To Cook and Eat in LA

Coming: Cookbook Test Drive

2011-12-29T13:21:00.001-08:00

I'll be returning to my food blogging after a long absence soon with a new feature: Cookbook Test Drive! I'll be combing through my ever growing cookbook collection to test recipes and cooking advice.

Celebrity Eats for $4 at Gyenari

2009-09-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

I’m usually broke so eating out for me means a $3.75 Banh Mi or a $1.00 Cabeza Taco. It’s been ages since I chowed down at Border Grill in Santa Monica. I’ve never even set foot in Chinois on Main or Providence. To paraphrase Marge Simpson, I can’t afford to eat anywhere that has a name. That’s why I was surprised to find a name on the menu of my favorite bargain watering hole. I hate to sound all fan boy but I did get a little bit of a rush looking down at the Gyenari bar menu and seeing “Debbie Lee of The Next Food Network Star.”

Debbie Lee may not be a name the way Tom Colicchio is a name, but fans of The Next Food Network Star will remember her. I was rooting for her during the show. I wanted to see a Southern/Korean cooking fusion show on TV. Well, Debbie didn’t win, but if you want to sample a new take on Korean food head over to Gyenari in Culver City.

I’ve been coming to Gyenari bar ever since I discovered the place next to the AMC theater. I was looking for a new movie and drinks hangout for me and my friends. We had settled on The Bridge but the only place to eat over there was Marie Calendar. Gyenari was definitely a step up quickly became one of my favorite spots. The food wasn’t very Korean but it was good and the $6 sojus and the $2 Hite beers kept me and my mates very happy. However I have to say the new food looks ten times better yet is still $4 at happy hour. I started off with Rice Ramaki and if there’s anything that shows off the Southern/Korean fusion it’s this dish. Ramaki are rice dumplings usually served in a light red sauce. Gyenari serves them wrapped in bacon and with a spicy chili dipping sauce. The dumpling is light and springy. It’s nothing more than boiled rice flour dough. But wrap it in bacon and add a spicy but not too spicy red chili sauce for dipping and you’ve got a great new bar food. I could eat these with their dipping sauce all day.

Gyenari already had pretty good sliders, the new ones look nicer with miniature sesame seed buns and topped with shredded Korean BBQ pork.

The new Mandoo are called Melting Mandoo. I really don’t see what makes them “melting.” They are decent pan seared dumplings and they have that red chili dipping sauce which could make a poker chip taste good.

My friend ordered the ribs and I didn’t a chance to sample any but they looked gorgeous.

He also got the seafood Jeon Jeon which I did grab a bite of. It was, to my taste, a big improvement over what they used to serve. The old Jeon Jeon was a flat crepe which was a little weak in the flavor and texture department. The new version has lighter fluffy cakes, like what we think of as pancakes only in this case topped with seafood instead of maple syrup. It was another bit of Southern meets Korean and I got a real kick out of it.

Of course the sojus and the beers kept flowing [as you can see by my photography.] There used to be couches in the bar area, but they got rid of those. When you serve soju they’re too much of a temptation to stretch out and take a nap. The happy hour goes from around 3 to 7 PM. It’s still one of the best kept secrets in Culver City. Me and my friends go there all the time and always find plenty of seats, except of course for the one time we brought a real crowd and found the place packed to the rafters.

Gyenari BBQ and Lounge
9540 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232-2631
(310) 838-3131
Prices: $2 Hite Beers, $6 Sojus, $4 bar food during Happy Hour 3PM-7PM

Dong Ting Spring: Spicy Hot Hunan

2009-09-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

The massive Focus Plaza has so many dining options you could eat all three meals and never leave its confines. Dong Ting Spring is one of the more popular spots. This Hunan place is one of the smaller eateries but is clean and elegant inside.

Hunan cooking is a spicy Southern style. I’ve been eating a version of it since childhood. Even in the Midwest where Chow Mein usually involves those dried crispy noodles you get out of a bag in the chip aisle, the Chinese restaurants there usually offer “Hunan” dishes. They aren’t real Hunan dishes but when you’re a budding spice fiend growing up in Cleveland they really fit the bill. My favorite was a beef dish swimming in brown sauce with wood ear mushrooms and whole dried chili peppers. Can’t remember the name of the restaurant and I think it’s a Johnny Rockets now, but I remember me and my siblings gobbling up plates of the stuff and daring each other to take a bite out of the pepper.

Flash forward to today and trot over to Focus Plaza for a nice dinner at Dong Ting Spring (or Dong Ting Chun.) Obviously I’m not in Cleveland anymore. There’s Stir Fried Pig Intestine and Hot & Spicy Stomach on the menu. I decide to go a little less adventurous and Wild Mushroom stir fried with Smoked Ham, Hot & Spicy Fish Fillet, and the Cabbage with Chopped Chili Pepper.

Dried Chili is the main seasoning on all three of my dishes. Unlike with Sichuan cooking there’s no numbing sensation to tame the heat. This is a multi-cola meal.

The Mushroom Stir Fry is easily my favorite dish. I’m a sucker for Chinese or Shitake mushrooms. I love their meaty texture and flavor. The pork is very smoky. I wouldn’t call it ham in that it isn’t completely dried out and I don’t think it was fully cured before being smoked and then stir fried. But it is flavorful and when combined with the mushrooms you think you’re eating a plate full of meat. Very spicy meat. The dish has chili pepper flakes and slices of jalapeno throughout. There’s no slow burn at this place. You just jump right in to the heat.

Next comes the fish fillets. They resemble the Chinese fish my family makes, steamed , topped with scallions with a soy sauce and hot sesame oil drizzled over it. This dish is different in two ways. First there’s a ton of pepper flakes on top. Second the fish wasn’t steamed. It has a rich slightly oily taste. I believe it was par cooked in oil, what some Chinese chefs call “passing through oil” and others call “velveting.” Some might find the fish too oily but I liked the added richness to the light fish.

I finish off with a veggie. This is pretty simple, a big mound of Napa stir fried with dried chili pepper. It’s simple, filling, and makes me feel a little bit better for adding a green with my meats.

I have to thank Dong Ting Spring for finally giving me a true taste of Hunan. After years of nibbling at the edges I finally got a bite of the real stuff. I hope it never becomes a Johnny Rockets.

Dumpling Hunt Part 9: Mei Long Village

2009-08-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Go to any LA Foodie blog or message board, do a search on XLB or "Soupy Dumplings" and there's one restaurant name that will pop up over and over again; Mei Long Village. Mei Long Village has a reputation for the best XLB in the San Gabriel Valley. Tasting Table just did a blog on XLB and prominently mentioned Mei Long Village. With that much buzz it was only a matter of time before I checked it out myself.

So that's how I found myself sitting down for lunch one Saturday ordering the "Shanghai Steamed Dumplings" and the "Crab and Pork Steamed Dumplings." First thing I noticed was that it was nearly deserted on a Saturday near noon. Of all the spots on my Dumpling Hunt, this was the least busy I'd been to. Din Tai Fung, Mama's Lu, Luscious Dumplings were all slammed by comparison. There was just one other family eating with me the entire time. Something was up. Places that are supposed to serve the best anything aren't usually dead on a Saturday at noon.

I received my order. First thing I should clarify is that Tasting Table gets the prices wrong. The XLB or Shanghai Dumplings aren't $5.50 for 10 they're $5.95 for 10 and they don't have crab filling in them. The pork and crab dumplings are $6.95 for 8.

First the XLB. Tasting Table says the skins are very thin and prone to breakage. Now I don't wield the most gentle set of chopsticks around but I was still able to finish all 20 of my Din Tai Fung dumplings without a single break. This batch I lost two transferring them to my soup spoon. But worse than that there were at least three dumplings that had holes in the bottom so had no soup to lose. Half my order of soupy dumplings had no soup. Not to accuse anyone, but fresh made wrappers are pliable and less apt to break. It certainly appears as if the batch I got either was left to dry out or else was made with dry (pre-made) wrappers. Neither a good sign.

So how were the 5 dumplings that had soup in them. They were all right. They're weren't bad but they were hardly transcendent. To be honest I greatly prefer the dumplings at Din Tai Fung or Mama's Lu.

As for the pork and crab dumplings, they were good. If there was supposed to be soup inside then I got a completely botched batch. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they were supposed to just regular dumplings. They tasted good. There was a taste of crab. But just a taste. You shouldn't go in expecting to chunks of Alaskan King mixed in with your dumplings.

All in all a pretty disappointing lunch given what I had heard. Now I will be going back to Mei Long Village for dinner. I want to try their braised pork leg (called Pork Pump on the menu)and the fish tails and a few other items. But as a lunch spot and a dumpling spot, it's off my list. And from the looks of things when I was there, I suspect I'm not the only one who's written the place off.

Dumpling Hunt Part 8: Kang Kang Food Court

2009-08-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

Kang Kang Food Court

It took me a few moments to spot Kang Kang Food Court in Monterey Park. That was because the sign over the top still says “Shau May Restaurant.” If you’re driving up Garfield from Garvey, look for the big yellow ABC Café. Right next to it you’ll see lettering say Shau May Restaurant but once you get to the door, the menu says Kang Kang Food Court.

Kang Kang is a Taiwanese style food court a cafeteria style eatery where you can get 1 to 4 items with steamed rice and soup. But they serve things you won’t find in Panda express. Kang Kang offers dishes from all over China. Their menu includes selections from Taiwan, Northern, Eastern and Southern China as well as several house specialties, breakfast items and number of drink options.

I decided to go with the “Shanghai Pan Fried Small Bao” from Eastern China and the “Jing Dong Meat Pie” from Northen China. I placed my order at the counter and picked one of the numbered tables to sit down at. My food arrived on plastic trays with disposable plates and a plastic spoon. I had a flashback to my high school cafeteria.

The Shanghai Bao where a like the “Soup Dumplings” (XLB) I had sampled at Din Tai Fung or Mama’s Lu with one big exception. These were pan fried. They were gorgeous to look at. That had wonderfully golden bottoms and their white tops were sprinkled with black sesame. The only problem came when I bit into them to release the hot soup inside. The wrapper was hard and crisp even on top. It wasn’t like a dumpling or noodle at all and completely like a bao or bun. I’d almost describe it as a Beard Papa crème puff but with soup and meat inside. That posed a few challenges. For one the didn’t give me a soup bowl or a wide Chinese style soup spoon. I had to make do with a small plate and a regular sized plastic spoon. That may have just been a mistake on their part. They have a lot of soups on the menu, I’m sure they have wider spoons and actual bowls available. The second challenge the stiffer structure meant that there were often little pockets of hot soup still waiting inside even after I had chewed off a little hole and dumped out the broth onto the plate. Too bad I had so many difficulties because the taste was excellent. The crispy coating, the big nugget of pork filling inside and even the broth which I ended up squirting over the table all worked together beautifully. I’ll have to make sure I’m better equipped next time I order them.

The Jing Dong Meat Pie however was the exact opposite of the Shanghai Bao. Where the Shanghai Bao were complex and intricate, this was as simple as it gets. It was a ground meat with cabbage, green onions, and ginger wrapped in a pancake and then deep fried. The large pie was sliced into pieces and served. It sat on the plate plain and unadorned. It was fantastic. Part of the reason I loved it so much is that it triggered a taste memory for me. My family used to make our own egg rolls. We made them our own way with lots of meat and only a little bit of cabbage, not the restaurant version that was 80% vegetable. This meat pie took me back to those days. It had the crunchy wrapper and inside was pork with a big hit of ginger and a little tang from cabbage. It was simple, filling and inviting. It’s the kind of thing I could eat everyday and not get tired of.

