Pistachio Croissant

I had forgotten how good the Pistachio Croissants are at L'Amande Bakery in Torrance.  It is hard for me to get something other than my favorite Raspberry Croissant, especially when you have them still warm and you see the raspberry cream when you pull it apart.

The other day, my aunt Evelyn came to visit all the way from San Diego. We met at the bakery and she wanted to know what she should get for breakfast the following day. She bought a variety of croissants and I talked her into buying the fresh scones (it was 3:00 pm and they had just come out of the oven).  The scones were to be delivered to a friend of hers. Needless to say, she enjoyed everything. The next day, she got the pistachio croissant and raved about it.  The following day after church, I went in and had the pistachio croissant for breakfast. Boy oh boy......it was verrrrry good.
I have to inform you that if you do not have the luxury of consuming what you buy in the same day, you can preheat your oven to 350 degrees and heat it for 3-4 minutes. The owners do not recommend it as they want us to eat everything fresh; but it's not a perfect world.

When you feel like doing your body good and not sacrifice the pleasure of eating something delicious, try them.  I read about a research at Pennsylvania State University that pistachios reduced the levels of LDL (cholesterol) while  increasing antioxidant levels.  So, in Karina's world, this is a very good thing!

Back on Track at The Royce

WOW! What a fantastic night it was. The last time I was at The Royce, I was not the happiest camper. The food was good but not to what I was accustomed to since I have been there several times. Five months have passed and thought I would give it another chance.

My friend Ana and I left Torrance at 4:20 p.m. and got there 2 minutes before our reservation time which was 6:00 p.m. Our expectations were high. Not everyone can be perfect all the time so everyone deserves a second chance.

The ambiance couldn't have been better in  this very elegant setting at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena. We were served immediately with a complimentary glass of a sparkling Rose to go with the Amuse-bouche which consisted of squash soup, a crab cake and a fantastic pepper dipped in miso soy sauce with bread crumbs. That was unbelievably delicious.

We both decided to go for the six course Tasting Menu. We planned to order different dishes so we can try them all. Both Ana and I didn't budge; we both liked the same things and only differed on the second course. Our first course was the Beet Sorbet with Caviar which had creme fraiche & kaffir lime zest. Who would have thought of making Beet into sorbet? Well Chef David Feau, who came from the Patina group and former protege of Guy Savoy (whom I have personally met) is truly unique and continues to whip up some non traditional hocus pocus; in other words, he is a magician. The beet sorbet was very refreshing, the sweetness of the beets and the saltiness of the caviar was perfect combination not to mention the temperature; not hot, not room temperature but a sorbet.

 
For the second course, Ana decided on the Cuttlefish/Piquillo; bone in cuttlefish a la plancha, herring-sierra gold potato,ink & piquillos. I decided  on the soup; Cauliflower/Mushroom which was cauliflower & sorrel , hen egg, cauliflower mushroom. Loved my soup; tried some of Ana's cuttlefish which she also loved; I fell in love with hers too. I never had cuttlefish before let alone with the combination of ink and piquillos. This was something I would highly recommend.

Our third course was the Chestnut/Verbena. Chestnut-filled agnolotti, hazelnut, lemon verbena jus.  It didn't look as exciting as what we had so far. It just looked like a pool of foam. Looks can be deceiving.  This was a very nice surprise. When we dug into it, all you could taste was the nice chestnuts and the aldente agnolotti. Wow, I wonder how hard it is to make this dish. I could have eaten 2 bowls of it!

Our fourth course was the Wagu/Spelt Berries. Double seared wagu, ginger braised brussels sprouts, spelt berries emulsion and bone marrow tempura. Also delicious. I didn't find any berries and that's because Spelt berries are not berries. I found out that it is a form of grain kernel that can be used as alternative to buckwheat or other types of grain and is rich in nutrients. We both cleaned our plates.

