Lobster Festival Recap. Guest Post by The Catty Critic

Hi, I'm Rosa from Dining with the Catty Critic. Kristen asked me to guest-blog about the Redondo Beach Lobster Festival.

For those like me who missed The Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival, last weekend offered a second opportunity to catch some of the fun. Redondo Beach hosted its 15th Annual Lobster Festival at the Seaside Lagoon. Starting on a Friday night, this event ran thru Sunday. Since my husband and I already had other plans in place, Sunday was the only day we could make it. Unfortunately, Sunday decided to be extremely hot which put a bit of a damper on our fun.

Anticipating large crowds, I went online earlier in the week and purchased a package deal for us. For $65, we got 2 admission tickets, 2 surf n' turf meals and 2 shirts. Fearing the parking situation, we parked in Manhattan Beach and took our bikes for a ride down the boardwalk. It was a great way to get in some exercise and work up an appetite. And heatstroke.

Maybe it was due to the sun opening a can of whoop-ass or maybe it was because it was the festival's last day but there wasn't as large a crowd as I expected. This was a good thing; no lines to wait in!

The Seaside Lagoon was a cute and ideal place to hold the festival. It was right next to a very large parking lot and despite looking quite full, people were able to find spots in it. There were a few bike racks near the entrance/exit gates so we didn't have to worry about where to chain our bicycles.

We met up with a couple of friends and decided eating was at the top of the list of things to do. Attendees can choose to nosh on lobster or surf n' turf meals or eat at one of the several food stalls present. One stand served up Asian fare while another had a plethora of sausages, including bacon wrapped hot dogs. There were ice cream and Italian ices available at other stands.

We hit up Barrett's lemonade stand first to cool down. Made with fresh lemons, the drink was sweet, refreshing and seedy. Yeah, they didn't quite do a good job catching all the seeds but that didn't stop me from slurping down the cup's contents.



The surf n' turf meal consisted of an 8oz steak, 4.5oz lobster tail, 2 small red potatoes, a roll, cole slaw and little containers of butter and bbq sauces. The steak was advertised to be cooked to medium but in reality, it was more medium-well to well-done. Not my preference but I was pleasantly surprised that the steak wasn't dried out or tough. It was a lot better than I expected for mass grilling and with the bbq sauce, which was very A-1, it tasted good. The lobster tail was actually cooked decently and not rubbery. The sides were fairly generic, good but nothing to write home about.



Our friends went with the Big Louie and Small Louie meals. The Big Louie contained a 2-2.5lb lobster while the Small Louie was a 1.25lb shellfish. There was a station where very skilled workers broke down the lobster down in a jiffy.

Part of me wishes I had gotten a Big Louie; my meal had me craving more lobster. Fortunately, the Asian food stand was selling lobster balls. For $4, I got a skewer of 5 balls (I ate one before taking the pic). Topped with a little sweet n' sour sauce, these must have just come out of the fryer; they were very hot on the inside and crispy on the outside. A lady had told us not to waste our money as we ordered but I didn't think the food was bad like she made it out to be.



After eating, we wandered the rest of the festival. There was a stage with a band playing and vendors selling hats, jewelry and clothing. A couple of carnival game booths were set up as well. There was also a mechanical bull. Not sure what that has to do with lobster but people were having fun on it. Overall, the festival wasn't very large but it was nice to stop in and get a good bite to eat. If it hadn't been so hot, we probably would have stuck around longer.





Thanks, Kristen, for inviting me to guest-blog!

Things I've Eaten sans Photos

I have a crappy point and shoot camera. Occasionally, I'm able to use my baby daddy's SLR. But mostly it's the point and shoot or the cell phone camera. I'm not pretentious, or an aspiring food photographer, so it doesn't really matter all that much. Except when I take photos that look good on the viewer only to find that they're too blurry to post once I upload them. This has happened a few times over the past month, which is sort of aggravating me. I'm going to give a brief synopsis of each place, but you'll have to use your imagination on the presentation.

Il Chianti -

Il Chianti is someplace that I had wondered about over the last few years, but never had the time to try. It's nestled away in Lomita on Narbonne Avenue in their downtown area, such as it is. The sign is the first thing that got me: Italian cuisine from Tokyo. Which of course elicited the 'whaaat?' response from me. And of course my interest was piqued even further when all I would ever see standing outside are super FOBs (Fresh Off the Boat, for the non-asians). I finally got around to trying it after returning from a family camping trip.

