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Archive for Food – Page 2

Eating Poggibonsi – Osteria da Camillo

Jul14

Restaurant: Osteria da Camillo

Location: Poggibonsi, Italy

Date: June 18, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

Rating: Very mediocre

ANY CHARACTER HERE

We were in Poggibonsi to drop my brother off at the bus/train station and we spent a few minutes wandering around and then picked a likely random lunch restaurant. This turned out to be our worst pick of the trip compared to expectations. It looked like all the other likely places — and it was even very touristy — but the food just wasn’t very good.


The menu.


This inexpensive Chianti Classico (probably 10-15 euros) was perfectly nice though.


Classic bruschetta with liver. These weren’t bad, one of the places better items. They weren’t however even close to the best bruschetta we’ve seen.


Mixed bruchetta, also fine. Starting from upper left and going clockwise. Fava beans, lard, mushrooms, and tomato.


Spicy pici with walnuts. This pasta tasted like glue. Paste. It was pretty gross. I think they added flour to the sauce, making it like elmers.


Tagliatelle al pesto. Edible, but very mediocre pesto.


Green tortelli with fossa cheese and yellow pumpkin cream. I didn’t try these.


Linguine with cheese and pepper. This was really bad too. Not even close to the amazing pepper and cheese pasta at Trattoria Pepei. I could barely eat a few bites. The pasta was pasty. Those thin slices of pecorino has an unpleasant melted cheese taste, and the sauce — there barely was one — tasted of paste.


Penne pomodoro.


Tagliatelle with tomatoes, olives, capers and hot peppers. Didn’t try this either.


Chicken, green beans, tomatoes, mushrooms. This was fine, not horrible. Not really a dish that does it for me though.

This place was completely unique for this trip in that it actually had bad dishes, several of them. That pretty much makes it the worst meal, even though it wasn’t horrible or anything. But it goes to show, eat out 50 times in Italy and you can find a dud!

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
  2. Eating Florence – La Cantinetta Antinori
  3. Eating Siena – Trattoria Pepei
  4. Eating Modena – Osteria Francescana
  5. Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Dietro Le Quinte
By: agavin
Comments (7)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bruschetta, Cheese, Chianti, Chianti Classico, Cooking, eating-italy, Food, Italian cuisine, Italy, Osteria da Camillo, pasta, Pesto, Poggibonsi, Toscana, Tuscany, Wine tasting descriptors

Eating Florence – La Cantinetta Antinori

Jul10

Restaurant: La Cantinetta Antinori

Location: Florence, Italy

Date: June 17, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Tuscan

Rating: Slick and tasty

ANY CHARACTER HERE

On our first trip to Florence (we went thrice) we met up with an Italian friend and her family and they brought us to the Antinori wine empire’s casual enoteca, where they combine slick modernized Tuscan food with a large selection of excellent wines.


The lovely room in Palazzo Antinori.


A nice light quafable mineral laced white. We went through about half a bottle a person at lunch!


The menu. Sorry the meat courses are out of focus.


Assorted bruschetta, Tuscan standard.


Insalta Caprese.  Tomato and buffalo mozzarella. Basil and olive oil.


Panzanella. Traditional Tuscan salad of soaked stale bread, tomato, basil, onions, olive oil.


The ubiquitous Insalta Misto.


Taglierini agli scampi freschi. Thin noodles with tomato, basil, garlic and you guessed it, a giant crayfish creature.


Fagioli. Tuscan fava beans and olive oil.


Sea bass, capers, sun dried tomatos, potatoes.


Pounded veal in mushroom sauce.


Filetto di manzo. Beef filet and potatoes.


Almond semifreddo with caramel. This is SO up my dessert alley. Creamy and sweet. Oh yes. Oh yes.


Expresso, to counter the copious amount of wine I consumed.

This was a nice place. Not radical, not staid. Fitting of a hot spot in Florence, it’s basically traditional Tuscan fare with 10% modernization. Given the quality of the ingredients and the base cuisine, this is more than enough for a great meal.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Staggia – Pozzo dei Desideri
  2. Eating Gaiole – Lo Sfizio di Bianchi
  3. Eating Monteriggioni – Il Pozzo
  4. Eating Castellina – Albergaccio di Castellina
  5. Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Dietro Le Quinte
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Antinori, Bruschetta, Chianti, Dessert, eating-italy, Florence, Food, Insalata Caprese, Italian cuisine, Italy, La Cantinetta Antinori, Olive oil, Panzanella, pasta, Pasta e fagioli, Tomato, Travel and Tourism, Tuscany, Wine

Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Dietro Le Quinte

Jun28

Restaurant: Dietro Le Quinte

Location: Colle di Val d’Elsa, Italy

Date: June 13, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

Rating: Good food, but a little more $$ than some

ANY CHARACTER HERE

We wandered into the town of Colle di Val d’Elsa having no idea that there are actually two towns: the newer one below and the quaint medeval one above. Eventually we found the elevator up to the top of the hill and the old town, and in need of repast (lunch) settled on this place.


They have an outside street patio.


Seen better here.

But they also have this lovely back terrace (down yet another glass elevator).

With its lovely hillside view.


The menu is another one of these gigantic Italian multi pagers.


Bread.

A slight variant on the Tuscan typical tomato bruschetta in that it has cheese too.


Pie with vegetable, mascarpone and taleggio sauce.


Risotto with squids and drops of gorgonzola.

An interesting local shell shaped pasta in pomodoro sauce.


Tagliatelle pomodoro.

A carbonara type Tagliatelle with pancetta, greens, cream, and cheese.


An endive salad.

This place had a fantastic patio and very tasty food. It was a little more expensive — and the portions smaller — than many other places we have been frequenting, as they apparently need to offset the cost of their luxurious buildout 🙂 The cuisine was just ever-so-slightly modernized from the totally traditional Tuscan.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Siena – Trattoria Pepei
  2. Eating Staggia – Pozzo dei Desideri
  3. Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting
  4. Eating Bologna – Trattoria Leonida
  5. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Colle di Val d'Elsa, Cooking, Dietro Le Quinte, eating-italy, Food, Italian cuisine, Italy, pasta, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Tuscany

Eating Milano Marittima – Al Caminetto

Jun24

Restaurant: Al Caminetto

Location: Cervia / Milano Marittima, Italy

Date: June 10, 2011

Cuisine: Adriatic Seafood

Rating: Great service, great food

ANY CHARACTER HERE

For our anniversary my wife, me, and our family went out to what the locals described as “the best restaurant in town.”


This is a large, lovely, and lively joint — packed to the brim with large parties. We must have observed at least half a dozen birthdays or other assorted celebrations.

The poured us all glasses of prosecco right out of the gate.

And brought some pre-bread, basically pizza dough.

Then tehy came around with these steamed clams and chickpeas.

Seen here closer up. We thought these were all freebees, but they did turn up on the bill!

Just a bit of menu!


We started with this Gavi white. Not bad, but not really my favorite Italian white of the trip.


Various butters.


Pickled onions.

Raw food, eaten on toast with the onions. Yum.

Salted peel and eat shrimp, like at a chinese restaurant.


Fritto Misto!


One portion.

Insalta Misto. You will continue to see a lot of these.

