Food, she thought.

Eggs en Cocotte in My Pajamas

2012-01-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

Planning on working from home today, I lay in bed at the late hour of 6:15 trolling the Internet on my phone. I look at food blogs, read about this and that, engage in the wonderful directionless treasure hunt that is web surfing. Today I came across a post about Egg Slut on Squid Ink, LA Weekly's food blog. Coddled eggs in a baby food jar with potato, butter and cream? OMG, I leapt from the bed, threw on some sweats, put a leash on the dog and headed immediately west toward the Egg Slut truck on Fairfax to be there waiting for one when they opened.

Lies. After laying in bed for another thirty minutes pondering the ceiling, I shuffled my pajama clad body into the kitchen and investigated the refrigerator. Potato? Check. Eggs? Duh. Cream? Lactaid. Cheese? Is this a question? Etc. I ambled over the my desktop, reviewed the chemistry of eggs en cocotte by checking out a few blogs, then headed back into the kitchen to see what I could throw together. I sure af was not going to the store.

I boiled one medium red potato, then pureed with a little goat's milk butter, leaving the skin on. Saute half an onion until translucent, add herbs. We had cilantro on hand, I used about a child's handful.

I deglazed the onion/cilantro pan with maybe a cup of Lactaid (someone in the house has lactose issues) and continued to cook until reduced about a third. Grate a cup or so of cheese (I used Parmesan, but was tempted by the pepper jack). Puree herb and onion mix, adding a few tablespoons of chicken broth to keep mixture from sticking to the side of the food processor. Butter or non-stick spray two large or four small ramekins. I used my two giant ramekins because I am piggy when it comes to eggs. Pour the herb puree into the bottom of your ramekins.

Split the potato puree between your ramekins, place in gently. The entire contents will naturally mix a little but you want some layering action.

Sprinkle cheese over the potatoes, don't go nuts. You are going to need to top the entire mess with cheese before it goes into the oven, reserve some of said cheese to do so.

Gently crack two eggs over cheese in large ramekins. If you use small ramekins, one egg per cup. If I had been ~~less piggy~~ more thoughtful, I would have also thrown together a fruit salad from the cara cara oranges and pears we have on hand and made two small ramekins instead of two large and no fruit salad.

Don't forget to feed the dog.

Split the milk/cream/dairy reduction between ramekins. It should mostly cover the eggs. See the pretty cilantro puree seeping up to the top around the edges? Top with cheese.

There are several ways to cook eggs en cocotte. I used a bain-marie in the oven. To make one, I boiled a kettle full of water then filling the broiler pan halfway immediately before adding ramekins. Oven should be at 350F. In the end, I was running out of time as D yelled at me from the his weight lifting/Internet surfing/man sanctuary that he needed to eat within 10 minutes, so I turned the oven up to 400F for the last 7 minutes. I think total cooking time was about 20 minutes, maybe? I measured by the firmness of the yolks. You can decide how firm you like your yolks. Bear in mind, this is a creamy dish anyway. You might enjoy your eggs a little firmer than normal because of all the saucy things going on alongside them.

Serve the dish with toast or something for dipping. Essentially, I took something very sinful and made it a little healthier. It was still delicious, D was really amazed (after having looked slightly annoyed at all the dairy going into the dish, 11 years married and cooking for him, he still doesn't trust that I know what he likes to eat, ffs).

I am now full as a tick, still in my pajamas, and planning to have a really good workout later. Much later.

In Defense of the Bar

2012-01-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

I love a bar. Pretty much any bar will do. A wine bar, hotel bar, neighborhood dives, a subterranean bar with the hipsters sporting unfortunate hair, a craft bar, an airport bar, the bar at a steakhouse sitting on a tall stool with a leather seat and a martini, casino bars, strip club bars, the bar down the hill from my house with mariachi music and flaming margaritas; even a suburban bar at a suburban restaurant where the singles mingle and the sweet and sour flows. I enjoy sitting at a bar.

As 2012 really starts to get under way, I am finding my thoughts in defense of the bar. I write in defense of the old school bar, the bar with everyone in mind where the bartender handles a crowd with silent or loud lightning fast panache, making drinks with the speed of a gun slinger at high noon.

Historically, my favorite bars, let me tell them to you. The Post in downtown Sacramento, way back in the eighties when I first turned 21, along with the Brass Rail across the street from the capitol building where I chronologically turned 21. Add the Round Corner Tavern with its pool table to the Sacto list. The Pilsner Inn at Church and Market in San Francisco was a favorite when I lived there, and before the remodel The Owl Tree up the hill at Post and Taylor. I also lived for the times my roommate and I would swing by the Redwood Room at the Four Seasons Clift in the early nineties before it became a Morgan's property. After moving to LA, I fell in love with Max's on Fairfax (now The Dime) right around the corner from my house and I used to love to drink vodka gimlets at Jones on Santa Monica. I spent eight years sitting on my ass at the east end of the long bar at Three Clubs where I met my husband in a dark dank corner. Nowadays, I find myself eating and drinking at the Mexican bar down the hill from my house, popping into the Library Bar now and again and once a month or so dropping in at 4100 for old time's sake. All these spots hold a special place in my heart. A place you can sidle up to the bar, utter a friendly or subdued how-dee-do, and wet your whistle with something pretty standard to leave the day behind or celebrate or just about whatever.

These bars are all what I think of as an old school bar. Not really old school in the old school that was the school when my parents were young and free. Old school in the sense that I am usually anywhere from ten to twenty years older than most bartenders in today's new school bars and I think of old school as being the school to which I had grown accustomed prior to the new school being new.

All of this isn't to say by any means that I don't like the new generation of bars that have overtaken our drinking habits on both coasts, I do like them very much (yes, NYC, we know you had them first). I love all bars. I really like a bar.

But you know the type of new bar I mean. If you don't know, you need to drink out of the house more often. A craft bar is a bar where the provenance of every label is not only known but a point of pride. Cocktails are made with artistry using herbs, local and seasonal produce, agave nectar and berries muddled together with unlikely combinations of spirits creating heretofore unknown yet delightful flavor combinations. However. I take issue with this new generation of craft bars on a few points. (And yes, I know if you are from the East coast you have known about these bars forever, like that band no one else knows about yet). My issues are as follows:

I don't always want a dispatch on the glories of Velvet Falernum, an essay about our heralded return to Genever, a monologue about how vodka drinkers only use vodka to get drunk (and?) and miss so much in the way of flavor profiles by ignoring the rest of the bar, a veritable dissertation about the shape and henceforth melting properties of ice based on total surface area of aforementioned cube. And I certainly never want to hear from another bartender that if the owner knew they were changing the recipe of my drink slightly to suit my taste buds there's a chance s/he would get shit canned. No lie, this happened a few months back.

I theorize my taste for certain cocktails evolved as a rejection of what was popular in my youth. I was drunk for the first time ever on a stomach heaving combination of cheap champagne and gin, something readily available in someone's parents' liquor cabinet. The flavor of gin henceforth holds no appeal. Coming of age in the eighties meant being subject to a decade specific style of cocktails including Sex on the Beach, B-52s, sweet and sour based margaritas and daiquiris (heresy), Long Island Iced Tea, the Fuzzy Navel and so on. I have been drinking vodka and soda since I can remember.

Given the right bartender and a collaborative environment, a leopard can change its spots. A few well constructed drinks around town that I love include the Old Cuban at The Association, The Chanel at Pattern Bar near FIDM, pretty much anything made by Matt Biancaniello at the Roosevelt in Hollywood, and recently a custom made multi-citrus vodka gimlet at Hatfields. And the daiquiris at La Descarga? All the daiquiris.

I love a bar, and even in a new school bar am excited to see the drink list and experiment with your pet ingredient. However, reserve the lecture and the subtle eye rolling if I order something pedestrian. The only thing I don't like about a bar is not being able to wait to leave.

Martinis Around Town: Barbarella, ink., Baco Mercat

2012-01-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

As I looked through recent iPhone snaps last night, I realized I have a nice overview of my eats and drinks of the last few weeks but nothing really in depth. I also realized I have been drinking a lot of martinis. Ummm....since my favorite martini is basically vodka with more vodka and an olive snorkeling around at the bottom, I have consequently been drinking a lot of the hard stuff. Maybe my liver would appreciate a wine diet for awhile. At any rate.

Of the three recorded, we start with Barbarella. Barbarella is a nice establishment, the bartending style not incredibly modern. An approach, I'll be honest, I don't have any lack of appreciation for. This particular Ketel One martini was ice cold with ice chips from the small cubes and the shaking motion floating on top. I like the little chips, even if they do water down my vodka a bit. Note the run-of-the-mill pimiento olives, two please.

Next up, martini ink. style. Coupe glass strutting the mixology approach to bartending. I love a coupe, the way it sits non-precariously in your hand. My mom has these gorgeous cut crystal coupes she inherited from Auntie Marge (iirc), they are quite a bit larger than this and I love a martini in one of those. I admit it's partially the size. The coupes at ink. are more modest size-wise. Three olives, rested crosswise on a wooden toothpick, no ice chips at all. They use a rather massive cube that prevents chipping during shaking. The vodka in this was an obscure potato vodka from eastern Europe and it was delicious. My favorite martini of the three.

Jerry rigging it. Baco Mercat doesn't make martinis. I have a mouthful to say about this, but I shall self edit because their food was phenomenal, truly. They deserve every dollar of success because their service was even better than the food. Baco Mercat is really doing it right despite their bar policy. A large vodka on one giant rock with a side of lemon minus the lemon. I enjoyed every drop.

ink.

2012-01-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

ink.
8360 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90069
323-651-5866

I'm not going into any laborious detail about ink., Michael Voltaggio's busy little sweet spot in West Hollywood inhabiting former Josu space. What I will say is that the food was inventive and whimsical but down to earth. Affordable, yet still felt like a treat. The service was some of the best I have had recently. I will definitely be going again and I have someone specific in mind to take with me.

Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

Video inspired by one of my favorite fashion bloggers, L.A.'s own ...love, Meagan. Caveat: I did not choose Maryjane for the theme song, and I am not sure how it ended up in the background. I don't really enjoy the pot, it gives me massive paranoia, quite the opposite intended effect. However, we had kind of a crazy night that night, so I will just leave it as is for the fun of it. Who doesn't love Rick James?

Please see more thorough ink. reviews here, here and here. I'm just havin' fun.

Ringing in the New Year in Santa Barbara

2012-01-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

I am a fan of the idea that the way one spends the first hours of the new year sets the tone for the rest of the year altogether. I will be pleased if 2012 echoes my first couple of days. We spent the eve with friends in Santa Barbara, and stayed through the second enjoying the city and the sunny weather. On the first, I slept in late, played tennis and ate seafood at Brophy Brothers in the marina. On the second, went for a long run through the downtown shopping district, stopping often to take snaps and ogle the architecture. As a harbinger, I'll take it.

State and De La Guerra.

Love the Moorish lettering spelling out street names on the corners.

I started my run along the "red tile walking tour" published in a tourist magazine. Ultimately, it was an advertisement because it only took the walker past shops and not past city hall, Casa de la Guerra, Rafael Gonzalez house, the Historical Museum, etc. As soon as I realized, I tossed the map and set out on my own, meandering down back and side streets off State.

Casa de la Guerra in the perfect morning light.

El porche.

I love the old Greyhound signs...

The exact same signs are still up at the downtown Greyhound station in Sacramento, but the station itself in Sacramento is more than a bit grittier.

La dolce vita, indeed.

Happy New Year

2012-01-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

Here's to a happy, productive and prosperous new year.

The Paso Robles List

2012-01-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

My two years spent working and traveling to Paso Robles on business is at an end (barring anything unforeseen, and there are always lots of things unforeseen). I feel like I have been inside nearly every restaurant and market. many tasting rooms and a couple hotels. Paso Robles is a wonderful place to visit for wine tasting, R&R, or even a drive-by on the way north or south in between the Bay Area and Southern California. My favorites, let me share them with you.

Restaurants:
Artisan
1401 Park Street
Paso Robles, CA

Artisan focuses on local and seasonal produce and proteins whenever possible. The atmosphere is elegant but not off-puttingly so, and the food has been beyond reproach every single visit. This is my favorite restaurant in town.

Il Cortile

608 12th Street

Paso Robles, CA

Brought to Paso by Chef Santos MacDonal and his wife, Il Cortile offers Italian food on a par with any I have had anywhere in California. Again, a focus on local ingredients with burrata from LA County's own Gioia, and a Paso/Italian focus on the wine list. They offer upscale dining inside, al fresco on the sidewalk facing patio and a small bar that appeals to this often solo diner. They even have a regular who stops at Paso just to eat at Il Cortile and visit with the staff on his frequent trips between the Bay Area and Los Angeles. It's that good and they are that friendly.

Villa Creek
1114 Pine Street
Paso Robles, CA
Known among my colleagues for the infamous and Chowhound lauded taco Tuesdays, I love to stop into Villa Creek the second I hit town for a glass of prosecco and a snack to reward me after the long drive. Villa Creek has terrific food and the liveliest upscale bar in town. The bar staff is always good company, the steamed clams on the bar menu my favorite dish.

The Wine:
Lone Madrone
2485 Highway 46 West
93446

My ultimate favorite, they make a nebbiolo that knocks my socks off every time I taste it. Constructed by Neil Collins (also executive winemaker at the heralded Tablas Creek), the wines from this vineyard are dry farmed and head trained, and typically blends inspired by Neil's years of working with Paso wines.

Justin
11680 Chimney Rock Road
93446
Love the wines at Justin, have yet to taste one that didn't impress. My sister-in-law A got an Orphan for Christmas (a blend of whatever the vineyard happens to fancy throwing together in any given year). Last time I stopped into their tasting room, I was treated to several wines not on the menu, I felt incredibly special. It might have been the booze talking. The wine room itself is not my favorite in the region, it reminds me a lot of the more corporate feeling rooms of Napa. But there is none of the accompanying impersonal attitude. Justin is worth a visit.

Turley
2900 Vineyard Drive
93465
Turley makes and sells primarily zinfandel. They are delicious, but plan your tasting trip accordingly. Stop at Turley first prior to burning out your taste buds where the wines are bigger.

Tobin James
8950 Union Road
93446
I enjoy that Tobin James is literally right on the 46 as I head out of town after a long day (or short, depending) of work. Stopping by for something special right before hitting the long drive makes arrival home all that much sweeter. The wines at Tobin James lack some of the subtlety of other makers in the region, but they still hit right inside my sweet spot of wine preference. The syrahs, primitivos and blends tend to the jammier end, but I enjoy every taste of fruit.

Hotels:
Courtyard Marriott
120 So. Vine Street
Paso Robles, CA
All Courtyards are not created equal. Things to love about this one: room service, busy downstairs bar, large heated swimming pool, pay-per-view movies in room and inclusive breakfast with omelet station every morning. The Marriott is also walking distance to downtown Paso, perfect for a morning jog around the square or an evening walk to dinner.

La Quinta Inn & Suites
2615 Buena Vista Drive
Paso Robles, CA
Located out by route 46 (and not really a safe walk into town, traffic wise), I love La Quinta nonetheless for their pet policy. No fee, no holds barred. Around the fenced parking lot (away from aforementioned traffic) is a green belt replete with oft emptied trash cans and doggy bag stations to self clean after your meandering pup. I discovered their pet friendly policy this fall and wish I would have discovered it two years ago.

Specialties:
Di Raimondo's Italian Market
822 13th Street
Paso Robles, CA
It's not all Italian and it's not only cheese. Get in here for cheese, a baguette and other goodies before wine tasting. Trust me.

Powell's Sweet Shop
840 11th Street
Paso Robles, CA
For your kid or your inner kid, Powell's will blow you away with the array of classic, nouveau and novelty sweets.

Kennedy Fitness
500 South River Road
Paso Robles, CA
To work off the stress of the day or front load some serious calorie burning before wine tasting your afternoon away, stop in at Kennedy for a group exercise class. Every single one I have attended is top notch including Body Pump, Spin, Yoga, Zumba (it wasn't pretty), and Sculpt. If I remember correctly, they charge $12 non-member fee per usage. Worth every penny.

Brunch with Mom at Cooks County

2011-12-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

Cooks County

8009 Beverly Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90048

310-653-8009

Last Saturday Mom and I were frantically shopping for hours all over town to buy something to wear for a big event that evening, to which in the end I wore something from my own closet. Sigh. Wasted time I will never get back. Well, not really true. I was shopping with Mom, which is fun (she was a trooper this trip) and we managed brunch perfection at newcomer Cooks County. The visit was inspired by Eater LA's Hottest New Brunch Spots Winter 2011. Located at the corner of Beverly and Fairfax in the old Mimosa/Bistro LQ space, Cooks County is brought to us by Claudio and Adria Blotta from Barbrix and cheffed by Daniel Mattern and Roxanna Jullapat, formerly of Ammo. Now that's a pedigree worthy of Westminster.

I've been brunching a lot this year. Above is the main menu. Below is the top bit, closer up.

And below is the side wrap of the menu, pastries and a little whatnot.

Mom and I treated ourselves to some post-shopping pre-napping Turley Juvenile zin, having just visited Turley on our most recent wine tasting trip to Paso Robles. I don't remember liking it this much when we were at the tasting room. My taste buds might have been suffering that day a little from previously tasting the complex reds at Lone Madrone. The Juvenile zin was wonderful Saturday with my meal.

