Consuming LA

March 26, 2014 · 10:22 am

Not Your Routine Poutine

Canada is the home of gold medal winning female bobsledders, an incorrigible rapscallion/pop star known as “J-Biebs,” and a corpulent crack-smoking mayor that bears a striking resemblance to the late great Chris Farley. But foodwise, the greatest achievement of our neighbor to the north is poutine.

For the uninitiated, poutine is Canadian fast food that originated in Quebec. It’s fries with a brown gravy-like sauce and cheese curds. A good plate of poutine is salty and unctuous, and perfect for late night binging, noshing at a hockey game, and consuming while listening to the song stylings of French-Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion.

LA chefs, especially those at local gastropubs, have been obsessed lately with poutine and have lovingly put their own spin the dish. Below are some of my favorite non-traditional poutines served around town, with a couple of more classic ones thrown in for good measure.

Chicken Tikka Poutine

1. Chicken Tikka Poutine from Badmaash (108 W. 2nd Street in Downtown Los Angeles).

Bahn Mi Poutine

2. Bahn Mi Poutine from The Gorbals (501 So. Spring St. in Downtown Los Angeles)

Galbi Poutine with Pickled Kimchi Onions

3. Galbi Poutine with Pickled Kimchi Onions from Seoul Sausage (11313 Mississippi Ave, Los Angeles in West LA)

Pastrami Gravy Fries (with Beef Tallow Fries, Pastrami Bits Pastrami Gravy, Melted Swiss Cheese and Chopped Pickles)

4. Pastrami Gravy Fries (with Beef Tallow Fries, Pastrami Bits Pastrami Gravy, Melted Swiss Cheese and Chopped Pickles) from Plan Check Kitchen + Bar (1800 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles in West LA and 352 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles in Mid-City)

Truffled Poutine Burger

5. Truffled Poutine Burger from Umami Burger (Locations in Santa Monica, Studio City, Los Feliz, Mid-City, Hermosa Beach, Downtown, Burbank, Hollywood, Thousand Oaks and Pasadena)

Gravy Fried with Roast Brisket and Cheddar

Gravy Fries with Roast Brisket and Cheddar

6. Gravy Fries with Roast Brisket and Cheddar from The Bowery (6268 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles in Hollywood)

Poutine with Ground Beef and Sauteed Onions, Peppers & Mushrooms

7. Build your own Poutine (this one has Ground Beef and Sauteed Onions, Peppers and Mushrooms) at Jay’s Bar (4321 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles in Silverlake)

Smoked Meats Poutine with Curds and Gravy

8. Smoked Meats Poutine with Curds and Gravy from Little Fork (1600 Wilcox Ave., Los Angeles in Hollywood)

Poutine, Oxtail Gravy, Cheddar

9. Poutine, Oxtail Gravy, Cheddar from Animal (435 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles in Mid-City)

Poutine ÃŽle-du-Prince-Ã‰douard with Mussels au Gratin

10. Poutine ÃŽle-du-Prince-Ã‰douard with Mussels au Gratin from Soleil Westwood and P’tit Soleil (1386 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles in Westwood)

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5 Comments

Filed under Burbank, Downtown, Hermosa Beach, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Mid-City, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Silver Lake, Studio City, Thousand Oaks, West LA, Westwood

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March 12, 2014 · 12:27 pm

Le Mediocre

There has been a lot of press lately about the 3% Obamacare surcharge added to all patrons’ checks at LA’s hot new French restaurant, Republique. The surcharge is intended to pay for health care insurance for restaurant employees, and for those diners who find the surcharge objectionable, the restaurant recommends deducting it from the gratuity. Whether this is a well meaning attempt to provide better benefits to restaurant employees, a slam on Obamacare, or a brilliant publicity stunt, personally, I don’t like it. What’s next? A surcharge for electricity or for paper towels in the bathroom? Republique should do what all other restaurants do; factor its total overhead into its food prices.

But the problem with Republique increasing food prices to pay for healthcare insurance is that the food there is overpriced to begin with. Sure, the place (it’s in the old Campanile space) is hip and fun and they offer a mezcal-based cocktail called “Speaking in Tongues.” But to me it’s all about the food, and the food at Republique, just like the Lakers this season, is sadly mediocre; merely good and unfortunately not great. Dining there recently left me thinking of that Peggy Lee song “Is That All There Is?” — the answer to which in this case is “yes and you get to pay an additional 3% for it.”

