Image
  • Writing
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • About my Novels & Writing
    • All Writing Posts
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Scrivener – Writer’s Word Processor
    • iPad for Writers
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Books
    • Book Review Index
    • Favorite Fantasy Novels
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Short Story: Harvard Divinity
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • About the Book
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Games
    • My Video Game Career
    • Post Archive by Series
    • All Games Posts Inline
    • Making Crash Bandicoot
    • Crash 15th Anniversary Memories
    • World of Warcraft Endgames
    • Getting a Job Designing Video Games
    • Getting a Job Programming Video Games
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Movies
    • Movie Review Index
  • Television
    • TV Review Index
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    • A Game of Thrones
  • Food
    • Food Review Index
    • Foodie Club
    • Hedonists
    • LA Sushi Index
    • Chinese Food Index
    • LA Peking Duck Guide
    • Eating Italy
    • Eating France
    • Eating Spain
    • Eating Türkiye
    • Eating Dutch
    • Eating Croatia
    • Eating Vietnam
    • Eating Australia
    • Eating Israel
    • Ultimate Pizza
    • ThanksGavin
    • Margarita Mix
    • Foodie Photography
    • Burgundy Vintage Chart
  • Other
    • All Posts, Magazine Style
    • Archive of all Posts
    • Fiction
    • Technology
    • History
    • Anything Else
  • Gallery
  • Bio
  • About
    • About me
    • About my Writing
    • About my Video Games
    • Ask Me Anything
  • Contact

Archive for Restaurant Review

Water Grill Santa Monica

Sep13

Restaurant: Water Grill [1, 2]

Location: 1401 Ocean Ave. Santa Monica. 310-394-5669

Date: July 27 & August 11, 2013

Cuisine: Seafood

Rating: Nice upgrade, if a tad pricey

_

Years ago, Ocean Avenue Seafood was a staple on our “quick dinner” rotation, particularly before movies and the like. It served up classic San Francisco style seafood. But recently, was feeling a little long in the tooth, having not been updated in (as far as I know) nearly two decades. This year the owners rebooted it as a Westside branch of their downtown Water Grill, which itself has gotten drastic revamps in recent years (having once been very formal — albeit excellent — and now is much more casual).


The interior has the same layout, but got a new “hard surfaces” redo in keeping with the times.


They served up yummy hot bread quickly, although the staff kept us waiting for 20-25 minutes before visiting for either drinks or food orders (the waiter later made up for this by comping dessert).


The menu has been updated with a more contemporary flair.

2001 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 89. A lovely mix of green apple, melon and muscat notes are followed by relatively big and still quite tight and fresh middle weight, taut, muscular flavors of considerable tension and breed. The minerality is almost pungent it’s so strong and this finishes firm but with fine richness and palate coating sap.


Heirloom tomato salad. Avocado, watercress and blue poppy seed dressing.


A “custom” raw plate with a half-dozen oyster sampler, four wild jump mexican white shrimp and a whole uni (sea urchin). The sauces include classic cocktail, horseradish, lemon, and mignonette as well as a new slightly sweet Japanese-style sauce that is kin to sunomono marinade.


A close up of the uni.


And a seafood tower (for 2 people) with an assortment of fresh raw bar seafood.


A softshell crab salad special.


Wild Alaskan Sablefish (black cod) with lobster and oyster mushrooms, port wine reduction.


Lobster roll, classic New England style. There is also an option for Connecticut style (with butter instead of mayo). This was a great lobster roll, and I’ve had plenty of ’em (being a favorite of mine).


And here it is, the Connecticut style! I liked the New England a bit better.


Classic fish and chips.


The dessert menu, in this case on the house as they took awhile to get to us at the beginning.


Banana Chocolate Sundae with chocolate covered corn flakes.


Coconut panna cotta with passionfruit and chili. This was right up my alley, very much like one of those weird (but I love them) Chinese custards. Nice rich coconut flavor and a little bit of kick.

Overall, while the delta between Ocean Avenue Seafood and Water Grill are at some level superficial, I’m pleased with the change. I could care less about the new louder interior, but the menu is larger with more of a fusion flare. This nicely updates it and elevates it over the fairly common (in Santa Monica) raw bar food. It remains pricey, as it was before, but the dishes were very tasty.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. The Hungry Cat chows Santa Monica
  2. Fraiche Santa Monica
  3. Fraiche Santa Monica part deux
  4. Ocean Avenue Seafood
  5. Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, Lobster roll, Ocean Avenue Seafood, Restaurant Review, Santa Monica, Water Grill, watergrill

Eating England – The Square

Sep06

Restaurant: The Square

Location: 6-10 Bruton Street. Mayfair, London, W1J 6PU. +44 (0) 20 7495 7100

Date: July 15, 2013

Cuisine: Modern French/Italian

Rating: Thoroughly Enjoyable

_

While in London I failed to secure any reservations at the city’s three 3 Michelin star restaurants (sadly, the Fat Duck wait list didn’t pan out), but I did hit up “The Square” which has 2 stars and was a recommendation (and a great one at that) of my wine friend Martin Buchanan who arranged the evening and brought a couple of lovely bottles. I had met Martin earlier this year at a blow out Melisse dinner and this proved to be another great evening — if slightly less damaging to the liver (at Melisse 5 of us drank 9 bottles!).


The square is located on a side street in fashionable (and expensive) Mayfair.


Tonight’s tasting.


And a modified pescatarian version.


We begin with the amuses. Classic french cheese puffs.


Fois gras cone.


A tomato mushroom “toast.”


Squid ink “chips.”


And a non inky version.


2005 Domaine Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru Sous le Dos d’Âne. IWC 90. Light yellow color. Sweet aromas of soft citrus fruits and nutty, vanillin oak. Ripe and harmonious, with sweet fruit flavors of orange and peach. Offers an attractive sugar/acid balance. My only early question mark concerns the wine’s slightly hard edge on the finish, and a hint of alcoholic warmth. But there’s also some minerality from the rocky soil here.

This had a very “oxidized” style, which at the moment was drinking nicely, like a much older wine — 10 or 15 years older! — although I have no idea how it will hold up in the long run.


Tartare of English Rose Veal with Violet Artichokes, Black Radish and Summer Truffle.


Bocconcini Mozzarella with Olive, Capers, Romero Peppers, and White Balsamic.


Sauté of Scottish Langoustine Tails with Parmesan Gnocchi and an Emulsion of Potato and Truffle. Very tasty!


Heirloom Tomatoes with Sheep’s Curd, Olive Oil, and Pea Shoots.


Lasagne of Dorset Crab with a Cappuccino of Shellfish and Champagne Foam.


Warm Salad of Potato with Truffle and Summer Beetroots.


1995 Bernard Faurie Hermitage Blanc. Martin brought this wine. It’s so rare and unusual that it’s not even listed on Cellartracker. It was drinking very nicely, showing the caramel complexity of a mature age-worthy white.


Roast Foe Gras with New Season Cherries and Pistachio Granola.


Hand Rolled Macaroni with Artichoke, New Seasons Girolles and Runner Beans.


Roast Monkfish with Girolles, Tomato, Basil Gnocchetti and Garlic.


Roast Fillet of Sea Bass with Girolles, Tomato, Basil Gnocchetti and Garlic.


2000 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod / Barthod-Noëllat Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées. Burghound 88. Another gift from Martin. Finesse to burn here with outstanding elegance and purity. Very Chambolle in character with a pronounced minerality and the tannins have an almost chalky quality to them. The length here is excellent and this displays a certain vibrancy if not the same degree of richness as the Beaux Bruns.


Loin of Lamb with White Auergine Puree, Olives, Artichokes and Balsamic.


Croustillant of Girolles with Bay Milk Puree and Fresh Almond.


Tasting of Thymtamarre.


The associated bread.


