flavortrail "life is a banquet and some poor fools are starving to death......"

 

If you have a hankering for Mexico City street food while you’re on the Westside, you’ll want to drop into a little hole in the wall on Centinela between Washington and Culver. This little dive is only a 5 minute drive from the neon cheese and cardboard tacos at famous Titos Tacos –and it doesn’t have the long lines and conveyor-belt production line that makes you feel like a robot consuming a bucket of nuts and bolts.
At Taqueria Sanchez there is no table service. You order from a window. You’ll get a soft taco loaded with the meat of your choosing on a double corn tortilla. So big you need an extra hand to hold it. Plus a load of fresh chips and a salsa bar that would make any mamsita proud. I like their green tomatillo salsa which is not so much spicy as it is crammed with flavor. I usually drizzle their avocado sauce on those crispy chips. Beware of the dense red salsa, it’s a hot one, tastes of chipotle maybe? This is Mexican comfort food, perfect for those cold winter nights and you only have a couple of bucks to spend for dinner. Other items I can recommend are the tortas al pastor, large, tasty and filling. Try a chorizo gordita, but beware, the sausage is spicy and made at the Sanchez Carniceria a couple of blocks away. It’s a killer. Speaking of filling, the chicken enchilada plate with rice and beans is a sure thing. Drawbacks? They close too early – 8 PM.

On my “go-back” driving scale of 0 –10 miles, I give this place a 5. Definitely worth a 5 mile drive just to eat there.

 

It seems like a lot of folks take Versailles for granted. It’s the reliable neighborhood place for Cuban-style garlic chicken. I like the homey-style of this restaurant, where the walls are lined with photo art from Habana. The pictures were lovingly taken by Raymond, one of the family offspring, who was there graciously explaining each item that we tasted. I had the good fortune to dine there twice in the last couple of months for tastings of many of the dishes I have neglected in favor of my usual order of garlic roast chicken. There is much more to Versailles’ menu than I knew about. Number one is: Cubans have their way with pork. Take, for example, their pork tamale. It looks rather ordinary until you notice it‘s served with their house citrus (mojo) sauce. It brings out the flavors in the masa. I loved it! I’ve returned after my first visit and purchased a bottle of the sauce to serve on roast pork at home. Delicious! I also favor the masitas de Puerco, a crisp chunk of marinated pork, flash fried. This reminds me of Filipino crispy pata or Mexican carnitas. You have to be a pork fan to love this stuff – and I am. Lechado Asada is a roasted shredded pork dish topped with thinly sliced onion and, yeah, mojo sauce.
I also learned that Cubanos hanker for vivid flavors over hot and spicy ones. Case in point is the Rabo Encendido which was a particular favorite of almost all the folks at our table. This is worthy of going back for. It’s oxtail, simmered for hours in Cuban spices, bell peppers and a hint of tomato. It’s featured on the plate with just a little sauce and the customary rice and black beans. It is so tangy and tender that you want to pick it up with your fingers and slurp up all that meaty goodness from the juicy nooks and crannies. Okay so, – me and my uncouth friends did just that! When I go back I will order it up with plantains on the side along with white rice and black beans. They also offer moro on the side which is a mixture of those two dishes. I love their thick, but soupy, black beans too much to mix them up with anything else. Next time I go back I will also probably share the fried red snapper. At first glance this dish appeared too crispy. It looked dry, but when I bit into it there was a definite succulence that gave a good texture to what would otherwise be a boring dish. Did I say it’s so good with the house sauce? Their paella is a little different from the one I’ve enjoyed in Spain and Portugal. Cubans serve a saucier version with hints of bell pepper, tomato, shrimp, chicken and chorizo. I like their version, it’s zesty and not dry. My favorite dessert is the guayaba with cream cheese, but most folks love the flan.
So I am definitely planning on going back. The prices are good. Garlic chicken is only 10.95 for ½ a bird. Rabo is $14.95 Most dishes are between $10 and $15 and Paella is $22. I notice a brisk take-out business going on. Considering the ample portion sizes, I can see a family sharing a good meal for not too much $$. On my driving scale of 1 – 10, I would drive 10 miles for some tasty comiday Cubana.