I rounded out the meal with a trip to Taiwan for dessert. Kang Kang Food Court serves Taiwanese Ice Slush, a simple dish of 3 or 4 items on a plate covered in a mountain of shaved ice and a squirt of sugar syrup. I went with the 3 items and picked peaches, pineapple (both from out of a can apparently) and for my third I went with the sweeten read bean. The lady behind the counter scooped everything onto a plastic plate and then proceeded to bury it under a mini mountain of shaved ice. When I got it back to my table it looked like I had the top of Pike’s Peak sitting on my tray. The first few spoonfuls were nothing but ice and it was hard not to cause some small avalanches as I dug deeper into the fruit and bean mixture on the bottom. The peaches and pineapple were a really cold fruit salad. The red beans were sweetened but still had that texture and taste to it. It was strange eating beans for dessert but I started to like it after my second bite. The dish was mostly water so it was a relief on that blistering hot summer’s day.

The prices were reasonable. My three course dinner cost me $15. The price range went from under $1 to $11. The place was fast and cheap but still good. Don’t go there for an elaborate banquet. But if you’re low on funds and craving a little Chinese, don’t waste those dollars on Panda Express. Check this place out instead.

Kang Kang Food Court
104 N. Garfield Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 571-2727
Price Range: From under $1 to $11

Dumpling Hunt Part 7: Luscious Dumplings

2009-08-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

There was a line outside the door when I arrived at Luscious Dumplings in San Gabriel. The small shop was located inside a strip mall off of Las Tunas Dr. Outside its doors there were already four groups ahead of me. The waiter handed me an order form and told me it would be 15 to 20 minutes. I waited and mingled with the small crowd. There was pizza parlor completely devoid of customers just next door. But nobody in the group waiting to be seated even gave it a second glance.

I looked over the brief but flavorful menu. It featured familiar items like celery and pork dumplings, stewed pork noodle soup. There were also more adventurous items like beef tendon in hot sour sauce and fried dumplings with chive, pork, egg, and glass noodle filling. I decided on fried pork dumplings. Then I waited for my number to be called.

While I waited I glanced down at the hours of operation sign and saw what accounted for the lines. In addition to having only about 8 tables, Luscious Dumplings was only open for customers a total of 33 hours every week. Tuesday through Saturday it was open from 11AM to 2PM for lunch and then again for dinner from 5PM to 8PM. Sundays it was only open for lunch 11 t o2 and Monday it was closed. If you wandered in looking for a mid afternoon snack or a late dinner, you were out of luck.

Once I got inside the place was bustling and filled with Chinese families and friends out for Saturday lunch.

I sat down to my drink and a small dish of pickled cabbage. It was slightly sweet and had a nice tang.

My dumplings came. These looked like the usually Pot Stickers I’ve had a million times at Dim Sum restaurants. There was one difference. These had some kind of glaze on the fried side, something sweet and sugary that caramelized on the dumplings. The fried side was sticky sweet and a nice surprise. The sweetness was a nice counter to the pickled cabbage or the heat of the chili oil that used as a dipping sauce. The pork filling was juicy. There wasn’t a lot of garlic or ginger covering up the simple pork taste. It was a fine dumpling. The glaze was an added treat though it did cause a few of my dumplings to stick together.

The price for 10 dumplings was $6. It was a good price but there are better deals to be had in the San Gabriel Valley. Mama’s Lu Dumpling House serves 10 Juicy Pork Dumplings (XLB) for $4.99. The 8 monster sized pan fried dumplings at Qing Dao Bread Food are just a dollar more. And $6 can be a feast at Yung Ho Tou Chiang. Still no one was complaining at the busy Luscious Dumplings. I don’t know if the crowds are like that all the time (though I’d love to visit 6 days straight to find out) but if Saturday is any indication, be prepared to wait.

Luscious Dumplings
704 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 282-8695
Price Range: $6 for 10 dumplings (or 8 of the “Pork with Soup” XLB) or $6 for a bowl of noodle soup with 5 dumplings.

Banh Mi at Sandwich Express in Reseda

2009-07-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Living in Van Nuys means I can’t get out to the San Gabriel Valley as often as I like (which is constantly.) That’s bad news when I’ve got a late night craving for 101 Beef Roll. But the good news is I don’t have to trek all the way to Mr. Baguette and Lee’s Sandwiches when I start jonesing for a good Banh Mi. Relief is just down the road at Sandwich Express in Reseda.

Heading West on Sherman Way past the airport on a Sunday night there’s little traffic by the time I hit Reseda. I find a spot on a side street easy enough and head over to Sandwich Express.

The outside is a little faded. The sign could do with another coat of paint. It doesn’t look like a place from great Vietnamese sandwiches from the outside. At first glance one might mistake it for an Italian sub place.

Inside is crisp, clean operation though it could use more menu displays. They have an excellent Banh Mi menu on the wall and Slush menu behind the counter area. But there’s a whole counter of food options on the one side and I had no idea what they were offering.

I start things off with a Kiwi Slush with boba. It was bright green, sweet and tart, just like a fresh kiwi fruit. Kiwi makes a very good dessert or sweet drink.

The Banh Mi is ready a few moments later. I order the special which apparently means a little bit of everything. The sandwich is stuffed with red cured pork, white pork loaf, rich pate, headcheese, mayo and even a few shrimp. The pickled vegetables are cut thicker than at Mr. Baguette or Lee’s and they include a few spears of cucumber. The meats were very porky. The cured pork was chewy and would have been tough it wasn’t sliced paper thin. The headcheese had a nice bit of cartilage in it. The pickled veggies provided a nice crunch and acid and the jalapenos gave it a bit of heat. As usual the sandwiches were a bargain, $2.95. With my drink it was a filling meal all for just over $5 total.

On my way out I noticed a small shrine by the door. I don’t know whether it is meant to welcome guests or bring in good luck. Sandwich Express deserves plenty of both.

Sandwich Express
18575 Sherman Way
Reseda, CA 91335
(818) 757-7698
Price Range: $2.95 for sandwiches.

Dumpling Hunt Part 6: Rice balls and Ginger Bean Milk at Yung Ho Tou Chiang

2009-07-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

When I got to Yung Ho Tou Chiang they were already putting the chairs up and starting to mop the floors. I was afraid I was too late. The menu said open till 6 PM and it was just before 5. Time I thought for a quick early dinner. Turns out when they say close at 6 PM they mean the place is shut and the staff is on its way home by 6. Of course this way I avoided the lunch and breakfast rush.

Yung Ho Tou Chiang is located on valley just before the New Ave. intersection. It’s in a strip mall with a fair sized parking lot. Arriving in the early evening there was plenty of spaces.

Inside the space was quite large and impressive for strip mall place. They showed me to a booth and gave me the menu.

The first thing that caught my eye was the prices. Most of the items under the Dim Sum were $2 or less. Some items went as low as 85 cents. The rest of the menu was also a bargain. Soups and Noodle or Rice dishes were between $4 and $6.50. Cold Dishes were ranged from $1.50 to $2.50. There were a few items scattered around that were $8, $9 and one was $15. But overall the menu was made for the budget conscious.

I stuck with the dim sum portion of the menu. I ordered a Sweet/Cold Ginger Bean Milk for $1.30. It was a glass of soy milk with a heavy taste of ginger. It was pretty refreshing on a hot day.

Next came a Mushroom with Pork Bun for $1.00. It was a good sized steamed bao with a filling that was more pork than mushroom and had little dried shrimp as well. The filling was seasoned with soy and ginger. The bun was a little on the heavy side but there was a good ratio filling to bread.

After that came the only real disappointment. I ordered the Beef Pan Cake for $2.75. It was a bit of a let down compared to the exquisite Beef Roll at 101 Noodle Express. The beef filling was tender, rich and had a strong anise flavor to it. But instead of spreading the filling out evenly over the pancake and wrapping it, they first folded the pancake on itself, put the filling in the center, coated the outside with sesame seed and fried it on both sides. The pancake was heavy and a little tough where it was folded in on itself.

After that however came a real treat, Rice Ball Soup with Mushroom and Pork for $3.50. It was a clear broth with four dumplings floating in it. It was topped with a generous helping of cilantro and crispy onion flakes. The dumplings resembled little matzo balls. They were made of glutinous rice flour and had a meat filling inside each one. The outside was sticky and slightly sweet. Like matzo balls, they expanded when they reached the stomach. The filling was the same pork and mushroom mix from the bao. The whole thing may be a little salty for some people’s taste but I found it excellent.

The whole meal came out to less than $10. This is a place to eat up and not break the wallet. The rice balls are superb and a great bargain at $3.50. Just try and get there early.

Yung Ho Tou Chiang
533 W. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 570-0860
Price Range: Dim Sum menu from $0.85 to $5.75

Dumpling Hunt Part 5: Fish dumplings and Pan Fried Heaven at Qing Dao Bread Food

2009-07-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

The next stop on my Dumpling Hunt I owe to Chowhound Chandavkl who said that this place had the best sole dumplings in LA.

Qing Dao Bread Food is inside a strip mall on Garfield Avenue in Monterey Park. But don’t expect to find parking. The courtyard style mall is home to several busy eateries. Fortunately I found street parking within short walking distance. Qing Dao has a very modest storefront.

Inside it is even simpler, just a narrow strip of floor space running from the door to the back with the kitchen and bakery case dominating the rest of the shop. An electric fan was set up to provide air circulation but I didn’t find it stuffy or hot inside which was surprising. Nearly every one of the tables was occupied and the kitchen was bringing out tray after tray of steaming dumplings. You’d think this place would be a sweatbox in the middle of winter.

Along the wall were large pictures of the food offered. I zeroed in on the boiled fish and leek dumplings and the pork and shrimp pan fried dumplings.

First came the fish dumplings. They were 12 of them fresh out of the pot judging by the cloud of steam that hung over them. They came with a small saucer of sauce with at least two cloves of freshly crushed garlic. The dumpling skins were thick but soft and not too chewy. They had the right amount of filling so you got the right amount of fish to noodle. The filling was no delicate French style fish mousse. The filling was firm, hearty and speckled with green scallions and not overly fishy. Dipped in the garlic sauce and a little vinegar really added to them.

Next came the pan fried dumplings. I order potstickers every time I go out for dim sum, so I was expecting the same here. The first thing I noticed was that these dumplings were much bigger. I got 8 with my order they were enough to easily feed 2 or 3 people. They were at least twice the size of the largest potstickers I’d ever ordered. They were puffed up white pillows on one side and golden brown and crispy on the other. I bit into the first one and seared the roof of my mouth (with only a glass of hot tea to drink!) Inside medley of ground pork and big pieces of whole shrimp. The wrappers were very thick. On the pan fried side where they were seared the dough was cooked through and slightly risen. It was bread, like a bao or a pancake. The tops were they had steamed were like a thick noodle or Western style boiled dumpling. It was a great mix of textures and the stuffing inside was savory and lip smacking good.

I tried a variety of dipping sauces. I mixed some of the chili oil with soy to create a tongue burning dip. That was a little too much. It got in the way of the great texture and flavor of the dumpling. I tried the vinegar which was better. Eventually I settled on a little bit of soy or nothing at all.

