Anybody going to the grand opening of this new restaurant besides Osteria Mozza? The sommelier of Mozza informed me of this 27 seat restaurant that will be opening soon last week. It basically revolves around salumi and meats....lots of meats.

reservation is now available on open table which was not available last week when I curiously checked. I'm going in 2 weeks hopefully the bugs in opening a new restaurant has been ironed out.

menu is available here: http://www.urbandaddy.com/uploads/ass...

After reading this thread, I just had to try this place out. So off I went to Kasen on Saturday evening. Arrived there approximately 6:15pm, the place was empty except for 2 japanese couple. We asked for the sushi bar for the famed omakase. We had the sashimi + sushi omakase.

I have to agree, the fish is fresh. This is a very traditional sushi bar where alot of the nigiri that he serves is not seasoned with ponzu or any other sauce if you're used to places like Oshima. Taste is based heavily on the fish itself.

What I loved is that the fish to rice ratio is 2:1, you get alot of fish for a tiny amount of rice, you taste the sweet/tangy rice at the backend.

For the sashimi plate, we got 2 pcs of Toro, 2 pcs of abalone, 2 pcs of yellowtail, 2 pcs of halibut, and 4 pcs of uni.

The sushi are as followed:

halibut marinated in kelp
stripe jack (shimaji)
japanese scallop
spanish mackarel
dungeness crab leg
salmon roe
salmon
toro roll - 3 pcs
miso soup - signifies the end of the omakase
otoro - extra order

i had a large sapporo.

$90/person including tax w/o tip.

It was hard interacting with the chef unless you speak Nihongo however the server will gladly explain everything for you. The service is good, there was probably only 1-2 minute break from each sushi he serves.

I enjoyed this dinner. If im in fountain valley, this is probably my go to sushi bar however I still love my Oshima at the end of the day, not to take anything away from Kasen, it's a fabulous sushi bar and anyone who wants a traditional taste, you need to try this place.

My go to place is Oshima in Orange. They seat approximately 12 people at the bar which is the only option for omakase. Once seated, the sushi chef gleam with happiness when you ask that you want omakase. They have a choice of 8 pcs, 10 pcs, 12 pcs, and up. Price fluctuates depending on what is served. Expect the 8 pcs to range from $40-50. The chefs will also ask you if there's anything that you don't like so that avoids your problem of refusing a particular dish.

The last time I was there was a few months ago, 18 pcs, 2 large Sapporo = $115 + tax/tip. At that price, I had Otoro twice.

to go to Animal tonight without reservations? I've read long lines before they open at 6pm. Im planning on lining up at 5pm. good enough time to get seated immediately?

Any alternatives??

Skip the AYCE sushi places. they offer sub-par quality fishes.

I would highly recommend OSHIMA in Orange.

1956 N Tustin St
Orange, CA 92865

I've had their Omakase numerous time. I went there last Tuesday. 18 pcs. $75. with the 18 pcs, I had seared toro, otoro, live razor clam, and live orange clam. My bill came to $103. That's with 2 beers and tax/tip.

any chowhounders going tonight?

It's a long trek for me from Norwalk to Santa Clarita and Im not looking forward to the rush hour traffic!

Hope it's worth it.

l'atelier de joel robuchon was pretty good! I enjoyed the concept alot

How was the food at Saam though? I've been to the Bazaar. It was a great experience until the latter part of the dinner which all went downhill. I don't mind giving them another chance.

Saam is very Intriguing at the moment because I missed out on E by Jose Andres 2 months ago when I was in Las Vegas.

Im planning on having the ultimate chef's tasting dinner with my wife at the end of the month. I haven't been following the food scene lately so I would need your help.

I can only think of Providence or Melisse and would love to email them for a 20+ course menu.

I received a 1.77 lb lobe :D

Thank you for the reply. I will read all the links and hopefully all the information sinks in before my 2nd attempt in making a better version of seared foie gras. :)

I seared the foie gras without deveining it as per D'Artagnan's recommendation, I nor my guest did not taste any veins at all. IT WAS BY FAR the creamiest foie gras i've ever tasted and what's amazing is that Im the one that cooked it.

Their product is amazing. I don't know why I was so scared it making foie gras before.

on the side note, I also made beef wellington, equally amazing.

yes however I will be searing it. Will leaving the vein make a difference?

It seems like they're pretty much mushing the foie when deveining it, do they reshape it back on the foil??

Hi recently bought a D'artagnan foie gras from a well known site a few days ago cuz' it was 50% off. Very happy with the purchase.

