Thursday, April 11, 2019

A Refined Lunch at The Grill on the Alley (Westlake Village)

Despite the long-standing status of The Grill on the Alley (30 years!), especially the original Beverly Hills location, I actually have not dined there until recently, when I was invited for a lunch at the Westlake Village location.

The Grill on the Alley is a white tablecloth American steakhouse, so naturally we started lunch with some shrimp cocktails. Leave it to The Grill to get some fresh jumbo shrimp. Sometimes shrimp cocktail sauce is too tangy for me, but this one was nicely balanced.
Untitled
We also got some oysters on the half shell.
Grill on the Alley

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Where to Drink Outdoors in West San Fernando Valley: Malibu Wines & Beer Garden (West Hills, CA)

After recently moving to Woodland Hills, I started checking out the places near my new neighborhood, including the Malibu Wines & Beer Garden in West Hills. The wine and beer garden is the sister tasting room of Malibu Wines and it's set in an old Spanish estate. It's a beautiful spot to drink outdoors.
Malibu wine beer garden
They serve Malibu wines (Semler and Saddlerock) as a tasting or by the glass, as well as selling them by the bottles. On top of the wines, they also offer a solid selection of local craft beers including from Five Threads Brewing (Westlake Village), Craftsman Brewing (Pasadena), Modern Times (San Diego) and more.

On the weekends, they also have food vendors, like Two Doughs Pizza Co. 
Malibu wine beer garden

Monday, March 25, 2019

Tasting West Coast Seafood with Pacific Seafood

A couple of week ago, the Seafood Expo North America took place in Boston, bringing seafood purveyors from all over the country, like Pacific Seafood who held a special tasting of their products for the media.

Pacific Seafood started in 1941 with one store in Portland, Oregon and has now expanded to 11 states. They focus on delivering fresh and sustainable seafood from the west coast (but also beyond now that they've expanded), like this dungeness crab (which made a great dip). They get their seafood wild caught or from responsible aquacultures.
Pacific Seafood
Pacific Seafood is also big on oysters. 30,000 gallons of oysters are produced a week during peak season. They showed us how to shuck oysters, like the Amethyst oysters that came from Humboldt Bay along the California coast. They also had a meatier Grays Harbor oysters from Washington.
Pacific Seafood

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

SGV Now Has 8 Flavors of Pork Belly KBBQ at Porkfolio (Arcadia, CA)

A while ago I had written about Eight Korean BBQ in Koreatown, which is known for their 8 flavors of pork belly. Well, now they've partnered up to open Porkfolio at the Arcadia's Westfield Santa Anita mall.
Porkfolio
Despite the different restaurant name, you can still find the 8 flavor of korean bbq pork belly and much of the same Korean BBQ menu at Porkfolio.
We got the Combo A, which comes with the 8 flavors of pork belly. The flavors are original, miso, korean red pepper paste, garlic, wine, sesame, curry, and herb. My favorite flavors are the sesame and the spicy Korean red pepper paste.
Porkfolio

Friday, March 15, 2019

Masters of Taste Returns to Pasadena's Rose Bowl to Help End Homelessness

This year's Masters of Taste will return for their 4th annual festival on Sunday, April 7 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The event started to benefit Union Station Homeless Services has really grown in the past years.

I recently attended a preview event featuring some of the culinary, beverage and dessert masters from the upcoming event. All of the food and drinks we had that night were from restaurants or brands that will be serving at the event.
The bartenders at Raymond 1886 created this cocktail for the welcome reception: Kami of Dawn (Ki No Bi dry gin, lemon juice, yuzu syrup, passion fruit, green chartreuse, coedo marihana
Masters of Taste preview
Because of the rain, we got to enjoy our preview dinner inside the Rose Bowl's visitor locker room. It was pretty cool!
Masters of Taste preview

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Los Balcones and Chef Ricardo Zarate Pairs Up to Serve Mestizo Cuisine in Studio City

Los Balcones has been dishing up traditional Peruvian food for a few years now in LA, but the Studio City location (which took over the old Girasol space) has partnered up with Chef Ricardo Zarate to revamp the whole menu along with chef Polit Castillo. The result is mestizo cuisine, referring to the multicultural influence both in Peru and on the menu, in particular the mix of Peruvian and Spanish cultures.

You won't find the traditional Peruvian food that you see at the other Los Balcones locations here. Beyond lomo saltado and ceviche, they want to show more of what modern cooking in Peru is like. We started with the Salmon tiradito, beet tiger's milk, roasted baby beets, orange miso, beet powder ($16)
DSC00079
Is this not the most beautiful tiradito you've ever seen? It was overall a great tiradito, although the beet slightly overpowers the salmon flavor.

Los Balcones also have some good cocktails, like this Margarita Sofia (tequila, passion fruit, lime, huacatay)
Los Balcones
Ceviche frito, striped bass, rocoto leche de tigre, roasted sweet potato, cancha corn chulpe ($16)
Los Balcones
This was my first time having ceviche frito (fried ceviche). It's apparently a fairly recent trend in Peruvian cooking where the seafood is marinated in leche de tigre (a la ceviche) and then fried. Adding this to the menu is a nod to the evolution of Peruvian cuisine.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Spread the Love: A Dinner Series Featuring and Supporting New Immigrants in LA

On Valentine's Day I attended a special dinner at Spread Mediterranean Kitchen in downtown LA. It was the first of their "Spread the Love" dinner series which benefits Miry's List, a non-profit which helps new refugee families settle into their new lives in the LA area.

Miry's List curates an Amazon wish list, so anyone can easily go and purchase an item to help a new refugee family. Not only do the proceeds from the dinner series go to support Miry's List, but the dinner series also partner a chef with one of the refugee family cooks to prepare the dinner together.

The first dinner I attended had Evan Kleiman cooking along Abeer Aljrafi from Syria. It was a five-course dinner, served family style (what better way to spread the love, right?)

We started with some delicious trio of Syrian dips (hummus, baba ghanoush, mutabal)
Miry’s List dinner
We knew more food were coming but we couldn't stop eating the dip until all the pita chips were gone.
Next up: Carrot falafel (tehina, mango amba, fresh herbs)
Miry’s List dinner

Friday, March 1, 2019

Global Menu at Filipino-Owned Mambo International Kitchen (Northridge, CA)

I recently tried a new spot in Northridge, Mambo International Kitchen. It's a casual spot owned by a Filipino family. In fact, the owner (and the ones who developed all the recipes), is the son of former Filipino president, Ramon Magsaysay. He had a jingle for his presidential campaign that had the line "Mambo, Mambo Magsaysay". It stuck as a nickname for the grandson, Raymond Magsaysay, when he was growing up and that's where the restaurant's name came from.
Mambo Resto
Mambo has build-your-own rice bowls, Chipotle-style, but there are signature rice bowls, tacos, and more you can order.

Being a Filipino-owned restaurant, there are of course Filipino dishes like tapsilog. It's typically a breakfast dish of beef tapa, garlic rice, and fried egg.
Mambo Resto

Monday, February 18, 2019

EN Japanese Brasserie is West Village's Stylish Japanese Spot (New York, NY)

There are so many great restaurants, including Japanese restaurants, in New York City that it's hard to choose or experience them all. Last fall I tried one that has actually been a mainstay in West Village for more than a decade, EN Japanese Brasserie. I hadn't paid attention to it before until the restaurateur opened Chateau Hanare in Los Angeles.

The restaurant is upscale and sleek, and the menu highlights many traditional Japanese cooking including homemade tofu, sushi, soba, and more. Considering they opened more than a decade ago, it's all the more impressive. EN offers three different kaiseki menus (including a vegan one) but I went a la carte on my visit.
EN Japanese Brasserie
Some of the highlights I tasted: Uni yuba sashimi (tofu skin sashimi from Kyoto topped with fresh uni, $24) - because I'm personally a fan of both tofu skin and uni
EN Jp Brasserie
Toro salmon aburi sushi ($8). Salmon belly is one of my favorite cuts, especially seared like this.
EN Jp Brasserie

Saturday, February 9, 2019

A Hard Hat Tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery (Kentucky)

I recently took a road trip from Boston to LA, and I made sure to stop in Kentucky to visit one of the bourbon trail distilleries. A friend of mine recommended a tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery - specifically, the hard hat tour.
Buffalo Trace
The hard hat tour is a special tour because it takes you behind the scenes of every step of the production at Buffalo Trace distillery. We started from where the trucks bring in the grains to the cooking process and the fermentation.
Buffalo Trace
Now, I've visited a number of distilleries in the past, but Buffalo Trace was a new experience to me because of the scale of it all. The distillery, which is owned by Sazerac, doesn't just produce whisky for the brand Buffalo Trace but a total of 12 different brands. They make 2.6 million gallons of whiskey each year!

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Winter DineLA Menu at Commerson

It's been a while since I've done Dine LA Restaurant Week, but I recently checked out a new (to me) restaurant, Commerson on La Brea. I've read that this place is one of the underrated gems in LA, so I was excited to try it.

Commerson's Dine LA dinner menu is $39 per person for three courses. The first course option includes:
Red snapper ceviche with avocado and plantain chips.
Commerson dineLA
The portions were quite good for the price and as you can see, the ingredients they use were obviously fresh.

One of the other choices was the butternut squash agnolotti with parmigiano reggiano and brown butter sage.
Commerson dineLA
This agnolotti is always a good pasta dish to have in the colder months, and Commerson's rendition was a good one.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Bella Luna, a Vibrant Neighborhood Restaurant in Jamaica Plain (Boston, MA)

I don't go to Jamaica Plain much, but I should, as JP actually has some great places to eat. Bella Luna and The Milky Way is one of those places. It's a neighborhood restaurant that's popular with a diverse set of locals. It serves great food and solid drinks, it has live music, and its connection to the community is apparent.

For starters, I know this jicama salad with avocado doesn't look like much, but I really loved this seasonal item and hope they bring it back! It was very refreshing.
Bella Luna
The seared scallops with grapefruit were also very nicely cooked, honestly better than what I had expecting from a casual neighborhood restaurant!
Bella Luna

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Totoyama: Sushi and Ramen in the Heart of Hollywood

Let's face it, Hollywood Blvd is not typically what comes to mind when thinking of a place to eat, unless I happen to be catching a show at the Pantages or drinking nearby. But recently I was invited to check out Totoyama Sushi and Ramen, a casual Japanese spot in the same complex as Greenleaf and Pressed Juicery. There's no Hollywood glitz at Totoyama, but the space is nice and comfortable, and the food was surprisingly good and prices were affordable!

Totoyama usually offers an omakase with 10 pieces of nigiri and miso soup and edamame for $48, but they also had a sampler of Japanese fish. I got the Japanese fish sampler combo for $58 which included 4 different 2pcs nigiri and one piece of uni.
Totoyama
I thought it was quite a good deal 9 pieces which included uni! Each sushi was dressed individually. I believe I opted for the aji (mackerel), kanpachi, sea bream, and since they were out of one item I had the salmon.

My friend got the spicy miso ramen ($13) which had a rich and flavorful broth, and pretty spicy. Too spicy for me, but she quite enjoyed it.
Totoyama

Monday, December 10, 2018

Los Angeles Coffee Festival Recap

Last month I recently attended the first Los Angeles Coffee Festival in downtown LA. The festival combines coffee, tea, cocktails, coffee wares, and art. There were coffee and cappuccino samples from various companies like Bluestone Lane Coffee, Verve, Klatch, Intelligentsia, Counter Culture, and more.
LA Coffee Festival
In addition to coffee, I tried a couple of chai brands and tea. There was also a session for making espresso martinis with Grey Goose vodka and Mr. Black coffee liqueur.
LA Coffee Festival

Saturday, November 24, 2018

An LAX Layover at Hyatt Regency LAX and Unity LA

On my last trip to Maui I had about a 4-hour layover at LAX, and I figured it would be the perfect chance to check out the Hyatt Regency LAX and their restaurant, Unity LA. Hyatt Regency LAX runs a complimentary shuttle to/from the airport and hotel (it's also the shuttle that services QuikPark, which is right next door).

There are separate parts to Unity LA. The main restaurant is only open for dinner (and breakfast buffet), but the bar area is open all day and serves a full food menu, although different than the main restaurant menu. The Unity LA menu showcases the different cultures and neighborhoods of Los Angeles. One of the main cultures, of course, is Mexican.

We started with some tortilla soup, because it's been a while since I've had one.
Unity LA
Their quesadilla ($14) comes with a salsa that the manager said was made with a secret family recipe handed down by one of the cook's abuelita, so of course I had to try it! We loved this smoky chile de arbol and tomatillo salsa.
Unity LA

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Miracle Bar Pop-Up: Holiday Cheer Around the Country

When I first heard about the Miracle Bar pop-up a few years ago, created by Greg Boehm from New York's Mace, I wished I had been in NYC to experience it. The year after it also popped up in LA but I missed it again. Luckily, Miracle became so successful the pop-up keeps returning each holiday season and has expanded around the country.

Last year, they had the first Miracle Bar pop-up in the Boston area, and I gathered fellow cocktail lovers to try out the holiday drinks at the Kimpton Marlowe in Cambridge. The holiday themed bar is coming back on November 23rd to even more locations around the country this year, so I thought I'd do a recap of my experience last year.

Here are some of the drinks we had last year and an idea of what's to come this year:
Yippie Ki Yay Mother F**r (Barbados rum, cachaca, Trinidad overproof rum, purple yam coconut orgeat, pineapple)
Miracle Bar
This one's for the tiki lovers, and you have to get it just for the Santa mug, of course.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Bokksu: a Japanese Omiyage Subscription Box for the Food Lovers

We all know that when it comes to snacks, both in packaging and flavors, Japan has got it down. Well, now we can all try all these famous Japanese snacks with a new subscription box, Bokksu!

Bokksu is a subscription box of Japanese omiyage (snacks). Each month's box is themed and filled with a nice selection of goodies and they also have an online market so you can buy more of the ones you like. I tried one month's box for free back in July, which was citrus-themed.
Bokksu
The citrus box has a couple of orange pound cakes, yuzu green tea from Satsumarche, lemon-flavored Tokyo Rusk biscuits, jelly, a Meiji chocolate orange biscuits, handmade yuzu candy, and more. Here's the full list.
Bokksu
The subscription box pricing ranges from $33-39 per month depending on how much you pay in advance (paying for 12 boxes all at once gives you the cheapest price). Each box contains 20-25 snacks.
There's also a cheaper box with 10-14 snacks for $22-25 per box.

You can check out what's inside the December's "Snow Festival" box here, I'm quite excited about it!

I love Japanese snacks and I think this subscription box would make a nice gift for all the food and snack lovers in your life! (Or me, you can always gift it to me).

Friday, November 2, 2018

Rebel's Guild in Revere Hotel (Boston, MA)

Earlier this spring, Rebel's Guild opened in the Revere Hotel with an American revolution theme to the decor. There's the cannon in the center of the dining room and Paul Revere and history-themed murals.
Rebels Guild

If you only get one drink here, make sure to get the Maple Old Fashioned (Whistlepig 10 year rye, Whistlepig maple syrup, orange bitters - $21)
Rebels Guild
It's a bit pricy but it's easily the best drink on the menu. We tried other drinks, as well, which tended to be lighter and fruitier like the Midnight Ride (Ghost tequila, lemonade, blueberry syrup, $14)
Rebels Guild

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Urban Hearth: A Charming Gem Near Davis Square (North Cambridge, MA)

Urban Hearth is a small and charming supper club in North Cambridge, a short walk from Davis Square station. They're open for dinner and also for weekend brunch.
Urban Hearth
I tried Urban Hearth recently and got a cozy corner table by the window. Urban Hearth offers a seasonal prix fixe menu for supper, with a three-course option for $70 or five courses for $85. We picked the three course option but ended up with a lot more food thanks to the extra appetizer, palate cleansers, etc.
Urban Hearth
Even though the above pricing doesn't include wine pairing, they started us off with a cocktail made with blackberry syrup, pineapple and chamomile infused vodka, and lime.
Urban Hearth
The appetizer before the first course: bread with za'atar and red pepper feta
Urban Hearth
For the first course my friend got the Lamb dumplings, flowering mustard, pickled cherries, leek soubise, spring onion
Urban Hearth
I admit, I had food envy, the lamb dumplings were great, especially paired with the cherries!

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Forbes Under 30 Food Festival Returns to Boston on Oct 2

The Forbes 30 Under 30 Festival will be held again in Boston this year on September 30-Oct 3. It's a forum for young leaders and entrepeneurs and cover many different fields. I've had the opportunity to attend their U30 Food Festival the past couple of years, where they showcase some of the Under 30 awardees from around the world.

This year, the Under 30 Food Festival will be on October 2, and ticket holders to the Summit can attend. You can check out this year's 30 Under 30 food and drink list here, which include Mei Mei's Irene Li, Peter Yang who cofounded Pokeworks, and Aaron Caddel from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse.

Last year's food event was held at the JFK Library, and here were some of my favorite bites:
Foie gras torchon on crispy Yemeni flatbread and rose tahini from Shaya Restaurant in New Orleans. This ended up winning the Judges' Choice winner for best dish of the night.
Forbes Under 30

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