Beach's Comfort Food

I've been making quite a few runs to LAX, and Venice area is always a nice place to stop for dinner, so I've been trying different places. This is a backpost from a few weeks ago, when I hit James' Beach for the first time.

The place was pretty hopping outside on the patio, where you first come in, but is pretty quiet inside the dimly-lit main dining room. We sat inside on a booth. James' Beach offers a consistent special entree every day and on Tuesdays it was chicken pot pie. I actually wanted to try the Monday's Special (Short Ribs), but I guess not this time a round.

We ordered a smoked duck salad (from the specials menu) as appetizer:The smoked duck was good, but we thought they didn't give quite enough. The peaches added a really nice flavor and goes well with the blue cheese. There was too much blue cheese for us, but since you can easily pick those out it wasn't a problem. Overall a light refreshing salad.

I ordered the pot roasted briskets:
The briskets were a bit fatty and the sauce a bit salty. It's definitely "comfort food" and hit the spot, but wasn't anything special.

My friend ordered the Sand Dabs and it was actually really delicious!
I liked it better than my brisket. It was light yet flavorful and the spinach, and especially the golden raisins played really well together.

Now, I didn't know what sand dabs were prior to this, so I looked it up and according to www.ochef.com:

"Alan Davidson, author of The Oxford Companion to Food and one of the world's foremost authorities on seafood, refers to the sand dab as a European fish, found in the North Atlantic. It is a flatfish, with a brown back, and can reach 16 inches in length, although is often closer to 10. He says it is "a good fish, with a pleasing flavour, well suited to being fried.

It's so great when you find out about some new food and liking it :)


The Summer Peach Crisp from their Specials' menu was pretty good - noticeably fresh peaches that are still crisp upon biting.



But, the one that takes the cake (or pie) for me was their Cherry Pie:



It wasn't too sweet, the whole cherries they have in there were awesome and it also had a nice crust. As far as cherry desserts go, this was one of my favorites. I would definitely get this again next time around (if they're still serving it)!

The service at James' Beach is kind of slow and the noise level depends on whether you're sitting inside or outside (way quieter inside), but it has solid food. I'll probably be coming here again when I have to make a run to LAX.

James' Beach
60 North Venice Boulevard
Venice, California 90291
310-823-5396
http://www.jamesbeach.com

The Best (Instant) Noodles

I'm not just saying this because I'm Indonesian ... but we Indonesians make the best instant noodles out there (although no I've never tried the Japanese $3 instant noodle packages because with that kind of money I'd rather go to a food stall and eat a fresh bowl).

Indonesian's "Mi Goreng" literally means "Fried Noodles". The most common one is the one produced by the company "Indomie" :Just like the name suggests, you're supposed to be getting "fried noodles" so you're supposed to drain the water after boiling the noodles, and THEN put the sauces in and mix it. (I've given it to a friend who didn't read the instructions .... and then asked why the soup is so bland ...).

Now, my favorite way of devouring this is with one sunny side up egg:
Go get one and try it! In LA you can get one pack for about 33 cents and they sell them at 99 Ranch Market :)
It's bold in flavor and probably has a lot of sodium ... but it's good >_< !!

Chickens and Cobblers

Have you noticed I keep ordering cobblers (crumbles/crisp) for dessert? If not, you probably soon will as I make more backposts :P

This is a backpost of my visit to Cynthia's on Third Street. I've been hearing good things about their blackberry crumble and that's pretty much my main reason for this visit.
Cynthia's was pretty quiet - we came early and were the 2nd table in the house - and has a casual/ homey feel. The music was definitely noticeable and they have a note on their menu saying that they will not turn it down ...

Piping hot bread was served.
Bread was decent and since it was hot it tasted even better.

We shared the crab cake appetizer from the Specials menu.
It was served over a bed of mangoes and the sourness really complements the crab cakes. Overall a good dish, though I would've loved more crab in the crab cakes.

I, of course, ordered their infamous fried chicken. I usually do not order chicken at restaurants (especially breasts) because they tend to be dry and overcooked. But I do love fried chicken and was curious after all the reviews. Then came three big, crispy, fried chicken breasts:The mashed potatoes and greens weren't much - I guess they were good but how can they be special in the first place?
The fried chicken on the other hand, really was good! Althouth they were chicken breasts, they were tender and juicy since they were cooked properly. The skin was crispy and had a nice texture. If only they didn't put it on top of the mashed potatoes - that made it soggy over time.
Definitely a memorable fried chicken dish!

I unfortunately can't really remember what kind of fish my friend ordered ... I think it was a barramundi, but sorry can't guarantee that that's correct. It was off of their specials menu.Whatever it was, it was delicious! I had a few bites and really liked it. The fish is tender and flavorful and juicy. The flavors were bold, which I like in my fish dishes. It was served with some orecchiete which was also done well. A great dish overall, I wish they would offer it again and again.

And now it's time for the blackberry crumble! First of all, it was HUGE. Definitely enough for two:
It was indeed a great crumble. The crust was oat-based and was nice and slightly chewy. The flavor was right on though. Whole fresh blackberries inside. It was more watery than normal crumble/cobbler, but it tasted great and at least you know you're not just chowing down a whole lotta syrup... (although that wateriness does make seem like I'm missing something)
I'm generally that a huge fan of blackberries (go blueberries!) but I did really like this crumble. Don't know if it's the best in LA but definitely up there somewhere.

Cynthia's Restaurant3

8370 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 658-7851