Grubtrotters

Journalists in Beijing for the Olympics can’t get unfiltered access to the Internet, which is wrong but hardly surprising. On the plus side, they can eat exotic dishes not found in most other corners of the globe.

Garry Linnell of the Daily Telegraph in Australia has already written about a memorable Beijing dining experience.

Into this boiling stock go the penises. A few minutes later the first is hanging from my quivering chopsticks. Ox penis, says the waitress, is full of protein, good for the skin and aids longevity. And the deeper its colour, the more effective its properties.

And unlike Rocky Mountain oysters, these are not deep fried, so it is easy to understand why they are considered healthy.

Sierra Nevada beer fans should consider Brooks in Ventura for a special event Wednesday night. For $100 a person, including tip and tax, you get a dinner of five courses, each paired with a different Sierra Nevada brew.

We just tried the Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale — say that three times fast after you’ve enjoyed a few — and it is among the selections for this dinner, which starts at 6:30 p.m. There were still some openings at last check. Call 805-652-7070 for reservations. Here is the scheduled menu:

Seafood Nacho: Whole wheat tortilla, crab, sea bass, lobster, black beans, white cheddar cheese, cilantro aioli. Beer pairing: Summerfest Lager.

Wild Game Gumbo: With Pale Ale rice. Beer pairing: Pale Ale.

Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork: With beer-honey cornbread. Beer pairing: Anniversary Ale.

Crispy Harvest Caribbean Marinated Game Hen: With sweet onion yam puree and jerk vinaigrette. Beer pairing: Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale.

Mixed Berry Crisp: Ginger crumble topping and malted cream. Beer pairing: Bigfoot Barleywine Ale.

Brooks, 545 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura 93001.

The toasted sesame seeds get shortchanged in the promotional material.

SugarFish provides a printed guide to explain the sauces and seasonings that accompany each selection of sushi. For example, the tuna sashimi comes with scallion and ponzu while you can enhance your yellowtail with soy sauce and a few drops of lemon.

But aside from the freshness of the seafood, the most memorable aspect of SugarFish’s salmon and shrimp sushi was the toasted sesame seeds on top. They were distinctive but not overpowering, a superb complement.

Not that we’re lobbyists for the sesame industry, but it is unfortunate that the seeds are not mentioned in the literature. This really isn’t a complaint. More of a fussy observation. It’s just that the sesame seeds worked so well you’d like to see them get some credit.

Anyway that was one of the lasting first impressions of SugarFish, which opened last month at the Waterside shopping plaza in Marina del Rey. Neighbors include Chipotle, Cold Stone, California Pizza Kitchen and Pinkberry, whose bright but minimalist interior is replicated at SugarFish.

SugarFish is a venture involving Kazunori Nozawa and his son, Tom. But unlike the flagship Nozawa in Studio City, which is all about tradition, SugarFish offers what you might call “Omakase For Dummies.” The food and preparation are still authentic, but the vibe reflects its location, a strip mall anchored by Ralph’s. It has a three-tiered menu — $19.50, $29.50 and $36.50 are the ballpark ranges — that includes tip and tax.

These three options are billed as “Trust Me,” the translation of omakase. But trust isn’t an issue because the menu lists exactly what you’re going to get. If you really want to take your chances, there are days, depending on inventory, when the “Surprise Me” option is available.

The albacore (with scallion and ponzu) and the crab rolls were other highlights. Given the location, relatively reasonable pricing and high quality of fish, we can see this place becoming a part of our regular rotation. – Victor.

SugarFish: 4722¼ Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey 90292. 310-306-6300. Beer and sake available.

With Jenny out of town on business, I found myself on a date with a pretty young girl the other night in Santa Monica.

Her name is Sophia, and she wanted some ice cream.

We were at the Third Street Promenade, which actually doesn’t have as many ice cream options as you might figure.

I suggested Angelato. It features more than 100 flavors, including Lemon Lime Burst, Vanilla Mango Marble and Pecan Mud Slide.

But according to her mom, Sophia almost always gives gelato a thumbs-down. It just isn’t really ice cream to her. Quite the perceptive 4½-year-old. This meant Angelato had to pass the Sophia Taste Test if we were going to cap the date with dessert.

