PRESS PREVIEW: Fulfilled (Beverly Hills)

In the afterglow of Tuesday's election results, I woke up this morning feeling pretty good about life. I may have unpaid bills and a career in a dying industry, but the promise of getting there ("there" being that nebulous state of fulfillment) seemed more certain – so as long as I put in the effort. "If Obama could do it, so can I." That's my new mantra.

Tonight I looked to Susumu Tsuchihashi for further inspiration. He's the owner of the newly-opened imagawayaki shop Fulfilled. Full disclosure: He's from the same WLA community I grew up in. So I'd heard a lot of second-hand stories from friends about his endeavor to get this place open. He quit his job, sold his condo and began traveling to and from Japan to research everything that goes into making one of the country's most cherished pastries. In this economy, most people wouldn't dare let go of their boring-but-heck-it-pays-the-bills job. But for Susumu, food being his passion, life is too short to play it safe.



Imagawayaki is a pancake-like treat traditionally filled with warm anko (sweet red beans). Susumu adds modern variations like banana and Nutella; Ghirardelli chocolate, toffee, crunchy peanut butter (seen above); prosciutto di parma, smoke ham, aged parmesan, fresh basil (seen in the top photo); chicken apple sausage, pepper jack cheese, green chili, cilantro; and others. I definitely preferred the sweet over the savory, particularly the 'Nutty Buddha' chocolate-toffee-peanut butter trio. The 'Sumo Italiano' ham-cheese-basil combo was tasty, too. If only there was a way to stuff in more of it.


I hope the best for Fulfilled, which officially opens this Saturday. It may be the fledgling newcomer among its more established 90210 neighbors – but with steady effort and commitment I know it'll turn into something grand.

Fulfilled
9405 S. Santa Monica Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 562-4339

Paulette (macarons) @ Beverly Dr.

While endlessly circling around for parking for Beverly Drive's Urth Cafe, Mikey and I spotted the cutest little macaron shop. Pacing back and forth inside was a chef who told me he'd named the store after his wife, whom I'd imagine is a great lover of macarons. Being a romantic, I figured it was a macaron that brought them together.

He seemed like a nice guy and with me being the only customer during peak lunch hour I felt compelled to spend big: a box of 12 for $18. ($1-taco-night Mikey gawked at the bill.)


Now I'm no expert on macarons and I'm sure people have done dissertations on the subject, so take my opinion as just that, my opinion. Reading through Chowhound and other food forums, it seems macaron critics fall into two camps: those who assess any particular shop as being either cloyingly sweet or insipid. (Americanized taste buds seem to opine the latter.) Of course, other factors come into play like, doughiness and moistness. Overall, I thought Paulette's macarons, with a few exceptions, were a little sweet for my tooth.

Here's my box of 12 (out of a possible 14):

1. chocolate coconut
2. orange blossom (oddly like perfume)
   
3. Early Grey (nice!)
   
4. Madagascar vanilla
5. Sicilian pistachio (hmm, distinctly pistachio)
   
6. Columbian coffee (yummy!)
   
7. sweet wedding almond (good!)
   
8. lemon tropical
9. New Orleans praline
10. violet cassis
11. peach (an overwhelming flood of ganache)
    
12. flavor of the month: raspberry rose (magnifique !)
    

"Our macarons all have distinct personalities," it reads on the postcard I grabbed from the counter. Well said. Sure these little guys aren't all perfect. Some were big on personality, some weren't. But it was kinda fun finding out.

Though maybe next time I won't hoard a dozen myself. Macarons make not a good diet.

Paulette
9466 Charleville Blvd. at Beverly Dr.
Beverly Hills 90212
(310) 275-0023

$1.50 each, a box of 12 for $18, 24 for $35
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In Other News....

Tis' the season for Japanese exam-takers to buy 'good luck' candy. Auspicious messages are printed on potato chips, KitKat and Pocky boxes and those in the majority who believe in lucky charms will buy the entire lot, like this person here.

Sno:la @ Beverly Hills

Forgive the meltiness. On my lunch break today I ventured to Beverly Hills to kill two birds with one stone: 1) pick up my Nike Run Hit Remix packet at Niketown and 2) check out Sno:la, the latest fro-yo shop to hit town. Each task was a complete nightmare since it was hot out and everyone seemed to be on the same mission. Eventually I wised up and found parking in a public lot a few blocks away, ran over to Niketown, grabbed my complimentary shirt and then ran over to Sno:la a few blocks further on Beverly Blvd.

If you were like me, you found yourself very intrigued by Daily Candy's email newsletter this week featuring a colorful picture of pink yogurt topped with chocolates and raspberries. Words like "wolfberry" and "toasted coconut" got my imagination racing and it didn't occur to me until later on that this could very possibly be just another Pinkberry-wannabe. That's the last thing this city needs.

Once inside, I found myself surrounded by half a dozen Daily Candy loyalists, each girl asking for at least two samples before defaulting on chocolate. I stuck to one, a swirly mix of mango and pomegranate which was definitely more tart than Pinkberry. Hmm, do I really need any more tartness in my life? It's questionable. But anyway, I was already there so I might as well get something. My initial assessment of the place is that if the actual yogurt doesn't appeal to you, their toppings will. They're far more gourmet than most other places. I topped my mango with sweet, soft and toasty bits of caramelized almonds, which tasted even better than it looked.

I left my camera in the car so I ran back right away. With my left hand on the wheel, I zoomed onto Wilshire Blvd., dodging tourists and other crazy drivers taking pictures of their food in the car. As soon as I got to a red light I focused the camera on my rapidly melting fro-yo. *Click*

Well, not the greatest picture, but I give myself credit for at least not rear-ending anyone.


Sno:la
244 North Beverly Dr.
(310) 274-2435

Gonpachi @ La Cienega's Resturant Row

After months of delay, Gonpachi is finally open in Beverly Hills. If you drive down La Cienega Blvd. it's really hard to miss it — a Buddhist temple-like behemoth standing amongst old American standards like Lawry's and Arnie Mortons. I decided to nickname it Todaiji after the temple in Kyoto but realized it looks more like Kill Bill's House of Blue Leaves. You know, the one where the big showdown takes place.

The original Gonpachi is in Tokyo and apparently the parent company, Global Dining Inc., went through painstaking measures to bring every piece of wood from Japan to build this edifice. Supposedly, not one nail or screw was set into the wood of this building. ...Guess that explains the delay.

The place is absolutely stunning. So much so that they could feed me crap and I'd still go home happy. Rameniac and I sat at the bar sipping, respectively, on beer and Choya plum wine while we waited for the rest of the party to arrive. I started getting tipsy fast cause I hadn't eaten a thing, plus the wine was a little strong. Never had plum wine made with black sugar (kurozato). Very, very sweet. As my head started spinning, I looked above and noticed a set of samurai swords on the wall. A bit kitschy if you ask me. But heck, I heard that real-life ninjas came to the restaurant's grand opening, so if that's what it takes to defend the castle then I guess it's alright with me.

Once the party was gathered, we were led upstairs to what resembled a dimly-lit atrium. Kill Bill flashbacks start hitting me in rapid fire. Remember that one scene where Uma Thurman sprints up the banister to fight her evil nemesis? Very doable here.

So anyway, on with the food:

I was surprised that our Japanese friend, of all people, decided to order this oh-so westernized sushi roll. But you know what? It was actually done well. The sliced cucumber and crab were packed in even proportion and the sauce was tastefully light. It was the Japanese version of the American version of sushi, if that makes any sense.

Gonpachi makes their soba by hand. There's a spectator booth near the front door where a guy puts on a little show every two hours, kneading and cutting the buckwheat dough the way they do it in the motherland. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume the noodle master is still a little jet-lagged (or maybe too much plum wine?). The noodles were decent but not as good as what I've had in Japan. Didn't sink into my teeth just the way I like it. Though Mikey had the soba with tasty duck broth, and he devoured that thing in an instant.

Their sumibi-yaki dishes seemed to be their other highlight so we ordered a bunch of those. By the way, there's a lot of terminology involving Japanese grilled dishes: Yakitori refers mainly to grilled chicken parts. Kushiyaki encompasses other grilled parts of whatever animal or vegetable you wish to eat. Sumi is a type of charcoal wood known to do wonders in every day life. It purifies air and water, and makes food taste better when you cook with it. So whatever animal or vegetable part you throw on the grill, if there's sumi under it, it's called sumibi-yaki.

This is their tebasaki, soy sauce-flavored and grilled chicken wing. Tasty. Yes.


Their bacon-wrapped asparagus was quite good too. Crisp asparagus surrounded by juicy meat.

Now this was the true winner of the night: the tsukune, a beautifully seasoned chicken meatball, er, meatslab. Highly recommended.

And for dessert... citrus "gazpacho"! It was a delicately pureed mixture of grapefruits and oranges topped with orange sorbet and a macaroon-type thingie. Refreshing.

And now for the grand tour. Yes, you can ask your waiter to have a looky 'round the place.

Their sake display:
One of several dozen private rooms. Unfortunately they don't seem to have rooms with actual tatami (straw-woven) mats, but they do have banquet rooms where you can do the kneel-down-and-lose-circulation thing:

One of their more intimate sushi bars. That guy on the right was totally trying to get it on with the girl next to him. I really hope his breath was fresh:

I love fancy restrooms. Wash up in style after a good flush:


And finally, the exterior view.

We had a fun time at Gonpachi, mostly just with gawking at the architecture. This place is ideal for company dinners, first dates, and those with a fetish for Japan. I must warn you though. BRING YOUR SUGAR DADDY/MOMMA! Each of those grilled dishes range from 3 to 8 bucks, and unless you're on a liquid diet you're gonna need to eat at least 5 of those plates, plus a round of soba and sushi.

Though maybe... if you could get one of those ninjas to stop by, maybe he could throw a smoke bomb so you can make a quick getaway. Never hurts to try.

Gonpachi
134 N La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 659-8887


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In the News:

Krispy Kreme Ahoy! Japan prepares for the fatties

Sprinkles cup cakes @ Beverly Hills

After months of anticipation, I finally made my way to Beverly Hills
for a Sprinkles cupcake. I heard Oprah had recently featured it on her show and
soon after, wouldntyaknow, women flocked to the store en masse. Not
that I'm an Oprah groupie but I'm always intrigued when a store can
get away with charging $3.25 for a single cupcake.

I've had cupcakes at the famous Magnolia Bakery
in New York and was truthfully unimpressed. The frosting was way too
heavy and tasted no different from any other supermarket bought
one. Sprinkles wouldn't be any different, I thought. So I was
completely caught off guard when I took a bite into the ginger lemon
cupcake, shown above, and actually liked it. No, loved it. I normally
hate heavily frosted desserts, but it redeems itself with a kick of
fine bits of real lemon and ginger. In general, it's sorta like sinking
your teeth into a perfectly marbled piece of meat, fatty as hell but oh
so juicy. I've actually never enjoyed fatty meat but I think I know now
why people drool over them.