Monthly Archive for April, 2009

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Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles – Pasadena

Published by Gastronomer on April 10, 2009 in Chain / Multiple Locations, Pasadena, Restaurant Review and Southern. 8 Comments

Remember the show House of Style on MTV? It was hosted by Cindy Crawford in the late 80s. The weekly occurring, hour-long program explored the world of celebrity, modeling, and style before the ultra-intrusive paparazzi era. Even though it’s been a good fifteen years since I’ve actually seen an episode, some segments have stuck in my mind all these years, like the do-it-yourself projects with Todd Oldham and the episode where Dennis Rodman tried on Speedos for Cindy—talk about a plantain hammock.

There wasn’t really much food talk on House of Style because models and food go together like oil and water. The one exception was when the incredibly-stylish Lenny Kravitz took Cindy on a tour of his favorite Los Angeles haunts, including a stop at Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles.

Taking a cue from Lenny, The Astronomer and I took our Hawaiian visitor Luscious Liana here for her final dinner in the City of Angels.

Roscoe’s menu goes above and beyond the well-known chicken and waffles. Soul food staples like grits, biscuits, chicken livers, giblets, and collard greens are also on the bill of fare. For our inaugural visit, we stuck to the house specials. Afraid that Roscoe’s only dished out high-fructose corn syrup instead of 100% maple syrup, I brought along a bottle of the real deal in my purse. I don’t like to leave my fate in the hands of strangers.

The Astronomer and I shared half a chicken prepared Southern-style with two waffles ($15.30). As anticipated, the chicken was killer. The skin was crispy and well-seasoned, while the meat was splendidly moist. I selfishly hogged up the dark meat and left the poor Astronomer with the hefty breast. It was a lot of food for two people, but chicken and waffles don’t taste nearly as good the next day, so we rallied like champions.

The waffle portion of our meal was served on separate plates with two shots of Aunt Jemima and two blobs of butter for each of us. The waffle was decent, but not as crisp as we would’ve liked. Even though the waffle wasn’t perfect, The Astronomer still happily dug in because he hasn’t seen this style of waffle since he left Waffle House Territory.

Everyone at the table agreed that chicken and waffles tasted best when eaten together. Take a square of waffle plus a hunk of chicken, add to it a piece of crispy skin, a shmear of butter, and a dousing of syrup, and you’ve got a handsome sweet and savory delight.

In addition to the chicken and waffles, The Astronomer and I also shared a side of cornbread ($2.40). Unlike traditional Southern cornbread, these muffins were done sweet, Yankee-style. The cornbread was good, but not good enough to order on our next visit to Roscoe’s.

Bonus: Click below to see how Luscious Liana likes to eat her chicken and waffles. Warning—it’s a heart attack on a plate.

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Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles
830 North Lake Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91104
Phone: 626-791-4890

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Fosselman’s Ice Cream Co. – Alhambra

Published by Gastronomer on April 9, 2009 in Alhambra, Dessert, Los Angeles and Restaurant Review. 1 Comment

After a delightful dinner at Luscious Dumplings, Lush, The Astronomer, and I bid farewell to Sharon and cruised over to Alhambra for dessert. Our destination was Fosselman’s Ice Cream Co., which was recommended to me by gas•tron•o•my reader Danielle. According to Danielle, Fosselman’s is a family-run business that’s been around since the early 1900s.

Luscious Liana is an ice cream fiend, and I do not use the word ‘fiend’ lightly. A couple years back when she visited me in Philly, Lush spent a small fortune at Capogiro—purveyor of some of the greatest gelato on the planet. Last year when she visited me in Saigon, Lush fell hard for the frozen coconut wonder that is kem trai dua. My friend has a soft spot for all that is cold, sweet, and creamy; I knew Fosselman’s would be her cup of tea.

The bulk of Fosselman’s flavor offerings are standard ones like mint, strawberry, and cookie dough. There are a few curve balls on the menu like lychee, white chocolate chip, and taro, but nothing outrageously unique. The traditional flavors on hand complement the old-school ice cream shop vibe.

Single scoops are priced at $2.50, while double ones go for about a buck more. The Astronomer and I shared a scoop of pistachio. Luscious went for a scoop of espresso topped with an additional scoop of English toffee—I told you she was a fiend.

