A Football Foodie’s gotta do what he’s gotta do in the offseason (besides work out, of course, thank GOD!)…travels in and out of the Los Angeles metro area have brought a cavalcade of memorable meals, no doubt. So in the completion of this “trilogy,” if you will, don’t expect any crazy endings….I did live through these epic experiences to write these entries, unlike Batman….oh, wait- or did he? (Don’t tell me…I haven’t seen it yet!)

Excuse the fact that there aren’t as many illustrations with this segment….ridiculously wonderful experiences….take my word for it:

• Scarpetta at the Montage in Beverly Hills is #3 on my list of Top 20 Italian Restaurants From the Boot to the Basin for a reason: Scott Conant and staff’s homemade pastas are downright spectacular, with just the right amount of “00″ flour bite. It’s pretty fun to have a short rib and horseradish steakhouse-type flavoring in a doughy half-moon dumpling, as their agnolotti portrays. Let’s not forget the shimeji mushrooms, which are showing up across all cuisines these days due to their flavor and versatility. If it’s there, you also MUST have the puree of ceci (garbanzo) bean soup, poured into your bowl from your server out of elegant vessels.
• I arguably had the single most flavorful and enjoyable, “last meal on Earth” pasta at Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills, the overlooked but still gorgeous Italian restaurant/wine bar off Canon. If the hand-made Spinach Cavatelli with Venison Ragu isn’t on the menu, you must ask for it. It’s absolutely soulful, and the little “half football” shaped-noodles (take it from me, I think I know! ha) hold the earthy, slightly sweet venison ragu perfectly, as the sauce fits into the crevices of the dumpling. THIS WAS BEYOND MEMORABLE.
• There’s much more to come on instant star chef Fabio Viviani’s Firenze Osteria, as it deserves a lot more attention than it gets. The place is massively underrated…but what I’ll spend a little time on here is what my wife and I have gone back to have once a month for the past 3 months: the trofie pasta with duck sausage, caramelized fennel and what tastes like sherry wine. I’ll post my Blackboard Eats review (www.blackboardeats.com) of the restaurant soon, but, take it from me- a dish of that pasta with their personal labeled “Proprietary Blend” red wine from the North Coast, and I think the highlight of every day would be that combo. I mean it…I wouldn’t get tired of eating that.
  

  There’s some kick from the chili flakes too….just a triumphant pasta dish.

Clearly I lean towards wonderfully fresh-made pasta dishes (and Italian food in general), but here are some others definitely worth discussing:

• When in Santa Monica, if you can get in a decent line at the counter and find a table (I don’t miss that, WESTSIDE!), Huckleberry’s Green Eggs and Ham will delight you, even if your name isn’t “Sam I AM.” La Quercia prosciutto (from Iowa) must be the closest in America to the imported real deal, sliced just right with arugula and a vibrant pesto– all on an English muffin. It’s a downright lovely (and creative) breakfast dish.
• Just down the street from Huckleberry, Mozza finally has true competition for a pizza crust (sorry Sotto, it isn’t you): Milo & Olive. Ironically, they are the same owners as Huckleberry, and no, I am not receiving any kickback!! Try any of their toppings…I lean towards the pork belly sausage with braised greens, but this wood-fired crust POPS and has bite, very similar to L.A.’s grande dame, Pizzeria Mozza. Wonderful color in the tomatoes as well….they totally seem to be of the San Marzano variety.
• Sure, you can yell out “lend me your pig ears” at the Lazy Ox Canteen in Downtown’s Little Tokyo, and while those are fun and unique with their creamy, limey dipping sauce, the show stopper to me is the coconut risotto with blood orange and tataki sauce. It’s tropics meets vineyard. The coconut milk sparring the blood orange tartiness was a gamble to those lacking originality…but man, did it pay off. So many small plates here, so little time….unless you actually become a lazy ox.

• Do yourself a favor and travel up the 2 Freeway just north of Glendale to enjoy the best Mexican food I’ve ever had in my life….La Cabanita. From their moles to their chips and 2 salsas to their margaritas to their creative tacos served on wondefully fresh masa corn, it’s the ultimate in authenticity. The Picadillo features ground beef with almonds and raisins…savory and sweet. Look up the Arrachero, Cochinita and Carnitas tacos as well…you just can’t go wrong. I may just go there tonight….much more to come soon. As you can see, the Football Foodie has put no “illegal hands” to this face!!

Links to all restaurants: 

www.thebazaar.com

www.nobumatsuhisa.com

www.ludolefebvre.com/ludotruck

www.shortorderla.com

www.panzano-denver.com

www.komodofood.com/cafe

www.cambriapineslodge.com

www.joesrestaurant.com

www.montagebeverlyhills.com/beverly-hills-restaurants.php/

www.celestinodrago.com/EnotecaDrago

www.firenzeosteria.com

www.huckleberrycafe.com

www.miloandolive.com

www.lazyoxcafe.com

www.cabanitarestaurant.com

The Los Angeles metropolitan area is filled with enclave after enclave of epicurian excitement. There are probably 20 cities/areas in the world where one could eat at a new, creatively unique dining establishment every night for the rest of their lives– and still not touch them all (and that’s if you live to be 90 years old)! Only fitting that the Real Football Foodie would live in one of two cities in the top 12 by population in America without an NFL team…

Well, that gives me more time to dine! Check out the next 5 highlights of the past 5 months:

• I can’t get enough of gourmet food trucks-turned cafes. The Komodo Cafe on the Westside of Los Angeles takes fusion tacos to an art form. You can’t go wrong, but the Fish N’ Grapes is extra special, with its crispy cod, roasted almonds and sweet slivered half grapes which cut the saltiness of the crisp batter. However, the best kept secret has to be the tuna tartare side with avocado and crispy wonton taco shell. That is what puts it over the top. The fresh, cool tartare dressed beautifully with ponzu meshes extraordinarily well with the avocado and wonton. For $6, pound for pound, or shall I say, ounce for ounce, there cannot be a better rendition in Los Angeles.
  

