Little Next Door, West Hollywod, CA

The "other" third street in LA is one of my favorite streets to find good eats. Between Fairfax and La Cienega, the choices run the gamut for people that like to try new little spots to hang out on. The other day, my girlfriends and I got around to trying The Little Next Door Cafe, the cutest little French Cafe. Located across the street from Toast, this unassuming yet darling cafe is a great lunch spot. Shielded from the 40 degree weather by a plastic tarp, my friends and I dined al fresco, so caught up in the adorable cafe and the Fantastic Four actor sitting about forty feet away from us that we (almost) forgot that we were freezing cold.

I had the "Little Best Combination," where patrons pick and choose 1 cup of soup, 1 order of salad, and a 1/2 sandwich. I chose the French Onion Soup, the Smoked Salmon on a brioche roll, and an artichoke and feta salad. The combination is supposed to be served with a macaroon as well, but for some reason, our waiter never brought our macaroons out-- which was probably better anyway because the girls and I shared a pot de creme-- perhaps one of the best desserts I had had in a very long time. It is also decently priced at (I think) about $13.00. The food was good for what it is. In other words, I was looking for a light cafe-style lunch, and that's exactly what I got. The soup was a tad bit salty, but otherwise, it was terrific! The lox sandwich was delicious, I believe they serve it up with tzatziki and dill. I liked the artichoke and feta salad a lot, it was nice and tart, a perfect combination with the smoked salmon sandwich.

Perhaps the best part of the lunch, however was the shared Pot de Creme we had for dessert. It was an amazing texture of silk, not too sweet but at the same time, delicious chocolatey goodness. They hand make the whipped cream, and I could have finished the entire dallop of whipped cream myself it was so good. And this is coming from someone who doesn't even like dessert all that much!!

But yes, I definitely want go back-- they seemed to have a decent selection of French wines and a good dinner menu! It is very romantic inside, I would love to have a nice candlit dinner over a bottle of French wine and pretend we are in Paris!

Little Next Door
8164 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 951-1210

BOA steakhouse, Santa Monica

Jessie and I like to celebrate our year's end by having a nice lunch on Ocean Avenue right before Christmas. Last year we treated ourselves to cocktails and sushi at Tengu (which consequently closed down), and this year we decided to have a nice lunch at BOA. I have read mixed reviews about BOA, as most people say the steaks suck, so I was a bit hesitant to try it out. However, their sandwiches looked invited, so I decided to give it a go.

I started my lunch with a glass of 2007 Orin Swift's "The Prisoner" Zinfandel/Cabernet, which was terrific. It was nice and dry, with a nice vanilla finish. It went perfectly with my American Kobe Beef Brisket (aka BBQ) sandwich.

Overall, the food was just aight. I wasn't blown away. I wasn't disappointed. But for a 30 dollar lunch (with cocktail in tow). The "J-1" (don't ask I had no idea what it meant either) sauce on the sandwich was a bit overwhelming, which made the sandwich messy and hard to eat, and it could have used more cole slaw, but the meat was tender, and I loved the french fries, so it was all in all an okay meal.

Next year: Fancy Pre-Christmas Lunch at the Ivy.

BOA Steak House
www.boasteak.com
101 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 899-4466

Father's Office, Culver City

Like every other westsider, I finally got an opportunity to check out the new Father's Office in Culver City to try their famous burger and sweet potato fries. I wasn't disappointed. The burger was amazing, the carmelized onions and guyere were simply delicious. I felt like I was eating a short rib sandwich, not a 15 dollar cheeseburger.





Father's Office
www.fathersoffice.com
3229 Helms Ave
Los Angeles, CA
310.736.2224

Vino, Encino, CA

Jessie and I decided to hang out last Sunday and on a whim, we decided to go for a lovely drive through the Sepulveda Pass and explore the infamous Ventura Blvd. in the Valley. As we perused the myriad options of chain restaurants, we began to wonder if coming to the Valley was such a good idea after all. And as we entered Tarzana, we quickly turned around, and decided to make a run back into the safe haven of the 310.

However, our snobbery was quashed when we stumbled across a cute little restaurant called "Vino," which featured a Sunday brunch with all you can drink Mimosas, champagne, or sangria, and included a three course tapas meal, AND an all you can eat cheese spread. All of this for... *gasp* $18.95. We were seriously in shock at our luck.

Jess sipped on her mimosa, and I on my sangria. Between the two of us, we ordered the Tortilla Espanola, the spinach and mushroom omelette, the Paella, and the Shrimp and chorizo angel hair pasta.

The service here is great, a cute little Persian couple runs the joint, and they were extraordinarily nice to us. An older gentleman (presumably the owner) brought us fresh shrimps which were sauteed in olive oil, garlic and pepper flakes as an amuse bouche. The peel and eat shrimp were not bad, they were pretty fresh.

As for the rest of the food, I would have to say it was mediocre at best. The "paella" tasted like rice-a-roni with one piece of breakfast sausage in it. Jessica and I figured out well into the meal that the chef did not use spanish rice, but rather Persian rice. Additionally, the fact that there was no seafood in the paella (or chorizo for that matter) made it even more offensive. The omelette was just okay, nothing too exciting. The tortilla espanola is much better at Primitivo, it was lacking in flavor. And the angel hair pasta really needed some flavor. I wanted to douse it with salt, just so I could actually taste something. We were also served a dessert, tiramisu paired with chocolate cake, which was actually not bad-- but then again, I'm not exactly a dessert connosieur.

The best part of meal, I'd have to say was the cheap drinks and extensive cheese spread. On the side of the bar lays a HUGE cheese board with cambozola, brie, fresh mozzerella, manchego, and Gouda. It is a self-serve station, where they also have fresh hot baguettes to spread the cheeses on. We gorged on a ton of cheese, hot crusty bread and our drinks, and honestly, that alone is worth $18.95.

