Showing posts with label cafe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cafe. Show all posts

Saturday, February 25, 2017

The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker (West Hollywood, CA)

by guest blogger @btsunoda of Discovering LA

The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker takes it name from the famous nursery rhyme (the Butcher, The Baker, and the Candlestick Maker in the nursery rhyme Rub-a-dub-dub). They cleverly substitute candlestick maker with cappuccino maker and it works quite well for their concept. They opened a few weeks ago and I recently paid them a visit.
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BBCM is located in the iconic Sunset West Plaza. This is a popular destination visited by the locals due to the chic shops and outdoor cafes. People in the know take advantage of the free parking available behind each business.

The intent behind The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker is one of community. Breakfast was central to their strategy and so they created a bakery as the foundation. Not wanting to be breakfast-only, they designed their menu to incorporate their seasonal farm to table cuisine for lunch and dinner.

The appearance is one of a classy European cafe. 
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The use of marble is extensive; the counter top for the bar is a large block of marble and even the plates are made of marble. The outside is landscaped with beautiful 100 year-old olive trees and there are quite a few tables available for al fresco dining.

The kitchen is led by the duo of Executive Chefs Ren Nisenbaum (formerly of Jaleo, Washington, D.C. and Morimoto and Jean Georges in NYC) and Craig Hopson (formerly of Le Cirque, Picholine and Beautique in NYC) and features seasonal local farm-fresh ingredients.

Consistent with their European bakery foundation, they use the French galette for some of their dishes. I tried two of their galetes: the Beef Short Rib with cherries, arugula and boursin was tasty. The use of cherries blended extremely well with the beef short ribs.  IMG_2855
I especially enjoyed the Galette of Bacalhau. The flavors of mushrooms, jalapeƱos and a sunny side up egg worked extremely well with the salted dried cod.
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Other highlights from my visit:
Chestnut Pappardelle - The rich taste of duck and mushrooms permeated the pasta noodles and transformed the pasta to a nice savory taste.
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Sunday, November 20, 2016

Shuhari Matcha Serves Green Tea and Japanese Snacks on Abbot Kinney

Tea lovers, and especially matcha lovers, head straight to Shuhari Matcha on Abbot Kinney.

Shuhari serves a selection of green tea as well as savory snacks and green tea-based desserts and drinks, like this The Matcha Sundae ($8.50).
Shuhari Matcha
The sundae is made with matcha ice cream, chocolate sauce, corn flakes, and dried raspberries.

Shuhari Matcha Cafe is an interesting business, as they partly funded by the Cool Japan Fund, a joint public-private fund that promotes Japanese culture.
Shuhari Matcha
On a warm LA day, get one of the yuzu matcha sparkler ($5). This was one of my favorites. Lightly sweet, and the yuzu complements the bitterness of the matcha well. They also have other flavors for the sparkler that I'm looking forward to trying next time.
Shuhari Matcha

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Cafe de Boston: A Boston Lunch Spot for Literally Everyone

Looking for a good lunch spot in the Financial District that will keep everyone happy, from your big group of friends or your coworkers? Make sure Cafe de Boston is on your radar. It's a big space with multiple stations, from salad station to prepared food buffet to other stations making pizza, pasta, crepes, sandwiches, and many more. There are desserts of all manners, coffee drinks, free wifi and power outlets at plenty of the seats in the cafe section!

Cafe de Boston
The owner had a couple other Middle Eastern restaurants in downtown Boston, so one of the most popular items at Cafe de Boston is the kebabs - from lamb shish kebab to chicken kofte kebab, which you can get both as a wrap and a plate. This restaurant is also actually halal, they do not use any pork - even the ham is made of turkey.
Cafe de Boston
The menu for the hot buffet rotates. You might find falafels, hummus, chicken wings. There is always something for everyone, no matter what your food restriction is.
Cafe de Boston
Cafe de Boston

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Ogawa Coffee Brings Japanese Perfection in A Cup

I'm not REALLY a coffee connoisseur, but I got spoiled living in LA, when there was a renaissance of great coffee shops. I may not be able to blind test different single origin coffees, but I know bad coffee from good coffee, at least. So when I came to Boston last year, I asked around where to find good coffee. "I just go to Dunkin' Donuts" was invariably the most common response.

