Revisiting Lexington Social House (Hollywood): New Chefs Bring New Menu(Plus Jazz Nights)

Lexington Social House has gone through a couple of executive chef changes since they opened and have also added nightly specials like Tuesday Pizza Pop Ups and Wednesday Jazz Nights. I was invited in recently to check out the new items and also the Jazz Night.

The large back patio is a nice spot for a quiet outdoor dining in Hollywood.

We started with a LITTLE GEM LETTUCE salad with smoked blue cheese vinaigrette, grapes, toasted hazelnuts ($10)

The smoked blue cheese was very aromatic!

Steak Tartare, pickled fennel, root beet caviar, french fries

The root beer caviar was a fun touch, but I'm not sure about serving the tartare with french fries. I ended up eating them separately.

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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.

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Spring at Sadie: New Chef, New Menu, New Cocktails (Hollywood)

I had pretty recently blogged about Sadie, which opened in the former Les Deux space, but after that visit the then-executive-chef had left and Mark Gold from Eva Restaurant had taken over as a consulting chef. That means a repeat visit was in order and Chef Gold's new spring menu was the perfect reason for it.

While waiting for others to arrive for a media tasting, we explored the new cocktails from bartender Giovanni Martinez. Some of the cocktails remain the same but there were plenty of new ones.
If you like frothy cocktails with egg whites you will love the Pantera Rosa ($12) with Aperol, Beefeater 24 Gin, homemade vanilla syrup, lemon juice and egg whites.

After we were seated, we started the dinner with another cocktail, the Temperado: cachaca, Avion Silver tequila, lime juice, cilantro, and jalapeno. If you are one of those who are averse to cilantro, you may think this drink "tastes like a spa", but the little hint of cilantro with the spicy jalapeno made this cocktail just a tad savory, enough to open the way to our dinner.

Our courses were paired with either cocktail or beer, and all of the pairings were done by Gio.

To start our meal, a small portion of the Little Gem salad with a wonderfully creamy green garlic dressing topped with a piece of crispy ham

Then, an Organic (duck) Egg, representing "spring"

You may think it's strange that I'm raving about an egg but this was unbelievably good. It had such a strong flavor that the stalk of spring onion helped restrain. This egg is on the menu for $6 and I would be perfectly happy to sit at the bar and eat this with a cocktail any day. Maybe even today!

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Sadie (Hollywood)

The former Les Deux lounge space had been transformed into a Sadie Restaurant, with a beautiful, quiet, large back patio: a dining space that's a respite from the Hollywood scene (at least before the Hollywood drinking crowd starts hitting the bar inside).

Other food and cocktail bloggers have had great things to say about Sadie and their cocktails (and food), so I looked forward to checking it out with LA & OC Foodie. The cocktail list indeed look quite interesting.
We started with the La China: lychee black-tea infused Avion Silver Tequila, fresh lime juice, organic agave syrup, Velvet Falernum ($12), and Kentucky Ninja: Japanese single malt whisky, bourbon, fresh lemon juice, lavender-infused wild honey, served in a Peychaud-rinsed glass ($13)

Both of them were a great start to the night. Kentucky Ninja is one of the most popular cocktails at Sadie, and I can definitely see why. A strong drink but sweet and balanced.

Recently, Chef Mark Gold of Eva Restaurant had jumped on board as a consulting chef at Sadie, so the menu has slowly been changing and Gold will soon be launching a new Spring menu. Some of the things I had are still on the menu now, like these oysters:
Oysters, Deer Isle, Maine (1/2 dozen blue hill blonde oysters, $18)

Market Chop salad: kale, beets, cucumber, peas, carrots, quinoa, lemon vinaigrette ($11)

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Load Up on Cocktails and Bites at AMMO

I had been meaning to go to AMMO for a while but had never made it even after a couple of changes on the kitchen helm, but I was recently invited in to try the new cocktail and bar bites menu. The new cocktail menu had gotten a lot of good press and it was definitely time for me to go.

I brought LAOCFoodie as my plus one, since we're tasting cocktails after all and I knew he could handle it!
We decided to both start with something "bubbly" and I ordered the Blood Orange Crush (Bele Casel Prosecco, Aperol, blood orange juice, fresh thyme - $11)

LAOCFoodie ordered the beer cocktail which, coincidentally, was just mentioned in an LA Times article about beer cocktails that morning:
Belgium Sunrise (Allagash White ale, Lindemans Lambic Framboise, frambeau liquor - $10)

The Crush is pretty light and sweet. A good cocktail to start off with, though I think I actually liked the beer cocktail better - perhaps because I like Lindemans Lambic.

