A Preview of Trattoria Neapolis, Opening July 10 in Pasadena

There has certainly been quite a few new openings in Pasadena in the past couple of years, and there's one more to be excited about: Trattoria Neapolis on Lake Ave.

Having lived literally across the street for about 3 years, I now cannot even recall what was previously in this space next to Anthropologie. They have now renovated it into a spacious and elegant dining space, complete with a beautiful enclosed patio space by the entrance.

A view of the bar from upstairs:

Other than the food, you should also be really excited about the drink program. The owner Perry Vidalakis has really searched out some of the best in the business in every aspect.


Before the dinner started, we were all treated to a glass of Deus Brut des Flandres (Brouwerij Bosteels, Buggenhout, Belgium)
This biere de champagne has been one of my favorites, sometimes I crave it more than champagne.
Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune, a.k.a. The Beer Chicks, are in charge of the beer. Christina is responsible for the beer list while Hallie is acting as the in-house cicerone.
The main beer and wine list consist only of either local or Italian (with all beers on tap coming from the LA area), but there is an extensive reserve list with what they deem the best beers and wines from all over the world (the Deus obviously is on this list).
Christina had recently spent some time in Italy so this project came at the perfect time for her. She says there is a huge beer revolution there and there are over 300 breweries now in Italy, twice as many as in Belgium.


While waiting for dinner: Arancini - mini crispy lobster arancini, pickled fennel, Eureka lemon aioli

The first two courses were paired with cocktails (that are actually created especially for this dinner. It's not on the menu but the bartenders can create "bespoke" cocktails for you).

For the cocktails, the owner has enlisted Vincenzo Marianella of Copa d'Oro, the Godfather of LA cocktail scene, to create the cocktail menu. His Italian background probably helps him pair the cocktails with the food here as well.
The first is Vincenzo's twist on a French75: Pasadena 75 with Plymouth gin, Cynar, lemon, cucumber and celery juices, prosecco

The cocktail was bitter and aromatic, but it balances out perfectly with the beet salad:
Barbabietole - roasted baby beets, saba, grilled treviso, house made goat milk ricotta

The salad had so many components to it, at the same time sweet, smoky, and bitter. The ricotta rounds it out with its creaminess. Great pairing with the cocktail, nothing overwhelms the other.

Polipo - wood grilled baby octopus with crispy "potato torta", cerignola olives, sweet tomato oil

Think hashbrowns! That's what the crispy potato torta was like, the texture contrasting nicely with the tender baby octopus. The potato seemed to have been the star of the dish, though.


This was paired with Ostuni, made with Partida Reposado tequila, Aperol, fresh ruby grapefruit juice, prosecco. 
(Ostuni is an area in Puglia famous for octopus.)


Vincenzo wanted to try something difficult to pair (tequila) and it worked quite nicely.


Our first pasta course was the Gnocchi - roast garlic gnocchi, smoked pork shoulder, artichoke, asparagus

The chef, Bryant Wigger, is apparently famous for his gnocchi and I can definitely see why. These were so light and pillowy. I typically see gnocchi served with a sort of creamy sauce, and the smoked pork was a very nice departure from that. This may very well be my favorite gnocchi dish in town currently.

According to Christia Perozzi, artichoke is difficult for wine pairing but good with light, effervescent beer (which is also good with smoky flavors). She paired this with the Blond 5 from Brouwerij West, a local Los Angeles brewery. This 5% ABV Belgian style blond is fruity, citrusy, and effervescent.

Next is the Lasagna - wood grilled summer vegetables, ricotta, mascarpone

This vegetable lasagna is a much lighter, healthier version of the standard dish - just right for the summer.

Paired with Nora, Birreria Le Baladin, Torino, Italy

I have never had this before and this is now my new favorite beer! This beer from Piemonte is made from an ancient Egyptian recipe, using Kamut (a large Egyptian grain) and myrrh. It's fruity (notes of apricot and honey), with the malty sweetness, and just all in all amazing. If you see this beer retailing somewhere, please message me, seriously.

The entrees are paired with wine, which had been chosen by Diego Meraviglia. He wanted a list for everyone with all kinds of palates and budgets. There is a list of 50 wines under $50, and 120 wines in total (including the reserve list).

Our entrees:
Merluzzo - pan roast black cod, charred sweet corn, Manila clam broth, salsa maro (fava beans)
paired with Chardonnay, Copain, Anderson Valley 2010

The black cod was so soft and delicate, yet the dish packed some bold flavors, especially with the corn.
The wine is a biodynamic, unoaked Chardonnay. According to Diego, it's balance between European and American style. Since black cod is a fatty fish, it needs something crisp with higher acid to cut it. 


