Showing posts with label lounge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lounge. Show all posts

Friday, August 21, 2015

The Beautiful Revamp of Esterel at Sofitel LA

Esterel Restaurant inside the Sofitel hotel in Beverly Hills just had a major renovation, and its patio dining area is worth a second look. From this gorgeous bar with the romantic lights and vines in the background  ...

Esterel
... to the covered outdoor dining area. It's a charming spot that would be perfect for dates.
Esterel
The inside dining room also feels more casual and open than the previous setup.
Esterel
The menu is relatively small and simple, but the food is done very well here. We got the Lamb Meatballs ($13) served atop couscous.
Esterel

Followed by Pan-seared scallops ($17) which were fresh and cooked just right. I love the texture of seared scallops when they're done well.
Esterel

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Stanton Social (New York)

The lounge on the second floor of The Stanton Social turns into a hopping party at night. I don't usually go to these types of places for the food, but The Stanton Social was featured on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate for their French Onion Soup Dumplings. French onion soup what? Yes, dumplings.

The kitchen at The Stanton Social is helmed by Executive Chef Neill Howell and Chef/Partner Chris Santos, and their menu definitely looks much more promising than other lounge-y types.

Of course, we had to try the French Onion Soup Dumplings ($12)

French Onion Dumplings
(sorry for the flash. It was impossible to take photos without it!)
The dumpling is covered with melted gruyere and topped with croutons. Bite the chewy dumplings and hot french onion soup will come spurting out. It's not "the best thing i ever ate" but it was pretty damn good and addictive. I'm also bookmarking Habeas Brulee's recipe for it. Who knows, perhaps one day I'll actually attempt to recreate it.

The cocktails ($13 each), while couldn't stand up to Milk and Honey's which were still fresh on my mind, were pretty good and interesting. The Blood Orange Jalapeño Margarita is made with jalapeño-infused Milagro Reposado, blood orange juice, fresh lime, and Cointreau. Even though vodka has a bad rap among cocktail enthusiasts these days, I still enjoyed the Basil-Lime Gimlet made with Belvedere Vodka, muddled basil, lemon syrup, and fresh lime (I'm curious if it'll be better with gin though).
Cocktails
The Stanton also features some locally distilled liquors. Try the Brooklyn Lemonade made with Brooklyn Gin, lemon syrup, lemon juice, muddled cucumber, and ginger beer.

OK, moving on to more of the food.

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