jschyun

One of my favorite Indian places of all time is that Udipi Palace in Artesia. I used to read about idlis as a kid in the Time Life cookbook, and that was the first place I had one. I don't know how it's supposed to taste, never been to India, but Udipi Palace always made them so light and moist that I just couldn't stop eating. Very good service too. I don't know where to go for tandoori/Northern stuff because I always go to Udipi Palace. FYI: I tried taking other people there, who didn't like it because they couldn't get their tandoori chicken and whatnot, even though I warned them that it was different from their usual haunts. Oh well, their loss. Unless I'm smoking crack, I believe I ate at Woodlands a couple of times, with mom, but I forget if it was any good or not. For an awesome snack after dinner, I like that Ambhala Sweets and Spices on the same street, Pioneer. Oh geez. The older man behind the counter never cracks a smile, as he patiently doles out sweets/snacks and rings up the sale. You can get a cheap good dosa if you're still not full from dinner and hopefully you will get there at the right time and get fresh hot jalebi. I love jalebi. It's sort of a small orange funnel cake but it has flavored syrup inside that bursts out when you bite it. It's very sweet. mongo_jones had a pic from india trip, in the india thread somewhere. Might post it later. Even stale their jalebi is way better than what I've had elsewhere. It's glossy and crunchy yet with liquid inside. They also have a large selection of milk based sweets and lots of other snacky stuff. There's always a steady line of customers. I always get jalabi and something different each time. I bugged mongo_jones for more recommendations one time and he said the doklas at jay bharat. It's not even a block from udipi palace so if you try it let us know. I meant to go there many times but either I got there too late or I was too busy to go out to eat.

I don't see how this is inconsistent. I think it's related. I do believe that because Seoul people have lots of choices, money to eat out (or an easy line of credit), experience eating abroad, that they are knowledgeable, discerning diners which isn't much of a stretch to mean sophisticated. I would say it's not so much that one can't have sophisticated tastes if one doen't have access to other cuisines, but that it may not be as fully appreciated. How can you say you know that Korea has the best ginseng in the world (it does) if you have never tasted ginseng grown elsewhere? How can you appreciate how wonderful the street food stalls are, if you have never lived in CA where there is no such thing? How do you know that Korea has the very best little red bean cakes in the world? (It may, but I haven't tried them all so how do I know?) I would argue that you know your own cuisine better if you get to see others as well. It gives you a different perspective. And it has nothing to do with the cuisine itself, but it does help the ego to know that Korean food is kick ass. That is not to say that there is no inherent satisfaction in eating really delicious food. (whoah double negative) Anyway, I believe the sophisticated diner is a knowledgeable diner, and Seoul is filled with them. --edit Being able to have new and exciting stuff is great. 24 hour pho! I juxtaposed that with the 'sophisticated' word in the first post, so that is probably why people had a problem with it. That doesn't take away from the "authentic" food experience, and not all the new and exciting restaurants are non-Korean, although the wording of my post was perhaps unfortunate. Actually, unless things have changed for the worse, a lot of the new stuff is still Korean but just new. But also there are new foreign food restaurants sprouting up and I think that's exciting too. They were surprisingly good, what I had anyway. I had some awesome coffee with real thick cream on bone china. The suburb my mom's nephew lives in is only a decade old. There was more building going on as well. New and exciting means a lot of things here. --end edit You could get into the hybrid fusion argument, that the old good "traditiona"l foods are falling by the wayside in favor of fried chicken and mcdonalds, and that nobody knows what good food is like anymore. blah blah. That's a totally different discussion, but Koreans have nothing to worry about. Look at the French. The French have been bemoaning the sad state of their culinary affairs for years, but the fact of the matter is, who has the time to baby a pot of boeuf bourguinon when wife needs to work to make ends meet? Though now that the French economy is a little better, perhaps Quickburger won't do so well now. England seems like a different story to me. English people were so glad to get rid of their tradition of dishes like spotted dick and the pullman(ploughman?) lunch, that I only saw one or two English restaurants (I think one was on Strand, that prime rib place) in a sea of Indian, quickie marts, sushi, Chinese, sandwich shops. I did not see one pasty place though I may have missed it on the way to that Indian restaurant in Nob Hill. I only saw one fish & chips place. Contrast that to the several toekkbokkie vendors you'll see on one street in Seoul. I'm no expert but I would hazard a guess that if Korean food in Seoul degenerates into food hell, I would argue that foreign restaurants had nothing to do with it, unless the name starts with "Mc" or "Star". It's about jobs, kids, money. Who makes their own duenjang or kochujang anymore? Nobody that's who. At least nobody I know. My grandma made a delicious duenjang, kochujang, everything, now that she's dead, nobody has time or the skill. Kimchi is easier, but still busy pple buy it from the market. Who has time? Well, hopefully restaurants will keep it up, because the working woman can't these days.

