Category Archives: Downtown

December 31, 2018 · 4:23 pm

The 10 Best Things I Consumed in 2018

It’s that time of year for blogs to make predictions, present year-end wrap-ups and bestow awards. In keeping with the custom, here’s my annual list of the ten best things I ate and wrote about during the past year.

Deep Fried Fluffer Nutter with Fresh Bananas from Black Market Liquor Bar

10. Deep Fried Fluffer Nutter with Fresh Bananas from Black Market Liquor Bar. More chefs need to find ways to incorporate marshmallow fluff into their food.

Hamachi in Monochrome, Sweet Pea in Pastel from Dialogue

9. Hamachi in Monochrome, Sweet Pea in Pastel from Dialouge. Three words: Off. The. Hook.

Pappardelle with Ragu Bolognese “Vecchia Scuola” and Parmigiano Reggiano from Felix

8. Pappardelle with Ragu Bolognese “Vecchia Scuola” and Parmigiano Reggiano from Felix. Q: What do you call a fake noodle? A: An impasta. The Pappardelle at Felix is incredible and deserves better than that joke.

Black Barley “Risotto” with Fermented Black Garlic Tea, Wheat Grass and Fiscalini Cheese Crisp from Kali

7. Black Barley “Risotto” with Fermented Black Garlic Tea, Wheat Grass and Fiscalini Cheese Crisp from Kali. Fermented garlic tea and wheat grass aren’t ingredients that usually come to mind when reminiscing about the best things you’ve eaten during the past year. Surprise!

Butterscotch Budino with Sea Salt and Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies from Pizzeria Mozza/Chi Spacca

6. Butterscotch Budino with Sea Salt and Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies from Pizzeria Mozza/Chi Spacca. Fun fact: the word “Budino” originally referred to a type of medieval sausage. Now it’s just the Italian word for what we Americans call pudding.

Grilled Heritage Pork in Koji, Pickled Daikon and Leek from Shibumi

5. Grilled Heritage Pork in Koji, Pickled Daikon and Leek from Shibumi. Those familiar with this blog knew there was going to be something Japanese on this list and also something on this list which is primarily pork. The exciting news this year is that these two things are combined!

Beef & Bone Marrow Pie from Chi Spacca

4. Beef & Bone Marrow Pie from Chi Spacca. Think about the best pot pie you’ve ever eaten and how much you enjoyed it. Now multiply that feeling by ten.

Momotaro Tomato with Bagna Cauda, Lap Xuong and Creme Fraiche from Here’s Looking at You

3. Momotaro Tomato with Bagna Cauda, Lap Xuong and Creme Fraiche from Here’s Looking at You. A lot of people don’t know that a tomato is actually not a vegetable, but a fruit. This is the best fruit dish in LA.

Peanut Butter Meringue Pie from Pie ‘n Burger

2. Peanut Butter Meringue Pie from Pie ‘n Burger. I have nothing against apple, cherry or pumpkin, but it’s amazing to me that peanut butter is not the most popular pie flavor.

Foie Gras Halva with Creamy Pâté Date Paste, Black Sesame and Buckwheat Loaf from Bavel

1. Foie Gras Halva with Creamy Pâté Date Paste, Black Sesame and Buckwheat Loaf from Bavel. This dish combines the flavors of two of my favorite things: fatty goose liver and the the candy you buy at the cashier counter when you leave a Jewish deli. It’s the best thing I consumed and wrote about in 2018.

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Filed under Downtown, Hollywood, Koreatown, Mid-City, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Studio City, Venice

Tagged as Bavel, beef and bone marrow pie, best things to eat in la, best things to eat in los angeles, black market liquor bar, black market studio city, butterscotch budino, butterscotch pudding, Chi Spacca, deep fried fluffer nutter, dialogue restaurant, flexi restaurant, fluffer nutter, foie grash halva, here's looking at you, kali, kali restaurant barley risotto, momotaro tomato, Pie 'n Burger, Pie and Burger, pizzeria mozza, shibumi, Top Los Angeles Restaurants

September 5, 2018 · 4:46 pm

This Place Israeli Good

Halva is a confection made of sweetened sesame seed paste formed into a flaky block and is most often found at the cashier counter of a Jewish deli next to the chocolate covered jelly rings. At Bavel, halva is combined with foie gras and dollops of date paste to create a dip that is one of the best and most unique things I’ve tasted in a long time.

