Sunday, January 24, 2010

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A True Foodie's 21st Birthday!

Our no-longer-Teenage Glutster is all grown up now! But no way will we foodblogger friends let him spend his 21st birthday in a haze and hungover from kegs, Jagerbombs, and 2-buck-chucks.
No, we're going to celebrate in style!
Since Glutster had just achieved the legal age of drinking, he obviously had a lot to catch up on, so Street Gourmet LA arranged for a day of wine tasting and more in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley.
Six wineries, to be exact. Like I said, he needed to catch up. With a bit of financial help from Foodbuzz' 24, 24, 24 program, we're off to wine and dine him!

Our caravan, spearheaded by Street Gourmet LA, consisted of e*starLA, FoodGPS, and the siblings from Cemitas y Clayudas Pal Cabron in Huntington Park.

Our first stop is Foxen Vineyard in Santa Maria.
Besides being featured in the movie 'Sideways', Foxen Vineyard is a well-established (since 1985) winery boasting solar powered winery and tasting room and 90+ point wines from Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, and Robert Parker.

Our group is ready to go!

Foxen recently built a new tasting facility, but probably because the old one was featured in the movie Sideways, they kept both open. Foxen offers a tasting of five wines for $10 or a tasting of 3 wines at each location (6 total) for $12.

Here are the five wines we tasted:
2007 Chenin Blanc - Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard. A nice and light white.
2008 Chardonnay - Tinaquaic Vineyard. This is Foxen-owned vineyard.
2008 Pinot Noir - Santa Maria Valley
2007 Cuvee Jean Marie. A blend of Grenache, Syrah,and Mourvedre. This a fruity and flavorful wine,loved it.
2006 Syrah- Tinaquaid Vineyard. Much spicier than the previous red, has a fuller body but not as flavorful.

7600 Foxen Canyon Road (new tasting facility)
Santa Maria, CA 93454
Phone: (805) 937-4251





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Next we went to Alma Rosa winery in Buelton, passing through the quaint Danish town of Solvang on the way. Alma Rosa has a beautiful setting and a lovely outdoor tasting area. I can really hang out here all day.

Alma Rosa offers a varietal flight of five wines for $10:
2008 Santa Barbara County Pinot Gris- light and crisp.
2007 Sta Rita Hills Pinot Blanc
2008 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay - sweeter and fruitier than the previous two whites.
2007 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir - an interesting Pinot, it was smooth with a little hint of pleasant bitterness.
2006 La Encentada Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

Chris Burroughs from the Alma Rosa tasting room made a cameo in the movie Sideways (because they decided he was just so cool), so Javier took a celeb shot with him.


7250 Santa Rosa Road
Buellton CA 93427
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I was actually looking forward to visiting Artiste winery because they have the art studio where you can get creative while you're wine tasting. Unfortunately they were in the process of moving their tasting room to Los Olivos, so we weren't able to visit them. In the spirit of 24, 24, 24, though, since I had included them in my proposal, we decided to hold our own "Artiste tasting."

Street Gourmet LA brought 2 bottles of Artiste wines and accompanied by some amazing cemitas (courtesy of the Pal Cabron siblings), baklava, a wonderfully salty cheese from Chiapa, and Kiss My Bundt mini bundt cakes, we had a picnic lunch while taking in the lovely Santa Ynez air.

Many toasts and best wishes to our adult Glutster!

You can also see estarla there shuffling back and forth after eating some spicy Pal Cabron's housemade Chipotle! (More on the "Chipotle Shuffle" later ;P)

The labels of Artiste wines are hand chosen paintings representing the name of the wines. That afternoon we tasted Les Fleurs (a blend of about 5-6 whites) and Peaceful Alliance, both lovely wines. The Peaceful Alliance actually made a great pairing with the Chiapa cheese!

Moving to Los Olivos, location still undisclosed.
Phone (805) 686-2626
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Moving on to another Sideways-featured winery with Blackjack in Solvang, we took down their tasting of 10 (yes, TEN) wines ($12), which included the Maximus Syrah as featured in Sideways during the four-screen montage about 30 minutes into the movie.

