Birthday at Chez Melange

Our friend Mertz invited 6 of us for her birthday celebration at Chez Melange in Redondo Beach. Only 3 of us were able to make it as one was back in the Philippines, one had previous plans and the other one had to babysit. It was their loss as we had a good time. We even had the balloon we gave her last year which we decided would be passed on each time one of us celebrated her birthday. She was also celebrating her retirement from being a flight attendant at American Airlines. Her retirement meaning she actually "Fired" American Airlines as her employer. She was so tired of seeing unfair treatment of their employees that she fired them and said so in her letter. Interesting fact is when her letter was posted on the American Airlines facebook page, about 500 (and counting) employees commended her for doing this. There was not one single negative comment. Hurray for Mertzie!!!

The celebration started with Champagne and numerous appetizers. We had to have the Truffle fries which we've all had in the past. The birthday celebrant, Cindy and Sandi thought the Roasted Cauliflower with sweet corn would be good.  Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts with bell peppers, onions, chile, garlic, peanuts and sweet soy sounded good to everyone. These vegetables were surprisingly delicious that it was unbelievable to me.

As we enjoyed the appetizers and bread, we were not sure if we could eat our entrees but as Mertz pointed out; finish the appetizers and just take home what you can't eat. With that in mind, we did eat everything. Three of us ordered the Steak Diane with caramelized mashed potatoes. Mertz had to be different and that was o.k. since it was her birthday. She had the Pork Loin with mushrooms, onions, fingerling potatoes and broccolini. No one complained about anything which is always a good thing. As expected, we could not finish our food. We were all glad that our mothers were not there to instill the rule that we had to finish our food to get dessert.

There was a chocolate birthday cake that was presented to dear Mertz which she happily shared. She practically forced us all to order our own dessert. She did not want us to feel guilty so she ordered another dessert for herself. She got a Pumpkin Cheesecake. I had the Apple Cobbler and Cindy and Sandi split an order of Blueberry pound cake; that way they only gained 1/2 lb each!

The evening was fun celebrating Mertz's birthday and retirement from the airlines.  Amy, Sujata and Ana: you were missed. We all wished you could have been there.

Mishi's Strudel Bakery and Cafe

I have to remind myself occasionally of this bakery/cafe close to home. Their specialty is the many flavors of crispy strudels. I doubt you could find one better than theirs. See previous blog:
http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2012/07/mishis-strudel.html

I have always wanted to try some of the traditional Hungarian dishes but never had the time since they close at very early time (4 p.m.). Sandi and I went a few days ago and got there shortly before  4 p.m. I asked the lady if they would still serve us dinner and she happily informed us that they close at 5 p.m. that day. Hallelujah! There were no customers when we walked in so we had the cafe all to ourselves.

We decided to try the Hungarian Goulash Stew with beef, bacon, green peppers, caraway, garlic and onions. This was served with French Bread. She asked us how we wanted it prepared. Mild, spicy or hot. We both said spicy. Since we eat at Indian restaurants and could handle a bit spicy, we figured we could handle this. It was good but too spicy for both of us. Thank God for the diet coke that temporarily cooled our mouths. We also ordered the Turos Csusza which is a traditional Hungarian pasta with cottage cheese and bacon.  We absolutely loved this dish. It would be too rich to eat a whole serving so splitting one was perfect. It was also nice having that after the spicy goulash.

We were both pleasantly full and it would have been a mortal sin if we left without ordering a slice of strudel. We settled for the Apricot Cheese which I have had before and loved. Our favorite is the Chocolate Cherry which they didn't have at the time. It was served warm and though I prefer my desserts cold, I still enjoyed it. At home I would serve this with a scoop of vanilla or salted caramel ice cream.

We both left the place with a big 16" box of frozen strudel to take home. They freeze and bake beautifully and looks very impressive when served to your guests. Mishi's is located at 309 West 7th St. in San Pedro, California. Check their website for hours of operation and to view their many strudels. www.mishisstrudel.com

Providence; Still #1

This is still number 1 on my list of restaurants.  You just can't beat the food (everything is super delicious), service and ambiance. I was invited last weekend to an elegant feast on a 7 course meal with premium wine pairing for each course. Aside from that, we ordered from the "Should You Be In The Mood" menu. We got the Tsar Imperial Kaluga caviar, the Uni Egg, the special, which was Italian White Truffles which we elected to have with pasta. The mini Brioche rolls were too good to pass with the warm rolls and lots of butter.

Before anything else we had an array of amuse-bouches. The first presentation was a Mojito cocktail bubble that just slid from mouth to esophagus to our tummies. This was followed by a Scallop Tartar with nasturtium (leaf) & Sushi Rice. Then there was Cured Saba followed by Smoked Halibut Fumet (reduced and seasoned fish stock) with mushrooms at the bottom. Next we had the Potato with Smoked salmon egg & dill powder. It was presented in a big ceramic egg container which looked like a dinosaur egg and inside were the delicate potatoes. The next amuse bouche was my favorite. A cigar box was laid on our table. Our server opened it and inside were 4 Wagyu cigars with a plum mayonnaise. After eating our cigars, we had Foie Gras Ravioli with a 50 year aged balsamic. That was delicious as well. I have to remind you that at this point, we have not started on our first course.

The Kaluga Caviar was wonderful but I have to tell you that the blinis they served was the best I have ever had. My only regret was that I forgot to ask for the left overs. It must have had a ton of butter. It enhanced the whole caviar experience with the creme fraiche and all the trimmings. The only way this could have been better is if someone prepared each serving for me as it was time consuming preparing each one without everything falling off the blinis. When we finished the whole 30 grams of caviar, they presented the Uni Egg; Santa Barbara Uni with champagne butter in a poached egg yolk with brioche croutons. I think I could have drank a good 8 ounces of this!

The first dish was a Fluke Sashimi with blood orange, pearl onion followed by Sea Scallop with cauliflower, vadouvan (Indian curry blend spices). The third dish was the Maine Lobster with eggplant and smoked sesame, miso. The fourth was a Wild Striped Bass with squash, nasturtium and shitake. We almost forgot one other thing we ordered which came just before the entree. The Pasta alla chitarra with Italian White Truffles. Another treasure box was set on the table. When opened, there was the truffle on white linen. The server very carefully picked it up and started shaving it onto the pasta.  The portions were not big but we all could not finish the serving even if it was way too good! The Moscato, pomegranate and grapefruit came just in time to cleanse our palate just before the main entree.For the main entree, we had a choice of the Wild King Salmon with  pancetta and black truffles. The Liberty Farm Duck with Japanese turnip and tangerine or the A5 Wagyu with sweet potato, aged vinegar and parmesan. One of us had the Wagyu Beef. We were informed and educated on the grading of Wagyu beef. Apparently the highest score is A5-12 which can only be found in Japan. Outside Japan, the highest is A5-11 which is what they serve. They even brought a piece of the Wagyu to show us the beautiful marbling of the beef. By the way, the wagyu was an extra $25-$50 depending on how many ounces you want. Three of us had the duck but by the time we got the entree, we were all too full. I had one bite of my wonderful duck and had to take the rest home.

The finale was our dessert. It was Sonora Wheat Feuilletage with hazelnut and an orange sauce. We didn't have any difficulty consuming that. Because we finished our desserts, they came with more desserts of macarons, and something with chocolate and marshmallows and jellied candies. Before we left they handed us something that resembled a coffee cake/muffin wrapped and bagged beautifully ....that's in case we get hungry on the way home.

The Premium drinks served with each course were served by Josh, the sommelier. They were well picked. We particularly enjoyed the German Riesling and Gewurztraminer. We made note of all the wines but if I listed them all, you would probably fall asleep. Our server, Katherine took very good care of us answering our numerous questions and patiently repeating things we asked her to explain. It is possible not to do the wine pairing if you do not drink alcohol. They have a non-alcoholic drink pairings. There were numerous virgin cocktails and fruit drinks. It was a bit overwhelming. The best one was the Calamansi which we were all familiar with as it originated in the Philippines.

