128. Portland - Pearl Bakery is a Treasured Jewel (Portland: Pearl District)

After tasting Pearl Bakery's brioche for breakfast at Bijou Café, I wanted to check out the shop for myself to see what other wondrous bread options they had.  I stumbled into the bakery on a Monday morning when plenty of people in the Pearl District were in a mad dash for caffeine.  I'm sure those who were waiting in line behind me didn't appreciate that I ordered the croissant... and then the other croissant... oh, and then a coffee too.  Anything else? A macaron too, please.

Of course I got the standard butter croissant.  But in an instant I longed for something savory too.  So I asked for the ham & gruyere croissant as well.  It had to be eaten.  And it had to be eaten with a coffee.  Black.  Always.  I took one bite of the butter croissant... it was flaky with just enough of that butter essence.  No margarine or shortening here.  Then I took a bite of the ham and cheese croissant.  A bit more firm.  Yesss, the cheese... oh, the cheese.  Good.  A sip of coffee.  My mind was darting here and there.  I ate the pastries the way I made my selections at the counter.  If only I could make my pastry decisions the way I make my decisions about my coffee...

The white, vanilla bean Parisian macarons were staring at me in the display case.  They really were.  They were staring at me with their little vanilla bean spots... and they were saying... you want me.  Eat me.  Now.  Please.  I could envision them blinking at me.  Yes, I wanted it.  I wanted to eat it.  Right away.  Yes, please.

So a single, lone macaron was bought.  And that single, lone macaron was eaten.  Mmm... fluffy and creamy and stretchy all at the same time.  These three little pastries were enough to make me believe that Pearl Bakery makes treasured jewels of their baked goods.  Yum, but my mind was darting again.  It was time for doughnuts.  Off we go! Until we meet again at the doughnut shop (in 10 minutes), let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20130624

Post 86: A Glorious Easter Feast - Bouchon Ad Hoc Fried Chicken (LA: Beverly Hills)

In celebration of National Fried Chicken Day this past Friday, I am writing about none other than fried chicken and waffles.  The last post was about a multiple course foie gras dinner that almost stopped my heart, so this post about a fatty feast of fried chicken is going to seem relatively healthy.  Where did this fried chicken feast take place? KFC? Roscoe's? Not even close.  It was Bouchon in Beverly Hills, a French inspired restaurant known for its steak frites, croque madame, and platters of fresh seafood... not a likely place for fried chicken.  Having been to Bouchon many times before in both Las Vegas and Los Angeles, I had only ever noticed the chicken and waffles on the menu once, and it was amazing.  I knew immediately that I wanted to bring friends and family to indulge in the delicately prepared chicken and waffles.  News that the restaurant would embark on an ad hoc fried chicken meal served family style was more than intriguing.  I made a reservation for a group of six on Easter Sunday, an appropriate day to gather for good food and good company, especially if the good food happens to be from a Thomas Keller restaurant.

While waiting for our friends to gather, we were greeted by the ever gracious manager of the restaurant Stephen Cook who never ceases to provide superb services to the guests of the restaurant.  We were presented with an assortment of freshly baked pastries on the house... still toasty from the restaurant's very popular bakery.  The viennoiserie stole the spotlight for me.  The croissant was buttery just as it should be, and the pain aux raisins with the honey glaze over the top was simply remarkable.

Every visit to Bouchon requires some sort of platter of fresh seafood.  I love a raw oyster down to my core, so we arranged for an assorted dozen of Kumamoto and the Kusshi oysters.  The two types of oysters are relatively small compared to types such as the Blue Point, which can grow to be larger than the average tongue.  The Kusshi grows deep within its shell, so it's a bit harder to dig out, but the prize is worth the work.  With a squirt of lemon and a splash of mignonette, the small Kusshi oyster is a light start to the meal.  Next we slurped up the Kumamoto, an oyster with a very milky taste and creamy texture.

The fried chicken meal finally arrived in all its glory.  We ordered five servings for our group of six.  It was served family style with accompaniments such as waffles, grits, and all the butter, gravy and Vermont maple syrup the heart desired.

