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March, 2014 - DineDelish

March 2014

Mendocino Farms (Marina del Rey) – Sandwich Changes Lives

by Franklin on March 21, 2014

When you mention Mendocino Farms, all I think about are sandwiches. Known for their fresh and farm to table ingredients, their sandwiches are some of the best in the business. You can bet that every ingredient in their sandwiches is organic and cultivated locally. This extra care and fresh ingredients do make a difference in the taste and quality of the food. Mendocino Farms is a nice and fresh lunch or dinner idea for something tasty and somewhat quick and affordable. Marina del Rey, lucky you for having a Mendocino Farms.

I go here for one thing and one thing only. It is their Kurabota Pork Belly Banh Mi. It is under their “Foodie Favorites” menu, and I can see why. Growing up in the SGV, I had some awesome Vietnamese sandwiches. Theirs was something new and fresh that was a good twist on the classic sandwich, but didn’t stray too far away from the original. The star of this sandwich is that beautiful kurobota pork belly. It is braised and caramelized — this created a nice sweet note. The fat and the meat were so tender — it just oozed off. The house made picked daikon and carrots helped in the crunch department. It also helped counterbalance the fatty pork belly. The cilantro, cucumbers, and jalapeno gave it a nice background flavor, giving this sandwich some depth. All between a panini pressed chiabata, and lathered on with chili aioli, the sandwich was spot on. The balance in flavors and textures really worked. This could be one of the best sandwiches in Los Angeles.

Mendocino Farms knows what they are doing. The fresh ingredients and quality meats really make a difference. Waiting for my sandwich, I was able to try some of their market items as well. Everything was fresh and delicious. That sandwich though, I can eat that all day. Why do I think every sandwich needs cheese? How can a sandwich with no cheese and no cured meats be delicious? Is it the pork belly? Before I just ramble on and start asking random questions (too late), I will just say this. The price is just right at Mendocino Farms, and you get much more than what you pay for. I know I paid just as much for a sandwich that was half as bad. There are many locations around Los Angeles. You can find them in Downtown, West Hollywood, West LA, and their new location in Sherman Oaks. I for sure will expect more shops to pop up elsewhere soon.

Mendocino Farms on Urbanspoon

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SideDoor – Through the Backdoor for the Good Stuff

by Franklin on March 17, 2014

It had been quite hot these days. Spring is here, and it is making us forget all about the cold winter. Hot days means nice walks on the beach and sunsets. Corona del Mar is by far one of my favorite beaches in Orange County. You have nice homes to look at on one side, and a beautiful seaside sunset on the other. Stumbling across Side Door, the concept of it was what drew me to this place. Just adjacent to the uber expensive restaurant, Five Crowns, Side Door is literally a side entrance to the restaurant. They both share the same space. Side Door, being more relaxed, less expensive and less stuffy, it looked like a good fit. The English-style gastropub specializes in cheeses and charcuterie — just my kind of place.

We started off with the shishito peppers. Blistered, then topped with manchego, the peppers were a good start. It had a nice mild flavor, and the blanket of cheese just finished it off nicely. The peppers were kind of bitter and earthy. Thank goodness for the manchego.

Of course, we went for the charcuterie and cheese. For the meats, I had to go for the prosciutto. The flavor was delicate and buttery. One of the cheeses, La Tur from Italy, was a nice “funky” cheese. It was strong, creamy, and quite delicious. A little went a long way. Eating it all with the prosciutto and fruit preserves was a delight. I also had a sample of some cheese from Vermont, and that was quite good as well. I am a sucker for cheese and cured meats. The selection at Side Door was quite impressive.

When I saw avocado mash, I immediately thought guacamole. This was very much a guacamole, but very much not. Not tainted with any lime, cilantro, or other over bearing ingredients, this one allowed the avocado to shine. To me, this was nothing special. The baked pita chips were a good match with the avocado, but nothing was screaming deliciousness. A tasty and healthy snack — I’ll give it that.

