Capicola's Gourmet Sandwich

Last Friday my friend and I could not decide where to grab a bite to eat for something light.  It was suggested that we try Capicola's Sandwich Co. at 3160 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Torrance, California.

We were overwhelmed by the menu. There were more people behind the counter than the dining room.  It looked a bit chaotic and disorganized. They had pastries that looked very good. They had soups, salads and of course, sandwiches . We ordered the Tomato Bisque Soup and the Chicken with Rice Soup.  They serve their soups on a "to go" carton like the ones you get at the supermarkets. The tomato soup was very salty and I do like salty but I ended up just having maybe 4 tablespoons of it. The chicken had a few pieces of chicken and hardly any rice.

The sandwich we ordered was the GTS-800 Panino (sounds like a new model of a car) which had goat cheese, turkey, spinach, caramelized onions and peppers....though the peppers were invisible. The meat was good and so were the onions and cheese but somehow, the execution was not there. One thing that bothered me was when I was chewing on the sandwich , I hurt the roof of my mouth several times. Was it the bread? I don't really know. I just know I kept saying: "Ouch".   We were both disappointed that even if the desserts were tempting in the beginning, we lost faith and thought that if our sandwich and soups were not good, the desserts may just be all looks.

I may go back to try the desserts but not anytime soon; maybe I'll wait till one of my friends go and try them...let Mikey try it!

Sur

This restaurant in West Los Angeles is where the "beautiful people" dine. It's a hip place where the waiters are probably part-time handsome actors. In fact, I couldn't help overhear this lady tell her server: "You look much better in person than on  television."  He was the guy that sat us and talked about the menu. He did not look familiar to us.

The ambiance is totally for romance. Everything is white and silver with some crystal chandeliers; the tables illuminated by candles.  The only distracting part was the tables were very close together that you end up eavesdropping on your neighbors.
Lucky for us, we had 2 ladies from Seattle that engaged in our conversations as we compared our entrees and traded stories.

We ordered the fried Goat Cheese Balls with Cucumber Salad and Mango Sauce for an appetizer. Those were very good although the sauce for the other appetizer we ordered would have gone much better with it. The second appetizer we ordered was the Chicken & Shrimp Steamed Dumplings with a Sweet Thai Chili Sauce. This was an excellent choice. We both loved it and with an abundance of the wonderful sauce, we swiped some of the salty goat cheese onto the sweet chili sauce. Great combination!

For our entree, I ordered the Charbroiled Rib Eye Steak with Peppercorn Wine Sauce.
That was tender and quite tasty.  This came with a choice of sides. I could not decide if I wanted mashed potatoes or french fries. The "actor" said: "The mashed potatoes, definitely." The mashed potatoes tasted like the ones you get from a box without being doctored. I have made mashed potatoes from a box and when I added lots of butter and some whipping cream, it turned out pretty good.  The brussels sprouts were not bad.
My friend had the Veal Milanesa Napolitana with Mozzarella Cheese an Tomato Sauce. That was very bland but was edible.

Our neighbors were not pigs like us...One ordered the Golden & Red Beet Salad with Blue Cheese, Pecans and a Dijon Dressing. It looked good and she confirmed our assumption. Her niece just ordered a salad as well; Belgian Salad with Endive, Caramelized Pecans, Gorgonzola Cheese with a Honey Pear Vinaigrette. It looked good though I  had to take her word for it.

My friend and I both decided on the Crepes with Dulce de Leche.  By the time it arrived, we forgot what filling it was supposed to have.  The crepes looked very unappetizing. It looked DRY; and dry it was.  The filling tasted like chocolate but not a good tasting chocolate.  It was gummy. We both could not even finish one small crepe. My friend ended up passing her plate to our neighbor to try it and her comment was it tasted like a thick pudding.  I don't know where the "dulce de leche" came in....I think if it came in...it went straight out the door.

 

Most of the pictures I took were overexposed from the flash so I did not include them in this blog except for the Crepes so you can get an idea of how boring it looked. Looks are very important, especially if they put a lot of emphasis on the beautiful staff.
I am including the link to this restaurant so you can see for yourself the ambiance, the staff and their menu.
http://www.surrestaurantandbar.com/

To the delightful ladies from Seattle, I forgot to tell you something ... since you have my email address, please drop me a note at your convenience if you wish.

Sultana at L'Amande Bakery

Have you ever had the Sultana at L'Amande Bakery in Torrance? It is loaded with raisins and is crispy outside and flaky throughout.  I don't consider myself a "raisin lover" like my brother, but I am totally hooked on this one.

I've always found it to me moist inside; never dry.  I just discovered today that it has a very thin layer of custard inside. That is the secret....well, it's no longer a secret!

To get the maximum benefit, you really have to pull it apart and dissect it which will contribute to your eating pleasure.  I think that eating it with a fork and knife or just biting into it takes away from the experience.

The nice thing about pulling it apart is you get to see the plump raisins all over, and raisins you get till the very center and till your last bite.

Get there at 8:00 a.m. or shortly after when you can get them just out of the oven. Trust me, it really taste as good as it looks!

Dominique's Chicken

I had to find out what the big deal was on Dominique's Roasted Chicken. The article I read about this intimate restaurant in Redondo Beach pointed out that they often run out of the special chicken.  What can be so special with chicken?  I hardly order chicken when I go out; it usually is the cheapest item on the menu and is often plain tasting.

