DineLA 2010: Cube Marketplace & Cafe, Artisan Crafted Lunch

Cube was the place I wanted to hit the most for this year's first Dine LA Restaurant Week, in particular their lunch. The Cube Truffle burger, available only on the lunch dine LA menu plus the fact that the three course meal ran only $22.00 per person led me to take an "extended lunch" with Wandering Chopsticks, since, alas, it was not open for lunch on Sundays.

If you didn't catch it the first time, the place is called Cube Marketplace & Cafe, so of course they sell various gourmet, artisan food products, along with cute kitchen and table wares and $50 bowls.

The Dine LA menu had three choices for both appetizer and entree, but WC and I wanted the same thing and didn't want to risk sharing something we might not want, so we both placed the same orders.

For our appetizer: Shaved brussels sprout salad (satsumas, toasted hazelnuts, pomegranates, pecorino, hazelnut vinaigrette) - regularly $11
They didn't even cut down on the portion. This plate of salad would've satisfied me until dinner time, but I had to trek on. The citrusy combination of the satsumas, pomegranates, and vinaigrette is a bit acidic, though the toasted hazelnuts balanced that off quite nicely and each bite was at once crunchy and refreshing.

Moving on: Cube Truffle Burger (house brioche, blue cheese, caramelized shallots, crispy potatoes w/ chipotle ketchup on the side) - regularly $15. Arugula and tomato slices are provided on the side to build your burger to your liking.
The brioche bun may be smaller in diameter, but it packs in one thick, juicy patty. While indulging in a slurry of meat juices amidst the strong aroma of blue cheese and truffle oil, you may feel the need to reach for a couple of the thin crisp fried potatoes dipped in the chipotle ketchup. And a couple more. In fact, if I didn't have a strong enough will to make them take away my plate I never would've stopped eating those crispy potatoes.

Although all having all this great food had probably used up my good karma for the day, there was more to come. This time WC and I are actually sharing!
Our first choice was the seasonal fruit cobbler duo (cherry, rhubarb) with tahitian vanilla bean ice cream - regularly $8
The top is a thick granola-laden crust that fit my crust/fruit ratio preference just fine. Both were good, but the cherry in particular was amazing.

Our second dessert choice was the pots de creme duo (butterscotch, Valrhona chocolate) - regularly $8
Being a chocolate lover, I liked this dessert even more. The valrhona pot de creme is thick and dark. I loved the bittersweetness, although be warned that it might be darker than you may expect.

The desserts made me want some hot tea and since Cube does serve loose leaf tea, I ordered myself a pot.

Cube's Dine LA lunch was an amazing deal. $11 salad + $15 burger + $8 dessert = $22, you do the Math (I'm just the bioengineer). Sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner ... hopefully they'll do it for the next Restaurant Week too. Even without it, though, Cube is definitely a place you should try.

Cube Marketplace & Cafe
615 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 939-1148
www.cubemarketplace.com

Marea: Seafood, Pasta, and My Latest Fave NYC Lunch

Oh, Marea ... Your Michelin 1-star, NYT 3 stars, and best new restaurant are all well-deserved.

But that wasn't why I went. I went because Sam Kim of LAist said I should, and I'm more than glad I did.

Business lunch at Marea runs $34 for 2 courses and the bright and spacious restaurant across from Central Park was a pleasure to dine in.

My lunch buddy got a tasting of three crudos for the first course ($8 supplement).
All three of the crudos we chose were wonderful but in particular I really enjoyed the delicateness and simplicity of the PASSERA which is the long island fluke with lemon thyme and olio nuovo.

For a better view: SEPPIA and PASSERA

I (surprise, surprise) ordered the ASTICE containing Nova Scotia lobster, burrata, eggplant al fungheto, basil and basil seeds.
Get it. Get it, get it. The burrata and the light basil seed sauce wonderfully accentuates the fresh lobster. Never overwhelming in any way, this was a lovely and balanced dish.

Moving into a more flavor-forward dish with the POLIPO (grilled octopus, insalata di riso, fava, yellow tomato).
Another highly recommended dish with the chewy and meaty octopus. The rice salad nicely mellows out the saltiness of the octopus and if that wasn't enough texture contrast for you, combine it with the pine nuts on the side.

