Take Me Back to Manhattan

Foodie Heaven
Thursday, June 19, 2008

IF someone told me that I could choose between not eating and being skinny the rest of my life or eating amazing food and struggling with/having to work to keep my body in shape, I would unquestionably pick the latter. Oh wait - someone did tell me that. And I started therapy shortly thereafter.

I love food. Good food is a true art. A talent beyond measure. It is not a given that one can follow a recipe and therefore be a good cook. It is not a given that one knows how to entertain. Just as a musician hears the notes and knows what how to create a symphony, as an artist knows how to mix the colors on the palette, as a director can clearly envision the perfect shot, a chef creates a symphony of flavors, mixes the ingredients, envisions the perfect meal.

Saturday night, I had the joy and pleasure of being a guest at one of the greatest dinners I have ever been at. How often in your life do you go to someone's home and experience a tasting menu? Our friend Jackie, is not only a superior chef, but she's an incredible host.

A good host knows how to bring the perfect group of people together. They know when to gather for appetizers and when the right time is to serve dinner. They make things seem effortless (ed. note: I need work in this area...) They set a table that looks gorgeous. They have a home that feels completely welcoming. And most of all, they ENJOY entertaining.

And if the food is good, well, that's an added bonus. A tasting menu? That's next level. Saturday I had a 7 course (8 if you include the apps outside on the patio with the Pol Roger champagne) dinner that could have been served in any of LA's finest restaurants. This is not the first time this has happened. Last November**, Jackie invited us over to dinner and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I also drank every glass of (sometimes 2) wine that was paired with every dish and came home and had the spins for the first time in...oooooooooooooh, I don't know...EIGHT YEARS!!! And of course, I knew the food would be fabulous tonight as it always is.

BUT ANOTHER TASTING MENU???? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

And not simply a tasting menu. A tasting menu complete with wine pairings.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 12:42 AM 2 comments    

Labels: food and drink, whilst drinking

A Love Letter to Ina
Monday, May 5, 2008

I read cookbooks. Like cover to cover.

This is a shock to me. I had no idea that I was going to grow up and be a cookbook reader.

This evening I came home from work and my Amazon.com shipment had arrived. It contained three books:

1. How'd You Score That Gig - a book that was promoted in my "Daily Cents" email and I just couldn't resist given my influx of career thoughts these days.

2. Colin Cowie's Chic- I recently bought this for a close friend for her birthday and it was nearly impossible not to keep it for myself. So I did the next best thing and bought myself one too. How do you resist a book with PERFECT advice on home, entertaining, travel, and work from one of the most fabulous gay men alive???

3. The Barefoot Contessa at Home- which brings me to this post. You know how Sesame Street is brought to you by a letter? Like the letter Q. or R. or any of the other 24 letters. This post is brought to you by the Barefoot Contessa.

When I opened the package, I stared at all three and contemplated - but I was immediately drawn to Ina. And I didn't just turn to the recipes. I wanted to read her introduction. I WANTED to. Ummmmm...I am a cookbook introduction reading 32 year old woman. AND I LOVE IT.

I'm only 40 pages into her 249 pages of delectable delights but I'm already dreaming of dinner parties with perfect margaritas (no margarita mix!!!!) and pan-fried french onion dip (made ENTIRELY from scratch) and most importantly lots and lots of laughing. And warmth. Ina talks about a home filled with warmth. Where people walk in and they feel like family. And that's why I love Ina. Sure, her recipes are amaaaaazing. Next level. Truly my favorites. I know if I cook Barefoot, I'm cooking a good meal. But the Ina's philosophy rings true for me even more:

"A good home should gather you up in its arms like a warm cashmere blanket, soothe your hurt feelings, and prepare you to go back out into that big bad world tomorrow all ready to fight the dragons....Sure it has to make (myself and my husband) feel comfortable, but equally important, it has to make my friends want to drop by."

This. This is the philosophy I want to live by. This is what life is about. Having a home that feels like a home to each and every person that comes here. With chairs that they can sink their bodies into and food they can sink their teeth into and conversation they can sink their souls into. This is what life is about.

I'm 32 and I read cookbooks. Excuse me now. I have to go finish...

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 8:48 PM 4 comments    

Labels: family, food and drink, friends, introspection, musings on life, whilst drinking

I don't do lines
Friday, May 2, 2008

I don't do lines. And btw, I'm not talking about grocery store lines or movie lines. I'm talking about get into a club for an acquaintance's birthday party line. Call me what you want - a snob, stuck up, a bitch (I call me smart)...but I don't do lines.

Tonight I went to STK for said acquaintance's birthday. Oh - and click on that link to be officially disgusted (when you get there, click on the STK link). I can save you a trip if you'd like. First you'll see a woman's calf so defined (by photoshop clearly) that you might want to puke. If that doesn't do it, your gag reflex will definitely kick in when you see the piece of raw meat hanging off a captain hook hand. Next up is the picture of bright red lips bighting into a chunk o' filet. This is supposed to be sexy by the way. Lastly is the lovely shot of the spike heel digging into the bright red bloody beef. V. I. L. E. And I like a good steak. But seriously? This is revolting.

Oh and also, did I mention I had dinner here on Tuesday night? And it was actually surprisingly good. After seeing the website I was highly skeptical but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. So when I was told to "swing by" said birthday party I figured why not? I had no idea that STK had an entirely different section that is a bona fide CLUB. Yes I'm TOTALLY out of the loop. Entirely.

I should have gotten the hint when the valet line was 10 cars long. But I just figured I was dealing with a bunch of lazy ass people and found myself some street parking. However, when I walked up, it was like I was at an entirely different restaurant than I'd been to on Tuesday night. That's because I was no longer at a restaurant. In true LA nightclub fashion, I found myself surrounded by women plastered in makeup, wearing heels too high for them to walk in, leaning on the arms of men pretending to be more important than they are. I bypassed this scene and headed into the restaurant, certain that there must be some sort of mistake. I pushed my way past paparazzi standing like vultures awaiting the possible prey that might come out of one of the aforementioned cars valeting.

In the safety of the restaurant, I called my friend to see where they were. I should have known I had it all wrong since my husband couldn't hear a word I was saying when I'd called him earlier. (Why wasn't I with him? I had a dinner party with some work colleagues earlier in the evening and agreed to meet him there after. Huge mistake. HUGE.) So I tried Amy, only to find that she couldn't hear me either. She said something about looking for me on the patio. And I turned around to come face to face with a patio resembling a sardine can. I knew I was not going to be a happy person, but still...I opted to give it a shot. I went up to the guy at the patio entrance and told him who's birthday I was there for.

"There's a guest list at the front door."

A GUEST LIST? FOR A BIRTHDAY PARTY? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???

I walked back out past the vultures and took one look at the slew of people lying in wait to get into a place where no one could hear each other talk and where moving from one side of the room to the other would take at least 20 minutes and decided to go home. I knew I could make my way to the front of the line and someone would come out and get me. That I wouldn't actually have to wait in that line if I didn't want to.

But to what end? So I could go see my friends but not hear a thing they were saying? (That is if I could even FIND them in the ridiculous crowds inside...) So I could get sandwiched between people hoping to get noticed or shoved between two drunk morons? So I could lose my voice attempting to say "excuse me"? So I could get to the bathroom and wait in line for 20 minutes to pee? So I could say I was at STK last night? So I could "see and be seen"? Ummmm...let me think about this for a moment. Can't think of anything I'd rather do less.

Lines=Clubs=so NOT fun. I don't do lines.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 10:24 AM 2 comments    

Labels: food and drink, LA rant, whilst drinking

Giving LA a bad name
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I have dear friends in from NYC who happen to be staying in Brentwood. They have friends all over- Los Feliz, Hancock Park, Hollywood - but few of them live on the west side. So when trying to pick a place that's "convenient" (a word which doesn't really apply in Los Angeles unless you truly live in the same neighborhood) for all parties, we've run into a few issues. Issues which highlight in the brightest, most obnoxious fluorescent yellow the problems I have with this town.

