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

National Taco Day at Guisados Boyle Heights

2100 E Cesar Chavez Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90033

(323) 264-7201

guisados.com

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!?! 

LA Beer Week 2013: Strand Brewing

So it's beer week in Los Angeles, and the nice folks at LABW created this week to celebrate and promote the wonderful establishments in the LA & OC area. We've made a few video to celebrate this occasion.

Our first stop was Strand Brewing Co.

Address: 23520 Telo Ave, Torrance, CA 90505

Phone:(310) 517-090

Not the easiest place to find, but if you follow our guide on the video, you shouldn't have a
problem! They had 4 on tap, I failed to mention the last on the video. The rest of their line
up is available in bottles.

1. Light house, summer ale, exactly what you would crave from a summery day at the
beach or something. It light and easy to drink.

2. 24th Street Pale ale, strong notes of the hops. Nice amber color, very balanced pale ale.

3. Atticus IPA, this one was more fruity than hoppy. Not very bitter, so if you like IPA,
but can't handle high IBU beers, this one is perfect.

4. "Cherry Blossom" Saison/farmhouse ale, very strong nutty, cheesy flavors. I can taste
every hour that's been aged. It's a sour beer. Not the best I've had, but I don't drink much
saison.

Hope you enjoy our contribution to LA beer week. Make sure to subscribe for more videos. 
Until next time cheers!

Everyday Gourmands in Ktown part 3 of 3

S Bar
Category: Bars
3240 Wilshire Blvd Ste 401
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Neighborhood: Koreatown

Sam-Cha! Round 3, we made our way to S Bar. Kicking it up a level on that drinking game. It's not a easy place to find. You gotta find the building, valet or find street parking. Find the elevator, find which floor it's on, and find your way to the right entrance that leads to the bar. Luckily we had our trusty Ktown ambassadors with us. Finding the S Bar was a breeze.

The breakdown
S bar is not your typical Korean Dive bar. Feels more up scaled. Loud music, flashing lights, and most importantly....a full bar. Most dive bars in Ktown only service beer and soju. Gotta come to a place like this if you feel like get wasted.

Some tips:
I was told that this place is cougar town on week nights, and the young people come out during the weekends. If you want to socialize, don't stay at the booths, grab a seat at the bar.

Got a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label, it was only $80, super cheap for bottle service. Soda and juices are complimentary. S Bar is one of those legit bar, so you know we gotta get a ride on the Seoul Train. It's pretty much a array of soju bombs with amazing spectacles. Being round 3 and all. One of our [Ktown] ambassadors is feeling the effects of alcohol. But we go HAM, that's just what we do. So we took care of the bill and headed out to Sa-cha! Round 4.

Only exception, we never made it to Round 4. And instead we went to....

BCD Tofu House 

3575 Wilshire Blvd 

Los Angeles, CA 90010 

Neighborhood: Koreatown

Our final stop of the night. Not trying to say this is where all the drunk people going in Ktown, but this is where drunk people go. It's like the Ktown Denny's. Open 24 hours a day, serves comfort food that you can eat pretty much anytime of the day, mediocre service, and reasonably priced. At about $9 per dish, you get ton of Ban-chan aka apps and your selection of tofu soup with 8-10 types of flavor. Like beef, pork, kimchi, seafood, and so on. Rice and raw egg included. Ok it's a slightly better deal than Denny's. Asians are cheap, and if you want Asians to come to your spot after a night of drinking in Hollywood or Koreatown, you give the people what they want. Cheap and comforting food. 

BCD is one of those places that needs no intro. If you are a local in LA, you know what's up. 

Hope you all enjoyed our Ktown adventures. Make sure you subscribe to us on youtube if you wish to see more. Big thanks to our lovely Ktown ambassadors Ana, Ben, and Nare.

Everyday Gourmands in Ktown part 2

3317 W 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90020
Neighborhood: Koreatown

(213) 487-9100

dansungsausa.com

So this was ee cha! Round 2! Of our little Ktown adventure. Just in case you didn't know, Dan Sung Sa is one of the OG places in Koreatown. My ktown friend told me that his parents used to come here when they were going out back in the dates(college days!). And my friend is in his 30s!

