FoodZealot

In LA, I often see those little carts on street corners after sporting events, outside of nightclubs, in the Santee shopping area, etc. The cart itself is interesting, like a portable flattop grill or teppan, only about 18" x 24".

Cap'n - did they or do they do matsutake or chestnut seasonal specials?

Thanks for your responses. Are there more opinions out there?

Sorry if I've missed it, but I've re-read most of the turkey threads, and I haven't found any opinions as to whether "better" birds like heritage or organic turkeys are noticeably superior to supermarket brands for the purpose of deep frying. I'm guessing that when deep frying, it would be harder to tell the difference in the origin of the bird. We'll be frying two birds this year, and the cost difference could be substantial. Has anyone done a side by side comparison? Thanks!

Wonderful stuff. Sounds like my kind of vacation - eating, shopping for food, taking pictures, eating... Thank you for sharing! Those look like matsutake mushrooms. You've had those before, right? I've only had the ones from Oregon, which are delicious. They're mushroomy, of course, but with a complex topnote - almost like whiskey or brandy, IMHO. I'm surprised they weren't more prevalent in your meals.

I like Jon's a lot, and while they do have a variety of lamb cuts, I found it curious that they don't sell ground lamb in the butcher section, only in the frozen chubs. Not much demand in that form I guess. edit: to make it clear that I was talking about Jon's

Andie, thanks for this recipe. Just one clarification - your procedure doesn't mention any change in oven temperature - do you normally roast at 450° the entire time? ~Tad

I'm interested in sansho/kinome, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen in Los Angeles, due to it's being a carrier of citrus canker.

Some suggestions based on your criteria: Mori is a good choice for a higher end meal. Hide Sushi - there's a little Japanocentric neighborhood on Sawtelle Blvd, north of Olympic. There are several places along that strip. Hide is probably what you're looking for. Most people think more highly of it than I do, but it's quite serviceable. I think it's cash only. California Roll & Sushi Fish - on Wilshire and Westgate in West LA - not for the purist, but this place offers mostly rolls with modern combinations (for instance, lots of spicy tuna and avocado), squiggly sauce decorations, and so on. Tempura tends to be a little greasy, but overall it's reliable and tasty. It's about $25 per person. While not sushi, you might try Yabu on Pico near Barrington, or Musha on Wilshire and 5th. They serve Japanese small plates, with a decent number of vegetarian choices. I'll second John O'Groats for breakfast. I also like Cafe Brasil is on Venice and Westwood for casual dining, but the vegetarian offerings are slim. Falafel King is Westwood has decent food, but they make these battered potato chip things that are unhealthy and addicting. Good luck.

Anything for you, tommy. In fact, maybe you want one of the "after" pictures? [grin]

I was lucky enough to win a few Lobel's steaks when Evan did the Q&A. Regarding marbling in a Lobel's steak versus a supermarket steak, this is the prime porterhouse (not Wagyu) that came in the sampler package for your reference. I only did auto-contrast in PhotoShop to get it closer to the color I remember. Between trimming and whatnot, it's on the smaller side of things, but it ranks highly on my quality scale. FWIW, it's one of the best steaks I've ever had, but the aged taste was fairly subtle - more of a well-balanced beef flavor. It's texture was excellent - dense, but tender. I froze one of the cheaper cuts and it didn't compare as well, so I'm not sure if it was the freezing or the difference in cut that was the difference.

