Black Hogg

There are some restaurants in Silverlake/Echo Park/Los Feliz area I've been wanting to try for a while now.  The problem is, these places are somewhat far or troublesome to get to because it usually requires traversing through DTLA and it's better to have DTLA be your final destination given the horrific traffic. So it can be hard to gather any forces to conquer these places in, but luckily Ho Bag, and two new diners making their debut on the blog, Fat-Skinny-Fat-Less Fat (whose name will probably be in flux as he continues to drop weight for the upcoming bikini season) and Hates Food Porno, readily rallied to my side to check out Black Hogg.  Ho Bag will eat just about anything I suggest, having an unwavering and unquestioning trust in my food judgement.  When it comes to food relationships, I wear the pants, and very rarely does anyone try to fight me on that.  Hates Food Porno probably only came because Ho Bag dragged her.  I don't read minds, but I know she was cursing me under her breath with ever click of my camera, and every "wait wait! I'm not done yet!"  

Uni Toast san diego uni, plugra butter, maldon salt, chives

My name is all over uni anything.  It's such a stark contrast to a few years ago when uni anything made me gag.  The flavors were subtle, but the sweet butteriness of uni was brought out by the fancy buttery and complimented the crunch of the toast.  We split each in two, but I woulda been happier with a whole toast to myself.

Brussels Sprouts Hash twice cooked brussels, yukon golds, bacon vinaigrette, poached egg
It is a FACT.  Every restaurant this side of 2008 has their version of brussels sprouts.  These were pretty good.  I liked the incorporation of the soft luscious potatoes.  The bacon flavor was pretty subtle.  I'm sure the brussels were fried, and so the yolk added only another layer of decadence.

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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.

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King Hua

Dim sum has to fall into the same category as sushi, for it's lack of varying descriptors.  Also, while all sushi looks the same, all dim sum looks the same as well.  As a result, dim sum isn't all that exciting to blog about, but I still do it because good dim sum deserves some attention.  King Hua isn't the best, but it's pretty good.  Maybe I don't know what the best is anymore, since my favorite place Sea Harbour Seafood has faltered in quality just a tad.  LoMa-Linda recommended some new places for me to try since the prices and wait times are high at Sea Harbour.  I agreed to try King Hua mostly because they serve milk buns, and I refuse to eat dim sum unless I can have my milk buns!  This meal was a special occasion since The Gunner (who needs a new name) and Perpetually Underwhelmed were visiting me from Portland.  I wanted to show them what was good about SoCal, and ain't nothing better here than the Asian food.

Siu Mai
Porky, juicy, plump.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake

Crispy exterior with bits of Chinese sausage smattered between chunks of moist cakey turnip.

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B Patisserie

Though I have yet to try the wondrous deliciousness of the famed Cronut, I would argue that B Patisserie's Kouign-Amann (pronounced queen ahman) has to be some stiff West Coast competition.  I don't know why I had never heard of this Kouign-Amann before.  It is ridiculously amazing.  Like any good bakery, B Patisserie serves an assortment of sinfully sweet and rich pastries.

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Range

I'm really beginning to appreciate the food scene in San Francisco more and more these days.  It's definitely a much more refined food scene than LA.  The restaurants seem more ingredient driven and  have that "farm-to-table" thing going on.  It's also a nice change of pace to come to San Francisco and let another foodie take the reigns.  It's refreshing to be able to put your brain on hold and just show up somewhere someone tells you and have complete faith that the place is gonna be tasty.  This is how I feel when I dine with The Pouter.

Mendocino Sea Urchin chilled soba noodles, seaweed, ginger, sesame seeds
Our romantic date started off with some appetizers.  I LOVE uni but somehow I've never been impressed with any preparation of uni save for nigiri.  I suppose the problem is that when uni is served in some other way besides nigiri, there's never enough of it and I always feel disatisfied.  Here it looks like there's a lot of uni, but it's more like there's not a lot of the other stuff.  It was a cool refreshing starter with light Japanese flavors.

Chicken Liver Mousse frisee salad

I love most forms of meat in paste form.  This was no exception.  I didn't like the super crispy crouton pieces though, really hurt my teeth and abraded the roof of my mouth.

