A Few Words About Reviews

Before I start posting my opinions, let's get a few things straight.
Everyone eats. We have to. Each of us has our own unique palate. What some consider their favorite foods may be other's least favorite.  

So how is it that we trust other's opinions about restaurants? Are reviews really a useful tool for discovering a great place to eat?

I'm not going to attempt to answer these questions.  What I am going to do is attempt to write reviews designed to open up discussion about a particular restaurant. 

Also, let me be honest here; I'm not compensated in any way for my food writing.  I don't solicit invitations to restaurants hoping to get free food and offering them free publicity.  Without a corporate budget to support my dining habits, I find it difficult (or impossible) to eat through an entire menu before I make an opinion on a restaurant. 

I'm a social eater.  I like to go out and eat.  I like good food. I like good service. I like restaurants to be clean and have a comfortable atmosphere. 

I also love to hear from others about their experiences. What is YOUR opinion? Really, I want to know!
So, please, comment - tell me what YOU think! 

REAL Italian in the South Bay

I took a friend out to dinner last night for her birthday. She lives in Redondo Beach and wanted seafood. I headed towards Hermosa Beach and brainstormed along the way. I really wanted Italian food. Then I remembered Il Boccaccio at Pier Plaza in Hermosa Beach.
I discovered Il Boccaccio after eating their lasagna at the MBEF wine auction three years ago. One bite and i was hooked! They make the best lasagna I've ever tasted. They use homemade pasta sheets and a rich meat sauce and creamy ricotta which give it a hearty lusciousness that is addicting.
So we headed over to the Pier Plaza and walked right in. People who live in the South Bay know that the Pier Plaza is a party area. I think of it as a frat party for those in the 30-50 year old range. There is always loud music coming out of the various bars. The rent is high and these places pack them in and pour the liquor liberally.
But Il Boccaccio is not like that, in any way. It evokes the feeling of a small family run restaurant in Italy. The menu is simple and contains the basics of Italian food from many different regions. However, the specials are what really makes this place stand out. They are seasonal, freshly prepared and always changing.
We ordered the fennel and blood orange salad. The classic combination of flavors was fresh and clean.
I couldn't resist the Pasta Puttanesca made with FRESH anchovies. I love oily fish and these were very tender laying on top of a bed of angel hair dressed with tomatoes and capers. Another classic combination, this one made even better with the big juicy anchovies.
My friend ordered the grilled scallop special and seemed to really love them as they were gone by the time I looked up to ask her how they were!
Before leaving we chatted briefly with the chef/owner (Joe?) and let him know how happy we were to be enjoying a wonderful meal prepared by those who care - rather than being part of the cacophony that was going on just outside on the plaza. He appreciated the comments and we loved the evening.
Their website is a bit outdated, but don't let that stop you from going. If the website was all up to date I'd be worried that they weren't concentrating on the food!

Belgian Waiter with Attitude

He saw me taking pictures and wanted one of himself. So he posed and I took it. He really would have preferred that we sit and eat an overpriced seafood dinner at his restaurant, but we didn't.

Le Gavroche - Table Tally

Dinner at Le Gavroche was as Parissienne French as it could possibly be. The tiny place was packed and the one waiter kept a tally on each table of what was ordered. This picture shows our tally as well as a bottle of one of their house wines from the Rhone region of France.

New Japanese in MB

We walked downtown yesterday and had a late lunch at Sashi: Sushi + Sake. This place has been open for a few weeks but this was our first time trying it. Sashi is located in the Metlox Shopping area in downtown Manhattan Beach. On Sunday afternoons there is live music in the patio which contains the outdoor seating areas for Petro's, Shade Hotel, and Le Pain Quotidian. We had a great few of Incendio warming up and then playing their first set.

The boys order the kid's Bento Box and Tempura Udon Bowl. We start with an order of the Jalapeno Yellowtail. Bruce has the Angry Chicken and Sashimi combo and I try their Miso Black Cod and a stir fried beef dish.

The free concert sets a relaxing mood. It's a good thing too as the service keeps us waiting. The Yellowtail comes out in about 10 minutes. One of the kids meals quickly after that. But it's another 15 minutes before the remaining three entrees arrive at our table. In the meantime our waitress, or any waitstaff at all is non existent in the patio area. When she does appear, she drops something off and then runs away.

The food is tasty and well prepared. I find the stir-fried brown rice served on each dish to be a bit off the mark. Next time we'll have to ask about plain steamed white rice. Everyone enjoys their lunch.

We'll have to try again, perhaps when the live music isn't distracting the wait staff???

