I am a Hawaiian food junkie. If there's a Hawaiian restaurant nearby, I will be there, even if it's just a local Aloha Cafe or L&L BBQ. And at the top of the list of items I order: Kahlua pork and loco moco. Very few restaurants can make a good Kahlua pork, and fewer places can make a good loco moco (I've only had two good loco moco's that weren't homemade).

So imagine how happy I was to discover that Gardena is a home to quite a large Japanese-American population that likes Hawaiian restaurants! In addition to the standard L&L BBQ restaurants, I'm happy to have been introduced to Cherrystones and Gardena Bowl.

Cherrystones is a small restaurant in the middle of an industrial district that cooks AMAZING Kahlua pork. Not only is every single bite of the pork tender and soft (without necessarily being fatty), the flavor actually complements the cabbage. I very rarely eat the cabbage, since it always drowns the taste of the pork. In this case, though, the cabbage was cooked al dente, which left it very flavorful for a cabbage. The side salads were even good, but of course I never even touch that until I finish with the pork. So far, probably the best Kahlua pork I've ever had outside of Hawaii itself (at the luau, straight from the underground oven).

The Gardena Bowl is a bowling alley. A bowling alley with a small restaurant not unlike your resident greasy spoon. If there was such thing as a Japanese greasy spoon, this would be it, only the dishes were authentically Japanese and still relatively healthy as the item allows. I, of course, didn't opt for health, satisfying my craving for a loco moco. I figured, if this place is the way it looks, it should make a damn good loco moco. And boy, did it! This loco moco topped a plate of rice with grilled onions, a still-tender and moist ground beef patty, an egg made-to-order (mine was sunny side up), and GRAVY all over the whole thing. Since they were generous on the gravy and tender with the meat, it seemed to make all the difference in the world. This is one of the very few loco moco's I can enjoy without having to cook myself, and I'm so glad it's only a block away from Cherrystones and a couple blocks from where I work! Added perks: apparently Anthony Bourdain visited this episode in a Gardena/Hawthorne episode! Immediate props!

Cherrystones
15501 South Vermont Avenue, Gardena, CA 90247-4100 - (310) 329-8200
http://www.cherrystones.org/

Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop
15707 South Vermont, Gardena, CA 90247 - (310) 324-1244
http://www.gardenabowl.com/

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After blogging about Comme Ca, I confess it's kind of hard to think highly of STK Steakhouse. It's not that STK was bad, per se. It was okay for a steakhouse. But for a high end steak restaurant in Los Angeles, competing with the likes of Mastro's, Lawry's, or even Ruth's Chris, I expected better.

I give the place points for atmosphere. The place was trendy, the ambiance was nice, and the place actually was relatively quiet. Because EM and I had a 7 p.m. reservation, they even spaced us apart sufficiently for a great quiet space conducive to conversation. By 8 p.m. the place was filling up and by 9 p.m. the place was jam packed, but even then, it didn't get very loud. The restrooms were up a spiral staircase and the bar was a lounge one step lower and off to one side of the restaurant. Ambiance: beautiful.

It did not, however, make up for the food. The appetizer was amazing. We ordered a foie gras with french toast, and it was a taste explosion. The foie gras provided the salty counterbalance to the sweet green apple and the earthy french toast (which was indeed prepared as a traditional french toast with egg and powdered sugar). Texture was kind of bland, but the flavors (and the fact that it was foie gras) made up for it.

The entrees were mediocre, to say the least. EM ordered a bone-in ribeye and I ordered a filet mignon. We both ordered it rare (that's how we do), and his came out deep red and mine came out pink. I do fault this slightly on the fact that his was three times the size of mine, but they really should have timed it better. When mine came to the table, it looked a very grey-brown color, and if my meat isn't outright mooing, I don't find it enjoyable.

The sides were better, with larger than life steak cut ("log cabin cut, if you will) truffle fries and parmesan cheese grated on top, and green beans. The green beans were actually my favorite, since they were seasoned so very well. There was a richness of a red wine sauce with a pepper touch. The fries were pretty good too, very crispy on the outside (from being heavily deep-fried) and tender on the inside. The texture was pretty good, as was the hint of truffle oil.

