“After the tour, we walked over to the covered patio for lunch which started with a tapas plate of cured meats, cheeses and olives.”
-pleasurepalate
Los Angeles Digest 
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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Overheard on the Los Angeles Boards
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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Fried Shrimp Balls
The best fried shrimp in town, says Al Bondigas, is found at the Original Shrimp Place. There are other things on the menu, but what you want are the fried shrimp fritters, which are like “doughball soft tempura shrimp balls,” says Cinnabon. They’re a real treat, particularly with the nice homemade salsa with dried chiles and black pepper that comes on the side.
The place is in the downtown Foodcourt, mixed in with some other food stalls. The clientele can be a little rough around the edges, warns Al Bondigas.
Original Shrimp Place [Downtown]
327 S. Broadway, Los Angeles
213-687-8565
Board Link: The Original Shrimp Place- Best Fried Shrimp Around
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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Straight Outta Auntie Em’s
What was once LA Bread has been taken over by new management and turned into the Village Bakery & Cafe. The fresh incarnation is much better than the old one, says scurvy. The secret is Barbara Monderine, the new owner. Barbara was one of the two founders of Auntie Em’s, which has long been one of the great purveyors of homey baked treats around town.
“The baked treats at Village are a wee bit more refined than what Barbara did at Auntie Em’s,” explains scurvy. There’s lemon and olive oil cake with almonds and rosemary, as well as possibly the best baguette in LA, says scurvy: “Crunchy and chewy and soft in all the right places.”
Some egg dishes come with a stunning cheesy leek and potato cake. “[It] is something you will think about later. You will wonder how long you have to wait until you can have more leek potato coke,” says scurvy.
There are excellent huge, fluffy, berry-filled pancakes, and great coffee, too.
Village Bakery & Cafe [Atwater Village]
3119 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles
323-662-8600
Auntie Em’s Kitchen [Eagle Rock]
4616 Eagle Rock Boulevard, Los Angeles
323-255-0800
Board Link: Village Bakery & Cafe - forget your LA Bread sadness and get over there for some real baking!
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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Westside Chinese Two-Fer!
Some recent discoveries to file under that rarest of the rare category: good Chinese west of the San Gabriel Valley.
Find #1: xiao long bao (juicy, soup-filled dumplings) and cats’ ears noodles in the Valley. The place goes under multiple names: some call it Tampa Garden, the exterior signage says Chinese Delight, the menus says Tampa Garden Chinese Delight, and the Chinese-language business card carries the parenthetical name Happy Dumpling.
The place may look like a fast food Chinese place, says jotfoodie, but it’s not. It’s a sit-down restaurant, with rough, homemade dumplings and noodles. The folks there are genuinely nice. The cats’ ears noodles are a little thicker and chewier than is optimal, think a few hounds, but really: homemade dumplings and noodles in the Valley. That’s seven kinds of awesome all in itself.
Find #2: Mandarin Kitchen, a semi-authentic Chinese restaurant in Westwood. It’s owned by the folks who used to run Hop Woo. This place is mostly Hong Kong style, and it’s decently good, says Chandvakl. One strong point: fish maw, an internal fish organ, is a serious rarity on the Westside.
Tampa Garden [San Fernando Valley–West]
8241 Tampa Avenue, Los Angeles
818-349-2221
Mandarin Kitchen [Westside–Inland]
1822 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles
310-441-9651
Board Links: Xiao Long Bao and Cats’ Ears Noodles In Reseda
Westsiders Rejoice! Fish Maw on Westwood Boulevard
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Overheard on the Los Angeles Boards
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Jamaican Patties Just Out of the Oven
The jerk chicken is merely good at beloved Jamaican joint Natraliart, but not as “crazy good” as the beef patty, says Senor Popusa.
“The patty was awesome—hot straight out of the oven,” says Senor Popusa. “The filling had some spice to it and was looser than most places. The crust was crispy but not dry. All around delicious.” He liked it so much he got some to go for the next day.
Natraliart is connected to a Jamaican market. It’s a separate room; there’s (casual) table service, and the folks are quite friendly.
Natraliart Food Market [Mid-Wilshire]
3426 W. Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles
323-732-8865
Board Link: Natraliart Jamaican Restaurant—excellent patties
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Russian Comfort Pizza
Khachapouri is pure Russian comfort food, says ipsedixit. It’s something like a split-open calzone, topped with feta, mozzarella, butter, your choice of extra toppings, and then two eggs, sunny side up. Zaatar Factory makes great ones. “These things are damn delicious,” says cdub. They have nice house-made sausage, too.
