Stefan vs. Betty

Last Wednesday I drove over to The Grove for some Top Cheffage...Stefan Richter (most recent season (5) of Top Chef) was cooking against Betty Fraser (Season Two) and the entire debacle was hosted by Merrill Shindler from Zagat. I had no idea who Betty was (or Merrill for that matter), but apparently she owns a resto called Grub (which just opened for din din so I am going to have to go and check it out) in Hollywood and a catering biz called As You Like It that features Cali-Country cuisine.



Stefan, who most know from the last season of Top Chef, is a total character both on tv and in person, and he is slated to open his own resto (undisclosed name) in Santa Monica in about a month. While the competition was fun to watch, Stefan totally stole the show...he is HYSTERICAL.



About every 5 minutes he would either say, "thanks buddy" to anyone and everyone, and volunteered to help Better cook about 100 times. When asked what type of food he will be serving at his new abode, his obvious response was..."sexy food" (duh).



Stefan also proceeded to jump into the audience and toss red carnations out to all the women, and also tossed out undies, tank tops, and thongs baring the logos "Shitstick" and "Cock," all made by his clothing line Cocky Chef Clothing (cockychefclothing.com).



Other interesting facts about Stefan include his fav resto is "In N Out" and he claimed to be rolling "commando." Stefan really stole and show and ended up winning the competition with seared steak over mashed potatoes.




Grub
911 Seward St.
Hollywood
323-461-FOOD
grub-la.com

This past weekend, I had a supreme dinner. I was not expecting it be be so great, but it was. I drove down to San Diego for a few days and stayed at Rancho Bernard Inn, and dined at their formal restaurant, El Bizcocho.



I opted for the 7-course meal plus wine pairing which, if you count amuse plus the additional dessert, was really a 9-course meal. The dining room is not so interesting, just what you would expect a formal restaurant in a hotel to look like (that hasn't been redone in a few years), so that set the tone and I already guesstimated the quality of food I was going to be served.



And, I am usually right when I guesstimate about restaurant decor and food quality. The meal kicked off with an amuse of (I think) cauliflower soup (in shot form) with a grapefruit "ravioli" made from (I think) a sodium alginate bath- so molecular gastronomy right off the bat- surprise! The soup was yummy...but what I remember most the the super intense explosion in my mouth when the ravioli exploded.



I almost coughed- and I've had this type of preparation before at the likes of The Bazaar and other science-y spots. Real course #1 was hamachi sashimi with compressed honeydew melon, compressed Granny Smith apples, yuzu gel, yuzu koshu-soy glaze.



And rather than saying how great each course was, I am just going to tell you they were all fantastic with many fun plays on flavor and texture- my standout fav was the lobster which we will get to. #2 shellfish bisque with puffed tapioca (normally I don't like bisques because they taste too fishy but this one was super yum).



#3 :locally-caught abalone with haricots verts, mini blooming pickles, grilled octopus ( I didn't love this- it tasted fishy and I actually usually don't much care for octopus).




#4: butter-poached lobster (omg melt in your mouth amazing) with ramps, fiddlehead ferns, #5:(I think) risotto with snail (forgot to take picture).



#6: slow roasted short rib (I think) with polenta...and I do have to say, this is the first time that I had ever consumed a braised meat that was not completely overcooked in the center, I don't know how the chef did it! #7: 30-second passion fruit ice cream #8 caramelized pineapple and dehydrated pineapple with ice cream vanilla?)...the best part of all, aside from the super nice chef Judd Canepari that came and chatted with us for like 5 courses....was the 30 "molecular" ice cream. Imagine (or go by pictures): large metal bowl, next add creme anglais and passion fruit, next add liquid nitrogen.



All of a sudden, major vapor from the liquid nitrogen as it evaporates...the LN freezes the creme anglais and passion fruit which is constantly whisked...and within seconds, voila delish ice cream that really tastes like gelato!




After the meal I literally was soo full and sleepy that I went back to my room and passed out fully dressed on my bed for 2 hrs.



If you are ever in the San Diego area and need a bomb restaurant to impress anyone at all, this is absolutely the place to go. This is definitely the best restaurant I have been to in that area and I can't wait to go back!



