Osteria Mozza

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.