I would certainly come back here for a Sunday brunch, even though it is kind of out of the way. The food may be medocre, but the place makes up for it in service and price!



Vino: Wine and Tapas Room
18046 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA 91316
(818) 343-2525
http://www.vinowineroom.com/menu.htm

The Cafe, Las Vegas

So over the weekend, I got the chance to spend Hoe-lloween in Vegas, as one of my friends was getting hitched on the strip! It was my first Vegas wedding, and I wasn't sure what to expect, but in the end, it ended up being a fun time, and we all had a blast, dancing, drinking and of course, EATING.

The majority of the food I had in Vegas, however, was a travesty. We went to "Red White and Blue" on Friday night (first night there). Red White and Blue is an All American eatery in the Mandalay Bay, and I had the Chicken Pot Pie which was sorely disappointing. We then proceeded to go to Blush @ the Wynn, thanks to my buddy Chris who helped us get in and hooked us up with free drinks! We then visited Tryst, mostly because we could, but our feet hurt so badly that we had to call it a night. Before doing so, however, we stopped at some bad Vietnamese restaurant at the Wynn (I think), for overpriced yet under-flavored pho.

The next day, I woke up craving some carbs and for some reason, had fond memories of spaghetti and meatballs at the coffeeshop at the Bellagio. The last time I had their spaghetti was at Binder's bachelorette party in 2005, and in some odd sentimental moment, that's ALL I was craving. I dragged the Onoda sisters over, and triumphantly ordered their pasketti. It was not what I remembered at all. At first glance it appeared to be good, slightly al dente, topped with a big dallop of marscapone.

The garlic bread and the marscapone were the best part of the meal. The sauce was WATERY, and when I got to the bottom of my bowl, I was faced with a giant puddle of water. The sauce was flavorless, in spite of me dousing it with salt and crushed red peppers. And perhaps the saddest part about it was that it was supposed to be a "hearty," bolognese, but it had maybe 5 pieces of ground beef in the sauce, but there were lots of carrots. Blech.

Needless to say, I was quite disappointed and realized that I actually had the delicious spaghetti at the cafe at Caesar's Palace, not the cafe Bellagio. This is what 3 years and alcohol will do to your memory: erosion at its worst.

Since I had horrible spaghetti, I was quite happy to have lunch part two at The Cafe with Jessica. Located in The Hotel, this place is definitely my speed. Very dim lighting, very quiet and relaxed, and the pricing was not bad. They had a lot of delicious looking options, such as the black cod and lamb. However, because I had JUST had lunch, I had to have something much lighter, which is why I opted for the "stack of tomatoes and mozzerella" (I was assuming it would be like a caprese salad. It actually blew me away, because it was ten times better than a caprese salad. It was a milieu of tomatos, fresh mozzarella, pickled red peppers and olives, all served with a well seasoned vinagarette. It was a phenomenal and light lunch fare.

Even better was Jessie's "moco loco," a chef special that day. Moco Locos are one of my favorite guilty pleasures when I go have Hawaiian food. Usually, it is rice, covered with a hamburger patty, topped with a sunny side up egg, then covered in gravy. I know, it sounds horrible, but it is actually delicious. Jessica's Moco Loco was SO GOOD. They put the local twist on it by serving it with shrimp fried rice, and a sirloin burger patty. It was perfectly cooked, and the rice was the perfect texture to complement the patty and egg. YUM.

The last meal I had in Vegas was the dinner at the Paris Buffet, which was okay. They had a random dish that I pigged out on, which consisted of Saurkraut and German Sausages. Next time I'm in Vegas, I will opt for Michael Mina! (yeah right =P)

Wine Review, aka What I'm Drinking Lately

I LOVE finding phenomenal wines under twenty bucks. Lately I've been on a kick to try as many reds under 20 that I can. I've found quite a few that are very very good.

One particular favorite of mine to pick up while at Trader Joe's is Robert Hall's 2005 Cab from Paso Robles. It was released in June 2007, and each time I open it up, it tastes better than what I remember. Immediately, your tongue is introduced to black currant, cocoa and an almost honey-like aroma. I like it because it is also chocoatey and smooth. Because Robert and Margaret Hall fell in love with Southern French wines, this one is quite reminiscent of a softer blend from the Rhone Valley. I opened up this bottle over some Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Saag, and believe it or not, it was quite nice. However, I think this wine would go much better with any rich pasta dish or lighter meats. So good, so cheap...

Robert Hall
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Paso Robles
Price: ~$11-19

If you haven't tried it already,Concha y Toro's Casillero Del Diablo Chilean Cab from (shockingly)
2007 is also an excellent buy at about 8 dollars a pop. In a true Cabernet sense, it is well rounded and balanced with a lot of pop. It is definitely woody and heavy on the berries. It also has slight chocolate undertones and ends with a nice dry and crisp finish. This wine tastes much more than $8.00, and it is surprising that it is so full bodied and well balanced for being so young. Definitely serve this wine with short ribs or steak.

Concha y Toro Casillero Del Diablo
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Chile
7.99 at Trader Joe's

Another fantastic buy for about $12.00 is Rosenblum's Vintners Cuvee XXX Zinfandel. I love Rosenblum's cellars because they are an unassuming and unpretentious cellar located in Alameda, California (located very close to Oakland). Upon entering the cellar, you are greeted with friendly folks who encourage you to do their tastings, and will let you try all sorts of other varietals. They are pretty well known for their Zins, as well as their dessert wines. They have this phenomenal dessert wine called "Desiree," which literally tastes like melting chocolate over your tongue. I get their quarterly shipments and have been pretty satisfied with their selection.

This particular one is one of my favorites for many reasons. It is a blend of 2000 and 2001 vintage Mourvedre and Zinfandels. For the price, it drinks much more expensiver, as it is pretty complex, berry-forward, Oak-y and definitely (my favorite) Vanilla! I have also tried the XXIV, which is also excellent for its price.

