Thoughts on the sweet life from a native Los Angelino food and wine lover. Includes recipes and restaurant reviews.
Dined at Sushi|Bar (next to Scratch Bar and same owners) in Encino for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. There is a speakeasy style entrance from within Scratch Bar that takes you inside the small sushi bar. It was divine and complete with pieces of slate with our names on them. And the mixologist made amazing cocktails and poured wonderful sake with our food and drink pairing. I drove all the way to Encino to dine at Sushi|Bar, and it was well worth the drive. I give Sushi|Bar 5/5 stars.
Last night I dined with a friend at Inko Nito in DTLA. I googled best new restaurants in DTLA and stumbled upon this new-fangled robata bar. First, as you can likely tell from this blog, Japanese food is my favorite, so I was really looking forward to this meal after visiting the Jasper Johns exhibit at the Broad right beforehand. The atmosphere is urban chic with hard concrete floors creating a noisy environment. It was hard for me to actually hear the person right next to me. That said, we sat at the bar, which is what I wanted to do because l love to see the chefs cooking, and it also helped to warm me up because the space was pretty chilly.
The best small plate by far was the beef short ribs, which were exceptionally tender, and while I usually cut out all fatty parts from my meat, I ate the fat in the ribs. It was tender, and the spicy chunks of peanut and chili oil were a great compliment. I almost ordered a second portion of this. I would give this single dish a 9.5 out of ten.
The panko crusted chicken with chili yogurt sauce was well-prepared, not greasy and had just the right amount or crunch. The bone marrow with white toast was like a sweet teriyaki and chives version of the classic Italian dish, and I think I prefer the classic Italian version, but this was good. The crab tartar with a wasabi sauce served with fried chicken skin as crackers was really original and had a pleasant burn on the finish. Our waiter touted the cauliflower as the best dish on the menu, but for me, it was just average. Some nice Asian spices and the creamy sauce made it a bit better than average, but for my money, I prefer the cauliflower at Baco Mercat. For once, I ordered dessert, which was coconut soft serve topped with toasted almonds and a salty burnt fortune cookie. I would describe this as a coconut version of salted caramel ice cream. It was pretty great and atypical, even if I did receive the weirdest fortune ever inside the cookie on top which said: “If you want pretty nurse you must be patient.” Not only a bad pun, but an awfully sexist thing for a piece of paper to tell me.
My least favorite dish here was the Chirashi—their take on sushi. It was bland and uninteresting, not to mention unattractive—the green sauce on the salmon/yellowtail one I ordered looked like old guacamole covering some fish. I recommend sticking to the meats here and having a cocktail. My Asian take on al old fashioned was excellent.
4 stars out of 5
Shibumi is a delightful little Japanese restaurant in DTLA. The space is small and intimate with a definite Japanese flair, including a lovely front window almost shaped like a curvy teapot. In addition to their fine food which is quite unusual and innovative, their cocktails are the epitome of craft.
The standouts from my recent visit were:
Bonito sashimi: marinated to have a slimy texture with a sweetness like a ripe apricot with finely minced green onions and seaweed flakes. Presented on chunky tan-colred ceramic dishes that feel raw and edgy.
CBD salad: felt like nibbling from sapling trees with chunks of avocado.
Monkfish Liver Tofu: Very creamy with a delicate tinge of distinctive monkfish liver.
I highly recommend Shibumi and give it 4/5 stars.
Keep in mind that it is pricey.
Asanebo’s decor consists of maple wood sushi bar and tables with streamlined feel and black wide plank hardwood floors. The vibe is understated upscale. A large white orchid sits at the corner of the bar. The restaurant is in a mini-mall like many of LA’s finest restaurants.
I paid $140 for the omikase. It was WELL worth the price.
These are the dishes I savored in order of being served:
Homemade sesame tofu chewy like a light, savory and mildly sweet dessert topped with uni, fresh wasabi and pea tendrils.
Kumamoto oysters with homemade ponzu and yuzu with decorated with edible nasturtium flowers. This dish was creamy and tangy with a little zing.
Hokkaido sea scallops and brussel sprouts; truffle oil on still crunchy brussel sprout leaves with black sea salt–just perfect.
Generous portion of Italian black burgundy summer truffle on top of halibut sashimi with pickled tomato and radish sprouts; earthy truffle with glistening subtly sweet brown sauce falls gently in the palate like a sensual dream.
Baby yellowtail and red snapper topped with house made miso and jalapeños; miso was like a mild peanut butter in texture and flavor on my tongue. On my palate this was not as excellent as the rest of the dishes.
Seasonal white fish (kiting fish) tempura with lemon and pink sea salt and fried Shisido leaf; salt ground as fine as powdery sand; served with lemon wedge: a perfect simple dish prepared exquisitely like maybe a grandma would in Japan in her own kitchen; simple, crunchy nourishing comfort food. THE BEST SIMPLE DISH!
Wagyu beef with heirloomTomato: toasted tomato felt like toasted savory marshmallow in my mouth with the tenderest fatty beef, like a campfire fantasy. AMAZING!
Seasonal white mushroom soup with chicken and shrimp served in a mini teapot with tiny mandarin to squeeze into broth as drink; went down like an enchantingly aromatic black tea with notes of charred wood, pine and lime. Sudachi in Japanese and mushrooms themselves are shiitake that taste like pine. A REVELATION. They tell you to open the teapot and eat the shrimp and mushrooms and fish inside, but they are nothing special. The broth is magical! This is one of the most unique and surprising dishes I have ever eaten.
