Restaurants: Cafe Metropol

Downtown loft revival meets European Bistro...
...meets many, many business people at lunch.

Food: 8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Service: 5/10 *see below

My subjective Grade: B+
Best for: A low-key dinner for two (the lunch time business crowd rules out lunches)
In a perfect world I'd dine here: Monthly... if they've hired some new waitstaff

Details:
923 East 3rd Street
Downtown Artist District
Los Angeles, CA 90505
213-613-1537
http://www.cafemetropol.com/

Four years living in Portland, Oregon will do crazy things to a person. Inevitably the abundance of cheap, independently owned, artsy, organic [and even tasty] cafes begins to create expectations. Expectations that can be hard to meet in LA.

Fortunately, there's Cafe Metropol. It's a slice of heart and soul wrapped up in a brick warehouse and unceremoniously dropped in Downtown's Artists District.

No offense to any Artists District residents (or Metropol), but it's not exactly in a neighborhood I'd hit for casual strolls and frolicking. Still, it's next door to trendy R23, a local sushi-ry, and with plentiful free parking across the street and a valet service right in front, it's easy enough to hit.

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Food: 8/10

• Metropol rolls out a solid line up of dishes each week. Their lunches consist of a variety of sandwiches (ranging from standard, cold fare to grilled paninis and tramezzinis), salads, soups, burgers, & pizzas (all with a European flair and unexpected, high-quality ingredients). Their dinner menu adds several baked pasta dishes, and both their lunch and dinner menus are supplemented by weekly specials. Their strength lies primarily in quality ingredients and unusual offerings rather than in especially skillful preparation (some of the pasta dishes err on the side of being too oily, for instance). Still, their cheese, fruit, & meat trays make a trip to Metropol worthwhile in and of themselves. Their locally grown, organic house salads (which come as a side with virtually everything) can't be beat; I always polish my salad off before getting to my entree... and I'm not much of a salad person.

Atmosphere: 9/10

• Metropol's been housed in a gutted, renovated warehouse - to great effect. With its brick walls, high ceiling, hardwood floor, & minimalist decor, the place looks ready for a nouveau riche hipster to move in. The atmosphere's further complimented by local art displayed prominently on the walls and the occasional DJ. My only complaint is that in their effort to go minimalist-chic they passed up on providing comfortable chairs. It probably won't matter to the young & healthy crowd the place draws... but for those with tweaked backs like myself it's just something I can't help but notice. One last thing, the place fills up with a business crowd on weekday afternoons. If you have a choice in the matter, I'd suggest hitting it on off hours or for an evening dinner when the place clears out and the atmosphere's fairly intimate.