After some thought, I believe the word "sophisticated" is still valid for use in describing the average Seoul diner. For those that are disturbed or bothered by it, "cosmopolitan" is an adequate substitute. However, I still think that the average Seoul diner is much more sophisticated about what goes in his/her mouth, than say, the average Los Angeles diner, for example. I think I can understand how someone, who has not been to Seoul in recent years would take the word "sophisticated" to mean that because there are Euro-American choices that therefore I'm saying that because of this, the diners are more sophisticated. I have to say that's not right at all. The sophistication that I spoke of is a result of a ridiculous amount of choices at every price point, from the food stalls on the streets to little neighborhood restaurants, to food courts in newly constructed malls, to the expensive joints where you have your own room and a bunch of people serving you. Also people are dining out in droves. My relatives and friends eat out an average of 3-5 times a week, not including delivered food. But I did want to point out that Seoul diners are often traveled diners. This doesn't have anything to do with an assumed superiority of foreign cuisines, but to the fact that Korean, esp. Seoul diners are no strangers to them. Plus the influence is coming not just from Euro/Am sources but from everywhere around the world, as skchai mentioned. The fact that Koreans are going abroad in large numbers means that the likelihood that Seoul diners will willingly eat gumballs on nachos is pretty slim. Why the hell was he getting nachos in Seoul anyway? I think Korea has less of a problem with foreign influences than other countries do. But that's a biased opinion, of course. I can understand why Cordon Bleu friend was so annoyed. It's easy to get great food in Seoul. I had a rice dish in an old Korean restaurant that almost made me cry. There's a buffet restaurant in Apkujong (sp?) neighborhood that has an all you can eat Korean buffet restaurant for $7, including unlimited wine and beer! One awesome naengmyun restaurant comes to mind. Great Indian food as someone mentioned, as well as a wonderful vegetarian one. I have relatives in some country towns as well, and bad food was easier for me to get, but not as easy as in Laguna Hills, CA (no offense to Laguna Hills people). But Cool Whip with cheese? Hmm... Some people are shocked and disgusted by Korean (Korean-Am?) potato salad, which in my experience can have grapes, apples, other fruit in it. The sweet fruit is a nice counterpart to the mayonnaise and other stuff, IMHO, and it's not nearly as disgusting as ambrosia, a purely American invention. chappie, can you talk to your friend and find out where and when these events allegedly happened?

In Orange County, we usually go to a place that serves everyting on Jason's plate and the sawtooth herb. I don't think we get cilantro there, but I've seen cilantro in other places.

Yes I have heard the argument that hybrid/fusion thing is novel and therefore better, or variations of this argument, but mostly I hear about it when someone argues against this. When I said nobody was arguing this, I meant that nobody here in this thread was arguing it. I think you're pretty much preaching to the choir here when you argue against the idea that change necessarily means progress. But this is not a new issue. People have always adopted foods of other cultures and made them their own, and it hasn't always been a good thing. An old example is the charlotte russe, I suppose, just off the top of my head. Of course, maybe that doesn't count because its provenance is clearly stated. Hmm. Tempura? --edit hmm, couldn't think of any bad examples. --end edit --another thought. Hmm, I just realized I used the word "sophisticated" because my cousin was telling me how "sophisticated" Korean food scene has gotten, recently. Hmm, very sneaky, that mentality. I see what you mean. --end thought

I did not mean that Korean food is in any way unsophisticated, I certainly don't think this is the case, so please chill. I meant and should have said cosmopolitan. Nobody is arguing that hybrid/fusion/whatever is better than the so called "traditional" foods, so no worries. I did mean that Koreans by and large are traveling more and it is reflected in the restaurants in Seoul. Hell, it's even more cosmopolitan than it was in the years before the world cup, just a couple of years ago. My point, and I did have one, was that Seoul is not the backwards bubble-gum nacho eating city of rumor. Well, I had nother point but I don't have the time to make it. Ciao.

