Jade's opening party: Raw deal part II

Raw food fans at the Jade opening

So despite my disparaging comments about raw food restaurants, they let me into the opening party for Silver Lake's new Jade restaurant anyway. It wasn't at the small restaurant on Griffith Park Blvd. but at the groovy Silver Lake Yards salvage and antique depot which is kind of under the 4100 Club on Manzanita. The party was full of raw food aficionados and assorted hipster types nibbling on endive with vegan cream cheese while lounging on carefully aged vintage lawn furniture. I didn't spy much food the whole time -- I heard about some shitake hors d'oeuvres, but I never saw them, and I had a taste of a raw eggplant slice rolled around more cream cheese. Not bad, although generally I think eggplant benefits from cooking. The blonde woman in the photo above said she's been raw for three years, and it cleared up her skin and numerous other problems.
I guess I'll have to wait until the restaurant opens to have my first real raw meal -- I've heard the chef, Lesa Carlson, is quite good. Perhaps I'll try a Tibetan Magic tonic ($6), said to increase physical endurance and improve sexual performance, and some Squash Hash Brown Stacks ($16) , finished off with Apricot Chiffon Cream for dessert ($5). Or perhaps I'll flee across the street to Malo for some carne asada tacos and a stiff margarita.

Lunch break: Mishima

The area bounded by Highland, La Cienega, Olympic and Beverly is a virtual wasteland for finding reasonably-priced, interesting lunches. This happens to be the area available to me for lunch around my office, and I don't know if you've been to Farmer's Market this summer, but it's an absolute zoo there. Plus I was unimpressed with my recent soft shell crab sandwich at the Gumbo Pot, although a Chowhound poster recently said their crab cakes were good. So thank god for a few places like Mishima, where you can get away from the waits and attitude and inevitable tuna sandwiches at Toast or Joan's and have something more ethnically diverse. I usually get the nabeyaki udon at Mishima, but with the recent New Orleans-style weather, steaming noodle soup was hardly a possibility. So Ramin and I tried the bento box, which is a pretty darn good deal for $9.50.

The one we got had California rolls, raw tuna (not the finest grade, but perfectly adequate), a nice piece of broiled salmon, salad, rice, soup...pretty much everything you could want. My day goes much better when I eat a ton of fish for lunch...brain food or something...and this was plenty of fish, for sure. I like a lot of their other dishes too -- all the noodles, the tofu salad and the tuna salad. And sometimes they have coffee jello, one of my favorite Japanese desserts.
Mishima
8474 W. Third St.
(323) 782-0181

Taste test: revisiting Caroussel

We tried to go to Glendale's Carousel restaurant on a Saturday night recently, but all of downtown Glendale was blocked off for some enormous shindig. Still craving a dose of Middle Eastern food, we repaired to the less-glamorous Hollywood location. Sometimes live entertainment can be too loud for conversation, so it was just as well. I hadn't been to the Hollywood location in years and dimly remembered it being depressing and empty, but this time it was moderately full and seemed to have been redecorated. Even before the appetizers come, a platter of vegetables and olives arrives to snack on.

I had the Vegetarian Delight entree, which at $12 has to be one of the better deals in town. It was an enormous amount of food, including hummous, mutabal, muhammara, tabbouli, lahmajune and stuffed grape leaves, which were about the only low point. I paid a $2 supplement to exchange the cabbage salad for fattouch salad with toasted pita bread and a great lemony dressing, which was well worth it. Everything else was fresh and delicious, especially the muhammara, which was pretty much what I had gone there for. Matt had the chicken lula kebab which was also huge and tasty and reasonably priced.
Verdict: Go to Glendale for entertainment, a larger menu and a patio, or go to Hollywood for easy parking and no wait. Either way, it would be hard to beat a meal this satisfying for under $15 per person. No alcohol in Hollywood, but maybe you can bring your own.
Caroussel Restaurant
5112 Hollywood Blvd.
(323) 660-8060

