Lèon de Bruxelles

Moule-frites is a very simple and classic Belgian dish that's popular throughout France.  In fact, Leon de Bruxelles is actually a large chain restaurant in France.  Your thinking, "Overworked Underfed, how could you dine at a chain restaurant??"  Dear readers, some chain restaurants are awesome!  First off, everything at Lèon de Bruxelles is fresh, never frozen and always made to order.  That is saying a lot for affordable seafood.  Their menu is quite extensive.  Who knew you could make mussels so many different way.

La Plancha de Moules aux Gambas et Calamars des moules, des gambas sauvages, des anneaux de calamar, de la tomate, de l'ail, des herbes de provence

Being grilled as opposed to steamed made the flavors much more concentrated and punchy. One might criticize this as being salty but I liked it. The calamari was extremely tender, while the shrimp was sweet and juicy. They don't lie about the freshness here. 

Les Moules à la Provençale la tomate, l'ail, les herbes de provence, les olives noires, l'huile d'olive, vin blanc, crème fraîche

I opted for this version because I love tomatoes and herbs de Provence. The crème fraîche actually did not overwhelm the dish with creaminess. It was just right.

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Auberge Etchegorry

Etchegorry is quaint little local restaurant specializing in Basque cuisine.  Mama H.o.P's Parisian friend, who I guess I'll call Parisian Friend, has been a patron of this restaurant for years and years and she had nothing but high praise for this place.  The restaurant itself felt pretty homey, no frills.  I can't say our welcome was as warm.  I think we sat at our table for a good 10 minutes before anybody decided to give us menus or drinks.  It's not like the place was busy.  We were the first ones to show up for our reservations.  Slowly the restaurant become packed.  Parisian Friend says it is always like that, and you have to have a reservation or it's a no go.

Terrine de Foie Gras Parfumée au Jurançon toast de pain au mais maison

This is probably the cleanest tasting foie gras I've had.  It's not that I mind the livery-ness of foie, but the smooth buttery light offal taste to this very notable.  Jurançon is a type of wine which lightly scented the foie adding to delicate fragrance.  And of course, they never serve enough house toast to eat with with foie.  Why is it like that everywhere??

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Michel Rostang

I had a whole list of restaurants I wanted to try while in Paris.  I tend to lean toward the new and contemporary.  But while in Paris, Mama H.o.P. and I were the guests of her Parisian friend who had her own restaurant recommendations.  Who am I to tell a Parisian where to eat in her own city?  So I basically tossed my list out the window and just came along for the ride.  It seems like Michel Rostang is one of those restaurants that have been around for awhile.  It has 2 Michelin stars, and lucky for us they had a tasting menu for 175 euros, inconclusive of tax and wine.  In France, you are not required to tip.  That's kind of a bargain when you think how wine pairings can run as much as the price of your meal.  

Amuse Bouche

foam pigeon, beet, parmesan chip

smoked white fish, goat cheese, macaron

wasabi, peas

It was a nice start with this little trio of bites.  My favorite was the peas and wasabi.  A smooth delicate vegetal sweet with a little bit of kick.  I think the smoked white fish was a bit strong on its own, and the goat cheese just took it over the top.

Roasted Baby Squid mango, galangal

The flavors here were surprising.  I pegged Rostang as a classically French, but the wasabi from the prior dish and galangal here really brought the East to the West.

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Fauchon

Fauchon is an international food company that dabbles in everything from pastries, confections, artisanal meats and cheeses.  At this outpost in Paris, they operated a small restaurant, bakery, and deli with some quick to-go items like sandwiches and salads.  Everything was soooo pretty and cute and of course cost an arm and a leg.  It made for a nice small meal/snack.  We were trying to hold out for dinner which was gonna be a big one.  Let's just say eating less so you can eat more isn't really my thing.  I need at least 2 square meals a day and if its happens to be 1 normal meal and 1 ginormo meal, I'm OK with that.  But don't give me 1 measly meal and 1 ginormo meal.  I was famished when we arrived.

I wanted to eat this whole leg of ham.

As delicious as it was pretty.

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Ladurée

It's time to skip a few backlogged posts to blog about my recent trip to France.  I've been to France a few times in the past.  It's the city where my father spent his formative years from childhood to adulthood, pretty much growing up and finding his way all on his own.  There seemed some darkness in his past, being bullied by the French kids, being poor and lonely, but somehow there was always a great amount of nostalgia for that city.  He would drag my siblings and me all over the city, showing us his former haunts, his schools, everything he could remember about Paris.  At that time, I never thought much of it, but looking back, I have so many memories of family vacations there.  I met family I never knew I had. I had an embarassing encounter with a bidet, which was a foreign porcelain god to this American kid at the time.  We rented a car and trekked all the way to Italy.  My mom expertly crafted sandwiches from baguette, headcheese, jambon, and pate from the local boucherie.  My dad would snore away, while my sister drove and got pissed at my lazy brother for being such a sorry excuse for a navigator.  Paris is a city that holds a special place in my heart, and because of all the many memories there, will probably be my favorite city in the world.

