JacyFarrow's Profile
State of Fancy Tea Service in LA
Chado has excellent tea and an amazing selection...but their food is far from fancy. I enjoyed tea there (Pasadena location) but found the frantic and homespun vibe of the dining room a turn off, as were the large roughly cut (regular bread, halved in triangles) sandwiches with thick spreads (a curry chicken, maybe? memory fails). It was definitely affordable, but also lacked any sense of formality or refinement.
Rose Tree Cottage had lovely food, but it did feel cramped and awkward (old location, haven't felt inspired to try the new one) and like you were a somewhat unwelcome guest in old Aunt Agnes' home. Stuffy.
There's a more laid back tea in Montrose at the T Room. I believe it is run by an Armenian or Middle Eastern family, so there is a distinct influence in the food that strays from the traditional British.
I have enjoyed tea at the Langham in Pasadena--it's definitely a "special occasion" tea--and feel it's very similar to the service held previously there by the Ritz Carlton. I don't recall the Ritz using tea bags, however. Langham (I believe) uses loose tea, but it's brewed behind the scenes.
I haven't tried the Peninsula or other BH/West side "posh" hotel services. Nothing has ever compared to the tea I had at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC.
I would agree that British (or, in my case) Canadian "refugees" in Los Angeles don't have much to go to in terms of true comfort, save some hotel teas (and, for divergent tastes, pubs). Pasadena still seems to thrive when it comes to tea, I've noticed. LA is not a high tea town.
Omakase at Azami
A guest and myself had omakase dinner at Azami friday night, but on the early side (6 p.m.). We began with a lobster roll, then the yellowtail carpaccio (love those pink peppercorns!) and then the sushi (don't remember all the pieces; bad foodie, better dining companion. i remember the Scottish salmon, albacore, Spanish mackerel, sea scallop [my fave] toro, eel...) and finished with the blue crab hand roll. Unfortunately we couldn't be seated at the bar, which was a bone of contention with me. They had all the seats marked for reservations, and insisted our omakase would take 90 minutes (so we couldn't sit where the 7:30 peeps would sit when we arrived at 6)--our meal took less than an hour, and i knew it would; meanwhile a couple who came in after us were allowed to sit at that aforementioned bar seat. I must say that ticked me off, but our server was extra congenial, and he even joked with us--when they served our blue crab handrolls to the baffled women a the table next to us (they didn't eat them, either, what a shame!)--that things only go wrong when it's slower in there, and that when it's packed things always go smoothly. I guess, after reading what other posters say, that is merely the insider's perspective. Interesting.
I would agree that nothing compares to Urasawa, but there's nothing wrong with using it as a point of reference. (LOL, I just did!) Frankly, nothing does compare, and to say that you're spoiled for "regular" sushi after Urasawa is understandable; I know I am. Curiously enough, Azami ranks second as my favorite "non-Urasawa" sushi place, only behind TAMA, as revets2 mentions. But I'll somehow spend less money at TAMA (Azami charged me $47 a person for omakase, which didn't seem to jive with what was listed on the menu) and TAMA comes in around $40.
Harmony Farms.....
My folks used to always get our holiday turkeys (or is it turkies? oh my, and me an english teacher) from Harmony Farms as the LC was our 'hood. They were always quite wonderful. No reason besides convenience for not going back there in recent years, since the folks moved eastward.
Mellow, solo lunch in Studio City/NoHo area
Thanks, Kitchen Queen! I went to Skaf's and it was delish. Definitely going on my list of local favorites. Can't wait to go back for more of that yummy hummos and to try some different menu items.
Mellow, solo lunch in Studio City/NoHo area
Me and a good book want to sit down to a nice, relaxed lunch in the Studio City/NoHo area where we won't be overrun by boisterous business luncheoners etc. Definitely want a sit-down, table service kind of spot, though. Low to moderate price, food choices in the sandwich-salad fare range. Places I've frequented included Aroma on Tujunga, Chez Nous in Toluca Lake, and the Eclectic Cafe. Just had sushi yesterday so it's off my radar; trying to be health conscious, so nothing fried or carb-centric. Any suggestions?
