perhaps one of the more memorable dinners i’ve had. kl + mc treated me for my birthday and we decided on the chef’s tasting menu. i don’t even know where to begin other than by saying that i thought about this dinner for the next 3 days at least. i didn’t like everything but definitely gave everything its due consideration either because of contrasting textures or presentation or sheer fascination that chef LQ would attempt to pair such disparate flavors and items together. hmmmmmm. still considering.

my british boss asked me to head over the pasawheena for a site visit and to talk shop (are you confused yet?). m accompanied me and, in typical fashion, we arrived late because we were waylaid (sp?) by food. but i suppose it’s not everyday we are on that side of town so might as well be indulgent. huge disappointment actually. they didn’t have chocolate croissants but had lots of brioche. coffee was gross. i don’t know how kl liked her croissant and chocolate brioche but hazelnut macaron was less than stellar. no offense j gold, but if i’m on that side of town, i’d rather go to porto’s.

i can't even remember what i bought. that's how memorable these pastries were :(

in stark contrast to last year, we decided to actually make the food we planned on serving *before* thanksgiving itself arrived. we invited kl.mc, lcr, dogsitter and the mexican, and RGG.SGG, but they all had plans. and they missssssed out, fo sho. i ate all the leftovers the next day and licked the snapware clean.

sauteed sunchokes + parsley

mashed potatoes + sunchokes, collard greens + bacon, butterbutt squash + fennel + sage, free range chicken thighs

have i blogged about this before? a quick search of this blog reveals the answer to that question is “no.” my favorite vegetables (in precise order) are: okra, beets, sungold tomatoes (and dry farmed early girl tomatoes when i can get them), arugula, italian peppers (grown by asians), and enoki mushrooms. my favorite fruits are pomegranate, robada apricots, blueberries, tangerines, and a gravenstein or ginger gold or sierra beauty heirloom apple. to be continued…

this morning, when anna and i left the apt to go for our morning walk, i opened the door and a box of vegetables was waiting for me. 1 bulb of fennel, 3 sprigs of rosemary, 1 head each of red leaf and romaine lettuce, 1 head of radicchio (must learn how to make this as i’m not currently a big fan), 1 bunch of carrots, 1 bunch of rainbow chard, 1 bunch of collard greens, 1 bunch of lacinato kale (yum!), 1 butternut squash, 1 bunch of italian parsley, 2 lbs of bok choy (we’ve never purchased so much bok choy) at the bottom of the box. what is better than having fresh farm produce delivered to your door?

i heart my csa box from capay farms

capay farms csa box

remember that beet and tuna agua fresca @ loteria? maybe you don’t, but i do. my honey has made agua fresca twice: once last saturday and once again today. so far, lime and mint are the base and she added pomegranate seeds to the first version. mmmmm, so good.

pom, mint, lime

(i admit it, i can’t get away from writing about food. i am a food writing whore.)

as long as we’re going on and on about mint kit kats, might as well toss in the sweet potato latte we had with JP at hollys in k-town. must say i like the ambiance of cafe loft better and i like their food menu better, too. aside from the sweet potato latte, holly’s is just a starbucks with lots of koreans in it complete with the young, aloof barista who says he can’t make you a waffle, but then sits down with his friends and eats the waffle he just made. *bastard*

sweet potato-y goodness

date night! my honey picked anisette and despite my pre-meal hypoglycemia, i had a really great time. we will go back, but probably not for the foie gras (yes, my common sense regarding sustainability and inhumane treatment got the better of me). the ambience was 100% french brasserie complete with the expected parquet floor, vintage mirrors, and the comforting clink of dishes emanating from the kitchen. our table could’ve used a small lamp but our table was so small, it was hard to keep the silverware from falling off so a lamp is probably a bad idea.

besides the foie gras in a chunky terrine style w/ heritage pork and pistachios, we started off with the french onion soup in a rich beef broth. i keep forgetting: m doesn’t like french onion soup as much as i do. (i forgot i liked french onion soup so much. i’m such a weirdo. but it’s true. i do like me some french onion as evidenced by last night. and, as far as i know, french onion soup doesn’t require cutting the legs off of the onion and making it fat and sick so i’m gonna stick with the soup.)

french onion soup w/ perfectly melted comte

terrine...bad, bad bad (but excellent cornichons)

i had the duck confit which was risky because i haven’t had good duck since about 2003 and i’m getting sick of bad duck. it was so good that there was nothing left. literally. the pairing of duck with russian kale and root vegetables was perfect. m had the steak frites and the chef cooked the steak just right so we were both happy. we also had sunchokes and bloomsdale spinach. don’t ask me why we ordered the spinach @ $8 when we can buy it ourselves for $3 for 1/2 lb but we love ourselves some bloomsdale spinach. farmers markets have changed my palate in ways i can’t even quantify or qualify. anisette’s sunchokes were mushy compared to those at rustic canyon but had the same great flavor and further convinced me that i can cook gourmet sunchokes.

steak frites

duck confit

the aftermath

we didn’t have room for dessert, unfortunately, but seeing as anisette is only 13 blocks away, i’m sure we will find our way back.

anisette | 225 Santa Monica Blvd 90401 | 310.395.3200

my parents took us out for dinner on 2 nov and, of course, we had to pick something off the list of 99. we decided on rustic canyon based on our success @ huckleberry, it’s focus on sustainability, and it is walkable from home. the place was dark…really dark…so no pictures. but i could just go on and on about zoe nathan’s doughnuts paired w/ valrhona hot chocolate. i was partial to both the lemon cornmeal cake, but both were unique and praiseworthy. the cinnamon sugar doughnuts were practically hollow. someday, we’ll get them for SG…if he ever comes back home to us here in lalaland.

the sauteed jerusalem sunchokes, the jidori chicken, and my quail are also worth mentioning. i have always wanted to try sunchokes and now i know we can just slice them and saute them with chives and lots of olive oil. they were crunchy with an artichoke flavor. i could eat them every week. the jidori chicken has to be a heritage chicken. it was just way too good. m’s pork chop was a bit salty but the chicken was spot on with a mustard sauce that wasn’t too overpowering. my quail was the best quail i’ve ever had. i’ve become disappointed by fessenjan recently and it was nice to try quail that wasn’t in a pomegranate sauce. it was a small entree but that was fine because i had lots of room for dessert!

rustic canyon | 1119 Wilshire Blvd 90401 | 310.393.7050