Nagomi Cake House

 I have never heard of or been to this bakery before. My niece, her husband, and her kids live in Santa Clarita, so I was surprised they discovered this bakery in Gardena. 

The box contained various sweets, including a Raspberry Mousse, a Matcha Cream Cake, a round Eclair, and several cubes of Chocolate Ganache. 

I didn't get to sample any of them until a day later. I tried the Raspberry Mousse, which was very light and had just the right amount of tanginess from the raspberries. Two days later, my friend Sujata came over for dinner, and I served her the Matcha Cream Cake, which she enjoyed. I had the Chocolate Éclair, which I absolutely loved because the shell was light and crispy, and the filling was not a heavy custard but rather a fluffy cream that wasn't overly sweet. It's hard to find good éclairs; most are either too sweet or have a shell that's too heavy.  The squares of Chocolate Ganache were divine. It was comparable to a very rich truffle but not sweet at all. I ended up dipping my ganache into the cream of the eclair.                          

There are so many bakeries around town, but none have everything I like. They all have their specialties. I will have to visit Nagomi Cake House one of these days. It is at 15915 S Western Ave #D in Gardena, California.

Thank you Aimée, Elliot, Maisie and Calder!

El Pollo Loco

 I blog about food, whether it's a fine-dining restaurant or a fast-food chain. I just tried the new Mango Habanero Chicken & Shrimp Tostada at El Pollo Loco. I had a coupon, so I decided to try it.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I practically inhaled every bit of it. I asked the lady if it was very spicy, and she said it was not. I took it home so I could have it with wine. When I got home, I decided to have it with some leftover Champagne, which was still bubbly. 

The fried tostada shell contained rice, beans, shredded lettuce, jack cheese, chopped chicken breast, shrimp, avocado slices, salsa fresca, sour cream, and mango habanero sauce. They gave me a small container of salsa and creamy cilantro dressing, which I poured all over.

This was delicious with all the trimmings. I mixed everything, cracked the tostada shell, and enjoyed the perfectly paired flavors. 

In 10 minutes, what once looked so good was gone. These new items are only available for a limited time, so I suggest you try them before they disappear. 

Zoku

Zoku is part of the new restaurant Torikizoku, but I haven't been there yet. Cindy and I tried Zoku last week. We had reservations at 4 p.m. when they opened. The furniture is crafted in Japan. They specialize in Yakitori, and it is interesting to know that the Chefs are trained in Hinai Jidori, a prestigious level of yakitori training. They use Binchotan Charcoal, an all-natural high-grade hardwood charcoal used for Yakitori.

We were excited to see the menu, which our delightful and sweet server, Yui, explained to us. We ordered the Waguu Beef with apple steak sauce skewer, which was reasonable at $9.80. We also ordered a skewer of Scallops to try. Both were delicious.

We couldn't stop raving about the Spicy Karaage, Japanese fried chicken with bamboo charcoal sauce, red arako, and cilantro. This was genuinely spicy. It really didn't go with wine. Cindy had it right; she ordered a beer. This is a must order!

The special for the day was a Salmon Carpaccio, which I loved. Cindy even tried it, and lo and behold, she ate half. The Buffalo Cauliflower with Japanese spicy sauce was a disappointment. It had a bit of sauce drizzled on top, which didn't work for me. If you want good Buffalo Cauliflower, try the one from CPK. 

Yui brought us the dessert menu. Cindy had the Macha Brûlée, and I opted for the Hojicha Panna Cotta, which was salty, sweet, light, and delightful. Surprisingly, Yui is the lead server and Pastry Chef! 

Zoku is located at 261 Avenida del Norte in Redondo Beach, California. I am ready anytime to go back and explore the rest of the menu.

Nick + Stef's Steakhouse

I never tried Nick + Stef's Steakhouse until yesterday after seeing the play Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theater. Carrie and I walked over there, and we were lucky to get in when they opened at 4 p.m. The restaurant is part of the Patina Group, and the names Nick and Steph are from Joachim Splichal's sons.

We sat in the more informal and sunny part of the restaurant. I peeked inside to see the typical steakhouse ambiance, an extensive wine selection, and meats on display.

After we ordered our wine, a plate with two warm popovers arrived. I was going to ask for butter, but Carrie mentioned it probably already had lots of butter. I broke a piece off and tried it; it did not need anything. It was delicious. It was nice and airy and guaranteed to have a lot fewer calories because of the air inside. 

