rjwong

NB Thank you for your patience. One of my hard drives crashed on Monday, and I got my computer back this weekend with all my data intact. Thank God! LA Times Food Section -- February 8, 2006 Viewing the LA Times website, www.latimes.com, requires registration. If that is unacceptable, try clicking this link here, enter the URL address of the LA Times and proceed accordingly. Some content is in the premium section called www.calendarlive.com, which requires an additional fee. Sweet surrender / by Betty Hallock From San Diego to Sonoma, artisan chocolatiers are coming into their own. L.A.? That's where the mavericks are. Going back to the days of Ghiradelli in 1852, California artisan confectioniers are now at a level comparable to, and sometimes rivalling, top European colleagues. Includes the side article, ”A chocoholic's glossary” A tasting of California artisan chocolates / by Betty Hallock There's a lot you can tell about a chocolate before you even taste it. When you open the box, you should smell chocolate, and the chocolates should look like they're going to taste good. Here's the list of California artisan chocolates that the LA Times tasting panel forced themselves to eat, listed in order of tasters' preferences: Woodhouse Chocolate Donnelly Chocolates Boule Michael Mischer Chocolates in Oakland Jin Patisserie Recchiuti Confections XOX Truffles La Dolce V L'Artisan du Chocolat Chuao Chocolatier Frances in Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles Charles Chocolates Comparte's Includes the side article, ”Toffee taken to elegant extremes” The pure joy of soup / by Donna Deane Sometimes you just want a clear and vivid vegetable soup. Here's how to tease out the greatest possible flavor. There's great variety in vegetable soup, whether light, delicate, smoky, tangy, or hearty. With a few tricks, you can coax enough flavor and body out of just vegetables to be a fabulous foundation for a truly vegetarian soup. Includes three recipes: Roasted vegetable soup; Mushroom, barley and Swiss chard soup; Fennel and onion soup When the sun hits your eye ... / by Regina Schrambling Pizza for breakfast is a proposition that ranks right up there with drinks before noon. Put them together and you have the perfect brunch. Just like the breakfast burrito, a pizza can go well for breakfast. Unlike breakfast burritos, breakfast pizza feels weekend-worthy, more suited to eating around a table. Includes three recipes: Pisco Sour; Apple-nut cake with caramel sauce; Breakfast pizza Just as you suspected: Sommeliers have a stash / by Corie Brown These off-list bottles are too good for just anyone. Who gets to play? The knowledgeable and the nice. Sommeliers from various LA restaurants give us the skinny on off-list bottles, with a few names & stories. But keep it to yourself ... Oink if you love pig feet / by Leslee Komaiko It's perhaps the most fashionable part of the pig, but you won't see "feet" on the menu. Pig feet, by another name like “trotters”, can get some people to try it. Or perhaps some sausages, head cheese or pig's ears ... NB There's a new pastry chef at Providence: Adrian R. Vasquez, a San Francisco native who has worked in the kitchens of Aqua and the Michelin-starred Pied à Terre in London. Chicago's Bin 36 was his most recent post. There's a discussion thread about this restaurant: providence restaurant (los angeles) Cookstuff / by Donna Deane This ultra-sharp cutter zips right through even the chewiest pizza crust — and it cuts through a fruit tart or focaccia as if they were butter. The easy-to-grip handle, comfortable for both right- and left-handed users, can be twisted open and the stainless steel blade removed for easy cleaning. Or just drop the whole thing in the dishwasher. WINE OF THE WEEK / by S. Irene Virbila 2002 Domaine Raymond Launay Ladoix Clou d'Orge: Burgundy; about $25; elegant and restrained; goes with poached oysters, leek and potato soup, lobster or scallop risotto, bay scallops. This white Burgundy is such an astonishing find for less than $30. It's beautifully made, with a lush texture and haunting notes of citrus, oak and vanilla. For the record Super Bowl food — An article in last Wednesday's Food section about food to serve while watching the Super Bowl incorrectly described the recipe for Buffalo wings at Anchor Bar in Buffalo, N.Y. The article said Anchor Bar fries the chicken wings, pours Frank's RedHot sauce on them and offers bottled blue cheese dressing on the side. In fact, the Buffalo wings there are cooked, then tossed with a proprietary sauce that comes in four flavors; the blue cheese dressing is made in-house. Also, retired football player Mean Joe Greene's last name was misspelled as Green. Additionally, an accompanying article describing Frank's RedHot incorrectly stated that this sauce is the "secret ingredient" behind Anchor Bar's wings, which are not made with it. Spatula — In an article in last week's section describing a spatula by Chef'n, several stores were incorrectly listed as sources for the spatula. It is available only at select Sur La Table stores. *********************************************************** *********************************************************** Calendarlive Stories Not just another trattoria / by S. Irene Virbila La Botte in Santa Monica is given a 2* rating. Co-owner/chef Antonio Muré and Stefano de Lorenzo, another owner, are not copying every other Italian restaurant on the block. Instead, La Botte's menu reflects a truly northern Italian bias, as in the Veneto and the Alto Adige, not Tuscany. And for a restaurant built around wine, its wine policy couldn't be more unfriendly to wine lovers. I think it's a mistake. Rousted night owl roost / by S. Irene Virbila Critic's notebook on The Hungry Cat in Hollywood. This late-night restaurant at Sunset & Vine is now open for lunch. Chef & co-owner David Lentz offers a shortened version of his nighttime menu, plus some salads and a frittata of the day. Here's to lunch, Hollywood style. These take the cake / by Leslee Komaiko Some dishes are passing fads. Others are so good, they stick around year after year. In the latter category: crab cakes. Includes five restaurants: Lincoln on Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; Gulfstream on Santa Monica Blvd., Century City; Traxx at Union Station, downtown L.A.; Kate Mantilini on Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; Water Grill on S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.

