Lu ro fan or lo ba fan to you Taiwanese speakers is a simple comfort dish that can be found in many canteen-style food courts around China and Taiwan.  It’s stewed ground pork usually served with a side of preserved vegetables on rice, or for those who are slightly health-conscious, fresh vegetables like bok choy.  It had been a while since I ate this since I never make it at home and I never order it when I’m at a restaurant that has it, but I was craving it and wanted to try making a vegetarian version.

It turned out pretty easy to just substitute the pork for wheat gluten.  I bought fresh wheat gluten, like the type you use to make the Shanghainese dish kou fu, chopped it up finely, and mixed it up with the rest of the ingredients: chopped shallots, garlic, shiitake mushroom, and pickled radish. I added the pickled radish to give it more flavor since wheat gluten isn’t as flavorful as real pork.

It’s seasoned with a mixture of soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sugar, mushroom soaking liquid, and about 2 cups of water.  I let that stew for about 30 minutes with a few hard boiled eggs while I boiled some bok choy.

The entire thing was easy to make and assemble. Including the rice cooking time, it took less than 45 minutes to make enough for dinner and lunch the next day. Next time I make this, I’ll probably throw in some chopped wood ear mushroom to give it more texture and a little agar to add thickness to the sauce.

The entrance to the restaurant is through the bar. Upon entering the bar, you see two bartenders in that ubiquitous Cocktailian costume, and an impressive number of shelves displaying dimly lit bottles of exotic rum. The bartender, who also functioned as the hostess asked if we had reservations. No, we did not. After a few minutes of waiting while she fiddled with the computer, she led us through the small bar into the restaurant area. It was small, and it had plenty of tables free. It always amuses me when restaurants ask for a reservation and make it seem like they’re fully booked, when in fact, they are not.

After we were seated, the waitress presented us the food and cocktail menus, stooped into a squat and began a long tale about the cocktail program, the food, and the lore of The Breadfruit. I kid you not. I thought we were in an episode of Portlandia. When we finally got to the ordering part, we had already decided on drinks, appetizers, and mains.

I easily convinced Will to get a Hemingway daiquiri (not shown) while I got an interesting sounding beet cocktail. It had beet juice, nutmeg, pimento, basil and was garnished with sorrel. It was an unconventional combination, but it tasted wonderful and strange at the same time. It was a thoughtful drink that made me look forward to the rest of my meal.

We shared a dish of fried plantain eggrolls, which was a little on the sweet side. The fried plantains were great, but the sweetness of the mango chutney was too much on top of it. I would have preferred something more sour to cut down on the cloying, rich sweetness of the eggrolls.

Will got some sort of vegetarian chicken curry which smelled and tasted great. It had a decent amount of spice without being spicy. The rice and beans he ordered as a side were flavorful and savory with a hint of thyme.

My mussels in a red curry sauce was similarly tasty. The broth was acidic and spicy in all the right places. I spooned some of this delicious broth onto my rice and beans at the end and declared it a success.

As a second drink, Will ordered a Gin Rummy which was Appleton White, juniper berries, ginger root, cucumber, and ting. That was a manly man’s drink to be had while lounging around at the beach. The juniper berries gave it quite a punch. It tasted a little too much like aftershave for me to drink with dinner, but I can see myself sipping on the cool beverage when it’s 98F out — which it was in Phoenix.

For dessert, Will got the sweet potato pudding, which was more like a sweet potato pie topped with shredded coconut. Without the whipped cream, it was vegan. Very cinnamon-y and comforting, if you like the taste of cinnamon.

Despite being pretty full, I couldn’t turn down the creme brûlée. It was creamy, sweet, topped with rum-infused cherries, and had a surprise at the bottom: a syrupy, sweet slice of pineapple. I liked each creamy spoonful with the ginger crumble on the side.

When we were thinking of Phoenix, we did not imagine we’d find such a delightful Jamaican restaurant. I could see this type of place thriving in LA, but it was a nice surprise to see it in a city like Phoenix. It will definitely be on my list of places to recommend when someone asks, “Where should I go to eat in Phoenix?”

Interestingly enough, there was no breadfruit on the menu. Maybe it was the wrong season for breadfruit in Phoenix.

The Breadfruit
108 East Pierce Street Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 267-1266

After the five and a half hour drive from Los Angeles to Phoenix, Arizona, I was pleasantly surprised to find complimentary valet and best of all, no huge line in front of the famous Pizzeria Bianco. No, really, I just waltz right in and sat at a table. I guess 3pm on a Saturday afternoon is the right time to go if you want to avoid 2+ hour lines.

Driving that far for pizza may sound ridiculous and prone to disappointment, but I found the pizza to be delicious. The crust, while thin wasn’t floppy in the traditional neapolitan style. Instead, it kept some of its crunch without being too crispy and held up well against a well balanced tomato sauce, cheese, and leaves of basil. I preferred the plops of flavorful DOP mozzarella from Settebello, but the rest of Bianco’s pizza was fantastic. If I could have Bianco’s dough and sauce with Settebello’s DOP mozzarella, I’d be in pizza heaven.

Will got the marinara, which was topped with golden slices of garlic. I don’t know how they did it, but the garlic was perfectly baked with not a single one being overdone or bitter. This is the garlic lover’s pizza.

And what pizza post would be complete without an up-skirt shot? Look at that charring.

So yes, after driving 372 miles, sitting down in a cool restaurant where it’s 98F outside, sipping a crisp white wine and eating a delicious pizza is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

Pizzeria Bianco
623 East Adams Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 258-8300

Not in the mood for something super-IPA, I ordered a Taps Cream Ale, which satisfied my craving of something a little light and as easy to drink as a pilsner. Hey, I had a huge diner — don’t judge me.

To help with the drink consumption, we were served some hard-to-turn-down, crispy lotus chips dusted with a savory mix of two types of seaweed.  Crispy and savory?  Best bar snack ever? Perhaps.

I also sampled a few bites from their experimental menu:fried chicken wing with a soy sauce and ginger glaze, and a small bite of chicken salad served on top of fried Chinese bread. If you’ve ever had that soft, sweet loaf of bread from any Chinese bakery, you’ll know what I’m talking about.  Fry a slice of that up and you’ll think it was the most unhealthy but delicious thing ever. Top it with a nicely seasoned chicken salad with tangy julienned cucumber and it’ll be even better. By itself, the fried chicken wing was as good as a deep fried wing could get, but the drizzled sauce on top gave it an edge.

While I only tried Spirit House’s soft-opening food, I have high hopes for the food coming out of the kitchen and what else gets added on tap.

Spirit House Bar
123 S. Lincoln Ave
2nd Fl
Monterey Park, CA 91755
(626) 872-0353

The old neighborhood staple may be hard to find because it’s tucked into a strip mall that doesn’t exactly face the street. In fact, it’s so hard to find that I forgot completely about it for years until it recently popped back into my mind like some repressed memory.  I remembered my mom buying plastic boxes of banh cuon from them, packed full of the slippery white sheets, warm bean sprouts, and crispy sweet potato fritters.  This place was frying sweet potatoes long before sweet potato fries was a thing.

My go-to plate right now is 6A, which is banh cuon filled with ground shrimp. It also comes with a couple pieces of shrimp paste (think shrimp-flavored meatballs), and a healthy handful of par-boiled bean sprouts and julienned cucumber.  My old favorite was the banh cuon dac biet (the special) which comes with ground pork instead of shrimp. For a few dollars more, you can also get the sweet potato fritters, a deliciously mysterious deep fried mung bean ball, and slices of cha lua (or what I like to refer to as Vietnamese ham).

Once the plate of your choice is placed before you, there are two forms of attack.  If you’re ravenous and don’t mind your food mixing together, you can ladle the fish sauce from the Kool-aid sized pitchers on the table into a small bowl, adding enough chili sauce to your liking, and then pouring it over your entire plate.  Mix well and you have a tasty and nutritious salad thing.  The second form of attack, which a refined lady like me uses, is to ladle the sauce into a bowl, throw in a handful of bean sprouts and cucumber, and dip individual pieces of banh cuon in there, picking up some sauce-soaked bean sprouts and cucumber on the way.  When I’m feeling extra fancy with my chopsticks, I spread out a piece of banh cuon, dip some bean sprouts and cucumber in the sauce, put it on said banh cuon, and with my chop sticks, fold it up into a taco and eat it that way. If you’re unsteady with the chopsticks, leave that maneuver for the pros.

