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Famous Cupcakes http://www.famouscupcakes.com

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Joans on Third

Delphine: An Exercise in Bad Service

Date: 4-25-10

Dining Companion: Angie R.

First, they were out of their Sunday night special, Cassoulet. That's the whole reason I picked the place. I should have known then.

My second choice was the roasted lobster. Out of that. And the grilled fish of the day. That was gone too.

So, I went with my third choice, the braised short ribs. Angie ordered a salad nicoise and we ordered a goat cheese patatou as a starter to share. Patatou is olives and potatoes cooked and then baked with the goat cheese on top.

About twenty minutes later we were visited by our waitress who said, "the gas is out." Apparently all hot food was on hold for twenty minutes. I decided to cancel the patatou since it was cooked and we ordered scallop ceviche instead to tide us over until the hot food came. Apparently ceviche is individually served. By that I mean that we didn't get a dish of ceviche, but we were supposed to each get an individual scallop in the shell. Why did I say "supposed to"? Because suddenly a manager appeared with a plate of shrimp and seafood salad. They were out of scallops. The shrimp/seafood salad was pretty good but one of the shrimp had not been properly deveined.

By this time, I was getting pretty hungry. Too bad no one brought us bread until we asked. Once we got it, the bread was okay. The butter was not great.

Angie had ordered a diet coke so I ordered a coke with grenadine. Nope. No coke. Pepsi. Diet coke, and Pepsi. Oooohhkay. It finally came, after I had to remind the waitress. Without grenadine. So instead of taking it back and getting it right she brought me a shot glass of grenadine.

Well more than twenty minutes elapsed. No hot food. We received an apology and a hint that we should start ordering some more cold food. We ventured into a broccolini/eggplant/pepper/ratatouille type dish and the mixed olives. The olives ($6) were a mix of three types of olives with pearl onions, capers, cornichons, and spices and were pretty good. The dish was cracked in multiple places which I find odd considering the restaurant has only been open three months. The vegetable plate was a mixed bag. Angie liked them all except the peppers. I thought the peppers were okay once you added a bit of salt. The eggplant was tasty and the ratatouille was pretty good. I didn't like the broccolini (it was a bit too spicy) but Angie really liked it.

Then we waited....no hot food. Of course no one came to tell us, we had to stop the waitress again to ask. So, we acquiesced and got a steak tartare (for me only, Angie is a vegetarian) and a cheese plate. The steak tartare was eh. It was more of a ground beef than chopped beef and it was too spicy. The only way I could eat it was when I combined it with some cheese from the cheese plate. The salad on the side was underdressed. The cheese plate was sloppily thrown together but the three cheese were good. I thought the accompaniments were a bit odd- dates, walnuts, raisin bread, and a dried pineapple ring.

Thankfully the manager did the right thing and comped the whole meal.

The restaurant is supposed to be French brasserie with Mediterranean, Spanish, and Italian influences. The decor is half brasserie and half upscale Martha's Vineyard boathouse chic. Very odd. It was too fancy for the brasserie tea towel style napkins but yet not fancy enough to seat us at a booth without a stained banquette. The periwinkle blue banquette cloth seat had a huge brown stain on it. Also, some people were seated in wicker. I find wicker an odd choice because it tends to be very uncomfortable and can crack and break easily.

The most bothersome thing was that the menu notes that a 15% gratuity will be added to each receipt. For any size party. Frankly, that's insulting, and it explains why the service was so slow. What incentive do they have to excel?

Valet for $7 but there is also a metro stop right there.

Delphine is very convenient if you have theater tickets for The Pantages across the street but frankly, I wouldn't even bother. There are plenty of other fish restaurants in the sea.

Meal Deal- Lawry's

Through the end of October Lawry's is celebrating the 35th Anniversary of their Chicago restaurant.

Mention the $35 Anniversary Dinner to your server.

