Joe's Restaurant
1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291

Give me a reason to try a new restaurant and I'll most likely go there. Daph kept insisting that this Joe's place was good...and it was really close to her old apartment (she has since moved..), and of course I had done my homework and read great things. So we went during one of my days of aimless unemployment...

They sat us down, and sat this tasty looking pile of bread in front of us. The bread was really flaky...pretty cool that it was toasted, and loved that they had olive tapenade and butter...but I wasn't too keen on the bread. Too flaky...too brioche. I know people love brioche, but I love bread to have a good crust and a soft but supple interior of CARBY GOODNESS..but I digress...

All of us at the table chose the 18 dollar prix fixe meal, which comes with a choice of appetizer, entree and dessert. Kinda neat...I mean, not everywhere can you get such a deal as this.
I and another diner got the tuna tartare. I can't say "no" to raw tuna...I just can't. The serving came out a lot smaller than I thought it would be (I mean check out all that real estate on that plate!) but I realize my expectations are for an appetizer that I would have paid like 12 dollars for, separately. This was a nice little taste of tuna - what appetizers are supposed to be! The little toasts were perfect with the cubes of brightly pink tuna, and the cucumber was a refreshing accompaniment. Delicious.
This just looks like a piece of art - Daph and the other diner got the yellowtail sashimi with a prosciutto roll, with a tasty artfully brushed..SOMETHING on the plate. Honestly, have no idea what it is - but it's salty, it's good, and it's pretty. So all in all, awesome.
This was the roasted chicken, which was proclaimed as "sooo good", "moist and tasty" and all in all, great. Cippolini onions, walnuts, and chinese veggies anchor this chicken, in a tasty au jus sauce.
Daph and I got the char - a fish that tasted a lot like salmon. It came with a swipe of that delicious salty stuff, turnips and a date. Yum. The skin of the char was crispy, the fish cooked perfectly. No complaints from me - the dish was scraped clean by the time the waiter came around again.
Us girls chose the sponge cake dessert - berry sauce, with real whipped cream, topped with a few blueberries. This was good, but I think more filling than I would have liked it to be. I didn't finish it - I mostly scraped off the fruit bits.
This lemon tart was exquisite. Matt took a bite and insisted for us to try a taste - and I'm glad I did. Mandarin orange slices, a great meyer(?) lemon base, buttery tart. This could be the perfect lemon tart. What a great meal. By the way, service was excellent - these waiters here are awesome. Not too intrusive, and attentive enough where I never felt that I needed much other than to enjoy the meal. They were also very well informed about what the food tasted like and what to expect from the kitchen.

I happened to go here again for brunch, as I wanted to share the experience with Owen. I made reservations through opentable.com, and arrived at around 10am - I wanted to avoid the crowds as much as possible.

We were seated near the window - a nice little table that casted some faint shadows across our food. Nice and cozy. So, for brunch, everything comes with a bit of an appetizer - I love that Joe's has that.
I tried the soup this time - a potato chive soup. Soooo good. Perfect amount of saltiness. Their soups are non dairy, yet so creamy! I almost licked the bowl clean.
Owen got the fruit and yogurt plate. Nice assortment of fruits, everything so attractively cut and laid out.
Owen got the pancakes, bacon and egg plate. He got his usual eggs over easy. These bacon slices were huge, and really great - Owen was happily crunching away. These pancakes were "some of the best" he's ever had - I am not usually a fan of pancakes, but I tried a little and these were truly amazing. Fluffy, with good density, perfect sized hotcakes.
I got the peeky toe crab hash, as I was craving more potato product. The egg was just as I like it -poached, so when I pierced the yolk, it ran all over the crab and potato, and made an amazing mess....almost BEAUTIFUL, yes I said it. This was filling, and really satisfied many of my cravings for something decadent.

Joe's is a great place to go to. I have no complaints, and hope this place stays around for awhile.

