Bestia II

Bestia Restaurant
2121 E 7th Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90021
213.514.5724
www.bestiala.com

Pictured: Bill the Butcher (R)

Description: Aged Rhum JM, aperol, egg white, lemon juice, barrel aged peychaud's bitters.

Use of egg: Egg white foam.

Taste: Sweet and light, this summer cocktail is smoother than a baby's bottom. The egg white adds subtle texture to the smoothness and takes rhum to the next level. The touch of lemon juice and bitters gives the drink the extra bite that leaves you wantig more. 

Notes: (L) 5th and Adams

Pictured: Porcini Pappardelle

Description: Hand-cut mushroom pasta, fava & mixed mushrooms ragu, poached farm egg, fried spinach.

Use of egg: Perfectly poached whole egg and, no doubt, the pasta

Taste: Characteristic of Bestia's rustic approach to pasta, the pappardelle is cooked to al dente perfection. The creamy ragu sauce is bursting with rich mushroom flavors, though the whole fava beans add a bit of a grainy texture that I'm slightly not used to. The fried spinach pieces add quite a pleasant textural contrast to this creamy pasta that is further enriched with the perfectly poached egg--flooding and soaking the pasta when broken into. Absolutely mesmerizing. 

The Salty Battle

Not too long ago, I posted this picture of my craft salted caramel ice cream collection to Twitter (if you have yet to check it out, my Twitter name is @Seconds4Shirley). So here's my take after almost finishing all four pints:

Pictured: (from Left to Right then Top) 
1. Sweet Rose Creamery Salted Caramel 
2. Talenti Gelato Sea Salt Caramel 
3. Carmela Salted Caramel 
4. Scoops Westside Salty Caramel

Description: 

Colors from light to dark: 4, 3, 2, 1

Creaminess from least to most: 3, 4, 1, 2

Flavor intensity from least to most: 4, 3, 1, 2

Cost (by pint) from least expensive to most: 4, 2, 1 and 3 tied though Carmela's pints are 2 for $15, which is a sweet deal!

Use of egg: egg yolks. Carmela uses organic eggs from Papetti's. Sweet Rose uses local eggs from Chino Valley Ranchers. I was unable to reach anyone via telephone at Scoops but am somewhat certain their salty caramel ice cream contains eggs. According to its label, Talenti also uses egg yolks, though the source is unidentified. 

Taste: 

1. Sweet Rose: smooth and creamy texture, intense caramel flavor, fragrant, and indubitably solid as a caramel ice cream. The wholesomeness of the ingredients really shine through with each bite and can be enjoyed alone or with another scoop of ice cream that is complementary to its flavors. In store, you will find that they offer sea salt as one of their toppings; I highly recommend that you take advantage of this because the sea salt really brings out its flavors.

2. Talenti Gelato: gelato in general is extremely creamy and concentrated in flavor and this is definitely a signature gelato. Scent-wise, none are as comparable; Talenti's Sea Salt Caramel smells like a freshly baked caramel pastry. Though I am a big fan of foods with intense flavors, I did find this to be extremely sweet and does not have as much salt in its flavor content and tastes more like a caramel-gingerbread gelato than a salted caramel gelato. Talenti is definitely a calorie-saver in that sense because you don't need to eat a lot of it to be satisfied. Delicious nevertheless.

3. Carmela: Carmela's ice cream is certainly a little bit icier in texture than the two aforementioned. However, it definitely hits the spot if you're looking for a truly SALTED caramel ice cream. The caramel is fragrant and the depth of the caramel flavor is just right. The iciness in this case is actually quite refreshing for the summer. No toppings needed, I can eat the entire pint in one sitting...you'd probably have to pry it out of my hands. The best surprise: there are teeny tiny chunks of caramel lingering on your tongue with each bite!

4. Scoops: I'm uncertain of the ingredients in their ice cream but something about their salty caramel really stands out among the others. The flavor is lighter than the others and tastes of vanilla with hints of caramel. Although I do get the caramel taste in the ice cream, I don't really get much of the saltiness and thus would probably use this ice cream as a delicious complement with another (much more intense) ice cream flavor. 

The salted caramel winner? By an extremely close race, Carmela. 

Reason? Because I love surprises. 

Happy summer, everyone!

Men Oh Tokushima (Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles)

Pictured: Tokushima Ramen

Description: Men Oh's signature tonkotsu-shoyu ramen: rich homemade Kurobuta pork-bone soup seasoned with soy sauce base. Straight medium-thickness noodles. Garnish: preserved bamboo shoots, house made chashu, sliced pork, chopped scallions, and, of course, a perfectly cooked ~4 minute boiled egg with bright yellowish-orange runny yolk.

Use of egg: half a slice of a 4-minute boiled egg faced up and half-submerged in pork broth.

Taste: if al dente is your noodle firmness of choice (as it is mine) definitely ask for firm to hard noodles upon ordering; the texture is extraordinary. The depth of pork flavor in the broth is definitely notable and is nothing like the broths you would get anywhere else in Little Tokyo. The chashu not only is nice and fatty and adds to the complexity of the soup but it is also so tender that it falls apart and melts in your mouth. The egg, as always, is the highlight: boiled in a soy sauce base, it lightly takes on the color of the base and, although the white is perfectly set, the yolk is of a sticky, honey-like consistency that gives off a sort of nutty and dense flavor. 

Notes: lunchtime favorite in Little Tokyo. No lines, no wait, no starving yourself for 1-2 hours. If you aren't cholesterol-conscious, adding another egg is only $1 more! 

Reference page:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/men-oh-tokushima-ramen-los-angeles#hrid:tZlbZv0wi4ZcjlZ-pgZhKA

Not just the beginning...

This photoblog was created in an effort to create a more revolutionary view of food in the food world. In the complexity of fine dining and everyday fooding alike, the essence of the individual ingredients is often lost. In the present day, original ingredients are manipulated in such radical ways that the nature of individual components are either augmented or suppressed. The goal of this photoblog is not only to capture the unprecedented ways single ingredients are crafted into key or accessory ingredients of dishes, but also to establish a database for the curious. 

The egg is one of the most versatile ingredients in the world. Eggs, especially chicken eggs, are universal, included in many dishes as either the key or accessory ingredient, and can be consumed in many different forms. In fact, approximately 5 billion eggs are consumed per year in America. What better ingredient to launch this photoblog with other than the very familiar, seemingly mundane, but surprisingly exciting egg? 

With that said, cheers and bon appetit!

Pictured: Byrrh Fizz (Left)

Description: Byrrh, egg white, lemon juice, rye toasted bay leaf

Use of egg: Egg white foam

Taste: Tangy, smooth, light, delicious. The toasted bay leaf as an aromatic ingredient is a subtle but sweet touch. Definitely one of my favorite dinner cocktails in LA thus far. The egg white was a very delicate addition to this mouthwatering, summery cocktail. 

Notes: Where is this delicious cocktail at? Bestia, of course. On a busy night, it's best to come after dinner rush or hang out at the bar while sipping one of these amazing concoctions.