An old sushi standby - Katsu-Ya

I blame Los Angeles on the fact that I really only enjoy eating sushi at 3 places in NY [For those of you who care, those three spots include Sasabune (an LA import); Sushi of Gari (only omakase; the a la carte always underwhelms); and Sushi Yasuda].

In LA, for sushi, it's hard to go wrong.  For traditional sushi, Sasabune, Sushi Zo, and Sushi Park are all A+.  Nozawa (aka the Sushi Nazi) is also strong but a step below the others for omakase indulgence.  For a no frills, fairly priced, non-traditional sushi splurge, I head straight to the strip mall housing a domino's pizza and Katsu-Ya (notice the hyphen - we're talking about the original location in Studio City; not the celebutard, Stark-studded designer sushi dens popping up all over the greater LA area over the past few years).  We're talking menus on a dry-erase board, disposable chopsticks and cheesy fake bamboo all over the place.  This is my go to for meals alone, with friends, with family or clients - it pleases everyone.

For me, it really comes down to two items:

Crispy Rice (technically this is a fried rice puff with spicy tuna and a slice of jalapeno).  I know it's not authentic in any way whatsoever, but it is delicious.

Baked Crab Handroll.  What makes this special are two key characteristics.  1) It's served warm - fresh crab with mayo and rice - all warm out of the broiler; and 2) it's wrapped in soy paper which complements the flavor perfectly and makes for much easier eating than the tougher nori.

I've eaten the entire menu up and down and when i am in LA, i'm usually there 3-4 meals/week.  No joke.  They catered my 28th birthday party and i've got a secret phone number so i can avoid the ever persistent busy tone of the main line.  No, i cannot divulge that information.  The last thing I need are any enemies over there on Ventura Blvd.


Furthermore, i make sure it's the first stop right off the plane when my girlfriend comes out for a weekend in LA.  Like me, she misses this place back east - unfortunately, for her these trips are only a few times a year!

Here's couple other goodies to share while we're at it.

Ikura and Wasabi-infused Ikura

Whitefish "Carpaccio" with Arugula and Sundried Tomato

Simple Albacore sashimi with ponzu sauce
(you just can't get good albacore on the east coast)

Welcome!

(Taylor's Automatic Refresher, St. Helena, Napa Valley, CA - 9.7.09)

I like to eat. And I like to eat well. If you're like me and get upset when the same dish is ordered by multiple diners in your party, then we'll probably like each other. If a share plate to sample/graze companions' plates is as integral to a meal as cutlery, we're on the same page here.

The point of Share Plate - a gustatory archive. The problem (and beauty) of amazing meals is they're only tangible for a fleeting moment. Since there will be a point (and I'm probably already there) where memories of one "memorable" meal may fade into other "memorable" meals (therefore, by definition, calling into question the use of the word "memorable"), I've decided to park them here in images and words.

Four F***ing Dinners - Michel Bras, Wylie Dufresne, and David Chang - WD-50, NYC

Does it count as cheating if I link to my FB account for this meal recap?

Michel Bras' Famous Gorgouillou - 60 Different Vegetables!

Share the rest of the meal!

Pizza! New Haven Style...

After passing through New Haven without stopping no less than 50 times in my adult-food-appreciating life, I finally got the good sense to stop and see what all the fuss is about with New Haven Neapolitan-style pizza.  Less than 3 minutes from the New Haven train station, our mass transit stopover en route to Guilford (home of THE PLACE), lies Frank Pepe.  And, on this saturday afternoon, we decided to stray from our usual path and eat in New Haven.  More specifically eat pizza in New Haven at Frank Pepe.

Where the magic happens...

We arrived around 1pm and the line was, not surprisingly out the door.  That was good because it gave us some more time with our fearless companion, Frito, who (thanks to health codes), can only dine al fresco with us.  After about 15 minutes, it was time to take Frito for a nap in the comfort of the volvo.

After being seated, we inspected the menu and were a bit indecisive.  Here we are at this mecca of pizza and we're not sure what to order - what's the signature pie?  So, we inquired with our server, who paused a bit and then said a lot of people were ordering the summer special and white clam pies.  Hmm.  Not very convincing as i'd hoped in helping us decide, but i went with her suggestion.  Fortunately, my more intelligent and better looking other half, called the servers' suggestion under question and we settled on a half mushroom, half fresh garlic pie, figuring these basic ingredients would help us taste the true essence of the fabled pizza.

About 10 mins later, our bubbling hot pie emerged and it was beautifully misshapen and ugly in the same delicious way that an heirloom tomato might be.  Then, the first bite - i went garlic.  Amazing (although the smell emanating from my pores later was not so amazing).

As usual, GG was right.  A great selection.  We later found out when trying to pay that our server was a trainee.  She still has a lot to learn, i guess...

Momo-f***ing-fuku World Domination

I have GG to thank for this sick obsession.  For months, I was logging in to secure a reservation when Ko first opened up without any success.  Then, my dedicated, organized, and meticulous planning better half, GG, nearly drove herself insane, came to the brink of quitting and then at her wit's end, snagged us a reservation for 2.  As the rules went and continue to go, no photo-snapping...but needless to say, it lived up to the hype.

