Back down (with goodies) from Northern California . . .

Ah, it's good to be back in the LA/OC after a blissful four days up in Northern California, which was as near-perfect as a mini-vacay can get; yes, even the hours-long drive up and down the 5; it was pure pleasure soaking up the scenery in the day, clearly gazing the stars and constellations at night, and catching up on all my public radio & music podcasts. And of course, all the eating, drinking and exploring in the city of San Francisco, the countryside of Sonoma County and the sleepy-suburby-college town of Davis (my undergrad alma mater, and we have our own wiki!) I'll definitely have many happy memories to hang on to as I trim my way back down to pre-vacay weight (and to look good for BloggerProm!)

While it'll take me a little while to gather my notes and sort out all my pics (including the gorgeous Venus' belt photos in this post -- taken en route back home at Lost Hills, CA); here's a little tasty teaser -- some of the foodie souvenirs I've brought back from the North.

Assorted Paté de Fruits (pear-lime, morello cherry, passion fruit and blueberry-cassis flavors) and the Green Box of tea-Inspired sweets from Recchiuti Confections

1/2 Pound of Giant Steps blend from Blue Bottle Coffee Co.

Two Valrhona brownies from Tartine Bakery & Cafe, plus an individual bittersweet chocolate-toasted hazelnut tart

Two dark, organic Dagoba bars (lemon ginger and beaucoup berries) that I have yet to encounter in L.A.

Tea Infused Chocolate Collection from Charles Chocolates / Teance

And, an homage to my alma mater, a mug commemorating our most infamous and made-fun-of "recreational activity"

What can I say? If you can't fight it, embrace it (with a good cup 'o joe.) Keep an eye out for my NorCal food- and drinkventures soon! But in the meantime . . .

Friday Quickies #63: Frisco and Fave Weekend Listings

Bon voyage cheers! Bubbly flights from POP Champagne & Dessert Bar

By the time this gets published I'm already en route to San Francisco (but will have 'net access when I'm up there, so keep those recommendations coming!) So not much of a event-previewing Friday Quickie today given how busy I'm packing and prepping my itinerary, so instead I'll point you to some of my favorite weekend guides / event calendars that my cool cat pals compile!

Caroline on Crack - not just food/drinks, but also good intel on clothing/accessory sales and noteworthy performances too!

Eat:LA - covering foodie events all over LA, nice place to check no matter which 'hood you're at.

FoodGPS's Beer Blast - not weekend specific, but this is a must-subscribe for any LA/OC beer enthusiast. Every week you'll get the lowdown on what the local top-notch beer joints are rotating in and out of their taps and stocks.

DigLounge - good highlights of upcoming festivals and tasting events, as well as music shows.

TastingTable LA - much more food- and drink-centric than the weekend calendars of the other daily e-newsletters; a great source to find out about new openings, tasty events, as well as debuting deals & steals.

Last but not least Social Domain LA - OK, again, not weekend specific but the Craigslist-like simplicity of its layout makes it very easy for me to spot and look into upcoming events.

With that, hope you'll find some fun new to-dos. I know my weekend in Frisco will be eventful for sure! And got any of your own favorite weekend guides to share? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know!

Mini Foodventure #126: AMMO (Hollywood) Small-Batch Social

Thanks to an invite from their PR firm last month, bloggerprom co-conspirators Caroline on Crack, e*starLA and I got to check out AMMO Restaurant's Small Batch Social, a monthly mixer that they throw on with tastings of several spirited sippers from artisanal alchy producers alongside small bites from their kitchen. When I attended, the partner-in-crime was Santa Barbara-based Telegraph Brewing Co. along with beer sommelier/consultant/educator Christina Perozzi a.k.a "Beer Chick". (We also met SocialDomain's John and FoodSheThought there)

Christina did a great job giving us a brief primer of the Telegraph Ales, and all the beers had a uniquely assertive character of its own -- from the tart and aromatic reserved wheat ale to the dark, oaky porter.

My personal favorites are the California ale, which has some body but still refreshing enough to quaff w good spicy-citrus hints to boot, and the stock porter that has some great malted chocolate & coffee notes.

While the printout have recommended food/beer pairings, it's basically a free-for-all and I actually had more fun playing mix-and-match between the different brews and hors d'oeuvres, which included hangar steak w salsa verde & arugula on a crostini, red endives w Humboldt Fog cheese, walnut and wildflower honey and bite-sized grilled cheese (the last of which are super-addicting, I had about five of those crispy, gooey goodness!)

And for those interested, their next Small-Batch Social takes place tomorrow; with theme "Juniper in June" AMMO will be highlighting three boutique gins (Bluecoat American, Right and Blue Zephyr) in handcrafted cocktails, again, paired with assorted nibbles from their kitchen. And at only $20/person, it's not a bad way to spend a Thursday night and get a headstart on the weekend. So bring a friend (or a few) and have some low-key, spirited mingling and don't forget to RSVP by calling number below.

