We were not expecting much. The reviews for this place are generally mediocre at best, plus it is very expensive.  Although one of my foodie coworkers was recently there and he had nothing but good things to say about the place.  I have to say, I am with my coworker on this one.  ...

...How'd I miss this place? Ok it is on the end of a nondescript strip mall kinda stuck behind a Cost Plus World Market, but still, what a find. Tiny place, a bit too bright, but it's about the food. Here's what you do. Bring a bottle ($10 corkage) or order the Hakkaisan ($12 for a generous "waterfall" serving.) Then order the 14 piece Omakase for $32. Yes, that's right, $32. And no, it's not for pale, tired tuna and a California roll.

No, it is not an April Fool's menu item.  It's for real, and quite tasty.  We were visiting Chez Melange in Redondo Beach the other night. We generally enjoy the "melange" of menu offerings, but this one was the "Melange-iest" one we have had in quite some time.  The succulent little froggie thighs were deep fried and smothered in a wonderfully buttery and perfectly spicy buffalo sauce.  ...

The table, the room, Karl, our hot and yet attentive French waiter, and of course the food...all VERY impressive. They were even kind with corkage. If you have read any of my other posts, you know I do not impress easily. So this was a night to remember.

We didn't have reservations but they agreed to let us hang out at the bar.  Cool room, reminds me of Fraiche.  Industrial look, lots of stone.  Awesome drink list and tons of wine by the glass.  Dinner is a motley assortment of small plates, salads, pizza, big plates, etc.  Their thing is the whole local/sustainable/organic movement that has invaded LA.  This place may look casual, but their prices say otherwise.  ...

Interesting piece in the NYT today: The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party's Over

The gist of the article is that there are a bunch of foodies and especially foodie bloggers out there revelling in Pork Fat and are all finally getting to a point where they have to come to terms with the terrible things they are doing to their bodies.  ...

We love oysters.  Such tasty little creatures.  Ordering a dozen at a restaurant is such a tease.  We want LOTS of oysters.  I have happy memories of sitting at Felix's in New Orleans eating four or five dozen at one sitting.  While I have bought two oyster shuckers, the few times I attempted to shuck an oyster or two has ended in disaster so it was something I never really pursued. 

But this time, it was going to be different. ...

It's called Kula Sushi Bistro. A Sushi "Bistro" in Century City? This was going to be an adventure. From reading all the reviews and descriptions, I was expecting a fairly authentic Japanese dining experience but with some "dumbing down" for the American palette, all in a funky, modern setting.

We loved Alinea in Chicago, and since that experience have been questing other great Molecular Gastronomic experiences.  I had heard that Coi (pronounced "kwa") is the best (only) experience SF has to offer in Molecular Gastromony...(meaning they have exactly one more option than LA...) so of course this was at the top of my list.  ...

Cav was the surprise of the trip. My original expectation was just to share some wine and snacks with a friend I know from when I worked at Wally's about 5 years ago. She had left Wally's while I was there and opened Cav some months later. I was certainly looking forward to some good wine (she was the sommelier.) The wine did not disappoint, but it was the food that really blew us away.

We stopped for a drink and just to try the signature dish - the crudo. They were very nice about accommodating us at the bar, where we could watch them shuck oysters and prepare the dishes. Pictured was the house variety; there were three of us and they offered a combo of 3 pieces each. It took us 4 tries to find a bottle of European white wine from the list that they had in stock.

Since the Sunday brunch we were originally going to go to at Nikko looked awful and un-Japanesed, we decided to let our friends take us to to their new-found treasure, an authentic NY Deli called Miller's East Coast West Delicatessen.  We HAD to go, as they professed to have awesome Nova and bagels flown in daily, which is my husband's favorite.  ...

This event was the primary impetus that prompted our recent SF visit.  Having visited the Burgundy region last year and being completely blown away, we were excited to be able to try so much wonderful burgundy in one place.  We only attended the luncheon, which at $300/pp we thought it to be quite extravagant.  Clearly money was no object to most of the attendees, and/or they were industry people. I definitely spotted many familiar faces from Wine Spectator and other publications.  It seemed most people were also attending the dinner event, which was $1500 AND you were expected to bring some special wine to share.  We decided to skip that event, lol.  ...

...I thought it would be better. Kind of a tourist trap. The oysters were way overpriced at $2.50 or more a piece.

The Quince people really think a lot of themselves.   I had to make the reservation EXACTLY 30 days from the time I wanted the reservation. No more, no less.  They wanted a $100 deposit (cancellation fee) on the credit card for four people.  You can only bring up to two bottles of wine per table, at $35 corkage for each one.  And when I tried to take a picture of one of the courses, the hostess quickly ran up and said that there were to be no pictures of the food.  I thought I was on a Seinfeld episode, the one with the Soup Nazi.  That said, it really was a great meal.  We opted for the tasting menu ...

My husband has been craving an authentic New England Lobster Roll, and I had heard this could be procured in SF.  After much research, I decided we would try the Lobster Shack, a tiny little place that is located in the in-between area between China Town and Little Italy. The people there were very nice, and the owner even stopped by to chat. We got the double, which came with home-style cole slaw and thick cape-cod chips. The sandwiches consisted of two wonderful "hot dog" buns that were grilled and basted with butter.  The five oz of lobster tail and claw meat nice and chunky with just the right amount of hellman's mayo mixed in.  (We loved the way they made a point of mentioning they use Hellman's and not the nasty cheap no-name or miracle-whip stuff.) They also offer a "naked" option for those mayo-haters out there. More butter ...

...

I was in Marukai last night looking for dinner inspiration. I usually tend to go for the raw fish for some kind of sushi concoction, but then my eye caught some shiny pink-tinged Dover Sole Filets.  I have never cooked Dover Sole.  Hell, I am not sure I ever even had it in a restaurant.  ...

It's still Chinese New Year time for a couple more weeks, and we wanted to get some authentic goodies.  But it was late, there were just two of us, options were limited.  You may recall I already rejected a number of local options in previous posts.  So I hit the Internet and decided to try Shanghai Palace Garden as it sounded most authentic, and I like Shanghai style Chinese.  I called first. Yes, they had some fresh lobster specials.  Yes, I could bring wine.  ...

I am in the middle of listening to the audio version of Fast Food Nation.  I am sure I will get to the outrage part soon enough, but at the moment all of this talk about burgers is really making me crave a Big Mac and fries. And a shake.  And I never eat that stuff.  Sigh.
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