Paris Eats Part II: Le Gavroche

Before we left on our trip to Paris, we choose a list of restaurants where we wanted dinner resevations for the whole trip. I didn't want us to get there and be scrambling for a place. I wanted a nice selection of establishments, both fancy and simple, located all across Paris, so that we'd be able to experience different neighborhoods and types of restaurnts. Truly in Paris there is a difference between a cafe, bistro, brasserie and restaurant (although don't quiz me on the brasserie vs. bistro one!).

Le Gavroche had a favorable review in the Pudlo restaurant guide and was described as an inexpensive bistro serving fabulous French classic dishes.

The place is very tiny with a small bar as you enter which holds maybe five people. There are tables pressed against one another in typical Parisian fashion which hold an additional 20 or so people in the main room. There is a second room which holds perhaps another 10. Similar to Hier et Aujourd'hui, there were only two people running the place two men, one in the kitchen and one in the front of the house.

We definately got to know your neighbors as we were seated eight inches away from them in either direction. The English men to my left talked loudly as if wanting us to chime in with our opinion. The single guy to my right was content eating and drinking in silence. I did notice that he had the same copy of the Pudlo book as we did, nice choice!

The local feel made me nervous at first, would we fit in? The menu made me relax because as promised it held all the French basics I wanted to see... escargot, fresh anchovies, charcuterie plates, pomme frites, steak with peppercorn sauce, etc.

We patiently waited for the waiter's attention and then blasted our order at him... big plate of escargot, marinated white anchovies, carrot salad, tomato salad, and a charcuterie plate. I loved the old fashioned way the waiter kept track of our order by writing directly on the butcher paper covering our table. We loved the wine choices. There were several wines from Beaujolais that had a proprietary label on them. We chose a Fleurie and Julienas over the course of our meal.

The escargot were good, everything was good. Not fabulous, but delicious, simply prepared classics. It all really hit the spot, we had been craving good French food and this delivered the food and the very Parisian experience I wanted.

Our entree's were equally basic, filling and well prepared. I had a grilled sausage salad, which was a bit gamey but, after borrowing the mustard from the English men's table, really perked up. The pork with Dijon sauce was deemed a hit by my husband and the veal with peppercorn sauce was perfectly cooked and disappeared quickly.

I ordered the Baba Rhum for dessert which Pudlo recommended and it was wonderfully moist and delicious.

While waiting for l'addition, the solo waiter stopped by to pour my husband and I one more glass of red wine, which we gladly accepted. At this point I knew that we had managed to fit in with the locals. We found that if you enjoy food, wine and a true French meal, which we certainly did that night, well then the Parisians are going to respect you and your joie de vivre.

We stumbled out of our tiny table and took a picture of the chef in his tiny kitchen and he was happy to ham it up for the photo. They were certainly proud of the ambiance, food and experience they had shared with us that night. We were happy to have been there and I'd go back anytime!

Le Gavroche
2nd Arronidssement
19, Rue St Marc 75002 Paris, France
ph. +33 1 42 96 89 70‎

Paris Images: Hier et Aujourd'hui

Paris Eats Part I: Today and Tommorrow

We choose to eat at Hier & Aujourd'hui (In English: Today and Tomorrow) based on Pudlo's recommendation. The restaurant had won his year's Value for the Money award and we were anxious to see if it measured up to our expectations.

Hier & Aujourd'hui is located in the 17th Arr. - way the heck north in the outskirts of Paris. We took the Metro as close as we could and then walked and walked and walked trying to find the place. The neighborhood we passed through on rue de Saussure was the most un-Parisian we had experienced. It was very quiet, not a sole walking the streets. The area is filled with large apartment buildings most of which appeared to have been built in the 1960's or 70's. It seemed to be a bedroom community and there was no street-life to speak of. When we reached the huge train yard we knew we were close. We arrived at 8pm and were the first patrons to be seated for the night.

The place is simple and charming with dark wooden tables on a slab concrete floor, swaths of gray and white linen soften each table setting. A huge slate wall serves as the menu. The meals are all prix fixe here. There are five appetizers, seven main courses and five desserts to choose from.


The place is small, seating only a maximum of 40 people. I imagine this is the perfect size seeing that there are only two people running the entire place. One woman runs the front of the house which has one seating a night. One man is in the kitchen, quite methodically cooking and plating each dish. It's a marvel of hard work, focused calm and attention to detail which pull together to make this place seem bigger, more special than it's simple appearance.