A few more photos from the May event here.

AMMO Restaurant
1155 N. Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
323.871.2666
Website

Special Foodventure #125: The Hungry Cat (Hollywood) Crabfest V

I can find two things wrong with The Hungry Cat's name; there are no cats at the restaurant, and no one leaves hungry. Case-in-point: CrabFest this past Sunday, an annual crustacean-ladened tradition five years running that's simply good summertime fun.

Knowing how fast reservations for this once-a-year event get filled, the day it was announced I just made a reservation for a table of six without even knowing who I'll be eating with. And it didn't take long for those empty seats to be filled with blogging friends Mattatouille, Choisauce, Gourmet Pigs, and ConBon -- as well as Gourmet Pig's +1 and Rickmond of Rameniac (yes, that's seven total -- thankfully I was able to up my reservation by one without much trouble.)

And so, at 11 a.m., the doors opened and we feasted . . .

The Hungry cat is well-known for their farmers-market-driven cocktail program, so I indulged in a brunch time Black-Eyed Plum made with cachaca muddled with plum and basil with a splash of lime. It's like summer in a cup, wistfully refreshing with clean, balanced flavors; I can taste the individual components -- the bright limes, the sweet-juicy plums, aromatic basil and edgy nibble of the cachaca -- without any single one dominating the drink. Definitely one I look forward to recreating at home while the weather's still warm and stone fruits are still in season.

Our meal began with a crab roll amuse, a simply-dressed lump crabmeat salad on top of a toasted butter bun. A little bit messy to eat with the crab on top of the bread as opposed to being stuffed inside, but nicely made -- it wasn't overly mayoed-up so the sweetness of the crabmeat still shone through, with little acceptable pops of pepper, onion and celery notes. I could've done with a little less bread but the ratio isn't too off-sync.

Next came the "Pride of Baltimore" crab soup with grilled bacon-fat cornbread: given its near-ruby, somewhat-opaque color I was initially afraid there's gonna be too much tomato in the soup, but that turned out to be not the case. The soup is very stock-driven, as the photo show, has lots of crab meat merrily swimming in it. The actual vegetal notes were mild and a nice complement, as were the occasional salty bacon pieces floating within. The grilled corn bread is wonderful on its own or soaked with the soup, and I actually liked that there were pieces of chile pepper embedded within for an ever-so-slight hint of heat.

Moving onto more substantial crab dishes, our third course is a whole pan-roasted soft-shell crab on top of a bed of haricot verts, pancetta and corn. Again, going with the "less is more" theme, there wasn't much in the way of seasoning and sauces, which let the quality of each ingredient come forth: the crispy, meaty crab to the hearty pieces of bacon and the sweet corn and beans. Towards the end though, I felt the dish was a bit too heavy as the roasted crab juices and grease got soaked up by the veggies -- thankfully, having finished my cocktail, I got a glass of Port Brewing 3rd Anniversary IPA -- a refreshing, hop-forward brew that really cut through all that fat!

We were also served side dishes of jean's marinated tomato & pecorino cheese plate and their potato salad at this time. Even though originally they were meant to accompany the steamed crabs, I think it's great they came out now while we still can use utensils as opposed to having to switch back-and-forth when we go hands-on with the steamy suckers. Again, overall it was nice -- the potato version is again easy on the binder so not too heavy, and I loved the super-juicy, super-flavorful marinated heirloom tomatoes that the semi-soft, mild-flavored pecorino foiled nicely against.

And three course later (and I'm already feeling satiated), the main show . . .

THE STEAMED CRABS! Lovely-looking, coral-colored and comparatively large Maryland blues topped with specks of their house-blended seasoning.

We wasted no time grabbing our mallets and tearing these babies apart for their succulent, sweet flesh and the fatty, flavorful innards (which, like a good uni, yields a "taste of the sea") accented wonderfully with Chef Lentz's version of Old Bay Seasoning. I also liked these crabs much more than the one from CrabFest two years back, possibly because they are not doing all-you-can-eat this year, so Chef Lentz can pay a little more attention to them and not hurriedly trying to steam and whip out as many as possible (us having an early reservation there also helped before the restaurant got packed with crab cracking customers!) And even six crabs a person were plenty enough (and more than enough for a few of us, who wound up doggy bagging the uncracked leftovers.)

And if you're not squeamish and truly interested in the carnage we wreaked upon those crustaceans, click here. (And that's after our table was partially-bussed!)

