Eat Drink Americano: Decent Soft-Shell Crab Sammich but Absurd Portions, Bland Oxtail Sliders

I had heard good things about Eat Drink Americano that took over the old Cafe Metropol space next to R23 in the Arts District. The single most lasting impression of the place wasn't the flavor of its food or gastropub-y ambiance but its ridiculously minuscule portions. Tiny as it was, however, the soft-shell crab sandwich with wakame and aioli was just the right combination of sweetness from the crab with the crispy soft-shell and softness of the English muffin (although I would have liked a brioche mini bun better) and creaminess of the spread. The wakame, or seaweed, balanced out the heaviness of the dish. It was a genius pairing, if not a bit overpowered by the big blob of aioli, which was good but could have been more sparingly added. The fact that this tiny thing was $14 was preposterous.

Then we got the salad after we had our entrees. Odd timing. The salad of cherry tomatoes and burrata drizzled with balsamic vinegar and topped with fresh basil was decidedly consistent in its tiny portion. We got one small piece of cheese in a ramekin-size bowl. Too skimpy. The three slices of bread didn't make up for the deficiency. 

We were elated when we got not one but two oxtail sliders. The shredded oxtail meat was actually too dense and I found the oxtail to be outright bland. The sliders came topped with fresh arugula but I needed to douse them with Sriracha sauce that I asked for to taste anything remotely interesting. I love oxtail and was expecting moist and fatty oxtail meat but the meat was far too dry. Thumbs down.

A minor table set up issue: as much as I like the food being brought out in sturdy wooden boards that have a rustic look, the tables also happen to be tiny and once we had three dishes, there was no way those massive boards would fit onto one table. Besides, they made the small portions look even smaller due to their large wooden canvas. 

Given there are so many better options around there including Lazy Ox Canteen, Church and State, Little Bear and Bestia, I probably won't be returning.  

Badmaash in Downtown: Chicken Tikka Poutine and Chili Cheese Naan Work Better in Concept Than in Practice

I was so excited to try this new Indian fusion joint in Downtown called Badmaash but alas, with one exception, it was a disappointment. Everything was expertly marketed and labeled like chicken tikka poutine or chili cheese naan. They sounded so promising.

The best thing was the short rib samosas. They were served hot and perfectly fried with tender short rib meat inside. They also came with pineapple and cilantro but I could barely taste those flavors. Dipped in some cilantro chutney, the samosas were divine.

I think the poutine would work better if they used the masala sauce in chicken tikka masala instead of boring ol' gravy. Or saag paneer sauce poutine. The meat has to be better integrated into the dish like short rib or pulled pork (I still want to make Kahlua Pork Nachos someday). Decent concept that could be bolder.

The mango jam glazed pork belly was equally genius in concept but in execution was too sweet. The pork belly slices were extremely tender and well cooked. I just wish they hadn't drowned the meat in the very sweet mango jam sauce. Once I scraped some mango jam, however, it was a lot better.

The chili cheese naan was a bit bland. The yogurt raita sauce definitely helped but it also needed some kick or punch of flavor.

I liked that this place has a good wine and beer selection. I was pleasantly surprised to find it had Lambrusco although it didn't go so well with the dishes we got. The space is cool, with Bollywood film posters adorning the walls and adding to the kitsch factor, alongside an actual Bollywood film projected onto the first floor's wall.

The above image freaked me out because the samosas look like two feet with a million toes. Sorry. I'd like to try its lamb burger but am a bit skeptical. Its prices are quite high but then again, that's the going price for a comparable small plates joint in Downtown these days.

Blue Cow Kitchen: Better Than Its Former Self, Casa -- Get the Beet Deviled Eggs & Duck Wings

I definitely had reservations about Blue Cow Kitchen, owned and operated by the Mendocino Farms peeps and situated in the former Casa space in California Plaza. I wrote a scathing review of Casa a while back, and the owner Mario (or at least claiming to be, complete with email signature) emailed me, first flattering me about how he loved my (anonymous) blog and no-holds-barred honest reviews, then randomly invited me to lunch and when I asked why, he said he wanted to run some ideas by me and when pressed, claimed he wanted me to be his secret taster where I'd have an exclusive arrangement with him and tell him the real low down about his restaurants. Please. When pressed for details, I never heard from him again.

