American Cuisine :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for American Cuisine

Eating Tysons – Patsy’s

Aug09

Location: 8051 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182. (703) 552-5100

Date: November 22, 2023

Cuisine: American (duh)

Rating: Solid

My parents (or maybe my Dad) are a bit obsessed with this small Virginia chain. It’s like the more modern, more commercial variant of all the small American restaurants we used to eat at in the 1970s — but stripped of the soul.

Actually this interior space was once a Chesapeake Bay Seafood House, a place that served AYCE seafood and that was popular with my friends and I during High School.

Ozzie Rolls. Like donuts, but about half as sweet. Sugared butter.

Seafood Platter. 6 oysters, 6 midneck clams, 3 jumbo shrimp, smoked mussels & blood orange mignonette.

Shrimp Cocktail. 6 jumbo shrimp, fresh lemon & cocktail sauce.

Field Greens. grape tomatoes, sun dried cranberries, dates, pine nuts, garlic croutons & champagne vinaigrette…blue cheese or Laura Chenel goat cheese.

Crab & Corn Chowder.

Short Smoked Salmon Filet. marinated and smoked, then hickory grilled with fresh asparagus, mashed potatoes & creole mustard sauce.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs with fresh, hand cut fries & traditional cole slaw.

Warm White Chocolate Bread Pudding. bourbon custard sauce, vanilla ice cream & caramel.

It’s not bad, but it’s so “white bread.”

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: American Cuisine, McLean Va, Patsys, Seafood, ThanksGavin, Wine

The Not So New American

Jan06

Restaurant: Toomey’s

Location: 6085 Minaret Rd. “At The Village”. Mammoth Lakes, CA. (760)-924-4408

Date: December 30, 2015

Cuisine: American

Rating: decent, for Mammoth

Mammoth Lakes isn’t exactly a culinary capital, so another night brings us to:

A popular American joint right at the “Village.”

The inside has a “man cave” sports chic.

But like most Mammoth places they do allow corkage!

From my cellar: NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this cuvée, but with no lack of vivacity.

Baked Brie. French Brie baked in puff pastry topped with Apricot, Citrus, Berry Glaze, French Baguette & Fresh Fruit.

Humus w/Vegetables & Pita Bread. Creamy Bean Puree with Fresh Veggies and Pita Bread.

Lobster Taquitos. 3 Taquitos, Black Beans, Avacado Salsa & Salad.

From my cellar: 1993 Georges Noellat Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts. 92 points. Medium garnet-tinged ruby. Narrow paler rim showing a touch of brick, and clear at the very rim. Light, fresh nose. Spicy and floral with ripe cherry and plum fruit. Classy, but not much depth. Mouth feel is round, firm and sweetly fruited with red cherry. Mid-palate shows spicy, meaty tones. Round and pleasing, with good acidity and real flair. Lingering, spicy finish.

Fresh Organic Spring Mix Salad with Fresh Grilled Salmon. Seasonal fresh vegetables, goat Cheese, roasted garlic, balsamic, olive oil dressing.

Chicken tenders and fries.

Fish ‘n’ Chips – “Marin’ the English jealous”. Beer Battered Atlantic Cod served with Fries & Homemade Tartar Sauce.

Seafood Jambalaya “As southern as you can get in Mammoth”. Shrimp, scallops, king crab, Andouille Sausage. It wasn’t exactly real Jambalaya — the seafood was pretty good actually, but the sauce was more a ratatouille than a properly cooked down Creole dish. Still, not bad.

They have pies from Mimi’s Bakery, which is an awesome (even on the absolute non Mammoth scale) pie bakery.

Gingerbread pie.

Coconut cream pie. Amazing.
Chocolate Decadence pie.

Overall, Mimi’s was fine (for Mammoth). The service was top notch and very friendly. The food was solid, but hardly “exciting” in a foodie/culinary way. Still, their execution was decent. And it was walking distance from our condo!

For more dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: American Cuisine, Cream pie, Fish and Chips, Mammoth Lakes, Toomey's, Wine

Valentines at Michael’s

Mar18

Restaurant: Michael’s Santa Monica

Location: 1147 Third Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403. 310-451-0843

Date: February 14, 2013

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Great job with a tough night

Valentines is a notoriously difficult night to get a great meal on. The frenzied rush to maximize profits usually results in lackluster service and stilted over-priced fixed menus.