Service: 5/10 *previously 9/10

• I previously had a 9/10 listed f0r Metropol's service, but after one of the most awkward dinners Azu and I have ever had, I've had to adjust this score accordingly. As this was only a one time bad experience, I've left up my previous praise (see last bullet below)... maybe you'll be lucky enough to avoid the waiter we had.
• So, our story: A few months ago we rolled over to Metropol for a weeknight dinner. As we stood in the door way, person after person walked out from the kitchen and scurried past us without acknowledging us. No, "I'll be with you in just a second;" just head-down scurrying. It wasn't exactly overflowing with people, either. After five minutes (and I mean the literal kind... not the hyperbole five minutes that impatient people refer to after a minute of waiting), Azu and I prepared to leave when a waiter showed us to a table. We hadn't said anything by this point, but we weren't hiding our displeasure, and it was clear in our body language. Well, after seating us, the guy ducks back into the kitchen and we clearly hear him begin complaining about us (It's been a few months, but the gist of it was "Oh my god, I, like, leave these people up there for a minute and they're already freaking out. What the hell's wrong with people?"). So he comes back with waters, and before we can say anything he looks at us and in a sing-song voice goes, "You, know. Patience is a virtue." Yep. I know when I choose to go out to eat, I really appreciate constructive criticism from my waiter. At this point, Azu, delicate and soft-spoken creature that she is, turns on the guy and let's him know that he should think twice before bad-mouthing customers, as it carries through the whole restaurant. She then clarified that his "minute" was really at least five, and that no one had taken the time to acknowledge us as they raced by. Did our waiter apologize? Nope. He just said, "Well, I just came on duty." We sat through the meal, (he continued to complain about us each time he went back in the kitchen) but we haven't been back to Metropol since. To put some of our displeasure in perspective, we don't get the opportunity to eat out that often. As students, eating out represents a decision on our part to forego some other entertainment and spend our limited funds at the restaurant instead. When you go to the movies, do you expect to be criticized by the ticket vendor? Do you expect to hear the theater-workers talk shit about you openly as they get your popcorn? And would you keep going back to that theater... especially if it's competing with hundreds of other theaters spread out over almost every block of the city you live in? Anyway... I figure the guy probably spat in our food. Thank god we don't have Herpes now.
• Prior to our last experience I wrote: The service is always prompt, the waiters are knowledgeable, and my cup rarely goes empty. Azu & I only hit Metropol occasionally, but even so some of the waiters have remembered us (and it's always been in a pleasant hi-I-acknowledge-that-I-recognize-you-as-a-fellow-human-being kind of way... not a creepy hi-I'm-going-to-bombard-you-with-small-talk-and-inject-myself-into-your-evening-because-I'm-bored/strange/socially-awkward) [Update: Sadly, that waiter appears to have moved on to greener pastures]

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Eating Cafe Metropol:

Chicken & Artichoke Tramezzini: This is what I ordered the last time I hit Metropol. This tramezzini comes filled (not surprisingly) with a blend of seasoned chicken breast, melted mozzarella (and possibly more; I can't recall), prosciutto, and soft baby artichoke bits. If this was all that came with the dish, I'd still consider it a fair trade, but a quick nosh quickly turns into a three course meal with the addition of their house salad (which is always the first thing to disappear off my plate) and a daily soup (in the last instance this was an italian wedding soup: a chicken broth with spinach, orzo pasta, and small meatballs. Their soups are consistently great though some [like their cold avocado & lime gazpacho] might push the boundaries of the conventional).

"Mommy, where do hipsters come from?"
"Damned if I know, kiddo. What's a hipster?"
Click Here to learn more about Metropol's Non-Suit-Clad Clientele

Recipes: Milk-Braised Pork

The easiest dish ever conceived (...actually, I guess it's tied with spaghetti).

Taste: 9
Cost: 10 (higher scores = cheaper eats)
Ease: 10
Overall: 29/30 = 97%

Details:
From epicurious.com
Click Here to view Recipe

• Exotic/Hard to Find Ingredients?: No
• Preparation Time: almost none
• Cooking Time: 2-3 hours
• Alterations: Substitute pork loin for the pork shoulder (pork loin is easily found pre-cut and packaged, and because it's substantially more tender than shoulder cuts, you can safely cut the cooking time in half with excellent results. It's a leaner cut, but having made this dish with both cuts, I honestly haven't been able to taste a difference either way)
• Tips: A good wire mesh strainer will help separate the sauce from the milk solids that will form during the cooking. Also, I don't measure out the milk exactly any more. I try to bring the milk level high enough to cover maybe 3/4 of the pork loin. It's better to err on the side of too much milk; using too little or turning the heat up too high may cause the sauce to dry up and the milk solids to scorch. You can always add a little more mid-cooking as well.
• Suggested Accoutrements: The creamy sauce that results from cooking this dish always tempts me to try serving it with egg noodles, but time and time again this combination falls flat on my tongue. I'd suggest a good sop for the sauce (a crusty bread or rice) and a side with some strong flavors. The pork is quite good, but on its own it could be too subtle for some.

Well, I guess it's clear that I'm not concerned about eating kosher. The only things I can promise you won't find on my site are veal or foie gras (of course, now you can find free range veal on the market, but I think that's missing the point). You probably won't find anything on balut eggs either.

This recipe has it all; it's easy and cheap enough for college students yet can be packaged as a sophisticated dish worthy of refined palates (not that the two categories need to be mutually exclusive). The dish earned its position as the first recipe reviewed both by virtue of being a staple around our house and a constellation of factors that make this a no-fail recipe (once again, I guess they're not mutually exclusive criteria...). To ensure that I don't step on any copyrighted toes, I'll exclude reproductions of the actual recipes I review (using links instead), but I guess I can give the basics for this one: BOIL PORK IN MILK.

The result?
An elegant, melt-in-your mouth pulled pork dish with a creamy, thin sauce.

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Taste: 9

The two-for-one combo of tender pork and a ready-made pan gravy is excellent. I'd recommend this dish even to those who aren't pork fans; the flavor of the end product is quite different from most pork dishes. As strange as it sounds, I think the closest flavor I could compare it to is mild Tuna. The only reason it scores a 9 instead of 10 is that its flavor, although delicious, is also very subtle. While I love it, I think many would say it runs a bit bland. The reviewers on epicurious suggest some ways to spice it up, but I can't vouch for any of their alterations. I'm a firm believer in the "if it's not broken, don't fix it" mantra, and I love it the way it is.

Cost: 10 (higher scores = cheaper eats)

Assuming you have olive oil, salt, and pepper readily available, all that's needed for this dish is a pork loin and some milk. Pork loins generally start around the 1lb mark, so if you're serving two, you'll likely have leftovers.

Ease: 10

You boil a slab of meat in liquid. It's fail-proof. The only part that requires any effort at all is browning the outside in oil. If you use a pork loin, the overall cooking time should be reduced by maybe an hour, and I wouldn't worry too much about when to have the pot covered and when to let out some steam... just check to make sure the liquid hasn't all boiled off, and if you have a lot of liquid at the end, you can crank the heat up and reduce it down.

Overall: 29/30 = 97%

This is a versatile dish. Its price and ease makes it a good weekday meal (if you can wait two hours while it cooks). Alternately, toss the sauce in fancy bowl with a ladle, shred the pork with a fork to give it that pulled pork look, use your spare cooking time to pair it with some more work-intensive side dishes, and you've got a dish suitable for entertaining.


"Mommy, where do pork loins come from?"
Click Here to find out.

(I'm neither advocating nor denouncing the Victoria Packing Corporation - they were just the first site with a proper picture of a pig. If you're brand conscious, I'd definitely recommend seeking out grain-fed, organic, or free range meats. If you feel somewhat apathetic about where your meat comes from, then I'd recommend reading Fast Food Nation. I'm generally not much of an advocate; this was the first book I've ever given to others as a gift.

Restaurants: El Pollo Inka

It's not a fast food chain; this is a bonafide restaurant (chain).

Food: 9/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Overall: 24/30 = 80%

Details:
23705 Hawthorne Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90505
310-373-0062
http://www.elpolloinka.com/

I decided to begin my reviews with El Pollo Inka, a small chain of Peruvian restaurants that I rarely get to go to (as it's not Azu's favorite) and thus think about often. This is my first stab at creating scoring criteria. I want to give you some easily interpretable scores, but I also feel I should give at least one example for each field so you have some perspective on where I'm coming from. Any suggestions?

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Food: 9/10

• Hands down, the food is the main reason to come to El Pollo Inka. Peruvian food reminds me of Caribbean food in some ways: the use of plantains, yucca, skirt steaks, and a savory flavor that I can't help but attribute to lard. The menu may appear a bit exotic for some at first (they serve tripe, ceviche & chicken hearts, for instance), and there are certainly misses in the lot, but their rotisserie chicken is fairly conventional. If you're willing to do some exploring you may find a match. I especially recommend their skirt steaks; I have a few favorites that keep me coming back for more (see below).