The outside decor is very unassuming, but the inside is quite contemporary with only a mild Japanese feel. It's much more spacious than the exterior lets on, with a raised seating area that overlooks the open kitchen. A few things I noted when I was peeking in on the kitchen are the windows allowing in natural light, and the brick pizza oven. The menu isn't large, there's a lot of seafood inspired pastas including a squid ink carbonara and a variety of pizza. The pricing for appetizers was modest if not low, considering, and the pricing for entrees was on the higher end. I guess it all balances out. We had the beef carpaccio, which was served as though it were seared ahi with a delightful ponzu sauce, crispy onion and green onion. It was the best thing we ordered that night. We also had a nondescript pasta carbonara and the pizza with foie gras. Pasta: bleh. Pizza: disappointing. I love foie gras, like, a lot. And I was hoping this would be a fun combination of things I love/like. The sauce overpowered the foie, and that made me sad. The dough was crispy, but flavorless and the cheese was pretty skimpy.

I don't know that I would go back, but should that happen, I will stick to their carpaccio, because damn, that was good.

Il Chianti
24503 Narbonne Ave
Lomita, CA 90717-1136
310-325-5000
http://www.il-chianti.com

Gaja Japanese Restaurant

I cannot believe I hadn't been there before. I used to drive past this shopping complex every day! Much love to Christine (Choisauce) for suggesting this place! I've been on an Asian kick lately and one day I decided I didn't feel like cooking so I asked for Asiany suggestions on Twitter to take kiddo to. Gaja is what came back. I didn't look it up before I went, I guess I'm trusting like that, and was surprised to see teppan grills at the communal tables. I've never had to worry about Ty touching before, so I quickly explained not to touch because it was very, very hot. Thankfully she listened, but I still tried to place her at as much distance away as I could. Toddlers have very short attention spans.

Because we were new, I asked our server what was most popular. He said that the modern mix okonomiyaki was the most popular dish. I told him to bring me one of those, the beef, kimchi and edamame. Ty loves her some edamame and it seemed like a good thing to occupy her as we watched our food cook. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake that contains a variety of ingredients. Gaja serves the Hiroshima style which includes noodles with the batter, cabbage and pickled ginger. The modern mix consisted of octopus, shrimp, squid and pork added to the standard pancake fare.

The meal comes with instructions, but since I was a first timer, I asked our server to start us off. He began by grilling the seafood and meat, and the noodles separately. Then he mixed the batter, cabbage and ginger before pouring it on the grill. Once the one side was done, he added the noodles and the meats before covering with the remaining batter and flipping it. At that point, it was up to us to keep an eye on it. Once completed, I smothered the top with otafuku sauce, drizzled it with Japanese mayo and then sprinkled it with aonori (seaweed flakes) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). The first bite was heaven. As was each bite after. Ty picked out all the octopus and ate that first (she IS my child!) and then proceeded to mow down what was left. The pancake was so big that I couldn't eat all of it, so I saved the leftovers and had them for lunch the next day. I'm normally not an eater of left overs, but I made the exception and was pleased to find that even the Japanese mayo reheats well.

Conclusion: I'm a believer, and I'm going back for more.

Gaja Japanese Restaurant
2383 Lomita Blvd # 102
Lomita, CA 90717-1463
(310) 534-0153
www.gajamoc.com/

Lobstah Round 2 - Redondo Beach

I ended up not going to the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival for a multitude of reasons: a) it was crowded like Disneyland on a holiday weekend and b) I really couldn't carve out the time. They ended up serving over 20,000 lobsters in 2 and a half days. Amazing and well done of them. But if you missed, like me, you get a second chance. The lobster gods are smiling on you because this weekend is the Redondo Beach Lobster Festival! Celebrating 15 years, they're returning to the Seaside Lagoon the 24-26th. Ticket prices are as follows:

Friday night (adult 13+) - $6.00
Saturday/Sunday (adult 13+) - $10.00
Youth (3-12) - $5.00

Big Louie Dinner Package $50.00
Includes: (1) General Admission ticket, (1) t-shirt and (1) 2-2.25 lb lobster dinner
Valid: Friday 9/24, Saturday 9/25, or Sunday 9/26.

Small Louie Dinner Package $30.00
Includes: (1) General Admission ticket, (1) t-shirt and (1) 1.25 lb lobster dinner
Valid: Friday 9/24, Saturday 9/25, or Sunday 9/26.

Certified Angus Steak Dinner Package $30.00
Includes: (1) General Admission ticket, (1) t-shirt and (1) 12-ounce Certified Angus Beef Center-Cut New York Strip Steak
PLEASE NOTE: All steaks cooked medium temperature with warm pink interior (sorry, no exceptions)
Valid: Friday 9/24, Saturday 9/25, or Sunday 9/26.

