Sunday, June 28, 2015

Barrel Down (Los Angeles, CA)

Barrel Down Restaurant
525 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
213.232.8657
www.barreldownla.com
Sun 06/28/2015, 08:00p-12:10a




[9/4 Update: Derrick de Jesus is no longer with the restaurant, having decamped toward the end of July, replaced by Jimmy Bustillos.]

Barrel Down Exterior Craft beer continues to rise in prominence here in LA, and one of the latest efforts in that arena has to be Barrel Down, an "American beer hall" concept that debuted at the end of May. The bar is the brainchild of a group of investors known as MBBC (Money Back Brewing Company), headed by President Michael Winn and VP Jordan Chiu. To run the day-to-day here, MBBC has brought on Andrea Comegys (Public School) as General Manager, while kitchen duties are the realm of Executive Chef Derrick de Jesus.

About the Chef: The son of a Filipino father and American mother, de Jesus moved around frequently after his parents divorced when he was four. He eventually settled in Alhambra in the sixth grade, and soon discovered the Asian eateries of the SGV. This drove a keen interest in food, and after culinary school, he spent nearly eight years with the Ritz-Carlton group. During this period (2007), de Jesus also competed in the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie in Lyon. He later moved to Patina Group, and then staged for six months at Enrique Olvera's iconic Pujol in Mexico City.

After returning to the US, de Jesus helped open Lukshon with Jacob Kear and Johnny Yoo in February 2011. By October that year, he had joined Saluté Wine Bar, where he would meet Ari Taymor, the head chef there at the time. Taymor ended up starting the pop-up version of Alma in February 2012, and brought de Jesus along with him as CdC. Alma proper dropped at the end of June, but he was out by October to pursue his own ventures, stopping briefly at Amalur Project. De Jesus launched his Asian-inflected MSG pop-up series in January 2013 at the City Sip wine bar in Echo Park, and later brought it to Brick House in Venice in March.

Toward the middle of 2013, he cooked at Scratch Bar as well as at Miles Thompson's dearly-departed Allumette. That fall, de Jesus went to Europe to stage at In De Wulf in Belgium and Relae in Denmark. Upon return at the start of 2014, he was tapped by Linda Shin to helm her modern Asian eatery Gaji, but that deal fell through and he was replaced by Minh Phan (Gaji ended up folding quickly and is being replaced by an outpost of Little Sister). De Jesus went to Goldie's next, then launched another iteration of MSG at Doughroom in Palms before taking a position at Bruce Kalman's Union.

Barrel Down Interior
Barrel Down Interior
Barrel Down was penned by LA-based designer Ricki Kline. It's a fairly spare space, high-ceilinged, light-toned, with plenty of wood. A long bar takes up a good portion of the room, while the rest of the restaurant features various types of seating arrangements. Apparently, there's even a private loft space upstairs.

Barrel Down Menu Barrel Down Beer/Wine/Cocktail List Barrel Down Tap List
As for Barrel Down's menu, you get casual-yet-refined, bar-appropriate eats from de Jesus. Drink-wise, there's an American wine list by Chiu (who worked for the likes of Soho House, Saluté, and Hillstone), a smattering of cocktails, and of course beer, lots of it. 40 taps are on offer, divided into a list of 20 core brews and 20 rotating selections (all domestic), and there are a number of large format bottles available as well. The beer program was initially designed by Dylan Snyder and Steven Zakarian of home brew consultancy firm Beertender Los Angeles, and apparently they're sticking around and have plans to operate the Downtown LA Homebrewers Club out of Barrel Down. Click for larger versions.

Cauliflower Popcorn
Cauliflower Popcorn [$7.00] | crispy cauliflower, ginger aioli & chili lime vinaigrette
Up first was a dish that's sort of becoming Barrel Down's signature. There was a balance here between the crispiness of the batter and the cauliflower's tender insides, with the vinaigrette imparting a much-appreciated tanginess and funk to things.