The Baba Ghanoush at Bavel is made not only with the traditional smoked eggplant, but also red walnuts and lemon chili salt. The Roasted Cauliflower is served with a green hawaij chile sauce and crème fraiche serrano dip with pistachios & edible dried flowers. In other words, this is not your mother’s Israeli restaurant (or, in my case, my mother-in-law’s Israeli restaurant since my wife’s parents are actually from Israel).

This is expertly executed Israeli fusion, presented for your enjoyment in a converted warehouse in the Downtown Arts District. It's a buzzing hipster foodie scene with tasty craft cocktails and an open kitchen presided over by the talented couple that brought you Bestia a few block away. It's well worth the shekels!

Bavel is located at 500 Mateo St, Los Angeles (Downtown in the Arts District).

Foie Gras Halva with Creamy Pâté Date Paste, Black Sesame and Buckwheat Loaf

Baba Ghanoush with Smoked Eggplant Burnt Bell Pepper, Red Walnuts, Lemon Chili Salt and Fried Pita

Scallop Crudo with Pomegranate Molasses, Citrus, Burnt Serrano Chile Oil, Charred Cucumber, Mint and Black Sesame

Cucumber & Strawberry with Feta, Purslane, Tarragon, Citrus Vinaigrette and Nigella Seeds

Buttermilk Fried Quail with Cardamom Date Sauce, Pickled Celery, Smoked Yogurt and Herbs

Roasted Cauliflower with Hawaij Chile Sauce, Crème Fraiche Serrano Dip, Pistachios and Dried Flowers

Malawach with Ancient Grain Crispy Layered Bread, Grated Tomato, Dill Crème Fraiche, Aged Egg and Strawberry Zhoug

Grilled Lamb Saddle Chop with Licorice, Lime, Honey, Borage Vinaigrette, Green Almonds and Herb Salad

Wagyu Beef Cheek Tagine with Braised Cheeks, Chiles, Preserved Lemon, Turnips, Green Garbanzo and Couscous

Laffa Bread

Strawberry Sumac & Sweet Cheese Pastry

Vanilla Date Crème BrÃ»lée with Soft Candied Orange Peel Shortbread

Rose Clove Chocolate Donuts with Bar au Chocolat Ganache and Sherry Diplomat Cream

Licorice Root Ice Cream Bonbon with Sour Licorice Caramel, Muscovado Cake, Caramelized White Chocolate and Maldon Salt

In the Downtown Arts District

Haiku Review

Shibumi is a Japanese word which refers to an aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty. The LA restaurant Shibumi more than lives up to its name. Hidden away behind a signless facade and located on the ground floor of a parking structure in Downtown LA, the dimly lit restaurant has a cool minimalist vibe.

The food is modern Japanese and it’s across-the-board excellent; small plates of understated elegance featuring highly nuanced and subtle flavors. To describe my three favorite dishes at Shibumi, I’m going to employ another Japanese creation that also features simplicity and understated grace: the Haiku.

White Miso Almonds
Creamy, crunchy perfection
My new obsession

Hello yummy pork
Perfectly seasoned and grilled
Get in my belly

Sakura Mochi
Cherry leaf-wrapped sweet rice treat
Best happy ending

Shibumi is located at 815 S. Hill St., Los Angeles (Downtown). My book of food haikus will be published later this year.

