Why tasting Little Saigon is much better with an expert; also, is Vietnamese dog any good?

Chef Danhi explains Vietnamese herbs.

When I saw the email inviting me to tour Little Saigon with chef Robert Danhi, at first I thought I was being invited to visit the real Saigon! But when I read the email more carefully and realized it was Little Saigon in Westminster, I figured the OC would be a lot easier to fit into my schedule. Chef Danhi, who wrote the James Beard-award nominated cookbook Southeast Asian Flavors, also gives culinary tours of Little Saigon, focusing on all three regions of Vietnamese cooking. I went along with several other food writers on a custom tour with Danhi Saturday, and learned a lot more about Vietnamese food than you'll get from just stopping by Golden Deli.
At our first stop, Lee's Sandwiches, we learned that their banh mi aren't the best to be had but their iced coffee is killer. Plus, it's a good place to pick up makings for your own sandwiches, like pate, shredded vegetables, and $1 baguettes.

Fresh crawfish at Thuon Phat market try to crawl right into the seafood boil mix.

Next up was Thuon Phat Market, an immense and immaculate supermarket, where a tour guide came in seriously handy. We started by sampling all the varieties of beef jerky at Vua Kuo Bo, including curry and barbecue.
With Danhi, you don't just get a cursory look at the cuisine -- we learned how to tell which fish sauce is the fishiest, which brand of condensed milk to avoid, and which brand of noodles are preferable. We also got an introduction to the huge variety of Vietnamese herbs like the nasty-smelling fish mint, la lop, pandan leaf, loksa leaf and fresh turmeric -- my new favorite is the lovely purple perilla.
Next, at Dong Phuong Tofu, we tried still-warm soymilk and freshly-made tofu.


Bun cha Hanoi -- barbecued pork patties and pork belly with rice noodles and condiments

Then it was on to Hanoi Restaurant. Chef Danhi demonstrated his recipe for shaking beef, then we tried the restaurant's specialties of pho, pork patties with noodles, square Hanoi spring roll and shrimp with fried yams. Our tour ended with a taste of Vietnamese yogurt, which is really creamy and perfectly tangy, but since it's made with sweetened condensed milk, is more of a dessert treat than a breakfast food.
Danhi's not Asian (he's been married to a Malaysian woman for 20 years), but his enthusiasm for the foods of Southeast Asia is contagious. You could do your own tour by following our itinerary, but I'd recommend one of his Little Saigon tours for anyone who wants to get a deeper understanding of Vietnamese food.

What else we learned: Which country serves the best dog?
Finally, you won't find any dog in Westminster, but yes, dog is served in Vietnam. Danhi favors Korean dog dishes over Vietnamese though. He has a philosophical approach to being a carnivore: "Once you take an animal's soul, what difference does it make what animal it is?" However, he qualifies, "I wouldn't eat my cat though, I love my cat."

See more photos from Little Saigon here.

Gardening 101: EatingLA gets some green-thumb help

Tara demonstrates why it's best to start with a good-sized planter box instead of several smaller pots.

Every so often I mention my struggling patio garden, which yielded just one (admittedly delicious) heirloom tomato this year. I realized that even growing in just a few pots, it might be a good idea to actually learn something about what I was doing, so longtime friend Tara Kolla of Silver Lake Farms invited me to take one of her gardening workshops at the Franklin Hills Community Garden.
In just three hours, I learned a lot about what I was doing wrong. I have just one word for you: soil. Tara gave us her optimum soil recipe, the number of a guy in Pacoima who makes incredibly cheap redwood planter boxes and much more info from her hard-won experience.

We even got to take home seedlings to start.
I even learned how to knowledgeably throw around terms like cotyledon, worm castings and legume inoculation. I'm sure this is very elementary for more experienced gardeners, but I've been planting things for many years without really knowing what I'm doing, and this class made me finally feel like I'm on the path to a decent garden. Although I rushed out to buy soil amendments after finishing this class, I'm guessing I'll end up spending less in the longrun on failed planting experiments and gimmicks.

