If you are in the Las Vegas area, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers on Flamingo is doing something very special for the Fourth of July. They are giving 100% of what they make today to support the troops, so go on in and order! It's the patriotic thing to do.
That last couple of years we have not been focusing on restaurant reviews as much as we did in the beginning. Surprise, surprise, I have two for you today. This is for the Los Angeles Folks as both are in the LA area.
I'll get the first out of the way, since it was a disappointment. The new Cafe 50's on Ventura has all the potential for a family favorite. Diner style food in a kitschy atmosphere, friendly attentive waitstaff, reasonable prices, what's not to like? The food, mainly. Cafe 50's has never blown me away, but when they were on Van Nuys, I could always count on a fair bit of American fare, but the meal I had last week was really bland. I had the chili. I am not one for a super spicy chili, but this was ridiculous, it tasted like spices had never come near the pot. The meals my compatriots had were no more impressive.
I rarely give bad reviews, but in this case it is more of an intervention, I really like this place and want to see it thrive. Cafe 50's has been a long time Valley staple. The new location is so inviting and clean; it would be sad for its improved location to languish because of the quality of the food. Step it up chefs, you have the potential for a classic.
Cafe 50's
15045 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
The next review is for something much more pleasing to the palate. I had a terrific meal at The Curry House on Sawtelle in West LA. It has been years since I've gone to a Japanese curry house, but ever since the chicken curry on top of spaghetti, I have been craving a another trip. There is a rich complex flavor to everything tasted which also included the salad dressing and the Curry Pan, a fried dough wrapped around curried meat and veggies.
If you have never tried Japanese curry, it is much more mild than an Indian curry, so if you like it hot, order it one or two steps above what you would normally get. I highly recommend an excursion to one of the many locations of the Curry House. The Sawtelle location of Curry House can be found on the Family of Food Map, at the link below.
Curry House
2130 Sawtelle Blvd # 200
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 479-8477
We went for a first visit tonight, but I suspect we will be returning in the future. I was able to get a reservation Friday night on OpenTable with choices of 5:30 or 6:15 Saturday night, which was a surprise for a prime time at a restaurant of this quality, but I suppose they keep some tables open for hotel guests at The Four Seasons, so they may accommodate late reservations, making this a good option for fine dining without having to plan two to six weeks in advance.
Robuchon's concept is for the diners to sit at a counter around an open kitchen close to the food as it is prepared as in his original Paris restaurant, but there are also tables for guests who may want a more social experience away from the kitchen.
We sat at the counter, which I'd recommend, but don't expect to see that much. There are lots of plants, hanging baskets of fruit, pillars and such that obstruct the view, so you're sitting at the pass of a busy kitchen, but what you see is mainly plating, and not quite enough to figure out too much of what is going on. The presentation is very nicely done, with one or two particularly decorative selections, but not everything is done in that style, so it doesn't come off as overwrought.
It seems the options have been simplified from earlier reports that I had read before going in that we were not offered various sized tasting menus. Instead there is a page of tasting portions, another page with traditional appetizers and mains, the full tasting menu for $190 without wines, and a dessert menu. It is possible to mix and match from the tasting portions, appetizers and main dishes, but we opted for seven tasting portions between us that we shared, plus two desserts, and the server helped us arrange our selections from light to heavy to make for a well paced meal. I thought our server was great, though the busboys were hovering a bit, prodding us along a bit faster than we wanted at first, but they adjusted after the first course or two.
The amuse bouche before the meal was a shot of avocado cream with an intense grapefruit gelée and what I think was a small piece of beef carpaccio on top, which set the tone for the rest of the meal--lots of combinations of savory and creamy cut with citrus.
Now reconstructing from memory and from menus posted on their websites, we started with a Portobello Mushroom Tart, with Eggplant Caviar, Tomato Confit and Arugula and Grilled Squid with what seemed like bacon or jamon and roasted red peppers. The mushroom tart was one of the more graphic presentations with a thin line of balsamic, a small green dot of pesto, and a larger red dot of what may have been a pureed tomato confit, and various other little dots, and it always seems a bit obscure to figure out how to combine these things, so one tastes them separately to guess at what they might be and then dips to taste. It looks great on the plate. The squid is quite wonderful, seared without being overcooked, smokey from the ham, with a hint of the citrus theme cutting through.
