Sgee's Profile
Ridgeback Shrimp at The Shack - Rowland Heights - With PHOTOS
the fish market on Saturday in Ventura harbor usually has them too, fairly inexpensive treat for us Californians, good stuff.
Italy Meets Japan: The inspiring fusion cuisine of Yojisan Sushi [Review + Photos]
Wow looks great
Dim sum at King Hua: A Pictorial Essay
I do wish restaurants would stop the race to larger sized dumplings, they're supposed to be dainty bite sized morsels rather than entire meals...
I would be happy if they are 1/3 to 1/2 the current size
Steakhouse redux
So I promised an old friend visiting for the week a good 'scene' steak dinner.
It's been a couple years as i tend to prefer cooking steaks at home these days. My default is Cut or Mastro's with a bias for the former (food and brighter lighting).
Any other recommendations from the local cognoscenti'?
Dim sum at King Hua: A Pictorial Essay
Grrrrrr, keep it down... wait was still very reasonable this Sunday..
Sesame Inn Vs. Mandarin Bistro in Newbury Park
"The Kung Pao was a little disappointing. The chicken and peanuts were good, but it was lacking the flavors I expect in this dish. There were no water chestnuts, carrots, or anything besides the chicken and peanuts."
I consider the lack of carrots, water chestnut as an indication of authenticity.....
10 Best Dim Sum Restaurants In Los Angeles
King hua is not good, king hua is not good..... Repeat after me.....Stick to elite or sea harbor
Loteria Grill Now Open in the Westlake Village Promenade
Me thinks Bollywood is not very good at all. ....
Newport Seafood in San Gabriel for lunch - any changes since 2009? And best dishes? (aside from the lobster)
3rd time there yesterday, honestly I don't get the fuss about this place. I thought the cooking was just downright sloppy.
Urasawa etiquette?
"...but he does often serve blowfish liver when in season."
Isn't blowfish liver extremely poisonous? I thought the organs and skin contains the most toxins.
Hard question: Sushi meal under 30 bucks per person??? Where would you go?
Chirashi sushi!!
CNN article today
Thanks for the rec. J.L, will try to see if I can get a reservation
BEST SUSHI in LA...
I assume hubbie wants bragging rights to his sushi friends in NYC. If Yasuda is his benchmark, Urusawa, Mori and maybe Zo in descending order would work best. Anything less and he just won't have bragging rights. NYC hold its own compared to LA for sushi choices.
Agree with your point about pretender... then just go to Matsuhisa and say they visited Nobu's first stateside restaurant :-)
Best solution, hubbie goes to Urusawa on his own. Lavendula separately goes to Cut, Spago, Bouchon, Bazaar or Puck's new place in renovated hotel. All should be in close proximity to where they are staying.
As for Zo, I just don't think his sushi is technically correct. Where Urusawa claims ~170 grains of rice to form his nigiri, Zo probably only has ~50 grains.. Any experts in the hallowed halls of Kyubey, Jiro care to weigh in on the technical aspects of Zo's nigiri?
Please Help This New Valley Boy
Few suggestion:
1) Go's Mart in Canoga Park for sushi - be forewarned the place is a dump and expensive but good food
2) Super Tacos La Estilo Jalisco Rana in NoHo (close to Bob Hope Airport) right around Victory and Lankershim. Truck is parked on Troost - my recent taco truck discovery, they are only open Wed - Sun evening I think
3) Itzik Hagadol in Encino - US outpost of Israeli based grilled meat restaurant. Great salad spread!
4) Birrieria Apatzingan in Pacoima - Don't go there for atmosphere but very good goat soup!
5) Shih Dok Rak in Northridge - Korean BBQ. Also try the spicy octopus rice in hot stone. Kinda like a bibimbap. Dress appropriately for smoke....
BEST SUSHI in LA...
Despite all the accolades for Zo, your husband might be disappointed with their sushi.
Fish quality is excellent but the sizing is very teeny tiny .. a speck of rice and a sliver of fish. Great for small eaters but I've never encountered any other sushi bar in the US or abroad that makes nigiri that tiny.....
I have not been myself but Urusawa seems like the best bet in town for blow your socks off experience.
Good News For Goose Lovers--Sham Tseng Opens Up Alhambra Branch
So has anyone tried the roast goose? Verdict?
Sushi In OC: Found! Kasen.
