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
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
another amazing craft experience
to eat or not to eat. NEVER a question to be asked at craft. where everything is AMAZING and the biggest problem you'll ever have is trying to choose from all the yummy eats on the menu.
this past friday, jeannine & i decided to go for what was my third visit to tom colicchio's LA venture. the food was phenomenal, and we were only minorly disappointed here and there. (but only b/c dining out has made us total food snobs!)
here's the rundown...
we had the veal sweetbreads to start -- OMG. perfect flavor, perfect texture. a nice crisp on the outside and a nice chew on the inside. (we'd had them at comme ca for jeannine's first sweetbreads experience and we were extremely disappointed -- so NOT worth the $$!)
for the main courses, we ordered the braised short rib (which jeannine really wanted) and the australian suzuki (a bass-like fish that neither of us had heard of much less had before). i thought the short rib needed more flavor, was a bit stringy, and was a bit heavy overall (though that's short rib for you), and she thought it was totally bland and just tasted like meat. the suzuki, however, was AMAZING. perfectly crispy on top, delicately flaky, and in no way overdone.
before the entrees, they gave us an amuse bouche that was some combo of seafood and tasted delicious. after the entrees, they gave us a palate cleanser that was like a mini-parfait-- a smooth cream underneath and an icy granita above.
after spending 3/4 of a recent chat session rattling off top pumpkin desserts, we decided we absolutely HAD to order the pumpkin pie. and it was fabulous -- UBER avant-garde. it came out as a long thin rectangle, with a brushstroke of toasted marshmallow. however, the honey flavored yogurt that came on the side was absolutely pointless, as were the toasted pumpkin seeds. nevertheless, the main components were delicious.
we also ordered a sampler of 3 of the most bizarre ice creams we could pick out. we decided on the olive oil gelato, the sweet corn ice cream, and the pink peppercorn ice cream. the chef must've known what we were going for b/c he threw in the basil ice cream as well. i liked them all, except for the pink peppercorn which was a bit strong. the rest were really quite yummy. even after jerry & teresa had hyped up their olive oil ice cream experience at fig & olive, i thought craft's version was really quite good! however, jeannine didn't think the ice cream tasted olive oil-ey enough. though we were both quite overwhelmed by the pungent garlic flavor embedded within the little black crunchy things on top. the sweet corn tasted just like creamed corn, but the basil was definitely our fave. light and mildly sweet.
and after all that, they still gave us more stuff -- cute little caramel meringues that were nice and chewy with a bit of crunch, and quince pates de fruit that were pretty much just cubes of sugar. totally passable.
last but not least, they gave us each a pumpkin muffin to take home and have the next day! god how i love fall....
ultimately, an absolutely fantastic meal. great food, great ambiance, and great company!! and kudos to michael for chauffering us home! : )
this past friday, jeannine & i decided to go for what was my third visit to tom colicchio's LA venture. the food was phenomenal, and we were only minorly disappointed here and there. (but only b/c dining out has made us total food snobs!)
here's the rundown...
we had the veal sweetbreads to start -- OMG. perfect flavor, perfect texture. a nice crisp on the outside and a nice chew on the inside. (we'd had them at comme ca for jeannine's first sweetbreads experience and we were extremely disappointed -- so NOT worth the $$!)
for the main courses, we ordered the braised short rib (which jeannine really wanted) and the australian suzuki (a bass-like fish that neither of us had heard of much less had before). i thought the short rib needed more flavor, was a bit stringy, and was a bit heavy overall (though that's short rib for you), and she thought it was totally bland and just tasted like meat. the suzuki, however, was AMAZING. perfectly crispy on top, delicately flaky, and in no way overdone.
before the entrees, they gave us an amuse bouche that was some combo of seafood and tasted delicious. after the entrees, they gave us a palate cleanser that was like a mini-parfait-- a smooth cream underneath and an icy granita above.
after spending 3/4 of a recent chat session rattling off top pumpkin desserts, we decided we absolutely HAD to order the pumpkin pie. and it was fabulous -- UBER avant-garde. it came out as a long thin rectangle, with a brushstroke of toasted marshmallow. however, the honey flavored yogurt that came on the side was absolutely pointless, as were the toasted pumpkin seeds. nevertheless, the main components were delicious.
we also ordered a sampler of 3 of the most bizarre ice creams we could pick out. we decided on the olive oil gelato, the sweet corn ice cream, and the pink peppercorn ice cream. the chef must've known what we were going for b/c he threw in the basil ice cream as well. i liked them all, except for the pink peppercorn which was a bit strong. the rest were really quite yummy. even after jerry & teresa had hyped up their olive oil ice cream experience at fig & olive, i thought craft's version was really quite good! however, jeannine didn't think the ice cream tasted olive oil-ey enough. though we were both quite overwhelmed by the pungent garlic flavor embedded within the little black crunchy things on top. the sweet corn tasted just like creamed corn, but the basil was definitely our fave. light and mildly sweet.
and after all that, they still gave us more stuff -- cute little caramel meringues that were nice and chewy with a bit of crunch, and quince pates de fruit that were pretty much just cubes of sugar. totally passable.
last but not least, they gave us each a pumpkin muffin to take home and have the next day! god how i love fall....
ultimately, an absolutely fantastic meal. great food, great ambiance, and great company!! and kudos to michael for chauffering us home! : )
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
catching up w/the readers
i know i know. it's been forever and a day since i've been on this blog, and i apologize to anyone who's even remotely bothering to keep up with my increasingly infrequent ramblings.
i must admit that this has been a crazy summer. lots going on and lots going on still. the summer seemed to zip by as orientation planning went full-speed ahead starting in july. half of august was spent trolling around sydney, adelaide, and melbourne. to the delight of my mind, my eyes, and of course, my tummy. ezard and taxi were personal faves in melbourne (which is now one of my new favorite cities), but there were certainly yummy eats that were had across the southeastern coast of oz.
after a few days of recovery from jetlag, CA training hit like a brick. and nailing down orientation logistics kept september in a whirlwind. thankfully, it was all worth it to have yet another successful event under my belt. CA training also wrapped up without little more than minor drama/trauma (you pick). but let's just say that i was thrilled when the month ended.
october has been a bit calmer, though i wish the weather wasn't quite so warm. it's just oddly hot and humid during the day, which is making it even more obvious that our environment is totally out of whack. much like our political system. if anything's made this month mildly suck, it's the sight and sound of political candidates who are stupid, insincere, or both. maybe some candidates are slightly less heinous, but none of them have made me want to jump up and vote. none of them. i mean, isn't that a tragedy?
at any rate, life is generally pretty good this month. now that i've nailed down a space to do interviews (or at least some of them), i feel a bit more relieved about the dissertation stuff as well. (let's see how long this lasts. think positive, think positive.)
on the movie front, i've watched everything from the sisterhood of the traveling pants to tell no one to ghost town to nights of rodanthe. and on the foodie front, i've checked out new happy hour specials at napa valley grille and yamato. i've gotten to dine at california roll factory and real food daily in the last week. on the flip side, i've also found my way back to a lot of my old favorites, including literati cafe, novel cafe, le pain quotidien, and tender greens (which i actually had 2 days in a row). and this week, i'm headed back to craft for another foodie splurge.
