Monthly Archives: February 2013

February 22, 2013 · 11:00 am

What the Fork?

I feel as if I’m channeling my inner-Don Draper as I down cocktails and feast on Clams Casino in the Mid-Century Modern digs of Littlefork, a great new restaurant that opened last month in Hollywood. Although its name sounds like a small town in Utah or the moniker bestowed upon some unfortunate child in Indian Guides, “Littlefork” actually refers to the diminutive three-pronged cocktail fork used to eat shellfish. It’s part of the restaurant’s theme; innovative and fun dishes inspired by the Atlantic Northeast, especially Boston and Montreal.

Chef Jason Travi’s menu consists of mostly small plates, with a strong emphasis on seafood. The aforementioned Clams Casino with Cracker Stuffing and Bacon is an absolute must-have, as is the Smoked Meats Poutine with Curds and Gravy. The Portuguese Mussels with Linguica, Beer and Chickpeas is one of the best mussel dishes I have ever eaten. I also recommend the Maple Eggs with Crispy Bacon (pictured above), the Clam Cakes with House Tartar Sauce, and the Apple Cider Braised Brussels Sprouts with Sage and Crispy Chicken Skin.

I’m hoping eventually they’ll be adding some version of fried whole-belly Ipswich clams to the menu, as well as my favorite New England dessert, Indian pudding with molasses and cornmeal. Until that happens, I recommend ending your meal with Littlefork’s Whoopie Pies with Marshmallow Fluff, although I’m pretty sure that’s not something Don Draper would eat. You’ll be channeling your inner-Sally Draper at that point.

Littlefork is located at 1600 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood. UPDATE: GOOD THINGS DON’T LAST FOREVER. LITTLEFORK IS CLOSED.

Pickled Vegetables (the amuse bouche)

Kettle Corn with Montreal Steak Spice and Maple Syrup

Crispy Oyster Sliders with Tartar Sauce and Pickled Hot Pepper

Smoked Meats Poutine with Curds and Gravy

Clams Casino with Cracker Stuffing and Bacon

Portuguese Mussels with Linguica, Beer and Chickpeas

Clam Cakes with House Tartar Sauce

Brisket with Three Mustards

Apple Cider Braised Brussels Sprouts with Sage and Crispy Chicken Skin

Whoopie Pies with Marshmallow Fluff

Buttermilk Maple Pie with Whipped Cream and Candied Orange Zest

Apple Cider Donuts with Apple Butter and Salted Caramel

Cocktails

Mid-Century Modernish

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Filed under Hollywood

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February 13, 2013 · 11:00 am

Birdy Num Num

As enchanting and rapturous as the kind of Japanese fairytale its name evokes, Hinoki & the Bird opened a few weeks ago in Century City. It’s the baby of chef David Myers (Comme Ã‡a and the late great Sona) and Kuniko Yagi of recent Top Chef fame. Located just down the street from the “Death Star” that houses CAA, Hinoki & the Bird has a style that you would expect of a hip Downtown or Venice restaurant, and not of staid and corporate-y Century City. Hinoki is a Japanese cedar tree and reclaimed wood is used extensively in the clean and modern interior. Seating is either in a beautiful enclosed patio or inside, sandwiched between the frenetic energy of an open kitchen and an impressively stocked bar.

Cocktails, such as the Gordon’s Cup (gin, muddled lime, cucumber, Szechuan pepper and salt) or the Griffith Park Swizzle (bourbon, mint, lime, bitters and absinthe), are a must. The food is Asian-inspired California cuisine. Almost everything I’ve eaten there so far has been excellent. Some of my favorites are the Beef Tartare with Pickled Jalapeno and Parmigiano, the Chili Crab Toast with Spicy Cucumbers and Coriander (pictured above) and the Salt & Pepper Marinated Calamari. Their Kale “Crispy and Raw” with Curried Almonds, Pecorino and Red Wine Vinaigrette is a delicious mix of colors and textures and one of the best kale salads I have ever eaten. I also love the Caramel Braised Pork Belly with Radish and Mustard Greens and the Miso Marinated Skirt Steak.

The desserts are incredible too, especially the Miso Mochi Rice Cream with Butterscotch and Togarashi and the Evo Parfait with Olive Oil Sable, Winter Citrus and Cinnamon Meringue. This is not surprising. After all, great fairytales always have happy endings.

Hinoki & the Bird is located at 10 Century Dr., Los Angeles (in Century City).

Spice Scented Nuts

Salt & Pepper Marinated Calamari with Ajwain-Tomato Jam

Crispy Marinated Chicken with Lemon Aioli

Beef Tartare with Pickled Jalapeno and Parmigiano

Lobster Roll with Green Curry and Thai Basil on a Charcoal-infused Bun

Caramel Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly with Radish and Mustard Greens

Miso Marinated Skirt Steak

Jidori Chicken

Grilled Winter Mushrooms with Sea Salt and Lime

Evo Parfait with Olive Oil Sable, Winter Citrus and Cinnamon Meringue

Miso Mochi Rice Cream with Butterscotch and Togarashi

Matcha Donuts & Koji Milk

Gordon’s Cup with Gin, Muddle Lime, Cucumber, Szechuan Pepper and Salt

A very cool space with lots of reclaimed wood and an open kitchen.

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Tagged as Best Restaurants in Century City, Caramel Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly, Caramel Braised Pork Belly, Caramel Pork Belly, Century City Restaurants, Chef David Myers, Chef Kuniko Yagi, Chili Crab Toast, Gordon's Cup, Hinoki & the Bird, Hinoki & the Bird Address, Hinoki & the Bird Hours, Hinoki & the Bird Los Angeles, Hinoki & the Bird Menu, Hinoki & the Bird Restaurant, Hinoki & the Bird Review, Hinoki and the Bird, Hinoki and the Bird Address, Hinoki and the Bird Hours, Hinoki and the Bird Los Angeles, Hinoki and the Bird Menu, Hinoki and the Bird Restaurant, Hinoki and the Bird Review, Hinokki and the Bird, Kuniko Los Angeles Restaurant, Miso Marinated Skirt Steak, Restaurant near CAA, Restaurants Near Century City, Top Chef Kuniko, Top Chef Kuniko Restaurant

February 10, 2013 · 10:49 pm

Plate It Again Sam

I love a good food fest, so I was happy to hear that LA Weekly’s annual food and wine event is back for a fifth year. It will take place on Sunday, March 3rd from 1-5pm, at the Peterson Automotive Museum. Previously called “The Gold Standard” before the departure of LA Weekly’s food critic Jonathan Gold, the yearly event is now known simply as “Plate” and it promises to once again be one of the top LA food events of the year. There will be unlimited tastings from more than 40 of the city’s best and most interesting restaurants and unlimited wine (in addition to beer and spirits) from over 30 top-shelf wineries curated by Downtown LA’s BUZZ Wine Beer Shop.

As far as these kind of events go, this one is relatively inexpensive. Tickets are $75 for General Admission and $95 for VIP Admission, which enables you to enter an hour earlier than the General Admission people and gets you a gift bag. If you’ve never been to one of these fun events before, this is a great one to start with. Some of my favorite restaurants, including Mo-Chica, Jitlada, Chichen Itza, Hungry Cat, Wurstkuche, and Philippe’s will be participating. A portion of the receipts goes to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank so you’re actually doing a good deed by filling your belly with delicious food and drinking lots and lots of wine.

You can buy tickets by going to LA Weekly’s website or by clicking here. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

UPDATE: Plate 2013 was a success! Here are a few highlights:

My hero Roy Choi announces the opening later this year of Chego, his gourmet rice bowl restaurant, in Chinatown

Gilberto Cetina from Chichen Itza served up Tacos de Cochinita Pibil

Ricard Zarate and Stephane Bombet from Mo-Chica and Picca were serving amazing food and talking about their new restaurant Paiche, which will open shortly in the old Mo-Chica space.

Ricard Zarate and Stephane Bombet from Mo-Chica and Picca were serving amazing food and talking about their now restaurant Paiche, which will open shortly in the old Mo-Chica space.

Ricardo Zarate’s Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Miso Dressing was my favorite dish of the event.

8 Colorful Flavors of Pork from Korean restaurant Palsaik

Chef Jazz from my favorite Thai restaurant in LA, Jitlada, served up Spicy Chicken Curry.

Nguyen Tran from Starry Kitchen served Shrimp Chips with Grill Beef Bites in a homemade costume.

Where’s Spritle and Chim Chim? The event took place in the Peterson Automotive Museum.