The hand writing on the slate wall is difficult for us to read and our poor French makes things even more difficult. But we muddle through. Two of us order the beef entrecote as a main course, another a roasted fish fillet and I choose the slow cooked pork with pistou. For starters two spinach salads, the seasonal white asparagus with egg and I go for the gusto with the foie gras pots du creme (Pudlo had suggested it.).

The service is very French. We wait a long time to place our order, but by this time in the trip we have come to relax into the slow pace of a French meal. While we wait for our first courses, a beautiful country style terrine of pork and duck is brought to the table with a spreading knife sticking out of it, it isn't sliced, we're brought the whole thing still in the terrine in which it was cooked. A basked of fresh baked bread and a crock of cornichons round out the wonderful start to the meal. The terrine is perfectly seasoned and the bread is warm and just dense enough to hold up to a thick slathering of the meaty goodness. The cornichons add the perfect balance of acidity to wash away the fatty richness left in our mouths. We could actually make a meal out of just this... but alas we have to share the terrine. As our starters arrive the terrine is brought to the next table of patrons. An ingenious, if not hygienic, way to feed many in a simple manner.

The spinach salad has shards of a spicy cured meat laced throughout and has a creamy dressing. What seems a simple salad had obviously been well thought out, the spicy meat wakes up the spinach and the dressing pulls them both together. It's quite addicting and it's shared around the table. The white asparagus are wonderful, huge, perfectly cooked and dressed with French scrambled eggs and a creamy cheese which offers a tangy taste to offset the richness of everything else on the plate. The fois gras pots du creme arrive in two shot glasses. They are filled with thick creme and topped with a rich clear jus. Spread onto a thin toast or just spooned into the mouth it offers an explosion of foie gras flavor and creamy texture. It is so rich that I can only eat one and offer the second to Bruce who then offers me the second half of his spinach salad - a good deal for both of us.

Our main courses did not disappoint either. The beef entrecotes were large, perfectly cooked and well seasoned. Served with a lovely Lyonnaise potato salad neither serving could be finished as the portions are very generous.

The pork I ordered, rather adventurously as I didn't really understand the description on the board, is a simple and homey dish served in a bowl. It's pork shank that has been slow cooked and taken off the bone. It's served in a rich broth with large tender white beans, and cubes of carrots and zucchini. A basil pistou has been swirled into the broth offering a fresh flavor that brightens the whole taste. I was thrilled with this dish because it's something I can easily make at home and each bite is like the best home cooked meal you've ever had. Lovely!

For dessert we ordered one chocolate mousse, two yogurt, fruit and graham crumb parfaits and one baba rum. The mousse was light and fluffy served in messy large scoops onto a plate. Chuck inhaled it so quickly we could barely get a taste. Bruce loved the yogurt and vowed to eat his yogurt this way every day once we got back home. The Baba Rhum was served with a dollop of chantilly cream and was a bit dry. The entire bottle of rum, made in Martinique, was brought to the table and with a generous pour over the top, the cake and whipped cream became palatable enough through my rume induced haze.

We sipped coffee and espressos as we waited to get the waitresses attention for l'addition (check). This took quite a while as by this time every table was full and she was hustling calmly between each of them, serving, bussing, chatting, etc.

Pudlo certainly did not disappoint with regards to this fine establishment. The food was simply delicious and very affordable compared to most any restaurant we sampled in Paris. It's worth venturing out of the center of Paris to experience this wonderful spot as well as the unique neighborhood in which it resides.

Pudlo for Paris

Hands down the best choice we made before leaving for our Paris trip this spring was purchasing the Pudlo Paris Restaurant Guide. We used this book for every restaurant choice we made. Before we left we used it to make a list of our desired dinner reservations to give to our concierge. On the trip we used it to look up places with great food that weren't too expensive, for our lunches.

The book is organized by arrondissement and uses symbols to give details such as fancy or everyday, expensive or affordable, and whether the food is exceptional for the amount paid.

Our best meals, with the most Parisian ambiance and very local feel as well as great traditional French food were chosen directly from Pudlo's best food for the money choices. The worst meals we endured in Paris were found when we went on our own without any Pudlo guidance.

The Pudlo book is similar to both the Zagat and Michelin guides. Similar to Zagat as it is written with authoritative opinion and direct quotes from the reviewers (Pudlo uses a team of people to review each restaurant). Similar to Michelin in the breadth of detail and local flavor given to the guide (you need to know the article for the name of the restaurant to find it in the index - le? la? l'?).

We ended up destroying our Pudlo Paris book during the trip. It was my husband's idea. Why not rip out the pages you need for the day and just put them in your day pack? This worked like a charm as the book itself is quite large and heavy. We tore out pages with abandon and left the tattered shell in the trash of our George V hotel room on the last day. The book comes out yearly, so clearly we'd need another one for our next Parisian adventure.

