Author Archives: Anne

Posted on August 16, 2007 by Anne| 2 Comments
Red Velvet Cupcakes

Sorry for the lack of posts lately but I’ve been sick as a dog, coughing up a lung or two and generally not feeling very well. I’m finally back at work but I have a feeling this hacking cough is going to hang out with me for awhile. At least my coworker commented that I sound sexy à la Demi Moore, so I guess there’s a silver lining, ha.


Speaking of coworker, I made these cupcakes for one of them for his birthday. The red velvet cupcakes from Doughboys seem to be the popular birthday dessert of choice in my office, so I figured I’d whip some up on my own. I’ve used this red velvet cake recipe for years now- it’s like my Old Faithful and no doubt I’ve posted about it before. It makes a fantastic cake layered with the perfect frosting and berries, and it also makes cute, moist cupcakes that are perfect for giving away.

I hope you’ll get a chance to make these- just make sure you buy red gel food coloring, available at Sur La Table. The liquid food coloring sold at the grocery store will give you a Pink Velvet cake instead!

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Posted in cupcakes, desserts, Red velvet cake, sweets

Posted on August 9, 2007 by Anne| 3 Comments

Restaurant Review: Larkin’s Eagle Rock

After tons of delays, Larkin’s in Eagle Rock finally opened about a month ago. I’d been on their email list for awhile and had known about their private tasting dinners, but never got a chance to go. I’d pass by the restaurant almost daily (it’s really close to our house) and make a mental note to myself to try it out once it actually opened.

Fast forward to last weekend when, as with almost every Sunday, we started driving toward the Coffee Table and (as usual) passed Larkin’s. When I mentioned to J that it was finally open, he quickly turned the car around and proclaimed that we should try it out. Quite the break in tradition, I must say- you see, the Coffee Table is practically a religion for us on weekends. The food is well prepared, the coffee is kickin’ and you can tweak any dish as many ways as you can possibly imagine. May I get the Eggs from Hell, easy “hell,” egg whites only, wheat toast instead of potatoes and easy on the cheese? The CT counter girl doesn’t even blink an eye, and within 10 minutes, your breakfast arrives, perfectly tweaked to your liking.

When you get consistency like that, it’s hard to go anywhere else, but the cute craftsman house that is Larkin’s beckoned with it’s shiny windows so we pulled into the parking lot. After walking in and being seated immediately, I took a good look at the space….and I was already in love. The mix-and-match vintage tables and chairs, the row of bright, clear light bulbs that lined the hallway, large windows overlooking a flower-filled yard….I felt like I was in my Southern grandmother’s house……that is, if I had a southern granny. Even though my personal taste in interiors leans more towards minimal, slightly Asian decor, I was just enamored of the homey, vintage feel of the place. We quickly ordered coffee and checked out the menu.

I realized that the menu was actually a list of about ten items, and you were instructed to choose three to create your own brunch. There was also a mission statement of sorts- basically saying that the chef makes dishes based on family recipes so they don’t really do substitutions or additions………so, in a nutshell, no tweaking. Although I was tempted to order my scrambled eggs with egg whites only, I quickly digressed……….I mean, after all, Larkin’s is a SOUL FOOD JOINT and if I wanted egg whites, what the hell was I doing there? Of course the “I’m the paying customer” part of me was conflicted with the culinary adventurer in me, but I decided to simply follow the instructions and pick three things off the menu. J and I both ended up with scrambled eggs, pancakes and veggie sausage. We sipped our super hot coffee and waited.

The food came quickly and smelled divine. We dug in- the scrambled eggs were seasoned with herbs and spices and didn’t need a bit of additional salt or pepper- they were perfect and original. The pancakes came already dressed with syrup- just the right amount, I might add- and were crisp and dark brown on the outside, slightly chewy and toothsome on the inside. Delicious and clearly created from a special recipe. The house made veggie sausage patties were spicy, and although I felt they were a bit on the salty side, J loved them and ended up eating one of mine.


