Cobb

Wurstküche

Wurstküche  

Category: Gastropubs
Neighborhood: Downtown

Long wooden tables, beer, sausages, loud tall men.. where have we seen zis before? We haven't although it feels as if we have.

Across the street from where Al's Bar used to be, we have Wurstküche. The food is simple as it is exotic. I am a huge fan of beer and sausage, but I tend to stray away from places where the people's teeth are too white and exoticism is sampled for its own sake. That said, I'm going to have to give this joint another sample because maybe the exotic is just what I need.

You see I got a bockwurst with onions and peppers and a Curiosity Cola, and the cola was by far the better experience. Maybe next time I'll get the duck & bacon with jalapeno. Part of the fault of this was mine, having left my reading glasses in the car I parked *four blocks away*, I had to rely on looking at what I could see in the case, rather than eyeballing everything on the small paper menu. Sure I could see Rattlesnake & Rabbit in the case, but not the italics on the menu wich would tell me 'buttery but mildly spicy'.  That being the case, I would have seen no adjectives whatsoever after the Bockwurst which would have indicated the lack of pride they proprietors take in their 'classics'. I've had better wursts from hotdog stands. The other part of my fault was my anti-foo foo attitude which was probably initiated by seeing the guy walking out of the joint with his underwear on the outside. Not shocked mind you, nor particularly disturbed, just rolling my eyes. It would have helped if they had better music playing, alas it didn't. So either Bockwurst is completely boring (I've never had it before, and the pale whiteness of it stood out) or their's is. Even though I'm writing about it, it's nothing to write home about.

Since I'm still in a lather about  Galco's Soda Pop Stop, as should every restaurateur in Los Angeles, I savored my two bottles of Curiosity Cola and said later for the beer. And I did so despite the warm and chummy extraordinary service given by Wayne who took the time to set us up with some fine samples. I liked the Christmas Ale best.

So this is a joint that's definitely up for a re-run. Maybe next time if I drink the beer, all will seem better.

The Melting Pot

 The Melting Pot gives you the feeling that you're living in a parallel universe. Everything is very much like you would expect in a luxurious restaurant except there are some fundamental changes that are both subtle and dramatic.

First off the place is gorgeous. It's dark and intimate with deep woods, frosted glass, dramatic lighting and inviting carpets. The staff is handsome, courteous and prompt - all decked out in black. For a new restaurant, it's moving very smoothly. The building is circular and the theme repeats itself in large and small curves. The bar and private rooms over to the left are just begging for a Hollywood movie crew to shoot. Although it was fairly quiet when we arrived, I can see this becoming quite the spot.

I know what it is. It's like Gulfstream or Houstons, except it's round! That's the vibe. But that's just the beginning.

The menu is half wine, and as soon as you walk in the door, you can see that they are nuts for wine at the Melting Pot. They have several hundred bottles on display in a glass case that reminded me of the house in Thirteen Ghosts. Very cool. But since you know I'm not a wine guy, that's about all I have to say about that. But if you must know, they had some bomb cocktails. I myself had a lemonade, vodka and basil concoction that was frosty and chock full of strawberries. It didn't knock me over, nor was it too fruity. It was pleasantly different - parallel universe style, and it didn't make me feel like I was experimenting with my masculinity.

The other half of the menu is what the Melting Pot is all about and it is about as different as possible. What the Spousal Unit and I had was called the Lobster Indulgence. It was a huge, delicious, continental meal. Now you've had teppan, Benihana style, and you may have even had Korean Barbecue cooked right at your table, but you have never had fondue, so get prepared.

It works like this. There are four courses, three of which center around two hot pots cooking in the center of your marble-top table. Or just one if you're a party of two. Fondue is all about dipping and boiling. You get a huge variety of foods brought to you and you dip it or cook it right at your table. Yeah. Different! The first is the appetizer. In this you have six choices of cheesy treats as a basis to cook up in your two pots. We had the triple Wisconsin and the spinach and artichoke. Hey. Hot spinach dip is like Houstons, but we're in the parallel universe and the server prepares it right in front of you. For dippin', we had apples, celery, carrots, cauliflower, crusty breads and tortilla chips. Aha, now I know what those big long skewer forks are for.

