Plan Check 1800 Sawtelle Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025 Dining date: 4/3/12 Plan Check opened just over a month ago, bringing a ‘modern American’ gastropub to the Japanese-centric Sawtelle area of West LA. It’s a combination of ex-Umami Corporate Chef Ernesto Uchimura’s grub with drinks masterminded by Steve Livigni and Pablo Moix (Harvard & Stone,…
Le Comptoir Tiara Cafe 127 E 9th St Los Angeles, CA 90015 Dining date: 3/29/12 Le Comptoir has been sort of a longer-term pop-up, occupying the Tiara Cafe space in downtown’s fashion district for a number of months now. For three days a week (Thurs-Sat), Gary Menes cooks his version of seasonal farm-to-table food. What…
Lazy Ox Canteen 241 S San Pedro St Los Angeles, CA 90012 Dining date: 4/1/12 I’ve been to Lazy Ox Canteen a number of times and have always had a fairly positive experience (except for the time they ran out of fried chicken at 6:30). However, for me it’s been stuck in the “pretty good,…
Dining date: 3/28/12 I’ve made pork belly confit once and it turned out great. It can be crispy and tender both at the same time, and is usually succulent and full of flavor. However, it was a ton of work, and cooking something in two pounds of lard didn’t make me feel good about my…
Dining date: 3/24/12 Black cod with miso is a dish commonly found in Japanese restaurants in LA. As far as I’ve read, it was popularized by Nobu Matsuhisa (being one of his signature dishes), though a number of Japanese chefs/restaurants have their own renditions (Roy Yamaguchi of Roy’s is another popular one that comes to…
Restaurant Komasa 351 E 2nd St Los Angeles, CA 90012 Dining date: 3/20/12 Komasa seems to be one of the most popular restaurants in Little Tokyo, garnering lines as reliably as Daikokuya. From my perspective, there are a trio of Little Tokyo sushi restaurants that are clearly more popular than the rest – Hama, Sushi…
Dining date: 3/18/12 Growing up, my family would often celebrate special occasions at Great Eastern restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown, ordering a host of dishes to share family-style. Over the years, there have been a number of staples including this dish of clams in black bean sauce. Like many dishes I often ate when I was younger,…
Dining date: 3/11/12 While browsing the web for recipes in which to use my sous vide machine, I came across one that struck me immediately. It’s Michael Voltaggio’s recipe for crispy chicken thighs, posted on the Williams-Sonoma database. It’s very similar to a recipe I’ve prepared a number of times that includes brining chicken thighs…