A-Frame

Photo credit: hektattoo.blogspot.com

Came with Ben after basketball a couple of Wednesdays ago. Despite living close to the restaurant (or soon-to-be used to be close), I never had the urge to A-Frame, because while I think that Chef Roy Choi’s other two efforts (Kogi, Chego) were decent, they were ultimately just mostly hype. Also, the menu didn’t get me excited. But in another attempt to try something new after playing basketball, A-Frame came to mind. And I had heard good things about the restaurant from coworkers. So it was finally time to give it a shot…

We got to the restaurant at around 9:30pm, and the place was packed. The place is pretty small, just a few wooden picnic-esque tables inside, a bar with a few stools, and a patio. Luckily, we were seated within a few minutes. Note that these tables are somewhat communal, so if you have a party of less than four, be prepared to sit with some strangers. I swear that Chef Choi was chillin’ with a bottle of grapefruit soda near the entrance of the restaurant. Not being sure about it, however, I just gave him the patented Chris Hei wave-nod. It was reciprocated.

Furikake Kettle Corn ($6) – buttered Blazin’ J’s Hawaiian style

Very interesting. Has a nice combination of sweet and savory flavors. I wish movie theater popcorn was like this.

Kitchen Fries ($6) – purple Okinawan sweet potato, yam, and Korean sweet potato with kimchi sour cream and sea salt

I couldn’t really differentiate the different between the different types (pretty damn dark – impossible to take good photos with an iPhone 3GS), but these fat sweet potato fries were awesome. That kimchi sour cream was delicious.

Baby Back Ribs ($11) – air-dried and hoisin-chili glazed

I’m usually not a fan of this “air-dried” preparation of ribs because I think that it dries up the juicy meat, but the flavor was good. Sweet hoisin hits the tongue, then the slight kick of spice creeps up.

Cracklin Beer Can Chicken ($11 – half) – with kimchi, century egg, salsa roja and verde

Has to be among the best preparation of chicken I’ve had in years. The skin had a nice rotisserie crisp, and the meat was just downright juicy. The chicken was best by itself, but having it with the different salsa gave it a different identity – like a really good version of El Pollo Loco. The egg, while also good, was more like a tea smoked egg than century egg.

Chu-Don’t-Know-Mang ($7) – pound cake cinnamon churros, with malted chocolate milk and vanilla ice cream

I was a little embarrassed when ordering this due to its name. The churros were good, but not great. The texture wasn’t very churros-esque – more like fried cake. The vanilla and malted chocolate milk was a nice complement.

I’m glad that Chef Choi’s passion project didn’t disappoint. In terms of individual dishes, the chicken is probably in my top ten for the year. The meal as a whole wasn’t perfect, but there were no bad dishes. I would definitely visit the restaurant again, and I’ll definitely order the chicken and kitchen fries again. A-Frame is a great place to take a small group to share various Asian-influenced takes on modern American comfort food.

Chris Hei grade: B+

A-Frame
12565 Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 398-7700

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