Ninja & Kong Devour the World: Kitchen 4140: I thought the only thing up this way was Costco

Today was a perfect little lunch day with the family. We took a trip up to Morena Blvd. to check out the off the beaten path , but well known Kitchen 4140.

Nestled off the 5 freeway just before the Costco and in between some interior decor places , is Kitchen 4140 helmed by Chef Kurt Metzger. Calling his food style " ingredient-inspired and ingredient-driven", his focus is on using locally sourced ingredients and then letting them shine in all their glory.

waiting patiently for food

Fish and Chips
ale-battered cod, caper aioli, and malt vinegar served with hand-cut frites. This was the G-ma's choice and she really enjoyed it.

Contained the Malt vinegar for fish and chips

Smoked Salmon sandwich
house-smoked salmon, heirloom tomatoes, mixed, greens, red onion, capers, avocado creme friache, herbed aioli, served on a french roll. This was the Wife's choice and she enjoyed it. I took a bite and the Jew in me jumped for joy. The salmon was tender and flaky and had just the right amount of smoke. The aioli paired well with the fish, but we agreed it was a little heavy handed. The gorgeous end of summer yellow heirloom on it gave it a nice finish. It had the feel of a deli bagel and lox sandwich with all the fixings, but in a lighter classier way.

Short Rib sandwich
beer-braised beef short ribs, pickled onions, mango chutney, asian slaw, on roasted pepper bread. This was my choice of course, being the resident meat lover,( no jokes please). This was almost a bahn mi kind of thing right here. The tender, unctuous meat was falling apart and the acidity of the pickled onions and the asian slaw, made it so that it was rich ,but not so much so that you hated yourself after. The only thing that bugged me was the spinach on it; it was raw, and there was too much. It took away from the overall feel of the sandwich and was kinda the odd man out in an otherwise cohesive sandwich. The hand cut frites were also very good and worked well with the house made ketchup. There was a little too much sugar for our taste and the Wife picked up a hint of truffle in there as well.

Catsup, Ketchup, Ol' 57, tomatoey device for pairing with starch receptacle after it has bathed in a boiling oil bath.

While I enjoyed this restaurant and it's well thought out and tasty menu, I had one gripe. Flavored Water. Its been a fad now for quite awhile and started innocently enough with a lemon or lime here and a cucumber there, but in my opinion it has gotten a little out of hand. While flavored or infused waters can be quite refreshing on their own, I feel little goes into how they will pair with the food once you start eating. Kitchen 4140's water wasn't overly dramatic in taste, but it did serve to muddle some of the flavors of my sandwich and took me out of my meat reverie too soon.