Monthly Archive for April, 2011

LA Market Restaurant by Kerry Simon – Los Angeles (Downtown)

Published by Gastronomer on April 29, 2011 in Downtown, Los Angeles, Media Event (this meal was free), New American and Restaurant Review. 4 Comments

Dining at LA Market by Kerry Simon combined two of my favorite things: good food and reality television. Tucked into the expansive lobby of the JW Marriot in downtown Los Angeles, LA Market is headed by Chef Nona Sivley, the winner of Hell’s Kitchen season eight. Shortly after Gordon Ramsay declared her victorious, she claimed her prize as the restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine.

I’ve been hooked on Chef Ramsay’s parade of mostly incompetent culinarians for several seasons now, so I was more than a little excited to taste the creations of a bona fide Hell’s Kitchen survivor. Joining me for dinner was my friend Danny and a representative for the restaurant named Pate.

LA Market’s menu, which focuses on “American cuisine with a California flair,” still largely belongs to Executive Chef Kerry Simon. However, there are touches of Chef Sivley’s signature Southern roots sprinkled here and there. It’s likely that the food will gradually shift to reflect more of her culinary point of view as she grows more comfortable in the kitchen and at the restaurant.

The first item to hit the table was the bread basket. I quickly snatched up a pretzel roll and took a bite. It looked like a winner, but ended up tasting unfortunately dry. The bread stick, on the other hand, looked like a loser but tasted like winner. It had a croissant-like quality that I quite liked.

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Wedding Banquet Redux at New Capital Seafood

Published by Gastronomer on April 28, 2011 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Nuptials, Restaurant Review and San Gabriel. 29 Comments

In the months leading up to our wedding, The Astronomer and I worked closely with New Capital Seafood to plan an exceptional banquet for our guests. The restaurant has a dozen set menus that most brides and grooms choose from, but we insisted on selecting each of the ten courses individually. Food might be an afterthought for some couples, but we wanted our guests to eat ridiculously well.

When the big day rolled around, The Astronomer and I were so caught up in laughing, dancing, toasting, and reveling that we ended up not eating much of the feast that we had thoughtfully planned. We stole a couple bites here and there in between making the rounds, but the party superseded the meal that evening.

We recently returned to New Capital Seafood to celebrate our first anniversary. Since we missed out on the ten-course banquet the first time around, we decided to order the whole shebang to share between the two of us. It was an over-the-top endeavor, but also incredibly festive and quite romantic.

The kitchen here has a tendency to rush things a bit, so we ordered three dishes at a time to control the pace and to avoid eating cold food. To start, we shared a luxurious platter of cold appetizers. The “house special combination” ($29) included jellyfish, pork hocks, beef brisket, roasted duck, and cuttlefish. Our favorites were the cinnamon- and anise-tinged brisket, as well as the glistening pieces of fatty duck.

The next dish to arrive was a super-sized bowl of hot and sour soup ($8.99) that our waiter messily dished out into two smaller bowls. Brimming with soft cubes of tofu, snappy woodear mushrooms, tender pieces of pork, and wispy curds of egg, the soup was soothing, well-balanced, and true to its name.

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Gỏi Cuốn – Vietnamese Pork and Shrimp Rolls with Hoisin Dipping Sauce

Published by Gastronomer on April 26, 2011 in Appetizer, Family Recipe, Goi Cuon, Recipe, Vietnamese and Vietnamese. 22 Comments

It is tradition in American culture to bestow paper upon one’s beloved in recognition of the first wedding anniversary. While The Astronomer and I usually buck tradition, there was something awesomely antiquated and strangely appealing about this age-old gift giving ritual.

A special book, a letter written by hand, or a magazine subscription would have all made very nice gifts for The Astronomer; however, none of these things resonated with me personally. I wanted to give him something truly unique to honor the occasion.

After plotting and planning for a few weeks, I came up with a quirky idea. Rather than define “paper” literally, I decided to interpret it edibly. For our first wedding anniversary, I presented The Astronomer with rice paper in the form of gỏi cuốn and bò bía. My husband’s the kind of guy who really appreciates cleverness, ingenuity, and deliciousness, so this gift was absolutely perfect for him.

Gỏi cuốn is a popular snack food in Vietnam and is usually ordered as an appetizer in Vietnamese restaurants stateside. It is comprised of tightly wrapped rice paper bundles filled with pork, shrimp, vermicelli noodles, herbs, and greens. A Hoisin-based sauce topped with crushed peanuts is often served on the side for dipping. The flavors and textures present in this dish are fresh, snappy, and satisfying, kind of like our first year of marriage.