The first Valentines my wife and I celebrated was at Michaels, a Santa Monica staple that many credit for inventing New Californian cuisine, so we decided to head back and try it out. Things have been substantially updated this year both in decor and with regard to the menu — which is a necessity for any restaurant entering it’s 4th decade!

Michaels has a fantastic garden in back, which remains a nice temperature all year round due to heat lamps.

The special Valentines menu.

The ripe pear and hazelnut nose is marred by a note of lactic acid that leads to rich, sweet and generous medium-bodied flavors that possess good detail on the linear finish. I found this to be a bit disappointing reative to what I originally saw in cask as the nose is curious. This was a tad “advanced”, way more oxidized than it should have been.

Fromage blanc infused with maple and salmon roe.

Roasted Winter Squash Soup. Sherry Gastrique, Burrata, Sage, Chive.

Cowgirl (WA) and Cowboy (NY) Oysters on the half shell, Citrus Mignonette.

Asian Pear with Thyme, Citrus Brown Butter, Walnuts, Pecorino Fiore Sardo.

Seared Ahi Tuna “Carpaccio Style” Parsley, Roasted Garlic, Bone Marrow Vinaigrette.

Grilled Wild Stripped Bass. English Peas, Caramelized Shallots, Orange Nage.

Braised Prime Short Ribs. Coconut Polenta, Watercress and Pickled Chile Salad, Aromatic Soy Reduction.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Bar. Almond/Sesame Brittle, Blood Orange Caramel, Creme Fraiche.

Coconut Tapioca Pudding. Berry Caramel, Lime Zest, Coconut Oat Crisp.

This was both a nice menu and good execution. There were a few small service errors, but they recovered nicely. Overall, as Valentines dinners, go this was a very good one and we need to return and try the new menu on a regular night.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 2005 White Burgundy, American Cuisine, Burrata, California Cuisine, Meursault, Michael's Santa Monica, valentines day, White Burgundy

Gjelina Scores Again

Jan19

Restaurant: Gjelina [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, CA 90291. (310) 250-1429

Date: Jan 11, 2011

Cuisine: New Californian

Rating: Perfect lunch!

My brother and I love Gjelina’s for lunch. Nowhere else in LA is the casual New American done so right. This is my second review, you can find the first here.

Today’s menu. It changes up constantly, although there are similar themes.

They always have Burrata, which my loyal readers know I just adore (CLICK HERE for my home version). This is “Burrata with Salted Anchovy, Pepperonata & Mint Pesto on Toasts.” Interesting. This has a vague resemblance to the classic Spanish dish done so well at Botin in Madrid (CLICK HERE to see). The anchovies were the salted kind, although good ones. I would have preferred the fresher Spanish fish, but it was still a soft and tasty dish.

“Wood Roasted Cauliﬂower with Garlic, Parsley & Chili.” We always get this here, as it’s one of the best Cauliﬂower dishes I’ve had. Sour, tangy, and a tiny bit spicy.

This was a new pizza I hadn’t tried before. “Duck Sausage, Black Trumpet Mushroom, Garlic, and Mozzarella.” Good, but not as good as their “Lamb Sausage, Conﬁt Tomato, Rapini, Pecorino & Asiago.” Or perhaps I’ve just become jaded by Ultimate Pizza.

Pizza at Gjelina’s always comes with the red pepper, parmesan, and oregano. A sort of high class variant of what you’d have on the table at a New York or Jersey pizza joint.

“Niman Ranch Lamb Burger with Harissa Aioli, Roasted Tomato & Arugula,” is usually on the menu, and for a reason. Not only are the seasoned fries great (particularly with the aioli and the harissa), but the burger is totally succulent lamb city.

Close up of that pink!

And the best thing at Gjelina: “Butterscotch Pot de Crème with Salted Caramel & Crème Fraiche.” This is an absolutely perfect desert to my taste. Rich creamy butterscotch creme, carmel, and a bit of salt.

No disappointments here.

If you liked this New American, click for reviews of similar places: Rustic Canyon (REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2), Tavern (REVIEW 1, REVIEW 2), or coming soon, Fig.