Whiskey Wednesday: Get Your Buffalo On at K&L Wine Merchants

K&L Wine Merchants, located on Vine just south of Sunset (behind the Arclight Theater), is a relatively new entry into the LA retail liquor scene. Opened last spring, the store is the third in a small family owned chain based in the Bay Area (the other locations are Redwood City and San Francisco).

The store is mostly wine, but on the back wall there is a spirit section. While modest in quantity, the whiskey selection is of excellent quality, including quite a number of selections I have never seen in Southern California.

For instance, they have the hard to find Lagavulin 16 year old Distiller's Edition (as opposed to the regular bottling). The Distiller's Edition is a well regarded vintage Lagavulin (meaning all of the whiskey was distilled the same year). It goes for about $100.

Equally impressive, they have the entire Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. As you might recall, Buffalo Trace is one of the most innovative and skilled distilleries in Kentucky, making amazing Bourbons and Ryes packed with flavor. Their Antique Collection is the BT crème de la crème, a sort of holy grail for Bourbon lovers, but they are very hard to come by. Of the five bottles, I have only previously seen one or two of them on sale anywhere in Southern California. To have all five in one store is a real rarity and a Bourbon lover's dream come true. On top of that, the price is right. Most of the bottles seem to go for a quite reasonable $55 a pop; the much heralded Stagg is $65 which is about as good a deal as you will find on it anywhere.

The collection includes:

• George T. Stagg - Deeply flavorful firewater
• Eagle Rare 17 year old - Elder version of a favorite sweet sipping whiskey
• William Larue Weller - An older version of a popular wheated Bourbon
• Sazerac 18 year old - A beautifully smooth Rye
• Thomas H. Handy - A cask strength version of the Sazerac Rye

If you are a Bourbon/Rye fan, you really can't do much better than this series, and if you know a Bourbon/Rye fan, these would make wonderful Chanukah or Christmas gifts.

In addition to a great selection, K&L has a knowledgeable and helpful staff. I had always rued the fact that there were no really great liquor stores in mid-city LA. Now we have one, so check it out.

K&L Wine Merchants
1400 Vine Street (south of Sunset)
Hollywood, CA, 90028
(323) 464-9463

Farmers Market: Third Tier

You've seen the best, now here's the rest. The unexciting, uninspired and just plain bad. Unfortunately, most of my new tries ended up on this list. I guess there was a reason I hadn't been going to all of those places.

Charlie's Coffee Shop


I would love to recommend Charlie's. It has a great old-time diner ambiance, even though it's only a stand. The staff is friendly, not in the corporate "Hi my name is Joe and I'll be your server" way but in a genuine and empathetic way. Breakfast regulars abound and are greeted with a knowing, "Hey Bruce, the usual?" The place exudes the small time old school charm that is the best of the Market. Unfortunately, I'm a food blogger, not an atmosphere blogger, and the food at Charlie's is pretty unexceptional. Sure they do up a fine French Toast and a decent breakfast, but nothing to rave about. Still, go by and breath in the atmosphere.


Magee's Kitchen

Magee's is the original FM food stand, dating back to early in the century when the Market really was occupied by farmers selling goods and they needed some sustenance. Magee's has a two prong menu, one with carving station type meats (corned beef, roast beef, etc.) the other with very old school Mexican (enchiladas, tacos, etc.). Neither are very good, but they do make a mean horseradish, which you can buy by the jar.


China Depot and Peking Kitchen


The Farmers Market is bookended by these old school, steam table Chinese eateries with their one, two and three item plates of fried meat nuggets with bright, sweet sauces. If you must have Chinese at the FM or have that odd hankering for orange chicken, go to China Depot, on the east side of the Market, which does this genre decently. Peking Kitchen, whose logo is suspiciously similar to that of Panda Express, gets no stars in my book.

Kokomo

The dishes on the menu of this souped up diner are good in concept, but the execution is lacking. I had food there that was both poorly seasoned and poorly cooked. Ten years ago, I might have put Kokomo in the second tier, but the quality has definitely declined since then.


Ulysses Voyage

Ulysses Voyage, the Greek sit-down restaurant at the back end of the Market, has its defenders, but I'm not one of them. On my most recent visit I reconfirmed my earlier impressions...they offer a wide variety of fairly bland and unexceptional Greek classics. If I want hummous and kabobs, I'll go to Moishe's.

Bryan’s Pit Barbecue

This place smells great, so take a deep sniff...and keep walking past the dry, bland meats at this poor excuse for a barbeque pit.


Deano's Gourmet Pizza

Middling pizza and pasta.


La Korea

Basic Korean standards. You really want Korean food? Drive 15 minutes east and you'll have hundreds of choices.