Since there were no prices on the menu, I had no idea of the cost until we got the bill……..each item was $5. So, if you’re required to choose three items for brunch, your meal will be $15.00……sort of steep for pancakes and sausage, no? I can’t be 100% certain that you HAVE to choose three items, but after reading the “it’s our way coz we know it’s the best” mission statement, I can only assume that you must. The thing is, most of the menu items are, well…….on the heavy side- i.e. smothered potatoes, hot links, French toast, grits…..so it’s a bit difficult to create a balanced plate. But then again, “This is a SOUL FOOD JOINT!” I had to keep reminding myself. To be perfectly honest, I would normally have a problem with being told how many items I should order, or that I couldn’t substitute this for that, but I don’t at Larkin’s. Why? Because the food is GOOD. I’ll go as far to call it SPECIAL. Those pancakes must have been made in a cast iron skillet that probably has years of flavor on it, the eggs were cooked to perfection and seasoned oh-so-well, and although the veggie sausages weren’t my absolute favorite, you could tell they were made by hand, made with care and made by someone who really knows how to cook. So who am I to argue with these people whose love of food actually comes through in their offerings? I’m sure a lot of people would disagree and say that, as a paying customer, the customer has the right to choose however they want their food, but I’d have to argue that you might be missing out on some damn good food! Sure, I tweak my eggs at the Coffee Table, but those are just eggs. They aren’t made by your southern granny, ya know?

Larkins
1496 Colorado Blvd.
Eagle Rock
323.254.0934

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Posted in brunch, Eagle Rock restaurants, Larkin's

Posted on August 7, 2007 by Anne| 4 Comments

Restaurant Review: Zu Robata

A couple of years ago, I had read an article in the LA Times called “My Dinner With Andrea and the Fuqi Feipian Gang,” written by David Shaw. It chronicled the outings of a group of food-obsessed Los Angelinos – some were artists, others were in the food business, Andrea herself was a writer and there were usually other eccentric, interesting people added to the mix. This group would get together a few times a month to go eat a a selected restaurant where Andrea would work out some sort of prix fixe menu at a very low price per person. I remember reading about this and silently wished that I could be included in such a group and have thought of the article from time to time since then, wondering where this fun loving bunch were dining at next.

Fast forward to a few months ago….I get an email from an Andrea Rademan which simply stated, “Might like to invite you to join my dining group on one of our food treks. Can you tell me a little about yourself, and do you eat a wide variety of foods?” Not having remembered the exact name of the lady in the article, it didn’t really click until I googled her name and realized that this was THAT woman! Here I was, almost three years after having read the article, and I was actually being invited to join the group! I sent her my reply and she invited me to a dinner, but it was in the middle of my Mexico vacation so I sadly couldn’t attend. I eagerly waited for another invite which did come last week, and I was set to attend my very first dinner with the group.

Our destination was Zu Robata near Brentwood, and the chef, Ricardo Zarate, used to be in the dining group years back when he was the chef at Sai Sai in downtown Los Angeles. After working with Gordon Ramsey in London, he returned to Los Angeles and opened up this Japanese fusion restaurant. Andrea had set up a prix fixe, multicourse meal for the group at $25/person- that amount included tax, tip and a Shōchū tasting in addition to the food. J and I walked into the beautiful space and immediately saw their Wall of Shochu- big, glass jars of it, each filled with a different fruit to infuse the alcohol with the flavor and color of each fruit. We saw the group gathering at a few tables in the back so we made our way to them.

The group took up five tables of six people each, and as much as we tried our best to meet everyone that night, it was nearly impossible. Our table included a man who had invented a ginger cocktail mix, two writers and one entertainment publicist. We were each poured a sample of three different shochus- blueberry/lemon, raspberry and a sake/lemon concoction. I really loved the blueberry/lemon and the raspberry one was also delicious, but we agreed that the combo of lemon, sake and shochu tasted more like something that could be used to clean windows. Even though the other two went down like water, I was careful not to drink too quickly since the bartender told us proudly that the shochu they get is much higher in alcohol than your average shochu- it was 70 proof. Eeps. It tasted like punch, honestly, so I made sure to pace myself.