We settled on Amarone Kitchen and Wine Bar for dinner - a little hole in the wall with about eleven tables conveniently located on Sunset right near San Vicente. Since they'd been in Los Feliz earlier and then the Sofitel for cocktails, this was a perfect location for them to shoot directly west on Sunset to arrive home later that evening. Amarone feels like a little slice of Italy with the chefs greeting you with an authentic "Buona Sera" as you pass by the kitchen. I was beyond thrilled to find that they had my beloved Falanghina on the wine list- a white wine from the Campania region of Italy that I drank endlessly on the island of Capri last June. And the extensive menu made decisions difficult. We settled on sharing (as I love to do most) and started with grilled calamari and burrata on a bed of arugala. The calamari was delicious - tender and seasoned to perfection. And the burrata was quite nice although the arugala could have used a little splash of lemon and olive oil from the kitchen. For dinner we had a filet stuffed with drunken goat cheese with a balsamic reduction and a squid ink linguine with fruits de mer in a light tomato sauce. The clearly homemade pasta was light and tangy and the steak was tender and full of flavor. I would go back to Amarone to sample more from their menu in a heartbeat.

Clearly, this was not the annoying part of our evening. After Amarone, we wanted to go someplace close by for a drink with some other friends traveling from Los Feliz. Given that we were on Sunset, I suggested Sky Bar at the Mondrian. Sure it's a scene and can be mildly annoying but the views are killer and it was a gorgeous uncharacteristically warm LA evening. It's generally not busy in the earlier half of the evening and I've lounged on on of the beds with friends on several enjoyable occasions. So we walk up to Sky bar and the place is empty. I mean EMPTY. Literally not a soul in sight save the "host" at the podium who quickly informs us that we're at the entrance for hotel guests. This is the same entrance through which I've entered Sky Bar on no fewer than five occasions.But he was relentless and sent us to the entrance on Sunset where we were told that without reservations, we can't come in. It's a Monday night. It's 10:15. We already know that there's NO ONE IN THE FUCKING BAR. Honestly? I'm too old for this crap. I just wanted to go to a nice hotel and have another glass of wine.

We cross the street to Katana - a sushi spot with an entire deck of outdoor seating. I've eaten at Katana about 15 times since I moved to LA. I've literally walked in and eaten at the bar on a few occasions. But all of a sudden, there's a RED VELVET ROPE OUTSIDE KATANA! People, this place is not new. It's been around for 4 years. And on top of that, this place is NOT FULL! It's EMPTY. But we are again greeted with "Sorry - reservations only."

There was an article in the LA Times a while back about how restaurants in Los Angeles were telling people they couldn't accommodate for certain reservation times. The writer of the article would then proceed to go to these places only to find out that there was not a single soul in the entire restaurant. Further, when the writer arrived at the restaurant at the reservation time she was given, she was often made to wait despite the fact that there was an almost empty dining room before her. These places were trying to give the illusion that they were difficult to get into (and I suppose it wasn't an illusion at all given that they were actually turning people down for reservations). Are Angelinos SO VAPID that they would rather appear cool than actually MAKE MONEY??? Seriously people. I am baffled. Ed. note: I tried to find the article to link to it but it appears it's been removed from the LA Times. The original article was entitled "Table at 7? LA begs to differ"

Granted I haven't gone out on Sunset in close to two years so perhaps in an effort to make everything old new again, these places are attempting to up the exclusivity factor. And next time I'll make less of an effort to find a place that's convenient and more of an effort to find a place that's actually cool.

We ended up deciding to grab a table at the very chi-chi Saddle Ranch which was possibly the funniest experience I've had in a long time. We thought about riding the bull but decided that we'd rather not spend the remainder of the evening in the emergency room which is inevitably where I would have landed. Our favorite part of the experience was the smoldering and steaming carafe that was brought out posing as the premium margarita that my friend ordered. Literally smoking. "What made it smoke?" you inquire? Well...they stuck a block of dry ice into it. A block of dry ice that has an entire page of the drink menu devoted to tell you NOT to consume it. But wait...you put it in my drink. And I'm not supposed to consume it? The best part was the look the waiter gave us when we asked for a glass so that I could share a little bit with her. As if she should be sucking down the entire carafe by herself. I don't even think we would have done that when we were 21 never mind 32.

At least we're in good company -- Carrie, Samantha, and Miranda ended up at the Saddle Ranch in one of the LA episodes:

Samantha: All the fabulous places in LA and we're at the saddle ranch chophouse?

Carrie: Hey - don't complain. It's the closest bar without a hill involved.

That pretty much sums it up.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 12:09 PM 0 comments    

Labels: driving, food and drink, LA rant

Something weird is going on
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I'm here people. And I've actually been writing - just not posting so much. I'm feeling oddly detached from my blog posts these days...like there's a crucial element of me-ness missing a lot of the time. That was one of the things that I heard most when people started reading me - those that knew me said they could hear my voice through the screen. And I knew exactly what they meant...but my voice isn't radiating through as much these days. So I'm holding off on posting as much until the me is back in the post.

Although while I'm here, I might as well tell you about my quiche-filled weekend. I haven't gotten around to posting the pictures yet, but I had a quiche extravaganza. As I have disclosed, I'm stubborn so I was determined to make my own crust. (And btw, I'm just as determined now to make a quiche with a pre-made crust and see if there's any freaking difference AT ALL.) I made the dough at various times during the day on Friday so that it would sit overnight as it's supposed to. I decided to try 2 different recipes. Despite the fact that everyone and their mother wrote about how difficult Thomas Keller's quiches were, I decided I should make one. In fact, it was probably BECAUSE of the fact that everyone said they were so hard. And let me tell you something - Thomas Keller's quiche was not my problem. His directions were clear, I followed them and I had a grand quiche at the end.
My biggest issue? Roquefort cheese (and he calls for a lot of it) is a bit rich when you're talking quiche. A quiche is rich enough without adding blue cheese to boot. Too much. I would make it again but fill it differently. While this quiche was by far that most time consuming (it's bigger so everything has to cook longer), it was actually the easiest.

The next recipe that I tried was from the restaurant Tartine in San Francisco. The filling had creme fraiche in it and I have to say that it fascinates me that this one food has so many different variations on fillings. They all have eggs and some sort of dairy but the kinds of dairy and different proportions are so vastly different that I feel like I could make quiche for weeks trying to find the best recipe. That's not happening in the near future however, because I am OVER quiche.

Anyhow, I made the Tartine crust recipe which was meant to be a bit thinner than the previous quiche. I made one in a pie plate and one in a tart pan. This recipe did NOT call for the crust to be anchored. Word to the wise. ALWAYS ANCHOR YOUR CRUST. Leave plenty of extra overhang and smoosh that baby to the side of the pan with all your might. If you don't, there is a good possibility that just a small little section of your crust will move itself down the side of the tart pan or pie dish. And it won't appear to be a problem - you'll just think that it looks a little funky. Until you pour the filling in and it leaks out of that one little side and underneath your beautiful crust and you end up having to do this:

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that is, indeed, a garbage can. And in it, my pie crust. This happened at 10 PM on Saturday night. And no, I did not plan poorly, I had already made 1 quiche, lemon bars, breakfast bread pudding, and homemade oreos

(which were amazing, thanks to Deb at Smitten Kitchen). I'd cooked the quiche crusts earlier but then they had to cool completely...So at 10 at night, I was ready to pour my filling with chicken sausage, mushrooms, onions, and mozzarella into that baby to bake. But instead, I had a quiche disaster. In case you forgot, let me remind you:

BUT I salvaged the filling and poured it into the tart instead and lo and behold THE SAME FUCKING THING HAPPENED ALL OVER AGAIN! I was NOT going down with this ship though...the tart shell was in a removable bottom pan and I worked quickly. I pulled the crust out of the pan completely, set it on a cookie sheet and shoved it in the oven. I figured it was worth a shot. Because one crust was all I had the energy left to make that night. The bottom stuck to the pan a little, but I slid a serrated edged knife under it and wallah! I had my quiche:
As you can see, the crust is not exactly even and it's not quite as pretty as the above quiche, but it tasted AMAAAAAAZING. I highly recommend this filling combo - it was the first to go.

