Category Archives: West Hollywood

September 16, 2011 · 10:30 am

Healthy Donuts: An Oxymoron?

Not surprisingly, it’s hard to lose weight when you write a food blog, especially if you have a sweet tooth like I do. So when Waylynn Lucas, the former pastry chef of The Bazaar and Patina, announced earlier this year that she was planning to open a bakery serving only healthier, non-fried, lower-sugar versions of donuts, she immediately had my attention. Fonuts (pronounced “Faux-nuts”) finally opened a few weeks ago to long lines of LA foodies (myself included), curious as to whether a fonut was the latest food trend to hit upscale urban neighborhoods or simply another phony LA model/actress-type rocking a beautiful exterior, but ultimately lacking in substance.

The interior of Fonuts is modern and sparse. There are no tables and chairs, just a small counter with a few stools and a bench out front. Besides the fonuts, they serve coffee drinks made with gourmet Lamill Coffee. Fonuts currently come in 13 varieties, 4 of which are wheat/gluten-free and 2 of which are also vegan. They are not cheap and range in price from $2.75 to $3.75 per fonut. While a dozen assorted donuts will usually run you less than $5, a dozen assorted fonuts will cost you around $40, making you evaluate how much you really like those office co-workers you’re buying them for.

So are fonuts as good as donuts? No; not even close. Essentially, fonuts are low fat cakes, many of which are similar to the low fat cakes that Starbucks sometimes offers, but in the shape of donuts. I tried 6 of the 13 varieties and was generally not impressed (my daughter even less so). The only fonut which I really loved was the savory Chorizo Cheddar. It was similar to a cheese bagel, but with a more cake-like consistentcy, and was really delicious. I thought most of the other fonuts were just OK including the Maple Bacon, which had crispy pieces of bacon on top of its maple glaze, and the PB&J stuffed fonut, which they should have called the “Goober Fonut” because the Peanut Butter & Jelly was unfortunately mixed together. My least favorites were the Strawberry Buttermilk, which was too mushy, and the Chocolate Hazelnut, which I thought was absolutely terrible. I do admire the concept though; selling low-fat cakes in the shape of donuts in a donut shop-type bakery could potentially be quite a brilliant marketing strategy.

Fonuts is located at 8104 West 3rd Street in Los Angeles.

Chorizo Cheddar

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Chocolate Hazelnut

Lemon

Maple Bacon

It's located on hip West 3rd Street

2 Comments

Filed under Mid-City, West Hollywood

Tagged as Chorizo Cheddar Donut, faux nuts los angeles, Fauxnuts, fauxnuts la, fauxnuts los angeles, Fonuts, Healthy Donuts, Heathy Doughnuts, Maple Bacon Donut, Waylynn Lucas

September 2, 2011 · 9:30 am

Domo Arigato Mr. Robata

Robata Jinya is one of my new favorite restaurants and my favorite robata bar in Los Angeles. A robata bar specializes in skewers of meat and vegetables which are cooked on a charcoal grill, often after marinating in a special sauce. It’s a style of cooking that originated in rustic farmhouses around the city of Sendai in Northern Japan. The skewers at Robata Jinya are small and most are only two or three dollars so you can try lots of different things. My favorites are the Tsukune (perfectly seasoned chicken meatballs), the Prime Beef and Garlic (made with a yummy Japanese soy garlic sauce), and the Chasu Pork (soy-braised pork belly which is glazed to perfection). All three are pictured above. I also love the grilled eggplant, which is beautifully plated and sprinkled with bonito flakes. The robata here is not only delicious, most of it (pork belly aside) is ideal if you’re watching your weight, avoiding heavy carbs and trying to “eat clean” and exercise portion control.

But Robata Jinya is much more than just robata. They have an extensive menu of sushi, as well as awesome appetizers such as the Shrimp Toast (delicious bite size sandwiches arranged like a game of Jenga) and really great gyoza (pork dumplings). They also have incredible ramen, which is not that surprising since their sister restaurant, Ramen Jinya in Studio City, is one of the best ramen places in LA. But the one non-robata dish which is a must-have is the Homemade Organic Tofu, which is made instantly right in front of you. The waitress will pour warm soy milk from a pitcher into a bowl. After about five minutes, the liquid forms into a custard-like soft tofu. You are given bonito flakes, grated ginger and ponzu sauce to add on top. It is incredibly delicious! And of course fun. I could seriously eat here everyday.

Robata Jinya is located at 8050 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles (in Mid-City near West Hollywood).

Shrimp Toast Jenga anyone?

Tofu is made at your table!

Homemade Tofu: the final result

Eggplant with bonito flakes

Caramel Nut Ice and Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream

I love the decor.

2 Comments

Filed under Mid-City, West Hollywood

Tagged as Japanese Food Los Angeles, Robata Jinya; Robata Bar Los Angeles

August 26, 2011 · 11:50 am

Sack It To Me!

