Not Distrito

We found ourselves back in the Palm Springs area again this weekend and decided to try Chef Jose Garces' other restaurant in the Saguaro Hotel, El Jefe.  If you try to research El Jefe on the Garces Group website all you really see is that its known as Distrito at its other locations, reservations are not available at this location, and the menu is not online.  So let me sum it up for you: its the hotel bar that serves nachos and tacos.  Now, don't get me wrong, the nachos and tacos are far from average, but the ambiance is a bar with limited seating.  It was actually hard to nail down what we were going to eat from all of the options, and yet the menu is listed on a simple laminated piece of paper.

We decided to try the goat tacos, because well, how often do you eat goat?  The tacos come three to a serving on a single tortilla, which I appreciated as I often find myself leaving the second tortilla behind as its too much "bread."  Be warned, the tacos are very saucy, so have your napkin handy.  The goat meat was tasty and soft, but not smushy.  The orange habanero salsa was not hot at all, which was a pleasant surprise.  And the tortillas are housemade, so they taste just right and aren't too corny.

Cabrito Tacos (goat, black beans, orange habanero salsa, goat crema)

A cabrito taco, up close

I've never had gazpacho before as I've been admittedly weary of eating cold tomato soup, but when I saw watermelon and crab in the contents, I knew this was the gazpacho I had to try.  The dish is served with the soup on the side for you to pour over the filling as you choose.  I was pleased with this dish.  I can't say that I had more interest than maybe four spoonfuls, but it was quite good and would probably be very refreshing on a hot summer day.

Gazpacho as its served, with the soup on the side for you to pour yourself

Gazpacho (watermelon, roma tomato, dungeness crab, chives)

I was most excited about the nachos, but unfortunately my server misunderstood which nachos I ordered and I ended up with the vegetarian Ignacio nachos and not the skirt steak laden Encarnacion.  The other primary difference between the two nachos is the beans, with the skirt steak being accompanied by refried beans and the vegetarian served with black beans.  I wish I had gotten the Encarnacion as I was disappointed with the Ignacio.  I did appreciate that the tortilla chips were made from the same tortillas used for the tacos, but there seemed to be too many of them and they weren't adequately covered with goo.  Also, radish should probably be the first ingredient listed as the nachos seemed covered in radish.  And while I'm not a fan of black beans, they seemed to be very few of them, which seemed unusual for a dish that lists the beans as the first ingredient.  If you are a true nacho fan, these are not the nachos for you.

Ignacio Nachos (black beans, tomato, queso mixto, jalapeno, chile de arbol, radish)

My husband wanted to try the yellowfin ceviche.  Its not a traditional ceviche as it doesn't have strong citrus flavor.  To get that you need to eat it with a small serving of the accompanying lime sorbet.  Also, the tostaditas that the ceviche is served with were too few and too small to be of any use.  I actually found myself using the lime on the rim of my margarita to season the dish, and the tortillas from the nachos to serve myself.  The fish was good and fresh, but this was not a ceviche to me.

Ceviche de Atun (yellowfin tuna, serrano coconut sauce, lime sorbet, tomatillo, tostadita)

If you want a quick easy way to dine on food prepared by an Iron Chef, then El Jefe is for you.  I'll probably go back to try more of the tacos, but that's probably it for me.  I'd much rather eat in the fine dining restaurant, Tinto, a few feet away.

Rock Some Sugar On Me!

Last night we found ourselves at Century City Mall in search of food.  We ruled out the food court, so that left a handful of restaurants.  We decided to give RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen a shot.  Pan Asian means that it represents all of Asia and I would say that was accurate as there were dishes that were Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian and other Asian countries represented on the menu.

The decor of the restaurant is fantastic - it definitely has an Asian feel.  You will initially walk through an open patio with tables that have their own enclosed fire pits.  The main dining room is a little loud, so I was relieved when we were seated on the covered patio with a view of Santa Monica Boulevard.  We each ordered a tasty cocktail from the vast selection - there were four of us and no repeat drink orders.

After given our choice of water (tap, flat or sparkling), an interesting starter was placed on the table.  Our best guess is that it was a sesame papadum.  It was served with a tasty chutney that looked like a salsa, but wasn't spicy.  The best part of this starter is that it wasn't filling the way most complimentary bread and butter or chips and salsa dishes are.

Not sure what this is, but came with a yummy sauce

We decided to start with an appetizer and selected the pork belly buns.  Our server told us they usually come three to an order, but offered to increase the order to four for a small fee.  I've never had a server or restaurant make such an offer before - usually four people have to draw straws on how to split the serving of three, or you have to order a second order and then you have six for four people.  Kudos to RockSugar for making this easy for us.  As for the bun, it was yum.

Glazed Pork Belly Buns (Kurobuta pork, pickled red onions, shallot mayo, chilies and cilantro)

Our server explained to us that all menu items are served family style, so we each picked a dish for the whole table to share.  I once saw a recipe in People Magazine for ginger fried rice and it was one of the tastiest side dishes I have ever made, so when I saw ginger fried rice on the menu, I thought it would be the same plate of heaven.  I was wrong.  When the server brought the plate to the table he offered to break up the fried egg that was on top and I should have asked him to wait a moment so that I could get a picture, but I was too embarrassed.  So the picture below is after his expert egg breaking and mixing.  I barely tasted any ginger or crispy garlic.  The Chinese sausage was cut so thinly and in such small portions that I could barely taste it as well.  It was just bland, and for something labeled with ginger in the name and presumably as the main ingredient, it was sorely disappointing.

Ginger Fried Rice (Chinese sausage, leeks, egg, sesame and crispy garlic)

My friend picked the snapper, and it was probably the best dish we had.  The snapper was lightly breaded and perfectly pan-fried.  The sauce was an excellent compliment to the fish, but the fish was the star.  And my peanut-loving friend was in heaven with the ample supply of peanuts left on the serving dish. Cha ca la vong is a speciality of Hanoian people. Cha ca means "grilled fish" and in the restaurant that originated the dish is a statue of La Vong (an ancient Chinese poet and revolutionist) fishing by a stream.  This statue symbolizes a talented and patient man who knew to wait for the right moment to come. And this dish was worth the wait.

Hanoi Snapper (Cha ca la vong style, rice noodles, cilantro, dill and peanuts with nuoc cham)

My husband selected the pork dish even though the description mentioned peas.  I assumed he didn't realize peas were part of the dish, so when it arrived covered in the green spheres I thought for sure he would be upset.  But instead, he just dug in.  The dish was tasty, but perhaps a little too sweet.

Singapore Hainan Pork (fried crisp, sweet onions, peas and spicy chili sauce)

I had debated ordering the Princess Chicken before I realized we were ordering family style, but instead my friend got the opportunity.  The tempura was tasty and the chicken itself was tender.  The sauce left a lot to be desired, but again, my other friend was in peanut heaven.

Princess Chicken (tempura chicken, roasted Thai chilies, peanuts and palm sugar glaze)

All in all it was a good meal.  Fun, vibrant ambiance.  Good food at reasonable prices.  Helpful servers.  And plenty of peanuts for the peanut lover in you.  Nothing to complain about here.