Besides labels of famous Bordeaux, the tasting room was also decorated with photos from the movie Sideways.

Our ten wines:
1. Chardonnay Blackjack Ranch Vineyard Reserve 2007 - crisp and not too oaky.
2. Chardonnay Wilkening Vineyard Reserve 2006 - in stark contrast to the previous, this chardonnay was very buttery.
3. Chardonnay "Black Cap Reserve" 2005 - unfiltered white wine.
4. Pinot Noir Alix de Vergy 2005 Special Selection Reserve - a lot of smoke in the nose, but I don't find the wine particularly smooth.
5. Allusion 205 (Cab Franc with an accent of Merlot)
6. Double-Down Syrah 2005/2006 - fruity and smooth, this was one of my favorite from this tasting.
7. Harmonie 2004 "Bordeaux-Blend"
8. Harmonie 2002 "Bordeaux-Blend" - this wine spent 2 years in the oak barrels and is quite a nice wine, full bodied and smooth. Another winner.
9. Merlot Billy Goat Hill 2005
10. Maximus Syrah 2005 - this is their "Sideways" wine and a good choice. Quite flavorful and had a big body.




Blackjack Ranch
2205 Alamo Pintado Road
Solvang, CA





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We proceeded to the charming town of Los Olivos and first stopped at the Scott Cellars tasting room. Hippie winemaker Peter Scott Fraser personally manned the tasting room along with wife Jennifer and his mother.
Choosing his own rows of grapes from nearby vineyards (with the exception of the Zinfandel, which was from Paso Robles), Scott knows the effects that different soils would have on the resulting wine. We got lucky that day since Scott Cellars was having a (free) tasting event. This proved to be one of the more solid all-around tastings of the day with consistently high quality wines.
My favorites are the following:

2006 Pinot Gris
2007 Pinot Gris - This 100% stainless steel white is creamier wine than the year previous. This was probably my favorite.
2007 Pinot Noir - a double gold-medal winner.

We also tried their first release of Sangiovese wine.

You may notice the leaf on Scott Cellars' wine labels. That is the leaf of the grape used in the wine. Each leaf has a different shape and that is how he distinguishes between them in the vineyard. A nice touch. If you buy enough of their wines, you can learn all the shapes too!




Scott Cellars
2933 San Marcos Avenue
#101
Los Olivos, CA 93441





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Our wine tasting day ended about 2 blocks away in Los Olivos at the Carhartt winery tasting room.
This tiny tasting room was already half full before we bombarded them with our group of nine. Winemaker and owner Mike Carhartt was pouring our wines while bantering with Street Gourmet LA.

Our $10 tasting consisted of:
2008 Sauvignon Blanc
2008 Chase The Blues Away Rose (named for their son Chase)
2008 Pinot Noir
2007 Sangiovese
2008 Lockshaw Vineyard, Paso Robles Zinfandel - sweet and fruity
2006 Merlot
2006 Syrah
2007 "Four Play" - a Bordeaux blend with 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cab Franc, 3% Petite Verdot. A surprisingly spicy wine.

Apparently, when 5 pm comes, Mike turns off the regular music and puts on his rock-n-roll. Maybe it was the cozy-ness of the tasting room or maybe it was how casual Mike was interacting with everyone there, but half of our group definitely started bopping to the music.



2990A Grand Avenue
Los Olivos, CA 93441





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To soak up all the wine we tasted, we were off to eat some amazing Brazilian food in ... Oxnard!
This may come as a surprise to you (it certainly did to me), but what's possibly the best and most exciting Brazilian restaurant in this part of the country is Moqueca Restaurant in Oxnard. I've been really excited about this place. It turned out the place was fancier than I had expected, located right next to the water near the Marine landing.