Sushi A Go Go

One small step up from the Ralph's sushi bar.


Phil's Grill

Basic Jewish deli faire done competently but not spectacularly.


Market Grill

Burgers and fries...nothing special.


The Salad Bar

Only if every other food stall in the market burned to the ground would I consider another meal at The Salad Bar, which serves lackluster salads and sandwiches. There was absolutely nothing to recommend the $8 tuna fish sandwich, which pretty much anyone I know could have done better at home. The exotic tropical juices were sickly sweet and the pathetic salad bar looked like something out of the early '70s...this place was a huge bummer.

Next week: The Final Tally

DeVries Chocolate

I first read about Steve DeVries in Mort Rosenblum's engaging book Chocolate. Rosenblum chronicles DeVries' obsessive search for the best cacao beans and his hands on approach to every step of the chocolate making process. At the time the book came out, there were no on-line sales of DeVries chocolates, but now there are.

DeVries sells two varieties of chocolate, Costa Rican and Dominican, at three different percentages, 77%, 80% and 84%. I recently sampled a variety of his product and found it to be excellent. The only ingredients in these bars are cacao and sugar. He leaves out vanilla, which is often added to dark chocolate to lift or lighten the flavor...so this is hardcore stuff.

The Costa Rican chocolate is a bit more tangy and acidic, reminding me of red wine. The Dominican varieties were my favorite. They had a smooth, almost creamy taste and a deep earthy feature. The Costa Rican, with its complexity, appealed to my head, but the deep flavors of the Dominican appealed to my heart.

Probably my favorite DeVries product, though, are the carmelized cocoa nib clusters. These addictive nuggets, pictured above, are nickel sized dollops of DeVries' 77% Costa Rican chocolate topped with carmelized cocoa nibs (nibs are roasted cocoa bean pieces). The little discs are a handy snack and not a bad pick-me up either. At under $5.00 a bag, they would make a great stocking stuffer or Chanukah gift.

DeVries chocolate is available through their website.

Mezcal Miercoles: Tasting Session

As part two of our Mezcal Miercoles series, here are some samplings of the spirit of Oaxaca:

DEL MAGUEY MEZCALS

Del Maguey mezcals are some of the easiest to find in Southern California. Their single village series is stocked by many premium liquor stores. We sampled three of them. Except for the Tobala, they are named for the village in which they were made. The Del Magueys lack age statements which leads me to believe they are unaged or blanco mezcals.

Chichicapa, 47.8% alcohol

This was my favorite of all of the mezcals we tasted. It has a distinct smoky flavor, almost comparable to an Islay Scotch. The smoke and agave flavors are beautifully interwoven in a way that made me want to keep sniffing and sipping.

Minero, Santa Catarina Minas, 49.2% alcohol

The Minero is very tangy and fruity with some sweetness. This was probably my least favorite of the three, but had a very distinct flavor that others may like.

Tobala, Wild Mountain Maguey, 46.1% alcohol

Unlike the other mezcals on this list, Tobala is made with the tobala variety of agave as opposed to the more common espadin variety. The Tobala had some smoke but the more dominant flavor was fruit. Clocking in at about $120, it's almost double the price of the Chichicapa and more than double the Minero.


OTHER MEZCALS

Los Danzantes, Reposado, 42% alcohol

Smoky and smooth this reposado (rested - aged from six months to one year) mezcal had a very sophisticated feel to it. In the Scotch realm (all things must be compared to Scotch) I'd compare it to a smooth Speysider, though it did have some smoke. I found it very pleasant...one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it in California...this bottle came from New Mexico.

El Señorio, Reposado, 38% alcohol

This smoky mezcal does not appear to be available in the US but was purchased in Oaxaca by my brother-in-law on a recent trip. It has very good smoke and great agave flavor, though it lacks some of the subtlety of Los Danzantes and is less powerful than Chichicapa. It's also con gusano (there's a worm in the bottle) which is frowned on by mezcal purists, but doesn't seem to make this stuff taste any less good.

I hope you have enjoyed our brief journey into mezcal, and if you haven't tried it, I hope you will. I leave you with this Oaxacan saying:

Para todo mal, mezcal.
Para todo bien tambien.

For all that is bad, mezcal.
For all that is good as well.

Next Week: Back to Whiskey on Wednesday

Farmers Market: What's for Dessert?

Along with its diverse selection of food stands, the Farmers Market is filled with sweet shops of every description. As a man with a sweet tooth the size of an eclair, I've eagerly exposed myself to all of their wares as part of my quest to master the Market.

