Arrivederci Drago

My friend Cindy and I decided to try Drago on Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica before they close for good at the end of January 2012. Celestino Drago decided not to renew his lease but will most likely open up sometime, somewhere?.. Not to worry, you can visit his other restaurants. (Just google Drago)

On the house, they served us 2 pieces of croquettes made with rice, peas and cheese then breaded and deep fried. They were delicious though I would have added more salt or used sharper cheese. Cindy ordered the Insalata di Barbabietole e Burrata. Burrata with beets, arugula, pistachio, fried shallots and white balsamic dressing. It was very good. I chose the Insalata Cesare which is the Caesar salad made w/baby romaine,anchovy dressing, shaved parmesan and crostini. Loved this salad, the anchovy dressing was wonderful.

For our entree, we had the Risotto alla Barbabietola; red beets, shaved candy striped beets and puffed risotto; beautiful, colorful and delicious. The other entree was the Tagliolini Bianci e Neri con Capesante; black and white tagliolini w/bay scallops. Wonderful dish cooked to perfection.

We were both full since we had their selection of breads prior to our meal. When the waiter came to ask if we wanted to see the dessert menu, I blurted out a "YES" before he could finish the question. We ordered 2 desserts to split in case one was not so good, we could equally share the misfortune. The Crostata al Coccolato was a chocolate tart with dates and brown sugar gelato. If you like chocolate tarts, you will like this dessert and enjoy the brown sugar gelato. The other dessert was the winner. The Mele Carmmelate. Apples(fresh slices and baked), cinnamon pastry cream and brown sugar gelato. The cinnamon pastry looked like a fried tofu since this was breaded and deep fried. It was light as cotton and when you cut it w/your fork, a brownish liquid oozes out. The liquid was made out of sugar, cinnamon, cream, butter and I believe they freeze this before they roll it on panko and deep fry it.

If you will be in the west side before the end of the month, (even if you are not from the area- we drove 25 miles) try to get a reservation; you'll be glad you did.

Simple,No Fuss-Salmon

I normally don't share recipes only because I'm not a great cook but the salmon I made tonight was a quite good and truly simple to make. All I did was marinate the salmon in lots of lemon, salt and pepper. Just before broiling I applied a light coat of Japanese mayonnaise which is the secret. If you've never had it..you haven't had real mayo! You can buy this at most Japanese markets. Here's to a healthy meal!

2012 Taste Awards

I had the opportunity to attend the 2012 Taste Awards which is an award show of mostly food, fashion and home life style. The event was held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on Jan. 12, 2012. I was accompanied by my brother who was my guide, literally like my seeing eye dog since I am totally uneducated when it comes to television shows about cooking. I know the famous chefs that have been around for a long time but am not familiar with the newborns so to speak. You see, I love to eat but I do not necessarily like to watch cooking shows since I can't taste anything they cook. It's like torture!

My brother introduced me to Nyesha Arrington who is the executive chef at "Wilshire" in Santa Monica. Gary has frequented and raved about Wilshire since Nyesha has taken over. I have not yet been there but plan to do so in the near future.

After the awards, there was an a little reception with some excellent selection of wines, cabernet from Raymond Vineyards R&B Cellars, and Peju Vineyard. They had slices of wonderful duck, beet salad, cheeses, fuku burger (which was delicious) and beautiful chocolates (Ginger w/sea salt, Lavander).

After we sampled everything there was to sample, it was time to leave. It was a very interesting evening.

On a Diet...Have a break!

Everyone deserves a break. If you happen to be at the supermarket and you can't decide what to get for dessert, head on over the freezer section where they have all sorts of ice cream and pick up a box of Magnum. They have 4 different kinds including white chocolate but the best one is the Double Caramel. Inside the ice cream bar on a stick is vanilla bean ice cream and a layer of gooey caramel dipped in Belgian milk chocolate (though it taste more like dark chocolate). This is so unbelievably good that I guarantee it will satisfy your sweet craving. Caution: Do not look at the nutrition facts on the back of the box. All you need to know is there is 1 gram of fiber and you know that fiber is good for you.

