boule (mini review)

Walking into this new pastry shop on La Cienega was akin to walking into a high end fashion store. Something I dont do to often, but I've seen enough to know that when there is an abundance of space between each item, the price will reflect that space. Boule is no exception to that rule. Croissants, spaced so evenly in their beautiful presentation behind glass, were light, crispy on the edges, buttery, tasty, small and $3.25. A selection of homemade gelatos and other icey concoctions looked delicious and will definately be eaten by me at some point.
I ordered 3 little cake/tarts for a dinner party. All of which were beautiful, delicious, small, and expensive. I don't have a problem with the expense if the deliciousness matches it, and at Boule the deliciousness is on par with the expensiveness. Meyers Lemon Tart was a big hit. Crust was buttery and crispy, the lemon filling was tart, but not too tart, creamy, but not too creamy, just right goodness. The frommage blanc cheese cake was also delicious. Several commented on it tasting like a carrot cake. I think that may have been from the cinammon used in the crust?? Last but not least was a semi-sphere of chocolaty mouse goodness. I wish I could remember the exact description that Boule used for it because I think it was perfect.

Picture promised after next visit.

campagnola /sprazza (westwood edition)

A slight detour from our usual east side dining left us in westwood on friday night. i've only eaten at a small handful of restaurants in Westwood. Our intended destination for the evening was Sprazzo, which I've actually eaten at before. After 15 minutes of waiting to order a bottle of wine, couple with a rude bitter short little man of a waiter, we walked out. Haven't had to do that in quite some time. Shocking considering the popularity of that establishment. Overpriced and rude, like some many other Los Angeles establishments.
Strolling down a couple of blocks to Campagnola allowed me some time to put that bitter little man out of my head. We were greeted by the apparently well known and friendly owner, seated immediately and we were back on track to get some Italian food.
As you'll see below, I started using the flash for the photography. Not sure how i feel about it, but it does make it quite a bit easier to shoot.


First up, the appetizers. I don't know how authentic these staples for us are, but the calamari was served hot and crisp. The fresh mozz was good but not amazing, which sadly is above average recently. No complaints. Our waiter's knowledge of the wine list was lacking, but then again so was mine. We went through a couple of bottles of a 2000 chianti from Castello di [what was that name]. Anyway, a pretty nice bottle of wine all things considered.



On to the rest.
i ordered a specialty of the house, malloreddusu (s sardinian pasta) and had high expectations. The dish, while OK, left a little to be desired, the sauce tasted like a very basic marinara and the flavor of the sausage did not blend well with it. Almost as if it was an afterthought and added very last minute. Some other notable issues with dinner included the virtually inedible mashed potatoes served with a rather incongruous melange of chicken breast, lemon sauce and prosciutto. Overall, everything was decent. Nothing stood out as glaringly wrong or notably delicious. The pastas were all cooked al dente, but not even my malloreddusu was made fresh which is always disappointing.


farfalla ala panna
prosciutto, peas and mushrooms in a light cream sauce




In my opinion this is where the evening went from decent to not that good. Panna cotta was over cottad, to the point where is was an extremely stiff gelatinous mess not resembling the nice custard like texture it should have had. The tiramisu was of the extremely spongy, cut from a large baking pan sized piece, not creamy enough nor textured enough. But tasty nevertheless, so I wouldn't say I hated it, but its just not the type of tiramisu favored by 4 out of 5 dentists or paleontologists. I did also notice dificulty in coercing some cream out of the kitchen for coffee.

indigo

To be honest, this place isn't even worth reviewing. Its just that bad. I would also like to point out that I'm using starting hands in poker as review standards. 1-5 stars just isn't enough, since there's about 169 starting hands in Hold 'em.
Indigo gets the 3 8 off-suit. Not the worst hand possible, but pretty close to the bottom and ready to fold as soon as possible. Dr. Dave and I ordered a pepperoni pizza to share for lunch. It was not inedible, but not good at all. the crust was strangely white bread tasting and had about 1/4" of flour layered on the bottom. It tasted as if it was cooked in a wood burning oven but still wasn't good. Everything else was bland, greasy or both. Other dishes at tables near us also looked to be pretty bad. For the record, Dr. Daves favorite pepperoni pizza is at jones. My favorites are Farfala, Pace, Hard Times, Nicky D's, and to a lesser extent, Casa Bianca

Indigo Melrose
7463 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Rating: 3-8 offsuit

some dim sum please

eric really should be posting this, but he's much too busy or much too lazy. i'll go with the latter on a hunch. he was kind enough to point me to this link
mission 261and I have to say with comments like this, I'm already tempted.

