Busy, busy weekend!

Ah Sunday – which means it’s back to work again tomorrow.  So sad, but here’s a look back at the food adventures of this past weekend:

Friday – 10/23: Casa Cocina Y Cantina

I met my friend and former coworker Bryan for drinks and apps at Casa on Grand – near Disney Concert Hall and MOCA.  I’ve been to Casa before, and I suggested it to Bryan as 1) he was on his way to see a show at the Ahmanson, so the proximity was great and 2) he’s a margarita lover, like me.  Casa has a unique margarita, which includes jalapeno puree in the mix.  So you get a great combination of salty and spicy – it’s excellent!  In addition to our margs, we also decided to split a few appetizers/small plates.  We ordered:

• Molitas de Carnitas – which is a great take on a quesadilla, with corn tortillas instead of flour, shredded pork, melty cheese and crisp green apples – all drizzled with a little tomatillo sauce.  Definitely my favorite dish there!
• Chicken Flautas – these were good as the chicken was juicy and moist.  But next to the previous dish, they didn’t hold up.
• Queso Flameado – this flaming cheese dish comes with a choice of carne asada or soy chorizo, along with flour tortillas on the side.  The waitress recommended that we try the soy chorizo, and both Bryan and I were a little skeptical at first.  But the flavor was very true – spicy and strong, so I was happy with the dish.  How can you go wrong with all that melted cheese anyway?  I’m getting hungry just thinking about it again!

It was another successful visit to Casa and I’ll certainly be back.  I apologize for the lack of food pictures (I’m really working on getting used to taking pictures of my food before I eat it!), but here are a couple of shots from inside the restaurant (below).  http://www.casadowntown.com/

Saturday, 10/24: Nickel Diner and Nom Nom Vietnamese truck

Mike and Mariellen texted Saturday morning to see if we wanted to join them at Nickel Diner for breakfast.  It’s hard to turn that down, as breakfast there is always a treat.  You’ll see why in a moment…  We walked the three short blocks to the restaurant and since it was still early (about 9am) there was no line yet, so we were seated right away.  We were greeted with a couple of donut holes, a little sample from the kitchen of two of their most popular donuts – the maple bacon (yes, you heard that right) and the strawberry crumble.  And then we set about trying to decide what on the menu we planned to order, as there are so many great choices.  We of course ordered two more full size donuts – a maple bacon (cause it’s just SO good) and a Samoa, which yes, is just like the Girl Scout cookie.  Yum!

Mariellen ordered the Smac ‘N’ Cheese, which is not a normal breakfast item, but is available at all times of the day.  It was a decadent bowl of pasta and gooey cheese, garnished with tomatoes and bread crumbs.  I had a bite and it was quite tasty – Mariellen scarfed almost the whole thing down, but did save a small bit for a snack later on.

Todd ordered the Biscuits and Gravy, which came with two poached eggs on top.  He also scarfed that down and while I didn’t get a bite, he said it was delicious.

Mike ordered the Hangover Helper, which is a delicious combination of scrambled eggs with bacon, italian sausage, potatoes, topped with pepperjack cheese, avocado and salsa.

However the crown jewel of Nickel Diner’s breakfast menu is what I always order (and usually Mike does as well), and that is the 5th & Main – spicy BBQ pork hash topped with 2 poached eggs.  It has the right balance of shredded pork, homestyle potatoes and BBQ sauce, and the poached eggs are perfect floating on the top.  Hands down, my #1 choice every time!

So we left Nickel fat and sassy and took a walk down to Grand Central Market on 3rd and Broadway.  For those who haven’t been, it is a more ethnic farmer’s market, with many different types of hot food, as well as merchants offering dried foods and spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, and meats and fish.  A great place to wander and have a snack if you are in downtown LA.  It was nice to walk a bit, after the satisfying meal at Nickel Diner – they also have a fantastic lunch and dinner menu, so feel free to check them out for any meal option.  They’re closed on Mondays though. http://nickeldiner.com/

That night, Todd and I had plans to meet our friends Joe and Kristen at the Japanese American National Museum on 1st and Alameda in Little Tokyo.  We decided to try to go to one of our favorite ramen or sushi places down there prior to the show, but the line for the ramen place (Daikokuya) was a mile long, as usual and on our way to Frying Fish sushi, we saw the Nom Nom Truck parked on the street and decided to give it a shot.  My Corporate Manager at Toyota, Matt Gonzales, had told me about his experiences with vietnamese sandwiches (banh mi), so I was curious.  We headed over and each ordered a combo dinner that included a choice of 6 inch banh mi and two tacos.  Probably a bit more than we needed, but we felt like being adventurous.  Todd ordered the Deli Special sandwich, I ordered the BBQ pork sandwich and we each got one grilled pork and lemongrass chicken taco.

