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.

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.

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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Bulgogi Banh Mi and Juices at Fruit Farm in Little Tokyo

An unassuming cafe called Fruit Farm had popped up inside of Little Tokyo's Galleria mall, serving fresh juices, smoothies, sandwiches, and salads. What to know is that one of the owners is Korean so you can get fun sandwich mash ups like this bulgogi banh mi ($6.75 gets you the two pieces shown below and you can get half filled with something else!)

What I actually like even better was the spicy pork banh mi that I got in my other half of the sandwich.

The bulgogi tends on the sweeter side and I think the light spiciness of the pork works better with the banh mi accompaniments, but both were good and interesting.

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Disappointing Miami Spice Lunch at Restaurant Michael Schwartz

I stumbled into a great Miami Spice deal of a dinner at Tongue and Cheek so I gave it another go at Restaurant Michael Schwartz, his newest venture. The restaurant is at The Raleigh Hotel, with tables scattered outside near the pool.

When going to a restaurant week (or month, in this case) prix fixe deal, I find that first you always have to look at the menu. But apparently, just finding a menu that sounds good isn't enough. The lunch menu at Restaurant Michael Schwartz sounds great. In fact, it sounds amazing, for a $23 3-course lunch. Lobster salad, seafood stew, beef carpaccio. 

I chose the Lobster salad, toasted brioche, frisee for my first course. 

My "lobster salad" came and it was a bit of lobster on a tiny brioche, with a spattering of frisée on the side. What was this, an amuse bouche? 

Taste-wise, it was really good. But still ... Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting tons of lobster at this price, but a couple pieces on top of a tiny brioche? Can't I at least get more of the "salad" part? A proper appetizer size salad with a bit of lobster would make me more satisfied! Instead of a lobster salad they should've put "tiny lobster roll".

Carina's appetizer was a better deal with a generous portion of Grass fed beef carpaccio, parmesan, preserved lemon, capers, arugula.

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Casual and Healthy Lunch at Twist Eatery

Twist Eatery recently opened in La Brea, serving breakfast, lunch and baked goods along with coffee.

The lunch menu is mostly healthy (although they do have a burger if you're so inclined).

I got the Salmon Bowl, with lentil, quinoa salad tossed in a pomegranate, vinaigrette served with moroccan spiced salmon and a citrus salsa ($14)

The salmon was nicely cooked, still moist, and the sauce and dressing were flavorful yet still light. I really liked this for a healthy yet still filling lunch.

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25-Layer Pork at Kimukatsu (Honolulu, HI)

With the number of Japanese tourists swarming Hawaii every year, it's no surprise that Honolulu would have great Japanese food. From ramen to handmade soba, you can find pretty much everything here. One of the places I had my eye on was Kimukatsu, famous for their pork katsu made by stacking 25 layers of pork slices, then deep frying it. This way, the katsu is supposed to retain more of the juices than a thick piece of pork cutlet.

Now, Hawaii is also not cheap. An order of pork Katsu set (with rice, cabbage, miso soup, pickles) would be $19 normally but they do have a special menu during lunch. The regular tonkatsu order is not on this menu but you can get a katsudon set ("The Original Kimukatsu Bowl") for $16 or the Kimukatsu Curry for $13.

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Your New Pasadena Lunch: Burger Haven at Haven Gastropub

Burger Haven isn't a pop-up, but a restaurant within a restaurant. During the lunch hours, the back part of Haven Gastropub in Oldtown Pasadena turns into Burger Haven, serving burgers, fries, and milkshakes. There are 6-7 items on the menu including the Haven burger, the lamb burger, a veggie option, and Here's the Kicker topped with habanero, serrano, jalapeno, and pickled ghost chili! I tried a bite of this and was dying from the spiciness, but I know quite a few people who would love it! You can see the full menu here.

For my lunch, I went instead with the Shake and Bake, which is their fried chicken sandwich. It's made with Mary's free range chicken, coated in corn flakes and pan fried, topped with rosemary mashed potatoes, gravy, braised collard greens, and honey mustard on jalapeno-habanero bun ($9)

It's like your handheld Southern plate. Fried chicken and all the staple Southern sides compacted between two buns. You may have to explain to your boss why you fell asleep after lunch when you eat this, but at least you'll be full until dinner time!

Regardless of how full I was after that fried chicken sandwich, there's always still room for a Nutella shake ($5)!

How can you say no to milkshake AND Nutella?

DineLA 2011: Lunch at Napa Valley Grille

The first summer DineLA Restaurant Week started earlier this week, so I thought I'd do a quick post on one of my Dine LA visits from last year. I had lunch at Napa Valley Grille last Fall, and the $22 per person for three courses was a great deal! (The format this year unfortunately does not have dessert for lunch. It is $20 for two courses. Not sure why, I want my desserts!)


I used to go to Napa Valley Grille a lot when I worked in Westwood, but since then I haven't gone as much. The lunch was a pleasant reminder of Napa Valley Grille's good food and generous portions!

Chopped Kale Salad, toasted almonds, golden raisin, lemon parmesan vinaigrette

Very fresh and light! I don't like salads with too much dressing, but this one had a nice light dressing and a lot of the flavors came from the almonds and raisins.

Tahitian Squash Soup, pomegranate syrup, pistachio pesto

The entrees:
Marinated Ahi Tuna Salad, heirloom cherry tomatoes, dry cured olives, anchovy vinaigrette, country croutons

This lighter option still had plenty of tuna to fill you up for the rest of the day.

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Junoon, a Michelin-starred Indian? (New York)

An Indian restaurant with a Michelin star? I couldn't really imagine it with the Indian places in LA, but I'm sure London would have plenty great restaurants and it seems like NYC is trying to catch up with Chef Vikas Khanna's Junoon.

Lunch was a great opportunity to dip our feet into Junoon, with their $24 deal for 3 course prix-fixe (limited menu) or $38 for 3 course a la carte prix-fixe (can order from the entire menu). The spacious and lavish decor is certainly Michelin-star worthy.

I was curious about the dishes on the regular menu, so I had the a la carte prix fixe while my companions ordered the $24 deal. For the appetizer, I went with the Adraki Bater (quail marinated in cumin, ginger juice, and lime juice)

These tandoori quail may be my favorite dish that we tried. It was both interesting and very flavorful and moist.

DestinationEats ordered the Piri Piri Shrimp in a Goan chili sauce with avocado and jicama salad

Not as spicy as Indian food can be but packed with spices nonetheless, and the shrimp were well cooked.

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Lunching at Le Saint Amour (Culver City)

Le Saint Amour has been a bloggers' favorite ever since Chef Walter Manzke started consulting for this Culver City bistro. While I have yet been lucky enough to dine while he's in the kitchen, I was recently invited for lunch. It was a nice day so we sat on the patio, overlooking the beautiful city hall.

I had to order the Duck Confit Salad ($14) since duck confit and cherries sounded too good to pass up. Don't order this expecting a light lunch though. The duck confit salad at Petrossian comes with shredded duck confit integrated into the salad, but here the "salad" comes with an entire crispy duck leg along with arugula, cherries and hazelnut vinaigrette on the side.

They rotate around the fruit in this duck confit salad, and the PR rep accompanying me said previously they only used dried cherries. When I had it, the salad has both dried and fresh cherries, which I loved and balanced the bitterness of the arugula. The duck confit itself was well cooked: crisped skin and juicy, gamey flesh. The salad counters the richness nicely.

I only had a bite, but did enjoy the Croque Madame ($13) made with French ham, gruyere, bechamel, fried egg

One of Le Saint Amour's co-owners/chef, Bruno, makes his own charcuterie: rillettes, pate, and terrines. We shared a plate of Pork Rillette, Venison Galantine with Pistachios, Country Pate, Persille in gelatin.

The pork rillette is definitely my favorite, with its melt-in-your-mouth richness, but I also enjoyed the novelty of the venison with pistachios.
They serve a nice bread made by Bread Lounge, a bread artisan in downtown LA.

Because I needed a pick-me-up, for dessert I ordered the Cafe Liégeois, made with vanilla ice cream, espresso, chantilly cream, chocolate ($8)

Like an affogato on steroids? The cream and chocolate made this a rich and heavy dessert. Nothing wrong with chocolate and ice cream, but in terms of an afternoon pick-me-up, food coma wins over the caffeine here.