Now since the restaurant is new, the servers don't have their speil down while they're preparing, but knowing what we know of Benihana, we can be sure that they're going to have some entertaining banter as time goes by. This time I decided to dominate the conversation. Next time, we'll see.

Next comes salad. I had Southwestern Cobb. Mmm bacony! The Unit had a ceasar with pine nuts. Really superb. Hey, I'm getting full already.

The main course for the Lobster Indulgence is what this is all about. I'm going to try to spare you some details because I'd be here all day. And by the way, when you go to get this which is the full-on treatment, you had better bring your appetite, have three hours (seriously) and a watch. Lobster, beef tenderloin, salmon, spiced chicken, shrimp. Those are your meats. Mushrooms, red potatoes, broccoli. Those are your veggies. Two boiling pots of broth - we chose the Coq au Vin French and the Mojo Caribbean. And nine, count 'em nine sauces. Pick a meat, pick a veggie, fondue it for 90 seconds or 120 seconds in a pot, shag it onto your plate and pick a sauce. The combination of tastes is astounding. How is it that food so familiar can be so different? It must be a parallel universe.

I never do dessert. 99% of the time, I'm too stuffed or make some kind of excuse. I'm telling you now, there is no way to resist a simmering pot of chocolate for dipping. We had two, one with milk chocolate the other with cherries jubilee en flambe swimming in dark chocolate. For dipping? Rice Crispies Treats, marshmallows in graham cracker or Oreo dusting, cheesecake, poundcake, bananas and brownies.

I'm trying to remember how I got out of the joint under my own power. As you know, I only give five stars when a restaurant shows me something I didn't know and didn't expect. This was out of this world. I've got to go again.

21525 Hawthorne Boulevard
Torrance, CA 90503
(310) 316-7500

Pazo Restaurant

There have been several drunks in my life that I have lived to regret. I know them each by name. I'm not talking about other people, I'm talking about me. There were exactly 3 until I got to Pazo and now there are 4.

The reason is threefold. The first is that I didn't have any breakfast or lunch that day. The second was that I was in stellar company and feeling extraordinarily loquacious and friendly. The third was my bartender's invention - the Prairie Fire Martini.

I am sad to inform you that I cannot recall the name of my bartender, although he did an excellent job of serving up the fire. The tapas on tap was superb, and although Baltos(?) may find Pazo a bit pretentious and expensive, I was rather impressed by the very idea of dinner on big fluffy couches.

I was a bit surprised that the joint closed down at 10pm because I needed another hour to de-libate, and I wasn't about to go about it the bulemic way. But I was forced into the street much to my compatriot's chagrin. I managed to get back to where I once belonged without incident, though it took the better part of 90 minutes and a stop at Burger King, but the Pazo experience was still fondly remembered through the purple haze.

The Pitcher House

The Pitcher House

Category: Night Life

The Pitcher House is probably one of the best dive bars that's neither completely a dive, nor completely what one considers a normal habitable night spot. Which basically means if you go there once a week or more there's something wrong with you, but if you go once a month, it's cool. The one exception to the greater than once a week is if you're a pool shark, in which case there's a 30% chance that you're a very cool person. On the other hand, if you're sharking at the Pitcher House, how good can you actually be?

The Pitcher House is nice and spacious and it's a great place to go if you like to roll a pack of Marlboros or Camels in your t-shirt sleeve or show how cool you look in cowboy boots. That goes double if you're a chick. There's lots of basic beer and basic drinks, but I've never bothered with mixed drinks at the Pitcher House. It's all about the pitcher, duh. Well, and the tequila and the Jagermeister. Still, it's not an excellent place to get sodding drunk because it's too well lit. You can't hide your drunkeness and somebody is going to call you on it. In other words the assholes are in plain sight at the PH, and like the other guy said, that makes for fightin'.