Lou Mitchell's
565 W. Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL

Part 1, working backwards from a trip to Chicago I had in November. I am catching up! So, before getting laid off, musings about going to Chicago were being thrown back and forth between me and my friend Brian. We decided to go for it - why not, right?

I admit, I got some great deals for the trip - a great discounted rate at the Palmer House Hilton (courtesy of hotwire.com), which was exactly what we wanted - a hotel in the Loop, close to everything we wanted to see, and almost as cheap as our other option of staying at a hostel! And what history - I found out that this hotel was the birthplace of the brownie. THE BROWNIE. That's no small feat!

I know I'm being a bit scatterbrained but I'm going to blog about our last meal of the trip - at the famous Lou Mitchell's. This is a great place to eat. Great "diner" feel. You walk in, they tell you to grab a donut hole and follow the hostess. The donut hole was AWESOME, by the way - freshly fried, perfect nugget of fried dough. On the way to your seat, there's a visual representation of how they brew their coffee - which has won a lot of acclaim over the years (so I hear.) As we were seated, the hostess plunks a box of milk duds on my part of the table.

Why? I have no idea. I mean, it wasn't Halloween. And she specifically denied Brian a box. What gives? Tradition, supposedly. Check it out.
So after all the hype about the coffee, I had to have some. And I admit, it was some smoooooth coffee. No bitterness at all. And they were super diligent about refills - someone would always come by with a new pot of coffee every so often. Props to them.
After we made our order, our saucy waitress (extra on the sauce!) slid a little bowl, with an orange slice and a stewed prune. I ate the orange slice immediately (can't resist - I love me some oranges, especially after a big chinese banquet...so I'll take my orange slices whenever I can get them)...and took a small bite of the stewed prune. It was very cinnamon-y - good, but not really to my liking. Brian finished off what I left behind (don't waste food...right?!)
The famous maple syrup. We didn't get anything that needed syrup, but Brian, ever the curious, poured a teaspoon full and had it on its' own...it was good, of course.

This was Brian's omelet, which was an interesting combo - apples and cheese. I apologize for the blurriness of the picture. He really liked it - I mean, it's a classic combo but I would never think to eat something like this for breakfast. I loved how this was served in an aluminum skillet...it just added to the hominess of the whole thing.
Another blurry picture, but of my rye toast. This was delicious toast - they bake the bread there, in house!! Soooo awesome. They butter your toast here, so it's extra buttery bad for you goodness. Brian was massively jealous of my choice of bread.

And now here's my dish - a salami and cheese omelet. The potato factor in this dish was something to be desired - I prefer the shredded amazingness of hash browns, with extra crisp. These potatoes were on the not really done side of potato, but I ate them anyways.

This place had a great kitchy feel. If I'm back in Chicago sometime, I will return!

Bouchon
Venetian Casino and Hotel
Las Vegas, NV

Nearing the end of a madcap trip to Vegas, I had desperately wanted to try Bouchon - so we dragged ourselves awake early enough (does 11am constitute as early in Vegas? It does in my book...evil that they make you check out at 11am!) and headed over to the Venetian to join Brad and Patty for brunch. This place really feels like a classic bistro. I didn't feel like I was unwelcome, unlike some higher end places on the strip, where I had to dress to the nines. This was all about the food.

