tinajean "Wants more please"

 

It was my first time dining at Citrus. I arrived at 7:30 pm (my favorite time for dinner) and got seated right away.

For my appetizer I regrettably had the Goat Cheese Caesar – Roulade. The lettuce was stood up forming a box with the goat cheese in the middle and the croutons on top. Unfortunately, the salad was soaked in Caesar dressing and had so much garlic that you could not taste the goat cheese. Once you opened the box of lettuce it all became a pool of dressing. For my entrée I had the Artic Char, potato grits, sherry gastrique. The potato grits had a very pungent, metallic taste to them which meant that a little too much saffron was added to the broth which did not taste good. The server apologized, took the plate and replaced it with a potato napoleon. All in all it was a good dish I just wish I could have tasted the cherry gastrique.
For dessert I had the Mushroom Vacherin which is Chocolate ice cream, pistachio anglaise and crispy chocolate pearls. This was my favorite as it was one giant mushroom you had to hit it with your spoon and break open. Once you did that the meringue of the shell coated with chocolate and the ice cream mixed together tasted like a whopper. This was a very whimsical dessert as it was fun to look at as it was to eat. The highlight of the night, though, was when the chef gave us a tour of the kitchen.

 

We had Sunday brunch which was served in an Ethiopian family- style dining meaning on one huge tray. We had spicy chicken stew, lentils, lamb, beef stews, fried fish which we scooped up with an “Enjera”, a millet pancake used like a spoon. This is definitely a place to go with people you don’t mind sharing your food with. The food was good and had nice flavor I did not care for the “enjera”, it had a strange spongy texture. It looked a little like tripe which sort of freaked me out a bit. The catfish was the best item as it was perfectly cooked and tasty all the way through the head

 

Consistency is under-rated and under-valued in our “I want it now” society. Everyone wants the newest, hippest thing regardless if it’s any good. I have been going to Tallyrand for the past 10 years on a weekly or at times daily basis. In talking with Mark, one of the owners, it’s nice to hear that he does not compromise on his ingredients. He knows what works and is consistent. He once told me that he can not change his turkey recipe because he has it down to a science and couldn’t make it any better and he is right. When you do something well, why change? Sometimes the hard part is to not tinker with success.
I look forward every year on Saint Patrick’s Day for their corned beef and cabbage. They offer a hearty portion of corned beef over cabbage with boiled potatoes and carrots. I try to get there early because sometimes there is a wait. The corned beef is cooked to perfection and is lean.
For breakfast, this place has the best oatmeal hands down. It’s thick and creamy and you can have fresh fruit or raisins as it comes with a side of brown sugar, butter and milk. I always eat mine with just butter and Equal. For about a year I ate this everyday and I never got tired of it. The chili hash and eggs are to die for as the hash browns are nice and carmelized and add a perfect crunch. The King burrito is satisfying and filling. Sunday’s features eggs benedict with a Hollandaise sauce made fresh that morning. That sauce is straight out of a Le Cordon Bleu textbook for quality and taste. Once you have eaten here for breakfast it’s kind of hard to go to one of those chains places. Tallyrand offers fresh ingredients at an affordable price. Sure you can find a cheaper breakfast place but the food simply will not be as good and satisfying. Other highlights include their hamburger steak (meat grinded fresh daily), Cobb salad and the appetizer platter which really puts a smile on your face.
Heads up, on March 10th they are rolling back their prices for their 50th anniversary

 

Texas-style chili at it’s best! As I’ve said before, I am a native Texan so I’m serious about chili and John’s is right up there. The place is unique in that its counter seating only. All of the pots of chili are right in the middle of the U- shaped counter. They have meat, chicken and vegetarian chili. You can order it in the degree of hotness that you would like: mild, ass-burning or if you want it medium they mix the two. If the hot one isn’t hot enough, they can provide you Dave’s insanity hot sauce to throw in your bowl. This place looks like it has never moved forward in time which gives it a cool, retro feel. You can have your chili served over pinto beans, spaghetti, tamale, on top of a hotdog or slathered between a hamburger bun for what they call a Sloppy John’s. You can ask for sour cream and cheese for a bit extra. They provide the onions, oyster cracker and peppers. Please call before you make the trip because they’ll close every so often for weeks at a time hanging a CLOSED GONE FISHING sign on the door.

