THE GORBALS: Birthday Part 2

I was hoping to continue eating well on my birthday at the newly opened top chef Ilan Hall’s Gorbals…but fate reminded me that I was celebrating my “odd” years. Now one can say that I am being harsh as it was opening night but time have passed, and it’s clear the reviews are not positive.

Gorbals is located in the Alexandria Hotel, which desperately needs a face-lift. The restaurant’s interior matched the hotel. I haven’t been to Gorbals recently as they had shut down a few weeks after its open but I hope they fixed the floor. As you enter the bar is the to right and in the back you can dine and watch the chef cook up your meal.



I was considering bringing a bottle of wine but soon realized that we should have brought our own glass as you can see in the photo…don’t know they know the girl needs to get her drink?

I hope they improved their wine selections.

They were already 86 on a few items on their menu…luckily they had their talk about Bacon-Wrapped Matzo Balls w/horseradish mayonnaise.


I love bacon. I love matzo balls, but the combination just fell flat—maybe because it’s just not kosher?

The Rarebit with chicken egg was another disappointment. Again it lacked flavor.

The most appetizing dish was the Sheppard's Pie in potato with egg.


Our tab came out to $50. Portions are small; so don’t expect to be full when you finish. Do yourself a favor and head over to Cole’s instead.

Address: 501 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone#: (213) 488-3408
Rating: 2 out of 5
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Auntie Em's Kitchen : Birthday Part 1

This review is dedicated to Jane who inspired me to get back to blogging. Today’s date is November 18, 2009 but I am noting it under August 29, 2009. Now, it might not be kosher to write about one’s experience months later but fuck it, it’s my blog.

August 28th is the Hungry, Hungry, Hungry Hippo’s birthday. Yes it was my 31st birthday. Thirty-one…one…I am firm believer of not celebrating my “odd” years as something always seem to always go terribly wrong.

On my 7th birthday, I was roller-skating near a construction site and accidentally fell on a bunch of nails, giving myself 30 stitches. I was really happy becoming a woman and getting my period on my 15th birthday…I just wished I wasn’t in public wearing white…On my 29th birthday I lost what I thought was a good friend over…I have no clue what the issu(s) was/were as we were both highly intoxicated at a Kings of Leon concert. I’m not a fan of K of L.

All right, I lied about my 7th and 15th birthday. My parents were too damn cheap to celebrate my birthday, and that’s the honest truth. Well after organizing /participating all my friends’ birthdays, a raw dinner party the sheer idea of organizing my birthday, and spending so much money just made me cringed –let alone the omen over my “odd” years, I decided to play “sick,” well I mean I was sick…in case this gets to my company’s HR…

My good friend Chrissy would not leave me alone on my birthday and joined me on my quest to try Auntie Em’s Kitchen’s famous French toast and on our way we almost died three times…really.

Auntie Em’s Kitchen is the cute restaurant that you are thankful that you don’t live nearby because you would be 10lbs heavier in a week because we went to town on the French toast, Cajun turkey sausage and…the vegetarian breakfast sandwich (there is why it’s best to write up immediately).

We started w/ a cup of Intelligentsia coffee, my favorite because it’s the best coffee.

Their orange French toast topped with fresh fruit was amazing—it was worth being run down on the 2 freeway. I will let the picture speak for itself.

The vegetarian breakfast sandwich w/ sautéed mushrooms and tomato olive aioli put all breakfast sandwiches to shame
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And of course I had to have some meat to complete my birthday breakfast. I had a big smile finishing their Cajun turkey sausage.


I so wanted to try their famous red velvet cupcake but it so bloody hot that day and I was also on a mission to eat at Gorbals later that night…

Address: 4616 Eagle Rock Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041
Phone#: (323) 255-0800
Rating: 5 out of 5
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Wakasan

Disclaimer: I am allergic to crustacean, and I do not like eating food that has a slimy texture (i.e. oyster, clams, squid, eggplant, zucchini, etc.).