Alpine Hoppy Birthday / Abbey Monk's Tripel Reserve / Bell's Brewing Quinannan Falls Special Lager / 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon
Naturally, we had to start with a selection of beer of draft, which are all available in half-portions. Left to right, we have:
  • Alpine Hoppy Birthday [$4]: An American pale ale, and my favorite of the quartet, with loads of bright, juicy citrus on the nose, while on the palate, we got more of the same, but with a soft hoppiness overarching everything. Really well-balanced.
  • Abbey Monk's Tripel Reserve [$5]: Spicy and sweet aromas here, leading to a body of malt, more fruit, and slight hop bitterness.
  • Bell's Brewing Quinannan Falls Special Lager [$4]: Weak bouquet of hops, tropical fruit, and floral notes on this American lager; taste follows.
  • 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon [$4]: A light, refreshing beer with subtle notes of watermelon intermingled with a slight graininess.
Sweet & Sticky Ribs
Sweet & Sticky Ribs [$14.00] | pork spare ribs, crushed peanut, cilantro, Thai BBQ
The ribs were as sticky and sweet as advertised, with a subdued Thai-like quality to 'em.

Lagunitas Citrusinensis
The Lagunitas Citrusinensis [$6] was nice, a Sanguinello blood orange-enriched pale ale that did a great job playing the sweetness of the citrus against a balanced hop profile.

Oysters
Next was a complementary amuse bouche of sorts. The oysters came out creamy, sweet, and saline, with a strong, lingering brine. I wanted some more acidity, more punch to really perk these up though.

Up the Ancho
Up the Ancho [$12.00] | Montelobos mezcal, Ancho Reyes, grapefruit, cilantro
At this point, we moved on to Barrel Down's cocktails. The first was my favorite of the three we tried, its light mezcal nuances paired with sweet pricks of spice and a lingering heat.

Apple Cider Sprouts
Apple Cider Sprouts [$9.00] | warm brussels, diced apple, watercress & cider vinaigrette
Brussels came out appropriately bitter and satisfyingly-textured, with a sweet 'n' sour counter and an additional point of interest from the watercress. A bit too many apples here though.

Bankrobber
Bankrobber [$11.00] | Banknote scotch, ginger gomme, pineapple, lime, Angostura
The next cocktail wasn't quite as successful. I got the booziness of the scotch along with the sweet gomme, but there was something missing: more acidity, more aromatics perhaps.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Buttermilk Fried Chicken [$13.00] | spicy fried chicken, zucchini pickles, kaleslaw, bleu cheese vinaigrette, sourdough
The requisite chicken sandwich worked it out, the bird displaying a delightful bit of spice to it while the veggies helped even things out.

Peaches & Rye
Peaches & Rye [$12.00] | Goldminer rum, Wild Turkey Rye, honey wheat syrup, peach preserves
Our last cocktail definitely showed off the sticky, honeyed sugariness of peach, the backbone of booziness from the rum/rye offering up a bit of a counterpoint.

BBQ Carrots
BBQ Carrots [$9.00] | honey chili glazed heirloom carrots & whipped yogurt
The carrots were perhaps my favorite course of the night, roasted in their own juice, turmeric, galangal, and lemongrass, then charred and glazed with honey vinegar and fermented chile. There was a very nice balance of sweet, bitter, and spicy going on here, and I really appreciated the finishing touch from the whipped yogurt.

2015 Perennial Hopfentea
At this point, we broke out some of our BYOB bottles. We shared everything with the staff of course, and were able to get corkage comped. Up first was something lighter, the 2015 Perennial Hopfentea, a Berliner Weisse infused with a housemade tea blend. I enjoyed it, finding its juicy notes of stone fruit a good match to the tart, refreshing nature of the beer.

Southern Shrimp
Southern Shrimp [$14.00] | cornmeal crusted shrimp, coleslaw, fried green tomato, remoulade, brioche bun
This po' boy-like sandwich delivered, with the brine of the crispy shrimp really working well alongside the tangy slaw, all while remoulade helped tie it all together.

2015 Modern Times Monsters' Park aged in Nicaraguan Rum Barrels with Coconut & Cocoa Nibs
From a sour we went to a stout, the 2015 Modern Times Monsters' Park aged in Nicaraguan Rum Barrels with Coconut & Cocoa Nibs, a recent brewery-only release of a mere 800 bottles. The smell on this one wowed us all with its ridiculous amount of coconut-y sweetness--easily the most coconut-forward nose I've encountered. The taste, meanwhile, brought more coconut of course, joined by notes of chocolate to make for a Mounds bar-esque flavor profile, the spice from the rum barrel coming through toward the midpalate. I'd had the bourbon barrel-aged version of this not long ago at Butcher's Dog, and compared to that, this had quite a bit more coconut, but was also thinner in terms of body. Pretty amazing.