After a few introductory stories, we all sat back and waited for the parade of food to begin. We started with two kinds of edamame- one plain and one smeared with a black bean sauce- very good. Next came a salad of mixed greens and large chunks of gobo (burdock root) which was excellent. I’d only had thin strands of gobo before- never served like this in such big pieces- but it was a great, crunchy contrast to the soft greens.

Next came some fried oysters in their shells with wakame and a ponzu dressing. The oyster itself had a nice texture, but the ponzu-dressed wakame that was the accompaniment was so tart that it pretty much killed any ocean flavor the oyster may have had. Everyone puckered up at the taste of that sour liquid.

Our nice waitress brought out what looked like a traditional salmon carpaccio dressed with ponzu, but she introduced the dish as “salmon carpaccio with a sweet teriyaki sauce” so I was actually like “oh cool- something different.” When I put a slice of the fatty salmon in my mouth, it was clear that the dressing had nothing to do with teriyaki and was, indeed, ponzu. Don’t get me wrong- it was good- but there were several other instanced throughout the evening where the wait staff were inaccurate about the descriptions of the food.

A giant block of ice was the plate decoration for our sashimi course, which had fresh slices of maguro, yellow tail and sweet shrimp. All were tasty but were absolutely dwarfed by the glacier on the plate.

The sushi course included a dragon roll and a couple of smaller rolls- one of which was rolled in a mixture of schimi powder and yuzu- a great flavor combo that really kicked up the spiciness factor.

The main course was a butterfish or codfish in miso, wrapped in a leaf accompanied by a cucumber salad. The fish was melt-in-your-mouth tender and seasoned well. The vinegared cucumber salad was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the fish.

We closed out the savory courses with a bowl of miso soup. Nice, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The dessert course included a layered macha and chocolate cake, profiteroles and fried bananas dusted with cinnamon sugar. All were very good and not at all too sweet, which suited me just fine. I particularly liked the cake.

After some more conversation, the night came to a close. The company was very good and I look forward to future outings. I have to be honest though, and say that Zu Robata offered nothing new, nothing inventive and really nothing that I can’t get at my local sushi place, with the exception of the desserts which weren’t stellar enough to make the trip back for. All of the ingredients are fresh, but the preparations- dragon rolls, salmon carpaccio, sashimi……doesn’t really scream “fusion” to me at all and are, once again, items present on almost every sushi menu in Los Angeles. The staff, although extremely friendly, don’t seem to know the difference between yellowtail and albacore. I would say that the different shochu drinks sets this place apart- by all means, go and try them. However, I’d be hard pressed to go to Zu Robata on my own as the prices are on the high side, particularly for drinks.

I thought Andrea and her group were a wonderful group of people, and it’s always great to eat with others who are as enthusiastic about food as you are. I was on the fence about whether to actually post this review since I was part of this pre-arranged group and did get a special, very low price on the meal. However, I felt it was alright to be honest, especially when you’re out with a bunch of food lovers.

Zu Robata is a beautiful restaurant, so I hope they’ll start serving slightly more inventive food to go with their gorgeous decor and shochu selection.

And thanks, Andrea, for the invitation!

Zu Robata
12217 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 571-1920

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Posted in Uncategorized

Posted on August 1, 2007 by Anne| 6 Comments

Japanese dinner: Unagi brown rice

To celebrate J’s return from Japan, I made a simple Japanese dinner. Even though he had three days of Japanese food, I knew he’d want more as it’s pretty much his favorite cuisine of all time. He told me that he had some good yakitori, lots of Japanese yogurt (which is, in our opinion, the best yogurt ever!) and even a dinner at the Shibuya branch of Gonpachi! So I guess he and I were at the same restaurant on the same night, but he was in Japan and I was in Los Angeles. Oh- and his food was far superoior to the just ok meal that I had. At least I could console myself with the various Kit Kats he brought back (I had requested he pick up any different flavors he saw). The macha/milk flavor was my favorite, but the chocolate banana and the chestnut flavors were good as well.

I read a few Japanese cooking blogs and am always inspired by the recipes and ideas on them. When I saw Naoko’s Unagi Onigiri, I remembered that I had some unagi in the freezer and decided to make the rice.

I pretty much followed her recipe but used Japanese brown rice instead of white. After washing the rice I added the soy sauce, sake, sansho pepper and multigrain mix to my rice maker and set the timer for it to be ready when I got home from work. About 20 minutes before the rice was done, I added sliced unagi to the pot, then mixed in some mitsuba at the very end. The whole house smelled like unagi and sansho……..YUM.

I didn’t make onigiri out of it but instead piled the rice into bowls and topped it with some nori seaweed. A salad tossed with wafu (Japanese style) dressing, hiyayakko (cold tofu) topped with ginger, scallions and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and some spicy eggplant suzuke (Japanese pickles) completed our meal. Oh, that and a glass of cold sake of course;).

By the way, the food came out way better than these photos!

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Posted in home cooking, Japanese food, unagi

Posted on July 30, 2007 by Anne| 2 Comments

Restaurant Review: Gonpachi

Take a good look at these photos. The serene gardens, trickling water fall, gorgeous Japanese architecture. Did I take a quick weekend trip to Kyoto, you ask? Perhaps a little 48-hour excursion to Kamakura? Unfortunately, I don’t have a private jet nor the means to take spur-of-the-moment vacations to such far away places, but for a moment this past weekend, I could have sworn I was in Japan.

Where was this transforming place? Gonpachi, the new, gigantic robata yaki, sushi and soba restaurant on La Cienega. Much had been written of the struggles the multi-million dollar restaurant experienced after it first opened, so I didn’t want to go until the bumpy period ended. Last Friday, I was at my best friend M’s new apartment when she suggested we try it out. Since so many of our best Japan memories involve eating at izakayas and yakitoriyas, we hoped Gonpachi would be a little blast to the past. After all, J was in Japan this past weekend so M and I wanted to get in on the action by at least pretending we were there!

Upon driving up to the behemoth restaurant, I was instantly transported by the gorgeous shoji doors that lined the restaurant. What an absolutely stunning building!!! Honestly- I can see why it cost so much to build- every detail is meticulous and the scent of the wood reminded me so much of Japan. We both got pretty excited as we were led upstairs to one of the booths overlooking the entire restaurant. M and I had been to Gonpachi in Shibuya twice when were in Japan last November and had fallen in love with the place. When we spotted the long bar seating in front of the robata yaki chefs, however, we asked to be seated there. I love sitting at the bar, chatting up the chefs and being able to order one item at a time, just like at sushi. Since we arrived early, there were only a couple of customers in the giant space and no one else at the counter.

I’ll be honest- when I realized that the two robata yaki chefs who greeted us weren’t Japanese, I was disappointed. There’s something about being able to converse in Japanese with the chefs that, for me personally, just makes me feel at home. M and I checked out the menu and decided to start with a few appetizers- the soba salad being one of them. I had read a lot about the hand made soba and had seen the soba maker on my way in, so we were excited to try it. We also decided on the korokke (fried potato coroquettes) and the unagi gohan (eel rice). We toasted with my cold sake and M’s super tall glass of Sapporo and sat back, completely in awe of the amazingly long wooden bar, hanging lanterns and the general vastness of the place.


Our soba salad arrived and I couldn’t see a bit of….soba. After a bit of poking around with my ohashi, I could see the small pile of it resting underneath a bird’s nest of shredded daikon and carrot. The soba was also cut into short strands…..I suppose convenient for a salad but really difficult to get a decent chopstick full of. The barely-there dressing was bland and it really should have been marketed as a daikon salad with a hint of soba. The korokke were better- nice, crunchy balls of ground meat, potatoes and cheese (?) which I found a bit strange as Japanese korokke doesn’t usually have cheese. They were dressed like takoyaki usually are, doused with tonkastu sauce (standard) and bonito flakes- again, an odd pairing for korokke which is usually just served with the tonkatsu sauce. The unagi rice was quite good, albeit slightly bland again- a small bowl of sticky seasoned rice topped with unagi slices and served with Japanese pickles.

