Author Archives: bcorbett907

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About bcorbett907

I'm a Calgary-based writer who enjoys exploring the landscapes, and menus, of western U.S./Canada

L.A. Korean Noodle House is Stellar

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At LA's Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo, this boatload of clams and hand-cut noodles knocks it out of the park

At LA’s Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo, this boatload of clams and hand-cut noodles knocks it out of the park

It takes me a few minutes of wandering to find Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo in Los Angeles. It’s buried at the back of a Koreatown strip mall containing some 10 businesses, not all with English subtitles. The name on the sign is also somewhat different than advertised: Hhang Ari Noodle House.

What should be the real giveaway is the line outside the door. Normally, waiting and I don’t mix. But I’ve got time to kill, a shady seat out of the oppressive L.A. heat and a willingness to try Korean dishes that aren’t barbecue or bulgogi.

I might be the only tourist in the joint

I might be the only tourist in the joint

The nice thing about most Korean restaurants is you don’t have to order appetizers; they automatically come with the mains, which in my case is a massive lunch for less than $10. At Hangari, er Hhang Ari, four or five little bowls appear just after I sit down. I can’t tell you what they are other than marinated, astringent and crunchy. Good, mind you.

All these appetizers come with the meal. Though the main course is a plentiful meal by itself

All these appetizers come with the meal. Though the main course is a plentiful meal by itself

I’m halfway through this small meal when my order of Manilla clam kalguksu arrives. It’s a steaming bathtub of goodies: a delicate broth, loads of little clams, surprising crescents of squash and a few slices of cooked potatoes emerging from the tangled depths.

But the real star here is a boatload of long, engorged, chewy noodles, fashioned and hand cut by the woman who owns the place but never leaves the kitchen while I’m there. Even when I finally ignore all else, I can’t finish this bounty of fabulous noodles.

Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo (I think that’s the name)
3470 West 6 Street, Suite 9, Los Angeles
Daily 10:30 am-10:30 pm
213-388-2326

The Range a Terrific, Affordable Canmore Lunch Spot

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At Canmore's The Range, the house-roasted chicken sandwich and quinoa salad combo are outstanding

At Canmore’s The Range, the house-roasted chicken sandwich and quinoa salad combo are outstanding

I can’t remember ever applauding a restaurant for raising its prices. But I’m more than happy to fork out $11 (instead of the previous $9) when I order the sandwich and salad/soup combo at The Range, a terrific new lunch spot in downtown Canmore, Alberta.

For one thing, it’s a substantial amount of food, especially the quinoa salad, which for $6 would be a bargain light lunch on its own. But most of all, it’s first-rate fare.

The Range is a bright, cozy space with a short, excellent menu

The Range is a bright, cozy space with a short, excellent menu

My chicken sandwich on fresh ciabatta boasts a bounty of house-roasted pulled chicken, arugula, roasted mushrooms and double-cream brie, topped with truffle-parmesan aioli. The quinoa salad is equally delightful, featuring lovely slices of golden beets and apple.

Most everything on the short menu is house made, like artisan sandwiches showcasing slow-roasted beef, porchetta or baked eggplant. Owner Todd and crew also pay attention to the details, dolling up their sandwiches with cured tomatoes, beet and apple chutney and onion marmalade. Just makes me salivate.

In a busy, mountain resort town like Canmore, there’s precious few places that are affordable, let alone committed to chef-driven standards. So when something this good comes along, a tiny bump in prices is almost laughable.

The Range
103, 802 Main Street, Canmore, Alberta
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 11 am-5 pm, Friday to Sunday 11 am-7 pm. Closed Wednesday
403-678-0524

To finish things off, head over to RAVE Coffee, another newish Canmore place that roasts a range of beans and produces fine espressos and pour-overs in its little café.

RAVE Coffee is a great Canmore place to pick up fresh-roasted beans or savour a pour-over

RAVE Coffee is a great Canmore place to pick up fresh-roasted beans or savour a pour-over

RAVE Coffee
113, 702 Bow Valley Trail, Canmore
Weekdays 8 am-5 pm, weekends 9 am-5 pm
403-675-7777

Guerilla Tacos Elevates Food Truck Fare to Spectacular

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Los Angeles's Guerilla Tacos elevates the Mexican pocket food to spectacular

Los Angeles’s Guerilla Tacos elevates the Mexican pocket food to spectacular

Guerilla tactics include keeping on the move so folks don’t always know where you are. As a food truck, Guerilla Tacos certainly accomplishes that, setting up outside various Los Angeles-area coffee shop locations (such as Blue Bottle and Blacktop) each week.

But it throws me a curve when the truck is at a special event some six miles from where I’m expecting it to be. Still, I can be persistent in pursuit of search of good road food and soon track this roaming restaurant down.

Another guerrilla strategy is throwing people for a loop. And owner/”professional cocinero” Wes Avila definitely achieves this with taco takes on his daily menu you won’t find anywhere else—a blend of influences from his travels to places like France, Spain, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Guerilla Tacos sets up outside various Los Angeles coffee shops

Guerilla Tacos sets up outside various Los Angeles coffee shops

Take my steaming hot delicacy of thinly sliced summer squash with runny guajillo chile, cashews, queso (Mexican cheese) and herbs. It’s a strange combination that works spectacularly well. Other wide-eyed customers are tackling a cauliflower taco with Medjool dates ($5) or, get this, blue crab and potato with sun gold tomato. For larger appetites, there’s a cheese and tomatillo torta ($11) and a sirloin burrito ($10).

