Resnick Pavilion and The Stinking Rose – a Garlic Restaurant

Yesterday BK and I went to a member’s only preview of the Resnick Pavilion, a new art gallery at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).  There were three displays – a large area of fashion and textiles from the 1600’s until the early 1900’s – the center of the building which had ancient art from as far back as 1600 BC – and another very large area which had art from the Resnick residence of which most was from the 1700’s and earlier .  Although we both found much of it beautiful, none of these are of particular interest to either of us.  I can’t imagine having a home with all that art and this is only a sampling of what they have collected. I will post a few pictures on Facebook.

After we went to LACMA, it was time for lunch.  Neither of us were excited about the menu they had at the cafe and the last time we were there we went to the cafeteria and didn’t want to do that either.  So, we got into the car, drove to La Cienega and there was The Stinking Rose, a place we have often talked about but we never went there.  We parked on the street although there is a parking lot which does not have a valet during the day.  The decor is very interesting and I again will have pictures posted on Facebook.  We were seated in a somewhat covered area and were immediately given a large pitcher of ice water.  Someone came and lit a candle beneath the plate where the waiter placed delicious garlic rolls so they were warm throughout our meal.  Along with the rolls, we had a mixture of parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.  We were quickly given our soda and ice tea and our order was taken.  The waiter said it would be ready in 10 minutes and it was.

 

BK ordered fish and chips.  I don’t know what kind of fish it was but it was huge and she said it was wonderful.  She was served enough garlic French fries to feed a family of four.  I tasted them and they were delicious – crispy on the outside and covered with garlic.  We took home enough so that BK had the same dinner at night and I ate the fries.  I ordered salmon which I could have had with any of four sauces.  I chose one with cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic and calamata olives.  It came with a pasta but I asked to substitute the garlic mashed potatoes and I wasn’t sorry.  The fish was tender and the sauce was extremely tasty.  I cleaned my plate.  The waiter brought us a dessert menu and we passed on the garlic ice cream, although one day I would like to try it, but we just couldn’t pass up the super sundae.  This was good but not worth the calories and fat.  With our check, we were given soft minty things to counteract all the garlic we ate.

The Stinking Rose is at 55 N. La Cienega in Beverly Hills.  The website is http://www.thestinkingrose.com/pdf/menu-la.pdf . This is not an inexpensive restaurant.  Our meals were $19.95 each with the dessert at $9.00 plus the cost of our drinks which were refilled without asking. I will definitely return because I like garlic.  If you don't like garlic, this isn’t the restaurant for you.

EAT Cafe – Revisited

I reported on EAT on September 29, 2009 when we went there for breakfast as we had on numerous occasions. Yesterday we decided to go there again, this time for lunch also after we had been at the Y in North Hollywood. It was a beautiful day and we arrived at about 11:30, just before the rush. Actually, the restaurant is a bit larger than it was last year because the business next door is no longer there. EAT has put a few larger tables outside on the patio of the building next door. That was good because by 12:15, both inside and outside were full and people were waiting. We chose to eat outside on a beautiful day.

The menu is quite varied with breakfast served all day. This time both BK and I chose to eat lunch. They had a few specials listed on a board outside and BK chose a pressed chicken sandwich which had white meat chicken, basil, feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes. There was a sauce that appeared to be a Russian or 1000 Island on the side but BK didn’t feel the need to use it. She also had a choice of shoestring fries (which happen to be seasoned), mixed green salad or fruit. She chose the fries and liked them. The sandwich was delicious, just about perfect, she said.

I decided to have the Halfer which is in the I’m Sure I Forgot Something section. It was a half sandwich (choice of tuna, ham or turkey) and either soup or salad. As you might know from past reviews, I seldom choose a salad so this time I had corn chowder soup which was the soup that day. The soup was thick with corn and some vegetables. It tasted somewhat creamy but not heavy with cream and it did have a very slight zing to it. Not having eaten a ham sandwich for a very long time, my ham sandwich, which I got without the Swiss cheese or onion, but with lettuce, tomato and mustard mayo on whole grain bread, was great.

This is not a greasy spoon. This is a restaurant that says the tuna is dolphin safe. They have various burgers, melts, sandwiches including wraps, salads and soup. Every other Tuesday, we eat lunch out after we go to the gym. I know we will be going to EAT much more regularly than once a year. The address is 11108 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood – website is www.eatnoho.com .

Chi Dynasty and more

Labor Day Weekend, 2010, and we decided it was time to eat out rather than have BK’s delicious cooking. One day we went to Chevy’s Mexican restaurant in Burbank and had a very good meal. I am not writing up a review of Chevy’s but almost everything I have ever had there has been good. On Sunday they have $3 guacamole made at the table which was quite tasty.

On Monday, we decided to go to a new Chinese restaurant that we hadn’t tried – Chi Dynasty. A few years ago, a new building was erected and it was designed in a Russian motif. It housed a more elegant Russian restaurant upstairs and a café on the first level. They went out of business and recently this Chinese restaurant opened in this Russian looking building. We received a menu in the mail and thought it was a good time to try it out.

The interior is very nicely Chinese with a lot of red and black. The music that was playing sounded like Chinese pop music and was quite nice. We started out with a Chinese chicken salad since it had been voted the best in town. The waiter (all are Chinese and dressed in black Chinese outfits) brought a large bowl and the ingredients for the salad were all in the bowl. He mixed it at the table and then split it into two dishes for us. It was all white meat in small strips tossed with ginger, scallions, ground peanuts, sesame seeds, crispy rice noodles, lettuce and dressing. It was delicious, as good as the best I have had. My only complaint is that there was a little too much dressing but I am one who likes very little dressing on my salads. When I go again, I will tell them when I order that I want light on the dressing. The salad was $7.25 and plenty for two people.

