The Penthouse (at the Huntley)

Us gals dining at the Penthouse

YES! This was the first time I actually got to do DineLA! Every other time I have been out of town/busy etc. I think I might have accidentally done DineLA at that French place at the Grove for lunch... so this was the first time ON PURPOSE. I was told that The Penthouse looks cool and the food is just ok. You pay for the view and ambience. With this in mind, I entered The Penthouse. The Huntley itself is a GOREGOUS hotel. The only exceptions were the pillows in the foyer which look like dead shaggy dogs. So we got a fabulous table-- one of the huge ones with the gossamer curtains, where you feel like you are having an intimate dinner experience. I asked my friend Julie if they knew I had a food blog, for surely that was why we got this table. She POINTED OUT I had not published a review in forever (which is true) and that it was probably due to her open table VIP status. Humph! Well, at least she got me to get off my lazy butt and write. Plus, my sister-in-law is posting a blog a day, so surely I can do one every six months, no? And while nobody else will read this except for maybe 10 people I know, at least I am getting some satisfaction from it. This blog helped me make it through law school, and I should let it help me get through more of my life too! Doing little blurbs on Yelp is just not the same. Ok, ok, now for the FOOD!

We all got the DineLA menu. For the first course the options were crab cakes with mustard butter and granny smith apples, lentil soup with sour cream and chives, and some romaine caper salad thing. Since the romaine salad thing seemed like a less-than-inspired version of a caesar, nobody ordered it. The soup was very flavorful, although there was not enough sour cream for my dairy loving ass, and the texture was not quite whole lentil nor puree... almost like half way through they decided not to puree it. The crab cakes were AWESOME. I love a good crab cake. ESPECIALLY one that is 99.95% crab. Yes, I had them analyzed. The mustard butter was fantastic. It was a thick sauce with mustard seeds and I almost licked it off the plate. I did scrape up as much as possible without bothering the other diners with my plate scraping noises. The apples were sliced so thinly, but still retained their juice and flavor. Quite delish overall!



Crabby cakes


The chef offered us an amuse bouche, which looked kind of like sashimi but was acutally pear. It had a great flavor and cruch, and the little dots of balsamic heaven really finished it off well.

The main course options were bass with rock shrimp tomato risotto, chicken breast with onion risotto and chicken jus, and papardelle with chicken ragu. I had the chicken breast, which was cooked PERFECTLY. One minute less and it would have been underdone. It was juicy and flavorful, and the skin was crispy and fantastic. The onion risotto had a great flavor (a bit mushy but I'm a risotto snob... I don't even like my OWN risotto) but the star was the chicken jus. It was a deep brown and packed with chickeny goodness.



Chicken breast with chicken jus


The bass was also fantastic, albeit a HUGE portion. My husband would definitely not go hungry here like he did at Church & State. The bass had a bright green sauce which we couldn't quite figure out. Was it basil oil? Parsley? It complemented the fish nicely. The fish was also tender and flaky and well cooked.



Fish delish


The pappardelle was not bad but not really remarkable. It was just a decent pasta dish. I expect a ragu to be rich and this sauce was chunky and yet thin at the same time.

Julie and I ordered a mac & cheese side to share. Imagine our chagrin when they did not bring it out until after the main course! Apparently there was some kitchen/computer issue so it didn't come out on the ticket until after the courses did, but in any case they comped it which made us happy. It was so cute in its deceptively small looking cauldron. The top was crusty and cheesy and the inside was appropriately creamy with no weird texture issues or oiliness. My only complaint was that the cheddar flavor was not the pronounced. But I will definitely order it again. Getting the texture right on that sauce is very difficult. I know, I've tried many times!



Cauldron of mac n cheese



Now for the desserts almost everyone got the white chocolate caramel tart with feilletine (sp?). From the description I assumed this would all be stacked together. Instead there was a white chocolate mini panna cotta looking thing, caramel drizzle, and little circles of not-quite-rich-enough pound cake. I think the cakes were supposed to be the fuelletine (sp?), but shouldn't that be like mille foglie??? Anyway the panna cotta thing did not taste like chocolate and was just mushy. I got the chocolate ganache with chocolate gelato and espresso powder. The coffee actually brought together all the flavors nicely, but the portion was too big and in the end the ganache was a little to jello-like for me to finish.



