ink.sack Review: Sandwiches Voltaggio Style

 I had lunch today at Michael Voltaggio's Ink.Sack today with my mom before heading to Koreatown for some groceries for the weekend's bbq. The shop is located on quite a posh stretch of Melrose, near Alexander McQueen, Marc by Marc Jacobs, etc, west of Fred Segal. I was so mad, I brought my camera, but forgot the memory card, so all I have are these crappy i-phone instagram photos. Can't wait for the new i-phone 5. The space is small with the order counter, blackboard walls, a few standup counters and and no seating. We ordered the Jose Andres, Banh Mi and Spicy Tuna Sandwich. Each sandwich was about $5-6 and on a mini hoagie roll / ficelle. It's actually fun to have these mini sandwiches; more to try. 3 was perfect for the 2 of us. I really liked all three sandwiches with interesting and unique flavors that you don't really find elsewhere. They were perhaps a touch too salty (and unfortunately they don't give out tap water there), but still very tasty. I actually think LA is lacking in good sandwiches, so this really hits the spot. Favorite might be the banh mi with the nice crunchy chicharrones which set it apart from the traditional banh mi. All the sandwiches were cold although the bread seemed slightly toasted. They were unfortunately out of the chicken liver mousse, which I really wanted to try. It's a pretty short menu, so I'm sure I will be back to try the rest of the menu soon.

Banh Mi: love the crunchy chicharrones with the pork, a little pate and pickled vegetables

Jose Andres: a hoagie with really good meat

Spicy tuna: just a little heat, very filling, meaty sandwich

What I'm really excited about is a Saturday night Ink reservation that I scored today for K's birthday next month, a few doors down from inksack. Reservations are available 30 days in advance through their website here. I haven't been this excited for a restaurant opening in awhile. I'll have to remember my memory card for that meal!

Ink.Sack
8360 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA

NYFW SS'12 Review

New York Fashion Week Spring 2012 is partway through so I thought I would take a pause and post some of my favorite looks so far. There are way too many fashion shows (I mean seriously, does J. Crew need a presentation? I love J. Crew, but I went through the photos and it just didn't seem necessary), but I've gone through at least the ones that interested me the most. So far, not surprisingly Theyskens' Theory is my favorite by far; I know he is more of a contemporary designer rather than really high end, but I would wear pretty much ever piece in his collection as it just fits my lifestyle. I really like his tailoring and materials, reminds me a little of Isabel Marant, but much more accessible to find in the US. Looking at these pictures of Fashion Week makes me miss NYC!

Theyskens' Theory. Image from nymag.com

Theyskens' Theory cont'd. Images from nymag.com

Some other looks I found interesting. My criteria was basically things I would wear, so it may not be for everyone. As for general themes, sporty athletic wear seems popular. Also bright colors and colorblocking are still popular.

Alexander Wang (first two), Marc by Marc Jacobs. The sportiest of the collections, although I probably chose the least two sporty A Wang looks. Hard to tell from these pictures, but the hair was really awful at A Wang. Images from nymag.com

L-R: Band of Outsiders, Helmut Lang, Marc by Marc Jacobs. Images from nymag.com

The celebrity collections: Rachel Zoe left, Victoria Beckham center and right. Can these people even sew? I haven't been impressed with the quality of Rachel Zoe clothes that I saw in person at Nordstroms, but both fall and spring looked nice in pictures. I rather like the silhouette of Victoria Beckham on the right, doesn't seem very Posh Spice. Images from nymag.com

Ok, I have no use for eveningwear, but I thought these were pretty with a dash of sparkle. L-R: Marchesa, Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta. Images from nymag.com

Ramen Yamadaya Culver City Review: Pork Overload

I had lunch today at the newly opened Ramen Yamadaya in Culver City today after our usual Wednesday farmer's market and Costco run. I had never been to the original Torrance location and am always on the lookout for the best ramen place, so I was excited to give it a try. We didn't have to wait for a table but there was occasional waits while we were there.

We ordered the Yamadaya Ramen with Tonkatsu Kotteri broth and the Spicy Ramen. Both were delicious. Both had a very deep, porky, rich milky broth. The Kotteri broth had extra savory depth from the black garlic oil as well as thick, melt in your mouth pieces of pork and back fat. It's definitely a dish for pork lovers. The "Yamadaya" style just added some more of the regular ramen toppings like seaweed, menma, and an extra egg to the dish, which was nice to balance out the richness. The Spicy Ramen actually had some decent heat, which is usually not the case with most spicy ramen out there, like at Santouka. The noodles were very thin, with pretty good texture, not too mushy. We switched dishes midway through the meal; I'm not sure that I could finish an entire bowl of one type of ramen as it is so rich and heavy, in slightly different ways. A little variety in broth definitely helps. You can tell how oily the broth is; both formed slight films on top after cooling down a bit. Overall, it is my new favorite ramen in the westside. I can't discern any MSG and I think the broth is better than Santouka and overall more interesting than Ramenya. It's definitely very heavy and very rich; it's been five hours since lunch and I'm still stuffed. I'll definitely be back as it was really good, but it's one of those places where I'll only go every once in awhile as it really is too much for regular consumption.