MENU

Lawry's Famous Original Spinning Bowl Salad

Special 8oz cut of Lawry’s Prime Ribs of Beef

Served with mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding, or

Fresh Atlantic Salmon

Served with seasonal vegetables

Petit English Trifle or

C.C. Brown's Small Sundae

Served with freshly brewed coffee or tea

Lawry's takes reservations on Open Table.

Providence

Date:

Dining Companion: Courtney P.

I've wanted to go to Providence for a while but one bad review from a friend kept me away these long years. Finally, watching head chef Michael Cimarusti on Top Chef: Masters renewed my interest and we set out for dinner.

What a lovely meal. First off, the decor is lovely. Considering that it is a seafood heavy menu you might expect some cheesy nautical theme, but there was none. The decor was beautiful, tasteful, and had some semblance of being related to the ocean in a subtle way.

The service was excellent. Some restaurants sneer at people sharing dishes which I find ridiculous. How else can you try that many things on the menu??? Not only did they not sneer, they split the dishes for us and made them look artistic and beautiful on their own. That was amazing.

We started off the meal with a selection of amuse bouches. Is there a plural for amuse bouche? :) It contained a variety of interesting little nibbles from the chef. I liked all of them.

We shared the King Crab appetizer and the "chowda" for appetizers. The King Crab with fresh peas and crispy soba was phenomenal. Light, fresh, and very tasty. The "chowda" was a bit heavier. It was a rich creamy broth with clams and potato floating around in it.

The halibut entree included one of my "must-order" items- a zucchini flower!! Fried to perfection. Not overly breaded just light and crispy! Halibut can be a bit dry if not cooked right. This was so moist! It was a beautiful perfect clean white and was moist and delicious to eat. The layers flaked off exactly as they should and the sauce and vegetables were a welcome accompaniment.

One dish I wish we would have tried- salt roasted spot prawns. The woman next to us got them and they looked delicious. They are prepared tableside and taken out of the shell so that they are easily eaten. Yum. I asked the woman about the dish and she said she gets it all the time.

For dessert we split an interesting dish that had ice cream made out of a Parisian pastry blended up- a canele. It was amazing.

The menu is seasonal and they focus on using what is fresh so the menu will vary from time to time but everything we had was amazing so I would expect that to carry over from season to season.

Michael Cimarusti didn't win Top Chef. Who cares? He got a Michelin rating!!!

www.providencela.com

5955 Melrose Avenue

Cooking Event- Williams Sonoma

Here's the October schedule

http://edm.williams-sonoma.com/ws/2009/noimage/octcalendar09-2-US.html?bnrid=3101527&cm_ven=E3&cm_cat=EDM&cm_pla=090527_Demo&cm_ite=cta_cal&cm_em=ashleyattorney@aol.com

Magnolia Bakery (NY)

What is a trip to NY without a visit to Magnolia Bakery?

Even though the LA Magnolia outpost should be open soon, I couldn't resist the chance to sneak one of their treats this week. So I went on my first day in NY. And I may go again.

I was surprised to find that there were two other locations in addition to the Bleecker Street location I was familiar with. Apparently, there is one 4 blocks from where I am staying. Danger! Danger!

Last night, we stopped off at the Columbus Street location. I had a chocolate cupcake with their sugary seafoam green icing. Crys had the miniature chocolate pudding pie- soooo cute! I finished my cupcake and glass of milk in record time in their cute shabby-chic style dining area.

The store also sells the Magnolia Bakery cookbook which I have never made anything out of but my friend Esther made me the cupcakes once for my birthday and dare I say that they were just as good as the actual bakery. I highly recommend the bakery...and the cookbook!!!

STK

Date:

Dining Companion: Courtney P.

Craftsteak- NYC (NY)

Date: 9-28-09

Dining Companion: Crys C.