I tried very hard not to be biased when I walked into this rowdy restaurant filled with a boring crowd of Downtown professionals (except for my party, of course). Hey, I used to be one too so I can say that.

The short of it is that the food was actually decent. You've come a long way, baby, I  mean Mario.

The beet marinated deviled eggs (check out that beautiful fuschia color!) with mustard, bacon and jalapeno was a winner. Besides the nice presentation, the bacon was just crispy enough and its saltiness and crunch went very well with the egg. Not sure about how "candied" the jalapeno tasted but I liked the hint of kick to round off the bite.

The duck wings were a tad ducky tasting but overall the confit and then grilled preparation gave the flesh a softness (from the confit) and charred beauty (from the grilling) that boded well with its slightly spicy aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chile pepper) glaze, which was delicious. Sprinkled with some freshly chopped cilantro gave it a freshness. The cucumber and sesame-ginger dipping sauce were an afterthought and duly ignored at our table.

The giant baked then fried potato wedges were good, some a bit overcooked and too hard but overall came out hot, crispy and stood their own against the two dipping sauces. I would have wanted the onion "whip," seemingly a variation on ranch, to be bit thicker but it did the job.

The fried chicken sandwich (we stuck to the happy hour menu entirely) came with slaw in the venerable Hawaiian roll. The slaw was bland. The chicken was good but overall, the sandwich did not come even close to this master chicken sandwich at Son of a Gun, the best I've had in LA so far. Even the one at Laurel Hardware in a biscuit was better than this one, although I admit it's somewhat of a different breed  (Laurel was a breakfast sandwich with an oozing fried egg on top, which makes anything better).

The short rib "French dip" was just ok. Maybe it was because I didn't have it hot because everyone at my table loved it. But the bun was dense and wet from the dip, I guess. The short rib was not overly flavorful with barely a mushroom in sight. The most baffling thing, however, was the presence of a slice of toasted bread inside the bun. Wha? That seems a bit redundant, no? Am I missing something? And yes, the previously melted gruyere cheese had congealed and didn't help the cause. I just ended up having the shredded rib meat and washed it down with my glass of Pinot Noir.

Good wine. Dessert was meh. We got two ice cream sandwiches, one with Guinness flavor and the other with salted caramel, that's apparently on the menus of any self-respecting chef these days. The Guinness was unremarkable. Think it sounded more promising than it was. The salted caramel was ok but nothing close to ethereal one at Strand House. The biggest problem I had was with the sandwich cookies. They were chocolate chip cookies, which didn't blend well with the already sweet ice cream. So sweetness overkill. Yes, it's possible. Then they were so hard we had to practically use a Samurai sword to cut it up. Thumbs down.

Service was decent. Vibe was not that great. Would I return? Maybe. But I won't go out of my way to do so. One last piece of advice: redo your online menus so all items are visible.

Bar Ama in Downtown LA: Cheese Dip with Chorizo + Toasted Noodles with Octopus and Kielbasa

As a fan of the Lazy Ox Canteen, I had high hopes for Bar Ama in Downtown LA. The verdict is that there were some very good things and some inedible things.

My favorite dish was the queso fundido, aka Tex Mex Queso, with chorizo added, of course. I loved dipping the thick, nicely fried tortilla chips into the creamy cheese with generous chunks of chorizo. The second time I had it, the chorizo chunks were a bit too chunky for a small chip bite and they didn't fall apart when I tried to break them up with my chip. So they need to be crumbled better but it was solid.

The second favorite was the fideo with octopus and kielbasa. It reminded me of Spain's rossejat, a toasted noodle dish I made and wrote about, or a dish I would have at the Bazaar or at this paella spot I loved in NYC. The octopus was soft and cooked just so. The kielbasa gave it some kick and meatiness. The pepitas, or squash seeds that were toasted gave the dish its crunch. The shrimp broth the noodles were cooked in gave the dish depth of flavor. The queso fresco along with a salsa verde sprinkled atop this concoction brought the flavors all together. Big thumbs up.

