Bison Fondue at Walliser Stube, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (Alberta, Canada)

Walliser Stube at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise serves fondues and Swiss-German dishes. What does Lake Louise have to do with Switzerland and why does Chateau Lake Louise have a Swiss restaurant inside the restaurant? So Lake Louise is where Canadians first delve into mountaineering and after one fell to his death while climbing, Canadian Pacific hired professional mountain guides from Switzerland to lead guests.

The restaurant is divided into a few dining rooms. The one we were in is pretty casual. You can get a set menu with appetizers and fondue or you can order a la carte.

Bread service

The non-fondue menu changes seasonally and appetizers may include things like Rabbit and Cornish hen pave wrapped in leek, with sweetbreads

Some are pretty much mainstays, though, like the "Jager" Forest Mushroom Spatzle Skillet (housemade spatzle/dumplings, sauteed wild mushrooms, arugula, onion, gruyere cream sauce, emmental gratin

The dish is quite rich and satisfying.

Main entrees include dishes with local trout, local Alberta beef rib tenderloin and bison rib eye, and Wiener Schnitzel. But, I had to try the fondue. I'm sure most of you have had fondue before at The Melting Pot or some other place. There's the well-known cheese fondue, and there's also the meat fondue cooked in beef bouillon, served with a variety of sauces as shown on the left. My favorite is the herb and garlic sauce.

The cheese fondue is made of Gruyere, Emmental, Appenzeller cheese, and white wine. The finishing touch is of your choice, with the traditional choice being Kirsch, a type of cherry brandy. I, of course, chose black truffle! Black truffle shavings in my cheese fondue, yum.

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Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Canada

One can easily see why Fairmont decided to build Chateau Lake Louise where it is: right next to mirror-like Lake Louise, surrounded by the snow-capped mountain of Banff National Park. Everything is reflected upon the water of Lake Louise with astounding clarity.

To enjoy Lake Louise, all you have to do is exit the back doors of the Fairmont hotel.

The Chateau is surprisingly a great base for nature and hiking lovers. There are trails accessible both to the left and right of this point. There's an overlook a short hike to the left. To the right there's a walking trail that goes to the other end of the lake (one hour round trip) and along the way are access points to other, longer trails including Lake Agnes (4.4 miles)

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Vintage Enoteca, A Friendly Wine Bar With A Female Sommelier

Female chefs have gotten more attention lately, but it's still pretty rare to find a female sommelier. Well, you can meet one at the very approachable Vintage Enoteca in Hollywood: Danielle Francois. It's not a frou-frou wine bar, but a friendly, casual place where locals hang out or go on a date while trying some interesting wines. In fact, while Danielle is the in-house sommelier and part-owner, the other owner is also a woman.

Owners Danielle Francois and Jennifer Moore worked in advertising in New York City. Tired of the of the advertising world, they moved to Los Angeles and opened Vintage Enoteca, wanting to create "a casual environment to explore and sip interesting vino and eat simple, yet delicious tapas that complements the wine." 

They opened Vintage on June 1^st 2010 and Danielle went on to get her sommelier certification with The Court of Master Sommeliers. I took a look at the wine and beer list and was surprised at the number of unfamiliar names and varietals on both. I mean, I thought I've learned quite a bit about beer and wine over my blogging years, but still. There was Scheurebe from the Rheinhessen, a Grignolino from Piedmont or a Blaufrankish from Burgenland. The only word I recognize there was Piedmont!

Anyway, I came in for a casual wine pairing dinner, starting off with a refreshing glass of Pascal Bellier "Reverie" Brut Rose from Loire Valley, France. This sparkling rose is 100% made of pinot noir grapes and going to be perfect in the summer months to come.

The food, as they claimed, is simple and affordable. The small bites are $6 and all the salads, flatbreads, and paninis are $10.

While it wasn't on the tasting menu, one of the other writers had heard a lot of their Crispy Duck Cracklings Salad ($10) and wanted to try it. The salad was composed of blue cheese, blistered baby tomatoes, arugula, creme fraiche dressing, and topped with duck cracklings.

I'm glad we got to try this salad, tossed with the right amount of dressing. Of course, it's the duck cracklings that made it special.

Asparagus Salad (English pea, pickled fennel, chorizo chips, herb anchovy vinaigrette - $10)

This was paired with Palomino: La Cigarrera Manzanilla NV, Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain.