 

Chile Relleno de Tamal de Huitlacoche
This was the special tonight at La Casita Mexicana It was a huge roasted pasilla chile. In the middle was a stuffing of a tamale with panela cheese in the center. The huitlacoche (some call it Mexican truffles) was blended into the masa with whole kernals of Mexican corn sprinkled throughout. The chile blanked the tamale and gave it a delicious flavor. It was resting in a light jitomate sauce. Over the top was a spoonful of Mexican crema and a thin slice of red onion. I’ve never had anything like it. Can you imagine the taste of a freshly made tamale sitting inside a chile instead of a corn husk?
Also on the specials tonight was a Pescado Tamarindo. It was so simple, gently sautéed with a dollop of tamarind sauce. I could’a cried… both of these dishes were that good. Chef Ramiro was so gracious as to share his recipe with me.
When I die and go to heaven, I want St. Peter to say, “our angels have been busy in the kitchen, which plate would you prefer first?”
Cecilia

 

Last night I was lucky enough to score an invitation to a pre-opening. It’s like a dress rehearsal, where the show is the food and you get to eat it. You know that things are not going to go exactly right, and sometimes that’s the fun of it.
This place is understated ambiance. The dining room is quite small and the patio is much bigger, with two ultra tall palms and a fire pit in the middle. I can see spending a balmy evening in the summertime, drinking one of those fabulous bar drinks, sitting in one of those low-backed, simply carved wooden chairs. The seating is some of the most comfortable in town.
The menu features the sort of spicey foods that Conde Nast Traveler’s dream about. They’ve got loads of street-cart delicacies from the other side of the world that any food loving traveler would want to sample. So if you’ve used up all your mileage points and you’re stuck here in town, Feniger has put it all together in one place. Her choices are inspired. The sauces are served in little dabs here and there giving little flavor zaps to your palate. Shizo Shrimp was excellent, wrapped in nori, paper-thin pastry and quick fried. This was good-stuff. Washed down with a shocking-pink lemonade resembling a tequila sunrise was deliciously different from the usual. Pani Puri, an addictive crunchy Indian dish should have been better but this place hasn’t even opened yet. So I have to give it another chance.
Saag paneer was terrific, loaded with the cheese and served with yogurt rice and dal on the side. There was certainly enough here to make any vegetarian a happy camper. Korean BBQ short ribs were flanken style, in a pear, rice wine marinade, accompanied by a crunchy Asian pear salad. The presentation was excellent. It’s South Beach diet heaven – just protein and a mildly tart salad. Egyptian style baked fish was perfectly cooked with roasted lemons and sea salt, served with kushary, a street food of spiced rice, lentils and macaroni. Right now, the dishes are a little inconsistent in seasonings. One, a little too salty, another totally lacking. There was, however a cold beet and apple salad with a delicious vinaigrette that makes me want to go back for more.
One final note on the prices. They are pretty high for street cart food. But considering the neighborhood (only a quarter block from Mozza) still, a little steep for a brand new venue. I would lower the prices, but hey – I’m not a great, celebrity chef- She IS. This lady’s concept menu, taste and creative culinary skills are clear and strong. On my driving scale of 1 mile to 10, I give it 10 miles. I plan to drive a few more times just to experience the panoply of street foods she is offering. The question is: how often can I afford the bucks to do it.
Cecilia

 

Here’s a great restaurant for taking guests. Their private rooms are quieter, spacious, divided by dark Chinese carved lattice mahogony. The very classy table was graced by etched glass lazy susan. This is a white-tablecloth- linen -napkin kind’a place and we were more than comfortable with really good service. How good? They changed our plates at least 4 times. It’s hard to believe this is in the old Marie Calendar’s building. For those of you who wish to return and duplicate our menu, here it is -or of what I can remember. I selected it with the help of Phillip, the manager who speaks very good English. We started with braided crab and fish maw soup. This was a very thick, mild flavored soup. I would have preferred something much spicier. It’s the only item I would not go back for. The house lobster ($15.99 @ lb.) was in a delicious spicy sauce. We wanted larger, but we got a 5 ½ pounder and could have eaten more. But we ordered 9 dishes. So much more to come. We used our fingers, and slurped on the delicious shell after the lobster meat was devoured. I would also suggest this dish with crab instead. It’s easier to break open a crabshell. Beef cubes French style was a tasty balance to our menu, since we had so much fish. The filet was tender, in a dark savory sauce served over sliced onions. There was a nice balance going on. The large fried black trout has a most impressive presentation. Big hit – all kept going back for more, searching each nook and cranny for more meat and lucious scallion sauce. Clams in basil sauce were excellent. The clams were on the large side and the basil was added at the last minute so they were fragrant and fresh tasting. We wanted to add a chicken dish and on recommendation we ordered Kung Pao. It was fine Kung Pao, but I think that next time will replace it with something more adventurous. The house vegetable dish was a very mild, Cantonese style of mixed vegetables. Too bland for my taste. We needed to amp up the flavor. The Pork Chop was a dish of crispy fried strips of pork that looked tough but was tender and not in a sauce – kids would love this dish. This was, in fact, a finger-food kind of meal, and more than once I accidentally allowed my fingers to linger on my lips for an extra taste of great sauces. The tab was $260 incl tax, tip, 2 beers & $10 corckage (party of 10). On my foodie-driving scale of 0 –10 miles I give this a 20. Because its 20 miles from my house and I would go back again if you invite me.

