Summer time is sort of upon us. And although it’s onerous to inform summer season from spring, and spring from fall right here in SoCal, I’m a creature of seasonally acceptable leisure put on. That’s fancy trend speak for shorts, t-shirts, joggers and different bits of clothes I hold tucked in drawers, by no means iron and throw within the wash each time I’ve spilled a margie, or dropped a tacos on them.
The issue is, after two years of pandemic gluttony…nothing suits. Final time I stepped on a scale, I swear it groaned in ache. I not too long ago purchased a leather-based gap punch to present my belts one other notch. I’ve advised my spouse that, you already know, leather-based shrinks. She doesn’t consider it, not a phrase.
And so, it’s time for me to get again to my (kind of, type of, semi, quasi) annual food regimen — both that or go searching for a brand new wardrobe. And since I eat for a dwelling, that creates a strategic problem. It’s a problem I’ve confronted earlier than, which has led to a variety of primary guidelines of easy methods to each eat…and food regimen…on the identical time. The principles are literally extra apparent than you may assume.
At the beginning, bid farewell to my private three pilIars of weight problems: sugar, deep-fried and alcohol. Sugar is fairly apparent, as a result of it’s all over the place, in the whole lot. There I’m, breakfasting on plain, fat-free Greek yogurt, solely to learn the label, and uncover it has 5 grams of sugar per serving. The place? How? The stuff is as primary as might be! And what do I do about it? Nothing. The advantages outweigh the…potential weight acquire.
Deep-frying is extra egregious. If I’m trying out an order of deep-fried rooster from some new Korean chicken chain, I acknowledge that the deep-fried coating is inseparable from the rooster itself. So, I merely transfer onto certainly one of my different guidelines: style the whole lot…however don’t end something.
My fridge is a wonderland of takeout containers — recyclable, non-recyclable, paper with a pagoda on the facet — stuffed with the whole lot from edamame to soup to slabs of salmon and beef. Dinner in my home is leftovers. And let me let you know, you see plenty of issues the following day that you just don’t see within the dim mild of a restaurant. Within the mild of day, that pretty slab of prime rib has a ridge of fats not observed when it was sizzling. And which I’m glad I didn’t dig into.
I attempt to eat not more than half the meals on my plate, regardless of how delicious. And the identical is true with alcohol. Irrespective of how good that long-aged Bordeaux, and hoppy and malty that craft beer is, I don’t end them. If I can resist, I don’t even get them organized as a result of a contact of tipsy makes me wish to eat extra. And after I eat extra, I drink extra.
It’s a vicious cycle that exhibits up on my long-suffering toilet scale — and people newly punched notches on my leather-based belts. In the long run, with effort, I’ll look much less just like the Hindenburg. I’ll by no means be an anorexic Ralph Lauren mannequin, however at the least, I’ll be capable to eat a Dodger Canine with out (an excessive amount of) guilt.
My mantra after I’m in food regimen mode has lengthy been this: lean protein and greens. Eat sufficient lean protein (particularly rooster and fish), together with veggies grilled or steamed, and also you’ll be amazed what number of kilos you’ll lose. I do it with calorically rational dishes from the teams beneath.
And no, I don’t gobble these leftover Lady Scout cookies within the pantry after my household goes to mattress. However these chocolate-covered peanut butter mini cups from Dealer Joe’s are onerous to withstand — darkish chocolate and peanut butter. They’re good for us. They usually’ll keep that approach so long as I don’t take a look at the label.
Salad
Effectively, in fact salad! And by salad, I don’t imply tuna or rooster salad, made with 50 p.c (or extra!) mayonnaise. As an alternative, go for a easy inexperienced salad, maybe with some skinless rooster or grilled seafood on prime. And the dressing on the facet. Ideally not a bleu cheese dressing. As they are saying: Okay.I.S.S. (“Preserve It Easy Silly!”)
Regardless of the way it sounds, O’Cado (14568 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 818-380-0005, www.ocadola.com) will not be a venerable Irish title. As was defined to me, it’s brief for “avocado,” turned Irish by the Gaelic proprietor. Which is memorable, if a bit curious.
It’s most likely extra curious than the delicacies served at O’Cado, which is what we’ve come to acknowledge as basic vegan cooking — meatless dishes, constructed largely round veggies, however with a smattering of fake meat creations tossed in for these in want. Vegan home bacon. Vegan smoked gouda. Vegan blue cheese dressing. Vegan parmesan. Vegan cashew queso. Vegan pork (created from jackfruit). Vegan aioli. Vegan ice cream. Fake meals know-how has gotten fairly good over time.
