Consuming LA

February 7, 2012 · 11:36 am

The Fastest Pizza In the West

I am a huge fan of Umami Burger and what they’ve done to elevate the common hamburger. So when I heard that Umami creator Adam Fleischman’s next venture would involve pizza, I was giddy with anticipation. 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria finally opened in Westwood Village last month. It’s a cool looking restaurant and I love the concept: assembly line pizzas that are custom made on the spot with high quality ingredients. It’s kind of like Subway, but nicer and with pizzas instead of sub sandwiches. After your pizza is assembled, it goes into a super-hot 800 degree oven where it fully cooks in about 60 seconds. You can also design your own burrata cheese appetizer or salad. Sounds great, right?

But here’s the problem: as much as I wanted to love 800 Degrees, I didn’t particularly care for the pizza. First of all, I didn’t like the crust. There’s a sign when you walk in advising that the crust is intentionally not crisp, but soft and chewy. I don’t mind soft and chewy, but the center of the crust was very soggy and I just didn’t like its flavor. Furthermore, I don’t recommend taking out unless you like cold pizza because apparently the quick cooking time results in a very quick cooling time. I did like the toppings, especially the freshly cut meats and the pappadew peppers, but I thought 800 Degrees was too stingy with their dispersement. If a pizzeria is going to charge you for a topping, it should make sure you’re getting at least a piece of such topping on each slice, which was not the case with some of the pizzas I got.

Nevertheless, I predict great success for this future chain due in great part to the fact that the food is priced very inexpensively. Pizzas are only $5 or $6 plus $1 per topping. The pizzeria is located right near UCLA and it’s already a big hit with the budget-minded students. Since it just opened, I’ll check it out again in a few months to see if I like it any better.

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria is located at 10889 Lindbrook Ave., Los Angeles (in Westwood Village).

The assembly line

Burrata with Caponata and Pine Nuts

Tartufo Pizza with truffle cheese, roasted mushrooms, caramelized garlic and arugula

Gelato for dessert

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Filed under Westwood

Tagged as 800 Degrees, 800 Degrees Neapolitan PIzza, 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria, 800 Degrees Pizza, 800 degrees pizza los angeles, 800 degrees pizza menu, 800 degrees pizza westwood, 800 Degrees Pizzeria, Eight Hundred Degrees Pizza, Eight Hundred Degrees Pizzeria, Pizza near UCLA, UCLA Pizza, Umami PIzza, Umami Pizzeria, Westwood Pizza

February 3, 2012 · 6:00 am

Attack Of The Killer Burrito

It’s surprising that until a few weeks ago, I’d never been to Manuel’s Original El Tepeyac Cafe in Boyle Heights. Serving up traditional Mexican food since 1955, El Tepeyac is an LA institution known for its legendary “Hollenbeck Burrito.” The restaurant was suggested to me by my friend Frank Buckley, anchor extraordinaire of the KTLA 5 Morning News, who does not play jazz flute like Ron Burgundy, but does knows a thing or two about good food. While Frank had heard about El Tepeyac, he too had never actually been there so we decided to check it out together to see if the burritos lived up to the hype.

Walking into El Tepeyac was like walking back in time into a different era. The restaurant is a small and lively diner packed to the gills with affable Angelenos of all races, ages, shapes and sizes. Presiding over the party is diminutive (in stature only) 78-year-old owner Manny Rojas, who arrives for work at the restaurant at 3am every morning and stays until early afternoon. Manny is incredibly charming and treats all of his customers as if they are his family or close friends. He loves to flirt with the ladies and greets many of his female customers with a kiss, while he welcomes the male clientele with a warm handshake or a hug. Manny poured Frank and me shots of tequilla from his private reserve and regaled us with stories of his youth interspersed with bits of his life philosophy. He is quite the character and no doubt a large contributing factor to the restaurant’s success.

But the food is also a huge draw at El Tepeyac, especially the delicious burritos that we devoured. My favorite was the Machaca Hollenbeck Burrito (pictured above), which contained shredded beef, sautéed onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, eggs, melted cheddar cheese, rice, beans and guacamole and was topped with ranchero sauce. There was a lot going on inside that flour tortilla but it all worked and I loved it! I also really enjoyed the original Hollenbeck, which contained chile verde (pork meat in chili sauce), rice, beans and guacamole and was topped with more chile verde. El Tepeyac has other burritos on its menu as well, including “Manuel’s Special Burritos,” which are ridiculously gigantic six-pound versions of the Hollenbecks. I seriously think that a family of four could come in, order only a single Manuel’s Special Burrito, split it four ways, and each family member would have a filling meal. There is a wide assortment of other Mexican dishes on the menu including huevos rancheros, chile rellenos, tacos, taquitos, tostadas and quesadillas, but the real stars of the show here are the burritos, and of course Manny.

