August 25, 2011 Off

Son of a Gun (W. 3rd street)

//// By Joan in 09: Weho, Favorite Food Entries

Finally tried Son of a Gun, the 2nd outpost from the same team behind one of my favorite restaurants in LA: Animal (1, 2). Reservation was difficult when it first opened, I tried a few times and had no luck. Half of the restaurant is a big long communal table for walk-ins, so either show up early or try your luck. Figuring that many would be out of town on the July 4th weekend, we walked in early and got seated within 15 minutes.

While Animal is all about meat and bacon, Son of a gun is all about seafood. Just like Animal, Son of a gun’s menu changes often and consists creative small plates. However the affordable house wine is missing, all the wine at Son of a gun are over $10 a glass. I also noticed that all the tableware are from Heath Ceramics.

Oysters on the half shell

Smoked steelhead roe, maple Cream, pumpernickel – a very interesting and tasty dish. The maple cream is very light and airy, its subtle sweetness taste great with the savory fish roe. It’s a nice little dish to whet the appetite.

Peel and eat shrimp with lime mustard sauce
These are pretty big shrimp. Lots of flavors, can get overwhelming if you “peel” it the Chinese way (i.e. suck it first, then bite the shell off). Very good.

Alligator schnitzel, heart of palm, orange
The breading was perfectly crispy. Though the alligator meat taste kind of generic (aka, taste like chicken)? The portion was generous. The heart of palm salad was good.

Kampachi collar, XO sauce, Pickled shiitake, sword lettuce
A Thai tasting dish, I like this a lot. The fish collar is meaty and well cooked. Generous portion.

Frozen lime yogurt, graham crumble, toasted meringue
At first I thought the left of the bowl was a pattern but it’s actually toasted meringue. Refreshing but I wish there’s more than just one samll scoop of Frozen lime yogurt. How can there be more crumble than yogurt?!

Overall the food is outstanding and I like the seafood theme. Though the limited tables for reservation make it quite an effort to eat here more often. So make sure you either book way ahead or show up early. Also it would be great if they have a lower price house wine like they do in Animal too.

Son of a Gun
8370 W. 3rd Street. Los Angeles, CA 90048. (323) 782-9033

Tags: hip, Seafood, small plate

August 24, 2011 Off

Robata Jinya (W. 3rd street)

//// By Joan in 09: Weho

Potatomato is back to LA, well for now at least….^_- Clearing some old entries before moving onto San Francisco (yes, many reviews coming soon!)

Here’s a very old entry I forgot to write. Many people raved about the ramen at Ramen Jinya at Studio City. Till now I still haven’t get myself motivated to drive all the way to Studio city for a bowl of ramen. Fortunately there’s Robata Jinya, a Japanese grill-meat/Izakaya outpost of the “Jinya brand” on W. 3rd street which serves their signature Hakata Ramen for a limited amount a day.

So here it is, the limited 20 servings a day Hakata Pork premium rich broth ramen. $9.50.
Yes almost $10 for a bowl of ramen. I’m not sure how true it is that they only make 20 bowls of these. I remember enjoyed it but didn’t find it super amazing. The broth was pretty flavorful, the noodle was springy…. but it just wasn’t that satisfying. Now it’s been a long time between when I had this and writing about it now so perhaps my impression was rusty. I did remember noting to myself that it’s better than Daikokuya‘s, but I’m not sure if it’s any better than Shin-Sen-Gum‘s Hakata ramen. Also, for the price of $10, they could have throw in at least half of a marinated boil egg, which I always like with a bowl of ramen. Due to the lack of impression (plus parking situation at that neighbourhood), I haven’t gone back since.

May be someday I would make it to Ramen Jinya and see what the fuss is all about!

Robata Jinya
8050 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 653-8877

Tags: Japanese, Ramen

August 24, 2011 Off

Hot Doug’s (Chicago)

//// By Freda in 13: Chicago

My last entry on Chicago will be on the dog. While I did tried the classic Chicago dog at the train station (which I enjoyed), the experienced of getting to Hot Doug’s makes a more interesting story.

I first heard of the place from Anthony Bourdain’s episode, as the Foie Gras dog place. It is also notorious for odd operating hours and holidays. We almost missed it as it’s closed for a week. Thanks to a schedule change we were able to make it there before our flight. However, a frightening fierce storm strike that morning. My BF reassured me that usually storm in the midwest comes and go. The weather did cleared out as it get close to their opening time, lucky!

The line is LONG. But the wait was fun as I’m excited by the bright colors indoors.

The interior is a total sausage hotdog fantasy land. It’s decorated with sausage themed plates, dolls, figures, posters and more. Tt’s a mini Hot dog theme park. The menu is named after musicians but the true highlights is their mouth watering gourmet special menu, where there’s game of the week.

Sadly, the Duck Fat Fries is Friday and Saturady only (they really meant it).

Despite all the interesting ones, I decided to go for the famous Foie Gras dog. Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel $9.00 When Chicago banned Foie Gras a few years ago, the owner would pay fine and kept it on the menu. The duck sausages is very juicy and tasty and the Foie Gras are silky and smooth. The flavors all worked very well together, it’s heaven! Though I wished the bun is grilled a bit.

