Mo-Chica: "OG" Tasting Menu Tuesdays: 5-Courses, $27!

If you've been reading this blog, you know I love a good dining deal.  Sometimes I depend on it, to get me through the week.  Often though, 'deal' also disappointingly equates to 'lowest common denominator' - where restaurants default to the standard, safe, chicken or beef meal.
 
So I was excited to hear that Mo-chica is breaking out of the clutter - where others may take that predictable approach - with its "OG" Tasting Menu of Peruvian offerings, that are still hearty and filling.

It's not possible to talk about Peruvian food in LA without talking about Chef Ricardo Zarate - he pretty much put it on the map here.  The Food & Wine Best New Chef 2011 is the creative mind behind three restaurants showcasing his country's cuisine - including the latest 'Peruvian Izakaya' concept at Paiche, where it was fun for me to try preparations of its namesake prehistoric Amazonian fish recently.

Mo-chica is Chef Zarate's second restaurant, and he has been celebrating its first birthday with a 'throwback' menu that pays tribute to its humble origins in Mercado La Paloma (South Central) food court (though these dishes had never been served there).

The "OG Tasting Menu" is a very generous offering of 5 courses of food at a price that instinct says must be a typo, but isn't (just $27 before taxes and gratuities) - and is homey/hearty - if those are words that can be used with such an exotic cuisine.  It is only available on Tuesdays - and if you swing by between 2:30pm-5pm, during their regular happy hour, you get 20% off drinks as well!

I kicked off the meal with a signature The Doggfather/Pisco Sour (NOT included in the OG Tasting Menu) $11 regularly - a light, refreshing drink made with pisco porton, egg white, fresh lime juice, fresh lemon juice, evaporated cane syrup, angostura bitter, cinnamon tincture

Course #1: Heirloom Tomato Salad - this is a delicious take on the classic caprese salad: heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella are expected: crispy red quinoa and huacatay (Peruvian black mint) pesto are not.  I liked how the quinoa added a surprise, clean crunch (along with the asparagus), and mint to replace the usual basil.  

Course #2: Ceviche Trio: Tuna Sashimi, Diver Scallop and Hamachi. As I learned with Paiche, there is apparently a huge Japanese population and influence over food in Peru, so the inclusion of sashimi in the tasting menu here is not out of place.  But it's done with a twist.  The tuna sashimi was served with yuzu miso, green shiso, and mountain yam.  The diver scallop was served with aji amarillo (a Peruvian yellow chile pepper) aioli, wasabi and tobiko. The hamachi was served with jalapeno ponzu, nori lettuce, and garlic crisp. 

Course #3: Roasted Striped Bass with aji amarillo choclo pepian, English peas, thyme tomato escabeche, mint chimichurri.  We didn't get Amazonian fish with this one, but the bass was lovely, tender and flaky, and interesting with the corn stew punctuated by the light acidity of the tomato escabeche.

Course #4: Braised Short Rib rocoto yam mash, Kennebec fries, huacatay demi-glace. This one did feel the most 'common' of the dishes in the menu.

Course #5: Chocolate Tres Leches Cake chancaca sauce, blueberries, mint syrup.  Yep, I had to look up chancaca too - it's apparently a sauce made out of raw unrefined sugar and crystallized with honey.  A 'rustic' dessert that is a nice way to finish out the meal after the richness of the preceding dishes.

Although I had to look up a lot of the ingredients used in these dishes, overall the meal again felt very...comforting.  Which maybe goes against our general notion of comfort foods as being dishes that are familiar, and simple.  But it feels like these dishes would be soul soothingly familiar, to someone from Peru.  Definitely tame compared to the bolder, more flavorful and playful cooking at Picca or Paiche.  You get the sense that Chef Zarate is sharing a taste of home here. 

I personally prefer the more vibrant and thoroughly unfamiliar dishes at Paiche or Picca, which feels more like event dining / a meal and entertainment in one. But if you haven't tried Peruvian cuisine yet, and not sure you're ready to go 'full adventurous' both with your tastebuds and wallet - Mo-chica's OG Tasting Menu might be the one to get you started as your beginner's intro to Peruvian food, without a huge investment. It's also a good option for those who work downtown, and just want to grab a nice weeknight meal at a reasonable price before heading home (the portions are definitely so generous that you'll want to roll out of the place and straight into a nap after).

