Bettolino Kitchen

I had not seen Sister Terrence in about 2 years. The last time was when I had her over for dinner at my house. I meant to call her, but something always came up, and I'd forget until I got the Peninsula magazine and saw her on the front page. I finally called and asked her if she was free for a late lunch. Lo and behold, she agreed to meet. 

I took her to Bettolino Kitchen. She ordered a glass of Pino Grigio, and I had a Cabernet. She's allergic to shellfish, so we couldn't order their delicious Calamari. We both enjoyed the bread and the dip with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

The Gemelli Con Oxail caught her eye as she mentioned that she did love oxtail. I wanted to order the pasta with squid ink, but unfortunately, they took it off the menu. I settled for one of my favorites, the Tortelloni Al Limone, which was as delicious as ever. Sister Terrence managed to eat only half, though she did love her oxtail pasta. She planned to consume the rest for a late dinner. I told her this was my dinner (our reservation was for 3pm, though we arrived early). On the other hand, she goes to bed at 2:00 -2:30 in the morning!

Nothing caught her eye for dessert. She wanted gelato, and they did have it, but only had Vanilla, which was fine. She had a scoop of gelato and cappuccino. I skipped dessert but ordered a cappuccino as well.

The service was excellent, and we were happy with our dining experience. 

Bettolino Kitchen is located at 211 Palos Verdes Blvd. in Redondo Beach, California.

Early Thanksgiving at the Nakasato's

It was nice to be invited to Amy's house for Thanksgiving. They had to celebrate on the 18th of November because that was the only date they could all make it. There were many appetizers, but Lynn's stuffed mushroom and Lisa's deviled eggs took the cake. I would have been pleased dining on those two items all evening. 

Lynn made a ham with her father's recipe of raisin currant sauce. The turkey was furnished by Bryce and Lisa. There was salad, creamed corn, stuffing, various mashed potatoes, and more!

Dessert was Pumpkin Pie and a Chocolate Mocha Cake from Red Ribbon. We were all stuffed, but we all managed to have dessert.

Everyone had a good time, including Oliver, the dog! Thanksgiving is significant not just because of the food but because being part of a family is so precious. That's what it's all about. 

Baleen Kitchen

This restaurant is at the Portofino Hotel and Marina in Redondo Beach, California. I last dined there many years ago. It was Zohreh's birthday, and I thought it would be a nice place to take her. 

Our dinner reservation was for 4:15 p.m. We had a lovely table with a view of the Marina. Our server came to open the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon I brought. We glanced at the menu, but before deciding what to order, I inquired about the specials for the evening. Zohreh and I found her response to be odd. The specials won't be available until 5:00 p.m. The Chef and staff will have a meeting, and only then will we be informed of what they will be. That did not make sense because why open for dinner at 4:00 if you are unprepared? We were not about to hang around till 5:00 just to find out what they were, so we just went ahead and ordered. 

We both agreed to try the Truffle Fries with black garlic aioli sauce for appetizers. That was an excellent choice because it was truly delicious and super crispy! 

Zohreh ordered the Swordfish Vera Cruz, cracked olive and preserved lemon relish, wilted spinach, and crispy white potato. I had a bite of her swordfish, and it was indeed good. I did not order the Ribeye. Instead, I ordered the Miso-Glazed Black Cod with Wasabi mashed potatoes, ginger soy shitake mushrooms, baby bok-choy, and sesame seeds. I asked our server if the wasabi was really hot, and she assured me it wasn't. The cod was cooked to perfection, and the flavors of everything just came together beautifully. 

Our server presented Zohreh with a dessert: a brownie with ice cream. That was very good. The brownie was chewy, the way it should be.

The manager, Aaron, came by, and we told him how happy we were with everything, but I did have to mention our displeasure on not having the specials ready; plus to add insult to injury, the Chef and staff had their meeting near our table to discuss the specials. We were almost done eating at that time. I remember hearing about the Banana Forster, which I would have loved to try.

Other than that, Baleen is still an excellent place for dinner. Make sure you make your reservations after 5 p.m. so you can hear their specials.