Manuel’s Original El Tepeyac Cafe is located at 812 N. Evergreen Ave., Los Angeles (in Boyle Heights). A second location recently opened at 13131 Crossroads Pkwy South, City of Industry.

Original Hollenbeck Burrito de Chile Verde

Chile Relleno

An LA institution since 1955

Frank and Manny

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Filed under Boyle Heights, City of Industry

Tagged as Best Mexican Food LA, Best Mexican Food Los Angeles, boyle heights burrito, el tepeyac, frank buckley, frank buckley anchorman, frank buckley ktla morning news, giant burritos, hollister burrito, manny rojas, manny's special burrito, manuel rojas, manuel's el tepeyac, manuel's original el tepeyac cafe, mexican restaurant boyle heights

January 26, 2012 · 10:50 am

Sayonara Sushi Nazi

If you read this blog regularly, you know how much I love Japanese food. So it’s not a surprise that I’m going to be attending the Japanese Food and Sake Collection this Sunday. Many of the best Japanese restaurants in LA will be serving up some of the city’s finest sushi, ramen, okonomiyaki, tempura, yakisoba and yakitori. Endless amounts of premium sake and beer will be flowing. There will be sushi-eating and sake-tasting competitions, cooking demonstrations from Nobu Matsuhisa (of Nobu and Matsuhisa restaurants) and Katsuya Uechi (of Katsu-ya), and traditional Japanese entertainment. The Festival is being held at the Hilton in Universal City from 11-4. Tickets (which are $60 for adults) and more information can be obtained by clicking here.

Speaking of Japanese food, I hear that legendary sushi chef Kazunori Nozawa is going to retire and close his revered eponymous restaurant, Sushi Nozawa, on February 29th. Lovingly dubbed the “Sushi Nazi” because of his similarities to the “Soup Nazi” character on Seinfeld, the stern Nozawa demands that his patrons follow his rules (no talking on cell phones, no dipping of sushi which has been prepared with sauce, no eating only the fish and leaving over the sushi rice, etc.) and show the proper respect to the master and the sushi he meticulously prepares. On more than one occasion, I have seen Nozawa kick diners out of his small and sparse mini-mall restaurant who blatantly disregard his rules. I was almost evicted once myself when my wife insisted on ordering a Vegetable Roll, even though I warned her ahead of time about that kind of thing. Nozawa is a sushi purist and things like Vegetable Rolls, California Rolls and Spicy Tuna are anathema to him.

However, if you put yourself in Nozawa-san’s hands and follow his advice of “trust me,” which is prominently displayed on a wooden placard behind the sushi bar in reference to the omakase (chef’s choice) special, you will experience incredible life-alerting sushi prepared by a sushi genius. Nozawa’s sushi has pretty much ruined me for almost all other sushi in the city. The rice is warm and delicious and the fish is super fresh and of the highest quality. It literally melts in your mouth. I hear sushi chefs from other restaurants follow Nozawa around the fish market because of his mastery of seafood selection. Everything I’ve ever eaten at Sushi Nozawa (including the Baby Tuna Sashimi in ponzu sauce, the Blue Crab Hand Rolls, the Toro, the Baby Yellowtail and the Uni) has been nothing short of amazing.

But it should be noted that even after Nozawa retires, a bit of the magic will still live on. For the past couple years, Nozawa’s son Tom and a couple partners have been opening locations around Los Angeles of Sugarfish, a somewhat less expensive spin-off of Sushi Nozawa where the decor is modern and the chefs, who are trained by Kazunori Nozawa himself, prepare your sushi in a back kitchen, hidden from view. I hear that Sushi Nozawa will be turned into a Sugarfish. I like Sugarfish quite a bit and the sushi there is very similar to Sushi Nozawa, but nothing beats the mothership and I will be devastated when Nozawa retires. It will truly be the end of an era.

Sushi Nozawa is located at 11288 Ventura Blvd in Studio City. It is not open on weekends. Sugarfish has locations in Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Brentwood and Downtown.

Baby Tuna Sashimi in Ponzu Sauce

Yellowtail Sushi

Crab Hand Rolls

Toro (Fatty Tuna) Sushi

Uni (Sea Urchin) Sushi

Red Snapper Sushi

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Filed under Brentwood, Downtown, Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Studio City

Tagged as Best Sushi LA, Best Sushi Los Angeles, Japanese Food and Sake Festival, Japanese Food Festival, Kazunori Nozawa, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Japanese Food Festival, Nozawa, Nozawa closing, Nozawa retiring, Sugar Fish, Sugarfish, Sugarfish Nozawa, Sushi Nazi, Sushi Nozawa, Sushi Nozawa closing, Sushi Studio City

January 19, 2012 · 11:00 am

BÃ¤co-licious

I cannot stop thinking about BÃ¤co Marcat, an awesome new Downtown restaurant from Josef Centeno, the super-talented chef of Lazy Ox Canteen. I think it’s the quintessential LA restaurant. Like Los Angeles, it’s not formal; it’s cool and laid back with a rustic industrial chic interior that feels very 2012. The cuisine defies classification and is incredibly original. Like the population here, the food is an eclectic mix of cultures including Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern and Moroccan. Most of all, BÃ¤co Marcat is fun! They make and bottle their own “BÃ¤co Pop,” an orange ginger juniper soda and they have an amazing bar serving super cool and inventive cocktails with names like the “Gin-Pop!” and the “Black Mint Spritz.”