Atmosphere: 7/10

• Considering that they're a chain, I suppose they've made a decent effort at decorating the place. They have a number of faux artifacts on the walls, a mural-clad section towards the back, and stained glass windows. They also host dance lessons and have bands in at certain times. My lower score reflects more (or less) practical elements of their setting: their single common room is dimly lit, there is little privacy between the tables & booths, and some of the booths are somewhat smaller than is comfortable for a party larger than two. It's a comfortable place to eat, but it's probably not a place to woo one's date.

Service: 7/10

• We usually don't have to wait to be seated, and the initial service is prompt and courteous. My only complaint is that you may not see your waiter as often as you like after the initial seating. I'm a big drinker, and left to my own devices I'll get my water refilled a half dozen times at a sitting... I've learned to ration my water here. Also, I almost always order a side of fried yucca, and they almost always forget to bring it out.

Overall: 23/30 = 77%

• This was my first scoring attempt... I may end up tweaking it more as I go. I really do like El Pollo Inka, so I was a little shocked at the score I came up with once I saw it. I guess it's up to you, the reader, to determine your needs. If you're looking for novelty, large servings, and excellent food then El Pollo Inka is a good choice. It's just not a jaw-dropper for entertaining purposes.

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Eating El Pollo Inka:

Bistek Montado: One of my two favorite dishes at El Pollo Inka. Working from the bottom of the plate up, Bistek Montado begins with a healthy heap of white rice ringed with fried plantain slices. I'm not sure how they prepare their rice, but it's slick with a patina of the oil they cook it with. Because of the oil, the rice has a pleasant savory flavor. Not the usual plate filler, it actually makes a solid contribution to the dish. A substantial skirt steak is then laid across the rice and plantains. Skirt steak is one of my favorite cuts to begin with, but theirs is helped along with another generous helping of the oily seasoning found on the rice (needless to say, this isn't a dish for the health conscious). The final touch? A pair of fried eggs. As a kid I was always a fan of having breakfast for dinner, and the addition of bananas and rice in this dish somehow makes it seem like an acceptably adult compromise.

I'd also recommend trying the fried yucca. They're what young french fries dream of growing up to become. They have the satisfying oiliness and crispness of a french fry, but rather than having the soft, textureless potato mash innards of a french fry, yucca fries have a satisfyingly crunchy inner texture that makes them infinitely more enjoyable.

"Ugh, I had the tripe at El Pollo Inka yesterday. That had to have been the worst fish ever!"

-Quote from one of my brothers

Welcome to my blog; I realize I may only have a few seconds of your attention, so I'll try not to burden you with a long introduction.

What is this?
In the coming months, I'll be using this site to review local eateries and some of the recipes I inflict on my wife, Azu. [Editted 1/30/07: ex-wife - I wish her every happiness in the world]

Why should I read your reviews in lieu of those on some monstrosity site like AOL?
You shouldn't. A wise statistics professor of mine once said something to the extent of, "Say you're about to rate a bowl of chili. You could come up with a score after tasting a single bean, but you're going to get a much better estimate of the bowl's true flavor if you taste a whole spoonful."
That said, in a world of beans I plan to aspire towards pepperhood. In time I hope to prove myself and find my way to your spoon.

So, what cities are you going to eat?
I'm currently living in Downtown Los Angeles, so you can expect reviews of restaurants in local areas like LA, Pasadena, Hollywood, Alhambra, and even as far as Palos Verdes.

So, where do you get the recipes you review?
Though I've been endowed with a sizeable library of cookbooks from well-meaning relatives who know my interest in cooking; I have to admit that I come across the vast majority of my recipes online. Some of the sites I go to regularly include:
http://www.epicurious.com/ (This site has some of the best recipes I've found. They tend to be work and ingredient intensive, however.)
http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking (Consitently good... but I substitute the fat back into their recipes... is that wrong?)
http://allrecipes.com/ (The recipes here tend towards the comfort food side of the spectrum, but there are some real gems mixed in the lot. It's also a good resource for planning quick and inexpensive menus)
http://www.foodtv.com/ (Though I watch a good deal of Food Network, I often find their recipes taste better in concept than in application. Still, there have been a few good eats along the way)