This wine i really liked. Soave is a very nice white.


Some mongo crabs in the tank, about twenty inches across each.


Penne gorgonzola.

Linguine with salmon and cream.


Mixed grill! I don’t know what the flat purple backed creatures are, and while they tasted fine, they sure had a lot of legs.


Grilled veggies.

Spaghetti del mare.


A single portion.


Close up.


The wave of desserts begins with limon sorbet mixed with prosecco.


Mixed cookies.

Some moscato. Two dessert drinks!


An anniversary tiramisu with sparkler.

A slice of that. Tasty, full of cream.

Then they bring by the dessert cart.


And I can’t resist a slice of cassata. I never get cassata, and while this is only the mainland Italian type, and not my all time favorite cassata di Sicilianna, it was still good.


A profiterole, drowned.

Then some “bonus” (again on the bill) fruit. Pretty spectacular.


I wander to find they have a pizza oven. What doesn’t this place have?

Ladies even get a parting gift of merengues. This place was pretty darn fun. Everything tasted wonderful too. The only downside was the bill, but hey you only have your 10th anniversary once (well at least you SHOULD only have it once).

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting
  2. Eating Milano Marittima – Palace Hotel Breakfast
  3. Eating Milano Marittima – Notte E Di’
  4. Eating Milano Marittima – Ristorante La Frasca
  5. Eating Cervia – Locanda dei Salinari
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cervia, Dessert, eating-italy, Emilia–Romagna, Food, Italian cuisine, Italy, pasta, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Seafood

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.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Modena – Real Fini Breakfast
  2. Eating Cervia – Locanda dei Salinari
  3. Eating Parma – Cocchi Ristorante
  4. Eating Modena – Osteria del Pozzo
  5. Eating Modena – Il Fantino
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 – Osteria del Pozzo

Jun11

Restaurant: Osteria del Pozzo

Location: Modena, Italy

Date: June 5, 2011

Cuisine: Emilia Romagna

Rating: Very good casual

ANY CHARACTER HERE

This post kicks off the food portion of my 2011 Europe trip, Eating Italy. We begin our month of gastronomic excess in the heart of Emilia Romagna, Modena — home of both Ferrari and Balsamico di Modena. It’s oddly rainy for June, and exhausted from over 27 hours of air and ground travel we stumbled across the street to this local place.


The have a number of rooms in these cute little tents.


The menu.

A prosecco, slightly sweet.

Caprese of course. Each portion is a whole ball of real buffalo mozzerella! Huge.


Homemade pasta, ham, arugala, cream, parmesan. This was a VERY good pasta by my taste, the in heavy ham & cream style I love (see here or here).


Spagetti and pomodoro.

Bresola, thin sheets of cured beef and parmesan and arugala. Good stuff.


Insalata mixta.

This 15E sangiovese was very drinkable.


Homemade (all the pasta except the spagetti was) with zucchini and shrimp. A nice light pasta.


Potato gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce. These were the kind of amazing gnocchi that are nearly impossible to find in the states, where they are so fluffy they melt in the mouth.


Tortellini in broth. A very traditional dish, little meat pockets in a savory chicken broth.


Classic taggliatelli ragu.Probably mixed pork and beef.


The case of traditional northern Italian desserts. Various cakes and tortes.


The chocolate with hazelnut nougat cake. Very rich.


Cherry torte. It tasted like strawberry rhubarb pie.


A sampler of fresh fruits. The cantaloupe was particularly flavorful and sweet. The cherries were great too.

This place was a perfect choice for the right off the plane choice. It was casual, reasonable, but had very good food. Perfecto.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini 2
  2. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini
  3. Sicilian Style – Drago
  4. Seconds at Sotto
  5. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Balsamic vinegar, Cheese, Cooking, Dessert, eating-italy, Emilia Romagna, Emilia–Romagna, Food, Italian cuisine, Italy, Meat, Modena, pasta, side dishes, vegetarian

Peace in the Middle East? – Mezze

Jun10

Restaurant: Mezze

Location: 401 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.657.4103

Date: May 31, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Middle Eastern

Rating: Really tasty!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

For a long time in the 2000s Sona was my favorite restaurant in LA, and I was sad when they closed last year. Mezze is a totally new restaurant that opened in the same space. It’s much more casual, a modern middle eastern with a mostly tapas style menu and an emphasis on farmer’s market ingredients. I love middle eastern flavors, so I was excited to see what they’ve done with the concept.

The chef,  Micah Wexler, has a star studded pedigree too, having worked variously in LA at Vincenti, Melisse, Patina and Craft.


All the wines are from my cellar as usual. I had gotten a case of this Cal Pinot in 1997 at the vineyard and I noticed it in the corner of the cellar while picking wines. This was the last bottle — most of the rest probably having been drunk over a decade ago — and it turned out that the extra years really served it well. Having been well cellared its entire life the wine came out of the bottle like a middle aged burgundy, slightly brick in color and deliciously pinot fruity.


The menu. Even the “large” plates aren’t that large. We ordered around three things per person and it was about right.


The old Sona space has been opened up and repainted, lending a lighter more casual style.


“Spring Tabouli, Green Garlic, Fava bean, Pancetta, Almond.” A very nice tabouli, made richer by the addition of big ham chunks. This is from the grain school of taboili, some are a bit stronger on the parsley/mint thing.


“Beet Salad, Chickpea, Sheep’s Milk Yogurt, Haloumi.” Beet salads are a menu staple in recent years, but this one was as good as any with the yogurt serving well as the “fat.”


“Wild Salmon, Purple Onion, Rye Bread.” This dish was made entirely by the fish, which was sashimi grade and top notch.


“Fluke Crudo, Cherry, Green Almond, Tahini.” This dish was just a little bland. The cherries were yummy, but the fish, while impeccably fresh, didn’t have a lot of flavor.


Parker gives this Chateauneuf du Pape a 95. “Bottled at what I suspect is the whim of Paul Feraud, the 1989 and 1990 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Laurence were tasted side by side with the Cuvee Reservee. Although the Cuvee Laurence is no better than the Cuvee Reservee, they are more evolved, with more complexity from the extended cask aging. Ultimately, I think the Cuvee Reservee will surpass them, since the development of that wine will take place in the bottle, not in wood, but it is more backward and less evolved. The 1989 Cuvee Laurence is slightly sweeter, richer, and more opulent than its younger sibling. However, both wines are enormously constituted, thick, rich, classic, old style Chateauneuf du Papes the likes of which are rarely seen today. Both wines carry 15+% alcohol. They will be worth a special effort to find and purchase.”


We also ordered a series of flatbreads (aka pizza). This one is “Green Cauliflower, Moroccan Olive, Feta, Golden Raison.” The feta/raison thing worked: sweet and salty.


“Flowering squash, syrian cheese, zatar.” This was good too, but more mild.


“Merguez Sausage, Fontina, Tomato Jam, Aleppo Pepper.” I had high hopes for this one, but it just didn’t have enough punch. There was nothing wrong with the flavor, but the sausage was too mild, and the tomato muted.


“Grandma’s Chopped Chicken Livers, Sour Plum Mostarda, Challah.” This tasted exactly as advertised, like homemade chicken livers!


