Chicks with Knives January 09 Dinner

Chicks with Knives ("CWK") is a sustainable, organic, local and ethical ("S.O.L.E.") roving supper club run by R & P, two rockin' chefs who shall remain nameless in furtherance of their awesome yet illegal endeavor. The dinner is held at a differnt locale each time. This month it was at a now-defunct cooking school in WeHo, and February's dinner is apparently going to be held at a downtown art gallery. I'm hoping there will be knife-throwing, or some other culinary/performance art hybrid to round out the festivities. . . R is a gardner who (according to her) has too much time on her hands. She grew a number of the ingredients used in the dinner, concoted a few of the recipes, and seems to be brimming with guerilla supper-club inspiration. P was more reserved -- she seems to more of a behind-the-scenes kind of gal -- but her sure technique was evident in everything we ate. The tables were strewn with meyer lemons donated by a CWK patron and fan, and we were advised pre-dinner that our assistance in bussing the tables would be appreicated.

I wish I had discovered CWK before it hit the Daily Candy wire, but it still was a fantastic experience. I got the invite from my friend G, who took a class assisted by P at the New School of Cooking. As a white person (my obssession with the hilarious blog Stuff White People Like noted in this post continues), the idea of a S.O.L.E. underground supper club of course appeals to me immensely; it incorporates a number of things white people like including organic food, dinner parties, and as a BYOB event, wine. Moreover, it was fun to be a table with both good friends and complete strangers. There was plenty of wine to share, and although I lost a corkscrew to the experience I gained a few glasses of Prosecco and (hopefully) some new friends.



The menu for the January 09 CWK event consisted of the following, and as you can tell from the pictures, the presentation was fantastic:

Wild mushroom salad with red mustard greens, carrots, and a mustard-seed vinaigrette



Carrot and orange soup with homemade crostini and black olive tapenade



Beef short ribs with root vegetable puree; and



Lemon cake (made with potato starch) served with meyer lemon and orange syrup, goat cheese frosting, and meyer lemon sugar glass.



The roasted wild mushrooms in the salad were lovely, and we all appreciated the effort involved in creating a salad that was sophisticated yet approachable, and S.O.L.E.

The soup was a standout. The texture and taste were both fantastic, and the sweet carrot base blended seamlessly with the tart citrus flavor of the orange. The tapenade was just perfect; I want the recipe so I can eat it with EVERYTHING.

While the soup was delish, it was the short ribs that really stole the show. They were marinated in sassafras (grown in R's garden), cider vinegar and spices, roasted for 6 hours, and then served on the bone over a root vegetable puree (potato, celery root, parsnips, etc.). R told me that this preparation was modeled on a recipe in Grant Achatz's Alinea cookbook, and while I'm sure his chemistry-laden recipe would produce a fantastic result, I can't imagine anything that would top the CWK short ribs. The meat was cooked perfectly -- fork-tender and succulent -- and was accompanied by an intense, flavorful reduction. The root vegetable puree was like mashed potatoes times 10, but with none of the artery-clogging dairy additions generally necessary to achieving noteworthy potatoes. In a word: yum.

The cake didn't fare as well as the other items on the menu. The premise was admirable -- a gluten-free concoction capitalizing on flavorful (and in-season) meyer lemons -- but the cake itself was a little dry. As a Jew that is forced to make flour-free desserts every year for Passover, I'm probably being overly critical, but I like my cake to have a lighter texture. Nonetheless, I'm sure my friends with Celiac's would love any attempt on my part to recreate this dessert. In any event, the syrup and the meyer lemon candy were both fantastic, and I finished every last bite, the texture of the cake notwithstanding.

The verdict: if you can get yourself on the mailing list for this fun, exclusive (in a good way) supper club, do it! In a city like a LA, the chance to dine with a roomful of like-minded strangers is a rare one indeed, and the added bonus of supporting chefs who are dedicated to serving a gourmet meal created with S.O.L.E. ingredients will certainly make me an attendee at their next event.

Top 10 Forms of Procrastination for January 2009

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8 oz. Burger Bar

Occupying the former Table 8 space on Melrose, 8 oz Burger Bar is a is a fun, casual neighborhood burger joint from chef Govind Armstrong. I had a chance to look at 8 oz. before construction was completed, and I think the owners have done a fantastic job of realizing their vision of a low-key, friendly restaurant with simple, delicious food and a welcoming vibe. The space has been completely revamped, with serious attention to detail. The dark walls and goth feel of Table 8 have been replaced with gleaming subway tiles, concrete floors, leather banquettes, wood wainscoting and mirror-accented walls. There are few flat screen TVs placed strategically over the bar, and the drink menu is listed bistro-style on a large chalk board. Come summer, I’m looking forward to checking out the indoor patio that opens onto Melrose for some sure-to-be stellar people-watching accompanied by a frosty beverage or two.

The cocktail list at 8 oz is geared towards “classically inspired cocktails.” We tried two -- the Moscow Mule (vodka, ginger puree, fresh lime juice, and ginger ale) and the Blackberry Collins (choice of vodka or gin, muddled blackberries, fresh lemon juice, soda water). Both were excellent. The Moscow Mule was crisp and not-too-sweet, just the way I like it. The spicy kick from the ginger puree was tempered by the tang of the lime juice and the smoothness of the ginger ale, and the liberal amount of vodka was not apparent until I became tipsy during round two. The Blackberry Collins had a lush berry flavor, and benefitted from the use of homemade Collins mix. There was none of that artificial sour taste that store-bought Collins mix tends to impart.

8 oz. has a short, well-edited list of wines available by the glass ($8), the carafe ($16), and by the bottle ($32). The beer list, from “beer chick” Christina Perillo covers everything from $3 PBR to a $22 750 ml of Russian River Damnation.

The menu is quite large considering the specificity of the concept. There are several types of burgers, ranging from veggie and fish to Estancia grass-fed beef and the house burger blend, all priced between $8 and $10. Cheese and specialty condiments can be added for $1 each, and various other additions, such as bacon, roasted mushrooms, and fried green tomatoes, can be added for $2 each. The starters, sides and salads are inventive, and include fried olives, mini-Kobe corn dogs, and a green bean salad with duck prosciutto, hazelnuts, tangerines, frisee and a truffle honey vinaigrette.

I was dying to try the mini Kobe corn dogs, but in recognition of the meaty goodness to come, we started with the grilled artichoke, served with a house-made herb aioli.

For the main event, we had the Melrose Burger, the short rib grilled cheese, an order of fried pickles, and the truffled potato skins.

The Melrose burger is made with the house-blend patty (sirloin, tri-tip, short rib and chuck cured in 8oz.’s himalayan salt-tiled locker), wild baby arugula, garlic-roasted tomatoes, and red onion marmalade. My friend, who shares my belief that burgers can’t be eaten without cheese, added bel paese cheese. Definitely a lot going on, but it worked. The toppings didn’t obscure the taste of the terrific meat, and the onion marmalade was a nice counterpoint to the garlicky tomatoes.

The short rib grilled cheese approaches sandwich nirvana. It starts with short ribs, braised until tender and succulent, and then shredded, placed on bread and topped with onion marmalade and bel paese cheese. Next, the sandwich is pressed until the bread is browned and the cheese melted. A simple concept, executed flawlessly. The richness of the short ribs, creaminess of the cheese, and hint of sweetness from the marmalade combined to make a perfect sandwich. The burgers may the main draw at 8oz., but the short rib grilled cheese should not be missed.

The truffled potato skins were also a standout. Thin, with a generous does of truffle oil, I could have made a meal out of these. Nothing like the dense, mealy potato skins served at sports bars everywhere.

The pickles, while slightly overshadowed by the deliciousness of the potato skins, were really great. They were fried in a light cornmeal crust (usually found on po-boy bound oysters) that provided a satisfying crunch but didn’t overwhelm the pickles.

We had grandiose visions of a banana split (the people next to us had one and it looked delish!), but ultimately decided to finish things off with a carrot cupcake, topped with cream cheese frosting (I won't even discuss the possibility of carrot cake with any other kind of frosting -- that would just be unnatural).

The verdict: burgers, beers, and sandwich nirvana. What’s not to like? If you’re fed up with the wait and strict rules at Father’s Office (a burger I love, but not everyday), give 8 oz a try.