Chocolate ganache

The true start of the dessert course was the creme brulee. Now normally I don't order it, because just like risotto, if it is not perfect I don't want it. This was FANTASTIC! The top crust was caramelized to perfection and the underlying creamy center was perfect. The accompanying amaretto cookie and fruit truly made it perfect!



Perfect creme brulee


Would I go to the Penthouse again? Sure! However, only if it's DineLA again. Their regular prices are just ridiculous for what you get. If I am going to pay that much I want steak or Church & State (i.e. complete perfection).

Tracie's Seafood Extravaganza

You know, it's really not fair. In the dinner party club rotation, I am after Tracie. And she pulls off the most amazing 7 course dinner party BY HERSELF. Ok, I helped by peeling beets, etc., but that doesn’t really count. But how am I supposed to top her? Since I am next, whatever I do pales in comparison! There have been studies on this particular dinner party phenomenon, of having to top the person who had one before you. On to the menu…

She started us out with a nice spread of delicious cheeses and fruit, including homemade butternut squash dip. She also had this pear chutney-type thing that I kept spreading over brie on a cracker—I think I ate about 10 of those.

Then we had a field green salad with roasted beets, tangerines and feta. The dressing was a tangerine/lemon/mustard. It was SOOOO good. I don’t even LIKE beets. Apparently, I hate the canned ones, because I actually ate the entire roasted beet which was placed on my plate. Since I peeled them, I thought I might as well try one. They were sweet and still had a nice crunch to them.

Of course, no event with Tracie is complete without her delicious roasted roma tomato toasts. She made them with a lemon goat cheese spread. The tanginess of the lemon with the sharp goat cheese contrasted beautifully with the sweet tomatoes. Soooo good. (It’s no wonder I stole it for my last dinner party…. Although hers admittedly was better.)

Then we had mini crab cakes with herbed aioli. My GOD I love crab cakes. The best I ever had were at Ruth’s Chris in San Diego. Just huge chunks of fresh crab served in a pound of sizzling melted butter. Tracie’s crab cakes were definitely on par. The flaky fresh Dungeness crab meat just melted in my mouth. Also, she used Japanese panko bread crumbs instead of regular commercial bread crumbs, which made the crab cakes very light and not all bread-y (which is the mark of a cheap crappy crab cake). Also, I admit when I make crab cakes I used the canned lump stuff. If you can afford the fresh stuff, it’s definitely worth it! The herbed aioli had lemon, garlic, parsley and chives. Not to overwhelming, just enough to add a bit of crisp flavor. I could have eaten about 24 of these.

The coconut shrimp with maui mustard sauce went perfectly after the crab cakes. Sapna helped with the frying, since she’s an expert. I admit, I’m not a fan of coconut UNLESS it’s wrapped around a shrimp. These were FANTASTIC. Crispy, with a juicy delicious plump freshwater shrimp inside. Quite the treat! And the sauce was made with pineapple, apricot and mustard. It was savory-sweet just like the shrimp and was amazing! In fact, Tracie and I re-made the recipe while we were studying for finals. Trusts and Wills are much more palatable after a delicious crispy shrimp.

But the true piece de resistance was the pasta with mushrooms and pumpkin gorgonzola sauce. I actually don't like pumpkin very much. But I was converted when I went to Bologna (which is famous for its stuffed pastas... and Bolognese meat sauce obviously). In Bologna, they love pumpkin ravioli, and I just had to take a bite and make sure it was gross. Oh god, really good pumpkin ravioli are fantastic-- no matter how little you actually like pumpkin. Just think of it as orange squash, and not that overly sweet nutmeg drenched stuff they try to pass off out of a can at Thanksgiving. Oh, but I digress. ANYWAY, this pumpkin gorgonzola sauce reminded me of Bologna. Creamy, delicious, with just a touch of sweetness. With all the tons of mushrooms and onions, it was actually not that unhealthy! In fact, Tracie confessed it was a Cooking Light recipe. If all "light" food tasted that good, I might actually be a size 6 instead of a... well... you get the point. ;-)

Sorry there are no pictures, I had some but they got lost in the ether of my computer...

Vegas Redux

This blog is a little late. Apparently since I got a boyfriend, I’ve had less time on my hands. :-) So the law school girls and I went to Vegas this winter break again. Ok, it wasn’t all law school girls. Tracie and Sapna joined me from last time, and my friend Laura. We had SUCH a great time. We were all kind of frazzled from the holidays, but our excellent meals kind of made up for it.

