New Chong Quing opening on Valley Blvd.

There's another location of New Chong Quing opening at Valley and New Ave. in a modern-style building that once housed Corner House restaurant. Does anyone know if they're keeping the Las Tunas location, which is just a few miles away, or completely relocating to Valley Blvd.? Must get more dan dan noodles, soon!

Tip Top is near the top of the banh mi heap

Since my favorite Baguette Express closed, most of the San Gabriel Valley's banh mi spots I've tried have been tiny, with no seating and cramped (Banh Mi My Tho) or chaotic and none-too-hygenic (Banh Mi Che Cali.) But now Tip Top's has opened on Valley Blvd. in Rosemead, setting the bar much higher for banh mi emporia. FoodGPS rated the Orange County branch highly in his Little Saigon banh mi bender, so I was excited to try it. We'll get to the sandwiches in a minute. Tip Top's is a veritable food court unto itself. There's a bakery counter, with eclairs, sponge cake (left) as well as super-cheap fresh out of the oven baguettes. (Sure, they're super light and airy, not exactly artisanal, but they make great sandwiches.)
Then there's a gelato bar, with a good selection of flavors including caramel, peach-mango and peanut. Then there's a smoothie bar, with a variety of fresh fruit piled up waiting to make creations like the Wild Skinny juice or the Protector.
Then, there's a coffee bar with Vietnamese coffee as well as cappucino and ice-blendeds. Not full yet? A self-serve frozen yogurt bar offers more than a dozen flavors (taro!) of yogurt with self-serve Vietnamese toppings like jello (at left) as well as the usual Jelly Bellys and M&Ms. Oh, and there's a colorful party room, should your inner 8-year old want to throw a banh mi and yogurt party.
As for the main attractions, the banh mi are first-rate. The super-fresh bread really elevates the sandwiches, which are stuffed with plenty of shredded veggies and available in bbq pork, bbq chicken, deli special, sardine and a few others. There's also a menu of Western sandwiches on foccacia bread like roast beef or egg salad, as well as Vietnamese meat pies, packaged snacks and all the fixings for making banh mi at home like pate and canned sardines. And, it's open from 5 am to midnight, making it a perfect stop to stock up for a trip to the desert, for example.
Tip Top's Sandwiches
8522 Valley Blvd
Rosemead
(626) 571-8185

Feast: Another new site for L.A. restaurants

As we mentioned last week, NBC-owned Feast has joined the L.A. food site fray with features including videos and a Metacritic-style system of restaurant ratings. Joshua Lurie of FoodGPS is one of the writers, while longtime L.A. writer Carole Dixon is editing the site. At the moment, the restaurant ratings seem completely incomprehensible, but perhaps as more reviews are added the numbers will start to even out? Because it doesn't make any sense at all for Barbrix to get a 57 "Good" rating while in the Silver Lake area, only Cha Cha Cha rates a 69 "very good." When was the last time anyone reviewed Cha Cha Cha, anyway? Only Bazaar seems to rate over 80 or "near epic"

Hatfield's: Bigger, possibly better & open 3/3 for lunch

All traces of the very scarlet Red Pearl Kitchen have been wiped clean, and the restaurant now sports a clean, airy look closer to its original tenant Citrus, with a lively open kitchen design.