Both orders cost $6.95 each. Given the amount of food it was a bargain. Both orders could have easily have been split among friends.

With apologies to Chandavkl, I enjoyed the fish dumplings but the pan fried ones were what really grabbed my attention.

Qing Dao Bread Food
301 N Garfield Ave
Ste G
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 312-6978
Price Range: $6.95 per dumpling order

Fat Fish After 8

2009-07-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

K-Town has so many spots for drinks and food it’s going to take me a while to get through them all.

Late night I find Fat Fish, a very trendy sushi bar offering a sweet deal. $2 sushi from 8 PM till close. I saunter inside to check it out.

It’s near deserted. The place closes in 15 minutes but there’s still plenty of sushi rolling out on the conveyor belt.

I have a soft spot for conveyor belt sushi. Purists will argue it goes against the very idea of sushi, that great sushi can only be hand made to order, that it shouldn’t left sitting around on a buffet line or a conveyor belt. For the most part I agree. I’ve been to Todai and had the all you can eat buffet and no it is not the ideal way to serve sushi. But things are a little different at Fat Fish. The sushi IS being made fresh and put on the conveyor. Some items may have taken a few more spins than others but the freshness is better than a buffet line which may be changed every hour or so at best. And I like the idea of a sushi place closing out with a bargain binge. Rather than putting fish back into the deep freeze for next day’s service, they’re unloading as much of it as they can. Sort of like a good fish market offering deals towards the end of the day.

Well that’s my theory. How did it turn out? I was pleasantly surprised for the most part. I kept it simple and grabbed three dishes off the line.

The first was Yellowtail Nigiri Sushi. Anytime you can grab two pieces of yellowtail for $2 it’s a good night. A quick dip in soy and I popped them into my mouth. The rice was room temperature but still soft. The fish had a little richness to it. It wasn’t perfect, melt in your mouth buttery like you can get at top sushi places, but for the cost better than I expected.

The next I grabbed a tartare of salmon and tuna with a spicy mango salsa. It was colorful and definitely the star of the evening. It was just the right amount of spice and didn’t overwhelm the fish. The salmon was nicely fatty. The only drawback was the mango dice of the salsa. A little hard to eat with chopsticks, I ended up shoveling them off my plate and into my mouth.

I was disappointed in my squid sushi. It looked great on the plate topped with bright red fish roe, but it was tough and chewy. I confess it was no worse than the squid sushi at Kabuki but it was definitely no better.

Overall I couldn’t complain. For $6 I got six pieces of sushi that would normally cost me $16. It’s street parking but I was able to find a spot nearby (me the city’s worst parallel parker.) Fat Fish closes at 11 PM so it can’t really be called a late night spot. But if you’re between karaoke clubs near 6th Street and feel like popping in for a quick sushi fix, Fat Fish is a good choice.

Fat Fish
3300 W 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 384-1304
Price Range: $2 Sushi from 8PM to Close (except for Uni and Salmon Roe which are usual price and made to order. As they should be!)

Thai Gulch Part 3: Tasty Little Plates at Bua Siam

2009-07-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

My first few months in LA I spent most of my time driving up and down Sherman Way. That’s how I first became familiar with Thai Gulch. One of the first restaurants I tried and the one that became my favorite is the very definition of Hole-In-The-Wall, Bua Siam.

You really have to look hard. Bua Siam is easy to miss. It’s in the same strip mall as the impossible-to-miss Cha Chaa. If you look down Cha Chaa’s yellow exterior to the corner and then look a little left, you’ll see it. From the outside it looks no bigger than a postage stamp.

The interior, well, at first I thought it was the same size as my apartment. That might be too generous. It is a very small space with just a few tables they got from Ikea down the street in Burbank. But it never felt cramped, at least not to me. The dining area is always spotless. There’s a decorative fountain in the corner that’s constantly running (giving the space good Fung Shui I believe.)

When I first came to Bua Siam it was for exotic dishes from all over Thailand. They used to serve a wild boar curry that I ordered every time. The menu has since changed and wild boar no linger makes an appearance. However the reason I’ve continued to come back to Bua Siam is their small plates. They have several of their dishes available in tapas sized platters at prices ranging from $4 to $2.99. A filling lunch can be had for under $10. They offer bay leaf stew, rice cakes with shrimp sauce, and an excellent version of the Thai “jerky”, beef or pork deep fried and served with a spicy sauce.

Last Sunday I make a stop at Bua Siam and go for two small plates that I haven’t had before. Both had very long English names and my apologies if I don’t get them exactly right. The first was called Soup with Broad Rice Noodles, Fish Ball, Squid and Red Sauce. What came was a bright red soup with broad flat noodles and a treasure trove of goodies. Floating in the broth was a huge piece of white fungus. In addition to the fish balls and squid there were deep fried puffs of tofu and slices of fish cake. The red broth was mildly spicy, sweet and acidic. The rice noodles were perfectly soft and great to slurp up.

Next came Thai Spaghetti with Pork Spare Ribs and Tomato Sauce. Again the description did not disappoint. The dish was thin rice noodles with a spicy tomato based sauce. It was topped with bits of ground pork and small nuggets of stewed sparerib. The ribs were falling off the bone tender. You just had to pop them in your mouth and suck off the meat. The sauce and noodles had a little spice. There were pieces of whole dried chili on top should you want a real kick with your lunch.

Bua Siam never seems crowded yet is never empty for long. Soon after I sat down, nearly all the places were filled. It’s a little gem in Thai Gulch. One I hope will last for years to come.

Bua Siam
12924 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605
(818) 765-8395
Price Range: Small Plates $2.99 to $4.00, Entrees mostly under $10

Sichuan Sundae: Hot, Numbing, Sweet and Chocolatey

2009-07-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I get a hankering to just experiment in the kitchen. The results were not what I anticipated though.

This all started when I saw a Travel Channel program on Las Vegas and they featured a bartender who had invented a number of out there cocktails like the Carrot Cake Martini. I decided to give it a try with one of my favorite flavor combinations, the hot numbing combination of Sichuan.

I researched Sichuan Cocktails on line and found there were a few of them being offered. But they were concentrating on different flavor profiles like the lychee. A few did have the Sichuan peppercorns sprinkled in but these cocktails didn’t contain any heat for the peppercorns to counteract. I set out to create a drink that combined the red hot chili flavor with the floral taste and numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns.

I started by making a simple syrup, equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil.

To that I added my crushed chili flakes and Sichuan peppercorns.

I brought them to heat then let the mixture steep.

The resulting syrup was spicy hot and sweet, but alas very little of the Sichuan peppercorn came through. This may have more to do with the quality of my peppercorns. I’ve found their flavor and strength can vary wildly depending on where you buy them. The best ones I’ve found so far come from Pacific Natural Spices and can be purchased at Light My Fire. Really good Sichuan peppercorns can numb out the mouth with just a few grains. The ones I had in my pantry weren’t nearly as potent. I tried a cocktail but the results were disappointing. Truly no better than a pepper infused vodka with a little syrup and soda.

However a few days later I had a hankering for some chocolate ice cream. I remembered the Aztecs used to mixed chocolate and chili, the chili being a relative of the vanilla plant. I decided to turn my cocktail experiment into a dessert experiment. I poured the syrup over the ice cream and sprinkled on some fresh Sichuan peppercorns for good measure.

Much better. The chili and chocolate are a strange combination that really works. The bitterness of the chocolate and the heat of the chili match each other beautifully in a taste reminiscent of mole. The milk in the ice cream kept the heat at bay. There was even a pleasant numbing after taste from the Sichuan Peppercorns at the end. The only problem was the syrup ran down the sides and collected in a fiery pool. The solution was easy. Take one brownie or piece of chocolate pound cake and have it act as a base to soak up any stray syrup. I tried it the next night and it was wonderful.

So the recipe for those of you brave enough to try is quite simple.

Sichuan Sundae

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Red Chili Flakes
1-2 scoops Your favorite Chocolate Ice Cream per serving
1-2 Brownies or Slice of Chocolate Pound Cake per serving
Sichuan Peppercorns for topping (depending on the strength of the peppercorns you may need 5-10 peppercorns or a whole teaspoon)

1. Make the Syrup – Combine the 1 cup of water and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is completely dissolved and a boil is reached, add the 2 Tablespoons Red Chili Flakes. Take the syrup off the heat and let it cool and steep. Once completely cool, strain the chili flakes and keep for later use.

2. Assemble the Sundae – Lay the brownie or cake slices on the bottom of the serving dish. Scoop the chocolate ice cream onto the brownie. Drizzle the chili syrup over the ice cream. Top with the Sichuan Peppercorns.

Here’s the result

© Michael J Lee July 22, 2009

Great Banh Mi in Rosemead

2009-07-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

In this economy, everyone is looking to cut back on expenses especially on eating out. But if you want to save money but not give up quality, check out Valley Blvd. Starting at Alhambra and heading east, you’ll find some of the finest bargain meals to be had in the entire city. One of the best combinations of quality and price is the Banh Mi, or Vietnamese sandwich. The boulevard is lined with Vietnamese offering all kinds of delicacies. There are dozens of bakeries and sandwich shops serving Banh Mi. But there’s a stretch of Valley in Rosemead where two of the most well known purveyors of this Vietnamese classic are just a few blocks apart from each other; Lee’s Sandwiches and Mr. Baguette.

I start at Lee’s Sandwiches. It’s not a Mom and Pop operation as evidenced by the slickly constructed exterior. It has its own parking lot and a drive through so getting in and out is a snap. From the outside you’d think it was a KFC or Boston Market. Lee’s isn’t that huge but it is a multi state franchise with over 30 locations.

Inside it looks just like any other major chain fast food joint. But look closer at the menu and you’ll find durian ice cream, red bean smoothies, and mini pork pate chaud. It’s the American Fast Food model applied to Southeast Asian food.

For my Banh Mi I order the Cured Pork and Pork Roll. It’s a hearty 10 inch sandwich cut into two pieces. The meats are sliced deli thin. The cured pork is red almost like Chinese char sui and has a slight ham flavor. The almost white pork roll reminds me a little bit of good bologna sausage but made with pork. The sandwich is topped with pickled carrot and daikon, the sliced jalapeno that gives it a kick and the cilantro tops it all off. It costs just $2.75. It has the national chain sandwich places beat by a mile in both cost and taste. What’s there to brag about in a $5 foot long?

While Lee’s Sandwiches may be a superior fast food chain my next stop, Mr. Baguette, was in a whole different league. I gladly call it fine dining off paper plates and plastic trays. Mr. Baguette has only three locations but you should find the one closest to you and make it a regular stop. The one in Rosemead is off a fairly quiet street so if the parking lot is crowded you can find street parking easy enough.

From its name you know Mr. Baguette prides itself on one thing in particular. They offer their house made baguettes with everything from clam chowder to sandwiches to just plain.

They also offer the traditional Vietnamese meats, also house made. It’s a tempting display. But I’ve already had a cold Banh Mi, I decide to go for something warmer and order the grilled pork sandwich.

I get a foot long baguette filled with grilled pork for $3.75 (I didn’t have a tape measure but it sure looked like a foot.) The pickled vegetables and sliced jalapenos came separately in a plastic baggie.

