Lawry's Carvery

Sorry, no photos. I've had a mental block lately and keep forgetting my camera. But Lawry's Carvery needed a post!

I was so surprised when C and I met for lunch at the Century City Westfield and saw Lawry's. Apparently the mall food court Carveries has been at South Coast Plaza for awhile, but now it's in Century City too. Curious as all get out, we had to try it.

Consensus: pretty darned good for around $10! It's not like eating a full prime rib dinner in a sit down restaurant, but for under half the price of an entree it's a pretty good lunch. Just watch which slab they cut from; some are more well done than others!

Steak Sandwich with Green Peppercorn Dip: this is a simple sandwich. Slabs of meat on a French roll, served with au jus, a pepper aioli, and house potato chips. My only complaint was that the aioli could have been much more peppery.

Carvery salad: a very well balanced meal! A caesar-style salad, small piece of prime rib, and pile of crispy onions. To make this better, the salad could have been more lightly dressed in a more intense dressing, and the onions could have been hot.

So you see it's not perfect food, but all my quibbles are complaints I'd have at a real restaurant. For food court food, this is pretty darned good eats.

Wedding Checklist:

• bridal party transportation: reserved!
• first dance song: chosen! The band will start learning it soon
• number of RSVPs received: 30 out of 100+!

To Bling or Not to Bling?

My J is not a fancy man. $50 shoes are an extravagence for him, he buys dress shirts at Marshall's, he owns one jacket and two pairs of jeans, and the watch he wears is a $100ish present from a law school buddy. Which, of course, was an incredibly generous present!

Still, this last point is the current problem. We're getting married, and our parents are wondering what to give us as presents. They know we don't like a lot of clutter, we don't need a car, and we're not ready to buy a house. Traditionally, Chinese parents give money, but they want to give us something a little more tangible as well. Oftentimes these days, that comes in the form of fancy watches. So I understand their mentality. A watch is something relatively practical, that can act as a not-too-flashy status symbol, that is more tangible than money in the bank, and that can have sentimental value and be passed down in the future. In many ways, it's a perfect present.

Our parents, not having time to shop around, of course automatically thought "Rolexes." Now, that's all well and good, but it's way over the top. We don't hang in circles where Rolexes are common, the styles are very old fashioned, and it's just not necessary. J and I both agree on this. However, J doesn't want a watch at all! He doesn't think they are necessary, or that there's any value in wearing a beautiful timepiece. I strongly disagree on this point, and I present The Omega Seamaster Professional:


It's a beautiful watch. A lot of its appeal comes from its lustre and weight, which can't be expressed in a photo. Somehow, all that is lost on camera and it just looks like any plain $200 watch. Also inexpressible, of course, is the internal workmanship of a well-crafted timepiece. It's unnecessary to get into all the details. Suffice it to say Omega is a dependable brand with a solid history, and that the reasons I find it perfect for J are numerous:

• it's simple. This is not a flashy watch, and he is not a flashy guy. It's a watch that won't draw attention to him, but that will tell the careful observer that J has a little class and style, or at least that the person who bought the watch for him cares that he has a little class and style
• it's not a Rolex. In fact, it's not a Rolex, an IWC, a Cartier, a Patek, or any number of $5,000+ brands. He would kill me if I suggested our parents buy him one of those.
• it has everything J likes in a watch. There's a small, easy to read date display, a metal band, and a glow in the dark face that doesn't look like it belongs on a ten year old's Timex.
• there's nothing J doesn't want in a watch. It doesn't have a million features or faces, it's not oversized or very heavy, and it's not embellished
• it's called the Seamaster! I know, it's silly, but what better name for a watch worn by someone who loves the ocean so much?

I know the thrifty spender in him is balking at the idea of a watch costing "real" money. But it's no Rolex, and I think it's something classic that he'll enjoy for decades. Like a wedding ring, these kinds of watches are meant to last.

May Garden (Santa Ana)

Once upon a time my dad had a lot of friends who lived in San Diego and Orange County. They loved a restaurant in Newport Beach named Tsuru, who boasted a talented Taiwanese chef named Eric. Even though Tsuru served mostly sushi to the surfer crowd, Eric could be counted on to whip up a Taiwanese banquet on any given weekend. The food was so good that despite the drive, my parents would never pass up an invitation to eat there with their friends. It was also one of the few places my sisters and I would readily go, even though we normally hated going out to eat with a bunch of grownups.