At the rec of the waiter, I ordered the fried eggs with harissa, garbanzos, olives, yogurt and grilled olive bread. The garbanzos were nicely roasted, kind of like I roast them at home for a cocktail snack. The harissa was not as spicy as I had hoped it to be, but the effect of all the flavors together was similar to the infamous chicken recipe but instead with the ubiquitous breakfast protein. I can easily see recreating this at home (I might find a way to sneak in some smoked paprika). On Chopped recently (which I watch obsessively, even reruns, which drives the spousal unit nuts), one of the judges commented that the grilled bread on one plate was gratuitous and not really connected to the dish (probably that bitch Alex Guarnaschelli). I found the grilled bread on this plate the perfect food to mouth vehicle for my eggs, harissa and yogurt. I think I licked the plate.

I wish there was more bar seating. This seems almost gratuitous. There are four seats. People can sit there and be fed. But it doesn't really have the bar feel that I love. I clearly need to come in and try it out my damn self.

Mom ate the duck egg crostone, with housemade pancetta, chicory and Parmesan. This picture makes my mouth water. Mom, that morning you said you had no idea what a crostone is, well please to click link to the left. She described it to Claudia later that day as toad-in-the-hole with pancetta, bitter greens and parm. Again, plate lickable.

The build out is gorgeous, rustic but polished. Not the most original design, but done really well. There were several choices on the wine-by-the-glass list that tempted me, and that's a pleasant oddity. The next step is a visit for dinner.

post script: I secretly love Alex Guarnaschelli and all her weird faces.

Three Veggie Tastes at Lazy Ox Canteen

2011-12-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

Lazy Ox Canteen

241 South San Pedro

Los Angeles, CA 90012

213-626-5299

On the afternoon of my last business trip to now beloved Paso Robles, D and I swung by Lazy Ox for a quick late lunch before I hit the road. We snoozled up to the bar, received service perfection, and noshed at a variety of primarily vegetable dishes. My personal barometer of excellent chefdom is measured by treatment of the vegetables. In all three dishes (even the third where the shrimp looks prominent in the snap) veggies headline and protein is the accessory. The perfect balance of acid, savory, sweet, and spicy in all dishes is why Lazy Ox has made such a name for itself in Los Angeles. The J. Gold 99 Essential, three stars by Irene, impressing the typically more upscale KevinEats, and pleasing whoever the hell this guy is.

brussel sprouts w/ spanish chorizo

caramelized cauliflower w/ pine nuts, chile & mint

grilled cabbage w/ piquillo pepper & almonds, shrimp

Although it claims to be a gastrupub, I find little or nothing pubby about it. This is a food person's restaurant that happens to have an incredibly well crafted beer and wine list. None of the fray tipified by a true gastropub like The Eagle or The Village Idiot. I used my Blackboard Eats 20% coupon, which covers tax and tip. And I already have reservations for a special holiday dinner coming right up.

The First Meal: Shin Sen Gumi

2011-12-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

Shin Sen Gumi
132 So. Central Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-687-7108

A few weeks back D and I procured a nasty little case of salmonella food poisoning from food we ordered in, nothing crazy, just one of our regular places. No names mentioned, they were extremely kind about it although they claimed we were the only complainants. I ended up stranded in Santa Cruz on a 100% unproductive business trip, rolling around in a hotel room bed moaning for two days at various volumes and whatnot while D suffered at home alone. Finally able to return home, we spent another 36 hours sleeping off the remnants. Point being, our first meal in three+ days was ramen. There is nothing better for what ails you than a well crafted broth, some beautiful noodles and a bright cheery atmosphere.

We sat at the bar in the space formerly known as the now defunct Izayoi, my ex-most favorite izakaya. Sigh. If Izayoi had to go, this is a worthy replacement. Ironically, I thought Little Tokyo was previously lacking in excellent ramen, Daikokuya really being the only worthy venue. Couple the wait at Daikokuya with my husband's lack of patience for waiting and it's happy I am that there is a new ramen locale right in time for cold weather.

I like Shin Sen Gumi's style. One basic broth with lots of options for additives you fill in yourself on a sushi style menu, add a few signature creations located at the bottom of the menu. I was looking for simplicity on the date in question ergo I settled on the basic ramen with a few run of the mill extras.

Spicy miso. One does not order spicy miso broth, instead the waiter brings you a beautiful little red ball of spicy miso paste and you can flavor it to your liking.

I added corn and lots of seaweed. D had a little army of side dishes to the right of his giant bowl. Trying to be gentle to my tender tummy, I couldn't really look at too many flavors. But next time I intend to get crazy. Really light that place on fire.

The outcome. Delicious but not the best I have ever had purely judging the broth alone. In descending order comes first and always Rokuan in Chino Hills. Second, Daikokuya. Shin Sen Gumi is third, again based solely on broth. The broth at Shin Sen Gumi is clear, light and salty, while I love dark, deep and murky. I prefer the atmosphere at Shin Sen Gumi to all three, it's light, bright, bustling and loud af. Love the approach with regard to ordering. It's never quite as busy as Daikokuya (D goes often), and it's a helluva lot closer than Chino Hills.

When my iron clad stomach returns (and it has not as of this posting), I will visit Shin Sen Gumi to try the most exotic sounding signature creation, eat it while drinking lots of sake, dance on the tables and spit into the wind.

Dog Friendly in Palm Springs at the Ace Hotel

2011-11-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

Ace Hotel & Swim Club

701 E Palm Canyon Drive

Palm Springs, CA

760-325-9900

A few weeks back J, our office travel guru, booked me into the Ace for a week's stay in Palm Springs. The Ace was a completely new spot for me (and pet friendly) so Jackson and I were ready for some adventure!

Everything is just a little retro 1970's California style, in a good way. Diner, bar, spa, gym, etc.

A friend forewarned me that the Ace can be a bit douchebaggardly. I am happy to report I suffered no such experience. Everyone and everything I came across was top notch, warm and friendly.

Sprinkled throughout the property are common areas with fireplaces and ample seating.

I had a couple glasses of wine in the bar one night seated next to a salty old dog who didn't understand why I was surrounded by the tools of technology. Part of the generation gap, I suppose. So many of us nowadays go nowhere without means for constant communication. I remember the days when I used to sit in a bar with a book or magazine. Now, I am reading or working from a tablet, the glow lighting my face with an unflattering spectral aura.

I loved my room, with its comfy bed, good sheets, and surf aesthetic no matter how incongruous mid-desert.

Vinyl.

Jackson and I shared a patio room with a locking gate. French doors lead out to the patio so he could come and go as he pleased. One thing worth noting: the Ace is pet friendly with a cost. You must inhabit a patio room which is a $40 upgrade and you must pay an extra $25 per night. So technically a dog is an extra $65 per night above a regular room. Having said that, the property is extremely pet friendly, the facilities are well set up to accommodate dogs of all sizes, lots of room for strolling among other things.

Among the other things is a small dog park. It's not huge but it's definitely adequate for some leash free roaming and a good poop.

Something I loved about the Ace as a female traveler were the broad walking areas fenced in securely on the property. I could walk the J-dog at night without worrying about serial killing strangers and whatnot. There's plenty of room on the property for unaccosted roaming about.

For a little human leash free roaming, hit the well equipped gym.

Lots of cardio machines, full set of free weights, medicine balls and this and that.

Scooter rental. If it weren't for the extra $65 a night, the Ace would be my regular hotel in Palm Springs as I launch into a new contract there this year. Unfortunately that puts my personal and professional budget right over the edge. I definitely see myself staying here maybe once a year as a treat. And a treat it was. For both of us.

What's Up, Rivera? Fall 2011

2011-11-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

Rivera
1050 S. Flower Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213-749-1460

Last week D and I stopped in at his favorite restaurant, Rivera, to check out the happs. All is well at our favorite upscale Latin food venue. Had a beautiful meal and excellent service.

In a bold move, D started with a cocktail. There is almost nothing D loves more than tequila or beef jerky, except tequila and beef jerky together in spicy/sweet capsicum cocktail, the Barbacoa. This time he ordered it with mezcal for a smoky punch. We ran into our friend Colin that night (now general manager of gorgeous new cocktail bar Monty in Westlake) and influenced his drinking decisions as well. When we saw him last night at Monty, he thanked us for the cocktail rec.

Since our visit to Spain last summer, I crave stuffed piquillo peppers as soon as I see them on a menu or the minute someone mentions their name. Piquillos at Rivera are a cut above all the piquillos I ate at pintxo bars up and down Barcelona at all hours of the day and night (typically stuffed simply with goat cheese). Sedlar's are stuffed with raisins, chorizo and gruyere. To be honest, they are heavier on the gruyere with just a touch of raisin or chorizo. I would like to taste the stronger flavors of the chorizo and raisin with a little more pop. Still, delicious, drizzled with luscious olive oil, topped with chives.

We shared the mussels. Steamed in a pisco aji amarillo broth. Perfectly tender, melt in your mouth mussels. I would expect nothing less out of Sedlar's kitchen. There is more than a little pedigree in Jonathon Rivera Sedlar's kitchen. Esquire has named him chef of 2011, he has a place in Food + Wine magazine's Honor Roll of American Chefs and was even a Top Chef Master! Do I care? Not really, as long as the food is good I am unconcerned with awards. However, I did enjoy watching someone whose food I eat a few times a year compete on Bravo. (I love tv too much.) Point being, those mussels were cooked to the exact deliciousness one would expect from a chef so lauded.

We both ate seared sea scallops on an eggplant bed with preserved lemon and ras al hanout, Moorish style. The Arabic script across the plate in ras al hanout spells arabesque, the name of the dish. There are several references to Middle Eastern food strewn about the Rivera menu: ras al hanout, preserved lemons, eggplant, Moorish spices, medjool dates. The Moors conquest of the Iberian peninsula in 711 brought many Middle Eastern food stuffs to Spain, including cumin, olives coriander, aniseed, saffron and more. The fact that Tarifa at the tip of Spain is only 15 km from Morocco across the Straits of Gibralter doesn't exactly inhibit the cultural drift that makes Spanish food both so beautifully diverse and pungently flavorful. Rivera's menu reflects both the varied flavors found in Spain and also the central American food we Los Angelenos know and love so well, elevating ingredients to levels of elegance while still offering flavors that are often familiar and comforting. Wrapping up my tangent, the scallops were wonderful.

Things remain exactly as we left them last time at Rivera. Delicious.

Fat Spoon in Little Tokyo: Eat It

2011-11-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

Fat Spoon
329 E. 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-621-7890

Last night we met A & J in Little Tokyo for some cheap ass Japanese fusion at Fat Spoon from Michael Cardenas. Cardenas also brought us Little Tokyo stand-outs Aburiya Toranoko and The Lazy Ox Canteen , The Lazy Ox having made in onto J. Gold's 2011 99. It houses the space that used to store East, the ever so slightly grungy discount sushi bar with special salmon and tuna nights. We are sad to see East go, one of the random non-corporate non-chain spots that make Little Tokyo an adventure (especially when the lines at Daikokuya are too long, which they almost always are, and which J. Gold took off the list this year). I bird-walk. If I had to give up East (where my own personal bamboo sake cup lived, but I didn't really go to very often), I am happy to give it up for Fat Spoon. Fat Spoon is a win.

These prices are great! So thrilled to have someplace new and nearby to eat where I won't have to even consider my wallet. I really wanted to try the uni pasta, but I am doing the Paleo diet with a more than moderate degree of fidelity so pasta is off my personal menu for now (although I did have a few bites of everything on the table, so this would be considered my cheat meal for the weekend). Really, there is nothing more boring than hearing someone talk about their diet. Oh, yes there is. Hearing someone talk about their weight or their own opinions incessantly. The latter of which is basically what a blog is, feel free to log off if you're bored.

Above, see the salads. These are entree salads, large enough for a meal for one or excellent for sharing family style. A couple dining at a table nearby shared one salad and one pasta dish, which makes perfect sense.

The pastas also are pretty large. D has a monstrous appetite and put his pasta in its place. Ang took a lot of hers home. One of the reasons I am loving Fat Spoon this morning is the intriguing ingredients on the regular and specials menus. Uni, salted cod roe, shiso, pancetta, pomodoro, kobe beef, jidori chicken, beef tongue, squid ink, and so on and so forth.

Curry list.

And a list of east/west sides, irresistible. French fried potatoes with curry salt is definitely going to be on the table at my next visit, and I will plan ahead to make it a cheat meal (I already know what my main course is going to be).

Uni croquettes. Perfectly golden fried, with a slightly bitter dipping sauce.

The combination of the creamy uni croquette filling and crunch was foiled perfectly against the dark savory/sweet bitterness of the dipping sauce. Inside the croquette was definitely uni-esque but not overly so. I think uni texture and flavor can be easily diminished, when I play with it I don't like to do much to it. But these were good, nevertheless.

Ang ordered the Hijiki salad, with hijiki (seaweed) and renkon (lotus), eda mame, daikon, red onions and so on in a soy ginger dressing. A huge hit with this one. Again, don't be deceived by the photo, this was huge. We all had heaping small plates of this salad as a starter. One of the best dishes at the table, lots of crunch and flavor.

I'm a little meh on the pumpkin soup. Luxuriously rich, this is clearly made with heavy cream and lots of it. I don't really have anything against a dairy based soup. I don't eat them out usually or cook them at home, but I like the way they taste. The problem with this one is that it wasn't super flavorful. It tasted pumpkiny, but not overtly earthily so. And there wasn't anything interesting to spice it up, sweet or savory-wise. But it wasn't bad. Creamy pumpkin soup.

J was torn between the tonkatsu curry and the tonkatsu sandwich. Our server tried to steer him in the direction of the curry, but J was leaning toward to sandwich. Again, another huge portion. J did not finish it, merely because of the size, despite really liking the flavor. He did not finish his meat, ergo he did not get any pudding.

Leave it to D to order the same old same old when faced with an interesting menu. Just like his brother. Seafood pasta in pomodoro sauce. He chowed like it was his last meal. Hmph. He is going to start going to Fat Spoon in Little Tokyo when I am out of town for work just for to eat this dish. I foresee this, mark my prophesy.

Short rib curry. So good, so spicy. Not too spicy, but definitely packs a punch. J thought the curry on his sandwich was very spicy, so if it was the same curry, it's a perspective issue. Nevertheless, this was rich and flavorful and I would happily eat it again. I ordered it with a simple side of steamed veggies instead of rice, and next time I think I will ask them to pour the curry over the veggies. I didn't think of it til just now but with that beautiful curry covering it, I would definitely finish all my veg.

For my palate, salted cod roe pasta was the dish of the evening. Tarako pasta with cream, a pile of nori and lots of green onions. A traditional recipe doesn't call for cream, but the cream in this added a lovely richness. Salty, rich, with that little crunch of the roe...omg I am in love with this dish! Not only am I going to return for this dish when I really need a giant plate of pasta, but I am going to recreate this at home, tonight, using spaghetti squash. This is good, if you go to Fat Spoon, you or someone at the table must order this and eat.

The meal was not flawless, but it rates a solid better than average. Because of the casual atmosphere, the low price point, the intriguing mixture of ingredients and preparations, I will be back and often. This is going to be commonplace dining for FST and company. Fat Spoon, you had me at bunny placemat.

Trader Joe's: Drink This Not That With Your Roasted Garbanzos

2011-10-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here the other night I was cooking up some spaghetti squash and roasted garbanzo beans, so I swung by Trader Joe's for inexpensive wine to drink. Anyone following this blog closely knows of my love for central coast red wines. Trader Joe's always has a few in stock, so I grabbed two bottles of red (syrah and a petite sirah) at the same price point. Fun!

Drink this:

2009 St. Somewhere Syrah. $9.99 worth of delicious. A fuller bodied syrah, with hints of jam but on the dry side for a syrah. I would definitely not only buy this again, but buy several bottles to keep in the house for whatevs.

Don't drink that:

Trader Joe's label 2010 Petite Sirah. Candy in a bottle. I will be saving this opened and unfinished bottle of pancake syrup for use in cooking, or even more likely to make hot mulled wine when/if it ever cools off in Los Angeles for the winter.

Make some roasted garbanzo beans to munch with your wine. This is the easiest thing to make on the planet. You can literally use whatever herbs and spices suit your fancy or you happen to have on hand. Roast in the oven until they reach desired crispness for a sophisticated bar snack.

Rinse garbanzos in a colander until the starchy thick canning fluid is rinsed down the drain.

Toss on cookie sheet.

By hand, I mix the beans with about a tablespoon of olive oil per can. On the night in question, officer, I tossed also with cumin, smoked paprika, and Lawry's season salt. Taste the uncooked beans as you season, add a little at a time, you can always add more.

Spread one bean deep across a cookie sheet. Bake at 350f for about an hour. I like mine to retain a little moisture so they're not too crunchy. Dryer than a little al dente, but not much.

Serve up in little ramekins, drink and crunch at will.

The Jolly Oyster on the Beach

2011-10-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

The Jolly Oyster

San Buenaventura Park

911 San Pedro Street

Ventura, CA 93001

805-798-4944

When life (work) gives you travel and lots of it, life (work) also gives you the opportunity to eat stuff and things in places far and wide. Taking advantage of this has become one of the joys of my job...if I have to be away from husband, dog and hearth I better be enjoying an array of new dining experiences. This last Sunday it was The Jolly Oyster on the beach in Ventura. The wonderful D was kind enough to follow me the 60 odd miles in his own car to suck down some shellfish before heading back south to LA.