I still need to come for dinner when Walter Manzke is manning the kitchen (I hear it's on Friday nights), as I've heard it would be one mind-blowing experience, but if my lunch was any indication, Le Saint Amour is still a solid dining destination even when he's out.



Le Saint Amour
9725 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 842-8155
www.lesaintamour.com


Disclosure: this meal was hosted.

La Monarca Bakery: Pastries, Lunch, and Cakes to Save Monarch Butterflies

This East LA institution has finally moved west with its opening of La Monarca Bakery Santa Monica. This place fits surprisingly well with the Santa Monica with its healthier pastries (low butter, low sugar, nothing is fried, vegetarian options) and the price is lower than most bakeries in the area.

The executive pastry chef Alain Bour is actually a France native and trained, and he combines classic techniques with Mexican flavors, like their croissant filled with guava paste or dulce de leche. Browsing their pastry case may be overwhelming (it's self-serve), so here are some suggestions.

Make sure you try the tacos de guayaba,a sugar-dusted puff pastry filled with guava and cream cheese ($1.50).

It's a different style but it gives Porto's guava cheese roll a run for its money. The pastry shell isn't the flaky type and I do think I prefer the guava paste here. One is never enough.

Their pan de elote is a sweeter version of corn bread and also worth a try.

Also try the Cafe Oaxaca ($3.75), made with espresso, mexican hot chocolate, and steamed milk.

They have free wi-fi and you can count on me coming here to work over some cafe oaxaca.

For the lunch crowd, there are different types cazuelas (Mexican claypot stew) served as sandwiches. Choose between Poblano chicken mole, Salsa Verde braised beef, or even a vegetarian chorizo, then choose your bread size.

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Patisserie Philippe (San Francisco)

I spent quite a bit of time in San Francisco´s SOMA last year. One of the things I discovered there was this little patisserie, Patisserie Philippe. The macarons were in primary display atop their marble counters and the posted sign invoked Ladurée, the inventor of macaron and purportedly the best macaron shop in the whole world.

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Lunch Prix Fixe at The Kitchin (Edinburgh, UK)

The menu read: "Ravioli of game from the border"

I (stupidly) asked: "which border?"
The waiter looked at me. "The England-Scotland border."
Oh, right, silly me. I was in Scotland.

Having survived on grilled sandwiches (sorry, "toasties") for lunch that whole week and dining at bars/pubs with friends (which were awesome) after my conference sessions, I treated myself to one nice lunch: The Kitchin. The Kitchin was opened by husband and wife Tom and Michaela Kitchin in 2006 and six months later, in 2007, won a Michelin star.

Gougere and an assortment of vegetable chips

Their tagline? From Nature to Plate. Meat sourced from a local game-keeper, hand-dived scallops, and mushrooms from around Edinburgh hunted by the Kitchins themselves.


Dining at The Kitchin is pretty expensive, but luckily they have a three-course lunch prix fixe for £24.50. The wine list was also notably expensive. The cheapest glass I could find was £9.50 (almost $15). Regardless, a glass must be had.


As an amuse bouche, I started with a bowl of Langoustine Bisque over tomato. It was cold in Edinburgh, and this bowl warmed my body right up as I hunted for the langoustine pieces.

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My New Pasadena Lunch Spot: Cham Korean Bistro

I've heard of Cham many times before but it was Jonathan Gold's piece on their sizzling bibimbap that converted me from "a Korean bistro?" to "oh I want to try that." Now it's one of my favorite places to eat lunch in Pasadena.

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La Cachette Bistro: Salmon Sausages and Rum Brunch

La Cachette was a long-standing restaurant in Century City, where chef/owner Jean Francois Meteigner served California-influenced French dishes for fifteen years. Now the restaurant has found a new home as La Cachette Bistro on Ocean Avenue, where you can take in the ocean breeze on the patio.
They wanted to promote their lunch prix fixe deal, so they invited me over for lunch. It was impossible for me to make it there during the weekday, however, so I ended up coming in for a Saturday brunch instead.

