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Sundae School at Toppings

Oct10

Restaurant: Toppings

Location: 872 Via De La Paz. Los Angeles, CA 90272. (310) 454-8228

Date: September 14, 2012

Cuisine: Frozen Yogurt

Rating: Diabetics beware!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

A while back I review the new frozen yogurt place in the heart of the Pacific Palisades Village, now apparently it was so popular that someone decided to build a second one just a block away! The newcomer, Toppings, appears to be part of a two joint chain and its claim to fame is more toppings. A lot more toppings!

The yogurt part itself is similar. You choose a cup, and then fill it up yourself from any combination of the ten soft-serve machines. The flavors don’t seem to change too dramatically or often, but I have on occasion noticed a few switch-ups.

Here begins the toppings buffet. Not only is the selection enormous, but they are very neatly kept and organized thematically! This is the “sugar candy section.” I adore sugar candy, and its one of my secret weaknesses, but actually they don’t work so great in FroYo because they instantly grow hard as rocks in the cold.

Nuts!

Cereals, sugar and not so sugar. Plus a few misc things like coconut and yogurt coated pretzels.

Cookie bits have they own section! Look at all those types, including “Mom’s Animal Cookeis” Yum!

Then chocolate bits, sprinkles, and chocolate covered candies!

And a whole section with “real” candy bars like Snickers, Butterfingers, Milky Ways, Heath Bar, etc. No major american candy is left out here — except I’m not sure I saw peppermint patty (which I actually like on a sundae).

Then fruit. We have both the natural versions and on this side a host of funny mochi and flavor ball types. There are even pickles in the corner for desperate pregnant women.

A closer look at the real fruit.

Then the sauces. Cold chocolate, hot chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, marshmallow, all that good stuff.

A full view of most of the toppings bar. It curves around like an L in the back and over to the far side. Very neat and modern too.

My masterpiece, which is pretty much drenched in caramel and marshmallow sauce. Underneath are all sorts of the heavy candy bars like Snickers and Butterfingers. This is about as remote from the “healthy” FroYo with tart unsweetened yogurt and a little fruit as you can get! So, which of our two yogurt joints is better? Hard to say. Clearly there are more and better toppings here at toppings but many people think the yogurt itself is better at The Yogurt Shoppe. Really, I seem to end up with something very similar at both. Sweet as bejesus!

For more high quality Westside dessert, check out Sweet Rose Creamery.

By: agavin
Comments (5)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Candy, Chocolate bar, Frozen yogurt, Heath Bar, Pacific Palisades, Pacific Palisades Los Angeles, Snickers, Soft serve, Toppings, Yoghurt

More Maison Giraud

Jul30

Restaurant: Maison Giraud [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1032 Swarthmore Ave, Pacific Palisades, Ca 90272. 310-459-7562

Date: Winter/Spring, 2012

Cuisine: French

Rating: French “home” cooking at it’s best

Maison Giraud is the closest fine dining to my house. Pacific Palisades doesn’t have a lot of great food, but this restaurant/bakery is from acclaimed LA French chef Alain Giraud.

The Swathmore Ave frontage has been revealing itself in stages since at least the 4th of July.

Inside the chef peers down at your from the French-style board.

My wife and I had our Valentine’s Day reservation here, which turned out to be a damn good choice as the day before I crushed the bones in my left hand, and couldn’t have managed to travel further. There was a set menu, which can be hit or miss on this overcrowded holiday, but turned out great at MG.

“Oyster & Champagne Gelee.” Notice the aphrodisiac theme.

“Tender Greens & Beets Salad. Citrus Vinaigrette, Goat Cheese.”

“Burrata Agnolotti. Hearts of Broccolis, Pomegranate Seduction.”

“Scallops ‘Valentino’ Piquillo, Cauliflower, Chorizo.”

“Red Snapper. Saffron-Fennel Broth. Spring Peas.”

“Veal Tenderloin. Spinach Cream, Red Wine Sexy Sauce.”

“Macaron Harmony for Two. Litchis & Rose Cream & Raspberries.” This dessert was absolutely amazing. I love rosewater and this had that classic soft flavor. The texture of the Macaron was also perfect.

Below is a composite dinner built from 2-3 visits.

From my cellar: Fin Amour, a blockbuster wine that redefines that cliché with energy and precision. Those centenarian vines of Grenache and Carignan pictured above are actually located in Maury, a miniscule appellation across the Spanish border in Roussillon that’s traditionally famous for immortal dessert wines (we had a recently released Maury from 1928 in the shop the other day, to give you an idea of their longevity). The appellation is conservative about their stickies, so Case and Shiverick did forgo the classification to make a low-yield Cotes de Catalanes dry red wine of 70% Grenache and 30% Carignan. These Bonsai like vines stubbornly live on an outcrop of chopped up schist, which is ideal for giving the few grapes they produce their incredible Catalonian minerality and aromatically spiced fruit.

