DeLongpre Park | Photo credit to mercycube on Flickr

There were many things about the place I moved from one month ago that had seen my tenancy surpass seven years, but the one that comes to mind other than affordability is that I was geographically in the center of Los Angeles. I never had to choose – I could drive as easily to Venice as to Silver Lake and come back again. But there came a point where I longed for my own home – even one that came with a neighborhood where I could walk and defy Missing Persons. A community. I was ready to commit to the community of my choosing.

A girl I met last week, subsequent to obligatory introductions, asked, “Into Hollywood?”

It didn’t bother me.

From Farmer’s Market on Sundays to the movie theatre, the largest independent music store and Trader Joe’s – I can walk anywhere, and I started to, immediately. What a nice park I have down the street. And as I walked in my new neighborhood coming to that park I saw the woman, darker-skinned and with waist-length dark brown and blonde dreads. 5’6″, 135 lbs (medium build). Orange tank top, jeans and jean shirt. I would sooner tell you I had no clue what her ethnicity is or countless haven’t surmised my own, eager to prove their ethnic guile and cunning. She crossed the street to turn her back to that fence and fiddle with her phone, as if that spot by that fence in front of me at the time was so much better than that other spot at which she just stood, I think, 15 feet away.

I had the headphones on – and of course this was a no-no after dusk but I was to learn, apparently also at 1:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Targets are what targets do, and thankfully I wasn’t lost in my playlist as I heard those ungraceful footsteps run up from behind me. Instinctively, my right arm - the purse arm - tensed and clutched to my side. She grabbed my purse which was in my armpit and tried to run past. Instead, with my purse still attached to my shoulder, she boomeranged around back to me, whereby she started to land punches on my head and body. (So the witness told me, later. Calling the fight a “flash” in my recollection would be accurate.)

She repeated, “Gimme your purse, bitch” – which in hindsight is not an effective way to coax someone out of their cash, credit cards, driver’s license, Shure headphones, cell phone and iPod Touch – and is also not the greatest thing to say to someone whom you’ve underestimated. With my right arm still clutched to my side determined not to unhook my handbag and not feeling any of the “numerous” blows my helpful witness recounted she landed on me, I kicked back and punched with my left. She careened me towards the white picket fence at June and De Longpre, pulling my hair. I whipped her back around, kicking her in the stomach. We continued as I screamed from within the far reaches of my lungs to the passing cars who probably thought they were witnessing a chick fight, what with my female mugger.

We continued, and after a bit the neighbors finally took notice that this wasn’t a drama over a guy. She went for the kidneys from behind with a weak chokehold and her thumb landed by my mouth. I chomped, my senses too heightened to notice if I broke skin (I know I did). People finally walked up; she ran away without so much as a thing. Maybe handfuls of hair. My prescription glasses were on the sidewalk where she accosted me and a neighbor picked them up for me. I had fought her off, blind.

A bimbo in a Volkswagen New Beetle with a turbo kit and color-matched wheels rolled up on De Longpre: “Was she with you??” If I didn’t need to recover from the adrenaline rush that had saved me a second earlier, she would have been next. The neighbors who came to my aid filled her in: “She just got mugged!!” My witness also recounted that he saw the woman with a white male accomplice, black cap and black shirt.

To the told-you-so’s on my moving into Hollywood from posh Beverly Hills Adjacent: I wouldn’t be deserving of a neighborhood I wasn’t willing to fight for. I look at it as paying dues early, not a pattern doomed to repeat itself. (Yet.) And like I was saying about targets, I learned a few things about my experience:

• Don’t wear headphones, even in the daytime. Impairing your audial senses shuts down a huge part of your defenses and prevents you from keeping alert to your surroundings. At least, that’s what is assumed by your would-be attacker.
• Carry less valuables with you – only the essentials – when you’re walking as opposed to when you are driving for transportation. Have less to lose.
• Buy renter’s insurance. I just bought my policy yesterday (a mere $16 per month) and had anything gotten stolen in my attempted robbery (assault and battery?), it would have been covered under the policy. Well, if I had bought the policy prior to my mugging, that is. Not that my laptop was with me, but my policy also has a $2.50/month rider with $0 deductible that covers my laptop in the case of theft, robbery, or even damage from just having dropped it from my coffee table – full replacement cost.
• If you see someone on the side of the street getting punched and his/her belongings snatched from her, immediately call the cops. Don’t sit there and gawk. Stupidheads.
• Parks are prime settings for “transactions” of sorts to take place, so be careful. There’s a reason why they’re often fenced in and closed overnight. Then again, you just never know and can never be 100% prepared, so just keep all your wits about you no matter where you are. The attempted robbery took place at 1:45 PM on a mild, sunny Sunday afternoon.
• Carry your mace or pepper spray in an accessible place. You still might not be able to get to it, but what if you could…?
• File the police report, no matter what. This is your own part in calling attention to the areas that need more LAPD patrol cars. Unfortunately, this is an ongoing process in that they dispatch patrol to parts until the crime goes down in that area and ultimately moves to another area – and the cycle continues. Do your part in perhaps preventing another person from getting attacked but also: Claim your neighborhood!
• Trust your instincts. If you have more to lose by fighting back, listen to that. My instincts were luckily proved correct in that she wasn’t armed since she threw punches right away, and this enabled me to fight back with confidence.

Thanks for reading, everyone. It’s a departure from the bulk of my usual content, unless you consider it more Los Angeles-related material. It’s not a fun topic, but necessary. Stay safe out there.

P.S. – Besides my witness, I also wanted to thank the decent guy in the red Honda Element who made sure I was OK and got home safely for my police interview.

Ceviche Tower | tuna, laibut, salmon, yellowtail, gyoza skin, jalapeno, red & green onions

For the next couple Wednesdays and Thursdays until September 9, 2010, Kenny Yamada (Hell’s Kitchen, soon: Katsuya Encino) will be running his Sushi Pop Art Series. I had the privilege of tasting a few of the dishes on his 7- ($45) and 13-course ($90) menu. Wine and sake pairings are also available for an additional cost. Truth be told, I was pleasantly surprised with how good everything tasted, not just looked – right down to the miso soup.

Sushi Cake | cake formation with layers of crab, spicy tuna, rice, mashed potato with caviar

Favorites included the delicate yet delicious Ceviche Tower – with that jalapeno kick; the “sauce art” that decorated many of the dishes and were integral to many of the tastes; the Sashimi Garden Salad with its halibut & a very distinctive green tea sea salt seasoning; the simple yet perfectly executed Sushi Platter and especially the Sushi Cake – garnished with different flavored, caviar-laced potato salads.

Sushi can indeed taste just as good as it looks. Since this is just for the next couple weeks, be sure to make your reservation. Or, if you like you can lounge in the back area of Royal T (enter from Lindblade Street) and enjoy the entertainment and custom drinks while ordering from the menu a la carte.

SPARC, Venice | Photo credit to yovenice on Flickr (YoVenice.com)

Looking to shop local this weekend? Check out The Food Redenzvous tomorrow in Venice at the SPARC building (which so happens to currently house art galleries and formerly the Venice division of the LAPD). Though it’s great that more and more farmer’s markets are springing up in each of our individual communities, you’ll be getting something a little different at The Food Rendezvous. They make it possible for small, emerging food artisans to reach their customers despite difficult wait times (sometimes as long as 2-3 years to get a stand) and permit costs the farmer’s markets may incur.

Laurie Dill is a Master Gardener and on the board of the Garden School Foundation and Dominique Leveuf has a juice and beverage line with her partner sourced from local and fairly traded produce. They, as the event’s founders, aim to make Food Rendezvous interactive and inspirational with author talks and cooking demonstrations, a cookbook swap (donate your old one, get one back, keep buying for $5 each), a jam making contest and a food-related movie screening.

