Clementine's Grilled Cheese Menu

It's the 8th Grilled Cheese Month at Clementine! No, no fooling.

Every week Clementine will feature 5 different grilled cheeses, including one by another great LA chef each week. 5 different ones every week?? Well, when should I go then? Go every week! Or if you can't make that, here's the entire menu schedule. Pick and choose wisely.

Here's what Clementine is serving up April 1-4:

• Oliver's Grilled Cheese: pepperjack, soppresata, and Calabrian peppers, on white rye - courtesy of Nancy Silverton of Mozza and La Brea Bakery
  
• The Original Beef Dip Grilled Cheese, on a French roll served with hot mustard (add a pickled egg, $1)
  
• Monte Cristo: turkey, ham, gruyere, mayo and dijon on white bread, grilled French-toast-style, dusted with powdered sugar and served with strawberry jam
  
• Pecorino sardo, oven-roasted tomatoes, olives and thyme on panini bread
  
• Cheddar and Swiss on dark bread served with crunchy apple slaw
  

Week of April 6-11:

• Chicharron de queso (crispy fried cheese!) with black beans, avocado, pickled jalapenos, mayo and pico de gallo - courtesy of Jimmy Shaw, chef/owner Loteria Grill
  
• Grilled cheese al carbon: jack cheese, grilled marinated steak, bacon, avocado, chopped onions and cilantro, served with smoky salsa
  
• Fontina with truffled mushrooms and brisket jus on country bread
  
• Grilled Garlic Melt, served with fava bean puree, sauteed greens and shaved parmesan
  
• Little Armenia: soujouk, melty cheese, herbs and grilled tomato on Armenian bread

P.S. Sandwiches can be prepared meatless and on matzah for Passover - just ask!

Week of April 13-18:

• Provolone, hot Italian sausage and garlicky rapini on ciabatta - courtesy of Evan Kleinman, host of KCRW's Good Food and chef/owner Angeli Cafe
  
• BBQ chicken with mozzarella, red onion, cilantro, and smoky bbq sauce
  
• Croque Monsieur: ham and gruyere on country white bread, topped with mornay sauce and more cheese
  
• Brie, baby spinach, balsamic onions, currants and pine nuts on panini bread
  
• Quesadilla with havarti, roasted poblanos and ripe mango, served with salsa and black bean salad

P.S. Sandwiches can be prepared meatless and on matzah for passover - just ask!

Week of April 20-25:

• Camembert with mustard greens and delicious mushrooms on country bread - courtesy of Amelia Saltsman, author of The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook
  
• Tuna-Runa: Italian tuna, cheddar, and creamy mushrooms on buttery white bread
  
• Chili dog grilled cheese: meaty chili and hot dog melted together with cheddar cheese. Our salute to Pinks!
  
• Grilled Torta: ham, cheese, roasted tomato mayo, mustard-fried onions, grilled jalapenos, lettuce and avocado on homemade telera
  
• Pastrami Reuben: Niman Ranch pastrami, gruyere, sauerkraut and our 10,000 lakes dressing on rye bread
  

Week of April 27-30:

• Queso mahon with chorizo, quince paste and romesco - courtesy of Suzanne Goin, chef/owner Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern
• Cobb Sandwich with havarti, blue cheese, chicken, bacon, avocado and roasted tomato mayo on semolina bread
  
• Ensley Cheese Steak - Annie's cheesy meatloaf grilled with peppers, onions, and pepperjack on a toasted french roll
  
• Asparagus, green garlic, fines herbs and three cheeses on wholegrain bread
  
• Mini Mouse Ears grilled cheese - for your kid or the kid in you

Clementine
1751 Ensley Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 552-1080
www.clementineonline.com

Red Meat Heaven at Palate

Yes, the bandwagon had come and gone and it's too late to even jump on it. Palate was one of the big food hypes in LA in the past year, yet this was my first visit. Why? Well, besides a couple of mixed reviews, it's really because it's in Glendale!
But since I recently won a couple of tix to Macbeth in Burbank, thanks to Goldstar, I figured it's close enough for me to check out Palate.

Thanks to early pre-theatre dinner and recent daylight savings time, the natural light was great for food-porning, at least up to dessert :P

The bread was served with butter sprinkled with seasalt and presented quite beautifully.
Palate's menu is not particularly big but I think there's still something for everyone. You know, if you all eat meat.

To start off, we got the young beet salad.
The young beets, although the color doesn't look it, were all very good and fresh. Some of the lettuce, on the other hand, were kind of bruised ...

Next up, some veal ravioli.
Tender veal in al dente pasta and delicious creamy broth. A pretty light and delicious starter here.

Next I got me some pork trotters!
Loved the crispy skin. The meat was very flavorful. The meat (really the muscles/tendons) on pork trotters tend to be stringy but this one has been tenderized quite well.

I also got the Prawn & Veal Tongue.
Giant, fresh, crisp prawn. Delicious! And the veal tongue was very tender, and oh-so-good!!! Tongue was one of my ultimate fave while growing up, but besides my recent venture at FIG, I have yet found one in the state worthy of my love. But this one, yes, this one is worthy indeed!

My companion got the smoked Jidori chicken breast.
This dish is the weakest of the night IMO as the chicken meat is a bit overcooked and thus too dry and tough. I did enjoy the addition of apricots in this dish and thought that the skin was nice and crispy.

As a side dish we got some beautiful colorful cauliflowers.
This was the perfect side dish and was actually one of the highlights of the meal. Fresh and flavorful, sweet and juicy cauliflowers. I could eat this all day.

The dessert selection here was a bit limited. We went with the panna cotta.
This was pretty good, nothing to write home about though.

The chocolate mousse was better and more memorable.
It was pretty rich and dark. Both of the desserts here are solid and satisfying albeit nothing mind-blowing.

Palate was definitely good overall, and I can see where the hype comes from, although the pork and veal seems to be focused on more and done better here. Not that I'm complaining. In my opinion this restaurant is comparable to other great restaurants in LA. From what I've seen so far, it doesn't necessarily stand out on its own, but hey, each side of town needs its own great spot! That veal tongue, though ... Mmmm. That I'll come back for.

Palate Food+Wine
933 S Brand Blvd
Glendale, CA 91204
(818) 662-9463
www.palatefoodwine.com

Sushi Komasa: Cheap and Good Spot in Lil Tokyo

Recently made my first visit to Komasa in Little Tokyo. I've been missing out! This place has good quality fish and is cheap! Now a quick sushi meal doesn't have to cost me at least $50! The only drawback: Parking ...

The place is small and has a traditional japanese look. When we were there the place was packed with Japanese blue collar workers- good sign. Since there were 6 of us we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table, but we walked around and they called us when they were ready.

The salmon sashimi plate was $13 for 8 generous slices.The quality was not at all bad, they're very much comparable to the typical good sushi joints, but it's much nicer to the wallet.

The yellowtail that we also got was even better though, also at $13
These slices of hamachi were quite fresh and quite fatty! They made me happy :)

Sushi prices ranged around $4.80 per order. I had ordered halibut and anago.
The halibut was okay - decent. The anago was quite good though!

The best deal of all at this place might be the chirashi though. For $13 you get this big box of fishy-goodness!
I see salmon, hamachi, tuna, squid, ebi, and uni! Here's that quick, inexpensive, sushi meal, all in a box!
Sushi Komasa, I'll be back!

Sushi Komasa
351 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 680-1792