We also ordered the dim sum sampler. This is made up three types of dim sum depending on what the cook decides. The waiter told us what was in the sampler today. We got two pork, two shrimp and two vegetable. Interestingly, the wrappers of each type were different. This was served in the traditional wooden dish and were all steamed, not fried as we see at some restaurants. I really liked the pork and the vegetable. I found the shrimp to be a bit tough. This sampler was $6.25.

As if that wasn’t enough to eat, we also ordered sesame chicken. We were asked if we wanted rice so I rightly suspected that there was an extra charge. I got brown rice and BK got white rice and we were charged for each. Since both of us had a lot left over, next time we could only order one. The sesame chicken ($8.75) was a bit disappointing because it was more like sweet and sour than other sesame chicken we have had in the past. Also, some of the chicken was so small that after frying, it was a bit tough. Other pieces were very tender. We ate all of this as well and it was quite a large amount. We arrived there at 3:15 and found out we could have the lunch menu until 4:00 which was very nice.

I had jasmine tea which was surprisingly served with just a cup of water and a tea bag. It was very tasty but I had to ask for more hot water which cooled rather quickly. Serving a closed pot of water would have been better. BK had diet Coke and was charged for a refill even though it was presented as if there would be no extra charge.

We left there very full and satisfied. I would definitely return, again for lunch because it can be quite pricey for dinner. We had very good service. They deliver with a $3 delivery charge and I am sure we will do that in the future. Chi Dynasty is at 12229 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. They also have a restaurant in Los Feliz.

After enjoying the Labor Day eating-fest, today we went to the gym. When we came back, BK cooked a wonderful, healthy lunch – angel hair pasta with grape tomatoes, garlic and parmesan cheese, garlic bread made with olive bread and cantaloupe. All I can say about our lunch today was that it was fantastic and I am so lucky to have my personal chef.

Lookout Bar and Grill in Channel Island Harbor

Yesterday we took a lovely ride up Highway 1 without any destination in mind except to drive along the coast. By the time we got to Oxnard (actually Channel Island Harbor) we were ready to eat. In my quest to sit at the ocean, we first tried a place called the Lobster House and it is no longer in business, at least that is the way it looked to us. Unfortunately, many stores in the harbor area that are near the ocean are closed, a sign of our times. We drove down the road and went into various areas where there were shops and restaurants and finally found one that had two places that sounded interesting to us. One was an Italian restaurant and the other an English pub. I chose the English pub which we had to enter by walking up a flight of steps. It is called the Lookout Bar and Grill at 2800 South harbor Blvd. in Oxnard. http://thelookoutchannelislands.com/

The restaurant/bar has large windows so we could sit inside and still feel like we were close to the ocean. Why did we choose to eat inside on a beautiful hot day? Although it was 97 when we left our apartment in Studio City, it was sunny but very cool at 64 near the ocean. Too cool for these valley women to sit outside when dressed for the heat. This is truly an English Pub. In fact, they even have the Union Jack newspaper there. The menu had a number of English items as well as American items on the menu. There were fish and chips, bangers and mash, cheese and onion pastie and cottage pie, which sounded to me like my mother’s shepherd’s pie, to name a few. BK chose chicken and mushroom pie. For sides she ordered clam chowder and baked beans. The soup was very good but couldn’t compare to Delmonico’s; however the price for food was considerably less expensive although not cheap. The pie wasn’t like any pot pie we would think of. It was actually in a large filo type pastry shell exactly like my pastie only larger. Inside was a creamy sauce with chicken and mushrooms. BK thought it was very tasty and she loved it. The beans were Heinz beans so they were nothing special.

I wanted something I had never had before so I had the Cornish pastie. This had the same shell which was flaky and very tender. The filling was ground beef, onions, peas, carrots, potatoes which must have been chopped very small because I didn’t see them. There was no sauce but it had some very nice seasoning. I loved it more than I thought I would. I usually don’t care for food in pastry shells but this was wonderful. The sides I picked were coleslaw, the mayonnaise, creamy type which I like, and peas which were the frozen kind with no sauce or seasoning which I also like. I belonged to the clean plate club after this lunch. I have put pictures of both lunches on Facebook. The service was good after they saw we hadn’t been waited on. Our waiter was attentive and we got refills on our drinks in an appropriate time. I would return there when I am in the neighborhood

As we began our journey home, we drove past a festival in Port Hueneme and there was a lot of traffic so everyone was going slowly. That was good because a very large goose decided to cross the street right in front of us. Everyone stopped to let the goose go. BK put pictures on Facebook. As we drove up the coast (or maybe down), we stopped along the way to watch some windsurfing. The waves were quite high and it looked like a lot of fun – for someone else, not me. We decided to take a different road back over the hills to the Valley – Highway 23. Although this was a beautiful, very curvy ride that reminded us of driving through the mountains in Colorado, I wouldn’t take it again because it took us an hour. It is quite a bit longer than going over Malibu Canyon probably because of the switchback driving. Even the 101 wasn’t crowded. This was a wonderful ending to a beautiful day.

Delmonico’s Steak and Lobster House

Last night we went out to celebrate MT’s birthday at Delmonico’s Steak and Lobster House, 16358 Ventura Boulevard in Encino. I have been there before and have always thought of the restaurant as one catering to lobster and seafood but they do have some steaks on the menu as well. They used to be called Delmonico’s Lobster House so I wonder why the change in name. The menu appears to be just about the same.

There were 5 of us – me, BK, MT, BJ and GT. We were seated at a large, round table which made conversation very easy. Immediately we were asked for our drink orders which consisted of soda and iced tea that were refilled constantly throughout the evening. We were then asked if we would like their sourdough bread or if we would like the cheese garlic bread (extra cost) or a combination of both. We chose the combination and were very happy with that. Those who ate the garlic cheese bread said it may be the best they have tasted. I loved the sourdough as did others. I do wish that all restaurants would serve butter that isn’t freezer hard. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case here.