Whoah, I do things very differently from everyone. I kind of follow the cook's illustrated recipe, but I changed it to fit our family's tastes. I usually use half Granny Smith and half something else, usually Pink Ladies. I have also used McIntosh (mushy, but okay here because GS is pretty firm), Golden Delicious (see McIntosh), and JonaGold (very nice). I'm lucky in that I can get ripe Granny Smith and not those bright green things you usually get. The bright green Granny Smiths at the supermarket tend to bake into green slices and have a weird texture, IMO. You might be able to find riper Granny Smith apples at a farmer's market. When I left them out and just used JonaGold apples, I heard complaints. I haven't tried a one apple pie since, though I'm tempted to do it with Pink Ladies or Rome Beauty, which are both beautiful apples. I use 10 apples for an 11" pie, (I think that translates to around 4 apples for 9" pie) until the crust is made. I don't cut/core the apples until just before I need them. I cut them really thick, about 1" slices, about 9-12 slices per large apple. I use only 5 tsp or less of flour for all those apples, lots of cinnamon, some sugar, and nutmeg, lemon juice. Put it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. When it comes out it is very juicy, but if you wait until it's not quite as hot, maybe an hour or so, the syrup thickens nicely. The crust is so flaky, it is all over the place, so I can' be worried about looks. I would fail any pastry class with this pie, I'm sure. However, we like it. -edited for mistakes

South Koreans, particularly in Seoul, are becoming sophisticated diners. Where 10, 15 years ago, you would have been hard pressed to find anything new and exciting, that's not the case anymore. I know someone who just started a beer import business and he is doing very well.

Why aren't you a fan of Jonathan Gold? Just curious.

Hehe.

--edit I never liked clubbing at Korean clubs. I feel claustrophobic, the food as such is marginal and I don't drink.

I hope he gets more than $100 for that article. That article was years in the making.

There is "authentic" food in Irvine, but you have to get out of the white areas. Irvine has the largest population of ethnic Chinese in Orange County. Also, it is home to a large group of Koreans, not sure on the pop stats. Fullerton may rank higher on pop. That said, the places I would go to are a $20 cab drive each way, therefore not worth it. China Garden: Easily the best dim sum in Orange County, basically a small dim sum house, has all the basics. Sam Woo is decent only on seafood I think, but in general not as good as CG, IMHO. On a good day, best egg custard tarts on the West Coast IMHO, and it's very strange for me to say that. GaJu Soft tofu: Korean soft tofu. not as good as the Garden Grove location, but still good. Very pop with Chinese. Plenty of other places, but mostly on the cheap eats side. Your best bet is to stay in the business park next to the airport. Houston's is good. Ruth's Chris is always decent if expensive. Both are steakhouses. In Newport Beach, Pascal's is the best French. They also have a very nice epicerie if you're in a hurry, which I usually am.

There isn't any meat on chicken feet. There are only bones, cartilage and the skin. Really what you're doing when you eat chicken feet during dim sum, is sucking the cartilage/skin off the chicken feet bones. Then you spit out the bones. At the good places, the sauce enhances the taste of the chicken, so that you basically want to lick the sauce off the plate. It's about the sauce, and how well they cook the chicken feet so it's not tough yet not flubbery. Actually, I don't recall ever having terrible chicken feet. I generally only order it when it looks "right", though I should probably try some of the really bad stuff just to see what it's like. Where did you go? -edit Actually, I should state everyone has their own technique for eating chicken feet. For dim sum, I usually like the chicken feet in black bean sauce, but there are several other preparations I've seen, curry sauce, what appears to be plain boiled but I guess is pickled (haven't had) known as "crystal" chicken feet. Have fun. --end edit

Claro's. 6 locations in the southland.

I hear Jar's gone downhill. I know someone who used to work there and at that time it was okay, but the revolving door of employees has caused the food quality to dim somewhat. At the time I ate there, I had an excellent meal, I have to say. But at the time, the desserts were house made, which, after the pastry chef quit to go to LAX to be a baggage handler several years ago, was no longer the case. I don't know how it is now. Mark Peel is the co-owner of Jar, which may be why Nancy Silverton (wife of Peel) would recommend it. Even in its heyday, I thought Campanile was a better restaurant.

I vote for Humboldt Fog and Point Reyes.

Haricot verts are basically small skinny beans. The name translates to "green beans". I pick around 1/4" wide. I love them. I recently grew "Straight N Narrow" and it lives up to its name. I got my seeds at Pinetree.

I'm about to go to Tadich Grill for their sand dabs. It's a tourist trap, but what the hell. Thoughts: Stone, now that the crabs are caught in Eureka and the fish is from everywhere, what did you expect? Seattle? If anyone says Spenger's Grotto in Berkeley, I reserve the right to shudder. What's that one place that did a good moules frites but also had a sushi chef? I remember getting some nice sushi there. Heard Pacific Catch is good, but haven't been yet. Good fish, not fancy is the buzz. Chronicle Pacific Catch review Farallon is most definitely too dressy. That said, I just had fish there for the first time (dine about town) and it was pretty damn good, perfectly cooked, moist yet sloughing into flakes in my mouth. I'm looking for a place where I can just get a steamed Dungeness crab to go for $5-$8. --edited for brevity

