Tag Archives: dtla restaurants

January 22, 2015 · 11:45 am

I Came, Orsa, I Conquered.

There’s a state of consciousness that I refer to as “aesthetic bliss.” It’s when one or more of your senses is completely enraptured as a result of a highbrow pursuit. It’s the feeling you get while listening to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, taking in the Bolshoi Ballet’s Swan Lake at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, or viewing a Kandinsky exhibit at LACMA. The food version of this is Orsa & Winston, the dining experience from local superstar chef Josef Centeno.

Centeno is the creative talent behind awesome hipster eateries BÃ¤co Mercat and Bar Ama, as well as the former chef of Lazy Ox Canteen. With Orsa & Winston, Centeno now has a more sophisticated environment to show off his mad skills. The menu has you select from either a five or eight course seasonal tasting menu (or with a 72 hour advance reservation, you can truly indulge and opt for the “Super-Omakase” of more than 20 courses). All come with optional wine pairings, as well as optional supplemental dishes. Each tasting menu is a procession of beautiful, delectable and perfectly executed small plates to experience and savor.

Needless to say, such aesthetic bliss is not inexpensive. But for a special occasion or when you just want to treat yourself to an evening of exceptional food and wine, Orsa & Winston is worth the splurge.

Orsa & Winston is located at 122 W. 4th Street, Los Angeles (Downtown).

Buttermilk and Summer Corn Soup

Smoked Sockeye Salmon Crudo

“Breakfast in a Shell” (Coddled Egg, Maple Syrup, Pancetta, Semolina and Balsamic Whipped Cream)

Milk Bread Focaccia with Parsley, Parmigiano and Speck

Braised Lamb Belly with Cranberry Beans, Hericot Vert and Nectarine Bustarda

Melon Granita topped with Huckleberry and Lavender Mint

Chocolate Caramel Crostada with Candied Banana, served with Banana Rum Ice Cream and Peanut Toffee

Shortbread Cookies

Modern and minimalist decor

In the Old Bank District downtown

4 Comments

Filed under Downtown

Tagged as best downtown restaurants los angeles, dtla restaurants, josef centeno, Joseph Centeno, Orsa & Winston, Orsa & Winston Menu, Orsa and Winston, restaurants with tasting menus los angeles, tasting menus los angeles, Winston & Orsa, Winston and Orsa

March 20, 2013 · 11:37 am

Scottish Tapas for Reform Jews

The Gorbals is the ultimate hipster hang. Â It’sÂ accessed through the lobby of the creepy Alexandria hotel, which is something right out of a horror film and probably haunted. Â Inside the dimly lit restaurant, you’re safe and warm in the glow of a large open kitchen. The decor is minimal and vintage industrial chic. Â Bowler hats, handlebar moustaches or mutton chop sideburns would not look out of place here. Â On Thursday nights, a Hot Jazz/Americana band known as The California Feetwarmers blows the roof off the house while Lindy Hop dancers show off their mad swing skills. On other nights, you kind of expect someone to ride through the restaurant on one of those industrial revolution era tall bicycles with the gigantic front wheel and tiny back wheel.

The Gorbals is the Hasidic fever dream manifestation of Top Chef season two winner Ilan Hall and his business partner and childhood friend Natan Zion. The food was originally inspired by Hall’s Jewish and Scottish ancestry, a combo that I like to refer to as “Scotch and Rhoda (Morgenstern).” While neither the Jews nor the Scots are known for amazing regional cuisine, Hall’s fusion creations are delectably inventive and surprisingly wonderful.

The restaurant’s signature dish is Bacon-wrapped Matzoh Balls (pictured above), which Hall clearly had in mind when he famously described his mash-up fare as “old Jewish food that has been date-raped by bacon.” Although this irreverent intermix sounds like a joke, it tastes astonishingly good. Hall’s creations are not limited to Jewish and Scottish-themed eats and incorporate ingredients from all over the world like uni butter, feta and macadamia nuts. My favorite dishes are the Vietnamese/Canadian comfort concoction of Bahn Mi Poutine, the insanely amazing Lamb Neck with Creamy Oats and, to balance out the richness, the Israeli-inspired salad of Persian Cucumbers, Avocado, Crispy Garbanzos and Sumac. I love a good salty dessert and The Gorbals’ Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Maldon Salt is incredible. Just like the food, the cocktails are creative and fun, and highly recommended.Â

The Gorbals is located at 501 So. Spring St., Los Angeles (Downtown).