Nope, not a white wine. This is a sherry! This dry sherry pairs very well with the anchovy vinaigrette, cutting the saltiness and fishiness. Danielle explains that the dry sherry pairs well in general with salty snacks.

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Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop Starts Juicing

Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop has been a popular destination for salad and other healthy breakfast and lunch options, with more locations slowly popping up. Recently, they've also started offering juices to meet their customers' demands. Their executive chef, Kristi Ritchey, explains that there are two types of juicers The centrifugal juicers are high speed and create heat. This type of juicer separates juice from the pulp. On the other hand, Greenleaf uses a slow speed juicer which extracts more fiber from the ingredients. I came in to taste the juices on my own.

Red grape juice

Greenleaf sells pure juices including carrot and tomato ($5.95), orange, grapefruit, green apple, and red grape pure juices ($6.95). If those prices seem high, keep in mind that these are all 20oz servings and use higher priced ingredients. Even though red apple is cheaper, Kristi decides to use Granny Smith apple for the juice because it gives a crisper flavor. They also use red grapes instead of the cheaper green grapes because the green ones have a metallic aftertaste.


You can also build your own juice for $6.95, for which you can select three main ingredients like kale, apple, pineapple, cucumber, etc and add one accent like ginger, celery, jalapeno, mint, or parsley. All the juices can be sold in a sealed bottle to take home (they do suggest consuming anything with ginger within a day, though).
If you're baffled by the choices, just go with one of their signature juices.

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Catch at Hotel Casa del Mar (Santa Monica, CA): Excellent Ocean View Dining

Dining with an ocean view can be disappointing food-wise, but the new Chef at Catch, Sven Mede, aims to make it better at this fresh seafood-centric restaurant inside Hotel Casa del Mar.

View from my seat

Of course, I couldn't say no to the Grand Shellfish Platter for two (Maine lobster, citrus poached shrimp, Alaskan King Crab legs, East & West coast oysters, Cherrystone clams, ceviche, served with traditional garnishes - $68)

The East Coast oysters were Cape Cod Sweet Petite and the West Coast oysters were Crystal Bay. Both oysters were unusually good and fresh, the Sweet Petites were the best oysters I've had in recent memory. The clams were also exceptional. The lobster was unfortunately a little tough, but otherwise we loved the shellfish platter.

The raw seafood continues with Maine diver scallop crudo, blood orange, rhubarb, basil ($14)

Beautiful, delicate flavors.

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Calling Peat and Whisky Lovers: Peatin' Meetin' V on June 29

If you're not a member of the LA Scotch Club, you may not know about their annual Peatin' Meetin', open to anyone who enjoys peaty whisky. They will all convene next Saturday, June 29 at the Upper Picnic Area at UCLA's Sunset Canyon for over 100 peated whiskies including Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Smokehead, Lagavulin, and many more.
The great thing about this event is that the whiskies you will taste there are not just from sponsors, but they use their own club funds to source some rare whiskies. It's all about sharing a great whisky with fellow lovers.

Other than over 100 peated whiskies, 7Grand will also be on site making peated cocktails! You won't be drinking on an empty stomach, fret not. They will be peat smoking 175 lbs of New York strip sirloin this year. There will also be peated beer!

Tickets are $100 all-inclusive (or $40 for non-drinkers). You will also get a free t-shirt if you register early. Tickets and more information are available on peatinmeetin.com.

Art Meets Cocktails: Art Beyond The Glass II on June 30

Last year, many of LA's best bartenders showcased their multiple talents in mixology and art/photography/music at the first Art Beyond the Glass, held at Sadie Kitchen and Lounge in Hollywood. The 2nd Art Beyond the Glass is coming up real soon, next week at the beautiful Invention inside the members-only Los Angeles Athletic Club! This is also your chance to check out the bar without splurging on that membership fee.

Here are the deets:
Sunday, June 30, 2013. 3:30pm – 7:30pm
Los Angeles Athletic Club
431 W 7th St Los Angeles, CA 90014
Tickets are $50 and available on Eventbrite (with part of the proceeds benefiting Art Share LA). You can see next week's bartender lineup here, and you should get excited..

I definitely drank more than $50 worth of cocktails last year. Great cocktails were overflowing, of course, with so many bartenders rotating shifts. New bartenders and new drinks every hour! Plan to stay for most of the event.

Jaymee Mandeville and Cari Hah serving up their sangritas.
Cari will be at next week's event.

