October 2014

Library Ale House – Koreans and Grilled Onions

by Franklin on October 26, 2014

After a long day at Venice Beach, we decided to hit up Library Ale House. The somewhat small bar was packed with people. It was almost as small as a coffee shop, but people just stood or sat at the bar. The woodsy interior and small feel felt very “English Pub” like, but with better food. Feeling like something greasy, we were ready to order.

Oddly, this bar/restaurant gave chips and salsa. Now my British pub atmosphere turned into a Mexican cantina restaurant. Don’t get me wrong. The chips and salsa were welcomed nicely. Just your ordinary chips and salsa.

Pouting is one of my favorite foods. I mean, just fries and gravy is good enough, but to add braised oxtail with the house made fries and cheese curds just puts it over the top. The pan gravy was good and rich, but I would have liked it much thicker. At the end, the fries turned soggy from the soupy gravy. The braised oxtail was nice a succulent though. The flavors were complex and rich, and not salty at all –under seasoned if anything.

This was accompanied with the Alehouse burger. Made with ground USDA prime chuck, the patty was tasty. Topped with melted onions, gorgonzola, arugula, garlic aioli on a brioche bun, the flavors seemed reminiscent of the he Office Burger, though nowhere near the caliber of Chef Sang Yoon’s creation. What’s with Koreans and their obsession with grilled onions anyways? Well, it is delicious, and I am Korean. I guess that answered the question. (Where were we?) The burger. It was good. The mixture of blue cheese and grilled onions made a very strong flavor combination. You really can’t go wrong with that. The side salad was a life savor. All the rich flavors of the beef, cheese, and pouting needed to be balanced. Thank you, salad.

Library Ale House was a nice spot. The atmosphere is relaxed and the small space and central bar area really made me feel welcomed. Any beer lover would be happy here. Any food lover would be happy as well.

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Angelini Osteria – The Proper Way of Turning Thirty

by Franklin on October 20, 2014

Every man and woman’s journey changes when they turn 30. My 30th was well received, at least better than others’. I didn’t have a mental breakdown or go skydiving to feel young again. Angelini Osteria was the perfect place to celebrate my birthday. It’s elegant, mature, and the food was quite polished — just as a 30 year old should be. I’ve been wanting to go to Angelini Osteria for years now, and finally, the day came. I had high expectations and all were met — Angelini Osteria made turning 30 all too special.

The crisp flatbread was well received. It was light, flavorful and a perfect snack before our wonderful dinner. Back in the day, Angelini Osteria used to serve a variety of complimentary breads. Either it got too expensive or guests were just getting too full on the bread. I think the light crisp flatbreads were good enough. It kept us in check and made sure we didn’t get full before dinner.

We were given a bowl of lentils as an amuse-bouche. The lentils were perfectly prepared and the seasoning was quite nice. It was a little spicy, not in a Tabasco sense, but more like a peppery, fruity sense. Each bite had a nice “al dente” feel. I just wish I had a spoon to enjoy the last bits on the bottom of the bowl.

We started off with the bone marrow appetizer dish. This fatty, rich dish was a good start. A nice mix of gnochetti and saba sauce helped mix the bone marrow together. The near liquid fat and chewy gnochetti was perfect together. It was comforting like a mac and cheese dish, but on a while new level. If you like bone marrow, you will love this dish.

We absolutely loved the polipo dish. The warm octopus with arugula and cherry tomatoes was such a simple dish, but perfectly executed and probably one of my favorites of the night. The octopus was perfectly prepared. It had a nice char on the outside and almost had the consistency of being fried. The crunch from the outside and nice meaty softness on the inside was almost fried pork belly-esque. The bitterness from the arugula and the sweetness from the cherry tomatoes played nicely together. That octopus though — I can’t wait to have it again.

Most would say that the Lasagne Verde is their signature dish. I remember reading up on this dish and seeing how popular it was. I though to myself, “this must be some bomb.com lasagna.” I never really order lasagna at restaurants or eat it at home. It just seems so casserole-like and they all taste the same. I was really debating ordering this dish. At the end, the rave reviews got to me and had to order it, of course regretting it afterwards. The dish tasted like any other lasagna. The beef and veal rage was tasty, don’t get me wrong. Maybe it needed to be more saucy or creamy? I don’t know what it is, but lasagna is the least sexiest dish to order. Giada De Laurentiis chose this for The Best Thing I Ever Ate? Look below for Franklin Park’s Beat Thing I Ever Ate.

Well, I don’t know if this was the best thing I ever ate in my life. That is a loaded subject all in itself, but this was the best of the night. The Uni linguini was pristine and simple, but all the more delicious. The fresh made pasta made all the difference and was cooked to a perfect al dente. The uni cream sauce was so rich and flavorful. This had a lot of uni and so much seafood essence. I’ve had a few uni pastas from Los Angeles, and Angelini Osteria has them all beat.

