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Eat Drink Style Breakfast Noodles in Chinatown, Los Angeles - A Tasting of Chiu Chow Soup Noodles

Chinatown Breakfast Noodles, Los Angeles

What is your breakfast fix everyday? What gets your day going?

If you ask me what I want for breakfast, the chances are that it won't involve fried eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes or sausages. I love those but I can't eat that all the time. One thing I can eat everyday is noodles – soup noodles to be exact. And I'm not ashamed to bring out the inner FOB at 7:30 am, because a tasty goal s achieved. Over the last few months, I had given up searching for a nice lunch time option in the Westside area. Although I'll crave the Indian food on Venice Blvd., Santouka in the Mitsuwa plaza and the tiny Tokyo 77 Coffee Shop run by the sweet Japanese women, they still don't cut it for me sometimes. I thought to myself, maybe I'll just eat a HUGE breakfast and just skip lunch all together. Yes, great idea.

Because I'm right in the Echo Park area, I have access to some good ethnic enclaves. Thaitown to the Northwest, Koreatown to the Southwest and of course, Chinatown to the east by Downtown LA. While Chinatown is not regarded as a place for true, authentic Chinese food, there are some places that offer some decent soup noodle soups to offer. Over the last few decades, there had been a large influx of Vietnamese-speaking immigrants/business owners to Chinatown. Signs that had originally been written in Chinese, now had tiny captions written in Vietnamese and even in Cambodian. But they are not Vietnamese nor Cambodian, they are people from the city of Chiu Chow ( 潮州 ) located within the Guangdong province. The Chiu Chow are also known as Chao Zhou, Trieu Chau, Teo Chew and Diojiu. The people of this province have strong migration patterns due mainly to commerce. They are in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and even Burma. If you've never heard the Chiu Chow language, it strongly resembles the Taiwanese language, both of which are derived from the Hakka dialect. It makes sense the people of Taiwan are originally from the mainland province of Fu Jian. Just Southwest of that is Chao Zhou.

Chinatown Chicken

Anyway, let's not get too historical, I hope you're starting to get hungry. You've probably had Chiu Chow food if anything – wontons, fish balls, pork balls, beef balls, squid balls, shrimp balls, wide 'ho fun' rice noodles and yellow egg noodles... products of people from Chiu Chow province that have brought their foods along with them all over Asia. The most common dish involving all these delicious foods comes in a noodle soup form with various meats, offals, meat balls or seafood- 粿條, guo tiao (Mandarin), goh tiew (Cantonese) hu tieu, kway teow (Thai) and kuy teav (Khmer).

Here are a few places that I frequent in the Chinatown area. I will get into my fave breakfast places in Thaitown and Koreatown in a future posting. But for now, these will hopefully keep you full and content for a very little price.

A few things on how to maximize your experience at a Chiu Chow restaurant:

(1) Chiu Chow broth is typically made with pork/chicken bones, dried shrimp/squid, fish sauce and rock sugar and has a very delicate taste. At times, it can be considered bland when you're putting it up against other dishes such as Vietnamese bun bo hue, Northern Chinese beef noodle soup or Thai boat noodles. Chiu Chow restaurants will usually provide you with a nice big tray of condiments with the usual Sriracha, Sambal Oelek, Hoisin sauce and fish sauce. But in addition, you'll see the Satay chili bbq sauce, pickled green chilis, crushed chili flakes, red/black/white vinegar, chopped peanuts and sometimes a sauce similar to Maggi Seasoning. Put on your blue gloves, goggles and lab coat - experiment a little!

(2) Chiu Chow people are masters of making all types of meatballs, fishballs and seafood pastes. Once you've eaten them in Hong Kong or in Taiwan, you'll know what I mean. You can usually buy them by the pound for like $5-6, and they usually taste far better than packaged meatballs at your local asian market.

