When last we checked in with Dinner Club (aka Dinner Club For Day People, aka #DTE) we were enjoying a meal at Manuela downtown. All of us have been busy to start 2017. After a failed attempt to get everyone together last month, Kelie took a stand and made a reservation at Here’s Looking At You. I admire the bold strategy. Wanna partake? Fine. Can’t make it? Oh well. So last night our party of five (I’m Bailey! No, wait. I’m Claudia!) was without Maryn and David, but no worries, I think we ate and drank enough for seven people…
Here’s Looking At You debuted in July and serves “Progressive SoCal Food” in Koreatown. Chef Jonathan Whitener has worked locally at Craft, Patina, Mezze, and Animal, as well as abroad in France. The menu seems inspired by both his time in France and the sundry different tastes one can find in Los Angeles.
All of us were late, for the first time in the history of Dinner Club. I blame Mark, who told me I should wait five extra minutes before requesting a Lyft. I like to think that the accident on the 101 and the accident on Western were both a result of my spending five extra minutes sitting around the house doing nothing. I also blame Mark for forgetting my camera, which was sitting next to me on the couch as I counted off the minutes until it was acceptable for me to leave. When I arrived Mark and Amanda were already present and waiting to be seated. They were also studying the drink menu. The three of us placed our cocktail orders, and a couple minutes later Nate and Kelie arrived. We were seated, the latest of the latecomers placed their first drink orders of the night, and we were on our way.
Bettencourt (McKenna Bonded Bourbon, Corbin Cash Sweet Potato Liqueur, Jameson Caskmates Stout, toasted marshmallow) – This was the cocktail that spoke to me the most, and it did not disappoint. I’d also recommend the (not pictured) Beachfront Property, a mezcal drink with lime and guava-clove syrup. The wine list is solid as well, but we’ll get to that later. The club members were immediately thrust into a heated debate thanks to Nate, who took a sip of his water and asked what it was flavored with. As I boast an incredibly discerning palate, I figured I would tackle parsing the water’s ingredients. And what did I come up with? Shishito peppers. Why? Because as I was shoving my nose in my glass of water the table next to us was being served shishito peppers. Everyone made fun of me and I quickly changed the subject. I don’t think the water at HLAY is flavored.
Beef Tartare (red chili, ramps, yolk, turnips, cress, charred bread) – I can’t pass up beef tartare on any menu, so this was one of my rallying cries when we first started going around the table offering order suggestions. I also really wanted the sweetbreads but I learned my lesson at Animal…if I want sweetbreads I have to eat them by myself. The best tartare I think I’ve ever had was at Red Medicine, but HLAY’s iteration was fantastic. Our second loud argument of the evening revolved around tastes and flavors. How many are there? I claimed that there are only five, which no one bothered to verify but everyone bothered to argue about. I think we wound up with bitter, salty, sweet, sour and umami. The biggest debate was umami versus savory. Someone posed the question, “What is savory” and Nate taught us all a lesson on savory…
Acorn Squash (goma-dare, cucumber, puffed rice, shungiku) – I loved the squash. Actually, when taken as a whole, I think I preferred all our vegetable dishes to the fish and meat dishes. The sesame sauce was what pulled it all together for me. A great bite that I would have happily ordered more of if given the chance. Our first four plates all arrived at the same time so there was a frenzy of activity around the table as everyone attempted to taste each item. We concurrently debated the best of the bunch. I also brought a new topic up for debate…
Stracciatella Cheese (pepita, yuzu kosho, perilla, charred bread) – I think Mark and Amanda were secretly bummed that I was right when I “guessed” what kind of cheese Stracciatella was. Don’t fuck with me and cheese, guys. Speaking of fuck, I fuck with any item on any menu that includes “yuzu” in the list of components. That new Trader Joe’s yuzu hot sauce? I’ve got two of them in my pantry right now. I’ve even started cooking way more rice dishes just so I can have an excuse to use it. I tried it on mac & cheese last week but I didn’t like the way it worked. Stracciatella, on the other hand, made a much better pairing — and I’m sure the yuzu here used in a much smaller portion than it is when I dump a bottle of hot sauce into a bowl of mac & cheese.
Golden Beets (spicy feta, celery, sumac, rye, lemon) – The beets were far and away my favorite dish of the night. The spicy feta had a Dinner Club Plate Lick-ability score that was off the charts. I wanted to slather that spicy feta all over my body just to lick myself clean, like a cat. I think a few people agreed with me on that. And by “that” I mean the favorite dish part. Not the licking myself clean part. ANYWAY…around this time I proposed to the group…what if we expand Dinner Club by one new member? What if in 2017 instead of bringing a celebrity guest to dinner, the Restaurant Chooser brings a prospective new member? The dinner would then double as an interview/audition that could lead to an invitation to join the club in 2018. At first I thought everyone’s laughter was because it was such a great idea they were embarrassed they hadn’t thought of it themselves. Then I realized it was because they thought it was a dumb idea.