Yamadaya Ramen with Tonkatsu Kotteri broth

Spicy Ramen (spicy #2 on a scale of 3)

Pretty thin noodles

For only $4.50 extra, you get 4 pieces of Kara Age (fried chicken) and curry over rice. We got the combination to take home the curry and the chicken. We were so stuffed from the ramen alone, we couldn't eat another bite. Most people ordered the combination, not sure how they finished everything

Ramen Yamadaya
11172 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 815-8776

Isabel Marant - Inspired for Fall

My favorite part of the change of seasons (and yes, seasons do change in Southern California) is the transition to a whole different wardrobe, it's like having new clothes to play with. Inspired by my recent obsession with Isabel Marant, I'm really embracing some of the more masculine looks for fall, like oversized sweaters, slouchy pants and boots, but also loving the more feminine looks for fall, including animal prints, flirty skirts and tweed fitted jackets. I'd like to have some fun contrasting the two aesthetics, like a leopard print chiffon skirt with a chunky oversized sweater and boots. The nights are starting to cool a little, so I've been able to break out some of my fall wardrobe. At the same time, I have to say, it's been a little surreal going through runway images of the S/S 2012 collection from NY Fashion Week currently going on, spring just seems so far away...
Outfit: Isabel Marant Ed Jacket from the mainline, Etoile Isabel Marant gray corduroys, Threads for Thought organic v-neck, Hermes reversible belt, Balenciaga bag and black glitter Toms shoes

MAC Nitrolicious: 2046 lipglass, I wear this almost everyday

Missoni for Target Launch Review at 9:30am (Updated)

I can't believe I got hypnotized by these zig zags

Hints on what is coming my way (fingers crossed, if Target can work through their terrible IT issues). Updated pillow / living room pics here

Image from nytimes.com.

Image from target.com

However, this is what my day looked like when it started out:

The store was already long wiped out of even a single piece of Missoni x Target by the time I arrived at 9:30am at the La Cienega Target. I wasn't even planning on stopping by, hoping to wait until items went on markdown to pick up some items. Both the Go International and Calypso lines were heavily marked down at Target after a few weeks. I couldn't have been more wrong; I was so surprised that everything sold out, across the country, in only minutes. The clothes aren't really my usual style as I am a little pattern-shy, but I was potentially interested in some of the throws and pillows to liven up the new family room couch. I decided to check the store out at the last minute based on reports from East Coast friends about everything selling out, as well as the website crashing. After all, I'm a total sucker for hype. I knew it was going to be a little crazy at my store as I saw that Racked LA posted a photo of the line waiting to get in, but I went anyway, quite foolishly. When I got there, everything had been stripped clean; the employees had already put racks of regular clothes back where the Missoni had been merchandised. Dressing rooms were empty and clean as well, the only evidence were a few people with shopping carts loaded with Missoni items bartering their goods in front of the cash register. Most of the people clearly were grabbing anything they could to resell; this one dude was holding up a random pair of children's rainboots asking for a trade. A Target store associate said it was 10x crazier than any black Friday she's ever seen.

I'd say that the quality of the items in person are ok. Most of the materials for the clothes and homegoods are all synthetic: polyester and rayon blends (Update: I just looked at the fabric content of Missoni's mainline and it is largely synthetic as well). There was a lot of velour and fuzzy materials; a little too winter-y for LA. The throw I like is actually a fleecy velour material, but it was super soft and it will be comfy for TV watching on the couch. In any case, there was not a single item left in a store. A nice lady gave me a black openweave v-neck sweater that she decided against at the last minute, which was gracious of her since she could have easily bartered it for something else and I had nothing to offer. I bought it although I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it; there's nothing particularly Missoni-esque about with the exception of the very subtle zig zag print. Plus at $39.99 for a 100% rayon sweater, I just don't think it's worth it. However, I've got a couple of things coming thanks to my amazing mother in law and one quick online order in between the site being down that I'm extremely excited about, including the sleeveless sweater dress from the first ad and a pair of the zig zag toss pillows and a pair of the ribbon loop pillows in the passione colorway from the second ad. My couch and I can't wait! Although I shouldn't jinx myself because the online orders still haven't shipped yet and I've gotten delayed, and what I'm interpreting as possible cancellation, notices for every single thing ordered online (unbelievable that a retailer as big as Target can fumble something like this). Pictures to come hopefully...

