I Love LA

A few of the many things that make this city so special. An experimental restaurant. A unique grocery store. A wedding. A perfect dish. The most consoling bowl....

Los Angeles is so much on my mind….

Watching the flames from afar, hearing from friends who have lost everything and even more who remain menaced is just heartbreaking.

But as one friend wrote me yesterday: So very weird here. Much of the city going about normal. People jogging, biking, sitting in outdoor cafés. No masks, as if oblivious to the fires and the tragedy of it. Sky blue, sunny day. Every day I hear of more people who have lost everything. We’re all muddled in the head, stunned.

Seeking solace myself, I went back to take a look at happier winters in that city where I’ve spent so much of my life. It’s a reminder - and a promise - that LA will overcome this tragedy.

It always does.

If you want to help, I can’t think of a better way than contributing to World Central Kitchen. As usual Jose Andres was one of the first people on the front lines, feeding people in need. And if you’re in L.A, The Angel has collected a comprehensive list of resources on everything from where to go for free clothing to air purifiers, movers and legal advice.

January 2018
Getting a seat at Wolfgang Puck's Rogue Experience isn't easy. There are only eight seats at the experimental laboratory counter, and when I tried to snag one it turned out they were taken for the foreseeable future.

But I was really curious, eager to find out how this venture into the future of food stacks up against other LA places like Vespertine and Dialogue (going next week). And I'm not beyond begging. The fact that I've known Wolf for almost forty years (I spent an entire year writing about the opening of Chinois for New West Magazine), undoubtedly helped. A seat was found for me.

It certainly doesn't look like any other restaurant in the world. Hidden inside the Puck corporate offices in the Pacific Design Center, you are led through a labyrinth of designer shops into a cozy den that might belong to anybody. Behind the bar a mixologist stands shaking drinks with manic energy. The Rogue 35 (this is the restaurant's thirty-fifth week), a mad combination of Scotch, honey, pomelo, grapefruit juice (even ice cubes made from grapefruit water), is the opening shot.

Nearby a couple of earnest young chefs ply their tweezers, and after you're introduced to your fellow diners you stand around the counter casually eating their offerings with your fingers. First up is this fantastic corn concoction, a kind of fresh polenta topped with chicharron and aji amarillo.

This spot prawn, fresh from Santa Barbara, is set on brioche along with its roe and a little hit of kumquat. Still, it's the head that knocks me out.

Now we're led through a large kitchen filled with space age tools that look like they'd be more comfortable in a science lab than a kitchen. It's a wonderland of centrifuges and anti-griddles. Then it's on to the counter, where still more chefs are busy at the stoves.

Despite its name, Rogue has an overarching sweetness; it seems to be Wolf's way of giving the people who work for him the ultimate cooking experience. He invites chefs from his far-flung empire to come for a week and gives them a single mission: find great ingredients and use them in innovate ways. The catch: each dish has to be something they've never cooked before. Money, it seems, is not an object. And a professional photographer's on hand to catalogue each dish.

The menu changes weekly, but tonight the first dish is this take on steak tartare, the coarsely chopped beef rolled up in daikon and topped with dry-fried seaweed. The seaweed is a truly inspired touch.

Oysters are next, little gems set in a puddle of pancetta stock and topped with a green garlic mayonnaise. I've always thought oysters Rockefeller ought to be retooled for the 21st century: now it's been done.

The next dish is greeted with oohs and ahs. Then an awed dead silence ensues. Yes, it is truly that delicious.

Sea urchin, yuzu mousse, caviar... But the truly elegant touch is those sweet-sour little red dots dancing around the edge. A mixture of umeboshi and beet puree, they frame the flavors in the most intriguing fashion.

Black cod, the most luxurious fish, is simply served on a puree of parsnip and miso, garnished with sprouting broccoli.

"This," says Chef Joel as he plates the next dish, "is my version of ramen. The noodles are made of fish cake, there's egg yolk jam, and be sure to eat the crispy fried egg before the broth is poured over."

The little lace cap of egg is a treat. And that deep, rich broth! I taste chicken, pork, bacon, roasted onion, scallion, a hint of ginger. More please.

Chef Jenny calls this "accidental pasta," and it is like none I've ever tasted. The texture reminds me of dried tofu, and the entire flavor profile - dashi, bamboo, spiny lobster - is more Asia than Italy.

Back to Mexico for the quail, with its cake made of masa, its queso fresco, its garnish of corn silk.

Foie gras mousse with strawberry glaze and litchi. Need I say more? Let me just add that the little fortune cookie made of dried strawberries is a fine surprise.