Next we had the Seared foie gras and Grapefruit Gratin together with the John Dory Filet with Fava Beans, Chorizo and Sauce Vierge. The foie gras tasted as if it was fried in bacon, conjuring vague reminiscences of rumaki from the '70s, but elevated to something much more subtle, crusty outside and creamy inside, and the grapefruit gratin was a surprising counterbalance. We realized in retrospect that we had too many foie gras dishes, but this one was the most unusual, so for a dish that features foie gras, this would be the keeper. The John Dory was good, but not particularly surprising, which is fine. Not everything needs to be surprising.
Then we continued with Braised Veal Cheek, Thai Jus and Crunchy Vegetables and the Free-Range Caramelised Quail Stuffed with Foie Gras and Potato Purée. Having seen a recipe for the famous potato purée, I couldn't imagine what was really that unusual about it, but the texture really is distinctive--perfectly smooth but not whipped or gummy and with lots and lots of butter to make a kind of a dense paste. I'm guessing they must use a waxy potato to get that texture. In addition to the portion that came with the quail, we received two extra portions served in Staub mini-cocottes, which I think were a bonus. The veal cheek was incredibly soft and the Thai jus a good contrast to the other flavors in the dishes we selected.
The chopped hanger steak and foie gras burgers on brioche buns with fries and house-made ginger ketchup seemed like a good dish to end on, since we'd each get one slider, and this is one of the house standards. Well, it's a very tender burger with a slab of foie gras on top. Do it once to see what all the fuss is about, but the foie gras and grapefruit gratin is more interesting.
We received a pre-dessert amuse, which was another shot glass this time with a raspberry panna cotta and granita, which were well paired--again the figure of a sharp, cold acidic granita against a ground of creamy panna cotta.
Can I say something about the flatware? The spoons are weirdly deep and odd to eat from resembling oversized baby's feeding spoons, and the knives have a symmetrical shape that in a dark restaurant makes it hard to tell which is the cutting edge and which is the spine. My wife couldn't understand at first why she wasn't able to cut through the crust of the mushroom tart.
Desserts were a yuzu souffle with Okinawa sugar ice cream and a coconut dacquoise. The yuzu souffle was really wonderful, yuzu being a flavor that stands up well to the dulling effect of the eggs in a souffle, but I thought a little too large in comparison to the other dishes, which isn't to say we didn't finish it, but it could have been 2/3 the size and would have left us wanting more rather than thinking it was going on too long. I was expecting something that looked like a dacquoise from the dacquoise, but it was a deconstructed/reconstructed version with a dollop of coconut buttercream in a vanilla foam over tapioca with bits of hazelnut (I think) crunch floating in it, and that got me thinking about dacquoise and its connection to this dessert, which isn't an undesirable result.
I had a glass of Alsace riesling and a single espresso, and the bill with tip came to around $325 for two, which I thought was not unreasonable for this level of dining and service. The tasting menu looks wonderful, but eight tasting portions per person would have been way more food than we wanted, and I would only do that if we had planned ahead and not eaten for the rest of the day, but this being a Greenmarket day, we weren't passing up a dozen local oysters on the half shell from Seatuck (he threw in a few extras, so I think we had fifteen actually)--my favorite Long Island fishmonger of late--for a $10 lunch for two.
Anyway, I was doing this over my lunch hour, so I decided to snag a couple of tacos at the car wash cafe.
