Hikari Japanese BBQ and Grill

On my way to Sandi's house, I noticed something different in the corner of Lomita Blvd. and Pennsylvania Ave. in Lomita. There was a new restaurant right next to Patisserie Chantilly. Hikari Japanese BBQ and Grill; 2383 Lomita Blvd. Suite 102.

We were the first customers for the evening. There was one long communal table in the center and several other tables along the walls. We immediately noticed there were heating elements on each table so I was ready to drag Sandi out the door but thought of asking if they have other dishes we didn't have to cook ourselves. We were in luck as there were numerous items on the menu that were cooked by the chef.

It took us awhile to make up our minds. Masaki, our young male server was very patient and eager to explain the menu to us. We finally decided on 2 dishes to split. The first one was called Bibimbap. Sandi said she liked the name and the description sounded good; it is essentially mixed rice with meats and vegetables and an egg. This is presented on a stone pot that is very hot and we allow the Bibimbap to cook a bit. Masaki asked us if we like our rice a bit burnt....oh yes! He mixed everything and swept the rice and flattened it with a spoon on the sides of the hot stone to continue cooking.

The other dish which I ordered was the Sauteed Pork Belly and Eringi Mushrooms with Miso Butter Sauce. This was unbelievably mouth watering. I ate it with the Bibimbap but towards the end of the meal, I just poured the left over sauce aka butter miso in my rice. The serving was quite small. We thought of ordering another Bibimbap or Pork Belly. For two people, you really need more than 2 dishes. Because of the small servings, we definitely had room for dessert.

Only one thing caught my eye and that was the French Toast. I thought it was odd to have this as a dessert. We had to try it. It was definitely quality and not quantity. Super yummy as the bread was thoroughly soaked so each bite was wonderful.

Masaki was going to introduce us to Chef Takeshi but he was too busy preparing a dinner for a party of 20 last night. Perhaps we will meet him next time.

Sandi's Chili & Key Lime Pie

Everyone has their own Chili recipe but sometimes it's what you put on it that adds that extra pizzazz.

Sandi served it with a dollop of sour cream and Fritos Corn Chips.  When I tasted how good that was, the dollop multiplied and ended up more like 1/4 cup. The Fritos which was a bit salty balanced the spiciness of the chili. She served this with Corn Bread from a mix that she bought from Trader Joe's. It was delicious and even more so when we applied some of the honey butter she made. This was a healthy meal on account of the beans which were packed with antioxidants, fiber, protein, vitamin B, iron, copper, zinc and magnesium. To make up for the sour cream and fritos, she made a healthy salad.

What is dinner without dessert....not a dinner! I have always loved her Key Lime Pie. She finally decided to make it. I am still madly in love with it and now even Piero fell in love with it. This pie had a chocolate graham cracker crust which which is always perfect with something tart. The fluffy meringue was the "icing on the cake".

What a nice dinner on a cold night. Grazie mille Sandi!

Newcomers at Dominique's Kitchen

I take great pleasure in introducing newcomers to Dominique's Kitchen. Amy and Nako are old timers (not age wise) to the restaurant. Everyone has been very busy but we finally managed to find time to get together two weeks ago.

I was in luck this time as they had Mussels! The exciting thing about this is that everyone loves mussels. My regular eating partner who shall remain nameless does not like mussels or oysters. Dominique's mussels are so delicious and the juice is even more so that I am sure you will have the urge to ask for a straw and just sip it all in! This was a great appetizer together with the wonderful Cheese Fondue that can't be topped especially with the garlic fries.

For our entrees, Lisa decided on the Roasted Scottish Salmon served with sauteed kale, black olives, tomato and olive oil emulsion. Bryce had their famous Roasted Chicken in olive oil and garlic fries. You can't go wrong with their chicken and the extra au jus. Amy ordered the Mushroom Risotto. I had forgotten how good that was, with portobello and shitake mushrooms cooked with champagne, cream, garlic and of course parmesan cheese. Next time I will have to get that. Nako and I had the Grilled Prime Ribeye cooked in a brandy green peppercorn reduction. Steaks were cooked to perfection and the sauce was truly delectable.

