I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food at the OMNI Hotel‘s restaurant in downtown LA. Situated less than two miles from the Convention Center, I ended up staying there because all the hotels for the LA Times Travel Show were booked up well in advance. See our write up on the OMNI in our Lodging Section. If you can’t find it under the ‘section’ category, simply search for OMNI in the Lodging Section of our site.
When I was there in late February/early March, they had a special Simple Street Food menu, which they encouraged me to try. With the support of their partners in the Global Hotel Alliance, more than 100 chefs from San Antonio to Singapore competed to create street-food inspired dishes made popular in their homelands.
Their Simply Street Food menu celebrates the best of these recipes – six authentic flavors from Boston to Brazil to Abu Dhabi. Given that a menu like this couldn’t be more appropriate for We Blog the World, how could I NOT taste the menu?
The below dish is Kaimin Tai, translated into STRESS FREE SNAPPER. I kid you not, but this is its reference point and oh btw, the chef told me who came out to hang out for awhile as I was tasting, “it’s Keiji Salmon which is about $150 a pound.” In other words, this is amazing fish. And, fresh. It is served with Geoduck clam and Shimeji mushrooms and a herb broth.
The below shots give you an idea of what I sampled and the resolution is much better than what I took on my iPhone 5 in a dimly lit bar that night.
Here are a few of my own shots. While it may look like standard street food, the chef, influenced by Asian styles and flavors, knows how to get ‘fried’ to perfection. Melting like candy, you never feel like you’re eating a saturated oily and fatty dish. Oh no…..each bite is delicious, savory and orgasmic.
Shrimp with lemon…
More deep fried cooking brilliance.
If you’re not in the mood for the special Street Food special menu (or if you are there after it’s over), there’s plenty of amazing options on the regular menu. A few recommendations on the starter menu include butternut squash soup, sauteed sea scallops with sweet corn polenta ravioli and sage browned butter, roasted artichoke and asparagus salad with fog cheese and almonds, Kampachi with wasabi vinaigrette and pickled shallots, beets roasted and pickled with arugula and blue cheese, and tuna sashimi with ginger relish and seaweed pearls.
For main courses, try out the New Zealand King Salmon with cucumber, tomato and citrus lavender vinaigrette, seared Yellowfin Tuna with Basil Pesto Puree and Kalamata Olives, a Maine Lobster Carbonara with Tagliatelle Pasta and Smoked Pancetta, Vintage Ribeye with Caramelized Shallots and Truffle Essence or the Roasted Chicken with Forest Mushroom Ragout, Lemon and Herbs.
A Thumbs up from We Blog the World.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
