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True Thai food is, in fact, a very sophisticated, varied and delicate cuisine that is a clearly defined step above Indian and perhaps even Chinese. In all of Southern California, there may be five Thai restaurants that really measure up. Four are scattered, mostly on the Westside and are generally rather expensive. Pookie (that’s her name) presides over the fifth. She recently had a setback with a fire that closed the restaurant in the Water Court on Hampshire near Westlake Blvd. for three months (The location is almost a secret). So the energetic Pookie went back to Bangkok and brought back some new recipes that make the restaurant better than ever. The ingredients at Pookie’s are superior and fresh. There are curries, noodles and other amazing authentic Thai dishes that defy description. Her appetizers are light, different and loaded with unusual vegetable flavors. Desserts are equally satisfying, featuring tropical fruits. Thus, we try to go with at least 4 people, just put ourselves in Pookie’s very competent hands and let her surprise us. We have never been disappointed. A full multi course shared Thai banquet is usually under $20 per person without alcohol. It is an amazing value. The room is extremely warm and comfortable and also offers very pleasant waterside alfresco dining even at this time of the year. There is a limited selection of fairly priced wine but we suggest Singh Beer. Service is down to earth but very amiable. Pookie, herself is an amazing whirlwind of personality. Her continuous performance and free back massage are almost worth the price of the meal. She also does an extremely active and very efficient takeout business. Pookies
Westlake Thai Cuisine
Sushi
Yusho Scoop of The Month-Just in- Sushi Yusho considered tops in Ventura County is renewing it famous "All You Can Eat in an Hour- Your Choice". It is available Mon-Wed only and only at the bar.. Lunch 26.95 Dinner $32.95 Whatta Value!! About a year ago, I thought I had a count on the number of Sushi bars in both The Conejo and Ventura. It seems that they exceeded Italian restaurants if you don’t count takeout pizza Joints. There now appears to be more than 20 in the Conejo alone while there are less than a dozen legitimate Italian eateries. However, the number of actually “authentic” sushi bars is around four. You see, it takes much more than just cutting the fish, squeezing some rice and being able to pronounce the words California Roll. In fact, in Japan, it takes 10 years of experience in selecting the fish and treating it with the respect demanded to obtain legitimate Japanese recognition. Unfortunately, most of the recently opened sushi bars in Ventura County have been started by non-Japanese Asians with very limited training. Therefore, if you are truly interested in an authentic Sushi experience seek out a bar in which you have confirmed that the owner who is usually behind the bar IS Japanese. There is a major difference for obvious reasons. Feel free to email us if you need help. But here is an easy start.
Serious aficionados of sushi consider the quality of the Uni (sea urchin) served, to be the best test. The sea urchin must be very, very fresh and of the same quality that is sent to Japan after being harvested in The Santa Barbara Channel. If that quality is not available, Steve will not buy it. The same applies to his purchases of Toro Tuna, Yellowtail, Spanish Mackerel, Salmon, Deep Sea and River Eel and in fact all the Ngiri or Maki sushi that Sushi Yusho offers. Further If you are a serious roll person and are finally bored with California or Ventura roll, try Steve’s innovative Love Roll or Sushi Yusho Roll. Prepare to be shocked. They are both bargains, being almost complete and tantalizing meals within themselves for a little over $10. If you crave a meal of serious sushi and one of the party won’t eat raw fish, take them with you anyway, You should know that Steve is perhaps the most accomplished overall Japanese chef in Ventura county . His tempura is wonderful as are all the other basic Japanese dishes on his extensive and authentic menu. Prices are very fair. Finally, do not fall victim to the semi fraudulent half price or 2 for 1 offers. Quality fish is not cheap so what you will often get is much thinner slices or tasteless California Rolls, that also lack the freshness required for a true sushi experience. If rolls are your only choice, check out Steve's rolls above. You will never be the same. You will be shocked. Sushi
Yusho
2365
Michael, Newbury Park 805-375-2269
We recently visited the Northern Santa Barbara County wine country in search of some of the fine Pinot Noir now being produced in the Santa Rita Hills district. When my daughter suggested “The Hitching Post” restaurant, I laughed. somewhat derisively. In case you are one of the few “foodies” that missed the “Sideways” film……., The Hitching Post is the wine oriented Buellton restaurant featured in a number of crucial scenes, especially the one where sensitive but semi-loser wine snob Paul Giamatti meets Virginia Madsen, a local but amazingly warm, desirable and beautiful waitress at The Hitching Post. Equally amazingly, she becomes attracted to him. With all of my superior insight, I was convinced that the restaurant could not be taken seriously. It was obvious to me that it was just another Santa Maria style BBQ steak joint, and that it had merely benefited big time from the “Sideways” plot and hype. Thus, by now, it had to be overpriced and overrated.
