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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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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Larchmont Bungalow (Los Angeles, CA)

October 25, 2011 2 Comments

Nuts for nachos!

Mobbed every Sunday brunch, many people forget about Larchmont Bungalow when heading out to dinner. At night, this spacious café become a quite sanctuary for a casual meal with friends.  The menu is fairly meat heavy, but a pretty hand written board highlights all their NEW vegan options! The obvious choice is the easy to share Vegan Nachos ($9.95). Light and crispy homemade tortilla chips are topped with vegan cheese (Daiya, the best band out there), whole black beans and thin slices of fresh jalapeno. With the perfect amount of salt and heat we could not stop eating the nachos, especially when loaded with the pico de gallo and fresh guacamole.

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Bricks and Scones (Los Angeles, CA)

January 19, 2011 1 Comment

Unassuming...

At the north end of the Larchmont Blvd shopping district sits Brick and Scones, a swank library-quiet wi-fi haven well known by locals. It’s the study you wish you had at home. But all of this is beside the point, because the point of being here is to eat Korean-style Chewy Sesame Rolls!

Why, hello there...

The dairy-free/gluten-free Sesame Roll ($2.50), served warm by request, is a ball of joy. Flakes fall as you rip through the skin, revealing a chewy inner-heart of mochi, black sesame, and air bubbles. Each Sesame Roll is unique as a geode, full of densely speckled flesh with a whisper of sugar. Read more of this post

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