Marlene, great Chinese dish there! My compliments to the cook (it was Don, ehh?)! For me, I hardly use bean sprouts. There's so many variations you can make. Omit the bean sprouts & the snow peas. Add an extra onion (sliced), one stalk of scallions (1/2 inch sections) and some Chinese chile paste or hot sauce (not much, just one teaspoon ... hehehe ...) for that "kung pao" flavor. Susan, you told us the temp inside the Weber. What was the temp outside (yes I noticed the snow)? Marlene, Susan, Dave, et al., In the event you need some "tough love" to get you through, let us know. If not, vee haf vays to findink out ... "All you have to do is call, and we'll be there ... You've got a friend."

Yesterday, I took a day trip to Santa Barbara on the train. And where did I go for lunch? You guessed it: La Super-Rica! As you can see, there's a line out the door already. Mind you, it moves along at a good pace. Once inside, you order from the menu on the blackboard, along with a few daily specials. The woman in the kitchen is making the tortillas. From top-right, I ordered tacos de cabalacita (daily special), tacos de costilla (#2), guacamole (#18), gordita de frijol (#20), and horchata. The gordita de frijol was an above-medium spicy dish. When I ordered it, the man said it was spicy. I replied, “No problem!” Yes, it was quite spicy, but not that bad. The tacos de cabalacita was quite messy. The tacos de costilla was good, as usual, as well as the guacamole. I liked their horchata. It was nice & sweet, with a good balance between the cinammon & the milk. Not watery. Not all horchatas are created equal.

Do you mean there's an underbelly to the Vancouver dining scene?

James, here is the link to the Which wines go with Chinese foods? discussion thread in the China forum. I hope this helps.

Eliot, YOU are the man!! Your report & those photos were excellent!! I'm definitely going to try that place for breakfast next time I'm in Las Vegas. As for the eggs, I'm wondering if they were prepared "slow-cooked," as in twenty minutes with the heat on simmer. There's an LA Times recipe that details that. If Bouchon serves frites for breakfast, do they also serve soup for breakfast?

Sorry, I don't read Chinese, but there is a listing for "Deep Fried Crispy Duck in Taro" in this link from Empress Pavilion restaurant in Los Angeles. From that link, click on the "Duck" menu. I hope this helps.