in the past few weeks, i've also indulged in daily iced blendz, which i thought was mostly ice, but found out was mostly ice and 400+ calories. thank goodness for nutrition website, but good grief!!
on the social front, it's been great re-connecting w/dana who's now here to stay for the year, sitting around w/eri over angel episodes, and soaking up good friend time in-person, on-line, and over the phone w/kel, dani, karen, caroline, amy, chiara and everyone else who helps keep me outside my own head and knowing that there's lots of other things going on with other people. this includes derek and his wedding, jerry and his baby, jenn and her baby, and god knows whatever else i'm forgetting.
life is simply too short to be totally self-involved all the time. why not listen to what someone else is saying every so often?
i must admit that this has been a crazy summer. lots going on and lots going on still. the summer seemed to zip by as orientation planning went full-speed ahead starting in july. half of august was spent trolling around sydney, adelaide, and melbourne. to the delight of my mind, my eyes, and of course, my tummy. ezard and taxi were personal faves in melbourne (which is now one of my new favorite cities), but there were certainly yummy eats that were had across the southeastern coast of oz.
after a few days of recovery from jetlag, CA training hit like a brick. and nailing down orientation logistics kept september in a whirlwind. thankfully, it was all worth it to have yet another successful event under my belt. CA training also wrapped up without little more than minor drama/trauma (you pick). but let's just say that i was thrilled when the month ended.
october has been a bit calmer, though i wish the weather wasn't quite so warm. it's just oddly hot and humid during the day, which is making it even more obvious that our environment is totally out of whack. much like our political system. if anything's made this month mildly suck, it's the sight and sound of political candidates who are stupid, insincere, or both. maybe some candidates are slightly less heinous, but none of them have made me want to jump up and vote. none of them. i mean, isn't that a tragedy?
at any rate, life is generally pretty good this month. now that i've nailed down a space to do interviews (or at least some of them), i feel a bit more relieved about the dissertation stuff as well. (let's see how long this lasts. think positive, think positive.)
on the movie front, i've watched everything from the sisterhood of the traveling pants to tell no one to ghost town to nights of rodanthe. and on the foodie front, i've checked out new happy hour specials at napa valley grille and yamato. i've gotten to dine at california roll factory and real food daily in the last week. on the flip side, i've also found my way back to a lot of my old favorites, including literati cafe, novel cafe, le pain quotidien, and tender greens (which i actually had 2 days in a row). and this week, i'm headed back to craft for another foodie splurge.
in the past few weeks, i've also indulged in daily iced blendz, which i thought was mostly ice, but found out was mostly ice and 400+ calories. thank goodness for nutrition website, but good grief!!
on the social front, it's been great re-connecting w/dana who's now here to stay for the year, sitting around w/eri over angel episodes, and soaking up good friend time in-person, on-line, and over the phone w/kel, dani, karen, caroline, amy, chiara and everyone else who helps keep me outside my own head and knowing that there's lots of other things going on with other people. this includes derek and his wedding, jerry and his baby, jenn and her baby, and god knows whatever else i'm forgetting.
life is simply too short to be totally self-involved all the time. why not listen to what someone else is saying every so often?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
eating and relaxing in spokane
as a treat to myself (after taking on a job that allows me no weekends completely free), i flew up to spokane to see erin before she leaves in august for marquette. seeing as how i've already been to milwaukee (oh so exciting as it may be =S), i decided that i had to see washington state w/one of my favorite college friends.
after a long day of working @ murphy, teaching @ wooden, and happy hour-ing @ NPG, i raced home on friday to pick up my one carry-on, stopped off at cafe elysee for some sweet treats, and hopped on the flyaway to LAX for my flight on alaska air.
not to be incredibly snobby and rude (ok, maybe simply to be incredibly snobby and rude), it's totally true that an airline is a reflection of its customers. b/c when i walked into the alaska/horizon air terminal, i was really grossed out.
the terminal was a huge space w/high ceilings, but it wasn't pleasant at all. instead, it was dark and grungy, and the people were all dark and grungy sitting in it. i was totally nauseated. when i finally found my gate, there was no order in which passengers were allowed onto the plane. compared to southwest's overly complicated, A/B/C line, self-assigned seat policy, alaska air's policy was pretty much non-existent. and while the plane was indeed small, that doesn't mean you should go w/o order. geezus christ, people.
at any rate, i got to sit next to this lovely gentleman who grew up in spokane but currently works for northrup grumman. he was a tall gentleman w/rosy cheeks, and we were chatting for pretty much the entire plane ride. this is generally good for me, since it makes me realize that there are cool and interesting people in the world (even if i can't find too many of them in my immediate vicinity - obviously this comment does NOT pertain to folks reading this blog.).
the best thing about this guy was that he's just like me! he mentioned travelling a lot, moving from job to job, and loving change. he has a beautiful wife, no kids, and two dogs! HOORAH for people who don't need to be parents to feel fulfilled. even though i was so exhausted that i was zoning out at some points in the conversation (he even apologized for keeping me up), i forced myself to stay awake, since it's so rare to meet someone on a plane who has enough interesting things to say to keep my attention the whole time. before we parted, we exchanged business cards (which i also love to do - it's cool to think some random people out there know me) and he even mentioned a great internship program at NG. talk about opportunities popping out of nowhere!
as soon as i rolled off the plane and into the terminal, i found erin waiting for me outside. it was so fabulous to see her after years of random catch-up phone calls. sometimes you just need to pick up and go, y'know? buy the ticket and don't look back. and i'm so glad i did b/c we had a totally fun and super relaxing weekend together!
after we hopped in the car, erin drove us to the red lion hotel, where she'd booked us a room to share. i was like "what?! why?!" but she apparently didn't want to inconvenience her dad, in whose guest room she was already staying in. so instead, she booked us a room at a lovely hotel right near downtown. i offered to pay for half, but she wouldn't let me! honestly, she wouldn't let me pay for anything! she said it was awesome enough that i was visiting. AWWW!!!
as soon as i got into bed that first night, i passed out. considering that i'd been waking up all week before 6am, i was completely exhausted. i'm so thankful that we got to sleep in b/c i totally slept more than 8 hours!! (for those of you who know me, you know how rare that is.) and it felt damn good, people, damn good.
to kick off my first (and only) full day in spokane, erin and i drove out to browne's addition to meet up w/her friend jenny and her family for some brunch at CAFE MARRON. the space was light and airy, and the walls were decorated with whimsical paintings and glass vases filled with dried flowers. the most unique thing about the restaurant was what looked like a sliding glass wall that resembled a garage door. basically, the wall could be pulled up (and slid along the ceiling) so that the restaurant opens out to the sidewalk. it was really quite a fascinating piece of handiwork. and definitely something that made the space more casual and relaxing.
