Monday, February 18, 2013

Theorem: An Experiment in Coffee Tasting by Portola Coffee Lab

Theorem is a unique experience in craft coffee devised by Portola Coffee Lab in Costa Mesa. Once an hour in the late afternoons, the small room with a counter seating only six people opens up for a set menu of one of a kind coffee drinks. You can call or go on their website for reservation.

They want you to focus on the experience so no camera or phone is allowed during the tasting. I only managed to take a photo of the menu before they told me to put my camera away! Though they did let me take quick photos of the setup in between mine and the next tasting.

The menu lists four items and you can order any three for $20.
I started with an Italiano served with candied lemon. This was a play on how Italianos used to be served. Back in the day tap water tasted very mineral-y, so people tend to use lemon rind to get rid of that taste and the oil.

Next is an amazing cappuccino made using milk with 6% butterfat. This milk has a texture like no milk I've had before and it makes for an incredible cappuccino.

The Coffee Sour is an incredible non-alcoholic coffee cocktail made with a cold brew, lemon, orange flower water, orgeat, and honey. When I tasted it I couldn't even tell there was coffee in it, just a balanced, complex mocktail.

The "Enhanced Espresso" must be ordered for the whole table (for $20). Lucky for me someone there was generous enough to order it. The enhanced espresso is coffee infused with various herbs and fruits using a vac-pot (reminiscent of the Rooibos cocktail I had at The Aviary in Chicago).
This one was an extraction of cloves, cinnamon, dried cherries, almond, mint, etc.

A peek into the back room held promise for future tastings. A barrel for aging ... alcoholic coffee cocktails, perhaps?


Theorem
3313 Hyland Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(949) 284-0596
http://www.portolacoffeelab.com/theorem
Theorem on Urbanspoon

Friday, February 15, 2013

Casa Del Mar's New Lobby Lounge Bites, Barrel Aged Cocktails

Casa Del Mar has been elevating their cocktail program under the radar, inviting renowned bartenders locally and internationally to train their staff and help with new menus. One of the latest such consultant is LA's own Aidan Demarest.

Not only that, now you can age your own 5 liters of cocktails with your name or logo etched into the barrel! Choose from Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Vesper, or consult with the bartenders for your own. Once you finish the contents, you get to take the barrel home as a keepsake. The pricing for this starts around $500 per barrel (it depends on the spirits you use).

Barrel Aged Cocktail
I tried their Barrel aged Vieux Carree (Hudson rye whiskey, Tariquet Armagnac VS, Carpano Antica, Angostura bitters, aged 8 1/2 weeks in new American white oak barrels).

The lead bartender, Raymond, has also been coming up with fun new cocktails using fresh produce, like the
Smoky Beets (Alipus mezcal, fresh beet puree, lime juice, Ras El Hanout). This may be my favorite out of the cocktails I tried. The beet flavor wasn't overpowering and the ras el hanout is a unique touch.
Beet Cocktail

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

ScotsFest at The Queen Mary, Feb 16-17

ScotsFest is returning to the Queen Mary in Long Beach this weekend, Saturday-Sunday February 16-17.

There will be a full day of Highland Games competition where you can watch strong men and women throw stones, hammers, cabers, and other ridiculously heavy things over long distances or high up in the air! The people throwing heavy things and the people in costumes will probably not be in the same group, though.


There's also competition for traditional Highland dancing like this Sword Dance from the 15th century, which I got to watch during the ScotsFest preview last week.

The whisky tasting ($15) will feature the lineup from the Edrington Group including The Black Grouse (the smokier version of Famous Grouse), The Macallan Fine Oak series, and Highland Park. 

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

V-Day? Pfft. Go to Big Bar's Bollywood Prom Instead!

They got me with the promise of a 30-ft elephant. I don't know how Big Bar (which is really not big) is going to fit a 30-ft elephant and a whole party underneath it, but this I have got to see. Everything else sounds much better than an overpriced prix fixe dinner somewhere, anyway.

So, on February 14, head over to Big Bar in Los Feliz for: Henna, eye ball reader (what?), photobooth, and a custom gin and tonic bar.

They will also be offering bites like samosas, kabobs, and a special "far east" inspired cocktail menu ($10 each):
  • Rosie Loves Andy (Bombay Sapphire East, lime, cucumber, rose)
  • Mango Lassi Fizz (Bacardi 1909, Galliano, mango, lassi)
  • Star of India( Bacardi Oakheart, Grey Goose Pear, Martini Rossi Bianco, bubbles)
  • Kashmir Old Fashioned (Masala Chai infused Dewars, date syrup, Miracle Mile orange bitters)
There's no cover charge, just show up and have fun!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Littlefork, Hollywood's New Food and Cocktail Gem

The new Littlefork in Hollywood brings Chef Jason Travi back on the dining scene after Fraiche, with a bar program helmed by Brian Butler (Sunny Spot) and Dino Balocchi, formerly of Longman and Eagle in Chicago. With my fond memories of Longman and Eagle's cocktails, I was pretty excited about Dino moving here! The exterior of Littlefork was a bit out of place - a white corner building with a small "littlefork" painted on the wall - but the inside is a beautiful bar and a spacious, elegant dining room.

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Chef Travi makes his own pickles here, and he really goes all out. As you walk in to the restaurant, take a look to your right, behind the hostess stand. There's a whole wall of pickle jars.
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From pickled beets to brussels sprouts (my favorite!), he pickles them all.
Pickles
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The cocktail menu here features house-made bitters, house-made tonic and ginger beer (cocktails are $11 each). The El Perdido is made with tequila, lime, chartreuse, cocchi americano, and the house-made strawberry chile bitters.
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The house-made ginger beer makes an appearance in the Thai Town Mule (gin, lime, thai basil, peppercorn, house ginger beer). The “Gin and Tonic”'s flavor profile moves away from the classic with the addition of ginger and bonal.

A fun appetizer for the table is the Maple eggs with crispy bacon
Maple Bacon Egg
A little taste of breakfast in egg-shaped cups. No, they're not real egg shells. Yes, I had two of these.

Our multi-course tasting meal continues with the Chowder: clams, bacon, oyster crackers
Clam Chowder
served with a mini bottle of tabasco!
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Thursday, February 7, 2013

Falling In Love with Longman & Eagle (Chicago, IL)

It was our third meal of the night, but a Michelin-starred gastropub wasn't something we wanted to pass up. In the end, we're so glad we went, because we fell in love with Longman and Eagle.

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The cocktails here are excellent and they're only $8 each. I love Chicago! We drank quite a bit that night. There were $2 special Evan Williams shots around the table and conbon found her ultimate Old Fashioned.
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That's my excuse for not really remembering what cocktails I had, but I am guessing this was the La Perla with tequila, Cocchi Americano, grapefruit, and habanero shrub.

We decided to just share a few plates since we were already full, and started healthy with the roasted cauliflower with beluga lentil and yogurt curry sauce
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Steak and edamame with lobster tater tots. Lobster tater tots!
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The desserts sound particularly enticing here. The first was a lightly savory dessert: warm gruyere donuts, fig jam, hazelnut mascarpone, wild flower honey ($9)
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Honey, Bees, and Outdoor Dinner at Fairmont Newport

It's a little known fact that some of the Fairmont hotels have started honey bee hives on their rooftops, wherever it was possible. This has included the Fairmont in Newport Beach, Seattle, and San Francisco (where you can also try the honey beers made by a local brewery with their honey). I was invited to a dinner at Fairmont Newport a few months ago and got to check out the rooftop bees with a view of the sunset! The hives at Fairmont Newport and maintained and harvested with the help of Backyard Bees.

Rooftop bee hives
We had a honey tasting in the small room on the rooftop. Little did I know just how different honey can taste, until you compare two side by side. The black pan was harvested from these hives in June. This early summer honey is more floral than the August harvest. Both of them were excellent, by the way, and I'm glad they gave us a little jar to take home.
After some cocktails and arancini, we had an al fresco dinner in their beautiful garden, a picture perfect spot for a small wedding with the white gazebo in the back.

Fairmont Newport

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Fresh Dish: Your New Prep Cook

Fresh Dish is another "meal delivery service", but it's a bit different. Instead of sending you prepared meals, they send you meal kits that you can cook/prepare in 30 minutes. They run from $8-12 per person ($32 for a meal for 4 or $24 for 2) and they've included everything in the kit, from the big ingredients to small packets of salt and pepper.

The meats and vegetables are raw, and most things are already pre-measured in their own containers.
The fajita was super easy to make. Just season the meat with salt and pepper and cook on both sides. The tortillas just needed some heating up and then all the toppings like guacamole and salsa were already prepared. The most labor I had to do was probably slicing the steak up.


Thursday, January 31, 2013

Mini Food Cart Crawl: Nong's Khao Man Gai and The People's Pig (Portland, OR)

On my second trip to Portland, a food cart visit was a must, and why not try what is perhaps the most famous of them all: Hainanese chicken and rice at Nong's Khao Man Gai ($6.75)

The order I shared with e*starLA was breast meat. It was tender, but not incredibly special. Instead, the garlicky sauce is really what it's all about! Douse the meat and rice with plenty of it (extra sauce goes for $1).
I don't normally like chicken breast that much, though, and I should've been wiser and ordered like Eat Recklessly did. She asked for dark meat and said yes to the crispy skin! Her plate was 10x better than mine was. I am definitely asking for dark meat and getting the skin next time around.

