Craft

After hearing pretty mediocre reviews of NY transplant Craft, I finally tried it for a work event last night. Located behind the massive CAA building in Century City I expected to see lots of agents schmoozing their b-list celeb clients, but alas, it was mostly just couples. The outdoor patio out front would be a great spot for a big happy hour get together on the spacious but intimate couches. Inside was very beige, dimly lit, and the tables were almost too big to really carry on a conversation with someone across the table from you. The idea of the menu is to share among everyone at the table (most orders seem to accommodate 4 persons). After getting a glass of wine at the bar we sat at our table - somewhat inconveniently placed next to a huge pole. We started off the meal with an order of the caramelized onion & goat cheese tart, the bigeye tuna and pineapple, and the short rib ravioli. The tart was purely divine, though I wasn't really all that impressed with the tuna or the ravioli. It was definitely good, but nothing to write home about really. For the main course I opted for the quail and wild blueberries with a side of braised green beans, all of which were superb. The quail was a little greasy, but it only added to the flavor. I tried a bit of the roasted corn, a French whitefish, and the roasted flowering squash. The fish was a little bland, but the corn and squash were all you could want in a vegetable dish. To finish it off we ordered a cornucopia of desserts. First up was the three ice cream sampler with maple bacon, cream cheese, and honey yogurt ice creams. There are about 20 flavors, but each of us chose the one we wanted to try. The maple bacon was definitely different, and for me, not in a good way. The bacon taste was far too prevalent in a sweet dessert. The honey yogurt was decent, but the cream cheese was the best of the three. For any Texans out there it tasted like some good ole fashioned Blue Bell (which is the best ice cream in the country). We did have a chance to try the basil ice cream as a small scoop was served with the peach tart tatin that finished the night. Turns out basil ice cream tastes just like basil. The peach tart was really flaky with warm fresh peaches atop it. One of my favorite bites of the night. I would have liked to try a few other things on the menu, but for one reason or another, it didn't work out. Case in point - the peach cobbler cocktail sounded so good, but the waiter advised against it since the pastry chef was using all of the fresh peaches and the bar was forced to resort to a less satisfying peach puree. The wagyu beef (at $25 an oz) would have been wonderful to try as well, but there was already so much food that I didn't want to push my limits. I wasn't paying for the meal, but I can't imagine it was less than $100 per person, though I think that could go up or down, depending on your appetite. I'd have to say that this would not be in my top recommendations by any means, see prior posts for some of those!

http://www.craftrestaurant.com/craft_losangeles_menu.html

Jackson's Village Bistro

I suppose it's not entirely fair for me to review Jackson's as I know the owners, but it's too good not to tell others about it. I first came here with the owner, and I have to say, I enjoyed it more as a free meal, but who wouldn't? We were treated to a few appetizers, some salads, an entree each, and a few desserts to share between us. First up was the Mediterranean crostini with mint pesto spread, pine nuts, and topped with a delicate piece of shrimp. While it is slightly oily, it's really delicious and doesn't sit too heavy on your palate before the rest of the meal. For salads we shared the field greens with candied walnuts, gorgonzola, and caramelized pears as well as the ahi tuna salad with wasabi vinaigrette. Both are suburb, but the Asian-style ahi salad doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the French/Italian inspired cuisine. The main course is by far the most memorable dish from Jackson's and certainly the chef's specialty. The creamy risotto with chiati-truffle au jus and filet mignon is something I definitely crave (but unfortunately Jackson's is in Hermosa and a bit far to frequent). I've also tried the ribeye topped with crispy garlic, which was truly a savory experience. If I remember correctly, we ended the night with one of every dessert, but the best had to be the upside down blackberry pie, served with a small pie-like shell turned upside down with a gooey blackberry cobbler innards, then drizzled with blackberry sauce and paired with vanilla ice cream. If you like blackberries, you will really enjoy this dish and even if you don't normally care for the tart treat, you still might like this sugary cousin. My first experience was so great that I had to bring Chase here. The food was equally tasty, but this time we were on our own for the bill. Between a salad, 2 entrees, dessert, and wine, we were up to $100, which seemed pricey at the time, but I guess you could technically consider this a steak house since there are several cuts available on the menu, so in retrospect, $100 isn't that bad. The atmosphere is really pleasant with a homey interior that looks out into Pier Ave. in Hermosa beach. The beach smells and feels definitely enhance the experience as well. No need to be too dressy as a result, but it's definitely a great date spot if you're in the mood to put on a dress or a button-up shirt. The owner tells me that they have a lot of people come in for anniversary dinners and have even had a few people propose here. One of the customers enjoyed it so much that they painted a small representation of the restaurant to present to the owners of this family-run joint. And if you ask "who's Jackson?" you're sure to be told it's the owners' 10-year-old son.

http://www.jacksonsvillagebistro.com/

Tour De Austin

As I mentioned, I am on the plane, headed to Austin for my little brother’s graduation. I figured I would take this chance to cover some of my favorite places in A-town since I know many of us are from there/visit often.

Uchi – had to be top of the list. Not only one of my favorite restaurants in Austin, but one of my favorites of all time. Number one dish here for me has to be a toss up between the avo bake (baked avocado with creamy shredded crab and topped with a grilled shrimp) and the Uchiviche, their Japanese take on a traditionally Mexican dish, which means more tender fish and more delicate flavors. They used to have a chai tea crème brulee which was crème de la crème, but sadly, they discontinued it.

http://www.uchiaustin.com/

Eddie V’s – probably the most popular steakhouse in town. While the steaks are savory, the real reason to get here for me is the potato gruyere fritters, something I have never tried to make, but definitely should.

http://www.eddiev.com/

Las Manitas – Known for its Tex-Mex, Austin has so many options in this arena. Las Manitas is my favorite for a couple of reasons. Build your own breakfast tacos are always a great way to start your day, but the enchiladas verdes for lunch is hard to beat. Plus, how can you hate a place that supports local Mexican artists and is connected to one of the weirdest stores I have ever been in. If you need a Mexican wrestling mask, go here.

http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/10202499/

Fonda San Miguel – on the opposite side of the Mexican spectrum from Las Manitas is Fonda San Miguel. Offering more interior Mexican cuisine, their brunch is scrumptious and really has about every Mexican dish you could imagine. It ain’t cheap though, brunch runs at about $35 a person (I believe this includes unlimited alcoholic beverages, but I could be wrong on that one).

http://www.fondasanmiguel.com/

Chez Zee – Like an old timey neighborhood café, Chez Zee has the feel of a piano bar gone daytime. They also serve up a fun breakfast, but can be really hard to get into on the weekends. Luckily for you, that’s why they have board games like connect 4 in the outside waiting area.

http://www.chez-zee.com/

Kerby Lane – No matter how many times you’ve had it, you can still never get over the Kerby Queso. The best location by far is the one actually on Kerby Lane, but that one can also be the most crowded and difficult to get a table at. Breakfast all day and 24 hour service is always a good thing, right?

http://www.kerbeylanecafe.com/

With only a few days here and being in town during graduation and prom weekend, it will probably be pretty hard to get to any of these, but two things are for certain: I will be eating a breakfast taco (how I miss thee!) and I will be having some of the delicious fast food available, be it Whataburger, Taco Cabana, Fran’s, or Sandy’s. Any of them will be welcome in my belly.

CUT

I'd been told by a couple of people that Wolfgang Puck's latest steak shop, CUT in the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, wasn't worth going to, but luckily, they were wrong. Also, luckily for me, I wasn't paying. I went with a group of girls from work so we really got to eat to our hearts' desire. One of Cut's downfalls - carb overload. When you first sit down there is a box of Parmesan breadsticks on the table. Once you give your drink order, a bread boy visits the table with a spread of baked goods to choose from. I tried the pretzel, which was good, but should have been warmer, and the rye. The other girls at the table had the onion focaccia and all loved it. When it came time to order, the waiter brought a large platter of the various kinds of raw beef to the table. Cut is known particularly for their American Wagyu. My coworker and I split the American Wagyu T-bone, a whopping 34 oz steak for $130. Don't plan on getting any steak here for under $45 minimum. The pricier steaks run $70 and upward. I would have to say that I would never pay that much for a steak myself, but in this case like I mentioned, I wasn't buying. Let's rewind to pre-entree though. For appetizers we all shared a tuna tar tar that came with more bread and wasabi aioli. We were also given a steak tar tar due to a mistake our waiter made. The second appetizer we ordered was the Kobe Steak Sashimi. The tuna tar tar and the steak sashimi were really great, but we all agreed that the steak tar tar neither looked nor tasted very outstanding. Entrees were the natural progression behind the appetizers, and like I mentioned, I split the American Wagyu T-Bone with my coworker. It came with the house steak sauce and I also ordered a side of the wasabi-yuzu kocho butter, which was surprisingly mild, but still ridiculously good. For sides we had the spinach souffle and the potato tarte tatin. When the food runner brings the souffle to your table, they mix in an egg. I personally thought it was a bit too eggy. The potato tarte tatin was mashed potatoes baked inside a potato au gratin. It was good, but pretty starchy, especially when you take into account all of the bread we ate first. The best part of the meal was most definitely the dessert. We ordered two to share between the four of us. First up, the strawberries and cream baked Alaska. This is most likely the best dessert I've ever had. It's a frozen strawberry ice cream center with a baked marshmallow outer shell. Dessert #2 was the chocolate souffle, which is quite possibly the second best dessert I've ever had. It's served in a hot pot with two small pitchers, one of chocolate sauce, one of creme fraiche.