Craft?
i'll be going, for sure. i was at craft in nyc in the summer, and had a tremendously gorgeous and memorable meal. it's a real class act without the pretention, and lots of lovely extra touches, like being sent home with a scone for breakfast the next morning along with a little bag of caramel corn to nibble on in the cab ride, and getting a thank you letter post-visit. i can't wait!
Authentic Cafe
oh, that's too bad. although i hadn't been there in eons, i really liked that place. they had killer garlic mashed potatoes. years ago i scored a bargain section copy of their cookbook luckily, so i can make them at home when the mood strikes.
Any place in LA that offers Fruit Sushi?
i've only ever seen fruit sushi (called "frushi") at Orange in Chicago. Was a very interesting experience. Would love to see it here in LA...
http://www.centerstage.net/restaurants/orange.html
Best Waterfront Restaurants/Dining with a water view?
Do you mean Splashes at the Surf & Sand in Laguna Beach? The bar there is fabulous, indeed, and the restaurant lovely, too.
Thanks, everyone. Feel free to keep 'em coming! These are great!
Best Waterfront Restaurants/Dining with a water view?
Any 'hounds have thoughts on best places to dine that come with a delicious waterfront view? I'm looking to assemble a list of suggestions for someone, so any locale, cuisine, or price range is fair game.
Thanks!
Nozawa - Trustworthy no more
Unquestionably, if I were asked to name the best sushi in town, I would say Urusawa, but with the caveat that it almost is in a category of its own, as it seems russkar is suggesting. And it's not a realistic dining option for most folks, and even those who have been once or twice aren't likely to go weekly. So when we look over the contenders for "Best Sushi-not counting Urasawa" there are tons of viable options for #1.
Personally, I've never been to Nozawa, because I know sushi--I know great sushi, and I know a lot about the cuisine--but I can't guarantee that I will LOOK like I know sushi, and I also don't want to go somewhere I might potentially be treated like crap on whim. I don't doubt that Nozawa is a master who knows very, very well what he is doing, but why am I going to drop $50+ of my hard-earned bucks on his preferrentially bad mood and possibly bad fish? Particualrly when I can take that same $50 and go to Tama, where I feel welcome and equal to anyone else I'm elbow to elbow with at the bar, and get a killer omakase with top-notch fish? So to those who are loyal to Nozawa and get the best treatment there--great! Enjoy! It's all yours. I'll take Tama, or Asanebo, or Azami, or Chiba, or...on my best of best days, Urasawa. I know I'm going to get a great meal and have a positive dining experience at any of those places.
Tiger Lily in Los Feliz - anyone been lately?
i was there a couple of months ago. it was pretty empty. my take was that it was so-so food that was overpriced for the portion sizes and quality. i liked the cocktails though. not sure i'd ever volunteer to go back. (and, honestly, for the record, i didn't volunteer to go there, but went along with a group's idea.)
Asanebo, 4 on 6, or, (yes this is an option) House of Taka?
What about doing Omakase at Tama? It's one of my favorite places to do omakase and it's just down and accross the street from Asanebo. That said, the sashimi at Asanebo is excellent.
Most interesting upcoming cooking classes? (And best cooking classes/schools in L.A.?)
it's a broad mix. there's 12 ppl max in the pro course, not sure about the others, but would guess maybe the same or not much more. many are folks looking to make career changes into the culinary field (partnering in a restaurant, catering, etc.) whereas many just wish to have pro knowledge. my reasons to go were to learn what the pros know, without having to go to a full-time, major scale academy. it's 20 weeks, organized from basics through soups, veggies, dairy, meats, breads, desserts, and then 3 weeks of testing. at the end, you're awarded with a professional certification. it's non-competitive, and although it's serious and focused, there's a key emphasis on fun.
