Porto's Bakery & Cafe

Sandi and I were coming back from Bakersfield, and we both thought of stopping by Porto's Bakery in the valley for breakfast. We both have never been there for breakfast. We were only familiar with their famous cheese rolls and some of their delicious cakes.

There were a lot of people around 8:30 a.m., but the line moved quickly. We were amazed at how organized they were.  Sandi ordered the Guac & Cheese Omelette Croissant Sandwich, and I ordered the Chorizo & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich. Both were very good. I must mention that their coffee was strong, which is how I like it, and I ended up adding 3, maybe 4 packs of sweetener!

We were not going home without buying some of our favorite pastries. I got excited to see the Yuzu Calamansi Eclair; yuzu calamansi curd with vanilla mascarpone whipped cream, candied kumquat, sweet orange strips, and tangerine microgreens. That was delicious. I should have gotten more. I also got a few Potato Balls stuffed with meat. That too was delicious.

Sandi got carried away and bought a bunch of her favorite Cheese Rolls and Guava Rolls. I particularly like the guava for breakfast.

We later found out that the closest Porto's to us is in Downey, which is not too far. Needless to say, we shall be visiting that location in the near future.

The Majestic Supper Club

I read Richard Foss's review of The Majestic in February and learned that the owner is Dustin Trani of Trani's in San Pedro. The restaurant is in an elegant building on Beacon Street in San Pedro. Filippo Trani opened "The Majestic Cafe" in 1925. Dustin operates the family business, including J. Trani Ristorante.

We were pleasantly surprised by the subdued elegance. They have a stage where, once a week, they have a comedian on Wednesdays and a musical guest on another day. I loved the vibe as soon as we walked in. Antonio Carlos Jobim was the background music. None of this is rap rubbish.

We already knew to order the Focaccia, which was unlike the ones I have had before, as it was nice and light. It was served with homemade ricotta, and that made it super delicious. Our server, Colette, helped us decide on the appetizers. We ordered the Fritto Misto: calamari and shrimp with a very light batter, drizzled with hot honey and the lovely squid-ink aioli. 

Sandi ordered the Buccatini Basil Pesto, which was delicious, and Zohreh, Cindy, and I ordered the Rigatoni Mushroom Bolognese (crimini & trumpet mushrooms), cooked in veal stock. We all loved it. Super flavor and aldente as it should be.

Colette brought Sandi a lemon sorbet with a candle to remind her of her birthday. We ended up ordering the Carrot Cake, which Colette highly recommended. We all agreed to share a piece, even if we were all full; we thought an extra serving of vegetables would be beneficial. 

As we left, I passed a couple, and the man was having the fried chicken, which looked amazing; he confirmed it was indeed amazing. His date had the steak, and she was also very happy with it.

The Majestic is truly a classy restaurant, and its reputation exceeded our expectations. 

Charbonnel et Walker; British Chocolatier

I have never heard of Charbonnel et Walker until my nephew brought me a tin box of chocolates. He was recently in Warwick, England. Madame Charbonnel and Mrs. Walker founded one of the earliest chocolatier in 1875 on Bond St., in London. 

I was ecstatic when I saw the container. He, of course, knew this was a perfect gift since I do love James Bond and I own a few guns. 

Sandi and I tried a couple, and they were delicious. Each chocolate had the title of a James Bond movie, and the back of it had the synopsis. Very clever indeed! There are 27 creamy chocolates decorated with iconic 007 film posters and motifs from 1962 to the present day. I found out that Charbonnel et Walker is the main supplier of chocolates for the Royal Family.

If you get a chance to try these milky chocolates, do so. Apparently, they are available at fine department stores and even Amazon!

HT Grill

HT Grill still offers a free Steak & Lobster dinner for birthday celebrants. You will have to show proof of your birthday. So it was a no-brainer for my friends and me to have my birthday dinner there. I did bring 2 bottles of champagne.

We did not have any appetizers, which was fine since we all thought we would order dessert later. Sugar mentioned that she has been craving meatloaf lately, and she had it at another restaurant, but it was terrible. Cora and Cindy heard "meatloaf," and they both said the same thing; they used to make it all the time but haven't had it in a long time. So they all settled on Meatloaf. Sujata and Sandi ordered the Halibut, which they loved. They cook their fish perfectly.

I, of course, had the Steak and Lobster. I was surprised by the size of the Lobster tail. My filet mignon was very good. I was indeed a happy camper! 

Dessert time came, and Ella, our server, suggested we order the warm Chocolate Chip Cookies for sure. We took her suggestion. The Chocolate Crème Brûlée was my birthday dessert. We also ordered the Strawberry Cake, which was nice and light. All the desserts were very good, which surprised me again.

We all had a great time. Nothing like celebrating with the best of friends and good food. 

HT Grill is located at 1701 S. Catalina St. in Redondo Beach, California.

Joey Manhattan Beach

Our friend Sugar suggested we have lunch at Joey Manhattan Beach, as she has been there previously and was happy with the menu.

She picked Sandi and me up, and off we went.  As soon as we walked in to check in with the receptionist, we were offered a glass of sparkling wine. Wow! That alone impressed me, it was not Dom Perignon but quite drinkable and lively on the palate.

Since we started with sparkling wine, I thought it was a good idea to stick to something sparkling, so Sugar and I had a glass of rosé.

Sugar ordered the Yellowfin Tuna Salad, which she loved. I tried the salad that came with it, and it was very good. She insisted I try the tuna, but there weren't many slices, so I passed.

Sandi and I had the Steak Frites, 5 oz. Cut steak with garlic butter, rocket greens, and cherry tomatoes.  I asked for extra sauce. The medium steak was cooked to perfection, and we didn't have to struggle to cut the steak. It was quite tender, something that surprised us since this was not a filet mignon. I would order this again as it was so tasty and just the perfect size for lunch.

Our server, Ally, was delightful, which enhanced our dining experience.

Joey Manhattan Beach is a chain with numerous locations. 

Truxton's American Bistro

I keep forgetting about Truxton's, probably since it is just down the street from where I live. After picking up Sandi from the airport, we went straight to church to attend the 4pm mass.  We discussed where we could grab a bite to eat on the way home. I remembered that Truxton's sent me an email offering me $20 off for my birthday. So, why not, since we always had good food in the past?

We ordered 2 mocktails that were very interesting. Sandi had the Blueberry Lemonade Spritzer, and I had the Moscow Mule in the traditional copper mug. We both loved our selection. The best part was that we were entitled to one refill!!

For our dinner, Sandi chose the Fish Sandwich: crispy panko-crusted cod, tartar sauce, shredded iceberg, fresh tomatoes, and red onion on a toasted Brioche bun. She had the garlic parmesan fries with it. She did enjoy this humongous sandwich. 

I had the Al Pastor Sandwich: thinly sliced, marinated pork seared on the griddle, topped with avocado, pickled red onion, cilantro, and chipotle mayo, served on a Brioche Bun. It was super delicious. As good as it was, it was messy to eat, but it was worth the trouble. I would definitely order this again. 

Our server, Ingrid, was great. She raved about their Gilly Burger and Tater Tots. We'll have to try that next, especially since it's coming from someone who isn't fond of burgers. She was a delightful server, and next time, I think I would ask to be seated at her station.

Truxton's is located at 24530 Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance, California. They also have another location in Westchester, California.

Majordomo

Easter Brunch was spent at Majordomo, David Chang's restaurant.  My brother treated me, and along with our cousin Ramon, who made the reservation and informed them of my upcoming birthday.

Both Gary and Ramon have been there before and raved about the menu. They were disappointed to find out that they only had the brunch menu. They asked if the dinner menu was available, and the answer was no. So we had to make do and study the menu. First things first, we ordered our cocktails. Ramon and I had the Amoro Spritz, and Gary had the Blood Orange Mimosa. For our appetizer, we ordered the Bing Bun Basket, which came with 3 large buns and 3 specialty spreads. Honey butter, Ricotta Jam and Chili, Citron Cream Cheese & Sesame. All were super delicious. 

Both Gary and Ramon have had the Bo Ssäm; pork shoulder, sesame leaf with condiments. This fed 4-6 people, and for $125, it better feed all three of us starving people. It was decided to order it. I thought that would have been enough since we had the big rolls. Gary insisted we order something else, and so we did. They ordered the Steak and Eggs Crispy Rice with scallions, sesame, and soy pickled daikon.  Our server proceeded to mix everything. 

The pork arrived, and I was shocked at the size. We barely made a dent. This had the best flavor, and it was so tender that all you needed was a fork. I tried it with the leaf, but after having one, I decided it was too much work to stuff the small amount of pork into the little lettuce. So I just enjoyed it with the rice. 

The Steak & Eggs were delicious, and we enjoyed the burnt rice. We were all stuffed but had room for dessert. When our server came, we asked him what was for dessert, and they only had one thing: something with coconut. We simultaneously cried out: "Ohhhh," since Gary and I dislike coconut, and Ramon was fully aware of that. Our server felt bad and said he would be back.

After a few minutes, our server returned with a tiny dessert for me. He presented me with a Honey Pie, and it was most delicious! I don't think I offered the other 2 a taste since it was so small, and I'm glad I didn't because I savored every small bite!

We had enough left over that they were able to divide the pork into 3 big servings. So it really does feed 6 people!

Majordomo is located at 1725 Naud St. in Los Angeles. It is one of many restaurants owned by David Chang, who, by the way, is also a part-owner of Anyday Microwave Cookware. If you haven't heard of this, Google it, as it is truly a life-changing way of cooking, and his recipes are easy and delicious!