When I heard that one of my favorite Filipino restaurants, Asian Noodles, had closed, I was really disappointed and I had to admit to feeling a bit of an unfair grudge against whatever restaurant took its place. Then I found out that the new restaurant now called Noi, was also a Filipino restaurant and the news put a smile on my face. I could only hope that the food would be as good, if not better than its predecessor. Really happy news finally came my way when a friend of mine told me that Noi was actually still Asian Noodles. Although the restaurant name changed, apparently everything else stayed the same, including the management and cooks.

After hearing the good news, I knew that I wanted to check out Noi as soon as I could and as luck would have it, I was able to have dinner there with a couple of friends before catching the Cirque Berzerk Yelp Elite Event happening at a near by location. With only three of us, we kept it simple with 4 dishes that we shared, but man oh man, there was really enough food there for 3 other people. Before the food arrived, we enjoyed a calamansi drink. Calamansi , which is both naturally sweet and sour, is a popular fruit in the Philippines that is used in a lot of Filipino cooking and can also be made into a “lemonade” type of drink.

One of the dishes we shared was a bola bola siopao which came with sauce that is made up of soy sauce, sugar and other ingredients. The siopao is similar to a Chinese bao and in fact, the siopao is attributed to Ma Mon Luk, a grade school teacher from Canton, who came to the Philippines to make his way. Ma Mon Luk also introduced Mami, a Filipino noodle soup inspired by a similar Chinese dish, to the Philippines. Traditionally, Filipinos will have the siopao as a side to their Mami Soup. Siopao fillings are either chicken, pork or a combination of pork, sausage, chicken and a salted egg. The last configuration is referred to as Bola Bola.

Unfortunlatey, this bola bola siopao was disappointing. The bread was dry as was the filling. Also, I didn’t see much evidence of the salted egg and it’s because of that particular ingredient that I’ll order the bola bola in the first place. The thick salty/sweet sauce it came with helped a little bit, but not enough.

As for the other three dishes, two of them were seafood based. First, there’s the Bicol Express, which is seafood cooked in a spicy coconut sauce. While not that spicy, there was definitely some kind of seasoning that cut into the sweetness of the coconut milk and also added a lot of flavor to this dish. Another bonus is the generosity when it came to the seafood ingredients. Clams, mussels, squid and shrimp all came to the party.

The other seafood item was Pansit Palabok, which had rice noodles, shrimp, squid, hard boiled eggs and was topped with crushed chicarrones. As for the sauce, it is generally made of shrimp juice, flour and atchuete oil. Most Filipinos eat these noodles with a squeeze of lemon or calamansi. I really liked how the squid was battered and deep fried, tentacles and all. Even with the shrimp juice sauce, the flavors weren’t erring too much on the seafood side and in fact, the chicarrones added a nice hit of salt while the lemon juice gave this dish a nice tartness in flavor.

Last, but not least, was the Filipino Fried Chicken. When it comes to Filipino Fried Chicken, it’s never coated with any type of batter. Generally, it’s simmered in a mixture of soy sauce, black peppercorns, vinegar and a bay leaf or two and than it’s deep fried to a dark golden brown. Usually, the chicken is deep fried for so long that the chicken itself may seem a little dry, but what you get out of it is the deliciously crispy chicken skin. Besides, the chicken is usually served with banana ketchup. Dip your chicken in that sweet sauce and I guarantee you’ll be a happy camper.

Whether Asian Noodles or Noi, I’m glad this restaurant never actually left and I’m already looking forward to my return visit and re-acquainting myself with their wonderful food.

As much as I enjoy eating meat, there are those days when I just want veggies. Luckily, a friend suggested that we check out what she considered to be one of the best vegetarian restaurants in town. Considering that she’s Vegetarian, I figured she would know her stuff so I had no qualms about making the trek with her to West Covina to dine at One World Vegetarian Cuisine.

Before I start talking about the specific items we ordered, there’s just a couple of things I want to mention about this restaurant. First, unless otherwise specified, everything on their menu is vegan. All their dishes are prepared without meat, poultry, seafood, eggs or MSG and they cook all their food with filtered water. Second, the menu is globally influenced featuring everything from American to Hispanic to Asian to European cuisine.

Our meal that afternoon revolved around their Asian-style offerings, starting with the Summer Rolls, which had veggie ham, tofu, jicama and carrots rolled in thin rice paper and served with peanut sauce. One thing to note is that the veggie ham didn’t pass for real ham as far as I was concerned; however, it had just the right amount of salty-smokiness that played well with the tofu and the jicama, which don’t have strong flavor profiles on their own anyway. The juicy crunch of the jicama and the sweet crunch of the carrots also added nice textures and flavor to this spring roll.

Next to arrive was the Golden Crescent, which were crispy veggie shrimp served with sweet chili sauce. Although they were a tad over fried and the batter was a little heavy, the veggie shrimp itself actually did a good job mimicking the sweetness of real shrimp.

Time for noodles and we shared the Everlasting Unity Chow Mein, which were deep-fried chow mein topped with veggie ham, tofu, mixed vegetables in house sauce. I enjoyed the crispy chew of the noodles and compared to the Summer Rolls, I actually thought the veggie ham in this dish tasted more like the real thing. I think the difference lies in the fact that the ham in this chow mein was sauteed and perhaps, picked up a bit of carmelization from the sauce it was cooked in.

Green beans is one of my favorite vegetables so it’s not surprising that we also ordered the Emerald Threaded Pearls which are green beans wok-fried with carrots and button mushrooms. By the way, aren’t you loving the names of some of these dishes? Just based on the names alone, I almost felt like I was eating at a Hara Krishna temple at times. This green bean dish was straightforward in that it wasn’t cooked in any fancy sauces, but I enjoyed the crispness and the freshness of everything on that plate.

