Special Foodventures #158: The La Brea Urban Hike and Eat

Well you know how the adage goes, when life hands you lemons . . . Such was the case in the unexpected curveball of my planned Urban Hike and Eat yesterday - where my attempts to go down the entirety of La Brea was cut short by lack of pedestrian paths as it winds through Baldwin Hills, but more on that later this week on my other blog.

But the day was far from a total loss, as I still got to check out a good number of incredible eats for reasonable prices (like last month, I gave myself the R. Ray challenge of doing it under $40.)

Starting at the North end of La Brea, I started hiking down the eerily serene and silent Hollywood. No tourists, no solicitors and hardly a moving vehicle.

I had intentionally planned for a breakfast at Food Lab Café or M Café de Chaya - but arrived and passed by them before opening; and so, Plan C for breakfast was at Susina Bakery--one of my favorite spots for all things baked and sugary.

Only this time, I went for a savory, flakey and gooey warmed-up turkey and cheese croissant ($3.75) and a super-tall cup of nutty, woodsy organic gunpowder tea ($2.50).

Continuing down La Brea, I was tempted by the likes of Campanile and La Brea bakery, but ultimately chose El Nido for my mid-morning snack fix.

Even though the truly foodventurous would get the "Bull's Egg Soup" here, I had neither that sense of daring nor that degree of hunger, so I opted instead for their nacatamal ($5). The wait for my "appetizer" took a while (approx. half-hour!) but the result was worth it. Twice as large as the Mexican tamale and easily a meal on its own, this Nicaraguan/Honduran variation was just as delicious. The masa was moist and fluffy with a fine-grained, almost couscous-like texture, and it was stuffed with a myriad of different ingredients, including potatoes, tomatoes, pork, olives and raisins. Super-filling and worth ordering again, though I made note to call ahead if I'm planning a trip here.

South of the 10 until Baldwin Hills, the eateries were a lot less noteworthy, basically a mish-mash of various fast-food chains. The only one that popped out was CJ's Cafe, which was packed with patrons--always a good sign. Alas, I was still too full from the nacatamal to want to indulge in their "South to South-of-the-Border" cooking.

It's too bad I couldn't actually hike across Baldwin Hills, since further South on La Brea were a number of promising eateries I really looked forward to trying: including the vegan Stuff I Eat (with an intriguing Carrot Un-Tuna salad) and the Indian/Pakistani Aladdin's Halal Tandoori (with some pretty crazy lunch specials.) Another time, and when I'm on wheels, I s'pose.

Turning around, I decided to make my way back to Hollywood again and finally had a chance to check out Food Lab, meeting nearby Sarah the Bear. Feeling like more carbs, I got their Belgian waffle ($8) and mint lemonade ($3.50). The lemonade was too sweet (yes, even for me) and I had to water it down, and it's a pity to see bruised/blackened mint leaves floating in there. As for the waffles, it was just OK for me--more like a pancake in a waffle shape since it lacked the caramelized crispy exterior I was hoping for. The accompanying maple syrup, orange marmalade and whipped cream were top notch though. So while this meal was lackluster, I am open to giving it another try--esp. after sneaking a bite of Sarah's press-grilled three cheese sandwich w whole-seed mustard and caramelized onions. Oh yeah, for all you Dean & Deluca lovers, they stock quite a few of their food items here too... so something to get your fix satisfied while waiting for their OC store to open.

With the sun beating down my back, I decided to make one final food stop at a L.A. institution (that I've yet to visit until yesterday,) Mashti Malone's - the ice creamery famous for their Persian-inspired flavors. I have been warned some flavors may be too exotic, but c'mon -- I'm a total Scoops fan, and I bet it can't get any more exotic than gorgonozola-pecan-pear (my favorite of the "weird flavors" there.)

I tasted the ginger-rosewater ice cream and it was love at first sight so I immediately got a scoop ($3). Fragrant, spicy, creamy and sweet -- it's like having a frozen sweet lassi (I know, Indian and not Persian, but that's what it reminded me of.)

And of course, my celebratory end-of-hike beer. Since I was already in Hollywood area, I decided to trek a few blocks beyond my expected endpoint (Hollywood & Highland metro stop) to Blue Palm's Brewhouse, which was totally chill. I had intended on getting something refreshing and light and quaffable, but changed my mind upon seeing the Eagle Rock Brewery's Libertine imperial amber wit on the menu. With a wonderful spicy-green apple aroma and slightly-hefty finish, it's the beer equivalent of sampling apple pie filling before it goes into the crust and oven. And the discounted $4 price (usually $6) made this drink that much more sweeter.

If I had known I would wound up getting on the Metro at the Hollywood/Western stop, I would've done a little homework for some Thai Town cheap eats to check out, but alas, after 10 hours out and about my brain isn't exactly programmed for on-the-spot eatery research, nor do my legs want to log on unnecessary extra miles, and so homeward bound I went.