(3) Chiu Chow restaurants will typically have a menu written in English, Chinese, Vietnam and Cambodian (not to be mistaken for Thai). They will have familiar dishes like fried, beef chow fun, gravy noodles and the like, but I typically avoid those.

(4) Chinese donuts (條, 油炸鬼) are usually only served in the morning. They won't sell any past 11 am. I like to dip them in the soup and some jungle sauce I conjured of consisting of fish sauce, hoisin and sambal oelek.

(5) Fried shallots/garlic are a big thing in Chiu Chow soup noodles. It's free of charge for a little flavor kick.

(6) Most Chiu Chow restaurants will offer a noodle mix. Here's a noodle guide taken from the Kim Chuy Restaurant of Chinatown.

Types of Noodles used in Chiu Chow Cuisine

Mien Nghia Chinatown, Los Angeles

Mien Nghia Restaurant 綿 義
I had written about this place before and know the staff quite well. Run by a group of Chiu Chow people, they speak Cantonese, Mandarin ,Vietnamese and Chiu Chow and offer various types of soup noodles... no rice! The short, stouty man, Duc, may seem rough along the edges but for me he keeps things interesting at Mien Nghia. They have two other locations in Rosemead and San Gabriel, and in competition with several other Chiu Chow restaurants.

Mien Nghia Chinatown, Los Angeles - Satay Chili Sauce

Mien Nghia, in my opinion, is known especially for their satay chili BBQ sauce. This condiment is essential for soup noodles and without it, the soup is really nothing more than a simple broth made of pork bones and chicken bones. It is made with chilis, garlic, shallots, peanuts, dried shrimp and oil. If this sauce uses dried scallops or Chinese ham, it then graduates as a sauce known as XO sauce used in gourmet Cantonese cuisine. The chef/owner of Mien Nghia works at the Rosemead location and I find the sauce to be better here. You can buy this sauce in a styrofoam cup for like $5 and take your own noodles cooked at home to the next level.

Mien Nghia Chicken Fish Noodles

#36 Chicken & Fried Fish Cake Rice & Egg Noodle Mix
By far, their most popular noodle, followed closely by the pork kidney soup noodles and seafood combo. It usually comes with fresh sole fish slices lightly mixed in starch to add a gentle bite/texture to it during boiling. I usually go for the fried fish cake slices (炸 魚 片)because it's a favorite of mine. Can't decide between rice noodles or egg noodles? Each one of Mien Nghia's soup noodles comes in a mixed noodle version making your indecisive stomach very happy. I also find the soup and chicken to be much tastier here than the Rosemead and San Gabriel location. Could be due to the fact that they can get fresh chickens at poultry shops right around the corner in Chinatown. But overall, you can't go wrong with any of the chains.

Mien Nghia Chinatown, Los Angeles

Notes

Mien Nghia sometimes puts TOO much noodles in their bowls (rather tall bowls, not wide) with TOO little soup. After a minute or two, the noodles have absorbed a good portion of liquid, making the noodles stick together like a dense haystack. Not fun because you have to untangle them like a bowl of yarn. Ask for a larger bowl to contain this growth.

Hoan Kiem Chinatown, Los Angeles

Hoan Kiem 湖 劍
Hoan Kiem (literally, Sword Lake) is located in the same plaza as another Chiu Chow restaurant Kim Chuy Restaurant (金 水 Far East Plaza) which has probably been around since the 80s. It's run by a Chiu Chow man from Vietnam and his wife & daughter. With a photo menu that touts a whopping TWO items, the people there have a pretty good chance of guessing your order correctly. Will it be their tasty, home-style pho ga (chicken rice noodle soup) or pork & wood ear fungus-filleed rice crepes known as banh cuon? I usually come for this:

Hoan Kiem Chinatown, Los Angeles - Pho Ga

Pho Ga
(Chicken Rice Noodle Soup)
While this traditional Vietnamese dish is nowhere near ultimate, the soup here is quite tasty, so tasty it'll make you say "M...S...Geezus". It's life's philosophy of giving and taking. You want something tasty, you have to give up something. It is probably more of a 'Chinese' style noodle soup rather than a true Vietnamese pho ga. And what a great way to remedy a sickness, as Campbell's does. My only problem with the standard pho ga here is the usage of white meat chicken – large, bland chunks that may suggest that you're actually eating rubber. It actually costs more for you to ask them for chicken gizzards. If they used the same exact chicken from Mien Nghia, man this would be tasty. I love the medium-sized rice noodles. Add some black pepper, Sambal Oelek and a little fish sauce and I'm a happy man. They also serve a dipping sauce for your dry chicken rubber.

Hoan Kiem Chinatown, Los Angeles - Pho Ga

Notes
When I shot this a few months back, the owner and his family were still there. I came back here a few weeks ago and was surprised not to the see the same family. I actually found out from Rameniac, who used to eat here weekly, that they had retired. The new people running it were their nieces and nephews. And sadly, the soup is no longer the same. But give it a try and you may find something I'm missing.

New Kamara Chinatown, Los Angeles

New Kamara Restaurant
Mien Nghia, I am sorry, but it is time we end our relationship. It's been a good two years and I'll never forget the times we had. I've moved on and found some one new, unique and she's quite hot. It's true, I've found a noodle shop that makes me even happier. I owe it to the true Noodle Whore, my dad. He raised me on soup noodles and passed on much of the Asian food knowledge I try to pass on this blog. He took me here back in the late 90s but we stopped going. I came back here another time, and was disappointed. And in one last effort to find something different than Mien Nghia, I came back – but there were new people running it. The second I walked in I knew there was something good in store for me. The scent of fresh broth made of pork bones, rock sugar, dried squid and freshly fried garlic – a broth that is very characteristic of Chiu Chow/Cambodian cuisine. If you've eaten hu tieu nam vang, then you've eaten a Vietnamese variation of a Chiu Chow noodle dish. Nam Vang is the Vietnamese term for Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia (Kampuchea). I've eaten here probably over 30 times in about a 3 month span – no joke. Graham of Noodle Pie has a nice write up on HTNV.

New Kamara Chinatown, Los Angeles - Chiu Chow Egg Noodle Soup

Chiu Chow Seafood Combo
This is Kamara's variation of what the Vietnamese refer to as hu tieu nam vang. In the broth, you get shrimp, ground pork, pork slices, liver, duck, pork balls, fish cake and your choice of noodles. The pork balls and fish cake are made in house.

New Kamara Chinatown, Los Angeles - Chiu Chow Egg Noodle Soup with Chili Sauce

An Upgraded Bowl of HTNV
This is the way I eat it. Remember the part about experimenting with the condiment tray? I do this... 3 scoops of the homemade chili sauce (peanuts inside), some fish sauce, some fake-Maggi sauce (looks like soy sauce), white pepper, Sambal Oelek and finally, lime juice. Another thing to mention is the noodle selection. They use a brand of noodles made by a company called Hong Tou Noodle Inc. over by Highland Park/Garvanza. After years of eating Kim Tar brand egg noodles, I've finally found a noodle that has EXCELLENT bite to it in both wide and thin sizes. the only place that I have seen these at is at Silom Thai market in Thai Town for $1.79 a pack. I also ask for an extra shot of fried garlic and man, it really brings out the broth.

New Kamara Chinatown, Los Angeles - Wonton Noodle Soup

Kamara's Wontons
While these are not by true definition, wontons, these make a really nice addition to your-already-very-delicious bowl of seafood & pork noodles. Chef Wu uses wonton skins made by Hong Tou Noodles Inc. to create these soft, velvety wontons that almost seem to have just the right amount of bite, yet be slurpable at any point. All he uses is ground pork, but there's a nice 'chewy bounce' to it that I really enjoy. This is what I order every time and the employees here don't even bother passing me a menu.

