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).

Jax Fish House Boulder

Dina enjoying a glass of wine in Jax's cool dining room

Wow. I cannot beLIEVE I have not updated the blog since November. Shame on me. Perhaps it is because nobody reads this so what is the point? BUT I do have about 2,000 hits, and that can’t be just from people I know. Plus, this last year of working and paying student loans has been culinarily uninspiring, especially since I have been trying to save money! But, let’s face it, I just love food too much. AND I was inspired by Julie and Julia. I actually have a lot in common with Julia Child, it was quite funny. But okay, onto the review!

My coworkers and I had to go to Boulder for training. As a fan of Top Chef , I immediately decreed we would have to go to Jax Fish House, since last season’s winner, Hosea, is the executive chef there. He was not there, but some people think that means the food is better. (Read the review to see if I agree).

The menu at Jax







Delicious oysters!

We started off with some divine Hama Hama oysters. That doesn’t really involve cooking, just the ability to get good oysters, but I was pleased. They were small, plump, and fresh, tasting like the Pacific Ocean.




Skillet cornbread

We also had this DIVINE skillet cornbread with honey butter. I just love cast iron skillets. It’s the best way to brown a chop and the best way to make cornbread. And what is cornbread without honey butter? I think that is why I don’t like jalapeno cornbread. It doesn’t go well with honey butter. Oh yeah, and I hate jalapenos. Ha!


We also ordered the Maryland blue crab cakes which came with a spicy creamy tobiko-horseradish sauce. The crab cakes were great, full of chunks of crab, and not too bready. I just took a lil bit of the sauce since horseradish overwhelms my palate.




Maryland Blue Crab Cakes





Sauvignon Blanc






My pretty but crappy scallops

Now of course, there were New Bedford sea scallops on the menu with crispy prosciutto, spring peas, and morel bread pudding, so I HAD to order it. Dina is also a huge fan of any kind of bread pudding, savory or sweet, so she ordered it too. It looked amazing, but the execution was poor to say the least. The prosciutto was good, but there was only one little square. The scallops were acceptable, they were about 5 seconds undercooked, but that was forgiveable. Sadly, what should have been the piece de resistance, the bread pudding was not good at all. And the mushy sauce under it did NOTHING for the dish. It was kind of like baby food (or what I imagine baby food would taste like haha), it was mushy and lacking in flavor. The morels in the bread pudding were sandy, and the pudding itself was bland. The spring peas on the side were crispy and fresh, but WAY too salty. I think all the salt that should have gone into the bread pudding went on the vegetables. It was a sad little plate in the end. At least I had this beautiful Sauvignon Blanc (picked by Renita) to drink and dull my pain. I just don’t understand how the morel bread pudding was so awful, especially since it’s offered as a side on the menu.




Dale's amazing lamb duo

Unfortunately everyone else chose really good dishes! (Well, I guess fortunate for them). Dale got the Colorado Lamb Duo which was AMAZING. I was super jealous and wished I ordered it. It came with a loin chop & a braised shoulder, polenta, rapini and gremolata. The shoulder fell right off the bone and the loin chop was perfectly cooked. I guess when you go to a fish house you shouldn’t order fish??






A rethinking of a classic nicoise

Then there was the seared Ahi with grilled romaine, olives, quail egg, potato, and caper dressing. It just screams nicoise (which I LOVE) and it was super tasty.

And to top it all off…. Mystery fish!!! I don’t remember exactly what this was, but it had to have been better than my scallops.




Mystery fish!




Fun with crayons at Jax




The Boulder Crew! Christine, Dale, Me, Dina, Renita, David

All in all, Boulder is a great town (my almost husband is from there). And I did go back to Jax for their $1 happy hour oysters. Overall the food was very good, albeit pricey for Boulder. Whatever you do, stay away from the morel bread pudding and scallops!!! And if you EVER see Hosea there, tell him to get out of the kitchen.

Osteria Mozza

Me, Julia, and Julie at Osteria Mozza

Hello all, I am back to blog after my pre and post-bar sojourn. I know you missed me! ;-)

So Julia and Julie are my co-food gourmet gourmands. We love to try all the new hot spots here in LA. When Osteria Mozza opened about a year ago it was IMPOSSIBLE to get a reservation. Even my DAD couldn't get in. However, last spring Julie managed to get us in! (She's crafty). We also went with Rania and Ken. Even though we had a reservation we still had to wait 45 minutes for a table!!! If I were Irene Virbila, I would have just left. But, they did provide two rounds of this delicious amuse bouche with fresh mozzarella and black olive tapenade, so this persuaded me to not get pissed off.