Angelini Osteria is an Italian staple for Los Angeles. It’s been around for quite some time now. They have a rich history and definitely consistently delicious. Angelini can easily be one of LA’s best Italian spots. I’ll be looking back and thinking what turning 30 was all about. I don’t know what turning 30 is all about, but I do know what I ate when I turned 30.

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Superba Food + Bread – Missed My Kouign Amann

by Franklin on October 17, 2014

I came to Superba Food + Bread for a cup of latte and their famous Kouign Amann. I was looking forward to eating that sweet sweet, burnt sugar crusted bread with a nice cup of latte. I did get my latte, but instead of something sweet I got something savory. Sadly, they were out of the Kouign Amann. Instead of leaving, I decided it was a sign to eat healthier and went with the avocado toast.

The cup of latte was really nice. From the latte art to the coffee, everything was as expected. Honestly though, I don’t like lattes by itself. I needed something sweet. Heck, even a donut sounded perfect at that moment. Still though, the avocado toast and latte

The avocado toast was quite delicious. This being just snack time, we didn’t want to get anything heavy. The toast had a spread of avocado that so ripe and perfect. I liked the addition of the cilantro as an ode to the ever so popular guacamole. The zing of the chilies gave a nice heat and zap to the tongue — otherwise, this dish would have just been much too boring. I liked the addition of sprouts on top — it gave an element of healthy greens and texture. The bread used was quite nice as well — firm and crusty, but not dry.

I wish I could have tried more things, but we really just came here for the Kouign Amann. I hope to get here a little earlier as the bakery closes at around 3PM. The restaurant is a bit interesting though. It’s a casual coffee and pastry shop, yet its high end dining with wine glasses and Sunday supper — and you can eat outside on the benches. I really think their pastries are where they shine. From the Kouign Amann to the everything croissant, they are highly sought after and sell out quickly. More than dinner or lunch service, I am excited to finally get my pastries. Some day.

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Ritter’s Steam Kettle Cooking – The Las Vegas Pan Roast Makes its Way to Orange County

by Franklin on October 13, 2014

I have been wanting to go to Ritter’s for quite some time. Visiting Vegas throughout, I have been trying to make time to visit Oyster Bar in the Palace Station Casino — All for one dish, the Pan Roast. Chef Ritter, after being approached by some customers went to venture off to open Steam Kettle Cooking in Orange County. Vegas was a long ways away, so Orange County was the next best thing. I was excited to finally try their famous Pan Roast.

Complimentary bread started us off. I made sure I didn’t get too full off of the bread. I of course made sure to save some to scrape up the pan roast bowl.

We started things off with the bacon wrapped shrimp. Shrimp wrapped in bacon, and I’m not ordering it? Please. The shirmp were molasses marinated with mozzarella. Though the mozzarella was lost, wrapping it in bacon did the trick. The shrimp was a bit overcooked, but still had a nice taste to it. Served with molasses mustard on the side, this was a guilty and flavorful appetizer.

We ordered the red beans and rice, which in hind sight, we should have just let it pass. The traditional southern red beans, rice, and andouille pork sausage was good together. The beans were flavorful and the “sauce” was quite good. We ordered it mild, but stupid me asked for a little bit of chopped habeneros. The spiciness did wonders for this somewhat boring dish, but the hot temperature mixed with the spicy habaneros were just too much to bear.

They gave us a bowl of New England clam chowder, on the house. It was rich and creamy, but I felt it was missing something. The clams were plump and the soup was thick. I think a little bit of cracked black pepper would have done much for this bowl. My taste buds were probably singed off by the habaneros at this point.

Ritter’s famous pan roast was worth it. Pan roast is a tomato and cream based creole dish. The rich flavors was such a comfort to me. It was like eating a hearty bowl of curry rice, but not. The creamy tomato mixed with green peppers, onions and celery gave a nice balance. The shrimp, crab, clams, and lobster gave a nice roundabout seafood flavor. We kept the spice level to a mild, but adventurous eaters can choose from a spicy level 1 – 10. The jasmine rice mixed in the pan roast was just a perfect dish.

Ritter’s was an awesome spot to enjoy dinner. The Pan Roast is a must order as it is their signature dish. Nobody comes here for the beans and rice. Nobody comes here for the bacon wrapped shrimp. You come here for the pan roast. That rich comforting bowl of seafood essence and rice was just too nice. No more needing to drive all the way to Vegas for this bad boy. Slowly, they are setting up shop in Orange County.