I always wanted to try Hatfield's, which moved into a compact cottage on Beverly Blvd. and opened with much buzzy fanfare. But I never found just the right special occasion worth the splurge, so I was thrilled to be invited to try the new larger Hatfield's on Melrose. So I can't say whether the new incarnation, which opened three weeks ago, is better, only that it's very, very good.
And Hatfield's is lucky enough to have Karen and Quinn Hatfield overseeing the assured cooking, but also the charming and knowledgeable Peter Birmingham as sommelier. Birmingham insisted we start with something from the intriguing cocktail menu. A rhubarb Bellini and a a modern take on a whiskey sour with Earl Grey-infused rye and maple syrup kicked the meal off in style.
The amuse of yellowfin tuna, squash and lime with curry had a seductively creamy texture. I had to try the famous Croque Madame with brioche, yellowtail, proscuitto and a quail egg on top. Cool, delicate raw fish, ultra-buttery, crispy brioche, salty ham and rich egg all do little dances in different pairings in your mouth, making a knockout start to the meal. Don't miss this dish if it's your first time at Hatfield's. Cuttlefish salad was a complex and satisfying mix of maitake mushrooms and thinly-sliced cuttlefish (similar to squid) on a bed of sunchoke puree. The chefs smartly use a variety of mushrooms to deepen the flavor in several dishes.The fork at top is Kathy trying to steal a piece of butternut squash from my duck breast with whiskey prune smear and quinoa with porcini. The quinoa porridge strayed far from its crunchy, healthy rep into the realm of rich risotto, while the duck breast had crispy skin and nicely-cooked interior. This dish was perfectly executed, yet it was a bit of a letdown after the sheer decadence of the croque madame.
Kathy's pan-roasted New York steak (not pictured) was also cooked just right with a side of deeply green, butter-laden longbeans. Again, a competent piece of beef, but it won't push thoughts of bacon sandwiches out of your head. (Oops, I swear, that's not what I spend my days thinking about.)
The steak came with an adorable mini-casserole of crispy spaetzle, with a creamy dipping sauce. The spaetzle were more floppy than crispy, and while the German pasta was an imaginative alternative to steak's usual sidekick of fries, in the end you just kind of missed the fries. It seems like spaetzle is best enjoyed with meat juices mingling to form an impromptu sauce, rather than on the side.
When S. Irene reviewed Hatfield's back in 2006, she dinged them for not having enough wines under $50 a bottle. Under Birmingham's watch, this has been remedied with great values like this lush Cambria pinot noir for $42 and quite a few other great choices like Portugal's Dao Sul.
All the ice creams and sorbets are house made, with a selection of at least six a night. I loved the butterscotch rosemary ice cream on the left, particularly with a glass of Moscato d'Asti sparkling dessert wine. Kathy always orders a chocolate dessert: I was happy that her chocolate mousse Napoleon with espresso affogato parfait had a delicate chocolate-coffee interplay instead of a heavy, sugary onslaught. It was dynamite with the Boilermaker cocktail, an inspired combo of oatmeal stout and Tawny port. Try not to skip the dessert wines and cocktails, which really add to the experience.
The verdict: As at so many restaurants, the entrees seemed slightly less interesting than the appetizers, cocktails and desserts -- maybe date-crusted lamb or Tasmanian Ocean trout would have been more inspired choices.
But it's a minor quibble -- this was a lovely, civilized meal in a comfortable room that was quiet enough for conversation. Service is friendly without being stuffy.
A four course seasonal prix fixe menu is available for $56, while entrees are $26-$36.
Would I go back on my own dime? For sure, if I was looking for a grown-up but laid-back meal, with cooking that's spot-on without being fussy or molecular.
Good news: And I'll definitely go back when Hatfield's starts opening for lunch next week. Like Eva, which took over the little Beverly Blvd. bungalow, Hatfield's plans a $19 three course prix fixe lunch, which is great news for the industry folks who have eaten at Campanile way too many times.

Spring Wave: Great Mall of China gets Shanghai'ed

The most unusual dish we tried was salted pork with bean curd sheets.

The Great Mall of China seems to be Shanghai ground zero these days, despite the sad departure of nearby Green Village.
Spring Wave is just a few doors down from Shanghai restaurant and across the street from the more well-known Mei Long Village. Spring Wave, which describes itself on its rudimentary website as "South East Asian fusion," isn't too crowded on a Saturday night. It's a kind of plain, modest-sized spot, with the usual glaring fluorescent lights and a medium-sized menu -- not as long as Green Village, but packed with plenty of Shanghai specialties.
Though I had heard the fish with pine nuts was good, we had to skip it since I'm terrified of pine nuts now -- I spent all last week with a horrible taste in my mouth, possibly the dreaded "pine mouth."
We passed up the usual Shanghai specialties like chicken with chestnuts and Wuxi spareribs to try a few other dishes. Pepper beef is exactly what it sounds like, tender slices of beef in a soy glaze with plenty of black pepper, a very simple but well-executed dish similar to Vietnamese shaking beef.House special crispy tofu starts with pillowy fried tofu cubes, then adds sliced leeks, preserved black beans, and a medium-spicy sauce. The result is irresistible spooned over rice -- I only wish there had been enough for leftovers the next day.