Another opportunity to visit a Tom Colicchio restaurant! I've been to Craft- NY, Craft- LA, Craftbar....but now it was time for craftsteak (they don't capitalize it, why should I??). Craftsteak's menu was reminiscent of Craft's but more like a steakhouse. Craftsteak also has a location in Las Vegas (MGM Grand Hotel). We started the meal with an amuse bouche of pita crisps with a salad made of garbanzo beans, pickled jalapenos, and sorpressata. I don't particularly love whole garbanzo beans or jalapenos but I really enjoyed this which speaks volumes for the dish. Crys can't eat beans (allergic) so I ate the whole thing. We also got a pan of little Parkerhouse rolls- classic steakhouse fare.

Our first dish of the night was from the raw bar. The menu offers both clams and oysters. We chose Littleneck clams ($3 apiece). The clams were fresh, well prepared, and accompanied by tasty condiments including a mignonette sauce that was not overpowering.

Then we shared the bone marrow and steak tartare. The bone marrow was nice but a bit fatty for my taste. It came out to the table in a beautiful presentation showing how it was salt roasted. The baguette slices that accompanied it were perfectly toasted- crispy but not hard.

Th steak tartare was a wagyu beef diced with some spices and a raw egg yolk atop. It came with cross cut potato chips. I enjoyed this dish but found the potato chips to be a bit too salty and little over fried. It's a good dish but I would have preferred the chips to be a little less "done".

Then we shared a filet mignon ($40). The filet mignon, we were informed, and the other steaks are prepared in a parisian style by searing, then roasting them with thyme and butter and ladling the butter atop until the steak is cooked, and then it would be sliced before it was brought to us. The steak came to us a perfect medium rare (making Crys very happy) accompanied by four dipping sauces. Crys likes her steak naked. I do too, but I also loooooove sauces, so the steak ended up being my vehicle to taste the sauces- tamarind (nice, like a sweet complex steak sauce), chimichurri (not my favorite), horseradish (decent), and bernaise (fabulous). I didn't love the way the filet was sliced- it was kind of messy. But it still tasted good. I would have preferred neat slices.

We also shared a rather large side order of gnocchi. The gnocchi were light and fluffy perfect cylindrical tubes accompanied by a buttery creamy sauce (more butter than anything else) and a light sprinkling of chives.

The decor in the restaurant was beautiful and tasteful. The low lighting and artwork enhanced the dining experience. The service was friendly and prompt. And, on our way out we got scones for the next morning's breakfast. I think I am gong to eat mine right now....

Craftsteak

85 Tenth Avenue

New York, NY 10011

www.craftsteaknyc.com

Top Chef Sightings

Day one in NYC I already saw Miguel and Andrew from Top Chef!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Website- Cheese!

http://artisancheesegallery.wordpress.com/our-tastings/

Cooking Class- Gordon Ramsay

Executive chef Andy Cook and his team at Gordon Ramsay at The London West Hollywood will host a two-hour master class Saturday August 15, 2009 teaching students how to create several of Ramsay's signature dishes. If you miss it, there are seven more of these master classes scheduled through the end of the year. 

$150

10 a.m. to 12 a.m. 

1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood. (310) 358-7788, www.gordonramsay.com.

Comme Ca- Homage to Julia Child

Friday August 14th and Saturday August 15th Comme Ca restaurant celebrates the life and love (food!) of Julia Child with a special pre-set menu:

http://www.commecarestaurant.com/files/menus/Ode_to_Julia_Menu.pdf

$65

Spoiler Alert- Top Chef

Was anyone else bummed by Anita Lo's performance tonight?  A raw bar?  Is that the best way to showcase your talents?  Clearly it wasn't.

P.S. Michael Chiarello showed what an asshole he is (that I always suspected him of being).  What a self aggrandizing egotist.  

Food Event- Taste of the World Festival

Taste of the World Festival

Friday, Aug 21 10:00a
Los Angeles State Historic Park, Los Angeles, CA

A World tour of all four continents, featuring The Next Superstar (Music), Dancing with The Salsa Stars (Dance), The Next Celebrity Chef (Cooking) competitions.