Rosenblum Cellars
Vinter's Cuvee XXX
Zinfandel
Napa Valley, Alameda
~12.00

Cut, Beverly Hills

I have been M.I.A. lately, as my life has drastically changed. Part of my disappearance is that I was recently kicked to the curb, and then I moved to Westwood. But here I am, still firmly rooted on the Westside, and excited to try new spots in my Northwest corner of the Westside.

Before all of that went down, however, I spent my 30th birthday at one of the best steak spots in Los Angeles, Wolfgang Puck's "Cut," at the 4 Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. It was an amazing dining experience, and a perfect way to start off a new decade of FabulouSlappy!

The restaurant is very different from your run-of-the-mill steak place. Unlike its competitors, Mastro's, or maybe Michael Mena's StripSteak, it is not a warm space with dark woods and deep leathers. In place of deep bold colors, the space is brightly lit with luminous windows and contemporary black furniture. It almost feels like a fun, modern cafeteria. Giant posters with close up photos of celebrity faces staring off into space (I was accompanied by George Clooney's 40x50 face) don the space.

We started with a bottle of one of my all time favorite vinos, Plumpjack's 2005 Oakville Cab. I have a couple bottles of this at home that I have been saving for a special occasion and was thrilled to see it on the menu. What better time? You only turn 30 once. PlumpJack is a small boutique vineyard in Napa, owned by the PlumpJack group, Gavin Newsome's umbrella company of sixteen enterprises. Their two wine labels, PlumpJacke and Cade have consistently been very good producers of Cabs. I love this cab because it encompasses all the things I love about cabs, big, bold, full of berries with a nice chocolatey finish.

As for the food, we had two starters, the tuna tartare, who the waiter insisted was the best tartare I would ever have. That's a big expectation to fill! The second starter, was a bit more daring, it was a bone-marrow flan. The tartare was just aight. It was served with a thin layer of avocado, scallions and ginger. It was good, the tuna was obviously very fresh, but was a bit heavy on the sauce. I thought the flavor was a little overwhelming and it would have been better if they let the natural flavor of the fish, avacado and ginger speak for themselves.

As for the bone marrow flan, I have to say, I had my reserations about trying this dish, as it just sounded......... weird. But honestly, it was one of the most amazing dishes I ever tried. Two bones were hollowed and cleaned out, and the marrow was transformed into a gelatinous filling. It was served with a small spoon and slices of home made toast. We were instructed to spread the marrow on the toast. It was fantastic. It tasted creamy, meaty and savory.

After our yummy appetizers, I had the Wagyu Kobe steak, and J had the rib eye. We also split the soft polenta with parmesan. The steak was very very very soft. It almost melted on my tongue, which to be frank, I was not in throes of ecstasy over. I must not be a steak connosieur because I tend to like my steak a little more chewy, and the texture of the Wagyu was just... too much. I felt as if I had a mouthful of butter, and to be frank, that kind of grosses me out. J's rib eye, on the other hand, was phenomenal. The polenta is also a must-have. It is fantastic, creamy, cheesy and ooey and goey. I could have had mouthfuls of it.

We finished our meal with their Valrhona Chocolate Soufflé, served with a Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Glace. Do I need to say more?



Cut at the Beverly Wilshire
A Four Seasons Hotel
9500 Wilshire Blvd.,
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310-276-8500

Wine Review, aka What I'm Drinking Lately

A couple months ago, I ordered four bottles of Turley's 2003 zinfandels from one of my good friends. We saw each other at a wedding, and he delivered my wine in a metal suitcase which I had to drag from OC to LA. He insisted that the metal case was crucial to "protect the goods."

After having the Zin this past weekend, I can see why he wanted to protect the goods. The wine was PHENOMENAL in the classic zin sense. The reason I'm such a fiend about zins are that usually they are all just okay. Berry forward and easy to drink, zins are pretty much good to drink with everything. But sometimes, because they are so berry-forward, they can be really overbearing and jammy. But when you have the perfect zin, it is like an amalgamation of all good things in your mouth-- and I mean that in a purely non-sexual way. ;)

The wine was full-bodied, with plenty of punch coming from berries with an earthy, honey undertone. It had a slight black licorice feel, without being overbearing on the flavor. It was almost jammy, but delicious. The finish was long and smooth, and it was virtuously without tanins... but that might be because it was five years old. Lucky for me, I have 3 more Turleys just waiting to be opened on another special occasion...

Turley
2003 Zinfandel
Tofanelli Vineyard
Region: Napa
Price Range: ~$140.00

Citron, at the Viceroy, Palm Springs

For my 30th birthday (yes, 30, yikes!) J planned a lovely surprise of a nice relaxing weekend at the Viceroy hotel in Palm Springs. J planned a nice day out by the pool and a couples spa treatment, a very nice dinner at Citron (where we consequently also had breakfast the next day) and shopping the next day. Needless to say, I came back ready to face the world after a weekend of relaxing in a fantasyland in the middle of the dessert.


We pulled into the Viceroy on Saturday mid-afternoon and were mildly disappointed to see that the actual infrastructure of the hotel was a bit old and haggard. Essentially, the Kor group went in, bought a run down motel (the type of motel that has old school amenities such as wall unit a/cs), and re-vamped it in the classic Viceroy fashion of old Hollywood glamour. Thus, when walking into the Viceroy, Palm Springs, one is reminded of the Black and White decor of Viceroy, Santa Monica, but it has a more boutique feel to it, not unlike the smaller hotels in beverly hills, such as The Crescent.


The pool area is nice, there are three pools on the property, and the servers are attentive and pleasureable to talk to. We enjoyed the bar b que lunch outdoors by the pool, where I had a seared ahi club, and he had a chicken sandwich with chipotle mayo. Maybe it was the dessert breeze, or being poolside, or the fact that the meat was freshly grilled, but everything tasted delicious!