All in all, I'd say go for the appetizers and the ambiance, but don't rely on the place for a great steak.

STK - LA
755 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90069 - (310) 659-3535
www.stkhouse.com

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Oxtail jam. What exactly is a jam made out of oxtail? Don't ask. Just eat. Enjoy. SAVOR.

I confess, I'm a new convert to bone marrow. All those years growing up, my mom always made pho with an oxtail base, and I never thought to indulge in the bone marrow for the richest flavor. Today, as a glutton for rich flavors, I find myself craving these fatty morsels of love, longing for a chance to scoop those tiny spoons in deeper for the kill. FTW!

It turns out that Comme Ca (French for "Like That") does it so well that it deserves the name--"It's like THAT, bitch" (*SMACKDOWN*). And everyone runs scared.

Because what you get on a plate is TWO--not one, but TWO--slices of bone with the marrow so properly executed that you can't help but want more. Along the edge and a little inside is a sprinkling of sea salt, which accentuates the meat flavor of the marrow. You are supposed to indulge with the oxtail jam, which really just seemed to be oxtail meat--very tender--sauteed in almost a wine reduction sauce. It was full and thick in texture, rich and salty in flavor. This was contrasted with the very thinly sliced and toasted slices of bread that added the crispiness to your mouthful. The result? A very filling and fulfilling flavor and texture combination that leaves you wanting more (but you're too full to have more!).

The price point is also awesome, at $14, and it makes for a nice stop-over for a first date at a bar. Full in flavor, light as a meal (listed as just an appetizer), and utterly gratifying. Highly recommended!

Comme Ca
8479 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA 90069 - (323) 782-1104
http://www.commecarestaurant.com/

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In this little hole in the wall restaurant just outside of the Larchmont district, there is a magical Peruvian restaurant that will knock your socks off. The best damn ceviche you will ever have, the best battered fish you will ever have, and the best beef saltado you will ever even dream of. This is Mario's Restaurant.

The wait will be crazy and the parking will be ridiculous, but once you get in and manage to get yourself seated in the very humbly inexpensive tables and chairs, you'll find yourself surrounded by a surprisingly quiet restaurant--because everyone is eating.

The ceviche is sliced larger than usual, with pieces of squid and octopus, but like Wilson in Culver City (which is now closed! :( ), it is cooked amazingly tenderly. The result is a ceviche which is not only perfectly tart, but also perfectly tender AND al dente, if you will.

The battered fish is salty and slightly spicy, but the perfect consistency of a high-end fish and chips, without the high-end price tag or the low end breadiness. A treat for future Lenten seasons!

The saltado was my favorite. The fries appeared to be sauteed with the meats for the perfect amount of time, to make them flavorful without losing the crispiness. The seasoning of the meat was the real winner, though, with a rich flavor that only years of history could inspire. Apparently the owners are Chinese, but they are transplants from Peru itself! Way to bring the homeland food to LA--this place is quite a treat at a great price point with the authenticity to boot.

Mario's Peruvian & Seafood Restaurant
5786 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038 - (323) 466-4181

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I was a huge fan of Water Grill. As one of the most well-known seafood restaurants in LA, it enjoyed a reputation as a fresh, high-end seafood restaurant where you could order a seafood platter that was bigger than your entire upper torso. (Okay, I exaggerate. But not by much.)

And the evening did start off well. We were delighted to enjoy some complimentary spicy tuna wrapped in cucumber on a spoon, a palette prep for what was to come. And check this out:

I had the MSC Certified Chilean Sea Bass (Soy-ginger baked with red chili jam, long beans and Japanese eggplant). This was drowned in Asian flavors, a taste explosion in your mouth. The flavors were clearly inspired by the Southeast Asian spices and flavors, and the fish was tender and well-cooked, as a Chilean sea bass always is to be.

DD had the Alaskan Black Cod (Sautéed and basted with lavender, Meyer lemon, and Madagascar vanilla bean oil). This was also very flavorful, a lot of salty and almost a gritty texture to the surface, as it it had a dry rub. The flavor was tart, almost as if to boast the citrus flavors, and all it seemed to need was a yuzu to calm down the citrus without taming it. The grapes and almonds were a very nice touch though. It tasted good until the middle of the evening, when I heard D say, "I think my food is moving."