What is this strange wiggly black thing? An egg rolled in burnt brioche crumbs! The pork jowel on the side has been zapped with gochujang. Absorbing and delicious.

"Were an amusement park," says Chef Micah as he helps compose the next dish. "We're trying to give you a roller coaster ride of flavors." This must be an e ticket: spoon-soft beef cheeks with truffle, peas, pea leaves and carrots of many colors.

On to dessert. Can I eat another bite? This treatise on coconut, all texture and temperature, proves irresistible. Tapoica, young coconut, and coconut ice in a chocolate shell. On the side, a roasted banana. To my astonishment I inhale every morsel.

And finally the single most seductive strawberry shortcake I've ever encountered. Strawberries frozen into ruffles, cooked into gelee, served with sheep milk sorbet. It's like shy little Cinderella after she's been touched with a magic wand.

There's more. A trip back to the den, for more drinks and this parting gift of pineapple, brown butter and pecan.

One of the qualities I've always admired about Wolf is his unerring talent for management. People stay with him for years, sometimes their entire careers.

As the team - Joel, Micah, Jen, Jett, David, Erik, Jay, Jenny, George and Alan - wave a cheerful goodbye I suddenly get what is unique about Rogue. It's the first restaurant I've ever encountered that isn't about you. It's about them. About encouraging them, about giving them a chance to develop their talents.

But if we're very lucky, we get to go along for the ride.

(I’m sorry to say The Rogue Experience is merely a memory.)

January 2015
Stopped in at The Little Jewel of New Orleans Grocery and Deli today, to get some gumbo to go. It may be one of L.A.'s best bargains- a really righteous bowl of gumbo, a side of rice, along with toast and butter for about ten bucks. A fantastic dinner.

Haven't tried anything else here, although I'm thinking those muffalettas would be perfect Super Bowl fare, and I did bring some boudin blanc home for a midnight snack. I'm pretty sure this is the real thing - proprietor and chef Marcus Christiana-Beniger can really cook. Can't wait to try the po' boys, although frankly I can't imagine there's anything here I wouldn't like.

We wandered through the aisles of the shop, looking at all those classic New Orleans products. Laurie picked up a package of kidney beans and said, "These are the right kind of beans for red beans and rice. You should buy some." I thought - do beans really make that much of a difference? Still, I bought some. They weren't cheap; a pound of beans cost half what the gumbo did. It was the same price as the boudin. Five bucks a pound: pretty pricey beans.

But they were absolutely worth it.

Came home and followed the directions on the package.

It probably helped that I had some Snake River Farms Kurobata Ham to use for what the package calls "seasoning meat." But I'm guessing it didn't help all that much. It was the Camellia Kidneys that made this the most satisfying pot of beans I've ever cooked.

I will never again be without them. The beans smelled fantastic while they were cooking. They tasted great with rice. And they went up against that gumbo. Didn't win. But weren't embarrassed.

Cajun Red Beans
1/2 pound Camellia Red Kidney Beans
4 cups water
1/4 pound ham or "seasoning meat," diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic "toe"
1/2 stalk of celery, chopped
handful of chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper

Wash the beans and sort through them. Put them in a pot with the water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer.

Put the ham into a skillet and cook until it's given up its fat. Add the onion, garlic, celery and parsley, and cook until the vegetables are soft and fragrant. Add this to the beans.

Toss in the bay leaf and a fair amount of salt and pepper.

Simmer, covered, for an hour and a half or two, until the beans are soft. Take a spoon and smash some of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken and make the beans creamy.

Speaking of better times…

This is from the wedding of the late, great chef, Michel Richard. As you can see from the menu, chefs flew in from across the country to celebrate the occasion.

January 2014
That's Nancy Silverton, serving the focaccia di Recco at Chi Spacca, which may be the most irresistible thing I've eaten this year.

Think crisp, paper thin layers of dough. Rich stretchy cheese. Olive oil. Salt. The play of textures is arresting - you focus on the amazing things happening in your mouth - and then you just stop thinking altogether and succumb to the sheer deliciousness of the dish.

(If you haven’t read Tom Sietsema’s ecstatic review of Nancy’s newest restaurant, Osteria Mozza in DC, this amazing confection is one of the things he focuses upon. And I have to admit, it is one of my favorite foods on earth.)

If I were in LA right now, I’d be heading to Sapp Coffee Shop for the most comforting food I know: their fantastic boat noodles.

And speaking of hope…

If you know someone with an interest in farming, I can’t think of a better gift than an introduction to the Ann Saxelby Legacy Fund, which offers month-long paid apprenticeships on sustainable farms across the country. Link to the application is here.