 

We went with a large group and a huge appetite. Although they are best known for Baked Catfish, we celebrated our foodie banquet with a large variety of dishes. Snake, Alligator, Kangaroo. None of them blew me away as much as the Catfish, Manilla Clams, and Garlic Bok Choy. I would recommend this restaurant for the adventurous diner who really wants to know they have tried EVEYTHING! But honestly I will return in a snap just to experience this fabulous catfish again. It’s perfectly seasoned, crispy on the outside and moist in the middle. Served with rice paper wrappers, so you bundle it up, Vietnamese-style with some sprouts, thai basil and cilantro, then you dip it in a sweet, clear, flavorful ginger sauce. Even writing about this makes me want to go back! The waiter was so skillful in deboning the fish right in front of us, displaying the spine, all in one piece. I give this restaurnant 4 stars for the catfish. All the rest is icing on the cake.

 

Juquila is that kind of neighborhood-find that you take your friends to when you want to hang out, and be fed well without breaking the bank. Not exactly the kind of place you’d expect to find on Santa Monica Blvd. this is a working-class restaurant with prices to match.
For appetizers, we sampled a couple of ala carte dishes. The style for chiles rellenos here is NOT to have the thick layer of egg batter. The focus is on the filling. The picadillo relleno was loaded with chopped chicken, and seasoned with raisins, nuts and served in a peppery sauce with a smokey hint of chipotle. The faint of heart might prefer a milder sauce such as the one on the cheese relleno. This is not nearly so hot, but just as good. Naturally we had to order a mole tamale. Having eaten recently at Guelaquetza on 8th, I can safely say this one is good, and can compete with the best of them. But …Guelaquetza is better. It’s a matter of individual taste. The mole sauces are both delicious and comparable. Try ordering a little extra sauce on the side.
My entree of chilaquiles and cecina was pretty good for the price. Although I prefer my chilaquiles on the crispy side, the cecina (thin, marinated pork steak) was tender. Another person in our party happily chose the Oaxacan combination plate (12.99-ish) that was brimming with good stuff: chorizo, tazajo (thinly sliced steak) and quesillo (Oaxacan string cheese) black beans and rice.
One nice thing about this tiny place is they have a beer & wine license. I tasted my first michelada, best described as a Bloody Mary with beer. It was…different. :) I don’t think I like my meal to compete with my drink.
I knew I would return when I eyed the ample breakfast menu, loaded with decently spicy dishes to light my fire first thing in the morning…along with their large paper-thin corn tortillas and a cold beer? Heaven.

 

Garlicky yeast rolls, tied up into little knots, are what makes this place so popular. Eveybody’s heard of the term “Tex-Mex”? Well I regard this place as “Cal-Ital”. Not terribly authentic, but tasty-good, just the same. Also, it is very satisfying, mostly because they serve such large portions. Go with a friend(s) and plan to share every dish. Or take home enough to cover you for lunch for two more days. they have a fairly decent house chianti that is served by the glass from a large bottle at your table. T hey use the honor system and you pour your own. Don’t confuse this with the other place down the street. There is an original restaurant, C & O Trattoria, at 31 Washington, Marina del Rey, same owners. The menu is identical and they have a fun little outdoor patio with a fountain in the middle. Great for lazy afternoon lunch. But it gets REALLY crowded and the parking is tough. You have to use valet. I prefer the Cucina for street-parking and faster seating.
On my go-back driving scale of 0 – 10 miles, I give this a 7. I would drive 7 miles to eat here. And since it’s in my own neighborhood, I do so quite often.

