Las Vegas seems to have something to offer any tourist, whether it’s browsing the large resorts, the gambling, the shopping, the hot weather and pool parties, or the nightlife. It’s really become a food destination as well, with every big-name chef seemingly having a presence in the city. Michelin three-star chefs Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon, Thomas Keller, Guy Savoy, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Masa Takayama, Pierre Gagnaire, and Gordon Ramsay (and Daniel Boulud until 2010) all have restaurants here, along with plenty more notable chefs from every cuisine. Because of this, it’s an ideal location to have one of the nation’s largest food festivals.

Enter Bon Appetit’s Vegas Uncork’d. Now in its sixth year, the event is made up of about 25 individual events, spanning 4 days and 4 resorts. It’s hard to choose which events to go to, but the one that offers the most variety and access to chefs has to be the Grand Tasting with over 50 restaurants and dozens of wineries and spirits represented. It’s all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink at $200 a person.

I’d been to the Grand Tasting a number of years ago (I think it was the inaugural one), but the fact that it’s on a Friday has kept me from coming back as soon as I would’ve liked. However, my parents (and varying other family members) have attended every single year, becoming the family’s most anticipated food event of the year (replacing the now-defunct American Wine & Food Festival). This year, my parents were joined by my aunt, grandmother and a couple of my cousins.

The event was held at Caesar’s Palace’s Garden of the Gods – its pool area. Given daily highs in the mid-90s, it was still pretty warm in the evenings. Not the ideal weather for a food event, but I didn’t think the heat played as much of a factor as I thought it would. Of course, plenty of water would be key. Chugging bottles of Acqua Panna is truly something I don’t get to do everyday…and that’s just the water.

Restaurants were scattered all around the pool area, along with various spirits and wineries. The event, held between 7:30 and 10pm was actually a fairly short amount of time for an event like this, but I think I was able to visit just about every restaurant (careful examination of the map beforehand was critical!).

What follows is much, but definitely not all, of the food served.

Mix Restaurant & Lounge green mango and papaya salad, prime strip loin beef and thai dressing; pina colada, pineapple jelly and coconut parfait

Aureole charcoal grilled merguez sausage, mint tabouleh, spicy avocado sauce; assorted petit fours and gelato

Burger Bar spicy lamb burger sliders; 120 min. ipa

Beijing Noodle No. 9 kung pao shrimp skewer, ox trio noodles with beef

Mesa Grill shrimp and grouper ceviche, mango habanero and pickled red onions

Gordon Ramsay Steak filet of beef wellington, potato puree, buttered glazed root vegetables, guinness demi

Rao’s sausage with peppers and onions; passion fruit mousse

Bradley Ogden butterscotch pudding, candied pepitas

Guy Savoy peas all around, artichoke and black truffle soup, toasted mushroom brioche and black truffle butter

Central Michel Richard braised short rib and creamy polenta; michel’s famous fried chicken, chilled dijon sauce

Francois Payard assorted chocolates and macarons

Nobu rock shrimp tempura, creamy spicy sauce, yuzu juice, lettuce cup; white fish dry miso sashimi

Old Homestead Steakhouse steak with house tater tots

Holstein’s crispy pork belly slider, pea shoot slaw, chili mayo; truffled lobster mac & cheese fried crispy with truffle aioli

Estiatorio Milos line caught wild sea bass in sea salt crust, capers, parsley, lemon olive oil dressing; tomato salad, english cucumber, red onion, green peppers, olive oil, oregano, santorini capers, barrel aged feta cheese

Scarpetta creamy polenta with fricassee of truffled mushrooms

STK short rib agnolotti, pea tendrils, fava bean, horseradish

Wicked Spoon colorado lamb loin, spring peas, morel mushroom, cherry jus

Border Grill pork belly tacos, spicy cabbage slaw, habanero-glazed pork belly, spicy pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds

rm Seafood cobia ceviche, yuzu, grapefruit, avocado

Max Brenner chocolate syringes and cookies

Sushi Roku bigeye tuna, baby heirloom tomatoes, sesame mustard dressing

P.J. Clarke’s prime flat iron ‘shabu style’, market vegetables, mushroom broth

Raku assorted robata skewers

Andre’s Restaurant crispy oxtail canneloni with natural jus

Carnevino/B&B/Pizzeria Otto crispy pork trotter, fennel salad, apricot vinaigrette

Shibuya fruit pearls and yuzu float, lychee passion pearls, yuzu sorbet, sparkling sake

Eiffel Tower Restaurant foie gras, rhubarb compote, crispy alsace spice cake

Blue Ribbon Sushi spicy blue crab roll; smoked pork belly kushi yaki, pickled onions, black vinegar glaze

Jaleo paella de verduras de temporada (seasonal vegetable paella), gazpacho

Patron assorted cocktails (pictured: tequila sunrise)

There was certainly a ton of food at the event, but the drinks were a big part of the night as well. Even with a bunch of wineries and spirits like Patron pouring out made-to-order cocktails (like the above Tequila Sunrise), I found myself coming back over and over to the Burger Bar booth for the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. I must’ve had over a dozen pours of the stuff.