I was going to post this in the China forum, but I decided to post here. I'll explain. On Sunday night, I decided to celebrate Chinese New Year by having dinner over at a restaurant in Santa Monica called Chinois on Main. Yes, that's Wolfgang Puck's Asian fusion restaurant that's been around for over twenty years. Why there? I've always wanted to try that place and what fully convinced me was that my friend & fellow eGer just got hired as a line cook recently. So off I go all the way across town to celebrate CNY ... Why am I posting this report here? Because, as you'll find out, this is not my father's Chinese restaurant. Instead of the regular menu, Chinois on Main was having a special five-course meal for $85. The place is small: 60-100 people with tables & chairs packed inside, complete with Chinese-type decorations. The mostly non-Asian servers were wearing “Oriental” shirts. You get the idea, I hope. Mind you, back to the menu ... Thai lobster soup with coconut and spicy lobster dumplings: The soup was served in a coconut shell. The coconut broth was warm instead of hot and the one lobster dumpling was at the end of a lobster leg (tentacle). Off to a slow start ... Salad of Maine scallops, shitake mushrooms and wasabi vinaigrette: The salad was served with one scallop. It was fine with a wasabi vinaigrette that was kicking in. Getting a little bit better, I suppose ... I was waiting a long time for the third course, and then from the back of the room, the entertainment portion of the meal, part one ... Three lovely ladies enter towards the middle of the room, in front of the bar area, dressed up as dogs. They proceeded to do a little dance number, while a medley of “dog” songs was being played, since CNY this year is the Year of the Dog. Imagine these ladies going from “How much is that doggie in the window” to “Who let the dogs out.” Let me repeat myself: This is not my father's Chinese restaurant. Now, back to the menu ... Seared foie gras with Fuji apples and ginger glaze: The third course finally came out. This was my first time eating foie gras. I really wanted to give it an honest attempt. I did eat all of my foie gras with the Fuji apple slice underneath. I tried to eat the foie gras slowly, trying to savor it. It was difficult. Even though I know it's foie gras, it is still LIVER to me! Yes, I know foie gras IS liver from a duck. Mind you, it will always be an acquired taste to me. Part two of the entertainment was the more traditional dragon dance, this time with a two-man dragon and a group of servers banging away. Steamed black bass with hot ponzu, green onions and jasmine rice: I really enjoyed the bass filet on top of the jasmine rice. The fish was moist, not dry. The ponzu gave the fish a nice flavor. Really good ... Slow braised short ribs and charcoal grilled New York steak with long life noodles: Chinois on Main didn't go wrong with serving beef, Asianized a bit for the occasion. Desserts to bark for: I was served a chocolate-peanut butter crunch dessert. Nice basic combination of chocolate & peanut butterwith a contrasting crunchy texture. The diners were not your typical Chinese customers, obviously. The meal wasn't bad. It did get better as the evening progressed. I felt rather cramped inside. The tables & chairs were very close together. The place was packed with people. I might go back on a quieter night, at least to see my friend. Well, that was my first dinner of Chinese New Year, Year of the Dog. Gung Hay Fat Choy!!

Would you rather make soy sauce chicken wings with honey & garlic? You keep mentioning soy. 1 cup soy sauce 2-3 cloves of minced garlic 1-2 Tablespoon(s) of honey 1 stalk of scallions (green onions, chopped in 1/2 inch sections) 2-3 slices of fresh ginger root (not the powdered stuff), if available 2 Tablespoon(s) of sherry, if available marinade the wings for about an hour & bake.

Hummus is very popular with my kids, and I even have some frozen mashed chickpeas in the freezer. Thanks, Rachel, for the suggestions! ← Susan, just as a reminder, my name is Russell, not Rachel. I understand ... You can call me whatever you want, but don't call me late for dinner. I wouldn't mind trying some of that venison.

Central Coast? What about L.A.??!! How about it Steve, por favor?

Susan, how about making some hummus? Or is that too adventurous for the kids?

It's been years (a couple of decades), but try The Ranch House in Ojai. It's only open for dinner on Sat.