"What?"

"There's something moving in my fish."

I checked myself, wondering if it was just a neurological reaction, like when you rub salt on a newly executed fish. No, to my dismay and disgust, there appeared to be a red worm wriggling and writhing along the surface of the fish. We called a waitress over, and she took it away, only to come back with a menu, citing that “It was a blood vein, moving along with the sauce.” Let me tell you, it was no vein. It was clearly red and moving on its own accord.

And you know they were hiding something because after they brought out a new dish, several people came by to check on our food, and they comped both the black cod and the new (expedited) dish. I think it would have been more worthy if they had admitted it and then comped us the dishes, but I suppose they thought we would buy into their Water(Grill)Gate scandal and eat and be merry. Needless to say, I didn’t finish my Chilean sea bass.

Out of principle, I’d still recommend the Water Grill if only because the rest of the seafood was amazing (and we had a coupon for a dozen free oysters). Just don’t order the white fish unless you want to nibble and carefully inspect as you go.

Water Grill
544 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90017 - (213) 891-0900
www.watergrill.com

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I hadn't been disappointed in a restaurant in awhile. I guess I was overdue. After eagerly anticipating DineLA as an opportunity to eat at fine restaurants for reasonable prices, I decided to go with my Twin to Jer-Ne, a blind stab in the dark based on what sounded like a good menu. What I got instead was food that attempted to be "fusion" and eclectic and modern, and instead ended up being cooked oddly, tasting slightly "off", all while sitting in a freezing cold restaurant.

I fought the butternut squash movement for awhile, first scorning the notion of an orange vegetable puree being a cold soup... New York changed that with Gramercy Tavern serving what to this day is still one of the best butternut squash soups I've ever had. So I've been adventurously daring in ordering the butternut squash soup, in hopes that it would replicate the greatness of the Gramercy Tavern experience. Jer-Ne fell miserably short. The butternut squash soup (butternut squash, Frangelico, pumpkin oil) was so bland and slightly bitter that I ended up adding tons of pepper in hopes that it would save it. It did not. The bitterness actually overwhelmed the pepper, creating this very sad aftertaste in my mouth that hardly felt like what I was paying for. I happen to love Frangelico, and theoretically, it should have made the butternut squash a little sweeter, but perhaps the pumpkin oil just overwhelmed it.

For the meal, I ordered a Chilean sea bass, also a favorite of mine. Usually the fish is so tender you don't even need a butter knife, but this time it was seared on one side and soft throughout. The only problem was, it was over-seared. In other words, the bottom of the fish was hard to prod through, even with a knife, and the rest was too soft. It had quite an odd texture to it, too divergent, and I couldn't deal with it.

The dessert was hardly better, with pumpkin creme brulee and maple walnut ice cream. In my general order of preference, I would usually pick the creme over the maple walnut, but this time I enjoyed picking at the walnuts more than I enjoyed the creme brulee. The creme was almost too crispy, and again there was something slightly off about the flavor... Almost as if it lacked sweetness. It was odd, coming from a dessert to lack sweetness, but I suppose it may have also been part of the theme of autumn and dreariness.

Overall, nothing to write home about, though presentation was awarded a few points. Next time I suppose we'll have to gun for something in the Beverly area, since I'm having more and more orgasmic meals from there than anywhere else in the LA area.

Jer-Ne Restaurant + Bar

4375 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292 - (310) 823-1700

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/MarinadelRey/Dining/Jer-NeRestaurantBar/Default.htm

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The second DineLA experience was much better than the first at Jer-Ne. Don't get me wrong--the company was equally enjoyable, but the food was absolutely exquisite and exceeded expectations.

This and Gotham in NYC are among the few times I couldn't finish a meal that was absolutely orgasmic because it was too rich. This and Mario's Peruvian Food were the only two times I have ever regretted having even one piece of bread. Yes, it is that good.

