Lazy Ox Canteen (Los Angeles, CA)

December 25, 2011 3 Comments

Aren't they adorable, nuzzeled together under a blanket of cheese

For years the Lazy Ox has been the place to eat in Downtown Los Angeles. But with all the yapping about their superb dashi marinated yellow tail (boring) and fried pig ear (gross) or pork belly sandwich (sounds like David Chang…sleeping) I wasn’t exactly running to their Little Tokyo location. While the vegetable dishes are hardly innovative, there are solid options and a few truely outstanding bites between the pork and pork and pork.

With speckled flaky char under olive oil sheen, the Grilled Asparagus is almost perfect! Tender and crisp with a sweet finish accentuated by the earthiness of shaved sharp sheep manchego cheee, rich romesco & espelette. The small sprinkle of espelette pepper lends a huge amount of heat, while the tiny chives do nothing but sit around and look pretty. So why ‘almost perfect’? $9 for six half spears of asparagus?! Please….

Micro greens, sigh...

Sodden with sweet juices,the Fig and Beet Salad lazes across the plate.  A few globs of creamy yogurt dressing and a splash of basaltic finishes it off. It would be a pedestrian salad if not for the crisp pita chip hiding beneath the mound of fleshy morsels. As for the ‘greens’… am I the only one who thinks micro greens taste like nothing?

OMG, so blurry.... this is embarrassingly delicious!

Japanese yuzu kosho is one of my favorite condiments. Ever. It adds an air of bitter citrus to everything it touches, without killing the palate like lemon or lime. Paired with cactus-just-after-a-summer-rain-plump Sweet Sugar Snap Peas and the delicate crunch of quinoa ($8) this is a spectacular dish of understated elegance.

More pesky chives

The most forgettable dish of the meal was the most exciting sounding: Bellwether Farms Ricotta Fritters with saba & saffron honey ($7). Saba is complicated to explain… let’s call it fancy grape syrup (or you can read about it here). Despite these rich ingredients, the fritters managed to remain bland and boring.

Holla caulla

Caramelized Cauliflower with pine nuts, chili & mint ($7) was an obvious must. As a vegetable, cauliflower is nearly devoid of its own flavor (which is why it pairs so well with cheese!). But when caramelized a rich tone takes over the floret. Nutty and tender—but not sugary at all—the mint and chili adds the slightest hint of spice and sweetness.

Just looking at this makes me want to lick the screen... I won't... but if I did there'd be no way to prove it.

The unquestionable star of the meal was the Anson Mills Polenta with creamed mushrooms & curry ($11). So rich and creamy, it was like eating cheese fondue without the gut killing fatness of dairy. Sheer amazingness.  Like scrape the bowl with your finders delicious. I didn’t taste “curry” of any varietal, but it didn’t matter, it would only muddle the perfect polenta.

With the small portions, some people accuse the Laxy Ox of monetize veggie pedigrees, a new undercurrent of the farm-to-table movement’s backlash. But I side with the chefs in this battle. When you’re eating predominating vegetable dishes, it’s absolutely worth it to play a little more for farmer’s market driven ingredients. But my absolute favorite criticism of the Lazy Ox comes from this Yelp review:

“Everything else on the lunch menu is an overpriced pseudo-vegetarian side dish containing ingredients so exotic so as to be ridiculous sounding.

I’m sorry, but I really don’t need my dish adorned with “Jerusalem artichokes,” whatever the hell those are. The standard Mexican or Peruvian ones are just fine by me.”

Ha! Ha! Hahahahahahahaha!!!

If you don’t know the difference between Jerusalem artichokes and standard artichokes, then yeah, the Lazy Ox isn’t the place for you.

Lazy Ox Canteen
241 S San Pedro St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-5299
lazyoxcanteen.com

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Pizzanista (Los Angeles, CA)

December 10, 2011 2 Comments

Huge huge huge slices! Double the size I expected...

After 8 years in Brooklyn (Bed Stuy! Do or Die!), I kissed my favorite pizza good-bye and flew home to Los Angeles. A few months later I was hired at Slice. I didn’t know much more about pizza then the average NYC foodie. But that’s considerably more than the average LA foodie… and probably how I got the job. This past year I’ve devoured the Los Angeles pizza scene, learning a simple truth: There is awesome pizza in LA!

