Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

21 May 2009

Jitlada – Los Angeles (Hollywood)

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Situated in an unassuming Hollywood strip mall, Jitlada is perhaps the only Thai restaurant in America with a reputation that precedes it. With three [1,2,3] glowing write ups in Gourmet, two-stars from the Los Angeles Times, and Jonathan Gold’s coveted seal of approval, it’s really no surprise that the kitchen is humming, business is booming, and diners are smiling.

Jitlada first registered on the world’s culinary radar two years ago when blogger Erik M. penned a love letter on a Chicago-based message board. Since then, Jitlada’s uncompromising devotion to recreating the recipes of Southern Thailand has successfully set it apart from the countless Thai restaurants in town dishing out the usual pad Thai and tom yum. The food of Southern Thailand is really something to behold. “The palette of flavors runs to sour and spicy, with a busy sideline in the funky and fermented,” writes Gourmet’s Robert Pincus.

Photo by SinoSoul

My friend Tony C. is as passionate about sharing good food as he is about eating it. After dining at Jitlada on numerous occasions, Tony C. decided to coordinate a feast of epic proportions—a be-all, end-all meal to top all other Jitlada experiences past, present, and future.

Balls. To. The. Wall.

The Astronomer and I, along with thirty-one of Los Angeles’ most enthusiastic eaters, joined Tony C. in his masochistic endeavor. [A full list of blog-writing attendees after the jump.]

Working closely with Erik M. and Jitlada’s hostess with the mostess, Jazz Singsanong, Tony C. orchestrated a fifteen-course dinner that seared our tongues and pushed our stomachs to the limit. From the pleasantly mild to the downright painful, all of the dishes we sampled this evening were bold and fantastic.

The cuisine of Southern Thailand is well known for its maddeningly spicy dishes. The Astronomer chose a Singha beer to quell the burning, while I went with a Thai iced tea. Sometime around course number nine, I ordered a second iced tea because Jitlada’s burning tends to stubbornly linger.

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Recipe

20 May 2009

Nui Lòng – Grandpa’s Spaghetti with Offal

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Whereas my Bà Ngoại (maternal grandmother) specializes in traditional Vietnamese fare, my Ông Ngoại (maternal grandfather) cooks up fusion dishes inspired from his travels as a merchant marine. Nui Lòng, which roughly translates as “noodles with offal,” is one of his specialties. Ông Ngoại learned this dish when he was eighteen years old from an Italian cook name Anthony while on board the S.S. Gio Long.

Nui Lòng transforms offals that are usually considered nasty bits, like gizzards, hearts, and tongues, into a hearty and savory ragoût. Ông Ngoại has been preparing this dish for well over half a century—first in Vietnam, and for the past 35 years, in America. Eaten with noodles or a fresh baguette, Nui Lòng offers a unique and flavorful fusion of Italian flavors, Vietnamese sensibility, and French techniques.

1 pound chicken gizzards
2 pig’s hearts
2 pig’s tongues
2 cans Champignon mushrooms
10 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon Bò Kho powder seasoning (Three Bells or Con Voy brand)
Chili flakes
Chili powder
1/4 cup Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce
2 small onions, diced
Vegetable oil
16 ounces tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
1 tablespoon dried black peppercorns

Uncommon offals, like the ones called for in this recipe, can be found in most Asian grocery stores. We purchased gizzards, tongues, and hearts at my grandparents’ favorite Vietnamese grocery store, Vien Dong (5382 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105, 619-583-3838).

Clean offals

Due to the nature of offals, it is of utmost importance that each ingredient be carefully cleaned and prepped. Begin by rinsing the hearts under cold water. Remove any impurities from the surface and valves using fingers. Set aside in a colander to drain.

Rinse the gizzards under cold water. Remove any impurities (i.e. flecks of undigested food) using a sharp paring knife. Set aside in a colander to drain.

Prepping the tongue is a bit more complicated than the hearts and gizzards. Begin by removing the white blubbery fat and connective tissue on the underside of the tongue. Set fat and tissue aside. Place both tongues in a medium-sized saucepan filled with cold water and boil on high heat for 30 minutes. Add additional water to the saucepan as necessary.

One at a time, rinse the tongues under cold water and scrape away all the gray matter on the tongue’s surface using a sharp paring knife. The tongue will be quite hot, but persevere because the film is much easier to remove before the tongue has cooled. A properly prepped tongue will be ubiquitously pink, without a trace of gray matter on its surface.

Make marinade

Next, assemble the marinade by combining half of the garlic, sugar, salt, Bò Kho powder seasoning, and Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce in a large bowl. Add enough chili flakes and chili powder to achieve the desired degree of spiciness. Whisk to combine and set aside.

Slice and dice offals and mushrooms

Cut the tongues, gizzards, and hearts into bite-sized pieces—approximately one centimeter cubed—using a very sharp knife. This is an especially laborious task, but wholly necessary in order for the marinade and seasonings to properly soak into the offals.

Add the tongues, gizzards, and hearts to the marinade, making sure that each bit is coated evenly. Ông Ngoại likes use his hands in order to squeeze the innards and the marinade together for maximum flavor absorption.

Drain the Champignon mushrooms and slice each one in half. Set aside.

