Late nights, long dinners, lovely times

The Dark Knight knows me so well. He went to a farewell party earlier in the week at Chef Simon’s Sofitel restaurant and saw something he knew I would love. Being a smart superhero, he did the one thing that he knew must be done: he made reservations.

Simon:LA isn’t your typical celebrity restaurant. Even though the chef is best known for the rockin’ Vegas joint and his appearance on Iron Chef America, the food isn’t pretentious or overly fancy. Chef Simon takes comfort food—my kind of comfort food, homey American cuisine, some Cal-Asian goodies, and junk food—to a dressier level.


Popcorn shrimp? How about baby Gulf shrimp, deep-fried in a tangy Cajun batter, with a kicky remoulade for dipping? Yes, please. The Dark Knight practically inhaled this entire appetizer, leaving me just a few pieces of shrimp. What can I say? He’s a hungry man.


I was in no danger of going hungry, though. The grilled vegetable gazpacho was all mine, since the Dark Knight isn’t much for cold soups, even one as chunky and flavorful as this. It tasted a lot like a slightly pureed salsa made with fire-roasted veggies, accented with a cannelle of jalapeno-accented guacamole and drizzled with cilantro oil. Perfect for dipping the garlic crostini that accompanied this summery soup.

As much as I love things with the word “dynamite” in them (Napoleon, anyone?), I was not incredibly impressed with the tuna dynamite that reviews usually speak so highly of. Sandwiched between inch-thick slabs of sushi rice sat coarsely chopped ahi, a tuna cube instead of a tuna roll. The cube sat atop lightly sweet “eel” sauce (this was closer to teriayaki), and was topped with chunks of sweet lump crab that had been dressed with red chili aioli to mimic the spicy mayonnaise used in spicy tuna rolls. There was a whole lot of rice here. Too much. Too, too much.

But the reputation of this famous chef was saved by the surprisingly aromatic carpaccio pizza: super thin oval-shaped pizza crust baked off with bleu cheese and fresh tomato chunks, then topped with lightly seasoned arugula. Delicate, barely seared, paper-thin slices of beef tenderloin rested atop the greens. Granted, this isn’t traditional carpaccio, but this isn’t a traditional pizza. While I would have loved a bit more acid in this dish (a squeeze of lemon never hurt anyone), I adored the salty cheese against the peppery greens.

Thankfully, proportion is key in masterful preparation of dishes such as these, and we weren’t full yet. After dining on appetizers all night, we were ready for the pièce de résistance: the Simon Junk Food Sampler. The Dark Knight and I sighed happily when the waiter brought this work of art to the table. A cone of house-made cotton candy sat in a bowl full of fresh caramel corn. A small paper bag of warm cookies shared platter space with a tiny peanut butter and chocolate sundae (peanut butter gelato topped with hot fudge and whipped cream), a scoop of mango sorbet, two mini-sized chocolate cupcakes and pink sno-balls (both a la Hostess), three rice krispie squares, three cocoa krispie squares, and a small vanilla bean milkshake.



Damn.

The Dark Knight and I polished off the cotton candy first. Sugar high. I attacked the mango sorbet while the Dark Knight spooned in the peanut butter sundae. We each grabbed a handful of caramel corn as we drank down the silky, smooth milkshake…and then stopped. We may be sugar-holics, but we have our limits.

All packed up—half of the pizza and most of the sweets tucked neatly into plastic containers and nestled securely in a big Simon:LA shopping bag—the Dark Knight and I downed the last of our espressos and headed home. I still want to try the beef tartare and carpaccio duo, the short rib entrée, and a couple specialty cocktails. After all, who could possibly resist the lure of updated comfort food?

Simon:LA
Sofitel Hotel
8555 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310.278.5444

Getting Saucy at the W

Ninethirty at the W Hotel in Brentwood is a calm dinner spot, with impeccable service and strong drinks. A muted atmosphere, with equally muted décor, is punctuated subtly with huge, unframed black and white photos of music legends like Elvis Costello and Diana Krall.