My question. do you have to devein the foie gras if you're going to sear it? Or is this strictly a preference?

I emailed D'Artagnan and they suggested I don't have to if im going to sear it but I need to if im going to make a pate or torchon.

Providence will always be the top in my eyes.

If you want something different, you can definitely try Bazaar.

At the end of the day, I'll always pick Providence.

Oshima Japanese Cuisine
1956 N Tustin St,
Orange

Very solid sushi bar with reasonable prices. For the quality of fish you are getting, you'd be surprised at the prices.

They can accomodate you as well as a non-sushi/sashimi eater.

I recently tried Park's BBQ and it totally blew away my expectations. I will never ever go back to an AYCE kbbq, the quality and taste was amazing. I would rather pay a few $$ more (4 people, $25/each) and enjoy superior cuts of meat and you're not nasty full at the end of the meal where you're uncomfortable already. We ordered Ggot Sal, Marinated Galbi & Bulgogi, and of course the beef rib soup. The panchan were great too!

My next place to try is Dong II Jang for the roast gui & kimchee fried rice.

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Park's BBQ
955 S. Vermont Ave, Suite G, Los Angeles, CA 90006

btw, our tasting lasted for 4 hours. Pacing was good, It did not feel like 4 hours, maybe the company I had was great as well.

The table next to us' cote de boeuf looked amazing. Next time!

I just got home from Bistro LQ. All 4 of us decided on the 7 course tasting. I'll be honest, I was a little bit hessitant in picking BLQ to celebrate my birthday due to some negative feedback however it was quite the opposite tonight. I loved the place, the service was solid, and most important, the food was spectacular. Now I know why bloggers, writers etc compare Chef Quenioux to the likes of Chef Cimarusti etc. The one thing that is consistent with most write up is the cheese cart, It's huge selection may also be it's downfall, our server got 9 out of the 10 cheeses he picked/served correctly however had to do a double take on 1 of the cheeses to make sure he is correct before explaning. I don't blame him, it's alot to memorize and that didn't spoil the occassion.

I got to met Chef Quenioux at the end of my meal. Very down to earth and humble. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. Very well worth it, it's actually a bargain compared to the other top LA restaurants out there.

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Thank you all for the reply. Now im quite excited for my dinner tomorrow night.

Baloney, if you dont' mind me asking, how much did the truffle tasting cost?

Regards!

It has been a while since my wife and I have had a chef's tasting menu since we bought our house a year + ago. Life has been different with mortgage payments however Im quite happy and grateful to live in a house and a good community. So for my birthday on the 25th, I decided to start the celebration early and pick a restaurant with a tasting menu. We're on a budget as Im paying for 4 people instead of 2, my parents flew from the Philippines to be with me for my birthday. I would love to go back to Providence or Melisse but budget is budget :)

What can I expect from Bistro LQ? I've heard good things about it and not so good (5+ hours for a 10 course tasting). Hopefully that's all resolved by tomorrow.

Another restaurant I've been thinking is Hatfield's, I haven't been to their new location but loved them when they were at their old location.

Am I making a good choice of Bistro LQ?

There's alot of new restaurants here that my head is spinning! I recently picked up a copy of LA WEEKLY just to see the new restaurants locally.

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

I ended up flying Thursday evening at 10ish pm. Went straight to the hotel to meet the wife & her sisters. My first meal on NYC was the hala cart accross MSG. Had the lamb on rice & lamb gyro, requested to load up on the white sauce. While hearty, the sauce lacked the kick. I didn't get a chance to try the halal cart on 53rd & 6th. Im still sad until now I didn't go.

Friday Morning, while my wife was taking her test from a seminar. I was with my sis in law & both of us headed to Russ & Daughter's. Ordered 2 bagle & lox ($21) and walked to Katz's and ordered a pastrami on rye sandwich ($15). Here's my take. You guys are right, the bagle isn't good but the lox was amazing. Not worth the price. Pastrami was very very good, juicy, tasty, and the rye is the best i've tried BUT not worth $15. I'd pay $8-9 for it but not a crazy $15 premium for the sandwich.

I then wanted to see B&H photo, very impressed. No wonder it is the mecca for photographers and the likes. We then decided to see the twin tower site, while walking towards the subway, I saw five guys burger and decided to try it. We were still full from the "brunch" so 3 of us shared a cheeseburger with grilled onions, mushrooms, and bbq sauce. The bun was soft, the patty was moist and very tasty. Im from SoCal and my first comparison will be to In n' Out, I gotta say five guys got it good. I love this burger! More than In n' Out's version. It's a winner in my book.