Sadly, the restaurant closed down and we lost track of Eric: until recently! He's opened up a restaurant named May Garden in Santa Ana. The place is the opposite of fancy, but the food is incredible. Caveat: the normal menu is very Westernized and not at all exciting. If you want good food, you have to call ahead and specifically request a Taiwanese banquet for a table of 10. Talk to Chef Eric or his wife, or e-mail me if you have questions. Since Eric remembered my dad, we also probably got special treatment and pricing. So I won't say how much the below cost, but even at double what we were charged this meal would have been well worth it.

May Garden
1400 Southeast Bristol Street
Santa Ana, CA
714-751-9229

Kaoliang (sorghum) wine. This particular bottle is 25 years old. Yes, my dad brought out the big guns. The wine was so fragrant the smell had infused the entire dining room by the end of dinner. It's hard to describe what it tasted like; unlike the usual young rubbing alcohol kaoliang, this bottle tastes sweet and smooth. A great example of why alcohol should be aged.

Cold plate: squid wrapped around seaweed, wrapped around masago; and lightly marinated steamed chicken. The squid dish was quite good. Perfectly tender with an interesting texture combination.

Lobster in butter and garlic cream sauce. This was definitely the least Chinese dish of the dinner. In fact, it tasted positively Italian. Delicious, but heavy.

Hard to find dish!!! Mixed seafood rolled in seaweed and lightly batter fried, with little balls of fried taro on the side. This is just down home tasty fried food.

Hard to find dish!!! Buddha Jumped Over the Wall is so named because the scent of it is so delicious that legend has it monks would climb over monastery walls to get a bite. Ingredients vary from restaurant to restaurant, but usually include quail eggs, taro, abalone, shark's fin, sea cucumber, water chestnuts, gojiberries, a good free range chicken, pork bones, and more.

Miso Chilean sea bass. Okay, I know we're not supposed to eat Chilean sea bass, but it was a set menu and it came out! Sorry, fishies. I have to also say, this was the biggest slab of Chilean sea bass I've ever seen. It was well over a foot in diameter.

Crab over sticky rice. Traditionally, a crab with a lot of eggs and very little meat is used so that the eggs can be mixed with the rice. There are mushrooms, meat, water chestnuts, and a few other goodies in the rice.

Lobster noodles. They took the butter garlic sauce from the earlier lobster dish and cooked it into a noodle soup. Extremely hearty, and served in the giant orange bowl below. It was delicious, but I think this would have been better packed away and saved for another day. Half of it went to waste, which is really sad.

We had to be talked into this dish, but only because we were already so full! The waitress said if we didn't eat some the chef was going to pack some up and make us take it home anyway, so how could we refuse? Stir fried rice stick noodles is a Taiwanese classic (and incidentally something my mom's really great at making).

Last, but certainly not least, fresh water-cooked mochi in crushed peanuts and sugar. So perfect! I only wish I'd had room for more than one. Gooey, warm, sweet, and covered in perfectly toasted peanuts.

I also brought a small Paradise Cake from King's Hawaiian, and everyone liked it! I think we have a wedding cake winner.

Tea Time

One of the integral parts of a Chinese wedding is the tea ceremony. This involves the bride and groom serving tea to the groom's grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts. For us, this meant buying a tea set. J's parents dont' entertain, so they don't have a service!

I found this at Life Plaza today. It's classic, but cute enough that I'd be happy to use it in the future, and came with plenty of cups. Plus I think the blue will be very pretty in photos (I know, crazy bride alert. Who thinks of these things?)

And you know how when you shop at a Chinese place, you usually end up with odds and ends that were either "free" or "closes to free"? It's a long story, but we ended up with two of these cups and saucers, just for me and Jimmy. It goes with my yellow Le Creuset tea pot: adorably rustic. Finally, I can drink my matcha milk tea in style.

Busy Bee Me

A note on the last post: we made mussels again tonight, and they weren't nearly as good as the last batch. I think this means I need to give proper dues to a certain bottle of white wine: Berger Gruner Veltliner. The wine really made the cream saffron sauce exquisite in a way that it was not tonight. Never fear, it'll be good no matter what wine you use, but the Berger was exceptional.

Wedding updates

DONE!
-invitations are out! Or, at least, all the ones that have to be mailed our out. We have a stack of local recipients who will be getting theirs by hand. It's a real load off my back, and we've already gotten two RSVPs! The rest of you, ahem!
-cake. I think I've decided to go with King's Hawaiian. Turns out after doing some math that I'd save several hundred dollars going through them. And I like the idea of a lighter cake after a big meal.
-food. We have a menu in mind, we're waiting on the hotel to get back to us regarding pricing.
-wine. I liked the Berger so much I ordered a few cases from K&L! My wine order is now complete except for a magnum for the head table. I'll probably select that after the champagne event. The magnum will either be a champagne or a Bourdeaux.


IMMEDIATELY UPCOMING
-helping J's mom find a dress. She hates to shop! This is going to be a toughie
-making an appointment to discuss cake design
-continuing to go in for final dress fittings
-finalizing our music plan
-keeping track of RSVPs, especially in terms of dietary restrictions
-selecting and buying wedding rings
-hair and makeup trial
-hounding my bridesmaids to buy their shoes

Mussels in Saffron Cream Sauce

I've been remiss in my East Coast posting. I promise, I'll get to it! I have a few favorites left. But ever since Claire took me to La Lavandou near the Zoo, I've been craving mussels in saffron cream sauce. So today, with a little help from the internet and Whole Foods, I came up with an easy home version. Look at that gigantic mussel on the right! It was twice as big as any of the other ones.

• 3 pounds black mussels (only $4/lb at Whole Foods!)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups dry white wine (I had some Berger Gruner Veltliner left, only $11 a liter)
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron (one big pinch)
• 1 medium onion, very finely diced
• salt and pepper
• a few dashes of turmeric (let's call it a quarter teaspoon)
• chives or Italian parsley, neither of which I had on hand and had to forego

Use a big heavy pot for this, at least 6-8 quarts. Sautee the onions in olive oil over medium heat for five minutes, or until soft but not browned. Meanwhile, soak the saffron threads in a few tablespoons of hot water, mashing with a spoon to release all the color. When the onions are soft, add the white wine, cream, saffron and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then dump in the mussels and reduce to medium or medium low heat. Make sure you've cleaned them all first! Coat the mussels with the sauce, cover, and let the sauce simmer for six minutes. Check to see if the mussels are done. Mine weren't, probably because I had so many. I think I cooked them a total of fifteen minutes over medium low heat, and stirred the pot twice. I prefer to be patient with mussels. Low and slow! They are ready when you can easily open up the shell and get at the meat. If the shell's a little open but hard to pry open all the way, it's not ready!

Salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a slab of buttery toasted bread. Of course, fries are the way to go. But I wasn't in the mood for quite so much fat (I know, crazy!) so we had sauteed zucchinis and potatoes.

A pound of mussels is approximately how much is in the bowl pictured. It's plenty for one person unless you're starved or not going to eat anything else. Remember, the creamy sauce is amazing with bread, so you're likely to get full off that before you can finish even a pound! What with the vegetables and bread, we were hard pressed to finish the mussels. And I'm using all the leftover sauce for lunch tomorrow! It'll either be tossed with vegetables or eaten with toasted bread.

A Few Great Photos

No particular topic here, just posting photos. I really never thought I'd try a bottle of Opus One, mostly because I was traumatized by the $25, 2 oz. pour at their tasting room in Napa. But J's dad took a client to dinner last week, and this was what they ordered. He brought home a lot because neither of them is a big drinker. I have to say, it's lovely. $150 lovely? Probably not.

And this is J relaxing in the lobby of CDM. Isn't it pretty? I love how it's casual and inviting, with soft warm light. Parts of the hotel are very casual to fit in with the beach setting, and other parts are more elegant and formal. And yes, J's really that good looking.

Today's Lesson

Today I learned that making invitations with a helper is fun; making them myself is borderline torture. I'm almost blind, and my fingers hurt! No time for photos, no time for cooking, and my tongue tastes like envelope glue. BLEH. But it's okay! Half the invites are out, and I'm super excited to start getting RSVPs. I'll make the other half before the end of the week so I can hand them out this weekend. We have a lot of local guests, so a good number of the invites will be hand delivered.