Bistecca - wood grilled Wagyu flat iron steak, crispy Temecula honey onions, salsa verde, porcini BBQ sauce
Paired with Valpolicella "Ripasso" doc, "Il Bugiardo", Buglioni, Veneto 2008

The flatiron cut of wagyu gives it that meaty flavor some people look for in a steak, but it's still very tender. The BBQ Sauce is made with oven dried porcini, mustard, and balsamic vinegar. Since it's sour, Diego paired it with a jammy wine to cut it. 

The Ripasso is Valpolicella which was remacerated in the pomace used to make Amarone. It's big and bold, but a middleground between the dry Valpolicella and sweet Amarone. (I'm seeing this middleground between two different styles to be a running theme here. The Chardonnay, the flatiron wagyu).

All the entrees come with a choice of a side dish, though in our tasting we more than one:
Finocchio - roasted fennel, tangerine, toasted pistachios, white balsamic

The dish is quite sweet from the tangerine. The fennel was unusually creamy and soft.

Carciofi  - crispy artichokes, caper berries, ricotta salata, mint

For the dessert course, we moved to the semi-private dining room upstairs:

Panna Cotta - Greek yoghurt honey panna cotta with apricot granita, hazelnuts, and basil gelatini
Marsala Superiore, 10 years, De Bartoli, Sicilia

Yoghurt panna cotta? Yep!
Marsala is historically a very important dessert wine but thanks to marketing and commercialization it has been relegated to cooking wine. Diego wants to show what a great dessert wine it is.

The dessert was also served with a cup of Guatemala Finca El Injerto - Bourbon varietal, single origin direct trade, French press. The restaurant uses Stumptown Coffee, who will soon be opening a roaster in Los Angeles (in early 2013), but the Trattoria's decision to exclusively use their coffee came way before that.


The panna cotta was actually great with the coffee. The Marsala was great but pairing-wise, I thought the coffee was better. 

We didn't try any of their pizza tonight, but their oven sure seemed impressive. The back part of the restaurant will be a sort of market / food-to-go section and they have tapped the former manager to Mozza 2 Go to run it.

Trattoria Neapolis will soft open with dinner service on July 10.

Trattoria Neapolis
336 S Lake Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 792-3000
trattorianeapolis.com

LA Street Food Fest Summer Tasting, Back on July 21

The LA Street Food Fest returns to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday, July 21. The full vendor lineup hasn't been released yet, but usually the vendors from previous years would come back, so check out last year's highlights to know what to expect!

The term "Street Food Fest" has been defined pretty loosely, since now it's not just food carts/stalls/trucks, but also various restaurants and dessert shops participating.

And it's not just LA, the Food Fest also brought some of the best from Baja, including the uni tostada from La Guerrerense in Ensenada. They may just be making a repeat appearance this year. This little seafood cart has been featured many TV shows recently, so if you haven't had the time to drive down to Baja, try it locally at the food fest!

One of the best chefs in Baja, Javier Plascencia is also coming back this year. Last year he brought a lot of goodies, including these grilled oysters topped with sea asparagus. I don't know why the line wasn't longer at this booth, but hey, better for me.

Read more »

East LA Meets Napa Returns July 20! A Preview, and Last Year's Recap

East LA Meets Napa is a unique event in Los Angeles. This event showcases some of the best Mexican restaurants in the city, along with some of the best wines either owned or operated by Hispanics in Napa Valley. The proceeds go to benefit AltaMed, which provides free health services to those in need, and support for single teenage mothers in East LA. What was at first a small event has grown to one of the biggest and most anticipated event of the year, and there's now less than 300 tickets left for this year's event!

They held a press preview at John Sedlar's Playa Restaurant and featured food and wine from a few of the event participants.
Chef Rocio Camacho of Rocio's Moles de los Dioses served a Chapulines and avocado taco

This taco was my favorite of the day. If you can get past your reservations about eating grasshoppers, this is a simple but amazing taco.
Empanadas tres soles: huitlacoche, flor de calabaza (squash blossoms), y potosina

Read more »

John Kelly Chocolate Truffle Fudges and Visiting the Chocolate Factory!

I first had John Kelly chocolate (truffle fudges) at Corkbar and remember really liking it. I didn't know where their storefront is, so I never had it after that - until I was invited to a tasting at their new Santa Monica store on Montana.

These chocolate coated "truffle fudges" are not a traditional fudge, and the richness and creaminess are closer to a ganache.
Their most popular item is the Dark Chocolate with French Grey Sea Salt.

