City Tavern: Another much-welcomed watering holein Culver City

City Tavern is one of many new bars in Culver City that opened in the past year. The area is really becoming a great spot for a night out. The bar is owned by the same owners of neighbouring bar Rush Street, and you can tell the similarities in decor. High ceilings, dark wood furnishing, and a casual yet modern feel to the space.

City Tavern has a great selection of craft beers. If you are lucky, you can grab seats in the booths that are hooked up to your own beer tap.

The menu is your typical gastropubby comfort fare, with selections such as charcuterie, oysters, poutine, burgers and shrimp & grits.

Brussels sprouts with bacon and preserved lemon
The side of Brussels sprouts was delicious. The slightly charred vegetables gave off a sweetness, and were mixed with citrus and smoked bacon. It was a good combination of flavors.

I never order salads but the waiter recommended this. The pear salad was from the specials menu. I liked the salad because it was simple, fresh yet tasty. The sliced pear was sweet and soft. You could tell that they used real fresh fruit here. The dressed salad was topped with mild blue cheese crumbles and buttered fried pretzel crouton which was a nice touch. Wish I could buy a bag of those croutons.

Brew burger with pub cheese, mustard aioli, ale battered onion ring served on a pretzel bread
The burger sounded great on the menu but stumbled a bit on the execution. The patty was juicy but lacking in seasoning. Thanks to the cheese which added some saltiness to the burger. The onion rings also lacked seasoning but I did like the breading which was airy and not oily.

Buttermilk fried chicken with fried green tomatoes, succotash
The fried chicken was nicely cooked with crispy skin and juicy interior. It was definitely a restaurant quality fried chicken that was not dry or greasy. I am not a big fan of tomatoes but my dining companions enjoyed the large slice of breaded fried green tomatoes. I did however enjoy the side of corn succatash which was plated with a side of sweet chutney marmalade.

City Tavern is a good addition to the neighborhood. Love the decor and beer selection. The prices are also reasonable, with entrees hovering in the low teens. Even though there were some misses (under seasoned patty and onion rings), the place has a lot of potential. There were so many items on the menu that I'd like to try - and that's a great sign.

City Tavern
9739 Culver Blvd.,
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 838-9739
www.citytavernculvercity.com

Taste of the Nation (Better late than never...)

Oh what a difference a year makes. Last year, I was on top of my blogging. I wrote up my TOTNLA post within a week after the event. This year, work is ramping up so this post is coming to you over 2 months late. At least our strategy for tackling the event has been refined. Last year, we left the place uncomfortably full and even had to forgo some of the stands because we were too full. We foolishly had breakfast at home which consisted of seared foie gras and brioche. This year we skipped breakfast and even opted for a lighter dinner the night before. Last year, we also each had a bite from every stand. This year, we shared the same bite so we were able to hit almost all the stands.

Taste of the Nation is an annual charity food & drink event, where restaurants, bars and winemakers come together to raise money for the charity Share Our Strength. Of a handful of food events that I’ve been to, this has been my favorite because it’s very well-run, the restaurants present are all very reputable, and it never seems too crowded because they hold it at the Culver City Media Park with almost 50 restaurants.

Some of my favorites:

Culina ~ Grilled lamb chops
This was probably my favorite bite of the day. Perfect finger food and easy to eat. The lamb chop was juicy and cooked to a perfect medium rare. It was served with cous cous, sweet corn and saffron mint pesto.

Street ~ Kaya Toastwith coconut jam and dark soy custard
Susan Feniger’s take of Singaporean street food. The kaya toast, made with coconut jam, was delicious and decadent. This is getting me excited for my trip to Singapore in 19 days!

Public~ fried pig skin crispy on newspaper
Public’s dish was a porchetta sandwich which was sold out by the time I got there, but they had some leftover pork which they served up. Perhaps the best thing I ate all day. The fried skin was greasy and porky in flavor. Tasted like suckling pig skin.

Bazaar by Jose Andres - olive sphere, grilled octopus taco
There were a few octopus dishes at the event but this was by far the best. The octopus was grilled to perfection. It was tender and well seasoned.

Joe's Restaurant - Paella with chorizo, mussels and chicken
I love Joe Miller’s other restaurant, Bar Pintxo. Their squid ink paella is to die for. This seafood version was delicious. Bonus points for cooking it up on the spot.

Michael Voltaggio’s upcoming restaurant Ink was set up in the VIP tent, serving a cocktail that tasted like a Pimm’s Cup.

Ink ~ Wagyu beef tongue cold cuts with pumpernickel and drizzled with mustard snow
The tongue was so delicate and buttery. It was served with pickled radishes and a pumpernickel beignet which tasted like pretzel bread.

Other bites:

Fig ~ torta de lengua with breakfast radish and escabeche
The thin beef tongue was spicy with its juices abosrbing into the bread.

Jitlada ~ Crying Tiger Pork, Pork Belly Green Beans
Flavorful and delicious but extremely fiery. I’m glad they served it with rice which helped to dissipate some of the heat. I thought the pork belly was a bit too greasy, but overall, a very delicious dish.

Patina ~ Lobster and Fresh Almond Gazpacho
Light and refreshing for a warm day. There was a crunch in the gazpacho.

Harfields ~ Tropical tres leches cake topped with lime curd, coconut crumble, marinated strawberries, and a coconut filo wafer

Hatfield's - Spanish Octopus Salad
I thought the salad needed additional seasoning and the octopus was rather rubbery.

Grace/ BLD~ Berkshire pork banh mi
The Banh mi was quite tasty with spicy slaw, fresh herbs, and crispy cracklins.

Border Grill: Cold poached Alaska salmon on a jicama tostadita, topped with tomatillo herb salsa, Alaska crab and quinoa fritters with aji amarillo aioli, piquillo pepper romesco

The Foundry: Grilled cheese sandwich made with taleggio and apricot-caper puree on raisin bread
Pretty similar to what they served last year, the grilled cheese is Chef Eric Greenspan's specialty.

Wp24 ~ Chow fueng roll with braised beef short rib
Probably the city’s most expensive dim sum, I think. I just dined on this at WP24. The beef noodle roll had a non gummy nice wrapper and was stuffed with tender meat.

Mozza ~ porcini rubbed BBQ Creekstone Farms short ribs
The meat itself was well seasoned and tasty, but I thought it was too difficult to eat without a fork.Le Saint Amour~ charcuterie
I opted for the rabbit rillette which was fatty. Also sampled the foie gras and cherry pate.Fathers office/Lukshon ~ Chicken Pops
Really enjoyed this chicken lollipop. The meat was spicy with a sweet caramelization.Red O ~ sope stuffed chile with chorizo, dates and sherry almond sauce; grilled Mazatlan blue shrimp with fresh jicama ‘chips’Whist ~ grilled octopus with smoked potatoesLa Siene ~ Coconut jalapeño with albacore, salmon, yellowtail, and aioli
La Siene is Top Chef Alex Reznik’s new French Asian restaurant. The breaded jalapeño had a really nice crunchy breading. Interesting inclusion of coconut in the batter. The yellowtail was fresh and seasoned adequately.

Loteria ~ Pollo en mole topped with toasted sesame seeds, onion, and fresh Mexican cheese; conchita pibil pork slowly roasted in banana leaf topped with citrus, pickled red onion and chile habanero; papas con rajas, potato with roasted poblano peppers
I loved the fatty lengua. They also made a really fresh tortilla.

Chaya ~ Hamachi Mole Pressed Sushi

Chaya ~ Sukiyaki Short Rib
I liked the combination of the salty short ribs with puree

Campanile ~ Olive oil fried egg on grilled bread with black olive tapenade and tomato concasse
The fried egg was cooked nicely with a runny yolk, however I thought the rest of the dish was rather ordinary.

AOC ~ African salad
A bit underwhelming. Wish they served something more appetizing.

Simon ~ Scarlet scallops and yellow beets Napoleon with green garlic goat cheese

Lexington Social House ~ fried chicken and cornbread
I love fried chicken so I was excited for some of this. A bit dry but I liked the seasoned breading. I also enjoyed the kale which was braised in ham hock and garlic.

Playa ~ tamale chipotle
Playa is John Sedler (Riveria)’s new restaurant. Sadly, I found the tamale to be dry.

Picca/ Mo chica ~ Chicken Anticucho
Richardo Zarate’s new restaurant Picca showcased this chicken skewer which was juicy and flavorful. Excited to try Picca after sampling this bite.

Finally, on to desserts.

Scoops ~ Miso cheesecake and bacon maple
Scoops never disappoints. I love the unique flavors of Scoops and I never feel ill even after eating a pint of their ice cream. Can’t wait till they get Durian flavor back again.

We also got some beer from Golden state (sour cherry cuvee) and made a float from the bacon ice cream at Scoops. Comme Ca ~ strawberry panna cotta
I did not care for this dessert. I found it to be bland with a weird consistency.

Similar to last year, I was impressed with the event. The participating restaurants were all pretty top-notch, and the event as a whole was well-run. There were lots of lengua and octopus this year, some better than others. The only critique I had was the VIP valet line was over 30 minutes long. Regular parking was faster than VIP. But at the end of the day, it's all for the kids. Till next year. Here's hoping it won't take me 2 months to write it up again.

Taste of the Nation
June 12, 2011
Culver City Media Park
9070 Venice Blvd.,
Culver City, CA 90232
http://tasteofthenationla.org/blog/

Magnum Pop Up: Uni Tasting Menu

Joseph Mahon (recently of Bastide) and David Haskell (collectively known as Magnum Crew)'s latest pop-up gig was held from April 17-19 at Royal/T Cafe in Culver City. I signed up for the last night which was offering a special tasting menu, in addition to the regular menu, in celebration of Haskell's birthday. I was elated when I later discovered that the special offering would be a 7 course uni tasting menu.

The special Uni menu totaled 8 courses (including dessert) and was offered at $130, with wine pairing for an additional $80. Because it was a week night, we decided to do the split which came up to $105 for two of us (or $52.50 each). Not too shabby, considering that the wines would be carefully selected by Haskell, who was owner of Bin 8945 and sommelier at Vertical Wine Bistro.

The cured thai snapper with shrimp chips amuse bouche had nice spicy kick and crunch. However I didn't care for the raw sprouts and I wished the snapper had been served more chilled.

Uni/ oyster/ soy mignonette
I loved the seafood on seafood action here. The oyster actually tasted a bit fishy and similar to the amuse bouche, I thought it wasn't chilled enough. Unfortunately the uni flavor was lost in the fishiness of the oyster.

Uni/Tuna Tartare
I was excited to see three large pieces of uni, which were very fresh. I thought the tartare itself lacked seasoning, but was perfect when mixed with the aioli sauce.

Uni Tartine/ Cucumber/ Brined Halibut
Big fresh pieces of uni was definitely the theme in the dishes. I liked the use of toast which made this into an uni crostini. The cucumber balls were refreshing. However, similar to the previous dish, the fish was rather flavorless. I'm not sure what it added to the dish as I would have enjoyed the uni on its own.

Uni/Cauliflower Royale

Hidden in the cauliflower puree were chunks of uni. The dish comprised of Apple cloud, nori powder, cream, apple chunks and cauliflower. The cauliflower puree was creamy and flavorful. I really enjoyed the flavors of this dish and thought this was probably the most unique dish of the night. I think the dishes got significantly better from this point on.

Uni/ pizza/bone marrow
The uni flatbread was very interesting. I liked the concept behind it and the ample amount of uni. The bone marrow wasn't gelatinous, fatty or gooey like what you would expect. Instead it tastes like plain tofu and looked like panna cotta. I wished that there was a buttery bovine taste. I also thought the microgreens were too raw in flavor.

Uni/Veal/tempura Mushrooms/bordelaise sauce
The uni worked really well in this dish. It blended well with the bordelaise sauce so it allowed the veal to be the center of the dish but contributed its briny flavor to the creamy sauce. The veal was tender and the shiitake tempura was perfectly fried. I only wished there were more pieces of the tempura.

Uni/Venison/shiso pepper sauce
The venison was cooked perfectly to a point that it was soft enough for a butter knife to cut through. It was a beautiful piece of meat and was well seasoned. I didn't care for the raw lettuce, but I did enjoy the creamy and rich uni risotto.

Yuzu Creme Brulee/ Poached Apricots/ Kumquats
The dessert unfortunately didn't include uni but it was a nice end to the meal. The dessert wasn't overly sweet and the kumquats added a tart finish.

I commend Chef Mahon on tackling a sea urchin tasting menu. I was impressed with the portions of uni in this tasting menu, they definitely didn't skimp on the urchin. I'm glad I had the chance to try out the menu- when will you ever get a chance to feast on a 7 course uni tasting menu? However on quite a few dishes, I would have preferred to have eaten the urchin on its own. Personally, I didn't think some of the other components enhanced the uni flavor, such as the fishy oyster (perhaps we got a bad one). In such cases, I would have preferred to savor the uni flavor in its original form. But overall, a unique dining experience and a great way to raise money for the sake charity.

Hits: venison and veal dishes, cauliflower, lots of uni
Misses: fishy oyster, fish dishes lacked seasoning
Rating: ***

Magnum Pop Up
Royal T Cafe
8910 Washington Blvd.,
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 559-6300
magnumfb.com
www.royal-t.org