Holiday Pies from Cutie Pie That!

Holiday season is pie season! Well, any season is pie season, but you certainly can't think of Thanksgiving without pumpkin pies. I'm no baker, so I just buy my pies. Like from Cutie Pie That! They recently invited their loyal customers and friends for a holiday pie tasting (I thought it was nice that they invited not just the press but the most important people, their customers).

Cutie Pie That's buttery crusted pies are the creations of Tonya Dooley. Among their current seasonal lineup is an eggy quiche. They have one with bacon and a vegetarian one, but I'm sure you can guess which one I prefer.

Of course they also have pumpkin pie, and I really like Tonya's version since it has more spice than the usual.

A do-not-miss is their Down Home Sweet Potato Pie! This quickly became the crowd favorite during our tasting. It's rich, creamy, and well spiced. It was hard to choose between this and the pumpkin pie, but the sweet potato pie gets bonus points for being harder to find.

Both her pecan and chocolate pecan pies are also made bourbon and .. walnuts! Walnuts are easier to chew and I tend to like the flavor better, so I loved their additions here. Perhaps one day she should make an all-walnut pie?

Cutie Pie That! currently does not have a storefront, but you can order their products online (the commercial kitchen is based in Pasadena), and they also appear at various craft fairs and farmer's markets (you can see the schedule for that here).

Plaisir Opening Party: Launching Guilty Pleasures

Plaisir is the newest hot bakery in town, recently launched by owner Daniel Salva and Frenchman Pastry Chef Philippe Dray (previously at Cafe Flore).
Plaisir has only been open for about a month but have garnered some great reviews on Yelp.

The main attraction at Plaisir is their take on the traditional cream puffs. Colorfully glazed and filled with a creamy mousse, the cream puffs come in many a flavor.
Their namesake creampuffs, which come in 2 sizes, are quite addicting. I was recently invited to their grand opening party where I tasted the vanilla, mint, and peach cream puffs. The peach filling has a nice hint of tartness that makes it even easier to keep popping more in your mouth.

We also tried some of their savory offerings:
Buttery croissant sandwiches include ham & cheese, and lox & cream cheese.

There's a special quiche-of-the-day every day and that night I tried their spinach quiche.
Good and healthier, but I have to say I loved the slightly richer and cheesy Quiche Lorraine even more (regular order $6.95).

You can also order crepes and Belgian waffles made-to-order here. I'll have to try them next time.

Besides the cream puffs, chef Dray also offers a variety of other desserts. A peek inside the display case during this party shows mousse, baba au rum, and various cakes.

During the opening party they had a live DJ and generously flowing cava, because as they say this place is about guilty pleasures.

But it's not ALL about guilty pleasures. You can do your work here too.
What I really loved about this place is not only do they offer FREE WI-FI, but each seat is also set up with an iPod nano and its very own headphones.

With a freshly made crepe or Belgian waffle and a couple of Plaisir creampuffs next to your laptop, it's quite the work set up, don't you think?

Plaisir is located in the same complex as Trader Joe's on Santa Monica Blvd. Parking is available in the back with free 1-hour w/ validation.

Plaisir
8613 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 855-7177
www.plaisir-la.com
@PlaisirLA

Addictive Scones at the Gordon Ramsay

I went to have afternoon at the Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel in West Hollywood with a bunch of other foodies, including LA&OC Foodie - we've been looking forward to it all week!

In the daylight the interior of the Gordon is classy and gorgeous. White walls with some gilded decorations. Pastel colored chairs contrast with the dark tables. It also has a great view of LA.The afternoon tea menu is fixed (at $28 per person) and all you have to do is choose the tea. Compared to Jin Patisserie or the tea rooms, the choices are fairly limited with Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Green tea, Darjeeling, etc. There were a couple of interesting choices such as Tangerine and Cassis. I opted for some fresh mint tea.

The fresh mint tea is made with real fresh mint leaves - not the dried stuff! I absolutely love the aroma of fresh mint (hence my fave cocktail is mojito).

Everything were brought out at once but T forwarded us a little article about proper afternoon tea etiquette, and you were supposed to start with the scones, so ... first up! Plain and raisin scones (one of each per person), served with blueberry jam and chantilly cream:
These scones were amazingly delicious and addicting. Very buttery, and with the wonderful blueberry jam and cream they gave us, each bite was just absolutely divine. The scones were definitely the highlight of our whole experience. We had to keep asking for more blueberry jam since it was soo good - they really should've just given each one of us our own dish of jam :P

We also had some spinach mini quiches that were oustanding!
The center of the quiche is very moist and gooey - a cheesy wonderful texture.

There were 4 types of sandwiches for everyone: Smoked salmon, prawn cocktail, prosciutto and mozzarella with pesto butter, and goat's cheese with sundried tomato and watercress.
Our favorite of the sandwiches were the Prawn Cocktail - fresh raw prawns with nice texture.
But I will show you a close up of the prosciutto instead just because I thought it looked nice :P
The rest of the sandwiches were also good. Great quality, solid taste, although they do not stand out.

Each person gets half of each type of pastry (one for every 2 people). The different pastries, from the left, are: Coffee&Walnut Cake, Lemon Tart with pistachio, Chocolate&Lavender cake, Fruit tart with lychee cream, and Lemon Pound cake.
I thought they were good but not outstanding - the chocolate lavender cake was my favorite, but overall cannot compare to cakes at, say, Jin Patisserie, or the ones at Ritz Carlton's afternoon tea. Lemon pound cake was pretty good, though.

I would come back for afternoon tea here just for the scones alone, even if nothing else. Knowing they have fresh mint tea will also make me come back though. It was a nice pleasant afternoon with nice views, good food (great scones), good fresh mint tea, and excellent company!

Gordon Ramsay
1020 N San Vicente Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 358-7788
http://www.gordonramsay.com/gratthelondonwh/