The Best Thing I Ate This Weekend: Golden State's Chicken Sandwich and Sweet Potato Wedges

I feel like I'm repeating myself but I can't help it. Sometimes a place is just that good.

In support of Kyle Kyte's group, 5Signs, I went down to Turntable Lab on Fairfax for a night of good friends, good music and good eats. Since Golden State is right next door to Turntable Lab and I had such an epic experience with their curry ketchup earlier in the month, Ana, one of my oldest and dearest friends in LA, and I decided why not go back and dive into more deliciousness?

The chicken sandwich, garlicy and grill-charred, with arugula, tomatoes and dijon on ciabatta, served with a side of regular fries armed with curry ketchup.
The sweet potato wedges that accompanied Ana's BLTA were entire quarters of tender, caramelized potato, tossed in grainy salt and dipped in garlic aioli. Sweet, salty, creamy and garlicy trumps umami any day.
Ana as dusk fell on Turntable Lab.

Two of the 5Signs, Kyle and Mbela, getting down to business.

Apparently Ana and I are both hand talkers.

The Best Thing I Ate This Weekend: The Fries at Golden State

Needing sustenance before seeing my friend Ron in his insanely funny show, Streep Tease, an evening of men doing Meryl Streep monologues (can I get a what-what "Death Becomes Her"?), my friend Joaquin and I went to Golden State on Saturday night. Though best known for their beer floats, a scoop of Scoop's Brown Bread ice cream bobbing in a heady lager, the Golden State's fries blew my mind and it was all because of a secret ingredient.

Dipping a crisp, golden spear into ketchup, I gasped. "What is that flavor? What's on these fries?"

"I dunno," Joaquin mawed through a mouthful, "But that's amazing."

"I taste cumin and chili and mustard and salt and I see parsley. What is going on here? This is so good!"

We called over a server and begged to know what crack-a-licious flavor had been mysteriously sprinkled on the fries.

"Salt, pepper and parsley," he grunted, uninspiringly.

"No! There's something else. What is it?" I pleaded.

"Nothing. Except you're using the curry ketchup."

AHHHH! Curry Ketchup, a condiment I had to make for an episode of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills and railed against at the time, was creating a mouth sensation. Of course. How did I not taste it? Cumin, mustard, chili; all elements of curry powder along with coriander and tumeric.

I snapped a golden spear in half, popping one side into my mouth plain (crushy, salty and good) and dredged the another through the red sea of scrumptiousness on the side of the plate (spicy, sultry, addictive). Curry ketchup, people, look into it. It reminded me of the days when I used to live for McDonald's fries dipped in their apricot orange Sweet & Sour sauce.

Beer floats be damned, I would happily take a bath in Golden State's curry ketchup.

Golden State
426 N. Fairfax St.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-782-8331
http://www.thegoldenstatecafe.com/