Elysian Park Labor Day Eat-In: Improve lunches in schools

Local caterer Jennie Cook is helping organize Slow Food's Time for Lunch Eat-in at Elysian Park on Labor Day, and hopefully the skies will be much clearer by then. The potluck picnic is in support of improving the Child Nutrition Act, which is up for approval by Congress in September and sets the standards for school lunches. Slow Food isn't just an elitist, let's-eat-our-heirloom tomatoes-in-Ojai organization -- it's active with Slow Food in Schools helping all public school children learn about eating and growing real food instead of the frankly disgusting stuff most schools are still doling out. The Eat-In is 11:30 - 2:30 at the Chavez Ravine Arboreteum.

Fishlips Sushi: Don't be scared of raw fish from a truck

After eating just about everything that swims in the sea from a variety of venues in Baja last month, it's clear I'm not exactly squeamish about trucks, stalls, stands or any other food-dispensing conveyance. But when Fishlips launched, several people said to me "Sushi from a truck? I'm not sure about that." I can now report that the Fishlips truck is an impeccably clean place to get your sushi, and is inspected by the health department like a bricks and mortar restaurant (although trucks don't get letter grades). The sushi chef makes everything to order, using an electric rice conveyor belt for the rolls. My spicy tuna roll wasn't quite like a normal roll -- it used chunks of ahi anointed with sriracha rather than the usual ground tuna, but I liked that better since there was no mayo involved. The rice was kind of loosey goosey but it was a great deal at $3.50 for a half roll. Various lunch sets are also well-priced -- for around $8 you get a lot of sushi, in a combination of rolls and temaki, which are cute ball-shaped sushi. The warm edamame were also delicious, sprinkled with salt and much nicer than the cold supermarket variety. This sushi isn't completely traditional, but it's a good value and very fresh, so I give it:
3 out of 4 tires.
Follow Fishlips on Twitter @fishlips_sushi.

See more food truck ratings here.

Top Chef Las Vegas: Bachelor/Ette party is a battle of the brothers

The second episode of "Top Chef: Las Vegas" was calculated to up the stakes, as they say in Vegas, pitting brother against brother and pissing off the gay chefs with a wedding-themed challenge.
Chef Todd English, he of the movie star chin, was the guest judge. Have to give a shoutout to judge Gail Simmons' purple and yellow dress, I was thisclose to buying the same one at Anthropologie.
The Quickfire round was selected Vegas-style with a roll of the dice to determine how many ingredients were allowed.
I thought Mattin Nubila's aesthetically pleasing, minimalistic carrot-ginger soup with just four ingredients including a "4" garnish was lovely, but then I didn't get to taste it. Instead Michael Voltaggio's gazpacho with "compressed cucumber" won him the $15,000 purse and immunity.
Next up was the Battle of the Sexes, where the female chefs cooked for a groom and his bachelor party guests and the men cooked for the bride and the female guests. The feisty and ironically named Ashley Merriman wouldn't shut up about how steamed she was to have to cook for the straights who have the right to marry while she doesn't. Although chefs and caterers pretty much have to work weddings all the time, so what's the big deal?
She's really working the gay thing, but that's ok, because she's kind of cute in an androgynous way.
The top dishes for the Battle of the Sexes included Hector's tofu ceviche, proving that the judges don't have a prejudice against vegetarian dishes, they just want it to taste good.
When I first saw Bryan Voltaggio's odd sweet and sour lime macaron with guacamole and corn puree, I thought it sounded disgusting. But its uniqueness captivated the judges -- either that or the chance to give each brother a prize will make for some good drama for the coming weeks.


Here's the video of how to make it, if you're so inclined. As for the losers, the femmes were cocky going in but their dishes were judged to be boring and badly executed. Ashley's bizarrely conceived panna cotta dessert overly perfumed with bitter bay leaves earned her a reprimand, but it was Eve's shrimp and avocado ceviche that got her booted off the island. Strange, because that seems like it would be hard to screw up.
But I knew Eve had to go from the beginning -- her look and personality seemed bland, and as the New York Times' A.O. Scott memorably said recently, "40 is the new dead."
Sorry Eve, back to the garden.

Verdugo Bar: Sundays are where it's at

Before I left for Norcal I stopped by the Verdugo Bar's beer garden for the Sunday afternoon BBQ, and it is a very cool scene. I've been hoping a beer garden would open for a long time, and although Verdugo doesn't have a kitchen, they're improvising with a barbecue area on the patio and rotating caterers. The day I was there, Evan and Alex from HotKnives were making vegan bahn mi and vegan pulled pork along with homemade potato chips.

