Craft (Century City)

It's all about showmanship here at Craft. That's what happens when most of your customers are Hollywood power agents. So in lieu of chips and salsa, the amuse-bouche of the day was a sliver of cured fish with a pinch of garnish. It was placed on a fancy spoon that literally bent over backwards for me. Sadly, I had no clue how to eat it. I needed a bowl of rice.

What brought Mikey and I here was a story on honey desserts in the LA Times' Food Section. This photo of Craft's wildflower honey shortcake sent Mikey's little heart racing and so we made a pact to start saving our pennies. Three months later we made it over there.

Mikey had to try the raw oysters ($3 each). They were certainly fresh, he said. Don't ask me what I thought. I don't like squishy foods:


There was a section on the menu just for farm eggs. I was intrigued by the one called Duck Egg, Duck Ham and Spiced Waffle ($16). And that's what literally came out, drizzled with syrup. The waffle seemed a little too crispy but everything was good otherwise. You figure it's hard to mess up bacon and eggs. I also had the watercress, duck ham and pistachio salad ($17). Again good, but nothing to write home about.

Then came the fancy palate cleanser -- fruit sorbet. Come to think of it, I had more fun eating the free stuff.

Then came dessert. And wouldn't ya know, the wildflower honey shortcake was no more. Craft's menu frequently changes and honey desserts were already out of the rotation. So we settled on a Pink Lady apple crisp with vanilla ice cream ($12) and a blueberry crumb cake ($12).

!DING! DING! DING!, we finally have a winner:


If there's anything to be had here at Craft it's the apple crisp. Mikey ordered it but I finished it. The crunchy brown-sugar shell nicely insulated the warm stewed apples. Pair it with the vanilla-speckled ice cream and you've got a party in your mouth.

After we paid, our server sent us home with muffins, individually packaged and tied with a ribbon. Fancy. Though when I ate it the next day for breakfast I found it too sweet to get past the first bite.

So did I enjoy myself at Craft? Overall, yes. From doubtful celebrity sightings to simply admiring the architecture, the atmosphere provided stimulating conversation. And the small samplings of dishes were good. Though in the balance of style and substance, I'd have to say Craft comes out a little uneven. Personally, I'm a bigger fan of substance. So if I'm ever going to pay $160 for dinner again it better be not just good but hella good.

Craft
10100 Constellation Blvd
Century City, CA 90067
(310) 279-4180

On the Road: Sonoma + Napa Valley

Mikey escaped from the basement last week. He pulled the chains out from the wall leaving two gaping black holes. When I realized what'd happened I followed his breadcrumb trail north. Ten hours later I was in Sonoma. He apparently resented the fact that I never took him, so he decided to high-tail it up there himself.

I found him and his doughy little cheeks pressed against the window of a quaint little restaurant called The Girl and the Fig. They're known for their 'fromage tower,' a 3-tiered cheese, fruit and meat plate. Mikey hopped all the way there for it only to realize he had no money. "You know, you're a real pain in the bun," I told him. "But (sigh) we're here so we might as well go in."

The tower du cheese dauntingly overshadowed us (hey, we're short!), but I'm not one to waste food so we got some wine, took a deep breath and began picking at it bit by bit. At $38 it included six artisan cheeses, pork terrine, a selection of cured meats, pickles, fig cake, fruits, and a bevy of home-sweetened nuts. Now I understood why Mikey came all the way up here. Mixing and matching the pungent with the sweet tickled my taste-buds in ways I wouldn't've imagined. We were like Hansel and Gretel tasting candy for the very first time.

My stomach squeezed in room for the next course, a roasted whole rainbow trout ($20.95). The fresh fillet was pan-fried to a golden crisp and topped with a vinaigrette-doused assortment of fingerling potatoes, nubs of applewood bacon, shaved fuji apples and roasted shallots. The tower had done me in but I still enjoyed every bite of this.