1989 Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese. Another wine from Martin. A lovely sticky. Like apricot nectar.


Brillat-Savarin Cheesecake with English Gooseberries and Elderflower Sorbet.


Apricot Souffle with Camomile Ice Cream.


And the added sauce.


Echoing the amuses are the Petit Fours. These are like super chocolate truffle rice crispy balls.


And a neat little “arrangement” of bon bons!

This was another great meal. The Square isn’t doing anything too radical, but it is delivering really excellent haut cuisine. There is a deft marriage here of both French and Italian techniques, which combined with a use of fresh English ingredients serves up a unique take on modern gastronomic cuisine. Every dish was approachable and well executed without any “failed experiments.” Service was also first rate. The wine list was good but pricey (no surprise for a London 2 star).

For more English dining reviews click here.

The glasses (filled with red Burgundy) each made a cool reflection pattern on the table

Related posts:

  1. Eating England – Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
  2. Eating Florence – La Cantinetta Antinori
  3. Eating Florence – Caffe Pitti
  4. Eating Gaiole – Lo Sfizio di Bianchi
  5. Eating Siena – Trattoria Pepei
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: England, Food, London, Mayfair, Michelin, Restaurant Review, The Square, Wine

BarAcuda Kaua’i

Feb20

Restaurant: BarAcuda

Location: Hanalei Town Center, Hanalei, Kaua’i. 808.826.7081

Date: January 16, 2013

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Best restaurant on Kaua’i?

_

Hawaii in general, and Kaua’i in particular, isn’t exactly a bastion of fine dining. But with such a bounty of produce and fish great things are certainly possible. Most restaurants aren’t really chef driven, but BarAcurda is far more like a big city place — and it’s located in quaint (and gorgeous) Hanalei on the remote (and wet) North Shore.

BarAcuda is helmed by Jim Moffat, a San Francisco area chef with a great track record. Hanalei is really a slice of paradise, so it isn’t too hard to understand why he might want to relocate there.


The drink menu.


Gin Blossom. Boodles gin, muddled fresh basil, fresh lemon juice, club soda, on the rocks.


El Sol. Belvedere vodka, fresh squeezed orange juice, splash of cranberry juice and lime juice, St Geramine float, on the rocks.


The menu.


Tasty bread.


Brunello goes with everything. From my cellar (flown across the Pacific), “The Brunello di Montalcino Castelgiocondo is an earthy, herbaceous effort with a dark plum/ruby color as well as a sweet bouquet of cherries, compost, underbrush, and Asian spices. Medium-bodied, dry, and angular, with complex aromatics.”


Marcona almonds roasted and salted.


Medjool dates with celery salad, shaved parmesan, and aged balsamic.


Whole roasted tomato bruschetta with balsamic, scallions, and grilled crostini.


Belgian Endive salad with blue cheese dressing, candied walnuts, gorgonzola and apples.


Crock of roasted beets with goat cheese, balsamic reduction, and orange infused olive oil .


Seared Black Tiger Shrimp with sweet soy and coconut milk. This was one of my favorite dishes, with a Thai red coconut curry kind of vibe.


Slow Braised Short Rib with soft polenta and salsa seca. Rich and yummy.


Banderillas grilled flank steak skewers with honey and chipotle chili oil.


Bacalao. Portuguese salt cod with garlic, potatoes, cream, and crostini. I’ve had this dish a couple of times. In Portugal, in Italy, and at the home of a Portuguese friend. This was a nice version and not too salty. Not as good as my friends, but that’s hardly surprising as that one was amazing.


Pizzetta with sweet onion soffrito, prosciutto, roasted cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella.


Seared Mahi Mahi with Big Island mushrooms and marsala reduction.


Local North Shore honeycomb with Humboldt Fog goat cheese and crisp apple.


Peach and almond galette with honey mascarpone ice cream.


Chocolate Pot de Creme with coconut macaroon and whipped cream. Yum!

After so many “casual” placed on the island, BarAcuda (which was still casual, just not in the kitchen) was a breath of fresh sea air. You can be a food snob in paradise!

For more Hawaii (and other) dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Upstairs 2 – Modern Tapas, Lots of Wine
  2. In between Pizza, there is Burrata
  3. Josie Restaurant
  4. Thanksgiving – The Prequel
  5. Piccolo – A little Italian
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bar Acuda, BarAcuda, Brunello di Montalcino, Dessert, Hanalei, Jim Moffat, Kauai, Restaurant Review, Salad, Wine tasting descriptors

A-Frame again!

Jun29

With my parents in town I couldn’t resist taking them back to A-Frame. This Westside hipster reinvented “picnic” food joint as some really tasty grub.

For more details, see the combined post here.

Related posts:

  1. A-Frame – Ultimate Picnic Food
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: A-Frame, Comfort food, Restaurant Review

Palm Springs – Tropicale Lounge

Jan19

Restaurant: Tropicale Lounge

Location: 330 East Amado Road, Palm Springs, CA. (760) 866-1952

Date: December 26, 2011

Cuisine: American

Rating: 50s fantasy

_

Continuing our brief Palm Springs foray we decided to check out a classic dining destination. And classic it was, so much so that it almost seemed like a 50-60 year time warp.


Even the sign is totally old school.


And the Neptune’s Lair style interior bar. The Cuban jazz music only added to the ambiance.


This was sort of a cosmo like drink. Not bad.


And a passionfruit mango one. This one tasted a little fake fruit flavored.


The menu.


“Salt-Roasted Beet Stack. Imported Gorgonzola & Toasted Pistachios.” Sort of attempt to be more contemporary.


But not this. The “pupu platter. An ‘exotic’ combination of chicken & beef satay, Vietnamese spring rolls, ahi nori rolls, and coconut shrimp.” Everything feel into that half-tasty half-lackluster category. But the sauces were pretty yummy. Edible, but not high art.


Cheese pizza.


“Miso glazed Atlantic Salmon Rice Bowl. Broccoli, snow peas, tomatoes, shitakes & soy.”


“Pan-Roasted Wild Sea Bass with Gingered Thai Red Curry. Pineapple rice, stir fried vegetables, Asian sprout slaw, gingered tomatoes.” This dish was entirely made by the red curry sauce, which was half-decent (not fantastic). I could have used more of it. The vegetables were pretty old-school steamed.

This was a fun evening, even if our three year-old was a handful, but this joint is running on pure kitsch!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Palm Springs – Colony Palms Hotel
  2. Beverly Hills Hotel – Polo Lounge
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: bar, martini, Palm Desert California, Palm Springs California, PalmSprings, pupu platter, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Tropicale, Tropicale Lounge

Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

Dec21

Restaurant: Din Tai Fung

Location: 1108 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia,California 91007. (626)574-7068

Date: December 8, 2011 & February 28, 2012

Cuisine: Chinese Dumpling House

Rating: Amazing Taipei spinoff

_

I love dimsum so much I was willing to drive 45 minutes out into the wilds of Arcadia to try this place. And it was well worth the journey. The “juicy pork dumplings” alone were worth the price of admission.


Classical Arcadia was a place of legendary beauty, filled with bucolic green hills, lazy shepherds, and nubile nymphs. Arcadia Ca features strip malls.


The chefs hard at work in their little glass tank.


Din Tai Fung is so popular we had to wait 30 minutes on a random thursday at 1pm. But they are nothing if not organized. The staff all wear secret service ear pieces and our order was taken before we even sat.


The huge menu. And it has pictures!


Some stuff appears to be take out friendly.


The setup of chopsticks, tea cup, and ginger.


Marinated cucumber in a sort of garlic ponzu type sauce. Nice and crunchy, but I was saving room.


“Hot and Sour Soup (pork).” A well implemented version of the classic.


“Seaweed and Bean Curd in Vinegar dressing.” Interesting “salad”.


Chicken and veggie bits over noodles. Looks bland enough but it tasted great.