I liked the seitan sandwich (above), but a little flesh would also be welcome to go with the good brews. I believe Evan and Alex also selected the music, which I loved, since it was like a tour of my own collection. Other Sundays will have different eats and different music:
This Sunday, Aug. 30, is Dublab with traditional (read: MEAT!) and vegan bahn mi sandwiches by Mandoline Grill, from 2-9. Check the website for the music and food for each week, but don't miss this great summer hangout.
Verdugo Bar
3408 Verdugo Rd.
Glassell Park

Chung King: How do you say "spicy" in Chinese?

Order two plates of crispy, lightly spicy chicken cubes if there's more than four diners, because they're hard to stop eating.

I know more Thai than I do Chinese, so I can say pet-pet or pet-ma if I want my food spicy or medium spicy. But maybe it would have helped to know the Chinese for "spicy, please" at Chung King the other night, when five of us including FoodGPS and Mattatouille returned to see how it was holding up (I first wrote about it in August 2003, before I started the blog). A Chowhound post warned that the venerable Sichuan place, which moved from Monterey Park a few years ago, might be "whitewashing" the food for non-Chinese diners. And while the first burst of flavor was still intense and satisfying, we realized by the end that it was definitely lacking in mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorn flavor as well as the usual jolting heat.
If a basic San Gabriel storefront restaurant can be said to have a "signature dish," Chung King's is probably fried chicken cubes. The golden chunks were showered with the usual flurry of dried chiles, and disappeared fast as even the more sensitive eaters of our group were able to partake in the usually hallucination-inducing dish.

Beef and tofu small pot had just a hint of spice, despite looking like a vat of seething chileosity. At the old Oriental Pearl, I had several dishes like this that left me needing a beach towel to wipe down afterwards.

Since we were with Josh "Offal" Lurie, we had to order pork kidneys with pickled peppers. They were considerably nicer than the nasty steak and kidney pie I mistakenly ordered in a British pub years ago, probably the last time I had kidneys. Tender and non-liverish when hot, the scored slices of kidney paired well with the preserved peppers. This dish needs to be eaten right out of the wok though, as it gets less appealing as it cools down. Sauteed green beans were as good as ever, while bacon and turnips would make the perfect Chinese bacon-and-egg breakfast, but it's kind of all bacon, all the time as a main dish.
Verdict: Chung King will satisfy a hankering for Sichuan and prices are quite reasonable, but there appears to be some truth to the charge that they're dumbing it down for non-Chinese diners. On the other hand, you won't leave with half of your party hating you for ruining their tastebuds.
Tip: Ask for SPICY if you can really take the heat. Also, you can bring your own wine but not your own beer, since they sell beer there.

Chung King
1000 S. San Gabriel Blvd
San Gabriel
(626) 286-0298

Stop the presses! Jonathan Gold had a peach for dessert.

Yes, Jonathan Gold is now on Twitter @thejgold. He had a peach for dessert last night, and tonight, Din Tai Fung. I'm guessing Ruth Reichl will still be queen of twittering critics, but we'll see.

Food trucks face troubles, but how good is the food?

While I was hanging with the goats and gourmets of Northern California, I missed the beginnings of the Wilshire food truck wars, as reported by LAist. I knew trouble was brewing, though, when the owner of Barbie's Q told me he had been asked to move by the restaurants on the Baja Fresh/Johnnie's/O to Go strip. I find it hard to believe that these chain businesses have actually had to lay people off because of food trucks. Many of the customers of the food trucks, like me, are people who burned out on all those restaurants long ago and and were holding out for something new. Meanwhile, the concierge of our building at 5900 Wilshire is sending out a handy schedule of trucks.
Fishlips Sushi is joining the rotating lineup which includes Baby's Badass Burgers, Green Truck on the Go, Kogi, Skewers on Wheels and Dosa Truck.
Update: Things are getting tougher for the trucks, says the L.A. Times, with police citing them for minor issues. Mid-Wilshire area restaurants are the first to strike back at the trucks for supposedly infringing on their business, but I agree with the Baja Fresh manager -- I don't buy it.
So far, the food from these trucks is leaving me kinda lukewarm. Here's where I stand so far:
My Kogi meal back in December was probably the best yet -- 3 1/2 out of 4 tires, because the tacos are reasonably priced and have actual flavor.
GreenTruckLA: Both the veggie burgers and beef burgers are good, and I love the fresh salad and perky dressing. Prices are high though, and a whole wheat bun would be even better.
3 out of 4 tires.
Barbie's Q: So far I've only tried the pulled BBQ chicken sandwich. The price was fair at $6.95, but the chicken was chunked, not pulled, the sauce was boring, the sandwich was small and there was barely a spoonful of coleslaw on the side.
1 1/2 out of 4 tires.
Dosa Truck: Interesting idea, but the execution was lacking. The flavor of the spinach and cheese dosa was ok, but the flat, floppy concoction was more like a crepe, and the pancake's flavor was too tangy. At $6, it's just too much for what you get.
1 1/2 out of 4 tires.

