Showing posts with label glendale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glendale. Show all posts

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Fun, Modern, All Day Dining at Recess Eatery – Apparently Glendale Rocks

by guest blogger @iam_robot

Guess What? There’s a legit modern-dining in Glendale and it’s been there for 5 freakin’ years. Being a Glendale transplant for 15 years, I am deeply ashamed to never have heard Recess Eatery until two weeks ago.

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Granted, it’s a stretch from tourist traps like Americana or Glendale Galleria but the food offerings are leaps and bounds better than any of the establishments there. Don’t tell me that Din Tai Fung is the greatest thing you could have in Glendale. Last time I checked, they couldn’t serve my dumplings hot and the “not supposed to be” ultra-thick skin tasted like cardboard. Don’t get me started on Cheesecake Factory. Big portions and cheap don’t always sum up to palatable. Bourbon Steak is okay. Good piece of rib-eye but under-seasoned and flavorless at times and not worth that $80.

Okay, now, down to the good stuff. Recess Eatery is the brainchild of Chef Sevan Abdessian. Following graduation from the Culinary Institute in 1999, he began his journey in Patina Restaurant’s kitchen under the rigorous training of Master Chef Joachim Splichal. After that, he worked earnestly in the world of private chef for the likes of Adam Sandler, John Travolta, and Rod Stewart. These days, other than at the restaurant, you can see him on Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen, and season two of The Taste.

The ambiance at Recess Eatery feels like your favorite diner (yes, the one where everybody knows your name) – small and sparsely decorated yet intimate and cozy. Love the overall simplicity: dark booths, concrete floor, reclaimed chandeliers, white tablecloth, small flowers in the jar, and barely lit candle. There’s no big Sunflower setting in the host area or some overpriced local artwork, the gaudiest interior touches are dark wooden frames strewn along the wall. For Glendale, this is refreshing, as are the genuine feeling of welcome, warmth and friendliness from everyone I encountered. Also, don’t forget the beautiful outdoor patio. The patio features candle-bedecked tables, vine-covered roof and live Bossa nova.  Warm romantic night? Look no further!
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In a way, Recess is an all-day eatery, featuring Chef Sevan’s interpretation of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern-inspired fare. The menu is customized to cater many different personalities. For Breakfast or lunch, you can find your Buttermilk Waffles, Egg Benedict, or Gourmet Burger along with Chef inspired salads like Edamame Fatoush, Caprese Vasken (tomato, burrata, prosciutto, etc.), and Salmon Soba. But dinner is the way to go! I can’t specify a genre but the lineup leans toward a Cal-Mediterranean cuisine with some French and Asian influences. Heartier fares like Lamb Racks, Maine Lobster, and Dungeness crab are served with lebni chimicurri or mizuna (Japanese mustard).  

Below are the dishes presented to me:
 Duck Brie Flatbread
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We started the night with a flatbread topped with crispy duck, melted brie, gorgonzola, pears and dried figs. I love how the salty duck (presumably cooked confit) balance out with the sweetness of the pears and the tanginess of the figs. The brie was good too – creamy while providing subtle nuttiness to the pizza. My slight criticism is that I wish there were more gorgonzola – I was waiting for that strong salty pungent goodness – guess it just got masked with all the other good stuff.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Red Meat Heaven at Palate

Yes, the bandwagon had come and gone and it's too late to even jump on it. Palate was one of the big food hypes in LA in the past year, yet this was my first visit. Why? Well, besides a couple of mixed reviews, it's really because it's in Glendale!
But since I recently won a couple of tix to Macbeth in Burbank, thanks to Goldstar, I figured it's close enough for me to check out Palate.

Thanks to early pre-theatre dinner and recent daylight savings time, the natural light was great for food-porning, at least up to dessert :P

The bread was served with butter sprinkled with seasalt and presented quite beautifully.
Palate's menu is not particularly big but I think there's still something for everyone. You know, if you all eat meat.

To start off, we got the young beet salad.
The young beets, although the color doesn't look it, were all very good and fresh. Some of the lettuce, on the other hand, were kind of bruised ...

Next up, some veal ravioli.
Tender veal in al dente pasta and delicious creamy broth. A pretty light and delicious starter here.

Next I got me some pork trotters!
Loved the crispy skin. The meat was very flavorful. The meat (really the muscles/tendons) on pork trotters tend to be stringy but this one has been tenderized quite well.