My mom and I took a vacation to visit her friend in Paris.  Since I've seen all the major sites in Paris, I basically wanted to take a gastronomic tour of the country.  Having a local take us around was a major plus.  It didn't hurt that we never had to pay for a hotel either.  I would have liked to pick all our eating spots, but who am I to tell a Parisian where to eat in France?  Our first stop was rather coincidental because Ladurée just happened to be on the way to our shopping destination.  You can imagine how ecstatic I was to be able to sample the much-talked-about highly lauded macarons here.

At Ladurée, they don't just offer macarons...

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Raku

There are 2 off strip restaurants that people always talk about in the Sin City, Lotus of Siam and Raku.  While the former fell just a bit short of expectations, the latter was well worth the cab fare.  Some people say Raku is one of the best izakaya restaurants they've been to.  Smooth Obturator and The Boss Man really raved about this place.  So I dragged Teety, Soprano Man, and The Pouter to this distant dining destination to start off our Vegas weekend.

Yellow Tail
...at least I think that's what it was.  In any case, it was wonderful.  Fatty with just a hint of flavor from the yuzukosho and soy sauce in the little spoon.  That's one of the most umami packed soy sauces I've ever tasted.  Soprano Man, who doesn't partake in raw delicacies, really missed out here.

Fried Shrimp

Here was another special of the night.  I LOVE shrimp, so I liked this preparation, but my dining companions probably didn't like having to gnaw through all the shrimp skins.  If you're not a giant shrimp fan, you probably can do better.

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NOPA

Reservations are hard to come by at many of the hot & happening SF eateries.  The Pouter and I really wanted to eat at the ever popular Statebird Provisions, but couldn't get a reservation and planned to try for walk in.  After much discussion with previous diners, we decided that would be a poor decision, and went plan B, which was a fairly late 945pm? reservation at NOPA.  Don't get me wrong, NOPA is another bumpin' joint with excellent reviews, so we were still quite happy.

Amuse Bouche
A really simple slightly pickled/salted cucumber.  They kind of look like lime wedges and definitely had some lime flavor.

Piggy Platter headcheese, crispy trotter, country paté

I rarely meet a charcuterie platter I don't like, but aside from the crispy trotter which was like a meat tater tot, everything else was meh.  In fact, the headcheese had a terrible formaldehyde smell/taste to it.  It was soooo unappetizing.  The Pouter didn't agree with me, but I felt it wasn't even subtle.  It was like here are some pig parts that taste like cadavers.  Gross.

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San Tung

People RAVE about San Tung.  "Best wings ever!" "Crack wings" "Hour long wait for the best meal of my life" blah blah blah.  You know this is just a set up for disappointment right?  I've had some mighty tasty wings in my life, Crisp in Chicago and Pok Pok in Portland.  The latter, being my favorite of the two places.  But Running Man and Triple F looooove San Tung and they are some heavy hitting foodies.  They catered the Twin Tornadoes one year birthday party with food from San Tung.  So the wings weren't piping fresh when I tried them, but I believe the flavor was still there and I was unimpressed.  Korean Chinese food is usually a cuisine I have difficulty appreciating.  It comes off as bad Chinese food, almost Americanized in its overly saccharine sweetness.  I'm sure its not meant to come off this way, I'm just not accustomed to its taste.

Dry Black Bean Sauce Noodles

This is actually one of the few dishes at Korean Chinese restaurants that I really like...when its done well.  Here it was just ok.  You'd imagine that a sauce so black and thick would be loaded with flavor, buuuut its really not, at least not this one.  The noodles could have been chewier, more al dente.  I really like the version at Dragon in LA.

Dry Sauteed String Beans

The beans were not good that night.  Save for that, it would have been your standard fare.