As appetizers, DD and I chose the crispy pork belly and the butternut squash bisque. The crispy pork belly was tender and crispy, cooked to perfection. The meat itself was full of flavor, and it was actually juicy, which is so hard to do with frying. It was seasoned with carmelized apple, quail egg, yukon gold puree, and frisee, a perfect balance of delicate, yet fruity flavors that didn't detract from the fact that pork is a more subtle meat. Quite a success! The butternut squash bisque was an equal success! They created a lobster salad with crisp sage in the middle of the bowl and waited until arriving at the table to pour the exact amount of soup from a perfectly measured container (unlike Gramercy Tavern, NYC, which was also delicious but poured their soup from a larger container, almost as if to say you were sharing that soup with the rest of the restaurant like pigs eating from a trough. Yes, the little things get to me. In all fairness, Gramercy Tavern's soup was delicious!). The lobster salad accentuated the soup and yet also brought its own flair. Unlike Jer-Ne, which left the butternut squash to wallow in its own bitterness, you tasted Dakota's butternut squash light up and flair up, like a dear friend telling an exciting story. In the end, a dense and thick soup ended up being a light, refreshing appetizer.

Equally compelling were the entrees. DD picked the beef duo, a coriander crusted grassfed New York and a short rib, paired with poached asparagus and fingerling lyonaise with bordelaise. The meats were filling and heavy from what I tasted, almost as rich as Arcadia's steak rossini (but let's face it--nothing is truly that rich). I had the trout meuniere. Let me just say that to this day, it still leaves me a bit breathless. The trout was so fresh and so rich, a wild trout, I'm told, that it was PINK like a salmon. Not only was it tender and rich, but it was cooked to perfection with lump crab meat, baby parsnips, heirloom carrots, and carmelized salsify. The only thing that could have made it better was the butters.

THE BUTTERS. I still fantasize about those saucy little minxes. Apparently at Dakota, you can order a butter as a side. So for every meal, be it fish or steak, vegetables or soup, the chef recognizes that like bacon, butter tastes good with everything. Of the four choices of butter, DD and I opted for the fine herb and the foie gras butter. You heard me. Foie gras BUTTER. In case you can't tell, I have an inordinate obsession with foie gras, and I love me some butter. So imagine my surprise when the two were wrapped up in one, ready to be eaten with my delicious trout! A-MAZ-ING. I have no other words. You simply haven't lived until you have tried the foie gras butter with the trout. With the meat. With ANYTHING. I want it for my fried rice. I want it in every dish I make. I'll die an early and very happy death.

The desserts were delicious, but nothing to write home about. Honestly, I was still reeling from the ecstasy of having discovered a love of my life. We ordered a chocolate mousse blossom and the warm apple tartin. Since I'm still light-headed from remembering the goodness of the appetizers and entrees, I'll leave you to the pictures. I believe they speak for themselves.

Overall, this was a great experience. Getting there was a disaster since it's located in the heart of touristy Hollywood, and it was in a loud hotel (hotel restaurants kind of irk me), but I'd do it again in a heartbeat to get me some of that foie gras butter with trout. Entirely worth the DineLA experience and still on my list since I'm pretty sure I saw a foie gras on the appetizer list as well... :)

Dakota Restaurant

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA

http://www.dakota-restaurant.com/

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Few things get me more excited than leisure trips. I absolutely love the thrill of exploring new places, eating new foods, planning how to get there, where to stay, how to find the best bargains, and how to maximize every waking second of time I get to escape whatever reality my life is in, and simply enjoy another reality for awhile. So imagine my thrill and surprise when DD decided to take a trip with me, hopefully our first of many together!

We decided to take a trip to Northern California together. Both of us being ambitious and determined people, we decided on several main stops in a span of four short days: San Jose, Napa, San Francisco, Berkeley, and back to San Jose. ...And we decided to drive.

The good news is, with each other's company, the drive went by like a breeze. It felt like a drive, but it felt like a much shorter drive than 5-6 hours. And the further good news is (since with DD I hardly ever have bad news), there was heinously good food on this trip!