And despite the detour and missing out on Inglewood-area food, I'm pretty happy with this trip too--having the opportunity to check out a variety of different eats, look for new places (the coming soon Flavors of Belize!) and once again, truly soaking in LA the way I wouldn't have just zooming by in a car.

And I'm already excited about the next Urban Hike and Eat; pretty sure it'll be on Sunday, April 18, and this time with a little O.C. love thrown in! Keep your eyes peeled closer to date!

The Bill:

Croissant & Tea at Susina + tip: $7.25
Nacatamal at El Nido + tax/tip: $7
Waffle & Lemonade at Food Lab + tax/tip: $14
Ice Cream at Mashti Malone's: $3
Beer at Blue Palms + tip: $5
TOTAL: $36.25

More photos on my flickr set here

Special Foodventure #113: Rivera (Downtown)

The donaji cocktail is definitely chirp worthy!

If the thought of drinking tequila straight-up brings nasty flashbacks of shooters from days past that's better forgotten, Rivera's infused tequila collection will definitely convince you otherwise, as it did for me.

Smooth, sophisticated and suave (just like their sleek dining area) their ever-rotating collection of infusions include flavors like blood orange-cinnamon, tamarind and grapefruit-anise. My personal favorite so far is the pomegranate-ginger, literally a party in the mouth with a festive mix of tart, spicy and sweet. And while some of these tequilas may smell and taste almost syrupy, no sugar's been added - the sweetness is purely derived from the fruits and spices that's been steeping for a few days. And they are silky-smooth down the palate and throat with an ever-so-slight edge of roughness on the finish to remind you that these are tequila. But totally easy to sip (don't slam or chug these down) and no chasers needed. And not too shabby at $6 per flavor or $12 for a flight of three.

The cocktails ($10-15 range, with late-night specials of $8-9), crafted by mixologist Julian Cox, are fantastic as well, as fun to look at as they are to taste. On my most recent visit with friends and foodbloggers Christine and Matt, Julian made a variation of his Purple Rain cocktail (using gin instead of the listed vodka) that was gorgeously lined with pansies and bursting with a beautiful bouquet of floral and botanical notes from the rosewater, violet and Thai basil in the drink. Other worthwhile sips include the Blood Sugar Sex Magic (pictured above), a vermilion concoction with rye whiskey, red pepper, and basil, and the smoky Donaji with mezcal, pomegranate and chapulin salt. Or if the bartender's not too busy, go for the $14 Bespoke and let him or her take you to your customized cocktail lala-land.

And of course, save room for the food too. On a separate occasion shortly after its opening, their PR representative invited Caroline on Crack, Gourmet Pigs, Rumdood and yours truly to a blogger dinner for free, where we sampled quite a few dishes (and drinks). Just like the cocktails, the food's presentation is great and the taste, for the most part, impressive. Some of the highlights of that meal included:

patates xips ($6): Kennebec potato chips with chipotle-lime crema and caviar - a nicely balanced starter with the light, crisp chips contrasted against the rich crema that's just slightly sour, spicy and smoky, rounded out by the briny caviar. Wish there were more chips to go around for this dish, but we wound up saving the extra crema for some of the other items that night.

tortilla florales ($6): literally an edible leaf and flower press, these stone-ground tortillas (made in-house) are served with an avocado-based "Indian butter". I almost felt guilty tearing this beautiful circular discs of art, but the first bite quickly took away that regret. Nice coarse texture with an authentic 'corny' flavor, this tortilla held its own even when slathered with the "butter" or the crema from the previous dish.

jamon iberico de bellota pata negra ($44): O. M. G. I could not believe that this was on the menu, and suddenly I was taken back to my wonderful jamon memories from my Bazaar dinner. This version, served with nicely-toasted bread, was totally on-par and did not disappoint: the marbled ham was velvety-smooth with a wonderful richness and a nice smidgen of nuttiness from the pig's all-acorn diet. It's so fatty I liken it to eating paper-thin slices of freshly-creamed pork-flavored butter. Totally worth trying at least once (or twice, in my case) should you ever encounter them on a menu or for sale at a meat purveyor.

kurobota pork chop with mole and black carrots ($21): A superb entree featuring a tender, juicy slab of pork with a wonderfully complex dark molé, a sheerly delightful combination of earthy and spicy with distinct herbal and cocoa notes, I held every drop of the thick, flavorful paste on my tongue as long as possible to enjoy every element, and still can't quite figure out the mystery of what makes it work. But it does!

the desserts here decent overall, the one that WOWed me the most is the baba cachaca ($7) a spin off the more familiar baba au rhum cake. Moist, eggy and just dense enough to satisfy without weighing down, it was nicely complemented with citrus segments, cream and some dulce de leche.

