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Archive for Pizza – Page 2

We Toss’em They’re Awesome

Jan08

Restaurant: Pizza Factory

Location: 970 N Main St, Bishop, CA 93514. (760) 872-8888

Date: January 1, 2016

Cuisine: Pizza

Rating: Solid non-chain Pizza parlor

_

In the 1990s I used to go to Mammoth all the time to ski, and almost every time we would stop on the way back at one of the two Pizza Factory outlets. Now that I’m back up skiing with my wife and son, we decided to rekindle the tradition.

This is no neo-neo-Neapolitan pizza joint, but a classic small chain parlor.

They’re whole “We Toss’em They’re Awesome” signage was a source of mirth back in the day (20 years ago).

The dining room is pretty gamey — and there is even an arcade filled with dated classics like Galaga and Ms. Pacman!

Cheese pizza.

Mushroom pizza (gluten free).

Mushroom pizza.

Pepperoni, chili, and artichoke pizza.

Sausage, basil, pizza. Almost Thai!
 And my choice, the Meat Lovers pizza. Sausage, ham, pepperoni, and all that goodness. This was a solid pie, with a nice chewy crust and full of salty goodness.

Overall, Pizza Factory turns out solid pies. They aren’t new style, but they are well executed classic American pizzas. They have good crust, gooey real cheese, and a wide variety of toppings — so what isn’t to like about it?

For more dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. 2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria
  2. More Awesome Dimsum – King Hua
  3. Eating Milano Marittima – Notte E Di’
  4. Waterloo & City
  5. Eating San Gimignano – La Griglia
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bishop California, Pizza, Pizza Factory, We Toss'em They're Awesome

Ultimate Pizza New Year 2014

Jan09

Every few months, and particularly at New Years, we do another round of our Ultimate Homemade Pizzas. If you’re curious about how these components are made look here, otherwise just enjoy the food porn.

Before diving in, I’ll note that this time I am making further progress in that most difficult of pizza problems: the transfer. The most challenging part of making pizza at home is getting it into and out of the oven without messing it up. Into the oven is toughest because the dough is soft and sticky and the pizza is laden.

My new technique is:

  • Roll on the marble countertop with flour
  • Coat a peel with tons of white flour
  • Transfer the pie to the peel
  • Add toppings. Make sure they don’t get too close to the edge.
  • Scoot it off the peel using the flour as lube onto the pizza stone. Do not use cornmeal, which is inferior to flour as a lube and leaves an annoying texture on the dough
  • Scoot back off the stone onto the peel with my huge pizza spatula
  • Use separate cutting blocks for cutting (not the peel)


NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé (magnum). IWC 92. Light orange. Vibrant strawberry and orange zest aromas are complicated by notes of tea rose, smoky lees and chalky minerals. Bright, incisive red fruit flavors pick up a toasty nuance with air. Fresh, incisive and refreshingly tangy, with impressive finishing clarity and stony persistence.


Straight up pizza + corn.


My classic “Jewish Pizza”. First I bake the dough with rosemary and truffle oil, then top with my mix of creme fraiche, dill and chives. Then add red onion and capers and…


finally nova lox. Really a fabulous bit of pizza.

This pizza focuses on a few new toppings, namely spicy lebneh cheese as a “sauce”, sautéed broccoli rab, mushrooms, green pepper goat cheese.

A great mix with an intriguing blend of heat and the slightly bitter vegetable.


From my cellar: 1991 Etienne Sauzet Bâtard-Montrachet. 91 points. Dry and subdued, but very clean and nice. Drinking young for its age.


This pizza focuses on my new Ultra Ligurian pesto (pine nuts from Liguria, lots of garlic, very good parmesan freshly grated). It includes ricotta and parmesan, mushroom, tomatoes, almonds, and a bit of fig.


Here finished.


Today’s incarnation of my tikka masala pizza. Tikka masala sauce, smoked mozzarella, morels, almonds, basil, ricotta, mozz balls, red onion.


Topped with burrata and a bit of balsamic. Yum!


A new simple cheese pizza with mixed mushrooms.


Another spicy labneh, similar to the last but with slightly different cheeses, a bit of sun-dried tomatoe pesto, and even a little smoked mozz. This was actually drizzled with honey too before baking!


Baked.


From my cellar: 1985 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux. 94 points. Great wine in great shape.


More pesto, with a bit of pumpkin, almonds, figs, blobs of garlic mint yogurt, and red onions.


Baked and topped with burrata.


A fresher pizza with a light pesto, tomatoes, onions, broccoli rab.


And topped with arugula and meyer lemon juice.


Tomatoes, pesto, garlic olives, basil.


And my final iteration on the pesto / afghan theme. Ligurian pesto, garlic mint yogurt, pumpkin, a bit of sundied tomatoe pesto, gorgonzola, figs, and sweet chili.


Baked.


And with burrata!


From my cellar: 1988 Domaine de Courcel Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Épenots. 92 points. Full color. What a completely different animal from that wine-brambly black fruit and licorice, medium to full bodied for a Pinot and very meaty feel. I must say that you rarely find this much flesh in an ’88 Burgundy. Relatively speaking, a brute, and much less resolved than the Clos St. Jacques. Wilder and riper. I always find Pommard a bit rough and jarring, but this one was beginning to soften with its 22 years of age. Maybe my problem is that I don’t hold these wines for as long as they need to soften. Very attractive in this chunkier style.


A bit of the dessert spread.


The fudge cake.


Chocolate cupcakes.


Vanilla.


Iced cookies. I love these actually.


Boring sprinkle cookies (always left over).


A kind of strawberry cream fruit tart monster.

The gory details on how to we made the dough, sauce and other components are available here.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Comeback
  2. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
  3. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
  4. Ultimate Pizza 2012
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Dough
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Buffalo mozzarella, Dessert, Pizza, ultimate pizza, Wine

2009 Bordeaux Doesn’t Blow

Nov29

Location: Hollywood Hills

Date: November 24, 2013

Cuisine: Molecular American

Rating: Amazing night!

_

My friend Stewart had this idea to host a dinner featuring the wealth of 99 and 100 point 2009 Bordeaux. I have to admit, their youth made me skeptical, but he assured me they were drinking great — plus, my vocation as a priest of Dionysus wouldn’t allow me to pass up on 15-20 100 point wines!

To sweeten the pot, he promised a first rate molecular dinner from celebrity chef, Marcel Vigneron (great name!) and co-chef  Haru Kishi. Marcel was the original Executive Sous Chef at The Bazaar too, and also cooked at Joel Robuchon. Haru was at Chaya Brasserie. Those pedigrees most certainly do not suck.


Stewart really knows how to organize a wine dinner — and I should know given how many I attend. This event was expertly planned from start to finish. One of the attendees generously donated her lovely Hollywood Hills home (off a narrow hill street) as the venue.


Stewart rented Riedel stems, and even more importantly, took on the services of two fantastic Sommeliers. All of us split the cost plus brought 2-3 bottles of the good stuff.


The view on this crystal clear November day was stunning.


In the foreground is Max Coane, one of our two awesome somms. I can’t tell you how much more relaxed having these two professionals made the event. Most of my zany (and awesome) wine dinners are free-for-alls. That can be okay up to about twelve people, but even so, I end up doing (really half-assing) the job of somm myself: opening the bottles, doing pours, etc. It becomes hard to get all the wines and you really have to worry about it (if you’re anal like me). These guys were pro (and super nice and enthusiastic as well).


1993 Moet Chandon Dom Perignon. Parker 93. Medium lemon-straw colour. Moderately intense nose of lemon curd, kaffir lime leaf, plenty of hot buttered toast and vague hints of chalk and crushed stone. The bubbles are calming a little in the mouth and the very crisp acidity is taking centre stage, yet this wine is drinking beautifully now, providing plenty of yeast and citrus flavour with a generous sprinkling of minerality. Long finish.


1990 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame. Parker 95. I highly recommend the Veuve Clicquot 1990 La Grande Dame. It is exquisitely rich and accessible, yet bursting with potential.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2WwE3plcE&feature=youtu.be]

To make this bottle even more exciting, it was opened with a sword!


2002 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses. Parker 96. The flagship 2002 Brut Clos des Goisses is simply stunning in this vintage. Seamless, ripe and beguiling, the 2002 is pure harmony in the glass. Dried pears, apricots, flowers, red berries and spices are some of the many notes that inform this towering, aristocratic wine. At once vertical yet endowed with serious length, the 2002 stands out for its breathtaking balance and overall sense of harmony. Layers of fruit built to the huge, creamy finish. This is a great showing from Philipponnat.


We retired downstairs to the garden for appetizers. These included fresh pizzas whipped up by Marcel here. Yum. These reminded me of my Ultimate Pizza. And he got his dough balls from Terroni.

Our host, Rachel, had an amazing (and gorgeous) wood fired pizza oven. Awesome!


Look at those coals!


And her view.


2009 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 96. Here too there are residual sulfur notes that are only background nuances to the otherwise very fresh and dense green fruit and stone aromas that introduce intensely mineral-driven, firm, rich and enveloping flavors that display a taut muscularity on the strikingly powerful, focused and bone dry finish that is really quite explosive. Like the Montrachet, this should reward at least a decade of long-term cellaring. A brilliant example of the appellation.


From my cellar, 1993 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin. 93 points. this wine shows sweet cherries, sharp minerals, and forest floor on the powerful nose. Initially the palate is a bit shy, but with time it gains concentration and volume until it explodes with deep red and black fruits. This is medium bodied and elegant but the fruit is intense, the acids are lively, and there is a strong spice note on the finish. There are still some hard edges and this is probably 5 years from its peak, but it’s wonderful now. Paired beautifully with grilled chickens.