The last dish, before we ordered dessert, was the Spicy Lemongrass Tofu and it was also my favorite of the entire meal. I liked that the tofu was deep-fried and the sauce was amazing. It definitely had a kick to it and so flavorful. Even after the tofu was gone, I was spooning it over rice and enjoying it that way.

Even after 5 shared dishes, there was still room for dessert and we ordered two of them. The cheesecake was wonderful. I just loved how creamy it was.

I also enjoyed trying what was referred to on the menu as the Divine Chocolate Cake. Divine is a pretty strong adjective and while I wouldn’t classify this cake as divine, it was still pretty good and something I wouldn’t mind ordering again.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal from start to finish and considering that One World Vegetarian Cuisine is fairly close to my part of town, I would definitely return to try other dishes from their extensive menu.

While watching a tv show that was all about hot dogs, there was a particular segment that caught my attention. In that segment, a Colombian-born baseball player demonstrated how to put together a Colombian hot dog. Needless to say, the ingredients were a surprising choice and ever since then, I’ve wanted to try one, but couldn’t find any place that made them. Thanks to Jonathan Gold, it turns out that they sell them at Tutti Frutti in Pasadena. I bet you’re really curious now as to what exactly is a Colombian hot dog.

Simply, it’s a Hebrew National hot dog tucked with ham and mozzarella cheese into a bun with raw onion, spackled with crushed pineapple, sprinkled with crushed potato chips and finished with a three-squeeze-bottle lattice of catsup, mustard and mayonnaise. You’re either cringing or entranced right about now. According to Jonathan Gold, “It is impossible to eat the thing without smearing condiments on your nose, but it isn’t bad – the pineapple serves the same basic sweet-sour function as pickle relish, and even the crushed potato chips make a certain kind of textural sense.”

Once I knew where to go, I headed off to Tutti Frutti with my iron stomach and even brought a couple of friends with me. Walking into Tutti Frutti, it was more of a fruit salad, yogurt and smoothie place rather than a harbinger of this extreme hot dog, but there it was on the menu. Before ordering the hot dog, I got side tracked by something else, the Tutti Frutti Fruit Salad and decided to start with that instead. Who says you can’t have dessert first?

What was interesting about the Tutti Frutti were its ingredients which were seasonal fruit topped with sweet cream, frozen yogurt, cheese, coconut and blackberry sauce. Can you guess which specific ingredient gave me pause? Yes, it was the cheese. It seemed an odd choice, but when speaking to the owners who were Colombian, cheese in their fruit salad is quite common in their country. You know what? It works. The saltiness of the cheese balanced well with the sweetness of the other ingredients while the tartness of the blackberry sauce added a complementary flavor dimension. In short, the Tutti Frutti was fun to eat.

We also ordered a couple of Colombian drinks to try. The Postobon Apple Flavored Soda tasted apple-y and fizzy, although a little sweet for my taste. On the other hand, the Pony Malta drink definitely wasn’t sweet at all, but was too thick and malty for me. A couple of sips and I was done.

Now it was time for the main event, the Colombian hot dog. When I first saw it, I was just in awe, because I had no idea where to start. There was just so much to it. I honestly wished for a knife and fork because I could already feel the ketchup-mayo-mustard smeared all over my mouth and nose. Heck, if Jonathan Gold could just bite it into, I could to and I did and yes, it was quite messy.

At one point, I just developed a strategy where I would take a bite out of the top part of the hot dog, leaving a lower ledge of hot dog and bread. That way, I could at least have some control over the condiment chaos and than I’d bite the lower part of the hot dog and just repeat. So what does a hot dog with all these interesting ingredients taste like?

With each bite, you taste sour, salty and sweet with both creamy, firm and crisp textures. It was definitely quite an experience. I couldn’t even finish it. It was quite a good size dog, but I think it also had to do with the TuttiFruitti Fruit Salad I had earlier in the meal.

Overall, at least I can say that I had a Colombian hot dog, but in the end, I just found the plethora of ingredients a bit overwhelming. I prefer my dog to be a little more basic – mustard, onions, hot dog and bun, but if you’re willing to see what all the fuss was about, than definitely pay a visit to Tutti Frutti.

Late last year, I got invited to a Pre-Grand Opening Party for a new shop in Beverly Hills called Fulfilled, owned and operated by Susumu Tsuchihashi. This was no ordinary shop, but that one that specialized in Japanese pastries called Imagawa-yakis or “Imas” for short. I really had no clue as to what imas were and to go visit their website to find out more. Basically, an ima is a pancake like pastry filled with sweet Azuki bean handcrafted on an aluminum grill. It originated from Tokyo in the 1800’s and are sold all over Tokyo’s shopping districts as well as during seasonal festivals all over Japan. Apparently, Fulfilled’s imas are an updated version of the more traditional Japanese imas.

I was definitely intrigued, but unfortunately couldn’t make it, so the next best thing was to do a “re-do” of this Pre-Grand Opening Party for my dining group. As a part of this tasting event, we sampled 3 savory imas, 4 sweet imas and also had a taste of their iced Azuki Green Tea Honey Latte. Before I talk about the food, let me give you a brief description of how the imas are made.

First, you need a flat, hot surface and on that surface, you lay open a folding “cupcake-like” holder to heat it up. Than you add the batter and your choice of fillings and let that cook for little bit. After a little bit of time, you scrape around each of the imas so they aren’t sticking to the sides as much. Finally, you fold the holder in half and again, give it some cooking time before unfolding to see the golden imas ready to be served.