New Kamara Chinatown, Los Angeles - Chiu Chow Dry Egg Noodles

Chiu Chow Dry Noodles
Another thing Chinese people are into is, low mein, which refers to soupless noodles that have been tossed with some light sauce and topped with meat or seafood. You can order the same seafood & pork combo sans soup and it's very very delicious. Chef Wu adds a nice sauce and kicks it up with some fried garlic. I took J here to try this and now she is hooked. Her mom too.

New Kamara Chinatown, Los Angeles - Pork Bone Soup

Pork Bone Soup
Any bowl of dry noodles will come with this pork bone soup. I love it. I'll peel off all the meat and shred them over the dry noodles and make an ultimate noodle concoction. Simple visit to the condiment station and you're good to go.

This place is also the backdrop for what I call the Cambodian Lotto Social Club. At any time of the day, you'll see older Cambodian-Chinese men in the shopping center and in the restaurant, with eyes on a store that has a Lotto screen faced towards New Kamara. Everyday, they try out their luck and whether or not they win, New Kamara is more than just a restaurant for them – it's their community. New Kamara, my new love, is by no means a place I would recommend you driving an hour for. It's more of a place that feels very homey to me and proof that you don't need to overcomplicate food. The wonton seafood noodles are a big clusterfuck of various asian ingredients that somehow makes sense to me and my stomach. And I hope that you'll like them too. Thanks for reading.

Mien Nghia
304 Ord Street (c/o Broadway)
Los Angeles, 90012
(213) 680-2411
Mon-Sun 7 am - 5 pm

Hoan Kiem (in Far East Plaza)
727 N. Broadway
Los Angeles, 90012
(213) 617-3650

New Kamara (in Asian Center)
709 N. Hill Street
Los Angeles, 90012
(213) 620-1090
Mon-Sun 7:30 am - 5 pm

Eat Drink Style Steven Segal Energy Drink

Next time you're at a bar ordering say, a Red Bull Vodka, opt for Steven Segal's Lightning Energy instead. Not only will you be bouncing off the club walls like your in America's Best Dance Crew, you're letting all Alpha males know that you're not afraid to unleash the ultimate groin shot with style and whipping braided hair. You can find this at classy places like like 99 Cent Store. Braided hair and tight-fitted black shirt sold separately.

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Newsweek just put up this video interview of Chef Roy Choi and his Korean taco empire. The modest chef explains to us the importance of social media vehicles like Twitter and shows us what his 9 am - 3 am 'day' looks like. Did you know that they got hit up by sign-flashing gangs in certain parts of Los Angeles?

Eat Drink Style Saigon, Vietnam - A Morning Market

Saigon Market Morning Market

On the morning I went hunting for breakfast, I came across a morning market that was very much alive and kicking. It was now 7 am and life was going on here. People picking up breakfast, people shopping for groceries and vendors competing with their neighboring competition. A little more to eat wouldn't hurt I thought.

Saigon Street Life

Saigon Morning Market

While some locals run their businesses at a farmer's market or stall, there are vendors on wheels. Two wheels to be exact. Most of them sell fruit but I've seen something as wild as a guy riding with a hot deep fryer filled with oil on the back seat of his bicycle. I named him "Mr. Deep Fry-cycle". If the LA health inspection gets riled up over a taco truck on a street, imagine what they would say about the "deep fry-cycle". He would be sent to prison!

No matter where I am, the sounds and smells of a farmer's market are all part of the experience. Your senses are put to the test with each step that you take. In a sense, it is a bit of a sensory overload, but that of enjoyment.

Saigon Morning Market

Saigon Morning Market

Similar vendors are grouped together and although they are selling the same product and directly competing with each other, it's a friendly rivalry. I bought these freshly-fried fish cakes (ca chien) which I love almost more than anything. The fish was so tasty and full of that 'bouncey' bite that I look for in pureed/paste-like Asian products. Thai fish cakes for example, oh man.

