Yelp! It is a platform that we’ve used for years, but have never really talked about on the blog. Why? It has always been a bit taboo, I suppose. Yelp doesn’t like their users doubling up their reviews. They see it as a conflict of interest. They have some control issues. As a result, we’ve always said no to their annual invites to be Yelp Elite. We play it safe by avoiding be too far in Yelp. Still, we love to use it for the following reason.
This is a heavy, heavy day in Los Angeles. While I was watching (on television) a hostage situation wrap up at a local Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake, I was scrolling through my Instagram, when I saw more horrible news. Jonathan Gold dies at 57. What?! That must be a joke? He’s been fine. However, apparently, he hasn’t been fine. In early July, Gold was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and, damn, it must’ve been aggressive for him to be gone already. This is devastating for Los Angeles. Devastating for us at Hungry & Fit too, he was a hero in the food industry. He even inspired us to do our LA’s Must-Visit Restaurants quest.
Who was Jonathan Gold? He was a Pulitzer-prize, James Beard-award winning food critic, but that doesn’t even cover it. He drove a green pick-up truck and barely turned in his articles in on time. He used his art–and it was art–to shine light on small “ethnic” food joints and lift Los Angeles up to be respected across the food industry alongside New York and San Francisco. Jonathan Gold focused on being positive, unlike many food critics (or critics in general). As he became more and more popular, he knew that his voice was powerful, and he used it for good.
Obviously, when we say that we’re only going to eat at restaurants once a week that are “on our list” we don’t fully expect that to happen. As a result, when we might go out for a business lunch with a third party, we’ll lean towards places we haven’t been because we love discovering new spots. That led me to D’s Dubai Sauce.
I’m not completely sold on D’s Dubai Sauce, but intrigued enough by my first experience to be willing to try it again. We live a few blocks away, so it’s convenient, but growing up in the NYC area created higher standards based on the stand at 53rd and 6th. Still, they don’t claim to be just “chicken and rice” so let’s talk about what they do well.
They really do excel when it comes to flavor development, especially in their sauces. Their white sauce has this very unexpected tang to it which breaks through the overwhelming richness. The green sauce is even brighter with significant heat from the jalapeno and lots of acidity. I didn’t brave the extremely hot red sauce this time around.