Fortunately for us, Angelato offered her favorite flavor: Pink Bubble Gum. After a sample spoon, Sophia flashed a thumbs-up, and we were in business. I opted for the pistachio, my baseline for gelato judging.

This wasn’t the greatest gelato I had ever tried, but it was pretty darn good. I will be back to check out more of their flavors. Almond Avalanche and Chocolate Peanut Butter are at the top of my list. The Raspberry Blackberry Sorbetto also looks intriguing.

And next time, I guess I need to bring Jenny if I know what’s good for me.

Sophia with Pink Bubble Gum.

301 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica 90401. 310-656-9999. Cash only.

Business gained steam for Venice-based Platine Cookies in 2004 after being featured on the Food Network. We keep missing that “Food Finds” episode, but we just had the pleasure of tasting some goodies prepared by chef Jamie Cantor, so life is good.

Freshness is one of Platine’s calling cards, and that was evident from bite one. Everything is a custom job, so budget five days into your thinking to account for preparation, baking and delivery.

Platine also distinguishes itself by putting a new tweak on old recipes. Its so-called Signature Cookie is an updated version of the old-fashioned oatmeal raisin cookie. It includes rolled oats, zante currants, granola, chocolate chips and walnuts. The chocolate in all the varieties had a subtle but appealing taste to it. Not too sweet but still plenty of substance and body.

Cantor, a veteran of the French Laundry, also does original designs for parties and special occasions in addition to the regular lineup of brownies, snickerdoodles and rugelach. Here are some more insights in her own words:

Victor: What is your most popular item?

Jamie:  Our most popular item on our website is the Platinum Deluxe Tin — two dozen cookies and a half dozen brownies. I think people like it because it gives a little taste of a lot of things — four cookie flavors and the brownies.
Our most popular cookie is our “Chocolate Gingersnap.” I am always surprised by that one. I really like it, but it isn’t my favorite one. I think people really enjoy it because it is a great example of what we do: a sophisticated twist on old favorites. So it reminds people of the gingersnaps that they ate as a kid. But the fresh ginger and freshly ground dry spices, as well as the extra brut cocoa powder and chocolate chips, add a little twist that makes the cookie more interesting to an adult palate.

Victor: What has been the most unusual request?
Jamie: Speaking of adult palates, sometimes people ask for cookies for a “mature audience.” But we don’t do those, so we have never gotten the details of those types of unusual requests. So since we don’t take those types of requests, they haven’t been that unusual. One couple asked about doing a cookie with a picture of their son’s face on it. We get a lot of corporate orders, so sometimes they are more challenging than unusual. We did some cookies for people who worked on the movie “Hot Rod.”
It was really a fun challenge, and I think the cookies came out amazingly! (If I do say so myself.)

Victor: What has been the craziest order ever received?
Jamie:  For us, crazy would have to be size. Last year we made over 3,500 custom packages for a major department store. Each package contained a custom teddy bear with a chocolate chip cookie, which was placed in a cellophane bag and hand-tied with a satin ribbon. Then the packages were grouped in different sized orders and sent to the stores all over the western U.S. This was crazy in terms of the size and logistics of the entire order, not really the teddy bears.

Victor: What kind of boost did The Food Network program provide?
Jamie: Huge. It completely changed the shape of our business. I was just making cookies and selling them locally to gourmet food stores in Los Angeles and doing a little bit of shipping. Platine was not my full-time job.  I was trading work hours at a bakery where I worked so that I could use their commercial ovens. Most orders were placed by phone or e-mail, and we didn’t have a website. The day that I got the phone call from the production company I went online and secured platinecookies.com as well as our toll free number.

We had a few months to put together the website and figure out some of the other expansion issues. It was a great learning experience.  The show airs about once a year, so it is always a nice little rush of business when it airs, and it is funny to watch now and see how much we have grown!

Platine Cookies: 1-877-866-0696, chef@platinecookies.com

We enjoyed Kung Fu Panda over the weekend but must respectfully disagree with one of the key points of the film. Sometimes — usually when sautéing — there is a secret ingredient:

Trader Joe’s Balsamic Vinaigrette.

All you need is a generous splash in the late going.