LaLaLiving

dineLA Restaurant Week January 17, 2008

I’m jonesing a bit for Restaurant Week in New York, which is coming up soon…the winter one in particular always had such a spectacular list of participating restaurants. But I learned the other day that Los Angeles is getting its own Restaurant Week this year, sponsored by LA Inc and AmEx’s dineLA site. It will run January 27 - February 1, and February 3 - February 8.

The list of restaurants isn’t exactly overwhelming, but it’s a start. Depending on the place, lunch is $15/$22 and dinner is $25/$34, exactly what a good starving student needs to get her over the hump of mid-quarter angst (especially when such favorites as Angeli Caffe are among the $15/$25 options!).

Edible Martini January 10, 2008

A new year, a new school quarter. Sigh.

Wish I’d had this recipe (and the machinery) to whip up one of these babies for New Year’s…that would have been a spectacular way to kick off 2008!

Edible Martini

I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with “chef/mad scientist” Dave and his lovely wife Jennifer at a few of Bob & Eliza’s dinner parties. Kudos to him for making the New York Times Magazine’s Year in Ideas issue!

La Sirene September 10, 2007

Met up with the girls tonight for our regular dinner outing, this time to La Sirene in Tribeca. Diane had read a review in Time Out New York, and so we decided to check out this new “French Seafood Bistro” when our original plans to go to La Esquina were unceremoniously cancelled (Kiran got a call this very afternoon from the restaurant saying they would be closed … we’d read some gossip items the week earlier about them getting shut down by the health department but they assured us they would be open… jeesh).

Back to La Sirene. The adorable chef owner greets everyone and walks you through the menu in meticulous detail. We got mussels for the table to start, which were in the most amazing sauce. For the mains, Dale and I ordered the hangar steak (and, yes, I got it medium rare as the chef recommended and it was delicious), Diane got the skate, which was amazingly flakey (I usually have a problem with skate…too tough), and Kiran got the scallops, cooked medium rare by slicing them in half and braising one side only – they were spectacular. Each entrée came with three sides (a miraculous amount of food in today’s restaurant world, where you seem to have to pay extra for any side at all), including potatoes au gratin, sweet potato puree, and such. For desert we split profiteroles and peach melba … so, so yummy.

I am dying to go back and see what’s in store for the fall and winter menu.

Eating Tourism September 9, 2007

B’s best friend Rett and his wife Heather have been in town visiting this weekend, and we’ve been eating non-stop. It’s ridiculous.

It’s also been damn hot here…our glorious weather has finally run its course.

Friday night we went to Falai on the Lower East Side. I loooooove Falai, and it’s such a great place to bring visitors with its snazzy, striking solid white décor.

We started with sea bass sashimi, which was literally melt-in-your-mouth good (and I usually am not a big sashimi fan). It was the most beautifuly plated dish…

Mains: Rett and I both ordered spinach and ricotta Gnudi, which resembled meatball-sized gnocchi bites of goodness. Heather got tortellini in a very light broth (poured at the table), and B got the winning dish, a risotto with scallops. Risotto is always such a gamble in restaurants, but this was perfect. Not too firm, not too mushy, and amazing flavor.

For desert we split a passion fruit soufflé (so awesome), panna cotta, and gelato. Then we waddled out of the restaurant to meet Irish Claire at a nearby (and fairly new) cute little wine bar called bruschetteria, where she filled me in on all her life updates (many!).

Eating My Way Thru NY July 6, 2007

Yesterday was a grand food day.

It began in Manhattan, near the Empire State Building. Now, I rarely have cause to venture to that part of town, even while I was living here, but my friend Kiran just started a new job in the classic building itself so I trekked on up to her new ‘hood for lunch. She took me to Woorijip, an awesome Korean “deli” at 12 West 32nd St., between 5th Avenue and Broadway. It’s open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week (good to know!) and, according to the business card, Woorijip (which means “our house”) is “a place of Korean homestyle cooking, a place where your choices are endless, a place where price is impressive, and a place where you will come back for more.” That pretty much sums it up, but I will add that the incredible variety of food was available in both pre-packaged selections (stacks and stacks of ‘em) and at a hot/cold bar — noodles, rice dishes, tofu, kimchee, veggies, and a zillion things I’m forgetting. They also had a hot noodle bar in the back, where the bowls of broth came out still boiling in their cast-iron pots, and a decently sized seating area. Woorijip is not a place for the faint of heart or the crowd-phobic: the place was packed while we were there, and Kiran said it was an off-day because of the holiday week. But it was super tasty. Give it a whirl. (Bonus: the city’s only existing pinkberry location is right across the street if you want desert. Kiran and I stopped off there too, as neither of us had tried it yet, and while it was certainly good, I don’t think I would wait in line for an hour or go back every day…especially at $5 a pop for a small with a topping…)

The food adventures continued at Baci & Abbracci, a new Italian restaurant in Williamsburg. The occasion was my mother’s birthday (she’s been in NY this week helping my grandmother with a few things), and we thought we’d give her a break from Greenpoint’s Polish cuisine. Baci was voted Best New Pizza Joint by Time Out New York this year, and it certainly lived up to the hype. But there was so much more than just pizza! We started with the classic mozzarella and tomato salad and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and teleggio cheese, both lovely. Someone at the table had to try the pizza so I sacrificed myself for the good of the group and ordered the Capricciosa (topped with artichokes, ham, and olives). It was divine, and took me straight back to Italy - thin, crispy (yet wonderfully doughy) crust, fresh out of the wood-burning oven. The beau ordered the striped bass filet, sauteed with leeks and asparagus, mom ordered the Violette di parma (red beet and goat cheese gnocchi), and grandma ordered the duck special, which came with sauteed spinach. The beauty of going to dinner with family is that they don’t care if you eat off their plate, so everyone got to taste everything, and everyone was thrilled with the food. We topped it off with some white chocolate panna cotta, which was more mousse than custard, but who cares when it tastes that good?! (The evening’s only disappointment was the ice cream, which I expected to be good gelato, but instead was run-of-the-mill and disappointing). The restaurant also has a reasonably-priced wine and beer list, and a back garden for dining, which we unfortunately didn’t get to try since it was raining. They also serve brunch on the weekend from noon ’til 4:00 pm. The perfect excuse to go back!

