What You're Eating – Best Signature Dishes At LA's Top Restaurants
(credit: Oak Grill)
When it comes to the culinary institution that is Los Angeles, there is a huge amount of selection of great eats throughout the city to choose from. But, if you suffer from decision paralysis when presented with the age-old question: "What do you want to eat?", we've compiled a few choice picks for you to have at the ready from some of our favorite LA spots, as well a few of the new cool kids on the block you'll want to get acquainted with.
(credit: Pablo Bucio)
Blackened Cauliflower
Gadarene Swine
11266 Ventura Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 91604
(818) 508-5500
www.thegadareneswine.com
Chef Phillip Frankland Lee's new restaurant, The Gadarene Swine is just over a month old, and it's given Ventura Boulevard and the Valley something to talk about. From the chef behind Scratch|Bar, this cozy den features vegetable-centric cuisine that is as flavorfully complex and satiating as it is gorgeous.
The blackened cauliflower is the reason Lee's second restaurant came into fruition. His light bulb moment came when he realized that this dish could stand on its own beside any other on his menu. Couple this with the fact that the chef just so happens to refrain from the use of cream or butter for cooking, and the translation made perfect sense.
It was only appropriate to predict this would become the signature dish at The Gadarene Swine. White cauliflower purée is topped with four different colors of cauliflower that have been roasted until slightly blackened and crispy. It is garnished with red onions cooked in lime juice, chopped pistachios, Thai basil, and chips made from the stems of the cauliflower that are shaved thin, marinated like beef jerky, and dried out until crispy. The resulting dish offers a surprising explosion of flavor, layers of enjoyable texture, and pure wonderment.
(credit: Brilliantshine)
Maine Lobster
Brilliantshine
522 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-0045
www.thebrilliantshine.com
Coming close to their second month anniversary, the flagship establishment of Soigné Group (Josh Goldman, Julian Cox) is still enjoying a wonderful honeymoon phase that shows no signs of losing steam anytime soon. Chef Richie Lopez, formerly at Paiche (Ricardo Zarate) couldn't resist the opportunity to create a menu all his own, charged with the task of complementing the bar program by celebrated mixologist Julian Cox.
Lopez's Maine lobster rice with uni is a crowd pleaser like no other. House made uni sauce is integrated into sushi rice with chunks of Maine lobster mixed in. A squeeze of lime sets the stage for a finish of fresh uni, chives, and crispy puffed rice to top off this crave worthy dish. It's the kind of elevated comfort food you can imagine enjoying aboard a Windjammer, cruising the shores of Maine with salt air whirling through your hair.
(credit: Ryan Tanaka)
Beef Rendang
Hutchinson Cocktails & Grill
826 N. La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 360-0884
www.hutchinsonla.com
An exciting brand new addition to La Cienega's Restaurant Row, Hutchinson offers a menu crafted by Chef James Trees that plays off traditional Indonesian fare with robust, exotic flavors. The one not to miss is their beef rendang, a culturally significant dish with a multitude of renditions throughout Southeast Asia. Hutchinson's version is a labor of love, combining a family recipe with a good 70 hours of R&D that went into the development of this dish. The result is a refined taste that eloquently captures the unadulterated Indonesian flavors that can't be ignored.
The preparation is almost as intense, incorporating traditional Indonesian techniques with a few French and new school approaches mixed in. It starts with short rib, a cut with enough collagen to stand up to the arduous steps it will go through, thereby maintaining the coveted tenderness we've all come to expect. The meat is caramelized on all sides in a condensed sauce to produce a lovely, unctuous texture. Aromatic ingredients like onion, garlic, galangal, turmeric, and lemongrass are caramelized onto the beef that is then braised in fresh coconut milk for over three and a half hours at 350 degrees. Chef Tree employs a French technique at this juncture, pressing the meat in a metal pan overnight, revealing the most beautifully shaped blocks that are trimmed and portioned the next day.
Half of the braise sauce is combined with Sambal (fish sauce) and seasonings before it is strained and put aside (it will later be served with the dish) and the other half is cooked until it breaks down. Coconut milk is then caramelized in the oil from beef and fat until the color changes from yellow into brown. More Sambal is added until it is cooked all the way down. The portioned ribs are then Cryovacked in a bath of this umami-rich liquid and held on the line at 120 degrees (bonjour, sous-vide). When all is said and done, the entire process takes about 48 hours. Execution is very critical for this dish to come out just right. It is served with coconut rice and caramelized bok choy, rounding out a dish with a massive dose of immaculate Indonesian flavors that you have the privilege of enjoying right here in your own city.