Harold & Belle

2920 Jefferson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90018
(323) 735-9023

Harold & Belle's is basically the bomb old school New Orleans joint of Los Angeles.

I grew up down the street from this restaruarnt and I remember when they first opened. They are just off of 10th Avenue on Jefferson. Let me give you a little history. Up until the mid 80s, this part of Jefferson Boulevard still had trolley tracks in the street. They never came over to this part of town to dig them up and fix the street. And just past 10th Avenue was the end of the trolley line headed West. So the trolley would turn around making a left turn just past 10th Ave. The RTD inherited this property and buses still stop at 10th. Right next door to that is Johnson's Barber Shop, but more about that another time.

Harold & Belle got one or two hype reviews in the LATimes in the late 80s and then they exploded. The restaurant itself is very simple, the food is perfect. I'm telling you this so you know, my family on my mothers side is French & Indian Creole from a certain part of New Orleans where that makes all the difference. It still does if you appreciate original New Orleans jazz and Creole cooking. And of course if you ever had (no you didn't, sorry) my Anna Maux's gumbo, you'd know what I know about real good eats. Where dem folks be making groceries. I know of what I speak. Harold and Belle's excels by those standards. And now that many great chefs have been displaced by Katrina, you ain't gonna get this stuff just anywhere.

They used to have a live Jazz band come in on Friday's for happy hour and you could get a bucket of crawdads and sit five feet from them having a good old time. The oysters were the freshest and you could practically taste the bayou in them. It's been a while since I've been around old Harold and Belle's but I know it's still a very popular joint.

In fact, the last time I went to my barber, Nicky he told me our old pal Zeus got his car stolen there, not long ago. That's kind of funny considering Zeus, you know the big wrestler, Tiny Lister? That Zeus. Yeah the neighborhood's crusty but unless you're driving a big fancy Hollywood kind of car, you don't have anything to worry about. They do have a private parking lot. I think Harold & Belle will always be there, but I'm going to get down there again before too much time passes. I can't remember the last time I had great jumbalaya.

New Panda Buffet

5120 Rodeo Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90016
(323) 291-5555

"New Panda Buffet is one of my kids' favorite joints, and any time we go to Grandfather's house in that neck of the woods, they beg me to go.

This is my old stomping grounds and I remember that this building was the first black owned and operated Sizzler Restaurant franchise on the West Coast. Man we were proud to go to Sizzler and get that fat toast. That was then.

Today, Asians run the joint swiftly and efficiently and pack them in every day. If you're headed in on the weekend, be prepared to wait a little while or get there just before the brunch rush on Sunday. The wait is not bad, maybe 15 minutes, but once you get inside and start smelling all that food, you get itchy to get a table.

New Panda is really your standard buffet. Well that is if you are accustomed to the kind you find in NYC in midtown. I'm not talking about Hometown Buffet or the kind you find in Georgia. I'm talking about sashimi and maki, cold shrimp, chow mein, broiled salmon, fried chicken, char shu pork, big chunks of all kinds of melon, fresh pineapple, corn nibblets, chinese style BBQ ribs, potato salad, jello, everything fried rice, short ribs, whitefish, fried catfish... man I'm drooling just talking about it. So actually it's got more than your standard NYC buffet. It's right at the edge of a large strip mall near the old Baldwin Theatre so there's plenty of parking in the huge lot, but you may have to walk a bit.

Of course it's all you can eat, so you best believe that you're going to find some world champion eaters in this joint, so you'll need to move aside when they walk by. It's a good deal if your kids are under 10, and if I remember correctly they have 3 price ranges by age.