Soba (?) salad………

Korokke

Unagi rice with Japanese pickles

When we started eyeing the robata yaki, a Japanese chef did come up to us and started speaking Japanese, which was nice. We opted for the chicken/negi, the shiitake stuffed with ground chicken, shishito peppers, asparagus bacon and ground chicken (tsukune) skewers with the optional “onsen tamago” which is a very lightly poached egg. All of the skewers were very good, I’d say- especially the shiitake mushrooms with the ground chicken. Smoky, slightly sweet and tender, the flavor of the shiitake was very pronounced and a good match for the soft meat.

Chicken and negi and tsukune skewers

Shiitake stuffed with tsukune

Asapargus wrapped in bacon

We saw quite a few people ordering dessert, so we decided to share two- the homemade vanilla pudding with macha shortbread and the pumpkin zenzai. The pudding/custard was delicious- creamy and not-too-sweet, and the accompanying cookies were just barely sweet with a very pronounced macha flavor. The real winner, however, was the zenzai – vanilla ice cream topped with sweet anko, pumpkin sauce and mochi balls……..WOW. I mean, this dish would (and WILL) make me return just to get another chance to eat it. The creamy ice cream, sweet red beans and pumpkin sauce blended perfectly, and the chewy mochi balls were toothsome and delicious. Next to the butterscotch budino at Mozza, I’d have to say this is probably one of the best desserts I’ve had in a long time.

We noticed a lone, stern-looking Japanese man sitting at the end of the counter, keeping a very close eye on the robata-yaki chefs and motioning for one to come over and inspect some of the skewers he had on his plate. We wondered it he was the manager, and upon further investigation, we found out that he was Kozo Hasegawa, the CEO of Global Dining, Inc, the company that owns Gonpachi and a number of other restaurants both here and in Japan. He had flown in from Japan to check out operations, and boy- was he crackin’ the whip. We saw him walking around after we were finished eating, so we took our chance to speak with him and even snap a photo. He seemed genuinely interested in knowing whether or not we had enjoyed our meal so we told him that yes, we did, but we’d love to see a few more Japanese tapas like items on the menu…like an assortment of Japanese pickles (tsukemono no moriyawase) or kastuo no tataki (seared bonito). He said yes, in the beginning they did have more, but that American customers generally didn’t order some things so they took them off the menu. He said he had noticed that we both ordered the optional onsen tamago (slightly poached egg) with our ground chicken skewers, but that hardly anyone ever did so- a super runny egg isn’t really a popular item here in the States. In Japan, the ground chicken skewer is traditionally served with a raw egg yolk, but even the slightly cooked version doesn’t sell here. We did take the chance to tell him how wonderful the desserts were, and how much we enjoyed our experiences at both Monsoon and Gonpachi in Tokyo.

Hasegawa-san and M

Overall, I think Gonpachi is a gorgeous restaurant whose food is good, but nothing exceptional. The robata yaki and desserts are definitely worth going back for, but the price adds up since the skewers are priced per skewer, not per pair. One will run anywhere from $3.50 for something basic like a veggie, to $18 (!!!) for something more exotic like toro or kobe beef. I guess I just have to get it out of my head that I’ll ever experience the same kind of vibe that I did at restaurants in Tokyo- even if it looks exactly the same as the Gonpachi in Shibuya, we’re not in Tokyo anymore so the Gonpachi here will be decidedly different. M and I agreed that next time, we may just go sit in the open-air bar overlooking the Japanese garden, have a couple of skewers, some sake and that fabulous zenzai and call it a night.


Gonpachi
134 N La Cienega Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

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Posted in Gonpachi Los Angeles, Japanese restaurants, robata yaki, yakitori

Posted on July 25, 2007 by Anne| Leave a comment

No, I Didn’t Fall Off The Ends of the Earth…….

Things have been absolutely bonkers at work, thanks to the drunken escapades of some people I wouldn’t mind never hearing about again. One night you go to bed with the knowledge that things are good, then you wake up to breaking news on your Crackberry about some young starlet boozing and driving. Great, I think. There goes my week.

One does have to eat, however, no matter what nutty thing is happening in the media. Unfortunately working late doesn’t really give a girl a lot of time to make elaborate meals (or proper meals, for that matter) and I didn’t think you’d want to see photos of a tuna sandwich or crackers with cheese.

