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Eating Jerusalem – Inbal Breakfast

Jul17

Location: Jabotinsky Street 3 Jerusalem 92145. 02-675-6666

Date: June 26 – July 1, 2019

Cuisine: Israeli Breakfast

Rating: solid buffet, although one could ask, “where’s the bacon?”

During the Jerusalem section of our trip we stayed in the Inbal, which was a lovely and newish medium sized hotel just outside of the old city.

The Temple Mount, Western Wall, and the Dome of the Rock — where the binding of Isaac is said to have occurred! Well, and several thousand other years of sacred happenings.

The Inbal’s main breakfast dining area is this sunny courtyard.

Gluten free station. The buffet lights always make everything warm and partially overexposed. Even fussing with it (briefly) in Lightroom I can’t quite resolve the two tone color (probably from the whiter natural light and the warm display lamps).

Pastries.

More pastries — like babka.

Pancake and waffle station.

Egg station.

Omelet bar.

Cured fish.

Veggies and cheese.

More cheese.

Cereal.

Salads.

More salds.

And more salads.

Fruits and nuts.

Halvah station. Yes, there is actually a halvah station. For those that don’t know, this is a sweet mix of sugar and sesame paste.

Fruits.

And more fruits.

Drinks.

Breads.

Espresso and smoothy bar.

This was an extensive breakfast buffet with high quality ingredients. Like most hotels in Jerusalem, the Inbal is Kosher so the buffet was dairy and absent of all meat. As I was trying to avoid (the yummy looking) carbs this made things a touch tougher, leaning me hard into the cheeses, eggs, and (a bit too salty) cured fish. Still, there was so much selection I ate way too much. Everything was very fresh.

They do operate on Saturday under quite peculiar sabbath rules that I don’t fully understand. The “make your own omelet” station and other things involving live cooking vanished, but dishes were still hot and being constantly replaced. Certain devices like the toaster oven were shut and covered. Still the employees are still “working” so go figure.

Overall, very solid effort.

Click here to see more Eating Israel posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, breakfast buffet, Buffet, Eating Israel, Eating Jerusalem, Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem

Quick Eats – Superba

May24

Restaurant: Superba Food + Bread

Location: 1900 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291. (310) 907-5075

Date: April 21, 2019 and February 3, 2020

Cuisine: American Bakery and Cafe

Rating: Seemed pretty good, need to go back

On the way to the airport with friends we stopped at yet another new cafe, making this three new reports in one weekend!

Superba (how do you pronounce this?) has been on my list for awhile.

I pass it all the time on Lincoln, where it stands out as looking like it was built after the 70s.

The interior is modern construction minimalist, like the contractor forgot to finish the job.

The have a bike bakery — it was passover and I’m on a low carb diet so I didn’t try any of that.

Wine of the likely too-plebian-for-me style.

The menu (2/3/20).

Cappuccino.

Turmeric latte.

We were in a rush too, so we couldn’t even eat in, but got take out (it was faster) and went to the patio. None of the food looks that attractive in it’s takeaway boxes.

LITTLE GEM CAESAR. brussels sprouts/ treviso/ garlic crouton.

Basic pancake.

OAXACA CHEESE OMELETTE. chilaquiles/ tomatillo salsa/ crema.

I think this came with the omelet?

SMOKED + CURED FISH BOARD. beet cured salmon/ smoked trout/ cod/ sprouted rye toast. Looks pretty minimal in this configuration.

KETO PLATE. beef brisket/ beeler’s bacon/ turkey sausage/ grilled halloumi/ sunny egg/ roasted tomato/ dressed avocado. This wasn’t bad.

On a second visit we ate inside and actually had plates, so here is again the:

KETO PLATE. beef brisket/ beeler’s bacon/ turkey sausage/ grilled halloumi/ sunny egg/ roasted tomato/ dressed avocado. It was much better in this more attractive and less jumbled context.

HAM + CHEESE QUICHE. simple green salad/ radishes/ red wine vinaigrette. Really nice fluffy and “porky” quiche. The lardons inside really amped it up.

BREAKFAST SANDWICH. fried eggs/ beeler’s bacon/ cheddar/ watercress/ crispy potatoes.

CROQUE MADAME. sunny egg/ ham/ gruyere + raclette/ salad.

The first time I went, things were ok, but the eating outside with the food jumbled in cardboard containers really held it back. On our second (inside at a normal table) visit I was considerably more impressed. They have a good kitchen here and everything I tried was well executed and tasty.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, Cafe, keto, Seperba, Venice California

Quick Eats – Little Prince

May22

Restaurant: Little Prince

Location: 2424 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 356-0725

Date: April 20, 2019

Cuisine: American Cafe

Rating: Tasty, but lots of carbs

I have tried several times to test out Little Prince but in LA new breakfast spots can get really busy — and I refuse to wait.