This must have been my favorite item of the night. Ironic that it’s a salad. The combination of some of the best tomatoes ever and balsamic reduction wasn’t enough, they had a nice micro green salad to go with it. To top it all off, they put it besides some of creamiest and smoothest fresh mozzarella slices ever. Everything together, yes, I mean with the tomato, balsamic reduction, cheese, and even some of that prosciutto, each bite was fresh and fantastic.

Have you had really good prime rib? I mean the stuff from Lawry’s or Summit House. Now, slice that up, and put a heaping pile inside a French roll. That is what we have here at Side Door. The prime rib was cooked so perfectly medium rare, and each bite was easy to tear off. The meat was fatty, juicy, and delicious. Dipping it in the au jus and the horseradish made it even tastier. I wasn’t expecting much from this sandwich, but the simplicity of the ingredients and the legit prime rib was all it needed. This is a must order.

I dig the concept of this place. The back door from a more expensive restaurant is all I really need. Less expensive, more casual, and probably better tasting, the Side Door restaurant has it all — a nice beer selection for those coming for drinks, a nice selection of cheap eats for those who come for food. This little corner in the upscale part of Corona del Mar is indeed a gem.

SideDoor on Urbanspoon

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Noodles (Bellagio) – A Little Bit of the SGV in Vegas

by Franklin on March 4, 2014

As someone who fancies authentic Chinese cuisine form the SGV, I don’t know how I ended up here. Maybe it was the intrigue, or the feeling of homesickness. Ultimately, I just wanted something completely different. I really don’t remember the last time I ate Chinese food or even a bowl of noodles in Vegas, if ever even. It’s always burger this or pizza that, and don’t even get me stated on the number of steakhouses. I took a chance on Noodles at the Bellagio, and I was pleasantly surprised. The prices were definitely not SGV cheap — the “Vegas Tax” essay evident. In the end, I was happy for my changing up the system.

After the Raku agedashi experience, I find myself ordering more and more. As an appetizer, and to be somewhat earthy, we decided to order the agedashi tofu. Theirs were fired in little nugget forms. The texture was quite nice. The warm pockets of hot tofu were silky smooth. Dipping it in the light soy sauce blend was all I needed. Nothing beats the agedashi at Raku, but this little appetizer did just fine.

Comfort food for me is either something really fatty and cheesy, like mac and cheese or a nice loaded quesadilla. Otherwise, comfort food comes in soup form. It has to have meat inside of course. The wanton soup at Noodles was surprisingly delicious. The broth was the star. I wasn’t sure if it had MSG in it or not, but the deliciousness of the broth indicates that it indeed did. The broth was warm, umamic (yes, there’s that word again), and quite savory. It wasn’t necessarily salty, but it had a nice quality to it. The wontons were nothing short of spectacular. Fatty and meaty, the shui mai like dumplings gave this soup bowl some substance. Even the noodles had a nice bite to them. This bowl of wantons and noodles was surprisingly the real deal.

We were on a protein frenzy, so we ordered the BBQ pork and duck. This to me was a mistake. The pork was overly sweet and jerky like. Too much crust and not enough actual tender meat made it difficult to enjoy. The duck, though nicely tender was a bit of a miss. It didn’t have that fatty/salty characteristic I’m familiar with duck. It was mild and a bit boring.


We ordered a bowl of congee to go with our meat. The congee itself was good on it own. The bland taste and blank canvas made it go well with everything. This was indeed a comforting bowl. For dessert, we ordered Thai tea. Milky, and somewhat strong, it was enjoyable — nothing worth mentioning further though.

All this Asian food and I started to wonder why we ate here. I mean, I could have this back home in the SGV, and it would be legit — it would be the good stuff. Why did I just spend almost double the amount for something that wouldn’t even hold a candle to the good stuff? Maybe I was feeling a little home sick. Or maybe I just needed to give it a try to see if I can really find SGV in the heart of Vegas. For a second though, I did forget I was even seconds away from the casino floor. That’s gotta count for something. Basically, I went to Vegas to step away from the SGV, and went to Bellagio’s Noodle to step away from Vegas.

Noodles on Urbanspoon

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