The Gold Standard

So a good 6 hours after I've left Jonathan Gold's Gold Standard event, I finally feel like a normal person again. It took me 6 hours to digest all the yummy food I ate and sober up from all the delicious wine and beer I drank. With food from 40 uniquely different restaurants and countless wines, beer, and whiskey that were free-flowing...I felt like I'd died and gone to foodie heaven.

In my opinion, the event was so worth the $60. The only booth that ran out of food before I got to try it was the Mozza booth. I didn't get any of the burrata/ricotta cheesy goodness :( However, it was okay because I was too busy trying to fit everything else in my stomach anyways. I have a pretty big appetite--especially for a girl--but even I couldn't try a little bit of everything before I felt like exploding or just laying down and going into a food coma. I somehow managed to avoid both scenarios which I would say is an impressive feat after 4 hours of non-stop food and drink consumption.

The event was held in the Petersen Automotive Museum which was actually a pretty cool place. The only ridiculously long line I was in was the line trying to get into the event. Luckily as we were standing in line, we were also surrounded by awesome cars and motorcycles. For the 10ish minutes we were in line, I stood by a HUGE motorcycle-like thing that looked like a giant bike-riding skeleton. I was a little scared of it, to be honest, but now I wish I'd taken a picture of it and some of the cool vintage cars instead of only taking pictures of food. Overall the atmosphere of the event was just wonderful. I sighted Jonathan Gold himself twice throughout the day which was a little exciting for me. The perfect weather today also helped to make this day of food and wine even more amazing.

Now I'm gonna share some of my favorite bites and not-so-favorite bites from today...if you weren't there today, be at least a little jealous ;)

LA Weekly 2nd Annual Gold Standard Food and Wine Event

*Not pictured but also very tasty are the albacore ceviche with aji amarillo sauce from Mo-Chica (the fish was so delightfully fresh), some muffin-like thing (amazingly moist for such a little bite) from Huckleberry Cafe, and the pork tostada (nice sweet and tender shredded pork) from Beacon. They were all very tasty. I just either forgot to take a picture or took a bad picture and ate the food before I could take another one*

This is a bad picture but I figured I should include a picture of the first bite we had. It was also a pretty decent bite. It was a Braised Kurobata Pork with Crispy Leeks and Beet Risotto Cake from Upstairs2. Their booth was right at the entrance to the event. In all the chaos of people entering the event, I wasn't able to get a very good picture.

We then moved onto The Hungry Cat which had this nice offering of salmon over picked red onions and some kind of spread. The bread was pleasantly soft instead of being crunchy like a crostini. Tasty, but wasn't tasty enough to merit seconds!

This was my first time tasting any of Chef Ludo's food and I have to say, while it was not my favorite in taste or texture, the overall experience of eating this veloute was certainly interesting. I enjoyed the sourness of the cornichon sorbet with the spiciness and creaminess of the soup but the texture of the cold, coagulated chorizo oil was a little off-putting for me.

My descent towards eating myself silly began with Loteria Grill. Their tacos probably were not even the most authentic tacos in the building but that tender beef tongue got to me. I ate two of those little suckers. Each bite was tender beefy goodness mixed with creamy fresh avocado. I'm bad at saying no to beef tongue in any kind of cuisine. The chicken was only okay--interesting only because of the nuttiness of the sauce. I only took a little bit of the meat from that taco. However, the mushroom taco was amazing. For not being meat, those mushrooms packed a whole lot of flavor. So good. However, after that little bout of taco eating frenzy, I was too taco-ed out to try any of the other tacos in the house. My loss :(

Oh that beef tongue taco went SO WELL with my Mighty Arrow beer in a wineglass

Bistro LQ tempted me with this mini baby slider with rabbit and oxtail in some kind of phyllo square. Sadly that rabbit didn't look very appetizing and its taste didnt make up for it. The little bun was hard and dry and cold. It just didn't work for me. The phyllo square was a little too buttery and oily. I didn't taste much oxtail flavor either. However, the little cups of tapioca with sea urchin and a kumamoto oyster at the bottom was a nice surprise. Actually, I guess I just liked the oyster part of it...