 

The ceviche was refreshing, served with mango, chile, tomatillo, red onion and radish strips. I liked the sweet and savory combo although this is probably more of a summer dish. 

I was pleasantly surprised by its version of the chile relleno. It reminded more of the chile nogada I had in Mexico City in 2012 than the traditional cheese-filled chile relleno that I'm actually not a big fan of. It had cashew sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and cotija cheese. It was deep fried but so lightly fried it wasn't too heavy. And you know how I feel about pomegranate seeds -- they provided the tangy-ness and texture mix I love to see in dishes. The chile itself was a mild, smaller variety, not the usual chile poblano. It may have been Anaheim chile but I could be wrong. 

Now for the bad. All the puffy tacos we got -- beef and shrimp -- were bad. Maybe I'm not a puffy taco person but the inflated shell was a distraction and didn't add anything to the taco experience. So I wasn't sure why anyone would bother frying something unnecessarily. It's also a pain to eat, which doesn't help. The fillings were on the bland side. All I know is that I yearned for Cholula sauce.

 

The cauliflower in cilantro pesto with cashew and pine nuts was interesting but it was something I could have had in an Indian restaurant, y' know?  The cilantro "pesto" was reminiscent of cilantro chutney found at Indian lunch buffets. I didn't feel like it brought anything to the table, so to speak. 

Don't even get me started on the chicken fried steak we got with fried chicken because they ran out. It was overcooked just by looking at the dark brown breading that was borderline burnt. Then upon biting into the chicken, it tasted like old chicken that had been sitting in the fridge forever. Very bad. Thank God they removed it from our bill because I couldn't take another bite. But that doesn't bode well. Stay away from the fried chicken. I'm sticking to Son of a Gun's amazing chicken sandwich.

The desserts were unimpressive. I love creme brulee and this was serviceable but nothing special. Here's some unsolicited advice (or request!) to the chef: how about churros with a Oaxacan chocolate dip on the side? Or anything with dulce de leche, like mil hojas cake? None of the desserts spoke to us much. But there's such opportunities for greatness. Seize it!

Cocktails are good but strong. I've had Alice's Cooler and El Camino, which are both slightly sweet and citrusy drinks. 

I'll definitely return for that cheese and fideos and look forward to trying more. I hope it doesn't become another Baco Mercat, which I was disappointed with.

Thank you, CTG, for some of these awesome shots!

Alma in Downtown: Skip the Seaweed and Tofu Beignets and Go for the Soups and No Corkage BYOB

I had a hard time finding Alma, quietly situated in the heart of Downtown LA, so unassuming with its barely visible store front sign. Upon finally entering, the bare interior and the fact that it was virtually empty at dinner time was cause for concern.

The open kitchen was impeccably clean, perhaps because there was no cooking to do, but unusually pristine for a commercial kitchen (or even my own home kitchen, actually). The cooking aims to do something different and I appreciated that. The combinations didn't always work for me, however. The good: The crab with fennel, oranges and what looked like sourdough croutons but tasted like sourdough meringue puffs. It's always an interesting revelation when you bite into something and expect one thing but get an entirely different texture. I liked what the chefs did with the texture and the dish was good but not mind blowing. I also liked the cauliflower soup that was perfect for a cold evening -- before it got to 80 degree weather in January, that is.

The chicken liver pate was not bad but I just came off a chicken liver mousse withdrawal after being positively blown away by Waterloo & City's rendition, which I would elevate to an art form. Just stellar. So this one wasn't bad as a pairing with the red wine I brought (it's BYOB with NO CORKAGE until they get a liquor license) but not as amazing as the last one I had.

My least favorite was the seaweed and tofu beignet. Great concept but I neither liked the result or the execution. The flavors didn't work for me and I love seaweed and tofu. The bigger problem I had was that the beignets were too doughy. They should be light and fluffy, not smelling and tasting like flour. Check out the beautiful presentation. But it couldn't salvage it.

Service was good and just as my Open Table preferences stated, they humored my request to not give us the check until we asked for it. And because we didn't pay for the wine we drank, the bill seemed so tiny at first we thought they had miscalculated it. So head over before they get their liquor license and the bill actually comes out to $30+ per person.

