Oct 2012

{swoon} Persian Ice Cream at Saffron & Rose

Saffron & Rose Ice Cream - Westwood

While there are many vibrant Persian establishments in Tehrangeles, none are quite as sweet as Saffron & Rose Ice Cream. The shop is named after its signature flavor, a creamy and floral mash up scented with saffron and dotted with pistachios. There’s a nut-less version available as well, but the man scooping behind the counter always insists on the one with the bright green pistachios.

In addition to its namesake flavor, the shop churns out over a dozen different varieties ranging from fascinating (orange blossom, white rose, dates) to familiar (chocolate, strawberry, vanilla). Since the taste of rosewater makes me feel like I’m chugging down a bottle of Kiehl’s toner, I selected a scoop of ginger, sandwich between two thin crispy wafers.

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Oct 2012

Dai Ho Restaurant – Temple City

Dai Ho Restaurant - Temple City

With its signature beef noodle soup ringing in at a whopping $9 a bowl, Dai Ho may be the most expensive noodle hawker in the San Gabriel Valley. While sticker shock might keep some penny pinching noodle soup devotees away, those who take a chance are handsomely rewarded with one of the best renditions of Taiwan’s national dish.

Dai Ho Restaurant - Temple City

Each bowl is packed with bouncy egg noodles that are the very definition of “Q,” a chewy texture prized by connoisseurs. The broth is deep, dark, and unabashedly beefy, while the chunks of stewed meat collapse with the gentlest of bites.

Dai Ho Restaurant - Temple City

This bowl was made for burying one’s face in, preferably uninterrupted.

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Oct 2012

Sqirl Kitchen – Los Angeles (Silver Lake)

SQIRL - Los Angeles

Heirloom fruits sourced from family-owned farms located no more than 350 miles from Los Angeles are transformed into beautiful jams, chutneys, fruit butters, and marmalades at Jessica Koslow’s Sqirl. Here, preserves are made the old fashion way, cooked slow and low in copper pots using as little sugar as possible and natural pectin. This “less is more” approach means that every jar practically bursts with nature’s wholesome goodness.

The magic of spring and summer is captured in flavors like wild blueberry with tarragon and Santa Rosa plums with flowering thyme, while winter’s blood oranges and kumquats are delicately tamed in marmalade form, sometimes with the addition of vanilla bean.

SQIRL - Los Angeles

Ms. Koslow recently teamed up with Ria Wilson, formerly of Canelé, and Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski of G&B Coffee to open her production space to the public for breakfast and lunch. The Astronomer and I swung by on Saturday afternoon to catch up with my favorite jam maker and to sample a few of her new menu offerings.

SQIRL - Los Angeles

The well-edited menu celebrates toast in sweet and savory forms and features daily specials that change with the chef’s bounty and whims. Runny eggs and preserved goodies of all stripes punctuate each plate.

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