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A Look at the Brand New Mo-chica

If you didn't know the right person, you couldn't get into Mo-chica Sunday night.  This new incarnation of the Peruvian restaurant was mobbed, with people outside wondering how to get a table.

It was "friends and family" night, a trial run before the restaurant opens on Wednesday (May 30). And it was apparent that chef Ricardo Zarate and managing partner Stephane Bombet have more friends than most of us could accumulate in a lifetime.

The bright, lively and commodious new space on 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles replaces the stand in the Mercado La Paloma where Mo-chica originated (above). 

The menu is classic Peruvian, comfort food as compared to the trendy approach at Zarate's Picca in West Los Angeles. 

That's not to say there aren't a few such things, like beterraga (above), a roasted beet salad with burrata, candied corn and orange aji amarillo dressing (aji amarillo is yellow chile). And, for dessert, crême brulée with more fruit than cream. 

The classics get updated with Zarate's contemporary touches, like the fried organic fertile egg on top of tagliatelle with alpaca stew in an aji amarillo sauce (above).

Cubes of crisp-edged pork belly come on top of the potato stew carapulcra, which is made from small Peruvian potatoes that are freeze-dried at night then sun-dried during the day. Zarate stirs in chimichurri to spice it up. 

Carapulcra is just one dish that shows off Peru's potato bounty--thousands of varieties grow there.

Another is causa (above), a layered cake of mashed potato, avocado and chicken or seafood. Zarate uses fresh crab at Mo-chica. 

In Peru, papa rellena (stuffed potato) is stuffed with meat and deep-fried. The Mo-chica version (above) skips the deep-frying and replaces the meat with eggplant stew.

If you've never seen Peruvian ceviche (above), you might think you've been given the wrong order, because it looks nothing like Mexican ceviche.

One surprise is the hefty chunk of sweet potato on the plate. Giant corn kernels are on the other side. That's ceviche mixto (mixed) in the center (above). Another ceviche contains only seabass.

Seco de cordero, or lamb shank with cilantro-beer sauce and canario beans (above), moved over from the old Mo-chica, as did lomo saltado, which is a stir-fry of beef strips with French fries. The fries are made with Kennebec potatoes, a hypbrid produced in the USA, not Peru.

No liquor was allowed in the Mercado La Paloma. Now Mo-chica has wine and cocktails, including, of course, Peru's famous pisco sour (right), which has been retitled "Tha Doggfather." 

Behind it in the photo is "OaxaCalifornia Love," which isn't Peruvian at all except for a dash of spicy rocoto chile mixed with mezcal, tequila, lime juice and pineapple.

The renaming is perhaps an attempt to woo the young crowd now inhabiting downtown L.A.

Others are "Papa Don't Peach," "Santa Claus is Back in Town" and "Tea-Nage Dream.

The weirdest (right) is indisputably "I'm Grapey and I Know It...(wiggle, wiggle)," which combines pisco with a green grape and cardamom reduction, ginger juice, orgeat syrup and soda. 

If you can get around that astonishing name, though, it's a very cool drink. 

Mo-chica, 514 W. 7th St., Los Angeles, CA 90014. Tel: (213) 622-3744.

Tasting Wine with Seaweed and Sushi

It wasn't the most conventional wine dinner. It started with Simi's 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (100% stainless steel-fermented, a tiny bit of Semillon and Viognier added) paired with seaweed salad (at top). And cold marinated yellowtail. No cheese and bread in sight. 

Then on to Clos du Bois' 2010 Calcaire Chardonnay (barrel select cuvee from the Russian River Valley) with tuna sashimi, avocado, shaved Parmesan and arugula in a soy-truffle vinaigrette (above), and spicy tuna on fried rice cakes.  

But no one was complaining, least of all the two winemakers, Susan Lueker, director of wine making at Simi (right), and Gary Sitton, who holds the same post at Clos du Bois.

They only had to walk across the street from the Mondrian, where they were staying, to Katana, where their wines and plenty of glasses were waiting.

