Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A frame

Los Angeles, CA
First and foremost, I now realize amidst our gorging at A-frame, that I didn't take a picture of the two best dishes we had, the infamous crackling beer can chicken and the pan roasted brussel sprouts. The whole reason for the trip to Culver City was to try the chicken at Roy Choi's small, hipster restaurant housed in what was previously an IHOP. We came with my cousins which elevated the dining experience tremendously. You want to come to A frame with a couple of people so you can try a bunch of different bites. We ordered ten dishes in total for the four of us. Let me start off with the chicken. It's only chicken right? Well, It's pretty damn good. Light, crispy skin, moist juicy interior, and combine that with some excellent salsa roja and verde you got yourself a delicious creation. I can't overlook the century egg, which was pickled and very tasty. You have to get this, or the trip is a waste.
FURIKAKE KETTLE CORN - buttered Blazin’ J’s Hawaiian style 
The cocktail and beer selection is pretty good and we enjoyed our drinks (Coconut Porter from Maui, Weihenstephner Hefeweissbier, and the Trick, tequila, cucumber, lemongrass, ginger and chile). The Furikake Kettle Corn would have been better fresh, but armed with a kick of spice, it went well with our beers. 
WARM CORNBREAD AND CHICKEN SALAD 
with Italian sausage ragoĆ»t, salsa verde and pickled red onion 
The warm cornbread and chicken salad wasn't the best thing to start off with since it was heavy, but the concoction was tasty and original. 
CHARRED BABY OCTOPUS with carrot kochujang puree, bok choy,
pickled vegetables and nori seaweed 
The Charred Baby Octopus was one of the few misses of the evening, not anything particularly special about this dish other than the bok choy was raw and for Chinese people, that's weird to us.
BABY BACK RIBS - air-dried and hoisin-chili glazed 
The baby back ribs were a little dry and salty but packed a lot of flavor.
KNUCKLE SANDWICH- braised bowl of oxtail, tendons, knuckles and other 
forgotten pieces served with soy chili dipping sauce, and toasted bread 
The knuckle sandwich was another one of those interesting creative dishes that you can't find anywhere else. The oxtail and tendons were very tender, but the broth was extremely bland. We were recommended to dump the soy chili dipping sauce right in, which did add some flavor. Then we would soak our bread with broth, mounted with tendon. It was a different dish, fun and messy, but not sure I'd order it again.
KITCHEN FRIES - wedges of purple Okinawan potato, yam, and Korean 
sweet potato with kimchi sour cream and sea salt  
Everyone liked the Kitchen fries which were a mix of yams and sweet potatoes with a nice kimchi sour cream sauce.
Not pictured, we also had pan roasted brussel sprouts with rice cakes, kimchi bacon puree and diced apples. The real interesting part of this dish was the preparation of the gummy, pan fried rice cakes shaped like ovals, found in Taiwanese cooking. The dish at a whole blended together very well and was one of the winners of the night.
COTTON CANDY - Dolly's Sweet Dreams Premium Cherry
After nearly finishing all eight dishes we ordered, we were way too full for dessert, so we ordered light, starting off with the cherry cough drop tasting cotton candy. The presentation was pretty discerning, coming out of a prepackaged plastic container. But like little kids we are, we complained about the flavor but ended up finishing the whole thing.
CHU-DON’T-KNOW-MANG - pound cake cinnamon churros, 
with malted chocolate milk and vanilla ice cream 
If chicken wasn't already enough of a highlight, the Chu-Don't-Know Mang, send us all home with a good memory. The pound cake churros were crisp on the outside but warm and delicate on the inside. Combined with malted chocolate milk and vanilla ice cream, everyone was happy and overly stuffed to end the meal.

We all had a good time at A-frame, some dishes better than others, but no shortage of creativity or options on the menu at Roy Choi's homage to LA "pinic" food. Make sure you get the chicken, brussel sprouts and churros for dessert, all delicious and memorable. 

