Tsujita

I know I used to blog a lot more frequently but lately, in the last few months, the bloggins spirit has gone out of me. Mainly because I haven't really been anywhere new and haven't been really cooking anymore. But maybe a part of it is a funk of sorts. I was perusing through my blog roll, which I used to keep 100% up to date on earlier today when I came across the latest post by Luisa of The Wednesday Chef. She wrote about how happy she is now, married and living in Europe with her husband and first child, after moving from New York and a certain paragraph struck a chord:

"When I was in high school, a classmate of mine named Rhonda looked at me coolly one day and told me she didn't like people who were always so damn happy (her words, not mine). It didn't come across as an insult, really. It was just a blunt observation. I remember looking back at her and wondering how to respond.

Years later, towards the end of my time in New York, when things in my life were going up in flames and I felt like I couldn't see even one foot in front of me for all the pain and confusion and sadness fogging my vision, I thought a lot about Rhonda and that comment she made that day. And about the girl she'd been talking to. I was so unhappy, had been so unhappy for so long, that I couldn't even remember what it felt like to be happy. How strange, I used to think, that someone used to see all that happiness in me."

I wonder if that's how I think sometimes as well, though not as eloquently put. Maybe I need to get back into doing the things that I love ... and catching up on my many TV shows, going out or talking with people, trying new places, and then MAYBE being able to blog about them ... those things make me happy.

It is a bit late to write about Tsujita LA right now, though I did go when it first opened and it was all the rage. The most popular item on their menu is the tsukemen, which is basically deconstructed ramen. You dip dry noodles into the broth and slurp up, much like zaru soba. Egg (perfectly soft boiled and amazing, as seen in the top picture) are presented in the broth.

Though the broth was delicious and extremely fatty, and the noodles were good ... I think I prefer my ramen in the more traditional sense ie hot and constructed. If you've never tried tsukemen though, this is THE place to go try it ... maybe you'll like it more than traditional ramen after all.

Also, another place that I'm more excited about will be opening right now the street and it ensures that I won't have to be driving to Studio City to get my fix ...

Jonathan Gold loves this place. I believe in what he says.

Tsujita LA
2057 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Bërëkët Kitchen

A few months back, Grace (hi Grace!) invited me to an "underground Ethiopian supper club" dinner. As I've had some of the best experiences in my life with Wolvesden (Part I, Part II, Part III) (no joke!), I jumped at the chance to try another supper club. The fact that it was an Ethiopian supper club intrigued me more, as I had never tried Ethiopian food before at all.

Bërëkët was created in 2011 and serves "modern Ethiopian cuisine." The restaurant is run by two sisters, one acting as the hostess and one acting as the chef, and pops up all over Los Angeles in different locations. This time, it was held in an art gallery on the corner of Fourth and Spring Street. The open space was great for accommodating the 60-70 people who were invited to dinner that night. The event was BYOB (and all other drinks, besides water) and there was homemade honey wine available, which was so delicious that I'd probably drink it all the time if I had access to it.

homemade honey wine

The first two courses served were more modern dishes, with Ethiopian components to it (ie toasted barley and berbere). It was a good introduction for the people at the table, such as myself, who were a bit nervous about jumping into this cuisine. Luckily, we had nothing to fear; the twists were small enough to be unobtrusive and large enough to make you notice the dish was different.

farmer's market salad - rainbow kale, wild arugula, blood orange, toasted barley

berbere spiced hamachi crudo

Up to this point, the spices were pretty light in the dishes but it certainly wasn't to remain that way! A trio of vegetarian curries was served next, with the traditional Ethiopian bread to eat it with, which had a slightly sour taste to it. Afterwards, there was a chicken dish and THAT'S when the spices started like crazy. It wasn't hot-spicy, but simply full of spices. The chicken was marinated and broiled over the course of three days.

injera

turmeric spiced yellow split peas, french black beluga lentils in cider vinaigrette,
organic golden beets with cherry tomatoes in dill emulsion

doro wot - broiled chicken, fiery shallot confit, soft boiled egg

That chicken had a crazy amount of spices! But it was really good, especially with the perfectly cooked egg. I wish there were bigger, meatier pieces. We happened to sit next to two Ethiopian couples and they told us that the food was very authentic. Doro wot is a traditional dish and every family has its own variation of it. I can't wait to try a different version ... maybe a milder one next time? Maybe because the chicken was on the bone and there was less meat to it, the spices got slightly overwhelming by the time I was on drumette number two.

poached forelle pears - honey wine reduction, macerated blackberries, almond whip cream

Dessert did NOT disappoint. In fact, it was so good that when Patrice didn't want hers (hi Patrice! hi Chadwick!), I ate hers for her ... even though we just met. Shameless huh? She didn't seem to mind though. We're all already Facebook friends, so that means we're besties for life, and that makes it un-weird. The company and the food was great. Sitting at a communal table, trying new foods, and talking to the people around us (many of them were also trying Ethiopian food for the very first time) made for a great experience. Plus ... we had dinner with ... Alec Baldwin?! Check out that pose!

Crab Fest VIII 2012

Do your eyes deceive you? "This must be wrong," you say to yourself, while wondering if your eyeglass prescription needs be updated, "for we are past the date of 2012 and are now within the glorious year of 2013." If you haven't noticed, I have also been watching a lot of Downtown Abbey. Anyhow, you are NOT wrong, for I have been sorely lacking in my updates. But now that I have admitted my faults, let's move past that, shall we? Especially since the time of the next Crab Fest will soon be upon us.