Unlike the usual carefully orchestrated formal indoor wine dinner, this one took place on Katana's terrace, overlooking Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

The casual outdoor setting was the next best thing to dining under a grape arbor in a vineyard. It's the kind of place where you could wear jeans, as Sitton did (right). 

Dinner continued with skewers of seabass, shrimp and beef to dip in ponzu, mustard and ginger sauces. The Simi 2009 Chardonnay (Sonoma County) coped pretty well with these.

Simi's 2010 Pinot Noir (Carneros, Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley) had to deal with grilled Brussels sprouts on skewers, not the easiest task. Simi's tasting notes recommend pairing it with fried chicken, mushroom risotto, barbecued salmon or just plain goat cheese.

But Kobe beef fillet with black pepper sauce, chicken skewers with green onions, and shortribs with Asian barbecue sauce were easier matches for the reds.

These included the Clos du Bois 2008 Sonoma Reserve Merlot from Alexander Valley grapes ("more fruit forward and approachable than Cabernet," Sitton observed).

And Simi's Landslide Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (mostly Cabernet, with touches of Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Tannat and Petit Verdot). 

A little sushi got onto the table too, such as Katana's white lotus roll--shrimp, albacore, avocado and soy paper.  

"Some of it worked. Some of it didn't, but at the end of the day, the wines showed pretty well," Sitton said.  And the table was crammed with glasses, as you would expect at a wine dinner that ran from daylight to dark.  

A Piano Driven to Drink

Ever seen an alcoholic piano?

This one may have experienced too many sour notes.

Its drink of choice is Australian Shiraz. That's what's lined up on top. 

The keyboard was locked when I was there so jittery keys couldn't get at the bottles. Perhaps the piano is undergoing rehabilitation.

This wouldn't be painful, because there are plenty of non-alcoholic drinks on the menu at Javan, the West Los Angeles Persian restaurant where the piano hangs out. Like pomegranate juice, fresh lemonade and dough, which is a cold yogurt drink. 

A few sips of these and the piano might belt out a happier tune. 

Javan restaurant, 11500 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90025. Tel: (310) 207-5555.

A Vegetarian Recipe for Kogi Chef Roy Choi

If Roy Choi, founder of the wildly popular Kogi BBQ truck, has turned his back on meat, his followers may do the same.

To aid their sudden plunge into vegetarianism, they'll need recipes. Here is one from India, where vegetarian food is so delicious that meat seems an unwelcome distraction.

I tasted this zesty combination of carrots and potatoes at Goomtea, a tea estate on the way to Darjeeling that is owned by a Marwari vegetarian family.

Prem Pradhan, the cook, turned out extraordinary meals with the simplest ingredients. He let me watch as he prepared the carrots and potatoes and many other dishes in a karahi, an Indian wok, set over red hot coals in an iron stove.

Heat control was simple. To keep the dishes from burning, he would lift the karahi from time to time.  

The bungalow manager, Bandhu Rauth, checked as I wrote down each ingredient to make sure it was correct.  

Therefore, this is exactly the way Prem cooked the dish.

Enjoy, Roy.  

CUMIN-SPICED POTATOES AND CARROTS
From Prem Pradhan of Goomtea Tea Estate 

3/4 pound small potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
1/2 pound carrots
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons fine long shreds of ginger root
2/3 cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 

Peel the potatoes and carrots and cut them in half. Place in a saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil, uncovered, until just tender, but not mushy.

Drain the potatoes and carrots and let them cool. Then cut them crosswise in 1/4-inch slices.

Heat the butter in a wok. When it melts, add the ginger shreds and stir, then add the onion and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring as needed, until the onion is tender but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the sliced potatoes and carrots and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste. Cook, stirring carefully, until the vegetables are mixed with the seasonings and heated through.

Makes 4 servings. 

From EatMx.Com: Banda for Lunch

The music was loud and the shrimp were good at Mariscos Hector in Santa Ana. Read about the place at www.eatmx.com

From EatMx.com: How to Make Super Squash

You can easily make the delicious calabacitas (squash) that are served at Carmelitas restaurant in Zihuatanejo.

Get the recipe at www.eatmx.com