After conquering Chang's cyber-prison, we got cocky...when he added lunch, we snagged a reservation the day after my birthday - June 14, 2009.  That meal, equally incredible, but somewhat more challenging to take down on the heels of a very substantial birthday bender the evening before.

The cameras did come out ablazing when we locked in for a party of 8 for the Noodle Bar's Fried Chicken Dinner online (i snagged this one). This is the only way to get a reservation there and let my family in on this indulgence (including my nutritionist mother).  Plus, GG's favorite indugence is, indeed, fried chicken.

What we were faced with was a heaping pile of traditional southern fried chicken (a bit too salty for my taste) and an over the top twice-fried korean bird.  Add on top of that lettuce wraps and a bowl of fresh vegetables,  kimchi, oysers, and 4 different sauces and you've got a recipe for success.  And while we were there we threw on several orders of the pork buns and some of the namesake noodles.  Hey - if we're going to be gratuitous with our food intake, let's just go all the way.

Here's the up close and personal view into this one...

The Main Event (Southern Fried on left; Korean Fried on right)

Up close and personal...

The sauce fixins...from hoisin to kimchi to jalapeno...

Deliciously crisp veggies to reduce health conscious guilt.

Old friend...how i miss you already.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

After much talk and delayed action, GritsGirl, Frito (our fearless chihuahua) and I finally found some time to embark on a very busy day of upstate NY culture.  With zipcar firmly on the pavement, we headed north to Storm King to take in the vast expanse of the largest sculpture "garden" (500 acres), I've ever seen...

Then, we headed back across the Hudson to check out Dia: Beacon (a little underwhelming compared to Storm King, but a much better option in the case of rainy days).

After that, we were off to Pocantico Hills to meet our friends Juice (my co-conspirator for all things sushi - the guy introduced me to sawani at Yasuda - i must give him credit) and Nicole at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.   GritsGirl and I had one of our first dates at Blue Hill in NYC and had a wonderful meal, so we were looking forward to the Barn experience.  Needless to say, it didn't disappoint (except for the fact that the sommelier was not single and therefore Nicole could not set him up with her friend).

Not surprisingly, we opted for the Farmer's Feast, the longer of the two tasting menus, and we were off...

The details...

A little ambience...

Amuse Bouche (#1) - V8, straight from their garden to a glass

Amuse Bouche (#2) - Vegetables on a Fence (fresh from the garden fancy crudite without the onion dip)

Amuse #3 - Zucchini with pancetta and sesame seedds

Amuse #4 - Tomato Burgers (no meat, just tomato) - my favorite bouche!

Cucumber Soup with Tomato Tarte

Summer Salad with strawberries, beets, greenhouse greens

Wild Striped Bass with pistou of summer vegetables

This Morning's Farm Egg with pinenuts and peas

Pastured Chicken with zucchini, chickpeas, and tarragon

Stone Barns Berkshire Pig with eggplant puree

Dessert #1 - strawberry shortcake with marscapone and meringue spears

Dessert #2 - An apple berry crumble of sorts...

Unfortunately, the Cheese Course was largely devoured while i spent some quality time with Frito during a thunderstorm.

Delicious!  Return visit during farm operating hours is a must so we can hang out with the chickens and pick veggies in the garden!

U Kucharzy - Warsaw, Poland

Ahh Eastern Europe.  Home of my forefathers who splayed across a land with a moving target border and ambiguous family history.  Somewhere they trudged and it may be called Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, etc.  Two summers ago, I had an amusing and unstructured trip through Prague, Krakow, and Warsaw with an exciting drive - some may call it "death-defying" like our hotel concierge in Prague - from Prague to Krakow (we trained to Warsaw).


Having no exact agenda and 24 hours in Warsaw, I reached out to a very peripheral friend from college who i reconnected with on ASW for a dining suggestion.  Without hesitation, she suggested U Kucharzy (conveniently located across the street from our hotel, the Bristol).  

The story goes, a famous Polish restaurateur was searching for his next venue and checked out the restaurant of a closed grand hotel, Europejski Hotel, which he hated - it was huge.  But, he looked at the kitchen and realized, this is it.  The kitchen would be the kitchen...and the restaurant.  For those of you who love the experience of a chef's table, it doesn't get much better than this - every table, is essentially a chef's table.  And for those without a direct view of the kitchen, the final preparation of all dishes happens table-side with a mobile-kitchen-like cart.  Most dramatic and delectable was the steak tartare, prepared from a slab of beef and seasoning ranging from mushrooms to capers, with very sharp and precise knife skills... 

insane knife skills

We feasted on the game-y cuisine with great enthusiasm!  Venison, Goose, Wild Boar with beets, dumplings, and cranberry and cabbage slaw.  

plating of the tartare

flambee action on our cranberry-cabbage reduction

the goose (pre-sides)

the wild boar

digging in - dumplings for our starch

Taking in our front row view of the kitchen

their specialty foods shop

And then we toured the premises as we shut the place down.  We became friendly with the manager, cousin of the owner.  He had actually lived in manhattan and was scouting a place to open a NY-based Kucharzy.  Unfortunately, the skyrocketing rents of 2006/7 made the endeavor, near impossible.  I felt sad for them, but secretly - i have to admit - a wee bit happy.  A delightful discovery as such just feels that much more special when you can't just hop in a taxi to experience it...