It was I was feeling pretty full from Lee’s and I considered eating only half and taking the rest home with me. That plan changed as soon as I bit into it. One taste and I knew I was going to finish the whole thing right there. The first thing that got me was the crunch of the crust. It crackled beautifully every time it met my teeth. But it wasn’t too hard. There was the “broken glass” effect you sometimes get with really hard (or stale) crust. After the crunch it was tender inside. It held the meat and vegetables inside but wasn’t too tough or chewy, perfect sandwich bread. This may be the first time I ate a sandwich and was so thoroughly taken with the bread, but it was almost like a magic trick. You wondered how they could do it. Not the filling was any slouch. The pork was juicy with salty glaze and a little grilled smokiness, the pickled vegetables provided the tang, and the jalapenos gave it just the right amount of punch. My only regret was that I only had room for one sandwich. I have to go back and try all the others. I can’t imagine shelling out $5 any more for a sandwich served in what amounts to an oversized hot dog roll.

Great food for under $5? It is there to be had if you’re on the right street.

Lee’s Sandwiches (Rosemead)
8779 E. Valley Blvd.
Rosemead CA 91770
(626) 291-2688
Price Range: Between $2.75 and $2.95 for most sandwiches

Mr. Baguette (Rosemead)
8702 E Valley Blvd.
Rosemead CA 91770
(626) 288-9166
Price Range: Between $3.75 and $5.50 for most sandwiches

Beef Roll and Soup at 101 Noodle Express

2009-07-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

It’s easy to drive right by 101 Noodle Express in Alhambra if you don’t speak Chinese. At the strip mall where it’s at, the Chinese is prominently featured on the main sign. The words “101 Noodle Express” are in smaller print and off to the side. Even standing right in front of the restaurant itself you can miss its small compact English name. Best to look for the strip mall with the bowling alley in the center (though that place appears to be closed for business.)

Once you’re in find a table quick. This place really fills up at lunch time. I was lucky to grab the last available and sit down. The interior is a slick version of a neighborhood joint. There are framed glossy posters of signature dishes and an HD display of the lamb soup.

But one dish in particular 101 Noodle Express is known for, the Beef Roll (Niu Ruo Juan Bing.) The dish is simple but the execution perfect. A thin flour pancake, beautifully toasted with golden brown spots all over its surface, is slathered with a hoisin-like sauce, sliced beef that’s been cooked fork tender and plenty of cilantro. The whole thing is then rolled into a tube like a burrito or sandwich wrap. You get two mammoth rolls for one order costing $6.75. Each one is cut into three pieces the size of a McDonald’s cheeseburger. But the golden arches doesn’t have anything that can compete with the Beef Roll in terms of flavor. The pancake is nicely crispy. The meat is falling apart tender. It had bits of tendon and connective tissue cooked soft giving the beef even more richness and flavor. The hoisin sauce was sweet with a slight tang like good BBQ sauce but with a little pungency from the fermented beans, it went perfectly with the cilantro.

For those wanting more of a spicier kick to their meal, there is the usual chili oil at your table side but also something else, a green “salsa” made of cilantro and finely diced green chili. It packs a real punch. I tried some of it on the Beef Roll and it gave it a nice burn but honestly I loved the sweet rich flavor of the roll on its own.

The Beef Roll is more than enough for one person, but I went a little overboard and also ordered the Dalu Noodle. It arrived in a huge bowl. In appearance the soup resembled the Hot and Sour soup my family makes, a thickened broth with egg “rags” floating throughout. But there was no vinegar or white pepper in this soup. Instead there was a pile of noodles, cabbage, and tender pork. It was seasoned with ginger and had wood ear tree fungus in it. It was simple, hearty and filling. It would be a great soup to have in the middle of winter.

The soup cost $5.99. With the Beef Roll, my lunch could have fed 6 people (a Chinese soup-and-sandwich meal) for under $14.

When you’re on Valley Blvd. in Alhambra keep your eyes peeled for 101. It would be a shame to drive right by this one.

101 Noodle Express
1408 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 300-8654
Price Range: Between $4.99 and $7.50 for most dishes.

Apologies While I Move Stuff Around

2009-07-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

My apologies to loyal readers. As you can see I've changed templates and well it's like moving into a new house. A lot of unpacking and cleaning to do and a few things get lost. Take for example my bloglist.

Sorry Diva. Sorry LA Foodie. All my widgets got tossed. I will restore connections ASAP.

I will also be getting back with more reviews starting tomorrow.

Thanks all for reading!

Addictive Hot Numbing Food at Chung King

2009-07-18T11:02:00.001-07:00

There are places you just go to again and again. There are places that just call to you. Chung King has that hold over me.

This wasn't the first place where I encountered the real flavor of Sichuan, but it's the one that I've kept coming back to for about 3 years now.

Chung King lies just South of Garvey Ave on Garfield with ample parking in back. You walk into a very humble looking establishment. With the glass covered refrigeration unit in the front it could almost be mistaken for an ice cream parlor. But inside that unit isn't ice cream It's your first big introduction to Sichuan cooking. In Sichuan they begin a meal with cold appetizers. This is a shock to anyone who's used to egg rolls or even dim sum before the meal. The cold dishes at Chung King are some of the best and a selection of 3 can be had for under $6. There are thin slices of pig's ear, roasted peanuts with tiny salted fish, marinated vegetables, but the real stars are the meats slathered in hot numbing sauce. Sichuan is famous for the sichuan peppercorn which doesn't produce heat. Instead it provides a numbing effect on the mouth and tongue. When mixed with fiery hot sauce and red pepper, the effect is amazing. You can feel the burn build in your mouth, but just as it seems steam will come rushing out your ears the sichuan peppercorns take effect and numb out the mouth. It's an addictive sensation of pain and pleasure. The cold hot numbing dishes at Chung King include tripe, pork, chicken, and thin slices of dried jerky like meat.

Next, the entrees. I always order one of the "boiled in hot sauce" dishes when I'm there. These are also known as "water boiled" dishes (they have a sick sense of humor in Sichuan.) At Chung King you can get a variety of meats including Pacific snapper along with wilted lettuce and water celery. It comes to you swimming in a bright red chili sauce. It looks like instant death if you try to eat it. But not to fear it's sprinkled with sichuan peppercorns (and red chili flakes) so you get the hot numbing effect with every bite.

A little less friendly to the stomach are the pickled pepper dishes. These comes with a generous helping pickled and dried peppers with no sichuan peppercorns to soften the blow. These do a number on the taste buds. I usually order the stir fried eels with pickled peppers. These aren't the sweet unagi you're used to in sushi bars. These are small strips of fish. They have a briney flavor that goes well with the burn of the chilies.

Finally there's another dish to try, the fired chicken with chilies. This is a good "dare" dish because it's cubes of deep fried chicken tossed in a wok with oil, sichuan peppercorns and a ton of whole chili peppers. It comes to your table with as many chilies as pieces of chicken. But don't let the wait staff fool you, you're only supposed to eat the chicken pieces, which have absorbed the oil. Of course if you're insane and want to eat the chilies as well that's up to you.

Chung King
206 S Garfield Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 280-7430
Price range: under 6$ for the appetizers, entrees no more than $15, cash only

Spicy and Sour Rice Noodles at Dandan’s Guilin

2009-07-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

I returned to Focus Plaza and Dandan’s Guilin Rice Noodles this time for dinner.

Focus Plaza was just as sprawling as I remembered it. I tried to grab a spot in the two level underground lot to get my aging car out of the sun. No luck. In the summer months those are the first spots to fill up. I did manage to find some shade though beneath a tree.

The first time I came I was on a dumpling hunt. This time I was free to sample their entire menu. There’s very little English at Dandan’s. The menu has English translation but the order form is all in Chinese with numbers so be careful what you point to. The waitress spoke very little English but it didn’t get in the way of my ordering.

Like all Sichuan and other Western Chinese restaurants they offer a selection of cold appetizers. You can get a combination of any three for $3.99. I decided to go spicy and protein heavy. I ordered Super Spicy Beef, Super Spicy Pig’s Ear, and Super Spicy Shredded Tofu.

All three items arrived piled onto one plate. All three dishes glistened with red chili oil. There were red pepper flakes and stems of cilantro. The taste was numbing hot, that mixture of red chili and Sichuan peppercorn that I find completely addictive. The red chili burns at the same time the Sichuan peppercorns numb the mouth and tongue. It’s a taste sensation unlike any other. The beef was dried to almost jerky consistency and sliced paper thin. The pig’s ears were also sliced thin, chewy and gelatinous with strip of cartilage running down the middle that has a bit of a crunch. It might not be for everyone but Chinese food is all about a variety of flavors and textures. The shredded bean curd was something new to me. The bean curd was compressed until nearly the consistency of hard cheese then sliced thing and cut into strips like short noodles. To see it on the plate, it looked like a cold pasta salad. The tofu shreds held their texture until you bit into them then they melted inside the mouth.

The next dish was a bowel of their rice noodles. I chose the Guilin Spicy & Sour Beef Rice Noodle.

It was a large bowl of rice noodles, wilted lettuce and sliced cooked beef topped with pickled vegetables, toasted peanuts and a healthy dose of red chili flakes. You pour the broth over the noodles and start eating. The rice noodles are thicker than the one you find in Vietnamese Pho. If Pho noodles are vermicelli then these would be more like Thick Spaghetti. They made the soup very hearty and filling. The heat was intense with no Sichuan peppercorns to provide relief. The sour component came from the pickles, mustard greens and green beans. They had a strong vinegar taste that spread through the soup. This was a filling meal and at $5.99.

I also ordered something from the Guilin Country-Side Style Dishes. I got the Guilin Special Preserved Duck. I’ve had the Hunan version of preserved duck before. This was nothing like the Hunan preparation. The Hunan duck is like Prosciutto. What arrived at my table looked like, well, duck.

It was topped with peanuts and had nice flavored jus all around it. It didn’t taste preserved at all. No excess saltiness. The meat showed no signs of drying or pickling. It appeared to be just a well seasoned stewed duck (maybe that was the point.)

I’m glad I returned to Dandan’s Guilin Rice Noodles. It’s authentic, rustic, and very affordable. My entire meal of 3 appetizers and two main dishes came out to $20.28.

Dandan's Guilin Rice Noodles
140 W Valley Blvd
Ste 203
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 307-1989

More Than Just Sweet and Sour Pork at Phoenix Inn

2009-07-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

My family’s roots are in the province of Canton now called Guangdong. The Cantonese made up most of the early waves of Chinese immigrants to the US so for decades when you went out for Chinese food, you were going out for Cantonese or at least what started out as Cantonese. As what always happens, dishes were modified to appease Western palettes. Then fast food chains and mass market food companies swooped essentially doing for Cantonese food what Chef Boyardee and Pizza Hut did to Italian cuisine (if you’re ever had the Uncle Ben’s bottled Sweet and Sour sauce then you need not fear Hell! ) So when a new wave of immigrants came ashore in the 80’s bringing with them their new unadulterated cuisines, Cantonese became yesterday’s news. That’s sad because Cantonese still has plenty to offer if you know where to look.

Phoenix Inn is one of the best known Cantonese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. It lies on East Valley Blvd. in Alhambra. Just be a little careful, past Alhambra city limits the road becomes West Valley again so depending on where you start you may have to go West to reach East Valley. The restaurant sits right beside a bank. The parking lot is in the rear. Spots for Phoenix Inn are labeled. The outside looks impressive with an awning covering outside seating.

