Archive for the 'Mid-City' Category

Pacific Standard Timeʼs “Art As An Appetizer” (a.k.a. Secret Menu at Playa and Rivera)

Published by Gastronomer on February 9, 2012 in Food Event, Los Angeles, Media Event (this meal was free), Mid-City, Mixology and New American. 2 Comments

Pssst! Can you keep a secret? From now until March 31, Playa and Rivera are offering a special three-course menu as part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, the hugely ambitious initiative that tells the story of the birth of the Los Angeles art scene.

“Art as an Appetizer,” a collaboration between chef John Sedlar, artist Ron Cooper, and mixologist Julian Cox, is a one-of-a-kind menu inspired by artworks featured in Pacific Standard Time.

The secret menu is available for $34 at Playa and at $44 at Rivera during dinner to customers who show proof of admission to any Pacific Standard Time engagement or ask for the “Pacific Standard Time Secret Menu.” I was able to test run the menu this past weekend at a media event held at Playa.

Master mixologist Julian Cox has designed three unique cocktails for this special affair. All cocktails are priced at $12. The “47 Chevy in Wilmington, CA,” a crisp, tart, and refreshing sip, is comprised of mezcal, agave nectar, St. Vincent Orgeat, passion fruit, fresh lemon, and lavender foam.

It was inspired by Oscar Castilloʼs “47 Chevy in Wilmington, CA” (1972), which is featured in “Icons of the Invisible: Oscar Castillo” at the Fowler Museum, UCLA.

Continue reading ‘Pacific Standard Timeʼs “Art As An Appetizer” (a.k.a. Secret Menu at Playa and Rivera)’

Son of a Gun – Los Angeles

Published by Gastronomer on October 31, 2011 in Los Angeles, Mid-City, Restaurant Review and Seafood. 11 Comments

I like to visit restaurants that are “so-hot-right-now” after they’ve had a chance to cool off a bit. This sentiment isn’t popular among fellow food bloggers (ahem, Kevin and Darin), but I can’t deny that I like my restaurants worn in and comfortable, like an old pair of sneakers.

Some eight months after Son of a Gun opened its doors, my friend Lien and I made our way there for dinner. Whereas chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo focused on nose to tail cooking at their first restaurant, Animal, this follow up effort draws inspiration from coastal seafood shacks.

The 55-seater was packed when Lien and I walked in on a weeknight. We were expecting to be relegated to the communal table since we didn’t have reservations, but were fortunately given two seats at the bar after waiting for twenty minutes. While sharing the communal table would’ve been festive and cozy, Lien and I preferred the relative seclusion the bar offered.

Since neither of us had eaten here before, we ordered a mix of Son of a Gun’s most popular dishes and ones that read interestingly on the menu.

The first dish to arrive was the lobster roll ($7). Stretching three-inches long, the sandwich contained hunks of lemon aioli-dressed Maine lobster tucked into a buttered and toasted roll. Finely chopped chives and potato chips provided the finishing touches.

Lien and I split the roll down the middle. We were prepared to order another serving if necessary, but it turned out that a bite and half each was all that was needed to take in the rich and creamy sandwich.

Continue reading ‘Son of a Gun – Los Angeles’

Robata Jinya – Los Angeles

Published by Gastronomer on December 20, 2010 in Chain / Multiple Locations, Japanese, Los Angeles, Mid-City and Restaurant Review. 16 Comments

Do you know what tastes heavenly after a long day of selling sweets on one’s feet? A steaming bowl of porky ramen. The noodling tradition began this past summer when the Eat My Blog committee stopped by the Yatai Ramen pop-up at BreadBar to fuel up after the event. As we buried our heads into the rich and savory bowls, satisfying our bodies’ every craving with each slurp, we vowed to make this a permanent ritual.

We kept our promise to ourselves and stopped into Robata Jinya for a bite after the most recent bake sale. According to the restaurant’s website, Robata Jinya first opened its doors 40 years ago in Japan. This Third Street outlet comes from the same owner who oversees seven restaurants in Japan and one in Hong Kong.