1995 Lagrange. Parker 90. The 1995 Lagrange is similar to the 1996, but the fruit is sweeter, the acidity lower, and the wine less marked by Cabernet Sauvignon. The color is a deep ruby/purple. The wine boasts a roasted herb, charcoal, black currant, mineral, and new oak-scented nose. Medium to full-bodied and ripe, with copious quantities of jammy black cherry and cassis flavors presented in a medium-bodied, low acid, moderately tannic style, this well-endowed, purely made wine requires cellaring.


Oyster spherification, finger lime and wasabi. These first two apps were the weak point of an otherwise stellar meal — not that they were bad, but they just didn’t reach the heights of the rest. The oysters were too warm, and probably could have used a nice Sancerre :-).


Bay scallop cones, ponzu, yuzu kosho, masago. I love raw scallops but these had a slightly odd oil or pine tang. Marcel thought it might be the yuzu, but maybe the oil in the cones.


White truffle pizza, buffalo mozzarella, squash blossom, bacon & shallots. Now these pizzas were AWESOME. I love a good pizza, and this certainly was it. Nice chewy dough. Perfect!


In this serious I’m going to show off some of our ingredients, in this case fresh truffles both white and black!


And persimmons, frozen for texture.


Squabs.


And venison loin. Look at that color.


Moving upstairs we return to our epic 100 point Bordeaux.


From my cellar, 2009 Pape Clement Blanc. Parker 100. The 2009 Pape Clement Blanc is an absolutely remarkable wine, which is not a surprise given what this historic estate has done in both white and red over the last 20 years. Their white wine, an intriguing blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Semillon, 16% Sauvignon Gris and the rest Muscadelle, comes from 7.5 acres of pure gravelly soil. An exquisite nose of honeysuckle, tropical fruit, pineapple, green apples, and orange and apricot marmalade soar from the glass. Great acidity, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a texture more akin to great grand cru white Burgundy put this wine in a class by itself. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were others who also think this is pure perfection in white Bordeaux. I tasted this wine four separate times and gave it a perfect score three of the four times. It is one of most exquisite dry white I have ever tasted from anywhere – period. Certainly the founder of Pape Clement, Bertrand de Goth, would be happy with his decision to plant a vineyard here in 1305. Pure genius!


2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc. Parker 98. Smith-Haut-Lafitte hit a home run with their red Pessac-Leognan and came very close to perfection with their dry white Graves. Possibly the best dry white the estate has produced since the proprietors, the Cathiards, acquired the property in 1990, this wine exhibits a sensational fragrance of buttered citrus, honeyed melons and a touch of grapefruit, lemon zest and orange rind. It also displays grapefruit on the attack and mid-palate as well as real opulence, terrific acidity and length. Drink it over the next 15-20 years. Astonishing!


2006 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet. Burghound 96. Prost was, justifiably, extremely proud of this wine and observed that it may be the best “straight” Chevalier that he’s ever made. Not surprisingly, this is a good deal more elegant than the Bâtard with gorgeously pure floral and white fruit, stone and subtle spice aromas that seamlessly merge into the almost painfully intense and vibrant flavors that, like the Perrières, possess crystalline purity and huge length. This is a knockout Chevy and if you can find it, don’t miss it.


Truffled egg. Like at Melisse. Good stuff.


Inside you can see the scrambled egg bits.


From my cellar, 2009 Clinet. Parker 100. Clinet has been on a hot streak lately and the 2009 appears to be the greatest wine ever made at the estate, surpassing even the late Jean-Michel Arcaute’s monumental 1989. A blend of 85% Merlot and tiny amounts of Cabernet Franc (12%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (3%), this big Pomerol boasts an opaque, moonless night inky/blue/purple color in addition to a gorgeous perfume of blueberry pie, incense, truffles, black raspberries, licorice and wood smoke. Viscous and multi-dimensional with silky, sweet tannin, massive fruit concentration and full-bodied power, there are nearly 4,000 cases of this thick, juicy, perfect Clinet.


2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Parker 100. The finest wine ever made by proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard, the 2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte exhibits an opaque blue/purple color in addition to a glorious nose of acacia flowers, licorice, charcoal, blueberries, black raspberries, lead pencil shavings and incense. This massive, extraordinarily rich, unctuously textured wine may be the most concentrated effort produced to date, although the 2000, 2005 and 2010 are nearly as prodigious. A gorgeous expression of Pessac-Leognan with sweet tannin, emerging charm and delicacy, and considerable power, depth, richness and authority, it should age effortlessly for 30-40+ years. Bravo!


2009 La Fleur Petrus. Parker 96-98+. Even with considerable youthful characteristics, this stunning, open-knit 2009 is quite approachable. This fabled terroir sandwiched between Petrus and Lafleur (hence the name) generally produces one of the more elegantly-styled Pomerols, but in 2009 it offers an extra dimension of flavor intensity as well as more texture and concentration. It reveals a super-seductive perfume of mocha, loamy soil, herbs, black cherries and black currants, truffles and licorice, full body and velvety tannins. The overall impression is one of intensity, power, glycerin and richness as well as undeniable elegance and laser-like focus.

Despite its (slightly) inferior rating, this wine stood out at the current moment.


Langoustine ravioli, kale, foie gras veloute, black burgundy truffle. Wow, this was great. The filling was solid dense langoustine and really tasted like it. The sauce was a decadent langoustine bisque made from the bodies and saturated with foie gras. Plus the truffle. Only the kale was healthy.


2009 Montrose. Parker 100. A colossal effort, the 2009 Montrose represents a hypothetical blend of the monumental duo of 1989 and 1990 combined with the phenomenal 2003. With 13.7% alcohol (an all-time high at Montrose), it is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Some structure and minerality can be detected in the background, but the overall impression is one of massive blackberry, black currant and mulberry fruit intermixed with forest floor, damp earth, crushed rocks and a hint of spring flowers. Full-bodied with sweet but abundant tannin, Jean-Bernard Delmas believes this is the greatest wine he has made during his short tenure at Montrose since retiring from Haut-Brion. This wine will undoubtedly shut down for a decade, then unleash its power, glory and potential perfection.


2009 Pavie. Parker 100. Bottled the week before I arrived, the 2009 Pavie appears to have barely budged since I tasted it two years ago. Many experts consider this phenomenal terroir to be nearly as great as that of Ausone. Made from a classic blend of 60-70% Merlot, 20-25% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, this inky/blue/purple-colored blockbuster reveals wonderful notes of blackberries, crushed rocks, roasted meats, spring flowers, cedar, blueberries, graphite and a hint of vanillin. With extravagant fruit and high extract as well as a hint of minerality, this structured, massively intense effort is typical of all the luxurious, perfect or nearly perfect Pavies produced under the Perse regime (which began in 1998). While built for 40-50 years of cellaring, the softness of the vintage and its flamboyant style is slightly less apparent in the 2009 Pavie than in some of the other Perse wines.


2009 Leoville-Poyferre. Parker 100. One of the more flamboyant and sumptuous wines of the vintage, this inky/purple-colored St.-Julien reveals thrilling levels of opulence, richness and aromatic pleasures. A soaring bouquet of creme de cassis, charcoal, graphite and spring flowers is followed by a super-concentrated wine with silky tannins, stunning amounts of glycerin, a voluptuous, multilayered mouthfeel and nearly 14% natural alcohol. Displaying fabulous definition for such a big, plump, massive, concentrated effort, I suspect the tannin levels are high even though they are largely concealed by lavish amounts of fruit, glycerin and extract.


White truffle risotto, Japanese rice, Parmigiano reggiano. Another great dish. The Japanese rice had a nice texture, but I’d give this 8/10 on my risotto scale as it needed slightly more cheesy creamy punch to hit the highest highs (I’ve had a lot of great risotto). Still great though.


2009 De Suduiraut. Parker 98. The 2009 is one of the greatest wines ever produced from the estate. It has a riveting bouquet of quince, honey, pear and a touch of clarified butter that is beautifully defined, offering scents of yellow flowers with continued aeration. It is a little heavier and more intense than its peers at this stage. The palate is beautifully balanced with perfectly judged acidity and immense purity. The finish offers crisp honey, quince and clementine notes laden with botrytis that is counterpoised by wonderful acidity. It possesses an unerring sense of completeness and composure that is irresistible. Bravo!


An intermezzo of pears. Looks simple, but paired with the Suduiraut, fabulous.


Most of the gang. Our hostess is in the front right.


2009 Pontet-Canet. Parker 100. An amazing wine in every sense, this classic, full-bodied Pauillac is the quintessential Pontet Canet from proprietor Alfred Tesseron, who continues to reduce yields and farms his vineyards biodynamically – a rarity in Bordeaux. Black as a moonless night, the 2009 Pontet Canet offers up notes of incense, graphite, smoke, licorice, creme de cassis and blackberries. A wine of irrefutable purity, laser-like precision, colossal weight and richness, and sensational freshness, this is a tour de force in winemaking that is capable of lasting 50 or more years. The tannins are elevated, but they are sweet and beautifully integrated as are the acidity, wood and alcohol (which must be in excess of 14%). This vineyard, which is situated on the high plateau of Pauillac adjacent to Mouton Rothschild, appears to have done everything perfectly in 2009. This cuvee should shut down in the cellar and re-open in a decade or more.


2009 Chateau Margaux. Parker 99-100. A brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As with most Medocs, the alcohol here is actually lower (a modest 13.3%) than most of its siblings-. Abundant blueberry, cassis and acacia flower as well as hints of charcoal and forest floor aromas that are almost Burgundian in their complexity are followed by a wine displaying sweet, well-integrated tannins as well as a certain ethereal lightness despite the wine’s overall size. Rich, round, generous and unusually approachable for such a young Margaux, this 2009 should drink well for 30-35+ years.


2009 Cheval Blanc. Parker 99-100. It will be fascinating to follow the evolution of the 2009 Cheval Blanc versus the 2010 as well as the awesome 2005, 2000, 1998 and 1990. This famous estate’s vineyard is situated at the juncture of Pomerol and the sandy, gravelly soils of St.-Emilion, facing the two noble estates of l’Evangile and La Conseillante. A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Cheval Blanc tips the scales at just under 14% natural alcohol. Its dense blue/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of incense, raspberries, cassis, sweet forest floor and a subtle hint of menthol. Opulent and full-bodied with low acidity but no sense of heaviness, this dense, unctuously textured, super-smooth, velvety, pure, profound Cheval Blanc is impossible to resist despite its youthfulness.


Chef pan fries up some foie gras, and manages to produce enough smoke to set off the smoke alarm :-).


And the lovely squabs.


Roasted squab, lollipop leg, faux truffle, real truffle, celery root puree, squid ink dyed baby artichoke hearts, persimmon, parsnip chips, jus. This was a 10/10 game fowl dish. Everything was amazing, from the lovely bird meat, to the truffles, to the awesome jus (I love a good jus) to the delicate puree. Really delightful.


2009 Mouton-Rothschild. Parker 99+. The 2009 Mouton Rothschild has a striking label from Anish Kapoor. The wine is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot that begs comparison as a young wine with what the 1982 tasted like in 1985 or, I suspect, what the 1959 may have tasted like in 1962. Representing 50% of their production, the wine has an inky purple color to the rim and not terribly high alcohol for a 2009 (13.2%), but that is reflected by the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a remarkable nose of lead pencil shavings, violets, creme de cassis and subtle barrique smells. It is stunningly opulent, fat, and super-concentrated, but the luxurious fruit tends to conceal some rather formidable tannins in the finish. This is an amazing wine that will be slightly more drinkable at an earlier age than I thought from barrel, but capable of lasting 50 or more years. Kudos to the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and the entire Mouton team, lead by Monsieur Dalhuin.


2009 Lafite-Rothschild. Parker 99+. The main reason the 2009 Lafite Rothschild did not receive a perfect score is because the wine has closed down slightly, but it is unquestionably another profound Lafite, their greatest wine since the amazing 2003. Among the most powerful Lafites ever made (it came in at 13.59% alcohol), the final blend was 82.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The selection was incredibly severe with only 45% of the crop being utilized. A tight, but potentially gorgeous nose of graphite, black currants, licorice and camphor is followed by a full-bodied wine revealing the classic elegance, purity and delineated style of Lafite. It is phenomenally concentrated with softer tannins than the 2005, the 2003’s voluptuous, broad, juicy personality, and low acidity. There are several vintages that I thought were a replay of their colossal 1959, most notably 1982 and 2003, but 2009 is also one to keep an eye on. It is still extremely youthful and seems slightly more backward than I would have guessed based on the barrel tastings, but it needs 10-15 years of bottle age, and should last for 50+.


2009 Latour. Parker 100. A blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot with just under 14% natural alcohol, the 2009 Latour is basically a clone of the super 2003, only more structured and potentially more massive and long lived. An elixir of momentous proportions, it boasts a dense purple color as well as an extraordinarily flamboyant bouquet of black fruits, graphite, crushed rocks, subtle oak and a notion of wet steel. It hits the palate with a thundering concoction of thick, juicy blue and black fruits, lead pencil shavings and a chalky minerality. Full-bodied, but very fresh with a finish that lasts over a minute, this is one of the most remarkable young wines I have ever tasted. Will it last one-hundred years? No doubt about it. Can it be drunk in a decade? For sure.

My wine of the night. Really pretty awesome.


Venison loin, acorn squash puree, carrots & turnips, chanterelles, truffle noodle. Another 10/10. The meat was some of the best deer I’ve had and the jus was out of this world.


I just have to show off that rare goodness. Some really delightful red meat here, and perfect with all that Bordeaux.


bottles

Nitro dragon’s breath popcorn. Always fun. They do this at Saam.


Popcorn that is basically liquid nitro frozen, then you crunch and…


Breath fire (or smoke).


Another bottle of the 2009 De Suduiraut it was just that good.

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble.


Now the chefs whip up some nitro frozen ice cream.


In this case, coconut lemon grass ice cream! It tasted like Tom Kha Gai ice cream!


And what’s up with this kiwi? It looks like a little tush!


Paleo banana bread, coconut lavender nitro ice cream, market kiwi. A lovely and refreshing dessert, which paired delightfully with the dessert wine.


Above are the two somms on the left, and me on the right in the shiny red shirt.

Someone makes off with the best of the bottles 🙂

Overall, this was an impeccable event. Not only were the wines and food incredible, but the atmosphere, company, and overall congeniality (helped by having talented sommeliers) really made it a delightful evening.

For more LA dining reviews click here.


Related posts:

  1. Memorial Day Pig
  2. Hedonists at STK again!
  3. Luminous Lechon Pigout!
  4. Fraiche – Ultimo Wine Dinner
  5. Big Bottle Madness at Kali Dining
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bordeaux, Champagne, Dessert, Dionysus, Hollywood Hills, Marcel Vigneron, Pizza, venison, Wine

Return to Milo & Olive

Jul19

My wife and I return to one of Santa Monica’s best pizzerias for some more tossed dough balls… find the details here.

Related posts:

  1. Milo and Olive Pizzeria
  2. Jak & Daxter Return
  3. Din Tai Fung – The Return!
  4. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Milo and Olive, Pizza, Santa Monica California

Ultimate Pizza New Years 2012

Jan07

Every few months, and particularly at New Years, we do another round of our Ultimate Homemade Pizzas. If you’re curious about how these components are made look here, otherwise just enjoy the food porn.


This is about half of the arrayed toppings required to make the full range of Ultimate Pizza. It’s not an efficient process.


We open with a little champagne, as it is New Years. The Brut is round and generous in its candied apricots, honey and roasted nuts. The wine offers good length but not as much complexity or personality as I had hoped. 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay.


The first pizza off the line. Traditional fresh tomato sauce, a variety of cheeses including the homemade Crescenza that I made a few days earlier. There are also figs, cilantro, and mushrooms.

The pizza gained a few ingredients between the first photo and baking, including some Marcona almonds and broccoli (pre-sautéed).

One of the most difficult things in custom pizza making is “the transfer.” You have to get the pizza from the kitchen to the oven and back again. If you get it into the oven (here a pizza stone on the gas Viking) without making a mess, it will come off easily. Some keys are using a LOT of flour and cornmeal to “lube” up the surfaces and dry the dough, and also not letting the toppings get too close to the edges.


The finished pizza.


My go-to sweet white. Incorporating fruit principally from Wehlener Nonnenberg, Graacher Himmelreich, and Bernkasteler Johannisbrunnchen, the generic Prum 2011 Riesling Kabinett displays an archetypal Mosel Riesling nose of fresh apple, lemon, and clover allied to faintly cheesy, leesy youthful “stink”; and comes to the palate bright and zippy, with hints of wet stone, and prominent cyanic piquancy of apple pit invigoratingly extending its mouthwateringly juicy, if tart and relatively simple finish.


This is the base for my creme fraiche salmon pizza, which you can find detailed here.


We start in on the red. Parker 94, “The spectacular Bonnes Mares jumps from the glass with aromas of blackberries, cherries, flowers and minerals. It is a massively concentrated, powerful, full-bodied wine packed with stones, wild cherries, red currants, and touches of iron, tar and chocolate for additional complexity. Highly structured and with an exceptionally long finish, it should be cellared for 7-9 years and will hold through 2012. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy in Washington, D.C. in April. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided.”

After this there were 5-6 reds that the hectic evening didn’t allow me to photo, most of the Italian.


Here is one of my favorites, my tikka masala pizza. The sauce is tikka masala sauce, then with corn, red onions, feta, mozz balls, almonds, figs.


Here at the station.


My mom’s more classic margarita.


And my newest creation, extremely successful, the “Afghan Special.” The first layer (after a little olive oil) is mint yogurt, then the green is a cilantro pesto-like Afghan sauce, then the red is sweet pepper jelly. The white blobs are ricotta and feta. This was a superb pizza.


A almond pesto based vegie pizza.


And on the right my wife’s favorite, margarita with mushrooms, corn, almonds, and figs.


An awesome artisinal tomato-basil-pesto based pizza. Exotic fresh mushrooms, aged parm, gorgonzola dulce, some other fresh cheeses.


There was a little too much olive oil and it drooled a little, but no biggy. Still delicious.


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A mushroom pizza.


And another tikka masala pizza, this time with extra mushrooms and cilantro pesto.


After baking.


And with burrata on top, because burrata makes everything better. It really does.


A big veggie and other pizza. It’s important to sauté your veggies before they go on the pizza as the time in the oven is too fast to really cook them.


After baking it looks like Pacman.


And a white pizza, with various cheeses. Those white blocks are my homemade one.


Baked.


And with more burrata and balsamic glaze. Yum!