TOP TIER


Littlejohn's



Littlejohn's old-fashioned candy shop should have a warning posted in its window: "Once you eat our toffee, you may never be able to eat any other toffee again." Littlejohn's toffee is so good that it has absolutely ruined me for other toffee, the only exception being See's. LJ's toffee is a sweet, buttery smooth, crunchy concoction that doesn't stick in your teeth. Coated with the traditional chocolate and nuts, it's the butter that comes through the most, and who doesn't love butter? This stuff is one of the most addictive foods I've eaten. No matter how much I buy, I never seem to make it through a sitting with any left.

The peanut brittle, a related species, is also excellent and I love the chocolate and caramel coated homemade marshmallows. Littlejohn's is a true LA treasure that shouldn't be missed.


Country Market



Owned by Thee's Bakery, the Country Market, located in the middle of the FM, bakes up cookies, cinnamon buns, apple dumplings and other baked treats, but their true calling is funnel cakes. These cakes are to fairground funnel cakes what a high end molten chocolate cake is to a Hostess Cupcake, a creature so vastly superior that it does not appear to be of the same species. The funnels are handmade with great care and topped with a mix of homemade fruit topping (no canned glop here) and fresh whipped cream. The cake is perfectly fried, crunchy on the outside, chewy within. This was a new try for me but it immediately bolted into a regular stop. The best funnel cakes I've ever tasted, bar none. It's like the fair, but so much better.


Bob's Coffee and Doughnuts



In my Doughnut Roundup last Spring, I named Bob's as the best cake doughnut in town...get a caker glazed, with powdered sugar or even plain. They also do the best apple fritter in town and have excellent glazed doughnuts as well.


SECOND TIER

Thee's Continental Bakery

Thee's offers good croissants, cookies and sweets. I'm a particular fan of their tres leches cup, a parfait spin on the traditional Latin American "three milks" cake (though I wish they'd leave out the cherry pie filling glop). I also like their marzipan logs and little chocolate mousse filled Florentine cookies. I would pass on their cakes though, which tend to be dry and uninteresting.

Bennett's Ice Cream

Competent homemade ice cream. If you have an ice cream hankering, it will suffice, but nothing to write home about here.


THIRD TIER

Gill’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream

The best thing about Gill's is their old-fashioned soft serve, which you can get dipped in chocolate. If you are ever craving Dairy Queen or the old Fosters' Freeze, this may be your best bet. For hand scooped ice cream, go to Bennett's, Gill's no longer makes their own ice cream, but uses Dreyer's and Thrifty, which are no great shakes (excuse the pun).

T&Y Bakery

Everything looks great, but that's about the only redeeming quality of this little bake shop.

The Bread Bin

Eastern European pastries...too much dough, not enough flavor, and I'm not a fan of their bread either.

Ultimate Nut and Candy

Does the world really need 15 varieties of flavored popcorn? I'm inclined to say no. Even the traditional caramel and butter toffee corn here is overly candy-coated in a way that uncomfortably sticks to your teeth. The other candies are just so-so.

Coffee Corner

A small selection of unexceptional pastries.

Honorable Mention: Magee’s House Of Nuts

Technically, I suppose, Magee's isn't a sweet shop, it's a...nut house, but I have to mention this house of nuts and homemade nut butters. The main attraction for me is the peanut butter machine, displayed for all to see as it churns fresh peanut butter. There is something hypnotic about the way it slowly and monotonously swirls; round and round it rotates with such smooth, fluid motion making me fall into a peanut butter induced hypnosis. I could stare at this thing for hours...it's like peanut perfection.

The PB itself is good with a strong peanut flavor, bordering on sweet...but, as advertised, it's just peanuts, and it needs salt...after all, who wants to eat unsalted peanuts?

Next week: We begin the Third Tier of Farmers Market eateries

Farmers Market: Second Tier

We continue our comprehensive review of the Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax with the second tier. These may not be my very favorites, but they are decent places that will do in a pinch.

Tusquellas Fish & Oyster Bar

Fish and chips are the mainstay of Tusquellas, and they do a competent version. The fish is crispy and the fries have a nice chewy texture, though the accompanying cole slaw is fairly flavorless. They used to do a nice fish/oyster combination, but that seems to have disappeared from the menu.


The Gumbo Pot

Having lived in Louisiana for a couple of years, I love Cajun and Creole food. Uncle Darrow's was my mainstay back when they had a little sandwich shack on Venice Boulevard, but since that closed, there's not much in the way of Cajun food east of the 405 and north of the 10. The Gumbo Pot, the lone Cajun contender is popular, but for me, always seems to disappoint. The po-boys are made from lackluster bread, and while the cornmeal battered oysters are good, there aren't nearly enough of them on the po-boy. The gumbo and jambalaya are passable but nothing to write home about, and the alligator is mostly a good novelty dish. I still go from time to time because, as I said, it's hard to find good Louisiana food in LA, but it mostly makes me dream of real Cajun food.