That’s not to say I haven’t had horrid pies along the way. But I’d gladly eat 10 bad slices (it’s not like pizza is ever really that bad) for every marvelously cheesy discovery. Pizzanista is a perfect example. In the modern dereliction of the downtown Arts District there is little competition when it comes to feeding the masses, so a popular pizza spot may not necessarily be good. But after just ones taste of Pizzanista’s insanely generous slices of vegan cheese and Sicilian pizza, this is a joint I will be going out of my way for.

Thin floppy crust with a glittering brown underside

I’ve eaten far more NYC style pizza then I would ever tell my doctor. And though this looks like a NYC slice, it is a completely different beast. Stretched big and thin like an east coast pie, the thoroughly crisp crust has an unexpected element: Sourdough! NYC style crusts have little more flavor then flour and tap water, but Pizzanista’s pies are complexly layered with fermented sourness. Matched with the unsweetened tomato sauce, it might be too sour for some palates. But, hot damn, I’m a girl who appreciates this kind of attention to crust.

A perfectly cooked Sicilian slice!

The thick base of the Sicilian truly shines in my eye (mouth). The crust crunches like a fresh from the oven boule, the kind of finish you knock on and hear the hollow tone of a finely baked bread. Supple and moist with a bubbly underside that can only be described as gorgeous, the top is muddled with deep pools of Alta Cucina “Naturale” Style Plum Tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. As I neared the end of this monstrous slice, I had to make a choice: Eat the outer crust and leave the middle behind, or eat the glistening tomatoey center and leave the bones behind. In all other situations, tomatoes and cheese wins. But the just-shy-of-burnt mozzarella cheese on the crackling edge demanded my attention. The tomatoey center was left on the plate.

Maybe I’m just overly excited. This was only my first visit. But Pizzanista’s recipes were developed by pizza idol Steve Samson of Sotto, so I have faith that consistent quality is coming out of their deck oven. I intend to find out… probably next Mac and Cheese Sunday!

Pizzanista
2019 E 7th St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 627-1430
www.pizzanista.com

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Baby Blues BBQ (Los Angeles, CA)

December 8, 2011 6 Comments

Where's the beef? Or pork...

Whoever says vegetarians hate BBQ joints, steak houses and burger stands has never met… well… me! I’m not enthused to know my pennies support these temples of the flesh, but such establishments produce consistent, high-quality, vegetable sides and sizzling condiments. Besides, when planning our monthly Serious Eats MeetUp, it’s not always about what I want.

So, what does a vegetarian eat at a barbecue restaurant? Let me tell you…

At Baby Blues it’s all about “The Side Car,” any four sides with a slice of their molasses sweet cakey corn bread ($13.95). When it comes to barbecue, I always stick with the classics: mac and cheese, creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. The creamy Mac and Cheese was a point of contention at the table.  With a plasticy finish—that can only be attributed to processed cheese product—it left a contentious note in the mouths of the seasoned home chefs at the table. But for a high-brow/low-brow diner-outer like me, the fakeness is a subversive indulgence, not an offense. On the other hand, the Creamed Spinach leaned a bit too far into the healthy zone. The fresh full leaves of iron rich spinach—wilted in a watery cream bath—didn’t offer the buttery mouth coating experience I expect from this side dish. The Mashed Potatoes also lacked the fatty richness I never dare to add to my homemade smashed potatoes. The light grainy texture was saved with a hardy dosing of Baby Blue’s housemade hot sauce, but what good are restaurant potatoes if they don’t contain obscene amounts of cream/butter/salt?!

Nothing blue about this cob!

So, I guess as far as side dishes go these are not exemplary examples—except in the case of the corn. As my wild card side, I blindly ordered the Blues on the Cob. My intrepidness was graced with two succulent logs of grilled sunny kernels under a snow drift of cotija cheese and a slice of lime. Cheese + lime + corn = perfect!

My meaty companions ate a bunch of meaty dishes. How was it? I don’t know… I don’t care… but they seemed to like it. It’s going to get real bloody from this point on. You’ve been warned!

