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20 Years of kevinEats

I consider the birth of this blog to have occurred on August 17th, 2006, the date of my first meal at Alinea.

I grew up culinarily sheltered. My parents were not particularly adventurous in terms of cuisine, and thus my childhood diet was decidedly ho-hum, with our local fast food joints often appearing in the dinner rotation. It was only when I went off to college that my eyes were opened to the range of gastronomic possibilities out there. Spurred on by a new set of collegiate acquaintances, I began exploring all the gustatory options available to me in this new environment. After I graduated, I moved back to Southern California and started the process of eating my way through the region.

This was the context in which that Alinea meal took place. I was dipping my toes into the world of fine dining at this point, and during a business trip to Chicago, I decided to pay the restaurant a visit, as I'd heard that Chef Grant Achatz was putting out the most creative cooking in the country. It was certainly the most creative cooking I'd ever encountered, given that I'd never experienced anything remotely close to modernist cuisine (or molecular gastronomy, as they tended to call it back then). What I came across at Alinea helped change my perception of what food could be. Even though I didn't understand much of it--some of the dishes clearly went over my head--I knew that what I was eating was special, and thus felt compelled to document the affair.

I didn't even have my own digital camera, so I borrowed my coworker's and (poorly) photographed the full meal, which people just didn't do that often two decades ago. Those photos, along with accompanying narrative, were posted to my Myspace account, using the site's built-in blogging feature. The response I received from friends, and more interestingly, complete strangers, was largely positive, and motivated me to start chronicling other dining experiences.

Following Alinea, I reckon that Urasawa, French Laundry, and Joël Robuchon were the next posts that really helped grow my audience (people tended to prefer reading about the super high-end spots), and by the dawn of 2008, it was becoming clear that I should probably launch my own web site. One of the people that convinced me to strike out on my own was the author of the now-defunct chuckeats.com, and as a nod to his counsel, I chose the moniker kevinEats for my blog, which went live in March 2008. My first posts on the new platform detailed meals from the recent trip I'd taken to Japan, though I did keep posting on Myspace as well until the end of '08.

My site saw an upswing in infamy throughout the "golden years" of food blogging that spanned the late 2000s to the early 2010s, when there were dozens of LA-focused food blogs operating, pretty much all of which are now extinct, sadly. By the middle of the last decade, long-form blogging was clearly on the decline, replaced by the likes of Instagram and its ilk. I'm part of a dying breed. In fact, I'm actually a bit surprised that the blog has lasted this long, and often wonder how many years I have left in me. Nevertheless, kevinEats is still up and running at 20 years of age, and I figure that I should at least do something to commemorate the occasion:

• The first thing that came to mind is to revisit the restaurant where it all began: Alinea. Ideally, I'd dine there as close as possible to the 20th anniversary of my first meal, which seems doable. Of course, if I'm going to be in Chicago, I'd like to check out some other top spots in the City as well, and the likes of Ever, Kasama, and Smyth certainly come to mind.
• I'd also like to take the opportunity to drink primarily 2006 wines in 2026. My focus will be on the "great wines of the world," which, admittedly, is a nebulous term, but my selections will likely consist of bottlings from leading wine regions and iconic producers. I actually think 20 years is a bit of a sweet spot for this sort of undertaking, since most of the wines should be in their drinking windows, and shouldn't be too difficult/costly to acquire.
• Lastly, I'd like to start the process of donating all the menus I've amassed over the years to the Los Angeles Public Library, which specifically maintains a collection of historic menus. I've accrued over 2400 pieces at this point, and would like them to be preserved for future generations. After all, food is a reflection of culture, and I think it'll be illuminating to maintain physical manifestations of what we ate during our particular period of human history.

That's it for now, but of course, I may think of other ways to celebrate my one score milestone as the year progresses. I'm looking forward to a fruitful 2026!

New Year's Eve 2025

New Year's Eve 2025
Wed 12/31/2025, 06:05p-01:00a



I usually don't do much on New Year's Eve, generally preferring to stay in, but this year, some of us did venture out to a friend's house for a rousing night of dinner and drinks.


The evening started with a blind tasting of Hibiki Japanese blended whiskies (the bottles were only assigned to each Glencairn post-tasting). Going left to right, we had:

• Hibiki Japanese Harmony – The distillery's no age statement whisky showed a somewhat volatile nose of green apple and subdued tropical fruit. On the palate, I got plenty of tart orchard fruit and touches of honey and citrus, all undergirded by woodsy, umami sensations.
• Hibiki 17 Year Old – Less overtly fruity than the Harmony at first blush, this smelled more medicinal, herbaceous, and savory, with notes of brown sugar and dark berry appearing with more time in the glass. Taking a sip, I found the whisky noticeably more viscous, with increased depth and concentration, which was especially apparent in how it expressed its oaky, raisin-y, and floral flavors. Do note that this expression has been discontinued by Suntory.
• Hibiki 21 Year Old – Aromas here recalled freshly-baked apple pie, with a marked brown sugar and caramel character. Silky smooth in the mouth, with more of those apple notes supported by herb, saline, incense-y spice, and dark fruit. My favorite of the foursome.
• Hibiki 100th Anniversary Blend – Last up was a Japanese market-only release made from a base of 17-year distillate combined with 30-year Yamazaki mizunara malts and Chita grain whiskies. The bouquet on this one was headlined by tart citrusy nuances, with undercurrents of oak and honey, the latter appearing more and more as the whisky breathed. In terms of taste, I got a healthy dosing of that trademark mizunara spice, commixed with more citrus, honey, and orchard fruit. This one showed the most improvement over the course of the tasting.

