Category Archives: Hollywood

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

5 Comments

Filed under Hollywood

Tagged as Apple Cider Donuts, Atlantic Northeast Cuisine, Atlantic Northeastern Cuisine, Best Seafood Restaurants Los Angeles, Buttermilk Maple Pie, Calmcakes, Chef Jason Travi, Clam Cakes, Clams Casino, Don Draper, Fork Restaurant Hollywood, Fork Restaurant Los Angeles, Hollywood Seafood Restaurants, Jason Travi, Jason Travi Little Fork, Jason Travi Littlefork, Little Fork, Little Fork Cocktails, Little Fork Hollywood, Little Fork LA, Little Fork Los Angeles, Little Fork Los Angeles Restaurant, Little Fork Menu, LIttle Fork Restaurant, LIttle Fork Restaurant Hollywood, Little Fork Review, Littlefork, Littlefork Chef, Littlefork Cocktails, Littlefork LA, Littlefork Menu, Littlefork Restaurant, Littlefork Restaurant Hollywood, Littlefork Restaurant Los Angeles, Littlefork Review, Los Angeles Seafood Restaurants, Mad Men Food, Maple Pie, Portuguese Mussels, Sally Draper, Smoke Meats Poutine, Whoopie Pies

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

Clam, You’re Good Lookin’

I was first introduced to the awesomeness of fried Ipswich “whole belly” clams as a student in Boston. Prior to this initiation, my experience with fried clams was limited to the fried clam strips I often ordered as a kid at Howard Johnson’s. Fresh fried Ipswich clams are an acquired taste and totally different from the strips, which are often frozen before being fried and are missing the best part — the plump succulent belly. A good basket of fried Ipswich clams will have sweet, briny and juicy clams, which have been dipped in a delicious seasoned batter and fried to perfection until crispy and golden. When accompanied with wedges of fresh lemon and a good tartar sauce, there is nothing better in the World. Unfortunately, they’re extremely difficult to find in LA. Here are four local places I’ve found where you can actually get the elusive shellfish treat:

Blue Plate Oysterette

Blue Plate Oysterette (1355 Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica) This is a cool looking place and reminds me of some of my favorite oyster bars in New England. I was excited to see they had fried Ipswich clams on their menu, but I was ultimately disappointed with the dish. It was a very small portion for $18 and I didn’t like the taste of the batter they used or the fact that they fried their clams along with lemon slices.

The Hungry Cat Fried Clam Roll

The Hungry Cat (1535 N. Vine St. in Hollywood and 100 W. Channel Road in Santa Monica) Although their menu changes daily, The Hungry Cat has a Clam Roll made with fried Ipswich clams which seems to be offered most days. For $20, you get a toasted traditional split top roll filled with fried clams and cole slaw, along with a side of really excellent fries. It’s a pretty good sandwich, but I prefer my clams straight up.

Sonny McLean’s Irish Pub

Sonny McLean’s Irish Pub (2615 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica) This Boston-themed Irish Sports Bar totally surprised me by having the best fried clams in the city. The clams are so amazing and reminiscient of the clams you get in Boston that I wanted to jump up and shout “I PAHKED MY CAH IN HAHVAHD YAHD”! Plus at $14, their generous-sized appetizer of clams, which is pictured at the top of this post and served with tartar sauce, lemon and really delicious coleslaw, is the best deal in town. Since it’s a Boston-themed pub, I suggest enjoying these clams with a Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

Roll ‘n Lobster Truck Fried Clams

Roll ‘n Lobster Truck www.rollnlobster.com If you don’t live near one of the few LA restaurants serving fried Ipswich clams, you can wait for the clams to be brought to your part of town. Roll ‘n Lobster is the newest LA food truck specializing in lobster rolls (I believe there are at least four of them now), and the only one that serves fried Ipswich clams. For $18, you can get a clam basket with fries. Although it’s not a huge portion and a little on the oily side, I found the clams here exceptionally plump and juicy.

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

3 Comments

Filed under Food Trucks, Hollywood, Santa Monica

August 31, 2012 · 10:00 am

It’s Hip to Dip

Ikemen is the coolest little ramen joint in the city. With the motto “No Ramen, No Life,” this funky, diminutive Japanese eatery plays mid-century jazz, has a staff that wears red and black fedoras, and serves amazing and innovative food. Ikemen, which literally means “very handsome man” is the creation of Shigetoshi Nakamura, a well-known ramen master in Japan.

The speciality of the house is Tsukemen, which Nakamura calls “Dip Ramen.” Tsukemen is the hottest food trend to hit LA in the past year and is essentially a bowl of hot, super-rich, concentrated broth (which Nakamura refers to as “Tonkotsu Au Jus”) and a plate of lukewarm, thick and chewy noodles, as well as slices of roast pork or grilled chicken. You eat the noodles a couple strands at a time after dipping them in the broth with your chopsticks. After you’ve polished off your noodles, you can ask your server to add a little hot water to the remaining broth so that it is converted into more of a soup than a sauce. Ikemen serves several different versions of its Dip Ramen, including the Zebra Dip with green onions and stripes of garlic oil, the Ghost Buster Dip with cream, mushrooms, truffle oil and marshmallows, and my favorite, the Italian-inspired Johnny Dip with tomatoes and basil.