As for the food, my favorite dish of the night was the beef wellington from Gordon Ramsay. Coincidentally (or not?), this was also the grand opening night of his new restaurant (and first foray into LV), Gordon Ramsay Steakhouse. The beef wellington featured exceedingly tender tenderloin with the bulk of the flavor coming from the mushrooms (roasted with the meat) and rich demi-glace. A crispy puff pastry, glazed vegetables and potato puree completed the dish.

Estiatorio Milos also had a memorable dish with its whole-roasted sea bass baked in salt. We were lucky enough to catch the restaurant just as the fish were coming out of the oven, and watched in wonder as the salt crust was broken, the skin removed, and delicate moist fish plated with salty capers and a citrus olive oil. I was happy to see off-strip Raku have one of the longest lines, where they were serving their well-known robata (kobe filet, chicken, chicken meatballs, and pork cheek). I loved the presentation of Mesa Grill’s ceviche in a coconut shell, and the dish displayed the bold flavors Bobby Flay is so well known for. Mario Batali’s Carnevino/B&B/Otto brought a nice crispy pork trotter, balanced by a cool arugula and fennel salad. I also found Blue Ribbon Sushi’s smoked pork belly to be very tender (yet seemingly fairly lean), smoky and addicting. As for the sweets, Francois Payard’s black truffle macaron was about as good as it sounded. Other strong dishes I heard about but missed were Todd English P.U.B.’s lobster roll and Spago’s truffled agnolotti.

Getting to see and interact with the chefs themselves was a unique part of the experience as well; chefs I saw in person included Scott Conant, Todd English, Gordon Ramsay, Guy Savoy, David Meyers, Nobu Matsuhisa, Michael Mina, Hubert Keller, Michel Richard, Francois Payard, Bradley Ogden, Charlie Palmer, and Rick Moonen (I’m sure I missed many others).

I thought this was a great event and worth the price of admission. I would say the quality of food served was on par with some of the better LA festivals; what made it more unique was the ability to sample all of these chefs’ restaurants, many of which don’t have a presence in LA. Again, given Las Vegas’ penchant for bringing in the big-name chef, it was a unique opportunity to try their food and even chat/take a picture with some of them. This has to be one of the best chef lineups in the country for this type of event.

Miscellaneous shots of the venue:

Black Hogg opened in March and has quickly become a popular destination in Silver Lake. Early reviews I’ve read note long waits for the no-reservation tables and bold, flavorful cooking. The food is very much gastropub-like, composed of mostly small plates meant for sharing and a few more substantial large plates. It’s hard to be a gastropub without alcohol though, and Black Hogg is still pursuing its alcohol license. In the meantime, it’s BYOB with no corkage (nice!).

The chef of Black Hogg is Eric Park, who has The Spotted Pig and Eleven Madison Park on his resume – I’m pretty sure Black Hogg’s cuisine more closely resembles the former. The menu offers a number of intriguing options; since there were just two of us dining this evening, we didn’t want to go too crazy. We probably still over-ordered, ordering three of the smaller plates and three of the more substantial plates.

Popcorn Bacon, Maple Crema

This has to be one of their most notable dishes so far. I’m not sure why I haven’t seen this before, but these were bite-sized chunks of bacon that were deep fried – think popcorn chicken, not corn popcorn. I think the pork was braised before frying since it was so tender; hard to go wrong with something like this and it was definitely tasty albeit very rich. A maple crema was a nice sweet accompaniment.

Uni Toast, Scallion Vinagrette

I thought the toast was a bit dense here, but I liked the cool uni with the sesame oil vinaigrette and the cool bite of scallions.

Pork Belly Tacos, Fuji Apple Slaw, Jalepeño Relish

This might’ve been the most successful complete dish of the evening for me. Chunks of pork belly (again) were topped by a crisp, sweet apple slaw and a spicy jalapeño relish. I found each ingredient to be very well balanced, between the richness of the pork, cool acidity of the slaw and the spiciness of the jalapeno. Quite nice.

Longaniza Sausage Hash, Fried Egg

I found this dish to have a good balance too. Spicy sausage, green peppers, onions, and both red and purple potatoes were accompanied by a fried egg and warm tortillas. I liked how all the flavors came together; simple and satisfying.

Fat Tire Ale Battered Cod and Ruffled Chips

The cod was fairly typical in preparation – moist and flaky, though I thought the batter could’ve been a little crispier. Ruffled chips were a fun accompaniment – some were delightfully crispy while some (especially those that stuck to other pieces) were on the oily, soggy side.

Buttery Lamb Burger, Habanero Onions, Onetik Bleu, Fries

We ordered this burger medium-rare, and I think I’m being a little generous by saying it came out medium-well. Still, it was fairly juicy with a little bit of gaminess working in tandem with the funky bleu cheese. Not bad.