It's a loud happy family place and on Sunday it's pure chaotic pandemonium. You get a table and the waiter gets you a fork and a tall cup. You tell him what you want to drink and then you're off. There are something like three or four hot bars and a huge cold bar. So you're off to get a plate and pile on. But don't pile too much because they don't like throwing away food, and they won't take your plate until it's empty. Then you're free to go get another and another. That's the best way to do it, even if it means you take four trips. But at least that way, the waiter will be happy to take away your empty plates and refresh your drink.

I guarantee that you will wobble out of New Panda Buffet very happy. Bring your biggest appetite. You won't be disappointed."

San Pedro Brewing Co

331 W 6th St
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 831-5663

This is a great little brewpub. It's got everything you want and need.

Me? I need beer and sausages. There is really nothing to compare to a warm evening on the open air part of the pub with a tall Shanghai Red Ale and Lil Hoot's Sausage Sampler. Oh mama!

This is authentic neighborhood pub filled with a great mix of folks. The music isn't too loud, nor are the patrons, but the place is never the same all the time. Sometimes there's a live band, sometimes it's a bunch of guys at the bar watching the game. Sometimes it a nice dinner in the evening with the family. And there are always different brews on the blackboard. If you can get a James Brown, get it.

Parking is a bit tough to get and you might have to hike past a derelict or two on your way, but it's worth it. See, this is a classic no BS kind of bar. It's the kind that people from the Northeast don't believe exist on the West Coast, but you'll find men and women of all ages in this joint. I've overheard conversations with dockworkers, software people, tatoo artists and first responders. This is not a pick up joint, well, it is when the rock bands come through. You gotta love it.

If I remember correctly, they've got some old pinball machines in the back. There's something you don't see every day. The theme is nautical slash British brewpub, and every time I go there I notice something different. Bring some pals and live it up.

Icon Grill

Icon Grill

1933 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 441-6330

What the heck is going on here?

First of all, whose grandmother died and willed her garage to this restaurant? OK I'm harsh. But this place does remind me of your strange aunt who is always interested in a very odd part of your body and mind. Like looking at your finger webs and asking you when is the last time you thought about using aloe vera on them to remove the lines.

People say, of course, that you're really going to flip about the macaroni and cheese. These are the same people who really like your strange aunt. Not that there's anything wrong with that. That's kinda what you leave Icon thinking. That wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and it's Not Bad.

Hmm. How many ways can I say that.

Icon Grill is a known quantity. It's a safe bet. It's a reasonable alternative. It's an adequate selection. It's just fine. It's really not bad at all, and of course you could do a lot worse. Bring a friend or two.

Musha

Musha Restaurant

1725 W Carson St Ste B
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 787-7344

I only give five stars to restaurants that change my ideas about food. Musha's is absolutely, positively brilliant.

So how do I describe this joint to you? It's small and woody feeling, almost spartan. There can't be more that 12 tables, and the sushi bar is pretty small. Maybe 7 people can fit on the bench, yes bench. The guys behind the counter are young and kinda spiky looking, with that cool Japanese slacker look.

What they do with the food is just incredible. It only takes little bites for you to enter a world of flavor unlike just about any other. They offer a kind of combination of sushi and tapas. I can't even describe it properly, but it's magical.

Truth be told, you should get the rissoto in the cheese wheel and eat just a small bit then take the rest home. What you can do with it the next morning with eggs and breakfast meats is stunning.

The place is going to be crowded with some locals and some tourists. With any luck you won't be sitting next to the tourists who drink all kinds of sake just in case those unpronounceable things are.. like.. you know... icky, fer sure.

Musha's is in a very cool little minimall on the edge of Torrance but they're not open for lunch. Next door is a very cool Korean BBQ and on the other side is a very cool karaoke joint with private booths. So there's all kinds of Asian flavor inside and outside.

In a way, I wish I could keep this joint a secret, but hey. The concept is bound to spread.

