Angelini Osteria

Angelini Osteria has been very high up on my "revisit" list.  It left an incredible impression upon me after my first visit in 2010.  I figured Hobag would be the best person to come here with 1) because she had never been before and 2) I knew she would LOVE it.  As I get older, I have discovered, more often than not, that I am RIGHT about pretty much most things.  Did you miss the memo that big appetites and big egos go hand in hand??  Just kidding.

Some might argue that Angelini is serving up the best pasta in all of Los Angeles.  I might throw in my vote there.  The place is small and the tables are seriously smashed up against each other.  Forget trying to have a private dinner conversation here.  We made buddies with the pair of over 40+ year old, balding, likely divorced or never-been-married dudes sitting next to us.  Possibly some rich Hollywood types who had great things to tell us about the place with personal menu recommendations.  Food really does bring everyone together.  

Bread
Some little snacks.  The rosemary and olive oil were very fragrant and distinct.

Appetizer
I guess this was a free little gift from the kitchen.  It was just a light pasta salad.  Israeli couscous maybe?  Gobbled it down so fast I can barely remember much more of it.

Read more »

Night + Market

I love Thai food.  It's a cuisine that packs so much flavor and punch in every bite.  Salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and your mouth just explodes.  Night + Market makes a point of  making all of that the focus of its food.  It's more tame sister restaurant, Talesai, serves your run of the mill Thai dishes that rings familiar with most dinners.  But at Night + Market, they are slinging dishes that will either get your mouth watering from the bold unfamiliarity or stomach churning from the gastric insult of all the intense flavors.  They are serving Northern Thai food here, and if you don't know what Northern Thai food is, well get familiar with it because the invasion is coming.  Portland's award winning and wildly popular Pok Pok is coming to LA's Chinatown.  So before I brought Ho Bag to Pok Pok, whenever it decides to open, I wanted to try Night + Market to see how it compared.  Joining us was Ho Bag's friend, Queen Sticky Swatches

Fried Pig Tails

Holy crapola, this was sooo derricious!  Crispy on the outside, and drippingly gooey (totally does not sound like an appetizing texture, but it was) from either fat or tendons or both on the inside.  I kinda didn't want to know for obvious reasons.  But real flavor came from the the fishy, salty, sweet, sour, spicy and garlicky vinaigrette that lightly dressed the exterior.  This definitely competes with Pok Pok's famous wings, but ultimately the wings might take the cake.  I wanted to eat this very small dish all to myself.  I didn't even offer the last tail to my fellow diners before scooping it up.  This is a MUST TRY.

Larb Gai minced chicken, lime, fish sauce, rice powder, chili, cilantro, onion

This was your standard larb gai, but amped up with the heat factor.  Hobag could not handle the heat throughout our whole meal.  She kept saying, "God, I'm such a little bitch! This stuff is soooo f*ing spicy" in between gulps of wine and water.  Queen Sticky Swatches and I were like "Hey guuurl, more for us!"  I'm sorta making up the exact conversation, but that was the gist of it.

Read more »

chi SPACCA

The April birthday dinners in my family were pretty good with Orsa & Winston and Sushi Sushi.  September rolled around (yes I'm behind on the blogging!), and it was time to treat Smooth Obturator to something tasty.  Triple T, being the thoughtful wife that she is, made reservations at chi SPACCA knowing the carnivorous glutton in my brother would appreciate the offerings here.  She isn't a fan of fatty meats or the odd bits of animals, but knew I would like this place too so majority rules I guess.  Chi SPACCA has been on my to-try list for a while but I never got around to it because the menu seemed so unbalanced.  I like meat but I don't want to eat JUST meat.  To my surprise, 3 other LA based chefs were dining there that night: Jet Tila, Govind Armstrong, and Susan Goin.  My lingering reservations morphed into excitement because I knew a restaurant had to be pretty good if other chefs were eating there.