Everyone was too full for dessert but I didn't want to leave without Lisa and Bryce trying the Baked Alaska. We ordered one to share. It was a hit. How can anyone not admire the presentation of a flambeed dessert and have it equally palatable.

Dominique's Kitchen is still going strong. They are always busy and the reason is quite elementary. Very good food, reasonable prices and good service. What more can you ask for? Dominique's Kitchen is located at 522 S. Pacific Coast Hwy. in Redondo Beach, California. They open at 4 p.m. for dinner every day except Tuesdays.

Azure Mediterranean Grill

My foodie friend Jody sent me a text from a newly opened Mediterranean restaurant with a picture of a Feteer. All she had to tell me was I should go try it.

Yesterday, Sandi and I decided to go have a very early dinner; 4:00 p.m. We got there and the place was empty. I believe they have been open only for a month. The place was spacious, nicely decorated with pictures of Omar Sharif, Luciano Pavaroti. Sophia Loren etc. on a post and some artifacts and interesting mirrors on the entrance wall. We found ourselves a nice private booth and felt at home.

As we scanned the menu, we saw the Feteer. The description read: An authentic delight which came to life by the pharaohs in ancient Egypt, considered one of the healthiest and most expensive meals at the time.  Freshly baked dough made from scratch with only flour and water, stuffed with your favorite ingredients in a modern day twist. In those days, I don't think they had to worry about cholesterol as their diet really seemed healthy. I am pretty sure they didn't have "Savory Feteers" like Cream Cheese and Mushroom Feteer, Cheese Lovers Feteer, Italian sausage or Meat lovers feteer. We decided to try the Cream Cheese & Mushroom Feteer with green peppers. Before that, we were served some pita bread and hummus.

We also ordered the Fried Cauliflower with tahini sauce and lemon, an appetizer which was discounted as it was still "happy hour".  We could not agree on which meat to order so we compromised and got the Azure Sample Slider; 3 sliders of Falafel, Chicken Shawerma with garlic sauce and Beef Shawerma with Tahini. To make the long story short I highly recommend getting your choice of Feteer, the Cauliflower and Beef Shawerma. Everything we had was mighty tasty and packed with wonderful flavors.

Our server, Farrah brought us an alcoholic drink to sample. Though they were not sure what to name it, they almost decided on naming it La Nuit Rouge (French for the Red Night) it was a Merlot with hibiscus. I didn't think I would like it as I don't like flavors of flowers in any drinks but this was wonderful. It was sweet and again, I normally do not like sweet wine but this was different. It complemented the food quite well.

The daughter of the owner, Salma came out and asked us how we liked everything. We told her how we enjoyed the dinner. Sandi thought she was too full for dessert. I too was full but had a bit of room for dessert. Salma had us sample the Kunafe with cheese. It is finely shredded phyllo dough stuffed with sweet cream and honey. We ate the entire slice!

Just as we finished our Kunafe, Moe the owner came to our table. He was a very pleasant man and as we walked out we talked about the pictures he had on the post. He mentioned that there would be a belly dancer performing this coming Saturday. Azure is at 1810 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Redondo Beach. It is next to Ortega 120. They have plenty of parking and are open everyday from 11:00 to 10:00. On weekends they are open until 11:00 p.m. They have Happy Hour where some items are discounted as well as beer and wine. We can't wait to try more of Azure....I am sure you too will like Azure.

Le Grande Orange Cafe

I've never been to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. Last weekend we were invited by a friend and after walking around for 4 hours, we were all starving and ready to have a late lunch.

We ended up at Le Grande Orange Cafe at 260 S. Raymond Ave. at the historic Del Mar Train Station in Pasadena. I was confused on what kind of restaurant this was since it had a French name but the menu was American/Mexican; oh well as long as the food was good, they could call it any name they see fit.

We had no reservations but at 2:30 p.m. we thought it would be no problem getting in. It wasn't a problem but we ended up waiting close to half an hour. The place was busy with mostly families with babies and toddlers. When we finally got seated, we had to figure out a strategy on how and what to order. There were too many things that looked appetizing. We all agreed on a pitcher of White Sangria. It was highly recommended by our server. It was very good; I've never had white sangria before. I just found a new friend.

