Sampa's Gourmet Pizza

Our friend Ginny from the gym asked me last week if I have tried Brazilian Pizza. She had it with a friend of hers recently and raved about it. The nice part is that it is located in Lomita which is less than 10 minutes away.

I couldn't believe that the small restaurant has been there for a year and just opened another one in Marina Del Rey. Celebrity Chef, Marcus Roberto is an award-winning pizza chef born in Sao Paulo, trained at the top academies in Brazil and Italy.

There are about 25 kinds of pizza on the menu, salads and interesting desserts which we will have to try next time, like Romeo & Juliet which is a guava paste and mozzarella. Sandi ordered 2 slices of pizza, La Vera Marguerita and Portuguesa; ham, onions, hard-boiled eggs, mozzarella, Kalamata olives & oregano. I ordered a whole pizza with half Marguerita and the other half Caprese, which had fresh mozzarella, Parmesan, fresh tomatoes, ricotta, and olive pesto. We both loved their pizza. The crust was crispy and light as air. The tomatoes were fresh and I loved the ricotta and olive pesto. I think it could have used more of the ricotta and olive pesto. The Marguerita also could have used more basil. I spoke to Pedro and he informed me that next time all I have to do is ask them to add more. This is unlike any other pizza I have had. It really is very light and flavorful.

We are definitely going back to Sampa's. Their address is 2413 Pacific Coast Hwy. #107 in Lomita, California.

Magnum Double Sea Salt Caramel

This is no ordinary (less than a pint) ice cream.  This vanilla ice cream has swirls of sea salt caramel sauce and milk chocolate shards in a crackling milk chocolate shell.

When you take the lid off, you have directions on how to consume the ice cream. First, you have to wait 10 minutes, then squeeze the container then crack the chocolate. It is quite a gimmick but even if I am a fan of Magnum ice cream, I think this is overkill. I found it to be much too sweet.

Terra

Terra is a rooftop bar and restaurant located on the 3rd floor of Eataly in Century City. My brother took me there for brunch last Sunday. I figured that it had to be good since he and his friends have been there and they were not disappointed. The view was great, you could see the Hollywood Hills from our table.

Our server, Giuseppe got us in the mood with his Italian accent. Gary ordered the Cornetto Benedict on a croissant with prosciutto cotto and Hollandaise sauce. I did have a taste of it and it was delicious. I opted for the Tonnarelli alla Carbonara. I was totally in heaven after the first bite. The pasta was wonderful with lots of thick slices of guanciale. I didn't even ask for more Parmesan as there was no need for it.

We decided to split an order of Panna Cotta with Pear which was nice and light. I definitely would recommend this restaurant. Their address is 10250 Sta. Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Back to EMC Seafood & Raw Bar

Jody and I ended up at EMC during Happy Hour last week.  I was there for their fresh oysters on a half shell ($1.50 each) and more.  We ordered some Calamari and Fish Tacos. Jody has had their fish tacos. She did warn me not to get discouraged by the looks of them. You get two in one order.

The calamari arrived first and then the fish tacos followed. She was right, even after her warning I was doubtful as they didn't look appetizing and just looked sad. I had a bite and boy was she right. It was delicious. The fish was fresh, sort of creamy and just wonderful. How can anything look pitiful and yet so exciting on one's palate? My oysters were MIA (missing in action) so I asked our server what happened which I'm sure they forgot. She came after a few minutes with just 3 of them and I had ordered half a dozen. She thought I said "three". So she promptly put in another order for 3 more. They were as good as I had the last time.

We were still a bit hungry so we ordered some Brussels Sprouts which were good but not as good as Tin Roof or Baleen. While we were at it we thought we might as well order the Spicy Crab Tempura Roll.  It wasn't spicy at all and the tempura breading was doughy so that is something we would not order again.

This was my second time at EMC and so far the only thing that I would order again is the Oysters on a Half Shell. They do have many more items on the menu so I will keep trying the rest of them.
EMC Seafood and Raw Bar have multiple locations. The one we went to was located at the Del Amo Mall in Torrance, California.