Culatello lambrusco washed, aged 15 months

The waitress did a good job selling this.  Made in house, cured by the chef himself, blah blah blah.  Smooth Obturator and I are suckers for cured meats.  I can't say this was all that amazing given the price tag.  I'd rather have some Iberico ham.

Roasted Squash Blossoms ricotta, tomato vinaigrette
I don't think I've ever had a bad squash blossom.  I loved the little vinaigrette, which felt like a looser tomato sauce.

Read more »

Gusto

It's been a while since the Bears joined forces to eat our way through LA.  Many things have changed since our days as "overworked and underpaid" drones.  Some of us are now "appropriately paid," while others, sadly, are still "underpaid" (Luau Bear who I'm going to rename Digs-Thru-Poop Bear and Panda Bear).  But the "underpaid" ones got smart and married their sugar mammas (Farm Bear and Little Bear who will be renamed Fancy Nails Bear).  And some things never change.  Buff Bear is still buff as ever, so obviously his name isn't changing.  One thing is true for all of us though, we are busier than ever, so coordinating all of our schedules to even get together for dinner isn't always easy.  Heck, I don't even live close to the majority of these guys, but I will trek anywhere for good friends and good food.  While Gusto wasn't our first choice, we were pretty happy with Fancy Nails Bear's choice in the end.  Gusto is a simple neighborhood Italian joint in the heart of Beverly Hills/WeHo.  It wasn't crowded at all for a Friday night, which is probably not a good sign, but it was nice to not have to shout over the din of a bustling Friday night crowd.

The guys took a backseat while Farm Bear and I took the reigns with the menu.  I love Farm Bear because she just wanted to order everything on the menu and said yes to everything I suggested.  Her verve for food and dining makes she and I kindred spirits!

Asparagi grilled asparagus, sunny side egg, fontina fonduta

It was so simple, yet so delicious.  I wish I could get my grilled veggies to taste like this.   What is the secret?!  Charcoal grill?  There was a healthy balance of salt, tang, sharp, creamy, and luscious.  Lovely. 

Lacinato shaved black kale

Kale might be the new beet or Brussels sprout today, making its appearance on practically every menu these days.  Some may find it too tough to eat raw, but when it is done right, my TMJ prone jaw is not exacerbated.  I found this to be bright and well balanced with varying textures and flavors.

Read more »

Son of a Gun

Son of a Gun is one of those rare restaurants that really wowed me the first time I dined there.  I've recommended this place to numerous friends visiting LA, looking to have the best LA dining experience.  After my first visit, I concluded that Son of a Gun was really doing something special here.  So obviously, I was more than happy to come back for round 2.  Quadruple T and his girlfriend were in town for the New Year, so we (Smooth Obturator, Triple T, and myself) made a celebratory evening of our first meal of 2014 (yeah yeah, I'm waaaay behind!)

Uni burrata, button mushrooms, yuzu

I was pretty intrigued by the pairing of uni and burrata, definitely two of my many favorite things in this world.  I don't think the flavors worked well here.  Both elements have such subtle, light, delicate flavors, that when paired together sorta cancel each other out.  It just all tasted kinda "blobulous" (I totally just made that up).  A creamy blob of that, with a slightly salty sweet blob of this = "blobulous."  Maybe more yuzu would have made the dish sing a little bit more.

Hamachi galbi vinaigrette, pink lady apple, radish sprout
We weren't that impressed by the raw stuff, but I did find the galbi vinaigrette to be quite memorable. Packed with umami goodness, I wished I could bottle the stuff up and pour it over everything.

Read more »

Osteria Mozza

Behold! One of the BEST restaurants in LA! My first trip to Osteria Mozza was a mindblowing experience, but my camera and my inexperienced skills resulted in some pretty mediocre pictures.  This time around, I came prepared with the H.o.P. and an SLR camera in tow, courtesy of Running Man, of course.

