Saturday, October 19, 2013

Hatfield's in Hollywood

Hatfields

When my good friend Sam C asked me where we should go to celebrate his birthday, one of the obvious choice was Hatfield's. It is without a doubt one of the very best restaurants in Los Angeles in terms of taste, service, and creativity. In fact, when the Michelin Star guide was around in LA, they've actually received a Michelin Star. A highly prestigious award.

The seasonal prefix menu(Prix Fixe) was what we decided to order from. Which consists of 1 apps from each section, 1 entree, and 1 dessert.

Apps 1:
-Sashimi of Kanpachi
Pinkerton avocado, oro blanco, Fresno Chili, beet salt

-Pan Roasted Diver Scallop
Za'atar crouton, salsify puree, English Pea and Tarragon emulsion

Apps 2:
-Charred Cuttlefish
Roasted Maitake Musrooms, Crispy pork confit, caramelized parsnip, carrot puree

Local cod "En Croute"
-Ginger carrot puree, brown butter soy longbeans

Entrees(sort of):
-Pan Roasted Duck Breast
Roasted sweet potato sticks, sweet and sour cabbage, scallion puree

-Pan roasted Wagyu Flat Iron Steak
Hazelnut romesco, caramelized carrots, sauteed pea tendrils

Dessert:
-Caramel Parfait
Mascarpone mousse, espresso granita, almond praline, chocolate crumble

-Sugar & spice Beignets
Venezuelan chocolate fondue, Earl Grey Milkshake

Each set was only $63 dollars, which isn't bad for a place like this. All the dishes were very elegantly prepared. Made me wished my palate was more refined, so I can taste all the thoughtfulness that went into preparing our dishes. The scallops were fantastic; perfectly cooked  and prepared with sophisticated garnishes. The duck breast was better than the Wagyu steak. The flavors, the sauce, and the texture of the duck just defeats the steak in every way. Although the Wagyu was not bad, I've definitely have had better; presentation was definitely an eye sore compared to the other dishes and was not as tender as I thought it would be. Probably the biggest disappointment of the night.
All the desserts were brilliant. Especially the Earl Grey milkshake. Feels as if you were Eating Earl Grey tea with milk. A sublime way to end the night.

A few tips, valet parking is on the side street and they have a $30 corkage/bottle. Max 5. Our prefix menu dishes were a bit dainty. The regular menu items are more expensive, but they come with a healthy serving of deliciousness. Always go with the prefix when possible(unless you know exactly what you want).




6703 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 935-2977
Hatfield's on Urbanspoon

Forage in Silverlake



Was it healthy? Yes. Was it organic? Yes. Does the food look good? Yes. Was the food good? Yes. Would I come back? Probably Not.

Being in Silver Lake, eating organic and healthy is probably the trendy thing to do. Forage seems to do just that. Props to Mr. Kim for hitting em right between the eyes. 

So here's my problem with Forage. It is just a bit hyped and over rated. Yes they do have healthy selections, but when you have Mac&cheese on the menu, 9 out of 10 times, people will ALWAYS get the mac&cheese. And that's definitely not healthy, no matter how organic it is.

Yes, the food looks amazing. But does it taste as good as it looks. Not really. The food is a bit bland, boring, call it what you want. I did get to try the tri-tip. It was properly cooked. Nice and tender. Probably best part of my meal. Wish I had more than 4 or 5 slices of it. Dude, how am I suppose to fulfill my gains? The food and drinks are all good, but not great. 

Here's the main reason why I would probably not come back, my dinner came out to almost $20 with an ice tea. Most expensive over the counter food ever. As good as the food tastes, the bill left me with a bad taste. 

My friend and I got here at 5:30pm. There were already a few hungry people waiting to get some of their organic goodness. The place filled up super quick. So come early if you want a seat.

Good concept, good food, terrible value. Wish I didn't have to break the bank to eat a healthy meal. 




Forage
3823 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 663-6885
Forage on Urbanspoon

Friday, October 18, 2013

Urth Caffe in Pasadena



Urth Caffe
594 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 844-4644
Urth Caffe on Urbanspoon

Used to going to the downtown location which we love.  We are even willing to over look the inflated prices because the ambiance is great.  This location not so much.  The problem with this location is it felt like Urth caffe mini.  The interior is small and the outside doesn't have that much more space.  Compared to the large amount of seating downtown has.  The bottom line is that this place is just mediocre.  Not very big coffee is good but not great.  Considering the options that are available in Pasadena we can not see ourselves coming here again.  Especially since it isn't really walking distance to the main strip on Colorado.  If we want our Urth Caffe fix we are gonna continue to head to downtown.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Co.



Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Co.
4432 W Sunset Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 661-6535

Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Co on Urbanspoon
Not sure if this place is in Silver Lake or Los Feliz, but regardless of where it is; it's a great location. Right at the corner of a busy intersection, it's quite hard to to miss. The interior has a more contemporary design instead of the artsy places in Silver Lake. You would mostly find people working on their laptop here. The ambience is somewhat quiet. Which is good if you are trying to get some work done.


Had the regular caffe latte. Took a bit longer than I liked, but the flavors were good. My partner and I were upstairs discussing video ideas. 

National Hot Wings Day at Hooters! (AYCE Wings)



Hooters Burbank
Categories: Sports Bars, American (Traditional), Chicken Wings
600 N. First St. Burbank, CA 92501
Neighborhood: Burbank
(818) 848-9464
hootwinc.com
Hooters on Urbanspoon
July 29th is National Chicken Wing Day! Hooters celebrated this day with $12.99 All You Can Eat(AYCE) chicken wings! Hooters challenged America to eat 1 million wing on this day. We did our fair share. And this was what happened.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

How to: Grilled Carne Asada Tacos


Servings: 4 (or 2 really hungry dudes)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Marinate Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients
  • 2 pounds skirt steak or flank steak
  • 12 flour tortillas
  • A can of beer
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 cup cilantro chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 jalapeno chopped (optional) 
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional) 
  • 1 teaspoon paprika (optional) 
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 1 cup guacamole (optional)
Directions:
  1. Season the steak with salt, pepper, and ground cumin. We added some crushed red pepper and paprika for a little extra heat.
  2. Get a plastic bag or preferably a zip lock bag and toss the steaks in. Throw in all the garlic, half of the chopped onions, lime juice, half of the cilantro, all the jalapeno(we didn't use jalapeno, it's great way to add extra flavor if you enjoy the heat), and the one can of light beer(lager).
  3. Seal up the bag, make sure you get as much air out of the bag before closing it up. Mix the ingredients in the bag a bit by moving them from the outside of the bag. Then leave it in the fridge to marinate for about 1 hour. 
  4. While the meet is marinating, you can combine the rest of the cilantro and onions together as one of the toppings for the tacos. 
  5. Take the meat out of the fridge 10 minutes prior to grilling. That way, the meat can cook evenly on the grill. Depending on the thickness of the steak you have and how well you want your steak, you are going to want to have the grill on HIGH heat. About 2-3 minutes on each side for a medium rare. Let the steaks finish cooking on the indirect heat for about 5 minutes. 
  6. Take the steaks off the grill, and cut the steaks against the grain of the meat. Dice the meat into a quarter of an inch. This way, you can bite into a taco without the meat wanting to escape from the tortilla. 
  7. Heat up some tortillas, grab some meat, some of the onion and cilantro mix, and your favorite salsas and toppings and enjoy! 

IMG_9071[1]

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

National Taco Day at Guisados Boyle Heights



2100 E Cesar Chavez Ave
Los AngelesCA 90033
(323) 264-7201
guisados.com
Guisados on Urbanspoon

Oct 4th was National Taco day, what better way to celebrate than to hit up one of the most highly praised taco joints in town. Guisados, first introduced to to my friend and I through the Vice show FOB with Eddie Huang. Not gonna lie, the tacos looked bomb. We venture out to the streets of Boyle Heights to pay homage to the taste that is, East LA.

Now Guisados is Spanish for "stews." Unlike most tacos in LA that is cooked on a grill or griddle, Guisados' methods brings out the natural glutamate in the proteins what is commonly known as "umami."

My friend and I both got the 6 tacos sampler for $6.99. It's usually the top six tacos on the board. Which are...steak picado, bistek en salso roja, tinga, mole poblano, cochinita pibil, chicharron. My personal favorite was the Chicharron. Pork skin reduced to gelatinous tender pieces with a drip of salsa verde. It's to die for. My friend loves chocolate, the obvious favorite was the Mole poblano. It's not too sweet, hints of chocolate, and the cream sauce ties it together perfectly.

The one that stood out was the Cochinita Pibil. Had a little bit. It wasn't super spicy. But if you aren't used to spicy food, this will is a kicker. Now I'm curious to try the Chiles Toreados. That one is rated at THREE CHILLY SIGNS!?! 

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Santouka Ramen in Torrance



  Santouka Ramen

 Mitsuwa Market Pl
21515 Western Ave

Torrance, CA 90501
Santouka Ramen on Urbanspoon
Ironically, came here after the Ramen Yokocho festival in Torrance because we couldn't fill our bellies with over priced $8 mini sized ramens at the festival. But that event totally incepted(as in inception)  us with the idea of wanting to eat more ramen. Been meaning to come back to Santouka, and I remembered there was on nearby in Torrance. So that's how we ended up here.

Giving Santouka 5 stars for their Spicy miso ramen. I've had a spicy miso ramen at other places, and thus far, none were anywhere close to the magnitude of Santouka's. The spiciness does not over power the umami-ness of the delightful broth. Good balance, good sides in the bowl like chashu and other goodies. Best spicy miso ramen period. 

Had their natto bowl on the side. Not a lot of people like natto because it's fermented. But I enjoy it very much. It's not really seasoned. So maybe a little salt or soy sauce could kick it up a notch? The fermented taste is very subtle, so don't add to much seasoning if you enjoy the aroma of natto. 

My combo was about $12-13. It's not bad at all as far as value. We were the only ones that had the idea from Ramen yokocho fest. We saw some others that also came here after the event.ramen