So what did I do given that I was having 40 people for brunch and I had only 2 quiches? I did the only thing there was to do. It seemed far easier to make another crust than it did to get in my car, go to the grocery store and buy a crust. So I made it. The trial quiche I'd made last week called for a crust that didn't have to sit in the fridge for an hour, so I made that one. I made another basic filling with the Tartine recipe and filled it with spinach, shallots, and gruyere. I was in a bit of a rush given that it was now 11:15 at night and I'd been cooking for a full 12 hours, so I didn't let the crust brown as much as I should have, but I have to say, all things considered, it was pretty fabulous.

I knew that no matter what, I had my dad's famous breakfast bread pudding recipe and there was no way I could go wrong with that. Sorry - no pictures...I was too busy running around the house like a maniac 10 minutes before people arrived.

The lemon bars were my best yet (thank you Ina, who should be renamed the Barefoot Goddess as far as I'm concerned)
and the oreos are now a permanent fixture in my repertoire.
OHHHHHHH - and if you want an instant crowd pleaser, then put your bacon on a cookie sheet, sprinkle it with brown sugar and bake it at 375 for 35 minutes until it's crispy. It was literally gone the second I put it down on the table.




I added a simple mixed green salad, a bowl of satsumas and a big bowl of berries
and my work was done.


Well, mostly. If you are having a brunch for 40 people, you should know that three quiches is NOT enough. Also, the slices that you see cut above were quickly reduced by at least half (possibly more) as I realized there was no chance in hell that I could have enough for everyone with such generous portions. So I cut the quiches into smaller slivers and before a panic attack ensued, I called Urth Cafe and ordered one of their tomato basil quiches and sent an incredible friend to pick it up. Crisis averted. At the end of the day, we had about 3 1/2 pieces of quiche left over. Lesson learned. Make at least one quiche for every 10 people and cut it into more than 10 slices.

Oh - and as you'll see above, I tried to be as environmentally friendly as possible...We bought recycline utensils...plastic that can be dishwashed. Of course, no one actually read the sign and I definitely had to fish a few out of the garbage before I went around making an announcement (because at 4.99 for a set of 8, I wasn't sending those puppies to a landfill.) We used our cloth napkins and glasses that we had. The only thing I got lazy with was dishes - both for cleanup and cost. But we used biodegradable Whole foods plates and I'm leaning more and more towards getting a composter that you can keep under your sink so that next time, the dishes can just go straight in there and help my flowers grow.

And that's all folks. Funny after all that mishegas at the beginning, I know I'm in this post. Maybe I'm coming back. We shall see, shan't we?

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 5:18 PM 6 comments    

Labels: conscious living, food and drink

NYC - day 2
Friday, March 14, 2008

First of all, thank you for all the quiche tips and recipes. It was resoundingly unanimous that none of you make your own crust. I am now determined to do a taste test and see if a homemade crust really and truly does make a difference. But I decided that if my grandmother could make crusts from scratch until she was about 82, well then, I better learn sometime so that I could start making her world famous (or at least Massachusetts famous) apple pies.

So on Wednesday evening, I made my first crust. I don't know what the hell I was so scared of...it was new and unfamiliar, so I wasn't certain that I was doing it correctly, but it turned out fabulously and it has inspired me to try to try a few different recipes for Sunday. I will let you all know how they turn out.

In the meantime, I've only discussed a small fraction of my New York extravaganza and the rest of it is in need of discussion...

We woke up on Saturday morning around 9 and headed out to Scarsdale to spend the day with my brother and sister in law (How do you say that? They're both my in-laws. Do i have to say my brother-in-law and sister-in-law? That's a lot of freaking words. Anyhow, you now know what I mean. In fact, I don't have a brother so it could ONLY be my brother-in-law.) It was a perfect day to leave the city given that it was pouring rain and I can't think of anything worse than feeling trapped inside on 1 of the 4 days that you are visiting NYC. We lounged with the kids, who never cease to amaze me with their gorgeous faces and how funny they are. It was nice and relaxing and by the time we got back in the car to come back to the city, the rain had stopped.

That night we walked down to another friend's restaurant in Greenwich Village. Smith's is on Macdougal between Bleecker and Houston and it is FABULOUS. It's warm and cozy and sexy at the same time. Now y0u have to understand something about me. I love food. LOVE. That's a whole other post, but my friends can not believe that after eating a meal that I love, I can effectively repeat back the entire menu that we ate. And not just like "Oh yeah, we had tuna tartare and a salad and steak." I list back all the details of every dish, sometimes in more detail than the menu has given. My husband is starting to get used to the fact that when we sit down to dinner I don't just say, "Oooooooh - deviled eggs!" Instead, I read to him from the menu, "Oh. My. God. Deviled Eggs with marscapone, parmesan, and truffle oil!?!??!" I proceed this way with EVERY SINGLE ITEM on the menu that sounds incredible to me.

So it's a big deal for me to hand over the ordering to someone else because it's often either a joint venture, or it's someone else handing the task of ordering over to me. But when you're dealing with the owners of the restaurant, how could you possibly order better than they could? And so, for the second night in a row (Nizza being the first), I put the ordering into someone else's hands. After excited hugs and hello's (and by the way, AP is one of the best huggers I know. AP and SK hug you like they mean it - like they aren't going to let go until you know how much they love you. I love getting hugs from them) we slid into the black booth, and were greeted immediately by a perfect glass of Sauvignon Blanc. The air outside was still warm and a little damp and a nice cold glass of crisp white wine was the perfect start to the evening.

Shortly after, a plate of Smith's famous deviled eggs (which are now available in the dining room as well as the bar) was placed on the table. And they lived up to every expectation I had. A perfectly smooth salty sweet and savory center topped by an eensy parmesan crsip...I could have eaten these all night and been happy. (But that's only because I wasn't yet aware of all the other things to come.)

The restaurant definitely has a buzz but it's remarkably intimate at the same time. I could hear every word that was spoken and I loved that we were next to a huge window looking into a courtyard (I think...it was night so I couldn't really see.) The white and black decor feels clean and crisp, and the intimate size and din of diners lends a sexiness to the atmosphere. The bar i the back looked like a perfect place to perch myself (especially since the bar menu differs from the dining room, and while you can order anything from the dining room at the bar, the bar menu can only be ordered there. Next time...)

Being one of the people in charge, CC took it upon himself to pair wines with our next 3 courses. Ummm...heaven on earth. He brought us another sauvignon blanc - this one from Bel Air - who knew!? We drank and indulged in an arugala salad with apples and parmesan and a light vinaigrette that was slightly sweet, beets simply roasted matched perfectly with a horseradish creme, and a steamed egg with polenta and gorgonzola foam which was unlike anything I'd ever had before but something I would DEFINITELY want to have again.

The chef sent out a mid-course of a seared sea scallop with celery root risotto and another foam (sorry, the kind is slipping me given that we were now tasting our THIRD kind of wine - a fantastic Pinot Gris from Alsace). Once again, divine.

Meanwhile, I got some amazing time with AP. Matt's never really had an opportunity to spend more than an hour with her and the same is true of me with her husband. Even though CC was running the show, I was amazed and thrilled by the amount of time we got to spend with him at our table. It's been a long time since I've had real time with my friends in NYC. Last year, almost every single trip was about wedding stuff and while I got glimpses of their faces, this was the first trip in a really long time that I was able to truly relax and soak my friends in. That's how I felt at this dinner - as relaxed as though I were soaking in a tub with the grandest glass of wine you've ever seen. The booths swallowed us up and sucked us into a world where we could indulge and feel as though we had days together when in fact it was only a few hours. And when you're visiting old friends, time is the greatest luxury of all.

Our main course consisted of brussel sprouts sauteed with almonds - but they were pulled apart almost like you'd pull apart a head of lettuce - retaining all of the flavor but making them extra crunchy and light. The cauliflower gratin was doused with tallegio and was among the best I've ever had. We also shared the dourade with a lemon vinaigrette (and forgive me for forgetting the accompaniments but it was one of my favorite fish dishes I've had in a while and at the end of the meal, there wasn't a drop of anything left on that plate). All of this accompanied by a perfect pinot noir.