*Disclaimer: This meal was hosted.

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Mo-Chica

514 W 7th St., Los Angeles, CA 90014

Ph: 213.622.3744

Website: mo-chica.com

OpenTable: Look for reservations and points

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For more prix fixe dining deals like this one, for every day of the week - see my post here.

Paiche Peruvian Izakaya and Prehistoric Amazonian Fish Ribs!

They had me at Peruvian Izakaya.

When Chef Ricardo Zarate and partner Stephane Bombet announced that they would be opening their third restaurant, the 2011 FOOD & WINE Best New Chef's follow up to Picca and Mo-chica - the concept sounded so intriguing that I immediately put it on my To Do list.

Paiche is a modern take on Peruvian meets Japanese izakaya-style cuisine, a gathering place for small plates to go with drinks - and featuring a prehistoric species of Amazonian fish that also serves as the restaurant's name.

It was to be off-the-foodie-map geographically though, over in Marina del Rey - a lovely neighborhood on the water, to be sure, and very on theme for a seafood centric restaurant - but not the first to come to mind as a dining destination.  But that Paiche had decided on this location is an exciting development, that hopefully will inspire a trend of more 'adventurous' food options in the area. 

The restaurant is on the ground floor of a modern, chic apartment complex, across from DSW at Marina Marketplace. The decor is appropriately oceanic, blues and wood panels in an airy space - complete with tank of live seafood and the open kitchen running most of the length of one roughly wave-shaped wall.

Kicking off the meal with a cocktail - I had to choose one with pisco since that's from Peru: Chilcano de Clovos ($13) pisco oro quebranta, organic lime juice, ginger syrup, cloves syrup, seltzer water, angostura bitters

As for food, the menu was divided into sections like ceviches, anticucho grill etc - but I pretty much ordered anything that sounded good and more unusual, without paying attention to balancing selections from each area (not sure if that is ever a good idea, but that's just how I eat...)

So first up of course: Uni Shrimp Toast ($14) sea urchin / shrimp paste toast / rocoto honey sauce.  This one actually made me think of a mashup more of Japanese and Italian than Peruvian - it was like a hybrid of sushi and bruschetta.  With the Peruvian element coming through perhaps just in the South American chile peppers used in the sauce.

Triangles of toasts were topped by shrimp paste, finely chopped tomatoes,  then rice, sea urchin and a chile pepper (yep, that's what rocoto is, I had to Google it too) honey sauce.  

I am a huge worshipper fan of sea urchin - and really wanted to love this - but the jumble of bold flavors between heat, sweet, tart, and varying textures of the other ingredients to me ended up slightly overwhelming the uniquely funky flavors and natural lusciousness of the uni - you kind of spend the whole time trying to process what you're tasting versus purely enjoying it.  

When I asked him what items I should not leave without trying, the first thing my server highly recommended was the Paiche Lettuce Wrap ($12) grilled amazonian fish / anticucho miso marinated - and he did not steer me wrong - I LOVED the perfectly balanced sweet umami smokiness of the grilled Amazonian fish, and its tenderness against the refreshing juicy crunch of lettuce, topped by crispy sweet potato wisps.  The sauce was particularly addictive - this is one to eat with your hands, and I definitely licked my fingers clean. Easily one of my favorites of the dishes I tried.

As I also love quail, and liked that my pisco cocktail could possibly go well with food that was also prepared with the liquor: I tried the Grilled Quail ($16) pisco basted / ume plum wine dressing.  While I loved the flavors in the again boldly flavored sauce (this is not a place for culinary wallflowers, for sure!) - for the price, I would have liked the pieces of quail to be more consistently grilled, for more distinct contrast between deliciously smokey crisped 'skin' with tender juicy interior on every piece.

My other absolute favorite of the meal, all the more because I wasn't sure what to expect at first from the description on the menu was Pacu Ribs ($12) amazonian fish ribs / anticucho lime miso / zapallo puree.  They arrived looking like pork ribs at least from the top, due to the BBQ-sauce-colored rocoto teriyaki glaze.  But on closer inspection they were actual ribs from a fish - apparently that is cousin to the piranha! - that had the most amazing combination of the unbelievable tender flakiness of a Cantonese-style steamed fish, and the hefty feeling of meat ribs smothered in deliciously sticky sauce.  On the side was another South American specialty: zapallo or squash puree (yep, had to look that one up too) whose milder flavor and creamy texture perfectly complemented the fish.