This is Tina's BBQ Tri-Tip Sandwich with Sautéed Okra ($9.95) and yes, that bottle does say "PORNO"

Smoked Baby Back Ribs, half, with Collard Greens, Creamed Spinach and Cornbread ($19.50)

"Suicide King" 2 big ol’ grilled shrimp on cornbread with cotija cheese ($6.95)

"The California King" Smoked, Grilled Tri Tip with Mac and Cheese and Cornbread (18.95)

A big ol’plate of everything Don wanted! With Collard Greens, Coleslaw and Cornbread.

Baby Blue’s BBQ
444 Lincoln Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 396-7675
babybluesvenice.com

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Milo + Olive (Santa Monica, CA)

December 2, 2011 2 Comments

The First Pie

I eat a lot of pizza. So, when the internet gushes praise on a brand new pizza place, how cannot I not chime in? Today, Foursquare and Twitter blew up with love and attention for Milo + Olive’s pizza (most notable by The Unemployed Eater) so I got my butt over there ASAP. Thinking I could successfully avoid the lunch rush, I was still met with a completely packed restaurant. So I placed my to-go order—got an estimated 30 minute wait time—and hopped over to Sonny McLean’s Irish Pub where I nursed a Affligem Abbey Ale in anticipation.

Boom!

The dough clearly has a bakery vibe. The crisp shell is reminiscent of Stella Rosa and Mozza while the soft bready inners are like Olio. There is nothing shy about the toppings. The rich sauce rolls heavily across the tongue with stewed tomato pulp. Salty islands of mozzarella and coarsely chopped basil float on top. The sauce clearly overpowers the other elements, but considering the relative dryness of the crust, this works in its favor.

With such a pretty pretty top, this is the underside... bummer...

The beautifully tall crisp edge gives way to a sadly saggy center. With so many exciting elements on top of this pizza, the almost pure white underside was such a disappointment. But then again, they just opened and it can take a while to learn the ways of a new oven. The turquoise wood-burning Mugnaini looks promising and Milo+Olive clearly has a great grip on their toppings. Once they get some consistent crisp color on the underside of the crust, this could be a prime Santa Monica pizza spot.

Milo and Olive
2723 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 453-6776
miloandolive.com

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Julian Serrano (Las Vegas, NV)

November 29, 2011 Leave a Comment

It seriously drives me crazy that this is called a tortilla

In an effort to find an affordable meal, four girls meandered through Las Vegas’ City Center. Our weary feet gave up in front of Julian Serrano at the Aria. Despite knowing our wallets would get reamed by lux Las Vegas tapas, we begged for a table without reservations. Lady Luck smiled upon us and a large round table–that could easily fit six–became ours.

I get the feeling that the waiters are trained to spot indecision and just start bringing food. With a ‘just trust me’ attitude, our waiter started us off with a wedge of Spanish Tortilla ($8). It’s the perfect way to silence the cocktails still churning through your veins–plus it tastes good. But considering the price vs size, we each got a single $2 bite… of potato, egg and onion… the cheapest ingredients in the world.

Cheese! And bread! And CHEESE!!

The Spanish Cheese Platter ($14) arrived on a (lame) ceramic artist pallet. The portions are fair for the price. I immediately sunk my little knife into the half round of Caña de cabra (soft goat’s milk cheese with a white rind) then jumped to the salty wedge of Manchego (a waxy sheep’s milk cheese). With less enthusiasm I picked at the Cabrales (a blue cow’s milk) and the soft glob of La Serena. Toasted slices of (suspiciously French looking) bread are drizzled with strongly aromatic green hued olive oil. The dish is finished with a sad sprig of (suspiciously Italian looking) parsley.  Unlike most cheese plates I encounter at restaurants, none of these were stinkers… nucknucknuck… no, really, these are all mild easy to love cheese and we were stabbing each other’s hands to get the very last smear of them.

Rainbow explosion of color/flavor/color

The first ‘entree’ dish out was the favorite of the night, Stuffed Piquillo Peppers ($10). Two tender red peppers plumped up with goat cheese and mushrooms under a blanket of romesco sauce—a roasted red pepper and almond spread from the Catalonia region of Spain. This was the first appearance of the rich nutty romesco sauce. It appeared on over half the dishes we tried. Thankfully it functions as a background note—tying the meal together—not drowning the dishes in a monosyllabic flavor. Though I’m terrified to imagine the size of the caldron brewing in the back!