Singapore’s Banana Leaf

Another relative newcomer, Singapore's Banana Leaf may be the only restaurant in LA claiming to serve Singapore-style food. A combination of the flavors of India, Thailand and Indonesia, my favorite dish at Singapore's Banana Leaf is the Roti Paratha, fried Indian bread served with an awesomely flavorful curry sauce. I also enjoy the Cane Juice which has a wonderful sugar cane taste.


Moishe’s

Moishe's dishes out standard Middle Eastern fare...falafel, hummous, kabobs, etc. Nothing thrilling, but all done fairly well. Their best dish is the lamb kabob, which is perfectly cooked and well seasoned.

Next week: Sweet Shops of the Farmers Market

Introducing Mezcal Miercoles

Whiskey Wednesday is on hiatus, south of the border, for the next two weeks...so get ready for Mezcal Miercoles.

I love the whiskey, but sometimes you need a break, and when I do, I often reach for mezcal, the Mexican agave based liquor that is growing in popularity. So, join us for the next two weeks as we explore this enticing drink.

First, the basics:

What is mezcal?

Mezcal is a distilled spirit made from the agave plant. Agave is a large succulent with leaves shooting out in a flower-like pattern. The American century plant, which you may be familiar with if you live in the southwest, is a variety of agave.


But isn't Tequila made from Agave?

Yes. Tequila is actually a type of mezcal, just as Bourbon is a type of whiskey. In practice, however, when people talk about mezcal, they are usually referring to the Oaxacan variety, and that is how I will use the term here.

Tequila must be made with the blue agave species. Mezcal, in contrast, can be made from any variety of agave but most mezcal is made from the espadin variety. Most Tequila is made in the western Mexican state of Jalisco (home of the town of Tequila which gave the drink its name), while most mezcal is made in the southern state of Oaxaca.


Is mezcal aged?

It can be. Pursuant to Mexican law, mezcal uses the following age designations:

Blanco (White): Unaged
Reposado (Rested): Aged from six months to one year
Añejo (Aged): Aged more than one year
Extra Añejo (Extra Aged): Aged more than three years

Gold tequila, as in Cuervo Gold, is an unaged Blanco with gold color added.

All of the aging takes place in oak barrels.

The Extra Añejo designation is new and, consequently, many Tequilas and mezcals currently labeled Añejo are actually more than three years old. Unlike whiskey, exact age statements are rare on mezcal labels, so it is sometimes a guessing game.


Is mezcal a new drink?

Hardly. Mezcal dates from the sixteenth century when the Spanish colonists brought distillation to the Americas. In recent times, it has often been equated with fire-water and moonshine, largely due to worm-in-bottle rot gut being put out by large producers. In Oaxaca, however, it has long been considered a refined spirit made by artisans in small batches.

Mezcal was late in coming to the premium spirits party sweeping North America, and it suffered through the 1990s watching its upstart cousin Tequila become chic and expensive. But now, finally, mezcal is getting some recognition as the complex and interesting spirit that it truly is.

Now is actually a great time to get into mezcal because, while it is getting some recognition, most mezcal hasn't yet made it to the triple-digit, sold in a unique hand-blown bottle status that makes so many Tequilas and whiskies out of reach financially.


What does mezcal taste like?

Mezcal has its own flavor profile. Oaxacan mezcals do not taste like Tequila, though they have some commonalities. Mezcal tends to have sharper, stronger flavors, often with intense smoke or tangy qualities absent in today's smooth premium Tequila. To me, it's a more distinctive flavor than that of Tequila, and the various mezcals offer more variety of flavor than do Tequilas, which tend to stick to a pretty consistent flavor profile.


How do I drink mezcal?

Mezcal should be enjoyed like any fine spirit...neat in a snifter or other glass that allows you to enjoy its aroma. While there are a few mezcal cocktails out there, I don't think the strong flavor of mezcal lends itself particularly well to mixing, but then, I'm not generally a cocktail buff.


Where can you buy mezcal in LA?

Premium Mezcal is still somewhat hard to find in LA, but you'll find decent selections in the same premium liquor stores where you find good whiskey selections. This includes Wine & Liquor Depot in Van Nuys and Hi-Time Wine in Costa Mesa.


What are some good mezcals?

Next week, we will have a Mezcal tasting comparing a number of Mezcals. If you are looking for a place to start, the Del Maguey series of single village mezcals offers a variety of different style mezcals, each made in a different Oaxacan village. Next week's tasting will include a variety of Del Maguey mezcals.