this year. And of course the destination would be the San Gabriel Valley for Chinese food. I got my mom a bouquet of fruit from Edible Arrangements. It had strawberries, pineapple, chocolate covered apples and cantaloupe.

As we left for SGV, we did not have a specific restaurant in mind, some of the ideas mentioned were Luscious Dumplings, Chung King, Hong Yei and MPV Seafood. We decided on Chung King on San Gabriel blvd for Spicy Szechwan food. None of us had been to this location before. It was lunch time and when we entered the restaurant, it was pretty empty. We turned around and left. We decided to go to Luscious Dumplings, but it was closed, so MPV Seafood it was.

It has been awhile since my last visit, actually two years. As we sat down, were served a complimentary soup and my personal favorite, iced chrysanthemum tea. My mom ordered enough food for a family of six or three members of my family. The first dish to come out was a nice roast chicken with a sesame dipping sauce. The chicken was served traditional Chinese style, on the bone and chopped. I love a basic roast chicken, the skin was crispy and the chicken was moist.

The dishes came fast and furious after that, chicken and black bean sauce, salt and pepper shrimp, thinly sliced beef tendon, chicken and salted fish fried rice. The tendon was shaved thinly and served with a chili oil and julienned scallions, I love beef tendon, but this dish was a bit bland. The shrimp was delicious, but lacking the salt and pepper seasoning and the fried rice was awesome. I thought this was it, but I was wrong. My mom does not mess around when it comes to eating. The next set of dishes were for advanced eaters only, tripe sauteed with vegetables, deep fried pig intestines and salt pepper silkworms.

The tripe dish was good, the pig intestines were crispy and came with a sweet dipping sauce. The texture of these intestines were interesting, the outside was crispy, but once you got by the crisp, the rest of it was chewy. This was the first time I have had intestines prepared like this. They were good, but I could only have a few pieces because they were so rich.

The salt pepper silkworms were labeled on the menu as "ground cucumber with and salt and pepper." But the picture of the dish showed what looked like worms to me. My mom had tried a similar dish in Hong Kong, she said was good. The worms were sauteed and served with fried garlic, I did not taste the salt pepper seasoning at all. The worms had a very nutty earthy flavor. I felt like the dish need more spice, but since it was basically a Cantonese restaurant, spicy would be hard to find. I tried a good amount of the worms, but they really didn't appeal to me.

I loved this meal, we had a nice variety of dishes. Any many things that I have not tried before. The most important thing was my mom had a good time. Looking forward to the next visit SGV.

From Dodger Dogs to organic franks, L.A. is a hot dog town - Los Angeles Times

2008-05-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

From Dodger Dogs to organic franks, L.A. is a hot dog town - Los Angeles Times

Pookies - Thai in Westlake Village

2008-04-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

Good Thai food in Westlake Village? It does it exist. I went to Pookies for the first time tonight with a friend. I had heard about this place and read a few reviews, so I was looking forward to the experience.

Pookies is located in a business complex, an unusual place for a restaurant. But they have been there for several years. The location is actually pretty nice. There is a nice pond and outside tables. With all of the businesses closed in the evening, it was quite serene.
I ordered a Thai Iced Tea and my friend had a Singha. For dinner we had the Monsoon Spicy Noodles, which in most Thai restaurants would be Pad Kee Mao, with chicken, Jade Curry and "Hot Stuff" aka Larb Gai. The names of all the dishes were a bit disappointing. I say stick with the traditional names. All the dishes were good, but I especially liked the Jade Curry, which was a green coconut curry with chicken and vegetables. None of the dishes were as spicy as I had hoped, but the condiments helped. I also thought the portions were a bit small.

Overall Pookies is a good Thai food restaurant in the Westlake Village area. I definitely plan on going again.

Andy Rooney on Fruit

2008-04-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

In Videos: Andy Rooney on Fruit

Pretty funny observations from Andy Rooney on 60 mins last night.

Mastro's Leftovers - Stuffed Again!

2008-04-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

I had quite a bit of the prime rib leftover from the other night, at least 2/3. So, I decided to make a steak sandwich for lunch. I bought a hoagie roll from the local deli and dug out the center. As I sliced the prime rib, I toasted the roll. I made a garlic aioli with horseradish and brought some mixed greens from home.

I placed the sliced prime rib on the roll and back into the toaster oven. After a few mintutes, I removed the roll from the oven and added the aioli and greens. The greens wilted nicely from the heat of the sandwich. This thing was pretty big, it was a footlong roll and there was about 16oz of meat. I ate the whole thing...

I'm as full as I was the night of the meal, but it was so good. I need to run it off tonight, otherwise I may die in my sleep.