Moqueca, a traditional Brazilian seafood stew, is a rare find in this country.
There are two variants of Moqueca in Brazil: Moqueca Capixaba from EspĂ­rito Santo state in the Southeast, and Moqueca Baiana from Bahia state in the Northeast.
Moqueca Restaurant serves capixaba cuisine. Capixaba moqueca is a seafood stew where the seafood has been marinated in lime and garlic, and then cooked in a clay pot with tomatoes, cilantro, onion, olive oil (one of the main differences between this and the Bahian variant is the use of dende oil in Bahia), and urucum - a red, prickly Brazilian fruit that really gives the moqueca a rich flavor.

At Moqueca Restaurant, they still use the traditional Brazilian clay pots made with mangrove tree sap, making the meal even more special.

With many of us fallen and backing out of dinner, we needed the chef's help in order to go throught the entire Moqueca offering since each moqueca serves two. The chef, Tatiana, agreed to combine some items in the moqueca for us, so that we'll manage to eat lobster tail, shrimp, mahi mahi, angel shark, and plaintain (banana de terra)! All of those for five of us.

Hungry after wine tasting, we devoured the bread with the delicious eggplant spread and adding the malagueta peppers (or the oil, if you're weaksauce like me).

We started out with some Bolinha de bacalhau ($12) - cod fish meat, potatoes, and parsley fried cakes with homemade light yogurt cakes.
These crispy 'cod balls' were just perfect to start our meal. Light yet flavorful with a rich and creamy dip. There were six pieces so we let Glutster have the last piece, but we all secretly wanted to eat them ourselves.

Next up is the pinnacle of our meal: Moquecas.
Moqueca de Lagosta Com Camarao ($72) - lobster tail and shrimp moqueca, serves two.
The first bite of the shrimp was pure bliss. That plump, fresh shrimp in the amazingly flavorful tomato-based broth. So much spice and flavors going on in this dish. Moqueca is a must try dish!

The other moqueca was of mahi-mahi fillet and angel shark cubes.
Even though the base of the broth is the same, the different seafood that's been cooking in it really imparts a special flavor to each. The shrimp and lobster one was a tad sweeter. The mahi mahi and shark cubes were moist and tender with the shark cubes being a bit meatier.
Both of these are perfect with the fragrant rice they served.

And to complete all the moqueca offerings, a side of the banana de terra (plantains):

We also got the Bobo de Camarao ($32) - serves two. The bobo is originally Bahian but since it has been a popular Brazilian dish, it is now usually found in most Brazilian restaurants.
Jumbo shrimps similarly cooked in claypot but the "broth" is wildly different. The bobo is thickened not just with coconut milk but also yucca, giving it that thick, almost slimey consistency. The bobo is also another must-get Brazilian dish. The spices and the creamy consistency makes it the perfect winter night dish.

After our extremely satisfying meal, it's time for desserts. No, we can't go without dessert!

We shared three different Brazilian desserts:
Pudim de caramelo (caramel flan)
Brazilian flan is particularly dense and rich because of the condensed milk they use. Probably too rich for one person to finish, but works just fine when split between five of us.

Quindim (coconut/egg yolk custard).
This was my first time having this interesting dessert. The coconut taste really came through, and the "custard" had a firm texture.

Mousse de Maracuja (passionfruit mousse)

This was my favorite dessert of the night. It's light and fluffy with a great passionfruit flavor.

This was one of the best meals I've had recently and the perfect way for us to end our day. It was amazing to find a Brazilian restaurant with this regional specialty of this caliber in Oxnard. It's even worth it to make a separate 1 hour trip to dine here.


Moqueca Restaurant
3550 Harbor Boulevard
Oxnard, CA 93035
(805) 204-0970
www.moquecarestaurant.com

Friday, January 22, 2010

Haitian Libations on Feb 6th! Raise Money for Charity

In conjunction with Vertical Wine Bistro, bloggers Mattatouille, RumDood, and I will be hosting the Haitian Libations Charity Event to help the earthquake victims in Haiti.

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Here are the deets:

When: Saturday, Feb 6th. 10pm-2am

What: 50% of the profits from the bar/lounge area will be donated to Artists for Peace and Justice who will personally deliver our aid to Haiti the week after! This includes cocktails, wine, and food sold at the bar area.

