Every week involves a seemingly continuous stream of food, drinks and people. Of course not every taste or conversation is post-able, but the range of experiences is usually pretty amazing. Discover favorites from August 29 – September 4, 2011, some of which will help to fuel full posts.
9/1/11 – Heirloom LA recently expanded operations in Glassell Park, and since parents of partners were in town, they prepared an especially elaborate staff meal, including spicy chicken wings, heirloom tomato salad, roast suckling pig, a side of roast salmon and orange-lemonade. Matthew Poley and Tara Maxey were generous to offer me a seat at the table.
9/1/11 – Matthew “Mattatouille” Kang, the ramen mad owner of Scoops Westside, joined me at the new Culver City branch of Ramen Yamadaya. He’s particularly enamored with their tonkotsu kotteri ramen, which involved rich pork broth supercharged with black garlic oil and minced backfat, plus portions of vermicelli-like noodles, sliced bamboo and cha shu pork. Owner Jin Yamada is clearly on a hot streak, as he also plans to expand to Westwood in November, filling JuJu Cereal Bar’s former home.
9/2/11 – I ventured to Koreatown to join Matthew “Mattatouille” Kang, Scoops ice cream wizard Tai Kim, Cognoscenti coffee pro Yeekai Lim and more people for Korean barbecue at Taenung. The two-month-old restaurant in the former home of Mu Dung San is named for a neighborhood outside Seoul that houses the tombs for the Royals who founded the Yi Dynasty. Spicy pork barbecue was the biggest crowd pleaser at 1040 South Western Avenue, though the marinated short rib played well too. They also offer two tiers of all-you-can-eat consumption.
9/3/11 – The Taste was a massive four-day food and drink festival featuring three venues and nine events, including Saturday night’s Taco Tequila Tryst. Chef Roy Choi was the event’s high-energy host, and he greeted everybody at the entrance with high-fives.
9/3/11 – Street Gourmet LA founder Bill Esparza curated six of the Taco Tequila Tryst booths at The Taste’s Saturday night event, including Bajamar, who brought fried fish tacos, and Coni’seafood. Connie Cossio recently rebranded the Imperial Highway home of Mariscos Chentes. She has a new logo, but the same chef, Sergio Penuelas, who prepared tacos with molten cheese and smoked marlin they sourced from Mazatlán, Sinaloa. Habanero salsa was available, and fresh-sliced avocado was complementary.
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