After swimming and lounging , we our spa treatments (massages, feet treatments and facials), and then got ready for dinner at Citron. The food was incredible, and I don't say that very often.

We started with a bottle of wine that I actually brought from my collection, a 2003 Turley Zin, from the Tofanelli Vineyard (review to come). This was the perfect opener for an orgasmic meal. We started with the "bucket o crab and shrimp," six kilpatrick oysters, a tomato and cucumber salad, and I had the filet with tomato risotto and he had the pork chop with the same risotto.




I tend to favor Kumamoto Oysters, that are chewy, not gooey, so when the waiter said that the only oysters they had were the kilpatrick, I was a bit apprehensive, but they ended up being very fresh and delicious. They were on the smaller side anyway, so were a nice refreshing way to start the meal, especially right before our crab and shrimp, both which were fresh. The tiger prawns were large and filling, and the crab was also served in generous portions, albeit a bit on the salty side.
I think my favorite part of the meal was the filet (which I rarely order) with the tomato risotto. The risotto was perfect in texture, not to mushy and not too hard. It was flavorful and creamy and delicious. The filet was grilled to perfection, and not overly marinated.

The waiter was super nice, and came back and chatted with us several times about this and that. He made sure our wine never ran low and that we always were well taken care of.


The food was so good that the next morning, J and I had to go back for breakfast (well, that and there aren't a lot of other options available on the main street). We both ordered the "Viceroy Breakfast," a simple but delicious combination of eggs, sausage, smoked applewood bacon and homestyle potatoes. Everything was delicious, and the service was almost too nice.

This is the perfect mini-vacation getaway for LA folks that want to escape LA for a few days. Ironically, almost everyone I talked to was from LA as well.


Viceroy @ Palm Springs
415 S Belardo Rd
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 320-4117

busy busy bees at geoffrey's

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, I was about 12 or 13 years old and relegated to my older sister's definition of what it meant to celebrated mother's day. We had to dress up, my mother, the most extravagent wore something in either pink or white, with very big shoulder pads and probably fluffy sleeves. Being that it was the early 90's, the previous decade had left some bad habits among middle class women's styles, including white pantyhose (oh yes, you rocked them, just own up to it.), High high hair (thanks to the advent of aerosol cans that doused god-knows-what into your hair), and chiffon/lace sleeves on business-structured jackets. its like lingerie meets the boardroom. A jacket for all occasions. Feminist? probably not. Practical? Bet your cruxifixes on it.

But I've digressed. One such occasion of celebrating mother's day, we piled into my mom's 3 series BMW, an event that NEVER happened, as we had the buick park avenue as our daily driver, the Beemer was our "special occasion car." My father was not present, he was at work-- this was a recurring theme in my life that bears no significance now, but perhaps I'll re-visit it in another time and space. So my sister, brother, mother and I squeezed into the itty bitty bmw. My sister decidedly took the wheel and drove us north. And north. And north. I wasn't sure where we were going, but I sure was hungry, and I wanted to eat something like chicken fingers or Korean stews (Sadly my palette hasn't shifted much from childhood).

After a relentless drive that lasted about 1.4 hours, we finally were escorted out of the car and faced a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean in Malibu, CA. I don't remember much from that meal, but I do remember how expensive everything was, and how my sister told me to order iced tea because they would charge you for refills if you ordered anything else. My brother and I had 7 iced teas each. My sister was appalled. She was even more apalled when I told her the lobster bisque tasted "weird" and I didn't like it.

Speed forward about 2 decades later, after I've been around the block a bit (the restaurant block that is), and have come to learn a lot about fine dining and have, hopefully expanded my tastebud horizon. Jae and I put this to the test over the weekend when we checked out Geoffrey's in Malibu, in commemoration of my mother's day brunch nearly 2 decades ago. (Also, we wanted to go for a drive through the canyons after). Luckily we had the foresight to call in earlier to see if they had a good spot for us to sit at, and the server found us a lovely ocean-view seat behind a plexiglass fence.

Much to my delight, our brunch was excellent. I had a bloody mary (actually 2), and the crab cake benedict. He had some mojito of sorts and french toast. We shared the tuna tartare. The tuna tartare was perfectly seasoned, a nice blend of heat, fresh fish , black sesame seeds, and mayonaise, Additionally beneath the tuna were nice large chunks of avacado, which complemented the tuna and the heat-- and not to mention my bloody maries, which were perfectly seasoned with a variety of peppers, a nice generous portion of olives (3!), lemon and a healthy splash (if hurricane katrina had a splash, it was probably in the same range as that) of Goose.

The entrees were also very lovely. My crab cake benedict was nice and meaty, and I thought the texture of it went quite nicely with the softness of the eggs and creamy ness of the hollandaise sauce. My meal was fantastic.

Jae's meal, on the other hand left something to be desired. He ordered French toast for some reason, which looked ok, but it wasn't anything special. And with his french toast came these "cumin sausages," which indeed, tasted like a taco sausage. It was not my favorite.

Would I go back? Of course!

Geoffrey's Malibu
www.geoffreysmalibu.com

27400 Pacific Coast Hwy

Malibu, CA 90265

(310) 457-1519

Holy Macaroni! Drago

For my "cousin's" birthday, we checked out Drago on 26th and Wilshire. Given the consistently high reviews Drago received on yelp, gayot and other restaurant review sites that I lurk on, I was curious to see how the food actually was.

We started with a bottle of one of my favorite cabs, the Groth 2005 Oakville Cab (retails for about 50-60), a "buratini," and our respective dishes. I love risotto, so I tried their squid ink risotto. Tenacious D had the Linguine alla Mare, and J had the rib eye, which was marinated with rosemary and served up with a potato puree. We ended the night with some sort of dessert, which escapes my mind at the moment.

If I were to rate Drago on a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 7.5. The food was average, the service was above average and the ambiance was average. My squid ink risotto was a bit too al dente, and J's rib eye was too salty and over marinated. D's linguine alla mare was a little overwhelming in flavors.

