STL: A Cup of Conrete at Ted Drewes

"Get a concrete."

That's what noah of Chowhound told me to do. So I did just that. En route to the airport, I made a quick stop at Ted Drewes for some frozen custard. At first I made my way to the other location but apparently (so I was told) that was not the place to go. The place to go is the Ted Drewes on Chippewa.

Sure enough, everyone and their gangs were there, lining up under the midwestern sun for some cold frozen custard.
Confused with all the choices and toppings and running out of time, I went simple with a Chocolate concrete. We were sharing so I got a large.

Whenever your order is ready, they will flip it over before handing it to you to show you that it doesn't fall. Because it's, you know, concrete.

I, however, just had to take a photo. A photo of it flipped over but not falling. Because that would be so cool. So I got my creamy chocolate concrete.
Got my camera ready, posed for my companion to take a photo, flipped it over .... and FLOP.
Well, half of it did :(

Note to self: 1) Don't wait too long before flipping it over. Even concretes melt. 2) Get a small next time. It'll probably hold up better.

As for the other half, it was all you'd ever want from a frozen custard. Thick, creamy, smooth. Even the weather was perfect for a cold treat. So if you're in St Louis, get a concrete.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard (St. Louis Hills)
6726 Chippewa St
St Louis, MO 63109
(314) 481-2652
www.teddrewes.com

Melisse Anniversary: 10 Years, 10 Dishes

Melisse's 10-year anniversary special features ten classic dishes - favorites of the last ten years. I was very curious what these ten classics are, and how good they are. The ten course meal goes for $150 per person. But that's not all. Corkage is a mere $10/bottle up to two bottles per table, AND each person takes home a $50 gift card.

This was too good to pass up, and the deal only runs through July. Running out of time with my 3 week long Los Alamos stint coming up, I braved two dinners last weekend. The second being, naturally, Melisse (I tried eating lightly at the first).

My first visit to Melisse, 2 years ago, wasn't mind blowing (ordered a la carte) and I didn't return for a while. My second visit with a tasting menu was much a much better, more well-rounded experience. I felt like I finally got to experience the real Melisse.

And now with these ten courses ... the full-on Melisse experience.

Amuse bouche #1
tomato with goat cheese, pistachio
My previous visits to Melisse have started out with similar amuse bouche but with grapes. As it was peak season for tomatoes, the substitution was only fitting.

Amuse bouche #2
cucumber mousse, tomato gazpacho


Egg caviar
lemon creme fraiche, American caviar
Naturally a 10-course meal consisting of what's considered to be Melisse "classics" would include the egg caviar. Here American sturgeon caviar is used. Get all the layers in one bite - half-boiled egg, creme fraiche, and caviar. It's a delectable combination.

Tuna tartare
Pickled cucumber, avocado mousseline, Yuzu vinaigrette
A very refined dish. The avocado mousseline was amazingly smooth. Tuna tartar with avocado just did not excite me at first but this one was above and beyond others. It brought me back from all the excitement of "adventurous" dishes to perfection of a classic dish.

Mandarin Tomato Soup
Tomato tartare and sorbet
The juxtaposition of the warm tomato soup with the cold sorbet was quite interesting (though I think it sent my mouth into mild heat/cold shocks :P ). What was intriguing to us was how the sorbet does not melt during the time we were eating.

Seared Rougie Foie Gras
Black Mission Figs, Pain d'epice, Banyuls Reduction
Perhaps because it was preluded by such refined and wonderful dishes, in a rare but I guess not impossible occasion, I found the seared foie gras the weakest dish of the night. While the pain d'epice was great, I found the foie gras itself a bit 'stringy' and not particularly flavorful.

Lobster Bolognese
Fresh Cappelini, Truffle Froth
Even though Melisse is known as a French restaurant, their food is not purely French and Italian influences can be found in dishes like this one or the gnocchi that I had on a previous visit.
With that said, the lobster bolognese was my favorite dish of the night. The thin pasta strands were so delicate, and do I need to tell you my love affair with truffle?