 

We were full by the time our fifth course came but like real troopers, we had to march on.  We both ordedered the Picandou/Du Lot which is a peppercorn rubbed fresh goat cheese with tomato jam and acacia honey. It was a nice way to end our meal before dessert. Before dessert, they brought out a plate of petit fours which consisted of madelines, something coconut which I didn't like only because I don't like coconut and the winner was the cheesecake which was absolutely wonderful.  After that was a sorbet of quince to cleanse our palate. I am sorry to say that we both didn't care for it.

 

For dessert, we agreed not to order the same thing. One was the Chocolate Cake; cocoa minute cake, cajeta-caramel, warm chocolate curd, cafe glace. This was our least favorite. I understand that they have to make a traditional dessert for people that are less adventurous. The clear winner was the Date/Grapefruit; halawi date sticky toffee pudding, steamed miso egg white, finger lime grapefruit.  These all came together like the L.A. Philharmonic! We didn't know what a finger lime was..(lime from Australia)
When eating the grapefruit ice cream and the pieces of white pulp (fingerling lime),something interesting happened; the pulp actually popped in your mouth.  The steamed miso egg white was mysterious to us both. How can an unlikely combination taste really good? The date sticky toffee pudding was super accompaniment to the miso egg white and finger lime grapefruit. Ana and I were literally in ecstasy! As if we didn't have enough dessert, they brought out samples of a variety of chocolates ala Royce which of course we had to consume.

I have to mention that our service was impeccable. Andrea our server from my last visit was attentive and enthusiastic as ever. Eric Espuny came and made sure everything was in order.  It was a pleasure to meet Chef Feau who took the time to introduce himself and was gracious enough to have his picture taken with us. Many thanks to Chef Feau and to Eric Espuny for a wonderful evening.

For your next special occasion, do try "The Royce". I must say that the hour and forty minute drive time and the cost of the Tasting Menu of  $125.00 was well worth it.

Fettuccine with Escarole and Brie

Food & Wine's Grace Parisi's recipe for this dish sounded good to me. How can it not, with pancetta, garlic, shallot, escarole and Brie cheese. It was easy enough and total time preparing and cooking was really 30 minutes; with the use of my pasta boat.

I didn't know what escarole looked like since I have never cooked with it. It looks like Romaine Lettuce for those of you who are in the dark.  It looked really promising as I sauteed the pancetta with the garlic and shallots.  Click on the recipe:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fettuccine-with-escarole-and-brie
Note: You will need a big pan to accommodate the pound of Escarole.  After adding the Escarole and gets all wilted, you then add the pasta and the pieces of Brie cheese.

There is great potential to this dish. The let down was that the Brie did nothing to enhance the pasta. I love Brie cheese but I think it is best with fresh French bread.
I had to add a TON of Parmesan cheese to make it enjoyable. I would definitely make this dish again but will eliminate the Brie and replace it with Gruyere or Vermont Cheddar.

Black Forest Ham Sandwich

Contrary to belief, my friends all think I have had everything on the menu at L'Amande Bakery in Torrance.  I have not yet tried everything but am slowly trying.

The other day was very busy for me. I was running around like a chicken without it's head trying to do everything in the least possible time. So, by 2:00 p.m.  I was just starving and before I knew it, I was parked right in front of the bakery.

I was temped to have a Grilled Cheese or the Croque Monsieur (love them both) but decided to be a bit healthier since I haven't been exercising as much.  I settled for the Black Forest Ham which I have never had and their famous Orange Iced Tea (shaken of course).  The massive sandwich was served on their baguettine. I had to cut in it half for easier consumption. This came with a nice salad. That sandwich was so good. It didn't have all that (you know what) ...it was just plain good Black Forest Ham with  dijon mayonnaise.  It was perfect, served on the fresh crunchy, chewy baguettine.

Here's another shocker: I could only eat half. Took the other half home which my husband had for his dinner. Lucky me, I didn't have to cook!

Special Thai

Last week, our performance dance class and our enthusiastic & energetic dance instructor went out for lunch at The Special Thai Restaurant at 1841 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Lomita.  Several of the girls have been there before and liked it.