As you can see, making imas can be time consuming work. Before enjoying the imas, we were all served Fulfilled’s iced Azuki Green Tea Honey Latte created by an award winning barista, Elton Tsuono. It’s an interesting drink that’s a little grainy due to the sweet red bean and wasn’t to everyone’s taste due to that texture, but I loved it. I found it very refreshing and liked how the sweetness of the red bean and honey counterbalanced the green tea, which can be a bit bitter at times. There was also a red chili pepper we could add to the drink to give it a zing, which I did add and enjoyed it even more.

Now we’ll talk imas and we started with 3 of their savory options. The first one we sampled was the Green Ninja and its ingredients were comprised of spinach, feta cheese and sun dried tomato. Of all the imas we sampled, this was my least favorite one. It was way too dry. Although I liked how the feta added the right amount of saltiness to the spinach, it doesn’t have a very good melting point and I think that’s what contributed to this ima not having much moisture.

Next was the Sumo Italiano with prosciutto di Parma, smoked ham, aged Parmesan and fresh basil. This was a vast improvement from the Green Ninja, at least melting cheese-wise. What I thought was missing was the taste of basil. I love basil and it just didn’t seem like there was enough. One thing to note though, we were served ima halves as part of this tasting, so it could have been a situation where the person who had the other half of my ima got the bulk of the basil. Also, while I loved the prosciuto and the smoked ham, this particular ima was a bit too salty because of those two ingredients.

Our last savory ima and my favorite of the three was the Spicy Samurai with chicken apple sausage, pepper jack cheese, diced chili and fresh cilantro. I love the spiciness and the bold flavors and I would order this as a snack without a question. The only thing I might change is that the chicken apple sausage is a bit too subtle because its flavor gets lost, especially when eaten with the other spicier ingredients. Personally, I’d go with a chorizo sausage instead because I think it would stand up well next to the pepper jack cheese, chili and cilantro.

With the savory imas behind us, it’s time for our sweet tooth to be taken care of. Up first was the Fuji Sunrise which had a custard creme filling. It reminded me of a way better version of a custard donut. The custard filling was absolutely delicious and I liked the lighter pancake texture of the ima as opposed to custard donut, which can be a bit heavy.

Next was the Nutty Buddha with Ghirardelli chocolate, toffee and crunchy peanut butter. Being a peanut butter fan, I was expecting to love the Nutty Buddha, but didn’t. I didn’t dislike it, but the filling was too much on the drier end. The mixture of the crunchy peanut butter and the chocolate seemed a bit pasty. I also couldn’t taste the toffee that much. Maybe, instead of the crunchy peanut butter, a creamy peanut butter could be used instead? But than a situation could come up where the chocolate and peanut butter could err on the other side and be too runny? I liked the overall flavor, but I just feel like this particular ima needs a little more work.

Our third sweet ima was the Sweet Geisha which has a traditional Japanese azuki bean filling. No need to mess with tradition. I’m a big fan of red beans and I was just as much of a fan of the Sweet Geisha.

Fourth on the rotation was the Harajuku Monkey with banana and nutella. It’s hard to go wrong with nutella and banana and Fulfilled, but I would have liked more bananas to better balance the sweetness of the nutella.

The last ima of this tasting event was the Karaoke Kitty with strawberry, cream cheese, and Ghirardelli white chocolate. It was the perfect closer. The white chocolate could have made this ima extremely sweet, but paired with the cream cheese and the strawberry preserves, all the flavors were in synch. This was definitely one of my favorites that night.

I’ve talked primarily about the fillings, but I did want to talk about the ima pastry itself. When comparing the savory imas to the sweet imas, I definitely was more drawn to the sweet imas. The softer pancake texture really lent itself towards Fulfilled’s dessert options, but for the savory imas, that wasn’t the case. It’s probably a preference thing, but I think that the savory fillings go better with more of a flaky pastry crust, almost like an empanada, but then we’re talking another kind of food and not imas.

Also, Owner, Susumu, himself has said that his imas are not traditional Japanese imas and in fact, are more Westernized. If that’s a sticking point, Fulfilled may not be for you; however, if you can accept the imas at Fulfilled on their own terms, you may find an ima or two that you’ll enjoy just as much as their more traditional cousins. I certainly did.

In northwest China, there is a region known as Xinjiang and although lamb is rarely eaten in other parts of China, Xinjiang is known for its barbecue lamb or mutton. In fact, the Mongolian tribes who inhabited these areas were the ones who introduced lamb to the rest of China. Due to its geographical location, the food of north western China has been influenced by both Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine, which can be seen in the use of cumin in their cooking.

One of the most popular ways to prepare and eat the lamb or mutton is cut them in chunks, do a dry cumin/chili pepper spice rub on them, pierce with wooden skewers and then grill on a coal-fired barbecue. Considering how compact these skewers are, they have become a popular street-food staple in Beijing and now can be found in the city of San Gabriel.

Open for more than a year, 818 JN Kitchen is tiny. Their dining room can probably only fit 14 to 16 people at one time and part of the kitchen where all the grilling happens is the size of a phone booth. What it lacks in size, 818 makes up for in a variety of tasty skewers and other foods that will definitely not break the bank. In fact, most of the menu items were priced at $6.99 or lower with skewers that range from $1.20 to $5.00 a piece. This is recession dining at its best. After my group settled down and checked the menu, we placed our skewer orders and decided to share some other dishes as well.

The first to arrive was the Special Home Guoba Soup. It was the least popular dish of the table. The soup seemed more like a gravy than broth and no one knew what to make of the torn pieces of what seemed like crepes that filled the bowl. I was pretty ambivalent about it myself. I didn’t dislike it, but I was fine with just having a small sampling before moving on to the next dish.