What guerrilla manoeuvre will mad chef Wes spring on his unsuspecting followers next?

Guerilla Tacos
Check the website for daily locations in and around Los Angeles
Daily 10 am-2 pm

Sampling a Flight of Tantalizing Tacos at Guisados in Los Angeles

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A feast for the eyes, and tastebuds: A sampler plate of tacos at Guisados in Los Angeles

A feast for the eyes, and tastebuds: A sampler plate of tacos at Guisados in Los Angeles

I’m looking down a long list of tacos at Guisados, a gleaming corner joint on a colourful, noisy Latino street in Boyle Heights, east of downtown Los Angeles. There are 15 choices in all, many featuring Guisados’ signature braised meats.

I ask the server a bunch of questions, essentially dithering, till she suggests the sampler, featuring six mini tacos. Perfect. In one fell swoop, I can try nearly half the menu, without breaking the bank or bursting my stomach lining.

Time to dig in

Time to dig in

The braising in various sauces results in rich, flavourful mouthfuls of chicken, pork and beef goodness. They’re all served on handmade corn tortillas, made from fresh-ground masa.

My highlights are a chicken mole poblano and a Cochinta Pibil—shredded pork in a red achiote sauce with black beans and habanero chile. Noting the written warning, on the latter, to “proceed with caution”, I wisely dial down the heat rating to five out of 10. A house-made horchata is the perfect cool down for this little furnace blast.

Guisados
2100 East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue (three other Los Angeles locations)
Monday to Saturday 10:30 am-8 pm, Sunday 9 am-5 pm
323-264-7201

La Azteca Tortilleria: The Best Burrito in America?

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Siblings Chris and Cynthia Villa help run the family show at Los Angeles's renowned La Azteca Tortilleria

Siblings Chris and Cynthia Villa help run the family show at Los Angeles’s renowned La Azteca Tortilleria

East L.A. It’s a phrase that awakens a voice in my head: “Don’t let your car break down here.” But such stereotypes often just keep one from experiencing colourful, unpretentious neighbourhoods. That’s certainly the case when I venture to *La Azteca Tortilleria, on a Latino commercial street that certainly seems safe enough, at least at mid-day.

As you may have read in one of my recent San Francisco posts, a Mission District Mexican joint was voted as having America’s best burrito, beating out, among others, perennial top pick La Azteca. I had to find out for myself and, sorry, it’s no contest.

It's hole-in-the-wall cheap for food this outstanding

It’s hole-in-the-wall cheap for food this outstanding

La Azteca’s chile relleno burrito with asada meat (about $7) may well be the best burrito I’ve ever eaten. Longtime owners the Villa family start each day by grinding the corn for their fresh tortillas. You can certainly taste the quality in this lightly toasted wrap.

But that’s just the warm-up for what’s inside—a smoking hot mix of good steak, beans and the kicker, a whole chile relleno dipped in egg and then fried. I can’t fathom why this isn’t a more widespread practice, though Villa daughter Cynthia admits she couldn’t bring herself to eat a relleno burrito till late adolescence.

I pour on some house-made pico de gallo to heat things up a little more. Then I launch into this big, bad boy, living dangerously by eating it in the front seat of my car. It’s so good, I’m nearly halfway through before I remember to grab my camera.

My hands are trembling too much to get a sharp photo of this bad boy, but you get the idea

My hands are trembling too much to get a sharp photo of this bad boy, but you get the idea

La Azteca Tortilleria (they don’t bother with things like a website or Facebook page)
4538 East Cesar East Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles
Tuesday to Sunday 6 am-3:30 pm. Closed Monday

A Perfect Way to Fill Your Pie Hole

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The sour cherry hand pie at Calgary's Pie Hole is a devastating combination of buttery pastry and tangy berries

The sour cherry hand pie at Calgary’s Pie Hole is a devastating combination of buttery pastry and tangy berries

Contemplating some pie? You’re no doubt fixated on the contents. Will it be apple or key lime? Chicken or beef?

Sure, the crust is important. But critical?

Well, it certainly is when you bite into the splendid offerings at Calgary’s charming new Pie Hole. Virtually everything on the short menu is cocooned inside the daily, made-from-scratch pastry. There’s fruit pies, meat pies, quiches and perfect, snack-sized hand pies of sweet and savoury varieties.

Take your time getting to the inside of  these delicacies, because the pastry is worth savouring like a fine wine. There’s a lot to consider here: the slight crunch, the flakiness, the butter. Ah, the butter. Pie Hole goes through some 30 pounds a day of this elixir, and it makes all the difference in the richness of the pies.

Golden brown pastry shells awaiting their contents. Though I think you could eat these beauties on their own.

Golden brown pastry shells awaiting their contents. Though I think you could eat these beauties on their own.

This is not to say the innards don’t matter. The chicken pot pie ($8), for instance, contains tender chunks of chicken, gravy and all the requisite vegetables. A winter quiche might feature tomato, fresh herbs and chevre.

And then there’s the sour cherry hand pie ($5), a devastating combination of tart Saskatchewan berries and that amazing pastry. You can take it, or anything else, home with you. But I’ll bet it’s gone by the time you reach the car, crumbs trailing you across the parking lot.

Pie Hole partner Torin Shuster after a 12-hour shift of pie making. Now that's dedication

Pie Hole partner Torin Shuster after a 12-hour shift of pie making. Now that’s dedication

The Pie Hole
8 Spruce Centre SW, Calgary
Wednesday to Sunday 9 am-6 pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday
403-452-3960