Dinner at Black Hogg - Los Angeles - 11/2/13

Hoa has been traveling so much this year and could not be with Kevin to celebrate his 20th birthday last October.  After checking Kevin's availability we settle on a date and we agreed to meet in Los Angeles for Dinner.  Los Angeles is about a 5 to 6 hours drive from our home depending on traffic.    I am not really familiar with L.A. but my task was to find a restaurant.  I searched for top 10 restaurants in L.A. using Yelp and I selected  Animal (got good reviews) but when I called they could not take us until 10:30PM.  I am not eating Dinner at 10:30, that is simply ridiculous to eat that late!   Plan B is to try to get in at Black Hogg (listed under #10 with yelp) and I was delighted to hear to score a reservation.  Black Hogg gets really busy around 8:00PM so the asked us to come at 7:00PM which I accepted right away. 

Black Hogg is a gastro pub located in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.  I learned that Eric Park the chef owner wanted to name the restaurant Black Pig but the name was already taken so he named it Black Hog, that was also taken so he added another "g" at the end of Hog = Hogg not knowing that "hogg" means a young sheep, especially "one from the time it ceases to be a lamb until its first shearing").  And so "hogg" here has two meanings (pig and young lamb).  If you only hear people talk about black Hog (g) you automatically think of a pig, but when you see the writing "Hogg" it makes you wonder the meaning of the word.  You will see than on the menu there are a lot of dishes with pig and lamb so there the double meaning of the world Hog(g).

 

The restaurant is fairly small restaurant located on Sunset Boulevard.  The dinning room is sparsely decorated and looks almost stark but the space is intimate and the decoration is kept to fairly minimal. Most of the tables are for 4 or 2 people but they can be easily pulled together for large group. The dinning is dimly lit and has a really nice a fun atmosphere. 

The bar is small with only 6 seats.

They have a selection of boutique wines (never heard of any of them), about 4 red wine and 5 white wine, plus a short list of beer.

 

Appetizers

We decided to order 4 appetizers and share it among ourselves so we can taste a variety of dishes.

"Popcorn" Bacon, Fried bite-sized House Bacon morsels served with Maple crema.

It's a small dish holding cubes of bacon, breaded and fried, served with maple crema.

 

If you are counting calories this dish is not for you as I think it is loaded with fat and that's why it is so delicious.  The portion is small so we got maybe two to 3 pieces per person.

Crunchy exterior, the bacon has a soft texture and was really yummy.  I did not  like the Maple crema sauce because it was too sweet and watery.

I think the Popcorn bacon would perfectly with a bit of Sriracha.

 

Pork Belly Tacos, Roast Heritage Pork Belly, Fuji Apple Slaw, Jalapenos Relish.

There are 2 tacos per order and they are perfect for sharing.  The tacos are filled with succulent roasted pork belly, piled high with a cooling and crunchy Fuji apple slaw and a dollop of smoldering jalapeño relish. This is really successful dish.

 

 

Bone Marrow Street corn, Hon Shimeji Mushrooms, Cotija Cheese, Chile Pequin

 

The corn was incredible! It was sweet, so fresh, crunchy, and full of flavors.  Hoa and I we could not get enough of the corn.  Good thing they gave a generous portion.

The best way to eat this dish is to scoop a bit of the marrow out of the bone then mix it in with the well spiced corn, cheese, & chile pequin.  The second option is to eat the bone marrow by itself and then eat the spiced corn separately ( I tried it both ways).

Moules Frites, Prince Edward Island Mussels, Lardons, Pinot, Butter, Fries.

Moules Frites is very popular dish originated from Belgium.  Kevin loves mussels so we ordered it just for him.

 

The mussels were plumps and very good.  The fries are crispy and also delicious.

The sauce was a bit acidic because they did not reduce the wine long enough but it was acceptable.

Garlic Scallion String Beans, Sautéed String Beans, Garlic Scallion vinaigrette, candied hazelnuts.

I told Eric Park that we drove all the way from the Bay Area just to dine at his restaurant so he sent out this dish on the house.

