Restaurant Reviews
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Glassell Park: Gulasz & Pierogi at Polka
Sep 13 2013
Polka has been on my culinary to-do list for a while, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get there. Maybe it the location—the Glassell Park restaurant is hidden in one of those only-in-LA strip malls where parking kerfuffles run rampant, and every other space is a five-minute only job. But, if that’s what’s been holding you back, then park on the street. Polka is worth it.
Polish restaurants are a rare find in Los Angeles. There are only two within the city limits, and this one has been around for a whopping 19 years. The original owners, reportedly the salt of the earth, have gone back to Poland, but a relative took over and has kept up the tradition of simple, hearty dishes with more flavor than fluff.
When you walk into Polka, you’re immediately transported to your great aunt’s house. It’s homey and sweetly decorated with a touch of frill. Plus, everyone gets a big cup of soup to start. It was spinach, cabbage and potato on our visit, with flecks of shredded carrots and a creamy base. Cozy even on a hot summer day, this soup is delectable and heavy on the comfort. Salad came next, but it’s not much to speak of, just some iceberg lettuce with shreds of jicama and carrots. Strangely enough, the dressing was a sweet sesame, which gave it a tinge of Chinese flavor.
Silver Lake: Brioche, Jam & Pesto Bowls from SQIRL
Sep 10 2013
Since their opening last October, I find myself at SQIRL once a week, mostly because their food tastes like home cooking ratcheted up to a notch that I myself would never bother with, but am happy paying $5-12 dollars to enjoy. SQIRL summons a steady cult following that consistently crowds its small Silver Lake space for their simple, farm-fresh fare (focusing on homemade jams and ingredients sourced within 350 miles) and adventurous daily specials. Their changing chalkboard menu lists such basics as brioche toast slathered with nut butters and house-made jams, pesto rice bowls, pies and quiches as well as unusual seasonal specials, like squid ink cavatelli, lobster rolls and duck confit.
My usual meal at SQIRL is some variation on their brioche toast—they make it savory or sweet, buttered and browned with any combination of spreads, house-made ricotta, jam, and nut butter, or heaped with sautéed kale, tomatillo jam, a subtle lacto-fermented hot sauce and a fried egg. This week I settled on the brioche topped with a silken ricotta and Black Mission Fig & La Clarine Mourvedre jam. Basically that is a fancy, hifalutin way of saying fig and red wine jam, but SQIRL, with their tiny kitchen and mismatched serving plates and silverware, does not come off as pretentious in their execution or follow the farm-to-table fad blindly. There is an earnestness and sincerity to all that they do.
My brioche toast, as usual, was optimally crisped on the outside while remaining soft and buttery in the center. The warm toasted bread paired well with the slight chill of the smooth ricotta, and the fresh fig jam added just the right note of sweetness, with satisfying chunks of chewy, marinated figs.
Highland Park: Fusion Burgers Fills the Super-Delicious Burgers and Fries Niche
May 24 2012
I know that two York Boulevard posts in a row is excessive. However, after trying Fusion Burgers, I couldn’t contain myself. It’s that good, and it fills a once-glaring void in the Highland Park food scene: a full-service, gourmet burger and fries joint.
Fusion Burgers sits unassumingly in a strip mall right across the street from Maximiliano, in the space that most recently housed Tacos El Michuacano. When I first noticed it, there was just a small tarp announcing the name of the new restaurant and some white paint covering that of the previous one. Intrigued, I did some research and found out the owners are Miguel Munoz Sr. and Jr., a father-and-son team who once worked in the kitchen at Umami Burger’s Santa Monica location.
That make sense because the menu is pretty similar to Umami. Some have even claimed that it’s a rip off. It might be, but for what Fusion Burgers lacks in originality, it makes up for in flavor, complete lack of pretension, and location, location, location. I’ve never been a huge fan of Umami, but I’ll probably be a regular at Fusion Burgers.