Also, us three bloggers will be personally making drinks behind the bar. We will be serving these three drinks for the night: Aviation, Vieux Carre, and Port-Au-Prince (a RumDood-original cocktail using the Haitian rum, Rhum Barbancourt).

Where:
Vertical Wine Bistro
70 N Raymond Ave
Pasadena, CA

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Giveaway: Your Own Home Pasta Machine!

I was recently approached to hold a giveaway by someone from CSN Stores, which operates over 200 online stores including those selling tableware and kitchenware from microwaves and eco-friendly fridges and cookware sets to Rachael Ray Cookware -- I don't watch her but someone gave my her fondue set for Christmas. Some people have told me her products are actually pretty good, and they do look cute.

They asked me to choose something for the giveaway, and here was my pick (and I hope you guys like it):

CucinaPro Imperia Home Pasta Machine S150, which has a 6" wide roller and spaghetti and fettucine cutter ~TA DA!
You know you want to eat fresh, handmade pasta for dinner at home. Forget those dried, pre-packaged stuff.

So, how to win your very own pasta machine? You just have to promise to make me some pasta once a month for the rest of your life.
Nah, I kid, I kid~ (but I won't refuse if you offer).

It's the usual deal + a teeny bit more:
Leave a comment below with your contact info and tell me what would be the first dish you'll try to cook with your new pasta machine!

Easy enough, no? You have until midnight of next Tuesday, January 26th (PST).

Good luck to all!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Marea: Seafood, Pasta, and My Latest Fave NYC Lunch

Oh, Marea ... Your Michelin 1-star, NYT 3 stars, and best new restaurant are all well-deserved.

But that wasn't why I went. I went because Sam Kim of LAist said I should, and I'm more than glad I did.

Business lunch at Marea runs $34 for 2 courses and the bright and spacious restaurant across from Central Park was a pleasure to dine in.

My lunch buddy got a tasting of three crudos for the first course ($8 supplement).
All three of the crudos we chose were wonderful but in particular I really enjoyed the delicateness and simplicity of the PASSERA which is the long island fluke with lemon thyme and olio nuovo.

For a better view: SEPPIA and PASSERA

I (surprise, surprise) ordered the ASTICE containing Nova Scotia lobster, burrata, eggplant al fungheto, basil and basil seeds.
Get it. Get it, get it. The burrata and the light basil seed sauce wonderfully accentuates the fresh lobster. Never overwhelming in any way, this was a lovely and balanced dish.

Moving into a more flavor-forward dish with the POLIPO (grilled octopus, insalata di riso, fava, yellow tomato).
Another highly recommended dish with the chewy and meaty octopus. The rice salad nicely mellows out the saltiness of the octopus and if that wasn't enough texture contrast for you, combine it with the pine nuts on the side.

In contrast to the delicate and meticulous plating of our first courses, the pasta courses looked decidedly simple but they were just as masterfully executed.
For my second course: Spaghetti with Santa Barbara uni, crab, and basil.
The creaminess of the uni really shone through with this al dente pasta. This was a dish bursting with flavor.

You can actually get some meat or fish dishes as your second course, but we both got our pasta this late afternoon. My companion had the equally delicious MARE (acquarello risotto, scallops, gulf shrimp, lobster - $5 supplement).
A much more subtle dish than the uni spaghetti - this is perhaps the best risotto I've had in a while.

Both of the desserts we initially ordered were nice but they were shadowed by the brilliance of our two courses.






The dessert portions were small and we were somehow unsatisfied, and so we ended up getting another one. Our server recommended the Torrone and it proved to be more satisfying than the first two.
Still, since the desserts range about $14 each, if you're like us foodbloggers trying to squeeze 50 eating places in a 5-day NYC trip, you'd be better off getting your dessert elsewhere.

For their crudi, antipasti, and pasta, however, there is no reason not to go to Marea. Just go.


Marea
240 Central Park South
New York, NY 10021
(212) 582-5100
www.marea-nyc.com
Marea on Urbanspoon
Marea in New York

Friday, January 15, 2010

Upcoming Events + Help Haiti!

