I saw this post about summer fest on mattbites, so I thought I would join in on the fun. If you’re a fan of Japanese food, shiso needs no introduction. It’s unique flavor and floral aroma I find, tastes like mint, basil, fennel, cilantro all rolled into one. Shiso is commonly served with sashimi and sometimes tucked under nigiri like ika (squid sushi). Chiffonade of the herb tops rice bowls, salads, and pastas. The leaves can be found in Japanese and Korean markets, and is also refered to as ohba (the term used when accompanied with raw fish), perilla, or Japanese beefsteak plant. I found shiso seeds a few years back at my local Armstrong Garden Center (to my surprise). Shiso grows extremely well in hot climates, and will tower about 3 to 4 feet high with its frangrant fringed-edged leaves. I’ve grown shiso for the past 2-3 years, and it usually ends up serving no purpose besides adding some nice greenery to the garden. So this year I decided to make better use of this quite awesome herb. My plants this year were overshadowed by the crazy mess of a tomato patch, which has taken over the whole space (and then some). Fortunately, the shiso still managed to produce some usable leaves.

shiso plant; basil blossoms; dill flowers

One of my favorite uses for shiso is for grilling. The herb imparts a subtle perfume and herbaceous quality when wrapped around meat and grilled. Shin Sen Gumi (the local yakitori shop) marries shiso beautifully with pork belly. The pork belly in this case,  is wrapped around the shiso, possibly to protect the herb from the intense heat of the robata grill. When skewered and grilled over Japanese oak charcoal (binchotan), it’s just sublime.

Another regular order for me while getting yakitori is tori no tsukune, or grilled chicken meatballs. Torehei in Torrance makes a killer one. Their version utilizes jidori (free range) chicken, and while softer in texture to most I’ve sampled, they include bits of cartilage that adds a nice crunchy contrast. Though I doubt shiso is commonly used in the meatballs (maybe it is? I don’t know), I decided it would be a nice touch.

soaking kushi in water; hida konro and binchotan; mix for tori no tsukune; chiffonade

So I headed off to Marukai in Gardena to get some goodies in order to make these two dishes. Like a kid in a candy store, I got a little carried away. I came home with all the ingredients, plus a mini hida konro (Japanese charcoal grill), binchotan, and the same cute bamboo skewers (kushi) they use in the restaurant!

pork belly and shiso; grilling on the hida konro; tori no tsukune on the weber

The pork belly and shiso was fairly straightforward. Just wrap and skewer. The tori no tsukune recipe I found from Tess’ blog (Thank you, Tess!). The little grill as you can see from its size, isn’t going to cut it for more than one person (I couldn’t part with the $50 required for the larger one. This cheap one was only $8.)  But it was fun playing with it, and boy for its size, the grill and the Japanese charcoal puts out tons of heat! While we persevered and cooked the pork belly on the ‘lil grill that could’, I put the meatballs on the trusty gas Weber.

Well, I’m happy to report that the Japanese grilling slash shiso experiment came out great. The pork belly was just as good as the restaurant version, and the tori no tsukune was quite good as well. I probably could have cooked the chicken a bit less, but for the first time I erred on the side of caution. They were delicious nonetheless.  All these two needed was a nice cold Sapporo (which we had) and all was good.

Once again, the lure of burgers and hoppy ales was too strong. Another gastropub was calling, this time it was the Golden State. Sourced from throughout California (with the exception of brews, which hail mostly from the state but not exclusively), their menu reads like a play on the whole eco-conscious, sustainable, local food movement. More so, it’s just name dropping an ecletic mix of what California has to offer. Beef from Harris Ranch. Let’s Be Frank hotdogs. Gelato from Scoops. Virgil’s Root Beer from Reed’s. You get the point.

enjoying Scoops gelato; burger; Maharaja double IPA; sweet potato fries

Golden State currently pours about 10 beers, some from bottles, the rest from draft. The selection includes some, might I dare say, common favorites like Racer 5 (Bear Republic), West Coast (Green Flash), and Great White (Lost Coast); all great beers, so I’m not complaining. There’s also a few California wines by the glass, and a few sodas from Reed’s. The food offerings are fairly spartan, consisting of burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, a trio of salads and some sides.

On my visit I sampled the burger, which features Harris Ranch beef, Fiscalini Farms cheddar, applewood smoked bacon, arugula, and housemade aioli and ketchup. The burger was quite juicy and flavorful; the savory bacon, cheddar, and de facto pairing of bitter arugula complimented the aged beef well. A soft bun does its darnest to hold in the dripping juices. All washed down with a Maharaja double IPA from Avery Brewing Co. I liked it.

burger, bitten.

I’ve always wanted to try some of the artisan dogs from Let’s Be Frank, but have never made it to the cart in Culver City. Though I didn’t get to again this time, my friend reported that it was good, the relish being particularly tasty. The fries were well done, and while the sweet potato variety had great flavor, they were a wee bit thick for most. Dessert was gelato sourced from cult favorite Scoops just a few miles away. Though admittedly I was initially drawn in by the hype over Tai Kim’s strange and sometimes alcohol-centric flavors, now I find them just ok. However, the temptation of a beer float (scoop of gelato + Old Rasputin Stout) and burger might have me coming back for more.