In contrast to the delicate and meticulous plating of our first courses, the pasta courses looked decidedly simple but they were just as masterfully executed.
For my second course: Spaghetti with Santa Barbara uni, crab, and basil.
The creaminess of the uni really shone through with this al dente pasta. This was a dish bursting with flavor.

You can actually get some meat or fish dishes as your second course, but we both got our pasta this late afternoon. My companion had the equally delicious MARE (acquarello risotto, scallops, gulf shrimp, lobster - $5 supplement).
A much more subtle dish than the uni spaghetti - this is perhaps the best risotto I've had in a while.

Both of the desserts we initially ordered were nice but they were shadowed by the brilliance of our two courses.






The dessert portions were small and we were somehow unsatisfied, and so we ended up getting another one. Our server recommended the Torrone and it proved to be more satisfying than the first two.
Still, since the desserts range about $14 each, if you're like us foodbloggers trying to squeeze 50 eating places in a 5-day NYC trip, you'd be better off getting your dessert elsewhere.

For their crudi, antipasti, and pasta, however, there is no reason not to go to Marea. Just go.


Marea
240 Central Park South
New York, NY 10021
(212) 582-5100
www.marea-nyc.com

Lousin's Mom n Pop Arakadz(Armenian) Cuisine

Lousin's Arakadz cuisine caught my eye at the last Restaurant.com sale. Right in Pasadena by the 210, it was a (ok, two) stone's throw away from Caltech but I've never heard of it.

A lot of people now know about Restaurant.com - get a $25 gift certificate to restaurants for only $10 may seem enticing enough, but then you find out that they regularly hold crazy sales. The current sale is 90% off from 9/9/09 til 9/13/09. That's $25 for $1 if you don't want to do the math.

So most of the restaurants listed are usually not cheap and not that exciting, but occasionally you'd find some exciting places pop up temporarily, like FIG, so I've gotten into the habit of checking the list whenever the sale is going on.

Lousin's is actually quite the opposite of FIG. A hole-in-the-wall in a strip mall right by the freeway, we could hardly tell it was there when we arrived.

The place was empty when we came for lunch, with the exception of the wife who runs the place and two teenage girls who were probably her daughter and a friend.

We seated ourselves and got a paper menu. Besides the expected Armenian staples, Lousin's also offers $9.99 new york steaks and lamb chops and $2.99 turkey burger third pounders.

Oh, did I mention we came with a $10 restaurant.com gc off of a $20 order? Cheap? I felt like we were cheating them.

Lousin's is run by a lovely couple and yes, they are the only two working at the restaurant. Our lunch didn't end up being a quick one, but understandably the wife was doing the order taking and cooking since the husband did not come until later that day.
We also got a side of pickled cabbage on the house.
Leaving the steaks and burgers for another time, we shared some typical Armenian dishes, starting with the Beef Shawarma Plate ($6.99)
Served with a salad rice pilaf, this was a good-sized portion for the price. The shawarma was tender and well-seasoned and the rice was quite fragrant.

The lamb dishes are typically $1 more expensive than similar items, but we like lamb anyway so for the second dish we got the Lamb Shish Kebab Plate ($7.99)
This was also served with a pita, which we removed to show you the meats! Still well seasoned though not as tender and since it's also not dressed, it was a bit dryer than the previous. But this was still good with the grilled vegetables.

We also got the Lamb Loole Kebob Wrap ($4.99 -- the beef/chicken are 3.99)
Unlike the shish kebob, the loole kebob are made of seasoned ground meat. We were so full we couldn't finish this so we split it and took it home. I had my half for lunch the next day and it was still moist and flavorful. Luckily the wrap is not doused with salt so I didn't have to worry about the pita getting soggy overnight.

Lousin's is a nice place for a cheap lunch with solid food, though granted it wasn't that quick of a lunch, and they definitely deserve more business than they seem to be getting. Come now, help out the mom 'n pop shops!