There are so many great things on the menu, it’s hard to know where to start. First of all, there are the “BÃ¤cos,” inventive and scrumptious sandwiches prepared with the chef’s signature flat bread. I highly recommend “The Original” BÃ¤co with pork belly, beef carnitas and salbitxada (a savory sauce similar to romesco), as well as “The Touron” BÃ¤co with oxtail hash, pickles, crispy potatoes and cheddar. I also recommend the BÃ¤zole Soup, which is kind of cross between a Japanese Ramen and a Mexican Pazole, made with house-made noodles, pork-chile broth, pork and beef carnitas and a fried egg. There are also delicious “Cocas,” crispy flat breads with a variety of toppings including one with house-made Merquez sausage, harissa and goat cheese. BÃ¤co Mercat has several yummy specialty salads and vegetable dishes including my favorite dish on the whole menu, Kabocha Squash with brown butter. I’ve had pureed squash a million times before, but never like this; it is outrageously good! If you have room for dessert (or even if you don’t have room for dessert!), order the Pistachio Semifreddo Dark with pine nuts, caramel and sea salt. This sweet and salty dessert completely blew me away. If I lived or worked Downtown, I would probably eat here everyday.

BÃ¤co Mercat is located at 408 S. Main St., Los Angeles (Downtown).

They make their own sodas!

Spice Roasted Peanuts with paprika

BÃ¤zole (soup with house-made noodles, pork, chile broth, pork & beef carnitas with fried egg)

"The Toron" BÃ¤co (sandwich with oxtail hash, pickle, tater & cheddar)

Kabocha Squash with brown butter

"The Tomato & Cheese" Coca (crispy flat bread with confit tomato sauce, mozzarella & smoked jalepeno)

Pistachio Semifreddo Dark with pine nuts, caramel & sea salt

I love this place!

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Filed under Downtown

Tagged as Baco, Baco Downtown Los Angeles, Baco Los Angeles, Baco Mercat, baco mercat los angeles, baco mercat menu, baco mercat review, Baco sandwich, Downtown LA restaurants, Downtown Los Angeles restaurants, josef centeno, josef centeno baco mercat, Pistachio Semifreddo

January 11, 2012 · 11:00 am

Take Your Medicine

Writing a food blog has its perks. Recently I was invited to a dinner for bloggers hosted by Maker’s Mark Bourbon at Red Medicine. Red Medicine serves upscale Vietnamese-inspired cuisine in a hip, modern setting in Beverly Hills. It opened a little over a year ago to controversy when they ousted and outed LA Times food critic Irene Virbila by not honoring her reservation, snapping a rare photo of her (she likes to dine incognito) and posting it online with a note about their disdain for her. I was pretty sure they weren’t going to take my photo and I love bourbon (the Meyers Manhattan is the house cocktail at my home bar), so I accepted the invitation without hesitation.

The dinner consisted of a parade of specialty cocktails made with either Maker’s Mark Bourbon or Maker’s 46 (a delicious, spicier, sweeter and stronger bourbon that Maker’s introduced a year and a half ago) and dishes from the Red Medicine menu paired with such drinks. Red Medicine is known for their tasty cocktails and the bourbon concoctions did not disappoint. My favorites were Red Medicine’s version of a “Moscow Mule” made with Maker’s Mark, lime and housemade grenadine and ginger beer and a warm holiday dessert cocktail made with Maker’s 46, Echire butter (artisan French butter), sugar, Maldon salt, hot water and nutmeg, which is a perfect drink for the cold nights we’ve had of late.

The paired dishes were equally enjoyable and included a Pork Rillette (with crispy chicken skin, lychee, clove, pistachio and spicy herbs), Brussels Sprouts (with caramelized shallots, fish sauce and vermouth), and Imperial Wagyu Beef Brisket (braised for 36 hours with palm sugar, fish sauce and Maker’s Mark). The food at Red Medicine is not traditional Vietnamese food in any way, shape or form, but rather modern and creative interpretations of Vietnamese classics. The highlight of the meal was a reworking of a traditional Vietnamese “congee”; an Heirloom Rice Porridge with egg yolk, toasted hazelnuts, ginseng and Echire butter. It was buttery, creamy, nutty and and out of this world! The meal concluded with a beautiful and unusual dessert called “Bitter Chocolate” with sweet soy sauce, oats, parsnip, brown butter and soy milk sorbet. It was the perfect ending to an extraordinary meal; one that I am eager to repeat.

Red Medicine is located at 8400 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills.