so it's been an absolutely AMAZING two weeks of birthday eats -- all thanks to some great friends who've taken me out for my 30th birthday. (i seriously love you guys!!)
**********
first off, kelly and i decided to fine dine at jiraffe -- one of my FAVORITE restaurants in santa monica. the dining room has these amazingly high ceilings and the chandeliers always emit this perfectly warm glow. it's one of those rooms that makes you feel loved. and what better way to feel loved than to have the chef meeting and greeting the whole night! it was quite fabulous, especially since i've spotted him on food network before. though at some point i did wonder whether he was in the dining room more than the kitchen!
for this meal, we weren't just celebrating my birthday, but also kel's great big job offer! now, i know i'm not her mom or anything, but i'm totally SO proud of her. what an amazing feat to score a job with deutsche, especially during this completely wrecked economy. i'm THRILLED. and i suppose i owe tremendous thanks to kel's deutsche signing bonus for my lovely meal. three cheers for deutsche!
while kel went for the bistro menu (jiraffe's prix-fixe concept), i decided to pick all 3 appetizer specials. the combination of dishes gave us a fabulous spread of all different flavors. kel's lobster bisque was QUITE amazing (especially considering that i'm not the biggest fan of lobster). the bisque was creamy, but not uber heavy, and there were large chunks of lobster and other yummy things in it. i went w/the vegan squash soup and i was delighted w/the little bits of crunchy garnish on top. (i'm totally in love with vegetable puree soups -- there's something so hearty and healthy about them.)
for the main entree, kel went w/the short rib (which was moist and delicious), and i went w/the asparagus salad and the rabbit medallions. while the asparagus salad wasn't anything to write home about, the rabbit was good. however, the medallions were quite miniature and not really medallion-ey, and the dish was uber salty. (ok, so maybe we need to redefine the word "good" here.) the waitress attributed the saltiness to the olives, which surprised me since i hadn't even realized they were in there! (btw, i'm generally anti-olive.) i suppose some rice or bread probably would've done the trick, but salty is as salty does. (i have no idea why that phrase came to mind, but heck, it's my blog, so i'm gonna leave it.)
we ended off this yummy meal w/kel's banana cream pie and my lemon meyer souffle. i'm not the biggest fan of bananas in general, and especially not in desserts, so i only took a few bites of the pie. but recently, i've been really getting into lemon desserts! there's something about the kick and bite of the citrus that seems to delight my palate. that being said, the souffle was really yummy, w/the sweetness of the blackberry providing the perfect contrast to the acidity of the lemon. it was all quite heavenly. ("quite" being my word of the blog.)
jiraffe
http://www.jirafferestaurant.com/index.html
**********
on a lovely day off from school (hugs to all the veteran spirits out there!), i decided to trek out to the grove a little early. and i'm so glad i did b/c the place is ALREADY decked out in christmas lights! the ginormous inflated gingerbread house and the super tall christmas tree are both up. and the place is brimming w/holiday cheer. i suppose this is what southern california christmases are like, though there's no substitution for rockefeller center and central park during the holidays. *sigh* *double sigh*
after i did a bit of window shopping (and survived a walk through anthropologie w/o spending any money -- a miracle in and of itself), i trekked over to AOC to meet dani for my birthday dinner! now dani has absolutely been raving about this place for AGES, so i'm really glad i finally got to experience it for myself! she was already waiting, which was perfect, since we were both quite famished and ready to dive into the menus. YUM!
since this was my first time to AOC, i had no idea what to expect. i'd been to celadon down the street, which i LOVED. (and i must to being extremely depressed now that i just googled it to find out that it's CLOSED. *sniff*) in contrast to celadon's dramatic decor, AOC was much warmer, and similar to jiraffe, exhibited a nice warm glow. dani mentioned how she loved it for being so unpretentious and laidback. and i totally agree. even the waitress was totally relaxed and super helpful. (unlike comme ca, where the servers were pretentious assholes who did absolutely ZERO work -- is this what bitterness sounds like? YES.)
