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The Five Top Tastes of April, 2018

This month's top tastes range from an all-American steak sandwich with fries to exotic fare such as a saffron-laced drink from India. The others are an exceptionally pretty crab cake, a Salvadoran pupusa with a touch of tradition and a Russian-Armenian pastry that is more than sinfully delicious. 


1. Ribeye steak sandwich at San Antonio Winery's Maddalena Restaurant. The meat has great grilled flavor, the filling includes sliced mushrooms, and you get a huge heap of French fries on the side. Plus there's plenty of red wine available to go with this hearty sandwich.   

San Antonio Winery, 737 Lamar St, Los Angeles, CA 90031. (323) 223-1401.

2. Plush and pretty Montrésor produces a wonderful, towering crab cake. That's remoulade sauce underneath and a splash of Meyer lemon gastrique in front. Topping it off is a feathery frisee salad. 

Montrésor, 11266 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604. (818) 760-7081.


3. Love vegetables? Then try the ayote con queso pupusa at the Salvadoran restaurant Mi Cuscatlan. Ayote is squash, an ingredient that filled pupusas in El Salvador before the Spaniards brought in pork and cheese. There is cheese (queso) in this one too, so it bridges old and new.

Mi Cuscatlan, 1436 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90006. (213) 382-4933.

4. Masala Grill's saffron mango lassi is possibly the most luscious and luxurious mango lassi in town. Those are saffron threads floating on top, and you know how expensive saffron is. Cardamom blended into the drink makes it even richer. 

Masala Grill, 5607 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 954-7570. 

5. Vrej Pastry's asali is a heavenly concoction of tender pastry topped with almonds and honey. It's Russian-Armenian, they told me in the store. A tip--reheat the pastries lightly before eating. This softens the honey and makes them all the more irresistible. 

Vrej Pastry, 11148 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills, CA 91344. (818) 366-2526. Also at 1074 N. Allen Ave., Pasadena, CA 91104. (626) 797-2331.

Oregon Puts Its Wines On the Trail

Sometimes things seem topsy turvy, as in Oregon wine.

Southern Oregon may be the second largest growing region in the state, responsible for 22% of production, but when the Oregon Wine Trail made a stop in Los Angeles, most of the wineries pouring were from the Willamette Valley. Only a few were from the south.

Portland dominated the food part of the tasting, held at the Line Hotel, with charcuterie from Olympia Provisions, Salt & Straw ice cream and Stumptown coffee.

However, Southern Oregon made it onto the cheese table, presented by the Oregon Cheese Guild, with a smokey blue from Rogue Creamery. These choice offerings provided pleasant, and necessary, breaks during the hours of tasting.

Scouting the wineries, I focused on seven from the south in order to make such an extensive tasting more doable.  

Abacela pioneered the successful planting of the Rioja grape Tempranillo in the United States, planting the first of its vines in 1995 and releasing 243 cases of its first Tempranillo in 1997.

The Tempranillos poured at the tasting were from 2014 and 2015, accompanied by an Albariño. A small bottle held a Port made from five Portuguese varieties grown on the estate. Abacela is located in Roseburg. Its tasting room is open daily. 

Located near Ashland, Irvine & Roberts Vineyards planted its first vines in 2007. Just 26 acres are planted now, but another 10 will be added.  Production is currently 5,000 to 6,000 cases a year.

For summer, try a delicate, very pale Pinot Noir rosé.  Others poured at the tasting were the 2015 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. There are additional wines to sample, including a Pinot Meunier, at a tasting room in Ashland.

Quady North's tasting room is in Jacksonville, Oregon. A star at its table was the delightful 2017 Pistoleta, a blend of Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc. The 2015 GSM--this stands for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre--is mostly Mourvedre. Others poured were a Rosé and Cabernet Franc. 

Lots of people stopped at the table of Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards for a taste of its Grüner Veltliner, which has long been a specialty there. But the 2014 Syrah is a favorite of Gloria Reustle, and the 2015 Tempranillo was very good too.

Serra Vineyards is a newbie in the Applegate Valley, easy to reach from Grants Pass. It's family owned and operated, producing just 1,000 cases of any given vintage. To show how small the production is, only 100 cases were made of the 2016 Reserve Viognier, a wine that was barrel-fermented and stirred on the lees for nine months.

Red wines poured were a Tempranillo, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, all from estate-grown vines. 

Located 20 miles from Grants Pass, Trium Wines uses grapes grown at Ashland and Talent. The five poured at the tasting included the 2012 Growers Cuvée, which is a blend of 53% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc. This is Trium's flagship wine.

The others poured were a Viognier, Chardonnay, Grenache Rose and Cabernet Sauvignon. Ownership changed last year, and a tasting room is in the works.  

Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley focuses on natural winemaking and aims to become biodynamic and certified organic. Along with the 2015 Tannat, Troon poured the 2015 M*T, a blend of Tannat and Malbec with Tannat dominating slightly at 55%. The other red poured was a Montepulciano.

The two whites were the 2016 Vermentino and the 2016 Kubli Bench Blanc, made of co-fermented Marsanne and Viognier. Troon also makes an "orange" Riesling, colored by fermenting on the skins.  

Montrésor, Elegance and Good Food

Montrésor is simply dazzling, what you see when you enter and what you get on the plate.

This is why, only a few weeks after opening, the wait to get in can take 1 1/2 hours on a Saturday night.  

In contrast to today's spare, minimalist, noisy restaurants, Montrésor is all about ornate furnishings, flowery fabrics and lush comfort that hasn't been fashionable in decades. Maybe not since the 1890s, the era of the French bordello mirror (above) that stands against one wall.  

Ann Booth Luly, the designer, calls the style "fairytale French." Luly, who did much of the work by hand, is partners in the restaurant with Lisa Long, actress and veteran restaurant owner.

The menu is overseen by executive chef Paul Shoemaker (above), who puts a lot on a plate. 

Seared foie gras, for example, comes with cocoa ginger, quince and orange sauces, powdered foie gras and crunchy bits of orange meringue (above).  

Asparagus (above) has a black truffle ragout underneath, a Port reduction, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese foam, morel mushrooms, miner's lettuce, and a sprinkle of black truffle and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. It's not ordinary asparagus either but fat stalks from Zuckerman Family Farms of Stockton. 

Crab cakes (above) come with the expected remoulade sauce but also with Meyer lemon gastrique, pepperberry and lemon sauces and a frisee salad stacked high on top.

Representing French tradition are classic onion soup and the charming gougères (above) that come with bread.  


The menu changes often, reflecting seasonal availability and inspiration. A recent addition was turbot with ramps, sweet garlic and black trumpet mushrooms (above). 

Black bass (above) was dolled up with porcini mushroom ragu, cherry tomatoes and heirloom Bloomsdale spinach.

Short ribs, which are served only medium rare, the menu says, were American Wagyu, with potato fondant and tomato confit (above). 

Desserts change regularly. The other night there were just three:

A soft, luscious creme brûlée with pistachio biscotti (above).

Milk and honey panna cotta (above) that contained berries and bits of honey comb. 

And profiteroles (above) piled high with vanilla ice cream, chocolate, toffee almond brittle and Chantilly cream. 

There's an ample wine list, and if you order by the glass, you get a refill in a carafe.

Montrésor means "my treasure," and it's a treasure for Valley residents and a destination restaurant for others. Located on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City, it's open currently for dinner and Sunday brunch but not yet for lunch. 

Montrésor, 11266 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604.  Tel: (818) 760-7081. For more about the restaurant, its hours, menus and events, click here. 

An Almost Wine-less Trip to Turkey

I drink wine often at home but gave it up while traveling in Turkey because alcoholic drinks are forbidden to Muslims, and I wanted to respect that.  

At a cocktail reception I attended, the cocktails were fruit juice, even though the hotel where this event took place had a beautiful bar.

I became so used to doing without that when I saw people laughing and drinking beer at outdoor cafes in Istanbul, it looked odd and unappealing.

I did have wine one evening, at Bayazhan Restaurant in Gaziantep, a beautiful place with vaulted ceilings like a historical monument (above).  Wine was poured there at a dinner during Gaziantep's inaugural Bulgur Festival.

This is a closer look at the label. The words kirmizi sek şarap under 2013 mean dry red wine. Read more about Kayra wines by clicking here. 

Dinner started with a yogurt soup that contained cubes of lamb, chick peas and, in honor of the Bulgur Festival, grains of bulgur wheat.

Meatball-like Arab kofte in spicy thick yogurt (above) were made of bulgur rather than meat, again in honor of the festival.

Dolma--stuffed dried eggplant and peppers--contained meat and rice (above). We also ate çiğ köfte, Turkey's version of steak tartare, made with raw lamb instead of beef. The lamb is "cooked" with spices rubbed into it by hand. 

Kebabs are much loved in Turkey. The plate above included delicious chicken and lamb kebabs. Ground lamb kebabs had taken on the flavor of the eggplant with which they were grilled.

Another course was roast lamb to eat with rice pilaf studded with pistachios and currants (above).

The dinner included cheese-stuffed borek. This one looked like a pastry (above) but was made entirely of cheese, sprinkled with nigella and sesame seeds. 

In the eastern part of Turkey, each town has its own special cheese. Four of these were on a plate along with dried figs, apricots, raisins, olives, walnuts, cucumbers and tomatoes. On the left is a salad of walnuts with tiny olives. 

