I’m not sure what to do this Thanksgiving…I have a passion for gourmet-fusion, but people expect “traditional” feasts. I have never made someone else’s recipe for any of the Thanksgiving dishes I’ve made, but I still do dressings, mashed potatos, turkeys, and biscuits…but not quite the same as most people. I add one key component not many people do: flavor.
What should I do this year? I have a few people relying on me for a delicious feast…would I let them down if I didn’t get them the usual (kicked up)? Would crispy roasted turkey skin chips with turkey liver mouse and a white/dark turkey-sweet potato hash topping be a good alternative? In my head, it works very well, but should I test this on Thanksgiving? Even if it does work well, how would be feel about feel?
Maybe the solution is to make the meals that I’m used to making for Thanksgiving (that’s right, Thanksgiving with flavor), and adding some great appetizers that nobody has tasted.
Walking into Grand Lux Cafe, I was immediately struck by the atmosphere — I felt this weird vibe like I was standing inside of a Cheesecake Factory. After flipping through the menu I realized there was more than just a vibe connecting the two. David Overton, Founder of The Cheesecake Factory Restaurants is responsible for Grand Lux Cafe as he was commissioned by the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to create an upscale casual restaurant for the Venetian.
With all the execution problems of the Cheesecake Factory, I was certainly a bit wary of what the Grand Lux Cafe was going to offer. I was almost ashamed to give this place a great review because it felt like a chain, but I must be honest, the food I ate was great.
The large portions aren’t an even-swap for quality at Grand Lux Cafe, they are a complement to it. The Jamaican jerk pork tenderloin was perfect. It was cooked perfectly; the flavor was perfect — it merged a sweet and savory flavor into some sort of a dry rub, meets marinade. Accompanying the pork tenderloin were unflavorful white rice, al dente black beans, sweet potato mash, fried wonton skins, and a mango salsa.
Imperfect sides were the only downfalls of the plate, but the juices from the pork helped bring flavor to the white rice where it could. A sweet potato mash is hard to get wrong, and Grand Lux Cafe did not get it wrong. It was very sweet and very smooth. There was a pretty good flavor to the beans, with the obvious hint of cumin and some sort of a spicy pepper, but al dente is not a complement when referring to beans.
Surprise, surprise…I was very surprised indeed.
Riding the wave of Spanish indulgence from my experience at The Spanish Kitchen, I decided to try a restaurant that I pass several times a week. Tinto, in West Hollywood, offers a great way to try a variety of Spanish dishes by way of the Executive Chef from Balboa — the North-Western region of Spain.
Enjoying Happy Hour at any restaurant is a double-edged sword. Cheap plates, are generally small, and cooked in bulk — the care that goes into them isn’t always the best that it can be. Ordering nearly every tapa from the starter menu, I would think I was able to get a good cross-section of what the restaurant has to offer, but from the looks of the menu, the truth of the restaurant’s cuisine lies in the entrees.
While the tapas are fairly priced for a varietal consumption, at $5 each during Happy Hour, the entrees are in the $30 region. With so many great restaurants in Los Angeles such as Animal, where you can enjoy Spanish inspired dishes and products from all over Spain, it is difficult to commit to spending $30 on a dish that is not represented fantastically by the tapas.
Though it is great to be able to try six different tapas for only $30, the portions are very small. Perhaps the portions were so small because they were served during Happy Hour. Even with the assumption that the portions for each tapa at other times may be larger, not all the tapas are worth trying.
Tinto’s Spanish tortilla lacked flavor, and was served at room temperature. The only other time I’ve eaten a Spanish tortilla, it was also served at room temperature as well so this may be true to form, but the lack of seasoning is not. At $5 for four small squares and the lack of seasoning, this item is not worth trying. The chef attempts to spice up the tortilla by adding a garlic aioli for dipping, but it proved invaluable as the aioli itself lacked flavor as well.
One tapa includes Spanish chorizo from Basque, Spain, wrapped in a thin layer of what appeared to be bacon, and baked in a shallow layer of a white wine-garlic sauce. The chorizo was as good as it can be as it is a prepared sausage which is merely heated, but the real complexity of the tapa came by way of the white wine-garlic sauce. The flavors of the bacon and the chorizo formed a symbiotic relationship with the white wine-garlic sauce to create a beautiful flavor.
The Albóndigas a la Española consisted of medium-sized meatballs made of beef and pork which sat in an onion, leek, carrot, and garlic sauce. The meatballs were a bit overcooked, but the flavor makes them the second best I’ve ever had. The sauce was reminiscent of a gravy, yet does not seem to contain the makings of a roux according to the description divulged. Both the meatballs and the sauce were fantastic, but didn’t seem to pair. The sauce does well with the sliced baguette, and the meatballs would have paired well with the white wine-garlic sauce, or stood alone quite well, too.
