Los Angeles Kitchen Notebook
An in-depth look at some of our favorite dishes and cocktails from our time on the ground in Los Angeles
A COCKTAIL EVOLVED
During the past year, while bars stood empty, ovens remained cold, and walls were left dry, Majordōmo Head Bartender Austin Hennelly had magic brewing in the walk-in. What started as a great cocktail became an even greater one when the hiatus left room for experimentation. A banana chocolate mousse with miso butterscotch on the dessert menu inspired his boulevardier. Hennelly clarified Suntory Toki Whiskey with ripe banana and shiro miso via centrifuge before adding Campari, Vermouth di Torino, chocolate bitters, and absinthe. The drink was batched and ready for service when he found out that service would not be happening any time soon due to COVID-19. Hennelly grabbed some onggi, the slightly porous Korean earthenware, to store the Boulevardier in the walk-in for 11 months. “Unaged, the drink, like a negroni, starts out harsh and mellows after a little while, but with the time in the clay, it’s smooth right off the bat,” he says. The result of the aging was well-integrated flavors and a silky-smooth texture.
Full Recipe: Boulevardier
TRANSCONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Let’s not kid ourselves — Los Angeles has a lot of things that New York City does not. But one thing L.A. is missing for sure are coffee carts on every block. When Chef Cameron Slough was living in Manhattan, he’d always pick up a bodega-style bacon, egg, and cheese before a long shift at Park Avenue or 11 Madison Park. But his morning ritual was broken once he moved to L.A. Now as the executive ched of The Attic, he incorporated his B.E.C. fix into the menu. Slaugh swaps out the hard roll for potatoes that are fried, pressed, cut into rounds, and fried again. Using a ring mold, he cleanly layers the potato with soft-scrambled eggs laced with sharp and aged white cheddar cheese; crispy, chopped bacon; and a sprinkle of scallion greens. All that’s missing is the iconic blue Anthora that reads, “We Are Happy To Serve You.”
Full Recipe: B.E.C.
CAMBODIAN COMFORT FOOD
When he was a kid, Chef Hak Lonh’s parents would warm up Goya’s canned sardines in tomato sauce and eat it with a baguette. Lonh pays homage to that humble, wholesome meal at his Cambodian restaurant, Gamboge, by using fresh grape tomatoes instead. Cooked down with onion, garlic, sae salt, black pepper, oyster sauce, sugar, fish sauce, and paprika, the tomatoes are stewed with canned sardines and finished off with some lemon. A crispy bolillo from Pacific French Bakery captures the essential airiness of the French baguettes found at Southeast Asian Bakeries. Bridging Lonh’s past and present, the braised sardines and tomato dish speaks to the cross-cultural population of the Lincoln Heights neighborhood.
Full Recipe: Braised Sardines and Tomatoes
BALANCING ACT
Diving hard into Chinese food media, Chef Johnny Lee came across dried hawthorn berries. With a strong tartness, the berry is considered medicinal and crops up in Chinese teas, juices, jams, and candy. It’s also a main ingredient of traditional Cantonese sweet and sour sauce. At Pearl River Deli, Lee throws the berries into his sweet and sour pork. “I tried to incorporate an ingredient that was less commonly used here in the United States,” he says. Lee combines the berries with vinegar, sugar, and apricot and cranberry jams. While the marinated pork is coated with cornstarch and fried twice in a wok to render it crispy, the sweetness of the blanch-fried bell peppers, onions, and pineapple cuts through the vinegar. Tossed in the sauce, every bite of pork sings with the sour-apple-like notes of the hawthorn berries, striking a richer balance than the typical Americanized version.
