Girls' Day Out: Scarlet Tea Room

Did the girly thing. English style afternoon tea. Exchanging christmas presents.

We went to the Scarlet Tea Room in Pasadena - you can see the red glass door on Green St when you're driving or walking by. Once inside though, you're greeted with a gorgeous english style dining room with shiny chandeliers.
Since our other friend didn't want to be eating sandwiches that day, she opted for a steak salad while Kat and I went with the afternoon tea menu ($32).

The tea selection is quite extensive and interesting. Kat and I decided to share our teas and we got the "Once Upon A Tea" (infusion of chocolate bits, vanilla, mint & a secret) and the "Fiji" (Flavored green tea w/ papaya and wild pineapple).

The tea is served still steeping with the leaves inside the pot, but you're given a strainer.
They will refill your hot water indefinitely, but I still don't like this style of serving tea - this way will cause you to 1)oversteep your tea and 2) diluting the tea when you continuously resteep it.
True that it's 'cheaper' if you want to drink a lot - but it won't be as good as a properly steeped pot of tea like they do at Jin Patisserie.

I did like the "Once Upon A Tea" quite a bit! Has a nice rich, slightly sweet taste :)

They present your scone/sandwich/sweets on this gorgeous tower of plates:
I like the tower presentation, as compared to just plates laid out on the tables like at the London and Jin.

Among the two of us they gave us two scones to share: blueberry and cinnamon.
The scones are not bad but nothing special. This just reminded me of the oh-so-buttery-delicious scones at The London.

For the sandwiches I got Olive tapenade and roasted red peppers, chicken tahini, salmon & chive spread, and prosciutto.
I did like the olive tapenade (I think I liked this the most) and the chicken tahini, but the smoked salmon and the prosciutto were unfortunately a bit dry - not enough salmon/meat slices and spread.

Next was the petit fours plate (split between two people). Chocolate, cream puff, etc. Pretty standard stuff.
The sweets were okay. Not bad, but nothing special either. The sweets at both The London and Jin Patisserie are better.

The afternoon tea is finished off with some Strawberries Romanoff
This is actually a pretty small dish, not as big of a deal as we were expecting.

Scarlet Tea Room has a much more extensive tea selection than The London, and the space is also beautiful. Food-wise though The London still wins out, and sweets-wise Jin Patisserie is winning hands-down. Still, tea at the Scarlet Tea Room is a nice experience with a nice atmosphere and presentation.
Next ... Four Seasons Tea Room? :)

Scarlet Tea Room
18 W Green St
Pasadena, CA‎
(626) 577-0051‎
www.scarlettearoom.com

Don't Forget to Reserve: DineLA Restaurant Week

Before I forget again, dineLA week is coming up January25-30, Feb 1-6, so make your reservations soon!

This year's setup is a bit different as restaurants are classified into three price tiers.
Check out the prices and participating restaurants+menus on their website:
http://dinela.com/restaurantweek/participating.php

The ones I have my eyes on this year is BLT Steak, Water Grill, Dining Room at The Langham, and also perhaps Citrus on Social and The Foundry on Melrose. Royal/T's menu for lunch would also be a good deal.

You can check out my review from last year on Asia de Cuba, Grace, Red Seven, Luna Park, Chaya Brasserie, Noe at the Omni, Circa55, and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Beverly Hills (they're all participating again this year).
Man I went to a lot!!

Rustic Pre-Bday Dinner at Saddle Peak Lodge

Happy New Year (belated x5) everyone! My 1st post this year: last month's dinner at Saddle Peak Lodge!Dining at Saddle Peak Lodge seems more like a mini-getaway than just dinner. First, there's the drive up the quiet and lush Malibu Hills. Once you get there, you enter the rustic lodge, with animal head trophies along the walls and a warm fireplace.

We went with the 8-course Chefs Tasting Menu ($135. hey it's my birthday).
I didn't want to drink too much so I opted out of the wine pairing and got a glass of the Silver Oak Cabernet 2004 instead (though this is probably almost as much as the wine pairing would've cost).

We started with a warm chestnut soup as the amuse bouche.
It's warm and slightly sweet, a very nice intro and made me warm and happy after walking in the chilly Malibu hills air.

Wild Fijian Albacore sashimi, melon cilantro vinaigrette
The albacore is fresh and flavorful and the combination with the citrus is great. I'm usually not that big a fan of albacore, but I really enjoyed this dish.

Sautéed Maine day boat scallop
Relish of scarlet corn, peach, cucumber, lime and green zebra tomato broth
The scallops were on the small side, but was fresh. Loved the peaches in this dish.

Artichoke agnolotti
Morel mushroom and fava bean fricassee, topped with ricotta cheese.
A great dish, perhaps my favorite of the night. The agnolotti goes very well with the morel mushrooms and the ricotta cheese is a very nice touch.

Seared line caught salmon
Blistered cherry tomatoes, vegetable “papardele” and saffron zucchini blossom butter
The vegetable papardele were superfluous IMO, but this is a nice wild salmon that's cooked very well! And delicious, delicious cherry tomatoes.

Seared La Belle Farms foie gras
caramelized apricots, brioche toast, meyer lemon duck jus and ginger infused apricot purée
The foie gras had a nice melt-in-your-mouth consistency and the apricots were a nice pairing. I didn't like the brioche toast with it since I thought the soggy toast didn't pair well with the foie gras but my companion liked it a lot -- to each his own.

Wood grilled California squab
Medjool date, brown fig, heirloom tomato, basil compote and leek chip
Not particularly meaty, but it's a nice, lean, gamey meat. Liked it with the fig.

Roasted New Zealand elk tenderloin
parsnip mousselin, braised bacon and brandied cherry ragôut
*sigh* I unfortunately am so so stuffed at this point. The elk was gamey and tender. I love the parsnip mousselin. I had to take it home since I couldn't finish it though.

Warm farmers market peach beignets
caramelized whipped cream and toasted hazelnuts
A nice warm dessert for the wintry weather. The beignets are fluffy, filled with nice peach chunks that aren't overly sweet. A bit heavy though as an ending to the heavy meal that preceded it.

Dining at Saddle Peak Lodge is very enjoyable, with a unique, cozy atmosphere (as far as LA restaurants go) and great food. Their game meat selection alone is a reason to go.

Saddle Peak Lodge
419 Cold Canyon Rd
Calabasas, CA‎
(818) 222-3888‎
www.saddlepeaklodge.com