This was our second trip to Dominique's. I came back to try the also famous Lobster Bisque which they didn't have this particular evening. Oh well, another reason to go back. Instead, we all decided on the organic salad for just $1.00 if ordered with an entree. Two of us had the chicken and the other ordered the Lamb which we've had before and was just delicious. The chicken arrived and we all gasped as we didn't expect it to be a large portion. It was half a chicken and it came with what looked like a pound of  garlic french fries. It was the crispiest chicken skin we've ever had and the meat was juicy, tender and plain delicious.  Dominique came by to check on us and asked if we would like some "Au Jus", to which Cindy and I said "Yes, please". That made the chicken even more delicious if you can imagine...plus I had him spoon some over on my french fries.....I would never have my fries and chicken again without the "Au Jus"! This wonderful chicken dish was $ 13.95 and was really enough for 2 meals!

It was time for dessert. I wanted to try other desserts aside from the Floating Island we've had and loved.  We got 3 desserts to share: the Panna Cotta with Berry Compote, Dark Chocolate Mousse and the Passion Fruit Creme Brulee. Sandi and I thought the Passion Fruit Creme Brulee was the best; after sending it back to burn the top a bit more. (That's a big factor in making a good creme brulee). The passion fruit flavor made it different from other creme brulees. It gave it it's own personality.
The Chocolate Mousse was dark enough and sure to please chocolate mousse lovers.  The Panna Cotta with the Berry Compote was  Cindy's favorite. It was very light as it jiggled like jello with the nice compote. Another reason to go back is to try the last dessert I haven't had...the Caramelized Lemon Tart.

Dominique's Kitchen is located at  522 S. Pacific Coast Hwy., in Redondo Beach, CA.
To Chef Dominique:  I say "a la prochaine".

Spaghetti Pie

I got this recipe from a magazine a zillion years ago but I have since altered it to my taste.  It is very simple and the finished product is impressive enough.
The recipe calls for the following:

6 oz. spaghetti

2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 well beaten eggs
1 cup cottage cheese ( I prefer large curd)
1 lb.lean ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
8 oz. (1/2 bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce)
1 cup of baby frozen peas
1 tsp.sugar
1 tsp.crushed dried oregano
½ tsp.garlic salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheese (I use more than a cup; sometimes add parmesan to it)

Cook the spaghetti according to package (make sure it's al dente), drain. Stir butter into hot spaghetti. Stir in parmesan cheese and eggs.  Form spaghetti mixture into a “Crust”

in a buttered 10 inch pie plate.

Spread the cottage cheese over the spaghetti“crust”.

 

 

In a skillet, sauté onions in a bit of olive oil, then brown the meat and add the peas. Drain off any excess fat or liquid. Stir in sauce, sugar, oregano & garlic salt; heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour the meat mixture into the spaghetti crust. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle the cheese all over the top and bake approximately 5 minutes, or till cheese is melted.

 

 

 

 

I served this with a salad. Very simple and yet satisfying.

 

 

For dessert, we had Blueberry Bread Pudding made by my friend, Sandi.  She didn't have enough blueberries to make a sauce, so I melted some of my salted caramel sauce and poured it over.  I must say that the pudding was loaded with blueberries, and the top was crunchy with loads of pecans, brown sugar and butter but you couldn't see any of these when I drowned the slice with the caramel sauce.

 

Needless to say, we all enjoyed Sandi's Healthy Blueberry Bread Pudding. 

Prune Scones

Prunes are no longer just for constipation! Who would have known prunes are just as good as figs.  Put them in a scone and not just any scone but scones from L'Amande Bakery....you've got another masterpiece.

The scones are nice and crusty outside and when you pull them apart you see the prunes that are chewy and with a little bit of butter, it is just divine. I had mine with coffee and a strong hard cheese (Queso de Bola) which is aged Edam from Holland that is very salty. You can't get better than that...well, not true....since they have other scones that I love as well like the Tropical which is Mango-Pineapple and the Fig scone; not to mention the Lemon Lavander with Lemon Curd.

Till the next new fruit scones......

L'Amande Bakery is located at 2553 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Torrance, California.

Bizou Grill dineLA

I wanted to take advantage of the last day of dineLA week last night; so Sandi and I had planned to go to Bizou Grill at 2450 Colorado Ave #1050 in Santa Monica, California. My husband Otto decided to join us. While we were driving on the freeway towards Santa Monica, my brother Gary called and since his office was close by, he thought he would give us the pleasure of his company.

The dineLA menu for dinner was a real bargain. For $25 you got a 3 course meal.
For starters, you had a choice of their very good Lobster Bisque, Onion Soup, Stuffed Mushrooms w/ Endive, or Pear Salad.  Gary ordered the Lobster Bisque, Sandi had the pear salad and Otto and I had the mushrooms with an incredible sauce. I have had the mushrooms before and loved it. Sandi's salad was o.k and Gary's lobster bisque was very good.

For our entrees, Otto and Sandi had the Steak, Shrimp and Scallop with Baked Potato. The consensus was it lacked flavor even with the sauce that came with it.  Gary and I were the winners of the evening. We had the Lobster with the Squid Pasta. That had a lot of flavor and was very good. 

There were 3 selections for dessert, if I remember correctly.  Tiramisu, Flourless Chocolate Cake and the 3 Flavor Sorbet.  Gary and Otto had the Tiramisu which was delicious; light as ever.  Sandi and I had the trio of sorbet: mango, raspberry and lemon.  The lemon was quite tart but the sweet mango and the raspberry soon took over the tartness; hence, perfect harmony.

The selections for the prefix could have been better but I must tell you there are a lot of exciting and delicious dishes in the menu.  We have been at Bizou many times in the past and there's always something for everyone.  The best thing are the prices. They are inexpensive; for $1.00, you can have their house salad or soup of the day, with your entree.  Their corkage fee is $2.00.  Where else can you find a deal this good?