Eat Drink Style Pliny the Younger - The Philosopher Has Arrived Again

For any beer enthusiasts out there, this is a good week. Russian River Brewing Company announced the release of this limited, American/Triple IPA masterpiece known as "Pliny the Younger". Not the elder version, for there are more hops and only brewed once a year. Word is that you can find it at some of my favorite beer bars:

Verdugo Bar, Glassell Park
Blue Palms, Hollywood
Father's Office, Culver City
Library Alehouse, SaMo

and also, at the newly opened, Surly Goat in West Hollywood, also a child of Verdugo Bar's Ryan Sweeney. Stop in for this beer, guaranteed to be a tapped keg in a few days. Here's a review on Beer Advocate. I personally find this beer to be a 36-24-36 kind of beer.

Eat Drink Style The Lazy Ox Canteen, Little Tokyo Los Angeles - Josef Centeno: Our Neighborhood Chef

I'm going on my 5th year with this blog and in retrospect, I can't believe how writing about food has changed my life in numerous ways. The most important being the way I viewed other cultures, valued family and friendships and even finding love. I first started writing about places I grew up on and eventually made some dramatic turns. For me, knowing about music, food and art are great cultural values. So I made a point to approach everything with an open-mind and try anything and everything – like Bourdain, who I highly respect. When J and I met, we were eating a lot of street food and affordable ethnic food. Naturally, the more you enjoy food, the more likely you will move from low end to high end meals. We didn't really have our "nice" dinner experience together until we ate at A.O.C. We must have looked like beasts with hooves and fangs at the restaurant, but it was definitely different and out of our zone. From there, we just went on an haute cuisine binge. We followed chefs and were lured in by anyone with exquisite plating and Michelin ratings. It was good, but expensive. But after a while, we just got really tired of the richness and stuffiness that these restaurants are sometimes known for. And we found ourselves instead turning the culinary notch down to find something that was more in our league. After all, we are just normal people that live beyond their means ha.

Haute cuisine is by far a male-dominated arena. For me, there's a clear contrast in male and female chefs. Male chefs like Grant Achatz of Alinea, Ferran Adria of El Bulli and Thomas Keller of the French Laundry are a few examples of culinary mavens. A common style of the aforementioned chefs are small, yet intricate portions of food that create great negative space on $30-100 dinnerware. Some of these dishes, as small as a tablespoon, may contain as much as 25-30 different ingredients. Male chefs can be more aggressive with experimentation and it's clear that detail and aesthetics are what they shoot for. James Beard Award winner or not, the food started to feel more like art than edible substance.

On the other hand, female chefs can take on a more, well, feminine approach. Chefs like Suzanne Goin, Judy Rodgers and Alice Waters are famous for their usage of farm-fresh, local ingredients, but also the heart they put into their food. There's also Susan Feniger of Border Grill, Suzanne Tracht of Jar and Naomi Pomeroy of Beast in Portland to add to the list of notable female chefs. There's warmth and soul behind their dishes, rather than presentation - the main ingredient in our mother's cooking. Mom made you feel good when you were sick with the simplest of foods. And she always had your favorite dish ready when you came back on weekends during college. The detail is there but masked in sometimes larger portions of food that usually create joy in the stomach rather than tease the tongue.

From that distinction, Jeni and I found ourselves cooking a lot of food from the Zuni Cafe and Sunday Suppers cookbooks. Of the nearly 40 cookbooks we own, the pages on those books are the most dog-eared and tattered with food stains. The food is simple, but a sure win. I believed that female chefs cooked the most soulful food and we were convinced that this would be a consistent trend in the differentiation of male and female chefs.

It wasn't until we discovered the food of four chefs in Los Angeles that begun to think otherwise. I simply love the food by Palate's Octavio Becerra, Animal's John Shook and Vinny Dotolo and Josef Centeno of Opus, Lot 1 Cafe, Bar Celona and now, the Lazy Ox Canteen. These chefs have changed my view on how a male chef approaches food and have really made offals THE main event on a menu, even for people that shudder at the sight of tripe. I feel they have really turned the dial up on warmth and soul, and turned down the dial on aesthetics/minimalism. Some have received classic French training, some just surfaced through an honest passion for cooking. If you haven't met these chefs before, it's important to note that they are a bit guerrilla in their own ways and the main reason I respect them so much. It's not that I don't enjoy the conventional, usually anal and uptight, French-trained chef, it's just these guys seem more interesting to me for their bad-boy, across-the-grain and down-to-earth qualities. They are the kinda guys I can have a beer with. "Thomas Keller, you're up for the keg stand. Go man." Don't think so.

A little about these chefs...