• But the dim sum is already extraordinary, easily the best in California at the moment — less a teeming mass feed with oceans of congee and fleets of Sterno-spewing carts than a sort of aestheticized dim sum meal, where you sit with a pot of really great chrysanthemum tea or puer or zhu cha or whatever and a few small plates of attractive, exquisitely prepared food, the clatter of plates replaced by the contemplative sounds of a live virtuoso of the ch’in, the quiet, zitherlike instrument of the great Chinese philosophers.
  
• I like gooey steamed har gao and flash-boiled Chinese broccoli as much as the next dim sum freak, but the dishes at Mission 261 seem almost from a different planet. Delicious steamed dumplings of shrimp and black cod are shaped into floppy noodle carp, complete with wee cubes of carrot stuffed into the eye sockets

look for some pics posted here along with some random comments about it shortly.

new places to try.

I've been complaining about the dearth (new favorite word) of bakeries in LA for quite some time. That complaining has only gotten louder since November. I'm officially over sweet lady jane. overpriced, and overdense desserts are just so 2002. seems like every bite of every cake i've had there is the densest solid known to man. and dont get me started about the sugar plum place over on beverly that recently changed its name but not its game.

first on the list is boule on la cienega.
here's a list that i found on phil's brain dump. i dont know much about phil's brain dump but its worth a try. http://www.fibiger.org/wiki/doku.php

* Boule, La Cienega. http://boulela.com/ ...getting excellent reviews on chowhound.
* Amandine Patissiere, 12225 Wilshire Blvd. 'This place is always packed, and for good reason. An incredibly selection, and wonderful baked goods.
* National Bakery, National Blvd at Rose, east of Overland. A tiny bakery run by a single french guy. Great croissants, brioche, muffins.
sweet lady jane removed from this list

* Clementine, Santa Monica Blvd. Next to Johnnies Pizza. Sandwiches and great baked goods.
* Buttercake Bakery: (someone elses review follows) Great for take-out. She makes the best carrot cake I have tried, also incredible chocolate espresso cookies and her lemon squares have been reviewed by the LA Times. Coffee is really good too. Spread the word and try it. 10595 Pico Blvd. if you're headed West, 4 or 5 blocks before Overland.
* There is a french bakery on Washington Blvd just East of Sepulveda in Culver City. It is between a sports bar and the Salvation Army thrift store.
* Champs Elysee on Robertson, between Olympic and Wilshire (near Gregory Way). Great pastries, croissants, etc. Also very good breakfasts and lunches.
* La Dijonaise in the Helms district at Helms between Venice and Washington Blvd (also good for dinner)
* Emil's Swiss Pastry. They make excellent fruit tarts and other danishes as well. on Barry near Santa Monica http://www.emilsswisspastry.com/

The best of times, the worst of times.

Well, its a long story but we ended up in Sun City, which is outside of Riverside. I've never been to a place with such a dearth of restaurants. Other than the most likely appropriately named "rong's chinese food" the only choices were mcdonalds, wendy's and the local vons. Played it safe by ordering a turkey sanwich from the deli. Third worst sanwich ever (subway, quiznos still 1st and 2nd). Anyway, I didn't expect much from a grocery store sandwich but this was just not appetizing. Luckily for you, I didn't have a camera with me. But on a happy note, we did eat at Din Tai Dumpling house for dinner (which was a first for me) and that as you know more than made up for the tortuous lunch at vons.

el floridita

Solid cuban food, live band, good service unite and create good times. Generally I am leery of restaurants that mix live entertainment with cuisine. Typically the result is not very good entertainment combined with not very good food. Not the case at this LA spot that has made a name for itself by combining these 2 elements for years. My chicken filet in a tangy garlicky lemony sauce with grilled onions was excellent. Served with slightly dry plantains and the typical black beans and rice. The chicken was cooked perfectly and was not dry like some flattened chicken breast dishes tend to be. Other dishes you'll see here also looked delicious and they all seemed to be enjoyed. The live band did make it difficult to talk with friends and also forced me to make a fool of myself on the dance floor. Luckily the mojitos (served by the pitcher) took the edge off of that. There were some very formidable dancers on the scene looking to serve anyone who got in the way of conquering the dance floor. White hat not included with purchase but apparently very popular with the ladies. The normal dinner menu is about 1/2 the price of the "entertainment" menu and much more reasonable given the type of food served. But the band and entertainment did make for a fun evening so either way, el floridita is good times.



EL FLORIDITA APPETIZER COMBO
Combination of Cuban finger foods – tamale, chicharron de pollo, croquetas, papas rellenas, empanadas, yucca fries and tostones.



