Joey's Smokin' Bar-B-Que

They say their ribs are "smokin".  I only had their pulled pork in the past which was very good. The other day, I watched a link that showed the proper way to eat ribs. I have always eaten ribs with my hands, well, almost always. I sent the link to most of my friends. Here is link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMFOL1eXReg&feature=youtu.be

After Sandi got my email, she suggested we have ribs that evening; and so we did. We headed over to Joey's. We just ordered the 1/3 Slab  which had 4 bones. It came with corn bread plus a choice of sides. Sandi had the baked potato and I had cole slaw. Before I got our order, I went to the restroom to wash my hands. The ribs came and I was all ready to attack my dinner. A surgeon getting ready for surgery came to my mind. I slowly separated the bones and the meat practically just fell off the bones. It was deeeelicious! The coleslaw was creamy with just a tiny bit of tartness, though mostly sweet.  It was a the perfect escort for my ribs. The cornbread was not too bad either.  I was concentrating so much on my dinner that I forgot about Sandi who was kind enough to share her baked potato with me; she was enjoying her ribs as well.

The only problem was, Sandi chose to ignore the video she watched earlier that day. She has a problem of not wanting to get her hands dirty so she ate her ribs with a fork and knife. It hurt me to see her eating the ribs that way; just like it would hurt someone's ears to hear scratching your nails on a blackboard. Oh well......we can't all be perfect!

Joey's Bar-B-Que is located at 25308 Crenshaw Blvd. in Torrance, California. They are open 7 days a week from 11 am to 9 pm.

Stacked: Food Well Built

We were at the newly renovated Del Amo Mall in Torrance the other day. We entered through the new Nordstroms. We were in awe as the mall was truly beautiful and spacious. We were there on a weekday at 4 p.m.  We did a quick tour to see what stores were open; a lot of the spaces had signs: "opening soon".  Lee and I were starving so we went to the directory to find a restaurant. We started having heart palpitations when we saw the restaurant listed, Din Tai Fung. We made a dash to the 2nd floor to see a big space marked Din Tai Fung with a sign: Opening September 2016! What a let down!

We then strolled along the mall and ended up at a restaurant called Stacked: Food Well Built. As we walked in, I asked the man how long they have been open and it turns out, they have been there for several years. They have locations at Cerritos,Thousand Oaks and San Diego. We were seated at a corner booth. The had tablets on each table. The man who seated us explained to us how to use the tablet. Of course if you're below a "certain age", no explanations would be necessary. It looked like a lot of fun. You pick something you like and you could add whatever you desire to your item. So essentially, you build it up.

Lee and I ordered a diet coke but shortly after I ordered my coke, I realized that it was still Happy Hour, so I could have gotten a Margarita for $5.00. When our server came with the coke, I asked her if it was too late to order one and she was nice enough to take the coke back and bring me a margarita. From the tablet, we ordered the Lobster Mac N' Cheese. We did not add anything to it. It was quite delicious. It had chunks of juicy (not rubbery) lobster with a hint of garlic and basil. Man cannot live on Mac N' Cheese alone so we split a Stack N' Bleu which was an Angus beef on a brioche bun with roasted shallot mayo topped with bleu cheese, Applewood smoked bacon and crispy onion strings drizzled with balsamic glaze.  The burger was a winner! We both liked the brioche bun. They cooked it to our liking which was medium. It was not rare nor was it well done, it was perfect.

I think we will be returning to this restaurant soon to experiment and play with their tablet. It was nice to be able to put your order in and be able to "check out" when you were ready to pay the bill.
Stacked is at 3525 W. Carson St. at the Del Amo Mall in Torrance, across P.F. Chang's.

Erick Schat's Bakkery

This bakery has always been in Bishop ever since I can remember. It started out as a small bakery in the town of Bishop, California. In the mid 70's, I remember being at the bakery standing in line next to the actor, Robert Blake which was exciting then since he had the T.V. show, Baretta.

On the way home from June Lake, I made it a point to stop by Schat's Bakkery (this is how they spell it). My friend and I were to have breakfast there and buy a couple of their delicious bread. I looked at their website to make sure they would be open at 8:30 a.m. The website stated that they open at 6:00 a.m. so off we went. I didn't pay attention on the way up exactly where the bakery was located. I just knew that it was much bigger now and it was on the west side of Main St. We saw it and pulled over the parking lot. I was surprised to see a lot of space. As we got out of the car, we detected no movement inside the restaurant. In fact, all the chairs were on top of the table. Three motorcycle men were talking among themselves; Sandi approached them and asked if they knew why the place was closed. One said he thought it opened at 11:00 a.m. which didn't sound right. We told him, their answering machine said they open at 6:00 a.m. Greatly disappointed, we strolled to the Donut store across the street. They were terrible, too greasy. So we started driving south when all of a sudden we saw another Schat's. This was the bakery. The other one that was closed was the restaurant! I was not aware they had a restaurant.