Republique is located at 624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles (Mid-City).

Grass-Fed Beef Tartare with Tarragon Aioli, Pickled Red Onion and Potato Chips

“Eggs on Toast” with Santa Barbara Uni and Soft-scrambled Eggs

Tart a L’Alsacienne with
Stinging Nettles, Asparagus, Leeks and Drake Family Farms Goat Cheese

Hand-Cut Fettuccine with Maine Lobster Bolognese

Maine Bouchot Mussels with French Fries, White Wine and Garlic

Mediterranean Branzino with Thai Curry, Carrot Coconut and Peanuts

Banana Cream Pie with Hot Chocolate and Peanut Buttter

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake with Milk Eau de Vie

In the old Campanile space on La Brea

[mappress mapid=”144″]

13 Comments

Filed under Mid-City

Tagged as French Restaurants Los Angeles, république los angeles, république los angeles menu, république menu, république restaurant, république restaurant menu, république review, republic los angeles, republic los angeles menu, republic los angles, republic restaurant, republique

February 21, 2014 · 9:16 am

Love at First Bite

When it comes to LA restaurants, I am a serial dater. A new eatery may capture my fancy one weekend, but invariably my attention quickly turns the next weekend to the even newer and more promising place on the block. Like a gastronomic lothario, I run from establishment to establishment in search of a seemingly unobtainable dining ideal. So it is quite surprising that lately all I can think about is one restaurant; a place with which I am hopelessly, head-over-heels in love.

The object of my affection is The Factory Kitchen. It recently opened in the Downtown Arts District and has a cool industrial chic interior with a large open kitchen and an atmosphere abuzz with fervid excitement. It has superb service, a fun cocktail menu and a thoughtfully curated wine list. But, most importantly, the food is phenomenal. The cuisine is Italian and the menu is full of all kinds of awesome.

Every dish I’ve had there has been excellent so it’s hard to recommend just a few. The Pancotto (Duck Egg, Red Potato Vellutata Sauteed Greeens, Semolina Bread Crostone and Speck; pictured above), the Peparu (Soft Cheese Stuffed Sweet and Spicy Peppers, Grana Padano and Arugula Oil), and the Proscuitto di Parma on lightly fried Sage Dough (kind of like a savory donut) with Stracciatella are not to be missed. It would also be a travesty to not get an order of the Focacinna Calda de Recco al Formaggio, an insanely delicious flatbread which is crispy on the outside and stuffed with gooey melted cheese. One or more of the handmade pastas are also must-haves, especially the unique and amazing Mandilli di Seta (Handkerchief Pasta with Ligurian Almond Basil Pesto). For dessert, I highly recommend the Cannolis with Ricotta, Pistachios and Orange Marmalade; they’re the best I’ve ever had.

The Factory Kitchen is located at 1300 Factory Place, Los Angeles (Downtown).

Peperu (Soft Cheese Stuffed Sweet and Spicy Peppers, Grana Padano and Arugula Oil)

Prosciutto (Parma Prosciutto 24 Months, Lightly Fried Sage Dough and Stracciatella)

Frittura (Baby Leek, Beer-Batter and Chickpea Fritters)

Focacinna Calda de Recco al Formaggio

Schiaffoni (Gragnano Pasta, Swordfish, Red Onion and Spicy Tomato Puttanesca)

Mandilli di Seta (Handkerchief Pasta with Ligurian Almond Basil Pesto)

Cappe Sante (Pan Roasted Sea Scallops with Cabbage Salad, Aromatic Bread and Bell Peppers)

Cannolis with Ricotta filling, Pistachios and Orange Marmalade

Cannoli with Ricotta filling, Pistachios and Orange Marmalade

Vanilla Gelato and Chocolate Sorbet

Sweet Jane (Barrel Aged Genever, Rhubarb and Lavender Honey)

In the Downtown Arts District

Chef Angelo Auriana and colleague making pasta

[mappress mapid=”143″]