Los Angeles foodies have been eagerly awaiting the opening of ink, the new restaurant by uber-talented, bad-ass Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio. While ink should finally open next month, Voltaggio surprised everyone recently by opening a gourmet sandwich counter called ink.sack a few doors down from his soon-to-debut fine dining restaurant on Melrose. I’ve been to ink.sack a couple times since it opened less than two weeks ago and I am already a huge fan. The sandwiches are inexpensive but small, so you need to order at least two (I could easily polish off three) to make a meal. This is a great feature because even if you go there alone, you’re able to try different things without making a pig of yourself.

The seven sandwiches on the menu are what you would expect from Voltaggio; they’re inventive, complex and fun. I’ve tried all of them (I have a duty to my blog readers, right?) and I liked all of them, although some more than others. My favorites are the Maple-Pepper Turkey Melt, a sweet and savory sandwich which includes Camembert, Mustarda (candied fruit in a mustard flavored syrup) and arugula, and The Jose Andres aka “The Spanish Godfather,” which is named after the awesome chef of The Bazaar and includes Serrano, Chorizo, Lomo and Manchego. These sandwiches are must-haves. I also loved the messy but yummy, sushi-inspired Spicy Tuna with Miso-Cured Albacore and Sriacha Mayo, as well as Voltaggio’s take on a Vietnamese Bahn Mi, which was made with pork cheeks, chicharrones (fried pork rinds) and pickled vegetables. Ink.sack’s version of a classic Ruben is made with corned beef tongue, so when you taste it, it tastes you back (sorry; I couldn’t resist). The “Ruben” is also made with Appenzeller cheese, kraut and Russian dressing and I thought it was very good. My least favorites were the Cold Fried Chicken with house-made ranch cheese and the C.L.T., which is Voltaggio’s version of a B.L.T., made with chicken liver mousse, curried fried chicken skin, lettuce and tomato.

Whether you eat in (there is very limited seating) or take-out, sandwiches are given to you in a black paper bag with your name written on it. Make sure to order the salt, pepper and vinegar potato chips to go with your sandwich. Also worth getting is the refreshing “Street Fruit” (pineapple, jicama, mango and melon mixed with chile and lemon juice) or the watermelon with sriacha and lime. They also have Mexican chocolate chip cookies and a good selection of gourmet sodas.

Ink.sack is located at 8360 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles (in West Hollywood).

Sack Lunch

Chicken Liver Mousse and Curried Chicken Skin Sandwich

Beef Tongue "Ruben" Sandwich

Cold Fried Chicken Sandwich

Spicy Tuna Sandwich: messy but good

House-made Salt, Pepper & Vinegar Potato Chips

4 Comments

Filed under West Hollywood

Tagged as Chicken Liver Mousse Sandwich, Cold Fried Chicken Sandwich, Ink, Ink Sack, Jose Andres, Michael Voltaggio, Ruben Sandwich, Top Chef

August 4, 2011 · 12:15 pm

Burger Battle!

In case you haven’t heard, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a hugely successful national chain which started in Washington DC, has come to conquer LA. In the world of fast food hamburgers and fries, Five Guys occupies the same space in the market that In-N-Out Burger has locally dominated for many decades; super-fresh, never frozen ingredients, fries made from potatoes cut in the restaurant and fried in trans fat-free oil, and burgers which are all cooked to order. As we all know, In-N-Out is a Southern California institution. It’s the object of many late-night cravings, the home of an awesome “secret menu” and hidden biblical verse references, as well as the place most frequently visited by LA vegetarians when they’re ready to start eating meat again for the first time. Is Five Guys better than In-N-Out? No, it’s not. But it is better than most other fast food burger restaurants.

The burgers at Five Guys, like In-N-Out, are really good. Five Guys even has several more choices for toppings than In-N-Out, including bacon, jalapenos and sauteed mushrooms. Five Guys also gives you free peanuts to munch on while you’re waiting for your food to be cooked. While I like both burgers a lot, I slightly prefer the burger at In-N-Out mainly because In-N-Out has much better buns. I love the fries at In-N-Out, but Five Guys also has great fries, and you can order Five Guys’ fries with cajun seasoning generously sprinkled on top! Unfortunately, I found the service at Five Guys to be less than stellar. They are not staffed with the uber-efficient yet exceedingly friendly, clean-cut kids that one always encounters when going to In-N-Out. The last time I was at Five Guys, after waiting about 20 minutes after ordering, I was given our burgers and unapologetically informed that they ran out of fries and we would have to wait another 20 minutes while they prepared a new batch. This would never happen at In-N-Out! Also, Five Guys in notably more expensive. So while Five Guys is definitely worth trying, I think In-N-Out has nothing to worry about.

Five Guys currently has locations in Culver City (at the Westfield Culver City Mall), Valencia, Carson (at the Southbay Pavillion) and Thousand Oaks; more locations are opening soon including Northridge, Mid-City and Downtown. In-N-Out is all over Southern California. UPDATE 12/10/11: Five Guys now also has locations open in Cerritos, El Segundo, Northridge, Whittier and Downtown. UPDATE 5/25/13: Five Guys now has additional locations in Long Beach, West Covina, Lakewood, Westwood, West Hollywood and Studio City.