I also got the Prawn & Veal Tongue.
Giant, fresh, crisp prawn. Delicious! And the veal tongue was very tender, and oh-so-good!!! Tongue was one of my ultimate fave while growing up, but besides my recent venture at FIG, I have yet found one in the state worthy of my love. But this one, yes, this one is worthy indeed!

My companion got the smoked Jidori chicken breast.
This dish is the weakest of the night IMO as the chicken meat is a bit overcooked and thus too dry and tough. I did enjoy the addition of apricots in this dish and thought that the skin was nice and crispy.

As a side dish we got some beautiful colorful cauliflowers.
This was the perfect side dish and was actually one of the highlights of the meal. Fresh and flavorful, sweet and juicy cauliflowers. I could eat this all day.

The dessert selection here was a bit limited. We went with the panna cotta.
This was pretty good, nothing to write home about though.

The chocolate mousse was better and more memorable.
It was pretty rich and dark. Both of the desserts here are solid and satisfying albeit nothing mind-blowing.

Palate was definitely good overall, and I can see where the hype comes from, although the pork and veal seems to be focused on more and done better here. Not that I'm complaining. In my opinion this restaurant is comparable to other great restaurants in LA. From what I've seen so far, it doesn't necessarily stand out on its own, but hey, each side of town needs its own great spot! That veal tongue, though ... Mmmm. That I'll come back for.

Palate Food+Wine
933 S Brand Blvd
Glendale, CA 91204
(818) 662-9463
www.palatefoodwine.com
Palate Food + Wine on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Great Food in Nowhere-Land

Chef Nadav Bashan was an executive chef at Michael's for three years before moving over to work under Cimarusti at Providence. Not so long ago he finally opened his own restaurant, Bashan, in Glendale/Montrose area. Although Glendale might sound close to Pasadena, this restaurant is actually pretty out of the way ...

Bashan sits on a quiet street, with not much around it. In fact, at dinner time, as far as I could tell it was the only thing open.

From the outside it looks like a cozy, charming cottage, but as you step inside it is actually decorated in a pretty hip/modern and sophisticated style. Such a contrast (see picture).



They only had 1 waitress working and at 6.30 pm only had three tables filled with customers.

We placed our order and were served these watermelon amuse bouches.

I've heard great things about their Crispy Veal Sweetbreads so of course I had to get them for my appetizer!
Mmmazing. Crispy skin, smooth silky sweetbreads on the inside. The sundried tomato was a great complement to it all.

Also got some Scallops with beets:
The scallops were nice, big and juicy. I would've liked a little more beets though! After we had run out of beets, the scallops were getting boring to eat by themselves.

For my entree I got Maple Leaf Farm Duck Breast
Let's see. I love duck. I love figs. This dish was great. The duck was particularly tender and flavorful, you can say gamey, even. It was cooked perfectly and also paired very well with the broccolini and the figs.

My companion got the Scottish King Salmon, which was perhaps one of the best salmon dish we've had, as you can probably see why from the photo.
Nicely cooked and still raw in the middle. Tender tender, juicy piece of salmon!

They had a special dessert that night which was this peach napoleon:
It was a pretty light and small dessert, but refreshing even though subtle.

We also got theChocolate Bread Pudding, since I feel like I need to have chocolate.
Decadent would describe this well. Richer, denser, and more chocolatey than any other bread pudding I've had. Very rich and chocolatey, I don't know if I would even call this bread pudding ... more like a chocolate cake. But it was quite good and satisfied my chocolate craving for sure.

I really liked this restaurant. I wish it isn't so out of the way for me, as I would like to come back more frequently.

Bashan Restaurant
3459 N. Verdugo Road
Glendale, CA 91208
(818)541.1532
www.bashanrestaurant.com

Bashan Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Food Porn: Cake Gallery

I don't have much for you these days, haven't had the chance to try anything new :(

So for the meantime, enjoy these series of cake photos!

First one's from our beloved, beloved Porto's!
A Cuban bakery in Glendale, famous for its inexpensive, delicious goods! Their most famous items are the cheese rolls, the guava cheese rolls, and my faaaavorite papas y rellenos (potato balls).
Here's a display of their cakes:

Porto's Bakery
315 North Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203
tel. (818) 956-5996

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