Shibucho Makes Me Squeal Like a Little Girl

Pairing wines with sushi might sound strange at first, but as a group of foodies experienced firsthand at the end of last year, the two make quite a pair.

Last year? Yeah I'm backlogged. Workin on it! Anyway, Fooddigger has been bringing foodbloggers and foodies around town together on many occasions last year. For their last dinner of the year, KevinEats, Tangbro, inomthings, FoodGPS, sinosoul, and I joined part of the Fooddigger family at Shibucho for a night of great sushi, and great vintage wines.

Now, the good thing about posting late is that I get 'cheat sheets' from the likes of Kevin who takes detailed notes, especially for all the wines that I can't keep track of! and inomthings who already did the background on some of the fishies we had that night.

The wines for the occasion were actually brought in by the wine collectors among us (not I), including the Fooddigger people and Kevin. Here are the red wine lineup.

Oh and when I say "vintage" wines I wasn't kidding. The youngest wine was a 1989, but everything else was older than me with the oldest being a couple 1975 wines.

We toasted the started of the night with a 1978 Dom Perignon, courtesy of Kevin and Tangbro. Light, crisp, and sweet. I wasn't a big champagne fan prior to this one glass.

Foodwise, We started with some ankimo in ponzu sauce.
This was one of the best ankimos I've had yet, the texture being smoother than most. This actually went quite well with the champagne and apparently even better with the red wine we had next, the 1982 Chateau Pavie-Decesse.

Sunomono of mirugai (geoduck clam), aoyagi (surf clam), and hotate (scallops)
Light, and sweet. The marinade was apparently white miso (thx inomthings) which explains the sweet but mild and not overbearing taste.

Next we had bincho maguro/albacore salad in ponzu sauce. Nicely prepared as the ponzu draws out the flavor of the albacore but the lettuce and tomatoes helped cut the acidity of ponzu which I normally don't like too much.

Then onto a series of sashimi. First up is some fatty bluefin tuna (chutoro)
The chutoro is not the fattiest cut, but it's very fresh and still had a nice fattiness to it.
The toro, along with the other tuna, works quite well with the red wine.
We also had some regular blue fin maguro, and tai (red snapper) sashimi, followed by buri sashimi
Buri is "old" yellowtail (yellowtail goes through 3 periods in their life cycle and are called kanpachi, hamachi, and buri, respectively). I don't think I really enjoyed buri before this, but apparently buri is fattiest during the winter, i.e. at the time I ate this, so it makes sense that I like this one better than previous ones.

Salmon salad with onions, arugula, and salmon roe, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Then we had an ... eggplant parmesan. This was a surprising dish considering we're eating at a sushi restaurant but apparently Shige-san is known for occasionally serving western-inspired dishes.
Possibly the best eggplant I have ever had. Unlike other 'eggplant parmesans' this one is lightly sauced, which makes it not overbearing (not saying that all others are) but it's subtly sweet and very delicious. Shige-san also stated that Japanese eggplants are very different and much better than any other counterpart. This eggplant parmesan was quite sweet, but light.

Afterwards was a series of delicious, fresh sushi, for example this toro sushi.
Inomthings and I both let out a squeal as this beauty went into our mouths, prompting Shige-san to ask "Oishii deshou?" *nod* *nod* *munch* *munch*

Probably even more than toro, I loooove my hamachi belleh!
Smooth, fatty, delicious melt-in-your-mouth. Mmmm.

More great sushi followed (hirame, kinmedai).

After all the sushi, we had a daikon stew with buri kama (collar).
Given that this was in mid-December, this was such a perfect dish. Buri is apparently fattiest in the winter, and daikon is in season also during the winter months. The daikon was sweet and so~ soft. I kept thinking back to this dish throughout the winter, especially when I was down with a cold. Sigh.

At the end of the meal, Will from Fooddigger was apparently craving some uni! He asked who else wanted an uni hand roll. Well, uh ... me? me? :D
Some of us split some uni hand rolls, so we each got half a handroll.
The uni was sweet and creamy. A very nice way to end the meal. Well, pre-desserts, that is.