Meet Russ Parsons (et moi) at the Redwood Tuesday

If you are interested in writing about food or reading about food, come by the Redwood Bar Downtown on Tuesday for the Society of Professional Journalists mixer, where L.A. Times food editor Russ Parsons and I will mingle with whoever wants to come by and have a beer with us. You don't have to be a SPJ member, but you can drop an email here if you'd like to come by.
It runs from 6:30 to ? maybe around 9 at the Redwood, 316 W. 2nd St.

Top Chef: Vegas tasting notes: Vegetarian prejudice?

I caught most of the first night of "Top Chef: Vegas" in my hotel room in charming, but noisy, Capitola, Calif. Here's a few opening observations.
1) Eliminating Jennifer Zavala for her strange chile relleno made of breaded seitan clearly showed the judges' inability to embrace alternative food lifestyles. Or their inability to choke down some sort of unholy vegetarian haggis. Apparently you can experiment with flavors of many different countries, but not with the food of Vegetarian Land. That's ok, I really didn't want to look at her stretched ears anymore anyway.
2) What is it with chefs and the tattoos? We saw contestant Michael Voltaggio's ink up close at the Langham the other night, but Zavala and several of the other chefs provide plenty of competition. I guess it's an outlaw thing, and I know you can't really wear makeup or much makeup in the kitchen, so it does provide permanent decoration. Any other explanations?
3) Who's your favorite so far? I think I like the annoying, cocky, chubby Eli, especially since his favorite "simple summer recipe" is sous-vide octopus. Sure, I think I'll go whip up some of that right now.
4) I love how most all the women chose alcohol as their vice, but Michael Voltaggio went with a rack of lamb...good use of wordplay.

Hipstervores soak up summer at Silver Lake Farmer's Market

Summer in Silver Lake is young, hot and hopping and the farmer's market is no exception. It's certainly not the largest or the cheapest, but it packs a lot into one short block: plants, crepes, pies, jewelry and much more. Here's a few scenes we caught on a recent Saturday morning before stopping by the Silver Lake Art Craft & Vintage sale. What are your favorite prepared foods or produce vendors at the Silver Lake farmer's market?


Dragonfruit are pricey, but the cool look is worth it.


Even the little girls are stylish in Silver Lake.


Grab a coffee right in the middle of the market at Mornings & Nights and watch the action go by.


Summer is bursting with Red Zebra tomatoes.


Potted herbs and dried herbs and tea are sold at Inner Gardens.


Hot Knives' Alex Brown recommends Coffee Cellar's organic beans, and it looks like the Circle Jerks' Keith Morris likes them too. Note the No Pets sign, and the pet parakeet perched on a shopper's shoulder.


Frankie & Tiny's Pies are fairly new at the market, with fruit pies, delicious coconut pies and a hearty bbq pork pie.

Memo to L.A. Times' Sandy Banks: Stop eating in chains!

Macaroni Grill's Apple Crispetti has 1210 calories a serving.