I ordered a glass of orange juice to start. I think it was freshly squeezed. Yum.
Patty and Owen got mimosas - no better way to start your day than with a spritz of orange juice and alcohol! How pretty is this glass??
Our waiter set down this cute little jam and butter pots. Not that I knew exactly what those little wax paper covered pots were initially, but we removed the paper to reveal...
SOFT, FRESH BUTTER. No hard butter here - it was almost like they had a churn in the kitchen. I'm sure they don't but...maybe? The strawberry jam, by the way, was excellent - really fresh tasting, not too overpowering sweet like most jams I've had. We used these with...
A fresh epi roll, brought to our table with a kitchen towel. Ahhh!! This bread was great. Soft middle, crunchy hard crust, super fresh. Nothing more I can ask from a bread roll!
Bouchon has so many little details to it - even the sugar packets are Bouchon labelled.
We ordered some Sourdough waffles with banana walnut topping for the table, to share. These were some amazing waffles. Great crunch on the edges, good give and texture in the middle, great taste. What made this dish were the bananas ad walnuts all over it. They coated them in...something...honey...deliciousness...crack, I don't know, but it was damn good.
Most of the table (the boys) ordered the Bistro Burger - Kobe beef topped with bacon bits and cheese, topped with 2 onion rigs, sliced tomatoes and bibb lettuce, all on an amazing bun. AND it comes with the famous frites that everyone keeps talking about - a huge amount of them. Owen and I split this and my dish, so I got a nice taste of everything. This burger was definitely one of my top 5 burgers. The meat was just so great...the texture of the fried onion went well with all the other toppings...and the fries..what else can I say about the fries that Anthony Bourdain hasn't - they're great. Just...great. Patty got a perfect brunch dish - the Croque Madame, which incidentally also came with a bunch of fries. The ham and cheese sandwich, covered in bechamel sauce, and a sunny side up egg - uh, how can this dish not suck?? And this is random, but isn't there something so satisfying about popping the yolk and letting the insides run all over your sandwich? Patty really liked this dish, in any case.
When the waiter was taking our orders, he was saying that this special was running low - that there was only 1 dish left of it. How could I resist? Of course I placed the order for it. It was a scallop au gratin, with 4 big scallops, buttery creamy au gratin laden with spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms, all super fresh and not a bit overcooked. This was a super rich dish, I was glad I was sharing with Owen, and we didn't even finish it. It was sooo good though.

Service was excellent, ambiance was great, we had a great time! Nothing to complain about.
Afterwards, we went to the Bouchon Bakery to pick up a few goodies for the road. I got 2 macarons - one orange and one raspberry. The raspberry one was my favorite - you know that feeling when you bite into a macaron?! Yeah. It's great. The flavor in the raspberry was like biting into a raspberry you just picked off of a raspberry bush...plant...wherever raspberries come from. The chewy inside was key. The orange one was ok - a bit too tart and not the flavor I was expecting - but the texture won me over. Next time you head to Vegas, this is a must try for anyone who likes FOOD. I guess that's most people...I would think!

Tokyo 7-7
3839 Main St Ste B
Culver City, CA

I confess, I have a soft spot in my heart for diners. Where did this nostalgia come from? It's not like my childhood memories are filled with trips to real 50's diners like a Mel's Drive in, or anything. The closest thing I got to a diner experience is in high school, and even then they weren't PLEASANT memories.

The only place that was open in the whole San Jose area past 10pm was Carrow's, or as we called it, "The Row's". The place was pretty dodgy, as was the food. Pretty much, only trust anything fried there, as the flying process kills off germs - my friend's husband to be found out this rule out the hard way, as he ate a T-Bone steak and eggs meal there, and got a severe case of food poisoning. Oh, the 'Row's. Fond, fond memories.

I digress. Tokyo 77 is the diner I never got in my formidable years. The very definition of "greasy spoon", this place is run by 3 kindly older Japanese ladies, who do everything from take your order to wipe the table down after you leave. I admit, I've waited awhile after placing my order, is there only one person back there preparing everything? Also, there's times when they've run out of items, like they ran out of rice. They're not going to make more for the day (they close EARLY!) so you're SOL. Anyways, here's what we got the first time we went there:

There's 2 sizes of orange juice, this is the "large" one. It's definitely reminicent of Japan sizing, but without the Japanese price! I think there's only like 15 cents difference from the regular and large, so always opt for the large. By the way, when I mean 15 cents different, I think the samll is like 99 cents and the large is 1.15. These are REAL diner prices.
Miso soup comes with the Tokyo 77 Special - I don't think it's out of this world miso but miso is pretty good either way.
Owen got his usual - The "French Toast Sandwich" plate. 4 french toast halves (= 2 pieces of bread for those who are counting), an egg (over easy, Owen's favorite style) and 2 pieces of bacon round out this extremely cheap order. He devours this in seconds, but it's the perfect combo for him - savory and sweet.
I ordered a side of fries with our meal - how can I resist for like 1 dollar? This goes so well with...
..my order, which was the Hawaiian Royale. A flat type omelet, almost a frittata but not as crispy, stuffed with Portuguese sausage, char siu, onions, green onions, and mushrooms. This was served over rice. It was a good mix of flavors - savory, a bit sweet with the bites of char siu, all bound together by egg, over a bed of white rice. It's tasty, if not the most filling thing you've ever had.
This is the only thing Scott's ever ordered: The Tokyo 77 Special. 5 thick slices of char siu, tamagoyagi (rolled egg omelet thing), rice and sunomo? For the life if me I can't spell it. It's basically pickled cucumber - kinda tastes like tears. He loves this, and every time, he completely clears the plate.

I'm not saying this place is the BEST for food, but it IS the best for prices and what you get for the money. And isn't that what diners are supposed to be? Do yourself a favor and head out to this place, just to soak up the ambiance of an old fashioned diner. Be warned, Cash only.

Knott's Berry Farm
Company Picnic
8039 Beach Blvd
Buena Park, CA

Another day, another catch up post. I'm getting used to this, gaining momentum...hopefully I'll be able to post about things that happened a lot more recently soon. But for now, let's look at some GROSS things I ate last July...namely, food that I'm sure came from a bin and heated up and fed to the masses. I'm talking about COMPANY PICNIC FOOD!!! Awww yeah!

We were invited to go to a Company picnic that took place at Knotts Berry Farm. I hadn't been to a company picnic in ages (the last one I remember was when I was a kid, for my dad's old company), and even further in my memory was a picnic that took place at an amusement park.

So Knotts. Oh how I hate you. Their parking situation is horrible, all the people clamoring to get there blocks up all the streets and heaven forbid Knotts invest in SIGNAGE to tell people where to go. So after a few hair pulling mishaps, we parked in a far away parking lot, opting to walk the perimeter of Knotts than to brave the streets again. So this is the kind of mood we were in, going into the picnic grounds. And sooo...we wait in the food line...to find....THIS.

OMG! "Burger" patties that have never even touched a grill, yet, have grill marks! I love that these are swimming in a warm pool of disgusting meat juices. This makes me feel like I'm back in elementary school, chowing on something that I'm SURE was made and formed in the 50's, and reheated for human consumption (prison, public school, whatever!) Oh yes. I ate one. I'm not happy, or proud about it. I'm probably still digesting parts of it today. With THAT in mind...
...let's move on to Knott's Berry Farm's "famous" fried chicken. Or, should I say in this state, frozen, then fried, then steamed in this container so by the time it reaches your mouth, it's a mushy gloppy mess that makes the insides of your mouth feel like a caterpillar. I admit, I've had Knotts fried chicken before (long ago, at the beginning of my stay in Los Angeles) and it isn't bad, so the complaints mainly stem from the fact that the chicken is served in this container that steams everything to keep it warm. Still destroys any kind of good chicken though.
Now what could this be....more unidentifiable BINS of stuff...they might as well be pig troughs. Upon closer study...
(tilt your head sideways, everyone...still have an issue with rotation of pictures on here)...oh, look, it's BEANS. And not just any beans, too! I think the crust of one half of the beans is in a war with the other half of the not as crusty beans...forming a BEANMONSTER of EPIC PROPORTIONS.