Crispy Cauliflower at Black Angus

It would be hard to top the crispy cauliflower served at Black Angus of all places. The sad part is when I spoke to Chef Fidel, he informed me that they would be taking that off their menu because not too many people order it. My first response was, "They never had it so they don't know how good it is". It is very crispy and quite spicy. It is worth going to the restaurant and just having that.

After Sujata and I had lunch at Casa Barilla at South Coast Plaza, I mentioned to her that I had a couple of coupons for Black Angus; a $47 dinner for two which included steak or salmon, their wonderful sweet bread, appetizer and dessert and another coupon for my birthday which was just a free entree. I couldn't believe Sujata said she would like to go. That's after I told her about the cauliflower. It's only been 3 hours since we had our spaghetti Pomodoro.

I asked our server, Karolina which coupon she thought I should use and it was almost a no-brainer to use the $47 coupon so we would get everything. Everything was delicious, her salmon and my ribeye which was so tasty. She couldn't get over the wonderful cauliflower. I asked her if Chef Fidel Reyes was working and she said yes. She later sent him to speak with us and this is when I learned that they would be discontinuing it soon.

If I may make a couple of suggestions: One is to offer a sample of the cauliflower free to people who like spicy food. The other is to have the servers suggest their "famous" or "specialty of the house" and they can further describe it when asked. These simple suggestions would help and maybe we can save the Crispy Cauliflower!

Dessert was included in our meal so we ordered the Strawberry-Mango Cobbler. Karolina also asked me if I wanted my Chocolate Chip Cookie for my birthday, even if I did not use the birthday coupon. I thought this was very nice of her. I said I would just take it to go. They brought our dessert and extra ice cream with a birthday candle. At the end of our meal, she handed me a big bag and I asked her what it was. Her response was: "Your chocolate chip cookie". It was as big as a plate!

This was my blog on our previous visit:
https://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2019/02/black-angus-steakhouse.html

Try and get to Black Angus soon and save the Crispy Cauliflower from vanishing from their menu. The steak ain't bad either.

Casa Barilla

Sujata and I went all the way to South Coast Plaza to have one of the best Spaghetti Pomodoro around. Like I have said before, it is not easy to get this very simple spaghetti right. I have ordered it at different restaurants before and have been disappointed. This time it  proved to be once again a perfetto Pomodoro,

Our server, Curtis was wearing an apron I liked and asked if they had it for sale. The answer was no, it was only for employees. I went to see the 2 cooks behind the counter to ask about the Pomodoro as they explained that they used fresh tomatoes with some onions and of course, fresh basil. I am amazed at how they get it aldente all the time.

I am including my last blog to show the different pasta dishes we tried.
https://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2018/04/casa-barilla.html

Casa Barilla is located at the South Coast Plaza Mall in Costa Mesa.

Umi Hamasaku

I am easily lured when it comes to good food especially if it's a deal you can't beat. Fresh oysters on a half shell for $1.00 is served during "Happy Hour" at Umi Hamasaku. Fortunately, Sujata shares my fondness for this delicacy. Unfortunately, some of my friends lack delicate taste buds so we dined alone.

We, of course, ordered the oysters on a half shell. We thought it would be good to start with a dozen in case they were not to our satisfaction. We also ordered Shishito Peppers with a lemon garlic emulsion topped with very active bonito flakes which swayed all over the place. It does that from the heat of the peppers in case you've never witnessed this. The oysters were outstandingly fresh and yummy. The peppers were good until you got one that was way too hot. I was able to handle it but Sujata who loves spicy food managed to get the hottest of them all and even for her, she confessed it was just too hot!

Another side dish we ordered was the Roasted Cauliflower. This was plain as can be with a little bit of Mentaiko creme fraiche. This was just so-so, nothing special especially since they just put the sauce on the very top of the heap of cauliflower. The Softshell Crab Steam Bun was delicious. The crab was fried, tempura style with a spicy eel sauce, mayo, guacamole, and cucumber. I just had to ask for more sauce. We both agreed that this was definitely a winner.

We also agreed that next time we go we would order a dozen each of the oysters on a half shell. That with the Softshell Crab would make us both happy campers.

Umi Hamasaku is located at The Point, 860 S. Sepulveda Blvd. #116 in El Segundo, California.