Mission 261: Elegant dim sum

From delicate trompe l’oeil dumplings to sumptuous deep-fried pigeon, Mission 261 is the place for serious Hong Kong-style eating.
By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times.

credit: One Inch Punch.

There’s probably nothing outside Asia quite like the dim sum scene at Mission 261. In place of the usual dim sum clatter and bustle, an aura of decorous formality prevails. Synchronized teams of gray-suited waiters deliver the food on trays paraded through vast dining rooms filled with Prada- and Gucci-attired diners. [[ read more ]]

The Find: Beijing Pie House in Monterey Park

By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times.

credit Los Angeles Times

Beijing Pie House serves a dozen meat- and vegetable-filled pies, called xian bing, as well as savory pancakes, noodle soups and other northern Chinese specialties.

Trying to eat a warm, doughnut-size meat pie from Beijing Pie House with any sort of decorum is a real challenge. They’re probably best consumed leaning over a huge plate or the kitchen sink, because the garlicky juices spurt out in every direction the instant you bite into the crisp, potato-chip-like crust. [[ read more ]]

Tub’s Fine Chili

Tub’s Fine Chili is run by Rick Hodges, whose friends sampled his progressively intricate experiments and urged him to go commercial.
By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times.

credit: Tubs Chili

“Which wouldja like to try?” booms the smiling guy in the cowboy hat, brandishing a handful of tiny ice cream sampling spoons. Like a magnet, the sweet scent of caramelizing garlic fused with dusky cumin and earthy chili powder pulls you into a minuscule storefront that is Tub’s Fine Chili & Fancy Fixin’s.

In black-rimmed pots behind the ordering counter sit seven chilis to sample. Will it be the chili made with whole roasted  chicken
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The Find: Sattdown Jamaican Grill in Studio City

Chef-owner Tony Hyde adds his own inventive twists to Caribbean-style cooking at Sattdown Grill.
By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times.

The menu at Sattdown Jamaican Grill is instantly intriguing. Scanning its pages past the salmon with garlic-orange zest crust and the shrimp seared in olive oil with jerk seasoning, to the vegetarian curry roti, you quickly realize, we’re not in Kingston anymore.
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La Casita Mexicana

Cenaduria La Casita Mexicana serves a changing menu that seeks to sustain foods threatened by globalization
By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times.

My squash blossom soup is afloat with translucent yellow flowers and Ping-Pong-ball-sized squash, freshly picked from a community- sponsored garden south of downtown.

The owners of La Casita Mexicana visit that plot at 42nd and Alameda streets almost daily, picking up a variety of vegetables, such as huauzontle, a broccoli-like wild vegetable related to quinoa, and romerito, a stringy, spinach-like green. The unique harvest allows Jaime Martin Del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu to cook a personal version of cocina en temporada–the seasonal garden- to-table Mexican food they grew up eating in Jalisco.
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Suddenly Saigon

By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times.

Vietnamese cafes are springing up in neighborhoods from Venice to Pasadena. They’re as stylish and fun as the cuisine is fresh and flavorful.

For a moment the sharp fragrance of lemon grass merging with leafy aromatic greens transports me back to the humid heat and clamor of Saigon.
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Cemitas Poblanas Don Adrian

By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times.

Wikipedia

The tiny Van Nuys restaurant’s cemitas are a wonder to behold. In true Dagwood fashion, the sandwiches are piled high with a delectable assortment of fillings.

–Until now, cemitas poblanas, the heroically proportioned, sumptuously layered central Mexican answer to Dagwood sandwiches, have been more or

less relegated to cult status. But lately, these Pueblan street foods have been drawing long lines at certain Southern California taco trucks. And food buffs will probably notice that more and more mom and pop Mexican cafes are adding them to their menus. [[ read more ]]

Swimming in Fresh Fish

By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Koreatown’s Odaesan shows what happens to sashimi outside of Japan — and it does it in a luxurious setting.

In the vast fish markets of Korea’s teeming ports and strung along the beach areas of its long coasts, there are countless raw fish houses (hwe jip), charcoal grill carts and impromptu stands specializing in boiled cockles, spicy crab soup or whatever the season brings ashore. [[ read more ]]

Khybar Afghan Restaurant

By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times.

Wikipedia

“What about the kala pocha?” asks someone at our table at Khybar Afghan  restaurant in Reseda. Our waiter, dressed in black track pants and  “Nike, Inc.” Nike soccer shirt, shakes his head. “You don’t want that,” he assures us. “It’s for breakfast.”

The soup, made with boiled lamb’s head and feet and a few innards, [[ read more ]]

Wat Dong Moon Lek in Silver Lake

By Linda Burum, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Wat dong M L

The Thai noodle shop offers a mix of traditional and trendy dishes, plus a surprisingly delicious lineup of desserts.

Scrawled across a huge, zanily illustrated chalkboard in vibrant pastel tones, Wat Don Moon Lek’s bilingual menu is a crowded pastiche of witty drawings, slogans and photographs. It has the feel of an interactive website, and like the décor at this 4-month-old spot, the food takes a hip, updated cue from an archetypal Bangkok noodle house. [[ read more ]]