A mushroom and tomato pizza. I got really interesting mushrooms from the mushroom vendor at the Pacific Palisades Farmer’s market this time, so we have a lot of shroom pizzas.


Baked.


And the final pizza, a pesto, goat cheese, veggie, which we forgot on the grill for an extra 2 minutes, resulting in this extra crispy style. Actually, still quite good.


For dessert, being as it was New Years, I pulled out the seriously big gun. Parker 99, “An extraordinary effort, Yquem’s 1990 is a rich and fabulously superb, sweet wine. This wine also possesses lots of elegance and finesse. The wine’s medium gold color is accompanied by an exceptionally sweet nose of honeyed tropical fruits, peaches, coconut, and apricots. High quality, subtle toasty oak is well-integrated. The wine is massive on the palate, with layers of intensely ripe botrytis-tinged, exceptionally sweet fruit. Surprisingly well-integrated acidity, and a seamless, full-bodied power and richness have created a wine of remarkable harmony and purity. Certainly it is one of the richest Yquems I have ever tasted, with 50-100 years of potential longevity. An awesome Yquem!”


Homemade piebald brownies.


Some Costco cake that despite having about fifty billion ingredients actually tasted decent. It will survive nuclear war.


Viktor Bennes pastries.


And mini Bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Chocolate and marble.


Red velvet and lemon.


Then to ring in 2013, Le Grande Dame 1990. Parker 95, “I highly recommend the Veuve Clicquot 1990 La Grande Dame. It is exquisitely rich and accessible, yet bursting with potential.”

Happy New Year!

And for more Ultimate Pizza, check out here.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
  2. Ultimate Pizza 2012
  3. Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday
  4. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Comeback
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bonnes Mares, Cheese, Cooking, Dessert, Food, New Year, Pinot noir, Pizza, ultimate_pizza, Viking, Wine

More Pizza – Hostaria del Piccolo

Aug03

I updated the post on this newish rustic Italian to include twice the yummy pizza, pasta, and old-school Italian delicacies. Click here to see all the details.

Related posts:

  1. Hostaria del Piccolo – Pizza + Pasta
  2. Quick Eats: Piccolo
  3. Piccolo – A little Italian
  4. Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday
  5. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Hostaria del Piccolo, italian, Italian cuisine, pasta, Pizza, Santa Monica California, Tomato sauce

Milo and Olive Pizzeria

Jul13

Restaurant: Milo and Olive

Location: 2723 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90403. p 310.453.6776

Date: June 30, 2012 and June 15, August 9, & Sept 13, 2013

Cuisine: Pizzeria

Rating: Very good neo-Neapolitan

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There is a definite pizza revival trend going on. LA used to have no good pizza at all (and this was painful having spent so much time in Italian American dominated East Coast cities) but this has all changed. Like it’s cousin, Pizzeria Mozza, Milo and Olive is of the new generation of third (?) wave Neapolitan pizza.


The place is new, crowded, and tiny. They don’t take reservations so come very early or be prepared to wait.


The menu.


Spiced carrot soup. Delicious, with a bit of coconut milk to richen it up and complement the spices.


CROSTINI house ricotta, blistered cherry tomatoes, basil. Tastes like pizza. haha.


“Marinated artichokes, spinach, toasted pine nuts, capers, golden raisins, goat cheese.”


BURRATA PANZANELLA heirloom tomatoes, house croutons, shallots, tomato vinaigrette.


WOOD FIRED PEAR. Baby kale, pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, pistachio, lemon vinaigrette.


Special: champagne grapes (warm) with crostini and fresh ricotta. A surprising and delicious combination.


Special: fig and ricotta crostini.

Branzino ceviche. Peaches, cucumber, avocado, sumac. While more of a “tartar” than a ceviche, this was delicious.


Salmon tartare. sieved egg, capers, chives, radish, dill creme fraiche. Tasty, but not as light and refreshing as the Branzino above.


WOOD OVEN ROASTED PRAWNS warm farro salad, salsa verde. A nice (and fairly light) dish.


Special: corn and peppers and cheese. Really yummy with a solid kick.


BAY SCALLOPS butternut squash, brussels sprouts, lemon butter, breadcrumbs.


Shrimp with polenta. Very tasty.


“Bucatini Carbonara, Nueske’s bacon, pea tendrils, pecorino romano, farm egg yolk.” This was much lighter than a traditional Carbonara, although it had many of the same flavors. The Bucatini had a really nice chew to it. The whole thing was buttery, and strongly flavored of from the smokey pancetta, but it was not nearly as eggy and cheesy as the “real deal.” Rich enough though.


ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH TORTELLINI. Parmesan brodo, mascarpone, thyme. Very rich and tasty, but there were only five tiny tortellini! The broth was super buttery.


Classic Margarita.


“Mixed mushroom pizza. Fontina, Parmigiano Reggiano, thyme.” The Milo and Olive dough is pretty much perfect in my book: chewy, tasty, and not overly carbonized.


“Burrata pizza. La Quercia prosciutto, tomato, arugula, olive oil, sea salt.” This is basically a burrata, prosciutto, arugula salad on a pizza. The tomato sauce also served to balance out the creamy cheese and add a bit of acidity. I make a similar pizza myself, minus the ham (sigh).


Here is a clear view. Pizzas here are very generous in size, and even though this is a fairly light one, I was very full afterward.


A summer special: Brentwood corn & summer squash pizza. Cream corn, goat cheese, basil, garlic, and oil.


A fall special: butternut squash, cioppino onions, tallegio cheese and aged balsamic.


Special pizza with fresh figs, Niman Ranch bacon, and gorgonzola cream. This is a riff on a particular style of pizza I really like: the salty/sweet/cheesy type. I make versions myself on Ultimate Pizza Night. This one had a soft sweetness to it, dominated by the fresh figs (I usually use dried ones myself). But it was quite nice. The bacon had a serious smoky richness. It was more pancetta or lardons, certainly not crispy bacon.


BIANCA Taleggio DOP, 25 yr aged balsamic, farm egg. Prosciutto added.

One of my favorite Milo & Olive pizzas. The balsamic added a nice bit of sweetness to the cheese. The egg richness, and the ham salty goodness.


This 2014 addition to the menu, the gorgonzola dulce, speck, kale pizza, was amazing too.


PORK BELLY SAUSAGE. Escarole, tomato sauce, mozzerella. Egg added. Sort of like a high end version of your classic sausage pizza.


A special pizza with cauliflower.


I was eagerly watching the dough guys to see how they shape their pies. My wife and I make our own Ultimate Pizza at home and the dough handling is one of the areas that we need to improve on.


Flourless chocolate cake.


Coffee pot aux creme. Basically a coffee flavored custard, with a bit of carmel and a healthy dollop of creme fraiche. Delicious, but I’m always a sucker for these custard-type desserts.


They have some decadent looking baked goods too, but we were too full.

Overall these were really good new wave pizzas. The dough was perfect and I want to experiment with some of the other toppings to see if one of them is truly awesome. They don’t have a real meatser meatser on the menu which is a shame. The Mozza version of that is spectacular.

See detailed info on our homemade Ultimate Pizza.

More new wave pizza: Mozza, 2Amys, Sotto, Starbelly, Pretorio.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  2. 2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria
  3. Quick Eats: Divino
  4. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
  5. Eating Santa Margherita – Pizzeria Santa Lucia
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burrata, Carbonara, Dessert, Fontina, Milo and Olive, Neapolitan Pizzeria, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pizza, Prosciutto, Santa Monica California

San Fran – Starbelly

Mar27

Restaurant: Starbelly

Location: 3583 16th street, san francisco, ca 94114. p 415.252.7500

Date: February 11, 2012

Cuisine: Pizza

Rating: Great pizzeria +

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We needed to seat a party of 13 including two young children in San Francisco at the last minute and so we ended up in this castro new-style pizza joint. This is the kind of reinvented American pizza that came out of New York 7-8 years ago. Fusing Cal pizza back with Neapolitan influences. I have to say it’s a good movement and Starbelly did a great job.


The menu.

An inexpensive Rosso from the list.


“house made chicken liver pâté, buttered bread, sweet onion marmalade & grain mustard.”


“house cut fries with three dips.”


“warm calamari, giant butter beans, onions, cilantro & citrus caviar.”


“butternut squash dumplings, sage, brown butter & shaved bucheret.”


“burrata di stefano, grilled bread, prosciutto and basil.”


“grilled lamb meatballs., dried cherries & pistachio, minted greek yogurt.”


“Pizza margherita – no basil”


“Pizza margherita”


“Pt reyes blue cheese, market pears, roasted onion & arugula.”


“house made chorizo, sunny eggs & cilantro pizza.”


“Pt reyes blue cheese, market pears, roasted onion & arugula with added prosciutto and salami.”


“Prather Ranch burger, house cut fries & pickle, grilled sesame bun.”


The dessert menu.

This meal was straightforward, but immensely enjoyable.

For more San Francisco dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. San Fran – Jardinere
  2. San Fran – Kokkari
  3. San Fran – Nopalito
  4. San Fran – RN74
  5. Eating Milano Marittima – Notte E Di’
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: castro, Italian cuisine, New York, Pizza, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, Starbelly

Ultimate Pizza 2012

Feb02

With the new year comes more Ultimate Pizza (see here for the whole series). In case you missed it, this is the totally hand crafted gourmet pizzas we cook at home.