Most interesting upcoming cooking classes? (And best cooking classes/schools in L.A.?)
i wholeheartedly endorse the new school of cooking. i've never done a single class, but i'm doing the pro 1 series and it's been a phenomenal experience. i've learned so much, you get to sit down and eat all the stuff you make for the last portion of the class, and it's so much fun!
Fantasy Eatery From Toronto Opens Up In San Gabriel Square
Just ate there today... We were following a lead in a restaurant guide looking for the old tenant and decided to plow on ahead and try "Fantasy Eatery." The setting is faux-upscale; it's really laid back and casual, and also priced reasonably.
The menu is focused mostly on hot pots and seafood dishes, and also had tons of stuff I'm not at all familiar with. Some of the soups sounded less-than-tempting to us, like "old pigeon" or "old chicken." We ordered four dishes: Pork rib in Orange Sauce, Fried noodles in soya sauce, Seafood and Melon hot pot, and Sour Vegetables and ginger.
It was terrific--far better than anything I've had in the environs of Chinatown, that's for sure. The pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender, the veggies pungent with the tang of pickled ginger, the hot pot crammed with tasty bits of seafood (prawns, scallops, octopus, whitefish of some sort and tiny dried shrimp) and the noodles the closest thing I've found in the USA that remind me of the noodles I grew up on in top Chinese spots in Vancouver and Toronto. Afterwards a cleansing dish of strawberry milky-ice was brought out, no charge.
Grabbed a business card on the way out...whaddaya know? It's a Toronto (well, serious 'burbs--Scarborough) based place! No wonder the noodles hit a serious spot.
Whole meal came to $40, including tax and tip, with plenty of leftovers (there were just two of us).
Square One
Similar experience with slooooow service and limited interaction with our server. When the food finally came it was delicious... now if only it hadn't been cold! I'm glad to hear ours wasn't an isolated experience in this vein, but less eager to give Square One another chance; the menu has many options I'd like to try still.
Good Dinner Between Universal and Hollywood?
There are two new-ish places near Sunset and Vine, Magnolia: http://cityguide.aol.com/losangeles/dining/print.adp?page=detailSummary&id=289614&pf=1&layer=venues & The Bowery Bar: http://www.theboweryhollywood.com/
Also across the street from there in the Sunset & Vine plaza is the Hungry Cat (for seafood): http://www.gayot.com/restaurantpages/LosAngelesInfo.php?tag=LARES050405&code=LA
Urasawa Virgin
Having just recently been "deflowered" (of my Urasawa virginity, that is) i heartily agree that it is an experience, and not just a meal. And it's also way more than just sushi or fish--it's the combination of flavors and ingredients you've seen before, but never anywhere near how Hiro-san serves them.
Ran just shy of $700 for the two of us, though we were tame on the drinking end of things.
Go! It's worth it.
nyc hound reporting on urasawa
Sounds like you had a couple of the same dishes as were on the list the night I went. The "hot pot" is the shabu shabu where you cook the foie gras, kobe beef, and, in our case, king eel, then drink the remaining broth. The custard is made of egg, and was most likely made as ours was: with uni (sea urchin) and shrimp, covered in ikura (salmon roe) and gold leaf--definitely one of my favorites.
I had so much fun with the people I met there that night, but am just a tiny bit jealous you dined with some real industry pros.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Report from Urasawa *with pics* (long, of course!)
m3m3m3:
yes, it's $250 flat per person for the food. we shared one large bottle of beer (i forget the price, but something like $12) and their water is bottled evian, which ran us a total of something like $16. of course tax (8-point-whatever-it-is-these-days percent) and tip (20%) and you have just shy of $700 for two people, easily.