Bestia: Perfectly Grilled Squid, Excellent Bread and Unusual Pastas and Pizzas

I had the privilege of trying Bestia, a new Italian hot spot just east of Downtown in the industrial area, with a large group and one of the investors of the place. So not only did we get to try pretty much everything on the menu, but we also got VIP treatment and got things off the menu like a monumental braised oxtail that I'll talk about later.

The octopus and bread were probably some of the best things we had.The octopus was perfectly grilled over a bed of lentils and drizzled with what tasted like a garlic and parsley sauce. The octopus was soft and not at all rubbery and almost sweet in its flavor. The grilled octopus made a great combo with the lentils that had a stew-ish consistency.

The bread that came with the house-cured meats was excellent. Hard crust but soft and substantial enough. Warm and dipped in some olive oil and garlic mix. I am a cured meats fiend like no other so liked the prosciutto, coppa and other cured meats on the tray well enough but I must say, they weren't as good as the cold cuts plate I had in Bologna in 2010.  I still dream about the array of cold cuts and cheeses available in Italy... While it won't replace that experience, it certainly was a rarity to get such a spread in LA. And that bread...

 

The meatballs were nothing special but maybe that had to do with the fact that I'm not a huge meatball fan. It was charred nicely on the outside and soft on the inside but it didn't stand out among the million things we had.

We had a few pizzas including the Margherita, which was definitely above average. Those of you who have been following my blog may know that Margherita is the gauge with which I judge pizza joints so it passed with flying colors. We also had Pizza 'Nudja, which had this eponymous Italian sausage I don't think I've ever had before. It tasted like finely minced salami that were made into little balls and sprinkled atop this pizza and then sizzled into its charred goodness (just on top) in the oven. I usually don't even like pepperoni or sausage on my pizza but this was an interesting take. Another unusual pizza was the brussels sprouts with ricotta that I also never had before and liked.

Now about the crust: I liked it. It was thin and bubbly on the edges and could hold the toppings in the middle. Maybe it's because it took a while to make it down to my side of the large 12-person party table, but the crust got soggy quickly. But the crust was definitely at the Mozza level.

We had at least four pasta dishes and like with pizza, there were some unusual combinations and ingredients like chestnut pasta. The Cavatelli alla Norcina is the ricotta-based pasta that looks like little shells (kind of like silk worms or bbeondaegi sold in the streets of Seoul) that came with lumps of sausages, tiny bits of black truffles and some grana padano cheese. Not being a huge fan of Italian sausage, this wasn't my favorite but points for introducing me to a new pasta shape.

The hand-rolled fusilli with braised goat and pistachio oil was another interesting combination. This pasta was topped with house-made ricotta salata, which is basically hard ricotta that is usually shaved into your salad or pasta. I also found a deep lime green, finely grated pistachio atop the bright white cheese, which was a nice contrast. I love braised meats so this was probably one of the more comforting dishes.

This one was bucatini (fatter tube-like spaghetti with a hole) with some bread crumbs and sea urchin. I actually have had uni in pasta at some of the Japanese-style Italian joints like Blue Marlin on Sawtelle and Spoon House in the South Bay. And I never liked them much, and this version was no exception. It wasn't that the sea urchin wasn't fresh. It was. I just didn't love the flavor. It's not you it's me.

Before

Now for the piece de resistance. When this majestic oxtail -- and I mean gigantic, 12+-inch, whole oxtail in all its slow-cooked, melt-in-your-mouth glory -- arrived at our table, the party couldn't help but be in awe of its sheer size and beauty. Oh, and the fact that we had never seen an oxtail presented this way. The plate also included roasted veggies like baby carrots, potatoes, parsnips and onions to name a few. It truly looked like a work of art. The roasting brought out the best out of these roots vegetables -- soft, sweet and slightly browned on top. Some in our party were fighting for the last baby carrot.