On the other hand, I love burata, and they added an interesting twist to the creamy cheese with avacado and heirloom tomatoes, and a creamy basil puree.

And of course, the wine was very delicious. :)

Drago Ristorante
2628 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 828-1585

Taste, Melrose

One of my favorite joints to grab a nice, casual dinner on Melrose is a itty bitty restaurant called Taste. It is consistently good and never fails to leave a lasting impression on your mind and taste buds. They have the best Mac n Cheese in town, that comes bubbling in a mid-size ramekin.

On Saturday night, Angie and I had tickets to catch Donna Summers at the Hollywood Bowl (don't ask, I'm not that into disco either). Instead of making our usual feast/spread, we decided to go out to dinner instead, because it was just the two of us.

It was roughly 6pm and we didn't have reservations and we pondered where to go as we drove to the east side of town. We thought we wanted to be "spontaneous" and try someplace that we've never been before, but when it came down to it, we ended up going to old faithful, a "Taste" of the familiar at Taste.

Luckily, it was early enough that we didn't need reservations, so we stumbled into Taste and had a nice table outside on their patio, which allowed for ample people watching down Melrose Avenue. I had a glass of the St. Supery 2005 Cab (delicious) and the Edna Valley 2006 Cab (meh, but half the price) with my Kobe beef burger and pomme frittes. Ang had the skirt steak with potato puree. We also shared their orgasmic mac n chz.

Both of us asked for medium rare on our meat, but we both got overdone meat. There were parts of my burger that were rubbery, and it was cooked all the way through. However, I really think this was a fluke because I've ordered meat at Taste before and they've never fudged it up like this before.

Outside of being overcooked, my burger was good. It was served with a smoky cheese and arugula, and a garlic aioli on the side. Her skirt steak was also good, again, aside from it being overdone.

Of course I'd go back.

Taste

8454 Melrose Ave

West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 617-3756

Sor Tino Ristorante, Brentwood

I had a lovely lunch with my good friend Ang today at Sor Tino. We arrived before the lunch crowd filtered in and dined al fresco. One thing that I noticed was that the host, servers and a large chunk of the clients were Italian, this was appealing to me, because it spoke to the authenticity of the restaurant.

I had an Iced Tea and the Linguine alla Pescadora. Angie had the Rigatoni with eggplant. I wasn't thrilled about her dish, the pasta was a bit too al dente for me and her sauce was just okay, but I went nuts over my dish. The seafood was very fresh, the pasta was slightly al dente, but not crunchy, like Angie's rigatoni.

The dish arrived with fresh mussels, clams, prawns and calamari. The squid was perfectly chewy and the sauce was a perfect tangy tomato sauce.

Their specials list was also impressive, they had a grilled calamari salad on the menu, which sounded interesting, as well as a variety of meat/seafood dishes. I would go back to check out their dinner options.

Sor Tino Ristorante

908 S. Barrington Avenue

Brentwood, CA 90049

310.442.8466

Wine Review, aka What I'm Drinking Lately

I love finding amazing wine for under 20 bucks. I was at costco the other day and decided to try Peachy Canyon's West Side 2006 Zin. This is a definite must try for Zin lovers. We were having steak peppered with dijon seeds and pink peppercorn, manchego mashed potatos, caprese and a spinach salad for dinner, so I thought we should try out a bottle of wine for dinner that we've never had.

We started with an Erath 2006 Pinot Noir, which was too light and a disappointment. From everything I've been reading about the fantastic Pinots that come out of the Northwest, I was really bummed that the Pinot tasted like a watered down cheap Gallo wine rather than something I paid about 20 bucks for. Regardless, our guests helped us polish it off, and we moved on to bigger better things.

I opened up the Peachy Canyon Westside Zin hoping it would be better than the Pinot, and lemme tell ya, I was not disappointed. Immediately on the palette, I tasted my favorite wine-flavors: Chocolate, Cloves, Vanilla, and rich berries. The wine was full, smooth and velvety. I could drink it for days. I loved how spice-forward it was and light on the tanins. And of course-- the best part is that it is all yours for under 20 bucks.

Peachy Canyon
2006 Westside Zinfandel
Region: Paso Robles

Wine Review, aka What I'm Drinking Lately

Over the weekend, I attended a post-traditional-Vietnamese-wedding-BBQ, where we were told to bring a couple bottles of wine to the party, so I busted out with two 05 Cabs. One is slightly on the pricier side (Groth) and the other is on the cheaper side (Cameron Hughes Lot 35). In short, they were both very good.

The Groth is one of my favorite cabs, it is a little heavy on the tanins, but still manages to be smooth, chocolatey and full of blackberries and currants. I fell in love with this cab when I tasted it up in napa, and on site bought five bottles of it for special occasions. It has gotten pretty good reviews, and consistently gets ratings between 90-93 points. It is definitely a litle bit pricey, running between $45-65, depending where you go. Thus, it is not an everyday, wine, but something you can save for special occasions, especially because it ages well, it could easily be stored for another 5+ years, as the grapes still taste a little young.
Groth Vineyards
2005 Cabernet
Region: Napa Valley


The other, cheaper cab I brought was the Cameron Hughes Lot 35 2005 Cabernet, which is incredibly soft, has light undertones of Oak and vanilla, and is fragrant kind of like tea. It is definitely plesant on the palette and can be paired with either lighter or heavier meals, because the texture is soft, yet it is still full bodied. It retails anywhere from $13-16. The great thing about the Cameron Hughes was that it was a gift, and I had no idea it was so cheap until I actually looked it up. It tastes more like a 30-40 dollar bottle of wine than something that is half the price.