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Wildcraft Sourdough Pizza – Venture Into a New Dough

by Franklin on October 10, 2014

I came to Wildcraft Sourdough Pizza during happy hour. The place was empty and the chef was just itching to place a pizza in the oven. I liked the open flow of the restaurant. The open kitchen and friendly staff really put everything together nicely. The place looked casual enough for a small get together and nice enough for a date. My only goal here was to try the pizza and gauge their dough. The “wild” in Wildcraft comes from the sourdough using wild yeast. I was quite excited for this dough.

To start, I had the happy hour salad. It had romaine, mustard vinaigrette, avocado, and dates. Not being a fan of romaine lettuce, except for Caesar salads of course, I wasn’t particularly happy with the lettuce choice. A substitute of arugula or a spring mix would have been better. The mustard vinaigrette though was quite delicious and the addition of avocado was pleasant.

The pizza was spot on. The spicy sausage could have been more plentiful or spread out, but the pizza was still nicely balanced. The crust to me was interesting. The sourdough really came out in the pizza dough. It was chewy yet firm, but needed some work. It didn’t have the air pockets and lacked refinement. It just tasted like sourdough. Don’t get me wrong. I love sourdough. It could possibly be my favorite kind of bread. I’m not too sure if it works well with pizza dough. I guess I am more of a traditionalist when it comes to pizza dough.

Wildcraft just screams wood fire pizza joint. Each pizza is blast cooked in their brick oven. Executive chef Tin Vuong started the mother dough and all of the pizza dough is made from this. To be fair, the pizza dough was better than most, but you can’t stray too far from a traditional pizza dough.

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2014 LA Times The Taste – Flavors of LA

by Franklin on October 7, 2014

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LA Times The Taste 2014 – Dinner with a Twist

by Franklin on October 7, 2014

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Delmonico Steakhouse (Venetian) – I Indulge in Bread, Butter, Beef, and Bacon

by Franklin on October 3, 2014

This was the first time eating at one of Emril Lagasse’s restaurants. The celebrity chef that started it all is taking on the great American steakhouse in Las Vegas called Demonico Steakhouse. It is inside the Venetian, and the space is quite unassuming and not flashy at all. It is as classic as can be. The food was classically delicious and I had an amazing time. As far as Vegas goes, the space was kind of boring, but the food spoke for itself.

The bread and butter was quite nice. The rolls were normal butter rolls, but the bread was so soft and buttery. Adding on some more salted butter, the bread was a decadent butter fest.

The best cut of them all, the reason why we are all here, is for this cut of beef. The bone in ribeye was cooked perfectly. Steakhouses all may seem the same, but there are good steakhouses and then there are amazing ones. Delmonico’s was indeed amazing. The beef was fatty and cooked perfectly medium rare. The bone flavored the meat ever so perfectly. The herb butter on top melted all over the steak and just flavored it even more. This was a perfect steak.

The sauteed mushrooms was key and much appreciated with this steak. It gave it a nice earthy aroma and paired well with the meat. The buttery mushrooms were seasoned nicely — this was as close to “veggies” as we got for the night.

The grits were amazing and took place of my usual mac and cheese order. The bacon on top put these grits on a new level of savory. The butter mixed in with the grits was so pure and magical. It had a nice bite to it, and the saltiness from the bacon went well with the somewhat mildly seasoned steak.

I am a creamed corn lover. Though it wasn’t as good as those prime rib restaurants, the creamed corn was welcomed with the ribeye. The sweetness from the corn and the saltiness from the cheese all mixed up with cream was just so comforting.

Thinking about what we just ate, I realized it was just over the top with butter, beef, cream, and fat. This is what Vegas is all about. Over the top? Check! Indulgence? Check! Without a single green in sight, this meal was just a beef and cream and butter fest. Do I regret it? Not at all. I believe after this meal, we went for some desserts and then hit the Craps table. It was indeed a good night.

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Churros Calientes – Dulce de Leche Please

by Franklin on October 1, 2014

We all know that the best churros are from Disneyland. Something about that long stick of fried dough, rolled in cinnamon and sugar is so satisfying. At Churros Calientes, they take the simple and humble churro and make it even sweeter.

We ordered the churros with a drizzle of dulce de leche on top. The churros were crunchy and soft on the inside. The dulce de leche was deliciously sweet on top, but had a grainy consistency from the sugar. It still was sweet and delicious with the churros. I’m pretty sure I still scraped off the dulce de leche off of the plate. 🙂

Next time, I want to try the Churro Grande and hot chocolate. The churro grande is a large churro that is stuffed and then drizzled with whatever you want. Yes, it is a stuffed churro. Also, the hot chocolate I hear is very rich and chocolatey. Churros Calientes seems to have churros as the only thing going for them. I think they have sandwiches and other items, but not sure if anyone eats that stuff here. The churros though are quite delicious — crunchy, sweet, and drizzled with whatever your heart desires.