For gỏi cuốn (pork and shrimp rolls)

1 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound pork leg (or any other lean cut)
8 ounces thin rice vermicelli noodles, cooked according to directions on package
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 bunch fresh mint leaves
1 cucumber
16-20 garlic chives or Chinese chives
1 package rice paper

For nước tương (hoisin dipping sauce)

Hoisin sauce
Broth from cooking pork and shrimp
Sugar
Peanuts, toasted and crushed

Prepare shrimp and pork

Bring a small saucepan filled with salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook for 30 to 60 seconds or until just cooked through. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. While the water is still boiling, add the pork. Reduce the heat and poach the pork at a low simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the pork and set aside to cool. Reserve the stock for the Hoisin dipping sauce.

Once the shrimp have cooled, slice each one in half horizontally. Once the pork has cooled, cut across the grain to create thin slices of pork. Set the shrimp and pork aside.

Prepare herbs and greenery

Wash head of lettuce thoroughly and remove the ribs. Remove the seeds from the cucumber and slice thinly. Wash and trim the mint and garlic chives as necessary.
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Le Bon Garçon Gourmet Caramels

Published by Gastronomer on April 24, 2011 in Dessert, Los Angeles and Products I Love. 6 Comments

Le Bon Garçon came into my life serendipitously earlier this month. After dropping off my bacon almond brittle at the Bake Sale For Japan, I perused the treats lining the tables to procure a stash to bring home. I picked up a jar of Meyer Lemon and Meyers Rum jam from Mothercluck, a Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tart and a Peanut Butter Crispy Bar from Tuna Toast, and on a whim, I snatched up a box of salted caramels from Le Bon Garçon.

While I was familiar with the former two contributors, Le Bon Garçon was completely new to me. I love cute packaging and adore salted caramels even more, so I figured that I couldn’t really go wrong.

I held off on trying the caramels until the following Monday afternoon. My intention was to only eat one and save the rest for later, but once I tasted how amazing they were, there was no turning back. All three caramels were down my gullet in five minutes flat. No joke. They were truly the best caramels I’d ever eaten.

What made Le Bon Garçon’s product incredibly special was its silky texture. The caramels were pleasingly chewy without being overly sticky. My molars were left caramel-free in the aftermath of my binge, which is quite a feat in the world of soft candies. In addition to its superior texture, the caramel’s flavor was rich, buttery, well-balanced, and just salty enough.

After polishing off my supply much too quickly, I went online to learn more about the talented pastry chef behind Le Bon Garçon. Justin Chao launched the gourmet caramel company after studying pastry arts at Bellouet Conseil in Paris and 3-star Michelin Le Meurice. He founded Le Bon Garçon in 2010 upon returning home to Los Angeles.

The time Chef Chao spent in France greatly influenced his craft. All of Le Bon Garçon’s caramels are made from scratch using the best ingredients and no preservatives. Every batch is painstakingly stirred by hand and meticulously wrapped. It’s quality you can really sink your teeth into.

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Salt’s Cure – Los Angeles (West Hollywood)

Published by Gastronomer on April 21, 2011 in Breakfast / Brunch, Los Angeles, New American, Restaurant Review and West Hollywood. 14 Comments

There’s a lot to love about Salt’s Cure. For starters, the kitchen makes everything from scratch. From the ketchup to the bagels, every little thing is sourced from within. Additionally, all of the produce, meat, cheese, wine, and beer comes solely from California. Salt’s Cure is committed to keeping food miles in check and highlighting the very best of the Golden State. To top it all off, the ambiance is laid back and the chefs crank out some really terrific food.

Owned and operated by chefs Christopher Phelps, Zachary Walters, and Naomi Shim, the restaurant offers a small menu that changes daily. In addition to the blackboard offerings, there’s always a diverse selection of smoked, cured, and pickled meat, fish, and vegetables to be had.

I’ve been wanting to dine at Salt’s Cure ever since I heard about its impressive charcuterie, but didn’t get a chance to do so until a few weeks ago. My friend Lien and I grabbed two seats at the bar facing the open kitchen for maximum chef swoonage. She’s a regular at the place, and we were treated like queens this evening.

To start, we dug into a tremendous plank of cured, smoked, and potted goodness. There was a silky pile of smoked halibut ($14) that Lien and I paired with bagel crisps and chive-flecked sour cream. The tender slices of beef round ($10) were eaten straight up or wrapped with a few sprigs of lightly dressed watercress.

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