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Atelier Crenn

It seems like with every visit to SF, I go big and then I go home.  I know some heavy hitting foodies in SF, so eating well is always a big part of my visits.  The Pouter is always my go to girl for any of the big meals in SF.  We were inspired to hit up Atelier Crenn after seeing Chef Crenn on Top Chef.  She seemed so hip, so cool, so SF!  SF has quite the fine dining food scene going on.  The restaurants can range from traditional institutions like Gary Denko, to more modern and contemporary places pushing the boundaries of food and science.  Atelier Crenn definitely falls into the latter category.  The ambience was clean, minimalist, modern.  On the weekend, you can only do the tasting menu.  So I was shocked to see a couple there with their 7-8ish year old daughter!  I really wonder what she was eating.  Did she partake in the fancy ass tasting menu?  Did they make a special menu with molecular gastronomy chicken nuggets??  I'm sort of on the fence about bringing children to such fancy places like this.  I guess I'll leave it at that.  On to the food!

Kir Breton coco butter, cassis liquor, apple cider

I love these little liquer amuse bouches.  They usually have some interesting texture and then burst in your mouth.  The spheres were delicately thin but with some crunch and sweetness.  Then the apple cider provided some tang and refreshment.  Such a fun way to start.

Uni custard caviar, smoked potato gel, licorice

Uni seems to be making a splash on every menu these days.  It was an oceanic delight tempered by a smooth creaminess.

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Dia de Campo

The South Bay is an upcoming foodie area.  It seems like there's always something new and cool opening up.  I really liked Little Sister so I was excited to hear that the chef/owner was opening up a Mexican/seafood themed joint just down the coast in Hermosa Beach.  Who other than Smooth Obturator and Triple T, who call the South Bay their home, would accompany me to this very hip and happening spot?  I totally loved the ambiance.  It was both relaxed/laid back given its beachside location, but then also vibrant, hip, and happening.  

Oysters

I was a little bummed these were cooked instead of chilled.  I'm not sure why cooked oysters just never taste right.

Hamachi Uni green papaya, mango, ponzu, baby cilantro, smoked pasilla

I don't think it's fair to list uni as a main ingredient here.  There was only 1 little lobe of uni!  Other than that, the dish was fine but nothing spectacular.  The fresh passionfruit was a nice touch.

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Gusto

It's been a while since the Bears joined forces to eat our way through LA.  Many things have changed since our days as "overworked and underpaid" drones.  Some of us are now "appropriately paid," while others, sadly, are still "underpaid" (Luau Bear who I'm going to rename Digs-Thru-Poop Bear and Panda Bear).  But the "underpaid" ones got smart and married their sugar mammas (Farm Bear and Little Bear who will be renamed Fancy Nails Bear).  And some things never change.  Buff Bear is still buff as ever, so obviously his name isn't changing.  One thing is true for all of us though, we are busier than ever, so coordinating all of our schedules to even get together for dinner isn't always easy.  Heck, I don't even live close to the majority of these guys, but I will trek anywhere for good friends and good food.  While Gusto wasn't our first choice, we were pretty happy with Fancy Nails Bear's choice in the end.  Gusto is a simple neighborhood Italian joint in the heart of Beverly Hills/WeHo.  It wasn't crowded at all for a Friday night, which is probably not a good sign, but it was nice to not have to shout over the din of a bustling Friday night crowd.

The guys took a backseat while Farm Bear and I took the reigns with the menu.  I love Farm Bear because she just wanted to order everything on the menu and said yes to everything I suggested.  Her verve for food and dining makes she and I kindred spirits!

Asparagi grilled asparagus, sunny side egg, fontina fonduta

It was so simple, yet so delicious.  I wish I could get my grilled veggies to taste like this.   What is the secret?!  Charcoal grill?  There was a healthy balance of salt, tang, sharp, creamy, and luscious.  Lovely. 

Lacinato shaved black kale

Kale might be the new beet or Brussels sprout today, making its appearance on practically every menu these days.  Some may find it too tough to eat raw, but when it is done right, my TMJ prone jaw is not exacerbated.  I found this to be bright and well balanced with varying textures and flavors.

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Sushi Sushi

The birthday festivities continued with my birthday at Sushi Sushi.  Originally, Smooth Obturator wanted to go to Maude or Trois Mec, but was unable to snag a rezzie.  No worries because Smooth Obturator fell back on his trusty Sushi Sushi.  Let's be honest, LA is riddled with expensive sushi places.  Smooth Obturator and Triple T have been to many of them, but Sushi Sushi is the stand out spot for them.  It might be hard to take a place called Sushi Sushi seriously, but the sushi here is SERIOUS.  For omakase, I was supremely stuffed.  I'm not sure if it was because it was towards the end of the night and the chef was trying to clean house or all the beers he was drinking was causing him to be excessively generous.

