GRAVLAX

Dear Stalwart-Stomached Delicates,

Hope y'all are eating healthily and happily!

January 6, Twelth Night (beginning of Mardi Gras), I dined with friends at GRAVLAX in West Culver City--Scandinavian & Turkish cuisine (Holy Combo, Batman!).  I give it 4 out of 4 stomachs.*



Gravlax was very accommodating with the food allergies.  For the few items our server was unsure of, we were able to watch her walk a few yards to the kitchen counter and see her question the Swedish chef and co-owner Magnus Stefansson.  He answered without missing a mince or a dice.  That confidence inspires great digestion in me.  He came to the table mid-meal to make sure all was good.  (And how!)  I did not meet the Turkish chef and co-owner Arda Koca--a treat for next time. 

I do wish the different kinds of cuisine had been delineated on the menu and/or by the server--not for the same reason some keep Milk & Fleisch separate, but so I could drop more fun facts at cocktail parties and make-believe I'm more worldly.  Never mind: looking at the menu without the red wine goggles, I think the "Turkish Eggplant Salad with Pita" is probably Turkish.  Probably.

I found my plates (including the pictured eponymous Gravlax, which is diary and soy free, naturally) adventurous, but approachable for all palates, comfort-foody even.

Gravlax is participating in DineLA--check it out: http://www.discoverlosangeles.com/what-to-do/restaurants/gravlax.

Let me know where you'd like me to go next.  I will be your official taster and Guinea pig.

Til we eat again,
Alexox

*This is my new rating system.  I hope to have pix of stomachs and half-stomachs in the future.  Fun Fact:  though many people (I won't name names) say a cow has 4 stomachs, they (the cows, not the people) actually have 1 stomach, which has 4 compartments, each functioning in wildly different ways. 

LITTLE SISTER: A Restaurant After My Own Stomach (And Intestines)

Dear brave Delicates,

Happy New Year!  My first review (Later I'll allow myself the chance to go back and review some highlights in 2014 also) is of LITTLE SISTER in Manhattan Beach--Southeast Asian cuisine.  Every single part of this experience (including Eye Candy Steve--ECS--on my arm) was scrumptious.  Our server was Kristina, who I'm pretty sure was actually the General Manager.  She could only have been more accommodating to all my needs, if she had chewed my food for me and regurgitated into my mouth like a mama bird.  (I did not ask for this, so I don't know if they provide that service.) 

The menu is printed on a sheet of paper and included this music-to-my-eyes phrase: "please notify us of any allergies." Kristina didn't even wait for that, she asked immiately if we had any allergies (score!).  ECS is a sweetheart and almost always eats within my limitations, so we can share everything.  He let her know Dairy & Soy were verboten.  She smiled warmly, took one of our menus, and said she would bring it back marked up special for my needs.  And she did (touchdown!).  My personalized menu came back with 13 items underlined--at least one from every category (except desert, but we weren't interested) to choose from.

We ate the 1) x.o. pea tendrils, lime juice, almonds, dried scallop shards, 2) the laotian chicken "larb gai" lettuce mix, herbs, peanuts, hb egg, crispy noodle, green chili lime vin (FAVORITE in a STIFF competition), 3) claypot scallops, sweet shrimp, malaysian curry, water spinach, cargo rice, thai basil, 4) and a side of fried okra, tomato, lime, mint, and fenugreek.  The fried okra was a close 2nd for my highest affections, because it reminded me of my Cajun grandmother's (see the "Perspective" scene in RATATOUILLE for a full understanding). 

Chef & Owner Tin Vuong is serious (almost grim) in his website photo, but his food is playful on the palate. Frequently SPICY, but great by me, since the spices enhanced and complimented, never overwhelmed.  Every dish was executed beautifully by Chef de Cuisine Michael Segerstrom and his staff.  And best of all--after the meal, there were no foul corporal reactions, just the glorious from-the-core-of-one's-being afterglow one hopes for after a top-notch foodie experience.

Hope that's helpful, My Friends!

Til we eat again in Good Health & Happiness,
Alexox

PS This first review is dedicated to Eye Candy Steve.  :-)