The York Gastropub

I never knew there was such a great gastropub so near Pasadena! The York is located in Highland Park, in between Pasadena and downtown LA. Now I don't have to necessarily go to Father's Office (although the draft beer selection at FO is significantly larger!) to hang out.

The place was packed when I went there. It was a weekday but on the other hand it was also St. Patrick's day! Complete with green beer for the special day, The York offers a small but adequate selection of draft beers (Craftsman, Telegraph, Kronenbourg, etc), a larger selection of bottled beers (Arrogant Bastard, Unibroue, Chimay, etc). On top of a full bar, they feature a small list of specialty drinks.

I loved the dark, industrial look, including the bird-cage lights hanging from the ceiling (LATimes called it 'edgy'). Despite that, the place is actually spacious and airy - although the front and the bar still gets really packed.
Waiting for a booth can take a while, and all orders must go through the bar. We got our drinks first (a Craftsman 1903 Lager for me) and scouted around. Luckily we caught a booth as the people sitting there were just getting up.

A friend of mine told me she might like the burger here better than Father's Office, so I ordered one. The Cheddar Burger ($13) comes with pickled onion, arugula, and (most importantly) spicy harissa aioli!
The patty is very juicy and flavorful, the buttery buns are great, and just as in the FO burger, the arugula works very well. But what really did it was the spicy harissa aioli! This bit of creamy spiciness really added a kick to the burger and every bite was a burst of flavor. This burger is at the very least comparable to the FO burger (if not better!) but unlike the FO burger which some ppl can still argue whether or not it's a 'burger', this one is inarguably a 'burger'.

Good meat + great buttery buns + arugula + spicy harissa aioli = 1 rockin' burger.

My friends had the fish n chips which apparently were good but nothing special. I have yet to try other items here, but the burger alone would have me coming back.

The York
5018 York Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90042
(323) 255-9675
www.theyorkonyork.com

The Newly Revived Pondok Kaki Lima in Duarte

Pondok Kaki Lima in Duarte Inn was close to being a mecca of Indonesian food - then it got shut down by the local authorities. After negotiation with the city, they finally managed to get back up on their feet and reopened in January 2009.

The Indonesian food fair is held behind the Duarte Inn every Saturday afternoon.

A bit of background, Pondok Kaki Lima literally means Five Feet Hut (Pondok=hut, kaki=feet, lima=five), but don't let that confuse you. Pondok kaki lima is the phrase we use to call street food vendors.

So, as you can expect here, tents of street vendors occupy the lot in Duarte Inn, sellling food items from satays, rendang, to drinks and desserts.

I've been wanting to hit this place again since its reopening and finally had my chance when Wandering Chopsticks said that she was free. Off we go!

Right in the same complex there is an Indonesian restaurant also an Indonesian grocery store - so in case you found yourself there when the PKL is not operating, you can still get your indonesian fix. The Indonesian restaurant is a bit misleadingly named Chicky BBQ & Grill. I have yet to try it but it is apparently one of LA&OC Foodie's favorite lunch spots.

The more common options here involve getting a rice plate with three or so items. We got a plate of nasi kuning (literally, 'yellow rice') which is turmeric rice, with rendang (slow cooked beef in coconut milk and spices), tendons, and sayur lodeh (vegetables in coconut milk curry).
As you see, almost everything involves coconut milk (aka kentan). We love our coconut milk!
The rendang here is pretty good. Rendang is supposed to be slow-cooked and thus should be very tender. Many places are lazy and just cook it with spices or ready-made seasoning that results in tough beef cubes. Not here. The rendang was tender and spicy.

The turmeric rice was fragrant. I liked the lodeh, although WC did not. Maybe it's an acquired taste? I thought it was a pretty good, albeit milder, rendition of Indonesian lodeh.

We also got some pork satays from "Sate Babi Heidi" (pork satay Heidi), served with some lontong in peanut sauce. Lontong is rice cake made with tightly packed rice cooked in banana leaves and most commonly eaten with peanut sauce. When you eat sate (satays), the lontong accompaniment is a must.
The sate was tender and sweet like the chinese chashu - delicious! The lontong however, while it would otherwise be very good, was cold. Lontong is never meant to be served hot or warm - but I do believe it should be room temperature. I think they need to sit them out and defrost them a bit more :<

Duarte Inn
1200 Huntington Dr
Duarte, CA 91010
Saturdays, 10am- 2 pm

Church & State - Simple and Solid

Color me silly but when I ordered "roasted marrow" at Church & State I wasn't expecting a giant whole piece of marrow cut in two, bone and all.
OK. Maybe I should've, it says 'roasted marrow' after all. But I was surprised. And yes, apparently one can have too much bone marrow. The marrow on toasted bread was quite satisfying at first, but after eating half of first section, I was already overwhelmed by fat ...
Do share this dish with more than one person!

The rest of the relatively short menu at this lively bistro newly manned by Walter Manzke offers other indulgence, like escargot and foie gras, but you can also go healthier and lighter with a salad mesclun.

I, however, not realizing how fat-stuffed I'd be after all those bone marrow, ordered the duck confit: Confit de Canard a la Montmorency (French lentils, pickled cherries) - $15
This seems to be one of the cheaper duck confits out there, and it's quite good. The skin is crispy and the meat is pretty tender. It's simple, yet satisfying. Nicely paired with the pickled cherries.

Loup de mer (seabass, ratatouille provencale) - $24
Flaky and moist fish - it was done pretty well, again with nicely crispy skin. As you can see from both entrees, there's nothing 'frou frou' here. Everything is simple, but solid.

During my meal I saw a waiter bring the dessert tray out to another table, and knelt down to show them the selection. Hot frenchie kneeling down in front of me with a tray of desserts .... Yum ....

Alas, my companion immediately ordered dessert, not giving the chance for the waiter to come by. Booo.

Anyway, we got a special dessert of the day, a strawberry apple tart.
Pretty good, not too sweet, nothing too special either.

The chocolate cake was a better match for me.
More like a chocolate mousse cake, it was dense and rich. Got my sweet tooth and chocolate craving fixed right here.

A hopping downtown bistro with simple and solid food and nice lively atmosphere for a night out on the town. There was nothing in particular (so far) that would make me crave it and go back, but I was happy and satisfied with everything and can definitely see picking this place to hit the town with some friends.

Plus, I need to try them escargots.

Church & State
1850 Industrial St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 405-1434
http://www.churchandstatebistro.com