Dinner commenced with a tartare of supple, subtly saline Hokkaido scallops, set in a savory, piquant dressing, with chunks of avocado offering a bright, creamy contrast.


I brought a couple beers with me, and first was the 2015 Tired Hands Guillemot GuillyVanilly, a rather uncommon brew (216 bottles made) that I acquired not long after its March '15 release and had been cellaring ever since. This was an oak-aged dark saison, conditioned on Mexican dark chocolate and Madagascar vanilla beans. The nose demonstrated farmhouse funk, black fruit, and plenty of tartness. Palate-wise, I got wisps of fragrant vanilla at the fore, leading to multifaceted notes of sourness, earth, barnyard, cacao, and dark berries. I'm glad I finally got to open this.




Next came xiánsūjī, or Taiwanese fried chicken, made using thighs marinated in a soy-based "secret sauce," then dredged in pre-seasoned sweet potato starch. The bird was then double-deep-fried and tossed with chili flour before eating. This compared very favorably to any other sort of popcorn chicken I've had.


A barrel-aged blonde barley wine hopped with El Dorado, the 2015 Firestone Walker Helldorado was another bottle that I'd been cellaring ever since I'd acquired the beer over a decade ago. Aromas recalled lush stone fruit intertwined with sweet malt. On the tongue, I found things soft and sweet, with more of those stone fruits and roasty malts supported by tinges of honey and caramel, along with just a touch of hoppiness. Surprisingly vivacious I must say.



Two types of potatoes were smashed, bathed in a mixture of duck fat, butter, olive oil, and garlic, and oven-roasted for 45 minutes. Here, the key was the juxtaposition of the taters' crispy exteriors and creamy insides, and I appreciated the additional shavings of salty Parmesan as well, though the cheese wasn't strictly necessary.


Our first wine was the 2016 Sine Qua Non Rätsel 16, a Syrah-based blend from California's Central Coast. The bouquet brought dark, jammy berries intermingled with tobacco, meat, and cedar-y spice. In the mouth, I found fine tannins right up front, which quickly transitioned to sweet, almost candied fruit, melded with an elegant earth-smoke-mineral character that was quite contemplative. A worthy match for the beef below.






Tonight's pièce de résistance was an SRF Gold American Wagyu tomahawk steak from Snake River Farms, cooked sous vide then finished in cast iron. I sampled both the ribeye cap and the eye of the ribeye, and there was a marked difference between the two. The latter was more of your "classic" rib eye experience, while the cap showed off more depth and tenderness. Both cuts stood alone on their own merits, though I didn't mind a drizzle of that zippy chimichurri, especially with the eye.


With dinner proper done with, we moved on to some spirits for digestif duty:

• High West The Prisoner's Share – This was an amalgam of ryes and bourbons finished in French oak barrels that previously held The Prisoner (a red blend). The whiskey had a nose of ripe stone fruit tinged with red wine character and a smidge of spiciness and wood. On the palate, I tasted a plethora of sweet spices, dark fruit, minty herbs, and oak. Overall, I'd say that the wine was pretty well incorporated--always discernable, but not too in-your-face.
• Compass Box Brûlée Royale – Next up was a blended malt Scotch whisky that apparently made use of both ex-bourbon and new American oak barrels. This smelled of pome fruit, vanilla, and caramel, but all rendered is a fairly restrained manner. Taste-wise, I detected massive amounts of semi-caramelized apple, with supporting elements of stone fruit, baking spice, and honey. The people behind this reportedly took inspiration from the flavors of crème brûlée, and I can see where they're coming from.

Dessert comprised a tasting of four different imperial stouts, all brewed in the same manner with chocolate, Geisha coffee, hazelnuts, and vanilla added, but aged 24 months in different bourbon barrels. Left to right:

• 2025 Horus Woodford Reserve Dosed – Not surprisingly, all four beers were fairly similar, displaying boatloads of sweet hazelnut all over the place, with plenty of dark fruit and malt to boot, along with more restrained nuances of cacao, coffee, and vanilla. I will say that the Woodford presented itself in a somewhat funkier, more mineral-driven fashion.
• 2025 Horus Heaven Hill Dosed – This was likely the sugariest of the foursome, and thus the most properly "dessert-y."
• 2025 Horus Jim Beam Dosed – The Beam seemed to highlight more of the stout's dark fruit character, while its palate veered a touch spicier as well.
• 2025 Horus Knob Creek Dosed – Again, the beer's fruitiness seemed more overtly conveyed here.

Last to imbibe was the 2006 Dom Pérignon Champagne P2 Plénitude 2 Brut, which was intended for our New Year's toast (thus kicking off my plan to drink mostly '06 wines in '26 to celebrate this blog's twentieth anniversary). Released in 2024, the P2 is essentially a late-disgorged version of the regular Dom, aged sur lie for 17 years before undergoing dégorgement in 2023. On the nose, the Champagne conveyed massive amounts of brioche, fused with apple preserves and citrus, with a smidgen of earth. On the palate, I found bountiful toasty, bready flavors alongside orchard fruits, with undertones of barnyard and mineral, all punctuated by pops of nutty-bitterness and plenty of acidity. In the interest of experimentation, in addition to the traditional flute pictured above, I tried the DP from a standard wine glass and a coupe as well. The former tended to bring out the Champagne's minerality, while the latter seemingly de-emphasized the apple-y aromas present.