Saturday, January 16
I'm sure you've all heard about the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Haitian restaurant TiGeorges' Chicken held a well-attended fundraising dinner yesterday (raising $14,000!), but if you missed that one, they're holding another fundraiser tomorrow 2-6 pm.
309 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026. (213) 944-1515

Can't make it? There are so many ways to help!
The easiest and most popular way is to text 'HAITI' to 90999 and $10 will be given to Red Cross and charged to your cell phone bill.
Or, just go to the nonprofit website of your choice and donate. I donated to Partners In Health.

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All through the weekend you can also Drink to Help Haiti!
Starting tonight 20% of proceeds from sales of Revolution Ale in the taproom will be donated to Haiti relief efforts. Reservations are available on Friday, Saturday, Sunday 4p-10p. Email ting@eaglerockbrewery.com for a reservation.
3056 Roswell Street, Los Angeles, CA 90065. (323) 257-7866

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Sat, Jan 16 is also Kiss My Bundt's Cake Tasting Event. All you can eat bundt cakes from 8pm-10:30pm, wine tasting, and coffee for only $10? It's the perfect time for after dinner dessert, too.
8104 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048. (323) 655-0559

Kiss My Bundt also has an ongoing series of hands-on baking classes ($50 on the weekdays, $55 on weekends -- or you can also get the baking class tickets for cheaper ($30-32) from Goldstar here). There are also kids' baking classes, intro to frosting, etc. Check website for full calendar.

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Tuesday, January 19
Five finalists for Coral Tree Cafe's "Panini-Off" will compete from 8-10:30 PM at the westside location. This panini-off is open to the public and proceeds from that night will benefit LA Firemen's Relief Association.
11645 San Vicente Boulevard, Brentwood, CA 90049.

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Also on Tues, Jan 19:
25% off all sales at Pourtal from 7pm-on benefit Red Cross Haiti efforts!

104 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401.

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Sunday, January 24
LA's last remaining winery, San Antonio Winery, is holding Wine 101: Introduction to Wine Tasting and Food Pairing. Attendants will be tasting the whole gamut from Louis Perdrier Rose Champagne to San Felice “Il Grigio” Chianti Classico Riserva 2005 to Maddalena Vineyard Muscat Canelli 2008 from Paso Robles.
The wines will be paired with the following menu: puma goat cheese/orange and roasted eggplant salad with French vanilla glaze, basil oil and microgreens/broiled Miso Alaskan black cod on a potato and chive pancake with Miso glaze/roasted Ancho pepper crusted rack of lamb on roasted wild mushroom risotto with pinot noir coriander sauce/Island mango mousse with candied macadamia nuts and toasted coconut shavings.


This class/lunch costs $55.00 per person. If you can't make it to this one, you might want to check out their other upcoming events including their sparklies and their chocolate+red wine pairing.

San Antonio Winery, 737 Lamar Street, Los Angeles. (323) 330- 8771

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Also on Sunday, Jan 24:
From 5pm to closing, 10% of all sales at Barbrix will go to Doctors Without Borders for their Haiti Relief efforts.
2442 Hyperion Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Campari Cocktails: Negronis, Punches, and More

Most people think of Negroni when they hear Campari, a classic that you can't really go wrong with.

Negroni
1 oz gin
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz Campari

But any liqueur deserves more than one cocktail to be made from them, so various mixologists have played around with this red spirit.


Nicaraguan Negroni Punch
Created by mixologist Jon Gasparini of Rye on the Road


15 ounces Campari
10 ounces Flor de Cana 7 year
7.5 ounces Cinzano Rosso
10 ounces Grapefruit Juice
2.5 ounces Honey

Combine juice of ten lemons and 30 cloves in a tupperware container or cake mold and freeze. Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl with flavored iced block.

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Since I didn't have Flor de Cana and it was New Year's day, I tried substituting Appleton rum. After trying the above recipe, we kind of decided that grapefruit + campari is just too bitter overall, so we topped it off with Sparkling Cider and more rum for good measure.