Taste test: Haru Ulala

I know several people who have already been to Haru-Ulala in Little Tokyo for their izakaya style small plates, and I was starting to feel left out. So Friday night we made it to Haru-Ulala, which still says Haruki above the door but has recently changed ownership. At 8:00, it was about three quarters full with mostly Japanese families and couples, although I hear it does a big after-work business with Japanese businessmen. As we ate, several parties of non-Japanese turned up, and I was sorry to see that they were all ordering things like firecracker roll and spicy tuna roll. That is not at all what Haru-Ulala is all about -- basically izakaya means pub snacks, which are similar to Japanese tapas.
The menu includes skewers of grilled asparagus, eggplant, chicken, etc., and a large selection of interesting grilled, fried and sauteed fish and shellfish. The specials are posted around the walls, so it pays to read everything carefully before ordering. We chose the shortribs with daikon, which were comforting and tender but basically tasted the same as Grandma's pot roast; the fried oysters, which were very nicely fried in panko crumbs; grilled eggplant topped with wonderful little moving fish shavings which made it look like the dish was alive; fried sweet potato, again with panko, not tempura, and our favorite, the squid with shittake. The squid was sliced off a large steak and ultra tender, paired with lightly sauteed shittakes and drowning in butter. Very luxurious. We finished with some green tea noodles in a tasty broth. Sushi is available, but I felt sorry for the motherly sushi lady who nearly rolled her eyes as the orders for California rolls kept rolling in from the white folks. Since these small plates, which run about $3-7 each, are meant as drinking snacks, there's a good sake and beer list.
The verdict: With the open grilling stations and lots of seating at the bar, it's a fun place to try lots of different cooked Japanese snacks. Next time, clams in sake, grilled oysters, yellowtail collar and softshell crab. It can be a little hard to get the server's attention; just keep trying. Our meal was $40 for two large beers and about six dishes.
Haru-Ulala
368 E 2nd St.
213) 620-1120

The great L.A. summer ice cream tasting

Intrepid Chowhounds Patrick and Peter braved the heat a few weeks ago to help me taste a myriad of locally-made ice creams for an article I wrote for Variety's new VLife Weekend. The article was fairly short and is only available to Variety subscribers, so here's a more exhaustive rundown of a good sampling of L.A.'s ethnic ice creams.

The Variety article includes Palapa Azul, a great Mexican ice cream concept made in L.A. which I haven't had a chance to try yet, but I'm looking forward to flavors like hibiscus sorbet, flan and sweet corn. It will be available nationwide at Whole Foods and other outlets.
Here's what we tried:

Mashti Malone: Mashti Shirvani has been making Persian-style ice cream in L.A. for 25 years, recently opening another ice cream parlor in downtown Glendale. The ice cream is fluffier than gelato, with a mind-boggling array of middle Eastern-inspired flavors. Unusual flavors: An etherally perfumed orange blossom with pistachios, rosewater saffron, mango, pomegranate sorbet, Turkish coffee. A favorite with the tasters who enjoy unusual flavors, although there's always someone who thinks some of the flavors verge uncomfortably close to perfume.

$4.95 per pint

1525 N. La Brea Ave., L.A. (323) 874-6168

Boule: L.A.'s highest-end ice cream from the artisanal patisserie and confiserie is made with organic cream, Valrhona varietal chocolate and fruit from Chino ranch. Unusual flavors: fresh spearmint with guanaja chocolate, Cavaillon melon, cherry Earl Grey with Kirsch, tangerine sorbet sweetened only with agave syrup. The spearmint was the clear winner of all the ice creams we sampled, and the melon was as close as it gets to great Italian melon gelato.

$2.50 per scoop

420 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A. (310) 289-9977

Al Gelato Continental Desserts: A classic Italian style gelateria with dozens of flavors which also serves hearty pasta dishes, soups and pizza. Unusual flavors: orange, toasted coconut. We liked Al Gelato's gelato, but I was less happy with the owner who wouldn't talk to me because "too much publicity would just confuse things.", TK

806 S. Robertson Blvd., L.A. (310) 659-8069

Massimo's Delectables: Massimo's is classic Italian gelato made by an Italian transplant to Venice, Calif. One taster said the hazelnut chocolate tasted "like brownie batter," but in a good way. Unusual flavors: apple with a caramel ribbon, pear sorbet. One of L.A.'s best gelatos; the co-owner told me she is looking for another location to open a new ice cream parlor since they lost their lease on Abbot Kinney.

13222 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 823-8381

Dr. Bob's: Made by a Cal Poly professor in Upland, Dr. Bob's is an ultra-rich American style ice cream which uses premium ingredients like Scharffenberger chocolate. Unusual flavors: Scharffenberger "the Works" combines cocoa nibs, ground cocoa beans and dark chocolate; strawberries, brown sugar and sour cream; black raspberry chip. Dr. Bob told me it's time for his seasonal fresh peach flavor to make its appearance. Everyone though the Works was in the top five , although I find super-premium American ice cream a little heavy for my taste.

Available at Gelson's and Whole Foods, approx. $5.29 per pint.

Fosselman's Ice Cream Co.: Travel back in time to the old-fashioned ice cream parlor at Fosselman's, which offers traditional cones, sundaes and banana splits with homemade-tasting ice cream. In a nod to the San Gabriel Valley's giant Asian community, flavors like taro and green tea are available. Unusual flavors: peach, lemon chiffon, banana Heath bar. We liked the peppermint, the coffee and the peach.

