Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Now Closed

25 Mar 2013

Soba Sojibo – West Los Angeles

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Feeling hungry after attending a talk by Michael Dukakis ’55 at a rare gathering of Los Angeles-based Swarthmore grads, The Astronomer and I sought out proper sustenance nearby. Our first choice, Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle, wasn’t serving their signature ramen or tsukemen at this hour, and our second choice, Seoul Sausage Company, was closed on Mondays. Thus we meandered down Sawtelle into Soba Sojibo, one of the neighborhood’s newest additions.

Serving cold and hot house-made buckwheat noodles, as well as a slew of classic izakaya bites, Soba Sojibo is the second outpost of the Japanese chain in Los Angeles. A branch in Torrance popped up a few months before.

While The Astronomer perused the hot soba selections, I had my heart set on the cold stuff this evening.

We nibbled on deep-fried soba bits as we waited for our respective chilled and steaming bowls of noodles.

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Restaurant Review

21 Mar 2013

The Sycamore Kitchen – Los Angeles

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Chefs Quinn and Karen Hatfield can do no wrong in my book. Their restaurant Hatfield’s in Hollywood is one of the loveliest spots in town, serving desserts that dazzle and a Croque Madame worthy of being my deathbed meal.

The two Hatfields debuted The Sycamore Kitchen, a fast-casual bakery and sandwich concept, last summer, and I’ve been eager to check it out ever since.

The Astronomer and I made our way to The Sycamore Kitchen late one Saturday afternoon. The daily special, a Vietnamese steak salad, was unfortunately sold out at this hour, as were the famous Salted Caramel Pecan Babka Rolls, but most everything else was still available.

We placed our order at the counter, grabbed a seat nearby, and awaited our spread.

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Restaurant Review

19 Mar 2013

Tofu King – Arcadia

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I had my first encounter with stinky tofu three years ago at a hotpot joint in Monterey Park. Though the neat, triangular slabs of pressed soy bubbling beneath the broth didn’t taste as gnarly as they smelled, their wildly odious flavor failed to capture my affections.

My second brush with the stanky delicacy came a few months later at a San Gabriel pub known as the “Taiwanese Hooters.” The deep-fried rendition served here was certainly more palatable than the simmered variety, but hearts and minds were not won this time either.

I was inspired to seek out stinky tofu for a third time at Tofu King after stumbling upon C. Thi Nguyen’s brilliant article, “Stinky tofu restaurant may find converts” in the Los Angeles Times. It’s a must-read for anyone who appreciates delightful prose.

The Astronomer, normally an adventuresome restaurant-goer, refused to dine at Tofu King since he absolutely loathes stinky tofu. Fortunately, my friend Pat from Eating L.A. stepped up to the plate.

Tofu King serves two sizes of deep-fried stinky tofu—large slabs and small cubes. Pat and I chose the “Bite-size Stinky Tofu” ($5.50) to minimize the amount of actual tofu and maximize the deep-fried surface area.

To make the stinky tofu, they make a mash of mixed vegetables and ferment it for six months. Then they take fresh tofu and give it a nice, long flavor-soak in the fermented mash. The tofu burial ought to last for a week, and that’s how they used to do it, but the health department didn’t approve, so they’ve shortened the fermentation bath to three days. Thus: half-ripened, gateway stinky tofu.

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