Vegan Dinner at the Breadbar with Kim Barnouin of SkinnyBitch

My girlfriends had been talking about it, I had heard whisperings about it here and there, and it had reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. What is this you ask? Well SkinnyBitch of course! Well, not quite of course. I'll be honest, with the little free time that I do have, I have very little time to read, and when I do decide to pick up a novel here and there, it is not a diet/nutrition book (however, recently I have taken to historical fiction).

Because of BreadBar's immense success with Ludo Bites, I decided to check out their calendar for any interesting upcoming events. I saw that Kim Barnouin was hosting a SkinnyBitch dinner. That evening I mentioned the dinner to my friend Erin and she jumped on the opportunity to go. I still had not read the book myself. Then, days before the event I decided that, in the off chance that I got the opportunity to speak to Kim Barnouin herself, I probably should read the book. So Sunday night I cuddled up on the couch and learned everything I needed to know about the "crap" we put in our bodies. The book was actually very good, a quick and easy read and full of interesting little tidbits on how to live a healthier life. No crazy diet plans, just information that is simply based on common sense. I was officially ready to be a SkinnyBitch.


The dinner this evening was a 7 course vegan feast, specially approved by the SkinnyBitch herself, and prepared by Chef Nori. The meal began with a watermelon gazpacho with tapioca pearls. When this came out it looked like a fabulous pink champagne cocktail. Now that's the way to start an evening! Unfortunately, we took our first sip and it tasted like tomato soup - not champagne -- darn! After getting over the disappointment of our first course not being champagne, the gazpacho itself was actually quite good. It was refreshing, flavorful and nicely complimented by the texture of the tapioca pearls.

The meal itself consisted of broccolini bruchette with kimchi; eggplant caviar; ginger and scallion marinated tofu with seaweed salad and white sesame vinaigrette; kobucha squash soup with asian pear, fried chickpea and thai basil pesto and red curry with quinoa and soy tzatziki.


Every element of the meal was so unique and full of flavor. My favorite was the tofu with the seaweed salad. The tofu was fried and had a great crunchy outside with a soft silky center and was complimented with the salty seaweed salad and the creamy and nutty seasame vinaigrette. To top it all off, the entire meal was incredibly filling, and we still had dessert!

For dessert we were served a warm mole chocolate risotto and avocado chocolate mousse. The avocado chocolate mousse was amazing. There was no hint of avocado, just purely decadent and creamy chocolate goodness. I could have eaten a whole bowl of that mousse!

Overall the meal was a complete success. I was amazed at how flavorful, diverse and filling a vegan meal could be. After reading the book, and experiencing such a great meal, I decided to try and incorporate some of what I had learned into my everyday life. An overall "cleaner" lifestyle. No more refined sugar, *less* coffee, more organic foods, less meat, and I have to be able to read all the ingredients on the foods that I buy. That is all that i'm committing to now, baby steps.

Oh yes, and Kim did sent us each off with a to-go package of homemade vegan chocolate chip cookies, recipe included! They made the perfect post lunch dessert at work the following day! Thank you Kim!

Breadbar - Century City
10250 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067
310 277 3770

Bistro LQ

In July 2009, Chef Laurent Quenioux opened up Bistro LQ, serving up his French Nouvelle California cuisine with a Farmer's Market driven kitchen. To be honest, I can't say that I am especially well versed in French Cuisine. During my trip to France I think I visited more patisseries than fine dining establishments. Its true, I have one heck of a sweet tooth! So I was pretty excited to try out Bistro LQ with fellow food bloggers and foodie-extraordinaires PepsiMonster, samkimsamkim, LAOCfoodie, olivejina and estarla.

The dining room itself is modern and simple, yet exquisitely elegant. And the waiters, while dressed in their standard black uniforms, spice it up just enough with their bright red converse, adding a little flare and personality to the otherwise clean and classic dining room.


Chef Quenioux offers both a 6 and a 9 course tasting menu (the 9 requires the participation of the whole table). There was a little debate at first, but thankfully we decided to go with the 6 course. That was a good decision seeing as though our 6 courses magically turned into 12 with the various amuse bouche, intermezzos, cheese and desserts. Had we decided to dive in actually go with the 9 course menu, we definitely would have been there long enough to see the sun rise!