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Badmaash

Over the years, I've come to love braises and stews.  In that same vein, I've come to appreciate the varying brown spicy mushiness of Indian food.  I guess I just like food that doesn't require a lot of teeth to eat and enjoy.  I love food for the senile and edentulous!  I don't think I have a very refined palate when it comes to Indian food; it mostly all tastes pretty good to me.  But Badmaash was recommended by Bruin Bear, and she's born and bred brown.  Apparently, she knows the owners and really wanted me and some of our other friends to try this up and coming DTLA spot.  It was a sort of reunion for Care Bear, Token Bear, Bruin Bear, Derm Bear and myself.  The latter two had their husbands in tow too, Thai Bear, and ENT Bear respectively.  Yeah, it was an all bear kinda night.  We sorta ate like bears too!

Samosas traditional & butter chicken
Truthfully, I think I like the traditional potato samosas, but the meat one was good too.

Chicken Tikka Poutine masala fries, cheese curds, hot beef gravy, chicken tikka, cilantro
This is one of the signature dishes.  They are getting creative here combing a traditional Canadian favorite with Indian flavors.  I commend their efforts, but it just fries topped with all those things.

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Oumi Sasaya

The South Bay has its fair share of excellent Japanese restaurants.  Triple T being the stereotypical Taiwanese Japan-o-phile, feels right at home here.  Why do Taiwanese people love everything Japanese?  I have no idea, but it's like they were brainwashed from the womb to worship anything and everything "made in Japan."  If you're reading this, and you're a true Taiwanese at heart, then you know this is true!  Anyways, I digress.  This is a food blog here, so on to the food...

Cold Tofu
Oumi Sasaya is solid udon oriented joint, but we had to have some starters to kick things off.  I think this was a standard amuse bouche for everyone.  Nothing really spectacular here.

Fried Garlic Chicken Wings
You can't wrong with wings.

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Scratch Bar

LA is seriously lacking in fine dining options, but its not like the chefs in this city aren't giving it a go.  Take for instance Scratch Bar, which is a newly opened addition to La Cienega's famed restaurant row.  I suppose it's not necessarily trying to achieve the fine dining benchmark, but I guess it's definitely striving for an elevated food experience.  I've dined at very few restaurants in LA where the servers explained the dishes' preparation and presentation at tableside.  I can now add Scratch Bar to that short list.  Unfortunately, that attention to detail and the dining experience did nothing for the food itself, which fell…short.  Way to celebrate Smooth Obturator's birthday right??

Duck Skin Popcorn fresh thyme

Fat is fat.  Is there something tastier about duck fat??  The answer is probably yes, but it was not reflected in this supposed fun appetizer which tasted like stale popcorn tossed in stale old fat flavor.  We all felt it would have been a good dish had it been served just popped and warm.  Room temperature animal fat popcorn?  Pass.

Luna Oyster oven roasted, beet emulsion
I prefer my oysters raw, but this worked nicely.

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Tar & Roses

Welcome to the first post of 2014.  Granted this meal happened many weeks back in 2013, but better late than never.

I'll admit that ever since Eleven Madison Park, I've been unenthusiastic about trying new restaurants in LA, expecting disappointment at every corner.  How could anything ever top EMP?  But Tar & Roses showed me that food doesn't have to be all fancy and fine dining to knock my socks off.  I went to Tar & Roses before and after EMP, and both times I was thoroughly impressed.  The first time I went with Miss Rheeeeee and Me So Hairy, but I forgot my camera.  What a crime to miss out documenting this excellent meal, so I came back with Smooth Obturator and Triple T.  I had to call 4 weeks in advance to get a Friday night reservation!

Bruschetta & Charcuterie

Heirloom Cherry Tomato burrata, basil

Woodroasted Eggplant feta, pickled tomato, mint

Duck Liver Pate frisee, pickled radish

If you know me, you know I love places that serve up an awesome charcuterie board.  I can't actually say the charcuterie was that memorable since the meats selection wasn't all that exciting, salumi, american prosciutto, and american ham.  We chose a few bruchettas which were delicious, my favorite was probably the tomato one.  Smooth Obturator also picked a cheese, which I think was probably a gorgonzola, stinky, salty, well balanced by the nuts, pickled veggies, and dried apricots.  