Devouring

The oxtail was extremely tender and came off the bone easily. The flavor was good but maybe I associated oxtail with the Korean dish I always make at dinner parties, kkorijjim, that has pretty strong flavors like garlic, soy sauce, etc. Anyway, I loved the texture of this oxtail and it was cool tearing it apart as a whole tail. Ok, I'll stop gushing about the wholeness thing.

After

I only wished the flavor of the oxtail were a bit more pronounced. More garlic or more salt. It's not like the chefs were shy about using salt in other dishes (in fact, some were a tad salty but I like salty so it was fine) so I wasn't sure why they had somewhat held back with this one. This was off the menu, by the way. Perks of going with an insider! Still, we didn't have too much trouble totaling it, as you can see.

Time for dessert. Our servers were nice enough to wait a while until giving us our final course since we had had like half of the items on the menu. Disclaimer: I don't think I could objectively review the desserts because I was so ridiculously full. The chestnut donuts that came with the coffee gelato would have probably been my favorite, since I dream of fancy donuts all the time and in fact, I had some a few days later at Waterloo & City (post coming soon). These chestnut donuts were fluffy and good but like I said, it was somewhat of a blur past the oxtail.

How gorgeous does this set up look? But it was too much, even for gluttonous me.

I may not remember much about the desserts but I do recall this creamy, persimmon and pistachio concoction that I found to be yet another original take on plain old dessert (not that there's anything wrong with classics). The persimmon slices were like sweet like candy and soft like ice cream except they weren't cold.

The creme fraiche panna cotta was good but again, I'm not a huge panna cotta person so don't want to bias you. I much prefer creme brulee, gelato or flan. I always feel like there's something missing with panna cotta, either the sugary crust (creme brulee), cold temperature (gelato) or the caramel sauce (flan).

I really liked the industrial space and will definitely return to try other interesting pastas and pizzas. I went on a Wednesday evening but it was positively hopping. Apparently the wait is eternal on weekends and it's hard to imagine it more crowded than it was when we went. Service was solid.

Special thanks to CC for generously inviting all of us and to CTG for taking amazing pictures!

Industriel in Downtown: Cool Honey Bears Decor, Poor Food

I loved the look and feel of the space at Industriel in downtown LA but was disappointed at the food. It calls itself an "Urban French Provencal Restaurant with Locally-Sourced Farm Fresh Cuisine." Whatever that means. What matters is that it didn't deliver.

The mussels above look so promising, right? They were horrible, bordering on inedible. If a restaurant is doing seafood, it needs to be serious about sourcing fresh seafood. It could be fresh but it's maybe not the best quality. Not only were the mussels poor quality, but the seasoning was also bland. This was the worst dish.

The champagne, grapefruit juice and rosemary sprig cocktail sounded more interesting than it tasted. I could hardly taste the rosemary flavor and wished it had more of it. But hard to go wrong with champagne and citrus.

The pumpkin soup was probably one of the best things we had that evening but I've had better pumpkin soup.

I must admit I was outraged at having to pay for bread, especially after we got the order because it was below average. I'm sorry but I'll take the complimentary bread from Bouchon or Waterloo & City (review pending) any day. 

The shredded kale appetizer wasn't anything special either.

I was looking forward to the gnocchi that was all the rage on message boards but alas, the gnocchi was overcooked and lacked flavor. I liked that they seared the gnocchi so the edges were crispy but all that effort was lost when I bit into the mushy morsels of gnocchi. I also felt like it didn't jive with the rest of the elements on the plate.

The roasted cornish hen served atop arugula on a bed of polenta held some promise but again, no mind-blowing experience to be had here. It wasn't bad but a heavy sauce that reminded me of frozen food (or airplane food) was drizzled all over the bird and that didn't seem like a good thing. 

We had strawberry shortcake for dessert and this was probably the second best although that may not be saying much. The accompanying sorbets were good and refreshing. 

I loved the decor using those bear bottles of honey but the service was insufferably ingratiating. It's one thing to be friendly and helpful. It's quite another to be hanging around our table and oversharing. Our server was highly annoying in that regard and although it comes from a good place, she needs to back off or will turn off a lot of customers away. 

Not sure if I want to return, especially with so many new, tastier joints popping up in the area including the Parish and hotspot Bestia (review pending).