9.13.10

Canteen - BBE strikes again. As a food nerd, not only did I love the food at Canteen but I found it very exciting to watch chef Dennis Leary in action. Canteen is a pleasantly intimate restaurant, boasting a total of 19 seats. We sat at the counter and I happily peered over into the kitchen and watched Leary and his two sous chefs concoct our dishes. The menu changes each week and consists of 4 first courses, 4 entrees, and 4 desserts. They also have a succinct and quite reasonably priced wine list from which I enjoyed a citrus-y chenin blanc (Vinum Cellars "White Elephant").
We ate:
Sweetbreads succotash - the sweetbreads were lightly breaded and fried and served with a buttery sweet corn succotash accented by an elevated version of bacon bits. The sweetbreads were by far the best I've ever tasted, light and flavorful and perfectly complemented by the corn and bacon.

Wiener schnitzel (think breaded pork not dodgy fast food hot dogs) with horseradish and cabbage salad served with a chopped egg. This dish seemed very traditional and straightforward, executed perfectly. The schnitzel was crunchy, light and moist , while the horseradish provided a nice bite cushioned by the creaminess of the sauce.

Summer Beans Cassoulet with chanterelles and goat cheese - a tasty dish but not exactly what one expects when ordering a cassoulet. I expect a hearty french dish that has been simmering for approximately 3.5 weeks but this was a light salad-like dish of fresh beans sprinkled with a little goat cheese. Good but didn't really constitute a meal.

Dessert - normally I have the willpower to say no to desserts but I saw butterscotch pudding and my knees buckled. I will never be able to eat a jell-o butterscotch pudding again. Perfectly creamy accompanied by a generous dollop of thick whipped cream - the perfect dessert for a canteen.

9.8.10

Final LA blog (for this trip) - Blue Plate Oysterette

I know I just went to Blue Plate butttttt we were in the mood for easy seafood and had never been. The newest addition to the Blue Plate family (of two) is in amazing location, right on Ocean with a view out to the palisades. They have dressed it up with a light beachy feel and put a few picnic style benches outside to enjoy the weather and the people watching.

We ate:

- shrimp cobb salad - generous portion, as Blue Plate is wont to do, and very tasty. The shrimp were cooked perfectly with no iodine-y flavor and the dressing was zesty and not too heavy.

- fish tacos with grilled mahi mahi, cabbage and a cilantro aioli, accompanied by fresh pico de gallo and guacamole - The fish tacos were surprisingly delicious. The fish was cooked to perfection, very moist and flaky, and the aioli was delicious (didn't taste at all like they had squeezed mayonnaise on the tacos) and the whole thing had a nice mild spice. The only weak part was the guacamole which tasted like they had used slightly overripe avocados but I don't want to take away - it was great. Closing thought - straightforward and easy to eat, perfect beach food. mm

9.6.10

Canelé, Atwater Village - great. They have a long open kitchen that is remarkable in that all the chefs look up and smile at you when you walk in, and not cheesy, mass factory smiles, but pleasant natural smiles AND it is even more remarkable in that all the chefs are focused and calm - no yelling, no visible madness, just cooking and enjoying.

We ate: farmers market salad (lush lettuce but a little lackluster as we had to have components removed due to an onion-family 'aversion' at the table :). I should also mention that they serve the most fabulous dark crusty bread that would make the French proud. For our mains: boeuf bourguignon with buttered noodles - more like what I think of as a beef short rib dish but with a nice hearty wine-y quality, roast chicken with socca (a speciality of southern France, socca is a chickpea crepe/cake, having had no former experience with socca, this was great with a nice crunch and Mediterranean flavors), French feta and harrissa, annnndddd I got a delightful arctic char with herbed couscous, baby beets, avocado and a sort of raita (yogurt, dill, & cucumber).

Dessert: we were feeling gluttonous so we got two: buena chica cheesecake, which was a generous sized individual cheesecake that tasted very traditional but not overly sweet, and fresh mulberries with creme fraiche ice cream and two gloriously buttery cookies. I am not one to order dessert out really because I have very base desires when it comes to desserts (ie oreos and costco apple pie) but the cheesecake was quite good. I felt compelled to order the mulberries because I love them and you hardly ever see them on menus because they are so fragile and don't last long at all once picked, these mulberries were nice but a little tart and had lost a little of their luster from bush to plate, but still it was fun. Canelé, I look forward to visiting you again.