Octavio Becerra studied photography at an art school and fell into cooking. He first started washing dishes and in no time, was discovered by Patina's Joachim Splichal - in fact, Becerra helped Splichal start the Patina Restaurant Group. If you saw Becerra about 20 years ago somewhere in a seedier area, you might expect a punch in the face from him or him to be rolling with a motorcycle crew. While most chefs wear the traditional white long-sleeve coat, neatly buttoned, Becerra is touting a short sleeve version of looks like prison pajamas. At someone his age, I find it amusing talking to him about electronic and indie music. Sometimes on Sundays, you may find him spinning on some tables with DJ Shadow or Cut Chemist. "Daniel Boulud on the wheels of steels." Ugh, no.

John Shook and Vinny Dotolo before the opening of their successful restaurant, Animal, were known as 2 Dudes Catering on the Food Network. I worked with a catering company for a bit and serviced a few gigs on my own before, and let me tell you, it is TOUGH to make sure that every bit of food goes out tasting the way you want it to. You are more worried about food going out in time while still hot. But these guys, completely impressed me. Their food was solid and not even showy. I walked by the kitchen one time and saw John wearing a band shirt, cut-off Dickies, skater shoes and a typical apron from a greasy short-order restaurant. If it weren't for the apron, these guys looked like your typical concert-attending, Miller High-Life drinking bud-smokers. Which is like awesome. "Jean Georges Vongerichten, your turn to take a bong rip." Vut?

And finally, there's Josef Centeno who first introduced his creativity and talent to Los Angeles at Opus with nicely-priced tasting menus. We started following him when he worked at Lot 1 Cafe in Echo Park and even heard that he would skate to work. His time at Lot 1 Cafe was short-lived and on his last day, we were one of six other couples that went to shake the good man's hand and bid farewell. One look at Centeno, you would have no idea he was classically-trained at CIA, worked under world-class chefs and probably the most down-to-earth, humble guys.

When word that Josef Centeno had resurfaced in Los Angeles again, J and I were stoked. He is now the executive chef of the Little Tokyo-based gastropub, Lazy Ox Canteen. And how awesome that this was another addition to the sprawling downtown area. I came here on a weekend and returned two days later with some friends for beer. On the first visit, we were surprised that Centeno recognized us. According to Jeni, he indeed had a following.

Lazy Ox Canteen is decorated with beautiful, horizontally-placed wood and handsome lighting. It is good enough to hold large groups of 6-8 without having to listen to loud, obnoxious chatter in places like Bottega Louie. And upon entry, the beer bar draws you in almost instantly. With a nice selection of craft beers on tap and in bottles, it's hard not to order some liquid before even seeing the menu. The trend now seems to be the importing of lesser-known Japanese beers like at Umami Burger. It used to be difficult to get Hitachino ale, but it's only a matter of time before Trader Joe's starts carrying it.

In addition to a standard list of items on a menu, Centeno offers at least 25+ more dishes as well as daily specials. I had a sore neck after switching between the menu and chalkboard for five minutes straight. Here's what we had.

I'm a huge fan of Belgian beer. Try the La Chouffe out for its rich, wholesome, floral taste.

Cod Brandade Fritters with Aioli
I had my first brandade experience at Chicago's Avec in 2008, and since then tried to find a comparable version. Brandade is served in a casserole dish typically, but Centeno's version makes it easier for you to eat it and continue to guzzling tasty beer. Funny thing is, I saw a Yelper complain that these were too fishy, when in fact, it was not. If anything, a little more wouldn't hurt. Another thing I forgot to mention was Centeno's skill in fried dishes - he is a master of batter. And in this recipe, some club soda is the added touch. Loved these.

Yellowtail with Avocado, Hash Browns and Creme Fraiche
A simple yet tasty mixture of things I usually enjoy separately. This dish takes me to Japan, Mexico, the Midwest and France all at the same time minus the jetlag. With my fork, I cut into all the ingredients and made sort of a miniature "open-faced" sandwich. This was great with a light lager beer.

Boccarones - Fried Sardines
A very tasty Sardine dish that does not taste like Sardines. Usually quite a salty fish, Centeno's batter makes it enjoyable. It was a bit oily though and needed a lot of beer to bring it down.

Ham & Eggs
A miniature version of the classic American breakfast with pork belly and quail egg instead. This was really fun to eat but I wish the quail egg was runnier and the pork belly more fork-tender.

Crispy Pig Ears with Lime & Radish
And I finally find one of my top three dishes of LOC. Pig ears are not a new thing to the Chinese. But in America, it's a highly sought-after dish at any fine-dining institution. I have finally found the perfect match for a nice, cold beer. Crispy, well-battered pig ears served with lime and thinly-sliced radish. Interesting enough, all my fave chefs have offered great pig ear dishes, including Octavio Becerra's pig ear tacos - yum. I've put Centeno's 'ear rings' at the first rank, followed shortly by Church & State's hot, gooey pig ears and Animal's version served with a runny egg. My friends and I should have ordered our own because we looked like lions feasting on a tiny baby zebra.