Rating 7/10
January 8, 2012


Monday, January 9, 2012

Tartine Bakery

San Francisco, CA
We met up with Wildcat for a Friday lunch and figured it shouldn't be too busy at Tartine, the Mission's beloved bakery, right? Well the line was at least forty people deep and we were extremely lucky to get a cramped table by the time we got to the front of the line.
I'd been there once before with LoKo and brought some goodies back to Chu-Toro, but this was her's and Wildcat's first time at the San Francsicso institution and we were all very excited.
Prosciutto and Provolone
Pastrami
Sopressata, Fontina, Broccoli Rabe
We all ordered different sandwiches and since our table was right by the line, people were all interested in what we got. The sandwich, cut in three parts, was actually quite filling on crunchy, thick bread and satisfying to us all. Although my pastrami had a bit too much horseradish on it.
Fragipane and Hazelnut tart
We were too late for ham and cheese or almond croissants, but still managed to spend over $100 bucks getting a bunch of other things (Tartine is good but not cheap). And after our sandwiches, all shared the fragipane and a hazelnut tart. The fragipane was our favorite, not overly sweet, but nice almond filling, fresh tart fruit and an awesome crust. The hazelnut tart was also not too sweet and I liked the fresh nuts on top, but we were all too busy with the fragipane. 
Morning bun, Chocolate croissant, Gougere
I brought two boxes of goodies back to my family, and everyone loved the flaky, delicious chocolate croissant. The morning bun is more of a cinnamon bun, very sticky and overly sweet. The Gougere was a peppery, cheesy, hallow bread, fun to try, but not something we would repeatedly get. 
Coconut cream tart, banana cream tart, lemon tart, eclair
The box of desserts were enjoyed by my family after dinner. Many enjoyed their bite of eclair and loved the cream filling. The lemon tart was not that popular, but I though the crisp sour tang was refreshing. The coconut cream filling was probably the best I've ever had, simply delicious. And good old banana cream tart was classic and satisfying.

Tartine isn't somewhere I can afford on a regular basis, especially when buying for a bunch of people, but it is an excellent, popular bakery in the Mission and definitely must get the fragipane, croissants and coconut cream tart.