We stayed at the MGM Grand because I got this amazing deal there. I wish I could have afforded to go to craftsteak. I admit, I’m a fan of Top Chef , and I’d love to see Colicchio’s place in action. Plus, Irene Verbila of the LA Times raved over his new LA place, Craft. Which is now on the list of places I REALLY want to go but can ill afford. And unfortunately, I am not going to be the evil kind of lawyer who starts out at $160,000 as a first year associate. But I digress. The POINT is, we couldn’t afford craftsteak, but we COULD afford ‘wichcraft. Which is the low budget sandwich place. It was just what we needed after having our obligatory shot of Patron upon landing (it’s Tracie’s fault! :-)). They had all this amazing stuff on the menu. BUT they had a prosciutto and sweet butter sandwich. This was my favorite sandwich when I was a kid. When we would go to the mountains, my mom would put butter and prosciutto on a French roll. It was amazing. I thought this was some weird Dutch Italian combo thing, but if Colicchio’s doing it, it can’t be THAT weird. Oh god, it was fantastic. I was transported to my childhood spent riding down flying saucers in Angeles Crest. Sapna and Tracie shared some fantastic panini which they let me nibble on. Kind of pricey for sandwiches, but my childhood memories are priceless, people.


Sapna at Penazzi showcasing a double magnum


Now while I myself can’t afford fancy restaurants, my dad is “connected.” Not in the mafia way people! (Sheesh, always thinking the worst of us eye-ties.) He sells wine to fine Italian restaurants all over Southern California, and many of those restaurants are opening spots in Vegas. Soo we go to Penazzi, which is owned by Gabriele Penazzi. He used to run the Harry’s Bar in Century City, and the Harry’s Bar in La Jolla. I used to visit him with my dad at both locations, and he remembered me. Plus, he was happy to host 4 lovely ladies on a slow Wednesday night right after Christmas. Penazzi is in Harrah’s, but don’t let that stop you from going there. Gabriele gave us the VIP treatment. We started with Bellinis, and then he brought out a white and a red wine since we couldn’t decide on which we wanted. We had a lovely appetizer with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, and various tapenades. Then we had Penne alla Vodka, the only cream sauce I really crave. It was delicious and tasty. THEN, we had the most amazing scallops I have had in a long time. They were succulent, crispy seared, and fantastic. They didn’t even need the sauce they were laying on. They just melted in my mouth. Mmmm. The scallops were paired with a mild white fish, halibut I believe, which was passably good but paled next to those scallops. Then, Laura wanted a martini, so our waiter brought us ALL martinis. Just look how beautiful they are in the picture! My favorite was definitely the limoncello one—but I have a soft spot for the stuff. We had a nice dessert platter which we managed to make quite a dent in even though we were “stuffed.” Then Gabriele brought us some Rosa Regale, which is a sparking red dessert wine, which Sapna loved, and chocolate grappa. Now, I think grappa is the devil. However, flavored grappa is awesome. And this was like chocolate syrup with booze. So I finished off those for everyone. :-)



Tracie loves a good martini-- just like the next girl!


On our second night, Daddy worked his connection magic, and got us into Valentino. Now you all know from my previous posts, I adore Valentino, and I the one in Vegas is my favorite. Luciano Pellegrini is the chef, and James Beard award winner. AND he came to say hi to our table. But I’m getting ahead of myself! The ladies followed my lead on wine and apps (which I appreciate—because I know what I’m doing!) We ordered the Masi Campofiorin, which is an Amarone ripasso, and I just adore that wine. For appetizers we had the most amazing oysters I have ever had. And I have had a lot of amazing oysters. They were served raw with a delicate leek sauce and precious drops of tuna roe. Absolutely perfect… they tasted like I was taking a bite out of the sea. Then we also had a mozzarella buratta with culatello, which is one of the best cured meats, an excellent tuna sashimi, and very good scallops. For our main entrees, Tracie got lobster over homemade black fettuccine in an arrabiata sauce. It was so delicious. The lobster was tender and delicate, and the black fettuccine was PHENOMENAL. It was so clearly homemade, perfectly cooked, and had that faint nutty flavor from the squid ink (which makes it balck). Laura ordered pork loin in apple cider brine, which I almost ordered myself, and it was so good. Pork tenderloin is so difficult to cook because of its low fat content, which makes it try out very easily. This was perfectly tender and juicy. I ordered veal in demiglasse sauce with fresh polenta. I absolutely adore fresh polenta, and will order almost anything if it comes with it. This veal was just delicious little morsels which I could cut with my fork. Tracie and I kept trading lobster for veal, as we couldn’t decide which dish was better. Sapna ordered a nice white fish which I took a bite of. It was quite good, but not a brilliant star like the rest of our food. Then we ordered the soufflé, which rose perfectly and was everything you’d expect. That is when chef Pellegrini came to greet us. We had mentioned we were looking for a club to go to, so Carlo Cannuscio (the manager) got us VIP entrance to TAO, he walked us right in! He said he never walks people up there, but we were VIP. Hahahaha. I’m sure he says that to all the beautiful ladies. All in all, we had lots of fun, but the food was definitely the highlight of the trip.