The Astronomer and I like ice cream, but aren’t bananas about it. Our scoop of pistachio was satisfyingly nutty and intriguingly green—nothing more, nothing less. Lush enjoyed her two selections thoroughly, especially the toffee variety, and was pleased with the price because ice cream is more costly in her home state of Hawaii.

Thank goodness for local dairy cows.

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Fosselman’s
1824 W. Main Street
Alhambra, CA 91801
Phone: 626-282-6533

Bánh Mì & Me in the New York Times

Published by Gastronomer on April 9, 2009 in Potpourri and Press. 22 Comments

Julia Moskin investigates the exciting evolution of the humble bánh mì in her latest article, “Building on Layers of Tradition.” I’m stoked to be included in the piece and am excited to share with New York Times readers the awesomeness that is the Vietnamese sandwich. Without further ado, explore the art of bánh mì on gas•tron•o•my.

Bánh mì in Saigon

Bánh mì in Alabama

Phở Quê Hương – Birmingham

Bánh mì in California

Á Châu – San Diego, [2], [3]

Ba Le French Sandwich & Bakery – Alhambra

Bánh Mì & Chè Cali – San Gabriel

Bánh Mì Mỹ Tho – Alhambra

Bánh Mì Mỹ Dung – Los Angeles

Lee’s Sandwiches – Alhambra (locations nationwide)

Mr. Baguette – Rosemead

Saigon’s Bakery & Sandwiches – San Gabriel & San Jose

Bánh mì in Missouri

BBC Asian Bar and Cafe

Bánh mì in New York

Xie Xie

Luscious Dumplings Inc. – San Gabriel

Published by Gastronomer on April 6, 2009 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and San Gabriel. 6 Comments

A visit from my longtime friend Luscious Liana provided the perfect opportunity to sample the highly-touted goods at Luscious Dumplings. I’m not sure how the restaurant acquired its name, but my gal pal earned hers during college freshman orientation. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink.

Lush, The Astronomer, and I, along with gas•tron•o•my reader Sharon who was in town for spring break, visited Luscious Dumplings for an early dinner. Both Sharon and I had heard through the SGV grapevine that Luscious Dumplings often runs out of food before its advertised 8 PM closing. We were early birds to guarantee the worm.

We chose a table for four by the window even though the amiable waiter had offered us the highly coveted seats by the television set. Just like at Qing Dao Bread Food and Din Tai Fung, we were presented with a Xeroxed menu to mark-up our order.

Complimentary dishes of pickled cabbage and carrots arrived at the table first along with water and hot tea.

Our first course of the evening was “flavors stewed bean curd” ($3). The firm strips of bean curd were marinated in soy and sesame oil and served cool. The combination of mild flavors and chill temps made for a refreshing starter.

In the dumplings department, we went with an order of pan fried pork dumplings (left – $5.50) and an order of steamed cabbage, pork, and shrimp dumplings (right – $6). Both were terrific, but in totally different ways. The pan fried ones satisfied my greasy / porky tooth, while the steamed ones pleased my mild / clean flavors tooth. Both were marvelously tasty specimens.

The pork filled soup dumplings ($5.50) didn’t ooze as much juice as the ones from Din Tai Fung, but tasted great drizzled with some hot chili oil and dipped in black vinegar.

Lastly, we shared a large order of “flavors stewed beef” ($6). The noodles were solid, but not as memorable as the dumplings.

Next stop on the dumplings super highway—Kingburg Kitchen.

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Luscious Dumplings Inc.
704 W. Las Tunas Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Phone: 626-282-8695

World Peace Cookies / Korova Cookies

Published by Gastronomer on April 4, 2009 in Cookie, Dessert and Recipe. 9 Comments

Originally dubbed Korova Cookies by French pastry chef Pierre Hermé, these mega-chocolaty delights were re-Christened World Peace Cookies after Dorie Greenspan’s refreshingly optimistic neighbor proclaimed that “A dose of Pierre’s cookies is all that is needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness.” What’s most notable about these petite sweets is their sandy-texture and intriguingly salty notes. World peace is an awfully tall order, but spreading satisfied smiles is a good start.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Turn off the mixer. Pour in the flour, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

SERVING: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature — I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest — and are best suited to cold milk or hot coffee.

STORING: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Makes about 36 cookies.