I did manage to make a semi-decent meal the other night, thanks in large part to the art of rubbing down a large piece of meat with garlic, herbs and olive oil and promptly tossing it in the fridge for a day, and my trusty propane grill which cooks everything in no time flat. The lamb came out nice and just pink in the center, and, served with a couscous salad and green salad (hey- I like my salad ok?!) it made for a nice dinner on the patio.

I definitely need to get back in the kitchen since I start to feel a sort of emptiness when I don’t cook enough, so I am hoping to have some better posts for you all soon! A company bbq on Friday may prove to be an interesting entry, depending on good the food is.

Let’s hope nothing drastic happens overnight!

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Posted in couscous, healthy cooking, home cooking, Lamb

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Anne| 3 Comments

Restaurant Review: Passionfish, Pacific Grove, CA

Monterey……highway to paradise!!!

Monterey has got to be one of the most beautiful places here on the West Coast. We had the pleasure of going since my college roommate got married there last weekend (congrats Katie and Carey!!) and I pretty much fell in love with the beachside community. I mean, what’s not to love? Blue skies, clean ocean and the greenest of trees all meet to form a magical place. I could do without some of the seagulls who have a knack for pooing on your car in just the right way so your ENTIRE CAR is covered with their, er, stuff, after ONE shot. How they manage that is beyond me, but otherwise Monterey is absolutely enchanting.

We drove up last Friday and arrived just before 4:00 PM. I had done a bit of research on where to have dinner that night, and after checking a few websites I came to the conclusion that Passionfish was the place to eat. When we arrived a bit early for our 7:00 PM reservation, the place was already filled with people- both in the dining room and the waiting area. We sat in front of the enormous wine case while we waited a few extra minutes to be seated.

The hostess called my name and we were walked to the far end of the restaurant….which would have been fine if the fan hadn’t been broken. You see, Friday was unusually hot for Monterey and the place has no air conditioning, so it was taking some time to cool off the back room and the fan not working wasn’t helping. They did have a window and the back door opened but I have to admit, I was beginning to get ansty. You know when you spend the time to find the perfect place, you want it to be, well…perfect. There was also a large party seated right behind us, and one of them was having some sort of hissyfit over a menu item that was apparently no longer on the menu. All I could hear him say was “Well they’d better make it coz when I called they said they had it and that is what I wanted!” all bratty and whiny. Ugh. I was getting a sinking feeling that my much-anticipated dinner was not going to go well.

Luckily our waitress was very nice and said she could get us another table if we could wait a few minutes- she also explained that the other areas in the restaurant were likely to be on the warm side as well since they didn’t have A/C. Her good mood, in addition to the fact that Loud Whiny Guy had finally shut up put us in a good mood too, and we decided to stay at our table. The open door started to cool the room down, and I got back to my happy place. J marveled at the well-priced wine list and read off the wine pricing philosophy of the restaurant- they don’t spend money on Riedels or expensive decanters so they only mark up the wine slightly. If you’d like to come armed with your best crystal stemware, please do so at no charge but they are more concerned with serving great wine at reasonable prices- an idea I can definitely jump on board for! J decided to start with a half bottle of the Lake Chalice Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough (we love NZ sauvis!) and placed our orders.

Fried oyster salad……

My Fried Oyster Salad with Citrus Soy Glazed Arugula was a perfect combo of crunchy oysters and the peppery leaves. I’m a big fan of deep fried elements in a salad since it’s never overpowering and such a good balance with fresh, raw veggies. J’s Dungeness Crab Cake with Spicy Tomato and Onion Relish was a ball of crab- no filler- and the fresh sauce had just enough kick to balance out the richness of the crab. Both dishes went so well with the green-apple-juicy-fruity-tangy sauvignon blanc. My mouth is watering just thinking about that crisp wine with the crunchy oysters.

