LK: What got you started in the wine industry?

AD: Wow that was a long time ago.  To be honest, it started as a hobby to impress a girl.  The girl came and went but I realized that while I thought it was a hobby, I was actually able to turn it into a job and left soon thereafter to go to Australia to study wine.

LK:  And what would you say is your favorite wine varietal?

AD: Well, I think any good sommelier or wine advocate would say that their favorite wine changes depending on the seasons and my mood, but at the end of the day I’m partial to a good Barossa Shiraz

LK: What inspired you to create OZ Fest?

AD:  Because I lived in Australia, I know how great and diverse Australian wines are, so it made me see that people’s perceptions of Australian wines outside of Australia are big, fruity, jammy, over the top wines with cute fuzzy animals on them.  I wanted to change that, and being at the wine house was a perfect venue.

LK: And how do you think it was received?

AD: Well, we sold out several weeks before the event, if that means anything?  I think people had a great time.  They enjoyed the relaxed, unpretentious attitude and I think they were surprised and inspired by the wines.  A lot of them said they knew the big bold Shirazes that Australia produced, but they were really impressed with the uncommon varietals, the Chardonnay’s, Pinot and bold Cabs.

LK:  Of the wines that were at the event, which really stood out to you?

AD: The Chataue Tanunda Valley Cabernet I think stood out as a great value and a solid every day drinker.  I think the Kooyong Winery, Clonale Chardonnay and the Massale Pinot Noir were remarkable as were the wines from Western Australia from the Margaret River Region.

LK:  What many people may not know is that Mark Davidson, the Market Development Manager of Wine Australia, offered you a trip with them to Australia the day after the event, were you surprised with that?

AD:  Well his Australian wine emersion course was incredible.  It’s a 6 course class, the last being a blind tasting which was the night after the event.  That’s where they announced that I was going and yes, I was surprised.  From a business sense I was convinced I wasn’t going to go, but I was hopeful.  The goal in sending us there is to see what Australia is all about so we can come back and make an impact in the US markets.  So, doing what I do at the wine house and the love I have for their wines, they saw that I could make a bigger impact with more education.  I’m really excited about the trip because we are going to regions I don’t know enough about.

LK:  Clearly you are extremely passionate about Australian wines.  If there was one take away from the event what would that be?

AD:  I really want people to know that there’s a lot more to Australian wines than what you see.  I want them to know that Australian wines are worth exploring because they have great wines that really deliver.

Check out the Australian wines offered here at the Wine House and stop in to say hi to Adam, and stay tuned for more from LaurelK.com

I had the pleasure of attending his latest dinner this past Saturday which was held in the private dining room at the Park Grill at the lovely Intercontinental Hotel.

Upon entering the dining area, I was struck not only by how small and intimate the group was but how boisterous, warm and inviting they were as soon as I walked in.  Joey immediately stopped what he was doing each time a guest arrived, greeting them with his unassuming charm and thick German accent, and making sure they were comfortable.  Before we got into the heart of the tasting, Joey gave us a short rundown of how these dinners came to be.

In an attempt to transition his love for wines from theory to practice, Joey made a decision that he wanted to taste 2,000 different wines in a year.  But how to do that without spending every last dollar?  Organize a dinner program where everyone has the same goal of learning about wine in an unpretentious, friendly atmosphere.  So that’s just what he did.  With a clear focus on the purity of European grapes, Joey chooses wines that he believes showcase the full expression of that grape varietal.  Through classical wines from the old world and blind tastings, Joey effortlessly walks his guests through each wine he presents.

But the thing I found most striking about the dinner was the fearlessness of the attendees in expressing their take on each wine.  As any oenophile knows, when you are just starting out, wine tasting can be an intimidating experience.  To alleviate this stress, Joey passes out a table with a systematic approach to wine tasting to give attendees a more comprehensive way to talk about the wines.  But even without the table, connoisseurs and novices alike gave bold opinions and even educated guesses on the type of wines we were tasting.  And that is really the point of these dinners, to know that it’s not about getting it right, but about the journey and experience.

