5 Things I Learned at a One-Night Cooking Class: Wine & Food Pairing with Chef Eric

Chef Eric and an apprentice with all the food we cooked: scallops, homemade pasta, lamb stew and sauteed chicken.

Ever thought of trying to take your sketchy home cooking skills to a new level? I've been looking into cooking schools lately, particularly those with semi-pro courses. It turns out that at the moment there are really only two places that offer a semi-pro course: the New School of Cooking in Culver City and Chef Eric's Culinary Classroom in West L.A.
Several years ago, I took Thai Street Food with Jet Tila at the New School, but when I was offered a trial class at Chef Eric's, I thought it would be a great way to get a taste of what the school has to offer. In fact, not just a taste, but a full meal. Chef Eric invited some food writers to try his Wine and Food Pairing class, which includes quite a few dishes: zucchini eggplant fritters to start, seared scallops with wild mushrooms, homemade pasta with tomato and kalamata olive tapenade sauce; sauteed chicken breasts with sunchokes and sundried tomatoes; lamb stew with wild mushrooms and tiramisu for dessert. In addition we tasted several nice wines when we were done cooking everything.
It's been several years since I've taken a cooking class, and I'm a decent home cook, but even at a one-night class you always learn a handy tip or two. For example, Chef Tila taught me a quick way to peel ginger (with the back of the knife) that I still remember. Here's a few things I learned from the class:

1. Lots of restaurant/travel writers don't actually cook much, they're too busy travelling. So like in other classes, the ability levels of your classmates will vary greatly. Take advantage of the teacher and assistants to make sure your technique is correct even if you think you know how to chop vegetables, for example. It turns out I didn't really know how to do it right (hint: it's a rocking motion).

Chef Eric demonstrates a garlic peeling method

2. Need to peel a bunch of cloves of garlic quickly? Put the separated cloves in two bowls and shake vigorously. Voila, most of the peels will fall away, leaving naked cloves to be chopped.
3. In most one-night cooking classes, the entire class will end up with at least five dishes, but you will likely be assigned to a team that will only make one dish from start to finish. This seems to be the main complaint about cooking classes on Yelp -- people think it's actually possible to teach a dozen or so people how to make five dishes, have everyone make them all from scratch and eat them in three hours. That's not possible, thus the team method. I was assigned to sauteed chicken breasts, but wandering around, I also got a turn cranking the pasta machine and chopping the wild mushrooms.
4. Cooking classes are also a chance to taste something you wouldn't normally order. Lamb is not my favorite, but the lamb stew was delicious. Chef Eric uses excellent ingredients like scallops from Santa Monica Seafood and wild chanterelles, which makes a big difference in flavor.
5. Pay attention to when the class is when deciding what to take. I'm glad I took the sample class on a weeknight after work, because I realize now there's no way I would have the energy to do the 18-week Master Chef program on weeknights. Fortunately, if I ever decide to do it, it's also available on weekends.

Which program to choose? Both schools are a bit far for me, and both semi-pro series are around $2500, so it will probably have to wait for a while. I liked the spacious facilities at New School of Cooking, though I'm not familiar with the teachers.
Chef Eric Crowley is a Patina Catering vet who graduated from the CIA, and he had an easy, friendly manner with students. But the kitchen is quite compact although it's very efficicently set up. Try Chef Eric's Culinary Classroom for an evening or weekend class to learn anything from knife skills to sushi making or healthy cooking. There's also a four week culinary basics series, for the true beginners, and kid's classes, so you can make those little buggers learn to make you dinner.
Chef Eric's Culinary Classroom
2366 Pelham Ave.
L.A. 90064
323-470-2640
Looking for cooking classes in the Downtown or Pasadena area? Here's a recent L.A. Weekly article on five other places to take classes, but none offer a semi-pro series.

Village Tavern Counts Down to Late May-ish Opening With 12 SoCal Brews on Tap

EatingLA stopped by Atwater's newest addition Village Tavern to talk to owner Maurice about what's in store. Opening  is still a few weeks out, as the Tavern still has to pass numerous city inspections even though the interior looks ready to go.
The food: The kitchen is run by the Stop Guac 'n Roll truck folks, who will have more room to flex their culinary muscles in the Tavern's kitchen, with items like a specialty Mexican BBQ burger, Avocado fries, tortas, burritos and tacos.