The fudge is made with 86% dark Belgian chocolate, topped with Sel Gris de Guerande sea salt. Sure, you see a lot of chocolates with sea salt these days, but John Kelly was one of the first, and this chocolate won the Sofi Gold Award for Outstanding Chocolate in 2009. My favorite, though, was the Chocolate and Caramel with Hawaiian Alaea Sea Salt. They use bigger sea salt grains for this one to stand up to the caramel.

Their newest products are two spicy fudges: Dark Chocolate with Chipotle and Ancho Chile, and Dark Chocolate with Habanero and Jalapeno Chile

The first is the milder of the two but it still got quite a bit of heat (at least for me!). You get the spiciness at the end, although it does not really linger. The second is even spicier, and more of a slow burn than a sudden kick. Neither was overwhelming though and you still can taste the sweetness and creaminess of the chocolate.

Read more »

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp and Chile Relleno Dogs in San Felipe (BajaCalifornia, Mexico)

Some of you already know about Sonoran style hot dogs, even the bacon-wrapped kind. But in San Felipe, they took advantage of the seafood nearby and made ... Shrimp hot dogs! Bacon-wrapped shrimp hot dogs, to be precise. Oh, and bacon wrapped chile relleno dog also.

Martin started this "dogos de camaron" cart one and a half years ago, with a small cart in front of his house. Now he has two carts, chairs for his numerous customers, and even a little TV sitting on top of his fence. He will also be opening another cart on the main street of San Felipe soon.

The shrimp dogs aren't shrimp processed into sausages, but actual whole grilled shrimp - the bacon wrapping is what keeps it in shape.

According to Street Gourmet LA, it's not a Sonoran hot dog without Sonoran bread, and even here Martin ships the hot dog buns from Sonora. It's that heavy, comforting, late night food you've always loved (and craved when drunk) - but with fresh shrimp! And crispy bacon, mm..

The front of the cart held all the necessary toppings for a Sonoran dog. I had no idea what I was supposed to put on it, so I let Street Gourmet LA do all the work.

Read more »

San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico

Restaurants
Cenaduria Panchita (empanadas, pickled pig's feet)
El Balcon Cocina Artesanal

Street Eats
Tacos Estilo Ciudad Obregon (bacon shrimp dog, chile relleno dog)


Attractions
Valle de Los Gigantes

LAX Eats: Lobster Pad Thai at Ayara Thai (and Recipe)

Finding a place to eat near LAX has always been a tough task and In-N-Out ends up being the choice a few too many times. My recent visit to Ayara Thai told me that I should've explored the area more, and it's now on my list the next time I have a friend or family flying in with a short layover. Definitely keep an eye out for their specials announcement on twitter or Facebook, because they just may have the lobster pad thai. Yup, lobster!

For $16, they give a generous amount of lobster. Chicken? Meh. After having pad thai with chunks of lobster, it's hard to imagine any other protein that would go better with this sweet noodle. Lobster is the way to go, so try it whenever they have it available!

Even though I normally stay away from the chili sauces, the owner said the pad thai goes really well with the red sauce and the pickled jalapeno, so I tried a bite with the condiments. They really changed the flavors and the pickled jalapeno (which wasn't too spicy) acted like a palate cleanser in between bites. You should really try adding these two to at least some of your pad thai!

The spring rolls we ordered were apparently vegetarian (with tofu) so they were a bit more bland.

Read more »

El Balcon: Alta Cocina in San Felipe (Baja, Mexico)

Unlike the more metropolitan Tijuana, there aren't too many high end dining options in San Felipe, a sleepy town during the off-season. Still, there is at least one, and a very good one at that.

El Balcon Cocina Artesanal opened in Jaunary this year by Chef Julio Cesar Gonzalez Zetina who had previous worked at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun and researched Mayan culinary traditions for the university there. Now he also teaches the subject at the local university after a recent move from Ensenada.

El Balcon wasn't a fancy restaurant, just a few cute tables outside on the second floor of La Plazita, and an outdoor kitchen. Thick tortilla chips are accompanied by a bold housemade salsa.

Our lunch tasting began with an Aguachile de Cazon (dogfish marinated in burnt chili sauce and green sauce, smoked tuna, sea asparagus and "Huaxes" (toasted seeds), grasshopper, verdolaga

We have had plenty of bounty from the Sea of Cortez, but this was the first time in San Felipe that we had it raw. The fresh dogfish carpaccio reminded me of kanpachi and both of the chile were so good that despite not being able to eat that spicy, I had to finish the entire plate (while downing plenty of water).

Read more »

Tasting Menu at Shunji (West LA)

Shunji is one of the hot recent restaurant openings, with Chef Shunji Nakao's serving his "contemporary" omakase in an inconspicuous stand-alone building on Pico Blvd. There are only a handful of tables and a few seats at the sushi bar, and the chef prepared most of the dishes personally (some get fired in the kitchen).