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Levain Bakery

Any trip anywhere isn't complete without a bit of sweet to over indulge in.  While a trip to NYC usually necessitates a hike to The Doughnut Plant, the 3 Little Monsters made it too difficult to trek all the way out to the Lower Eastside.  Luckily we found Levain Bakery which was just a short jaunt away from our condo and is known for its cookies.  I love me a good cookie!!  It has 2226 reviews on Yelp so it had to be amazing right?

I was quite surprised by the limited selection of cookies.  You're pretty much looking at what they had. I asked if they had run out or something but they said this is what they usually serve.  Now I'm all for doing a few things really really well as opposed to have some gargantuan selection of low quality goods, but the most tantalizing foreplay to a fantastic meal or snack is the visual display of too many delicious things to eat.  The foreplay here left much to be desired.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie
Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie
Fortunately, the main attraction did not disappoint.  The cookies are frickin' GINORMO, and really feel more like a heavy dense cookie cake than a true cookie.  Everyone preferred the regular cookie better than the chocolate chocolate one which I guess tasted more like a brownie.  This is NOT something you should eat in one sitting or alone.  These things have got be a giant calorie bomb.  They are flatter, but generally the size of your fist.

So Levain is pretty good, but not something I would trek across the country for, probably because I prefer a real cookie and not a cake cookie.  I'm still praying for that day that The Doughnut Plant decides to grace the West Coast with its presence.  I mean they have locations in Korea and Japan! Why not LA/OC???

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Eleven Madison Park

When I dreamed of the moment I would get to have my way with NYC, I always saw Per Se as the juicy succulent main course, and all other dining adventures as just appetizers to whet my appetite.  I didn't give much thought to what else could be on the menu.  The Pouter, being the savvy foodie she is, told me to make reservations at Eleven Madison Park in addition to Per Se.  Unfortunately she had to bow out, so I filled the empty spots with good ole sistah, Triple F, and my dearest mums.  Triple T and Smooth Obturator had to stay home and watch the 3 Little Monsters.  Oh snap, did those two miss out on the BEST FUCKING MEAL OF A LIFETIME!  Eleven Madison Park turned out to be the stunning pièce de résistance of my all too short NYC food tour.

Cheddar savory black and white cookie with apple
Who doesn't like little boxes tied up in string with a delicious surprise hiding inside?  I can't really say these tasted like cheddar or apple but they are misleading sweet when in fact they were savory.

Sea Urchin snow with smoked cantaloupe and yogurt
A bright refreshing start to the menu.  Who know cantaloupe would pair so nicely with uni.  There was also basil and lime yogurt adding some more herbaceous and acid notes.  Two bites and this was gone gone gone.

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ABC Cocina

When I visit a new city, I usually do my research and find all the good restaurants I want to try.  However, with NYC, I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time aside from the planned dinners at Per Se and Eleven Madison Park.  Also, I was traveling with my family and the 3 newest additions to the H.o.P. has made life unpredictable and chaotic to say the least.  It's a good thing The Pouter's foodie mojo wasn't bogged down by 3 little monsters disguising themselves as adorable squishy cutie patooties.  We brunched it up ABC Cocina because we were unable to snag a rezzie at ABC Kitchen. I wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between the two restaurants, which are literally attached to each and separated by glass windows and doors.  All I know is that they are both restaurants from famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and ABC Cocina has a latin flare.

Bread
We were starvin' like Marvin and noshed hard on the bread.

Tomato Salad red onion, serrano chilies, sherry vinaigrette, herbs
I think if there were one food I couldn't live without in this world, it would be the tomato.  It's not like I eat tomatoes everyday.  For the most part, they are usually hothouse grown tasteless excuses for food.  But when they are the sun ripened bounty of a warm summer....I need not say more.  I think my LOVE for this dish was magnified by my pre-existing penchant for tomatoes because it was in fact a really simple salad.  I wish I could eat this everyday.

