Showing posts with label tofu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tofu. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Thursday Night Family Dinners at Huckleberry Cafe (Santa Monica, CA)

Huckleberry is always crowded during breakfast and brunch, but not many know about their dinners. Huckleberry usually opens until 8pm on weekdays, but on Thursdays they stay open later serving a family style prix fixe dinners!

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The Thursday night dinners are $30 per person (half price for kids 12 and under) and the menu changes every week. I went on August 30th and had a feast!

Before the "courses", each table got some House Marinated Olives (marinated in orange juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, olive oil)
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The orange juice was a nice touch.

This wasn't part of the menu, but we also had some guacamole spread on baguette
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I usually also don't pay attention to the beer and wine list here, but in the future I shall. We tasted some good wines that night, starting with a 2011 Red Car, Rose of Pinot Noir, Bybee Vineyard, Sonoma Coast.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

More LateNight Westside Option: Tokyo Table

OK, so Tokyo Table is kind of a chain. But I've been going there quite a bit that I figured I should blog about it. Not only are they open later at night than most places, the food they serve is pretty solid and the prices quite reasonable. Late at night (though not *too* late) during the weekdays when I used to be stuck with burgers or Denny's, now I may be able to get something healthier.

I've been back quite a few times just to get their Tofu salad ($8.95)- when I'm craving tofu and something healthy-ish.Their tofu is homemade and is pretty good and smooth. The tofu salad is served with sesame dressing, which can be a bit salty so mix your salads carefully. I love eating the tofu with the crispy wontons and nori and the greens. The texture play is fun and the sesame dressing brings the different flavors together.

Tokyo Table offers various sushi rolls, your typical ones such as rainbow roll etc, and some more 'interesting' ones. Below is the Cohiba roll ($11.95) which is just California roll wrapped with salmon with ginger sauce.
I don't have much to say for sushi rolls in general. These were good, nothing special.


They also have a couple of Ishiyaki (hot stone bowl). Pictured below is the Unagi rice ishiyaki ($9.95).
I like eating the burnt rice from the sides of the bowl at the end :P. I've also had the garlic shrimp rice ishiyaki -- WARNING: very, very garlicky.

We usually like getting the Banana Flambe ($7.95) for dessert - since it's not too heavy and it's also fun watching it sizzle :P (what? I'm easily entertained)

Their most famous dessert is their Honey Toasts (Original $6.95, Chocolate etc $7.95)
It's just honeyed toast, the inside is diced up into small cubes and then toasted, making each cube nicely crispy. It makes for a nice breakfast too the next morning :P

The Beverly Hills branch is open until midnight every day and until 1 am on Fri/Sat, so it's a pretty good late night option and a good place to go to with a bunch of friends. Their selection is big enough to keep most people happy.

Tokyo Table
50 N La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310)657-9500
www.tokyotable.com
Tokyo Table on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Neighborhood Nook

Nook was quite hard to find. Not only is it in an ordinary looking strip mall, it is also in the back corner of said mall. And while the website boasts a red arrow, the actual place is marked by a big blue arrow (that does not say Nook). After walking round and round I finally found the place.

The restaurant was not too crowded or loud - it is a good place to have a nice dinner and actually have conversation! Plus free parking.

Instead of bread or amuse bouche, Nook does something different: boiled peanuts. Not very friendly to the peanut-allergy folks out there, but this reminds me of my childhood when I used to buy boiled peanuts at the zoo (you're supposed to buy them and feed the elephants but I thought I deserved them more than the elephants!).

I ordered some "New Orleans style gumbo" and a portion of the proceed goes to the hurricane relief fund - good cause!
As far as the gumbo goes, though, I thought it was just okay. Good but I've had much better gumbo. Well, let me put it this way: It was a good soup - but if you ask me, it ain't gumbo! Can't compare to the one I had at Luke in NOLA.

Crispy Fried Calamari ($10)
Tossed with citrus-soy vinaigrette and wasabi dipping sauce.
This was a good calamari - not too greasy as it sometimes tends to be. The wasabi dipping sauce is interesting and is a delicious twist - it helps cut the grease of the fried calamari.

Shiitake and Gruyere Bread Pudding ($7)
Quite a flavorful and aromatic bread pudding! Liked this dish a lot (although it could use more shiitake for better texture) - it was better the next day when the bread has soaked up all the flavors :P

New Zealand green lip mussel pan roast ($12)
with linguisa sausage, oven-dried tomato, garlic, herbs and white wine saffron brot
Really loved the broth for this dish. The mussels are also big, plump and juicy. Probably my favorite dish of the night, and not bad for $12 (there were more mussels, this was half eaten)

Sauteed Brown Rice Bowl ($12)
With tofu, carrots, broccoli, and egg white this is a very healthy dish. And tastes kinda healthy too :P It is much better the day after as a leftover, just like fried rice is much better when made with day-old rice. Pretty basic dish, nothing special.