as AOC is a restaurant of shared plates, we ordered about 4-5 dishes, as suggested by the waitress. per dani, we absolutely HAD to order the stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto. i swear i don't see it anywhere on the online menu now that i'm checking for correct names, but i suppose it could've been on the printed menu. at any rate, they were PHENOMENAL. the perfect combination of salty and sweet in a perfect bite.
in addition to the dates, we ordered the chicken liver crostini w/pancetta and the warm ham hock salad w/sweet potato and dandelion -- since pratically everything's yummier w/pork, right? both were quite good, but i must admit to loving the sweetbreads the most. the dish came w/sunchokes and truffle butter, and you could most DEFINITELY smell the truffles. the sweetbreads were perfectly cooked and quite irresistable. mmm.... i can still taste them.... i'm almost positive we ordered one more thing, but... oh wait! yes yes, we ordered the kabocha squash gratin w/poblanos & queso fresco. a perfect marriage of mushy squash w/crunchy gratin, and sweetness w/saltiness.
we ended the meal w/a nice pear & huckleberry crisp. it wasn't particularly memorable, but ending w/fruit generally makes me feel a little bit better after lavish meals. :)
AOC
http://www.aocwinebar.com/
**********
to finish off the week's FDE's, the foodie gang (jenny, justin, dorothy, & i) splurged on a meal at catch. now i admit that this was a choice based on random reviews & DMP's suggestion, but i was thoroughly surprised when we looked around and realized that we were the youngest party in the ENTIRE restaurant. it was as if the whole room had turned 40 or 50+ and we'd stopped aging! (granted, 3 of us were asian, so of course, that upped the ante just a bit.) at any rate, the food experience was still quite good, though the overall ambiance was a little bit *too* reserved for my tastes. hey, at least we were close to the water, right?
to start, we picked out a couple of appetizers. now, with this group, it's always hard to know when folks want to share or not. however, i always go in thinking, the goal is to share, but i'm definitely picking out what *i* want to eat. that being said, jenny picked out the albacore crudo, while dorothy decided on 2 orders of scallops for the table along w/the butternut squash tortelli, and i picked out the bresaola so we'd have something green. i suppose i could've done w/o the scallops seeing as how i'm not the biggest fan of them. (however, the group seemed to like that dish most, so what do i know?) while the tortelli was quite good, the bresaola was a bit of a throwaway (though i did appreciate having some greens on my plate). the albacore had a nice bite and chew (though of course i've decided recently that raw fish isn't really my thing).
for the mains, three of us got fish: justin (the tai snapper), dorothy (the monkfish), and me (the branzino). jenny (who'd just come out of a major bout of food poisoning - poor thing!) went w/the gulf prawns that came w/bucatini pasta and wild broccoli. out of the mains, i liked mine best! : ) i'm a HUGE fan of branzino, and even though i couldn't describe it until it got to my mouth, i realized that i love it b/c the texture is just like trout (which is my absolute all-time favorite fish!!!)! there's just something about a fish that flakes apart on your plate. (i swear i can't wait to go fishing!)
it's always so fascinating how fish have such different consistencies and textures. justin's snapper, for example, was more flaky than i preferred. it reminded me of the cod and haddock that's used for fish and chips, and which i don't like very much at all. on the other hand, dorothy's monkfish tasted exactly as she said it would -- like lobster and shrimp. and as most of you know, i'm not the biggest fan of lobster or shrimp (or scallops) or any seafood that has a high chew factor. i mean, anything i have to gnaw at (unless it's steak) is simply not worth the effort. one exception, however, would be jenny's bucatini pasta, which was quite al dente, and which i surprisingly enjoyed chewing, despite my lack of interest in pasta generally. (dang! i guess i AM picky.)