Cameron Hughes Lot 35
2005 Cabernet
Region: Yountville

South, Santa Monica

Let me start by saying that I recently visited New Orleans, and it was that trip that altered my appreciation for food. I have always thought that the best food originated from SF, LA, Paris, and NY, but in my recent trip, I was completely amazed at how phenomenal the food is in the dirty dirty. Obviously, there's some great talent out there, Emeril, John Besh, and Scott Boswell, just to name a few, but really, I think there's something about Creole-Cajun-Southern food that is just so damned good.

So imagine my glee when a new Southern inspired restaurant, South, hit Wilshire blvd. My friend Jessie raved about their chicken and waffles sliders and strong drinks (just like they do in the south!), so we decided to hit it up for happy hour on a Wednesday night. In a word, the food is pretty damned close to being legitimately from the dirty dirty.

We ordered the sliders, the mac n chz, jambalaya, cheezy grits with shrimp and for dessert shared the pecan pie and banana cream bread pudding. My favorite two dishes were the Mac n Chz and the Cheesy grits. The cheesy grits were really reat in texture, covered in a spicy cajun sauce, served up with five large shrimp. The mac n cheese was perfect, crisp on the top, and soft and creamy on the bottom layers.

I thought the sliders were just ok-- the chicken was a little dry and the waffles a bit soggy. The jambalaya was okay- maybe like 3 steps ahead of zataran's, but it was no Nawlins. As for the desserts, I thought the pecan pie was pretty good, but the banana cream bread pudding was just a little too much.

We each had 2 drinks, and with all that food, split the bill at about 35 bucks a piece, which is not that bad. Oh! And the BEST part is that on Wednesdays, it is Southern Belle Night, so they give the Lay-deez free shots!! Yum.

The service was not bad, our waitress was gorgeous, and very sweet, but after awhile she disappeared and it took forever to get our bill. But the good food made everything worth it.

You should DEFINITELY check this place out, it rocks.

South

3001 Wilshire Blvd

Santa Monica, CA

(310) 828-9988‎

Layer Cake, Irvine

One thing the OC does NOT do well, apparently are cupcakes (Sprinkles in Fashion Island doesn't count, everyone knows that LA is the OG cupcake center.

We decided to check out Layer Cake next door to Pho Bac. Three words: Dry as hell. Don't go.

Oh wait, that's five words. I tried the strawberry cupcake, and the frosting was dry. The cake was dry.

The only thing was that it was sort've pretty, so all form, no content. Blech.

Layer Cake Bakery

4250 Barranca Pkwy # I

Irvine, CA 92604 (949) 786-0223

Pho Bac, Irvine

There are some things that the OC does well, and there are some things it really does not. Like for example, chain restaurants and mini malls. If ever the mood for chain restaurant food in a mega strip mall with plenty of parking strikes my fancy, I hop on the 405 and head straight south behind the Orange Curtain.

Another thing that the OC does pretty well is Vietnamese food. Living on the westside, there is a dearth of good Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese food. Luckily, I can make my K-food runs to K-town, and I'm not a big fan of Chinese food anyway, so that doesn't bother me. But sometimes, the mood for some broken rice or pho or just a healthy dose of MSG realy kicks in. What do I do? I hop to the mediocre, yet overpriced pho chain, Pho 99 on Wilshire, suck it up, and have some Vietnamese food that leaves me strangely unsatisfied. At times I make eye contact with other Asian Americans who are obviously kids of immigrants who also have the sigh of resignation on their faces.

So when I was in OC over the weekend, I was excited to go have some authentic Vietnamese food. We were gonna hit up Little Saigon for our usual broken rice spot, where nobody speaks a lick of English and you basically have to point to what you want, but it was a bit of a drive so we decided to go to our other spot in Irvine, which is a little cleaner, and the staff can verbally communicate with you.

I had a big bowl of pho tai, or rare steak Pho. It was fantastic! The soup was fresh, and I could really taste the star anise, the noodles had just been made and the beef was cut into nice thick slices. I got plenty of basil and cilantro (my favorites), as well as fresh lime, bean sprouts and jalepenos. All that for about 6 bucks. The same dish costs about 9 bucks on Wilshire, and doesn't taste as good.

Someone, please, bring Pho Bac to the westside...

Pho Bac
4250 Barranca Pkwy # K
Irvine, CA (949) 857-8808‎

Yogurt Berry, Ktown

After my adventures with Korean BBQ, the guys and I decided to take a stroll down Wilshire Blvd to check out the Korean-Korean Yogurt spot, Yogurt Berry. I call it Korean-Korean because even though the surge of yogurt places (Pink Berry, Red Mango, Yogurt Land) are all Korean owned businesses, and business ideas inspired from the motherland, I wanted to see if Ktown's version of Westerized yogurt places was similar.

The place is really cute, as are most froyo places as of late. It is painted pink with black chandeliers and a funky shabby chic feel to it. The set up is similar to yogurt land where it is self serve yogurt and toppings, and they charge you after for 30cents an oz. They had about 10 different flavors, so I decided to try a triage of peach with cheesecake crumbles on top, pistachio topped with peanuts and cappuccino with chocolate chips.

I really liked the various flavors of yogurts, I think my favorite was the pistachio, then cappuccino, and lastly, peach, but they were all really good and light. I liked it because the texture was less creamy, a little more gritty, and definitely more icy. It was a perfect way to finish off a heavy dinner.

The lady behind the counter-- presumably the owner-- was also very nice, she chatted me up when I asked her about the toppings.

Next time I'm in K-town, I'd go back to this place.

Yogurtberry

3800 Wilshire Blvd

Los Angeles, CA (213) 382-5778

Soot Bul Gui Rim, K-Town

I don't make it down to k-town very often, and if I do, it's usually for one thing, and that's to GRUB on some authentic Korean food. Usually, I'll go for Korean BBQ or my other favorite, soon tofu. One of my favorite all you can eat K BBQ joints is a place called Soot Bul Gui Rim, which translates to "Charcoal Fire Meat" or something.