This is the saddest thing of all - if anyone knows me, they know that I love fake nacho cheese. I can't say I know why, but I will almost always order it if a place offers it. But...look what this nacho cheese has become - a tectonic plate of a crusty, old nacho cheese river. I can't even bear it. Poor nacho cheese.
Here's the cold food section...you got your mayo laden stuff....your other mayo laden stuff...this meal is straight from the 50's! The watermelon slices in the far distance at least tell me that there was an effort for health. I think the slice that I had was..ok..but not very sweet.
Nothing horrifies me more than corn that has been steamed so long that it wants to commit corn suicide.
And here's a plate of all this stuff, as nice as you can display it. It almost looks edible! Almost...
And finally, to wash it all down - here are slices of their "famous" boysenberry pie. I don't think this pie deserves the acclaim...the crust was too heavy and dense, the boysenberries too tart and mushy. Disappointment city. Probably could have been vastly improved if ice cream was around.

Well Knotts, thanks for disappointing me again. I was sorely disappointed when I went to Knotts Scary farm a few years back, and I was willing to give them a chance again for this...but again, failure. At least they're consistent. Oh, the highlight though was the company I was keeping. You guys rule! This food didn't!

Houston's

various locations across Southern California, but the one I went to was at:
2991 Michelson Dr, Irvine, CA 92612

As a testament at how backlogged I have become - I am blogging about food I ate ALMOST HALF A YEAR AGO. Talk about paying my dues. I am determined to slog through this, luckily, I remember a lot after seeing the pictures I took, and sometimes, when the food is good enough, it's that memorable. Like when you pick something out of your teeth that has been bothering you for the whole evening...uh, yeah maybe something a bit more glamorous, but I definitely have a huge satisfactory feeling that almost rivals a good meal. Or accompanies one. But onwards!

Patty's birthday dinner location choice was Houston's, a CHAIN restaurant (all you food snobs, together with me - SCOFF! SCOFF!) I usually hate and avoid chains if I have to - but be it sacrilege or not, I like Houston's. The decor is always really clean, contemporary, I like their wood block tables, the service is usually sterling. they make a mean arnold palmer. As far as I know, there are no Houston's in Northern California, so I never got to experience one in my younger days.

We started off with drinks - oh I love the glasses they use for drinks! A square-ish shaped bottom tapering up to a wide circular mouth, perfect for holding any cold liquid. I got my usual Arnold Palmer. We decided on a favorite of Owen's...

...spinach artichoke dip (excuse the blurriness and rotation, for the life of me it won't adjust the other way). This was a really really good dip - the spinach even tasted really fresh. Salsa and sour cream also accompanied this dish, which....
...tortilla chips were liberally used to scoop everything up. A great start to an even more exciting meal...
Patty got one of her favorite things to eat here - seared ahi tuna with tricolor cauliflower, and tomato with basil and balsamic vinegar on top. First of all, amazing presentation - how could you lose with a color palette like that? It was like the skittles dinner - all colors of the rainbow (incidentally, also the name of Brad and Patty's macaw - I don't usually get "pun"ny but I guess there's a first time for everything). In any case, Patty seemed to enjoy her meal thoroughly.
Brad stuck with his favorite - a Hickory Burger with canadian bacon on top, cheddar, onion and hickory sauce. We had our choice of sides, and he went with the loaded baked potato. I had one too, more about the spud later. He basically licked this plate clean.

Paul got a set of BBQ ribs plate, with cole slaw and fries. We all "ooooh'ed when one of the waiters set this down in front of Paul. He rocked this plate and left no scraps. I tried a little, it was fall off the bone amazing.