Saigon Morning Market

Who doesn't like fried tofu. I didn't see anything that resembled Taiwanese stinky tofu, which I enjoy as well.

Saigon Morning Market

7 am, and the grill masters are out. Here's a Vietnamese version of yakitori. You've got various ground meat that are shaped into balls and chicken/pork organs. They served fish sauce dip on the side and the smell was great.

Saigon Morning Market

In addition to your standard seafood fare like fish and mollusks, you get beautiful blue-colored prawns fresh from the sea. These things were some of the largest prawns I've seen.

Saigon Morning Market

Most of the vegetables and seafood were all set outside. I then walked into a large depot that had something entirely different going on: meat. And to my surprise, there was not one single man wielding a sharp cleaver. Here in Saigon, the women are the Queens of the Kitchen and can very well chop up a pig faster than you can ever.

Saigon Morning Market

Saigon Morning Market

While most Westerners turn away upon the site of a completely butchered pig, it is actually more respectful and resourceful to use everything. I saw everything chopped up and ready for purchase. There were no putrid smells of death because everything was so fresh.

Saigon Morning Market

Saigon Morning Market

Ribs, chops, shanks, ears, offals, feet, tails and head. Nothing gone to waste. These were some of the most bad-ass women I've come across. And the irony of it at all, they still managed to look as beautiful as they could with jewelry, dyed hair, make-up and painted nails. Nothing will get in the way of good looks, even if it means dissecting a 250-lb pig on an early morning. Thanks for reading.

More postings on Saigon, Vietnam:
Saigon, Vietnam - Hello Saigon, Nice to Meet You and Eat You
Saigon, Vietnam - Banh Xeo 46A, a Taste of Vietnamese Crepes
Saigon, Vietnam - Bun Bo Hue, An Afternoon with Nguyen Thi Thanh
Saigon, Vietnam - Saigon Seafood Stalls

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Eat Drink Style McCall's Meat and Fish Company, Los Feliz - A Tale of Two Butchers

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

It's 6 am and a husband and wife wake up and begin their morning routine. But unlike most people that put on a shirt and tie or a dress, carry a laptop or a messenger bag and head out for their commute, Nathan McCall and Karen Yoo are doing something entirely different than most married couples. Instead they are putting on their chef coats, grabbing their knife bag and walking out together for work. They are on their way to one of Los Angeles's newest culinary-related business, their very own McCall's Meat and Fish Company located right in Los Feliz.

McCall and Yoo both did not intend for this to happen in their lives. Nor did they know that they would ever fall into cooking, and that it would bring them high regard on the Eastside.

Hailing from Fresno, McCall was pressured to find a job right out of high school and found himself at a local restaurant as an expediter. He then had the option of staying with the 'front of the house' or going into the 'back of the house', otherwise known as the kitchen. He took the latter and the next thing he knew, he found himself drawing inspiration from the French Laundry book. He then enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena (CSCA) and eventually worked at Cafe Pinot, Sona and various kitchens throughout Europe.

Yoo was a web designer from UCLA that wanted a way out of the corporate world. In a leap of faith, she enrolled in the pastry program at Le Cordon Bleu with virtually no interest in cooking and soon found herself working at places like Campanile and Sona, as the head pastry chef.

At David Meyer's Sona, they met and later on got married and moved to NYC to work at Daniel Boulud's "Daniel". With plans to open up their own restaurant, they decided instead to take a genius turn in their career path and open a much needed boutique meat and seafood shop in Los Angeles.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

On an early morning, I decided to photograph them both during their morning routine. I knocked on the window of McCall's and was greeted by Nathan and Karen. It was 7:30 am and they were looking extremely sharp in their chef gear. Right off the bat,I knew they were serious and passionate about what they do.


