A report on LA's delicious restaurants: American style, grilled cheese, pizza, and some wonderful Japanese finds
I spent a delicious week in L.A. at the home of my friends, Rusty and Joel. Joel is a fantastic cook in his own right (you should see his kitchen) and he created two wonderful dinners for me--his seafood pasta one evening, and a trio of grilled fish--each one lovingly paired with its own sauce. But here is a list of the wonderful L.A. restaurants I tried. I was pleased to note that although they were pricey, the bills were nothing like what you see in Europe or in New York, for that matter.
The first day, I took a walk and discovered a stupendous sushi restaurant: Sushi Roku on Third Street in West Hollywood. I sat at the bar and spoke Japanese to "my" sushi chef (ittamae-san), Tizzi-san. Although I enjoy the fancy multi faceted rolls that characterize California sushi, give me some pristine fresh fish on rice balls and I am in seventh heaven. I was very impressed with the quality of the fish at Sushi Roku and thrilled when Tizzi-san prepared me a fresh shrimp in two different ways: the body live and the head quickly deep friend tempura style. The yellowtail (which is difficult to get in Paris) was heavenly and the drinks sublime. I also enjoyed speaking Japanese to a Japanese woman who had lived in L.A. for such a long time that my Japanese was actually better than hers!! See the photo of Tizzi-san with the head of the shrimp he prepared for me.
That evening, Joel, Rusty, John, Onil and I tried a brand new restaurant in Culver City. Both Joel and John are old friends from Boston and Rusty and Onil are their partners. Onil is a chef and has a small restaurant in Pasadena (see below). We went to Ford's Filling Station, which is owned by Harrison Ford's son. The food is California-style, and we all shared several dishes: Jamon Serrano Flatbread with Roasted Red Peppers and Mozzarella, Curried Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese, Pecans and Duck Prosciutto, Smoked Trout Brandade with Grilled Garlic Bread, Scallops with Fresh Corn (can't get that in Paris!!), Blistered Tomatoes, Fingerling Potatoes and Brown Butter, Polenta Cake with Vegetables and Truffled Marscapone, Kobe Beef Cheeks with Cracked Wheat Risotto, etc. etc. For desert, we all shared the Chocolate Pound Cake with Whipped Cream, Blackberries and Strawberries. Onil chose a French Viognier wine which is one of my favorite grapes. He went wild ordering for everyone and we each got tastes of every dish. It was delicious, a lot of fun and came to about $60 per person.
The next evening, two tried and true Foodie Friends of mine (the son of another friend from Boston and his wife: Rafi and Megan) took me to the spectacular Pizzeria Mozza. This is the newest offspring of Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery and cookbook fame. Although the pizzas are designer, I could not resist when I learned that this was her restaurant. She has a fantastic reputation. You would think that I had not eaten for days when I tell you of all the things we ordered and tasted. The starter was to die for: a Chicken Liver-Caper-Parsley-Pancetta Bruschetta. All the flavors married beautifully and this was a spectacular dish. We also shared Fried Squash Blossoms filled with warm melting Ricotta Cheese--sensational. As there were three of us, we splurged and actually ordered three pizzas and each one was more delicious than the last: Fennel Sausage, Panna, Red Onions and Scallions for the first; Funghi Misti with Fontina, Taleggio and Thyme for the second; Wild Spinach, Cacio di Roma and Salami Nostrano. The third was my favorite. Next door to the restaurant is Mozza Trattoria but Rafi told me that he much prefers the pizzeria. Given the way I feel about pizza, I think he is right, and I cannot wait to go back to Mozza.
The next day, I took public transportation (that's right--no one can believe it even exists in L.A.) to Pasadena where I met John. It was a very hot day and we took advantage of the wonderful weather to visit the Huntington Estates--beautiful gardens. John took me to Onil's restaurant (Elements) where I had a Pan-seared Atlantic Salmon Niçoise. John had the famous Organic Egg Salad. Both were delicious. Just a few days ago (end of August), Onil opened the restaurant for dinner. It is a small place but everything is lovingly and deliciously prepared. I think he will go far in this business.
That evening, we joined another friend of John (Tom) and were completely wowed at R-23, an unusual and wonderful Japanese restaurant in Japan town. Japanese people really know about service. We had two lovely beautiful women waiting on us. They recommended the best sushi and other dishes and the four of us enjoyed a wonderful feast. We had a French Dungeness Crab Salad, Yellowtail Carpaccio with Yuzu and Salmon Roe (yuzu is a citrus fruit), an assortment of wonderful sushi, Fried Soft Shell Crab, Beef Sashimi, Grilled Duck with Scallions, Shiitake Mushrooms with Asparagus, Ohitashi (a spinach dish) with Shiitake. We drank a wonderful cold sake with this terrific meal. Japanese food can be ultra-expensive but in spite of what we ordered, it came to about $67 per person. That would NEVER happen in New York or anywhere in Europe much less Tokyo. It was very impressive and I would return there in a heartbeat.
Joel, Rusty and I had been talking about Grilled Cheese Night at Campanile for over a year. It is the most popular evening when Mark Peel (the chef and genius behind the restaurant) makes delicious GRILLED CHEESE sandwiches. One must reserve very far in advance for this event and it is worth it. If you can say that Grilled Cheese can be a gourmet undertaking, this is it. Such crisp bread and warm meltingly delicious cheese! Perfect comfort food. You have never had a grilled cheese sandwich like this before. That was not all, however. Campanile is a wonderful restaurant and we had the entire menu at our disposal. We chose the Grilled Cheese sandwich, a wonderful Lobster Roll, Crisp Ricotta and Squash Ravioli wih Wild Mushroom Duxelles, and a Nectarine and Blueberry Cobbler. We also shared the rich brownie à la mode. It was a wonderful memorable meal, made only that more memorable when I fell in the bushes on the way back to the house. I guess all the partying and excitement went to my head!!!
I don't mean to be boring but every single restaurant I went to in L.A. was so
wonderful that I want to do the same thing the next time I go back. Joel and Rusty will suggest that we go elsewhere and I am always up for trying something new. However, these several choices could not be beat!!
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