The black sweater, my only launch day purchase which I've since returned since there's really nothing "Missoni" about it

The Missoni for Target zig zag infinity scarf in passione that I found while returning some items at Target today. It's surprisingly well made with 42% wool. May be my only Missoni x Target apparel piece that I end up getting which is fine by me since my online orders seem to be perhaps infinitely delayed. A little zig zag goes a long way in an outfit

Image from Racked LA of the store I went to

Ziti with Sausage and Mushroom Ragu and Caramelized Balsamic Onions

We've done a good job over the last week at eating a different meal at home every day over the past week, and we've been eating fairly healthily as well. A ton of vegetables; completely vegetarian 12/14 meals. It meant many trips to the farmer's markets: 4 times in the last 7 days alone; fortunately there are different markets around town pretty much every day of the week and most of my favorite vendors are at several of them. The only meat we ate was wild salmon one night and this sausage ragu. We've gone a little too heavy on the carbs with pasta several nights, some pizza, and lots of toast with heirloom tomatoes but hopefully all the vegetables balanced it out at least partially. I got this ragu recipe from the fresh pasta making class at Sur La Table two weeks ago. I had to change some of the cooking temperatures and also added some mushrooms and only used chicken sausage, but its a decent ragu recipe. It's a pretty easy one pot ragu; in the past I used to saute most of the components separately and recombine later, and also used ingredients like chicken stock and milk, but this recipe was fairly simple. The caramelized balsamic onions add a nice savory element to the dish with a little refreshing acidity to liven the dish up. I wanted to use rigatoni, but Whole Foods was out of rigotoni (they've been out of so many items every time I've been in the last few weeks, it's been really annoying). It's definitely more of a wintery dish, but I wanted to make the recipe again before I forgot about it. The pasta went well with a simple Tuscan sangiovese (which I also used as the wine for the ragu).

Ziti with Sausage and Mushroom Ragu Recipe (adapted from Sur La Table). Serves 4

• To prep, dice 2 carrots, 2 celery, 1 small onion and combine in a bowl. Thinly slice 2 onions and set aside. Clean 4 oz of mushrooms (I really like these organic Bunashimeji / Beech mushrooms that I've been buying from Marukai, also available at Co-op. They have a nice earthy flavor and texture more similar to wild mushrooms). Remove casings from 3 links of chicken sausage (about 3/4 lb total). 
• In a Le Creuset 3 quart pot over medium heat with a couple of TB of olive oil, saute the carrots, celery, onion until soft and starting to brown, 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (don't need to use too much salt because the sausage is pretty salty)
• Add the mushrooms and saute for another 5-8 minutes until the mushrooms have released all their moisture and the moisture is gone
• Add 1 TB of tomato paste to the vegetables and stir around for two minutes until it caramelized a bit
• Add the chicken sausage and saute until mostly cooked through, about 8 minutes
• Add 1/2 cup of red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown bits
• Add 1 28 oz can of peeled tomatoes and their juices, crushing the tomatoes by hand. Add 1-2 bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour. Taste for seasoning
• Meanwhile, in a separate pan, caramelize the sliced onions over medium low heat with a few TB of olive oil, stirring occasionally. Season with a little salt and pepper. Needs about 45 minutes to caramelize. When finished, add 1 TB of balsamic vinegar and remove from heat
• Cook 1 lb of pasta in heavily salted boiling water until almost al dente. Add the pasta to the pot with the sauce to finish cooking, adding a little pasta water if necessary. Serve with balsamic vinegar on top.

FNO 2011 Report - Venice, CA

I had a lovely Fashion's Night Out last night on Abbott Kinney with a couple of girlfriends. It was quite mellow; we just wandered down the north side of Abbott Kinney into the various shops with events, had a free drink at each place, browsed the merchandise, tried on a few things and onto the next place. Places were busy but not packed, a few had DJs, most had drinks and some had casual snacks. It was a balmy September night in the mid-70s; a really nice way to spend an evening with girlfriends.

DJ at Alternative. First time in the store, I really like it! Lots of comfortable slouchy cotton knits.

I decided to go with the Theyskens' Theory Dewi dress for the evening since it was such a warm night. Weather is going to be too cool soon to wear this dress. I really like the rich violet color, the reverse mullet hem (longer in the front, shorter in the back), and the pockets, which gives the dress a more casual vibe. The silk drapes so comfortably so it's very easy to wear.

Theyskens' Theory Dewi Dress, Balenciaga Velo bag, Swedish Hasbeens x H&M sandals.

Also wearing my new favorite lip color: Nitrolicious: 2046 Lipglass by MAC, the perfect glossy red lipcolor for a little glam with minimal makeup. Perfect new fall nailcolor as well: Essie's Power Clutch

A closeup of Essie's Power Clutch color for fall. It's described as a deep grey green, but the green doesn't really show up on my skintone

Image from Essie