Hm. Like I said, I was spoiled. Luckily, Ogawa Coffee came from Boston. Ogawa Coffee has been running a chain of stores and their own coffee bean roasting in Kyoto for more than 60 years. Their foray into Boston is their first international venture, and they chose Boston because it is one of Kyoto's sister cities and they see Boston's abundance of universities and focus on education as a common ground between the two cities.

Ogawa Coffee
When you walk in, you'll notice the stadium seating to the right, which faces a serving counter. They'll eventually hold demos and classes using this area.

Ogawa's signature drink ($10 but you get two drinks, really) is a glass of chilled espresso - smooth and just slightly sweetened - served with a cup of hot cappuccino.
Ogawa Coffee
If you're lucky and you're in the store when Haruna Maruyama is in, then you should ask for some special latte art. She's the champion of the 2010 World Barista Latte Art and was both the first Japanese and the first woman to win the distinction! Don't fret if she's not in because she's been training the other baristas who all have their signature art, but do know you're in for a treat when she is.

The thing about Japanese is their attention to detail. They heat up their glassware with hot water before serving the coffee so as not to change the temperature of the coffee too much!
Ogawa Coffee


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Zinque Cafe and Wine Bar in West Hollywood

The old Nishimura space across the street from Pacific Design Center was always closed off by a tall wooden gate. Now it has turned into Zinque Cafe and Wine Bar and the gate gave way to a charming outdoor dining area, complete with a fireplace.

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The food menu is small, but we tried some good things here, starting with the Cheese Plate ($16) which included comte, blue cheese, and epoisses
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Though you don't get to choose the cheeses, they're all good and come with fun accompaniments. Now, the server might tell you the one at the end is brie, but I was told Zinque is one of the few places in town that serves Epoisses. Instead of brie, we had a slice of the wonderfully stinky epoisses, even better with the honeycomb.
Epoisses

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Brunch at LA Spice (Culver City)

LA Spice is a catering veteran in Los Angeles, having catered some of the biggest events in town (and outside of town). The owner, LeAnne Schwartz, started missing the daily interaction with customers, though, and decided to open a small cafe in Culver City. LA Spice Cafe is mainly open for lunch and brunch (from 8am-4pm daily).

There's a cornmeal-crusted fried green tomato sandwich with jack cheese, avocado, pickled red onions on a demi baguette ($10.50)

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I added bacon to this to make it a BL-fried-T sandwich! Crisp, fresh green tomatoes encrusted in crispy cornmeal batter, add to that the creamy avocado for a satisfying bite.

The eggs benedict is served on housemade biscuits with oven roasted tomatoes, goat cheese and avocado hollandaise ($12.95)
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The avocado hollandaise is a nice touch and brings the dish together.

Monday, February 24, 2014

La Brea Bakery Celebrates 25 Years, Reopens Full Service Cafe

Yes, it has been 25 years since Nancy Silverton first opened La Brea Bakery. Amazing! They recently reopened their flagship cafe in a large, beautiful space on La Brea (of course), coinciding with their 25 year anniversary.

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Of course, there will be plenty of bread and pastries to satisfy you, being La Brea Bakery, and all, but the cafe serves more than that.
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Don't miss the pastries, though, from the French toast rosette (which I highly recommend), almond croissant, to flower shaped macarons.

The cafe is poised to be a great place to grab lunch. serving salads, sandwiches, and pizzas.
I couldn't get enough of the Ham and Cheese Panini with rosemary ham, gruyere, balsamic onions, dijon aioli, sage, country white sourdough ($10.50)
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Friday, September 6, 2013

Pedalers Fork (Calabasas, CA): Where Bikers Meet Food and Cocktails

Pedalers Fork in Calabasas is where a restaurant meets a bike shop, opened by two good friends who combined their respective passions (one loves food, one loves biking). It's a bit of a drive but I finally managed to come here on my way to taking my mom to the outlet mall. The restaurant is spacious, with high ceilings and more seats on the second floor. On a good day, head outside to sit next to the creek and watch people get to work on the bike shop - you'll get the feeling this is what California is all about.