Can you spot the dehydrated oranges? Neither could I...

The Golden and Red Beet Salad ($12) tasted exactly how it looks… not how it is described: beets | frisee | citrus | beet syrup | dehydrated orange. Not sure why it’s described the oranges as dehydrated, er, maybe because they started off as juice? It was a letdown in an otherwise refreshing salad. Besides, guess what I can do: Broil a beet, slice an orange, buy some lettuce… Et volia! I’ve plagiarized this salad!

A skip-it salad

The Goat Cheese Salad ($10) was a wasted course if you’re already eating a lot of vegetables and ordered the cheese plate. The mixed greens, mint, grilled green onions, baby red and green tomatoes and a baby’s fist of goat cheese sits on a bed romesco sauce. Although considering I spend the majority of this trip stuffing my gullet with (veggie) burgers and fried, it was a welcomed respite.

Pretty... but not for me

My friends supplemented all these veggies with an order of Seared Scallop ($12).  Adorned in edible flowers and nestled in a bed of… you guessed it, romesco sauce! They seemed to like it, but were thankful I wasn’t partaking in this tiny dish.

Special Spinach

The second best dish of the night was the ultra simple Sautéed Baby Spinach ($8). In the tangle of greens hide buttery pine nuts, sweet raisins, crisp tangy apples and savory shallots. Each nugget is a little flavor/texture surprise, although the occasional mouthful of apples felt a out of sync with the otherwise delicate ingredients.

Aren't these the Mc Donald's colors... plus pink?

If I had known before sitting down that Julian Serrano was the chef from the restaurant Picasso, I would have runaway in horror! Picasso is gorgeous—filled with real Picassos and a POV view of the Bellagio’s fountain—but it’s the worst vegetarian tasting menu I’ve ever experienced. Yes, they had plenty of notice that a wretched vegetarian was gracing them. Still, I was literally served a tomahawked tomato and cream cheese… which was the most impressive dish of that evening. It seems that now Julian Serrano specialized in not insulting vegetarians. I would totally eat here again—it’s incredibly vegetarian friendly (for Vegas)—although I’d probably skip the salads.

Julian Serrano at Aria Hotel
3733 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(877) 230-2742

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Awash (Los Angeles, CA)

November 22, 2011 Leave a Comment

Hubba Hubba!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Ethiopian food is my all time favorite food ever; if I had to eat one cuisine for the rest of my life this is it! In college, I literally ate at Berkeley’s Ethiopian Restaurant twice a week. So when I moved back to West Los Angeles, the berbere glazed arms of Little Ethiopian comforted my little broken heart.

Awash is located just off the main Fairfax strip—on Pico where parking is infinitely easier. From your prime parking spot, meander behind the black metal security gates into the florescent lit dining room. Ignore the ‘lived in’ quality of the space, although it will send germaphobes running. Personally I could care less: the tables are clean, the bread is warm and the rickety wooden bar is packed with beer drinking Ethiopian man.

On a recent visit, two Vegetarian Combos ($10) proved to be more than enough food for the thirty grubby fingers of three ladies. Staring down at the dish, we smile, relishing this rare occasion where viscous and delicious mean the same thing. The array of rich stews of split peas and lentils probably look disgusting to newbies, but layers of supple sweet onions and sharp gingers pulsate through the purees. Served in a large metal dish atop spongy injera (lightly sour flat bread made of tef grain) we got double portions of the following (I’m listing this clockwise, starting with the big yellow blob at the bottom of the picture):

Alitcha Kik: Yellow split peas cooked and seasoned with onions, peppers and herbs. This is a perfect archetype, not watered down like so many places do over on Fairfax. Once I was stuffed on the abundant platter I kept picking at the Alitcha Kik… so… I guess that was my favorite!

Misir Wot: Split red lentils cooked in berbere sauce. With more gall, I would have snuck into the kitchen and tossed another fistful of berbere—a warm spicy African red pepper blend—into this pot. Instead, we requested a little cup of hot sauce to kick it up!