We had no room for dessert but who needs room for dessert? My first bite of the meyer lemon tart made my mouth sing. Often places don't get it right...the lemon is too sweet with not enough tart. There's too much crust...etc. etc. But this was a perfectly smooth and creamy lemon filling with just enough freshly whipped cream to compliment. And I think I may have had a glass of port with dessert...

Over dinner we decided that the 4 of us would vacation fabulously together. This is not true with everyone that you love. Just because you like each other, it does NOT mean that you will have a great time on vacation together. Given that vacations are supposed to be RELAXING, it is IMPERATIVE that you feel that you are able to be yourself completely, that your vacation partners have similar tastes and vacation styles. It is not possible to go away with just anyone. But we were in resounding agreement that the four of us were a good match and we're planning a long weekend in Napa this summer. Can you think of anything better than going to Napa with a wine expert and restauranteur (besides going with the person you love OBVIOUSLY)?

Feeling fully satiated both in my belly and my heart, we said our goodbyes with excitement for our future trip. I'm going back to Smith's again because the filet at the table next to us looked perfect and I'm dying to taste the homemade corzetti (which is a pasta.) Perhaps I'll sit at the bar...

Despite gale force winds, we hopped in a cab after dinner and headed up to Chelsea to SK's apartment for dessert. Yes, I know we'd already had dessert but they hadn't. So I suppose you could say we went up for a night cap. Does anyone really use that word anymore? It's a great word. I think I'll use it more often. "Do you want to come over for a night cap?" Love it. I don't know how long we were there but as always, it was amazingly fun and I've gotten to spend so much time with SK in the past 6 months between her visits out to LA and mine to NY that it's not like visiting at all anymore. Perfect.

We finally dragged ourselves home (although I'm quite convinced that I might have been able to stay up all night, high on the sheer joy of being with my best friends) and went to bed. I did need a few hours of sleep so that I could get up the next day and do it all over again.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 10:22 AM 0 comments    

Labels: food and drink, NYC, travels

For the Love of Quiche
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Alright - I have to take a break from my NYC recap to discuss the insanity that is otherwise known as me. Let me explain.

I'm having a brunch for my husband's birthday on Sunday at our house. I love entertaining. LOVE. I love having dinner parties, bridal showers, cocktail parties, brunch extravaganzas...I love it. I love planning the menus, planning the flowers, figuring out my schedule. And I'm good at it. I know this.

I'm also Jewish which means that the worst possible thing that could happen at any of the above events is that I run out of something. Food, alcohol, parking permits...everything must be in abundance which means that I end up making ridiculous amounts of food.

Mostly, however, I tend to panic over things that do not need panicking. I am an excellent cook. If the recipe is a good recipe, then it's always comes out well. I've gotten good at altering recipes to fit my own tastes as well. And baking, which is a science, is a natural for me since I am completely anal and I measure everything perfectly - a trait which can be annoying at other times in my life but comes in extremely handy in baking.

I love to try new recipes. Love. Especially when it's been tried by someone else that I trust - be it my good friend, Ina (aka The Barefoot Contessa), my mom, or one of the foodblogs that I've grown to trust and love.

So can someone PLEASE explain to me why I have my panties in a bunch over the idea of making a quiche crust? I am totally petrified. I am picturing any number of horrifying things happening. I simply can not fathom that I will be able to make this without royally screwing it up. I have considered the crustless quiche - but no. If I am going to make a quiche, I'm making the crust...because as Thomas Keller says, it's not a quiche without a crust.

I have now spent countless hours scouring the internet for "easy" quiche crust recipes. All of them terrify me. What if I don't get the consistency right? What if it's too dense, not dense enough? What if I roll it out to 1/3 of an inch instead of 1/4? What if, what if, what if...WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME???

It's not like I'm going to freaking poison anyone. It's not like I'm not already making my very fabulous, constantly requested, tried and true breakfast bread pudding among other things that I am certain will leave everyone satisfied and delighted even if, for some reason, my quiches crash and burn.

Regardless, I have been obsessing ALL DAY over quiche. I go back and forth between "I have to have a crust" and "Screw Thomas Keller". I'm trying to find Julia's famed recipe online but alas, I may just have to get my ass to the bookstore to purchase a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I have The Joy of Cooking at home and supposedly, that's a good recipe as well...BUT WHAT IF IT ISN'T? If only Ina had a quiche recipe!!!

Someone - anyone - please tell me if you have a quiche recipe you love, if you think a quiche is still a quiche without the crust. You're welcome to tell me that I'm a total lunatic - it's nothing I don't already know.

I just want to stop obsessing over freaking QUICHE!!!!

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 12:43 PM 1 comments    

Labels: food and drink, things that get me riled up, yeah...i'm a little bit crazy

The perfect day
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

We arrived at JFK at 6:03-an hour later than scheduled. I sat in the middle seat on the plane which meant that anytime I fell asleep, my head flopped over too far and woke me up. Or if I rested on my husband's shoulder, as soon as I'd fallen comfortably asleep, he shifted. Essentially, I was miserable. But no matter...we were home. We got in the car and I immediately dozed off. I'm sure it was no coincidence that I didn't open my eyes again until we were in the city. They cracked open long enough to let the high rises welcome me home. There's nothing that I love more than driving into the city at that time of day, before the hustle and bustle has completely taken over. The sun rising over the buildings is a reminder that it's a new day in this land of possibilty and anything can (and will) happen.


We arrived in the West Village at 6:36 and promptly crawled into bed. Is it completely deranged that the construction of the new apartment building across the street lulled me to sleep? I awoke 5 1/2 hours later to watch "Lost" and eat an egg and cheese sandwich generously picked up by my mother-in-law. There are no egg and cheese sandwiches like NYC egg and cheese sandwhiches. No one else knows how to make them the way New Yorkers do.

We got dressed and ventured out for my favorite kind of NYC afternoon...the kind where you just wander and let your feet lead you wherever it is that you're supposed to go. The air was brisk enough to feel refreshing but not cold. We ventured down Bleecker, stopping in my favorite stores and admiring new ones (thank you Tommy Hilfiger for my new 350 dollar boots on sale for 99.99. I love a good bargain.)


Every time I walk down the streets of Manhattan I feel high. It never goes away - I am invigorated, alive, and on top of the world. I find myself breathing more deeply, walking more quickly, wanting to go places even when I have no place that I have to go.


After a jaunt through the West Village and a stop at my favorite coffee shop, Panino Giusto, for a perfect latte, we headed home. I looked at about 20 stores I could have gone into but it was just day 1...there was no rush.


At 5:30, we went to a pre-theater dinner at old standby, Orso, with my in-laws and my sister. And then we were off to the theeee-ah-tah to see August Osage County.

A. Maz. Ing.

Honestly. You can not miss this work of art. Tony awards are going to abound but more than that, I was riveted from start to finish. A genius piece of theatre about relationships and families and the truth of it all. And if you think you're fucked up, you'll leave this feeling shaken up, but normal. The second act is the most riveting act of theater that I have EVER seen. Period. Beg, borrow and steal to see this one, baby. It's the best and most exciting play I've seen in a long time.

But also know that it will leave you fairly frazzled. After the show we wandered over to meet our friends at their new restaurant, Nizza. Along the way, we talked about the show in partial sentences, unable to fully express our thoughts. I didn't realize how my heart was racing and my mind was reeling until we sat down and I couldn't hold a proper conversation for at least five minutes. I was literally a babbling idiot. In order to calm my nerves, I decided to order my new cocktail of choice, the very appropriate Manhattan. I had my first Manhattan at Thanksgiving in 2007 and I've never looked back. It's fitting that my favorite drink and my favorite place are one in the same. Anyhow, we sat down at Nizza and once we both finally relaxed, had a fabulous evening of catching up with our friends, not to mention a delicious post-theater meal. I was starving - as far as I was concerned, "dinner" was lunch and this was dinner.