I walked into the small lunchroom, overheated from the grill, and made my order at the Playa Vista Deli. I hunkered down at the window overlooking the cars being washed and I ate my lunch. Yeah, I know, I wasn't expecting much either, but holy guacamole, Batman, these were great tacos! The cook put great care into these $2.25 a piece treats and like a fine chef, inquired about my experience after I finished my meal. Did I mention that I was at a car wash? The tacos came on two soft tortillas with flavorful chicken, cabbage, cheese, and fresh avocado on top. I got the hot sauce on the side, which I liked because it tasted great, but on the side I could control the heat to my personal perfection.
If you need to wash your car on your lunch hour, you can do it at a place with some great tacos.
(The car wash was pretty good, too)
Playa Vista Deli (Attached to the Playa Vista Car Wash)
6920 S. Centinela Ave.
Culver City, CA 90230
(310)737-1013
Found on the Family of Food Map
There are people who try to make the world a better place through good works or kindness or the creation of fine art. Chef Randy Hoffman did all three of these things through the medium of chili. Randy was the Owner of Chili My Soul, located in Encino California. He created over forty different chilis which were featured at Chili My Soul on a rotating basis. Randy often sat at the back of the restaurant chatting with the customers, expounding the merits of this chili or that. He was a craftsman who cared greatly about his work. Soul was one ingredient you could find in any one of Randy's chilis. Randy once told me that he was offered a lucrative contract to start a franchised restaurant, but he turned it down when he found out he would not be able to hire his own people or exercise control over the quality of his chilis.
As a gem in a mountain of rocks, Chili My Soul was one of the real inspirations for this blog.
Sadly, Randy Hoffman unexpectedly passed away on June 18th and the restaurant is currently closed.
We reviewed Chili My Soul in 2007 (Post).
House of Pasta is a “choose it yourself” type of venue, the kind of restaurant that is great for picky eaters.
The menu features pick your components pasta dishes and salads. If you want Linguini with in Maranara with Chicken, it's yours, if you want Penne with Alfredo and Peas, you can get it.
As my friend discovered, it helps to have a knack for food combining. 
Our favorite creation was the Pesto Linguini with Veggies.
As he says, it helps to be a good cook.
I liked the food at House of Pasta, and the service couldn't have been better for what is essentially a take out place. Every one of the staff, probably all invested in the restaurant, came out to ask us how our meal was.
My only complaint is that I wish for a more dine-in-ish experience when I eat at the restaurant. I think the quality of the food calls for a plate, rather than a paper bowl when eating in. The food was worth that sort of presentation.
11800 Jefferson Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
Tel 310-313-6077
Delivery 310-313-6078
I have always been a big fan of the local chain of Mexican Restaurants called Poquito Mas, but the newest one on Ventura Blvd. takes the cake when it comes to dining with the kids.
Poquito Mas focuses on fresh healthy food and their newest location is the nicest I've seen. The seating area is split into inside and out, with a more modern look than the others. Clean and bright, the dining room features a tortilla bar were you can watch the tortillas being made by hand. Is that what we see in the picture above? No, that is an image of my two year old playing with the "Mexican Playdough" we were given with our meal. Poquito Mas has thought of something different than the average set of crayons, they give you a small cup of tortilla dough to mash and sculpt. My kids love it! Add in the friendly staff, the delicious food, the abundance of high chairs, the balloons, lollipops, and yes, crayons, and I can barely get my kids to leave. Poquito Mas is a great spot for kids of all ages.
Poquito Mas
13924 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 981-7500
Most Sushi is half off from 3pm to 8pm at Sushi Zen.
I tried to jump on the Kogi bandwagon, I really did. Kogi is the name for the Korean BBQ Taco Truck fusion that's been sweeping the LA foodscape. I got some Friends of Food together and we searched it out at lunchtime. It wasn't too far away. The Truck was parked at its home base at the Alibi Room in Culver City. The line didn't look that long. So we waited. In the span of about 20 minutes, only 5-10 customers had been served. There was no way we could make it near the front of the line before our lunch hour was up. So we cut our losses and went to a Philly cheese steak/terriaki bowl restaurant in the neighborhood. My Philly was very greasy and the terriaki was not recommended by Friend of Food. It wasn't blog worthy at all. So in the end, we were close enough to smell the Kogi, but unlike in horseshoes and hand grenades, close wasn't good enough.
Spicy Chicken, Beef Criolla, Potato Cheese... Sounds good so far... Now, take those things and wrap them in a tasty dough and fry up until golden brown. You've got Empanadas! Lately, I've been finding my Empanadas at Empanada's Place in Culver City. This tiny restaurant always seems packed at lunch, but the owner says some days it is, some days it isn't. I would recommend it either way, because you can always get your empanadas to go. Cocktail size empanadas are available by the dozen for about $15. Regular sized Empanadas are about $3 a piece and I find two to three to be plenty. The guys I lunch with sometimes get 5 but are stuffed at the end of the meal. They just can't resist the different flavors. Each flavor of empanada is crimped in a different way so you can identify what is inside. I love the care taken in making these Argentinian treats.
Empanada's Place has two other locations, one in Tarzana and one in West Hollywood. I've never been to the others, but the Tarzana location offers live tango music on Thursdays. Here are the addresses. The Culver City restaurant can be found on the Family of Food Map.
Culver City Location:
3811 Sawtelle Blvd.
Culver City, California
2 doors south of Venice Blvd.
Tel: (310) 391-0888
Tarzana Location:
18912 Ventura Blvd.
Tarzana, CA 91356
between Reseda and Tampa
Tel: (818) 708-8640
West Hollywood Location:
1040 N. La Cienega Blvd.
West Hollywood, California
1 block north of Santa Monica Blvd.
Tel: (310) 358-0588
If you read our article on Cuban Food last summer, you might have tried El Criollo in the Valley. This restaurant has moved to a new location.
EL Criollo is now located at 6622 Van Nuys Blvd, between Kitteridge and Van Owen.
Enjoy the flavors Van Nuys!
An old friend was visiting this weekend and I wanted to take her to experience some of the Southern Californian sweet life. We ended up toddling around Santa Monica by the ocean and eventually wandered up to the Promenade. My friend wanted a glass of water and I wanted to get the kids some milk so we went to what we thought was a coffee bean type of place in the middle of the walk. It turned out we had stumbled into Monsieur Marcel, a wine and cheese bar.
We had wine and a cheese plate, and the girls had their milk. We chose three cheeses, a
taleggio, Saint André, and something else... This is the problem with cheese plates, you spend a while going back and forth on which cheeses to get and by the time it comes to the table, you forget what you actually selected. The best cheese plate I have ever had was found at Patina in Downtown LA and they gave us a summary of the cheeses to take home. Back to the matter at hand, at Monsieur Marcel, our waiter was very attentive and kind to the baby girls. It was a lovely stop on our journey and very So-Cal.
This Monsieur Marcel is related to the Wine and Cheese bar and Shop at the Farmer's Market at 3rd and Fairfax.
Monsieur Marcel Pain Vin Fromage – french bistro, wine and cheese bar
Santa Monica - 3rd Street Promenade at Arizona
(310) 587 1166
As someone who works at the Howard Hughes complex, I am grateful for any new casual restaurant moving in to the area. Truxton's Short Order, however, is a step up from just any casual restaurant.
Good quality homemade American style dishes are assembled to order at the front counter an
d then taken out to the covered patio for consumption. I say assembled, because one of their big menu items is a sandwich called the "Your Way" which is completely customizable to your taste. Included in your choices is a vegetarian Marinated Tofu Steak, although a friend reports that this was too oily for her tastes. Menu items such as the Slow Roasted BBQ Brisket and the Slow Roasted Turkey Breast are ready to carve and serve with your choice of sides.
The ingredients are simple, homemade, and healthy. My first dish I tried was the Hughes Bistro. This salad is a Truxton's signature dish and the first item listed on the menu. At first I was a little disappointed with the crispness of the lettuce. It looked a bit wilted to me, but then I tried the salad and ate the whole thing up, leaving not a leaf of that soft lettuce. It was delicious. The butternut squash seemed like an unusual ingredient for a salad, but it was the key feature to this plate. I was pleased with the taste and the nutritious qualities of this meal.
