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Animal Restaurant – Meat and Greet on Fairfax
Knowing I would be at loose ends in L. A. with our 8 year old on a summer Saturday night, I seized the chance to visit Animal Restaurant on Fairfax, white hot popular and still bustling since their opening in 2009. I called ahead to try and get a 6 p.m. slot. Their new system has you leave a message with your request and they phone you back. As we drove to the Natural History Museum by USC, I got the call. Not possible, but come right at 6 and we’d likely get a bar seat. Good enough. We would be “nose-to-tail “eating very soon.
Animal Restaurant – Soft shell crab over soft scrambled eggs, with salsa, avocado and radish garnish. We showed up at 5:45 to find a bearded owner/chef outside (not sure whether it was Shook or Dotolo), quietly yelling at some teens along the lines of “my roof and don’t get on it, of course I called the cops.” Some graffitiing kids had broken his gas line. The restaurant would not be opening until it was fixed. The gas company was working on it as we spoke. I took the opportunity to shake his hand and said we were excited to eat there. As dolled-up couples showed up for their reservations, the situation was explained over and over. The hostess brought out some house wine for any takers. Juliet was given a lemonade and some cookies. The hostess also confided she had a cancellation, so a table was ours. Still, the wait dragged on and we arranged to come back. We went to the car and played a tough game of Go Fish. Juliet cleaned my clock using her uncanny ability to get exactly the right cards from my hand just as I was ready to pounce.
We returned and were whisked to a table ahead of a few others. Juliet called out a hello to Ashley, the manager who gave her the treats. I suppose we were seen as insiders. Too funny. I toyed with getting the rabbit loin spring roll, and certainly the liver pate on toast, but with a child, unless you are a mean adult, you order one course and that will do it for patience, hunger and tolerance for doing a boring grown up thing. Juliet ordered the flat iron steak with fingerling potatoes and artichokes, finished with a parmesan truffle oil fondue. I cannot, and did not, resist soft shell crab, over scrambled eggs, sandwiched with a pureed salsa. I got a glass of a decent French rose and we staved off hunger with a side of garlicky grilled bread, finished with salt.
Our waiter eyed the presence of a child warily. C’mon dude. Two tables down featured some glamorous parents out with their 3 year old and a 6 month old in a carrier! Ashley saw to it we got our food quite quickly. Juliet was admired for eating a medium rare steak. She loved it but found the sauce “a little cheesy.” Fair enough. My crab, appropriately, had the liver, so I got a nice burst of mustiness as I ate. That’s what you pay for at Animal, and I got it.
Animal Restaurant Review – Final Thoughts
Restaurants usually get complacent after being open a while and endlessly popular. Animal Restaurant seems in top form, while also maintaining a friendly and unflappable vibe. It’s a neat trick to turn over tables all night while not seeming to rush your customers. Very much a plus is their inclusion of sides with your entree. Too many chefs see every dish as a chance for another sale. Also appreciated by lots of tables the night we were there was the BYOB policy with a $20 corkage fee.
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Barley Pea Soup Recipe
Even fancy grocery stores have humble, bargain ingredients. Case in point, smoked ham hocks were on special at our local Gelson’s, where the parking lot is littered with high end cars. Apparently, even the staff has swanky rides.
The ham and veggie base, browning nicely. Today I made Barley Pea Soup, and the house already smells amazing. I sauteed half a chopped red onion, a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley and 5 whole garlic cloves in olive oil, then browned the ham hocks on both sides. Then I added a 16 ounce package of a mix of of yellow and green split peas, white rice, barley and pasta pearls. 8 cups of water went on top, with a healthy couple of tablespoons of good bouillon paste (not the dry stuff in the cubes). I brought it all to a boil and gave it a stir. This will simmer all afternoon (with a lid on) until the ham falls off the bone. If it’s hot out and you want a cozy feeling while you eat the soup, turn the a.c. up. That’s what we do. 🙂
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Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
This is such an American staple it’s easy to forget that basically it’s Italian, being noodles tossed with a few readily available ingredients and amenable to being doubled and tripled to feed a crowd. Mac and cheese is so beloved that fancy chefs are sneaking it onto menus, knowing full well it will sell as long as it is not too laden with truffle oil (no, god, no), sherry (maybe a touch) or some other overthought ingredient.