I even once had an OpenTable res here and showed up and they REFUSED to honor it, saying it would be 3 hours. Seriously? They claimed it was a “mistake” and it shouldn’t have been listed. But they should have just made it work some way.

Room is small and cute.

There may even be a patio out back, didn’t go back to check but many places on this strip do.

The menu. We were eating low/no carb and had a bit of a tough time finding items hidden on this list that didn’t have some form of carbohydrate.

Braised bacon. Thick but a touch dry.

Smoked brisket and anson mills grits, salsa verde and a fried egg.

Soft scrambled eggs with an herb salad and toast with smoked sablefish and creme fraiche. Very basic, but nicely prepared.

Eggs baked in the wood oven with smoked cauliflower, green chermoula and flatbread with merguez.

House made ridiculously guilty looking cinnamon buns — we didn’t have them but they smelled and looked great.

Food is very simple, maybe a touch Southern, and quite well prepared. More interesting than you would expect, but not exactly incorporating too many exotic tastes or flavors. Small, crowded, loud, and they have a touch of an attitude. Best to go at an off hour or with two at most.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bacon, Breakfast, Cafe, Eggs, Little Prince, Santa Monica, Venice

Back East – IHop

Jan11

Restaurant: IHOP

Location: 481 Old York Rd, Jenkintown, PA 19046. (215) 886-6150

Date: November 23, 2018

Cuisine: Breakfast

Rating: Cheap at least

The morning after Thanksgiving we decided to pack up and head to east coast classic…

IHOP! Yep, Andy Gavin in a cheap mass market chain — take a photo now!

The inside is like a cleaner version of what I remember.

The table too, with the fake wood and the rake of flavored syrups.

The menu is prettier than it used to be!

What would a cold Philadelphia morning be without hot chocolate?

Pancakes and scrambled eggs.

Some kind of omelet.

A scramble of eggs, potatoes, avocado, salsa etc.

Pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Pretty much the ultimate American breakfast classic.

My epic Mexican Tres Leches pancakes. Basically pancakes with caramel and sweetened condensed milk.

It included a sidecar plate of hash browns, eggs, and sausages.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, ihop, Pancakes, Philadelphia

Eating NY – Sarabeth’s

Aug14

Restaurant: Sarabeth’s Central Park South

Location: 40 Central Park S, New York, NY 10021. (212) 826-5959

Date: July 2, 2017

Cuisine: Breakfast

Rating: New/old school?

Sarabeth’s is a New York breakfast mainstay, located right along the south side of Central Park.

We had to wait over an hour, even at 9am!

The place is huge, and mobbed.

Cappuccino of course.

The menu.

Spinach omelet.

French toast with strawberries.

Pancakes.

Oatmeal with strawberries and banana.
Omelet and muffin.

I had a crab Benedict, but I guess I forgot to take a picture of it. Sad, as it was the best thing (for my taste).

Overall, Sarabeth’s was very classic. The menu wasn’t super interesting, but execution was solid. Still it’s pricey. And the format is oddly old-school with the white tablecloths and liveried waiters. Certainly fun to try but I’m not sure I would crave it.

For more New York dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, eating_new_york, New York, Sarabeth's

Quick Eats – Bru’s Wiffle

Oct10

Restaurant: Bru’s Wiffle

Location: 2408 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (310) 453-2787

Date: October 5 & November 25, 2016

Cuisine: Breakfast

Rating: Interesting and solid combo

I’m always up for trying a new breakfast joint, and I noticed this one in that breakfast heavy corner of 26th and Wilshire.

Cute logo.

Very simple space that does the job.

The menu has a lot of options, particularly for those with a sweet tooth.

And look, latte art!

banana split waffle. belgian waffle topped with ice cream, whipped cream, bananas, strawberries & chocolate sauce

Breakfast burrito. mushrooms, onions, bacon, eggs, potatoes & crispy chicken, topped with enchilada, salsa verde and queso fresco. That’s a lot in one burrito!

eggs benedict. crispy chicken on mini waffles.

eggs benedict. smoked salmon on mini waffles.

eggs benedict. canadian bacon on mini waffles.

Chicken & waffle: huevos rancheros. with queso fresca, refried beans, fried egg, guacamole & red salsa. Seems a little scary, but those that ate it enjoyed it a lot.

Chicken & waffle: Golden goat. served with goat cheese and honey. A seemingly weird combination, but the salty sweet was quite good. Nice chunks of boneless crispy fried chicken too.

chicken on fire. served with grilled onions, grilled jalapenos, oaxacan cheese with blazing sauce. Very savory. Quite delicious, but sticks with you for a WHILE because of the heavy carb and fat factor.