Rancho Bernardo
El Bizcocho
17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive
San Diego, Ca

Fulfilled

At a recent press dinner a fellow foodie friend tipped me on to a new Japanese party shop in Bev Hills. She told me they featured mochi-esque desserts, so I had to check it out. Unfortch, they didn't really specialize in mochi, but rather a Japanese dessert dating back to 1800 known as imagawa-yaki.



The best way to describe the pastry is pancake batter poured into a round cast iron mold, and then filled with sweets like red bean. The Bev Hills shop offers both sweet and savory varieties, but because I have the biggest sweet tooth EVER I went with...(duh) sweet.



I tried both the azuki bean (aka red bean), as well as the custard cream (like creme anglais), and a seasonal mochi dessert (this is the only one they carried) that was filled with red bean and a strawberry.



Having had many a mochi in my day, I wasn't a huge fan and felt that the mochi exterior was too grainy and not chewy enough.



As for the imagawa-yaki, I happen to LOVE red bean, but felt that the red bean they used was too sweet, so I actually preferred the cream version.



The shop itself is cute, and it's set up like a small cafe with a selection of Japanese beverages (many with the flavor peach, I dunno why) to wash down that dessert with...I guess most sweet.



While I definitely wasn't blown away, it's worth checking our for a different take on dessert...or snack!

9405 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Bev Hills
310-860-0776
fulfilledpastries.com

Top Chefage

Next Wednesday (6:30-8:30) I suggest dropping by The Grove for a not-to-be-missed spectacle: Stephan (from this past seasons Top Chef) will battle Betty (from season 2) in an Iron Chef-eque cook off. If you wanna go, go to lamag.com and rsvp! (Above, a shot from last year's hullabaloo.)

Right now in season...

I try to shop seasonally as much as possible. My markets of choice: Santa Monica Wednesday, Santa Monica Saturday, Venice Friday, Santa Monica (on Main St) Sunday, and Weho Mon. I actually tried out the Venice Friday market for the first time this past Friday because I shot a cooking segment for Your Daily Thread on strawberry shortcake, and I will post my webisode once it has been edited.



Anyway, I recently picked up some baby favas (though right now the more mature ones are in season), some pretty purple baby artichokes, some super delish yellow tomatoes and good ol' cucs (sometimes yellow tomatoes can be too acidic but there was uber sweet), and some green garlic. At my last cooking class I tought a really simple recipe for yummy artichokes braised in white wine.



Basically all you have to do is remove the tough outer leave of the artichokes, chop off 1/3 of the top, spread the out leaves and stuff with a mix of parsley, mint, and garlic. Depending on how many chokes you are making, add about 1/2 a bottle of wine and 1/2 a cup of olive oil and place the chokes stem-side up in a pot and cook about 20 mins.



Voila, quick seasonal artichoke dish. Tip: if you rub the artichoke with lemon it will prevent it from discoloring.

Tavern...aka...

Brentwood Bistro Bakery Barn...is the name we found to be more appropriate for Suzanne Goin's (and Caroline Styne) newest endeavor. So, I am probably going to receive hate mail for saying (or rather writing) this, but I am not the biggest fan of SG. Now, I am sure she is a perfectly nice person, but I don't love love her restaurants the way many Angelenos do. I actually much prefer Hungry Cat (SG's husband's resto, with locations in Hwood and Santa Barbara) both for cocktails and food, as compared to Lucques and AOC.



For me, the food is nether inspirational nor memorable, so I couldn't even tell you what I ate at either spot. Now, truth be told, I've only eaten once at each, but I obviously never made it a point to go back to either. Nonetheless, I was curious to try out her newly opened Tavern.



I never ever go to Brentwood. Not because I have anything against Brentwood, but I don't know anyone that lives there, so I haven't really had a reason to go there much in the past. But, I am a destination foodie (meaning I will drive to food), so driving to Bwood was no problemo.