My daughter, however, convinced me to try The Hitching Post. When we saw the average exterior and entered the dining room which was even more average, we were convinced our analysis was correct. Boy! Were we wrong!!!. Frank Ostini, long time owner, executive chef and winemaker at the Hitching Post goes out of his way to run what turns out to be, at almost every level, one of the most customer oriented and satisfying restaurants in California. Ostini can be seen under a safari helmet cooking on a classic Santa Maria grill over dry red oak. Everything is prepared fresh on that grill... grilled perfectly every time. The casual décor has been consciously maintained to establish Ostini’s down to earth attitude from the moment you enter. Though it was only 6 PM on a weekday the restaurant was very busy. But we were cordially taken to our reserved table. The very casually attired waiter approached immediately and cheerfully and competently described the specials including the prices. Chalk that up. A very fresh raw vegetable tray and garlic bead were promptly brought to the table. Unless you are a big eater, pass on the menu appetizers. Each dinner includes two preliminary courses. I chose a flavorful soup, my wife chose a mixed green salad ( and we both had a small but very pleasant shrimp cocktail, Wow. While The Hitching Post is famous for its mostly Prime, aged steaks. it also offers beautifully prepared duck. quail, chicken, turkey and fish, all offered with a choice of rice pilaf, baked potato or their acclaimed French Fries. These complete and all inclusive meals are remarkably priced. A Prime 10 oz. Top Sirloin. is $26. That’s about what you might pay at Mastro’s for a side dish and dessert. All other dinners are similarly priced. Ostini is one of the a major Pinot Noir producers in the area and he passes great wine values on to his diners. He marks up his wines at about ½ the price of most restaurants. As an example you can take home a bottle of all Santa Rita Hills Pinot for $34 or have it served at the table for $40. They have a very, very special offer on their top of the line Pinot. It is $60 to take home but they serve it at the same price with dinner. In my opinion, It would be at least $100 at most other restaurants. Since we had saved so much on our regular meal we splurged on this wine and plan to do it again the next time we visit The Hitching Post. The wine was superb. The
Hitching Post
"Frankly Noted" Preparing for the Holidays The Good News: You probably have right now the two most important kitchen tools you'll ever absolutely need for all that Upcoming Holiday cooking. You probably won't need much else beside a mixer. In most cases you may not even need a food processor if you are adept with below. You see, if you ask any top chef what he cannot do without in his kitchen, he will proudly roll out his complete leather case collection of imported cold hand forged (German or Japanese) contour handled steel knives valued at up to $1000. If you ask him how many of them he actually uses, he will grudgingly admit to you that he uses only two of them. One, of course is the crucial and classic 8" or 10" chef knife. That's the one you see on television all the time. The other is the equally classic 5" paring knife or the perhaps more versatile boning knife. All those other knives merely make him ....and you look more professional especially in your case if you have them displayed in that handsome space wasting wooden knife block that your relatives gave you as a gift. The rest of those knives are almost never used except for the meat cleaver which may only be a defensive weapon. Do not waste money on cheap knives that don't hold an edge. Your fingers will pay the price. So if you don't have any of these really good knives that will last you a life time and can be passed on for generations, you can be in business with the best for under $80. The three names to look for are easy to find They are Henckels, Wusthoff and Global. Shop around because they are all promoted heavily at this time of the year. While there is a lot of hype surrounding all of these upscale utensils, they are all pretty much the same. The single most crucial thing is that after you buy them, you keep them.. very ....very sharp and that is easy to do today... at home. It is not expensive but needs to be done after every three or four uses. That is why it is a waste of time and money to take them somewhere to be "professionally" sharpened maybe once a year. That's a joke . You basically have three choices. The first is to buy a fine quality sharpening stone, some times used with oil. Fuggedaboutdid. It is time consuming, requires a lot of skill and often results in cut fingers. Leave that to the pocket knife whittlers of West Virginia. The second choice is to buy an electric sharpener like Chef's Choice. They cost $50 to $100 and are OK if you have zero manual dexterity and like things that plug into the wall. My choice can be found in any decent cookware store and takes up no room in one of your drawers. It is the simple two rod ceramic sharpener that sets in the wooden storage base that comes with it. It automatically sets the rods at the right angle for perfect sharpening. It takes less than 2 minutes to professionally sharpen a knife with this. I have been using my rod set for almost 30 years and have replace the rods once. The set is about $25. Finally if you are wondering about that hand rod that may have come with your gift set or you have seen the butcher using in the market, you should know that it does not sharpen. It merely aligns the blade and perhaps hones slightly. The butcher uses it all day long but then actually sharpens his knife once a day. Use the same angle with the hone as you do with the ceramic rods. It will come to you easily. If you have one of them, use it every time you use the knife as long as you really sharpen the knives after a series of use.
