Izakaya by Katsu-ya

Los Angeles has great food. What I love about eating in LA is that the all food is very different from all the food in San Francisco. Both are excellent but something is very different about both.

While in LA we stopped into Izakaya by Katsu-ya, in West Hollywood. Run by sassy Japanese servers, it was filled with pretty people and an overall delicious experience.

But the best was the spicy tuna, topped with a tiny jalepeno on top of a little rectangle of crisped rice.

Izakaya by Katsu-ya
8420 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Pabbit donuts

I can't ever turn down donuts. Anytime anyone does donuts as a dessert, I'm getting it. All forms of donuts count too, Beignets, Churros, Donuts, any type of fried fresh dessert.

Thanks Pub and Kitchen for making it happen, bourbon apples, fresh cinnamony donuts, and the best damned vanilla marshmallow creme dipping situation.

Pub and Kitchen
1946 Lombard St
Philadelphia, PA 19146

Melona Bars

I think one of Korea's greatest exports is the Melona bar, or as Tim calls it the Melanoma bar. This tastes almost just like a very sweet Honey Dew Melon. It's hard to imagine I know, but believe it's delicious,and the box rules?!! This is sold in pretty much every 7-11 in Hawaii so it was a normal snack for me after school.

So whenever we come back from visiting my parents, I get a craving.

Lucky for me there is an H-Mart on the way to the Cherry Hill Mall, where you can pick up this and a rice cooker that looks like an alarm clock.

H-Mart

K-Town

I've found myself in K-Town a lot recently.  OB beer, kimchi, awesome food served 24 hours, there are so many reasons.   I usually go late at night after getting off of work but I've found a new reason to go, one of the best lunch specials ever at Kun Jip.  For around $15 you get dolsot bibimbap (sizzling rice in a hot stone bowl with marinated slices of beef, vegetables and a raw egg yolk) and a bowl of  doen jang chigae (a spicy tofu and seafood soup) plus an amazing array of banchan.  The banchan is so good, kimchi (cabbage and diakon), dried and shredded squid with chili paste, pea shoots, a fantastic sweet and spicy pumpkin dish and an incredible egg custard.  

Kun Jip

9 West 32nd St.

New York, NY 10001

Borscht

I've never been a picky eater, even as I child I was pretty adventurous.  Raw oysters, rare steaks, I even remember eating turtle soup with my grandparents.  There is only one thing that I recall being really turned off by and that was borscht.  I think it had something about the bright fuchsia color and the old people connotations.   

During the snow storm last week I was looking through a Russian cookbook and decided it was time to give borscht another chance.  It turned out wonderfully, the combination of beets, cabbage and braised beef finished with sour cream and dill was perfect.  Nothing like the pink sludge of my childhood.

biscuits & gravy

the best hangover breakfast of all time - except maybe creamed chipped beef on toast, which is basically a philadelphia version of biscuits and gravy. It's really easy, all you need is sausage, flour, and milk or cream and some butter, maybe some hot sauce or garlic powder if you want to get fancy.

la rosa update

I found it necessary to re-visit la rosa pizza tonight.
still delicious, still affordable, and they deliver halfway across the city.

Nick's Charcoal Pit

I don't know if I've blogged about this before but I LOVE Nick's Charcoal Pit. They deliver too, which I love. These photos just don't do the food justice, partly because Tim and I tried to demolish the food before I even thought about taking pictures. The ribs are awesome pork ribs, with there homemade BBQ sauce, which is tangy and vinegary. The wings are the WHOLE wing, so think twice before ordering 24 like I did once. The wings are just grilled and then tossed in the barbeque sauce. But everything has that really awesome charcoal smell, taste, and charred marks I love. The winner though is there onion rings, which were an unlikely awesome treat. They stuck to the batter and the had a good bite ( fresh onions ) and they arrived CRUNCHY!

Nick's Charcoal Pit
1242 Snyder Ave, Philadelphia 19148
(215) 271-3750

shoo-fly pie at the pope

The Pope, or 'Pub On Passyunk East' isn't really known for it's food. They have some decent wings and pierogies, and lots of great beer.

So when I stumbled over there in the snow a few weeks ago I was surprised to see this amazing sounding special - Lancaster Brewing Co. Shoo-Fly Porter with a slice of homemade shoo-fly pie. The waitress informed us that she grew up in amish country and made the pie from her great- grandmother's secret recipe or something. And god damn that delicious pie & shoo fly beer was right on.

Maybe it was the snow or the fact that I was already half drunk from some 14% alcohol belgian beer but I proclaimed it the best pie I've ever eaten and talked everyone else at the table into trying it.

Pub On Passyunk East
1501 East Passyunk Ave

v-day food porn

Filet mignon and shrimp, surf & turf style with bearnaise sauce, and cauliflower gratin made with goat cheese and
caciatta al tartufo (black truffle sheep's milk cheese).

Tim & Chau brought some fantastic apple pie (not sure where from?). The next day we had some with the leftover truffle cheese on top and holy god damn, somebody put that on a menu already.

Bacon Explosion

The article on the Bacon Explosion hit the NY Times last week.

So of course right before Super Bowl Sunday it was perfect timing. GO STEELERS!
I wavered back and forth on making this horrendous ode to all that is swine. I nearly caved to restraint, but then a challenge was brought forth by our pigskin watching host for last night's game. The Explosion must come!