as soon as i walked in the door, i spied some yummy-looking scones and i knew i had to order one. (i'm obsessed with scones now that i've been spoiled by alice's teacup and the knowledge that scones don't have to be dry!) we were seated quickly and served drinks right away. i must admit to being slightly off-put by the fact that we were handed paper/takeout menus though. i mean, you can't afford to have nice menus for people dining in?! how bizarre.
regardless, i really had to focus on the food. jenny and i decided on the duck eggs & chorizo. i mean, how delicious does that sound?? jenny's lil sis chose the avocado sandwich, erin went w/the eggs benedict, and jenny's mom thought the pancakes looked too good to pass up. i also picked out two scones: lavender chocolate chip and raspberry (i think). they brought them to the table warm and i cut them up to share. everyone raved. they were super moist and utterly fabulous. the only issue was that i really couldn't taste the lavender, though perhaps the amount of chocolate really overwhelmed any other flavors. not that the chocolate wasn't absolutely delicious of course b/c it totally was.
when the food arrived, we were all happy as clams. jenny & i pretty much inhaled our dishes (bread & all). everyone else made significant progress through their meals. my eggs & chorizo were just the right consistency and flavor, not too mushy and not too salty. and having had the scones beforehand, i was able to get both my sweet & salty fix. needless to say, the company always helps to make the meal. but the food, atmosphere, and service at cafe marron can easily stand on their own.
cafe marron
http://www.cafemarronbrownes.com/cafemarron/index.php
after brunch, erin and i stopped off at the hotel to drop off the car. and then we made our way downtown for some shopping. we decided to pick up our batman IMAX tix first, which we were glad we did, b/c we found out early that the 7pm show was sold out. we decided to get tix for the earlier show at 4pm, which was probably better in terms of scheduling, since that placed us at a perfect dinner time. (i loved it when erin asked me about dinner right after brunch! talk about reading my mind!)
on the way around the square to the mall, erin pointed out some awesome statues that celebrate bloomsday, the longest timed road race, which takes place in spokane. apparently, there are some strict rules, so pay attention if you decide to run it!
bloomsday run
http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/
we decided to start off w/nordstrom's (since i don't think i've ever been in one), but it wasn't anything to rave about. (perhaps nordstrom's rack is different? anyone up for a shopping trip?) however, erin did fall in love w/a bag that we eventually had to go back for later in the evening. (talk about bag on the brain.) we then checked out several cute shops in the area, including a shop called boo radley's, after the infamous character in to kill a mockingbird! who would've thunk? btw, shopping is so relaxing when you're not intent on buying anything. though i suppose that's when the money starts to leak out slowly....
we took the rest of the afternoon to walk around the park (one of many that spokane is known for) and enjoy the fresh air. it really was the perfect way to spend the day. i'm not sure how high maintenance people think i am, but i really do enjoy just walking around, people watching, eating, and shopping. and if the place is known for parks, i wanna see parks! oh! and carousels! i love carousels. as soon as i saw the one in the park, we had to get on it. i snagged what looked like a cross b/w an antelope and a llama - it was actually quite cute. as we went around and around, the carousel seemed to go faster and faster. until i realized that this was probably the fastest carousel i'd ever been on! erin egged me on to grab a plastic ring, but i was holding on for dear life, trying not to flash anyone in my cute dress, and feeling like my arms were just a little too short to make it happen. plus, i thought i might chip a nail or break a finger in the process. needless to say, i was uber jealous when the girl in front of me picked off several rings w/o blinking an eye. GRRR!!!
after the carousel ride, we grabbed some hawaiian ice, which is essentially lots of shaved ice covered in sugar water. my volcano & watermelon combo was actually quite tasty, though i was glad to have the flavors diluted by all the ice. we ended up bumping into erin's aunts (who were seeing the movie w/us) who'd just made their way through a hawaiian ice themselves! they trekked off to do some shopping and we made our way through the park back to the IMAX theater. and it was good that we showed up when we did b/c the line was already getting quite long. we ended up waiting for an hour, surrounded by what i thought seemed like lots of young, married people. everywhere i turned there were engagement & wedding rings flashing, from folks that looked no more than 25! it was quite bizarre. the rest of the crowd was quite diverse, more diverse than i expected, considering that i hadn't seen too many people of color throughout the day.
needless to say, batman was AMAZING. we were in the center of the theater and so close to the action. and considering that there was so much psychological stuff going on, this film definitely warrants a second viewing. (no worries. kel & i are on this!)
after the movie, we all parted ways. erin & i trekked back to nordstrom's to get her bag (woohoo!) and then we trekked through yet another park, this time w/views of rushing water. it totally reminded me of simon pearce and looking down into the connecticut river. *sigh* considering that we were leaning towards seafood for dinner, erin decided that we should check out ANTHONY'S, one of her favorites in the area. it wasn't until i saw the restaurant at the airport that i even knew it was a chain. but i'm glad i didn't know b/c chains always seem to bring w/them all these negative connotations. and this place definitely went way beyond your typical chain.
as soon as we walked in, we were pretty much seated immediately. we were shown to a lovely booth with a fabulous view of the water. it was actually nicer to sit along the inside so we could see the water but avoid the glare of the sun. our waiter was quite adorable, though he seemed a bit too eager to please at times. (poor thing. it was probably b/c we were so dazzling.)
we started off w/the baja cocktail (w/2 different kinds of shrimp) and a dish of sweet oysters (i forget the exact name). the shrimp were amazing w/the avocado. while the oysters were a bit smaller than i expected, they still went down perfectly w/absolutely NO sand whatsoever. (this is pretty amazing, considering that there ALWAYS seems to be sand in my oysters.) totally fresh and delicious. and no tummy aches later!
for the main entree, i went w/the local fish on the specials list, the columbia river sturgeon, that came w/basmatic rice and sauteed veggies. erin chose one of her favorites, the alaska scallops, that also came w/rice and veggies. considering that this was probably the first time i'd ever had sturgeon before, i wasn't quite sure what to compare the experience to. however, the consistency of the fish was quite nice -- just a little firm w/a bit of chew. i tend to like fish that don't just fall apart in your mouth, and the sturgeon did well in this regard. the flavor was also quite well done, such that the fish didn't require any extra seasoning.
for dessert, i went w/the local ingredients and chose the huckleberry crumble. erin didn't think *too* highly of the rest of the desserts, plus i really wanted some fruit @ that point. when it came to the table (w/a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top), i couldn't help thinking that it wasn't quite warm enough for me. in terms of texture, though, there was definitely a good ratio of crumble to fruit. more often than not, this ratio is where many restaurants/cafes/coffee shops screw up. you can't have too much crumble, or else the dessert will be really dry. you can't have too much fruit, or else the dessert will be totally wet. so figuring out this magic ratio is absolutely essential to making any fruit crumble perfectly delicious.
anthony's
http://www.anthonys.com/restaurants/info/spokane.html
after dinner, erin & i trekked slowly back to the hotel, wandering in the lovely darkness of night, bumping into eerie-looking statues, chatting about her big move to marquette, and listening to a wedding reception take place on the roof of a nearby hotel. it was really quite relaxing and i couldn't help thinking that i wished i had more times like this with friends. *sigh*
as soon as i got back to the room, i passed out almost immediately. i couldn't even stay awake through an episode of L&O: SVU! i didn't really mind falling asleep early though, especially when i woke up naturally to the nice bright light of morning. somehow my brain & my body had woken me up a little bit before 6AM (!!) even while i was on vacation. and rather than being annoyed, i decided to take advantage of being up.