Sandy Banks writes in today's L.A. Times that it's depressing to see how many calories are in chain restaurant dishes. But is it really surprising that an order of "Dessert Ravioli" from Macaroni Grill is a nutritional disaster? Maybe I live in an urban bubble, but I had never even realized there was such a thing. I'm sorry that you're stuck in Chatsworth, Sandy, but if you stop eating at chain restaurants you'll accomplish two things:
1) Independent restaurants aren't required to post calories, so you can order the most indulgent thing on the menu and not think twice.
2) Plus, you'll be supporting local businesses and broadening your palate.
Maybe I need to take Sandy to lunch so she can branch out a little.
I'll start with two places I've wanted to try:
-Woodlands Indian is vegetarian and offers unlimited dosa night on Wednesdays. Probably just as caloric, but who could pass that up?
-My friends in Chatsworth like the Northridge Thai restaurant Lum-ka-naad, which makes a killer beef salad that I suspect is quite low-carb.
Any other suggestions for eating far out in the Valley?

Vintage L.A. restaurant photographs: Ultra-Angeles in Glassell Park

If you like pining over lost L.A. restaurants as much as I do, you'll want to check out Ultra-Angeles: The Stereo Photography of Jack Laxer opening at Dkrm Gallery on San Fernando Road, Saturday from 7-10 during the Highland Park art walk. Laxer shot some great stereo photos of L.A. coffee shops and office buildings from 1952-1969.

Thai food fight on Squid Ink!

Spicy BBQ's Khao soi

Maybe this is inside baseball, but there's an amusing comment war over on Squid Ink's post about chef Jet Tila and his Las Vegas restaurant Wazuzu. I enjoyed Jet's Thai cooking class at the New School of Cooking, but I'm going to have to side with Jonathan Gold here: it seems insane to talk about Las Vegas not having any decent Thai food without mentioning Lotus of Siam. But Spicy BBQ has been accused of using fake creamer in it's Khao Soi...so take that, Jet.
Yes folks, this is the sort of thing some of us obsess over.

Michael Voltaggio moves from Top Chef's kitchen to the Dining Room

We like the spoon tattoo, Michael!

That's the Dining Room at the Langham Huntington Hotel, where previous chef Craig Strong netted a Michelin star. The 100-year old Huntington Hotel is a lovely, but staid place, but it's getting a one-two punch of new energy. First salvo is appointing 30-year old Michael Voltaggio, who helped The Bazaar net four stars from S. Irene. Voltaggio and his brother Bryan will both be competing on the new season of Top Chef: Las Vegas starting Wednesday, so that should be interesting. Second, the Dining Room is set to close Jan. 1, 2009 for a three to four month renovation and "repositioning" to freshen things up a bit.

A truffled brioche: not molecular, just utterly delicious. Why isn't there a truffled brioche truck?

We were invited to try some of Voltaggio's creations for the Dining Room last night -- here's a few of his ideas, many reminiscent of the Bazaar:

- Yellowtail was paired with watermelon and topped with a briny-tasting "sea sponge" -- kind of a a cross between a marshmallow and a mousse.

- Octopus (left) rested on a puree with a "buttered popcorn" flavor -- the crunchy, tangy-sweet slice of punched-out piquillo pepper made it fun.

- Turbot (right) was topped with crunchy tomato granola, which worked well with the mild fish.


- Lamb confit was paired with silky pickled lamb tongue, both cooked sous-vide.


- Suckling pig (below) was a very refined take on the rustic dish, topped with a salty dish of...pork skin?



- Chocolately coffee-flavored minicakes were topped with espresso mousse frozen with liquid nitrogren, with lemon curd sauce providing a welcome tart foil to the chocolate.

Sommelier Matthew Lathan picked out some fascinating pairings for our meal, including one course with Unibroue 17 Strong Dark Ale. I particularly liked Paringa's sparkling shiraz with the chocolate dessert.

Stay tuned for the Voltaggio brothers "Top Chef" debut Wednesday on Bravo!

Galco's Live: Chow takes a tour

The folks at Chow interview John Nese, proprietor of Galco's in Highland Park. Even if you're not a soda person, the selection of beer is worth checking out. Galco's is a real L.A. original, and it's lucky Nese has such a large space for his inventory of unusual sodas.

Bistro LQ in the Times, and what's new in Eagle Rock, Los Feliz and Downtown

S. Irene concludes rather lukewarmly about BistroLQ in her scene setter: "Bistro LQ may not be for everybody, but for those who are already fans of Monsieur Quenioux's cooking, this is now the place you'll find him."

Finally, another place for lunch in Eagle Rock when Auntie Em's is packed and hot and you've already eaten enough times at the Oinkster and Spitz: Cacao Mexicatessen opens on Colorado. Reactions from Eat:LA and Squid Ink.

EaterLA takes a first look at the Vermont offshoot Rockwell, VT. Here's more on the menu from FoodGPS.

The LATimes Daily Dish says Clifton's Cafeteria has no plans to close, even though the building is for sale.

And not totally food-related, but EastsiderLA says, "Don't pack your picnic baskets yet" for Silver Lake meadow, because there's still no opening date.

Rogue River Blue takes best of show at Cheese Society Competition

EatingLA friend and joyful partner in cheese consumption Barrie Lynn, the Cheese Impresario, travelled to Austin, Texas for the 2009 American Cheese Society conference and competition this weekend. She reports that this year 1,327 American artisanal cheeses were entered, which is truly astounding. Here's her dispatch:

Amazing!!! The American Cheese Society Conference & Competiton just awarded their winners for 2009. An unprecedented 1,327 American Artisanal Cheeses entered this competition with 314 awards given. OOOHHH, so many cheeses to dream of tasting.

Again this year, Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker, Sid Cook for Carr Valley Cheese Company cleaned up with more awards than any other cheesemaker. Sid's Cave Aged Mellage, a tri-milk cheese tied for Third Best of Show. Sid (some call him The Jimi Hendrix of Cheese) also won first place inthe American Originals catergory for Cocoa Cardona, I love serving this cheese that's aged in cocoa power with a hot fudge sauce for dipping...don't faint when you try this.

Second Best of Show was Red Hawk by Cowgirl Creamery. This washed rind cow's milk cheese was a Best of Show winner from a past ACS competition.

Best of show were my friends from Rogue Creamery's Rogue River Blue, a creamy blue veined wonder. Try this cheese on a crusty French baguette drizzled with some blackberry honey and you will be in heaven. I wish all of you could be here exploring the wonderful world of American artisnal cheeses. Next year The American Cheese Society Conference & Competition will be held in Seattle, perhaps I'll see you there! -- Barrie Lynn, The Cheese Impresario

Bistro LQ: Laurent Quenioux's creations are offally good

An amuse of one perfect mussel with ginger on soft polenta.

French-born but L.A.-based for many years, Chef Laurent Quenioux hasn't been able to really flex his tongs for a while now. By all accounts, (I never made it there) he turned out some startlingly innovative dishes from the tiny, liquor-licenseless Bistro K in South Pasadena, which closed around two years ago. Then he did a series of dinners and consulted on the menu at Vermont, which certainly classed up their stodgy menu, but it wasn't really his restaurant.

Skate wing is topped with a tomato tart, spring vegetables, sujok and sumac powder.

Now Quenioux has his own real restaurant with Bistro LQ in the old Mimosa space. Smack in the middle of the Beverly/Melrose/3rd St. hot restaurant area, it's probably the best place to be to attract people who can really appreciate and afford his inventive, sophisticated food. The room is light and uncluttered, with modern art on the walls and French fashion model-type waiters. It's a bistro in name only -- the minimalist decor shows no traces of the former Frenchy Mimosa, and the preparations are French-influenced, but with Mexican, Asian and Middle Eastern ingredients and a post-modern culinary slant.
Delicately-flavored sea urchin tapioca pudding with an oyster in yuzu gelee

We got there just a day or so after the liquor license came through, so the restaurant was able to activate the interesting wine list divided into categories like "Sexy Flirt" and "Love and Passion." I was meeting up with friends there, including winemaker Stephen Blum. Bistro LQ is the first restaurant to carry his just released 2006 Sylk Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, and while it's still young, it's a thoroughly delicious cab that's light-bodied enough to work with either seafood or the more strongly-flavored meat dishes. Blum also said that some of the wine is priced much lower than in other restaurants, so there are some real bargains to be found.