to close out the evening, we ordered several desserts, for which jenny asked the waitress to bring candles. we went w/the dessert special (the walnut meringue -- which the waitress suggested and which we'd seen delivered to a nearby table), the chocolate souffle (a staple), and the fried brioche (a personal pick). while the souffle and brioche (glorified donut holes, which were actually way better at craft) were good, the highlight was definitely the meringue. layers of airy walnut meringue alternating w/layers of luscious walnut cream (at least i *think* they were all walnut!) -- the combination was fabulous. the souffle also came w/some espresso meringue, which was quite scrumptious, and which makes it seems like meringue may be a house specialty!
all in all, this was a lovely meal, though i'm not sure if it was worth being surrounded by 40somethings all night. am i being a princess? umm, YES.
catch
http://www.catchsantamonica.com/
**********
in addition to the aforementioned FDE's, i also got to catch up (finally!!!) w/marina at literati cafe, where i got to feast on an absolutely DIVINE lemon cake. (emphasis on lemon!) i swear this place has THE yummiest food and desserts on the west side. and all of it is super fresh! mmm....
literati cafe
http://www.literaticafe.com/
and after months and months of waiting, we finally got doug to guelaguetza! while i was (unfortunately -- and yes i should've known better) stuffed on an iso sushi roll, i managed to pick through a cheap veggie tamale. AND (drumroll, please) i even managed to choke down some grasshoppers stuffed into an overly cheesy, super greasy empanada. YES, you read correctly, GRASSHOPPERS. we were all so excited at first, but after the order took forever, our enthusiasm slowly dwindled. de'sha & giselle could barely get more than a few bites down (especially after seeing grasshopper bodies peeking out of the empanadas), and doug didn't even make the attempt. but i pushed forward. at least until i realized how stuffed i was. after that, it was all downhill.
guelaguetza
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/11312859/
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
thinking for the sake of thinking
so i hosted a little post-modern thanksgiving shindig tonight in honor of my upcoming 30th birthday. and it was so lovely to see so many friendly faces in my little apt. (ok, it's not that little, but 'my little apt' sounds better than 'my ginormous pad.') of course, it would've been nicer to see even more people, but i suppose i would've felt claustrophobic that much sooner.
at any rate, i was excited to have a reason to cook up a storm. this included the following yummy eats (commence salivating!): pecan/sage/cornbread stuffing, honey glazed carrots, brown sugar/cayenne/lime sweet potatoes, cheese/spinach/stuffing stuffed mushrooms (yeah, try saying THAT five times fast!), and cheese/spinach/artichoke dip. of course, these aren't the given names for these dishes, but i thought i'd give you a sense of the ingredients.
the stuffing was crispy on top and moist in the middle, w/a bit of a crunch from the pecans and a great herbiness (is that a word?) from the sage. the cornbread alone made the dish i think -- go marie callender's mix! the carrots were nice and sweet, despite my accidental overdosing of kosher salt. the sweet potatoes -- the most yummilicious after kick from the cayenne. (love it.) to be honest, i was *quite* impressed w/how my stuffed mushrooms turned out. cleaning off the mushrooms and cutting up the stems was a serious pain, but i think the end result was totally worth it. last but not least, the dip. a total last-minute addition, but the flavor was great, and i think (almost) any spinach/cheese combo is killer. (yeah, saag paneer -- wooh!)
the rest of the dinner party brought fabulous additions, w/highlights including: a zucchini casserole, apples & yams, nutty rice, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and cranberry white chocolate chip cookies. i missed out on getting some serious turkey chili (which would've been *very* post-modern), so that'll have to wait for the next party. (folks, you know who you are!) w/wine, water, soda, iced tea, and beer flowing, i was in pretty good spirits all night. : )
after the post-party clean-up, i decided to book it to the last showing of HSM 3. and even though folks may rag on me for liking cheesy HS films, i can't help but really enjoy the sentiments offered by these kinds of movies. this notion that love can overcome all things, and that if you want something enough, you'll get it. i mean, in this day and age of cynicism, you really have to have these notions thrust at you constantly to really be able to believe.
