socalqtpi's Profile
New Place in Montrose! Que Buenno!
A friend & I ate there over the weekend. We tried 7 dishes + 2 desserts -- bill came up to $89 with tax (no alcohol).
I agree with Bellyworth on the BWD!! The Crispy striped bass with fennel 2 ways was quite flavorful, though the crispy skin was a little too salty for our taste. You need to try the homemade churros with chocolate dipping sauce on your next trip -- that was the standout from our meal.
Three Drunken Goats
Based on the address, I take it this was formerly the Goudas & Vines location.
Scoops vs. Pazzo Gelato?
We have friends/family coming in from out of town and want to take them to try unusual flavor combination gelato/sorbet. I've read good things about both places, but would like to know which one is really worth the drive from the Pasadena area?
Thanks!
How is Taste on Melrose?
We ate there for breakfast/brunch a couple of months ago & were not impressed with the selection (only about 5-6 items on the menu to choose from), the service (maybe they hadn't had their coffee yet, but they mostly ignored us) or the food itself (I had the crab cake benedict -- the brioche had really black grill marks and tasted of charcoal). Portions are decent, but not really worth the prices being charged. We sat on the patio & felt cramped (too close to other tables & no real privacy -- we ended up listening to everyone else's conversations). We would choose Blu Jam Cafe further on Melrose any day over Taste.
Persimmon question
Yes, they are fuyu (short & flat) rather than the acorn shaped ones. I believe that one got mushy/bruised in transit. I also have 2 smaller acorn shaped ones, so you can really see the difference when comparing them side-by-side!
I didn't know fuyu's could get that large either...I suspect that it might be hollow inside, but haven't dared to cut it open yet.
Persimmon question
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Today, my mom brought me 2 HUGE fuyu persimmons from her home garden. Theya re both about grapefruit sized - one is rock hard & the other is starting to get mushy.
I'm not a big fan of persimmons (I don't like the squishy mouth-feel/texture or taste when raw) & wondered if there were any good uses for them in a baked good or other type recipe as I would hate to see them go to waste.
Any recommendations/advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Debate: tea at your workstation?
Could you post a link for the tea grinder? I'm having trouble finding one online - I contacted Shirokiya Sales & the message came back as undeliverable :(
Sakura House last night
In addition to skewers (chicken meatballs, chicken with shiso leaf, asparagus maki, green bean maki, chicken with green onions, beef with miso sauce, eggplant & kurobuta pork sausage with bell peppers), we tried several "dainties" and other specials:
- Fried sweet potatoes served with a sesame(?) paste dipping sauce
- Crispy Chicken Addiction (like chicken nuggets only MUCH tastier) also with a dipping sauce, though I don't remember what it was
- Fried Tofu with Ground Chicken & Ginger Sauce
- Lotus Root & Eggplant with Ground Chicken
Everything was quite good, though the lotus root wasn't the biggest hit at the table.
Sakura House last night
Small world, we were at Sakura House last night too. Yum-a-licious!! A bit of a drive from Pasadena on a weeknight, but SOOO worth it!
Trip to Portland
[Oops, I just realized you mean Portland, ME, not Portland, OR]
My original post was for Oregon. My bad!
Debate: tea at your workstation?
I ended up buying the mug described by HLing (at the Monterey Park location of Wing Hop Fung) rather than the online item I first mentioned -- less price, plus more water capacity! I heat up the water separately with the Back to Basics Cocoa-Latte Express that I mentioned on 10-SEP & put the loose tea leaves in the removeable top insert (with the built-in filter). I add the water & let it brew for the allotted time, then press the button to allow the water to filter through to the mug portion, leaving the wet tea leaves behind. I pour the brewed tea into my tea cup, so that I can add more hot water to the wet tea leaves & continuously have warm tea available for my next cup :)
The leaves are a little difficult to remove from the insert by hand, but running the filter upside-down under water seems to do the trick. It's quite handy & since it is ceramic, it keeps my tea warm for longer periods of time. Hope that helps those who are curious about it.
Non-dairy Rugelach?
Almond paste:
2 cups finely ground blanched almonds
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp. orange flower water
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 beaten egg yolks
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl until smooth & creamy (I used our Kitchen Aid mixer & it turned out much better than in a food processor).
Non-dairy Rugelach?
Thanks for all the opinions and suggestions. The question was originally posed because of a family member's lactose intolerance rather than a need for pareve.
I have a great recipe for homemade almond paste & wanted to try it in a rugelach (since that's the only desserty cookie I could think of that might benefit from an almond paste filling). I was disappointed that all the recipes called for cream cheese.