Friday's dinner, we met up with 2 of our friends and had dinner at Peter Luger's. I've been wanting to try this place for 3-4 years now. We ordered the steak for 4, bacon, sides, and a nice bottle of pinot. This is probably the best dry aged porterhouse i've tasted. It did not dissapoint but for it's price, it was very overrated. I would still prefer Mastro's wet aged porterhouse along with their seasoning. I would still rate this high in my books.

For dessert, We headed to Momofuku Milk Bar, jam packed, We ordered the birthday cake, chocolate malt cake, crack pie, and compost cookie. I love their rendition of a "cake", I love their concept but quite dissapointed with the dessert after all the hype. I did love their crack pie though, it was the best of the bunch. Called it a night after.

Saturday Morning:
Woke up late after a long day's trek. Had Shake Shack for brunch, I ordered the double shack burger and a chocolate shake, I preferred five guy's burger however the Shake is very good. Reminded me when I was a child, i would let the chocolate ice cream melt and drink it after. Long line up but service was fast.

Magnolia Bakery. Im not a big fan of cupcakes but my wife wanted to try their carrot cake cupcake and red velvet. The carrot cake was a big hit, a winner in my books but the red velvet was so so.

Walked around Soho afterwards, bought a few stuff then we decided to go to Salumeria Rosi as per my request's (Anthony Bourdain's Food Porn 2 episode). We bought 2 bottles of wine, A Cianti Classico & Pinot. Got 2 cheese and 1/2 lb of their 24 month aged Proscuitto. Went back to my friend's place to drink & relax before our 9:30 dinner reservation. Had a good conversation, Loved the gorgonzola cheese, Loved the Proscuitto, very subtle, not that salty but my wife preferred the proscuitto to be saltier. Would've loved to try the 36 month aged but my friend was the one that ordered & paid. 2 bottles down, 4 of us were in a very happy place, took a cab and went to Commerce Restaurant (Friend's Pick).

Got there at 9:20pm. It was packed, so we got drinks at the bar but my God, we waited for 1-1/2 hours to get seated!!!. If we weren't tipsy aleady, we would've raised hell, we were pretty much the last party to get seated. The girl who handles the reservation was very apologetic, the restaurant compped us a round of drinks (bad idea), apps, and desserts. By the end of the night, my head was spinning lol. If i weren't that tipsy, I would've asked them if we can go to the halal cart on 53rd & 6th.

Next day, our flight was at 9am, we left for JFK at 6am to avoid traffic due to the ING marathon. Called it a day, glad to be back in LA. Thank Goodness I only gained a lb with all that gluttony hahaha, that's the beauty of NYC, you NEED to walk everywhere. That's one of the reason why the people in NYC are more "fit" than the people here.

Next time I visit NYC, I will have a new itinerary and more restaurants to visit. Wished I had more time to explore the city.

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Russ & Daughters
179 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002

B&H
127 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Magnolia Bakery
1240 6th Ave, New York, NY 10036

Salumeria Rosi
283 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10023

Momofuku Milk Bar
15 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

Thank you so much for the reply and the former post. It'll save me time searching where to go and eat.

My wife & I appreciates the time you took making the post.

371 7th ave 10001

Lunch and Dinner would be great.

Im thinking Spotted Pig, Gordon Ramsey at the London etc. A mix basically if you only have 48 hours in NYC, where would you go? A meal from $5 to $100 per would be great.

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Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014

Last time i've been to NYC, I was probably 8 years old at that time and my palette isn't as complicated as it is now.

I'll be staying in the Affinia Hotel and would like to get some recommendations.

Nothing pricey like Per Se, hard times lol.

I have a reservation at peter luger on friday evening but Im having 2nd thoughts, I mean, I can have a great porterhouse at mastro's and would like to have something that is truely NYC and not available here in L.A.

Thanks

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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

I've always been curious to try the food court there. I know of the sizzling steak place in the corner but which stall sells hainan chicken? any good?

thanks for the reply....i'll prolly get a couple along with kobe beef from 1800kobe, atleast they're local and I can just pick them up.

I just noticed that they are selling their porterhouse online. I was wondering if any of you have ordered from them and cooked them at home.

I'll probably order a few cuts from them next month for my birthday instead of going to a steakhouse.

I called Thai Nakorn, quite pricey for the party trays. It's basically 1 item $ x 10 = party tray.

Long Beach Thai Restaurant on E. Anaheim St. It's inside this small strip mall besides mcdonald's and ralph's. It's very good.