Shiro South Pasadena

Everyone at Shiro


Last week for my friend Claire’s birthday, her parents took her to Shiro in South Pasadena. I was lucky enough to be on the invite list. I had never even heard of this gem, right in the same plaza as Lucha’s Comfort Shoes, a store I frequent because I’m a granola eating hippie when it comes to shoes. I started out with the Chinese Ravioli. They are stuffed with shrimp mousse and come in a shitake mushroom cream sauce. They were divine. I ordered them because Ruth Reichl adored them. She is my idol. I <3 Ruth Reichl. I wish I could BE Ruth Reichl. For those of you who *gasp* don’t know who she is, she’s the editor of Gourmet Magazine (of which I am a subscriber) and she used to be the NY Times food critic. I have several of her books. We share our knack for food memory. But I digress... back to these divine ravioli. Now, the pasta part was a little more reminiscent of a won ton wrapper (although made with wheat durum flour), but the filling was absolutely divine. Flavorful and light all at the same time. There was a generous heaping of shitake mushrooms which were just a tad bit firm for my taste, but very fresh. The sauce was made with about 2 cups of heavy cream, so it was tasty. They even serve it with a spoon so you can savor every last drop. However, I figured by not licking up the sauce I saved myself about 600 calories. Claire ordered the tuna sashimi, which looked really fresh. Apparently the chef goes to the fresh fish market every morning to pick out the evening’s catch (although the fish market is not open on Sunday... so this was not morning fresh. But still good.)



The most amazing catfish you have ever tasted


Apparently for the main course the thing to get is the whole sizzling catfish. Our friend Jason ordered it and let me have a bite. Oh mi god. HEAVEN. Even the little pieces of crispy ginger accenting the cuts in the fish were tasty. It just melted in my mouth but still packed that big catfish flavor. And there were crunchy cornmeal bits. I was so jealous. They serve the fish whole, with head and all, but they kind of artfully cut it up so it’s easy to eat. And they kind of cover up the head with parsley if you’re weird about that stuff. (See, the picture above is not that bad!) I would definitely order it the next time I go (and there will be a next time!) I ordered the Australian John Dory (a flaky white fish) which came in a champagne curry sauce with divine prawns. I was so full, but I still ate it all. And when Claire couldn’t finish her lobster, well, I had to oblige. It was fabulous. Succulent, just a smidge undercooked to make sure it didn’t get tough. So good. And Jason’s fish came with au gratin scalloped potatoes which must have come from heaven. The best I’ve ever had, hands down. No weird congealed milky cheesy bits (which I can never seem to avoid when I make them myself... anyone have tips?), and the potatoes were perfectly cooked, they were firm enough not to fall apart, but cut easily with the edge of a fork. The potatoes, like the shitake sauce, had about 2 cups of heavy cream... but I would have licked the sauce if they were mine. ;-)



Claire and her Momma

Now, I know I said I was full. And I was. But the dessert menu was just too tempting and everyone else was ordering... so I bowed to peer pressure. Not like they had to twist my arm or anything! I ordered the Grand Marnier Baked Peach with Vanilla Ice Cream & Caramel Sauce. WOW. The peach still had the skin on it, but since it was poached in Grand Marnier it actually ADDED to the flavor of the peach without the weird texture ramifications I expected. And the ice cream. MMMMM. Vanilla bean. I bet from Madagascar. :-) Although I hear Kenyan vanilla is making waves lately... once again I digress. Even though I was ridiculously full I ate the whole dang thing. Alona ordered the chocolate torte soufflé which was not a soufflé at all but a poorly executed flourless chocolate cake. Booo! At least the waiter explained it wasn’t really a soufflé when she ordered it. I swear, no place makes good flourless chocolate cake anymore! The restaurant I used to work at in San Diego, Trattoria Positano, had amazing flourless chocolate cake. I guess Amalia should sell her recipe or something. Anyway, bottom line is Shiro is amazing. It’s not cheap, but anything worth eating is worth paying for in my book. :-) Luckily Claire’s parents thought so too, so I had one of the best free-to-me dinners EVER. I only wish Claire had birthdays more often!






Claire and Jason as she makes a wish

Vegas, Baby!

At the Monte Carlo Cafe, where we became regulars



The day after fall semester finals, three of my friends from law school and I took off for Vegas. We show up at the Monte Carlo, put our stuff in the room, and head for the in-house brewery. Tracie has a tradition in Vegas, a shot of Patron Silver all around as you arrive. Naturally, we couldn’t break tradition. And we had a bunch of greasy food at the brewery. I got the chili con carne. We shared fried calamari. Tracie got mini burgers, Katherine got a Caesar Salad, Sapna got soup (I think it was creamy clam chowder which I avoid, something about clams and cream makes me rebel). For greasy bar food, it wasn’t that bad. Plus we were really hungry after getting off the plane.

That night, I could have gone to the steak house at the Bellagio with aunt, uncle and cousins. Apparently it was amazing and they sat next to George Clooney. But, I was in the mood to hang out with my girls. While Sapna and I were taking a nap, Tracie and Katherine snuck off and entered a poker tournament at the Paris. Tracie won 4th place! So we go over to the Paris to pick Tracie up, and it is FREEZING and we are STARVING, and since P.F. Chang’s was right there, we decide to go in. It’s packed so we decide to eat at the bar. Tracie used to work at the Chang’s in Sherman Oaks, so she’s chatting up the bartender. (Who told me his name was Superman.) We all share this AMAZING bottle of pinot noir, Estancia, and Tracie and Sapna get these weird cocktails (of which Chang’s has a lot) which were actually kinda good. We started off with the chicken lettuce wraps which are one of my favorites. They are greasy and yummy, but you can convince yourself they are healthy because of all the lettuce involved. We got the salt and pepper shrimp (I could have eaten 10 servings of this), garlic snap peas (you can never have too much garlic), brown rice, and I can’t remember what else. It was sooo yummy. Just what we needed before a night of gambling in Downtown Vegas. My cousins met up with us, and fun was had by all.

The gals at PF Chang's.








Sapna turned in early, but at about 4 a.m. I demanded that Tracie, Katherine and I get breakfast. We went to the café at the Monte Carlo and had a club sandwich and an egg/bacon/hashbrown plate. Katherine told me it was the best idea I ever had. Nothing like eggs at 4 a.m. I say!



High quality food at the Monte Carlo

So the next night, we decide we needed to actually go to a real restaurant and go dancing. We head over to the MGM, hoping to go to Studio 54. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovations for New Year’s. Boo! So we go to Centrifuge, this weird bar where the bartenders dance on the tables every 30 minutes, and we chat up our bartender asking where we can get some dancing action. Apparently the only game in town is Tao at the Venetian. We decide to get food at the MGM and head over.

What do we find at the MGM? Shibuya! We ordered this mushroom amazingness dish, it was mixed sautéed mushrooms, with I don’t know what, but it was oh-so good; the ahi tuna tartare tower, which was good, and some assorted sushi. The place is tres chic, a bit overpriced, but it was good. Then we proceeded to Tao where we jumped the line because we were so gorgeous. Then we ended up back at the café at 4 a.m.




Shibuya agreed with us. We really complemented the fabulous decor.

Now, every time I go to Vegas, I want to go to Burger Bar at the Mandalay Bay! So I convince the girls this is where we gotta go. I mean, they have burgers with truffles and fois gras! I got the Kobe beef burger with a fried egg (ever since I had this at Fatburger I’ve been addicted). Sweet potato fries. Pitcher of Newcastle. Unfortunately, none of us could afford the $60 fois gras truffle burger, but maybe next time if I have a winning streak. Ironically, this was our most expensive meal!

Mmm. YAY! Nothing like good food, good times, and good friends.




Me sleeping on the plane home. Soooo attractive. Ugh! Need to start that diet!

NYC Edition

Day 1: So last weekend I went to NYC to visit my cousin Robby and my friend since Jr. High, Jezra. It was a culinary whirlwind! My first night there, I had a hankering for Thai, so Robby took me to this cute place in his neighborhood in the village. We had fresh spring rolls with shrimp and chicken, a little heavy on the lettuce, but the peanut sauce made it worth it. Mmm. And I got green curry since they didn't have yellow (is yellow Thai curry a west coast thing???) and Robby got the Pad Thai. The Pad Thai was made with flat rice noodles (sort of an Asian linguine) which works better than the vermicelli some places serve it with. No place is as good as Taste of Thai in San Diego though. Mmm.

Day 2: I met Robby at work (near the MOMA and Rockafeller Center) for lunch. We went to this Japanese noodle house, which served all manner of weird Japanese stuff in the noodle dishes. I offered to eat Robby's shrimp heads, since he clearly wasn't into it, but they were kind of chewy from sitting in the ramen, and I usually only eat them fried or sautéed. That's really the only reason why I order sweet shrimp sushi, so I can eat the fried shrimp heads. They're really good. You should try it! I chickened out and got a pork ramen (which I could not even come close to finishing), but Robby's came with all manner of weird stuff. There was this gelatinous ball, which reminded me a little of mochi balls, and hot pink fish cakes. For dinner, we went to this pub place somewhere in the village. We had chicken wings (see pic above) and Jezra and I split a burger. Pretty good for English food. For dessert, had beer. Lots of beer that night. And then some tequila. And then demanded Robby stop at the all night market so I could make eggs and toast at 2 in the morning.

Day 3: Jezra promised me her famous enchiladas and she delivered. :-) They had mushrooms, jalapenos, cheese, onion, cilantro, and zucchini. I almost ate all the vegetables, which is an accomplishment for me. :-) I really only eat them because I know I should. I mean who says, Mmmm what I crave right now is some steamed broccoli? NOBODY. Well, at least not me, and that's who counts, at least here. ;-) I crave cheese, steak, mashed potatoes. I only crave salads that come with bacon and blue cheese. Anyway, I digress. They were really delicious and she made them lickety split. Quite tasty. Then we went to this Lost In Translation style karaoke bar in Koreatown. Surreal to say the least. The Koreatown in NYC is way cooler than the one in LA.

Day 4: Jezra and I actually went for a run. She left me in the dust, as expected. We ran by along the Hudson, it was actually pretty. Well, except for the crap brown color. That evening, we went to Pistici. Jezra said it was her favorite Italian restaurant, so we had to go there. Now, I am always wary of people who tell me they want to eat Italian food. I am spoiled. My dad only takes me to the expensive places. Cheap Chinese food? I'm in. Cheap Italian? BARF. But, I was feeling especially trusting after the enchiladas, so we went. O.M.G. I can't believe how good it was. We started out with the Insalata Caprese (which I'm also wary of, they SAY it's mozzrella di buffala, but it never is). WOW. It really was mozzarella di buffala, from the buffalo! I felt like I had taken a plane straight to Campagna. Mmm. (That's where the best mozzarella di buffala comes from). After you have buffalo mozzarella, the cow's kind has no flavor AT ALL. So score 1 for Pastici. AND the olive oil was really extra virgin. (Like I can't tell the difference? So many restaurants LIE about this. Including the one I used to work at. SHHH don't tell!!!!) I had the house meatballs over polenta. I have a weak spot for homemade meatballs. It's so not really Italian, but they are SOOOO good. And these ones were no exception. Plus, I liked the fact it was served with polenta and not pasta. In the north of Italy, polenta used to be more popular than pasta. I LOVE polenta. But really, the stuff they serve in restaurants (outside of Italy) is so premade and weird. I want the fresh gloopy stuff! So this polenta was pretty good coming from and American restaurant. But mine is better. ;-) Robby ordered the homemade fettuccine with mushrooms and herbs, but he couldn't be talked into adding the truffle oil. I'm sure with the truffle oil it would have been extra fabulous, but alas not everyone's palate can handle the explosion of taste that is the truffle. (I'm talking about the fungus not the chocolates people... in case anyone was confused.) But the pasta was good and homemade, and the mushrooms were fresh. The sauce was a little boring and sparse. It needed salt or something, or maybe a dash of mushroom stock. Jezra got the prosciutto and spinach pasta which was very simple but quite good. THEN we had dessert. We got the Frangelico chocolate mouse, which was delicious. Frangelico is probably one of my favorite liqueurs, and it was the perfect flavor accompaniment to the melt-in-your-mouth chocolate mousse. We also had the tiramisu, which was passably good. Nobody makes it like Mario from the Rex. ;-) So all in all, it was the perfect meal on my last night.

I miss you NYC! And Jezra and Robby too. :-) Luckily, they are both coming home to LA for Chrismakkah. P.S. Robby is much more attractive in real life, he just looks ridiculous in all photographs. And he's single ladies!!!

Kabuki Sushi

Wow, this has to be the best kept sushi secret in Los Angeles. Every day, they offer half-off sushi and rolls. The only catch is that if you're eating at dinner, each person has to order 3 things (for lunch it's only 2). So my friend and I ordered 3 rolls and 3 nigiri sushi to share. All this plus a large Sapporo (which was $6.95) brought our bill to about $27. So we spent $10 each on really yummy sushi. A good deal to say the least. There are several locations in the greater Los Angeles area, and we went to the one in Old Pasadena on Colorado.

Now, I know you're going to be kind of skeptical. I mean, if it's half-off, is it still GOOD? Yes, yes it is.

They start you off with free edamame, which were adequately salted, and kept us nibbling before our sushi arrived. And let's face it, nibbling on edamame is much better than wolfing down three pieces of bread with butter.

Then, the sushi came. We ordered three nigiri sushi: albacore, maguro (tuna), and shrimp. The albacore was amazing. It came with this ponzu dipping sauce which made it extra tasty, but the quality of the fish was excellent. It was perfectly seared on one side, and the fish was flaky and melted in our mouths. The maguro was also excellent. It wasn't previously frozen (you can tell from the texture and color) and also was a generous portion of flaky melty goodness. The shrimp was crap, but what do you expect? Shrimp is always frozen, and it's cooked. (Other than sweet shrimp sushi which is just seared, but still raw in the middle. And often comes with fried shrimp heads. Mmm. Crispy.) In retrospect we should have ordered something else. Oh well.

The rolls we ordered were spicy tuna, philadelphia, and shrimp. The spicy tuna was AWESOME. Now, I personally can't handle a whole lot of spice and heat, so this was just right. (I suppose die hards will expect a more spicy roll, but I could not handle it.) It was spicy with a mild heat, just enough to be tasty without overpowering the actual flavor of the roll. I also liked the phildelphia. Something about the texture of the cream chesse with the fresh fish just makes an excellent combination in the mouth. And I don't even like salmon. :-) The shrimp roll was okay. It had thinly sliced cucumber, which added a nice coolness and crunch, but the shrimp just wasn't that good.

The only catch of this great deal is you have to order a minimum amount of sushi, and your choices are limited. The menu has some very interesting rolls on it, but they are not included in the half-off deal. (For example, the lotus roll has baked baby lobster on top of a california roll with eel sauce.) One of these days when I'm flush with cash, I might try one of those full-priced rolls. But, I'll probably just order more albacore. :-)