Instead of serving Japanese desserts or mochi ice cream or fresh fruits, Shige-san served Western-style desserts, and everyone got something different (like this tiramisu)- fun!
I was happy to get the blueberry tart since I love blueberries.

A feast. A feast like no other, and I probably will not have another like this. Just the wines alone were such a privilege to drink. My favorite was the 1976 Rioja Bosconia (R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rioja Viña Bosconia Gran Reserva ). And to top it all off with such great sashimi, sushi, and the amazing eggplant and daikon stew .... Mmmm. Not to mention sharing it all with such great foodie company. Twas a night to remember.


Shibucho
3114 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90057
(213) 387-8498
http://www.shibucho-la.com/

Bamboodles and the $1 Noodles (I Kid You Not)

Bamboodles has kind of been at the periphery of my radar ever since reading Exile Kiss' post on it, but when Wandering Chopsticks told me they had $1 daily special noodles ($1 ???) I immediately asked her to take me there.

The draw of Bamboodles is the bamboo-made noodles, made fresh daily. When we got there the guy was still working on some noodles, but alas, he didn't mount the big bamboo for my enjoyment. WC got a video though so hopefully she'll blog (sorry, vlog) this.I know the green tea pork noodles is supposed to be the highlight dish here, but since I came to get $1 noodles, the green tea pork will have to wait.
Since I felt kind of bad coming in and just ordering $1 dishes, I asked for an iced lemon tea also and WC got a side of spicy wontons.

Here's the $1 chicken-green onion-noodles:
Pretty good, huh? I don't think I can get this for $1 even back home in Indonesia these days ... Wandering Chopsticks said that the last time she got it, they put less chicken meat, so I guess don't always expect as much meat. But still, for $1 this was quite a meal, and quite a deal.

The noodles are quite good, with a nice chewiness and firmness. There was light fragrance to it. Parts of it were still sticking to each other but I believe these would work wonderfully in a soup. Can't wait to try their spinach noodles also.

The Spicy Wontons ($1.95) contained of eight wontons lightly covered in chili sauce.
The chili sauce itself was nothing special, but the wontons were wrapped in a thin yet springy skin. The meat was also nice and of higher quality (more meat, less bad fat) than most. This was also a nice deal for the price.
(These wontons, plus the chili sauce from YunChuan would be zomg amazing!)

The most expensive item on our check ended up being my iced lemon tea for $2.45 (expensive for an iced tea but I guess they have to cover overhead somehow)!
I'm going to be back to try their other items, but in the meantime ... guys, if you're feeling poor, just come here, get your $1 noodles, but please be considerate and tip reasonably (the dish usually sells for $5.95).
Oh, and the $1 special only lasts while the daily supplies still last, so go there early.

Bamboodles
535 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 281-1226
www.bamboodlesrestaurant.com

Going Umami

"Umami." The 5th taste that can't be pinned down by (english) words. One-up that by putting it all in a burger (Mmm burger ...). Umami Burger has been all over Chowhound as of late, so when I realized my part-time job is actually only 3 blocks away, instead of driving home in the middle of rush hour on the 101, I stopped by for a quick dinner.

There's a small parking lot that's shared with the other stores there, but hey, there's an actual lot and it's free, so don't complain.The space is small, but there were quite a few of tables and stools. It's a nice and clean space with Asian-inspired decor.

As an "amuse-bouche" (a burger place with an amuse bouche, eh? Fancy ...) they brought out a spoonful of shiitake mushrooms in "pure umami ketchup."
Intense is one way to describe it, it may even be too intense for some people, but it's kind of an effective in-your-face intro to that which is "umami".

It's my first visit so naturally I got the Umami burger (parmesan crisp, roasted tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, Umami ketchup, onions, $8) and a side of Malt Liquor tempura Onion Rings ($2.50)
These onion rings are some of the best ones I've ever had. Light and crispy, dip it in their Umami ketchup - delicious and addicting.

