Animal Style in Los Angeles

Clearly, heading down to Los Angeles proves to have become something to love! As part of my birthday celebration, Jeff and I went to Animal in West Hollywood. It has been on my list for a while now, after having heard so many amazing things about it. Animal was awesome!

Hamachi tostada, herbs, fish sauce vinaigrette, peanut. Beautiful combination of fresh flavors. The fried shallots were a nice touch!

Foie gras terrine, blackberry jam, black pepper gastrique. To think July 1st brings the end of foie gras in California. A new law will fall into place outlawing foie gras, much to my dismay. This terrine was divine, melt in your mouth goodness. The blackberry jam was sweet and tangy and the pepper gastrique a perfect amount of spice for the perfect bite, seen below.

Duck breast, charred cabbage, liptauer, mustard. Most ducky duck I have enjoyed in California. The charred cabbage was wonderful in its smokiness and perfect bite.

Balsamic pork ribs, watercress, favas, beets, panzanella. Rich, fall off the bone goodness. Balsamic on pork ribs is a fantastic idea. The vibrant salad of greens complemented the giant flavors of the ribs perfectly.

Berries, vanilla custard, lavender crumble, opal basil. A lovely, light dessert to complete a very satisfying meal.

Can't wait to eat there again!

435 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036
Reservations: (323) 782 9225

Divine Culinary Moments in Los Angeles

Cube Cafe, with their super fresh ingredients and wonderful combinations of flavors, creates an incredibly satisfying dining experience.As well as appetizers, pastas, main dishes, and sides, one can order cut meats and cheeses. Above is a gorgeous pile of Bresaola. Extremely tasty and sliced to order.

Mimmo’s burrata - charred market radicchio, aged balsamic, spiced walnuts, house rosemary focaccia. The burrata was rich and creamy and with the radicchio and walnuts, oh what a perfect bite!

Leek and braised bacon raviolo - ricotta, egg yolk, brown butter, parmesan. Wow. This dish was so very satisfying. The boldness of the filling flavors and the somehow light butter sauce was wonderful with the egg yolk and fresh pasta. We cleaned the whole plate till it was white again.

English pea tortellini - prosciutto brodo, pea tendrils. Fresh, fresh, freshness. We were amazed at how much fresh pea flavor was packed into each tortellini. The pea tendrils still had bite to them. The broth, well, I couldn't get enough of it. It felt like it could cure anything. 

With our meal we enjoyed a Frascati, which I was quite surprised to see on the menu and at only $30!

Niman ranch pork t-bone - braised black lentils, sauteed spinach, roasted garlic & thyme
vinaigrette. Perfectly cooked pork. I am going to use the word fresh again here as this seems to be the real key word here. Everything tastes like it was just picked, never frozen and it is all treated with respect in the kitchen.

Black magic cake - cream cheese, chocolate sauce. Indulge yourself and dive into this chocolate lover's must. It's all about dark chocolate with a touch of sweetness.

615 N. La Brea Avenue, Tel. 323-939-1148 x1
Tuesday-Saturday: 11am-11:30pm, Sunday-Monday: Closed

Ink Sack in Los Angeles

On a quick visit to LA recently, my friend and I stopped to grab a bite at Top Chef winner, Michael Voltaggio's, new sandwich place called Ink Sack, on Melrose Avenue. Ink Sack creates delicious, unique sandwiches for the locals who work there or walk by. There are no chairs, just a few tall tables to stand at and eat. We ordered our sandwiches TO-GO and actually, don't faint, found a park within walking distance to eat at! There had been a marathon that weekend and the streets were empty. Melrose did not have one car on it. Quite apocalyptic really. At our new found park, we sat on a bench listening to the sounds of the mini waterfall beside us. The sandwiches are quite small, so we had ordered 3 to share - each at around $6.

We enjoyed the Cold Fried Chicken with house-made ranch dressing and spicy pepper sauce sandwich first. The buns on all the sandwiches are super fresh and flavorful. The fried chicken was surprisingly crunchy and the chicken moist. The house-made ingredients really make a difference!

We then tried out the Spicy Tuna with miso-cured albacore tuna and sriracha mayo. It was like a super fancy tuna sandwich, but packed with flavor and a lovely amount of heat. House-made pickles too!

The third one, Maple Turkey Melt, was my personal favorite. Roasted turkey with sliced camembert, mostarda, and arugula. Yum.

After our lovely picnic, we ventured over on foot to Urth Caffe where I enjoyed this almond milk latte. Isn't it neat? Happy Halloween everyone!

Santa Monica in a jiffy

There is always something nice about getting out of town and yesterday, Caroline and I got out of town. Caroline accompanied me to the French consulate where I picked up my new passport and ID card. This was the goal of the LA visit, but so as to make a day of it we decided to stay for lunch and a bit of window-shopping.
A friend recommended the restaurant Locanda del Lago located on the 3rd Street Promenade and Arizona Street. Much to our enjoyment we were seated at a table outside in full sunlight. As we soaked in the rays and vitamin D, we sipped our iced teas trying to decide what to order.
We both ordered the cabbage soup to begin with. It was smooth and very cabbagy!

 For the main course I enjoyed a dish of house made spinach tagliolini in a porcnini, cherry tomato white wine sauce with shrimp. Isn't the presentation beautiful! The dish was quite good, but became a little bland by the end of my plate. The fresh pasta had a lovely chewy consistency.

 Of course a delicious espresso to finish off the meal and get a kick in the rear to walk along the promenade. Overall, Locanda del Lago is a quite enjoyable restaurant. Though I have to say that I think I prefer Trastevere just a block down on the promenade. The atmosphere is better and the menu is more interesting. But I certainly would not disregard this restaurant...it's in the Michelin guide afterall!