Urth Caffe - Santa Monica

Art or ? I've been hearing about Urth Caffe's latte art, where toothpicks are used to create fancy shapes and forms. It was a delight to witness the "artists" in action and one wonders, can I recreate this on my own latte?

Urth Caffe seems like one of those trendy spots where MILF's congregate to show off their new pair of Rock and Republic jeans. Although the idea behind "Urth" is about organic tea leaves and coffee beans, I didn't get a whiff of any tree hugger or hippie-like clientele. The plethora of couture loving patrons only confirmed my suspicion that "organic" is a designer label made to entice our trend following society. While I was sipping my "organic" green tea latte and nibbling an "organic" banana cream pie, I knew I had succumbed into the trap set by merchants. I had sold myself to the "organic label". Not that the Spanish latte wasn't a mug of unctuous, aromatic goodness, with a sketching of a dove that I couldn’t bear to ruin. But was it really worth the price at $7 a chuck?

Bistro LQ - An Early Thanksgiving

 Today I witnessed erotic furniture and indulged in pork like a deprived German, both of which were unexpected. This unassuming furniture store contained some eye opening pieces, either you love or hate. This coffee stand was made of human hair, and I couldn't for the life of me understand the concept. My jaw dropped, but I was left with an unpleasant taste in my mouth. Do consumers actually purchase these for their living room?

My favorite, loose powder coffe table.

The eerie vanity table with melted wax

If only the hair coffee stand was placed next to this vanity table, it would've been the perfect setup for The Ring.

As 6 o'clock chimed in, we scurried to Bistro LQ next door. I was anticipating chef/owner Laurent Quenioux's innovative creations. He was heralded "the mad chef" and Jonathan Gold described him as "the most mysterious of L.A.’s first-rank chefs". LQ is known to be daring with creations such as ant's eggs, barbequed frog legs and such. Without doubt, I was beyond stoked entering the premise. There were no patrons at the time, but I assumed it was because the night was young. The decor was low profile, intimate, with around 10 tables. The only vestige of LQ's zaniness were the melange of silver and champagne balloons floating on the ceiling. It definitely elicited my attention with its out-of-place yet tranquil fusion.

(I forgot to bring my camera. This was taken from their website.)

As we were seated, Jonathan, the adorable parisian server, informed us the regular menu/tasting menu wasn't available today. The star of the show tonight was the Choucroute prefixe menu. Choucroute is French for sausage. With Thanksgiving around the corner, I really did not like the idea of indulging too much on meats. But you only live once, what the hell?

I'm going to keep this short, the corpulence of pork from the meal has left me in a comatose state.

First Course - A simple Herring, Topped with Sauteed Quail Egg

Choucroute to include Sauerkraut poached in Reisling, Mortreaux Sausage, apple wood smoked bacon, Pork Shoulder, Ham Hock, Milk Sausage, Weiners, Blood Sausage, Steamed Potatoes.

 You can only imagine the look on our faces as this massive plate of meat was laid before us. Pork today and turkey tomorrow. Wonderful. Don't get me wrong, these sausages were tender, moist and flavorful, not saturated with sodium like American sausage tend to get. But one can only eat so much pork. We managed to finish 80% of the plate, which was miraculous by Asian standards.

Not only is Chef Laurent notable for his avante-garde courses, but also for his delectable desserts. He boasts a 5 course dessert menu that has rave reviews across the boards. I was amazed at the complex flavors, and how he executed simple dishes with a flair of his own. Although, dismayed that I did not get to try their regular menu of exotic dishes, Bistro LQ left a stellar impression. Service was elegant, food was sophisticated yet unpretentious, and if that's possible, LQ has accomplished it. As we left the bistro, Jonathan, our server, remarked "this is your first time? I'm sure it wont be your last.." with a knowing smile.

8/10
http://www.bistrolq.com/
8009 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 951-1088

La Estrella - not the best taco, but just as good

Where are the best tacos in LA?

I'm not even going to go there. It's like asking a Chinese lady, where are the best noodles? There are some debates you just don't want to spark. I've witnessed many contentions about the best taco's in town, whether or not a burrito's of true mexican lineage, and where hails the best hainan chicken. It can get bloody. Who's to say which taqueria heralds the ultimate taco. Taste is, afterall, quite subjective. LA, having a Hispanic population of 46%, is fortunate enough to have many authentic Mexican food establishments sprinkled through out the city. I'm sure each of which has it's loyal followers.

 I'm on no quest to uncover the primo taco. Having said that, I've been lusting for some authentic asada lately, which led me to the other side of town. In reality, this area was only a stone's throw away from Old Town Pasadena, yet it still made me feel like I was in the wrong neck of the woods. I circled the establishment twice before I decided to brave it, and parked my car. The place was a shack; shabby and rundown, with a few wooden tables in front of the order window, just like a true taqueria should be. Now, you know you're getting some true Mexican food when all you hear is Spanish, the menus not in English, and not a single gringo is to be spotted.

My meal was a trio of carne asada and el pastor tacos. I dug through the bag, curious to see what condiments accompanied it. Lime. Salsa Roja. Aghast! No radishes?! I'll just have to make do. The first thing I noticed was how red the tacos looked. It seemed saturated with the famous red sauce that people swear by. I like my tacos, neat, clean, and not overly wet. This was going to wreak havoc in my car. Did I forget to mention that I was enjoying my trio of tacos in the car? Being the coward that I am, I didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb.

Tacos. The tortilla was a tad bit thicker than the usual skin, maybe to hold the wet mass better. I dissected the parts and found a good meat to onion and cilantro ratio. The asada and el pastor were robustly flavored, not overly cooked, with just the right amount of fat. The only qualm I had was the amount of salsa, the contents were swimming in red. By the time I was done with the tacos, it looked as if I had a brawl with the salsa roja and lost. Sweat was trickling down my neck, the heat from the car, or the salsa? I'll never know.

It would have been near perfect if it wasn't for the excessive sauce. Subsequently, I'm still partial to the more subtle flavor of King's Taco and Alberto's. As I drove away from my covert parking spot with a smile on my face, I thought, where were those damn radishes when you needed them the most?