Onto the Umami Burger.
The patty was medium rare, and it was quite juicy and flavorful. The bun is buttery, the shiitake mushrooms were a great addition and I liked the crispy parmesan also. Definitely a savory burger full of flavor and quite good (dip it in the umami ketchup for even extra flavor!).

Though, personally this burger is missing a lil something for me. I miss that 'crunch' I get when I bite into a burger filled with lettuce and onions. The crispness that comes out, the textural and flavor play. I suppose that won't be adding to the "umami" rating. Iceberg lettuce would totally kill this burger, but maybe ... arugula? Methinks a bit of arugula would do it for me.

That was a personal preference, don't judge me :P I still enjoyed the umami burger quite a bit and I plan on coming back for it and to try the other burgers, such as their Pork&Stilton and their specials (currently Ahi Tuna burger) - working 3 blocks away would help this mission a lot!

PS. For extra incentive, they have a BYOB policy with no corkage, and they also sell Cake Monkey cakewiches and Yo-Hos which, while not cheap ($4), are yummy!


Umami Burger
850 S La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 931-3000

My 5-cents on Nickel Diner

I've read so much about Nickel Diner and in particular its bacon donut, so I made my way to downtown LA for brunch one Saturday afternoon.

After parking on the street about 2 blocks away and walking through dilapidated hotel-turned-apartments, we found the place and put our name on the list. The decor and the people are retro-hipster cute, which is kind of fun.We waited about 15-20 minutes before finally getting a table.

When we sat down we were served these tiny red velvet donuts.
Didn't taste much red velvet and wasn't too crazy about the icing. It was not bad.

Apparently Nickel Diner doesn't do fresh squeezed juices - my default 'brunch' drink. Boo. But they do have a selection of interesting sodas.

I ordered the 5th and Main, which is a "spicy pork bbq hash"
The pork was tender and the sauce was only slightly spicy. I wish there had been more sauce though, as the meat itself without the sauce was rather bland and there wasn't enough sauce to go around. The dish definitely has potential though, maybe ask for extra sauce.

My companion got the vegan ranchero (tofu ranchero)
It tasted ... vegan and healthy. Don't know why he ordered this ...

He also got the vegan chili.
It was okay, didn't do much for me. A bit spicy, but it needed something extra (like meat? not necessarily meat, but something :P ).

Moving on. Naturally I had to try the iconic bacon donut.
Yeah, it was good. That's about it, though, it didn't do much more for me. The donut itself was a bit heavy and super sticky and sweet that the bacon flavors didn't come through as much. I would've liked it better if it was a lighter fluffy donut.

To get another shot at a satisfying dessert, we went with a ding dong.
This was more like it. This reminded me of Cake Monkey's. Rich chocolatey cake with icing dipped in chocolate - yummy!

Overall, Nickel Diner was not bad. But not great enough to make me do this drive for brunch regularly. I think it's more of a neighborhood place, and if it's in my neighborhood, then yeah, I probably will frequent it. As it is, I have John O' Groats/Hugo's or Auntie Em's and many other places near home/work, so I don't really see any reason to trek down to downtown. Thought the bacon donut would be a reason to, but it really isn't.

Nickel Diner
524 S Main St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 623-8301
www.5cdiner.com

South Coast Dining Deals: March 20-29

Don't cancel that hot date because of the recession just yet!
For 10 days on March 20th-29th, the restaurants in South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa are offering prix-fixe $20 3-course lunches and $40 4-course dinners for a promotion they're calling Fashion Plates.
We're talking the fine dining establishments here, and these ten days span the weekend also - sounding better than DineLA already here ...

Participating restaurants include:
Pizzeria Ortica (David Myer's new restaurant)
Marche Moderne (Lunch only - but their lunches are always $20 weekday, $25 weekend anyway ..)
Morton's the Steakhouse
Leatherby's Cafe Rouge (dinner only)
Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's
Pinot Provence
Hamamori
etc.

