Bar Etoile. Finally made it for dinner. Loved it! From the comforting design with good sound dampening and plated wall to the tasty and well executed menu with thoughtful service, one couldn’t ask much more of a bistro. Here’s the menu. We love a good chicory salad and this was just a notch below Etra, perhaps a touch less bitter but a nicely done dressing and the unique sobacha pangrattata (raw buckwheat). The caesar beef tartar is perhaps the best dish on this menu and for us a standout. Perfectly balanced flavors and the combination of caesar dressing elements with the diced beef is just fantastic. Ricotta dumplings (gnudi), fontina brodo, broccoli, tatsoi is light, comforting and delicious. Chinese roasted yams with guajillo sabayon, mimolette and ice plant was creatively described as sort of patatas bravas. Probably the one dish I would not re-order unless with a bigger group, but it was good, though possibly less sabayon next time. Creme caramel was lovely, not too sweet. Glasses of Rose and S. Rhone Blanc to accompany. As one would expect, the wine program is off the hook. The bottle list is no joke, but even the concise btg list is well thought out, with generous pours. Etoile is now in my rotation. Looking forward to returning.
man that is one serious and hardcore bowl! visually and it seems by intention, Zak Noodle referencing Ramen Gojyuban’s famous bowl, which itself is a mix of mabomen (mapo tofu ramen) and the “Stamina Manten soba” from Ganso Stamina Manten Ramen Suzuki, a top 100 famous ramen shop, in Mitaka, Tokyo. that “Stamina Manten soba” itself has some history as a mix of Jiro-style elements along with a couple notable old-school styles of ramen in Chiba: 1) Ariran-style ramen and 2) Takeoka-style.
Ariran name comes from a famous ramen chef Furuichi-san, who created this “stamina” style named after the Korean mountain ridge Arirang. i’m not sure why it’s named after a Korean mountain range, though personally I do associate garlic chives more with Chinese or Korean food, for the most part. (2 exceptions being motsunabe or niratama)
Takeoka style is a soy sauce-heavy pork base that uses water to make the broth instead of the more usual bone broth.
Mapo tofu ramen apparently comes from Niigata, at Koma Chinese Restaurant. the legend of its origin is that some broth was added to a mapo tofu tsukemen to dilute the spiciness.
so Takeoka style and mabomen might share this idea of “dilution.” probably the wrong term but you get my drift.
the Ramen Gojyuban one is definitely a fusion of a lot of styles (from Niigata, Chiba, and Tokyo) with homage to historic shops. Zak Noodle referencing this means a lot of styles are represented. tons of garlic, garlic chives, ginger, pork back fat, pungent soy sauce and chili oil, and quail eggs!
I think “stamina ramen” is somewhat of a misnomer for me - one bowl and I’d be out for a while…I can’t really do Jiro ramen, either.
What is jiro style ramen?
a very rich ramen style pioneered in the late 1960s Tokyo by Ramen Jiro (Takumi Yamada). tonkotsu and shoyu base in collaboration with a nearby Chinese restaurant. it’s a huge serving piled high with bean sprouts, cabbage, garlic, and chunks of back fat. very popular with college students at the time and there are many, many branches or shops in the style of. some consider it “junk food” in a sense, but it also has a cult-like following.
That sounds like a brick to eat!
i think i remember at least like maybe 10 yrs ago when Tsujita Ramen Annex on Sawtelle used to serve a Jiro style ramen? i might be wrong tho
Every third trip or so to Tokyo, I muster up the courage to stand in line with all the Keio University students in Minato-ku, in austere silence; our collective goal being completion of a ramen bowl at Ramen Jiro, its honten temple. It is a marvel to behold, a deliciously dank bowl, and an incredible feat to finish it.
Latest SoCal ramen-ya to offer a Jiro style bowl was at Ikkousha in Torrance, approximately a year or so ago. BTW I did that Tsujita Bowl, and while it was tasty, I left unconvinced that it was actually Jiro in style.
Pic or it didnt happen!
Is that a pork shoulder cut? I need to take a nap just thinking about eating that!
It wasn’t receipts I wanted to see what it looked like!
Them kids these days are calling that “receipts” lol…
but thx for posting the pic @J_L
I believe so, at least at the honten in Mita. It’s very thick cut and called buta instead of chashu in this case, and it’s boiled in the soup stock. I can’t confirm though as I’ve not visited it
there are many branches, probably 40+ now, and they may do things a little differently here and there. the bowls are somewhat customizable - there is a famous “call” when you order (and you should be ready to order immediately) - and I believe some special options are available only at specific branches.
Thanks for the background! It looks so meaty and still juicy
Very Thai is very, very good… Chicken thighs, grilled perfectly, are super tender. And that great curry really elevates the whole bite. This is my favorite place to eat at Century City right now. #TaiwanThai
EDIT: I almost forgot to mention: Very Thai serves AWAN ice cream!
Highland Park Brewery for lunch. website I like the vibes there and the food is solid. I haven’t been drinking for quite some time, but I have fond memories of their Baseball lager. Low ABV and very tasty.
We sat outside and it was easy to get seats in the shade.
The below lunch was $56 with tax, before tip and includes fried chicken sandwich with my choice of side (garlic fries); Take a Chance Kale salad with bacon addition; hummus with flatbread
To drink - the (not pictured) non-alcoholic Weird Day hop water. Is this something other places do? I liked it more than I usually like NA offerings, and was especially pleased I could have a taster of it before getting a full pint.
Lunch menu today (March 20) which didn’t have the weekly special - larb- called out on the website. I only looked at this menu and didn’t scan the QR option so that’s why I may have missed it.
Love weird day, and HPB in general. Specials are usually online, or on a separate menu card by the register. But in my experience they do run out of them sometimes.