We were all very happy and stuffed after this feast. It would have been nice to be able to move to another room to relax and maybe even take a nap. I always thought this to be a great idea because who wants to get in a car and drive after all that?

Providence is not the type of restaurant you would go every week unless you have unlimited funds or you just received your tax refund but definitely for a special occasion. They are located at 5955 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles.

Valentino

Last weekend, I took a friend to Valentino's in Santa Monica. I had a voucher which I got from Groupon. For $149 (dinner for 2), you would get your choice of an antipasti, primi, secondi and of course, dolce. I have been to Valentino's numerous times in the past and have not had a bad meal yet. Service is always very good. My guest was appreciative of the dinner invitation that he insisted on ordering the wine. We enjoyed a bottle of Barolo by  Michele Chiarlo.

My guest and I ordered the same antipasti which was Polpo Alla Griglia E Fregola Al Nero; translated is Grilled Octopus with Squid Ink Fregula. Fregula is a type of pasta from Sandinia. We both loved the texture and it was just a lovely dish. Before that, they served an assortment of bread and an amuse bouche of Mozzarella with tomatoes and a fried or baked croquette.

Primi was a no-brainer. We both had the Lasagne with Duck Ragu and Porcini Mushroom. We both loved the lasagne. The noodles were nice and thin served aldente and just plain wonderful.

For our secondi, my friend had the Veal Piccata with capers and lemon. I had a bite of that and loved it. I thought I would eat healthy (after the lasagne) so I decided on the Branzino Alla Livornese, grilled with capers, olives and tomatoes. Believe it or not, I enjoyed that fish.

Dessert was the Chef's selection. It was a Budino alla Vaniglia e Cantucci Crocante. This dessert was quite impressive. It looked like a fried egg. I can't remember what the yolk was made out of; probably a fruity mousse like maybe apricot? Whatever it was, it was very good with the different textures. We thoroughly enjoyed it. That was my fruit for the day!

I have to thank Frederick (the great)  our server, for being so attentive and entertaining. I had forgotten to take a picture of the Budino that Frederick offered to go to the kitchen and take one for me. It was nice to see Piero Selvaggio on our way out. Signor Selvaggio, I salute you once more.

dineLA Terrine

Unfortunately, I could not have dinner every night during the 2 weeks of dineLA. I tried to get as much as I could in the 2 weeks in January 2016. One solution was to try the lunch menu.

Gary, Sandi and I decided to try Terrine. For $20, it was almost a no-brainer. The menu looked good. My only regret was the Foie Gras Terrine was not listed. I was tempted to order it for $22 but Gary talked me out of it. The idea of us going to 2 course meal was to only pay the $20.00.  Keep in mind that valet is $8.00 plus tip.

Gary and I had the Lobster Bisque which was delicious but was served warm, borderline cold. We did not bother to send it back since we didn't want to wait as service was on the slow side. Sandi had the Salade of Frisee which included a poached egg. She raved about the dressing. It looked to healthy for me. Gary ordered the Crispy Chicken Sandwich which he seemed to enjoy as all I could hear him say was " Um...ummm...um."  Sandi and split the Truffled Grilled Cheese with caramelized shallots and the Terrine Burger with truffle butter aioli and tomatoes. We were both very happy with our sandwiches.

I must mention that $20 seems cheap and affordable for lunch, but by the time you add drinks, in this case, diet coke was $4.00 and aside from the sales tax, they add a 3% Healthy L.A. What you may ask is a Healthy L.A? It's helping the owners provide health insurance to their employees. I didn't want to spoil the lunch by getting into it so we just paid it. In the meantime, I got a chance to call Terrine later to ask about it. Their response was:  "It is an optional charge."  I asked the lady on the phone that if indeed it was optional, why were we not asked? They are counting on having a "conversation" with the customers, so if they don't like the idea then they would have the option of not paying it. She further told me that if they had it on the menu, people would not see it. Yeah......who are they kidding....(us); they just figured they could get away with it. Very sneaky.

I just decided I can live without the Foie Gras Terrine.