Lousin's Arakadz Cuisine
336 N Allen Ave
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 793-9955

Cafe Pinot: A Refuge from Bustling Downtown LA

The outdoor dining area at Cafe Pinot transports you out of the busy, loud, crowded downtown LA. Next to the Maguire garden, their patio escapes the busy foot traffic and gives you a more tranquil setting for your meals.

This Patina group restaurant offers a pretty good prix fixe deal during lunch time. Their Lunch Spa Menu offers a changing two courses (where you'd typically get two choices for each course) for $24.

We tried this place at the beginning of summer and ordered the Tomato Gazpacho to start our lunch prix fixe.
A solid gazpacho. Nice flavors and cooling for a warm summer day.

For the entree, we ordered the Grilled Arctic Char with miso-based sauce.
The fish was quite nicely prepared. The skin was cripsy while the fish meat remains moist and juicy. We also really enjoyed the sweet miso based sauce pairing.

The lunch spa menu didn't come with dessert but Mattatouille convinced me that the peach crumble here is definitely worth getting, so we ordered one to share.

Warm Peach Crumble, vanilla ice cream, star anise essence ($8)
Absolutely worth ordering. This is one of the best peach crumble I've ever tasted. The focus here is definitely the peach, which was deliciously sweet and is not overwhelmed by the syrup. The crunchy crumble adds a nice contrast to both the flavor and texture. This is something worth coming back for.

I was pleasantly surprised by Cafe Pinot. The al fresco garden patio dining was very enjoyable, the prix fixe quite reasonable and the food well prepared. But as you can imagine, the peach crumble clinched the deal for me. As long as that stays on the menu, I'd come back for sure.

Cafe Pinot
700 W 5th St
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 239-6500
www.patinagroup.com/cafePinot/

Royal/T for Light Lunch, Art, and Maids - but No Sweets

Royal/T in Culver City is known for its servers' maid uniforms, inspired by maid cafes in Akihabara in Japan, and the use of its space for art exhibits.The maid uniforms themselves are much tamer compared to maid cafes in Akiba with their dark brown and white color scheme. And no, they don't call you "Master" here.
As far as their brunch offerings go, you'll find light fares such as salads, sandwiches, rice bowls and "baked eggs" (more on that in a bit).

The tea selection is fairly interesting featuring "modern brews" on top of classics like sencha and darjeeling. Tea selection was fairly small though. It seems that most of their "modern brews" is supposed to be better iced, so I asked for a yuzu sencha iced. Pretty solid, but not particularly memorable for me. The yuzu flavor was not as strong as I would've liked and the tea itself was slightly overbrewed.

I decided to just have a simple salad: Shrimp with Asparagus, Avocado, and Tomatoes ($10)
Their prices are pretty reasonable, the ingredients used are good. The shrimps were good, and the salad overall is pretty good, although the combination didn't work 100% for me. Regardless it was enjoyable.

My friend also got some sort of egg scramble with tofu, served with salad.

Their baked egg dish was interesting and actually pretty good. It's literally baked.
I only had a bite of this but I think I'll get it next time - with something more than tomatoes though. There were only 2 slices of tomatoes in it, but the baked egg itself was good.

For a supposed "tea" place, Royal/T unfortunately has a very limited selection sweets and pastries - besides croissants at the bar area, they had three items on the dessert menu. Their online menu certainly boasts much more, but they were nowhere to be found that day.
I decided to try the chocolate banana bread.
The bread was good, but not enough to satisfy my cravings for sweets. It was pretty light and not that sweet, and I have no idea what whipped cream was doing next to a bread.
I tried ordering their brownies, but they were out so I had to settle for the lemon tart.
The lemon tart was good- the whipped cream was entirely decorational and superfluous. But again ... not quite enough for my cravings. But that was all that they had as far as desserts go - such a shame!
I headed to Boule and splurged afterwards.

I didn't get the afternoon tea set this time but now I'm not sure if it will even be worth it. No scones? No pastries? What's the point?? I would still go to Royal/T because their simple food is good enough and the space is cool, but until they fix this lack of sweets problem I won't be there too often.


Royal/T
8910 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 559-6300
www.royal-t.org