Author Archives: j

soi56

last night LCR + m + i went out to eat at ~~soi56~~ soi56. i have been wanting to go ever since i saw it during one of my farmers market trips. how could you *not* want to go to a place described as “serving thai street food”? when i first went to their web site, there was nothing but a home page. both the restaurant and the web site are much more developed now. but let’s get to the food. it probably wasn’t totally authentic or as unhygenic as street food should be, but i really enjoyed everything i ate…and that’s rare. it certainly wasn’t hot enough, even for a wimp like me. our server, rungsan (“oat” is his nickname), told us to ask for him next time we come in and he’ll make it “thai spicy”. awesome. there was also a cover band playing timeless love songs and stuff from the 90s. the asian guy had duran duran hair. m couldn’t even look at him. i kinda liked it. but let’s get to the food.

the fresh lemonade/nam manow was awesome. not too sweet. a bit sour. i finagled my way into getting it for free by asking if it qualified for the free in-house drink with valet parking ticket. LCR enjoyed it, too.

for the most part, m + LCR let me order. if okra is on the menu, i usually order it, but not this time. i’ll order it next time. the menu includes “tradition tao yang charcoal grill”, “small plates / thai street vendor specialty”, “spicy thai salads”, “wok noodle and noodle soup”, “curries”, “house specials”, and “thai sweets”.

we ordered:
chicken liver (trad tao yang charcoal grill)
issan sausage ( ” )
scallop wrapped in bacon ( ” )
japanese shishito peppers ( ” )
thai beef jerky/kao niaw neua (small plates)
crying tiger beef/suah loang hai (small plates)
grilled calamari/pla muk yang (small plates)
crispy frog leg/gop tort (small plates)
spicy raw papaya w/ blue crab/som tam pu dong (spicy thai salad)
curry noodles/kao soi

when we go back, m will order the beef jerky and curry noodles and issan sausage and i will order the crispy frog legs. i will also order the okra wrapped in bacon, the lamb chops (special from tao yang grill), fish cakes/tort man pla, fish sauce wings/beek gai tort, maybe the tom khaa gai, poorman noodles/tung dtak. the ginger and wood ear mushrooms, five spiced bbq pork, pepper tiger prawns, roasted game hen, muslim style curry, and grilled whole fish sound delightful. i know LCR likes prik king (green beans) and we’ve also had larb before at sanamluang. both of these are on the menu. looks like i’ll be making multiple return trips.

soi56.com | 1556 n cahuenga blvd 90028 | 323.962.5656

if i twittered…

if i twittered, i would tell you that [1] i just posted pics of baby G in this blogosphere [2] we are the proud new owners of a rice cooker [3] we have waygu beef in the fridge [4] we also have mangosteen in the fridge (SG had been looking for it forever, but says its plentiful in NY, so he’s not jealous of us at all…darn) [5] i have had the croissants at cafe tazzina (across wilshire) and cafe zella – the ones at cafe zella are not only cheaper but are also flakier…mmm…butter. for a while, i thought i was lactose intolerant. good to know that i’m not.

JEA was here last week. we ate at samosa house and had the happy vegan at tender greens. sadness: the raita @ samosa house resembled a coleslaw rather than indian goodness (unless indians are known for their coleslaw) and the tabbouleh at tender greens had also changed – not bad but not the same and not as good, imho. on wednesday, m found sungold tomatoes for me at the SM farmers market. tomato-y goodness. this is probably the second time i’ve had them in LA since moving back, but the first time was just orange cherry tomatoes disguised and pretending to be sungolds. after tasting them, i was no fool to their duplicity. these recently discovered sungolds were the real deal and i devoured them without sharing them with m.

the real highlight of her visit, besides enjoying her company, was tuesday evening @ the hollywood bowl. we saw yo-yo ma perform dvorak with the la phil conducted by placido domingo. after dvorak but before tchaikovsky, yo-yo ma performed an impromptu cello solo (asian-inspired music – did he compose this himself?) and then accompanied placido domingo out onto the stage and they performed together. i had goosebumps. our tix were only $15 and they were pretty high up, but they certainly weren’t bad seats and i was very glad i witnessed that amazing musical treat. and my fellow concertgoers weren’t stoned from smoking pot. that was a plus.

livin’ the westside lifestyle

when i started telling people i was moving to SM, they would say: “ahhh, now you’ll be living the westside lifestyle.” what exactly does that mean? before i moved here, i thought it meant lots of beach time. ethnic food wasteland. virtually no taco trucks. paucity of subway public transportation. inability to leave the westside (k-town is just too far…i hope not). now i understand it to mean warm sun and a cool breeze. using wilshire and sunset instead of santa monica blvd. japanese food on sawtelle (and i’m closer to terried sake house!). yuppieville underscored by thousand dollar strollers. flatland and grass. using the 10 to get to SGV. closer to my MDR costco (this is crucial). i’m also closer to mi ranchito, samosa house, SFV sushi, little tehran, the getty brentwood, multiple farmers markets, julia dean workshops, and a political climate that’s almost as friendly as WH (the jury is still out on this one).

but i am farther from silverlake, huntington gardens, that beautiful bridge in glendale, 24 hour fitness, k-town (kyochon, sweet potato lattes, kbbq…i’m weeping), the lacma, russian delis, and my beloved hollywood farmers market.

the beauty of LA is that no matter where you live, you are farther from some really great things but also closer to some really great things, too. you are never far from anything.

