Lucky Devils (Hollywood, CA)

Lucky Devils is one of the oldest craft beer bar in Hollywood, though I actually went to taste the wines from their newly installed wine taps. Lucky Devils was opened by former model Lucky Vanous. It was before my time but Wandering Chopsticks who came with me did remember this old Diet Coke commercial. I've never heard much about Lucky's before and wasn't sure what to expect, but to my surprise the food was actually pretty good. On this particular strip of Hollywood Blvd, Lucky's may well be one of the best options.

As I was being seated for my tasting I noticed a menu of "six courses" with multiple items listed under each and 12 wines. Oh, I need to choose, I thought, but I was quickly corrected. I was apparently getting all of them. All 10 dishes+2 fries+2 desserts+12 wines.

We started with some olive tapenade and jalapeno hummus with char-grilled bread.

Wandering Chopsticks loved the charred bread and couldn't stop eating them even though we have 10+ more courses to come.

With this first appetizer we tried three different white wines they had on tap:
 2011 Zocker Gruner Veltliner. Vibrant, crisp. Notes of stone fruit (melon).
2011 Hess Chardonnay. Slightly buttery. From Monterey's coastal valley.
2011 Acrobat Pinot Gris. Nice one. A hint of sweetness, a bit sweeter than the Zocker.

They only have wines on tap here so you may not find many wineries you know and like, but the most expensive 6oz pour is $9.50 and most is $7.50.

Short rib sliders (braised with caramelized vegetables, wild arugula, horseradish cream, Hawaiian sweet rolls) and truffle parmesan chips (it's truffle oil).

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Giveaway! Sunset & Dine: Food, Drinks, Movie

On June 13th the 2nd annual Sunset and Dine kicks off! It's the summer movie screening program at Academy Hollywood, the outdoor amphitheatre on the campus of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

From 6-10pm you can watch a great classic while partaking in food, beer, and wine samples from local establishments and all proceeds from the $30 ticket will go to local charities.

The food: some of the best pizza in town from the new Stella Barra, followed by old favorites like Los Balcones del Peru and El Floridita along with promising new stars I haven't tried like Urban Masala, The Waffle and more.

The drinks: beer from Hollywood favorite Blue Palms Brewhouse, K&L Wines and more.

The movie: a wonderful classic and one of my favorites film noir, Sunset Boulevard, starring Gloria Swanson. 

So. I have two pairs of tickets to give away to two lucky readers (valued at $30 per ticket)!

To enter, leave a comment below with your email contact.

Get extra entries by tweeting: "Food, beer, Sunset Blvd film under the stars. Win tix to Sunset&Dine via @gourmetpigs http://bit.ly/128up2h "

Since the event is coming up soon this is going to be a quick one and you have until midnight of Monday June 10 to enter! I'll be drawing the winners on Tuesday. Good luck!

Academy Hollywood is located at 6322 DeLongpre Ave. in Hollywood.  Tickets are on sale now at www.sunsetanddine.org

PINGTUNG Eat-In Market: Great Asian Food on Melrose, For Real

When you talk about Chinese food on the westside, West Hollywood, or Hollywood, you're immediately skeptical. Of you might say that "it's pretty good for the westside". Well, PingTung recently opened up on Melrose, serving up dim sum, Chinese rice dishes, beef rolls, and Japanese ramen, and it's good. Not just "it's pretty good for Melrose", but actually good.

Unlike the higher end Bao, PingTung is more casual, with wooden tables and an outdoor night market style seating in the back. There are Asian products displayed on the shelves for purchase. That's the market part. I'm here for the eat-in part.

The owner (Ping) had hired a Chinese chef to make all the dim sum and a Japanese chef to make all the ramen.
She told us that the chefs had protested initially when she told them to cook with no MSG and less oil, but they finally figured out how to do this while maintaining the taste.

Pingtung Flat Bread Beef Roll ($6.95)

I thought the flatbread would be some kind of pizza-like thing but it turns out to be these rolls! They're done well, the skin nicely crisped at the edges.

