Archive for the 'Mexican' Category

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Ludo Bites 6.0 at MAX – Los Angeles (Sherman Oaks)

Published by Gastronomer on December 7, 2010 in Asian Fusion, French, Los Angeles, Mexican, Molecular Gastronomy, Restaurant Review and Sherman Oaks. 13 Comments

Three days before the sixth iteration of Ludo Bites came to a close, The Astronomer and I finally scored a table due to a last minute cancellation. It was a bit of a nightmare driving from Pasadena to Sherman Oaks during rush hour, but a little traffic couldn’t stop us from experiencing Chef Ludo LeFebvre’s latest creations.

We arrived a little frazzled, but on time for our 6:30 slot. Krissy seated us immediately and presented us with the evening’s menu and a wine list. The tables were packed quite cozily in the dining room, but I didn’t mind because my neighbor to the right was the incomparable Jo of My Last Bite—I love how she brings good cheer wherever she goes. My neighbor to the left was sporting a DSLR camera and a little cell phone light, which helped to forge an instant bond between us too.

With so many enticing dishes on the menu, we decided to forgo adult beverages to save precious real estate. I was also thinking about forgoing bread, but thankfully, The Astronomer talked some sense into me. To start, we shared a warm baguette served with smoked butter and sardine-Laughing Cow cheese ($5). The bread and butter were both solid, but the highlight upon the wobbly plank was the sardine-laced Laughing Cow cheese. Fishy flavored cheese? Yes, please!

About midway through the bread course, the Vietnamese-style hamachi ($15) arrived. The presentation was reminiscent of the confit pork belly with Thai-style choucroute from Ludo Bites 5.0. However, the flavors and ingredients in this dish were much lighter.

Tucked underneath the jicama slaw were the most pristine slices of hamachi. Lightly dressed in a nuoc cham-like dressing, the plate was brimming with fresh, clean, and bright flavors. This was definitely one of my favorite dishes of the evening.

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José Andrés Washington D.C. Restaurant Tour: Minibar, Café Atlántico, Oyamel, Jaleo, Zaytinya

Published by Gastronomer on August 30, 2010 in Media Event (this meal was free), Mexican, Molecular Gastronomy, Small Plates, Spanish and Washington D.C.. 14 Comments

A tour of D.C.’s food scene wouldn’t be complete without examining Chef José Andrés‘ restaurant empire. The Think Food Group owns five highly lauded eateries in the metropolitan area: Minibar by Jose Andrés, Café Atlántico, Oyamel, Jaleo, and Zaytinya. Located within walking distance of one another in Penn Quarter, each restaurant has a different vibe and a distinct culinary viewpoint.

On our second day in the city, we enjoyed a progressive lunch at Chef Andrés’ restaurants. My feelings were lukewarm at best after dining at The Bazaar by Jos é Andrés in Los Angeles, so this tour offered the perfect opportunity to experience the chef’s cuisine on his home turf. I was hoping to be wowed.

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Minibar by José Andrés

With Minibar tucked into the second floor of Café Atlántico, our first two stops turned out to be one in the same. The six seat Minibar (yep, just six seats!) serves an avant-garde tasting menu with upwards of 30 courses. “This is food that owes as much to art and science as it does to gastronomy, food that is as much about the brain and eye as it is about the tongue and stomach, food that forces the diner to rethink food and its presentation,” states the restaurant’s website.

As a tremendous fan of Spanish molecular gastronomy, I was most excited to experience Minibar. Unfortunately, we were only given a taste, literally and figuratively, of what the restaurant had to offer.

“Olives Ferran Adria” arrived on a porcelain spoon in a shallow pool of olive oil. The spherified green olive encompassed all the qualities of a great olive, minus the proper texture. I’ve experienced these spheres dozens of times, but the sensation of the thin membrane popping and unleashing a flood of flavored liquid never gets old. [Watch Ferran Adria and José Andrés explain the spherification process here.]

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Flying Pig – Los Angeles

Published by Gastronomer on August 2, 2010 in Asian Fusion, Chinese, Los Angeles, Meals on Wheels and Mexican. 10 Comments

After a round of deep-fried sushi, followed by Korean-flavored balls, The Astronomer and I made one last stop at the pretty in pink Flying Pig truck before calling it a night. Flying Pig hit the mean streets of Los Angeles last October, which in truck years seems like a lifetime ago. Even though it’s been around for a while and has been well received by diners, our paths and appetites never crossed until tonight.