Hallelujah! The parking lot was very busy. We got in and we were both overwhelmed. I could not believe all the loaves of bread, pastries, etc. and people all over the place. I was going to get their famous Sheepherders bread but I abandoned that idea when I saw the Bacon Chili Cheese Bread. I got one of those; in addition to that I bought a Peach Pullaway which looked delicious.

The Bacon Chili Cheese Bread was wonderful. Crusty outside and very soft inside with a bit of spiciness due to the chilis. I had it for breakfast  the following day lightly toasted with butter and raspberry jam. I was sorry I didn't buy a bunch to freeze though I don't know if they would freeze well.

The Peach Pullaway was also delicious. It was very moist with chunks of peaches. It went well with my strong cup of coffee. The kitchen counter was the perfect spot for it since every time someone would pass by, they would pinch a chunk off.

Next time you are in the vicinity of the Sierras, stop by the Bakery which does open at 6:00 a.m. Their address is 763 N. Main St. in Bishop. They also have a restaurant in Mammoth and was told they sell baked goods as well.

Happy Birthday Dominique's Kitchen

It's hard to believe it has been 3 years since Dominique's Kitchen landed in Redondo Beach, California.  The restaurant business is very hard and anyone can tell you that. You have to serve good food, provide good service, have reasonable prices etc. etc. Dominique has done that consistently.

Elliot and I had dinner there a few days ago. We naturally had to start with their fantastic Cheese Fondue with the nice French bread but also had to order Truffle Fries to dump in the hot fondue. We could have eaten than all night with champagne or wine. Liza sent us 2 glasses of Kir Royale which we enjoyed with our Fries.

For dinner, Elliot had their famous Short Ribs which is always tender and has lots of flavor. The creamy, yummy mashed potatoes went well with the meat. I on the other hand ordered something I have not had in a long time. Their famous Chicken with truffle fries. I hardly ever order chicken because chicken is chicken....blah blah blah. Dominique's chicken is to die for. I recently watched a show: "I'll Have What Phil is Having", ( a great show on PBS, Monday nights) the segment was on Paris. He talked about the delicious chicken the French would make and he could not get over how great it tasted. I smiled to myself and thought: " I know where I can get that without another trip to Paris", and that's at Dominique's Kitchen. It really is the best, especially if you ask a little extra au jus to pour over the chicken and fries.

Elliot was too full for dessert but I didn't want him to leave without sampling Dominique's desserts. He settled for the Chocolate Mousse. I ordered the Floating Island so Elliot could try it since he has never had it before. That dessert is so light, a bit sweet but not too sweet. It was perfect to end my chicken dinner.

Thanks to Liza and Dominique. This is why the restaurant is doing well. The food alone won't do it. Both of them always treat their customers like they were truly guests at their home. Congratulations to you both!

Mono Inn Restaurant

The Mono Inn in Lee Vining, California was built in 1922 and owned by Wally and Venita McPherson. In 1996, the inn was bought by Ansel Adams family and run by Sarah Adams for 10 years. Though still owned by the Adams family, the building is currently leased to Lonna and Debbie Hergert and they now run the restaurant.

I can remember the excellent food and the freshly baked bread they served. Great food while you looked out the window and admire the beautiful Mono Lake that starts out blue and as the sun sets, you see blue reflection of the sky on the lake which later turns into shades of pink.

I was very excited to go back and introduce my friend to this experience. It has been at least 15 years since I have been there. We were the first to arrive and had our pick of the table. We positioned ourselves by the window. We looked at the menu and questioned our server if we could split the bowl of  Butternut Squash Soup. She politely said no. I thought that maybe there was cheese on top so it might be difficult to split. She informed us that she would bring 2 spoons. That did not work out too well because the soup was set between the two of us so almost every time the spoon made it's way to our mouths, it left a trail of drip, drip, drip which made us look like sloppy eaters. I couldn't see the big deal why they could not furnish another small cup. While we ate our delicious soup, we thought it would go well with bread which we did not get. I waited for our server who got busy with the other table. I ended up going to the bar and asking her if we could have some bread. Her response was, "Oh, do you want bread?", Yes please, I replied. A few minutes later, a basket arrived. Sandi started laughing when she peeked in the basket. She couldn't wait for my reaction. I looked and saw 4 thin slices of bread. It's almost as if they only had 1 baguette and had to make sure they had enough to feed everyone. BTW, we noticed the other tables didn't get the bread basket.