4 Comments

Filed under Downtown

Tagged as Almond Pesto, Angelo Auriana, best restaurants downtown los angeles, chef Angelo Auriana, Factory Kitchen, factory kitchen downtown la, Factory Kitchen dtla, Factory Kitchen Los Angeles, Factory Kitchen Menu, handkerchief pasta, The Factory Kitchen, the factory kitchen downtown los angeles, the factory kitchen los angeles

February 12, 2014 · 4:00 pm

A Good Place to Get Crabs

Hipper and more mainstream than most K-town eateries, EMC Seafood & Raw Bar is a fun place for cocktails and iced shellfish of all sorts. It’s located in the City Center mall, home of the awesome Zion Korean supermarket, as well as one of the best Korean spas in the city. The atmosphere is boisterous and party-like, especially during happy hour, which features $1 oysters and $5 draft beers.

Despite its location in the heart of Koreatown, the food at EMC isn’t actually Korean, although it does have a strong pan-Asian influence. My favorite menu item is the velvety Uni Pasta with Cream, Fish Roe and Dried Seawood. I’ve ordered this dish at many Japanese restaurants and the version at EMC is one of the best I’ve ever had. I also love the tasty Congee (rice porridge) with Abalone and the super-fresh Hokkaido Scallop Carpaccio with Yuzu Kosho, Ponzu, EVOO and Smoked Salt (pictured above). I am less enamored of the Crispy Garlic Clams and recommend avoiding the overly-battered and fried Crispy Soft Shell Crab.

EMC Seafood & Raw Bar is located at 3500 W 6th St, Los Angeles (in Koreatown).

Uni Pasta with Cream, Fish Roe, Chives, Dried Seaweed

Crispy Garlic Clams with Manila Clams, Green Onions, Jalapeños, Pepper

Congee with Abalone

Crispy Soft Shell Crab with Ponzu

A fun place for cocktails and oysters

[mappress mapid=”142″]

1 Comment

Filed under Koreatown

Tagged as emc, Emc menu, emc raw bar, Emc seafood, Emc seafood and raw bar, emc seafood koreatown, emc seafood los angeles, emc seafood menu, koreatown los angeles restaurants, Koreatown restaurants, uni pasta

January 24, 2014 · 8:29 am

Popping and (freezer bag) Locking

As explained in the opening and closing scenes of the film Pretty Woman, Hollywood is the land of dreams and everyone here has one. In the case of Josh Chaney, his dream was to invent and sell the world’s first gourmet caramel corn that you eat frozen. Chaney, who is the great, great grand-nephew of legendary silent film star Lon Chaney and the great grandson of a caramel-maker, has turned his dream into a reality with California Mad Poppers. Located in the nether regions of the San Fernando Valley in the same Canoga Park strip mall as sushi bar extraordinaire Go’s Mart, California Mad Poppers is a dangerously good place to sample and purchase a unique and incredibly delicious frozen treat.

Chaney and his girlfriend/partner Sulmaz Rahimpour have created over 200 flavors of gourmet popcorn and offer around 40 such varieties to their customers at any given time. Some of my favorites are masterful concoctions of salty and sweet, such as “Bacon on the Brain” (Maple/Bacon/Caramel) and “Elvis” (Peanut Butter/Banana/Bacon/Caramel), but I also love their savory cheese flavors which are made with real melted cheese (not powder) and can include chili/lime, jalapeños, habaneros or ghost peppers.

California Mad Poppers invites you to sample as many flavors as you like and I have shamelessly abused this offer and tried dozens of varieties on a single visit. When you’re ready to purchase, they can layer multiple flavors in a single bag. Many flavors are vegan and/or gluten free with no preservatives and all are made with air-popped non-GMO popcorn, so you’re pretty much improving your health by consuming, right?

California Mad Poppers is located at 7138 Shoup Ave in Canoga Park near West Hills.

More than 200 varieties

Who froze my popcorn?

I’m not sharing!

[mappress mapid=”141″]

1 Comment

Filed under Canoga Park

Tagged as Bacon Popcorn, California mad poppers, california mad poppers flavors, Elvis popcorn, gourmet popcorn, jalapeno cheese popcorn, josh chaney, Joshua chaney, mad poppers, peanut butter popcorn, Popcorn place canoga park, popcorn place west hills, Sulmaz rahimpour

Not Your Routine Poutine

Le Mediocre

Love at First Bite

A Good Place to Get Crabs

Popping and (freezer bag) Locking

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