A plate of Oil Pancakes soon arrived. Another thing that Northern Chinese cuisine is known for is their breads, which is why this made it to our table. Unfortunately, I would have been fine without it. It was very dense and dry. Perhaps, this oil pancake wasn’t meant to be eaten alone, but torn in pieces and dipped in a stew or hot pot? Whatever the case may be, the oil pancakes were disappointing.

The next two dishes turned everything around. First, there was the Beef Pancake, which was a Pac-Man looking sandwich and one definitely worth chasing and devouring. Basically, you had something like a roast beef with cilantro and green onions between a toasted sesame bread. One is a snack, but two or three of them could be dinner. What are sliders again?

Then there was the Cucumber Salad with a sesame paste. It was so refreshing and I loved that the cucumbers were so crunchy and juicy. Our table loved it so much, we ordered a second plate just so everyone could get second helpings.

The last two dishes we shared arrived in between the skewers. One was the Pork and Leek Dumplings. The dumpling wrapper was thicker than I would have liked and although the filling was a bit oily, it still had good flavor.

The second one was a plate of pickled mixed vegetables, which was also both refreshing and crunchy. These vegetables acted as the perfect foil for the highly seasoned skewers, almost like a palate cleanser.

So now let’s talk about the skewers. While I did mention that Xinjiang is known for their lamb skewers, there’s actually quite a variety of other grilled meats offered at 818 JN Kitchen. Along with lamb, there were organ meats like lamb kidneys and chicken hearts as well as chicken, shrimp, quail eggs, corn and even yellow grouper.

The first skewer that hit my plate was the lamb. Considering the meat had a dry rub of cumin and chili peppers, the flavors were intense. One of my dining partners created a mixture of soy sauce and chili sauce in a plate to dip her skewers in and I soon followed suit. It added even more zing to the meat. As for the lamb itself, it erred more on the dry and chewy side, but that worked for me.

My next two skewers were the Chinese sausage and quail eggs. Although the Chinese sausage was a bit salty, I would order it again. Like the lamb, it was both chewy and also bold in flavor. It was actually almost cute seeing the little quail eggs on the skewer. They were a bit over boiled, but I still enjoyed them.

The grilled steak wasn’t on skewers and the meat was a bit tough, almost like jerky, but still no complaints from me.

Next to last was the grilled corn, which wasn’t seasoned at all, but perhaps, it’s not meant to be.

Last, but not least, was the grilled yellow croaker fish. Of all the skewers, this was the mildest in flavor. I’m not sure whether they forgot to crust it with the cumin and chili pepper or they did, but the cumin and chili just did not adhere well to the fish skin, but in the end, it was crispy and the fish meat was quite delicate.

To end, there are a couple of things I do want to point out. One, the quality of the meat may not be up to par for some. As long as you don’t expect tender cuts of meat and are fine with the meat being grilled to the point of being chewy, you’ll be good. It’s really all about the bold seasoning that make the skewers the stars of the show.

Also, since the same cumin and chili pepper seasoning is used and depending on how many skewers you eat, they all may start tasting the same. I think ordering the cucumber salad and/or the mixed vegetables and eating them in between the meats can give your tastebuds a rest in between bites. Finally, English is pretty limited at this restaurant, but the menu is in English, so there shouldn’t be a problem pointing out what you’d like to order.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at 818 JN Kitchen and I didn’t even have to sell my car to pay for my share of the meal. One thing I also learned while I was there was that the owners are all friends who are actually from Xinjiang and decided to open this restaurant together, which definitely tells me that this restaurant really does know its Xianjiang skewers.

A while back, I decided to start a new restaurant series for my dining group, Pleasure Palate, revolving around pizza. Considering how many pizza joints are in Los Angeles, I knew that this would be a dining series that would probably take me into infinity, but you gotta do, what you gotta do sometimes, so “The Great Pizza Hunt” was on.

Our next stop was Antica Pizzeria in Marina del Rey. I chose Antica primarily because the restaurant is a certified member of The Verace Pizza Napoletana Association (VPNA) in Italy, which is a governing body that sets the specifications for what is a true Neapolitan pizza. For example, the specification clearly states that a pizza must have a 0.1" thick base, (a little more than a credit card), must use fresh mozzarella, must be thrown by hand, must use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and must be cooked in an 800F (or higher) wood-fired oven for no more than 90 seconds. Look below for some links you may find interesting.

American Chapter of VPNA
http://www.verapizzanapoletana.org/vpn/vpn_frames-index.htm

Original Italian VPNA
http://www.pizzanapoletana.org/

Detailed English Translation of Specifications
http://www.fornobravo.com/vera_pizza_napoletana/VPN_spec.html

The only other Neapolitan pizza place I’ve been to was Bollini’s Pizzeria, but as far as I know, this restaurant is not part of the VPNA. My dining experience at Bollini’s was stellar, so I was really interested in comparing both pizzas considering Bollini’s wasn’t certified and Antica was. Before I start talking about the pizzas, I wanted to mention 3 appetizers our groups shared, 2 of which I’ve never had before.

The first one was the Arancino di Riso, which is basically risotto mixed or stuffed with mozzarella and/or other ingredients, coated with bread crumbs and deep fried. Antica’s version had spinach as the only vegetable component and came with tomato sauce. I liked the fluffiness of the filling and plus it’s an appetizer that’s not too heavy, especially considering all the pizzas we’d be sharing soon.

Our second appetizer was the timballetto which is a puff pastry filled with pasta, meat sauce and mozzarella. Hmmm…a puff pastry and rice as one dish? I never would have thought to put those two together. If you’re watching your calories, this appetizer is definitely heavy on the carb size. It reminded me of when I was a kid when I’d make spaghetti sandwiches. Come on, don’t tell me you didn’t do that yourself? Anyway, the pastry shell wasn’t as flaky as it could have been, but overall, I’m actually pretty ambivalent about it. I didn’t dislike it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to order the timballetto again.