(credit: Kazu Nori)
Blue Crab Hand Roll
KazuNori
421 S Main St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 493-6956
www.kazunorisushi.com
You know that feeling of anticipation you get when you're at SUGARFISH and it's time for the blue crab hand roll to be presented in front of you? Now you can have it (as well as a host of other hand rolls) all dinner long thanks to KazuNori, the first restaurant of its kind, offering unmistakably fresh hand rolls made right before your eyes in an informal environment. As expected, the commitment to quality fans of SUGARFISH have come to expect is unwavering at this new outpost.
The blue crab hand roll is based on a recipe perfected by Chef Kazunori Nozawa more than 25 years ago at his namesake restaurant, Sushi Nozawa (now reincarnated as SUGARFISH Studio City). The preparation is really simple: they begin with super premium seaweed, top it with Nozawa's signature warm, loose rice, and place a generous serving of blue crab on top. The roll is then wrapped into a cylinder and served immediately to guests, along with a house made soy sauce. This longstanding, perennial favorite strikes an immaculate balance with the briny sweetness of crab, crisp texture of nori, and Nozawa's loose, warm rice that brings it all together.
(credit: Kevin Eats)
Awabi: Steamed Japanese Abalone
Sushi Tsujita
2006 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 231-1177
www.tsujita-la.com
If you've driven down Sawtelle Boulevard in the last two months you'll have noticed this new sushi bar in the Little Osaka neighborhood, joining its two ramen house counterparts (Tsujita Artisan Noodle, Tsujita Annex) with much fanfare. Chef Shigeru Kato offers his version of a traditional Edomae style sushi bar, a classic style characterized by a purist approach utilizing the absolute best ingredients and fish preparation techniques used during the Edo period (1603-1868).
Dining here is like a culinary history lesson, a place to appreciate your favorite cuisine in an interesting new way. Much of the seafood is imported from Tokyo and prepared with techniques like salting, picking, and curing. In the days before refrigeration, sushi originally came to be as a way of preserving and fermenting fish for the denizens of Japan who sought food stalls for a quick meal.
Although the menu consists mostly of three omakase selections, there is a specialty dish that you'll hope makes the cut, and it's awabi: steamed Japanese abalone as part of a splendid composition of pickled gobo root, yuba wisps, and tofu skin framed within an iridescent shell.
(credit: Dylan + Jeni)
Bäco Flatbread Sandwich
Bäco Mercat
408 S Main St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 687-8808
www.bacomercat.com
Bäco Mercat is one of what will soon be four establishments by Josef Centeno, the chef that is steadfastly dominating the historic Old Bank District. It's also the home of a signature flatbread sandwich known as the bäco. It's a dish that originally started as an unassuming meal improvised for late-night staff, filled with whatever ingredients were left in the kitchen. And just like that, they found their way onto the menu.
The original bäco was the crispy pork belly and beef carnitas with caraway pepper, however the el pesco has fast taken the spotlight as another favorite to enjoy. The flatbread is made by scratch with a lebni sauce made with Greek yogurt, garlic, ginger, and lavender. Once the dough rises, it is rolled out and cooked in a hot griddle with house made ghee. The fresh bäco is then filled with crispy shrimp, sriracha, and chive dressing. The wonderfully supple texture of the lightly charred outside, tender inside bäco serves as the perfect vessel to showcase the explosion of flavors resulting in this culinary symphony.
(credit: Greg Inga)
Dotolo's Hamachi Crudo
Son of a Gun
8370 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 782-9033
www.sonofagunrestaurant.com
Son of a Gun is the seafood-centric establishment by Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, the chef duo that blessed LA with Animal. While the obvious crowd pleasers are the fried chicken sandwich, lobster roll, and oh-so-dreamy shrimp toast, there is another fan favorite for you sailors to try: Dotolo's hamachi crudo.
Sustainable Hon Hamachi is seasoned with a dry rub of Kochukaru (Korean red chili flakes) and salt. The quick marinade is galbi dressing, a traditional Korean marinade. The fish is garnished with market fresh radishes, radish sprouts, mung bean sprouts, apples, and cilantro. Something delightfully new results that offers a full spectrum of savory, sweet, light, and refreshing, finished with a touch of heat. In other words, all the elements that makes for an impeccably balanced dish. Says sous chef Greg Inga, "I think yellowtail sushi and Korean BBQ are two familiar items that a lot of people in our city love and can identify with; this definitely contributes to the popularity of this dish."
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