Pomegranate on Cereal

After mass this morning I thought of swinging by Noah's Bagel on the way home but dismissed the idea and instead settled on the idea of having boring cereal. I wasn't sure if my cereal had gone stale and there was only one way to find out.

I had Tony the Tiger's Frosted Flakes and Cheerios.  I could not decide which one I should have so I mixed both with low fat milk. When I got the milk out of the refrigerator, I saw my jar of pomegranate seeds that Mertz gave me. I opened the jar and smelled it; no bad smell so I figured it was still good. I took a spoonful of it and mixed it in my cereal.

I was very surprised to discover how good it tasted. There were different textures which made the cereal enticing. The crisp flakes, the slightly crunchy cheerios and the pomegranate seeds that burst in my mouth with a bit of tartness cut down the sweetness of the frosted flakes. It was so good and went well with my coffee.

I know I'm the last person who would have thought that cereal could be exciting.
I guess there's hope for me.

Spinach Pie ala Sandi

Yesterday was a semi-healthy dinner with Sandi making a spinach pie for dinner. Before the main dish, we had ourselves  some  truffle burrata with a variety of crackers and warm chips. Since I had some persimmons from our tree, I cut some up and wrapped them in prosciutto di Parma.

Sandi served a bottle of  Saten La Montina from the region of Franciacorta which she purchased when we had our wine tasting a few months ago. Since we had a abundance of pomegranate seeds courtesy of our friend Mertz, we added that to our sparkling wine. Again, how healthy can we get; antioxidant seeds combined with champagne which is supposed to be good for memory.

A healthy salad was served (healthy since it was not a creamy dressing). It was very good considering it was healthy. The spinach pie was delicious with the many light and crispy layers of phyllo dough.

Dessert was not as healthy. She made a Banana Coconut Marshmallow Meringue Pie. She omitted the coconut since she knew I hate coconut. However, she did put in 2 tablespoons of coconut cream which wasn't bad. Come to think of it, this probably could be considered healthy because of the bananas which is a fruit, and the egg whites which health nuts always like.

The meal was so filling that I ended up going to bed by 9:30 p.m. It was a recipe for a good night's sleep.

Bonello's New York Pizza

Tony Bonello, one of 5 children arrived in the United States on November 11, 1966 from Palermo, Italy. The current restaurant is on 24427 Narbonne Ave. in Lomita, California. The restaurant has the colors of Italy with green walls and pictures of the cast of Sopranos, Marlon Brando and most interesting black and white pictures of the Bonello's arrival via Pan American Airlines. Tony is the boy on the very left carrying a bag boarding the airplane. On the picture below the Pan Am sign, he is the one in front with the big bag. Notice how everyone was dressed for travel. Those were the golden days of travel; no sweatshirts, ripped jeans or t-shirts.

We ordered a medium Bonello's Specialty Pizza which had pepperoni, mushroom, olives, onion, bell pepper, Canadian bacon and sausage. You could order any of their pizzas thin crust which we did. Their pizzas are humongous. The medium had 12 large slices and four of us could not finish it. The pizza is a no nonsense, no frills pizza. It's just good old honest to goodness pizza.

I noticed while we were there several people coming in to pick up their order. It's a great deal for families. They also deliver but if you want hot pizza, I suggest you eat it there and next time you're in, say hello to Tony.

Maple Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Sandi was in one of her baking mode and this is what she made. I don't like nuts but these nuts were sweetened with real Vermont maple syrup. The coffee cake was so moist and just yummy. A squirt or two of whipped cream took it to another level.

I'm so lucky that Sandi loves to cook and bake and I am proud to be her #1 guinea pig.

Orleans & York Deli

On the way back from Saugus and a movie in Santa Monica, Mertz, Sandi and I discussed where we could have a light dinner since we all had a big breakfast. We didn't get any popcorn at the movies and though Sandi announced she was not hungry, Mertz and I felt the same way though we thought we would be hungry fairly soon while stuck on the 405 freeway. A little bird suggested we stop by Orleans & York Deli in Inglewood.  We planned to just pick up some food and take it to Mertz's house.