the ‘hood

i’ve lived in LA for 5 years now (that year in SF counts…it’s still CA) and i’ve traveled to many of its different areas/hoods. i’ve driven up and down wilshire between vermont and the ocean. yet, i still couldn’t fully comprehend what it would be like to live in SM. ironically, now that i live here, the place seems totally new and foreign to me. SMB and 17th st, where my local ace hardware store is, doesn’t even look familiar to me, even though i must have passed by it in a car a gazillion times. my adjacent blocks near home seemed new, too. i later realized that because i now live here, i see things differently. fortunately, for me, this new perspective is quite welcome. it’s not always like that – sometimes, you wake up and realize you made a bad judgment call and you wonder how you will pull yourself out of this mess.

i quickly adopted cafe zella at wilshire + 16th as my local coffee place and comfort spot. it has great light from its floor to ceiling windows and great coffee. also, good banana bread and double chocolate chip cookies. i have found my local post office @ 12th and my local pharmacy at 18th. these areas have become home. there’s a branch of the SM public library @ 17th + montana – which i will soon patronize. i’ve been to both vons @ 14th and WF @ 23rd. my previous neighbor in WH said that i would quickly acclimate to SM as it has that same microcosm feel of WH. based on the aforementioned proximity of necessary destinations, what he said is true.

i like my new neighborhood: it’s cozy and residential. it’s not touristy. it’s on the edge of yuppie. it’s not too granola (not that granola is bad…but sometimes granola is smelly). when i look down california, i can see the ocean. i am lucky.

whew!

back when i was making tandoori chicken a la little asian style…did we even have our new apartment picked out? this past month has been a blur and if i wasn’t so paranoid about logging into stuff on an unsecured network, maaaaayyyyyybe i would’ve blogged more. perhaps not. i woke up this morning with my huge list of to do things, feeling ready to tackle them all and achieve that sense of accomplishment that only accomplishing things grants you. and then i stopped. i realized that crossing things off my list just reinforces my need to cross more things off the list.

m is right: the list never ends.

and alanis is right, too: “I have been running so sweaty my whole life / Urgent for a finish line / And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever incomplete”

so here i am, drinking my fabulous espresso monkey roasted by m. eating my cereal with the only bowls and silverware that we decided to keep. enjoying my secure internet (is anything really ever secure?). and blogging.

later, you must remind me to tell you about taking pictures of baby G, cafe zella, unpacking, my first bike trip from home to the beach, and what i love about our new home (and what a pain in the a** it is to change my address with every single entity that uses the usps).

tandoori chicken, a la little asian style

again, my blogging is sadly lacking. i have some great photos of palm springs and of steve and amy’s wedding in cancun. but before i forget, here is how i make tandoori chicken (cook’s illustrated recipe jan/feb 09). just made it yesterday. mmmmm, tasty. best. tandoori. chicken. i’ve. ever. made.

2 TBSP oil
6 9-10 medium garlic cloves
2 TBSP (and a little bit more) ~~grated~~ chopped ginger
1 TBSP (plus 1 tsp) garam masala
2 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 3 tsp chili powder
1 c. plain whole-milk yogurt
4 6 TBSP juice from 3 limes
2 2 1/2 tsp table salt
3 lbs bone-in, skin-on drumsticks, skin removed

1. Heat oil in small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garam masala, cumin, and chili powder; continue to cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds longer. Transfer half of garlic-spice mixture to medium bowl; stir in yogurt and 2 tablespoons lime juice and set aside.

2. In large bowl, combine remaining garlic-spice mixture, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and salt. Using sharp knife, lightly score skinned side of each piece of chicken, making 2 or 3 shallow cuts about 1 inch apart and about 1/8 inch deep; transfer to bowl. Using hands, gently massage salt-spice mixture into chicken until all pieces are evenly coated; let stand at room temperate 30 minutes.

3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken and toss until chicken is evenly coated with thick layer. Arrange chicken pieces, scored-side down, on wire rack set in foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Bake chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 125 degrees for breasts and 130 for legs and thighs, 15 to 25 minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Transfer chicken from pieces to plate as they reach correct temperature.)

4. After removing chicken from oven, turn oven to broil and heat 10 minutes. Once broiler is heated, flip chicken pieces over and broil until chicken is lightly charred in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees for breasts and 175 for legs and thighs, 8 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate, tent loosely with foil, and rest 5 minutes.

nba jam

kicked my honey’s a** at nba jam yesterday 23-15. button mashing is the key. but i am a chickens**t because i wouldn’t agree to a rematch.

pride leftovers

robada apricots

my favorite stonefruit vendor, scattaglia farms, has robada apricots in june. they are only in season for a few weeks. this year, we got them on june 14th and the market vendor thinks they’ll only be available for another two weeks. last year, we got them on june 15 and june 22. this particular variety of apricot has a strong red blush spot and is the most amazingly sweet apricot without being cloyingly sweet. i can eat 20 and not feel sick at all!

in other farmers market news, my favorite asian vendor has those sweet italian peppers that look like they should burn, but have a mild sweetness which makes them perfect for salads and egg white omelettes.

i love summer at my hollywood farmers’ market!

come on, target…seriously?!?

this ad is everywhere in la and i have just one question for target: “is this the best that you, a multi-billion dollar corporation with both a humungous marketing budget and a history of excellent advertising campaigns, can do for a portrait photo?!?” does anyone else see the “merger” (the bridge in the background that cuts off her head…a shallower depth of field would have helped this situation. i mean, really, is the bridge really necessary to appreciate tracy feith’s fashion apparel?)?