This is not at all a hard thing to make. You just need to be comfortable with the feeling of immense amounts of pork fat between your fingers. Start by latice weaving an entire package of bacon. I added a spice rub once I finished. Then smear on top two packages or tubes of breakfast sausage. Don't go for italian, I just can't sanction it, the sage and sweetness of your normal tube of Jimmy Dean will suit just fine. Once that is done, sprinkle a large handful of crispy bacon bits on top. Then roll into your cylinder of hog.

I seared off the sides before finishing for about an hour in a 325 degree oven. I then glazed in Vermont Maple Syrup.

You can add any variation to this and as long as you dont sit down and eat the entire thing, you aren't doing any more damage than a couple of sausage patties.
It shouldn't be a regular thing, but it was worth doing once.

Barry is in the White House

Obama is known as Barry in Hawaii, which is pretty hilarious and awesome. The island was pretty darn proud when we got there during the inauguration. 

So here are some Hawaii institutions that require visiting, that are some of our new Presidents favorites. Or at least that what the article in the Star Bulletin had written.

As soon as we landed at home we went to Zippy's, and if you know anything about Hawaii, it's our state diner. My parents love this place, we've been going here since I was 3 feet tall. They are everywhere too, but not in a horrendous Starbucks kind of way. You can get any kind of local food, like a loco moco ( rice, eggs, spam, gravy) or some saimin ( like what my mom is slurping) but you can just get a hamburger and fries too. Here my brother, Tim and I all got the charbroiled teriyaki steak, my dad got oxtail stew ( with mash potatos) , and my mom got a saimin. 

Rainbow Drive-in is another such institution in Honolulu. Loco Moco's, yummy hamburgers and fries, pork long rice, it's basically amazing and has been here since before Hawaii was a state. 






Another thing that is really important to Hawaii and you really can't find anything to fill the void anywhere in the world is, Crackseed or Li Hing Mui. Which is a loose term describing strange salty sweet, dried fruits and seeds. To anyone else who isn't from Hawaii, Asian or not, you will just think its gross. Here is where I began my cravings for pickled mangos, Li Hing gummi bears and dried spicy cuttlefish. But unlike in Chinatowns across the world, something like this is just in the Malls of Hawaii, this is our candy shop. When I get really homesick I order these things onlne. But it's never the same as walking into a shop with these huge beautiful jars.

In case you need to order online.

Saturday Dinner - Hanger Steak with Roasted Pepper Sauce and Parsnip Mash

This is definitely one of my favorite dishes I have created. It's all very simple, but hearty and rich. A great cold winter night meal.

To start I blackened two fresh red bell peppers and combine with chopped garlic, onion, baby tomatoes and fresh thyme in a roasting pan with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roasting that down for about 45 minutes.

Next boiling off some parsnips in salted water until tender, then mash up with butter salt and pepper.

Tonight, I used hangar tonight as the ribeye was a little pricey. Just a simple kosher salt and pepper seasoning before broiling. I cooked mine pretty rare.

To plate, simply take your roasted pepper and tomato mixture and blend in your kitchen blender until smooth. You will have a rich creamy sauce (without the cream). This sauce would be amazing on just about anything else, eggs, pizza, pasta.

Drizzle over your sliced steak and side it up with the parsnips.

Ben's Chili Bowl

Yeah, Anthony Bourdain was at Ben's on his last show, and Obama was here a few weeks ago, so I lose a few points for originality but there was no resisting that beautiful red and yellow facade. This place is amazing. Ben's Chili Bowl is the only business that was left standing after the 1968 riots, because they stayed open and served up chili half smokes to protesters, black panthers, journalists and riot police alike and became the calm in the center of the storm.

The line was out the door, they even have a bouncer to move the people through, and when you get your food you understand why. I heard some rumours that ben's doesnt live up to expectations but forget that. The thick half beef/half pork "smokes" are char grilled to almost burnt, thrown on a steamed bun and buried in a dark chili sauce. Add some mustard and onions and cheese if you want and you're good. The "chili half smoke" is unique to DC and awesome.

They do breakfast too, I was surprised to see scrapple on a menu as far south as DC. Their milkshakes are also incredible. Ben's is Obama central, you can feel the excitement in the air, I seriously had one of those movie moments where I was proud to be an american and wanted to recite the pledge of alllegiance or something. I can't imagine what it was like inauguration week.

Ben's Chili Bowl
1213 U Street
Washington, DC

Marvin

Named after Marvin Gaye, Marvin is a sort of "soul bistro" serving up everything from pork belly with frisee to shrimp and grits. I felt a bit like a tourist ordering the chicken & waffles but seriously how can you resist... collard greens, white gravy, side of maple syrup, fantastic.

Add lots of belgian beer and an upstairs lounge blasting obscure R&B and, wow, DC is a lot more fun than I expected.


Marvin
2007 14th Street, NW
Washington DC

Kung Hee Fat Choy

It's the Year of the Ox, and for the first time I got to go home to see my parents during Chinese New Year. Which for my mom means a visit to the chinese butcher for roast duck and my favorite the chinese bakery.

My mom said this year was lucky because this particular bakery has been closed for a year, but just re-opened in time for chinese new year, but now the new owners are the baker's children. There candied lotus, fresh pork buns ( steamed or baked ) candied coconut, banana rolls, and the best darn macadamia nut sesame candy on, uh Earth. I know it's bold but I'm willing to make that statement.

The Chinese butcher had some of the best roast duck I've had in a long time. But really I was drooling over the idea of buying an entire styrofoam of char siu or shoyu chicken and eating it all by myself. But I didn't, not in front of my mom, next trip.

Nam Fong Restaurant

1029 Maunakea St
Honolulu, HI 96817

(808) 599-5244

Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery
1027 Maunakea St
808-531-6688