Black Hogg was one of the better gastropub-type meals I’ve had recently, which isn’t to say it didn’t have its faults. I found the ‘untypical’ pub dishes to be more interesting than typical ones such as the fish & chips and burger. Highlights for me were definitely the popcorn bacon and pork belly tacos; because the food is so heavy, coming in larger parties is probably recommended. It’s definitely grub that would go well with alcohol, so I’m curious what they’ll bring to the mix once they get their alcohol license.

Sunny Spot, to me, is an unexpected concept from Korean chef Roy Choi, a Venice “roadside cookshop” serving full-flavored Caribbean grub. Choi (whom I just met for the first time last week) is most famous for bringing the Kogi truck to the streets, as well as “modern picnic” A-Frame and rice bowl-based Chego. I’m a fan of Roy Choi’s food so this place has been on my radar since opening late last year.

I haven’t had a lot of Caribbean food at all, so I was intrigued to find something new. The menu is fairly lengthy, offering around 8 starters, 9 entrees, and 6 side dishes from around the region. Everything is served family style. Like other Choi ventures, it’s not short of personality with dish names such as ‘what a jerk wings,’ ‘cash money fried calamari,’ and ‘muh-f*k*n mofongo.’ Would the food have as much personality as the descriptions?

YUCCA FRIES with banana Thai basil ketchup

The yucca fries were cut thick (just the way I like them!) with a consistency very much like French fries. The dipping sauce is what separated the dish, having a sweet (banana) and aromatic (Thai basil) flavor.

MUH-F*K*N MOFONGO plantains, bacon, garlic, black pepper

I remember hearing about mofongo on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and the word stuck with me ever since. This was my first time having the dish, a creamy and sweet mixture with just a touch of bacon flavor.

CASH MONEY FRIED CALAMARI marinated in coconut milk, tossed with chilis and mint passion fruit sauce

I found this to be a fairly typical fried calamari, but I did like the sweet passion fruit sauce accompaniment.

BROILED HAMACHI COLLAR garlic-thyme butter, lime, banana chili glaze

The hamachi collar came next with a nice char; a banana-chili glaze brought the recurring sweet-spicy flavor combination, balanced by a little bit of citrus.

TWO FISTED BURGER tomato jam, arugula, cheddar, herb mayo

The burger came a medium/medium-well temperature (medium rare was requested) so I think it could’ve been juicier. Tomato jam was a difference-maker for me, providing a sort of savory sweetness that balanced well with the arugula.

JAMAICAN ROASTED LAMB with lettuce wedges and pickled mango

This was probably my favorite dish of the night with hearty lamb chunks bathed in a slightly spicy sauce. Deep, rich flavors. Cool lettuce and pickled mango helped to offset that richness with their cool bite.

YELLOW SALTY RICE

We opted for this side of rice, cooked well with a bit of spice.

WE BE YAMMIN’ sweet potato tart, walnut crust, toasted marshmallow ice cream

HOUSEMADE CARAMELS Maldon sea salt, toasted cashews

Once we were done with the savories, we ordered two desserts to finish. The sweet potato tart was both interesting and tasty with a sweet, creamy filling and crunchy tart. The toasted marshmallow ice cream was addicting to say the least. I really enjoyed the housemade caramels, which I think I’ve tried before at a bake sale. The chewy caramel was well-balanced with just the right amount of salt and crunchy cashews. Excellent!

Sunny Spot presented a solid meal full of bold flavors centered around the spicy and sweet. It was also something different; a change of pace from much of what I typically eat. Being so inexperienced with Caribbean food, I wonder how close this is to the real thing….though I know Roy Choi isn’t known for doing the traditional.

The 5×5 dinner series has been around a number of years now, but this is the first (certainly not the last) one that I’ve been to. I don’t know why it took so long. The concept is thus: 5 chefs create a 5-course meal (one dish for each chef), rotating to each of their 5 restaurants (for 5 dinners in all). As if I needed more convincing, there’s been a sixth guest chef at each dinner, and this year’s no exception (making for 6 courses). The guest chef has often been an out-of-towner, providing unique flair to an otherwise already-all-star cast. The dinners cost $150 with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Southern California Special Olympics. A pretty cool concept!

This was the first dinner of the 2012 series, held at Melisse in Santa Monica. The complete lineup: Josiah Citrin of Melisse, Michael Cimarusti of Providence, Gino Angelini of Angelini Osteria, Michael Voltaggio of ink., Rory Herrmann of Bouchon, and guest chef Ludovic Lefebvre of LudoBites. Ken Takayama (Melisse Chef de Cuisine) handled dessert duties for this dinner.

A special cocktail menu was prepared for this evening; we sampled a few (descriptions from left to right).

Renovateur Cadavre “corpse reviver” oxley gin, lillet blanc, cointreau and lemon
Citrine el tesoro plata, aperol, grapefruit and lime juice
Les Restes deaths door vodka, crushed grapes, lychee shaken with egg whites
Surfeur appleton rum, pineapple, ginger syrup, lime and soda

Sampling all four, I thought this was a pretty strong lineup. My drink was the Surfeur, a refreshing and balanced cocktail with a little bit of sweet fruit, citrus and something I’ve really been enjoying in cocktails – ginger syrup.

