Eat Drink Style Saigon, Vietnam - Saigon Seafood Stalls

After J and I got back from eating banh xeo and bun bo hue earlier in the day, we headed back to rest. We were still jetlagged and again I found myself falling asleep to another great English Premier League match. I love that Asia has games going on all day long on TV. We woke up and it was now 10 pm and we still had not eaten. Rather than take the scooter out into the wild streets of Saigon, we decided to do it like foraging tribesman and walk around. And I has had stated earlier on my breakfast hunt, you don't need to go far to find food in Saigon. All you really have to do is stand and do a 360, and you'll realize that it is actually the food that finds you. Pho was cooking on the left. Banh mi was being prepared on the right. But straight ahead, we were attracted to a small stand lit by the greenish, fluorescent lights that seem to be so prominent in Asia. Like moths in flight, we headed towards the light source.

The lady behind the stall spotted us approaching her stand and smiled, pointing at the tiny red and blue stools in front of her. We could hear the sound of something heavy being cooked in her pan, a sound very similar to the shuffling of Mahjong tiles. Based on the pitch, we knew it could only be one thing: mollusks. But she wasn't just offering a few clams, her little humble stand offered you a nice glimpse of the ocean. She told us to come up and waved her hands over her offerings like a magician about to reveal his trick. There was an enough assortment of 'fruits of the sea' to give you a food boner. Shrimp, squid, crab and clams I had never seen before. This was like Jacques Costeau's snack shop.

There are many tough decisions you make in life, like friendships, relationships and careers. Add this seafood dilemma to the long list because there was just too much going on. I love extensive menus but when almost everything looks appetizing, I get very annoyed. So we picked a few, mainly rarities, and she asked if we wanted a choice of garlic, spicy garlic or sweet & sour tamarind sauce. We asked for one of each with our dishes.

Blood Clams with Tamarind Sauce
Beside the fact that these delicious clams are banned in Shanghai for carrying hepatitis, typhoid and dystentery, this was my first time trying the 'blood clam'. The shell itself has a pattern of rivets and a more jagged texture to your standard Manila clam. The rivets themselves are almost the perfect type of clam to serve with a sauce because they can 'hold' the sauce in its grooves. I picked up the clam and sucked all the sauce off the shell, it was slightly spicy and tangy. Quite good considering I don't really care for dishes that call for tamarind paste. All the clams were shut and suggested they were either very stubborn or not cooked through. But with little effort, the clam gave in to me. To my surprise, the clam was dark red in color, and the juice had almost a muddy brown color. I took the juice in and tasted something deep, earthy and slightly muddy. And it was fantastic. I personally decimated this blood clam village. Had I known that there was a potential threat of contracting hepatitis, I might not have eaten it. But I'm glad I did.

Razor Clams with Spicy Garlic Sauce
I'll never forget the way we had to remove a razor clam from its shell back when I worked in a restaurant. A razor clam can range anywhere from 4" to 8-9" with varied widths of 1/4" to 1". The shell is rectangular and opens exactly like a book. With the head and tail ends of the clam exposed, this isn't the most protected clams out there but it's not easy opening. In order to get the clam out you take a paring knife, nudge the blade in between the shell and slash down the line of the shell, basically slicing the clam lengthwise. What happens next varies. You'll either see the clam ooze out of one end, wriggling in pain or see some sort of bodily fluid ooze out of the body. One time, that fluid nailed a colleague in the face and she shrieked in disgust. It's a bit cruel but the fastest way to get it in your stomach. The ones I had here with by far a midget version of American razor clams. The shells were super thing and with enough force, can probably be broken quite easily. I loved these clams for their king mushroom-like texture and garlicky sauce. This dish was also completely finished.

Sea Snails with Garlic Sauce
I enjoy evicting these mollusks out of their homes. A simple pronged utensil, a steady pull and you've got your buck naked snail. I love snails but it's VERY easy to overcook them. When they are overcooked, they are almost rubber-like – not tasty. We didn't finish these.

As we sat there in front of the stall, we completely forgot about our surroundings. This whole seafood meal only cost EIGHT DOLLARS and was more than worth it. We were in the middle of a busy intersection in Saigon's District 1, eating seafood. I think we're too used to eating seafood this fresh by the sea. I didn't think about it during the time, but you may want to be careful considering the fact that not many vendors refrigerate or ice their goods. Seafood generally has to stay cool, so be aware. But if this seafood stall wasn't doing things right, it wouldn't be packed every night with customers. For the most part, if you're willing to be adventurous with street food, you'll be rewarded. This stall is one of many in the city. I had heard that there was even a seafood alley in the city. Man how I love blood clams and razor clams! Thanks for reading.