Side Stop #1:
Pismo Beach: Mo's SmokeHouse BBQ

Only after looking at the website to research the address and phone number of this place did I discover that this is a chain restaurant with SoCal locations! Woot! I had one of the best Louisiana hot links I have had in my entire life. Well cooked, well seasoned, tender and moist.... I'm salivating just thinking about it! This hot link was a rich shade of red, looking just as appetizing as it tasted. I shared some with DD who also admitted that it was one of the best sausages he'd ever had. I didn't care too much for the ton of onions and peppers they had on top, but I swept it to one side and enjoyed my sausage. The side of coleslaw was pretty good too, though I confess that may at least be in part due to the delirium of happiness upon eating the sausage.

DD had the tri-tip, which was remarkably tender. I confess I don't remember much of it since our trip was at least a month ago and I wasn't eating it as my own main course, but I do recall that in addition to the meat's tenderness, the BBQ sauce made it that much more heavenly.

We ate our food with some beers in one of the outside patio seats, and even though the table was lopsided and annoyed the hell out of us, it was such a beautiful day, sunny with slight winds, that you couldn't help but to just enjoy it and take it all in. So we did, when we walked to the pier on the beach, just a couple storefronts away. Pismo Beach was an amazingly relaxing choice for a pit shop, exactly halfway along the coast, and it fed us well!

Mo's SmokeHouse BBQ

221 Pomeroy Street, Pismo Beach, California 93449 - (805) 773-6193

http://www.mosbbq.com/

Side Stop #2:

Napa: Taylor's Automatic Refresher

It's like the resident In-N-Out, with more options! This is the oddest, and yet cutest 50's diner cafe, in a prime location--directly in the middle of the Napa strip. High traffic passes by the location, and there's always a line. But with good reason! The line goes fast, and once you get to the front, you can order anything from garlic fries to a salmon burger.

DD and I had already eaten lunch, but we were determined to have some food here in between Reverie and Hartwell. So stop we did, and we only got a light snack--which in our world is two orders of fries and a drink. Sweet potato fries, garlic fries, and a root beer float! Oh, I'm salivating just thinking about it again! The sweet potato fries were freshly cooked and extra crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the garlic fries were SMOTHERED in garlic. I can't vouch for whether it's better than Dodger fries, since it's been awhile since I've been to Dodger's Stadium, but I can say it comes pretty damn close. And the root beer float? What better way to finish off a wildly unhealthy meal at a 50's diner joint while sitting out in the open on a sunny, beautiful day? The root beer may as well have been wine for how good it was to us.

Taylor's Automatic Refresher

644 First Street, Napa, CA 94559 - 707-224-6900

http://taylorsautomaticrefresher.com/

Side Stop #3:

San Jose: Arcadia

I hardly even need to actually describe them. I just need to say their names.

Foie gras sliders.

Duck fat fries.

Lobster corndogs.

Ahi tuna tartare.

Steak Rossini.

Okay, maybe that last one deserves a fuller description: filet mignon topped with Hudson Valley foie gras and glazed in a pinot noir wine reduction. Toss it on a tower of seared potato and sauteed spinach and you have a recipe for LEGEND. This was not only one of the richest items you will ever eat, but it was also a dish that simply melted in your mouth for as long as you would let it before taking it all in. Yes, it was that good. The filet mignon was tender, the foie gras left nothing to be desired, and the wine reduction was such a flavorful and yet delicate complement to the meal that it brought out all the subtle richness of the filet and foie gras, without making it overbearingly rich. In short, the dish sang perfect harmony at a perfect tempo and a perfect volume. It was magnificent.

Also magnificent was how beautiful the dessert was. It was just a couple of mini doughnuts, but it was arranged so beautifully, with hazelnut ice cream and crushed nuts all around the plate... It was rich and decadent without being too sweet or too salty. A good mix of flavors and textures.

Book a reservation next time you're ever in the San Jose area. You will not regret it. The decor could use a little work, but if you ignore the fact that it's a hotel's continental breakfast bar by day, you can eat a meal that will knock your socks off. Needless to say, I recommend the steak rossini.

Arcadia

Marriott, 100 West San Carlos Street, San Jose, CA 95113 - 408-278-4555

http://www.michaelmina.net/arcadia/

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Kotteri. Kotteri is the magic word.