The first thing to come out of the kitchen was this amuse bouche.

foie gras and rhubarb with dehydrated whey and citrus

Basically a small ball full of foie flavor, it had a soft, almost jelly-like texture with a crispy coating. The main flavor profile was that of the foie gras – I could see this being a fitting start to Melisse’s Foie for All dinner as well.

Citrin: crisp chicken skin, raw milk curd, aged and fermented beets, shaved macadamia & chilled pea, yogurt sphere, meyer lemon air

Host chef Josiah Citrin’s dish was this duo. The chilled pea consomee was light and refreshing, with a little bit of the citrus of the meyer lemon coming through. The textural component came in the form of crispy chicken skin, complemented by creamy milk curd and beets (which I think added the tartness I tasted).

Cimarusti: fluke sashimi, fluke fin, geoduck clam creme fraiche, yuzu kosho, crispy puffed rice

Cimarusti has some beautiful plating skills and it was on clear display here. Fluke and geoduck sashimi were the proteins; the fluke was tender while the geoduck had just a little bit of chew. Yuzu kosho provided subtle heat, creme fraiche provided tartness, and puffed rice added a little crunch. This dish showed a lot of restraint and was very well-balanced. Quite good.

Lefebvre: Eastern Squid ink, ash and baby french leeks

Next up was Ludo’s dish. Tender pieces of squid were accompanied by a squid ink sauce, an ash crumble and a sweeter yellow sauce I can’t recall. I thought this was a strong dish, with the squid going very well with the sauce and delicate crumble. The glazed leeks were tasty too.

Angelini: homemade spaghetti chitarra alla norcina sausage, spring truffles, parmigiano-reggiano

Angelini’s dish was seemingly one of the simpler dishes of the evening but my favorite. I really like fresh pasta and found it to be done perfectly here. The spaghetti was thicker than what I normally see, almost resembling Japanese udon in shape. As a result, it provided a really nice chew to go along with the sausage-based sauce and earthy truffles. Goodness. I wanted a whole big bowl of this. One of the best things I’ve eaten this year.

Voltaggio: wild black bass egg yolk dumplings, porcini dashi

Next up was Voltaggio’s dish, a piece of sea bass topped with egg yolk dumplings (!) and a porcini dashi. The fish was cooked well, having a moist flavorful flesh though I would’ve preferred a crispy skin. Egg yolk dumplings were a fun addition, yielding a runny interior not unlike an actual yolk. Very interesting. It added a richness to the dish, while the dashi provided that extra depth of flavor.

Herrmann: degustation de lapin devil’s gulch rabbit, sweet carrots, fava beans, young onions, rosemary scented rabbit jus

Hermann’s dish was this trio of rabbit preparations – loin, rack and a cooked terrine. In many ways, this reminded me of The French Laundry but it lacked some of the pizzazz that I found in other courses. The tenderloin seemed a bit on the dry side, but the rack was a highlight with its juicy and tender meat. Carrots, beans and onions rounded out the dish, as well as a herb-scented jus that brought everything together.

Takayama: chocolate, caramel, strawberry, wild fennel

Loved the presentation of this dessert! Takayama’s creation of cake, fresh strawberries, and liquid nitrogen caramel ‘dippin dots’ were served in a chocolate bowl. The liquid nitrogen created the smoky effect, while the flavors were that of a chocolate and strawberry cake.

Lastly, we had some extra sweets to finish off the meal.

mignardises macarons, berries with yogurt and brown sugar

I found this meal to be very good – probably the best meal I’ve had so far this year. The food lived up to the big names and the progression of courses fit well, something that’s not always easy with these types of dinners. My favorite dish was Angelini’s pasta for sure, but other highlights included Cimarusti’s sashimi, Ludo’s squid and Takayama’s dessert. Even my least favorite plate was still a relatively strong effort. Especially with this level of cooking, I’m already looking forward to the rest of the series.

Sunday, April 29, 2012: MELISSE, with Guest Chef Ludo Lefebvre
Monday, May 21, 2012: PROVIDENCE, with Guest Chef Jeremy Fox
Monday, July 16, 2012: ANGELENI OSTERIA, with Guest Chef Michael Tusk
Monday, August 20, 2012: BOUCHON, with Guest Chef to be announced
Sunday, September 16, 2012: ink., with Guest Chef Chris Cosentino

Sushi Gen is one of Little Tokyo’s most popular restaurants (4.5 stars on Yelp with 1500 reviews is a good indication), seemingly always having people waiting outside. It’s probably one of my favorites too, and one of the first restaurants I remember dining at in LA. I’ve been back many times so a post is long overdue.

