Rao's

At some point  in your life, you may or may not have heard of the famous Restaurant in New York called Rao's pronounced Raiyos.  It apparently is very hard to get in a reservation as they only have 10 tables, and is open only 5 days a week and closed on Sundays.

Rao's opened about a month ago in Hollywood, California. The only experience I have had with Rao's is their Puttanesca sauce which I often buy and is available at some supermarkets. I have heard good things and everyone seemed to talk about their meatballs.

I was excited and decided to celebrate my friend Jody's birthday there. I called a few weeks ago and made a reservation for 5:30 p.m. I picked her up at 4:00 p.m. to make sure we get there on time. We did arrive at 5:15 p.m., a bit early but better than being late. We walked in and a few employees were startled to see us. They looked shocked and I did tell them we realized we were early. I told them our reservations were for 5:30 and the lady told us they don't open till 6:00 p.m.
I was irritated because I made the reservation myself with someone at the restaurant; not on opentable.com which I normally do. Then the truth came out. They admitted that they used to be open at 5:00 p.m. but recently changed it to 6:00 p.m. So they told us we could sit at the bar and have drinks while we wait. Thank You...... There was no apology but I thought this was their way of apologizing....buying us a drink.

At 6:00 p.m. we were promptly seated outside at very inviting & charming garden. It was a warm evening and was perfect for outdoor dining. We started with an appetizer of Roasted Peppers. I don't know what was in there but this is not to be missed. Jody and I loved every bite. We of course had to order the meatballs. Without thinking we both imagined meatballs with spaghetti. The 2 giant balls came (no spaghetti) but I must say that we both agreed the meatballs were moist and tender. The other entree we split was the Eggplant Parmesan. That was not as good as expected.  It needed more flavor. In fact we asked for more marinara sauce, poured it all over and topped it with parmesan; then it finally started to come to life.

The birthday girl opted on the Tiramisu which was enough for the two of us.  That failed to excite us mainly because the lady fingers or whatever base they had in the bottom was not soaked enough therefore making it heavy.

It was a good meal, sometimes you can't expect perfection on all dishes. Lou, our waiter and "Captain" was very nice and friendly. He did ask how we liked everything and we did give him our honest opinion.
I was surprised to see that we were charged for our drinks at the bar. If I were the manager, I would have been very apologetic for the mix up which was the restaurant's fault, and the least I would have done was to buy the drinks for the inconvenience. That would have been the proper thing to do. I have to note that I did purchase a bottle of wine with our dinner. Oh well.........

Rao's is located at 1006 Seward St. in Hollywood, California.

Dominique's First Year Anniversary

Dominique's Kitchen in Redondo Beach is celebrating their first year anniversary with a bang. Starting Friday, October 18 till the 21st, he will be showcasing the very often misunderstood, Escargots. He will be serving 101 ways to cook them during this time. Everyone of drinking age will be offered a glass of champagne and given a recipe to take home so you can try them at home.

Last night, I was privileged to be invited to a Media Preview for their one year anniversary. All seven of us were treated to champagne, white and red wine. Though I am a red wine drinker, I opted for white wine since it went better with the delicate flavor of the escargots.

Dominique started us with the Deep Fried Kale with Parmesan Shavings and his Chicken Live Pate.  I loved this deep fried vegetable. It was nice and crispy and perfect with the Parmesan shavings. I wouldn't mind being a vegetarian if everything was this good!

An Organic Green Soup with Escargots came next. This had a few escargots in it and I have to tell you that the texture is very similar to calamari so for people whose comment is: " Eewwww", give it a try as it is not what some think to be like oysters. They are not slimy nor briny. This soup was delicious.  Right after the soup came the Classic Escargots. This was my favorite. It was cooked in garlic and lots of butter; one word to describe this dish....outstanding!

A Mache Salad with Escargots and Portobello Mushrooms in a Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing came next. The flavors of the mushrooms went well with the escargots. After this came another wonderful dish, Crust of Escargots with Brie Cheese. Oh sooo creamy and yummy.