Saigon Seafood Stall
Bui Vien (1/2 a block east of De Tham)
District 1

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

Eat Drink Style The Official Soundtrack of Valentine's Day

One more day until Valentine's Day and for a lot of people, this silly day means a lot. But with the recession, many people are choosing to stay in and fiddle with the stove and devirginize those Calphalon pots and pans. Tonight is a big night, and things may go well for you and your date. You've ironed your whole Old Navy outfit. You've trimmed your nose hair finally. Chicken is cooked perfectly in the oven. Wine is being uncorked. Ikea candles are lit. You've got way too much cologne but that's okay. But something is awfully dry and weird, and it's not the chicken breast.

Where is the ambiance?! Where is the sound of love?

This is where I enter with wings, bow/arrow and adult diapers. To really improve the chances of you sealing the deal tonight, I've compiled this erotically disturbing collection of songs/hymns/moanings/wailings that have somehow been interpreted as 'music'. This is all yours for the price of $free.99. Look at what you get!

Wow that's awful! If you can listen to this whole thing without hurting yourself or anyone, then you are the ultimate Cassanova. Good luck and enjoy!

Free Download ---> Cheesy & Sleazy Volume 1 (Zshare)
Free Download ---> Cheesy & Sleazy Volume 1 (Badongo)

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 Bammy - Subway's Take On A Vietnamese Classic

For as long as I can remember, the Vietnamese sandwich known as banh mi, has been a part of my life. Even as a Chinese American, this stuff would always be around my family and friends. It was cheap, easy to sell/make and tasted better than most American sandwiches. For $5, you can get at least four – one for each person in the typical 4-person Asian family. It was the go-to fill-up snack because it was cheaper than anything at McDonald's. Even if we didn't have a store-bought sandwich, we'd have some variation of the banh mi. As a kid in elementary school, I'd have my mom's mutated version which consisted of thick slices of the Vietnamese meatloaf known as cha, liverwurst (American pâté) and mayonnaise – smacked between two pieces of Wonder bread. On fishing trips with family friends, there'd be an endless supply of Capri Sun and banh mi in the cooler. Hungry? Have a banh mi! We'd pick that sandwich up with our fish and worm-flavored hands and go to town. My Lao aunt in Fresno also ran a small sandwich business right out of her kitchen and guess what we got to eat every time we were there - banh mi. Banh mi was seriously around so often it was like a brother to me – always there to wrestle and play video games with.

So you can understand why one would take a hiatus from the beloved sandwich. I was tired of it. After I graduated from high school, I don't think I touched banh mi unless I had to. As a college student, I made quick trips to Little Saigon to satisfy my broke ass. To me the food was nearly forgotten as I found love in other things such as noodles. Then around 2006, Vietnamese sandwich shops started popping up like the current food trucks as more Vietnamese residents and immigrants moved out of Rosemead and El Monte. On Valley Blvd. alone, you'll find at least a dozen places selling banh mi, including chains like Banh Mi Che Cali and Lee Sandwiches. This was the mainstream for the people of San Gabriel Valley and certainly not earth-shaking news.

Then earlier this week, my friend sent me a link to a New York Times article titled "The Vietnamese Sandwich. Banh Mi in America" by a Jordan Michelman. This was published after last year's banh mi craze in New York City which left me and I'm sure many others, scratching our head. Interesting considering most people look to New York as the pioneer of trends, especially fashion and food. This isn't the first time an article on banh mi has been published. But it was the first time I realized how long it has taken Vietnamese culture to be recognized in the history of America – especially since the Vietnamese have been here as early as the late 1960s. A few decades for New York Times to "discover" this sandwich? You don't see Jonathan Gold writing an article every 6 months on banh mi to remind us that it exists. Does something have to go through the New York "fad machine" before it gets any attention? Even in Los Angeles, the banh mi mutant can be found at places like Six (banh mi burger), Mendocino Farms (pork belly banh mi) and Nom Nom Truck (banh mi tacos). But I thought to myself, this is indeed a great time to really advertise the shit out of this delicious, Vietnamese sandwich... and really aggregate the credit it deserves.