The Butchered Negroni Punch went something like this:
2.5 oz honey
7.5 oz sweet vermouth
10 oz grapefruit juice, fresh squeezed
15 oz Appleton Rum
7.5 oz Campari
7.5 oz Sparkling Cider (or to taste - some like it more bitter than others)


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They also sent over a Valentine-themed Campari cocktail that sounded good, I'll be trying to replicate this soon :)
(PS. Don't get confused by "Small Hand Grenadine" - it's not a typo, this is just grenadine made by Small Hands Food and is actually made of - gasp! - pomegranates as opposed to food coloring!)

Love Letter
Created by Adam Wilson of Beretta


1 oz Campari
1 oz Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
0.75 oz Cointreau
0.25 oz Maple Syrup (should be 1:1 with water)
0.25 oz Small Hand Grenadine
3 dashes of Peychaud's Bitters

Shake. Add Soda. Pour over ice in highball. Garnish with a lime zest.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Hot and Soupy #5: Mariscos Chente's New Winter Menu

Mariscos Chente made a big wave in the past year in the Los Angeles low-brow dining scene with their much lauded Sinaloan seafood cuisine. Recently they rolled out a Winter Menu and Street Gourmet LA, a long time Chente supporter, set up a small blogger tasting. Throughout the dinner, Street Gourmet LA guided us each dish, and where they come from , etc.

To get authentic Sinaloan seafood, the owner Maddalena routinely buses down to her hometown of Nayarit to procure some fresh seafood!

Tortilla chips and salsa while you wait. Watch out for the green salsa - it was way spicier than the red!

Our first soup was the Albondigas de camaron(shrimp albondigas), a common Sinaloan dish. Albondigas is meat/shrimp balls and is in fact a national dish that varies throughout Mexico. Seafood albondigas are typically found on the coasts. The broth consisted of shrimp stock, tomatoes, oregano, jalapeno, cilantro, and vegetables.

The albondigas were firm and chewy. The broth has quite a kick to it, and on that foggy night near the ocean, this hot soup was quite a treat.

There are three other seafood soups they're offering, which uses a common broth (made of fish stock, tomato, jalapeno, vegetables) but just varies in the seafood proteins they put in them.

The fish soup contains moist and tender pieces of seabass, including the skin and jowl.

The 'mixto' contains shrimp, fish (seabass, same as above), and octopus.
The octopus in this soup was so chewy and delicious I would highly recommend getting the mixto over either the fish or the shrimp (which they also offer). The broth here is not as spicy as the albondigas but I personally prefer it because it was richer and flavorful (though the rest did prefer the albondigas' broth).

Mariscos Chente is also offering a series of seafood tacos this winter.:
The deep fried fish(halibut) and shrimp tacos are topped with cabbage, tomato, onion, and homemade Thousand Island.
The batter here isn't as crispy as I would like, but the thousand island dressing is a really nice touch.

The highlight among the tacos was the Gobernador, a specialty of Mazatlan which consisted of sauteed shrimp with Monterey jack cheese, peppers, and onions in a flour tortilla finished on the grill.
Sweet and rich, these nicely grilled tacos packed a punch.

To wash it all down, we had Maddalena's special jarritos (also known as Palomas) which is typically made with Squirt, salt, and tequila but she squeezes in some orange in there for a flavor boost! Served in these clay vessels, the drink was quite refreshing and addictive. Mariscos Chente doesn't have a full liquor license so you can order this as a "virgin drink", but if you want to sneak your own tequila into the jar, I'll keep mum ;).

Who knows how long they would keep the winter menu up, so you might want to hurry and taste the Gobernador and their soups for yourself.


Mariscos Chente
4532 S. Centinela Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 391-9887
Mariscos Chente on Urbanspoon

Monday, January 11, 2010

Pasadena Wine Bar Renaissance? Part 2: Wine Detective

I passed by Wine Detective while they were still undergoing construction on one of my walks around Pasadena months ago. I didn't know when they would open but then I recently received an invitation from one of the co-owners, Lev, to check the place out.

Since this wine bar is just a few blocks away from Caltech (and my apartment) and thus an easy walk, I was more than happy to try it out for myself. A wine bar opening up within a stone's throw from Caltech can only be a good thing!

Wine Detective employs the Enomatic wine dispenser system, where the customer inserts a smartcard into the machine, chooses the wine they want, presses a button and receives a 1 oz pour.
The 1 oz pours (usually priced between $2-4) let you try a lot more wines than you would normally have, but it is cheaper if you opt for a glass. You can also get a bottle here and pay retail price + corkage fee.

The white wines are of course chilled and each pour is precisely controlled.
The wines here are all chosen by the four owners - and the four of them have to agree on the wines, which is probably quite an ordeal given people's differing palate. But, hey, I won't complain if I have to taste wine for work :P

Here you can also find some wines that you can't get at retail stores or are harder to find including Turley Howell Mountain Zinfandel and a selection of Charles Smith's wines.

While Wine Detective is not a restaurant, they do serve cheese plates, charcuterie, and some pintxos.

We got a cheese plate to share. A selection of three cheeses run $11.00.
Each cheese was served with the appropriate condiments. we got the verdecapra (a blue cheese from Italy), Roccolo (Cow’s Cheese from Italy), and a goat cheese that I can't remember. The blue cheese was pretty amazing, do try it sometime.

Duck Trio (duck pate, duck prosciutto, duck salami) - $17

Photo courtesy of Mattatouille

A plate worth getting, we loved all three but I loved the pate most of all, it was smooth and rich in flavor. I probably ate more than my share that night. I should also note that the bread that came with this and the cheese plate was quite good and went well with the cheese and charcuterie.

To soak up all that wine, LA&OC Foodie and I also decided to get some pintxos to share. A selection of 3 pintxos is also $11 and we chose: Pate (Duck Pate, Cucumber, Piquillo Pepper), Mozzarella
(Buffalo Mozzarella, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, Basil), and Serrano (Serrano Ham, Manchego Cheese, Oven Roasted Tomatoes).
These are pretty basic bites that work well with wines. I thought the Serrano could've used something extra since it was a bit dry for my taste, but again, I loved the pate.

Not only could I walk home after drinking wine, they also offer a 10% discount for those with Caltech or JPL id!
Also, for happy hour (M-F, 4-7pm) they are offering $5 glass of house wine and 25% off all food items.


Wine Detective
146 South Lake Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 792-9936
www.winedetective.com
Wine Detective on Urbanspoon


Other wine bars in Pasadena:
Noir Food and Wine
Vertical Wine Bistro

Friday, January 8, 2010

Pasadena Wine Bar Renaissance? Part 1: Vertical Wine Bistro

I admit, I never paid much attention to wine bars in Pasadena before because, well, what's in Pasadena? At least that was my thought.

With the exception of Noir that I checked out a couple of months ago, I haven't gone to the others, but a recent visit with Mattatouille to Vertical Wine Bistro in Old Town changed my perception of the Pasadena scene. We were there for their $5 champagne special that they for the 12 days of Christmas (and also to celebrate our birthdays a few days apart).

Vertical Wine Bistro recently recruited "wine dude" David Haskell (BIN 8945, 2006 Sommelier of the Year award from Angeleno Magazine) to revamp their wine program, and his touch is showing. Lucky me, Mattatouille knows the dude and knows just to take his recommendations on wine instead of ordering on our own.

Vertical's impressive wine list of more than 400 wines spans 10-some pages and ranges from bottles in the $20's to the $100's, including some unique and rare varietals. How are you supposed to pick? Well, we just ask. Otherwise, you can always choose one of the 7 flights they have available on the menu.

It's a bistro after all, so a review of the food is warranted. We decided to get some small plates to share at the bar, and I just went along with Matt's recommendations here.

First up: Corn Fritter (cured salmon, creme fraiche) - $12
Unlike what I expected, the crispy corn fritters were topped with a thick slice of smoked salmon. Lovely texture contrast, lots of flavors. These are some great bites.