The gods were telling me something when I went on a Tuesday to find Wakasan closed; I should have seen the omen. I had wanted to go to Wakasan for months since they offer this amazing 12-course meal for $35!? It’s a bargain….but not when you have food allergies. Wakasan prepares the omakase meals in advance so there’s zero substitution. I was screwed given that 70% of the dishes were crustacean. The waiter wasn’t helpful at first as he wasn’t willing to recommend me of other non-crustacean dishes. I had to put words into his mouth, “Is the yellow-tail collar good?” Silence. “Yes,” as I nodded my head. The waiter slowly mimicked me… well, my friend has no food allergies, so she went for their omakase.

1.cold spinach salad
2. sesame tofu
3. cold seared mackerel
4. chilled king crab leg
5. tuna, red snapper, yellowtail sashimi with tofu
6. chicken teriyaki
7. fried calamari
8. clam miso soup
9. chawanmushi (shrimp based)
10. uni and salmon roe on rice
11. red bean ice cream
12. Assortment of sashimi: snapper, tuna and yellowtail.
13. Pork Katsu w/ Sauce

She shared her sashimi with me. I think she let me eat ‘em because they weren’t fresh –were very fishy. Do not come here for the sushi.

She also let me try the grilled teriyaki chicken with corn on the cob. The corn tasted better than the salmon.

I ordered grilled beef. It was chewy…and something was off about the dish…

The yellow-tail collar was the best item of the night. I preferred to eat the deep-fried bone part over the meat. My friend also thought that this was the best dish of the night.

My friend was disappointed with the omakase. It might be a steal paying $35 for 12 dishes, but not if the food is disgusting. My first and last dining experience at Wakasan.


Address: 1929 Westwood Blvd, LA, CA 90025
Phone#: (310) 446-5241
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ESPN Zone: 2009 LA Marathon Carb Load Dinner

After my Chinese New Year dinner with the ladies, I tried to sweat off from all the meat I ate and jogged/walked nine miles and for some reason since I was able to accomplish the distance, I figured I could do a marathon! 9 miles to 26.2 miles? It's the same thing right? I know, sometimes I'm crazy and impulsive but that's what makes life interesting --when you challenge yourself the impossible and finish it.

Given that the LA Marathon was my first marathon, I wanted the entire experience -my bib on my shirt, pictures and the carb load dinner. This year carb load dinner was downtown at the ESPN Zone Center . The ticket price was $25. Apparently you need to load up on a carb because you burn roughly around 2000 calories in a marathon? The carb load dinner was set up buffet style. You started off with bread and salad, and then there were four sauces and two different types of pastas - spaghetti or penne.


I wanted the Alfredo sauce but stuck to the marinara sauce. At the end of the table were the desserts. The desserts were simple, nothing fancy: lemon bars, brownies, and cookies.

I was very disappointed with my $25 carb load dinner. I should have just gone to an Italian restaurant and order pasta. The LA Marathon should have charged $9.99. I now know never ever to sign up for carb load dinner again. Live and learn.

Addrsess:1011 S Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90016
Phone#: (213) 765-7070
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Bottega Louie

Since I was on my way to the Convention Center downtown to pick up my LA Marathon bib, I thought it made sense to grab some brunch at Bottega Louie. I’ve heard amazing things about Bottega Louie, and wanted to see if they were true or if it was all too good to be true. One step into Bottega Louie’s space you feel like you’re in New York City, and it’s really hard not to be a fan of the restaurant. I want to live there. As you enter the restaurant there’s the “market” where you can buy all-ready prepared food like sandwiches, salads, desserts, drinks and other goodies to go. They have a full bar diagonally across from the “market.”

The dining area is in the back. The host(ess) writes every customer in the reservation book so when the time comes when they are ready to seat you, they can greet you as, “Miss Hippo follow me.” Their properness makes me almost want to do a curtsy or a bow… The space is much darker in the evening.