Monday, January 28, 2013

The Roof on Wilshire: New Year's Day Brunch Is Never a Good Deal

One of my pet peeves is when I sit down at a bar for the first time and the bartender asks what they can get for me without giving me the menu. "Uh, the menu, please" is typically my response. This one takes it a bit further. As he handed me the menu, he says that they have specialty cocktails but they can make me whatever I wanted, like Jack n Coke ... Right. Either he thinks I'm a Jack kind of girl or that's all he knows how to make, but either way it did not seem promising.

I had chosen The Roof on Wilshire for New Year's Day brunch partly because I remembered reading good things about their hot cocktail menu. Granted, Caroline's review was from winter the year before, but I was hoping maybe they'd kept at least some of them - or the quality - for a year. I didn't see any hot drinks listed, though, so I asked the bartender. Apparently the page with the hot drinks list was missing from the menu I had, so he said he'd get me one. Ten minutes later he asked what I wanted to order. "Um, the hot drinks list?"
"Oh, yeah!"

This happened two more times. Luckily I had plenty of time waiting for my party of ten friends who are always late.

Finally, I got the "hot drinks list" which only consisted of a hot toddy and some kahlua whipped cream concoction. That was what I waited 20 minutes to read? Huh. I finally settled on a jalapeno-mezcal cocktail. Not bad, quite spicy.

Finally my table is ready and my friends arrived. The New Year's brunch deal here was a "3-course" meal for around $25 if I remember correctly.
The first course listed some bread and pastry selection, but as I tried placing an order for a croissant, they said they're just bringing a "bread basket" to the table. The "basket" turned out to be this plate. Not bad, but ... the same plate that they brought for the 10 of us they brought to tables of 4. There's also only one croissant and one bacon cheddar biscuit. Which meant I didn't get any. I asked them for more croissant about half a dozen times, which were always answered with "I'll bring them right out" but never appeared.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Suzanne Goin's SAG Awards Menu + Slow-Roasted Salmon with Green Rice Recipe


UntitledSuzanne Goin is one of the most established chefs in Los Angeles with the long-standing Lucques and AOC and the newer Tavern and The Hungry Cat, so it should come as no surprise that Lucques Catering was chosen to cater the Screen Actors Guild Awards for the 4th year in a row.

The 19th SAG Awards will take place on Sunday, January 27 at the Shrine Exposition Center. Goin will prepare three dishes on the same plate composed of: Roasted beets and blood oranges with feta and black olives, Slow-roasted salmon with green rice, labneh, capers and nasturtiums, and Beef tenderloin with fingerlings, arugula, and horseradish cream.
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The vegan option has the feta removed from the beet salad and the other two dishes replaced by Cauliflower couscous with pomegranate salsa and Farro with kale, young broccoli, currants and pine nuts.
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The food will be served with Champagne Taittinger and wines from Gallo.
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The slow-roasted salmon was my favorite of all the dishes, with incredible texture and that amazing green rice, so I am sharing her recipe here!

Slow Roasted Salmon with Green Rice, Labneh, Capers and Nasturtium
Roasted Salmon

Friday, January 18, 2013

Sneak Preview: Loteria Grill's DineLA Menu

DineLA Restaurant Week is upon us once again, and Loteria Grill had invited the media to preview their DineLA menu so that we can tell you what's in store and what to order.

Order this one!
I went to their Studio City location. There are still the cards adorning the top of the walls, but thanks to the distinct crowd this location is not as loud as the Hollywood one and seemed brighter.

The chef/owner Jimmy Shaw was there to explain to us his inspirations behind the menu while we sip tequila infused with kiwi and a hint of Chili.

 There are three options for each of the three courses. Unfortunately, I can't show you all of the three appetizers since our whole table went with the Tostadita de Salpican do Jaiba.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

A Taste Through Ayara Thai Cuisine

Much like Chinese food, even though Thai food is popular and prevalent in the US, most people don't venture out of the usual order of tom yum, pad thai, etc (though LA residents are pretty good about venturing out). Granted, it's hard to do when faced with a menu of foreign words. That's why for me, having a tasting menu at a recent media dinner at Ayara Thai Cuisine was a good way to explore.

The first bite was something I haven't had before. It's called Miang Kham. The name literally means "one bite" and it's described as "6 flavors" wrapped in young Chinese broccoli leaves and eaten whole.

This is one of the royal dishes of Thailand and is rare to find here in the US. It's usually served on betel nut leaves and composed of shallots, onions, lime, peanut, chili, tamarind sauce. It's at once sweet, spicy, and bitter.
A typical Bangkok street food is Moo Ping (marinated pork skewers) & Sticky Rice. We had them with both the Tigers Cry sauce and roasted chili sauce.
The roasted chili sauce was quite spicy and the sticky rice really helped!

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