We ordered the Gumbo Mambo Platter which had bell peppers, onion,shrimp, chicken, beef sirloin, beef sausage and rice. We also got the Shrimp Inspiration which comes with a loaf of their own French bread. This is not on their menu, you just have to remember it. There are 14 pieces of succulent shrimp in a spicy sauce that is perfect for dipping the bread. By the time we got to Mertz's house, we were a bit hungry. Everything was so delicious. Mertz served champagne with lots of pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate started out to be sour but later turned nice and sweet after they absorbed the champagne. When we could eat no more, we settled on her couch and watched a Netflix special "Our Souls at Night" starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda which we enjoyed.

What a day; driving, eating, watching a movie and eating again! What more can we want?

The Original Saugus Cafe

Saugus Cafe was featured on Eater LA recently. I didn't pay much attention to it till Mertz brought it to my attention. What was interesting to her was she used to visit her grandma in Newhall. The cafe was established in 1886. A lot of western movies were filmed in the area. Former customers included Presidents Benjamin Harrison and Theodore Roosevelt, actors Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks.

We were excited and hungry. We walked in through what seemed to be a waiting room with 2 sofas, a couple of chairs, lottery ticket machine and a couple of bikes. The dining room reminded me of a train; long with old fashioned chairs by the counter and a bunch of booths.They had black and white pictures of actors on the wall and a blackboard with the daily specials.

Mertz ordered a side of the Corned Beef Hash and a side of Hash Browns. I had the Corned Beef Hash and Eggs and Sandi had the Cafés Famous Eggs Benedict which had bacon, avocado, spinach and cheese. Her Eggs Benedict was very good compared to our corned beef hash. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't that special. I on the other hand, cleaned my plate since I was starving; Mertz did too.

After our big breakast, we were off on the Bigmobile on the way to Santa Monica for a movie but before we headed home, Mertz drove us to see her Grandma's house which was quite impressive. It looked very much like a European house on the Alps.

We thank Mertz for treating us to an enjoyable ride, lunch, tour, along with historical lecture on Newhall/Saugas. 

Maccheroni Republic Birthday Celebration

It's been several years since I was at Maccheroni Republic. This was the venue Terri chose to treat us for her birthday, a Filipino tradition in which the celebrant gets to treat her friends. I reviewed my previous blog on this restaurant so we knew what not to order.

Ramon ordered the special of the evening which was Cioppino. He has had it before and was excited about ordering it one more time which is always a good sign. I had a spoonful of it to try with a big succulent shrimp and it was indeed very good. Terri, the birthday girl had what our server recommended, the Agnolotti di Osso Bucco. Tortelloni filled with meat and marrow in a salsa verde. This was very good and heavy on the stomach so it's good to share this dish with someone perhaps with a salad. Gary and I split 2 entrées. The first was Bianchi & Neri; black and white thin vermicelli with shrimps, mushrooms and roasted pancetta in a creamy bisque. The other dish was one I had before; Rigatoni Pom' Amore, rigatoni in creamy tomato sauce topped with burrata! Both were wonderful and all the pastas were cooked aldente.

We of course had to order dessert. I know how much I enjoyed Luisa's Olive Cake in the past; orange blueberry cold pressed olive oil cake served with blueberry sauce and whipped cream so that had to be one of the desserts to order. Ramon has had the Tiramisu and remembered it being delicious, so we had that and the Crema di Vaniglia; Italian cooked vanilla custard topped with dark chocolate and caramel sauce. Both tiramisu and crema di vaniglia were outstanding! I will have to  introduce this restaurant to my other friends. I know they will love it as well.

Thank you Terri for inviting us to celebrate your birthday. We had a wonderful time. Thank you too to the restaurant for waiving the corkage fee in honor of Terri's birthday. Maccheroni Republic is located at 332 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.