Night + Market: exceptional pork-ilicious Thai street food

After returning from Bangkok a few months ago and experiencing some amazing street food, I was excited to check out Night + Market, the Thai restaurant specializing in street food and was opened by Chef Chris Yenbamroong, the chef-son of the owners of next door Talesai. The restaurant is located on Sunset Blvd, just down the street from Key Club and The Roxy.

The restaurant has vibrant orange colored walls, brown paper lining the tables, simple artwork, and a Woody Allen film projected on the wall.

We made it in time for happy hour which ends at 8pm (all night happy hour on Wednesday) which included small plates for around $5 and drink specials.

Pig ear with chile and garlic
I've had a lot of crispy pigs ears around town but this preparation was stir fried instead of deep fried. It still had a crunch to it but with a more gelatinous texture. I really enjoyed chewing through the pieces. The pigs ear was boldly cooked with spicy peppers, lime and basil. Lots of amazing flavors here.

Pork Toro
The fatty hog collar looked like simple pieces of meat but upon biting it, your teeth sunk into a very tender and fatty piece of meat. It almost reminded me of a very buttery kalbi. The pork toro was seasoned with BBQ flavoring and fish sauce.

Fried Pig Tail

Here's a cross section of the meat. The pigs tail was tender with chunks of fat (my favorite part!). The meat really came off the bone easily and there were quite a lot of bones which reminded me of an oxtail bone. It was a lot of fun to chew around the bones. The breading was well seasoned and was crunchy but not greasy. The sharpness of vinegar based sauce helped to cut the fattiness of the pork tail.

Prawn Satay
Four prawns were skewered and grilled. We could smell the lovely strong fishy and smokey scent. Such as simple preparation but lots of flavors here. Our favorite part was chewing up the shrimp heads just like you are supposed to do if you ate this on the street.

Nam Prik Gapi
We didn't realize that this dish was very similar to the last one. Once again, we got the prawn satay but this dish also included battered fried eggplant with a shrimp paste sauce. The eggplant was soft and paired well with the tangy sweet and spicy sauce.

Kar Moo Parlow
I love whole braised pork hock which is a familiar dish in Cantonese cuisine, except that the sauce here was on the sweeter side. The hock was slow cooked with 5 spice, dark soy sauce, and many other ingredients including pepper, sugar, lime and garlic. The pork hock was such a delight to eat with fall-off-the-bone meat, fatty sticky skin (heart attack!), and gelatinous tendon. We ate all the meat and chewed off all the tendon and cartilage, which I think is rather impressive. I also enjoyed the side of soft braised cabbage.

Pad Kee Mao
The flat noodles were fried with a spicy chile, garlic and basil sauce. Pretty standard Thai flavors which packed a punch. The pieces of short rib were fatty and really tender.

Dinner at Night + Market was really such a treat. I just love how Chef Yenbamroong utilized different parts of the pig (hock, tail, collar, ears). The food is unique, it's delicious, it's bold, and is not something you'll find at your usual Thai joint. I just cannot get over how flavorful and aromatic the food was. The prices were very reasonable too. We only touched upon the surface of the menu, and there are definitely a lot more dishes that I cannot wait to try next, but I will not be able to refrain from ordering some of the same dishes here.

Night + Market
9041 W Sunset Blvd.,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 275-9724
www.nightmarketla.com

Daily Grill, the best HH in Brentwood

There aren't that many bars in Brentwood, let alone ones that offer good happy hour specials. Amidst all the fancy boutique shops and pricey restaurants, Brentwood is just not the type of neighborhood that you'd expect to find a good deal. So I was excited when I stumbled upon happy hour at chain restaurant Daily Grill. Happy Hour runs daily from 4-7pm. That means you get to partake of this on weekends too.

Daily Grill is primarily a restaurant, but they have a bar which can seat about eight people. I've never had a problem finding seats during happy hour because most people come to the restaurant for dinner.

Beers are $3.50 to $4, Well drinks are $5.50, select cocktails cost $9 and wines are $2 off.

Their happy hour food menu is what's amazing, with items priced at $3.95 or $4.95. These aren't measly portions of french fries. They include seared ahi tuna, sliders and pot pie.

Seared Ahi tuna was served with pickled ginger and wasabi. The actual plate actually had more pieces of tuna. This was a good healthy dish, something that is hard to find on a happy hour menu. It's not the best ahi but it's still decent.

The mini cheeseburgers were pretty standard with lettuce and tomatoes.

Grilled chicken quesadilla was filled with cheddar cheese, cilantro and salsa fresca. You can add another quesadilla for an extra $1. Lots of chicken in the quesadilla.

The winner was the Chicken pot pie. This was a nice large portion for $4.95.

The pot pie was pipping hot and filled with chicken, carrots, onions, peas and mushrooms. The crust was buttery, flaky and had a gorgeous golden brown. I was surprised to find that they didn't skimp on the chicken. There were huge chunks of chicken and they were tender white meat. The roux was also of a lighter consistency and not starchy or thick.

It's not a happening scene, but you can easily get full and drunk for cheap at Daily Grill's happy hour.

Hits: daily happy hour, great prices, pot pie, good selection of food
Misses: not much of a scene
Rating: ***1/2 (for happy hour)

Daily Grill

11677 San Vicente Blvd # 200
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 442-0044
http://www.dailygrill.com/

Happy Hour @ BLT Steak: Classy, Affordable and Satisfying

My favorite type of happy hour is upscale happy hour. Even though I'm always on the lookout for good dining and drinking deals, I'd rather pay a couple bucks more for a nicer glass of wine (thanks, but I'll pass on that Sutter Home) and good bar bites that do not include nachos and potato skins. I'd also prefer to hang out at a bar area that isn't crowded with college kids and that doesn't smell of puke. Lastly, valet preferable, please. BLT Steak hits the mark on all points. Plus its on my way home from work.

BLT (Bistro Laurent Tourondel) is the restaurant group with numerous restaurants around the country. Although Chef Tourondel is no longer with the organization, the menu still remains the same. BLT Steak focuses on upscale American steakhouse fare with French influences. It's Los Angeles outpost is located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.

The restaurant has a surprisingly decent sized bar area with seats at the bar and a couch area.

The dining area was empty when I arrived at 6pm but filled up by 8pm. That's pretty good for a Tuesday night.

Happy hour runs daily from 5-7pm with 5 drink choices at $5 each.

Their food menu also includes 5 options at $5 each. With three of us in our party, we ordered one of each item.

Banfi Maschio Prosseco and Santa Rita 120 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Popcorn with cajun seasoning and butter.

We asked for their signature popovers. I was blown away with the size of the inflated popovers, somehow I imagined them to be tiny, like gougeres. They were served with a tiny card with the recipe listed.

The popovers were warm and airy, with a light essence of gruyere cheese.

The popover should be eaten with a pad of their soft European butter and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Just be careful with the salt shaker. I caused a salt disaster which our awesome bartender Andrew had to clean up after.

Sweet Potato Frites, Rosemary, Sea Salt
This was a large serving of fries. I liked that the fries were thinly cut and not starchy. They could have been crisped up a bit more, because they were a little limp. The fries were served with a blue cheese sauce. Wish they had mentioned that because it looked like ranch dressing.

Cast Iron Black Mussels, Chorizo, Roast Tomato, Garlic Bruschetta
This was a pretty large serving of mussels for $5. The mussels were cooked well and plump. I also liked the smokiness from the chorizo and the sweetness of the tomatoes. The broth perhaps needed a bit more seasoning or butter, because it wasn't flavorful to the point that I wanted to dip the bread into it or drink up every last drop.

Gruyere Mac & Cheese, Bacon, Truffle

Surprisingly for someone that doesn't like cheese, this was my favorite dish of the night. The cheese was rather mild and was almost milky rather than cheesy. The mac and cheese was infused with truffle and salty bits of bacon. The best part of the dish was the toasted breadcrumb topping.

BLT Sliders, Aged Cheddar, Red Wine Onions
I thought my beef patty was cooked well, but my friend's was a bit charred. The aged cheddar added nuttiness and the caramelized onions really brought a sweetness and texture to the slider.

Short Rib Grilled Cheese, Pickled Ramps, Smoked Tomato Aioli
Even though I don't like cheese, I can tolerate aged cheddar. So I took a bite of the grilled cheese with much apprehension. I was quite happy with the dish. I really liked the sharp aged cheddar together with the tender shredded meat. My only criticism was that the bread was too crusty so you might get jabbed in the roof of your mouth.

Chocolate mocha brownies (complimentary from our bartender) was a nice sweet bite to end the night.

The happy hour at BLT Steak is really an awesome deal. Wine, and delicious and filling bar bites for $5 each is really a steal. It's so refreshing to find a happy hour spot that offers good wine and a selection of food that can sum up to a satisfying meal. Service at the bar was also friendly and helpful, not something you would expect from most upscale restaurants. So next time when you're looking for an after work bar, drive away from Cabo Cantina and head over to BLT Steak. I promise, if you end up with a hangover, it's because you can afford more glasses of wine with your paycheck. It won't be because of the crappy sweet margaritas offered at your nearby watering hole.

Hits: HH prices, mac and cheese, popover, service
Misses: fries
Rating: ***

BLT Steak
8720 West Sunset Blvd.,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 360-1950
www.bltsteak.com

The best Hollywood HH at The Well

That's a bold statement, I know. The best HH in Hollywood. Really? I stand by my statement.

1) Happy hour runs till 9pm! That means you don't have to rush over after work, and you can take your time ordering. You don't have to order 5 dishes and double up on drinks at 6.59pm.

2) There are many drink specials during happy hour including wine, cocktails, well drinks and beers. I was impressed that they offered craft beers such as Affligem and Delirium Tremens.


3) The happy hour food menu is extensive and priced under $10. There's something for everyone. You have typical fried fare (french fries, rings), healthy options (salads), Mexican grub (tacos, taquitos), and more substantial plates (burgers, sandwiches).


4) The space is fairly large so you can always find a spot to sit at. There's a large wraparound bar in the center and lots of couch seating against the wall. The prime spot is at the bar, where service will be faster.

Mixed up bowl - French fries, sweet potato fries, seasoned fries & onion rings ($5)
Why get an order of fries or rings if you can get a combination of all their fried food. This is the perfect dish if you can't decide between fries or rings. It was quite a sizable portion and wasn't too greasy.

Steamed vegetable pot stickers with hoisin and sweet chili sauce ($6)
A healthier option to balance out the fried fare. It's nothing special. This is like your typical Trader Joe's frozen dumplings. I have no issue with it, I've got a similar bag in my freezer.

Beef short rib taco with spicy BBQ sauce ($3)
The shredded beef was tender and well marinated with a very spicy sauce. It was surprisingly quite filling because there was a lot of beef on the taco.

Bacon wrapped Smokies with BBQ mustard ($5)
Surprisingly my favorite dish of the night. These pigs in a blanket were an awesome bite. The smoked sausage was wrapped with perfectly crispy bacon, and served with tangy mustard sauce.

The crowd really runs the gamut from young to old. When I first got to the bar at 6pm, there were about 6 other people, all elderly gentlemen, in pairs. By the time I left at 11pm, there were probably another 30 people. All late 20s-30s, low key Hollywood crowd. There was only one bartender for most of the night and she definitely had her hands full. Often times, she would be deep in conversation with select patrons while ignoring everyone else. I saw many people trying to flag her down but she would barely look in their direction. Aside from the service issue, this is a stellar happy hour option. The drinks and food are well priced and you really can't beat a happy hour that ends at 9pm. I also like that The Well is mellow. It's not your sceney Hollywood crowd. It's dark, chill, they play awesome rock music and they also have a jukebox in the corner.

Hits: prices, ends late, not too crowded.
Misses: service
Rating: ***

The Well
1536 Argyle Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-9355