The bread on the banh mi was delicious – soft, yet also chewy and very fresh.  Other than that, I’m going to have to say I wasn’t super impressed.  The BBQ pork was good, as was the grilled pork – but they lacked the amount of flavor I was expecting.  The sandwich and taco toppings were fresh and crunchy, but perhaps there needed to be more of them, i.e. cilantro, cabbage, jalapenos, etc.  The lemongrass chicken taco was the most flavorful of the three, but even that probably wouldn’t convince me to return.  I’m a big fan of the latest truck craze (can you say Kogi?), so that was not an issue.  While the food was obviously fresh, it just lacked flavor and I didn’t want to have to add sriracha sauce in order to get more flavor.

If anyone else checks it out and has a different experience, I’d love to hear about it.  http://nomnomtruck.com/

FYI – The Giant Robot show at JANM was really amazing, especially the group show on the first floor.  I highly recommend checking it out.  This just happened to be opening night, so George Takei was there to help kick things off.  And of course, Todd got a chance to say hello!  The pic on the left is of a piece from one of my new favorite LA artists, Paul Lumbang.

That’s all for now folks.  I’m going to try to get another post in before Todd and I head out to Miami on Friday the 30th.  If that doesn’t happen though, don’t worry, I’m sure there will be plenty for me to talk about when we get back!  And I’ve got the camera ready!!

Dine Out LA – Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion

So I’m not sure how most of Dine Out LA passed me by without much notice.  I had no idea it started on October 5th and ended on October 16th!  Not great marketing for it this year, I must say.  So I was pleasantly surprised when Mike gave us a call and asked if we wanted to join him and Mariellen at one of the participating restaurants on the last night, Friday, October 16th.  The hard part was deciding where we wanted to go.

We agreed that we wanted to keep it downtown, as there are still plenty of restaurants that the four of us had not yet been.  Mariellen’s vote was for Roy’s and Mike’s vote was for Water Grill.  I was torn.  I’ve been wanting to go to Water Grill for some time now, especially when I heard they’ve been having Lobster Family Dinners on Sunday nights (check out: http://www.foodgps.com/water-grill-sunday-lobster-clam-bake/).  But I’ve also been wanting to go to Roy’s for a couple of years now – since my friend and former roommate Nina used to rave about the place.  She worked downtown LA and used to go to Roy’s for lunch, even though it was easily $20 – which is a bit steep for an everyday lunch.  But then again, I don’t think she considered Roy’s an “everyday lunch”.  In addition, Roy Yamaguchi was on Top Chef Masters this past season and I was pretty impressed with his skills (even though he didn’t win).

We ended up deciding on Roy’s and headed over there about 7pm on Friday night.  It was a nice 15 minute walk from our place and it was a BEAUTIFUL night.  We were promptly seated and our three bottles of wine were greeted warmly, as Roy’s decided to extend their summer practice of waiving the corkage fee (big plus in my book – too bad that is not just normal practice).  Next we reviewed the Dine Out LA prix fixe menu, each decided on our appetizer, entree and dessert and then settled into our first freshly poured glasses of wine.

Before I forget let me just mention, the service at Roy’s was excellent!  Fine dining at its best, without feeling stuffy or overbearing.  We never had a dirty plate, our silverware and chopsticks were replaced with each course and our water and wine glasses were refreshed throughout.  The waitstaff were all very friendly and accommodating, which added to our overall experience.

On to the important stuff – the food:

• Appetizers: included Thai Spiced Shumai Meatballs (pleasantly yummy) and Kobe Beef Carpaccio.  The carpaccio was superb, with arugula and pear salad and a horseradish creme fraich.  A really great start, so we were all looking forward to what was next.
• Entrees: Peppercorn Crusted Salmon – perfectly cooked; Sirloin with Cauliflower Gratin and a crisp, tasty potato croquette; Grilled Shrimp with Butternut Squash Risotto – with a buttery overall texture; and the crown jewel of the night – the Braised Beef Short Rib, which was “fall apart the minute your fork touches it” tender and served with delightful, creamy mashed potatoes and broccolini.
• Dessert – which was reason alone to completely justify the choice to go to Roy’s: a Pumpkin Mouse that I would describe like a lighter, fluffier and more delicious version of pumpkin pie, and then there was Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle – the title probably gives you a clue, but this was by far the best chocolate souffle I’ve had EVER!  I will go back to Roy’s just for the souffle, and I’m not even a dessert person.

Here’s a few shots of dessert (below).  I’m not sure how we managed to miss taking pics of any other part of dinner, but it just didn’t happen.  Don’t you just love the shot of Mariellen hamming it up for the camera?

There was enough on the regular menu to intrigue me as well, so I envision a return visit at some point in the future.  It will be tough though – as we have other places to try first and then of course the favorites which are always in rotation.  Stay tuned as future posts will cover those “old standbys”.

http://www.roysrestaurant.com/