Ra Pour: Elevating Rancho Cucamonga

I wouldn't normally consider going to Rancho Cucamonga to dine, but the promise of a free hotel stay sounded like a nice getaway and convinced me to go check out this new restaurant headed by Executive Chef Greg Stillman, a French Laundry and Patina alum. On the drive to the restaurant, we saw what other places were in Rancho Cucamonga and it was pretty much restaurant chain capital.

Ra Pour is located inside the Victoria Gardens outdoor mall. The restaurant is large and a divider separates a large table facing the kitchen - a semi-private "chef's table"
The other side of the restaurant was the lounge area - even the lighting was different. Apparently after regular dinner hours the place turns into a club with DJs - not really my kind of scene.

The table started with a glass of sparkling wine, a 2007 Brut Taittinger Domaine Carneros, and shared some appetizers including tempura mushrooms and my favorite: lobster pops with lemongrass coconut sauce

The pops had actual chunks of lobster inside, not shredded and mixed. I tried the tempura mushrooms but didn't realize it had a dipping sauce which didn't make it to my side of the table at the same time, so it was incomplete.

The cocktail list contains five "signature cocktails" at $14 each and five "vintage cocktails" at $12 each. I went with one from the vintage list, the Highlander with Famous Grouse blended scotch whiskey, fresh grapefruit juice, house made grenadine, clover honey, orange bitters. I tried my friends' "signature cocktails" which lean towards the sweeter side.

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Inland Empire Reviews

Ashirwad (Upland)
Ra Pour | Brunch (Rancho Cucamonga)

Sweet Endings of Foie: Foie Gras Desserts in LA

As July 1 is looming ahead, what better way to say farewell to foie than with ... desserts? OK, so you can partake in a couple hundred dollar five-six course foie gras menu, but if that's too much for you, here are some places in LA who had been serving up foie gras desserts.

1. Foie Gras Ice Cream Sandwich at Petrossian

Imagine eating a cold, sweet foie gras terrine with brioche and jelly. That's almost what this super-decadent was like. This was originally a special for DineLA week, but it was popular enough that Chef Giselle Wellman wanted to make it regularly available.

2. Hazelnut-foie gras ice cream sandwich at Father's Office
At Father's Office, Sang Yoon combines the hazelnut foie ice cream with oatmeal cookies.

3. Foie Gras Cheesecake at Haven Gastropub

The taste of foie gras is not as strong here as with the foie gras ice cream at Petrossian, but it's a wonderfully smooth cheesecake and the light foie flavor does come out at the end.


4. Foie Gras Jelly Donut at Umamicatessen
Foie gras mousse elevates this jelly doughnut at Umamicatessen, and the combination with the peanut dust made J Gold call this "the most luxurious peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the world."