Beachside, between the parking lot and the sand, lies The Jolly Oyster selling their wares farmer's market style. Kumamotos and Pacific oysters, and raw clams by the pound. By farmer's market style, I mean they simply sell the bivalves, not bread, nor fixings nor beverages beyond water. They'll sell you a shucker and they are located next to a picnic area with BBQs. So bring a pan, some butter and wine for steaming some clams, a loaf of crusty bread for dipping and whatever your oyster accompaniment poison.

We purchased a couple dozen kumamotos. The generous and knowledgeable proprietrix threw in a few Pacific oysters and a juicy lemon. Granted, we came a little underprepared.

Medium Pacific oyster. A larger, flatter oyster, tougher to shuck but so delicious. Oysters are truly a strange creature. If you think about it.

Quartet of kumamotos.

We had a giant plate of oysters in front of us, one tennis towel and one shucker. I shucked and we ate, shucked and ate, shucked and ate and repeated a few more times. Please note the little plastic ramekin of Tapatio...my lips were en fuego for the rest of my drive north.

They offer gift certificates, which is a cool little stocking stuffer for the gastronomically adventurous on your Christmas list.

D mentioned over and over and over that these were the freshest oysters he had ever eaten. The oysters are harvested from farms in Laguna Manuela and San Quntin in Baja California. The Ventura County Star reports, both farms are located in unpopulated areas far from any agricultural runoff.

Things to remember for next time: the park is booze friendly, tote in your own. Next time, I am bringing a bottle of cava. There are BBQ grills. I will bring briquettes, a pan, a little white wine and butter to steam some clams and La Brea Bakery ciabatta for dipping. BBQ sauce with which to grill the Pacific oysters, and a few lemons from my own tree for squirting on a kumamoto, the world's most perfect oyster.

J'ai Soif! Soif Wine Bar in Santa Cruz

2011-10-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

Soif
105 Walnut Avenue
Santa Cruz, Ca 95060
831-423-2020

Sometimes I get to go to fun places for work. Truth. I pulled into Santa Cruz after a day in Redwood City and that long, winding beautiful drive through the Santa Cruz mountains, checked into the hotel, sweated my way through a session in the local 24 Hour weight room amongst the thick neck muscle building crowd, and took my still damp self straight to Soif Wine Bar downtown. Run-on sentences and sweatiness be damned!

I had a few Chowhound recs for Santa Cruz in my pocket via this semi-contentious thread. I stopped posting in Chowhound because I found the contentious/pretentiousness makes it less fun, but I still use it as a resource when I am traveling and want the best advice.

As I settled into a bar stool, I overheard staff mentioning a Nebbiolo flight, my ears perked right up. I have been LOVING a Nebbiolo this summer from Lone Madrone in Paso Robles. A fun little adventure to taste the stuff from its country of origin, Italy.

Sipping Nebbiolo in order from left to right, like we read a book.

The last was far and away the best. I whole glassed this one after I finished the flight. It wasn't cheap. I found a nibble and sip and Soif can be as inexpensive or as spendy as you make it if you watch your prices. I didn't and I learned my lesson. Eep. I was visiting on Tapas Tuesday; all my plates but one were very inexpensive. Next time I will more closely heed my beverage costs. (Above, my iPad sneaks its way into the shot. She's an attention whore.)

On Tuesdays, not only does Soif have a special tapas menu, they have live jazz in the corner and it was pretty fabulous.

I started healthily with baby lettuces, beets and Pt. Reyes bleu. What's to argue with here?

The man attending to me at the bar (owner?) suggested clams and chorizo from the tapas menu, small but at $3 a bargain. This pairing is perfection.

With my remaining Nebbiolo, he suggested the curried cauliflower. Delicious with a nice char but on the oily side. Salt and oil, to be expected when eating tapas for sure.

Apres le workout, I was wanting more protein, ergo lamb meatballs on a nice little aoili-like sauce. It wasn't aioli, not as creamy. Some kind of puree. I'll be honest here, I found the service extremely efficient but a tad on the chilly side. I was dining solo (with my iPad, but I hardly consider that another person, ~~kind of~~ not really) and asked a few questions here and there, yet still felt a hesitance to engage on the part of the folks behind the bar. Could be the culture of the restaurant, could have been my sweat. So, I do not know what lies beneath the lamb meatballs. I do know the meatballs and either the cauliflower or the salad was enough for a meal. I left about a tapas course beyond satiated.

Despite the aloof bedside manner, I would go back again. I visit Santa Cruz for work a few times this winter (forever alone). I'm completely open to dining suggestions, but Tapas Tuesdays with live jazz is hard to beat, even without conversation.

Pork Belly Eggs Benedict at Olivia in Austin, Texas

2011-10-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

Olivia
2043 So. Lamar
Austin, Texas 78704
512-804-2700

I had fun this weekend in Austin playing with Hipstamatic for iPhone. Initially downloaded years ago around the time I got my first DSLR, Hipstamatic was definitely the ignored step child in terms of what I chose to use for snaps during that time. This weekend, the Nikon made it out of my bag for a couple shots of the beautiful Greyhounds, but the Hipstamatic app got lots of play. I am going to admit it's not great for food shots in terms of clarity and toothsome looking pics, but it's moody and fun. In these shots, Kamal lens and Kodot xGrizzled film.

We brunched en masse at Olivia in Austin, Kristine's choice. Kristine's choices in restaurants, let me tell you about them. She has a nose for what's just perfect. Not just food wise, she's also interested in atmosphere and a well balanced menu that will perfectly appeal to whatever diverse group is dining. A couple people asked me if I had looked them up online or checked out the menu, I said no. When Kristine is handling something, Kristine handles something. Always. Olivia in southwest Austin was perfect!

Mimosas: pomegranate in the foreground, blood orange in the rear. Olivia is much heralded in the media. In 2009, Bon Appetit included Olivia in its list of top ten new restaurants in the U.S. This link gives you their recipe for beef with pears and fresh ginger.

Deviled farm eggs with wasabi roe. This is roe that is not roe, roe, roe. Instead they are made using the MG technology for caviar. Here my friend Joe of My Last Bite shows you how it's done. At any rate, the eggs were delicious with just the right wasabi punch! We shared 3 orders for the table.

Bacon is bacon is bacon except this is amazebacon. Huge strips cooked just barely beyond crisp, house cured.

Cara's (and everyone else's) Taff's southern sticky bun. I don't know who Taff is, but that creamy sugary icing was generous and irresistible.

Smoked grouda grits. I can't even....I couldn't. I didn't try to restrain myself from enjoying these. I pretty much did a face plant into this giant bowl of cheesy goodness.

To my left, John and Karla ordered the chicken fried steak. This shot does not do it justice, partially because of the bright late morning light shining behind us in from underneath the back porch canopy and partially because I was too lazy to move and improve the shot. Food blogger fail. About 8 oz of steak chicken fried in fluffy yet crisp batter, gargantuan mound of mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs. This is some Texas sized food.

I admit to food envy here. Cara's Lamar MacDaddy Muffin Sandwich with bbq pulled pork, scrambled egg, Swiss cheese, garden greens all on a homemade English muffin with a mound of fries all the babies nommed onto. This is like an advanced Egg McMuffin, bigger, better, more but also made elegant with greens grown in a garden about 50 feet directly behind our table.

About half the table ordered some variation of the Eggs Benedict. Kristine, Brian and I all ordered this version. Pork rillon Benedict with maple hollandaise and an herb salad, rillons made from pork belly. Outstanding pork belly and only slightly sweetened hollandaise made special with maple syrup, the only disappointment at the table was the muffin. It was more cakey than flakey (as Cara said, I think) and I didn't love. Poached eggs? I would eat them on literally anything. Pork belly rillons, slightly crispy and wonderful. Herb salad lended a verdant touch to every bite. But the muffin fell flat. Disappoint. I ate more grits instead of the muffin so the meal was still a win.

This was a lovely Sunday morning group brunch...three beautiful babies at the table and one gorgeous woman with a bun in the oven (my friend Jess). Kristine's cousin Shelley posted more snaps on her photography blog, Shelley Moon Photography. The morning was sunny, the food was plentiful and everyone was happy...one of those perfect moments in life.

Thank you, Olivia, for the wonderful food, terrific service and free reign to frolic in your back garden. I better not hear any of you snickering, you know who you are.

Weekend Long House Party in Austin

2011-10-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took a break from my work related travel and flew south to Texas for a weekend of friendship, food and basic slothfulness. We had plans for Austin domination: river kayaking, live music, the bat experience, etc and so on. But all 11 of us (more or less at different times) just lounged around the Austin compound eating, talking, laughing and enjoying the pleasure of one anothers' company.

We watched the greyhounds and they watched us. Above is Laika, below Beebs.

I finally managed an early morning Momo sighting, she hid from us all weekend coming out only for an early morning cuddle session on the date of departure.

Watching your friends have children and the ways it profoundly changes their lives is such an interesting experience. I didn't manage to capture a worthy snap of Miles, but Lily isn't quite so camera shy.

I know Austin to be a diverse and musical city, but nothing outside the doors of Elaine and John's house held any more interest for me than the company I kept behind them. Thank you for hosting, E & J. I'll be back again sometime soon.

Il Cortile:

2011-10-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

Il Cortile
608 12th Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446
805-226-0300

This meal was a few weeks back, late summer in Paso Robles all on my lonesome. A few of my clients have raved about Il Cortile as being the best restaurant in town. In a town with as much great food as Paso Robles, this is no small praise.

It was Claudia's fault that I was craving cava that week. (Everything is Claudia's fault). We had spent time at City Sip the previous Saturday and as usual she ordered up a glass of fizz. Being the envious type I decided I needed cava too. I was on a cava bender for weeks afterward. My point? Il Cortile is Italian and they did not have cava, dammit. They had a nice prosecco though, and it just had to do.

I sat at the bar keeping company with owner Carole and a non-local regular who stops in for dinner with Carole and crew every time he drives through central coastal California. Above, grilled asparagus, locally produced balsamic, and burrata sourced at Gioia in El Monte.

The second half of my meal was an olive oil drizzled grilled octopus with a perfect char. Underneath were grilled vegetables with such delicious simplicity I asked for a side plate.

Great conversation, sublime food and a little fizz are the perfect cure for mild loneliness born of too much travel and not enough nights in my own bed. I plan to swing back by Il Cortile later this month, for medicinal purposes, naturally.

Three Tastes as the Sun Sets in Palm Springs

2011-09-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

Staying overnight at the Colony Palms on business this week, I wish I had a playmate to keep me company. We'd have a go at the enemy ball with an Irish peel wearing post-Labour Day white linen, a G&T in one hand and a mallet in the other.

Taste with your eyes.

Solo, a Grey Goose martini and an English text were my solace.

It was just the one night.

Wine Tasting Paso Robles: Di Raimondos, Lone Madrone, Oso Libre

2011-09-23T02:57:00.000-07:00

Di Raimondos Italian Market
822 13th Street
Paso Robles, CA
805-238-1268

Working in Paso Robles on a very regular basis over the past year and a half has its perks. Great wine and lots of it, delicious food and truly amazing kind people who have helped make me feel like Paso really is a second home. This last trip, Mom met me a day early for wine tasting, a picnic and general merriment. We both arrived mid-afternoon and headed straight for Di Raimondos Italian market for a few items to bolster our lunch goods.

Di Raimondos is mostly a cheese shop, but they also carry lots of Italian goods, like a nice selection of olive oils, balsamic vinegars, olives in bulk and so on. Above is their soft and goat cheese case.

The bleu cheese case that houses my love, cambazola.

A gorgeous selection of harder cheeses. One of the things I loved about the owner was that even if we were decided on buying a cheese, as soon as she unwrapped it to cut it she gave us a taste just for fun. It's cheese, when isn't a taste of cheese fun?

This bread. They only had a few loaves of this delicious bread in stock, probably because it was a Monday. Lightly dusted in cornmeal on the bottom and fairly heavily dressed with sea salt on top, this bread is off the chain, as my friend Carrie would say.

The picnic. To the far right is a gorgeous slightly firm Italian taleggio, in the middle is my friend a French cambazola, and on the left is a soft goaty cheese from somewhere on the European continent.

Mom's fruit salad. This is a wow dish. Raspberries, mango, honeydew and a fruity sauce of ginger and mint with just a touch of sugar.

We picnicked on the grounds of my current favorite winery, Lone Madrone, after wine tasting. The kind folks at Lone Madrone introduced me a couple months back to Nebbiolo, an Italian varietal. When done well, it has an almost truffley bouquet and tastes beautiful. More earthy than a syrah, deeper than a pinot noir which is currently a little out of my palate's favor at the minute. We bought a bottle to drink at Lone Madrone's shaded picnic tables.

Making friends and influencing people at Turley, where they specialize in zins.

Our last stop of the wine tasting journey was Oso Libre. I'm going to be honest here, by this time I was ~~kinda tipsy~~ suffering from palate burn out. However, the last wine I tasted at Oso Libre seemed like it was probably good, so a bottle made its way home with me for future cracking open.

I adore the tasting room at Oso Libre. It's bright, fresh, modern and artsy in a very youthful way.

The father and son ownership team and their dogs were hanging out chatting with us. I have to admit their dogs were as charmingly well trained and handsome as their owners.

Both dogs are trained to run around the tasting room patios, visit with guests, play with toys and stand at the open door of the tasting room without entering. Good dogs!

Like most wineries, Oso Libre has a wine club. What I thought was fun is that they also have a meat club. They have grass fed Black Angus beef on the property, and while the prime cuts go to the club, the leftovers such as fajitas meat, some oxtails here and there, and some other very nice cuts still make it into the freezer for purchase in the tasting room.

The marrow bones tempted me. I have been wanting to roast them in my oven with olive oil and parsley. However, my hotel room has a fridge but no freezer, and etc.

The Oso Libre website will tell their story of sustainable agriculture and a commitment to grid free energy better than I can during a 2 am bout of insomnia. Here is a blurb from their site:

Preserving our environment, we proudly utilize sustainable agricultural practices and renewable energy strategies. Olde English Babydoll sheep, grass fed Black Angus and free range chickens all work together to tend our vine rows and graze land. Our Babydoll sheep program was implemented strictly for our vineyard maintenance in accordance with our sustainable farming practices. Thanks to the sheep’s small size and robust character these remarkable little full time workers graze our vineyards and are ideal for organic weed abatement, fertilization and soil management. As an adjunct, our free-range chickens are social partners to our sheep and cattle and assist in providing nutrients, fertilization and insect control to our vineyard. These charming allies all help to reduce our dependence on energy consumption and pesticides. When you visit our tasting room, we believe you too will be captivated by their presence and work ethic.

The wind and sun supply over 100% of our electricity for our winery. We conserve energy by proudly utilizing our progressive Wind Energy Conversion Facility (WECF) or windmill, 77 solar panels, and our electric all- terrain vehicles.

In conjunction with our vineyards and winery, Oso Libre is a traditional San Luis Obispo cattle ranch. Our Black Angus cattle are free range, grass fed, hormone free animals. We are excited about the future of our Angus beef program.

Next time I wine taste in Paso, I am hitting Oso Libre first when ~~I am sober~~ my palate is fresh so I can offer their wines the tasting they deserve. I was charmed by the people, the atmosphere and their story.

Recreating Canele's Fried Farro & Poached Eggs

2011-09-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

I categorically should not be blogging right now. There are a million and one things I need to do to prep for my trip this week including planning a lesson for 35 eighth grade kids on the original intent of passages of the Declaration of Independence (that funky old language is a hindrance to the comprehension of this text messaging generation) and a second lesson for 30 adults on something as yet undecided in physical science. However this breakfast was such a success, I couldn't wait to share.

A few weeks back when my friend Jessica was in town we went to Canele in Atwater Village for brunch and I love love loved their fried farro. Several people think Canele is the best brunch in town and I would agree with the sole reservation being that I am not super brunchy. I prefer to stay home and cook most weekend mornings. At any rate, I had planned to take Karla to Canele for this amazebrunch, already with the fried farro in mind since I am a repeat orderer. After an epic Saturday evening that started at El Compadre and ended at Three Clubs with stop offs at The Tasting Kitchen, a Furious Seasons show, Boa, and some very drunk and very friendly stranger's bachelorette party at Trousdale we ended up spending Sunday morning asleep instead of at Canele. But I was determined to have my fried farro with poached eggs. Time to cook!

This recipe was conceived in my head as I progressed, so just follow along.

Cook farro according to package directions, drain and set aside. Canele has the most amazing bacon in their fried farro, it was chunky like a lardon and melted in my mouth. I used the thickest cut bacon I could find, which I surprisingly found at the ghetto Von's by my house. Cook until just before crisp. I wanted a meaty texture, not crunchy.

After cooking the bacon, set aside on paper towels to drain and cool. Reserve a couple tablespoons of bacon fat in the hot pan, toss the rest. Throw in the garlic briefly, let it brown slightly.

The allium genus trifecta: shallots, garlic and green onions. Add shallots to the pan and any vegetable matter you might fancy. Canele's fried farro had kale, but if I wasn't making it to Canele I most certainly wasn't going to the grocery store. I cleaned out the produce drawer in the fridge coming up with crookneck squash and a zucchini.

Chop vegetables into small pieces appropriate for a fried rice dish, small cubes. My cubes were smaller then they look in this snap.