It's well worth the expense!

My last bite from Mozza

I just finished a light lunch of roasted beet and horseradish salad and bruschetta with salt cod puree and olives. It was just lovely. These were the last bites of yesterday's late lunch at Mozza. My husband and I took two 8 year old boys with us to our reservation at 4:30pm on a Sunday. I had to make these reservations 3 weeks ago.

In fact, my plan was to get our family together with another foodie family and to have a great pizza family fooding adventure. Only it didn't go that way. It's a long story, but the fact is that Mozza will not accept reservations for parties over 6 people. It is a small place. I've since discovered that they have a private room, so for a price, they will allow a larger group to enjoy their great food.

If you don't already know, Mozza is the hot new pizzeria which is a Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali collaboration. This means incredible dough, pastry and breads combined with the best of regional Italian cooking along with handmade cured meats done the old-fashioned way and provided by Mario's father.

It's a tiny little place at the corner of Melrose and Highland Ave. This corner has been begging for attention for years and it's great to see the place all abuzz.

We ordered the two items I mentioned earlier, the beet salad and the salt cod bruschetta, as starters. The boys wouldn't touch them, but we found them excellent. The boys loved their pizza margherita, ordered without basil. They both were quiet for about five minutes while they devoured them.

Bruce and I shared the white anchovy with roasted hot peppers - incredible, lovely clean pickley fish flavor from the anchovy balanced with sweet heat and creamy texture from the roasted peppers pulling it all together.

We also tried the fennel sausage pizza with roasted onions. This one was sweet and oh, so savory. The sausage chunks were dark brown and crunchy on the outside and moist and flavorful inside. The sweet onions just put it over the top.

The dough was, as expected, incredible. Just light enough to have a great crunch and just weighty to hold up to all the great ingredients. I'd make reservations again, just to have another pizza from here.

Another reason to come back would be the caramel and the butterscotch desserts. Oh, wow. The butterscotch Bundino has been mentioned in a few articles, reviews, etc. But we really thought the caramel dessert was even better. The carmel had the crunch of cookie, the incredible sticky cloud of homemade marshmallow, the rich and creamy caramel ice cream and then the salty peanuts sprinkled over the whole thing and sinking into the various textures making craters and being coated by each sweet concoction. MMM.

Mozza really lived up to all the hype. It was worth the planning and although it wasn't the lunch I had originally planned, it was still quite wonderful.

New York Image II - Daniel Birthday Plate

This was my birthday dessert course at Daniel.

Bruce-a-lot (New York Part V)

