OC Foodie Fest 2010

We were in LA this weekend instead of our original plans to be at the Real Eats festival in Oakland but happen to luck out since inaugural food truck fest was occurring at the Honda center of Anaheim. The event was slated to start at 11:30, a half hour earlier for VIPs ($50 ticket vs our $12 general admission) so we arrived promptly at 11. Well, that didn’t make much of a difference since there were literally hundreds of people lined up eagerly awaiting the opening.

Despite the long initial line to get in, the event seemed fairly well organized with adequate spacing between trucks and a large number of tables aligning the gated area of the parking lot. It was leaps and bounds better from a organizational standpoint than that of the SF Mission Street food festival the weekend prior. Later on that afternoon we’d soon discover despite the well-organized setup, the long lines make no difference to how well an event is managed.

Since we were amongst the first couple hundred or so people to enter from the general admission, we prioritized our first stop to try the menu item at Ludo Bites. The $5 chicken coop came with a chicken ball (think the size of two chicken nuggets), a handful of fries, a biscuit or slaw (we chose biscuit) and a choice of BBQ, Béarnaise (ours) or Mustard dipping sauce. Despite its small size, the chicken bite was excellent, extremely moist and tasty, lightly battered with an exceptional combination of spices. The fries were average, well salted and the biscuit was dry and covered with honey. We only waited five minutes in line which we later appreciated given this cart was the first to close up shop, running out of food about three hours into the event.

Ludo Bites

Chicken Coop

Rating 7/10

Our next stop was for breakfast items at Buttermilk, an extremely popular stop where the line was already 50 people deep. We waited a good half hour to try the red velvet chocolate chip pancakes ($3) and Hawaiian breakfast sliders ($4), using Hawaiian sweet rolls filled with Portuguese sausage, free range eggs and cheese.  As we waited, it started heating up and we purchased a watermelon juice drink ($3) at the empty Uncle Lau’s food truck next to us. When we finally did receive the breakfast items, both were good, but not really worth the wait or hype. The pancakes were extremely sweet, and although creative, nothing I would ever crave. The sliders are something simple I could make at home with the same flavor combination.

Buttermilk Truck

Red Velvet chocolate pancakes

Hawaiian breakfast sliders

Watermelon juice from Uncle Lau's

Rating 5.5/10

The next stop was at Frysmith, a French fry truck offering gourmet toppings including free range chicken with tomatillo salsa, steak, chili and kimchee with pork belly. I long debated our selection during the 40 minute wait and Chu-Toro had time to order us a Mango, Orange Peña Colada Smoothie ($4) at Maui Wowi. As we sipped our drink, we finally decided to go with the unique Kimchee fries with pork belly ($5). The topping went well with the over-crisped fries, combining a sweet and spicy element to the dish. Had we wanted to wait in the Fresh Fry line, we could’ve compared the two most popular fry trucks in LA.

FrySmith Truck

FrySmith Menu

Kimchee and Pork Belly Fries

Mango, Orange Pena Colada from Maui Wowi

Rating 6/10

We waited in the Cool Haus ice cream sandwich line next. The small pink ice cream truck had been featured on Food Network for their popular ice cream sandwich combination ($4) in which you select the cookie and variety of different ice cream fillings. Large crowds gathered around the small truck with two people assembling ice cream sandwiches as quickly as possible. At one point, they stopped taking orders for twenty minutes to catch up with the mounting list of orders. Adults lined up like children anticipating their name being yelled from the back of the truck to receive their cold treat.

Cool Haus Truck

The arrival

Despite the long wait, we still couldn't decide on our cookie combination but knew we wanted the brown butter and candied bacon ice cream and roasted pear and nutmeg. They recommended a oatmeal cookie for the pear and chocolate chip with the bacon. 

Our ice cream sandwiches!

So was it worth the 45 minute wait? Well one of them was. The roasted pear was really really good, tasting like a cool creamy pear jelly belly and the oatmeal cookie was the perfect pairing. The brown butter with bacon had zero bacon flavor and truthfully tasted like regular vanilla with the chocolate chip cookie. So we had one standard and one awesome treat after a 45 minute wait, but I guess thats what happens at food festivals.

Rating 6.5/10

Our last stop was at Get Shaved. Chu-Toro had been yearning for this since our honeymoon two years ago in Hawaii and has long tried to convince me that the powdery, finely saved ice makes all the difference. So we waited in our longest and last line of the day for nearly an hour.

The long line for Get Shaved

The arrival

Watermelon, Mango, Pineapple and Strawberry, Hawaiian Blue and Melone

It was pretty good shaved ice, but at this time I was dizzied by the long wait. I guess its like any event, carnival or theme park, it just takes a long time to get to the front of the line. But it should curb Chu-Toro's fix for at least another year.
Rating 6.5/10


All in all, it was a pretty fun day and a good event. They pre-sold out tickets and limited the number of people, but it was still packed. Many of the popular trucks ran out of food midway through the event and it was difficult to get full since there were massive breaks between eating. I guess I am a bit surprised by the national attention the food truck craze is receiving and was hoping for a better product. I will continue to try food trucks, but probably wouldn't go way out of my way to hunt them down via twitter. 


Here are some additional photos from the festivities including the lime truck and the long, long, long line at Nom Nom for banh mi, contestants on the great food truck race currently airing on food network. 

Dogzilla, Japanese Style Hot Dogs

Dogzilla

The Shirmp Guys Truck

The Lime Truck

Greek Fries with Feta and Honey

Meatballs from Great Balls on Tires

1/3 of the line for Nom Nom

2/3 of the line for Nom Nom

Nom Nom Truck

World's Fare Bus

Huckleberry

Santa Monica, CA

Huckleberry Bakery in Santa Monica has a huge following and we experienced it first hand on a busy Sunday morning for brunch. We parked in the back of the restaurant where there was already a long line out the back door awaiting their opportunity to order.

When we did finally get to order, we opted for two of their popular classics, the Green eggs and Ham ($12.95), a homemade English muffin topped with prosciutto, sunny side up eggs, pesto and arugula and their Fried Egg Sandwich ($12.95), sunny side up eggs with Neiman Ranch bacon, arugula and gruyere. Both were good solid dishes, but could not compare with the fried egg sandwich at BLD in Hollywood. I preferred the green eggs and ham as the flavorful homemade pesto stood out with the yummy salty prosciutto.

Green Eggs and Ham

Fried Egg Sandwich

We also grabbed the last raspberry tart ($7.50) for dessert. The small tart was piled high with fresh raspberries, atop a small cookie crusted tart base and heavenly vanilla pudding. An excellent but overpriced treat.

Raspberry Tart

We took a few items back to the airport with us to snack on; two donut holes (50 cents each), a slice of blueberry corn meal cake ($5.50), a prosciutto and gruyere croissant ($4.75) and their popular maple bacon biscuit ($3.75). The donut holes were unremarkable, simple denser and heavier than your normal ones. We still prefer fresh ones from Kingpin in Berkeley. My favorite bite from Huckleberry was their blueberry corn meal cake which was an extremely moist corn bread cake with sweetness of the corn and tartness of the blueberries. It’s something I would order again and again if not for the steep price tag. The croissant was rather boring too, small, expensive and doughy, lacking the buttery flakiness I prefer for my croissants. To be fair, it probably would’ve tasted better had it been warmed. The maple bacon biscuit was good, crumbly, tasty and rich, but so dense it wouldn’t work well as a side dish. With bits of bacon, the oversized biscuit would benefit with some gravy since it was rather dry. I’m glad we grabbed up the last one, but wouldn’t get it again.

 Donut hole, blueberry cornmeal cake, maple bacon biscuit, prosciutto croissant 

Overall, brunch was good, but not worth the overwhelming hype or lines it takes to order. If you’re grabbing something in the express line quickly, and can afford the $5 pastries, then Huckleberry does offer some nice fresh items, but we probably wouldn’t come back anytime soon for brunch. Their lunch items seem popular as well, but there are still a handful of places we would go in Santa Monica or dine to BLD before returning to Huckleberry for brunch.