All I Do

All I do these days is write restaurant reviews. I need to cross-post them here because that's all I can think about. Yeah I know Bernanke's in a bind, and the Iranians are misbehaving yet again, but I can't stop thinking about my favorite restaurants. So get ready for a whirlwind foodie style.

Whist: Top Of The Food Chain

This weekend, my anniversary weekend, the Spousal Unit and I had a bit of a getaway to the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica. Splendid place, extraordinary style. We had the most exquisite meal I've had in a very long time.

The Unit, of course, works in the food business and we've been foodies for a long time. But since she's such a great cook, we don't go out to restaurants as often as I imagine other couples do. Plus, when we do go out, we're mostly just satisfied, but very rarely thrilled. This time we pulled out all the stops and actually did get astonished.

Whist is the restaurant.

Here follows the best I can do with words to describe what we sampled. We stared off with a nice bottle of Veuve Cliquot which is just about the only champagne I like. Our appetizer and first course was a quail & fennel affair in a tiny pile on top of a cucumber slice, dotted round with a green olive oil. Delightfully light and playful flavor.

Next came a perfect square of melt in your mouth savory foie gras complimented by a bracingly fresh persimmon and raspberry chutney. Now I was getting revved up. What could they possibly do to outdo what they've done?

The Sous Chef, Kelly came out with the next course which was a special from the kitchen, and it was an absolute marvel. Tasting this next dish has me thinking that there's something I am just learning that chefs can do, that I couldn't imagine. But here you have these monstrously meaty prawns atop a bed of frisee and they are grilled to perfection. But let me describe this sort of perfection. The edges of the prawns are crisp and in the insides squish with all the flavor plus what tastes like a splash of the ocean. What I am tasting is perfected ocean in the middle of a giant jumbo shrimp. Still, it took me a couple minutes to get to that because on the right of the very same plate is a tiny cup of butternut squash bisque with a square of brie floating on the surface. It was, by far, the greatest soup, chowder or bisque I have ever tasted, which is saying a whole lot considering the corn bisque at Bambara in Salt Lake and the lobster bisque at the Plaza Hotel in Boston. One spoonful transports you instantly into the warmth of a ski lodge fireplace. The texture on your tongue is just fabulous and you know within seconds that you are eating in a way that you imagine you would like to every day if you were incredibly rich. This is just not food you can get anywhere. It is completely other, and magnificent.

I have another slice of the delicious rosemary bread and as much as I want to savor the prawns and squash I just cannot eat it slowly. A mountain of flavors are mixing in my mouth with the velvety warm squash and the sea-frothy prawns with savory little cubes of pancetta and the bitter accents of the frisee. It's really miraculous.

On to the next course I hardly know what to expect, but sure enough there's more wonderfulness. This time it's a delicate flute, which is a fish like a flounder. In flavor it's light and would be very much like your standard Chilean sea bass except you don't butter it down and it's got more texture. It's somewhat more firm that trout and yet still flaky like sea bass. With sweet carrots and spinach. Very nice.

Right about now I'm filling up, but wait there's more. This time yet another exotic. Venison chops with cherry glaze and risotto. Bam, right down to earth. I got a bit overly dramatic since this was my first taste of venison and made a big deal of the first bite, which was a mistake because I chose the more well-done of the two chops and I don't like my meats well-done. So I got a bit more earth than I bargained for. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that doing venison right is pretty difficult, but I caught on finally to the direction they were going with the cherries. There should have been yams instead of risotto if you ask me. A righteous yam with the right spice would work that venison into a good combination.

Now I'm full, and dessert is coming. I can only take a few lush spoonfuls of the pumpkin trifle and I'm done. But I manage to get down a fresh cup of joe and sip on their deliciously complex 2002 Kracher Beerenauslese. 

The service was top notch of course, and the ambiance was just right for fine dining. If you've got a few extra bucks to drop and you want to try some truly unique and splendid dishes you definitely need to head to Santa Monica and check out Whist.