Yes, that is my beautiful hand and blazer



Julia and I waiting for our table, and happy we have wine

I started with the grilled octopus with potatoes, celery and lemon. It was delicious! It's reminiscent (i.e. practically identical) to Agostino Sciandri's version (which can be found at Caffe Roma and Sor Tino). But I love it! My mom used to make octopus with lemon and garlic when I was a kid-- of course none of my friends wanted to eat it, but I knew it was delicious!



I get so happy with Octopus on my fork!


Julie got the Bufala mozzarella with pesto, salsa romesco, tapenade & caperberry relish. WOW! The pesto and tapenade were definitely my favorites. And if this place can't find a good mozzarella, nobody can.



The four sauces

Everyone else just got salads, which were tasty but not extraordinary (because I can't remember them, haha!)

For my second course I had the Grilled Quail wrapped in pancetta with radicchio & sage honey. O. M. G. I love quail. And perfectly cooked quail is almost impossible to find. AND deliciously and crispily wrapped in bacon?? I was in heaven.



Grilled Quail wrapped in pancetta


Julia ordered the Bucatini all’Amatriciana. Amatriciana sauce is a spicy tomato with pancetta, it's one of my favorites! The thing is, if you have not been to Italy, how would you know that? I had to translate the whole menu for everyone.



Bucatini all’Amatriciana


Julie got the Maltagliati with duck ragu, which was fanstamical! I love duck ragu. It's really the only way to have duck, a very oily and low meat bird. But stew that sucker for many hours with some delicious pasta sauce ingredients, and it's delizioso!



Duck ragu


Rania got these vegetarian ravioli with a saffron cream and ramps (related to leeks). They were a special and they actually were... well, special! The sauce was delicate enough to highlight the interesting flavor of the sautéed ramps.



Yummy ramp ravioli

Ken got a steak which looked awesome, but I didn't taste it.

But I had to save room for desert! This is Nancy Silverton we are talking about. And wow. But not wow in a good way. I could not BELIEVE how subpar they were. First off (let's do the bad news first): Piccolo Budino Caldo di Cioccolato. It says it comes with bourbon gelato, but it tasted like straight grappa (which is this nasty stuff Italian men pretend to like because it grows hair on their chests). The chocolate cake itself was great... but it was just a great molten chocolate cake... which you can get at many chain restaurants. So I get it, they wanted to make it more hip and interesting, but the super alcoholic gelato was not a good choice. And THEN they top it off with SALT! I know that making saltier deserts is a big thing, but actually sprinkling salt (and this was not a delicate fleur du sel, it was actually table salt) all over a desert is gross. I actually stopped our waiter, I assumed it was a mistake, and said, "this has salt on it," and he assured me it was supposed to. Gross! It took me out of my desert savoring moment and wondering what the hell they were thinking. Originality is not always a good thing when it comes to food.




Beware of the salt!!!!

Onto the next dessert: Panna cotta on top of a berry tart. The panna cotta was delicious. The berry tart, was very Italian, but the pastry was not that flaky and it just lacked flavor overall, and contrasted with the lemony flavor of the panna cotta in a way that made me think once again, "what were they thinking?"



Panna cotta with mediocre tart

The only thing we really liked were these delicious fried crispelle, with delicious gelato and Nocello soaked raisins.




The only desert I would order again



I see now they have kind of revamped their desert menu, but if I were you, I would ask for no salt.

Bottom line is, this place has good food, but for the price, I would rather spend a little bit more and go to Valentino, or spend about the same and go to Osteria Latini. You're just paying for the celebrity chef factor and they aren't even there.



Rania and Julie, just happy to be fed

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

CUT

The four of us gorgeous ladies, Rania, me, Julia and Julie



I first heard about CUT from my friend Steve (of Nicole’s Gourmet Foods), which was voted Best French Market by Los Angeles Magazine! (Congrats Steve!!!) I’ve been a big fan of the magazine ever since they called my dad “wine guru.” For a while, I was trying to get him to pitch a reality show with him as the main attraction, and I thought we could call it Wine Guru. I mean, if you’ve ever met my dad, he is completely irreverent and hilarious, and you can learn about wine while you laugh your butt off!