Gomen: Spinach cooked with onions and garlic. Traditionally made with collard greens, we were confused (disappointed) by the mouthful of spinach. Spinach is just too get-stuck-in-your-teeth-soft to hold up to the stewing of this dish.

Shiro: Ground, mildly spiced chick peas cooked with chopped onions and tomatoes. Unlike the mealy textures of the Alitcha Kik and Misir Wot, this dish is satiny smooth. Rich, with the background hint of tomatoes, this was my second favorite, er… lump of food.

Atkilt Wot: Carrots and potatoes delicately sautéed with peppers, onions and garlic. Normally my all time favorite Ethiopian dish, this version lacked the addictive sweet crunch of cabbage… although no one else seemed to mind.

Salad: Crispy romaine with bits of red pepper and a light Italian tasting dressing. Why does every Ethiopian restaurant insist on serving this sad little salad?!

Azefah: Green lentils, chopped onions and jalapeno pepper, seasoned with ginger, white pepper and mustard seeds. Not every Ethiopian restaurant dares to offer this unusual, crunchy, cold dish. It’s a bit of an acquired taste that I can only equate to mustard potato salad… which most people like… so, eat on! I am!

Awash
5990 1/2 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(323) 939-3233

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Saito’s Sushi (Los Angeles, CA)

November 19, 2011 Leave a Comment

Furry green pods... it tastes better then it's description...

In a benign strip mall, on Sunset Blvd, hides a sushi bar that many people refer to as “the best in town!”  Saito’s Sushi is walking distance from my prime Happy Hour haunt, Tiki Ti, and has become the number one spot my friends and I hit up after sloshing it up on rum and pineapple and Toro chasers! Er…  I realize tropical drinks plus sushi sounds like a terrible idea, but there have been no ‘regrettable moments’ from this mix: A testament to the quality of Saito’s fish—and vegetables. The interior is sparse, a somewhat understated mess, with a simplicity reflected in the sushi.

The Edamame, still warm from steaming, is lightly flecked with salt. The portion is small, but it’s the only vegetarian option to start with. Plus, edamame is a crowd pleaser and makes a standard beginning to an above standard meal.

All fish, my egg

The ocean blue platter arrives filled with an assortment of items that fall far outside of my expertise. But those two yellow slabs of Tomago are all mine! I acknowledge that tomago is made with dashi—a fact I don’t care for—but I respect that it is traditional. So though it a contains trace amount of fish, I can’t help but love these sweet eggy slabs.

My roly poly rolls!

My go-to order is the Americanized Avocado Maki. Though it’s ‘not on the menu,’ I’ve yet to find a sushi bar that won’t make this for me. Although avocados are mild, I find the other standard vegetarian option—cucumber rolls— completely tasteless. Saito’s rolls are pretty typical…. pretty typically delicious! The Shitake Mushroom Maki is another reliable choice. Normally offered as  sushi, Saito will make it as maki by request.

When it comes to the sushi my basis for judgment is very minimal. I mean, it is nearly impossible to make a bad avocado roll. I concede that the normal elements by which to judge a sushi bar, variations and quality of raw fish, is totally lost on me.  So it’s in the other, subtle, elements that I base my opinion on. Such as Saito’s perfect rice. Polished white grains held together by gravity rather than gummy starches– and served just slightly above room temperature. The food tastes light and clean, still radiating the slight heat of the chef’s hands.

Saito’s menu is simply a guideline. Ordering here is more of a conversation rather than checking boxes with a tiny pencil. But it must be noted that there is little to no pricing information, so you are ordering with an open wallet. At the end you’re given a bill that simply says “sushi” and a total price. I find this style of billing leaves me pitching in way more then I should for my veggie meal. But all my omnivore friends fawn over this place and I’m perfectly happy to join them here!

Saito’s Sushi
4339 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 663-8890

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The Veggie Grill (Los Angeles, CA)

November 11, 2011 Leave a Comment

All Hail Kale? Okay!

The day I moved (back) to Los Angeles was wrought with peril. But a cross-country flight, two terrified cats and the abandonment of life as I’d know it could not quash my higher function: Hunger. As vegetarian-orientated as California is, the caliber of the local vegetarian options simply does not compare the echelons of New York. I was ready for disappointment. Fortunately, I was met at LAX by my parents and a Thai Chickin’ salad from The Veggie Grill.