My two favorite dishes, hands down, were the lobster tapioca with uni and the touchon-style foie gras. The Lobster tapioca with uni (sea urchin) was simply heavenly. The creamy and slightly spicy tapioca topped with the fresh uni was phenomenal. I savored the flavors of each tiny bite hoping that they would linger in my mouth forever. The Phillo filled with oxtail jam, and topped with Torchon-style foie gras, frisee and pistachio oil left me speechless. The oxtail jam stuffed phillo was rich and savory, and the foie gras was cool and creamy. The perfect compliments to each other creating one absolutely extraordinary dish. I still have dreams about this dish...

Some other dishes included Cuttlefish with chanterelles and quinoa served with a smoked egg; Smoked eel served on top of seared foie gras and topped with caramelized apple; Veal cheeks, corn sorbet, pea shoots, pea guacamole and pea gazpacho; Smoked salmon with a fried squash blossom and cucumber sorbet and Squab with duck hearts, duck gizzard pastilla with pistachios, rhubarb and ras el hanout jus.

Overall, the entrees were very good. A few of the dishes involved smoking, and the smoky flavor was a bit overwhelming and for me and took away from the otherwise fresh and rich flavors.

But now, it was time for everybody's most anticipated course....THE CHEESE!!


The cheese cart as Bistro LQ is no laughing matter. It is a cheese cart to rival cheese carts in Los Angeles. From creamy, to pungent, to firm and to fresh. There was a cheese for every craving. In addition to the amazing array of cheeses, Bisto LQ offers an assortment of breads, truffle honey (oh yes, I said truffle honey!), and various jellies and condiments to accompany your cheese selections.


Finally, to top off our fabulous meal we ended with tea and dessert. I was so excited when the waiter brought out my tea, and along with it he brought two beautiful flavored sugars - coconut sugar and marshmallow sugar. Maybe it is the girl in me, or the child in me, but I loved the novelty of the bright blue marshmallow sugar. Not only did it look beautiful, and smell great, it made the tea taste exquisite.

The desserts, on the other hand, were not the standouts of the meal. They were beautifully plated, however most of them were fruit based, and I tend to stay away from the "healthy" desserts.

Verdict: There were some dishes (including the lobster tapioca with uni and the touchon-style foie gras) that I will continue to dream about and that I will wait in anticipation to try again, and there were also some misses. But overall, it was an experience that I would not pass up. Laurent Quenioux put together an exquisite array of dishes that are more than worthy of sampling.

Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048-4503
(323) 951-1088

Animal Restaurant

In 2008 Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo opened Animal restaurant in Los Angeles. Since then John and Vinny have become the talk of the town amongst Los Angeles foodies, have won Food & Wine Best New Chefs of 2009 award, and received a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant. Quite a year for the duo.

The menu at Animal is based upon...yes, you guessed it - MEAT! More specifically rustic, comforting meat dishes - like their famous poutine (a dish from Canada - french fries topped with oxtail gravy and melted cheddar). The menu is not for the health conscious. Animal is truly for the carnivorous.

Dave and I decided to finally pay this animal a visit.

ROUND 1: Amberjack and Grilled Squid


The amberjack was served with fresh, sweet and juicy peaches, a touch of citrus and chili, and topped with micro greens and mint. The dish was clean, fresh and sweet with the perfect hint of acidity. This is one of my favorite dishes just because of the simpleness of the ingredients and the burst of flavor.


The grilled squid was Dave's choice (over my preference for the foie gras, but we all have to make concessions sometimes :) ) Luckily, the grilled squid was fantastic. The squid was cooked to perfection, not too gummy, and perfectly tender, and alongside the diced potatoes, corn, chorizo and a tangy chimichurri, the dish was the perfect melding of flavors and textures.

ROUND 2: PETIT BASQUE


This was heaven in a bowl. Petit basque is a sheep's milk cheese produced in the Pyrenees Mountains. This petit basque was served melted atop a layer of sauteed leeks, onions and chorizo, and served with grilled garlic bread. I know, irresistible, and it was.

