February 21, 2012

DTLA: Brunch at Baco Mercat

Posted by the minty under brunch, cocktalian, dtla lunch, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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tangerine mimosas

A couple of weeks back, I saw some tweets about brunch at Baco Mercat. Seeing as I’ve enjoyed both lunch and dinner at the recently opened spot on Main Street, I could help but think brunch would be fantastic. The biscuits and gravy were calling my name. Loudly.

biscuits and gravy

I’m not a huge breakfast person but when I do eat breakfast, I prefer savory items. Getting the biscuits and gravy is the ultimate comfort food breakfast. The biscuit was so fresh and flaky and it was the perfect amount of bacon and cheddar cheese as well. Add a fried egg to the mix and you got yourself breakfast. Or brunch. Or “hair of the dog” as Baco is calling their brunch menu.

We were torn about getting the breakfast baco with egg and chorizo or some other items. I was eying the sausage (either merguez or pork) with fennel or English breakfast with morcilla (blood sausage) and celery. Or maybe simple like steak and eggs. The only sweet item I’d consider is the yeasted waffle .

We had the tangerine mimosas with Szchuan sweet and sour. I may try the Bloody Mary with sundried tomato and harissa mix next time.

green cabbage and papaya salad

Moving on to the more lunch part of the menu, we had the green cabbage and papaya salad. I’m a big fan of Chef Josef’s vegetables and this was his take on a Thai green papaya salad. It is fairly spicy so look out. I loved how the veg were sliced for this salad– so pretty.

bazole

 

I had the Bazole when Baco first opened and the manager had told us they were going to perhaps tweak the recipe so you can add your own spicy sauce to it. It’s still not every spicy but after having the salad, we enjoyed the relative calmness of the broth.

beef tongue schnitzel baco

 

Can’t leave Baco without a baco. We got the beef tongue schnitzel. We ordered too much but the two of us still managed to eat it all anyway.

I was very happy with brunch and it’s the little things like sitting outside on a sunny clear day in Los Angeles that made this meal even better.

Baco Mercat

408 S Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 – (213) 687-8808
 

February 17, 2012

MacArthur Park: My New Favorite Pastrami Combo at Langer’s

Posted by the minty under art, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Langer's #44

The #19 is the most famous Langer’s sandwich. It is pastrami, cole slaw, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing. I started ordering the #1 which is all of that minus the cheese. However, whenever I’m not at Langer’s and want pastrami, I usually get something more like a Reuben with sauerkraut.

I wondered…

close up on #44

I decided to get the #44 (pastrami, sauerkraut, cheese) and you know what? It’s now my new favorite. The tartness of the sauerkraut went so well with the lovely meaty pastrami and balanced out by the cheese. Of course, our server did bring me a side of Russian dressing and said some people liked dipping their sandwich that way. Ah, great idea.

cabbage soup

chicken noodle soup

matzoh ball soup

We started our meals with a couple of soups- cabbage, the chicken noodle and matzoh ball. One of these days, I might try their chicken in a pot but that would mean I wouldn’t get pastrami. I can’t fathom going to Langer’s and not get pastrami.

grilled Nippy cheese sandwich

Some people can though.  I have no words other than yes, get the grilled cheese if you can somehow manage not to eat that beautiful pastrami. Despite what some people will tell you, I didn’t have the roast beef. I have to get the pastrami and roast beef (#54) just to test the waters next time.

some murals near Langer's Deli

mural next to Langer's parking lot

Some great art in the neighborhood!

