Seattle – Arcade Lights

Thankfully the rain stopped and it was still nice and cool to deal with the crowds at this annual event. Food was unlimited this year unlike last year which was nice, but overall I think the food wasn’t quite as good.Salmon ceviche was my favorite and the Thai tea icecream was great too.

Taleggio arancini with Calabrian chile aioli

Marinated strawberries, charred halumi cheese, pomegranate reduction, micro watercress

 

Biscuit and gravy

Lobster and corn chowder

Oyster shooter

Salmon poke

Shrimp ceviche

Rub with love salmon, grilled shiitake relish

Thai iced tea icecream

 

 

 

 

 

Seattle – Cochon 555

An evening filled with all things pork. It was a bit chaotic as each restaurant could make 6 dishes with their pig and served them at different times. Had to constantly move around to make sure didn’t miss out on a course but we failed to get at least 2 of them. Vestal’s food was my favorite and won the competition. The ribs were amazingly tender just by themselves, the peas in the soup were cooked perfectly, and the fritter was amazing even with a weird combination like pork inside it.

Ethan Stowell Restaurants – Prosciutto di Parma with ahi tuna

Radiator Whiskey – blood sausage, yolk, lard biscuit crumb, sorghum

Walrus & Carpenter – Muffaletta with mortadella and smoked pork loin, bacon & caramalized blue cheese cake

Pork fat brioche with pork liver mousse

Lil smokey with rhubarb and blood ketchup

Radiator Whiskey – Smoked face cakes with trotter & shank baked beans

Bacon ice cream with a vial of whisky

Vestal – 9 flavor pork ribs

Okonomiyaki

Pork ragu pasta

Pea and pork belly soup

Apple and pork fritters

 

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles – Grand Central Market

After lunch at Otium I still had a bit of an appetite so made the short walk over to this historic landmark that’s been converted into a gigantic food court for the most part, there is still a butcher and fruit and veg stall that I saw. I walked the whole place and while I was tempted to get more tacos I didn’t think I could manage it and just had some icecream before walking around the museums and the concert halls in the neighboring blocks.

I got banana salted caramel (top) and sea salt cream and cookies.

 

Los Angeles – Otium

When I read about a French Laundry alum opening this new restaurant I quickly asked a friend if she and her husband would join me. Her brother and parents were insanely jealous that we were going as it’s hard to get a reservation apparently, I’d say for dinner but weekend brunch shouldn’t be that difficult.

The food was extremely good and there were some inventive takes on old dishes. The foie gras funnel cake was extremely fun and the mole was definitely upscale compared to what you mainly find in LA. My only major gripe was we didn’t have big enough appetites to eat the whole menu. My favorite was the smoked salmon, very well prepared and I liked the new take on the everything bagel with cream cheese and salmon.

Crispy Potatoes: lemon salt, aleppo pepper, creme fraiche

Smoked Salmon: red onion, radish, lemon, everything topped bagel

Funnel Cake: foie gras, strawberry, fennel, balsamic

Hangtown Fry: bacon, fried oysters, parmesan mousse, chive blossoms

Pork Belly: caramalized garlic egg, rice, bok choy

Mole: eggs, blue corn tortilla, cotija, cilantro

 

 

 

Los Angeles – El Chato

What an awesome taco truck. It doesn’t open until 9pm and there was a 20-person deep line when I rolled up at 9:15. They have all my favorite fillings like cabeza, lengua, and tripa and each taco is only a freaking dollar. So cheap. They’re small enough that I could eat four different kinds even though I had dinner a few hours earlier.

Went with pastor, pollo, cabeza and lengua. They were all incredible but the lengua was my favorite.

 

Los Angeles – Getty Center

Since I can’t eat all day got in some culture by heading up to the Getty. I really like the architecture and the garden more than the exhibits. Got there shortly after it opened so it was still pretty quiet, too bad the sun was already blazing in the sky so lighting a bit harsh.

 

Los Angeles Breakfasts – Huckleberry & Rockenwagner

This weekend I’ve gone to two bakeries that serve above average breakfast and amazing pastries.

Huckleberry: Fried egg sandwich – bacon and arugula

Cinnamon roll – incredibly light and flaky. I wanted another one

Rockenwagner: Pretty standard but with fresh ingredients

Raspberry Cro-dough – not quite as good as the original

 

Los Angeles – Trois Mec

I was all set to attempt to eat both meals since Trois Mec uses Tock, the ticketing system developed by a co-owner of Alinea, which sells whole tables. Thankfully a Seattle friend had a buddy who was available. Trois Mec offers a 5-course tasting menu with an additional sixth that we snapped up. At $110 including taxes and service charge, but not the $16 for the supplemental course,  it’s a steal especially when you count the four amuse as well. We sat at the kitchen counter and towards the end of the meal I told the chef that it was very reasonably priced and he replied that he wants his food to be accessible to as many people as possible. Very admirable.

I unfortunately forgot to take pictures of two of the courses but did find them on Instagram.

I really like the sablefish dish, the lemon gel was amazing and paired very well. The grilled cheese was also fantastic, we watched on the cooks rotate it many times to make sure it was evenly browned and crunchy without getting burned. The cheese was a nice sharp cheddar but didn’t overpower the truffle.

Buckwheat popcorn

Deep fried tapioca, passion fruit, parmesan

Chickpea tuille, scallion, fennel

Poached egg yolk, sherry caramel

Big eye tuna, heirloom beets, rhubarb, soy

 

Asparagus grenobloise, brown butter, citrus, capers

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDsYzFgqmpD/

Black cod, peas, leeks, meyer lemon

Ribeye, Chinese eggplant, shallot, smoked yogurt. The meat was “wafer theeen”and only cooked on one side over the wood-burning grill for about 20 seconds.

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Grilled black truffle cheese sandwich, charcoal icecream

Avocado, macadamia, ginger-aji icecream

 

Los Angeles – La Azteca & Gorilla Tacos

Back in LA for a few days so of course the first meal is Mexican. Went back to La Azteca to get their amazing tacos. They’re not super fancy but it’s the fresh made tortilla that really steals the show, perfectly crispy and chewy at the same time. The chiccarons were my favorite but anything more than one taco of it. Also got carne asada and carnitas.

 

I followed this with Gorilla Tacos, the only had one meat taco on it which was baja shrimp. The toppings were fresher and more interesting than La Azteca but the limp corn tortilla really disappointed. Wish I had eaten Gorilla first to appreciate the shrimp and salsa then having the taste of La Azteca in my mouth longer.