Overall, Bru’s definitely seemed solid for a casual (and hearty) breakfast place. The staff was very friendly too. There are a lot of substantial options and it would make a great place for a crazy treat of a breakfast with my son (can we say chocolate waffles?).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, Bru's Wiffle, waffles

Cocoa Island – Endless Breakfast

Apr17

Restaurant: Cocoa Island

Location: Maldives. Tel +960 6641818 Fax +960 6641919 Email res@cocoaisland.como.bz

Date: March 16-22, 2012

Cuisine: International

Rating: Mindblowing Hotel Breakfast in paradise

One of my oldest and best friend’s wedding brought us literally across the world to Cocoa Island in the Maldives. This little slice of paradise is an atol about two feet tall in the Indian Ocean not far from the southern tip of India and Sri Lanka.

As you can see, it was hardship duty. Completely equatorial the weather is about 88 degrees day and night year round. The ocean is about 18 inches deep and around… you guessed it… 88 degrees. Above is the view from the restaurant, which brings us to my favorite topic, food. The food at this resort was incredible, and best of all was the breakfast. It was included with the room and you could order as much as you liked. This led us to term it “endless breakfast.”

There was a cold buffet plus this menu. Again, you could order one thing, two things, or ten things.

But one must begin with a cappuccino. Or three.

The cereal section of the buffet.

They had great baked goods.

And jams.

And fruit.

The yoghurt with fruit was incredible. Rich and unpasteurized. The fruit juice was pretty spectacular too.

We’ll start with some classic Indian breakfast. Potato masala dosa (below) with daal (lentil curry) and some kind of creamy sauce.

The ultra crisp potato filled fried crepe.

Maldivian egg curry. You spoon it out onto the crepes. There is coconut on the side too.

A fantastic egg’s benedict.

And a frittata.

Or straight up eggs, bacon, and hash browns. This ain’t no MacDonalds.

They had these amazing flatbreads. This is cottage cheese, tomato, arugala, and avocado.

Or this one with top grade salmon and cottage cheese.

Or this meet and cheese plate.

Or a bit of fresh sliced mango.

Then come the starches. These incredible waffles.

Or French toast. You can see what I mean when I say the food was fantastic.

One day I spent nine hours (no exaggeration) at the table. Not only was the food continuous and great, but so was the ever changing parade of dining companions. Truly, the ultimate endless breakfast.

A review of lunch can be found here and dinner here at this incredible resort.

For more dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Asia, baking, Breakfast, Cocoa Island, India, Indian cuisine, Indian Ocean, Maldives, Resort, Sri Lanka, Travel and Tourism

Palm Springs – Colony Palms Hotel

Jan16

Restaurant: Colony Palms Hotel

Location: 572 N. Indian Canyon Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262. 760.969.1801

Date: December 26-27, 2011

Cuisine: American

Rating: Solid cafe food

During the holiday break my wife, son, and I made a quick little visit to Palm Springs and I would be remiss as a food blogger in not chronically the culinary aspects of the journey. Foodwise, as in many other ways, this little desert oasis is a bit of a throwback.

The view from our hotel restaurant, which given the gorgeous 78 degree clear December weather was pretty darn fine.

Veggie burger with fries. Apparently, this was a very good example of the beast. The fries sure were good.

Cobb salad (I left out the tomatoes). I’ve had a lot of cobb salads. This was a 6/10 as they go.

At breakfast, French toast with creme anglais and apple soaked in calvados. This isn’t the prettiest dish but it sure tasted great. The creme was superb and the apples lent some addition cinnamony sweetness to the mix.

A berry smoothy.

And my scramble, with ham, bacon, caramelized onions, and goat cheese. Again, not a looker, but it tasted good.

As hotel restaurants go the Colony Palms one was solid. The food was tasty and the setting nice. It wasn’t anything to completely rave about, but on average at hotels you can do far far worse.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, Brunch, California, Coachella Valley, Colony Palms Hotel, Dessert, Eggs, French Toast, Palm Springs, Palm Springs California, smothie

Breakfast = Carbs + Salt

Oct10

The best part about the 26 hour fast of Yom Kippur is breaking it!

Best to start with some wine on a really empty stomach.

Parker 91. “Bottled the week before I visited, his 2005 Morey-St.-Denis en la Rue de Vergy displays aromas of fresh, ripe plum, black cherry, bitter herbs and toasted nuts. Ripe plum and black cherry along with deep rich meatiness mingle in the mouth with notes of mineral salt and iodine and sweet nut oil nuances. Creamy in texture and boasting remarkably fine tannins for a village wine and no hint of its 50% new wood, this finishes with a flattering persistence of crisp, subtly-bitter fresh fruit skin and fascinating mineral suggestions. It should drink fabulously over at least a 5-7 year period.”

Traditional, of course, is deli (i.e. bagels and lox etc.). We get ours from Brent’s Deli, which is my favorite for dairy and fish.

The bagels.

Rye bread of course.

A variety of cream cheeses, old school, new whipped, veggie, and my personal favorite, honey almond (I like the whole sweet and salty thing).