For more info, visit http://www.southcoastplaza.com/ or just call up the restaurants directly! :)

Eat Greens with Salads at Green Street Restaurant

Even I sometimes crave salads. In particular, when I do, I usually crave the Dianne salad from Green Street Restaurant, a family-operated comfort food place on Shoppers Lane in Pasadena.
Since the place is only 3 blocks away from my home/school, it has become a pretty standard go-to place for me.

A lot of the salads/entrees come with their famous zucchini bread.I absolutely love this zucchini bread (which as usual doesn't taste like zucchini ... weird). I can eat this all day, 7 days a week. Forget the butter, you don't need it! Moist and buttery enough as it is, this is close to a dessert.

Before I would get the Cornucopia salad which has chicken, cranberries, apples, almonds, blue cheese crumble, etc.

Nowadays I always get the Dianne salad (chicken, shredded lettuce, 'crispy Asian noodles', toasted almonds and sesame seed, with their famous Dianne dressing) - pictured below is only half of the portion since I split it w/ a friend:
Sounds like a chinese chicken salad? Well it pretty much is, but it's the best chinese chicken salad ever. The dressing is excellent and it is always tossed perfectly. The dressing flavor is never overbearing, the chicken moist and tender even though it's white meat :P
I also like how everything is already shredded, it makes eating it so much easier, and hence, better.
The portion is huge, I was sharing with a friend for lunch and we were both stuffed at the end. This salad is delicious and always makes me feel good (healthier)!

The desserts here change seasonally, but for the most part you can get it with Dr. Bob's ice cream from Pomona (flavors also change seasonally). Adding the ice cream costs a pretty penny though. The desserts are always well-done, simple, comfort food. This time around we got the apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Nice crust, nice filling. Again, it's simple, but quite delicious.

Offering solid comfort food (I can't say much about their steak/entrees, but their salads are definitely getting my thumbs up), Green Street is a good place to check out if you're in the area and looking for a place to eat.

Green Street Restaurant
146 Shoppers Ln
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 577-7170
www.greenstreetrestaurant.com

Rivera: Spicing Up Downtown

Being at the right place at the right time really does get you places! Since I happened to be out with Carolineoncrack, LA&OC Foodie and Rumdood when they were making plans to hit Rivera in downtown, I got extended an invitation also, which I of course, took! So one Wednesday night I made my way there. Rivera apparently has valet parking about two doors down, but I didn't know about it and it was hard to notice so I ended parking a block away at a $5 lot (being right by Staples makes parking hard and pricey).

When I got there, everyone else was already sitting at the bar trying out the cocktails.
As a disclaimer, most of our meal ended up being comped by the restaurant (we paid for drinks), although I wasn't aware of this in the beginning. Thanks to the fame of Carolineoncrack and LA&OC Foodie!

Besides a cocktail menu featuring cocktails with awesome names like Blood Sugar Sex Machine (rye whiskey, red pepper, agave nectar basil), Rivera also features flights of infused tequila. LA&OC Foodie got a flight of three tequilas ($10). From right to left: vanilla, passionfruit (IIRC) and anise.
I enjoyed the anise the most flavor-wise, although it did have a distinct and weird smell. All these infused tequilas were pretty sweet and smooth - very drinkable. I definitely want to get one of these next time.

Throughout the meal between the four of us we've tried a majority of their cocktail list and then a couple of "bespoke cocktail"-- basically "bartender's choice."
My favorite cocktail on the menu ended up being the Rivera's cup - think Pimm's cup but with tequila. Sounds simple but very well done.