As for the vendors at the first ever event, you can expect Bulgarini Gelato, Josie’s English Kitchen Jams, Joelle Olive Oil, Let’s Be Frank, Morning Glory Confections, Susan Feniger’s Street and more. With more of us conscionably shopping from local artisans, this looks like the start of something beautiful…

The Caviar-tini ($18)

If one could eat luxury, one should also be allowed to drink it, too. Petrossian in West Hollywood thought as much as they recently have expanded their liquor license and integrated vodka flutes and cocktails into their menu. It may be as obvious to bacon lovers as bacon salt; for caviar lovers, Petrossian created the Caviar-tini.  

Thank you.

Salmon Sandwich | Capers, Caviar, Onions, Mixed Green Salad

Two and a half ounces of vodka with a half ounce of dry vermouth and maybe a dash of orange or Angostura bitters are the martini, but the skewer with 1 Petrossian caviar-stuffed olive, a cocktail onion and 1 Petrossian Caviarcube™ – essentially caviar pressed into a cube – make it the Caviar-tini. It was the perfect amount of dirtiness. I saved the skewer for the last few martini sips and found my patience rewarded me well.

There are other cocktail options like their Basil Gimlet ($12), Vodka Sunrise ($12) and Russian Cider ($12). (Don’t worry – there’s also a Cosmopolitan [$14] for you Carrie-types.) Their Hibiscus Champagne ($12) will remain available – just don’t forget to eat the flower, too. If you were thinking straight-up, choose a vodka flute of the European variety from Beluga or Russian Standard Premium (Russia), Linie Aquavit (Norway) or of course Jean Marc XO (France). Belvedere and Chopin are your Polish options.

Chef Ben Bailly’s menu is reason enough to get you in the door – now you can wash down each bite of his dishes with a complementary, caviar-topped cocktail. Because you don’t need vermouth to make a martini dirty.

Speckled Jalapeno Margarita | Patron Reposado, Citrus Juices, Grand Marnier - muddled with Jalapeno

Ever tried out the Peninsula Hotel’s rooftop cocktail hour? Well, tomorrow’s a good time as any to check it out, as from 5 – 7 PM they’ll not only be offering drinks at half-price like every week but also a buy-one-get-one-free deal for tickets to Taste of Beverly Hills. All-weekend passes will be discounted to $350 from $500. (You can take a look at the regular prices here.)

Peninsula Hotel Rooftop Garden Restaurant and Bar

Choose one of their signature cocktails (regularly $16) – like the Kumquat & Citrus Punch (Ketel One, Malibu Rum, muddled kumquats, citrus juices), the Grape Cocktail (Hendricks Gin, Grapes, St. Germain Elderflower, lemon juices, club soda) or the Speckled Jalapeno Margarita (above). Or if beer or wine are more your speed, be glad because those are half-off, too. So before you go, take a peek at the schedule and list of attendees for each session so you know which one(s) you’d like to attend this Memorial Day Weekend (Thursday, September 2 – Sunday, September 5).

And as you’re basking in the sun or shade in the early evening on a rooftop in Beverly Hills, take comfort that your savings on Taste tickets will go towards your half-off happy hour libations. Don’t forget to enjoy your view! (And also don’t forget to bring your valet ticket to the rooftop to validate for discounted parking.)

Saigon Tartine | pork belly, pate, coriander, carrot pickle, green chili

Pop-ups are all the rage, lately, especially in Los Angeles. Test Kitchen, however, brings that concept to another, oxymoronic level in that it is a “permanent” pop-up, of sorts. Yes, Test Kitchen serves exactly the purpose of how it sounds in the first place, and is indicative of a food culture and city in which it is normal for talented and even famous chefs to be homeless. Test Kitchen is the couch they squat, and Jordan Kahn’s, Noah Ellis’ and Adam Fleischman’s (Umami Burger) new Vietnamese outfit to open in the fall on Wilshire, Red Medicine, was the first to do so in a fully booked 5-day run ending last Sunday.