I would order our third appetizer again without a question. It was a Caprese Salad with sliced fresh mozzarella, tomato and arugula drizzled with an herb and red pepper infused olive oil. Simple ingredients, but oh-so-fresh and with a little bit of a kick from the olive oil.

With the appetizers out of the way, let’s start talking pizza, first about the pizzas in general. Appearance wise, all the pizzas already looked different from Bollini’s pizza in the sense that Antica had a more pronounced crust edge. While Bollini’s crust was more cracker crisp, Antica’s was softer and had more of a chew to it. Another difference is how cheese was utilized. Bollini’s pizzas had the cheese spread throughout the pizza topped with various toppings and then cooked until the cheese was melted, similar to how we normally expect pizzas to be like. At Antica, the cheese were cut in chunks, mixed together with the ingredients and than placed on top of the pizza surface without even a tomato sauce as a base plus the cheese wasn’t completed melted through.

Another thing to note is that 11 out of 15 of Antica’s pizza have mozzarella as the only cheese of choice whereas at Bollini’s, there was a selection of cheeses and sauces to choose from. From what I read, using a buffalo mozzarella seems to be part of being labeled a Neapolitan pizza. The final difference is that while the toppings at Bollini’s were spread out from center to crust, all the toppings at Antica were pooled in the middle. Considering that Antica does have certification from The Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, it’s probably right to assume that their Neapolitan pizzas are more authentic, but if anyone wants to chime in with their thoughts, I’d love to hear them.

So now, let’s talk about the actual pizzas. The first one we had was the Del Cafone Pizza, which had Italian sausages, rapini and smoked mozzarella. I really enjoyed the combination of flavors coming from the peppering of the sausage, the slight bitterness of the rapini and of course, the smokiness of the smoked mozzarella. It was also a different experience to have the cheese not completely melted through and instead experiencing it is as a separate ingredient.

The next pizza to arrive was the Capricciosa with artichokes, mushrooms, black olives, mozzarella, prosciutto and tomato sauce. For this pizza, I wish they had spread out the toppings more evenly. Depending on which side you pulled your slice from, it would be comprised mostly of tomato sauce only. Also, if whole olives were going to be used, they should have put more of them or just use sliced olives. There were only 4 olives on the whole pie and with about 9 slices, that’s really not enough. As for how it tasted, there was nothing special about it. It was just okay.

As for the Vegetali Grigliati, which came next, the toppings were a bit more generous and also spread out a bit more evenly. The ingredients were comprised of grilled vegetables, smoked mozzarella, chopped tomatoes and garlic. Actually, the grilled vegetables were really just grilled eggplant. There definitely needed to be more variety when it came to the vegetables, which would have added more flavor and color to this pizza and there also needed to be more garlic. There wasn’t any on my slice, but maybe, it was distributed more heavily on the other half of the pizza.

Our last pizza, which was the Bianca al Prosciutto, was actually my favorite of the four we tried. There were only 4 ingredients on this pizza: mozzarella, Parmesan, prosciutto and arugola. Unlike the other three pizzas, the mozzarella along with the Parmesan cheese was melted as the base below the other toppings. I have a feeling that’s one of the reasons I liked it so much. Melted cheese on pizza is just so right. How can it be wrong? This is also the first time that I had fresh, uncooked arugula as opposed to it being cooked as a pizza topping. I loved the use of the fresh arugula because you really get the full hit of its pepperiness that went perfectly with the saltiness of the prosciutto.

Between 3 appetizers and 4 pizzas, you’d think we wouldn’t have room for dessert, but somehow we persevered and shared two of them. One was the Tiramisu which has a base of lady fingers soaked with espresso coffee and layered with mascarpone and zabaglione cream and dusted with cocoa. Tiramisu can sometimes be too sweet, but this was just right. It was light, fluffy and a pleasure to eat.

Last was the Cannolo Siciliano which was a pastry tube filled with a vanilla flavored cream of ricotta and candied orange peels. I’ve never really been that much into cannolis,. I always find that the pastry shell to be heavy and not light and flaky. That was the case with Antica’s Cannolo Siciliano, but I really did like the filling which was fresh and citrusy.

To sum up, there were hits and misses for me at Antica. It’s definitely not a destination pizza joint for me, but if someone wanted to go there for dinner, I wouldn’t necessarily talk them out of it. The one real conclusion I came with is if Antica is supposed to be a true representation of Neapolitan Pizza, it’s not necessarily for me. I prefer a thin, crispy-cracker like crust and I like having melted cheese on my pie, both of which I had at Bollini’s.

In truth, I am a little confused. I know Antica has the certification and as far as I know, Bollini’s doesn’t, but both restaurants refer to their pizzas as Neapolitan pizzas. So what is the deal with the whole Verace Pizza Napoletana Association classification and is there more than one kind of Neapolitan Pizza? If anyone has any insight, I’d love to read about it. Maybe, I also need to try other certified Neapolitan pizza joints, but unfortunately, Antica is the only one in LA.

Do you know what’s one of the best things about having foodie friends? Simply, as one person there’s no way you could possibly know about all the great eats in the city, but if you have many friends who share your culinary passions, you’re always bound to hear about some new dining experience that’s just too fantastic to pass up. Well, my friend Robert, heard about and eventually checked out a street cart where a woman makes Oaxacan quesadillas using blue corn tortillas. How can one pass that up? I certainly didn’t and Robert led the way.

So last Sunday, off we went. When we arrived, our group of 5 crowded around the cart and after talking to the lady, we found out that we had an option of 6 different fillings: chicarrones, squash blossoms, chicken, frijoles, chorizo and potato and huitlacoche. We decided to order one of each, except for the frijoles and just share them. She was even nice enough to cut the quesadillas in 4 to 5 sections for easier eating.