The all important “monster cheese” (what my three year-old calls it).

Various bagel toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber.

Brent’s lox is so thick 18 of us toasted 3-4 pounds of it.

Chopped marinated herring. An acquired taste, but I spent too much time in the mid east not to.

Tuna salad (this is homemade by my sister-in-law Wendy).

My personal favorite, whitefish salad. Oh so good.

Salted cod, another classic.

Brent’s slightly sweet cucumber salad (like that) and cole slaw.

And old school pickles.

And fruit.

Plus a bit of homemade chinese chicken-less salad.

Parker 90. “The 2009 Rosso di Montalcino is totally beautiful and elegant in its expressive bouquet, silky fruit and understated, harmonious personality. This is a wonderful, impeccable Rosso from Le Potazzine. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2017.”

And my plate of gluttony. Four bagel halves. I even had another afterward.

The dessert spread is even more deadly.

Parker 99! “A monumental effort, the 2001 Rieussec boasts a light to medium gold color in addition to a fabulous perfume of honeysuckle, smoky oak, caramelized tropical fruits, creme brulee, and Grand Marnier. The wine is massive and full-bodied yet neither over the top nor heavy because of good acidity. With intense botrytis as well as a 70-75-second finish, this amazing Sauternes will be its apogee between 2010-2035.”

It was that good too!

Most of the desserts come from Viktor Benes, an old school Czech bakery with really good Eastern European baked goods. This is a chocolate fudge cake. My in-laws are chocoholics.

Apple pie. Halfway between American style and strudel.

Same with the cherry.

And an assortment of decadent baked goodies. Cookies, macaroons, apple fritters, rugelach, almond strudel-like things etc.

Afterward I stumbled upstairs in a pleasant salt and carb coma. I still felt bloated the next morning too.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bagel, baked goods, Breakfast, Brent's Deli, Cook, Cucumber, Deli, Dessert, herring, Lox, Munster, Salad, Sandwiches, whitefish salad, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors, Yom Kippur

Wynn Breakfast Buffet

Sep27

Restaurant: Wynn Breakfast Buffet

Location: 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89109. (702) 770-7000

Date: September 24, 2011

Cuisine: Breakfast Buffet

Rating: Quantity over quality

What would a Foodie Club trip to Vegas be without at least one buffet. Being as we were staying at the Wynn Encore, and the Wynn buffet should theoretically be one of the nicer ones in town (and it was comped) off we went. This is the weekend brunch.

The room is pretty enough (by Vegas standards). The buffet is fairly reasonable at $32 on the weekend, $10 extra for all you can drink cheap champagne (we skipped).

Just part of the main service hall. This buffet goes for serious quantity and variety, at the expense of quality. Not that it’s bad, but it isn’t superlative either.

Fruit.

Salad.

Cesar salad.

More fruit.

Soups.

Meats.

Bagels.

Cheeses.

Salmon in pastry.

Fish dishes.

Fish cakes and potatoes.

Heat lamp pizza, four types.

Pancakes, waffles etc.

Sauces for above.

Pastas.

Eggs and good old fashioned pig products.

Pulled Pork sliders. Actually pretty good.

Veggies.

Prime rib, super fatty bacon, etc.

Sketchy mexican dishes.

Toppings for nachos.

Cerviche. Had me frightened.

Eggs with chorizo.

More mexican.

Chung King Chinese.

Now this is different. Congee. For those that don’t know, congee is a typical Chinese (and other Asian) rice gruel (like oatmeal) that you spice up with toppings. They didn’t have grubs, but they did have 1,000 year old egg. In China, I often saw grubs.

A few bits of dim sum. The center pork thingys were okay.

Cereal.

Veggies.

Lox and toppings bar.

Shrimp. Not the best shelled shrimp in the world, but edible.

Various cold salads.

The usual assortment of mediocre sushi rolls.

A made to order omelet bar.

Now dessert fared a little better. Maybe because cakes are more forgiving of sitting around.

I’ll let the pictures do the talking here.

Candied apples and chocolate covered marshmallows.

Gelato. That was interesting. It wasn’t up to Italian Gelato standards, but wasn’t awful either.

Chocolate covered marshmallows.

More cakes.

Cakes. The Dulce de Leche was pretty good.

Cookies and cupcakes.

More goodies.

Fruit. Eww!

Pastries.

More.

And even more.

Cinnamon buns and coffee cakes.

Fat is flavor — my plate.

And a dessert sampling.

Overall this buffet suffered greatly from too muchness or quantity over quality. The LA based Tres buffet is an example of trying to do much more with many less dishes. Here, dabbling into every conceivable type of cuisine (Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, etc.). So much that nothing could be well done. They should have just concentrated on classic brunch food perhaps. Who knows. But a lot of the stuff had that scary sitting around in chaffers factor. Yes, I’m a snob. Still, I was able to find some perfectly edible items. It just wasn’t great. The desserts were pretty decent though.