Overall, Rivera definitely get major kudos for their wonderful presentation, and both the bites and drinks are solid and edgy enough to keep me intrigued. I certainly can't wait to see what Chef John Rivera Sedlar will be bringing to the table next time around.

What Do Others Say?

- Gourmet Pigs considers it "another good and welcome addition" to the downtown dining scene
- Caroline on Crack also adores the cocktails and small bites and will "enjoy [them] . . . any day"
- LA Weekly's J Gold generally loved the food's presentation and taste as well
- even SF Chronicle's Michael Bauer gushes over this place as he relives "a culinary epiphany"
- FoodGPS is looking forward to further trying Sedlar's "arsenal" of dishes too and had some one-on-one time with the chef

Rivera Restaurant
1050 S Flower St
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 749-1460
Website

Mini Foodventure #39: Brunch at Border Grill

As noted by my Twitter yesterday, my camera momentarily gave out during my brunch excursion at the Border Grill and had problems reading/saving to the memory card. It conveniently recovered at the end of our meal, but who wants to look at photos of roadkill on a plate? ;)

Nonetheless, my friend and I had our opinions of the place, so I'll do a quickie foodventure post on it.

We started off with two pint glasses of their house margaritas on the rocks (normally $7.75, but gratis for this trip - thanks to a reward offer from one of my credit cards,) which were very well made and fairly potent, and the salt actually made a difference in opening up the flavors! The fresh tortilla chips (served with three salsas) were a great pre-meal, during-drinks nosh -- we both decided we liked the salsa roja the best (they also had a salsa verde that's a bit watered down, and a dark red chipotle salsa that was too smoky for our palates.)

Then onto our brunch dishes: my friend had their Latin-American spin of Eggs Benedict ($12.50)- with poached eggs, citrus chicken, avocado slices and tomato salsa on top of corn tortillas, served with red & green Spanish rice and black beans on the side. I liked it a lot, the flavors were much more vibrant than the traditional Benedict & I love the refreshing salsa substitition for the heavy hollandaise. My only gripe is that the eggs were poached over medium/near hard, though my friend is fine with that since she hates runny yolks (but I did note that they were poached that way by default and not her special request.) Then again, corn tortillas are probably not as good as English muffin in soaking things up. The beans and rice duo were good but nothing to write home about (the black beans are paste-like as opposed to whole, not sure if they were merely mashed/pureed or refried).

My course, Steak Asada Tortas, was generally pretty good too. A slab of seared hanger steak pressed with guacamole, caramelized onion and roasted tomato in a housebaked bolillo roll, with a side of mushroom enchiladas. The combo of flavors were pretty amazing, a one-two-three punch of the onion's sweetness against the creamy guacamole and finally, the meaty tang from the steak & the tomatoes - all in a warm fluffy bread with a slightly crispy crust.

The downside of this sandwich was that the steak was too chewy - possibly from overcooking - so there were those awkward moments when I had to go into beaver-mode with my incisors to avoid tearing the whole steak out of the sandwich. While it's nice to see that they put a whole muscle in the sandwich, for logistical purposes I think steak slices/chunks make for much easier, and less messy, eating.

The mushroom enchiladas, however, were simply divine -- earthy, meaty sauteed mushrooms wrapped in a substantial corn tortillas then baked with a slightly-chocolatey mole sauce and just a smidgen of Latin-American cheeses. Unfortunately, they don't seem to serve this as a standalone menu item. The pretty-good sandwich and the so-frickin-good enchiladas combo ($14.50) are still worth ordering, but be prepared to use a knife for the sandwich and give your teeth a workout.

We finished off our meal with a few more cocktails - my friend had a kiwi refresca made with kiwi puree, agave syrup & sparkling wine and and I got a naranja picante margarita accented with orange & spiked with pepper ($12 each). We both liked our own drinks but didn't care for each others -- she liked the fruity and somewhat sweet taste of the refresca, I like that the cocktail is not too sweet, but to me it still tastes like cheap sparkling wine plus kiwi. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the citrusy kick of my margarita, whereas she said it tasted like "Orange Energy Pine-Sol". Nonetheless, the drinks feel overpriced so not something we'd typically order outside of happy hour (or in our case, getting the first rounds free.)

So all in all, a fairly good experience though with a few kinks that could be improved upon; I would consider re-visiting when I am in the area (and hopefully with a functional camera.)

Also, kudos to the decor - with its bright, colorful wall & ceiling murals and boxy ceiling lamps, it gave off a wonderful artsy urban vibe that complemented well with its modernized Latin American cuisine.

Border Grill
1445 4th St
Santa Monica
(310) 451-1655
http://www.bordergrill.com/