Since we wanted to a lot of stuff on the menu we ended up sharing a whole bunch of appetizers:
patates xips (caviar, chipotle-lime crema, kennebec potato chips) - $6
The potato chips are light and crispy and they're pretty delicious with the lime-chipotle dip and the caviar. Our only complaint is just that there were so few potato chips. Like 10 chips? Divided by 4? We had leftover dip, which luckily came in handy for this next dish.

tortillas florales (housemade nixtamal tortillas w/ 'indian butter' -- just guacamole actually). 4 tortillas, $6.
Since it's more impressive to show you the individual tortillas rather than all wrapped in cloth, I'll do just that:
These tortillas are wonderful. Lightly crispy and had a great flavor. I would definitely recommend people try an order. Unfortunately the 'Indian butter' was not as exciting as it sounds - but these tortillas actually go great with the lime-chipotle crema from the previous dish (patates xips).

The highlight of the night for me was the jamon iberico de bellota pata negra - $36.
This particular ham comes the black footed Iberian pig (hence the iberico) that only eats acorns (bellota=acorns).
It's the world's best ham, what more do I need to say? Sure different restaurants may carry different qualities of even the world's best ham and prepare differently, but this is the first time I've had the bellota, so I can't say. I can only say I still drool over it. Even now. Writing this. *wipe* Excuse me.

The next dish was a surprise to all of us. We didn't order it and actually it wasn't even on the menu. But anyway, they brought over a plate of foie gras pate with fruit compote. Not complaining.
Pretty good pate - it's pretty smooth and I like the cranberry (I think it was cranberry) compote that goes with it.

bacalao negro fresco (black cod, seared. With serrano ham crisps) - $14
The way they write/draw things on the plate with some sort of dusting is cute. Although ... why a radioactive sign? Right next to my food?
Well, radioactive or not the black cod was good. Moist and not overcooked. The serrano ham crisp added a kick both flavor and texture-wise.

LA&OC Foodie got the trucha (tasmanian sea trout, saffron quinoa, yellow gazpacho sauce) - $23.
I tried a bite of this. Good, but pretty standard. It's a safe bet but there's nothing special.

I went with the mole (kurobuta pork chop, mole, black carrots) - $21
The pork chop is not as tender as I expected, but still good, and the mole sauce is great.
My favorite out of all the entrees (Carolineoncrack got the rib eye and rumdood went with the maya puerco pibil). If the pork chop was just a bit more tender ...

The appetizers here are definitely more varied, more interesting, and better than the entrees.

Rivera offers four desserts on their menu ($7 each). Perfect. Caroline, LA&OC Foodie, and I all wanted different desserts and while Rumdood was in the bathroom we decided that he must want the other one ...

torta xocolata (chocolate tort, drunken pineapples)
I love the writing they did with the chocolate powder! How fun, I love playing with my food :P
Pretty rich and dense chocolate torte, me likey.

I went with the crepas mojito (mint, lime, white rum) because I love my mojito and because I get everything that says "mint" on it
Crepes were a bit on the dry side until you douse it with the syrup that came in the graduated cylinder (oh I'm sorry, am I bringing back bad memories from Chem lab?). The white foam you see is the lime and it's extremely sour - use sparingly.
I like this dessert but you do have to concoct each bite carefully yourself so it doesn't become too sour or too sweet.

Rumdood was made to get the baba cachaca (citrus, dulce de leche)
A slight spin off the baba au rhum, this one is soaked in Cachaca. The bottom pastry is moist but the top is a bit dry. Plus this dessert is rather small. Nothing special.

LA&OC Foodie got the crema catalana (almonds, xerez creme)
Creme brulee, basically? I just had a bite so can't tell much more than that but LA&OC Foodie liked it.
The safest desserts seem to the boring but good ones, and those that sound more interesting weren't as great.

Rivera's another good and welcome addition to the revitalization of downtown LA, especially so close to the Staples center. With great cocktails and pretty solid food (I'd get the appetizers over the entrees, hands down), if I ever find myself in/near Staples, I at least know I don't have to eat at that sports bar there ...
I want to go back to try the tequila flights, anyhow :P

Read Caroline's take on it.

Rivera
1050 S Flower St #102
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 749-1460
www.riverarestaurant.com

Giveaway: All-purpose Cooking Sauce!

