Seoul Sausage Company - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 4/13/2013

Price: $7-10 per item
Location: 11313 Mississippi Ave, Los Angeles, CA
website

Previously, we discussed how food truck owners that were successful were able to parlay that success into brick and mortar establishments.  Today we discuss one of the most famous of those examples as the winners of The Great Food Truck Race Season 3 - Seoul Sausage.
After winning the Great Food Truck Race, owners Ted Kim, Yong Kim, and Chris Oh used the winnings to not only establish a food truck, but to also open a brick and mortar establishment. Situated in Little Osaka in Los Angeles, the storefront is the perfect location to get a late night (or in my case mid-afternoon) snack.

flaming ball - rice, kimchi, garlic, jalapeno, sriracha aioli

Famous from the show, the fried rice balls are one of the signature dishes of Seoul Sausage. I had to try one to see what all the fuss was about. While I've had my share of fried balls from various food trucks, I did enjoy the Seoul Sausage ball more. The panko breading was extremely tasty, and the filling of the ball had the right combination of seasoning, spices, and flavor. The sriracha aioli dip was a great complement as well.

Da KFC (korean fried chicken) - sweet and sour, daikon, kimchi cornbread

Rather than get a sausage, I had on good authority to try the KFC. The fried chicken was just as good as can be expected from a well-fried korean-style chicken, but the spicy and tangy sauce brought the dish to a new level. The daikon cubes were perfect as a refreshing palate cleanser between bites of the succulent chicken. The only disappointment was the rather bland cornbread.

Conclusion

Overall Seoul Sausage is a great addition to the Little Osaka - it provides some great fusion snack foods and variety that the area otherwise lacks. The group won The Great Food Truck race because the food was great, and the brick and mortar location shows just how good the food is. I look forward to a return visit - hopefully I'll try the Sausage next time!

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Half and Half Tea House - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 4/1/2012
Price: $2.85-$3.85 + $0.50 extras
Locations:

• 141 N. Atlantic Blvd #112, 91754  (reviewed)
• 3007 E. Huntington Dr. #104, 91107
• 17575 Colima Rd. #C, 91748
• 18558 Gale Ave. Unit #152, 91748

The Quick Bit

+ great boba drinks

+ drinks are made to order

Δ waiting times can be shorter

Δ phone in orders could be finished upon arrival

When I was in high school and in the prime of my geekiness, a certain Chinese food trend swept through Southern California; boba. As a young man with knowledge of the food trend, I suddenly found myself being asked about food from my culture for the first time in my life. I also found that others seemed to enjoy my explanations.

Embracing the role of the avid boba junkie, I tried all the various boba shops that popped up around town and recommended certain ones which I thought were better than others; it was perhaps gastrobits R&d only I didn't know it at the time.

When I went to college, the boba craze was still strong and I even joined a club with the slogan "bobalicious." I found myself with like minded individuals who all loved boba. I was even told of a story where one of the club members was playing basketball at the gym wearing the shirt and he was playfully given the nickname bobalicious for the session. Ever since that time, I've tried to curtain my boba consumption - it more or less lined up with my metabolism slowing down as I aged. 

It was with some trepidation that I was thrown back into the boba world during a recent visit to LA. While certain fields seem to never advance, boba drinks have continued to evolve over the years. The current lead innovater is Half and Half Tea House. With four locations in the Los Angeles area, they serve the widely accepted best boba drinks.

Half and Half's innovation is that instead of sweetening the tea itself, the tapioca pearls (boba) are dipped into honey before being added to the cup. This form of sweetening gives a more natural and rich flavor to the entire drink.

milk tea with coffee jelly, and honey boba

For my experience at Half and Half, I went with the most popular drink - milk tea with coffee jelly and honey boba. From the first sip, I knew that this drink was extremely special. The flavors were purer than any other boba drink I had previously savored. I felt like I have a flavor explosion and complete re-discovery of the boba drink when I enjoyed this cup. The inclusion of the coffee jelly was key as it added a nice smoky depth to the drink. The tapiocas were prepared perfectly and I didn't feel that the drink was too sweet (the previous three boba drinks I've had I always felt were too sweet, even with less sugar).

Conclusion

Half and Half's boba teas are truly eye-opening and set the bar for all other boba drinks. Despite having plenty of boba in my time, Half and Half's tea was a flavor epiphany; it's like someone teaching you a completely new way to cook chicken better than anything you knew previously.