after the movie, i decided to take a long walk to and from campus. i really do love walking across wilson plaza and up janss steps, especially when there aren't too many people around. as i looked up at the sky and stared at the stars, i swear, for just a split second, i felt like i was back in hanover again. i guess i'm still surprised i can see stars out here. though they do seem so much brighter in new hampshire.
i decided to lie down alongside the reflecting pool at the top of the steps and stare up at the sky for a while. i thought, by some miracle, i'd get some answer from the stars. from the centuries of people who've lived and breathed and thought about what they wanted to get out of their lives. but...nothing. i got nothing. and i guess i teared up a little, knowing that they wouldn't tell me -- or maybe couldn't tell me.
i know i'm waxing philosophical (and cheesy) at this point. perhaps it's b/c i'm turning 30 and it's such a turning point. or it's *supposed to be* such a turning point? oh, how those lines b/w expectation and reality are starting to blur. i'm still not sure what life is supposed to be/mean, but i guess all we can do is truck on, hoping that those all-important answers come to us by some chance or miracle -- or both.
at any rate, i was excited to have a reason to cook up a storm. this included the following yummy eats (commence salivating!): pecan/sage/cornbread stuffing, honey glazed carrots, brown sugar/cayenne/lime sweet potatoes, cheese/spinach/stuffing stuffed mushrooms (yeah, try saying THAT five times fast!), and cheese/spinach/artichoke dip. of course, these aren't the given names for these dishes, but i thought i'd give you a sense of the ingredients.
the stuffing was crispy on top and moist in the middle, w/a bit of a crunch from the pecans and a great herbiness (is that a word?) from the sage. the cornbread alone made the dish i think -- go marie callender's mix! the carrots were nice and sweet, despite my accidental overdosing of kosher salt. the sweet potatoes -- the most yummilicious after kick from the cayenne. (love it.) to be honest, i was *quite* impressed w/how my stuffed mushrooms turned out. cleaning off the mushrooms and cutting up the stems was a serious pain, but i think the end result was totally worth it. last but not least, the dip. a total last-minute addition, but the flavor was great, and i think (almost) any spinach/cheese combo is killer. (yeah, saag paneer -- wooh!)
the rest of the dinner party brought fabulous additions, w/highlights including: a zucchini casserole, apples & yams, nutty rice, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and cranberry white chocolate chip cookies. i missed out on getting some serious turkey chili (which would've been *very* post-modern), so that'll have to wait for the next party. (folks, you know who you are!) w/wine, water, soda, iced tea, and beer flowing, i was in pretty good spirits all night. : )
after the post-party clean-up, i decided to book it to the last showing of HSM 3. and even though folks may rag on me for liking cheesy HS films, i can't help but really enjoy the sentiments offered by these kinds of movies. this notion that love can overcome all things, and that if you want something enough, you'll get it. i mean, in this day and age of cynicism, you really have to have these notions thrust at you constantly to really be able to believe.
after the movie, i decided to take a long walk to and from campus. i really do love walking across wilson plaza and up janss steps, especially when there aren't too many people around. as i looked up at the sky and stared at the stars, i swear, for just a split second, i felt like i was back in hanover again. i guess i'm still surprised i can see stars out here. though they do seem so much brighter in new hampshire.
i decided to lie down alongside the reflecting pool at the top of the steps and stare up at the sky for a while. i thought, by some miracle, i'd get some answer from the stars. from the centuries of people who've lived and breathed and thought about what they wanted to get out of their lives. but...nothing. i got nothing. and i guess i teared up a little, knowing that they wouldn't tell me -- or maybe couldn't tell me.
i know i'm waxing philosophical (and cheesy) at this point. perhaps it's b/c i'm turning 30 and it's such a turning point. or it's *supposed to be* such a turning point? oh, how those lines b/w expectation and reality are starting to blur. i'm still not sure what life is supposed to be/mean, but i guess all we can do is truck on, hoping that those all-important answers come to us by some chance or miracle -- or both.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
ima hottie
i love spontaneity. what with my schedule being so jammed, i love when fun things just drop into my lap! case in point: ima (pronounced ee-ma) goodness.