The beer: To go with the food's Mexican slant, Maurice plans to keep a Mexican craft brew on tap at all times, starting with Cucapa Chupacabras Pale Ale from Mexicali. The dozen taps will focus on Central and Southern California, starting with Firestone Walker and moving to our own Eagle Rock, Golden Road and Angel City breweries, continuing down to the Bruery, Green Flash and Ballast Point. Taps will be frequently rotated based on customer demand, and other regions will be covered with an extensive bottled beer selection.
More drinks: Village Tavern (3218 Glendale Blvd.) will offer half a dozen wines and also has a full bar with cocktails no doubt including no doubt margaritas and other cocktails to complement the Mexican menu.
Atmosphere: Now drinkers can choose from two styles of bar on the same block: The Village Tavern has a nice patio facing the street with a jukebox that will likely feature some modern tunes, an airy interior that will likely be super-loud when it's full, craft beer on tap and tacos and undoubtedly will take credit cards.
OTOH, Club Tee Gee just a few doors down has comfy pleather booths, a sparkly ceiling, fairly cheap drinks, peanuts for sale, no windows, terrible beer and is cash-only, but has been there forever, is generally quiet and has a great neon sign. So choose your poison.
Now when's the beer crawl from Link 'n Hops to Village Tavern to Glendale Tap to Golden Road scheduled for?

Chego Opens in Chinatown: Delivery to Downtown and Echo Park Planned

It's located inside Far East Plaza on Broadway (feelin' artsy with the color tools)

If you've walked or biked around Chinatown lately, you know that except for a few art galleries, almost everything looks about the same as it did when your parents first took you for dim sum in the '70s, '80s or '90s. It's nostalgic, but it could also use a little freshening up. Fortunately, Kogi BBQ truck mogul Roy Choi, who clustered his other restaurants around Palms in West L.A., has moved his most casual spot Chego to Chinatown's Far East Plaza. Although I mourn the tiny Mandarin Deli branch in that same plaza (it was the only one in the mini-chain to offer fish dumplings), Chego is a worthy replacement -- and one that stays open until 11 pm at night and offers curbside pickup with even DELIVERY coming soon.

Chego occupies a bright little corner spot, and there's also picnic tables outside

For the uninitiated, Chego's food is sort of like Asian fusion food that went to the beach, donned some flip flops, and then got shitfaced and fell in a bowl of sriracha. It's freakin' delicious, even if the saucing tends to the extreme side. And unlike the belly bomb kimchi quesadillas of the Kogi truck, Chego offers a seasonal veggie plate, a "$12 salad" for $8 and loads plenty of greens onto the various bowls.
Chego's signature dish, and the one that most befitting of an inebriated state, is Ooey Gooey Fries: a $6 boat packed with beer-battered potato wedges and topped with sour cream sambal, monterey jack and cheddar cheese, cotija, chilies, cilantro and pickled garlic.

Sour cream hen house: chicken, rice and then some

More modest eaters will be plenty satisfied with one of the "Big Kid Meals" -- $8-$9 rice bowls that include a vegetarian Kung Pau Noodle Bowl, Kimchi Spam Bowl, The Leafy T: Fried chili garlic tofu rice with fried egg and Chinese broccoli, Chubby pork belly, The Beefy T: diced prime rib rice and pictured above, Sour Cream Hen House, a devilish mixture of grilled chicken, fried egg, Chinese broccoli topped with sour cream sambal, Thai basil, sesame and red jalapeno. If you're not feeling rice-y, there's also a prime rib sandwich and half pound Chego burger.
Needless to say, you'll want to take young guys with you if possible, so you can justify ordering the Ooey Gooey Fries as a side.
Chego
727 N. Broadway #117 (in the Far East Plaza)
Chinatown
2 hours free parking in the lot next door
Open 11-11 Tuesday through Sunday
323-380-8680

Beachwood Cafe: How many forks did it get in the Los Feliz Ledger?

The new interior was designed by Barbara Bestor, with painted tiles similar to Intelligentsia

The Village Coffee Shop got a big update when ex-Millie's and Edendale owner Patti Peck turned it into the Beachwood Cafe. So how's it faring? Let's see how many forks it rated in the May Los Feliz Ledger. Read the review here and pick up a copy for the full review. Here's an excerpt.

Roast jidori chicken with cauliflower puree and housemade cranberry sauce is a low-cal option

At breakfast, black rice congee with ham hock and fried egg ($10) is a successful Asian-styled dish, with plenty of crispy pork cubes and shreds enriching a comfortingly murky broth inflected with pickled jalapenos. The Beachwood Café is a fine spot for the laid-back ladies and gentlemen of the canyons and their well-dressed offspring to hang out. And it’s always a treat to have a meal in one of L.A.’s secluded canyon restaurants.