When I first saw Uni Ceviche on the menu, I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend $25 on what would essentially amount to sashimi, but decided last minute that I wanted that to be my last savory taste (especially when my server confirmed that it would be like a 'tray of sea urchin' - I figured chefs would of course have access to much better quality uni - and the Peruvian twist is in the aji amarillo lemon vinaigrette that would come with it).  It was delicious, but I have to admit that in terms of presentation the wooden tray kind of reminded me of how uni is sold at Nijiya market, and that while I liked the aji amarillo sauce on its own, I found it to be too bold as to overwhelm the delicate flavors of the uni.  I ended up eating most of the tray on its own, without the sauce - but of course I will never be one to complain about any amount of good uni.

For the sweet finish: Chicha Raspadilla ($9) looked the most intriguing from the menu -the lack of description added to its mystique.  It turned out to be like a shaved ice topped with blue corn juice (delicious, I loved the drink version at Picca as well - like a much less sugary, less dense grape juice), accompanied by cubes of pineapple and apple, topped by a citrus sorbet.  Loved the shaved ice but wish they had used more exotic fruits.

All in all, a great experience especially for Marina del Rey (though a bit pricey relative maybe not to the area, but to small plates spots in other areas of LA).  Paiche really shone with the dishes that had the most unique ingredient - featuring the namesake fish.  Was sad that I didn't realize until the time of this post that Paiche offers a happy hour with 20% off daily (see deal alert below) - so definitely need to go back soon!

[Deal alert: Happy Hour Monday - Sundays  (20% OFF) 2:30pm to 5pm]

On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 6 bites  
Presentation - 5.5 bites
Originality - 6 bites
Ambience -  5.5 stars
Service - 5.5 stars
Overall experience - 5.5 bites
Price - $$ (2 bite marks)
Probability of return visit - 90% 

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Paiche

13488 Maxella Ave., Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

Ph: 310.893.6100

Parking: free in structure attached to restaurant

Website: paichela.com

Twitter: @paichela

OpenTable: Look for reservations and points: opentable.com/paiche

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Picca Peru - The Case of The Mystery Meat

I'm going to completely date myself here, but as a kid, while most of my friends were obsessed with Sweet Valley High - I had maxed out my quota at the local public library with books from the Choose Your Own Adventure and Nancy Drew series (which succeeded Encyclopedia Brown).

I loved the interactivity of these books, where you have to pick up clues along the way to help you arrive at the right conclusion (solve the mystery! save the day! get to the happy ending!).  My OCD apparently developed early as well - with the CYOA books, I would go back and follow every path in the decision tree so I can see all the possible scenarios, and see how my original decisions stacked against other options.  I would keep a post-it on the figurative 'fork in the road' (yes, post-its had been invented by then, I am not that old, dammit...), go down one path, and flip back to find out where the other fork led.  I loved Encylopedia Brown, with its charming 'neighborhood mysteries' - and maybe partly because a lot of times, he helped his dad, the chief of police, solve his harder cases while at the dinner table.  That set the scene for two of my biggest loves in life.

So it was, that when one of the hottest chefs from one of the hottest restaurants in LA sent out an invite for a 'Mystery Meat Dinner', there was no way in the world I would miss it.  Even if the term for most people, and if issued by lesser venues, would elicit fear and thoughts of culinary Russian Roulette.  Even if it was, very literally, a dark, stormy and ominous night.  And no one I knew wanted to leave their house.  Even if I'm not a big meat eater (much prefer seafood). I love mysteries, I love surprises when it comes to food, and I grew up eating almost everything and will try almost anything once (bird spit? good for your skin. cow spinal cord? love it like a tougher savory marshmallow).  And it was 6-courses for the very reasonable price of $50.  So, I had no choice but to get myself to Picca Peru for their one-night only event.

After managing the trek from the Valley to Beverlywood without getting in any accidents, and settling in to the upstairs mezzanine space (great for people watching), I thought I deserved to reward myself by kicking off the meal with a cocktail. 