 

Critics and foodies are blogging all over the internet about his little Italian storefront on Garfield Avenue. So I had to try it with a group of folks from Pleasure Palate. Cristiano Bollini, the chef/owner has it all figured out. First you import a special wood burning pizza oven all the way from Italy. Fire it up with cords of wood to a whopping 800 degrees. And turn out pizza like your grandmother made in the old country. Granted, selling pizza one slice at a time is not the way to get rich quick, but it IS the way to hook people onto what some think is a different kind of pizza. It is, actually traditional, Neopolitan-style pizza, the kind they like to eat in –you guessed it- Italy! What is that? Think thin, hand-tossed, crispy crust with toppings of wild mushrooms or smoked chicken and parmesan sauce. What this means is, if your favorite pizza is thick crusted, laden with red sauce and tons of toppings and veggies, then go no further, Neoplitan may not be your style. His menu actually recommends that you not have more than three toppings because the thin Neopolitan-style pizza won’t cook properly under excess toppings.
Dining in this little joint is a lot like eating in a long, narrow formica hallway. But it was worth it! We started with tastes from his entire menu. Fire Roasted Stuffed Mushrooms, the size of ping pong balls that were laced in a delicate sauce. Then came a delicious gongonzola three leaf salad with little chunks of corn and bacon. The Wild Mushroom Fettuccini was every bit as good as you can find on Melrose, and the Pasta del Postino, farfalle with chicken , wild mushrooms and asparagus in a gorgonzola cream sauce was good enough to write home about. I asked about the sweet fennel sausage featured on The Nonna Pizza. “It’s a secret!”, a family recipe that the chef has specially prepared for just his restaurant. They hope to expand in the next few weeks to add more tables. On my driving scale of 0 –10 miles I give this a 20. Because I sometimes get a craving for Bollini’s pizza and that’s how far I drive!

 

There’s this new, snazzy food mecca in downtown Culver City where Ford’s Filling Station, Wilson and Fraiche rub shoulders. Then there is this funky ethnic neighborhood where the locals eat. Sazon Latin Fusion is one of those places that locals hang out who can’t afford Fraiche prices. Chef Claudia has taken over the spot once home to Tacos Mexico. And taken over, she has. She’s a feisty cook who commands a firm hand over foods in her own earthy fusion style. Not content with the ordinary Mexican cooking of her ancestors, she brings a healthier, lighter touch to her foods. Sazon means seasoning and Claudia is deft at seasoning but light on salt. I stumbled on it after a trip to B&B Hardware. All I wanted was the daily special, hot chicken soup. For 2.99 I was served a good-size steaming bowl of Mexican penicillin that was enough to take home for an other meal. Little dots of herbs floated to the top bringing flavor and boldness to the chicken and rice. This was so tasty that I ordered a plate of birria. Claudia makes it with beef instead of goat. The sauce defines the dish, not the goat. I returned with a couple of buddies and ordered a saucy barbacoa, my friend had the Sazon salad with shrimp and took half of it home. I enjoyed my meal so much I returned with a few friends from Pleasure Palate. Our little party of 13 managed to taste the majority of items on her menu, plus some extras that may soon be available. We loved it. We tasted 14 dishes and never came away feeling over laden with cheese, or beans fried in lard. It may serve you well to know that Mofongo is alive and well on the Westside. Sazon serves it in a wooden cup lined with mashed plantains and filled with a stew of shrimp or chicken. I can recommend the Pescado Tropical, white fish, served on spinach mashed potatoes. It’s lightly breaded and gently sautéed then drizzled with a delicious little sauce. Nothing is over-the –top from her kitchen. When you crave a healthy Latin dish, I suggest you go here. And when it’s all over, try one of her desserts, capirotada (bread pudding or natilla (egg custard). On my driving scale of 1 – 10 miles I would drive 15 miles for some of this comfort food that’s kinda’ like Mom is in the kitchen, cooking up a storm, but she’s watching your cholesterol and going lite on the salt. But there’s shaker on every table for those of us who want to live la vida loca.