in the midst of my ho-hum afternoon, i got a voicemail from fellow blogger, miss t (we shall allow her to remain nameless in case i make reference to any of her comments) about a pre-opening party at fulfilled pastries, a new pastry shop opening up in the heart of beverly hills.
not only is this location amazing for its proximity to pinkberry (which is RIGHT next door), but also for its ginormous chandelier hanging in a room covered in mirrors. it's as if you walked into the foyer of the von trapp family! it was quite lovely w/the light bouncing all over the place. there was also a tall shelf, lined w/mirrors and filled w/japanese toys -- an interesting contrast to the generally western feel of the place.
upon entry, we were directed towards the owner, susumu tsuchihashi, a personal friend of miss t. he was friendly, jovial, and seemed as excited to see us as we were to partake in all of the ima goodness.
before i go on, i'd like to define ima (or imagawa-yaki, which is the pastry's full name) as a pancake-like pastry which is filled with sweet or savory fillings.
miss t mentioned that it was a bit of a highbrow thing in japan, which may quite possibly be true, considering that eri had no idea what it was when i showed her the flyer. however, susumu mentioned that ima shops were all over tokyo. and another random guest commented on how the imas here were better than the ones in j-town (which must mean they're not a new concept, right?).
at any rate, imas are fairly dense pastries, so having just 1 or 2 is plenty. but of course, seeing as how we were at the pre-opening, we had to try as many as we could get into our tummies. this effort was bolstered by the fact that fulfilled has a dynamic array of sweet and savory options, of which i tried all but a few.
the first one that caught my eye was the nutty buddha. what could be better than chocolate, toffee, and crunchy peanut butter? i swear i don't know how i could ever have grown up on smooth peanut butter. *sigh* but this combo was quite decadent and i loved tasting all the crunchy pieces inside my warm ima.
the next one that got my attention was the honey yakuza. the combo of goat cheese, mission fig, honey, walnut, and cracked black pepper sounded fascinating, especially the black pepper. i love almost anything w/fig, so this was quite the experience. miss t thought we could've gotten more goat cheese, which i had to agree with. and i daresay that the black pepper better was a bit of a throwaway. but overall, i was quite pleased.
i didn't get a chance to try the sweet geisha (w/the azuki bean), but i wasn't too excited about the harajuku monkey (probably b/c i'm not a big fan of banana), and i thought the karaoke kitty (w/the strawberries and cream cheese) was a bit of a mess. perhaps a bit of cooling time would've made it easier to eat, but the filling was actually denser than the pastry, which made it a bit problematic to hold up. (it was like a jelly donut w/too much jelly.)
on the savory side, i'm bummed that i didn't get to try the spicy samurai (w/the chicken apple sausage) b/c i swear i'd spied it first. i thought the sumo italiano was pretty good w/the prosciutto, but i was too stuffed from NVG happy hour to try the green ninja (that and i don't like sundried tomatoes). all in all, savory pastries aren't my favorite, so i think i'll have to stick w/the sweet ones.
last but not least, we also got to sample lil misa's tea, a specialty drink w/a thin layer of azuki beans on the bottom, green tea, and a little bit of white cream/foam/something on top. susumu advised us to mix up the layers before drinking so that we could get the full flavor effect. it was quite refreshing, though i think the green tea taste could've come through a bit more.
all in all, this is definitely a place to look out for. i'm still not sure i'd take imas over cupcakes, but they're certainly novelties worthy of any LA tourist.
fulfilled pastries
http://www.fulfilledpastries.com/home.htm
p.s. "ima hottie" was on a t-shirt that one of the staff was wearing. now tell me this, who wouldn't want a t-shirt that says IMA HOTTIE?!
in the midst of my ho-hum afternoon, i got a voicemail from fellow blogger, miss t (we shall allow her to remain nameless in case i make reference to any of her comments) about a pre-opening party at fulfilled pastries, a new pastry shop opening up in the heart of beverly hills.