Report from Urasawa *with pics* (long, of course!)
the photos in the set are arranged chronologically, but like i said, i missed a few photos in the hurry to get the bite in. i did my best to label each photo with what i recall it was, but have a few (?) because it was rather overwhelming.
i didn't take any photos of the room per se because it's tiny--what you see of my dining companions and the chef's workspace is just about all there is, save for the area behind our seats where the staff move back and forth, and the tiny entrance area with curtain and sliding door. i also don't like to stick my camera in front of people working, so i kept "action" shots to a minimum; most of the shrimp-chopping shots were taken as i was being egged on by fellow diners.
it is indeed worth the bucks. again, it's not a meal, it's an experience. we were there just over 4 hours. it was like taking a trip or something...
Report from Urasawa *with pics* (long, of course!)
at the start Hiro asks what you can't eat or dislike. honestly, in any other sushi restaurant i won't eat the ikura (big roe), egg (tamago or custard) or uni, but here i was determined (and thankfully so) to not say no to anything. some of the textures are unusual, but nothing was gross or disgusting or weird or bad in the least. i'd attribute this to quality and preparation. but any aversions are easily accomodated. item requests (i.e. "california roll, please!") are not de rigeur, of course.
Fancy Pancakes...
The most overwhelming pancake experience I can think of is to be had at The Griddle on Sunset & Fairfax in Hollywood. You get three enormous, plate-sized pancakes (plenty to share and/or take home) and they come in an array of inventive flavors (chocolatey ones, fruity ones, etc. ). I had the ones that were flavored with Bailey's & Kahlua and topped with whipped cream, and my friend had boysenberry. It's rather chaotic there, and the service at atmosphere crowded and frenetic, and there can be a bit of a wait, but it's the first place I thought of when you said out of the ordinary in terms of pancakes.
Sunday Tea in Pasadena
For a very elegant tea I would suggest the Ritz-Carlton Huntington, which I believe runs $30-45 per person depending on the service you order. (I last had the higher end one, which includes a champagne cocktail and berries and liquer with whipped cream in addition to the tea and sandwiches and scones, all of which are delicious.
For a very casual and more "rugged" tea, the Chado tea room is a great deal, at I believe $15 per person.
I'd avoid Rose Tree Cottage, as it's not worth the price and the service is lousy. The Scarlett Tea Room has recently opened, but I've never been.
Report from Urasawa *with pics* (long, of course!)
Had my first Urasawa experience last night... and the emphasis is on the word "experience" because there's just nothing like it.
Arrived at 6 p.m. and were the first there, seating front and center. The staff are extremely gracious and attentive, and took care of our beverages right away. We then met Hiro-san, who asked our names and wrote them down, and called us by name the whole evening, which was such a delightful and personal touch (and particularly resonant when he was chiding us on procedure or the finer how-to's of some dishes and pieces!).
He is of course used to 'hounds and aficianados at his silky smooth bar (my god, that surface was indeed like a baby's behind!), so he didn't bat an eye at my camera or notepad and pen. My dining companion had the print out of jcwla's report, just to see how our night might line up--knowing of course that seasonality is a big varietal, which we talked about with Hiro-san.
We had something in the neighborhood of 30 courses; towards the end it became less about appetite and more about experience--at no point during the meal was I particularly hungry or full. My dining companion did feel a bit pressured by Hiro-san's pacing during the last third of the sushi course; I attribute this to it being the exact time there were too many pairs of diners at too many different points of their meals, and the balancing act was maintained by his speed. My friend was excited, we were both content to be chatting with our dining mates (the bonding experience is amazing, and I never expected it--it was so amazing that the universe somehow saw fit to bring the initial six of us earlier diners together because it was absolute synergy), and Hiro was very very very stern about the ten second rule. My friend was having trouble keeping up and keeping it all down, and he scolded her for setting a half-eaten piece back on her plate (I don't think he realized she was just about choking) and I would have to say that was the least comfortable part of the meal, because none of us knew the etiquette for this particular snag. At that point we asked for a break, and this allowed our new friends to "catch up" to us, and for us to get a breather. After sometime my friend said she could only go ahead with dessert, but Hiro-san was happy to provide me with more items before my dessert courses. In any event, we were again thrilled to just be dining with everyone and having such a wonderful time.