Chanterelles, veal sweetbreads, loukoum

Quenioux has turned down the strange factor just a touch -- there's no ant eggs on the menu at the moment, but he continues to be a fan of ingredients like goat, sweetbreads, duck hearts, head cheese and tripe. Animal was called a nose-to-tail restaurant when it opened, but in fact Bistro LQ is much more offally adventurous. But unlike Animal's lusty dishes, Bistro LQ's compositions are restrained and artistic, with all the ingredients carefully calibrated so no matter how unaccustomed you might be to that particular organ, it's not going to overpower. In some cases, the several components of the dishes can seem distracting -- I'm not sure exactly what a piece of loukom candy adds to an earthy chanterelle/sweetbread dish, or whether nicely-cooked salmon with delicate bone marrow custard benefits from being paired with sliced, cooked abalone and extremely salty pork skin cubes. But this is an ambitious restaurant, and it would take several visits to experience all the nuances of the tea service, the cheese condiments, the macaron flavors, the dessert tasting...and the foie gras three ways, with roasted unagi and violet bitter chocolate! So consider this an early taste, rather than a full meal.
In addition to a tasting menu of six courses for $65 with a vegetarian tasting menu available, there's the option of ordering half courses.
One of my favorites was a Nice-meets-Mexico dish of mussels with a deeply flavored sauce of Mexican saffron, epazote and huitlacoche, topped with a chick pea pancake.

They require three half courses per person if you do it that way, but it's a good way to create your own tasting menu, and it was just the right amount of food for us. Desserts are also fascinating architectural compositions, even if beet espuma (like a mousse) doesn't taste quite as good as it looks. Even if you're not a dessert person, they're worth trying since they're not very sweet and really work more as an herbal/vegetal finish to the meal. My favorite was the chocolate ganache shotglass that came out unbidden with an espresso. We ate too much to try the cheese cart, but it looks worthy of a cheese-focused meal on its own, with numerous condiments, gelees and mustards served with the cheese.
Rice pudding with goat milk, cassis sorbet and beet espuma

Verdict: This is beautifully-designed food that that for the most part matches up in the taste department. Personally, I prefer a more informal approach to dining, but right out of the starting gate Quenioux is giving the likes of Sona some formidable competish, as we say at Variety. There are photos of several more courses available on my Flickr page.

Cemitas are sexy too!

Here's the latest video from Pal Cabron, the new cemitas restaurant owned by Bricia Lopez, whose family own the Guelaguetza restaurants. Cemitas are like tortas that got lost in a sea of fragrant mole -- the French dip of Mexican sandwiches. See more cemitas-themed videos here.
Here's Jonathan Gold's early write-up on Pal Cabron. I haven't been there yet -- it's a little hard to work Huntington Park into the daily rounds -- but I met Bricia on the Baja trip. She's a real character, and now I really need some cemitas soon!

Farmer's markets can be sexy!

Tara from Silver Lake Farms sent me this pic of a racy tomato grown by her friend Sabrina. Tara says "Sabrina grows the most perfect, gorgeous, exotic vegetables; each one is like an art piece. She sells at the Echo Park and Highland Park farmers' markets."

I wish I could say the same about my poor tomato. Yes, that's singular. The Prudens Purple tomato plant I bought at the Garden Show grew just one tomato, which I plan to eat this weekend. All the other flowers withered and died. At least it's a big one.
I did grow a few decent Romas, but basically, I guess I should stick to basil.

Border Grill gets Baja inspiration

Barbacoa: the real thing in Tijuana

One thing that often bothers me is the overwhelming similarity of so many Mexican menus in L.A. Fortunately the chefs on our recent Baja trip were paying attention, and Border Grill's Raymond Alvarez is introducing some new specials inspired by the trip. I'm guessing the chocolate/blackberry polenta cake is a variation on the amazing blackberry tamales at Villa Saverios.
(At the Casa d'Eating LA, we made Baja-inspired jicama logs with chile and lime last week).

Here's a few of Border Grill's Baja inspirations, available as specials in Santa Monica:

Lemon Cucumber Carpaccio
lipstick radish | kumquat | lemon verbena | manchego cheese | crispy red beet

Barbacoa Tacos
slow roasted cabrito | árbol salsa | sliced avocado | onion and cilantro

Grilled Panca Marinated Salmon
aji aioli palm salad | poblano mashed potato | grilled pineapple salsa

Valle de Guadalupe Beef Shank
achiote chile broth | white beans | pickled onion salsa
farmers market succotash | marinated grilled bread

Chocolate and Blackberry Polenta Cake
blackberry liqueur | blackberry whipped cream

BBQ and beer at Verdugo next two Sundays

photo from Citysearch

Don't mind if your pulled pork isn't really made from pork? Then get down to the Verdugo patio this Sunday (Aug. 9) and next Sunday (Aug. 16) from 2-7 pm for a vegan BBQ from HotKnives.
The menu: Pulled "pork" sammies, curry seitan bahn mi, fresh chips, cole slaw and beer popsicles (lambic flavors) Featured beers include: Lagunitas 'Lil Sumpin' Sumphin (our favorite IPA right now), Red Barn saison, Mariage Parfait lambic and (weirdly) Negro Modelo on tap. Never had Negro Modelo on tap? Hotknives say "Verdugo is the only bar in LA that has ever had Modelo on draft, its a test case for a nationwide campaign, and its actually delicious in a pint, mapley and easy to chug."

