Bamboo Garden - Best Tempura To Go

They say they have the best tempura to go.  My friend Ana told me to try it as it is really one of the best tempura she has had. I wanted to see if my friendship with Ana was about to end.... I tried it this evening.

I am happy to report, I can still call Ana my friend.  It really was very good. The batter was very light, not greasy, and just plain delicious. I ordered the assorted tempura which included 2 shrimps and 4 pieces of vegetables. Rice did not come with it so I ordered rice in addition. What is tempura without rice...it's like french fries without ketchup!

My only problem is when I finished the whole thing, I was still hungry. This is a perfect meal if you are on a diet which I am sort of am at the momemt.  The lightness of everything took awhile to reach my digestive system that I had to make myself  a salami and prosciutto sandwich on sour dough. Then and only then was I happy.

Bamboo Garden is located at the Rolling Hills Plaza in Torrance and another location at Cravens Ave. also in Torrance. So, the next time you crave tempura, this is the place to go, but maybe order some noodles before. They have a wide variety of soba and udon.

Muffaletta

This is a sandwich I never had a chance to try in New Orleans. It is really hard to get to try everything in a day and a half!  Believe me, we tried our best. We had beignets from Cafe Du Monde in the morning, Red Fish Grill for lunch and Commander's Palace for dinner in one day. When we arrived the night before, we went straight to Galatoire's for dinner.

At the airport in New Orleans, we had our last chance to try another specialty; a Muffaletta.  It is a sandwich served on a large round flattened bread. Inside are cold cuts like salami, capicola, ham and provolone, mortadella or emmentaler cheese. This is incomplete without the olive salad which makes it.  The olive salad is composed of chopped olives of course, celery, cauliflower, carrots found in a jar of giardiniera (Italian relish). 

We enjoyed our first muffaletta purchased at a bar at the airport. I can only imagine how much more we would have enjoyed this at Franks, where I've heard makes the best muffaletta.  There's always a next time.

Scones Gone Wilder!

OMG....at long last.  I finally was able to try these lemon lavender scones with lemon curd.  It is beyond imagination as far a scones go.  They are crunchy outside and soft  inside with lots of lemon rind.  It has a wonderful consistency.  Now I can say, I have had all the scones L'Amande Bakery has to offer. I love them all.

I think this is my favorite, though it really is a tough decision.  It is like asking a mother who her  favorite kid is among her children.  Of course a mother will always say she loves all her kids equally but we all know, even if she thinks this is true....there's one she will always favor.  In this case: it is definitely the lemon lavender scone with lemon curd.

You have to try it to believe it!

Commander's Palace

Commander's Palace has been around since 1880 and is a landmark at the Garden District in New Orleans. In 1974, Ella, Dottie, Dick and John Brennan took over the Commander's Palace, remodeled and specialized in Creole-American cuisine. Everything is fresh, from their seafood, meats, fruits, and vegetables.

What a wonderful dining experience. We had dinner reservations at 7:00 p.m. and we were greeted by a welcoming committee of eager servers and were promptly seated.  I was upset to discover that I had forgotten to transfer my reading glasses in my evening purse. Our waiter, Patrick assured me he could do something about it. After a few minutes, Patrick arrived holding an open wooden case with an array of different reading glasses. Of course, I picked one that went with my outfit!

We started with the famous Turtle Soup which was divine.  Someone once told me that they didn't use real turtle meat anymore. Not true...they do use farm raised snapping turtles.  The soup has a lot of different flavors in it with just enough kick to keep your taste buds awake. This is a must try as there is nothing like it. We then split a Caesar's salad which was also good. We ordered the Crispy Soft Shell Crab which was a jumbo Louisiana soft shell crab over chorizo, pickled vegetables, barbecued onions, tiny tomatoes with greens and avocado "leche fresca" and red pepper ravigote.  What a treat this was! Crunchy, juicy and just yummy.

We also ordered the speckled trout which had the skin on it and was very crispy and light. This was served on a bed of a variety of Covey Rise spring vegetables and greens with a light brown butter vinaigrette. Can't believe how we truly enjoyed this meatless, pasta-less dinner!