“Juicy pork dumplings.” These are sometimes called Shanghai style “soup” dumplings. I’ve had lots of them but these were easily the best ever. These succulent little mouthfuls were superbly balanced.


“Shrimp and Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce.” This was absolutely delicious. The dumpling could have been almost anything as the sauce made it more about texture than flavor, but they would have been good plain too.


“Pork sticky rice.”


This sticky log of rice contained bonus roast pork. Yum yum. You’ll notice the DTF food is heavy on both the carbs AND the pork.


“Noodle with mince pork sauce.” This was yummy too, although I have had better of this dish — in Xian China.


“Noode with spicy sauce.” This was actually tastier than the pork ones as the sauce had this nice spicy vinegar tang.


“Braised beef soup.” You can’t see them, but the soup is filled with more of the spaghetti-like noodles. The beef tasted like short rib.


“Vegetarian dumplings.” These were some of the better veggie dumplings I’ve had. Still, they don’t hold a candle to the meaty ones.


“Shrimp Fried Noodle.”


“Pork and Shrimp Shu-mai.” Not only did these look great, but they tasted fantastic. These were my second favorite after the straight pork ones.


“Shanghai rice cake with chicken.” This tasted fine (like soy sauce, in a good way). The rice cake has a weird chewy texture, not unlike jellyfish. It was actually kind of fun.


“Pork buns.”


Unlike the typical BBQ pork buns, these just had the slightly spiced (buy yummy) pork balls inside, not the sweet red BBQ pork. Still good.


“Juicy Pork & Crab dumplings.” Like the pork ones, but with a slightly weird crab aftertaste. We all preferred the plain pork ones, but I still happily kicked back about 5 of these.


“Sautéed mustard cabbage with garlic.” Fine for what it was. Boring!


“Sauteed Bok Choy with Garlic.” You’d swear it was the same as the mustard greens, and you’d be wrong!


“Pork Chop Fried Rice.” Pretty much exactly what you’d expect.


Yum yum, drown that baby!


“Fish dumplings.” I haven’t had a lot of fish dumplings, but these were superb! Almost as good as the pork. Well not quite, but they were really good.


Now the dessert buns. First the “black sesame.”


This were really good, with a sweet nutty taste. The bun itself is identical to the pork bun.


Then two other experimental types: “sweet taro” and “red bean.” All were pleasant, but the taro was like a bun stuffed with whipped sweet mash potato and the red bean — well like red bean.


Some kind of specialty “sweet rice” with bits of fruit and red bean paste.


I actually enjoyed this dessert. It’s sickly sweet with a peculiar Chinese flavor and very sticky.

Overall, Din Tai Fun was awesome. I’m so hungry just writing up this post and I want to go back right away. I don’t want to drive the better part of an hour just this second, but I want the “juicy pork dumplings.” It’s also a good deal. Four of us completely polished off the above. And yeah we pigged out. And it cost like $65!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Mark’s Duck House
  2. Food as Art: Ping Pong
  3. More Mark’s Duck House
  4. Christmas is for Dim Sum
  5. More Modern Dim Sum
By: agavin
Comments (7)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: China, Chinese, Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, dimsum, Din Tai Fung, Din Tai Fung Dumpling House, dumpling, Dumpling House, Hot and Sour Soup, Noodle, pork, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Shanghai, Taipei

Maison Giraud

Dec15

Restaurant: Maison Giraud [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: December 5 & 10, 2011

Cuisine: French

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

_

I’ve been waiting for Maison Giraud, the new local (just blocks away!) Pacific Palisades restaurant/bakery from acclaimed LA French chef Alain Giraud to open for what seems like forever. The day it did I was there for some pastries. Then we kept trying to get in for dinner. We had to come on a monday at like 5:30!


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.


Today’s menu.


A pair of nice French whites, one a Sancerre, the other a Viognier.


House baked bread.


They call this a tart, but it’s really a flatbread (aka pizza). “Camille’s Potato and Rosemary Flat Tart. Creme Fraiche, Gruyere.” Pretty yummy.


And another. “Crispy Tomato and Basil Flat Tart. Roasted onions, parmesan.”


“Seared Scallops, leek fondue, meyer lemon & pistachio sauce.” This was one of the best seared scallop appetizers I’ve had — and I normally prefer my scallops raw.


“Arborio Risotto, mushrooms, aged parmesan, fresh herbs.” A lovely mushroom risotto. The weather was cold and dreary (in relative LA terms), so this was perfect.


“Seared Atlantic Salmon. Garlic potatoes, cipollini, bacon, red onion sauce.”


“Cocotte. Beef Bourguignon.” Basically beef stew with the classic additives: potato, carrots, onions, etc. But this was one damn fine beef stew.


Bread dipping good!


We had to get back in a hurry, so we didn’t have time for dessert, but I had that Vacherin Glace one time when the chef was cooking at Bastide (in 2004) and it was one of the best desserts of my life.


I liked the Maison so much that I brought my son back for breakfast on Saturday. This is from the bakery, a fresh apple turnover. Yum!


And fresh OJ.

A decent, if slightly foamy cappuccino.


French toast. Very nice typical variant. My favorite part was the fresh Chantilly cream which was incredible. I’m a big sucker for whipped cream.


Classic Eggs Benedict.


Some more baked goods. Muffins.


And the ultimate pain aux chocolate. This is the only place in LA I’ve tasted where the croissant type pastry actually tastes like it does in France.

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 early preview, see here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Maison Giraud at Last
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Atlantic Salmon, Beef Bourguignon, Brunch, Creme Fraiche, dessert menu, Dinner, Eggs Benedict, French Toast, Maison Giraud, Pacific Palisades, Potato, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Sancerre, Stew, Viognier

More Mark’s Duck House

Dec11

Restaurant: Mark’s Duck House [1, 2]

Location:  6184 Arlington Blvd # A, Falls Church, VA 22044  703-532-2125

Date: November 30, 2011 & November 25, 2017

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Very very good cantonese.

_

Mark’s Duck house is an amazing Cantonese place I go to when I’m home in Washington D.C.. There’s nothing fancy about them other than the food but they make a lot of stuff, and they make it all really well.

Below is the menu to end all menus.

 

Picking from that menu can be a bit of a challenge!

 


We tried to entice my three year-old with this “pasta.” (pan fried noodles with Buddha’s delight) but he declared “that’s not pasta!”


But he did go for this lo-mein with garlic.

1A0A7069
Hot and sour soup. Classic, but delicious.


The hot and sour soup is so good it was almost finished by the time I got the camera pointed at it (in 2011, the above photo is from 2017).


Beer really goes best with Chinese. If you’ve ever had Chinese wine (I have) you know why.


Succulent “Har-gow” (shrimp dumplings).

1A0A7080
The whole peking duck and a glimpse of the green onions and hoisin.
1A0A7083
The pecking duck here is incredible. They make the pancakes for you if you want, but the whole assembly was brought out to the table. I had photos of it the last time I was here.

1A0A7085
Lobster causeway style. Fried with lots and lots of garlic and a little chilies. One of my favorite Chinese lobster preps.

1A0A7094
“Lightly” fried shrimp with the heads still on.


Stir-fried chive-blossoms. It sounds weird but they are incredibly good.

1A0A7102
Baby bok choy with garlic. I don’t love full sizec bok, but these were quite nice actually.


Sizzling beef short ribs with black pepper sauce. These were tasty, but the hard part was getting the meat off the bone with chopsticks and teeth!

1A0A7101
Filet Mignon with black pepper sauce. Very tender and delicious.


Sauteed mixed seafood in a nest.


“Sweet and sour pork.” At the Panda Express and the like they always have those fried pork balls (which I call fried lard balls). This is the ultimate version. Incredibly tasty!