Perhaps I should expand the question to finding non-dairy cookie suggestions that could use almond paste as a filling. Small quantities of butter & milk in the recipe are OK, but sour cream/cream cheese, etc. would be detrimental. Any advice?
Non-dairy Rugelach?
Is there a way to make this cookie treat without the cream cheese? What non-dairy ingredient can be substituted without destroying the overall taste of the dough?
Debate: tea at your workstation?
Thanks for the suggestion on the ceramic vs. plastic drip tea mug. I just discovered that there is a retail location of Wing Hop Fung near my house, I must now investigate :)
Also thanks for the link, very educational & informative!
Debate: tea at your workstation?
Here is another item that I found recently & am considering purchasing:
http://www.teacuppa.com/Smart-Teapot.asp
Celeste Restaurant Temple City?
I was recommended to try Celeste in Temple City for breakfast/brunch...but I can't find much more than their address & phone number online. Has anyone been? Are they good?
Gaja Okonomiyaki in Lomita
That's funny! I often cringe when seeing mis-spellings/poor translations on menus at restaurants. I never thought about making a living by providing proofreading services ;)
Gaja Okonomiyaki in Lomita
We went there in January & it still existed at that point. Not sure if there is a new URL.
Here is the address:Gaja Moc, 2383 Lomita Blvd Ste 102, Lomita, CA 90717
(310) 534-0153
Bistro 561 in Pasadena
As mentioned, we went about a month ago & really enjoyed both the food & the service. We asked how often the menu changes & were told every 6 weeks to 3 months. Next menu due out in October. We tried the following dishes:
* Potatoes Allioli - Crispy Kennebec potatoes, garlic allioli, Basque paprika (not really recommended...this was a 1/2" slice of potato then diced into small squares - we had envisioned fries & were disappointed)
* Cannibal Squash - Tempura squash blossom, kabocha squash mousse, grilled zucchini, goat cheese & romesco sauce (I really liked this dish, though the squash mousse was a little "plasticky"/overprocessed)
* Grilled Ono - Black Thai coconut rice, Kaffir lime gastrique, hibiscus & five spice glaze, young ginger compound butter, grilled pineapple brochette (the hit of the evening - can't complain about this dish at all)
* Congilio Siciliano - Braised rabbit, molé caraïbe, Israeli couscous, black beer foam, pistachio dust (the rabbit was a little dry & I wasn't thrilled with the beer foam)
* Chocolate dulce de leche bar, chocolate sabayon mousse, mole lace, crema fresca (very yummy, I could have had at least 1 more!)
* Rhubarb tart with mustard ice cream and strawberry fennel slaw (see review elsewhere in this post)
Bistro 561 in Pasadena
We had that dessert about a month ago (except for the mustard ice cream...they subbed a peach sorbet due to lactose intolerance). A very mild rhubarb taste (slightly disappointing, we were expecting a little more "tang" - I know that's not the right adjective), the tart shell was nice though (like a crushed graham cracker crust if I remember correctly). The strawberry fennel slaw was also delicate, the strawberries were not "overwhelmed" by the fennel (it was crisp & could taste both ingredients individually). I didn't like the mustard seed sauce that was served under the sorbet. The mustard seeds were whole, but did not taste much like anything. Almost like a micro-boba (kinda chewy).
Shabu Shabu in Glendale
Just walked by there yesterday at lunch & saw that Boiling Point is now out of business. They are putting in a Daphne's (greek fast food) instead :(
Debate: tea at your workstation?
The "real" name of the product is Back to Basics Cocoa-Latte express (I call it Junior since it is a smaller version of the Cocoa Latte machine that I have at home!) - sorry for any confusion.
I bought the appliance at Target. Here is the tinyurl for the product: http://tinyurl.com/274zno Hope that helps :)
Where is Fredo's
They also have a location in Alhambra, I wonder if they're still around.
La Restaurants with Oxtail
There is also an oxtail ravioli dish at Ca' del Sole in North Hollywood.
Israeli couscous - where to buy?
Surprisingly I was able to find it at our local Ralphs.
Sweet Garlic in Monrovia?
Yes, here is the link to my review: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/412714
Sweet Garlic in Monrovia?
Woo hoo! Thanks for writing :) We'll be there!
Hopefully you will still have the delicious lemongrass hot tea...that was our favorite!
Advice needed on sorbet/gelato makers
Couldn't find "mussino lusso" with a google search. The only things that came up were 2 other Chowhound postings of yours :( Does it go by a different name?