There aren’t any precise entrees served at O’Cado. As an alternative, there are luxurious salads, sundry tacos and a bunch o’ sandwiches. The quinoa tabouli continues the underlying Mediterranean leaning of the dishes right here. (It’s additionally a reminder that Israel has the very best proportion of vegans of any nation. In a land of falafel, tabouli and hummus, why not?)
Salads abound right here — in fact they do! There’s an unorthodox Caesar, made with kale and romaine, and avocado, which helps with the creamy high quality of Caesar dressing — and strikes me as being a really tremendous notion. There’s a Southwest Bowl made from quinoa, kale, barbecue jackfruit, black beans, pink peppers, corn and avocado. There’s an iceberg wedge, with but extra avocado. Avocado is the title…and avocado is the sport. And good for you too.
Sashimi
With 19 sashimi choices on the menu, sashimi is clearly the purpose at Asanebo (11941 Ventura Blvd., Studio Metropolis; 818-760-3348, www.asanebo-restaurant.com).
Certainly, when Asanebo first opened, the cooks couldn’t serve sushi due to a no-compete clause with a close-by sushi bar. So, it was sashimi solely, which unintentionally positioned Asanebo as a vacation spot as rigid as the previous Nozawa down the road (with its many, many unbendable guidelines).
The seafood at Asanebo is so recent, it crackles, it snaps, it pops. There aren’t any questions right here concerning the fish — it was picked out at daybreak that very morning, and really presumably was swimming simply a short while earlier than. That is fish at its very peak of freshness. And it’s present in a few dozen items of basic nigiri sushi, together with no matter recent fish specials may need proven up on the market.
The sashimi nearly at all times contains a number of preparations of tuna — bluefin, fatty bluefin, bincho-maguro and extra. If you wish to discover the fun of gizzard shad or halibut fin, that is the place.
The sushi rolls are minimalist, nothing excessive made with cream cheese and tempura crispies. However then, in case you actually desire a style of what Asanebo can do with seafood, strive the quite a few flavored uncooked fish listed beneath the heading “Home Signature.”
The dishes listed are what I consider as Japanese crudo — a Tokyo twist on one of many nice joys of Italian cookless cooking, of which there are such a lot of varieties, there’s a whole restaurant in New York Metropolis (referred to as Crudo, in fact), that serves nothing however the dish.
There are 19 preparations at Asanebo, the costliest objects on the menu, and essentially the most distinct and wondrous. Maybe the beautiful kampachi, ever so frivolously flavored with miso, serrano pepper, yuzu lime and pink salt. Or the halibut with yuzu citrus pepper paste. Or the salmon with Osetra caviar. Or the toro stomach tuna with wasabi and miso vinegar. Every of which verges on perfection. Which solely appears proper.
Grilled greens
That is the right dish…so long as the veggies are usually not accompanied by a 10-pound pile of ribs!
At Carnival (4356 Woodman Ave., Sherman Oaks; 818-784-3469, www.carnivalrest.com), ordering for the desk is greater than straightforward. Initially, you most likely can’t go unsuitable with the menu — an intensive assortment of the best hits of Lebanese cooking, with lots of the dishes collected into handy mixture plates. There’s an appetizer combo of hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli and falafel, served, in fact, with plenty of heat pita bread, which is an ideal appetizer for each the neophyte and the native.
And there’s the exceptional grilled veggie platter (there’s a fried veggie platter as effectively), the place the greens are flavored with olive oil and herbs, superbly grilled — a reminder that this actually is without doubt one of the healthiest cuisines on the earth.
Whereas we’re speaking veggies, there’s the fattoush salad — a kitchen sink salad constructed across the crunch of toasted pita chips. One can dig into the sandwiches, of which there are 9 — together with a improbable beef and lamb pita burger, simply probably the greatest burgers on the town, flavored richly with parsley and onions. Does that even correctly depend as a burger?
(The Carnival Burger is topped with coleslaw, and served on a sesame bun — a basic burger, although a little bit of an outlier on the menu.)
However actually, for me, the coup de grace is the Carnival Mixture of rooster, lamb and floor kafta, charbroiled and served with rice or fries, extra pita bread and great pickled veggies.
Lean rooster
And lean means…skinless! Not deep-fried! If it’s coated in batter, it ain’t lean!