The lunch prix fixe on Monday-Friday gets you Soup of the Day or House Salad, One of Three Entree Choices, and Dessert of The Day for just $15. Pretty good deal, no?

Soon after we were seated, Marc Danays, the bartender came over to greet us and offered some libations. I had brought 0ne of my roommates with me. She's originally from Cambridge and she and Marc noted their common accent and the two of them hit it off immediately (Marc worked at major clubs in London).

We decided to let him make whatever he wants and these are what we got:
"Bubbly Love" (gin, lime, pomegranate liqueur, topped with champagne) for me.
"Deep South" (rum, OJ) for my roommate (who told him she liked rum lots and lots).
Both drinks were sweet and refreshing, but I ended up liking my roommate's drink more. Mine was a little bitter, perhaps the combination of the herbal gin and the rosemary was a bit much for me. There's also that whole "drink OJ during brunch" habit hardwired into my brain.

Some eggy bread with a sweet crust to start.
We really wanted to sit outside and enjoy the sun and breeze, but since it ended up being a rather windy day, we both started with some soups.

My roommate got the Smoked Tomato and Shiitake Mushroom Soup ($6)
The chunks of shiitake were very good and brought the dish up a notch. The soup had a nice smokiness (in the words of my roommate, it reminds her of when she puts bacon in tomato sauce).

Lightly creamed Lobster Bisque, served with Rouille ($7)
No lobster chunks here, but you can definitely taste the lobster. A thin but flavorful bisque.

At first I went for a standard brunch fare:
Organic Egg Benedict on Brioche, with House Smoked Salmon (or Ham), served with Baby Mixed Greens ($18)
The smoked salmon used here was on the meatier side and had a good smoked flavor. The brioche was nicely flaky and the egg was poached well - runny without being too much so.

My roommate never had a croque before so that's what she ordered.
Croque Monsieur on House Baked Bun with Bechamel, Swiss Cheese, Organic Ham ($14 + $2 for egg). She got the egg- so technically she got a Croque Madame.
I tried a bite and it was a pretty good although a heavier version of the croque, given the thicker, richer buns used in it. Even so the bread was pretty air so the dish was not overly dense. The ham was also smoked in house and was great. My roommate loved it and it was her favorite entree from the table.

Chef Meteigner decided to send out another dish that he wanted us to try:
Scrambled Eggs Wrapped in House Smoked Salmon, with House Made Salmon Sausage, Capers, Onions, served with Mixed Greens ($17)
The wonderfully moist scrambled eggs are indeed wrapped inside the salmon:
I'm glad he sent out this dish as it turned out to be my favorite. The lemony frisee complemented the salmon very well. I loved the moist and runny scrambled eggs. Most notably though was the salmon sausages made from smoked salmon, fresh salmon, and a bit of white fish. The sausages were light yet flavorful.

Instead of a normal palate cleanser, Marc sent out one in alcoholic liquid shot form. A palate cleanser cocktail? I think Marc's on a mission ... to get us drunk :p
This was made with thyme, lemon, and a rather special vodka: Zubrowka, a bison grass flavored vodka from Poland. Sweet and smooth. Dangerous.

Then came desserts.

Floating Island w/ Caramel & Hazelnut Pistachio Almond Nougatine ($9)
This was a fluffy meringue sitting on top of a pool of Crème anglaise and topped with pralines. We both absolutely loved the praline.

Homemade Rum Baba with Pressed Pineapple and Creme Fraiche ($8)
After biting into just the rum baba, we thought it was definitely a good rum baba, but it wasn't until we found out what was in the little tin jug that this dessert become amazing. No, not maple syrup.
Rum.
Jamaican dark rum. Just a spoonful of dark rum ... and a little piece of baba. Oh yes.

Maybe it was the overflowing libations we had but we both really enjoyed our experience here. The patio had a classic French bistro look with the added bonus of So Cal sun and sea breeze. Chef Meteigner's food was good, especially the delectable house made salmon sausages, as well as their house smoked salmon and ham. Both of the classic desserts we had were more than solid. Give me some eggs, salmon sausages, and a rum-soaked baba, and I'm good. If only I can make it here during the week for their $15 three course lunches.

La Cachette Bistro
1733 Ocean Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 434-9509
www.lacachettebistro.com