The interior lacks hyper-fashionable decor of many of the new restaurants popping up on York. The walls of the small space are pretty bare and very orange, and the only real design flair is a parrot mural left by the previous owners. The focus, instead, seems to be on the actual menu, which consists of 13 different burgers, a few salads, Mexican sodas and even ice cream sandwiches.
Silver Lake: Alma Pop-Up at Millie’s
Apr 17 2012
Millie’s has gone fine dining. Well, sort of. Alma, a pop-up concept by Chef Ari Taymor and Front-of-the-House Dinelle Lucchesi, has been taking over the Sunset Boulevard diner after hours Thursday through Sunday. My advice: go.
For $55, you get around six courses, plus a few extras—each more inventive than the last. I haven’t been this excited by a meal in a long time. From start (an artfully plated, color-conscious root vegetable crudite) to finish (Shichimi-spiced kettle corn), the experience was totally worth the price of admission.
The hands-down highlight of the night, for me, was the rich and silky young garlic soup with a poached egg plopped in the center. The heavens opened up once the yolk was broken, and green onion relish acted as an exclamation point. Also impressive was the onion chicharron topped with smoked crème fraiche. The crunchy-creamy/sweet-savory effect was mirrored by its companion, a savory seaweed beignet drizzled with yuzu koshu and lime. The combination made for a lusty deep fried course.
The main event was a succulent duck, which appeared with that perfect golden brown skin and tender pink meat you always hope for when duck is on the menu. Simple and earthy, the dish was rounded out by fava beans and chantrelle mushrooms instead of being camouflaged in sauce.
Other perks included a house-made Squirt soda made with hibiscus and habanero, plus two desserts—a play on bananas foster and raw milk curd with strawberry and pistachios.
-Valentina
Note: The Alma pop-up continues through May 27th, and the menu changes constantly. It’s cash only and BYOB. You can make a reservation at Urbanspoon.
Salad photo (top left corner) by Brian McGinn, courtesy of Alma.
Studio City: Sandwiches, Salads and Cheese Plates from Artisan Cheese Gallery
Aug 16 2011
If you read this blog, then you know that working in Santa Monica causes me to cling to the eastside of town on the weekends. Only very special cases can lure me onto the freeway come Saturday, and this would qualify as such.
Christine, one of my best friends and also the talented artist behind the design of this site (you can see her portfolio here) was having a birthday. She was only allowing the most low-key of celebrations, so a trip to one of her favorite lunch spots, Artisan Cheese Gallery, was in order.
This was my first ever visit to the Studio City cheese/sandwich shop, and I was pretty dazzled. Namely because they have everything I dream of for lunch: salads and sandwiches with imagination, make-your-own cheese plates, a nice selection of wine, fancy sodas and house-made soup. What more can you ask for?
First Look: Schodorf’s Luncheonette Opens in Highland Park
Feb 11 2011 “Every time I want a sandwich, I have to drive to Eagle Rock.” That’s a common chorus for many Highland Park and Mt. Washington residents. And while it’s not entirely accurate—they actually make great custom sandwiches at the deli counter at Figueroa Produce—there aren’t too many alluring options. Unless you like Subway.
Café de Leche owners Matthew and Anya Schodorf have heeded the call with their new York Blvd. lunch spot Schodorf’s Luncheonette. Rather ecstatically, I joined the steady stream of customers taking advantage of Schodorf’s soft opening this week. Without signage, the dinky blue store front is easy to miss, but after one visit, I can tell you it’s definitely worth finding.
Breaking the Curse: FOOD+LAB Comes to Silverlake
Nov 19 2010
The space that houses the newly opened FOOD +LAB might be cursed. A few doors down from Dusty’s, near the corner of Sunset and Descanso, the teeny storefront was most recently occupied by the very short-lived Meet Market and Flore Café before that. If not cursed, it’s not exactly lucky.
Yet, despite the open-and-shutter reputation of its address, FOOD+LAB’s future looks bright. For one thing, this is the third installment of the mini chain founded by mother-son catering team Esther and Nino Linsmayer—they also have a location in West Hollywood and a kiosk in the Pacific Design Center. For another, their menu is innovative and full of the fresh, organic ingredients that everyone seems to be craving these days.
