Feasting on California Avocado with the Too Hot Tamales

California Hass Avocados are now in season! Plus, it's almost Cinco de Mayo! Did you know that over 80 million pounds of avocados are consumed on Cinco de Mayo? That's a lot of guacamole!

The California Avocado Commission is working with the Too Hot Tamale chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger to create avocado-centric recipes and share them for Cinco de Mayo. They held a media lunch and cooking demo at Ciudad last week and I was lucky to be invited.

Many familiar faces were there, including Food Marathon, who convinced me it's never too early for a mojito ....
So in the email they had mentioned a cooking demo and a guacamole contest, i.e. a "guac-off".

Little did I know the "guac-off" mentioned was for us, not the chefs! They divided us into teams of two though we ended up in a team of three with Food Marathon and Active Foodie.
We were given a few minutes to look over the available ingredients and come up with a guacamole recipe.

Onions, corn, ... pomegranate, fish paste, banana, etc? OK ...

And of course, ripe California avocados!

Many of them made some pretty impressive guacamole. Ravenous Couple even decorated their "Saigon Samba" guac and tied it in nicely to their Vietnamese cooking blog. We didn't really have time to think about that :P
Well, ours ended up being halfway of what Active Foodie had envisioned. We weren't gung-ho enough to get some of the ingredients before the others used it all up. Oh well ...

We put bananas, oranges, tequila , and salt in ours.
Whatever, it tasted good ...

Lindsay from LAist and her team ended up winning the guacamole taste contest. Congratulations!

We did at least win the naming contest and won this Ciudad baseball cap! Mainly thanks for Food Marathon for his Ciudadocado Relish name idea.

Now that we got that out of the way, we let the experts, i.e. Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger do the job. Eating at Border Grill or Ciudad is really nothing like eating the food created personally by these great chefs!

I was excited about our first course, crispy avocado tacos. These quinoa and sesame seed-crusted and deep fried avocado tacos were all the rage at Border Grill Truck.

Crispy California Avocado Tacos (recipe)
Pretty spectacular. The crunchiness of the quinoa and sesame seeds gave way to a deliciously creamy avocado. Add to that all the flavors from the refreshing corn relish. This taco is actually available exclusively at the Border Grill truck, and I highly recommend you get it.

California Avocado, Bacon, and Tomato Salad (recipe)
This simple salad has the delicious avocados as the main attraction, but the finishing touch is from the capers fried in bacon fat.

For our main entree, chefs Milliken and Feniger prepared chilaquiles for us. I haven't had chilaquiles since I last went to Tijuana and had it for breakfast (it's apparently a typical breakfast item)!
They told us that chilaquiles are an easy dish and a good way to finish up leftover salsa (and leftover tortillas too). Basically you simmer down tortillas in salsa until they soften up.

Chicken and California Avocado Skillet Chilaquiles (recipe)

Our first dessert is a simple garnishing of sliced fresh and ripe fruits:
California Avocado and Mango with Yogurt, Honey, and Lime (recipe)
With mangoes and avocados as good as these, you really don't need to do much! The yogurt and honey are such a good accent for the two fruits. Interestingly enough, because of the sprinkled Cayenne pepper, this ended up being the spiciest dish of the day!

To really finish off we had an Avocado Orange Licuado
Since they made this just for the event, the recipe isn't available on the CAC website, but it is basically avocados, orange juice, lemon, agave syrup, and milk blended. Oh and with a little bit of salt. The chefs said that they found salt to bring out that "avocado" flavor, so even though it may sound weird for a sweet drink, they put a bit of salt in it.

The drink is heavy yet refreshing due to the orange zest. It's a great drink for a warm summer day and a great way to end our meal!

I've heard Spring is the best season for avocados (though they're in season and available through Fall), and now that you have all these great avocado recipes on the CAC website, you can rush to get some ripe avocados and contribute to the 80 million pounds that will be eaten in 2 days.

Ludobites 4.0 Quickie

There probably isn't another restaurant that almost all of the LA bloggers repeated go back to other than Ludobites. Partly because of the temporariness of the pop-up, partly because of the constantly rotating menu, and partly just because we all love it.

Ludobites 4.0 is currently popping at Gram & Papa's in downtown LA (their venture "east" ... ish). While the space is small, which makes keeping afloat hard when 20 ppl who snagged multiple reservations decided on a no-show, the (although also small) open kitchen is nice. Now we can stare at Ludo and the sous chefs while they cook. And yes, Ludo can stare at you too when your courses come, so snap those photos fast.

With the blogger/twitterverse shooting praises for particular dishes, one visit is never enough, because you'd go online and say "I didn't get to try that one!"

