En Sushi

Ante and Edna invited us for dinner at En Sushi yesterday. I was so excited since I don't get to have sushi as often as I would like, as most of my friends do not care for it. They have been there numerous times, which only means the food is very good!

Sandi was the only person in our group who did not share our enthusiasm but promised to try some. Ante and Edna wanted to make sure she, too, would enjoy dinner, so they graciously allowed her to order something else, which was Chicken Teriyaki. That came with soup and salad. She was pressured into trying 2 items, and she did like them. So, there's always hope.

Ante brought a bottle of Sake. I have had sake, but not a good one, so I decided to try this one. It was excellent! I took a picture so I won't forget the name. Ante assured me I would not forget if I just thought of the word horny. I could just imagine myself going to Bevmo asking for Sake that sounds like horny.

I left all the ordering to them. We started with 2 orders of the Garlic Edamame. This was absolutely the best edamame I've ever had. It had lots of garlic and chilies, making it a bit spicy. They ordered 2 orders of everything. The  Crispy Soft Shell Crab was delightful with its own sauce. 

Then came a bunch of plates: Albacore sushi, Yellowtail Sushi, Tuna Sushi, Salmon Kama, and Yellowtail Kama. I didn't have time to figure out what was what. I just dug in and started my heavenly journey. 

The Hello Tuna was one of my favorites since it was different. It had crispy rice on the bottom and spicy tuna with avocado, cucumber, and masago wrapped in soy paper. The texture gave in an oomph, if you know what I mean. The Cucumber Rolls were as good as it looked.

We were stuffed. Just imagine there were 8-12 pieces on most of the plates, and they ordered 2 of each. In fact, I believe they ordered an extra one (makes 3 plates) for seven of us.

Gary brought a light dessert that was perfect. He gave us each a Hostess Apple Pie Cookie from Cookie Good. These are seasonal and won't be available after Sept. 7, 2023. We all loved the chewy cookie that tasted like apple pie!

We had so much fun eating, laughing, and drinking. There is one very sad thing about this. En Sushi is located at 11651 Santa Monic Blvd. in Los Angeles. It's too far from where I live. That makes me want to cry!

Thank you, Ante and Edna, for a marvelous dining experience. 

Benji's French-Basque Restaurant

Sandi and I first discovered Benji's in 2017. It was only by accident that we ended up there. It was a blessing in disguise.  We've been there several more times since then. We arrived just as it opened at 5 p.m., and though our reservations were for 5:15 p.m., they were happy to take us.

Before you order, be aware of the "Set-up" Menu. This includes French bread, salsa, soup, beans, green salad, fresh marinated tomatoes, and delicious French fries. You can add to your choice of Tongue (which is delicious) or a plate of Spaghetti. 

If you have a bigger appetite, you can order any of their entrées, including the "Set-up" menu. I remembered we didn't care much for the green beans, so we asked for extra French fries, which was the best decision. We both loved the soup, salad, beans, and tomatoes. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the lovely tomatoes with onions and the refreshing salad.

The last time we were there, we had the Rib-eye and the Halibut. This time we both ordered the Veal Medallions with a mushroom sauce. OMG....the veal was tender, and the sauce was wonderful. We both ended up mixing the fries onto our plates. Fortunately, there was enough sauce to slather all over the fries, which was just heaven! It reminded me of the steak and fries we had at L'Entrecôte de Paris.

We remembered that we wanted to order Baked Alaska when we were there the last time, but had to wait 30 minutes, so this time, we made sure to order it when we ordered our dinner selection. The Baked Alaska was huge, but between the two of us, we managed to finish it. It was impressive to watch our very attentive server, Tonya, flambé the dessert perfectly. We could tell this was not her first time. If you ever make it to Benji's, ask to see if you could have Tonya, as she really was delightful. 

Benji's is open every day except Monday. They are located at 4001 Rosedale Hwy. in Bakersfield, California. This is still a great restaurant with excellent value.