Regardless of what stage of wine appreciation you are at, I highly recommend joining the Wine Elite and experiencing one of these dinners yourself.

You can find the next dinner at the Intercontinental featuring Pinots and join this group.

Stay tuned for more from LaurelK.com

Upon first pass the restaurant is very unassuming from the outside (I drove past it twice).  On the inside it’s a very masculine and sexy restaurant with an incredibly inventive and creative cocktail and food menu.  At closer look, however, the drink menu was quite complicated.  I landed back on an old favorite, the martini, but tried all of the creative drinks my friends ordered.  The hot bourbon tasted like a watered down, albeit alcoholic apple cider, and took about 10 steps for the bartender to make.  Similarly their tequila drink just fell short.  Although beautifully presented with the newest in ice cube stylings, I just don’t get this over the top hipster mixologist movement.  Can you say, keep it simple stupid?

In the same way, the food fell flat as well.  I remember having the same thought when Voltaggio was at the Dining Room at the Langham.  Beautiful presentation, flavors that fell short. At Ink, we ordered, the bigeye tuna, parsnip-sesame cream, grapefruit, soy gel, the kale, burrata, asian pear, pumpkin seeds, yuzu, and the jidori chicken, waffles, smoked maple, hot sauce.  Sounds interesting right?  And it was, until it hit my mouth….yawn.

Again, impressive presentation, flavors that didn’t wow.  I don’t know about you, but especially in this economy when I spend a pretty penny on food and drinks, I want at least something foodgasmic that makes me want to rub it all over my body and come back for more. Oh well, at least I can say I did it and I’m cool enough, but it definitely didn’t make me ink.

Stay Tuned For More From LaurelK.com

One of the most unique elements of Bar Covell is that you never know what new wine gem you might find on their lists because there is no list.  Matthew Kaner, wine genius and wine program director holds daily tastings of the wines for all bartenders who come to know the wines front, back and sideways and always know the right questions to ask to pick a wine to please you palate and your mood.

Dustin’s philosophy behind this ever evolving living wine list, is that it is the story behind the wine that makes it remarkable.  Conveying that to their customers with passion and expertise, and making the wine experience at Bar Covell an adventure, is what packs this small space night after night.

Their food menu evolved somewhat similarly.  It was never Dustin’s intention to open a restaurant, so when they opened the first week they didn’t even have any food options.  As the bar evolved so did their menu and slowly a cheese plate, then a charcuterie plate and finally flatbreads and their infamous croquet monsieur were added to the menu.  Although the menu is limited due to a lack of kitchen space, these small plates are always paired beautifully with whatever the bartender may suggest that particular night.  Dustin’s favorites include the spicy mac and cheese and their infamous croquet monsieur, my personal favorite.

When I asked what one of Dustin’s current favorite wines is, he picked a Minervois by Luc Lapeyre.  Dustin described the wine master as a huge burly bearded man who only produces limited and exclusive number of cases a year and has such a phenomenal old world attitude that he writes all invoices and communications by hand.  This wine choice exemplifies Bar Covell’s focus on storytelling.

Dustin attributes Bar Covell’s success to his customer who are fiercely loyal as well as to his success in timing., “We opened in a neighborhood that I had intimate knowledge of and was lacking in this type of establishment, so opening it then and there helped.”  They also put customer service and quality products above all else and believe that’s why they have gotten such a remarkable consumer response.

As always I had to ask Dustin for his 3 bar/restaurant must haves:

1. “A vintage black telephone.  It reminds me of a bar from the 40’s and the ring reminds me of that “any place” bar.  I love that aesthetic.”
2. “Good lighting.  I can’t stand a bar that is too bright or too dark, hue and color are critical and you have to find the right mix of softness and warmth.”
3. “Good bartenders.  “That is what I felt I offered at Stella and what I hope to continue to offer at Bar Covell.  I genuinely like people and I want to know what makes them tick and what they want, that’s the craft of bartending.  It’s unfortunately a lost craft especially in La where people are just doing it to get by and not as a vocation.

