There are those nights where we search for comfort food… the type of food that soothes the soul and satisfies the palate.  Sometimes we dine out on these occasions, and other times, we need to go only as far as our own kitchens.  Tonight was the unusual and special circumstance where I got to enjoy both: good food in the company of friends and in the comfort of home… even though it wasn’t my own.  Tonight I enjoyed the culinary delights from the Starry Kitchen, an entrepreneurial venture from two people whose main goal is to share good food with good people.  Once or twice a week, Wyn & Thi Tran turn their small NoHo apartment into a mecca for home cooked food served with a homegrown attitude.  With order filled post-its lining the kitchen cabinet, Wyn & Thi serve food that tastes fantastic, with the simple desire that people enjoy the food.  And with a bunch of regulars who come back every week (many of whom I met tonight), it seems that the Starry Kitchen is becoming an addicitve habit for many.

Wyn, Me, & GQ

Tonight, Short Ribs were on the menu, and presented in 3 spectacular packages: tacos, burritos, or a sandwich.  With Korean BBQ, Taco Trucks, and street food becoming the latest trend in the L.A. food scene, it was a novel concept to get good food, at a good price, and not have to wait in line for an hour plus on somebody’s front lawn just to get dinner.  I started with the burrito, which was fantastic, and stuffed with short rib, kimchi fried rice, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro.  The burrito had wonderful flavor, with a nice smokiness coming from the short rib, combined with a spicy kimchi sticky fried rice and nice hint of cilantro for some depth and balance.  The cabbage and carrots gave the burrito some great crunch and provided a wonderful texture balance to the rest of the ingredients.

Up next was a pair of short rib tacos, served on crispy corn tortillas and no kimchi fried rice, the tacos had an identity all of their own, and with a garnish of lime, provided a wonderful balance of citrus and smoke.  If done wrong, grilled short rib can come out charred and overcrispy, but this meat had a tenderness that oozed natural juices that I was licking off my fingers by the end of the dish.  With a 3 hour service window, people have to get their food early, as the Starry Kitchen feeds the masses until their supply runs out.

a very tasty burrito

I will dream about these tacos...

Although I left the comfort of my friends’ kitchen before closing time, there was a line of people waiting for food, while Wyn took orders and Thi kept serving up delicious food.  It’s a 2-person operation, and a complete team effort.  Both Wyn & Thi just seem to love sharing their food with their customers, and you can tell there is some special emotion put into each and every bite.  With a small box on the table requesting donations, customers respectfully oblige, and seem happy to contribute to helping Wyn & Thi keep this operation afloat.  The coolest thing about the Starry Kitchen is that the menu is always changing.  Although the packaging is always the same (burritos, tacos, or sandwiches), the ingredients always change, and Thi comes up with an array of Pan-Asian cuisine that keeps people coming back for more.  Whether it’s Sundays from 12pm-3pm, or select weeknights from 6pm-9pm, the Starry Kitchen has tapped into why people love home cooked food, and it seems people will keep coming back for more.  Before the dinner rush, Thi had some time to sit down with Wyn and I and sample her own creation.  Thi, who began this business after being laid off from her job, has found something that truly makes her happy, and you can see it whether she’s eating it herself, or serving it to the line of people who stand outside her sliding glass door waiting for a home cooked meal.  I would like to thank my friends for serving me up some amazing cuisine, and I can’t wait to see what’s on the menu for next week.  Check ‘em out at www.starrykitchen.com, and tell them the Kosher Pig sent you…

KFC ain't got nothin' on these finger lickin' good foods...

GQ requests donations from Starry Kitchen patrons

Chef Thi grubbing on a short rib burrito before the dinner rush

Every Thursday night in Los Angeles, there is a restaurant dedicated to serving one of the greatest comfort foods of all time: The Grilled Cheese Sandwich.  Since it opened in 1989, Campanile has always been one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the city, and has always been committed to putting out refined, yet rustic Mediterranean cuisine.  Having trained under chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Alice Waters, and Jonathan Waxman, Mark Peel’s cuisine has always been ingredient driven, and his Thursday night special menu, consisting of 12 different variations of the grilled cheese sandwich, is a perfect example of that fact.

I have been staging at Campanile for a few weeks now, and my favorite night of the week to work is Thursday night.  In a city full of restaurants, and an economy forcing people to pinch their pennies, doing 300 covers on a Thursday night (which is slow) focused around a culinary staple is truly something magical.  Like any dinner service, there is always dead time, and there is always a rush.  Linda, the sous chef who runs the grilled cheese station, and I, set up our mise en place and got ready for the craziness to ensue.

Dinner service starts at 5:30pm, and Linda and I joked about the calm before the storm.  For the first hour or so, a few tables were sat, but most of the business came through the bar as various agents, bankers, and real estate executives came in for their post-work cocktail.  At around 7:00pm, the madness began.  Ticket after ticket came in over the printer and Linda and I were in the weeds before we knew what hit us.  I have never seen so much gruyere pass through my fingertips as I did in that night.  Whether it was the Croque Madame (classic ham and gruyere with a fried egg), Croque Monsieur (ham and gruyere with béchamel), the Autostrada (cured Italian meats with aged provolone and cherry peppers), the Reuben (classic pastrami with sauerkraut, gruyere, and russian dressing on rye), a BLT (served with slab bacon) or the Cuban, (with gruyere, cornichon, and sofrito), Linda and I were single handedly serving the restaurant, while the rest of the kitchen was standing still, as most of the patrons came in for a sample of the most famous sandwiches in the city.

Three hundred covers and 40 pounds of gruyere later, the clock struck 11:00pm and the kitchen was closed.  We cleaned the station, labeled and dated the surplus of ingredients, and returned them back to the refrigerator.  Since I am working for free, my payment always seems to be food.  I made myself a giant Cuban sandwich, threw my apron and chef’s jacket in the laundry bag, and devoured my food during my two block walk back home.

There are few dishes in the restaurant world that are more debated, and more enjoyed, than the famed macaroni & cheese.  No dish creates a more unique battle of old school vs. new school.  In the Los Angeles restaurant scene, many restaurants have their own version of the childhood staple that became famous due to a blue box and powdered cheese.  But when it comes down it, Mac & Cheese is comfort food, and sometimes, chefs take a few too many liberties when trying to put their own stamp on a true classic. read more »