Each of us ordered soup – three having Boston clam chowder and two of us enjoying lobster bisque. The clam chowder was thick with clams and declared excellent. BJ and I had the lobster bisque which had many small pieces of lobster and a decidedly wine flavor. We also thought it was excellent. As the specials are really lobster, MT and GT had the two lobster tail special which they said was tender and very good. BK had lobster risotto. She was served with a lobster tail atop the risotto which was easily removed from its shell. BK said the tail was delicious as was the creamy, cheesy risotto but it was a little salty. BJ had salmon which came with fantastic corn and average string beans. The salmon saw wonderful. I had veal marsala. The three thin pieces of veal came covered with a mushroom wine sauce which was excellent. However, the first piece of veal was a bit tough the other two were better with the last one being very tender. MT and I also had a baked potato which was just like any baked potato. We also had mushrooms which I thought were excellent. GT had fried string onions which I loved.

Then came dessert. The restaurant was told that it was MT’s birthday and they provided a fantastic looking dessert. The problem with this was that none of us were told it was coming so all except me ordered dessert. They served our desserts and then came with the special one and we all sang. There is a picture of the dessert which MT took home to eat at a later date. So, be aware that if you tell them in advance about the birthday, they will provide a lovely selection of various small cakes. There is a picture of this on Facabook. The other desserts were all very good. MT had a delicious crème brulee. BK had a fantastic white chocolate banana cream pie. GT had what to me looked the best – chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce topped with a chocolate truffle. It was moist and wonderful. BJ had Belgium chocolate ice cream that had been drizzled with chocolate that hardened, laying in an almond cookie shell which I loved.

The food was excellent. The service was a bit on the slow side but we were attended to well. This is a special occasion restaurant with dinners ranging from around $20 up to $60. It is a very nice setting and a good choice for the birthday dinner.

The Rack

After we saw Flipped, we decided to go to The Rack in the Woodland Hills Promenade. We had gone there once before but hadn’t been there in ages. I hadn’t remembered that it was a sort of sport’s restaurant/bar/and pool hall. We sat in the bright restaurant area and saw the TV declaring that Brett Farve had again come out of retirement. We were quickly given our menus and I happily could get Sprite Zero. Since I have stopped drinking caffeine (except for some tea), I find it very hard to get a caffeine free, diet soda in a restaurant.

The menu contained a special “stimulus” lunch menu with all choices under $10. http://www.therack.us/images/menu/lunchstimulus.jpg It looked great to both of us. We both ordered the same thing but with different choices – two BBQ sliders and a cup of soup. BK had one BBQ pork and one BBQ chicken along with a cup of chili. I had one BBQ pork and one BBQ brisket which, for reasons I can’t explain, I had a taste for. I never eat brisket but this was a good choice. The other choice was BBQ tri-tip. I picked vegetable tortilla soup. It was filled with vegetables, some cheese, avocado and tortilla strips. It had just a little spice and was absolutely delicious. BK loved her chili but did say it had quite a bit of a kick. As for the sliders, we loved them all but I think both of us thought the pork was the juiciest. Both of us put the side dill pickles in the sandwich and added more BBQ sauce to the chicken and brisket. When the sauce is just cooked into the meat, it is great. However, the side sauce for me was a bit too spicy but not awful. Our lunch cost $9.95 each and was well worth it. Service was very good.

All in all, we had a wonderful day – a good movie followed by a very good lunch. The Rack is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have many evening specials. Lunch was great and I will certainly return.

La Sandia at Santa Monica Place

Today we decided to go to the new Santa Monica Place.  It just opened last week and what a difference.  It is now an open mall with a layout that reminds me very much of Hollywood and Highland.  There are three floors that go in a circle with the middle like an open atrium.  Although the temperature at my house was 92 when I got home, it was 64 in Santa Monica with a thick marine layer.  This is a high-end mall with the anchor stores being Bloomingdales and Nordstrom, which isn't open yet.  Don't expect to find anything like Kohls at this mall.  The third floor is mostly dining.  Eventually there will be something called The Market with what appeared to be food stalls.  There is a food court with seating both inside and out. The food court had various cuisines and the food looked very good. Seating on the third floor allows guests to view the Ocean while eating which was hidden by the marine layer today. There are also some upscale sit-down restaurants.  We chose to sit down at what is described as a modern Mexican restaurant, La Sandia.

After a short wait, we were led to an inside table that actually feels like it is outside.  It has lots of natural light and long windows.  Immediately, our waitress asked for our drink order (iced tea for me, diet Coke for BK).  She returned with chips, a little thicker than I would like but not a drop of grease and very tasty with no apparent salt, excellent salsa with just enough spice but not too much and a small side order of very good guacamole which I ordered. 

For my meal, I ordered Tacos al Pastor - adobo marinated pork / grilled pineapple / onion / cilantro / salsa verde in three corn soft tortillas.  This came with refried black beans and Mexican rice.  Everything was cut in small pieces and the amount of rice and beans was also just the right size.  I am so tired of going to restaurants and having to order huge amounts of food which I can't finish.  I cleaned my plate. The pork was tender and tasty and the pieces of pineapple added a wonderful flavor. BK ordered Chipotle Barbecued Chicken Salad - grilled all natural chicken breast / crispy tortilla strips / pico de gallo / corn /Panela cheese / black beans / napa cabbage-romaine salad / cilantro ranch dressing.  Everything was very fresh and BK said it was very good.  Although we didn't order dessert, the waitress told us that the desserts are like small tastes but we were both too full for even a small dessert.  It took a little long for us to get our meal but one of the hostesses came over to say that our order was taking some time but would be out soon and it was.  My tacos were $9.50 and BK's salad was $12.  This is a restaurant which I would like to visit again

There are other interesting sounding restaurants in Santa Monica Place which I would also like to try.  I don't get there very often but I will remember this when visitors come as well.  We walked around the entire mall and then stopped in at the Ugo Cafe on the first floor where they have coffee, pastries and gelato.  After having a taste of the gelato, I ordered a kid's size raspberry and it was fantastic.  BK had a Napolian which she thought was delicious.  All in all, our trip to Santa Monica was an epicurian delight.