Add veg to pan and saute for maybe ten minutes or so. You want to cook it past the soggy point, some of the water in the vegetables you use will preferably cook off so your veg mass will be fairly dry and maybe even ever so slightly caramelized on the outside with the shallots, garlic and bacon fat making an almost sticky consistency.

Add the farro and bacon.

Cook stirring frequently until the grain starts slightly sticking to the bottom of the pan. Scrape all grain from the pan, the scrapey bits are pure heaven. Eat with your fingers when no one is looking.

Top with two perfectly poached eggs and eat now.

I admit mine is not as good as Canele's. D and Karla both commented there's no way Canele's fried farro is better but a) they were hungover and someone was cooking for them while they lounged around the house and b) they haven't had Canele's. Canele's has a special flavor from something I didn't identify at the time and cannot remember. I do remember it had a nice roasted garlic flavor. Last week I even roasted some garlic for this purpose and set it aside, garlic which I am sure made it into the garbage during my absence in Paso Robles last week. Nevermind, my outcome was delicious and will definitely be repeated chez moi some other Sunday morning.

Nocturnal Urban Hiking: Bario Gotico, Barcelona

2011-09-17T04:01:00.000-07:00

The Gothic Quarter in Barcelona is the heart of the oldest architecture in the city. The neighborhood used to be a Roman village, some buildings and streets dating back to pre-medieval times. You will see the remains of a Roman wall to the north of the district. Within the district lie important sites such as the Avinguda de la Catedral, the Placa Reial and its stunning arcade teeming with tourists but more notably youth from midnight until the sun comes up, and El Call the medieval Jewish quarter. Personally, I was most truck with the labyrinthine nature of the ancient streets where it is nearly impossible to catch your bearings as you wind through them during the evening. Many streets house a couple tiny bars, cafes, ice cream shops open at night. If you wander down the wrong cobblestoned direction, you may find yourself in desolate corridors of tall old buildings darkly lit by lanterns or candles on the ground. What follows are some snaps taken during a night of wandering.

Above and below, different views of one of the many small plazas the streets open into.

I could easily see myself drawn to this quarter for living...D and I fantasized about cashing in our chips and running a small bar, jut us and the J, living above one of these tiny streets.

I'm not going to lie and say it felt perfectly safe. As we took some ill informed turns there were moments that felt decidedly sinister with certain ne'er do well groups behaving just dastardly enough to make D uncomfortable.

Then occasionally you happen past an inviting and beautifully lit restaurant, tapas bar or cafe.

A row of scooters or an automated bicycle rental rack are always signs of population. If you can find your directional bearings and head west you will most likely spill back onto La Rambla and the familiarity there.

Three Tastes

2011-09-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, sipping a few skinny margaritas with my mate JAF. The skinny margarita is not about the calories, it's about fresh lime flavor not being overpowered by sweet & sour or some nasty mix. If you're not a believer, try one. Pop in to El Compadre in Echo Park and see Danny.

If you aren't going to eat before or during the drinking of said skinny margaritas, you can always stop on by the bacon wrapped hot dog cart at the corner of Sunset and Portia. This never agrees with my tummy the way they agree with my taste buds, and my taste buds tend to do the talking after a little tequila.

Saturday night we stopped into City Sip; Wine for the People with our good friend Claudia. They have changed their white bean puree crostini a little this year, but they're still delicious. White bean puree, arugula, cherry tomatoes and a little goat cheese. A highlight of my Saturday evening stroll.

LaOn: Small Plates in KTown

2011-09-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

LaOn Dining
1145 S. Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006
323-373-0700

My friend C is an incredibly adventurous diner. In the sense that she always wants to try what's new and novel, not in the sense that she'll eat anything. As a matter of fact, she won't eat almost anything, she's very specific about what she'll eat. C chose LaOn for us because it's new and supposedly has a pescetarian-friendly Korean BBQ-esque menu. I am going to say that LaOn is pescetarian-possible rather than friendly. Several dishes on the menu looked like they would be meat free but weren't. However, since I am decidedly a meat and fish and vegetable and fruit eating omnivore, I was in a pretty happy place. I can eat whatever the eff I want to. And I did, and I liked it. I don't think C went home hungry either.

LaOn is sleekly trendy, nothing over the top, fairly simple actually. Attached to co-owned Don Dae Gam Pork restaurant with the saucy pink pig on the sign looking down on dark Western Ave, they share a valet and a bathroom.

LaOn: emotion of great delight or happiness; exceptionally satisfying.

I was a little disappointed in the cold sake list. LaOn sells Nigori unflitered for ten bones a small bottle then immediately jumps up to $55 for Kubota Senju and from there on up. Not that Kubota Senju isn't worth the money. It's a wonderful sake. But I would have liked seeing something in between the $10 and $55 price points. I like unfiltered sakes like Nigori, indeed I went through a whole unfiltered sake phase. But nowadays I am not always in the mood. Some other options would be nice. That's all.

Simplicity in the banchan: spicy pickles and a tomatoey kimchee, both totally delicious.

Above, Salted Fingerlings. Small skin-on salted baby potatoes with a verde sauce that tasted mostly of cilantro. Yum.

It's really hard to see what this is from the above snap. It was chilled cucumbers kind of folded over topped with beef, two kinds of mushrooms, enoki and shiitake, and a little egg. Supposedly delicious, all tasting parties reported. And now that I think about it, everyone but me tasted it which means they all ate a little meat. :-/

The above sea bass dish was wonderful. Grilled in a dark sweet/savory sauce with chestnuts, gingko, dates and an asparagus spear.

LaOn is technically a small plates/Korean tapas place, however they do have giant vents over each table and if you order from the Hwa Ro part of the menu, they bring out a miniature grill to the table.

Shrimp, squid, enoki mushrooms, marinated boneless short rib and unmarinated skirt steak there to the bottom left.

Scallop skewers with BBQ sauce. Does anyone ever actually spell out the word barbecue anymore?

Spicy pork wrapped asparagus. This was a beautiful little taste. I would have preferred to have a few more vegetable options on the menu without meat but this was a stand out taste of the evening. I'll take my veggies wrapped in meat if I have to. Meat good.

Actually, this dish might have been the highlight of the night. There are three that really struck a chord, the sea bass, the pork wrapped asparagus and the above. Our server suggested this.

Sizzling stone hot pot with crackling rice and five kinds of fish egg. I would return just for this.

This is a sneaky little item. I had already ordered enough meat for D and I. With Korean food twice in one week, we have been on a beef tangent. This sounded vegetarian, but had sneaky bits and pieces of meat smuggled into its Korean yummy-ness. Japchae. Stir fried vegetables with clear glass rice noodles. Really delicious sounding and tasting but there was beef in it, the pieces were tiny, but still.

The chef sent out dessert to our table. Totally weird but completely good. To the left was mochi. One little chocolate mochi ball and behind it is a flat piece of mochi that had some caramelized sugar on the outside. Wow! And a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on the right. The creaminess of the ice cream balanced the caramelized mochi beautifully. Thank you, chef!

I have been on the hunt in the last few weeks for a fun restaurant with a private dining room. LaOn has such a space, a long table for about 14 people with three ventilation units above all wrapped in a black plexiglass wall of semi-privacy. While it is too small for my needs, I highly rec this for a dinner party. It's fun and interactive, like all Korean BBQ places. I adore the engaging nature of playing with one's food. And LaOn is a little more sleek than most BBQ places in the neighborhood. It's not filled with families and kids running between tables (which I don't mind at all in the right time and place). It feels youthful and fresh without being overly trendy.

Soft Opening at The Roof with Eric Greenspan and Michael Tipps

2011-09-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

The Roof
The Hotel Wilshire
6317 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Last night, T, D & I had the pleasure of taking in the soft opening of The Roof, the brand spanking new rooftop lounge at the brand spanking new Hotel Wilshire. Eric Greenspan (still running The Foundry, and formerly cooking at El Bulli, Alain Ducasse and Patina) is cooking the food and Michael Tipps (seen on Bar Rescue and previously tending at Soho & Tribeca Grands and Milk & Honey)is heading up the cocktail program.

The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on the 6th floor with beautiful views. I highly suggest a swing by at sunset. During this late summer/early fall the sun is setting right around 7, get in there.

With a smallish pool area appropriate to a smallish hotel (78 rooms, iirc) the deck is set up as equally well for lounging, drinking and dining as it is for sunbathing.

As I strolled around shooting phone pics, I envisioned PYTs draped over every loungeable service and the young men who chase them smoking a cigar or posing next to a heat lamp. This could really be the next hot spot, the next stop for the increasingly popular all day pool party. Indeed, there were already a couple celebs in the house for the soft opening enjoying the views and the stellar drinks.

The build out in the bar is a gorgeous almost art deco mix of mirrored and glass tiles with sleekly simple chairs and bar stools.

But what do I really care about? The food!

We were informed that this really is a soft opening and the menu isn't set in stone. Eric and team have been working non-stop for the last week (they literally just got into the space to set up the restaurant in short order for the soft opening). Still, there are some outstanding items already on the menu when coupled with the space and the drinks definitely makes The Roof destination worthy.

Cocktail list above.

T started with The Cue Southside. Vodka, cucumber, mint and lime. Just sweet enough and beautifully summery...the southeast Asian flavors in this make it a perfect summer drink. After our martinis, D and I both had one as well. That good.

Nori nachos were a stand out. Tuna, avocado, salmon roe and kewpie mayo scooped up with deep fried nori. Why have I never seen this done? We almost licked the plate.

Asparagus three ways. I am not sure I understand the three-ways bit, but only because I think the description got lost in the shuffle. I wanted one of these to myself. Grilled asparagus, poached asparagus cut on the bias and an asparagus puree (I think) with cherry tomatoes and parm shavings. A beautiful veggie dish. I always am excited by chefs who give equal importance to the vegetables on the table. This is a winner.

The menu hit its highest note, in my opinion, with the Parisian gnocci. I have never eaten a more perfect gnocci. Firm almost to the tooth on the outside with an incredibly fluffy pillowy texture on the inside. Tossed in pesto, capers cherry tomatoes and red seedless grapes, Mediterranean flavors mixed nicely here with perfect attention to gnocci technique. Gimme more, please.

Baked potato fries. Thick wedge cut potatoes with cheese, bacon dust (which to me was really just like, um, bacon?) and sour cream with chives. Delicious, I thought it needed salt but I think everything needs salt. I carry around a salt lick in my handbag. I do. No, I do not.

The rest of my snaps suck because by the time we went in for round two of food and drinks the sun had set. Above are the mussels. Absinthe steamed mussels with fennel, cherry tomatoes and mustard croutons. I was introduced to steamed mussels in a classic prep with Pernod and cream when I worked at a seafood restaurant in SOMA San Francisco. Therefore, despite disliking licorice candies I adore the flavor of a little licorice with my mussels. These were perfectly steamed, still so tender, and just the right hint of absinthe to give the dish pop.

Sticky chicken wings with peanuts, chile and tamarind sauce. T and D agreed this was their favorite. A self admitted wing fanatic, I loved these too. But I actually think the Parisian gnocci was my favorite dish of the night.

Toward the end of the evening as we were getting ready to head out into the Los Angeles night, Michael Tipps came around to chat with us about cocktail likes and dislikes, east versus west coast cocktail approaches and just booze in general. After our chats, he sent out the following drinks: above, my Vargas Bramble made with gin, creme de cassis, lemon juice, blackberries and sparkling wine.

T's personalized poison, vodka with heavy citrus rind, grapefruit juice and something that fizzed, maybe soda water?

And D's Vallon. Irish whiskey, bitters, sugar and a slice of orange. Michael made sure to add very little sugar, just a hint of sweetness and a few sparkling crystals on the rind of orange. Favorite things about Michael's drinks? The flavors are alcohol forward but still fruity and/or herbaceous. Never sweet and cloying or anything you would need to knock back as a shot.

All in all, I was thrilled by The Roof. I have plans to go back this week. No lie.

AYCE Korean BBQ at Soot Bul Gui Rim 2

2011-09-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

Soot Bul Gui Rim 2
233 S. Vermont Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
213-365-9992

Friday night making dinner plans with my husband, his brother and my sister-in-law, I was in the mood for something adventurous and interactive. It just so happened whilst making these plans I was heading eastward on Pico right through my old K-town stomping grounds. Korean BBQ. Hadn't done that in awhile I thought to myself. I consulted my Asian food guru Tony C of Sinosoul. Tony has literally never steered me wrong, and there have been PLENTY of consultations. I owe this guy lunch. Anyway, Soot Bul Gui Rim was not his rec. His recs either didn't take reservations or were already booked, so we ended up here and I'm glad we did. It was fun and pretty damn good.

D and I started off with some soju, Yipsejoo. Yipsejoo is not on this blogger's top five list and I love how one Chowhounder refers to soju in general as "ghetto alcohol". I've had soju more than a few times and ultimately prefer sake. But Yipsejoo was fairly dry and preferable to the Jinro Fresh I tasted later at Cafe Bleu down the road.

Dipping sauce for the meats and the start of the banchan, an egg pancake with scallions and a little kimchee. One of the reasons I chose Soot Bul Gui Rim was the price point. All you can eat BBQ for $17.50 a head. I've eaten at a few hole-in-the-wall Korean BBQ when I lived at 5th and Catalina. However, the most memorable Korean BBQ experiences I have had to date were at Chosan Galbee and Woo Lae Oak (back when WLO were still open in K-town). Both places have good food with significantly different approaches to banchan and with similarly high price points. It's all about picking and choosing when to spend big bucks dining these days, and we happily walked out of Soot Bul Gui Rim stuffed to the gils, entertained and only out about $25 a head including drinks.

I wasn't overly impressed with the banchan here. Banchan are the little shared dishes served at the table during a Korean meal. Every restaurant I have been to does them a little differently. Here, there wasn't a large choice and a couple of them were just meh in terms of excitement level. Both kimchee dishes were good, but not as spicy as some I have had. Above is kimchee pickles, very tasty. D loves anything pickled.

Above is the generally more recognized cabbage kimchee. This was really good. I wondered if they made it themselves and thought of asking but our server was super busy barely swinging by the table to drop off plates and light the fire under the BBQ. There was also a pureed potato salad dish that reminded the boys of San Fernando Valley circa 1978 and sauteed sprouts with a little sesame oil that I hogged all to myself. I'm a bitch like that.

The spread. Everything looked, smelled and tasted really fresh. The restaurant was busy and stayed that way the entire time we were there, something you look for when dining AYCE. Turn over in ingredients ensures that the stuff is fresh.

Blurry picture of marinated short ribs courtesy of iPhone and laziness. These were delicious! Probably my favorite of the evening, not as fatty as short ribs can sometimes be. Succulent and easy to chew.

Tissue thin beef, not marinated. We grilled these quickly and I dipped my medium-rare slices in my sweet soy mixture.

Chicken on the left and marinated squid on the right. The marinade on the squid was sweet and savory but no one else even touched it except me. The tentacles were far easier to manage eating-wise then the squid steaks because the steak part was just huge and unruly.

All up on my grill!

Mid-way through the meal our server dropped off this sizzling little bowl of scrambled eggs with scallions. Scrambled eggs with scallions. Nothing more. I don't think. Was I missing something here?

The atmosphere is nothing to write home about at Soot Bul Gui Rim, probably not for a special occasion or even a first date. But it was spotlessly clean, the crowd was mixed and friendly, the food tasted good and didn't leave our wallets light. I'd hit that again.

Late Summer at Drago Centro and the Taylor Swift Experience

2011-08-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday a very dear, dear friend came to town for a special one night only appearance. After spending the hot humid afternoon showing her LA's original Farmer's Market, we escaped the heat for an early and climatized late summer dinner at Drago Centro. Afterward, we took in a mega-concert at Staples. The two together made for an epic evening of intense experiences. A trifecta of sight, sound and taste.

Above, the amuse. Perfect tiny cubes of watermelon in a white balsamic drizzle with micro-basil. Pop goes the bright burst of flavor!

My starter was actually from the degustation menu. I almost always plead for something on their tasting menu as a starter. I guess I am that customer. They seemed pleased to oblige, so I don't care. Heirloom tomatoes with cuttlefish, arugula and dehydrated pesto. The highlight of the dish is the scoop of Bloody Mary granita on top. I made everyone taste. This salad epitomizes what I love about Drago's food. The best ingredients with classic Italian partnerships and something else just a little interesting. Not Jose Andres interesting, nothing that will overpower the Italian-ness of it all or put your life at risk. But just a little something to talk about.

For my entree, seared scallops on a tomato panzanella with zucchini, fresh and pureed arugula. The bread chunks under the scallops were perfectly soaked in cool watery tomato juice and the bright verdant mix of arugula textures have me scheming about how to recreate this in my own kitchen. Don't think I won't try.

The three of us lingered over coffee and dessert, not caring if we missed the opening act. We shared but didn't finish a chocolate mousse. I am eternally spoiled by my mother's cooking, and this case is no exception. Mom's mousse is much lighter than this, this was a mousse/cake hybrid. I'm really not sure what characterizes an Italian mousse as opposed to the mousse recipe my mom still makes that she has been carrying around with her from her gourmet supper parties in the seventies and early eighties. But hers stands out in my mind as the mousse against which all others shall be judged and found lacking. Taix on Sunset makes a mousse akin to my mother's. I once scooped out the lingering mousse along the sides of the bowl with my fingers, my husband was appalled and said so. Ooops.