For our appetizer we all thought we would split an order of Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes. It looked nice and light, served with creme fraiche. We got one each. It was one of the best pancakes I have had. We all loved it...I say it.... because we just got 1 each. I could have eaten all three.

Piero had the Short Rib Taco; braised short ribs with kale salad. That was very good but I would not order that since you had to make little tacos; it was not "ready made". Having to make them would be distracting to me and would take away from my eating pleasure.

Sandi had the Sandy's Green Chile Burger with fresh roasted green chiles and melted Tillamook cheddar. I had a bite of that and liked it a lot. I had the Crab Cake Benedict which had jumbo lump crab, spinach topped with a generous amount of Hollandaise sauce. The poached egg was perfect as I pierced it with my fork, the yolk ooozed out like lava flowing from a volcano.

We all can't wait to go back and try other things or maybe even order the same dishes as they were very good. I just wish Pasadena was closer to Palos Verdes as I have been craving for those Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes ever since I've had it.

Fettuccine Alfredo at Musso & Frank

I vowed to return to Musso & Frank not just for the Beef Grenadine with the wonderful Bearnaise sauce but to try the so called "Original Fettuccine Alfredo". For those of you who have not tried the original in Rome, you will have to add this to your bucket list since it is unlike any other Alfredo you have had.

My friend Mary has never been to Musso & Frank so I thought it was a good place to celebrate her birthday. We ordered a bottle of Montepulciano wine which was quite good. The sourdough bread was a hit. Mary loved it and even commented on the butter which was very good.

Since I already knew that the Beef Grenadine was delicious and knowing Mary loves her steak, I thought it would be good to share an order of beef and split an order of the Fettuccine Alfredo. That way, we wouldn't be overloading on our carbs (like I really care). We were very happy with our beef; the extra Bearnaise I asked for made it even better. This dish is so good that I don't think I can order anything else next time. The Alfredo looked like the original and I must say was close to the one we have had in Rome but not quite. It was was nice and light. The flavor was very good and had an additional ingredient I couldn't identify. Erick, our server told us it had chicken stock. If you can't get to Roma to sample the real thing. This is second best. I would definitely order it again.

I strongly suggest you have both the Beef Grenadine and the Fettuccine Alfredo. This was a perfect combination.

Mary was presented with a Brownie that had dulce de leche and caramel with vanilla ice cream on top. She was nice enough to share it with me...this was sinful and just plain yummy!

Musso & Frank is located at 6667 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood California. They are open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday. Closed on Mondays and open at 4pm on Sundays.

The Whale & Ale

The Whale & Ale at 327 W.7th St. in San Pedro opened in 1988. This English Pub is known for their Fish & Chips among other English specialties. It is in the same block as Mishi's Strudel. They have happy hour aka "adult tea time" with $5.00 glasses of wine and various draft beers. They have entertainment; live piano music on Fridays and several musicians on different nights. We did not experience any of that since we got there too early.

Sandi and I could not decide what to order from the menu. We decided to concentrate of the "British Pub Specials". The English Fish & Chips had to be one of our entrees. The Steak & Mushroom Pie looked intriguing; diced filet mignon with fresh mushrooms in a rich beef gravy under puff pastry square with a side of English peas. It was either that or the Shepherd's Pie; ground filet mignon & ground roast leg of lamb seasoned and simmered with beef gravy topped with mashed potatoes then baked brown served with a side of English peas. We asked our server which she would recommend and she suggested the Shepherd's Pie.

The Fish and Chips were indeed very good; the chips were superb. The Shepherd's pie was also very good but I must say, it could have been better. I expected and hoped it would be better than the one I make. It was not better. The peas were absolutely tasteless and was better off in the pie rather than standing solo. The mashed potatoes could have been browner. That being said, we were still happy with the food.

Dessert had to be the Cumberland Sticky Toffee Pudding; caramel, ground dates in a warm cake topped with molten English toffees and vanilla ice cream. This was as good as pictured below. I don't think any other dessert can top this one.

I was pleasantly full and Sandi was stuffed. We both are planning to go back and try the other specialties and experience some of their entertainment.