while i felt horrible that i had to wake up erin to grab the key card for the room, i really really really wanted to go for a swim. YES, can you believe it? MOI. but considering that i'd failed miserably on my freestyle stroke in my last swim class before leaving for spokane, i felt i had to redeem myself. (and to think rusty had JUST offered me all those compliments. *sigh*) unfortunately, this process of redemption required THREE visits to the front desk before my key card actually got me into the indoor pool (which should've opened precisely at 6AM).
but thank the lord that i finally got in b/c it was absolutely AMAZING to have this huge, 4-foot deep, heated pool ALL to myself for a whole luxurious HOUR. i worked on my backstroke and my freestyle stroke, and i was literally there for the whole hour, talking myself through i don't even remember how many lengths of the pool. and except for a few employees wandering through every so often, i was left completely to my own devices. by the time i left, i'd completed some serious laps. and i was happily exhausted from my early morning cardio workout.
by the time i headed back up to the room, erin was already up and watching some golf action. we both took quick showers, packed up, and headed out for our last few hours of adventure together. we weren't quite sure where to go for breakfast, until erin suggested FRANK'S DINER, which is this adorable diner set INSIDE a railroad car! as soon as she mentioned it, i said YES YES YES. i mean, how totally COOL is that?
as soon as that decision was made, we sped on over. and it was good that we were up early b/c we didn't have to wait more than a few minutes before we were seated in a lovely 2-person booth toward the back of the railroad car. it would've been nice to sit at the counter too, but it also would've been a bit of a squish. and who wants to be squished on vacation!
our booth was quite cozy. as was the menu! i considered eating light (for about a minute), but i thought: what the heck! live it up! and since i hadn't had waffles since lou's, i ordered waffles w/priest lake huckleberries, as well as a side order of extra crispy bacon. (i mean, why not go all the way?) erin went w/the blueberry muffin french toast, which also sounded quite delectable. i have no idea why i thought i should eat light b/c i ended up polishing off both of my dishes, as well as the remainder of erin's french toast & fruit. and surprisingly, i could still walk out of there standing upright!
everything was YUMMY, and i couldn't have asked for a better last meal. the service was also quite good, despite the fact that the waitress didn't have any skim milk for my coffee! i certainly wasn't offended or upset by this, but more amused than anything, considering that skim milk is totally the norm in LA. (surprise, surprise.) just ask giselle (my favorite ex-barista)!
frank's diner
http://www.franksdiners.com/index.htm
after breakfast, we decided to walk around yet another park. (god how i love parks!) this one was absolutely gorgeous, with several different gardens embedded within. our first stop was the rose garden, where erin's totally getting married to her prince charming. we then passed through a japanese garden, where we hopped across rocks in a bubbling brook. we even asked a random guy to take our picture on the bridge! (ahem ahem - WHERE'S THAT PHOTO?!). we then made our way into what i thought looked like a mini-versailles garden, where a couple was taking wedding pics. (neither erin nor i were very impressed by the ladies' choice of dresses, but we decided to keep our comments to ourselves.) we finally meandered into a bonsai show of sorts, where erin bumped into an old friend of little substance (HA!) and i picked up a magnet with some lovely, hand-drawn goldfish. the bonsais were also quite fascinating, though i thought it was actually more interesting that a white man was telling me about bonsai-making. hmmm....
as we left the park, we were trying to figure out what to do next. considering that there's only so much to see and do in spokane, erin asked if i wanted to go to idaho. of course, that was an automatic YES! (i mean, when else would i go to IDAHO?!)
so for our last big adventure, erin took me out to coeur d'alene, which is apparently a big lake resort town in idaho, approximately 20-30 minutes from spokane. it was quite lovely and reminded me of nantucket and the cape, what with the older buildings and the cute shops lining both sides of the street.
erin and i sauntered down the main thoroughfare and stopped in to pick up little trinkets here and there. we wandered into this little shop, where we spotted BUTTER LONDON, a shi-shi brand of manicure/pedicure products that erin is in love with. (which is the main reason why it's specially cited here!) i picked up a small bottle of cuticle remover that's supposed to make your cuticles magically disintegrate upon rubbing. i asked the saleswoman whether they were burned off, and she assured me no. of course, i've yet to try it. when i do, i'm sure there will be some news on facebook.
butter london
http://www.butterlondon.com/
we stopped into a few more shops (including one where i finally found my elusive biscuit cutter -- thank god the TSA didn't take it away from me!) before we wandered down toward the lake. erin didn't seem to think there was much to see, but i was quite impressed by the size of the lake and the makeshift beach. i'm not quite sure it was real sand, though i suppose it could've been light dirt. at any rate, it was a lovely expanse of water, especially when i expected fields of corn. and yes, i know, but i can't help my preconceived notions.
before we headed back to the spokane airport, we made a pitstop at the TJ MAXX so that erin could check out more bags. (whoever knew she was such a bag whore?! janet, you two would SO appreciate each other.) after what seemed like an interminable ride (b/c traffic got heavy), erin dropped me off and we said our goodbyes. even though this trip was *so* short, it really was one of the best vacations ever! THANKS ERIN!! i miss you already! *sniff*
(not to take away from this mushy ending or anything, but FYI that i had yet another splendid conversation on my return flight, this time w/an older woman who was on her way back to oregon, and that i had a wonderful time wandering around the amazing seattle airport. oh so much to see! and eat! i even stopped by a butter london boutique in the airport -- what a small world!)
after a long day of working @ murphy, teaching @ wooden, and happy hour-ing @ NPG, i raced home on friday to pick up my one carry-on, stopped off at cafe elysee for some sweet treats, and hopped on the flyaway to LAX for my flight on alaska air.
not to be incredibly snobby and rude (ok, maybe simply to be incredibly snobby and rude), it's totally true that an airline is a reflection of its customers. b/c when i walked into the alaska/horizon air terminal, i was really grossed out.
the terminal was a huge space w/high ceilings, but it wasn't pleasant at all. instead, it was dark and grungy, and the people were all dark and grungy sitting in it. i was totally nauseated. when i finally found my gate, there was no order in which passengers were allowed onto the plane. compared to southwest's overly complicated, A/B/C line, self-assigned seat policy, alaska air's policy was pretty much non-existent. and while the plane was indeed small, that doesn't mean you should go w/o order. geezus christ, people.
at any rate, i got to sit next to this lovely gentleman who grew up in spokane but currently works for northrup grumman. he was a tall gentleman w/rosy cheeks, and we were chatting for pretty much the entire plane ride. this is generally good for me, since it makes me realize that there are cool and interesting people in the world (even if i can't find too many of them in my immediate vicinity - obviously this comment does NOT pertain to folks reading this blog.).
