Hinoki for Lunch

If you can't find the time to venture into Century City to this great restaurant, Hinoki and the Bird, just go for lunch. It is just as good.  The outdoor seating is the best especially on a beautiful day like it was yesterday.

Six of us went yesterday and out of the 6, two had never been there so the rest of us, old timers served as guides when it came to ordering. We shared a bunch of their little plates and everyone ordered a main dish for lunch. We ordered the 1/2 dozen oysters, which is always fresh and the best beef tartare, a bit spicy with the pickled jalapeno and some parmigiano. The salt & pepper fried calamari with ajwain-tomato jam was of course a hit. The new addition to my repertoire was the sweet corn soup with cilantro and hijiki (sea weed). That was absolutely delicious. The lobster roll on the black roll was very much enjoyed. Chili crab toast with spicy cucumber and coriander is one of my favorites; everyone loved that.

For our main entrée; my husband had the filet mignon sandwich which I didn't get to try as I was too busy enjoying my chilled ramen salad with ginger braised short rib and spiced English peas. That looked healthy in a good way because as you know, healthy is not a good word in my vocabulary. It had a lot of flavor and was an exciting dish.

Next to me was the miso marinated skirt steak with shaved turnips and chili. I have had this before and it was good with a side order of the white rice. Alma also ordered the sweet potato with sour cream and bacon. That failed to excite me as I am not a sweet potato fan. It would have been better if it was a regular baked potato.  My friend to my right ordered the monkfish with yellow curry noodle, eggplant and herbs. He was very quiet and was really into it. I was not offered to try so I graciously asked (or begged) if I could have a bite. Reluctantly, he agreed. All I can say is I have to order this dish the next time.   It was soooo good. I wonder if they also serve this for dinner?

Most of us ordered dessert. I could not remember what I had the last time and my niece reminded me that I tried her miso mochi the last time and liked it, so I ordered the miso mochi with butterscotch. Yummmm. My husband and 2 other people had the Devil's food cake with guayaquil mousse and praline. That was good but I liked mine better. Ryan had the raspberry macaron with rhubarb, yoghurt sorbet.  According to him, it was good but not great. He would have been happier with any of the mochis.

When I read my older blog on Hinoki and Bird, I forgot all about the Dulce de leche with toffee and cajeta mochi. It was the best ever. For dessert, I suggest you order the 3 different kinds of mochi as they are all delicious.

Here's the link on one of my past visits to Hinoki and the Bird.
http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2013/06/hinoki-and-bird-2.html

I look forward to my next visit to Hinoki and the Bird......they are located at 10 Century Drive in Los Angeles. My GPS does not have this address. It is off of Avenue of the Stars and Century Drive is a small street next to the Century Plaza Hotel.

Locanda Positano

Instead of going to our regular Friday night dance, Sandi and I decided to explore a restaurant in Marina Del Rey called Locanda Positano. I read about one of their specialties which was Tagliatelle al Tartufo which is one of my favorite pasta dishes.

The place is easy to miss as it is small; it's right across an IHOP. We were early for our reservation which was not a problem, and they happily accommodated us. The tables are very close together and there isn't much privacy. If your intention is to propose to someone, or have dinner with someone other than your spouse, this isn't the place to go. However, if you love good Italian food and couldn't care less about anyone else, this is definitely a place to go.

When I saw the Black Truffle Pre fix menu, I knew I had to get that because the choices were exciting! Sandi felt the same way so we both ordered the same thing. Before our Antipasti, they served us bread with 3 types of olive oil; herb, spicy, and lemon. The herb was the best though they all improved in taste when I added some salt to them.

Our first course, the Bauletto Di Polenta con Porcini e Tartufo Nero. Homemade polenta with Taleggio cheese, topped with imported Porcini mushroom, imported white truffle oil and shaved fresh black truffle. This was ABSOLUTELY delicious. This was almost a meal on its own. The truffle was overwhelming but in good way. The polenta had a nice texture, creamy and gritty at the same time and crunchy on the bottom. What a wonderful dish!

By the time we finished our polenta, we were almost full. Danielle, our Italian server checked to see how we liked our polenta.  We told him we didn't like it at all as he gazed into our empty plates. Our main course was the Tagliatelle al Tartufo; homemade tagliatelle pasta (cooked aldente) served with white truffle oil and fresh black Truffle in a light cream sauce. Again, another masterpiece. I didn't even ask for Parmesan; in my book, it's called perfection.  We both could not finish it as we really were stuffed by this time so we had them wrap our left overs.

We shared the 2 desserts.  One was the Tartufo al Limoncello; lemon gelato with heart of limoncello covered with meringue sprinkles. The other one was the Tartufo al cioccolato; Zabaione cream center surrounded by chocolate gelato and caramelized hazelnut, covered with cocoa powder. The verdict was.....the Limoncello was much better. It was a bit tangy and was a perfect finale from all the Tartufo.

This pre fix was not cheap $60 per person though for Truffles, this is a bargain. When it got busy, the owner Paulo helped out and came to our table to check up on us. I have to tell you that I enjoyed this so much more than the restaurant Melisse who has a couple of Michelin stars but as you know was a big disappointment the last time I was there. This restaurant deserves a star!

Locanda Positano is located at 4059 Lincoln Blvd. in Marina Del Rey. They have valet parking for $3.50 which is reasonable, service is good and the food is great.