Anyway, Steve said CUT was Wolfgang Puck’s new steakhouse, it was good, blah blah blah. Honestly, I think Wolfgang Puck is kind of a sellout. I like his place in the Venetian, Postrio, because they have lobster burgers. I think technically it’s called “the lobster club with bacon.” But I mean, he has his own line of coffee. What the hell does he know about coffee??? Okay. Rant over. But after I saw CUT made it on the LA Weekly’s 99 Essential Restaurants inn LA List I knew I had to go. Because my New Year’s Resolution for 2008 is going to be to visit every restaurant on that list, and I need to get a jump start otherwise I’ll never be able to afford it. AND (one more plug for Los Angeles magazine) they voted the potato tarte tartin as one of the best steakhouse sides in LA. Just a word of warning though, it's located at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, so be prepared to see MULTIPLE Lamborghinis out front, high class Russian hookers, and lots of Persian people.

To start off the night, we get drinks at Sidebar *insert lawyer joke here*, while we are waiting for our table. It’s very sleek and chic, just opposite the foyer from CUT. This is where we saw our first Russian hookers. They looked good, though. I’d say, $1000 a pop, minimum. The martinis were about $15, but were really tasty. I wanted to order a Bellinissimo, but they were out of peach juice or something. I love Bellinis because they come from Harry’s Bar in Venice. So the Bellinissimo was basically a Bellini (peach juice and champagne) with some top shelf booze thrown in. I can’t remember the name of what I ordered, but it was vanilla vodka with lime and champagne. I didn’t think vanilla and lime would work very well, but the cocktail waitress recommended it. It was an interesting flavor match, very aromatic. Totally different, and quite tasty. Julie ordered something that tasted like straight tequila, and Julia had a subtly fruity martini. Only about 3 crusty 65 year old men tried to talk to us, so it wasn’t THAT bad. Oh, and they give you the best bar munchies. Marinated kalamata olives, wasabi peas, and housemade honey roasted almonds, among other things. Way better than some pretzels on the bar which have been there since 1984.




Rania, Julie and I at CUT

The weirdest thing about CUT by far is the “beefolier” part. I guess beefolier is supposed to be like a sommelier, but for beef. So they come to your table with like 6 cuts of beef, nicely stacked and wrapped in napkins. I think they do it to upsell the Japanese wagyu, because he kept pointing out the “superior marbling” when compared to the American wagyu. Of course, if I had $100 to spend on 6 ounces of steak (no, I’m not exaggerating the price) then I would have ordered it. I REALLY considered it. But normally, I’m expecting to drop $100 on an ENTIRE steak dinner. But for just the steak? I’m still a starving student here, people. And look, I know I’m eating a cow. I like meat. But I really don’t want to see a bunch of chunks of raw beef at the end of my table. Sorry!

So, we finally sit down, and I want to share the American wagyu porterhouse with Julie, and she’s down. I love porterhouses. Filet + New York = What’s Not to Love? But No-o-o-o-o, we get the 21 day aged Illinois porterhouse instead. Because they have run out of the American wagyu. On a Friday night. I mean, really??? Anyway, for a New York, it was pretty good. I used to always order New York steak when I was a kid because I was born in New York, and I thought I should support my peeps. Nowadays, since it’s kind of a fatty cut, if it’s not really high quality, I’m not into it. I’m just a filet kinda girl. And this filet mignon was AWESOME. It was perfectly grilled, cooked, and seasoned. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but that’s because I’ve had filets of better quality. But they did an excellent job with what they were working with. Plus, it’s fun to order a porterhouse because they make such a big deal about the presentation. The guy comes to your table and chop chop chops it all up. I think one of the secrets to the flavor is the steaks are grilled over hardwood and charcoal, and then finished in a 1200 degree broiler. Kinda hard to replicate at home.

Now for the sides. We order the tarte tartin, because all the cut reviews rave about it (and everyone at the table is following my lead on this stuff). But, I don’t know WHY this is be-all-end-all of steakhouse sides. It was merely ok. It was crispy and a little greasy. Definitely not the best side in LA. I also ordered the chantrelles, because I LOVE them. However, when the dish arrived, I asked, “Where are they?” Because there were about three chantrelles with a bunch of waxy green beans. The true side star was the grilled corn. It was AMAZING. I ate the whole thing after everyone got a taste. The corn was really fresh and crisp, and then smoky from the grilling. Very simple, but perfect. We also got the white polenta with parmesan which was passably good. It was a little too creamy. Maybe they added butter or there was too much cheese? The flavor was good, but it was thisclose to being gluteny. Of course, I’m picky about polenta. Nobody makes it as good as Mom does. ;-)