First thing you will notice is their open kitchen in the middle of the room. It's where they grill all their yummy Korean bar food like chicken gizzards, hearts, and feet! Sounds good doesn't it? To most Asian, bar food is about all the cheap little parts that people usually throw away. It's amazing how this place transforms chicken inners into delicacies.But they do have more normal stuff like chicken meat, wings, and beef on skewers.

We got one of my friend's favorite, tteokbokki, Deokbokki , dukbokki, however it's spelled. Basically rice cake in Korean chili sauce. Very popular street vendor dish in Korean. The ones that are usually served are the modernized version from the Korean American war. There's a whole story about why they put the ramen noodles, spam, and cheese, but I'm not going to bored you with that. Try google, I heard it's quite effective.

Second dish we got was Cheong po mook moo chim, or just simply mook moo chim. Mung bean noodle salad in English. Very refreshing, the taste and texture of the mung bean noodles is pretty much like savory jello. Very interesting if you have never had it.

Lastly, our Ktown ambassadors wanted our cameraman Sam to try the chicken feet. Hoping that he would like it; he took a bit and pretty much gave it to me. Guess it's not for everyone. If you've never had their grill chicken feet, it's pretty much bones wrapped with gelatinous texture meat(aka skin). And these particular ones have a smokey taste and of course that Korean chili paste on top. I swear they put that sh*t on everything. It's actually quite an enjoyable dish for the rest of us. So we had no problem finishing it up.

What's ktown without some drinking games? We got the liquor flowing, asked for double the beer, busted off the cups, and let the games begin! First off is Soju bottle cap flicking game aka Huang Fei Hong! So our Ktown ambassador told us that this game supposedly got it's name from the Chinese Robin-hood hero, Huang Fei Hong from the Qing dynasty. Basically when you twist it end of the bottle cap, making it look like a Chinese pig tail, and your goal is to flick it off. You can either have the person who flicks it off drink a shot of soju, or whomever flicks it off makes the 2 people next to him or her drink. We chose option 2, it's more exciting that way.

Second game is called Titanic, pretty much fill the beer cup halfway, insert the soju shot glass into the beer, make sure it's barely flowing on the beer. Take turns pouring soju into the shot glass without sinking it. Whomever sinks it, drinks it. It's a terrible game, unless the goal is to get completely wasted. As a result of the game, we went over $100 on our bill, which means SERVICE TIME! The server asked if we wanted food or alcohol. Of course, we went for the booze. The word service actually refers to complimentary food or drinks. It's a Korean custom(at least in Ktown LA) to give free food or drinks when you have ordered a lot. The more money you spend, the more free stuff you get!

After a few more rounds of Titanic, we finished up and headed to round 3.

Tip: Valet parking is $2, but street parking is available if you come early enough.

Elite Event: X Games And Fleming's

Aside from all the commotions trying to get to DTLA by 5:30 and finding the Chick Hearn statue, this event was AWESOME.

I liked the idea of the tour. Definitely helped me worked up an appetite. Getting to see the staple center covered in dirty was pretty cool. Our tour guide was super chill, thanks bro! Glad that I got to see the X Games stage in person before they leave LA.

By the end of the tour, I was looking forward to a nice piece of juicy steak! I know I know, wishful thinking. But it was not far off. Fleming's had set up this super legit banquet room for us. Even got a sommelier to pour wine for us and any wine questions we may have. I didn't get a chance to play with the"wine pad" but I did checked it out. Looked pretty neat. Not sure if ipads will replace the sommelier soon, definitely something to think about.

Shrimp Cocktail w/ Kris Pinot Grigio delle Venezie Italy
Big shrimps, oximoron? Delicious.

Lamb Lollipops w/ Saint Clair Pinot Noir Marlborough New Zealand
Super tender lamb chops. Wish I had more, too busy drinking the wine.

Skewers of Filet Mignon w/ Chateau De Parenchere Bordeaux France
Not as tender as I thought it would be. But very tasty just like the wine.

