That's a good burger!

I thought about the amount of money I spent for lunch at Tep(id) Thai the other day, and here's a case where I spent a bit more, but was MUCH more satisfied. A nice atmosphere, good food, and stellar service. That's what dining should be about.

Houston's. Yes, that chain restaurant. Well, upscale chain restaurant. I've been in a couple locations on both coasts, and I usually end up ordering the same thing here. The Hickory Burger. I admit that at $14 it's a bit on the pricey end for a mere burger (that's not Wagyu Beef, at least), but here's where the money is totally worth it. Freshly ground chuck, cooked to order, and served with lettuce, onions, a mound of grated cheddar cheese (tastes like Tillamook to me), and several slices of Canadian bacon on an eggy and fluffy bun and served with ethereally fried shoestring fries. Don't let me forget the hickory BBQ sauce... made on premises and to die for. Really.


As much as I like burgers in general, this is definitely one place where it's ok in my book to spend that kind of money. By all means, if you can't finish it in one sitting, take it home and reheat it. You'll be glad you did. In my book, this is so far the best upscale burger there is.

Granted, I haven't tried the $32 burger that Daniel Boulud serves at Bistro db... yes, I would have to try a burger that's stuffed with braised ribs and topped with foie gras and black trumpets. I'm going to NYC soon, so I'll let everyone know if I get the chance to try this one.



Back to Houston's. The other dish I tried was their oak grilled artichoke appetizer. Three rather large artichoke halves were brought out, slightly charred around the edges and smelling delicious. The remoulade/aioli that it came with was pretty good too. A little on the thick side, but it didn't overpower the artichokes too much. Good thing that they were grilled to make them more assertive. The only thing here is that it's a bit messy and labor intensive to eat the artichokes. You really to have to eat them leaf by leaf and by hand, scraping the bit of flesh off with your teeth, until you finally get to the heart. Still, I love it, and the tactile aspect of this is wonderful.

All in all, with a couple beers (Sierra Nevada), an appetizer and two burger orders, I won't say that it was cheap at $70 (with tip), but it was definitely worth it. I left with half of my burger for later, and feeling ever so much happier that I got to relax and just have some simple, good, food.

Houston's Century City

10250 Santa Monica Blvd.
Space D
Los Angeles, CA
Tel: 310.557.1285
www.hillstone.com

Happy Eating!

Tep(id) Thai

I received a flier a while back from Tep Thai in Glendale. Not only was it gorgeously designed, it showcased the beautiful renovation that they had gone through.

That should have been my red flag right there. I was drawn to the design of the direct mail piece and my subsequent viewing of the web site (www.tepthai.com), which really didn't showcase images of food. I should have been able to guess by this alone that it was going to be another one of those "love the space... but something's missing" experiences. But their tagline is "Angelic Cuisine!" It had to be good, right?

Here's to guinea pigging... I took my friend who likes Thai food with me for lunch. He had helped me with some things related to my move, so I thought the least I could do was buy lunch. We parked in the lot right next door, and walked in. Little late for lunch, so we were seated immediately. The space is gorgeous. Simple, yet clean, modern, but retaining a sense of warmth. Kudos to whoever designed the interior here. I really was getting excited. The waitress was the standard young pretty Thai who was polite to a fault. No complaints there. I ordered a Thai iced tea, and put in an order of Angel Wings (again, it's "Angelic Cuisine," right?) and an order of Tom Yum Koong to start.

Angel Wings -- These are breaded and fried chicken wings that are stuffed with pork, prawns, cellophane noodles, etc. Normally very flavorful and satisfying. I took my first bite here and thought that the breading was a little heavy handed (i.e. very thick) and that the filling was next to tasteless. The sauce that came with it was a very sweet glaze that didn't add to anything. I was able to finally enjoy this dish once I figured out that it only had a flavor other than sweet if I added the garlic chili paste that sat on the table. While not bad, nothing to rave about here.

Tom Yum Koong -- Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp. This was barely palatable. There was way too much lemongrass and tamarind that made you think you were drinking a warm cup of Sour Patch Kids gummy treats without the sweet afterwards. Not spicy enough, and the shrimp was rubbery. Pass on this one unless you like the idea of drinking a citrusy warm vinegar.