The two dudes behind Flying Pig are Joe Kim and James Seitz, culinary school grads from the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. Taking a cue from the truck that started it all, Flying Pig’s menu blends Asian and Pacific Rim flavors with French technique. Back when the truck first launched, owner Joe Kim informed the L.A. Weekly that Flying Pig was a testing ground for Butalanai, a restaurant that he planned to open in early 2010. While a brick and mortar joint has yet to come to fruition, the Flying Pig continues to do its porky fusion thing all around town.

Ripped straight out of the Momofuku playbook, the pork belly bao ($3.25) was braised to melt-in-my-mouth perfection. The red onion escabeche and pickled sesame cucumber provided enough tang to keep the pork’s fatty richness at bay. The truck’s signature “death sauce” wasn’t exactly deadly, just spicy with a touch of hoisin. The bao was one of the tastiest dishes I’ve eaten from a truck. The Flying Pig’s crunchy tofu bao ($2.75), which I tasted on a different occasion, is a great option for those with meatless leanings.

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Mariscos Chente – Los Angeles (Mar Vista)

Published by Gastronomer on February 24, 2010 in Los Angeles, Mar Vista, Mexican, Restaurant Review and Seafood. 21 Comments

Whether it’s kept in a well-worn Moleskine notebook, a meticulous Excel spreadsheet, or simply in one’s mind, every serious eater has a “To Eat” list. Mine is currently 47 items long and resides in the drafts folder of my email inbox. Every time I come across a noodle house or a bakery that piques my interest, it gets added to the document. Since my capacity for reading about food far exceeds my ability to eat it, I’ve come to realize that I’ll never get around to sampling everything. Nevertheless, it will be very fun to try.

Mariscos Chente has been on my list for almost a year. It was added right after I wiped up the drool that resulted from reading Dylan’s write up on his blog Eat Drink & Be Merry. Any place that’s dubbed a “shrimp morgue” definitely deserves a visit.

The Astronomer and I, along with our friends Bill (Street Gourmet LA) and Fiona (Gourmet Pigs), met up for lunch at Mariscos Chente a few weekends back. The informal room was filled mostly with locals when we arrived. There was also a trickle of folks from outside the neighborhood who may have learned about the place from C. Thi Nguyen‘s glowing review in the Los Angeles Times or from Jonathan Gold‘s praise in the LA Weekly. Or perhaps, like me, they’ve been scrounging the food blogs.

Mariscos Chente was started over 20 years ago out of a home in Hawthorne. The Mar Vista location opened early last year. Similar to the earlier incarnations, its menu is devoted to seafood from the Mexican states of Nayarit and Sinaloa. Sergio Penuelas, a native of Sinaloa, runs the kitchen while his wife Angie, a native of Nayarit, takes care of customers in the dining room. All of the restaurant’s recipes are from Angie’s father Vicente, or “Chente” as his friends were fond of calling him.

Magdalena Garcia, the restaurant’s owner, takes a bus down to the Mexican coast several times a month to bring back fish and shrimp for the restaurant. While that initially struck me as a lot of unnecessary work, one taste of the camarones aguachiles ($11) and it was clear that the extra effort was worth it. Flash marinated with lime, salt, and jalapeno, the raw shrimp were supple and crazy delicious.

The pescado zarandeado ($20 per kilogram) was equally amazing. The dish was comprised of a whole snook (robalo) butterflied, grilled, and served flat as a pancake with warm corn tortillas and caramelized purple onions. While it’s unknown what goes into Sergio’s marinade, according to Bill, pescado zarandeado is traditionally dressed with a fatty agent like olive oil, mayonaise, or butter, lime, spices, and garlic before meeting the sizzling grill. Whatever the formula is, pescado zarandeado is nothing short of dreamy.

Next, we sampled a plethora of shrimp preparations. The camarones borrachos or “drunken shrimp” ($12) rested in a tequila-based sauce that was intriguingly red and all sorts of buttery. The sweet slices of garlic really made this dish special, as did the abundance of cilantro.

The camarones a la diabla or “deviled shrimp” ($12) were pleasingly spicy with their blend of chile de arbol and California dried chilies. Eaten with the sopping sauteed onions, the shrimp’s burn wasn’t as hellish as one would imagine. Hell, it was downright tasty.

The camarones a la pimienta or “peppered shrimp” ($11) reminded me of a deeply savory Vietnamese dish called tom kho. In place of fish sauce was a combination of garlic powder, salt, chili oil, and enough black pepper to properly dust each shrimp. The side of rice was necessary to balance out the dish’s punch. This was my favorite among the trio of cooked shrimp dishes.