ROUND 3: BBQ Pork & Sweetbreads


We were having a tough deciding between the BBQ pork belly or the pork belly with kimchi, so on the waiter's recommendation we went with the BBQ. This was one fun dish. A piece of pork belly, slathered with BBQ sauce, topped with coleslaw, and inserted between the most perfect buttery kaiser roll. This recipe is going definitely going in the vault for our next college football Saturday menu!

Our final dish, the sweetbreads (in case you don't know, sweetbreads are the thymus and pancreas of the calf or lamb). The sweetbreads were served with creamed spinach, capers, hen of the woods (mushrooms). Over all, this was probably our least favorite dish. The flavors and overall taste were not quite as impressive as the previous dishes. If I were to do it over again, I would not have ended on this dish. Oh well!

Unfortunately, there was no room for dessert at this dinner. We had a box full of Susie Cakes waiting for us at home, so we had to take a rain check this time.

Overall, we were very happy with our meal. I would highly recommend the amberjack, grilled squid and petite basque. And next time around I will definitely be ordering the foie gras biscuit and bacon chocolate crunch bar!



Animal Restaurant
435 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 782-9225

Brentwood Farmer's Market - From Fresh to Finish!

Part of the appeal of living in Brentwood is being able to wake up on Sunday morning a take a leisurely walk down to the Brentwood Farmer's Market. The market is always buzzing with fellow Brentwoodians, strolling the street for fresh produce, street food, trinkets, baked goods or the like. However, I have to admit, I feel as though in recent weeks the number of non-produce vendors is slowly approaching the number of produce vendors. And as much as I enjoy seeing what everybody has to offer, the main reason I come is for the fresh produce, and seeing the quantity start to diminish is very disappointing.


I come for the fresh, colorful and organic produce (and for the experience of outdoor shopping.) Part of the fun of shopping at the farmer's market is going and seeing what is in season, what is fresh, and just what catches your eye. Then you get to bring home all of your new found goodies and compile an impromptu meal made of Southern California's freshest and finest ingredients.


What caught my eye this week? Well, the heirloom tomatoes have been looking absolutely beautiful lately - the sheer array of colors are stunning, and the multicolored bell peppers caught my eye as well - how can you turn away from a purple and yellow dual colored bell pepper?! I sure can't!!










After my foray to the market this week, I came home and assembled a simple heirloom tomato salad, pico de gallo, quinoa mango salad (recipe), and mango frozen yogurt. Simple recipes that really let the produce shine.



And that's how you take fresh produce to the finish!

(Disclaimer: the mangoes were not purchased at the Farmer's Market, but the majority of the other ingredients were - I was just in the mood for some sweet and juicy mangoes yesterday!)

Vegan or Not...Here I Come!!! Cru in Silverlake

I had the pleasure of dining with LA OC Foodie, Sam Kim, ToastyMuffin, estarla and SquashBlossom Friday night at Cru, a vegan/raw restaurant in Silver Lake. This was my first intentional vegan meal, and I was pretty excited. What can I say, new adventures excite me!!

So Cru it was. The menu was intriguing. . .pizza, pasta, pad thai, chocolate cake….HUH? I thought this was RAW VEGAN. Then the obvious next question was – what exactly do they consider “pasta” and “pizza”. Well, we were about to find out. . .



First things first, a beverage on this sweltering day. The choice was easy for me, ginger lime aid please! And it was just what the doctor ordered, tangy, just a touch of sugar, and tiny pieces of ginger.



Next we ordered the Mezze Platter - This consisted of Tunisian beet and apple salad, cucumber tzatziki salad, marinated garlicky kale, fig paté, cashew cheese and flax/pumpkin crackers. The kale was tasty. It had a nice garlic essence, but it the end it was just raw kale, basically just dressed lettuce. The cashew cheese with the flax crackers was very good as well (for pseudo-cheese). Having been seriously disappointed by soy cheese in the past, I am still perplexed as to how they made vegan cheese so tasty. This cheese actually inspired me to later order the ravioli as an entree. With tzatziki being one of my absolute favorite sauces, the cucumber txatziki salad just didn't meet my high expectations (not enough garlic or white pepper in my opinion). The fig paté tasted like dessert, a fig newton minus the cookie, it would have been very good with some goat cheese (oh yeah, we're at a vegan restaurant, shoot!).