The challah is a perfect bread for it too.


“Soft Shell Crab, Heirloom Cucumber, Gem Avocado, Smoked Egg.” Nice and interesting combo, although it was a small dish and split by 6 people resulted in merely a bite.


“Shawarma, Amba, House Pickles.” Nice little meat, pickle and flatbread sandwich. Although I would have liked the meat to punch out a bit more in the flavor department.


“Poached Egg Shakshouka, Yogurt Emulsion, Sweetbread, Pita.” I liked this dish a lot. It tasted mostly of tomato and yogurt, a bit like “ricotta and gravy.”


“Lamb Shoulder, Green Wheat, Dukkah Spice.” A very nice lamb dish. The meat had that full on lamb flavor. This was not a sweet lamb prep like some middle eastern ones, but more on the salty/meaty side.


“Sea Urchin, Israeli Cous Cous, Lemon, Mint.” Very soft tapioca type texture, with a some sea urchin flavor — very pleasant.


“Veal Manti, Almond Milk, Black Lime.” Manti are a type of dumpling, like Afghan Mantoo (see here). While we each only got a bite this was a very good dish.


“Hashweh Risotto, Lamb, Burnt Onion, Fried Lemon.” Nice. Rich too and gooey.


The desserts.

Parker 94. “The 2007 Laurel, a blend of 65% Garnacha and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep purple-colored with a bouquet of wet stone, Asian spices, black cherry compote, and incense. Dense and sweet on the palate with tons of spice, it is super-concentrated, rich, and smooth-textured. Give this lengthy effort 2-3 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2013 to 2027.”

This is an amazing wine, deep grape.


“Semolina Pound Cake, black lime, Indian lime, mulberries, hibiscus.” This was my least favorite of the desserts, although there was certainly nothing wrong with it — just a mild sweet cake with fruit.


“Roasted Aprium, honey, basil, pistachio.” Aprium made me think of a Latin noun, but they’re just apricots crossed with plums. In this particular incarnation however, they were wonderful — and the ice cream went perfectly!


“Lebne Cheesecake, rainer and brook cherries, rose.” A wonderful light cheesy fluffy, which went classically with the cherries.


“Strawberry Parfait, sasame, sumac, halvah cream.” This was probably my favorite. The strawberries were really intense and the cream — well exceedingly creamy.


“Rose Malabi, rhubarb, market berries.” Also fantastic, this was basically rosewater (which I love) flavored pannacotta with berries.


We recieved a little parting gift of spicy saseme bright. I totally dug this stuff, and it had a bit of a burn.

Part of the surgery done on the old Sona space is opening up the kitchen.

Overall, I was very impressed by Mezze. Not every dish was spot on, but they varied from good to great and they get serious points for having a big menu full of interesting flavors and a tapas style format that really favors sampling a lot of stuff. The prices are pretty reasonable too considering the quality of the food and how much we pigged out.

For other LA restaurants, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  2. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
  3. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  4. Food as Art: Ortolan
  5. Bastide – Chef Number Six
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chateauneuf du Pape, Dessert, Food, Los Angeles, Melisse, Mezze, Middle Eastern, Modern Middle Eastern, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Rye Bread, side dishes, Sona, vegetarian, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

An Evening at Malibu Wines

Jun05

It was my brother-in-law’s birthday, and a warm California Friday in late may, so his wife organized a little get together in the Santa Monica mountains at Malibu Wines. Now, I’m not super partial to California wines in general (too mechanical and over-oaked) or SoCal ones in particular (just not as good as their NorCal counterparts). But this little place in the mountains has a pretty good gig going with regard to spending an evening with friends.


We’ve had a lot of rain this year and the mountains were beautiful, the air hovering just under 80. The vineyard basically has a big green with tables that you can bring whatever food or non alcoholic drinks you want. They play live music on weekends (with dancing) and sell you their wines at the tasting room bar. There is no cover.


The stage. It gets pretty crowded and there was actually a good amount of dancing later in the evening.


We mostly stuck to this central coast 2002 Cabernet. It wasn’t bad, maybe 90 points. The couple years has taken the edge off the oak and it was certainly well made, if a little by the numbers.


But what is a wine picnic without cheese?  I stopped before hand at the local cheese shop, Andrew’s Cheese Shop. On the left is Abbaye de Bel’loc and the right a soft goat cheese from France.


In the front we have Epoisses (gooey washed rind fun), on the right Stichelton, a beautiful rich English blue cheese, and on the left a Spanish sheep milk cheese.


And sense this wasn’t in the house, some pate. Goose and duck liver with truffles on the left and French Country Pate on the right. Both intensely meaty. Andrew’s not only sells cheeses and condiments, but a few meats as well.


Someone else brought some grape leaves stuffed with rice (Greek style). There was a lot of other food I didn’t photo too.


Some more condiments from Andrew’s. Various crackers. They have really good crackers — albiet expensive.


Quince paste (the orange jelly stuff), conveniently chopped into cubes. You add it to your cracker and cheese for some extra punch.


My sister-in-law makes a yummy spinach dip.


And this being a birthday we had a rather jumbo cake to finish out the evening.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Andrew's Cheese Shop, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Cheese, Food, Malibu Wines, Santa Monica Mountains, Stichelton, Wine

Chili Addiction – The Heartstopper

May12

Restaurant: Chili Addiction

Location: 408 N La Cienega Blvd. (323) 203-1793

Date: May 7, 2011

Cuisine: Comfort Food

Rating: Tasty!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Last Saturday a good friend of mine had a bunch of people over for a BBQ. He got all his food from Chili Addiction, a comfort food joint over in West Hollywood. This is not a complete review, although the place is good. I just wanted to show my evil creation.


Two HUGE sausages (the dark one is Italian, the light Jalapeno & Cheddar), over a bun, smothered in some kind of spicy meat chili (I don’t know which exact flavor).


Then I added some of their “mellow yellow” homemade mustard, some “lethal injection” Habenero sauce, ad a ton of cheddar cheese. Oh the arteries!


Rolling back a second, the dogs on the grill.


Chili addiction also makes homemade ice cream. It’s not bad, but nowhere near as good as their chili and dogs, or Sweet Rose Creamery (review) for that matter. The mint had the fake green, and wasn’t real mint leaves. It wasn’t bad or anything, but not super either. The vanilla was better, a very tasty french vanilla, probably a 7/10.


This homemade tiramisu baked by another guest on the other hand was a 10/10.


Creamy goodness.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Panini at Home
  2. Lasagne Bolognese Minus the Meat
  3. Saturday is for Salt
  4. Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cheese, chili, Chili Adiction, Comfort food, Cooking, Food, Home, Hot Dogs, Hot Sauce, Ice cream, Mint, mustard, Seasonings

Seconds at Sotto

May01

Restaurant: Sotto [1, 2, 3]

Location:  9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035  310.277.0210

Date: April 26, 2011

Cuisine: Sicilian and Sardinian Italian

Rating: Bold flavors, off to a great start!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

We needed a restaurant to celebrate the end of passover that was very bready. Our first choice was Pizzeria Mozza, but even a week in advance they were booked until 10:30, so that was a no go. Instead we went back to Sotto which has a host of extremely robust homemade pastas and pizzas.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.