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View of the bike shop
 It was early in the day but since the cocktails here were designed by Marcos Tello and Aidan Demarest so I had to try one. Or a few.
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IMG_6127 The menu's probably changed by now (I know, I'm slow!), but I enjoyed the Second Gear (rye, coffee infused Punt e Mes, Maraschino, and coffee bean float) and Rye Hummingbird Down (Chartreuse, rye, honey and lemon). It's a solid cocktail menu - probably the best one in the Calabasas area - you can hardly go wrong.

My mom and aunt don't eat much, so we decided to share two dishes and a dessert between the three of us.
Seared Albacore Tuna sandwich with avocado, chili vinaigrette, savoy cabbage, cucumber kimchi, rainbow carrot ($15). I chose the mixed greens as a side.
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They give you a pretty thick cut of tuna. The cucumber kimchi is not very spicy or pungent but added a nice flavor regardless.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

My Vienna: An Austrian Gelato Cafe in Beverly Hills

My Vienna invokes an Austrian gelato cafe in the middle of Beverly Hills. Austrian former pro-tennis player Spin Mylnarik learnt the ropes of gelato making from a master in Austria for his wife, who loved the gelato she had in Europe.

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Don't you also want a hot pro-athlete to learn how to make gelato and open up a cafe for you?
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Here, you won't sit down with your gelato in paper cups. The gelato is properly served in tin cups with a glass of water. All paper cups are strictly for to-go orders only - that is, you'd have to leave the premises with it. He aspires to the cafes in Europe where people spend time sitting down and enjoying their gelato.

The gelato itself is excellent. The Nocchilone (chocolate hazelnut) is a bestseller here, and the European Cookies flavor is the staff favorite. I also like the fruit sorbets, especially the cantaloupe. In fact, I thought the gelato was so good that I had to get a whole styrofoam container to go (you can get 4 flavors to go for $14).

The coffee and teas served here are strictly Austrian.
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Sacher Torte and Austrian pastries are made in-house, and gelato cakes are available with special order.
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During lunch you can get salad, sandwich, and a small gelato for $10.95. There's a lot of metered parking in the back (which is free after 6pm).

My Vienna Gelato and Coffee
9461 S Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 246-0359
http://www.myviennagelato.com

Monday, October 8, 2012

Graffiti Coffeehouse (Mid-City, Los Angeles)

The amount of time one spends at a coffee shop varies. There's the grab and go for a quick caffeine fix, there's the meeting or coffee date, and then there's the working afternoons or nights. There are three things I look for in a coffee shop to work in: good coffee, free wi-fi (and plugs), free and easy parking, and good pastries. Graffiti on La Brea has all these.

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I was worried about parking when I was heading there at first, but it turns out Graffiti has its own parking lot. It's small, but cars come and go all the time, so you're likely to get a free parking spot and can stay for hours.

The inside of Graffiti is spacious and bright with its white walls, floors, and tables. It's a large, almost art gallery-like space with plenty of seatings for everyone.
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Graffiti doesn't roast their own coffee or bake their own pastries, instead it curates from LA's well known names. OK, I should've tried the drip coffee or espresso, but it was so hot that day I had to go for a cold one. The signature iced mocha is made with Intelligentsia coffee and Bouchon chocolate ganache. It's not cheap (nor are the pastries) at around $5.50, but with the free parking it was well worth the 2-3 hours I spent getting my work done there.
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The pastries here come from Bouchon Bakery and Cake Monkey. 
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With a chocolate croissant from Bouchon, a cup of coffee, free wi-fi and parking, and plenty of plugs, I could (and did) stay here for hours!
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Soon, they will have ice cream from Fonuts (affogatos!) as well along with soup and sandwiches from other LA's favorite joints.

Graffiti Coffeehouse
180 South La Brea Avenue
 Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 936-9726

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