Dessert fridge

Pastries 

Huckleberry Menu

Huckleberry dining area

Rating 5.5/10

August 29, 2010

Osteria Mozza

Los Angeles, CA

After having two amazing dining experiences at Pizzeria Mozza the last two trips to LA, we decided to give its original predecessor Osteria Mozza a try. The menu is quite vast, offering a well rounding selection of antipasti’s, offerings from the mozzarella bar, a variety of pastas and main entrees which made selecting quite a difficult task.  Because everything sounded so appetizing and also foreign we did a bit of research on what to order. We debated between the pasta tasting versus ordering a la carte. Ultimately we decided to go a la carte since many of the popular recommended items were not on the tasting menu.

Upon arrival, we were immediately seated in the extremely low lit, noisy restaurant interior. 

The very dark ambiance and frequent stares of other patrons at our camera lead us to opt not to take pictures for the meal, a shame since food presentation was quite beautiful. Alas, as we celebrated our second anniversary, we decided to enjoy the meal without the stress of photography.

 Burrata with bacon, marinated escarole, caramelized shallots

We started with two appetizers, the grilled octopus with potatoes, celery and lemon ($18) and Burrata with bacon, marinated escarole, caramelized shallots ($15) based on the high recommendations from previous diners. The selection was a success! We’ve had grilled octopus at Michael Chirello’s Bottega in Napa Valley about a year ago and fell in love. Mozza’s octopus was equally memorable, with heavy grilled flavor on the sweet, three generous sized tender gorgeous tentacle pieces placed atop a fresh and light lemon, celery and potato salad. Next was the highly touted bacon and Burratta served on two individual crostini which was great in its own right. I’ve never really appreciated the delicacy and flavor of Burratta until having it from Mozza’s mozzarella bar. It was perfect textural glue binding the perfectly grilled crostini, salty flavor full bacon and balsamic caramelized shallots. Another winner from the start.

Our primi’s consisted of two of the most reviewed and popular pastas, the Ricotta & Egg Ravioli with browned butter ($18) and Orecchiette with sausage & Swiss chard ($18). Admittedly, we would probably would overlook these two dishes, based on their simple description. Thanks goodness we didn’t since both were both great. The single three inch by three inch ravioli sat in the center of the dish surrounded by brown butter encompassing the entire surface of the plate. After a fresh grating of Parmigianino Chu-Toro cut the ravioli in half allowing the egg yolk to ooze out. We’re still not sure how they create this creative dish. Filled with ricotta, this dish was a lot lighter than expected. It was creamy and enjoyable as we sopped each bite with the luscious brown butter sauce until the plate was dry. Something very unique and original which we’d never tasted before. On the completely different end of the flavor spectrum, the orecchetti was bold, strong and heavy laced with amazing sausage flavor.  Chu-Toro mentioned she wanted to eat it anytime she was depressed because she knew it would instantly make her happy. There’s something special about the sausage at Mozza because for the third straight visit we’ve had a sausage component in our dish and each time it gets better and better.


For our secondi, we shared the Porcini Rubbed Rib Eye Bistecca ($63). It was perfectly cooked medium rare and carried a very smoky charred flavor through the peppery spice rub. The steak was sweet and well flavored with good marbling and delicate texture. Chu-Toro even mentioned she liked it more than her steak at CUT. The large rib eye came with some nice fried potatoes heavily flavored by rosemary. A quite filling and well executed entrée.


The dessert was per the recommendation of the server, a trio of gelatos ($12). The first, a strawberry gelato with accompanying compote of strawberries and a waffle cone. It was a little sweet for my tastes, but pretty refreshing. This was Chu-Toro’s favorite out of the three. The second flavor was the mixed berry gelato atop a homemade meringue, my fav of the trio. The last offering was a vanilla gelato in a mini mint cookie, like an iced cream sandwich. We both found this one to be a little off, since the cookie had a bitter aftertaste.
Overall, a very good anniversary dinner with some unique and memorable dishes. Once again the Mozza duo continues to satisfy our LA dining experiences. We agreed that every time we’re in LA, we should go visit one of these two amazing restaurants since each visit makes us want to come back more and more.