Sotto is up there on the new (and admirable) trend of having serious mixologists behind the bar. This is a vodka orange martini of some sort. There is more in there, but apparently it was very good.


And this was a vodka, lime, fresh mint, and some really interesting stuff I can’t remember. Again, it was supposedly really good.


The menu.

This unusual Italian white from my cellars was wonderfully flavorful. Almost bright yellow in the glass it had the kind of interesting floral taste that is completely absent from so many generic whites.


“Maharrones de pungiu (sugo semplice, fiore sardo).” A wonderful homemade take on a simple tomato and cheese pasta. The choice of fiore sardo (a Sardinian cheese) gave it a slightly different tang.

“Casarecce (braised lamb ragu, egg, pecorino).” This was one damn fine pasta. The pasta itself had exactly the right texture and firmness of good homemade egg pasta. The ragu was nicely flavorful and meaty. Yum! I love great ragu, and this was my favorite pasta of the night. Some other great takes on ragu can be found here at Drago or at Capo.


“Squid ink fusilli lunghi (pistachios, bottarga, mint).” These long firm ropes had a really interesting texture. There was no overt taste of squid, just a slight sweetness and a rich nutty quality to the pesto-like sauce. Tasty, but also fairly mild despite the “frightening” sounding ingredients.


“Toasted grain capunti (ragu bianco, black trumpets, rapini greens).” Another great pasta. The noodles themselves had an almost whole wheat quality to them, but they still had the nice al-denta pasta fresca thing going on which is a hallmark of all the Sotto pasta. The sauce was cheesy, earthy and delicious.


“Ciceri e tria (tagliatelle, chickpeas, baccalá).” The last of these ingredients is salt cod, and this is essentially a fish pasta. But without any fishiness. Instead it has a creamy salty taste, one of the better fish pastas I’ve had. The noodles were nice and firm, with a toothy feel and the little grissini added some nice texture contrast.


As we move up to the heartier pizzas, I pulled out this Amarone (from my cellars). “The 2000 Amarone has developed relatively quickly. The fruit remains fairly opulent, but suggestions of earthiness and worn-in leather suggest early signs of oxidation are creeping in. Ultimately the 2000 comes across a touch rustic and four-square. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2012.”


“Pizza Marherita (tomato, mozzerella, basil, EVOO).” Your basic Marherita, but well done. These pizzas have a VERY wood fired taste going on, much like those from Gjelina, they are a little over-fired to my taste. The dough is good, but they taste very strongly of the grill (char, smoky flavors). When I do them on the stones in my hot gas grill (see my Ultimate Pizza) they showcase the dough and toppings a bit more.


“Campagnola (sunchokes, fennel, mozzarella, marjoram, house-cured lardo).” A more mushroomy pizza. It was actually fairly mellow, possibly because we had them leave off the lard (which would have added a definite porky richness). Still it was very good.


“Guanciale (house-cured pork cheek, ricotta, scallions, fennel pollen).” This was my favorite pizza of the night. They have REALLy good ricotta here at Sotto, as good as I’ve had outside of Sicily (although certainly not close to that, which is incredible). The mellow softness of the cheese blended perfectly with the rich fattiness of the bacon. This also was not a hit you over the head pizza, but it was very good.


The dessert menu.


Classic Sicilian cannolis. Because of the quality of the ricotta, these were good, on par with the other high end cannolis in town (like from Drago). Still, not in the same league as those in Sicily, but they never are. A slice of candied orange shoved through them would have pushed it up a notch.


“Bittersweet chocolate crostata, hazelnuts, salted rosemary caramel.” This looked amazing, and the texture was fantastic and very chocolaty. There was a slightly odd flavor tone in here, which might have been the rosemary. I’m not sure it added, although certainly I enjoyed it.


“Sheep’s milk yougurt panacotta. Thyme, honey, almond amaretti.” This was a yummy! Like tangy yoghurt with all sorts of sweet goodies. I love amaretti too.

Overall there is a bit of split opinion among our party about Sotto. Some of us love it for exactly the same reason the other don’t. The flavors are bold, the preparations original, traditional (in their own way), and unabashedly not fully censored in an American way. The ingredients are great too. They could probably use to tame down the burn factor on the pizzas, but I love the rest of it, and the pastas are amazing. However, if you prefer the straight up and simpler tones of boxed pasta and sauces with only a single flavor note, look elsewhere.

For my first review of Sotto, click here.

Also, since this is a Sicilian/Sardinian place, I would like to issue my Cassata Challenge. Above is a photo of a Cassata di Siciliana that I took in Palermo. This is perhaps my all time favorite dessert and I have NEVER found anyone who makes it for real in America. Surprise me! Do it!

For my another of my reviews of Sotto, click here.

Or for a review of Drago, another Sicilian restaurant.

Related posts:

  1. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
  2. Fraiche Santa Monica
  3. Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach
  4. Sicilian Style – Drago
  5. Quick Eats: Divino
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Calabria, California, Cook, Dessert, Food, Italian cuisine, Italy, Los Angeles, pasta, Pecorino Sardo, Pizza, Pizzeria Mozza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sardinian (sheep), side dishes, vegetarian, Wine

Bastide – Chef Number Six

Apr16

Restaurant: Bastide

Location: 8475 Melrose Pl, West Hollywood, CA 90069   323.651.5950

Date: April 14, 2011

Cuisine: Cal French

Rating: Good, but a little uneven.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

For the April Foodie Club meeting, following hot on the heels of the March one, we decided to tackle Bastide. This has always been a curious restaurant. It’s about half outside in a courtyard with a lovely olive tree(s). But this place has gone through more chefs in a few short years, and more good ones, than pretty much any I can think of. I’ve eaten here perhaps seven times, and certainly under at least four, maybe all, of the previous chefs.

I had a spot on ethereal Alain Giraud meal here in 2003, a whacky but great one with Lefebvre (I will never forget “chocolate spaghetti al carbonara,” a dessert with parmesan ice cream and pancetta chunks!), a phenomenal chef table tasting with Manzke, and another great meal with Shoemaker. I wasn’t so impressed with Mahon’s “simpler” (I don’t like simple when it comes to food) menu.

So back I came to try out number six: Sydney Hunter, who has worked at many a LA restaurant, including at least two stints at Bastide under other chefs.

The signature entrance and the courtyard beyond.

The current savory menu. We asked for the “nine course tasting menu.” The dishes were more or less on the menu.

Bastide is one of those rare restaurants that doesn’t allow corkage. Normally I hate this, but they had this gem on the menu at a stunningly low $159. The rest of the list was good and pretty reasonable too.

The 1985 Domaine Leroy Beaune les Pertuisots. I’d gladly paid this at retail. I’d buy two cases. Parker gives it an 88, but he’s so wrong. This wine was drinking at a 96 point level, and in impecable shape — impressive for a 26 year-old burgundy.

