Modo Mochi Donuts

After a short break, the pop-up Modo Mochi Donuts returned once again at Mitsuwa Market in Torrance. This time Sandi and I got there at 9:30 a.m. so we could be in front of the long line. They open at 11:00 a.m. We were 10th in line. The flavors for the day for these mochi donuts were: Black Sesame, Churro and Lilikoi which is another word for Passion fruit. You are only allowed to buy 2 dozen at a time. They are $10.00 for six. It makes sense to buy the 2 dozen and freeze what you don't consume especially since you will not be lining up every day to buy them. FYI, they freeze beautifully!

If you haven't read my previous blog on these donuts; they originated in Hawaii. The dough is made with "mochi donut mix" which has modified tapioca starch, wheat starch, sugar, vital wheat gluten, rice flour, milk powder, baking powder, and salt. Everything is fresh and you can watch the whole process while standing in line. There's lots of lard or what appears to be lard and the donuts are deep-fried. This is why the donuts are not just full of calories but full of deliciousness. It's chewy and yet light. I did not want to waste my time with the churro since that's just dipped in sugar and cinnamon. I got 1/2 black sesame and 1/2 lilikoi. Though the black sesame had a nice distinct flavor, the lilikoi was my favorite. The last time we were there, I got the cookies and cream and raspberry. Any flavor that has some tang in it seems to be much better since it cuts the sweetness.

This pop-up Modo Donuts will only be at Mitsuwa until August 5th, so I suggest you fall in line and get a couple of dozen since it is something truly different and delicious. Mitsuwa Market is located at 21515 S. Western Ave. in Torrance, California.

Fishing with Dynamite

Five of us took advantage of the dineLA and made reservations at Fishing with Dynamite in Manhattan Beach. Only Sujata and I have been there previously since they are known for their oyster bar and seafood. The 3-course menu for dineLA was exciting to me and thought it would be for my non-oyster eating friends.

For the first course, Sujata and I decided on the Raw Bar Platter which included 2 oysters, 2 scallops and 2 shrimp. The rest of the non-adventurous settled on the New England Clam Chowder. Everyone was quite happy with their choice.

Tor the second course, only Sandi ordered the Shrimp Po Boy in which I was happy since I got to have one of her shrimp which was very good. Her Po Boy came with potato chips that she generously shared with us. The four of us had the Maryland Crab Cakes with whole grain mustard remoulade. I have had them before and told everyone how wonderful it is. I did ask for extra remoulade that made the crabcake even more delicious.

We did not have a choice for dessert. It was Key Lime Parfait with a graham cracker crust and kaffir lime meringue. This is their signature dessert and  I was ecstatic about it since I have had the pleasure of having it in the past.

Fishing with Dynamite is a good place to go for great food but there is one drawback. The place is very small so everyone is seated very close together especially if your party is 2-4. That is not too bad, the fact that they have the music so loud, we had difficulty hearing one another. It's very hard to have a pleasant conversation. We did bring it to the attention of our server and he informed us that it's hard to control the volume because it depends on the song. Huhhh? Why not just turn the volume down-period.

Fishing with Dynamite is located at 1148 Manhattan Ave. in Manhattan Beach, California.

An Apple Pie A Day Is Like An Apple a Day

If only I could have a slice of Sandi's apple pie a day.......

Our friend Jody has decided to retire and move to Arizona soon, currently, she is house-sitting for her friends, the Carapellotti's. She invited us to visit so she could learn how to make what she calls Sandi's famous apple pie. Sandi came prepared with her very own rolling pin, pan, etc. Jody supplied the apples. The plan was to make 2 pies but later discovered we didn't have enough apples so I was elected to make a run to Trader Joes' to get more apples. While I was gone, they rolled the dough that Sandi had prepared before coming and started peeling the apples which they put on a gadget that sliced them. Jody mixed the ingredients for the apples and put them in the pan at which point the 2nd crust was placed on top. Sandi rubbed a little milk over the top and then added what she thought was sugar which turned out to be the French salt. Not to worry, Jody and I thought that would be good in addition to the sugar. The pie was popped into a convection oven for half an hour, it looked wonderful.

While the pie was resting. The three of us took advantage of the sun which started to peak out. It was a beautiful day and the beautiful pool looked inviting so we all put on our bathing suits and laid under the cancerous California sun! There are no pictures of us, bathing beauties; that's left to your imagination.

When we were done soaking up some sun, Jody cooked a cauliflower crust pizza she got from Trader Joe's. She added a bunch of stuff and made it truly edible. She also made a salad which was very good. At the end of our meal, we were ready for the apple pie. If only you could taste this wonderful pie with some ice cream, you would beg to be Sandi's best friend. The pie is to die for! The salt mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise and it was decided in the future the same mistake should be repeated.

When all was done and nothing else to eat, it was time to bid Jody goodbye and leave this beautiful home which reminded us all of lounging in an Italian villa! Sandi and I hated to leave but like the saying goes: "All good things come to an end".

Baleen

My friend Cindy remembered my blog on Baleen and how you can get a free Surf and Turf on your actual birthday if you dine there. She was off yesterday and she had asked me and Sandi if we wanted to come along. We didn't have to think about it too long. The answer was yes of course. Sujata's plans changed so she was able to come. Amy who was supposed to come home from her Las Vegas trip at night, came in earlier so I offered to pick her up. The four of us ended up celebrating her birthday.

There were not too many people when we arrived so getting a table was not a problem. When our server Rachel came to greet us, she informed us that they were participating in the dineLA and asked us if we would be interested in seeing the menu; yes of course. The three-course menu looked good. I immediately knew what I was going to order and so did Amy. Sandi and Sujata ordered from the regular menu.  Cindy had her Surf and Turf. Sandi ordered the Pork Schnitzel with creamy polenta, herb salad, mushrooms which she distributed to me and Amy, and marsala sauce.

Sujata had the Simply Grilled Salmon with salad which she loved except for the pink pickled veggie. Amy and I started off with the Shrimp Cocktail which was delicious. For our main entrée, we chose the Skirt Steak which included the balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts, aji Verde and potato purée. It was so good that I had nothing on my plate to take home. I was shocked to see Amy's plate which turned out to be like mine....clean. She loved it as well.

Both Sujata and Sandi didn't want dessert. The dineLA menu included a dessert. Amy chose the Bread Pudding with butter pecan gelato. I chose the Affogato (Sandi's worst nightmare), espresso, vanilla gelato, and caramel. The espresso was sure strong and went well with the vanilla gelato along with the sweet caramel. It was a nice ending to a steak dinner. I had a bit of  Amy's bread pudding and it too was good. Rachel was a great server. She never missed a beat. She was always there to refill our wine which Cindy brought.

Baleen is located at 260 Portofino Way in Redondo Beach, California.

The Hitching Post II

This restaurant was featured in the 2004 movie Sideways with Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh. The Hitching Post make their own wine; 10 selections of Pinot Noir, 2 Syrahs, a Merlot-Cabernet named Generation Red which is their house wine. The restaurant is known for its barbecue steaks.

Sandi and I ordered the Filet Mignon with a baked potato. The meal came with a choice of soup or salad. Sandi ordered the Red Bean Soup and I ordered a salad with blue cheese dressing. The soup was good according to her. I enjoyed my salad which had very good croutons. I also ordered a Shrimp Cocktail which was less than $2.00 more with the meal. I was informed that these were bay shrimp and not the regular shrimp. I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious they were.

Josephine was not too hungry so she ordered the Steamed Mussels from the appetizer section for her main meal with a basket of fries which she was kind enough to share with us. The mussels were very good, however, the sauce didn't quite cut it.

Our steak arrived but it looked sad since there was no sauce, the potato didn't have the butter yet and the dish just didn't grab us. What I'm trying to say is maybe a little presentation would have gotten our palates going. It came with salsa on the side. I asked for another sauce which she brought us. I had one bite of the steak and was absolutely shocked by how tasty and flavorful it was. It really did not need any sauce at all. We both managed to finish the 5 oz. filet. The baked potato was delicious with the ton of butter and sour cream and a generous serving of fresh chives.

The three of us were so full that we didn't even look at the dessert menu. I have to mention that my glass of Pinot Noir Hometown which they make complemented my wonderful steak. The Hitching Post 11 is located at 406 E. Highway 246 in Buellton, California. The other Hitching Post is located at Point Sal Rd. in Casmalia, just outside the border of Vandenberg Air Force Base, 5 miles southwest of Santa Maria, California.

Bob's Well Bread Bakery

My friend Vijay came by and surprised me with a box of pastries he got while on a recent business trip. My friend Josephine was with me when he dropped it off. I couldn't wait to see and try the contents of the box.  My eyeballs almost came off the sockets when I saw a Kouign Amann, Chocolate and Plain Croissants and a Poppy Seed Scone.

Josephine and I had just had breakfast so we weren't hungry and we wanted to do the pastries justice by having them when we could truly appreciate each pastry. But, the Kouign Amann was begging to be sampled. I took it out of the box and cut it in half for me and Josephine to try. I was almost in tears. I just could not believe how wonderful it was.

I later tried the Chocolate Croissant and the sound it created when I pulled it apart was beautiful music. It was nice and crispy, buttery and just unbelievably delicious. It brought back memories from when we got our croissants at L'Amande Bakery. This is the real deal. The lemon poppyseed scone was just as delicious especially with butter and homemade jam.

The fact that this bakery is far from Palos Verdes/ Torrance area, makes this a sad ending to this story. It brings tears to my eyes. You would have to drive to Los Alamos which is near Solvang. Their address is 550 Bell St. in Los Alamos, California. You can check out their website; BobsWellBread.com

Modo Mochi Donuts

I discovered this quite by accident. I happened to be at Mitsuwa Market in Torrance last week and saw a line at one of the food booths. I just assumed it was a popular ramen place since it was almost lunchtime. As I finished my grocery shopping I saw the line had grown very long. Being curious, I had to see what it was they were selling. I saw beautiful colored donuts. I immediately made a mental note to come back to see what was so good and different about these donuts. It was only after I looked it up that I learned that they were mochi donuts. This was intriguing to me. When my brother was in the area last week, we planned to have the donuts for dessert after eating sushi. When we arrived, there was a note that said: We are closed as we ran out of ingredients.

Today, Sandi was kind enough to go early and fall in line. I later followed and fell in line with her along with Josephine. They have daily flavors and today was Raspberry, Cookies & Cream, and Taro. We all bought 2-3 boxes of six. There were only 4 employees. One that did the frying of the donuts, one that dipped them in the glaze and one that packed them in containers. The fourth employee took the money. It was a slow process.

After we got our donuts, we immediately got a table for 4 and sampled our mochi donuts. They were still hot. There was no mochi inside but the batter had the mochi so though they were light, they were also chewy like mochi. The raspberry was mixed with white chocolate in it and it had a zing to it. It was unanimous; we all loved them and plan to return so we can sample the other flavors.

Modo Mochi Donuts inside Mitsuwa Market in Torrance, California is a pop-up. It is only there temporarily. We were told that they will be there until July 14 and will be back July 24 until August 5th. I asked them if these donuts can be frozen and the answer was yes!