January 7, 2010 1

Fork (Philadelphia)

//// By Freda in 11: Philadelphia

I was at Philly for a week during Dec. With little time to research and lack of local connection, I had to find something to eat after I landed in a cold, rainy night near my hotel at the Old City area.

I came to Fork Restaurant, a dimly lit American bistro with a seasonal, always-changing menu. A cookbook written by the owner is displayed at the entrance.

The bread is a bit hard, I can tell they would be very good when it’s fresh and warm. A side: Quinoa Salad with Fresh Mint & Local Apple 4.5. It’s fruity and refreshing tasting, but there’s something off about it (every bite I would expect a kind of apple pie flavors but turns out it’s savory…hmm). The portion is a lot bigger than I expected.

House Made Chestnut Pappardelle with Braised Duck Ragu 16. The pasta is very fresh and got great texture! The flavor is more mellow than it looks; it’s subtle but yummy.

Not bad for a first night! I came back here for Sunday brunch.

I arrived 10 minutes before the opening time to get a table. Soon after the place is packed. The brunch menu features standard continental flair such as omelette, quiche, hamburger, steak and French toast.

I got a Hazelnut Wild Mushr oom appetizer. It reminded me of a gourmet version of egg roll. The portion is tiny as well.

I got a cookie plate ($7.5) for dessert afterward. Lemon Sable chocolate Fudge & Peanut, Raspberry Linzer, Palmier, Amaretto and Chocolate chip. They’re mini bites version of the ones you can get from their deli/bakery next door Fork, etc.

Overall I feel that this restaurant lacked a bit of character. The food is well cooked and tasty, but there’s something missing for me.

Fork Restaurant
306 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2709

Tags: American, Brunch, Pasta

December 18, 2009 4

Drago Centro (Downtown)

//// By Freda in 06: Downtown LA, Favorite Food Entries

Drago Centro is the spinoff of Santa Monica’s Italian restaurant Drago at Downtown. Their menu is standard Italian three course meal. Since the three of us weren’t that hungry, we ordered only from the antipasti and first course (pasta).

The bar area has a pretty big dining area as well (with access to the same menu), they also have happy hour priced cocktail and wine by the glass that you can’t get at the restaurant menu. Though it was quite empty on a rainy Friday.

Amuse Bouche: Mozzarella with Pine Nuts. We started with Langoustine Carpaccio with raspberries, micro herbs, citrus dressing. It’s very light and gone faster than I can form a solid impression.

From the antipasti as well: Pork Belly with Farro, Spinach in Grape Gastrique $14 This is incredible! The pork belly was cooked so tenderly that they literally melt in your mouth! I love the chewy texture of farro, and the grape sauce is wonderfully fruity.

Pappardelle with Roasted Pheasant and Morel Mushrooms $19 Definitely got a unique, rich, gamey flavor and aroma. The strong flavors paired well with the freshly made pappardelle that are smooth, eggy and light. The morel mushrooms soaked up the sauce and added the another interesting texture to the dish. Very good!

Dungeness Crab Tagliolini, Tomatoes, Basil $25 Fresh, light, smooth and delicious, it’s so simple (a nice contrast with the previous pasta) but oh-so-good!

Walnut tart, Market grapes, Marsala, Parmesan Gelato $9. Good and pretty, but albeit taste a bit more normal than it sounds.

Chocolate custard, Date Carpaccio, Pecan, Caramel gelato $9. The sugary decor compliment nicely with the rectangle shaped custard.

A complimentary soft candy that reminds me of Hawthorn Fruit!

The food is very good and memorable, I wanted to try the meat dish next time. The entrance is a little tricky: after you dropped off your car near 5th and Figueroa to the valet (free for 3 hours), you’d take the elevator #2 to 1st floor.