I'm considering going to this: K&L Champagne Event. Has anyone been? Is anyone interested? It's steep, but I got an e-mail saying the following would be poured:

1995 Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Millenaires (retails for $84.99)
1996 Fleury (retails for $64.99)
1996 Gosset Celebris (retails for $110.99)
1996 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne (retails for $269.00)
1996 Salon (retails for $229)
1998 Perrier Jouet Fleur (retails for $94.99)
1998 Piper Heidsick Brut (retails for $54.99)
1998 Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame (retails for $129)
1999 Cuvee Dom Pérignon Brut Champagne (retails for $124.99)
1999 Laurent Perrier Brut (retails for $54.99)
1999 Veuve Clicquot Gold Label Reserve (retails for $54.99)
2000 Launois Vintage Brut (retails for $34.99)
2000 Roederer "Cristal" (retails for $219.99)
2000 Roederer Vintage Brut (retails for $54.99)
2000 Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé (retails for $62.99)
Ariston Brut Rose (retails for $29.99)
Bonville Brut (retails for $27.99)
Bonville Brut Prestige (retails for $44.99)
Carte Blanche (retails for $29.99)
Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve (retails for $29.99)
Deutz Brut (retails for $32.99)
Deutz NV Brut (retails for $32.99)
Fleury Brut Carte Rouge (retails for $29.99)
Fleury Brut Rose (retails for $35.99)
Gonet Blanc de Blanc (retails for $34.99)
Gonet Brut Reserve (retails for $29.99)
Gonet Rose (retails for $32.99)
Gosset Brut Excellence Champagne (retails for $26.99)
Gosset Grand Reserve Champagne (retails for $49.99)
Krug Grand Cuvee Brut Champagne (retails for $126.99)
Launois Cuvee Reserve (retails for $29.99)
Laurent Perrier "Cuvee Alexandra" Brut (retails for $119.99)
Laurent Perrier "Grand Siecle" (retails for $79.99)
Laurent Perrier de Castellane Rose (retails for $42.99)
Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut (retails for $39.99)
Marguet Brut Reserve (retails for $29.99)
Moet & Chandon "White Star" (retails for $31.99)
Moet & Chandon Rose (retails for $49.99)
Mumm De Cramant Blanc de Blanc (retails for $45.99)
Perrier Jouet Grand Brut (retails for $29.99)
Piper Heidsieck Brut (retails for $23.99)
Piper Heidsieck Rare (retails for $109.99)
Roederer Brut Premier (retails for $36.99)
Tarlant Cuvee Louis (retails for $44.99)
Veuve Clicquot Brut (retails for $38.99)
Ariston Carte Blanche Brut (retails for $23.99)
Ayala Brut Majeur Champagne (retails for $34.99)
Ayala Brut Zero Champagne. (retails for $38.99)
Bonville Belles Voyes (retails for $64.99)
Bonville Brut (retails for $27.99)
Bonville Brut Prestige (retails for $44.99)
Bruno Michel Carte Blanche (retails for $29.99)
Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve (retails for $29.99)
Deutz Brut (retails for $32.99)
Deutz NV Brut (retails for $32.99)
Fleury Brut Carte Rouge (retails for $29.99)
Fleury Brut Rose (retails for $35.99)
Gonet Blanc de Blanc (retails for $34.99)
Gonet Brut Reserve (retails for $29.99)
Gonet Rose (retails for $32.99)
Gosset Brut Excellence Champagne (retails for $26.99)
Gosset Grand Reserve Champagne (retails for $49.99)
Krug Grand Cuvee Brut Champagne (retails for $126.99)
Launois Cuvee Reserve (retails for $29.99)
Laurent Perrier "Cuvee Alexandra" Brut (retails for $119.99)
Laurent Perrier "Grand Siecle" (retails for $79.99)
Laurent Perrier de Castellane Rose (retails for $42.99)
Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut (retails for $39.99)
Marguet Brut Reserve (retails for $29.99)
Moet & Chandon "White Star" (retails for $31.99)
Moet & Chandon Rose (retails for $49.99)
Mumm De Cramant Blanc de Blanc (retails for $45.99)
Perrier Jouet Grand Brut (retails for $29.99)
Piper Heidsieck Brut (retails for $23.99)
Piper Heidsieck Rare (retails for $109.99)
Roederer Brut Premier (retails for $36.99)
Tarlant Cuvee Louis (retails for $44.99)
Veuve Clicquot Brut (retails for $38.99)

Crazy, huh! Obviously no one would be able to drink even a little of each and not be totally wasted. I don't even thing one can taste this many in one night and leave with any kind of idea of what one's favorites are. But I think it would be a fun event, and would certainly be worth it for anyone who's looking into buying holiday champagne. I mean, I could easily see spending $100 on several bottles just to find out what would be best for a party. Why not try a dozen or two instead? It's not like I could ever afford a $269 bottle on my own!

