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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Wich Addiction Preview Soft Opening

Date of Dining: 4/2/2012 

Price: $4-8 per item

Location: 6625 Flanders, Mira Mesa, CA 92129

website

I'm back a little early, but this is just a teaser post. Back when I first covered Devilicious, I mentioned that many food truck owners operate the food truck to try and open their own proper restaurant. I will cover this a little more in the subsequent post, but Devilicious owners Dyann and Mark Manning have converted their food truck dreams into a proper brick and mortar location.

Instead of extending the Devilicious name, they decided to call the new restaurant Wich Addiction and build up a new following. The menu is completely different from the food truck, but features some "retired" favorites from the truck in the restaurant. While the food will remain strongly rooted in comfort food, many of the dishes will be things that cannot otherwise be served in a food truck.

Wich Addiction is set to have its grand opening on April 12, but you can check it out ahead of time during its soft opening. Just be patient as they work out some of the kinks. I will have full coverage of the location for its grand opening. Until then here are some of the highlights.

Wich Addiction First Day Menu

The menu features a range of sandwiches, salads, and "special" appetizers. It is not too much unlike the Devilicious Food Truck Menu in its first incarnation.

The coffee and tea is provided by Cafe Virtuoso, and is created using a reverse osmosis water system to give a pure and clean flavor to all the coffee and tea.

passion fruit iced tea

 I really enjoyed the ice tea and felt that I could taste some of the natural sweetness in the tea despite there not having any sugar added.

chili fried yummies

The arancini-style fried yummies are back! The first flavor of the month is the tried and true chili flavor. These were better than I remembered them as there did not seem to be any over or under-seasoning issues with the yummies. I'm glad they are back and look forward to the mushroom risotto yummies again in the future.

corn beef sandwich - house kraut, swiss, dill pickle aioli

All sandwiches are served with thick-cut house made chips. The corn beef was cooked so well that I felt I didn't need to chew the beef. The seasonings were spot on and the kraut and aioli rounded out the proper flavors. While it may not have been piled high like a Jewish deli, the flavors were really strong and well-rounded.

poutine - red wine braised short rib, new york sharp cheddar, french fries

While this poutine lacked the chese curds, Dyann assured me that this was an otherwise authentic Canadian poutine. I'm not sure what it was but the short ribs were cooked to be perfectly tender and packed full of braising liquid flavor. I liked that the braising vegetables were also included. I felt this was one of the top three dishes that I've ever been served by Dyann, and it shows a lot of promise for what is yet to come.

Wich Addiction is off to a great start and is now open for business. 

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Avila's El Ranchito (Corona Del Mar) - Interrupt

Date of Dining: 2/18/2012
Price: ~$10-$15 per plate
Location: 2515 East Coast Hwy, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
website


The Quick Bit:
+ family owned restaurant chain
+ good selection of Americanized Mexican classics
+ fast friendly service
Δ plating could be cleaner
Δ tortillas could be less of an afterthought

Note: I'll be leaving on vacation this Friday, so I'm unsure if I will post this Thursday. Normal posting will resume on Sunday 4/8

Avila's El Ranchito is a family owned business that started in the 1966. Although Avila's is a chain restaurant spread across Los Angeles and Orange County, each branch is owned and operated by a member of the Avila family, who puts his or her own personality into the restaurant; in fact, each branch contains slight variations on the menu suited to each owner.
The story of Avila's goes that after immigrating to the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico, Salvador Avila opened the first Avila's in Huntington Park. All the family members pitched into the business to make it work, which was focused on delivering the Avila family recipes in a warm and friendly atmosphere; each customer was to be treated as family. With the burgeoning success of the business, Avila's opened more locations - each new location was put under the supervision of an Avila family member. As more and more stores opened, the family nature of how employees were treated was carried on with each restaurant, so that the servers and cooks were treated as family as well.
Today, Avila's is spread over twelve locations in Los Angeles and Orange County. While there are many location to each restaurant, it is not a true "chain restaurant" as we are used to the word. I met a colleague at Avila's for lunch one day, and he gushed enough about the restaurant to convince me to write a post about the experience.

mayan treasure - shredded chicken, rice, tomatillo sauce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole

My colleague ordered the Mayan treasure, which reminded me of one of really nice authentic burritos I had in LA. The chicken and rice were well cooked and packed into the burrito. The tomatillo sauce provided a nice acidic and mildly spicy contrast to bring out the flavors of the burrito filling. The sauce was easily the star of the dish - after eating a good wet burrito one will never want to go back to the dry burrito. This burrito really confirmed the love of well-prepared wet burritos.

carnitas - black tomatillo salsa, rice, guacamole

The carnitas were tender, juicy, and well cooked on the interior, while they were crispy and savory on the exterior. In short, they were prepared very well. The black tomatillo salsa contained a smoky flavor in addition to the acidity and mild spiciness, which really worked well with the carnitas. My complaint about the dish was that the tortillas came out wrapped in aluminum foil and seemed like an afterthought to the dish. When so much care as been put into the other components, it was a shame that the tortillas did not receive the same respect.