LA Times Food Section -- October 6, 2004 Viewing the LA Times website, www.latimes.com, is free with a registered account. Some content is in the premium section, called calendarlive.com, which requires an additional fee. The age of indulgence gets its own Gourmet by Emily Green A review of the newly reissued and restructured Gourmet Cookbook, which contains many winners, but falls a bit short. A recipe is included for pecan currant sticky buns. Sweet indecision by Russ Parsons Riffing with the bounty of two seasons, Mr. Parsons offers up recipes for grilled eggplant with walnut-cilantro pesto, bean and winter squash gratin with garlicky bread crumbs and pear clafouti with pistachios. Their passion and their muse by David Shaw A roundup of writing about fine wine in the form of newsletters/circulars/mailers/brochures by Randy Kemner, Roberto Rogness, and Kermit Lynch. CULINARY SOS Delicious three-part hominy by Barbara Hansen The shrimp and grits recipe from Jack Fry's restaurant in Louisville, KY is procured. Between the country ham, madeira, coffee, shrimp, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, there's no deficit of flavor. Dinner dilemmas - A couple of letters in response to the Bend, don't break piece from last week. 2002 Talley Estate Pinot Noir by S. Irene Virbila The Wine of the Week is a Burgundy-like pinot from the Arroyo Grande Valley, along the Central Coast. In bouillabaisse, dueling fish stories. A letter from author Clifford A. Wright disputes some assertions by Daniel Young in last week's bouillabaisse feature. Mr. Young disputes the disputation of his assertions. A letter Defending Fresno from perceived incidental slights in a review of Echo. Far be it from me to pile on... For the record Geography correction ------------ CalendarLive stories A chef comes into his own by S. Irene Virbila Urasawa is reviewed. For free, you can read jschyun's eG review with pictures. Right at home on Melrose by Charles Perry "At Tere's, the fresh and simple Mexican dishes have an air of sophistication." Sushi Nozawa leads the pack in '05 Zagat by Corie Brown Nozawa bears the one rating to rule them all (for '05).

loremipsum, welcome to eG. I'll offer some tidbits which are to the best of my knowledge, but hopefully other eGers will jump in and correct me or add comments. The Big Island has a few unusual ocean products, but I don't recommend trying to harvest your own. I don't know if you're ocean types, but every year, even very experienced, lifelong gatherers of these items are swept off the rocks by waves and are injured or die. I hate to sound like a wet blanket, but that's not much of a vacation. Even if you just stand near the water, respect the power of those waves, don't turn your back to the ocean, and don't stand on wet rocks. If you're staying in Kona or Kohala (West side of the island), the waves and shoreline tend to be less dangerous. There are various types of sea urchins in Hawaii, but AFAIK there's no uni industry in Hawaii. I've heard that people eat the roe of purple urchin-like creatures that are attached to rocks at the surfline. I'm guessing that all the uni in restaurants is imported from California or elsewhere, but I don't know for sure. Another caveat, urchin spines can be a serious hazard. I suppose you might be able to find a boat that would lead snorkeling/scuba trips and ask them about your interest. There are also limpets (called opihi) at the surfline which are considered a great delicacy. Rarely, they might be available in a supermarket. Abalone is probably the most available, since it is raised as an aquaculture crop. They bring up cold sea water to recreate conditions in the Northern Pacific. These are fairly available in markets and restaurants. Prawns and spiny lobster are also raised this way, I believe. You might also see moi (threadfin) on menus - it's a fish that was reserved only for royalty during ancient Hawai`i, but is now farmed. The Suisan fish auction in Hilo is no longer operating, the last I heard. I'll try to find out if it's been replaced by another one that you could see. If you're staying in Kona, as NVNVGirl mentioned, you might consider going down to the pier or Honokohau Harbor in the afternoon to see the sportfishing boats come in with marlin and such. Personally, the seafood that I miss the most from Hawai`i are the small tunas (various kinds of bonito) and other fish like opakapaka (pink snapper), onaga (red snapper), uhu (parrotfish), mullet and kole (a tang, I believe). The Omiyage thread mentions some other possibilities. ~Tad

I haven't yet been myself, but I think your friends probably have good taste. Or at least they're not alone - there are some other encouraging signs that it will be a good experience. First, the chef was named one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs 2004. Also, here's a positive review from one of LA's most prominent restaurant critics. I've read similarly positive notes from other well travelled and discriminating customers. I hope you have a great meal and let us know what you thought of your evening. edit to add: I'm going to make plans to go really soon.

