Sunday, February 5, 2012

FRIDA Restaurant Group Brings Casa Azul Cantina to Westwood

With all the new restaurants popping up in the past year, Westwood is looking to be a pretty good place to dine. One of the newest addition is Casa Azul Cantina from the FRIDA Restaurant Group. Frida in Beverly Hills has been a popular destination since it opened in 2002, introducing westsiders to more than tacos and burritos. UCLA students and staff alike can now be grateful for a Mexican place within walking distance that's not Acapulco (even if they all have to admit they've enjoyed the $1 margaritas there ..).

Casa Azul takes its name (and decor) from Frida Kahlo's blue house Coyoacán, and many of the items from Frida make their appearance here as well.

Tamarind Margarita
Speaking of margaritas, I was happy to find tamarind margarita on the menu, even if it's frozen blended! ($9)

Prefer them shaken? Try the Matador Special ($10) made with fresh muddled cucumber, agave, tequila, triple sec, fresh lime juice. If you like it spicy, the jalapenos in the "El Diablo" will give you the kick you want.

Matador Special
The aren't martini-sized drinks either, the glasses they used were actually really big (and heavy).

Shrimp appetizers abound; I prefer the Gambas al Ajillo (fresh shrimp prepared with olive oil, garlic, guajillo chile, and lime juice) to the Camarones Aguachile. I've only had camarones aguachile with raw shrimp before, and even though the sauce was good here I thought the shrimp was overcooked. In contrast, they were tender in the gambas al ajillo dish.
Garlic Shrimp

Aguachile

Friday, February 3, 2012

STARS of Santa Barbara Wine Tasting

Learn About Wine is the one responsible for many great wine events and tastings in LA throughout the year, including the recent STARS of Santa Barbara held at The Peninsula Hotel. Ian Blackburn of LAW had gathered quite the lineup for the event (from Santa Barbara area and beyond). There was too much to taste without spitting - but I have a hard time spitting good wine...

It was impossible for me to try everything due street parking time limit and my liver, but here are some highlights, from old favorites to new discoveries. Being a new wine making region, you can find diverse varietals and styles from Santa Barbara wines.

Palmina from the Lompoc "Wine Ghetto" produces some white of the Italian varieties, including Arneis, Tocai Friulano, and Malvasia Bianca. For the quality, they are quite inexpensive at $12-18 per bottle.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Le Bon Garçon, Trés Bon Caramels

Truth is, while I love the taste of caramel, I don't usually go for caramel chews. Why? They're usually either hard or really sticky and I have a hard time cleaning my teeth after. I never really enjoyed eating caramel until I met these babies ... Le Bon Garçon!

My friend got them at a bakesale last year and said that they were amazing. Recently, they sent me a box of the caramels so I can try their new, limited time flavor, Caramour. Both the name and the pretty box are perfect for a Valentine's gift, don't you think?

lebongarcon
In the box were bags of their four flavors: Salted, Macadamia Nut, Mango-Passion, and Caramour. No hardened, sticky, chewy caramels in this box; Chef Justin Chao's creations are absolutely soft and creamy, even a week after. Now, oftentimes with "flavored caramels" you can barely taste the flavors, but not so here. You get bits of coarse sea salt in the salted caramel, the mango-passion is noticeably fruity and tart, and so is the Caramour, made with one of my favorite fruits: blood orange. As the fruit itself is seasonal, so are the Caramour caramels, so get them while you can.

In light of the upcoming "holiday", if you're tired of sending/receiving chocolate this Valentine's, try sending some Bon Garçon caramels! (Note that the last order for guaranteed V-day delivery is February 7)
IMG_6679

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