  Wonton taco shells need to go “global!”

• If you ever get up to Hearst Castle to see gluttony at its absolute apex (AKA William Randolph Hearst’s collection of randomized global art), make sure you follow the classic adage, “When in Cambria, do as the gluttonous do.” (A stretch, I know!) I’ve never been a big fan of filet mignon, as it so often lacks marbleization. But then there’s the version at the Cambria Pines Lodge Restaurant, sporting a dreamy combo of charred rare meat, house veal demi-glaze, gorgonzola butter, and a topping of crispy onions. For once, justice is served via photograph….see below.
  

  A mesmorizing steak indeed…I’m glad I left enough of it here so you could see the rareness.

•  When will Joe’s Restaurant in Venice cease amazement? The place has been defining Californian cuisine for two decades now, and they just keep sprucing the menu up and staying ahead of all trends—all without feeling fussy or lacking creatvity. As if the specially grown jidori chicken with fava bean tortelloni wasn’t enough (all that’s missing the the “nice Chanti”), who knew the spotlight would show up on the desserts in the banana pudding with chocolate dipped brittle and roasted almonds. It seemed like something a late-nite college culinary student would conjure up—at least on paper. Then, you taste it…and you definitely know otherwise.              Stay tuned for Part III tomorrow folks…Eat Dreams!!!!
  

  So EVERYTHING can’t be “farm to table,” OK, sustainability freaks?!! Even Joe’s knows that….

So what’s happened in the past 5 months? Well the Football Foodie has taken a new coaching job (Glendale College) and moved, just like George Jefferson, “on up…to the East Side.” Glendale is oh so different than Beverly Hills, but in many ways, more enjoyable! This Football Foodie has noticed far fewer “personal fouls!” Here are a few of the many dining hi-lites during this transition:

• I’ve got no problem with the brussels sprouts craze….especially when you see the pantheon of ideas that have been done with it. At The Bazaar by Jose Andres at the SLS Hotel, I consumed the most creative version I’ve ever had, with lemon juice, apricots, grapes, and the kicker: meyer lemon foam. In the haute world, yes….foam has been a major gimmick, but here, it was symphonic in its cutting of the dish’s salt.
  

  The Bazaar’s Meyer Lemon-foamed brussel sprouts

• The Japanese bucket list starts with Matsuhisa’s rock shrimp tempura with a creamy fresno chili sauce, and, the grand dame that gives the restaurant the Peruvian accentual reputation: albacore slivered incredibly thin with garlic chips. The tiradito is there as well, but the albacore takes the fishcake.
  

  “Tempura” does not d0 the dish justice…but the fresno chiles do.
• The Foodie doesn’t discriminate: he goes mobile too! The Ludotruck by Ludo Lefebvre leaves nothing to be desired when it comes to upscale fried chicken. It’s not oxymoronic when tasting meticulously cooked wings devoid of much animal fat glazed with honey, cloves after cloves of chopped fresh garlic, and kicked-up black pepper. If my picnic was in Montclair or Monte Carlo, I’d be happy either way with these wings. And I’ve never seen a freshly-made bearnaise sauce served with an order at a counter topped roadside establishment…bravo!
  

  These wings would turn every beer guzzling, football-loving sports bar-hopping American into a foodie overnight.

• Thanks to www.blackboardeats.com, where you can read a few other of my published reviews (so shameless…ha!), subscribers were given the opportunity to try a burger not on the menu at Nancy Silverton (Campanile, La Brea Bakery) and Amy Pressman’s spectacularly unique new gourmet burger spot at the Farmers’ Market, Short Order. While the menu surely has their share, I adored the Rocky Mountain Burger, with its special grind of short rib, flat iron steak and brisket, topped with a gregarious stack of cornmeal-crusted crispy shallots. I liked the espresso-ancho BBQ sauce, but between the shallots and their spuds, skin-on fried potato wedges that taste like flavored-up baked potatoes on every bite, the foodie soul was quenched.
  

  I was on a true Rocky Mountain High when consuming the namesake burger.

• I get goosebumps as I write this: if you’re ever in Denver, I had the single greatest Happy Hour experience of my life, and it wasn’t even close, at Panzano. Chef Elise Wiggins is a rising star, and the prices of the dishes we had didn’t even seem fair. Bavettine pasta is thin like tagiolini, housemade with perfect bite, sauteed with pine nuts in a lemon basil emulsion with a hint of goat cheese and the absolute summery kicker: dried cranberries. On the menu it was $21…for Happy Hour, it was $4. Say no more..                                                    
  
• Gnocchi with Rabbit Confit($6!) purveyed such light dumplings with remarkably intense caramelized shallots and buttery bronzed, yet lean and mean rabbit. You want to know more about the other two pics in the photo? Send me a message…but here’s a hint: I’m still trying to figure out what body of water in Denver they retrieved that ginormously juicy diver scallop from.
  

  The most unreal and gloriously upscale Happy Hour in history…bar none.

Ok…so you had to see this $6 Happy Hour scallop dish!

The next 5 are to come soon…and don’t worry…you’ll be hearing from  the Foodie a lot more from now on!