To me, Sushi Gen offers two pretty distinct experiences. One is at the sushi bar, where diners sit in front of the sushi chefs and the menu is pretty much sashimi/sushi-only. The other, and seemingly more popular option, is to sit in the dining room where sushi is available, as well as a variety of composed cold and hot plates. While my best meals have been at the sushi bar, dining at the tables presents much more variety and value since there are a number of combination plates that provide more bang for the buck.

Recently I dropped in for lunch at the sushi bar (the wait for a table was 45 mins. even though there was immediate availability at the bar), and came back for dinner a few days later for dinner (in the dining room).

Lunch

Salmon and Yellowtail

Beautiful. We started with two good pieces, soft and tender with clean flavors.

Red Snapper

The fish was slightly warm and slightly chewy, complemented by some light acidity.

Toro

As expected, this was soft and silky with a fatty melt-in-mouth texture. Always a highlight.

Scallop

This was one of the highlights too – it was very soft and delicate, and the yuzu kosho topping was exactly what I was looking for. We enjoyed these so much that we ended up getting another order.

Monkfish Liver

In between sushi courses, we also ordered this dish of monkfish liver. Creamy and rich with a clean sea flavor, it was a pretty good example. Subtle heat and acid complemented the rich liver.

Sweet Shrimp

Frequently one of my favorites, the sweet shrimp here was succulent and sweet with a great snap to it. The shrimp heads came either fried or in soup; I opted for the latter. I liked the shellfish flavor it imparted into the soup.

Giant Clam

This giant clam was chewy, sweet and not at all fishy. A little bit of yuzu kosho was a zesty accompaniment.

Tuna

I loved the deep red color of this tuna; it was tender with a good flavor.

Albacore

Onion, soy, and a light citrus (ponzu?) topped these soft pieces of albacore.

Spanish Mackerel

The crisp, sharp flavor of the raw onion countered and fatty fish with a little bit of ginger coming through too.

Unagi

Tender with a sweet sauce, I liked the delicate texture and nuttiness that the sesame seeds offered.

The sushi was quite good; in fact, better than I had remembered it to be. Totally better than the stuff sold down the street at equally-popular Komasa. The fish were cut a little bit thicker and wider than what I typically see, and this helped to create some great meaty bites. The price wasn’t bad at all either, coming in just over $50pp after tax. Makes for a pretty guilt free lunch too, health-wise.

Sushi Gen doesn’t have much in the way of dessert, but I’ve got the perfect after-lunch sweet/drink. Mikawaya’s mochi is a good bet, but I prefer this:

(Boba) Milk Tea

Yay! Half a block down, Ozero makes some good milk tea. There’s a pretty extensive menu, but I’ve stayed within a very narrow range of a few different milk teas (black, green, oolong). My favorite is easily the regular (black) milk tea without boba, on the right.

Dinner

A few days later my aunt, uncle and cousin were in town and they always come here. We opted for a table in the dining room since it offers a more varied menu. Unique to the dining room, a bunch of combinations are offered from sushi/sashimi to more standard fare like steak, chicken and salmon teriyaki. The combinations come with miso soup and sunomono, and a choice of sashimi or tempura.

Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken teriyaki isn’t the most unique dish here, but they do it pretty well. A generous piece of dark meat is seared to get a crispy skin (that’s key!), while the teriyaki was a welcome addition, not being overly sweet or thick.

Tempura

The tempura was done pretty well too; the batter was fairly light and fried well. I think there were two shrimp, sweet potato, a carrot and a couple other vegetables.

Salmon Teriyaki

Like the chicken, the salmon teriyaki is pretty good as far as salmon teriyaki goes. I don’t think this dish has been cooked as consistently as the chicken though, sometimes being a bit overcooked.

Sashimi Dinner

On this occasion I went with the sashimi dinner. There are a few cooked preparations to go along with the sashimi and there’s a lot of variety on this plate. I could make out squid, cooked tuna, spicy tuna, raw tuna, yellowtail, crab, albacore, cooked salmon, and chopped tuna with green onion. The quality of fish in this dinner combination is definitely a notch or two below what’s at the sushi bar, but it’s good enough considering the $26 price tag (which includes the tempura).

Sushi Gen is ultimately a very satisfying restaurant for both those that want a higher-end sushi experience and also a pretty good value play for some good Japanese food. Even the sushi is relatively reasonable for the quality; I think one could go all out and still spend less than $100. Sometimes I’ll find a middle ground and order sushi to supplement one of the combinations, but for some reason the sushi just doesn’t taste the same when it’s brought to the table.

I have definitive favorites when it comes to Japanese food in Little Tokyo. Daikokuya and Shin-Sen-Gumi for ramen, Fat Spoon for curry, and Hama and Sushi Gen are tied atop for sushi. Given the fact that Gen offers much more than Hama in terms of cooked dishes (Hama is a sushi bar only), Sushi Gen might be the restaurant I recommend most often in Little Tokyo.

Last weekend, I was browsing my local Japanese Nijiya market when I stumbled upon an advertisement for a tuna filleting demonstration. It would be a prized bluefin tuna and the fish would be sold at the end of the demonstration! I knew tuna could be huge fish so I was curious to see what it would look like and how it was going to be broken down. Plus, I wanted to try some of the fish fresh off the cutting board.