Yum, Burgundy from the cellar. Parker gives 93 points. “One of the three batches that will be blended to make up d ‘Angerville’s 2005 Volnay Champans was still in malo, so I base my assessment on the other two. Scented with cherry and cassis, flowers and fungus, smoke and chalk dust, this displays richness and depth, fine tannins and emerging silkiness, and a youthfully firm but long finish loaded with savory subtleties. Just give it 6-8 years before revisiting. (The outstanding d’Angerville 2004s were also very late to finish malo, and the Champans is especially memorable for its vivid sauteed champignons, alluring ginger spice, marrowy richness, and flattering mouth feel, indeed comparable in quality though lacking the developmental potential of this 2005. As a striking example of mercantile bipolar disorder, I purchased this outstanding 2004 for $49.99 from a merchant whose price on the 2005 thus represented a 350% premium!)

The late Jacques d’Angerville’s son Guillaume and long-time wine making collaborator and brother-in-law Renaud de Villette can boast a superb collection of 2005s, but an equally apt tribute to the legacy of the late Marquis are the odds-beating results they bottled from 2004, when to the universal difficulties of that vintage were added the ravages of hail it visited on Volnay. The 2005s fermented with pump-overs but no punch-downs and exhibit formidable underlying structure yet pure fruit and early, flattering textural development.”


This is my son’s pizza. Straight up tomato, mozz, raw tomato pizza sauce, corn, figs.


This one has an ultimate pesto base.


Then my patented (albeit stolen from Wolfgang Puck) bagels and cream cheese pizza. First I brush the dough with white truffle oil and fresh rosemary from the garden, then bake.


Then I add creme fraiche mixed with dill and chives, red onion, and capers. Then lox. Yum yum.


Pizza mistress Mirella cooks up this one. Blue cheese and various other cheeses.


Then morel mushrooms, figs, almonds, and as a sauce: camelized onion compote.


here it is baked.


And dressed with balsamic glaze.


This one starts off old school with tomato sauce and mozz.


Then add mozzarella balls, basil, sun dried tomatoes and crushed red pepper.


Coming off the oven.


Now up is my personal favorite, the chickenless tikka masala pizza. With fresh masala sauce as the sauce. Then bucheron goat cheese, parmesan, almonds, corn, fresh ricotta, mozz balls, and red onion. Then as a new touch this time, I added spicy mango chutney.


Baked. The chutney really took this pizza to the next level. It basically tastes like naan with masala and yogurt + chutney.


But we’re not done yet. Add burrata, a little extra virgin olive oil, and some cilantro — this last amused me as it’s traditional to top a curry with fresh cilantro.


This cheesy monster tasted better than it looked!


Parker 94. The ultra rare riserva. “The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, from vines in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, is gorgeous, layered and elegant in its violets, tar, licorice and cherries. The finish is long and impeccable, but this is a somewhat ethereal style, with aromas and flavors that are already a touch forward relative to most 2004 Riservas. Ideally the wine is best enjoyed within the next decade. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020.”


As a final pizza I made a new variant. This puppy has truffle oil, pesto, dabs of curry, corn, about five types of cheese (mozz, parm, blue, mozz balls, pecorino), figs, chanterelle mushrooms, onions, and even mango chutney.


Then baked.


And dressed with burrata and balsamic glaze. Really good stuff.


Just a bit of the mid pizza carnage.


For dessert out comes the 1988 Rayne-Vigneau. Parker 91. “The 1988 is the best example I have tasted from this property. An intense, honeyed, pear, flower, and apricot fragrance is reminiscent of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. In the mouth, there is exceptional richness, super focus because of fine acidity, a wonderful touch of toasty new oak, and an elegant, very positive, crisp finish. This is a beautifully made, authoritative tasting, and impeccably well-balanced Sauternes. Anticipated maturity: Now-2006. Last tasted, 3/90.”


Then some mini cupcakes from dots in Pasadena.


And a selection of mini desserts from closer at hand.


The eclair din’t even fit in the box, so he’s lurking on his own.

If there had been a wafer thin mint I would have been coating the walls!

Well, we’ve pretty much got our whole pizza thing down to a science, but still, each time you learn something. I’m still working on the mechanics of transfer into the hot over. If a pizza makes it into the oven without spilling anything then it always cooks perfectly. Get it out — provided you lube up the pizza stones with corn meal — is easy. But I made progress. By making sure to put the pizza’s on the end of the peel, to lube well, and using a new pizza sized teflon spatula I was able to keep things pretty much under control.

Make sure to check out how I make all the components and other pizzas here.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – New Years
  2. Ultimate Pizza in Review
  3. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
  4. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Burrata, Cheese, Cooking, cupcakes, Dessert, Pesto, Pizza, Rayne-Vigneau, Sauternes, Tomato sauce, Volnay Champans, Wolfgang Puck

2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria

Dec02

Restaurant: 2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria

Location: 3715 Macomb St NW. Washington, DC 20016. (202) 885-5700

Date: November 29, 2011

Cuisine: Neapolitan Pizzeria

Rating: Really authentic Neapolitan Pizza

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My brother spent the whole week talking up this Neapolitan style pizza joint just over the border into DC.


They have a classic big wood fired pizza oven.


A sleek front room.


And a backroom bar.


The menu.


A delicious but simple arugula salad.


Fried salt cod fritters. Vaguely like crab cakes, but fishier. Still, very good examples of these.


The classic cheese pizza. The dough here was really really good. Neapolitan flour and slow fermentation for sure. This was a pizza dough good enough to munch through all the remaining crust.


“Santa Brigida Tomato, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, arugula.”


“Calabrese Tomato, onions, anchovy, fresh mozzarella, parsley, olives.” A classic anchovy pizza. Strong salty flavors, but still really good.


The margarita plus pepperoni.


“Ripieno Extra Ricotta, grana, salami, prosciutto, pancetta, tomato.” Full of cheesy meaty goodness inside.


In the front is the “Puttanesca Tomato sauce, rapini, fresh mozzarella, garlic, anchovy, hot pepper.” An interesting combination of bitter and salty.


Fresh ground pepper.


Dessert, although we were too stuffed to order any.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For 50+ meals in Italy.

Or to see my own Ultimate Pizzas, click here!

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
  2. Eating San Donato – Pizzeria Pretorio
  3. Eating Santa Margherita – Pizzeria Santa Lucia
  4. Gjelina Scores Again
  5. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 2Amys, 2Amys Neapolitan Pizzeria, Anchovy, Italian cuisine, Mozzarella, Neapolitan Pizzeria, Pizza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, ThanksGavin, Tomato, Tomato sauce, Washington DC

Fraiche Santa Monica part deux

Oct29

Restaurant: Fraiche Santa Monica [1, 2]

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

Date: October 21, 2011

Cuisine: Cal French Italian

Rating: Not a bad facelift.

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Fraiche and Fraiche Santa Monica have gone through a number of ownership and chef changes in the last year. It’s been a couple of months so we decided to try it again.


The is a new menu, about 80% different. Bigger, with more entrees.


“Hierloom tomato salad, burrata, pesto, crispy shallots.”


“Beef tartare. Hand cut NY strip. Bacon sabayon, lemon.” I’ve grown increasingly fond of steak tartare and this was a tasty one. The arugala and parmesan complemented nicely.


“Pizza Margarita.”

“Pancetta risotto. Black kale. Faum um bert.” A nice rissoto with a cheesy richness bolstered by the rich chunks of ham.


And a trio of creme brulee for dessert. Chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. Nothing not to like here.

While hardly a comprehensive survey of the new menu I enjoyed what we had here. I’ll check in sooner to try it again.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Fraiche Santa Monica
  2. The Hungry Cat chows Santa Monica
  3. Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica
  4. Fraiche – Ultimo Wine Dinner
  5. Eating Santa Margherita – Pizzeria Santa Lucia
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California Santa Monica, Dessert, Fraiche, Fraiche Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Pizza, Risotto, Santa Monica, steak tartare

Ultimate Pizza – The Comeback

Oct06

After long hiatus, Ultimate Pizza is back (click the think for posts on the components). We’ve brewed up a new batch of dough, and called up some friends and family.

For those of you who don’t know, Ultimate Pizza is our super homemade pizza where we make everything from scratch. In the past I’ve written separate articles detailing elements such as the Dough, Sauce, Pesto, and Toppings.


Every dough batch is different. For more on making it, see here. After three days cold fermenting in the fridge this batch had a weird spiderwebby quality and was very sticky. But that wasn’t anything a little dusting of flour didn’t solve. And baked, it tasted great as always.


This 1997 Barolo served as a good opener, warming up the palette.


The first pizza on the block. Starts with basic totally fresh raw tomato sauce made with Santa Monica Farmer’s Market Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella.


Then some parmesan, basil.


Mushrooms.


Figs, marcona almonds.


And after baking. They aren’t always pretty, but they are good!


I “found” this 1966 Chateau Lafite-Rothchild in my cellar and figured it wasn’t getting any better.

Parker says: “Except for the 1966 and 1870 vintages of Lafite-Rothschild, these wines were poured on virgin territory on my palate. Isn’t it ironic that the most disappointing wine (forgetting the spoiled 1875 Lafite-Rothschild, which had frightful levels of volatile acidity) was the youngest wine, the 1966 Lafite. With a light to medium ruby/garnet color, this wine exhibited a classy, weedy, herbal, Cabernet-dominated nose, soft, washed-out flavors, and little body and length. It is also beginning to dry out. I suppose if one were to taste a 30-year old Cabernet from Monterey County, California, it might reveal similar characteristics. The 1966 Lafite-Rothschild has consistently been a major disappointment from what is an irregular, but very good vintage.”

But we had good luck with this bottle, and it was actually rather wonderful.