Remember, it's not the perfection of your life, but the direction of your life that matters.

Maggie, You can't go wrong with the above suggestions. I ate at Beacon. It is wonderful. Kazuto is doing what he does best. Another French restaurant that's listed in the LA Times: Bistro de l'Hermitage on Culver Blvd. If you check the LA Times Food Section Digest, LA Times food critic did a short write-up on the Surfas Cafe.

If you want spicy food, I just started this thread: Some Like It Hot by Clifford Wright: spicy foods worldwide. I took a cooking demo earlier this week and it was great! The author himself was right there cooking these spicy dishes. I found two venison recipes in a German cookbook I have: Venison casserole (Rehschmortopf) & Venison party rolls (Rebfleisch-Partyrolle). The first recipe needs 3 lbs. venison, cut into bite-size pieces. The second , 2-2 1/2 lbs. lean venison steak (1/2 inch thick). Are you still interested? I have some packages of chewy ginger candy (Ting Ting Jahe) and some Chinese preserved plums (Chan Pei Mui). The plums are preserved with salt. Will this help?

Earlier this week, I attended a cooking class, demonstrated by Clifford Wright, on his new book, “Some Like It Hot: Spicy Favorites From The World's Hot Zones.” He cooked six spicy dishes from different parts of the world and the class got to sample all of them. And I'm still living to tell you about it. Here are the six dishes Clifford prepared: Chive pancakes (Korea): The pancakes batter had two red jalapeno chiles. Once cooked, you take a piece of the pancake & eat it with a Korean red chile paste (koch'ujang). This is slightly hot & sweet. Jerk shrimp (Jamaica): two pounds of shrimp marinading in the jerk seasoning which contained scallions, ginger, coriander, garlic, nutmeg, allspice, thyme, pernut oil, soy sauce, and NINE finely chopped habanero chiles. Everyone got one skewer of jerk shrimp. When we ate the jerk shrimp, WHOA, MAMA!!!! At this point, we took a ten-minute break to cool down. Aside from the spiciness, there was a very smooth flavor to the shrimp that I liked. This was definitely the spiciest dish of the evening. Vegetable curry in yogurt gravy (state of Kerala, India): While the spiciness was about medium (ten green jalapenos), the vegetarian stew (avial) had a wonderful satisfying flavor with the different vegetables (eggplant, sweet potato, peas, green beans, carrot, onion) included, as well as some fruits like mango & shredded, unsweetened coconut. Clifford commented how this vegetarian dish is satisfying to meat eaters. They don't miss the meat when eating this dish. The class agreed as well. Drunkard's fried noodles with seafood (Thailand): Wide rice noodles (pad Thai) are used to be mixed with the shrimp, scallops & squid, some seasonings (Thai fish sauce, tamarind water, garlic, lemongrass) and Thai chiles (or “sky-pointing chiles”; green serranos can be used). Quite spicy, but not as spicy as the jerk shrimp, the dish had a “light” & “clean” flavor, as opposed to the “warmer” flavor of the jerk shrimp dish. Mahi mahi with green chile and cilantro cream sauce (Mexico, Pacific side): The cream sauce is slightly spicy, because of the creme fraiche that offsets it. After the fish is browned, the spicy cream sauce is added into the pan, covered and cooks for about fifteen minutes. I asked Clifford if the fish will become dry after fifteen minutes. I tasted it and it was moist, not dry., because the mahi mahi were thick fish steaks. Ranchero steaks with chipotle chile sauce (Sonora, Mexico): This dish was delicious and barely spicy (to me). The sauce had tomatillos, garlic, & canned chipotle chiles. I mean, come on! Yes, I noticed how the spiciness of the dishes was tapering off as the evening progressed. I enjoyed the cooking demo tremendously. This was a great way to be introduced to this book, especially when the author was right there cooking all these selections. Thank you, Clifford Wright! edited for additional information & formatting

Although you were speaking for yourself, you have spoken wisely, Sage Parsons. Yes, there are the "see and be seen" places. Yes, there are the popular chains & dives. Yes, we have our share of high-end restaurants. And definitely YES to the plethora of ethnic restaurants throughout the Los Angeles area. Seems like there's something for everyone, ehh??