Mexico Restaurante y Barra: Larry Nicola gives the people what they want

West Hollywood's new Mexico Restaurante y Barra is all about trying to show you a good time, from the goofy Mexican zebra at the front door to the serapes draped on the back of the chairs in case of a chilly evening. What's surprising is that the food is far better than it needs to be at a place that's tailor-made for hosting margarita-fueled groups of friends.
A few writers were invited to take a trip to Mexico, West Hollywood style on Sunday night. Owner Larry Nicola may be of Lebanese heritage, but he's got two things going for him: he loves Mexican food and visits there often, and after 30 years on the L.A. restaurant scene, he seems to know what L.A. wants.
Basically, L.A. diners want simple, non-gloppy Mexican food, excellent guacamole and plenty of types of margaritas and other cocktails, and who is he to deny them? Located in the building that once housed the Doors recording studio, Mexico is squeezed into the former Benvenuto space on Santa Monica near La Cienega.
The best seats in the riotously pink, mostly outdoor restaurant are on the upstairs patio -- try to forget you're overlooking Santa Monica Blvd. and pretend it's a beach resort, which shouldn't be a problem after the first drink. All the fruit juice-based cocktails are too sweet for my taste, but the Silverrano with tequila, cucumber, lime and serrano chile is just right for sipping with chips and chunky guac. We could have easily called it a night after appetizers of duck taquitos (above), roasted corn with crema and verdolaga (purslane) salad, halibut ceviche (above) and grilled shrimp cocktail with chipotle salsa.
But there were also hearty main dishes to explore -- grilled chicken with mole coloradito, red snapper and richly porky carnitas (above). Next time, I think one order of carnitas for the table and an assortment of appetizers and plenty of guacamole would be the perfect way to go.
With prices that are reasonable for the neighborhood and a well-conceived menu, Mexico is a big improvement over the area's other places like Spanish Kitchen and Marix.
Would I go back on my own dime? Definitely, if I were looking for a fun spot or needed to be in that area. But I might look for parking on La Cienega, as their lot is pricey at $7.
Mexico Restaurante
8512 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood
Phone 310.289.0088

Farming for urbanites: summer workshops from Silver Lake Farms and Homegrown Evolution

Want to grow more of your own food? Or learn to make jam or recycle your water? You can't get any more local than harvesting food and preserving food from your own backyard. Both Silver Lake Farms and Homegrown Evolution have lined up a series of workshops to help citydwellers go a little more country.

At Silver Lake Farms August workshops, which take place at the Lila school in Los Feliz, choose from How to Keep a Vegetable Garden, Good Soil or Compost at $48 a class, or learn by working on an urban farm for free.
Silver Lake Farms is also launching a CSA this fall, so check the website for more info.
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At Homegrown Evolution's August and September workshops ($40 and $50) in Silver Lake, learn about Seed Saving, Drip Irrigation, Greywater, Low-sugar Jam making and Summer Fruit Tree Pruning.

Umami comes to Los Feliz, Sushi above Barbarella

After Little Parlor closed last week comes news from EaterLA that Cobras and Matadors on Hollywood Blvd. is closing and will become the second Umami Burger location. It seemed like Cobras was doing ok, but Stephen Arroyo seems to be retreating and repositioning. This seems like a good move to me since it's not that easy to get a good burger in the Silver Lake/Los Feliz area, and I happen to be an Umami fan.
Here's more from Squid Ink about Umami's third planned location in Fred Segal's Santa Monica store.
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Also on Eater: Next spring, Barbarella will get a second story South American-style sushi bar called Sushi Mambo. That leaves plenty of time to clean out all the bad juju from Zen Sushi.