For more Vegas dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bagel, Breakfast, Brunch, Buffet, Dessert, Las Vegas, Nevada, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Vegas, Wynn, Wynn Las Vegas

Joan’s on Third for Breakfast

Sep04

Restaurant: Joan’s on Third

Location: 8350 West Third Street. 323.655.2285

Date: August 20, 2011

Cuisine: American

Rating: Fantastic gourmet shop & cafe

Another father/son morning rolled around and after a most enjoyable trip to the Peterson Automotive Museum (excellent boy fun) we headed over to Joan’s on Third.

The busy Third Street shop front is pretty much an institution. This is a combined cafe, gourmet shop, and bakery.

You can pretty much bet on seeing celbrities, or at the very least lots of the beautiful people.

There is a good amount of outside seating.

Cappuccino of course.

My son went for the pancakes.

I had this grown up egg mcmuffin type sandwich. Buttered bread, egg, cheese, and of course, bacon!

Joan’s has some of the best cupcakes around and these are two of my favorites. Coconut and snickers!

It’s worth showing the interior spaces. We have all sorts of really good (but overpriced) gourmet products.

Fresh baked goods.

Cheeses!

Meats!

And even more baked goods. I only photoed a small sampling. Joan has really good taste. There may be a mark up, but there is some serious yummy going on here. That’s what impresses me the most, the general extremely high level of culinary quality of most stuff. The prices can be a shock though.

We’ve used them for catering too. They have all sorts of delicious salads, quiches, and whatnots.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: baking, Breakfast, Brunch, Cheese, coffee, cupcakes, Dessert, Food, Joan's on Third, Los Angeles, McMuffin, Pancakes

Gjelina Brunch

Aug19

Restaurant: Gjelina [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: August 6 & 14, 2011

Cuisine: New Californian

Rating: Great food, annoying service!

I hadn’t been to Gjelina (despite it being a favorite) in a few months but I headed back there for two brunches only a week apart, one with my son and the other with my brother and cousin.

The all important Cappuccino. They make a good one as attested by the nice micro-foam. I’m not a fan of those coffee with a pile of foam on top versions.

“Moroccan Baked Eggs with Merguez, Chili, Tomato Sauce, Cilantro & Spiced Yogurt.” This was REALLY tasty. The sausage was awesome, as was the sauce and yogurt combo. It had a pretty genuine Moroccan flavor profile.

My son wanted eggs. He didn’t even touch them though. Toddlers!

“Crispy Sunny Eggs with Prosciutto, Romesco, Arugula & Lemon.” This was also very good, and very similar (except for the ham) to my special Breakfast Eggs.

“Pizza Margherita.” A very nice version of the classic. Rich tomatoey sauce, lots of basil.

My son ate most of this, although he complained about the “green stuff” and made me remove it.

“Duck Sausage, Nameko Mushroom, Garlic & Mozzarella.” The sausage was fantastic, and the overall pizza was very smokey with an interesting chewy mushroom texture. I liked it a lot, but you certainly have to be a shroom person.

“Peach crumble with Crème Fraiche.” I like my crumbles more crumbly.

“Butterscotch Pot de Crème with Salted Caramel w/ Crème Fraiche.” This is just incredible as always. I could eat like 10 of them. Bad me. Bad me.

Overall, the food at Gjelina is fantastic as always, but I need to snark about the service, and I’m not the first. Apparently the owner/managers even like to hire staff with attitude! Boo hiss! The first time, I asked to get some eggs that on the menu had strips of bacon on top with the bacon on the side (or gone). I was told (very rudely) that I could remove the bacon myself. In this day and age of people with dietary restrictions this just isn’t acceptable. I can understand not building totally custom dishes, but trivial omissions? Give me a break.

On the second trip we ordered some vegetables which didn’t come (the waiter read them back to us too). Plus similar with an ice tea even after asking about three times. Eventually, after the waiter went AWOL we found him and brought up both. He didn’t even apologize. 10 minutes after that he brought the ice tea and said he’d take it off the bill. Ooh ah, $4 ice tea for free (it’s all profit anyway). We mentioned something to the manager. He didn’t apologize either, just nodded his head. Then finally, about 5 minutes after that he snuck back and apologized, like it had been eating at him and he felt he needed to. There was no offer of a freebee or anything. My brother asked him point blank about that and he took a dessert off the tab.

I go for the food, but they do need to lose a bit of the ‘tude.

You can check out two other Gjelina reviews HERE and HERE.

Or my index of LA Restaurants.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Abbot Kinney Blvd, Breakfast, Brunch, California, Cooking, Dessert, Eggs, Fruit and Vegetable, gjelina, Merguez, Pizza, Prosciutto, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Romesco, Sausage, Tomato sauce, Venice

Trés – Brunché Fantastique

Aug07

Restaurant: Trés [1, 2]

Location: 465 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.246.5555

Date: July 31, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Brunch

Rating: Fantastique

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I follow José Andrés on twitter, and I was reading (and crying) about the final meal at elBulli, so when the restaurant selection for brunch with friends came up, the SLS came to mind.

