Picnic at the Hollywood Bowl

You probably won't think of L'Amande Bakery when you think of picnic at the Hollywood Bowl...Well, I am here to make a few suggestions.

You don't really want to bring too much that it would entail meats that might not stay hot, or something crispy but will be soggy by the time you get there, or some creamy sauce that might spoil...you get the picture. The less complicated, the better. Keep it simple yet delicious.

They have an open faced sandwich of Ricotta, Parmesan and Pine Nuts.  The pine nuts are toasted and sprinkled on top of a bed of ricotta and topped with shaved parmesan on a baguette which is served with dried mission figs. A small salad comes with it so you can ask for the dressing on the side if you plan to take this along to your picnic.

I also have had their Smoked Salmon which is served on a bed of ricotta with a side of onions, capers, lemon and sour cream.

If you like a stronger flavor, go for the Prosciutto on grilled baguette served with a side of sun dried tomato pesto or the Black Forest ham with Dijon mayonnaise on a baguette.

Yesterday, I tried the Cheese Plate. It doesn't look like much but believe me ....it will fill you up.  You get 3 kinds of cheeses: Brie, Delice de Bourgogne, and Gruyere. They served these with a baguettine. The combination was perfect. The strong flavor of the Gruyere, the creaminess of the Brie and the even creamier and wonderful flavor of the Delice de Bourgogne could not be topped!  The cheeses were accompanied with walnuts, slivered almonds, pickles and dried mission figs. The sad part of this meal was I only had the orange iced tea to go with it instead of a nice glass of Cabernet. This would really be ideal for the Hollywood Bowl.  All you need to do is pack a bottle of your favorite red wine.

They also have a meat plate which I have not tried. Believe it or not, I haven't had everything on their menu...yet!

Surf & Turf at Lawry's

August is a month for $99 Surf and Turf Special for 2 at Lawry's.  It was my friend Amy's birthday and what better way to celebrate than to go surfing and turfing.....

To make our dinner more enjoyable, we had Miss Duke as our server. She was a blast!
I had a coupon for a free appetizer or side dish. She immediately suggested that we get more for our bucks if we ordered the shrimp cocktail.  Boy, was she on the money. The shrimps were so fresh and succulent and obese! This is the time that "obese" is a good thing.

The surf and turf special included the spinning bowl salad, a big slice of prime rib, mashed potatoes, a side vegetable (we both picked creamed corn), Yorkshire pudding, C.C. Brown's Sundae and coffee or tea. I usually get the English cut, (thin slices) as oppose to a big fat slice like I got last night.  It was a lot of food. The Lobster tail was small but it was as succulent as the shrimps and was juicy; it was just the right amount. We were informed later that the lobsters are flown fresh from Nova Scotia.

I must mention that we got there before our reservation time so we indulged on the meatballs and home made potato chips while we were waiting.  This is probably why we could not finish our meal. Oh, and we also had some hot sour dough bread before we got our entree. Lucky Nako, Amy's husband and Erik, my son, for they had the best left overs.

We went on a Monday night and the restaurant looked like it was a weekend. This was nice to see since Lawry's has been around for a long time and they keep their menu simple; pretty much the same thing they have been serving and they do it very well.
My only regret is seeing some people dressed like they were going to the park or the gym. The ambiance is old time elegance and I just wish they had a dress code.

Thanks Ms. Duke, I look forward to having you serve us in the future and Happy Birthday Amy .....may you have many many more to come!

P.S. I told the 2 of you not to move.....and I didn't have my glasses when I checked my camera. Sorry for the blurrrrr

Churros Calientes

If you've only had Mexican churros, the ones you can buy in street fairs then you have not had the real churros.
 
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always enjoyed and loved the Spanish churros. They are made with dough pastry then fried.  The surface is ridged due to having been piped from a churrera (churros maker) . They are left straight or sometimes curled. It is then dipped in the hot chocolate.  My experience with churros has been that which was first served at a Spanish pastry shop in the Philippines called Dulcinea. To this day, they still serve it the same way, dusted with sugar and served with a thick hot chocolate made in the Philippines.

There have been a few  restaurants that served them here in Los Angeles but they never got the chocolate part right. They usually were too thin and not rich enough.
This afternoon, Cindy and I were in the vicinity of Churros Calientes.  We went in and decided to split a filet mignon panini and have an order each of the churros con chocolate. 

The panini was simple and pretty good which was served with a green salad.  We got our dosage of greens and protein. A good introduction to what was to come next......
The churros came with a cup of what looked like thick hot chocolate.  The churros were rolled in sugar, nice and crisp outside, soft inside .  It was not too sweet, in fact I wanted to add some powdered sugar. The hot chocolate was indeed thick although it was not what I was accustomed to.... I guess it just needed a little more oomph to it.  If I were to make an analogy; it is like driving on the freeway and you suddenly need to pass someone, so you have to shift down to get that boost of power.  We both thought the chocolate could have been better; maybe it is the type of chocolate they use.

But I must say, if you've only had the thick Mexican churros loaded with sugar and cinnamon you will be very happy with these churros. They also have different flavors like dulce de leche, strawberry, guava & sweet condensed milk.