Chicken Shumai ($5.50)

They also have pork shumai but Ping really wanted me to try the chicken shumai. Have to admit, they're pretty good (that just means the pork would be that much better, right?). They tasted cleaner than SGV dumplings but that's not necessarily bad.

Radish cake with chinese sausage ($4.95)

My default order when I go to dim sum. I like the browned, thinner version here. More crisp to volume ratio!

Crystal Shrimp Dumplings ($5.50)

No dim sum without har gow!
When I eat this, the thing I watch out for is the skin. Sometimes the skin is too thick or too hardened. Not so here, I was pleasantly surprised that the skin and, indeed, the whole dumpling was excellent.

(Spicy) Miso Tonkotsu Ramen $7.95

They don't make the noodles in house but the noodles they use were specifically made for their broths. The company they use had come to taste the broth and figured out the right noodles to use. The tonkotsu is not as fatty as most places but it's still quite good! Healthier while maintaining great flavors, indeed. Ping is also very proud of her chicken ramen, which I will have to try later.

Paiku Pork Chop ($10.95), comes with soup of the day.

This is the only one that I didn't really like, because the meat was a bit tough. When I was there the soup was a hot and sour soup.

They also have beer and sake (and sake cocktails) as well as a good selection of loose leaf teas. Overall I was very pleasantly surprised by PingTung. Yes, the price point is still higher than San Gabriel Valley (and there's no chicken feet on the menu), but what can you expect with a Melrose rent? Either way it may be the only dim sum (or ramen) place to go to in this area, and it's one I would be happy to recommend to others.

PINGTUNG
7455 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 866-1866
www.pingtungla.com

Beachwood Cafe: Charming Local Spot in Hollywood

If you've never been, check out Beachwood Canyon, a quaint, quiet neighborhood in Hollywood. Here you will find Beachwood Cafe. Unlike the typical Hollywood places you might think of (clubs, lounges, seedy diners?), Beachwood Cafe is cute, charming, with comforting food that offers a little something extra.

I love the bright colors and the fun wallpaper and tiles here. Do check the different dioramas around the restaurant, too, they're a lot of fun!

OK, food. I started with a plate of Red Hawk cheese with homemade blueberry jam, blue cheese, rye crackers

The rye crackers are quite unique and the blueberry jam complemented the red hawk nicely.


They don't have a full liquor license but do have a wine and beer license here. There are a couple of interesting wine cocktails and I just had to try the pickled pear champagne cocktail ($7). This was a really refreshing, lightly tart champagne cocktail, great for whetting your appetite.

For the appetizer, you have to try the Corn and orzo braised in cream. The vegetarian version is $9 or you can add bacon for $12 (do it!). This was like a very good yet healthier version of mac and cheese! So addictive, although it's best when still hot.

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LA Turns Into Tacolandia on June 23

If there's one guy who knows his tacos in LA that would be Bill Esparza, also known as Street Gourmet LA. While you and I whine about how hard it is to get from the east to westside, he's been known to scour the county for new gems, trying out places in Sun Valley and beyond.

Lucky for you, though, he's bringing them to Hollywood in June. That's 30 restaurants from all over LA, OC, and even Baja. And thanks to tacos being cheap, this all you can eat dealio is only $20! It's not just cheap taco stands participating though, even famed Chef Laurent Quenioux is set to participate. And if you want all you can drink tequila on top of that, then it's $40.

A much better deal than a $60 dim sum crawl ...

Tacolandia will be on June 23 from 12-5pm at the Hollywood Palladium. Mark your calendars and buy your tickets here.

Littlefork, Hollywood's New Food and Cocktail Gem

The new Littlefork in Hollywood brings Chef Jason Travi back on the dining scene after Fraiche, with a bar program helmed by Brian Butler (Sunny Spot) and Dino Balocchi, formerly of Longman and Eagle in Chicago. With my fond memories of Longman and Eagle's cocktails, I was pretty excited about Dino moving here! The exterior of Littlefork was a bit out of place - a white corner building with a small "littlefork" painted on the wall - but the inside is a beautiful bar and a spacious, elegant dining room.

Chef Travi makes his own pickles here, and he really goes all out. As you walk in to the restaurant, take a look to your right, behind the hostess stand. There's a whole wall of pickle jars.