Lotus, Sweet Potato and Young Burdock Chips

Steamed Rice Bread stuffed with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts

Rice Balls with Cherry Blossom and Green Peas

Grilled Heritage Pork in Koji, Pickled Daikon and Leek

Holstein Beef Strip, Fresh Wasabi and Nara-zuke Pickle

Japanese Chizu-keki (Cheesecake) and Pear

Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Mochi

Hidden away at the bottom of a parking structure in Dowtown

Dimly lit with a cool minimalist vibe

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Tagged as almonds in white miso, best dtla restaruants, best dtla restaurants, sakura mochi, shabumi, shibumi, shibumi dtla, shibumi los angeles, shibumi menu, shibumi restaurant, white miso almonds

January 24, 2018 · 12:12 pm

14 Best Peanut Butter Treats in LA for 2018

I am a peanut butter fanatic, a peanut butter fiend, a peanut butter junkie. I am nuts about peanut butter and I love it more than almost anything else. If a restaurant or bakery has a peanut butter dessert on the menu, I automatically order it. And I always keep a jar at home in the fridge for snacking or adding to other desserts. After years of dedicated research, I share with you my 14 current favorite peanut butter treats in Los Angeles (in no particular order).

Peanut Butter Meringue Pie from Pie 'n Burger

1. Peanut Butter Meringue Pie from Pie ‘n Burger (913 E. California in Pasadena) This is one awesome pie. Creamy and delicious peanut butter pudding in a delcious butter crust topped with meringue. They serve it every other day, alternating with Butterscotch Meringue Pie.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream from Mashti Malone's

2. Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream from Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream (1525 N. La Brea Ave. in Hollywood) This frozen treat is rich and creamy with chunks of peanut butter and chocolate. It’s surprising that a store famous for their Persian rosewater ice creams and sorbets would make the best peanut butter ice cream in the city, but they do!

“Old School” Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Sandwich from PBJ.LA

3. “Old School” Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Sandwich from PBJ.LA (317 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles) The hippest new stall in Grand Central Market is a purveyor of old school goodness, including this round sandwich of house-made peanut butter and house-made jam on two slices of soft crustless white bread which have been pressed together around the edges to form a pocket.

The Huell from Stan's Doughnuts

4. The Huell from Stan’s Doughnuts (10948 Weyburn Ave. in Westwood) Stan’s actually makes three amazing peanut butter doughnuts: a Peanut Butter & Banana Doughnut, a PB&J Doughnut and “The Huell,” with chocolate chips and peanut butter, named after local TV celebrity Huell Howser.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake with McConnell’s Double Peanut Butter Chip Ice Cream from Charcoal Venice

5. Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake with McConnell’s Double Peanut Butter Chip Ice Cream from Charcoal Venice (425 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey) If this rich, moist layer cake made with chocolate and peanut butter wasn’t decadent enough, it’s served with a generous scoop of McConnell’s incredible Double Peanut Butter Chip Ice Cream.

Peanut Butter Popcorn from California Frozen Poppers

6. Peanut Butter Popcorn from California Frozen Poppers (7138 Shoup Ave, West Hills) If you’ve never had frozen popcorn, this is a good place to start. The Peanut Butter flavor at this awesome store is crunchy, salty and perfectly sweet.

Peanut Brittle Cookie from M Street Kitchen in Santa Monica

Peanut Butter Cookie from M Street Kitchen

7. Peanut Butter Cookie from M Street Kitchen (2000 Main St, Santa Monica) This is my favorite peanut butter cookie in town. It pairs well with a nice glass of milk.

Peanut Butter Chip Cupcake from Sprinkles Cupcakes

8. Peanut Butter Chip Cupcake from Sprinkles Cupcakes (9635 S. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills) This is my all-time favorite cupcake. Chocolate chip-studded peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting covered in chocolate sprinkles. They only have them on Tuesdays and Sundays.

Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Cakewich from Cake Monkey

9. Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Cakewich from Cake Monkey Bakery (7807 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles) Happiness is a yummy yellow cake sandwich filled with peanut buttercream, housemade marshmallow and coated with bittersweet chocolate.