Another local source for khachapouri is historical Chowhound favorite Big Mama’s and Papa’s. ipsedixit liked the bacon and ham khachapouri. “Sounds gross, I know, but it was really good. Sort of reminded me of the egg and guanciale pizza at Mozza.” Silver Lake Guy suggests ham and mushroom, or bacon and onions as toppings. “The SO thinks I’m nuts but double yum,” says Silver Lake Guy. “And it travels well.”
Zaatar Factory [San Fernando Valley–East]
2909 N. Glenoaks Boulevard, Burbank
818-859-7353
Big Mama’s and Papa’s Pizzeria [Downtown]
657 S. Flower Street, Los Angeles
213-627-5556
Board Link: Big Mama’s and Papa’s (Khachapouri)
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
New Specials at Ramen California
Beloved nuevo-molecular gastronomy joint Ramen California has added a few new specials to the menu, as well as a different broth: half chicken, half fish.
Among the new items is a take on perennial ramen favorite char siu, centered around lush slices of pork belly. “We watched the chef pull out a nice big piece of pork and pull out his special knives and slice the pork very thin,” says BeachGrub. There is “a really nice smoky smell that seemed to be from the pork and was infused in the noodles.”
Try adding hard-boiled eggs to the char siu ramen: the still-custardy yolk melds with the broth pleasantly.
Ramen California [South Bay]
24231 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance
310-530-2749
Board Link: Chashu Ramen special at Ramen California
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Order the Paprikash, Not the Dracula Burger
At Restaurant Transylvania, “the notion of being open when the customer is hungry takes second-fiddle to the notion of being open when the family wants to be open,” says lil mikey.
Even if you can find it open, the experience is a little awkward, says lil mikey. “First, I was the only customer in there. And when I arrived, they looked at me like I was the taxman…. First seemingly challenging my existence in their shop, then questioning me on what I want.” lil mikey was eventually shown a menu, but was told that nothing was available from it except the Dracula burger, chicken paprikash, and a sandwich.
And the big surprise at the end of this long, gloomy tunnel? The chicken paprikash is really excellent. It comes as a stew, ladled over fresh spätzle. “The spaetzle was tender and buttery, but it had a perfect firmness, and occasionally I’d get a crispy bite,” says lil mikey. The chicken is fresh and tender from hours of simmering; the sauce creamy, with a light flavor of paprika.
Restaurant Transylvania [Hollywood]
5615 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles
323-466-2508
Board Link: Transylvania Restaurant–Hollywood
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Your Carnitas Wonderland
Metro Balderas is a family operation with four locations in Los Angeles, each run by a different member of the family. exilekiss visited the Highland Park branch, run by Jasmine Guzman. Every Saturday and Sunday, Metro Balderas offers eight types of pork carnitas in the Distrito Federal style for a barrage of carnitas taco glory.
There’s buche carnitas—braised pork stomach—with a good, light chewiness and a bit of elasticity that gives way to a soft, braised quality. It’s the best buche taco exilekiss has had in LA.
The cuerito carnitas—braised pork skin—is satisfyingly salty and unctuous. Trompa carnitas—braised pig snout—is even juicier, showing off its four hours of braising time with “ultra juicy, fatty, sultry pieces of super tender pork goodness,” says exilekiss.
Costilla carnitas—braised pork ribs—is very fresh and lean. There’s a nice crunch from the cartilage, and a wonderful brightness and clarity to the flavor, says exilekiss. And then there’s nana carnitas—braised pork uterus. It is intense, thick, chewy, and amazingly earthy.
But the greatest thing here according to exilekiss is oreja carnitas, braised pig ear. It has just the right balance of fat and delicious cartilage crunchiness; it is “at once wonderfully porky, succulent and crunchy,” says exilekiss. It has the “moist, sexy fattiness” of pork belly or bacon, but it’s not quite so overwhelming.
Be aware: If you arrive late, you may find that all the carnitas has sold out.
Metro Balderas [Highland Park]
5305 N. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles
323-478-8383
Board Link: A Celebration of Succulent Pork–The 8 Types of Carnitas at Metro Balderas! [Review] w/ Pics
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