Now for the desserts. Of course, we ordered the chocolate soufflé. Holy crap. It was FANTASTIC. It came with this cocoa gelato, which was okay, kinda lacking on the sweetness. But this soufflé, OMG. It was rich, and flavorful, but not too heavy. I could have eaten about three of them, even though I was really full. I also wanted to try the Boston cream pie dessert, since that is my favorite doughnut. Unfortunately, it was a disaster and I’m sorry I was the reason we ordered it. The top was solid chocolate, which was too thick to break easily with a fork and didn’t work well with the spongy cake and really thin layer of pastry cream. I felt bad, because the girls were following my lead on the ordering and I came up with a couple of duds. Julia and Julie ordered coffee, and it smelled divine. Maybe Wolfgang does know a thing or two about coffee. Yes, we’re on a first name basis..... kidding!!!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JULIE (with the ill-fated Boston Cream Pie)

Shiro South Pasadena

Everyone at Shiro


Last week for my friend Claire’s birthday, her parents took her to Shiro in South Pasadena. I was lucky enough to be on the invite list. I had never even heard of this gem, right in the same plaza as Lucha’s Comfort Shoes, a store I frequent because I’m a granola eating hippie when it comes to shoes. I started out with the Chinese Ravioli. They are stuffed with shrimp mousse and come in a shitake mushroom cream sauce. They were divine. I ordered them because Ruth Reichl adored them. She is my idol. I <3 Ruth Reichl. I wish I could BE Ruth Reichl. For those of you who *gasp* don’t know who she is, she’s the editor of Gourmet Magazine (of which I am a subscriber) and she used to be the NY Times food critic. I have several of her books. We share our knack for food memory. But I digress... back to these divine ravioli. Now, the pasta part was a little more reminiscent of a won ton wrapper (although made with wheat durum flour), but the filling was absolutely divine. Flavorful and light all at the same time. There was a generous heaping of shitake mushrooms which were just a tad bit firm for my taste, but very fresh. The sauce was made with about 2 cups of heavy cream, so it was tasty. They even serve it with a spoon so you can savor every last drop. However, I figured by not licking up the sauce I saved myself about 600 calories. Claire ordered the tuna sashimi, which looked really fresh. Apparently the chef goes to the fresh fish market every morning to pick out the evening’s catch (although the fish market is not open on Sunday... so this was not morning fresh. But still good.)



The most amazing catfish you have ever tasted


Apparently for the main course the thing to get is the whole sizzling catfish. Our friend Jason ordered it and let me have a bite. Oh mi god. HEAVEN. Even the little pieces of crispy ginger accenting the cuts in the fish were tasty. It just melted in my mouth but still packed that big catfish flavor. And there were crunchy cornmeal bits. I was so jealous. They serve the fish whole, with head and all, but they kind of artfully cut it up so it’s easy to eat. And they kind of cover up the head with parsley if you’re weird about that stuff. (See, the picture above is not that bad!) I would definitely order it the next time I go (and there will be a next time!) I ordered the Australian John Dory (a flaky white fish) which came in a champagne curry sauce with divine prawns. I was so full, but I still ate it all. And when Claire couldn’t finish her lobster, well, I had to oblige. It was fabulous. Succulent, just a smidge undercooked to make sure it didn’t get tough. So good. And Jason’s fish came with au gratin scalloped potatoes which must have come from heaven. The best I’ve ever had, hands down. No weird congealed milky cheesy bits (which I can never seem to avoid when I make them myself... anyone have tips?), and the potatoes were perfectly cooked, they were firm enough not to fall apart, but cut easily with the edge of a fork. The potatoes, like the shitake sauce, had about 2 cups of heavy cream... but I would have licked the sauce if they were mine. ;-)