As with any simple food, it’s easy to make, but a bit harder to make well. Here’s my take:
8 oz penne pasta
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons of butter
1 1/2 cups of milk (I use 1 %)
1/2 cup of very good quality mild cheddar, cubed or grated (you can use super sharp cheddar, but if kids are joining you, choose mild)
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
Panko bread crumbs
Salt, fresh ground pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
Unlike lengthy slow-baked oven recipes involving elbow macaroni and a ton of cheese, this is quick and almost all stove top, except for a 2 minute broil at the end.
My trusty All-Clad steel pan heats perfectly. In one pan you’re going to bring water to a boil and then add the pasta. While this is getting done, you’ll make the cheese sauce in another pan. If you were going to oven bake the mac and cheese, you’d want the penne to be al dente so it would not turn to mush in the oven as it absorbs sauce. Not a worry in this case.
You’re making a basic bechemel, or white sauce. You melt the butter in a sauce pan at high heat, quickly add the flour, and stir right away so you get a roux. Once you can’t see the flour any more and the mixture bubbles, you add the milk, in two stages. Pour in the first 3/4 cup and lower the stove heat to medium. Use a whisk or wooden spoon to stir and stir. It will thicken gradually (maybe 5 minutes), and then add the rest of the milk. When that’s smooth (it will seem a bit runny and not so thick), add the cheeses. Of course other cheeses you have around, like good swiss or provolone, can work. Just don’t use anything smoked. Grind in black pepper, add 1 tsp of red pepper flakes, and a touch of salt.
Ready to combine. The penne should be done now, so taste one to be sure, then drain it. You can certainly make the pasta way ahead of time and just have it set aside and ready when you do the sauce. Mix the noodles with the cheese sauce, and pour it into a baking dish. Sprinkle liberally with panko bread crumbs (super crunchy and stand up to heat) and toss on more pepper (black or red).
2 minutes under the broiler, max (watch this like a hawk), and you will have browned bread crumbs. Even better, you will have added the crunch that any creamy, gooey dish needs. This final stage also well incorporates the cheese sauce and pasta. I tend to re-salt to taste when I dish it up, but I am a salthead. Normal palates like this as is.
Crunchy, creamy goodness. It’s rare, but if you do end up with leftovers, it microwaves great.
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Meatloaf Recipe
Meatloaf is hard to do really badly, as long as you follow a few basics. My rule of thumb for getting the texture right is that all the ingredients, once assembled, should have the consistency of stiff cookie dough. Another tip is to make sure you have a mix of meats. Plain ground hamburger, or plain ground turkey, will cook up too dry. If you are a very disciplined non meat eater, who wants a ground turkey loaf with no secret pork added, I have some tips at the end of the recipe. For this recipe, I combine pre-made pork sausage and beef, which is easier than buying ground veal, ground pork and beef and then mixing.
For 4 adults, with leftovers guaranteed, you’ll need:
1.5 pounds of ground beef, not extra lean (85-15)
2 uncooked Italian pork sausages, hot or sweet (non spicy) . I use one of each. You can take the spice up or down to preference.