Here is a little article from a Bon Appetit blogger who got to work for a day in the kitchen at Canelé and he has a picture of himself with the chef/owner Corina Weibel, who was one of the pleasant smiling faces I saw when I walked in - take a peek.

9.2.10

Based on my recent posts I feel like I am writing Super Size Me, unfortunately it appears I just crave burgers on a much too frequent basis. Thus, here goes another entry chronicling my burger binge.

Blue Plate -
I ordered: the burger (obviously) with sharp cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions. I requested it medium-rare (my standard) and it arrived looking beautiful on the outside, very picturesque - I had high hopes . . . which were quickly dashed. The burger was a thin patty, a uniform drab grey on the inside. It was dry and flavorless. I normally love Blue Plate (I usually order the Turkey Club on La Brea Bakery wheat bread), it isn't haute cuisine, but it's good and consistent and this meal left me disappointed. My dining partner ordered the breakfast quesadilla which includes a hearty helping of cheese with eggs, bacon, tomato, salsa and avocado. It was perfectly tasty.

For dessert we couldn't resist a heaping slab of Susie Cake's red velvet cake. I hate to be a naysayer, but I tried SusieCakes ages ago and was disappointed. In spite of my past experience, this red velvet looked so enticing that I thought I'd give it another go. Once again, disappointment. It wasn't very cocoa-y and it was overly fluffy - almost the texture of angel food (exaggeration) as opposed to the proper dense cocoa-y confection it is meant to be. Verdict - I like Blue Plate but this was sub par.

8.30.10

Zig's: Home of the Bullet

One of my LA stand-bys, Zig's is a diner with a lot of valley "flair". Frequented by a variety of characters (ranging from bikers in leather to goths with mathematical equations tattooed on their arms to old men in Hawaiian shirts) Zig's provides consistently delicious, heart unhealthy American fare.

We got a chocolate shake, fries, a turkey sandwich (delicious, thick deli turkey), and a burger (traditional with thousand island! fab fab). I think the whole meal cost a grand total of $14.00.

8.29.10

Rustic Canyon - Wonderful meal. My first dining experience here was good but I wasn't blown away. On this, my second, visit it was heavenly. Ordered:
appetizers
- Ricotta gnocchi with duck ragu - generous portion of meat, the ragu reminded me of my favorite from Osteria Mozza.
- Sweet corn agnolotti with caramelized corn and parmesan (or as everyone now feels the need to say on menus, "parmigiano-reggiano") - spectacular. I want a lifetime supply.
drink
- mottled peach with basil and prosecco - fine but nothing special, the peach was not that flavorful but it tasted refreshing and summer-y.
mains
- a niman pork chop with peaches, corn, and basil - a bit disappointing, the meat was slightly overcooked.
- the BURGER !! with caramelized onions, arugula, house made pickles, sharp cheddar and an herb remoulade - I have decided that this is my favorite burger of life, thus far (even better than Spruce). It isn't over the top, they don't try anything too elaborate it is just well seasoned and has great toppings.
- Branzino with roasted artichokes, confit tomatoes, eggplant and a few more veggies - good, straightforward (ordered by the health-minded member of the group who enjoyed it but declared that next time he would be ordering the burger).
If you wanted insight as to how the chef at Rustic Canyon, Evan Funke, prepares his burger click here (although you may prefer to be ignorant re: the fat that goes into making a sublime burger).

8.12.10

Ad Hoc, Part II - Too tasty not to post.
First course - Broccolini Salad with a poached hen's egg (why would they specify "hen". . . as opposed to a rooster's?), radishes, red onion, croutons (actually fried bread fresh-baked from Bouchon), lardons (aka bacon), and (tondo) balsamic vinegar (other worldly).
Main course - a pork porterhouse from Snake River Farms. I got curious about the term porterhouse, having never heard it in reference to pork, and discovered that for a steak to be classified as porterhouse the tenderloin must be at least 1.25 inches thick, I think ours was close to 3.
It was served with sauteed romaine, which I thought would be terrible but was actually pleasant and wonderfully sweet, red quinoa, cauliflower, shaved shiitakes, stewed nantes carrots with a very delicate curry sauce and finally a small drizzle of parsley puree. The cheese course consisted of a sheep's milk cheese, Cana de Oveja, with flavor flav plums, candied pecans, and honey. For dessert they served a peach and nectarine pie with housemade vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.