LA Times Food Section -- September 29, 2004 Viewing the LA Times website, www.latimes.com, is free with a registered account. Some content is in the premium section, called calendarlive.com, which requires an additional fee. The golden bowl by Daniel Young The author makes the case for adapting bouillabaisse by using California sculpin in place of the native fishes of Marseille. Endless summer of rosés by Charles Perry Mr. Perry extols the legitimate virtues of various French and Spanish reds, which are gaining in popularity and match well with many summer foods. Eight moderately priced ($6 - 26) rosés are compared. Give us the greens by Beth Fortune Suggestions for different treatments of leafy edibles. Recipes for chicken, peanut and noodle wraps, grilled scallops with braised romaine, and seared foie gras with frisée and sautéed pears. Bend, don't break By David Shaw Tips for hosting a dinner party are offered, with anecdotes. Chief among them is to be flexible. CULINARY SOS Recchiuti fudgy brownies by Barbara Hansen The recipe for dark chocolate brownies from Recchiuti Confections. Penja pepper by Donna Deane A white peppercorn from Cameroon is featured. 2003 Paolo Scavino Dolcetto d'Alba by S. Irene Virbila Ms. Virbila recommends this crisp Piedmontese Barolo at an attractive price - $18. Spelling correction for Hiep Le's name, owner of China Beach Bistro. ------------ CalendarLive stories Where the food's the surprise by S. Irene Virbila A review of the recently opened 310 Lounge & Bistro, located at Pico and 34th near the eastern border of Santa Monica, which was formerly Flint's. The king of dumplings reigns here by Linda Burum Hwang Hae Do is reviewed for its wang mandu, which are described as large Korean dumplings filled with beef and kim chee.

Zoinks. I'm dying over here. How does one make salt in Los Angeles? By that I mean, what is the source of the salty stuff? Does he mine it out of the Hills of Beverly? Does he get seawater from Santa Monica pier?

Here are some photos from the last Langer's visit. I've only been once, but Water Grill was excellent. Wish I could be of more help, but I don't spend a whole lot of time downtown. If you do go to Philippe's, you could walk down a few blocks to Olvera Street to Mr. Churro, which makes fresh churros all the time. I sometimes get them filled with cajeta. I'm not sure how Thai or regional Chinese food is in Chicago, but we've got some good ones here if you have the chance to explore.

Welcome to eG, Tee. Do you know what part of LA they live in? The city is so spread out that some recommendations could be 30 minutes or an hour away, and perhaps make your thoughtful gift hard to use.

It's been a while since I've had it, but I recall it to be quite delicious. Not as spicy as Blenheim's, but definitely ginger beer, not ginger ale (if memory serves). I'm not sure how that fits with the type you like.

Thanks, mongo. Sadly, I think I've been getting gringo food at other places claiming to be Szechwanese. This seems closer to what I've read about and have been hoping to find. The hot chopped chicken sounds terrifying. Let's go!

Welcome to eG and LA, saulbass. I haven't been to Omei. How would you describe it? At Chungking, I think this the chicken dish that mongo is referring to. I believe it was called Diced Chicken with Chilies or something similar when I went a few months back. I'm no expert, but Chungking seems to be quite a bit different than the run of the mill Sichuan places. This dish is both chile hot and numbing hot from the Sichuan peppercorns. Sizzling Rice with Pork mongo, thanks for the menu suggestions. ~Tad

Welcome to eG, eatstrong. For Japanese cuts, I like Nijiya Market on Sawtelle, near Olympic, or Mitsuwa on Centinela and Venice. But it sounds like you're looking for steaks, roasts and such. I've had a good experience with Gus' Fine Meats, but it's in the Fairfax area, and they're more set up for wholesale, although they will sell to the public. Call a few days ahead so they can fabricate for you. Cash only. 323-937-4622 There are some others listed in the Zagat Marketplace (2000), but I haven't tried them. Perhaps others can comment? -Bel Air Prime Meats -Doheny Kosher -G&K Kosher Meats -Huntington Meats -Marconda's Meat Market -Owen's Market -Victor's Meats & Deli

If you use live coals indoors, be sure to have abundant ventilation, because it could create a carbon monoxide hazard. A fire extinguisher nearby wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

Welcome, jm3amdg. ~Tad

Even as an outsider, I feel very comfortable in the Southeast. I think many of the posts corroborate what I've experienced in the way of hospitality and courtesy. In terms of cuisine, I think there's a "realness" that elevates simple foods into deeply satisfying dishes. There's another immediate bond, since I loves the Pork, too. I haven't seen all of the Southeast, but I'd like to fix that sometime soon. I realize that there's fine contemporary food as well, but I'll just add a few things I think of as being characteristic the Southeast (besides BBQ). Sorry if they're a bit obvious, probably even bordering on touristy. Bananas Foster a meat and three banana pudding, cold or hot greens with a shot of peppers and vinegar red beans and rice pecans ~Tad