I was treated great when Shibucho first opened, in fact it was one of my most memorable sushi dinner stateside. Business was a lot slower back then, there were only two other diners on that first visit. Extras I received were fish soup, shiokara, vegetable cleanser sushi and a few other items I can't remember in addition to a long list of sashimi and nigiri sushi.
Fast forward 3 years later after I moved to LA, during my 5 visits I was basically relegated to Naga each time. Don't get me wrong he is competent but no extra treats, just basic nigiri. Less compelled to make the trek for vanilla dinners.
Animal or Son of a Gun?
I have not been to Animal, even less keen on doing so after my SOAG experience. I'm chalking it up as yet another LA hipster, overpriced, over-hyped joint. Seems to be a growing phenomenon of late......
I think I'll spend more time hunting down places like "Super Tacos La Estilo Jalisco Rana" in NoHo. My most memorable dining experience so far in 2012 and dinner only cost $3. Angelini Osteria comes in 2nd and Tsujita's tsukumen for the 3rd spot
Animal or Son of a Gun?
I did not enjoy Sun of a Gun, some of the portions were insultingly small - lobster roll for example, more like a lobster canape .., only about a teaspoon of lobster for $7.
Walked out spending $80 lunch for two and not sure what we actually ate..
Portion or price needs a serious reality check.
HEALTHY LUNCH IN AGOURA HILLS?
I'm fond of Blue Table in Whizin's
http://www.bluetable.net/
What's your fav ramen shop and why?
"I bring my own sudachi to Tsujita (they use lime, which I feel detracts from the broth)."
Great idea JL, and Nijiya is conveniently located across the street. Also love Tsujita's spicy pickle.
What's your fav ramen shop and why?
1: Tsujita for Tsukumen, although I wish the broth was hotter.
2: Mottainai
3: Yamadaya - although not fond of Sun ramen they use.
4: Santouka
5: Jinya
Have not tried daikoku or asa or horon yet.
Sushi Nozawa Closing!
Does not surprise me, I checked out Sugarfish in Marina Del Ray for the first time last nite. 9:15pm on a weekday and it was still packed to the gills with people waiting for tables.
He will retire comfortably....
Steaks from Lindy & Grundy
"All that being said, why did you remove the bone before cooking? Just wondering."
The aged sections were all the way to the bone, figured it would be safer to remove from the meat before cooking.
Steaks from Lindy & Grundy
Here as picture of discarded crust and bone vs. residual edible meat.
Steaks from Lindy & Grundy
Picked up some 6 weeks dry aged bone-in strip steaks recently from Lindy & Grundy. Very expensive @ $39 / lb. I was quite surprised to see how little marbling there was on the meat. I understand they source grass fed cows but these were virtually devoid of marbling.
I am accustomed to receiving dry aged steak pre-trimmed of the dried outer crust from the butcher and these were unfortunately not trimmed before wrapping them up. Fortunately I'm quite proficient with knives and did not have a problem taking care of it home. The bone and trimmed bits weighed in right at 1/2 the total weight of the steaks. Part of why dry aged cost so much is the amount wasted trimmed bits, so the price at L&G really ends up being about ~$82/lb after you factor how much edible meat is left.
Not sure if there was not enough fat left on or there was just not enough of it in a grass fed cow but there was quite a bit of dry aged funk permeating the meat even after trimming. I'm no butcher but 6 weeks of dry aging is probably pushing the envelope for their dry aging method and type of meat...
Feeling very skeptical at this point, I seasoned the steaks simply with a heavy dose salt and pepper and cooked them on a cast iron pan. For steaks with no marbling they were surprisingly tender and generally tasty (what wonders dry aging does for meat). Negatives were some of that dry aged funk remained in areas where I did not trim deep enough, quite off-putting. Then again at $39/lb, one cannot help being a little more conservative trimming.
Overall decent quality meat but wayyyyy too expensive for what you get, they did not trim meat prior to packing as a proper butcher should and they need a lot more practice with their dry aging technique.
Couple of price points for comparison - Gilt has 3 weeks dry aged prime NY strip steaks from Pat LaFrieda at ~$30 / lb, Lobel's charges $61/lb for their natural prime 6 weeks dry aged strip steaks. Both are post trimmed weights, better deals than L&G IMO...
Personally I'll stick with tried and true Harvey Guss for my steaks.