Osteria Mozza is known for its handmade fresh pastas and mozarella bar.   The main entrees are good, but certainly less impressive than the aforementioned foods.  Even if you don't like cheese, you should try items from the mozarella bar.  You will NOT be disappointed.

Now dining here twice, I would say to avoid dining here in a large group. By large I mean more than 6. There's only about 4? tables that accomodate groups that large. Both times we waited close to 1 hour past our reservations because some squatters were endlessly shooting the shit at our reserved tables.  You could imagine how disgruntled a bunch of hungry foodies could get in this situation.   My sister and I were throwing angry stares like poisoned-tipped daggers at the people still squatting at our table.  We would casually walk by, make eye contact, and proceed to give the dirtiest of all dirty looks.  I blame the hunger for my rudeness!  After being seated, we were handsomely rewarded for our long wait with some free food.

Mozarella with Four Sauces salsa verde, romesco, olive tapenade, caperberry relish
I probably would not order this if I had to pay for it, but since it was free, it was delicious.   It was pretty simple, just a blob of smooth creamy mozarella and different accoutrements on crispy grilled bread.  I think my favorite was the romesco or the salsa verde.

Burrata with Bacon marinated escarole, caramelized shallots
Since Smooth Obturator and myself have been here before, we suggested the best way to order: 1 mozarella and 1 pasta dish per person.  We pretty much all had to order this particular dish.  It is a mini bite of heaven.  The bacon provides a smoky saltiness, the caramelized shallots brings a rich sweetness, the escarole brings texture and slight bitterness, and the burrata is unparalleled in rich creaminess.  It is probably the most satisfying thing off the mozarella bar menu.

Read more »

Cube Cafe & Marketplace

So it was my birthday a few weeks back and I wanted to celebrate with a week-long festival of eating.  If you know me, you know that I don't like to dine in large groups with a few exceptions of course (Korean bbq, potlucks, etc).  So I celebrated my birthday with separate groups of friends on different days.  I guess I really pumped my birthday for all its worth, but I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves.  Round 1 consisted of Care Bear, Token Bear, MC Bowtie, The Bottomless Pit, Macadamia Bear, Teety, Buff Bear, The Pouter and Grumpy Bear.

Cube doesn't seem like a place that is on people's radar.  When I say people, I mean bloggers.  I get a lot of my restaurant recommendations from fellow bloggers, but I found Cube on Yelp and had it on my to-try list for some time.  It's an Italian restaurant focused on seasonal ingredients with a great selection of cheeses and salami.  I'll try my best to describe all the foods, but I got pretty smashed (thanks to Teety for bringing the 5 buck chuck) that night so it may be more of a pictorial than a true blog entry.

Hook's 5-yr Cheddar cranberry 
They started us off with a nice cheddar that went nicely with the tart dried cranberry.  I don't know much about cheeses so pardon my lack of descriptors.


Formaggi e Salumi assortment (left to right) red cow parmesan, aged balsamic vinegar, dried cranberries, gruyerre, 4-yr gouda, candied pecans, some very soft cheese like brie, salchichon, roasted marcona almonds, tartufo salami
I was pretty impressed with the nice spread our waiter selected for us.  I thought everything was delicious, and I'm not even a huge cheese fan.


Prosciutto di Parma
You can never go wrong with prosciutto!

Read more »

Son of a Gun

Can you believe people are too busy to eat?  For me, the world stops just so I can eat.  Some how though, I have a hard time getting people to gather for a good meal.  Always some ridiculous business about work, feeling sick, feeling tired, journal club, I mean the laundry list of excuses is endless.  I mean, uhh, priorities people??   Anyways, I finally got a reservation for Son of a Gun and gathered a small party of people.  Apparrently there is only 1 table that accomodates large parties so I had to keep my party small.  Of course, The Bottomless Pit was first in line.  Buff Bear, who is not as robust as his name would suggest, finally got over his umpteenth sinus infection and brought gf, Cher Bear along.