Banh mi may be big in New York and Los Angeles right now, but it isn't big until it goes national. And when it comes to sandwiches, there's no one more sandwichy than Jared Fogle's Subway nation. Not sure why I even linked to Subway... you've got to be from space if you haven't heard of it. I like to have fun when I eat – especially with corporate places like Hometown Buffet, Souplantation and Yoshinoya. So I decided to have some fun with Subway and find out if I can actually make the Vietnamese sandwich an American favorite. But what do you call this new potential menu item?

Well, if a sandwich is a "Sammy", then a banh mi must be a "Bammy"!

On a random weeknight, I find myself standing in the most depressing line ever at Subway. There are five of us, heads tilted up 45 degrees staring at the menu of bland food. Is this what we as Americans resort to? A life of 9-6? 2 hour commutes? Buying goods by bulk at Costco? Lunches at Subway? Do I want to pay $5, $6 or $7 for a foot long blandwich? Should I have the blandwich with teriyaki sauce or the ham & bland sandwich ? The menu is simply comprised of words put up to disguise the word "bland" and there is no difference in what you order because it won't have any taste period. When a "sandwich artist" asks me what else I'd like to add to my sandwich, I usually respond with, "flavor."

But actually, as I'm standing in line with the other customers waiting for toasted boredom to be served, I smile a little. I have an advantage over the other customers and employees - and they don't even know it. I'm equipped with an actual banh mi sandwich from Chinatown's Buu Dien, some Maggi sauce, fresh jalapeno slices, scrambled eggs from home and some real Vietnamese pate. Yes! And tonight's challenge is to see whether or not I can make an actual Subway sandwich edible and dare I say, as tasty as a Vietnamese banh mi.

It's now my turn to order and I order a toasted black forest ham and turkey Foot Long for $6, which by the way is equivalent to five banh mi sandwiches at your average Vietnamese joint. I wanted to keep this as authentic to Subway's ingredients and build. I picked the black forest ham because it is the closest in color and taste to the pink, headcheese (gio thu) and BBQ pork (xa xiu) used in banh mi. I picked the turkey because it is the closest in color and taste to the grey meatloaf known as cha. For the toppings, I added cucumber, cilantro, pickled jalapeno slices, salt & pepper and a thin line of mayonnaise. No oil, vinegar or whatever liquids they offer. I asked the "sandwich artist" not to fold the sandwich over and F up the innards. They even kept it served open face for me and placed it on a tray. I'm pretty sure they considered me crazy. Love it. Haha.

I then drew an imaginary DMZ line to distinguish the Northern and the Southern region of the sandwich. On top is Subway's Sammy using original store ingredients plus pate and Maggi Sauce vs. SaigonWay's Bammy with the traditional fixings.

Subway's Bammy
- plain bread
- ham
- turkey
- cucumber
- canned, pickled jalapeños
- cilantro
- mayonnaise
- pate
- Maggi sauce

SaigonWay's Banh Mi
- plain bread
- ham
- turkey
- cucumber
- fresh jalapeño slices
- cilantro with stem
- pickled radish & carrots
- mayonnaise
- pate
- Maggi sauce
- fried egg (optional, it's what I love adding to my banh mi)

Subway's "Sammy"
For the first time in a long while, I felt fear. The last time from a serving of deep fried insects at a food stall in Cambodia. I had prepped myself with a few neck cracks and got my gag reflexes ready. I grabbed the sandwich... crumbs from the shitty bread landed on the tray. What am I doing? I took a bite and not to my surprise... there was absolutely no flavor. There was so much bland matter due to the sawdust bread and processed meat - I couldn't taste anything! Maggi Sauce is used to PROVIDE flavor. But yet it could not provide this time – it let me down. I put this sandwich down after the 2nd bite. Even a foot long of Cambodian fried insects had more flavor.

SaigonWay's "Bammy"
Now, on to the real test. I opened the sandwich and made sure everything was evenly distributed. It was the moment I've been waiting for. Actually the moment every American slave of the corporate lunch cafeteria known as Subway was waiting for. If I succeeded, I knew that I have done something for my country. I had at least provided ONE item on Subway's menu that actually had something called flavor. I took a bite, and I have to say, it was a familiar taste. Even though the meat wasn't the right kind, the balance of Maggi Sauce, fried egg, pate, fresh jalapeno, fresh cilantro and fresh daikon and carrots made so much sense in that sawdust bread. I actually ate half of this and partially enjoyed it. All Subway has to do is offer a few more ingredients that really don't cost anything! But you say the words pate or liverwurst and you'll lose customers. And what in the world is Maggi sauce?