Eastside Taste-a-palooza on Sunday: Atwater Beer, Wine & Food Festival and Taste of the Eastside

 It's a spring taste-off on Sunday with two chances to help out local organizations while stuffing yourself with neighborhood delicacies and washing it down with beer brewed with L.A. River water. JK, Golden Road and Eagle Rock brewing use totally clean and pure water to make their delicious brews, but they're still great representatives of local flavor.

The more beery one: Atwater Village Beer, Wine & Food Festival

Cost: $30 advance, $40 day-off, including 12 beer and wine tastings. Food can be purchased separately from trucks including the Ragin' Cajun, Cool Haus, Me So Hungry and more.
Where: Parking lot of 55 Degree Wine/Link 'n Hops
What: Breweries include Golden Road, Eagle Rock, Deschutes, Stone, New Belgium, Triple Voodoo, Angel City, Lagunita

s, Firestone Walker, Tap It, Surf, Hangar 24; plus a dozen mostly European wine selections
When: Sunday, April 28, 1-5 (starts at noon for VIP access)
What else: Live entertainment including a performance by the Black Eyed Peas' DJ
Organizers: 55 Degree Wine/Link 'n Hops and the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce

The more foodie one: Taste of the Eastside

Cost: $40 general/$50 at the event; $50/$60 including a wine or beer flight
Where: Barnsdall Park
What: Tastes from 30 restaurants, wine and beer from Silverlake Wine, Golden Road and Mohawk Bend
When: Sunday, April 28, 1-5 (starts at noon for VIP access)
Benefits: Rose Scharlin Nursery School, Pablove Foundation, See-LA, more

Allumette sparks up Echo Park dining scene

carrot salad with pickled turnips, sunchokes, black carrot syrup

What: Allumette is a reconcepting of Allston Yacht Club, before that 15 and before that, a Salvadoran place.  Is Echo Park ready for 5-course tasting menus and imaginative elevated preparations in the vein of Michael Voltaggio's Ink?
It's not clear whether the neighborhood draws the right crowd for this kind of ambitious fare, but chef Miles Thompson creates beautifully-plated dishes flurries of imaginatively-combined flavors.

I've taken way too long to post about the lovely meal I tried there with Gastronomy blog's Cathy, so here are a few highlights.You'll find much nicer photos over on Gastronomy; my tiny camera can only do so much in low light.
Allumette is now encouraging the 5-course tasting menu for $75 available with a $45 wine pairing, a good way to experience the range of the ambitious menu.

scallop tartare with strawberry, truffle, elderflower

This dish was beautifully presented, and the fruity flavors worked well with the mild scallops.

The ambiance: Allumette has been slightly remodeled from the Allston Yacht Club days. The room is comfy and much quieter than the deafening Red Hill across the street, but still has a slightly generic feeling that seems like it's waiting for a stronger concept. There's valet parking in front on Echo Park Ave., but plenty of parking is also available along Sunset Blvd. on most nights. Just watch out for those meters that charge until 8 p.m.

grilled octopus with sour apple syrup, cardamon butterscotch potato

Szechuan pork dumplings, salmon roe, spicy black vinegar

Pork dumplings were a wonderful take on the dumpling house staple, elevated by salmon roe and other special touches.

cheesecake mousse, frozen cookie dough, walnuts, maple syrup

Recommended dishes: Fried oyster, scallop tartare, bitter lettuce with soy cream dressing, Pork dumplings, lamb neck, cavatelli with fromage noir, cheesecake mousse
Thompson has a real talent for combining unusual ingredients in a very attractive way, though I'm a bit embarassed to say that my favorite dish was the cheesecake mousse I hoovered up for dessert.
Chance of a return visit: Would I come back on my own dime? If I could afford it, sure. I would recommend the experience for diners who want to see Thompson really stretch his chefly muscles in a un-frantic environment. And don't skip the very good cocktails, including the delicious Gentlemen's Breakfast.
Allumette, 1515 Echo Park Ave., Echo Park, 213-935-8787

(This was a comped press dinner.)