Inside is crisp, clean, and modern. Smooth jazz pipes in from the sound system.

I sat down and looked over the menu. The restaurant has been around since 1965 and there are a few holdovers from the old days, dishes that you’ll find in PF Chang’s and other spots; Lettuce Cup with Minced Chicken, Crispy Shrimp Rolls, Sweet and Sour Pork, Pad Thai, Sliced Prime Rib with Korean BBQ Sauce, Kung Pao Chicken. But there are still plenty choices for the authentic food hunter; rice porridge with ground pork and 1000 year old egg, Ox tail stew with dried Tofu, Fried Rice with Shrimp Paste. The real deep end of the pool is the Deli selection. Phoenix Inn operates an adjoining shop where you can choose from its extensive list of desserts and pastries or a selection of very off beat cold items. They offer Artic Surf Clam in Chili Oil, Jelly Fish in Sesame Oil, Marinated Beef Shank, Duck Gizzards, Seaweed. I decide to jump in and choose the Marinated Duck Tongue for $5.95. They come straight from the deli counter in their plastic container. The waiter peals back the plastic seal and it’s ready to be eaten. The tongues sit on a bed of boiled peanuts. They look a little bit like smoked oysters. I pop the first one in my mouth. I taste soy and star anise. There’s a bone running along the bottom of each tongue. You work the meat loose from the bone with your tongue and teeth or failing that just grab the bone with the fingers and scrape off the good stuff with your teeth.. This isn’t like the beef tongue you get at the deli. There is only a little bit of meat along with softened tendon and cartilage that comes along for the ride. It’s like a bit of anise flavored duck head cheese. I find I rather like it.

My next dish is the signature item on the lunch menu at Phoenix Inn, they’re Boneless Chicken for $6.45. This is an example of a classic Cantonese dish modified in a good way. Simple boiled chicken is a classic in Cantonese cooking. Traditionally it is served hacked up bones and all, just like you get at Sam Woo’s BBQ. Chinese put the pieces in their mouths and work the flesh free of the bones with their tongues. It’s a tricky skill that most westerners and yours truly haven’t acquired. So Phoenix Inn made it easier and de-boned their chicken. At least it’s mostly de-boned. Perhaps as a nod to tradition or maybe to just pile it higher on the plate there are still some pieces with the bone in underneath the slices of breast meat. It comes lightly coated in a soy based sauce. The sauce isn’t there to overwhelm the dish, it’s just there to support it. The chicken is cooked perfectly, tender and very moist. Nothing is worse than dried out chicken breast but this one has plenty of juice. It’s a simple dish, the kind Cantonese does best whether it’s this of a quick stir fry of fresh seasonable vegetables. There’s something bold in presenting such a simple uncomplicated dish as a signature item. But they execute it just right.

The final dish came complimentary. It’s a bowl of red broth with soft stewed pork and a big piece of braised lotus root. It was flavored with the sweet red beans that come in many Chinese sweets. It was technically the dessert course. Something to cleanse the palette and perhaps balance out the inner chi. It was pleasant with a slight sweet aftertaste to it courtesy of the red bean. The pork was super tender. The lotus root didn’t have much flavor of its own but absorbed some of the sweetness of the broth. It was mild but a very refreshing way to end the meal.

Cantonese cooking still has a few treasures to be unearthed if you you’re willing to explore a little. Always try a place where the local Chinese eat and look at what they are ordering. Rice Porridge may not sound like a winner, but if you loved Campbell’s Chicken and Rice as a kid it will be a real discovery.

Phoenix Inn
208 E. Valley Blvd.
Alhambra,
626 299 1238
Price Range: :Lunch from $3 (for plain porridge) to $7.50, Dinner from $3.95 to $25, Desserts from $2.75 to $5.95

Chowhound Digest! Squiddo Lens! And the Myths of Home Stir Fry

2009-07-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

A lot happening today. I'm heading out soon to get more reviews and more pics of my favorite places but there is plenty of news I need to share.

Chowhound Digest

My review of Mama's Lu Dumpling House in Monterey Park made the Chowhound Weekly Digest! Click here to see!

5 Restaurants I Have to Take My Dad To

Over at Squidoo I've been working on a lens about my 5 favorite Chinese places. Click here to check it out.

Myths of Home Stir Fry

Time to get to the "Cooking" part of this blog. Me and my family have been making stir fried dishes at home for years. There are quite a few things I've learned and some myths that need to be dispensed with.

Myth #1 You Need a Wok in order to Stir Fry
Not true. For the last several years my dad has been stir frying using an old cast iron dutch oven. I've been using a Martha Stewart non stick skillet I picked up at K-Mart. The fact is your stove top isn't built for a wok anyway, so you either end up buying a flat bottom wok which isn't any different from a dutch oven, or one of those wok rings. It doesn't really make any difference. The vessel doesn't make the dish, your skill does. Use the vessel you're most comfortable with. Don't just use a wok just to be authentic.

Myth #2 If It Isn't the "Dragon's Breath" It Isn't Real Stir Fry
Sure you can rig up a backyard propane turkey fryer to give you the BTU's of a real restaurant quality stir fry like http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/squid-vicious-recipe/index.html Alton Brown. But why bother? For me stir fry is comfort food. I don't want to engage in a backyard engineering project every time I want beef and broccoli. Besides do you really want to be that authentic. Cooks who work the stir fry line in real restaurants don't have any hair on their forearms. It all gets singed off. Yes you won't get the "breath of the dragon" with a home range. You're veggies won't be slightly singed by the heat. But you can still get good color and carmelization. It can still taste beautiful and that's what counts.

Myth# 3 You Have to Use Cornstarch to Thicken
You don't have to do anything. You just need to do what works for you. Sometimes thickening is completely unnecessary. If you're using a rich enough stock, the sauce will thicken all on its own. Often recipes will have you marinate meat in a mixture that includes cornstarch so there's no need to add it a second time. You know how you like your sauces. You can serve them as thick or as thin as you want them. You can even do something crazy like add a pad of butter for thickening. Yes even Chinese food tastes better with butter!

Sorry for the short post but I'm off to get more material!

Giang Nan: Porky Decadence in Monterey Park

2009-07-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

I started out looking for the braised pork, a specialty of Eastern Chinese and Shanghai cuisine. For those who don’t know, Eastern China is famous for the richness and complexity of its dishes just as Western China (Sichuan) is known for its heat. Braised pork rump (often mislabeled on menus as “Pork Pump”) is supposed to be one of the most decadent dishes.

I’d heard Green Village Shanghai Restaurant in San Gabriel had the best in the city. But sadly it has closed, a victim of the recession. So I headed instead for Monterey Park and Giang Nan.

Giang Nan lies on Garfield Ave. just a stone’s throw away from the famous Sichuan restaurant, Chung King. Giang Nan is less than a block North of the intersection with Garvey, Chung King is about a block south. I just love that the fiery chili peppers at Chung King lie within walking distance to Giang Nan’s rich, porky goodness. You could cross the whole of China in just those few blocks.

Giang Nan is at the end of a strip mall with a good number of parking spaces. I arrive a little early for dinner. Service at Giang Nan starts at 5 PM sharp. Fortunately there’s plenty to keep me occupied. I do one of my favorite things and visit the local supermarket. In this case Hong Kong Supermarket right across the street from Giang Nan. Inside it’s what I’ve come to expect from Asian markets all over Los Angeles. The meat counter has cuts favored by the Chinese, pork belly and beef tendon are on display. Over at the seafood counter there’s a variety of fresh seafood including live geoduck clams.

Geoduck clams at Hong Kong Market

Five o’clock rolls around and I make my way back to Giang Nan. I get my seat and I look over the menu. Eastern Chinese is similar to Sichuan in that they have a number of cold appetizers. I pick the Marinated Jelly Pork Zhen Jiang Style. What arrives at my table will be familiar to anyone who loves charcuterie. It’s pork stewed until it falls apart then pressed into block with the cooked pig skin on top then sliced into small squares. It’s exactly like high end headcheese. You eat it with a dash of black vinegar and some slivers of ginger, same as a soup dumpling. The sweetness and acid of the vinegar and the tang of the ginger help to cut through the fatty goodness of the pork. It’s an almost perfect bite of food.

Marinated Jelly Pork Zhen Jiang Style

But my porcine fix isn’t satisfied. I came for the braised pork and I’m going to get it. It appears under the House Specials as House Special De-Greased & Braised Pork Knuckle. I order a vegetable dish as well to add some variety. I pick the Black Mushroom with Cabbage Heart.

The braised pork arrives and it is more than what I bargained for. It’s the size of a child’s head. The waiter makes the first few cuts table side. The meat and skin are meltingly tender. I don’t think it’s a knuckle. I don’t spy anything that looks like a joint. This is more of a pork leg! Turns out I didn’t have to worry about the veggies. The pork rests on a bed of sautéed spinach. As for the taste, it was pork heaven. I only wish this was December when a rich, hearty dish like this would really hit the spot. The braising liquid doesn’t seem to be much more than soy sauce and broth but the end result is something amazing, a really great BBQ that uses only a little seasoning rub. It’s the pork flavor and the richness of the meat that really make this dish. Meat, skin, and fat come apart with just the pressure of the spoon or chopsticks. The juice and fat run over everything mingled with the thickened braising liquid giving it even more of a kick. I don’t know how much they “de-greased” this dish but if it were any richer I’d have to call my cardiologist.

House Special De-Greased & Braised Pork Knuckle

My vegetable dish turns out to be mushrooms with bok choy instead of cabbage hearts. It’s an excellent side. Several times I mistake a shitake mushroom for a piece of pork. The mushrooms are meaty and perfectly cooked. They go well with the tender bok choy.

Black Mushroom with Cabbage Heart(Bok Choy)

In the end I had to take home most of this feast. I’ve been living off the scraps for the last few days and couldn’t be happier.

Giang Nan
306 N. Garfield Ave. #A-12
Monterey Park, CA 91754
626-573-3421
Price Range: From $3.95 for appetizers to $25 for special entrees

Dumpling Hunt Part 4

2009-07-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

I headed back East to Monterey Park for some more dumplings. I’d heard of a place that served excellent soup dumplings. Having already gorged myself on the soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung, I wanted to see how these stack up.

The place is called Mama's Lu Dumpling House and it’s located off Garvey Ave. Garvey is the main drag of Monterey Park and it is crammed to the gills with some of the best Chinese restaurants to be found anywhere. I was quite sure where it was but found it just a short distance East of Garfield.

It’s a pretty modest when viewed from the sidewalk. And inside it wasn’t crowded when I arrived. There wasn’t anything like the crush of people at Din Tai Fung. That maybe because Mama's Lu doesn’t open their doors until 10:30AM. At that time Din Tai Fung is already in full swing.

I sat down and took a gander at the menu. First thing that caught me was the prices. 10 juicy pork dumplings for $4.99. That was about the same price as a Happy Meal. Din Tai Fung sells 20 dumplings for around $10 so it’s the same per dumpling price of 50 cents. (But don’t go in and ask for just one dumpling like Chris Rock in I’m Gonna Git You Sucka.) Still there’s something about a $5 price tag. It just makes you feel as if you’re spending less money.