1A0A7093
Ma Po Tofu. Non spicy Cantonese version. Nice texture, but lacked the depth, heat, and mala of the real thing.

We had way way too much food as usual here. Seven people and this could have fed twelve. I rolled on out very satisfied, indeed.

See my previous review of Mark’s Duck House.

Or other ThanksGavin meals!

Related posts:

  1. Mark’s Duck House
  2. Western Smoke House Meats
  3. Food as Art: Sushi House Unico
  4. Zaytinya – East made Easy
  5. More Modern Dim Sum
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cantonese, duck, Duck House, Mark's Duck House, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, ThanksGavin, Washington D.C

Jaleo Bethesda

Dec07

Restaurant: Jaleo [1, 2]

Location: 7271 Woodmont Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. 301.913-0003

Date: November 29, 2011

Cuisine: Spanish Tapas

Rating: Fun Tapas Bar

_

I’ve reviewed a lot of José Andrés restaurants on the blog, seven I think. This is een the second Jaleo.  The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE) and his high end Saam, but also brunch at Trés, lunch at Trés, and to é by José Andrés and Jaleo in Vegas and Zaytinya also in Washington. Back to Jaleo, the restaurant at hand. It’s basically a straight up Spanish Tapas place but with a slightly modernized and enlarged menu.

The menu.

One annoyance of  this particular branch — and not the restaurant’s fault — is the Maryland law against corkage. They have a fine list, but I had brought an amazing Spanish wine 3,000 miles!  Parker gives it 91 points. “The 2008 Termes offers up a sexy perfume of cedar, spice box, violets, incense, espresso, and blackberry. Savory, concentrated, and well-balanced, this flavorful effort will benefit from several years of additional cellaring but can be approached now.”

“Gazpacho de remolacha con queso de cabra y naranjas. Chilled red beet soup with goat cheese and oranges.” I’m a total José Andrés gazpacho whore. I even make it at home home.

This is a different variant, kind of gazpacho meets borsch. It was fantastic. Beety, with that vinegary tang. Delicious.

“Dátiles con tocino ‘como hace todo el mundo. Fried dates wrapped in bacon.” Really how can you beat fried dates wrapped in bacon? Yum yum.

“Ensalada rusa. The ultimate Spanish tapa, a salad of potatoes, imported conserved tuna and mayonnaise.” The Spanish love potato salad.

“Aceitunas rellenas de anchoas y pimientos del piquillo. House-made stuffed olives with anchovies and roasted piquillo peppers.” This is another classic, and these are a really good implementation.

“Jamón Ibérico de bellota Fermin. Cured ham from the legendary, acorn-fed, black-footed Ibérico pigs of Spain and miscellaneous other Spanish meats like chorizo.”

“Pan con tomate. Toasted slices of rustic bread brushed with fresh tomato with Pasamontes farmhouse Manchego.” Basically Spanish bruschetta.

“Salpicón de cangrejo. Jumbo lump crabmeat with cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower and Sherry dressing.” While Spanish in flavors I suspect this a bit of a nod to the Eastern shore. Big lumps of crabmeat too.

“Pan de recapte con anchoa. Traditional Catalan bread with peppers, tomatoes and salt-cured Spanish anchovies.” I really wanted Fresh Spanish anchovies, marinated (Anchovies en Boccerones) but they didn’t have them. These weren’t a bad substitute.

“Espinacas a la catalana. Sautéed spinach, pine nuts, raisins and apples.”

“Vieiras con romesco y mojo verde. Seared scallops with romesco sauce and mojo verde.”

“Lomo de buey. Grilled hanger steak with piquillo peppers.”

“Arroz con costillas de cerdo Ibérico de bellota. Made with the famous Ibérico de bellota pork ribs.”

“Arroz Mediterraneo. Made with porcini mushrooms, mixed vegetables, green and black olives and thyme.”

The dessert menu.

“A classic Spanish custard with creme and oranges.”

“Dark chocolate mousse with sponge cake and hazzelnut ice cream.”

“Various fruit sorbets.”

“Vanilla ice cream and grapefruit sorbet.”

“Chocolate ice cream.”

Jaleo is like a good Tapas place in Spain but a little slicker, with perhaps more consistant quality. And they don’t have fresh anchovies! It is also a little (actually more than a little) more expensive than a typical Spanish tapas place in Spain. But considering the scarcity of good tapas places in America… worth it.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Jaleo by José Andrés
  2. Quick Eats – Bar Pinxto
  3. Zaytinya – East made Easy
  4. é by José Andrés
  5. Saam – José Andrés Squared
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Bazaar, Bethesda, Dessert, Gazpacho, Jaleo, José Andrés, Maryland, Paella, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Spanish Food, Tapas, ThanksGavin, Washington DC, Wine, Zaytinya

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

_

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

Zaytinya – East made Easy

Dec01

Restaurant: Zaytinya

Location: 701 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001. 202.638.0800

Date: November 27, 2011

Cuisine: Greek/Turkish/Lebanese

Rating: Great flavors!

_

Zaytinya, which means “olive oil” in Turkish is part of José Andrés’ little culinary empire — which started first here in Washington D.C. and then spread to various other outpsts in the country including LA and vegas.

I’m a bit of a Jose Andres groupie as not only have I reviewed The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE) and his high end Saam, but also brunch at Trés, lunch at Trés, and to é by José Andrés and Jaleo in Vegas.

For those who don’t know, José Andrés is perhaps America’s leading practitioner of  my favorite culinary style: Spanish Molecular Gastronomy. This school of cooking, a radical interpretation of the preparation of food, was begun at El Bulli outside of Barcellona. Andrés cooked and studied there with master chef Ferran Adrià. I first encountered Andrés’s cooking in Washington DC at Cafe Atlantico, and it’s own restaurant within a restaurant, Minibar.

Zaytinya, however, is neither Spanish or particularly molecular. It focuses on the Eastern Mediterranean cuisine of Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. These are all former Ottoman zones and despite their political animosity toward each other share much in common — foodwise.


The modern frontage on 9th street in Washington.


The space inside is clean and white.


The geometric white shapes are reminiscent of Greek architecture.


The menu.


We ordered this “ASHTA. traditional Lebanese-style French toast, bananas, orange blossom honey” for our son. It was more like Pane Dulce I’ve had at other Andres restaurants crossed with Tres Leches cake. He devoured it.


They have this light poofy bread.


The classic roasted eggplant dish: “BABA GHANNOUGE. fire-roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon, garlic.” This was a very bright tasty variant with pomegranate seeds.


And one of my all time favorites: “TZATZIKI. Greek yogurt with diced cucumbers, dill.” This wasn’t nearly as garlicky as in Greece and Turkey, but was more akin to the Lebanese variant. It did have a nice thick Greek yoghurt consistency and a pleasant crunch from the cucumber.


“BEET SALATA. crimson and yellow beets, shaved fennel, upland cress, spiced walnuts.” I doubt this was exactly a traditional dish (even if the ingredients are) but it’s pretty much obligatory on modern menus.

“BANTIJAN BIL LABAN. crispy eggplant, roasted garlic-yogurt sauce.” This was a nice treatment of eggplant — in no small part because it was seriously fried! This was a very crispy coating with hot eggplant inside.

“SPANAKOPITA. house-made phyllo, spinach, feta cheese.” Not your typical version of this dish which is usually triangular in shape. The insides were similar enough though, so more a cheese and spinach taquito than a puff pastry!

“ROASTED CAULIFLOWER. sultans, caper berries, pine nuts.” This is a brighter less fried version of this traditional Lebanese dish (you can see the original here). Good stuff though.


My son got his second order of “French toast.”


Which he polished off in about two minutes.

“GARIDES ME ANITHO. sautéed shrimp, dill, shallots, mustard, lemon juice.” This was a pretty awesome variant on Andres’ normal “Gambas Pil Pil” (photos here in this Jaleo review).