I also liked the choices for sides and beverages.
Truxton's Short Order is my new favorite lunch spot at the Howard Hughes. Try it, it might become yours. 
Truxton's Short Order (Open for Breakfast Lunch and Dinner)
Howard Hughes Center
6081 West Center Drive Suite 115
Los Angeles, CA 90045
(310)670-4702
I owe this post and its colorful title to Friend of Food, Varoujan.
Last week the LA times ran the obituary for Irvine Robbins founder of the Ice Cream behemoth Baskin-Robbins. Where did Mr. Robbins have his very fist Ice Cream shop? Glendale California, of course. The Baskin-Robbins, "31 Flavors" chain of ice cream parlors started in Adams Square in 1945. According to Wikipedia, store #1 is at this address 1130 South Adams, which I've added to our Family of Food Map.
Bob's Big Boy was started in 1936 by Bob Wien Glendale as Bob's Pantry, Home of the Big Boy Burger. The Bob's Big Boy chain of hamburger restaurants started on East Colorado. According to the historical photograph to the right (found on the Big Boy website, thank you Big Boy) it looks like the original was at 900 East Colorado. I have added that location to our Family of Food Map.
These historically interesting franchises are great, but is Glendale still relevant in the franchise industry? Sure it is, Glendale is also the birthplace of the wildly popular Panda Express . Its first restaurant at the Glendale Galleria opened in 1983 and they are still serving up batches of Orange Chicken in the upstairs Food Court (there is another Panda Express in the downstairs food court and one across the street in the food court near the theaters). If you have never been to the Galleria... I've added it to the Family of Food Map.
In addition Glendale is home to the national headquarters of the Nestlé Corporation. Nestlé makes chocolate, of course, but it also makes Lean Cuisine, Stouffers, Juicy Juice, Libby's Pumpkin, and even Purina Dog Food. Nestlé USA is at 800 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91203 and I have added that to the Map.
In the words of Varoujan, "Ah Glendale, what food concoction will you bring us next?"
If you live in Los Angeles or have ever lived in Los Angeles, you may have heard rumor of a place downtown which claims to have invented the French Dip. If you live in Los Angeles and have heard of this place, but have never ventured out to find it, you are at a loss. This place exists and is called Phillipe the Original. In a town full of slick, small portioned, diet obsessed, celebrity chef'd, get the best table in the house to be seen at or better yet not seen at restaurants, Phillipe's is a breath of meat infused genuine old fashioned air.
An ancient counter is staffed by a just slightly less old collection of "Carvers" all wearing smart uniforms out of a thirties period movie complete with hats bobby pinned into their locks permanently curled with curlers set for decades at night, only this isn’t a movie and those uniforms just might be from the thirties, when these women might have first started working at Phillipe’s.
You order at the counter where the lines are numerous and sometimes still long. You can get a lemonade for seventy cents and coffee for ten. You can pick out of Five Different types of meat for your French Dip: roast beef, roast pork, leg of lamb, oven-roasted turkey, or ham. A full diner and breakfast menu is also available. For your first visit, unless you're a vegetarian, why get anything but the dip? Finish up your order with a side dish or a slice of pie and then pick a table. Much of the seating is shared, so get to know your fellow Angelenos. This place is a blast for people watching.
Make sure to try a bit of the Phillipe's Hot Mustard on your Sandwich. It will cure your cold if nothing else. Although they claim to prepare about 40 gallons of hot mustard two times a week, I have a theory that they just go around the corner to Chinatown to get Hot Chinese mustard and put it into deli jars. In any case, I liked it, and I'm not a huge mustard fan.
Before you leave, walk around a bit. Check out the memorabilia on the walls. There is an entire room dedicated to the Santa Fe Train Engine. This place is something authentically special in a town that manufactures special.
If you live in LA, and have never been to Phillipe the Original, it is not too late.
Phillipe the Original
1001 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213)628-3781
