Omigoodness!!! So, I squeezed in last minute reservations at Violet during Dine LA. After viewing a demonstration by Chef Jared Simons on the Dine LA website, I just had to. The dish looked absolutely delicious. Ok, I will openly admit, that it wasn't just the food. Full disclosure, the chef is superhot! He's like a rock star. Seriously.
As it were, I ended up dining with another member of a food group I joined recently...more on that later :). The Dine LA menu was a prix fixe meal for $25. Fantastic value for the quality of the dishes. Of course, I left my damn book again. I mean, seriously. I know...I'm kinda hopeless. Therefore, I resorted to emailing descriptions of the food via my very handy Crackberry.
My starter was the house cured salmon, with baby beets and horseradish. The salmon was sliced into very thin strips. It was reminiscent of thin pancetta slices. The baby beets were cut into nice sized cubes. I know that I'm officially an adult because I love beets. The salmon and beets were topped with freshly grated horseradish. It was surprising. Everything worked really well together. It was a lovely dish, and indeed a wonderful start. My entree consisted of the grilled skirt steak, with celery root mousse, red wine sauce, and braised leeks. My dining companion noted that the steak was not hot. Sadly, I agreed. Although the temperature was off, it was cooked perfectly. Really good skirt steak is not common. Many tend to overcook it and the result is a piece of meat that is as tough as leather. However, this was cooked medium rare/medium and it was juicy and tender. Not perfect, but pretty darn close. The celery root puree was new for me. Honestly, celery root is kinda gross looking. So, it's not something I think to pick up or eat. However, I'm glad I did. It was really smooth and creamy. It greatly benefitted from being plated next to the red wine sauce. Mmmm. The leeks, while nice, were more of a garnish. That was a little disappointing. Now, on to my 2nd favorite thing (I'll get to the first later...I promise)about this meal. The dessert. I had the ginger panna cotta with roasted pineapple. Again, omigoodness. It was wonderful. The panna cotta was spicy and smooth. I've had panna cotta in the past, but never a ginger panna cotta. This rendition was a real treat. The pineapple, ohhhhh the pineapple. Can you say delicious? What a wonderful pairing of spicy (the ginger in the panna cotta and the cinnamon on the pineapple) and sweet (the sweetly carmelized pineapple). Roasting the pineapple created this wonderful caramelizing effect that enhanced the sweetness of the pineapple. Mmmm, so delicious.
So, I mentioned that the dessert was #2 in a dining experience complete with highlights. So, what was #1? Three words: macaroni and cheese. Violet is kinda famous for their mac and cheese, so we decided to split the dish. I'm generally weary of restaurant macaroni and cheese. While a Cali girl, I have Southern roots. Southerners are serious about their macaroni and cheese. So, to say I was hesitant was an understatement. But, I took a chance. If this is the payoff I get for throwing caution to the wind, I will definitely do it more often. It was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! Macaroni, gruyere cheese, leeks, and serrano ham. I cannot stop raving about this dish. Yes, it was that good! So, good that I plan to replicate it very soon. But, at only $9, it's easier to just go to Violet.
To top it off, the check came with a shot of milk and a cookie. How precious it that? Also, Chef Jared was in the house. Chillin! Oh, and our waiter was Sam's (from Top Chef 2)Doppelgänger. So fantastic food and eye candy. How can you top that?
Violet was the perfect ending to my brief Dine LA experience. I will definitely make it back. Sooner, rather than later.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Dine LA: Sadly Coming to an End
*insert sad face here*
Have you ever really anticipated an event? I mean, it's on your mental calendar. You tell all your friends about it. You make preliminary plans to participate. I mean, you make a totally big deal out of it. Talking to anyone who will listen about it...then forget about it when the day arrives. Sadly, that happens to me all the time. Actually, less often now that I have my Blackberry. But, alas, I have to REMEMBER to put the item...correctly...on my actual calendar. I say all of that to say, I let the entire first week of Dine LA pass me by. Thanks to a gentle reminder, I will be able to fit in at least two restaurants before it ends. I'm really looking forward to dining at a new restaurant on Friday. Super excited! Stay tuned!
Have you ever really anticipated an event? I mean, it's on your mental calendar. You tell all your friends about it. You make preliminary plans to participate. I mean, you make a totally big deal out of it. Talking to anyone who will listen about it...then forget about it when the day arrives. Sadly, that happens to me all the time. Actually, less often now that I have my Blackberry. But, alas, I have to REMEMBER to put the item...correctly...on my actual calendar. I say all of that to say, I let the entire first week of Dine LA pass me by. Thanks to a gentle reminder, I will be able to fit in at least two restaurants before it ends. I'm really looking forward to dining at a new restaurant on Friday. Super excited! Stay tuned!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Dine LA- Simon LA
So, what started with me mentioning going to Simon ended up a group dinner. I'm so glad it did. My dining companions were lovely and a good time was had by all.
Simon LA is located in the Sofitel Hotel...which is absolutely lovely. Also, we had to walk through the Stone Rose Lounge, which is super cute, before reaching the restaurant. Since we were early for our 6:30 reservation, we had time to have cocktails. I decided on the Honeytini. It was really good. Grey Goose Pear, pear puree, honey and simple syrup. It sounds really sweet, and it was. However, it was not syrupy sweet. So, we talked and sipped on our cocktails until time for our seating.