The whole process was simple. First, she would get a ball of blue corn masa that was in a plastic bag next to her. Then she’d pat it between her hands and than start patting it flat on the stove’s surface. I can’t even imagine how hot that surface was, but it didn’t seem to phase her.

Afterwards, she’d add a handful of mozarella cheese and the filling of your choice and let it lay flat for a while before folding it in half. Sometimes it was ready to go and other times, she’d let it still cook for a little while before putting on a paper plate and handing it to you.

Once you got your quesadilla, she had some additional ingredients that you could either top your quesadilla with or put inside of it. There was a mixture of nopales, red onions and cilantro in one container. You could also add a sprinkle of cotija cheese or a spoonful of a really hot salsa or a milder green salsa.

As mentioned, our group sampled 5 of the various fillings. First, we had the chicken quesadilla, but before I talk about that, I do have to say that I really liked the blue corn tortillas. It had a nice medium-thick texture and there was a nuttiness to the masa that I also really enjoyed. What was nice about the chicken was that it wasn’t dry and it had a nice flavor to the marinade.

Our second quesadilla had a huitlacoche filling, sometimes referred to as corn smut or Mexican truffles depending on who you talk to, but basically it’s a fungus. Huitlacoche is actually quite delicate, but can add a smoky, earthy and pungency to dishes like tamales, stews and in this case, quesadillas. I actually thought the huitlacoche in this case had a mild smokiness to it and I liked how the corn gave it a hit of sweetness.

Third on the rotation was the chorizo and potato quesadilla. This was actually my least favorite of the 5. The filling was mushy. I would have preferred actual chorizo sausages that were cut and grilled and than put in the quesadilla. That would been a big improvement.

Our fourth quesadilla was a vegetarian option that consisted of squash blossoms, corn and onions. If this was the only option available, I wouldn’t have missed the meat at all. Finally, my favorite was the chicarron quesadilla. Come on, it’s fried pork. What’s not to love?

By this time, all our sharing amounted to about one quesadilla and a quarter for each of us. This type of family-style sharing worked perfectly because we all got to sample a little bit of each filling and when it was time for us to order a full size one, we already knew what we liked. By the way, we did each filling individually because we wanted to taste them on their own, but you can choose more than one ingredient for your quesadilla. I went for the squash blossom and chicarrones combination, which was absolutely delicious.

What a great find! The quesadillas ran $3.00 each and she had also different drinks ranging from $1 to $2. The way you pay is pretty much on the honor system. Once you’re done eating and ready to leave, that’s when you pay her. What’s nice is that whenever she collects money, she always puts on gloves and that’s definitely smart on her part. Now this is street food worth driving for.

From the outside, Metro Diner looks just as it seems, a diner. Breakfast and lunch offer the standard fare of eggs, omelets and pancakes or salads and sandwiches respectively. It’s around dinner time that it gets a little more interesting. No, we’re not talking about the Mediterranean and Italian dishes nor the burgers choices that customers can choose from.

It’s more about asking your server about the “specials” for the night, with these “specials” referring to Restaurant Owners, Aleks’ and Sasa’s Serbian dishes, a couple that are on the menu, but some that are part of a secret “off menu” available to those in the know. These specials change daily, but thankfully, my friend, Cecilia, went to Metro Diner and made arrangements for about 20 of us to have a 8 course Balkan meal, a meal that certainly had its highs and lows.

Though not really Balkan, the first to arrive was half loaves of bread that were wonderfully crusty on the outside; yet, soft on the inside. The plate arrived with this little bowl of a very addictive spread. I think it was made of red bell peppers and I could easily see this as a perfect dip for raw veggies.

The first of the Balkan dishes came in the form of a White Bean Soup with Smoked Pork Ribs. It’s a perfect stick to your ribs, cold weather soup. Thick, hearty and with pork rib meat that was tender, this soup was a definite winner.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the Cabbage Salad with Red Beets that came after the soup. I enjoyed the crunchiness of the cabbage and the sweetness of the red beets, but I expected the whole dish to be more vinegary. I could taste hints of sourness, but overall, it was pretty bland. Was I wrong to expect something more like sauerkraut? Maybe, Balkan cabbage salads aren’t meant to be that strongly flavored?

The meal went on a high again when the Gibanica hit the table. Gibanica is made up of filo dough with ricotta and feta cheese. Although a tad greasy, it was one of the highlights of the meal. The pastry was flaky and buttery and paired well with the salty hits coming from the layers of cheese throughout the Gibanica.

Next to arrive was the Serbian Salad. Honestly, it looked like any other Greek or Mediterranean salad I’ve seen before and tasted the same. Don’t get me wrong. It was still a good salad. All the vegetables were fresh and crunchy. I liked how they didn’t overdo it with too much dressing, but there was really nothing special about it.

After the Serbian Salad, we got to savor the Sarma, which are collard greens stuffed with rice and ground pork. I’ve had stuffed cabbage before, but those have nothing on Sarma. I really loved the use of the collard greens and how well it was cooked so that it wasn’t too mushy, but still had a little chew to it. The rice and pork filling was flavorful and the dollop of a yogurt based sauce added a nice freshness to the whole dish.

More than halfway through our courses and next to arrive was Chevapchichi with Fried Potatoes. The Chevapchici is ground beef that was shaped like a sausage and than fried. While I liked the flavor of the meat, I did not like the texture. It was too spongy when I would have preferred the meat to be more dense. I should note that I was part of the minority of the group. Most people really enjoyed the Chevapchici. However, what did it for me were the fried potatoes. Wow! They were crispy and golden on the outside and soft and moist in the inside. If I had to choose between the Chevapchici and the potatoes, I’d choose those potatoes each and every time.