Also worth noting: the staff was great. Very attentive without being overbearing. And when they brought the birthday panna cotta out with a candle on top (because I insisted on embarrasing my poor mother), not only did the wait staff sing, but literally every single patron in the room. It’s that kind of happy place. Go!!

The Edible CIA March 29, 2007

Yesterday I visited my old college friend Leslie in Poughkeepsie. We swapped coasts back in September when I moved west to start school and she moved east to get married. Because Leslie and I are both obsessed with cooking and eating, the entire visit centered around dinner at the CIA (The Culinary Institute of America). So after a bit of catching up and discussing pregnancy-related body quirks (Leslie’s 3-months along), we zipped off to the gorgeous CIA campus with her husband Steven to take advantage of the $30 prix fixe dinner at Escoffier, one of several CIA restaurants. The students rotate as both chefs-in-training and wait staff, and are quite devoted to the guests’ comfort. The food was enjoyable, and the views of the Hudson River alone were worth the trip.

I had cream of asparagus soup, followed by seared salmon with sorrel sauce and mashed potatoes; Leslie had chicken consommé, followed by broiled beef tenderloin with Anna potatoes and fava beans; and Steven tried the beet salad, followed by roasted squab with fresh pea purée and balsamic jus. Then we had a fantastic cheese course (I won’t even try to remember the list of ones we tried…but one highlight was a firm cow’s milk cheese colored with carrot juice), and topped it off with dessert (tarts of the fruit, lemon, and praline varieties).

No Baccus for Whole Foods

The behemoth Whole Foods on Houston opens today. It’s been under construction for years. The kicker, if you’re a foodie like me, is that they closed the wine store at their Columbus Circle store two years ago in anticipation of opening a bigger and better one in the Houston location. The wine shop employees at the Columbus Circle store were told they could have their old jobs back…when that new location opened…in two years…instead of keeping the old location open until the new one was ready. Why not have—wait for it—TWO wine locations? But no, it was closed, and some yoga/organic clothing shop replaced it.

And now their permit for a wine shop in the Houston store has been denied.

Bird in the hand people, bird in the hand.

Yummy Noodles March 26, 2007

Met the always-lovely Claire for a quick lunch in Times Square. That girl is busier than anyone I know. Read her blog, l-e-mental. She knows what’s what. And she will be gracing me with her presence in LA in a few weeks – hooray!

I also swung by The Museum of Television & Radio today to say hi to my old coworkers. It’s an odd feeling to be back there. Lots of changes a’foot, but it is always good to see old friends. My visit happily coincided with Dale’s going-away party, so not only did I get to see everyone, but I got chocolate cake.

Even better was dinner with Kiran and Dale at Momofuku in the East Village. (Poor Diane was sick and couldn’t join us.) We shared the following spectacular items: Shitake Steamed Buns, Hamachi, Chicken Ramen (in some of the best broth I’ve ever tasted), and Ginger Scallion noodles. And polished it off with a small bottle of sake.

Then we all picked up some cookies at Veniero’s afterwards for our significant others because we’re so thoughtful. Truly.

Joys of Sleeping In and Overeating March 24, 2007

Had a yummy brunch at a relatively new French restaurant in Williamsburg today: Juliette on North 5th at Bedford. It’s an amazingly large and airy space, with lovely skylights, and is decorated in an unpretentious, French café style. Like a more down-to-earth Balthazar. They have live music scheduled on weekends, will start serving lunch next month, and in nicer weather will have an outdoor terrace. Check it out.

Then B and I spent the afternoon wandering around the East Village and Lower East Side, something neither one of us had done in quite a while. I miss wandering aimlessly like that. I found a great poster of the old NYC subway system for my father, who still insists on calling the “G” line the “GG.” When we got tired we treated ourselves to tea and dessert at ChikaLicious on East 10th. It is a charmingly tiny spot devoted to gourmet deserts (with wine pairings if you’re interested), run by the husband and wife team Don and Chika Tillman. All day long they work behind the counter, busily preparing things like Vanilla Poached Pear on Crispy Kataifi with Honey-Thyme Sorbet and Pumpkin-Caramel Trifle with Spiced Cake and Toasted Pecan. Mmmmmmm.

For dinner we went to Diner, under the Williamsburg Bridge. Brian suggested it as I’d never been before. What a great little spot—a bit of a scene, and pretty crowded, but the atmosphere was really fun (a refurbed old diner trailer) and the food great. The permanent menu only has a few items, and they are all red meat, but the daily specials run the gamut from fish to pork to vegetarian. The same folks also own Bonita, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in town. The lovely couple seated at the next table shared their bottle of wine with us–an Austrian red that was perfect for a chilly night.