peppermonkey's Profile
Birthday Sushi
You assume too much. I was a regular at Zo d/t my other half loving it. I don't need to chit chat with him. Why would I want to? His charming personality? The only request I ever made was no amaebi, since I prefer my amaebi freshly dispatched, not mushy gruel. I would not care about portion size if it remained consistent. If you're gonna make it smaller, don't charge the same price. None of this fit your mouth size BS. I don't think my mouth has shrunk over the past 2 years. The menu never really changes save 1-2 items. There's no need to yell at people and kick them out when you don't want them to use a cell phone. A calm explanation is all that is necessary. After all this, we prefer to spend our money for better sushi elsewhere.
Best place to say bye to Fois Gras
fig: foie gras chicken liver parfait
baco: foie gras chicken liver mousse
kiyokawa: foie gras sushi
Birthday Sushi
i would've believed that if the sizes hadn't progressively shrunk over the last couple of years. shrinking sushi, shrinking yuzu drink (now disappeared), rude/pretentious staff... no more zo for me
Downtown LA
Baco
shin sen gumi
kokekkeo
shabu shabu house
sushi gen
tiara cafe
Le comptoir (pop up at tiara cafe)
gorbals
petes (all purpose open late burger decent)
hollywood pies
library bar
bottega louie
buu dien (banh mi in china town)
soon to open branch of mo chica
and more I can't remember
I love DTLA!
Anyone know where I can find Sushi and Sake Pairings in Los Angeles?
Nothing in la comes close to trusake in san francisco. I always stop by for some amazing nama and whatever else i can afford to bring down. Japon bistro in pasadena has a good selection, as well as special pairing events, weekly or bi monthly i think. They had some great nama last time I went. I remember nozomi having a decent selection as well. None of the wine shops i've been to including wally's and wine house take it that seriously.
Newport Seafood in San Gabriel for lunch - any changes since 2009? And best dishes? (aside from the lobster)
I like the pea sprouts (long ones if they have it) and the geoduck good but pricey. I've heard the king crab has multiple preparations. The one I had was not very good but have heard good things about another prep.
Ask Sushi Man
Jiro says rice 70%, fish 30%. I think the balance is fine with this philosophy and you can still taste the qualities of the fish itself such as at mori sushi.
REVIEW w/pics: The Best Counter Dining I Ever Had Was at Chef Gary Menes' Le Comptoir
Yeah, I think his idea is to make it possible to dine completely vegetarian here. He did mention that he changed his diet a few years ago and focused on treating vegetables with as much care as he did with meat. The price of the tasting menu has slightly increased since the start as well. It kinda bugs me as well that a meat option is not included with the set price.
REVIEW w/pics: The Best Counter Dining I Ever Had Was at Chef Gary Menes' Le Comptoir
There is really no need to supplement if you love veggies. I don't know how he does it but he somehow coaxes more flavor out of those vegetables than seemingly possible. Deceivingly simple. He also makes better coffee than all the baristas in this coffee-centric neighborhood
Good Beer Bottle Shop in LA
Buzz wine shop in DTLA has a decent selection. But if you're not afraid to go to East LA, then it's all about Ramirez Liquor on Soto. Best selection by far and more reasonably priced. Hard to find, seasonal stuff here too. Greatest keg selection as well.
Best Korean Restarant
A-WON - hweh do bap (spicy sashimi rice bowl), al bap (fish roe rice bowl)
Masan - live squid, large platters of sashimi, incredible uni out of the shell or mixed with rice when they have it, monkfish stew
Park's BBQ - best kbbq ever
kobawoo - bossam, good korean pancakes
kyochon - korean fried chicken better than Crisp
OB bear/Dan sung sa: old battered korean drinking places
24 hour: mom's house: awesome blood sausage soup, spicy stir fried octopus, spicy tofu kimchi
cold noodle soup: yu chun, soo good
spicy tofu soup: so gong dong or beverly across the street
spicy black goat soup: chin go gae
potato pork neck soup and pork ribs: ham ji park (banchan sucks here but it doesn't really matter)
and many more...
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Park's BBQ
955 S. Vermont Ave, Suite G, Los Angeles, CA 90006
Masan Restaurant
2851 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006
Best place you ate at this week?
roasted nectarine, foie, crab with jellied consomme at bistrolq
LQ @ Starry Kitchen Starts June 5th
I think tonight's menu was even better than the previous menu. The meal started off with a bang and probably my second favorite dish off the night. It was maki sushi but of course Laurent's crazy interpretation. Little neck clam, huitlacoche, epazote and sauerkraut wrapped with nori. The little neck clam and sauerkraut brought on the texture and acidity of sushi rice with the huitlacoche adding it's unique earthy taste, but ever so slightly. Nori was of course wilted from the sauce but otherwise a just a beautiful dish.