For dessert, we had to order what we planned to order (as I have had it in the past), their famous Creole bread pudding souffle with the whiskey sauce.  I don't think you will ever find  a bread pudding as delicious, light, fluffy and wonderful as this. It just isn't possible. Since we had to order 2 desserts, we ordered the strawberry shortcake which I never ever order as it seems so boring. This was anything but boring. I don't know what they did to it but it probably had a dose of their magic spell.

To the executive chef, Tory McPhail....Sandi and I love you...

Note:  Our picture didn't turn out too good; I can't blame Patrick so I will blame my camera. Just had to include our picture as it shows how much we enjoyed our dining experience.

Cafe Du Monde

Just as Mardi Gras is synonymous with New Orleans, so are Beignets from Cafe Du Monde.  In case you haven't heard of them, they are deep fried French doughnuts covered with lots of powdered sugar.

Cafe Du Monde is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and only closes on Christmas Day.  It is best to get there early as you often see lines.  They also serve chicory coffee if you happen to like chicory.  I really don't care what kind of coffee because when you have an order of 3 beignets, it doesn't matter what you drink.....you just need something to chase down these light delightful snacks. Just make sure you have lots of napkins and check you face on a mirror before you leave as you are guaranteed to have powdered sugar all over your nose and mouth.

Red Fish Grill in New Orleans

Red Fish Grill in the French Quarter on Bourbon Street, Louisiana is a must for anyone that visits New Orleans. They are open for lunch and dinner.  If you are an oyster lover you will experience something very exciting.  If you don't like oysters or have never had oysters, this is a guaranteed "love at first bite."

My friend Jody told me about their signature BBQ Oysters about 10 years ago. I didn't even like oysters then. After I had them, it really was a love affair. I could not get my mind off them. I always said I would go to New Orleans just for those. They are flash fried with BBQ sauce but not what you imagine BBQ sauce to be. So even if you don't like BBQ sauce, you will like this one. It is served with a blue cheese dressing. My friend Sandi has never had oysters before. When our server Franklin, who was really into the menu as far as describing the items, asked me if I wanted the 6 or the 12 pieces, I was hesitant in ordering the 12 in case Sandi would not like it. Then I figured I have to live dangerously once in a while, so I ordered the 12 pieces.  When it came we devoured the 12 pieces.  Sandi not only liked it but loved it.  This was an OMG moment!

We thought we would eat light since we had dinner reservations at Commander's Palace that evening.  We split a BBQ  Shrimp Po Boy. Crispy fried Louisiana shrimp tossed in a peppery butter sauce with lettuce, tomatoes and red onion served with Creole potato salad. It was a good introduction to Po Boy.

We were stuffed but since Franklin proceeded to describe their double chocolate bread pudding with white and dark chocolate sauces and a chocolate almond bark, we thought we better not hurt his feelings (yeah right!).  Oh, momma! What a rich and wonderful dessert. Another dessert not to be missed.

My only wish is for Red Fish Grill to open a branch in Los Angeles. It does not even matter which city. The drive will be worth the expensive gasoline!

Galatoire's

The famous Galatoire's in New Orleans is an institution on the famous Bourbon Street in New Orleans.  I eagerly wanted to have my friend Sandi experience the good food I once had many years ago. Our dinner reservation was at 9:30 p.m. on a Thursday night.  It was very late since we were not sure what time we would end up at our hotel as we flew stand-by.

A friend of mine was a friend of a waiter that has worked there for many years so she suggested for us to ask for him and we would be assured great service.  We started with a duck crepe which was delicious. For our entree, we ordered a crab dish (can't remember the name) and another crab dish which was suggested by our server. The latter had a lot of artichokes and was quite flavorful.

 

For dessert, we decided to skip the banana bread pudding  and order the key lime pie since everything we consumed was rich.  We figured that the key lime would be refreshing.  Our server came with the souffle. For a second I thought he was being nice and was giving us an extra dessert, but only one dessert came. It looked good so we did not complain. It was good,  though a bit too sweet.

When we arrived at the restaurant, there were still quite a bit of people. It was VERY
noisy. This is a place for groups. Nothing intimate at this venue. We were not impressed with the menu nor the service. This was once "The Place" to go but they have to update their menu.

The past success of Galatoire's has left a sense of complacency which was evident and should be addressed.