From pickled beets to brussels sprouts (my favorite!), he pickles them all.

The cocktail menu here features house-made bitters, house-made tonic and ginger beer (cocktails are $11 each). The El Perdido is made with tequila, lime, chartreuse, cocchi americano, and the house-made strawberry chile bitters.

The house-made ginger beer makes an appearance in the Thai Town Mule (gin, lime, thai basil, peppercorn, house ginger beer). The “Gin and Tonic”'s flavor profile moves away from the classic with the addition of ginger and bonal.

A fun appetizer for the table is the Maple eggs with crispy bacon

A little taste of breakfast in egg-shaped cups. No, they're not real egg shells. Yes, I had two of these.

Our multi-course tasting meal continues with the Chowder: clams, bacon, oyster crackers

served with a mini bottle of tabasco!

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Playing with DRY Soda Cocktails at Sadie

DRY Soda is a Seattle based company that produces colorless sodas with less sugar and great flavors like lavender, rhubarb, blood orange, and the like. While originally they were made to be drank straight from the bottle, they soon realized that bartenders like to use them as mixers, and they jumped on the opportunity.

The DRY Soda Co. owner then traveled to Los Angeles and held a cocktail pairing dinner at Sadie in Hollywood, where the main barman Giovanni Martinez created four cocktails made with DRY Soda.

Our welcome drink was a refreshing, lower alcohol cocktail, Rue and Barb made with strawberry, lillet rose, lemon, DRY rhubarb soda

The drink was paired with watermelon, grilled romaine, blood orange vinaigrette

Our second drink was the aromatic Lavande, made with scotch, honey, lemon, Lavender DRY soda, light absinthe spray. This was my second favorite cocktail of the night. The lavender soda works well and did not become overpowered with the strong scotch and absinthe components.

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New Fall Menu at Public Kitchen & Bar (Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel)

Before Vartan Abgaryan exited Public Kitchen and Bar at The Roosevelt, he and Executive Chef Tim Goodell left them with a solid Fall menu.

I was there to try their Halloween eye ball cake pops but was treated to quite a feast instead, starting with a jar of very creamy burrata with bagnet vert and cherry tomatoes ($13)

We couldn't stop snacking on the Chicharrones with chili and lime ($8)

The various vegetable dishes are great for this season. It's the season for squash, so try their Kabocha squash, sheep's milk ricotta, pumpkin seeds, rapini leaves, pumpkin spice vinaigrette ($11)

The pumpkin spice vinaigrette was so good, this dish was almost like eating a savory pumpkin pie.

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AMMO's New Slinger

There's a new face behind the bar at AMMO. Jonny Ericsen is a Portland transplant and Clyde Common graduate who will be taking charge of AMMO's cocktails (speaking of Portland mixologist moving to LA .. have you watched this Portlandia episode?)

A few of the cocktails remained from my last visit, but a number of new ones have popped up. The Currant Affair is a strong but sweet drink that's perfect to start the night off (Old Overholt rye, lemon juice, cassis, maraschino, Angostura bitters -$10)

I had a more aromatic beginning with the Copper Cup (Citadelle gin, Cynar, Dolin Blanc vermouth, orange bitters - $11)

Both drinks were well balanced and went down dangerously easy.
After a while, we started having Jonny play around with off-menu drinks, both classics and his own creations. The Van Cleef was a drink he made when he opened Little Bird in Portland. He calls it a "cowboy drink", made with scotch rinse, Buffalo Trace bourbon, and burnt orange oil.

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New Season Warrants New Visit to Sadie (Hollywood)

A new season means new menu and new cocktails at Sadie. Summer was the season for strawberries and cocktails like the Pink Rose (lillet rose, lemon juice, strawberry syrup, GH mumm cordon rouge - $13)

Gio Martinez' summer menu featured cocktails like the Sandy Swizzle (pineapple and sage infused chivas regal, agave, lemon juice, whipped coconut cream, Smith and Cross float, $12)

The first sip of the coconut cream on top was a weird, but as you keep drinking the flavor melds together well with the rest of the cocktail. The coconut cream brings me back to my holidays back home in Indonesia. This was my favorite and the most unique of the summer cocktails!

