4th of July Barbecue

I didn't have a barbecue at home this year since everyone already had plans to do something. At the last minute, Sandi announced she was going to make some Ribs. The only problem was she didn't have much space as she was having wood floors installed in her house. We would have to eat at her kitchen table. Not a problem for me. Since most things were out of place or moved and stored in the garage, I told her I would bring paper plates and plastic champagne/wine glasses and napkins.

When I went in my pantry to look for the items, I could not find any red or blue plates but I did find red reindeer Christmas plates; good enough. Then I found some wine glasses in one bag and got some bottom parts for the wine glasses in another bag.

When I got to Sandi's house, I tried to assemble the wine glasses, I discovered that I must have grabbed the wrong bottoms for the glasses. When I  picked up the glass, the bottom stayed on the table! Luckily we were able to find 3 wine glasses which we used for our champagne. By the time I poured the champagne, Sandi got out a big tray of barbecue ribs from the oven she cooked for several hours; a recipe of her son. The meat of the ribs came off with one bite. The sauce she used was from Lucille's Barbecue Restaurant. It was truly finger or fork licking good! She served this with potato salad I brought, oranges marinated in ginger and honey and a corn/tomato side dish that Aaron cooked. Everything came together perfectly. I was impressed with Aaron's corn dish that today, I ordered a corn cob cutter so I can try and replicate his masterpiece.

It just goes to show you  that sometimes the unplanned dinners with Christmas paper plates on the Fourth of July can be one of the best dinners ever.

Silog

I read about this Filipino Restaurant on an email I got from la.Eater.com. I was very interested to check it out since it was nearby. It's a small restaurant on a strip mall in Torrance. The name Silog is from the prefix of the word sinangag, SI  (garlic fried rice) and the suffix of itlog (egg) LOG. Each table has a simple and cute succulent plant and a salt & pepper shaker in shape of an egg.

We ordered the Lumpia for appetizer. Fried pork egg rolls with a sweet and sour sauce. I was impressed with the skin as it was thinner than normal and very crispy. Though delicious, I would have preferred it with shrimps in it. Sandi has not gotten over her mango cravings since we got back from the Philippines, so she ordered the mango juice. She was a bit disappointed as it didn't taste like the fresh ones she had in Manila. I ordered the Calamansi juice and also was not impressed though the size was humongous. It was too sweet and needed more calamansi. I have to mention that our server tried hard to please me by adding more calamansi to the drink. Drinks are not their specialty; but we were there for the food so first things first.

For our entree, Sandi had the Tapa (thin cut ribeye steak marinated in garlic and lime) with the Sinangag (garlic fried rice) and this was served with perfectly cooked soft boiled egg which oozed onto the garlic fried rice. I had the Sisig (braised pork belly and shoulder topped with chicharon and garlic creme aioli). We split both entrees. The tapa was very good but my Sisig was super delicious.

As we came to the conclusion of our dinner, our eager to please and charming server came to ask if we wanted dessert. I was overly excited to order the Turon a La Mode (fried banana) served with Jackfruit or Mango Ice cream. I read about it and my taste buds were ready, willing and able. She came back shortly after we ordered it and gave us the bad news. The bananas were not ready; they were too soft. We were both so busog (full) that we could hardly move so maybe this was God's way of telling us to "cool it". There's always a next time. She could tell we were not too happy so soon after the delivery of the not so good news, Chef Lemuel came out to personally apologize. We were the only ones at the time since we were there when it opened. We chatted a bit as he shared his history of his former job and love for cooking. We eventually absolved him of his sins.

We will definitely be back to try the other specialties and more important, to try the Turon. Silog has been open since February 2016, let's hope he continues the good cooking. Silog is located at 1555 Sepulveda Blvd. in Torrance, California.

Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken

Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken was named one of the best fried chicken around Los Angeles. When I saw a Groupon deal of $20 for $30 value, I immediately bought a voucher. I have had this for several months and was about to expire soon.

While my friend Gigi was in town, I thought it would be a good time to use the voucher. My brother had just called and was going to be available for an early dinner; something he frowns upon as he calls this "senior dining". He has not seen Gigi in a long time so he agreed to meet us at the restaurant.

It's a very small restaurant on Culver Blvd. in Culver City. I noticed that a lot of people were picking up their orders to take home. We ordered the fried chicken with French fries. I was happy to see they had a big jug of honey, not so much for the biscuits but for my chicken. The chicken was very good. Crisp and juicy. Get ready to get your fingers sticky from the honey. We all absolutely loved it except for the fries. Next time, I might just have the mashed potatoes.

I later looked at the menu which was quite extensive. I noticed they even had hotcakes and fried chicken. In the meantime, I was able to get a couple more vouchers so I will be returning soon. Their address is 9537 Culver Blvd. in Culver City, California.

http://honeyskettle.com/menu.pdf

Dominique's Kitchen

When my friend Gigi was here from the Philippines, the first restaurant I had to take her was Dominique's Kitchen. She loved the Garlic Fries with mayonnaise for appetizer. We both had the Caesar salad and for entree she chose the Short Ribs and I had the Rib Eye. Both of which I have had many times in the past.

For dessert, I had to order the impressive Baked Alaska. We had a new server and I told him to burn it. He really torched it and I was afraid it might have been too much. To my surprise, we both loved it. Gigi could not stop talking about how everything was good from beginning to end.