For the truly awesome product, Half and Half gets the bit award.

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Coffee Tomo - Flash

Date of Dining: 3/31/2012 
Price: < $3 per cup
Location: 11309 Mississippi Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025
website

The Quick Bit:

+ high quality single origin coffee
+ japanese slow brewing methods
+ coffee roasted in house
Δ parking can be difficult

While waiting for Tsujita, we arrived a little early on a cold and overcast morning. We decide to spend some of the time by getting some coffee from the shop next door.

When I walked into Coffee Tomo, I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up getting something much more in line with Bird Rock. The coffees were roasted on the premises and of single origin. To top it off, they had a slow brew method like Bird Rock's V60, except it was a new model.

Seeing that they had the slow brew method, I new I would be ordering one of the single origin coffees. As they were lacking the Southeast Asian variety, I settled for Ethiopian.

After weighing the coffee, the water, and making sure the temperature was the desired brewing temperature, the barrista settled on making my coffee. First, the grounds are just wet slightly before the more complex brewing takes place.

After the grounds are wet, the coffee is brewed at a slightly faster pace

The coffee drips down into a waiting canister below.

Meanwhile, we ordered a more traditional vanilla latte as well.

latte (left), slow brewed ethiopian (right)

The final product was delivered surprisingly almost at the same time.

The latte was a well done latte; the flavor of the espresso was nice and strong and I preferred this one over Starbucks.

The single origin slow brewed Ethiopian was really nice. The slow brew system really allows the caramel, mocha, and floral notes of the coffee to come through. I did find that I liked the chemex better as the metal filter allowed more oils of the coffee to come through. While the head of this coffee was nice, it was lacking in finish due to the lack of oils.

Conclusion

Overall, I was really surprised and happy to find Coffee Tomo readily available next to Tsujita. It was a great one-two punch. The availability of slow brewed single origin coffee is always nice. On the other hand, I prefer a slow brew system that does not rely on paper filters as I enjoy the oils in the coffee.

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Tsujita LA - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 3/31/2012
Price: $10-15 per bowl of ramen
Location: 2057 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
website

The Quick Bit:

+ 60 hour tonkotsu broth for the ramen base
+ best ramen I've had outside of Japan
+ strong flavored tsukemen
Δ food could have been less salty


During my trip to Los Angeles, I resolved to dine that the finest ramen establishment the city had to offer. At first, I thought the destination would be somewhere in Little Tokyo like Daikokuya. However, a quick search resulted in Little Osaka being the new destination of choice. While 2008 may have been the food truck boom in LA, 2011 was the year ramen took off.

A relative newcomer, Tsujita only started serving ramen around October 2011, and then only for lunch. Tsujita is the child of Chef Takehiro Tsujita, who set about creating the perfect bowl of ramen ten years ago. After developing his recipe and opening his first ramen-ya, Tsujita now owns 7 restaurants globally (4 in Tokyo, 1 in Beijing, 1 in Bangkok, and 1 in Los Angeles). His ramen is styled as tonkotsu gyokai, or a mixture of both pork and fish broth. 

sauces at Tsujita

Tonkotsu Ramen:

char-siu tonkotsu ramen

The ramen came steaming hot with a generous amount of wood ear mushrooms, bamboo, negi, and pork. The first thing I noticed about this bowl was the color and texture of the broth. The broth was so rich that the consistency seemed thicker than water. The soup was amazingly flavorful; each spoonful of ramen broth was akin to drinking some sort of savory pork consume that embodied the essence of pork flavor. While the toppings were appreciated, they were really there more to provide some textural contrast as the star of the dish was easily the broth.

If I had a small complaint, it was that the noodles were thinner than I am used to. I'm probably cultured to having the wrong type of thick ramen alkaline noodles, but the noodles that accompanied this bowl were so thing that they reminded me of somen. While the noodles themselves were quite good, it was just a bit of a shock to me.