Squid
I never had raw baby squid like this before.  I guess squid has some innards and guts that area usually removed when you buy them in the store?  I'm actually not totally sure, but something was different tasting about it and it felt like I was eating squid guts but it was so delicious!  Not off or fishy tasting. It was also lightly dressed in some ponzu.  Wow, I couldn't believe squid could taste this way.

Tuna okra, quail egg

Okra is really slimy and this preparation of it reminded me of why people dislike it (I'm looking at you, Tom Colicchio).  I actually don't mind the slime, which was actually magnified by the added raw egg.  

Geoduck roe

The fresh salty sweetness of the geoduck was well matched with the pile of roe.  Maybe too much roe, though I'm actually begin to appreciate it.

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Afters Ice Cream

I'm all over anything ice cream in OC.  I'm trying to scope out the competition for my one-day-some-day-maybe ice cream joint the in the future/in my dreams, haha.  The Yelp reviews were numerous.  Personal friends gave singing endorsements.  One night, my coworker who I'll call Fishing Zebra Man, had a rough shift at work.  So I suggested we go for some ice cream to cheer him up, killing 2 birds with one stone.  I needed someone to go here with me!  Afters merrys 2 beloved American sweets, donuts and ice cream into something they call "milky buns."  Sounds like an ingenious idea!  Why didn't anyone think of this before?

I had to stare at this crap for 30 minutes while I waited in line.  Let's just say the place doesn't win points for a sharp storefront and professional presentation.  It also didn't help being surrounded by swarms of tweeters.  God, I felt SO OLD!

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Angotei

So the next few posts are gonna be all sushi.  I guess I ate a lot of it in the month of April.  The one good thing about Orange County is the pretty decent Japanese food.  Costa Mesa has a number of good sushi restaurants.  I had been to Angotei once before and I was pretty impressed by the omakase so I took Mama H.o.P. here for her birthday.  We actually sat in front of the same sushi chef, so I dunno what was up.  Maybe the novelty wore off?  But Mama H.o.P. didn't seem all that impressed either and it was her first time.

Toro

It was a bit heavy to be starting off with toro, but it was delectable.  Not the best, but at least not that oily fishiness I've had with not so good toro.

Kanpachi
Clean and refreshing.  Probably shoulda started with this one.

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Orsa & Winston

I was a bit puzzled walking into Orsa & Winston.  I had heard its Japanese-Italian, which seems like 2 completely disparate cuisines.  I couldn't imagine how they could merry harmoniously on a plate, let alone in my mouth, but the food this night certainly went far beyond my expectations.  There were definitely elements of Asian and European flavors going on here.  The food was unique and delicious.  The style of dining is omakase, so it's the chef's choice.  What you can choose is how many courses: 5, 8, or super omakase at 25!  We opted for the 8.

Amuse Bouche fennel panna cotta
These days, the amuse never really fits the definition of a "one bite" treat from the chef.  I'm not really bothered by that anymore because its just extra food anyways, and who am I to turn down extra food just because the portion size is too big??  I love panna cotta and one of my goals is to learn to make the perfect panna cotta, one that is just perfectly jiggly and most silky soft.  There were definitely some sweet savory flavors going on here.  A delightful first start.

Trout Crudo gingered cucumber gelee, radish, orange, creme fraiche

It looks like salmon huh?  It was both light and refreshing, yet rich and flavorful.  There were so many subtleties with the ingredients and flavor profiles.  One of the more distinctive and memorable crudos.

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Top Chef Shirley Chung Pop Up @ The Playground 2.0

I love Top Chef.  I love watching the food, the drama, the judges and contestants talking smack.  Unlike many of the other reality shows that churn out winners that don't amount to much after the ephemeral hoopla of the win passes through the minds of fans and viewers, many Top Chef winners have gone on to establish a strong presence in the culinary world, opening their own restaurants and garnering many awards. Shirley Chung did not win this last season of Top Chef, though many, including myself, thought she was a very strong contender and maybe should have won.  She herself even admitted that she "messed up" in the finale, but overall she was very thankful for the experience on the show because it really helped her "find herself."

In any case, it set her down a path to opening her own restaurant in little ole Irvine, California called "Twenty Eight" (the age she started cooking).  Why Irvine? I wouldn't really call this city an up and coming foodie town, so I'm just as confused as you.  It would have been a good question to ask Shirley, but between showing up late (like 5-10 minutes, apparently the rest of the diners who were white and had at least 20-30 years+ on me, didn't get the memo about Asian time) and Shirley's effusive excitement, it was just a flurry of eating, snapping pictures, and trying to catch every word of her explanations and background stories for each dish.

