Just a quick heads-up – no ESPN chat this week. I expect to do another one next week, on the 14th.
I had a short and uneventful trip to LA earlier this week, but I did manage to find one absolute gem of a restaurant, a sushi place in West Hollywood called Ajisai, right off of Santa Monica. It’s a tiny place, with maybe ten tables and a small sushi bar, but the fish is out of sight, to the point where I left thinking, “I wish I’d been hungrier, so I could have eaten more.” The salmon looked fabulous and was incredibly smooth and fresh. I tend to avoid fancy rolls, since they’re a bad value and inauthentic, but I was sucked in by the Dragon Roll, which was a shrimp tempura roll topped with spicy tuna and a bit of salmon roe. It turned out to be a great choice, at least taste-wise (as it wasn’t cheap at $14, and I’m sure it’s not an authentic dish), because the spicy tuna itself was just about perfect, with larger chunks of tuna than I’ve ever found in that dish, and sparing use of the very spicy sauce that let the texture and flavor of the fish come through. The only sour note was the unagi; one of the two pieces I ordered had a distinctly fishy taste.
Ajisai was a welcome improvement over the previous night’s sushi at Geisha House, on Hollywood Boulevard right in downtown Hollywood. It was late and I was exhausted, so I asked at the hotel about the nearest good sushi place, and of course, I was directed to a place that was pushing atmosphere over food and that probably has a deal with the hotel, since I was handed a preprinted card with directions. Geisha House’s sushi cost more and had far less flavor than Ajisai’s, and their special-roll menu was loaded with junk ingredients and ridiculous sauces. I ordered green tea when I sat down, and was brought a pot with fresh leaves in it, but when I took a sip of the brew, it was black tea that tasted of flowers. So when the bill came, and I saw $6 for “Kyoto Rice” (which, it turns out, was the tea), I pointed out that the tea wasn’t even what I’d ordered, saying, “I asked you for green tea.” Her response: “Oh, we don’t have green tea, we have other tea.” So if you’re in the mood for other tea, Geisha House is the place for you.
I had one other meal of note, at Lucky Devil’s, a high-end burger (and panini) place on Hollywood owned by Lucky Vanous, best known for his appearance in a Diet Coke commercial back when people actually watched commercials. The burgers are all made from Kobe beef, which is probably something of a waste. I ordered mine medium-well, which is also probably something of a waste, and it arrived well-done, which was definitely a waste, since the burger was dry. The potato roll it was served on was the star of the show, while the “crispy fries” were pre-cut and coated, which means I could have had better fries if I’d walked five minutes in the other direction and gone to In-n-Out. But I will say that a medium or medium-rare burger at Lucky Devil’s is probably a much better experience than what I had, since good-quality beef probably shouldn’t be cooked too much past medium.
Keith – why would you order any sort of beef medium-well? Even in a burger, beer needs to be read and juicy… definitely rare to medium-rare.
Keith, speaking of cooking meat, is there a good quality meat thermometer that you can recommend? I have tried cheap ones that seem way off.
I don’t care for the taste of rare beef anyway, but in a burger, it’s a health hazard because of the massive increase in surface area caused by the grinding process. Medium is about my lower limit. This is why I seldom eat steak.
Jon – I use a Pyrex probe thermometer
for roasting and grilling, and then a cheapo $2 instant-read one for smaller items like fish or burgers (although at this point, I can eyeball a burger and tell if it’s done).
Wow i just noticed how nonsensical my original post was. Please be aware that I do know the difference between beer and beef, as well as red and read. For the record, I like all four.
Keith, maybe if you start liking a good steak, you will start enjoying a good red wine with it. Steakhouses are terrible (even the best/most expensive ones), though – I suggest French restaurants. I haven’t tried the steak at Bouche (on Newbury St), but their escargot is delightful.
I kind of agree that grinding Kobe beef is waste; you lose that marbling which makes the beef the best when grinding it.
After getting KitchenAid food grinder attachment by rebate, I started grinding my meat for burgers and meetballs. It is fresher and safer, and requires no labor. I guess Mr. Law would have KitchenAid mixer, then try it… I used to buy boneless short rib at costco, which is choice grade and only $2.99 per lb, and that cut is so versitile with moderate amount of fat.
No ESPN Chat! How am I supposed to make it through the next two hours at work?
I really wish you’d gone to Pinkberry Keith, just so you could rip apart whatever that god-awful concoction is that they serve.
I thought I saw a Pinkberry location, then I realized it was something called “Yogurberry,” and apparently was out of business too.
Well, you really missed out.
That is, if you consider not being able to eat a nearly flavorless custard with the consistency of churned re-frozen ice cream while sitting on furniture that belongs in a kid’s playhouse missing out.
No chat this week? Then how can I ask you if you’ve ever read “V.” by Thomas Pynchon and what you thought of it?
sorry this is off the subject – but is there anyway to contact you for an interview request?