Nizza is a sexy atmosphere and a fabulous option whether or not you're seeing theater. The menu is conducive to sharing small plates which is my absolutely favorite way to eat. The socca - a crispy chickpea pancake, was a perfect combination of salty and sweet and the broccoli bruschetta was piled to the ceiling with the delicious topping. You can't go wrong with the talleggio panini with fig marmellata. Figs and tallegio? To die for. But my favorite, by far, was the focacette - fried ravioli filled with gooey cheese. Oh. My. God. I could eat these every day for the rest of my life and not get sick of them. My ass would get sick of them, but my taste buds would not. At this point, you could have rolled me out of the place, but I had to taste the pasta al pesto which used flat wide noodles with a perfectly savory pesto. And once I tasted, I couldn't stop. (There's no use for self control when you're visiting New York City.) I didn't even get a chance to taste the tomato soup with fresh ricotta or any of the mouth watering pizzas...which clearly means that I'll just have to go back on my next trip! And I highly recommend that you do too...

I love being with friends and having so much to say and to talk about and gush about and be thrilled about for each other that you practically choke on the air. And then what is it about New York that makes you feel like you can drink anyone under the table? Two manhattans and several fabulous stories later, we poured out of Nizza with satisfyingly full bellies.

Something happens to me when I'm in New York. I can stay up for HOURS. In LA, I fall asleep on my couch at 10. Despite the fact that I'd barely slept, my body clock was all sorts of fucked up, I'd just seen a 3 and a half hour marathon of an emotionally depleting show, and I'd had two extremely strong cocktails, I was still up for more. We hopped in a cab downtown and met Aisha at Employee's Only. But determined not to ruin the following day with a hangover the size of the entire island, I refrained from any more Manhattans and hydrated myself with water. At 2, I left my husband behind to play with one of his oldest friends while I journeyed home.

This is what I love about New York. At 2:15 on a Friday night, the city was a pulsating mecca of life. I barely noticed that my feet were hitting the pavement - it literally felt like I floated down the streets of the West Village, once again breathing in the crisp air, feeding off the energy of those around me and giving them mine right back. The street lights flickered and the cabs raced by and I played my New York game of seeing how many blocks I could walk without having to stop to wait for a light at a cross walk. The night was on my side and I made it home without having to stop once. It's a good thing too because my body was flying through the streets with such excitement and movement that it felt as though stopping was impossible.

I pranced home, downed a bottle of water, and let my head hit the pillow. I had to be up at 9 for tomorrow was a new day and I wasn't willing to waste much of it with sleep.

Panino Giusto, 551 Hudson between Perry and 11th
Nizza, 630 9th Avenue between 44th and 45th, 212-956-1800
Employees Only, 510 Hudson between Christopher and 10th, 212-242-3021

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 5:45 PM 1 comments    

Labels: food and drink, NYC, travels

Disappointment
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

There are not many things that are more disappointing in life than getting to the center of a tootsie pop way earlier than you're supposed to.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 2:59 PM 2 comments    

Labels: food and drink, random thoughts

This Post Will Make Your Mouth Water...and other random thoughts
Friday, February 1, 2008

I am going home to make a devil dog cake. I found the recipe this afternoon while half watching the horror that is 27 Dresses. Can someone...anyone...PUH-LEASE explain to me how on EARTH this movie got made. While you're at it, can you tell me how it was directed by a WOMAN??? Who probably made a LOT of money from directing a major motion picture that quite frankly SUCKED MY ASS. I mean...seriously...I'm all for the romantic comedy but seriously. HOW?

And while we're at it, can we discuss the Eva Longoria film that's coming out this weekend? I don't even need to see Over Her Dead Body to tell you it's the worst thing I've ever seen. It's the worst preview I've ever seen. I'm baffled and incensed.

Not really. It's just fun to say. What's MORE fun is perusing cooking magazines while watching aforementioned horror and finding the following recipes which I will be making over the neext few weeks:
Chocolate-Caramel Sandwich Cookies
Guinness Icecream with chocolate covered pretzels. I mean seriously. This one is GENIUS
Spaghetti with spinach, tomatoes, and goat cheese
Grilled cheese with onion jam, taleggio, and escarole
Brown butter and Peanut Brittle Icecream

aaaaaaand aforementioned Devil Dog Cake. I know. You want to come over for dinner. And also several desserts. Of course, none of these cover what I'll be cooking tomorrow evening with my friend Amy which is what I was looking for -, so I'll have to go home and do some further cookbook perusing.

Oh - and just in case anyone cares...I am in LOVE with this kitchen. I can't wait to have an island that everyone can sit around and drink wine whilst I cook and also drink wine. That might be my idea of heaven. Can you imagine that island spread with Bon Appetits and Food and Wines and Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks and me and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc on a Sunday afternoon? Divine.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 5:01 PM 0 comments    

Labels: daily, food and drink, random thoughts

Bond Street Beverly Hills
Wednesday, January 30, 2008

So last night, I dined with two of my most fabulous friends at the new Bond Street Beverly Hills (that's what the business card says. Bond Street Beverly Hills...with the "Beverly Hills" in cursive.) It's in the new Thompson Hotel.

Imagine the JOY I felt when I heard that one of my NYC faves was traveling to the other coast. Picture squeals of delight, mildly excessive salivation, and email chains to set up dinner dates and reservations immediately. I was ECSTATIC.

To be perfectly fair and honest, I haven't been to Bond Street in NYC since...ummm...I'm going to guesstimate about 2003. I definitely haven't been since I moved. And the few times I ate there, I wasn't paying, so I didn't really notice how expensive it was or wasn't. But the thing that I don't remember is the portions being miniscule. What's the matter? You can't see that word to read it? Yeah...well that's sort of how we felt about the toro tartar that we ordered. Couldn't see it to eat it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Girl's nights are fun. I love having dinner with girls. I've never been one to have big groups of friends that travel in packs. But it's fun to have a few great girls that you get dressed up for (because let's be honest...they'll notice your new boots more quickly than most boys will) and eat great food with and discuss girly things with. I always have and always will love and adore my girl's nights. They are a necessity to happiness in life.

So last night I had dinner with aforementioned fabulous girls. 2 of them to be exact. I arrived with one Amy at the new Thompson and we immediately scoured our surroundings. The hotel has an NYC boutique hotel feel. In other words, it had a reaaaaaaaally small and fairly dark lobby. That's as far as we got in terms of looking around the hotel but if anyone wants to come visit and get a room there, I would welcome the opportunity to get more acquainted.

We checked in at the restaurant and went to the bar to wait for our 3rd - also Amy. We pondered the chi-chi drinks for a moment (who doesn't love a good saketini??) but in my old age, I have chosen to refrain from hard alcohol for the most part, especially on school nights, and opted for some cold sake. Must say that I love the way the sake is served. It comes in a proper glass - not those little shot glasses that you have to refill every 5 minutes (or 2 seconds - depending on what's happening in your life at the current moment). So Amy and I sat and drank our sake whilst waiting for second Amy to arrive. And we people watched. We didn't even pretend that we could truly have a proper conversation with each other about anything important because there were too many interesting things and people to look at. And by interesting, I sort of mean Euro-trashy. It was like Soho was transported to Beverly Hills.

By the way, the "lounge" part of the LA Bond Street...oooooh, pardon me...Bond Street Beverly Hills (in cursive) is severely lacking in comparison to it's east coast counterpart. If you've never been in NYC, you have nothing to compare it to. But if you're expecting the same kind of swanky downstairs space in LA, you'll be sorely disappointed. You're welcome to eat in this lounge...but good luck finding a place to sit since there are only two tables with room for about 5 at each and a bar that can seat 4. It's all feels like it's been sort of squeezed in. Like an afterthought. And we felt sort of squeezed in there just waiting for our table so I can't imagine trying to enjoy a meal.

