PEKING TAVERN (DOWNTOWN, LOS ANGELES, CA)

Peking Tavern
806 S Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
www.pekingtavern.com
Tel: 213.988.8308
Cuisine: Chinese
$$ ($15-$30)
Sat, 04/07/2018, 8:30pm reservation
   (3 piglets)

In the basement of a bank in downtown Los Angeles sits a Chinese gastropub. Peking Tavern serves street food that would be commonly seen in Beijing, hence the name Peking.

Upon going down the stairs, you are greeted by the hostess. We were led to a table in the near empty dining room. There was communal seating in the middle of the room, which many people were flocking to as well as the bar area. The ambiance was very cool and bar-like but with a hint of Asian inspiration (minus the Kobe Bryant mural). I did appreciate that they seemed to be all about LA; however, I was disappointed with the service. It took them 15 minutes to take our order and a good amount of time to get our food. Most of the time spent at the restaurant was waiting and not eating.

Kobe Bryant

The bar area

MY FAVORITE DISH. KOBE BEEF POTSTICKER ($13.50): Pan fried Kobe beef dumpling with reduced ginger vinegar glazing. I thought this dish was delicious. It had a crispy skin coating and the filling was moist and juicy. It was a bit different but in a good way with tons of flavor. It was similar to a pork dumpling but 10x better.

BEEF ROLL ($10.00): Sliced braised beef shank with cilantro, green onions, sweet and savory sauce in handmade wrap. I thought this dish was good but a bit dry. I didn't taste much of the sauce. The wrap itself is delicious. It was perfectly crispy with a chewy texture. It's worth a try.

BEEF NOODLE SOUP ($9.50): Braised beef shank with fresh noodle, Chinese sauerkraut and cilantro. This was pretty good. I thought it had a lot of flavor but it wasn't the best noodle soup I've had. I did enjoy the noodles. I'm a noodle girl so any type of noodles I'm a fan of.

SPICY MANGO MARGARITA ($10.00): Tequila, Cointreau, Mango Nectar, Sriracha, Lime Juice. I loved my drink. I thought it was absolutely delicious. I could definitely taste the sriracha and the mango balanced out the spiciness. It's a great way to enjoy the meal.

Overall, I thought Peking Tavern was just ok. I was mostly turned off by the wait time and the service. It seemed as though only two people were working the dining room for a Saturday night. Additionally, the food was good, but it didn't blow my mind. I did enjoy the potstickers and the drink. If they could improve on the service and improve on the other dishes, then maybe this place could be a hit.

Notable dishes: Spicy mango margarita and Kobe Beef Potstickers

FOODIE CON (@THE REEF, LOS ANGELES, CA)

Foodie Con
1933 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Foodie Con
$$ ($15-$30)
Sat, 04/07/2018, 10:30am-5:00pm
   (2.5 Piglets)

Foodie Con is an event supposedly made for foodies. I thought I would step into heaven when I arrived, but it was somewhere in between Earth and Hell. It wasn't anything I expected and it lacked the food component that I was hoping for. 

At $40 for a VIP ticket (luckily I was comp'd), I was anticipating a plethora of food samples, food dishes, and everything else in between. What we actually experienced was a Farmer's Market where you have to pay to get in. There were more vendors trying to sell or market their merchandise than actual food tastings and restaurants promoting their food. Additionally, VIP didn't get you much other than a secret room with a big blow up swan and unicorn and extra seating for picture taking. Below are some pics of the event...

The only thing that was really free...ramen to take home

The VIP room

Silent Disco

One of the very few food vendors selling their food

The room

Overall, I would say that Foodie Con is a pass. There needs to be vast improvement in terms of vendors...ie less vendors and more restaurants/food promotion. It is called Foodie con and as the name implies, I expect more food for foodies. The beer area with beer tastings were probably the best part from the whole event, offering glasses of beer to taste. There was a silent disco was interesting, but not amazing. The only good thing was getting free ramen cups.