A fairly comprehensive wine list complements a menu whose starters are heavy on the seafood and veg, with mains tending more towards meats. The Dark Knight and I visited this restaurant last night before heading to a party at the hotel lounge. We enjoyed the warm bread selection (cheese bread for him, olive bread for me) as we contemplated the menu. Everything looked appealing, but we decided against an opening course.



The Dark Knight adored his Sonoma lamb chops, cooked perfectly and seasoned delicately. Their subtly gamey flavor was not overwhelmed by the blue cheese gnocchi (“Pillows of love!” exclaimed the Dark Knight upon first bite) and caramelized cipollini onions.

My smoked duck leg confit was tender and falling off the bone, as confit should be. Beautifully crisped skin added a nice textural contrast, though I found it a bit salty. This was easily rectified with a bit of the sweet sherry BBQ sauce that surrounded the dish. The warm mushroom and frisee salad balanced the flavors as well, with a nice bite coming from the greens. Try as I might to control myself, I couldn’t help but also take a few bites of the sweet potato mash resting beneath the salad. It was almost too good—I had to stop myself from finishing this creamy mound of goodness.



The Tantara Shiraz (2004) that I paired with my entrée was a lovely counterpoint to the strong flavors of my food. Heady and robust, this wine’s hearty mouthfeel and slightly strong tannins cut through the oiliness inherent in duck confit. A successful pairing, though not one I would have thought of without a recommendation towards an Australian wine from our server.

For dessert, the Dark Knight and I shared the black and white “banana” cream pie. The bananas were served to the side of the pie, their tops crisply bruleed. The chocolate mousse layer atop this creamy confection was rich and a little too stiff. It crushed the lower layer, a light and fluffy banana mousse that sat on a disc of soft chocolate cookie crumbs. Drizzled with a rum gastrique reminiscent of bananas Foster sauce, this made for a satisfyingly sweet end to our meal.



I’m not sure if the Dark Knight and I will venture to this restaurant again, unless there’s yet another party for us to attend in the area. It was delicious, certainly, but tasty enough to warrant the trek from the Eastside? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Maybe we’ll try again next season to see what the chef has up his sleeves for the winter.

Ninethirty
W Hotel Los Angeles - Brentwood
930 Hilgard Ave.
LA, CA 90024

Until next week...

I'm not going to be blogging until next week or so. I've been rather under the weather for the past few days, and food is the last thing on my mind. Never fear, dear readers--I'll be good as new soon enough.

New recipes and food adventures next week. Promise.

Banana-rama Muffins!

I woke up this morning craving banana bread. Every time I make it, though, I end up throwing some out. Why? Because one person should not consume an entire loaf of banana bread in three days. It's just not healthy.

So I made muffins. They keep longer, they freeze well, and I can share them more easily. No wasting food in this kitchen!

I adapted this recipe from one I found on allrecipes.com (I am forever referencing that site for starter recipes). My additions include semi-sweet chocolate chips (Valhrona, if possible), an extra banana, and honey subbing in for some of the sugar. Enjoy!

Banana-rama Muffins
Be sure to line your muffin tins with paper liners. Foil liners create too much heat and cook the muffin bases too quickly. Also, this recipe must be tweaked for use in mini-muffin tins--add more moisture to the batter with a few tablespoons of melted butter or some applesauce. Makes 16-18 muffins.

for muffins:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup + 1 tbs. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

for topping:
2 tbs. chopped walnuts
3 tbs. rolled oats
3 tbs. dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together sugar, honey, oil, and egg. Mix on medium-high for one minute, or until mixture is pale yellow.
3. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add bananas to egg mixture, mixing thoroughly, before adding flour mixture into wet ingredients.
5. Gently stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.
6. Spoon into prepared muffin tin, filling each liner 3/4 full.
7. In food processor (I use the mini one), combine the topping ingredients, pulsing until the mixture resembles very coarse sand. Sprinkle mixture on tops of unbaked muffins.
8. Bake muffins for 25-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Lazy, Hazy Days of September

This afternoon, the Dark Knight and I ventured into the tourist-riddled area of Hollywood around Sunset and Vine. We had tickets to the 4:15 showing of "Eastern Promises," which was really dark and gory, but worth watching. Just for Viggo Mortenson's performance.