Cured Amberjack | lime leaf, french melon, nuoc cham, bird chili, mint

Luckily, Mattatouille let me crash his 2-top reservation that day, and as to be expected there were tons of industry and bloggy types to brush shoulders against. In my lone experience during Jordan’s run, I could see hardly any drawbacks to the system. The pacing in all 12 courses was expedient (yes, there were 12) and the prix fixe pricing was dirt cheap at $40. The dishes that were hits really went out of the park; the dishes that were misses for me were arguable and interesting conversation pieces with others in attendance. One thing’s for sure, though: Jordan’s imagination was ever apparent in every course and kept all diners sitting at the edge of their chairs.

Tomatoes | marinated in an infusion of their vines, silky tofu, crunch tofu, herbs

Favorites included the pork belly tartine – it was paired perfectly with pickled carrots and coriander, given weight by the pate and finished with the perfect kick at the end thanks to the back-burning green chili. I enjoyed it in a single bite yet savored it for minutes thereafter. Another grand slam was the Cured Amberjack, balanced atop sous vide french melon and topped with lime leaf, nuoc cham, bird chili and mint. It was an amazingly refreshing yet complex dish that really complemented the fish.

Bay Scallops | pomelo, young ginger, tamarind syrup, puffed tapioca, charred frisee

One of my other favorites was the tomatoes, which were a delicious example in sustainable cooking and farming, having been marinated in an infusion of their vines. The unmistakeable tomato flavor was paired up with silky and crunchy tofu – a refreshing departure from mozzarella and creme fraiche. The silken tofu had nuances of a creamier food thanks to the vine infusion oil but when I realized I wished there were more on the plate it was clear how light the dish was. Leafy greens and purple basil gave it good aroma, green color and foliage.

Baby Carrots | fermented black bean, star anise, coconut, tarragon

One of the dishes that I enjoyed but Mattatouille happened to disagree with was the bay scallops, dressed with young ginger, tamarind syrup, puffed tapioca and charred frisee. It was my first time experiencing frisee served that way and this provided much of the flavor – a nice twist on a green that has normally been regarded as a garnish. The puffed tapioca was a nice spin on hominy, making the intermixed bay scallops (read: small) somewhat an ingredient in a seafood salad. It challenged how I indiscriminately favored big juicy scallop steaks up until this point. Touche.

The baby carrots were a nice, firm yet sweet texture underneath the also sweet fermented black bean – my favorite sweet-savory dish on the menu in contrast to the brussels sprouts (carmelized shallots, fish sauce, prawn crackers), which I didn’t think quite worked but others had actually liked. The anise on the baby carrots as well as the coconut and tarragon really kept things aromatic and interesting.

Beef Bavette | Bacon X.O., Chinese eggplant, chinese celery, lime, palm sugar, sesame

The main course was mind-blowingly delicious as it was lean and chock-full of flavor. It was perfectly pink in the center, complementing this tender cut, and sweet – with lime opening it up, finely-chopped celery providing a crunch and sesame seeds rounding out the finishing touches. Tons of savory goodness marked this dish – and I’ll be sure to order it at Red Medicine when it opens the next block from my workplace.

Coconut Bavarois | coffee, thai basil, peanut croquant, chicory

And it wouldn’t be a true Jordan Kahn (formerly pastry chef at XIV) experience without having had the dessert – of which there were two on the menu. The Coconut Bavarois was the heavyweight (whereby the Peaches with Creme de Cassis was a nice, simple counterpart) and is another dish I hope comes to Red Medicine. The Thai basil, coconut and peanut croquant weren’t just piecemeal ingredients meant for the dessert to brandish as evidence it’s Vietnamese influenced, but instead were pertinent pieces of the puzzle that essentially turns Vietnamese (and Thai) coffee on its head. Its flavors were overall full, enjoying the perfect accents of coconut at the core and thai basil, which arrived as tiny little potent seeds. So delicious.

