Sunday Brunch Maple Block BBQ

It was NFL playoff Sunday yesterday, so when deciding where to eat for brunch, my football loving friends all wanted to watch the game. Thankfully Maple Block has several big screens set up, so that anyone who wanted to feed their sports addiction while they ate, could do so :)

Some diners wore their team jerseys to eat, while others showed their support by cheering their teams on good plays. I have no allegiance to any team other than a team of great restaurant workers and owners, so Maple Block was a sure win for me!

Their Maple Block breakfast is composed of eggs, bacon, biscuit, and either tomatoes or potatoes for $16 that will satisfy any appetite for a classic American breakfast done expertly using quality ingredients.

I chose the Brioche French Toast with berries for $15.50 which included grade A Vermont Maple syrup. The portion was so generous and delicious that I took half of it home :)

Seeing the grill set up on the patio and other tables getting the special Maple Block smash burger (sometimes one person ate more than one burger...) Made us order the brisket, chuck and short rib, with onion jam, aged cheddar, and special sauce for $12 . The yummy sounds made with each bite almost drowned out the game on tv :) I got to try a taste and it was a great burger, but since I don't like sweet pickles, I would hold them and replace them with regular pickles. 

I know I am a bit strange to have no interest in either football nor sweet pickles, but that leaves both for everyone else to enjoy as I enjoy my wonderful brunch outdoors on a beautiful 70 F day in LA :)

Bludso's Curbside

It's nice to have choices when it comes to cravings, especially when the choices are good ones. I live near Maple Block, but sometimes I crave Moo's Craft, and  it's been awhile since I've had Bludso's, so I tried their curbside pick up since they don't deliver to my area.

Great Covid 19 protocol; simply park in one of the designated spots in front, call with your name, and they will bring your order out with masks and delivery to the trunk of my car. Since I was not going to make the drive for only one meal, I got a full rack of pork ribs for $33, a pint of collard greens for $10, and 2 pieces of cornbread for $5.

Everything was as delicious as the delivery and in house meals I've eaten previously, with the added bonus of having great food in the fridge for several meals! Definitely worth the drive, and definitely get more food than you can eat so that you can enjoy the flavors again the next day :)

Moo's Craft BBQ Curbside

My enjoyment and appreciation of Moo's Craft BBQ Curbside reminded me that when you love what you do, you should share it with others. I am very grateful they share their expertise and passion with people outside their family. BBQ is one of those skills I do not possess. I can grill, but I do not have the passion, nor patience, for the perfection I have tasted. 

I was a regular at Smorgasburg pre Covid 19, so when they began offering orders for curbside pick up in DTLA, I was relieved to learn that not only had they pivoted to survive the pandemic, but that I could (selfishly) get some of my favorite BBQ. The process is easy as long as you can plan your pick up at least a week before you want to eat. It's a very efficient system where you prepay, set a pick up time and literally drive in front of the pick up site. Just tell the person at the front your name and the company you are getting your food from, and they will bring it to your trunk.

I saw on their social media that they had beef ribs, so I preordered one, with some brisket, ribs, and coleslaw. As usual, their pickled red onions and pickles came with the order and I made a feast out of the platter for several meals! Don't hesitate to order "too much" food because you will find that "just one more bite" can turn into two or three and leftovers can be wishful thinking when you are really hungry :)    

Ugly Drum Curbside

I used to love going to Smorgasburg to get Ugly Drum pastrami. After my first visit, I always came with tupperware so that they could pack my to go order in a sturdy travel safe container. Now that Covid 19 has changed the business models for everyone, I was thrilled to find that I could pick up curbside at Bludso's, which I must add has great BBQ. If you would like to kill two birds with one stone, order from both Ugly Drum and Bludso (ordering is separate, although pick up in front is the same). Even better for those too far away to pick up or get delivery, Ugly Drum now ships nationwide with Goldbelly where you can order 3 lbs of pastrami brisket for $139 with free shipping!

I got extra meat on my sandwich for $21 total, made with Bub and Grandma's fabulous bread.

A pint of their caraway cole slaw was my vegetable for $9 ;)

A side order of my favorite, the uglies, or burnt pastrami ends for $8.50

I also ordered one of their home made pickles for $2 so that I could have plenty of sides for my plate. They gave me a large container of their wonderful mustard that rounded out the richness perfectly. I only ate half my food at lunch, so time to eat the other half now....