“Much has been written about the dynamic Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy. Some of it has been malicious and motivated strictly by insidious jealousy. From time to time I have complained of her pricing structure. Yet there should never be any criticism of her philosophy of what burgundy should be. Her wines are among the noblest and purest expressions of Pinot Noir in Burgundy. They are treated with the care of a pampered child, never filtered, and bottled barrel by barrel. Given the size of her wines and their power and structure, in a cool damp cellar they will last 20 to 25 years. Bize-Leroy thinks 1985 is one of the two best burgundy vintages in the last twenty years, the other being 1978. Given the range of wines I tasted, 44 in all, 16 were exceptional, 21 very good to excellent. Thirty-seven very good to exceptional wines out of 44 is an amazingly high percentage, and I would be proud to own any of them.”

A page on the list, includes our wine.

They have good bread.  I think it used to be more interesting, but the onion focaccia-style bread was very good.

“Asparagus, spring truffles, peas, parmesan, lemon jus, olive oil.”  And over on the side a single seared scallop, and two types of citrus. This was a delicious salad. The citrus and scallop were delightful together, and the main salad itself complex and wonderful. Plus, yummy white truffles.

“Albacore, white turnip soup, fried shallots, ponzu cubes, daikon sprouts.” This was wonderful also, with a very interesting and complex flavor and texture profile. The soup was really good too and the tuna itself sushi grade.

“Hamachi, pickled carrot, orange, sherry vinegar, watercress, cocoa nibs.” This was also amazing. The interplay of citrus, fish, dusted flavors etc was fantastic. The blob in the front was some kind of savory ice cream — also spectacular. The pickled carrots had a nice crunch.

“Spicy octopus salad, cherry tomatoes, chickpea panisse, sardinian pasta, cucumbers, chorizo oil, pineapple.” Another top top dish, arguably the best. The octopus was really tender, and the mix of vegetables really tasty with a very nice textural component.

“Seabream, romesco, baby zucchini, artichokes, tomato confit, lemon sauce.” The fish itself was just fish — good fish, but still fish. The Romesco had a very fine texture, much finer than my own homemade version (SEE HERE), but didn’t have as much of a punch. The artichokes were wonderful and the lemon sauce pretty intense.

EP joked: “The only way to make seabream exciting is to drown it in a strong curry.”

“Steelhead salmon trout, manila clams, parisian potatoes, haricot vert, fennel pollon.” The fish was medium rare, and very soft and flavorful. But the buttery sauce with the little potatoes the real winner.

“Jidori Chicken, potato & celery root gratin, pickled peppers, pea tendrils, Baby corn, pimenton hollandaise sauce.” The chicken was good, but it was after all, chicken. The star of this dish was the potato gratin, which had a bit of a curry flavor (they must have heard EP’s seabream comment). Like potatoes Lyonnaise gone south-east-asian. The little corns made me think of the Tom Hanks movie Big.

“Beef tenderloin, pont neuf potatoes, baby spinach, mushrooms, and beef marrow.” The tenderloin was very good. I didn’t care so much for the potatoes, I like my french fries thinner 🙂 The marrow was tasty, but too gooey fatty for me (not that it wasn’t good marrow, but I was starting to get full and a whole segment of fat…).

“Blood orange sorbet.” Very nice refresher.

After killing 3 bottles of the Burgundy (with 4 people) we ordered this fantastic Sauternes. Parker gave it 95 points, and this time I agree. “The 1990 continues to develop exceptionally well (better than I thought), and now looks to be a worthy rival of the dazzling 1988. The superb aromatics (pineapple, acacia, vanilla, and honey) are followed by a rich, full-bodied, atypically powerful Climens that possesses adequate acidity, high alcohol, and even higher levels of extract and fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030.”

Just a wonderful wine.

The desdert menu.

“Ricotta fritters, hot chocolate milk, cinnamon ice cream.” The fritter itself was very nicely chewy, and the fruit sauce made it like a little jelly donut. The tiny blog of cinnamon ice cream was tasty too, but tiny. The little milk thing reminded me of the chilled rather than frozen milk shakes I used to get as a kid in the Pennsylvania mountains.

The four of us got this very dinky selection of petit fours to split. They were quite miniature, and we each only got to taste one. I had the macaroon, which was good (for more about macaroons, see here). While tasty, we were disappointed in the number and variety of the desserts. They could have brought more and mixed it up more.

Overall Bastide “take six” got off to a strong start. The wine was fantastic, and the first four courses equally so. But by the time we reached the entrees things slipped from amazing to merely very good. I wanted to be more blown away by the mains — but where was the cheese? — plus while the dessert was yummy they could have done more (at least giving one petit four of each type per person).

Service, by the way, was excellent, no problems there.

Perhaps it’s also that we felt the the tasting menu was just an serial assembly of dishes from the menu. There was something a bit missing from the overall progression. And the cheese. Never forget the cheese.

For other Foodie Club meals, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  2. Fraiche Santa Monica
  3. Food as Art – Takao
  4. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  5. Quick Eats: Brentwood
By: agavin
Comments (8)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bastide, Beaune, Burgundy wine, Dessert, Drink, Food, Foodie Club, Los Angeles, Pinot noir, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad, side dishes, Sydney Hunter, Truffle (fungus), vegetarian, West Hollywood California, Wine

Pecorino – No Sheep is Safe

Apr13

Restaurant: Pecorino

Location: 11604 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, CA 90049. 310.571.3800

Date: April 9, 2011 & August 7, 2016

Cuisine: Abruzzi Italian

Rating: Unusual, tasty, very slightly over priced.

 

Pecorino is one of the twelve or so Italians on San Vicente in Brentwood. It’s relatively new, and replaced a good new American called Zax at the end of the street. One might ask why the street needed another Italian. Well it didn’t but Pecorino does offer a different (and good) take on the boot. The place specializes in the rustic cooking of Abruzzo, which is not only interesting and good, but certainly underrepresented.

The facade. Inside is cozy and stylish.

The menu.

Pecorino has a number of premium wines by the glass, which is nice. They are a little pricey, but I still like the option. I got a glass of Brunello followed by one of Amarone.

The bread.

And they serve it with this chickpea paste, which is tasty.

Caprino. Warm goat cheese “Crouton” served on a bed seasonal greens with hazelnuts.

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Special burrata and tomato and avocado tower.
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Baked onion. Whole big onion filled with eggplant, pinenuts, raisins and pecorino cheese with a touch of balsamic vinegar.
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Sweet and sour.
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Carbonara. Spaghetti with beaten eggs, crispy home made bacon, pecorino cheese and black pepper.
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Pappardelle al Pesto. Fresh wide noodles in a pesto sauce with green beans, peas, fava beans and grated pecorino cheese.
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Classic penne pomodoro.
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Gluten free tomato pasta.

Spaghetti with lobster. Chopped Maine lobster in a light garlic sauce with lobster juices and parsley. This is a really nice pasta. There’s a lot of lobster meat in here too.

Penne. In a tomato and basil sauce with green onions, cherry tomatoes and shaved pecorino cheese.

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Risotto Primavera. Rice creamed with mixed season vegetables and parmigiano cheese.

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Lamb “Casserole”. De-boned Rack of lamb with pecorino cheese and artichokes “Chef’s Hometown recipe. This is an unusual, rustic, and delicious dish. It’s mildly cheesy, with big chunks of lamb and lots of artichokes.