FRIED SQUID. crispy squid, garlic-yogurt sauce.” Nicely done classic calimari.


And a zesty garlic sauce for dipping.

“STRIPED BASS PLAKI. tomato, fresh chickpeas, onion, mint.” This is a local fish, but the prep is very Eastern med. Strong flavors of tomato.

“AGLAIA KREMEZI STYLE CRAB CAKES. mini jumbo lump crab cakes, roasted garlic yogurt.” They can pretend this is Eastern Med — but no, it’s all Eastern Shore. Still, no one was complaining. These little patties were essentially crab imperial balls lightly fried on the griddle. There was a light taragon flavor too.

“KEFTEDES KAPAMA. beef and lamb meatballs, feta cheese, rustic tomato sauce, cinnamon, allspice.” Tasty meatballs in classic Eastern style. Similar to typical “spicy kefta” preparations.

“ADANA KEBAB. skewered ground lamb, house-made harissa, grilled tomatoes, sumac, onions.” Typical ground lamb kabob. This wasn’t my absolute favorite dish here. It was a bit salty and the grill flavor too strong. Not that it was bad by any means.

“URFA BIFTEK. grilled sirloin, Urfa pepper, cumin, heirloom lettuces, caramelized sesame.” And this was even saltier, although the meat did have a lot of flavor.

“LOUKANIKO ME AGINARES. grilled Greek pork sausage, marinated artichokes.” The sausage was good and I liked the onion and pepper (pimento in Spanish) salad on top.


The dessert menu.

A nice chewy cup of Turkish coffee, semi-sweet.


“Turkish delight. Walnut Ice Cream, yogurt mousse, orange caramel sauce.” This was very yummy, but from the name I hoped for something closer to real Turkish delight — which is a favorite of mine, particularly the rosewater flavor.


A trio of very good homemade ice creams (my three year-old loved them). Walnut, apple, and pear. The fruit flavors were very bright and pure.


“Greek yogurt and apricots.” Very yummy. The thick yogurt paired very nicely with the sweet fruit. In Greece they eat the purest variant of this: very very sour and thick goat yogurt with drizzled honey.


Another fruit and yogurt/ice cream blend. Can’t go wrong with berries and cream.


More of the large and modern space.

Overall, Zaytinya was pretty fantastic. It’s neither totally traditional or ultra modern, but instead what one might call a modernized or modestly updated classic. Most of the dishes have their roots in traditional Eastern Med dishes, and they retain — even emphasize — those bright flavors. The form of them is a lighter and slightly more playful, adapted to American tastes. In any case, highly successful.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

I’ve also reviewed: The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE) and the high end Saam, brunch at Trés, lunch at Trés, and to é by José Andrés and Jaleo in Vegas.

Related posts:

  1. Peace in the Middle East? – Mezze
  2. Saam – José Andrés Squared
  3. Son of Saam – Actually more Bazaar
  4. Trés – Brunché Fantastique
  5. Trés – Lunch Fantastique
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dessert, El Bulli, Ferran Adrià, French Toast, Greece, José Andrés, Restaraunt, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, ThanksGavin, turkey, Tzatziki, Washington DC, Zaytinya

Jackson’s

Nov30

Restaurant: Jackson’s

Location: 11927 Democracy Drive. Reston, VA 20191. (703) 437-0800

Date: November 26, 2011 & 2017 — yes same day, 6 years apart

Cuisine: American

Rating: Solid mid-sized chain offering

_

Back “home” in DC we wanted a quick and easy meal and so headed out to Reston to this reliable place. I reviewed Coastal Flats last year, another member of the same small chain.


This is one of those well done (but not earth-shattering) mall places. It seems that good malls these days aren’t going with the giant chains or with one-off restaurants. they must feel the need for a little more stability in their business relationships.

1A0A7107
This vast interior all decked out for the holidays.


The menu.

1A0A7111
They have these donut-like rolls which are pretty delicious.


This was billed as an “perfect margarita” and actually, it was pretty good. Not quite as good as my own, but not bad at all.


A mojito.


“Lobster and ham mac and cheese.” Pretty good too. The ham made it.


A special salad. Fried oysters, blue-cheese, salad.


A simple green salad.1A0A7112
Salad with grilled salmon. Didn’t skimp on the salmon.
1A0A7119
Lobster Club salad. Not bad at all.


Grilled cheese for my son.

1A0A7121
Simple pasta for my son 6 years later.


Fried grouper, fries, and cole slaw. This was a tasty fried fish, nice and crispy. This chain has an unusual but very good slaw, chopped, with a bit of peppery bite.


Crab cake roll with a side of butternut squash.


And the platter version, two crab cakes with fries and slaw. The cakes a pretty good, with big lumps of crab. It does have a little breading (obviously).


Sautéed spinach.

Lobster roll with corn on the cob. No shortage of lobster here! They claim it’s all the meat from a 1.5 pounder. Looks like it.1A0A7115
Same lobster roll, 6 years later.

This isn’t really chef driven cuisine. It’s basically comfort food. But it is well done.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Coastal Flats
  2. Ocean Avenue Seafood
  3. Quick Eats: Houstons
  4. Room with a Vu
  5. Quick Eats: Mon Ami Gabi
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Blue cheese, Coleslaw, crab cakes, Fish & Chips, Jackson, Jackson's, Lobster roll, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Reston Virginia, Salad, ThanksGavin

Bibou – ThanksGavin 2011 Prequel

Nov24

Restaurant: Bibou BYOB

Location: 1009 South 8th street, Philadelphia PA 19147. 215.965.8290

Date: November 23, 2011

Cuisine: French

Rating: Very good meal

_

And with a blast the ThanksGavin 2011 is off. Canonically, in a tradition developed over the last twenty years, the gavin Thanksgiving weekend is defined by four major meals. The Wednesday night dinner (out somewhere, usually in downtown Philly), the main event on Thursday, the Friday night dinner at my cousin Abbe’s, and the Saturday deli brunch. For this year’s kickoff a downtown intimate French restaurant was chosen.

NOTE: Technically, this is the ThanksGavin/Flitter as my grandparents had two daughters and so they have different married names. But for simplicity I’ll usually just say ThanksGavin.


A light sancerre to begin. Like many Philly restaurants Bibou doesn’t have a liquor license — perfect pour moi — as I can bring without corkage!


Every year I drag out at least a case of wine from my cellar. My favorite opener varietal, real Pinot Noir. the Parker 93. “An assortment of candied cherries explode from the glass of the 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Perrieres. This seductive wine’s character is drenched in black cherry syrup, rocks, and earth. Medium-bodied, it has outstanding depth, concentration, and a long, expressive finish that reveals copious quantities of ripe tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018.”


The menu.


Very nice bread and butter from France.

An uncooked preview of the bone marrow special.


A blockbuster Spanish wine. Parker 94. “The 2007 Valdemuz is 100% Prieto Picudo from vines ranging in age from 100-115 years. For this cuvee 20% whole bunches were utilized with aging for 18 months in new French oak. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it offers up a splendid aromatic array of pain grille, graphite, espresso, truffle, black cherry, and blackberry. Dense, ripe, and concentrated, on the palate it is velvety textured and virtually seamless. This lengthy offering will evolve for another 5-7 years and provide big-time pleasure through 2027 if not longer.”


“Foie gras Duo. Foie gras crème brulée & Seared foie gras with caramelized Seckel pear flavored with lavender.” The left hand side was a fairly traditional prep for foie — but excellent with great texture and a nice meaty / slightly spiced flavor to the fruit. The right had good texture, and was nice, but was more like a custard.

“Escargots. Snail ragout, Fava beans and Trumpet Royale mushroom, flavored with tarragon.”


“Half dozen oysters on the halfshell.” From Maine.