The next pizza. Fairly similar, but no sauce.


Finished with balsamic glaze.


Then a cheesier mushroom one.


Finished.

Then my special salmon pizza, which I do just with olive oil and rosemary (picked from the garden).


Then add a mixture of creme fraiche (detail on that here), dill, and chives, plus capers and onions.


And lox. Yum!


The 2004 il Cocco riserva. Only one barrel made!


Another fairly normal pizza, with figs and mushrooms.


My “famous” tikka masala pizza. Masala sauce instead of tomato. Corn, cilantro, goat cheese, mozzarella balls, morel mushrooms, almonds, scallions.


Cooked. This is an amazing (and strong flavored) pizza.


Mirella (one of our frequent pizza chefs) likes to make unique pizzas. This “Lebanese Pizza” began with her homemade muhammara sauce, which is a Lebanese sauce made from peppers, walnuts, olive oil and various other things. She baked it fairly simple.


Then added amazing fresh burrata on top and fresh mint. This was also fantastic.


Another tomato sauce based pizza, with parmesan, figs, goat cheese (a slightly aged chevre from an artisan California dairy), marcona almonds, scallions.


Baked.

And as the last pizza of the evening, my Formaggio Maximus. Olive oil, a little pesto. Fresh chanterelle and lobster mushrooms. Corn, figs, almonds, a little basil, and nearly every type of cheese I have: parmesan, mozzarella, pecorino, goat, and gorgonzola dulce.


Baked.

Then key to the FM is a big blog of burrata and an olive oil and balsamic drizzle.


Dessert time. A giant raspberry macaroon.


And a sinful red velvet, chocolate, and cream-cheese icing cake. Oh the suffering. The worst thing about this cake is that half was left over and I personally ate all of it over the next four days.


The next day for lunch we whipped up a few more pizzas. Here another variant of my tikka masala pizza.


On the stone.


And finished. I do so love this pizza.


Then a green pesto and salad pizza. The greens are arugala tossed with black pepper and fresh meyer lemon juice.


Baked.


Two buns in the oven.


An even greener pizza.


Which we left in about 1 minute too long.


And my special “tuna salad” pizza. Tomato sauce, fresh chunk Italian tuna, parmesan, pecorino, capers, red onions, and arugala salad.


Baked.

That sure was a good amount of pizza!

For more Ultimate Pizza posts, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Ultimate Pizza – The Sauce
  2. Ultimate Pizza – Day 2
  3. Ultimate Pizza in Review
  4. Ultimate Pizza – The Birthday
  5. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barolo, Bordeaux wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Château Lafite Rothschild, Dessert, Dough, Lafite-Rothschild, Pizza, pizza sauce, San Marzano Tomato, Santa Monica California, ultimate_pizza, Wine

Beverly Hills Hotel – Polo Lounge

Sep12

Restaurant: Polo Lounge

Location: 9641 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California 90210. 310-276-2251

Date: September 10, 2011

Cuisine: American

Rating: Good but pricey

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My wife and I were married (10 years ago) at the Beverly Hills Hotel so it’s a tradition of ours to go back there once a year. We usually wander around and then eat at the Polo Lounge (even though the lounge itself had no part in the wedding, which was in the Crystal Ballroom).


This is an old school and iconic spot in Hollywood history. The hotel is still gorgeous too, having been heavily renovated by hot black oil cash from the Sultan of Brunei.


The patio.


Old school Hollywood style in the dining room.


And the bar.


The current lunch menu. Brunch is available only on Sunday.


What would a visit to the Polo Lounge be without a cocktail, in this case a mimosa.


They also have good bread. Same exact basket (basically) was served at our wedding LOL.


I’ve totally been on a gazpacho kick recently (made it at home here). This is “golden tomato gazpacho, garlic crostini, basil pepper relish.” Despite the yellow color it tasted classic. Very nice smooth refreshing summer texture and flavor.


“Pizza margarita.”


“Salmon burger, tomato salad, cucumber & yogurt, dill bun.”


The usual condiments, but stylishly presented.


“Lobster cobb salad, gem lettuce, tomato, bacon, avocado, quail’s egg, tarragon.” Pretty much a great cobb, the only thing to complain about being the price. The juicy bacon cubes sold it.


Cappuccino to combat the coma.

Overall, the Polo Lounge has great lunch/brunch food in a stylish setting. Really the only disadvantage is the price, which is pretty punitive. But this is pretty much the usual high end hotel tax — making it a special occasion kind of thing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Milano Marittima – Palace Hotel Breakfast
  2. Eating Santa Margherita – Hotel Miramare
  3. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
  4. The New Cal Cuisine: Rustic Canyon
  5. Locanda Portofino – In the Neighborhood
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beverly Hills California, Beverly Hills Hotel, Brunch, California, Cobb Salad, Crystal Ballroom, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Pizza, Polo Lounge, Salad, vegetarian

Hostaria del Piccolo – Pizza + Pasta

Sep05

Restaurant: Hostaria del Piccolo

Location: 606 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401. P: 310-393-6633

Date: August 27, 2011 & May 6, 2012

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Good new casual Italian

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Hostaria del Piccolo is a casual new Italian with a rustic Pasta/Pizza emphasis from the people that brought us Piccolo (my review here).


It’s located in a chic modern space at the corner of 6th and Broadway three blocks behind the Santa Monica Promenade.


The interior has a modern rustic quality.


And they have a lovely patio, which given that it was 5pm on an 85 degree perfect California August day totally ruled.


Given the weather, I decided to take a cue from my Italian friends and order a glass of Lambrusco Frizzante. Sparkling grape juice with a kick, what more can you ask for in the heat?


Very nice thick and buttery grissini.


The menu. Secondi are not numerous in quantity, but they have a lot of pizzas and a number of tasty sounding pastas.


Valpolicella Ripasso is something I found in my Sommelier course on Italy. Ripasso means rested and this is basically baby Amarone.


“CANTALUPO  tuscan melon and Bresaola.” Artfully arranged!


“MESCOLATA organic greens, roasted tomatoes, sliced almonds.”


“RICOTTINA seared fresh ricotta, seasonal mushrooms, vincotto.” This is a very Southern Italian dish and really, is pretty much identical to one I found in Apicus, the 1900 year old Roman cookbook. The sweetness of the vincotto (must) plays off against the creamy sweet cheese.


“FARRO  organic farro, heirloom tomatoes, basil pesto, walnut, arugula.” Farro is also very common in ancient Roman food. This being a rustic Italian, we have more of those old school influences.


“COSTICINE roasted pork ribs, cannellini beans.” Pork and beans of this sort is classic Tuscan. This is basically like Italian babyback ribs.


Rigatoni pomodoro for the boy.


“PAPPARDELLE tomato sauce, roasted eggplant, mozzarella di bufala.”


“RIGATONI italian sausage, tomato-cream, peas, parmesan.” One of those meat, cheese, and pea pastas that I love so much.


“SALSICCIA  tomato sauce, smoked mozzarella, sausage, bell peppers, Castelvetrano olives.” I actually ordered the FARCITA (which was a white prosciutto pizza) but he must have misheard me and anyway this was a tasty pizza. The sausage was very tender and flavorful. The crust was really yummy, and the whole thing not overly burnt like some wood oven pizzas are. If you want to see my Ultimate Homemade Pizza, click here.


A different sausage variant with broccoli, garlic, and fontina but no tomato sauce.


“QUATTRO PER tomato sauce, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms, artichokes.”


“PARMIGIANA tomato sauce, breaded eggplant, basil, parmesan.” Looks like meat, but isn’t!


“AGNELLO Marinated and grilled New Zealand lamb chops, roasted garlic sauce.” Very nice tender straight up grilled lamb chops. Bone gnawing good.


The dessert menu. We were full and didn’t order any.


But they brought my 2.75 year-old this ice cream cone as a freebee and he was mighty pleased.

Overall, Hostaria del Piccolo is a very nice new contemporary Italian, with a heavy pizza/pasta focus. This is sure to make it a crowd pleaser. They could use to beef up the variety of anti-pasta and secondi a bit, but what I had was very nice.

Click here to see more LA dining posts.

The open kitchen inside.

Or for a legion of great eating in Italy itself, here.

Related posts:

  1. Piccolo – A little Italian
  2. Quick Eats: Piccolo
  3. Ultimate Pizza – Day 3
  4. Fraiche Santa Monica
  5. Ultimate Pizza – The Toppings
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bresaola, Broadway, Buffalo mozzarella, California, Dessert, Hostaria del Piccolo, Italian cuisine, Los Angeles, pasta, Piccolo, Pizza, Santa Monica California

Food as Art: Ludobites 7.0

Sep02

Restaurant: Ludobites 7.0 [1, 2]

Location: 227 East 9th St, Los Angeles, 90015

Date: August 31, 2011

Cuisine: Eclectic Modern

Rating: Very interesting (& tasty) array of flavors.

_

Last year my friends and I very much enjoyed Ludobites 6.0 (review here), one of LA’s most notable “popup” restaurants. So some of us Foodie Club members camped out on OpenTable.com to score ourselves a large party reservation. It took five of us hammering independently on the computer to get one in the approximately 70 seconds the entire run booked up. And it was nearly a month in. But score we did.


The walls are festooned with Ludo’s amusing cock & swine logo.


This year Ludobites is back at Gram & Papas. I guess they do it here because the restaurant doesn’t itself serve dinner. The space is small and casual.


One of the big advantages is that G&Ps does NOT have a liquor license. This means that my special BYOB “grape juice” was corkage free. Good think I brought a cork screw.