I was ready to go home but Mikey had a second destination mapped out -- the Culinary Institute of America. We were far too tipsy to walk, so we hitchhiked our way to the town of St. Helena, population 6,000. Our driver told us to look for Hogwarts castle amid the purple and green-vined flatlands. Sure enough, as soon as we rounded the corner there it was:


Okay so maybe Harry Potter never drove a PT Cruiser to school. And the parking lot in front puts a damper on the majestic sight. A broomstick lot would've been more discreet.

Greystone Restaurant was located around the corner of the building. Inside, guests sat at a stone-top counter encompassing an open kitchen in the middle of the room. It provided a birds' eye view of the culinary students (aka wizards) gripping their hats as they seared and broiled the day's special ingredients.

Already red-faced Mikey ordered a 3-glass white wine sampler ($16):



We also tried the 'Today's Temptations,' a $9.95 per person array of tiny bites whipped up on whim of the chef: duck pate on a baby lettuce leaf, a marinated shrimp, a pea puree... interesting stuff and, yes, very fancy-smancy. Mikey put on his silk ascot for the occasion.

I moved onto the $34 plate of day-boat scallops collected from divers on the North Atlantic coast:


And of course you can't forget dessert. The molten chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream ($8):

Organic yogurt panna cotta with strawberry rhubarb sorbet ($5):

And some lemon custard beignets coupled with a shot of citrus fizz topped with thyme foam ($7):

With all that food in our belly we decided to take a leisurely stroll home to Los Angeles. The digestion process drew all the blood in my head to my stomach and I'd completely forgotten I had been mad at Mikey. That is, until I remembered the two holes in my wall. (argh!) But he promised to plaster it up once we got back.

Secretly, though, I'm glad he'd escaped. Otherwise I would have never gone up north, much less brought myself to spend the money we did on those two meals (a little under $300 in total). Like I said before, I'm a $5-noodle bowl kinda girl. But when a decadent meal calls it's best to come a-runnin'.

The Girl and the Fig
110 West Spain Street
Sonoma, CA. 95476
(707) 938-3634

Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant
at Culinary Institute of America
2555 Main Street
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 967-1010

Hanaichimon-me @ Little Tokyo Square

Mochi ice cream isn't the only Japanese dessert. (And just for the record, "mochi" doesn't necessarily contain ice cream.) One of my favorites is an-mitsu ($3.50), this one containing a cocktail mix of bananas, pineapples and mandarin oranges alongside sweet red beans, agar jelly and plump pinches of mochi.

It's the kind of stuff to cool down with on a blistering hot day in Japan, though these days young people would rather do the American thing: chill at Baskin-Robbins.

Hanaichimon-me
33 S. Alameda St., #303
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(Little Tokyo Square, 3F)

(213) 626-3514

Boule on La Cienega

So after visiting Vito's the other day I strolled down La Cienega Blvd. and came across an adorable pastry/ice cream/chocolate shop called Boule. My French-speaking friend had to correct me after I pronounced it "Boo-LAY." Apparently it sounds more like "bull," but as if your lips were stuck with a spoonful of peanut butter. "Boo~ll"

Prices are a tad steep; I laid down more cash for this dainty carrot cake ($~6??), above, than for my pizza dinner. But if you can overlook the financial setback then you're in store for a treat. It's very light, moist and packed with fresh shreds of carrots, (I think) zucchini, and a touch of spice. There's something else in there that adds to a slight chewiness factor, too. It's definitely one of those desserts you'll find your self savoring rather than scarfing down.

Still burping out my cheese pizza, I didn't have room to try any of the other confections... but I'm definitely looking forward to it. Their fresh-baked macarons looked tasty and I bet they'd go well with ice cream.



Boule
420 N. La Cienega Blvd.
LA, CA 90048
(310) 289-9977

Eating my way through Europe, part five

At 8:49 am, Pirikara bit into a slice of Swiss cheese from French Market Cafe, causing her tongue to peak to tastebud orgasm. "Finally!" she screamed just before falling to the ground.

Believe me, I was ready to give up my quest for good sandwich filling. Trader Joe's didn't have it. Whole Foods didn't have it. Both carried sliced cheeses that were just too watered down, bland to be specific, to stand on its own between two slices of bread.