The best thing about the restaurant was the price. On weekdays, the lunch is $6.99 and dinner $7.99. On weekends it is slightly higher; $9.99 for lunch and $10.99 for dinner.
This is "all you can eat" buffet.  The girls just finished a 45 minute lesson of Jive. They deserved all the food they could eat. I did not have that luxury since I haven't started dancing yet since my accident.

They had all sorts of noodles that were delicious. They had soup, fried shrimps, egg rolls, orange chicken, fried chicken, chicken satay,onion rings (for the less adventurous) and fresh fruit and some Thai desserts.

 

So, if  you're hungry and crave Thai or Chinese food and want to make your tummy happy.....go to Special Thai.

Father's Office Once More

Cindy and I had to take our friend to this place to experience the famous Father's Office Burger in Los Angeles at 3229 Helms Avenue (Culver City).  We got there just before they opened at noon and stood in line. 

I have blogged about their wonderful burgers before: see previous blog

http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2012/03/fathers-office.html

This time, we ordered the sweet potato fries that were absolutely delicious with the garlic parsley aioli. This is the same sauce they serve with their regular fries.
This time both Cindy and I thought the meal was too much; too filling. We had no difficulty finishing it the last time we were there.  Don't get me wrong, we still finished them but it was a struggle. I really wanted to eat just half but Cindy talked me into finishing the other half because she was sure it would spoil if we left it in the car while we did a little shopping. So like a good friend, I listened. Sandi left a bite of the burger and part of her bun.

The consensus was:  Next time, we would split the burger so we can try their desserts.
But, before that, we have to refresh our memories soon and head on over to Umami Burger.

Update on Food Trucks

I heard that the Grilled Cheese Food Truck was going to be at Narbonne High School in Lomita last night so I twisted Sandi's arm to accompany me. I have not had the Grilled Cheese and I've been wanting to try it for a long time.

We got there at 5:30 p.m. Some trucks were already serving and some just getting ready to open.  The first truck we came across with was the Sugar Babies Cupcakery. We looked at the flavors but they were all standard; till we saw the Bacon Cupcakes.
These were mini ones for $2.00 (2 bites). For $10.00 you get six.  Sandi had the brilliant idea of just buying one; we had a bite each to see if it was worth buying more.
As soon as we had our bite, we decided that it WAS worth buying six.  It had a piece of bacon on top with some maple syrup. I still prefer My Delight Cupcakery's bacon cupcakes since the bacon are cut in smaller pieces and evenly distributed.  With Sugar Babies, you have to be careful not to eat the whole piece of bacon or your second bite will be baconless. Of course you could shove the whole thing in your mouth but its a bit too big for that.

We then decided to try the Pork Belly Sliders (2) with the Garlic and Thyme French Fries from the truck called Belly Bombz.  That was very good. We also split the Connecticut Lobster Roll from Cousins Maine Lobster Truck.  That was the best. It had just a bit of butter and lemon and served  warm on a nice toasted bread. It was perfect as the evening got a bit chilly. We saw some friends; Joe and his daughter Jessica who joined our table and since I got distracted as I haven't seen them in a long time, I completely forgot to take a picture of the lobster.  The roll had big, juicy chunks of beautiful lobster. I can't wait to have it again but next time I will not share....I have to have my very own!

I will have to try their Lobster Bisque and Lobster tacos next time. We did have to try one of the desserts, which was Lobster Ice Cream. We both like lobster and we both like ice cream so we were intrigued. This union was not ala "Brangelina" It was more like "Felix and Oscar" of The Odd Couple. The lobster was tasteless when combined with the (sweet) vanilla ice cream. Bacon and maple syrup would have gone better. Sorry to say, lobster does not make a good dessert, at least not with ice cream. Well, its the thought that counts.

The Cousins Maine Lobster has a restaurant at 115 East Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. If you can't follow the food truck, stop by their restaurant where they pride themselves in serving fresh lobsters flown daily from Maine.

I managed to take a picture of a picture of the Lobster Roll...thought you should see the generous portion of lobster. By the way, the Grilled Cheese Truck was not there which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.