Claire and her Momma

Now, I know I said I was full. And I was. But the dessert menu was just too tempting and everyone else was ordering... so I bowed to peer pressure. Not like they had to twist my arm or anything! I ordered the Grand Marnier Baked Peach with Vanilla Ice Cream & Caramel Sauce. WOW. The peach still had the skin on it, but since it was poached in Grand Marnier it actually ADDED to the flavor of the peach without the weird texture ramifications I expected. And the ice cream. MMMMM. Vanilla bean. I bet from Madagascar. :-) Although I hear Kenyan vanilla is making waves lately... once again I digress. Even though I was ridiculously full I ate the whole dang thing. Alona ordered the chocolate torte soufflé which was not a soufflé at all but a poorly executed flourless chocolate cake. Booo! At least the waiter explained it wasn’t really a soufflé when she ordered it. I swear, no place makes good flourless chocolate cake anymore! The restaurant I used to work at in San Diego, Trattoria Positano, had amazing flourless chocolate cake. I guess Amalia should sell her recipe or something. Anyway, bottom line is Shiro is amazing. It’s not cheap, but anything worth eating is worth paying for in my book. :-) Luckily Claire’s parents thought so too, so I had one of the best free-to-me dinners EVER. I only wish Claire had birthdays more often!






Claire and Jason as she makes a wish

AGO West Hollywood

The Magnolia crew, some of whom accompanied me to Ago



So we go to Ago, arguably the best Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. (And I can argue, trust me, I’m a proto-lawyer.) Ago is constantly in Us Weekly (last week Madonna and Guy Ritchie went there). The night we were there, only Ariana Huffington and Eric Benet showed up. But normally it's good for some celebrity spotting. Juju (a.k.a. Julie and Julia) have a Wednesday night tradition of going out to fabulous dinners. Sometimes they let Danny and Steve come along. Now I was eavesdropping on their conversation during one of our many nights at Magnolia, and they said they wanted to go to Ago. Now, I actually KNOW Agostino Sciandri (the chef/owner). I went to his daughter’s fricking wedding people! And I know all the waiters, since they are old timers who worked with my dad at Madeo, Perino’s and the Rex. So, I tell them if they go, they have to take me so we can get VIP treatment. And we did!

I arrive, and Stefano, the manager, greets me Italian style (kiss kiss!). Michele is there (who married Ago’s daughter, so I went to his wedding too I suppose). We go to our table, and who is our waiter? SAVERIO! I have known Saverio since I was a kid. In fact, he used to live at our house in Glendale. I made his bed one day, and he said in thanks he would buy me whatever I wanted. I told him I needed a two-wheel bike because I was getting too old for my tricycle. And of course he had to buy it for me. Ah, the manipulative nature of little girls. *sigh!* Frankly, it’s a wonder that anyone reproduces, SERIOUSLY. Ok, ok, now for the food!

I split the burrata appetizer with Jordan, with green beans. MMM. I love a soft gooey mozzarella, and that’s exactly what a burrata is! Steve and Julia had mozzarella caprese, which was also very high quality mozzarella (and Steve should know, he’s in “the business” of cheese). Danny had like, a green salad (lame! I mean, c’mon!). Julie and Morgan had white asparagus which they shared with the rest of us luckily. Drizzled with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and grated Grana Padana… FABULOUS! I love white asparagus when they’re done right. Unfortunately if they are done WRONG they are stringy and tough… these didn’t even need a fork. I love white asparagus especially because they are a specialty from my dad’s region in Italy. That’s why all the farmers there drive Mercedes Benzes. They have the white asparagus monopoly. Yay abolition of antitrust!

For entrees, Steve had the lamb which was THE BEST I have EVER tasted! It didn’t need a knife, it just melted, the flesh was thick and juicy. MMMM. Julie and I are carnivores, so we both got the wood burning oven seared Ribeye. It was tasty, but a little too burned on the outside (wood can be hard to control, and we ordered medium rare, I mean, it shouldn’t have been charred) and the cut was a bit fatty. Ribeye should be nicely marbled, not fully of nasty fatty chunks. Julia had the spinach agnellotti in a butter sage sauce, and we all know I BRAKE for butter sage sauce. Morgan had the grouper over artichokes with cherry tomatoes, which was flaky and delicious! The sauce was simple and flavorful and really worked with the delicate nature of the fish. The funniest part of the grouper was Saverio’s description of it as a “deep sea fish” to which he used his hand to explain DEEP in the sea. Danny had the grilled swordfish which was SO amazing. OMG. However, ever since Kitchen Confidential all I can think about swordfish is it’s teeming with worms and they die when you cook it so it’s OK, but I really don’t order it anymore (it used to be my favorite after shark… which now I can’t order because I’ll get mercury poisoning… ugh!) Jordan ordered the homemade linguine with lobster. The lobster was tasty tender and infused with flavor, but the pasta left a lot to be desired. The best Italian restaurant in LA can’t make a decent pasta? Are we serious people? GET IT TOGETHER!!!!

