Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Now Closed

09 Jun 2009

XIV – Los Angeles (West Hollywood)

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While I should associate Michael Mina‘s XIV with fine dining and stylish design, I’ll forever remember it as the place where Heidi received the boot from SBE due to Spencer‘s shenanigans. Michael Mina is pretty famous as far as chefs go, but compared to Hills-dwellin’ famewhores, he is merely a civilian with a restaurant empire.

The Astronomer and I met up with some cool cats, namely Tony C., B-side, Aseem, Cousin Phil, and his squeeze Tannia, to scope out XIV’s happy hour specials. 6ix on Sunset, which features $6 cocktails, a $6 Terrace menu, and $6 valet, takes place on XIV’s Terrace 6 to 8 PM, Tuesday through Saturday.

We came to play on a Friday night.

As I made my way to the Terrace, I was greeted by a smiley B-side carrying a dish of XIV’s famous truffle butter popcorn ($6). Before I could reach in for a taste, he informed me that Brody Jenner was paces away watching the Laker game with his “bros” Frankie and Sleazy-T. I instantly forgot about the popcorn and made my way to the bar to gawk at reality television stars. I couldn’t believe my luck! The Hills—they’re really alive!

It was quite fitting that B-side alerted me to the D-listers in our presence because he’s the one who famously coined the moniker Speidi—no joke! He also writes hilarious Hills recaps each week on his blog. This scenario was so perfect on so many different levels.

By the time I rejoined my happy hour posse, the popcorn had grown stale. According to B-side, it was quite good when fresh.

After a few bites of cold popcorn, I moved onto the cocktail portion of happy hour. I started off with a mojito, then stole some gulps of The Astronomer’s Shelter (Krol Vodka, elderflower, white cranberry), and eventually finished off with a Bramble (gin, lemon juice, creme de mures, and muddled blackberries). In under two hours, I managed to get nice and blitzed. Our entire happy hour posse deemed the $6 cocktails a damn good deal.

My favorite small bites of the evening were the Tartare Poppers ($6), which consisted of Hamachi and Ahi perched upon a fried rice cake. The poppers were excellent au naturale and didn’t require any of the ponzu that was served alongside. At two bucks a pop(per), they weren’t exactly a steal, but hey, it’s happy hour in West Hollywood! I didn’t feel the least bit gypped.

I was really looking forward to trying the lobster corndogs because I love classic American fare given a glamorous makeover. I was hoping for hunks of actual lobster inside the corndog, but the filling had the same consistency as a regular hotdog. In keeping with the extra-fancy theme, the corndogs were served with a spicy whole grain mustard. Size-wise, each hot dog on a stick provided 2.5 bites of fun.

The duck fat fries ($6) arrived with three different seasonings and three different sauces. The seasonings included pepper, paprika, and rosemary, while the sauces consisted of barbecue, buttermilk ranch, and ketchup. I’m more of an onion ring kind of girl, so The Astronomer and the posse polished these off.

We also placed an order for Kobe beef sliders, but the only place they appeared was on our tab at the end of the night.

It must be noted that the Terrace was totally slammed the evening we visited. Friday night, plus Lakers playoffs, equals huge crowds. As a result, the service was terrible. It took a lot of ordering and reordering to receive our food and drinks, and even then, we failed to receive a handful of items. With that being said, I had a grand ‘ol time at XIV. After all, happy hour is about good company.

As Tony C., The Astronomer, and I waited for valet at the end of the evening, we spied yet another celebrity. This time it was Ian Ziering—Steve Sanders from original 90210. It turns out that XIV is the hangout of choice for teen heartthrobs past and present.

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XIV by Michael Mina
8117 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Phone: 323-656-1414

Catering

08 Jun 2009

Ira's Gourmet – Pasadena

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My colleague Ray is one lucky bastard. While I’m shoveling leftovers for lunch every day, he digs into a home cooked Indonesian lunchbox prepared and delivered by Ira’s Gourmet, a Pasadena-based caterer specializing in Indonesian fare. Even though Ray has been calling America home for the past ten years, he says that these daily feasts help to keep his homesickness at bay.

After weeks of smelling the sweet Indo aromas wafting from my colleague’s desk, I felt compelled to place an order for my very own lunchbox. When Ray informed Ira that I might be writing up her Indo meals-on-wheels service on gas•tron•o•my, she prepared a special lunchbox for me featuring a wide array of her offerings.

Being introduced to Indonesian cuisine by a home cook was a real thrill, especially since I knew that every item was prepared fresh and with care. The first offering that caught my eye was the telur balado (left), which consisted of a hard-boiled egg topped with a chili chutney. Since hard-boiled eggs and I usually meet in savory settings, I was taken aback by how sweet this dish was. I could’ve easily eaten several more.

In the compartment next to the telur balado was rendang daging (right)—beef simmered in coconut milk. The rendang, a “dry” beef curry, was served with Jasmine rice. With its deep lemongrass profile and aromatic collection of spices, the tender beef rendang tasted vaguely familiar.

The most visually arresting item in the lunchbox was the tumpeng, cone-shaped rice surrounded by assorted Indonesian dishes. The tumpeng dates back to ancient Indonesian traditions that revered mountains “as the abode of ancestors and gods.” The cone-shaped rice is meant to mimic the holy mountain.

The “mountain” of nasi kuning, or yellow turmeric rice, was surrounded by sambal terasi (spicy jalapeno and shrimp paste relish), bacem tahu (fried tofu), bacem tempe (fried tempeh), and ayam goreng bumbu (Indonesian fried chicken). The smattering of scrambled egg ribbons, deep-fried tempeh bits, and roasted peanuts at the base of the mountain were my favorite components because they jazzed up everything they were paired with.

Another fantastic treat was the lemper ayam, which was comprised of glutinous rice stuffed with shredded chicken and wrapped in banana leaf.

Ira also included two soups for me to sample: chayote and young jack fruit (left) and another with leafy kale greens. Both contained coconut milk and were sweeter than expected. With minimal spiciness at play, Indonesian soups are easy on the palate.

My Indonesian banquet concluded with a small dish of es buah, a sweet dessert soup with coconut milk and balls of watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe.

Man, Ray is beyond spoiled eating this goodness everyday.

Ira’s hand-delivered lunchboxes, which usually include three different Indonesian delights, are priced at $8.50. Orders can be placed via email (sarnadira@yahoo.com) or by phone (626-345-9931, 805-708-9888).

Click below for a complete list of Ira’s Indonesian specialties.

(more…)

Restaurant Review

07 Jun 2009

Tacos El Gordo – San Diego (National City)

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I was looking through your website and I have yet to see a write up on TACOS EL GORDO. Check it out. It’s in National City.

My cousin Michael left me this comment on the site back in April. My first thought when I read it was, “Wow! I didn’t know Michael read gas•tron•o•my. Cool beans.” My second thought was, “What is Michael doing eating tacos in National City? Does his mother know?”

While back home in San Diego over Memorial Day weekend, Michael (right) introduced me to the glory of Tacos El Gordo. Michael fired up his mama’s Windstar on Sunday evening, and we drove all the way to National City for dinner. There’s a taquería on practically every corner where we live, so driving across town for some Mexican grub was kind of a big deal. Cousin Jimmy (left) came along for the good eats.

Michael’s first blissful encounter with Tacos El Gordo was in Rosarito, Baja California Mexico during his senior year of high school. Unaware that his favorite south of the border taquería had expanded to California, Michael was pleased to no end when he serendipitously stumbled upon one of their local locations while lost in National City.

The National City branch of Tacos El Gordo is located in a converted Pizza Hut. Trays are grabbed on the way in and all orders are placed at the front counter. After we received our 15+ made-fresh-to-order tacos, we headed to a booth in the back to pay for our loot.

Before settling down to dig in, I made a trip to the condiment bar for some radishes, lime wedges, and salsa. We also got a big ‘ol cup of horchata (cinnamon rice milk) to share.

First up, taco de lengua ($2.10). The cow tongue taco came with fresh onions and cilantro and a mild tomatillo salsa, and was held together by two hot-off-the-griddle corn tortillas. I was surprised by the tongue’s stewed short ribs-like texture. I was expecting a chewier meat like that of a pig’s tongue. Overall, a very hearty and well-rounded taco.

Next up was the taco de cabeza ($1.85). Similar to the tongue taco, the cow head taco contained fresh onions and cilantro, all wrapped in a corn tortilla. The cabeza was the richest tasting taco I’ve ever encountered. I would’ve never guessed that bovine head muscles were so slick.

Michael and Jimmy polished off five tacos de carne asada each ($2). The cubes of beef were smoky and plentiful.

The most amazing tacos of the evening were the tacos de adobada ($2), which were made of thin pork steaks skewered and overlapped on a trompo (vertical rotisserie) and flame-broiled. The collection of pink-hued adobada seasonings were really fabulous—a little spicy and a lot sweet. Although I didn’t get to confirm with the Spanish-speaking trompo master, I swore I tasted some star anise! The complete package of pork, cilantro, onions, sweet white sauce, and warm corn tortilla was fantstic.

A few hours after our Tacos El Gordo feast, Michael departed to San Francisco—The Land of Rice- and Bean-Laden Burritos—to wrap up his sophomore year of college. This meal should keep him going until he returns to the land of Tacos El Gordo for summer vacation.

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Tacos El Gordo
1940 Highland Avenue
National City, CA 91950
Phone: 619-474-5033