In Hot Water

Lately I have been on a strict low-carb diet, probably the inevitable result of eating all of those scones. It’s one of those diets where you only eat protein and vegetables, so I’ve been frequenting all of the shabu shabu joints in town. For the uninitiated, Japanese-style shabu shabu is basically a plate of thinly sliced raw meat and another plate of raw vegetables and tofu (and udon noodles if you’re one of those hedonists that eats carbs), all of which you cook yourself in your own individual pot of boiling water. My wife has an issue with going to restaurants where you need to cook your own food, but I think it’s incredibly fun.

My favorite shabu shabu restaurant is Mizu 212. The “212” stands for “212 degrees,” the temperature at which water boils. Mizu 212 is exactly what you want in a restaurant serving raw meat; it’s exceedingly clean and modern, and the food is of the highest quality. Most of the seating is at a wraparound bar and it feels like you’re eating in a really cool science lab that plays great music.

There are several choices of premium beef. I usually order the “Vintage Natural Beef” Prime Grade Rib-Eye. It’s excellent, although “vintage” beef sounds funny to me; like they’re peddling old meat. I think the idea is that it’s old-fashioned-style beef, the kind that was raised before the use of hormones or antibiotics. If you’re wiling to pay a premium, you can get Kobe-syle “Wagyu” beef. They also have free-range chicken, high-grade black pork or lamb, and even grass-fed buffalo.

Mizu 212 is one of the few places that also offers seafood shabu shabu, including wild salmon, shrimp, scallops, crab and clams. The vegetables are super fresh and include cabbage, baby bok choy, carrots, asparagus, green onions, broccoli, kale, mushrooms, snow peas, kabocha squash and chrysanthemum leaves. They have delicious homemade ponzu and goma (sesame) sauces for dipping. Upon request, they can also make you a gluten- or sugar-free sauce. You can wash it all down with an artisan tea, premium sake, glass of wine or craft beer.

Mizu 212 is located at 2000 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles (in “Little Osaka” in West LA).

Seafood

“Vintage Natural Beef” Prime Grade Rib-Eye

Sauces

Vegetables, Noodles and Tofu

Shabulicious!

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Tagged as Best Japanese Restaurant Los Angeles, Best Shabu Shabu LA, Best Shabu Shabu Los Angeles, Mizu 212, Mizu 212 Degrees, mizu 212 menu, mizu 212 review, Mizu Shabu Shabu, Mizu212, Organic Shabu Shabu, Sawtell Shabu Shabu, Shabu LA, Shabu LIttle Osaka, Shabu Los Angeles, Shabu Sawtelle, Shabu Shabu Sawtelle, Shabu West LA

February 1, 2013 · 9:05 am

Griddle Me This

In this era of small plates, carbon footprints and the ubiquitous Prius, it’s refreshing to find a place that shamelessly embraces excess. The Griddle Cafe on Sunset in Hollywood is such a place. It serves breakfast until 4:00 in the afternoon every day and the portions are large, ridiculously large.

The Griddle Cafe is best known for its pancakes, waffles and French toast, which come in dozens of varieties and are stuffed with things like butterscotch, peanut butter, crushed oreos, pumpkin pie filling, brown sugar-baked bananas and Nutella, and topped with whipped cream, powdered sugar or struesel (not to mention the maple syrup they give you to pour over the whole thing). Their signature dish is the “Red Velvet PanCAKE,” which is covered with swirls of cream cheese icing. Just one can feed a small army.

But despite the fun of the Willy Wonka-esqe menu, I’m not really a huge fan of these griddled monstrosities. I find them too sweet and prefer my flapjacks more refined. I usually opt instead for the egg specialties, such as the Tequila Sunrise (corn tortillas topped with refried beans, eggs sunnyside up, jack and cheddar cheeses, tequila spiked ranchero sauce, avocado and sour cream, and served with chicken tequila sausage). These savory dishes are not exactly “refined” either, but they won’t put you in a sugar coma for the rest of the day.

The Griddle Cafe is located at 7916 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood.

Wholy Moley Pancakes with Blueberries

Tequila Sunrise (corn tortillas topped with refried beans, eggs sunnyside up, jack and cheddar cheese and covered with tequila spiked ranchero sauce and served with chicken tequila sausage

Tequila Sunrise (corn tortillas topped with refried beans, eggs sunnyside up, jack and cheddar cheeses, tequila spiked ranchero sauce, avocado and sour cream, and served with chicken tequila sausage)

A fun place for breakfast

Monthly Archives: February 2013

What the Fork?

Birdy Num Num

Plate It Again Sam

In Hot Water

Griddle Me This

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