Feast Blog

There is no irony in the fact that what could be considered my most memorable Los Angeles meal in recent history was not spent with a fellow foodie. I wanted to go somewhere special with Tony, who was my childhood friend and easily one of the most influential people in my early life. We hadn’t seen each other in over 27 years so it was important for me to find a restaurant that would be indicative of great Los Angeles food, offer a wide selection, and that was near to the L.A. County Museum of Art, where we met prior to dinner. The irony is that Tony didn’t care for much of the food at all — but that is no reflection on AOC whatsoever. Tony is a guy who genuinely prefers Dennys. Oh well. Besides being an amazing evening with an old friend, it gave me some astounding left-overs for my few days at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

Right off the bat, we ordered the largest cheese plate possible, five cheeses for $25; Besace du Berger (goat), Vermont shepherd Major Farms (sheep), Sottocenere Veneto Italy (cow), Casatica di Bufala Bergramo Italy (buffalo), and Bayley Hazen Jasper Hill Farm Vermont (blue). An exceptional selection which was loved by me and nibbled at by Tony. Well, he at least likes cheese.

For the main courses, I ordered for us to share the Duck confit and shell bean stew with ham hock, Clams, sherry, chanterelles and garlic, and a salad of apple, persimmon, pecans, and Roaring 40s blue. I also couldn’t resist a side of farro and black rice with pinenuts and currants. There is no way I could pick one favorite dish over another, but writing this now — a few weeks later — the taste of the clams and chanterelles still haunts me. From the wood-burning oven and served in a cast-iron skillet, I can’t recall ever having received such unctuous shellfish served thus with mushrooms before. So rich and with the crusty toast to sop up the garlicky sauce, even Tony appreciated the sauce without being a fish eater.

I thought he would like the duck, but it was too rich for him. For me, it was a great example of how to elevate a cassoulet knock-off. Served with the creamy beans and tender duck, were finely turned and fresh root vegetables. Granted, I only had a few bites when the dish was served hot, but it made for a great cold dish the following day and I could sense how well prepared the dish really was. The fresh salad was completely consumed by both of us, clean apples and bright persimmons. Also, the farro and wild rice was probably unnecessary during the course of the meal (except that I loved it), but was also an exceptional left-over. Perfectly seasoned and not a mis-step during the course of the meal.

Now I will give Tony points for having a sweet tooth and we shared an Ibarra chocolate cake with spiced pepitas and dulce de leche ice cream. If only I could have had left-over of this as well. Obviously prepared to order, the spiced pepitas made a warm chocolate cake on a different level; rich, yes — but moreso than just a good, warm chocolate cake. The dulche de leche ice cream provided a creamy counterpoint; a bit sweeter than than dark cake.

A word on service; we were seated in a smallish room upstairs, away from the main dining room. It could get a little loud, especially when the bridal shower at a nearby table got a bit more rowdy than desired. But we stayed well beyond the time when anyone else was seated in the room and the service continued to be superlative. They guided me on the dishes that I would be taking with me, since I did not have refrigeration. Everyone, from the bussers to the waitress, were excellent.

Just came from the soft opening of Nombe…

I started with a pretty amazing offering of Brussels Sprouts served with mint and yuzu. I don’t miss the fact that SPQR isn’t serving Brussels Sprouts any more. These were incredibly fresh and the combination of mint and citrus awakens the palate and is comforting at the same time. I also ordered the sashimi sampler and couldn’t be happier; toro, sake, hamachi, and another.

Being adventurous, I of course ordered the “challenging” dishes; chicken hearts yakitori, beef heart served with onion and bonito flakes. The chicken hearts were perfectly grilled and so tender — which can frequently be ruined with over-grilling. The beef heart was served in chunks; rare and rich.

As I was finishing, because this was the soft opening, the kitchen sent out a few tastes for those of us sitting at the counter to taste; grilled black cod and the pork belly. The grilled black cod was intensely rich and complex with the pork belly providing that unctuous, fatty decadence.

Yes, it was a soft opening. The opening night is not for a few evenings but based on an early test, this will be a consistent favorite for me. Sozai was hard for me to get to and I will desperately miss Chef Nick at O Izakaya, but getting the best of both worlds is a stroke of brilliance. Bravo!

My last evening in the L.A. area was blessed with a surprise visit by O.C. friend, Joan. She showed up as I was tearing down my booth at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and after a very long day of peddling my wares, I was anxious to get some fresh air and just stretch my legs. We walked the Santa Monica Promenade which I had not been down in almost a decade. Not really surprised but slightly saddened to realize that all the independent shops had all been replaced with large, corporate chains. Even chain restaurants. There was a brief debate about dining at a Houston’s just because the wafting smell of grilled animal flesh was so enticing — but the wait was not and so we kept wandering. I was thrilled to see my favorite local British pub, Ye Olde King’s Head, was still alive and surviving and as we wandered close to consider it for dinner, we spied a small restaurant directly across the street, Bar Pintxo at 109 Santa Monica Boulevard.

We were incredibly lucky to snag a spot on the bar as minutes later, waiting diners were lining up behind us, waiting for a coveted seat at the very small, intimate establishment. I asked the waiter to bring me a glass of his favorite red wine. “Light or meaty?” he asked. Oh, definitely big… I was served a lovely ’06 San Roman-Prima Toro. Perusing the menu, I wanted to make sure I ordered enough veggie items to share and probably ordered one too many as Joan had to leave right as the food started arriving, leaving me to battle the onslaught of food to arrive. We were automatically given a bowl of really exceptional olives which certainly whetted the appetite. Spinach was a given as I adore sautéed spinach with garlic and this version also included pinenuts, apples, and raisins. This was on the more vinegary side, but still very fresh and bright.

