breaking up with gingergrass

it's like THAT boy. you know. that one lingering one you dated, then broke up with, then dated again, only to eventually break up with once more. perhaps because of the passage of time, coupled with your hunger for companionship, you both reach out for each other again only to realize that lightening does strike twice and you should NOT have taken two steps back by rekindling a messy relationship that once was......

because eating copious amounts of shrimp chips won't ever make it any better.

nor sipping glasses of this uber yummy lychee mimosa ($7) enough to repair what's already been broken once....

because this relationship is quite similar to this persimmon roll ($4.95). random with ingredients that don't complement each other. please don't think that a few strands of persimmon flesh with noodles in rice wrapper should taste magically delicious. oh no, it tasted randomly conceived....just like this bygone relationship that you're trying to restart for a second time. people say your personalities didn't fit...and like this roll, it really just didn't...but you had to try again, didn't you?

and try as you might, an attempt to make the relationship slightly different by "behaving" for the first few months might have worked for the short term, but in order to prevent yourselves from falling back into old destructive habits, the foundation between the two of you must be strong in the first place and should not be accompanied by fatty baggage that cannot be digested. but alas, it was all smoke and mirrors wasn't it? just like this unctuous pork belly dish ($14.95) which tasted great as it was consumed, but as soon as it was fully digested, left one (namely me), pounding at the bathroom door for a belly emergency.

LOOK at all that unforgiving fat!

and by the tail end of this rekindled relationship with its obvious dried up passion like this dried up, overcooked fish in this big red snapper bowl ($10.95), it is probably a good time as any to give up because it's not worth the extra calories or the heartache.

because all the sweetness you had hoped would be there this second time around just did not materialize similar to these fried banana rolls ($5.95) which were served unripened and left a chalky taste in one's mouth. and truthfully, life is way too short to deny yourself of something sweet.

so what i'm really saying is, some relationships are meant to be left alone and once it's over, it should really be over. and now it's time for me to say bye bye to gingergrass. dahling, it was wrong once before and even with this second chance, we are clearly not meant to be. baby, we need to break up...again.

Gingergrass
2396 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 644-1600

www.gingergrass.com

price: $$
verdict: not worth my time

the magical number that brought me to providence

here's a few facts about the number 40. it's an even number. if you double 20 then you will see 40 again. if you get your speedometer up to 40 on a residential street, then a speeding ticket you will make. and lastly, if you're my dear friend eric, turning 40 will get you to....

if done right, turning 40 can be an elegant celebration indeed. one willed into reality by celebratory thoughts and a unanimous love for great food and great company. as i sat there peering at all the folks that came to celebrate our friend eric's 40th birthday, i thought, "you really picked a good one my friend. providence is infamous for its divine intervention to the tongue."

then i sat back, mesmerized by the tea light nestled in the beaded sea anemone and waited for the rebirth of my taste buds a la providence style.

the celebratory night started off with an asian pear cocktail. fruity, sweet, and smooth, i felt the spiked pear juice wiggle itself down to the core of my belly and subsequently warmed me through and through.

the bread basket that was then circulated amongst us was overfloweth with all manners of carbs. though challenging to narrow down the options, it really wasn't.

you ALWAYS pick bacon, and bacon it was. tiny flecks of porky bits dotted this rather delicious bacon roll that went straight into my mouth.

the amuse-bouches of the night included a yummy foursome; a petite rectangle of icy mojito, spherified greyhound, a cheesy gougere, and last but not least, a shot glass of cured trout with lemon jelly.

edible gold flecks dotted the cured trout for a decadent touch.

the first course of the night was the japanese kanpachi. crispy rice crackers gave each bite texture while the soy creme fraiche with pickled endives added tartness to the fish. delicious, fresh, and craveable.

the second course was bobby's block island sea scallops with buckwheat, dashi, and nappa cabbage. the perfectly cooked, sweet centered scallop was deliciously bathed in a savory dashi foam bubble bath.

the third course was the wild alaskan halibut with fresh cranberry beans, meyer lemon, red pepper, and mussels. i really enjoyed the burst of acid from the meyer lemon as the flavors interplayed with the subdued flaky fleshed fish.

the fourth course was the sous-vide veal tenderloin with tahitian squash and broccolini. the veal was wonderfully tender and melted in your mouth as one would expect from meat prepared in this manner. the crispy veggies were addictive as well.