Toro, golden eye red snapper, Spanish mackerel and fried octopus: octopus has citrus zest and homemade soy sauce and is tender; mackerel even with skin was divine (I am not partial to fish skin) and it tasted like it was topped with raspberry gelatin ; snapper seasoned with homemade Yuzu on top; medium fatty toro melted in mouth and was a pale opaque ruby color.
ASANEBO COMPLETELY DESERVES ITS GREAT ZAGAT RATINGS.
5 stars out of 5 stars
On Thursday, September 15th I partook of my first Feastly dinner prepared by Chef Darren Sayphraraj at the Newberry Lofts in DTLA. I know Darren personally from a tennis class we both attend in Santa Monica. He’s upbeat, hustles and is fun to play with on the court.
It’s easy to see that Darren also loves cooking and feeding people. The five-course meal featured: Chicken Karaage, Littleneck Clam “Kaho Soi” (noodles with clams in coconut curry), Vermicelli Noodle Salad (with some awesome sweet pork sausages, more like a mini-meatloaf consistency and sweet potato lumpia, basically a mimi egg roll filled with mashed sweet potato), Oxtail Dumplings topped with beef tendon Chicharron (the chicharron was one of my favorite parts of the meal), and Strawberry Sundae (with coconut ice cream, lime and strawberry granita).
The chicken was super tasty and fried just right, and it also combined nicely with the fried gizzards that were a bit chewy in a good way. My favorite parts of the meal were definitely the sweet potato lumpia, the sweet meatloaf-like pork sausage and the oxtail dumplings with the chicharron. I highly recommend attending one of Chef Darren’s Feastly dinners. It was a very good value, quite filling and uniquely flavorful.
4.5 stars out of 5 stars
408 South Main Street, Los Angeles, California 90013
This restaurant is rated very highly for food on Zagat, so I figured I would try it. I was a bit skeptical because some of the DTLA restaurants can be a scene and quite noisy. We dined late on a Friday night. I ordered the Beef Tongue Schnitzel which was flavorful and not too chewy—cut into cubes and served with harissa with a thin wrap and likely house made pickles. My friend who loves tongue thought it was quite a good rendition. We also ordered Carmelized Cauliflower and Roasted Brussel Sprouts, both of which were some of the best prepared and seasoned vegetable dishes I have had, anywhere. Notably, the cooked vegetables had very thin slices of raw vegetables tossed into the dishes. (The cauliflower had thin slices of raw cauliflower in it, and the Brussel sprouts had very thin shavings of Brussel sprouts in it.) This added a bit of crunch that was just wonderful. We also had the Double Mushroom Flatbread which was somewhat spicy due to the chili flakes. It was creamy and flavorful, and for anyone concerned at all about calories, the flatbread was very minimal and thin, just enough to give it a nice crispiness. Lastly, I ordered the Sumac Down cocktail made with rye, sumac, Benedictine and cardamom, among other things. It was refreshing, savory and highly aromatic.
The environment had an energetic vibe. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for a new place to try in Downtown Los Angeles. The cuisine is innovative and relatively light despite its richness.
The Bruery is a boutique craft brewery located in Orange County, CA that specializes in barrel aged and experimental ales. The founder of The Bruery, Patrick Rue, named The Bruery in part after his surname as a playful pun. (I happen to be a fan of puns, an art which is certainly not lost on me). It’s arguable that The Bruery is sort of a West Coast version of Allagash. Their beers and ales are all generally very distinct and high quality. Furthermore, they make many unique beverages. A friend recently shared a Bruery barley wine style ale brewed with date sugar and granite stones. I had never tasted barely wine before, much less this particular ale called “A Stein’s Throw” (yet another pun because the ale is brewed with hot granite stones—these guys are really growing on me) that my friend bought at a library sale from The Bruery’s cellar. Initially, it had a wonderful, slightly tart apricot flavor that opened up into a heady floral richness on the finish.
I also really enjoyed this exotic beer from The Bruery called OR XATA. It’s made with rice and cinnamon like the non-alcoholic rice-base beverage that’s popular in the Latino community. The Bruery version is a blonde ale with added vanilla and lactose that gives it a creamier mouth feel. It’s delicious and pairs great with carnitas (my favorite tacos).
I will be making a trip to Placentia soon to check out the digs of The Bruery.
2024 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
On a Tuesday evening around 5:30 diners at Flores and Sons in the Westside district known as “Sawtelle Japantown” were conducting meetings with potential investors for startups….describing laser technologies they are developing and enjoying oysters, fried chicken and beers and ciders. The crowd was predominantly male, possibly part of the “Silicon Beach” locals who had ventured a little further East of Santa Monica and Venice, but still kept just West of the 405. The warm amber of the sun as it started its slow descent poured graciously onto the front patio that that’s visible from Sawtelle Avenue. While I had many reasons not to enjoy my dining experience at Flores and Sons, not the least of which is that the owner was my first love and is my my longtime ex, I had quite a pleasurable time.
The happy hour fried chicken was perfectly cooked, not greasy, and pulled right off the bone. The honey and chili flake dipping sauce paired well with it. I far preferred the honey sauce, in fact, to the Cholula hot sauce with which it was also served. I ordered a pint of wheat beer and then an imperial stout, and both were cold and satisfying at extremely reasonable happy hour prices.
Rating: 4 thumbs up