When our 3rd arrived, we were seated immediately at a cozy table next to the fireplace. I ordered more sake, and the Amy's both ordered a glass of wine. I always thought there was nothing that annoyed me more than the "upsell." You know the, "if you like that glass of wine, you'll looooooove this one." You mean the one that's $7 more? But last night I found something that annoys me more than the upsell. We'll call it the uppush - in which the waitress does not suggest the more expensive glass of wine, she just simply BRINGS it to you and informs you that she knows you'll love this one more than the one you ordered as she sets it down. That's more annoying than the upsell. The upsell was a big portion of our evening. When we asked the waitress for her favorite dishes, we couldn't help but notice that she just happened to point to the 5 or 6 most expensive dishes on the menu. Huh. Interesting.

Anyhow - we agreed that we would share everything we ordered - the mixed green salad with ginger dressing, the japanese eggplant in miso sauce, the toro tartare, himachi, and cod in a black bean sauce with vegetables. The waitress told us that she felt we were short on food so we decided to include an order of the crispy shrimp with chipotle. Done and done.

Let me say, my company was divine. How can it not be when the topics of conversation run the gamut from sweating to weddings to crazy mother-in-laws to car buying? Fabulous.

The mixed green salad was fantastic - the perfect mix of greens (and no frissee which feels like I'm eating the branch of a tree) and a delicious and tangy ginger dressing that I would have been happy to bathe in. It's a good thing our waitress suggested a 6th dish, because we had trouble finding the food on the other two first courses. While the japanese eggplant was absolutely delish - so sweet and perfectly soft- but very sparse on the plate. And the toro - which came atop of HUGE mound of crushed ice in a beautiful silver bowl, was simple and quite good, if not the SMALLEST bit of toro I've ever seen. But can someone PUH-LEASE explain to me why on God's green earth people in restaurants try to remove food from the table when there is CLEARLY a fair amount of food left on the plate? I mean, they only gave us 7 little pieces of eggplant...DO NOT take the plate away when one still remains! I know this is Los Angeles and there are people who pay to NOT eat, but we are not those people. And we were hungry! This happened with both the salad and the eggplant. And we're not talking 2 pieces of lettuce left on the plate. There was a freaking third of a salad left! Maybe their other tables weren't eating, but I swear, if that busser came over and tried to take an unfinished plate one more time, I was going to cane him with my chopsticks.

The crispy shrimp and the cod were decently sized...about 6 or 7 shrimp and an entree sized portion of cod. The himachi came in orders of 2 pieces - we ordered 3 so that we could each have 2. It was definitely divine yellowtail. No question. And you can't really skimp on the size of sushi. The shrimp were really good and thankfully, fairly filling as we were all beginning to wonder if we were going to end up going home and having to order pizza at this point. The cod was fine - the sauce and veggies were nice and light, the fish a little...well...fish-y. I wouldn't order it again and I wouldn't recommend it.

We opted out of dessert as we discussed that we could never bring our significant others to a place where they would be able to finish an entire order of something in a single bite. After all, we're girls and we weren't feeling satisfied. (Which led the two of us who live close to each other to Urth Cafe to share a proper fruit tart on our way home.)

I don't remember feeling so starving when I left Bond Street NYC. I don't know if that's because the portions were slightly bigger or the people that I was dining with had really deep pockets, but overall, the experience felt entirely different. Perhaps it has something to do with the frilly Beverly Hills tacked on to the end of the name. And I'm sure it will be a destination to see and be seen (Robert Rodriguez was having a dinner party/photo shoot there last night) but I'd rather see the sushi bar at Sushi Wa for 1/2 the price and double the portions. So what if I have to refill my sake glass every 5 minutes?


Bond Street Beverly Hills, 9630 Wilshire Blvd. at Crescent, Beverly Hills 310-601-2255
Wa Sushi and Bistro, 1106 La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood 310-854-7285

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 4:55 PM 0 comments    

Labels: food and drink

Paying for It
Monday, January 14, 2008

Is it possible to have a two day hangover??? I think it is because I think I have one. Which means one thing and one thing only.

I have gotten old.

Notice that I do not say that I think it means that I had too much to drink. No - it simply means I can't hold my alcohol like I used to. Or that I didn't drink enough water mixed in with my bottle of champagne. Or perhaps it means that the two weeks that I spent detoxing from the holidays and only having a glass of wine once or twice a week was actually BAD for me rather than good. Or maybe it means that someone slipped something into my aforementioned champagne. Or that I didn't have enough to eat that evening...

Hmmm. Apparently having a two day hangover can mean way more than one thing...

But just as some people say "You can never be to rich or too thin" (in my opinion, only the former of which is true), I say you can never, ever drink too much champagne. You can drink too much wine or whiskey or tequila. But you can never drink too much champagne.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 5:01 PM 1 comments    

Labels: daily, food and drink

Restaurant Redux
Friday, January 11, 2008

I've been remiss in discussing my culinary adventures as of late but there are definitely a few discussions to be had.

Let's start with the new. I visited Comme Ca a few weeks ago with friends and after hearing mixed reviews, I was more than pleasantly surprised. I love a good atmosphere as much as I love a good martini, and this place delivers. The vibe is bustling and sexy in all the right ways. Of course, I wouldn't mind the waiters pairing back their schpiel a bit. I think that our lovely actor-cum-waiter thought he was rehearsing his audition for the following day as he flashed his pearly whites and sold us on cocktails. That said, he DID manage to sell us on cocktails so I suppose he did something right...but I was there to catch up with friends - not get to know our waiter better for the 20 minutes that he spent table side explaining the self-explanatory menu and drinks.

Two of us decided to order cocktails from the bar, where they use one large single ice cube to prevent melting from diluting your drink. I had the East Side Cocktail - a combo of gin, lime, mint and cucumber. It was delicious but eeeeeeensy for a 14 dollar drink. My friend asked them to prepare something on the fresh fruitier side for her and when they tell you to let them know what you like and they'll take care of you, they're not kidding! There was vodka and strawberries and pimm's cup and among other things and that, too, got sucked down in a matter of seconds flat.

We started with a cheese plate (as they were out of the moules frites) with a selection of five cheeses and were lucky enough to get a visit from the less loquacious but highly knowledgeable fromagier. This was one of my favorite cheese plates I've had in Los Angeles and this is not a small feat, considering cheese is pretty much my favorite food. Not only did they provide perfect pairings for each of our selections - from sun-dried tomatoes to dried cherries to some sort of fantastic honey to marcona almonds - but they ALSO instructed us on the order in which to eat the cheese so as to optimize our experience. I would come back for a glass of wine and cheese plate at the bar ANY day. Literally.

My husband and I shared the butter lettuce salad with lemon shallot vinaigrette which was good, but nothing special. But our entrees were fantaaaaaabulous. Each of us ordered perfectly for our own personal palettes and were certain that ours was the best. I was thrilled with the crispy skate served in brown butter with lemon and capers and haricot verts. One word. Divine. Truly. I don't often order entrees - I like to taste a lot of food and entrees tend to be too much of the same flavor for me...but this? This was DEEEEEEEElicious. The skate was full of flavor and cooked to perfection. Everyone at the table agreed that it would please the pickiest eater. My husband opted for the french onion soup and a side of creamed spinach. The soup was delicious - not too salty, not too cheesy, not too bready. The spinach ended up being quite nice, but be forewarned - you will be shocked at the size of your sides when they come to the table. They come in a beautiful copper pot...but the spinach barely covered the bottom. However, my husband said that when all was said and done, it was delicious and more than enough. Just know that you're not getting steakhouse size orders when you decide to order a side here.
Our friends ordered the snapper which came perched atop artichokes and potatoes and was perfectly drizzled with pesto, and the pork chop with roasted apples and a divine mustard cream sauce.

With no room for dessert, we all left full and happy. And agreed that we'd be thrilled to frequent the bar for a glass of wine and some raw bar or cheese on another occassion soon.

This past week I visited two restaurants that I've been to before and thought it appropriate to share my thoughts with all of you Angelino diners.