Langer’s Deli

704 South Alvarado St., Los Angeles, CA 90057-4020 — (213) 483-8050

 

February 15, 2012

Seattle: Mistral Kitchen

Posted by the minty under cocktalian, dessert, food, food crawls, foodie alert, great cocktails, hot bartenders, minty life, restaurant reviews, tasting menu, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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Bobby Burns

My 24 hours in Seattle was coming to a close. Before heading out to the airport, we had lunch at Mistral Kitchen, just a couple blocks away from our hotel. Just about everybody told me it was fabulous and after surplus of calories (mostly empty in the form of cocktails), a light meal was just what I wanted.

hamachi crudo

Bobby from 100 Eats 100 Days ordered the Bobby Burns cocktail (Famous Grouse Scotch, Laphroig 10, Dolin sweet vermouth, Benedictine, Peychaud’s bitters) and the hamachi crudo for the table to share. I’m pretty sure everyone was impressed by the barman wrapping the long peel around the round ball of ice. I do have to say I usually have seen this cocktail served up. Still, love that ice ball.

diver sea scallops

hearty winter greens, bacon lardons, parmasan

I love Seattle and how fresh the seafood is. The hamachi crudo was great as were the scallops though I preferred the oysters I ordered best. I also was dying for some fresh veg and the hearty winter greens fit the bill.

oysters

I ordered three each of the available Kushi and North Shore oysters. I liked the North Shore ones a bit more with the more traditional mignonette. The smaller Kushi oysters were just fine on their own.

proscuitto and arugula pizza

cutting and serving ourselves pizza

When our server dropped off a pair of scissors, we knew we were in for a DIY adventure. The tomato, Proscuitto di San Daniele and arugula pizza was not sliced. As shown in the picture, you cut yourself slices to eat.

pork belly, escarole, turnips, sultanas

The only dish we were meh about was the pork belly. It just seemed piddly. I wished we used the $12 to buy more oysters.

pork terrine, fermented pickles, dijon, micro greens

On the other hand, the pork terrine was very nice. We had to ask for more bread (which was wonderful) to go with the perfectly made potted meat.

wood fired hanger steak, potato, trumpet mushrooms, cipollini onions

I had a lot of steak recently the week before with dineLA (LA’s Restaurant Week) so I didn’t particularly find the steak riveting but it was well-cooked. I probably would have gone for the half chicken only because I wanted something comforting. Although we were thwarted from having daurade from the evening before at How to Cook a Wolf, we decided to keep it light because we were heading to lunch #2. Yep, back to Salumi to split the porchetta sandwich.

chocolate feuilletine torte, banana egg nog ice cream, hazelnut praline

Holly wanted something light for dessert. She chose the chocolate feuilletine. I told her it hardly sounded light with the banana egg nog ice cream! Then again, our other two options weren’t light either. The sticky toffee pudding with blood orange, pomegranate and Earl Grey creme fraiche would have been my choice but I was abstaining. The chocolate pretzel bread pudding with Pike XXX stout ice cream and barley malt syrup also sounded amazing.

It’s a good thing we walked around the near-empty Seattle Center after this so-called “light” meal.

Mistral Kitchen

2020 Westlake Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 — (206) 623-1922
 
Seattle Adventures in 24 Hours
 
Part 1
Pike Brewing Company
Barhopping in Seattle
Dinner at How to Cook a Wolf
Cocktails at Knee High Stocking Company
 
Other Seattle posts
 
Restaurants
Bars
 

February 6, 2012

SGV: Celebrating Lunar New Year with Dim Sum at Sea Harbour

Posted by the minty under brunch, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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various teas offered at Sea Harbour

 

I celebrated Lunar New Year with dim sum at Sea Harbour, touted as one of the San Gabriel Valley’s finest Cantonese Seafood restaurants. It’s been a few years since I’ve been but I always remember the food fondly.

egg rolls

siu mai

har gow

 

I’m going to have to let other people order because I usually end up with the same thing at dim sum joints you tick off what you want from an order sheet. Of course we had to get the standard har gow (crystal shrimp) and siu mai (pork and shrimp) dumplings. I found it neat they gave four egg rolls to an order.

interior of the egg roll

 

I have to say though these egg rolls were different because of the long leeks. The dumplings were good, fairly standard.

bean curd wrapped veggies

interior of veggies

Like the egg rolls, the bean curd wrapped veggies roll had some quality ingredients not normally found in such a roll. I also noticed the food I had seemed to be lacking in the usual greasy/salty flavor in some dim sum. Could it be? No MSG?

lotus wrapped rice

 

lotus wrapped rice- unwrapped

 