Soft Shell Crab (black sriracha, pistachio, buckwheat honey, scallion) – When asked what his favorite item on the menu was, our server did not hesitate before answering “Soft Shell Crab.” Apparently it’s the freshest new seasonal item on the menu, so we had to try it. A few people claimed it was the best dish of the night. I think Mark and maybe Nate and Kelie? I don’t remember. I thought it was fine but the crab itself was a little bland to me. I loved the black sriracha and the sweetness of the honey but it also muted the crab. What do I know? At this time we also ordered a bottle of Tatomer Grüner Veltliner, Meeresboden (NV) in the hopes it would pair well with the next slate of dishes. It did! It was light, fruity, and zesty so it was great to play off the fattiness of the fried crab and the richness of the duck breast.
Duck Breast (blood mole, onion, asian pear, natural jus) – Blood mole. Natural Jus. Just think about those words for a second. Think about how hot they sound together. I thought the Asian Pear amplified the dish, and also brought out the pear notes in the wine, so that was cool. I feel like maybe there was a brief side chat about people’s aversions to blood in food, but then again I’ve had so many conversations over so many meals this week they’re all kind of running together in my head right now. Also there’s a 13-minute gap in my notes where nothing exciting happened around the table, so for all I know we were sitting there in silence, scraping our plates and avoiding one another.
Baby Octopus (la ratte potato, b&b celery, old bay) – Have I ever had ratte potatoes before? I can’t recall. Either way, it had such a unique taste we were going around the table trying to figure out if the sauce was even made of potatoes or not. The ‘pus was charred nicely and the bitterness from the celery was great. Never don’t put old bay in a dish, by the way. Is there old bay ice cream? I’m sure there has to be. Google it for me. Let me know. Between the soft shell crab and the old bay the New Englanders around the table were in heaven. At this point I shared a few stories from my trip up north, and went into more detail about some of the characters I met along the way.
Hamachi Collar (Nashville hot spice, fuji apple, snake peas) – Are you tired of the Nashville Hot Chicken thing? I’m not. Which is why I found the combination of collar (so fatty and juicy) and “Nashville hot spice” very impressive. Around this time Amanda started telling us some of her recent Bumble stories. We ordered more drinks at this point as we finished the bottle of wine very fast. We were half split on white wine and red wine so we ordered individual glasses instead of another bottle. Three of us picked a syrah, the other three went back to the Grüner.
Heritage Red Wattle Pork Belly (key lime amba, pineapple, palm sugar, herbs, shallots) – Our final savory dish was the pork belly. It was kind of divisive, as some felt it was too fatty and some felt it was great. I was in the middle. I guess i was kind of nonplussed by it? There were so many startlingly good bites in this meal when something was simply “good” it was a let down. Before dessert began we went around the table and described what we’re thankful for right now, which is always one of my favorite elements of Dinner Club. You might spend the first fifteen minutes arguing whether or not “savory” is a taste, someone might randomly discard their gum on a plate, of but by the time the meal is over everyone’s spirits are high…Or, they themselves are high. Either way, let’s never forget to give thanks at Dinner Club.
Yuzu Tart (white chocolate, burnt meringue) – There’s that fucking yuzu again. So tempting with its citrusy zip! This was decidedly the worst dish of the night. I wanted to enjoy it, but the burnt meringue was just too burnt and that smokiness really dominated each bite. You can blame Nate for deciding on this dish for the table, but I certainly didn’t do anything to stop him. You know how I feel about yuzu. I guess at the end of the day I’m just not really a big dessert guy…I’m more like a… little salty snack gal. At this point Mark and I had a little side conversation about our favorite desserts, and we both agreed that butterscotch pudding (his favorite is Gjelina’s, mine is Jar’s) was at the top of our list.
Strawberry (crema, brown sugar, sable, fennel) – This was certainly the better of the two dessert options but I wasn’t really a fan of it either. We probably should have gone for the pear upside down cake that the server recommended, but maybe after several drinks and ten plates of food we weren’t as susceptible to suggestion as when first we were seated. Our meal ended on a down note, I suppose, but overall the meal was great. The minutes of Dinner Club end at 10:45pm when I wrote “dissenting friends’ relationships.” I’m pretty sure that’s a typo. otherwise I have no clue what it means.
Had I read the menu closely enough to see they offered tea and coffee, I might have opted for a cup. Instead, we paid our bill and three of us (Nate, Amanda and myself) decided to keep the party going at a local bar or two. It turned into a very late night and far too much alcohol was consumed. Not that I’m complaining. That’s just part of Dinner Club. Go out, celebrate, eat well, see where things go. Next up, Amanda’s pick!
Mogwai – Fat Man [MP3]