Enter the whacky world of Trés at the SLS.

Inside is the same kind of bizarre Philippe Starck space as at Bazaar. High tables on one side.

Comfortable lounging on the other.

The brunch menu is here. There are buffet, ala carte, and “experience” options. We went for the experience which is the buffet + an entree + a mimosa for only $10 more (the mimosa alone is $16).

The buffet is endless, but i’ll begin with breads and pastries.

And more.

And condiments for such.

And the table des fruits.

Melons.

Various fruit juice “waters.” These are lighter than regular juice. There were about six exotic types.

If you are so inclined, you can add them to these glasses of fruit for a blend of fruit and juice.

And these spectacular yogurts with fruit.

Cereal if you are boring.

The the vege station. Prep glasses for gazpacho.

A zoom of one. You add the gazpacho yourself, and there are other condiments.

The gazpacho.

Salad plates and condiments.

Pull back for the big picture.

Then the meat and cheese station.

Pig, pig, and more pig. Hams and salamis.

Jamon del Iberico!

Some more fruits.

Spanish cheeses.

And more.

And rolls and condiments. To the rights are jams and butters.

Inside are mini steam buns (more on that later).

Amazing smoked salmon and caviars and accompaniments.

Creme fraiche, chives, onions, quail eggs, two types of caviar (including the real stuff).

The salmon was amazing.

And roast beef.

Then some desserts.

And more.

And an extensive assortment of petite fours from the pasticerie. Passion fruit pate des fruits on top, bon bons, cookies.

Our meals came with mimosas. This is the classic. The alcohol is cava (Spanish champagne).

Or the even yummier grapefruit mimosa.

A close up of a bit of caesar salad. Very tasty.

The gazpacho was amazing. Just totally amazing. I had three helpings as did several others.

A plate of goodies. You can see the caviars (and meats).

I made a couple of these custom steam buns. Wow!

Fried potatoes.

An omelet with mushrooms and zucchini blossoms.

360 degree eggs, toasted brioche, hollandaise air, and Jamon Serrano. This was one of the better eggs benedict I’ve had — and I’ve had a lot.

The salmon version.

Grilled cheese.

Fries — always yummy.

This Greek yogurt with fruit (this one had apricots) were so incredibly delicious! Sweet though.

Then some desserts, which are more or less highlights of the Bazaar’s desserts. These are mango and cream.

“Hot chocolate mouse, three layers,” mini version.

Classic Spanish flan.

Some of the whacky decorations.

more

and more.

Even the bar nuts are cool.

And this crazy zesty lemonade, which served nicely as an aperitif.

Overall this was a fantastic brunch. Different than your typical one, but fantastique for sure. It holds up in every way to the quality level of the various José Andrés offerings at the SLS!

Click here to see more LA dining, or reviews of The Bazaar and Saam (also at the SLS).

The entrance again, behind us is the parking zoo. And it’s a serious zoo.

Also check out a lunch meal here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bazaar, Breakfast, Brunch, California, Dessert, El Bulli, Ferran Adrià, Fruit, José Andrés, Juice, La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, Philippe Starck, Restaurant, Spain, Trés, vegetarian

Room with a Vu

Aug06

Restaurant: Vu [1, 2]

Location: 14160 Palaway Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292 310.439.3033

Date: July 28 & 30, 2011

Cuisine: Modern

Rating: Interesting, but a little all over the place

ANY CHARACTER HERE

My brother and I were out for our weekly lunch adventure and after Gjelina had a 45 minute wait we made our way to Vu, which I had tried a couple months ago for dinner.

Vu does live up to its name, sporting a nice patio with an excellent view of the marina.

I was a little surprised to find the lunch menu, PDF here, a bit “more conventional” than the modern tapas centric dinner menu.

Bread.

“Grilled Polenta: Asparagus, tomato, pickled red onion, aged balsamic.”

“Green Curry Soup: Mussels, coconut boba, micro cilantro.” This was quite good. Fairly spicy, coconuty, definably rich. The mussels, boba, and pork lumps inside were like little prizes to hunt for.

“Seared King Cole Duck Breast Salad: mixed greens, goat cheese, dried cherries, chocolate-spiced cashews, red wine vinaigrette.” This was pretty tasty, the duck was good, and the various elements. But the mix was overall a little weird. I’m pretty sure there was sisho in the greens, as they had that distinct flavor. Now I like sisho, but the overall flavor profile of the dish was a little helter-skelter.

