Monday, June 30, 2008

Father's Office: The burger that ends (and starts) all debates


Ask anyone, foodie or not, about what makes a good burger, and you'll hear different ideas and beliefs. Is it the bun? The cheese? The toppings? The fries? The patty?

Today, burgers come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. From the no frills, simple yet delicious burgers at Louis Lunch in New Haven, CT, to the California classic In-n-Out double-doubles and the $30 burger at New York's 21 Club, interpretations of this traditional American institution cover the entire flavor spectrum and are all noteworthy for their own reasons.

In Southern California, where the automobile is king, drive-thru's and takeout joints have only intensified the food world's obsession with the burger, and in the Southland, foodies all point to Father's Office, a simple and unpretentious establishment in Santa Monica, where Chef Sang Yoon offers what many consider the best burger in Los Angeles, in addition to other offerings that resemble that of a Spanish tapas bar. It is only fitting then that a wide selection of beers are available on tap. At any and all hours, the place is packed, and the fact that you can only place orders at the bar ensures a heavy crowd.

Knowing this, another location recently opened in Culver City on Helms Street. Although much larger, I hear the place gets equally heavy traffic at peak hours. Armed with this knowledge, I began last Saturday's southland trek with the aim of arriving at the Culver City Father's Office right after the noon opening time. You can imagine my surprise when I saw the sleek, shiny establishment nearly empty upon my arrival.

The Father's Office Burger is a simple yet stunning combination of flavors. The patty is solid, and accentuated by the presence of caramelized onions and gruyere cheese, which offer a notable clash of sweet and bitter. The arugula greens in the burger also provide a unique play on the usual presence of greens in a burger.

The fries themselves are also of note. Thinly sliced frites with a hint of garlic are provided with a creamy garlic aioli dressing for dipping. It is to be mentioned, though, that several customers opt to pay a little extra for a basket of sweet potato frites instead.

At $14, is surely isn't cheap, but it is one of the few unique superior culinary offerings in the southland that won't completely destroy your wallet. But don't take my word for it. If anything, this burger only starts new debates on what belongs and doesn't belong in a good burger. By all means, I'd really like to know what you think about what makes the perfect burger.

Happy Eating

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Since When Does A Restaurant Get Away with Charging $4 for an Arnold Palmer

So before you think I'm high-strung in blogging about only the upper 25-30% of all restaurants I eat at, let me share an observation from a restaurant near and dear to many of you, The Cheesecake Factory (where my better judgment has not ordered cheesecake in over two years).

Whenever I'm not in the mood for a beer or a diet cola, I usually order (or pour myself from the refill fountain) an Arnold Palmer, that classic combination of lemonade and iced tea. Seeing as how it usually does not make too much effort to make, most places are glad to charge the same amount for it as a soda.

Thus, you can imagine my surprise when my check said my Arnold Palmer costs $3.95. And since most places like this only charge about $2.50 for soda or lemonade, I think I have the right to be a little befuddled on why this combination deserves the markup.

P.S. If you need to work off all this food I'm telling you about, might I suggest a twilight stroll after a warm day. It's cool and refreshing and keeps you in surprisingly good shape. And to think, you thought this blog was just about food.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Michael for the masses (or at least those who don't live near San Francisco)

So judging from my previous post a while back, you have gathered that I am a fan of Michael Mina. I first encountered his cuisine at Aqua in San Francisco, and then to his new and fabulous location in the St. Francis Hotel in Union Square. From his foie gras to interpretations on lobster (including a lobster corndog, if you can believe that) and powerful way with Kobe beef, Michael has built a reputation that powers an $80 million a year restaurant empire.

So with no excessive deliberation, I selected Stonehill Tavern in Dana Point as the location for my family's graduation/father's day dinner. The restaurant is located on the lush grounds of the Monarch Beach Resort, a luxurious resort that hosts many conferences and visitors to the area (including fans attending the US Open down at Torrey Pines, as evidenced by the guests carrying USGA plastic bags around the grounds).

As we were seated, my seat faced the outside patio, where the blinding OC sunset was in its last throes, requiring me to wear my Ray-Bans for a little bit before the sun went down. The decor is simple yet elegant.

Michael's appetizers usually consist of a central ingredient with three or so interpretations to chose from. You can choose one of them, or a tasting trio of a couple of them. I had the duck tasting trio, consisting of a roasted duck breast in plum sauce, a crispy duck thigh with shallot jus, and, of course, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, this time served with a peach sauce (more commonly, apples are used). Not too overwhelming, but still very good.

Sadly this night, the restaurant was out of Maine Lobster, one of Michael's most famed dishes. Otherwise, the entree offerings are diverse and inventive, and with it being Father's Day, the restaurant was offering prime Kobe Beef steaks at the price of $35 an ounce, with the most common portion being five ounces (naturally, we passed). But one offering stood out to me.

Whole-Fried Organic Chicken.

Honestly, who in their right mind goes to a five-star restaurant and orders FRIED CHICKEN? Okay, I concede the fact there is also a Kobe beef burger on the menu which seems kinda boring, but FRIED CHICKEN?!?!? Furthermore, it's only best when ordered by two people, as they will cut it tableside. So one more of us has to be crazy enough to try it.

The reason I wanted to take this most unusual risk was that I saw Michael's book at a Borders last summer and was pointed to the recipe by the jacket cover. As I scrolled down the ingredients for the frying base, my brain gasped.

The recipe calls for the chicken to be fried in oil and a cup of DUCK FAT.

I've said it several times to myself, and I'll say it here. When you have to fry an animal in ANOTHER ANIMAL'S FAT, THAT's BIG LEAGUE!