the best thing about this guy was that he's just like me! he mentioned travelling a lot, moving from job to job, and loving change. he has a beautiful wife, no kids, and two dogs! HOORAH for people who don't need to be parents to feel fulfilled. even though i was so exhausted that i was zoning out at some points in the conversation (he even apologized for keeping me up), i forced myself to stay awake, since it's so rare to meet someone on a plane who has enough interesting things to say to keep my attention the whole time. before we parted, we exchanged business cards (which i also love to do - it's cool to think some random people out there know me) and he even mentioned a great internship program at NG. talk about opportunities popping out of nowhere!
as soon as i rolled off the plane and into the terminal, i found erin waiting for me outside. it was so fabulous to see her after years of random catch-up phone calls. sometimes you just need to pick up and go, y'know? buy the ticket and don't look back. and i'm so glad i did b/c we had a totally fun and super relaxing weekend together!
after we hopped in the car, erin drove us to the red lion hotel, where she'd booked us a room to share. i was like "what?! why?!" but she apparently didn't want to inconvenience her dad, in whose guest room she was already staying in. so instead, she booked us a room at a lovely hotel right near downtown. i offered to pay for half, but she wouldn't let me! honestly, she wouldn't let me pay for anything! she said it was awesome enough that i was visiting. AWWW!!!
as soon as i got into bed that first night, i passed out. considering that i'd been waking up all week before 6am, i was completely exhausted. i'm so thankful that we got to sleep in b/c i totally slept more than 8 hours!! (for those of you who know me, you know how rare that is.) and it felt damn good, people, damn good.
to kick off my first (and only) full day in spokane, erin and i drove out to browne's addition to meet up w/her friend jenny and her family for some brunch at CAFE MARRON. the space was light and airy, and the walls were decorated with whimsical paintings and glass vases filled with dried flowers. the most unique thing about the restaurant was what looked like a sliding glass wall that resembled a garage door. basically, the wall could be pulled up (and slid along the ceiling) so that the restaurant opens out to the sidewalk. it was really quite a fascinating piece of handiwork. and definitely something that made the space more casual and relaxing.
as soon as i walked in the door, i spied some yummy-looking scones and i knew i had to order one. (i'm obsessed with scones now that i've been spoiled by alice's teacup and the knowledge that scones don't have to be dry!) we were seated quickly and served drinks right away. i must admit to being slightly off-put by the fact that we were handed paper/takeout menus though. i mean, you can't afford to have nice menus for people dining in?! how bizarre.
regardless, i really had to focus on the food. jenny and i decided on the duck eggs & chorizo. i mean, how delicious does that sound?? jenny's lil sis chose the avocado sandwich, erin went w/the eggs benedict, and jenny's mom thought the pancakes looked too good to pass up. i also picked out two scones: lavender chocolate chip and raspberry (i think). they brought them to the table warm and i cut them up to share. everyone raved. they were super moist and utterly fabulous. the only issue was that i really couldn't taste the lavender, though perhaps the amount of chocolate really overwhelmed any other flavors. not that the chocolate wasn't absolutely delicious of course b/c it totally was.
when the food arrived, we were all happy as clams. jenny & i pretty much inhaled our dishes (bread & all). everyone else made significant progress through their meals. my eggs & chorizo were just the right consistency and flavor, not too mushy and not too salty. and having had the scones beforehand, i was able to get both my sweet & salty fix. needless to say, the company always helps to make the meal. but the food, atmosphere, and service at cafe marron can easily stand on their own.
cafe marron
http://www.cafemarronbrownes.com/cafemarron/index.php
after brunch, erin and i stopped off at the hotel to drop off the car. and then we made our way downtown for some shopping. we decided to pick up our batman IMAX tix first, which we were glad we did, b/c we found out early that the 7pm show was sold out. we decided to get tix for the earlier show at 4pm, which was probably better in terms of scheduling, since that placed us at a perfect dinner time. (i loved it when erin asked me about dinner right after brunch! talk about reading my mind!)
on the way around the square to the mall, erin pointed out some awesome statues that celebrate bloomsday, the longest timed road race, which takes place in spokane. apparently, there are some strict rules, so pay attention if you decide to run it!
bloomsday run
http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/
we decided to start off w/nordstrom's (since i don't think i've ever been in one), but it wasn't anything to rave about. (perhaps nordstrom's rack is different? anyone up for a shopping trip?) however, erin did fall in love w/a bag that we eventually had to go back for later in the evening. (talk about bag on the brain.) we then checked out several cute shops in the area, including a shop called boo radley's, after the infamous character in to kill a mockingbird! who would've thunk? btw, shopping is so relaxing when you're not intent on buying anything. though i suppose that's when the money starts to leak out slowly....
we took the rest of the afternoon to walk around the park (one of many that spokane is known for) and enjoy the fresh air. it really was the perfect way to spend the day. i'm not sure how high maintenance people think i am, but i really do enjoy just walking around, people watching, eating, and shopping. and if the place is known for parks, i wanna see parks! oh! and carousels! i love carousels. as soon as i saw the one in the park, we had to get on it. i snagged what looked like a cross b/w an antelope and a llama - it was actually quite cute. as we went around and around, the carousel seemed to go faster and faster. until i realized that this was probably the fastest carousel i'd ever been on! erin egged me on to grab a plastic ring, but i was holding on for dear life, trying not to flash anyone in my cute dress, and feeling like my arms were just a little too short to make it happen. plus, i thought i might chip a nail or break a finger in the process. needless to say, i was uber jealous when the girl in front of me picked off several rings w/o blinking an eye. GRRR!!!
after the carousel ride, we grabbed some hawaiian ice, which is essentially lots of shaved ice covered in sugar water. my volcano & watermelon combo was actually quite tasty, though i was glad to have the flavors diluted by all the ice. we ended up bumping into erin's aunts (who were seeing the movie w/us) who'd just made their way through a hawaiian ice themselves! they trekked off to do some shopping and we made our way through the park back to the IMAX theater. and it was good that we showed up when we did b/c the line was already getting quite long. we ended up waiting for an hour, surrounded by what i thought seemed like lots of young, married people. everywhere i turned there were engagement & wedding rings flashing, from folks that looked no more than 25! it was quite bizarre. the rest of the crowd was quite diverse, more diverse than i expected, considering that i hadn't seen too many people of color throughout the day.
needless to say, batman was AMAZING. we were in the center of the theater and so close to the action. and considering that there was so much psychological stuff going on, this film definitely warrants a second viewing. (no worries. kel & i are on this!)
after the movie, we all parted ways. erin & i trekked back to nordstrom's to get her bag (woohoo!) and then we trekked through yet another park, this time w/views of rushing water. it totally reminded me of simon pearce and looking down into the connecticut river. *sigh* considering that we were leaning towards seafood for dinner, erin decided that we should check out ANTHONY'S, one of her favorites in the area. it wasn't until i saw the restaurant at the airport that i even knew it was a chain. but i'm glad i didn't know b/c chains always seem to bring w/them all these negative connotations. and this place definitely went way beyond your typical chain.