My work wasn't finished tonight though. This is my palate, and I know what I'm looking for in a sandwich. The true test though was finding out whether or not the actual Subway sandwich artists would eat my fixed-up version of their blandwich. I wouldn't go in peace until I had them try it. I waited for the right moment when the customers parted with their foot longs and approached this young man. We'll call him Justin. Within a few minutes and persuasive words, I had him sitting down at the table with the "Sammy" and "Bammy" in front of him.

Justin: "What am I eating?"
Me: "You're going to eat a Subway take on a Vietnamese sandwich."
Justin: "What's in it?"
Me: "Oh nothing really. Just your meats and veggies and a few extras."
Justin: "You sure?"
Me: "Dude, I'm not trying to kill you man. Even if I was, you've got cameras rolling."

Justin actually went in and took a big bite, making sure his gums made sweet love with that sandwich. He took a few bites and then looked at me.

Me: "And?"
Justin: "Nothing. It's bland man!"
Me: "Of course it's bland. It's Subway."
Justin: "..........."
Me: "Last one, try my version."

Like a good employee, Justin looked to see that there were no hungry patrons queuing up. With a reluctant look, he picked up the "Bammy" and sank his teeth in once more. But this time, to my surprise, he raised his eyebrows slightly and his eyes widened. And there was a slight bob of satisfaction.

Me: "And....?"
Justin: "This is actually pretty good. I like the taste. What's in it?"
Me: "Subway's ham and turkey, fresh jalapeno, fresh cilantro, pickled radish and carrots, fried egg and the special Maggi Sauce."
Justin: "It tastes fresh. Oh man, that egg is real nice."
Me: "Yeah that's key man."
Justin: "Alright man, are we done? I gotta get back to work."
Me: "Thank you."

One down, and a whole nation to go. Is there hope for the American palate? Whether or not Subway actually decides to put this on their menu, I may not live long enough to see the revolt against bland food. I threw away the food and started packing up. As I headed out, Justin said:

Justin: "Hey man, what's that sauce you put in that sandwich?"
Me: "It's called Maggi sauce."
Justin: "What is it?"
Me: "Flavor."

Subway, dreams of flavored food can come true. Look I've done the POP (point-of-purchase) displays for you! Yes, I'm an ad guy! We can also start rolling your new Jared spots right away.

"Hello, I'm Jared. Remember me? I used to weigh 450 lbs. I'm over in the Far East to advertise Subway's new sandwich, "The Bammy". I've cut out the 14 hour flight for you and endured some of the roughest conditions to bring you Vietnam's delicious sandwich. We use only the freshest, greenest cilantro. Guys.... can we cut. I feel some leeches in my pants."

"Hi again, it's me Jared. I've also cut out the vicious Saigon traffic for you by riding helmet-less with my buddies Tuan and Huan. I almost wet my khakis like a little girl trying to cross the streets of Saigon! Where we going guys? My mom's expecting me home for dinner."

So, if you saw "The Bammy" on the Subway menu, would you eat it? The truth is, you'll never see this on the Subway menu just as you'll never see a delicious shawarma, torta, cemita. Even if it was on the menu, you know it wouldn't be good haha. I would take any of those ANY DAY of the week over anything from Subway. But surprisingly, as diverse as America is, the Subway people of Milford, Connecticut still feel that their current menu is a good representation of what the American palate craves. So Subway, would you like your "Bammy" toasted or not toasted?

Thanks for reading.

Eat Drink Style Introducing "This Is Why You're Fat" Photo Blog

A great site has surfaced "This Is Why You're Fat." Has anyone eaten anything as atrocious as this? Enjoy, fat people. Also, take a look at this if you haven't already. America's most unhealthy food comes out of the AUS-some kitchens of Outback Steakhouse. This is 2009 and lowering your cholesterol is so 90s.

Eat Drink Style Diana, Lisel & Martha - The Jewels of New York

I'd like to congratulate Diana & Lisel on landing a segment on Martha Stewarts show. You can check out the video on Martha's site. Long story short, Diana & Lisel were making cookies for a bake sale and the producers of Martha happened to be there too. They tasted their cookies and next thing they know, they are teaching Martha how to make cookies. Congrats on this awesome opportunity. Cookies are available here at The Jewels of New York. Thanks for reading.

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