Build Your Own Fish Tacos
Build Your Own Fish Tacos [$19.00] | local yellowtail al pastor, sweet pea guacamole, roasted pineapple, pickled radish & corn tortillas
An interesting concept here, though the yellowtail was lacking in your typical al pastor spices. I wanted to taste more of that savory, spicy depth on the fish, though when everything was assembled and taken together, the tacos were pretty tasty.

2014 De Garde Herbes Houblon
Another standout was the 2014 De Garde Herbes Houblon, a sour farmhouse ale aged in oak gin and vermouth barrels. I loved the balance of tart and fruity flavors here, but the key was the spicy, botanical, almost celery-like edge from the gin-aging that really took this up a notch. Superb.

Heritage Pork
Heritage Pork [$24.00] | pork shoulder, peaches, plums, sauteéd mushroom & English peas
An impressive looking dish, the pork, sadly, didn't deliver on its promises. Quite simply, the shoulder came out overdone, dry, tough, and couldn't really be saved by its various accompaniments.

2015 Cigar City / Hardywood Park Milk Maid
Next to drink was the 2015 Cigar City / Hardywood Park Milk Maid, a collaboratively-brewed white milk stout made with coffee and cocoa nibs that was released in January. The color of the beer really belied its stout-y qualities, with notes of roast and malt commingling nicely with the soft chocolate and coffee present.

Avocado Grilled Cheese
Avocado Grilled Cheese [$10.00] | smoked cheddar & bellwether cheese, sliced avocado, basil, toasted Texas toast
The grilled cheese showed off all the classic tastes and textures that you'd expect, but with the avocado adding an additional layer of lushness to the mix.

2015 Toolbox The Carlton
Our last sour was the 2015 Toolbox The Carlton, a 500-bottle brewery-only release from late June. The beer was a sour blonde ale fermented with blackberries and Brettanomyces. I quite liked it: funky and tart to the smell, with a puckering, nose-tingling palate backed by berry fruit and Brett, a hint of Band-Aid coming through on the back end.

Grain Bowl
Grain Bowl [$14.00] | Grist & Toll barley, wild rice, beans, wheat berries, fried sweet potato & soft egg
The grain bowl displayed a bevy of textures and flavors, an amalgam of bitter, sweet, and tart brought together by the luxuriousness of that runny egg.

2015 Pizza Port Beeramisu
Our final drink brought out the 2015 Pizza Port Beeramisu, an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with chocolate, vanilla bean, and coffee brewed in celebration of Bottlecraft's fourth anniversary. Huge amounts of coffee in the aroma here, and on the tongue, I got more strong coffee, joined by chocolate but unfortunately not too much vanilla.

Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street [$6.00] | bread pudding, bourbon, chocolate, banana & brown sugar pecans
Moving on to dessert now, the bread pudding came out teeming with notes of dark fruit and booze, with a countering lactic tanginess to even it out.

Blueberry Meringue Tart
Blueberry Meringue Tart
We concluded with a dessert special, a sort of blueberry meringue tart that did a good job playing the tartness of the berry against the richness of meringue, all while the crust made for a fitting contrast to it all.

Barrel Down looks to be a notable new addition to LA's beer scene. The tap list is worth checking out, and the food program delivers for the most part too--minus a few missteps here and there (hopefully those will get tightened up). A pretty neat place to hang out overall.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Osso (Los Angeles, CA)

Osso Restaurant
901 E 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
213.880.5999
www.ossodtla.com
Thu 06/25/2015, 08:00p-10:55p




Osso Exterior

Dana Hollister's Arts District bar One-Eyed Gypsy closed back in April of last year, and in its place comes Osso (Italian for "bone"), a much more food-focused place that opened at the end of May. Hollister's still on board though, and she's brought on her Cliff's Edge partner Pierre Casanova as well as two ex-New Yorkers to run the day-to-day.