What’s next for Bar Covell?  They are in the middle of an expansion, taking over the space next door and adding an additional 800 sq foot tasting room and space for private events.  Stay tuned for big things from Dustin and the Bar Covell crew.

Check them out at Bar Covell and stay tuned for more from LaurelK.com

As I drove up the 2000 feet of winding road, I couldn’t wait to meet the vintner behind these beautiful wines.   Owner John Freeman greeted me at the entrance and invited me into his beautiful property with a very soft spoken British accent and began to tell me about how he became a circumstantial vintner.

John bought the property with the vineyard attached in 2003.  At that time the vines were maturing but needed at least 2 more years.  So John decided to take a crash course on wines.  Other than being a consumer he had no prior experience.  “ It’s been a steep learning curve.  We had no water here at all for the first 4 years and had to have it delivered in, but one positive thing was that the vines had to send down really deep roots looking for water so they are strong and I think that reflects in our wines.”

Since his “crash course” he has been heavily involved in the wine making process.  He gets his hands dirty and is constantly in the vineyards working with his small staff.  A scientist by training, John learned not to over engineer any process specifically biological processes.  As such he intervenes with the wine at a minimal level no over oaking and allowing the quality of the fruit do the work.

What’s most interesting about these wines are the impact that growing wines at high altitudes, a steep slope, huge swings in temperatures and a heavy coastal influence have on the wines.  John is careful about the vines not getting over exposed, each grape cluster is orientated to have maximum sun exposure throughout the day.  Keeping pesticides to an absolute minimum, we may be seeing an organically certified wine coming from this vineyard next.

John has only been commercially producing since 2010 and produces only 300 cases annually from only 2 acres!    With beautiful classic Bordeaux varietals and a slew of recent blind tasting awards both local and international, I am looking forward to more from this small but commanding winery.

Check out more from Colcanyon and stay tuned for more from LaurelK.com

“When I was looking to buy the big first piece of stagecoach there were no roads in and my brother came out to look at it from New Jersey.  He had a cold and it was raining.  We had to walk part of the way into the property.  I remember that he looked out onto the property and said, “You want to turn that into a vineyard? I always thought you were crazy, now I know it”.  I guess I was a little, but I’ve never looked back.”

Dr. Krupp and his family have built a quality brand with a unique and loyal following.  “The strength of the brand is that we have so many great acres that we can pick and choose,” Dr. Krupp told me during our interview.   But he is currently most excited about his ’06 and ’07 Cabernets.  Having tasted them myself, I can say that the ’06 Cabernet is a cab lovers dream.  The aromas of raspberries, blueberrys and chocolate as well as a definitive herbaciousness emanates from the glass.  For all of you who may not get that, all you need to know is it’s spectacular!

Dr. Krupp also has a unique perspective on the challenging economy.  They are even ordering a new “greener” bottle which will allow them to offer the wines at an incredible value.  And in that same vein Dr. Krupp had a piece of advice for anyone trying to get into the business.  “Focus on one or two wines to start and make sure that they are fantastic.  Do that by buying or growing the very best grapes you can afford because you can sure mess up good grapes but if you start with a good product you are already at an advantage.”

With their unique labels and ambitiously bold wines, Krupp Brothers will be coming to your favorite restaurant’s wine list soon.  Stay tuned for big things from this small production winery.

Visit the Krupp Brothers Winery and stay tuned for more from LaurelK.com

MintCastle and Morandell Imports, a specialized importer of German and Austrian brews, have carefully selected seven of the best imports from historic European breweries for your enjoyment on Thursday, June 9th. Reserve your seat today to experience Barock Dunkel, a lager that has been around for 961 years, or the award winning Weltenburger Anno 1050.

We have carefully curated the selection to showcase dimension, variety, complexity, and give our members an unforgettable tasting in German and Austrian beer. Experience brewery selections from the world’s oldest dark beer to a beer cuvee. Never had a cuvee? Stop by to try your first.

