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May must be a month of salads for me -- on top of a salad being my most memorable dish in New York, I also had the opportunity to sample some pretty amazing tossed greens here in L.A. at a blogger dinner @ Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop in Century City (they also have a location in Beverly Hills.)
I know, salads usually elicits a yawn -- serving as a half-finished precursor to the actual entreé, or an even worse rep as a healthy/diet food - "healthy" being code for "this isn't what I would be ordering if my love handles/blubber butt/thunder thighs didn't have a say in it."
We sampled a few made-to-order & prepared salads that evening, and while they all tasted great--these are my definite faves:
And for those who like to customize, Greenleaf offers a Counter-like menu option where you can build it as you like it with nearly any combination of greens, toppings, proteins, dressings, etc. as you please. But since all those choices tend to paralyze me with indecisiveness - I think I'll stick to their already solid menu of signature dishes (with maybe a tweak or two.)
Finally, to commemorate their recent 3rd anniversary this week (May 31 to June 4, 2011) they're offering specials all week long - including 50% off the entire beer/wine list and gifts for bringing 2 newbies (to make a 3some) to try Greenleaf. So give it a try (with some friends!) if you have the chance to swing by either of their locations -- hope you'll agree that healthy & tasty aren't mutually exclusive with one of their delicious fare (and if you're like me, inspired to whip up some fancy salads @ home yourself!)
What Do Others Say?
- My two compadres @ this blogger dinner, Savory Hunter & Gourmet Pigs, were both pleasantly surprised by the deliciousness of the foods here
- LAist praised chefs/co-owners Jonathan Rollo & Kristi Ritchey's ability to "find ways to move from caloric wastelands to tastier, healthier territory."
- Green LA Girl recommends this for anyone who "Wanna order a damn good organic salad for lunch." Enough said
- LA Weekly got a few pointers about pairing beers & wines with salads from Rollo
- Gayot rightly pointed out that "Greenleaf is not just for the health nut . . . a flatiron steak salad and another one inspired by Buffalo chicken wings make things interesting"
Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop
Beverly Hills
9671 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(310) 246-0756
Century City
1888 Century Park East
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(424) 239-8700
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a cake made of grilled cheese sandwiches being served at 2008 1st 6th Grilled Cheese Invitational (photo courtesy of kevissimo)
April may be the dreaded tax month, and that's probably more the reason it's also Grilled Cheese month: quick, simple, comforting and cheap! And since three makes a trend, here's a trio of L.A.-area events dedicated to the dairy-ladened-sandwich for your cheesy noshing pleasure. Yum!
First up is Clementine is celebrating all month long with mash-ups from L.A. area chefs (Nancy Silverton of Mozzas, Evan Kleiman of Angeli Caffe, Jimmy Shaw of Loteria Grill) with wonderful rotation of chef-invented cheesy creations like Oliver's Grilled Cheese with pepperjack, soppresata and Calbrian peppers on white rye and queso mahon with chorizo, quince paste and romesco. A variety of other sandwiches with a cheese-themed-twist will be available as well (BBQ chicken with mozzarella, grilled garlic melt with parmesan, pastrami reuben with gruyere.) Surely something to look forward to every week. For full breakdown of the rotating specials this month (printed on beautiful LA-themed postcards), click here.
For the East-siders, Patinette at MOCA will offering an inexpensive build-your-own grilled cheese workshop: for $4, you can pick your bread (white, whole wheat, ciabatta, walnut-currant or rye) cheese (fresh mozz, gruyere, chipotle cheddar, fontina, brie, goat or Point Reyes blue) and sauce (whole-grain or yellow mustard, garlic aioli, basil pesto or yuzu aioli). For an extra buck or you can tack on extras liked Pullman ham, bacon, grilled onions or vine-ripened tomatoes, and $3 more will score you a bowl of its perfect accompaniment: tomato soup.