When I first walked in here, I was immediately reminded of a painting done by one of my favorite painters, Mark Ryden. A strange man that has a penchant for painting meat and sausages with famous figures. But if you like to cook as much as I do, McCall's will give you the feeling of being in a candy store again.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

And from a design perspective, you know that Yoo hasn't lost her touch. They both have done a great job of making you forget that you are in a butcher shop, but rather in a "meat boutique". I've been to many butcher shops and the common denominator is that white ceramic tile in morgues and the chemical smell used to abate the smell of meat and blood. Possibly old meat. And I think a lot of people are intimidated by butcher shops because of the smell and sound of large buzzing bone saws. But at McCall's, all the 'dirty work' is done before you've even stepped in the store.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

One thing chefs pride themselves on is cleanliness and presentation. Working in a restaurant, you're either cooking, cleaning or getting your ass kicked by the head chef verbally. Sometimes all at the same time. Because it is so true that good food comes out of a clean kitchen. I watched Yoo put out these beautifully manicured lamb racks. Was it bizarre to crave some nicely seared lamb ribs this early in the morning?

It's now 8 am, and they've got three hours to make everything look shiny and new before the first customer swings that door open. With Blackalicious blasting through their speakers, and on another occasion Bone Thugs n' Harmony, they both grab their knives and do a quick run-through on the sharpening steel. I grab my camera, step back and watch the two butchers go to town.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

There's nothing more beautiful to me than watching a fish being filleted. McCall grabs a black cod by the deep eye sockets and checks out both sides of the fish to make sure it looks good. He then lays the fish gently down on the cutting board. McCall is completely focused, more so than Daniel-san from Karate Kid doing his Crane Kick. With a few swift moves, the black cod is halved and without a head.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

He tells me that the Black Cod is really an ugly fish, but tastes so good. I add that the Chilean Seabass (aka Patagonian Toothfish) is even uglier and that actually doesn't belong to the bass family. It was a clever marketing plan to sell the fish that is tied for first in the annual ugly pageant with the evil Angler fish. Warning: you are about to see the true meaning of ugly. Speaking of the Angler fish, I'm surprised it is still a surviving species based on its looks.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

McCall is finished with five Black Cods in a matter of twenty minutes, with nice fillets placed on a tray like freshly baked goods. He immediately brings out a container of sanitizing solution and cleans up the mess from the Black Cod. I told you good chefs pride themselves on cleanliness. He pulls out a tray of sashimi-grade Salmon that he had already cut up. But he goes through them once more to make sure that everything is cut neatly. He then cuts me off a piece of the belly (toro) - so good.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

I've always wanted to buy a block of Salmon and go to town on it with nothing else but soy sauce - eating it like a sandwich. But that would be a very expensive sandwich ha.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

My mom traumatized me with the canned Sardines she used to eat over rice. I remember the sound of the lid being popped open and right then, terror would ensue. That stench would send my sister and I running for the hills. But when you've eaten fresh Sardines, maybe lightly battered and fried with an aioli, it's a different thing. Yoo assures that they are anything but fishy because she herself cannot stand fishy fish.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

I move over towards Yoo's prep table and in front of her, lay one of the most beautiful racks of pork. Kurobuta to be exact. In Japanese it literally means "black pig", but you may know it more by its Western term, "Berkshire" pork due to its provenance in Britain. Because of its particular farm feed and shortness in muscle fibers, you are rewarded with meat that is extremely juicy and heavily marbled. Basically it's the 'kobe beef' of the pig world. I feel really bad for these black pigs.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

With a small paring knife, she takes off the main lid of fat on the outside of the rib rack. She goes in between each rib and cuts out a block of fat which I immediately asked if it will be used in hopes of getting some freebies. Those are simply flavor bombs and you may have seen some Korean BBQ places grease up the grill with some pig fat.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

And finally, you've got your final product. Look at the marbling and Yoo's craftsmanship.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

I follow McCall back to this walk-in fridge and he shows me yet another tasty addition: live spot prawns. He opens up a Styrofoam box with about 30-40 live spot prawns from Santa Barbara, sitting calmly. The second he grabs one, it's splash city. Yes, they are fresh! When you've got a smaller pool of shrimp, it's much easier to tell which ones may be weak and on the verge of death. At 99 Ranch, it's hard to distinguish that.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