the night could not end without a cheese plate which was an addition to our five course tasting menu. we had a compilation of muenster reserve cheese, an award winning blue cheese, black truffle cheese, artisanal goat cheese amongst many others. take that lactose intolerance! who says asian folks can't eat dairy?!

my belly was stuffed at this point...but a plate of well crafted cheeses i cannot resist....

the fifth and last course was the banana bread pudding and barley ice cream. i really enjoyed the tart coating over the banana and the bread pudding was the perfect size to indulge your sweet tooth.

the mignardises of the night included cubes of elderflower jelly, chocolate macarons, and hand crafted chocolate marshmellows. i.was.stuffed.

and that concluded our two michelin star rated gustatory experience with our three michelin star rated friend. happy slappy birthday eric! here's to many, many more!

-five course tasting menu is $65/$100 with wine pairing (october deal. follow them on twitter for updates)
-full tasting menu is $110/$165 with wine pairing
-chef's menu is $160/$245 with wine pairing

Providence
5955 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 460-4170

www.providencela.com

price: $$$$
verdict: omg, i love it!

fall prix fixe menu at roy's

do you know how to speed up a slow work week? lottsa alcohol and a media tasting at roy's restaurant in downtown l.a., that's what. woot! an invite back to roy's to try their fall prix fixe menu was a breath of much needed fresh air especially after painful meetings that run themselves into the ground. yes. renew my tastebuds and my spirit please? roy?

my spirits were immediately lifted with a glass of these spirits, the original hawaiian martini which encompassed a whole lotta vodka and a touch of rum...not to mention a tasty splash of pineapple juice that's always a welcomed element. this is definitely a drink one drinks when one is drinking on a beach. preferably on the lovely sands of hawai'i and wearing a tiny drink umbrella behind the ear....

or perhaps this one? the 1988 tasted like a naughty version of ocean spray grapefruit juice. the delicious combi of pomegranate and grapefruit juice, lychee liqueur, and vodka makes it dangerously addictive. without divulging too much info, let's just say smuggling a water bottle of this stuff during one of my meetings may actually make it an interesting and productive one. hmmm.....

the tasting started off with the delicious "elaine's" kabocha squash salad. yums in the tums. imagine a thanksgiving turkey dinner sans the turkey and a whole lot healthier. i really enjoyed the traditional cranberry vinaigrette, toasted pumpkins seeds, and a hearty piece of kabocha squash to start this fall meal.

the blackened rock shrimp and red bean soup was a favorite amongst a lot of folks that night. the petite cup was an explosion of favors, one that reminded me of a happy orgy of flavors between a bowl of chili, salsa, and gumbo.

the artichoke and goat cheese crusted salmon laid on a bed of sauteed spinach. although the salmon was tasty, the sauteed spinach clearly stole the show for me. seriously, make the spinach into a side dish please? if it's good for popeye, it's good for you roy! come on....

my favorite bite of the night was the cilantro grilled tiger shrimp with stewed curried lentils. the shrimp was perfectly cooked and the lentils was love, love. i kinda wished i inhaled two or ten.

the tender braised short ribs was indeed tender. tender like a lover's kiss but a lot beefier than one. yum.

the night ended with a plate of dessert, just like how all yummy dinners should end. the signature roy's melting hot chocolate souffle provided the perfect chocolate touch and the pumpkin and ginger cheese cake was spicy and creamy to the tongue.

and of course, no roy's restaurant posting would be complete without an uber cute pic of chef partner garrett mukogawa, the captain of this downtown l.a. branch. to the embarrassment of my dinner companion, i HAD to snap an adorable mug shot of chef garrett while calling him a cutie. yes, that's what two cocktails will do to this belly! thanks for humoring me chef!

so a delicious fall prix fixe menu at roy's for $35.95....so what the heck are you waiting for?! i told you the secret to speed up the work week, now didn't i? so go now and get it rolling!