Being a fan of dates, and a huge fan of salty and sweet pairings, I ordered the
Dátiles Rellenos de Queso de Cabrales con Bacon, which consisted of madjool dates, stuffed Cabrales cheese, and wrapped in smoked bacon. Cabrales cheese, being a Spanish blue cheese, gave me the impression that I should expect a sharp contrast to the sweet dates and the cheese, but the cheese was washed out completely by the flavor of the dates. While the bacon was tasty it was not as flavorful or crispy as I hoped. This dish is worth trying for $5, but could certainly be better if a sharper cheese and a saltier bacon were used.
The sultry atmosphere of the dark lit restaurant makes this a perfect place to bring a date. Delicious sangria makes this the perfect place to start a night off as well. And as far as comfort goes, the bar stools are the most comfortable I’ve ever sat in.
No restaurants seem to have as great of chemistry as Tinto does — from the bartender, to the hostess, to the chef, and the waiter, everyone meshes very well together and the chemistry is so apparent that it immediately makes you comfortable. I have never felt an aura from any other restaurant before, like I did at Tinto. It seems as if everyone cares about the success of the plate; about the success of the restaurant; about the experience of the patrons. If for no other reason, go to Tinto to experience the art of the restaurant through the synergy of people that work there.
Spanish Tortilla
7511 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 512-3095
I sat down and opened up the menu at The Spanish Kitchen in West Hollywood. To my dismay the menu features mostly Mexican dishes. I opted for one Spanish dish, and one Mexican dish.
The Spanish dish that I ordered was the lobster crepe, with a Mexican cocoa crepe, sautéed lobster, leeks, Manchego cheese, and a tequila-lobster cream sauce. For a Spanish dish, it incorporates two dishes synonymous with Mexico: tequila and Mexican cocoa.
The lobster crepe was overtly sweet, with subtle undertones of savory Manchego cheese. The tequila was not a prevalent flavor, and sadly, nor was the lobster. Though the lobster itself seemed to be cooked to the proper degree, its flavor was masked by the cream sauce and the cheese. Attempting to taste the indiscernible flavor of the lobster, one solitary bite with as little sauce as possible was necessary — the lobster still had no flavor of its own.
Subsequently, the Mexican dish arrived. The plate consisted of three small tacos. There were six options of meat to choose from, so I selected the best cross-section for taste-testing: chicken, bbq pork, and mesquite steak.
Each taco was topped with lettuce, diced tomato, and Manchego cheese. Every topping added to the overall taste of taco. I started with the chicken taco because it was on the far left. The meat appeared to have been stewed and all the ingredients of the pot were soaked into the meat like a sponge. This chicken was both savory and sweet — an apparent theme for The Spanish Kitchen. Its only pitfall was that it was overcooked; making the chicken a bit mushy.
Overcooking was not the problem of the bbq pork; in fact the texture of the bbq was great. The meat separated, but did not feel mushy. If the caramelized surfaces of the pork were crispy, the pork would have had the perfect texture. The flavor of the bbq pork is comparable to that of carnitas, but again it was a bit sweet and didn’t have the apparent flavor of bay leaves. The flavor of the chicken reigns supreme over that of the bbq pork, but the texture of the bbq pork quelled that of the chicken. A combination of both meats would be ideal.
Both the chicken taco and the bbq pork taco were not improved by the addition of the tomato salsa that came with a basket of chips, but the mesquite steak tacos certainly was. The stand-alone salsa was the only thing saving the mesquite steak which was less than lukewarm by the time I took my first full bite, but not because I took too much time eating the first two tacos; the first two tacos weren’t very hot either. This certainly was not satisfactory, but even less enjoyable was the flavor of the meat. The steak was nearly bland, with a subtle smoky flavor that was somehow incorporated into the steak. Without the salsa, mesquite steak taco is not worth eating.
All in all The Spanish Kitchen is worth a visit, especially to sample starter dishes for $5 a piece during happy hour, although happy hour may have been their detriment as well. All too often happy hours consist of appetizers being cooked in bulk, and unfortunately in haste. Perhaps the salt missing from the mesquite steak and the unfavorable temperature of it can be attributed to haste in making bulk happy hour food.
The verdict is still out on whether or not The Spanish Kitchen will become a place of recurring dining for me, but the flavors of the chicken, the bbq pork, the tequila-lobster cream sauce, and the sweet salsa are reason enough for me to come back and try a few more dishes so I can find out.
Some people subscribe to the idea that keeping it simple (seriously???) is the best method of cooking. Some people go way over the top and add too many ingredients to a recipe.
I do think that simple food can be fantastic, but is it the best? I don’t think so. I think that keeping it simple works well, but only goes so far. Fusion food is the progressive…it’s evolution. Combining styles, and influences…ingredients from all over the world…techniques from everywhere: this is the way to truly create.
I’ll write up my meatball recipe soon and put it in the “Recipes” page section along with a picture of the cross-section. It fuses Italian, Chinese, and American influences to truly create a meatball.