Surf 'N Turf Dinner Package $35.00
Includes: (1) General Admission ticket, (1) t-shirt and (1) 8-ounce Certified Angus Beef Center-Cut New York Strip Steak and 4-5 ounce Maine lobster tail
PLEASE NOTE: All steaks cooked medium temperature with warm pink interior (sorry, no exceptions).

I'm planning on going Sunday for lunch. There's a 3lb lobstah with my name on it. I know a few other people whom are planning on being there as well. And because I can't think of lobster without hearing this in my head, I thought I'd share with you as well. (You're welcome):

Redondo Beach Lobster Festival
200 Portofino Way
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
http://www.lobsterfestival.com

Friday, Sept. 24, 2010	5 PM - 11 PM
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010	Noon - 11 PM
Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010	Noon - 8 PM

Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival

This weekend, when you have nothing to do, and you're craving succulent crustacean, head down to San Pedro and partake in the 11th annual Port of L.A. Lobster Festival. Running Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the festival features 1.25lb Maine Lobster meals for a staggeringly low price of $18! They'll also have some of LA's gourmet food trucks in attendance, notably: Nana Queen, Ragin Cajun, Nom Nom, Coolhaus and Michael Fox’s Fox Food Bus. There's live music by bands you've never heard of and for some reason, pirates? It's gonna be a scene. I'm not cool enough to be able to give away tickets, BUT I did find a link for discount coupons on the entry fee: http://lobsterfest.com/tickets/ Print and bring it to the gate to get $2 off the $9 entry. Kids under 12 are free. I should be there sometime Sunday with Munke. I won't have an eye patch.

The 2010 Lobster Festival will be held on
September 17, 18 & 19 2010
at Ports O’ Call Village, San Pedro, CA

FRIDAY 5PM - 11PM
SATURDAY 11AM - 11PM
SUNDAY 11AM - 7PM

Starry Kitchen's 1 Night Stand with Test Kitchen

Disclaimer: due to the nature of Starry Kitchen's enterprise in DTLA, and the fact that I work in Long Beach, I have not been able to enjoy their normal tasty fare. However, word of their tofu balls (in your mouth) had long ago sparked my interest. I did happen to meet Nyugen Tran, the front of house half of SK last month at an event recently, and his enthusiasm is rather contagious. Since I had already heard the story of SK's modest beginnings, he regaled me with the story of how he won wife (Kitchen Ninja) Thi Tran's hand in marriage: through persistence, perseverance and charm. Basically, he wore her down. Cute story, nice people, and word had it, good food. So when I heard (slightly in advance, tee hee) of their one night, one off at Test Kitchen, I jumped online and grabbed my reservation.

In general, I'm rather 'meh' about Test Kitchen. I've turned down a few dinners there in the weeks since they've opened. Not that I'm not a fan entirely, I think the space is kind of funky and fun, and the concept is interesting. Rather, I've heard from 'they whom shall not be named' that you go hungry and leave hungry. Hence, my general lack of enthusiasm. But I figured that this was my shot for a while to get my rear in gear and grub on some SK food.

One slight little hiccup in my plans, it was on Sunday, which is my night with Mini Me. Luckily, I bring her most everywhere, because she's rad. And rad, cute little girls deserve to go on outings with Mama. I did however call TK in advance and double check a few things. They were quite accommodating and arranged for my party to have a booth, so it worked out nicely.

My party included myself, Mini Me, my cousin, his girlfriend and Joe (@munke). We arrived early to allow for traffic, and were requested to wait outside since doors don't open until 6. At 6:15 we were seated in our booth in the back, which was nice as it allowed a clean view of the entire floor. Our server quickly came over and explained the menu with it's wine pairings by David Haskell and cocktail pairings by Adrian Biggs (La Descarga).

Here's where things got a little, shall we say, interesting. David had paired each dish (8 of them) with a different wine. Our server explained that each dish would come out individually to be able to enjoy each dish with each wine, should we opt in for the wine pairing ($40). Now, while I would have LOVED to have had the wine pairing, I drove. With my kid in the car. So that wasn't going to happen. We did see that the famed 'balls' were on the bar menu as an appetizer, so we made sure to order those. Please note, that at this point, we hadn't even ordered a solo glass of wine. Within 5 minutes, our tofu balls were on our table. Followed immediately by the first 4 dishes:

SK Viet Chicken Salad ('Goi'), Pandan Chicken, Chicken Wings (& Pineapple) 2 Ways, and the Curry Crab