Shrimp Toast Sandwich herbs, siracha mayo (MUST HAVE #1)
WOW, best mother^%@!ing shrimp toast sandwich EVER!!!  This was my FAVORITE dish of the night.  I totally wished there were more of it to go around.  We ordered 2 to split between 4 people and if I were to return I would suggest each diner get his/her own shrimp toast sandwich.  Sadly, the sandwich is definitely smaller than a 4x4 gauze pad.  The exterior of the toast was well toasted with the help of a generous slathering of butter I am sure.  The bread itself was so fresh and soft.  All the bread that night was perfect!  Now the combination of the shrimp and siracha mayo was a harmonious combination of my favorite ocean protein with a dyn-O-mite creamy and spicy sauce.  It dripped down onto my plate and I seriously wanted to lick it up!  LOVE LOVE LOVE.


Lobster Roll celery, lemon aioli (MUST HAVE #2 per popular opinion)
Somehow I imagined this, and pretty much all the sandwiches to be much bigger than they actually were.  This seriously was no bigger that a White Castle Slider, and again we only got 2 to share among 4 of us.  Anyways, these didn't have as much kick as previous dish.  Similarly though, the bread was super fresh and soft and toasty.  The lobster was creamy without being overwhelming and heavy.  The potato chips were a nice touch but didn't add all that much.  I think it could have used a touch more lemon to balance out the cream.  Don't get me wrong, this was another winner in my book!

Read more »

Osteria Mamma

There are just too many Osterias in town.  From Mozza, La Buca, Angelini, and Mamma, it's quite difficult to keep them all straight.  The common theme for all these restaurants stems from the meaning of "osteria" which "in Italian literally means a place where the owner 'hosts' people, or an Italian-style eating establishment, similar to a tavern, usually in the country, less formal than a ristorante or trattoria, where wine is served as the main attraction and tasty food is served to wash it down."  Since I have now been to all these Osterias, I can confirm that they all share a casual ambiance and serve food that is without frills. 

Osteria Mamma is unfortunately the least impressive of all these Italian eateries.  It's not that Mamma doesn't know her pasta, it's just that La Buca, and especially Angelini and Mozza know it a whole freaking lot better.  It's not fair to compare since the price point is considerably more damaging to the wallet at the latter two places.  Panda Bear, Little Bear, Luau Bear, Bubble Bear, and The Bottomless Pit (aka Hates Asian Food) gathered for the hope of good eats.

Polipolata grilled mediterranean octopus, fresh celery, lemon, extra virgin olive oil and potatoes
I was highly anticipating a warm salad of grilled octopus that was tender while toothsome on the inside and charred and crispy on the outside.  Unfortunately, the octopus was just too soft and lacked texture.  It also had a weird fishy taste which only added insult to injury.  And as a final slap in the face, the dish was sorta room temperature.  It was confusing.  They certainly were generous on the protein, but the dish could have used more balance from the other elements, but maybe not the tomatoes which were disappointingly tasteless.  I will admit, the olive oil was amazingly fragrant!

a

Crostini di Burrata burrata crostini with black truffle and prosciutto

The burrata didn't quite have the creamy light texture that I had come to expect after having similar dishes from Mozza's mozzarella bar.  The black truffles were the highlight of it all.  The rest was quite unmemorable.  

Read more »

Red Medicine

Red Medicine is a Vietnamese fusion restaurant that recently opened a few months ago.  It's probably more known for the drama generated by some controversial actions by the management rather than its food unfortunately.  It's ratings on Yelp are pretty dismal, mostly because of the drama.  I'm usually not a fan of fusion food, but some of bloggers were writing good things along with their appetizing pictures.  So, the H.o.P. made a night of it.

I've had a fair amount of "fancy foods" in my life.  Red Medicine really takes all that to a new level.  They go beyond fancy and border on esoteric.  That being the case, the food is still accessible to the common man's taste buds.  The common man's stomach may not appreciate the smaller portion sizes, which combined with the lighter fare, can make for one hungry hungry hippo. 