Rating 7.5/10
December, 30, 2011

Benu**

San Francisco, CA
For our annual Christmas gifts to each other, our tradition is to go out for a nice meal. This year, during our short time in the Bay Area for the holidays, we selected to return to Benu. Our last visit was just weeks after they initially opened and it was excellent. To this day, the best beef dish we’ve ever had came from that meal. Since then, Corey Lee has received lauded reviews, two Michelin stars and even a tweet from David Chang calling it the best restaurant in the U.S. We were utterly excited for the updated menu, with only three dishes carried over from our first visit. Our host, sommelier and server were the same staff that had waited on us 16 months before. I think that says a lot about the consistency and growth of the restaurant since there is so much turnover in the industry.
1000 year old quail egg, potage, ginger
Our first bite was an updated version of the 1000 year old quail egg. This time, the quail egg was accompanied by a sharp, ginger cream soup, very tasty.
oyster, pork belly, kimchi
Next was a creative presentation of oyster, pork belly and kimchi formed together to look like a shu mai Chinese dumpling. The skin was crisp, while the filling of oyster and pork belly tasted like breakfast sausage to me. It wasn’t Chu-Toro’s fav, but I was thoroughly impressed with the construction.
monkfish liver, caviar, pistachio, cauliflower, lemon jelly
Chu-Toro’s proclaimed the monkfish liver to be the best course of the night. Starkly contrasting to the classical monkfish liver torchon we received last time, this presentation was more whimsical and well proportioned. Paired with a delectable pistachio butter, thin slivers of cauliflower, a small lemon jelly (buried) and nice salty caviar, it was a harmonious, ingenious creation.
brioche
And of course to top it all off, it came with the best brioche toast ever. This is one of the namesake items brought from TFL and it never disappoints.
jasmine chicken with dates
Jasmine chicken with dates was something that made us smile. The small bite encompassed the concept of a traditional Chinese chicken dish that is served cold. Corey Lee’s version used two sous vied, moist, bites of chicken, skin included surrounded by a sauce flavored like jasmine. The small bits of dates added a subtle sweetness to course. It provided a nostalgic feeling of eating the classic Chinese chicken followed by a gulp of jasmine tea.
eel, feuille de brick, cream friache, lime
One of the dishes that did remain on the menu from our first visit was the eel.  Within the egg roll like presentation was an eel that had been marinated for over 24 hours. With or without the cream friache dipping sauce, this item was delicious.
chilled homemade tofu, pumpkin juice, black truffle
A strange homemade tofu dish was next. Strange because Chu-Toro felt it was a bit too firm, and it was surrounded by pumpkin and truffle flavors. Not something that you would ever think of, but that’s in part why I appreciated it. If I haven’t said it before, I hate Asian fusion. But Cory Lee’s use of Asian flavors is more about technique and presentation while adding layers of depth to his creations and how can you not like that?
salt and pepper squid
The gorgeous squid cracker was next. It was more like a shrimp chip that you get with your roast chicken at a Chinese restaurant. The squid ink was used to color the chip that was topped with bits of squid, Serrano chile, and snow (but I can't remember what it was made of). But extremely tasty and unique in every bite.
chicken velvet, abalone, matsutake mushroom, chrysanthemum
Chu-Toro wasn’t a fan of the next dish, mainly because she thought this chicken dumpling was softer than the tofu. I thought the broth was homey and heavily layered with chicken and mushroom flavors.
caramelized anchovy, lily bulb, peanut, pickles
We were both shocked about our satisfaction with the anchovy gelee because we didn’t like it the last time around. It was the exact same dish last time with lily bulbs, peanuts and pickles, but this time around it was a surprising favorite of ours both.
foie gras xiao long bao
One of the most exciting dishes that I was looking forward to were the fois gras xiao long bao. A dumpling filled with delicious broth, Chinese people will tell you that they are very picky about it being done right. From the thickness of the skin, the heat of the broth, to the flavor of the meat, everything is subject to judgment. Thankfully, Corey Lee is one bad ass chef and this course was excellent. The wrapper was a bit thick, but the broth inside was so flavorful, with just a slight hint of fois for richness and texture. One of our favorites of the night.
fresh noodles, shrimp roe, tarragon, veal jus
I was a bit bummed the last time I didn’t get the sea urchin risotto because it wasn’t on the tasting menu, and even more upset this time it wasn’t on the menu altogether. But for our pasta course, we had shrimp roe fresh noodles. Very al dente with a surprising spicy kick, this was a very different course that we both liked. I'm still bummed about the risotto though.
duck, celery, chestnut, persimmon, Shaoxing wine
The portion control is just right at Benu, because usually by the protein courses, we're too full to enjoy the food. The duck was filed with a foie gras moose. An extremely well cooked, tender piece of duck, probably one of the best we've ever had, and matched well with the sweet persimmon and earthy chestnut sauces. 
beef braised in pear, beech mushroom, sunflower seeds and leaves
This poor beef dish just never stood a chance. When you have the best piece of beef in your life during your last visit, everything else is just going to be a substitute dish. The braised beef was actually quite bland when eaten alone, but combined with the sunflower seeds and leaves, it was a pretty good dish. Who knows, maybe it was really amazing but we were so blinded by the thought of our beef cap. 
"shark's fin" soup, dungeness crab, Jinhua ham, black truffle custard
Chu Toro enjoyed the faux shark fin soup more this time around, while I think it was not as amazing. I think the initial novelty the first time just rubbed off, but still a very unique and one of a kind course.  
grapefruit, espelette, white chocolate
acorn-cranberry custard with banana ice cream
The desserts were both light and refreshing, exactly what we needed after the first sixteen courses. The grapefruit and white chocolate really tied in well but the highlight was the banana ice cream which carried a heavily infused banana flavor. Both nice, light, interesting desserts.
chocolates
The meal was excellent, one of the top three of the year (Momofuko Ko in New York and Le Cinq in Paris were the others) and now that we've been here twice, we can officially call Benu one of the best restaurants we've ever been to. To constantly be challenged by the preparation and presentation, yet comforted by the flavors make this a can't miss dining experience. If we had the rib cap as our meat course, it could've been pretty close to a perfect meal. 

Rating 9/10
December 29, 2011