Laura and I enjoying cocktails at Rouge in the MGM

Vegas, Baby!

At the Monte Carlo Cafe, where we became regulars



The day after fall semester finals, three of my friends from law school and I took off for Vegas. We show up at the Monte Carlo, put our stuff in the room, and head for the in-house brewery. Tracie has a tradition in Vegas, a shot of Patron Silver all around as you arrive. Naturally, we couldn’t break tradition. And we had a bunch of greasy food at the brewery. I got the chili con carne. We shared fried calamari. Tracie got mini burgers, Katherine got a Caesar Salad, Sapna got soup (I think it was creamy clam chowder which I avoid, something about clams and cream makes me rebel). For greasy bar food, it wasn’t that bad. Plus we were really hungry after getting off the plane.

That night, I could have gone to the steak house at the Bellagio with aunt, uncle and cousins. Apparently it was amazing and they sat next to George Clooney. But, I was in the mood to hang out with my girls. While Sapna and I were taking a nap, Tracie and Katherine snuck off and entered a poker tournament at the Paris. Tracie won 4th place! So we go over to the Paris to pick Tracie up, and it is FREEZING and we are STARVING, and since P.F. Chang’s was right there, we decide to go in. It’s packed so we decide to eat at the bar. Tracie used to work at the Chang’s in Sherman Oaks, so she’s chatting up the bartender. (Who told me his name was Superman.) We all share this AMAZING bottle of pinot noir, Estancia, and Tracie and Sapna get these weird cocktails (of which Chang’s has a lot) which were actually kinda good. We started off with the chicken lettuce wraps which are one of my favorites. They are greasy and yummy, but you can convince yourself they are healthy because of all the lettuce involved. We got the salt and pepper shrimp (I could have eaten 10 servings of this), garlic snap peas (you can never have too much garlic), brown rice, and I can’t remember what else. It was sooo yummy. Just what we needed before a night of gambling in Downtown Vegas. My cousins met up with us, and fun was had by all.

The gals at PF Chang's.








Sapna turned in early, but at about 4 a.m. I demanded that Tracie, Katherine and I get breakfast. We went to the café at the Monte Carlo and had a club sandwich and an egg/bacon/hashbrown plate. Katherine told me it was the best idea I ever had. Nothing like eggs at 4 a.m. I say!



High quality food at the Monte Carlo

So the next night, we decide we needed to actually go to a real restaurant and go dancing. We head over to the MGM, hoping to go to Studio 54. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovations for New Year’s. Boo! So we go to Centrifuge, this weird bar where the bartenders dance on the tables every 30 minutes, and we chat up our bartender asking where we can get some dancing action. Apparently the only game in town is Tao at the Venetian. We decide to get food at the MGM and head over.

What do we find at the MGM? Shibuya! We ordered this mushroom amazingness dish, it was mixed sautéed mushrooms, with I don’t know what, but it was oh-so good; the ahi tuna tartare tower, which was good, and some assorted sushi. The place is tres chic, a bit overpriced, but it was good. Then we proceeded to Tao where we jumped the line because we were so gorgeous. Then we ended up back at the café at 4 a.m.




Shibuya agreed with us. We really complemented the fabulous decor.

Now, every time I go to Vegas, I want to go to Burger Bar at the Mandalay Bay! So I convince the girls this is where we gotta go. I mean, they have burgers with truffles and fois gras! I got the Kobe beef burger with a fried egg (ever since I had this at Fatburger I’ve been addicted). Sweet potato fries. Pitcher of Newcastle. Unfortunately, none of us could afford the $60 fois gras truffle burger, but maybe next time if I have a winning streak. Ironically, this was our most expensive meal!

Mmm. YAY! Nothing like good food, good times, and good friends.




Me sleeping on the plane home. Soooo attractive. Ugh! Need to start that diet!