ford's filling station

today was my big day. my very big day. my i-can't-believe-it's-finally-over very big day. today i passed my orals, advanced to candidacy, and joined the ranks of the ABD. WOOHOO! many thanks to sylvia, mitch, pat, and belinda, who all signed my paperwork. to eri who has kept (and continues to keep) me sane by dealing w/all the nonsense in the world. to jarrett, lindsay, marina, and linda, for their ongoing support outside the HEOC fray. and to all those w/in HEOC who continue to support me even though i like to work under the radar.

to celebrate, i decided to splurge on a special dinner event at one of my favorite places in LA: ford's filling station. i thought it was quite cosmic that i found out about the event just days beforehand -- and even more cosmic that it was happening right after my defense! i was thrilled when i called and found out that i could still get a seat at the bar. of course, i would've loved to have gone out w/another foodie, but it was quite last-minute. plus, dani's not the biggest fan of ford's and mel's pockets were emptied recently by a lost wallet in DC. plus, most grad students just aren't willing to spend $75 on a meal. even if it IS celebratory.

at any rate, i decided that it was all a sign from above, and that i had to go and enjoy myself after many weeks/months of proposal angst. unfortunately, it didn't help that i was stuck on a super 12 bus that was moving as slow as molasses through afternoon traffic. thankfully, the bus driver graciously dropped me off at the corner of venice & bagley (which apparently was NOT a regular super 12 bus stop) and i was able to make it there just in time. not that it mattered, of course, b/c i wasn't seated for at least 10-15 minutes. *sigh* i suppose they could've moved faster in terms of seating everyon, but i think they might've been waiting for early dinner patrons to clear out on their own time. again, not that that it mattered, b/c i was too busy texting my good news to every other person in my phone. and, of course, people-watching.

as i walked in the door, i noticed this tall blonde woman who was dressed a tad skimpily for a dinner event. while she had a nice tattoo on her arm, the rest of her outfit was a bit much. when i looked again, i realized that it was the slightly less crazy aunt from sabrina the teenage witch! she was mingling with what seemed like a more modest bunch (compared to her at least), and they actually ended up sitting outside for a while (probably to avoid the slowly building crowd waiting to be seated). within 15 minutes or so, who walks in but mary sue milliken?! she walks up to the hostess (who recognizes her right away), and she (and her hubby) are promptly seated (of course) at the table closest to the kitchen. (cue seething jealousy music.)

at some point, the event started and i'd yet to be seated. thankfully, i was still texting like crazy, though it would've been nice to have been settled in before ben (ford) started speaking. at any rate, i had a nice view when he made his opening remarks. i loved the fact that he emphasized the importance of utilizing the whole animal and not letting anything go to waste. i also loved the fact that he said that he (and other chefs) like to go to local growers and ask what they need to get rid of. b/c ben (and chefs like him) could put crap on the table and people would dive right into it -- and be willing to pay $50/plate (if not more). i'm ecstatic when celebrities using their powers for good and not evil.

ben then introduced neal (fraser) whose grace dani and i both love. (jerry and teresa thought the food was slightly overpriced, but i'd vehemently argue otherwise.) apparently, ben and neal have known each other for YEARS. which i think is SO cool. i think it says a lot when people can maintain friendships for that long. and inspire each other to reach even greater heights, especially when they're in the same industry. neal also made some remarks about the role of chefs in supporting local growers and sustainable practices. again, totally admirable AND profitable. ben also introduced this other chef from a restaurant in SF that i've never heard of. considering that ben probably doesn't cavort with plebeians, i'm sure the guy's great. though he's no thomas keller, or else i'd have heard of him (and his restaurant) by now.

as a sidebar, i think it's interesting that my receipt indicated the *lecture* costing $75. i'm sure they just wanted to separate the special event profits from everything else. but considering that there was no more than 15 minutes of talk time, i found the *lecture* label amusing. i think it would've been nice to have more discussion of the food and the cooking techniques, but then again, i'm a nerd. i mean, wouldn't it be cool to hear a top chef share his culinary expertise? when would you get that up close and personal? isn't that what you're paying for? then again, we're in LA, so maybe the idea is just to see and be seen. bleh. no wonder i wanna get out of this city. (ok ok, must stop negativity.)

while it would've been nice to be at mary sue milliken's table (eating w/her and being oh-so-close to ben and neal), i must admit to really enjoying my seat at the bar. i'm not the biggest fan of bar stools, but other than that, the bartender (whose dinner recommendations i took wholeheartedly) was really attentive all night, and my random dinner friend (who turned out to be one of netta's professors) at the corner of the bar was totally fascinating. it's really nice to meet strangers who aren't totally bizarre. i mean, i'm a new yorker, so i'm wary about everyone and everything. which means it's that much cooler when i'm blown away by some random person being NOT skeevy or NOT insane. better yet, not both! needless to say, it was a good sign when he knew what advancing to candidacy meant. plus, when your random dinner friend talks about how his wife is hanging out with the "roman ladies" from her fulbright days, how his daughter writes with aimee bender (OMG!!), and how he started tap dancing at age 65, you know you're having great dinner conversation. (thanks john!)

while it's always hard to fully engage with your food when you're chatting up at a storm, i was keenly aware of why i was there in the first place. so i made sure to take good notes during the meal and to really savor every single bite -- or at least the ones i could get in before i was completely stuffed. i suppose it wasn't that good of an idea to set a full plate (that was normally shared by multiple people eating together) of baked flat bread in front of me. b/c even though i'm not the biggest fan of bread, i AM a big fan of the stuff you put on it. and this full plate included lardo (which is essentially a nice piece of FAT) and rillettes (which ultimately resembled pulled pork in terms of taste and consistency). don't get me wrong. it was DAMN GOOD. but of course, i ate the whole plate!! i know i know, i could've held back. but come ON. shi shi pulled pork? who could resist? (if you think otherwise, you're lying to yourself. even if you're jewish.)

i was mid-bite when john made some remark about how i was probably used to all this food what with my people eating it all the time. of course, that was the first remark he made (even though i noticed him staring at me eating for a while, which i thought was weird, but which i found out later was due to the fact that he was shocked at how i was inhaling the full plate of bread and FAT), so i took a bit of offense right away. thankfully, i was calm enough to inquire what he meant by his remark, and he was quick enough to indicate that his asian friends tended to be more carefree and relaxed about eating offal than his non-asian friends. whew! thank goodness he was quick, b/c who wants to start a race conversation at the dinner table? i mean, seriously.

the rest of the meal was quite delicious as well, though i could feel my tummy getting fuller and fuller with each plate. after i polished off the flat bread, i moved onto the lamb's tongue, which came w/fava beans grilled in their shells. the slight chewiness of the tongue was a good textural contrast to the mild graininess of the beans. and the spicy citrus flavor of the sauce (i sensed a drizzle of something) was an interesting flavor contrast to the saltiness of the dish. the bacon wrapped saddle of rabbit smelled like an indian or morroccan dish and came w/perfectly cooked polenta. the rabbit itself was a bit salty, but it could've been the meat or the sauce. by the time i got to the ragu napoletana, i was pretty much stuffed. (damn that bread! ARGH!) so while the plate was gorgeous in all its meaty glory (with meatballs, ribs, and short ribs), i didn't do too much besides push the meat back and forth on the plate. plus, i'm not the biggest fan of any sauce with a tomato base, so that was a further deterrent. i must admit that the few bites i had were pretty darn good, so perhaps i could've gotten over the sauce if my stomach had been more empty. there's no telling at this point.

of course, the night had to end w/dessert. and thankfully, it was something light. i finished off my absolutely fabulous meal w/a buttermilk panna cotta. i think i found the buttermilk a bit too sour for my liking, but i did appreciate that the sourness cut through the heaviness of all the meat i'd ingested in the preceding hours. and w/the biscotti, it was quite a nice ending. what made it even better was when ben came over to check on us (as he did w/all the patrons) and ask us how we enjoyed the meal. (OMG. he was so cute up close! i know, i'm such a girl.) at one point, john mentioned something about eating offal and ben realized he'd forgotten to cook up these chicken hearts. i immediately perked up and said 'i love chicken hearts!' (even though i think i might've only had chicken livers before). ben even said he could throw some on if we wanted, and of course i said 'YES!' unfortunately, he never came back. or if he did, we'd already left b/c he toook too long. i suppose it's the thought that counts. but how romantic would that have been for ben to cook up some chicken hearts JUST FOR ME?! (shut up. i'm telling you. it's romantic.)

let me end there b/c i'm getting all dreamy just thinking about me and ben. *sigh*

ford's filling station
9531 culver boulevard
culver city, ca 90232
310.202.1470

http://http://www.fordsfillingstation.net//