Tacolandia, a festival for the rest of us

A recent shrimp taco special from Mexicali Tacos

I've often complained that food festivals are way too expensive for the average eater, and now Bill Esparza, the Mexpert who blogs at StreetgourmetLA has done something about it. The L.A. Weekly is sponsoring the first Tacolandia festival, hosted by Bill, with a base price of $20 for more than 30 great taco tastes including the amazing Ensenada seafood stand La Guerrerense. Plus, a portion of the proceeds will benefit Homeboy Industries. Here's the details:
What: L.A. Weekly's Tacolandia Taco Fest
When: Sunday, June 23, noon-5 pm
Where: Hollywood Palladium parking lot
Participating tacomakers: Bistro LQ, SOL Mexican Cocina, Guerilla Tacos, Loteria Grill, Mexicali Taco Co., Rocio's Mole De Los Dioses, SoHo Taco, La Guerrerense and more.
Tickets: $20 for regular admission including all the tastes, $40 for VIP tickets including drinks at the bar.

5 lessons I learned from redoing my 70-year-old Silver Lake kitchen

The contractor found these 1939 beer cans in the walls

Between remodeling Variety and remodeling my kitchen, blogging at EatingLA has been slow over the past few months. But that doesn't mean I haven't been eating out. During the month that my kitchen was being remodeled, we took did plenty of take-out and delivery in the area, including Mae Ploy, Wat Dong Moon Lek, Tomato Pie and Mezze. I even tried cooking a traditional Italian long-cooked ragu on a plywood counter with no kitchen sink, hopefully for the last time ever.

The process was about as painless as a remodel can be, considering I've never remodeled anything before and was trying to keep the price as low as possible. Matt and I are not particularly gifted do-it-yourselfers, and we've both got a heavy work schedule, so we weren't going to be able to do much of it ourselves. I once tiled a counter, it was fairly painful, and I'm not married to the person I did it with anymore, so there you go. I'm pretty good at painting, but since it was included in the contractor's total price, I just let him do it.
However I did find and hire the countertop supplier, buy the sink, faucet, etc., at Home Depot, order the fridge and dishwasher and buy the interior fittings and handles at Ikea.
If anyone is planning on redoing a kitchen, here's a few things I learned along the way, as well as some basic costs.

Here's the before shot: Notice the door that annoyingly opens right into the small kitchen, and the old-fashioned pull chain on the overhead light..

What: Silver Lake house built in the moderne style in 1939 with original cabinets, badly-done newer tile countertops. Vintage-style floor tiles and stainless Frigidaire stove were only a few years old, so I decided to keep them. Old white dishwasher and fridge would have to go, along with everything else. The cabinets were too old and gross and strangely-sized to consider keeping.
Budget: Around $16,000 (I refinanced and took out some funds to keep the house updated.)
How: My contractor Arturo had remodeled a friend's bathroom for a good price. He's a straightforward guy who does clean work and the estimate came in lower than a few others I got, from contractors who had some crazy ideas about the fairly simple job. One wanted to cut a door in my living room, build a corridor through the garage, and close off the door to the downstairs bedroom. This would have been a $50,000 way to gain another two feet of counter space. No thanks.
What I did beforehand: Lots and lots of online research. In addition to obsessive reading of Apartment Therapy and a shiny new Pinterest account, I discovered Houzz and input every combination of counters and cabinets I could think of.

Another before shot: kitchen is blocked off from dining room;  food falls between stove and counter. Countertop is less than 20" deep, so not ideal for food prep.

The design philosophy: I wanted my kitchen to harmonize with the house's 1930's features but also be the kind of kitchen buyers want, just in case I ever put the house on the market. That meant no chartreuse countertops, cobalt blue cabinets or other whimsical ideas that were too "me." The personal touches would come through my accessories and decorations rather than in the large, unchangeable items.
My kitchen is quite small and adding square footage and fancy features wasn't possible within my budget. It's actually quite convenient for cooking, but I didn't like how closed off from the dining room it was. The budget-friendly solution was to take out just the top part of the wall above the stove, adding a handy wide ledge and opening up the room to conversation with the diners.

This is one of the many kitchens I found online that helped me focus what I wanted my kitchen to look like.

Cabinets: I looked around for just a little while before settling on Ikea Adel white cabinets. My contractor recommended them, and anything more expensive would have been overkill for the small space.
Countertops: I like the look of marble, but it sounded too hard to maintain, not to mention expensive. We went with Caesarstone quartz, in the vaguely marble-like Misty Carrera design. It wasn't cheap either, but looks great and is very low-maintenance. Unless you're on an extremely low or much higher budget, I think it's the way to go.
I used Star Marble and Granite in North Hollywood, which did a good job and was about as cheap as you can get.
Other features: I found a good, reasonably-priced sink and faucet at Home Depot, but I had to order the pendant lamp and water filter system I wanted online.We used plain white subway tiles from Home Depot -- I liked the colored glass ones, but they just seemed too modern for the house, and were way more expensive.
On the day before the contractor was going to arrive, I put most of the pots and pans and stuff that's not often used in the garage. And unfortunately, all of my carefully-collected spices. Then we bought a steel shelving unit at Target, put it together in the dining room, and put pretty much all the food and most of the dishes and glasses on it, along with a few essential pans. The microwave, coffee maker and toaster oven also found temporary spots in the dining room.