Before this word, I hardly knew what ramen was. Now, it feels as if my eyes have been opened, and a new ramen has come to rule them all. KOTTERI. You. Are. Beautiful.

It all started after a football game, when we all decided to eat dinner together somewhere near the downtown LA area. Our friend AY recommended this place, describing the food and admitting that it sounded disgusting, but it was amazingly delicious. It was pork simmered in pork with pork fat. I don't know about you, but that kind of gets me going.

After finding street parking and waiting the excruciating hour for one of the maybe 20 seats in the place, we finally sit ourselves down to the real deal. But like Levar Burton said on Reading Rainbow, you don't have to take my word about it--from the menu:

Daikoku Ramen
the process begins the afternoon before it ever reaches your table by boiling pork bones and joints in a large cauldren all throughout the night reducing at an undisclosed location. by the time it reaches the stove behind the counter the next day all the goodness is concentrated in our famous tonkotsu soup base. from the pot the soup goes into bowls (large and half size available upon request) where it is infused with our secret blended soysauce. into the completed broth we add boiled chijire style egg noodles, the firmness of which can be altered upon request. finally the kurobuta pork belly chashu, marinated boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onions and sprinkle of sesame seeds completes the reason why you're here and why we are still in business. for all tonkotsu fanatics: ask for the richer, kotteri flavor which uses added soup extracted from the back fat

You try to read that and tell me it doesn't sound amazing. The soup base is amazingly rich, so rich that it's almost a pure opaque white color with all of the soup base. After hours of simmering, the soup hardly even splits into miscible layers--it stays one solid rich color and flavor. I've never seen anything like it, and I grew up watching my mother simmer pots of pho that I could swim in. The pho always had oxtail and bone marrow and rich pieces of meat, but it never came out looking as rich as this ramen did. The meats were tender, the sesame seeds added a perfectly faint flair, and the marinated egg is absolutely amazing. It's unlike any egg you've had before. Almost like a seasoned duck egg, but less salty and more flavorful and zesty.

All in all, I was MORE than impressed, and from the time I was introduced a month ago, I have tried to go at least twice since. It's a looooooong wait and parking is annoying, but for a $10 meal, this is absolutely worth it.



Daikokuya
327 E 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
http://www.daikoku-ten.com/

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Eels are scary creatures. They're slimy and slippery and Flotsam and Jetsam from The Little Mermaid used to make me all scared with their yellow camera eyes and smirking faces. Eels are not the prettiest creatures on earth. They give me nightmares when I watch them swim around.

But cook them up and slather them in teriyaki sauce? Well then they're delicious!

There's nothing quite like a piece of eel, delicately scorched to the perfect warmth and crispiness with a teriyaki glaze on top (if indeed that is the sauce they typically use) lying ever so softly on a piece of sushi rice, wrapped in a slice of seaweed and ready to pick up and eat in one warm bite. Well, nothing like it until you take that same concept and put it in a bowl, multiply the proportions by 30, and add an EGG!

Meet the Eel Egg Bowl at Miyabi Tei, in the Mitsuwa Supermarket food court in Costa Mesa. While this isn't exactly the most romantic date spot in OC, it's the perfect little lunch spot, always with a long line and always smelling like heaven. The eel egg bowl is exactly what it sounds like. Eel and egg, cooked together and slathered in that rich sauce, then served over some sauteed onions and white rice. And while you're deprived of the crunchier or crispier textures, you get a lot of the softer textures in this dish to complement the flavors. It's the soft eel flesh attached to the slightly unyielding eel skin, cooked in an egg that has parts where it's fully yellow and parts where it's soft and white jelly. If you dig deeper, you notice that the rice, soft and sticky, also has some sauce all over it, allowing you to savor the flavors without worrying that the rice will dull it all down. Even with all the sauce, it's not overwhelming, and with all the textures, it makes up for the lack of color and the fact that you're eating Flotsam and Jetsam.

Yes, friends, tonight I sleep well!