Los Arroyos

It has been a long time since I have written a restaurant review. Part of that is that I am not eating in many restaurants these days.  Another is that I just haven't felt like writing anything.  However, this past week I went to the the outlet stores in Camarillo.  I needed a new pair of sneakers which I always buy at the Nike Store there.  It was the nicest day we had here in a long time and I was feeling like I really wanted to go out, something which I haven't done for a while.  After being quite successful with shopping, we were hungry.  I don't like the food court there and I am watching my food these days.  My sister likes a BBQ place in the old town of Camarillo but I didn't feel like BBQ.  We went to the new section of the outlet, near the Croc store, and there we saw Los Arroyos, a Mexican restaurant, one of my favorite ethnic foods.  I looked at the menu and felt I could eat there. 

The ambiance is decidedly Mexican with Mexican music playing as well.  The waitpeople were very helpful explaining that we ordered at the registers and the food and drinks would be delivered to our table.  BK and I decided to share a fajitas combo of chicken and steak, minus the green and red peppers and sour cream.  She also ordered a cup of meatball soup.  I had tropical iced tea as well.  BK liked her soup which was thick with meatballs and vegetables, including avacados.  Although there were Mexican spices, they were not overwhelming, just enough to give it a good flavor.  BK was concerned that there wouldn't be enough food for us to share but there was plenty.  The chicken and steak were both flavorful and tender.  It came with rice and black beans and we chose corn tortillas.  Because we asked not to have sour cream, we were given a double helping of guacamole which was excellent. The fajita combination cost $14.95. Both of us were very happy with our meal and now when I go to Camarillo for shoes, I will definitely return to Los Arroyos.

French Café in Milwaukee

Last night W and I went to the village in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee, for dinner at a small café called Le Reve. The ambiance is similar to that which one might find in Paris. There are small tables, albeit not as small as in Paris, close together but not as close as in Paris. The menu is very complete with many choices ranging from dinners to salads to sandwiches to appetizers to desserts. They also serve breakfast although I did not see that menu. The woman who owns the restaurant was a former pastry chef for Sanford D’Amato. She left him and decided to open this café in the Village.

Interestingly enough, after perusing the menu, both W and I decided on the same sandwich – Croque Monsieur. This was toasted French ham and cheese with Gruyere Bechamel on country white bread. The ham and cheese were grilled with the cheese baked on top. It would be hard for me to describe how fantastic this sandwich was and how filling. Both of us ate just ½ sandwich and we took home the other halves which JK heated up and promptly enjoyed when he got home. I also had some pommes frites (fries) left over which JK loved as well. These were thin and crisp, served with a garlic aioli – delicious. We were too full for dessert but W bought a pecan sticky bun for JK and I bought a little coffee cake for me to eat for breakfast today.

This morning I enjoyed that coffee cake with two cups of hazelnut coffee made with W’s new Keurig coffee maker. What a great dinner and breakfast. This is a keeper, one I will visit every time I come back to Milwaukee which I hope will be in the summer rather than in December.

The Melting Pot, Lucy 51 and Timmy Nolans

Last night to celebrate a special occasion and because I had a coupon for a free chocolate fondue, we went to The Melting Pot. I hadn’t been to a fondue restaurant in many years and wanted to try it out even though it is very expensive. First we had the cheese fondue. We chose the Wisconsin Trio from the various types offered and it was wonderful, served with three types of bread, apples, and vegetables. Then we had a salad, an excellent Caesar for BK and a California salad for me. My salad consisted of greens, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, tomatoes with a delicious black walnut raspberry vinaigrette. For our main meal we both chose the 6 ounce filet which we cooked in a very flavorful vegetable broth. It was extremely tender. There are many choices and combinations of meats and fish. We also added a lobster tail. The main dishes are served with mushrooms, portabella mushrooms, potatoes, broccoli and asparagus all of which we cooked. We also got numerous sauces that we could add to any of our food. The crème-de-resistance was the chocolate fondue. Again we were given many choices of blends. We chose one with dark chocolate, marshmallow and oreo crumbs and we were not disappointed. The waiter, Derek who attended to our every need, mixed the chocolate and then lit it on fire. By the way, he also made our cheese fondue right at the table. The fantastic chocolate fondue was served with strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, cheesecake, Rice Krispie treats and a chocolate brownie. Magnificent. I even took the spoon when we were done and spooned out the remaining chocolate. This is not a place to go for any dinner but it is one for a special occasion. The Metling Pot is a chain and is in Pasadena, Thousand Oaks, Milwaukee and many other cities. Loved it.

This past week we decided to have lunch in Toluca Lake at places we had never tried. The two places we picked happened to be sports bars but Lucy 51 is much nicer than one would think for that type of establishment. The food was good but a bit pricy. BK had very good sliders and French fries while I had a turkey club with sweet potato fries. Our servings were very generous and we each took home half our meal which we ate for dinner. That made the price a bit more palatable. They have a nice, full menu and, although there were TVs all around, the décor was not at all like a sports bar and the place was rather quiet.

As for Timmy Nolans, don’t bother. The food was OK but nothing special. The problem for me was that this was a true sports bar. Besides the waitress, we were the only women in there. The one TV that was blasting wasn’t on sports although many others were. It was on HLN and they were talking about women in the military. The men at the bar were having a field day making sexist comments about this and the news changed just before I had had enough which was good because I was ready to engage them in a discussion which would not have been very nice. Naturally, this colored my experience but I am not going back.

El Criollo - A Cuban Restaurant

The first time I had Cuban food was about 20 years ago when a Cuban friend of mine took me to Versailles. I was a bit concerned at first because I was not a fan of spicy food. She assured me that it wasn’t spicy and she was right. I don’t eat Cuban food often because it is sometimes greasy and is not what you might call low calorie. Sometimes I go to Porto’s in Burbank for their delicious Cuban sandwich. Their pastries are fantastic also. Anyway, today we looked at our coupons and there was a Cuban restaurant in Van Nuys that we had never heard of, although BK swears we went to this restaurant when it was at a different location. This was also convenient because it was not far from Costco and we needed gas.