That Veggie Grill’s salad changed my life… at least in that desperate moment. As I shoveled crisp greens spattered with fruity dressing and hunks of non-supermarket grilled mock chicken into my mouth, the tremor in my heart dissipated. Though none of Los Angeles’ high end vegetarian/vegan restaurants compare–NYC’s Blossom and Pure Food quash LA’s Madeleine Bistro and Cru–with one bite, The Veggie Grill asserted Los Angeles’ dominance of the casual vegetarian culture.

Such is the exact intent of founders Kevin Boylan and T.K. Pillan. Historically, vegetarians have been beaten into submission by flaccid veggie burgers and salads that put your tongue to sleep. But these two omnivores–turned herbivorous–refused to submit. Weary of their (doctor ordered) low/no meat diet, they conceived of The Veggie Grill and pursued it dispite their lack of restaurant experence. Wrangling Chef Ray White (co-founder of Native Foods) they answered the war cry of vegetarians like me: A plant-based restaurant aimed at omnivores!

The All Hail Kale Salad ($ 7.95) is frequently singled out as the anti-vegetable eater’s game changer… it immediately alters ones outlook on a commonly hated vegetable: Kale. Although, not me! I grew up with kale in my hair, pea tendrils necklaces and stalks of broccoli in my fists. I’ve yet to meet a vegetable that hasn’t ended up on my plate. But sadly, for many people vegetable diversity doesn’t extend past the 20 or so supermarket friendly varieties. But Kale is a great gateway green. Perceived as an overtly healthy bitter leafy vegetable, newbies are surprised by its delicate ruffles and rich flavor. Unlike collard or mustard greens, kale is great raw. But as The Veggie Grill proves, it’s even better marinated! It’s topped with red cabbage, roasted corn salsa, agave-roasted walnuts and not too vinegary ginger-papaya vinaigrette. You would truly have to hate food to find significant fault with this salad.

A big bowl of totally not boring vegetables

The Baja Fiesta Salad ($8.95) does an equally sly job of introducing another vegetarian oriented ingredient: Quinoa. The couscous like grain is packed with nutty notes and a slight satisfying crunch. Topped with chopped romaine, sweet papaya, creamy avocado, roasted corn salsa, cucumber, cilantro, crisp tortilla strips and the same fruity vinaigrette as the kale, these two salads make an important statement. Neither rely on mock meats, traditional concepts or artisan ingredients that can’t be easily sourced at a supermarket.  They are proving (by example) that salad–as a bowl of vegetables–is exhilarating. With just a little effort, great food happens.

Better then real chicken? Maybe!

But the most significant feature at The Veggie Grill is the mock meats. At this point in the restaurant narrative, it’s so upsetting to be served Morning Star (Kellogg), Boca (Kraft) or Gardein’. I can make this at home, thank you. But with Ray White at the helm, all proteins have been developed and produced specifically for The Veggie Grill. So, when you order the Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ Sandwich ($8.95)–and you should order it–you are getting a meal you can get nowhere else. The chicken patty is made from their own Chillin’ Chickin’ and is coated in a coconut milk batter, breaded and fried (FYI-you don’t taste coconut at all). Served on a soft whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, rings of red onion, smashed avocado, a chopped clump of peppers and a slather of southwestern spiced vegan mayo, this sandwich is the best. Anyone new to The Veggie Grill should start with this selection.

In the mock meat world, chicken is ALWAYS the best choice!

Why do I push the Sana Fe Crispy Chickn’ Sandwich? Because the one time I strayed and got the Chipotle BBQ Sandwich ($8.50),I learned it simply doesn’t compare. To me, a BBQ sauce should be rich and smoky; this overly tangy sauce obliterats the nuance of the shredded veggie-steak. The chew of the meat is addictive, but I just can’t get past the acrid sauce. The caramelized onion, lettuce and tomato help cut it, but still, I don’t think I’ll be ordering this again.