On Tuesday night my husband and I went to Cube on La Brea - the home of the restaurant opened by the Divine Pasta Company. We were some of the first customers to frequent this small restaurant when it opened two years ago(which coincidentally also has a large selection of cheeses and charcutterie). It's still BYO, as it has been from the get go. But the once casual, reasonable and easy to share menu of pastas, pizzas, salads, cheeses and simple entrees like flank steak with chimichurri and grilled fish has morphed into something completely different. I was pleased with the changes that had been made this past summer - there was a marked improvement in the quality of the food and the daily specials were interesting and diverse - from artichokes with arugula and parmesan to radishes served with herbed butter and sea salt to interesting pizzas and pastas that weren't available all the time - Cube was our favorite place to go with friends to share a wide variety of flavors at a reasonable price.

When I called on Tuesday to make a reservation, I was told that there were 2 seatings: at 7 and 9 PM. I was totally surprised and asked how long they'd been doing "seatings" and the woman insisted it had been for a year. I got off the phone without making a reservation. Neither of those two times worked for us and to be honest, I felt fairly annoyed by the fact that I was being told that I could only come in at two times. I mean, isn't that sort of inflexible??? AND, there's NO way they've been doing this for a year...since we ate there in September with a 7:30 reservation on a Saturday night.

Regardless, we decided to go in and see if we could sit at the bar at whatever time we pleased...and we were accommodated. We happily took our usual corner seats and looked at the very formal menus in front of us. This was not the same Cube we'd been at 4 months earlier. The menu was more expensive and less diverse. We both looked at each other, a bit baffled. Entrees, that used to run in the range of $15-22 were now averaging $28. Our favorite flank steak that had been a staple was nowhere to be found. The perfect mixed green salad that complimented everything we got was completely gone. Since there wasn't a green salad anywhere on the menu, but there was a baby arugula salad included with several of the entrees, I inquired to see if I could get an arugula salad on it's own. The waitress came back apologetic letting us know that it just wasn't possible. She ended up bringing us a tri-colore salad special that she had described as having endive, radicchio, and arugula but in actuality was pretty much all frisee. The goat cheese and parmesan tart with tomatoes and balsamic was fine enough but I felt that it was overly-herbed and had expected the roasted tomatoes to appear in the tart - not on the side. The creamy cauliflower with two kinds of cheese was a nice surprise in that it wasn't outrageously creamy...more steamed with the perfect amount of cheese melted on top. The brussel sprouts, which I generally love, were under seasoned and left a lot to be desired. Lastly, we asked for some cheese guidance with their list of over 30 cheeses and while our waitress was lovely, she wasn't particularly knowledgeable and never offered to bring someone else over who might be.

All in all, it was a disappointment - overpriced, lacking selection (although if I'd never been there before, I'm not certain I would have felt that way), and unaccommodating. We won't be going back to Cube anytime soon - especially with the reservation Nazi.

Our last visit was to Greek restaurant Sofi on Third Street. I'd only been to Sofi once - at least 2 1/2 years ago- and I had LOVED it. The flavors were fantastic, as was the atmosphere on the heated porch. Last night, I might as well have been in a different restaurant.

I don't need a restaurant to be bustling to enjoy my evening, but we were LITERALLY the only table in the entire place. Granted, we were eating early, but by 7 PM, I expected a little company at nearby tables. Nothing. Still, if the food had lived up to my expectations, I wouldn't have cared.

The first time we went, we were waited on by a charming and knowledgeable greek waitress who happily guided us through the menu. Not so last night. Our waitress was certainly sweet, but it baffles me when there is only ONE table in the restaurant why our entire dinner order didn't come out at the same time. Sure, my husband ordered a salad and I ordered soup for dinner but one of our other friends ordered the same salad with chicken! We ordered appetizers (the caviar dip which was fishy for my taste and the spanikopita which happened to be outstanding) and then we all ordered our entrees together. If she was unsure as to whether or not we wanted our soup and salad at the same time as the gyro platter, she could have asked. After the apps were cleared, out came my husbands Greek salad. Alone. "Eat, eat!" everyone told him...so he did. You can't really screw up a Greek salad - and they didn't- but it wasn't anything special. Next I got my avogolemono soup. If you've never had this, don't have it here. It's a Greek lemon chicken soup and at the right place, it's steaming heaven in a bowl. I'm assuming the lemons were left out of the shipment that day, because I didn't taste a single drop of it in my soup. Finally, the other Greek salad with chicken and the Gyro platter arrived and our friends enjoyed their dinners.

The company was fantastic and we hadn't seen each other in a long time so we appreciated the extra time to catch up. But I made sure to tell our companions about Ulysses Voyage at The Grove - my absolute favorite Greek restaurant in Los Angeles. They have incredible salads for lunch (try the chopped or the Halumi salad) and the avogolemono is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Not to mention that everything on the menu at Ulysses is about 3-4 dollars less expensive than at Sofi. Lesson learned.

Happy eating!

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 11:26 AM 0 comments    

Labels: food and drink

Have yourself...
Monday, December 24, 2007

It is Christmas Eve and I've gotten a moment of quiet. I took out the computer while it was there and now the quiet is gone. But I enjoy the noise nonetheless. I am alternating between English Breakfast tea and J Pinot Gris. The tree is lit with ornaments the colors of the sea. Appropriate considering we are south of Santa Barbara - about 5 minutes from Rincon Beach. The house is full of laughter and children's voices and different accents and fantastic smells. There's "White Christmas" playing on the stereo and soon it will be followed by a Bob Marley or U2 Christmas song - both of which I would have been able to think of that names if only you'd asked me two glasses of wine ago. We just ate some sort of tenderloin that was out of this world and mixed baby greens with dried cranberries and stilton and candied pecans and haricot verts with marcona almonds and lemon juice and baked potatoes with creme fraiche and butter and scallions. We've just realized that we left the bottle of pinot grigio in the freezer but we've gotten it out just in time. There are cookies going out for Santa - along with a pint of Guiness and a carrot for the reindeer.

Christmas is magic.

I describe this scene because I can't quite find the words to describe how I feel. And being surrounded by these Brits, I hear myself writing this and saying "Cah-n't" in my head...like you would say car. Do other people do that? Read their emails or their articles or their blogs in the voices that they imagine are authoring? I do.

Anyhow, I can't find the words. I hope that one day I'll become the writer that can transport you there to experience everything happening as it is in my world. But for now, I'm not certain I can do it justice. We are with close friends celebrating the holiday in their home - friends who are family.

I think of a year ago. My first Christmas Eve with Fin and Russell. It was just the four of us. We gathered in this newly built living room around the fireplace and ate on the floor and drank red wine. The only light was that of the Christmas tree - the first piece of furniture to enter the new home. We laughed and spoke of the year past and the year ahead. We weren't married yet. It was our first and only Christmas as fiances with all the hope and excitement of everything to come. We spent the evening wrapping gifts and eating the cookies and carrots left out. And laughing.

We were awoken by the kids the next morning at some ungodly hour in order to open presents. It was my first Christmas morning with children and it was fantastic. We awoke to "Santa's come! SANTA'S COME!!! Michelle, Matt, come ON!" Gifts were chosen and paper was torn apart and bicycles were ridden and forts were built and Christmas morning was the most fantastic thing ever.

And here we are again a year later. There's something different the second year. A building of tradition. A lovely ease. This time the house is filled with far more people and it appears that there's no last minute gift-wrapping (although it's only 8:45 and there are still children awake. But I'm not sure my less than stellar wrapping abilities would be enhanced any by the amount of wine I've consumed.) The house has been occupied for almost a year and we've even got our own room for when we come to stay. A whole year has past and dare I say it for fear of sounding like my great aunt Connie - the kids are a year older. And so are we.

A lot has happened in this past year. I'm grateful for this evening. The same place a year later...to look back and reflect. I can't describe how I feel - can't possibly do it justice. But the genius is that I'm with people that don't need to hear the words. They just know.

I hope your Christmas is filled with all the beauty and wonderment and reflection that you could possibly ask for.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 8:22 PM 0 comments    

Labels: family, food and drink, friends, whilst drinking

An Ode to Peppermint Mochas
Friday, December 21, 2007

I am sitting here this morning on what is my last day in the office for the next week, sipping a peppermint mocha in pure bliss. It's not about the impending vacation, although I'm sure that's adding to my mood. It's the peppermint mocha. It lets me know that all is right with the world. Perhaps that sounds dramatic or exaggerated to you. But then my guess is that you have not had the joy of experiencing a peppermint mocha.