Crab cake with fresh tomato sauce

We ordered a bottle of the Dutton Goldfield Pinot Noir after our first choice was sold out and a call to his J’s winemaker brother resulted in that choice (Carl, if you’re reading this, we have to say thanks for recommending one of the best pinots we’ve ever had!!!). Now- I’ll say that the photos our main dishes do not do them justice. J’s salmon with cucumbers (don’t know the official name) was fresh, clean and dolloped with roasted garlic aioli which the light cucumbers tempered to make just the right combination. My grilled sturgeon with sweet corn, bacon, banana potatoes and tomato salsa (also not the official name) was, in a word, divine. Corn, bacon and potatoes with white fish is the classic chowder combo and this dish had all of the comfort but none of the heaviness of that. The sturgeon was beautifully grilled and the sweet corn and salty bacon was meant to surround that gorgeous piece of fish. Yum.

Dessert wasn’t as perfect as our meal- J ordered the peach cobbler (his favorite dessert besides bread pudding) and for once, we both agreed that it wasn’t sweet enough. Strange, coming from two people who prefer our sweets to be, well, less sweet. I think cobbler is one of those desserts that need sugar since the fruit will be varying degrees of sweetness depending on the season and the kind of fruit, and the cobbler topping was just barely sweet. The vanilla ice cream, however, was creamy and just sweet enough.

Passionfish is one of those perfect restaurants that does rustic yet elegant food and does it extremely well….with a wine list that just cannot be beat. I love the fact that getting the customers the best wine and food possible without breaking their banks is the top priority. They also serve only sustainable seafood and provide a list of all sustainable seafood for you to take home.

High quality, fresh seafood and organic produce combined with the skill of a good chef is all you need for a great meal and Passionfish is a great example of that.

We’ll definitely be back!

Passionfish
701 Lighthouse Ave
Pacific Grove, CA
831 655 3311

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Posted in Monterey restaurants, Passionfish, seafood restaurants California

Posted on July 9, 2007 by Anne| 8 Comments

Meeting a Top Chef

As most frequent readers (all three of you) of this blog know, I work in television. It isn’t super glamorous but I do see my share of celebrities or TV personalities. I mean, I don’t have tea with Brad Pitt or anything, but I do have the opportunity to glance at a decent amount of people who would be considered somewhat famous. Honestly, it doesn’t really affect me either way- I don’t dislike it but I don’t live for it either. The funny thing is, when it comes down to you and a famous person standing face-to-face, you’re just two people who have nothing to say to each other anyway, right? It’s just as awkward as staring at a stranger, which is basically what the famous person is to you anyway. A stranger you’ve seen on TV, I guess, but it doesn’t make the meeting any easier.

Farro, corn and bacon salad

I have to admit, however, that there are a few people I’d freak out over meeting, and most come from the culinary world. If I ever ran into Tom Colicchio, I’d probably just be a blubbering mess. I’m also a pretty big Bobby Flay fan (I know, you all hate him, he’s cocky as hell, he uses honey in everything…..but I still like him) as well as an Anthony Bourdain groupie. TV chefs are not only in my living room on a regular basis (on the television) but make regular appearances in the cookbooks I buy and the magazines I subscribe to. They permeate a good portion of my life, since I spend so much time thinking about, talking about, blogging about and dreaming about food and cooking. What can I say, I guess I’m a food ‘ho. ‘Nuff said.

Shaved zucchini w/ parmesan

So imagine my delight (polite way to say FREAK OUT) when my friend invited me to a bbq where all the food would be cooked by Lee Ann Wong of Top Chef fame. You know- the Wong Way on bravotv.com? She was one of my favorite contestants on season one of the show and I’m still furious that she didn’t make the top three (especially since that backstabbing Tiffany did!). I was told not to bring any food since she liked to make everything herself, so we went armed with a few bottles of wine in hand and a few butterflies in my tummy.

MEAT.

We showed up early and the table was already filled with tons of great looking food. There was Lee Ann (TINY in person, may I add) manning the grill which was emitting some amazing smells. We were introduced, then she went back to grilling everything from shishito peppers to enormous rib eye steaks. I poured myself a glass of bubbly and hung back, acting as casual as I could.