(My family wanted to know if it really was duck fat they friend the chicken in. Reluctantly, the waiter confessed it, and I was vindicated)

Reluctantly, my brother agreed to have the chicken with me, threatening that if it was not the best chicken he had ever tasted, I would have to pay for the next two fancy dinners we had together (given that they would mostly likely be in New York, an expensive proposition).

So the chicken arrives served on top of a mountain of truffle-infused mac'n'cheese and broccoli. The serve cuts the chicken on a spiked board (for those in the know, it makes sure the juice that leaks out doesn't collect and make the base of the chicken damp). They then pour onion sauce on top and accompany it with a couple of onion rings.

The dark meat chicken was quite flavorful. The onion sauce didn't add too much, but the mac'n'cheese was a pleasant surprise. In the end, it's just another example of Mina's playful cuisine, that amuses and satisfies his diners.

We would've ordered dessert, but upon seeing the menu, we discovered that all the desserts we would've ordered we'd already had at other Mina establishments. Add being full from the meal, and we quickly passed, save for some chocolate covered ice cream morsels that came with the check.

So our verdict? If you've never had Michael's food before, this is a stunning place to come to and learn about his playful and elegant style. If you have had Michael's food before, however, Stonehill has little to offer in the way of the new, and you probably would be best served saving your money for his San Francisco restaurant.

Hardly Wait-ing

Last week was graduation week in the city of Irvine, meaning thousands of families and friends converged upon the OC in all its splendor. But regardless of the location, graduation means two things:

1. Hotel reservations are impossible (and also somewhat prohibitively expensive).
2. Restaurant reservations are in short supply.

Knowing this, I made both my dinner reservations about three weeks prior to graduation week.

Saturday brought my brother and I to Roy's Newport Beach location, a hip and modern place where Hawaiian fusion supreme reigns supreme. We arrived at about 7:20 for our 7:30 reservation, but tonight was unlike any other night I had been.

There was a party of 13 in the private dining room, and slews of large parties of families with their graduating children. So much so that a crowded bottleneck assembled at the host stand and into the bar. After waiting about 20 minutes in the bar and looking at the menu, we still had not been called. We went back to the host stand to check on the progress, and they said we were second in the queue.

For those of you new to formal dining, this practice is wholly unacceptable, especially if the restaurant doesn't acknowledge wrongdoing and offer some kind of remedy (and had this been done to a reviewer, it's suicide_. But it's hard to communicate to the staff that they've entered this realm where they need to give you something in exchange for your patience. It has been my experience that if you can show a mild degree of impatience and frustration on your face, they get the message.

Thankfully, the staff at Roy's did. They reassured we would be seated and once so, we would be given some complimentary appetizers. Surely enough, an order of pot stickers and an order of Schezwan fried calamari were immediately rushed to our table after we were seated.

I had the steamed Opakapaka, knowing it is a special kind of fish in island cuisine, but was somewhat ignorant of the fact that give our location, the fish was probably not going to be fresh. As a result, its distinctive taste was not present in the dish. However, most of the other elements of the meal were solid, from the appetizers and my brother's Coconut-crusted halibut.

(And as questionable as it sounds, we skipped dessert, deferring to see what the establishment in my next entry had to offer)

In the end, no matter what the circumstances, it is key to remember that as a paying customer, one has certain rights in a fine dining establishment. The staff trains year after year to meet the requests of the customers in the effort to establish the restaurant as an elite dining location. Tonight, the staff at Roy's did a good job of fixing a bad situation, but could also benefit by making sure that this does not happen in the future, so as not to lose on offering complimentary dishes to angry customers.

Coming up next, the tail-end of the graduation week recap, featuring Michael Mina's Stonehill Tavern in Dana Point.

Friday, June 6, 2008

The Master Returns to LA (?)

So the dear foodies at EATER LA recently reported with some inside intel that Thomas Keller, the master behind The French Laundry, Per Se, and Bouchon is planning a return to the LA dining scene. The report mentions that the LA outfit will be like Bouchon (Keller's much less expensive but still delicious bistro), with some small adaptations to the scene.

My first thought was, "Is LA ready for Keller?" People by and large come to Napa just to drink and eat with purpose, meaning those who usually eat at Keller's establishments have well developed palates and an affinity and knowledge of good food. In a way, the audience Keller cooks for is a self-selecting one.

The way dining seems to me to work in LA is that everybody's looking for the next hot place. Where are the celebs eating? Is a Food Network star opening an outfit in town? (those in the know are familiar with the fact that Keller is not exactly the most media savvy chef there is). So I really wonder if Southland diners are really ready for a Per Se or French Laundry, with its nine-course, three-hour meals. A restaurant like Bouchon is a little easier for eaters around here to put their hands on.

The first Bouchon I ate at was the one in the Venitian in Las Vegas. While I enjoyed the food immensely, I was somewhat perturbed by the couple sitting next to me, which consisted of a 35-year old man and his comely, shapely female companion, who I imagine he took to the restaurant just to impress her. He had no interest in the specials, scoffed at the waiter, and didn't take interest in any of the creative stuff on the menu, and, seemingly turned off by his ignorance, his date asked ME to describe my dessert of warm chocolate bouchons. Now, sharing the joy of Keller's food with the other patrons is a trademark of Thomas' restaurants, but doing so at the expense of this woman's knucklehead date is just pathetic.

Some I'm hoping this LA outfit won't have such diners, and that the Southland's foodies will come to appreciate what makes Bouchon's Yountville outfit the neighborhood favorite it is, with local residents filing in each week and weekend for a satisfying yet simple meal. My advice to you dear diners is that the exuberant experiences provided by The French Laundry and Per Se are only best appreciated if one is well eaten in the simple yet elegant aspects of haute cuisine. In this respect, Bouchon is a great place to start.