Tsukemen:

char-siu tsukemen

While the regular ramen at Tsujita is good, it is the tsukemen that makes the restaurant special. While I'm not sure that the ramen was styled as tonkotsu gyokai, the tsukemen was definitely styled that way. Tsukemen is ramen that is dipped into the broth, which is extra thick and extra reduced. After consuming the dipping noodles, one can ask for hot water to be added to the broth, so it is enjoyed as a soup.
With my first taste of the ramen with the tsukemen broth, my mouth experienced an explosion of flavor. Not only did I get all the pork flavor, but I got an underlying seafood complexity that was the fish broth flavor. The combination of these flavors was so good that it almost induced me to cry with happiness. I have to agree with Jonathan Gold that the experience was life-changing. I also agree that the dish is centered entirely around the broth and that the noodles are simply there for textural contrast while the pork ensures that you stay full after consuming the meal.

Conclusion:

I set out to find the best ramen in Southern California, and I dare to say that I did find it. Not only was Tsujita the best ramen I've had outside of Japan, it beats many of the places I visited in Japan as well.
For having such good ramen, Tsujita is awarded the megabit award (the first recipient too)!

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Totoraku (aka The Pico Teriyaki House) - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 3/31/2012
Price: $150 per person
Location: Shhhh! It's a secret!


The Quick Bit:
+ The best place to enjoy the best flavors of beef in all of its forms
+ Momotaro tomatoes
+ Amazing amuse platter
+ Great friendly service
Δ Gaining admission can be challenging

Recently, I found that I had the opportunity to select one sub-$200 restaurant to enjoy for a trip to Los Angeles. While I did consider some other trendier options, the difficulty of getting reservations steered me towards Totoraku. Having now enjoyed Totoraku, I believe I made the correct restaurant selection.

For those unfamiliar with Totoraku, it is not your fault. You see, Totoraku is supposed to be a "secret" restaurant - to gain admission, one must be invited or know a regular who have "invitation privileges." To obtain invitation privileges, one must become friends with Chef/Owner Kaz Oyama and receive a business card from him. Once the card is obtained, reservations are made through calling Chef Kaz directly on his cell phone (not by leaving a message on the publicly listed answering service). 

The reason for the secrecy is not that the restaurant is violating any laws, it is simply that Chef Kaz is aware that not everyone will be receptive of his cuisine. He simply wants assurance that his cuisine will be enjoyed and appreciated by all the enter the doors. What is so special about the cuisine? One may be told that Totoraku is a glorified yakiniku place, but in addition to yakiniku, Totoraku specializes in serving raw beef. 

Another aspect of Totoraku is that Chef Kaz is a connoisseur of fine wine - there is no faster way to being granted invitation privileges than bringing some nice wines and sharing with the entire staff. While I normally don't talk too much about wine, I feel obligated to share our table's wine list.

2007 Domaine des Croix 1er Cru

2005 Kosta Browne  Koplen Vineyard Pinot Noir

2004 Chateau Pontet-Canet Grand Cru

2001 Sanford La Rinconada Vineyard Pinot Noir

2001 Luis Canas Amaren Reserva

Amuse Platter:

Once we were seated an amuse platter was brought out for our enjoyment. Clockwise from top left:

• ankimo - monkfish liver
• homemade tofu
• kohlrabi, bacon, hollandaise
• momotaro tomatoes with mozzarella
• mango, white truffle, proscuitto
• abalone, lima beans
• lobster, raddichio, caviar
• crab deviled eggs
• (center) sockeye salmon with avocado

The amuse platter is always an interesting part of the Totoraku experience as it changes with each experience. Yet, every person that has talked about the amuse platter has been extremely impressed with the flavors, plating, and range of dishes. Each item is impeccably prepared and definitely works as an amuse for the rest of the meal.

Highlights for this iteration of the plate include the homemade tofu and the mango. The tofu has such a delicate yet rich texture; it was creamy in both mouth feel and consistency, but definitely remained as tofu. The mango was just a good contrast of sweet with cured saltiness while having a touch of truffle to take the flavors to the next level.