ROPA VIEJA
Shredded beef sautéed in Cuban style sauce
tomatoes, garlic and spices.



POLLO ASADO A LA CUBANA
Juicy and tender baked chicken marinated with
lemon garlic sauce



FILETE DE POLLO A LA PLANCHA
Grilled chicken filet, seasoned with garlic and lemon
and sizzling onions

Beans served seperately. A nice touch that demonstrates the surprisingly quality of service.



serving people on the dance floor since 1987



blurry pictures make things look cool and artsy

The Palm

Culinarily speaking, there is nothing special about the meal you'll get from an old school style New York steakhouse. Most if not all offer the usual creamed spinach, iceburg lettuce salads, fried potato products and of course large quantities of meat.

The Palm is no different, a filet mignon the size of a softball was served perfectly medium rare. My aged NY strip (photo unavailable) ordered charred, medium rare was also cooked to perfection. The charring process added a nice crispy layer and well, charred taste to the meat. The meat of course was top quality, nicely trimmed and dry-aged which adds a nice a nice flavor and crispy texture to an already delicious cut of meat.


Getting back to the starters, the hearts of palm salad was nothing special, just the traditional luttuce, tomatos, black olives and boiled eggs you see on thousands of other salads not worth talking about.



The jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail was also good, the pieces were actually quite jumbo, but again very basic presentation, and a traditional cocktail sauce with plenty of horseradish.



And how about that half and half, apparently a favorite and a tradition at the Palm. The largest plate of fried onions and potatos I have ever seen. Unfortunately the potatoes were more chips than fries, and I would have preferred fries instead of chips with my steak.



Lobster bisque was not the best nor was it the worst. Creamy but not creamy, slightly bland and really nothing else worth mentioning. I still have fond memories of the bisque at the Lobster in Santa Monica, but that was usually accompanied by several bloody marys.

While on the subject of lobsters, I should point out that the Palm offers an incredibly tasty looking version of Pinchy for $22/lb. We were informed that most of the lobsters that night were about 4 lbs. I guess my problem with ordering an $88 lobster is that at least 3 lbs of it end up in the trash. Needless to say we didn't order any lobster. Nor did we try any of the old school Italian cooking.

We chose a bottle of the 2001 Stag's Leap merlot. This is available from stagsleap directly for $31/bottle. The Palm charges $60 for it, and it was in the bottom third of the wine list. Please bring your expense account clients to fully enjoy the wine list.


I actually almost forgot about the desserts. I'm not much of a key lime pie fan, but I'll admit the key lime at the Palm was terrific. The crust was firm and had that freshly baked crunch to it unlike so many others that have sat in restaurants for days. The creme brulee was also very good. Creamy, not creamy, sweet not sweet, and the brulee was nicely crisped.

As suspected we blew through our $200 gift card well before dessert and the bill pretty much looked like my car payment. And that's the biggest problem I have with places like this. While they do make sure to serve only the best cuts of meat, there is nothing special in the preperation. Figure about $20/lb at a quality butcher store for dry-aged steaks, $30 for the wine, you begin to wonder where that car payment went.

ca' brea

After our return from Italy, I was just a little snobbier about the sorry excuse for Italian food most restaurants seem to dish out. If you know me, you probably noticed this and were possibly annoyed by it. Well, that new found attitude is wearing off slightly although I still go on about fresh pasta and its importance in the meal.
So, Ca'Brea has always been exempt from my restaurant badgering as I've always considered it one of the better Italian places here in our fine town. Not cheap, but not outrageously expensive, but always worth the price and our last meal was no exception. It's been a while since we actually ate this meal, so the details may be slightly fuzzy.
I do remember starting with some sort of baked eggplant covered with a deliciously browned layer of mozzerella cheese.


Yummy, melted.


While we all seemed to enjoy the entrees tremendously, sadly my aversion to mushroom products prevented me from stealing the proper amounts from the other plates. The risotto looked deliciously creamy, I'll have to defer to Tim (since he's the true judge of risotto). My spinach gnochi were actually quite good. Served with fresh mozzerella (obviously I'm a big fan, and you'll see a recurring theme) and a nice blend of tomatoes, onions and pancetta.




Last but not least, the tiramisu is so good. Even if you don't get a chance to eat for dinner, maybe pop in and get some of this tiramisu with an espresso. Often times tiramisu is served almost like a slice of cake, and of course its still good. But if you've ever had it done the authentic way, you'll see the difference and wish your life had never been burdened with such a mediocre rendition.


Tasty.

