Consuming LA

November 14, 2013 · 11:31 am

Delmy You Love Me

Of the eighty or so weekly farmers markets in Los Angeles County, the biggest and best is the one that pops up every Sunday in Hollywood. Branching out in all directions from the intersection of Vine and Ivar, the Hollywood Farmers Market is the perfect place to spend an hour shopping for organic persimmons and sampling artisan goat cheese while listening to a heavily tatted hipster discuss fair trade co-ops with a dreadlocked neo-hippie. Musicians are scattered throughout, including a bluegrass band, a reggae drummer, a guy that makes music with rubber bands, and my favorite local hot jazz combo, The California Feetwarmers.

The prepared food section has a lot of great choices, but Delmy Pupusas is my favorite. Pupusas are a popular street food in El Salvador. They’re thick round corn cakes that are stuffed with a variety of fillings such as cheese, vegetables, beans, shrimp, chicken and chorizo, and cooked on a griddle until golden brown. Delmy serves these hot stuffed Salvadoran treats with homemade salasa, a spicy and vinegary cabbage relish called curtido, guacamole and some fresh crema. A couple pupusas make a nice hearty lunch and are best washed down with Delmy’s homemade horchata or agua fresca, which comes in several flavors including watermelon, strawberry, mango and raspberry. For dessert, I recommend an order of Delmy’s fried plantains served with a side of black beans and fresh crema. Muy delicioso!

Delmy Pupusas can be found at the Hollywood Farmers Market every Sunday morning and early afternoon and at several other farmers markets including Torrance, Downtown in Pershing Square, Atwater Village, Echo Park and Silverlake.

Fried Plantains with Black Beans and Crema

Aguas Frescas

Every Sunday morning in the Hollywood Farmers Market

Delmy

Enjoy your pupusas with some live music.

My favorite farmers market

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Filed under Atwater Village, Downtown, Echo Park, Hollywood, Silver Lake, Torrance

Tagged as best farmers markets los angeles, best pupusas los angeles, delmy pupusa, delmy pupusaria, delmy pupusas, delmy's pupusaria, delmy's pupusas, farmers market pupusas, hollywood farmers market, los angeles farmers markets, pupusas farmers market

November 1, 2013 · 11:00 am

Batter Up

No country is more obsessed with food than Japan. The chefs there are all specialists and dedicate their lives to perfecting and serving one type of dish, such as sushi, yakitori, ramen and even tempura. Tempura chefs in Japan use special proprietary batters, the highest quality fish, vegetables and oil, and have mastered the frying process. The result is tempura that is delicate, lightly coated, super fresh and full of flavor. Hannosuke, a Japanese import in Mar Vista, is the only place in LA that I’m aware of where you can get this kind of amazing tempura.

Located in the food court of the Mitsuwa Marketplace, Hannosuke is a few stalls away from Santouka Ramen, my favorite ramen joint in all of LA. The specialty of Hannosuke is Tendon, a tempura rice bowl. There are several varieties of Tendon at Hannosuke: shrimp, white fish, vegetable, chicken and the specialty of the house, fresh salt water eel imported from Japan. Whichever one you choose, you will get a glorious pile of golden brown, crispy, salty and unctuous tempura with a slightly sweet sauce piled high on a bed of rice. Your bowl of fried excellence includes a piece of tempura seaweed and a tempura soft boiled egg, ready for you to break open with your chopsticks and mix the warm runny yolk into the rice. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Hannosuke is located at 3760 S Centinela Ave, Los Angeles (in the Mitsuwa Marketplace).

Shrimp Tempura

Tempura Soft Boiled Egg

The best tempura in LA!

In the Mitsuwa Maretplace

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Filed under Mar Vista

Tagged as Best Tempura LA, Best Tempura Los Angeles, Hannosuke, Hannosuke LA, Hannosuke Los Angleles, Hannosuke Menu, Hannosuke Restaurant, Hannosuke Reviews, Hannosuke Tempura, Hanosuke, Hanosuke Los Angeles, Mitsuwa Marketplace, Tempura LA, Tempura Los Angeles, Tendon LA, Tendon Los Angeles

October 1, 2013 · 9:45 am

Animal Magnetism

My recommendation list for food lovers visiting our fair city changes all the time, but almost always includes Animal. Hidden among the Jewish bakeries and hip hop clothing stores of Fairfax Avenue, Animal is the jewel of the LA foodie scene. It’s a gastronomic temple of carnivorous delights; an exotic pageant of nose-to-tail creative culinary brilliance; an adventure.

It’s helmed by genius chef duo Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, who have two other amazing eateries in LA — Son of a Gun and Trois Mec. The interior is small, dimly lit and packed every night with a boisterous mix of hipsters, celebrities, Hollywood “suits” and hardcore foodies. Almost everything on Animal’s ever-changing menu of small plates is phenomenal. Prior to the California foie gras ban, my favorite dish was the sweet and savory Foie Gras on a Biscuit with Maple Sausage Gravy. I still mourn its premature demise.

Other longtime favorites include the deliciously unctuous Poutine with Oxtail Gravy and Cheddar, the crispy and light Kampachi Tostada and Animal’s version of chip ‘n dip: Spicy Beef Tendon Chip with Charred Onion Pho Dip. Animal’s perfectly seasoned and seared Iberico Pork Secreto is truly spectacular and one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. For dessert, the Tres Leches Cake with Dulce de Leche and the Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar with Salt & Pepper Ice Cream are not to be missed.

Animal is located at 435 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles (Mid-City).