You're so pretty... and you know it

Alongside any sandwich order, the Sweetheart Fries ($4.25) are a must. Crisp outside with tender sweet potato flesh inside. They’re served with a mild chipotle ranch that doesn’t add much to the fries, they are scrumptious as is.

Hot Patootie, bless my soul!

Brand new to the menu (so new, it’s not even on the menu) are the electric red Buffalo Wings ($6.25). It’s the same Chikin’ used on the Santa Fe sandwich, but smothered in biting buffalo glaze. The buffalo sauce much better developed then the BBQ. With lively tang and stinging spice, it’s hard to stop eating these. The traditional cool accoutrements, celery sticks and (vegan!) ranch, do a perfect job at balancing the heat.

I also tried the Mac’n Cheese–against the recommendation of my friend who is better versed in The Veggie Grill’s menu–which is just not good. But it brought up a sudden awareness. The entire menu is obviously vegetarian but with this benign dairy-less mac’n cheese in my mouth it struck me. EVERYTHING is vegan! Besides the mac’n cheese, I’m not missing cheese at all!

A lot of seemingly vegan food is littered with whey and casein. But The Veggie Grill controls everything going into their food, guaranteeing its vegan status. This attention quality is simply astounding.

Sweets for my sweetooth

If you still have room, splurge on dessert! The crowd favorite is the Carrot Cake ($3.5), a ultra moist not to sweet cake with creamy vegan cream cheese frosting sprinkled with shredded carrots and chopped walnuts. The Chocolate Chip Cookie ($1.75) only tastes good to hardcore vegans who have forgotten to miss the butter. But my favorite is the Chocolate Pudding! With blended silken tofu and rich dark chocolate…. who knew pudding would taste better without dairy!

Beyond the outstanding vegan food, The Veggie Grill is primed for expansion. And it seems that is exactly what they have in mind! New CEO, Greg Dollarhyde, has a history of successful chain growth. He was the chief executive of Baja Fresh from 1998 to 2003 expanded the chain from 45 locations to 249 by 2002. Though I’m naturally inclined to be anti-chain fast food establishments, this is a restaurant I’m eager to see take over the country.

The Veggie Grill
(7) Locations throughout Los Angeles
veggiegrill.com

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Mandarette Cafe (Los Angeles, CA)

November 4, 2011 3 Comments

Our super nice waitress

Mandarette is where magic happens. Literally! My friend is totally obsessed with Dexter and spent the whole day on a notable (annoying) looking-up-Michel C. Hall-on-the-internet-bender.  We met up for dinner at Mandarette that night and Michel C. Hall walks in with us! He even smiled at her! She turned to stone, starstruck–or having a heart attack– then her face lit up with pure bliss. Needless to say, we “had to” walk past his table all night while “going to the bathroom.” So, if there’s an LA celebrity you’d like to run into, think intensely of them all day, then you too might see them at Manderette!

But I’ve digressed without even starting. Let’s get to the REAL reason we’re here: FOOD!

We’re hungry girls and not shy about expressing of primal need to eat though ordering copious amounts of food. But this is Los Angeles and we all care at least a little about our health.  Fortunately this isn’t oil drenched, corn syrup sauced and excessively deep fried Chinese food. Manderette’s food is light, fresh and healthy in all the ways cheap Chinese isn’t.

One of my favorite Chinese dishes.... wait a minute...

We began with everyone’s favorite, Edamane ($4.95)! Okay, so this isn’t exactly a Chinese dish, but it is classic Asian dish. It’s also incredibly difficult to mess up. I guess if you under salt the furry little soy pods… but these were not under salted… so we can all agree: They are perfect!

So so pretty, too bad I "had to" eat it

My friends tonight are not vegetarian, but ‘amused me’ by letting me order the Deep Fried Soft Tofu appetizer ($5.95) and in the end, they loved it! The silken cubes are dredged in a light layer of delicately crisp corn starch and slathered in a brown garlic sauce. Crunchy rings of scallion add the perfect accent.  The sauce is a little bland for my taste, but this was quickly remedied with the next dish.

Great sauce! Okay pancake!