Since we were invited to try the cocktails and the bar menu, we stuck with the bar bites for our dinner.
I already knew I wanted to try their not-mac-and-cheese, the baked penne with aged white cheddar, fresh thyme, and breadcrumbs ($8)

It turned out to be my favorite thing that night, with its gooey, strong melted cheddar! I've always liked the texture of penne better than macaroni anyway.

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Fukuburger (Hollywood)

Fukuburger originally started as a food truck in Las Vegas and was apparently popular enough that they decided to open a brick and mortar in Hollywood. Fukuburger Hollywood now serves their burgers until 4 am!

I recently went to a tasting lunch with other media types. Instead of ordering, they were bringing out food periodically. I arrived later than a couple of other girls so I had missed out the one I wanted to try the most, the Tamago/Egg Burger. Some people said this was their favorite, too. Oh, well, I still got to try a lot of the other burgers.

The burgers are all $7, a pretty good price considering burger prices at various restaurants these days (especially in Hollywood!). I focused on trying the more interesting options, like this Kinoko/ "Mushroom" Burger - Fuku patty with grilled shiitake mushrooms, pickled red ginger, teriyaki, wasabi mayo

Fuku patty is just what they call their burger patty, which they use in all their burgers. I like the umami from the shiitake in this one, and the pickled red ginger helps refresh the palate so you can eat more.

Bacon lovers, get the Buta Burger with Fuku patty, applewood smoked bacon, cheese, pickled red onion, red ginger, Japanese BBQ sauce, wasabi mayo

This was the first burger I tried here and I definitely liked it. A fried egg would make this perfect.

For the non-beef eaters, there is the Chicken Katsu Burger with Panko encrusted chicken, cabbage, "crack sauce" and katsu sauce.

The chicken katsu was nice and crispy while keeping the meat moist.

What I enjoyed the most was actually an off-menu item, a breakfast special that the chef brought out! Fries are topped with bacon, onion rings, onions, and a runny egg!

They have fries, of course, but most people get the Jazz fries which topped with gravy and "crack sauce" (no, they wouldn't tell me what's in it)

They only have a beer and wine license, so aside from the decent beer list, you can expect things like sake or soju sangria and beer floats.

The decor is vibrant and fun with red walls and red tables and benches. A screen displays tweets about Fukuburger. You might want to avoid going to the bathroom here while drunk, though. The bathroom is lit red which was a little disconcerting to me ..

Go for: late night burgers (open til 4 am) at friendly prices.

Fukuburger
1634 N Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 464-3858
fukuburger.com


Disclosure: this meal was hosted

Lexington Social House: Social Hour and Fried Chicken

Good cocktails in the heart of Hollywood, for cheap? We're not talking dive bars, here. It's possible during Lexington Social House's Social Hour, where all specialty cocktails are priced at $7 on weekdays 6-8PM and all night Sunday.

With the launch of Social Hour they also launched a bar menu (items from this menu are also $7 during social hour!)
Do try the Chipotle Pork Belly biscuits with aged gouda, fried egg ($14)

I have a soft spot for McD's sausage egg mcmuffin, but this is (of course!) so much better! Everything you'd ever want from a breakfast sandwich, even if it isn't breakfast time. Great buttery biscuits, thick and tender pork belly, fried egg with runny yolk. I will definitely get this again.

The cocktail menu was created by barman Kyle Ackley, who used to work at XIV, and the cocktails are quite good and interesting (well, the bottom half. The top half consisted of mainly vodka drinks catered to the usual Hollywood crowd).

For my first drink I ordered the Palmera made with Zirbenz stone pine liqueur, pineapple juice, lemon juice, velvet falernum, angostura bitters

This refreshing drink is a great one to start the night off with. Frothy, velvety, nice light grassy note.

Next bar food: Short rib panini, port salut, pickles, IPA mustard ($12)

One word to describe this would be "rich". Very rich. The bottom slice soaks up the juices from the braised short rib and melted cheese.

My friend got the SPANISH HARLEM with tanteo cocoa infused tequila, maraschino liqueur, agave nectar, chocolate-chili bitters

As you lift the glass, you'll get a strong chili aroma, but the drink itself is actually not spicy. Strong and balanced.

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Komida: From Prom to Hollywood

One of the first times Yamashiro's Chef Brock Kleweno played around with Japanese influences tacos was at last year's Blogger Prom. They had also been very popular at the Thursday farmer's markets at Yamashiro, so it's only natural that their next move is a brick and mortar restaurant. That brick and mortar place is apparently a large space in the back of Hollywood and Highland center (towards Orange Dr, but there's no car-accessible entrance on Orange), in what used to be a club/lounge called H Wood.

There are definitely the expected Japanese influences in their tacos, salsas, and even guacamole.