not only is this location amazing for its proximity to pinkberry (which is RIGHT next door), but also for its ginormous chandelier hanging in a room covered in mirrors. it's as if you walked into the foyer of the von trapp family! it was quite lovely w/the light bouncing all over the place. there was also a tall shelf, lined w/mirrors and filled w/japanese toys -- an interesting contrast to the generally western feel of the place.
upon entry, we were directed towards the owner, susumu tsuchihashi, a personal friend of miss t. he was friendly, jovial, and seemed as excited to see us as we were to partake in all of the ima goodness.
before i go on, i'd like to define ima (or imagawa-yaki, which is the pastry's full name) as a pancake-like pastry which is filled with sweet or savory fillings.
miss t mentioned that it was a bit of a highbrow thing in japan, which may quite possibly be true, considering that eri had no idea what it was when i showed her the flyer. however, susumu mentioned that ima shops were all over tokyo. and another random guest commented on how the imas here were better than the ones in j-town (which must mean they're not a new concept, right?).
at any rate, imas are fairly dense pastries, so having just 1 or 2 is plenty. but of course, seeing as how we were at the pre-opening, we had to try as many as we could get into our tummies. this effort was bolstered by the fact that fulfilled has a dynamic array of sweet and savory options, of which i tried all but a few.
the first one that caught my eye was the nutty buddha. what could be better than chocolate, toffee, and crunchy peanut butter? i swear i don't know how i could ever have grown up on smooth peanut butter. *sigh* but this combo was quite decadent and i loved tasting all the crunchy pieces inside my warm ima.
the next one that got my attention was the honey yakuza. the combo of goat cheese, mission fig, honey, walnut, and cracked black pepper sounded fascinating, especially the black pepper. i love almost anything w/fig, so this was quite the experience. miss t thought we could've gotten more goat cheese, which i had to agree with. and i daresay that the black pepper better was a bit of a throwaway. but overall, i was quite pleased.
i didn't get a chance to try the sweet geisha (w/the azuki bean), but i wasn't too excited about the harajuku monkey (probably b/c i'm not a big fan of banana), and i thought the karaoke kitty (w/the strawberries and cream cheese) was a bit of a mess. perhaps a bit of cooling time would've made it easier to eat, but the filling was actually denser than the pastry, which made it a bit problematic to hold up. (it was like a jelly donut w/too much jelly.)
on the savory side, i'm bummed that i didn't get to try the spicy samurai (w/the chicken apple sausage) b/c i swear i'd spied it first. i thought the sumo italiano was pretty good w/the prosciutto, but i was too stuffed from NVG happy hour to try the green ninja (that and i don't like sundried tomatoes). all in all, savory pastries aren't my favorite, so i think i'll have to stick w/the sweet ones.
last but not least, we also got to sample lil misa's tea, a specialty drink w/a thin layer of azuki beans on the bottom, green tea, and a little bit of white cream/foam/something on top. susumu advised us to mix up the layers before drinking so that we could get the full flavor effect. it was quite refreshing, though i think the green tea taste could've come through a bit more.
all in all, this is definitely a place to look out for. i'm still not sure i'd take imas over cupcakes, but they're certainly novelties worthy of any LA tourist.
fulfilled pastries
http://www.fulfilledpastries.com/home.htm
p.s. "ima hottie" was on a t-shirt that one of the staff was wearing. now tell me this, who wouldn't want a t-shirt that says IMA HOTTIE?!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
asia de cuba
in honor of our 30th birthdays, viv & i decided to celebrate at asia de cuba in west hollywood.
to be honest, west hollywood isn't really my scene. even though i've loved the majority of my foodie experiences out there, i often wonder whether it's worth it dealing with the attitude that pervades that side of town. nevertheless, the show (and the blog) must go on, so i suppose i'll just have to sacrifice for my readership!
when we arrived in the area, we had a hard time figuring out which building was the mondrian hotel. after circling the hotel a few times, we rolled up to the valet in viv's snazzy BMW and were escorted out by two nice gentleman in white.