Ikemen also serves excellent traditional ramen in many varieties, including a vegetarian one and a “Special Premium Tonkatsu Ramen,” of which only ten servings are prepared each day. In addition, the menu features a fun and eclectic mix of appetizers. My favorites are the Dragon Balls (fried octopus “takoyaki”), sliders served on bao buns, French fries with truffle oil and parmesan cheese and mini black pork sausages. Unfortunately, for now, they don’t serve alcohol. I suggest that after dinner at Ikemen, you head over to nearby Rocket Video and rent one of director Seijun Suzuki’s ultra-hip 1960’s Japanese Mafia films such as Tokyo Drifter or Branded to Kill. It will be the perfect complement to your uber-cool meal.

Ikemen is located at 1655 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles (in Hollywood). It’s a cash-only establishment. UPDATE: Ikemen has opened a second location Downtown in Little Tokyo at 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St. (Weller Court Shopping Center), Los Angeles. Same great dishes as Hollywood and a really cool interior.

Dragon Balls (Fried Octopus Takoyaki)

Black Pork Wieners

Hollywood Fries with Parmesan and Truffle Oil

Chasu Slider

Premium Tonkotsu Ramen with Onsen Tamago

The coolest little ramen joint in the city

3 Comments

Filed under Hollywood

Tagged as Best Ramen Hollywood, Best Ramen LA, Best Ramen Los Angeles, Branded to Kill, Dip Ramen, Dip Ramen Hollywood, Dip Ramen Los Angeles, Ikemen, Ikemen Hollywood, Ikemen Hollywood Menu, Ikemen Hollywood Review, Ikemen Los Angeles, Ikemen Menu, Ikemen Ramen, Ikemen Ramen Hollywood, Ikemen Ramen Menu, Ikemen Ramen Review, Ikemen Review, octopus balls, octopus balls los angeles, Ramen Hollywood, Seijun Suzuki, Shigetoshi Nakamura, takoyaki, takoyaki Los Angeles, Tokyo Drifter, Tsukemen, Tsukemen Dip Ramen, Tsukemen Dipping Ramen, Tsukemen Hollywood, Tsukemen Los Angeles

August 9, 2012 · 11:43 am

I’ll Take The Fifth

While New York is a pizza city, LA is all about the burgers. Whether it’s In-N-Out, Father’s Office, Golden State, The Apple Pan or one of hundreds of other places, everyone has their favorite burger joint in this city. My favorite is Umami Burger. Named after the Japanese term for a pleasant savory taste believed to be the fifth basic taste (in addition to salty, sweet, sour and bitter), Umami Burger opened their flagship restaurant (pictured above) this week in The Grove, which is the twelfth location of the ubiquitous chain.

Having been a frequent customer at the original restaurant, I am not at all surprised by Umami Burger’s success. The food is across-the-board excellent and the basic hamburger has been elevated here to something extraordinary. The burgers are made from specially seasoned meat blends grilled rare (unless requested otherwise) and served with cheese and other toppings on signature Portuguese-style buns sweetened with milk and honey. My favorites are the spicy Hatch Burger (beef with four types of green chilies and house cheese) and the decadent Truffle Burger (beef with house-made truffle cheese and truffle glaze). There are also pork, turkey, veggie, and occasionally seafood burgers, with each location offering different specialty burgers such as the Carnitas Burger in Hollywood and the Baja Burger (tempura fried cod, crushed avocado, cabbage slaw, fire roasted salsa and chipotle lime aioli) in Hermosa Beach.

All the burgers are on the smaller size so I often order two or split an extra one with a friend. There is a restaurant policy of no substitutions, although you can delete toppings upon request. Umami Burger has amazing sides such as sweet potato fries and tempura onion rings, plus there are secret menu items including truffle cheese fries and cheesy tater tots. Most locations serve beer and wine, and some have a full bar. For dessert, there are ice cream sandwiches and delicious treats from Cake Monkey Bakery such as Cherry Almond Pie and a Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Cakewich.

The new flagship Umami Burger is located in The Grove at 189 The Grove Dr., Los Angeles (Mid-City). The original location is at 850 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles (Mid-City). There are other locations in Hermosa Beach, Studio City, Santa Monica, Los Feliz, Hollywood and Thousand Oaks. UPDATE: SGVers rejoice! Umami Burger is now in Pasadena at 49 E. Colorado Blvd. Their specialty burger is the Le Cordon Bleu Burger, named after Pasadena’s famous culinary school.

The Hatch Burger

The Umami Burger

The Grove Truffle Burger

Truffled Poutine Burger

Truffle Cheese Fries from the secret menu

Sweet Potato Fries

Cake Monkey Cherry Almond Pie

Umami Valli

Category Archives: Hollywood

What the Fork?

Griddle Me This

Clam, You’re Good Lookin’

It’s Hip to Dip

I’ll Take The Fifth

Follow Me On Facebook or Twitter

Neighborhoods

Recent Posts

Archives