Grilled shishito peppers

Since no one seemed to want to be the first to dig into the food, I finally just stepped up and took a plate, at which time Lee Ann told everyone to start eating already! We didn’t have to be told twice- I piled on the farro, corn and bacon salad, pickled veggies, watermelon and feta salad, grilled pork chops with peaches, the INSANE rib eye, J’s favorite shishitos, some bulgogi-like steak and shaved zucchini and parmesan salad. There was also a great big bowl of some cheese popcorn which she had doctored with some sweet glaze- what a combo. Everything was delicious- particularly all of the meat. That girl knows how to grill em, I gotta say. For dessert she whipped up (by hand, of course) a huge bowl of vanilla bean whipped cream which we ate along with some fresh berries. Yum.

Watermelon and feta salad

I was still pretty nervous to really talk to Lee Ann, so I did what any self-respecting person in my situation would do. I loaded up on liquid confidence, of course! Luckily my friend T was there as my partner in crime, so we just sipped one glass of wine after another until I worked up the nerve to shoot little friendly (or annoying?) comments to Lee Ann here and there. She’d smile politely, but I’m sure she probably thought I was some buzzy fool. Oh well. I think I even did that lame-ass thing where I said she should have made the top three over Tiffany…..which I’m sure Lee Ann is losing sleep over considering it was TWO years ago and she’d certainly moved past anything Tiffany ever did! Ugh…….sometimes the combination of nerves and wine is a killer eh? I’m sure she probably wished it would have killed my mouth.

Fresh radishes with lime zest

Anyway, it was a good time and thankfully I only spent about 3% of my time trying to find something meaningful to say to Lee Ann. I can only hope she didn’t think of me as a complete moron. Next time, I think I’ll stop trying to react to her as a “food personality” and converse with her like the normal person she is.

Lee Ann and yours truly

Of course, unless she gets a restraining order against me or something!

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Posted in BBQ

Posted on July 6, 2007 by Anne| 2 Comments

Final Zihuatanejo Images……..

Here’s the last Mexico post- just a collection of a bunch of photos taken in Zihuatanejo. Looking at them now, it seems so long ago that we were there…..and we can’t wait to get back! If you’re ever looking for a quick getaway (from Los Angeles, at least!) it’s a short, 3 1/2 hour flight and United has nonstops from LAX. Although the flight doesn’t take long, you feel like you’re a world away.

Here’s some of our favorite things about Zihuatanejo!

The famous shrimp tacos at La Sirena Gorda- so good we ate them two days in a row!!

The colorful plates at the local shops

Chunky fish tacos with pickled onions

The mariachi who climbed onto our boat to go to a neighboring beach

The lobster and shrimp with green curry sauce at Kau Kan….rich but delicious

Club Intrawest Hotel- huge, gorgeous rooms, fantastic service, beautiful pools and beaches….highly recommended!

We miss you already!!!

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Posted in Club Intrawest, Kau Kan, La Sirena Gorda, Mexico, Zihuatanejo

Posted on July 2, 2007 by Anne| Leave a comment

We Interrupt Our Mexico Reports for This Amazing Tomato Tart!!

I have more photos from Mexico but had to get this post in before the July 4th holiday. I’m sure many of you are planning some sort of bbq or picnic, and this tart is the perfect vegetarian main dish or side dish to whatever meat/fish you may be making. It’ll be a hit with carnivores and veggies alike.

As frequent readers of this blog already know, I’m quite a fan of Heidi’s fantastic blog, 101 Cookbooks, from which I got this recipe. The crust is a simple combination of whole wheat flour, white flour, parmesan and butter and the topping is tomatoes, basil and olive oil. It doesn’t get much fresher than that! You can read about how draining the tomatoes a bit and putting them in the tart at the last minute keeps the crust nice and crispy.

Some grilled veggies to go with the tart….

A bit of grilled swordfish as well……..

The sharp tang of the parmesan and the sweetness of the tomatoes (I got some gorgeous heirlooms at the Farmer’s Market) is a perfect combination. Some purple basil makes for a nice contrast of colors as well. If you’re going on a picnic you can always pack the crust and tomatoes separately, then assemble at the last minute. It’d also be a great accompaniment to some bbq’d chicken or grilled fish.

Hope you all have a happy July 4th!

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Posted in bread baking, grilling, healthy cooking, tomato tart