NOLA: Grand Final Dinner at Cuvee

In honor of Mardi Gras, I decided to do one of my New Orleans post! Cuvee was my very last meal there - the conference had booked the entire restaurant, open bar and all! The place was small that our group occupied the whole space (about 60 of us or so?).

Amazing hors d'oeuvres were being passed around like this duck rillette:
(I had like 2 ... or 3). Very flavorful and tender. We only had 30 minutes at the bar so on top of eating these rillettes I also quickly went through a Sazerac and a French75.

Apparently that might not have been such a good idea. I wasn't aware that a 6-course wine paired meal was ahead of me! (No, really, I always thought these conference dinners were capped at 100/person!)

The first course was a choice of two:
Course #1, Choice #1: Foie Gras Torchon (apple, honey chutney, cinnamon brioche)
Dr. Loosen Riesling, Mosel Saar-Ruwer 2007, Germany
There was no way I wouldn't choose foie gras! It is not the best foie gras I've ever had but it was pretty good and I liked the apple & honey chutney. I also thought the Riesling was a pretty good pairing.

Choice #2: Blue Crab Boudin

Course #2:
Taste of North&South Pasta (scallop + fresh ricotta ravioli, butter poached lobster & sweet corn puree, shrimp tortelli with sauce etouffee)
Tegernseerhof "T-26" Gruner Veltliner, Wachau 2006 Austria
The highlight of this dish was the butter poached lobster with sweet corn puree. The lobster was fresh and nicely done and although both the lobster and the puree were on the sweet side they worked quite well, both texture and flavor - wise.

Course #3: Basil-crusted Sea Bass (parmigiano reggiano polenta cake, vinaigrettes of citrus and sweet pepper)
Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon, Macon 2007 France
The seabass was just a tad overcooked, but I loved the polenta cake.

Course #4:
"The Duck" (confit-walnut-blue risotto, cured smoked breast)
Greenhough Pinot Noir, Nelson 2005 New Zealand

Course #5: Black Angus tenderloin. At this point I lost my menu notes ... probably too much wine or something silly like that ..
The meat was not bad, and it was cooked pretty well, but it was a little on the dry side, although the sauce definitely helped a lot with it.

Dessert: Pineapple beignets. This was served with your selection with dessert wine/liqueur/coffee/tea, so I opted for some Nocello (hazelnut liqueur).
This was not really like the beignets I "normally" have, like Cafe du Monde's all dusted in sugar. This was crispy and filled with pineapples.

A very satisfying meal (as I drank the last drops of my Nocello). If you're in New Orleans and looking for a nice place for some Creole-influenced continental food - I recommend this place!
Happy Mardi Gras!

Cuvee
322 Magazine St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 587-9001


www.restaurantcuvee.com

More LateNight Westside Option: Tokyo Table

OK, so Tokyo Table is kind of a chain. But I've been going there quite a bit that I figured I should blog about it. Not only are they open later at night than most places, the food they serve is pretty solid and the prices quite reasonable. Late at night (though not *too* late) during the weekdays when I used to be stuck with burgers or Denny's, now I may be able to get something healthier.

I've been back quite a few times just to get their Tofu salad ($8.95)- when I'm craving tofu and something healthy-ish.Their tofu is homemade and is pretty good and smooth. The tofu salad is served with sesame dressing, which can be a bit salty so mix your salads carefully. I love eating the tofu with the crispy wontons and nori and the greens. The texture play is fun and the sesame dressing brings the different flavors together.

Tokyo Table offers various sushi rolls, your typical ones such as rainbow roll etc, and some more 'interesting' ones. Below is the Cohiba roll ($11.95) which is just California roll wrapped with salmon with ginger sauce.
I don't have much to say for sushi rolls in general. These were good, nothing special.


They also have a couple of Ishiyaki (hot stone bowl). Pictured below is the Unagi rice ishiyaki ($9.95).
I like eating the burnt rice from the sides of the bowl at the end :P. I've also had the garlic shrimp rice ishiyaki -- WARNING: very, very garlicky.

We usually like getting the Banana Flambe ($7.95) for dessert - since it's not too heavy and it's also fun watching it sizzle :P (what? I'm easily entertained)

Their most famous dessert is their Honey Toasts (Original $6.95, Chocolate etc $7.95)
It's just honeyed toast, the inside is diced up into small cubes and then toasted, making each cube nicely crispy. It makes for a nice breakfast too the next morning :P

The Beverly Hills branch is open until midnight every day and until 1 am on Fri/Sat, so it's a pretty good late night option and a good place to go to with a bunch of friends. Their selection is big enough to keep most people happy.

Tokyo Table
50 N La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310)657-9500
www.tokyotable.com

Mario's Peruvian: Great Seafood

After my trip to Peru last summer, I fell in love with Peruvian cuisine, but I haven't managed to try many of the Peruvian restaurants in LA. One of the ones I've had my eye on is Mario's but since it's kinda far it's hard to drag someone there. When I finally had the chance to do so, I immediately went. There was a wait and the small restaurant was packed. We waited about 30 minutes - since it was cold I waited inside but felt kind of in the way of all the servers bringing food/dishes in/out.

By the time we got seated, we already knew what we wanted to order.
We wanted something light with seafood, so instead of going with the deep fried stuff, we went with the Siete Mares soup ($13.00)The seafood was fresh, and the broth was very delicious! The name siete mares means "seven seas" so I tried counting the number of seafood types: squid, crab, shrimp, clam, mussels, fish, octopus. This is a relatively light dish - again, I Loved the broth. Do give it a try sometime!

I ordered the lomo saltado ($11.25) since I've been craving it for a while! Lomo saltado is beef sauteed with onions, tomatoes, and french fries.
The meat was a little tough, but the flavors were excellent. I love the fries also and kept eating them with the fragrant rice! Next time I might try out the seafood version, saltado mariscos, so I can avoid having my beef overcooked and yet still get to taste the delicious flavor of saltado.

For good measure we ordered dessert: Crema volteada/flan ($3.00)
This is a pretty heavy duty flan! Rich and dense - a bit too dense for my taste although it's still tasty. Eat in moderation :P

Overall I loved Mario's. The food was excellent although I would stick with the seafood as the meat can be tough and overcooked ... The line can be long during dinner time, so go early or just prepare to wait! (It's worth it!!)

Mario's Peruvian & Seafood
5786 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323)466-4181