Each tasting will be paired with complimentary small bites by the award winning kitchen of Tiato Restaurant & An Catering to illustrate how well the flavors of craft beer can enhance and complement your favorite dishes.

The small group setting will allow you time to enjoy the beer tasting, mingle with other beer fans, and ask questions in a crash course on German and Austrian craft beer from among the most informed in the business, Carl Morandell.

With a family history that extends to the medieval ages and four generations of Austrian wine making and beer importing as his legacy, Carl’s knowledge is extensive and his lineage is legit. A few minutes with him will convert non-beer drinkers and wine lovers to beer fans and connoisseurs. Learn several variations of the Heffeweizen, which style beer is best for your palate, and why German Beer is fuller and more intense than American beers.

Featured Imports:
·  ANNO 1050 – CUVÉE (Kloster Weltenburg) – DLG Gold Medalist & World Cup Champion
·  BAROCK DUNKEL – LAGER (Kloster Weltenburg) – 1,000 year old recipe
·  WEISSE BOCK – EXTRA (Innstadt Brauerei) – ’96 & ’04 World Beer Cup Champion
·  DOPPEL BOCK (Stift Schlagl)
·  ABTEI PILS (Stift Schlagl)
·  CLASSIC – FEST BIER (Rieder Brauerei)
·  HEFEWEIZEN – ANNO 25 (Aktien Brauerei)

The evening includes:
·  Beer tasting of seven German and Austrian imports
·  The opportunity to speak with an expert in the field, Carl Morandell
·  Expert explanation of manufacturing techniques and flavor analysis
·  A variety of food pairings from Tiato Restaurant & An Catering
·  DLG Gold Medalist and World Beer Cup Champions award winners
·  An event brochure with descriptions of tastings

Space is limited. We wouldn’t wait if we were you, just saying…

check out more from Mint Castle and stay tuned for more from LaurelK.com

Her mother was a very strong woman and believed that behind every man is a good woman.  She believed as does Chef An that women have to be strong, smart and always the head of the household.  This was why her mother wanted to train her to learn to cook for her husband and take care of the family.  “She spoiled me,” Chef An said with a gleam of remembrance in her eye.

Then a cruel twist of fate changed Chef Ans life forever.  In 1955 the North Vietnam was taken over by communists and their family lost everything when they were forced to move to Southern Vietnam.  Her mother quickly learned the lesson that they had to do something to survive and made sure that Helene focused on school and left life in the kitchen alone.

At 20 Helene married into a family with only one son, so there too she was spoiled and not allowed to go into the kitchen at all.  Her mother in law, much like her own mother, wanted her to study and focus on school but still she would oversee and taste and enjoyed the lifestyle afforded her at that time.  Her father in law was a big business man and had to entertain many guests, so again, she eventually found herself planning menus for the guests and managing the kitchen.

Years later Chef An’s mother in law began traveling around the world, and in 1970 she found herself in beautiful San Francisco, California.  She decided she wanted to stay in the U.S. so again the family left everything behind, moved to San Francisco and bought a small Italian café in on 46^th and Judah.

While living in San Francisco, Chef An worked as an accountant in the day time and at night she would help her family by working in the kitchen.  Slowly she would change the menu in her mother in law’s restaurant to incorporate traditional Vietnamese flavors including shitake mushrooms, tiato and garlic noodles.  This was the beginning of turning Helene An into Chef An or Mama as she is known affectionately by those around her.

With a background in Eastern Medicine that Chef An described to me while asking me to stick out my tongue, Chef An began to transform her knowledge to the dishes she was creating as she slowly took over her mother in law’s kitchen.  She wanted to apply her knowledge of health and wellness to help people and to this day refuses to use heavy oils and butters or creams.  Her famous garlic noodles were born out of that desire to create something tasty yet healthy.  She saw Italian pastas on every restaurant menu but they were heavy and unhealthy, she added garlic to a lighter noodle because she knew the health benefits associated with the herb.