Bluefin tuna is a poor choice in terms of sustainability (the Monterey Bay Aquarium assigns it an ‘Avoid’ rating) due to decades of over-fishing around the world. The primary consumer is Japan, where it’s considered a delicacy – particularly the fatty section of the belly, or toro. Given the depleting population and the fact that the fatty belly is a small fraction of the overall yield of the tuna, the toro is often one of the most expensive cuts in a sushi restaurant.

I dropped in to Nijiya just after 11am and an employee was well on his way to breaking down the fish. I’m not sure if he started with the whole fish (I was pretty early and his table wasn’t that large, so I don’t think he did), but it was clear that all of the parts were there from head to tail.

The tuna was effortlessly filleted, separating huge chunks of flesh from bone. Clearly, this guy had done this many times before. It was pretty cool to see the meat; a red to white gradient showed the level of fattiness from one side to the other. The deepest red color, and the leanest part of the fish, was akami. Often called maguro in restaurants, it’s the cheapest cut of bluefin. The rest of the flesh ranged from medium-fatty chutoro to the fattiest (and most expensive) of them all, otoro. The trimmings and other sections of the fish were sold too; I grabbed a small chunk of each of the three highest grades and took them home to eat.

I’ve never prepared sushi before, but I often purchase sashimi-grade fish to slice and eat. In short, sushi chefs make it look so damn easy to do but it’s really hard to slice it perfectly. In fact, I don’t even know what a perfect slice is supposed to be, but I did my best to cut against the grain and slice on a bias wherever possible (my pieces of fish were of varying shapes). The fattiness of the toro was evident when I was cutting it; my hands became oily just by touching the fish, and the knife sliced through like I was cutting a softened stick of butter.  It wasn’t pretty, but I got everything sliced up and served it with a warm bowl of short grain rice and a soy sauce-wasabi mixture.

The fish was excellent and about as good as expected. I enjoyed the lean akami (on the right of the plate), which was still very tender and had good flavor. The chutoro (middle of plate) was even better, having a richer flavor while being even more silky and tender. Finally, the toro was expectantly rich and fatty with a texture that seemingly melted before it could be bit into. Like Japanese wagyu beef, it’s really best in small quantities because it’s just so incredibly rich and oily. But man, it is good stuff!

Dining on bluefin tuna (especially on the belly) is by no means an everyday occurrence, but it was fun to splurge on this a bit. Purchasing it from the market was a whole lot cheaper than a restaurant too (of course), with the whole plate above costing about $30…and it came with a show!

If there are two ingredients with which I’ve had the most fond LudoBites memories, it might be foie gras and chicken. I’m not counting on a “Best of Chicken” night anytime soon (but I’d love to see one!), however I’m not surprised to see a night dedicated to the controversial and soon-to-be-banned ingredient. In fact, Ludo’s already done a foie gras dinner at Animal and has been very outspoken about his view on the matter.

For this dinner, Ludo teamed up with the usual suspect – Gram & Papa’s in downtown.  It’s still probably my favorite venue despite the quiet neighborhood, due to its proximity to me and the open kitchen where much of the action can be seen.

In the coming months, I’m expecting to see more dinners like this (Melisse has one). Why not celebrate (binge) on it while you still can? This two-night dinner menu was 5 courses of foie gras (6 if you include the amuse) for $105, lower than what I would’ve expected. A quick glance showed a few familiar plates (albeit with a few changes) and some that I found completely new to me – an intriguing balance.

Foie Gras Cromesqui “MM”

We were first served this amuse bouche, a spherical croquette filled with a liquid foie gras sauce. The shell was delicate with a nice crunch, and the warm foie flavor really set the tone for the meal.

Foie Gras Dynamite tuna, lychee

This dish was very similar to one at LudoBites 5.0, a seemingly odd combination of raw tuna, seared foie gras, and a spicy ‘dynamite’ sauce. I feared that the richer dynamite sauce would overshadow the tuna and foie gras, but I found this to be pretty nicely balanced. I liked the contrast between the rich, fatty foie gras and leaner tuna, and the sauce had a subtle spiciness that brought it all together. A lychee sauce provided sweetness, while salmon roe added some pop to each bite.

Foie Gras Miso Soup radish, turnips

Seeing this dish on the menu, I was instantly reminded of what was maybe my favorite dish of LudoBites 8.0. A miso soup (prepared with duck stock!) was pretty well done itself – adding in gently poached, perfectly-cooked chunks of foie gras will elevate just about any soup. No exception here – the liver was completely melt-in-mouth, while crisp slivers of turnips and radish provided some fresh bite. Bravo!

