Dine LA Picks, SF Dubai Chocolate, Santa Monica Eating Map + More

California loooove!

Dubai Done Better by Charles Chocolates in San Francisco

Dubai Chocolate Perfected in San Francisco

The TikTok-generated Dubai chocolate trend of making candy bars filled with pistachio cream and kataifi (a shredded and toasted phyllo dough) hit California last summer. I made some delicious Valrhona dark chocolate-covered and pistachio buttered kataifi clusters in the kitchen, but most of the bars I purchased over the last several months were too sweet for me (and I have a high tolerance for sweetness). I finally found my favorite close to home.

My friend Chuck Siegel at Charles Chocolate also thought most of the Dubai chocolate bars that he sampled from around the world were too sweet, so he’s created three new Dubai Done Better bars that are less sweet and way richer, with structures that don’t melt on impact (like the more amateurish bars I’ve tried). I ordered an Original Pistachio Bar (pictured above) and he’s also got a Pistachio Caramel Bar and a Pistachio Ganache Bar. They come with snappable squares, but you might want to even cut those in half as a serving. A fun gift to bring to group dinners and sessions that could use something lighthearted to experience. P.S. Congratulations to Chuck, who recently acquired John Kelly Chocolates in Los Angeles.

Dine LA Restaurant Week Picks

Chawanmushi with uni and truffles at Toku Unagi & Sushi in West Hollywood. Toku is participating in Dine LA Restaurant Week.

Los Angeles restaurants need customers more than ever at this very moment, and today is the first day of Dine LA Restaurant Week (Jan. 24-Feb. 7). I was happy to see that LA Tourism is donating $5 per reservation to The American Red Cross, with a matching $5 donation from Bank of California (up to $100,000). Dine LA is always a good time to try new places and get a deal, and this year, some new business could especially make the difference for some of these places to get through the next few months.

These are my favorite Los Angeles restaurants on the participant list, and I like them all a lot. Their Dine LA menus are linked below, so you can check them out for yourself.

Coni’Seafood Centinela and Inglewood ($15 lunch/$25 dinner)

Connie & Ted’s ($35 lunch/$55 dinner)

Crustacean Beverly Hills ($45 lunch)

Danbi ($65 dinner)

DiDi ($55 dinner)

Fitoor ($65 dinner)

Michael’s Santa Monica ($65 dinner)

Star Leaf ($25 lunch/$45 dinner)

Sushi Kisen ($90 lunch/$65 dinner, though that seems backwards?)

Toku Unagi & Sushi ($120 dinner)

Honorable mentions: Blue Plate Oysterette, Lucky Mizu, Seabutter, Simpang Asia, Socalo, Toranj, Uchi

Map: Santa Monica Favorites

Mushroom kulcha with truffles at the new Fitoor in Santa Monica

This week’s map is of my Favorite Places to Eat in Santa Monica. I understand that the city can be a hard sell for people who live a substantial amount of traffic away, but now you have a map to bookmark just in case you want to venture over and explore it some time. I think you’ll also find it helpful if you’re visiting Los Angeles in general and want to know about some excellent Westside places, a number of which are independently owned or mom and pop spots. They could all use some support right now.

Good Taste: Señor Sisig @ Thrive City SF

Tosilog burrito, P-Lo’s crispy sinigang wings and lechon kawali plato at Señor Sisig Thrive City in San Francisco

This week, my Good Taste column at 48 Hills covers the Thrive City opening of Señor Sisig, a self-described Filipino fusion eatery that began as a food truck over a decade ago. It’s been an honor to document the growth of this popular Bay Area business from day one, and the new (and fourth) restaurant location outside of San Francisco’s Chase Center offers high visibility just in time for NBA All-Star Weekend in February. It’s a big win!

Recipe: Kale + Parm Popcorn

The vertical produce company Plenty hired me to develop some recipes in 2023. My favorite is the Plenty Kale Dusted Popcorn, which is a good way to get some veggies into your snacking. It can be made with any kind of baby kale, and it comes with a mid-recipe snack! I hope to make it this spring with homegrown baby kale.

KALE + PARM POPCORN

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 1-2

Ingredients

1 package Plenty Baby Kale
Olive oil spray (optional)
⅓ cup unpopped popcorn kernels (or 8-10 cups popped popcorn)
2 Tablespoons melted butter
4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons Baby Kale Powder

For the Baby Kale Powder: 

Preheat the oven to 200°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray lightly and dredge Baby Kale leaves in the oil if you’re using oil spray, or just lay on the parchment paper if not. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the leaves are crisp and not brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Use your fingers to crumble the leaves into a powder and set aside. Eat the stems as a mid-recipe snack!

For the popcorn: 

Heat the popcorn kernels in an air popper or by your preferred method (stovetop, microwave) until the majority of kernels have popped. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add butter, Parmesan cheese and Baby Kale powder and mix with a spoon until well combined. Garnish with more kale powder and serve.

Find more thought for food on the California Eating blog.

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