The last dish was the Home Style Roasted Escargots and Fingerling Potatoes. Again, cooked in something....don't know exactly, but at this point I didn't care as it was wonderful.

To end our dinner, Dominique served some different flavored Macarons, the French meringue type cookies, not to be confused with macaroons, the coconut cookies. They were nice and light. Since he didn't think that was enough, he also served his Chocolate Mousse and I don't think anyone finished theirs as we were all super stuffed.

I strongly urge you to try and make a reservation between Oct. 18 and 21.  For escargot lovers, this will be a wonderful treat and for people who have never had them or have had them and didn't like them, this is your chance to get reacquainted with them for nobody does it better than Dominique.

Bagatelle

Six of us had dinner at Bagatelle last night on La Cienega in Los Angeles. I had purchased several vouchers a couple of months ago which seemed like a great deal. For $49.00 (dinner for 2), you get to pick an appetizer to be shared, an entree each and a shared dessert.

When my brother found out we were to have dinner at Bagatelle, his response was: "OH NO!!!" He was just there last week with 2 other friends celebrating a birthday. I asked what was wrong...was the food bad....what do we do since the vouchers were already paid for.  The good news was it was not the food. It was the experience. I asked what went wrong and apparently it was the noise level plus they had to wait 30 minutes to be seated even with a reservation. The music was so loud that they couldn't hear each other and even the waiter could not hear what they were trying to order. The birthday celebrant left with a headache!

In view of this, I called the restaurant before and asked for the manager. I spoke to Sam who was very nice and understanding that he wanted to call my brother and apologize. I told him he can apologize in person since he was coming with us. I also mentioned how we were all looking forward to this dinner as we were all foodies and that I have a food blog.  He promised me that we would have a good time and he would take care of us. I asked him if he would be present Saturday evening and he said yes, and to ask for him when we get there.

We got to the restaurant and the first thing I did was ask for Sam. The lady in the reception area assured me she would send him to our table. The first thing we noticed was the loud music. We were there at 6:30 p.m. so it was not quite peak time. (My brother's reservation was at 8:30 p.m.)
The ambiance was very nice, white linen tablecloths on nice tables and beautiful chandeliers; very classy French restaurant. The blaring hip music did not go with the ambiance. We asked our waiter if he could do something about the volume and he said he would have them turn it down which they did. I have to tell you that it was still quite loud. My brother commented that we should count our blessings as at least we could hear each other when we talked loud. The manager never showed up so I asked the waiter again and he said he would send him over.  He later showed up and apologized. We mentioned the problem with the loud music and he just listened but didn't really do anything about it.

Well, we went ahead and looked at the menu and ordered. Sandi and I shared the beet salad with goat cheese and figs. This was the best thing we had. Gary and Cindy had the same thing and loved their beets. Poor Ana and Gonz had the endive salad with fresh strawberries. It looked too healthy for me. They didn't enjoy it as Gonz beautifully arranged the strawberries to one corner of the plate; they both agreed that strawberries didn't go with endive and bleu cheese.

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For our entrees, five of us ordered the filet mignon with mushrooms served with a Bordelaise sauce. Since they came with no sides, we ordered the Truffle pommes frites which went well with the sauce. The steak was very tender but it was nothing special. For the price we paid it was good but I don't think I would pay $36 which is the regular price. Gary had the scallops with uni. It was so very salty that they offered to get him another one. He later said it was still salty though a bit better.

For dessert, 2 couples had the chocolate souffle and Sandi and I had tarte tatin. The tarte tatin had a good flavor though it was too heavy and gooey. The souffles were "pretend" souffles. It only looked like a souffle but it didn't act and taste like a souffle. It had more of a brownie consistency. They sent us an extra dessert " peace offering" mainly for Gary returning. It was an impressive big glass with ice cream, marshmallows and some chocolate. This looked much better than it tasted. Even the ice cream was not good. We all had a bite or two and that was it.

