Taste test: Heirloom Bakery, South Pasadena

South Pasadena has several hot newish dinner spots (Firefly, Bistro de la Gare, Bistro K), but not all that many good breakfast places. The opening of Heirloom Bakery & Cafe (at the corner of Mission and Meridian) is a big step in the right direction, as well an excellent place to wait out a tennis lesson with the Sunday paper. As the name suggests, the emphasis is on baked goods, but there's also a full breakfast menu available with omelettes, other egg dishes and stone-ground oatmeal and granola. I ordered a breakfast sandwich which comes on the house-baked bread with scrambled eggs, cheese and bacon. (They could have mentioned that it also has tomato!) The coffee was strong and flavorful, and the sandwich worked well with the pain au levain bread. I also got a banana golden raisin muffin and a cinnamon roll for the family, both of which went over well. I don't think the baked goods are life-changing or anything, but it's a pleasant spot for a bite in the morning, and that oatmeal looked very warming. Oh, and there's also a nice selection of salads and sandwiches for lunch.
One warning: If you go early and have a low tolerance for toddlers making strange squeals, take the iPod.
Heirloom Bakery
807 Meridian Ave.
(626) 441-0042

Taste test: Izayoi

mussels with garlic butter

Izakaya, or Japanese pub snacks, have got to be one of the best food trends of the last year. They combine everything I like: savory little fishy bites, vegetables, decent prices and casual restaurants, with sake and beer to boot. This is really just a preview of Izayoi, since I'll definitely go back soon with more people to taste some different dishes. We just went for a bite before screening Graeme's suburban creepo tale Neighborhood Watch. Graeme was serving lumpia and chicken skewers afterwards so we just tried three dishes at Izayoi: shrimp dumplings, spinach salad with anchovy dressing and julienned potatoes and grilled mussels with garlic butter.
The food: Everything was beautifully presented, like little treasures on the plate. The salad was a great light dish to mix into the richer meat and fish dishes. The sushi plates going by to the other tables looked excellent, as they should since the owner used to own Sushi Ryo on Highland. A lacquer box of glazed eggplant and rice at the table next to us looked amazing.
The room: The Japanese modern setting is a cut above Haru Ulala. It's small and still informal, but a good spot for a date or when you don't feel quite as funky. Reserve ahead if you want to sit at the small sushi bar.
The verdict: A great spot to graze on sushi and small plates, with a large menu full of interesting sounding seafood, meat and vegetable dishes. Servings are quite small, but with prices from $4-9 or so, you can try lots of things.
Izayoi
132 S. Central Ave.
Little Tokyo
(213) 613-9554


Izayoi update: Kathy and returned for some unfiltered sake and lots more dishes. There were some real winners, especially the grilled black cod. The spicy scallop roll and assorted sashimi plate were both good, so either sushi or cooked dishes are both good bets here. We also had an unusual dish of minced sardines fried in shiso leaves -- the sardines didn't have much flavor but the presentation was interesting; steamed spinach with sesame; and seafood croquettes (pictured above). These creamy fried seafood dumplings seemed almost over-the-top rich at first, but settled comfortingly in my stomach almost like dessert.

Iron Chef at Grace: Who reigns supreme?

Grace supporters watch Neal Fraser on "The Iron Chef."

Who reigned supreme in last night's Iron Chef battle against Grace's Neal Fraser? Well, if you saw the show last night, you already know the answer, but watching the show at Grace took the battle to a whole new level. The restaurant was closed for the evening and three screens were set up for viewing the show. Before the show started, we sampled a really tasty Tempranillo blend from Verdad Winery and snacked on probably the best assortment of passed hors d'oeuvres I've ever had. Some of the highlights were oysters, tuna tartare with fried olives, crab salad with fresh mint, pork belly with beans, pulled pork toasts, beef tartare on mini grilled cheese sandwiches and shrimp tempura...there was also a cheese and charcuterie table with speck, lomo and a wonderful cheese called Gratte Paille. Fraser's love for porcine products was evident in the appetizers, so it was lucky for him that the theme ingredient was...pork!

Then the show began, with Fraser battling chef Cat Cora, who tried to accent Mediterranean tastes in her dishes. I'm not sure what part of the Mediterranean garam masala and bacon ice cream are from, but let's just say her dishes looked better in presentation than they seemed to taste. One of the judge's reactions to the bacon ice cream was "this is freaking me out!" and another said "this should be illegal!" The assembled crowd at the restaurant went wild when the judges pronounced each dish of Fraser's better than the next -- each presenting ingredients that actually seemed to work together and each highlighting the flavor of the pork rather than burying it. Viewers erupted in cheers as Fraser's victory was announced. What a nice gesture to Fraser's fans to invite us to share in watching the show!

Merely scratching the Surfas

herbed tuna sandwich with lavender lemon bar

When I first heard about Surfas years ago, the food area was called Van Rex Gourmet and it was a small area inside a restaurant supply store on National. Well, the food section grew and grew, the Van Rex part went away, and recently Surfas moved around the corner to a large, well-designed space that shows off the gourmet section to better advantage and displays the cookware in a way that appeals to home chefs as well as professionals.
And cleverly, Surfas opened a cafe as well, with a carefully thought-out lunch menu as well as a coffee bar and baked goods. So far, I've tried the roasted tomato sandwich with grilled fig and taleggio cheese, which tends to be a bit soggy, but very tasty; and the herbed tuna, which is really flavorful with pickled okra and Fiscalini gold cheddar. Each sandwich (around $7.95) comes with two little sides -- addictive homemade granola and some sort of pickled vegetables, one day sweet cucumbers, another day mushrooms. There's also a few salads such as the Asian duck salad, as well as macaroni and cheese topped with roasted pepper hash, garlic sausage and gourmet hot dogs and filet mignon chili. I also tried an excellent lavender lemon bar, which had an amazingly interplay of sweet, tart and lavender flavors.
Surfas is like the sandwich shop I sometimes dream of when forced to eat in dreary delis on Wilshire -- a place where every dish has a little extra zing of flavor from quality ingredients like Maytag blue cheese, celery root slaw or chipotle ketchup. To drink, there's strawberry basil or ginger lemon thyme Italian sodas and plenty of quirky soft drinks, and there's an alcoholic beverage application in the window. Seating is at a few tables on the patio, which also has a little extra touch of kitchen tool imprints embedded in the sidewalk. There's lots of welcome attention to detail here (as well as a bit of preciousness, with quotations about food affixed to the sandwich boxes), and decent prices for the top-flight ingredients. The only problem I can see is that the premade sandwiches, which are put on a panini press to warm them up, sometimes fail to retain their integrity after a few hours in the cooling case.
Cafe Surfas
8777 W. Washington Blvd.
Culver City
(310)558-1458

Taste test: Dante's Chicken & Ribs

Happy, messy eaters at Dante's; fried dill pickles!











It's a huge challenge to find a place I would actually want to eat at where my kids will be happy too, since their adventurous genes still haven't kicked in. At one point we were so desperate we tried the Sizzler, Mimi's Cafe and Pat & Oscar's -- all disgusting, never again. I was trying to think of someplace besides Zankou, Senor Fish, etc. when I remembered Dante's BBQ in Eagle Rock. It's pretty small inside, but we managed to score a four-top and ordered chicken, ribs, macaroni and cheese and various sides. Arturo at the front counter was a hoot, clowning around and eventually bringing us a complimentary order of fried pickles with chipotle mayonaise -- they're like more flavorful fried zucchini. The portions were huge -- the chicken dinner is two full boneless breasts and two big bowls of side orders, and we could have easily split one dinner. The greens were good -- not too greasy like the one's at Zeke's, although a hit of vinegar would have really perked htem up. The chicken breasts were nicely charred, with a slightly spicy sweet sauce. Sam devoured a half rack of ribs with a mild sauce ($13.75 with two sides) in about five minutes -- he must have liked them. We liked all the sides we tried -- the cornbread, garlic mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese as well as the collard greens. After seeing a plate of nutty brown fries go by, I wished we had also tried the fries and onion rings.
The menu is compact but comprehensive, with a handsome romaine and blue cheese salad, chicken tenders for kids, bbq sandwiches and burgers and chicken wings in addition to the barbecue chicken and ribs.
Verdict: It's not the most soulful, authentic barbecue ever (I don't think they have boneless breasts at those places), but it's flavorful and possibly even a bit more healthy. The breadth of the menu, the size of the portions, the friendly service and the tasty sides make this place a winner. Although everything is nicely plated on white china, there's only three tables inside and a few more on the sidewalk, so don't expect a leisurely evening. Take out seems to be a popular option. And don't miss the fried pickles!
Dante's Chicken & Ribs
2006 Colorado Blvd.
Eagle Rock
(323) 257-4742

