Top Chef Dale Talde's restaurant

There is an Asian spice party all up in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  Chef Dale Talde, formerly of Top Chef Season 4 and formerly sous chef at perhaps the most fun restaurant to pronounce, Buddakhan, offers diners a trip-around-Asia experience.  Some dishes like the pork and chive dumpling are familiar to dim sum palates.  But other dishes like the pork with spun fried chow fun noodle in gravy and pickled bok choy are are entirely new to a hip gwai lo.  Everything was savory and the variety of different Asian flavors made every dish singularly unique.  Goes to show you that Top Chef can actually launch some primo talent.

Pork and chive fried dumplings with hella hot spicy mustard

Vietnamese crepe stuffed with pork and shrimp and nuoc mam sauce

Calamari and papaya salad with grapefruit

Pulled pork chow mein with spun fried chow fun and picked bok choy

Sticky rice in banana leaf with chinese bacon and scallions

Who puts lobster in Tom Kha?  Smart people do.

Manhattan Beach Post

 Finally!  South Bay residents rejoice. Finding good food south of Marina del Rey is hard to come by.  But then Chef David Leferve opened up MB Post and brought with him a background at Charlie Trotter's.  And now we finally have Iberico ham on charcuterie plates by the beach.  And all is right in the world.  MB Post is a block away from the beach.  So after gorging yourself on small plates, you can walk it off on the boardwalk.  The place is packed.  The tan fit singles like to cram the bar for happy hour.   Seasonal ingredients highlight the ever changing menu and seafood dishes are the standouts.

Iberico Ham with a stink cheese and accoutrements

Soft Shell Crab

Squid two ways

Steak and asparagus

Pea risotto

Sour cherry panna cotta and chocolate pudding

MozzaPizzeria Drive By

11:15 PM.  Got out of a play.  Starving.  What is still open in LA?  Mozza Pizzeria!  I did a Mozza drive by.  No waiting. Glass of wine and the spicy clams pizza.  Sat at the bar.  In and out in 20 minutes!  Perfect closing to a long day.

Barrio Cafe in Phoenix

What to do when it's 114 degrees in Phoenix?  Eat Mexican food.  This is the answer to most questions in life. Eat Mexican food.

Best Mexican food in Phoenix?  Barrio Cafe.

http://barriocafe.com/

This place is perfect.  From concept to execution, I can not fault one thing here.  The artwork outside and inside is funky and gritty and celebratory.  The service was very knowledgeable.  And the food is amazing.  A really simple and flavorful hand chopped guacamole.  Enchiladas with the best tomatillo sauce outside of Texas.  A home made spicy cinnamon-laced horchata that's like drinking mother's milk.  The churros are perfectly crisp and pumped with a caramel sauce. Doesn't get better than this.  Photos courtesy of fellow food blogger, The Giggle Fish, aka Jennifer Wozniak.
 

Simple hand cut guacamole with cranberries.  Served with pomegranate seeds when in season.

Enchiladas suizas with some good cojita cheese and tomatillo sauce.

Crack churros injected with a caramel sauce.