Aside from a few additional dishes, the restaurant stayed the same until Chef An’s first daughter Hannah graduated from Davis and decided that she wanted to take over the over the family business.  Hannah turned a 10 seat café into a thriving 180 seat restaurant.  Their second restaurant opened soon thereafter in 1991 which they named Crustacean.  At that time seafood was the big thinning and everyone was talking about their incredible dishes including their roasted crab.  1995 Chef An’s other daughter Elizabeth moved from London to Beverly Hills and thought it would be a great space for their next venture.  By then Chef An had many movie stars who would venture up north just to try her cuisine.  And so Crustacean Beverly Hills was born.

Chef An’s latest creation, Tiato, named after the Vietnamese herb opened in June of 2010 to rave reviews.  Her daughters (there are 5 if you have been counting) Hannah, Catherine and Jacqueline help run the day to day operations as Mama keeps coming up with new and inventive dishes.  Tiato is green and lush and they grow their herbs right in the open air garden, one of Mama’s dreams finally realized.   And after speaking with Chef An, one of my dreams was realized.  Being able to sit down with a world renowned chef not only said to be the founder of Asian fusion cuisine, but more than that, a survivor, a strong woman full of love for her family, and most importantly a passion for all the flavors of life.

find out more about Tiato and stay tuned for more from LaurelK.com

It turned my friend was talking to the man behind the burger, Adam Fleischman.  We started talking about food of course and I asked him what other restaurants he liked in the area.  He mentioned Red Medicine to which I replied, “Yuck, I have heard the worst things about that place, my friend said that they had walkie talkies and were so obnoxious!”  Way to stick my size 7.5 in my even larger mouth.  Adam took a beat, turned to me and said, “I own that space.”  I was mortified.  Thankfully It ended up that I was not talking about Red Medicine at all but another similarly named restaurant in the area.  Needless to say I was sure Adam would not soon forget me.

I had a chance to sit down with Adam (who was wearing another umami shirt) to talk about the successes of Umami Burger and what was next for the new restuaranteur.

LK:  Ok I have to ask, how many of those shirts do you have?

AF: I have 27 shirts, but I retire them when they get too funky.

LK:  You were in the wine business for 5 years before you opened your first Umami Burger, how did you learn about the umami flavor and what made you make the switch?

AF:  I learned about it from French cooking actually and I started studying the flavors.  I realized that most umami was found in burgers and pizza so I knew I wanted to focus on those industries.  I also realized that there was no industry that was devoted to that taste, so that’s how it came about.

LK:  Why do you think this idea has been so successful, aside from the flavors and quality of the ingredients?

AF:  We do 12 things to our burgers that no one else does, most of it is proprietary, but I can tell you one of the things we do to improve the burger is by doing own grinding.  When you buy ground meat it loses a lot of the love, we like doing it the hard way.

LK: When was the first moment you knew it was going to be a success?

AF:  I knew when I created the concept, the first burger I made I gave to a friend who was a chef and we knew it was a winner.  I probably made the first 10,000 burgers in my kitchen in my caste iron pan.

LK: do you ever get sick of burgers and where does your appetite take you when you do?

AF:  Of course, it’s like anything you need change.  I love pizza, Japanese, really everything.  My favorite spots now are more on the fine dining side like Cube and Bouchon.  Places like those were inspiration for this restaurant because we try to use a lot of fine dining techniques but do it in a fast way so you don’t have to wait 15 minutes for a quality burger.

LK: Of course everyone wants to know what is your favorite Umami Burger?

AF:  Right now I’d have to say the hatch burger but the umami burger is really the signature burger.  All our burgers are done from the heart and when it’s done like that and not cookie cutter and corporate, people really responds.

LK: what are the next steps for UB?

AF:  We are opening 5 more in San Francisco, then we will be opening in San Diego and New York.  Our next concept will be Pizzerias which we are really excited about.