“Blue Crab Cakes: charred tomato, orange, brioche bread crumbs, pickled red onion, mache, mustard ice cream.” These crab-cakes were way over fried, and inside they were stuffed with tarragon. So much so that they tasted like tarragon cakes. This wasn’t ideal, masking the crab flavor (as did the heavy fry). No where near in the league of the crab-cakes from Houstons or Capo.

I also popped down to Vu two days after this with my toddler from some brunch as we were already in the Marina.

The brunch menu can be found here.

Pancakes. Pretty conventional. I think the syrup was vanilla syrup, which was tasty.

My son likes a mix in with strawberries.

“Lobster Omelette: asparagus, shaved fennel, niman ranch pork belly, pommery hollandaise, home fries.” This wasn’t bad at all, but the overall flavor profile was again a little weird. The sour mustard clashed a bit with the sweetness of the pork and lobster.

Some VERY good fries, with a cumin based seasoning on them.

And some fantastic Neiman ranch bacon. Really really good bacon.

Overall Vu is trying interesting stuff, but the chef is too wild with his palette. I’m all for crazy and interesting combinations and new modern techniques — really all over them — but they need to be employed with care. Dishes still have to work together harmoniously, which isn’t really going on here.

Click here to see the previous review of Vu.

or other LA restaurants.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beach, Breakfast, Brunch, Cooking, crab, Crab cake, crab cakes, Fish and Seafood, Green Curry, Marina del Rey California, Modern Cuisine, Pancakes, Red onion, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sandwiches, Vu

Eating Santa Margherita – Miramare Breakfast

Jul26

Restaurant: Grand Hotel Miramare (Breakfast)

Location: Santa Margherita, Italy

Date: June 26-29, 2011

Cuisine: Ligurian

Rating: Mid level Italian breakfast

ANY CHARACTER HERE

As I’ve written about earlier, almost all hotels in Italy include buffet breakfast. The Grand Hotel Miramare is no exception.

This is the same dining terrace as we ate dinner at on the previous evening.

And the view still doesn’t suck.

The have cappuccino and juice as always.

Various sausages, sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes.

Italian bacon. Eggs.

Breads.

Juices.

Yogurt.

Cereals.

A few cakes and jams, although nothing compared to the cake selection at the Adriatic beach hotel.

Fruit and cheese.

And a closeup of the cheese. Missing here, oddly for Italy, were the cured meats like Prosciutto.

My plate. A bit of protein, a bit of cake.

This local cake was really interesting. Not only did it have various dried fruits inside (raisons and some other stuff), but it had fennel seeds!

Overall this breakfast, while totally fine, was a bit of a disappointment considering the level of the hotel. The more commercial Palace Hotel (here for breakfast) we stayed at earlier in the trip had a much more extensive buffet, with even a slightly higher ingredient level. Even the Real Fini (here for breakfast) may have had a few more options, although the breakfasts were fairly comparable.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Adriatic Sea, Breakfast, Brunch, Cake, Cinque Terre, eating-italy, Hotel, Italian cuisine, Italy, Liguria, Prosciutto, Santa Margherita, Santa Margherita Ligure, Travel and Tourism

Eating Tuscany – Villa Breakfast

Jul13

Location: Staggia, Italy

Date: June 11-25, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

ANY CHARACTER HERE

This is our third year renting a villa in Europe for a big chunk of June. I’ve experimented with different ways to handle the breakfast situation for a large number of people (9-15 is what we’ve had). It’s not practical to go out everyday, it would just take too long to wrangle everyone, and a free for all at the house (which we tried last year) has all sorts of issues. Namely the challenge of restocking the groceries and cleaning up. So, our houses at this year’s villa arranged to set and clear a continental breakfast table, to which we added some local products. Overall it worked out very well.

The first thing I need is my coffee. Cappuccino this time of morning. Our hosts made them, which was convenient as last year my dad was making them straight for 90 minutes every morning. Given that many people have two, and the slow speed of the little home machines, it’s hard to churn a lot of them out.

The full spread.

Various dry goods, yogurts, jams, cereal, orange juice.

Fruit, cookies, toast, blood orange juice (yum).

We also put out some of the local cheeses, mostly Pecorino.

And more.

And the stubs of all sorts of them.

A few cow cheeses from the local market.

No Italian breakfast is complete without Prosciutto.

Or Salami.

Our hosts also baked a variety of pastries and breads over the two weeks. Homemade croissants in this case.

A really yummy chocolate torte. Buttery crust, with congealed nuttella type filling.

We had some extra ricotta and our baker turned it into this wonderful cheesecake.

Chocolate inside, with a tasty crust and coco top. It was like breakfast tiramisu!

Pound cake.

Cherry tart.

Delicious chocolate cake, tasted like a giant brownie. Nothing like chocolate to pick you up in the morning.

Tuscan apple pie. Really good stuff, perhaps drier and more bready than the American version, halfway between that and an apple strudel. Delicious.