El Criollo is a real gem. The restaurant is on Sepulveda between Kittridge and Vanowen which is not the most elegant of neighborhoods. As we stepped into this very simplistic but really nice restaurant, we were told we could sit wherever we wanted. We looked over the menu and saw that they had many items. There was the chicken, which most of the people did order. Cuban chicken is roasted with onion, garlic and some type of fruit, often lemon. The people near us had this and it was just a beautiful looking half chicken. I decided not to order that or Cuban pork which is also a favorite of mine. First we were given a basket of warm Cuban bread which was fine but nothing special. I ordered Bistec Empanizado which is breaded sirloin steak that is flattened and lightly seasoned. My meal came with rice and black beans along with plantains. I was surprised to find a small salad on my plate as well. There was no dressing on the salad but they brought bottles of oil and vinegar. Since I don’t usually eat the salad, I really didn’t care. Half the plate was rice. There was a cup with black beans and a spoon to put the beans on the rice. The steak was flat and fried crisp with raw onions on top. I actually took the onions, cut them up and mixed them with my rice and beans although the beans were tasty enough without the added onion. The steak had absolutely no grease and was very tasty. It cost $6.95, a real bargain.

BK was actually a little more adventurous. She asked the waiter to describe the Picadillo a la Criolla which, I believe, is a specialty since I have never seen it on a Cuban menu before. This was ground sirloin that had been broken up and simmered with herbs and spices. This was delivered to our table by, what I think, was the owner. He put down my dish and then BK’s. He bent over her and said that this was his favorite and best. Then he took some of the beans and put them on the rice and then put some of the ground beef mixture on top of all of it, mixed it together and told her that was the way to eat it. She took a taste and declared it wonderful. I took a taste and agreed. She mixed it all together and has brought about a third of it home for dinner. Since we brought home some pizza yesterday, we are set for our dinner tonight. She also had plantains. This meal cost $7.50.

El Criollo is at 6622 Van Nuys Blvd. The website is http://www.cubanfoodla.com/index.html . We will be back and I will have chicken. They also do have a vegetarian selections.

Watercress - A Café

Time for breakfast – actually a little late for breakfast – and we wanted to go somewhere new. When people like us go out to eat so often, we want something different. BK looked up a nearby restaurant on Yelp and there she discovered Watercress – A Café. I loved the name or brand as it is now called and so off we went. Here is a small, clean and tidy restaurant with about 12 tables. They call themselves gourmet and organic whenever possible. We were seated immediately and given the menu which is not too large but very interesting. We also were served our very good coffee which is roasted next door at the Coffee Roaster.

BK ordered cinnamon raisin French toast. It came with two large pieces and a few fresh strawberries on top. We ended up not quite sharing but each of us having more than a taste of the other’s dish. This was fantastic – not too sweet but sweet enough and tender and full of egg. I ordered the egg frittata panini. This consisted of scrambled eggs, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and a regular tomato all inside two pieces of bread that had been toasted panini style. Usually, I have found paninis to be flattened out, like put in a grill and somewhat greasy. This one looked like a regular sandwich with grill marks on the bread and there was no grease at all. It was delicious. I ordered it without basil and they easily accepted my request. This came with potatoes that are cubed and fried nice and crisp. It also came with a salad of mixed greens and a rather tasty dressing. I was asked if I wanted potatoes or salad and said potatoes but I got both.

I thought the prices were a bit high but not too high either since our bill came to $23.60 before tip. Most items are around $10 which I thought was high for eggs, sausage and toast. However, I do realize that organic food does cost more. All their bakery is homemade and looked wonderful. I will return but not often because of the cost. I do want to try their lunch sandwiches which also look very interesting. They have many vegetarian offerings as well as at least one vegan sandwich. Watercress is at 13565 Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks.

Zach’s Café

Wanting to go to a restaurant that I had never been to in the Valley, we picked Zach’s Café. We had received numerous coupons and I had always nixed going there because it is Italian, not one of my favorite foods. However, on this particular day I looked at the menu and decided it was time to use the coupon.

Zach’s is on Ventura between Vineland and Lankersheim in Studio City. It is sort of hidden away from the road with its parking lot in front of the restaurant. Although it was a beautiful day, we decided to eat indoors. The restaurant is rustic looking with wood slat floors. We were immediately seated and, although I had difficulty understand the guy who was going to serve our drinks and he had difficulty understanding me as well, we did get our drinks quickly and correctly and they were refilled at the proper times. I was happily surprised at the menu which is very extensive. What really surprised me was the very reasonably priced lunch menu, the dinner menu which had smaller sizes of their regular dishes at smaller prices and the rather extensive vegetarian menu.

I had already decided I wanted lasagna with meat. They have one with only vegetables as well. First we were served six hot cheese garlic rolls that were just wonderful. I had to be careful not to eat more than one so I would have room for my food (I did eat another one for dessert). The luncheon came with a choice of various soups or salad. If you have been reading my reviews, you will know that I picked soup – minestrone this time. Minestrone is not usually a soup I would pick as they also had the house specialty, chicken vegetable, but it sounded so good. It is vegetarian blend of beans and veggies with a touch of pasta and not much, if any, oregano. It was delicious, thick like Mom used to make. A bowl of this would be a meal. My lasagna was in its own casserole type dish. It is correctly described as layers of noodles with ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese covered with a ground beef meat sauce. I finished every last bit.

BK had trouble deciding what she wanted. Originally, she was going to rely on her old stand-by, spaghetti and meatballs, but, after perusing the menu, she decided on their specialty, chicken parmigiana. All their chicken dishes are made with skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Her dish had a very nice size breaded chicken breast (this can also be grilled), melted cheeses and marinara sauce with a side of spaghetti. I tasted the chicken and found it to be crisp, moist and extremely tasty. BK also had a clean plate when she finished.

My lasagna cost $8.00 and the chicken parmigiana cost $9.00. We showed the waiter the coupon we had brought in before we ordered and he pointed out that we had not read it correctly because it was only good for dinner. However, he said he would honor the coupon anyway. That was nice. At the dinner hour, most meals come in two sizes and I must say that both of us had plenty to eat with the smaller size. If you like Italian food, I highly recommend Zach’s Café at 10820 Ventura Blvd.

The Final Cupcake Review

For a number of weeks now, BK and I have been, in the quest of knowledge, searching for the perfect cupcake. We have now experienced four different cupcake shops and have come up with our definitive answer – or not. One reason for this is that BK and I do not have the same tastes. So I will now end this quest by adding our latest research which happened when we went to Sprinkles in Beverly Hills.

Sprinkles is one of the first, if not the first, to start this gourmet cupcake craze that has swept Los Angeles and maybe the nation. My daughter loves these cupcakes. BK does not. I couldn’t remember if I like them better than the others we had so, of course, we had to go there and do a taste test. We ordered the usual chocolate with white icing (black and white), chocolate marshmallow, chocolate coconut, and cinnamon sugar. We split them all. The cake is dryer than some of the others but not dry and crumbly. I thought all these chocolate cakes were delicious with a better chocolate flavor than the others. It did taste different and I liked that. BK didn’t notice the difference. BK liked the icing while I thought it was too sweet and too much. Sprinkles also charges $3.25 for their cupcakes which appeared to be somewhat smaller than the others.

In conclusion, we both agree that My Little Cupcake on Ventura Blvd. was the worst and we would never go there again. That is all we agree on. My favorite is Famous Cupcakes which is near our house. I found the cake to be moist and the icing not too sweet. Bonnie’s favorite is Dot’s Cupcakes in Pasadena which I also loved and was the least expensive at $2.75. They also sell mini-cupcakes. And for the reasons listed above, Sprinkles, while not the favorite of either of us, certainly is tasty and is worth going to just because it is Sprinkles. However, when I want a cupcake and I don’t want to travel, the one near my house is #1 for me.

Coupa Café

This past Sunday we went to the Beverly Hills Art Fair, which has a much more elegant name to match the elegant art that is shown there. I love to attend that fair. As I walk among the beautiful pieces I have in my mind that I own a huge mansion with extremely large grounds, sort of like the White House, so I have the room and the money to buy everything I would want. However, I found a very nice 20 by 5 inch photo put on wood that only cost $200. That was the least expensive art I found and I didn’t like it well enough to pay that money for it. They have a very nice food court that we could have eaten at plus a wine garden but we decided to walk down the street to see what we could find – some place different and that is what we found at the Coupa Café.

I didn’t know until I just looked this café up on line that it is known for its coffee. I didn’t get that idea from their menu or I would have had some. I did see that it was a Venezuelan restaurant and that was interesting to me. They serve breakfast all day and they have a full menu. Since it was a beautiful day, we sat outside watching the people and talking to some who were sitting next to us. I wondered what they were eating and so I asked them. Getting older has made me much more outspoken. I am sorry to say I can’t write the name of what she had because it was Venezuelan. There was no menu I could take home and none posted on line so even without a name, it looked like a delicious omelet but the outside wasn’t eggs but a cornmeal pancake. She told me it was very good but very sweet. Since there are moments when I decide not to have sweet things because of the diabetes factor, I asked the man what he was eating and he told me a crepe. It looked interesting so that is what I ordered – the breakfast crepe which was scrambled eggs with gouda cheese in a buckwheat crepe. BK ordered a Black Forest ham frittata which came with a mixed greens salad. We split out meals so we could taste both.

They asked if we would like bread and I immediately said yes because I saw the bread on the next table and it looked different to me. And it was. There was some good focaccia and then these somewhat round things that were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I asked the waitress what they were and she gave me the Venezuelan name but I can’t remember it. However, she said they were cornmeal and, although I liked the crunchy outside and soft inside, it was tasteless. BK put salt on it and I put butter on it but neither helped much. That wasn’t the case with the food. I received my breakfast crepe and saw a lot of ham on it. I looked inside and it had cheese as well but this wasn’t what I ordered. It was something I would like so I decided not to point it out to the waitstaff. When the waiter came to ask how everything was, I told him I had ordered the breakfast crepe and this wasn’t it. He offered to take it back and get me what I wanted but I chose to keep it since it was really tasty. BK said it didn’t have any eggs in it and so he offered to bring some scrambled eggs at no charge which she immediately said that would be good. In a very short time, he reappears with some very nice scrambled eggs. Both the frittata and the crepe were excellent.

I want to go back. I didn’t realize that they also have some special chocolate and hot chocolate. And I want to order some real Venezuelan food. They have two other cafes – one in Palo Alto and the other in Caracas, Venezuela. The prices are very reasonable, our meals costing about $8.50 each. The Coupa Café is located at 419 N. Canon Dr. in Beverly Hills.

Café Bizou

We decided to take advantage of the great bargains that are presented from Dine LA Restaurant Week. I may have mentioned this before but I will again. Fixed price lunches and dinners are presented for two weeks by certain restaurants at a very reasonable price. We decided to go to Cafe Bizou, a place we have gone to a few times over the years, for the $16 fixed price lunch which consisted of a choice of three appetizers, three entrees and three desserts. Any drinks are extra.

I chose the meatball soup for my appetizer. I could have had a Caesar salad or baked mushrooms. The soup was a light tomato base with vegetables, pasta and small delicious meatballs. BK chose the same thing and also enjoyed it very much. For my main entrée I chose sesame crusted salmon with potato pancakes and a burgundy wine sauce. The salmon was perfectly done, tender and moist. The potatoes which were not like any I ever had. They were more like mashed potatoes that were lightly fried in a triangular shape and very tasty. There were also mushrooms laid under the salmon and over the potatoes with the sauce decoratively laced around this mound.. It was not only delicious but also beautiful. For dessert I had a trio of sorbet – mango, lemon and raspberry – a perfect ending to a delicious meal.