His printed menu looks like the standard Japanese restaurant, but we had read about his omakase (the omakase was not printed on the menu) and just asked for that.

As an amuse bouche, a small bowl of jelly with cucumber and vinegar sauce

Next is a plate of small bites of vegetables, ankimo topped with caviar, a ball of purple potato with blue cheese and persimmon, and sweet potato with feta and truffle

Unsure if we were supposed to eat these in a particular order, we moved in one direction and it moves from rich (ankimo) to the palate cleansing, crisp, unadorned vegetables to the creamy potatoes

The scallop sashimi, topped with arugula flower, was so fresh

Read more »

For the Downtown Beer and Wine Geeks: Buzz Wine Beer Shop

We know plenty of watering holes in Downtown LA, but where do downtowners go to buy beer and wine for their homes? Well, now they should all be going to Buzz, the new wine and beer shop on Spring Street.

Buzz is not only about the eclectic selection of wine and beer (a fairly large collection of beers at that), they also have a tasting room in the back where you can get flights, taste beers on tap, and attend special tastings.

I was invited to a tasting party there along with other media, wine distributors, and the wine producers. The tasting showcases some of the more interesting (some rare) wines they have at Buzz, like Eastern European wines from Blue Danube Wines, and La Clarine Farm wines from the Sierra Nevada foothills. Sierra what? It's apparently a region east of Sacramento - a growing wine region that had escaped my radar thus far.

Read more »

Anchor Bar (Buffalo, NY): Home of the Original Buffalo Wings

Anchor Bar may no longer be the best place to go for buffalo wings in Buffalo, NY, but it will forever be the place where the wings were first invented. Naturally it still draws plenty of tourists; it's after all fun to go to "the home of the original buffalo wings!"

The buffalo wings were said to have been invented by Teressa Bellissimo in 1964, when she served them to her son and his college friends late one night. Now, there's a 15-30 minute wait for a table. Photos of celebrities at Anchor Bar and articles fill the walls. Shot glasses and t shirts are available as souvenirs.

We got a "bucket" of 50 wings ($39) to share among 8 people. I was worried about the spiciness and we ended up ordering a "medium" which the waitress said had a good kick to it but wasn't too spicy. Well ... the "medium" was actually super mild ... even for me!

The skin on the wings were nice and crunchy, but we could barely taste the buffalo sauce. They were still good wings, but towards the end of the bucket, I decided to ask the waitress for extra hot sauce. It was much more flavorful with the hot sauce, but she charged us for it.

Read more »

Melisse Ups the Ante with New Cocktails by Steve Livigni and Pablo Moix

Melisse has always been one of the top restaurants in the city, but it lacked a good cocktail program - until now. Chef Josiah Citrin and the team at Melisse recently hired the team behind La Descarga and other great LA bars, Steve Livigni, Pablo Moix, and Lindsay Nader, to come up with a bar program to meet the level of their food.

The result? A fun and sophisticated list of cocktails. There's no physical bar at Melisse, but with a kitchen of this caliber, they can do a lot of fun and ambitious things "table side" that you cannot do at a busy bar, like this deconstructed Zombie.

Watching the setup and action is certainly part of the draw for this drink.

Steve Livigni pouring in frozen nitrogen

The deconstructed zombie consisted of rum jello made with three different rums (Flor de Cana 4 year, Appleton VX, and Smith and Cross Navy Strength), Passion fruit "dippin dots", mint gelee, and passionfruit juice. It's beautiful with the style of a Melisse dessert.

Read more »

Giant Cactus! Valle de Los Gigantes in San Felipe, Baja California,Mexico

People think of the beach and ocean when they think of San Felipe in Baja California, Mexico, but it is also a desert. A desert with giant cacti!

Thanks to Street Gourmet LA, I went along on a media trip to San Felipe this past week and saw these giants with my own eyes.
Valle de Los Gigantes in Rancho Punta Estrella features gigantic sahuaros, which are only 6 mm when it's a year old but can grow for 2000 (yes, 2000!) years!

They don't produce the first seed until they're about 75 years old, and after that it will go on to produce millions, but maybe only one will survive until maturity. Well, when "maturity" in the desert amount to thousands of years, that's not so surprising ...

For size comparisons:

See Street Gourmet LA with his camera to the right? It's not that he's far away in the background, that really is how big that cactus is.

I don't know why this one didn't sprout any branches, but it sure grew to be a lot taller than the rest!

San Felipe gets really hot in the summer months (March is the ideal time to vacation here), but it was definitely worth the trek to see them.