But they weren't just there to mix drinks. Eugene Lee from Big Bar exhibited some of his photographs. Some, like Cana Rum Bar's Allan Katz were DJing for the afternoon.

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Lucky Devils (Hollywood, CA)

Lucky Devils is one of the oldest craft beer bar in Hollywood, though I actually went to taste the wines from their newly installed wine taps. Lucky Devils was opened by former model Lucky Vanous. It was before my time but Wandering Chopsticks who came with me did remember this old Diet Coke commercial. I've never heard much about Lucky's before and wasn't sure what to expect, but to my surprise the food was actually pretty good. On this particular strip of Hollywood Blvd, Lucky's may well be one of the best options.

As I was being seated for my tasting I noticed a menu of "six courses" with multiple items listed under each and 12 wines. Oh, I need to choose, I thought, but I was quickly corrected. I was apparently getting all of them. All 10 dishes+2 fries+2 desserts+12 wines.

We started with some olive tapenade and jalapeno hummus with char-grilled bread.

Wandering Chopsticks loved the charred bread and couldn't stop eating them even though we have 10+ more courses to come.

With this first appetizer we tried three different white wines they had on tap:
 2011 Zocker Gruner Veltliner. Vibrant, crisp. Notes of stone fruit (melon).
2011 Hess Chardonnay. Slightly buttery. From Monterey's coastal valley.
2011 Acrobat Pinot Gris. Nice one. A hint of sweetness, a bit sweeter than the Zocker.

They only have wines on tap here so you may not find many wineries you know and like, but the most expensive 6oz pour is $9.50 and most is $7.50.

Short rib sliders (braised with caramelized vegetables, wild arugula, horseradish cream, Hawaiian sweet rolls) and truffle parmesan chips (it's truffle oil).

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Sneak Peek of LA Street Food Fest, June 29 2013

LA Street Food Fest is returning to the Rose Bowl on June 29. While I recently did a recap of last year's Food Fest, I previewed some of this year's vendors and there are some new ones you should be excited about!

1. Dante's Fried Chicken: Sock-It-To-Me fried chicken with coconut honey black sesame biscuit

Despite being white meat this was an awesome piece of fried chicken! 

2. Donut Snob.
Donut Snob has no retail store and you can usually only get them by pre-order, so the Food Fest is the perfect time to try these amazing donuts! No, really, they are some of the best in LA.

3. D'elish Sandwich Shop by Tiara Cafe: pastrami smoked short rib on fresh baked potato roll with slaw and jalapeno pickles

4. El Coraloense had all kinds of ceviche tostada during the preview. I tried the crab ceviche 

5. Local distillery Greenbar will be showcasing their new poppy liqueur, but if you shy away from alcohol, La Guelaguetza's horchata is always a good bet!

Some of the old favorites will make a return, but I'm excited about many of the new ones. These are just but a tiny portion of the vendors that will be there, so be sure to get your tickets soon at http://lastreetfoodfest.com 

All inclusive general admission tickets are $50 and VIP early admission is $75 with access to the Luxe Lounge (one time they had special cocktails and free massage!)

Giveaway! Sunset & Dine: Food, Drinks, Movie

On June 13th the 2nd annual Sunset and Dine kicks off! It's the summer movie screening program at Academy Hollywood, the outdoor amphitheatre on the campus of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

From 6-10pm you can watch a great classic while partaking in food, beer, and wine samples from local establishments and all proceeds from the $30 ticket will go to local charities.

The food: some of the best pizza in town from the new Stella Barra, followed by old favorites like Los Balcones del Peru and El Floridita along with promising new stars I haven't tried like Urban Masala, The Waffle and more.

The drinks: beer from Hollywood favorite Blue Palms Brewhouse, K&L Wines and more.

The movie: a wonderful classic and one of my favorites film noir, Sunset Boulevard, starring Gloria Swanson. 

So. I have two pairs of tickets to give away to two lucky readers (valued at $30 per ticket)!

To enter, leave a comment below with your email contact.

Get extra entries by tweeting: "Food, beer, Sunset Blvd film under the stars. Win tix to Sunset&Dine via @gourmetpigs http://bit.ly/128up2h "

Since the event is coming up soon this is going to be a quick one and you have until midnight of Monday June 10 to enter! I'll be drawing the winners on Tuesday. Good luck!