Rating 9/10
August 28, 2010

Benu

San Francisco, CA

At The French Laundry for the past 9 years, Corey Lee has been given much credit for the precision execution upheld at TFL during his tenure as Chef de Cuisine.While at the helm, TFL received the only 3 Michelin star rating in CA (still that way) and was named best restaurant in the world in 2003. A pretty impressive resume for the currently 32 year old culinary savant. So to say that his debut restaurant, Benu, is one the most anticipated new openings of the year, is no understatement. Benu is the Egyptian word for phoenix, representing renewal and longevity.I must admit, I have been burned before in believing the hype of a new restaurant, so after only a week of service under its belt and preexisting reservations at the Ritz, I was skeptical if Benu would live up to the bill. It was Chu-Toro's birthday weekend and she made the call to dine there, which btw we were even lucky to get reservations on their second Saturday being open. It's been booked solid for the next 8 weeks giving you an idea of the anticipation and expectation for Benu.

Benu entrance

Kitchen exit

Looking at the menu online before hand, I debated whether to do the 14 course tasting menu or a la carte. A couple of the items that really stood out on the menu initially, the lobster bouillon, uni risotto and poularde cooked en vessie (with a 2 day notice) were not on the tasting menu. It was a tough choice, but we decided to go with the tasting menu ($160) and shared a wine pairing ($110).

Hirsch Gruner Veltliner Heiligenstein 2008

Sesame Lavash

We started off with a sesame lavash,nori, black sesame and salts on a buckwheat cracker. A light, crispy whimsical wheat thin, quite different than the normal bread service at other fine dining places, but an interesting twist. We also received our first wine offering, a Hirsch Gruner Veltliner Heiligenstein from Austria.

We were told a couple dishes would be served in tandems, starting with our first two; a thousand year old quail egg with black truffle and ginger and the tomato, cucumber, dashi and summer blossom.

thousand year old quail egg

tomato, cucumber, dashi and summer blossom

The thousand year old quail egg lacked any truffle flavor. The ginger came through with the egg, but that's about it, not my favorite. The dashi was cool and refreshing, a great palate cleanser. I'm not a huge fan of the gastomolecular movement, but the contrast between the gelee of tomato water (light and pink) and tomato (red) was fun to experience. It was well executed and beautifully presented.

summer flounder (fluke) 

The next set of dishes also came as a duo; summer flounder (above) with mountain yams, fermented pepper and perilla and the carmalized anchovy gelee (below) with peanuts, lily bulbs, chili and basil. It was paired with a Horst Sauer, 2006 Erschendorfer Lump Troken of Germany. The fluke was a beautiful cut, smooth, slimy and cool with a bite, combined with the surprising texturally similar mountain yams  which we were told are prepared raw. This would be a great starter for sushi omakase.

carmalized anchovy gelee 

I am not a fan of anchovies, so this was a difficult dish for me to enjoy. The good part is that the gelee itself is quite unoffensive, keeping really only the saltiness of the fish. The combination of ingredients did not blend well for me, thus this was another strike on the menu. 

veal sweetbread grenobloise 

The next dish was veal sweetbread grenobloise served with califlower, parsley, lemon and caper. The accompanying wine was a Paul Prier 2008 Sancerre from Loire Valley in France. Chu-Toro is not a huge fan of sweetbreads, but she really enjoyed this dish. The batter was light, crisp and flavorful, perfectly encompassing the two large pieces of sweetbreads and wonderfully brightened by the citrus of the lemon. 

eel, feuille de brick, avocado and chreme friache

The eel, feuille de brick, avocado and creme friache followed paired with a Prinz, Hallgartner Jungfer Riesling 2007 from Germany. The filo pastry exterior added a good crunch and wrapped the unique eel and avacado combination. The creme friache acted as a fun dipping sauce. The creativity, fun and originality behind this dish made it enjoyable. The two great dishes back to back displayed the execution and preciseness through the sweetbreads and creativity and playfulness of the eel.