as soon as we walked into the mondrian, we stepped into wonderland. we went to the left and we ran into all the wannabeseens lounging about with all the other wannabeseens. (i felt a little like wretching, but i stopped myself.) we decided to turn around and check out the other side.
when we went to the right, we saw the restaurant before us. and i have to say that i was utterly impressed with the view -- a sea of white with a view of LA at the far end. i was also impressed with the fact that there were two quite normal women serving as the hostesses for the evening. when viv asked for a table w/a view, the hostess seating us was quick to offer us a table right by the window. and when i complimented the decor, the hostess showing us to our table was quite gracious and thanked me genuinely for my comment.
as soon as we were seated, i took a mental note of the view. needless to say, i've never been very impressed with the LA landscape. i mean, there's just not much to it, y'know? however, w/all its twinkling lights, even LA looked good from that window.
the evening started off great, considering that our server was tall, dark, and handsome, and quite amiable as well. he was quick w/our drinks (non-alcoholic as they were) and w/our menus, even offering several suggestions that we chose to partake of.
i'll be honest and say that i wasn't too intrigued by the options when i'd looked them up online earlier. however, since viv had suggested this place several times, i thought it was high time i gave it a try. thankfully, i was as impressed by the food as by our waiter!
to start, we chose the asian spiced pork spare ribs. these were utterly delicious, especially with a bit of sesame seed to garnish the dish. i dare say that this, coupled with the dessert, were the highlights of the meal. i would've been pleased to have a couple more ribs for the road.
for the entrees, viv chose a nice flaky fish (i want to say butterfish) while i went for the tofu (since i wasn't looking to eat heavy). we also went w/the plaintain fried rice w/avocado salad (which most people, including our waiter, refer to as the "avocado fried rice"). while the plating presentation was en pointe for everything we ordered, i must admit that i wasn't as thrilled by the entrees. the fish was OK but it seemed a little *too* flaky. (and i tend to be more of a sea bass sort of girl.) the tofu was quite good, especially when dipped in the sauce. the rice was good too, but it was pretty much just avocado plopped over a bowl of fried rice. don't get me wrong -- it was delicious. but it wasn't anything so spectactular. i just didn't get the hype.
which was totally unlike the DESSERT we ordered. now, granted, i don't remember the exact name of the amazing piece of decadence we plunged our forks into, but what i do remember is that it came out as two HUGE pieces of super moist cake w/luscious layers of cream, coconut, and caramel. after all the aforementioned eating, i could barely get more than a few bites down. and seeing as how i'd never survive having it at home, i gave viv my half of the leftovers (i mean, SOMEONE should enjoy this, right?).
i felt pretty good after the meal, but viv must've had way more than me (or she's working w/a smaller stomach), b/c she was stuffed -- and promptly fell asleep during our AFI fest film!
overall, i thought the food was quite excellent. viv, however, said she wouldn't be back. not b/c of the food, but b/c of the progressively increasing level of noise and the progressively decreasing level of service throughout the night. it was quite unfortunate, but we could barely hear ourselves think after a while, what with the folks at the adjacent table talking as if the whole world needed to hear what they had to say. the worst thing was that, at some point, our tall, dark, and handsome waiter disappeared (probably on break or to the front of the room), and we were left with a random dude who never checked on us (particularly when we were dying for dessert) and required excessive waving before he came over to our table.
viv & i talked about this at dinner. when we go out to eat, we don't go out just for the food. we go out for everything else that comes with the food. and when service is sub-par, we notice. and when we notice, that's not good.
my best advice: make an early dinner reservation. otherwise, you run the risk of getting lost in the wannabeseen crowds.
asia de cuba
http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/adecLA/main.cfm?pp=0
to be honest, west hollywood isn't really my scene. even though i've loved the majority of my foodie experiences out there, i often wonder whether it's worth it dealing with the attitude that pervades that side of town. nevertheless, the show (and the blog) must go on, so i suppose i'll just have to sacrifice for my readership!
