Monthly Archive for August, 2011

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Lunch at The Spice Table – Los Angeles (Downtown)

Published by Gastronomer on August 16, 2011 in Banh Mi, Downtown, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review, Singaporean and Vietnamese. 25 Comments

A glowing review of The Spice Table on Midtown Lunch brought my friend Bill and me to Little Tokyo for a weekday meetup. Vietnamese sandwiches are my passion, and Zach promised “as perfect a banh mi as you would expect to find in, say, Westminster.” High praise from the high priest of midday grubbing, I’d say.

The Spice Table, which opened for business this past March and began serving lunch soon after, is owned by Chef Bryant Ng and his wife Kim. Chef Ng most notably served as the opening chef of Pizzeria Mozza.

The lunchtime menu features Southeast Asian-inspired sandwiches served in a casual atmosphere, while dinner is a full-service affair showcasing the traditional cuisines of Singapore and Vietnam.

After ordering and paying for our food at the counter, Bill and I grabbed a table in the main dining room and sipped our beverages while we waited. He indulged in a glass of red wine ($16), while I chose a bubbly mug of Prosecco ($13). Both pours were stingy as hell, much to our dismay.

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Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery – Los Angeles (Santa Monica)

Published by Gastronomer on August 15, 2011 in Deli, Italian, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and Santa Monica. 12 Comments

After spending Sunday afternoon watching “The Never Ending Story” with 80 diehard Weezer fans, I stepped out of the theater feeling positively hungry. It turns out that fantastical stories populated by a cast of strange characters bring on the pangs like you wouldn’t believe.

I remembered seeing Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery when we exited off the highway and couldn’t think of a better time than the present to finally experience “The Godmother.” Cue the singing angels…

The hype surrounding The Godmother is nothing short of tremendous. Its legion of passionate fans endure long lines, nightmarish parking, and gruff customer service for the pleasure found between two slices of hefty Italian bread.

When The Astronomer and I arrived at the market slash deli sometime past four o’clock, we made our way through the sizable crowd hovering around the counter to grab a numbered ticket. One Godmother sandwich with “the works” was in my hands within fifteen minutes.

All of the picnic tables along the L-shaped patio were occupied, so The Astronomer and I dug in on our feet over a slab of concrete railing.

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Nha Trang – San Gabriel

Published by Gastronomer on August 10, 2011 in Bun Bo Hue, Los Angeles, Mi Quang, Restaurant Review, San Gabriel and Vietnamese. 12 Comments

The Astronomer’s 27th birthday was celebrated over Vietnamese food and lots of it. There was grilled pork a plenty at home and satisfying noodle soups in San Gabriel.

Jonathan Gold’s review of Nha Trang brought us to this itty-bitty shop off of Valley Boulevard. In his write up, Mr. Gold warned that a long wait was to be expected and that the kitchen might run out of the more popular dishes. The gods of good eating must have been smiling down on us this afternoon because we were seated after a few short minutes and everything on the menu was still available. Woo hoo!

One of my pet peeves with Vietnamese restaurants in America is that their menus are typically overwhelming, advertising everything from broken rice to bánh mì. Nha Trang’s menu was refreshingly edited, serving only eight dishes. Granted, the offerings were still all over the place in terms of regions, but the effort to pare down the menu was noted and appreciated.

After placing our orders, a sizable plate of herbs, beansprouts, chilies, and limes was brought to the table.

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DonDay – Los Angeles (Koreatown)

Published by Gastronomer on August 8, 2011 in All U Can Eat, Korean, Koreatown, Los Angeles and Restaurant Review. 11 Comments

Cousin Phil is my favorite person to feast on all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue with. His appetite for animal lifeblood rivals that of a T-Rex and his skills on the grill are top notch. When it’s just The Astronomer and me protein-loading in K-Town, there’s always a possibility that we won’t be able to polish off the final plate of galbi or that we’ll somehow burn the delicate shrimp or squid. However, when Phil’s around, everything is carefully managed and under control.

When a recent business trip brought Phil to Los Angeles for two days, The Astronomer and I whisked him away for a Korean barbecue dinner. After picking him up at his downtown hotel, we made the short drive to DonDay in Koreatown. According to my friend Danny, the restaurant’s all-you-can-eat specials offered good quality and value. Our party of three settled on the $19.99 per person option that included a variety of animals, cuts, and marinades.

Included in the price of admission was a small army of side dishes. The Astronomer and Phil didn’t care too much for the banchan, but they’re my absolute favorite part of Korean dining.

Tonight’s selection included blanched broccoli with sesame oil, pickled daikon, kimchi, macaroni salad, marinaded cucumbers, bamboo shoots with jalapenos, and rice papers. I appreciated how the ladies who run the joint happily refilled my mac salad and rice papers when I ran low.

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Bruxie Gourmet Waffle Sandwiches – Orange

Published by Gastronomer on August 4, 2011 in Belgian, New American, Orange County and Restaurant Review. 14 Comments

The only thing that kept me from dining at Bruxie the moment I finished reading Ila‘s glowing report back in March was forty-some-odd miles. It seemed excessive to brave an hour of traffic in a quest for a waffle sandwich, even if said sandwich came stuffed with coleslaw and fried chicken. So, even though I had Bruxie on the brain, I decided to hold out until I found myself hungry and in Orange County, whenever that would be.

The stars aligned for me and Bruxie one Friday evening in June. My mom, cousins Megan and Madison, and I were driving from Los Angeles to San Diego and needed a break from the bumper to bumper traffic. It just so happened that Bruxie was a short detour from the highway and we were in dire need of dinner.

A trip through Belgium years ago inspired three friends—Dean Simon, Philippe Caupain, and Kelly Mullarney—to get into the waffle business. They’ve been selling waffle mixes to hotels and cruise lines for the past five years and opened this brick and mortar in downtown Orange last year.

We were slightly intimidated by the line snaking down the sidewalk when we arrived at the shop, but it moved impressively swiftly. Before we knew it, it was time to place our order and figure out where to sit. Note: there is no indoor seating or bathrooms available on the premise.

The food was delivered to our table soon after we scored a seat. All of the sandwiches are built upon yeast-leavened Belgium waffles that are light, crisp, and not the least bit sweet.

Cousin Maddie ordered the smoked salmon Bruxie ($7.95), which included dill cream cheese, thin slices of English cucumbers, and fresh chives. Even though Maddie is barely fifty pounds and still requires a child seat when riding in a car, she can tuck away some serious grub. After removing the pesky cucumbers from her Bruxie, she polished it off like a champ. That a girl!

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