Twenty Eight

So I first tried Top Chef finalist Shirley Chung's cooking at her pop up at The Playground 2.0.  I liked most of the food we had there, especially her hand cut noodles.  It was a pricey meal to say the least, but I like to support new talent and understand that sometimes you are paying, not just for the food, but the experience as well.  We all, Teety and Soprano Man included, have been patiently awaiting the opening of her very own restaurant in the strangest of locations, Irvine, California.  It's not in the hippest or happening part of Irvine either.  It's surrounded by offices and businesses.  I guess Shirley is trying to cater to the working crowd?  We convened here on a Friday night, but the restaurant was frankly dead.  BAD sign right?

Twice Cooked Pork Belly Buns steamed then fried, red braised pork belly, condensed milk
Soprano Man and I started out at the bar while we waited for Teety.  I was imagining the open faced white steamed buns with some thick yummy slabs of pork belly sandwiched in between, Momofuku style.  These were the actually buns like at dim sum, but deep fried which was a different twist.  The filling had an anise aroma which was another twist.  I also was not familiar with dipping these savory buns in condensed milk so I passed.  I think when dough is fried, the result should be something light and fluffy but these were too dense.  They weren't bad, but not good enough to order again.

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Test Kitchen: Marcel Vigneron

I'm a groupie through and through.  I freak out when I see a celebrity of any caliber, from the A list to the D list.  I'm scream.  I point.  I gawk.  Then I hide into the farthest corners of my shyness.   I will not approach them.  I will not talk to them.  I will dart my eyes away if they there is any hint of potential eye contact.  Sadly, this holds true for even reality TV stars, who are at best C list celebrities, but are probably more like a solid D.   Celebrity chefs are no exception, if not a large focus of my undeserved attention. 

Marcel Vigneron, being the runner up of Top Chef Season 2, was the main draw for my visit to Test Kitchen this time around.  When I walked into the restaurant and laid eyes on that giant mane of hair from scalp to chin, I became especially effusive with girlish immaturity.  Just as quick as the inane giddiness washed upon me, compelling me to snap photos of Marcel, did the feelings of embarassment soon follow, quelling the stalkarazzi in me.  I did manage to get one good photo before the restraint of my sheepish nature kicked in.

Marcel fared quite well on Top Chef.  He seemed like a young, but truly talented and innovative gastronomist.  I was eager to taste his culinary creations.

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Test Kitchen: Young Team

This food blog has become both a blessing and a curse.  It is a blessing because I am reconnecting with old friends and also making new friends.  People are just coming out of the wood work wanting to eat and try new places with me.  It is a curse because dining at this level is burning a hole in my wallet and unless I start moonlighting or robbing banks, I'm gonna be showing up to LA Free Clinic for my medical care.  Also, I'm starting to feel waaay unhealthy and my GERD is acting up.  Oh, this blog also takes a lot of time to maintain!   The witty writing and dazzling photos don't just magically spill onto the page.  In any case, I plan to stay the course for now because making new friendships and keeping up the old ones over some good food is too much fun.

Case in point.  I haven't talked to Hungry Douche since graduation probably.  But he discovered a fellow "food-liking" (Hungry Douche dislikes the word foodie) friend in me and was excited to have some new dining companions.  He already had been to Test Kitchen for Michael Voltaggio, Starry Kitchen, and some other ones that I forgot.  He found it hilarious that almost EVERYONE, save himself and his sister, busted out their SLR cameras for the Voltaggio night.  So he was amused to find out that I had a food blog and that I obnoxiously snapped photos of my food in the same way.

When he invited me to "Young Team" night at Test Kitchen, I was curious.  Sous chefs collectively from Bastide, Water Grill, L'Orangeries, Ludobites, and the Bazaar were to be cooking up a surprise menu which later on was revealed to include foie gras donuts.  At that sound of foie gras donuts, I immediately said yes.    Then we were hypothesizing who these "mystery chefs" could be.  We thought one of them had to be Marcel from Top Chef since he works at the Bazaar.  We found out there would be no Marcel, but instead there would be Amanda from this season's Top Chef.  Sorry Amanda, but I found you really annoying on the show and it really seemed like your food sucked.  Tom Colicchio told you to go to Italy to learn what Italian food tastes like.  Plus you had what looked like a cold sore on your face for a good deal of those interviews.  So not only was Ed dripping his personally seasoned sweat into all the food, you were shedding viruses into the food.  I kid, but these are the things we joke about sometimes.  Enough of this since I'm beginning to drone on like some other people.

Foie Gras Powdered Donuts shallot jelly dressing (Dan Moody of Ludobites)
The most anticipated dish of the night turned out to be the most disappointing.  Don't put the words "foie gras" into the title and not present any "foie gras" that any of my senses can pick up because thats just criminal.  Apparently they took tapioca starch with rendered foie gras to make the "powder." 

It didn't even taste like a donut either, more like a dinner roll.  And it wasn't even warm!  The filling was more interesting, slightly sweet from beets and figs, but with hints of savory from the shallots and leeks  It had more of a paste texture than a jelly texture.   I really liked it and wished there were more of it to go around.

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Taste of Beverly Hills 2010 (a.k.a. Disneyland for Adults)

It was my luck day when Cathy of Gastronomyblog let me know that I was the (randomly selected) lucky winner of her 2 tickets to Taste of Beverly Hills, a weekend long celebration of great wine and fantastic food from local restaurants in the Beverly Hills/Los Angeles Area, hosted by Food & Wine magazine.  I'm sure you could imagine my reaction.   I had just won $300 worth of foodie fun festitivites!  I am usually aware of the various food festivals taking place around LA, but usually do not attend because of cost and crowds.  I'd hate to fork out money when I can't guarantee the food will be good, or when I can anticipate being elbow to elbow with other obsessive foodies.

I took Miss Nancy Rheeeee, and she brought The Millionaire Man, who obviously purchased his own ticket but at a discounted price.   I was planning on being uber cheap and parking at the Century City Mall and walking over to the shuttle stop nearby, instead of parking in the $15 lot.  I got lazy and parked there anyways.  They had shuttle buses, but they also had these cute little trolleys, which I got to ride. 

Everything went smoothly from parking, to shuttle busing, to will call line, to entering to the festival.  It was pretty well organized and set up, as you can see below.  There were two large tents like these with all the food & wine stations, and various smaller tents and tables with cocktail, beer, beverage, and demo stations.

Wide-eyed, hungry, and camera-ready, I made my way through as many stations as possible.  Big thanks to Nancy Rheee and Millionaire Man for being so patient with me and my photography.  I managed to do a decent job with the pictures considering I was eating and fighting crowds at the same time.  

Foie Gras Duo brioche crouton, honeycomb, strawberry marmalade, spiced duck jus - One Pico @ Shutters on the Beach Hotel, Santa Monica.
I should have enjoyed this in two bites to appreciate the cool, smooth, creaminess of the foie in contrast to the marmalade.  The marmalade was probably a little too overwhelming for the subtle flavors surrounding it.  It was a good bite in the end.

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