what?!? no pictures?!? sadness. on the menu: tuscan bean stew, farmers market salad, free-range duck, oyster stuffing and homemade eggnog. we had never made duck before and despite the fact that i cut the breast instead of removing the spine and we dried and salted it for only 1 day and the duck finished early and i didn’t have enough bourbon for the eggnog, everything still came out ok. it wasn’t thanksgiving by any means, but it was tasty. our stew and salad used almost all of our week’s csa veggies: we used the kale, the carrots, the arugula, the lettuce, and the celery. i love me some veggies.

other than the fact that after i eat southern comfort food, i don’t feel like eating for another week, i love it. i made the mistake of waiting too long to eat (busy designing in pasawheena), but devoured most of my food.

we started off with black eyed peas caviar complete with fried chips (you gotta love the fried).

i wanted the chile verde stew, but they were out. lucky for me, the chef had just a tiny bit of a taste left for me.

i wanted the bottomless house lemonade, but the server recommended the fresh fruit punch (a la agua fresca). the punch was nicely spiced with cinnamon and had a nice visual gradient color. m had the sweet tea, which didn’t really taste sweet but had a hint of bergamot.

since the chile verde was out, i decided on the beef brisket with fried okra (of course!) and spicy sauteed greens – our favorite part of the meal!

m had the fried chicken (per jgold’s recommendation) and we split the mac n cheese for 2.

we finished up with sweet potato pie, which neither of us has ever had. we loved the complex flavor of the pie and the sweetened fresh whipped cream didn’t hurt.

have you seen the brunch menu? OMG. i don’t know if i have the stomach for it, but i can definitely stomach many returns to larkin’s. and i could probably get 3 orders of the greens and be happy. i was so satisfied after dinner i fell asleep on the way home. mmmmm, comfort food.

larkin’s | 1496 Colorado Blvd 90041 | 323.254.0934

i’ve been to huckleberry for bread many times and my parents and i went for lunch, but it doesn’t really count in our list of completed restaurants unless m and i actually go together. we had the green eggs and ham and the duck hash. unfortunately, huckleberry does bread well, but does eggs poorly. and these are $12 eggs. they were nice enough to comp us a piece of coffee cake because the duck hash’s eggs had gooey whites, but were not nice enough not to make the second round of eggs rock hard. on the other hand, the green eggs and ham were amazing. jgold’s recommendation was perfect.

tough to actually see the hash. eggs are getting way too much press here.

la quercia prosciutto, arugula, eggs, english muffin

later in the day, we ate a maple bacon biscuit, a kouign amann, a cinnamon roll, and flatbread at baby g’s house.. the maple bacon biscuit was superb. nm would approve.

my employers are helping me work on my list of jgold’s 99. for our dec 5 holiday dinner, we were supposed to go to suzanne goin’s tavern but ended up at suzanne tracht’s jar. i had no idea jar was a steakhouse and i didn’t even realize it was on the list until today. my butter lettuce w/ lemon garlic vinaigrette was nothing unusual but i enjoyed it. the squash blossoms were not as delicate as i have had before – batter was too thick in my opinion. the rib eye had great texture but not enough meaty, beefy flavor. excellent crust, though. we ordered water spinach and pea tendrils for our sides. the spinach was just that spinach – no special flavors or sauce. the pea tendrils were also dressed in the same “no-sauce” but had that nice pea flavor and crunchy stems. we finished with the banana cream pie and signature chocolate pudding. the pie was great – lighter in texture than susina’s. my pudding was not impressive, but i was also full.

now that i (we) cook and are constantly experimenting and improving, it’s hard not to be critical of restaurant food. bistro lq – i absolutely cannot make any of that at home. jar – i’ve had better at home. and i’m not ashamed to admit it. doesn’t mean i’m not grateful or appreciative. thanks, flq.

jar | 8225 Beverly Boulevard 90048 | 323.655.6566

we make broth from chicken bones. we make broth from fish bones. why shouldn’t we make broth from our turkey carcass?

we added a mostly fruit box to our lineup. now we get veggies twice a month and fruit once a month (and we may add more…).

free-range niman goat, that is. here it is with moroccan spices. fatty, tender, spicy, flavorful. need i say more? got so excited about it, i didn’t get the pic until it was “pic’d” over.

niman goat

not on the jgold list, but on LA mag’s list of places to go for afternoon tea. they don’t have the tea part down but their pastries and food were v. good and their macarons were the best i’ve had so far.

afternoon tea

clam chowder. gnocchi w/ fried sage and chestnuts. farmers market salad (w/ csa carrots!!!). bourbon red turkey from a new jersey farm shipped fresh and prepared with EVO, salt and pepper *only*. sides: mashed potatoes + sunchokes. sauteed sunchokes w/ parsley. butternut squash w/ fennel, onion, and sage. acorn squash puree w/ apples, pine nuts, almonds, and spices. fresh cranberry relish from baby G’s parents. turkey gravy NM made from the giblets. mulled apple cider also by NM. strawberry rhubarb pie. NM’s most excellent cookies – the key lime meltaways might just be my new favorite. if enjoyment of a meal is any indication of how thankful i have been this year, then i am the most thankful person i know (and probably the most gluttonous).

…wherever pomegranates are in season year-round.

luscious red aril