My dumplings arrived after a 15 minute wait. The first thing I noticed is they were slightly bigger than the ones at Din Tai Fung, a little bit bigger than a golf ball. They also had thicker skins so they held their shape better. It still tasted like just the right amount of noodle. Inside there was more meat filling and a little less rich soup surrounding it.

The dumpling filled up the entire spoon so it was a little hard to take a bite out of it and spill the broth into the spoon. I ended up dipping the dumplings in vinegar then holding them over my spoon with chopsticks while I nibbled a hole in them for the soup to drain out.

As for taste, they were incredible. The meat filling had ginger and garlic. The broth around was seasoned. The vinegar complimented them even better than the ones at Din Tai Fung which were more delicate. These were more robust. Ten pieces was plenty for a hearty lunch.

In this economy I don’t understand why the place isn’t swamped. With their super low prices and excellent quality food, Mama's Lu should be serving a billion people as well.

Mama's Lu Dumpling House
153 E Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91755-2954
(626) 307-5700‎
Price Range: All items under $10, 10 dumplings for $4.99

Thai Gulch Part 2

2009-07-10T11:52:00.001-07:00

Continuing my tour of Thai Gulch in North Hollywood, my next stop is one I hadn’t been to before, Rainbow Thai Cuisine. I’ve driven past the brightly colored and inviting little building hundred of times but never stopped in. Part of the reason is that’s not obvious where to park. There is a lot in the rear but they share it with an auto repair shop which can be pretty busy. The other alternative is to park right on Sherman Way which is what I ended up doing. The parking is on the street is for one hour starting after 9AM.

Inside the interior is equally colorful. There’s a TV set playing tuned to the Thai channel. They were playing some kind of strange hybrid between a soap opera and the Power Rangers. It was pretty cool.

To the food. Rainbow Thai has a full menu but also serves the small plates at $3.25 per. I immediately went for the small plates. First I ordered Suppan Noodle Soup. It’s a pretty good size bowl of soup with rice noodles, squid, fishcake, ground pork, pork balls and fish balls. It had sprinkling of toasted peanuts and hot pepper giving it a wonderful kick. The big surprise for me was the sliced green beans in the soup.

Suppan Noodle Soup

Next came the Thai Spaghetti, a small mound of rice noodles topped with curry sauce, fish balls, pickled greens, basil and, again, sliced green beans. The curry was thick with coconut milk and spices. You could hardly see the spaghetti. The fish balls were a playful touch, making it a Thai Spaghetti and meat balls. They also provided some more substance to the dish. Sometimes Thai Spaghetti can be a little too light, just noodles and curry sauce. The addition of the meat balls and the sliced green beans made it more filling.

Thai Spaghetti

My third dish the star of the meal. I ordered Pork Leg over Rice. I didn’t know what to expect. In some places “pork leg” meant pig’s trotter with a little of the shank. That’s not what they serve at Rainbow Thai. I received a real beauty. Chunks of falling apart pork meat tasting of star anise, a piece of stewed pork skin, half a hard boiled egg, pickled vegetables over steamed white rice. There was a little saucer of sweet chili paste on the side for additional seasoning. The dish really didn’t need it. The pork was so tender, juicy, and flavorful it would have done any BBQ fanatic proud. The pork skin was not crisp as some may like but it had been stewed to perfection. You could cut it with your chopsticks and it added richness to the dish like a pat of pork and anise flavored butter. There was so much flavor the rice didn’t need any soy or fish sauce.

Pork Leg over Rice

The three dishes together made for one very substantial lunch and all for just under $11. The only thing this place needs is a better parking situation.

Rainbow Thai Cuisine
13212 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605-4688
(818) 764-6989‎
Price Range: Under $10 per entrée and small dishes $3.25 each

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Thai Gulch Part 1

2009-07-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

When you think of the great streets in LA you might think of Wilshire, Sunset, Hollywood and Vine. If you’re thinking of great streets for foodie you might think of Sushi Row on Ventura Blvd. or Culver Blvd. But unless you’re a local you probably wouldn’t be thinking about Sherman Way. Sherman Way is one of the main arteries of the San Fernando Valley and it’s lined mostly with strip malls and auto shops. But there’s a section of it in North Hollywood that lovers of Thai food should not miss. It’s referred to as the Thai Gulch. It starts roughly a little past Woodman and runs to near Whitsett. The places here serve a largely Thai clientele and keep their dishes authentic and affordable.

Sanam Luang Café has two locations, one here on Sherman Way and another in Thai Town in Hollywood. The location in Sherman Way shares a strip mall with the Bangluck Market. Parking is always tricky in the Thai Gulch. The mini mall lots aren’t that big but Sanam Luang has additional spaces in the rear (just be careful when exiting.)

Graffiti aside, Sanam Luang does not look like a hole in the wall. It has a nice patio for al fresco dining and the interior is all metal, neon and Thai artwork. Sunday lunch sees a pretty big crowd of mostly Thai families.

I sat down and set about studying the menu. It was as thick as a magazine and crammed with all kinds of choices. The Thai restaurants can be broken down into two groups, those that offer tapas –like small plates and ridiculously low prices and those that serve large portions, usually meant to be shared at affordable prices. Sanamluang Café serves the large portions with most dishes under $10.

That day I felt like a nice bowl of noodle soup. When I first started eating Thai I was all curry this and curry that. But eating in Thai Gulch has taught to appreciate their noodle soups. Like Vietnamese Pho these can be simple or wildly complex. I decide to get a bowl of noodles for my lunch and choose the house special, The Sanamluang Noodle Soup.

I get a huge bowl full of rice noodles with a half dozen kinds of meat, liver, beef, pork, beef balls, fish cake, and shrimp. It’s sprinkled with cilantro and bits of sweet crispy garlic. It’s topped with a fried wonton which I dig into right away so it doesn’t get mushy. The broth is rich and flavorful but not spicy. I feel like being a pepperhead and sprinkle in a little powdered chili from tableside. Just a little bit is all you need. It concentrates as you get near the end so the last few slurps are spice heaven. It makes for a great refreshing lunch that isn’t too heavy. And with tip it comes out to just under $10.

Sanam Luang Cafe
12980 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605
(818) 764-1180
Price Range: Under $10 for most dishes

Dumpling Hunt Part 3

2009-07-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

After Focus plaza I head South and West towards Monterey Park. If this is a dumpling hunt there’s one spot I have to hit before it’s all over, Dumpling Master. I can’t really say I’ve been on a dumpling hunt and not visit a place called Dumpling Master.

The trip from Focus Plaza to Monterey Park is a lot easier. I just catch Walnut Grove and head South until I reach Garvey Ave then head West.

When I first started exploring the Chinese food of the SGV, Monterey Park was the first neighborhood I scouted. It’s the first neighborhood you hit traveling East on the 10. Over the years I’ve gotten to know the area pretty well. Atlantic and Garvey are like a crossroads full of great restaurants. Along Atlantic there’s Ocean Star Seafood and NBC Seafood two of the best Dim Sum places in the city, Little Fat Sheep for spicy hot pot, and Shiang Garden for real Hunan cooking (try the preserved duck!). Along Garvey there’s Pearl Restaurant for pancake soup, JJ Café for a crazy mashup of Chinese and Western “coffee house” cooking, and Kim Tar for Southeast Asian inspired Chaozhao food. Just off Garvey going South on Garfield is the justly famous Sichuan Chung King with its brilliant hot-numbing dishes. Head North on Garfield and you find Hua Garden for out of this world Crossing Bridge Noodles. So I’ve eaten my way across a wide swath of Monterey Park.

But until now I’d never sampled the wares at Dumpling Master. Nothing like a blog theme to fill in the gaps. Dumpling Master is located inside the same plaza as the huge Shun Fat supermarket. I decide to take walk around Shun Fat. The first thing that greets you when you walk through the doors is their dried fish market. Now you know you’re in foreign territory. When I was there they were even offering samples of dried fish cake. I took one but refused the others. Not because of the taste which was pleasantly fishy and savory but because I was pretty darn thirsty just then. That’s what I get for heading to the broiling hot valley instead of the beach. I grab a drink inside and look around. Now after touring the markets in Koreatown, Little Tokyo and having a 99 Ranch Market real close to home in Van Nuys, I thought there wasn’t anything in here that was really going to catch my eye. Boy was I wrong. I found a jar labeled “Fish Sauce” that clearly had the fish in it. As you can see from the photo, it’s fish fillets packed in a jar with a little bit of liquid.

Now that’s fish sauce!

After that I walked over to Dumpling Master. It’s a modest spot. Located at the corner of the plaza.

But then you examine the menu and find offerings you’ll see at Panda Express. They offer Sole dumplings, lamb dumplings, and , I couldn’t believe it, venison! I walked in knowing what I was going to order. Alas the Dumpling Master had recently stopped making venison. The staff told me they couldn’t find venison meat that was up to their standards. Sad. Oh well, I have other things to get done so I decide on an order of lamb dumplings to go and head back to Van Nuys.

Sadly, no venison at this time

The great things about dumplings is they reheat wonderfully. I take the dumplings and their chili oil dipping sauce back to my place. Later that night they make a hardy dinner.

A nice 4th of July dinner

You can really taste the lamb in the lamb filling. This isn’t a frenched rack of lamb. This is fatty and gamey and perfect inside a boiled dumpling. Lamb stands up beautifully to hot spice and the chili oil makes a perfect dipping sauce. It’s a terrific end to my dumpling hunt. I just hope the Dumpling Master finds a new source for his venison!

And that brings my dumpling hunt to an end. There’s still plenty more out there in SGV, but unlike a bovine I only have one stomach. But I’ll be back and soon.

Dumpling Master
423 N Atlantic Blvd
Ste 106
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 458-8689

Dumpling Master on Urbanspoon

Dumpling Hunt Part 2

2009-07-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

After a brunch at Din Tai Fung I headed down towards Focus Plaza in nearby San Gabriel. I’d heard Focus Plaza was one of the largest Chinese malls in the SGV. I didn’t expect to have a hard time locating a place that large but somehow I managed. Things got off to a rocky start when I tried to turn West on Valley Blvd. As it turns out somebody had the crazy notion to schedule a parade on Valley that day. Who ever heard of a parade on the 4th of July? So I had to travel a little further south and then come back up to Valley past the roadblock. Then I couldn’t figure out if I had to turn back East or head West. I stopped inside the parking lot of the Hawaii Supermarket (right during its grand opening) and got myself straightened out. Even once I figured out where I was going I missed Focus Plaza the first time. It turns out the plaza is set back from Valley Blvd. and from the street view it’s overshadowed by the Hilton hotel and Swiss Plaza. But there’s a very good reason Focus Plaza is a little bit off of Valley. It’s enormous. It’s easily twice as big as the Hilton plaza and in my view more impressive. The parking lot stretched out forever and by the time I arrived (near 11:30) it was packed and I had to find a spot in back. From there I got a good look at the size of the place. Focus Plaza, I thought. As in what do you focus on?

Focus Plaza, there's a lot of it

That was a good question. The eating possibilities at Focus were numerous. I was there for dumplings and New Capital Seafood was reputed to have great dim sum. But there was already a huge line forming at the ground floor at the hostess station (the restaurant itself is all the way on the fourth floor.) I decided against it. I’m very familiar with dim sum and I wanted to find something a little more off beat.

Boy did I ever find it.