We awoke to a cold morning and cigar breath. We washed away the remnants of the night before and bundled up for a new adventure. We decided to go back to The Cupping Room for breakfast. It was a Sunday morning and the place was packed. Young couples, old friends, and families with children in tow were lined up in the bar awaiting a table. We lucked out and were seated at the last table for two. We ate quickly and then caught a cab up to Central Park. I had decided that I couldn't go to New York City and not visit the park. On our first night in the city we could see one corner of the park, while we dined at PerSe. But I wanted the real experience, a walk in the park.
It was still cold when we started our walk and we kept our jackets closed and walked quickly through the mostly deserted park. We passed many of the famous landmarks of the park. Each new scene we came upon made me think of all the movies and television shows I had seen with these vistas as the backdrop. Similar to places in Los Angeles, these were landmarks that the world recognizes, but these places truly are familiar and part of home to some. And here we are soaking in it; New York City, breathing it in.
We wander over to Rockefeller Plaza towards the Theater District. We had tickets for the afternoon matinee of Monty Python's Spamalot at the Schubert Theater. Rockefeller Plaza was in the midst of being decorated for the coming Christmas season. The tree was erected and had scaffolding surrounding it and going up... what seemed like 100 feet high. There was a Santa Clause in the FAO Schwartz building, looking out on the scene and waving at the crowds below. People idly ice skated about below and we decided we'd had enough of this scene. We walked on towards the Schubert in hopes of finding some food before the show started. We came upon Sardi's and had to take the opportunity to check it out. Sardi's is an institution in the Theater District. It's where theater people have eaten for generations. There are caricatures all over the walls boasting the long tradition of theater. Well, the place was a mad house, crazy busy. They were quick to seat us, but then we were ignored in our little corner table. Ten minutes clicked by and we were never seen by a waiter. We spent our time laughing at the out dated menu and ridiculous prices and just about crying for the sad people who had saved their money, come to New York to see something on Broadway and someone tells them that this is the place to get the best true theater dining experience. The over worked waiters and tattered room make the place just seem sad and shabby. We walked out. We decided to do the real NY thing and eat a hot dog off the cart down at the corner. The hot dog was perfect... well the idea of the hot dog was perfect, the dog itself was bland and not Kosher beef, which I prefer.
Bruce and I are not into musicals. As a young musician in a youth orchestra he was often called upon to play all the Broadway favorites. He knows his Music Man from his South Pacific and he hates them all with a passion. Their simplistic melodies and repetitive nature are enough to drive a young mind to join a Punk band.
I however found musicals very entertaining, when I was 12 years old. That was when I tired of them as well. My mother subscribed to the local civic light opera and dutifully took her daughters to see all their productions. I think of musicals as entertainment, for children.
So Spam-a-lot might not seem the obvious choice of things for us to do during our trip to NY, but we are both big Monty Python fans and I thought it would be cool to see it in NY before it was sent around the country (the deal for which had not been announced at the time of our trip).
I bought great tickets from an online broker. We were right up front to the right in about the 3rd row. The play was very funny and well done. I even loved the costumes, beautiful dresses are one of my weaknesses.
Near the end of the play, at just about the climax of the show, a large artifact is unveiled on the stage and needs to be interpreted. I stared at that thing as the cast bantered back and forth "CIOI? C101? Chaio?" "what does it mean?"
I leaned over to Bruce, "That is your seat number."
Bruce just has a chance to feel under his seat to see if there is something there, when...
At that moment one of the cast members jumps down into the audience, pulls Bruce from his seat, dumps the holy grail into the seat and proclaims Bruce to be the "Best Peasant". Bruce is pulled up on stage, the cast sings a song to him, a picture is taken, an award and certificate are given to him.
I am in shock. I can't even take a picture, Bruce had the camera in his pocket. A nice lady sitting next to me in the audience took a picture and my address (she really did send us the snap shots too!).
Bruce returns to the seat, and he's in shock too. Wow.
After the show ends, the cast is selling items as a charitable fund-raiser. We buy the poster signed by the cast and while we're standing at the booth buying it, Bruce was asked to sign another person's poster, so that it has the "whole cast".
We wander out and catch a cab back to the hotel. Wow, this has become an incomparable city adventure.

Tiffany and The Sopranos (New York Part IV)

We awoke groggily with Champagne hang overs and vague memories of making plans to go to a racetrack. Our friend called to arrange a time for us to meet them at the owner's boxes. We looked up Aqueduct online and found it located roughly between Queens and Brooklyn out near JFK in an area described as Jamaica, Queens. It looked like an adventure.
We were hungry to start the day and had heard many good things about Balthazar and decided to walk by and see if we could get in for breakfast. It was packed, people pouring out the door. We continued our walk through SoHo and then slowly north and ended up at a place called NoHo Star and it was great. Clean, great creative menu, hot tasty food, what's not to like? But it was getting close to lunch time by now and we needed to do a little shopping before hitting the track.
Bruce had promised me a little Tiffany gold for my 40th birthday gift. We also needed to pick up a sport jacket for him to appease the turf club's jacket-required dress code. So we hopped in a taxi up to the big Tiffany & Co. store on Fifth Ave. and speed shopped for some beautiful gold jewelry. We found what I wanted rather quickly and then wandered around the store diamond and people watching. We loved looking at the over the top super duper pieces and even asked one of the workers to hold up a piece (similar to this one) to let us see if it makes tinkling noises when the chains bump into each other (no real tinkling was detected). Finally, our pieces had been placed in cloth pouches and the pouches into hard hinged jewelry boxes and the boxes put into Tiffany blue cardboard boxes and wrapped with white satin ribbon and wrapped into tissue and put into a bright blue Tiffany & Co. shiny paper shopping bag. Whew, thank you, beautiful, let's get out of here. Over to...
Hugo Boss, speed shopping now, we only have 1 hour to get out to the track. We wander up and down through the store and eventually find something that will work fine. We go to pay and now our fine financial institution has decided that this isn't a normal day of shopping for B&V and wants us to jump through a few maiden name hoops before allowing us to pay for the jacket, remove the tags from it and put the Tiffany jewelry on before jumping into a cab and heading towards Queens.
There is traffic, tons of traffic. It takes forever. Our friend calls to make sure we are okay. We eventually get dropped off by the cab on the wrong side of the track. The entrance is closed, but Bruce uses the information we have and inquires through the cheap bourbon fumes wafting out of the booth "It's Bruce and Vickie, we were told you'd know us and that we shouldn't pay the $2.00 fee?" The guy looked at Bruce like he was nuts and pointed at the old yellow school bus turning around just in front of the booth in the parking lot. We got aboard and it took us around to the main entrance and we found the turf club entrance. They DID know who we were and didn't even ask for the fee, just rushed us upstairs to meet our friends, but not before asking if we were with the Soprano party. Baffled, we rushed upstairs and to the restroom before asking the host to seat us. He promptly asked if we were with the Sopranos. We said no and thought it a bit strange that now two people had asked this same mysterious question. We followed the host to our table... just past, oh my god, it's them, Tony, Paulie and the guys - the four tables behind us filled with the cast of the Sopranos show on HBO. They were there celebrating a birthday. We did our best not to stare but did manage to get a few pictures of each other with Tony in the background. The races whizzed by and neither Bruce nor I won much if any money. We did have the opportunity to meet and become acquainted with the trainer for our horse. He is from France and travels around the world with his horses, visiting some of the richest places on earth and flying on specially configured airplanes. When it was time for the big race of the day we moved down to the paddock so we could watch the race from ground level. We met the jockey and the horse. The Soprano's horse was running against ours and so the guys were all down at the track rubbing shoulders with us. I'm sure it gave them a thrill. Luckily our horse did NOT win, but neither did the Soprano's horse, so we all left the area without incident.
Bruce and I did our best to get out out of there fast in order to get back into the city for a dinner reservation at Daniel. But when we take the school bus to where we think a subway station should be, we are encouraged, by the policemen attending the exit, to return to the club house to call a cab. So we board the bus again and when we get to club house we run into our friends from the owners table. They board the bus with an adventurous attitude toward the subway station and we follow like good little tourists.
One of the friends is a NYC native. She calls the port authority to ask when we should expect a train and where would be a safe place to change trains on our way back to MidTown Manhattan. I remove my Tiffany jewelry and put it in my purse, but I'm still holding my bright blue bag which seems to at this point be glowing and pulsating. Our train arrives and the cast of characters couldn't have been better. All colors, all shapes, all sizes, hair nets, tattoos, piercings, but my favorite is a guy with a golden bicycle. Bruce offers up his seat to a few people and gets a few takers - what a nice guy!
We emerge, three trains and 50 minutes later, three blocks from our dinner reservation at Daniel. I stop outside the door to put my Tiffany gold back on, smooth down my hair. We enter a jewel box of calm sophistication. They bring us to a corner table which is in a beautifully colorful tent. It's luxe in every way. They bring a small plush seat for my purse and I try to remember where I have dined that has done this before (I still can't remember). They make Bruce keep his jacket on, house rules, even though he is over-heated from the quick walk to the restaurant. They treat us like kings and we indulge in a wonderful meal. The wait staff takes a liking to us and recommends a place called Lexington Bar and Books for an after dinner drink and a cigar. Ah, what a great suggestion.
We waddle out of the restaurant and up to the bar. We are buzzed in and seated at a cozy table. We indulge in cognac, single-malt Scotch and a cigar each. Wow, what a day. Wow, New York City!

Places Debbie has Worked (in reverse order)

Della Fattoria, Petaluma, CA
Domaine Chandon Restaurant, Napa, CA
Carneros Inn, Napa, CA
Hurley's, Yountville, CA
Bouchon, Yountville, CA
French Laundry, Yountville, CA
Four Season's Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
Campanile, Los Angeles, CA
Patina, Los Angeles, CA