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Per Se

Dining at The French Laundry has always been a dream of mine.  I know that sounds so cheesy and melodramatic, but these are the fantasies of food people.   Unfortunately, reservations are DAMN hard to nab.  So even though I live a heck of a lot closer to The French Laundry, I had to trek cross country to have my first Thomas Keller dining experience at Per Se.

We had amazing seats that looked out onto Columbus Circle and the southern edge of Central Park.  Too bad it was on the gloomy side.  Don't be fooled, gray does NOT equal cold like it does in Portland.  It was hot and muggy, but still a great view.  I'm a city girl, and this is the kinda view that takes my breath away.  I think The Pouter and her 2 fellow New Yorker foodie friends were equally impressed.

Amuse Bouche gruyère gougères
Our meal started off with the famous gougères, which I have seen many times in pictures.  They were A LOT smaller than I had imagined or even had before at other restaurants.  Usually, they have been the size of a cream puff, but these were the size of a large marble.  They were still pretty darn good, but I wanted more!

Amuse Bouche salmon coronets
Deliciously smoked salmon served like a mini ice cream cone.  Cute and tastey.

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Nozomi

I don't get too excited to write posts about sushi.  Its discouraging to write a post when you have limited adjectives to describe something you know is so delicious and special.  But sushi is just one of those baffling types of foods that words do not do justice.  Audio Monkey sans wifey and The Anti-Exerciser   plus wifey joined me for an omakase experience at Nozomi.  I do love tasting menus and omakase because it just takes the burden off myself to figure out what to order.


Sweet Lip 
I never had this before, but it was clean tasting.

Yellow Fin Sea Bream
Another fish I don't commonly eat, but it was solid.

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Little Sister

It seems like a lot of chefs these days are incorporating Asian flavors into their cooking.  I guess this is one of the aspects comprising "New American" cuisine.  I guess Little Sister isn't so much "New American" as it is "Asian/Asian fusion", but its smack dab in the middle of one of the whitest parts of the South Bay, Manhattan Beach, so that makes it American enough.

Grilled Pork Spring Roll "Nem Nuong" red leaf lettuce, mint, carrot, cucumber, house sauce
The "peanut" sauce was pretty bland, so the fish sauce was more flavorful.  The rolls themselves were just OK.  I can definitely make better ones myself.  They were also a bit too loosely wrapped.  No doubt, a spring roll wrapping noob was in the back making these.

Singapore Chili Soft Shelled Crab Banh Mi spiced tomato relish, pickled garlic
My dining companions, Old Bear and his gf, had never tried soft shell crab before.  After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I jumped at the chance to order this.  It was really solid.  I highly recommend this one.  I think I'll leave it at that.

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Quince

My summer of fancy schmancy eating didn't end with Grace.  Oh no, no, it just started there and continued with my visit to Quince with The Pouter.  It felt like a hot date.  We both got all dolled up, she picked me up,  we had wine, great conversation, and then the date took a turn towards doomsville.  The check came and we went dutch!  Well not every date that starts well, ends well =P.  Anyways, the place is pretty elegant, and would be a great place to celebrate a special occasion.  The Pouter and I were celebrating, um...life, love, and food?  Heck, we don't really need an occasion to blow some cash on any ole weekday.  I guess I was visiting SF, so that was occasion enough!

Green Garlic Parmesan Chips
They had the texture of shrimp chips with a very subtle cheesy taste.  A bit on the greasy side but its just so easy to eat anything in chip form.

Pickled Green Tomato Tartlet squash chips
These were some of the best bites of the night.  This one tasted like a fresh tomato pie.

Arugula Financier seville orange purée
Wow, this was soo good!  Like a sweet yet savory vegetable pound cake.  I wanted a whole loaf.

Russet Potato Skin guanciale marmalade
Yum!  A singular bite that encompassed all the flavors of an awesome baked potato.