Currently serving breakfast and lunch (a dinner menu is coming soon), FOOD+LAB offers a long list of traditional sandwiches with major personality. Think: Organic Turkey with pear, honey, and fig compote; Austrian Meatloaf with dried tomato aioli, fried onions and Dijon; Grilled Cheese with three fancy cheeses and caramelized onion. Vegan and vegetarian options are also available.
I ordered the Egg Salad Sandwich with asparagus on 5 grain bread. No complaints. It wasn’t overrun with mayo and the asparagus had a nice snap to it. The mayo-chicken ratio was a little off on the Pulled Chicken Salad, but the additions of apples, grapes, candied pecans and mandarins saved it. For better or worse, the portions are huge.
The chalkboard menu also features complete coffee selection and a range of fresh juices. I had the lemonade, which was pretty thick and easily split (and diluted) to make two full glasses. Also squeezed into the small café is a market section of sweets, teas, coffee and other tantalizing goods to take home.
Sandwiches: $8-12; Organic Salads: $11-13; Breakfast: $5-12.
-Valentina
FOOD+LAB
3206 West Sunset Blvd (Map It)
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Pasadena: Elements Kitchen is Bold & Balanced
Sep 27 2010
Elements Kitchen just became one of my new favorite restaurants. For one thing, it’s very accessible—we took the train and walked just a few blocks to its location, right next to the Pasadena Playhouse—and for another, it’s not a snooze. And that’s saying a lot, considering much of the fine dining in Pasadena plays it too conservatively.
I liked Elements from the moment we walked in. The service was friendly, the crowd very mixed, the music (mostly) good, and the décor leafy. Plus, I like the confidence that an open kitchen exudes, and this one, helmed by Owner/Chef Onil Chibás, really lights up the dining room.
Constructed by Michel Dozois of Névé Ice, the cocktail menu features 4 main themes: Berry, Rhubarb, Citrus and Spirit. I chose the French Maid, a none-too-sweet mixture of brandy, lime juice, cucumbers, simple syrup and mint. Josh got the refreshing Blueberry Southside Fizz with gin, lime juice, soda mint and blueberries.
Lincoln Heights: Perfecto Mexican Breakfast at El Huarachito
Aug 16 2010
Disclaimer: This picture is awful, but it looks much more appetizing in person.
You might as well know right now, I didn’t get a huarache. Yes, I know, this place is called the El Huarachito, but I was craving Mexican breakfast, and the other diners were all eating delicious looking egg dishes. I would have been too jealous, even if the huarache was spectacular. And I’m sure it would have been, judging by what I did eat.
I went for the Chilaquiles Rojos con huevos, over easy. I’m not opposed to saucy chilaquiles, but I prefer them to be a bit dry and dark, so that you know the sauce has been thoroughly absorbed into the tortillas. This really allows all the flavors to be distinct, instead of everything just blending together in a big mushy mess. El Huarachito’s are pretty near perfect and the rest of the plate followed suit, including beans were too delicious not to have been refried in lard and potatoes that tasted like meat.
In a good way.
Los Feliz: Lamb Burgers & Luscious Desserts at Desert Rose
Aug 02 2010
I’d only been to Desert Rose once before, and just for drinks, so I was excited when I got an invitation to try it out for lunch. I’d heard good things about their Mediterranean menu and remembered their big patio, a nice refuge from the bustling Hillhurst Ave., feeling very vacation-y.
We started with the Blue Crab Cakes. Crisply fried and super crabby (down with bready filler!), they were served with an addictive citrusy dressing and had a delicious hint of curry. The grapefruit chunks were a nice touch. We paired the appetizer with the Lucid Whiskey Sour, a Maker’s Mark/Cointreau cocktail served in an absinthe-rinsed glass.
I have a major burger compulsion, so I was extra happy when I heard they were serving a Lamb Burger. The patty was very juicy and perfectly pink inside with a healthy slab of feta cheese. I love a brioche bun, and this one had a flaky texture that put the focus on the meat and cheese, which is how I like it.