$1.95 per scoop, $3.95 per pint

1824 W. Main St., Alhambra, (626) 282-6533

Mikawaya: This Little Tokyo dessert shop recently branched into making its own gelato with a lighter Japanese sensibility. The coconut was fresh tasting and kona coffee wasn't too sweet. Unusual flavors: green tea, tiramisu. Overall, this was our least favorite of the bunch, but it would still make a good stop after a downtown sushi dinner.

118 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, L.A. (213) 624-1681

It's a raw deal, alright

I just heard about a new restaurant opening in Silver Lake, and it's even on the same street I live on. I should be excited...but...it turns out it's a godforsaken raw food restaurant. Now I'm sorry, but that is not exactly the groovy beer garden/artisanal pizza/reasonably-priced tapas pub of my dreams!
Oh well...here's the link to Jade Cafe. Ginger coconut noodles and cheese-topped flatbread sound good, but how do you make noodles and bread without cooking? We shall see.

Auntie Em's, again

I once went on a date with a guy who was new to town, and when I told him I lived in Silver Lake, he said, "Oh yeah, I went there once, and I was trying to drive on Sunset on a Saturday morning, and I got caught in some kind of hipster melee. I'll never go back." Well, even though it's my hood, sometimes I know what he means, especially if I want breakfast on a weekend. I like the spinach and pine-nut scrambled eggs at Millie's, but I'm not really interested in standing on the sidewalk in the blazing sun waiting for them. So when we need something super tasty for breakfast, these days it's often off to Auntie Em's in Eagle Rock. It seems silly to drive for 10 minutes when I could walk to Say Cheese, the Coffee Table or several other places, but there's something very satisfying about pulling up and parking right in front of Auntie Em's and then ordering at the counter right way. It's also very satisfying to eat a plate of eggs, Cajun sausage and french bread, or the decadent crispy French toast which is probably deep-fried, but who cares. I was trying to find something slightly less damaging to the arteries this time, so I had the scrambled eggs with portobello mushrooms and grilled red peppers.

The wheat toast with poppy seeds was really nice, too. I still haven't had lunch here, but I'll get to it. And bravo to the young woman who ordered coffee and two cupcakes, then sat at an outside table and powered through both cupcakes in 15 minutes flat. Can you say sugar headrush?
More on Auntie Em's Marketplace here.
More on Auntie Em's cupcakes here and here and here.
Auntie Em's Kitchen
4616 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Eagle Rock
(323) 255-0800

Exotic delights

I was surprised to come home yesterday and find a box of papayas on my doorstep. Then I remembered that I had been given a free certificate to Melissa's exotic fruit of the month club in a gift bag a few weeks ago. The first delivery was strawberry papayas, which are pinker than normal papayas. Papayas aren't generally my favorite, as they have a certain taint of the rotting tropics about them, but these would look beautiful sliced in a salad with an acidic, citrusy viniagrette to balance their slight blandness. Anyway, thanks Melissa, for the certificate. And next month, pluots!

The Saito detox

After a solid week of fried clams, stuffed clams, fried clam fritters, preceded by a few weeks of ice cream tastings and cupcake tastings before that, it's time to let the body recover for a while. So we were off to Saito in Silver Lake Friday night. No fried softshell crab roll this time, although I love it -- just the raw stuff. We had a fairly traditional selection, but each item was excellent: tuna, yellowtail, albacore, salmon eggs, shitake mushroom sushi and a final spicy tuna roll (I didn't order it, I promise, but it was far better than any rock 'n roll sushi version.)

Amazingly, two of us were pleasantly satiated, including a beer, for $40, a minor miracle at Saito. Someone at the bar was ordering a tempura shrimp roll to take home to his pregant wife -- isn't that sweet? It looked plumply delicious, but be forewarned, it's $15.
Saito's Sushi
4399 W. Sunset
Silver Lake
(323)663-8890

Cool local sites

I heard about Cybele May's Candy Blog on Good Food this morning and checked it out right away. She's a woman after my own heart, who obviously gets as excited about the thought of green tea flavored Pocky as I do. We don't always agree -- I give the Violet Crumble a 9 out of 10, not a 6 -- but her blog is a very worthy endeavor.

Judd and Holly of Judd's Hill Winery told me about Barrie Lynn, the Cheese Impresario. I haven't met her yet, but her site has a nice calendar of L.A. cheese events.