“Gravlax. Arctic char gravlax flavored with rosemary & Meyer lemon, Cucumber & apple brunoise, white lentil hummus.”


“Green salad.”


“Soupe de céleri. Celeriac soup, chestnut purée, poached celeriac in Earl Grey tea.” One of those really good lots of creme with a hint of vegetable soups.


Parker gives this a 92, but I’d put it more like at 95-96. “The 1995 Hermitage La Sizeranne is performing even better out of bottle than it did immediately prior to bottling. It is a full-bodied, dense ruby/purple-colored wine with a sweet, smoky, chocolate, cassis, and tar-scented nose, great fruit intensity, full body, a layered texture, sweet tannin, and good grip. It should be cellared for a minimum of 4-5 years, and will keep for 15-20.”


And decanted in the duck.


“Leg of rabbit with parpadelle and butternut squash.”


“Golden Tilefish. Olive oil poached Golden Tilefish, Brussels sprouts, dried cranberry, sweet carrot emulsion.”


“Truite Arc-en-Ciel. Sautéed Rainbow trout, sauerkraut, Romanesco cabbage, pomegranate,  jus de poulet flavored with lemongrass.”


“Bœuf. Sautéed hanger steak with green peppercorn sauce, sautéed Fingerling potatoes, green asparagus.”


“Canard. Long Island Duck breast, Chanterelle mushroom, Yu-choy, purple potato chips, red wine duck jus.” This was good duck, very tender and flavorful.


A blockbuster argentine wine. As good as I’ve had from there. Parker 94. “Flechas de Los Andes’ 2006 Gran Corte spent 17 months in new French oak. It is opaque purple-colored with legs that ooze down the glass. The aromatics are brooding but expressive with notes of pain grille, pencil lead, spice box, lavender, black cherry, and plum. Opulent, with glossy fruit, this dense, rich effort conceals significant underlying structure. This intense, powerful, lengthy wine demands a minimum of 5-7 years of cellaring and will be at its best from 2015 to 2030.”


The dessert menu.


Classic “Creme brûlée, flavored with vanilla and tobacco leaves.”


French press coffee.


“Mimi’s chocolate cake, caramel sauce.”


“Floating Island with homemade praline and goat milk creme anglais.” This was probably the best Floating Island I’ve ever had. The texture was lighter than air with a very nice nutty flavor.


“Fresh quince pie.” A bit of figs on the side.


“Berry ice cream.”


And to finish, some macaroons and meringues. Both very good.

This was a very good meal. Classically French, yet with a slightly updated palette and a deft touch. If you are in Philadelphia I highly recommend.

For more ThanksGavin meals, click here.

Related posts:

  1. Thanksgiving – The Prequel
  2. ThanksGavin in Review
  3. Passover Seder 2011 – day 1
  4. ThanksGavin 2010 Reprise
  5. Thanksgiving – Pork Insanity
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Dessert, duck, escargot, Foie gras, French Cuisine, Meyer Lemon, Philadelphia, Pinot noir, Restaurant Review, ThanksGavin, thanksgiving, Wine

Sfixio – Strong out of the gate

Nov20

Restaurant: Sfixio

Location: 9737 Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA.90210. 1 (310) 385-1800

Date: November 13, 2011

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Excellent new Italian

_

Sfixio is a brand new Italian in downtown Beverly Hills with a modern Tuscan slant. It’s owned and by a husband and wife pair: Chef Massimo Denaro in the kitchen and his wife managing the front.


The location has received a chic modern update too (it used to be Da Vinci for the last 30 years).


The brushed aluminum bar.


I brought this wine from the vineyard in Tuscany. Parker 93. “The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino is a beguiling wine laced with all sorts of black cherries, minerals, spices, licorice and menthol. All of the aromas and flavors are layered together through to the exquisite, refined finish. The 2006 shows a level of richness and density this bottling has lacked in some previous vintages. Today the tannins remain a touch austere, but another few years in bottle should do the trick. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2026.”


They had good bread, particularly the raison.


An extensive menu.


And a live jazz band (who were quite good)!


“Insalata di Spinaci (Fresh baby Spinach with Walnuts, soft Tuscan Pecorino cheese, pears olive oil and balsamic Vinaigrette Reduction).”


“Burrata con Pomodorini (Imported fresh Burrata caprese with organic heirlooms tomatoes).”


“Tartara di Branzino. Fresh wild Seabass from Greece Tartare dressed with a fresh grapefruit orange, lemon sauce, topped with tiny diced veggies.” Very nice, a bit like a cerviche.


“Pappardelle al Cinghiale (Homemade Pappardelle pasta with Braised wild boar in Chianti wine flavored with Juniper berries).” I had this dish all over Tuscany this year. This one was good, probably in the top 75% of those I had. Not as great as this one say, but very good.


“Crespelle alla Fiorentina (Homemade Crepes with Ricotta Cheese and Spinach topped with Tomato Sauce and Melted Reggiano Parmesan).”


“Branzino e Verdurine (Fresh Wild Seabass from Greece cooked on Flat Iron with sautee seasonal veggies).”


An osso buco special on mashed potatoes. Certainly an excellent meaty rendition of this dish. The meat was not only tender, but very flavorful.


The dessert menu.


“Tortino al cioccolato con Fragoline (Chocolate cake with strawberries).” Very very “dark” and chocolaty. A little too dark and dense for my taste, I prefer creamier and sweeter, but it was certainly well done.

Overall, Sfixio was very good. LA is full of Italian restaurants, and there wasn’t anything radical here, but this is certainly a chef operating at a high level, with a good palette, excellent ingredients, and really solid execution. So I recommend, and we’ll go again.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Comparison with real Tuscan joints here.

Related posts:

  1. Sicilian Style – Drago
  2. Eating Staggia – Pozzo dei Desideri
  3. Eating Montalcino – Le Potazzine
  4. Piccolo – A little Italian
  5. Fraiche Santa Monica
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills California, Brunello di Montalcino, Burrata, Dessert, italian, Italian cuisine, Italian Food, Italy, Los Angeles, osso buco, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Santa Monica Boulevard, Tuscany, vegetarian, Wine

Western Smoke House Meats

Nov17

Restaurant: Western Smoke House

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

Date: November 12, 2011

Cuisine: BBQ

Rating: Solid Texas BBQ

_

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

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


The menu.


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


The decor is full-on Lonestar State.


Slaw.


Potato salad.


Cornbread, one of my secret weaknesses.


Greens, in case you get stopped up.


Chips for the kids.


Likewise with the chicken fingers.


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


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


Sweetish and tasty baked beans.


Some birthday cake!


And two kinds of cobbler.


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

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

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Mark’s Duck House
  2. Food as Art: Sushi House Unico
  3. Waterloo & City
  4. Fogo de Chao – Beef!
  5. Brunch at Tavern 3D
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Baked beans, Barbecue, bbq, Brisket, Cake, Chicken fingers, Cooking, Corn bread, Dessert, Lonestar State, Los Angeles, Meat, Palms, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review, Smoking, Texas, Western Smoke House

Maison Giraud at Last

Nov16

Restaurant: Maison Giraud [1, 2, 3]

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

Date: November 16, 2011

Cuisine: French

Rating: Awesome French baked goods

_

I’ve been waiting for Maison Giraud, the new local (just blocks away!) Pacific Palisades restaurant bakery from acclaimed LA French chef Alain Giraud to open for what seems like forever. Finally, the day has happened. Today is the first time they are serving at all, bakery and breakfast. By next monday they plan to be open from breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


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


The menu is out front. We didn’t have time to actually sit down. You can find the full menu on the website. Soon…


Clean inside. We proceeded straight to the bakery counter to find that it had already been picked fairly clean :-).


These gorgeous (I only had my iPhone for photos, sorry) pane raison.