For the whopping price of $200, we were offered a 9 course tasting menu paired with drinks and inclusive of tip.  The hefty price tag might explain why the crowd was a bit more geriatric than one would expect for such a foodie event.  Really, who could throw down that kinda change?  Apparently Teety, myself, and 15 other old people!  Soprano Man had to work, *tear face*

So we didn't get the prime seats in the middle of the counter, but we still got plenty of love and attention from Shirley and and Jason Quinn (far right, chef/owner of The Playground).

Crispy Chicken Skin + Knee devil egg aioli

I'm not a huge fan of eggs, usually in breakfast format, and I'm gonna have to throw deviled eggs in that bag too.  Cooked egg yolks has such an unpalatable flavor to me since childhood.  I'll eat deviled eggs but I'll never fully love them.  Surprisingly this wasn't too yolky and was a nice complement to the crispy skin and cartilaginous knee.  A solid way to start, even for the anti-eggies.

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Tongue & Cheek

We were happy to be back on land after a whole afternoon of boating and sunsets with our borderline creepy, but kind and considerate captain.  Man was it a PAIN to find a cab to get back to our condo.  We were 8 girls flailing our arms on a major highway in the dark but no cab would stop for us.  That was a big fail on my part as the planner, but everyone was a good sport about it.  We didn't have anything to munch on during the boat tour, so we were preeeeeetty darn hungry by the time dinner rolled around at the early hour of 9pm.  It takes a while for 8 girls to clean up, ok?

Pretzel Bread

We totally destroyed these, which were piping hot, soft and chewy.  I couldn't really figure out what the sauce was, since it looked like ketchup, but was pretty sweet.

Heirloom Tomato Salad whipped ricotta, rye crackers, basil and olive oil

I should have known that good heirloom tomatoes in February would be a challenge.  They weren't what heirloom tomatoes should be, sweet, tart, oozing with ripeness.  The dish had so much potential.

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Tupelo Junction

Santa Barbara is truly an idyllic little town.  Such a contrast to the recent tragedy that occurred there recently.  But I don't want to bring down the mood, so let's stick to what makes most people happy.  The Mom, HemaSh, and I took a quick weekend getaway to Santa Barbara.  We didn't do much, just eating, walking around, and yapping like the besties we are.  I've known these ladies for over 15 years now!

Cinnamon Apple Beignets creme anglaise

HemaSh seemed a bit disappointed with the beignets, which were more like donut holes.  I didn't mind one bit.  I love dense fried balls.  That sounds all wrong, so get your minds out of the gutters folks.  There were bits of apple chunks in the beignets, which brought just a subtle fruitiness.  They were piping HOT that's for sure.

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Ramen Yamadaya

My quest to find a more awesome ramen joint than Santouka always disappoints.  I swear Santouka must use MSG in their broth.  It's just way too tasty.  Somehow that's where every other places seems to fall short.  The Rock Dweller accompanied me here.  Usually when we dine together, it's difficult to pay attention to the food because we are usually talking each other's heads off and get so distracted.  So it was quite out of the ordinary, when it was the food itself that was distracting me from the conversation, and not in a good way!  

Yamadaya Ramen 3 kinds of chashu, dried seaweed, egg

So the ramen here isn't actually that bad.  The noodles were pretty standard.  The broth was fatty, salty, the usual.  Definitely not as tasty as Santouka.  But man oh man, they served me old ass chasu!  Like it had that old refrigerated made who knows how many days ago "aged" taste.  It was not pleasant.

Kara-Age Chicken
The chicken wasn't old tasting fortunately.  It was actually juicy, seasoned and fried well.  Was it the best kara-age I've ever had?  No, not really, but it hit the spot.

Would I go back to Ramen Yamadaya after they served me "too many days old chasu?"  I am a forgiving eater, so probably yes, but only if someone wanted to go here.  Heck, I've been back to places where I've had food poisoning.  For the time being, let's just say good ole food court ramen at Santouka still has my heart.

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Havana 1957

What's a trip to Miami without taking in the Cuban culture of this heterogeneously Latin city?  We went for a quick brunch at a chain of Cuban restaurants called Havana 1957.  Bruin Bear took an earlier flight out, but she was raving about the flan here, which unfortunately they were not serving, it being 10am and all.  We were starving after our 15 minute walk to the restaurant.  It seemed like forever.

Bread Basket

We completely devoured this.  I'm not quite sure what's so special about Cuban bread.  It's just kinda flat and semi-dense.

Huevos con Vegetales 3 eggs any style, vegetables, onions, peppers, tomatoes, home fries
Someone's breakfast.  Seemed fairly standard.

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