Chan Darette in Marina Del Rey

I had lunch today at a contemporary-ish thai place called Chan Darette in Marina Del Rey today. My pad kee mao was excellent, perfectly spicy rice noodles and quality beef (not that cafeteria-grade stuff you sometimes find in lesser restaurants) in a rich sauce with plenty of basil. My friends' pork and tofu pad-thai looked equally as delicious. I ate at Chan Darette's sister restaurant, Chan Dara on larchmont blvd in Los Angeles a few weeks back, and it was good as well. They didn't have a pad kee mao on the lunch menu that i could find, but even if they did, i think the one from today would have been better. My lunch special today was $10, well worth it-

The battle of the mega sanwiches.

Throughout history, great conflict or struggle has always frightened and captivated us in ways that few other things can. You've got the Romans, the Vikings, and don't forget about the Canadians. More recently, we had the whole Bush-Kerry thing, the red and the blue. We've got street smarts vs book smarts, we even have Brad vs Jen. All of these simply pale in comparison to the Godmother vs the Brian (v2.0) sandwiches at one of the best delis on the West Coast. Also, I will point out this may spur another wave in the never-ending West Coast/East Coast Rivalry since there are some of the best delis out in NJ and NYC. So, anyway, if you have been to Bay City Deli at all you are probably familiar with a godmother and all of its deliciousness. You may not be as familiar with the Brian Special, so I'll go into a little detail about that....
Pepper turkey or Roast turkey. (your choice)
Everything but no pickles or mayo. (i am coming around to the pickles though)
The works
Mild peppers
Fresh mozz.
Prosciutto (added in v2.0)

The combatants side by side before their moment of glory.



Since the ubiquity of the Godmother is not in question, we'll skip the dramatic list of heart-stopping ingredients and get right to the show down.
Personally, I feel the Brian is the perfect blend of subtle tastes and textures that merge together to form the ultimate sandwich. Upon further review and another round of taste tests, I will say that the godmother is also an excellent sandwich and a worthy experience you would expect from the flagship product. Before this epic saga began I was convinced the Brian would defeat the Godmother by a landslide. Turns out the exit polls were flawed, and the 2 contenders stacked up equally when all was said and done. I still prefer the Brian slightly over the Godmother, but with all other aspects factored in, the result is a draw.

(look at that price difference!)


The Brian

Pros: excellent blend of tastes and textures
Cons: difficult to order, time consuming to make, expensive

The Godmother
Pros: traditional deliciousness; relatively inexpensive, ask for it by name
cons: a little salty, many meats mixed together produces muddled tastes.

Our gift to you for reading through this article. Print and laminate these instructions to hand to your sandwich maker at your next visit to Bay City Deli.

Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

This truly is a house of dumplings. What does that mean? It means hour long waits if you get there past about 10:45 am on weekends. It means a large throng of people pushing their way past you because they thought their number was called. Alright lets just cut the crap here, I'll quit trying to write as if this was some sort of smug citysearch-esque type of site.
Juicy pork dumplings. So good. I think they have about 10 different dumplings, a few kinds of soup and several noodle dishes. All of them very good. Get the limited edition small dumpling soup if you can. I've only been able to order it twice. They only make it on weekends and I think they only make a few orders since it takes them too long to make them. Also, one of the keys is the vinegar and the ginger they give you. Follow the instructions on the chop sticks wrapper. Order as many different types of dumplings as you can, bring a large group of people and share, but stay away from the rice dumplings. Not good.

India Sweets and Spices

A little taste of Artesia has recently opened up right here in Los Feliz. Apparently this store is a bit of a landmark with the Indian community, so as you can imagine I was quite excited to have this open up right here since Artesia is 30 miles away. The store is filled with an amazingly large selection of Indian food ingredients, and is connected to a chat house. Apparently chat house is a fancy way of saying cafeteria. With that said, you'll understand why I dont give this place high marks for the decor or ambiance. But, when you consider my dinner special #3 was only $5.99 including a mango laasi and a rasmalai for dessert, the decor becomes easy to ignore, although not so easy to forgive.



Now we can get down to the food. The samosa was not the best, fried foods are always best served extremely fresh, and this samosa was only kind of sort of fresh. I thought the sambaar was pretty good, but the experts say Paru's is better. The true allure aside from the price, is the availability of many specialties that you just can't get anywhere else around here. Pani poori, a tasty little fried puffy dough, is quite tasty as is the behl, idli and dosa. Even our staff expert doesn't know what the "Bollywood Chat" sign on the wall means, so maybe someone can fill us in on that. There's also a wide selection of desserts in a counter that you'll notice right when you walk in. Some look really good, some look not so good. Paru's is probably better on all accounts, but cmon $5.99 is just a great deal. The value here is great, the specials actually start at $3.99, so I really splurged with special #3.