It occurred to me that I’ve never really shown the rice inside the neat lotus leaf wrapped rice packages (loh mi gai). Filled with sticky rice, pork and egg yolk, these savory packets would be great for a simple lunch. In dim sum, I try to avoid them to the end because I don’t want to fill up on too many carbs. Still, you can rarely control the flow of the food even when you order a la carte. When the food comes piping hot, eat it!

shrimp cheung fun

chicken feet

 

I was delighted by the plumpness of the chicken feet but could have used more of a spicy flavor. The rice paper wrapped shrimp (cheung fun) were amazingly not “trendy.” I expected some gourmet touch with asparagus but these were traditional.

spare ribs

shrimp and scallops dumplings

veggie dumplings

 

It was probably at this junction I realized I ordered way too much food for two people. We took boxes and boxes home.

I liked the spare ribs and the shrimp and scallops dumplings. We waited forever for the veggie dumplings or at least they tasted like veggie. I am not sure why I would have ordered the veggie ones.

chiu chow fun gor

shrimp and leek dumplings

 

My ultimate favorite dumplings were the shrimp and leek ones. They were plump and juicy. The chiu chow fun gor are usually my favorite and these were pretty good though I have had better versions recently. I would have liked more celery in them.

radish cake

 

I noticed a tendency of higher end dim sum houses cutting their radish (and taro) cakes in tall, big chunks rather than more flat rectangular ones. Either way, still good though you do lose some of the sear when they’re blocky.

I used to think Sea Harbour was my favorite over Elite and now I just don’t know. I’ll have to go on a side-by-side dim sum crawl or something to crown the ultimate dim sum house in the SGV.

 

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant

3939 Rosemead Blvd., Rosemead, CA 91770 — (626) 288-3939

 

Other dim sum houses in the SGV/ LA

 

888

CBS Seafood

Dim Sum Truck

Elite Seafood

Lunasia

Monterey Park Palace

NBC Seafood

Ocean Seafood

 

 

February 2, 2012

Las Vegas: The Henry at the Cosmopolitan

Posted by the minty under food, minty life, restaurant reviews, travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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Reuben with truffled tater tots at the Henry

 

With dining in Las Vegas, there are almost endless options just in one hotel alone. At the Cosmoplitan, a few weeks back, my friends found themselves at the Henry a few times and I went twice myself.  The first day, I had lunch and ordered the Reuben with truffled tater tots and a salad.

The Hentry Salad

 

The sandwich came with enough pastrami and sauerkraut but it was no Langer’s.  And the tots were no Bar | Kitchen. Still, it was precisely what I needed after a night on the town in Vegas.  The dressing on the salad was a bit too tart on my ahem, delicate stomach. Otherwise, I would have enjoyed it. Service was really nice.

short ribs eggs benedict

Huevos Rancheros

It was a different story the next day where I felt we were being rushed. Halfway through our meal, our server plopped down the bill unceremoniously and then a bit later reached over me as I was still eating to grab an empty plate without so much as a word. Later, we saw we were charged for two teas when one was ordered. She explained she didn’t like telling people they get charged for teabags and not hot water– when you ask for a refill. So, she was the uncommunicative sort. The manager took care of the extra teabag charge but was fairly rude about it later saying it was expensive tea. Well, not really. No tea they serve is really worth $10 (or $5 a tea bag).

This experience really put me off of the Henry. Sure, the girls liked their food. That short ribs eggs benedict disappeared quickly and while I would have liked a heartier Huevos Rancheros, it was good. As I  mentioned, there are endless options. Next time I’m getting sushi upstairs or gasp, leave the Cosmo.

 

The Henry at The Comopolitan of Las Vegas

3700 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109 – (702) 698-7000

 

 

January 27, 2012

dineLA lunch at Cafe Pinot & The Mystery of Chicken Oysters

Posted by the minty under dessert, dtla lunch, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews, tasting menu | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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fried chicken oysters

It’s that time of year again. As part of my whirlwind tour of dineLA restaurants around town, I landed at Cafe Pinot for lunch.