when we arrived in the area, we had a hard time figuring out which building was the mondrian hotel. after circling the hotel a few times, we rolled up to the valet in viv's snazzy BMW and were escorted out by two nice gentleman in white.
as soon as we walked into the mondrian, we stepped into wonderland. we went to the left and we ran into all the wannabeseens lounging about with all the other wannabeseens. (i felt a little like wretching, but i stopped myself.) we decided to turn around and check out the other side.
when we went to the right, we saw the restaurant before us. and i have to say that i was utterly impressed with the view -- a sea of white with a view of LA at the far end. i was also impressed with the fact that there were two quite normal women serving as the hostesses for the evening. when viv asked for a table w/a view, the hostess seating us was quick to offer us a table right by the window. and when i complimented the decor, the hostess showing us to our table was quite gracious and thanked me genuinely for my comment.
as soon as we were seated, i took a mental note of the view. needless to say, i've never been very impressed with the LA landscape. i mean, there's just not much to it, y'know? however, w/all its twinkling lights, even LA looked good from that window.
the evening started off great, considering that our server was tall, dark, and handsome, and quite amiable as well. he was quick w/our drinks (non-alcoholic as they were) and w/our menus, even offering several suggestions that we chose to partake of.
i'll be honest and say that i wasn't too intrigued by the options when i'd looked them up online earlier. however, since viv had suggested this place several times, i thought it was high time i gave it a try. thankfully, i was as impressed by the food as by our waiter!
to start, we chose the asian spiced pork spare ribs. these were utterly delicious, especially with a bit of sesame seed to garnish the dish. i dare say that this, coupled with the dessert, were the highlights of the meal. i would've been pleased to have a couple more ribs for the road.
for the entrees, viv chose a nice flaky fish (i want to say butterfish) while i went for the tofu (since i wasn't looking to eat heavy). we also went w/the plaintain fried rice w/avocado salad (which most people, including our waiter, refer to as the "avocado fried rice"). while the plating presentation was en pointe for everything we ordered, i must admit that i wasn't as thrilled by the entrees. the fish was OK but it seemed a little *too* flaky. (and i tend to be more of a sea bass sort of girl.) the tofu was quite good, especially when dipped in the sauce. the rice was good too, but it was pretty much just avocado plopped over a bowl of fried rice. don't get me wrong -- it was delicious. but it wasn't anything so spectactular. i just didn't get the hype.
which was totally unlike the DESSERT we ordered. now, granted, i don't remember the exact name of the amazing piece of decadence we plunged our forks into, but what i do remember is that it came out as two HUGE pieces of super moist cake w/luscious layers of cream, coconut, and caramel. after all the aforementioned eating, i could barely get more than a few bites down. and seeing as how i'd never survive having it at home, i gave viv my half of the leftovers (i mean, SOMEONE should enjoy this, right?).
i felt pretty good after the meal, but viv must've had way more than me (or she's working w/a smaller stomach), b/c she was stuffed -- and promptly fell asleep during our AFI fest film!
overall, i thought the food was quite excellent. viv, however, said she wouldn't be back. not b/c of the food, but b/c of the progressively increasing level of noise and the progressively decreasing level of service throughout the night. it was quite unfortunate, but we could barely hear ourselves think after a while, what with the folks at the adjacent table talking as if the whole world needed to hear what they had to say. the worst thing was that, at some point, our tall, dark, and handsome waiter disappeared (probably on break or to the front of the room), and we were left with a random dude who never checked on us (particularly when we were dying for dessert) and required excessive waving before he came over to our table.
viv & i talked about this at dinner. when we go out to eat, we don't go out just for the food. we go out for everything else that comes with the food. and when service is sub-par, we notice. and when we notice, that's not good.
my best advice: make an early dinner reservation. otherwise, you run the risk of getting lost in the wannabeseen crowds.
asia de cuba
http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/adecLA/main.cfm?pp=0
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