Nickel Diner's donut holes were surprisingly dense and surprisingly good. The famous Maple Bacon donut hole had a nice smokey finish on the tongue and the bacon was nice and crunchy. I also tried part of a Strawberry Shortcake donut hole and that was pleasant as well. They would've been nice with a cup of LA MILL coffee but at that point in time I think I had some wine in hand.

This unassuming plate of pot roast from Jar was actually surprisingly delicious. It was tender and full of flavor. The horseradish creme on top also added a nice touch. If I wasn't already so full by then I would've eaten an entire plate by myself. Sadly, I could only take two bites.

Ahhh this Banh Mi with Pork Belly+Pig Ears, Kumquats, Pistachios, and Lardons by Octavio Becerra Palate Food+Wine was my favorite bite of the event. The flavors all worked together so perfectly--a little spicy, a little savory, a little sweet. The french bread was nice and crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. The pig ears were cooked to perfection--still a little crunchy from the cartilage but otherwise sticky and soft. I even took a second serving to save for later hehe...

Sona had been pretty high up on my list of booths to definitely hit but with all the chaos and amount of food I had to eat through to get there, I had almost forgotten about them. However, I did manage to still eat this nice little bite of salmon smoked with Vietnamese flavors on a shrimp chip. I think that was what it was described as. Nonetheless, it was a refreshingly simple and light bite in contrast to everything else I had had...definitely more refined.

At this point, it was time for a switch from savory to sweet. We had just tried a little bit of the beef from Jitlada and it was spicy as hell! I couldn't take it. I didn't even take a full fledged bite of the stuff and my mouth was on fire. I got a cappuccino from LA MILL and realized that it was a damn good cappuccino that deserved to be friends with the sweet little cupcake from Tiara Cafe. It was a nice little sweets break. The itsy bitsy cupcake was a "black velvet" cupcake which was nice because it tasted exactly like a red velvet cupcake (which I love) yet it didn't contain any red food colorings. Then I had a nice little scoop of guava ice cream from Saffron Silk. That was also incredibly delicious and rich yet fruity. I made another trip back to Saffron Silk a little later in the day...

We then ventured out into the outdoors area and ran into these nice little bites of sausage from Wurstkuche. I was already stuffed but then Duck and Bacon caught my eye and I reasoned with myself. "There just little bites of sausauge. What harm would it do? Besides, this is savory, what I just had was sweet..." So I ate one. It was yummy. Then I saw Rattlesnake and Rabbit...whaaat? I had to try one of those. It was also tasty though probably more rabbit than rattlesnake. And just like that, I put two more pieces of bread and sausage in my stomach.

I kept assuring my stomach that it was time for a break but then I saw Little Dom's and I just had to have one of those Fried Oyster Po'Boy bites. The crispy batter that broke into the creamy oyster inside was perfect with the little bit of fried crispy prosciutto(?) When I first saw Little Dom's on the lineup of restaurant that would be participating in this event, I knew they wouldn't bring pizza. That would've made no sense. So I hoped and hoped that they would be bringing their oyster po'boys so that I could finally try one. My dream came true and I was a happy girl :)

I think at this point, my stomach had some to terms with the fact that it would NOT be getting a rest at all today. I kept smelling fried chicken...I had a cup of beer in my hand...everyone else around me had some of these KyoChon chicken wings...I had to have some! The garlic sauce on the crispy wing was pretty tasty but eh, it was still just a fried chicken wing.

La Casita Mexicana's Chiles en Nogada was the last savory thing I had today. It was very good, something I had never had before, but it was cold...was it supposed to be cold? Or was it because things had already begun to dwindle down? It didn't matter to me anymore. I was on my second glass of Two Hands Gnarly Dude Shiraz and I couldn't have been happier. Finding out that that was the name of that bottle of Shiraz later on was just the cherry on top. That was definitely my favorite wine of the day.

Last thing was did was chill on some more delicious ice cream from Saffron Silk--this time in Rose(yum!) and Cardamon flavors--while this lady did her thing in a gold sequined jumpsuit. Not gonna lie, I was a little jealous of her sequins and big hair.

We also got these cappucinos from Urth Cafe that I meant to drink on the way home but there was waaay too much milk in it for me. It didn't even taste like coffee--just milk. However, the designs they poured were so pretty!

Finally, after a long and satisfying day of eating and drinking, I somehow made it back into my bed with my second helping of pig ear banh mi :)

Kiyokawa

I just had one of the best Japanese meals I have ever had in my life.