And dessert was a little bit of everything! They just brought over a platter, on the house! Tiramisu, banana tart, strawberry tart, walnut apple tart, ricotta cheesecake, mixed berry tart, and chocolate tart. My favorites were the tiramisu (Mario’s recipe which they still use even though they allegedly fired him) and the ricotta cheesecake. For wine we started with the Antinori Peppoli Chianti (which is great to order in a crowd since it pleases EVERY palate), and two bottles of Brancaia Il Blu. I love the Brancaia, bold, full, and great with a huge steak. And all our wine was COMPED. (I said VIP didn’t I???) AMAZING!!! Oh, I forgot to mention the homemade bread and focaccia. The focaccia had a nice flavor, but was a little dry, even with all the EVOO slathered all over it. Overall though, the meal was SOOO good, even AWESOME. The best part of course, is the company you bring with you to your meal. I love you guys!!! ;-)

Roy's

There was a Roy's Hawaiian in La Jolla when I used to live there. I heard it wasn't that good, so I never went there. Then, my friend's sister and her husband went to Hawaii for their honeymoon. They went to Roy's and raved about it, especially the Ahi Poke. But I was still not convinced enough to go the one in La Jolla. However, I work down the street from the Roy's in Downtown LA (on Figueroa), and so does my attorney uncle. So when he offered to treat me to lunch at Roy's, I jumped at the chance. (The picture at right is one of the selections available, which I personally have not tried.)

As you enter the restaurant, about 5 people say Aloha to you. This might be cute in Hawaii (and I wouldn't know since I've never been), but in LA it's downright annoying. But at least they have made the most with the small space, with a "tropical" decor (bamboo and weird flowers). And we got a kind of crappy table by the kitchen. But I digress. The food should be the centerpiece, no?

The menu changes all the time (so our server claimed) and they have a large variety of fresh fish. I ordered the bento box so I could get a nice sampling of what they had to offer. The first thing I tried was the Ahi Poke, since my friends raved about it. It's fresh diced Ahi, marinated in some yummy soy sauce wasabi mixture, crunchy smelt roe, and avocado (which came in big chunks so it was easy for me to pick out) :-). It was sooo good. The fish was so fresh, and the silky smoothness of the tuna was a great complement to the tangy sauce and crunchy smelt roe. Roy’s calls the smelt roe “Tobiko Caviar,” which is probably Hawaiian fancy schmancy for smelt roe. Let’s call a fish egg a fish egg people.

The next thing I tried was some mild whitefish (probably sea bass) in a weird sauce. It was purple-black and light. It was too light to be pureed black beans, and it didn’t have a lot of flavor. The fish was fresh, but it was so mild and the sauce didn’t have a lot of flavor. So I didn’t even finish it.

The third compartment had a delicious Chinese chicken salad. The chicken was lightly breaded and crispy, and the salad was really like an Asian cabbage slaw in a tangy dressing. Very tasty!

And last but not least, the charbroiled and braised short ribs. WOW. They sure know how to make their piggies taste good in Hawaii!!! The meat was marinated in a yummy teriyaki like mixture, and just FELL OFF THE BONE. MMMM. And my big complaint with ribs is that they are too fatty, but these were perfect, meaty, hearty, and sweet and sour all at once. I’m never going to Tony Roma’s again!

Valentino Las Vegas

Older review:

Okay, so last weekend I went to Vegas with my sister. It was awesome. We flew and stayed at the Luxor for $200 pp. :-) The best part though, was my Dad gave me the thumbs up to use the Amex at Valentino to treat ourselves to a delicious dinner sans parents. I was super excited to go, bc my parents said the food was even better than the Valentino in Santa Monica (as if that's even possible), and the chef won a James Beard Award. So, it was a bit of an adventure getting there. I thought it was at the Bellagio (all those WOP names sound the same) but it was in fact at the Venetian. So we had to huff it, and Sis was in hot shoes (I of course, was not) so her feet were on fire, and we were late, and apparently Daddy didn't make the reservation. Whatev, it was Monday night (albeit Memorial Day) and there was plenty of room. Now, I saved the menu (okay, STOLE the menu) but now I can't find it, so you'll all have to rely on my memory of this delicious meal.

It was surreal actually looking at the menu, since I've never seen one (Piero, the owner, just brings out lots of plates). Sis and I decided to get the tasting menu that didn't have escargot (gross!) and fois gras (Sis likes it, but I don't think it's worth the calories).