Academy Hollywood is located at 6322 DeLongpre Ave. in Hollywood.  Tickets are on sale now at www.sunsetanddine.org

Brunch and Burger at Sunny Spot (Venice, CA)

Sunny Spot is the perfect brunch spot. Colorful space with an outdoor dining area, great cocktails by Brian Butler (with recently added bottomless mimosa and Bloody Mary), and delicious comfort Caribbean food from Roy Choi.

A staple dish is the Muh-F*K*N Mofongo and eggs (2 fried eggs, ripe plantains, applewood bacon, fennel, garlic, fresh herbs, ginger oil - $11)

Rather than the Hangover Plate, I think this one would be a better cure for that hangover! The rich and bold flavors would soothe that headache right away.

There's a sweet deal for a boozy brunch: Bottomless mimosa, Bloody Mary, cava, or rum punch (you can mix and match any of them) for $10 with purchase of a main course. If you prefer a craft cocktail instead they are $11 each. I highly recommend Permanent Vacation (Peychaud's, tequila, hibiscus, lemon, carpano, ginger beer)

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Summer Truffle Menu at Celestino (Pasadena)

Celestino Ristorante in Pasadena is one of six restaurants owned by the four Drago brothers. The one in charge of Celestino is actually Calogero Drago who named the restaurant after the eldest brother.

Unlike the higher end Drago or Drago Centro, Celestino is intimate and rustic. It's a place where you'd feel at home and where by the end of dinner you know that the chef is going truffle hunting in two weeks and that your server's wife just gave birth to their second baby. In like with this feel, Celestino is offering an affordable summer truffle menu, which will be available until around mid or late June. 

The truffle items are available a la carte, but to get the best value order the four course prix fixe for $58! The 4-course menu lets you choose one dish from the truffle antipasti, pasta, and meat/fish menu and finishes with Tartufo ice cream. Considering the a la carte pricing of $15-38, the $58 prix fixe is the way to go.

At Celestino, they stick with traditional recipes. The antipasti selection includes Tuna Carpaccio with Mushrooms and Truffles ($18)

Calogero explained that summer truffle is called bianchetti. These truffles are black on the outside and white on the inside. This was new to me as I'm used to having truffles with something richer, not tuna carpaccio. The mushrooms accentuated the truffles and the combination with tuna was both interesting and delicious.

Soft Polenta with Mushroom in Fontina Cheese and Shaved Black Truffle Sauce ($18)

The consistency of the soft polenta was pretty runny. I'm not sure if this is usual, but we ate it almost like it was soup.

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Travel: Living Desert Zoo & Gardens (Palm Desert, CA)

So Palm Springs Restaurant Week started this past weekend. If you haven't checked it out, you still have time since it's running til June 16!

It's not just about restaurant deals, they also have specials on local attractions like the Red Jeep Desert Tour.

When I was there I also checked out The Living Desert Zoo and Botanical Gardens. There were so many cute animals there!

First we passed by an expansive model train display

Next, giraffes! Giraffes eating, giraffes peeing ...

The great thing about Living Desert is that you can get quite close to some of the animals there, since the zoo is not as large or popular as San Diego.

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Petty Cash Taqueria: Kraken, Pig Ears, Mexican Spirits You' ve Never Heard Of

The new Petty Cash Taqueria is a collaboration between the north and south side of the border. Beloved chef Walter Manzke's pig ear nachos sit on the same menu as Tijuana's popular Tacos Kokopelli's kraken tacos. Bill Esparza tries to spice up the spirits program with little known Bacanora from Sonora (it's a sister of tequila made from a different type of agave). You will see a giant jug of a clear spirit sitting on the bar. It will either be this bacanora or something equally as interesting they managed to get their hands on.

Manzke's pig ear nachos appeared at Colonial Wine Bar for a pop-up once and people raved. Now, you can get it anytime here. The nachos and pig ears are topped with a runny egg and crema poblano ($12)

Crispy nachos, chewy pig ear, just enough going on here. There's a reason why this dish is so popular, try it for yourself!

A perfect snack for a big party is the Cheesy Churros with green Mole-corn dip ($5)

Yes, savory Churros covered in cheese!

(The texture wasn't quite "churros" but it's certainly a puffy fried dough, so that counts.) There are plenty of churros in one order, but it was so hard to stop eating them.

The cocktail list isn't as big as Playa's was but there are still interesting drinks to try like the Oaxacan Old Fashioned (made with tequila and mezcal). I went with a lighter Banana Hammock (Petty Cash rum blend, banana infusion, lime, tamarind, cassia, dehydrated banana chip, $10)

A sweeter tiki drink that's a crowd pleaser. The sour tamarind is not that strong here, getting mostly the sweeter banana.