We decided to split a delightful Caesar Salad. Carrie wanted us to split a fully loaded Baked Potato, which I would have loved until I saw the N+S Mac+Cheese prepared with Gruyere cheese. A server came and asked if we would like more bread, and the answer was a unanimous yes!

For our main entrée, we decided to have the Filet Mignon, which was perfectly cooked. We both consumed everything. I was proud of Carrie, who eats a lot less than me and almost always has to take a doggy bag home. I sure wish I had a doggie bag to take home.

We had not considered dessert until our server, Kyle, handed us the dessert menu and asked us to pick one, compliments of the assistant manager, Jimmy. We chose the Lemon Meringue, which we loved because it was tangy and the perfect finale to this wonderful meal. Thank you, Jimmy. It was kind of you to offer us dessert. 

Nick+Stef's Steakhouse is located at 330 S. Hope St. in downtown Los Angeles.

The Crepery Cafe

After the First Friday mass at St. John Fisher, Fr. Al, Cora, Jo-ann, and I went for breakfast. Fr. Al had the honor of picking the place. He liked The Crepery Cafe, so we went there. Sandi and I may have been there once before, but it was nothing special. 

The menu looked good. I had no problem deciding what to have. I like my French Toast made with French bread, which is how they prepared theirs. I settled for the Banana Foster French Toast. Fr. Al had the regular French Toast served with fresh fruit and whipped cream. 

Cora ordered French Toast with bacon and eggs, and Jo-ann had the Breakfast Burrito served with salsa and sour cream. I would order that next time, as it looked like my kind of burrito.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much we all enjoyed our food. I will definitely go back there. The nice thing is that it opens at 8 a.m., which is perfect. I can even stop by if I work out a bit longer at the nearby gym. This way, there won't be any guilt.

The Crepery Cafe is located at 810 Silver Spur Rd. in Rolling Hills Estates, California.

Il Fornaio

 I last visited the Il Fornaio in Beverly Hills at least 30 years ago. The one in Manhattan Beach is much closer, so Cindy invited me to lunch yesterday for dineLA. The menu looked good. We chose a salad instead of soup and an entrée. 

Our server gave us the regular menu plus the wine and cocktail list. We looked at the regular menu to see if the dineLA menu was listed somewhere. I had to get his attention and ask for that menu. He then handed it to us. That ticked me off because, in all my dining experiences with DineLa, they always gave us the menu at the same time and mentioned it to us in case we were unfamiliar with it. Right away, I was thinking of more expensive items and more tips.

We placed our order, and both of us chose the Insalata Cesarina. For our entée, we had the Tagliatelle Bolognese. The Caesar salad lacked flavor. It was edible. We enjoyed the warm bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and parmesan cheese. The Bolognese was much better. 

It might be unfair to judge our meal since we both had the same thing. Other items might have been more exciting. I expected more from this restaurant since they have been around for a long time. 

Lawry's Prime Rib

We took advantage of dineLa this week. I asked Zohreh and Sugar if they were interested in participating, and they were both game.  Despite the traffic, we arrived shortly before 5 p.m.; of course, we allowed an hour and a half for the drive.

We tried their Seafood Tower. I was so excited to see this beautiful tower and ecstatic when I saw the oysters I had been craving. Sugar remarked that everything tasted so fresh like it had just been harvested. Lucky for Sugar and me, Zohreh does not care for oysters, so we did double duty in consuming her portion. Before it arrived, we enjoyed the warm bread and butter.

We all had the Spinning Salad, which is always refreshing. I once tried to replicate making it complete with the stainless steel bowl, their dressing, and a chilled fork, but it was not the same. I didn't have the flair the employees have. 

I ordered the California-cut Prime Rib with the most delicious Creamed Corn. Sugar opted for the Ribeye. The Yorkshire Pudding did a terrific job of absorbing the au jus! Zohreh had the Salmon, as she is not as carnivorous as Sugar and me. The Lobster Tail included was succulent as ever!

Our server, Clara, was very attentive and came to see how everything was, including Mr. Aniel Chopra, the general manager who has worked there ever since I can remember. He is one of those who indeed ensures service and food quality are up to par.

We have not had the See's Candies Sundae before. We shared the vanilla soft-serve ice cream with the famous C.C. Brown's hot fudge. The best part was the addition of choices of toppings: See's Candies toffee-ettes, peanut brittle, milk chocolate molasses chips.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention their house wine, Cabernet, which is reasonably priced from Rutherford. Hence, we had two bottles!

Lawry's is such an experience. I love the elegance, the food, and the top-notch service. This is something you hardly get anymore.

Lawry's is located at 100 N. La Cienega in Beverly Hills, California.