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Finally have a new home for my blog and updating new stuff! Check it out, http://bonnieeats.wordpress.com/

Wurstküche Dinner

Date: Sunday, March 29, 2009
Time: 06:00 pm
Location: Wurstküche Restaurant
Address: 800 E 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA.

For the dinner gathering this time, I invited some of my female photographer friends. At first, I picked Wurstküche Restaurant, but the thought of female photographers with German sausages might not be too good, so I picked some other places like Anisette Brasserie in Santa Monica, Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, and Gjelina in Abbot Kinney.

Since I had a large party, all of the other restaurants weren't able to accommodate us. After making many calls to many different places, I decided to give Wurstküche Restaurant a try. I have to tell you, the guys at Wurstküche Restaurant are amazingly cool. Sean, the manager, is super easy going and he took care of my reservation in less than a few minutes.

Let's get to the photos!





















Some of their more "exotic" sausages are rabbit/veal, rattlesnake, and alligator.






































I like the beer they carry, definitely ask for recommendations.




















Jenny and Serena




















Carrie




















Jill




















Adrienne




















Good times, girls!

Royal/T with The Royalties

Date: Sunday, November 9, 2008
Time: 12:30 pm
Location: Royal/T Cafe
Address: 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA.


This past Sunday I met up with some new friends at the new and coolest cafe in Culver City, Royal/T Cafe. What's so cool about it? Well, it is part gallery, part gift shop, and part cafe. It showcases the owner's (Susan Hancock) collection of Japanese contemporary art. On top of that, the waitresses all dressed in the cutest Akihabara-style maid uniforms!

I want that chandelier for myself!


Sneaked a photo of Kelly and Jean-Baptiste.

We got the semi-private table, love it!


Kelly


Julia

Jean-Baptiste, founder of LA Wine Tasting.

They use the coolest glasses!

Pop Maicha (left) - whole leaf green tea with roasted rice flavor. I ordered this and I like it as I wanted something light. Normally, for a small pot would be $4.50 and large pot for $7.00, but mine came with my Royal/T High Tea Set.
Kelly ordered the Cafe Latte (right), which came with a small piece of dark chocolate. $4.00

Royal/T Lunch Set - Ken chose Spicy Tuna Tar Tar and a side of bruschetta. $13.50

Royal/T Lunch Set - Kelly's choice was Unagi (eel) Rice Bowl with a side of Cucumber Salad. $13.50

I chose the Royal/T High Tea, which included choice of tea (I had the Pop Maicha), small pastries, mini quiche, kappa maki, bruschetta, bacon wrapped asparagus and spicy tuna finger sandwiches. $19.50

More interior photos to come!

Animal Dinner

Date: Sunday, November 2, 2008
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Animal Restaurant
Address: 435 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA.

Jonathan Gold, a food critic who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize, recently raved about Animal Restaurant on NPR's Splendid Table and on his blog for LA Weekly: http://www.laweekly.com/2008-08-28/eat-drink/animal-boys-in-the-hood/.

Trusting Jonathan's taste of food, I was very interested in checking out Animal Restaurant, so I decided to pick the place as my first gathering for this blog. Then I invited some friends that I know would appreciate the "all meat" dishes. The result was a night filled with good food and laughter.

Their menu changes daily:


Decor is minimal:


What you can expect is a laid back environment. Minimal decor, which lets you pay attention to your food and the people you are dining with. Waitstaff is friendly and super down to earth.


Some of us are chefs and photographers:

Sarah, myself and Jen:


On to the food...!

pork belly, kimchi, peanuts, chili soy 10

This was Ken's dish and I cut a small part of the tip for tasting. The meat was tender, a little too salty for me, but I still liked it. Here's what Ken thought of it, "For a meat-lover, this is a good choice. Grilled flavor oozing out of the fat (best part!). But I did find myself wishing for something to balance it out a bit. (I think the kimchi got lost somewhere...)"

heirloom tomato, purslane, cucumber, feta, kalamata 12


poutine, ox-tail gravy, vermont cheddar 12

I've tried fries with gravy before, but this was very different and very good! The sauce was thick with the ox-tail. Mmm... ox-tail...

foie gras, biscuit, maple sausage gravy 22

This was my favorite dish out of the whole night. Foie gras melted in my mouth, the biscuit was fluffy and the sausage gravy was creamy.

duck confit, orange braised fennel, shishito peppers 15

whole grilled branzino, arugula, romano beans, pancetta vinaigrette 29

I decided to order the fish because my appetizer (foie gras with biscuit) was a bit heavy. When the dish came with the whole fish (yes, the very smart me didn't read the menu carefully) I was a little worried - I didn't know how to open the fish! I cut opened the center, struggled with some bones and took my first bite. The fish was fresh and moist. The vinaigrette added some sweetness and tangyness to the dish.

flat iron, sunchoke, lobster & chanterelle mushrooms, hotel butter 25

This is what Ken thought of his dish, "Good texture; cooked skillfully to medium rare. Flavor was good, but did not sustain quite so well. Sides, especially the mushrooms, amplified the flavor. But again, I found myself wanting something lighter to balance out the meat."

rock cod, king crab, tabasco butter, gold rice succotash, cipollini 26


quail fry, grits, maple jus, long cooked chard, slab bacon 24

The quail was perfectly fried.

the 109 for two, foie gras sauce, mash 85

Jen demonstrated how huge the 109 was.

bacon chocolate crunch bar, s&p anglaise 8


Outside of the restaurant:


After our meal, most of us were experiencing food coma, so some of us decided to go to the nearby Canter's Deli for coffee.

Many thanks to Anna, Julian, Jen, Eric, Sarah, Chris, Paula and, of course, my Ken for coming out to dinner with me. The night was wonderful and I look forward to my next gathering!

Jinky's Cafe in Santa Monica

This past Saturday a new friend of mine, Jennifer Rau, invited me to have brunch with her and Heidi at Jinky's Cafe in Santa Monica. I hang out at Santa Monica a lot, but there're still a lot of restaurants I haven't tried. And pancakes and eggs?! I am so there!



We met up at 11am, but we still had to wait a bit for our table.


I had the 2+2+2




Jennifer


Heidi, trying to decide what to have.


Jen likes ketchup. :D


My yummy 2+2+2. The pancakes were fluffy!


Thanks, Jen, for this wonderful brunch! I'll definitely come back!