Roy's Restaurant
800 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 488-4994

www.roysrestaurant.com

verdict: tasty, try it!

asian fusion confusion

Elephant Bar
4630 Candlewood St
Lakewood, CA 90712
(562) 529-3200
www.elephantbar.com

price: $$
verdict: not worth my time.

i use to work in lakewood so coworkers and i would come here A LOT. disgustingly a lot...it was the "go to place" because it was considered "fancier" by us back in the days. bleh. how easy we were.

recently, i came back here because of another meet up. the mediocre food that i remembered eating back then still exists today. in general, their food is overpriced (given the not so tasty product you get in return), everything seems to veer towards the sweeter side, AND the asian fusion food just sucks. i tasted the spring rolls and wanted to throw them against the wall...how dare you badly interpret the food of my peoples!

i also ordered the seared ahi tuna salad and thought it was overpriced and sweet. i'm not coming back here no mo'! i suggest you save your money and go to the food court in the lakewood mall which is just next door. i bet you will find better grub there that's worth your money.

my garlic noodles addiction

Crustacean

9646 Santa Monica Blvd

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

(310) 205-8990

http://www.houseofan.com/

price: $$$$

verdict: omg, i love it!

i've been here several times and i NEVER leave disappointed. the ambience is great, has the asian decor going on and the see through floor in the bar area so you can look at all the beautiful kois swimming by. the bar is a nice place to sit and get a drink or two if you have to wait for a table.

during my past few visits, we would order appetizers, salad, and what not, but once i realized that all i really needed from crustacean was their cracked roasted crab (which they use to call their garlic crab) and their super delicious, absolutely addicting garlic noodles, i realized to eat anything before these two dishes would just be filler. pair all that with a glass of reisling....boy, my stomach gets happy and my taste buds do the happy dance. yum!

i have yet to find a place that serves a replica of the garlic noodles that's found here. come on, i know it's "an's secret" and whatevers, but one thing asian people know how to do best is to duplicate things....so where's the garlic noodle duplications?! great place to eat anything oily, buttery, and garlic infused. seriously, go, go, go!

valentine's dessert. mmmm....coconut ice cream with banana wontons.

my rounded belly

Buddha's Belly Restaurant
7475 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 931-8588
http://www.bbfood.com/

price: $$
verdict: it's aight

buddha's belly reminds me of gingergrass in silverlake. it's like a "chic-er" cafe/restaurant that commands over-exaggerated prices for their food. don't get me wrong, the food is decent. it's just not "WOWZERS," hence the lack of enthusiasm on my part.

we started off our meal with the avacado and albacore eggroll. wow, pretty good! not so good is that they give you 5 cut pieces of one fried eggroll. teeny tiny! i'm not looking for behemoth quantity, but at about $8, i think they could spare another eggroll. we also ordered the edamame (you can't really go wrong on those) to snack on while we waited.

our entrees: my sis ordered their seared albacore burger with sweet potato fries. that was really tasty!! the albacore patty was a bit weird though because they incorporate corn kernals in the patty. the sweet potato fries were lightly battered, then fried. her dish was awesome.

my entree on the other hand was meh. i ordered the korean steak which ended up being ok tasting steak placed on a bed of stir fried veggies. i had brown rice to go with that. after a few bites of my dish, i started chomping on my sister's potato fries instead. mediocre food makes me so sad.

we didn't get any dessert nor did we order drinks so the bill came out to be about $24 per person including tip. street parking isn't the best because of neighborhood restrictions and there's valet if you want it. if i want similar eats, i'd probably go to gingergrass instead. both have meh asian fusion food, but one is closer.

real grass might actually taste a tad bit better

Gingergrass

2396 Glendale Blvd

Silver Lake, CA 90039

(323) 644-1600

http://www.gingergrass.com/

price: $$

verdict: not worth my time

it's a medium sized venue but depending on the night, it might be quite a wait. luckily, we were able to walk in and get seated because the other parties were too big to be seated immediately. score!

although people rave about this place, gingergrass is a vietnamese restaurant that serves average vietnamese food for hipster prices. we had their bo sate and their lemongrass chicken...meh. the bo sate was saturated in brown sauce. the only appealing thing about this dish were the little taro chunks in it. otherwise, the sauce was overpowering and the green beans were overcooked and were completely soaked in it. the lemongrass chicken tasted like something you can get from sam woo in their bbq section for like $4 as oppose to the $14 price tag here. and i bet you, the sam woo version would be tastier. the rice in general is overcooked and as i surveyed the crowd, i didn't see another asian face. that's probably because they are in montery park at the moment eating BETTER prepared vietnamese food. i felt punked.

except for a few great items like their lychee mimosa and banana spring rolls for dessert which were pretty spectacular, the food really pales in comparison to all the fine vietnamese places that you will find in orange county, chinatown, montery park and such. i ate here because of convienence and that was about it. otherwise, i would rather drive a bit further and get vietnamese food from a more authentic place. the vietnamese side of me was UNIMPRESSED.

lychee mimosa. wow. i want another one!