What I did get to try:

Burgundy Escargots, Garlic Flan, Green Jus, Violet Flowers ($13)
Typically served with garlic and parsley butter, Ludo whips them up instead in garlic flan (which is still deliciously rich and butter). Crunchy chewy snails in creamy, garlicky goodness. My companion didn't really dig snails or garlic. All the better for me.

Scallop, Almond Puree, Pickled Grapes, Capers, Curry Oil & Cauliflower Ice Cream ($14)
Firm yet tender scallops, crisp cauliflowers and the juices of the pickled grapes bursting in your mouth.

Carrot Salad, Saffron Anglaise Cream, Pearl Onions, Blood Orange, Orange Powder ($10)
I was skeptical at first (because why would I order carrot salad?) but this was not only gorgeous looking but tasted really good. The thinly shaved carrots had so much flavor and a great texture. Combined with the citrus from the blood orange slices, this was one great salad.

Seared Foie Gras "Pina Colada" ($29)
There were a lot of great flavors going on here, but I did think the foie gras was seared too long. A good portion of the foie was seared to a crisp and while I usually enjoy that this was a little thick. I'd like to give this another try though.


Squid "Carbonara", Pancetta, Poached Egg (63'), Parmesan Snow, Chive Flowers ($18)
A unique and delicious take on the pasta carbonara, using slices of squid as the "pasta." This was one of the other bloggers' beloved dish and I can certainly see why. The creamy "pasta" dish is taken to a new level using the chewiness of the squid.

Ham Soup, Bread, Swiss Cheese, Radish, Cornichon, Guiness ($12)
This "Parisian Ham Sandwich in a Bowl" as Krissy introduced it, was another much-lauded dish amongst the bloggers. The ham soup with bits of bread and swiss cheese floating about is two great comfort foods conjoined.

The fact that the last 2 dishes are by and large the favorites of the popular votes to me said something about the taste preferences of the current audience, though. Same as the popularity of bacon. Something rich and heavy over a wonderfully executed Poached Monkfish, Jardiniere de Legumes, Vadouvan ($24)
The monkfish itself was firm yet moist and sweet. It was served with peas and carrots, the spring vegetables that probably classically define the term "jardiniere." Vadouvan, Ludo's favorite spice, brings together each ingredient in the dish in spice and cumin-laden bond.

Two desserts were offered, so naturally we got both.
Rose macarons, Organic Strawberry & Lychee ($12)
This dense and chewy macaron had a nicely sweet fragrance and was complemented well by the crisp fresh strawberries. The lychee essence was somewhat lost among the other flavors.

Dark chocolate soufflé, vanilla whisky ice cream, hot chocolate cream ($13)
I don't know why it's so hard to find a real soufflé in this city (stop serving me chocolate molten cake when your menu says soufflé!), but Ludo's is certainly a bonafide soufflé.
The soufflé: a gorgeous "rise", fluffy, soft and moist.
To top it all off: whisky in your ice cream for a kick.

If I wanted to be done with Ludobites I will have to quit reading blogs and twitter.
In the meantime, I still have a long list of dishes to try: poached jidori chicken, egg & potato mousseline w lobster, etc, etc ...

LudoBites @ Gram & Papa's
227 E 9th St
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 624-7272
www.ludolefebvre.com/ludo-bites

Weekly Wine & Corkage Deals - Los Angeles

This is a hopefully growing list. If you know of a deal, let me know!
Note: I haven't personally checked out these deals, so call first and confirm before you go.

Monday

• Free corkage. Cafe Pinot, Downtown.
• Free corkage (limit 1 bottle/2 diners). Il Forno, Santa Monica.
• Free corkage. Josie Restaurant, Santa Monica.
• Free corkage. Providence, Hollywood.
• Free corkage. Ray's and Stark Bar, Mid City.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Bar and Kitchen (at the O Hotel, downtown), Los Angeles.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. La Cachette Bistro, Santa Monica.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Lazy Ox Canteen, (downtown) Los Angeles.
  
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Momed, Beverly Hills.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. RivaBella, West Hollywood
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine under $90. Taste on Melrose, West Hollywood.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Wilshire Restaurant, Santa Monica.
• $25 for any bottle of wine. Whist at the Viceroy, Santa Monica.

Tuesday

• Free corkage. Cafe Pinot, Downtown.
• Free corkage. Daily Grill, multiple locations.
• Free corkage (limit 1 bottle/2 diners). Il Forno, Santa Monica.
• Free corkage. Josie Restaurant, Santa Monica.
• Free Corkage. Osteria Mamma, West Hollywood.
• Free corkage. Ray's and Stark Bar, Mid City.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Chaya Venice, Venice.
• 1/2 off select bottles of wine. The Churchill, West Hollywood.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. The Hungry Cat, Hollywood.
• 1/2 off most bottles of wine (some bottles excluded, ask server). Meet French Bistro, Culver City.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. The Raymond, Pasadena.
• 1/2 off bottles of wine. Rush Street, Culver City.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Bar and Kitchen (at the O Hotel, downtown), Los Angeles. 
  