Servers are attentive--although it might be difficult flagging a waiter if you’re in the bar section on the weeknights/ends.

You should start off with their blueberry lemonade.—not too sour and not too sweet.

Their eggs Benedict were ok. I liked how the Hollandaise sauce is served separate. The sauce could you use a kick of lemon.

I need to come back for dinner. It’s always packed at Bottega Louie in the evening.


Address: 700 S Grand Ave, LA, CA 90017
Phone#: (866) 418-9162
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BARBRIX

I am finally writing about my dining experience at Barbrix (yes, I fudged the date)—that is the problem when you eat more than what you can write…the evening had started incredibly rocky.

I had made the reservation a week ago just to find my two friends and I to dine all the way in the back at the counter, sitting on the stools right in front where the chef cooks…now I normally don’t mind sitting in front of the chef but there were 3 people and it’s not sushi. The hostess attempted to fool us to thinking that was those were the best seats in the house, right by the chef…and next to the bathroom. No seat that is next to the bathroom is good. If looks could kill, mine certainly would; my evil glare went on autopilot. The hostess seated us outside, and at the time, Barbrix did not have outdoor heating lamps (they do now); we froze to death, but luckily they knew we were not happy campers as our teeth were chattering, and seated us at an inside table.

After five minutes, the owner came up to us, apologizing that we had to move as he had promised the table to a client. I believed all our jaws dropped. SO…we waited for a side table to clear up. The inside is a backward L-shape. At first we were annoyed that were seated at the side table (closer to the front) instead of the main area (the mid –“L” part) but then realized that it was best there as it’s SUPER LOUD inside. Do not take a date to Barbrix unless you are sitting outside. The hostess continued to dig herself in a deeper grave by saying, “we don’t have much option” (something along that line), as we would have had she placed a “reserve” sign on a table! The owner felt bad about our situation and treated us extremely well after we were seated –REALLY well, our jaws dropped even lower than the first time.

Enough about the huge hiccup and let me move on to the important stuff –the food and wine! The owner recommended the Qupe-Syrah, which was excellent—simple and smooth.


I heard about Barbrix through the Zagat. It had noted the owners are from La Terza and I was sold. I am in love with La Terza, which is now called Minestraio Trattoria. I have yet to try Minestraio Trattoria, but am confident that the food is just amazing as it was when it was La Terza. Unlike La Terza and Minestraio Trattoria, Barbrix is a wine tapas bar/restaurant. The portions are small reasonably priced and meant to be shared. That said, we ordered a lot—not every woman is on diet (ironically I am on a raw diet now…) and here are the dishes we had:

Deviled eggs: safe, nonetheless delicious

Spring faro salad: you must order it! love it!

Wild boar sausage w/ bean ragu & green apple mostarda: The sausages was not too spicy.

Prime skirt steak “tagliata” w/ arugula, parmegiano-reggiano, balsamico: good

Crispy grilled polenta w/ shitake mushrooms & creamy gorgonzola fonduta: another must order!
Roasted Alaskan halibut w/ fregola, leeks & asparagus w/ tomato-caper salsa: good –just remember halibut is not a flavorful fish

Burrata w/ eggplant caponata: another must order! the eggplant is not overpowering; I hate eggplant.

Monkfish w/out chorizo and tomatoey chickpea sauce: this dish was another surprise because I’m not a fan of chickpeas but find myself enjoying this dish

Shrimp and chickpea flour tortilla: I’m allergic to shrimp but my companions seemed to enjoy it.

Lemon torte: We were disappointed that they didn’t have a chocolate dessert, the lemon torte suffice our sweet tooth. It wasn’t too “lemony.”

Adria’s Favorite Ginger Shortcakes: My companions liked this dessert more; I just not a fan of ginger.

Despite the gad awful start, the food won us all and the service was stellar after we finally reached our final destination. We will be back very soon.