On the left a single chocolate croissant and on the right a croissant batter thing with tiny blueberries and bakeries custard. We tried both of these. Stellar! Much better I thought than Bouchon Bakery. The pastry had that crunch/chewy mouth feel that is intensely Parisian, but very rare in the states. Must be the butter from Normandy!

We’ll be back as soon as we can (perhaps not until after the holidays) to try it out for dinner. The menu, at a glance, looked a lot like Annisette’s minus the raw bar. There was a lot of good stuff though. I didn’t see a Croque Madame though. I may have to ask for it special.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Alain Giraud, Bakery, chocolate croissant, croissant, Croque Madame, French Restaraunt, Maison Giraud, Pacific Palisades, pane raison, Restaraunt, Restaurant Review

Ocean Avenue Seafood

Nov08

Restaurant: Ocean Avenue Seafood

Location: 1401 Ocean Avenue. Santa Monica, CA 90401. 310-394-5669

Date: November 5, 2011

Cuisine: Seafood

Rating: Good, but overpriced

_

I’ve been going to Ocean Avenue Seafood for probably fifteen years, but while it was once a staple in our rotation it’s been a few years. OAS offers classic American seafood right above the bluffs overlooking the Pacific.


The have both an extensive ocean view covered patio and a clubby inside.


The menu.


Fresh baked sour dough bread.


A green salad.


A sampler of six various Pacific oysters with cocktail sauce, horseradish, and mignonette sauce. Each of these six were different, but all were good.


Their clam chowder. It’s not as goopy creamy thick as I ideally love, but it did have a nice bacony flavor.


Grilled salmon with mash potatoes and asparagus. Pinot noir reduction. My wife is a connoisseur of salmon, and she likes this one.


Lobster roll. The fries and slaw were good. And while this roll had lots of lobster it was somehow lacking in flavor.


Expresso so I can stay up through the movie we are going to see.

Overall Ocean Avenue Seafood has a lot of competition. Both the Blue Plate Oysterette and the Hungry Cat have very similar cuisine and are located nearby (the Blue Plate about a block away). Both are a little less expensive than OAS and a little more “modern.” OAS does have more different types of fresh fish if that’s your thing, they have 7-10 grilled fish at all times. Just depends what you want.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Blue Plate Oysterette
  2. The Lobster claws at the pier
  3. The Hungry Cat chows Santa Monica
  4. Picca Potency
  5. Villetta – More Italian in Brentwood?
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Clam chowder, Lobster roll, Los Angeles, Ocean Avenue, Ocean Avenue Seafood, Pacific, Pacific oyster, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Restaurants and Bars, Santa Monica, Santa Monica California, Seafood

Trés – Lunch Fantastique

Nov05

Restaurant: Trés [1, 2]

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

Date: October 31, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Spanish

Rating: Fantastique

_

My brother and I were in midtown and decided to check out Trésfor lunch. I’d already hit it for weekend brunch a couple months ago, and figuring as I’ve recently hit everything else Jose Andres (é by José Andrés and Jaleo in Vegas and a recent Saam meal), stopped in.


The room was dead at 11:45am, but the food wasn’t.


The lunch menu.


“Octopus tacos. Hydroponic bib lettuce, maggie’s farm baby greens, smoked heirloom cherry tomatoes.” Very nice octopus treatment. Succulent grilled meat and a zesty limey vinaigrette on the whole thing.


“Hawaiian bigeye tuna ceviche. Coconut ginger soy, plantain chips.” Not your typical cerviche as the lime flavors weren’t that blast you Peruvian type. But that meant you could taste the fish, and it was good. The plantain chips were tasty too.


I’m nuts over Jose’s Gazpacho. I’ve even made it from his recipe a number of times at home.


And with the soup itself. Yum yum!


“Herb roasted ham and cheese. Tomme de savoie cheese, carmelized onions, herbs.” This was like a Spanish Croque Monsieur. I love this kind of grilled ham and cheese.


Some good fries too with a spicy ketchup.


“The SLS Burger. House made brioche bun, lettuce, tomatoes, onions with cheddar.”


“Lemon tart. Raspberry sorbet.” Not your typical version, but really good. Bright bright flavors and some pate de fruits thrown in there too.


“Hazelnut pear clafoutis. Coffee ice cream.” Like a bread pudding. The ice cream was really good too.

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

Overall, this was a very tasty lunch. It was a little expensive — as you’d expect from a hotel restaurant — but it was very good, which I’ve come to expect from the SLS offerings.

A review of Trés for brunch can be found here.

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

Related posts:

  1. Trés – Brunché Fantastique
  2. Crafty Little Lunch
  3. Saam – José Andrés Squared
  4. Brunch at Tavern 3D
  5. Quick Eats – Bar Pinxto
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cooking, Dessert, Gazpacho, Ham and cheese sandwich, José Andrés, La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, octopus, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, vegetarian

Jer-ne to the center of the Marina

Oct31

Restaurant: Jer-ne

Location: Ritz-Carlton. 4375 Admiralty Way. Marina del Rey, California 90292 USA. (310) 823-1700

Date: October 29, 2011

Cuisine: Californian

Rating: Solid

_

When the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey renovated and opened its new restaurant in the early 2000s the naming committee was obviously inspired by Steve Martin‘s classic LA Story (and its 80s restaurant, lee-dee-oh — spelled l’idiot). In any case, the original Jer-ne actually served up top notch California Asian Fusion when it opened. Like most hotel restaurants, there has been chef turnover — who knows how many times in the last decade. I hadn’t been in a few years (except for the pretty amazing Sunday brunch) and when an old friend from High School Facebook IMed me that he was in town, we headed on over.


The menu is mean and lean, all streamlined modern Californian.


From my cellar. Parker 96 points. “The 2008 Flor de Pingus offers up an enticing nose of smoke, Asian spices, incense, espresso, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it displays outstanding volume, intensity, and balance. Rich, dense, and succulent, it has enough structure to evolve for 4-5 years and will offer prime drinking from 2015 to 2028.”


The Ritz always had good cheesy cracker things.


“caesar. organic romaine, santa barbara olives, tomatoes, crouton.”


“oyster. pacific oysters, crispy potato, spanish ham, sambuca hollandaise.” The sauces were really good, but the oysters had that bitter note that fried oysters often have. Every time I have them I’m reminded that I like my oysters raw.


“halibut. sautéed leek, double smoked bacon, corn, potato, clam chowder sauce.”


“salmon. green bean, glazed carrots, potato puree, parsley butter.”


“lamb. sirloin, heirloom tomato, organic ratatouille, tomato mustard chutney.” Some very tasty and relatively lean lamb. The sauce was one of those meaty jus reductions that I love.


The dessert menu.


“greek yogurt panna cotta. slow roasted market stonefruit, corn praline, thymje.”


“spiced peanut butter mousse. crunchy peanut butter chocolate, candied ginger ice cream, spicy caramelized honey.” This was a nice dessert. A good interplay between the fluffy peanut butter, crunch, and the ginger ice cream.

Overall the food at this new Jer-ne was good. It didn’t blow me away or anything, and it’s very different than it used to be 8 or so years ago (full of Japanese influenced dishes), but it was a very solid take on conservative but well executed the New American. Even the desserts show plating influences that are very contemporary — what I think of as geometric and dust — the use of cubes, spheres, and ovals in a sort of post war art kind of arrangement, often dusted with granular flavor components. Red Medicine’s desserts are typical examples, but I suspect it’s really a Ferran Adrià thing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Dinner and Drinks at Tavern
  2. Brunch at Tavern 3D
  3. The Lobster claws at the pier
  4. Matsuhisa – The Private Room
  5. Parlez Vu Modern?
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Admiralty, California, Dessert, fish, lamb, Marina del Rey, Marina del Rey California, Oyster, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Ritz-Carlton, Steve Martin, vegetarian

Echigo Sushi

Oct28

Restaurant: Echigo

Location: 12217 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 201. Los Angeles, CA 90025. (310) 820-9787

Date: October 27, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: Very good warm-rice style sushi

_

Back when my office was at the Watergarden in Santa Monica Echigo was one of my regular lunch haunts. The chef studied under Nozawa and is stylistically related to nearby Sasabune. They both follow the “warm rice” school of sushi (which I believe originates in Osaka prefecture. The rice is warmer and less sticky than Tokyo-style sushi. It tastes really good this way, but has some tendency to fall apart on the way to the mouth.