The last dish before dessert was the Goulash with Mushrooms. One bite and I tell you, I could have easily swam in a pool of that goulash and ate my way out. It was just that good and was my absolute favorite course of the night. The beef was tender, the sauce was tasty and when both were eaten with the light and fluffy mashed potatoes, I felt like it couldn’t get any better.

Our meal ended with the House Crepes with Raspberry and Nutella. By no means, this wasn’t a very original dessert, but it was done well. I actually liked how the crepes had more of a pancake thickness as opposed to its usual thinner texture. It’s hard to go wrong with nutella and raspberry and in general, this was a nice way to end our multi-course Balkan dinner.

In the end, it was a fun evening. I got to spend it with friends who share my same foodie passion. As for the food, the meal was indeed like a roller coaster. It had its dips and its heights, but I do appreciate Metro Diner’s willingness to let us experience their home food with this special menu. Now if I happen to walk in and am craving that Sarma or the Goulash, I’ll know to ask if they’re available. Perhaps this “secret menu” has even more items than what was included in our meal, but hey, you got to start somewhere.

In the culinary world, a particular buzz word has gotten increasing attention. What’s that word? That word is “umami” and it’s also the name of one of LA’s newest burger joints, Umami Burger, but we’ll get into that a little bit later. First, if you’re not sure what “umami” is, read on for more information.

For years, we thought our taste buds knew only 4 different tastes: Sweet, Sour, Salty and Bitter; however, recent research has re-brought to light a taste first identified in 1908 by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese scientist. This taste is referred to as “umami” which translates to “yumminess” in Japanese. Dr. Ikeda discovered that the particular taste of umami is particular to dried seaweed and comes from glutamates, a type of amino acid which occur naturally in many foods, including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products.

Examples of foods that are naturally “umamic” include everything from Parmesan cheese to nori, from clams to dried shitake mushrooms, from tuna to tomatoes, and so much more. Simply, the taste of umami is described as savory, meaty and brothy; however, it’s a subtle taste that combines well with other flavors to give them more of a fullness and richness. As a result of his discovery, Dr. Ikeda went on to create and introduce monosodium glutamate (MSG) as a seasoning in Japan to be used as “flavor enhancers” and is still used worldwide, including the United States.Opened just recently by Adam Fleischman, who also owns Bottle Rock and Vinoteque, the whole concept behind Umami Burger is simply to focus on foods that have a high umami taste index and you certainly can’t get more “meaty” or “savory” than having burgers on the menu. Something also worth mentioning is that Adam does all the meat grinding in-house, which means that he can definitely pay attention to quality control. Hearing all the buzz, Robert, one of the Assistant Organizers of my dining group, Pleasure Palate, decided to set up an informal Burger Tasting there. Safe to say that 8 people, 16 burgers (2 of each 8 varieties, cut in quarters), various sides, Mexican cola with real sugar and Cake Monkey desserts made for a fun and filling culinary experience.

Our evening started with an amuse bouche of pickled vegetables that included carrots, daikon radishes, relish, mushrooms and pretty pickle flowers. Sour and tangy flavors were a great way to start.

Before I start talking about the burgers, let’s talk sides first. Of the three we got, my absolute favorite and the favorite of the table was the Malt Tempura Onion Rings, which were light, non-greasy and crispy and the perfect accompaniment for a meaty burger. If you’re into onion rings, these are a must order.

As we were noshing on the onion rings, the sweet potato chips and the hand cut fries with housemade ketchup, the first 4 of our 8 burgers arrived. The one I gravitated to first was the Sea-Mami Burger, an open face scallop burger with nori and meyer lemon on a toasted bun. OMG! Can I say that again? OMG! This was by far my favorite burger of the night. The scallops were tender and delicate and the nori added the right amount of saltiness.

Next was the Triple Pork Burger, with a patty made of fresh ground pork spiced with chorizo, cob-smoked bacon, aged manchego and pimenton aioli. Spices from the chorizo and the smokiness from the bacon really gave an oomph to this burger and made it one of the favorites of the night. This was also the first time I got to sample both top and bottom of the bun and let me tell you, the bun at Umami Burger is sheer perfection. I loved the fact that it was soft, pillowy and even just a tad sweet. That sweetness balanced well with all the “umami-like” ingredients in the burgers.

Lamb also made it on the menu in the form of their Mideast Burger. Made of sonoma lamb with honey-harissa sauce, it was a good burger, but it needed something else. There was a vibrancy in taste that was missing, especially when compared to the first two burgers we had. The lamb patty needed some stronger spicing or maybe, the sauce could have been a little less honey and slightly more harissa. On its own, without comparison, I would have been fine with it, but compared to the burgers we sampled that night, it wasn’t quite up to par and this particular burger wasn’t that much of a hit with my dining partners either.

The last burger of that initial quartet was the SoCal Burger with butter lettuce, oven dried tomato, spread, house made processed cheese and caramelized onions. When this was served to us, Adam mentioned to our group it was his take on the In-N-Out Burger. So was the SoCal Burger better than the In-N-Out Burger? Taste-wise, I’d say Yes. Would I drive 45 minutes from my house just to get the SoCal Burger? No, especially if In-N-Out was just 10 minutes away. However, I would make the trek for other burgers on Umami’s menu.

At this point, each person in our group had basically eaten one whole burger. Thankfully, we all knew what we were in for that night, so most of us ate very lightly that day and it’s good we did. There were still 4 burgers to go and after a little rest, each of them started landing on our table. The first one to do so was the Pork and Stilton Burger with blue cheese and port-caramelized onions. This was actually my second favorite burger of the night. It was just so meaty and rich with strong, intense flavors coming from the blue cheese and the port. Absolutely delish.