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Giveaway! Tickets to LA Wine Fest (June 8-9)

It's time for another giveaway! LA Wine Fest is returning to Raleigh Studios on June 8-9 and they have offered two pairs of tickets to give away to my readers. 

You can taste over 500 wines, spirits, and beers from all over the world here, and nibble on samples from vendors (if you need more food, there will be food trucks with food for purchase). Last year I tasted lots of wines, limoncello, chocolate bourbon, Korean rice wines, and much more. They also have seminars like wine and cheese pairing with Barrie Lynn,The Cheese Impresario (seminars cost extra).

One of my favorites from last year: Martian from Santa Ynez

Event details: 
Saturday, June 8th 2pm-6pm and Sunday, June 9th 12pm-5pm
Hollywood's Historic Raleigh Studios
5300 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038
@LAWineFest

If you don't win, you can also purchase tickets to the wine fest here. The VIP ticket gets you in early and a VIP swag bag.
You can also check out the seminar schedule there (and the cost). Your ticket purchase benefits Food Foward.

The contest will end at midnight Friday, May 31 and I will be choosing two winners over that weekend. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Osawa Upgrades Old Shaab Location in Pasadena

When Shaab shuttered it left Pasadena devoid of shabu shabu. Now Osawa has taken over the exact same spot, serving shabu Shabu, sushi, and otsumami (small plates). Osawa is owned by Sayuri Tachibe, the wife of Chaya's corporate chef, Shigefumi Tachibe.

I went with Wandering Chopsticks who I know doesn't drink much so I ordered something sweeter that she can enjoy, a yuzu sake called Aladdin. Definitely easy to drink.

There's also blood orange lemonade for those who don't drink at all.

We started with some otsumami. I had been eyeing the beef tongue with Furofuki daikon radish and shaved kelp ($11)

I wondered if this was a common combination. I've never had shaved kelp (as opposed to dried) and like bonito flakes, when they get wet they clump together making it hard to separate with your chopsticks, but overall I liked this interesting dish. The beef tongue was quite tender and I'm partial to daikon.

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Palm Springs Restaurants Week Pick: Mastro's Steakhouse

Despite being a big national chain, Mastro's Steakhouse is still one of the top steakhouses. Now, why would I write about the Mastro's in Palm Desert, you ask? That's because they're participating in Palm Springs Restaurant Week!

A $38 dinner at Mastro's with appetizer, 6 oz petite filet (or other entree choices), 2 sides and dessert?? Unheard of! They really want new customers who have never been to try Mastro's with this approachable price. In the Beverly Hills location an 8oz petite filet is already $42! If I were going to be in the Palm Springs are during Restaurant Week, this is where I would go.

During the Restaurant Week media visit, we got treated to more than that, though. Of course, a splurge at Mastro's would usually include their famous seafood tower.

An impressive three-tiered (or does that little thing at the top count as 4?) tower. Oysters, king crab legs, shrimp cocktails, and mmm ... lobster .. all very fresh!

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1886 Bar Reopens With New Spring Menu (Pasadena)

Some of you may already know that 1886 is my favorite bar in Pasadena, so I was in a withdrawal when they temporarily closed while the kitchen is being renovated. It's not that I go every week, but it's nice to know I can if I want to! Anyway, they finally reopened and a few days after launched their new spring menu. I didn't try everything this time around but got pretty close.

The menu is divided into four different sections. Let's start with the last one, since that has the drink I started out with: ANATOMY OF A MEAL.
They say this section is a "work in progress", with cocktails that would go well with different food.
My cocktail tasting started with the Sprezzatura (by Pete Lloyd-Jones): Campari, Cynar, Grapefruit Soda. The menu advises you to try this before the meal to cleanse your palate, and it's certainly a great one for that with a balance between the sweetness and bitterness. It's lighter in alcohol as well, making it even more perfect to start the night.

Mama Loves Mango (Rosie Ruiz): Mezcal, Tequila, Mango, Citrus, Cayenne. Meant to pair with dishes where fish or shellfish take center stage.

"Mama" Rosie created this because she loves mango. So do I! This drink is calling my name as the weather in Pasadena is getting unbearably hot ...

Dinner at the Gamble House (Nikita Minin): Cedar infused Bourbon, East India Sherry, Sweet Vermouth Try pairing with red meat or game.

Photo courtesy of 1886 Bar

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