The next appetizer we had was the Dream Roll - kim chee, avocado, shiitake mushrooms, jicama rice and hijiki in a collard leaf served with tamari dipping sauce. The roll had a nice texture, fresh and crunchy. The tangy and sweet tamari dipping sauce was a nice accompaniment to all the fresh veggies.




























On to the main course. I went with the Shiitake Mushroom Ravioli - this consisted of seven cashew cheese in a thinly sliced vegetable wrapper (maybe jicima or celery root?) in a sweet miso cream sauce topped with marinated shiitake mushrooms. The dish was average. There was a little too much cashew cheese for my taste, I felt like I was just taking big spoonfuls of cashew cheese - which had the benefit of filling me up, but the side-effect of a sever overdose of psuedo-cheese. Some of the other dishes that were ordered included Pad Thai made with kelp noodles, shredded cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, and sprouts in a chili almond sauce; Vegetable Linguine (carrot and zucchini noodles) in a Pepper Cream Sauce; the Mushroom Quinoa Risotto with shiitake mushrooms and spinach with a fig reduction; and the Sweet Pesto Wrap, made with pesto, cashew cheese, cucumber, cabbage, sweet onions and sprouts.

All the entrees were very flavorful and most of all, intriguing. My favorite raw entree was the Pad Thai, simply because of the texture of the kelp noodles, and the overall composition of the dish. The best dish overall in terms of flavor was the quinoa risotto. I make quinoa on a fairly regular basis (as a salad, it makes a great boxed lunch for work), and this quinoa was perfectly cooked and just bursting with flavor.










On to my favorite part of the night -- dessert! We decided to go with the chocolate truffle cake, the mint ganache cake and the lime cheesecake. All raw vegan desserts. My favorite was the "cheesecake". At first, it tasted like undercooked and melted cheesecake, but after a couple of bites, it really was pretty good. However, I cant say that I enjoyed or was fulfilled by either of the chocolate desserts. The chocolate cakes had a very hard consistency and were far too rich. They simply tasted like hard chocolate ganache. They were lacking a flavor and texture contrast which would have toned down the rich chocolate. A raspberry coulis or soy ice cream would have done the trick. It just needed something else to mellow out the incredibly rich and overpowering "chocolatiness" of the dish.

By parting thoughts? I will not be turning raw or vegan anytime soon - I am a carnivore through and through. However, for those days when I am racking my brain for another good salad place, or when I just went something light and fresh, a vegan meal just may be the answer.

LUDO BITES - THE FINALE

I heard about Ludo Bites a few months ago, I don't remember exactly where, but since then the city has been all a-buzz over Ludo, and for good reason. The food is unique, decadent, innovative...simply divine. Dave and I made our first trip to Ludo Bites in July, and I knew I had to come back for the final celebration. And I did. And Ludo did not disappoint.

This time Dave could not accompany me so I brought along two friends, two friends who are now two new Ludo fans. The evening did not disappoint. There was a sense of euphoria in the air, the music was playing, the diners were laughing, the staff was all smiles, and the cameras were trailing Ludo's every move during his final hurrah.



We began the evening with, of course, a great bottle of red, and a large serving of Ludo's amazing lavender butter. Oh yeah, and some bread with the butter. Our first course was the lobster medallions with honey-sherry vinegar, daikon and rosemary. This was my favorite course, and Erins. The sweet and tangy vinaigrette perfectly complemented the soft and cool lobster. Oh yes, and we were so anxious to dive into this dish that I couldn't even get a picture in before each one of us had devoured our portion. Oops!



Next we tried the infamous Foie Gras Black Croque-Monsieur with ham, cherries and amaretto. Ludo takes the typical croque-monsieur, which is just a hot ham and cheese sandwich, and takes it to a different universe. Ludo's version starts off with squid-ink break, specially made for Ludo, and then fills it with foie gras, ham and cheese, and tops if off with a heavenly cherry amaretto jelly. This was my second favorite after the lobster medallions. Extraordinary.