Pecorino is a very good place, and it’s nice when an Italian gets away from the same old litany of dishes. It is however, mysteriously a bit more expensive than some of the others of fairly equal quality (like say Palmeri down the street). There’s a good amount of price variation in the Italians, and I’m not sure I get it. Still, the food’s very good.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Caffe Delfini
  2. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini 2
  3. Quick Eats: Divino
  4. Piccolo – A little Italian
  5. Sicilian Style – Drago
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Amarone, Brentwood, Caprino, Cook, Crowned rack of lamb, Food, italian, Italian cuisine, Italy, lamb, pasta, Pecorino, side dishes, vegetarian

Paulette Macarons

Apr02

Store: Paulette Macarons

Location: 9466 Charleville Boulevard at Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 310. 275 0023

Date: March 30, 2011

Cuisine: French Macarons

Rating: Very niche, but some of the best macarons I’ve tasted

Only major metropoli like LA, NY, and San Francisco can support places like this. A dedicated French macaroon bakery! I’m not exactly sure why it is that macarons have taken off (at least in LA) during the last year or two, but they have. Not that I mind, I’ve always been a fan of french baking and macarons specifically. I enjoy the some texture and intense flavors. Previously I would only get them in the petite fours courses at very high end resteraunts, now I can have them with the incomparable Cafe Luxxe coffee — or here.

They had 13 flavors on display when I went in. I tried 11 of them. These are decadent little treats, but not exactly “good value” at $19 for 12!

You can get little towers of them if you are so inclined.

Here is my little $19 worth. General notes: the texture was nicely soft, and the fillings distinct and generous. These were a bit firmer and less spongy than some macarons, but still marvelous, probably 8/10 on texture, 10/10 on flavor. The really great thing about these macarons is how intense the flavor is.

Left to right:

1. Peanut – Like a little nutter butter.

2. Colombian Coffee – one of the weaker flavors. Good, but I would have preferred more intense.

3. Sicilian Pistachio – also a little mild, but certainly pistachio flavored, like one of the bands of spumoni ice cream.

4. Carmel and Salt – Amazing, although perhaps Tavern (SEE HERE) makes a slightly punchier variant. The carmel itself was wonderful.

5. Sweet Wedding Almond – Amazing too. This had that perfect marzipan almond taste. Not something everyone might love, but I certainly did.

6. Coffee again

7. Violet Cassis – Really yummy, intense, and interesting. Flowery and fruity all at once.

8. Passion fruit – 9/10 for intensity (more is more with passion fruit).

9. Caribbean Chocolate – The middle was delectable, the outside merely good.

10. Lemon – intense and nice, like a lemon tart.

11. Rose – wow. I loved this one. Like the almond, not for everyone, but tasted like Turkish Delight or Persian wedding treats.

12. Coconut – very nice fresh toasted coconut flavor.

By: agavin
Comments (13)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Almond, Bakery, Cake, coffee, Cookie, Cooking, Dessert, Food, Home, macaroon, Passion Fruit, Rose, San Francisco, Turkish Delight

Fraiche Santa Monica

Mar23

Restaurant: Fraiche Santa Monica [1, 2]

Location: 312 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401. Phone : 310.451.7482

Date: March 19, 2011

Cuisine: Cal French Italian

Rating: On the way up.

_

This particular location adjacent to the Barnes and Noble on Wilshire near the promenade has a fairly checkered past. Two or three years ago the Fraiche group turned it into Riva. This was supposed to be a coastal Italian, but to my taste wasn’t really Italian at all — although they made a decent Pizza. In any case, it failed and they rebooted it as Fraiche Santa Monica with an entirely new menu and staff, albiet an identical interior. This is sort of a spin off of the Culver City location (REVIEW HERE).

One corner of the back room. I didn’t have much of a wide angle lens (food after all). It’s a pretty nice space.

The wine by the glass list.

“Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Les Chapitres de Jaffelin, Burgundy, 2009.” As a burghound this was about the bare limit of drinkability for Pinot Noir. A little sour and acidic and decidedly unbalanced. But then again, I rarely expect much from “Bourgogne” (Burgundy which is not AOC to a particular village or vineyard).

The bread was hot out of the oven, and very nice and crunchy. Oilve, mashed and oiled.

Today’s menu. This is actually the second time I’ve eaten at Fraiche SM (I did so once right after they opened) and in the meantime they have moved the menu to be much closer to the new one at Fraiche Culver City (detailed review of that here).

“POACHED PEAR SALAD, Endive, baby wild arugula, candied walnuts, Point Reyes blue cheese, red wine vinaigrette.”

“Baby Beets, House Made Ricotta / Orange / Pistachio.” Sweetness of the beets meshes with the cheesy sauce. Beet salads have become very passe, but when well done (like this one), I like them.

“ROASTED PEPPERS ARUGULA & BURRATA, Shallots, 12 year old balsamic and extra virgin olive oil.” This was as good a Burrata as I’ve had at a restaurant. They still aren’t quite as sensual as my own take on the cheese.

“Valpolicella Ripasso, Classico Superiore, David Sterza, Veneto, 2008.” Much better than the generic Burgundy. This was a fine wine of the type. Grapey, but not as much so as an Amarone.

“MUSHROOM RISOTTO, Arugula, Pine Nuts, Pecorino.” Nice nutty, mushroomy risotto.

“AGNOLOTTI, Mushrooms,  mascarpone, truffle butter.” These are really good. The pasta is nice fresh egg pasta. It tastes mostly of butter and mushroom. Butter!

“GARGANELLI, Mushroom Bolognese, Parsley, House Made Ricotta.” I actually expected this to be a meat pasta, but it’s vegetarian with the “ragu” being made from mushrooms. It was tasty, particularly the ricotta which, being homemade, was more like a real Sicilian Ricotta than one usually gets here. The mushrooms leant it a fairly rich taste, but it wasn’t heavy at all (like a meat one would be).

“Rigatoni, Beef & Pork Ragù / Scallion / Gruyère.” This one was great. basically a Bolognese, but really good. Close even to one of my ultimate pasa favorites, the lamb ragu at Capo (SEE HERE).

We were too full for desserts but Fraiche has really good ones, so I snuck in a photo of the Budino from a trip to the culver city joint. You can look there for a bunch more dessert photos. The dessert menu is nearly identical.

“Carmel Budino, Vanilla Mascarpone, Sea salt.” Mildly carmel/creamy with that nice salt factor. Good, but not quite as good as the similar dessert at Gjelina (SEE HERE).

Fraiche SM seems to be settling into its groove. It was better than last time, and quite a bit better than Riva. It isn’t a lot different than the Culver City location, but the menu is slightly smaller, and missing the assorted “pots of stuff” that are fairly unique over there. It does still have the very good fresh pastas. I need to try I nice meaty one.

Related posts:

  1. Fraiche take on Franco-Italian
  2. Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica
  3. Piccolo – A little Italian
  4. The New Cal Cuisine: Rustic Canyon
  5. Quick Eats: Divino
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: AGNOLOTTI, Burrata, California, Culver City California, Dessert, Eruca sativa, Food, Fraiche, Fraiche Santa Monica, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, Olive oil, pasta, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Salad, Santa Monica California, side, vegetarian, Wine

Takao Two

Mar20

Restaurant: Takao [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 11656 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (310) 207-8636

Date: March 13, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: 9/10 creative “new style” sushi

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I’ve already covered Takao in some detail HERE, but we went back (we go often) and I built another “custom omakase” trying some different things. The full menu and some information on the history of the place can be found through the above link.