Very nice Burg from my cellar. Parker 93. “I loved the sweet cassis aromas of the 2002 Echezeaux as well as its powerful, intense, syrupy personality. Medium to full-bodied and gorgeously ripe, it bastes the palate with thick black fruit flavors. In addition, this wine reveals great depth and a lengthy, fruit-packed finish. Projected maturity: 2007-2017.”


Le Menu. With eight people we ordered two of EVERY dish. Worked out just about right. There was a small issue of our sole vegetarian. Not a single dish on the menu is actually free of meat, and our request initially phased the kitchen. But they recovered quickly and offered to make veggie variants of a number of dishes which worked out excellently.


“Lavender Ginger Lemonade.” Non-alcoholic. I liked the strong ginger kick, but the lemonade was too sweet and not sour enough. I like my lemonade painfully sour and strong.


“Bouillabaise Milk Shake.” This tastes exactly like it sounds. Like a fish milkshake. Basically the same flavor profile as real Bouillabaise, but with milk. I can’t say it was my favorite dish. Probably least or second to least.


“Choucroute Tart Flambe.” This “tart” is really a pizza or flatbread. But it was fantastic. The ham/bacon on top was great, as was the cheesy creme fraiche and onion thing going on.


They also made us a vegetarian version which was very good.

Neiman Cabernet “Caldwell Vineyard” 2000. Parker doesn’t rate this, but it’s a top top notch cabernet, probably 94 points or so. The years and a lack of over oaking left it very smooth. I picked up this wine at the Redd Collection, a cool new tasting/wine dealer I met at the Food Club Ultimo Wine Dinner.


The chicken wings (below) came with surgical gloves to keep the hands clean!


“Burgundy Fried Chicken.” The real burgundy was finished, but the wings were very very tasty. Succulent and perfectly cooked with a sweet BBQ style sauce.


The remnants!


This is a custom vegetarian salad they made up.


“Squid, Black Ash, Chorizo.” The squid was nice and tender, and the orange “chorizo” sauce around the edge really tasty. I’m not sure I was super keen on the ash texture, but it was certainly a decent dish.


This spectacular Brunello (the 2006 il Cocco) is totally unavailable in America. I got it at the vineyard from the owner on my mega Italy 2011 trip. He makes 7,000 bottles of wine a year, perhaps 3,000 of Brunello, and does 100% of the work (fields and cellar) himself! Probably a 94-95 point wine.


Prawn ceviche, Aji Amarillo, Red Berries. This reminded me of a Red Medicine type dish. It had very interesting and strong flavors, with a lot of vinegar/lime.


“Salt Cod Panna Cotta, Whipped Fingerling Potato, Smoked Tapioca, Black Olive Bread.” This was an interesting dish. The cod itself was not dominant at all. It mostly seemed like a panna cotta, or even like one of those Japanese seafood egg custards like I got here at Takao (about a third of the way down). I liked the little tapioca balls too, and the bread added some nice texture, just needed a little more cod flavor.


“Oxtail Beef, Rainbow Carrots, Shallots, Green Salad.” This was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The beef was just amazing. And rest went really well too.


“Foe Gras, Corn and Coconuts.” Amazing and interesting dish. Another favorite of the evening. The foie was foie — and nothing wrong with that — but the corn coconut soup was awesome with it. Sweet like a corn soup, with the crunchy texture of popcorn, and with this coconut curry / lemongrass vibe on top. Wow!


My wife even got a vegetarian version, without the foie, which really was almost as good (good as the foie was).


“Pigs Head Compressed and Mimolette, Barbeque Gelee.” This sounds awful, but tasted just okay. Flavor wise thought it just tasted like some kind of meat sandwich with a really tangy mayo. The sweet sauce helped a bit. One of my other lessor dishes of the evening.


“Egg, Sea Urchin, Caviar, Champagne Beurre Blanc.” Really tasted a lot like scrambled eggs and caviar. Which was pretty darn good. The Uni (sea urchin) was present, but subtle. I could have done with more. But the egg and caviar thing is really good together, so I enjoyed it a lot.


This is no Uni version. The egg tasted stronger and saltier without the sweetness of the Uni, but it was still a very good dish.


“Plancha Tandoori Octopus, Yogurt, Cauliflower, Grapefruit.” The octopus itself was very tender with a nice tandoori flavor. The cauliflower texture was really interesting. I think the yogurt could have had more punch, or more of it, but still a nice dish.


“Duck, Cherry, Spicy Saucisse, Beets, Radish.” There are two meats in here. A sausage (which was really yummy) and a very nice rare duck breast. Both were excellent with the cherry sauce. The beet/radish thing seemed a little orthogonal, but it didn’t stop this from being terrific.


“Lamb cooked in fat Moroccan style Artichoke, Mint.” There was some serious fat on this lamb. Serious fat. But it tasted damn good with the cooked dates. That was the whole key to this dish for me, tender lamb with a sweet sauce.


The peeps, midway somewhere.


The meal took awhile and so we could have used an extra bottle of wine, but i only brought four. This dessert Riesling, the every reliable, Parker 97! “White peach preserves, luscious Persian melon, fresh red raspberry, cooling lime, green tea, iris and gentian are all projected on the nose of Donnhoff’s 2009 Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese, then take on a fleshy, silken, yet svelte form that combines infectious juiciness, invigorating salinity, uncanny buoyancy, and vibratory interactive complexity, leaving my tongue tingling and my head buzzing. The depth of savor here is such that to speak of nut oils or of shrimp or lobster shell reduction merely points in the correct, otherwise ineffable general direction. “Creamy, dreamy, transparent” were the last words I could pronounce in the presence of this natural wonder that will certainly be capable of spreading joy for at least the next quarter century. “There was a tiny bit of perfectly dry botrytis here,” notes Donnhoff, “and to get much over 90 Oechsle you usually need that.” Needless to say, its presence has in no way precluded the utmost purity of fruit, clarity, or subtly electrical energy of which Riesling is capable in this amazing site. “I-m warning you, they’re not necessarily better,” said Helmut Donnhoff with a grin when serving me his two 2009 vintage Auslesen.”


Now our whacky “cheese course” the “Pick-Up Stick Cantal Cheese, Curry White Chocolate.” The cheese almost tasted like slivered apple.


“Lavendar Tropezienne Tart, Aloe Vera, Lychee.” This wonderful pastry reminded me of a giant lavender Macaron. I love certain kinds of exotic herbaceous flavors like rosewater and lavender and I love custard.


“Chocolate Cake, Chipotle Ice Cream, Orange.” Wow! This was a 10/10 dessert (and the lavender was like a 9/10!). The chocolate slab was great, you can tell just by looking at it, but that ice cream. It tasted like bacon! Really. The combo was incredible, and a bit spicy.


“Pistachio Brown Butter Cake, Marcaspone, Red Berries.” This was the weakest of the three desserts, but it was still very good, with a nice pistachio flavor. The Marcaspone could have used a little more kick or sweetness.

Overall, maybe it was a good thing coming into Ludobites 7.0 after a couple of weeks. Things were really on point with the food. Service, which very pleasant, really isn’t up to the food standards. There is no slick Michelin 2 (or 3) star type management of the table like at a place like Melisse, but the attitude was fine and there were no problems. Water service was sluggish and we had to self pour our “grape juice” into water glass type glasses. But actually I don’t mind self pour or opening my own wines. I could have used some more water 🙂

But the food was really standout. A large variety of very creative dishes, and some were fantastic, particularly the desserts. So bravo.

Click here for a review of last year’s Ludobites 6.0.

The Food Club extravaganzas.

Or all LA dining reviews.


Me, with the big macro-lens-and-flash rig.


Mirella gets her crazy on.


Swag! (not that I bought any)

Related posts:

  1. Food as Art: Ludobites 6.0
  2. Food as Art: Hatfield’s part 2
  3. Food as Art: Bistro LQ
  4. Food as Art – N/Naka
  5. Food as Art – Takao
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bouillabaise, California, cerviche, chicken wings, Cooking, Dessert, duck, Foodie Club, Los Angeles, Ludobites, Ludovic Lefebvre, Pizza, popup restaurant, pork, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, salt cod, Squid, vegetarian, Wine

Waterloo & City is Victorious

Aug22

Restaurant: Waterloo & City [1, 2, 3]

Location: 12517 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90066  310.391.4222

Date: August 14, 2011

Cuisine: Gastropub

Rating: Really tasty!

_

My wife and I went to Waterloo & City back in May, and I enjoyed it, so I thought we’d try again with a slightly larger group. By way of introduction this is a new wave comfort-food Gastropub joint. This place exemplifies the gastropub trend of more is more.


The menu.


I decided to test out some of the wines I brought back from my Eating Italy trip. This 2006 Brunello by Il Cocco can not be found in the US. The owner/winemaker makes 7,000 bottles a year only of all his wines combined, perhaps 3,000 of the Brunello. He does 99% of the work himself! It’s awesome, if it were rated, it’d be a 96 point wine.


We went for the “prince” of  Charcuterie. Yum yum, heart stopping fun!


The cured meats, and some fine ones at that. There are at least three types of salami and two prosciutto variants. Stone ground mustard. The white stuff is some kind of beef gelatinous product.


The “Pig Trotters, Sweetbreads, and Salsa Verde terrine, with anchovy.” This was a freebee, but was rather too extreme even for me!


“Duck & Walnut Country Pate, orange-apricot marmalade.” This was very nice. Interesting crunchy texture too.