It’s new to me, and I’m glad to have received the recommendation for it. I’m talking about El Compadre at 7408 W. Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA. This is the second best Mexican restaurant I’ve been to in Los Angeles at any time, however it is the current reigning champion with the best Mexican food I’ve had being at the Cactus Taqueria on Vine St. If you’ve read my other article Restaurant, No More!, you’ll understand why it’s no longer rated numero uno with me.
There are a few things that must be tested at a Mexican restaurant before it can be truly judged. For dinner tonight I enjoyed four of the seven. El Compadre understands that salt is muy necessario para sabor (very necessary for flavor) and adds the perfect amount to their carne asada. Most people speak too generally and say, “Fat is flavor.” This is not true. If you think this is true, buy pure lard, grab a giant spoon, scoop a heaping pile of lard into your mouth and enjoy. What? Not good? How about taking pure olive oil and drinking it? Some people taste olive oil like others taste wine. Believe me, if you’re not ready for it, you may just regurgitate whatever is in your stomach at the time. Fat brings flavors out for a series of reasons, but it is not flavor itself.
To really utilize fat in carne asada you have to leave only a tiny amount on the meat when you cook it. And you have to make the fat crispy. Read about the Maillard reaction and you’ll understand this more clearly. Someone at El Compadre understands this. The bit of fat left on the carne asada is crispy, like the fat in bacon after it’s been cooked perfectly.
El Compadre’s rice and refried beans are also good. Both are cooked perfectly, and as fresh as they can be. The refried beans are obviously not saved to become stale and re-refried. The rice is not left sitting for too long and does not get hard because of it. Both are seasoned well.
The carne asada plate with refried beans and rice were great. The tacos themselves were topped with guacamole, salsa, onions and lettuce. The refried beans are topped with melted cheese. All of which go very well with each other. The final accompaniment which is a necessary test of a Mexican restaurant is the salsa.
The spicy, red, thick, tomato based salsa is not hot for the sake of being hot. It is blended very well with flavor and heat. The salsa does not stand alone, but it works very well when pairing with the beans, rice, and tacos.
My final three tests will come soon. I need to try the chicken, the chile verde, and the flower tortilla. All of which are crucial for the sustainability of good Mexican food. For those of you asking about the corn tortilla chips, they are perfectly crispy, but could use a little more salt. For some, corn tortilla chips can make or break a Mexican restaurant, but for me, they are trivial.
Until next time El Compadre.
It’s hard to determine how many opportunities to give a restaurant to be good, especially when it was oh-so-good at one point. There is a line, but the line is different for each restaurant.
The best carne asada I have had in Los Angeles was at Cactus Taqueria, on Vine, just below Hollywood Blvd. I must have eaten there a dozen times and recommended it to a lot of people. At some point I saw new faces in the kitchen, and the carne asada became sub-par. After the integrity of the carne asada had been lost, I still ate there about four times – each time I hoped for the original, but it appeared I was chasing the white dragon.
It’s hard to let go of those restaurants that once made you oh-so-happy, but going back time and time again just allows them to continuously let you down, and encourages their bad behavior. You have to take a stand – but at what point?
Making the decision not to go back is difficult because you have so many good memories of the place, and there’s always the question of whether or not it’ll go back to the way you remember it. What if it does go back to the way you remember it and you’re not there to enjoy it? That’s a scary possibility but that’s the risk you have to take.
There is no set limit on when to let go, but you can put a restaurant on your backburner for a couple of months to limit your disappointments and obvious desperation – and maybe, just maybe, if enough people boycott a restaurant long enough they’ll figure it out and you’ll get lucky when you decide to revisit it.
Now, there’s the question of what to do when there’s a restaurant that you constantly hear good recommendations for. Try it out, and if it’s not that good, and not worth the price then say goodbye for the time being. This one is not quite so difficult to let go of because you haven’t had a good experience. The problem comes from people excusing your bad experience and calling you a quitter for not trying the food again.
I realize people begin to question their tastes when they hear so many good things about a place that didn’t offer a good experience when they tried it. “What do you mean you had the Fettuccini Alfredo? You’re supposed to have the Lasagna.” That’s a good point. Perhaps you should go back and have the Lasagna before you decidedly never go back; unless of course the Fettuccini Alfredo was really that terrible.
How many bad experiences do we have to have at a place before we have the right to a negative opinion about it? Unfortunately, for each friend with an opposing opinion, you’ll always be wrong. My absolute final straw for this is the lucky number three. After three times you can forget what anybody has to say about a restaurant. If it has failed you three times in a row, you are entitled to your decision to never return again.
There is no bigger mistake someone can make when plating pasta than to neglect to drain the water. This mistake wraps up the last attempt to find food worthy of eating at Cheesecake Factory.
Disapointed by my last hotdog and without breakfast today, I turned to the concession stand at the ArcLight for sustenance. It’s not as if I went out of my way for a hotdog from the ArcLight, I am here to see Appaloosa and I was hungry. Now that I’ve written my preface, I have a short review about the hotdogs at the ArcLight: they are actually good. They are no Nathan’s hotdogs, but they are good.