Yay, happy day!

The baguette wasn't bad either. Even though it was obviously day-old bread, it was still soft and fluffy.

So this morning I fixed myself a ham and cheese sandwich and savored every bite of it. I also brewed a cup of tea, which I picked up on the last leg of my European trip... Paris.

Yes, I started out in Paris and I ended in Paris which, in my humble opinion, is the perfect way to end a trip to Europe. I stayed at the four-star Royal St. Honore Hotel—my way of splurging—woke up early and set out for the Louvre. Given my time constraint I only allowed myself two hours there, but it was just enough time to take the 10-euro Da Vinci Code audio tour which was really cool because Jean Reno is the narrator, leading you through obscure parts of the museum. After a while, you start to feel like a detective peeking out of windows and using alternate routes to bypass crowds.

Through the advice of my friend, a former Paris resident, I headed toward the Pompidou Center to check out Mariage Freres, a gourmet tea shop which houses the most amazing and widest selection of teas from around the world. South America, Japan, the Himalayas ... you name it.

I randomly selected one from the menu, The Duke of Wellington (pictured above). I picked out a mousse pie (seen below) topped with slices of fig and starfruit. Both tea and pie were light and fragrant, yet very full of depth. Hmm, yeah, depth might be a strange way to describe food but for the lack of knowledge of more precise food diction, that's the best word I can come up with.


Take for example the ice cream my brother ordered with his tea. He expected a simple scoop of Baskin Robbins, but like with the magic of Willy Wonka, this ice cream transformed into three distinct flavors as it melted on your tongue. Imagine that. One spoon of ice cream turning from passion fruit to spiced apple to vanilla within a matter of seconds. (Those aren't the exact flavors I remember but that's just to give a general sense.) Now that's depth!

I'm wrapping up my thoughts on Europe here. I need to readjust to Los Angeles mode. That is, unless there's a sugar-daddy out there who cares to pay my way back. (^_^);

Eating my way through Europe, Part Four

Unfortunately, I am sick right now. My head is spinning, my nose is stuffy and I'd rather be in bed than sitting in front of a computer. But the memories of my trip still linger and for memory's sake, I'll trudge on ...though it'll be short and sweet.

Above is a gelato parfait in Venice, Italy. Whipped cream, wafers, kiwi, strawberries, bananas, vanilla gelato, strawberry syrup. Yum!

These were mushrooms at a vegetable stand in Venice. They reminded me of Smurf houses.

Fruit cups in Rome. I was particularly attracted to the one with the red juice. It was a bit $$ at 5 Euros per cup , but I just had to know what it tasted like. It turned out to be fruit punch! I was in love. I've never eaten so much fruit before coming to Europe.

Yeah, I know it's silly to say that Italy has great pasta. It's like saying Japan has great sushi. But really, ITALY HAS GREAT PASTA! I was particularly fond of the lasagna. I always make mine with ricotta because that's what the recipe called for. But apparently, ricotta is only used when making spinach lasagna. Regular lasagna like the one below use provola cheese, which is a far more creamy and delicate. Combine that with fresh lasagna noodles and you have something worth dying for.


Okay, that's all for today. Go to sleep!

Chantilly - Lomita

Until I'm proven otherwise, Chantilly in Lomita the best dessert shop in town. I happened upon the place after eating at Gaja (okonomiyaki) this weekend. Chantilly looked like a typical Asian dessert shop with a lot of bite-sized cakes and tarts sitting pretty behind the glass case. (I'm always wary of looks because, more often than not, I end up getting shortchanged with a flaky over/undersweetened, over-buttered waste of money.) I had an apple tart with a light custardy cream (above) and it was excellent! Definitely something you'd find in Tokyo's best pastry shops. They also had fruit tarts, mousses, cream puffs, and cute little bags of cookies. Check it out and tell me what you think. 2383 Lomita Blvd., No. 104, Lomita, (310) 257-9454.