Dover Sole "Goujonettes"
Sweet white corn, Chanterelle mushrooms, toasted almonds, Scallions
Moist fish with crispy skin and delicate sauce. Though I'm not sure about the transition from the boldly flavored bolognese to this delicate dish where the boldest flavor comes from the Chanterelles- the dish in itself was excellent.

Cote de Boeuf Roti
Potato Leek Torte, Summer Pole Beans, Wild Mushrooms, Herb Jus
Of course the heaviest dish had to come last when I was most full ... the two bites that I did have was excellent though. The beef was juicy and flavorful, pretty tender and actually a bit "gamey". I loved the creamy potato leek torte with crispy crust. Though we couldn't finish it I can tell you I had a most delicious lunch the next day that everyone envied.

ReBlochon Tart
Honey Pepper Gastrique
Because of the word "tart" I expected a dessert dish similar to a cheesecake, but instead this was a nice creative twist on the cheese course. Apparently ReBlochon is best between May and September - perfect timing. Instead of a cheese board with condiments, here you have the rich creamy and smooth ReBlochon cheese with pastry crust, and your sweet/spicy gastrique.

Vanilla Yogurt
Strawberry Sorbet
So simple but done so well. A wonderfully tart and refreshing first dessert works very well as a palate cleanser. And yes we cleaned the plate.

Chocolate Souffle
Banana Mousse
I love chocolate souffle. And I love Melisse's chocolate souffle. Airy and fluffy souffle, the way it should be, filled with rich chocolate ganache. Heavenly.

After this meal I couldn't help but think my first mediocre visit to Melisse was an off-meal. The quality of the dishes put out tonight were excellent, service was spot on - they deserve their 2 Michelin stars even if Michelin won't bother coming back to LA next year. This ten course meal is a worthy experience - and hey we came home with $100 gift card and a most excellent leftover for lunch! Two weeks left, so don't miss out.

Melisse
1104 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-0881
www.melisse.com

The Eastside of Food Events: East LA Meets Napa

One Friday evening, Union Station is transformed into a food and wine mecca. In its fourth year, East L.A. Meets Napa event, hosted by Altamed, gathered more than 1000 people on July 10 to taste the food of more than 40 Latino restaurants around town and the wines (and tequila) by Latino wineries or winemakers throughout the state.

Some of the notable participating wineries include Sequoia Grove, J. Lohr, Cobblestone Vineyards, El Centauro del Norte, and many many more.

With plenty of food to sample, I did not manage to try everything. The restaurants everyone seemed to enjoy but I missed included Cook's Tortas, Birrieria Chalio, and Moles La Tia, but here are some of the highlights for me:

Chicken tamale with black mole from Guelaguetza.
Mole from Guelaguetza - a staple of LA. There's a reason they are popular. Here they serve up delicious chicken tamales with their sweet mole and fragrant rice.

Florales Tortillas with shrimp salsa from Rivera
One of Rivera's signatures - housemade nixtamal tortillas that are crispy and gorgeous to look at at the same time.

Chiles en Nogada from La Casita Mexicana
This was better in the larger version you get at the actual restaurant due to the ratio, but still enjoyable with the sweet walnut sauce.

Castillas de Puerco en Chile Negro from Teresita
Very tender and flavorful. This was a find I would not have known were it not for this event! It's really for these lesser-known places that these food events are so great for - an exposure to over 1000 people.

There were some unique desserts to be found also, including this handmade 3-D jello from Attila the Flan.
(That just looks so cool!)

Chocolate dipped jalapenos from D's Delights
I did actually try a bite - spicy! Not for me, not for me. But fun nonetheless.

I unfortunately had to run out of there after an hour to make it to my Andrew Bird concert, but in that one hour I had a lot of great food, great wines, and met many of my foodie friends including Mattatouille, LA&OC Foodie, Food She Thought, Wandering Chopsticks, FoodGPS, and Choisauce.