Finally, to me and Owen. I decided on their special - crab cakes. I had a choice of 2 sides, which left me with a problem. I love fries, but I desperately wanted to try the baked potato. And I wasn't going to have fries AND a baked potato - tater overload. Owen nobly stepped in and wanted a baked potato too - so I ordered 2 loaded baked potatoes! Yikes! This plate looks like oval shaped things overload! Once I handed Owen his baked potato, the plate seemed a bit more manageable. So how did everything taste? This crab cake was one of the top 5 crab cakes I've ever had in my life. Big lump crab meat, SWEET crab meat, I'd like to add...with a bit of crunchy browning on top and a kick ass sauce. The baked potato was potato heaven. Not to be missed for anyone able to go to a Houston's. Owen got a fried chicken salad, because where there is bacon and avocado, there will be Owen. Namely, he loved it. This salad was huge, I don't think he finished it, even with me pecking at the sides a bit.
Another special of the night - strawberries, with a bit of balsamic vinegar drizzled over the top, with fresh whipped cream. These extremely sweet and fresh strawberries were everything you could have wanted out of a berry. Owen can't help himself. When it comes to their warm chocolate brownie, with nuts and vanilla ice cream on top, he can't resist. He has to get this every time he comes here. I'm not much of a sweets person, but I admit this combination is pretty great. I ate 2 bites of this, and went into chocolate overload.

I really had no complaints that night. Everything was spectacular, from service to food, to ambiance and great company. Go!

Coffee Company
8751 La Tijera Boulevard
Westchester, CA 90045

Having a decent coffee shop around the corner is a big deal. Breakfast is so easy to make but it's all about having a place to go on the weekends, and there's just something so...I don't know, uniquely leisurely about having a convenient place to go down the street.

Sooo, Coffee Company it was. This place gets SUPER crowded on the weekends - especially on Sunday, when folks head there from the church across the street. There's sometimes a line out the DOOR but they keep things moving along here, and you usually are seated before you know it.

We usually start our meal with a glass of their orange juice...I think it's fresh squeezed or some of the best quality store bought stuff that they could find because this stuff is seriously delicious...
...and sometimes a coffee. They keep the coffee cup full here...I mean, it IS called the coffee company for a reason, right? They have the huge containers of sugar here (where you just tip it over and see that huge LINE of sugar pouring out), but I try to stick to Splenda nowadays.
This was Owen's french toast plate, with bacon and eggs over easy. Good, but not great, diner food. This isn't THE BEST french toast, but it's definitely tasty. They're really fast, too. Oh, and I know they're not shown here, but they have THE BEST biscuits. Fluffy, well flavored, good crusty outside. I'm not a biscuits and gravy kind of person but if you're into that, this is the place to go. (Honey's Kettle has got the market cornered on sweetened southern style biscuits, but this place has the more savory country style. Just wanted to clarify)
I wasn't in a breakfasty mood for some reason, so I got a club sandwich with fries. Maybe I should have stuck with breakfast, cuz this club sandwich didn't have...I dunno, DIFFERENTNESS. Like, I could have made this at home. But I am lazy! So Coffee Company wins. I actually like crust, so it was unfortunate that they cut the crust off, but I can deal. I liked the bacon and fries a lot though (go figures, the things that are FRIED...!), crinkly fries for the win!

Since we live fairly close to the Coffee Company, we usually get coupons in the Value pak in the mail for half off the second meal, which is a great discount for gluttons like us. Admittedly, that gives me a bit of sympathy for any complaints I might have (not many to begin with), so take that to heart. And YES I rummage through the Value Pak, even though most of the coupons in there are for things I would never use (1000 address labels, water delivery, rain gutter cleaning...thanks but no thanks!)

Huzzah to the first (finally) post of 2008 for Drink your Milk and eat your greens...many more to come!

A new year, a new look...

SLACKER. Yes. I am labeling myself a SLACKER, so you, the reader of this humble blog, do not have to. It's been way too long. I've missed this. And hopefully you've missed me too. I've made a few changes, slapped on a few of my favorite colors, and now ready to kick your eyeballs out with some great food I've been eating...I must share it all with you!

So, forgive me, for my absence - I will make it up to you!! It's not you, it's me! And all those other lame excuses!