Make ragoût

In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute the onions and the remaining minced garlic using a combination of vegetable oil and pork tongue fat. When the onions are transparent, add the tomato sauce, then the offals (marinade and all). Combine thoroughly and turn down the heat to medium-low. Let the offals simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, peppercorns, and sliced mushrooms to the simmering offals. Season the broth to taste using a combination of sugar, salt, chili powder, Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce, and MSG. Add more water or chicken broth as necessary to dilute the seasonings. Let the ragoût simmer over low heat until the offals are tender, approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

[For Printable Recipe Click Here]

Now Closed

19 May 2009

One Sunset – Los Angeles (West Hollywood)

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Less than a week after the huge blogger blowout dinner at STK, the One Group invited us all back for more. The site of the encore dinner was at One Sunset, the group’s flagship restaurant. Part lounge and part restaurant, One Sunset offers the trendy Hollywood crowd the best of both worlds in one sultry setting—hence its name.

Once again, the city’s food bloggers showed up with bells on. [A full list of attendees after the jump.] Our group of camera-wielding and notebook-jotting diners came specifically to sample One Sunset’s Tuesday night dinner special. Designed by Chef Jason Ryczek, the “One of Almost Everything” tasting menu offers diners a four-course menu featuring ten of the restaurant’s signature dishes, including dessert, for $45 a person. A full bottle of wine can be had for a dollar more.

After getting thoroughly smashed at STK, I displayed incredible restraint this evening in order to focus on the food. Mixologist Pablo Moix’s potent cocktails made several appearances throughout our dinner.

The Astronomer and I were greeted with flutes of LUSHious Raspberry (left – muddled raspberries, Gloria Ferrer Champagne) upon entering the restaurant. The ruby red drink was bubbly and refreshing.

We sipped The Master Cleanse (center – Belvedere vodka, fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup) as we dug into the menu’s early offerings. It was a quirky and fantastic creation—a drink I’d definitely order again.

Lastly, the Tropical Sidecar (right – Hennessy, pineapple, Cointreau, blueberries) arrived with the heartier courses. I found it reeking of booze and not much else. Pass.

Chef Ryczek started our group off with an off-the-menu creation called Breakfast on a Plate (left), which consisted of pancakes, bacon foam, apple caviar, maple syrup, and crème fraîche. From the presentation to the flavors, everything about this starter was right on point. The only flaw was its temperature. I’m not sure whether the chef intended to send the dish out lukewarm, but I would have preferred my breakfast served hot.

Next, we noshed on some Adult Candy (right)—bacon-wrapped, blue cheese-stuffed dates. The dish’s combination of savory, salty, and sweet notes were easy to like, but creativity was sorely lacking. Bacon-wrapped dates are strictly dinner party 101 fare.

The Spicy Tuna Tartare (left) was served upon eggplant tempura and drizzled with kecap manis, a sweet soy sauce. The tuna’s thick spicy sauce was heavy with chilies, thus overwhelming the delicate fish.

The best starter of the evening was the burrata with Carlsbad strawberries, pistachios, pink pepper, and basil (right), which was served alongside delightfully sweet and crisp cinnamon toasts. The dish’s unique combination of flavors had The Astronomer and I jonesing for more. We heart creativity.

The BBQ Sliders with crispy shallots and smoked cheddar that arrived next were at a Maroon 5 level of rocking. Had the bread not been cold and plain white, the sliders would’ve tasted much better; perhaps reaching The Fray rocking status. The fried onion strings served alongside the sliders were golden and plentiful, but I’m more of an onion ring kind of girl.

The Korean Chicken Satay (left) was smothered in a sauce with hints of kimchi and kecap manis, and sprinkled with crushed cashews. Considering how little I appreciate chicken breast, this dish had a certain sweet and spicy appeal.

The Turkey Meatballs (right) with marinara, Parmesan, and basil were surprisingly moist and had a homey quality. Turkey meatballs strike me as diet food, which probably bodes well for One Sunset’s usual clientèle.

Even though crusted and seared tuna is a tired menu offering, One Sunset’s pistachio crusted albacore was done well enough (left). The fish was served alongside a caper aioli and a Niçoise salad.

The roasted clams on the half-shell with chorizo, chowder sauce, and crushed oyster crackers (right) were my favorite hot course of the evening—there’s nothing quite like taking a shot of shellfish.

We wrapped up the evening with a trio of desserts. The Meyer lemon panna cotta (top) with blackberry sorbet, lavender poppy seed crisp, and lavender oil was a hit among my tablemates. For me, the floral profile was too much and as a result, the entire dessert tasted like Lysol.

The Vegan Godiva Chocolate Gelato (bottom, right) was served with a shot of Amaretti di Saronno. There’s something about the sharpness of the word “vegan” that’s a real appetite killer, especially when it comes to desserts. I vote for replacing the shot of booze with some real dairy goodness.

The Velvet Rope Cupcakes (bottom, left) were terrific. The cake was moist and the frosting tasted great—clearly evidence that good desserts will result from proper usage of butter and sugar.

Thank you again to Abby and the One Group for coordinating this very special dinner.

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One Sunset * CLOSED *
8730 West Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone: 310-657-0111

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