So, first course was 3 tastes of appetizers. One was this shrimp on top of shredded marinated asparagus. Ohmigod. It was the perfect shrimp. The outside was crispy, but the inside was plump and juicy. Then there was duck, which was OK, but Sis didn't like it. It had some demiglace sauce. Then there was a lobster morsel on some beet salad. Ohhhh... this lobster was tender succulent juciness. I wish I got to eat the whole thing, not just a morsel.

Next was pasta course. Sis liked this course the best. There was a lobster cannelloni. The filling was good, but the stripped (black and white fresh pasta) outer wrapping was a little too firm. Then there was fresh garganelli (weird homemade pasta things) with a fresh tomato sauce, and some delicious cheese which I can't remember the name of. Must have been French. ;-) Then, we had the best gnocchi EVER. (Even better than Trilussa back in the day). It was stuffed with quail sausage, and was AMAZING. Sis doesn't even dig sausage and she was slobbering over it. I love sausage, and I love gnocchi done right, so this was perfect. The gnocchi was tender, the sausage juicy... MMMM.

Then, the meat course. There was this nasy kobe beef roll with pinenuts and pancetta. It was gross. The kobe beef was tough and stringy, and kind of looked like shaved roast beef. The pancetta was overcooked, and with the pinenuts it was just gross. (And kobe is normally AMAZING!) But then there was this piece of pork in a simple demiglace, and I don't know what part of the pig this little slice of heaven came from, but it was delish. Kind of fatty, but tender, juicy, and flavorful. Then, we had the most delicious piece of squab I have ever had. In fact, it was one of the best peices of meat I've ever had (almost as good as the kobe beef I had at Rocca delle Macie in 96). The squab just melted in my mouth, and had the outside was perfectly seared so it was crispy but retained all the juices. It was topped with fois gras, and Sis refuses to eat squab, because it's really pigeon (and as I was eating mine, she was making cooing noises. Quite amusing acutally. It did not deter me from my pigeon feast. I told her if sewer rat tasted like lobster I'd eat it too.) So we did a little trade, squab for fois gras. I think I got the better deal. She of course made me take a bite of the fois gras. It just tasted like pureed liver. Oh yeah, that's what it is. And for $100 and 1000 calories, it's NOT WORTH IT. And don't you feel bad for the little force-fed goosies? Nah, me neither.

On to dessert. MMMM. I am a big dessert person. Unfortunately most places don't have a pastry chef, and just order their stuff from Bindi. Just bc something has a lot of sugar and fat in it doesn't mean it tastes good. Okay, it tastes GOOD, but it could be amazing with just a little more effort. So I love dessert, but I'm picky. I'm also a bit of a baker myself, so I am entitled to a bit of snobbery. So I was not dissappointed when we got our dessert course. There was this praline semifreddo croccante (which frankly I think was hazlenut, but whatev) which was amazing. It was ice-cream esque, flavorful, creamy without being too rich, crunchy... mmmm. Then there was this orange muffin thing which was kind of weird, but it rocked when I dipped it in some vanilla sauce. Then there was this panna cotta. O. M. G. I love panna cotta. (It's sort of like a custard, but it's made with gelatin so it's not as high in fat). Mmm.... it had shaved vanilla particles, and it was CREAMY, and cool melty goodness in my mouth. Then there was pricky pear sorbet (wtf?) which was good, but I'm not into sorbet. Not caloric enough probably.
Then I finished off our bottle of Masi Campofiorin, and proceeded to make bank playing Pai Gao.

LOL, there was this old white dude sitting next to me at the table, who said to me, "I think Pai Gao means screwed in Japanese." I said, "it's Chinese, asshole." Okay, I didn't call him an asshole. But still.

Brunch at the Ritz

Oysters. Caviar. Omelet Bar. Sushi bar. Lobster claws already shucked. Seared ahi with more caivar. Crab cakes. Lemon custard tart. Sausage. Stinky cheeses. Jumbo shrimp. Cheese blintz. Chocolate croissant (not worth it). Prime rib. Champagne. MMMMM. It's not every day my Gma turns 88. I thought it was a much deserved study break. Would... write... more... but... too ... full.

