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Eating Virginia – Ruthie’s All-Day

Aug17

Location: 3411 5th St S, Arlington, VA 22204. (703) 888-2841

Date: November 24, 2023

Cuisine: American

Rating: Rich but tasty

My parents love this place too — but it is really good.

Busy on the morning after Thanksgiving.

The menu.

Pretty darn excellent cap too.

Marsh Hen Grits + Pulled Pork Bowl. Smoked pork, grilled peppers, pickled fresnons, topped with a fried egg.

Salad.

Buttermilk pancakes.

Three-egg omelette. Smoked ham, tomato, spinach, cheddar.

Brisket Bennie. Black pepper hollandaise, pickled red onions, arugula, biscuits. OMG, this was actually pretty great — if heart stopping. Some seriously juicy brisket too.

Another view.

Ruthie’s wasn’t fancy, but dang that brisket bennie was good.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Breakfast, Brisket, Eggs Benedict, Ruthie's All-Day

Western Smoke House Meats

Nov17

Restaurant: Western Smoke House

Location: 10640 Woodbine St. Los Angeles, CA 90034. (310) 837-3544

Date: November 12, 2011

Cuisine: BBQ

Rating: Solid Texas BBQ

This time of year we have a lot of birthday parties to go to (my son is three). Due to rain (drizzle) one got moved to this western (Texas) style BBQ joint! Boy, is that a lot better than luke-warm delivery pizza!

The unassuming Palms frontage, literally across the street from the amazing N/Naka.

The menu.

Lemonade (sweet but real, not packaged) came in jars! Moonshine style!

The decor is full-on Lonestar State.

Slaw.

Potato salad.

Cornbread, one of my secret weaknesses.

Greens, in case you get stopped up.

Chips for the kids.

Likewise with the chicken fingers.

Brisket! I love good BBQ brisket, and this was good.

BBQ chicken. This was tender and very smokey. Not the heavily sauced style, but just nicely smoked.

Sweetish and tasty baked beans.

Some birthday cake!

And two kinds of cobbler.

I’m not sure what this is. Trifle? I didn’t get a chance to try it, but I’m actually a big fan of these custard-based old school desserts.

Not a fancy joint, but tasty. I have to go again and try the ribs. I love ribs.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Baked beans, Barbecue, bbq, Brisket, Cake, Chicken fingers, Cooking, Corn bread, Dessert, Lonestar State, Los Angeles, Meat, Palms, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Smoking, Texas, Western Smoke House

Passover Seder 2011 – day 2

Apr22

This year we hosted the first seder (SEE HERE), but my Mom cooked the second. That means a very high bar of quality.

Parker 91 for the 2001 Opus One. “Tasted twice Deep garnet-black colour. Still a lot of primary fruit with dark cherry and blackberry aromas complimented by cloves, cardamom and a hint of mint. The medium to full bodied palate provides a medium+ level of very finely grained tannins and medium+ acidity. Long finish with lingering earthy / mineral flavours. Drink now to 2019. Tasted April 2009.”

The 1998 Haut Maillet was a typical mature pomerol. Tasty, but a bit sour.

The seder plate.

The ubiquitous matzah.

Horoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and other spices.

Mom’s homemade horseradish, sweetened and colored with beet juice.

The fully set table.

The components of the Hillel sandwich, a combination of matzah, horoset, and horseradish.

A sample Hillel sandwich. For more details, see here.

The salad.

Plated, endives, other greens, and smoked kosher trout. Very refreshing, and tasty.

Homemade matzah ball soup. The classic chicken broth and light fluffy balls.

Broccoli Rabe.

Sauteed with pine-nuts and currents

Brisket braised in sweet and sour sauce. Cooked to extreme tenderness.

Extra gravy.

On the plate.

To see the first night of passover, click here.

For the Hillel Sandwich, here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brisket, Cooking, Dinner, Hillel the Elder, Home, home cooking, Horseradish, Jews, Matzah ball, Matzo, opus one, Passover, Passover Seder, Passover Seder Plate, Pomerol, Salad, Wine

Brunch at Tavern 3D

Mar11

Restaurant: Tavern [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 11648 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (310) 806-6464

Date: March 6, 2011

Cuisine: Market driven Californian

Rating: Not just your typical short order brunch — but better.

Tavern is a favorite midend brunch spot of ours. It’s much yummier than the typical short order grills, and not as gluttonous as the high end brunches (like this). I’ve reviewed it twice before HERE, HERE, and HERE, but the menu is seasonal and so always changing a bit.

Today’s menu. Online version can be found HERE, but it’s always changing and never current.

Double cap. Not a bad restaurant cappuccino.

Simple pancakes for the boy (2.4 years old).

“Brisket hash with fried eggs and horseradish cream.” In its own way, a variant on the beef and horseradish tradition. But… um richer… and more breakfasty.

“Market fish (salmon) with carrot purée, gingered beets and lime salsa.” I didn’t try it, but looked very good with a really nice selection of fresh ingredients.

“Pumpkin waffle with pecan butter and maple syrup.” What could go wrong with this?

“Smoked fish with toasted rye & redwood hill goat cheese.” A very nice fish plate. The fish is fresh, and the goat cheese a nice improvement on cream cheese. I also like the very crunchy pickles.

“The Angeleno sandwich, artichokes, buratta, cavola nero, and meyer lemon. With prosciutto added.” I modified this vegetarian sandwich to add the good stuff (ham), and it turned out fantastic. The bread had the prefect texture and the burrata (more on that HERE), combined perfectly with the prosciutto and the marinated artichokes. The chips and pickles were awesome too.

“Fried Potatoes.”

“Sauteed Cavola Nero.” This wasn’t on the menu, but they did it anyway. The green is a kind of Italian Kale.

The dessert menu.

“Carrot cake with toasted walnuts and cinnamon anglaise.” Top example of the type, with a bit of creme anglaise in case the icing wasn’t rich enough.

“Snickers Bar, salted peanut caramel and vanilla ice cream.” Very nice dessert. Inside the hard dark chocolate shell was a kind of peanut and carmel mouse.

Tavern continues to hold up as a top breakfast spot, and pretty reasonable considering the level of sophistication.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

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