Assorted Homeade Chocolate Truffles and Berries
Such a fancy treat. Wish there was more light in the room to take some good pictures.

This was a great event. Got to meet a lot more people this time. This was probably the best event(this year) so far. Big thanks to Fleming's for being super generous and being nice about everything. Thanks to the X Games for giving us that exclusive tour! And the biggest thank yous to our fearless leader Katie B. for setting it all up. 

Everyday Gourmands in Ktown Part1

Mazinger
8th & New Hampshire
Koreatown, CA 90005
Neighborhood: Koreatown

Round 1 aka il Cha in Korean. Our Ktown adventure started here. The comic book themed Korean dive bar. Happy hour until 8pm on a saturday. We got maybe 2 dishes and some drinks. For the 5 of us, it came out to $30 something. Pretty cheap. Disclaimer, the address is just the cross stress. Not really an actual address. Yep, it's that kind of place. You know it's legit when you don't know the address right?

The 2 dishes we got were spicy chicken covered in cheese and some spicy noodles covered in cheese. Your typical Korean bar food I suppose? I'll eat it, but I probably would order if I had a choice. The Makgeolli was BOGO. We were on it like fat kids on cake. When you come to Ktown, your goal is to have a good time. And  deceptively, that equates to us as getting sufficiently drunk. Which you'll see as the night goes on.

Not sure how much truth there is to this, but I heard it's where the locals go. Since it was our first stop, it wasn't too crowded. It's not a rare sight to see in Ktown early during the night.

Ramekin in Los Feliz

Hello! 

We were invited to a special private tasting of Ramekin's desserts. 
Special thanks Paul Yoo, Jason Park, and Jenni Hwang for having us.

Thanks for watching. If you'd like to visit this location its located here


Ramekin
1726 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los Feliz
(323) 667-9627


ramekinla.com

Bak Kung Kbbq in Koreatown

3700 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 734-9292

My fellow yelpers totally hyped this place up for me(I'm talking about you James S. Jen H. Bridget P. Tiffany D!) Everyone raved about the place. So my friend Sam C. and I decided to come visit. We managed to drag my little cousin Dorothy X. along too. When I looked it up, this restaurant is definitely on the outskirts of Ktown. Normally I would have doubts, but the hype was too much set any skepticism in my head.

We came on a Saturday, arrived at 12 on the dot. There was no one else there. Never seen a KBBQ joint so empty. Parking was free when we arrived. Saw the valet booth stand hidden on the side. But since it is the outskirts of Ktown, you should have absolutely no issues finding street parking.

The food:
The thing that makes Bak kung(BK) stand out is it's cheap AYCE lunch menu, the usage of real charcoal, and the variety they have on the limited menu(the cheaper one).
-The ban chan was ok. I liked the kimchi, the picked daikons were a good touch, pancake was a bit on the week side. Nothing extravagant. It's $11 AYCE KBBQ for lunch, can't really complaint.
-The meats were great! We got the cheapest AYCE lunch special. It was only $11.
What was available: 
+ Beef Brisket
+ Bak Kung Sauce Pork Belly
+ Plain Pork Belly
+ Pepper Paste Marinated Pork Belly
+ BBQ Beef Bulgogi
+ BBQ Chicken Bulgogi
+ Spicy Marinated Chicken
We only got beef brisket, 3 type of pork belly, and beef bulgogi. Normally cheap $10ish KBBQ doesn't get this fancy. But the BK sauce pork belly was good, pepper paste pork belly was interesting, it was a bit sweet. Beef bulgogi was good if you enjoy that marinated meat. 

The service was great. Not sure if it's because there weren't too many people or it's just that awesome. We almost didn't have to ask to change the grill. The lady just automatically came out with a grill and changed it. That's super good service at a KBBQ place.

I've got to come back again and take advantage of that soju special. I heard it's pretty cheap! I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have kimchi bean sprout during lunch. The ahjumma told us that they'll have it for dinner. So next time I'm coming back for dinner! And of course, we did bring out the camera and was able to shoot a quick video for you all. Check the link below, make sure to follow us on youtube if you want to see more. Tell us some places we should cover in the comment section!