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Coupa Cafe, Beverly Hills.
• 1/2 off select bottles of wine. Sadie Kitchen and Lounge, Hollywood

Wednesday

• Free corkage. Cafe Pinot, Downtown.
• Free corkage (limit 1 bottle/2 diners). Il Forno, Santa Monica.
• Free corkage. Ray's and Stark Bar, Mid City.
• Free Corkage. The Raymond, Pasadena.
• Free Corkage. The Royce at The Langham, Pasadena.
• Free Corkage. Colorado Wine Company, Eagle Rock.
  
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. AKASHA, Culver City.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine from the Garden Courtyard list. Buffalo Club, Santa Monica.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. The Edison, Downtown.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. La Grande Orange, Pasadena
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. The Hudson, West Hollywood
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Tam O'Shanter, Atwater Village
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Wolfgang's Steakhouse, Beverly Hills.

Thursday

• Free corkage. Cafe Pinot, Downtown.
• Free corkage (limit two). Meet French Bistro, Culver City.
• Free corkage. Ray's and Stark Bar, Mid City.
• 1/3 off all bottles of wine. POP Champagne & Dessert Bar, Pasadena.
  
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. The Edison, Downtown.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Saddle Peak Lodge, Calabasas.

Friday

• Free corkage. Cafe Pinot, Downtown.
• Free corkage. Ray's and Stark Bar, Mid City.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Saddle Peak Lodge, Calabasas.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. Il Buco Ristorante, Beverly Hills.

Saturday

• Free corkage. Cafe Pinot, Downtown.
• Free corkage from 12-5PM. K-ZO, Culver City.
• Free corkage. Ray's and Stark Bar, Mid City.

Sunday

• Free corkage. AKASHA, Culver City.
• Free corkage. Cafe Pinot, Downtown.
• Free corkage. Celestino, Pasadena.
• Free corkage and 1/2 off select bottles of wine. Chaya Brasserie, Beverly Hills.
• Free corkage. Ray's and Stark Bar, Mid City.
• Free corkage (if not on their wine list). Craft, Century City.
• Free corkage (limit 1 bottle per 2 diners). Culina, Beverly Hills
• $1 corkage. La Cachette Bistro, Santa Monica.
• 1/2 off all bottles of wine. BOA Steakhouse, West Hollywood.
  
• 1/2 off select bottles of wine. Chaya Downtown.

Sneak Preview: Mendocino Farms (Marina del Rey)!

With their DTLA locations getting rave reviews, I've been curious about the Mendocino Farms sandwiches. Their newest location in Marina del Rey is slated to open on Thursday. Luckily, I was invited to their pre-opening tasting preview last night.

When you enter Mendocino Farms, you'll be given a paper menu on which you'll place your order, line up to pay, get your food and find a seat. Casual is the name of the game.
A bonus for the MDR locals over the DTLA locations: beer/wine license is coming in a few months!

The future keg spot:

The future Enomatic wine system spot:

With beer/wine and these great sandwiches, this may soon be the MDR hangout! Plus, the braised lamb sandwich and the pork belly banh mi would go quite well with a glass of red.

Cos, like, we would know ...
I have to thank Sue, one of the winners of the Tasting Event giveaway, for bringing this bottle of Petite Syrah! Made my braised lamb sandwich even better! (And hey it was a private event so we can bring wine ... )

I highly recommend the Pork Belly Banh Mi! We didn't get a whole sandwich during the event, but they did pass out the little pork belly crostinis for us to taste.
The sweet and rich caramelized kurobuta belly is offset by the jalapeno and the julienned vegetables. Unlike your normal banh mi, here they will serve it on top of a panini grilled ciabatta.

The Braised Lamb sandwich ($9.75) was also very good. This was on their seasonal menu and they said it'll go off menu (to make room for perhaps a Lobster Club 'wich and other sandwiches featuring heirloom tomato) in a month, so hurry and get it now.
This sandwich is for the game meat lovers only, because they're probably the same group of people who would equally enjoy the Cypress Grove goat cheese that's spread inside this sandwich. I didn't think the lamb was particularly gamey but the combination of lamb and goat cheese - which I thought gave a deliciously strong flavor - might not be for everyone.

The Fort "We Should" Bragg Melt ($8.25) w/ tuna and smoked gouda had good flavors and a nicely grilled bread, though I thought the tuna smelled a bit too fishy.


I tried the vegan sandwich "My Vegan Trip Through India" ($9.25) with chickpea and spinach patty. It was alright and well ... vegan. I'll have more lamb and pork belly, s'il vous plait.