I liked that a number of small plates were available, including the simple bites of tronchon with membrillo at $2, “parfait” of foie with caramelized onions and apples for $9, and dates wrapped in bacon with cabrales cheese for $5. The dates were amazing; just caramelized to that point of enticing sweetness juxtaposed with the saltiness of bacon. A neighbor on the bar had something I had to ask about and then order; a pumpkin salad with pomegranate seeds. Served with wilted greens and thinly sliced cheese, this was a delightful concoction indicative of fall flavors. The pumpkin must have been steamed for it was obviously not raw but still had a lively crunch to it. The last special I couldn’t resist was a selection of baby octopus served with fingerling potatoes and fresh garbazo beans. So often the heads of the baby octopus are removed and here they were still part of the presentation. So tender and rich, it killed me that I wasn’t at the restaurant with four people as I certainly wanted to taste more of the impressive menu, but was far too full to continue by myself.

The restaurant *is* small and rather loud. The service can lag a bit but I didn’t mind; it is obvious they are busy and they certainly are not slacking in their attempt to serve quickly. There were only two servers and while an extra pair of hands might have made things a bit faster, it also would have made the small space that much more crowded. I say go early and be patient. I would also suggest a party of three or four to get that many more tastes. They were slicing jambon I would have loved to have tasted and I watched them grilling some stunning large shrimp which smelled amazing. Very fresh ingredients and extremely well-prepared — moreso than any tapas restaurant I have been to in recent memory.

It isn’t difficult to find a good restaurant in Los Angeles and through a recommendation, I headed to Drago with another old Angeleno friend. I was very glad we arrived early (before 7:00) because by 8:00 on a Saturday night, the restaurant was packed and the volume definitely made it hard to hear the person sitting across from me. There was a special prix fixe menu available but we were apprised that we could mix and match from that menu and their standard menu.

The amuse of bruschetta with an olive and bit of cheese was rather forgettable. I took one bite and let it alone; the tomatoes were very under-ripe and bitter. I started with an arugula salad which was topped with some truffled cheese. This offering was quite excellent; not too over-dressed and very fresh. My friend Robert started with a pasta; large penne with a veal ragu. For the life of me, neither of us new what the shredded stuff topping the dish was. It was chewy and tasteless and had no point on the dish which was otherwise just fine.

For entrées, I chose the Pappardelle with roasted pheasant and morel mushrooms. Here the pasta was paper thin, handkerchief-sized, and quite well suited to the rich pheasant and creamy mushroom sauce. The good doctor had fresh veal with artichoke hearts and asparagus, a special of the evening. I hadn’t eaten veal in some time and somehow I always envision veal as being more tender than this was. It was a very good piece of meat and well-prepared, but it didn’t blow me away. The whole presentation seemed rather pedestrian and I can’t put my finger on exactly why.

We finished up with two desserts, a classic tiramisu and a lemon, poppy seed cake topped with a rich sabayon and under-ripe strawberries. Both were good, but not great. We had shared a $44 bottle of wine and when all was said and done, this was the most expensive meal during my most recent Los Angeles trip at roughly $85 a person and probably the most forgettable. Overall, the service was exemplary and the food satisfactory, but there was nothing to make it shine or especially memorable. The majority of the diners seemed to be movie industry types (I saw many one-sheets and scripts being discussed) and perhaps it is a place for deals to be made. I would return if someone else invited me, but believe there are far better choices in the neighborhood.

Fortune has taken me to Los Angeles a few times this year and undoubtedly one of the best trips has been to stay with jeweler friend Rose. Being compatriots in a great love of sushi, she and her boyfriend, Andrew, insisted on sharing her personal favorite, Sushi Gen at 422 East Second Street in downtown. I think Rose has a personal “in” with head-chef Masa, but I’m not complaining. We had to wait a long time to get in and apparently that is not unusual for the following this place has. We waited a good 45 minutes for the coveted seats in front of Masa’s station and it was well worth it.

We started with a bottle of Kubota Senjyu which worked well for the entire evening’s offerings. To sort of “cleanse our palate,” our first offering was halibut sashimi in ponzu, with just a touch of yuzu and the fresh green onions, this awakened our mouths with an immediate demonstration of a respect for the fish and how it is best showcased. Not wanting to get too full on rice, I requested more sashimi than nigiri and fatty tuna was the next presentation; so rich and satisfying. There were presentations of both Japanese and Spanish mackeral (I think I liked the Spanish a bit better), sweet shrimp with fried heads (yeah!), and red snapper.

Rose knows of my willingness to try anything new or different and we asked Mas for the most unusual ingredient of the evening. In this, Sea Cucumber to which his sous chef (sorry, didn’t get his name) gave us a little dance on what sea cucumbers look like in the water. I’m just thankful I got pictures documenting that hilarious demonstration! The salmon had perfect marbling and the dressing on the albacore was just enticing enough to bring out its delicacy. Another juxtaposition which was offered was the Ankimo; Rose likes it with miso while Andrew prefers it with ponzu. I got to taste both and I’m still not sure which is my favorite, both worked so very well and it was thrilling to have great ankimo as lately, so much of the livers I’ve been eating have been grainy and not fresh.

We should have been full, but we couldn’t stop ourselves, continuing with some shared nigiri; scallops, unagi, squid with uni, and yellowtail. Rose and I also shared some oysters and then we culminated on a roll that Masa makes for Rose specially: a toro maki that is topped with more chopped toro and green onion. That was about my breaking point – we were too full for words and quite ecstatic. I don’t get this quality of sushi in San Francisco, that I have been able to find. The freshness of fish and its presentation was very reminiscent of Urasawa at a fraction of the price. So glad to have a new destination restaurant in Los Angeles and great friends to share it with!