Heirloom LA, the catering company founded and run by Matt Poley, which supplies the food to Intelligentsia Pasadena, has partnered with Windows Mobile to bring their cooking to a wider audience via a food truck. Currently the truck can be found Monday evenings at Silver Lake Wine, Thursday evenings at the Yamashiro Farmer's Market and Sunday brunch at Bar Covell in Los Feliz. It is not a coincidence that two of the three locations are connected to Matt Kaner.
Heirloom's signature item is the Lasagna Cupcake. This sounded very unappealing to me. Why would I want to have lasagna fillings inside a sweet pastry? It turns out that there is no pastry or icing involved; the lasagna is just prepared in a cupcake mold. That is a lot more appealing, and a lot tastier. The food is playful and fun.
I sampled some of Heirloom's food at Yamashiro on Thursday. Below is the macaroni & cheese lasagna cupcake and the peanut butter and jelly. I found the smoky mac & cheese to live up to its name. It was rather tasty, though not inexpensive at $8.
I also enjoyed the Slow Smoked Beef Brisket with BBQ sauce and the accompanying cole slaw. The brisket was imbued with the smoky flavor and the bbq sauce had a nice tang to it. The Niman Ranch BBQ Pork Sandwich was even more popular with my dining companions, which included one of the most legendary pork-lovers this side of the Great Smoky Mountains.
On Sunday, I was able to try more of the Heirloom dishes at Bar Covell. I began my meal with the Corn Soup, which was excellent. It was piping hot and had cilantro and cream on top. The soup was rich and hearty and at the same time had the essence of corn. This was the best dish I had on either of my visits.
Jidori Chicken & Waffles was served with blueberry maple syrup and creme fraiche. Putting chicken and waffles on your menu is like ringing the dinner bell for me; I can't help but order it. This version was good but small. The berry syrup was not overwhelmingly sweet, which is a huge plus. The salty crunch of the chicken and the sweet softness of the waffle were joined by the unifying element of the syrup. Once this picture was taken, there was not any evidence of food on my plate within minutes.
I ran into friends at brunch and they were generous in sharing their food. Thursday evening's smoky brisket resurfaced as brisket hash, served with sweet and sour potatoes, peas and a sunny side up egg. The bite I had was good, although I wouldn't trade my chicken and waffles for this.
At brunch, Covell offers four beverages: Housemade Sangria, Fresh Squeezed Mimosa, Spicy Michelada and Fresh Fruit Bellini. I look forward to seeing how the Covell michelada compares to the legendary Bostick version.
The best way to know where to find the Heirloom LA Truck is to follow its twitter feed: @wpheirloomla. Below, Poley serves up his food to hungry folks at Yamashiro's. You can find the truck at Silver Lake Wine tonight.
Heirloom LA Truck: http://www.facebook.com/WPHeirloomLA or on Twitter
