I dream of....

...Paris. Constantly since returning from my trip last fall.  Everywhere I go there are little reminders of Paris that jump out at me. That city is in my blood now. One day I will go back to that magical place and explore more of its crevices (Lord knows there are plenty) but for now I rely on a lush bistro in Beverly Hills to take its place.

On a perfectly clear Sunday afternoon, I met my friend in the cleanest city within Los Angeles County for brunch at Bouchon. For two weeks, LA foodies have a opportunity to visit numerous restaurants for several fixed price menus - it's called dineLA week (it happens several times a year). 

The soup of the day was butternut squash soup with a hint of cream and cranberries. Delicate and smooth, the soup danced in your mouth like pale orange velvet. 

The croque madame - deja-vu, being back in Paris, enjoying the very same sandwich on St. Germain. French fries, crisp and perfectly salted.

And for dessert, a pot de creme with orange gelee and vanilla sugar-coated shortbread.  If culture dictated that licking inside the little pot would be acceptable, I gladly would've done so. Smooth, light and layers of citrus and vanilla perfumed your palette with every spoonful.  Looking forward to returning there soon for dinner, until then, au revoir.

Run, Don't Walk to Canele.

I should've run to Canele the moment I heard about this gem several months back, but like all L.A. based foodies, sometimes we aren't able to run fast enough to check out a "new to me" restaurant. I'm not quite sure how long Canele has been around, but it's tucked into the up-and-coming downtown part of Atwater Village. I would describe Canele as a Neo-American/French bistro - the space is small, intimate (hence they do not take reservations) and the kitchen is open - in plain view for all to see. The tables are sparsley decorated with a votive candle and a teeny tiny glass jar of fresh flowers. But as you're about to find out, the flavors are anything but small here. The menu even had a nice touch - the dishes were arranged under the headings: beginning, middle, and end.

I met my dad there for dinner and we couldn't have been happier with the low key but attentive service and the delectable dishes. To start, my dad ordered the jamon serrano plate - served on a cheese board. It featured serrano ham (sweet, nutty, melt-in-your mouth and your roll-your-eyes back kinda way), pitted dates, toasted bread, marinated almonds and garrotxa cheese. The garrotxa is a Spanish sheeps milk cheese - easily compared to a manchego, but I found it milder. This plate reminded me of how I'd like to eat that dish on a regular basis, in fact, it inspired me to create my own little plate this weekend. I picked the dandelion salad with capers, parsley, garlic, croutons and a sherry viniagrette. This salad is not for the faint hearted, its pungent, bitter and should you dine with a date, I don't recommend kissing after eating it. Nonetheless, I loved it for its bold and unapologetic flavors all around.

Dad had the pancetta pasta with parsley, parmesan, pistacho and of course, pancetta. Very flavorful and light for a pasta dish. I went with the bistro steak - bordelaise sauce (a red wine sauce), creamed spinach and pommes anna (which is essentially a thinly sliced potato pie). I was easily transported to my future in Paris later this year, where I hope to leisurely dine at a bistro and enjoy a properly cooked steak. The meal was comfort food without the heavy qualities associated with these dishes. One could easily tell how much TLC was put into each dish and it shined throughout the plate.

Last but not least, we split the profiteroles with vanilla ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce (which had more a consistency of pudding, thick and luscious). Of course, I forgot to document the profiteroles before we dived into them, but there's proof of it's existence! :)

Church and State: No Separation.

This past week, one of my foodie cohorts and I went on our second foodie adventure together (we are trying to make 2010 a year of adventures and new dining experiences). Since I've been back in LA, I've heard glowing reviews of Church and State, which is located outside of downtown LA, in the Warehouse district. The restaurant sits below the National Biscuit Company building which was converted into swanky lofts several years back.

The restaurant is cozy, well designed and hearkens back to Paris and what a typical bistro feels and looks like, if we were inclined to jump on a plane right this minute and head for gay Paris. Tables are close together and lights are strung, the only thing missing was the French music, but wait, we are in LA. Instead of the classic French music, they have replaced it with cool, cutting edge tunes, yeah, now it reminds you that yes, you are still in LA my friends.