BK chose shrimp and scallops with black tagallini and mushrooms in a lobster sauce. Black tagallini is a linguini that has been soaked in squid ink. Had B known that before she had eaten most of it and enjoyed it very much, I doubt that she would have ordered this dish. The pasta was covered with many shrimp and scallops. I tasted this and it was fantastic. Flourless chocolate cake was BK’s choice for dessert rather than tiramisu because the cake came with whipped cream. The chocolate cake was a very rich chocolate and came warm. Yum.

Even without a special, Café Bizou is a wonderful place to go. If you order any entrée, you can get soup or salad for $1. The restaurant is located at 14016 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks.

Tequilas Restaurant and Famous Cupcakes

Tequilas Restaurant

A few days ago I felt like Mexican food, which is not unusual. I truly believe that I could eat Mexican, Chinese and Japanese, along with a bit of American every day that I live. We decided to try a place we had never been so we went to Tequilas Restaurant in Van Nuys. The restaurant, itself, looks like many – brightly colored on the inside and cute. They have outside seating but we sat indoors. Looking at Victory Blvd. isn’t exactly a great outdoor scene.

Tequilas has a very interesting and varied menu as well as a lunch buffet which was in the $8 range. We skipped that and ordered from the menu. One of my favorite Mexican dishes is carnitas. One of my favorite Mexican restaurants is Mexicali where I almost always get the carnitias which is pork that has been roasted in its own juices and just absolutely falls apart. I decided to have that for my lunch. One difference I noticed immediately was that this pork had a lot more fat than Mexicali has which is just about fat free. Actually this doesn’t bother me but I know it does bother some people. It was extremely tender and tasty. It came with refried beans, rice and guacamole. She asked me what kind of tortillas I wanted. I told her corn but she never brought them which was fine with me because I really seldom eat them and it is healthier for me to eat the meat as a dish in itself. The big disappointment was when she came to tell us they were out of guacamole. How can a Mexican restaurant be out of guacamole at lunch time? I love guacamole. When she brought my meal, it had three slices of avocado on the plate. I looked at her questioningly and she said that they just got the avocadoes. So why didn’t she offer to bring the guacamole when it was ready? Her English wasn’t very good so I didn’t bother to ask her. I took my three slices, squashed them up, added some salsa and made my own. The rice, beans and chips were OK.

BK had arroz con pollo or rice with chicken. This was a grilled chicken breast on top of Spanish rice with melted cheese and salsa over it. She loved it. She would go back again and get the same thing. Our service was spotty. The restaurant filled up quite a bit and most people got the buffet. I might like to try that also. Our meals were $10.99 each which, for some reason, I thought was just a little pricey. I guess that is because at Mexicali they have a lunch special where I would have the same food, except I could get black beans which I prefer, slightly less meat but also less fat, and a soda all for $7.99. Tequillas is at 13627 Victory Blvd. They have various specials throughout the week and a Sunday brunch.

Famous Cupcakes

Since we had been going to various cupcake places, we decided to return to the one that BK felt was the best to see if we still felt that was the case. Famous Cupcakes is in a little mini-mall off Laurel Canyon and Riverside between Jack In the Box and Starbucks. On this day we got three different cupcakes – vanilla milk chocolate which was a chocolate cake with white frosting, chocolate coconut which again was a chocolate cake with white frosting covered with coconut, and black tie which was chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. We found all of these to be far better than most we had tried. The cake was moist. The frosting was not terribly sweet and it was thick but not too thick. These cupcakes are certified kosher and are all natural organic. There are 15 varieties of which 10 are available daily. They cost $3.25 each which is a little high but they are delicious. I know my daughter loves Sprinkles and she will be visiting here in about 5 weeks so I think we will then be going there. I would like to see if I think Sprinkles is any better than Famous Cupcakes.

Spark Woodfire Grill and My Little Cupcake

Spark Woodfire Grill

This week is restaurant week where you can get bargains at certain restaurants for specific lunches and dinners in LA. I know they also do this in Milwaukee. BK looked at the restaurants that were listed and mentioned Spark which is close to our house and we have never been there. However, they did not have a special for lunch but we decided to go there anyway.

Spark is a rather small, white tablecloth restaurant on Ventura Blvd. near the CBS Studios. It was fairly busy when we arrived which was close to 2:00. There was a large table of young people who obviously worked at CBS. There is a special lunch menu – 10 items which are $10 or less each. Although I wasn’t terribly excited about going there, my mind changed drastically. Our attentive busboy brought and refilled our Diet Cokes regularly. He also gave us wonderful, crusty bread with an olive tapenade which was good but we both felt the Gaucho Grill has one that is better. Too bad that restaurant is no longer in Studio City.

I chose ½ turkey panini with a cup of their special soup - Ribollita Soup which is described as a hearty vegetable based soup made with borlotti beans, kale, prosciutto and parmigiano cheese. I asked for the soup before the sandwich since I like to have my soup first. I didn’t think I would like it because I don’t care for Italian spices but this thick soup didn’t have any of those flavors. It was delicious. The half sandwich had turkey, watercress, tomato, roasted tomato pesto and asiago cheese on their crusty bread. I really liked this sandwich with my only complaint being that one of the pieces of bread was turned the wrong way and kept falling off the sandwich. Then I realized that it was probably an end piece put on incorrectly when melting the cheese. I didn’t mind but some may.

BK chose one of their lunch specials of the day – a BBQ chicken pizza. The pizza is cooked in a wood fired oven. It is a very thin crust but the crust is not crispy. It is soft and when we ate it, we folded it like you would a tortilla and the taste was wonderful. It had plenty of chicken, onion, excellent cheese and a good BBQ sauce. She was very happy with her choice and I enjoyed a piece as well. I definitely will return and next time, maybe have the $10 eggplant parmigiana. There were many choices and Spark is now on my list of very good places to go.