A special. “Boar terrine with romesco.” Really tasty. All that pork goodness you might want.


“Pork & Truffle Pate, Madeira Jelly, toasted Broche.” Wow. With the jelly (you can see it to the left in the zoomed out first photo) this stuff tasted like carmel sauce. The texture was super silky smooth too. Wonderful mouthfeel.


Spaghetti pomodoro for my son.


“Arugula, Grilled Mission Figs, Smoked Almonds, Pamesan.”


“Tuna Tartare, Fried Piquillo Pepper, Avocado.” The tuna part was good but ordinary. The pepper, however, was pretty interesting, although certain FRIED!


Parker gives this silky Rosso 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.” I’d rate it perhaps 91-92, with a little boost for understated style.


A vegetarian special. Some kind of vegi monster on top of cous-cous with a brioche. Apparently it was good.


“Indian Butter Chicken Pizza, Murgh Makahni Sauce, Mozzarella.” I really wanted to try this because I make a similar pizza myself. This one didn’t lather on the Tikka Masala sauce like I do so it was more subtle, but it was damn good, a bit closer to a “normal” pizza. I loved the addition of the raita-like sauce in the middle. I might try that myself.


“Beef shin ravioli, wild mushrooms, red wine, burrata cheese.” This was really good. The meat was super flavorful, as was the rich sauce. But the bacon/burrata combo really sold it.


A special. “Veal with fried polenta and eggplant sauce.” The veal itself was tender, but not super flavorful. The sauce was great, and in combo every was very yummy, particularly the fried corn balls (i.e. polenta).


The dessert menu.


“Sticky Toffe Pudding, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Ice Cream.” Also excellent, with a not so dissimilar flavor profile. Both were intensely sweet. The ice cream helped cut it.


The menu called these “Waterloo Bourbon Glazed Doughnuts with creme anglais and raspberry jam.” But I think that would be the version we got on our first visit here. These were sugared. They were still good, and the carmel sauce in particular rocked, but they weren’t quite as decadent as the glazed.


A special. “Profiteroles.” Pretty classic, with both ice-cream and whipped cream.

Waterloo & City is still going strong. This isn’t a light cuisine — in fact, nearly every dish is loaded with fatty goodness — but it is damn good.

Read my previous review of Waterloo & City here,

Or for more LA Restaurants.

Related posts:

  1. Waterloo & City
  2. Book Review: City of War
  3. Fraiche Santa Monica
  4. Sotto – Sicily con Sardo
  5. Crafty Little Lunch
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Charcuterie, Cocco, Culver City California, Dessert, Meat, pasta, Pizza, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Restaurants and Bars, Sweetbread, Waterloo & City, Waterloo & City line

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.

Related posts:

  1. Brunch at Tavern – again
  2. Brunch at Tavern 3D
  3. The New American – Gjelina
  4. Gjelina Scores Again
  5. Quick Eats: Brunch at Tavern
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

Eating Santa Margherita – Pizzeria Santa Lucia

Aug02

Restaurant: Pizzeria Santa Lucia

Location: Santa Margherita, Italy

Date: June 29, 2011

Cuisine: Ligurian / Pizza

Rating: Good pizza

ANY CHARACTER HERE

On our last night in Italy (/cry) we wanted an early and quick meal prior to getting up at 4am the next morning. So I asked the hotel staff where they went for pizza and they all voted Santa Lucia as their favorite.


It’s located in the heart of the eastern marina, inside a cluster of many restaurants.


The menu.


The have a pleasant little patio. It was also just across the street from the Carousel, so I took my 2 year-old son while we waited.


On my last night I was a bad boy and ordered pasta and pizza at the same time! Again the waitress looked at me funny. This is lasagna pesto. Very simple, fresh noodles with fresh pesto and cheese. Simple but good.


The last shredded carrot salad you’ll see for awhile.


Santa Lucia takes its pizza seriously enough to have dedicated knives. Italians almost never serve pizza precut.


Pizza funghi (with mushrooms).


Pizza Margherita, apro pos in this town.


Pizza Prosciutto.


And mine, Pizza di mare. The seafood pizza is always a bit of a gamble, but as we were sitting right on the marina I figured I’d give it a go and I wasn’t disapointed. The briny factor was there (as it should be) but light.

Santa Lucia was a nice little pizza place, not quite as good as Pretorio in Tuscany, but in the three or so best we had on the trip (the third being Pizzeria Notte E Di).

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Santa Margherita – Antonios
  2. Eating Santa Margherita – La Paranza
  3. Eating Santa Margherita – Miramare Breakfast
  4. Eating Santa Margherita – dei Pescatori
  5. Eating Santa Margherita – Hotel Miramare
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Carousel, Cooking, eating-italy, Italian cuisine, Italy, Liguria, Pesto, Pizza, Pizzeria Santa Lucia, Prosciutto, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Santa Margherita Ligure

Eating San Donato – Pizzeria Pretorio

Jul22

Restaurant: Pizzeria Pretorio

Location: San Donato, Italy

Date: June 22, 2011

Cuisine: Pizza

Rating: Best pizza we had on the trip

ANY CHARACTER HERE

The wine guide who took us to Montacino seemed to have very good taste in food, and so we’d asked him where the best pizza in Tuscany was. He was confident it was a place in the tiny town of San Donato called Pizzeria Pretorio. We trekked for 30 minutes each way just to find out.


San Donato is one of those pretty small stone towns. It wasn’t very big, so it didn’t take long to just stumble into the joint.


And they turned out to have such a terrible view.


And cramped unappealing terrace — not!


The menu.


One thing about this terrace — it was hot hot hot in the Tuscan sun. So I took an artsy water bottle shot.


And we felt that pizza called for beer, in this case the special premium “silly beer!”


Here is pizza margherita with mushrooms.


Calzone Napoli: Ricotta, prosciutto, cotto, salami piccante, mozzarella.


La fabrizino: small tomatoes, sausage, porcini, mozzarella and arugala.


Then the piece du ressistance: the four seasons. We don’t know exactly what was on this, but clearly the green pesto & zucchini part was spring, the sausage winter, the squash part fall, and the remaining one summer.

Overall Pretorio was some damn fine pizza in an impeccable location.


Then walking out we stumbled onto this: an artisan gelato place.


Oh the hardship. This turned out to be one of the three or so best gelatos I had in Italy too.


The didn’t have a lot of flavors, but those they did were really good.


Chocolate.

Lemon.


And my trio: Cassata di Siciliana (ricotta with candied fruits), chocolate with cherries!, and nutella. All three flavors were fabulous, but the nutella was hands down the best nutella gelato I’ve ever had (and I’ve had plenty). It was so thick I wondered if it just WAS nutella, but really I know better as even at fridge temperatures nutella becomes unspreadable.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Volterra – Pizzeria Il Rifugio
  2. Eating San Gimignano – La Griglia
  3. Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting
  4. Eating Milano Marittima – Notte E Di’
  5. Quick Eats: Pizzeria Mozza
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cooking, eating-italy, Four seasons, Gelato, Italian cuisine, Italy, Mozzarella, nutella, Palazzo Pretorio Ristorante, Pizza, Pizzeria Pretorio, Pretorio, ricotta, San Donato, Tuscany

Eating Poggibonsi – Babette

Jul18

Restaurant: Ristorante Babette

Location: Poggibonsi, Italy

Date: June 19, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan Seafood

Rating: Great food, great value

ANY CHARACTER HERE

After our self selection failure on Saturday, we got another restaurant recommend from our host (the owner of our villa). He sent us to this casual but very good seafood restaurant in Poggibonsi.


As usual there is a nice outside dining space.


And a gigantic menu.


This being all seafood we got both a prosecco.


And a local white from San Gimiangano. This is one of those joints where the wine is like E10. I like this light quaffable, almost Greek-style, white.


Caprese.


One of my friends and I ordered this “assorted fish appetizer, min 2 people” which was E10 a person, it came with this and EVERY dish until the pastas! An amazing assortment. This one was “Tuna with balsamic dressing.”


Marinated white anchovies and onions.


Crostini with white I think is a fish row mayo.


Marinated Salmon with red peppercorns.


What I think are winkles, or little sea snails, in a delicious garlicky sauce.


Octopus pulp. Also garlicky.


Muscles.

Scallops stuffed with a kind of pesto scallop paste.

Some tasty but undetermined shellfish “stew.” Wow, that’s a lot for two people and E20 total.


Home made pasta with a kind of tomato pesto.


White Risotto with mixed seafood. This was good, and unusual in that usually seafood risottos have some tomato in them.


Risotto with squid.


Strozzapreti with Fish ragu. This was highly unusual (for me) and really good. It was essentially a ragu made using shellfish instead of ham. It was very salty, with a significantly briny taste, but very tasty. The al dente shells were a fantastic foil.


Pizza Margherita.


Mixed fried fish. Lightly fried and delicious.


Branzino, simply grilled and filleted at the table.


A very very typical fish preperaration all over the Medditeranian, but done very well here.

The final presentation of the fish.

Not only was this restaurant a bit different, being all seafood, and very good, but it was an incredible deal. The bill was less than E20 a person and we had an incredible amount of food.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Poggibonsi – Osteria da Camillo
  2. Eating Milano Marittima – Al Caminetto
  3. Eating Monteriggioni – Il Pozzo
  4. Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting
  5. Eating Cervia – Locanda dei Salinari
By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Babette, Chianti, Cooking, eating-italy, Fish and Seafood, Italian cuisine, Italy, Olive oil, pasta, Pizza, Poggibonsi, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, San Gimignano, Seafood
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