And of course, it's not Grilled Cheese Month in L.A. without mentioning the 1st 7th National Grilled Cheese Invitational competition taking place on April 25 from noon to 5 p.m. As usual, there'll be three categories to enter in from the standard missionary style to the more creative kama sutra and the sugar-focused honey pot. It's $10 to compete for the cheesy glory, and $5 just to get in to taste and vote for your fave. Location, entry details to come soon but definitely save the date!
The tasty Queso Flameado at CASA (too bad the fire went out by the time I could take a photo)
Now that the rain and the cold's winding down and it's "going out" weather again (is it March already?! Those first two months zoomed by fast!) the events (one-time and recurring) are picking up too. Here's a few that came to my mind by way of other bloggers, PR folks, and my own sleuthing for fun and yummy to dos.
For those who can't get enough of multi-restaurant tasting events after the Gold Standard -- and have the dollars to splurge -- Planned Parenthood is holding its 29th Annual Food Fare event at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on March 12. Some of the more noteworthy restaurant participants include A.O.C., Il Grano, the Mozzas, Animal, Lucques and XIV along with drinks provided by Wally's, Quady Winery, Bonny Doon Vineyards and Angel City Brewing. Prices range from $125 to $200 (depending on if you're doing the day or evening session and if you pre-ordered or buying at the door). More info at their webbie here.
Famed wineglass-making company Riedel, known for their finely-crafted glasses specially made to accentuate the characters of different varietals, is pairing with LearnAboutWine for a Riedel Tasting Seminar on March 11 - with Max Riedel himself guiding the tasting. In addition, participants will also get to take home the complete Riedel "Vinum" four-wineglass set (valued at $129) -- all for $59/person (additional sets will be available for a special price at the event.) Sounds very worthwhile for both the budding and the seasoned oenophiles. More info here.
Another fun downtown wine event will take place at Ciudad on March 15, when they pair with Jake-Ryan Cellars to do a tapas-paired roundtable tasting. In addition to four wines from Jake-Ryan and five courses from Ciudad (including Spanish-style duck rillettes and drunken grapes withh blue cheese toast, rosemary and crispy serrano ham) you'll also taste Brazilian Palma Louca beer and Ciudad's hand-muddled pomegranate mojito made with Starr African rum. A delightful way to spend an afternoon for $45/person.
There are a few ongoing events of worthy note as well. First is Craft's new Craftbar menu, featuring a variety of not-your-everyday bar bites for $9 or under (think spaghetti with local abalone and maine lobster & smoked bacon roll) and $8 cocktails. For more info, check out the intel from Zagat and Tasting Table.
Another debuting ongoing event is downtown CASA's happy and late-night hours, with specials from $3 Modelo cervezas to pitchers of house-blended sangrias for $12. The under $7 happy hour menu includes their gooey, tequila-fired queso flameado and albondigas (Mexican meatballs) with a roasted salsa roja. And I can definitely testify to the deliciousness of the queso (I presumed the albondigas to be mighty tasty too, at a preview event the whole tray got emptied by the time it got to my table... twice!) Hours and menu posted here.
Not much going on for this weekend for me asides from processing the slew of press releases and advisories for Valentine's Day "specials" (though my personal take it is that it's infinitely more romantic to do something at home . . . no waiting in lines, dealing with promoters/bouncers or potentially getting annoyed with rude table neighbors.) And in case you're shopping for wine on a budget (for Valentine's, or anytime) -- Rundown has a list of bargain buys at Trader Joe's for $10 and under a bottle.
Per a tip-off last week, I checked out the Jin Patisserie grand opening event at Century City. It was a nice classy reception with a variety of finger sandwiches and sweets, though I would've preferred having tea instead of red wine. Despite the more chic-boutique feel of this store, I think I still prefer the Venice outlet more for now. If you think parking near Abbot Kinney is tough, wait till you head to Century City, where the only option is the hotel valet. Also, I prefer the Venice's courtyard atmosphere for the soothing afternoon tea. But hey, if you live/work near the C.C., Jin is a worthwhile checkout -- their sweets are very elegant and flavorful, and somewhat light and never too sweet.
For those avid eaters who had trouble squeezing in all the places they want to try in the 12 Days of DineLA, the Chowhound board just dropped the note of a few places that will be extending their prix-fixe offers a little longer. So far on the list includes Valentino's on Mondays, Grace for an extra week, Gordon Ramsay for the rest of February, and perhaps the Roof Garden at the Peninsula. Of course, always a good policy and check first beforehand or while making the reservation. (Update: Just got confirmation from DineLA's press release sent my way, check out the restaurant week website for the restaurants that are extending their offers, the exact dates of extensions are listed on the "Notes" section of each restaurant on the list)
Finally, my fun read this week - Slate.com recently published a food writer's piece on making restaurant dishes based on their cookbook recipes, then comparing to the real deal by sampling those dishes at the eateries themselves. No shocker really, but even for someone with a culinary degree, while "all of the recipes I tested resembled their originals . . . none perfectly recreated the restaurant version," largely owing to recipe tweaks in the cookbook versions, but also due to factors such as a home vs. professional kitchens, and chefs switching the recipes to take advantage of what's seasonal. Interesting food for thought for the home cook looking to recreate that Alinea dish; though of course, we all know it's mostly food gawkage.
Palm Terrace Restaurant's Valrhona Chocolate Obsession with Gianduja Crust and Pecan-Covered Caramel Ice Cream, mmm.....
Yes, it's Super Bowl; but there's more than enough guides on what to do before/during/after the game already; I personally am doing my Akasha DineLA dinner (with newly-minted foodblogger Binary Tastebuds and others) during the game but mildly rooting for Cardinals though. Anyhow, onto today's quick and short musings.
Orange County Restaurant Week: to all the OC foodies, don't get jealous eyeing dineLA restaurant week from a distance (or grumpy from making that hour-long drive,) here's your chance to celebrate and patronize at your local eateries from Feb. 22 to 28. Over 60 restaurants will be offering prix-fixe lunch and dinner options from $20-40 a person, and there are some real gems in the mix including The Ritz Restaurant and Garden, 230 Forest Avenue and Michael Mina's Stone Hill Tavern, Heck, LA folks may even want to dive down to nab some of these meal deals.
Another OC event my sweet jaws are excited about, the Palm Terrace Restaurant will be doing a "Cocoa Lounge" Dessert Buffet for the month of February, with delightful sweets created by their exec. pastry chef Michael Owens. If it's anything like the Valrhona Chocolate Obsession I had there for my Newport Beach Restaurant Week dinner (review to come shortly), it's totally worth it! It's $18/person OR complimentary for any Palm Terrace Restaurant patron who orders two or more courses for dinner there.
For the LA folks, Gourmet Pigs got the scoop on a Century City (mostly) sweets event to celebrate the opening of Jin Patisserie's second location at the Century City Intercontinental Mall. Jin's chef/owner Kristy Choo will be whipping up assorted finger sandwiches, exotic chocolate goodies (baked chocolate tart with pineapple; white chocolate with peach compote and yuzu jelly) plus a glass of wine and specially-blended chocolate drink. Sounds hard to beat for $17/person. Takes place on Feb. 5 from 5 to 8 p.m., and you have to RSVP at 310.789.6485.
And speaking of deals, the Bargain Babe blog reminded me that Restaurant.com's super deal (literally, the promo code is SUPER) expires at the end of this month a.k.a. tomorrow! Simply put, get a $25 restaurant gift certificate for $3 -- that's some serious savings. Of course, you'll have to do some digging to find a restaurant you actually wanna eat at or try out, and be sure to keep an eye out for the restrictions (some places won't let you use the certificate unless you order above a certain amount, which blunts the blow of the bargain.) For me, it's a great way for snag a delicious discount at downtown's Pitfire Pizza -- and then grab a guilt-free drink or two at the Edison practically next door.
And finally, I got around to checking out the Kogi BBQ truck: Thanks to Matt of Dig Lounge, I scored a chance at tasting those infamous Korean BBQ tacos w/o having to stake my place in line half-hour prior or dealing with crazies. And for the most part, they're as every bit tasty as I imagined them to be. While their special pork belly tapas was unbearably sinewy and chewy (and had an unexpected bone within!) it was quickly made up for with their flavorful short rib slider and taco as well as their spicy pork taco, a nice change of pace from the usual carne asada and al pastor.
As for the Doheny itself, because they had to cater to such a large crowd, patrons were limited to the eight or so drinks from their cocktail list of the night (too bad, would've like to see what the bartends can come up with if they had free reign.) The ginger margarita was deliciously packed with sweet heat, and would've been a perfect match for that spicy pork taco if I had any left. There was also a cocktail made with aloe honey and juices that was pretty smooth and soothing at first, but ultimately too syrupy. I did appreciate the large ice cubes which kept the cocktails cold while minimizing dilution. Guess I'll have to wait for another invitation to check out this exclusive club next time...
and for those who missed out on Kogi or have yet to try, Colorado Wine Company in Eagle Rock is doing an event with them Feb. 26 -- tacos matched with fine wines . . . can't beat that (oh wait, there was that white trash wine tasting...); anyhow, details are still coming together (wines presented, time of event) but if you're interested regardless, email info@cowineco.com to RSVP or for more details as they become available (caveat: they are only accepting first 100 RSVPs, but do make the courtesy of canceling if you can't make it after all so others on the waitlist can get their chance.)
Since I made the effort of parking my car during holiday seasons at the horrific lot in Century City Westfield's, I figure I might as well check out one of new eateries that pop up around Century City in addition to the chocolate tasting at Breadbar. Craft? A bit far and pricey at the moment. RockSugar? Um, not really feeling like Pan-Asianed cheesecake. Ooh, speaking of Pan-Asian, how about Take a Bao? It's food-court cheap (well, for C.C. standards anyways, considering their court also has Lawry's Carvery serving up $25+ prime ribs) and it sounds like an interesting, if gimmicky, fast casual concept. Could be cool as long as I don't compare them to the baozis readily available in Chinatown and all over the San Gabriel Valley.
After reviewing their assorted "Asian-inspired" filling options (including a signature barbecue pork that includes pea shoots and marinated cucumbers, unlike any charsiubaos I've ever eaten -- reminding me again not to evaluate these dishes by real baozi standards), I opted for the spicy sesame citrus chicken standard white bao and a miso beef wheat bao. About $10, ten minutes and one light-up/beeping vibrator later, my two baos and side of chinese napa salad arrived.
I tried the chicken bao first, and it tasted like a poorly made orange chicken (a dish I normally love when I get that faux Chinese craving,) there was way too much of the overly-sweet sauce, and the battered chicken was dense and dry as a brick and not crispy at all (were they trying to compensate for the dryness by overdousing with sauce? well, it didn't work). But at least the bao dough was decent - fluffy, a little chewy, not dry at all and surprisingly holds together well as I took repeated bites of this otherwise sticky-and-syrupy mess.
But the part I liked most was the salad (yes, my yellow flag popped up when I realized the side is the best part); it was one of the better Chinese (no-chicken) salads I've had in a while, nice crunchy texture and flavors from the chopped napa cabbage, carrots, scallions, almonds and fried wonton strips and a light, nutty, sweet dressing that's just enough to bind them all together. I would've readily traded the chicken bao for more of the salad.