Aesthetically, Tavern is really cute. I like the muted color scheme, the trees in the dining room, and the front bakery; everything is very tastefully done. However, the main dining room is like a long high-ceilinged atrium with NO ventilation and NO windows that open. GR and bad call by the architect. The bakery actually reminded me of Huckleberry in terms of food; yummy looking pastries, cakes, cookies all house-baked. So, seriously, where did the name Tavern come from? There is not even a vague resemblance to any form of tavern so my friends and I were quite confused. We found the above listed name to be much more appropriate. So much so that my friend's boyfriend passed along the rename to the manager who loved the idea and took his name down to make sure he would receive credit. Score!



On to food. Tavs scored points in the beer department; I advised my friend to order the Hitachino White Ale, one of my favs, and I ordered a brut English cider. For apps we ordered some fried oyster bacon situation and gougeres from the bar menu (the gougeres were amazing, super moist and cheesy in the center), then moved on to roasted asparagus with polenta, fried egg and Pecorino, diver scallops with green garlic soubise and tangelo, and duck sausage with pancetta, frisée and kumquat marmalade.



The duck sausage could have been made form pork, there was no duckiness going on and it was super reminiscent of something my dad would frequently make for breakfast on weekends. The asparagus was fine, a somewhat typical dish I've had many a times in the past. I was not a huge fan of the asparagus because it was big and fat and I personally prefer pencil asparagus. It's also weird because I know that I have lately been seeing such asparagus at the farmer's market. I thought the scallop was the best out of the three and the least breakfasty, the scallops were nicely cooked with a slightly sweet yet tangy soubise.



After round 1.5 we were all bordering on fullness. For entrees we opted for market fish with green rice, crème fraîche and pistachio, the devil’s chicken with leeks and mustard breadcrumbs, and grilled lamb with white beans and feta salsa verde. So, as everyone knows I don't really do cooked fish (yeah, I know I am weird), so I stayed away from that one but my friends chicken was very homestyle rustic and served in a clay dish (looked like a tagine minus the top).




The chicken was uber moist, and apparently was made from a famous Julia Child recipe. I thought my lamb dish was quite delicious, with a wonderfully fresh salsa verde and creamy white beans. If you hit up Tavs, go with the scallops and lamb. I was so full at this point that I could barely even eat my entree so I let everyone else finish it.



But but but, if you know me, you know that I believe that there is always room for dessert, so we all indulged. Desserty was a kumquat panna cotta, and super serious walnut tart (think pecan but walnut), and it was so delish we tried to inquire about the recipe and apparently it's in SG's cookbook.



Tavern
11648 San Vicente Blvd
Brentwood
310-806-6464


(photo credit dr.ron)

Salute Wine Bar

I ate a lot last week...but didn't write, my apologies. I've been meaning to check out Salute Wine Bar on Main Street in Santa Monica and I finally made it over there. It's a bit hidden, located behind that weird sneaker store in all those gray buildings. Salute is super cute and set up to be a communal hang out spot with lots of large lounge-ish tables and low seating.



There are also a few regular dinner-esque tables off to the left side, and then off to the right side is an enomatic wine system where one puts a certain amount of money on a plastic card with a chip. To use the card, one inserts the card into the wine system, presses the button for the wine desired, and the a 1 oz. pour goes into the glass and money is deducted from the card based on the price of the wine chosen.



As for food, one of my favorite dishes was an appetizer with chevre on walnut toast topped with a spiced red wine-poached fig, it was delish. Actually, it tasted very autumnal, but I loved it. I also really loved the melted leek and chevre pizza topped with truffle oil. Actually, I think that the pizza from Salute is officially my second favorite, Mozza being fav. What I love about their pizza is the crust- it's really thin, but a little bit chewy and great flavor- SO good.



I also tried a solid but too salty for me pasta dish with homemade maltagliata pasta and house-cured pancetta, and we also tried the port- braised short rib over fingerling potatoes, topped with creme fraiche. While our server was extra ebullient about this dish, I wasn't super impressed.



Desserts were also a bit lack luster. We tried the chocolate caramel tart (Akasha bakes a great version of this with hemp ice cream), and a chocolate mousse which was the better of the two.




All in all I had a pleasant experience, and I would definitely go back for some apps and wine sips.

Salute Wine Bar
2435 Main Street, Santa Monica
310-450-3434