Casa Del Mar Food Tasting

Food tasting was a much more luxurious experience than I expected! Once again, going with CDM pays off. We ate in the lounge overlooking the ocean, received lovely service, and had a nice chat with the catering manager assigned to our wedding. We tasted a LOT of food, and the manager was kind enough to let me do some tasting customization like replacing salads and desserts with soups and entrees. We have way too many Chinese guests. Serving a plate of raw vegetables (in January!) would get me skinned. So I'll start with our favorites, and then just give you photos of the rest.

Woodland mushrooms on phyllo crisp, in a port reduction. It sounds boring, but it's very wintery and quite well executed. The sauce is thick and flavorful, the mushrooms are cooked through but still have some pop, and parts of the phyllo are crispy and parts are soaked in the rich sauce.

Dungeness crabcake. Very nice! I always have low expectations of hotel crabcake, especially ones made with Dungeness crabs, which are very mild in flavor. This crabcake had very little filling, and actually packed plenty of flavor. Slightly crisped on the outside, served with a few greens and a lightly lemony aioli, it was lovely.

Lobster bisque with tarragon croutons (right). This reminded me of lunch at Nordstrom Cafe in SF with LC. That was our nearby escape from work when we needed to take a long lunch and get away. One lobster bisque each, a cone of fries, and a pot of tea each. Always soothing. I highly recommend the Nordstrom Cafe lobster bisque! This version was just as nice. The butternut squash soup was too thick and grainy, and the tomato soup was slightly too tangy and will be out of season in January (ew, canned?). Don't ask me how I picked three orange soups. Let's just say it's almost Halloween, and not that I didn't use my brain.

Colorado rack of lamb. By leaps and bounds, my favorite entree. However, I do realize that a lot of people don't eat lamb so this might not be a great choice. Sigh. GRR! We'll see how our RSVPs look in terms of food preferences, but this was amazing. Forget comparing it with caterers and banquet kitchens, this was one of the largest, most well prepared pieces of lamb I've ever had.

Miso marinated cod. Delish! Yes, so delish a fork attacked a corner before we could get to it. Incredibly moist (read: boy was it a fatty fish), lightly marinated, with some nice spicy greens to cut the fat. I'm so glad I told the chef to go easy on the salt on all our dishes. Miso can totally overpower fish.

Muscovy duck breast. This was good. Don't get me wrong. It was very, very good. However, it was not excellent. And compared to Peking duck, I think it would suffer in most people's eyes. So it will probably get eliminated not on its own merits, but because we'll have a lot of guests who won't appreciate a Western style duck preparation. And if I were to get incredibly nit picky, I would say the skin could have been crisped more. The edges were a little fatty, and I would prefer for the fat to have been scraped off a little to allow the skin to crisp up more. But really, that's psychotic food critic Pei talking. Kudos on the asparagus on this dish. By far my favorite vegetable accompaniment.

Braised short ribs. Yum! It tastes like a homey pot roast. Which is why it's getting eliminated. As much as I love beef and pot roast, and as great as this rendition was, it's not a wedding dish to me. It's a little too heavy, unrefined, and uninteresting.

Sea bass. Nicely seared, but a tad dry in the middle. We prefered the miso cod because the fish was infused with a light flavor. the sea bass tasted bland in comparison, which was surprising because I usually love bass. I also know that J's and my mom both hate olives, so maybe we'll just skip this combination all together. And call me a b***h, but when I eat string beans I like for the long tail and accompanying chewy fiber to have been removed. Kind of like how celery should be ribbed. The beans were cooked very well though. They did a great job with all the vegetables, cooking them through with still a bit of crispness, and keeping all the bright colors.

Halibut. This was our least favorite fish dish. The fish was just uninteresting, and mixed beans and rice is something neither of us likes. Oh well.

And lastly, this was an appetizer of spinach risotto. Like the ribs, this is something I would love to eat on any given day, but that I would not serve to a hundred other people. It had a large amount of pungent cheese in it, as well as a tangy lemon kick. I don't think the older Chinese people can handle that much cheese.