 

Furaibo
We had 15 people in our group. When we arrived we were taken into a private Japanese-style tatami mat dining room. Our table was set up for us once we were seated so after that there is no moving around. Furaibo is known for their yakitori which is skewered chicken, pork, beef, seafood and vegetables grilled over flames. It was fun sitting on the floor eating but I felt bad for the people who had long legs as it was a bit uncomfortable for them. They also offer some small dishes not from the grill. The menu is quite extensive, so you’ll likely find something that peaks your interest. Their house special is tebasaki wings which I ordered spicy. Turns out that really didn’t mean anything because the spice didn’t even tickle my tongue.
This is a good place to try new things and a lot of their items are definitely worth having. The squid and scallops were cooked perfectly. Overall, I would recommend this place for a friendly get-together.

 

Noodle House? Only in name alone as I would have never guessed this was a dumpling place. I first read about this place in my meet-up group and was intrigued that they make their bao zi right there at the counter for everyone to see. You can order the dumplings water boiled or steamed. Everything we ate was incredibly fresh and steaming hot. We were served within the first five minutes of ordering so we were off to a good start.
My favorite steamed buns are the double mushroom with pork and the pork with spring onions. They were the first to arrive as they were wonderfully hot. With a simple touch they were ready to explode. I knew right then and there that if I dared to put it in my mouth it would surely burn so I poked a hole with my chopsticks and it was like an erupting volcano ready as the nice juicy pork liquor just oozed out. Their bao zi is a perfect ratio of 75% filling to 25% dough.

Next, I had the steamed dumplings. The ones I favor are the steamed pork dumplings with leeks and the pumpkin/shrimp dumpling. Oh yeah, don’t even bother to ask them to pan fry your dumplings because they won’t. Now please keep in mind when ordering the steamed dumpling the skin will be a bit thinner. Why? This allows the steam to penetrate and cook the dumpling all the way through.

 

Fourth stop of our xialongbao crawl FC Shanghai ADDRESS CORRECTION
321 W Garvey Ave
Suite A
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 573-5060

This is a nice sized place with pink décor but because the mood had changed from our third experience we were not happy crawlers anymore. Nevertheless, the staff was friendly and the dumplings were good.
What I learned from this experience is that xiǎolóngbāo for breakfast or lunch is a casual and often chaotic affair. You have to try different places to get the full experience of what a dumpling should taste like.

 

Third stop: on our xialong bao crawl Giang Nan. This is a bigger place but it was the least understanding. When we explained that we needed a table for eight and that we would only be doing a tasting it did not go over well. We asked for two orders (8 in each basket) of the seafood XLB because they only had one kind. Since the XLB seemed to be getting better as the day went we were expecting it to be just as good if not better. When the first basket arrived our disappointment began. The fillings were very fishy and some had no flavor. It was like no two dumplings were the same.At that point we didn’t even want our next order but before we could say anything it came out and no one wanted to touch it.

 

Dean Sin World was our second stop of our xialongbao crawl This is a small place with limited seating but it has the best XLB by far. They are open 6 days a week, 8 am – 6pm, closed on Monday. This place was so accommodating and the friendliness of the place was off-the-charts. When we explained to the owner that we would only be sampling and that we had two more places to go to she brought out two types of baked buns(dianxin) to try. There was a red bean and a cabbage (sauerkraut) and while these were good we were on a mission and did not want to deviate from our goal and taint our palate. But, we also couldn’t be rude so we ate them. Finally, the star of the show arrived as nice basket of steamed pork dumplings. They looked quite plain but as soon as you bite into one, you awaken the flavors in the slick broth and the nice texture of the pork filling. Within seconds, your mouth was happy and you knew this was the place to beat. The standard had been set

 

Mama’s Lu was the first stop of a xialongbao crawl. Let me tell you, all eight of us were starving in anticipation of having good XLB and Mama Lu’s delivered. The dumplings were put into the steamed bamboo baskets, and before long they were brought to our table. The pork flavor dumplings and the crab were richly comforting in their own broth. When eating XLB it’s nice to take a bite and sip out the broth. Don’t forget to drizzle it with chiankiang vinegar and slivers of ginger which was provide upon ordering. They were so good that I wanted to stay seated and enjoy the
wonderful rich flavors that Mama Lu’s has but we had a plan and we were going to stick to it.