New York Part III

Our first full day in New York was gorgeous. It was crisp and sunny outside, the perfect Autumn day. We had decided on the plane that we had to go see the Borat movie during our trip. Before we even went downstairs to breakfast I had looked up show times at a few theaters and picked one a good walk away from our hotel.
We made a serious effort to eat breakfast at our hotel. We were seated and then ignored. We were starving and didn't think the service would improve anytime soon, so we left. We walked down one block and found the perfect breakfast spot. It's called the Cupping Room. They make all their baked goods on site and we were not disappointed by anything we ordered. It's warm and cozy with a real local feel to it.
Once fortified with coffee and food we proceeded on foot towards the East Village. We arrived at the City Cinemas Village East theater just in time for an early afternoon showing which did not disappoint but made us writhe in our seats with laughter.
After the movie we were free for the afternoon and wandered through Chinatown and Little Italy with a few stops for shopping down Elisabeth Street. We found a wonderful vintage handbag store and Bruce was kind enough to indulge me while I looked around and picked out a beautiful brocade clutch about 2' long from the mid 1960's.
We rushed back to the room with our purchases and changed for dinner. We had to meet a friend for dinner at Wd-50.
The friend we met for dinner has a home in Manhattan Beach and we met her about a year ago. She and her husband get along with Bruce and I famously. They travel - A LOT - and she happened to be scheduled to be in New York during our visit, so we decided to make a date to go out together.
Wd-50 is a very trendy restaurant with a chef, Wylie Dufresne, who is quite famous for being one of a handful of pioneers in tech-cooking. These new chefs us techniques and chemical processes to create stylized food the likes of which most of the world has never seen (other than Spain and if you have to ask why Spain, well then you shouldn't bother going to Wd-50!). These new food warriors can take any liquid and create stable liquid balls - like caviar. Or thicken any sauce, hot or cold, to the exactly desired consistency. Sousvide is also hugely popular. It's a hot water bath that you place plastic wrapped food into and it cooks very slowly and without any browning to change the flavors of the ingredients within... tender pink precious meats are the result.
We had a heck of a time finding the place and it's in a somewhat dodgy neighborhood. But if you know Bruce and I, you know we have no problem handling ourselves in just about any neighborhood, so we just kept walking back and forth until we found the place. It looks almost like a diner inside with basic booths and a few pieces of large art on the walls. Our friend was waiting for us.
We had a marvelous meal of de-consctructed foods that were described as dishes you know and love but were transformed on the plate. It was all tasty, well prepared and the service was good too. In fact the waiter was so nice that we got to talking about food and drinks. He was impressed by enthusiasm for a creative cocktail and gave us the phone number for a very cool bar called Milk and Honey located on the lower East side of New York City that you have to make reservations for to get in. And you can't just look up the phone number either, you have to be given the number by someone 'in the know'. So now, we are appearing pretty hip in this big city! (Side note: we never did get to try Milk and Honey as our schedule just didn't have time to fit it in.)
By the end of dinner our friend had talked us into meeting her and her friend (a race horse owner) at the owners box for some horse racing out at Aqueduct the following afternoon. We didn't have any plans for the day and we thought it would be an interesting if not unique experience. Wow, were we right.
We left our friend that night after dinner and returned to our room. Bruce had an arrangement of orchids delivered as well as a bottle of nice Champagne. Such a nice guy!
Stay tuned for part IV - The Sopranos!

Gassata or Naturale?

I'm returning to the La Sosta Enoteca/Bottled Water Tab Padding issue. I saw a friend yesterday. This friend and her husband are Italian. I told them about La Sosta Enoteca in Hermosa Beach and about my previous article. I mentioned the bottled water issue and how they really seem to push it, so don't be afraid to just say "No!".
My friend surprised me. She said that in Italy they only serve bottled water at restaurants so the custom is to ask which you prefer, sparkling or flat?
Whoa, it's a cultural thing. I will no longer say a disparaging word about the staff at La Sosta with regards to their bottled water obsession.
Perhaps the issue may now rest?

New York Part II - Per Se

The flight to New York was uneventful. We snacked lightly looking forward to our huge dinner at Per Se. It was raining when we landed and the taxi ride seemed magical as we watched the skyline get closer and closer.

We were dropped at the SoHo Grand and checked in. The new cruelty has a tight hold on this place. The lobby was so dimly lit that I couldn't see across the room. It had an industrial feel to it and was smartly decorated with creative flair. But no one even offered to show us to our room or help with our baggage. We were on our own and it certainly wouldn't have taken any one's help to find your way around the minuscule room... but it did have a view over the corner into TirBeCa with all it's quaint water towers.

We spread out, unpacked and put on some music, got dressed and were ready to go to dinner. The taxi ride was blustery and the city lights were blurred by more rain. We were dropped in front of a large elegant corner mall overlooking a corner of Central Park. Per Se has a decidedly sophisticated city-sleek air about it. It's in stark contrast to the charming warmth of the French Laundry, Keller's other flagship restaurant. But the entrance into Per Se gives a nod to the garden courtyard on the property of French Laundry in Yountville, CA with a few wooden benches, an archway entrance and flower beds which I'm sure are used as a waiting area on busy nights. That night however, there were no crowds. We seemed to be among the last to arrive for the night, our reservation being for 10:30pm.

I'm not going to go over each dish here, I just won't . I can't remember it all and there were LOTS of courses. I believe we opted to add in the fois gras to our menu. We had wines paired with each course. Everything was wonderful. I spotted a crosne on at least one dish (article to follow). The only dish I had a problem with was the lobster. I always have problems with the lobster. I couldn't eat the lobster at French Laundry and I couldn't eat the lobster at Per Se. They were just too tough. Poached in butter, but as far as I'm concerned, too tough to eat. Yuck. But the rest, phenomenal. The service? Fantabulous. Absolutely attentive but only as chatty as you'd want them to be. They could tell we were excited and happy to be there and they were too!

