AK in Venice: The Swedes and Pork Schnitzels

We walked into AK on a Tuesday night with no reservation. I thought, Tuesday night, how bad can it be? Wrong. AK was packed (and yes, LOUD). Luckily they had room at one of the two communal tables. I love communal tables because I can eavesdrop on other people's convo ... no, I mean, I get to meet new people. Yeah.

Anyway, on to the food. The place being as loud as it is, there's not much conversation going on on my end ...

We went healthy with the appetizer, and got the "in the raw": alfalfa sprouts, lotus roots, seeds and nuts, with blood orange poppy seed dressing ($11).
To sum it up, it tastes very healthy yet still tasty. Very refreshing. Everything being mostly roots and seeds, it had a nice crunchy texture.

Since I've heard that they do the European dishes best, I went with their pork schnitzel. That's Kurobuta pork Schnitzel, by the way ($24).
Delicious. Loved it. What? It's just a cutlet you say? This is kurobuta cutlet, and a darn good one at that! Tender, flavorful, delish. Do be careful while eating in the dark - I think there's a herring or something on the top there that I couldn't quite see - but it's _salty_. I can eat this everyday for 2 weeks or so, and you guys should too. Or at least try it.

My dinner companion went with the rib-eye, medium-rare. Served with crispy popover and bearnaise sauce ($34).
This was very tender, probably the most tender steak I've had in a long while (with the exception of Ad Hoc's skirt steak - to be reviewed) !

We also shared some sweet potatoes as a side dish.
These are quite sweet, they border on dessert for me but my friend loves sweet potatoes. They're moist and juicy and was quite good, actually.

For dessert (of course I had to have dessert), I had the chocolate ganache tart ($9) served with praline ice cream.
Rich and tasty, although does not particularly stand out from similar desserts at other places. At least I know it's solid and thus the other desserts could potentially be great. Desserts are important to me :P

I don't care if the place is loud, I will definitely be back here. Hopefully I will try their other entrees, but I'm not sure if I can bring myself to NOT order their kurobuta pork schnitzel. Maybe after the 3rd time ...

AK Restaurant
1633 Abbot Kinney Road
Venice, CA 90291
(310)392-6644
http://www.akinvenice.com

Wurstkuche: Those Delish Exotic Sausages and Beers

When Wurstküche opened in the downtown arts district, it created quite a buzz. Not only do they offer gourmet and exotic sausages, they also boast 20+ beers on tap (mostly German and Belgian)! So when I had to pick a place to hang out with my friends, I thought this is the perfect chance to try it.

It was 8PM Saturday night and we were greeted with a line out the door. It looked like a small regular hot dog stand in the front, well-lit and cramped. We placed our order and headed to the back room and -voila!- a PUB! Complete with the loud talking, music, and beers on tap lining the wall. Waiting for a table on a Saturday night can take a while, but lucky me I was late and a couple of my friends have grabbed a table :P

After a while, our food came. We had ordered the Sun Dried Tomato & Mozzarella (smoked chicken and turkey):
Topped it sweet peppers and sauerkraut - I've never had peppers on my sausages/hot dogs before and apparently I've been missing out. Delicious! Loved the extra flavor that the sundried tomatoes added - this is in the running for my favorite of the night.

We also got the Apricot (also chicken), which are smaller sausages but each order had two pieces.
These were also very good, the apricots gave it a slight crunchy texture and a tangy flavor.

We also got the Rabbit, Veal & Pork sausage. All of the ones we got tonight were all pretty light. This was quite tender and the meat had a very nice flavor. These sausages were moist, the juices were nicely sealed inside.

Overall, great food, and just perfect with beer. May be a bit pricey for "hot dogs". It's kind of loud, or you could say "lively pub atmosphere" plus they have a great beer selection.

I was later told that the Rattlesnake and Duck were actually the best ones. I didn't get them this time since they had Jalapenos and was afraid it would be spicy. But I will definitely come back and try them next time around! (Hey, if it is spicy I can just chase it down with a beer, right?)


Wurstküche
800 E 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 687-4444

Upcoming Foodie Events!

Foodie events are starting to get lined up again this year, whoohoo!!

There are some really impressive ones coming up very soon:

Tomorrow, Friday Feb 27, Locali is having their official launch party. Between 5-8 pm get free samples of organic tamales from La Guera Tamalera and grass-fed hot dogs from Let's Be Frank. 5825 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028.

Sunday, March 9. Jonathan Gold has lined up 30 of his favorite restaurants for the LA Weekly Gold Standard. Restaurant lineup includes Animal, Sona, the two Mozzas, Providence, Loteria Grill and Jitlada, among many other great ones. Tickets are $60 and include all food and drinks (wine/beer). 3-7 pm.
http://ow.ly/gvg

On the more "educational" side, on March 11, Zocalo is holding a discussion on "Can Food Really be Authentic?" Featuring Mozza's Nancy Silverton, Jazz from Jitlada, and Roy Choi from Kogi BBQ truck, the event is moderated by Jonathan Gold. 7:30 PM, Skirball Cultural Center.

Thursday, March 12. The Planned Parenthood L.A. Guild is holding a fundraising Food Fare, featuring an array of restaurants such as A.O.C, Anisette Brasserie, Clementine's, Joe's Restaurant, Pink's Hot Dogs, Pitfire Pizza, and XIV. Chefs Suzanne Goin (Lucques), Nancy Silverton (Osteria/Pizzeria Mozza), and Jon & Vinny (Animal) will also be there signing their cookbooks! Tickets are $125 for the afternoon and $175 for the night, but everything above $60 is tax-deductible.
http://www.pplafoodfare.com/tkts.asp

Also, as part of ongoing deals and steals, The Park in Echo Park is offering $15 3-course meal every Tuesday. This upcoming Tuesday they are featuring gumbo, jambalaya, and banana bread pudding. 1400 Sunset Blvd.