House cold sake. Masumi “Okuden-Kanzukuri” Nagano prefecture.

Miso soup. I think if you ask they have a couple different types. This is the basic scallion and tofu.

Big eye tuna sashimi. This displays the fish at it’s finest.

Wild Japanese Scallop sashimi. I love good scallops. These had that pleasant meaty texture, and the soft “scallopy” flavor.

Tai (red snapper), with garlic, salt, red peppercorn, onions, olive oil. A very bright flavor, and the peppercorns, not spicy at all, add a nice textural component.

Main lobster tempura (1/2). Takao has a lot of interesting tempuras. Uni (my second favorite), sardine, crab, unusual seafood pancake with shiso, and more. This is a decadent favorite of mine, and in a half portion is pretty reasonable.

Rock Shrimp Tempura Dynamite. The underlying component is in itself tasty. Sweet rock shrimp perfectly fried. Then you ad some dynamite with it’s zesty zing and it gets even better. For those not in the know Dynamite is a warm sauce consisting of mayo, sriarcha hot sauce, and masago semlt roe.

This is a very traditional Japanese egg custard with bits of mushroom, shrimp, and white fish baked inside. It has a very subtle mellow eggy flavor I find nostalgic from my many trips to Japan.

Just some of the sushi.

In the very front, Wild Japanese Scallop sushi. Behind that next to the wasabi is Tai (red snapper).

In the back, chu-toro (fatty tuna belly). Melts in your mouth!

Salmon of course.

Kanpachi (young yellow tail).

In the center, Ika (squid), perfect chewy pasty texture.

And fresh raw Tako (octopus). Most places serve it only frozen/cooked. This had a bit of yuzu on it, delicious.

On the left, Ikura (salmon eggs), and on the right Uni (Santa Barbara Sea Urchin). Both delicious.

Albacore with a bit of ginger and scallions.

Salmon tempura cut roll (technically for my two year old).

A bit more sushi. In the back grilled Unagi (fresh water eel) rolls, and Hamachi (yellowtail) and scallion rolls.

Kani (Alaskan king crab) sushi.

Tamago (sweet egg omelet) sushi.

And some vanilla mochi balls (ice cream covered with sweetened pounded rice). The red stuff is strawberry sauce.

Takao is top flight as always. I tend to enjoy ordering ala carte like this best, but it’s actually more expensive than getting an omakase, perhaps because I order a lot more sushi.

For my LA Sushi index, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art – Takao
  2. Sushi Sushi = Yummy Yummy
  3. Sasabune – Dueling Omakases
  4. Matsuhisa – Where it all started
  5. Food as Art: R.I.P. The Hump
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Black pepper, Dessert, Food, Hamachi, Japan, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sashimi, side dishes, Sushi, Takao, Tamago, Tuna, Uni, vegetarian, Yellowtail

Seconds at Sam’s by the Beach

Mar18

Restaurant: Sam’s by the Beach [1, 2, 3]

Location: 108 W. Channel Rd.(PCH), Santa Monica, CA 90402. 310-230-9100

Date: March 12, 2011

Cuisine: Cal French International

Rating: Stellar food and unparalleled service.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I already covered the background to Sam’s in my FIRST REVIEW. Let’s just say this is a local place with an unusual and inventive menu that’s worth a drive.

I’d never heard of this “lesser” Bordeaux, but Sam opened this half-bottle and it was very nice. Characteristic Saint-Emilion smooth. The 8 or so years gave it just enough age to settle the tanins.

Today’s menu.

The usual amuse. Little fried pockets of spinach and cheese.

Homemade bread and the olive oil sesame dip.

“Roasted Beet Salad, mixed with onions and tomato in Aged balsamic dressing, served with Feta Cheese croquet.”

This was a special. Seared Kanpachi (young yellowtail) with arugula, avocado, tomatoes, in a citrus ginger vinaigrette. The dressing was to die for, and mated perfectly with the sushi grade fish.

“Vegetarian Crepes. Homemade Crepes filled with Swiss chard, wild mushrooms and zucchini served in tomato coulis.” This is a half order, as the normal one has two of the burrito-like crepes. This is a very nice vegetarian option, and surprisingly hearty. The sauce is bread dippingly yummy.

“Lamb Chorizo Risotto, Carnaroli rice prepared with lamb sausage, fresh spinach, feta cheese, in meyer lemon broth.” This isn’t your typical Italian Risotto either, but it’s spectacular, and much lighter. There is a lovely tang from the lemon, and the sharp goat cheese, and the sausage is to die for.

The dessert menu.

His creme brulee is straight up traditional, and it’s the second best I’ve ever had in the world (there was this one in Avignon…). The meat of it is thick, creamy, and all vanilla.

A new dessert (at least for us). This take on the flowerless chocolate cake is moist, dense, and chocolately — as it should be.

Sam is also starting a new thing for Sunday nights, pizza night!  He has a pizza oven. We’ll have to come back and try these, see how they compare to my Ultimate Pizza. I’m particularly eager to try the Shawarma.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Sam’s by the Beach
  2. Brunch at Tavern 3D
  3. Brunch at Tavern – again
  4. Rustic Canyon 3D
  5. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Business and Economy, California, Carnaroli, Cheese, Cooking, Crêpe, Dessert, Feta, Food, Los Angeles, Restaurant, Sam's by the Beach, Santa Monica California, side dishes, Spinach, United States, vegetarian

Dinner Party – It all starts with Cheese

Mar16

Last Friday we hosted a little dinner party. I can’t say it was purely an excuse for more cooking and food photos, but well, here they are. Everything in this meal is made from scratch.

The first course in summary.

Cheese is always a good start. This time I tried a new cheese shop, Andrew’s Cheese Shop. This is closer than my usual haunt, the The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Andrew’s isn’t as big, but they had plenty of choices, and they were extremely friendly.

I put together a little foursome. Epoisses on the left (gooey washed rind fun), a fantastic goat, Monte Enebro, a nice rich nutty dutch cheese on the left (tasted halfway between a Gouda and Parmesan) and on the bottom, Stichelton, a beautiful rich English blue cheese.

Condiments. Marcona almonds, quince paste (the orange jelly stuff), Spanish olives, and accacia honey from Abruzzo.

The carbohydrates. Traditional french baguette, cranberry nut crisps, and olive oil cracker sticks. All from Andrew’s, and all excellent.

We also made these puff pastries from scratch. Stuffed with egg, cheese, and spinach. Basically little puff-Spanakopita.

What would all that cheese and bread be without some wine?

On the left a fantastic Burgundy, Parker gives it 92, but I’d give it more like a 94. “The 2003 Clos Vougeot explodes from the glass with licorice, dark cherries, and a myriad of spices. A wine of considerable depth, it is packed with suave black fruits immersed in chocolate. Well-structured, ripe, and exceptionally long, it will merit a higher score if its alcoholic warmth is absorbed into the wine with time (something that sometimes occurs with Pinot Noirs). Projected maturity: 2008-2017.”