None of us will be returning to this establishment. The loud music was perfect for dancing but it had no place for this fine dining French restaurant. Bagatelle will have to decide if they want to be known as a fine dining restaurant or a hip spot for the young ones to see and be seen. They want to cater the the young; well, I don't think the young will spend their money on expensive food. Maybe they should forget the dinner and just make it a club!  Just before we left we saw a couple that looked like they were having their waiter read their order from their phone as he could not hear them. We noticed an older couple near us didn't seem to mind the music.....Gary commented that they probably just turned off their hearing aids.

After our desserts, we asked for our check as we couldn't wait to leave. Gary invited us for drinks at the nearby Tres at the SLS Hotel.  There we were greeted by the supervisor, a charming young lady by the name of Tiffany. She took care of us and made sure our server did the same. At last, we were able to talk to one another. The ambiance, service and the drinks were perfect.  Perhaps, the manager from Bagatelle should call Tiffany and get a few pointers on service and management.

ink.sack

Love the restaurant Ink on Melrose.

See previous blog: http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2012/04/ink-restaurant.html

ink.sack is a small sandwich shop next to Ink at 8360 Melrose Ave #107 in Los Angeles. I happened to be in the vicinity the other day so I stopped in to get lunch for me and my husband who waited in the car since I was double parked behind one of the stores.  There was a line when I got there and as I waited, I tried to study the menu as quickly as I could. I am a slow learner so I was more confused when it was my turn to order. I decided to order 3 sandwiches in case one was not to my liking.

I ordered the Banh Mi; pork butt, pork belly, chicharrones, pickled vegetables and onion spread. I think this was my favorite one. It was a bit spicy at first, then it got really spicy since it had Jalapenos (didn't know).

I also ordered the Jose Andres, aka "The Spanish Godfather"; Serrano ham, chorizo, and manchego.  If you like chorizo, this is the sandwich for you since you get lots of it. (Pictured in the middle with bbq pork rinds in front)

The third one I got was the Cuban; BBQ pork, ham, swiss, pickles, mustard and mayonnaise.  This was good but not as good as the Banh Mi.

While I waited in line, I saw these little black sacks that was labeled: BBQ Pork Rinds. I thought that would be a good side for our sandwiches. Crunchy and a bit spicy pork rinds....I liked it though I still prefer the way we eat pork rinds in the Philippines; we dip them in vinegar with crushed garlic.

On a very good note, these sandwiches can be eaten an hour later and is till very good as I had to wait till we got home to try them.  They were made with Chiabatta bread from LaBrea bakery. The prices for these sandwiches are very reasonable; they range from $5.00 to $7.00.  What a deal! Did I mention, your order comes in little black sacks with your name written on it....cute.

The Blvd at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel

This is by far the best Travelzoo deal I have encountered. For $99, we got a 5 course dinner for
With wine pairings.

It was a Friday evening. The bar was bustling with people from work celebrating TGIF.  We were early for our 7:30 dinner reservation but they happily accommodated us. We had a nice spot, by the window; our view was of people of all kinds; dressed to kill, people in shorts, and some with designer shopping bags on tow. The restaurant had a mix of people. Friends, families, business people and the occasional man on the corner with a young attractive lady clearly not his wife holding hands.

Our first course was a Summer Melon Salad. This had a watermelon-gel base that looked so pretty with pickled cantaloupe, honeydew, vanilla vinaigrette with jalapeno salt. This looked better than it tasted but it was still quite good and very refreshing. This was paired with Louis Roederer Brut Premier from Reims, France. Not bad at all.

The second course was a Sweet Corn Soup; ratatouille stuffed zucchini blossom, brioche tuile. This was excellent. We both loved this wonderful soup. Creamy and just yummy. We both could have had half a gallon of this with some bread!

The third course was Pan Seared Halibut with fava bean puree, english peas, baby green beans and lemon thyme emulsion. The fish was tender, flaky and delicious. This went well with Dr. Hermann, a Riesling from Mosel, Germany. Those Germans make the best Riesling!