Farewell to Foie at Takami Sushi with Montes Wines

At least with the impending foie gras ban, there are many more chances to indulge in foie at numerous restaurants in Los Angeles until then. Takami Sushi and Robata in downtown LA also has a rotating foie gras special until July 1. I was recently invited a tasting of the foie dishes paired with Montes wines from Chile, hosted by Takami and Montes Wines. Chilean wines are much more affordable than the European or Californian counterparts. Before the dinner we were served a crisp and refreshing Montes Chardonnay that runs about $11 a bottle.

The first course was a Vichyssoise of foie gras

Naturally the soup was rich and smooth. It was topped w seared foie, which was a bit gritty.
The soup was paired with a 2011 Montes Cherub Rose of Syrah


The richness of the soup and the acidity of the wine neutralized each other nicely.

Seared foie gras, caramelized mango, rose reduction.
Paired with 2010 Montes Alpha Chardonnay

The seared foie here was much better and smoother than the one in the soup and it went really well with the sweet, tender mango!

Braised daikon, foie gras w shallot butter broth, paired with 2010 Montes Alpha Pinot Noir

I love this since it was a more unique combination and a fitting one for a Japanese restaurant. The daikon was very tender and sweet. Each bite was wonderfully savory and creamy and paired nicely with the pinot.

Next: Nigiri of Ahi tuna and foie gras with eel sauce

I've had foie gras sushi before, but not tuna sushi further topped with foie! Double the rewards.
This was paired with the only California wine of the night, 2007 StarAngel by Montes, Syrah, Paso Robles.

The last savory course was a filet of beef and foie gras with black truffle in veal stock reduction.

How can you go wrong with this trio? The beef was very tender, and combined with the oh-so-fatty foie and a generous piece of truffle it was a heavenly bite. I wanted a big serving of this!

Paired with 2009 Montes Alpha Carmenere

The final course was a couple of Foie gras truffles, fresh berries, and butter wafer, paired with their dessert wine: a 2010 Montes Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer

I didn't really taste the foie gras but these may be the richest and creamiest truffles ever!

The foie gras dishes will rotate in and out of the menu at Takami until the ban on July 1st, so get them while you can!

Takami Sushi and Robata
811 Wilshire Boulevard #2100
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 236-9600
www.takamisushi.com

Yellowstone National Park

I'm on vacation! So I'll probably be a little slower in updating my posts :)

In the meantime though, here are some shots from the beautiful Yellowstone National Park. I highly recommend everyone to go there. The major sights are accessible by car and minimal walking, and there are so much to see!

In order below: the Grand Prismatic Spring, The Old Faithful geyser, a geyser next to Lake Yellowstone, the Opal Pool, and the Mud Volcano.

These are just some of the things you can see there. I also saw baby bisons that were just born next to a river and half a dozen waterfalls.

Flagship Mendocino Farms in West Hollywood Opens May 31

Mendocino Farms, the beloved sandwich shop, is getting ready to open their flagship location on 3rd and Fairfax, just across the street from The Original Farmer's Market.

This fifth location is their swankiest (being the flagship and all) with a kid's corner, communal table, outdoor seating, and a lit-up "EAT HAPPY" sign above the kitchen.

They're also trying to have beers that are more interesting than the ones at the Marina del Rey location and will be selling those that have been selling well at Blue Cow Kitchen.

We tried small portions of various sandwiches during the press preview, from the classic to the seasonal sandwiches. All the sandwiches are served on breads specially developed for them by Dolce Forno (Celestino Drago's bakery).

Here are some highlights of what we tried
Spanish chicken: shaved, roasted chicken breast, housemade Manchego pimento cheese, romesco, paprika vinegar, house marinated red peppers, roasted tomatoes, Scarborough Farm's arugula on ciabatta

Summer Cubano: slow braised carnitas, prime honey ham, Mendocino mustard, housemade dill pickles, Cuban mojo sauce, drispy plantains on Dolce Forno's soft roll

They have finally "perfected" their cubano sandwich using the new mojo sauce developed at Blue Cow Kitchen, and topping it with fried plantains

Try also the "Not so fried"chicken sandwich: roasted chicken breast in Mendo's krispies with herb aioli, mustard pickled slaw, tomatoes, pickled red onions on toasted ciabatta with chipotle BBQ Sauce.

Some new salads are also coming out for the summer, full of healthy grains like this Fregola Salad.

Starting May 31, you don't have to drive to Marina del Rey or downtown for their popular pork belly banh mi anymore.

Mendocino Farms
175 S Fairfax Ave
 Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 934-4261
www.mendocinofarms.com