Blogs : Los Angeles Area Digest
Los Angeles Area Digest Weekly highlights from the most interesting Chowhound posts on the Los Angeles Area board, including restaurant and bar reviews, best-of lists, and hidden local spots for eating and drinking.
Quanta: Ethiopian Beef Jerky
Das Ubergeek has been quietly yearning for a little Ethiopian deliciousness in Orange County, to match the insane Ethiopian greatness way up on Fairfax. In 2007 he found his spot, Tana Ethiopian, and recently updated his old post with the news that Tana has expanded its menu.
Das Ubergeek’s new favorites include boiled potatoes with niter kebbeh, gingery, garlicky, spicy clarified butter, as well as biscuits made from chickpea flour, “buried in a pile of meltingly soft, sweet, caramelized spiced onions. It tasted like dessert,” says Das Ubergeek. They are “sweet oniony cookies, fantastic, unbelievable.”
But the best of the new items is a meat dish, quanta firfir: injera cooked with awaze, the spicy red pepper of Ethiopia, so it’s soft and lightly spicy and mellow, and with quanta, Ethiopian beef jerky. The quanta is so dry it’s crunchy, says Das Ubergeek.
Das Ubergeek also tried green beans cooked with onions until they were almost singed. “These were so good that my wife ate green beans willingly for the first time in two decades,” says Das Ubergeek. Collards have some crumbly cheese, which makes them very savory. And red lentils have “a smoky, rich, almost mole-like quality to them that just drove me wild,” says Das Ubergeek. You can order them all on the veggie platter, “a veritable mountain of food,” for a mere $10.
Tana Ethiopian [Orange County]
2622 W. La Palma Avenue, Anaheim
714-229-1719
Board Link: REVIEW: Tana Ethiopian Restaurant, Anaheim.
Posted by
| 0 comments
Tagged with: los angeles area, restaurants and bars, ethiopian, tana, tana ethiopian
Ice-Creamy Shaved Ice
The best shaved ice, snow cone, or raspados experience ever is not from some magical cart. It’s from hipster ice cream bar MILK, says TimToyGeek. There are tons of flavors to choose from, including classic (lemon, lychee) and otherwise (espresso, Mojito, tamarind with chile).
Coconut shaved ice is very fresh, with lots of crispy coconut shreds; the milk is sweet but not cloying. Dulce de leche with strawberry comes with buttery, obviously homemade dulce de leche and fresh strawberries. “The milk helped tie everything together, so you had less of a snow cone with watery flavors and more of an icy creamy treat,” says TimToyGeek.
MILK [Mid-City]
7290 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles
323-939-6455
Board Link: Shaved Ice at MILK
Posted by
| 0 comments
Tagged with: los angeles area, restaurants and bars, milk, shaved ice, snow cone, raspado
New Name, Same Fine Filipino Food
Noi is Filipino excellence. It used to be called Asian Noodles. The name has recently changed, but the wonderful Filipino food is the same, says pleasurepalate.
Pansit palabok is rice noodles with shrimp, deep-fried squid, hard-boiled eggs, and crushed chicharrones. The sauce is made from shrimp juice and atchuete (a.k.a. annatto or achiote) oil, balanced with a shot of lemon juice.
Another favored dish, bicol express, is seafood cooked in a mildly spicy coconut sauce, with just enough seasoning to cut through the sweetness of the coconut milk. It’s also plenty generous in the seafood department, with clams, mussels, squid, and shrimp.
Filipino fried chicken isn’t batter-fried. It’s simmered in a mixture of soy sauce, black peppercorns, vinegar, and bay leaf, then deep-fried naked to dark golden brown, so that the flesh itself is a bit dry, but the chicken skin is deliciously crispy. Dip it in some banana ketchup and you’ll be a happy camper, says pleasurepalate.
Noi [Downtown]
643 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles
213-617-1083
Board Link: REVIEW w/ pics: Feeling Filipino Love for Noi
Posted by
| 0 comments
Tagged with: los angeles area, restaurants and bars, noi, asian noodles, philippines, filipino
Spectacular Molecular Ramen
Shigetoshi Nakamura, one of Japan’s most highly regarded ramen chefs, has opened up a new restaurant in Torrance, based on the principles of molecular cooking, says rameniac. It’s called Ramen California. He’s intentionally trying to invent a wholly Californian style, using local produce. “At first I was pretty skeptical and though it would turn out to be some fusion-type wankery but it’s actually pretty freakin’ great,” says rameniac.