Without reservations, our party of five was seated along the robata bar toward the back of the restaurant. The bar was overflowing with a gorgeous collection of produce, most of which would meet its fate upon the charcoal grill by the end of the night.

To get the robata and ramen party started, I ordered some eryngii mushrooms ($2.40). The plate was delivered on a long wooden plank—one of the exciting perks of dining bar-side.

Continue reading ‘Robata Jinya – Los Angeles’

Shaky Alibi – Los Angeles

Published by Gastronomer on October 21, 2010 in Belgian, Dessert, Los Angeles, Mid-City and Restaurant Review. 9 Comments

After attempting and failing to find a mind-blowingly good Liège waffle in Los Angeles at Holly’s Coffee and at Syrup Desserts, I decided to call it quits on the great waffle hunt. I left a few rocks unturned, namely Lucky Devils and Le Pain Quotidien, but another disappointing specimen would’ve surely put me over the edge.

Even though I had grown weary of the local selection of waffles, I still sought them out while on the road. In Seattle, I encountered brilliantly executed sweet and savory creations at Sweet Iron Waffles. And most recently, I returned to Bonte in Philadelphia, where the Liège waffle obsession was born, and fell in love all over again. Two standout renditions was all it took for waffles to woo me back.

I returned home from my trips with a renewed sense of purpose and drive—I was going to find Los Angeles’ best Liège waffle!

I headed to Shaky Alibi as soon as my enthusiasm for waffles was reignited. Opened by R.J. Milano this past summer, Shaky Alibi is a wafflerie, coffee shop, and tea bar all rolled into one. The waffles, which are made using a family recipe cooked up by the owner’s German-born great grandmother, are made from a yeast dough and are coated in pearl sugar to create a slightly crispy, caramelized shell.

Shaky Alibi serves both sweet and savory varieties. Nastassia, my dining companion this afternoon, and I shared two savory and one sweet. We started with a Black Forest ham with gruyere ($8.95). The waffle was made fresh to order, sliced in half, and filled with ham and cheese that had been microwaved for maximum meltage. A little powdered sugar on top and the plate came our way.

The sandwich’s flavors reminded me of a Monte Cristo, minus the blunt sweetness and oily aftertaste. While I appreciated the sweet and savory double punch, I felt like I didn’t get a true sense of the waffle’s personality. The flavorful filling, coupled with the fact that the waffle was sliced in half, made it difficult to tell whether this baby was the real deal or not.

Continue reading ‘Shaky Alibi – Los Angeles’

Yatai Ramen at Breadbar – Los Angeles

Published by Gastronomer on June 21, 2010 in Japanese, Los Angeles, Mid-City and Restaurant Review. 24 Comments

In Los Angeles, the words “ramen” and “Westside” are rarely uttered in one breath. While this part of town is suitable for cupcakes, macrobiotics, and all manner of fine dining, it’s Torrance and Little Tokyo that reign supreme when it comes to serious noodle slurping. That is until chefs Kazuo Shimamura and Noriyuki Sugie of Ironnori Concepts popped up at Breadbar at West Third.

Inspired by Japanese yatai (mobile shops) that cater to working men, “Yatai Ramen” is a temporary restaurant that will be occupying Breadbar’s space from Monday to Saturday, 5 to 10 PM, until July 24. The Astronomer and I, along with our friends Diana Takes a Bite and G-Ma, stopped in for a comforting bite after a long day of hawking sweets at the Eat My Blog charity bake sale. Working women need to be well fueled too, you know.

We were surprised with a basket of Breadbar breads as we perused the menu. The turmeric loaf drew me in with its intriguingly yellow hue.

With only eight varieties of ramen and two types of gyoza on offer, the focused menu was easy to navigate. To start, we shared an order each of the pig feet (left) and kale gyozas ($8 each). Both were served with the same gussied up soy sauce. From the crisp, golden sear to the well-seasoned fillings, these gyozas went down deliciously easy.

Continue reading ‘Yatai Ramen at Breadbar – Los Angeles’