Realistically, any plan of attack that ends up with the banh cuon in your mouth is a successful one.  There’s something satisfying about putting those warm, freshly-made rice-noodle-things into your mouth.  And when it’s coated in salty, sweet, garlicky fish sauce, it’s even better.  The sides are nothing to be scoffed at either.  The shrimp paste is deep fried to give a sufficient chew to the outside while still being tender and soft on the inside.  The sweet potato fritters have an unnatural ability to stay crispy, even after dunking in the fish sauce.  The mung bean ball thing makes me think of space-food.

And to wash it all down? The no-nonsense older guy who’s always there will probably ask you what drink you want. That’s the only sign of hospitality he’ll show you. After he takes your order, he’ll stand in the corner of the room and brood.  Order the lemon soda if you want something refreshing. It’s one of those drinks that’s greater than the sum of its parts.  Ice, soda, lemon, and a bit of salt and sugar may not sound good to you, but I never regret ordering it.

Most Vietnamese places are no-man’s land for vegetarians and vegans.  Not this one. Banh Cuon Tay Ho has a whole page dedicated to vegetarian plates.  An easy introduction to banh cuon for the vegetarian is probably their banh cuon with fried tofu.  They’re empty rolled sheets of rice noodle topped with deep fried tofu sheet, cucumber, and other tasty vegetable-based morsels. Instead of the cha lua, vegetarians are given curiously chewy deep-fried tofu.  The vegetarian plates even come with their own vegetarian (fish-free!) bowl of sauce. What more can an omnivore who’s married to a vegan ask for at a legit Vietnamese restaurant?

In a place like the San Gabriel Valley where restaurants open and close with a blink of an eye, Banh Cuon Tay Ho must be doing something right since they’ve been open for more than ten years. And the thing they’re doing right is fresh, simple, banh cuon.

Banh Cuon Tay Ho
1039 E Valley Blvd
Ste B103
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 280-5207

Green beans have never excited me that much.  My earliest memory of the long green vegetable is one of me choking down a soggy, tin-can tasting one on my lunch tray from the cafeteria.  While I can recall actually enjoying them, like that one time my cousin made a traditional green bean casserole from a recipe on the side of a box of fried onions, I don’t usually think of them in the same wide-eyed with glee way as I do other vegetables like brussel sprouts or leeks. So when I heard Lynne Rossetto Kasper talk about buttery soft green beans in a dish she called Greek-style green beans, I decided to give often-overlooked legume another look.

Kasper wasn’t kidding when she said these beans were to be gently and slowly cooked for a long, long time.  The wait for the beans to be perfectly cooked becomes excruciating when you’re hungry. I started the beans with diced onion, lots of thyme, and chopped canned tomatoes at what I thought was an early enough time.  I covered my dutch oven and just let that baby cook for an hour before I checked it. Nope, not done yet.  Half an hour later, still not done, but I was hungry enough that I ladled some of the beans on polenta, poached an egg, and called it a day.

The next day, I cooked the remaining beans for another two hours on low low heat and then they were meltingly tender, savory from the tomato sauce, and pretty much perfect.  I fried up some leftover polenta, topped it with the now soft beans, put a fried egg on top, and enjoyed it much better than the night before.

Tonight, I made a trashy meal: potato skins. We watched Worst Chefs Ever yesterday and they had to make potato skins for a St. Patrick’s Day party, which gave me the idea.  Mine weren’t deep fried, so I can at least pretend they’re somewhat healthy.  And I upped the kale to potato ratio because I wanted more kale than potato in the stuffing. They tasted good with a glass of beer.

yukon gold potatoes stuffed with kale, mashed potatoes, and tempeh bacon

Stuffed Potato Skins

Ingredients:

• 4 medium to large potatoes (I used yukon golds because I like the taste)
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 bunch green onion
• 3 slices of tempeh bacon
• margarine
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Wash the potatoes and slice them in half.
3. Brush olive oil over the potato and place them on a baking sheet or roasting pan and into the oven for 30-45mins.
4. Wash, de-stem, and roughly chop the kale.
5. Pan-fry the tempeh bacon slices till crispy, then chop up roughly into bacon-bits.
6. Slice the whites off the green onion and mince
7. Sautee the green onion in a few tsp of olive oil until fragrant, then throw in the kale. Sautee for 10 minutes or until the kale is cooked to your liking. Put in a few Tbs water if it gets dry.
8. When kale is done cooking, chop up the greens of the onion and combine with the kale.
9. When the potato skins are a little wrinkled and the middle is scoopable, take them out of the oven.
10. With a spoon, scoop out most of the middle of the potato, making sure not to break the skin.
11. Combine the scooped out potato with 1Tbs margarine and mash together with the kale and tempeh. Salt and pepper to taste.
12. Scoop the potato and kale mixture back into the potato skins.
13. Brush the top of each scoop with olive oil.
14. Pop back into the oven for 10 minutes or until the top is crispy.
15. (optional) Top off with some more green onion for garnish.

The event started off well with a light appetizer from Tsujita.  I thought it would be risky of them to serve nigiri in a setting such as this, but both pieces tasted fresh and they didn’t skimp on the presentation.

Some highlights of the event:

The Salt Cure’s crostini with pate, pickled onion, and mustard

Mozza’s Budino, which is every bit as good as it is at the restaurant.

Little Dom’s smoked oysters

I was also happy to see restaurants giving their booths some personality to distinguish from each other.  I especially liked the tree of happy people from Mo Chica and the made-to-order spoonfuls of bean stew with smoked salmon skin from another restaurant.

Mo-chica’s booth where people are getting refreshments

A hearty bean stew topped with crunchy salmon skin

I wasn’t able to sample everything since I’m only one person and my stomach can only hold so much food, but of the food that I did taste, none of it seemed worse for wear because of the weather.  Once more people started filing in, it was getting close to roasting in the indoor area, so I gulped down some ice-cream, an iced-coffee, and tried to cool down outside.

Since Jonathan Gold is moving on to the LA Times, this is probably his last year doing the event for the Weekly.  Who knows what’s going to happen next year. Maybe there won’t be a Gold Standard 2013. If that were the case, I’m glad I attended this last hurrah.

A full set of pictures from the Gold Standard 2012 can be found here

Excuse the messy stove. Will had cleaned it before cooking, but I was all over the place making sure everything would be cooked in time.

Simmering at the top right is fresh bamboo in a soy sauce and mirin broth.  It was my first time preparing fresh bamboo in this way and it was so simple but highlighted the fresh bamboo so well I’m definitely going to make this a repeat performance. I wanted a no-fuss soup tonight so I made kimchi and tofu soup with the over-salted kimchi.

Transferring the cooked mussels into a serving dish.

Toss toss tossing the spaghetti with leeks and mushrooms.

For eating vegetarian at home, we don’t have lentils as often as we should. Now that I’ve made this warm lentil salad for the first time and realized how easy it was, maybe we’ll have lentils more often.

The puy lentils (I like these because they don’t break down as much when they’re cooked) were boiled in some water with a quarter of an onion, a carrot, and bay leaf. Those additions to the water flavor the lentils.

While the lentils were cooking, I chopped some yukon gold potatoes into bite-sized pieces and then boiled them in salted water until they were done.  I fished the potatoes out of the water and set them aside in a strainer to cool. With the remaining boiling water, I blanched a bunch of kale and then rinse in cold water.  I then chopped the kale up roughly.

When the lentils are cooked to a point where they’re soft enough to eat, but not so soft they fall apart, I drained them, and mixed them in with the potatoes and kale.  The carrot that I had boiling with the lentils was chopped into a fine dice and also added to the salad.

I made a dressing of grainy mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a splash of white wine vinegar.  I poured that over the warm potato and lentil salad and tossed to coat.  Finally, I rinsed some cold lettuce we had in the fridge, tore it into pieces, and mixed it in with the warm salad.

This lentil and potato salad may sound like it has a lot of steps, but they’re all very simple and it’s easy to make a big batch at a time.  It’s also one of those things that gets better if it sits for a little bit before eating so that the flavors can meld together.

If you’re feeling extra fancy and have leftover risotto lying around, you can shape those into small balls with some lentil, bread them in panko, and fry them into arancini to top off the salad like so: