DOS HERMANOS: GO EVERYWHERE, EAT EVERYTHING

"It's not much but it's ours"

Thursday, December 31, 2009

TO LIVE & DIE IN LA: ANIMAL, ONCE BITTEN...........















SERVER: Have you dined with us before?

SYBIL: I have, but he hasn’t.

SERVER: (looks at me as if such a thing were barely imaginable) Well, I am excited for you.

ME: Er, thanks

It seems that he was not the only one to be excited as the online reviews I have found for this meat driven restaurant in the Fairfax part of town range from the “squeal, OMG, squeal” to “this is my favourite restaurant of all times” with only a handful of people daring to question the majority opinion that this is one of the “must visit” restaurants in Los Angeles.

Far be it from me to douse the enthusiasm of the Angelenos, but walking out of Animal a little over an hour after our arrival, I had it firmly placed in the “expensive but blah” category I have reserved for most of my mid-scale West Coast dining.

Owners, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo are well known for their “Two Dudes Catering” show on the US Food Network and that, along with a menu designed for the unapologetically carnivorous has kept the local crowds coming back since it opened a little over a year ago. I had never heard of them, or the show, but the menu looked interesting and the pleasingly minimalist design of the dining room seemed to fit well alongside it in the same way the whitewashed walls of St. John do to Fergus’s nose to tail approach.

Our friendly server began explaining how the menu worked. I am always very wary of a menu that needs more explanation than “there is a list of what the chef can cook, you order and we bring it to your table” Here, there were small plates to be shared, well of course there were. It is almost impossible to escape the recent attempts of restaurants to gouge more money from their customers.

As they say Stateside “do the math”. Two normal starters @ $9 = $18, Three “small plates to share @ $7 = $21. Resulting in squeaks of Micawberish glee from the bean counters and wails of anguish from the punter as their bill climbs to unexpected levels.

Going with the flow for the sake of getting any food at all, we ordered three starters and one main course to share between us. The first two dishes that arrived told me just about everything I needed to know about Animal. The “Melted Petit Basque with Chorizo and Grilled Bread” according to the reviews was a “must try”. It is only a “must try” if you like constructing your own pizza. To all intents and purposes this dish brings you the ingredients for a slice (good quality ingredients admittedly) in a bowl with some toast so you can make your own. I loathe pizza and begrudge paying $12 to do what the kitchen should have done anyway, so after one unenthusiastic bite, I pushed the plate across to Sybil who seemed happy enough to continue with the task.

That left me staring down a salad of “Baby Kale, Pecorino and Lemon” one of the recommendations of the server and a very welcome simple salad again using excellent ingredients. Unfortunately, in being excited for me, our waiter forgot to tell me that they also added blood pressure threatening amounts of salt, which was redundant given the amount already in the cheese. Combined with the lemon, the end result was not a pleasant one and that plate too was pushed away after a few mouthfuls.

Things perked up a great deal with the arrival of our third starter of “barbecue pork belly sandwiches and slaw” These were two sliders (mini burgers to the uninitiated) comprising perfect slow cooked pork belly with creamy coleslaw in two bite sized brioche buns. This is the sort of thing they do really well in America. Good, hearty, messy fun and I sucked up my share and then stared at Sybil until she blinked and gave in, leaving half of her sandwich for me to finish.

It was just as well, because as soon as the main course arrived I returned the favour and said “it’s all yours honey” indicating that, apart from a small taste, 2009’s most ill conceived dish would be entirely for her enjoyment. A “foie gras loco moco, quail egg, spam, hamburger” was $35 worth of “what the fuck were they thinking?” An upscale take on the Hawaiian "classic" this Frankenstein’s monster of a dish, brought together well prepared ingredients in the most implausible combination since a Hollywood exec first used the words “Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, Twins”

On top of the food tower was a glistening fried quail egg with a soft yolk. Lovely on its own and more than acceptable served with the next layer, a slab of foie gras (I am guessing from Hudson Valley, although the menu did not say) which was crunchy on the outside and soft and melting in the middle. But, the kitchen was obviously having too much fun there to stop, so underneath the foie was a slice of fried SPAM. Now, I like SPAM and am aware of its importance in Hawaii, but not in a dish costing $35 and not providing a barrier between the foie gras and the next layer, a meaty rare hamburger.

They had obviously used great beef for this and it would have been worth eating on its own, but in combo with the other ingredients it had little chance to shine. As if to make sure this expensive schizophrenic joke was lost on no one, the tower was placed on a bed of short-grained rice plumped up with the traditional brown gravy, spiked with Asian Sriracha hot sauce.

As ever with small plates dining, the final joke is really played when the bill arrives and ours, which included a glass of wine, a soft drink and a $15 tip for decent service, came to just north of $100, rather a lot to pay for three mini dishes and a culinary practical joke from two TV personalities.

Let’s just say that I was even more excited about leaving Animal than the waiter was about my dining there and many more meals like this and the offer in the last picture wont be necessary.

Labels: , , , ,

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

TO LIVE & DIE IN LA: MO-CHICA - DISCOVERING PERUVIAN TREASURE




















Those who have been following my posts on previous expeditions to LA will know that my opinions on the city’s dining options have been mixed. With one or two notable exceptions, the high end and mid level dining has been a disappointment sometimes bordering on the laughably bad. On the other hand, the budget dining, primarily experienced at one of LA’s thousands of ethnic restaurants has been a revelation, far superior to most of what is available in London and at a fraction of the price. Superb Thai, mind blowingly good Japanese, every style of Korean cuisine I knew about and many I didn’t and, of course, Mexican food that is a million miles away from the, (how can I put it politely? I can't) fucking rubbish we get in London.

Peruvian, however was a new one on me and when Sybil suggested we head down to a food court in South LA for lunch yesterday I was only too happy to go along expecting at he very least an interesting experience. It turned out to be more than that and Mo-chica, a Nuevo Peruvian restaurant, which has already attracted plenty of plaudits and coverage proved to be another little treasure in LA’s impressive ethnic dining scene.

The menu is short but interesting with a handful of daily specials and,unlike so many food court stands, everything is prepared fresh to order, which means a short wait before your food is delivered. However, a small free bowl of pumpkin soup not only served to fill the time but also to convince us that we had made the right choice for lunch.

It was confirmed by the arrival of a shared starter of the “Ceviche del Dia” in this case using sushi grade sea bass “cooked” in a sauce sharpened with lime and decorated with large ears of corn, both fresh and fried, to provide texture. The sauce was good enough for me to request a spoon so that I could make sure none of it was left in the bowl, which tells you all you need to know about a really rather lovely dish.

Sybil’s main course choice of Seco de Codero was less inspiring. Although the meat from a slow cooked lamb shank came from the bone with little effort and was served in a thick beer sauce with a healthy amount of canario beans, it would probably have seemed a more exciting dish to an American, less used to encountering lamb on a menu than someone from Europe who has eaten and cooked with it all their adult life.

More impressive was my own dish of Arroz Con Mariscos where the subtly spiced rice came plumped out with a generous amount of seafood including meaty shrimps, fresh mussels and clams in their shells. It benefited from the addition of a hefty amount of chilli to give the whole dish a little kick, but for $12 provided a healthy enough portion to make any thoughts of dessert seem a little silly.

Mo-Chica does not serve alcohol, but their homemade juices proved a perfect accompaniment to our lunch and we chose a couple of glasses of Maracuya, fresh passion fruit juice, which, I am reliably informed, is often prescribed in Peru for the treatment of urinary infections. So now you know.

If the juice helps you take the piss, then the bill certainly wasn’t and came to $40 including our drinks and a tip, a more than acceptable amount for a decent lunch and for more evidence that I am going to have a great deal of fun exploring all the ethnic eating possibilities in my soon to be new home town.

I can’t wait.

Labels: , , , ,

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Monday, December 28, 2009

HS'S BEST TASTES OF 2009: IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR

2009 has been an interesting year. Although, new openings in London have been, on the whole, pretty underwhelming, that does not mean that DH have not eaten well. Instead, we have revisited old favourites and spent more time on the road, both in the UK and abroad as we search for great food.

Personal highlights include a trip to Extremadura to visit a producer of Jamon Iberico de Bellota, a very brief stay in Firenze, during which I was introduced to the Lampredotto, a sandwich made from the fourth stomach of the cow and, of course, the trip around the UK for my upcoming book EATING FOR BRITAIN.

On top of which, we have hosted four very well received DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS evenings at Vinoteca, Brindisa, The Bull & Last and Bentley's and have more venues planned for 2010.

Journeys to the US have added some more good eating, not just in Los Angeles but also as I travelled around on the tour to promote EAT MY GLOBE, which took me to New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Kansas City and Santa Cruz. I have a lot more travels in the US to come. Watch this space

Here then, in no particular order are some of my top tastes of 2009. Of course, if I was to do the list tomorrow, it would probably be entirely different. But, I hope at the very least it makes some of you rather hungry and keen to seek out the very best food you can find in 2010.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone.