1st course brought back the veal feet which were even more tender since they were sous vide with a mustardy, capery thick sauce as well picked summer veggies under a great piquillo sauce.
2nd: scallops 2 ways
1) tartar with two beet sauces (golden and red) topped with a little dill. This was really delicate and refined. Never imagined the combination of scallop with dill would work so well.
2) sauteed scallop with vermouth demi glace under zucchini puree. GF liked this one better, but I thought it was a little fishy.
3rd: surf and turf: sauteed foie gras, roasted nectarine and dungeness crab with a jellied lemongrass consomme. This was a beautiful and brilliant dish. Each component was great but the combination put it on another level. Roasting the nectarine amplified the sweetness and added a "nutty, carmely" quality (dont' know how else to describe this) to the rich foie. But the kicker was the salty, sweet, oceany crab that completely changed the dish for me. Jellied lemongrass consomme added acidity as you liked to cut the rich foie and slowly melted into a consomme. Amazing layers of flavor. My favorite dish of the night.
4th: Lamb 3 ways
Loin: sweet pea puree with mint - perfect classic flavors
Kidney: rich chipotle sauce on top of mashed potatoes.
Sweetbreads
I've never had lamb kidney or lamb sweetbreads so it's hard for me to judge these dishes. Flavors were great and everything was obviously cooked and seasoned perfectly
5th: pandan panna cotta, grenadine, prickly pear seeds, cherry apricot sorbet. What a crazy and fun dish. Pandan panna cotta reminded me of tom kha soup. A great base to flavor with the smear of grenadine or prickly pear as you like. Cherry apricot sorbet was so refreshing and a tribute to the summer. The funniest part was when you took everything together it ended up reminding me of fruity pepples with milk! Especially the taste of cereal milk. I don't know if this was intended but I wouldn't be surprised.
Chef Laurent is definitely finding his pop up groove. Every dish was perfectly cooked, seasoned, and balanced. A surprising level of refinement with such high creativity.
He is a mad genius!
He also mentioned he would bring back his uni tapiocca dish for the second half of the pop up which I requested at the last visit. Excited!
Help me decide which restaurant to go to.
agree completely and there's probably corn agnolotti right now!
LQ @ Starry Kitchen Starts June 5th
Anyone been to the newest iteration @SK? Menu looks amazing. I'm going tonight
Question about The Gorbals - Speed? for Pre-theatre dining
If you have a large group, they will move at a snails pace. The pig's head takes quite a bit of time so you probably wouldn't be able to order that.
The Spice Table lunch - Perceptor's Photo Report
Yeah we had a few bad meals in vietnam. You really have to know where to go. This lady was just by chance. But the Anthony Bourdain soup lady was legit. Unbelievable.
The Spice Table lunch - Perceptor's Photo Report
Random banh mi lady in Saigon in front of our hotel was the best sandwich ever: freshly baked sesame seed bread straight from her own bread machine, 3 types of meat, one tasting just like langers pastrami, homemade pate, fresh veggies and just whipped mayo...best ever
Belgium Ale and Blue Cheese- WOW!
Allagash Curieux goes so well with cheese. For me beer is just so much better with cheese than any sweet wines
The Spice Table - Perceptor's Photo Report
really enjoyed this place. Had the tripe satay, otah, bone marrow and kon loh me. My favorite was probably the tripe satay, which was like eating candy jelly with a touch of smoke. Great texture. The otah was probably the weakest, kinda one note. But it improved the more I ate it alone, without tasting other things between bites. Rice probably would have helped. Kon loh mee and bone marrow were just delicious as well. Food is balanced and flavorful, my kind of food.
Singapore family seeking help. Please advise and critique my list
Breakfast: Tartine Bakery
MUST EAT: INCANTO!
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Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Another Chowhound Writes LA Times Food Articles
I hope this is part of some elborate plan to fill the LA times with chowhounds and root out the evil empress Irene
Ultimate LA Pork Dish
jamon iberico at bazaar or rivera or wherever in LA just doesn't compare to the pata negra all over spain...sad
Lukshon Culver City
I also really enjoyed the beef rendang but was less impressed by the spanish mackeral and really did not enjoy the dan dan noodles which had too much schezuan pepper to the point where I thought I was at the dentist. The seat in front of the kitchen was very interesting since the chefs were literally an arms length away. The free desserts were also a nice touch
Are there any restaurants where you've actually tried every single item on the menu?
I've had everything currently on the slow to change blackboard as well but he has something along the lines of 400-500 tortas. Those numbers are the actual numbers specific tortas.
Any places with unexpectedly good coffee?
Spring for Coffee in DTLA will be serving blue bottle soon