I dont understand the obsession with In and Out Burger. Their burgers are meh and their fries are downright bad.
Sure, John, I’d be happy to interview with you.
sorry, I meant Keith – should have been a little more clear in my post
You would have been much better off taking that walk to In & Out instead.
I’m going through a mini withdrawl without the ESPN chat! It helps me get through Thursday and make it to Friday! We need you EVERY week KLAW!!
John, I was joking, I knew you meant Keith. Why would you want to interview me?
Apparently Keith is no longer checking this thread.
I don’t understand why anyone would ever have a burger somewhere else when they’re within five minutes of an In-N-Out. You’re just begging to be disappointed.
Keith- W/r/t bacteria and beef, medium wont protect you at all really. To kill the bacteria that is generally found in ground beef you need an internal temperature of 160 degrees or more.
Doneness of “medium” is 140-145 degrees for beef. At this temperature you aren’t doing much for food safety or taste, so you might as well enjoy your meat rare.
More then 145 degrees for meet should be considered a crime anyway. I have been eatint rare and raw ground beef since I was a child and have never gotten sick. A good beef tartar is AMAZING.
I never understood why folks that eat sushi would worry about eating rare ground beef? That’s raw fish and I’m sure fish contains a lot of bad stuff to begin with.
PhillR – that’s not quite right. Bacteria die instantly at 160, but most can’t survive temperatures above 140-145 for more than a minute or two. (Some bacteria, like Clostridium botulinum and Bacillus cereus, leave dangerous spores in food that survive the cooking process.)
Beef tartare is safe(r) because it contains flavors and spices, such as garlic and cloves, that have antiseptic properties and will kill most of the E. coli in tainted beef.
Sushi is significantly safer than ground beef, at least in the US. Part of it is how the two are handled, and part of it is the enormous surface area found on ground beef. Beef itself isn’t the problem, but the grinding process creates extra surface area for cross-contamination.
Bob, I never stop checking a thread, since I see every comment posted on the site. But I make no promise of a timely reply, since work has to come first. I’ve never read “V.”
Geisha House was a bad move from the beginning. I suggest Musha, a Japanese izakaya (pub-style) in Santa Monica on Wilshire. Get 4 or 5 friends and enjoy the party room in back. For Yakitori (Japanese skewers, primarily chicken) try Yakitoriya on Sawtelle. That area, Sawtelle and Olympic has a mini-Japan town, home to many of the Japanese gardeners from the early 20th century. Noticeably, the nearby streets sport strictly manicured trees and shrubs, on pedestrian-sized homes, a dead giveaway. Several restaurants, bookstores, markets and coffee shops.
In-n-Out to me is a great fast food burger (and I do love hand-cut fries), but not a great burger.
K-Law, my apologies. You are the best. Anyway, since we’er discussing burgers (sort of), where have you found the best burgers – are any of them chain restaurants (not necessarily fast food)? I’m wondering how my kid’s favorite place for burgers, Fuddruckers, fares against truly great ones. The best I’ve had is at a place called the Palm in Chicago.
Never tried Fuddruckers. I’ve been to Red Robin, which makes an acceptable chain burger, but it’s nothing that special. Bugaboo Creek is an East Coast chain a la Outback, but more aimed at kids, and their burgers are probably the best chain burgers I’ve had. Best one-off burger around here is Mr. & Mrs. Bartley’s in Harvard Square or RJ Sullivan’s near Porter Square.
2 notes:
Fuddrucker’s, when you’ve got a grill guy who knows what he’s doing, can be really good for a “chain” place. (I worked at one in college, and it does matter who’s working it – eating there nearly daily will teach you that…). And it is typically much better than Red Robin, no matter their “gourmet” claim, and is much better even with an “average” guy at the grill. That said, the chain has grown tremendously since I worked for it, so its probably a crapshoot unless they’ve focused on quality…I personally haven’t been to one in a year and a half (diet reasons), but it blew away a Red Robin burger I pretty much was forced to have a few weeks ago…(when the boss buys…)
Just curious – have you spent any time in Houston, and did you find any places here interesting? I’ve tried a lot of places, and I’m just wondering if I missed some place our local scene is/was ignoring…this town is like a restaurant grinder, and great places open and close faster than I can keep track…
Thanks,
Joe
Joe – one of my earliest posts here covered a few Houston eats. Favorites were the Breakfast Klub and the restaurant at the Inn at the Ballpark.
Best option I know of for good sushi on westside of LA is Hide (pronounced Hee-Day) Sushi, which is on Sawtelle in the mini-Japan described by an earlier poster. Outstanding fish but bring cash as they don’t accept credit cards. Kiroki, in the same area, and Sushi Sasabune, which moved from there to Brentwood, are also supposed to be excellent although I’ve never been.
Thanks, Keith. I hadn’t made it back that far through the archives yet…
Joe