Following the Pork and Stilton Burger came the Truffle Burger with Italian truffle cheese and truffle glaze. Most of our table were really excited about trying this burger. For me, the scenario for the Truffle Burger was same for the Lamb Burger. If I just had the Truffle Burger on its own, I probably would have liked it just fine, but after just having had the richly satisfying Pork and Stilton Burger, the Truffle Burger didn’t quite compare. The burger was excellent, but somehow, the truffle flavors were too subtle for my palate. I was expecting something more earthy, more woodsy, but didn’t get that or perhaps, I’m just missing the boat entirely about what the truffles were supposed to contribute to this burger.

Second to last was the self-titled Umami Burger with grilled onions, fried Parmesan cheese, grilled shiitake mushrooms and an oven dried tomato. Considering that this the was signature burger of the restaurant, I was expecting to be wowed by it, but ended up thinking it was just okay. The flavor of the mushrooms didn’t really pull through and the too tart-sourness of the tomato overwhelmed the burger in general. Perhaps, by this point, my taste buds have just been overloaded and couldn’t handle much more.

The last burger that we sampled was the Hi-End Chili Burger with Grated Artisan Cheddar. I think most of fellow diners were underwhelmed by this particular Umami offering, but I liked it alot. The chili was excellent. It had good flavor, it didn’t have beans and it wasn’t oily. The one thing I would have done differently would be to actually amp up the chili with more heat. Do a Spicy Chili Burger version and maybe, even add sliced sliced green chilies, just to give it more pop. As it was, I still enjoyed it, but would have preferred bolder flavors.

Believe it or not, we still had dessert after all that food. We ended up sharing Cake Monkey Desserts, which included Ho Ho’s and Red Velvet and Peanut Butter “Ding Dongs.” The Peanut Butter “Ding Dong” tasted too artificial, if that makes sense, but the Ho-Ho’s and the Red Velvet “Ding Dong” were the perfect sweet ending.

Overall, I really enjoyed almost everything we ate that evening. Of course, I have my favorites as did everyone else at the table. What I really appreciate about Umami Burger is that it’s obvious that they care about using quality ingredients for their food and with such a creative variety of burger offerings on their menu, I really think that Umami is destined to be one of LA’s go-to places for delicious gourmet burgers.

Of all the places you think you’d find a restaurant where you can order a Hawaiian breakfast, I bet that a bowling alley wouldn’t even cross your mind. Yet, there truly is such a place because inside the walls of Gardena Bowl is the Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop, where the menu consists of regular American fare right next to both Japanese and Hawaiian specialties.

For this particular trek to the city of Gardena, enjoying a Hawaiian breakfast was the goal and it was a goal my dining partners met with gusto. Between the 8 of us, the two dishes ordered the most were the Loco Moco and the Hawaiian Royal, although a couple did go their own way.

The Loco Moco is a dish that is unique to Hawaiian Cuisine. Although there are many variations of it, the essential ingredients include white rice, a hamburger patty, a fried egg with brown gravy. History has stated that the Loco Moco was created by the Inouye family, owners of the Lincoln Grill in Hilo, Hawaii in 1949. Apparently, a group of boys from the Lincoln Wreckers Sports Club were the inspiration for this dish. Looking for cheap eats, one of the boys, George Okimoto, nicknamed “Crazy” because of the wild way he played football, was nominated by the others to ask Nancy Inouye if she’d put some rice in a saimin bowl along with one hamburger patty with brown gravy poured over both items.

She charged a mere 25 cents, which was much more affordable than ordering a regular hamburger steak entree. Since the word “crazy” was loco in Spanish, this new dish was named “loco moco” in George’s honor. Apparently, the word “moco” came into play simply because it rhymed. The boys didn’t know at the time that moco meant “mucus” in Spanish. This off menu item soon made into Lincoln Grill’s regular menu and became widely popular all over Hawaii. The egg was actually added later. My fellow diners who decided on the Loco Moco seemed quite content with their choice. I’ve had Loco Moco before, so I decided to pass on it in favor of the Hawaiian Royal.

I couldn’t find much info on the Hawaiian Royal, so perhaps it just doesn’t have as much of a colorful history as the Loco Moco. This particular dish has a plethora of ingredients that included Portuguese Sausage, Chasu, Green Onions and Eggs Over a Bed of Rice with Teriyaki Sauce. When it arrived, I already knew that I wasn’t going to finish the whole meal, but I was going to do my best and take home the rest.

The Hawaiian Royal was already quite a mish mash, but I went ahead and mixed it more so that the teriyaki sauce was mixed evenly throughout the dish. Than I took my first bite. That’s when I wished that I had asked for that teriyaki sauce on the side. It was a little too sweet. However, it did come with a little bowl of hot mustard, so as I ate each spoonful, I’d top it with the mustard to counter the teriyaki sauce. It was a tasty dish, , but I felt a little overwhelmed by it. I think there was just too much to it. I longed for the simplicity of the Loco Moco.

As mentioned, the two dishes above were what people ordered the most. However, one person opted for the Bacon Fried Rice and an order of the Portuguese Sausage and wasn’t that impressed by either dish.

Someone else went straight for lunch and ordered a Chicken Katsu with Veggie Tempura and seemed quite satisfied with their choice.

Foodwise, I only get up early for dim sum, so this was a different direction for me, but it’s always interesting experiencing how different cultures view breakfast. As a Filipina, breakfast consisted of everything from fried fish and rice to fried Spam, eggs and rice mixed with banana ketchup. As you can see, Philippines shares the same rice sensibility with Hawaii. Overall, it was a fun outing, but the next time I go for a Hawaiian breakfast, I’ll stick with the Loco Moco or try something different other than the Hawaiian Royal dish.