Everything on mixologist Julian Cox's menu looked good, but I decided to go with the one recommended by our server: Zarate's Tomahawk #15 ($12) with rocoto infused mezcal, fresh lemon juice, agave nectar, fresh huacatay, cucumber foam.

I don't normally like mezcal (too smoky, tastes like liquid cigar) but liked that there were unfamiliar elements in this drink, and was reassured that it would be well balanced with the refreshing citrus, agave, huacatay (Andean mint-like herb) and cucumber - and she was right.  The rocoto (pepper) infusion gave the drink subtle heat, cooled off by the frothy cucumber foam.  Off to a great start.

This would have been the point in a meal where guests would usually have been offered food menus, if not before.  Instead came the plates of mystery meat (with a promise that we will get the menu after dinner, for the big 'reveal'). It was so much fun to try to guess what each course was as they came.  Play along with me as I relive the meal...


Course #1 

What I tasted/guessed:
White or red: White meat
Consistency - smooth, juicy, not too fibrous.  This made me think maybe quail, but...
Other clues: telltale skinny bones were not there, and the meat was a bit too light in color to be quail. There was some sort of unfamiliar cartilage that wasn't consistent with quail bone structure...

It couldn't possibly be chicken, could it? Has to be quail, I deduced - maybe some part of it I hadn't eaten before.

What it was: Culito de Pollo a La Brasa huancaina rustica, beet salad

Foiled! Brilliant to serve up the most common of fowl as the first course, just when people were expecting the exotic, to keep us guessing.  Yeah it was chicken, even though it was so juicy (even for dark meat) and smooth, and without that distinct chicken flavor, that I didn't think it was possible.  I stand corrected.  Perhaps it was the pungent herbed crust that masked the chicken taste.  But, the cutesy name 'culito' belies what it truly was - a euphemism for the business end of the hen.  That's what that cartilage was. I had just eaten chicken butt.  Really tasty though, especially paired with the refreshing, clean, beet salad.

Course #2

What I tasted/guessed: 
White or red meat: red
Consistency: on the crostini, the meat was like ground beef, and a little dry; on the risotto, the meat was tender and 'stripped' in long panels, like beef belly - the texture reminded me of the meat some Taiwanese places use in Niu Rou Mian (beef stew noodle soup)
Flavor - kind of gamey...
Other clues: Knowing Alpaca is a Peruvian specialty (llama-like creature), I figured Chef Zarate would use it at some point, and the crostini reminded me of what he sampled at the Los Angeles Food & Wine event last month - which was alpaca.   So I guessed alpaca for the crostini, and beef belly (for a twist from the usual pork belly)

What it was: Alpaca Two Ways alpaca stew, barley risotto and alpaca and chorizo crostini

Should have guessed since they were two presentations on the same plate, that it would be the same meat showcased two ways. Loved both preparations but liked the pairing with the barley risotto slightly more - the rich and creamy carbs went fantastically with the rich flavored, tender meat.

Course #3

What I tasted/guessed:
White or red meat: neither, this looked like offal but probably from a cow
Consistency: a little chewy, and in hefty, wide strands.  Is it offal or is it maybe 'skirt steak skin', super tenderized?
Other clues: has sort of crispy/crunchy exterior from frying, I think.

I couldn't make out what sort of offal this could be!

What it was: Choncholin braised intestine marinated in anticucho sauce, spicy rocoto. 

Really loved this dish, well balanced with the heft of the crispy potato chunks offsetting the slightly crispy, intensely flavorful and slightly chewy intestines. My only note was that the rocoto (orange looking sauce in photo, made of hot peppers) was super spicy and made my eyes water a bit, but that's just me not being able to handle my spice.  Loved the tamale inspired presentation on the corn husk.

Course #4

What I tasted/guessed:
White or red meat: neither, this one was easy to identify and I felt like maybe a 'freebie' from the chef...
Consistency: chewy, would have been rubbery if not well cooked to tenderness; most pieces have honeycomb-like structure
Finally, one that I could feel confident in identifying - I knew this one had to be tripe!