I tried to get down all the dish details, but the language/accent barrier did make some of it difficult, and also the really fast pace of our sushi courses made it hard for me to get a photo, note the item (or get Hiro's attention, sadly), and eat it (properly, or else!) within the required ten seconds.
Here's my list of what we had, with some gaps that maybe more seasoned pros can fill in:
1. The "shot" was a soy/vinegar concoction with a special "vegetable" that sounds like "liver" and I failed completely to get the name down.
2. Eggplant with shiso and miso and baby shrimp with cucumber and plum paste.
3. Egg custard with uni and shrimp topped with Ikura (special ikura) and gold leaf. This was like drinking the sea... amazing.
4. Abalone with miso
5. Sashimi on carved ice: toro, spanish mackrel, red snapper
6. Snapper in yuzu sauce with snow peas
7. Freshwater eel grilled with citrus and a pickled onion
8. Toro seared on sizzling rock (got scolded here for our cooking skills--so fast! so much to do!)
9. Shabu shabu with green onion, kobe beef, king eel & foie gras.
Sushi courses: (I may be missing some)
Chu-toro
"medium" toro
Skipjack
Seared Toro
Bluefin tuna
octopus
shrimp
Giant Clam
Octopus
Littleneck clam
Kohada (Japanese herring)
Japanese Mackrel
Uni
Eel (warm)
** this is where we took a break, and I resumed with:
Sweet shrimp (live then headed, served in two portions)
Abalone
Shitake mushroom
Tamago
Dessert:
Redbean sorbet
Sesame Pudding
Green tea
house tea
I would love to go back, just to see the variety, and to see if I could eat even more, but of course the price tag is a bit daunting (just under $700 for the two of us, only drank one beer and had water, tipped 20%) and the experience a tad overwhelming.
Photos are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sassylittlepunkin/sets/72157594233038641/
We really enjoyed Hiro-san's philosophy of service and quality, his gentle nature (except when instructing! look out!) and his funny stories (Janet Jackson leaving when she was told she couldn't get a spider roll there, Ricky Martin's manager pleading on the phone for Hiro to include a "spicy tuna roll" in the evening's menu!!!). We gossipped a bit about restaurnant news, and my nosy friends (new & old) asked if Hiro was single, etc. ("I work too hard!" he protested when they asked why he didn't want to marry or have a girlfriend) and talked as much as we could about all the food he was serving.
And after all that, I really can only say...WOW!
Bistro 45
i had a decent lunch there food wise a couple of months ago, although my duck entree emerged without the vegetable component listed on the menu (which had been a major draw for me). when i asked the waiter he said he'd check with the kitchen, and then it was never spoken of again; maybe if our waiter had paid any attention to our table... anyhow, the food was okay but not great, and the service was awful--our server (beyond the missing veggie) was rude and made all of us in our party feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. i'd say try another pasadena option as suggested by others.
best sushi/sashimi place(s) in LA area
i'll admit i haven't hit up most (if any) of the westside spots being mentioned, but i'll second the studio city recs for asanebo and tama, particularly asanebo for sashimi. i've had great sushi (omakase for about $40) at azami in hollywood.
and i'll have to report back on urasawa; i'm going tonight!!!!
BEST GELATO
My vote is for Gelato Paradiso on Hollywood Blvd across from the Chinese Theatre. They've made a waffle cone for me from scratch, and are generous with the taste testing. I love getting half sweet cream and half of something else--the fruit ones are lovely, and so are the chocolate ones, too.
LA/OC Cooking Classes [Moved from L.A.]
I'm at the New School right now in the Pro series (not cheap, for sure) but am loving it. They have a shorter, less expensive intro series, and several specialty classes that are pretty reasonable. http://www.newschoolofcooking.com/
Most Sur La Table's offer classes that look interesting and are priced reasonably; listings are by store, starting here: http://www.surlatable.com/cooking/index.cfm I've never tried one, but I know some staff from the New School do gigs there, too, so I'm guessing they're pretty decent.