So we have a lot of decisions to make, but this is definitely one of the more fun decisions. We're going to send the hotel a few menu options, see how the pricing on our "dream combos" would look, see what guests' RSVPs look like, and go from there.

Han Bat and LOFT

Cooling weather brought us to Han Bat for sullongtang, traditional Korean beef bone soup.

Beef and bones (and sometimes innards) are boiled until the stock turns milky white, and the plain soup is served unsalted with some boiled meat and clear noodles. At the table, you can add your own scallions, sea salt, or chili garlic sauce if you like. My MO is to eat most of the noodles, then add some steamed rice to the soup, and then add a healthy amount of the chili garlic paste only when I'm at the end of the bowl. Don't ask me why, that's just what feels right. Han Bat keeps things simple by serving only two kinds of kimchee: napa and daikon.

We were a little stumped about where to go afterwards. We didn't want ice (no Mr. Coffee or ___berry, please!), and we didn't want to drive all the way to Susina or MILK. J remembered seeing a place called LOFT that we were never sure was a cafe or restaurant. Turns out it's a cute little coffee house! In contrast to the neon lights, ultra modern, pop music filled cafes that line Korea town, this was a little slice of New England. The interior is very proper, there's an antique piano in one corner, and the loft area (where we sat) has exposed brick walls and wooden beams overhead.


The drinks were excellent. M's black coffee smelled nice and looked good and strong. Jimmy had a frozen slushee made of ground grains (sounds gross, but it tasted like a peanut butter slushee), and my pineapple papaya green tea was light and fragrant. Cat was in charge of ordering, so of course there was tiramisu.


The cafe serves Sweet Lady Jane cakes, but we've all had those so we opted for a strawberry banana waffle. Yum! Great after dinner snacking. LOFT is a great option if you're looking for something low key. It wasn't at all crowded on a Friday night around 9 p.m., though of course that could be a fluke. They play soft piano music, and the sound system is stellar for an eatery. There's an outdoor patio, good sized parking lot, and plenty of dessert and drink choices. Service is slow, prices are high (but no higher than any other cafe in K-town), but the place is a lovely escape from Asiaville.

Paulette (Beverly Hills)

Ever since I bought a box of downright disgusting macaroons from Jin Patisserie (seriously, what is up with the hype for that place?), I've been afraid to try Los Angeles macaroons. I thought it would be like my ever-failed attempt to find a stellar baguette in this town.

But after hearing some lovely things about Paulette, I decided to give them a try mostly because my mom mentioned she saw a French dessert on television that she'd never seen before. After she described it, I thought it had to be macaroons. So hopefully she'll ike these, because I sure did! I got her a box of 12 flavors.

My sister and I shared a pistachio and fresh peach. Lovely! The pistachio was subtly nutty with a creamy filling. The peach was an intense burst of white peach flavor, kind of like Japanese peach candy. The macaroons are on the large side, bigger than an Oreo, and each macaroon is brightly colored. They rotate flavors; I can't wait to go back when they have Earl Grey or caramel.

The "Falling Petals" Cake

The little girl in me kind of loves this.

Okay, I won't lie. She really loves this, but only if properly excecuted. It's definitely a high risk design. Here are some easier, but still pretty, designs.

But for me, not in green.

Like this, but not in black or with that hideous ribbon.

Lovely! I'm a bit of a sucker for eggplant purple.

Beef Rib Sandwich

J has an intense love of sandwiches that I don't necessarily share. But when I do make a sandwich, I like to do it right.

I sauteed a red bell pepper, a yellow bell pepper, and a yellow onion, over medium heat then covered the vegetables to let them completely wilt to a sticky caramelized mass. Then I took boneless rib slices (Korean kalbi style) and salted and peppered them. After letting them come up to room temperature (very important!) I seared them in a hot cast iron pan for two minutes per side, let them rest for five minutes, and then sliced them into thin strips against the grain. I hollowed out a Whole Foods ciabatta (pick a flat, rectangular bread) and hollowed out the center a little, then filled it with salad greens, some whole grain mustard, a sprinkling of white cheddar, the beef slices, and a generouse heap of vegetables. Mmm mm good!

King's Hawaiian (Torrance)

I had to snag some alone time with Jo before she officially became a full-time lawyer and is never allowed to see the light of day again. So last Friday, we went to lunch and then King's Hawaiian for dessert.