Foie Gras Black Croque-Monsieur grapes

This dish is probably one of the most notable in LudoBites history – I first had it during the 4.0 run. A squid ink-dyed bread was toasted and served with serrano ham and an oozing foie gras terrine and cheese mixture. Grade A food porn, and it tasted as good as it looked. The foie and ham flavors both stood out and mixed so well in each bite, especially with a little bit of the accompanying sweet grape sauce. I loved the crispy texture of the toasted bread too – ooey gooey greasy deliciousness.

Foie Gras “Crepinette” morels, pears, green asparagus

Our last savory course was an original, as far as I know. It was a play on a crepinette, a type of sausage wrapped in caul fat, a thin membrane that surrounds the internal organs of the stomach. It wasn’t nearly as weird as it sounded, being very similar to a typical sausage casing. Of course, foie gras was packed inside and accompanied by a potato puree, diced pears and morel mushrooms. I thought the flavors were balanced well, and the foie gras was able to stand out in the midst of everything. I thought a key ingredient was the pears, which added a welcome sweetness and subtle texture. Oh, and the grilled ramps were delicious!

Foie Gras Sundae brioche, black berries

Our meal came to a conclusion with this dessert, a foie gras ice cream topped with whipped cream, brioche (toasted in duck fat, of course), and berries. Another original, I think. I thought the ice cream was oddly rather grainy and fibrous, but the flavor was clear foie gras. I think the brioche was caramelized in something since it was addictingly sweet, while some berries adding a different kind of fresh sweetness. The flavors were nice, but I didn’t love the consistency of the ice cream.

This was a very good meal and one of the better complete meals I’ve had from Ludo in some time. True to his style, the plates were pretty creative and different with a good mix of familiar LudoBites and new stuff. The main highlights for me were the miso soup and croque-monsieur, but all of the dishes were pretty strong overall. I thought Ludo did a good job of showing varied applications of the ingredient; so well, in fact, that I’ll just miss it that much more come July 1. I’m curious if we’ll see Ludo do something similar once more before that date arrives…

Previous LudoBites posts:
LudoBites 4.0 (2) | LudoBites 5.0 (2) | LudoBites 6.0 (2) (3) | LudoBites 7.0 (2) | LudoBites 8.0 (2) | LudoBites America

My visit to Raphael has been long overdue. I first sampled chef Adam Horton’s food at Test Kitchen, towards the end of his stint at Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabases. Horton departed Saddle Peak and came to Raphael early last year, and I’ve been hearing good things about his cooking, particularly about this one sous vide short rib dish. Given these reviews and his strong resume, I’ve been meaning to visit but just haven’t had the chance to drive out to Studio City (which is actually much closer to downtown than it seems). A one-night popup dinner in collaboration with Dan Moody was the perfect excuse.

The setup was rather simple with six courses, three created by each chef. The dishes alternated chefs with the final dish (dessert) created by Moody. The price of admission was 65 bucks, which I thought pretty reasonable given the standard of cooking I was expecting from these guys.

Palm Sugar Cured Amberjack and Albacore (Horton) crispy taro, mint, cilantro, pickled daikon and lime caviar

The fish was tender and I liked that it was cut into large chunks; I particularly enjoyed the crispy thin strips of taro root for their texture and subtle earthy flavor. Pickled daikon and lemon added some acidity alongside the mint and cilantro aromatics to create a light and refreshing plate.

Uni & Scallops (Moody) scallop crudo, uni ice cream, spicy tomato dressing, miso-sesame crumble

Creamy soft scallop and uni ice cream (an intriguing vehicle for the flavor) were the bulk of the flavor, while the crumble provided the much-needed textural contrast. The dressing provided just a little bit of heat to bring it all together.

Quail (Horton) carrots, kaffir lime, coconut and flavors of green curry

I thought the quail was cooked perfectly, yielding moist and succulent meat – I found myself gnawing on the bones for some time. The curry brought some depth of flavor and heat, while some carrots provided just a touch of crunch and sweetness. I thought the coconut and lime were good additions too, completing a sort of deconstructed Southeast Asian curry.

Beef Tartare (Moody) beef heart, boudin noir, roti paratha and yellow curry

I think this dish was popularly known as the best dish of the night at our table. There were a few rich components on the plate between the beef heart, boudin noir and the yellow curry; they mixed together to create some really delicious bites. Roti paratha, a Singaporean crispy pancake, was an ideal vehicle in which to soak up the curry and creamy boudin noir. An excellent dish.

Braised Veal Cheeks (Horton) asparagus, creamed morels, sauce périgueux

As expected, these veal cheeks were exceedingly tender and rich, while the asparagus helped to lighten things up a bit, as well as add some bite. I really liked the morel mushrooms which provided their earthy, savory flavor that paired pretty well with the meat.

Chocolate Decadence (Moody) flourless chocolate cake, grand marnier custard, vanilla cognac whipped cream, white, milk, & dark chocolate mousses, orange & port sauce

The chocolate cake seemed fairly simple but it really stood out to me for being so dense with a deep chocolate flavor. A light vanilla whipped cream was an ideal pairing, though I’m not sure I tasted the cognac in it especially when eaten with the chocolate. The mousses provided some variety in the chocolate flavor, but the star for me was clearly the chocolate cake especially with a light citrus flavor in the accompanying sauce.