After the first couple appetizers, I was getting over the lovely decor. At the point in which there are plenty of other Thai restaurants in the neighborhood that are far cheaper, the fact that it's prettier just stopped cutting it for me. Onto main courses.

My friend ordered the Thai BBQ Pork. While it wasn't inspired, it was definitely the best thing ordered so far. The meat was well flavored and moist, but again, there was nothing special about it. In fact, I bet that the Thai takeout two doors down from Tep Thai does it better, with a bigger portion for half the price.

Pad Thai -- This is definitely a Thai restaurant staple... and I've had quite a few variations thereof. I like this dish, there's a bit of everything here from starchy to crunchy to sweet to fresh to pungent. And I like the fact that after the app and soup we had earlier, I wanted something a little less heavy in the protein department. Mistake. The noodles were gummy from being overcooked, and the flavoring seemed like the person who cooked it was following a cookbook for the first time. The various components just didn't gel together, and it was really more of a blob of a dish to me. For a place that professes to serve "Angelic Cuisine," this dish made me want to tell them to replace the "Angelic" with "Amateur." In all honesty, I've had some do it yourself instant Pad Thais that were far superior to this.

All in all, this wasn't a great experience. I'm not going to say that it's not worth going to, but I think the flavoring and presentation of the dishes really caters more to an American palate than an authentic Thai one. If you're looking to try Thai food for the first time, this might be the kind of place that will make you interested. Most of the stuff is bland and non-threatening. If you're into Thai or SE Asian cuisine at all, you'll feel like I did after picking up the $50 lunch tab with no alcohol for two... You just paid for pretty.

Tep Thai

209 Wilson Ave.
Glendale, CA
818.246.0380
www.tepthai.com

Happy Eating!

Experiment with Monkfish

I had a craving for monkfish the other day. I wanted to do something interesting with it though. What I ended up coming up with was something a bit Japanese, a bit Thai/SE Asian, and definitely wonderful.

The Japanese component? The fact that I fried the monkfish with a starch crust (ok, I guess it could be a more Chinese technique, but oh well...), and then the SE Asian part was the flavoring of lemongrass and Green Curry with coconut. Yum...

Lemongrass flavored monkfish with coconut curry creme

2 4-ounce Monkfish fillets -- cut to about 1 1/2 inch thick
1-2 Tbls lemongrass paste
Potato Starch to coat
Sea salt and white pepper to taste.

Sauce:

1 Cup chicken stock
1 Tbls Thai Green Curry paste (powder works fine too)
2 Tbls coconut milk
Fish Sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam) to taste

Optional:
Thai bird chiles as needed
small dice of carrot, potato, and mushroom
Dash of heavy cream

Preheat frying oil to 360 degrees F.

Salt the monkfish on all sides slightly on the heavy side. Let sit on a cutting board for 10 minutes, then pat dry.

Heat chicken stock in a sauce pan and add the diced veg if you're using them to once it's at a boil of you want the curry broth spicier add come chiles that you have made into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Turn down and simmer until the veg is tender -- about 12 minuts. Add the green curry paste and mix together until well incorporated. Turn down to a nare simmer and add the coconut milk. Stir everything together and add the fish sauce to taste -- it should have a slightly tangy, sweet, and spicy taste to it now. Finish with a drizzle of heavy cream to bring the flavors together. You can use a starch slurry to thicken the sauce if you want something a little more thick. Reserve sauce.

Pat the monkfish dry, then lightly pepper the fillets. Rub lemongrass paste all over the fish and dredge to coat in potato starch. Drop the fish into the oil and let fry for about 6 minutes. The fish should come out just about to flake, with a nice crunchy exterior and a moist, lobster-like interior. Plate over white rice that's been sauced, then drizzle more sauce over it. Garnish with cilantro if you like.

Between the creamy firmness of the relatively bland fish and the fiery green curry sauce, you get a nice contrast. This one's easy, so give it a try.

Oh, and if you really want to just to the monkfish fritters Japanese style, omit the lemongrass, and serve the fritters with a yuzu ponzu sauce, or better yet, yuzu kosho -- a fiery paste make out of green chiles, yuzu rind, and salt.

Happy Cooking!