Khlii Moroccan-Style Beef Jerky with Fried Egg
I'm a firm believer that if you put a fried egg on anything, life is better. Even stacking a fried egg on top of another fried egg is nice. So with this dish, I ended up placing it in my top three. The combination of a smoky, crunchy jerky, runny egg, salsa verde and grilled bread is a unanimous winner. Again, my friends and I pretended to be unselfish and kept offering the final bite to each other. We were purely bullshitting each other.

Charred-Octopus with Lime Beans and Smoked Paprika
I learned in Hawaii that I'm an octopus's predator only on land. I rarely turn down any octopus dish now and Centeno's version was enjoyable. The subtle char of the grilled octopus, starchy beans, savory veggies and smoked paprika are having a great time in the hot tub. Smoked paprika is my favorite spice.

Grilled Tuna Collar
If you look at a fat man, two parts stick out the most - the double or triple chin and the belly. On most animals or fish, these are the best parts. Places like Hunan Restaurant in Rosemead offer a killer fish head and collar dish that will make you look at the head differently. I highly recommend trying the collar of any fish, it's great. Centeno's comes simply grilled but the addition of lentils and lima beans makes this one very homey meal. We turned this thing into a fossil.

I think this is the first time I enjoyed a gastropub in a while. At the Lazy Ox Canteen, I think Centeno is really showing his creativity and talents, the way he intended to. He is a classically trained chef, but to me, I see a normal, chill guy that cooks food that is homey, approachable and interesting. The prices here are a bit high and I walked out both times feeling super guilty about the bill, but I expect that out of most restaurants that are opening up in the Downtown Los Angeles culinary/cocktail movement. Or maybe it's simply my fault that I have a very, very, very hard time sticking to three dishes and one beer at this particular gastropub. Thanks for reading.

***Note
On Mondays, wine bottles are half price – call for the times. And from 5-7 pm everyday, there are five dishes nicely priced at $5. Enjoy.

Lazy Ox Canteen
241 San Pedro Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-5299
www.lazyoxcanteen.com

Eat Drink Style Father's Office II, Culver City - The Sang Yoon Bleu Cheese Burger Legacy Continues

Sequels. Usually a thing that's hit or miss. Karate Kid. Police Academy. Die Hard. Van Dumb & Steven Segal movies... you either love them or you hate them. And a big can of worms is opened with various opinions. With all the talk over the last year about Father's Office opening a second location, the question isn't whether or not it'll be better than the Santa Monica location... the question is "when the f*ck is it actually opening?" And finally, after god knows how long, Chef Sang Yoon has opened up chapter 2 in his restaurant career with Father's Office II this week, located in the Helms Bakery Building in Culver City, or to foodies, as CuCi. I myself, call it Construction City, because things never seem to get done here thanks to Cal Trans.

At exactly 5:07 pm, my coworker RM, Jeni and I quickly turned on to Helms Avenue. It was only the 2nd day of the grand opening and we eagerly stuck our heads out the window to see if there were herds of people outside. And.... NO! No ridiculous Best Buy line-around-the-building crap.

We walked up and were given a warm welcome by the door man. Yes, a door man. "Welcome to Father's Office." Once we walked in, it was immediately understood why this establishment had taken so long to open. It's with Chef Yoon's careful planning, immaculate design and pure passion and craft that make Father's Office an experience of its own. In front of us stood the bar, made out of beautifully, lacquered wood. Behind, we saw about 35+ taps on both the left and right side of the back wall, making it a total of 70+ taps ready to imbibe us with goodness. All the bartenders and servers wore black t-shirts with a simple "F.O..." graphic. Why there are thought dots... I don't know. Maybe a breath of relief that it's finally opened?

35+ Delicious Choices of Beer
Chef Yoon is definitely a beer connoisseur, or in proper form, a cerevisaphile. I felt like a kid in a candy store as I slowly studied the various taps from left to right. Most I have heard of, yet it's still amazing to see all this godsend in one place.

Non-Beer Items
In addition to beer, Chef Yoon has a liking for tequilas, whiskies and gin – further proof that Koreans love to drink. If you look carefully between the shelves, you'll see what looks like a digital indicator. He's got humidifying fans installed above the bottles so that each spirit rests in an optimum level for your enjoyment.

Delirium Tremens, one solid Belgian beer.

Inversion IPA. Never heard of it, but tasted great.

Hitachino Classic Ale. A solid Japanese beer made in Hitachi, Japan, the same city as the major electronics brand.