Miyabi Tei
665 Paularino Ave., Costa Mesa, CA
http://www.yelp.com/biz/miyabi-tei-costa-mesa

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Oh Prix-Fixe menus! How I will never tire of thee! Who's in for some good food lovin'??
http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=6&ref=2954&pid=268

Last week DD and I caught some Ruth's Chris for the Orange County Restaurant Week, and my, was it good! Nothing like the smell of beef roasted in butter... Like Anthony Bourdain said, "Mmmm. Tastes like it died screaming!"

Which brings us to my steak rankings! In a loose order of preference, since, well, all steaks are meat and therefore wonderful, I present to you my top 5 destinations for brilliance:
1. Ruth's Chris - It's all about the butter....
2. Lawry's Prime Rib - So tender and so wonderful. Once the manager walked up to me and saw that I was finishing a Lawry's Cut by myself. He said if I finished it, he'd give me another on the house. I finished it.
3. Mastro's Steakhouse - Classic and tender.
4. Porterhouse Bistro - Well-prepared and well seasoned. Order the 40-oz cut for two.
5. BOA - I think I just really like the roasted garlic.

On the list to try:
1. Cut (LA)
2. Jar (LA)
3. Peter Luger's (NYC)

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Don't be fooled by this adorable smiley face with his chef's hat and a huge, almost phallic, loaf of bread. Behind this chipper exterior is the face of a beast. A fat-mongering, grease-loving evil mastermind. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to brilliance. Brilliance has a name, and it is Mr. Baguette.

The fact that he's not named Monsieur Baguette (to continue the French theme) only adds to his rebellious nature. The crime? The rebellion? The absolute anarchy masked in a smiley face and a quiet, small restaurant in Rosemead, CA? Fried EGG! Sesame! In a banh mi sandwich!

DD and I were foraging for something to munch on, when he remembered a place that he swore would put Lee's Sandwiches to shame. Now, having grown up with Banh Mi Cali Sandwiches and Lee's Sandwiches, I was leery of anyone who tried to intrude on my already comfortable niche market. If I wanted lots of meat and a full loaf of bread, I went to Banh Mi Cali. If I wanted crunch bread and a quick fix in a rapidly expanding franchise, I went to Lee's Sandwiches. And if I couldn't get to one of those, I would go without.

So needless to say, I was a little reluctant to try out this intruding sandwich shop in the middle of the asian capital of Los Angeles, Rosemead/Alhambra/Monterey Park. The outside was unassuming, which is bonus points in my book. Once inside, it looked remarkably like a Lee's Sandwich, clean, well designed menus with color pictures of each item, everything clearly labeled, and a front counter displaying foods you could buy to make your own at home.

And then I saw it. There, in the refrigerated counter, food-saver sealed with their own meat-market looking label, was a chunk of pate--5" in diameter and 2" thick. Lucious, savory, and delicious looking.

SOLD.

While looking at the menu of sandwiches, I decided on the "Dac Biet" Special sandwich. And then, from the mouth of the love of my life came the magical words: "You have breakfast sandwiches. Is there any way we can have an egg in the Dac Biet sandwich?" "Yes." (The counter clerk may as well have said "I Do", the word was so magical.) So there we went on our way, to wait for the sandwiches we ordered and a couple more we ordered to go. When we got them, they gave us the pickled veggies on the side, which is an added perk--the sandwich won't get soggy later and you can reheat the whole thing without ruining the fresh, cold flavors of the veggies. Once combined, I realized what made this place a mecca for Vietnamese sandwich lovers--the combinations of flavors. It wasn't just the meat, which was tender and present in relative abundance, but it was also the toasted sesame seeds on the bun that added a rich toasted flavor. The egg was just icing on the cake! While the pate was sporadic at best, when you got a rich spread of it in one bite, it was that much better--like you'd been waiting for it your whole life!

And thus, I concede defeat. Yes, Mr. Baguette, you can come play with my other banh mi favorites. And somewhere in my head, the scene plays:

"Do you expect me to talk?"
"No, Mr. Baguette, I expect you to feeeeeed me!"

Mr. Baguette
8702 Valley Blvd., Rosemead, CA, (626) 288-9166
www.mrbaguettesandwiches.com

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