as soon as we walked in, we were pretty much seated immediately. we were shown to a lovely booth with a fabulous view of the water. it was actually nicer to sit along the inside so we could see the water but avoid the glare of the sun. our waiter was quite adorable, though he seemed a bit too eager to please at times. (poor thing. it was probably b/c we were so dazzling.)
we started off w/the baja cocktail (w/2 different kinds of shrimp) and a dish of sweet oysters (i forget the exact name). the shrimp were amazing w/the avocado. while the oysters were a bit smaller than i expected, they still went down perfectly w/absolutely NO sand whatsoever. (this is pretty amazing, considering that there ALWAYS seems to be sand in my oysters.) totally fresh and delicious. and no tummy aches later!
for the main entree, i went w/the local fish on the specials list, the columbia river sturgeon, that came w/basmatic rice and sauteed veggies. erin chose one of her favorites, the alaska scallops, that also came w/rice and veggies. considering that this was probably the first time i'd ever had sturgeon before, i wasn't quite sure what to compare the experience to. however, the consistency of the fish was quite nice -- just a little firm w/a bit of chew. i tend to like fish that don't just fall apart in your mouth, and the sturgeon did well in this regard. the flavor was also quite well done, such that the fish didn't require any extra seasoning.
for dessert, i went w/the local ingredients and chose the huckleberry crumble. erin didn't think *too* highly of the rest of the desserts, plus i really wanted some fruit @ that point. when it came to the table (w/a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top), i couldn't help thinking that it wasn't quite warm enough for me. in terms of texture, though, there was definitely a good ratio of crumble to fruit. more often than not, this ratio is where many restaurants/cafes/coffee shops screw up. you can't have too much crumble, or else the dessert will be really dry. you can't have too much fruit, or else the dessert will be totally wet. so figuring out this magic ratio is absolutely essential to making any fruit crumble perfectly delicious.
anthony's
http://www.anthonys.com/restaurants/info/spokane.html
after dinner, erin & i trekked slowly back to the hotel, wandering in the lovely darkness of night, bumping into eerie-looking statues, chatting about her big move to marquette, and listening to a wedding reception take place on the roof of a nearby hotel. it was really quite relaxing and i couldn't help thinking that i wished i had more times like this with friends. *sigh*
as soon as i got back to the room, i passed out almost immediately. i couldn't even stay awake through an episode of L&O: SVU! i didn't really mind falling asleep early though, especially when i woke up naturally to the nice bright light of morning. somehow my brain & my body had woken me up a little bit before 6AM (!!) even while i was on vacation. and rather than being annoyed, i decided to take advantage of being up.
while i felt horrible that i had to wake up erin to grab the key card for the room, i really really really wanted to go for a swim. YES, can you believe it? MOI. but considering that i'd failed miserably on my freestyle stroke in my last swim class before leaving for spokane, i felt i had to redeem myself. (and to think rusty had JUST offered me all those compliments. *sigh*) unfortunately, this process of redemption required THREE visits to the front desk before my key card actually got me into the indoor pool (which should've opened precisely at 6AM).
but thank the lord that i finally got in b/c it was absolutely AMAZING to have this huge, 4-foot deep, heated pool ALL to myself for a whole luxurious HOUR. i worked on my backstroke and my freestyle stroke, and i was literally there for the whole hour, talking myself through i don't even remember how many lengths of the pool. and except for a few employees wandering through every so often, i was left completely to my own devices. by the time i left, i'd completed some serious laps. and i was happily exhausted from my early morning cardio workout.
by the time i headed back up to the room, erin was already up and watching some golf action. we both took quick showers, packed up, and headed out for our last few hours of adventure together. we weren't quite sure where to go for breakfast, until erin suggested FRANK'S DINER, which is this adorable diner set INSIDE a railroad car! as soon as she mentioned it, i said YES YES YES. i mean, how totally COOL is that?
as soon as that decision was made, we sped on over. and it was good that we were up early b/c we didn't have to wait more than a few minutes before we were seated in a lovely 2-person booth toward the back of the railroad car. it would've been nice to sit at the counter too, but it also would've been a bit of a squish. and who wants to be squished on vacation!
our booth was quite cozy. as was the menu! i considered eating light (for about a minute), but i thought: what the heck! live it up! and since i hadn't had waffles since lou's, i ordered waffles w/priest lake huckleberries, as well as a side order of extra crispy bacon. (i mean, why not go all the way?) erin went w/the blueberry muffin french toast, which also sounded quite delectable. i have no idea why i thought i should eat light b/c i ended up polishing off both of my dishes, as well as the remainder of erin's french toast & fruit. and surprisingly, i could still walk out of there standing upright!
everything was YUMMY, and i couldn't have asked for a better last meal. the service was also quite good, despite the fact that the waitress didn't have any skim milk for my coffee! i certainly wasn't offended or upset by this, but more amused than anything, considering that skim milk is totally the norm in LA. (surprise, surprise.) just ask giselle (my favorite ex-barista)!
frank's diner
http://www.franksdiners.com/index.htm
after breakfast, we decided to walk around yet another park. (god how i love parks!) this one was absolutely gorgeous, with several different gardens embedded within. our first stop was the rose garden, where erin's totally getting married to her prince charming. we then passed through a japanese garden, where we hopped across rocks in a bubbling brook. we even asked a random guy to take our picture on the bridge! (ahem ahem - WHERE'S THAT PHOTO?!). we then made our way into what i thought looked like a mini-versailles garden, where a couple was taking wedding pics. (neither erin nor i were very impressed by the ladies' choice of dresses, but we decided to keep our comments to ourselves.) we finally meandered into a bonsai show of sorts, where erin bumped into an old friend of little substance (HA!) and i picked up a magnet with some lovely, hand-drawn goldfish. the bonsais were also quite fascinating, though i thought it was actually more interesting that a white man was telling me about bonsai-making. hmmm....
as we left the park, we were trying to figure out what to do next. considering that there's only so much to see and do in spokane, erin asked if i wanted to go to idaho. of course, that was an automatic YES! (i mean, when else would i go to IDAHO?!)
so for our last big adventure, erin took me out to coeur d'alene, which is apparently a big lake resort town in idaho, approximately 20-30 minutes from spokane. it was quite lovely and reminded me of nantucket and the cape, what with the older buildings and the cute shops lining both sides of the street.
erin and i sauntered down the main thoroughfare and stopped in to pick up little trinkets here and there. we wandered into this little shop, where we spotted BUTTER LONDON, a shi-shi brand of manicure/pedicure products that erin is in love with. (which is the main reason why it's specially cited here!) i picked up a small bottle of cuticle remover that's supposed to make your cuticles magically disintegrate upon rubbing. i asked the saleswoman whether they were burned off, and she assured me no. of course, i've yet to try it. when i do, i'm sure there will be some news on facebook.
butter london
http://www.butterlondon.com/
we stopped into a few more shops (including one where i finally found my elusive biscuit cutter -- thank god the TSA didn't take it away from me!) before we wandered down toward the lake. erin didn't seem to think there was much to see, but i was quite impressed by the size of the lake and the makeshift beach. i'm not quite sure it was real sand, though i suppose it could've been light dirt. at any rate, it was a lovely expanse of water, especially when i expected fields of corn. and yes, i know, but i can't help my preconceived notions.