We rolled out of there around 1:30am. Taxi'd back to the room to pass out. Day 1, done.

Names will have to be changed

We belong to a club. I'm not going to specify the club but I will say that it's a casual place that we get to about once a week and we have a good time there.

There's only one problem with the club. It's the food. It's boring. Some of it is decent and perhaps on a good night there may be a few quite excellent steaks and chops coming out of the kitchen.

But the menu has always bothered me. It's schizophrenic; going from diner special type entrees to steak house favorites but in such a haphazard way that it just seems sloppy.

Well last week I had (or perhaps forced?) the opportunity to go over the menu while sitting down with the manager of the front and back of the house - Mike. He was a real sport. I attacked the thing head on. "It's flabby", "trim it down", "make it seasonal", "do monthly or at least quarterly specials", "rotate dishes to create anticipation", "what about drink specials - perhaps give the bartendresses a chance to highlight their skills?". Mike listened like the veteran restaurant worker he is. He's experienced, he knows good food when he sees it, and he believes he's serving his clientele well. And who am I to argue? He's right, I have the book learnin' but no practical experience.

Well, no more. This week, Mike is letting me into the kitchen and we're working on a special appetizer to run together. I'll work with his kitchen staff and we'll see how it goes. I'm planning on letting the guys do what they know how to do. I'll simply work out the recipe and plating with them before service starts for the night.

Bacon wrapped Scallops with Bourbon Sauce

Bourbon
Soy Sauce
Maple Syrup
Dijon Mustard
Ground Black Pepper
Bacon Slices
Fresh Scallops

I'll work with the guys and we'll find a blend of the bourbon, soy, syrup and mustard for a marinade. I'll mix up another batch and cook it down until syrupy. The reduced one will be used as a sauce on the plate.

Avenue Report for March

Well Avenue has still got it. We had a fabulous dinner there on Thursday. We shared the fois gras as a starter. They always have a fois on the menu. When it is a seared preparation, we love to order it with a glass of Sauternes, both to share now that we're watching our weight. A few bites is all you need and this month's fruity accompaniment made for a savory, sweet and rich sensation.
The owners know us by name now and Teddy was very sweet and gave the two of us the big booth in the corner with mirrors. We had never sat there and while that may not seem an interesting point about our evening... it is. The corner booth allows you to see the whole restaurant surreptitiously. Bruce was spying on everyone, people watching at will. Teddy pointed one of their investors eating in a booth by the front door...all very interesting.
Our waiter's doppelganger, the bus boy, served me the wrong entree and I tore into it before they could whisk it away to the other table. I didn't order the Elk, but wow, it was wonderfully tender and juicy. I had ordered the lamb loin, for the side dish (roasted eggplant and espelette{a small roasted red pepper}), but ended up with carrots and the elk. The staff were very kind and brought me a plate of the vegetables from the lamb dish and they were smokey-licious.
Bruce ordered the two way pork dish. The shoulder was fall-apart tender and the soubise was the star of the dish. Soubise is an onion enriched stock based sauce. The tiny diced onions were cooked down to tender sweetness. The only problem was that the sauce was a bit too sweet to match with the wine.
Yes, we're watching our weight (fluctuate wildly when we eat like this) but we didn't turn down the free dessert Teddy brought us. We had the chocolate cake with marshmallow spoon which is a lovely cup of moist cake and the perfect way to end the meal.
Once again, we are so thankful for the quality of food available at Avenue. Love it.

Where to eat next, that is the question.

Around this time each week my thoughts begin to wander to date-night and where we should eat this week. There is always a list in the back of my mind of places to try or revisit. In fact, there are many lists of places to eat based on subcategories like: go with the children sometime, or when we're in the neighborhood, or new place, need to try.

So, which will it be this week? I'm leaning heavily on a top contender in the local favorite as well as changing monthly menu categories: Avenue Restaurant here in Manhattan Beach. We are so thankful that Christian and his wife Teddy have chosen Manhattan Beach for their flagship fine dining restaurant. There truly is no one else creating an entirely new seasonal menu each month here in the South Bay. Served in a fine dining atmosphere that is both polished and casual, parents in flip flops rubbing elbows with lawyers in suits on the banquette, everyone enjoying the Shaffer hospitality.

I'm going to hit opentable and see if we can get in tomorrow night!