He puts the shrimp back and then smiles as he points to his blocks of dry-aged Angus beef, like a man showing off his hunting trophies.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

We walk back out and Yoo is on to her next thing: cutting up the house-made sausages. They offer two flavors, pork-fennel and garlic-paprika and both are very nice.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

For poultry, they offer already-trussed whole chickens from KenDor farms of Van Nuys, which is named after the owners, Ken and Doreen. Why is it better? If you were free to roam, ate feed mixed with grasses, seeds, grains, vegetables and olive oil, you would be very happy. I asked Yoo if the chicken would be tastier if it was fed bacon.

Yoo: "Okay that sounds delicious and wrong at the same time."

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

I look back and McCall is now working on a huge block of sashimi-grade tuna. Yes, I retouched the image but I did not add any red to make the fish look better – it was naturally rich in color and quality.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

Yoo working on skirt steak with precision. This cut of meat can be fairly thin and easily "butchered". Mmm.

McCall's Meat & Seafood Company, Los Feliz

What I like about McCall's is the access to the same types of beef you would find at any fine dining establishment. You can get flat iron cuts, tasty short ribs, hangar and kobe beef by request. For me, the opening of McCall's is further proof that the culinary industry will never be out of trend because it is a breeding ground for the most passionate and creative people out there, who make it an exciting and dynamic career. While most people believe that becoming a chef is the only career out of culinary school, this proves to be a successful deviation from the norm. I think what McCall and Yoo have done is more than offer a resource for good food, but they've also inspired people to return to cooking.

McCall tells me that his business plan is about providing only the best ingredients as any fine-dining establishment would, only in an uncooked form. You walk into McCall's, pick your protein, throw down some white table cloth, candles and Cheesy & Sleazy, and your minutes away from your meal. It's not that you couldn't get the same thing at Whole Foods, which does sell good meat as well, but I prefer the opinions of two chefs that have worked at reputable restaurants. It is what they would serve at their own restaurant. On top of that, you don't need to look up any recipes online, instead you can simply ask either McCall or Yoo what to do with that kurobuta pork you have in your hands. The pricing is on the same level as Whole Foods, but if you care about what you put in your body and respect the hard work and detail put into their business, as I have seen, then you'll understand.

I have to add that when asked what their favorite restaurants are. They replied, "We have no time. Sometimes it's Rick's Burgers over in Silver Lake. People are shocked that we have all this good food in front of us, yet we have NO time to even cook it at home." I thought chefs didn't eat fast food!

McCall's Meat and Fish Company

On another occasion, I couldn't help myself and ran home with two Kurobuta pork chops. I stared at it like I was receiving my first $100 bill. I asked McCall if I needed to brine this and he just looked at me. "Why? It's already the juiciest pork out there." Okay sorry Chef!

McCall's Meat and Fish Company

Are you like me when it comes to Salmon? I only like it raw versus cooked. When it's cooked it takes on this new flavor and taste that isn't very appealing to me. If I had to cook it, I think poaching would make it most edible for me. But man, McCall was kind enough to give me the belly section only (toro). Jeni isn't into Salmon sashimi and she devoured this.

McCalls Meat and Fish Company

Skillet-Seared Kurobuta Pork Chop with Roasted/Curried/Creme Fraiche Cauliflower and Sauteed Garlic Kale
McCall was right, it was so tender. When it comes to high quality meat, you don't need anything more than Kosher salt and fresh black pepper. I cooked it to medium as I like it slightly pink. With better quality meat, you run a smaller chance of acquiring trichinosis, so go ahead and make it a little juicier.

Thanks for reading and say hi to Nathan and Karen.

McCall's Meat and Fish company
2117 Hillhurst Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90027
(323) 667-0674
www.mccallsmeatandfish.com