before we headed back to the spokane airport, we made a pitstop at the TJ MAXX so that erin could check out more bags. (whoever knew she was such a bag whore?! janet, you two would SO appreciate each other.) after what seemed like an interminable ride (b/c traffic got heavy), erin dropped me off and we said our goodbyes. even though this trip was *so* short, it really was one of the best vacations ever! THANKS ERIN!! i miss you already! *sniff*
(not to take away from this mushy ending or anything, but FYI that i had yet another splendid conversation on my return flight, this time w/an older woman who was on her way back to oregon, and that i had a wonderful time wandering around the amazing seattle airport. oh so much to see! and eat! i even stopped by a butter london boutique in the airport -- what a small world!)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
rockin' oaxacan @ juquila
seeing as how we hadn't seen each other in weeks, dave and i made plans to meet up for some serious grubbin' (as he might say) @ juquila. to make sure we burned off some calories before we stuffed our faces, i suggested walking to the restaurant, which gave us lots of time to catch up on the latest news and debate the big topics. (ok, maybe not so much the latter, but i'm sure we talked about SOMETHING important.)
after 30 minutes of walking (and dave wondering whether i actually knew where i was going), we arrived at juquila. only to find out that he'd been there before! grrr.... i grumble only b/c i love taking my friends to new places, and the initial excitement is thereby depleted if said friend has already been to said place. i gave him the option of trying cafe 50's instead, but i have to say i was pretty relieved when he said that he'd hyped himself up for oaxacan. you know when you wait for something all day long and you get yourself super psyched about it? well, that was me.
by the time we got to juquila, we were both semi-famished. we pretty much dove into the chips, lightly covered in mole & cheese. mmm.... talk about scrumptious. (i mean, we even had to order another plate!) after getting dave a nice amber, we focused our attention on the menu. as soon as i saw the tamales, i knew i had to order one to start. i decided on the tamales de mole, which was masa w/chicken and mole in the middle, all wrapped in a nice banana leaf.
i must admit that i was a bit displeased w/how messily the tamale was put together. it seemed like masa slipped into different layers of the banana leaf wrapping, rather than staying in the center of the wrapping. this created thin sections of masa that were a bit dry, despite being slathered by the amazingly delicious mole. the chicken in the center was a bit dry as well, which wasn't too appetizing. but when you have yummy mole and good conversation going on, i suppose you get distracted enough not to care as much as you normally would.
for the entree, dave went w/the enmoladas and i went w/the coloradito de pollo. i really wanted to try different kinds of mole (which mac had JUST been talking about earlier) so i decided to start with the black mole in my appetizer and the red mole in my entree. the waitress was lovely enough to allow me to substitute the rice w/veggies. and the whole dish, chicken & veggies covered in red mole, was delicious. it was probably made better by the fact that the kitchen used dark meat chicken, which is slightly fattier and soaks up more flavor.
while both of my dishes were fabulous, i decided to save about 1/2 of each so that i'd have yummy leftovers. plus, i was really interested in trying the burnt milk ice cream for dessert. i've certainly met my match in terms of eating b/c dave was equally interested in ending on a sweet note. he went for the lime ice cream, which i have to admit that i enjoyed more. while i had to disagree w/his slightly dramatic sentiment that it tasted like "limes off a tree," i have to say that it did taste very light and fresh. on the other hand, mine tasted a bit too sweet and a bit too burnt. i couldn't take more than a few bites before i started to pick at dave's.
at the end of the meal, i decided that i still preferred oaxacan @ guelaguetza. but considering that this place is much closer, i certainly wouldn't be opposed to going back. next time, i've gotta try the yellow and green moles. y'know, gotta round out the mole experience...
juquila
11619 santa monica blvd
los angeles, ca 90025
310.312.1079
after 30 minutes of walking (and dave wondering whether i actually knew where i was going), we arrived at juquila. only to find out that he'd been there before! grrr.... i grumble only b/c i love taking my friends to new places, and the initial excitement is thereby depleted if said friend has already been to said place. i gave him the option of trying cafe 50's instead, but i have to say i was pretty relieved when he said that he'd hyped himself up for oaxacan. you know when you wait for something all day long and you get yourself super psyched about it? well, that was me.
by the time we got to juquila, we were both semi-famished. we pretty much dove into the chips, lightly covered in mole & cheese. mmm.... talk about scrumptious. (i mean, we even had to order another plate!) after getting dave a nice amber, we focused our attention on the menu. as soon as i saw the tamales, i knew i had to order one to start. i decided on the tamales de mole, which was masa w/chicken and mole in the middle, all wrapped in a nice banana leaf.
i must admit that i was a bit displeased w/how messily the tamale was put together. it seemed like masa slipped into different layers of the banana leaf wrapping, rather than staying in the center of the wrapping. this created thin sections of masa that were a bit dry, despite being slathered by the amazingly delicious mole. the chicken in the center was a bit dry as well, which wasn't too appetizing. but when you have yummy mole and good conversation going on, i suppose you get distracted enough not to care as much as you normally would.
for the entree, dave went w/the enmoladas and i went w/the coloradito de pollo. i really wanted to try different kinds of mole (which mac had JUST been talking about earlier) so i decided to start with the black mole in my appetizer and the red mole in my entree. the waitress was lovely enough to allow me to substitute the rice w/veggies. and the whole dish, chicken & veggies covered in red mole, was delicious. it was probably made better by the fact that the kitchen used dark meat chicken, which is slightly fattier and soaks up more flavor.
while both of my dishes were fabulous, i decided to save about 1/2 of each so that i'd have yummy leftovers. plus, i was really interested in trying the burnt milk ice cream for dessert. i've certainly met my match in terms of eating b/c dave was equally interested in ending on a sweet note. he went for the lime ice cream, which i have to admit that i enjoyed more. while i had to disagree w/his slightly dramatic sentiment that it tasted like "limes off a tree," i have to say that it did taste very light and fresh. on the other hand, mine tasted a bit too sweet and a bit too burnt. i couldn't take more than a few bites before i started to pick at dave's.
at the end of the meal, i decided that i still preferred oaxacan @ guelaguetza. but considering that this place is much closer, i certainly wouldn't be opposed to going back. next time, i've gotta try the yellow and green moles. y'know, gotta round out the mole experience...
juquila
11619 santa monica blvd
los angeles, ca 90025
310.312.1079
Monday, July 14, 2008
NSCA-certified!!