The prices seem pretty steep for tacos, but each order comes with a serving of chips topped with their addictive wasabi guacamole and pickled onions and peppers.

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Tuesday Wing Nite at Delphine (Hollywood)

Dining at the W Hotel in Hollywood doesn't have to be stuffy. Now you can eat with your fingers after that Pantages show with Delphine's Tuesday Wing Nite.

Fried chicken wings with spiced honey

All night on Tuesdays, you can get an order of chicken wings for just $4.50 (4-5 wings per order) and choose from a variety of flavors, not just your usual spicy buffalo wings or fried chicken wings, although naturally they have those also.

Among my favorites was the grilled chicken wings with Honey Sriracha sauce, sweet and spicy! Don't forget to lick your fingers after.

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Blue Boar Pub (Hollywood): Stay for the Cocktails

The same man who brought you SmithHouse in Century City, Curtis Nysmith, has also brought you Blue Boar Pub (both spaces also designed by Spacecraft), a traditional British pub in the middle of Hollywood.

As this is a British pub after all, there are some (eight?) beers on tap including Dry Blackthorn cider, London Pride, etc, plus some "standards" (uh, Budlight). As the name suggests, the Dry Blackthorn cider is less sweet than the usual cider, and I recommend it. It turns out, though, that it's the cocktails that were the highlights of my visit AND, the cocktails are only $10!

I immediately fell in love with the William Wallace, made with Famous Grouse, ginger syrup, honey, candied ginger, angostura bitters. If you like ginger drinks, this one is a must!

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Cocktailing at Next Door Lounge with Joseph Brooke (Hollywood)

Hollywood's latest bar, Next Door Lounge, isn't exactly next door to me but with The Edison's alum Joseph Brooke behind the bar, it is certainly worth a visit. Joe Brooke joined the team right before the lounge opened, so while he's added his concoctions on and revamped some of the drinks they already had on the menu.

Next Door Lounge is owned by the same man as The Corner, but unlike the casual comfort food joint, Next Door Lounge is aiming for a sophisticated speakeasy feel. When I checked out the place with LA OC Foodie and e*starla, I got to really take in the space during the quieter early evening, and it's beautiful.

The cocktails are mostly $12, with a couple that run $14 (one of them also happened to be one of our favorites, the Volstead and Vice made with Ilegal Mezcal Joven, Pernod Absinthe, cucumber water, agave nectar, lime juice). Yep, we love smoky drinks.

Here are some more of the cocktails I liked:
The Dame Next Door (Canadian Club 12 yr, dry vermouth, clove-infused pineapple gomme syrup, pineapple juice, pasteurized egg white, angostura bitters)

See the key-shaped bitters sprayed on the drink? That's the Next Door Lounge logo.

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BoHo Gastropub: A Little Life in Hollywood and Highland

When BoHo moved to their new location on Hollywood and Highland, they also placed a new chef in charge and revamped their menu. I remembered enjoying the oyster po' boy sliders and their desserts in my visit to the old location, but this new incarnation apparently holds a nice surprise from the current executive chef Wesley Pumphrey (previously a sous chef at the first BoHo and had worked at The Bazaar before that).

I had missed their opening event, but they invited me for a tasting of their menu. The restaurant is tucked behind The Grill and had maintained the same bohemian look as the previous location. After chatting with the general manager, we decided they should just send out what they think are the highlights of the menu.

Our first dish was perhaps my favorite:
Veal sweetbreads, gorgonzola bread pudding, red wine demi-glace ($14)

The gorgonzola bread pudding was moist with a strong cheese flavor, but it was light and airy enough. And one might think that combining two rich items like sweetbread and bread pudding would be overkill, but the sweetness of the demi glace brought the two together perfectly.

Their list of 20-something craft beers on draft ($6-9 per pint) are organized under "light and easy", "bigger and bitter", and "bold and dangerous". Feeling challenged, I started with a Hofbrau Maibock from the third category and then moved to a Unibroue Ephemere (a Belgian wit with apples) from the first.

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Public Kitchen and Bar at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Crispy Oxtail Galette, poached egg, frisee ($9)

The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is already the local hotspot, and it's now even more so with Chef Tim Goodell's newly opened Public Kitchen and Bar (he is also responsible for the burger joint, 25 Degrees).

They managed to keep the look continuous with the iconic hotel without the "drab". The tall windows let in plenty of light at 6pm, giving it a spacious and bright feel.

Loved the clean look of the chandelier, too.

The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel has strong cocktail programs all around, with Matt Biancanello at Library Bar and Aidan Demarest heading The Spare Room. The cocktail program at Public is not to be left behind either, the menu was actually created by Matt's mentor. I'm sure I'll end up drinking at Public more than Library Bar or Spare Room since the cocktails here are only $9!