Ok, less Downtown Abbey and period pieces for me.

Once again, Crab Fest was an amazing experience. The food was great, the company was great and talking to the other people at the surrounding tables made the evening pretty entertaining.

Once again, it is a prix fixe menu for $75 a person, not including tax, tip or beverages. A fantastic deal, considering that it's all you can eat crabs. Some people are there for hours upon hours, just gorging themselves with crab. A part of me wishes it was dungeness crab though ... more meat that way.

crab & corn cake, romesco aioli, fennel, basil

choptank river crab soup

softshell crab po' boy

steamed crabs from "the land of pleasant living"

jean's marinated heirloom tomatoes, provolone cheese

roasted corn & avocado salad, cilantro, queso fresco, lime

tres leches, pistachio brittle, macerated stone fruit & berries

To be honest, I liked the side dishes better at Crab Fest VII than this year. That grilled squash with crutons from last year ... yumz. But this dessert. So. Damn. Good. I generally don't even like tres leches cake but this one was so good that I actually asked the server if he could bring me another one, even though I was full enough to burst. But I ate it because it was so delicious. Actually, every year's desserts have been fantastic ... if I knew in 2011 that I could have asked for another stonefruit crisp then I certainly would have.

And yes, I saw Joel McHale and Michael Voltaggio again this time. I hope this year, I see Joel McHale again. Every year I've wanted to take a picture with him and every year I've either chickened out or been talked out of it. NOT THIS YEAR. This is going to be the year that it happens ... stay tuned!

The Hungry Cat
1535 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Shanghai No 1 Seafood Village Part II

I have a new go-to place for dim sum ... Shanghai Village No 1. I've had dinner here before, and while it was good, the price wasn't justified. By a long shot. However, like Sea Harbor, they have dim sum. Both places taste more authentic, more like what I ate when I was in Hong Kong ... however, this is NOT cheap dim sum. The best bang for your buck is still NBC Seafood on Atlantic.

I haven't been to Elite or Lunasia yet, but I consider myself to be somewhat of a conisseur on dim sum. And I've had some bad bad dim sum. Shanghai Village is more of a new-age dim sum place, where there are no carts. You order off a menu and the items are brought to your table. It does take away from the fun of peeking under all the covers to find what looks delectable off a cart.

pork ribs

 har gow (shrimp dumplings)

 shu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings)

 braised chicken feet

 deep fried taro

 Shanghai rice cakes

 Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce

beef rice noodles

 rice balls in sweet rice wine

egg tarts

The picture at the very top is the steamed pan fried pork buns. The bottoms are seared, like potstickers. And they are amazing, full of juice. They run out quickly so make sure you order them first thing when you sit down.

I'm very impressed with the dim sum here, and while it's a bit more expensive than the regular places, I think it's a great treat. I definitely won't come for dinner again, like I proclaimed last time, but on a Saturday morning at 1030am (before they get busy), this place really hits the spot.

Shanghai No 1 Seafood Village

250 W Valley Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91776



Sunday Stealing I

Hi hi ... I was requested to fill this out so I thought I'd give it a go. Reporting and common area maintenance reconciliations are eating away at my brain so a breather is in order! Ready to know some random stuff about me that you don't care about?

And yes, I know the post is called Sunday Stealing but today is Wednesday. I'm a rebel.

Sunday Stealing I

1. Tell us about something that made you laugh last night.
Boyfriend's t-shirt that had a picture of Kirby on it.

2. What were you doing at 8 PM last night?
Finishing up season 1 of Girls and reading Deresden Files.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Vendor paid-for lunch. The best kind of lunches!

4. What happened to you in 2006?
I moved out of my parent's house and bought my very first new car with my own money.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud?
"Come on in" ... not in a dirty way, I swear.

6. How many beverages did you have today?
Three - hot green tea, iced black tea and Arrowhead water. I only drink Fiji, Arrowhead and Evian bottle waters. All other ones taste weird to me, especially Dasani.

7. What color is your hairbrush?
Black and yellow. And it's more of a comb.

8. What was the last thing you paid for?
Groceries. So exciting.

9. Where were you last night?
Home watching TV and cooking.

10. What color is your front door?
Brown. I wish I had a cool color front door with the knob in the middle.

11. Where do you keep your change?
In my wallet. I keep extra quarters in the cupholder of my car for parking meters.

12. What’s the weather like today?
Beautiful. 75 degrees in March!

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Winter White Chocolate from Baskin Robbins.

14. What excites you?
Almost anything can, if you present it the right way.

15. Do you want to cut your hair?
Cut it short? No. But I am due for a haircut.

16. Are you over the age of 35?
Nope but I'm dreading hitting 30. 

17. Do you talk a lot?
Oh god yes. Even I can admit this.

18. Do you watch Franklin and Bash?
Is this the TV show with Zach Morris from Saved By the Bell?

19. Do you know anyone named Steven?
Yes, a few.

20. Do you make up your own words?
Sometimes. Or I go out to dinner and keep using the word "stimulated" instead of "simulated"

21. Are you a jealous person?
Yes, but don't tell anyone I'm in a relationship with. As if they haven't figued it out by now.

22. What does the last text message you received say?
"I'm ok. Been going nonstop though."

23. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
Home ... and then dinner at Bahooka before they shut down for good on March 10th. *sad face*

24. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
Oh there are so many ... but probably a couple of coworkers.

25. Are you crushing on anyone that you shouldn't be?
This question is inappropriate. I plead the Fifth.

*Sponsored by Sunday Stealing
Sunday Stealing - The Twenty-Fiver Meme