Lusy’s Mediterranean Café & Grill (6357 Woodman Ave., Valley Glen (Van Nuys); 818-997-4330, www.lusyscuisine.com) appears to do as a lot takeout as eat-in enterprise — partly as a result of that is meals that travels very effectively…and partly as a result of the variety of tables in Lusy’s could be very finite.
And although it travels effectively — the falafel bites are as crisp once you get the place you’re going as they had been within the restaurant — not consuming in Lusy’s does take away the pleasure of watching the a number of sisters who do the cooking. They’re vigorous, chatty, even a bit noisy. They make the expertise enjoyable. They usually certain can prepare dinner.
For starters, the appetizer mixture referred to as Lusy’s Trio is crucial, whether or not for one, two or extra. It’s a close to excellent choice of Lusy’s extraordinarily tasty hummus — combined with spices that give it a reddish-pink glow — which has one of the best texture of any hummus I’ve eaten this facet of the open-air market in Jerusalem. It’s not too salty, not too oily. It’s a reminder that hummus, correctly ready, is a really wholesome dish.
Ditto the splendidly chunky tzatziki (a mixture of yogurt, mint, garlic, cucumbers and extra). And the baba ghanoush (primarily burnt eggplant mashed with garlic, bitter cream and tahini). After all all of it comes with pita bread — just about the whole lot does.
They certain do make probably the greatest tabouli salads I’ve ever had. It’s the granddaddy of all chopped salads — a giant pile (very huge!) of bulgur wheat, mint, parsley, scallions and tomatoes.
The menu says they use soybean oil, slightly than olive oil, which I assumed was the usual. I assumed it will style a bit off due to the soybean, however I’ve obtained no complaints. Nonetheless, I want to style it made with olive oil, which has a much more distinct taste.
And talking of distinct flavors — one chew of the rooster shawarma and it’s clear it is a kitchen with a tremendous hand with herbs and spices; each chew fairly effectively blows up on the previous palate. The grilled beef gyros are crispy and tender on the identical time. The kebabs — floor (as in lula) and chunky (as shish) — are about pretty much as good as they get.
In the event you can’t make up your thoughts, there are various combos — the Shish Kabab Lovers Combo, the Lula Lovers Combo, the Hen Lovers Combo, the Beef Lovers Combo, the Jumbo Kebab Plate. There are bigger platters — “Group Meals” — that serve “5 to seven.” There are pita wraps, for smaller appetites.
And for dessert, there’s baklava…and rice pudding “made with tender, loving care…” After all there may be.
Lean fish
As soon as once more, not deep-fried! Does deep-fried salmon even style good?
For a restaurant in a mall, King’s Fish Home (The Commons at Calabasas, 4798 Widespread Manner, Calabasas; 818-225-1979, www.kingsfishhouse.com) is notably non-mallish, with a tremendous (and really expansive) out of doors patio that surrounds the restaurant on a number of sides, positioned so that you just’ll barely discover the presence of the parking heaps.
I guess you could pretend that King’s is ocean-adjacent, although that can take a tad of creativeness with the hills of West Valley round you. However inside, the place is downright old style fish home, with a terrific Cajun oyster bar on one facet, a part of the cocktail lounge. And a tremendous lounge it’s too, with a wall of sizzling sauces to select from as you would like, bottles of tasty Cajun Energy garlic sauce on each desk, permitting you to show up the warmth on the choice of 9 fastidiously curated oysters (three Pacific, six Japanese) as a lot as you need.
There are Peruvian bay scallops, wild Littleneck clams, wild Mexican jumbo brown shrimp, wild San Diego rock crab, and wild Maine lobster — there’s an admirable dedication right here to steer clear of farmed fish, besides the place needed.
And if it’s old style grilled fish that’s wanted to fulfill — effectively, there’s loads, with 16 choices on the menu, together with wild Puget Sound king salmon (in-season solely). And in case you add on the ready dishes, there’s loads extra.
I like my seafood qua seafood — which is to say, served as what it’s. However I could also be a minority report — trying round me, there are of us digging into the macadamia nut crusted wild Alaskan halibut with an orange-ginger butter sauce, the parmesan crusted wild Alaskan sand dabs with lemon butter and capers and extra.
There are pasta dishes too, and a bunch of steaks. Which brings us to the bottomline of King’s — it’s a fish home firstly, and a really tremendous one. However the Kings perceive that somebody goes to come back in, and order an herbed rooster breast with mashed potatoes. Or a superbly respectable cheeseburger with Swiss or cheddar. Like Mattress Bathtub & Past, that is Fish Oysters & Past. As ever, you pays your cash, and also you takes your selection.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