My Little Cupcake

As far as good places to go, My Little Cupcake is NOT one of them. After lunch, we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Then we drove back to this cupcake place that we had passed when we were too full to think about eating anything. However, give us an hour and we are ready again. My first impression was not favorable. The interior was not appealing to me. I looked at the cupcakes and saw very few choices, like 6, although there are many listed on the board. Also, the cupcakes were not nearly as attractive as many other places except for one. This one looked like a mountain of chocolate. We asked about it and were told it was a chocolate cupcake with a mound of homemade marshmallow covered in a hard chocolate. This was for me. BK couldn’t pass that one up either and so we got two of those, one peanut butter and one white cupcake with white frosting (definitely not for me).

When we got home, I took out my chocolate delight which I had to eat with a fork. The first thing I noticed was what looked like grease on the inside of the paper cupcake holder. Not a good sign. The outer chocolate was quite good and sweet. The mound of marshmallow was excellent. The chocolate cake was dry and tasted stale. After we threw away the cake part, Bonnie tried the white one. That one didn’t have grease inside the cupcake holder, had frosting that was OK but again the white cake was dry and tasted stale. She hasn’t tasted the peanut butter one but we do not hold out high hopes for that either. If you can’t make and serve moist, fresh cake, whatever is on the top is irrelevant to me. There are many excellent cupcake places. My Little Cupcake is not one of them.

Russell’s Famous Hamburgers and Dots Cupcakes

After we walked at the Rose Bowl in the annual HeartWalk, BK and I went to the RV show that was there and found our perfect RV. Well, we saw one – a 30 foot Winnebago – that fit our dreams but, unfortunately, not our pocketbooks. So now we needed to eat and, of course, Old Town Pasadena seemed the appropriate place to look for a restaurant. We remembered we had been to Russell’s a few times and decided to go back since we found a decent parking place not too far from there.

Russell’s says it has been around as long as I have which is quite a record not only for a restaurant but also for a person. (a tiny piece of humor there) The restaurant has an interesting ambiance. There is a lot of red color, ornate chandeliers, and nice music. It almost appears like a French bistro but it is a diner, of sorts. We were promptly seated and were offered drinks – Diet Pepsi for BK and ice tea for me.

I didn’t know their specialty was hamburgers and since neither BK nor I wanted one, having eaten at The Counter last night, we looked at both the breakfast and the lunch menus to find something else. I was immediately drawn to a sandwich that was on both menus, the only difference being the sides offered. The sandwich is called the Croque Monsieur which is actually a grilled ham and cheese on sour dough bread. Well, it is a little more than that as the picture shows. It is made with what they say is French ham and gruyere cheese with a mornay sauce all inside this grilled sandwich that is then covered with cheese that is also melted. It is a sandwich that is eaten with a knife and fork.  I decided on the side of hash browns which was an excellent choice. I was in heaven. It was all gooey, rich and wonderful.

BK ordered breakfast as well – her favorite – a chili cheese omelet which she said was delicious. She also liked the hash browns. The only disappointment was that she ordered their famous cinnamon bun which cost $1 extra and they ran out of them so she had very good rye toast.

The service was very good. By the way, there is one other French sounding sandwich, Croque Mademoiselle, which is exactly like the one I had but has an egg on top. That didn’t appeal to me. My sandwich was $9.75 and BK’s omelet was $10.50. Russell’s is on 30 N. Fair Oaks Av. in Pasadena.

As we sat in Russell’s, BK noticed Dots Cupcakes across the street. In my effort to help my daughter in her quest for as much information about various cupcakes as she can get, we went there after our lunch to get some for later at home. They have many different kinds, some on different days. The regular cupcakes are $2.75 and the mini cupcakes are $1.50. We bought 4 of them. I wanted the chocolate mint cupcake which is the one in the picture. It is a chocolate cupcake with a very mint icing and chocolate covered mints on the top. (see picture) I loved it. Bonnie was taken with the Hostess cupcake that is filled with real whipped cream and it was also delicious. We have two more – a peanut butter one and one called chocolate vanilla – chocolate cake with white butter cream frosting. We haven’t eaten those yet but I am sure they are also great. If you are in Old Town Pasadena, stop in at Dots Cupcakes on Fair Oaks and Colorado – 21 N. Fair Oaks.

EAT Café

After an especially hard workout at the pool this morning, BK and I went to EAT Café on Magnolia in North Hollywood, which is close to the Y, for breakfast. We have gone there various times before but I haven’t written about it. This is a great place for breakfast for many reasons. The restaurant is very small with only 9 or so tables and a few outside. I think much of their business is carry-out as I saw many people coming in and picking up food.

Today I decided to have a scramble with mushrooms and cheddar cheese. This comes with a choice of potatoes, Ned’s shreds or fruit. Then there is also a choice of toast, all kinds and I picked an English muffin. First the scramble was perfectly done and tasted delicious. I ordered Ned’s shreds which are shredded pieces of zucchini that are fried up like potatoes. I love them. They are a bit greasy but a great substitute for potatoes – not many carbs. I asked for my English muffin well toasted and often that doesn’t happen but here it came just right. In fact, the waitress told me that she would be a little late with the muffin because she was toasting it twice. I also like that they have orange marmalade jam packets, my favorite treat with English muffins.

BK ordered the 222 which consisted of two eggs, two pieces of sausage and two huge pancakes. She said her scrambled eggs were perfect as was the sausage. The pancakes were delicious as I had to take a taste also. They do make all different kinds of pancakes, including chocolate chip, so I have to remember this place when my family visits me. The coffee is also very good as was the service.

When coming on the weekend, expect to wait. However, we went at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning and there was a place to sit. If ever in the North Hollywood area and you want breakfast, this would be a good choice. Prices are moderate. Eat is at 11108 Magnolia Blvd.