Our fourth course was our main entree: Pan Seared Skirt Steak with sauteed chanterelle mushrooms, fingerling potatoes, swiss chard, braised oxtail with bone marrow crust. That bone marrow crust made the steak; it was full of flavor. We could have upgraded our steak to a filet mignon for $13 a person but chose not to. There's always a next time.  Summerland Syrah from Santa Ynes Valley accompanied our meat.  I was not too crazy about the wine but that's just me.
Couldn't really complain as everything was going great including the service.

Dessert was a Chocolate Experience.  Sacher torte, warm fondant with vanilla ice cream, peanut and milk chocolate parfait which Sandi happily consumed by herself since I don't like peanut butter desserts, and a creme brulee. That was a lot of chocolate. They gave us their house made barrel aged Orangecello which failed to excite me only because my friend Ana has made her own orangecello in the past and her's is truly amazing.

Before we left, I spoke with the nice looking manager who was not part of the Travelzoo special, Mr. Benjamin Kam who had just moved to Beverly Hills from Europe.  He asked how everything was and we told him how we enjoyed the whole experience. Everything seemed to fall into place last night.  It was a fine dining experience indeed.

Don't Forget Dominique's Kitchen

It is true that there aren't many good restaurants in South Bay area. Dominique's has only been around a year; in fact they are celebrating their first year anniversary this month. I am so happy for them as they are doing very well. The reason is simple: Very good food at reasonable prices and Lisa and Dominique who are always happy to please their customers.

A friend of mine whom I have not seen since I celebrated my birthday at Dominique's  last April wanted to go back and have the special chicken they are known for.  I tried to talk her into trying something else as you really can't go wrong having the short ribs, the sole, mushroom risotto, scallops among other things. She would not budge. She did order her chicken with the fries and I had the short ribs with the pureed mashed potatoes. Before that, I told her we HAD to order the cheese fondue which is just divine!

Our server Murray is new to the family and in my book, fits right in. He was attentive, crazy in a good way but still professional. He brought us our fondue for 2 but easily could have fed 3 people as an appetizer. When we could not eat anymore, our entrees were served. Those fries that accompany the chicken are so addicting! She shared some of the fries with me. The chicken was naturally delicious, like she remembered it when she first had it. My tender short ribs were just as delicious with the smooth and velvety mashed potatoes which reminded me of baby food....not your regular baby food but Gourmet Baby food. (Lucky baby).  I was surprised that I was able to finish everything in spite of the ton of fondue I consumed. Mary could not finish her chicken so she took the rest home.

After our plates were cleared, Murray thought he saw my credit card on table that he brought us our check.  I told him I NEEDED to order a dessert.....he thought it was funny, after apologizing... We were full but we had to end the meal with something sweet so I ordered the Baked Alaska.  Murray came back and ignited the top of our baked Alaska.  We showed our appreciation by consuming all of Alaska!

Don't forget to make your reservation soon. Remember their very reasonable corkage fee is $9.00.
Dominique's Kitchen is located at 522 S. Pacific Coast Hwy. in Redondo Beach California.

To Dominique and Lisa:  Happy Anniversary and keep up the GREAT work!

Introducing Croque Jeune Homme

This is a new addition to the Croque family served at L'Amande Bakery in Torrance. You might have had Croque Monsieur or the Croque Madame and now comes Croque Jeune Homme which means "Young Man".

What's not to like about this "young man"; scrambled eggs with applewood bacon inside a pain de mie bread topped with Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, broiled then topped with more bacon served with a side of salad with a light dressing.

Another specialty of this bakery is their hot chocolate. They have the regular, the orange and the thick one (haven't had the thick one). They are served with the chocolate on the side and the server can pour it for you or if you feel artistic, you could do the pouring yourself and create a design.

If you haven't had any of the Croques, I suggest you try them all........maybe not on the same day.