Osteria Latini

Yes, more food blogging. I really can't get inspired about anything else. So last night I went to Osteria Latini with my parents (the truth is, my current budget only accommodates Del Taco, so if I want to eat well, gotta go with the parents). It's this small restaurant in Brentwood on San Vicente, not too far from SorTino. (Mmm. Best tiramisu there. And wild boar... but that's for another post.) SO GOOD! I have only been there once before because it's always full. (They have like, 12 tables or something ridiculous like that.) The owner/chef is from Fruili, the region north of the Veneto (where my Dad's from.) Wow. Lots of parenthesis. If my current parenthetical mood bothers you, suck it up.

Anyway, Paolo (chef/owner) starts us off with some mashed potatoes on spoons topped with Sevruga caviar. He set the dish down at our table, and told us it was baby chicken eggs. (Ha!) Apparently this is the correct way to serve certain types of caviar. I, sadly, know jack shit about caviar, except that I like it (although only when I don't have to pay for it). Ohmigod. The potato/caviar combo was soooo good. The salty creamy goodness just melted in my mouth. I savored it for 5 minutes while my parents wolfed theirs down.

Next course was lobster salad with cantaloupe (interesting choice, but it worked) hearts of palm, and arugola, in a balsamic vinaigrette. It was a delightful sweet/sour combo. Plus it had a whole lobster in it. Mmm. This was also served with a delicious cold meat plate, with speck, mortadella (which I didn't eat. It's Italian bologna. Gross) shaved parmesan and goat cheese. The speck was sliced so thin it melted in my mouth. More melty salty goodness.

Then we had these tiny fresh pastas (not quite mini ravioli. I think they are called capucetti or something) with veal in a delicious butter sage sauce. But, I am really a brown butter sage sauce fan. So this non-browned butter sauce was thick. It must have cream in it. While the ravioli/capuwhatevers were deliciously fresh, the sauce just made me fantasize about how good it would be if it was a browed butter sauce. When I told my dad this, he said brown butter is bad for your liver because it's burned, or some other Italian old-wives' tale such bullshit. He's obsessed with the fact that burned food can give you cancer. Too much "carbon." Yet he takes meds for BP, cholesterol etc. Whatever!!

Onto the main course! I had pan seared John Dory (fish) on a bed of course ground polenta (which was good, but lacking in salt) and spinach. It was very tasty, and had a crispy crust which I couldn't quite identify. My dad had venison in a balsamic reduction with cranberries. Really tender for venison. My mom had wild salmon, which I forgot to taste because I'm not a huge salmon fan. All this was accompanied with a Poliziano Rosso di Montalcino (a light alternative to Vino Nobile). We ended the meal with some passably good biscotti. At least they were made with real butter. But ever since I had the biscotti at Pane Vino in Santa Barbara, all others are flavorless.

So, happy reading. And invite me the next time you go someplace fancy shmancy to eat. :-)

Valentino Santa Monica

This is an older review:

For those of you who know me, you know I have a HORRIBLE memory. For those of you who know me really well, you know that the only way I can remember events are by what I happened to be eating at those events. For example, I remember the first time I ever had truffles (the fungus kind). It was Christmas Eve '94 at Toscana. Mmm. Black truffle ravioli in a brown butter sauce with shaved parmesan. (Yeah, if this law school thing doesn't work out, I'm going to work the food critic angle.)

What is the point of all this rambling, you ask? Well, last week I ate at Valentino, arguably the best Italian restaurant in LA. [Osteria Latini in Brentwood is a close second.] And I felt I should write about it not only because it was so good, but because I tend to actually forget what I ate at Valentino because I've never seen the menu and debated over choices. (The owner just keeps bringing out courses for us.) So, we started with an anitpasto plate with "parmesan chips" which are really delicate sheets of shredded parmesan, Italian olives (I forget what kind), and whitefish carpaccio. Then there was cured venison (I think like a bresaola.) Then we had jumbo grilled prawns wrapped with swordfish, the shrimp was cooked just right, not too tough or stringy. Then there was a trio of ravioli (TO DIE FOR) with prosciutto, squash, and I think the third was wild boar. Then we had venison risotto (it was okay, but I'm super picky about risotto.) Then we had this AMAZING filet mignon. I was really impressed with the perfect grill marks. For desert we had assorted gelati and pretty good homemade cannoli (but I'm not really into cannoli).

So anyway, I guess I was just wishing I was at some really expensive restaurant instead of sitting here attempting to write my legal memo. And if any of you have any restaurant recommendations (outside of Italian) I'd love to hear them. I'm always looking for my next favorite place.