The FOH is handled by Ami Lourie, a former GM at Cliff's Edge who previously worked for Mario Batali in NYC. He also served as General Manager at David Chang's Momofuku Noodle Bar, and met Chef Nick Montgomery while the two were at Momofuku Ssam Bar. Alabama native Montgomery, for his part, cooked at Montmartre, The Brooklyn Star, and Momofuku in New York, and also worked a stint at Paul Kahan's Blackbird in Chicago.

Osso Interior
The old home of The One-Eyed Gypsy (and before that, Bordello) has been stripped down to the basics, allowing for an open, very dimly-lit 45-seat dining room.

Osso Menu Osso Cocktail & Beer List Osso Wine List
Osso's menu is refreshingly compact, featuring a small selection of cheffy American classics with a Southern edge. To drink, you get a reasonable beer list and a handful of wines chosen by Lourie and John Koehnen of Revel Wines. However, the main draw is the cocktail program, crafted here by Darwin Manahan, the current GM/Beverage Director at Cliff's Edge whom many of us likely know from his work at Eduardo Ruiz's Corazon y Miel/Picnik/Punch. Click for larger versions.

Hola Chingon
Hola Chingon [$12.00] | cimarron tequila blanco, lime, blueberry cordial, bubbly wine
We ended up getting all of the cocktails tonight, and started with Manahan's ode to the Adios Motherfucker. It was of course more refined than its inspiration, the fruitiness of blueberry front and center, balanced by the tartness of lime while Angostura gave the drink a bitterness toward the middle. Underpinning it all was a subtle agave-laced booziness from the tequila.

Beef Biltong Jerky
Beef Biltong Jerky [$7.00]
Our first snack was this take on South African-style biltong cured-dried meat. Resembling slivers of steak, its showed off a super-concentrated beefiness and spice, along with a relatively moist, chewy consistency with a distinct fattiness. Very cool.

Lil' Jon's Sausage
Lil' Jon's Sausage [$6.00]
Speaking of jerky, an homage to the ubiquitous Slim Jim was up next. It was a worthy approximation of the original, a little less snappy, but with a deeper savor and an appropriate amount of spicing.

East 180
East 180 [$12.00] | benesin mezcal, honey, mandarin, lime, bee pollen
Every craft cocktail list seems to have a mezcal option these days, and Osso's was a good example of such. Aromatics of honey commingled with smoke on the nose, while on the palate, you had the sweetness of mandarin and the woodiness of mezcal, the pollen adding a great finish to the drink.

Onion Rings
Onion Rings [$6.00]
Onion rings were lightly battered and crisp, with the sweetness of the veggie really shining through. Tasty alone, and even better with a dab of that creamy, spicy sauce on the side.

Hamachi Crudo
Hamachi Crudo [$13.00] | pho broth, thai basil, crispy shallots
The yellowtail was a standout, the clean cuts of fish beautifully matched with the pho-inspired broth and its considerable depth and bright, herby aromatics. Nice crunch and savor from the shallots, too.

Padre
Padre [$12.00] | ford's gin, kalamansi fruit and leaf, lemon
Here, Manahan referenced his Filipino heritage, giving us a cocktail that really showcased the nature of calamansi. I found it super refreshing, with boatloads of sweet citrus fruit in-yo-face, tempered by the sourness of lemon.

Foie Gras Torchon
Foie Gras Torchon [$17.00] | Soo_n Food's peach and thyme jam
Foie gras did a nice job conveying its delicate, earthy essence, with subdued notes of liver complemented by the sugariness of the jam while toast offered up a crunchy, moderating counterpoint. However, I would've liked a smoother, creamier texture on the torchon.

Patty Melt
Patty Melt [$13.00] | rye-bread, caramelized onions, swiss, cheddar
The patty melt was on point, and certainly one of the best I've had, its massive amounts of deep, bovine savor matched with the heady sweetness of caramelized onion while the duo of cheeses worked to tie it all together.

Corrador
Corrador [$12.00] | claro rum, cynar, campari, saffron bitters
Our next cocktail definitely veered toward the boozier side. Think bittersweet on the nose, with the Campari really making itself known on the palate, joined by the vegetal notes of Cynar while saffron gave things a nice close.