The string beans was cooked perfectly and has a bit of a crunch (that's how I like it).  The vinaigrette was tangy and has a strong lemon taste (very refreshing) an the candied Hazelnuts added a bit of sweetness and was a nice additional texture to the beans.

 

Main Dishes

 I selected the 53rd & 6th Lamb & rice, Roasted Lamb belly, Basmati rice, Harissa Slaw, Garlic cream.

53rd & 6th is a landmark in New York city where people have been going in order to satisfy their hunger for the Halal Gyro and Chicken stand.  Known for their famous white sauce, which they drizzled over slices of lamb…Some vendors are busier than restaurants. During my last trip to New York, I ordered a lamb kabob for a quick snack and it was delicous.

Here Eric Park is paying homage to Street food by using humble cut of meat, Lamb belly, and I have to say he did a good executing the concept.

 

 Lamb belly is very gamy so don't order if you can't eat lamb.  The meat is so tender (almost falling apart), fatty, and rich. The Harissa sauces, slaw, and rice mixed in perfectly with the meat.  I really enjoyed the rice with the garlic cream which was very satisfying. 

Hoa could not go pass the strong flavor of the lamb.  I am telling you the lamb is very gamy and I was the only who could eat this dish and I really enjoyed it.

Kevin and Kristie selected the Buttery Lamb burger, Superior Farms Colorado Lamb, Plugra butter, Habanero Onions, Roquefort Blue Cheese and Fries.

The buttery lamb burger was incredible!  Eric Park successfully combined the  Roquefort blue cheese, pickled spicy onions and lamb ground with butter.

The ground lamb patty comes out pink and juicy.  They use really good lamb and it translated into a juicy and flavorful bite.

The burger was served with a generous serving of Fries.  Really good dish and this is also and alternate for people who don't want to eat beef but still want a juicy hamburger.

 

Hoa ordered the Grilled Wagyu Steak, Snake River Farms Wagyu, Papaya Salad, Chilil ime Fish sauce.

This is by far the best dish of the evening.

We ordered the steak rare and it was cooked to our liking.  The steak was simply incredible, great flavor, very good marbling, and it just melted in our mouth. The dish was beautifully presented and really pretty to look at. The papaya salad was refreshing but the star of the dish is definitely the beef.

I told Kevin to order the steak but he said he is always disappointed with the quality of the steak in a non-steak house restaurant but here Eric Park really surprised us.  The steak was delicious and Kevin gave it two thumbs up. 

Hoa and I - Kevin and Kristie.

Happy belated Birthday Kevin!

 

Milk & Honey-Pure Milk Panna Cotta, Lavender Honey, Honeycomb Crumble

 

I have to have coffee with my desserts!

Five Leches Bread Pudding -Brioche, Brown Butter, Apples, Toasted Pecans

The brioche bread was light and moist , drenched on a decadent bed of salty caramel sauce and topped with perfect whipped cream and crunchy nuts.

Delicious!  This is a must try if you ever stop by Black Hogg.

We told Kevin and Kristie to use Valet parking so here they are in front of the restaurant waiting for the parking attendant to come back.

 

Black Hogg sign at night!

You can see how simple the inside of the restaurant looks like.

Hoa yawing after a great meal and a few glasses of wine.

 

The menu with Eric's autograph.

Black Hogg has a short but inspired menu and expect flavors in dishes such as the Bone Marrow street corn and the 53rd & 6th lamb & rice.  Eric Park is a first time restaurateur and a small-business owner and he did an excellent job with the food.  You can tell that he starting out, they have a very limited wine selection (probably does not have the capital to invest yet). Our meal came out in timely manner and was paced well and service was warm and friendly. Portions are on the generous side, we shared all our appetizers

in four and it was perfect.  There are no frills here, it is all about the food and I am so glad we had a chance to eat at Black Hogg. We definitely will come back the next time we are in town.

Location: 2852 W. Sunset Blvd. (at Parkman Avenue), Silver Lake, (323) 953-2820, Blackhogg.com

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Filed under: Restaurants; Birthday

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