Another salad combined purslane with onions, sweet red peppers, tomato and flecks of red chile. The purslane salads in Gaziantep were delightful, and I noticed how common that green was in markets there (above). The Turkish word for purslane (verdolaga) is semizotu. 

For dessert, there was carrot baklava (above), which includes no carrots but is named for its long slim shape. The Turkish way to eat this is by hand, turned upside down so that the syrupy layer is on top. 

The restaurant also brought out a beautiful fruit plate (above).

The way out led through this spacious terrace, a romantic place to have Turkish coffee or tea after dinner.  

Note: This dinner took place during Gaziantep's bulgur festival in 2016. I postponed publishing it because of terrorism incidents at that time and the more recent denial of visas to American citizens. Would I return to Turkey now? Absolutely. The food and people are wonderful. I would love to spend time again in markets, bakeries, restaurants and book stores, aspects of Turkish culture overshadowed by more sensational news.  

Vegan, Gluten-Free--and Indian Too

You're vegan. You're gluten-free. Or both. And you're hungry for Indian food.

Where to go? Masala Grill, an Indian fusion restaurant that has plenty of contemporary diet options.

The restaurant's jackfruit tacos (at the top) cover both fronts. Meat- and dairy-free, they're wrapped in gluten-free flour tortillas. And they're delicious, with the hearty texture that makes jackfruit popular with non-meat-eaters.

There's jackfruit biryani too. And the daily buffet has more vegan options than anything else, followed by vegetarian dishes.

One of the vegan dishes is deep-fried crispy gobi (cauliflower) Manchurian.

Meat eaters can have chicken or goat curry. Or butter chicken, which is what chicken tikka masala is called in India.

At Masala Grill, butter chicken is a handsome dish, made with white meat--in India dark meat is preferred. 

As chicken tikka, It comes in samosas too (above). 

And in a chicken tikka quesadilla with pepper jack cheese, onions, cilantro and tomatoes (above). The quesadilla is one of Masala Grill's fusion dishes along with a chicken tikka burrito, a veggie burrito, chicken keema tacos and a masala chicken burger.

What meat eaters should really have is nargisi kabob (above), which is not common in Indian restaurants here. It's an Indianized Scotch egg, with a hardcooked egg in the center, surrounded by minced chicken and an outer layer of bread crumbs that become golden brown when the kabob is fried.

Tandoori meats include malai chicken tikka (above), marinated with spices, cream and yogurt.

Chicken keema (minced chicken) comes in a dosa (above).

As well as in tacos (above).

The restaurant offers Indian street foods such as bhel puri (above) and mom's special Maggie noodles, an instant noodle dish that is a staple in Indian homes.

Naans and stuffed parathas include a Parathewale Gali special, named for a Delhi street that is lined with paratha shops.

On the tray above is an unusual version of mango lassi, flavored with saffron and cardamom.

Try also a masala soda based on the popular Indian soft drink Limca, with Indian spices added.

Masala Grill is family owned and operated so that warm personal attention goes into the food and service.

The restaurant opened a year ago at the corner of San Vicente and Hauser Boulevards, a location that makes it convenient to many parts of Los Angeles.

The buffet changes daily. The restaurant menu also changes, incorporating new dishes and deleting others every six months. Click here to see the menu and learn more about the restaurant.

Masala Grill, 5607 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 954-7570. Open daily.

Going to a Potluck? Get This Book

You're invited to a potluck. They want you to bring the very type of dish that you never make.

Don't panic, and don't turn down the invitation. Instead, get a copy of "Bring It!" by Ali Rosen.

This potluck cookbook covers every base, even how to get the food to the event. Badges indicate dishes that take 30 minutes or less, that can be prepared a day ahead and that can go directly from the fridge to the table, without any awkward heating up at the party site.

Want an example? Consider this tomato, roasted corn and feta salad. "It will take you 10 minutes, and everybody will be raving about it all night," Rosen said.

The salad was on the menu when Rosen appeared at Melissa's Produce to sign books, talk about potlucking and demo a couple of dishes from the book. 

She's a genuine potluck specialist, known for the TV series "Potluck with Ali" in New York, where she lives, and for her website, "Potluck."  

Bored with tired casseroles and other potluck staples, she set to writing "the book I felt I wanted that no one had written."  The recipes are easy, distinctive and showy. "No one is going to pick your dish if it doesn't look good," she said.  

Here's an example, prosciutto wrapped asparagus.

And a snap pea salad with Parmesan and bacon.

And a shaved carrot salad made without lettuce, which could grow limp and soggy as it stands.    

Sometimes it's a little thing that sets a dish apart, such as adding shrimp to deviled eggs.

Pasta with bolognese sauce? You can do this in a jiffy, adding umami flavor with a couple of "secret ingredients" rather than simmering the sauce for hours. (You'll have to buy the book to get the secrets.)