The buttermilk fried chicken was beyond crisp... in a good way.  Every bite was met with a deafening crunch, quite possibly loud enough to cause an avalanche had a mountain of snow been nearby.  Whether it was dark meat or white meat, the flesh was beautifully moist inside.  And it was because of my last experience with the juiciest white meat chicken I've ever had that brought me back to Bouchon.  The sprigs of thyme helped with the aesthetics, but they got brushed aside when it came down to business.

Some serious waffles came to play with the serious chicken.  Little bits of bacon and chive dotted the waffle canvas.  Spreading the Tahitian vanilla bean butter over the bacon and chive waffles was like painting pristine clouds over landscape.  The waffles were light and airy... truly.  Along with the sauce chausseur, mushroom gravy in layman's terms, it was a truly decadent experience.

The cheesy cheddar grits was smooth and creamy... enough to be swiveled and swirled by a fork.  It was not too salty but actually savory.  It provided a great flavor and texture contrast for the chicken and waffles.  The presentation in the cast iron skillet was simply... cool.

Although we had more than enough food, a meal at Bouchon seemed a bit inadequate without the steak frites.  The steak is one of the most consistently made dishes at the restaurant... absolutely succulent and tender all the way done to the last bite.  And although the steak did not need any help from the butter, it definitely did not hurt to have a bit of the herb infused lipid melting all over the top.  Oh, and who can resist fries?

My friends sure can eat.  A few pastries, a dozen oysters, five servings of fried chicken and steak frites later, our bellies were protruding and our hearts were content... but it seemed like everyone had a little extra room just for dessert. 

We were first brought a dessert on the house that intrigued us with its looks.  The Ile Flottante had a center of meringue, and it sat afloat a vanilla creme anglaise.  Almonds and caramel were drizzled over the top, and two crispy ears jutted out of the meringue.  Could it be the Easter Bunny in dessert form? It sure resembled it.  The meringue was smooth to the taste, and the anglaise brought a milky sweetness. 

I've had the Marquise au Chocolat on previous occasions.  On such occasions the dark chocolate mousse was simply irresistible... this was no different.  The dense yet ever luxurious mousse balanced with the freshly made whipped cream did not taste overly sweet at all.  The carefully placed drops of burnt orange gave just enough bite to the mousse to truly allow the tongue to dance around the slightly bitter dark chocolate.  As long as Bouchon has this dessert on the menu, I will order it... forever.

Our final dessert arrived in the form of a Tarte au Citron.  The seemingly simple lemon tart was just that... a simple, lemon tart.  With enough pucker in each bite to help us truly appreciate the tartness of the lemon, this may have been everyone's favorite dessert.  Simplicity done right is the epitome of haute dessert, and we definitely witnessed it here during the final course of our glorious Easter feast.

As always we were well taken care of by the staff at Bouchon... many thanks to the great attention to detail that Stephen Cook holds to the employees that work with him.  The restaurant's high standard of customer service was what helped drive them to press through the brunch rush straight into the dinner service on that busy Sunday afternoon.  The staff did not take any breaks that day because so many patrons had arrived at the last minute without reservations.  And although the restaurant did their best to accommodate everyone who had arrived, I would highly suggest making reservations well in advance for any future events.  Thank you Stephen and the Bouchon staff for the great food and hospitality.  Until the next glorious feast, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

This post features photography by Ken Lee and Diana Lui.

ML - 20120731/20120408

Post 50.3: Goodbye Thousand Oaks, Part 3 - Authentic Chinese (LA: Agoura Hills)

The Thousand Oaks area has plenty of cookie-cutter restaurant chains that serve cookie-cutter American food.  It's tough to find a good mom and pop shop that serves anything remotely close to the cuisine from the home country.  The first time I was introduced to a local Chinese restaurant, I sat down to find a placemat with the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and a shining, metal fork.  Now... I'm not against Western silverware, but the lack of chopsticks in plain sight in an authentic Chinese restaurant is a bit unnerving.  And disappointing.  The second time a co-worker suggested Chinese food, I walked up to a restaurant with two abnormally large horses guarding the entrance... not my definition of Chinese food.

Thankfully, another co-worker discovered Hot Wok, a small mom and pop restaurant run by an immigrant trio from the northeastern region of China.  Rather than serving overly soy sauced Americanized Chinese chock full of water chestnuts, Hot Wok (滾鍋) rolls out truly down home items like hand-made dumplings (手工水餃), scallion pancakes (蔥油餅), and spicy broiled (poached) fish filet (水煮魚片).  Here are some of the dishes from Hot Wok that have saved me from the panda and the horse in T.O.