ROAST GROUSE AT RULES RESTAURANT (London, England)



ROAST BEEF AND YORKSHIRE PUDDING PREPARED BY ANDREW PORTER AT THE PAVILLION HOTEL (York, England)



RAMEN AT DAIKOKUYA IN LITTLE TOKYO (Los Angeles, USA)



RABBIT PIE PREPARED BY STEWART BLACKMAN OF THE COUNTRY BUMPKIN (Hertfordshire, England)



A BREAKFAST OF SPOTTED DICK AND CREAM AT THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING (Alnwick, England)



SCOTTISH OATCAKES FRESH OFF THE GRIDDLE AT THE ADAMSON BAKERY (Pittenweem, Scotland)



THE "HOLLYWOOD" CUT OF BABY BACK RIBS AT THE AMERICAN ROYAL (Kansas City, USA)



DOUBLE CHILLI CHEESEBURGER FROM MARTY'S (Los Angeles, USA)




HOT WELSH CAKES AT MADDOX BAKERY (The Gower, Wales)



ROAST GOOSE PREPARED BY MY DEAR FRIEND LIZ HASKELL (Los Angeles, USA)



TAYLORS YORKSHIRE TEA & A VANILLA SLICE IN THE STAFF DINING ROOM OF BETTY'S CRAFT BAKERY (Harrogate, England)



THE FULL IRISH BREAKFAST AT THE GEORGIAN HOUSE (Comber, Northern Ireland)



AFTERNOON TEA AT BROWN'S HOTEL (London, England)



"LONDON CURE" SMOKED SALMON AT H FORMAN & SON (London, England)



LAMPREDOTTO SANDWICH MADE FROM THE FOURTH STOMACH OF THE COW (Firenze, Italy)



THE "KING'S LIVER" EATEN WITHIN TWO HOURS OF THE DEER BEING SHOT BY MIKE ROBINSON OF THE POT KILN (Yattendon, England)



ROAST PORK SANDWICH WITH SHARP PROVOLONE FROM JOHN'S ROAST PORK (Philadelphia, USA)



JAMON IBERICO DE BELLOTA CARVED BY THE FARMER (Extremadura, Spain)



ROAST BONE MARROW WITH CHANTERELLE MUSHROOMS AND QUAIL EGG AT THE KITCHIN (Edinburgh, Scotland)



A SUPERB FISH PIE SERVED AT A DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS MEAL AT BENTLEYS (London, England)



THE BEST HAMBURGER IN LONDON AT HAWKSMOOR (London, England)



ROAST HAND OF PORK SERVED AT A DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS MEAL AT THE BULL & LAST (London, England)



SOME OF THE BEST FISH & CHIPS I HAVE EATEN THIS YEAR AT THE GREAT BRITISH EATERY (Birmingham, England)



VENISON PIE AT LA BECASSE (Ludlow, England)



THE FATHER'S OFFICE BURGER (Culver City, USA)



FAGGOTS WRAPPED IN BACON MADE MY SUPERB BUTCHER, N.R. JAMES (Raglan, Wales)



SMOKED BACK BACON AT DENHAY FARM (Dorset, England)



CURRY MUTTON DINNER AT RUSSELL'S ( Birmingham, England)



CRAB STEW KOREAN STYLE AT ON DAL (Los Angeles, USA)



FRESH CLOTTED CREAM AT THE RODDAS FACTORY (Cornwall, England)



KOREAN BBQ "SLIDERS" FROM THE KOGI TACO TRUCK (Los Angeles, USA)




CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA MADE FOR ME BY ITS CREATOR ALI ASIF ASLAM (Glasgow, Scotland)




CAWL (Saundersfoot, Wales)



BEEF COBBLER MADE FOR ME BY NICOLA, THE WIFE OF IAN "MRS KING'S PORK PIES" HARTLAND TO MAKE UP FOR BEING ASKED TO JUDGE THE "SAVOURY VEGETARIAN PIE" SECTION AT THE GREAT BRITISH PIE COMPETITION (Melton Mowbray, England)



ARBROATH SMOKIE SERVED HOT OFF THE FIRE BY IAIN SPINK (Kirkcaldie, Scotland)



A GLASS OF 50 YEAR OLD GLENFIDDICH. YOURS FOR £10,000 A BOTTLE (Scotland)




45 DAY AGED BONE IN USDA RIB EYE AT GOODMAN (London, England)



MORCILLA AND TOREZZNOS AT ASADOR LOS ARCOS (Madrid, Spain)

Labels: ,

Stumble Upon Toolbar

Newer›  ‹Older