My friend Jangel, one of the few Korean food aficianados that I can trust referred me to this restaurant, and I've been a huge fan ever since.

I love this place for several reasons. 1. It's all you can eat at a decent price ($16.95). 2. The quality of meat is fresh and good. 3. The service is great, especially for a Korean place. So even though the wait is generally 30-45 minutes long, it is definitely worth it. And 4. They have one of my all time favorite ban chan dishes, a steamed egg that they make old school style in a stone pot.

In short: We GRUBBED. We had three orders of the cha dol, or thinly sliced brisket, bulgogi, marinated beef slices, kalbi, short rib, and a big chunk of rib eye steak, that they scissored up for us. The guys wanted to try some tripe, so we ordered it, but I wasn't feeling adventurous enough to try what resembled a white sponge of meat.

They serve their meat with duk sam, the new trend in Korean bbq, which is basically a Vietnamese inspired accessory to meat. Essentially, they are rice paper wraps that you can wrap your meat in, along with other banchans and the various sauces they provide.

We polished our meal off with four big bottles of hite beer. If you've never had Korean beer, this is pretty much one of the better of the variety, it is refreshing and light! We also shared a traditional bottle of chamesul soju, or Korean-style vodka. It is an acquired taste, as some people refer to it as rubbing alcohol, but once you start to like the flavor of it, it really pairs nicely with the meats.

The only thing I wish this place had were the moo sam, or the radish-wraps, which are basically like the rice paper wraps, but thin slices of pickled radish that really give the meat a nice refreshing taste. Otherwise, this place is great!

Soot Bul Gui Rim

3977 W 6th St.

Los Angeles, CA 90020

Sushi Kinoya, Long Beach

Okay, I'll be frank. One of my biggest pet peeves are Korean owned sushi joints-- or even worse, Chinese owned ones. So when I walked into Sushi Kinoya, even though the decor was lovely (very modern, clean, and nicely decorated), I was a bit apprehensive because it was obvious that it was a Korean owned establishment. However, it was not that bad, especially for a Korean owned place, and the service was really great.

I made a trip down to the LBC to meet my friend Richy for lunch, and to do my dry cleaning (don't ask). He lives by the beach, and my dry cleaners is inland, so we decided to drop off the dry cleaning first and find eats after. On the corner of Bellflower and Stearn, Sushi Kinoya is a recently opened Japanese place.

Right when we sat down, we were greeted with miso and a Tsukemono mixture with octapus and pickled seaweed, which was very delicious and a perfect way to start a nice lunch.

We like to grub, so we ordered a few different things. I had the Salmon Teriyaki Bento (which came with miso, salad and a 4 piece california roll, along with a 5pc spicy tuna roll. Richy ordered the sushi special which included six pieces of sushi, a tempura roll, and then ordered a dragon roll on top of that.

The sushi was not bad. It was pretty fresh. I noticed, however, the pieces of sushi were sliced really thin, which was somewhat of a disappointment. My spicy tuna roll was okay, more Korean style than Japanese style (no mayonaise), and my salmon was a little dry and over sauced.

I was, however, impressed with Richy's dragon roll, because the fish atop the K-rab roll looked really fresh and were cut into much thicker slices than in his nigiri. The presentation was also really nice, the roll was served on a banana leaf on a very nice platter.

The prices were fairly reasonable, his lunch combo was 9.95, and the additional dragon roll was $8.95. My lunch special was 12.95 and I'm not sure how much the spicy tuna roll was.

We each had a diet coke, and I was disappointed that their diet cokes came in cans, which meant no refills, and besides, fountain soda tastes better, so that was a let down.

All in all, it was not too bad, and I wouldn't mind going back.

Sushi Kinoya
5521 E Stearns St

Long Beach, CA 90815

(562) 598-8169

Primitivo, Venice

One of my favorite places on Abbot Kinney is Primitivo, a wine bar/tapas joint. Their tapas aren't purely Spanish, but rather a fusion of Latin and Asian inspired tapas. I love this place because it is cozy, kitschy, and the service is always great. And, of course, the food is phenomenal. I've frequented this place quite a few times now, but because four of us went out for a late night dinner last night, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to blog about my dinner experience.



Our reservation was for 9:00 (moved from the original reservation at 7pm that we couldn't make due to unforeseen circumstances). But when we got there, it was packed and we weren't able to get seated until 9:40ish. The hostesses were extremely nice about the situation, however, constantly apologizing and reassuring us that our table would be ready shortly. Right when we got seated, they were so nice that they brought us a free fromage platter (brie, manchego, sliced baguettes, dates and toasted walnuts with honey. It was a fantastic way to start our montage of tapas.


We each chose 2-3 different small plates. I chose the heirloom tomato salad, diver scallops and bacon wrapped dates. We also had the prime beef carpaccio, BBQ short ribs, lamb chops, shrimp sauteed in garlic, spanish omelette, and paella.

The heirloom tomato salad was delicious, it was sort of like a caprese with a citrusy and sweet twist. There were a variety of tomatoes, including heirloom, yellow tomatoes and grape tomatoes, along with whole basil leaves, fresh mozzerella, and yes, pineapple. It was drizzled with a citrus infused olive oil and some balsamic. It was refreshing and tangy. Very delicious.


My all time favorite dish at primitivo are their bacon wrapped dates, that are stuffed with a bit of goat cheese. They are the perfect mix of salty, tangy, and sweet. Their spanish omelette is also good-- much better than the one at Cobras and Matador in my opinion. Their meat dishes are good, my favorite is the lamb, which has a moroccan twist to it.


My least favorites are the BBQ short ribs and the shrimp. The shrimp is over cooked and the sauce is too watery. I am not a fan of BBQ sauce, so that is probably why I don't really like the short ribs.


As for the paella, I was pleasantly surprised. I never ordered it there, and haven't had it in a long time since my horrible paella experience at ad hoc, but it is actually really delicious. The texture is perfect (not too sticky or dry), and it is very flavorful (has a little bit of a spicy kick to it) and you really taste the chorizo, shrimp and mussels.