This and that...Jan. 13

It looks like the Little Door is opening a delicatessen/cafe...they're advertising for artisanal pastry chefs and such on Craig's List. I've never eaten there, but I'm always game for new lunch spots near the office.

Speaking of new lunch spots, the cafe at Surfas gourmet and cookware store in Culver City has opened and it sounds like a real winner, with imaginative sandwiches, homemade baked goods and lots of other items. It's open every day until 6:30. Report coming soon, along with a shopping bag of French lentils, chili flavored chocolate, etc., no doubt.

Also opening soon is the City Bakery in Brentwood...apparently those who know the original location in New York think this place is pretty great. Hmm...that pretzel croissant on the website does look pretty tasty.

I had no idea that L.A. city councilman Eric Garcetti has his own dining show, Flavors of Los Angeles, on channel 35 until I read about it on Franklin Avenue...but that's probably because since I have Dish network, I don't get channel 35.

And lastly, here's a cool link I came across while Googling something or other: Gastronomica's list of Food on Film, describing great movie moments involving food. It's probably not very complete, but you gotta love a list that includes cannibal movies and "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" with chestnuts like "Babette's Feast."

Palm Springs weekend

Banducci's, which closed recently, was my favorite restaurant when I was three years old...I always got the spumoni.
El Gallito, in rapidly gentrifying Cathedral City, is a refuge from gaudy Palm Springs.

Sorry for the long absence...Eating L.A. needed a little vacation. Unfortunately, while I love everything else about Palm Springs, the desert's restaurants are not its strong suit. Although there are a lot more restaurants there than when I lived there back in the dark ages, they're nearly all super-expensive steakhouses or super-expensive "Continental" places with wierd names like Wally's Desert Turtle or Blame it on the Moon. So we paid a pilgrimage to a place I used to go when I lived there, El Gallito in Cathedral City, where we had perfectly serviceable tostadas and chimichangas, at probably a quarter of what you'd pay at Las Casuelas. We also had hearty breakfasts at another old-time haunt, Bit of Country (where else can you get hash and eggs or chicken-fried steak and eggs?). The rest of the time I grazed off on hors d'oeuvres at various film festival functions. Next time, I'd love to eat at Mr. Parker's at the amazing Parker Palm Springs Hotel, a witty twist on the ubiquitous steakhouse that combines dark paneling and leather booths with hideous thrift-shop nude paintings. If you go to Palm Springs, don't miss the Parker, and try El Mirasol for updated, non-ripoff Mexican fare with a pleasant patio and robust margaritas and camarones al diablo.

Eating Toast

It's been a lazy winter break around here...cooking turkey, peanut butter balls, hoppin' john, alfajores, you name it. New Year's dinner was at La Buca...a nice salad of radicchio, walnuts and scamorza cheese, followed by trennette carbonara for me and spinach ravioli with mushroom sauce for Matt. It was a nice evening, but it wasn't quite the carbonara of my dreams. I'm not sure the homemade flat trennette noodles were quite the right choice -- perhaps carbonara is more of a straight spaghetti dish. Plus, there's nothing like mixing a nice Gloria Ferrer Pinot Noir with some margarita jello shots for a good time!

My other Christmas present book was "Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger," which I devoured during a rainstorm. It's a very bittersweet memoir by British food writer Nigel Slater, who endured a difficult childhood while savoring vast quantities of obscure British sweets (Old English Spangles? Sherbet Fountains? flying saucers?), terrible food cooked by a loving mother, decent food cooked by an unloving stepmother. He managed to not only survive a steady diet of wretched British '60s food including freeze-dried peas and vats of ham salad, but grew up to be a respected cookbook writer and food columnist. Unlike most of what Slater was forced to consume, "Toast" goes down very easy indeed.