Rhode Island ramble

Sorry about the lack of posts lately...Eating L.A. has been rambling around Rhode Island for the last week or so. If you haven't been to Rhode Island, you might not realize that the Ocean state has one of the highest local specialties-to-size-of-state ratios of any state.
On our first day, we started at Iggy's Doughboys for some chowder, clamcakes, snail salad and doughboys. Their excellent clamcakes are deep-fried fritters with bits of fresh clams interspersed in the batter -- sort of a New England hush puppy. Last time I was in Rhode Island I missed the snail salad so I tried it here -- this might be an acquired taste. It seems like something fishermen might have invented to get them through lean periods -- the large, tough local sea snails are sliced thin and then drowned in viniagrette to tenderize them. Perhaps in more skilled hands, the snails could be made into a good Italian seafood salad, but I have a feeling they're probably considered the lowest rung on the local seafood scale.

Top, clamcakes, below, snail salad with olives
Doughboys are basically deep-fried dough puffs covered in sugar like malassadas or beignets, probably brought by Rhode Island's Portuguese immigrants. After a few days in Rhode Island, we decided they really know how to deep fry there. Even the French fries are unfailingly crisp and golden.
Twice we visited my favorite Rhode Island restaurant, the Governor Francis Inn in Warwick. Imagine if the Smokehouse or the Tam O'Shanter specialized in lobster rolls, stuffed clams ("stuffies") and oysters on the half shell and you get the idea.

Sam tries stuffed clams
Lots of older folks, a busy bar with good beer on tap and good prices. We also had a nice chicken escarole soup, butternut squash puree and stuffed mushrooms and stuffed shrimp which rocked -- apparently the secret of the stuffing is Ritz crackers, sherry, crab and shrimp.
For our "date night" we went to Madeira in East Providence's Portuguese neighborhood. This kitchy marvel features two boats moored in a fake lagoon overlooking a waterfall, each seating two parties of four. Madeira's owners probably last visited Portugal around the same time Frere Taix's owners visited France, but it's a fun spot where waiters bring massive chateaubriand kebobs hanging on spits to carve at the table and every dish is covered in a least a pound of Portuguese potatoes, which are like decadent fat potato chips. We started with clams and chorizo in a sauce tasting mostly of tomato juice, but the clams were nice and fresh, and then I had the salt cod smothered in garlic and onions. We passed up the Mateus (no kidding!) for a Portuguese tinto (red wine) that wasn't bad.

clams and chorizo
New Englanders love coffee and ice cream, and Rhode Islanders like to combine them in coffee cabinets, the local name for a milkshake. The Newport Creamery chain calls their shakes Awful Awfuls -- they're awful good and awful big.

Sam and Sophie with their Awful Awfuls
Another popular drink is coffee milk, made with Autocrat coffee syrup. When we heard an fellow order a "coffee milk and a hot weiner, all the way," at Olneyville New York System Weiners, we knew we were very far from California. The hot weiner, which contrary to its name did not originate in New York, is a short, soft hot dog with blunt ends, covered in a meat sauce with mustard, onions and celery salt.

I'm having a New York System hot weiner
We drove up to Boston one day and had lunch at Durgin-Park in the Faneuil Hall Market Place, a 130-year old restaurant reminiscent of the Pantry or Philippe's. We had Boston baked beans, of course, baked scrod and coffee jello -- a nice dessert with a dollop of whipped cream.
On 4th of July, we drove to Connecticut to buy fireworks and stopped at the Hitching Post in Charleston on the way back. This clam shack on the main road makes a mean $12 lobster roll, and you can eat at picnic tables in a lovely flower-bedecked garden with a fish pond and an acre or so of lawn -- great for a game of catch while waiting for your order. Why don't we have any places like that in California?

Lobster roll from the Hitching Post
On our last night, after a stop at Johnson & Wales College's fascinating Culinary Archive and Diner Museum, we walked around Providence's Italian Federal Hill neighborhood and had Rhode Island-style pizza at Caserta's. The huge, thick crust rectangular pie was unlike anything I've had before, more Chicago style than anything else. At first the globs of raw-tasting sauce bothered me, but by the second piece I had surrendered happily to the excellent, spicy pepperoni and the greasy, sweet crust.
OK, I'm on a diet now, but thanks to Ann, Joey, Mischa and everyone else for being such wonderful hosts.

Archived comments:
Anonymous said...
Thanks for this! I'm from RI and I felt wistful as I read about your experiences. I hope you had a Dels' as well...
Anonymous said...
I'm from Rhodyelin.You'd be surprised; snail salad is actually wicked expensive at places like Dave's Market or Stop & Shop. So contrary to what you posted, it's not far down on the culinary ladder at all!!That hombre was right. I hope you had Del's. It's so good.Did you get a hot italian grinder too? Those things marvelous with provolone cheese...