Okay, I've got garden fever and it's not even Feb yet. I just planted my spring garden. Just for my own happiness I will post all the varieties. Self made loose leaf mix including Sunset, Forenschluss (okay romaine, but I'll pick it early), Burpee Bibb, Black seeded Simpson, some other old seeds i threw in. golden, chiogga, and early wonder beets. kinbi yellow, st. valery, nantes, danvers half long, mokum, babette carrots white egg, golden ball, and that purple top turnip some yellow watermelon from 2 years ago (it just sprouted so what the hell) green arrow peas, dwarf sugar snow peas tuscan kale, red winterbor kale golden acre cabbage, waltham broccoli some granex onion seeds dill (snails got it) I just discovered Fedco Seeds, a small cooperative seed company. My new favorite catalog to look at even though it's black and white. they even have minutina and a lot of the carrots that I want. Also their lettuces. I can just read that catalog day after day, but I decided not to buy this year, because I'll wait till next year so that I'll have diminished my seed supply enough to justify $25 worth of seed, to qualify for the free shipping. These people are so weird, they don't do online ordering, they close in April. I can't wait till summer!

Sacramento County has their inspection reports online: FOOD FACILITY INSPECTIONS It's entirely possible that other counties do as well. Actually she was talking about restaurants getting grades. Plenty of other counties have their health inspection info online. But I think LA is one of the few that actually give out grades A, B, and C. I checked the Sacramento site you gave and nowhere did I see a grade. Did I miss it?

This year? I have seed for, but not space for: Basils: Genovese (my all time fave) Spicy Globe (never tried before) Dwarf Lemon (was nice lemony scent but couldn't find use for it) Mrs. Burns Lemon (got in trade last year, haven't used yet) Red Rubin (lovely color, IMHO not as good tasting as Genovese) Cinnamon (very cinnamony, but couldn't find a use for it) Sweet (bought this on a whim last year) I know I have one or two other varieties, but they escape my memory at the moment. I'll probably end up growing them all and trying to squeeze them in somewhere because I just love smelling the leaves while I'm in the garden. I wish I cooked more. I ran out of my Siam Queen Basil last year and forget to save seeds. Oh well. That's a damn good basil IMHO. I have extra seeds of pretty much all of the varieties if anyone is interested. Actually, I used to do a lot of seed trading on gardenweb.com but I'm pretty much tired of that now. I kind of envy you Texas gardeners, because you can easily have tomatoes by April or May. At least I've seen pics of such. I'll be waiting until June at least. Maybe it's my poor gardening skills though.

I'm in So California, started a thread there after seeing this one and it died. I just started some Kellogg's Breakfast, Marianne's Peace, Sungold, Matina (those failed for some reason), and Brandywine. I only have space for about 6 plants, so I have to be picky. Last year Sungold was the only decent tomato I had. I might also try Eva Purple Ball this year and that Aunt Ruby's German Green or Evergreen. Decisions decisions. The rats got all the tomatoes in our coop garden last year, so I'm staking everything this year. They couldn't reach the staked tomatoes. I'm really excited about melons and squash this year. Growing Zephyr (Johnny's), Costata Romanesco, Rond de Nice (our favorite), and 8 ball. Also, looking forward to seeing some Petit Gris de Rennes ripen as well as a Blacktail Mountain watermelon. I'll be saving seed, so if you're interested, I hope to have some come harvest time. As usual I'll be growing tons of basil. But not yet. Too early for us here.

I really like the L.A. ratings system. It's a quick, visible reminder of how current the restaurant is on their food handling practices. LA County Dept of Health Services Restaurant Ratings Page This site is a treasure trove of info. Not only can you find out what constitutes a violation, you can, like the SF db site mentioned above, search for a restaurant and on the L.A. site you can pull up the last 3 scores, find out their score breakdown, see their violations and score, the last dates of inspection, etc. I haven't really delved into the site that much, but I think it's reasonable to say that more information is better than less, at least where public safety is concerned. I eat at B and even C restaurants on occasion, but at least I know that going in. I wish OC had a similar system. --edit Oh crap somehow I missed the link on mixmaster_b's post. Oh well. --end edit.

Hmm, I clicked and reclicked on the temple link on each page and didn't get a viagra pitch. I got the temple. Almost disappointed. Someone at the Thai dinner last time was mentioning that we might try doing something like a European place, not too expensive, something like a small bistro. Just for a change. On the other hand, I never get tired of dim sum. Also, we haven't done Mexican as a group yet. Just some ideas. Still, I think everyone is probably interested in the temple. You know you'll always find willing eaters with this group,it's just a matter of when.