Showing posts with label walter manzke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walter manzke. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Petty Cash Taqueria: Kraken, Pig Ears, Mexican Spirits You' ve Never Heard Of

The new Petty Cash Taqueria is a collaboration between the north and south side of the border. Beloved chef Walter Manzke's pig ear nachos sit on the same menu as Tijuana's popular Tacos Kokopelli's kraken tacos. Bill Esparza tries to spice up the spirits program with little known Bacanora from Sonora (it's a sister of tequila made from a different type of agave). You will see a giant jug of a clear spirit sitting on the bar. It will either be this bacanora or something equally as interesting they managed to get their hands on.


Manzke's pig ear nachos appeared at Colonial Wine Bar for a pop-up once and people raved. Now, you can get it anytime here. The nachos and pig ears are topped with a runny egg and crema poblano ($12)
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Crispy nachos, chewy pig ear, just enough going on here. There's a reason why this dish is so popular, try it for yourself!

A perfect snack for a big party is the Cheesy Churros with green Mole-corn dip ($5)
Cheesy Churros
Yes, savory Churros covered in cheese!
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(The texture wasn't quite "churros" but it's certainly a puffy fried dough, so that counts.) There are plenty of churros in one order, but it was so hard to stop eating them.

The cocktail list isn't as big as Playa's was but there are still interesting drinks to try like the Oaxacan Old Fashioned (made with tequila and mezcal). I went with a lighter Banana Hammock (Petty Cash rum blend, banana infusion, lime, tamarind, cassia, dehydrated banana chip, $10)
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A sweeter tiki drink that's a crowd pleaser. The sour tamarind is not that strong here, getting mostly the sweeter banana.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

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.

Duck Confit Salad
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
Croque Madame

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.
Terrine
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.
Bread

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

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

Disclosure: this meal was hosted.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Church & State - Simple and Solid

Color me silly but when I ordered "roasted marrow" at Church & State I wasn't expecting a giant whole piece of marrow cut in two, bone and all.
OK. Maybe I should've, it says 'roasted marrow' after all. But I was surprised. And yes, apparently one can have too much bone marrow. The marrow on toasted bread was quite satisfying at first, but after eating half of first section, I was already overwhelmed by fat ...
Do share this dish with more than one person!

The rest of the relatively short menu at this lively bistro newly manned by Walter Manzke offers other indulgence, like escargot and foie gras, but you can also go healthier and lighter with a salad mesclun.

I, however, not realizing how fat-stuffed I'd be after all those bone marrow, ordered the duck confit: Confit de Canard a la Montmorency (French lentils, pickled cherries) - $15
This seems to be one of the cheaper duck confits out there, and it's quite good. The skin is crispy and the meat is pretty tender. It's simple, yet satisfying. Nicely paired with the pickled cherries.

Loup de mer (seabass, ratatouille provencale) - $24
Flaky and moist fish - it was done pretty well, again with nicely crispy skin. As you can see from both entrees, there's nothing 'frou frou' here. Everything is simple, but solid.

During my meal I saw a waiter bring the dessert tray out to another table, and knelt down to show them the selection. Hot frenchie kneeling down in front of me with a tray of desserts .... Yum ....

Alas, my companion immediately ordered dessert, not giving the chance for the waiter to come by. Booo.

Anyway, we got a special dessert of the day, a strawberry apple tart.
Pretty good, not too sweet, nothing too special either.

The chocolate cake was a better match for me.
More like a chocolate mousse cake, it was dense and rich. Got my sweet tooth and chocolate craving fixed right here.

A hopping downtown bistro with simple and solid food and nice lively atmosphere for a night out on the town. There was nothing in particular (so far) that would make me crave it and go back, but I was happy and satisfied with everything and can definitely see picking this place to hit the town with some friends.

Plus, I need to try them escargots.

Church & State
1850 Industrial St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 405-1434
http://www.churchandstatebistro.com
Church & State on Urbanspoon

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