Peppermint mochas are my signal that the holiday season has arrived. I patiently drink regular mochas or lattes the rest of the year while I await the day when I see the deep red, snowflake covered Starbucks cup appear...signaling that it's that time of year. I take my first sip and the warm minty goodness slides down my throat, and I feel my entire body smiling from head to toe. I'm telling you. It's like liquid crack.

But perhaps my favorite part of the peppermint mocha is the fact that my love for this drink is shared with my two oldest friends who love it just as much as I do. Every year, like clockwork, an email goes out when one of us has partaken for the first time. And while it's rare that all three of us get to enjoy them in person together anymore, the phone calls to let each other know that we've just had one and thought of each other seem to come in a close second. There's nothing that makes me happier than the phone calls with what seems like potentially mundane news because in old friendships, it's anything but. Without fail I smile when I get these messages or see these emails in my inbox. I am reminded that I have friends that know me - truly KNOW me - and with whom the mundane is the most exciting of all because it keeps us up to date on the real life happenings no matter how close or far we live.

When we were 6, we ate potato latkes together in Hebrew school. When we were 8 and everyone else cut out Christmas trees in school, we were making Hanukkah bushes. When we were 13, we went shopping for our boyfriend's holiday gifts together. When we were 16, we made each other care packages to take on the plane for our respective holiday vacations filled not only with delicious treats but also with weeks worth of "notes" for our reading pleasure. When we were 18, we celebrated our first Christmas break home from college. When we were 24, we brought in the year 2000 together. And now that we're 32, we're sharing peppermint mochas. A lifetime of holidays spent together and the beauty is that, while we're no longer together physically, we'll always be together - even if just through a sip of peppermint mocha.

I raise my mocha to the two of you. Here's to the next 30 years of holidays together - be it in person, in spirit or in peppermint mocha.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 10:28 AM 1 comments    

Labels: food and drink, friends

The Weekend in Food
Monday, November 12, 2007

We ate this weekend. A lot. (Possibly because we'll now be eating PB & J alternating with ramen noodles until this strike is over...but we'll discuss that later.) My father looked at me at dinner at A.O.C last night and said "You keep saying there aren't good restaurants in LA but if that's the case, then how are we eating so well?"

Let me clarify. There are some great restaurants in Los Angeles. I'm just a spoiled New York foodie. I'm used to having a choice of 10 restaurants in different price ranges all within a one block radius. But whatever - you know why I miss NYC and my restaurants there...for now, let's discuss the terrific meals I had this weekend.

Friday night- 7:30 reservation at Osteria Mozza
This is Mario Batali's newest addition to the LA restaurant scene and it might be the best restaurant I've eaten at in Los Angeles. It was divine. The main dining room is definitely on the noisy side but there's great energy and a FANTASTIC bar. We sat in much smaller and intimate back room - it's significantly quieter which is nice when you're looking to have conversation. The waitress was adorable and oh, so helpful. There are definitely items on the menu that needed deciphering and she was patient and helpful as I bombarded her with questions, all the while butchering my Italian.

We started with the grilled octopus, the little gem salad, and two selections from the mozzarella bar - one was burrata with caramelized onions and bacon and the other was burricota with artichokes and mint pesto. Every single item was better than the next. The octopus was unbelievable - I'm not always a fan but it was perfectly tender and grilled just right.

We decided to have four pasta dishes and share. We ordered a butternut squash stuffed something (this is why I'm not a food critic - I can't remember the name of every pasta...but I know it wasn't ravioli) with hazelnuts in a brown butter sauce of sorts which was richly delectable. There was a ricotta and egg ravioli - a single, huge ravioli sitting in perfectly browned butter and sage and when you cracked into the ravioli, the egg oozed beautifully from the center. Divine. The table favorite was the spaghetti with sweet tomatoes and garlic breadcrumbs. The tomato sauce was so sweet and unusual and of course, the spaghetti was perfectly al dente. Lastly, we had the Garganelli w/ ragu bolognese - a proper chunky bolognese with the perfect amount of tomato.

My mother looked at me like I had ten heads when I said I was ordering dessert...but with a meal like that, most foodies would look at me with ten heads if I skipped dessert. We sadly only ordered one - the rosemary cakes with the olive oil ice cream and my dream of a dessert - the perfect blend of salty sweet.

The wine list is fantastic and extensive. We opted for quartinos (250 ml servings) rather than bottles so that we could taste different things. My father had the lighter Dolcetta and I started with a glass of Prosecco and then went for the Aglianico - a wine I'd never tried before with a lovely medium body and a rich nose.

It was a phenomenal dining experience and shockingly, one that was not outrageously priced...I can't wait to go back to try more.

Saturday evening we went more casual at Blair's in Silverlake. This was my second outing to Blair's and while the food was just as delicious the second time, I felt we were a little rushed and the waitstaff was a little frazzled. I've been told before that for some, the biggest dining discrepancy from coast to coast is the waitstaff and I have to say that our experience at Blair's backed that up. I'll chock it up to a bad night though...

The food was phenomenal both times I was there. It's a terrific new American menu that uses seasonal items. Don't miss the chopped and caesar salads or the truffled mac and cheese. And I never order chicken when I'm out to dinner, but this organic chicken is fantastic. Everything we had was delicious and they have an incredibly extensive list of beers on tap and by the bottle...I would absolutely return.

Brunch on Sunday was at Campanile. Believe it or not, this was my first foray into this fantastic restaurant in my three years in LA. I walked in and immediately felt at home. Most brunches in LA are infused with long waits and hipsters dressed down on purpose with perfectly places bra-straps hanging out and labored over bed head. Not Campanile. Campanile is classy AND delicious. I had tastes of the following:

• a pastry basked that included an apple turnover that could almost rival my grandmother's apple pie. Almost.
• eggs in a hole in rustic olive bread with potatoes and extra crispy (which we asked for and they executed perfectly) applewood smoked bacon.
• scrambled eggs (the way they do them at Pastis which are my favorite scrambled eggs in all of Manhattan) with buttered french baguette toast and creamed spinach
• sourdough french toast with real maple syrup.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 4:22 PM 0 comments    

Labels: food and drink

Strike this
Thursday, November 8, 2007

I know that the Writer's Guild strike is merely news to many of my non-Angeleno counterparts. But here in LA, it's affecting everyone's day to day everything...The overall mood in Los Angeles is one of anxiety. There is tremendous unknown right now and I'm sure the prescriptions for Valium and Xanax at least doubled this past week.

Several people have asked me what the strike is about. I could break it down for you, but a blog called United Hollywood has done it way better than I ever could. Click here to understand and keep in mind this is from the writer's point of view.

When not picketing, my husband is making you tube videos that star my fabulous puppy, Thursday (among others...but she's the most important) Click below for some "strike"-ing entertainment. Wow. That was really bad...




But the thing that I'm really wondering as I have to drive through one of the milder picket lines every day is why can't this get worked out civilly? I'm sure many would say I'm naive - that if it could have, it would have. But I still wonder. The truth is - everyone fighting needs each other. The moguls would be nothing without the creativity of the writers. And the writers wouldn't have a commercial outlet if it weren't for the huge corporate conglomerates. (Sure, they can put on plays and create their own stuff...but they'd all be lying if they said they didn't care about the basics of health insurance and paychecks.) Everyone is so angry and people are lying and there are double standards going on all around.

All I'm saying is that it sucks. Plain and simply sucks.

Oh - and we ate at BLD last night. It was really good. It's actually gotten better than it used to be. And their fruit and nut bread that they serve with the cheese plate is amazing. They have a pretty amazing cheese plate. And I love cheese. LOVE. BLD was good. I like it. I approve. Over and out.

BLD, 7540 Beverly Blvd. 323-930-9744, open for breakfast (that's the B), lunch (that's the L) and dinner...you get it...7 days a week.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 2:00 PM 1 comments    

Labels: food and drink, the industry