Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

26 Jan 2018

Cassia – Los Angeles (Santa Monica)

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It shouldn’t have taken me this long to dine at Cassia considering my enthusiasm for Vietnamese foodways and Chef Bryant Ng’s talent, but alas, here we are two-plus years post-opening and I’m just getting to it.

Inspired by the restaurant’s recent appearance on KCET’s Migrant Kitchen, I gathered a group of my favorite girls (Diep, Tien, and Minh) for a lovely weeknight dinner.

Cassia, which is named after the Vietnamese cinnamon tree, opened in the summer of 2015. Previously, Chef Ng owned and operated the now-closed Spice Table in Little Tokyo (see: lunch, brunch, dinner).

We left the ordering up to Diep—she has the meanest palate around and this was her second visit to the restaurant. She selected a parade of dishes—a bit of this and a bit of that from each of the menu’s various sections.

From the “Chilled Seafood Bar,” we delighted in the Vietnamese “Sunbathing” Prawns ($24), head- and tail-on shrimp brushed in a spicy sauce that stained our fingers.

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Restaurant Review

18 Jan 2018

Felix Trattoria – Venice

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I ate a lot of Italian food in 2017. With Los Angeles experiencing a “Modern Italian Dining Renaissance” and my personal passion for pasta, dining out last year usually meant checking out the city’s latest and greatest Italian openings.

Of the slew of new Italian eateries that I visited (see: Cosa Buona, Rossoblu, Posto Giusto), Chef Evan Funke’s Felix Trattoria was a definite favorite. It’s hard to resist Venice’s cool vibes and a chef who openly touts #fuckyourpastamachine. I’d call that an unbeatable combination.

Last-minute reservations are hard to come by here, especially since the restaurant was named “Restaurant of the Year” by Eater and “Best New Restaurant in America” by Esquire. However, seats at the bar are available on a first come, first served basis. My two dining mates and I snagged a trio of seats at the bar quite easily early on a Friday evening.

The first bite to arrive was the Sicilian sfincione (focaccia), poofed to the nines, slicked with olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt and rosemary. Homemade bread, served fresh out of the oven, has got to be one of life’s most simple and delectable pleasures.

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Now Closed

10 Jan 2018

Baroo – Los Angeles (East Hollywood)

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Cecelia and I grabbed two seats at the bar at Baroo to celebrate her recent birthday. The East Hollywood gem, respected for its strangeness as much as its deliciousness, was the perfect spot for the occasion. If we can all age as well as Baroo’s expert pickles and kimchi, the world would be a better place for it.

Here at his 19-seat restaurant, Chef Kwang Uh serves a Korean- and Italian-inflected, fermentation-forward menu. Prior to opening Baroo with his business partner and friend Matthew Kim, the chef attended the C.I.A. and spent time in the kitchens of Daniel in New York, Nobu Bahamas, Piazza Duomo in Alba, Quique Dacosta in Spain, and Noma in Copenhagen.

Our court-side seats offered partial views of the kitchen and an unobstructed look at the chef’s impressive cookbook collection, staple pantry items, and freshly made pasta. The dining room felt comfortably lived-in, like a friendly neighborhood incubator for culinary creativity.

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