Lovely Soft Balls

Hopefully you were able to stop by L'Amande Bakery in Torrance this weekend.
They had Salted Caramel Balls. These lovely soft balls were filled with custard and outside dripping with the nice salted caramel.

When you take your first bite, you know that this is it! The perfect custard (not too sweet) oozes out and the dough is light and a bit chewy.

The picture really speaks for itself. 

For some people who still do not know where L'Amande Bakery is.....their address is 2553 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Torrance, California.  Very soon, they will open another bakery in Beverly Hills. Meantime, we can count our blessings that we have one in the city of Torrance.

The One and Only Ramen Burger

When I heard that the "Ramen Burger" was going to be at the Mitsuwa Market in Torrance for one day and were only making 500 of them, I told Sandi we had to go. They were to start selling at 11:00 a.m.  We were there at 9:45 a.m. and the line went around the building! It turns out that some people were there as early as 6:30 a.m.

If you haven't heard of the Ramen Burger which had it's debut in New York and has been a sensation since then, it is a simple burger and instead of a bun, your burger is sandwiched between 2 ramen patties. While in line, an occasional staff member would count the people to make sure we, the people did not exceed 500. We could only buy one which cost $8.00.  We were happy to hear we were #350, so we were safe....wheww!

We were blessed with nice weather as we had a gentle breeze and we were in the shade. Thank God for that because we've been having very hot weather in L.A. with high humidity. In line we made friends with the surrounding people who drove from Orange County. Tiffany and her 11 year old were foodies as well.

At around 1:45 p.m. (4 hours later) we finally got our burgers. This was the craziest thing I have done; I dislike falling in line and have never done so for any restaurant with one exception and that was only for 10 minutes.

The burger was simple; it was topped with arugula, scallions and a secret sauce. The ramen was not dry nor too crispy. It was perfect with a hint of sesame oil. The big question you might have at this point is.....was it worth it?  OHHHH YESSSS INDEED!

I met Jeffrey, the chefs brother who introduced me to Chef Keizo Shimamoto and was kind enough to take my picture with him.

I  know there will be a lot of imitations of the Ramen Burger but I am sure nothing will top the original! So, Chef Shimamoto, please open a restaurant in Torrance; you're mom will be happy as well.

Trout from Convict Lake

Our friends Nako and Amy spent Labor Day in Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada and did some fishing.  They caught some trout at Convict Lake which is about 10 minutes south of Mammoth Lakes across the airport.

They were nice enough to share some of their catch with us. Nako suggested I fry them in bacon fat. Anything fried in bacon has to be good.  First I squeezed a whole lemon on the 3 pieces of trout. Seasoned them with salt and pepper plus some of the seasoned Lawry's salt and pepper. I then proceeded in frying 2 pieces of thick bacon cut in half. When the bacon was done, I removed them and set them aside. I added a bit of butter to the pan then placed the papa, mama, and baby trout in the pan and cooked them till they were done.

I was at Trader Joe's earlier and decided to get something easy to accompany the trout.
I ended up getting the Fettuccine with Mushrooms. They are so easy to cook; you just add water to the pan, dump the contents in the pan and cook it on high. Though this was quite good, I think the Fettuccine Alfredo would have gone better with the trout.

Thank you to Nako, Amy, Bryce and Lisa for the wonderful trout!  Don't know who actually caught our fish.....

Labor Day 2013

The Weisswurst from Alpine Village was a hit.  I threw them on the grill and served them with 2 choices of mustard.

With the Wiesswurst, I made some red cabbage with apples and mushrooms and got some potato salad.  It was a very simple dinner.

Hors d' oeuvre's were watermelon stuffed with goat cheese, a French soft cheese with crackers, French pate, bread sticks wrapped with prosciutto and sweet grapes.

Before dinner, my guests were all happy drinking Margaritas made with our Margarator; which is the best thing ever for parties.

I cannot take any credit for dessert.  Ana brought 2 (not one) fig tart which tasted as good as it looks in the picture below and a  Portuguese rice pudding that was absolutely delicious. I've never had rice pudding before and was surprised on how rice can be so exciting. It had orange peel, pistachios, almonds and cranberries. The combination of textures made it come to life.

The best thing about the dinner was the company.  You can always have good food and great dessert but if the people are boring.......well, then it is not considered a successful party.  The fact that they stayed for 6 hours; in my book was a very good thing.

Alpine Village Market

If you like anything German as far as food goes, you most likely will find it at the Alpine Village Market in Torrance.

My favorite sausage that I get for either 4th of July or Labor Day is the Weisswurst. This is made with veal and pork. When cooked on the grill served with your favorite mustard, there is nothing like it.  Many other sausages are sold along with the deli meats including their famous Black Forest Ham. In the Deli section, they sell ready made sauerkraut, meat salad, herring salads etc. There's just so much to see.

My friend and I went this morning to pick up my order.  Of course, I did not leave with just the sausage. My friend and I were there for about 40 minutes browsing and investigating.  They have a large variety of mustards made in Germany. Lots of chocolates from Germany, Switzerland, and Poland. If you like marzipan, they have the best ones from Niederegger but since this is the real thing, you will pay the price. It's quite expensive.  Different jams and jellies you don't see in your neighborhood supermarket are on display.

They have a bakery but I could never get excited with their pastries except the Princess cake which is made with marzipan. It's not the best but it's good enough.
The German rolls (brotchen) and French rolls are much better than their pastries.

Alpine Village Market is located at 833 W. Torrance Blvd. in Torrance, California.
Their hours are Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday & Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.