Lastly, a plate of chicharron de pescado ($15), fried chunks of tilapia coated in chipotle powder and floating in a pool of Worcestershire and lime. The fish’s texture was a cross between beef jerky and a tough steak, while the flavors were surprisingly tangy. I liked this dish alright at the restaurant, but didn’t fully grasp its awesomeness until I dug into the leftovers a few days later. Without an array of shrimps competing for my attention, I appreciated the chicharrones’ uniqueness.

Mariscos Chente has been officially crossed off of my “To Eat” list. One down, dozens more to go!

NOTE: Mariscos Chente recently introduced a new seasonal menu featuring a variety of seafood soups (shrimp, fish, and mixto) and tacos (gobernador, shrimp, marlin, and fish).

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Mariscos Chente
4532 South Centinela Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90066
Phone: 310-390-9241‎

LA Street Food Fest

Published by Gastronomer on February 15, 2010 in Banh Mi, Brazilian, Cha Gio, Food Event, Japanese, Los Angeles, Meals on Wheels, Mexican, Nem Nuong, Street Food and Vietnamese. 21 Comments

Even though I was warned by the Twitterverse of hour-long lines and have experienced firsthand the utter chaos of large-scale food events (See: Grilled Cheese Invitational and Great American Food and Music Fest), missing out on the first annual LA Street Food Fest was completely out of the question—I live for meals on wheels!

I am not alone in my passion for street eats. Fifteen-thousand Angelenos descended upon LA Center Studios in downtown this past Saturday to stuff their pie holes with Brazilian acaraje, Japanese hot dogs, Mexican huarache, and so much more. The thirty-five trucks at the festival were armed and mostly ready to feed the masses. Even though lines seemed to snake on forever, nearly all of the vendors managed to bring enough food to last the entire day. Those who endured the lengthy waits were rewarded for their efforts.

Hands-down the most popular truck of the day was Chef Ludo Lefebvre‘s pop-up fried chicken mobile. In true Ludo Bites fashion, Krissy ran the front of the “house,” while Ludo and his brigade churned out fresh bites in the back. Hungry folks hankering for a piece of LFC waited upwards of two hours for a taste.

Luckily, we were able to finagle a piece from our friend Mattatouille, who was helping out on the truck. Cutting in line is admittedly bad form, but Ludo’s fried chicken elicits bad behavior. The fried chicken was comprised of various pieces of boneless dark meat held together by a crisp batter. The meat was juicy as heck, while the crust was superbly seasoned. The side of sweet and spicy piquillos sauce was a nice touch—everyone loves to dip their nuggets.

The Astronomer took one for the team and waited forty-five minutes at the Phamish truck (@eatphamish), which specializes in Vietnamese home cooking. While my boy was diligently waiting in line, I met up with my pals Sook and Sarah, and we kicked it with Jonathan Gold. Woot woot! We talked about good food, Pasadena, and good food in Pasadena (not!).

When The Astronomer finally arrived on the scene, we dug into one very mushy cha gio, one sad nem nuong skewer, and two stale banh mi sandwiches. All of the food tasted like it was made the day before and with indifference. Mr. Gold quipped that the nem nuong had a Kibbles ‘n Bits-like quality to it. Hilarious. I’d like to give Phamish another go when the crowds have simmered down.

Next, we moved onto Dogzilla’s Japanese-style hot dogs.

Served on lightly toasted King’s Hawaiian Bread, the spicy sausage was topped with bacon, avocado, caramelized onions, furikake, Japanese mayo, and teriyaki sauce. The wiener was interesting, well-balanced, and quite tasty.

Following wiener time, we met up with my friend Bill for Brazilian street food at Sabor da Bahia. I indulged in a warm acaraje, a traditional Bahian street food made of black eyed peas fried in dendê (palm) oil. The fritters were served with a hotter than hot malagueta pepper sauce. We also shared some coxinha de galinha, drumstick-shaped bites filled with savory shredded chicken and cream cheese.

Our last stop of the day was at Antojitos de la Abuelita, a cart specializing in Mexico City-style street food.

Mr. Gold procured a huge spread for our group to share. It included huarache with cecina (dried beef); clayuda (Mexican “pizza”) with chorizo, tasajo (thinly sliced and seared beef), and cecina; mole verde (green) with chicken; pambazo (Mexican “French dip” in chile guajillo sauce filled with potatoes and chorizo); and Oaxacan mole.