Everyone decided to try the Dine LA menu. My three courses consisted of the Jumbo Lump Crab Salad, Fresh Hearts of Palm, Soybeans, Pea Shoots and Grapefruit Vinaigrette, Braised Beef Short Rib, Sweet Potatoes, Brocollini, and Dried Cherries, Citrus Watercress Salad, and Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
My thoughts. First course. Initially, I was torn between the crab salad and the yellowtail carpaccio. I really love yellowtail. It's just a really mild, nice textured fish. However, the crab salad won out when I realized the yellowtail dish contained cilantro. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I hate cilantro. It tastes like soap. So, I had the crab salad. Prior to ordering, our wonderful waiter mentioned the crab was served with guacamole. Hmm? I actually like guac. But, it would have thrown me a bit if he hadn't told us. So, the crab is nestled on the guac with the watercress (lightly dressed) on top. Verdict. It was good, not great. I think I would have preferred nice little chunks or thin slices of avocado instead of the guac. The texture was just weird. I will add that the vinaigrette was very delicious. Perfect amount of acidity. Second course. The short rib was cooked very nicely. Juicy, tender, and well seasoned. The side was good, but I would have preferred more. The dried cherries, couple with the sweet potato was really nice. Third course. Cupcakes. I make a pretty gosh darn good red velvet cake. Frankly, I'm usually disappointed in most. First of all, I prefer a little more cocoa in my red velvet cake. Oh, and nuts. It's not red velvet unless I have pecans! Still, the little cupcakes were good. Perfect little size to pop them in your mouth (which of course I didn't...I used my utensil, of course). Finally, they topped off our dinner with a little whimsical bowl of cotton candy. It was adorable. Oh, let me not forget that one of my dining companions knew one of the managers and he sent over a delicious flatbread pizza. Good cheese, tomato, basil. Yum! Honestly, it was so simple, but a definite highlight for me.
Oh, I want to kick myself. I almost forgot the best part. The Simon LA bread basket is Awwwesome! It was literally a cornucopia of flatbread crackers, small flavor packed squares foccacia, mini challah loaves, and biscuits. It was the United Nations of bread baskets. I don't think I've ever been that excited by a bread basket before. I was a little disturbed by my reaction, but I couldn't help it. Simply, it rocked.
Final thoughts. It was good, not spectacular. I definitely plan to hang out at Stone Rose Lounge again. I will give Simon another try. I have to try out the regular menu. Most of all, I had a great time hanging out. My dining companions were a hoot and a half!
Simon LA is located in the Sofitel Hotel...which is absolutely lovely. Also, we had to walk through the Stone Rose Lounge, which is super cute, before reaching the restaurant. Since we were early for our 6:30 reservation, we had time to have cocktails. I decided on the Honeytini. It was really good. Grey Goose Pear, pear puree, honey and simple syrup. It sounds really sweet, and it was. However, it was not syrupy sweet. So, we talked and sipped on our cocktails until time for our seating.
Everyone decided to try the Dine LA menu. My three courses consisted of the Jumbo Lump Crab Salad, Fresh Hearts of Palm, Soybeans, Pea Shoots and Grapefruit Vinaigrette, Braised Beef Short Rib, Sweet Potatoes, Brocollini, and Dried Cherries, Citrus Watercress Salad, and Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
My thoughts. First course. Initially, I was torn between the crab salad and the yellowtail carpaccio. I really love yellowtail. It's just a really mild, nice textured fish. However, the crab salad won out when I realized the yellowtail dish contained cilantro. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I hate cilantro. It tastes like soap. So, I had the crab salad. Prior to ordering, our wonderful waiter mentioned the crab was served with guacamole. Hmm? I actually like guac. But, it would have thrown me a bit if he hadn't told us. So, the crab is nestled on the guac with the watercress (lightly dressed) on top. Verdict. It was good, not great. I think I would have preferred nice little chunks or thin slices of avocado instead of the guac. The texture was just weird. I will add that the vinaigrette was very delicious. Perfect amount of acidity. Second course. The short rib was cooked very nicely. Juicy, tender, and well seasoned. The side was good, but I would have preferred more. The dried cherries, couple with the sweet potato was really nice. Third course. Cupcakes. I make a pretty gosh darn good red velvet cake. Frankly, I'm usually disappointed in most. First of all, I prefer a little more cocoa in my red velvet cake. Oh, and nuts. It's not red velvet unless I have pecans! Still, the little cupcakes were good. Perfect little size to pop them in your mouth (which of course I didn't...I used my utensil, of course). Finally, they topped off our dinner with a little whimsical bowl of cotton candy. It was adorable. Oh, let me not forget that one of my dining companions knew one of the managers and he sent over a delicious flatbread pizza. Good cheese, tomato, basil. Yum! Honestly, it was so simple, but a definite highlight for me.
Oh, I want to kick myself. I almost forgot the best part. The Simon LA bread basket is Awwwesome! It was literally a cornucopia of flatbread crackers, small flavor packed squares foccacia, mini challah loaves, and biscuits. It was the United Nations of bread baskets. I don't think I've ever been that excited by a bread basket before. I was a little disturbed by my reaction, but I couldn't help it. Simply, it rocked.
Final thoughts. It was good, not spectacular. I definitely plan to hang out at Stone Rose Lounge again. I will give Simon another try. I have to try out the regular menu. Most of all, I had a great time hanging out. My dining companions were a hoot and a half!
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