Red Wine and Demi Glace Venison Sausage with Cherry Pepper Mustard and Smoked Gouda Cheese $7. Delicious!!! More tasty than the Foie gras one actually, the smokey cheese, sweet mustard and sausage makes the best combination.

Even though it’s not duck fat fries, the regular fries are really good already. Crunchy, crispy, not greasy and easy to eat, I wished I ordered more.

Awesome sausage parodied paintings on the bathroom walls! The men’s bathroom features a Magritte parody. After Hot Doug’s, I don’t think I can go back for Wurstkuche ‘s hot dog (where I’m always annoyed by the disproportional sausage and bun). Hot Doug’s is definitely a must go institution for foodies visiting Chicago.

Hot Doug’s
3324 North California, Chicago, IL 60618

Tags: Hot Dog

August 18, 2011 Off

Longman and Eagle (Chicago)

//// By Freda in 13: Chicago, Favorite Food Entries

I first read about Longman and Eagle when I looked for good brunch places, even though they’re listed as Gastropub. Upon visiting their site, I was really intrigued by their tagline Eat Sleep Whiskey. They have rooms for rent upstairs and said to have a huge whiskey collection. It’s a gastropub that serves as a hotel as well…? Especially since it’s nowhere close to any of the touristy area. So we decided to come here for dinner.

Not only is Longman and Eagle tugged in a quiet residential area, the ‘blink and you’d missed it’ grey corner exterior makes it even harder to spot. It’s definitely a hidden hip place.

The bar is impressive, while there’re only a few tables for dining (more in the back room). The vibe is casual, lively and I’m already getting a good feeling for something special when I sat down. The menu saids to use only fresh ingredients from farmers’ market.

Complimentary Amuse Bouche. Sear Tombo Tuna, Parisieene Gnocchi, Peas, Artichokes en Barigoule, Black Garlic Aioli 24. Wow this is very delicious. The seasoning of the Tuna is very flavorful and unpredictable (sweet? five-spice?) and the peas…oh my, i’ve never tasted such delicious peas! They’re crispy, juicy and sweet. I felt embarrassed for being so impressed by peas (and gush about them).

English Pea Agnolotti, Wild Mushrooms, Truffled Pea Puree, Pea Shoots, Grana Padano 12. The taste is more subtle but still be interesting with the textures. Very good!

Tete du Cochon, Sunny Side Up Duck Egg, Pickled Shallot, Parsley Salad and 5 spice Mustard Sauce 13. The meat is made from head part of the pig, it is moist and got a good bite and strong flavors. It’s like a gourmet corn beef hash. The other components all worked well together- melty but not runny duck egg yolk helps sticking the hash.

Roasted Miller Half Chicken, Macaroni and Maitaki, Fava Beans, Baby Carrots, Natural Jus 19. My friend’s dish, she’s very impressed and praise it’s tasty sauce.

Confit of Smoked Swan Creek Farm Pork Shoulder, New Crop Potato-spring Onion Hash, Apple, Bacon-Upland Cress Salad, Cumin Honey Vinaigrette 22. My friend is being blown away by it.

Bittersweet “Manjan” chocolate Tart, Bourbon Tapioca, Malt Cream 9 Terrine of Madagascan Chocolate, Espresso Cream, Peanut Custard, Caramel Glacage, Baton of Genois, Honey Foam, Clear coffee Jelly 9.

The desserts are all very creative and unpredictable. The terrine gave a wonderful savory, sweet and bitter combination of flavors.

After this amazing dinner, we have to come back for it’s breakfast!

Peekytoe Crab Benedict with One Hour Eggs, Old Bay Infused Hollandaise, Dehydrated Bacon 13. Wow! The sugar air dried bacon taste like candy, it blow us away! The crab are so flavorful, the whole dish is pure heaven!

Sunny side Duck Egg hash with Duck Confit, Nichols Farm Spring Onions, Yukon Gold Potato, Black Truffle Vinaigrette 12. The duck confit are moist and tasty, very well cooked with lots of flavors. The potatoes impressed me like the peas did, that’s when you can tell how good the food is. The most simple ingredients, the sides are just as special as the main features.

I fell in love with this place instantly. It’s been awhile that I get excited over interesting flavors and combinations. This place definitely blow me away, especially since it’s a casual, low key place. I only found out later that it earned a Michelin 1 star rating. This place will be my returning destination at Chicago on future.

It seems to me Chicago is having an exciting experimental food scene now, as its not bound by tradition like cities that were known for classic gourmet historically. I can’t wait to try the other places in future (Aldea!)

Longman and Eagle
2657 N. KEDZIE AVE., CHICAGO, IL 60647

Tags: Breakfast, Brunch, Duck, Gastropub, hip

August 16, 2011 Off

Clover Bakery (San Jose Santa Clara)

//// By Freda in 04: SF+Bay Area

When I started working at San Jose, I immediately looked up where the nearest Japanese market and bookstore are at. Right next to Mitsuwa is a small and cute Japanese bakery called Clover Bakery. The place felt very Japanese, in a way where there’s a happy faces in everything and they have something like Spaghetti bread. I would love this place so much when I was little.