The menu features typical dishes you might see on a menu at any French bistro - escargot, cheese plates, mussels, steak frites, french onion soup, the list truly goes on and on, which brings me to our selections of the evening. Mind you, it was definitely difficult to choose, there were so many things I wanted to try. I began the meal with the Salade Frisee aux Lardons, a frisee salad with poached egg, crispy bacon, delicate croutons and a simple viniagrette. Breaking the yolk up and letting it seep into the web-like frisee, this salad made me roll my eyes in ecstasy - several times I might add. The creaminess of the yolk and the saltiness of the bacon are a match made in ingredient heaven. My foodie co-hort ordered the Gratin de Macaronis et Fromage, how could she resist?!? This concoction of macaroni and cheese was divine. Made with Gruyere and Cantal, this decadent treat was thick, creamy, delicious and so well-balanced.

The Fruits der Mer was absolutely breathtaking, a slice of grilled bread with a generous slather of bright aioli livened up the plate next to a bouquet of shrimp, mussels, clams and potatoes in a saffron infused broth. Again, my eyes rolled with delight and my belly sang joyfully. The Poulet Roti was ordered by my foodie co-hort and while I only tasted the sauce (sweet and mellow tomatoes), she insisted that the chicken was moist and tender, not to mention the vegetables. A beautiful presentation too for such a simplistic dish.

And to finish off this intoxicating meal, the Chocolat Pot de Creme spoke my name (I'm sorry Creme Brulee, next time, I promise). The pot de creme was studded with caramel, fleur de sel, hazelnuts and raspberries. Rich, rich, rich, but I still managed to pick apart each ingredient. Considering that all these ingredients are rich on their own, I was surprised that each ingredient remained true to its form. The dark Vahlrona chocolate with the smoky caramel and delicate salt was simply melt-in-your-mouth food orgasm at best!

Now that I can finally say I've eaten at Church and State, there are many reasons why I want to return. The diners who sat next to us ordered several dishes we didn't get to try but the aroma and sight is enough for me to go back and order different dishes. There may be separation of church and state in America but please don't separate my Church and State in LA.

Saturday Morning Crepes

For some ungodly reason I awoke (bright eyed and bushy tailed) at 8am this past Saturday. I could go off on an "it's my only day to slepp in" tangent but that would a non-food related tangent. Regardless, I planned on making nutella crepes over the weekend. I have to admit that for some odd reason, I have been intimated by the non-elusive "crepe". It's essentially a French pancake, usually stuffed with something sweet or savory. Let me tell you, the French definitely know how to a pancake justice. They were light, fluffy, buttery, thin and sinfully delicious. A few notes for those willing to try making crepes: (1) The batter needs to "rest" for at lease 30 minutes in the fridge. I opted for 45 minutes. (2) The batter should be liquid-like and thin. I added a little more milk to my batter after my first go-round of batter didn't easily swirl in my non-stick skillet as it should have. (3) After the batter "rested", I strained the batter through a sieve, the batter should be smooth, avoid lumps! Overall, it was definitely a "confidence-boosting" experience. The Nutella filling simply made them taste divine. I could really see one going "wild" with filling ideas for crepes.

Pass The Croque Monsieur...

Oui, oui mon amis.......(yes, yes my friends) it's French night at Chez Sacks. Last summer Paul and I went to Indianapolis for the day. We ended up having lunch at a cool French bistro in the Broad Ripple area of town. Paul ordered a Croque Monsieur - basically a French style grilled ham and cheese. Last night I attempted to make it, quite successfully I will add, thanks to a recipe from my gigantic Gourmet cookbook. It's actually quite simple, delicious and honestly, fattening, but worth every creamy bite. What separates this grilled ham and cheese from the classic American version is the type of cheese used (gruyere) and the sauce (Mornay). The sauce consists of a basic bechamel sauce with gruyere cheese and some dijon mustard. The sauce is liberally applied to the interior of the sandwich and once the sandwich is finished on the stovetop, more Mornay sauce is placed on top of the sandwich, placed under the broiler til it's bubbling. Our tummies were definitely satisfied, so were our hearts.