My first experience at Test Kitchen – and Red Medicine – was thoroughly enjoyable. At $40 a pop (future chefs, dates and price points unknown) it was a groundbreaking dining experience on the cheap. Would it be futile to note that Ricardo Zarate (Mo-Chica) will be previewing his Anticuchos on one night only, August 24, and tonight is sold out, too? If it only drives home the point that people have made reservations at Test Kitchen without the chef having been announced, yet – not really. I, for one, am looking foward to Walter Manzke’s (formerly Church & State) run next week… Oops, that’s sold out, too. Tease.

Stay tuned… Twitter is your best bet. Stop resisting it.

Michael Voltaggio at Star Chefs (March 18, 2010)

As a part of the Voltaggio brothers’ new partnership with Something’s in the works with the Voltaggio brothers and Williams-Sonoma, and we’ll get a peak into that as Top Chef Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio will be hosting a small, private tasting demo at the Williams-Sonoma store in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, September 1st. Be sure to RSVP ASAP, as there are limited spots which will be sure to fill up fast. There will be appetizers and wine for you to enjoy. Additionally, Williams-Sonoma will be offering a rare 10% shopping discount for the event.

Clarification and update (8/23): This will be not be a sampling of Michael Voltaggio’s signature food; rather he will be performing some cooking demonstrations – such as sous vide-ing meat – that will render some tastes, but passed apps won’t be part of the event.

String Hoppers With Pork Curry, Coconut Sambola and Dal Curry | Photo credit to PleasurePalate.com

Bill Esparza and Evan Kleiman’s Street Food Mondays at Angeli Caffe are back with a vengeance. And next Monday, they’ll be presenting Priyani Ceylon Cafe’s string hoppers. This is a limited engagement, unfortunately because Priyani has actually shut down recently due to bad location and unfavorable lease terms.

Never had Sri Lankan food? Wondering what to expect in a hopper? String hoppers are paddies made of rice noodles while hoppers are thin pancakes made from fermented rice flour. Egg hoppers instead are made with the same rice flour, however with the addition of egg in the batter. Other items from the former Priyani Cafe will also be featured.

Menu

Appetizer
$4 One fish cutlet (croquette) and a beef roll

Hoppers
$5.50 Five String Hoppers (rice noodle patties) with sime sambal (spicy condiment)
$3 Plain Hopper (thin fermented pancake) with choice of sime sambal or a *curry
$3.50 Egg Hopper (fermented pancake with egg) with choice of sime sambal or a
*curry

*Curries: choice of mutton or chicken

Priyani Favorites
$6.50 Chicken Biryani( Rice mold with chicken, eggplant, hard-boiled egg, and
cashews)
$8 Lampreis (chicken curry,shrimp sambal, fish cutlet, sime sambal, and a green
banana curry wrapped in a banana leaf)

Dessert
$4 Wattalapam (Sri Lankan flan)

Extras
$1.50 Additional condiment of a curry or sambal

Beer and wine will be available for sale

Fortunately, if you’ve never had Sri Lankan food, this will be your chance. Hop on over to Angeli Caffe for your taste of the action. It’s extremely affordable and much of the street food community will be in tow to support.

The Cactus Lounge at The Standard, Hollywood | Credit to simongoble on Flickr

This August, The Standard (West) Hollywood has taken a refreshing approach to the bustle and hubbub of Sunset Blvd. Since the month is half-over, I’m a little late but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy tonight and the remaining Wednesday in The Cactus Lounge, whereby local emerging artists are showcased live and unplugged, performing acoustic sets for all loungers to hear.

The great part is, you can order food from the adjacent diner so while you’re enjoying live music, you’ll be able to enjoy eats from their kitchen. Tonight, The Cactus Lounge will feature Kenneth Pattengale. Next Wednesday will feature the beautifully quaint-sounding Miranda Lee Richards (formerly Brian Jonestown Massacre).