As usual, YUM!


Primitivo
1025 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 396-5353

Wine Review, aka What I'm Drinking Lately

Girard 2006 Old Vines Zinfandel

Whenever I go to costco, I like to peruse their wine section to see if there are any good wines for around 20 bucks. Much to my delight, they had the Girard 2006 Old Vines Zinfandel. I had heard about Girard's 2005 Old Vines Zinfandel, which received excellent reviews, so I was curious to see if the 06 would match.

Given that Girard grows their old vines in Mt. Vaca, the highest range of mountains in Eastern Napa Valley, there is no way that the flavor would be flat. The different soils in that region and higher altitudes generally ensures a much more fruitier and complex wine than some others. So when I took my first sip of the Zin, I was not disappointed. It did not even need to open up, immediately, I was pleasantly introduced to dark cherries, some plum, star anise and velvety tannins. The wine was soft and smooth and had nice long finish.

I had the bottle of wine over dinner, where I made a caprese, honey-coriander lamb, mushroom risotto and a caesar salad. The wine was really nice with the spiced coriander on the lamb, as well as light pungentness of the fresh parmesian.

Girard 2006 Old Vines Zinfandel
Region Napa Valley
Cost: $20-24

Bodega, Santa Monica

Last Friday, I got a chance to meet the girls at Bodega for some wine and eats. I'm plagarizing some of Michelle's blog on it, just because, well, I don't feel the need to be redundant.

"Bodega is one of my favorite places to go to after work for some no frills wine and food. Julie and I shared a carafe of the Malbec red, then another one of the Grenache. The 5 of us shared a Chopped Salad with some spring greens, zucchini, jicama, mushroom, and chickpeas all tossed with a light balsamic vinagrette. On came the Grilled Cheese...my favorite dish the whole menu. Bodega orders this special fig challah from some bakery, place slices of brie cheese and grill it up to melt the cheese. Mmm....I love it and luckily we ordered two of them. Next we had the Margherita Pizza...nothing too spectacular, yet just goes well with the wine. Later on we ordered another pizza...the Spicy Chicken...which was exactly what the menu said, very spicy. Not sure what the spice was that made it so hot. We also had the PLT (Portobello, Lettuce, and Tomato) sandwich. Also very good with a light spread of pesto and goat cheese."

I also enjoyed the Grilled cheese, which I thought went lovely with the Grenache Syrah, the sweetness of Grenache went well with the light brie and figs. The PLT was really delicious, the meatiness of Portobello was really nice with the lighter veggies and pesto sauce. Their spicy chicken pizza was ok. The chicken was of the frozen variety (the meat tasted processed) and was chopped into these tiny squares. I think it would have been better served if they used fresh ground chicken breast. But it was good-- a little too spicy to go well with the Grenache.

All in all, I like bodega because it is a low key, yet nice space to enjoy a glass of wine and some decent eats. I do think that for a wine bar their selection is pretty limited. Their malbec was just ok, and the grenache syrah was much better. I think they only had 1 zin on the menu and 2 cabs. I think Bottle Rock in Culver City actually has a better selection, but bodega has a nicer ambiance.

Bodega
814 Broadway
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 394-3504

Ciudad, Downtown

Last Friday, I went to meet my "cousin," and good friend Tenacious D for lunch by his new law firm in downtown LA. His office is on the 52nd floor of the US Bank Tower, the tallest building in downtown, located right across the street from the LA public library. The view from his office is amazing, you can see almost all of one side of LA. And the best part of his office is that they have all the free diet cokes you can drink! It is like me and Angie's dreams come true. I even had to take a picture of the copious amounts of diet cokes because I really felt the need to capture the moments. It was kind of like a crack whore sitting in mountains of rock.


I rarely get a chance to go east of Robertson on the 10, so it was a really nice opportunity to enjoy the hustle and bustle of downtown. The area he works in is really gorgeous, it is the closest that LA gets to resembling a condensed metropolitan area, and in recent years, an increasing number of restaurants and bars have been popping up to attract more yuppies to move to that area.

We decided to check out Ciudad for lunch, a place I've wanted to check out for awhile. It is a Latin-inspired fusion restaurant (shocking, yet another fusion resto in LA??) opened by Food Network chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. All in all, it was a great dining experience, albeit the mediocre service.

I had the "Ciudad Classics," (essentially an appetizer sampler) as an entree, which included peruvian ceviche, spinach empanadas, and Piquillo Peppers stuffed with goat cheese. My ceviche was delicious. It was green I think from either tomatillos or cilantro-- or both, and citrusy. There were fresh chunks of crab and a white fish of sorts. The goat cheese in the peppers were amazing. The texture and multiplicty of flavors were really interesting, slightly sweet in varying flavors. The sweetness from the pepper went well with the slight tang of the goat cheese, which was lightly sweetened with either honey or dates. The empanadas were just ok. The spinach was obviously of the frozen variety and the crust was a little soggy. I missed my friend Christin's bolivian empanadas stuffed with either chicken or cheese. :(

Tenacious D had the "Cubano," which was a Cuban Sandwich, consisting of niman ranch pork, ham, swiss cheese, and dill pickles. It was pressed panini-style and served with french fries sprinkled with cumin. It was DELICIOUS. He was nice enough to trade me half of his sammy for half of my sampler, and the sandwich was perfect. The different types of meat with the swiss tasted really lovely, and the french fries were crisp and salty, just the way I like em.

The inside is really funky and cool looking, it kind of resembles Mary Sue and Susan's other restaurant, Border Grill in Santa Monica, with modern with Matisse-inspired abstract art. The waiter was nice at first, but at some point disappeared to the land of never never and never came back, until very later. But the lack of service was not that bad of an issue given the great food.

Ciudad
445 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071
213.486.5171