A Trip Back in Time, Part 2

I’m home now, but one of my favorite memories of my time in Los Angeles is the morning I spent at Epicurus Gourmet, a huge warehouse, open to the public, which describes itself as a “high-end specialty food wholesaler.”

They carry a huge variety of high-end products - meats, cheese, chocolates, pastas, caviar, canned goods, flours, jams - at stunning prices. I wish they had a branch near me!

When Michel Richard opened Citrus in 1987 he was LA’s most famous patissier, and everyone wondered if he had what it took to be a chef. He quickly convinced the world that he did. This is the opening menu - and here is the review I wrote at the time.

Michel was the most joyful chef; he truly loved to cook. If you don’t know his cookbook, Happy In the Kitchen, it’s worth looking into. He was a true original, and it’s filled with fascinating ideas that made people like Thomas Keller say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Dish of the week? This grilled tongue at Kinjiro, a wonderful izakaya in LA’s Little Tokyo. I’ve never had anything remotely like this beef tongue: grilled rare and thickly sliced, it tasted like the tenderest, tastiest steak you’ve ever eaten. The yuzu/scallion sauce served on the side was the perfect accompaniment.

The question: why don’t more people cook tongue?