On the right, earning 90 points (and again I’d give it more), “The 2006 Fonsalette Cotes du Rhone exhibits meaty, herbal, tapenade, pepper, animal fur, and damp earth-like notes. It is soft, round, lush, and best consumed over the next 10+ years.”

For the main course, we went with Salmon en Papillote, adapted from a recipe by non other than Julia Child. All done from scratch.

Sealed in with the juices are julianned vegetables, parsley, basil, garlic. We’ve done this before but tis batch turned out absolutely perfect.

And as the starch, couscous adapted from Houstons (see it HERE). I found a recipe on the web approximating what they do at the restaurant (HERE).

And then salad.

And this delicious but rather un-homogenized walnut vinaigrette (from scratch of course).

Then for dessert, our friend Geo’s Chocolate Ganache tart. He very graciously gave us this recipe after some prying, and it’s a terribly excellent and decadent dessert. Mostly it’s butter, sugar, and 70% cacao chocolate. Oh yes!

Then homemade whipped cream. None of those emulsifying agents. And homemade raspberry sauce (rasberries and sugar thrown in the blender).

And fruit to finish.

Related posts:

  1. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
  2. Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday
  3. Saturday is for Salt
  4. Lasagne Bolognese Minus the Meat
  5. Quick Eats: Osteria Latini 2
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Abruzzo, Almond, Cheese, Cooking, couscous, Dessert, Dinner Party, Food, Goat Cheese, Gouda, home cooking, Julia Child, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pinot noir, side dishes, Spanakopita, Stichelton, The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, vegetarian

Fast Food Sushi?

Mar15

Restaurant: Sushi-Don

Location: 970 Monument St #118, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. (310) 454-6710

Date: March 9, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: Not bad for a $20 lunch.

 

There seems to be a strange trend going on right now where top sushi bars are opening fast food or light branches. Sushi-Don is in my hood, and it’s owned by, or in some way executive chefed by, Sasabune (see my first and second reviews of that here). Sushi-Don is a kind of fast food version of it’s big brother Sasabune, where you have a simplified menu and reduced prices.

The menu is on the wall.

I went for “Combo B” the soup, cut roll, and 5 pieces of standard sushi.

The miso soup is exactly as you’d expect.

You can chose any cut roll, I went for blue crab. Left to right we have Maguro (tuna), albacore x2 with two sauces, salmon, and Hamachi (yellowtail).

The sushi itself is fine. It’s not fantastic, being perhaps 80% as good as that at Sasabune. This is no Sushi-Sushi (REVIEW) either, but then again, the above was $12. It’s certainly not icky mall sushi, and the chef made it in front of me.

I also ordered a scallop hand roll, which was tasty enough. Could have used a touch of yuzu 🙂

Sushi-Don is what it is. You can have a little light sushi meal here for $15, or you could probably get stuffed for $30-35. The equivalent food at Sasabune or Sushi-Sushi or similar would be at least twice as much. Sure the quality is better there. But at Sushi-Don you can also be in and out in 15-20 minutes. So I think it fills a niche, when one is in a hurry, often alone, and just want a tasty quick bite to eat.

Sushi Nozawa has tried a similar concept with SugarFISH, but that for me is even less satisfying, as it isn’t actually much (if any) cheaper than a real sushi bar, and they’ve eliminated the chef. My colleague kevineats.com reviews that HERE.

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art – Sushi Sushi
  2. Sushi Sushi = Yummy Yummy
  3. Food as Art: Sushi House Unico
  4. Food as Art – Takao
  5. Food as Art: Sasabune
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Asian, Fast food, Food, Hamachi, Japanese cuisine, Maguro, Miso soup, Pacific Palisades Los Angeles, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sushi, Sushi-Don

Dinner and Drinks at Tavern

Mar13

Restaurant: Tavern [1, 2, 3, 4]

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

Date: March 10, 2011

Cuisine: Market driven Californian

Rating: Good for dinner too!

 

Every couple of months I get together with a group of friends who all have kids the same age for a “Dad’s night out.” Last time we went to Father’s Office, this time we chose Tavern in Brentwood. I’m generally there either for Brunch or for an early dinner so I was pleasantly surprised to see how jammed the bar was.

The cocktail menu. The bar was hopping big time at 8-9pm on a thursday. Mostly 30 something women too. A pack of cougars were on the prowl too.

“WildRover, Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, Fresh Basil & Tangerine.” This was a hell of a good cocktail. Like a whiskey sour with basil.

We pounded through 2 bottles of this pleasant CnDP, which Parker gives a 93. “The finest tradition cuvee yet made, the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape (70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 10% Mourvedre aged in foudre and concrete tanks) possesses a deep ruby/purple-tinged color as well as a bouquet of black currants, black cherries, garrigue, pepper, and lavender. It is a full-bodied, ripe, exceptionally elegant, pure wine to drink now or cellar for 12-15 years.”

Tonight’s dinner menu. Never exactly the same twice.

“Salmon crudo with cerignola olives, cucumber, and meyer lemon.”

“Endive salad with Schaner farm’s citrus, green olives and fennel.”

“Cauliflower soup with truffle butter and marcona almonds.” This was a bit blander than I had hoped. Maybe it didn’t have enough creme, or salt. Still pleasant enough.

“Wild mushroom and leek tart with aged goat cheese and herb salad.”

“The devil’s chicken with braised leeks, onionsand mustard breadcrumbs.” Captain Picard, owner of L’Idiot says, “you can’t afford the duck, you’ll have the chicken!”

“Braised lamb shank with saffron rice, merguez, peppers and pinenuts.” This was a damn good dish. The meat fell off the bone (which could be gnawed viking style at leisure). The rice is Persian, and the whole dish had a vaguely Persian thing going on.

“Niman ranch rib-eye with potato-bacon gratin,red wine butter and arugula.”

The desserts du jour.

“Chocolate and coconut coupe, chocolate ice cream, coconut sherbet and graham crackers.” This tasted like its component ingredients, and that wasn’t a bad thing. Rich and refreshing at the same time.

““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.”

As you can see Tavern ain’t no slouch at dinner time either. The dishes are inventive, rich, made with good ingredients, and tasty. You can find some of my brunch reviews HERE, HERE, or HERE.

Related posts:

  1. Brunch at Tavern 3D
  2. Brunch at Tavern – again
  3. Quick Eats: Brunch at Tavern
  4. Bistro LQ – 27 Courses of Trufflumpagus
  5. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Brentwood, California, Chateauneuf du Pape, Cooking, Dessert, Dinner, Father's Office, Food, Grenache, Irish Whiskey, Los Angeles, Mourvèdre, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, side dishes, Soups and Stews, Tavern, vegetarian, Wine tasting descriptors

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.

Related posts:

  1. Brunch at Tavern – again
  2. Quick Eats: Brunch at Tavern
  3. Figs are in Season
  4. Gjelina Scores Again
  5. January in Paradise Cove
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Artichoke, Brentwood, Brisket, Brunch, California, Cooking, Cream Cheese, Dessert, Farmer's Market, Food, Goat milk cheese, Los Angeles, Prosciutto, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, side dishes, Tavern, Tavern Brentwood, Tavern La, vegetarian
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