The basil ice cream over crunchy chocolate cookie bits? Amazecream. So good I am thinking about exactly how to add basil essence to a creme anglaise next time I am ice cream making in Lake Havasu with Carrie. Best part of the dessert. The cookie bits held their crunch and the sweetened basil flavor, herbaceous and sweet at the same time.

The exclamation point on our day was the Taylor Swift concert. To the right of the middle of the photo you can see a bright white kinda square shaped thing floating through the darkness. That's Taylor in a basket swooping through the glitter and fireworks. I hadn't expected a show to rival the likes of Madonna and dozens of dancers in camouflage on yards of scaffolding extended above the crowds or J. Lo descending on a giant swing, but that's exactly what we got. I expected something a little more down home. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every minute. The combination of Vegas meta-musical, Disney Princess, Americana and pop concert is every tween's dream show. It might have been a bit much, but I enjoyed the music and the spectacle.

A Moment in Barceloneta

2011-08-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Barceloneta is a neighborhood running along the northwest of the port of Barcelona. Originally constructed in the 18th century to serve the residents of the Ribera neighborhood, the shops and restaurants along the boardwalk are now fairly modern looking. Barceloneta definitely has a locals feel to it. Just to the left of this photo between the boardwalk and the water is an unfenced dog park and along this sidewalk dozens of joggers and roller bladers pass by.

One evening we ventured into Barceloneta under the promise of fresh seafood, more than a little tired of the sodium laden pintxos and tapas. Prior to dining, we stopped for liquid refreshment at this kiosk.

Kiosks like this pepper the city wherever there is room on a sidewalk, near a museum or similar attraction. They sell ice cream, sandwiches & snacks, drinks & booze.

Bacardi & diet. I fantasize about running a small business like this, just me. Open everyday to serve locals and tourists. Putting out my aluminum chairs, napkins and menus everyday in the cool morning air.

We took a seat and enjoyed some liquid refreshment as we watched the city pass by.

The treatment of dogs all over really impressed me. There are dogs literally everywhere, in every neighborhood, accompanying every kind of person. I didn't see a single stray dog, dog without collar and only the occasional dog off leash following owner very closely. I love to think about the well cared for dogs of Barcelona.

Strolling Pismo Beach

2011-08-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

This week, I slept 40 miles from my work location in an effort to experience a little central California change of scenery. These are some of the things I saw on a stroll up and down the beach and through town.

I don't know why I was expecting a Manhattan or Huntington Beach, but in town the architecture in Pismo Beach is much older than our local beaches in L.A. or O.C.

PB brought to mind the film Brighton Beach Memoirs because most of the buildings looked to be built in and around the 30's and 40's. Indeed, the first fishing pier was built in 1924. You can still fish of the end of the pier without a license.

In the water there were plenty of surfers, body and boogie boarders. I passed a few people sprinting theoretically post work toward the water in their half-suit with a board under their arm trying to get in some time on the water before the sun went down.

Parts of the town are a tiny bit run down and there are some prime beach front pieces of property empty and for sale, a sign of the economy probably more than a sign about Pismo Beach.

Pismo Beach was thrumming with vacationers this week.

The hotel I stayed in, every restaurant I visited and the water's edge were all populated heavily with Europeans. "Foreign", said the waiter near me at one spot when I stopped for local oysters on the half shell.

I heard Spanish, British, German, Japanese and more.

Conveniently for me, Pismo Beach sits right at an intersection of the 1 and the 101, making it an easy 40 mile trip from the ocean to my training site inland.

There are other little beach communities to the north including Grover Beach, Avila Beach (home to one of my favorite wine bars, Cuvee), Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.

Pismo Beach is known as the clam capitol of the world, hosting the Clam Festival every October.

The places you'll go and the things you'll see.

Ferran Adria's 41° Barcelona

2011-08-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

41°

Avenguda del Paral-lel, 164
08015 Barcelona, Spain

After days of strolling the streets of portside Barcelona, late night tapas and happenstance meals (some wonderful, some mediocre) we headed for something a little more high brow. Ferran Adria's newest restaurant is located in his home town of Barcelona and has a circuslike atmosphere and an impenetrable velvet rope. Well, kind of impenetrable. You can make reservations months in advance and barring that you can request to be squired into 41° next door, Adria's darkly luxurious bar with a wide range of nibbles and a playful drink program.

Drinks start on with the right ice. Ice with as little oxygen as possible frozen into the giant cube from which smaller chunks are chipped off all evening long. Note the glassy appearance.

Salted air margarita.

Our bartender adds the salted air made from, well, salt & a lime fluid with soy lecithin for foaming...

...atop the lightest most well balanced margarita you may ever have the joy of tasting.

The bull motif is in full disco effect.

Plating for the liquid olives.

Liquid olives are served in an olive oil bath barside...

...and scooped gently into our personal spoons. Despite what the bartender insisted, that Ferran's olives are the original and really better than Jose's, really, they were the same. Delightful and yet kinda weird.

The oysters were by far the highlight of the visit (aside from the drinks, which were sublime).

With salmon roe in a miso broth.

Something and a little of something else. I stole a copy of the menu and promptly lost it. Or lost it later in my office after returning to LA. You tell me.

Kim chee marinated oyster on the half shell.

Japanese inspired seaweed and crispy sesame seeds.

A crispy rice treat with spiciness on the outside, this reminded me of Rice Crispies repurposed and seasoned with Lucas.

This absolutely threw D over the edge. All the creations at 41° are inspired by world cuisines, Catalan and elsewhere. The above crispy rice treat was shaped like an octopus and colored with squid ink. But it tasted like Rice Crispies. Nevertheless, it was fun.

Bloody Mary with rosemary, nothing molecular about it. Simply delicious.

The very popular Romero y Julieta.

Vodka with rosemary, lemongrass and some other nice stuff. None too sweet.

Annoying and intriguing at the same time. The sushi served at 41° looks very similar to the wonderful sushi we get in Los Angeles, but. BUT. The rice is actually a savory rice marshmallow. Why? Just why?

I don't know why. Why not?

The last two items were the most similar to tapas all over the city. Above is a puff pastry shell filled with cheese and topped with a sprinkling of smoked paprika. Delicious.

Hot little cakes filled with cheese and meat. After all the strange airy nibbles above we were both ready for something that would proverbially stick to the ribs.

Far and away the best item on the menu at 41° was the service. Every single person behind and in front of the bar gave service of exactly the style one would expect at such an establishment. Sleek and glossy, friendly without being necessarily personable. Every recommendation food and drink-wise was on the money. The staff took their job seriously, but not themselves seriously, if you catch my drift. It was a lovely experience. Next time I am going to be in Barcelona, I will try harder to get a real reservation at Tickets, and after dinner head directly to 41° to top it off.

Hello Lily with Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice & Sea Salted Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

2011-08-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

The second weekend in this unseasonably temperate August was sweetly punctuated by a visit to almost one year old Lily and her parents. We chatted and cooked and coo'd and ate, sipped at wine and napped on the couch. My contributions to the evening: spicy tuna on crispy rice (a staple at trendy sushi-esque spots all over LA), and almond shortbread dipped in chocolate sprinkled with sea salt (recently inspired by Valerie Confections).

The tuna dish recipe is compiled from two different websites: The Ravenous Couple and Salty Seattle. Below, Ravenous Couple on the kitchen counter in my iPad. They cannot be beat for stunning visuals and solid instruction.

I buy sushi grade tuna at the Little Tokyo Marketplace, probably my favorite grocery store. I, like The Ravenous Couple, prefer my tuna in small cubes rather than processed within an inch of its life into a sort of baby-foodesque tartare. Not quite as large as I like it cut for a poke, but still quite distinct chunks.

Add Kewpie mayonnaise (mayo with rice wine vinegar and msg), sesame oil, sriracha, finely diced green onions, sesame seeds if you want. One of the diners told me it needed soy sauce, but I personally feel soy saucing this would be overkill. You want the subtle flavors of the tuna, sesame oil, etc. This is decidedly not meant to be a poke.

On the side I serve more green onions, slices of jalapeno and a doctored up kabayaki sauce. I buy the sauce bottled and add generous amount of wasabi paste.

Sushi rice escapes me. Even using the exact directions on the rice steamer, then precisely following step-by-step instructions garnered from several web sites that all rec the same method my rice was way too sticky. For this dish, stickiness was not an issue because you are frying the rice. My nasty old rice would not do for making sushi. This needs to be addressed at some point. Not today.

Nevertheless, I used a mold to get the perfect shape. You can really pack the rice in there tightly to ensure that it stays in one piece when frying.

Fry the rice patties in hot oil at 350F, if using and electric fryer. If cooking stove top, cook at medium-high heat and watch like a hawk turning frequently to avoid overcooking.

You can see below the finished product. I am working at not overcooking my rice in the fryer. You want it crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, not hard like zwieback. Also, I roll some of the rice patties in furikake before cooking, you can see the black and white sesame seeds on the outside.

The set of spicy tuna on crispy rice I assembled at Lily's had very overcooked rice. Luckily Lily's dad loves anything crispy and a little blackened. Between the six of us, we did gobble down every piece with nary a broken tooth, surprisingly.

Better than a kitchen witch.

As a dessert appetizer (K and Lily made carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting as the main course), I threw together almond shortbread dipped in chocolate liberally sprinkled with sea salt. I have been a little bored to death this week with a case of the summer head cold, this entertained me immensely. For the recipe, I consulted with Cookistry blog. Her recipe was easy and flawless.

In my food processor I first blended the dry ingredients (almond meal, salt, sugar, flour), then added eggs and vanilla. I made a double recipe because one of my oldest and dearest friends is coming to town next weekend and she has a soft spot for shortbread. We like to eat it with a glass of heavy handed chardonnay.

Add the butter and pulse until all the ingredients stick together in a homogeneously mixed lump.

Form into a log on plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or more. I am keeping the second log until next Saturday.

Cut in quarter inch slices.

Arrange on cookie sheet. The recipe specified leaving some distance between the cookies but I found literally no spreading occurred whatsoever. Take that for what you will.

While the cookies cool, melt chocolate pieces in a double boiler or bain-marie. I simply use a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water. Very effective.

Worth noting, this was inspired by a little cello bag of the exact same cookie made locally by Valerie Confections and sold at Silver Lake Wine. I am pretty much 100% sure Valerie used better quality chocolate than I did. I used Nestle Semi-Sweet chips. They did the trick and idgaf.

Dip the cookies in the chocolate.

I used parchment to line the sheet for both baking and cooling. Parchment is my only baking trick. I suck at baking and was shocked these came out so well.

Liberally sprinkle with sea salt. I used my chunkiest sea salt short of kosher salt. Fleur de Sel de Guerande.

The food was good, the conversation loving and the baby is happy.

La Boqueria Barcelona Summer 2011

2011-06-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

La Boqueria

Rambla

9100801 Barcelona, Spain

Yes, we just returned from a wonderful vacation in Barcelona. We did almost nothing in the way of sight seeing except to walk around the city with some sort of destination to which we almost never arrived (unless by cab). So easy to get distracted in such an architecturally and culturally diverse city.

On our first walk on our first day we strolled up La Rambla and quickly found ourselves among the hanging Iberico hams at the opening gates of the famous food market La Boqueria.

Luckily for us we arrived late in the day and the market was comparatively empty. We could ogle and nosh and snap at will.

Hearts, and heads, and blood of beef and tripe. The blood of beef in cubed form is used in some Catalonian stew style dishes.

Salted cod fillets.

Rabbit.

I think the above is some kind of cured tuna.

I tried these snails the following evening in Barceloneta, simply steamed in water with a little butter and salt, they were mild tasting, meaty, delicious.

Percebes are also commonly called goose barnacles and I didn't see them in any menus while in Barcelona. Not sure I would order them if I had, although they are considered a delicacy. Harvested north of Barcelona in Galicia, they are often harvested for export to Canada or Morocco.

When spoken of by the locals, La Boqueria was referred to (to me) as the fruit market. And while there is definitely a strong produce component I wouldn't call La Boqueria a fruit market if I were describing it to a friend. However, D buys us a fruit cup.

WHO took a bite out of that dragon fruit?

Dozens and dozens of varieties of pure and mixed fruit juices,

Needs no explanation.

Some markets in Barcelona label these as the French figue and some as breves. Nevertheless, they are much, much larger than figs grown in California. These are almost the size of my hand.

The exotic rambutan.

A baby pineapple. One of these was about the size of two of my fists put together. So cute.

There are many stalls for dining in La Boqueria. The two most well renowned (El Quim and Pinotxo) were two people deep even late into the afternoon. We stopped instead at the open barstools of this unassuming little tapas spot, had a nosh and great service. Booze is omnipresent in Barcelona, all day long. The little blonde woman at this spot had a full bar. Salud!

Lightly fried sardines.

And our first tapas of many, a grilled squid with pepper and a fried shrimp pinned through a sauteed mushroom. These were very good compared to tapas we drunkenly came across later in the trip. Be picky. You literally cannot get away from tapas, so choose wisely. These were good.

Boquerones en vinaigre...the meat in the middle is chicken if I recall correctly. Again, nicer than boquerones I came across later in the trip. The breaded part was very light and fluffy, the red sauce tart and not spicy.

So many different offerings. Eggs, from all kinds of birds in all sorts of sizes.

Herbs and spices.

Chiles!

D did backflips for this stand. His favorite candy is anything gelly: Sourpatch Kids, Good n' Fruity, Gummi Bears, etc. This stall is a gummy candy celebration with amazingly authentic flavors. Every fruit under the sun.

And other more inspired fruity flavors: caipirinha, sangria, citrico, mojito.

The tail end of the market at the end of a long afternoon. It still looks light outside but the sky doesn't actually darken in Barcelona in June until well after 9 pm.

Get in MAH Beer Belly!

2011-06-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Beer Belly
532 S. Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90020
213-387-2337
Beer Belly LA tumblr

No one can deny that Koreatown is a hub of good eats and drinks, a plethora of karaoke joints sleek and grimy, and pretty damn decent apartments in a central location at reasonable rents. I spent a few fantastic years as a singleton living at 5th and Catalina. I was happily located between Hollywood and Silverlake enjoying the occasional Korean BBQ and soondubu while bouncing back and forth between hipster bars to the west and musical venues to the east. Those were some golden years right there.

It was not without some trepidation that I would pop into ChoSun Galbi with a date, the only white faces in the joint. And I don't ever remember enjoying soondubu on a cold rainy day without my Korean speaking girlfriend as my guide. Nowadays, I feel less bashful dropping in wherever in Ktown for whatever whenever, the more authentically ethnic feeling the better. And now, I love the way brand new Beer Belly offers something of the old school Koreatown of fifteen years ago mixed with something previously unseen in Ktown. Delicious bulgogi, an ever so slightly esoteric location, a fresh menu and a beer lover's beverage program will make Beer Belly a destination gastropub from any zip code.

Quartet of artisanal brews from very local brewers. Owner Jim told me on Memorial Day Eve that he searches out beers brewed as locally as Los Angeles and Orange County. The presentation of beer in both the glasses and behind the bar at the taps is sleek and modern, perfectly in keeping with the lustrous wooden walls and shiny metal bar made by a local craftsman in Silverlake. Newly local blogger Mark of iFlipForFood was out to play with a mate knocking back suds and chatting with D.

Lucky number 9!

First out, grilled asparagus with parmesan cheese shavings.

Simply genius, fried artichoke hearts with a lemon herb aioli. A really nice alternative to potato fries when swilling beer or sipping fizz. I almost forgot to mention, Jim thoughtfully realized that a percentage of his guests aren't beer drinkers. In keeping with the sudsy beer theme, he serves for non-beer drinkers several kinds of sparkling wine by the glass. I sipped at a few glasses of German Gilabert Cava, happily prepping my taste buds for all the cava I will be drinking when I am in Barcelona later this month.

D and I both did backflips for the catfish and chips with kimchee tartare sauce, sea salt and malt vinegar. I love catfish to begin with and the follow through on this dish is a very light batter made tasty with a wheat beer, of course.

When in Rome one wears a toga and when in Koreatown one eats bulgogi while drinking, if at all possible. We tried both short ribs on and off the bone; both were delicious. Keep track of the daily specials at Beer Belly, the BBQ is only on the menu until sold out!

The above tweet was twittered the next morning....since Beer Belly doesn't serve soju, I admit to some late night #urbanhiking, but plead the fifth for details beyond.

Saturday Night at Mas Malo

2011-02-08T08:18:00.001-08:00

Mas Malo
515 W. 7th Street - 1st Floor
Los Angeles Ca 90014
(213) 985-4332

After striking out at SugarFish Saturday night, we strolled down 7th Street to check out the newly opened Mas Malo. I was taking C out for a belated birthday dinner and ultimately the venue is less important than the adventure, so we were game. Mas Malo was packed but they got us seated within 10 minutes sans reservation. Nice work! In case you haven't heard, Mas Malo is the downtown offering by the same crew who've provided us Silverlake's Malo all these years. I stop in at Malo a few times a year; for birthdays, happy hour or sometimes when simply strolling by on a Los Angeles walkabout. They're famed for their tequila collection and slightly white washed Mexican food. Never been unhappy with anything at Malo. Pleased to have Mas Malo downtown in a great partying neighborhood, with my house more or less equidistant from both right smack in the middle.