LK: Of course I always have to ask what are the 3 things you can’t live without in your kitchen?

AF:

1. Salt
2. Some form of umami
3. A good caste iron pan

LK:  If you could give advice to a budding restauranteur what would that be?

AF:  I never give advice or wisdom because I never take it myself, so I guess my advice would be to defy all conventional advice.

I thanked Adam who busily checked his phone and began to head back to his office.  He stopped, turned back to me and said, “For the record, I would never use walkie talkies.”

Visit Umami Burger at one of its many locations and keep an eye on what’s next for this flavor, and as always stay tuned for more from Laurelk.com

Growing up in Los Angles, I remember the very first City Wok restaurant popping up in the valley.  We thought the name was so clever and the food was awesome, definitely a weekly staple at the Kaufman household.  So when I found myself sitting across the table from the creator of the group itself, I was so excited and of course had to set up an interview to learn more about the history of this incredible fast casual chain.

LK: So tell me about the history of City Wok from the Woks mouth.

SD: Well in about 1988 I had been in the restaurant industry for a while and I decided it was time for me to do my own restaurant.  I always loved Chinese food but the restaurants in my area were always slow at takeout or they wouldn’t make substitutions, or there just weren’t any healthy options or ridiculously large portion sizes that were difficult for one person to eat.  That’s really where the concept of City Wok came from, the idea of giving people everything they like about their neighborhood Chinese restaurant but eliminating inefficient, unsanitary kitchens and giving enough variety without diners having to spend too much.

A funny thing happened to me at a small Chinese café in palm desert they didn’t have bbq pork fried rice on the menu but they had bbq pork on the menu and I asked them to throw it in the fried rice and they just wouldn’t do it. I didn’t know if it was because they didn’t want to and it was a hassle or whether it was a communication error but it was like a light bulb, when people know that they can have things exactly the way they want them you can really make them happy.

I started to travel around the country and develop a menu with a man named “Mr. Chin” who was a fine dining chef out of Kowloon China.  Together we figured out how to produce a high end product utilizing fresh ingredients, good packaging, good systems and then finally got funded and created the first location in North Hollywood over 21 years ago, and we have never looked back.

LK: What would you say is the most important thing for you regarding your restaurants?

SD: It’s really all about the quality.  I never want to hear, “oh I used to go to that place, it used be really good” we want to create food people crave and make it a part of their daily, weekly or monthly food ritual.  That’s why we have kept the growth organic and boutique.

LK: Of course I have to ask, what is your favorite thing on your menu?

SD: Well we are best known for our orange chicken which is great, the flavors and textures are pretty incredible.  I also love our kung pao with tofu…extra spicy.  in our kung pows also.  There really isn’t anything on the menu I don’t like.

LK: The newest buzz word in restaurants is “Fast Casual” It seems like you have been doing that since your inception.  How do you feel about this “new” trend?

SD: I feel like people are taking to our concept that we have been doing for 21 years.  The truth is no one is re-inventing the wheel.  All the health options have always been there for us, everything is fresh, made to order and modifications are really simple.  I feel like we really blazed the trail in being accommodating in Asian food because it was something people couldn’t get.  So the fast casual thing fur us, has always come naturally.

LK: So I have to ask the question about City Wok vs. City Wok.  I have always wondered was there a connection or was that mere coincidence?

SD: So for the record, we were here 3 years before City Walk was even built.  We actually sued Universal/MCA for copyright infringement and were granted a 90 day injunction.  Long story short we settled the case but yes, it is always a question we get.

LK: So you were nominated for the concept of tomorrow awards and have been covered by dozens of publications, is City Wok the future of fast casual?

SD: We are the past, present and future.  Fast casual is defined by order at the counter and take away with quality.  We have always been full service but we have the look of fast casual even though we give full table service.  I don’t feel like we have to be defined specifically in that category we just wanted to create restaurants that people like.

Find your nearest City Wok at http://citywok.com/ and stay tuned for more from Laurelk.com