But, to appreciate it, hardcore ramen-heads will have to abandon all expectations of super-saturated taste and authenticity. “Instead of deep, rich steaming ramen complexity, the chef has gone in the totally opposite direction, using seasonal California vegetables and a simple chicken soup,” explains rameniac. It’s “the birth of a whole new style of slurping ramen,” says exilekiss, who attributes some of the innovation to chef Nakamura’s friendship with chef Ferran Adrià, of El Bulli fame.
Nakamura’s signature ramen is Californian ramen, with over 30 types of vegetables in extremely light, pure chicken broth, says exilekiss. The broth is mainly made from chicken bones, with tiny touches of pork and kelp. The lightness of the soup makes it a great stage to show off the fresh ingredients, such as earthy beets and vibrant fresh broccoli, says exilekiss.
Heirloom tomato ramen won exilekiss over, while other fans appreciate essence ramen, another chicken broth and vegetable ramen, but balanced to emphasize the broth and noodles, instead of the vegetables. There’s even Reggiano cheese tofu ramen. The cheese tofu actually melts into the chicken soup, creating a cheesy “umami” bomb, according to rameniac.
There are oddball Euro appetizers on the menu too, like rosemary kasha bread, which involves olive oil and rosemary on top of a Chinese-style steamed bun. The appetizers, like the ramen, emphasize the essence of a particular vegetable.
Ramen California [South Bay]
24231 Crenshaw Boulevard, Unit C, Torrance
310-530-2749
Board Links: molecular gastronomy ramen?! wth?! oh yes, RAMEN CALIFORNIA is here. (review w/ pics)
The Birth of a New Era? Delicious and Healthy California-style Ramen using Seasonal, Local Vegetables at Ramen California [Review] w/ Pics!
Posted by
| 0 comments
Tagged with: los angeles area, restaurants and bars, ramen california, ramen, shigetoshi nakamura
Jamaican Jerk Fly-By
“People, there’s no reason to ever eat crappy food on an airplane again,” says deliciouscoma. “Front Page Jamaican Grille is less than three miles from LAX, so an extra 30 minutes and a short trip down Manchester is all that stands between you and a container full of curry goat or oxtails or jerk chicken with a side of rice and beans. Doesn’t that sound better than a soggy $8 turkey sandwich wrapped in plastic? I thought so.”
John is the chef and co-owner. He serves his food with a big smile. Steaming foil-wrapped fish is served buried under a pile of chopped cabbage and peppers. “It’s totally unphotogenic but completely delicious, the whole mess fragrant with jerk spices and tender enough to cut with a plastic fork,” says deliciouscoma. “The jerk goat was coal-black with a wonderful chew and the oxtails fell apart with the tap of a plastic tine.”
Pine ginger beer is intriguing, authentic, and great. It’s spicy, with subtle pineapple sweetness. “Cran-Moss” is a bizarre mix of cranberry juice and Irish moss, a slightly gelatinous seaweed. Sorrel drinks are best of all, made with hibiscus, and perfectly tart.
The plates are opened-up takeout containers. The décor is bright green. Who cares? The food is awesome.
Front Page Jamaican Grille [South LA]
1117 West Manchester Boulevard #C, Inglewood
310-216-9521
Board Link: Front Page Jamaican Grille: way better than plane food
Posted by
| 1 comment
Tagged with: los angeles area, restaurants and bars, front page jamaican grille, lax, airlines, flying, airport
Borscht and Stuffed Cabbage in the OC
Moscow Deli is the purveyor of most excellent “Slavic gastro-tonic,” says JBinOC. It’s a modest little place, part deli and grocery store, with two tables for dining in, and friendly, maternal service.
Borscht is beets, fortified with a considerable amount of tomatoes, chopped cabbage, and a dollop of sour cream. Stuffed cabbage is beefy and spicy. “You’d think spicing up Eastern European food would be a disaster, but the slight kick worked well in execution,” says JBinOC.
“This is a great little OC secret!” agrees Joani Macaroni. Be sure to wander the aisles for tons of Russian food, unique jarred vegetables, excellent frozen pierogies, and lots of unique cakes. It’s a vibrant trove of authentic food in an area filled with mostly cookie-cutter eateries.
Moscow Deli [Orange County]
3015 Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa
714-546-3354
Board Link: Moscow Deli - Costa Mesa
Posted by
| 0 comments
Tagged with: los angeles area, restaurants and bars, moscow deli, costa mesa, eastern european