Right before you reach the cashier, you'll be tempted with a case of the side deli items.

I'd recommend the curried orzo as it was the most flavorful.

You will also place your drink orders here at the cashier. Before the liquor license goes in full effect, specialty drinks like blood orange lemonade and lemongrass green tea are worth getting.
The blood orange lemonade is sweet while the lemongrass green tea is unsweetened but accented by a lovely lemongrass aroma.

Mendocino Farms caters, and when you order catering you can get a slew of desserts from Dolce Forno. If you eat in, you can grab one of MF's special recipe cookies!

I tried the hazelnut tart (available for catering orders), a decadent mini tart that's almost like chocolate-topped pecan tart, i.e. that's chocolate+caramel+nuts.
I tried their chocolate chip cookie also, and its bulging shape easily made it a combination of the crunchy and chewy cookie, depending where you're biting. Get one and indulge, it's definitely worth trying.

Marina del Rey workers rejoice, here's your new lunch spot.


Mendocino Farms
4724 Admiralty Way
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 822-2300
http://mendocinofarms.com/

SF: A Mini Degustation at Masa's

It was an unplanned visit to a one-Michelin-star, James Beard award-winning restaurant.
Road tripping to SF to run experiments, I didn't plan on doing any fine dining and was only armed with jeans and tennis shoes. But scrambling to a "really good place to eat" that's kinda nearby and is vegetarian friendly somehow led us to Masa's Restaurant's website.

It looked good.
I mean, it looked really good.

And then my friend said she doesn't mind the $$$ splurge. Oh man. So in a sweater, jeans, and beat-up tennis shoes I went (she was more dressed up than me). The only thing I had going for me was my purse I think. Oh and we had no reservation.

We went by Muni to a JBF-winning restaurant and walked in at 7 PM on a Saturday night. The restaurant was about 70% full. Can you take 2 for dinner?

Yes.
No fuss about my tennis shoes in a white tablecloth place either.

Executive chef Greg Short trained for a long time under Thomas Keller at the French Laundry, and he even sent him to stage at Taillevant.

While the menu listed a 5 course menu and a 9-course tasting menu, it also stated that they can do just 3 courses upon request.
I already knew I'd be late for another friend's party so we asked for the 3 course menu.

To start off, warm gougeres with 6-month-aged cheese.

For the bread I asked for a cheese-coated focaccia.

Canape: Grilled aji, cucumber, paprika.

For my friend they prepared a vegetarian Canape: Potato blinis, banana


Asparagus- Green-Purple
easter egg radishes, pea sprouts, perigord truffles, asparagus jus
Texturally the crisp radishes stood out, but what I was inhaling was the delightfully strong aroma of the Perigord truffles. The earthiness was not something I would think about combining with the clean and crispness of this vegetable-based dish but it turned out to be quite lovely.

For my vegetarian friend:
Composition of Early Spring Vegetables
roasted purple and white cauliflower, fava beans, brussels sprouts, baby spring leeks, rapini, maitake mushroom "cream", pine nut "dust"


My main entree:
Pan Roasted Paine Farms Squab Breast
braised swiss chard, pickled field rhubarb, "confit" leg, grenadine gastrique
Discounting my Alinea meal (since Masa's actually happened before), this stood out to me as one of the best squab dishes I've had in a while. The breast is very tender and full of flavor. The meat is a little gamey and just overall amazing. The leg confit had a nice crispy skin but the breast is the star here.

The main entree for my vegetarian friend:
Baby Artichokes
russet potato gnocchi, fermented black garlic, roasted vegetable stock, reggiano parmesan

For desserts we just got the two that our server suggested:
Strawberry Hazelnut Shortcake
Chantilly, black pepper ice cream.
This was a nice and light dessert with a soft and crumbly shortcake. The black pepper ice cream worked quite nicely here, adding depth to the sweetness of the strawberries and the chantilly. A delicious pacer before I hit our second dessert:
Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart
Cafe au lait ice cream.

We're not done of course. Upon entering the restaurant I had already noticed the mignardise cart sitting on the side.
I didn't want to seem greedy so we only got lychee pate de fruit, fleur de sel caramel truffle, chocolate covered canele, etc.
It was a leisurely meal and of course I was late to my friend's party, but I had a great dinner with great food and gracious service, so no complaints or regrets on my part. The three courses were enough food, but I also can't wait to come back and do a more extensive tasting, hoping that most of his dishes would be as strong as what I had this night.
My friend also really enjoyed her vegetarian menu (fyi: non-meat-eaters).

Oh, we left by taxi instead of Muni. That's classier, right?

Masa's Restaurant
648 Bush St
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 989-7154
www.masasrestaurant.com