This visit to L.A. focusses on Asian cuisine, with a wonderful experience at a hot new Italian with an established Italian chef, and a few wonderful American places thrown in.
Friends say that L.A. has recently come into its own as a gastronomic destination in the U.S. During my ten day stay at the home of different friends, I dined at some greats and must concur with the latest report that L.A. is a haven for restaurants.
Before my trip, my friend Joel said he wanted to spend a whole weekend eating but we did much more than that. Joel is an accomplished cook and with all the cooking classes he has done with his husband, Rusty, they really do impressive work in their own beautifully designed and equipped kitchen. Joel announced that he wanted to make a meal for me and he made TWO. One consisted of a fantastic zucchini flower pasta dish from the fresh zucchini flowers that we found at a local farmer's market. And on my last day at their home, Joel and Rusty created a multi-course luncheon complete with Jim Lahey's delicious bread that Joel made from scratch, a fresh summer pea soup and a wonderful layered tomato salad.
Now, on to the restaurants. First of all: an American star is Joan's on Third where I took part in a small reunion of old high school friends. This is a place with magnificent salads, hot dishes, sandwiches and array of gorgeous and delicious desserts. My friend, Jill, told me that Joan's is famous for its cupcakes, and after the delicious salads and sandwiches, we chose a wonderful strawberry short cake with freshly made whipped cream and an excellent little golden cupcake.
Nancy Silverton has built up quite the gastronomic portfolio in L.A. She and her husband, Mark Peel opened the very successful Campanile, which has kept its great reputation over the years. Branching out on her own, she opened the fabulous La Brea Bakery, and more recently has wowed L.A. with the Mozza pair: Pizzeria Mozza and Trattoria Mozza.
We were four the night we went to Pizzeria Mozza. All the better to sample many of the wonderful appetizers and pizzas.
For the appetizers, we chose Corn al forno with herb butter, Pork ribs al forno with apple cider vinegar, honey and fennel (spectacular!),arancini alla Bolognese (not very good), Fried Squash Blossoms with Ricotta (also excellent). For our pizzas, we ordered a Funghi Misti with fontina, taleggio and thyme, Fennel sausage pizza with pecorino, red onions and scallions, and a Squash blossom pizza with tomato and burrata. The crust is crusty on the outside and chewy within. We definitely had a feast.
After all this, who could order dessert? Us!! Four people shared the sorbetto al cioccolato and the Butterscotch Budino (a house specialty) with Maldon sea salt and rosemary pine-nut cookies. A sensational meal.
For our big bash event, we went to Drago Centro--a new restaurant in the empire of the famous chef, Sr. Drago. Anyone there would be treated like royalty but we were especially pampered because Joel knows the wife of the manager: Matteo. We were immediately ushered to the "Mayor's Table" in the corner and from which one can watch everything that is going on in the sleek, modern, diningroom.
After our celebratory glasses of sparkling Franciacorta (which I prefer to Prosecco), we got down to business. We had two half-orders of risotto: one with morels di Orvieto and black summer truffles (that Matteo generously shaved over our rice), and a risotto di piselli (this is the season for fresh peas): consisting of peashoots, English peas, cherry tomatoes and garlic cream. Both transported the three of us to heaven.
For our next course, we shared a whole portion of Gli Spaghetti allo Soglio which came full of langoustines, mussels clams, squid in a herb-tomato ragout. Sensational.
For our main courses, we chose to share two: Il Branzino in cioppino broth with potato and bits of small seafood; and L'Anatra which was duck confit with potatoes, frisée and raspberries. The raspberries added a magical sweetness and tartness to the dish.
With each dish, we were served an accompanying Italian wine that married well with the dish.
Who had room for dessert after this wonderful meal? We decided that we had to try I Bomboloni--small home-made donuts sauteed with bing cherries, crystallized pistachios, a hint of chocolate sauce and pistachio gelato: sublime.
This was a truly impressive meal. Yes, it was expensive but for the quality of what we were served, the beauty of the presentation of each dish, as well as the friendly attentive service, I think it was well worth it.
Joel has done a lot of reading of Jonathan Gold, who is a Pulitzer Prize winning food critic and who writes mostly about ethnic hideaways. Joel, Rusty and my NY friend, Chris and I went to Jitlada--a favorite authentic Thai restaurant of his. We convinced the waiter that coriander was a no-no and were served delicious and very hot Thai dishes like you would get in Thailand. The trick is to eat the hot food in small bites and to punctuate each bite with a piece of cold, raw vegetable such as carrot or cucumber. I loved the dishes so much that I ate them quickly and suffered the burning lips and throat syndrome, but my friend, Chris, complied with the instructions and had a fine time with everything.
In the evening, we were still in the Asia mood so we invited Regina to join us at Izakaya by Katsu-ya. Katsu-ya is the home of many a wonderful sushi restaurant in L.A. but recently opened this Izakaya (casual eating with a lot of beer and sake--order a lot of foods cooked in different ways) in West Hollywood. Again, with four people, we could sample a variety of their wonderful dishes in a noisy and very fun atmosphere. We had Cod Popcorn in sauces and the izakaya fish tacos. Very flavorful. The serious ordering began when we were seated: Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna--a specialty of the house and fabulous. It is served as a rectangular maki with the tuna on top and the crispy rice as base. Yellowtail Sashimi with spicy Jalapeno, Renkon (Lotus Root) in a sweet sauce, Baked Eggplant with edamame and fried julienne of onion, Ebi Yakisoba (a vegetable-noodle stir fry full of shrimp), seared linme snapper (a white fish) in carpaccio, and finally, a succulent and delicious blue crab roll. We paired our dishes with cold sake and were very happy and satisfied when we left the restaurant.
With my foodie friends, Megan and Rafi, I went to a fantastic Mexican restaurant in the heart of Hollywood: Loteria!
I met Rafi and Megan on the honeymoon in Paris. They were touring France for its beauty as well as for its wonderful restaurants. They always take me to the best spots in L.A. Loteria! was a lot of fun. The specialties are burritos and quesadillas stuffed with a variety of delicious foods as well as their excellent Margaritas.
We started our meal with the compulsory Margaritas and then decided to share some Quesadillas de Plaza con Flor de Calabaza--i.e. corn tortillas filled with either squash blossoms and cheese or roasted poblano peppers and cheese and topped with a spicy tomatillo sauce.
For the main course, two of us ate Burrito of Tinga de Pollo filled with chipotle peppers and a red salsa, and Carne Deshebrada with shredded beef, guacamole, salsa and chipotle. In each burrito was a good portion of rice and refried beans. True to Mexican form, the food was very flavorful, sensuous and filling. This place is on my "must return" list.
But Joel has other ideas for my next trip including a counter where one gets fantastic Cuban food. Can't wait until I can go back to L.A. for some terrific dining with good friends.
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