Churros Calientes is a very small cozy restaurant located at 11521 Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles. They are open 11:30 am - 10:30 pm Tuesday - Sunday.

Iced Coffee and Scones

Who says you have to have tea with scones?  In this current hot and muggy weather, it only makes sense to have something cold with your scones.

Today, I stopped by L'Amande Bakery in Torrance to pick up some apricot-almond scones. While I was there, I went ahead and ordered the special but didn't feel like hot tea, so they suggested iced coffee.  Boy, did that hit the spot! Just when I thought I have had all the flavors, they come up with another one.  I haven't had the apricot-almond.

It was very good and was surprised to see all the apricot pieces inside; they didn't skimp on the apricots. Another healthy discovery......and all for $5.00.

Handugan

I have been to this Filipino restaurant 3 times now.  I first discovered their wonderful Turon (fried banana with jackfruit) a week ago.

I have been buying some of their daily dishes to see what is good.  I have tried their Chicken Adobo which is not bad  (my mother's is still the best), Shanghai Lumpia which is also good though I prefer them with shrimps in it. I tried their Tortang Talong (eggplant cooked in egg) and I did like it. I also ordered the Puso ng Saging sa Gata (heart of the banana cooked in coconut milk); I liked that a lot but my son Erik didn't care for it.

Yesterday, I bought some Tocino (pork), Menudo, without the liver (which I hate), and a new pork dish I have never heard of called Dinakdakan which I loved! Apparently it is made with mayonnaise, onions and ginger.  This is a specialty in the province of Bicol in the Philippines. I also got some boneless Bangus (milk fish), that was nice eating and stress free as you didn't have to struggle with bones. This was drizzled with Filipino vinegar (the way we normally eat this). Of course, all these dishes were accompanied with steamed white rice.

I still have to try the many other dishes like their Pancit Palabok, Mami, Lechon Kawali.

Handugan is a small restaurant located at 21616 Figueroa St., Carson, Ca. Their phone number is 310 320-4500.  Make sure they have Turon (fried bananas) as this alone will make it worth your trip.  The times I was there has been very hot. They do have electric fans going as the air condition either does not work or it is non existant. Who knows?

Meet in Paris Again

Since we celebrated my husband Otto's birthday in July at this bistro in Culver City which I have previously blogged, I have been to "Meet In Paris" two more times; it has only been 3 weeks since then.

Last night, we took our niece to celebrate her husband, Elliot's birthday. He had no idea we would be there. He just thought his wife was taking him for a quiet romantic dinner. Romantic it wasn't with us as chaperones! Three of us decided to go for "all you can eat mussels". Otto decided to stick to his steak frites.

For Elliot's first bowl of mussels, he decided on my favorite, the Dijonnaise. Aimee, his wife started with the Alaska which had smoked scallops, shrimps, smoked salmon,
lime juice, chili puree, red onion, cilantro and chablis. I  wanted to try something different for my first bowl. I settled on the Madrid which had chorizo, leek, mushrooms, chablis, shallots and cream. I really liked it. Elliot did enjoy his Dijonnaise. We all tried everyone's mussels so we got a good idea of the different ways they prepared them. Elliot decided on the "Meet in Paris" for his second bowl. That included crab, shallots, saffron, tomato confit, bacon, basil and chablis. That was also good.  Aimee ordered the Thai, which was Indian curry, garlic, cumin, lemongrass, coconut milk and cream. I tried this and it was good but not my favorite. Aimee thought the Alaska was better than this as the flavors were strong and creamy which complemented the mussels. My second bowl was "home sweet home", the Dijonnaise. It was still as good as when I first had it.

I have to bring your attention to the frites which came with the mussels. They are the best; best in every way and it was good dipping them in the sauce but it was a lot of work and energy so I decided to just pour some of the frites INTO the bowl and scoop them up with my spoon. Ummmm, this is making me hungry all over again!

We had the pleasure of having Caroline as our server again. She was as attentive as ever and made our experience more enjoyable.

No birthday is complete without a chorus singing "Happy Birthday"....so Elliot got his 3 balls of profiteroles. We didn't want him to feel bad so we helped with the consumption.

Note: There is a bit of a wait between the 1st and 2nd bowl which is fine but Elliot thought that the wait gave the wrong signals to his brain/stomach making him feel he was already full.  So, it might be a good idea to go ahead and order your 2nd bowl at the same time you order your 1st so by the time you finish your 1st, the 2nd will be on its way.

Till next Wednesday, when 2 of my friends who don't eat mussels are willing to be adventurous to try what they have been missing ........

Gorgeous Fig Scones

I have blogged about the wonderful scones at L'Amande Bakery numerous times.  I went in today for breakfast then made a second trip in the afternoon to get the fig scones that comes out at 3:00 p.m. (Different scones everyday).


Got home and opened the box. I couldn't help but just take a picture of the gorgeous fig & honey scones.  I felt like I was taking a picture of a beautiful pair of shoes. Not that figs are like shoes.....but it's the same feeling a woman gets when they get excited over a luxury item they've been wanting, or how a man feels when they spot a beautiful woman  in a crowd without a date that they can zero in on...you get the picture.
Need I say more????

These are as delicious as they look and if you eat figs, you will love these.  L'Amande is located at the Rolling Hills Plaza in Torrance.