What it was: Cau-cau peruvian potato and tripe stew, jalapeno sarsa, cumin yogurt

Loved this dish - not only were the 'meat' for most of the dishes unfamiliar, the preparations were also a nice surprise.  I've typically had tripe with pho or at dim sum steamed with soy-based sauce. In Picca's preparation the tripe was cooked to perfect tenderness, soft and goes down easy, yet retaining its structure.  Loved that it was served in a rich, flavorful, starchy stew with a refreshing dollop of yogurt to break things up a bit.

Course #5

What I tasted/guessed:
White or red meat: neither, organ meat for sure
Consistency: chewy but still very tender.  My first thought was liver but it didn't have the 'crumbly' quality of cooked liver.  Whichever the organ, it was definitely from a cow, has that distinct beef taste.  Might have guessed heart next since that is a specialty at Picca.

What it was: Chanfainita beef lungs stew, peruvian mote

I thought this was a delicious, hearty stew (especially with the tomato base and giant kernels of Peruvian mote or corn) but that turned out not to be the organ of choice.  It's not the first time I've had lung but I usually have pork lung boiled into Chinese soup and don't actually see or eat the lung.  Foiled on this one!

Course #6

What I tasted:
The last course was dessert, and I was wondering how they would work in a protein.

I saw what looked like a berry sauce (a beautiful deep purple) over a white creamy pudding.  I tasted orbs of berries and lush sauce with carefully controlled sugar so it wasn't overbearingly sweet, and then more orbs of what I can only describe as like large maybe lima or broad beans that added a bit of crunch.  Followed by a massive crunch of something that was sharp and poked at the roof of my mouth.  Which I spat out.  No doubts about it - it was a chocolate cricket.

What it was: Sol Y Sombra rice pudding, mazzamora morada chocolate crickets

I like to think of myself as a pretty adventurous eater, but I draw the line at bugs.  This was the only dish in the meal that inspired true terror in me.  I couldn't even bring myself to take a photo of the half-chewed creature on my plate. *shudder*  Wish we could have ended the meal with something less...jarring.  Everything else in the glass was tasty.  I've never had 'mazzamora morada' before - quick research online shows it's a Peruvian dessert made with purple corn and fruit, thickened into pudding consistency with potato flour or corn starch, spiced with cloves and cinnamon. It did taste like a bit like blackberry pie filling except NOT sickly sugary.  I guess those big crunchy pieces that WEREN'T bugs that I thought were beans were actually giant kernels of corn? 

Cool to have tried this dish, even if I had to turn the plate so that I couldn't see the bug carcass anymore.

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So, The Mystery Meat Dinner definitely broadened my horizons...I learned that I definitely don't have what it takes to be a good food detective...But the important thing was that I learned a lot and had one of the most entertaining and delicious meals this year. 

All in all, a fantastically fun concept dinner that I hope will make a regular appearance at Picca.  Maybe with the option to not include creatures that have more than four legs...and that would be the one time I would not go back and explore the other path.

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Picca Peru
9575 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
Ph: 310.277.0133

Parking: Valet $6.50 (there are meters on Pico, but they are really hard to get)

Website: piccaperu.com
Twitter: twitter.com/PiccaPeru
Look for reservations: opentable.com/picca
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Save the date: "The Mystery Meat Dinner" at Picca Peru 11/20

I haven't been this intrigued by a dinner invitation in a long time.  Maybe it's the element of surprise, but from one of the top restaurants in LA (there are many places in LA where "mystery meat" would elicit fear rather than excitement - but dinner at Picca would be far from culinary Russian Roulette).

So without further ado, here are the essentials from an email I got from Picca this morning:

What:  "You may have had beef heart, but on Sunday night, get ready to eat your ________ out!

We're thrilled to invite LA's most adventurous eaters to join us a wild dinner of rarely eaten animals, and little known, but very, very delicious animal parts.

Join Chef Ricardo Zarate – if you dare – as he prepares a special, one‐night‐only dinner where what he's serving is a secret. He’s calling it the "Mystery Meat" dinner."

When: Sunday, November 20, 2011 6pm-10:30pm

Where: Picca Peru, 9575 West Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035 Ph: 310 277 0133

How much: $50 per person (for 6-courses)

Anticipated drool-factor?: 100% I love surprises when it comes to food, and it's especially attractive coming from one of the hottest cuisines / best restaurants in LA.  And at a reasonable price.  This sounds like fun!!

Event site: The Mystery Meat Dinner
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For more upcoming food and other fun event finds, click here.