Conclusion:
While Avila's is not going to win any awards for the food, it remains a nice stop for a taste of Americanized Mexican cuisine in a warm and friendly atmosphere. I'd easily put it above any of the popular chain Mexican restaurants and even above Cozymel's. While the carnitas were good, the real star for me was the well-prepared wet burrito. When a wet burrito is prepared well, there are many other factors that are easily forgiven.

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Hoangie's Banh Mi on Wheels Food Truck

Date of Dining: 3/22/2012
Price: $7-9 per Banh Mi
Location: Food Truck Weekly Schedule:
Monday - 4000 Ruffin Rd
Tuesday - 8945 Rehco Rd
Wednesday - 5600 Oberlin Dr
Thursday - 9540 Towne Centre Dr
Friday: Greer Dr and Shoreham Pl
website

The Quick Bit:
+ authentic Vietnamese flavors on a food truck
+ fast friendly service
+ large selection of beverages
Δ price could be more reflective of banh mi
Δ protein choices could reflect more authenticity

It has been awhile since I covered food trucks, and I apologize for the lack of coverage for those interested. I can't promise that I will be covering more food trucks, but I do plan to try and try out more of them in the near future.

Hoangie's Food Truck is a truck that specializes in serving Vietnamese Sandwiches otherwise known as banh mi. The concept of selling Banh Mi on a food truck was popularized by the Nom Nom Truck in the first season of The Great Food Truck Race. With the success of the truck and the popularity of the show, I'm actually more surprised that we haven't seen another Banh Mi truck in San Diego even earlier.

Hoangie's is a family owned and run operation. The name of the truck is a pun on the Hoang family's name along with the hoagie roll, which resembles the French roll that banh mi is served in. Upon ordering at the truck, one is greeted by the effusively friendly and positive smile of Jenny Hoang, who takes the order and then calls it out to her brother(s) working the line. By the time Jenny finishes taking an order, the previous order is usually ready to be picked up.

The sandwiches offered by Hoangie's consist of the same basic banh mi fillings - pickled daikon, pickled carrots, jalapeno, cilantro, cucumber, and spicy aioli - along with several different protein choices - free-range chicken, rib eye, pork butt, ground sirloin hamburger, tuna, or panko crusted tofu. It should be noted that while the chicken is free range, none of the other proteins are of abnormal quality.

oink banh mi

I settled on the oink banh mi as it is the most popular sandwich. While I wasn't floored by my first bite, but the end of the first half of the sandwich, the flavors started to win me over. The pork contained the great flavor of pork and was complemented by the sweet pickled flavors of the daikon and carrot. The jalapeno and aioli added a spicy contrast that built up on my palate and had enjoying the flavor contrast. These flavor contrasts demonstrate some of the basic tenants of Vietnamese cuisine. 

While the sandwich won on flavors, it did fall a bit short in some areas. The temperature of the protein was lukewarm, and the bread was cold. I also felt that the inclusion of the spicy aioli was trying a bit too hard to dress up the banh mi - traditional banh mi contain butter and perhaps some pate spread.

vietnamese (pork) egg rolls

I also took the opportunity to order the vietnamese egg rolls. Freshly out of the fryer, these egg rolls were well-made traditional vietnamese egg rolls. Instead of the traditional fish sauce dip, they were instead accompanied by the spicy aoili sauce. While I ate these, I found myself missing the fish sauce dip as well as the lettuce wrap and mint that usually accompany egg rolls.

Conclusion:

If I had been given the food for free and asked to judge whether it had come from a restaurant or food truck, I probably wouldn't be able to differentiate; the food that Hoangie's serves is on par with the better Vietnamese restaurants in San Diego.

Unfortunately I did pay for the food, which brings up my biggest issue with Hoangie's. While the size of the Hoangie's Banh Mi is about 1.5 times larger than other restaurants, the price of the sandwich is about double. Furthermore, at a restaurant the egg rolls usually cost twice as much, but one receives six egg rolls as well as accompanying vegetables. 

At the price point set by Hoangie's, I want a little more differentiation - the ingredients need to be higher quality or there needs to be more innovation in the cuisine. While the chicken is free range and reflective of the higher quality, the other proteins lack any special quality to differentiate them.

Ultimately Hoangie's is making tasty food, but should perhaps consider prices in comparison to both other food trucks and other brick and mortar Vietnamese restaurants.

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