Black bean noodles
listed on the menu as cha jiang mien (炸醬麵)

With plenty of cucumbers and bean sprouts, this noodle dish is a little bit Chinese... but with a simple black bean sauce, this noodle dish mixes in the characteristic of Korean jjajangmyeon.  My ideal version would include a good portion of ground pork, but the black bean sauce is enough to make me feel right at home.

Leek & pork dumplings
listed on the menu under (韮菜豬肉水餃)

Hand-made dumplings around the Conejo Valley? Unbelievable.  Not only do they come close to the real deal, they are the real deal.  Flavorful pork is blended with fragrant green leeks and filled into freshly made dumpling dough.  These eight little heavenly clouds with just a touch of soy sauce truly spark a bit of inner happiness.

Pan fried pork calzone
listed on the menu as imperial pan fried meat pastry (京都肉餅)

I've never actually had this item ever before, but ironically, this pork pancake hits close to home.  The imperial pan fried meat pastry, as Hot Wok calls it, is like a calzone in that it's stuffed with different ingredients and enclosed with a bread-like carbohydrate.  Like a lasagna, though, there are multiple layers; ground pork and thin pastry are placed over each other one layer at a time within the outer casing.  Soft, crispy, soft, crispy... savory, salty, savory, salty... the textures and flavors confuse my brain.  And I'm also confused about what to call this item... pastry? Calzone? Pancake? There's one thing my brain knows for sure though... this thing is delicious.

Beef wrap
listed on the menu as beef roll pastry (牛肉捲餅)

While the imperial meat pastry is something I've never had before, the beef wrap is something I've enjoyed throughout my adult life.  Wrapped within a Chinese tortilla are slices of braised beef and an explosion of cilantro.  It's relatively small compared to the beef wraps at other restaurants, but you know what that means? I can eat the whole thing by myself.

Cumin lamb
listed on the menu as lamb with tze lan herb (孜然羊肉)

The mix of cumin and chili peppers with fatty curls of lamb creates a truly tasty flavor.  The spiciness is more fragrant than biting.  It's an addicting taste.  You'll understand when you place the savory lamb over a bed of steamed white rice.  The rice soaks up the spicy oils from the lamb, taking away just enough grease so that you can continue shoveling bite after bite into your mouth.

Stir fried loofah/luffa

listed on the menu as sauteed si qua (清炒絲瓜)

Luffa isn't your typical green vegetable.  It's not leafy like bok choy, and it's not as common as gai lan (Chinese broccoli).  I'm surprised this unique vegetable is even served outside of the San Gabriel Valley.  Not only does this vegetable turn into the exfoliating, body cleaning sponge once it's dried, it's also special in that it tastes more like a soft cucumber rather than the squash that it is.  Stir-fried lightly with just a hint of garlic, luffa will help you get your daily fiber intake in a tasty way.

Thousand layer pork
listed on the wall in Simplified Chinese only (笋千層肉)

The illusion of a thousand layers is created by slicing the fatty pork belly paper-thin and cutting the edges into the shape of ocean waves.  The thousand layers of pork belly sit atop a mound of young bamboo shoots, which are tender yet crisp to the bite.  Dig down deeper under the bamboo shoots, and surprise! You will find a bed of green spinach, which balances out the unhealthy fat of the pork.  The pool of brown gravy is another illusion itself.  Upon seeing the sauce, I thought that the dish was going to be overly salty, but a hidden sweet and savory flavor took over... if only the thousand layer pork was truly a thousand layers.

Sure, the first few items on the Hot Wok menu are orange chicken and kung pao shrimp, but hidden on the final pages of the menu are what save it from being tossed into the same category as Panda Express and P.F. Chang's.  Items that are also worth trying are a Korean style spicy seafood noodle soup (jjambbong) listed on the menu as three delicacies chow ma mien (三鮮炒碼麵) and Taiwanese beef noodle soup (紅燒牛肉麵).  I'm definitely going to miss this comforting lunch spot.  'Til next time, T.O., let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110416