All around I found this meal to be a pretty strong effort. There was a good mix of flavors (with Southeast Asia being a recurring theme, no complaints here) and execution was pretty on point. Highlights for me included Moody’s beef tartare with its rich hearty flavors coming together very well, as well as Horton’s juicy and succulent quail plate. I hope they can do something similar in the near future; regardless, I need to get myself back to Raphael for a proper meal from Horton.

Mozza has really made use of their space at the corner of Melrose & Highland, creating their higher end Osteria Mozza, their sitdown Pizzeria Mozza, their takeout Mozza2Go and a sort of all-purpose Scuola di Mozza all within the same space. Like many others in LA, I’ve been a fan of the their establishments since they opened, but this would be my first time to the Scuola. The most junior Mozza on the block, the Scuola primarily serves as a space for family-style dinners and cooking classes, as well as the occasional special event dinner. The most noteworthy dinner has probably been the Whole Hog Dinner, a five-course affair showcasing a number of pig parts in various preparations. I’ve heard great things about the dinner and have been meaning to come out. These whole hog dinners seem to book pretty quickly; this April reservation was the soonest one available when I made a reservation in late February.

We were greeted at the door with a glass of prosecco and some passed appetizers as we awaited the first course. Seating for 28 is around one large table (duh, family style) in pretty close (cramped) quarters. It’s right in front of the open kitchen, which provides an upclose view of the chefs and the food preparations. Sitting on the countertop was a preview of what we’d be eating, including a skin-on roasted pork shoulder and roasted bone-in pork loin. Needless to say, it sure whet my appetite.

TROTTER BISCUITS

These were very flaky, with a nice crispy texture within the layers. The pork flavor was subtle but present.

BUTCHER SNACKS

To show off the quality of the pork and also serve as a preview of some of the cuts to be used during the evening, a selection of pork was brought out to taste. Pieces of loin, leg and belly were simply grilled with olive oil, salt and pepper. I thought the results were delicious, displaying the pork flavor with the smokiness of the grill. I enjoyed all three bites, particularly the juicy loin (pictured).

SALUMI & PATÉ coppa, speck, pancetta, capocollo, finocchiona, testa, ciccioli with pickles & spicy mustard

I don’t love charcuterie, but I enjoyed these examples. My favorite was probably the one I thought was head cheese; creamy and delicious especially with the tart acid of the pickled carrots and shallots.

PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO SOUFFLÉ pork leg ragù

This may have been the dish I was most looking forward to. As the souffles were taken out of the oven, they released a strong cheesy aroma signaling to everyone that the next course was coming. The souffle itself was very light and creamy with a heady parmesan flavor that really went well with the rich ragu. Quite nice.

PORK BELLY, ARUGULA, BEANS

This was an intermezzo of sorts, rich and fatty pork belly complemented by the bitter arugula and some creamy beans. It’s hard to go wrong with pork belly and these succulent pieces did not disappoint.

SLOW ROASTED PORK SHOULDER chicory salad & salsa verde

This looked like a turtle sitting on the counter, but it was actually a skin-on, bone-in pork shoulder. Roasted for 10 hours, much of the fat had rendered away leaving the skin to just be pulled apart from the meat. What a sight. Both were chopped up and served with a salad. The super crispy skin was addicting, but I found the tender meat to surprisingly be on the dry side. Hm. The salad and salsa verde both provided some acidity to counter the richness of the pork.

MILK ROASTED PORK LOIN caramelized ricotta & sage

This whole pork loin was roasted with the rib section intact, then the ribs were cut off and seared. Fried sage, the sliced loin and the ribs were put atop caramelized ricotta. I found the loin to be very tender and moist, an excellent example of the cut. I didn’t think the ricotta added too much flavor, but I enjoyed the sage with the pork. The seared pork ribs were good too with just a little bit of char. However, there weren’t enough ribs for everyone (most but not all) so the two in our party who were served last didn’t get any. Kind of a bummer to an otherwise good dish.

GRAHAM CRACKER PIGS gelato & sorbetti

The pig was incorporated into dessert not just by having the graham crackers shaped as the animal, but also via lard being used in the dough. Thankfully, no lard was used in the gelato (though something like Humphry Slocombe’s Boccalone proscuitto ice cream would’ve been sweet). Heaping scoops of gianduja, banana and vanilla came to the table; my favorite was easily the nutty chocolate flavor of the gianduja. The graham cracker had a mild sweetness and provided the textural crunch to complement the gelato.

Mozza’s whole hog dinner fell a bit short of my high expectations; nonetheless it was a good dinner. I was eager to see more pizzazz from the accompaniments, particularly from the last two savory courses. And I was surprised the shoulder was on the dry side given that it was the focal ingredient. However, I definitely ate to my heart’s content of porky goodness, and it was great to see so many preparations of the animal.

The full picture photo set can be found here on Flickr.