A steamer full of dumplings arrived, on the house. They weren't the very best xiaolongbao I've ever had, but they were definitely the best free ones! We were pretty hungry, and though the wrappers were a bit thick, they tasted just fine.
I love bean curd sheets -- they feel like eating noodles without the doughy fullness -- but I had no idea how salted pork with bean curd sheets (photo at top) would be presented. It turned out to be slices of smoky ham atop a pile of bean curd sheets, sprinkled with sliced red peppers and scallions in a refreshing clear broth. It didn't resemble any Chinese dish I've had before, and yet it tasted hauntingly authentic, a pure representation of Chinese cooking with no influence from the West at all. The simple but flavorful dish perfectly complemented the other two dishes which had more familiar soy-based sauces.
I have no idea if Spring Wave is one of the best Shanghai restaurants near the corner of Del Mar and Valley, but I know we were quite pleased with everything we had and will definitely return -- hopefully with a large group like the dozen hungry teenagers next to us who seemed to order everything intriguing on the menu.
Spring Wave
140 W Valley Blvd., Suite 209
San Gabriel
(626) 571-1178

Biking the L.A. River, but with more food

Cyclists enjoy the newly-paved L.A. River bike path.

Today's Urban Explorations bike tour of the L.A. river was a great overview of the river and its ecosystem. We learned that steelhead trout used to live in the river until the 1940s and that people still fish for carp, catfish and tilapia that have been introduced into the river. Amazingly, they tested low for contamination, but the biologist on the tour said she wouldn't personally advise eating fish from the river. The only thing missing from this tour? Food.
Here's how to experience the L.A. River bike trail, but with more eating stops:
You could start, like we did, from the L.A. River Center, which used to be Lawry's California Center. It's worth a look around the spacious gardens to appreciate how pleasant it must have been to drink margaritas in the garden with strolling mariachis. You can follow the river the whole way, or parallel the river along Blake St. for a while, then head back to the river. You'll pass under Highway 2, the Fletcher bridge and the Los Feliz footbridge. Of course you could exit here and hit up plenty of places in Atwater like the Los Feliz Cafe (formerly Eatz), Hugo's Tacos, the Sunday Atwater farmer's market, or Viet Noodle.
Or you could turn around, head back along the L.A. river and stop at Franky & Johnny's Fisherman's Seafood Outlet, on Riverside Dr. near Eads St., where they're often grilling up some fish on the patio. Returning via Figueroa, some cyclists headed to El Atacor for the famous potato tacos. But I had pupusas on the brain, so I stopped at Maria's for a loroco pupusa and took it across the street to Antigua Coffeehouse for an ice-blended caramel coffee. It was a perfect way to refuel after the ride, but I'm still planning to hit Metro Balderas on my next Highland Park ride. Any other eating suggestions nearby the L.A. River bike path?

Feast restaurant review site planned for Los Angeles

(screen shot courtesy Epicurious)

Ben Leventhal, who started Eater, has launched Feast starting in New York. (Don't go to Feast.com, though - I guess they don't own the domain.) NBC Universal is behind the site, which is most similar to Urbanspoon in concept of aggregating reviews and blogs, but with a newsier, bloggier feel and a Metacritic-like rating system for averaging reviews. The site has launched in New York and Miami and is coming soon to Los Angeles and Chicago. The Epicurious blog points out that it's not very transparent, since the site doesn't disclose how reviews are weighted. I'm more interested in why NBC Universal believes in this, especially since I thought CBS Interactive had backed off somewhat on developing Chow.
Do you think you will trust the weighted scores to decide on which restaurants to choose?

Noah Baumbach's "Greenberg": "an outstanding L.A. movie" featuring Musso and Frank

Variety's Todd McCarthy says "Greenberg" has probably the longest scene ever shot at Musso and Frank, and is "an outstanding L.A. movie," that strikes "a fine balance between the beauty and the blight, the ease and the hassle, the luxury and the basic, the stimulating and the banal." It opens March 26 through Focus Features.

Forage: Everybody goes to Sunset Junction

Forage is just about what been wishing for in Silver Lake restaurant: Informal, fresh, local and healthy. But be careful what you wish for: You might get it, but not be able to afford to eat there as often as you would like. It's only been open about two weeks, but thanks to Facebook, Twitter and blogs, it seems like practically everyone has already been in to try it.
I was excited that Forage was planning to offer locally-sourced foods; even better, chef Jason Kim will accept food from your yard and incorporate it into the dishes. (Drop by on Sunday afternoons with your produce; don't just show up with it at dinner time.)
One friend of mine even thought you had to bring your own food, and was worried that her garden only held a few stalks of arugula at the moment. But don't worry, it's really not a requirement to come bearing smogfruit, as we call our urban lemons.The only protein at lunch was roasted chicken, which I eat way too much of already, so I tried the quiche with two vegetable dishes. Everyone else was getting the pork belly sandwich ($9.50), which sounds decadent, but I had to repent after a deli special banh mi the day before.
Everything was bursting with flavor -- the bite of bitter arugula paired with bright citrus and beets; long-roasted fennel slicked with plenty of olive oil; a quiche packed with flavorful greens and a flaky crust. We also tried an equally flaky cheese straw and tabbouleh-style quinoa. Baked goods look wonderful too, especially a savory beet green tart and sticky toffee pudding.
At dinner, there's more to choose from, including scalloped potatoes, Heirloom beans, meatballs and pork enchiladas. ($9.75) All this deliciousness comes at a fairly high price, at least for lunch -- $13 for chicken and two sides, $10.50 for three sides, $20 for a roast Jidori chicken to take home.
Forage is closed Monday and open 11-3 for lunch and 5-9 for dinner Tues.-Sun.

Pros: Good selection of vegetable dishes, everything perfectly cooked.
Pleasant folks.
Blue Bottle Coffee!
Cons: No iced tea at lunch, one of my pet peeves at lunch places.
My friend wants me to add "No Equal for coffee."
$2.75 coffee served in paper cups.

Forage
3823 W. Sunset Blvd.
Silver Lake
(323) 663-6885

L.A. Street Food Fest: Welcome to the food truck jungle

There were at least 30 trucks, each with a massive line in front. Fortunately L.A. Center Studios had some grassy and shady areas.

I wasn't too surprised that lines at the first L.A. Street Food Fest turned out to be too long for many to get in and too long for nearly everyone to wait at food trucks. But it was pretty amazing to see several thousand (I heard 15,000!) people so enthusiastic about trying a bounty of L.A. Street Food. I had hoped to see many more stands from the Breed St. vendors and other *real* street stands -- where were the bacon-wrapped hotdogs and churro men? I heard Ludovic Lefevbre's fried chicken, made by Ludovic and Mattatouille, was amazing, but an hour wait seemed too long. We snagged dumplings and duck tacos from the Dim Sum truck, which is launching soon; a Brazilian acaraje (black-eyed pea flour fritter, above) from Sabor da Bahia; and mini doughnuts from the Fry Chick. Mostly I regret not trying the crab cakes with lardons and shallot vinaigrette from Monsieur Egg -- aside from Ludo's Chicken, that sounded like the hit of the fest.The only other booth with a reasonable wait was Mama Koh's chicken wings - tasty sauce but pretty soggy. Hopefully Mama will take some lessons from Kyochon, since Silver Lake could use some good Asian-style wings.
Mama Koh apparently works out of Hello Teriyaki, which took over Yoshinoya Bowl in the crackhead mini-mall at Sunset and Fountain. Hello Teriyaki looks to be a cut above most fast-food places, with no MSG or preservatives and dishes like teriyaki tacos, tempura plates and teriyaki sub sandwiches.
Anyways, thanks to the L.A. Street Food Fest crew for coming up with the idea -- next time, hopefully, they'll add more street food booths and try for shorter lines!
Did you get in? What did you think?

Wolfgang Puck unveils Oscar food: Smoked salmon and chocolate statuettes

Will Oscar winners be happy with Wolfgang Puck's menu for the Governors Ball after the Oscars? At the this morning's press conference, Puck, Lee Hefter, Matt Bencivenga and Sherry Yard unveiled a retro-themed menu to fit with the Streamline Modern decor for the March 7 ball at Hollywood and Highland.

Appetizers include:
- crackers and smoked salmon cleverly shaped like Oscar himself
- Raw bar including stone crab claws from Joe's Stone Crabs in Miami
- Kobe cheeseburgers
The main course is a chicken pot pie with Yukon Gold potatoes, heirloom vegetables and truffles.
Dessert is the usual gold-dusted chocolate Oscars as well baked Alaska, filled with chocolate sorbet and topped with espresso glace and toasted meringue.

But...it's entirely possible that excited winners and willowy thesps will bypass most of the food, opting just to drink the Moet et Chandon 2003 champagne at each table.

-- reported by Kathy McDonald

Saladang Song: What took me so long?

A chicken omelette with soup was different than the usual Thai menu item...

Foodies sometimes seem to sniff at Pasadena's Saladang and Saladang Song -- so even though I've lived nearby for a year and a half, I wasn't rushing to try them. Plus, on nice summer nights, there's usually a large, off-putting crowd out front. But on a rainy Friday, though the restaurant was filled with several large groups of birthday celebrants (be ready for lots of singing and noisemakers), there were still two-tops available.
We definitely shouldn't have waited so long, since the food was a healthy cut above other Thai places in the area (don't even get me started on Patakan!).
I used to date a guy who always ordered the weirdest thing on the menu, whether it sounded good or not. Maybe that's what inspired me to order a Thai chicken omelette which comes with a cup of clear broth. Why? "Because the omelette is very dry," says the server. Not sure if that's a big selling point, but it's not bad, just not too exciting. For some reason I'm craving old-fashioned Polynesian-style spareribs, and Saladang Song's have a satisfyingly tangy sauce, but they're chewier than strictly necessary. The big winner is a zippy, creamy-sauced green chicken curry, that I'd definitely order again.
Though the service was a bit rushed and the prices higher than Hollywood and Silver Lake spots, that's not enough reason to avoid Saladang for as long as I did. We'll definitely be back to sample more items (corn fritters?), since there were a few things going to other tables that looked intriguing. Any suggestions? Any reason to go to Saladang instead of Saladang Song?

Silver Lake Farms: Fight for your right to grow fruits and flowers

The kale I got at my Silver Lake Farms gardening class is finally ready to eat, too! (photo LATimes/AP)

Silver Lake Farms' right to grow flowers and fruits for sale in the city of L.A. was spotlighted today on LATimes.com as well as nationwide via Associated Press. Go Tara! Currently, the 60 year old law is written to allow growing only vegetables for sale. Ah, but where do tomatoes fall? As Kolla says, it is really odd when the city of Los Angeles has made it easier to grow marijuana for sale than strawberries, or easier to open a pot clinic than a coffeehouse or bakery.
As to whether Kolla should be conducting business in a residential neighborhood, there area plenty of parking and business tax statutes that regulate that area already without arbitrary yes to lettuce, no to flowers laws.
Go to Urban Farming Advocates to learn more about the fight to keep the city of L.A. growing and supporting sustainable business.

Food trucks watch out: 5900 Wilshire to get real restaurants

When our office moved to 5900 Wilshire, we had to walk several blocks to get food unless we wanted to eat at the LACMA cafeteria. Then a few months ago, the food trucks arrived, both in front of 5900 and at our old 5700 Wilshire buildings. Yesterday saw the debut of LA Bento serving up tasty, if pre-packaged meals in the lobby, so it keeps improving. Now it looks like developers the Ratkovich Company are ready to sacrifice the mid-century fountains, home to a family of ducks, on the front lawn. The rendering above shows a series of four vendors and a large eating area around the front of the building. I can't wait to see who moves in, or how long it takes to eradicate the fountains. Still no word though on the large pavilion on the left, which was supposed to become an upscale restaurant.
LA Bento: A very nice tuna sandwich, but is the bento box worth $10?

Also in Miracle Mile news: Mixt Greens set to open Feb. 23, according to EaterLA.

Forage wants your fruit; Cowboys & Turbans comes to Silver Lake

Forage photo via Typefiend

Open for just a few days, Forage on Sunset is already going strong. We're still trying to fit in a visit, but in the meantime, Gregory from Typefiend and Apartment Therapy visited on the very first day.
Forage is inviting diners to bring in their own fruits and vegetables and they'll try to come up with a dish to make out of it. Forage is now on Twitter and quickly amassing fans on Facebook, too.

Meanwhile, the old Andiamo space on Sunset is turning into a Silver Lake outpost of Cowboys and Turbans: Street Food from India, the Indian/taco place on Wilshire, says the EastsiderLA. Here's EatingLA's report from Cowboys and Turban's early days on Wilshire last March. Cowboys owner Baba is no stranger to the area -- he opened Electric Lotus on Vermont nearly 20 years ago, which was the first Indian restaurant in the area, if memory serves.