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Incanto

It's been a while since I've dined with Weeners.  The last time was when she still lived in LA and that seems like ages ago.  Now, she is proud to call herself a San Franciscan and has really adapted to the hippy dippy lifestyle of those folks up there and she loves it.  SF is too cold and gloomy if you ask me, but on those rare occasions when the sun is shining, I will admit the city has its charm.  I love visiting, since the food is so derricious, and since I have yet another friend who has relocated up there, Craire (formerly known as CMac Attack).  All of us met up at the Italian restaurant of Top Chef Master, Chris Cosentino, winner of season 4.  To my shock, he was actually IN the kitchen cooking when I arrived, but moved to expediting by the time we were seated.  Expectations were certainly high for me knowing this.

Foccacia Bread olive tapenade
Pretty tasty, even more so because we were pretty hungry by this point.

Handkerchief Pasta rustic pork ragu, sizzled duck egg
A really solid, hearty meat pasta dish.  No complaints here.

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Roku

Triple F and Running Man really love this place. Apparently the guy who opened up Roku actually had a food truck serving Japanese curry and was successful enough to open up a brick and mortar joint serving a larger selection of food, izakaya style. The menu is surprisingly extensive here so I was a bit wary of the quality. I mean the place serves pretty specialized Japanese dishes like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and ramen so it could easily do it all wrong. Fortunately, it does it all right!

Mentai Bowl crab meat, spicy cod roe paste, rice

I'm not sure why Triple F loves mentaiko so much. It's quite fishy funky and Triple F is not usually one for unusual foods. Anyways, this was ok but I'm not a fan of mentaiko I guess.

Mochi Bacon

Running Man loooved this, which again was not my thing. The bacon wasn't crispy enough and it wasn't enough meat to balance out a big hunk of starch.  

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LA Food & Wine Festival 2013: Live On Grand

I like going to food festivals, almost exclusively the non-FREE ones. You may be asking yourself, why would you prefer to pay for something rather than get something for FREE? I really hate large crowds and long lines. Free food festivals just attract a TON more people, so you end up having to elbow your way around and stand in a long ass line in the, usually, brutal hot sun, to pay for your food plate for plate in the end.  I'd rather pay a larger sum of money upfront for an all-you-can-eat experience, which naturally weeds out a good chunk of people. Buuuut, I suppose I took this attitude a bit far when I gathered the forces, Triple T and Smooth Obturator, for the LAFW festival at $250 a ticket. Was it worth it you might ask?  Wine was pouring from every place you turned, lines moved quickly, celebrity chefs actually prepping and serving their food, and Gavin DeGraw performed live! I guess most of your probably care more about the food though, so on we go...


Kris Morningstar | Ray's  & Stark Bar spiced lamb with pistachio yogurt
Salty but a good amount of spice and heat.

Johnathan Sadler | Rivera autumn corn custard, asparagus, morel mushrooms

Definitely one of my favorite dishes of the night. It's summer, so all the corn dishes I've been eating have been fantastic and this was no exception. It was just a pile of umami goodness. Sweet from the corn, salty from the mushrooms, crunch for the asparagus. Smooth Obturator and Triple T went back for seconds. 

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Little Goat

Stephanie Izzard's first restaurant, Girl & The Goat, is probably one of the hottest tickets in town since it opened in 2010.  Reservations are still hard to come by and sometimes can't be snagged even months in advance.  I dined here some time ago and was very pleased with my meal here, though I feel like there are plenty of other restaurants in Chicago that are just as tasty, if not tastier, and a lot easier to eat at.  Anyways, Triple F and I needed a place to brunch at and even though Chicago had many other stellar offerings and Buff Bear only gave it a lukewarm recommendation, we were intrigued by Little Goat, mostly because of our good experiences at Girl & The Goat.

Little Goat is more like a diner, which means more typical American fare like burgers, sandwiches, eggs/bacon, pancakes, biscuits/gravy.  But, this is Stephanie Izzard here right?  Everything's got a twist.

Breakfast Spaghetti 'N Clams 'N Crabs eggs, parmesan, pork guanciale, bok choy
We were intrigued by the possibilities of this dish but SEVERELY let down.  Don't order this.  It's frankly BAD.  I guess they took spaghetti and fried or baked it with cheese to make this giant carb conglomerate sitting in a pool of clam broth? topped with all that stuff above.  It was difficult and messy to eat.  It tasted fishy.  I didn't understand what was going on here.  FAILURE.

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