Peanut Butter Icebox Pie from Magnolia Bakery

10. Susie’s Nutty (Whoppie Pie) from SusieCakes (Locations in Los Angeles, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Studio City, Brentwood, Manhattan Beach and Marina del Rey) Who wouldn’t love two chewy peanut butter cookies sandwiched with peanut butter buttercream?

Susie’s Nutty (Whoopie Pie) from SusieCakes

11. Peanut Butter Icebox Pie from Magnolia Bakery (8389 W. 3rd Street in Mid-City) This is one of several peanut butter offerings from one of my favorite bakeries in the city. It has a super light, creamy and delicious filling which sits atop a denser crust. I can devour a slice in about five seconds flat.

Peanut Butter Stuffed Mochi from Fugetsu-Do

12. Peanut Butter Stuffed Mochi from Fugetsu-Do (315 E. 1st St. in Little Tokyo/Downtown) This sweet shop has some of the best mochi in town and my favorites are these soft and chewy mochi disks stuffed with peanut butter. It’s the Japanese equivalent of an Abba Zabba bar!

Deep Fried Fluffer Nutter with Fresh Bananas from Black Market Liquor Bar

13. Deep Fried Fluffer Nutter with Fresh Bananas from Black Market Liquor Bar (11915 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City) Top Chef’s Antonia Lofaso has created this dessert sandwich of peanut butter, marshmallow and bananas on sweet brioche, which is covered with panko bread crumbs and deep fried until golden. It’s wicked good!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich from Diddy Riese

14: Diddy Riese Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich (926 Broxton Ave. in Westwood) There always seems to be a line outside Diddy Riese, which bakes up delicious cookies. I love their ice cream sandwich made with Dreyer’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream and peanut butter cookies. At $2.50, the price can’t be beat!

If you enjoy Consuming LA, please subscribe, like me on facebook and/or follow me on instagram and twitter at the top right of this page. And please forward to your friends!

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Filed under Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Calabasas, Downtown, Hollywood, Manhattan Beach, Marina del Rey, Mid-City, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Studio City, West Hills, Westwood, Woodland Hills

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February 28, 2017 · 1:30 pm

Brooklyn’s Here

Of all the neighborhoods in LA, Downtown remains my favorite in terms of interesting new restaurants and unique food experiences. With Smorgasburg now happening every Sunday in the Arts District, Downtown has gotten even cooler.

A spinoff of Brooklyn’s outdoor foodie market of the same name, Smorgasburg in LA has something for everyone and, for someone like me, it requires a lot of tough decisions. Do I go for a Peruvian Pomegranate-glazed Pork Belly Taco or a giant Korean Shrimp Mandoo Dumpling with Carrot Juice Dough? Should I satisfy my sweet tooth with a Filipino Blue Velvet Butterscotch Ensaymada or a Donut stuffed with speculoos (Belgian cookie butter), glazed with chocolate and topped with sea salt. Usually my answer to these dilemmas is “all of the above,” but with the large amount of excellent vendors each week curated by expert food blogger/podcaster Zach Brooks, choices unfortunately need to be made.

Of course there are some easy calls. The insanely amazing sliced-to-order Pastrami on Rye Sandwich from Ugly Drum is an absolute must-have, as are the BBQ Pork Ribs from Black Sugar Rib Company. Fresh Uni in the Shell from Jolly Oyster is also something not to be missed. Besides all of the food options, Smorgasburg has live music, craft vendors, a beer garden and picnic benches to eat on. It’s all located in an outdoor section of an exciting and newly gentrifying mixed-use warehouse complex called ROW DTLA, which has a few really cool high-end shops already open and and will add many more unique shops, as well as restaurants, in the next several months.

Smorgasburg is located in ROW DTLA at 777 S. Alameda St, Los Angeles and happens every Sunday between 10am and 4pm.