We were digging on our margaritas. We tasted two kinds: on the left is the Spicy Cucumber with Casa Nobles Silver tequila, cucumber, organic lime, agave nectar and Tapatio hot sauce and on the right is the Puro Organico margarita with organic lime, 4 Copas Blanco tequila and agave nectar. Both were outstanding. I will return just for a drink.

Of the menu items we sampled my favorite was the salsa flight. Five kinds of salsa with your choice of crispy or chewy tortilla chips. We requested chewy and they brought us both. In the very top left corner of the photo you can almost see the Chile Negro y Chocolate (mole) salsa then clockwise from top left are a Pico de Gallo, Burnt Habanero y Crema (my favorite), Serrano Chile y Tomato, and Tomatillo. The mole and habanero salsas were both a lot of wow on the tongue. Woot! The tomatillo and chile with tomato nowhere near as hot but I found the tomato salsa to be pleasantly reminiscent of a ranchero sauce. The pico de gallo was fresh and picante!

C and I both ordered the red snapper sauteed in a light brothy sauce. Generously portioned, as you can see. The menu offers sides such as yummy organic vegetarian spanish rice with delicious organic pinto beans as well as organic refried and black beans. The one criticism I have is that the protein on my plate could have been a lot smaller and for less money than what it cost to portion out that massive amount of fish they could easily have plated some rice and beans for almost no cost. Maybe the intent is to eat family style. Next time, C and I decided, we will share a main and a couple of the veggie sides. I am dying to try their Elote 'Echo Park Corn on the Cob'.

I really enjoyed Mas Malo, the food, the drinks. But the stand out hit of the night was far and away the excellent service. This is casual service in a casual restaurant. No one is going to set your place with three sizes of forks, two spoons and two crystal drinking glasses or linen. You might have to ask for extra napkins. But. Every need and whim we had was very well attended to. Our server was adept at handling several small tables and two large (one very) parties at the same time. A bus person checked in with us frequently and even took D's food order when he showed up late. A cocktail runner came by when my drink was almost empty asking if I needed a refill. I said, "No, maybe in five minutes". Literally, in four minutes and fifty-eight seconds she came by again asking if that was the right amount of five minutes. And so it was. I like that every person working at Mas Malo acted like serving us was their job no matter what the task.

Brilliantly done, Mas Malo. Welcome to DTLA.

Top Cheffage: Antonia's Mussels

2011-02-04T07:12:00.000-08:00

time for dinner

If rabid Glee followers are called Gleeks, then would Top Chef addicts foaming at the mouth and in the early stages of delirium tremons around 7 pm every Wednesday be called Top Cheeks? Doesn't have quite the same panache, now does it?

mussels, precleaned

This week's episode was a great one although the Quick Fire was maybe the dumbest thing on TV, paralleled in uselessness only by Isac Mizrahi's The Fashion Show. Well, not completely useless. We got the satisfaction of hearing Dale say he doesn't give a shit what a bitchy queen who doesn't eat thinks about the way his food looks. OK, I admit it. The idiocy of the Quick Fire was completely entertaining. And Antonia's winning mussels looked amazing.

parsley, garlic & fennel, shallots

I used to make mussels for D when we were courting. I would make a classic Belgian preparation, with white wine and lots of garlic and butter. Sometimes I would throw in a jalapeno pepper and some stalks of lemon grass while easing up on the garlic, and maybe add a little bit if coconut milk. I haven't made them in years. Yet, they are quick and easy and D love love loves them.

1) saute shallots, garlic, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds and salt in olive oil, 2) soften sliced fennel bulb in mixture with butter added, 3) add liquid and bring to simmer, 4) reduce and add herbs

Bravo printed Antonia's recipe, as interpreted by Rick Moonen. I threw them together after work last night in about 30 minutes while watching Notting Hill in the kitchen. I am turning into my mom. Because I was making mussels, I wanted to make the changes to the recipe in black. I used green instead, for clarity.

saute mussels in reduced liquid with lid on for 2-4 minutes

1 bunch parsley
2 pounds black Canadian mussels
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 fennel bulbs, shaved thin
1 tablespoons garlic, chopped
2 sprigs marjoram
salt, to taste
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups white wine
1 cup clam juice

supper's on

I helped D with his Spanish class while we ate, and eventually fell asleep on the couch leaning over a pile of flash cards.

Yo sueno en la sofá con frecuencia.

First Thoughts on Aburiya Toranoko & Reflections on Diplomacy

2011-02-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

Aburiya Toranoko
243 South San Pedro
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-621-9500

I'm pissed off at Ed Hardy. If it weren't for his ubiquitous motif seen everywhere from the strip malls of the OC to the Jersey Shore I wouldn't have felt like I walked onto the front of an Ed Hardy tee when I walked through the doors at Toranoko. I should have had the opportunity to feel stimulated by the neon irezumi mural and more gently appreciated the way the visual spread softly through the room away from the mural like the subtle edging of a well done Japanese tattoo. Not to say I didn't like it, I do like the look of the room. But trucker caps and motocross tees kept popping into my mind instead of the muscular thickly irezumi'd arms of a sushi chef I enjoy on Oah'u. Stupid Ed Hardy. I'll have to get over it, I guess.

One of my favorite bartenders in LA has made the move from Hatfield's to Toranoko to run the long bar along the south wall. Curtis is that perfect balance of professional yet personal. He remembers to ask about your hobbies, chit chats a little with you about his own family, is engaging and interesting yet never forgets to make sure you are happy with your drink/food/bar nap. So glad he's tending closer to my house again. (We originally struck up a friendship when he was slinging drinks at Vermont in Los Feliz years ago).

The food was good last night. Things I liked: shishito peppers generously treated with softly quivering bonito flakes, a hamachi sashimi with pops of yuzu on top, yam oden in a light pickle style broth (new to me, interesting, tasty), clam miso soup (standard but good), hotate sushi (perfection). I also ordered the agedashi tofu, the largest one I have ever seen in a beautiful dashi. Soft creamy tofu, thin skin that melted away as you ate. Delicious. Have someone to share it with! And the french fries. I didn't read the description and didn't order them and there isn't a menu online. But damn, it tastes good to eat a french fry! French fry, what up? It seemed like they were made from an already baked potato. Thickly square shaped, crispy on the outside but so light and fluffy on the inside. Oh, my. Yes.

The service was beyond friendly, but a little hapless. I can completely forgive this because every single person from hostess to bus person went above and beyond to make sure we were having a great time and getting what we needed even though the food came out of the kitchen in a rather haphazard manner. I won't go into details, we still had a great time and enjoyed the food & drinks.

Skip the ankimo. Coming from me, shocking I know. The syrup it's served in overpowers the wonderful natural flavors of the liver. I prefer the more traditional ankimo in a ponzu with a little shaved radish and roe, the way it's served at Hama Sushi..

And deep thoughts this morning...Diplomacy is not an overrated concept. Just because there is an idea in one's head and a mouth with which to express it does not mean that all ideas must be verbalized. Not that I am above putting my foot in my mouth and I probably do more often than I realize. However, saying something someone doesn't want to hear in a nice way is a huge part of my profession. My dear friend K is gifted in the skill of thinking before she speaks. It makes the words she chooses to say more meaningful. Because of this I highly value her opinion. Speaking for the sake of hearing one's own voice, while certainly entertaining at times for others, often leads to speech without prior consideration. It can be hurtful, and potentially worse, make you sound like an idiot. So. Sometimes. Some people should reconsider before stating a potentially hurtful or completely uninformed but strongly worded opinion and just shut the fuck up.

Ramen on a Small Island in Northridge

2011-01-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

Small Island
9545 Reseda Blvd Ste 16
Northridge, CA 91324
(818) 341-1884

I spent my entire Saturday afternoon sitting in the hot sun watching my husband lose a rivetingly close tennis match at CSUN. There's a reason I don't go to every tournament he plays in nowadays. My time at home is limited; things like laundry, pedicures, unpacking and repacking all need to be done before I leave again. None of it got done today. Tennis match and all.

As a reward to myself after three hours in the gorgeous Southern California winter sunshine, I yelped Japanese in Northridge and came across Small Island. Small Island is a family owned authentic little Japanese diner, walk up counter style. And as is obvious from the blog, whenever I get the chance these days it is all about ramen, ramen, ramen. I had fun with the variety offered at the neat and tidy Small Island.

As I am still learning about ramen styles, of one thing I am sure. The creamy white tonkatsu is my favorite style. (For now). But I am enjoying ramen experimentation.

I started D with a nice little sunomono. Perfect with just a trace of sesame, not overly seaweeded like you sometimes see. And sometimes sunomono is really watery. The above was not so saucy, just really good flavors balanced between some seaweed, cukes and carrots.

One yelper waxed positively about the simple green salad. Nice portion, great dressing. Not the typical ginger dressing, this one. I definitely tasted the standard ginger, but it was balanced with something nicely acidic.

D ordered the miso ramen, as usual. Small Island was so busy at lunch today that they ran out of eggs! The owner generously offered to split the last egg in half and give us both more chashu. Very generous, pork meat is more expensive than eggs.

And this pork was gorgeous. Sliced more thinly than chashu at some other ramnyas near us, and less fatty. I know for some people the fat is the point. And this was certainly fatty enough to assist the beautiful flavors in the bowl. But again, as with other items in this meal, there was a nice balance. The bowl above is my chashu miso ramen. Lots of bamboo shoots but I would have liked more green onions and greens. God, I think I have typed that exact sentence before in another review. But I was very pleased, because ultimately it's always about the broth and this one was perfect. Nowhere near as rich as the tonkatsu at Rokuan and just as tasty as the broth at Daikokuya. (I have decided my problem with Daikokuya is that their broth is inconsistent).

Wanting to try something else on the menu for kicks, I asked what the house specialities are at Small Island. What is really popular? The ramen, curries and California Rolls. California rolls? zzzzzzzzzzzz. So I ordered the beef curry. We both ate a couple bites and brought the rest home. The portions were very hearty, the beef was nicely lean and the curry was not too pushy.

In the curry, as I rooted around investigatively, I found sauteed onions and I don't know what else. Lots of little vegetal chunks of yumminess. Lunch tomorrow. I would definitely hit Small Island again, were I in the neighborhood.

I Want a Goat: Goat's Milk Butter Hollandaise

2011-01-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning with K on the couch and odd ends in the fridge, I threw down a surprisingly delicious Eggs Benedict using goat's milk butter in my hollandaise sauce. Major wow effect.

Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten

1 c uncased chicken apple sausage

1c grated Parmesan reggiano
Vegetable cooking spray

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine milk, oil, egg, sausage and cheese Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen biscuits.

Adapted from Cooks.com. My changes are in red. I wasn't actually thrilled with the biscuits, they ended up a little too dense. I looked specifically for a recipe with no baking soda as I refused to leave the house. Next time I'll try a different one. They weren't bad, they were more than edible. Maybe I should be thinking of them more as a scone, with that scone-like density and less a biscuit.

Goat's Milk Butter Hollandaise Sauce

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup goat's milk butter, melted (1 stick)

Pinch paprika

Pinch sea salt

Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl and until the mixture is thickened and doubled in volume. Place the bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler,) the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Continue to whisk rapidly. Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble. Slowly drizzlein the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume. Remove from heat, whisk in cayenne and salt. Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use for the Eggs Benedict. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.

This recipe was adapted from Tyler Florence from the Food Network. Again, my changes are in red. The recipe calls for one stick of butter, which I know is half a cup. I also know that in measures of volume half a cup equals 8 ounces, but I wasn't sure exactly what this would translate into in terms of mass. Instead of guessing I pulled out one of my handy food scales. No, I did not buy this for weighing drugs, I am drug free. I was happy to discover that despite my nipping away at the goat's milk butter now and again to spread on crackers I had exactly 8 ounces left. Ta da!

The changes in both recipes were simple, tailored only with regard to what was currently hanging around in my fridge. The change from regular butter to goat's milk butter is simple enough and really elevated that hollandaise sauce from something standard to something sublime.

Clockwise from upper left: whisking the yolks over a pan of simmering water, see the textural changes as the liquid thickens, you can see the mixture start to get chunky as the eggs started cooking too quickly so we took it off the heat, to get the texture I wanted I added a couple tablespoons of hot water and continued to whisk.

Counter clockwise from upper left: cornmeal drop biscuits, perfectly poached eggs, hollandaise with an edible nasturtium and mint to garnish. I have now mastered one of the important mother sauces of France. First time perfection is unusual in my kitchen, I am ending my weekend incredibly self satisfied.

Taking personalization a step further, my husband is one who doesn't care to eat several tablespoon fulls of butter first thing in the morning. I topped his eggs with a cup of errant tomato sauce I found in the front of the fridge from throwing together a plate of pasta here the other evening. This too was delicious, healthier although not as special tasting. And I don't garnish someone else's cooking! ;-p

Best Of: 2010

2011-01-15T08:59:00.001-08:00

I was not going to do a "best of" this year. I never have before. Many of my favorite bloggers do "best of" or "top ten 2010" type posts. Even though I am ultimately an unrepentant band wagoner I had decided I couldn't be bothered. Typical FST holiday malaise bullshit. However, I find myself up early after suffering a week with a head cold in boredom (despite having recently installed Netflix Instant, or maybe because of) up early with energy and time to spare.

Earliest best bite in 2010 was from a meal at Shiro in Pasadena, comped through a friend for PR and snaps. This course was foie atop sea scallop in a red wine reduction. Magically delicious, a destination dish if there ever was one.

Later that same month at Petrossian during DineLA with our favorite fine dining cohorts, truffled mac and cheese made for us by Ben Bailly, now at Fraiche in Culver City (which has me lemming a trip to Fraiche, finally again). Truffled mac and cheese can be found on menus all over the place. This was special. Incredibly creamy, generously truffled and we are not talking truffle oil here, people.

Fried artichokes at Da Vinci in Beverly Hills from the hand and mind of Jason Fullilove. My favorite dish in a long menu of deliciousness, crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside and not overly oily. Happily, he offered these again the night he cooked at Test Kitchen. Recent reports have Jason cooking now at Desert Rose in Los Feliz.

Mid-year, D and Dad and I stopped in for an early pre-graduation dinner at Izakaya Gaku on Oahu before my youngest brother graduated from Punahou. Gaku is my favorite izakaya in the world (that I have met so far, I am open to new introductions). The karaage was my top dish that night. Japanese fried chicken. Very crispy, slightly peppery and not overly breaded, the meat was clearly and identifiably the main ingredient.

Probably the favorite developmental stage in the life of this blog happened in 2010. Changes started occurring right after the 2009 holidays when I was gifted more high quality cookware than I can shake a stick at along with a veritable library of contemporary cook books mostly written by chefs that I love and admire. I started cooking more. Cauliflower steak, browned in the oven in a Le Creuset cast iron braising pan. This was amazing. Satisfying umami flavors from the caramelization on both sides of the steak, and a creaminess imparted on top from the cauliflower puree. Non dairy, ya'll.

I am not gonna lie, I ate food in Detroit. Some good, some bad and one stellar meal. The above was a best bite at Atlas Global Bistro with two of my favorite colleagues. Malaysian Glazed Kurobuta Pork Loin, Pickled Pineapple. The pineapple tasted strongly of ginger and stood up beautifully to the savory flavors of the pork loin. I can taste it right now as I reminisce.

Best poke in my life. And I am a poke eater. D and I spent four days in 2009 eating poke in a comparison/contrast fiesta all the way from one end of Oahu to the other. However, beating them all is the albacore poke served daily at Chaya Brasserie's Happy Hour in downtown L. fricking A. I even copied this albacore poke (without a recipe despite several emails and phone calls to the management at Chaya DTLA) for one round of Food Buzz's Project Food Blog 2010. Mine was good, but not this good.

For the same round of Food Buzz's Project Food Blog in which I copied Chaya's albacore poke, I also copied Alan Wong's Mini Loco Moco. Alan Wong is a chef famous for both his James Beards and Bon Appetit awards and being one of 12 co-founders of the Hawaiian Regional Cuisine movement in the early 90's. I have eaten at both Alan Wongs (his h/e offering) and The Pineapple Room (love love love) several times. The above was my attempt at recreating Wong's elegant version of a loco moco for his higher end restaurant. Unagi wrapped in mochi fried then topped with a quail egg and sauced with wasabi kabayaki. I say this with all the modesty I can muster: THIS IS MOUTH HEAVEN. If you are ever at my house, ask me to make it.

Ludobites 5.0, last summer. Fancy Frenchified food is not my husband's favorite, but at least one dish Ludo does at every opening sends him into a tail spin. Poached egg, potato mousseline, chorizo. We dug into this and before it was half empty D had ordered a second one. This was good. Very good.

Rokuan, Chino Hills. I am still learning about ramen, I am a relative ramen newb. However. As is typical with me (I am a fervent starter and a horrible finisher, skillful at procrastination beyond your wildest dreams) I dove into my passion for ramen head first hoping the diving board was at the deep end of the pool. This was maybe my 10th version of ramen, not including instant packs but including two experimentations at home one being Momofuku from scratch in August generating a 9 hour cooking marathon when it was about 110 outside. I've eaten at several more ramenya since. Rokuan, still. The ramen world has yet to top this.

Scallops, Sweet & Sour Foam, Pepitas. At a 10th wedding anniversary dinner at Eleven Madison Park. The interplay of the raw scallop against the sweet tart of the form, with the strong nuttiness of the roasted pepita makes this tiny hors d'oeuvres course stand out in my mind with clarity.