50,000 attendees expected

For more information see www.Festivalnet.com

Chef Event- Chef Ben Ford at Williams Sonoma.

Autographing cookbooks!

This handsome son of Harrison Ford and owner of Ford's Filling Station will be at Williams Sonoma on Sat. August 15, 2009 from 11:30am-1pm.

1600 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Great deals from Corkbar

Happy Hour!  Monday thru Friday, from 4pm to 7pm; and at 11pm for NightCap! $4 pints, half-off appetizers, wine specials, and more.

Test Kitchen Tuesdays!  Chef Albert Aviles tests an appetizer-sized portion of a new, market-driven dish not available on the regular menu for only $2. *Every Tuesday at 5pm, one per guest, while ingredients last.

Movies on Food

* Julie and Julia

* No Reservations

* Chocolat

An Open Letter to Hipcooks Cooking School

A WARNING BEFORE YOU TAKE CLASSES AT OR VOLUNTEER AT HIPCOOKS

The letter below...

Frankly, I am appalled.

I have never been disrespected, demeaned, and belittled the way I was tonight.

First of all, I will never assist at one of your classes again.  The description was completely inaccurate.  I did not assist.  Apparently, the only thing I was there to do was clean dishes.  I spent four hours of my Friday night cleaning dishes.  I am a lawyer and I make a six figure salary.  There is no way I would willingly spend four hour of my Friday evening washing dishes.  Every other time that I have assisted somewhere I have actually assisted- sautéing, whisking, chopping or any other forms of prep.  Of course there are always some dishes to wash, but this was ridiculous.  To call what I was told to do tonight assisting is misleading.  In the emails sent out by Bonny, it touts one of the benefits of assisting as learning the class.  I don’t know how I could be expected to learn and participate when I am elbow deep in soapy water.  I can afford to buy my own cooking class.  I am clearly not doing this because I could not afford to otherwise.  I volunteered to assist because I thought it was going to be an interactive cooking experience.  I enjoy cooking and I thought this would be a fun way to participate and help out.

Second, I have assisted at a number of cooking schools in Los Angeles and I have never been treated the way I was tonight.  My friend Emily signed up for the class at my urging and she said she could not even enjoy herself because of the way I was being treated.  At one point Liza asked me to hand her a teaspoon.  She was standing closer to the teaspoon than I was.  Emily heard this and was shocked as well.  Joy did the same thing at one point.  One of the girls in the class came up to me at one point and said, “I feel so bad, you have to clean all these dishes!” and she doesn’t know that I’m not a paid employee.  The final straw was at 10:20 p.m. when I had been there fore four hours and Joy said to me, “the floor needs to be swept”, clearly implying that the floor needed to be swept BY ME.  That was it.  I left right then.

I’m sorry, but if you are going to ask for assistants, and tout the benefits as being earning free classes as well as learning and participating then it should be that.  I am not opposed to manual labor, but I did not sign up to be someone’s dish wench for an entire evening.  I signed up to assist people in a cooking class.   I am too tired and aggravated by tonight’s events to go into further detail.

Food Event- July 28

Malibu Wine and Dine

July 28, 2009

Charlie's 22821 Pacific Coast Hwy.

Join executive chef Eleano Camboni and uncover the hidden gems of Malibu – the wines, not the starlets or beaches – with a five-course menu paired with Malibu vinos at her surf ‘n' turfer across from the Malibu Pier. With an amuse of ostrich with a Port Cassis glaze, a demitasse of lobster bisque, wild arugula salad with candied walnuts, lychee and taleggio, a trio of fresh pastas and a Gorgonzola-crusted petit filet with mashed potatoes and root vegetables, by the time you’re done dining in the restaurant’s leopard print Dolce & Gabbana chairs even the non-famous will feel like they should be hiding from the paparazzi.

Event Details: $65 for five courses, $95 with wine pairing; tax and tip not included.

To Reserve: Call 310-456-3132 and mention  “Zagat Presents.”