It was unbelievable.

Jonathan Gold had given it a raving review:

Kiyokawa is

"home of Satoshi Kiyokawa, possibly the best unknown sushi chef in Los Angeles at the moment. His multicourse omakase dinners are epic, kaiseki-style feasts; seasonal, imaginative meals that, while not cheap, rival their equivalents at places charging two and three times as much. In my decades of reviewing restaurants, Kiyokawa may be the first place I was tempted to keep for myself."

Must be good...

didn't know it would be this good.

Except, the revered JGold forgot to mention one thing...

Satoshi-san appears to be dancing as he prepares his delectable omakase. With an colorful array of the freshest fish fillets before him and a long sharp knife in hand, Satoshi appears to be performing an intricate dance with his ingredients. He assumes a confident stance as every long, smooth stroke of his knife cuts the fish before him like it was butter. The molding of each nigiri seems to involve his entire body. Rocking back and forth, fish flying from hand to hand, the rhythm of his movements seems to help to create impeccable pieces of seafood and rice. I always knew the preparation of Japanese cuisine was an art form--I had just never seen it in such a dynamic, flamboyant way. Without a doubt, sit at the sushi bar so you can marvel at Satoshi-san's moves while enjoying his interpretive, flawless creations. Watching him at his art added as much to my experience as each delicious bite.

There are pictures out there of the omakase at Kiyokawa by that I find to be absolutely stunning. These are mine. They're as much for you as they are for me to help me as I reminisce about every impeccable bite of that dinner.

Throughout my childhood, I visited many of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo or in Taipei with my family. I've had my share of omakase meals. Nothing has captured my heart as much as Satoshi's omakase. It might be because every course involved my absolute favorite ingredients, from uni to foie gras to fresh abalone and black cod. There are my favorites ANYWHERE. Now my favorites are at Kiyokawa.

Kiyokawa

265 S. Robertson Ave

Beverly Hills, CA

(310) 358-1900

cucumber, spinach, lotus root, burdock root

bluefin tuna from Spain, Santa Barbara sea urchin, fresh abalone, halibut, freshly grated wasabi

Satoshi asked if I had any preferences when it came to sashimi. I answered: "anything that comes in a shell!" This resulted in deliciously fresh abalone, creamy sea urchin, and later on, sweet scallop. I was in heaven.

seared foie gras, marinated sea urchin, snow crab on cripsy wonton, seared hamachi with japaleno, kumamoto oyster with cavier and gold leaf, halibut in hot oil

This was a plate full of little treasures. I can't even find words to do them justice. Each little compartment held two bites of the most perfect flavor and texture combinations I have ever encountered. While reminding me a little of Japanese bento boxes in how it was organized, this dish was a very modern take on Japanese cuisine in both taste and presentation. I loved it.

daikon, silken tofu, taro in broth

Don't let the seemingly bland and boring look of this dish fool you. It was delicious! The broth was good but the most amazing part was the piece of daikon in the back. It was so good! Spoon tender while maintaing its texture, the daikon had soaked up the flavor of the broth and each bite only made me want more.

miso marinated black cod

I love miso marinated black cod. I've never had it paired with a salad. Ingenious! The salad was dressed in sesame oil and was perfect for balancing the fatty goodness of the cod.

The next dish was a amazing "japanese matzo ball" soup. It was a big ball of light fluffy tofu mixed with sweet scallop that was deep fried and then put in a thick clear soup. SO GOOD. I only wish I had taken a picture of it before I devoured it all. I was trying to eat it some of it before the soup made the entire ball of goodness soft. I got a few good mouthfuls of tempura in soup before the whole thing disintegrated into the delicious soup.

After that soup, I was officially starting to get full. The final plate of nigri was just the thing I needed. Some more fish and sushi rice!

tuna, halibut, mackerel, scallop, uni

black sesame ice cream

Such a delicious departure from boring green tea ice cream. I LOVE black sesame and this ice cream was probably the best I've had in a while. It was so good, it inspired me to make black sesame macarons during xmas break ;)

**I know it's taken me more than a month to finally put up this post! Christmas break meant I was in the kitchen all day at home and actually making food rather than sitting at my desk at school just looking at food blogs all day. There will definitely be a LOT of blogging for me in the next few days! :)