Archive
for October, 2013
Highland Park: Sandwich Salvation at Monte 52
Oct 16 2013
Monte 52 has been around for ten whole months, but I’m embarrassed to say that I barely found out about it in July—despite the fact that I drive by it almost daily. In my defense, it is tucked away inside La Tropicana Market, itself a Highland Park gem, where I’ve bought the occasional agua fresca but never ventured to the deli counter…until one fateful day. And that’s when I found it, the best sandwich shop in the neighborhood. Since then, I’ve been making up for lost time by making my way through their delicious, thoughtfully-conceived and well-crafted menu.
Brought to you by the folks behind Echo Park’s The Park, including chef Mitchell Jones who runs the counter, this deli is everything you want it to be. They serve salads, sandwiches, burgers, and soup, plus, rotisserie chicken and french fries. The meat and produce used are quality, portions are sizeable, and a lot of care is put into every order. Amazingly, the prices are still low, with almost everything on the menu costing about $6.
Worth the Drive: From the Colonel to Koreatown, Kyochon is Finger Lickin’ Good
Oct 04 2013
A closer look at the evolution of fried chicken could easily be a case study of our ever-changing, multicultural history. Originally a European cuisine reaching back to the medieval period, Scottish settlers brought their recipes for frying up cluckers across the Atlantic to the Americas. Once introduced to the United States, the dish became deeply embedded in Southern culture and cuisine, rising to national popularity with Colonel Sander’s Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Meanwhile, here in present day Los Angeles, fried chicken is going through a renaissance by way of Asian cuisine, with Japanese karaage (kah-rah-ge) and Korean chicken places popping up all over. Jumping on the bandwagon, or into the coop as the case may be, I stopped into Kyochon in Koreatown, long lauded by Jonathan Gold as the “Best Fried Chicken.” Kyochon does fried chicken five ways, freshly made to order in a fast-food style: Signature Soy Garlic & Hot & Sweet Wings, Grilled Wings, Honey Wings, Drumsticks and Sal Sal Chicken Strips.
My party of three ordered the 25-piece Sampler, which allowed us to try every style. A far as I could tell, they all tasted pretty much the same, with a tender, moist chicken base and flavorful finishes. The standout was the Hot Wings. Fans of fiery foods will thrill in the layering of sweet honey, soy and garlic, topped off with the spicy effect and after effect of the Korean chili paste, gojuchang. The chili left a warm, tingly feeling on my lips and throat, which I washed down with some bites of rice and crisp, refreshing daikon radish.
Silver Lake: Pig Roast Goodness at Ô Bánh Mì
Oct 01 2013
Ever since finding out that Ô Bánh Mì offers pig roast sandwiches every Friday, I’ve been surreptitiously plotting and patiently waiting for a day I could escape my downtown desk and head to Silver Lake for lunch. That day finally came last week.
Ô Bánh Mì is a tiny storefront, tucked behind a stretch of trees on Hyperion Avenue. You can easily drive past and completely miss the neon “O” above the front door (which I did on Friday. Twice.). I arrived promptly at noon, just before Jens, one of the owners, pulled up in his truck, bringing with him the pig that he’d roasted for several hours that morning.
Once inside, I was lucky enough to get a preview of the deliciousness to come, when one of the employees brought over pieces of the pork for my friend and me to try. The meat was tender and juicy, wonderfully enhanced by the crackle of golden skin and permeated with the garlic and herbs that had covered it in the roasting box.