Raw Courses:

top sirloin carpaccio - special sea salt, carrot, lettuce

We started the raw beef courses with the top sirloin carpaccio. The carpaccio was a way to showcase the pure flavors of beef without much fat. The slightly sweet vegetables brought out an almost similar sweet quality in the beef. The crunchiness of the carrot also provided a great textural contrast to the chewiness of the beef. Overall, it was a nice way to start out the beef adventure.

smoked ribeye cap - garlic, ginger, spicy sauce

The next raw course was a sliced smoked ribeye cap, which was the favorite raw course of all the ladies at the table. While ribeye is not traditionally considered lean, this was yet another showcase of lean beef protein. The meat was smoked ever so slightly on the edges, which added some complexity to the flavor. The plate was accompanied with garlic, ginger, and hot sauce which we were asked to mix into our own soy sauce plates and dip the meat. The smokiness of the rib eye was really complemented by the flavor of the soy.

beef throat

Along with the smoked rib eye, we were served beef throat. This was my favorite raw course of the evening. In order to produce the amount of throat in the photo, about one and a half cows were slaughtered. To contrast the less fatty flavor of the smoked rib eye, the beef throat is almost purely about the luxurious, buttery, fatty mouth feel of beef. One key component I found with the throat was that the temperature of the beef was important. The throat retained a chewier texture without becoming too chewy if it had been heated too much. 

beef tartare - cucumber, pear, apple, quail egg

tartare after mixing

The final raw course was the beef tartare. This was the culmination of the raw courses as it showcased a fattier mouth feel with the creaminess of the yolk integrated into the entire dish. The pear added a nice element of sweetness to the dish while the tartness of the apple added some acid as well as additional contrasting sweetness. The cucumber rounded out the textures. 

Yakiniku:

After the raw courses, a yakiniku grill was placed in front of the table:

binchotan charcoal

The yakiniku grill we received contained some binchotan charcoal that were already preheated to extremely high temperatures. Please note that I was elected as the table's grill master, so there aren't as many photos as I would have liked.

beef tongue

The beef tongue highlighted both the fattiness of the beef as well as the texture. When cooked medium rare, the tongue exhibited a bit of crunchiness. Additionally, the marbled fat inside the tongue really permeated the flavor of the tongue.

filet mignon - shiitake, shishito, bell pepers, onions

Following the tongue, we received filet mignon along with a large selection of raw vegetables and vegetables for grilling.

momotaro tomatoes

With the filet a vegetables came the bowl of momtaro tomatoes, which was easily the favorite fruit selection of the table. 

The filet mignon was the consensus favorite of the entire table for the yakiniku portion of the meal. The filet was marinated to have a sweet flavor when grilled. Coupled with the tenderness of the filet and the amount of fat marbled in filet and it was an easy choice as the overall favorite.

outside rib eye

The outside rib eye highlighted an even fattier portion of the beef. This was mainly to contrast with the inside rib eye, which was brought out afterwards. Personally, I'm a fan of outside ribeye on the regular steak, so I am also a fan when they are contrasted in the yakiniku preparation as well.

inside rib eye

The inside rib eye had a similar sweet flavor that resembled the filet, but it contained much less fat. It was easily the least fatty cooked portion of the meal. The less fatty portions do a good job of highlighting the pure flavor of the beef without the fat flavor.

short rib - gal bi

Next, we were served some short rib (or gal bi), which was my favorite cooked protein. The short rib had the most fat content and hence the most luxurious mouth feel and fat flavor of beef to it. The meat was cooked to be extremely tender yet retain some chewiness.

skirt steak

The final cooked course was the skirt steak. I felt this was a contrast to the short rib as it was also a very fatty cut, except where the short rib exhibited fat marbling, the skirt steak exhibits more of a connective tissue fattiness. As a result the skirt steak also had the luxurious fatty mouth feel, but was chewier. 

egg drop soup

The final portion of the meal was an egg drop soup containing beef, beef stock, shiitake mushrooms, wakame, and perhaps other ingredients. The soup was a nice way to close out the meal as it brought a warm liquid feeling to the stomach.

Dessert:

espresso, pistachio, white chocolate ice cream, lychee, blueberry sorbet 

The meal finished with a selection of ice creams and sorbets. My favorites were the lychee and blueberry sorbets. 

Conclusion:

One makes the pilgrimage to Totoraku to pray at the altar to beef and experience all the flavors that beef has to offer. I am extremely privileged to have been able to make the journey and look forward to going back again in the future. Just like any pilgrimage, the adventure of Totoraku is not for the faint of heart - one must realize what they are getting into before making the commitment. However, those that make the journey an accept what it entails seem to all be mesmerized by the experience. 

As Totoraku is perhaps a one of a kind experience outside of Japan, it has great food and great friendly service, I award Totoraku the Terrabyte award. 

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