Arby's Fish Sandwich

It's that time again; Lent, wherein I have to be imaginative and think of what to eat on Fridays aside from pasta which is fine with me but not everyone shares my enthusiasm for it. A friend mentioned to me that Arby's is having a 2 for 1 sale on their fish sandwiches. I was game to try so three of us went yesterday.

The Filet of Fish Sandwich could be ordered with your choice of tartar sauce or cheese. We all agreed that tartar sauce would be better. The photo showed their limited time special of the Fish Sandwich, a bowl of White Cheddar Mac N Cheese and a Mint Chocolate Shake. They all looked good.

Since we were all sacrificing by ordering fish, we didn't feel guilty ordering the mac n cheese and the mint chocolate shake. The sandwich was delicious especially after adding some of their "horsey" sauce which is horseradish which gave it a little kick. The mac n cheese was creamy and went well with the sandwich. The shake was outstanding because it had pieces of that lovely Andes mint chocolate that everyone loves. Who doesn't love those mints???

We can't wait to head back to Arby's next Friday. I was informed by the nice gentleman that the "special" will be available until Easter.

Burrata House

I finally made it to Burrata House. I was planning on attending their inauguration but unfortunately, I had a bad cold and didn't think anyone would appreciate me coughing on their burrata. Sandi and I had the address but we could not find the place. After walking back and forth on Hollywood Blvd., we guessed that it must be in the outdoor shops and dining next to the Dolby Theater which is called Hollywood and Highland Center. We found a security guard and asked her if she knew where it was and she directed us to the 3rd-floor dining deck.

Burrata House is a small take-out place wherein you place your order on a tablet but not before seeing the pictures of everything that looked delicious. It was hard to make a decision. We finally decided to split an order of their freshly made pasta with the Bolognese sauce. The Bh-olognese consisted of prosciutto, bresaola pork, beef, carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, wine, stock and olive oil with a whole burrata. The Crudo Panini was our second choice;  Prosciutto Crudo di Parma, Italian Rosetta bread, burrata, Italian extra virgin olive oil, organic tomatoes, salt & pepper and arugula.

Watching Elisabetta, our server was torture. Torture, in a good way, if there's such a thing. The way she assembled the sandwich was pure art as she drizzled olive oil on the bread and layered the arugula, prosciutto, tomatoes and then topped it with the fresh soft burrata. She carefully made 2 precise incisions on the burrata like a skilled surgeon would and drizzled more olive oil and a dash of pepper. When everything was on the bread, she carefully laid the top bread and squeezed it a bit before cutting it in half. I had to refrain from drooling as I watched her carefully orchestrate the assembly.

The moment of truth. We sat outside on this beautiful day and attacked the Bolognese first since it was hot. It was pure delight, That ball of burrata mushed on the pasta bolognese was heaven. Bolognese will never be the same without this wonderful treat. The panini was excellent as well. The choice of bread went well as the size was big enough for us to split.

The gentleman after me had ordered the Vegetarian Caprese Bowl which I know our vegetarian friend Sujata would have loved. It had homemade pesto, on top of the burrata, organic mixed greens, heirloom cherry tomatoes, arugula, farro, Italian extra virgin olive oil, and of course salt & pepper. He was kind enough to allow me to take a picture of his bowl.

There's only one terrible thing about Burrata House which is;  it is not near My House! Currently, they have 2 locations: one in Culver City and one in Hollywood.

Chevoo Goat Cheese

Sandi's son sent her an assortment of Chevoo Goat Cheese. He sent it all the way from Florida to California. He had raved about their cheese and she was kind enough to have me try it. The small bottle consisted of several chunks of flavored goat cheese bathed in olive oil.

I took a chunk and smothered some on a piece of cracker. It was scrumptious! As soon as I got home I googled Chevoo Cheese and found out they are made in Healdsburg, California. A couple from Australia started the company making goat curd hand blended with spices, herbs, chilies, pollens then paired with extra virgin olive oil. The cheese is infused with crushed botanicals for 8 weeks.

I discovered they had several interesting flavors which I absolutely had to try hence, I immediately had to place an order. I ordered 3 bottles; Urfa Chili & Lemon, Smoked Salt & Rosemary which I tasted at Sandi's house, and Italian Black Truffle.