Doubting Thomas

Zohreh, Sandi, and I had lunch at Langer's Delicatessen yesterday. On our way home, Sandi asked if there was a place I wanted to go while we were in downtown L.A. I thought for 2 seconds, and I all of a sudden remembered the bakery, Doubting Thomas. It has been a year since I have had their Tangerine buns which were super delicious. We were only 6 minutes away, so Sandi was happy to drive us there. Parking was a problem, so I just jumped out while she double-parked. 

I called before we got there to make sure they had some left. When I arrived, I asked how many they had left as I was prepared to buy them all. I had forgotten that they have a limit on how much you can purchase. Three was the limit, but since they only had 4 left, the lady sold me the remaining four. 

I asked if the owner was there, and she was. I finally met Naomi, which was a treat since she is so sweet. I introduced myself and refreshed her memory as we communicated last year via email. She asked if I'd had their Passion Fruit pie. I haven't had it since I've focused on their incredible Tangerine buns. She gave me a slice to try. When we got home, I reluctantly shared the slice with Zohreh and Sandi. We all loved it! It was deliciously tart and full of wonderful passion fruit flavor. I just wished Doubting Thomas was closer to Palos Verdes. Then again, maybe it's a blessing in disguise, as I would be obese and broke!

Thank you, Naomi, for the Passion Fruit Pie. It was truly heavenly!

Doubting Thomas is located at 2510 W. Temple St. in Los Angeles, California.

La Bocca Felice

Sandi treated Mike for his birthday last Sunday. Zohreh, Sandi, and I have been there numerous times. We haven't enjoyed Mike's company on any of our restaurant outings. So she thought this restaurant would be a good start.

We ordered our favorite appetizers; Calamari and the Capesante, large scallops with dried cranberries, pine nuts, and shaved parmesan.

Zohreh and Sandi ordered the special Halibut, normally served with potatoes, but they opted for pasta. One thing about La Bocca Felice, they are always accommodating, unlike other restaurants that are so rigid and don't allow substitutions.

The birthday boy had one of my favorites, Vitello Marsala, veal with portobello mushroom cooked in marsala wine. He seemed to enjoy that. I ordered something I'd never had, which was Fettucine Capesante, homemade lemon-infused fettuccine with wild jumbo scallops in a light cream sauce. That was absolutely delicious. The scallops were cooked to perfection, and I loved the lemon-flavored pasta. I would definitely order that again.

Our server presented Mike with a slice of Tiramisu which he graciously shared. 

La Bocca Felice is always a good place to go. We love that they still offer free corkage. They are located at 301 W. 6th St. in San Pedro, California.

Crumbl Cookies

I finally got to try the infamous Crumbl Cookies, thanks to Tricia and Tom, who gave me a generous gift card for my birthday. I ended up getting a dozen of these humongous cookies. They rotate flavors every week. The cookies came in a gigantic pink box, but I have to warn you that they are not sturdy enough to hold the cookies. They are a bit flimsy, so be careful not to drop the box!

The cookies looked good, but as we all know, looks can be deceiving. I got 3 each of 4 flavors; Lemon Cupcake, Chocolate Chip, Hot Chocolate which is chocolate mousse with mini marshmallows, a layer of powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. I also got the Corn Flakes Marshmallow which tasted good to me, but I later thought it had an aftertaste. That aftertaste was peanut butter, so this was my least favorite since I don't care much for peanut butter. 

The cookies were all nice a chewy, and I was pleasantly surprised that they were not too sweet as I suspected. They also stay nice and fresh when kept in an airtight container. We have enjoyed them for a week now, and it still tastes fresh, so yes, the price is worth it.

California Pizza Kitchen

We haven't been to CPK in a long time. After seeing the movie Oppenheimer, we decided to see if their food was still good. With a $5.00 corkage fee which was very reasonable, Zohreh brought one of our favorite wines from Trader Joe's.

Zohreh and I shared 2 pizzas; the Thai Chicken which was always my favorite, and the Wild Mushroom pizza. We loved both!

Sandi had the Thai Crunch Salad which is like the pizza but no dough. Amy opted for the Burger with fries. We all helped her out with te fries which was delicious.

One nice thing good about CPK is that they are always open. So you can always count on their delicious pizza, burgers and salads, to mention a few of their items on the menu.