Simbal is the Vietnamese Izakaya You Need to Try (Los Angeles, CA)

Simbal is a bit of a sleeper gem in Little Tokyo, which opened last summer and has since gotten plenty of critic accolades. The space is tucked away in Little Tokyo mall, but it's worth finding the place for Chef Shawn Pham's truly wonderful Southeast Asian food.

Simbal has been dubbed a "Vietnamese izakaya", so the small plates menu certainly has plenty of dishes that are meant to accompany drinks, like the Yin's wok fried seasoned nuts, anchovies, seaweed ($5)

Chef Shawn Pham is doing some fun takes on Vietnamese classics, like he does with the Banh mi salad, with pickled daikon and carrots, Vietnamese sausage, head cheese, cucumber (banh mi, low-carb style?)

Chef Pham has worked in some powerhouses such as the shuttered Sona, Craft, and The Bazaar, and Simbal's menu marries his fine dining experience with his four years in Vietnam. You'll see this in dishes like the beef tartare, larb seasoning, served with a puffy sesame bread.

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Devouring the Bar Menu at Grill 23 and Bar (Boston, MA)

Grill 23 and Bar may be celebrating 30 years of being one of the best steakhouses in Boston, but don't forget about the "Bar" part of the restaurant! Grill 23's bar menu features some great cocktails and satisfying bites like these Foie gras slider on cider doughnut with jalapeno jelly.

No, really. Seared foie gras on a donut! I went to the bar menu launch party there and I think I ate 3 of these babies, and still wanted more. I would definitely come back for these - Foie gras lovers have to try them!

Grill 23 and Bar also has some nice cocktails - I love Death & Taxes in particular, with the smokiness of the cigar infused bourbon and the sweetness of the peach.

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Celebrating California Olive Oil at Scopa (Venice, CA)

Did you know you can trust only 20% of the olive oils that you find in a supermarket?  There are a lot of fraudulent olive oils out in the market, so you have to know what you are buying. For example, you can go local and buy California olive oil. I recently attended a tasting and dinner with California Olive Ranch and tried their oils by themselves and in dishes prepared by Chef Antonia Lofaso at Scopa!

And a tip when buying olive oils in the supermarket: look for dark bottles, single country of origin, and seal of authenticity. Harvest date would be a plus, as well!

My evening started with some appetizers and cocktails, all of which feature California Olive Ranch olive oils!
Yes, the cocktail, too. The Sierra Norte was made with mezcal, aperol, serrano peppers, pineapple, and lemon, with California Olive Ranch Limited Reserve Olive Oil. The oil added a nice, unique mouthfeel to the drink.

The first appetizer: Cured salmon, spring peas, toasted caraway, topped with the same olive oil as the cocktail.
Ricotta crostini

Veal tartare, capers, shallots, fresh horseradish, seasoned with California Olive Ranch Mild & Buttery Olive Oil.

California may be known for the almonds and wines and so on, but did you know that California also produces 95% of the olives grown in the US? There's about 27,000 acres of olive orchards in the state!

We tasted a couple of the California Olive Ranch olive oils (and a fake supermarket one!). You swirl and sip just like wine, but just like wine, olive oils can also go bad, so don't keep them in your pantry too long.

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