I had been asked by Country Bob's, a small company that makes signature all-purpose sauce, and other sauces such as bbq sauces etc, to hold a giveaway for a couple bottles of their All-Purpose Sauce!
(image taken from their website)

I didn't want to hold the giveaway without first trying out the product and reviewing it, so this took me a while ... Last week I finally invited my friends who helped me move a couple months back and told them I was cooking steak for them.

Bought a pack of rib eyes and a kiwi. Marinated the steaks in the sauce and the juices from a kiwi (It's supposed to tenderize the meat, or so I've heard). I wish I could marinate it longer, but I procrastinated as usual.
I didn't have a grill :( So I had to cook it in a pan. Add some brussel sprouts cooked with olive oil and potatoes, give the guys a bottle of beer, and voila! :P
Looks pretty good, I think :P Tasted pretty good too. Unlike other steak sauces, Country Bob's is on the sweeter side rather than the spicy. It still has a bit of spice to it, but I think this sauce would work very well for marinating rather than for dousing your meats. Our rib-eyes turned out well and we didn't need to put any sauce on top.

All you cooks out there, win a bottle and give them a try! :)
Just leave a comment below with your email/contact info, or if you're uncomfortable doing that, email it to me directly at gourmetpigs@gmail.com

I will choose a couple of winners a couple of weeks from now!

Kogi Taco Truck at The Doheny: The Wait, The Food

Kogi, the Korean taco truck, has gotten a lot, and I mean A LOT, of buzz. Various bloggers have reviewed it, and even Jonathan Gold has tried and liked it. I had a bite of their taco a few months ago at The Brig but didn't really have enough to say much about it.

A couple of months ago, the Kogi truck was to be parked in front of The Doheny and if you RSVP you get to check out that exclusive private club also. I've been wanting to check out The Doheny and give Kogi a real try, so I RSVPed through DigLounge.

When we got there we had to line up to get a stamp from The Doheny, which was supposedly needed to order food from Kogi. The Doheny line took about 30 minutes. Then we lined up for Kogi ... for almost another hour. When this guy 2 places ahead of me started ordering, he started talking to Caroline about he just came to LA ... the guy right in front of me commented about how this is what's so great about Kogi - how they talk to their customers. (OK, I do think talking to your customers is very cool. But ... I've been starving in the cold for 1 1/2 hours *cough*)

Finally we get to order! They were unfortunately out of the Kogi sliders :/ so I opted for the hot dog among other things instead. Of course, we had to get some of the kalbi tacos:
OK. This Kogi sauce is pretty darn good - not that spicy but quite flavorful. The meat was also noticeably better than what I had in front of The Brig a few months back. One is definitely not enough.

We also got the Kogi hot dog and tofu taco that they were offering that night:

Since the sauces are the same, I won't say much more about them. Of course, I like the kalbi taco the best. I'm a meat eater all the way. I guess at this point I wished there was more 'variety' not just with the meat but the sauce as well. But on the other hand, hey, it's a taco truck?

Kogi also usually offers a vegetarian item. This time it's a vegetarian taco with pomegranates.
It was a bit too tart for my taste - I'd stick with my kalbi tacos.

We went into The Doheny after, but unfortunately they only had a special "Kogi" menu featuring soju, so I didn't get to see the true feat of what was rumored to be the best bar in LA ... Oh well.

So. Kogi. Yes, yes, I like it. I like it quite a bit. I mean, if they were at UCLA back when I was going to school there, I would've gone every day. But an hour-plus line? I don't know man, I wouldn't want to wait an hour and more for them. I get cra~nky when I'm hungry! :P

I think because of all the hype, the line is too long for what this truck is meant to be - a place to get some good bites after a long night of drinking - not a place to wait in front of for an hour in the cold LA smog ...
Hopefully with their new truck addition, the lines will be much shorter next time I hit them up!

Kogi
All over Los Angeles.
For their schedules, follow them on Twitter!
http://kogibbq.com/