August 18th: Robotanists, Aria Pullman, Kenneth Pattengale
August 25th: Miranda Lee Richards and TBD

So order a cocktail, some bites, sit back and enjoy local music. Not a bad night on The Sunset Strip.

Beef Tartare Crostino with Guanciale Zabaglione & Shaved Black Summer Truffles & Baby Artichokes in Casseruola | Angelini Osteria - Chef Ori Menashe

Brad A. Johnson of Angeleno Magazine bestowed his awards on the best of Los Angeles, as he does every year, and it was time to celebrate. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to participate in this celebration, and boy did it impress.

Capesante day boat scallops with farro, summer corn, heirloom tomatoes, scallions, English peas and citronette | Culina - Chef Victor Casanova

So I didn’t get to try everything before the tastes ran out – but I don’t really blame the event organizers. I blame my sloth pace at really savoring every bite there was in the Fairmont Miramar’s beautifully appointed parking circle, which surrounds probably the oldest tree I know in Los Angeles. I was happy to note that Oxley Gin was a liquor sponsor (along with Veev), and whom created the cocktails with which I washed down all the heavenly plates of food. It was an impressive showing, indeed.

The beef tartar could have stood on its own – nevermind that the shavings of black truffles put it over the top in the best possible way. I had two.

Cauliflower Panna Cotta Topped With Transmontanous Caviar | Petrossian - Chef Ben Bailly

Another favorite was Chef Ben Bailly’s Cauliflower Panna Cotta topped by Petrossian Transmontanous caviar. So indulgent and so delicious – it was like creamy heaven accented with that perfect, almost briny zest caviar gives. I, again, had two.

Chef Ludo Lefebvre was there to deliver punches to the mouth. Not literally, of course, but his Heirloom tomato smoothie came accented with its own extractions from the sea: Squid ink vodka jelly and seaweed tartar. As with LudoBites, the combination of everything together was done amazingly well – while in fact I love tomatoes, seaweed, squid ink and vodka individually. The shooter was surprisingly spicy, with the umami of the squid ink and seaweed probably augmented by the vodka. Delicious.

Lobster Tapioca with Uni | Chef Laurent Quenioux - Bistro LQ

Laurent Quenioux from Bistro LQ’s Lobster Tapioca topped with uni was amazing as always. Once upon a time I did the tasting menu at Bistro LQ and the lobster tapioca in particular, as one of the starters, was my favorite dish. It was a decadent revisit and one I was glad to have.

My favorite fish of the night, however, was prepared by Chef Josiah Citrin of Mélisse. The loup de mer, or seabass, still had the skin on which helped retain a lot of the flavor and came in a pool of appropriately oily broth, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers and basil.

Loup de mer, Heirloom Tomatoes and Cucumber-Basil | Chef Josiah Citrin - Melisse

It was refreshing yet surprisingly weighty. The tiny filets were cooked to a perfectly tender consistency, and I was amazed I could appreciate the flavor in such a small piece of fish.

There were a few things that ran out by the time my leisurely pace took me to the other side of the courtyard, unfortunately, like Hatfield’s Braised Pork Belly, Craft’s White Wine Braised Octopus and Comme Ca’s Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Terrine. But as usual, it was good to enjoy the blogger company that was there, like Lindsay of LAist, Caroline on Crack, Hadley of GrubStreet LA, Josh of FoodGPS, Kevin Eats, Jo of My Last Bite, Kat of Eater LA, Mattatouille and much, much more. This was a great event with a great turn-out, and there was no better occasion than to celebrate this year’s winners (the first award of which I was very happy Lazy Ox Canteen won):

• Best New Restaurant: Lazy Ox Canteen
• Best New Chef: Michael Voltaggio (formerly The Langham)
• Chef of the Year: Michael Cimarusti, Providence
• Restaurant of the Year: Hatfield’s
• Pastry Chef of the Year: Zoe Nathan, Huckleberry Café & Bakery
• Outstanding Wine & Spirits: The Bazaar
• Outstanding Service: The Grill on the Alley
• Vanguard Award: Water Grill