Yes, we had 5 dishes on our table, photos to take, and nothing but H2O to wash any of it down with. David came over and was kind enough to pair one wine with the smorgasbord on the table as it was obvious the full wine pairing wasn't going to happen for anyone at that point. (by the way, that one glass of wine was for my cousin, but I totally commandeered it. shhhhhh) It was a slight contradiction from what we were told was going to happen. Nyugen stopped by and I kindly asked why so many dishes at once. He explained that he and Thi don't really care for tasting menus and they wanted this to be more like a banquet. I can understand that concept, as tasting menus are more about flash than substance. However, I don't understand the point of pairing wine to each dish, if the plan is to bombard the table all at once. Of course, this is merely my own opinion. I've also heard from other diners that they had a different experience than me as far as timing went.

Of the first 5 dishes, I loved, loved loved the Goi, and the Pandan Chicken. The Curry Crab came in a close third. The crab was a bit messy, but deliciously flavorful. For me, the tofu balls were good, simple and nice. I wasn't so much a fan of the chicken wings, though the Pineapple Beer Chicken Wing Soup was interesting.

The next dish to arrive was a shot glass of Cold Kimchi Soup. I love kimchi. In fact, just that morning, I had had kimchi and rice for breakfast. The day before, I had kimchi on top of leftover modanyaki. I might even have kimchi tonight with udon. Why? Because I freakin' love kimchi. I was 'meh' about the soup. It was kimchi-like, but the spice was gone. My table agreed it tasted rather like kimchi flavored water. Not bad, not good, but there. It did serve to cleanse the palate a bit of the Curry Crab, so if that was the point, then that was what was accomplished.

Some time after the soup was gone, actually, a rather maddening amount of time since the soup was in a shot glass, the Carmelized Claypot Catfish and Pork Belly came out along with the Satay Noodles. The catfish was, by far, my favorite dish of the night. And I've never been big on catfish. Perfectly tender, juicy fish drowned in a myriad of flavor. All that was missing was a bowl of rice to soak up the remaining juices. We considered asking for one, but we actually never saw our server to ask. All those wasted juices. A moment of silence please. Everyone else at the table like the Satay noodles, and I swear I'm not some stuck up picky eater, but I didn't. Here's why, there was thin sliced short-rib wagyu beef in there. Hold on, don't get crazy, I love beef, but the piece I got was zero meat and all stringy fat and I have this thing with fat. I totally can't eat it. I chewed, and chewed and tried so very hard to choke it down, but I lost the battle and ended up quietly and discreetly spitting it into my napkin. FOR SHAME! Worst. Foodie. Ever. Thi, it's not you, it's me. But once something like that happens, it puts me off the remainder of the dish. So I didn't finish that one, and I feel bad. Something tells me that under different circumstances, I might have liked it.

Dessert was delicious: Young Banana Tapioca in Caramel Coconut Milk. I liked it. Oddly, the Mini Me didn't. She was in a weird food mood that night. Apparently her dad was feeding her all day, so she actually didn't each much. Though she too was a fan of the Pandan Chicken. David swung by our table right as dessert was served and Joe asked about the pairing. We ended up with two bottles of the Brasserie Lebebvre 'Barbar' Honey Ale (Belgium). The two were of course perfectly matched which explains David's reputation.

All in all, it was a lot of fun. Sure there were some mishaps, but I like to roll with the punches. I still can't wait to go into SK's joint and try their regular menu.

Crispy Tofu Balls | marinated ground tofu, corn, buttermilk and green glutinous rice

SK Viet Chicken Salad 'Goi' | cabbage, banana blossom, anise basil, rau ram, shredded chicken

Chicken Wings (& Pineapple) 2 Ways | Pineapple Beer Chicken Wing Soup - with fermented bean curd, watercress
Malaysian Pineapple Coconut Chicken Wings - fresh pineapple, coconut milk, bay leaves, bell pepper & habanero

Curry Crab | curry, onions, Thai chili with garlic

Pandan Chicken | pandan leaf, shallots, lemongrass, galanga

Caramelized Claypot Catfish & Pork Belly | catfish, pork belly, fish sauce, fresh young coconut juice, shallots

Satay Noodles | minced dried shrimp, lemongrass, flat rice noodles & thin sliced short-rib Wagyu beef

Young Banana tapioca in caramel coconut milk paired with Brasserie Lefebvre 'Barbar' Honey Ale: Quenast, Belgium

Kitchen Ninja aka Thi Tran: hard at work


My dinner dates: Mel, Torrey and Mini Me aka The CUTE.


Test Kitchen
9575 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles 90035

Starry Kitchen
350 S. Grand
Los Angeles, CA, 90071