For dessert we got the chocolate pot de creme, as it was recommended to us ($7)
It's a pretty small pot but definitely a delicious dessert. The current menu online lists chocolate pot de creme with fresh strawberries, but I believe the one we had were blueberries.

The prices are Nook Bistro were pretty reasonable and the food is delicious (even if they can't do gumbo, IMHO) with good quality ingredients. An excellent neighborhood bistro and a pretty casual dining place. Nothing mindblowing but definitely good comfort food. I'll definitely be back.

Nook Bistro
11628 Santa Monica Blvd #9
Los Angeles, CA 90025
T 310.207.5160
http://www.nookbistro.com

Nook Bistro on Urbanspoon

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Long Live Breakfast Salad

Hugo's in WeHo was my favorite brunch place when I was still living in LA proper - or at least, they have my favorite brunch dish.
Since moving to Pasadena, I went on a Hugo's hiatus - especially since they were renovating and since the Pinkberry on my way there is being stingy with their fruits!

I recently went back though, for the first time after the renovation. I was surprised when I walked in. The decor now is much 'cleaner' and minimal compared to before. I preferred the cozier, homier feel of the old Hugo's though. Sigh ... why is everything in LA changing to this wide space, minimal decor look? The kitchen is now closed off though, reducing the noise from plates clanking greatly. That's one good thing from the renovation.

The place was not as busy as I remembered it- before I would have to wait 10-15 minutes for a table during lunch hour on a Saturday. Today we got a table immediately. It wasn't empty, but there was no line out the door like there used to be. Maybe the new decor? Maybe because they were closed for a while, a lot of people have not made it back?

At any rate, the food there is same as always - great tasting and healthy.
Hugo's serves you piping hot whole wheat ciabatta bread that is great with or without butter. (One time they served it cold, but we sent it back and got the piping hot bread).

Before, the Tofu Scramble used to be my favorite dish. Organic tofu scramble with sweet potato, green onion, tomato, spinach, garlic and mushrooms with ginger-soy sauce. The tofu is firm, and the ginger-soy sauce is really good! (There's no egg in here, even though it says 'scramble'). The spinach and tofu with the sauce is just a great combo. My only pet peeve about this dish is that there's too much sweet potato for my taste, but I know some people who looove sweet potato and didn't think there was enough ...

A great dish, and like I said, it used to be my favorite and I'd get it every week. Until one day I became adventurous and ordered the Breakfast Salad! Ever since then, this is my favorite!

Mixed greens topped with: turmeric rice scrambled with egg whites, almonds, spinach, wild mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. Ahh ... the ultimate salad for me. I would have never imagined making a salad like this, and were it not for Hugo's I would have totally missed out. Maybe it is partly the Asian taste of the dish that makes me like it so much? Did I mention they're organic? Totally guilt-free :P

We didn't get desserts this time around, but the desserts at Hugo's tend to be very decadent (like bread puddings, pineapple upside down cakes, etc). Sinful? But they're organic? That's a notch down on the sin level, right? Right?

Also, I should mention they have a great selection of loose leaf tea.

Hugo's
8401 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 654-3993
http://hugosrestaurant.com/

Hugo's on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

When I Eat Spicy

Just to get it out there, I CANNOT eat spicy food. Yes, I am Indonesian. Call me weird. Call me weak-sauce. Call me whatever. I just can't handle it. Occasionally though, I will sit through and suffer and drink gallons of water so I can have a particular dish.

Soon tofu is one of them. I always ask for Mild, but it ends up too spicy for me anyway. But plain would just be WRONG! Favorite soon tofu place in LA? That'd be Beverly Soon Tofu.

Your meal here starts with the regular and not so regular banchan: a silky smooth tofu with sesame, plus the usual plates of kim chi, bean sprouts, etc. Barley tea is served in metal bowls free of charge.

Then the soon tofu comes sizzling hot into which you immediately add an egg, rice, and then mix things up.
The ingredients used at Beverly Soon Tofu is higher quality than most and you can taste it, especially in the tofu and meat.
I personally prefer the small bowl (which comes with the kalbi or bulgogi combo), because that size is just perfect for one egg. 2 eggs in the bigger bowl is too much. On a good day the mild is not so spicy and I can finish it pretty quickly :P otherwise it's bite and drink for me ...

Still, every so often I want some "comfort food" and for some reason I feel like going to this place and suffer through the spice so I can have this bowl of goodness :P

Beverly Soon Tofu
2717 W Olympic Blvd Ste 108
Los Angeles, CA 90006-2642
Phone: (213) 380-1113

Beverly Soontofu on Urbanspoon

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