A week later, my nephew Andre arrived with his wife Ela, 7 year old daughter Sab and a brand new month old baby boy named Sky. They all have been to Dominique's before except for Sky who was well behaved and slept through the entire dinner. We ordered the Garlic fries which is always a crowd-pleaser. Andre had the Rib Eye this time. Ela ordered the famous Roasted Chicken with garlic fries which she shared with Sab. I had the Fillet of Sole this time. It was delicious and fresh as ever. 

By popular demand, dessert had to be Baked Alaska again. This time I didn't have Robert burn it too much since we were all sharing it. Funny, everyone liked the burnt part!

Dominique's Kitchen is at 522 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Redondo Beach, California. I am elated that they are still there and doing well. When you have good food and service at reasonable prices, people will always come back. 

Sandi's Belated Birthday Party

Since we were getting ready to go the Philippines around Sandi's birthday last May, she decided to celebrate it when we got back. We told her to keep it simple. She planned to make Tacos and just have different fillings and everyone make their own. Sounds great but since Sandi is incapable of doing anything small and simple, we all had to put up with lots of food! I made margaritas to go with the tacos.

Before anything else, we had to pass on the traditional birthday balloon. I had it last so I went to Party World to have it filled with helium. I had my friend Gigi with me and she was in charge of taking it the car. While I was opening the trunk of the car, I heard her scream. The balloon flew up in the sky and she was still holding on the big tail. I went in to let them know that obviously they didn't do a good job tying it to the tail. The lady said she did tie it well and she wanted to charge me for another balloon for $12. I was not leaving there without a balloon and was not paying for their mistake. I finally got another one!

Back to the party, Sandi's table was far from simple. She made soft tacos with fillings like chicken and shrimp. Sue made her famous corn tamales which were delicious. Aside from the chips and  3 different kinds of salsa, we had rice, refried beans, black beans and salads.

What's a party without cake. Sandi made a Mayonnaise Chocolate Cake and of course another dessert in case someone didn't like chocolate. She made her famous Key Lime Pie with a chocolate crust. I am sure that her intention was to make everyone so full that we would just roll down her driveway on our way home. Everyone had fun including the only male friend, Piero.

The birthday balloon waits at Sandi's house but not for long. Cindy's birthday is just around the corner.

Gary's Birthday Bash at Il Moro

When my brother Gary informed me he was having his birthday celebration at Il Moro, a restaurant I haven't been to, I was a bit leery especially when he said he hasn't tried it in a long time. He just remembered that it was good. I thought that was bold of him. What impressed him the most was the efficiency and no-nonsense meeting he had with Lucy, the manager. He liked the ambiance of the restaurant and it just seemed the perfect venue for 60 people.

Cindy, Sandi and I got there first followed by Ramon. We are always the early birds. We were immediately impressed with the setting. Tables with centerpieces, an open bar and for entertainment, he had Joyce Partise, a jazz & bosa nova artist and her band.

Hors d' oeuvres started promptly at 6:30 p.m.  Belgian Endive filled with goat cheese,  topped with caramelized walnut, mini Beef Wellington, mini Pizza Margarita, and my favorite, Tuna Tartar with avocado on wonton crisp. They all went well with the champagne. The sounds of Joyce Marie and her band made people want to dance but most were still too shy, except for Ramon and me.

The 4 course menu looked very good. We had to pick an appetizer, a first course, an entree and dessert which excluded the birthday cake. Since I fell in love with the tuna tartar, I decided to stick to the Tuna Tartar with diced tomato, avocado, champignon mushrooms, olive oil sea salt with chive dressing and lemon jelly. Cindy, who sat next to me chose the Parmigiana di Melanzane, layers of baked eggplants, mozzarella cheese, basil in tomato sauce. Several people in our table chose the Fettuccine alla Bolognese, we could really tell the fettuccine was homemade and sauteed in a Bolognese sauce. I had a bite of the Cappellacci di Ricotta e Spinaci; spinach pasta filled with ricotta cheese and spinach sauteed in butter and sage....yummy.

I wanted to be healthy and order the Filetto di Sogliola; sole filet in a lemon white wine sauce but since I just had that a few days ago, I decided on the Tagliata di Manzo; prime beef short loin steak sliced and grilled in rosemary served over a salad of arugula, cherry tomato and shaved parmesan. I made the perfect choice as I really enjoyed it. I tried the Sole and unfortunately I thought it was too salty. I never complained about "salty" in the past since I do like a lot of salt. This was just too much. Everyone in the table that ordered the sole shared my findings. Jackie, seated next to me could not eat hers so I suggested she ask for something else. The server immediately and happily got her the Costolette di Agnello; grilled lamb chops which was absolutely delicious. I told Sandi and Cindy to ask for something else but they didn't want to make a big deal.

Dessert had to be Tenerina Cake which was a dark moist chocolate cake with a crispy crust. Though it was good, I tried not to eat the whole thing since I knew there was more cake to come. As the night progressed and more alcohol was consumed, inhibitions diminished and soon most guests took to the dance floor to show their moves.

Soon after dessert was served, Joyce Marie invited everyone to sing Happy Birthday to Gary. The berry chocolate mousse cake was ordered from Vienna Pastry. It was as delicious as it looked; not too sweet. I almost didn't want to have any as I was too full but I thought it to be bad luck not to eat a birthday cake. I think I made that up.

I have to mention that the service could not have been better. They were all so very friendly  and professional. This is truly a great venue for a private party. Everyone enjoyed themselves; it was a nice size crowd yet very intimate. Happy Birthday to my "younger" (un po) brother Gary.

Il Moro is at 11400 W. Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles.