Category Archives: I eat

I eat: Traif

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Our experience at Traif could not have started out any worse. We arrived 30 mins late because I thought our reservation was at 8:30PM – it was actually at 8:00PM. The hostess offered us the bar since our table had obviously been given away and we accepted. As we were settling in and figuring out what to order, the hostess came by and said she would be able to move us to a table (outside in the patio area) if we didn’t mind waiting about 10 minutes. Even though it actually turned out to be more like 20 minutes, we were so delighted and grateful! The hostess was more than awesome :) .. too bad I can’t say the same for our waitress.

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Amuse bouche – Moroccan lentil soup

Delicious and oh so comforting on a cold, rainy night.

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Seared scallops, butternut squash, huckleberries, pistachios, sage

The scallops were perfectly cooked and I loved the sweet and nutty aspect of the sauce.

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Crispy pork belly, cauliflower, peperoncini, romesco, parsley-garlic

Hmm, honestly, I don’t really remember this one. Not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose. The dish was just not memorable either way.

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Butterfish carpaccio, grapefruit, avocado, mint, sesame, soy

The avocado enhanced the creaminess of the butterfish and the grapefruit brought a refreshing element to the dish. YUM!

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Gemelli pasta, blue crab, fresh black truffles, braised leeks

I’ve read many complaints about this dish, specifically regarding the lack of crab. While I agree that there could have been more crab (who doesn’t want more crab?), this dish was one of my favorites. The crab was not the star of the dish, but I couldn’t have cared less because I’m a sucker for truffles.

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Joe’s chopped chicken livers, balsamic-bacon toasts, rosemary & shallots

LOVED. LOVED. LOVED this! The balsamic drizzle added a bit of sweetness and paired well with the chicken liver pate.

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Salt & pepper spicy white shrimp, golden pineapple, sweet potatoes

When I read salt & pepper spicy shrimp, I didn’t expect to see this; I was thinking more along the lines of Asian salt and pepper shrimp. Although I liked the shrimp itself, the combination of pineapple and sweet potatoes didn’t work for me.

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Seared foie, fingerlings, ham chips, sunny egg, maple, hot sauce

This dish reminded me of the foie gras loco moco at Animal (one of my favorite dishes EVER). It wasn’t as good, but certainly isn’t far behind. How can a dish with foie, potatoes and egg not be good?

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Sautéed veal sweetbreads, roast mushrooms, green garlic, spinach

By this time, we were so damn full, our buttons were about to pop off. I liked the earthiness of the mushrooms and green garlic, but the dish would have been much better had the sweetbreads been accompanied with something that would have provided a contrast in texture instead of spinach. Henry isn’t a big fan of sweetbreads because of the texture so even though I was already extremely stuffed, I basically finished the dish myself. oof.

We definitely learned the hard way that 8 dishes is wayyyy too ambitious! No regrets though, we had a great meal.

Verdict: 4/5
Traif
229 S 4th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211

I eat: Burma SuperStar [1],[2]

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The first time I dined at Burma SuperStar, I waited 2 hours for a table. The meal ended up being worth the wait, but I was determined to not let that happen again. Unfortunately, I wasn’t more prepared my second time and it was another 2 hours spent waiting around. Sorry guys! :(

Tip: Burma SuperStar allows you to call in and place your name on the list – when a table is ready for you, they’ll give you a call to let you know. Make sure you’re around the area.

I decided to combine the pictures I took from my two trips to showcase a variety of dishes.

My FAVORITE items were:

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Braised Pork Belly

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Tea Leaf Salad

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Garlic Chili Shrimp

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Garlic Noodles with Duck

The pork belly was melt in your mouth UHMAZING and I loved the different textures in the salad. Being such a big garlic lover, the garlic shrimp and noodles were perfect choices.

The other dishes I’ve tried were delicious as well!

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Moh Hinga (catfish chowder)

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Nan Gyi Dok

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Spicy Chicken with Mint

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Burmese Style Curry with Beef

You must order rice with your meal! It’s totally necessary.

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Half Tan Poi and Coconut Rice

And if you still have room (which I highly doubt), I recommend this for dessert:

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Banana Spring Roll with Coconut Ice Cream

I have a love/hate relationship with Burma SuperStar. I really love the food, but the wait is ridiculous. I’ll make sure to follow my own tip next time.

Verdict (1 & 2): 4/5
Burma SuperStar
309 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118

I eat: ink.sack

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Ever since watching Michael Voltaggio’s stint on Top Chef (season 6), I’ve been reppin’ Team Voltaggio all day, errday! Despite being a big fan, I never got the chance to try his food while he was at The Dining Room. SUPER SAD FACE! The only thing that comforted me was knowing that Voltaggio would be opening his own restaurant soon. Originally rumored to open in July, ink. hit some speed bumps and is now slated to open in a couple of weeks (mid-September). In the meantime, V-fans like myself were able to quell their impatience by heading a few doors down to ink.sack, Voltaggio’s new sandwich shop.

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I followed a tip and arrived at ink.sack at around 12:30PM on Sunday. Parking was easy and I was the third person in line. I ordered 5 sandwiches, 1 cookie and 1 drink to share with Henry. As I stood at a table waiting for our food (no seats, standing room only), the line grew and flowed out the door.

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Cold Fried Chicken and Jose Andres (aka Spanish Godfather)

In less than 10 minutes, our sandwiches were ready and I picked up the black paper bag at the counter. First up was the Cold Fried Chicken, which reminded me of a (cold) KFC snacker. The only difference on the CFC was the special sauce, Gindo’s Spice of Life, which had a nice kick, but was not uhhhmazing. I found the Jose Andres to be very salty – almost to the point of being inedible. Others like this sandwich, it just wasn’t for me.

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Reuben and Maple Pepper Turkey Melt

The Reuben sounded interesting on paper. Sandwich with beef tongue? Cool right? Yea, well, even though the meat was tender, I couldn’t tell I was eating tongue. The sauer kraut didn’t have any tang either and tasted like boiled cabbage. As for the Maple Pepper Turkey Melt, the highlight was the mostarda. Without it, the sandwich would have been as bland and boring as the Reuben.

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Banh Mi and Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookie

Of all the sandwiches, I liked the Banh Mi the most. However, it tasted like any other banh mi. I expected the Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookie to have some kind of heat or spice, but the only difference I could make out was the use of sea salt. There was no heat whatsoever.

I wish I could say I was impressed by Voltaggio’s creations, but I wasn’t. Maybe I expected too much. As a fellow Yelper stated in his review, hype is a horrible thing.

Verdict: 3/5
ink.sack
8360 Melrose Ave, Ste 107
Los Angeles, CA 90069

I eat: Petrossian [2]

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I first dined at Petrossian back in Jan 2010 and it was one of the best experiences of the year. Fast forward a year and a half and my feelings have slightly changed towards the house of caviar.

Petrossian may look the same from the outside, but it is very much different now. The ever-so-popular Chef Ben Bailly left mid-November to helm the kitchen of Fraîche in Culver City. He was replaced by Chef Giselle Wellman, most recently of Bouchon Beverly Hills. With any change in head chef comes a change in the menu and unfortunately, one of my favorite dishes from the first time around got the ax. RIP best mac and cheese EVAR. :(

Good thing the Caviar Flatbread – Crème Fraîche, Chives, Red Onion, Capers, Chopped Egg was still on the menu! And it was just as delicious.

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Since my beloved mac and cheese was gone, I ordered another pasta: Squid Ink Fettucini – Wild Californian Sea Urchin, Curry, Salmon Roe. While the flavors were great and I am a self-proclaimed uni slut, the pasta was undercooked.

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The only entree on the menu that caught my eye was the Striped Bass – Yukon Gold Potato Noodles, Vodka Creme Fraiche, Chives, Caviar. Notice the common ingredients? Yes, the flavor profile was very similar to the Caviar Flatbread. It’s funny that I didn’t recognize that when I ordered. Anyway, the striped bass was perfectly cooked, but the potatoes were a bit disappointing. The thickness of the potato “noodles” were not consistent thus some pieces were softer than others.

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Like last time, I went with a crème brulée for dessert. And also like last time, no complaints. Just YUM.

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Verdict (2.0): 3/5
Petrossian Restaurant & Boutique
321 North Robertson Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90048

I eat: Grub

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Until now, I had never been so repulsed by my meal that I stopped eating. So um, congratulations, Grub. You’ve earned this distinct honor.

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As we waited for food, we were given complimentary Fruit Loops and Coco Puffs to snack on. CUTE POINTS at least!

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I ordered the OOH LA LA! Egg Sandwich and it was anything but ooh la la. Overall, the sandwich was extremely bland with the only flavor coming from the Sweet and Sassy Bacon aka “crack bacon” by the masses. I definitely did not get the hype of the bacon and actually found it a bit odd – one piece was only sweet, the other piece was sweet and spiced with cumin(?). SO CONFUSED. Was this a mistake?

Drenching the sandwich in maple syrup didn’t make it any better either. I KNOW. That’s how bad this sandwich was… even bacon and maple syrup couldn’t save it.

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Henry’s dish, Mamacita’s Breakfast Burrito was just as bad. Sure, it looks big, but it was mostly filled with bland, scrambled eggs. If Grub wanted to stuff the burrito with cheap fillers, they should have done so with the roasted potatoes because they were actually tasty!

I’m not sure if I’d be willing to give Grub another try. I already wasted $40.

Verdict: 1/5
Grub
911 Seward St
Los Angeles, CA 90038