Day 1: Cabinets are removed, lower walls taken down to the studs, beer cans found. Fortunately, nothing was as rotten as I had feared it could be.

Day 2: An opening is cut and framed in the dining room wall, giving the previously sequestered cooks the ability to chat with folks in the dining room.

Day 4: Blueboard is installed on the wall where the sink will go.A new subfloor under the cabinets will keep out critters and rot in the future.

Day 5: Lower cabinets go in, plywood is in place to receive countertops.

Note the nifty lazy susan in the cabinet where the Tupperware graveyard used to take up all the inaccessible space.

Day 8: Upper cabinets are in.

 

Day 17: Wait, here we are at day 17 and there's still no kitchen sink. We're operating on a plywood countertop, and meanwhile my sister and brother-in-law visited for three days without a real kitchen. This is starting to get a little old. Even living without cabinet handles is getting tiring. Click to the next page to see how it looks all finished.

Atwater Gets Its Own Beer, Wine and Food Festival

What: Atwater gets its first Beer, Wine and Food festival, with breweries including Golden Road, Eagle Rock Brewery, Triple Voodoo, Angel City, Firestone Walker, Lagunitas and Tap It. Organized by Link N Hops and 55 Degree Wine owner Andy Hasroun, it's a chance to showcase the local beer and food truck scene and bring together the neighborhood.
When: Sunday, April 28, 1 pm to 6 pm
Where: 3111 Glendale Blvd.
How much: VIP tickets are only $40 and gets attendees early admission, access to the 55 Degree Wine cellar, gifts, and 24 tastings. A $30 ticket means access at the 1:00 pm opening and 12 tastings.
For information and tickets, go to AtwaterVillageFestival.com.

Crossroads: A stylish vegan spot for pretty people

Artichoke "oysters" are a fun take on oysters on the half shell, with fried oyster mushrooms sitting on artichoke leaves instead of shells, topped with kelp "caviar"

What: A small plates Mediterranean restaurant that happens to be all vegan, Crossroads is much more upscale bistro than scruffy hippie hangout.
Where: 8284 Melrose, across from Duff's Cakemix , in the slightly cursed former Dolce/Philippe spot.
The goods: Chef Tal Ronnen worked at Lyfe Kitchen and created his own vegan cheese recipes; he's also cooked for Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres and pitched for Gardein faux-meats. He leans towards Italian and Middle Eastern flavors, which is probably the right idea for approachable and flavorful vegan dishes.
He's a big devotee of cashew-based cheeses and such, so if you're allergic to nuts, be sure to consult with the kitchen before ordering.
Crossroads is L.A.'s only vegan spot with a full bar, and the cocktails are one of the highlights. Wine and beer lists are also well thought-out.
Crossroads has a comfy feel with dark red banquettes and dark wood moldings, contemporary chandeliers, a long bar and a more secluded titled room that will eventually house a provisions boutique with Ronen's signature aged vegan cheeses. Hope no one confuses it with Crossroads Trading clothing just down the street.
Who You'll See: Owner Steve Bing; DreamWorks Animation topper Jeffrey Katzenberg; girls stopping by the bar after a Cakemix birthday party; a low-key yet very Hollywood crowd.

Salads are always a strong suit of vegan restaurants, of course, and this Spring chopped salad with pea tendrils, English peas and watermelon radish is no exception.

Recommended dishes: Kale spanokopita with harissa smoked tomato fondu, cauliflower bisque with fried capers, artichoke oysters, Sunset & Vine cocktail with tequila, St. Germain, blood orange, beet and ginger beer.

Skip it: Neither the carrot cake ice cream nor citrus panna cotta really worked with whatever secret ingredients were replacing cream and eggs. Chocolate bundt cake was quite bitter, yet more to my taste.
Possibility of a return visit: Prices are quite reasonable for the ambiance and location (no meat costs!), so if I wanted to impress a vegetarian friend and not have to order dishes called things like "I Am Transcendent," then sure.