The Chili and Lemon: Goat cheese blended with chili pepper marinated in lemon extra virgin olive oil was delicious. It was lemony with a bit of a kick from the chili peppers.
The Smoked Salt and Rosemary: Goat cheese with cracked pepper and rosemary-infused extra virgin olive oil was equally delicious. If you like rosemary, you will love it.
The Italian Black Truffle: Goat cheese with real black truffles "gently folded" into the cheese in extra virgin olive oil. This was my favorite. I felt like I died and went to heaven! You could really taste the truffles. This is the real thing; not truffle flavored or fake truffle.

Chevoo pronounced shay-voo comes from Chèvre which is French for goat cheese and EVVO is for extra virgin olive oil. You could go on their website or order from Amazon but the best deal is from Whole Foods which costs $5.99 a bottle.

Benihana

I was recently invited for lunch at Benihana in Torrance. Since the invitation was for lunch, I assumed it was for the express lunch wherein they serve you in the bar area with good food without the theatrics. We were seated with 2 other couples aside from my friends Francine, her husband Tony, and their neighbor Gerda.

Gerda, who was celebrating her birthday, ordered the Scallops and Shrimp. The rest of us ordered the Filet Mignon and Shrimp with the Chicken Fried Rice. The entrée came with a choice of soup or salad. We all opted for their delicious soup. Our entertaining Master Chef Kenny did not disappoint us with his theatrics.

I had forgotten how much garlic butter they put on almost everything. That with soy sauce; one can hardly go wrong. Everything was delicious. I had forgotten how the shrimp and the filet mignon were cooked to perfection. Nothing was overcooked. Both shrimp and filet were juicy, tender, and very flavorful.

One should never dismiss Benihana for a good meal. I, myself, tend to think it's all theatrics, so it was a good reminder. I thank Francine and her husband Tony, for inviting me to good old Benihana.

Mango Mousse

If you like mango and like mousse, you will like the Mango Mousse from the Filipino bakery, Red Ribbon. I've never had it before because I couldn't get passed the best Coffee Crunch Cake which was excellent but as the saying goes, "Nothing good lasts forever", they discontinued making it which was the biggest mortal sin!

The mango mousse is a light chiffon cake topped with chopped Philippine mangoes and a creamy mango mousse. It isn't too sweet so it's a nice dessert at the end of a heavy meal.

Red Ribbon has multiple locations including one in the city of Carson in California.

New York Deli

It has been over 7 years since I dined at New York Deli in Torrance.  Aaron, Sandi and I thought of ordering the Mazo Ball Soup. We decided not to waste our calories on that after reading my previous blog in 2012. The place looked more appealing with the lights, the old Hollywood photos and pleasing music in the background.

We all thought we should split sandwiches but later decided to order our own and have half to take home. Aaron and I ordered the Hot Pastrami, NY Famous and Sandi decided on the Hot Beef Brisket. She had cucumber salad with her sandwich and I opted for the potato salad. We also ordered more starch, French Fries which turned out to be tasteless.  The sandwiches were excellent with coleslaw that went well with the meat.

When you can't make the trip to Canters Deli, NYD (New York Deli) is a good substitute, but when you crave good Matzo Ball Soup, you can't beat Canter's. NYD is located at 2424 Sepulveda Blvd. in Torrance, California.

Honeymee

My family and I visited the Japanese Village Plaza Mall last weekend to have breakfast at Cafe Dulce  (my favorite) and lunch at Kouraku . After making that trip, it wouldn't have been worthwhile not to have dessert. My nephew had wandered off and returned with what looked like a cup of soft ice cream with a piece of honeycomb on top. That intrigued me so I went into this place called Honeymee; true milk ice cream & pure honey.

My first question was did they have coffee ice cream. The answer was no but they had the "Honey Affogato" ice cream drizzled with coffee and honey with a honeycomb. That was pure delight! It was not too sweet and chewing on the honeycomb was really good. I felt one in nature so to speak, like bonding with the bees. My next question is where else were they located aside from downtown Los Angeles. The lady told me they had multiple locations and none were near me. When I got home, I quickly googled the locations and I couldn't contain my excitement when I found out there is one in Gardena, which is not too far from me.

I can't wait to go with my friends and introduce them to Honeymee.