More-than-full from more than seven crabs, I was actually happy to see that the dessert is a modest portion of peach crisp. The dessert, surprisingly, is only "not bad" -- It would've been better if it was served warm instead of chilled, though given that they had to pre-prep the sweets given their small kitchen and large number of attendees, I could've overlooked the temperature; however, the peaches were a bit overcooked to nearly mush-like consistency, and it was oddly spiced like a pumpkin pie, a marked departure from the purer tastes of earlier dishes. The crumble part, however, was great.

Despite the lackluster last note, we had a splendid three hours with good food, great conversations and just a fun time really getting messy without having to worry about the table cleanup (though we did spill quite a few glasses of water!) Definitely worth the $60/person pricetag (plus $10 for the cocktail and $6 for the beer) as I am thoroughly stuffed for the rest of the day and even skipped dinner no problemo!

I am already setting aside my June 2010 Sundays aside for its much-anticipate return!

What Do Others Say About the CrabFest?
- Eater L.A. thought it was "total summer perfection" in 2008
- Oishii Eats & Co. had "a gluttonous victory" (back when it was all-you-can-eat) in 2007
- TasteBuzz got to "keep on crabbing" at 2007, wound up eating eight steamed ones before "rolling out"

The Hungry Cat
1535 North Vine
Hollywood, CA
323-462-2155
Website

Special Foodventure #124: Church & State (downtown)

While I try to be prompt with meetups, events and gatherings (especially with fellow bloggers,) with the actual blog itself -- more often than not procrastination rears its ugly head. Which probably explains why I have a backlog up the wazoo, and how I basically went "OH SH*T, I still haven't blogged about the Church & State dinner from almost two months ago!" when I met Chef Walter Manzke at last weekend's Taste of the Nation LA. Thank goodness for a menu we can take home and my trusty notes . . .

Anyhow, the event was put on by food-focused social review site FoodDigger (so all of us bloggers went for free), and like previous FD dinners I've attended, it was a food and wine feast of gastronomical proportions consisting of nine wine-paired courses (and that's when multiple dishes get lumped into one course, separated out I'm sure we tried closer to around twenty items of food!)

For a play-by-play of every dish, I'll point you to the detailed post and photos by KevinEats (including a photo of the night's menu)-- but here are some highlight eats and sips that I remembered fondly, even nearly two months after:

escargot pot pie - so cute and tasty, you'll forget that you're eating snails--I sure did. The little critters were merrily swimming in garlic butter, covered in a light flaky puff pastry crust (also made with generous amounts of butter, I'm sure;) I was utterly shameless when I took bread to dunk into this aromatic, fatty goodness.

charcuterie platter - a carnivore's delight, each meat were tasty yet still assert its individuality at the same time, having varying levels of smoky and cured tastes, along with nuances of herbs and spices. My favorite was the luxurious smooth and rich foie gras terrine mousse topped with a sweet port wine gelee, the combination vibrant flavors simply danced in perfect synchrony on my tastebuds.

asperge a la tashiro - a special of the night crafted for Marshal, who brought in lobsters for this dish; effortlessly elegant, with thick, fresh stalks of tender Hog's Farm asparagus topped with generous chunks of meaty lobster in a light buttery sauce; a savory dish -- that's simple and beautiful, just like a haiku.

roasted bone marrow - it's hard to go wrong with this, and of course the version here did not disappoint; the long shanks were chopped in half for easy scooping and spreading on the bread. Pure meat-flavored fat heaven -- after everyone had their share I was tempted to plop one of these suckers on my plate and suck it till bone dry. But I exercise modesty, even after countless glasses of wine.

and of course, kudos to the assorted desserts served up on another platter - there were cakey tarts, creme brulee, pot de creme and a mixed berry crisp, the last of which is my favorite since it's bursting with fruity flavors that played well with the vanilla ice cream.

I also like the eclectic wine pairings chosen by their in-house sommelier -- they're not necessarily matchy-matchy with the food, but I like having to think about how the two play against different aspects of one another. Of the wines, the one most memorable is the FRV 100, a sparkling gamay that has the color and the aromas of a ripe strawberry, making it a perfect summer sipper.

And as always, the meal is only half the experience in making the evening memorable, the other half being a splendid night of chatting and conversing with fellow bloggers as we update each other on our latest foodventures, share our new favorite haunts and console one another on the perils of photo-taking and note-scribbling, and our ever growing backlogs as we literally bit off more than we can blog.

So a much thanks to Will, Marshall and others of the FoodDigger Co. for hosting another enchanting evening of fine eats and sips, Chef Walter Manzke and Sommelier Josh Goldman for serving up all that food and wine, and, of course, to the following fellow bloggers for their more-than-palatable company:

KevinEats
gas•tron•o•my
Kats 9 Lives
I Nom Things
Right Way to Eat
Kung Food Panda
WeezerMonkey

Church & State
1850 Industrial St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 405-1434
Website