An the last best taste of 2010? The salted chocolate ice cream I made with Carrie in her kitchen on New Year's Eve 2010.

Other memorable Top Tens of 2010:
Kitten With a Whisk
Teenage Glutster (whose dessert posting inspired me to get off me arse blogwise)
Diana Takes a Bite
Sinosoul
Anthony Bourdain
Carrots & Cake
Deep End Dining
Gastronomy
Gourmet Pigs
Kung Food Panda
Squid Ink
Street Gourmet LA
Tomostyle

Here's to many good tastes in 2011.

I Ate a Duck and I Liked It at Phoenix Inn

2011-01-11T17:16:00.000-08:00

Phoenix Inn
301 Ord St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 629-2812

Under duress, my friend and Chinese food expert Tony (Sinosoul) rec'd Phoenix Inn for some local Peking duck. His Peking duck preferences run much further east from my neighborhood, in the SGV. However, after downing a couple Friday night martinis we wanted to neither drive nor taxi far afield and so I pressed Tony for something closer. Phoenix Inn is literally 1.5 miles from my front door.

Phoenix Inn is dry so we started with some hot black tea and perused the menu. Not one to dick around about ordering, D was ready in about one minute flat. And by ready, I mean he pretended to be ready and when the server came to take our order D pointed at a bunch of pictures of a set menu for a family style dinner and gesticulated wildly. He wasn't really ready, but he was hungry, ergo....

Honestly, I know nothing about Chinese food except that apparently I am under the misapprehension that I do not like Chinese food. Which means simply that I have only eaten the wrong Chinese food and therefore avoid it like the plague. If 2010 was the year of my ramen summer school, then 2011 will be the year I enroll in Chinese food 101a. This will make my New York Jew Chinese food loving husband very happy indeed. We started with the small bowl of some kind of noodle soup. It wasn't small, it was big, IMO.

Springy noodles, ever so slightly al dente, lots of bok choy (?) and slippery delicious dumplings with pork & shrimp in a slightly salty broth. What's not to like here? Good that chilly Friday night, even better later in the weekend after a cold set up camp en mi cabeza. Look, I am pretty sure that's bok choy in there. My step- mom used to cook with it a lot. However. Maybe it isn't, maybe it's some other Asian green in baby whole head form. There are seemingly hundreds of different Asian greens to play with. This one tasted good, bok choy-ish and the center stayed slightly crunchy.

What's the deal with a seaweed salad? What's its country of origin? I recognize it and have loved its sesame/seaweed goodness from hundreds of Japanese food experiences high and low, near and far. I was really trying to order the orange marmalade kabocha squash, which shows just how big a communication gap can be between people who don't speak the same language. Our kind server underlined the kabocha squash dish with his finger and I nodded yes enthusiastically. But he was really running his finger over the seaweed salad listing, clearly indicating I wanted the dish he was running his finger over. Doesn't matter, I love this dish. It is a nice complement to almost anything, even though it always sticks in my teeth.

Fried rice arrived prior to my duck. Who doesn't love fried rice? And this was a good one. Way lighter and less greasy than the Thai fried rices I eat on a somewhat regular basis from Rambutan or Chan Darae. Shrimp, good. Sweet little pork nuggets, good. Lots of green onion and egg, all lightly fried? Good.

Peking duck. On two plates. The first plate with steamed buns and crispy sweet duck skin.

Second plate with lots of duck meat accompanied by a hoisin sauce (I know what this is, Mom cooks with it) and a sweet and sour sauce thingy (?). I was instructed in a non-verbal manner to put a small swoosh of hoisin sauce on the bun (not too much, too salty), then a piece of crispy skin, then add some duck meat (rid of bones) & scallions. Close and eat with your hands.

This.was.delicious.

This made my mouth so happy. Even the next day, eating crispy skin and duck meat from the styrofoam box (because again, the small size is huge) my mouth was singing with joy. I penned the words to this song, sung to the tune of the infamous Katy Perry ballad:

I ate a duck, and I liked it
The taste of its salty skin
I ate a duck, just to try it
I hope Donald Duck don't mind it
Satisfied my appetite
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
I ate a duck and
I liked it

Now, as soon as I am done with this infernal head cold I am ready for my next duck. Ready to travel further east to see what can top this yummy experience.

Salted Chocolate Ice Cream

2011-01-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

Upon arriving at The House in Lake Havasu, I immediately noted a new appliance on The Counter. A Cuisinart ice cream machine.

hello, lover

I don't have an ice cream machine for several reasons. Among them include my ambivalence toward dessert and my husband's general intolerance toward dairy. When we crave ice cream, we head toward Scoops. I don't think I've ever seen a bigger smile on D's face than when he was halfway into a scoop of salty chocolate ice cream from the infamous little shop on Hyperion.

whisking yolks & sugar, scalding cream & cocoa,

tempering egg mixture with hot chocolate cream (a tiny bit at a time)

With three days in the desert and not a lot to do (except cook, drink, stay up late together to argue about how to solve the world's problems, repeat), the Cuisinart was calling my name loud and clear. I toyed with a few flavor choices. Lake Havasu City is not a sophisticated place, and ethnically it's fairly homogeneous. Asian and Latin sections in the grocery store are very small and there's not really a health food grocery store in town (although there's a great independent little health food/vitamin store). So thoughts of lychee, passionfruit, Thai iced tea, and other exotic flavors were pretty much out of the running. Twitter friend Chef Szu suggested:

ChefAustinSzu @foodshethought something with bacon.... ooooo... maple bacon ice cream with chunks of waffle.... hahaha

combining two liquids, slowly cooking mixture until thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon,

cooling to room temperature

I seriously considered maple ice cream/bacon/waffle chunks. Then reconsidered when I considered my audience. If I was only going to make the one batch, let's go with a universally pleasing flavor. Salted chocolate it was. I followed this recipe from Chaos in the Kitchen with a high degree of fidelity. When never having made something, especially something involving sweets and candy making, it's important to understand the chemistry before playing with the technique. My changes are highlighted in brown.

adding to Cuisinart

Chocolate Ice Cream

makes 2 quarts, prep 2 min, cook 10 min, adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen

1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
8 egg yolks
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2-4 tsp Himayan salt, finely ground

In a large sauce pan combine cocoa and one cup of half and half. Stir to combine then add rest of half and half and cream.
Scald the cream mixture (heat it just until you see bubbles forming at the edges), remove from heat.
In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar to combine.
Temper the egg yolks by slowly adding the hot cream, a few drops at a time, stirring constantly. This is a slow process, don’t rush it or you will get eggy ice cream.
Once you have whisked in about 1/3 cup of hot cream into egg mixture, add all of the egg back into the sauce pan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thermometer reads 170°-175° or mixture is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Pour custard into a container and allow to cool at room temperature. Stir in the vanilla and continue cooling.
Once room temperature, place covered into the fridge and chill several hours or overnight.
After cooled, add salt to taste. Add 1/4 teaspoon at a time, folding thoroughly. Continue to add small amounts til mixture is salted to taste preference.
Process in your ice cream maker according to the instructions.
Freeze soft serve ice cream for several hours until hard.

The only step that gave me pause was #6. I twittered that thickening the base without a meat or candy thermometer was like spelunking without a flashlight. I stirred and watched closely. At one crucial point, I thought my base was separating and started to freak out. My Host assured me if I simply took it off the heat quickly and continued to stir slowly as it cooled toward room temperature I would be ok. He was right.

After it cooled to room temp, into the fridge it went for a few hours. When cooled to fridge temp, I pulled it out and started adding the salt very slowly, very patiently. One can always add more salt. One cannot take salt away. After much adding, folding and tasting, C and I agreed I had achieved salty/chocolatey perfection. Into the Cuisinart it went.

moving through stages of frozenness

Honestly, it was delicious. I have never had better ice cream, not even at Scoops. Or maybe it was just as good as Scoops, or maybe it just tasted good because of the fun of the group cooking adventure. I know we all enjoyed it all weekend long and I am kind of craving a bowl right now. But just a small one.

Crave...at Work and Emeril's Spaghetti Squash Carbonara on Mah Jongg Night

2010-12-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

Warm Olives

Mache Salad with Cara Cara Orange Supremes, Pistachios, Pomegranates

Roasted Beets, Chevre, Red D'Anjou Pears, Pistachio Oil

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

This post is partially sponsored by Crave!...at Work.

Crave delivers fresh produce to offices in the greater Los Angeles area. From their About Us page:

Our mission is simple. We hand select the freshest, most delectable fruits and vegetables available and deliver them straight to you, so that all you have to do is ENJOY! From exotic fruits to the newest variety of snack size tomatoes, we will surprise you every week with only the freshest, peak-of-season offerings we can get our hands on.

Two days before Christmas they delivered to my front porch cardboard boxes of ripe Cara Cara oranges, my ultimate favorite citrus of all time.

And red d'anjou pears, maybe my favorite fruit, period. So many delicious uses in cooking, great with savory courses and for use in desserts. But even better alone. I sometimes eat these sliced with a sprinkling of goat cheese.

Warm Olives

The first course and first use of Crave's fruit was warmed olives to nibble at during our first round of mah jongg. I am still using this delicious trick I learned from the beautiful Pink Sparrows. I buy a small container of olives from the olive bar at Whole Foods or Gelson's and lay them on a piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with paprika and fennel seeds. Lay a couple wide slices of orange peel and wrap the foil tightly. After I turned the oven off from roasting the beets and spaghetti squash, I plopped the wrapped olives in to absorb what was left of the heat, left them in maybe 12 minutes just to warm through. Place in ramekins, and don't forget little dishes for the pits. So simple, so inexpensive and just a little elegant.

Same Cara Cara orange (actually, I used two oranges). Sectioning an orange for supremes is easy, I've watched my mom do it a million times. Iron Chef Symon does a video tutorial here for Chow. Clockwise from top left: slice off a generous section from bottom and top of orange, remove peel and pith with your sharp paring knife (thank you Pat), slice in between the pith walls that segment the sections on both sides stopping at the middle of the orange and pull out section, one perfect supreme pith free (mostly).

Mache Salad with Cara Cara Orange Supremes, Pistachios, Pomegranites

Tossed the ingredients together and put back in fridge to chill until we were ready for the first course. Why do the good ingredients always migrate to the bottom of the bowl?

I dressed this with a mish-mash of almost empty dressings in the door of my fridge. The mish-mash was delicious, a little of this one and a little of that one.

Roasting beets, clockwise from top left: trim the greens, clean and place on foil, wrap different colored beets separately as the dye from the red beets will stain lighter beets, roast at 375 for one hour, after beets are roasted the peels literally slip right off. I baked these at the same temp and time as the spaghetti squash. I love how forgiving root veggies are when it comes to roasting.

I treated myself to a spendy bottle of La Tourangelle pastachio oil at Whole Foods. Delicious stuff. In retrospect, I could have been more generous when drizzling the oil over the beets. The flavor is wonderful, but beets and goat cheese are fairly dominant flavors. Then again, one doesn't want an oily dish. I will play with the proportions a little next time.

Roasted Beets, Chevre, Red D'Anjou Pears, Pistachio Oil

I could eat this dish three meals a day. Earthy, goaty and sweet.

Prepping the squash. Before roasting the ginormous spaghetti squash, poke holes in to release pressure as the heating matter inside expands. I use a meat thermometer because the flesh is so tough to bore through that I worry about the safety of using a knife. For the same reason, I halve these after cooking, not before, although many recipes suggest you halve first. I just cannot get through the outer rind even with a sharp knife.

Roast on aluminum foil lined cookie sheet at 375 for about an hour. When cool to the touch, cut in half and remove rind. Scoop out seeds and spread apart strands with fork. Spaghetti squash ready for whatever sauce or topping you choose.

Simple ingredients for carbonara. Most people have these on hand. Parmesan cheese, shallot, parsley, bacon, garlic. I follow Emeril Lagasses's recipe with some fidelity. I have tried to play with the proportions a little, to bad end. Now I stick to it closely.

The four stages of bacon, because everyone loves bacon. Top left: sautee until just before bacon browns, toss in shallot and garlic and sautee until slightly caramelized, drain about half the fat, add quarter cup or so of white wine and reduce.

Egg, cheese and parsley. I whisk these together with salt and pepper. I think my yolks are a little extra bright because I bought free range organic brown eggs. I'm a little more aware of my eggs these days because I have a friend who is an egg farmer. She has told me many times how much difference there really is between home grown free range eggs and industrially farmed eggs. I believe her, but have yet to do a taste test.

I add the egg/cheese mixture to the bacon immediately after I take it off the heat. You do not want scrambled eggs here, you want an egg and cheese mixture that is barely cooked through. It's a delicate balance and it happens quickly. After the egg/cheese is just barely cooked, toss the entire mass with spaghetti squash strands. I start with about half the squash (because their size varies) and add more as I go. I don't want the dish too sauce dominant, but I also want a taste of bacony goodness in every bite.

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

Not the most photogenic dish on the planet, but it is so wonderfully creamy and eggy. The squash really lightens this dish up, after eating even two servings you don't feel weighed down. We played several more hands of mah jongg after our meal, not a nodding head at the table.

The Plimsouls were on my playlist this morning. Thank you boys for the blast from my past.

Christmas Dinner 2010

2010-12-27T07:38:00.000-08:00

Over the river and through the woods to Mom's house in Sacramento, where we are always rewarded by first booze (let's get our priorities straight), then food and complete authority over the remote control.

D played bartender and made Mom her favorite pink drink. I know some people feel (aka über hip bartender at 1886 Bar at in The Raymond who, scoffing at a client's Cosmo, informed me he planned to school Pasadena in the new art of cocktailing) that the Cosmopolitan is démodé. However, the cook should always be afforded full leeway with regard to their drinking preferences. And I will be damned if D doesn't make a durn good Cosmo. To hades with trend, I say. And bring on the vodka. I happily joined her.

D shook himself (gasp, he might have bruised the vodka) a Belevedere martini straight up with a little citrus squeeze. And an appetizer. The appies on hand were savory Parmesan shortbread cookies. Just as insanely delicious as they sound. I ate a few Boxing Day on the long drive home.

As a kid, I used to have to help scrub these behemoths after dinner with copper scrubbing powder. They still taunt me to this day. I own one Revere Ware copper pan and I refuse to cook with it on principle. Beautiful to look at and a dream to cook in but a beast to clean. I am lazy like that.

Mom always sets a beautiful table. She has been collecting sterling serving pieces she uses on a holiday or dinner party table since I was a kid. She started out by trolling garage sales and thrift stores back in the salad days and now seeks out bargains at antique stores. Her collection is so fun to look at.

Joy deserves a second round.

We started with a Lamb's lettuce salad with blood orange supremes, pistachios and pomegranate seeds in a light blood orange vinaigrette. Blood oranges from her tree!

And because this year it was just the three of us for dinner, I begged and pleaded successfully for her famous fried chicken. My favorite food from childhood.

Mom's Fried Chicken

1 chicken, cut into parts or chicken parts pre-cut

flour

sea salt

Italian herbs or herbs de Provence

cracked pepper

paprika

vegetable oil

Salt and pepper fairly dry chicken parts. Add all dry ingredients to a paper or plastic zip lock bag. (Mom uses paper, I use plastic because sometimes the flour mixture spills out through the seams at the bottom of the bag). Season dry ingredients to taste. Toss 2-4 pieces of chicken in dry mixture, coat thoroughly. Fry for 12-14 minutes per side in electric frying pan at 350F. And by side, consider most chicken pieces have at least three sides, some might have four. Wings usually only have two, but every other piece has all the edge sides that definitely deserve a 9-12 minute turn in the hot oil. Drain on paper towels.

The great thing about fried chicken is that it's delicious at room temperature or even chilled. She cooked the chicken and had to set it aside, festivities took priority over dinner. My brother's family dropped by unexpectedly to exchange gifts, and I was soon embroiled in a long Monopoly game with A and R, which R won like a stealth ninja capitalist tycoon. R even engaged in acts of philanthropy, trying to slyly hand his poor aunt welfare in the form of Monopoly money. At the end of the game, the little plutocrat had a stack of 500's bigger than my cocktail. Harumph.

When we finally sat down to eat, almost 9 o'clock, we were all starving and a little tipsy. The notable side dish. Fried chicken is nothing without mashed potatoes. And this year Mom changed up her gravy recipe. She made a mushroom gravy using duxelles. Insanely delicious, powerfully mushroomy.

Christmas dog lies on floor gazing up dreamily at the fried chicken.

Dessert. Chocolate ganache and raspberry tarts in hazelnut crust. These are so gorgeous, they look professionally done. Gobstoppingly beautiful.

Mom's Christmas bonsai. That's the Lakers in the background getting their Christmas asses handed to them on a Miami Heat platter.

Merry Christmas, Mom.

1642 Beer and Wine: It's Your New Local

2010-12-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

1642 Beer and Wine

1642 W Temple St
Los Angeles, CA 90026

On the night in question a 4 PM opening time was mentioned, which is prime time for me to swing by with a book for a glass of wine solo fresh off the highways and byways of one of my Southern California commutes to places far and wide.

1642 is just the type of bar I grew to love living in San Francisco and London. Slightly polished, reused urban space. One of the things I love about living in Los Angeles is watching slightly decrepit neighborhoods develop fun highly desirable destinations. As I sit in my Echo Park domicile, newer spaces are creeping ever closer as the slightly downtrodden spaces in between West LA and DTLA start to be consumed by opportunistic retailers and restauranteurs. First Silverlake, then Hollywood, now Echo Park and we have all witnessed the very loud reiteration of a culturally rich downtown redevelopment. 1642 is just such a place. Currently, there is nothing else of note on this block, but it will be fun to watch that change.