Address: 2442 Hyperion Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone#: (323) 662-2442
Rating: 4 out of 5

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THE GOLDEN STATE

Sandwiches and Sausages were the missing ingredients to the Fairfax district until the Golden State moved in. Ok you have Canter’s but that’s a 24 hour Jewish deli that serves e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g minus Chinese. It’s a new hippity hoppity simple eatery offering sandwiches and sausages. I lucked out finding a metered parking space in front of the joint. Had I came in the evening, I would have spent half an hour finding parking.

The Golden State’s interior is simple like the menu with high ceilings so if there are a lot of peeps I imagine you might need to shout…. You order at the counter and take a number. After reading all the reviews prior to heading to the Golden State, I knew I was going to order their burger, but was debating to order the regular fries or the sweet potato fries. The man behind the counter was a bit peeved at my most indecisive stage even though there was no one behind me. I also wanted to make sure I had room for Scoops ice cream –my favorite! It costs a bit more than heading to Scoops on Melrose --$2/scoop as opposed to $1/scoop but it’s still cheaper than Milk’s ice cream.

After pondering for 5 minutes which might have felt like an eternity for the worker, who could have saved me some time by letting me know that the sweet potato fries are not crispy…even though it’s “fried”… I went for regular fries. I hate yam. I can only eat sweet potato fries when it’s nicely coated with fat. Finally I had to decide which ice cream…I asked the man if they’re like Scoops where they give out samples. He was like, “Um, only if you actually end up buying ice cream.” He seemed to lack customer service. I wondered if he was the owner…I ended up with Triple Sec Raspberry.

The medium burger was more on the well done side, but it was still delicious.
It comes with Harris Ranch beef, Fiscalini Farms cheddar, glazed applewood smoked acon, arugula, housemade aioli & ketchup. I really liked the bun—like a brioche style. The burger was a nice size –not too big and not too small. Since the burger came with one side, I don’t think $10 was unreasonably. I would still prefer to spend $12 at 25 Degrees for their massive burger and onion rings/fries. I do find their sausages overprice, which range from $7-8. You might as well go to Wurstkuche.

The fries were ok –nothing to rave about, but be sure not to forget to eat ‘em with their curry ketchup! Scoop’s Triple Sec Raspberry was yummalicious! The ice cream flavors change daily but if you see it, get it!

Address: 426 N Fairfax AveLos Angeles, CA 90036
Phone#: (323) 782-8331
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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HENNESSEY'S TAVERN

There is nothing better than a nice, greasy cheeseburger after getting a 2:30 time in the OC Half Marathon. I tagged along with my cousin and her friends to Hennessey’s Tavern in Dana Point to celebrate a colleague’s birthday, not me completing my first half marathon. The birthday boy turned 50, so I guess I shouldn’t be selfish… Apparently Hennessey’s Tavern is a chained bar/restaurant –no wonder why it sounded familiar, I’ve been to the Hermosa Beach for brunch, and it looks the same—an Irish pub.

The tavern was jammed back, everyone sipping on Bloody Maries or piss water. I’m lame and opted for H2O –just because you do a half marathon doesn’t mean you want to get shit face; I might when I finish the LA Marathon. A band was rocking away outside.

They had a nice eggs Benedict list, but my instinct was not to order ‘em at an Irish bar/restaurant. Although I think I ordered it last time, but I don’t remember if the E.B. was good as I was nursing a hang over.

I ordered the regular cheeseburger with guacamole. Since I was famished, the cheeseburger tasted GREAT!

No seriously, it was ok. I had better; it’s bar food. Their fries and onion rings are like every other fries and onion rings.

I liked the spicy BBQ sauce. Their “Irish” nachos were incredibly soggy. It was a bit too greasy for what I was going for.

My cousin loved their Bloody Mary. I dropped an Andrew Jackson including tax and tip. I’m realizing the Irish bars are not my scene…

Address: 34111 La Plaza, Dana Point, CA 92629
Phone#: (949) 488-0121
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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