We decided to split two entrees:  the Bison Short Rib; braised with red wine demi glace until it falls off the bone, served with truffle gratin and fresh seasonal vegetables. The other entree was the Filet Mignon; bacon wrapped with bordelaise sauce and caramelized shallots, served with herb roasted fingerling potatoes and vegetables.

The food arrived and it looked promising. Unfortunately, it broke it's promise. The Filet was supposed to be cooked medium and it came rare. The Bison which was supposed to be falling off the bone did not fall off. It hung on the bone for dear life. It was chewy. The flavor and sauce was very good. When our server came to ask how everything was, we told her what we thought and she just apologized.  After about 10 minutes, she returned and asked us again how everything was. Nothing has changed in the last 10 minutes so I told her again we were not very happy. In fact, I suggested she tell the chef what we thought; she gave us a puzzled look and apologized again. We did not finish our meal so we had lots of room for dessert but decided to skip it. We didn't want to take any chances and be further disappointed.

Sorry, sorry, sorry.  We were really sorry we did not like the food nor the service. Mono Inn is still riding on the old reputation of being a great restaurant. I understand that sometimes the meat may not be tender, or something may not be cooked right and these are all fixable problems. I think the chef could have come out to apologize and offer to bring something else or at the very least, the manager if there was one, could have come up and offer a discount like they do in any fine dining restaurant especially if they want you to come back.

If you want to see Mono Lake, you can drive to the museum in Lee Vining and see the vast lake with a very nice exhibit. If you want good old fashion delicious food and great service, head on to the old Carson Peak Inn in June Lake. The croutons alone will be worth your visit.

Carson Peak Inn

Carson Peak Inn Restaurant is located in the June Lake Loop just below the magnificent Carson Peak in June Lake, California. If you don't like the hustle and bustle of mountain city life like Mammoth, you will love June Lake. It is more like a small European town nestled in the high mountains. The restaurant has been in existence since 1966. My husband and I used to always make it a point to eat there every time we were in June Lake. A good and old friend Art Ronci introduced us to Carson Peak Inn. The last time I was there was at least 20 years ago!

My friend Sandi and I went to June Lake this past weekend and I told her we were going to have dinner there our first night. The restaurant has not changed. I was so happy to see a bowl of croutons on our table. I dreamt about their croutons so many times. I don't know how they make them but I suspect it has a lot of fat; and this is why they are so delicious and addicting.

There were so much to order from the menu. I knew they were famous for their steaks, chicken and ribs but since we were in the high country, I thought it was best to order Trout. They served us garlic bread, salad and Beef Barley Soup. All that came with the entree. The soup was outstanding. The trout was fresh as can be. The probably just caught them earlier in the day. It was so simple yet with lemon and the tartar sauce, it was unbelievably delicious.  The baked potato was not bad either, especially after I had put a ton of butter, sour cream and fresh chives.

Service was great. By the time we left, the restaurant was full. Note that when we got our entree, I was too excited to attack the trout that I forgot to take a picture of it. I had to call the restaurant the following day and spoke with Phillip to ask if he would be so kind to take a picture of the trout. He had to ask Nina, a co-worker to do it and she emailed me the picture the following day.

I thank the staff at the Carson Peak Inn for the best service and excellent food. Please keep up the good work.

Matsuhisa

Yesterday, I was with relatives from Chicago and after doing business, they decided to have dinner at Lawry's. We got to Lawry's in Beverly Hills and was told the wait would be at least 1 hour. I suggested we go across the street to Scratch Bar and since they have never been there, they agreed. So we crossed the street and was disappointed to see a sign by the door that said, "Due to unforeseen circumstances; we are closed for the day."  Though we were sad they were closed, our sadness immediately turned to happiness as next door was Matsuhisa, as in Nobu Matsuhisa.

We started with a bottle of Overture which was a very good wine. It was time to order. I was talked into ordering what they all wanted to order; the Wagyu Beef. They were prepared 2 ways and after talking to our server, we all decided on the Toban-yaki Wagyu. Toban-yaki is a method of cooking on a ceramic plate.  It was cooked with several kinds of mushrooms and onions. Wagyu beef was served by the ounce. FYI, an ounce is $28. So, before you say you want 6oz., make sure you do a quick calculation in your head so you don't end up with buyers remorse. I ordered 2 oz. but someone insisted I have 3oz. I also ordered the Rock Shrimp with creamy spicy sauce. I have had that at Nobu and remembered how good it was. These shrimps were crispy, creamy, and spicy which went well with the Japanese white rice. In addition to the steak, Alma had the Soft Shell Crab Spring Rolls. She was nice enough to give me one. It was delicious. We were all stuffed that we were not even interested in looking at the dessert menu.

You can't really go wrong at this restaurant. The food is always excellent. Matsuhisa is at 129 N.La Cienega in Los Angeles.