Smoked Eel with Poached Egg
Yes, all everyone talks about is the Bleu Cheese burger at FO, but what about the lonely, neglected stepchildren on the menu... like the Smoked Eel with Poached Egg. Man, I love this dish. First off it's smoked and it has my most favorite ingredient in the world, eggs. I poked the poached egg with the tine of my fork and watched the yolk slowly ooze out like a premature volcano. I mixed the thinly sliced red onions, poached egg with the horseradish/creme fraîche and cut a piece of the eel. The eel actually required me to use a knife to cut through it, a sign that the fish had great texture. I love this dish. It's a perfect balance of smokiness, temperature and texture. *high-5* Sang Yoon.

Lamb Skewers with Roasted Eggplant and Radicchio
My vegan coworker RM ordered this. Which doesn't make any sense, but he in general, doesn't make a lot of sense at all. Anyway, loved this dish as well. I could taste cayenne, paprika, cumin and oregano... very Mediterranean. The lamb was so fresh that it didn't have any gameyness to it. If you told me it was beef after about 6 beers, I'd believe you.

Yam Fries "A La Cart"
Yet another food pun. But what a great dish it is. These taste better than a lot of the yam fries I've eaten in Koreatown cafes. Nicely seasoned with a side of Cabreles Bleu Cheese aioli. *High-5 Sang Yoon*

Father's Office Bleu Cheese Burger
One time at the Santa Monica FO, my friend and I argued over how many burgers FO sells in one day. In about one hour starting at 12 pm, we saw nearly 30 orders go out. And it wasn't even busy at all. Any idea how many they sell in a day at the new location? My guess is 400 on an average day. 400 x $12 = $4,800. *High-5 Sang Yoon*

And how does the FO sequel pan out? I think it's going to be one of the biggest profiters in Culver City. FO2 is larger, offers more beer and is located at the right place at the right time, when Culver City is booming as a culinary pit-stop in Los Angeles. Next question for Chef Sang Yoon, will there be a 3rd sequel in the near future? And also Sang Yoon, can you add wireless to FO2 so that I could tell Jeni that I'm not actually drinking beer and working at The Office? She'll believe me.

If you find yourself waiting in a long line at FO2 on the weekend, try and stop by Sue Moore's tasty lamb-casing, beef and pork sausages. Check out Jeni's posting on FO2, on why her father thinks that good girls shouldn't drink beer.

Father's Office II
3229 Helms Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 815-9820

Eat Drink Style Cup O' C**k: The Most Unappetizing Meal - Red Lion Tavern, Silverlake

It was Friday and I was hungry after work. My coworker and I headed over to one of our favorite places to drink in Silverlake - the Red Lion Tavern. J and MM met us up and we started the weekend with our favorite German brews. A nice Spaten, a few shots of Jagermeister and one or two Irish Carbombs. I usually order the sausage platters which consists of three types of sausages along with the perfect companion of sauerkraut and mustard. Its chopped up and poked with a dozen or so toothpicks. Our server was this really fun and playful German girl by the name of V. Throughout the time we were there, we threw joke jabs at each other. Great sense of humor this V. So then I decided to order some food. I wasn't feeling anything heavy and felt like drinking soup. Mmm, this sounds good.... the Beerstein Soup... a split pea soup and wiener. I'll take one V.

What I was about to witness, was horrific. Behold....

The Cup O' C**k soup!

Me: "Wait, wait, wait... V, what the hell is this?!"
V: "Ees vut you ordered. Beerstein soup."
Me: "You're kidding me right?"
V: (with a wicked grin) "No. This is how ve serve it."
Me: "........ Vut the fuck?"

Before she could walk away, I caught her laughing. Very slick I thought haha. J, MM and my coworker were just as shocked as I was. So were the two tables next to us... who couldn't hold in their laughs. I looked at them and held my hands up in a WTF gesture. One of the guys said "Looks good." I was thinking to myself, did we do anything to V to deserve this??? I know it clearly says Beerstein Soup... but couldn't the cooks plate this in any other way. Thomas Keller and Wylie Dufresne can make this look beautiful and they certainly wouldn't go the phallic route. But this... seemed more like something Sandra Lee would do.

Sandra: "Today we're making my favorite soup... Cup O' C**k. All you have to do is buy your favorite split pea soup at the market - I like Campbell's. Buy your favorite wieners and use your handy kitchen shears to open them up. Then you heat up the soup in the microwave, pour it into your favorite beer stein and add the wiener. How easy was that. And it's so good. Nothing says German to me like Cup O' C**k. Mmm, I love c**k!!!"

I quickly took the wiener out and chopped that shit up... as to destroy any phallic thoughts brewing in people's minds. The table next to us was still getting a kick out of it. If you really wanna know, the soup sucked. It was warm and the wiener was just average. The food here is average, but definitely a fun place to drink beer with friends in the beer garden. If this was a joke, that was a good one V. You're funny.

Red Lion Tavern
2366 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, Ca 90039
(323) 662-5337
www.redliontavern.net