Veal Tongue, West Indian Gherkin, Steelhead Roe, Black Mustard

Kampachi Tostada, Herbs, Fish Sauce Vinaigrette, Peanut

Spicy Beef Tendon Chip with Charred Onion Pho Dip

Santa Barbara Uni, Heirloom Cucumbers, Za’atar, Fried Cheese, HB Egg

Duck Breast, Charred Cabbage, Liptauer, Mustard

Roasted Peaches, Hazelnut, Buttermilk, Currants, Prosciutto di Parma

Shrimp & Rabbit Sausage Spring Roll, Minutina, Green Curry

Charred Octopus, Black Sriracha, Finger Lime, Gooseberry

Mexican Street Corn, Epazote, Serrano, Parmesan

Sweetbread, Corn, Fennel, Crema, Raymundo’s Tomatillo Salsa

Poutine, Oxtail Gravy, Cheddar

Santa Barbara Rock Crab, Shallots, Verjus, Avgolemono, Sourdough

16oz. Iberico Pork Secreto, Marinated Onion, Peruvian Mint, Yuca

RIP. Foie Gras, Biscuit, Maple Sausage Gravy

Tres Leches Cake with Dulce de Leche

Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar with S&P Ice Cream

Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar with Salt & Pepper Ice Cream

Blueberry, Frozen Brown Sugar Crumble, Yogurt, Bay Leaf Ice Cream

Clandestinely located among the Jewish delis and hip hop shops on Fairfax

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Filed under Fairfax, Mid-City

Tagged as Animal, Animal Fairfax, Animal Los Angeles, Animal Menu, Animal Restaurant, Animal Restaurant Los Angeles, animal restaurant review, Animal Review, Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar, Jon Shook, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Pork Secreto, Pork Secreto Los Angels, vinnie dotolo, Vinny Dotolo

September 20, 2013 · 9:32 am

Lovely Rita

Although Autumn officially starts this weekend, the hot summer weather does not appear to be going away any time soon. So this week I have a recommendation for a cool way to cool off. Rita’s, which has been a mandatory stop on my food itinerary whenever I visit Philadelphia, has now expanded to Los Angeles, bringing two kinds of frozen treats that were previously hard to find here.

The first is Water Ice aka Italian Ice. Denser than shaved ice and smoother than a snow cone, this sweet, slushy and sugary dessert is served in a cup and consumed with a spoon. Rita’s offers many rotating flavors, including Root Beer, Blue Raspberry, Cotton Candy, Juicy Pear, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Swedish Fish and Pineapple. They also usually have a flavor or two of “Cream Ice,” a dairy version of Water Ice in flavors such as Pumpkin Pie and Red Velvet Cake.

The other specialty of Rita’s is Frozen Custard. It’s similar to soft serve ice cream but denser and richer since it’s made with egg yolks. Rita’s serves both Vanilla and Chocolate Frozen Custard and sometimes other varieties such as Coffee or Strawberry. If you can’t decide between the Water Ice and Frozen Custard, do what I do and have both. Rita’s Gelati is a delicious concoction made with a bottom layer of Frozen Custard, a middle layer of Water Ice, and a topping of more Frozen Custard. It’s well worth the attendant risks of brain freeze and sugar coma.

Rita’s is located at 2307 Main Street in Santa Monica, 403 N. Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, and 468 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge.

Gelati with Chocolate Peanut Butter Water Ice and Vanilla Frozen Custard

Cotton Candy Water Ice

Dancing Water Ice

One of the only places to get authentic frozen custard in LA

One of the only places to get frozen custard in LA

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[mappress mapid=”135″]
[mappress mapid=”136″]

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Filed under La Canada, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica

Tagged as frozen custard los angeles, frozen custard santa monica, frozen custard vs soft serve ice cream, gelati, rita's, rita's flavors, rita's gelatin, rita's ice, rita's ice flavors, rita's ice redondo beach, rita's ice santa monica, rita's italian ice, rita's italian ice los angeles, rita's italian ice redondo beach, rita's italian ice santa monica, rita's los angeles, rita's redondo, rita's redondo beach, rita's santa monica, rita's water ice, water ice los angeles, water ice santa monica

September 13, 2013 · 3:57 pm

ROC My World

Few things bring me as much joy as dumplings. I like to think of them as little wrapped presents that I open in my mouth. Well-crafted Chinese dumplings are especially nice gifts, the kind that I buy for myself after a particularly grueling work week or as a reward for doing my best to navigate the chutes and ladders of modern life. Sometime I gift dumplings to myself for no special reason at all, and occasionally I will even purchase them for others.

The best place for Chinese Dumplings is the San Gabriel Valley, but when I don’t have time to schlep out that far, I usually go to ROC Kitchen in West LA’s Asian food mecca known as “Little Osaka.” ROC opened last December and, despite a recent expansion into the space next door, there is almost always a wait for a table. The decor is modern and minimalist, with the focus, as it should be, on the food.

A meal at ROC should properly start with Xiao Long Bao aka Shanghai Soup Dumplings; little doughy sacks of broth and meat that explode in your mouth as you eat them whole. After that, I recommend moving on to the Crispy Dumplings with Pork and Shrimp — eight fried dumplings that have been fused together to form a crispy pancake of sorts, followed by some fluffy Steamed Pork Buns. Take a brief respite from the carbs and try the Three Cups Chicken with Fresh Chilies, Thai Basil & Roasted Garlic or the Pepper Beef. Both are excellent. For dessert, you can resume carbo-loading with sweet red bean or taro dumplings.

ROC Kitchen is located at 2049 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles (in West LA).