1/2 chopped red pepper
1/2 chopped yellow or white onion (not Maui or sweet)
one egg (2 if the eggs are small)
1/2 cup of plain toasted breadcrumbs
Dash or 2 of worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
For the topping:
Good ketchup – I use Simply Heinz
brown sugar
Uncooked pork sausages are the secret. Put the beef in a bowl. Slice open the uncooked sausages and turn the mixture into the beef. I’ve seen tv chefs try to squeeze the sausage out like toothpaste. It’s easier to slice it open, believe me. Add the chopped red pepper and onion – I use a mini chopper as it is almost pureed and very wet. This moistens the meatloaf as it cooks. Add the egg, cumin and worcestershire. If you hate cumin, you can add in a couple tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley. If dried, just a teaspoon. I add the bread crumbs last, as the mixture is not always as wet or dry as I expect, so I put it in a bit at a time, to get the “tightness” I want.
Miniloaves formed, coated in ketchup. Now I get out a flat baking pan with at least a one inch rim and shape it into equal mini loaves, as everyone wants a crusty end, and there are only two if you put it in a regular loaf pan.
I then squeeze ketchup over each one, making a “shell”, and I sprinkle brown sugar over the ketchup and kind of press it in.
Bake this at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn it down to 325 for an additional 35 minutes or so. You know your oven. Notes for using ground turkey: double the onion and pepper and double the worcestershire. Omit the cumin and use fresh chopped parsley. I don’t do the ketchup topping on this as it is not really complementary to the poultry flavor. Try it anyway, it may work for you. You need to leave the turkey at high heat longer as it needs to “cook out”. Nobody needs undercooked turkey!
We like the burned bits you get from the brown sugar melting down. We eat it with a big salad and a side of pan roasted broccoli and garlic in olive oil.
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Bibigo Beverly Hills
Chinese food is everywhere. Indian food is everywhere and who would have thought people would be eating seaweed and raw fish in every major city in America? So Korean food may be next. I was in on a so-called “soft opening” last week of a new Bibigo location in Beverly Hills. I had not been to the Westwood one near UCLA, but I have been to many a grocery store in Koreatown for cheap, super fresh produce and seafood. The Koreatown grocery stores have inside dining, usually noodle bowls and dim sum which are hand made on the spot.
My expectations were pretty high based on the terrific random food I had had in a low key grocery store. Bibi, I gather, is short for “bibimbop” which means rice and veggies – an absolute staple, the meat and potatoes of Korea. Bean sprouts, chopped leeks, mushrooms, scallions and raw mustard greens are typical.
Plain words, explosive flavors. The location is prime, just below Wilshire on Beverly Drive, in “lunch alley”. Beverly Hills teems with workers looking for a new place to eat, so they should get takers. Just how many times can a person eat at CPK? The staff was eager to explain what the food concept was, but not so up on what was in the food. My fantastic shrimp pancake was laced with peppers which I was told were leeks. Then the server checked with the kitchen., Yep. Serrano peppers. There were indeed leeks, plus shrimp and peppers, in a rice flour pancake, crisped brown and with a super hot pepper chili oil and lemony dipping sauce. At least I think it was lemon. The server swore it was not.
I was invited to try more and went for the spinach salad with avocado, dried fig and the equivalent of Korean croutons: basically rice krispy treats without sugar. Nutty and good. The salad dressing (no choice) was pureed sesame seeds, wine, a touch of vinegar and more peppers. This could have been put on an old shoe and it would have tasted good. The mix of salad ingredients was a touch off but tasty.
I had no room whatsoever but moved on to Bulgogi – marinated beef slow smoked over red oak, then served on a hot stone with hot chilis and mushrooms. As with a lettuce wrap, you eat it by putting it in rolled-up mustard and dandelion greens. I love bitter greens, beef and chilis. Sold.
Like all Asian restaurants, dessert is basically defined as the absence of chilis. I tasted a tofu “pana cotta” which was barely sweet and a touch grainy, with a super simple fruit garnish. So dessert is not why you go here.
The chain has several locations in Korea and two in Los Angeles. City of Beverly Hills free parking is nearby and the Westwood location offers 2 hours free with validation. They also have a frequent dining club with bonuses, kinda like earning a free cup of coffee at Coffee Bean. And to help your dining experience? Be a chilihead like me.