The chef has changed since I was here, but when I visited I had some great fried chicken. The Sadie Fried Chicken came with grilled red lady peaches, crispy confit potatoes and Bulleit rye jus for $22

There was also this gorgeous Charred Bone Marrow with peppadew peppers, leek ash, citrus chive vinaigrette, and of course, toasted bread

When there's bone marrow at a bar ... you know what might happen, bone luge!

e*starLA is a pro at this!

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Wood and Vine (Hollywood, CA): Monday Market Dinners and ChickenandWaffles

Fact: Wood and Vine has one of the best al fresco dining area in Hollywood. Insist on a table here as long as the nights aren't too cold. It's a quiet escape from the craziness of Hollywood Blvd.

When Wood and Vine first opened, the executive chef Gavin Mills had to figure out how to work with the tiny kitchen and now he's got it down. The kitchen is so small it has no walk-in fridge! But that just means Chef Gavin goes to the market every morning for fresh ingredients.

At a recent dinner, I started my night with a Chai Gold Rush (chai and vanilla infused bourbon, lemon, honey, $12). This was a great cocktail, probably my favorite of the night! It's not overwhelmingly "chai"-like, just notes of spices. I hope they keep this one on the menu for a while!

Mondays are good to give Wood and Vine a try with their Monday Market Prix Fixe menu, $18 for 3 courses. There were three of us dining, so we tried one of the prix fixe menu while ordering other items to try.


The first course was a Melon consomme with basil.
This was a rather interesting first course. It was cold (good for the summer) but since it's also sweet, it was more like drinking melon juice rather than a consomme.

The entree that night was Shrimp and Grips with Anson Mills grits and house andouille sausage

The current menu has plenty of Southern items (as you'll see more below, chicken and waffles being one) and he's also doing a Southern Sunday suppers. I lived in South Carolina for high school and developed a liking to grits. I liked the shrimp and grits here, especially the texture of the grits and the addition of the housemade sausage.

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Los Angeles Bar Reviews

1886 Bar (Pasadena)
£10 (Ten Pound) Bar (Beverly Hills)
Big Bar (Los Feliz)
Buzz Wine Beer Shop (Downtown)
City Tavern (Culver City)
La Cuevita (Highland Park)
Mixology 101 (The Original Farmers Market, West Hollywood)
Next Door Lounge (Hollywood)
Oldfield's Liquor Room (Culver City)
Villains Tavern (Downtown)

New Cocktails at Next Door Lounge (Hollywood)

I liked both the beautiful space and the great drinks when I first visited Next Door Lounge and had been curious how they were doing after head bartender Joe Brooke had left, so I recently accepted an invitation to come in for the summer cocktail menu. At Next Door Lounge, there's a doorman asking for a password before you enter. Even though you need a "password" to get in, you can get the password by signing up for their newsletter or making a reservation!

We didn't know that we were supposed to preview a new summer menu when we first sat down so we had gone ahead and ordered two drinks from the then-current menu. The menu was divided into classic and modern cocktails, some of them had been there since my first visit (especially the classics).

The Scot's Pear was made with scotch, Tawny port, ginger syrup, lemon and pear juice ($14)

The Eastside with Tanqueray gin, cucumber water, mint, lime juice ($12). Both of them are a nice start to whet our palates.

After these two drinks, we started trying out the new summer menu. It seems like there's always a spicy tequila drink everywhere these days (and they always sell well!), and Next Door Lounge is no exception. The Pistolero is jmade with Silver Tequila, lemon juice, simple syrup, grand marnier, Angostura and orange bitters and cracked jalapeno.


Even if you are skeptical of vodka drinks, the Light Cavalry (Vodka, simple, green Chartreuse, fresh white grape juice) deserves a chance. Using fresh grape juice, it's not overly sweet and has a nice complexity thanks to the green chartreuse (which I always love). The Lovely Afternoon is another nice aromatic drink that isn't too strong with Genever, Chamomile syrup, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and Lillet. I loved the subtle aroma of the chamomile.

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