http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/finedining/cut/beverlyhills/diningmenus.php

BOA

Up on the Sunset strip amid bars and restaurants for the stars is BOA, a steak house where the food is great, but if you are not one of those celebrities for which this place lives, anticipate to be treated as such from the wait staff. As to be expected from a steak house, the menu is largely meat driven, but there are also some great fish options for those pescatarians out there. I was here with my family, and it was a great spot for a big crowd. As an appetizer we all shared an oyster platter. For the most part, this was great, but there were a couple of shucks in there that were just awful. It was literally like licking a dead fish. Being hypochondriacs, everyone worried for the rest of the night about whether or not we'd all be stricken with the awful afflictions one can get from eating oysters. Needless to say, no one was feeling the effects of the oysters as an aphrodisiac after that, but luckily we all survived. Looking back, I wish we had instead tried the Kobe beef corndog and the truffled nachos. Most other appetizer items were seafood dishes like prawns and Ahi tuna tartare. My sister ordered a BLT salad as a starter and that was actually quite good. Moving on to the main course, it was pretty much steaks all around. BOA is unique in that you choose the cut of steak you'd like and then you select a rub and/or sauce to pair with your it. For those who don't do well with options, you might have a little trouble here. It can be overwhelming to choose because you're out almost $40 if you don't like what you get. In our case, however, everyone was more than pleased with their plate. Four people at the table tried the Kansas City bone-in filet with various rubs (options include peppercorn, herbed butter, blackened, blue cheese, and fois gras). I myself tried the petite filet (about 5 oz.) with the herbed butter, served medium rare. It was phenomenal. Truly the best steak I've ever had. But I guess butter makes everything better, right? Since we were such a large party and most everyone was eating steak, we had the waiter bring us a spread of the six different sauces (peppercorn, cabernet, bearnaise, chimicurri, creamy horseradish, and BOA's signature J-1, with peppercorn being the most popular). Those not having steak tried the short ribs and the lobster and both were quite impressed, though the 3lbs. of lobster was a little much for my 110 lb. sister. Not to worry though, the rest of us ate it right up. For sides we ordered family style, getting the sauteed spinach, which was good, but mostly just tasted like salt, the mac and cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and my favorite, lobster mashed potatoes. We were all pretty full by the time we got to desert, but we ordered 2 anyway. We opted for the "adult s'mores" and a bananas foster. I'm not much into bananas, but everyone raved about this dish. I instead stuck to the s'mores, with charred melted mallow, a crispy slender homemade graham cracker, a dense chocolate cake, and dulce de leche ice cream, all with a subtle hint of cinnamon. BOA also has a location on Ocean in Santa Monica which offers cotton candy far better than what you'll find at any fair or Staples center event. In terms of atmosphere, BOA on Sunset is hip, but relaxed. It's a small space, but they did with it what they could. Rich dark woods are accented by natural elements like a twig woven screen and a glass insert in the floor with pebbles inside. To contrast, brightly colored lamps hang from the ceiling and cut the room in half. I will say that considering the design elements of the restaurant, the restrooms (which are in the Grafton Hotel) feel dirty and cheap with their sponge-painted orange walls and stalls. The sommelier was very friendly (which could have something to do with us ordering upward of $70 bottles of wine, 4 times), but the waiters here were uppity and inattentive. There were multiple times that we waited more than 10 minutes for our water glasses to be filled and when Griffin had his red wine glass taken off the table, our waiter never replaced it, despite our request. We had to ask 3 other people working in the restaurant before someone finally took care of it. One of the waiters I asked for the glass said "Do I look like your waiter?" instead of something more helpful like "How may I help you?" There's at least 3 or 4 waiters working at a time and there can't be more than 20 tables here, not to mention food runners, etc. so that kind of service when you are paying that price is inexcusable. The poor service continued to the valet, though at least BOA validates, so parking was only $8. I have been to the Santa Monica location and don't recall poor serivce being an issue there, though the interior design is not quite on par. Regardless of the bad service, we all still had a great time and a great meal, so I would still recommend going here for a fancy dinner, but like I mentioned before, entrees are $30-$40 each so either share or go for a really special occasion, or in my case, when someone else is paying. Thanks, Dad.

http://www.boasteak.com/balboa/