**SLR-quality photos courtesy of Running Man**

 

Brussels Sprouts caramelized shallots, fish sauce, vermouth

Wow, who is now a fan of brussel sprouts?  You can't really see the sprouts in this picture, but its safe to say that the chef made good use of fish sauce for these vegetables.  Salty, sweet, caramelized, crispy.  Everyone loved these little veggies.  Triple T even made a similar version at home from the Momofuku cookbook. 

 

Banh Mi foie gras, pate de champagne 

These were an elevated version of the flavors found in the typical Vietnamese sandwich.  The pickled veggies, cucumbers, cilantro, and chili were a given.  The foie and pate were luscious and rich additions sandwiched between some light crispy crackers.  One was not enough, but sadly one was all I got to have.  

Read more »

La Paella

It has been quite some time since my last true blog entry.  You can consider my recent post on Yu Chun as just a little freebie to my "starving" readers, who have expressed longing and sorrow over my notable absence from the blogosphere.  I actually went to and blogged about Yu Chun some time ago.  Being a frequent haunt of mine, I didn't think it a time sensitive post, so kept it in the dusty backlogs for just that occasion when the "overworked" lead to the "underfed," blogger and readers, alike.  Don't know if any of that made sense, just try not to think too hard.  I try to apply that mentality to my everyday life, but sometimes it is not safe to have, considering my line of work...

The Communist, who will now be interchangeably referred to as The Pouter, was to begin yet another journey of world travels, this time to the land of communism and dumplings.  Before embarking on her international jaunt, she thought it would be nice to catch up and do what we do best together, EAT.  Eating is always more fun with more people (but please, no more than 6 is appropriate in my book).  Who else do we turn to for good fun and good times?  The Soprano Man.  This evening, he picked me up and even opened the door for me from the inside, from his driver side.  I thought to myself "Well, what a gentleman!"  Little did I know, that he only did that because the door does not open otherwise!

Who likes paella?  I do!  I do!  Well, at least I think I do.  Who can really turn down the thought of rice and seafood, married together in a delicate warmth of saffron scents with a Spanish flare?  Ole! I say!

Bread olive tapenade, butter
Pretty standard and unexciting.



Gambas al Ajillo shrimp sauteed with garlic and chili pod
We started off with a large pitcher of sangria (which, btw, was so delicious, but incredibly light on the alcohol here) and some tapas.  Disappointingly, the shrimp were few in number and high in price.  I was in such good spirits, and coming off a slew of moonlighting shifts, that I did not care too much.  In retrospect though, the shrimps were tasty, but not spectacular.

Read more »

The Golden State

Many argue over what is considered "The Best Burger in LA."  Is it Father's Office, Umami, 25 Degrees, Golden State, or some other new bumping burger joint?  While I do enjoy a good burger, I can't quite understand the craze.  As a result, I haven't joined the burger bandwagon to truly see for myself whose burger reigns supreme in LA.  I thought Exile Kiss did a good job chronicling her burger adventure through LA.  She concludes that Father's Office, Rustic Canyon, and Golden State have the best burgers.  While I do agree Fathers Office is amazing, I may have to disagree about Golden State (I haven't been to Rustic Canyon).

Persian Cucumber Salad sliced persian cucumbers, lemon vinaigrette
The cucumbers were fresh and crunchy.  They were tossed in a really simple and light vinagrette with a medley of arrugula.  Nothing too spectacular but the refreshing nature of the dish helped cut the grease through the meal.


French Fries
Crispy.  Golden.  Fried.   The ketchup here is very special.  Sorry no picture!  It is a curry ketchup that has all the tomato-ey goodness of ketchup, but the kicked up spiciness of curry.  It really is something, and I scooped up as much as I could.  I even slathered it all over my burger.

Read more »