Picnic at LACMA's Jazz Night

by guest blogger @btsunoda

Growing up, my idea of a date night was usually dinner and a movie. As I got older, my interests have changed and I like to vary it up a bit. One of my current passions is attending a live music event. It doesn’t matter if I know the band or not, it’s the fact that my senses become heightened.

My wife and I recently attended Jazz Nights at LACMA, for which Ray's and Stark Bar recently started a picnic basket program. There are two options to choose from: The Duke ($40) which comes with a whole roasted or fried Jidori chicken with sides and dessert, and The Louis ($100) which comes with the above along with charcuterie, a bottle of wine, real china, a fold-out table, a picnic blanket, all nicely packed in a wicker picnic basket. . To experience Ray’s and Stark Bar’s new Jazz Nights picnic basket program, I preordered the “Louis” thinking that the culinary experience with the live music would be a nice date night for us.

Our picnic basket arrived promptly at 6pm. We were directed to a grassy area where there was a table, blanket, and two red cushions. A bud vase with a flower and a candle nicely finished this thoughtful presentation. Looking at this, I thought that it was nice that they did the work for me and I didn’t have to carry everything from my car!

The picnic basket was assembled in an impressive way. The first thing my wife said “Can we take the basket home?” They included real silverware, cloth napkins and real wine glasses. The lack of paper plates and plastic forks made for a classy experience.

Two containers of roasted rosemary chicken were on the top.

The chicken was tender and roasted to perfection. The rosemary sprigs gave off an extremely pleasurable fragrance.

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Spring in Provence at Kendall Brasserie (Los Angeles, CA)

by guest blogger @btsunoda

Taking a staycation can be a unique way to try a restaurant that you wouldn’t ordinarily visit. While on a staycation, consider changing your eating habits and wander outside of your hood. Why not take the opportunity to mimic something that you would experience in another country?

Kendall’s Brasserie is the ideal place to have a transportive experience to France without spending the money for travel. As in true brasserie form, the bar is the center of the restaurant; the French antiques that adorned the walls made me forget that I was only miles away from home.

From now until the end of May, Kendall’s Brasserie is featuring “Spring in Provence”. This special event is part of their “Passport to France” series where executive Chef Jean-Pierre Bos takes guests through a virtual culinary tour through France. Recently, I was able to preview some of the items that will be served.

Housemade albacore tuna confit is the centerpiece of their Niçoise salad. 

They add Boston lettuce, haricot vert, tomatoes, potatoes, chopped eggs, niçoise olives and toss the ingredients with  a shallot vinaigrette. The fresh albacore confit made me realize how tasty tuna can be. Farmers market quality ingredients allowed the salad to shine.

Tomato tarte tatin consisted of tomato confit, basil and parmesan.

Most tarte tatin crusts are similar to a pie or a quiche in appearance. Their version was unique because the bottom of the crust was very thin and super crisp. Tomato lovers will enjoy this dish.

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Ames Street Deli (Cambridge, MA)

Backbar is one of my favorite bars in Boston, so when the same team opened Ames Street Deli near MIT, well, I was quite excited (and scared for my wallet).

Ames Street Deli is open from morning until evening with different offerings throughout the day (making the place even more dangerous for the wallet!). In the morning, come for a kouign amann. Ames Street makes a great one, the layers are so flaky and crispy with the baked sugar.

They also have breakfast sandwiches and scrambled egg donut and bacon and egg donut! I'm not quite sure yet what those are like because I haven't woken up early enough to go to campus for those, but I'm certainly intrigued. The kouign amann is also typically gone by late afternoon, so you should come earlier for that, too.

At lunch, you'll find sandwiches. The sandwiches are on the smaller side, but each order comes with a side dish! I really enjoyed the Rabbit Sandwich (mustard bread, rabbit mortadella, pork liver, beets, radish)

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