1642 is located on that very traffic busy section of Temple, just south of the Glendale Boulevard exit off the 101, 11 blocks from my house and 800 meters from the infamous after hours joint Dinner House M.

Just serving beer and wine, they offer Portuguese white Vinho Verde, Washington pinots and syrahs (Paso Robles, please). They also offer beers bottled, canned and draughted.

Unfortunately for anyone with allergy issues, they house a very curious bar cat. If this is to be a local, it will be my local, not our local. My husband is so allergic to cats that a fondue birthday party once landed him in bed for 3+ days. I am feeling a mah jongg here sometime in my near future. 1642 does not serve food, but it was certainly suggested to me on my last visit that they allow food from neighboring restos.

Filtered tap water is served cold from a bottle, but the service is warm and friendly.

Happy Anniversary, Honey! Eleven Madison Park

2010-12-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010
(212) 889-0905

Conference Room MetLife/PanAm

As soon as we decided to visit NYC to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, several people from around the country gave recs for food. The famous, the infamous and the less so all weighed in and Eleven Madison Park came out at the top of several lists.

Thirty days in advance of the date in question, I was on Opentable at 6:30 AM Pacific time hitting reload maniacally. It was worth the effort and one hundred percent worth the hype.

Happy 10th Anniversary

Greeted with a Happy Anniversary and an excellent table in the stunning MetLife Building. EMP resides in what used to be the main conference room. Built in 1954, the building was owned by PanAm until it was purchased by MetLife in 1981. A few scenes from Catch Me if You Can were filmed in the building, and sitting in the dining room I can envision the Mad Men-esque escapades of businessmen and women meeting at a long conference table to discuss the future of modern airline travel after two-martini luncheons.

Le Menu

Chef Humm's approach to the menu is unique, in my experience. There are four main courses, each diner chooses a flavor profile for each course. Diners are also quizzed as to likes and dislikes, allergies, etc. We are pretty easy diners, bring it on, I say. However, the gents at the table next to us shared a laundry list of concerns with the waiter. I almost wanted to scoot over when their food came to snap a few pics and nibble from their plates to see how Chef Humm dealt differently with their food. I restrained myself.

D chose: scallop, John Dory, chicken and chocolate. Mine: foie gras, cauliflower, pork, coconut.

Gramercy Cellars Syrah 2008

The sommelier assisted us in choosing this Walla Walla syrah, which was good but not great. We are extremely spoiled these days by my constant travels to Paso Robles and my quick jaunts into their syrah heavy wine rooms.

Chicken Veloute, Toasted Brioche, Black Truffle Butter

The element of marvel in this meal occurred less so due to the actual main courses themselves, although each was beyond reproach. It was the series of hors d'ouevres that kept us on the edge of our seat, gasping at the presentation and oohing at the flavors. D said he could have eaten an entire bowl of the chicken veloute and gone home happy.

Goat Cheese Popsicles, Fennel Seed, Dill

How cute are goat cheese popsicles? Adorbs. Delicious and simply just as stated. Frozen goat cheese on a stick. The ice cream man in Echo Park could hit a homer with these.

Beet Marshmallows

I am experiencing a fascination with marshmallows right now. Several bloggers have posted in the last couple years about making marshmallows and canning in Mason jars for gifting. Despite my recent slightly unsuccessful run in with making salted pumpkin pepita caramels, I am tempted to give these a try myself. The beet marshmallows at EMP? Ever so slightly and sweetly marshmallowish, not so beety.

Sea Urchin & Shaved Foie on Brioche Toast

I loved the sea urchin and shaved foie hors d'ouevres. The umami of the foie played beautifully against the brininess of the uni, supported firmly with toasted brioche and topped greenly with chives. Yum.

Sturgeon Foam, Smoked Sturgeon

Beautiful presentation here, for the smoked sturgeon and foam. Lovely smoked flavor, and digging down into the bottom of my shell I pulled out several nice sized chunks of smoked sturgeon.

Oysters, Jelly Caviar

I totally don't get this one. I remember it tasting good, like oysters with a little salty caviar. The oyster was cooked, maybe steamed. I should have asked for more details. My first thought is that the colors and textures were done just for the art of presentation. But sometimes when one is enjoying food one needs to just give into the enjoyment of it all. So I don't have anything else here except, isn't the picture pretty?

Hamachi Torched with Chile Rub & Yuzu on Crispy Rice

The ubiquitous crispy rice rears its head! This was amazing. The delicate hamachi flavor and slightly fatty textured perfectly opposed the warm spice of the chile rub and the sweet/tart of the yuzu. Win.

Scallops, Sweet/Sour Foam, Toasted Pepitas

Another major win, flavorwise. This just had so much pop with the sweet and sour foam working with the nutty pepita. The scallop under the foam was small but silky, kind of a perfect protein to marquee the big flavors.

First Course: Foie Gras Terrine, Diced Pineapple, Pineapple Jelly

& Foie Creme Brulee, Toasted Brioche

Both of these dishes were good, neither was excellent. The terrine was overly smooth although the flavors were big and beautiful against the pineapple fruit and jam. The creme brulee was very soft and almost runny, and again, although the flavors were wonderful against the sweetness of the burnt sugar I didn't love the texture. Additionally, I think two foie courses in one is overkill. I tend to have a deeper appreciation of foie served more rustically. Knowing there would be nothing rustic about this meal, I think I ordered poorly for this course. For my own palate. I think many other foie lovers would do backflips.

Raw Scallops, Yuzu

Honestly, I do not remember tasting this dish. D liked it. We have both come to love raw scallops, ever since our initial introduction via Chef Ludo at the opening of Ludobites and the Let's Go To Bed exhibit at Royal/T. We both order hotate at our favorite sushi bars regularly.

Second Course: Poached John Dory with Dehydrated Citrus, Eda Mame

The flavors here were light and playful, just like the colors and composition. Thinly sliced radish and the dehydrated citrus sauce were nice together, a nibble and a swoosh eaten with each bite of Dory. Defined acid here, but not overwhelmingly so.

Roasted Cauliflower, Cauliflower Puree, Cauliflower Cous Cous,

Golden Raisins, Marcona Almonds

This dish was so up my vegetable alley. I always feel that what a chef can do with vegetables tells us so much about who they are as a cook. I judge nearly every restaurant by their sides and veg. This was a wonderful compilation, playing with cauliflower texturally three different ways. I would have licked the plate if I hadn't been afraid to embarrass my husband. It's happened before.

Now marcona almonds. They're everywhere these days, even in the Costco mixed nut jar at work. Grown in Spain, marcona almonds are shorter, rounder and sweeter than the typical California almond. I like a little variety in my nuts.

Third Course: Poached Chicken, Parsnip Puree,

Glazed Leek, Black Truffles

D's third course invoked the little green monster from deep in my psyche. When the menu said chicken (and he never ever orders chicken) it didn't mention poached (one of my favorite preps), it didn't mention leeks (loves) and it certainly didn't even hint at black truffle shavings. He is such a gentleman he offered to switch, but I know pork isn't one of his favorite proteins. That chicken tasted even better than it looked if that's possible.

Chop of Suckling Pig, Morcilla Sausage, Braised Pork Cheek

Course envy during the third wasn't meant to hint there was anything wrong with my pork chop. Beautifully cut, perfectly cooked, so juicy it almost squirted (gross imagery, sorry), this was also delicious. Now, my experience living with a group of Irish folks in a London pub in the early 90's first introduced me to blood pudding. My later work in a very elegant French restaurant in Knightsbridge acquainted me with boudin noir. So, after taking a nibble of the morcilla sausage I had a feeling...Yes. Morcilla sausage is the Spanish version of sausage made from sangre, or blood. As an eater, I am not afraid of game, offal or just about anything humans have put on a plate and called dinner. The morcilla was delicious and added that rustic texture to this dish that I felt was missing in my first course.

Dessert Debut: Kir Royal, Rasberry Sorbet, Champagne Foam

This little beauty was cradled lovingly into a cold ceramic pillow. D and I both had to touch the ceramic pillow to confirm it was actually hard and cold. Underneath were hard little nuggets of meringue. Fizzy foam and sweetly tart raspberry magnificence. This was my favorite dessert.

Fourth Course: Something Chocolate

D's course. No clue, looked good. He cleaned the plate. Next.

Something Coconut & Passionfruit

You had me at "tropical flavors". The rich coconut sorbet atop a crumbled graham-crackery crust. Passionfruit and coconut sauces swirling around the plate. This was my favorite dessert.

Mignardises: Brittle and Truffled Chocolate Truffles

It's no small feat pleasing my palate's limited patience with sweets. Nearly every course of this parade of sweets was a joy. Didn't love the brittle, but I adored the truffled chocolate truffles. To the extent I am considering trying to recreate them in a home cooked truffle tasting menu this winter during truffle season. (Be afraid. My efforts at sweets usually end up in the bin or as some reworked Frankensteinian concoction that may or may not taste good).

Black Olive Macarons, Frozen Chocolate Banana Lollipop

Nothing all that surprising in the flavors, the macarons tasted more of pure sugar than olive. The lollies were just perfect fine dining frozen chocolate covered bananas.

Enfin: Pear Brandy

This beautiful bottle was set right at our table, no stopper. And seemingly no limit to any booze indulgent intentions. I was feeling less than perfect that night (which in no way inhibited my appetite), so we just tasted. The booziness was too strong for D on the night in question (nursing quite the manly hangover), but loving eau-de-vie I loved this too.

But Wait! EMP Granola

We chomped on this in bed the next morning, sans milk. I can attest to its deliciousness. Pepitas, candied ginger, rolled oats.

Eleven Madison Park is the perfect place to go for a special dinner. The pomp and circumstance are just elevated enough to be god damned fancy. The food has enough whimsy to keep one from feeling like dining at EMP is a privilege. Clearly, the procession of deliciousness made the expense account level cheque seem almost like a value. Almost. I have eaten a small handful of once in a lifetime meals. I put this in that category, for us as a couple right now. EMP stands heads above the others, no question.

Salmon Corn Chowder with Tasteful Selections Purple Passion Potatoes

2010-12-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

One of the much talked about benefits of blogging is the swag. Well, swag is a benefit of some kinds of blogging. Mommy bloggers are known for how many products they receive, senders hoping for a positive review. And some beauty bloggers regularly get boxes of new releases from cosmetic companies. I can honestly say a couple beauty bloggers' reviews definitely drive me to Sephora.com more often than I would like to admit. Food blogging is not often characterized by product. Events, openings, new menus, festivals and things of that nature are a kind of swag of their own and are the extrinsic rewards with which review oriented bloggers tend to get bombarded.

Deciding in 2010 that I was going to spend less time attending special events in favor of spending more time at home with my husband and in my own kitchen has led to a lot more cooking and just generally enjoying my blog a little more in the last six months or so. Recently PR firm Golden Sun Marketing contacted me about trying some of their clients' produce. This is something I can review from the comfort of my own home, via my kitchen and my husband's full belly. First up, Tasteful Selections Purple Passion small potatoes.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Last week, newly home from sunny and freezing NYC, I was craving a cozy chowder. I chose a 2007 recipe from Gourmet magazine to rif on and started spinning. It's an inviting looking recipe for corn clam chowder, and since it's not really clam season I gave D free rein at the fish counter. He brought home salmon and scallops. I plan to play with the scallops next week.

After the boiled potatoes cooled, I sliced most of them for the soup. A few I put away in the fridge for later use. It never hurts to have some pre-cooked produce laying around for throwing together a quick healthy meal. More on that later.

Reading like a book from the top left. While waiting for D to come home from the grocery store, I tossed a simple version of mirepoix (my celery was a little wilted so I went with just carrot and onion) into my deepest pot with a little garlic and sauteed until the onion was translucent.Having a half jar of capers in the door of the fridge, I tossed those in too. I added corn shaved from three fresh ears, who knows in what hemisphere those ears were grown. Last, I tossed in cubed raw salmon and tossed the mixture until the salmon was cooked about halfway through. Then I poured in two 8 oz jars of clam juice for the rich flavor.

I tossed the cooked and sliced Purple Passion potatoes into the soup and brought the mixture to a boil until the potatoes were just warmed through. I wanted a little creaminess in the soup and in honor of cooking healthily I used almond milk instead of cream. I poured in about a cup and a half.

D declared this to be the best soup he has ever eaten, but honestly he says that every time I make homemade soup. I think this is because he eats a LOT of canned soup. Nevertheless, this was delicious. I could happily throw together some version of this cold weather friendly dish on a weekly basis.

Leftover Purple Passion potatoes? For the Eat My Blog bake sale benefit this week I unsuccessfully made caramel with pumpkin puree and pepitas. To add a little extra oomph to the flavor I used goat's milk butter instead of regular butter. My point? I had extra goaty butter in the fridge. For lunch today, I ate those purple potatoes heated through with plenty of goat's milk butter. The butter really brought out the sweet nuttiness of the Purple Passion potatoes. This simple lunch might have even been better than the soup. And those caramels? Add them to the growing list of my baking disasters.

Ippudo NYC

2010-12-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-0088

With ramen, as in so many other food things, I tend to let more experienced bloggers be my guide. I am still learning about ramen. What makes a good tonkatsu? How many toppings and what kind do I like? How many different regional variations are there? I learned a lot by making a few kinds at home, but I am by no means a master and never will be. So, for the trip to NYC I looked to Rameniac's guide to the bowl for 2009 and slurped along my merry way. We ate ramen every day. Every.single.day.

Rameniac calls Ippudo the second best bowl in North America. We stopped in one afternoon around 1:30 and the wait was 90+ minutes long. Close by was a branch of Setegaya (Rameniac's first best bowl in North America 2009). We strolled over there, low and behold the location at 90 University Place has been ousted by Ramen Takumi. Ramen Takumi is a likely looking hole in the wall. A half empty restaurant with completely empty stomachs and we were down for whatever ramen came our way. All the patrons there were Asian, take that for what you will. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Takumi. But they offer only chicken broth ramen. It was good, but didn't blow me out of the water. I ordered spicy ramen and it was actually spicy. Good. I would hit it again if in the 'hood and hungry 'cause there's no way I (my husband) is waiting 90 minutes for ramen (or anything).

Sunday morning after some quick Italian shoe shopping in the village I pushed D into a taxi landing on the doorstep of Ippudo 5 minutes after they opened. Above is the bar, hundreds of instant ramen cakes under glass. We still waited 15 minutes.

Ippudo reminds me a little of Katsuya or Sushi Roku, has an almost nightclub aesthetic. Very trendy. These are not my favorite restaurants. But I was there for the noodles and certainly the grade A people watching didn't spoil my fun.

The decor reminded me a little of pictures I have seen of the Bayless associated Red O in Los Angeles. I suppose it's silly to make comparisons. I did like the varied table configurations. Just in between this giant bamboo sculpture is a table for 6 made from a cross piece of wood cut from a single tree and varnished to mirrored perfection.

Along the back wall are booths seating 4 to 6...under the glass tops and hanging down over the side of the table are beautiful macramed flounces.

Small parties shared this communal table around an unlit fire pit. It was certainly cold enough outside for the fire pit to be lit, maybe they save the drama for evening. We were sat far in the back room and asked to be moved to the counter so we could watch the kitchen.

To our right, a cook puts out grilled appetizers. Here he puts the finishing touches on a small plate of ribs.

Directly in front of us a couple cooks work on the famous steamed pork buns. This guy minds the pork belly, steams the buns and puts the components together.

We started with ponzu hotate with yuzu and jalapeno.

In theory, the scallop is a little grilled and you can actually see grill marks on the flesh. In reality, the chef must have set the scallop down for a millisecond on a very hot grill because this was very rare. Fortunately, we love hotate sashimi so we were in good shape. This was delicious. I would definitely order this again.

I adventurously misordered. After the exotically luscious ramen at Yatai last summer I am tempted by exotic sounding ramen. The above ramen special caught my eye. Smoked oyster sauce, ankimo & pork chasyu pate over mini garlic toasts with chives and fried pickled ginger. It sounds so fun!

It was fun. And delicious. But frankly the broth was mild compared to the my husband's bowl and the noodles didn't have the spring I normally like. They were a little al dente which I thought was odd. What do I know? I am a ramen newb. Technically, in my mind, I should be ordering the same ramen bowl at every single spot (spicy miso, please) so I can really compare and contrast with more accuracy until I really know what I am doing/eating.

Recently at work while ooh'ing and aah'ing over various Southern California ramen establishments with one client another interjected to ask if by ramen we meant Top Ramen. lulz. Thank goodness I am no longer that much of a newb. It only takes one bowl, people. Just one amazing bowl of tonkatsu ramen will make you a convert.

Miso ramen. Perfection. This bowl was wonderful. The noodles were bouncy and cooked through, but not at all too soft. That white ball to the left is fresh ginger, enough that every single bite was full of ginger bits. Lots of green onion and greens, although the pork slices had literally no meat. Just fat. Flavorful, but too fatty. D felt this had too much ginger for his liking and was disappointed in the meat. Ultimately, he thinks Daikokuya is better and I can see his point overall. However, this broth is superior to Daikokuya, hands down. For my palate, it is all about the broth. Maybe we need to ramen at Daikokuya tonight to find out for sure.