The lunch menu has two choices, the lunch special for $14 and the omakase. Below is the union (both) of each. The lunch special is by far the best deal (6-7 years ago it was even $9!).


Fresh ground wasabi and pickled ginger. These photos were taken on the iPhone 4S which does pretty well in good light. A few missed photos were purloined from the web.


Skipjack tuna with a bit of sauce.


Medium (chu) toro.


Hamachi (yellowtail).


Halibut, which itself doesn’t have much flavor, but the vinegary sauce does.


Tai (red snapper).


Scallop. One of my favorites.


Salmon with a bit of kelp and sesame.


Bonito, also delicious.


Albacore.


Kanpachi (young yellowtail). With a bright vinegary sauce.


Ono.


Shimaji (stripped jack).


Butterfish. This is an Echigo specialty. A firm fish with miso based sauce.


Uni (sea urchin).


And the now classic Nozawa blue crab hand roll (I ate two and could have had more).

Echigo is a hair below a few of the very top lunch LA sushi places (Sushi Sushi, Mori, Go, Kiriko etc), but it offers pretty good relative value, and on the absolute scale top sushi, far above the generic touristy sushi joint. Getting the Omakase at dinner at the sushi bar is an even higher caliber experience.

For more LA area sushi, see here.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Sushi Zo
  2. Takao Sushi Taking Off!
  3. Sushi Sushi = Yummy Yummy
  4. Mori Sushi – A Top Contender
  5. Food as Art – Sushi Sushi
By: agavin
Comments (5)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Alaskan king crab fishing, Asian, California, Echigo, Echigo Sushi, Hamachi, Japan, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Omakase, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Rice, Salmon, Sushi, Tokyo
Older Posts »
Watch the Trailer or

Buy it Online!

Buy it Online!

96 of 100 tickets!

Find Andy at:

Follow Me on Pinterest

Subscribe by email:

More posts on:



Complete Archives

Categories

  • Contests (7)
  • Fiction (404)
    • Books (113)
    • Movies (77)
    • Television (123)
    • Writing (115)
      • Darkening Dream (62)
      • Untimed (37)
  • Food (1,765)
  • Games (101)
  • History (13)
  • Technology (21)
  • Uncategorized (16)

Recent Posts

  • Happy Hibi
  • Eating Naples – Palazzo Petrucci
  • Eating San Foca – Aura
  • Eating Otranto – ArborVitae
  • Eating Lecce – Gimmi
  • Eating Lecce – Varius
  • Eating Lecce – Duo
  • Eating Lecce – Doppiozero
  • Eating Torre Canne – Autentico
  • Eating Torre Canne – Beach

Favorite Posts

  • I, Author
  • My Novels
  • The Darkening Dream
  • Sample Chapters
  • Untimed
  • Making Crash Bandicoot
  • My Gaming Career
  • Getting a job designing video games
  • Getting a job programming video games
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • A Game of Thrones
  • 27 Courses of Truffles
  • Ultimate Pizza
  • Eating Italy
  • LA Sushi
  • Foodie Club

Archives

  • May 2025 (4)
  • April 2025 (4)
  • February 2025 (5)
  • January 2025 (3)
  • December 2024 (13)
  • November 2024 (14)
  • October 2024 (14)
  • September 2024 (15)
  • August 2024 (13)
  • July 2024 (15)
  • June 2024 (14)
  • May 2024 (15)
  • April 2024 (13)
  • March 2024 (9)
  • February 2024 (7)
  • January 2024 (9)
  • December 2023 (8)
  • November 2023 (14)
  • October 2023 (13)
  • September 2023 (9)
  • August 2023 (15)
  • July 2023 (13)
  • June 2023 (14)
  • May 2023 (15)
  • April 2023 (14)
  • March 2023 (12)
  • February 2023 (11)
  • January 2023 (14)
  • December 2022 (11)
  • November 2022 (13)
  • October 2022 (14)
  • September 2022 (14)
  • August 2022 (12)
  • July 2022 (9)
  • June 2022 (6)
  • May 2022 (8)
  • April 2022 (5)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (2)
  • January 2022 (8)
  • December 2021 (6)
  • November 2021 (6)
  • October 2021 (8)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (2)
  • June 2021 (3)
  • January 2021 (1)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (11)
  • March 2020 (15)
  • February 2020 (13)
  • January 2020 (14)
  • December 2019 (13)
  • November 2019 (12)
  • October 2019 (14)
  • September 2019 (14)
  • August 2019 (13)
  • July 2019 (13)
  • June 2019 (14)
  • May 2019 (13)
  • April 2019 (10)
  • March 2019 (10)
  • February 2019 (11)
  • January 2019 (13)
  • December 2018 (14)
  • November 2018 (11)
  • October 2018 (15)
  • September 2018 (15)
  • August 2018 (15)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • June 2018 (14)
  • May 2018 (13)
  • April 2018 (13)
  • March 2018 (17)
  • February 2018 (12)
  • January 2018 (15)
  • December 2017 (15)
  • November 2017 (13)
  • October 2017 (16)
  • September 2017 (16)
  • August 2017 (16)
  • July 2017 (11)
  • June 2017 (13)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (4)
  • January 2017 (7)
  • December 2016 (14)
  • November 2016 (11)
  • October 2016 (11)
  • September 2016 (12)
  • August 2016 (15)
  • July 2016 (13)
  • June 2016 (13)
  • May 2016 (13)
  • April 2016 (12)
  • March 2016 (13)
  • February 2016 (12)
  • January 2016 (13)
  • December 2015 (14)
  • November 2015 (14)
  • October 2015 (13)
  • September 2015 (13)
  • August 2015 (18)
  • July 2015 (16)
  • June 2015 (13)
  • May 2015 (13)
  • April 2015 (14)
  • March 2015 (15)
  • February 2015 (13)
  • January 2015 (13)
  • December 2014 (14)
  • November 2014 (13)
  • October 2014 (13)
  • September 2014 (12)
  • August 2014 (15)
  • July 2014 (13)
  • June 2014 (13)
  • May 2014 (14)
  • April 2014 (14)
  • March 2014 (10)
  • February 2014 (11)
  • January 2014 (13)
  • December 2013 (14)
  • November 2013 (13)
  • October 2013 (14)
  • September 2013 (12)
  • August 2013 (14)
  • July 2013 (10)
  • June 2013 (14)
  • May 2013 (14)
  • April 2013 (14)
  • March 2013 (15)
  • February 2013 (14)
  • January 2013 (13)
  • December 2012 (14)
  • November 2012 (16)
  • October 2012 (13)
  • September 2012 (14)
  • August 2012 (16)
  • July 2012 (12)
  • June 2012 (16)
  • May 2012 (21)
  • April 2012 (18)
  • March 2012 (20)
  • February 2012 (23)
  • January 2012 (31)
  • December 2011 (35)
  • November 2011 (33)
  • October 2011 (32)
  • September 2011 (29)
  • August 2011 (35)
  • July 2011 (33)
  • June 2011 (25)
  • May 2011 (31)
  • April 2011 (30)
  • March 2011 (34)
  • February 2011 (31)
  • January 2011 (33)
  • December 2010 (33)
  • November 2010 (39)
  • October 2010 (26)
All Things Andy Gavin
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved
Programmed by Andy Gavin