FYI that yours truly is OFFICIALLY NSCA-certified!! : )
i'm really not sure how i passed the test b/c i thought it was *so* hard. (no, i'm serious.)
but i did!! WOOHOO!! : )
ok, who's signing up first??
national strength & conditioning association
http://www.nsca-lift.org/
i'm really not sure how i passed the test b/c i thought it was *so* hard. (no, i'm serious.)
but i did!! WOOHOO!! : )
ok, who's signing up first??
national strength & conditioning association
http://www.nsca-lift.org/
Saturday, July 12, 2008
swingers
after debating back & forth more than necessary, i met up w/viv for dinner out in santa monica. i was exhausted from the day, so i'm glad i got a bit of a power nap in before our early dinner (regardless of the drool on my futon).
i decided that we should check out swingers, who everyone (including sarah, camelia, and katie -- all veggie-oriented folks) have raved about. since i wanted to go light for dinner, this was the perfect place. the girls had all mentioned how great this place was in terms of veggie options, so i definitely checked out those dishes first. my eyes fell on the veggie burrito and the veggie wrap, both of which looked scrumptious. however, i really wanted tofu and i really wasn't feeling the crispy onions, so i went w/the burrito.
normally (as i'd mentioned to katie just the other day), i'm pretty anti-rice, which means i'm pretty anti-burrito (at least the typical ones). but when i saw that this burrito had quinoa (along w/tofu and spinach), the decision was pretty easy. not only was everything wrapped up nicely in a whole wheat tortilla, but it was *really* good and super light. i finished it (as i do most things) pretty quick (though i really ought to train myself to eat slower), and i didn't feel it in my tummy at all! which is always fabulous b/c i really hate that gross full feeling i get from eating just a tad too much. *sigh*
when i was mid-burrito, i decided to order the side of mac n' cheese as well, since it's been AGES since i've had it. unfortunately, i was totally disappointed b/c it was totally bland and not cheesy enough. plus, they totally skimped on the breadcrumbs! viv says she's not a fan, but i really don't think she knows any better (sorry, viv) b/c it's ALL about the breadcrumbs. and despite its similar neon yellow/orange hue, this dish was way less flavorful than velveeta's version. never mind comparing it to the real thing.
viv ordered the turkey meatloaf, which came out on a plate w/a bit of spinach and literally the biggest mound of mashed potatoes i'd ever seen. i mean, it looked as big as a hamster! needless to say, she barely made it through 1/3 of the dish and had to take home leftovers. but the meatloaf itself was quite moist, which is very much unlike other meatloaves i've had. it's still not really my thing, but at least this version had a bit more texture and it wasn't just a lot of crap mushed together. i mean, we could taste stuff in it!
while the service was pretty good (w/the waiter coming to check on us pretty regularly), i was annoyed by the fact that he brought us the check w/o us asking for it. when that happens, i always feel rushed. i mean, i don't LOOK done, do i? plus, you never know if i'm going to want something else! and that's totally what happened tonight. the guy brought the check. but viv & i had totally been checking out the red velvet cupcake from the beginning! so we definitely had to order that. we split it and both of us found it a little dry. (thankfully, nothing close to the ones at one sunset, which had totally tasted like cardboard. totally gross.)
so the guy brought the check again. but then we decided to try another cupcake. this time, the chocolate one w/peanut butter frosting. when we ordered it, the waiter seemed surprised. (i mean, what? do we look like we can't handle it?) we split this one too and both us found it much moister than the red velvet one, though i enjoyed the PB frosting more than viv, who thought it wasn't PB-ey enough. personally, i thought it was perfectly delish. (i mean, who wants a glob of PB on top of a moist chocolate cake anyways? well, i guess viv did.)
when the guy brought the check the last time, viv was actually still considering the raspberry cupcake, though i really didn't think i could handle any more sugar. so thankfully for the waiter, we finally paid. but seriously, he wouldn't have had to change up the check if he'd just waited till we asked for it. so there, point made.
at any rate, everything was really really good -- and i still felt pretty light when i left! i think we both felt heavier from dessert, which is the whole point of making room for it at the end! this is definitely a returner. next time, i'm tackling the veggie wrap. woohoo!
swingers
http://www.swingersdiner.com/
i decided that we should check out swingers, who everyone (including sarah, camelia, and katie -- all veggie-oriented folks) have raved about. since i wanted to go light for dinner, this was the perfect place. the girls had all mentioned how great this place was in terms of veggie options, so i definitely checked out those dishes first. my eyes fell on the veggie burrito and the veggie wrap, both of which looked scrumptious. however, i really wanted tofu and i really wasn't feeling the crispy onions, so i went w/the burrito.
normally (as i'd mentioned to katie just the other day), i'm pretty anti-rice, which means i'm pretty anti-burrito (at least the typical ones). but when i saw that this burrito had quinoa (along w/tofu and spinach), the decision was pretty easy. not only was everything wrapped up nicely in a whole wheat tortilla, but it was *really* good and super light. i finished it (as i do most things) pretty quick (though i really ought to train myself to eat slower), and i didn't feel it in my tummy at all! which is always fabulous b/c i really hate that gross full feeling i get from eating just a tad too much. *sigh*
when i was mid-burrito, i decided to order the side of mac n' cheese as well, since it's been AGES since i've had it. unfortunately, i was totally disappointed b/c it was totally bland and not cheesy enough. plus, they totally skimped on the breadcrumbs! viv says she's not a fan, but i really don't think she knows any better (sorry, viv) b/c it's ALL about the breadcrumbs. and despite its similar neon yellow/orange hue, this dish was way less flavorful than velveeta's version. never mind comparing it to the real thing.
viv ordered the turkey meatloaf, which came out on a plate w/a bit of spinach and literally the biggest mound of mashed potatoes i'd ever seen. i mean, it looked as big as a hamster! needless to say, she barely made it through 1/3 of the dish and had to take home leftovers. but the meatloaf itself was quite moist, which is very much unlike other meatloaves i've had. it's still not really my thing, but at least this version had a bit more texture and it wasn't just a lot of crap mushed together. i mean, we could taste stuff in it!
while the service was pretty good (w/the waiter coming to check on us pretty regularly), i was annoyed by the fact that he brought us the check w/o us asking for it. when that happens, i always feel rushed. i mean, i don't LOOK done, do i? plus, you never know if i'm going to want something else! and that's totally what happened tonight. the guy brought the check. but viv & i had totally been checking out the red velvet cupcake from the beginning! so we definitely had to order that. we split it and both of us found it a little dry. (thankfully, nothing close to the ones at one sunset, which had totally tasted like cardboard. totally gross.)
so the guy brought the check again. but then we decided to try another cupcake. this time, the chocolate one w/peanut butter frosting. when we ordered it, the waiter seemed surprised. (i mean, what? do we look like we can't handle it?) we split this one too and both us found it much moister than the red velvet one, though i enjoyed the PB frosting more than viv, who thought it wasn't PB-ey enough. personally, i thought it was perfectly delish. (i mean, who wants a glob of PB on top of a moist chocolate cake anyways? well, i guess viv did.)
when the guy brought the check the last time, viv was actually still considering the raspberry cupcake, though i really didn't think i could handle any more sugar. so thankfully for the waiter, we finally paid. but seriously, he wouldn't have had to change up the check if he'd just waited till we asked for it. so there, point made.
at any rate, everything was really really good -- and i still felt pretty light when i left! i think we both felt heavier from dessert, which is the whole point of making room for it at the end! this is definitely a returner. next time, i'm tackling the veggie wrap. woohoo!
swingers
http://www.swingersdiner.com/
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