I started with the Kentucky Brunch (r1-rye whiskey, apricot marmalade, lemon, egg white), a refreshingly sweet yet potent drink. The cocktails here definitely on par with the best bars in LA.

My next drink was the Alexandra (milagro silver tequila, aperol, st. germain, lemon syrup, passionfruit, yuzu juice, mint).  It sounded like it would be sweet with the list of ingredients but it was nicely balanced.

Now, onto the food.
Parker House Rolls with Vermont creamery butter ($5), which was a recipe of Chef Goodell's grandmother.

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EFFEN Vodka Party at La Vida

EFFEN is a wheat-based vodka from Holland that is targeted for the club scene and "younger drinkers."

EFFEN boasts their focus on "design" as evidenced by the good looking box and bottle its product comes in, along with the rubber grip of the bottle, which will make busy bartenders' lives much easier. Rushing and grabbing bottles in a busy night club? Yep I can see how a gripping a glass bottle will be hard and how that rubber sleeve would really help.

Photo courtesy of EFFEN

It's also evidenced by the EFFEN by Design events they've been putting on around the country. I was invited to one held at La Vida in Hollywood. They had invited Vanessa de Vargas, an interior designer, to speak about interesting architecture in Los Angeles. The four cocktails (created by La Vida's even director) are named after historical and architectural landmarks like The Parker and The Coonley Playhouse.
Two of the four cocktails were made with the plain EFFEN vodka while the other two were made using the black cherry flavored vodka. The regular vodka runs at $25.99 at BevMo - not a bad price - though the Black Cherry flavor seems to run above $30.

La Vida's new executive chef is the former Chef de Cuisine at Rivera, Joseph Panarello. While I didn't get to have a full meal here, the passed hors d'oeuvres did give an idea of what he was doing at his new gig.
We all loved these little lamb chops. I probably ate about four. I'm looking forward to having a full dinner here soon.


Disclosure: The party was hosted by EFFEN vodka and I received a bottle of their regular vodka.

Get Ready for Hungry Cat's CrabFest VI ! (CrabFest V Recap)

June 27, exactly a month from now, marks CrabFest VI at The Hungry Cat in Hollywood. That not only meant that I had to call and make a reservation immediately, but I also better hurry and review ... last year's CrabFest V.

Shows you how much I procrastinate. Wow.

CrabFest at The Hungry Cat happens one Sunday a year, where a crab-centric prix fixe menu takes over the restaurant. Last year's $60 menu included 5 courses + 2 sides.

Bartender Matty Eggleston has long since been gone from Hungry Cat, but he had developed the cocktail menu there at the time. I'm not sure how much of it had changed, perhaps not at all.

The ones manning the bars that day made solid drinks and Matty was actually on his day off and was eating crab at the counter.

I didn't like the drink I ordered but I loved the Black Eyed Plum that LA&OC Foodie ordered, made with plum, lime, and cachaca.



Our feast started with the Crab Roll "amuse", sitting enticingly in front of me.
I loved the creamy crab salad, not overwhelmed by the mayo, it let the fresh and sweet Maryland blue crab meat shone through. I loved it on top of the crisply toasted dinner roll. Too bad this was an "amuse" and I only got one. If this was a la carte, I would've ordered another.

"Pride of Baltimore" crab soup, grilled bacon fat, cornbread.
A hearty bowl full of crab flavor. I don't know if you can see it, but there was a lot of crab meat floating in the bowl.

Whole pan-roasted softshell crab, haricot verts, pancetta, corn.
This was probably my favorite course of the day. Not heavily seasoned, the focus is on the crispy yet meaty soft shell crab with a big burst of juice when you bite into it. The juice from the crab combined with the pancetta was decadent, but the haricot vert is there to cut it.

Two sides were served to provide a break from all the crab: tomato and pecorino cheese, and potato salad.
The juicy tomatoes were pretty impressive, and it paired nicely with the mild sharpness of pecorino.

The main attraction came with little wooden mallets. Steamed Maryland blue crab, six for each person.
Sure, cracking the crab for the meat was a lot of work, but it's all part of the fun, and the sweet crab meat inside is well worth the effort.

The aftermath:
That might or might not be all mine. Uhm.

For dessert: peach crisp.
It was unfortunately served cold. Cold crisp, really? It was okay, and perhaps they would be too overwhelmed with the crowd if they have to heat up their crisps for each person, but I would've enjoyed the dessert more if they did.

Well, regardless. We came for CrabFest. The steamed crabs and the rest of the crab courses were well worth the $60.

Here are LA&OC Foodie's and Mattatouille's much more timely reports of the same feast.

The Hungry Cat
1535 North Vine
Hollywood, CA
323-462-2155