Tucked away in a little corner, this restaurant caught my eye with its posters featuring meats and rice noodles in a fiery red broth. The place was called Dandan’s Guilin Rice Noodles and it was clear this was a locals hangout. For one the menu featured such things as Snail Meat Rice Noodle and Super Spicy Pig’s Tripe and Pig’s Ear.

Dandan's Guilin Rice Noodles in the Focus Plaza

Inside Chinese cable was playing (some kind of hip hop dance competition) and English was definitely a second language to the staff (maybe even a third.) The menu is written in English but the order pad was entirely in Chinese. Fortunately everything was numbered.

Inside Dandan'd Guilin

I decided to keep to my dumpling theme and ordered the Green Chive Pork Dumpling and the Leek Wonton which may have been the same filling only in different preparations. The Leek Wonton was filled with garlic chive and leek or green onion, put in a light wonton wrapper and served in broth. It was good but not much different from your typical wonton. The Green Chive Pork dumplings were better. They had thick, hearty wrappers. They’d been boiled and they burst with water and juice when you bit into them. They came with a vinegar dipping sauce which I recommend mixing with the chili paste that’s at every table. The paste is a blend of chili and fermented bean and has a slight sweetness to it that makes it a perfect condiment for the dumplings.

The Green Chive Pork Dumplings and the Leek Wonton

Dandan’s Guilin has much more to offer. Sadly I was already getting full and had to move. But I will be back. Any place that serves Preserved Pig’s Intestine with Vegetables is definitely worth coming back for.

Dandan's Guilin Rice Noodles
140 W Valley Blvd
Ste 203
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 307-1989

Dandan's Guilin Rice Noodles on Urbanspoon

Dumpling Hunt Part 1

2009-07-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Fourth rolls around and I’m wondering how best to celebrate the birth of my country? Well the fourth is more than about fireworks and barbeque, it’s about home and for me home meant a good stir fry and steamed rice. So this year I decided to spend the weekend searching out the food of my ancestors. I decided to go on a hunt for Chinese dumplings. Growing up in the Midwest my family’s options were pretty limited to when it came to Chinese restaurants. So imagine my delight when I moved to LA and found nearly the entire continent of Asia represented. But with so many places where do you start looking for dumplings?

I decided this was a good time to fill in one of the major blanks on my LA Foodie resume. I’d been here for years and still hadn’t been to the ONE place everyone says you have to go for dumplings, Din Tai Fung and their famous soup filled dumplings.

Arcadia isn’t around the block from where I am in Van Nuys. Still, it’s a lot closer than if I lived in say, Santa Monica. So I hoped on the 134 and took the 210 to the Baldwin exit. At first I wondered if my Mapquest directions were correct. The first thing you see when you get off the freeway is the entrance to the Santa Anita racetrack. Driving by that and the next door shopping plaza is more like driving through Pasadena than the SG Valley. But less than a block past the mall and the distinct Asian flavor of the San Gabriel reasserts itself. You see bus stops with posters written entirely in Chinese, Bank of the East branches, and finally you hit the small, unassuming strip mall that houses Din Tai Fung.

Just down the street from Santa Anita Racetrack

I heard you had to come early and I arrived at just past 10 AM. The place was already starting to fill up. Inside it looks like the typical restaurant space. The first difference you find is on your chopsticks. In case you have any questions, the instructions on how to eat their soup dumplings are on the chopsticks wrapper.

Instructions right on the chopsticks

At the table is a small saucer of fresh ginger shreds and bottles of soy sauce and Chinese black vinegar. I get right down to business and order the 20 piece dumplings with soup only served on weekends.

First I get the egg soup. Basically it’s chicken broth, shreds of omelet and a tiny bit of scallion. There really isn’t much in the taste department, but it does clean the palette nicely.

Egg Soup

Then came the dumplings. They had light delicate skins. Inside was rich broth surrounding a nugget of pork filling. I followed my wrapper instructions and dipped my dumpling first in a little black vinegar then placed it inside my soup spoon with a few shreds of ginger. You’re supposed to take a small nibble so hot soup pours out of the dumpling mixing with the vinegar and ginger. That way you can slurp it up along with the dumpling. If you pop in the dumplings when they first come out, the hot liquid will scald your mouth.

The Soup Dumplings

The dumplings are everything they are reputed to be. The skins are light and delicate, not as thin as wonton but just thick enough to hold everything together. There’s nothing worse than getting a dumpling that’s all noodle and no filling. The real star is the broth inside. It’s rich and hearty and acts like a sauce for the meat nugget inside. The vinegar and ginger make a nice combination. For those who don't know, black vinegar is like the "balsamic" vinegar you get in the supermarket. It's got some sweetness to counteract the acid.

Dumpling dipped in black vinegar

Halfway through the meal however I break with tradition and start dipping mine in some soy sauce as well. There are very few foods that don’t taste better with soy. The dumplings also cool off slightly and I’m able to pop them in my mouth and bite into them. They’re like a savory version of those Gushers candies. The warm but no longer scalding broth squirts into your mouth.

The 10:45 AM rush!

I finish up pretty quickly and get ready to resume my dumpling hunt. A good thing too because they needed the table. The place was packed by 10:45. So do come early on the weekends! Din Tai Fung lives up to its mighty reputation. If you have a Chinese foodie who’s visiting LA this is one stop you have to take them to.

Good Eating in Burbank

2009-07-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

When I first came to LA I stayed in the Extended Stay America in Burbank. In the first few weeks while apartment hunting I spent most of my days at Media City Center in Burbank. That was the first area of the city I really got to know and I keep returning because it is so familiar. The place has changed quite a bit over the years. New places come, old ones close up shop. But here’s a list of the ones I check out whenever I’m down that way.

Chadaka Thai
This place has a good happy hour. There are several specialty cocktails and martinis served at the bar. The happy hour also includes plenty of tasty Thai dishes that are very affordable; sate, deep fried “jerky”, and larb salad. The entrees are extensive. Maybe not as authentic as some of the treasures on Sherman Way but very accessible. The Crying Tiger, a grilled steak with spicy glaze is the best entrée on the menu.

Chadaka Thai on Urbanspoon

Barney’s Beanery
New location of the LA institution. A little on kitschy side. It has big screen video game stations for the kids and the young at heart. As you stumble from the bar to the bathroom you’ll have to duck past people playing Guitar Hero and Wii Tennis. At the bar they have plenty of choices. Dozens of microbrews are on tap. The menu is a perfect example of old school bar food. Not gastropub, bar food. The specialty is chili, served in a dozen different ways with everything from pot roast (yum) to burgers and over spaghetti. This spot is just down the steps from the massive AMC multiplex. Which is a good thing if you’ve had a few too many at the bar, you can catch the latest while your buzz wears off.

City Pho
Vietnamese is great. It doesn’t have to be fancy. I find most Vietnamese spots offer some of the best quality and value in the entire city. I’ve yet to have a bad bowl of pho and the pho this spot rigth next to Barney's Beanery is no exception. The bowls of are hearty, big and flavorful. They come with the usual plate of add ons and there are plenty of condiments at the table. But I often take a few sips as is. Pho broth is always rich and tasty and should be savored on its own before piling on the basil, lime and jalapenos.

Mediterranean Grill
Inside a mall food court you wouldn’t expect much (not unless you’re at Koreatown but that’s for another post.) Here however there are two spots worth checking out. One is Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. Wahoo’s is one of the best cheap eats in the city. They serve great fish tacos fried or grilled. They have a funky pico de gallo that uses black pepper. Heresy to Mexicans but I like the variation. Out in the food court proper there is this excellent Greek place where they grill your food to order. It’s not that fast food, but it is good food. And healthy. Most of their plates come with hummus and Greek Salad. Plus where else are you going to get fresh grilled lamb chops for just $10?

Drinks, Eats and Movie

2009-07-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

We’re in the middle of summer now and it’s a great time to go out with friends, see the latest blockbusters and grab a few drinks or some quick chow. So what are the key areas in LA? Where do we find the best combo of movie theater and eats? Here are four of my favorite spots to catch a movie with friends.

Culver City

I’ve already gushed about one of my favorite spots in the entire city. But here’s a rundown of all the entertainment offerings available.
Drinks: A+
Just about anything you want. For a great deal on a happy hour go to Gyenari. Want something a little more upscale, there’s Rush, Bottlerock, and Father’s Office.
Eats:A+
Up and coming restaurant section for LA, Akasha, Ford’ Filling Station and Fraiche are all just across the street from the theater.
Movies: B-
Pacific Theaters. It’s a typical chain multiplex. Nothing special really. Average seating, snacks and ambience.

Hollywood

The Sunset and Vine area. Home to the Arclight Hollywood, Amoeba Music, and K&L Wine Market. There are plenty of reasons to come down here, not just the movies.
Drinks:A
Boho, The Bowery and the Cat and Fiddle all within easy walking distance plus there’s a bar inside the Arclight itself.
Eats: B+
Not the treasure trove Culver City is, but still good. Hungry Cat, Fabiolous Café, and gastropubs Bowery, Boho, and Cat and Fiddle give it options. The large Club Sushi is right next to the Arclight but for me it isn’t any better (but no worse) than the Kabuki Sushi just around the corner.
Movies: A+
The Arclight Hollywood is one of the best venues in the city. Nearly 50% more per ticket but you will see where that extra cash went to. Comfortable seats, gift shop, café and full bar inside. And it looks great inside. Great décor with actual props and costumes on display. The Cinerama Dome is one of the widest screens you’ve ever seen. Visit they’re website to see what’s playing. They don’t always have all the latest blockbusters. They mix their slate up with a lot of independent fare. Movie buffs will love the frequent screenings of classic films, often with special guests. This is maybe the best single spot for movies in all the city.

Sherman Oaks

For those in the Valley who don't want to make the drive into the city, you have a nice little spot at Sepulveda and Ventura.
Drinks: C
The Arclight has its own bar and there’s a bar at all the restaurants. But there’s no one great watering hole.
Eats: B-
It’s all chain restaurants in the Sherman Oaks Galleria. And there’s nothing wrong with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory or PF Chang’s. But if you want a little personality in your meal, cross Ventura Boulevard and walk about a block and a half down Sepulveda. There you will find some good sushi and Indian food.
Movies: A
The Arclight Sherman Oaks is nearly as swank as the Hollywood original. Not quite as diverse as the Hollywood location and it doesn’t have the gigantic Cinerama Dome. But still a really great movie going experience within.

Howard Hughes Parkway

Near the airport and just a short drive from Venice.
Drinks: B
Marie Calendar has weekend happy hour that goes from three to close. Its bar menu is okay, but won’t be winning any awards. There’s also drinks at Island Burger and Kabuki.
Eats: C
Only chain restaurants in the mall and the best of those might be Jodi Maroni. Worst yet, the mall is in the center of an office complex so what’s in the mall is all that’s available.
Movies:A
The Bridge is one of the best venues in town. It has a great art deco interior, great seating and concession carts inside the theaters.