Monkfish Liver Torchon

For me, the Monkfish Liver Torchon was one of the most anticipated dishes of the night, for a couple reasons. First off, the best terrine we've ever had was at TFL. Chu-Toro doesn't like fois, but she liked it there. As a side note TFL's superb brioche was only surpassed by the service of the bread. Midway through my terrine and noticing the second slice of my brioche cooling, did they replaced it with a fresh new slice.

Brioche

That's the kind of stuff that makes you a three star establishment. Benu's presentation is extremely similar to that at the French laundry, simple, beautiful and precise. Secondly, I became a monkfish liver fan ever since tasting it at Sushi Zo. Since then, if its on the menu, I order it. So this is definitely one I would have order a la carte too. So the verdict is....it was okay. It seemed a little fishy by my tastes and Chu-Toro said combined with the brioche it tasted like a fancy tuna sandwich. It was rich and creamy, but did not encompass the flavors I usually expect from ankimo. Above all it was different which I appreciate, but now that I've had it, there are other things on the menu that I'd order before coming back to this one again. Also oddly enough, the Riesling paired with the eel was also offered with the torchon. It's the first time we've ever had the same pairing for back to back dishes, but it was a particularly sweet likable wine. 

Next up the "shark's fin" soup paired with the Blandy's 1977 Verdelhi from Madreria, Portugal.  Others have said thus far, this has been the signature dish for Corey Lee. I hate to be a biter, but it was pretty amazing and was one of the top dishes of the evening.

"Shark's fin" soup

The smell was familiar, like  herbal soup that our Chinese grandmothers made us drink. The broth, beautiful and fragrant was pour at the table, atop the black truffle custard which filled the base of the custom made bowl. Lying on the custard was dungeness crab, cabbage and Jinhua ham. The broth itself was excellent on its own, but the depth of flavor was much more pronounced once incorporating the richness of the truffle custard. It was a uncommon combination of ingredients and flavors, with a touch of familiarity and comfort. There was an extraordinary aroma and essence to this dish that I truly enjoyed and as far as I know completely one of a kind.

Sea Urchin atop potato puree, corn and celery

Out of all of the items on the menu, the sea urchin on potato puree sounded the most pedestrian. I even thought of requesting the risotto with uni to replace this one. But it would be rude given it's the chef's choice, so there's probably something about this dish he wanted to convey. And did he ever. Served with a 2002 Kiuchi, Gekkakow, Junmai Daiginjo, Chef Lee's affect on this dish was similar to the last. A familiar flavor, of potato puree and corn and with it added a left field component, amazing sea urchin. The uni itself was much more mild and delicate in flavor in comparison to the ones often found in most sushi bars. It still retained the ocean flavor, but without the standout punch in the face heaviness of the sea. Chu-Toro thought the puree was a bit over blended, but was tasty nonetheless especially with kernels of fresh sweet corn buried amongst the dish. The real surprise was how harmonious the uni fit in with the potatoes. I really appreciate the simplicity of the dish but once again, the ingenuity of the chef was evident.

Rice porridge with chicken and abalone

The congee was up next, and as expected we were tough critics. Congee is a homestyle rice porridge which is made with bones and leftovers, usually a cheap dish that we eat at our parents' home. To add it to any tasting menu is extremely unusual even at a Chinese restaurant. Benu's version is thick and rich with well cooked tender abalone and threads of shredded chicken throughout. It'd probably something most of the patrons who dine at Benu will find interesting and unique, but we found it boring. Not a bad dish, just not exciting for us. It was accompanied by a Paul Pernot 2007 Bourgogne from France.

Pork Belly with sautéed lettuce and onions

Truth be told, pork belly feels somewhat played out since it seems every tasting menu contains it. Combined with un-compelling parters like sautéed lettuce and onions with a spiced sugar, cherry and black olive sauce, I just wasn't that excited. It was paired with a  Patrick Jasmin 2006 Cote Rotie from Rhone Valley. Surprisingly the pork belly was much more lean than most offerings. The meat itself tasted like it had been cured and had a briny saltiness to it, but it was balanced well by the fattiness found in the belly. This again was another example of a well executed dish. Chef Lee was able to bring out a different perspective of the pork, utilizing the fat as a component, not focus of the protein. 