Flatpoint BBQ

I love great BBQ and I have found many places which have made my taste buds smile with the smoke, tenderness, and flavor of their meats. When I saw that Flatpoint Barbeque pops up in Santa Monica at Surf Liquor every Saturday, I made a mental note to try them. They set up in the parking lot at 11am and as they say, they close when they sell out. I hoped for a taste of their beef rib, but since I couldn't get to them until they were packing up to leave around 4pm, I was left with the Prime brisket, Pork spare ribs, and pulled pork 3 meat combo and the last order they had of their baked beans for $30. It was a monster platter so rather than try to tackle it in the parking lot, I ordered it to go and got a Flatpoint Special sandwich for $17 to eat in the car before driving home.

I took one container of all three sauces and made a half and half container of the regular and spicy to take home with my platter. I loved all three types, with no clear favorite since they all had a nice balance of savory, tart, and spice.

The 3 meat platter was enormous! I especially love the pickled onions and pickles which help cut through the rich meat. Of the platter, I think my favorite was the pork ribs which were nice and tender and had a nice peppery crust. The pulled pork was great heated through the next day with some of the combination sauce I had concocted. I found the brisket a bit dry, but it was great with any and all of the sauces. 

The baked beans were chock full of MEAT! So much so that it was easily a meal of pulled pork with a few beans, and would have made a great addition to nachos or tacos. I didn't like the sweetness of it, but I know many people would love that it was sweet not just savory and smoky.

The flatpoint sandwich for $17 was a hearty meal in and of itself, so that I barely touched the platter after eating it. The combination of pickles, garlic aioli, BBQ sauce and crispy shallots made this a monster brisket sandwich! The brioche bun was firm enough to hold everything, so it was a bit dense and thick, but better to have a firm hold on all that meat. And yes I ate the whole thing :) 

Maple Block Meat Co.

Fame and fortune are fleeting in life, especially here in Los Angeles, but a taste of the unctuous fatty brisket from Maple Block Meat Co. will be indelibly seared into your memory, making you salivate for more long after you have left the premises, unlike the name of someone who is well remembered for only 15 minutes. 

The fatty brisket is so good that I almost headed out the door one night when they ran out, but as you will see, it was good that I stayed to taste some of their other menu items. 

If you go at lunch they offer a $13.50 lunch box special with a sandwich, side and drink that makes it a great deal for any carnivore. The brioche bun is the perfect vehicle for delivery of the juicy tender morsels into your mouth. I chose the greens as a side to help balance out all the meat :) The close up picture shows how the chopped brisket is literally fall apart tender.

Another good choice for lunch box sandwich is the old school smoked sausage. The only issue I had with this wonderful meat was the casing was a bit tough so I ended up scraping the sausage out of the casing and putting it back in the sandwich with the whole grain mustard, creamy cole slaw, and pepper spread, the additional sauce was unnecessary, but I loved the vinegary slaw as a side.

I went in one night just as they ran out of brisket :( Rather than trek somewhere else, we ordered half a pound of the smoked prime rib for $18 with a pickle plate for $6, and a large market chopped salad for $11. The prime rib was so good that by the end of the meal we were glad that they were out of brisket so that I was "forced" to try it :) Of course I got the rarest cut they had, but they do offer more well done cuts for those of you who are not blood red raw meat eaters. The pickle plate was abundant enough to take some home, and the chopped salad was nicely dressed in a red wine vinaigrette that helped make the meal easier on the digestion. The salad was so big we took half of it away in a doggy bag, and it held up pretty well as lunch the next day.

I will always be a fan of people who choose quality ingredients and who also possess the skills to render them into bites of heaven:) 

Three Great BBQs in LA

There are some great BBQ spots in Los Angeles, and one of them is Moo's Craft. They are so well known for their BBQ that the lines at Sunday's weekly Smorgasburg are usually over 30 minutes long. The Sunday I went, TWO of my chef friends also went and we all feasted on their glorious beef rib and fatty brisket. The bark and smoke were masterfully done and the meat was perfectly tender and moist. They are now my favorite beef rib place in Los Angeles!

A few stands down is Ugly Drum, the best pastrami I've eaten on the West Coast (as an ex-NYer that is the ultimate statement! The uglies (ends) and their sandwiches on Bub & Grandma's bread with perfect mustard and giant pickles, makes for a nostalgic trip back to NYC without the hassle of planes, time changes, and weather :)

For pork ribs, my favorite is at Bludso's, where even their Bloody Mary comes with a hot link and pickles!

 All the sides are as fresh and well made as their BBQ

Definitely over order on the pork ribs, get some tips, and take some home with extra BBQ sauce (I mix the hot and the regular)!