Highland and Hollywood

Hollywood. The place is always alive 365 days a year. Beware the hordes of tourists flood this part of town year round.
Drinks: A-
There are a number of watering holes within easy walking distance. There are the bars at the Daily Grill and California Pizza Kitchen. There’s the Pig n’ Whistle just a short distance up Hollywood. There’s a Hooters. But my favorite bar is gastropub Lucky Devils which is a bit of a walk from the theaters but well worth it.
Eats: B
You definitely have options. There are restaurants all over Hollywood. Several of them pretty famous (and pricey). There’s Musso and Franks and Geisha House if you have the cash. Inside the Hollywood and Highland Center there’s a Daily Grill and a California Pizza Kitchen. My favorite spot there is actually The Dip, for a fast, affordable French Dip. But my favorite spot to eat is also my favorite spot to drink, Lucky Devils. They have a chili cheese fries and a brisket sandwich that will blow you away.
Movies: A+
There isn’t one single place here that as good as the Arclight Hollywood but the number of venues in this area is boggling. There’s the Mann Chinese multiplex which is pretty average. But right next door is the famous Grauman’s Chinese, a piece of LA history that is a must for any movie buff. Across from the Grauman’s is the El Capitan owned by Disney. If you have little ones it’s a great place to take them to see the latest Disney or Pixar release. And down the street don’t forget the Egyptian. This is a famous indie venue that serves up plenty of classic films and plenty of off beat releases.

Searching for the Perfect Homemade Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

2009-07-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

There’s nothing like the first real home cooked meal after stomach problems. After a week of worrying if I’m putting too much strain on the digestion, I have a chance to cook food I really want to eat. It’s like a personal homecoming feast. For me that feast is spaghetti with meat sauce. Growing up it was my favorite dish. It was the very first dish I learned how to cook on my own. Living in LA it’s a great money saver. One package of ground meat and two boxes of pasta can be dinner for one for four nights. Over the many, many years I’ve varied my technique and my basic recipe. I’m always on the look out for new variations. I have experimented with virtually every meat sauce recipe I came across. Always on the search for the perfect spaghetti and meat sauce.

I’ve discovered that, authenticity and tradition aside, I like the American version of meat sauce and spaghetti; the pasta cooked al dente and the sauce spooned over. Yes it isn’t as tight as throwing it in the pan and tossing it with the sauce over heat. Yes you almost always end up with liquid weeping from your pile of pasta and sauce. I don’t care. I like sipping the liquid, it’s like a fine consommé. And there’s something just comforting about the ritual of twirling your fork to introduce the pasta to the sauce and cheese on your plate. Mario Batali would object vigorously. Which is too bad because Mario was one of my earliest meat sauce gurus.

Of course Mario doesn’t make meat sauce he makes ragu. Glorious traditional ragus with three different kinds of meat (usually pork, veal and pancetta) and three liquids (wine, milk, and broth) and just a tablespoon of tomato paste for the entire recipe. I’ve admired Mario’s ragu recipes for years now and I always try to emulate them when I can. But three different kinds of meat wrecks the whole budget conscious thing and I like my sauce with a lot more tomato product, generally a whole can on paste plus a whole can of tomatoes blitzed in the blender.

For a long time Mario was my main meat sauce man. I tried others, like the meat gravy recipe from On Top of Spaghetti, but I didn’t really find anything that radically changed my meat sauce thinking until I saw a recent episode of Good Eats. I’m intrigued by the possibilities of using two sauce pans to make the single sauce. In fact when I first started out as a twelve year old cooking for his family that’s what I did, brown the meat separately then add to the tomato sauce. It was a return to my roots that I found comforting. So for my back-from-food-poisoning meal, I charted my own path. I cooked the veggies and meat in the same pan. I got good color on the onions but didn’t worry so much about the meat. I poured the white wine and stock over the meat and let that go at a simmer for several hours. About an hour before eating I got the tomato component ready in a separate sauce pan. Sliced garlic in a little olive oil followed by a can of sliced tomatoes. Simmered until the liquid vanishes then add the tomato paste, a little red wine vinegar and Alton Brown’s secret ingredient, ketchup (I kind of like the sweetness it adds to the sauce.) I threw the tomato mixture in with the meat and let it finish cooking and coming together. The end result? Maybe not the best meat sauce I ever ate, but I ain’t complaining.

The search for the perfect anything is a continuous process. It never ends or at least it never should. The fun is in the search.

My Saturday Part 2

2009-06-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

So after a quick breakfast and a tour of the Koreatown Galleria, I took my sister just a few miles down Venice Blvd. to what is quickly becoming one of the best foodie destinations in town.

Culver City.

I pulled into the Helms Bakery complex. There’s plenty of free parking there and I always end up using it as my main stop when I hit Culver. Helms Bakery is still the place to go when you want to furnish your pad. But it’s also the spot for great food and for serious foodies. A must see for foodies is Surfas on the corner of National and Washington. There are several restaurant supply stores in LA but Surfas also caters to the serious amateur and home cook. This is a place where you can see a Sous Chef in his whites and check pants buying a new industrial strength food processor. But it’s also a spot where the home cook can finally locate that hard to find ingredient. Looking for venison osso bucco? How about real Dover sole? Surfas is where you can find it along with just about everything else. There are tubs of duck fat, strings of dried chorizo covered in white mold, salt cod, chunks of pancetta, and packages of duck confit. The freezers are stocked with everything you’d need to open a restaurant that night, pastry shells, gelato, soup base, vacuum sealed olives, and a dozen different kinds of flour. The candy and chocolate section is a dessert lover’s dream. They have giant slabs of chocolate, every type of sugar that exists and a million flavorings.

But if you’re in the mood to have others do the cooking for you, Culver City does not disappoint. The main drag of Culver Blvd. with large parking structures off Cardiff and Ivy is a great restaurant stretch. Akasha serves one of the best braised short ribs I’ve ever had. Right next door is the justly famous Honey Kettle Chicken. I like Honey Kettle better the next day. I also like to mix the honey and hot sauces together for a sweet hot glaze over my chicken. Right next to Honey Kettle is Ford’s Filling Station, the gastropub operated by Ben (son of Harrison) Ford. I’ve been there once and I enjoyed a fine oxtail ragu with fresh pasta and a delicious headcheese appetizer. Ford’s has a dizzying selection of flatbreads and house prepared charcuterie. Next is Tender Greens, in case you’re craving a salad and then Ugo Café for a perfect espresso and pastry. Bottlerock is just around the corner on Main. It’s wine selection is great as you’d expect and it has tapas to go with your vino. I’ve had the almonds and the stuffed figs and they are both delicious and affordable. Fraiche I’ve only been in once for a quick drink and a bite of their excellent tartare, but it has a reputation for serving some of the best entrees and sides in town. The place where I’ve spent the most time however is Gyenari. It’s a Korean BBQ though no one will mistake it for Chosun Galbee anytime soon. But you go there for authentic Korean food, you go for one of the best happy hours around. $4 bar menu including excellent Mandoo and really good sliders and garlic ribs. Wash that down with $2 Hite beers and $6 Sojus. Soju virgins beware though, that stuff is 20% alcohol with no burn whatsoever. Finish a bottle by yourself, don’t expect to go anywhere for the next couple of hours. Best to split a bottle with friends. At Gyenari they’ll provide shot glasses and cut lemon.

But no, none of these is where we decided to have lunch. For that we hiked all the way back to the Helms complex. Helms Ave is truthfully one of my favorite spots for lunch. It has excellent Cal-Asian at Beacon. La Dijonaise is a bistro that’s always crowded. Then there are my two favorite spots. There’s Let’s Be Frank, one of the great wonders of mobile food cookery. Let’s Be Frank serves some of the finest hot dogs I’ve ever had. Their frank dog is made with heart healthy 100% grass fed beef. It has a peppery spice blend and natural casing that snaps when you bite into it. Don’t’ forget to ask for the homemade pickle slices! Let’s Be Frank is set up right across from Father’s Office. Father’s Office is one of the top gastropubs in LA. The Santa Monica original is so popular you can never find a seat. The new Culver location is twice as big and you can still find seats even on a Saturday. And there’s enough space for you to stand and admire the rows of beer taps, all artisan brews, not a mass market lager in sight. One of the joys is watching people come up and ask for a Miller Lite then having the staff try and steer them to something similar but infinitely better. The food menu is just as amazing and very affordable. This is a strong serious food menu that features roasted bone marrow on the appetizers. Father’s Office is justifiably famous for its Office Burger, its signature creation. What I love about it is the Cabrales Blue Cheese they smear on the bottom. The bottom of a burger is usually neglected in other places but that’s where the juices from perfect a medium rare burger pool. If you put butter, mayo, or in this case cheese on the bottom, it combines with the burger jus and creates a sauce better than anything you’ve ever had. On the top is a sweet balsamic glazed onion a small handful of arugula. Get it with a basket of their sweet potato fries. My sister and I split and order and after a hot day it was perfect.

We ended our day in Hollywood. She wanted to see the Arclight. While we waited for our show, I took her to our last foodie stop Boho. A relative newcomer, this gastropub took over the spot where Charcoal used to be. It’s relaxed and unfussy but still ambitious. Not quite up to Father’s Office standards it still has an excellent beer selection and an adventurous menu featuring a charcuterie plate with wild boar rillettes and a braised oxtail entrée. We weren’t that hungry so we settled in for beers and an order of zeppolis. These deep fried doughnuts are served with powdered sugar and three dipping sauces, chocolate, raspberry, and best of all lemon curd. Make sure to use knives to avoid double dipping!

So there it is a fine foodie day out in LA. Well one of them. There are so many places, I can’t wait for my next family visit!

My Saturday Part 1

2009-06-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

So my sister, a fellow foodie is town for the week visiting her boyfriend and his family. We decide to get together for the day, just the two of us and I’ll to take her to some of the better food stops I know in Los Angeles. It’s a pretty big day for me because exactly one week before I was laid up with a serious case of food poisoning that didn’t leave my system for four days. I’d been on Gatorade and saltines for most of the week. The good part was I’d lost a lot of weight. The bad part was…well everything else. But by the time Saturday rolled around I was back on shall we say solid ground.

Now if you’re in LA and you want to show a foodie friend or relative a good time and you only have one day where do you begin?

I started with the Koreatown Galleria. Both the Galleria and the Plaza in Koreatown have amazing food markets. I like the Galleria a little more because it is a bit more glitzy with a few more features. But you have to get there early. It’s free parking at both places and they both fill up and get very crazy around noon. My sister and I started out at the small bakery near the market entrance where we grabbed a rice doughnut and a cup of coffee. The doughnuts were chewier than any pastry either of us had had before and just lightly sweetened. They were the perfect light snack to take with us as we walked around the market. Korean markets offer a whole range of foodie surprises even to people who know Asian cuisine. The Koreans make use of unique greens and root vegetables like sesame leaf. The meat section is always a must in Korean markets. In the Galleria they had tons of beautifully packaged pork belly and suddenly we rued the fact that we didn’t have an ice filled cooler.

The fish counter at the Galleria is even more impressive filled with fresh fish on ice and tanks filled with live lobsters, abalone, periwinkles, blue crab and baby octopus.

“Imagine trying to wriggle one of those down,” my sister joked. And yeah if I had the time and cash I’d pick up a few and try wrestling them down my gullet like I’ve seen on Bizarre Foods. In previous trips I’ve seen them stock live geoduck clams and seas squirts as well.

But what really sets the Galleria apart from the Plaza in my mind is the room of hot panchan. Hungry and time pressed Koreans can grab a bag of steamed rice and go down the row and pick out the marinated greens, the stewed oysters, the spicy dried squid, the stewed garlic stems, a complete meal for most people.

There’s so much more to see in Koreatown, BCD Tofu House and Soot Bull Jeep to be specific. But we only had so many hours in the day so it was off to Culver City next.