I love chewy starchy things: mochi, summer rolls, boba, scallion pancakes! Unfortunately, these Scallion Pancakes ($1.95) don’t quite fit the bill. Stiff and dry, the scallion disk is more like a flatbread then a floppy pancake–but it’s served with a bold deep plum colored sauce. The waitress said it is plum sauce, but it tastes more like Hoisin to me. I added the sauce to the remaining portion of Deep Fried Soft Tofu and gleefully devoured the tofu’s remains!

Porky soup

My friend ordered the (pork based) Hot & Sour Soup ($6.95). Though this dish is “for two people”, the bowl is huge and could clearly serves more. My friends went gaga over this steamy soup laced with ribbons of egg white, mushrooms and scallions. If these were not proper ladies they would have been rolling on the floor in existential joy.

Half of these are inside of me

Manderette has an extensive list of 13 vegetable dishes. Each incited me. It was hard to narrow it down. But I’m a professional eater (sort of, maybe… why are we arguing about this?!), so I honed my sights on the crisp snap of the Pan Fried String Beans with Fresh Garlic ($9.95). I love the dry oil-less wrinkled skin around juicy green flesh of pan frying string beans—and these are perfectly executed. With shards of aromatic garlic and salty soy sauce, I ate my way through half of this dish… all on my own!

I'm sure it tasted good, but I'm busy..............................over here! With my Tofu Skin Roll!

My meaty friends supplemented the meal with this meat and scallion dish (I don’t remember what it was) and Szechwan Noodles ($8.95), a theatrical dish of minced pork and spices on egg noodles—you can see the picture of the performance at the top of the post.

OMG! Must must must! Eat... can't form sentences... nom nom nom

But my absolute favorite of the evening was the Tofu Skin Roll ($10.95). This is not an actual “roll” but “unrolled” thin sheets—or skins—of tofu, sautéed with bean sprouts, black mushroom and greens in an ultra light sauce. The chewy clumps of tofu skins are addictive! I’ve been cooking with tofu skin rolls are home for years and cannot understand why more restaurants don’t serve it. If you haven’t tried this form of tofu, you need to get to Manderette and taste for yourself!

Mandarette Cafe
8386 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-6115
mandarettecafe.com

Filed under Chinese Tagged with , ,

Areal (Los Angeles, CA)

October 27, 2011 Leave a Comment


Eggs and veggies, yum yum!

It’s great to have friend in high places… or hot kitchens! I got an invite to the preview brunch at Santa Monica’s Areal, a breezy white washed patio with a farm to table menu. Through clenched teeth, the kitchen brags that everything is made from scratch and you can taste it in every dish they put out.

Though I longed for the ricotta with honey, I went straight for the slightly healthy option: Moroccan Stew. A deeply spiced broth flutters around fresh cannellini and garbanzo beans, carrots, cauliflower and leafy greens. Crispy-edged fried egg whites hold two still runny yolks. Warm and wholesome, this could have easily been my entire meal.

The patience of my friend's hands dissipated the second I put down my camera... chomp!

The menu description of the Soccas sounded like flat breads, so the waiter explained these are based on a French street food. It’s sort of like a crepe made of garbanzo flour that is traditionally served plain. At Areal, they bake it in the wood fire oven with a light scattering of toppings. My friend and I both gravitated towards the heirloom tomato and arugula and the waiter hardly agreed. I preferred the crisp edge of the socca over the eggy tasting (there is no egg) center. But I don’t imagine I’ll be ordering this again in light of the phenomenal pizzas coming out of this same oven!

Heaven in Santa Monica

Choosing just one pizza proved a daunting task—there was only us two girls and no take out boxes to tackle the meal—so I conceded the choice to my guest. When I first began reviewing pizza for Slice I did A LOT of reading about the scene here. One of the tidbits that really stuck with me was the observation that Angeleno’s are obsessed with burrata. At first I was offended by the stereotype, but this past year I’ve silently watched as every native Angeleno automatically orders anything with burrata on it… and so, that is how we arrived at the Radicchio, Cherry Tomato and Burrata Pizza. I’ve had radicchio on many pizzas and have concluded that its bitter crunch has no place on my pies. Toppings aside, the crust is the star and the reason everyone should get their tukis here now!

Areal
2820 Main Street
Santa Monica CA, 90405
arealrestaurant.com

Filed under American, Pizza Tagged with , , ,

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