Montmartre Bakery

There is a Japanese-French bakery at the Rolling Hills Plaza in Torrance that has been there for over a year. I notice more and more that my car goes on the "auto pilot" mode and before I know it, I am there buying the ham and cheese croissant with cream cheese for lunch, or experimenting on the different pastries that are very good. They are not too sweet therefore you do not get sick of it and again, before you know what hit you, you will find yourself at Montmartre.

They also have a variety of bread; raisin, milk, marble (these are all delicious lightly toasted with butter).

The pasty chef and owner of this bakery is Tom Fujitaka. You often see him in the back busy working on his creations. He also owns Mammoth Bakery which is inside Marukai in Torrance. FYI, pastries are not sold at that store, just bread. Tom worked in New York and prior to that he worked at a gourmet bakery at Le Bon Marche in Paris.

If you are a tiramisu fan, you will love his as you can really taste the espresso in it. The millefeuille,one of my favorites,is light and flaky with a creamy filling. The choco-banana mini pie has a chocolate gnache in the bottom with a nice mousse topped w/ strawberry and blueberry garnished w/ white chocolate.

This afternoon on my way home, I found myself there again....there was something I never saw...something new...it was called orange crepe. Of course I had to buy a few.
My mission was to see if it tasted as good as it looked. Guess what? It did indeed!

My Very First Food Truck

They say: "You never forget your first kiss" I know I'll never forget my first food truck experience. My foodie friend Jodie told me about the food truck being on 7th St. in San Pedro, CA. the first Thursday of each month. She had a head start last month and insisted I go with her this month; start the new year right.

She was absolutely right about the Lobsta Truck. Had the lobster roll. The pictures I have do not do any justice as they were taken in the dark with my not so smart phone. The sandwich was served on what looked like a hot dog bun but smaller and lighter. The bun had the consistency of a brioche. It was overstuffed with big chunks of lobster. You have a choice of mayo or butter. I asked for both of course. One can easily eat 2 of these but we restrained ourselves since there were more trucks to investigate.

Our next truck was the Tornado Potato. We shared a tornado potato which looked quite interesting served on a skewer. They had all sorts of flavors; Jodie decided on the aioli parmesan w/ garlic. Then we thought we should try the We Got Balls Truck. We shared (2 baby sandwiches) the IncrediBalls which were meatballs made w/ground kobe beef with bacon,gruyere cheese, arugula,garlic aioli on a toasted miniature brioche.

They had a chocolate chip cookie truck but it didn't look exciting so we decided to end our experience on a good note. FYI, there were stores along the street selling jewelry, clothing and some art galleries...can't tell you much about that since our only goal was to experience the Trucks...

Hungry Shopping at South Coast?

There are a lot of restaurants at the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. There's a Lawry's Carvery if you want good prime rib and can't get to the one in Beverly Hills then this will suffice. Their menu is limited; more towards sandwiches.

Then there's Quattro Caffe which has been there for almost 20 years! There is something to be said for a restaurant to survive that long. They have great salads, pizza (thin crust)and their pasta is always served al dente.

Today, after a few hours of shopping, hunger called out loud! We went in Quattro Caffe.
Our waiter was so familiar that I asked him how long he has been there and he said 20 years. We proceeded to order. My son had the Penne Al Salmone which was penne with Scottish salmon (who cares if it is Scottish,American,Russian,German..as long as it is fresh and delicious) cooked in a light tomato cream sauce garnished with arugula. It was indeed delicious.

I had the fettuccine alla Pescatora with sauteed shrimps and scallops, cooked to perfection in a fresh tomato herb sauce with egg fettuccine. I like my pasta with a lot of parmigiano cheese. When Pasqual our waiter asked me if I wanted cheese, I asked him to get a stool so he can be comfortable while grating the cheese; I also informed him that he might have to come back. Sure enough, after 2 minutes, he did return with a fresh block of parmigiano which got me through the rest of the fettuccine.

On the way to the parking lot, we had to make one more stop at Vie de France, another establishment that has been there forever. They have a lot of great bread, croissants, sandwiches etc. but what keeps us going back is their cinnamon rolls. They are crusty yet soft with a lot of cinnamon. No nuts, no raisins, just plain old no nonsense but truly delicious cinnamon rolls. Their almond croissant is also excellent with a bit of dark chocolate and powdered sugar on top. If you are an almond or marzipan fan, you will not be disappointed.

So, when you shop at South Coast Plaza, don't forget to bring your big appetite.