What are chicken oysters, you might ask? Apparently it’s a nub of meat near chicken thighs. When I saw Cafe Pinot was offering fried chicken oysters as part of their dineLA menu, I was intrigued but didn’t know exactly what it was. The word “oysters” made me think of some other kinds of oysters. But happily it wasn’t those er, delicate parts.

There’s something about fried chicken that’s always good but eating the fried chicken oysters made the adventurous foodie in me very happy.

lobster bisque

tuna tonnato

The other choices are the lobster bisque and tuna tonnato for the first course. The lobster bisque was a work of art. It was almost too pretty to disrupt the Jackson Pollack-looking surface.

And the tuna was very fresh. I liked the capers and aioli it was served with.

flat iron steak

The steak looked so prominent and was quite perfect for the business lunch crowd at Cafe Pinot. It was jazzed up with candied Moroccan olives and a vadouvan goat cheese mousse. It was perfectly cooked at medium rare.

Japanese Hokkaido scallops

I chose the Japanese Hokkaido scallops. And like classic Japanese block prints, this was a work of art. The thinly shaved mushrooms, the sprinkle of spice, the garlic veloute worked wonderfully with the delicate scallops.

The other choice is the carrot braised pork. We were told it is a shredded pork with lentils and a ginger emulsion.

creme fraiche panna cotta

red currant brioche bread pudding

For dessert, I nabbed the red currant brioche bread pudding. The pudding was very light and flaky and came with vanilla whipped creme fraiche. I liked that it came with salted caramel as well. I also had a taste of the creme fraiche panna cotta. Loved the thinly sliced crab apples on top.

The other dessert choice is ricotta fritters which sounded awesome with a tangerine sauce. The ricotta is even house made.

I was trying to decide which was the best seat at Cafe Pinot. The patio overlooks the Central Library and you see all walks of life. There is another outdoors patio that is more intimate off to the side. It’s almost like a balcony and seemed really romantic and secluded.

Cafe Pinot hasn’t announced their new executive chef yet but if you go for dineLA or any other time, you just might see a certain quirky mustachioed chef. He comes from a fine dining background and it really shows in the artistry of the plating and elegance of the food.

Cafe Pinot

700 West 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 239-6500

** previous Cafe Pinot meal

 

January 9, 2012

SGV: Dim Sum at Monterey Palace

Posted by the minty under brunch, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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roast pork

 

I’m always game to try a new dim sum place. I feel it’s my duty to keep up with all the dim sum houses in LA as I get asked all the time which one is my favorite. While I don’t have an ultimate favorite, I do recommend Sea Harbour, Elite and as an old standby, 888 in the San Gabriel Valley. I recently re-discovered Ocean Seafood and think it’s pretty great for Chinatown. Though lately, I’ve become disenchanted with long waits and hurried eating. At Monterey Palace, I found there was no wait (it was however, a Wednesday during the holidays) and it was so leisurely. I left 2 hours later without feeling like I had just inhaled 15 dishes in 30 minutes like I normally do.

siu mai

har gow

 

The standard dumplings; siu mai (pork and shrimp) and har gow (aka crystal shrimp) were large and tasty. Later, we got the roast pork which was a deal at around $7. The skin wasn’t spectacularly beautiful like NBC’s but it was still very crunchy and good snacking.

shrimp cheung fun

stuffed cheung fun roll

 

You can always tell who’s driving the dim sum train when you see me ordering shrimp rice noodle rolls (cheung fun). For a different treat, Monterey Palace has stuffed rolls that also have the “Chinese doughnut.” My dining companion loved this dish but I think I’m old fashioned when it comes to dim sum. Just give me more shrimp and pork.

stuffed bean curd roll

 

Monterey Palace is the sort of place you order from the menu and there were a couple of options where I thought it was the stuffed bean curd roll I like. Good thing I picked the right one. This is filled with crunchy veggies wrapped with a rehydrated bean curd sheet.

shrimp and scallop dumplings

 

I also ordered the shrimp and scallop dumplings expecting something to look like the crystal shrimp dumplings but these were wrapped with a hardier wrapper. Quite different.

taro cake with Chinese ham

 

I’m more of a radish cake girl myself but the dining companion wanted the taro cake. This one was topped with minced Chinese ham lending a savory component to the dish.

At this point we thought we had 5 more things coming. Thank goodness we didn’t because the three of us were stuffed! At $2.09 for most of the dim sum, this was one of the cheapest dim sum places around. The Chinese know a good value though so parking is a bit strained. I would recommend parking in the neighborhood if you can.

 

Monterey Palace

1001 E Garvey Ave., Monterey Park, CA 91755 – (626) 571-0888
 

January 4, 2012

DTLA: Artisan House

Posted by the minty under cocktalian, dtla lunch, food, foodie alert, photography, restaurant reviews, shopping | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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Artisan House

 

This week, I admitted to “breaking up” with Bottega Louie last year. It was one of my favorite restaurants but something changed. I suspect the opening chef leaving had something to do with it. Suddenly I couldn’t take the loud crowd, the long wait for a table and the loss of some of my favorites including the peanut butter terrine.

prime beef crudo

Enter Artisan House. It’s more compact than Bottega Louie and it doesn’t serve anything remotely similar. Yet, the restaurant, bar and market concept is very much welcome in bustling Downtown. And right in the Old Bank District where many live? Fantastic.

burrata with cured trout belly

cured trout belly on crispy potato cake with burrata

I headed over for lunch a couple of weeks ago. We decided to get three starters, a side of vegetables and a main. While pondering dessert, I questioned why I was still so hungry. I realized after I got back to the office and looked at the pictures, we never got one of the starters! Oh the horror. I didn’t get a reply or apology when I tweeted the restaurant so at the moment, I can’t recommend them for social media follow-up.

However, the service we did receive was pretty good. Very attentive and I’m hoping for more good times to come. Any new restaurant should have a grace period, I suppose.

chicken fried Duroc pork

 

grilled broccolini

 

We liked all our food. I was particularly into the prime beef crudo and the broccolini. I liked the chicken fried pork but it was a little small to share (oh, why am I still so hungry…oh, yeah, that’s right). I found it interesting the same crispy potatoes in the dish were the same used in the trout belly burrata appetizer.

It was lunch so I didn’t partake in cocktails. Nothing really grabbed me though I might try Genevieve (Aviation gin, Green Chartreuse, lemon syrup, tarragon garnish) or the Collaboration (rye, port, maraschino, sweet vermouth, garnished with goat-cheese stuffed Luxardo cherry) if I come in for dinner. I see myself returning again to try the deli side. The sandwiches are a couple bucks less than if you were to sit down.The Artisan House Reuben or the Truffle Chicken Salad sandwiches sound good. Or maybe the Confit Albacore Tuna or Roast beef.

So Bottega Louie, au revoir and bonjour Artisan House!

And yes, those are my pictures.

Artisan House

600 S Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90014 – (213) 622-6333
 

January 4, 2012

West Hollywood: ink.sack

Posted by the minty under food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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banh mi

 

Although ink.sack opened before ink., I still hadn’t made it over for the adorably tiny sandwiches. I had heard so much about these petite sammies and given plenty of warning to get “at least” two, that I put out a call which ones should I get. I was advised that the cold fried chicken and CLT (chicken skin, lettuce and tomato) were the favorites. Well, I didn’t get those. I decided on the spicy tuna and banh mi while a friend had the turkey and the Jose Andres (aka the Spanish Godfather).

Maryland crab chips and iced tea

chips

 

While ink. is completely comfy with a full bar, ink.sack is essentially a take-away business. There are four tables (two inside, two outside). There are no chairs and they do not have water. I was informed they don’t have cups. If you’re eating there, you’re going to crowd around one of the tables with a purchased drink in hand. Perhaps a bag of chips and maybe a cookie if the darling sandwiches didn’t fill you up.

Jose Andres

That is, that’s what I imagined. To my surprise, I was actually quite full after eating one. And I shared the bag of chips. I think it was honestly all the standing around. I digested more quickly? In any case, I was in and out of the place in less than 45 minutes. There wasn’t a line when I went but you can call ahead to pre-order. The four inch sandwiches are $4-6.

maple turkey

 

spicy tuna

 

My favorite of the four sandwiches I tasted was the spicy tuna. Made with miso-cured albacore and sriracha mayo, it was a winner with strips of seaweed as well. I did like the turkey though I probably would order something new in favor of it. I am aiming for the “reuben” next time with corned beef tongue. As for the banh mi, I prefer Spice Table’s version more if I’m going for a fancy banh mi and not the sort you can pick up for less than $2. It wasn’t bad though. Maybe I would like it better with more pickled veggies. I am a fiend for pickled things.

The Jose Andres was a little too messy for me. But Minty, you say, it’s a sandwich. True.

ink sack menu

I see my game plan next time- reuben and BBQ pork rinds. Okay, maybe the cold fried chicken as well.

 

ink.sack

8360 Melrose Ave., Ste 107, Los Angeles, CA 90069 – 323-655-7225

 

November 21, 2011

DTLA: Baco Mercat Now Open

Posted by the minty under cocktalian, dtla lunch, foodie alert, restaurant reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Baco Mercat's jazzy sign

Baco Mercat is now open in Downtown Los Angeles. It is open for both lunch and dinner. I visited last week and was surprised that the “little baco shop” is a full-blown beautiful restaurant. Sure, you order at the counter for lunch and you take a number but service is really great. They’ll bring you table and check on you quite a bit. There’s also a full bar and many planned specials for dinner.

The Egg flatbread

I have been following Chef Josef Centeno since his days at the now shuttered Opus. That is where I first had his bacos. I heard rumors of him being at Lot 1 and serving them there but I never made it out to Echo Park. Eventually, I found him again when he opened Lazy Ox with restauaranteur Michael Cardenas. Chef Josef seemed reluctant to bring his bacos to Lazy Ox though they did appear every now and then.

bazole

Having not had a baco in a while, I went a little crazy and ordered two. At $8, a pop, it wasn’t really the cheapest lunch but in the future I know I can get by with one baco. And maybe a side. My friend also had the bacozole and the flatbread.

The bacozole was surprising to me. For a bowl of essentially noodle soup, I was expecting more of an Asian slant. It is not. The bazole has a pork-chile broth, housemade noodles, crispy pork and beef carnitas. It’s topped with a fried egg. I imagine this is the sort of late-night “ramen” Chef Josef would make for himself at home. Baco is considering handing out more chili sauce on the side as some might not actually find it spicy.

The Egg flatbread

Baco also serves four flatbreads or cocas as Baco calls ‘em. My friend got The Egg coca. There are also the Tomato & Cheese, El Cordero and Roasted Eggplant.

The Egg is a farm egg with salsa verde and ricotta cheese. It’s deceptively simple but it’s always the simple things that taste so good.

blue lake beans

The Blue Lake beans with mustard along with all the sides remind me why I like Chef Josef’s food so much. He’s into meat, sure. But he’s into veggies as well. The green beans had a nice snap and it was a great side to the bacos I had. I’d probably also try the pickled vegetable salad, grain salad or kabocha squash next time. Or you could go with the simple roasted peanuts or market lettuce salad with a sherry vinaigrette.

The Original- pork belly and beef carnitas

pescado- crispy shrimp

When I first had had a baco all those years ago at Opus, I remember thinking the flatbread-taco hybrid was the greatest thing ever. We ordered the short ribs which I thought tasted like really great carnitas but I loved the pork belly more. Chef Josef makes an easy choice for you. He combined the two into his Original Baco– carnitas and pork belly in one!

I also got the pescado which this day was crispy shrimp. It reminded me of a po’ boy. Great slaw and great crunch.

The other three on the menu that day were the El Pollo, Chilled Pork Belly and Fava Bean Fritter. Those into Middle Eastern flavors might be interested in the chicken as it comes with spiced lebni and zhoug (green harissa). I’m interestedin the fava bean.

I can’t wait to go back to check out dinner. The bacos and menu would support the family style daily specials.

Baco Mercat

408 S Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 – (213) 687-8808
 
 

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