Suffice it to say the entire restaurant was decked out in Halloween regalia.

We shared a slice of paradise cake, which was delicious! Layers of guava, lime, and passionfruit (?) cake with a gooey passionfruit jelly/curd on top. The frosting was interesting too. It looks like whipped cream, but was actually closer to marshmallow topping in texture. We both loved that the cake was incredibly moist and low on sugar. It was possible to finish the slice without needing any water or milk! We each bought some treats to go. I loved the haupia (coconut) cake, which was even moister and fluffier than the paradise cake. The guava cake was good but not as exciting, but the pineapple muffin might just be my new favorite breakfast. Toasted lightly, it takes on the crumbly crunchy texture of a good cornbread, with the tangy fruit flavor of pineapple.

More Cake, Please!

Food porn! Today, of the dessert variety.

I like it. Simple, clean, but elegant. I think the lace pattern could use a pearlescent or light gold sheen to it to make the cake stand out from far away, but in general I love the idea of a cake with clean lines and something wrapped around the bottom of each layer. Now, to make a final decision on flavors.

Cake Divas: chocolate with coconut mousse, lemon with passionfruit curd, and almond with raspberry jam and almond mousse. Each layer would be a different flavor, so there would be more choices.

King's Hawaiian: I love that their cake is less sugary, super fluffy, and quite moist. However, they only have one flavor that I would consider. It's called "paradise cake" and it's various tropical fruit flavors (guava, lime, passionfruit) stacked together. The cake is also crazy colors: imagine rainbow sherbet!

Fixing a Disaster?

I've been watching a lot of Top Chef lately, and a friend mentioned that the contestants were asked their tips for fixing a ruined dish/meal. The best answers were "Add butter," "Wrap it in bacon," and "Keep the booze flowing."

It's a great list! It's so true that any of those things would help people forgive a multitude of culinary sins. I would add "Make sure dessert is a knockout." What would you do?

Yum Alert!

I've been looking for a good hard cider for a long time, and K&L Wines pulled through.

2005 Eric Bordelet Sydre "Doux" apple cider. It's not the BEST French apple cider I've ever had, but it's very good and inexpensive ($10). The best I've had was at Cav Wine Bar in San Francisco, but I didn't write down the name. I think it retailed for at least $15, if not $20, so it's an unfair comparison in any case. So the search continues. For now, this is a tasty, off dry cider with a strong apple fragrance but not quite enough apple flavor. It's a delicious alternative to more common alcoholic beverages: not as sharp as wine, more fruity than bubbly, less bitter than beer. Perfectly enjoyable, if not actually perfect. We're considering a case for the wedding, since we will have some confessed wine cooler lovers in attendance. Bordelet also has a pear cider available for $18. I suppose pear might be more difficult to grow or process, plus the cider has pear chunks in it according to the K&L clerk.

What is "Manly," Anyway?

I saw this on TV today and could not stifle a socket-wrenching eyeroll. What is it with our culture? The answer to the age old question "Hm, how can we make this more attractive to men?" is usually "Add boobs!"

Is a mani/pedi and a brow wax really more manly because it is being administered by a bleached blonde with a set of DDs instead of a Versace clad man who wants to be called Kitty? You're going to walk out looking pretty either way. Duh, I know, one experience is more enjoyable to most men than the other. But yet another franchise banking on the fact that men like to see huge racks and will pay to do so? Will there be Hooters versions of everything one day? DD Diner? Huge Rack Shoe Repair? Jugs 'R Us Dry Cleaning? Obviously, no one would hire me to pick the names for these places.

How about going back to the days of yore, when "manly" meant a trip down to the corner barber for a shave from a trusty old man? Alternatively, where are all the salons and restaurants trotting out hot men? Hm? I await my chance to get a haircut and manicure at Buns of Steel Salon.

Katz's Delicatessen

One East-West Coast comparison we wanted to make while on our trip was New York's Katz's versus Los Angeles's Langer's pastrami sandwiches. So off we went one gray and misty morning.

The hand cutting is always fun to watch! Somehow, it just tastes better than machine sliced. Something about the rough edges ups the flavor profile for me. It's why, for example, pulled pork is better pulled than sliced.

The sandwich was great! I liked that we asked for some fatty portions. As for which is better, I'll have to say tossup on the meat, and better bread at Langer's. Pickles win hands down at Katz's though!