Latkes with Smoked Applesauce and Sage

Persian Cucumbers, Avocado, Crispy Garbanzos and Sumac

Cornbread Stuffed Quail with Red Wine Balsamic Reduction

Bahn Mi Poutine

Lamb Neck with Creamy Oats

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Maldon Salt

Entrance to the The Gorbals inside the creepy Alexandria Hotel

Inside you’re safe and warm in the glow of a large open kitchen

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

The Dynamic Duo

Many newly-formed couples made headlines in 2012: Kim & Kanye, Romney & Ryan, and Honey Boo Boo & TLC to name a few. But, to me, the most noteworthy new pairing of the year was Steak Tartare & Mustard Ice Cream. While raw beef and a scoop of frozen spicy dairy seem the unlikeliest of pairings, once mixed together, they transform into one the most incredible dishes I have ever tasted.

This ingenious coupling is the highlight of the menu at Eat Drink Americano, a cool little gastropub that opened downtown earlier this year. Located in an alley in the hipper-than-hip Downtown Arts District, just outside of Little Tokyo, the restaurant has a very cool industrial chic, steampunk-esque interior. It’s cozy, dark and intimate, with exposed brick walls, a giant graphic mural and a wine bottle chandelier.

The menu is eclectic and some items are much better than others. Besides the Steak Tartare and Mustard Ice Cream, I recommend the Soft Shell Crab Sandwich with wakame seaweed and saffron aioli on an English muffin. Other dishes, such as their “Third Street Salad” and the Classic Ceviche, are nothing to write home about. I love that they have an open kitchen, but they can use more than just two people working in it, as the service can be extremely slow. But if you order correctly, it’s definitely worth the wait.

Eat Drink Americano is located at 923 E. Third Street, Los Angeles (Downtown).

Craft Beer Sampler

Soft Shell Crab Sandwich with wakame seaweed and saffron aioli on an English muffin

Third Street Salad with butter lettuce, corn, black beans, bell pepper, tomato, red onion and a cilantro lime vinaigrette

Classic Ceviche with fresh caught yellowtail, peppers and choclo in a spicy citrus marinade

Exposed brick walls and a wine bottle chandelier

Let’s Spoon

Fat Spoon is my favorite restaurant in Little Tokyo. Sitting right next door to the perennially packed Daikokuya Ramen, it’s a fun and inexpensive little cafe specializing in Japanese curry and pasta dishes. Japanese curry is one of the most popular foods in Japan and is quite different from other types of curry. It’s thicker and sweeter than its Indian cousin and usually milder as well, although it can be made spicy upon request. Fat Spoon offers a wide variety of curry dishes served atop rice or noodles, including ones with shredded Jidori chicken, pork cutlets, seasonal vegetables and seafood. My favorite curry dish there is the Hamburger Curry, which I recommend getting in the Hawaiian “Loco Moco” style with a fried egg on top.

But Fat Spoon’s menu is not just limited to curry dishes. Their appetizer of Mini Kobe Beef Corn Dogs is a must-have. They also offer several salads and pasta dishes. In fact, Fat Spoon’s most acclaimed dish is not one of their curries, but rather their Uni Pasta, an incredibly delicious bowl of spaghetti with an uni (sea urchin) and mushroom cream sauce. They also have a great Pasta Carbonara with pancetta, egg yolk and parmesan cheese, as well as a tasty Tarako Pasta with salted cod roe, cream, dried seaweed and chopped green onions. For dessert, I highly recommend the Baked Sweet Potato which has been transformed into an edible bowl holding a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with caramel sauce. It’s truly outstanding! After your meal, you can burn off some of the carbs walking and shopping the streets of Little Tokyo, one of the coolest neighborhoods in the city.

Fat Spoon is located at 329 E. First Street, Los Angeles (Downtown, in Little Tokyo). UPDATE: I was shocked to find out that Fat Spoon has closed, especially since the food was so good and it was always crowded when I was there. The owner says it might reopen, perhaps on the Westside. Fingers crossed!

Mini Kobe Beef Corn Dogs with Curry Ketchup

Hamburger Curry Loco Moco Style

Uni Pasta

Chicken Curry with Brown Rice

Baked Sweet Potato with Vanilla Ice Cream

Custard Pudding

Tag Archives: dtla restaurants

I Came, Orsa, I Conquered.

Scottish Tapas for Reform Jews

The Dynamic Duo

Let’s Spoon

Follow Me On Facebook or Twitter

Neighborhoods

Recent Posts

Archives