Drago Centro
525 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071-2200

Tags: Dessert, Italian, Pasta

December 17, 2009 3

Border Grill Truck

//// By Joan in 21: Food truck

More food trucks! Popular Mexican restaurant Border Grill has joined in the rising food truck scene. I haven’t been to Border Grill before (only been to one of the owners’ other place: Street). My coworkers who live at the west side like the place but said it’s way too crowded all the time so they don’t go there anymore. Seems like the truck is a good opportunity for me to try their tacos.

Yucatan Pork Taco – braised achiote pork, black beans, pickled onion, orange jicama slaw $2.50
At first I was a bit surprise to find out the price is only for one taco. It was a very delicious taco indeed, the pork was good and the orange was a nice touch.

Carne Asada Taco -caramelized onion, salsa fresca, guacamole. My coworker found it so-so. The guacamole was delicious though.
I also got Crispy Baja Fish Taco (not in picture) – chipotle honey, creamy salsa fresca which I like a lot too. Both cost $3 each.

Cumin Fries – parsley, cumin, chipotle ketchup is so-so.
Carne AsadaQuesadilla – caramelized onion, guajillo salsa

Even though I enjoyed the food a lot, I felt that it’s quite a pricey meal for a food truck. Their price is definitely one of the highest so far, and unlike other trucks they also charge tax. I was caught off guard a bit as I had just enough cash for the price listed, so that’s something to beware of.

Tags: food truck, Mexican, Taco

December 16, 2009 5

Dosa Truck

//// By Joan in 21: Food truck

It’s great that more and more food trucks are stopping by the Hollywood area during lunch so I have a lot more lunch options these days. One of them is the Dosa Truck . Dosa Truck sells, of course, Dosa, a crepe-like Southern Indian street food that’s made of rice and lentil flour. The menu is all vegetarian and they cost $6 each.

I got the Slumdog – Indian “pesto” rubbed inside the dosa with paneer, fresh spinach and masala dosa potatoes
I like the crepe texture, very thin and crispy. It’s quite delicious, I like the “Indian pesto” sauce and the masala potatoes which smells great.

My co-worker got the Shiva-Shakti – 1/2 sweet potato and 1/2 Masala Dosa (smashed curried Indian potatos)

Samosas. $8.

You can get a combo which comes with masala fries. Good! They also had Ginger Limenade ($2) that day which I like.

In general we all found the dosas pretty tasty but a bit too light and small in portion, especially with the price which is slightly higher than other trucks (i.e. Nomnom‘s combo: 12″ Sandwich + 1 tacos + drinks cost only $7) . I got hungry in 3 hours too.

Tags: dosa, food truck, Indian

December 15, 2009 3

Bimi (West LA)

//// By Freda in 11: West LA

I went to Bimi often for dinner but never tried their lunch. I’ve been working on the west side, and Bimi has quickly became our frequent lunch spot. They have good lunch menu that’re reasonably priced.

The salad is always overdressed.

Assorted Bento Box $10.50. Served with Salad, Miso soup, Grilled Fish, Croquet, Sashimi, Pickled Vegetable. Everything is well cooked, the quality is fine and the flavors are not generic. I especially like the lotus roots. Love it!

Chirashi 11.00. So good! The sashimi are very good quality, and sometimes I get more unusual fish like Madai. The rice are well seasoned with vinegar, and topped with a layer of sweet soft pickles that I don’t know the name of (they helped balancing the palette). This is my favorite Chirashi on the west side.

They also have Ramen and Sushi set (what a strange sight!) and Tempura and Short Rib set. They also have soba and udon.

Like I said in the old entry, Bimi might look like a for-American place, but it is actually authentic, fine tasting and not run of the mill. I prefer Bimi over Yabu (their quality had been sloppy for awhile), yet the later is always so much more crowded.

Bimi
11917 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049

Tags: Japanese, Sashimi, Sushi

Fork (Philadelphia)

Drago Centro (Downtown)

Border Grill Truck

Dosa Truck

Bimi (West LA)

About Us

Categories

Recent Posts

Comments

Link: Food

Link: Friends

Meta