But This Bad News is Really as Disgusting as Corporate CEO's Salaries and as Equally Damaging to our Society As you all know, we refuse to review the "dreaded" chain eateries that have inundated us since none of them offer dining. They only offer eating and at every level seem to be the top cause of obesity in this country with super-sizing. At the extreme levels think Cheesecake Factory and Claimjumper. Of course there's also Carl's Jr. which is disgusting about everything. Well now it gets even worse. Many of them also seem to be calorie and fat liars. Scripps Howard Television (which is associated with our own Ventura County Star) has a vested interest in fine food since they operate The Food Channel. Well, they recently surveyed 23 supposed diet plates in places like Applebee's, Macaroni Grill, Chili's, Taco Bell (think Westlake Blvd and environs) plus the above, In 78% of the cases, the fat content exceeded the menu specs ranging from 33% more to in some cases 400% more. Calories exceeded listed diet menu specs in 65% of the cases ranging from 10% to 100%. Macaroni Grill was the most egregious. It's Skinny Chicken was supposed to have 500 calories but it actually had over 1,000. Fat content was listed as 6 but contained 49. Brinker's International owns Macaroni Grill and another culprit-On The Border. The management when confronted apologized and said they strive to make their nutritional information accurate. I think they should see an ophthalmologist Other News The Four Seasons Hotel - Many folks around town call this "Murdoch's Folly ". It is hard to tell what he was thinking. The hotel that looks like his office building does not seem to be producing any kind of return on investment. His highly touted head chef at Hampton's is gone, replaced by the sous chef. However, they do keep trying. Thus they have reinstated 1/2 price Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Onyx Sushi Bar. You can start out with a drink at the lovely outside patio and stay there or move inside to watch the sushiyas do their magic or just sit at an inside table. Call to confirm that it is still in effect. It all may be their misfortune but a fortunate bargain for you to visit a 5 star Hotel and dine in romantic and exquisite surrounding while putting just a small dent in your credit card. There is valet parking (as well as open parking as you enter. Reservations may be crucial. 805-575-3000. They validate that valet parking but it still costs $5 Wolfgang Puck has opened a Bistro across from the Four Seasons. Wolfie is a very nice guy and very charitable. But why? His team seems to be offering the same food court menu that they had at the dismal Topanga Plaza 20 years ago that then featured Chinese Chicken Salad and Pizza. He may have made the same mistake, in a different way, that Murdoch made. Can you see the still very limited number of people that are paying the large Four Seasons tab walking across the street to associate with the Mall Pizza eaters of the Conejo and their kids? Even if it is a wood burning oven that may offer the famed smoked salmon pizza of Sunset Blvd. But maybe he is right. He certainly has to be better by accident than the dreaded 4 chain joints on the corner of Westlake and Thousand Oaks Blvd. The trendy Grill in the Alley, home to the power lunchers of Beverly Hills has opened in The Promenade. Unless their pricing changes, they may be in for the same surprise that is now haunting Mastro's. Initial comments about both the service and food have been disappointing. We'll give them a little more time to settle in. We will then report on the Grill and Nordstroms in our next reviews. Dakota is history!!!
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One
of perhaps only four truly legitimate local bars is 
The Hitching
Post 