After this meat spree, I'm ready for some raw kale...

Tamaen BBQ

Sometimes I crave beef....and since I like my beef grilled (who doesn't?) I'm always looking for a place that serves up either perfectly grilled rare meat, or which provides the ingredients and utensils for me to grill it myself. Hikari was so perfect that I was hesitant to try another Japanese BBQ place. Whereas Hikari is the old school Japanese style, Tamaen BBQ is the modern US influenced style. Different flavors fit different people, so depending on your taste and budget you might opt for one over the other. The service at Tamaen was excellent, as in keeping with the American style of fast, efficient, and friendly; my waiter had worked there for 10 years and was an expert in both service and knowledge. They even have take away meals for those who wish to grill at home! 

They have built in table grills and use the good (expensive) charcoal, added with gas underneath.

I got there early, but by the time I left, the place was packed.

Since many of their choices were for 2+ people I chose the beef heart small portion to grill. The also offer grass fed beef versions of some cuts of beef for slightly more $. They offer American Waygu and some offals like liver, as well as sushi and Korean pickles, so you can create the fusion meal you desire here. Their drink selection is very diverse as well, offering an entire menu of drinks from different countries and grades. I chose the beef heart  with salt instead of  miso based on my server's recommendation, but it didn't have enough salt for me (I really should carry my own in my purse), so I asked for more and they obliged with a small plateful. The heart was tender, but the flame was a bit too low, so my server adjusted it to give it the perfect sear. The small order was about 100 grams and just enough to be an appetizer to my oxtail ramen.

The oxtail ramen was the reason I came in because it was a special and I love oxtails. The soup was full of vegetables, and the oxtail was very tender. A good portion for the small price under $10, but I would have preferred a larger price with a larger portion. The flavor was well rounded, but I would have appreciated a bit more oomph of seasoning or spice, but that is me, I know many people who would love this soup the way it is.

I loved this logo (also on the server's hats) and that their tables all had bibs/aprons (I thought it was a napkin at first until I saw the napkins on the table). so that you don't splatter your clothes! Even walking in, you can check in electronically, and every table has the call waitstaff button so you don't have to try to flag someone for a condiment or your bill. For service and variety alone, I would recommend this place!

Hikari Japanese BBQ

I do not have a BBQ, so when I crave grilled meat, I either have to go to a restaurant or convince a friend to fire up their (usually gas) grill. Hikari may be a bit out of the way, but every bite of grilled meat I ate was a mouthwatering morsel of tender juicy happiness. 

The grills here are not gas powered, so the flavor of whatever you grill has the added carbon component. If you allow you meats to sit on the grill (they provide metal tongs and scissors) until they are properly seared, you will be rewarded with flavors that will make you smile:)

I chose the thick cut beef tongue for $13, which was scored and marinated before being brought to my table.

Once on the grill, the fat dripped into the coals

and resulted in this gorgeous result.

I was still hungry so asked my waiter whether he suggested the ball tip or the hanger and he said hanger for $10, so that is what I chose for my next course. It was a much larger serving than the tongue and it came with a ginger and scallion sauce for the meat to be put on after grilling. Hanger is one of my favorite cuts of meat, and this was perfectly marbled quality meat that may convert any filet mignon lover into a hanger lover.

Hikari was so good, I had to go back with friends, so that I could taste more of the items on the menu. I went back the next week with two non-Asian friends who are foodies (and not intimidated being the only non-Asians in a restaurant). We started with the fried chicken, a nice rendition, nothing exceptional, nothing amiss.

On my recommendation ,we ordered the thick cut tongue and hanging tender, which they loved :)

 We had to order a vegetable, so we chose the stuffed mushrooms, and we were glad we had eaten other items because it took awhile for these to cook....

But they were worth the time to get a burst of cheese, garlic, and mushroom in a juicy bite!

So many Yelp reviews raved about the carbonara that we had to try it. With pork belly and watercress, this delectable combo was the epitome of great fusion on a plate:) 

The last order of the night took the longest to get to our table, but it was worth the wait for the rib fingers. Rib fingers are the pieces of meat between rib bones, so they are the meat you love usually attached to ribs you gnaw, but at Hikari, you get the meat sans bones in their fatty, wonderful moist pureness with a side of minced garlic to enhance the grilled meat.

I don't know how we made it out the door, but after 5 orders and 2 large Sapporos for the adults and a soda for the teen, our bill was only $100 including tax and tip. Our waitress came outside as we walked out to thank us for visiting :) I am sure will will be regular visitors!