Our third course was the Lacquered Pork Belly with mustard ice cream and vadouvan. Yes, mustard ice cream, and I have to admit, that was the selling point for me. How can you not order something on the menu that is served with mustard ice cream? When the plate came, Erin and Dana looked at it with a bit of skepticism. My response - just trust Ludo. Our waitress recommended that we "get a little of everything" on our bite (the same instructions apply to each dish). We happily obliged. It was awesome, BBQ in a bite. Even the two skeptics took down every last morsel. Something about each and ever element perfectly melded together to make the most awesome tasting BBQ bite.



We ended our culinary journey with the Fish & Chips, kimchee, honey-beer and peanut butter. This is another one of Ludo's take on the classics. This dish was actually a piece of halibut with a peanut crust served with a potato chip stick and a side of kimchee. Once again, you had to get a little bit of everything on each bite. This wasn't your typical fish and chips, by any stretch of the imagination, but the flavors and textures all worked together to make one amazing dish.

Thank you Ludo for bringing innovation and culinary ecstasy to Los Angeles. You are a trail blazer and a true magician in the kitchen. I can't wait for your next venture, and when you find you next stop, I will be first in line when the doors open!



PS: Thank you Krissy for your patience and your help, sorry for the +1! But you now have two new fans spreading the Ludo-gospel! :)

Tour Through Temecula

Dave and I had to attend a wedding in Temecula, so like the true wine lovers we are, we decided to play hookie, take a day off work, and go wine tasting on Friday. Oh and what a great idea that was!



This being our second time through, we started with our favorites from our last trip. Stop one, Keyways. I focused on tasting the whites, while Dave leaned towards the reds. I think between the two of us, with 6 tastes each,we tasted the: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanca, Riesling, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Frolich, Zinfandel and Syrah. Whew! All in all, I would consider these wines mediocre. None of them really stood out to me as great wines. Don't get me wrong, none were horrible either, but I didn't feel the urge to buy a bottle of any one of these. Not to mention, we were completely put off by the employees there. They were not helpful, welcoming, pleasant or very friendly. The experience overall left a bad taste in our mouth. It was time to move on....



Next we were on to Cougar. This is the place to have a good time. Good wine, even better people. There is sure to be a party going on at this place! I loved each and every wine we tasted here. The list for this one is slightly shorter, we had the: Dolcetto, Sparkling Cougar, Pink Cougar, Full Monte, Sangiovese, Meritage and Merlot. We left with a bottle of sparkling Cougar for later that night too :) We will be back!!



The next stop, my favorite winery of all time...Foote Print Winery. Now let me tell you about Foote Print. It is an unassuming metal warehouse, off the beaten path of the Temecula wine tour trail. And for all those people who claim that Temecula cannot produce a red, they have not had a Foote Print wine. This was our second time at Foote Print, and I think we must have spent an hour and a half here tasting and chatting it up with the two other couples and the owner. Each wine (they only produce reds) was better than the last. It really was a joy for the taste buds. We tried the Estate Footeage (3 different years, shhhhh, don't tell, they were not on the menu, they were brought out of the back closet and they were some of the best wines i've had), Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Krazy Foote and the Late Harvest Zinfandel. I left with a bottle of the Estate Footeage for myself. Can't wait to crack that one open!



After three tastings it was time for lunch. We went over to Wilson Creek where we sat on their patio overlooking their beautiful grounds. We started with some meatballs with a tomato and olive sauce that was a perfect little amuse bouche. Then we had the artichoke and goat cheese dip as a starter. It was ok, the pita chips were a bit too hard, went much better with the fresh french bread they served. Our "main course" was the patty melt which we got on a fresh focaccia roll with curly fries. We inhaled that patty melt like it was our last meal. The focaccia roll was a winner and made the meal. The curly fries weren't too shabby themselves. We were not ready for our final tasting.

We were on to La Creza. I have to say, this was not the way to end a fantastic day. Each wine was more disappointing than the next. I don't know if it was a result of the meal we just ate, but we barely finished out tasting, its not even worth writing about. Suffice to say, we will not be back.

However, we will be back to Temecula, for the wineries which we couldn't stop by because we ran out of time, and to those which we can't wait to return to!!