I'm impressed with that "Tag Team Asparagus" recipe for Marlene!! I never smoked. Mind you, I grew up with a father, who smoked quite regularly until the early 1980's, until he had his heart bypass. ever since , he never smoked again.. You guys are doing great! I'll be checking in, along with everybody else ... Do you need a prime rib dinner to help you along?

LA Times Food Section -- February 1, 2006 Viewing the LA Times website, www.latimes.com, requires registration. If that is unacceptable, try clicking this link here, enter the URL address of the LA Times and proceed accordingly. Some content is in the premium section called www.calendarlive.com, which requires an additional fee. Madame's main man / by Russ Parsons 'La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange' is the French cookbook that inspired Julia Child and Alice Waters. Now, at long last, Paul Aratow has translated it into English. This English translation of the “French 'Joy of Cooking'” is now available, the book Julia Child referred to as ”the best French cookbook I know.” And here's the story of its translator Paul Aratow, the man who first bought ”La Bonne Cuisine” as a graduate student living in Paris almost forty years ago and the man who helped Alice Waters in opening a restaurant named Chez Panisse. Includes two recipes: Fattened hen à l'ivoire (poularde à l'ivoire); Chestnut cake (gâteau de marrons); and the side article, ”Tips from Madame” There is a discussion thread about this book: La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange Hot off the global griddle / by Barbara Hansen and Susan LaTempa Arepas, clayudas and cornmeal pancakes -- you'll flip over their amazing textures and flavors. They're called by different names, depending on the country. With a variety of flavors and textures, these griddle cakes from around the world are not boring. Includes three recipes: Cheese arepas; Bregedel jagung (Indonesian corn cakes); Malted cornmeal pancakes with orange-blueberry syrup Done right, it'll wow 'em / by Leslee Komaiko The latest batch of Bloody Marys has lemon, heat and lots of style. A couple of LA restaurants have taken Bloody Marys very seriously: The Hungry Cat in Hollywood and The Blvd. at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel both have their own Bloody Mary menus. Includes three recipes of drinks: Hungry Cat Bloody Mary mix; Hungry Cat Bloody Mary; Highland Mary Skip the crudités, let's eat! / by Amy Scattergood Real football classics -- Buffalo wings, beer-battered shrimp, baby back ribs -- go from great to totally awesome. None of these dainty tea sandwiches here. This is the Super Bowl, with this year's Super Bowl halftime entertainment — the Rolling Stones. Solid old-school entertainment calls for some time-honored food to go with it. Includes three recipes: Brown sugar and Bourbon baby back ribs; Beer-battered shrimp with classic tartar sauce; Buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese dressing Want to keep it real?/URL] / by Amy Scattergood Like the best cocktails, the best bar food usually has a secret ingredient. The secret behind the Anchor Bar's Buffalo wings recipe came out a few years ago. What is it? Hot sauce, ... but not just any hot sauce: Purists insist that it has to be Frank's RedHot sauce, which first appeared in 1920. Star turn This blueberry-toned spatula is everything you'd want in a turner: oversized, flexible, sturdy, heat resistant up to 400 degrees and safe for nonstick cookware. Its asymmetric shape and curved leading edge let you flip corn griddle cakes or fragile fish fillets with the greatest of ease, and its soft handle feels good in the hand. WINE OF THE WEEK / by S. Irene Virbila 2001 Produttori del Barbaresco: Piedmont; about $26; earthy and supple; goes with braised meats, veal shank, rabbit or chicken fricassee. In a world where Barbaresco is $40 or up, ... this is an astonishing opportunity to drink one from a great vintage for under $30. For the record Restaurant investors — An article in last week's Food section about entertainment industry professionals investing in Los Angeles restaurants said Lonnie Moore and Mike Malin were general managers of Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante. They are the owners. Also, the article said a building housing the Geisha House restaurant was among the properties owned by Adolfo Suaya. It is not. Wolfert book — An article in last week's section on "The Cooking of Southwest France" said that nine pounds of fava beans had to be husked and peeled. Although nine pounds are husked, only one cup of the beans had to be peeled. Creamy bean soup recipe — A note in a recipe for creamy bean soup with croutons and crispy ventrèche said that ventrèche is not available in the U.S. It is available online at www.dartagnan.com. Brisket recipe — A brisket recipe in last week's section omitted the number of servings, which is six. *********************************************************** *********************************************************** Calendarlive Stories When Sona is on, it’s very, very on / by S. Irene Virbila Sona on N. La Cienega is given a 2½* rating. Chef David Myers and his wife, pastry chef Michelle Myers, founded this three-year-old restaurant with high ambitions, challenging customers' interest instead of playing it safe with the same old dishes everyone else is doing. Yet, Virbila expresses her frustration: Here's a chef who has the skill and the moxie to do some interesting, even great, things in the kitchen ... When his food becomes less about showing off and more about giving pleasure, that's when Sona will have matured into something remarkable. The food scores — and there's sports too / by Linda Burum Rugby's on TV, but die-hard fans come to Springbok for its spot-on South African fare. Springbok Bar & Grill, with its two locations in Van Nuys & Long Beach, is the only South African restaurant in Los Angeles. Mind you, don't let the sportsbar setting make you think that the food is just pub grub with a gimmick. Chef Trevor Nettmann cooks up well-executed versions of urban South Africa's top culinary hits in all their multicultural glory: curries, chile sauces and meaty barbecues that nowadays are to that country what pizza and bagels are here. Casing a foodie hangout / by S. Irene Virbila Critic's notebook on Surfas Café in Culver City. With the expansion of Surfas, the restaurant supply and gourmet emporium that has been in business since 1937, one can get rather hungry perusing down the aisles filled with too many temptations. How about a sandwich or a salad at the adjoining Café Surfas? There's a discussion thread about Surfas: The NEW Surfas - Culver City Nosh till you drop / by Leslee Komaiko For hard-core shoppers, the in-store restaurant is a wonderful thing: a place to refuel without losing too much momentum. Includes five restaurants: Mariposa at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills; Café Midi at Maison Midi on S. La Brea Ave.; The Restaurant at Ikea on N. San Fernando Blvd., Burbank; 59th & Lex Cafe at Bloomingdale's on Riverside Drive, Sherman Oaks; Barney Greengrass at Barney's on Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills.