Beef Rib Cap with Bluefoot Mushrooms

Our final entrée was the beef rib cap with bluefoot mushrooms, mizuna, and pine needle honey. It was paired with a Chateau Potensac, Medoc 2005 Bordeaux . Simply grilled, there was no other seasoning on the beef itself which made the exceptional nature flavors of the grass fed Montana product shine. Chu-Toro proclaimed it the best piece of beef she has ever eaten, siting its extraordinarily untampered natural taste differentiating it above all others. By the way, the rest of the plate was excellent as well. The bluefoot mushrooms and homemade sausage added umami and saltiness combined with the pine needle honey's sweetness, it covered a spectrum of components that summed up an virtuoso offering by Chef Lee. 

Melon, sake, wasabi

The melon, sake and wasabi dish was a sweet cooling transition away from a gluttony of heavy flavors. A tad over sweetened, the melon and sake was a nice pallet cleanser similar to the way the meal had started. The last wine offering was a Jo Pithon, Les Varenne, 2005 Quarts de Chaume. 

strawberry sorbet, buckwheat shortbread, vanilla

A simple strawberry sorbet atop a buckwheat shortbread and vanilla concluded the final dish. Simple, light and refreshing, it was sublime. 

Chu-Toro's Birthday Bite

In efforts to not embarrass Chu-Toro too much, the Benu kitchen offered a wonderful mini hazelnut cake and chocolate ganache slice topped by edible gold with beautifully scripted chocolate across the plate. It was the nicest chocolate writing I had ever seen and a real classy offering.

Chocolates

Chocolates were provided with our coffee and tea. Contained in a beautiful custom wooden rectangle, the cap was lifted revealing the citrus, sesame, walnut and truffle delights. Chu-Toro was really hoping for warmed milk provided with her coffee, a detail she had only experienced at TFL, but it could not disappoint a great meal.

Chef Corey Lee in the Benu Kitchen, August 21, 2010

Following the bill, we toured the mammoth, gorgeous kitchen where Chef Lee took a few moments to chat with us. Given the stress and expectation of his new venture, he was extremely cordial and gracious for our patronage.  We've met other well known chefs before and have never felt so welcomed in a kitchen. His attitude and warmness made us appreciate this dining experience even more and he really portrayed a down to earth guy who does what he loves. After taking pictures of the restaurant outside, he even waved goodbye to us as we strolled past the kitchen window back to our hotel. 

View of the kitchen walking on Hawthorn 

There were certainly high expectations of Benu given Chef Lee's resume and the evening did not disappoint. For a two week old establishment, our service staff was superb, one of them being our server when we dined at Coi. Our primary server was kind and informative, humoring our many questions and genuinely enjoying his job. He wasn't bother by our picture taking (with flash) and provided many insights to the sense of family that was being built at Benu. Our sommelier (formerly at Quince) was equally wonderful, sharing his deep knowledge and passion of our pairings without any judgement to our lack of understanding. He even cleared dishes and folded napkins throughout the evening. 

Although I felt the first few offerings were less than stellar (not a big fan of the quail egg or anchovy gelee), still can't believe that congee is on a tasting menu, and was underwhelmed by the monkfish liver torchon, I have never experienced a meal with so much creatively and finesse that introduced innovation and imagination through such a unique integration of ingredients. Chef Lee's combination of preparing classic dishes perfectly, the veal sweetbreads and beef rib cap, to his avant garde approach to the eel, shark fin soup, and sea urchin potato puree made the dining venture a memorable, delectable and gratifying affair.


Rating 8.5/10
August 21, 2010


Bonus bite
Our follow-up dinner to Benu was at Costco where we had the new Carne Asade Bake. It was pretty good and was 1% of the bill of Benu.