Hot Sauces
potato salad
Fried Chicken (half)
Fried Chicken (half) [$18.00] | potato salad
The fried chicken was a must-try of course, and came out super crispy and super moist, with a slight spice to it. Interestingly, I think I actually preferred the breast portion, which managed to be one of the juiciest I've had. The bird came with your choice of hot sauce to further enhance the experience (we opted for sambal and Frank's), while the accompanying potato salad was spot on in its tanginess as well.

Pork & Chicken Liver Paté
Pork & Chicken Liver Paté [$10.00] | bacon, pecan, mustard
A sort of pâté de campagne delivered, a gritty, rustic preparation with its pork-y and liver-y flavors accented by the nuttiness of pecan while the mustard added the requisite amount of zip.

Portola
Portola [$12.00] | bourbon, castor sugar, honey candle wax, angostura bitters, orange bitters
I don't think I'd ever encountered candle wax in a cocktail before, but the ingredient was certainly put to good use here. It lent a honeyed, almost candied bouquet to the drink, which worked swimmingly with the sweet, boozy, citrusy base of Old Fashioned flavors.

Chilled Wax Beans
Chilled Wax Beans [$10.00] | dill kefir, candid almond, smoked-cured yolk
My favorite course of the night was likely the string beans. You got all the crunchy, waxy textures and bright flavors that you'd expect, tied together by the creaminess of dill-infused kefir while the egg yolk imparted a wonderful smoke to the dish. Nice nuttiness from almonds to boot, and very thoughtful overall.

Smoked Yellowtail Toast
Smoked Yellowtail Toast [$9.00] | miso, togarashi, pickled turnip
Yellowtail made another appearance, this time warm, with its fishy, briny qualities commixed with a lovely touch of smoke and a spicy accent from the togarashi.

Beaverdusa Punch
Beaverdusa Punch [$12.00] | bourbon, scotch, rye, gold sencha tea, st. germain, lemon, oleo-saccharum
The last cocktail on the list was probably my favorite of the bunch. I loved its tea-like qualities and multifaceted presentation of sweet, floral nuances, matched by the sharp spice of peppercorn, clove, and allspice.

Cavatelli
Cavatelli [$13.00] | chicken jus, fermented garlic, oyster mushroom
Cavatelli arrived well-textured, a fitting base for the salty, earthy qualities of the mushrooms, though I didn't get much from the black garlic. Nice textural component from what I believe were breadcrumbs too.

Pork Chop
Pork Chop [$17.00] | wheat berries, nectarine, summer squash
Our final savory, the pork chop arrived tender and toothsome, teeming with massive amounts of salt, savor, and smoke. I definitely appreciated the balance and texture provided by the wheatberries and squash here, but the crux for me was that stone fruit, which gave up a juicy sweetness that really evened out the meat.

Thrilla from Manila
Thrilla from Manila | rum, honey infusion, pink peppercorn and pineapple simple syrup, mandarin, mint
Cocktails tonight were executed by bartender Jodi Mae Calderon, and she ended up crafting this off-menu special at our request. Likened to an Asian-inflected Smash, the drink seriously recalled the light, fruity sweetness of Capri Sun initially, but this then gave way to the booziness of rum and a wonderful spice from the peppercorn on the close.

Apple Crostata Streudel (Chocolate)
Coconut Buttercake Linzer (Raspberry)
Osso, unfortunately, doesn't do dessert currently, so we ended up busting out some sweets that we happened to have handy from San Diego's Extraordinary Desserts.

Chicha Niña
Chicha Niña
We closed with another off-menu drink, a more dessert-y concoction based off the Peruvian beverage chicha morada. It hit the mark as well, with a sweet-tart, floral, fruity character to it moderated by a bitter spice and the lushness of that froth.

Bill & Brittle
Accompanying the bill was some delightfully nutty-sweet brittle.

I left pleasantly surprised with Osso. The food's basically modernized, elevated comfort fare, but there's a palpable finesse at work here that I definitely appreciated. The cocktail program, meanwhile, was pretty much spot on to boot, so I hope to see this place stick around, and see Montgomery keeping pushing with the menu.