Russ Parsons has written an LA Times article titled: Madame's main man, a story about Paul Aratow who translated this 1927 tome, which Julia Child referred to as "the best French cookbook I know." Allons-y, mes camerades!

And 2007 is the year of the PIG! Gung Hay Fat Choy!!

amccomb, if you haven't already, check out the Chinese New Year 2006 discussion thread in the China forum for more ideas. Is it going to be just the two of you? Any family members and/or friends? It's usually more fun to have a table or two with about six to eight people per table. That way, you can order several dishes, served banquet style. You can also click on to the MOE in LA: Chinese dinner thread for some ideas, as well. Soup: Shark's fin soup, Bird's nest soup, Whole winter melon soup Duck: Roast duck, Peking duck, Braised boneless duck Chicken: Whole crispy chicken. That braised whole stuffed chicken with sticky rice looks pretty good, Jason! Vegetables: Buddha's feast (Loo Han Jai or Lohan Tsai) Seafood: Abalone with braised black mushrooms, Cooked live shrimps (with the heads on), Live lobster Fish: Whole steamed fish Those are just a few of suggestions. There are definitely other dishes to choose from. Happy Chinese New Year!! Gung Hay Fat Choy!!

nightscotsman, Congratulations!! I would have written it in bold with huge letters, but that might have been a bit much. Neil, I am so happy for you. If it's all right, I wouldn't mind hearing your interview process. When did you first entertain the notion of working for Robuchon? Does this mean that you get to work "normal" hours now? Again, Congratulations!!

Della, Try this link to Sacramento restaurants: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=70913