Shoestring fries (truffle oil/ketchup) - $8
These thin fries were not overdone and had great texture. Not to mention the generous dousing of truffle oil made me unable to stop popping them into my mouth.

Chorizo Pizza (tomato, mozzarella, basil) - $10
Quite a well prepared rendition of flatbread and always a crowd pleaser, this pizza gets a flavor kick from the spicy chorizo.

So here's where David Haskell comes out and greets Mattatouille. He decided that we didn't have enough to eat though, so soon after he brought out the tour de force:
Roasted Jidori Chicken for 2, roasted tableside - $48
David himself prepared our chicken tableside for us.
I don't normally order chicken at restaurants since it tends to be dry and overcookedy. Of course, I went straight for the chicken leg myself, but I did try the white meat pieces to see how they were and found them to be moist and juicy as well.

David paired our chicken with a 1990 Chapoutier Hermitage.
Smooth tannins and full bodied, pretty rich and complex. This was a beautiful wine and it paired wonderfully with the roasted chicken. We wouldn't have made this pairing on our own, but that's why David Haskell is there.

We also tried a couple of cocktails made by Nikki the bartender.
Her new concoction made with blueberries is light, sweet, and refreshing. We liked it better with bitters and I promised her I'd bring some rhubarb bitters next time I come ( I still haven't yet, but I will, I promise!).

She also claims to make one of the best Margaritas in town, so of course we had to try that.
It was indeed one of the best margaritas I've ever had, a simple but balanced drink.

I've heard of Vertical Wine Bistro before, of course, but now it baffled me why I haven't thought about checking it out. With more than solid food, great wine list, and good (albeit still small) cocktail list, this place should be a go-to place for Old Town Pasadena.


Vertical Wine Bistro
70 N Raymond Ave (upstairs)
Pasadena, CA 91103
(626) 795-3999
http://www.verticalwinebistro.com/

Vertical Wine Bistro on Urbanspoon
Vertical Wine Bistro in Los Angeles

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

My New Fave Dim Sum: Lunasia

Happy New Year to all!
Hope everyone had a great winter break.

So, now that it's 2010 and all, I wanted to try to get my backlogged posts out! My favorite dim sum place as of late is Lunasia, which replaced Triumphal Palace a while back.

Why do I like Lunasia so much?
1. The wait is typically less than other places like NBC, Elite, etc.
2. The ambiance is nicer, the place cleaner, the dishware nicer, and the service better. They actually changed the plates regularly.
3. The prices are quite reasonable.

Even if they did bump up the price last year, "Medium" dishes are still only $3.28. The popular fares like shiu mai and har gow still fall under this category. (Small dishes are $2.28 and large $4.28)
Compared to Dim Sum Express' $0.75 shiu mai, the ones here taste that much better and for 4 of them you'd only end up paying $0.28 more.

The shrimp dumplings (har gow, M) are also great. The skin is not too thick as to taste doughy, the shrimp nicely flavored and fresh.


Chicken feet in black bean sauce.

I also always like getting their bean curd skin wrap ($4.28)
These are meat and veggies wrapped in thin bean curd skin in a delightful broth.

Buttery char siu bao ($2.28)

The egg custard tarts are rich with a nice, flakey crust ($3.28)

Earlier in 2009, they had these durian puff pastries that I loved. Alas, they didn't have it on my last 2 visits and so I can only reminisce about it.
The pastry was warm and flakey, and inside you could find creamy durian paste the way it should be - sweet, strong in flavor and aroma. If you don't like durian and thinks that it's not at all sweet, then I'm sorry to say you had a bad durian.

I have never had to wait more than 15 minutes at Lunasia, even on the weekends! Add the taste and price point to that, this is my go-to dim sum place.

Lunasia
500 W Main Street Suite A
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 308-3222
www.lunasiachinesecuisine.com
Lunasia Chinese Cuisine on Urbanspoon
Lunasia Chinese Cuisine in Los Angeles

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