Pueblo

I discovered some great eats in OC while celebrating my birthday this year.  My memory card was full so I was not able to capture my experience at Juliette Kitchen, which was pretty darn good.  I was pretty bummed about that, so I made sure to be ready for Pueblo.  They are serving up modern tapas here.  Generally, I have not been impressed with Spanish cuisine, but Pueblo does it right.  Teety, Soprano Man, Can't Hang, Rock Dweller, Solarphobic, Auto Geek and his wife joined me for the second birthday dinner for 2015.

We was plenty hungry, so we hurriedly enjoyed the free bruschetta/toast appetizer.

Cheese & Charcuterie
Really great selection, which I can't really recall but its hard to dislike anything served on a wood board, slate board, cast iron skillet, or mason jar.  Am I right??

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ABC Cocina

When I visit a new city, I usually do my research and find all the good restaurants I want to try.  However, with NYC, I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time aside from the planned dinners at Per Se and Eleven Madison Park.  Also, I was traveling with my family and the 3 newest additions to the H.o.P. has made life unpredictable and chaotic to say the least.  It's a good thing The Pouter's foodie mojo wasn't bogged down by 3 little monsters disguising themselves as adorable squishy cutie patooties.  We brunched it up ABC Cocina because we were unable to snag a rezzie at ABC Kitchen. I wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between the two restaurants, which are literally attached to each and separated by glass windows and doors.  All I know is that they are both restaurants from famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and ABC Cocina has a latin flare.

Bread
We were starvin' like Marvin and noshed hard on the bread.

Tomato Salad red onion, serrano chilies, sherry vinaigrette, herbs
I think if there were one food I couldn't live without in this world, it would be the tomato.  It's not like I eat tomatoes everyday.  For the most part, they are usually hothouse grown tasteless excuses for food.  But when they are the sun ripened bounty of a warm summer....I need not say more.  I think my LOVE for this dish was magnified by my pre-existing penchant for tomatoes because it was in fact a really simple salad.  I wish I could eat this everyday.

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Navarre

It pains me to write this post for two reasons.  The food was not good and the pictures are pretty crappy.  Somehow, I wasn't as motivated to take good pictures because the food was so uninspiring.  I like the idea of tapas (good for sharing, more variety), but I've not been impressed with real Spanish tapas.  Spanish food in general is not high up there for me, maybe because of my dislike for olives.  Toro Bravo is probably an exception. 

Ordering at Navarre is very complicated.  They have their standard menu and another list of specials, which turns out to be a whole lot longer than the standard menu.  You can order things in small or large portions.  You can organize your orders to be served as courses or rounds.  You can also do a chef's tasting and save yourself a whole lot of trouble.  I guess I wanted trouble and Zhu Zhu Hamster, Little Pet, and Dumpling Man were just little lemmings.


Ken's Artisan Bread grassy olive oil
People make a big deal bout the bread from Ken's Artisan Bakery.  I will have to admit the bread was pretty good.  It was so soft, but dense and hearty.  The crust was a little too hard for my liking but overall pretty good.  We were stupid and ordered a large portion of this which was just WAY TOO MUCH bread.

Spicy Italian Sausage pickled beets
I'm big on the texture of sausage.  I like it to be springy and fatty, but this was really crumbly and dry.  The pickled beets were not anything to write home about.  Zhu Zhu Hamster really didn't seem to mind the offensive texture.

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The Bazaar

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like food is like the new "it" thing.  By that, I mean food seems to be on everyone's minds.  Whether it's talking about favorite foods, eating at the best new restaurants, or checking out foodie events.  Food is everywhere!  Dumpling Man voiced a similar sentiment.   Maybe food has always been "in" and I'm just coming late to the party.   Maybe this is just a natural process of getting older, appreciating fine dining and having a bit more cash to spend on it.

In any case, you'll need a lot of all of that (especially the cash) to dine at The Bazaar.   It's one of those places that has been the talk of the LA foodie scene since its opening in 2008.  Most people rave about it, but I have run into a few non believers.  One thing, that I think most people would agree on is that the restaurant itself is beautiful.  It is in the SLS hotel, which is about as trendy, hipster, and "LA" as it gets.   The crowd ranges from Hollywood beauties to wannabe hipsters to flaming douchebags.   Unlike most other trendy LA eateries, The Bazaar actually has some credibility rooted in its famous executive chef, Jose Andres.

The H.o.P. descended upon The Bazaar for Smooth Obturator's birthday.   To make sure no member of the H.o.P. went hungry, we made sure to order multiples of many of the dishes since the restaurant offers tapas style dining.

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