The subtitle of "Bring It!" is "Tried and True Recipes for Potlucks and Casual Entertaining," the latter meaning dinner parties where you offer to bring something. And if you're told not to? Rosen covers that with flavored popcorns and cookies that the hosts can eat later.

"Tried and True" sounds dull, but it's accurate. Rosen tried out everything at tasting dinners and discarded the duds. "Everything in the book is real," she said, meaning no styling artifices were employed to make the dishes look better than what you would make at home.  

The recipes are easy but punchy with flavor. And they're certainly not the same old thing. On a trip to Japan, Rosen learned about strawberry sandwiches, and here they are, the berries sandwiched with whipped cream between slices of fluffy white bread. This may sound weird, but it was one of the biggest draws at Melissa's.

As were these spectacularly good snowy chocolate cookies.

"The whole idea of the book is about looking good and not being difficult," Rosen said. Nature gave her the perfect quip to sum up her demo. As an earthquake mildly shook the room, she said, "This food makes the earth move." 

TOMATO, ROASTED CORN AND FETA SALAD
From "Bring It!" by Ali Rosen

3 ears corn (about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of kernels)
2 cups diced tomatoes
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup diced basil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

If you have a gas stove, turn a stovetop burner to medium heat. Place the corn directly on top and turn approximately every minute until the corn is charred all the way around.

If you do not have a gas stove, you can place the corn under the broiler in your oven, but be sure to turn every 10 to 20 seconds to avoid overcooking it.

Allow the corn to fully cool and then cut the kernels from the cob. Combine the corn with the tomatoes, feta, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and a dash each of  salt and pepper.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.  

Harissa, the Place for Tunisian Food

Got Kosher? Cafe has just changed its name to Harissa Restaurant, the better to indicate that its menu is laced with Tunisian flavors.

Chef/Owner Alain Cohen was born in Tunisia, then moved with his family to Paris at the age of 6, starting in the restaurant business there. This explains French touches such as decorating a charcuterie board with grapes and walnuts and adding an extensive wine list (all Kosher).

But it's the Tunisian food that makes Harissa a destination restaurant, whether you follow a Kosher diet or not. Think tagines, Tunisian style couscous and kemia, the Tunisian word for meze. The kemia plate above includes what may be the best baba ghanoush in town, that is, if you like deep smoky flavor.

Cohen roasts the eggplant over fire rather than on a grill, then mixes in plenty of lemon juice and garlic. Also on the plate are eggplant with harissa, mechouia, which is a relish of peppers, tomatoes, garlic and lemon, and olive tapenade "a la Alain."

Harissa is everywhere, as a table condiment, as the seasoning for a harissa spiced burger (above). And in harissa mayo, packaged and sold at the restaurant. The relish tray behind the harissa in the photo at the top contains turnip slaw, carrots with fennel and cucumbers with mint and red onion. 

True Tunisian harissa is just pure red pepper, says Cohen (above), who makes his with Japanese and California chiles, softened and ground with garlic and salt. "Each city in Tunisia has its own seasoning. Tunis is the pure one," he says. In honor of harissa, the small restaurant is being repainted red (and white).

Still another reason to eat at Harissa Restaurant is the artisan quality of the food. The cured meats on the board above are made there, a lengthy procedure. They are lamb pancetta, beef prosciutto and saucisson sec (dry sausage). Also on the board are chicken liver pate and a chicken pate with cognac. 

Similarly, Cohen makes everything for his seafood board, which includes gravlax, smoked trout and a salmon mousse terrine with bits of cornichon (above). The small cups hold herring salad, taramasalata made with carp roe and slices of boutargue, which is grey mullet roe. 

The restaurant is adding new menu items to go with the new name. A significant change is serving couscous for lunch rather than only for dinner.  The meat and seafood boards are new too. 

Other dishes include breik a l'oeuf filled with tuna and egg, accompanied here by mini Tunisian sandwiches called fricasse. Inside are tuna, potato, hardboiled egg, preserved lemon, salad, olives and capers, and the buns are dressed with mechouia and harissa.  

Harissa and tamarind sauce accompany Tunisian style cigares a la viande, filled with ground beef seasoned with cumin and garlic (above). They're combined on a street eats sampler with breik, fricasse and avocado egg rolls.

Cohen is known for his pretzel challah and pretzel rolls. The harissa spiced burger comes in a pretzel bun, crostini from house made baguettes accompany the boards and salads.  His bakery is next door, reached by a separate entrance. 

There's no harissa in mom's sweet arissa almond cake (above), despite the name.  New on the menu, it's a syrup-soaked semolina cake flavored with orange blossom water, paired here with non-dairy ice cream.

And for the proper North African finishing touch, glasses of mint tea.

 Harissa Restaurant,  3304, 8914 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035. (310) 858-3123.