Summing up, my feelings for this place is mixed given the hit and miss dish I had (though for anyone craving these taco-style baos, I'd surely point them to Cafe Hiro in Cypress for their peking pork appetizer, styled like Momofuku's roasted pork buns and much more memorable than those here!) I am open to checking out this place again, but it's definitely not a destination eatery and it's rare that I'll be at the Century City Westfield so it may be a while for me to re-evaluate. That may be for the better in the long-run, 'cause maybe by then I can finally forget about that terrible super sweet brick of a fried chicken.
What Do Others Say?
Caroline on Crack, while disappointed by the baos, thinks it's a nice change of pace from usual food court offerings
Drink Your Milk actually did not take a bao here and had mixed experiences with bunless dishes.
Teenage Glutster had better opinion (or luck) with both the baos and salads here
but the democracy of the Yelpers gave it a middling 3 stars
Take a Bao
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, 90067
310.551.1100
http://www.takeabao.com
One of the things I love about Breadbar, on top of its phenomenal range of artisanal baked breads and goodies, are their fun events held in collaboration with other chefs and restaurants. Sometimes it could be a fondue night with their breads in eclectic melted cheeses, other times it may be a wine and dish pairing like RED with LearnAboutWine, and then there's the guest chefs events like Ludobites last year that was like a huge hit! Of course, the event with my name all over it is the 'Chocolate Tasting' held in collaboration with ChocoVivo's owner/chocolatier Patricia Tsai. So I met up with Fiona from Gourmet Pigs for this $30/person event.
We also lived her lessons along the way, sampling the chocolate in various stages of processing from the crunchy cocoa nibs to a intense, thick and bitter pure chocolate liquor (and later a more palatable version with sugar added, though I personally loved combining the two for a bittersweet experience.)
Moving onto the actual food portion, the five-course tasting menu! Already anticipating the the dark cocoa flavor in many of the upcoming dishes, I tried ordering a glass of Syrah only to find out I've been trumped by all the other event attendees and that Breadbar ran out of both Syrahs. But the nice server gave me a glass of the Rhone wine at a reduced price, which made interesting pairings with the chocolate dishes too.
Next came the arugula salad with roasted duck breast, foie gras terrine and chocolate vinaigrette. Here the chocolate taste was muted given the powerful flavors of the fatty duck breast slices, the peppery arugula and the salty terrine. But nonetheless it was a great salad and I had fun mixing and matching the different components of the dish.
The star of the meal was definitely the main course, braised short rib in a chocolate mole with kabocha squash polenta. The mole was insanely delicious, and a delightful mix of chocolate, chili, sesame and about a dozen additional ingredients pounded and blended in a rich, complex paste that's a great balance of spicy, smoky, nutty, sweet, bitter and chocolatey. The tender rib was a wonderful backdrop to soak up the mole as was the polenta with the subtle tinge of the squash.
Fourth course is a molten chocolate souffle cake with olive oil and salt. As big a sucker I am for rich chocolate desserts and sweet-savory combos, I didn't care much for this dish due to the mouthfeel of the center, which was rather fluid and liquidy and made me think that it was underbaked batter rather than an intended molten core.
Next sets of desserts came out better, chocolate beet mini cupcakes that were moist, not-too-sweet, and had an interest tart contrast with the beet frosting. I ate up two of these fast (and got another two take home!)
Finally (yes, there's a sixth course), their variant of the traditional s'more with chocolate marshmallows that we toast ourselves and spread onto Breadbar's bread chips. Without a pure chocolate element, the cocoa flavor here is more subtle than the traditional campfire version but it was still gooey delicious.
Overall and in spite of the souffle, I think this was one of the better themed tasting menus I've had -- which reflects chocolate's versatility as both a savory and a sweet ingredient and Chef Marhx's expert execution of these dishes. And yes, I'll even endure Century City parking (got charged $10 since I went over three hours here) to check out their future events, or even to casually dine in the rare instance that I shop there.
Breadbar in Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90067
310.277.3770
http://www.breadbar.net/
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