“Vegetable Salad. Seasonal Market Vegetables with Coriander and Lemon.”

“Grilled octopus special.”

Pistou is a classic southern French soup, cousin to minestrone.

“Soup ‘Au Pistou’. Farmers Market Vegetables, Pearl Pasta, Almond and Basil Pistou.”

You can see the minestrone resemblance here. The French version is a little milder.

“Farm Eggs. Town and Country. Light Mushroom Custard, Rustic Egg Cocotte.” I like the creamy fraiche inside the egg thingy.

“Loup de Mer ‘Barigoule’. Baby Artichokes, Basil Pistou, Tomato Confit.”

“Colorado Lamb Filet. Spring Onions, Fava Beans, Fennel Panisse, Black Olive Sauce.”

“Side vegetables.”

“Steak special. Sauce Au Poivre.” Simple French classic.

“Classic boulibase.” MG serves a modest sized portion, which actually can be a good thing. I paired this with a nice Provencal Rose.

“Chocolate Soufflé Traditional Soufflé, Crème Chantilly, Crème Anglaise.” A total classic, and as good as any Chocolate Soufflé I’ve had.

“Vacherin Glacé Lavender Ice Cream, Strawberries, Meringue.” This is a Giraud staple and rather wonderful, particularly because of the Lavender thing. It has certain similarities to the Valentines Rose flavored Macaron, but is crunchier.

We also go frequently for Brunch/Lunch.

“French Toast. Brioche, Crème Chantilly, Homemade Preserves.” I’d kill for this Crème Chantilly.

“House Burger Caramelized Onions, Tomatoes, Aioli.”

“Maison Giraud ‘Cobb’ Salad, Blue Cheese Vinaigrette.”

“Le Plateau.” Everyday they offer a set plate with three items. This particular day it included a salmon caesar to the right, scallops in the center, and a bit of bread pudding.

So far, I’m very pleased with Maison Giraud. The food is essentially French comfort food with a bit of international adaption, but everything has been spot on fresh and well done so far, and the bakery is outrageously good. Given how incredibly lame most of the Pacific Palisades food offerings are this is all incredibly welcome.

For my previous review, see here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Alain Giraud, Brunch, Cauliflower, Chorizo, Dessert, French Cuisine, Goat Cheese, Grenache, Los Angeles, Maison Giraud, Pacific Palisades Los Angeles, Roussillon, Snapper, Soufflé, valentines day

Palisades Yogurt Shoppe

May14

Restaurant: Yogurt Shoppe

Location: 873 Swarthmore Ave, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. 310-459-0088

Date: Friday May 13, 2011!

Cuisine: Frozen Yogurt

Rating: Yummy & Popular.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Recently a new frozen yogurt place opened in the heart of the Pacific Palisades Village. This is a popular and welcome addition to our little community, which has suffered a bit of a drought of unoccupied storefronts since the recent recession began (much of this is due to the apparently asinine landlord on Swathmore who refuses to rent out half the storefronts).

The frontage. You should have seen this 10 minutes before as school let out and the place was swamped with kids.

The have a great little format. You choose a cup, and then fill it up yourself from any combination of the ten soft-serve machines.

Then self load up from the extensive topping bar. Here are various fruit, cool “mango poppers” mochi balls, chocolate chips, snowcaps, bits of various candy bars etc.

Even more toppings. Lots of common candy types (including my favorite, skittles), nuts, sprinkles, and more.

Then an extensive wet topping selection, including hot fudge, caramel, and marshmallow sauce.

My son went simple. With tasty fat-free vanilla (which didn’t taste fat-free), strawberries, bannas, snowcaps, and sprinkles (aka jimmies to use East Coasters).

I jazzed mine up a bit more, with cookies and cream and dulce de leche yogurt, various candles, mochi, and caramel sauce. The mango poppers were cool, little Ikura (salmon roe sushi) look-alike orange balls that exploded mango in the mouth. I also discovered that Skittles when frozen and VERY hard on the teeth. But they’re still my favorite standard packaged candy.

For more high quality Westside dessert, check out Sweet Rose Creamery.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Business, Cooking, Dessert, Frozen yogurt, Ice cream, Pacific Palisades Los Angeles, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Snacks, Yogurt Shoppe

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.