With a couple hours to kill before heading into the theater, the Dark Knight and I lunched at Magnolia. It was empty inside, since everyone was out enjoying the temperate weather on the sidewalk patio. Halfway through the day and thirsty, the Dark Knight and I ordered our drinks. A Jack and coke for him, a Magnolia Gimlet for me--freshly muddled mint and lime, simple syrup (liquid sugar), and top-shelf vodka on the rocks with a sugared rim.

My drink looked so refreshing, the Dark Knight ordered one for himself for our second round, which arrived just a few minutes before our dishes. In keeping with the season, I had the beet salad with goat cheese, asparagus, and field greens, dressed simply in a mustard vinaigrette. As much as I heart meat, this gorgeous plate of veggies was absolutely flawless!



The Dark Knight could not resist temptation and enjoyed the grilled steak sandwich on toasted Cubano roll with watercress, grilled onion, and a surprisingly light bacon-horseradish dressing. I think the onion rings had something to do with the Dark Knight choosing a sandwich over a salad. Good thing he did it, or those tempting onion rings might have swayed me to the dark side!

Our leisurely lunch took just over an hour, a testament to the efficient and friendly waitstaff. Thanks, Magnolia!

Magnolia
6266 1/2 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
323.467.0660

Crazy Mega Food Overload!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted anything, and I don’t have much of a good reason—except that I’ve been incredibly busy cooking and, of course, eating!

A few weeks ago, I catered a lovely little graduation party in Orange County. On the menu were the usual charcuterie, fromage, and veggie platters, along with some tasty tidbits from my painfully tiny kitchen:

∞ Edamame and white corn salad with a wasabi vinaigrette in wonton skin cups
∞ Pork lumpia shanghai with spicy-sweet dipping sauce
∞ Thai chicken satay skewers with curry-peanut dipping sauce
∞ Maple-ginger glazed bacon-wrapped shrimp
∞ Vegan stuffed mushroom caps with Asian mushrooms and cilantro
∞ My favorite Mexican hot chocolate mini-cupcake soufflés
∞ Anise-and ginger-scented chocolate ganache with fresh fruit for dipping

Also made possible by this big ball of insanity that is my brain:

∞ Lychee white sangria
∞ Mango-vodka cocktails
∞ Lemongrass cooler (that’s gin, baby!)

More recently, the Dark Knight and I enjoyed a wonderfully romantic dinner at our current favorite neighborhood spot, Opus. We had the six-course tasting menu, crafted by Executive Chef Josef Centeno to pair with the off-menu prosecco we drank throughout the evening:

∞ Chilled soup shot of honeydew, Asian pear with chopped marinated shrimp accented by light citrus notes and a hint of cilantro
∞ Hand-cut hamachi in a white soy dressing on a bed of celery ice and topped with land caviar (Tonburi, or summer cypress seed)
∞ Coddled egg with bacon, chive, and fleur de sel topped with sherry whipped cream and a drizzle of acacia honey
∞ Poblano soup, served hot, with crisped pork belly chunks, grape halves, and garnished with crème fraiche
∞ Kebab-inspired minced shrimp “balls” on a caraway-pepper sauce with micro-arugula
∞ Scallop “pancake” (pancake batter mixed with minced scallops) topped with a large seared scallop and drizzled with a sour cherry gastrique
∞ Goat cheese and almond-stuffed pan-roasted quail with asparagus and squash and a red wine reduction

As we waited (and waited and waited) for our dessert, our server brought over a tasting of chilled Aria(?) white port. With its caramelized apricot nose and smooth, toasted hazelnut finish, this was the perfect drink to ready us for our last (and technically sixth actual) course:

∞ Tapioca pudding in a lemongrass soup with fresh lychee and pomegranate

This meal was well-paced (except for dessert, which our server apologized for), leaving us sated but not sickeningly full. I simply cannot find the words (without sounding redundant) to fully explain how utterly entranced we were with our dishes. The Dark Knight and I really appreciated the kitchen creating a menu that went so well with the lightly acidic, yet bright and sweet flavors of our prosecco. I wish I could remember the name…

One thing I do remember the name of is Baby Blues Bar-B-Q, located in a less-than-savory neighborhood on Lincoln in Venice. A tiny parking lot, but plenty of street parking, mark this spot as a locals-joint (though two of my dinner companions on Sunday had driven all the way up from Huntington Beach).

This is a home-spun place, but better and cooler than anyone else’s kitchen/dining room. A long counter and the open grill dominate the front room, but the real charm is in the back dining room. Art by renowned painter/graffiti artist JoeJoe adorns nearly every square inch of the walls, all of it for sale, all of it guaranteed to smell as good as it looks. The scent of low-and-slow smoke permeates the building, you see, enticing anyone walking within 100 feet of this LA favorite.

Because there were four of us (JP, his friend, the Dark Knight, and yours truly), we decided to order as many different dishes as possible:

∞ Memphis-style pork long ribs—juicy, tender, smoky, just sweet enough, a tiny bit spicy (Porno Hot BBQ sauce rocks my world!)
∞ Baby back ribs—really smoky, not overly seasoned, definitely best with a drizzle of the Porno Hot
∞ Beef brisket—moist, lightly sauced shredded brisket…different, but good
∞ Carolina pulled pork—melt-in-your-mouth pork doused in that yummy vinegar-based sauce
∞ Beer-braised smoked link sausage—savory and well-spiced (but not exactly spicy), the flavor of the braising liquid (mostly beer, yes) was strong but not detractingly so
∞ Mac ‘n’ cheese—not exactly my favorite, this version was a little too strong on the bleu cheese and the cheese sauce was thick enough to be more of a coating than a sauce
∞ Sauteed okra—salty and savory, no slimy okra here
∞ Creamed spinach—more like sautéed spinach, no creaminess at all
∞ Chicken smoked rice—I usually don’t like restaurant rice (too dry, too wet, too salty, too gross), but this changed my mind with its spicy, smoky notes and tasty little bits of chicken
∞ Blues on the cob—I really enjoyed this sweet, grilled corn on the cob topped with cojita cheese and a squeeze of lime juice

This is not the end, dear readers. Last night, the Dark Knight took me to our favorite neo-Japanese restaurant, Hirozen. I feel like I’ve blogged and commented ad nauseam about this exemplar of Japanese tradition and high-end Western ingredients, but I can’t help myself. I’ll do it again (all sushi is nigiri-style—no rolls! Ugh.):

∞ Spanish mackerel—three orders of our favorite!
∞ Tasmanian sea trout—a pleasant surprise, with its beautiful bright orange color and mildly briny but mellow flavor
∞ Saury—firm textured, delicious
∞ Ama ebi (raw sweet shrimp)—good, but the texture was not the Dark Knight’s favorite; we adored the fried shrimp heads, though
∞ Suzuki (sea bass)—firm, fresh, and tasty

Since we were at a place known as much for its fresh sushi as its creative cooked foods, the Dark Knight and I ordered our favorite specials:

∞ Blue crab egg rolls—hot, crisp, succulent, and meaty with a light curry dipping sauce
∞ Shrimp-stuffed zucchini blossom tempura—sweet and savory, light and fluffy
∞ Purple yam yokan (dessert)—dense, subtly flavored, with their signature coconut tapioca on the side
∞ Tempura figs (dessert)—perfectly sweet fresh figs in a lacy tempura batter served with green tea ice cream to temper the honey tones of the fruit

All in all, a terrific dinner. While I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the cramped quarters at Hirozen, I am a huge fan of their exquisitely prepared, simply luscious food.

And there you have it, darlings. A culinary tour of some of my best-loved foods and places. I’m hungry again. Time to eat!