Blackberry tart. These kind of fruit tarts are typically Tuscan.

Mixed local fruit.

And cherries, which are local and in season.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, Brunch, cappuccino, Chianti, Dessert, eating-italy, Italian cuisine, Italy, Orange juice, pastry, Pecorino, Prosciutto, Salami, Tart, Torte, Toscana, Tuscany

Eating Milano Marittima – Palace Hotel Breakfast

Jun19

Restaurant: Palace Hotel

Location: Cervia / Milano Marittima, Italy

Date: June 9-11, 2011

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great hotel breakfast

ANY CHARACTER HERE

The Palace Hotel in Cervia fits into an interesting class of European hotel. It’s a beach resort, and elegant, but hosted in a building from the 1960s or 70s that has been newly restored. This is not the kind of old school Belle Epoque place like say Le Metropole in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. But it is very nice and well run.

Breakfast is outside on the beach/pool patio.

Another view. The Adriatic beach is right behind that hedge.

This breakfast puts the typical one at the Hotel Real Fini to shame, but it follows the same basic format of large cold breakfast buffet and a few hot items. Here are the jams and spreads!

And more of them, plus teas and a few other odds and ends.

Then cereals.

Juices and additives for yogurt or cereal.

Have a few Fruits.

Champagne, more spreads, lox, cheeses.

Close up of the cheeses, mostly local.

Some meats, like salami and prosciutto. Note that they have the same spam-like spreads!

Then the regular breads and self-use toaster.

Now we really get our sugar going with the huge sweet pastry table. A lot of these are local too.

And the other side! This selection changed a little every day. There were all sorts of nut, chocolate, creme, and fruit tarts.

Finally there is the hot station. With omelets or eggs made to order, pancakes, and some various hot sausages. Plus you can order fresh squeezed juices and coffee done any way (cappuccino etc). All of this is included with the room! And this is actually just typical of a good larger Italian hotel too.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, Brunch, Buffet, Cervia, eating-italy, Eggs, Food, Hotel, Italian cuisine, Italy, Milano Marittima, Palace Hotel, pastry, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, side dishes, vegetarian

Eating Modena – Real Fini Breakfast

Jun12

Restaurant: Hotel Real Fini Via Emilia

Location: Modena, Italy

Date: June 5-8, 2011

Cuisine: Breakfast Buffet

Rating: Typical Italian Hotel Breakfast

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Italian hotels almost always include breakfast. The Real Fini in Modena’s is extremely typical of mid range hotels.

Cappuccino is always available, and unlike in the states is free and not $8. Plus, they know how to make a decent one at nearly any place in Italy.

There are very few hot items, just some scrambled eggs and a meat or two (sausage or ham). But there are lots of typical dry northern Italian cakes and cereal.

A couple fruits.

Yogurts, meats, cheeses. Often regional.

More bread products and jams. There’s always nutella, which makes anything better.

Biscuits and yogurt.

And this unusual selection of different “tinned” meats.

Like this Pate di prosciutto. Better than spam!

And a couple juices.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, Buffet, cakes, cappuccino, coffee, eating-italy, Eggs, ham, Hotel, Italian cuisine, Italy, Modena, pate, Travel and Tourism

Breakfasts of Champions

Feb01

During my mom’s birthday weekend we seized on the opportunity of a fridge filled with pizza ingredients to whip up a number of Gavin-style breakfasts. First I made my Spanish eggs (SEE HERE). The next day my brother cooked up one of his signature frittatas.

This is a big fluffy omelet stuffed with cheese and veggies.

Plus some fruit, cheese, and fresh squeezed blood orange juice (the trees had a bumper crop this year).

Then on monday a slightly different, less fried take on the Spanish eggs. A little salad, some lox, and La Brea bakery toast with pesto and romesco, arugala, and peppers.

Here is the romesco on the left, and the pesto on the right (SEE HERE for more on the pesto).

A peek under the salad at the sauces.

Some eggs poached normally. Not as crispy as the olive oil “poaching” of the classic Spanish eggs.

An egg in place.

My brother chose to supplement with ricotta.

I went with burrta. I always go with burrata (MORE on the ultimate fresh cheese HERE).

A final shop, with nice contrasty lighting and some cracked pepper. Cutting into the egg of course provides lots of yolky goodness.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, Brunch, Burrata, Cheese, Cook, Cooking, Eggs, Eruca sativa, Food, frittata, Home, Olive oil, Omelette, Pesto, poached eggs, ricotta, Romesco, Salad, side dishes, vegetarian

Quick Eats: Italian-Iberian Snack

Dec01

A simple breakfast snack made with ingredients from the Philadelphia Italian Market.

Prosciutto on top of a fantastic Manchego cheese. Simple, but delicious. For breakfast snacking cheeses I really became a fan of the Iberian cheese during my month in Spain earlier this year. They have a rich nutty quality without being too overpowering.