Akasha

I've been totally neglecting this oh dear little blog of mine... I never knew food blogging would take so much time and effort! I seem to write my yelp reviews consistently, but always forget to update this little piece.


Anyway, it's been a few weeks since I've dined at Akasha but the mediocre memory, ironically, is still fresh in my mind. My dining companion and I arrived on time for our reservation and the hostess seated us immediately. It was fairly packed for a weekday night and the energy level was high. I've only been here once before and it was quite some time ago, so I couldn't help my dining companion with any dish recommendations. 

candied fig, arugula, goat cheese, balsamic

We started off with the arugula salad and I would have to say this was my favorite dish of the night, which is not saying much. I generally love arugula salads with figs and balsamic, so ordering this was no brainer.

seared scallops, grilled corn, corn puree, frisee, niman bacon

We also started off with the scallops, which was okay. The scallops seemed a bit rubbery for me, but the corn puree and grilled corn were nice.

 

spice rubbed grilled pork chop, bacon braised cabbage and corn, butternut squash puree, romanesco zucchini, toasted pumpkin seeds

For our entree, we decided to split the big plate of grilled pork chop. The flavors were nice, but the chop was not as juicy as I'd hope it would be. However, the puree and vegetables in the dish were delicious.

Overall, the meal was not memorable and therefore, Akasha would not be my first choice among my dining out options. However, the space has an urban modern feel that is comforting enough where one would find themselves having a drink or two after work. Even though Akasha wouldn't be my first choice, it certainly wouldn't be my last.

BLD Restaurant

I came here for a late lunch with a good girlfriend of mine on a Sunday afternoon. Since the football season has started the restaurant was pretty much empty. I don't know if that was the reason or not, but the service was really great. From our server to the manager, everyone was attentive and friendly. 

 

 We started with the bruleed grapefruit and let me just say, this was so refreshing and delicious! It's fairly simple, but it was the perfect amount of sour and sweet. Next time I go, I'll be ordering this as a desssert and eat it AFTER my main dish.

My friend got the fried egg sandwich with home fries, who mentioned that it was delicious but on the salty side. 

I got the cuban style spicy pork sandwich with a salad on the side. The sandwich was juicy and full of flavor. It was cheesy and the spices were perfect! I'm glad I got the side salad because it did a good job of breaking up the heaviness of the sandwich. I would definitely order it again! The portions are big so I took half of the sandwich and ate it for lunch the next day.

I can see why BLD is a popular spot for brunch/lunch. It's a great place to people watch on a sunny day (and you get a lot of those in Los Angeles). I'll have to come back to try the dinner menu, but for lunch I'd say it's definitely worth a visit.

Hatchi 8 Series with Remi Lauvand @ Breadbar

Since I missed the last previous Hatchi series (so sad about missing Michael V.), I made sure to make reservations for the upcoming one with Remi Lauvand (Le Cirque, Social Hollywood). I was excited and ready to eat!

 

As soon as my dining companion and I were seated we were given this bread from France, which one could only get from the middle region of France.

I started off with a welcoming drink, while my dining companion ordered a pomegranate lemonade. My memory fails me and cannot recall the name of my drink, but I do know it was a mojito with champagne. It was refreshing and quite delicious. One of these was enough to flush my cheeks for the whole night!

 

crisp pork belly salad, parsnips, Jalapeno sauce

The pork belly was really soft and full of flavor. It went well with the puree and salad. But, I'm Korean so I love me some pork belly.

 

House cured Tasmanian trout, charentais melon, tarragon & lemon hatch pepper relish

Delicious! The melon and trout went so well together. It was a perfect balance of sweet, salty and spicy (for me). 

 

Foie "parfait" pain d'epices, black mission figs
This preparation was a bit sweeter for me than usual, but I should have guessed with the "parfait." Nonetheless, this dish was delicious because well, it's foie gras, need I say more?

 

handmade farfalle, octopus, chicken oysters, tomatoes

The octopus was tender and the farfalle was perfectly cooked. The tomatoes did not really make much of a presence, but overall it was a good dish. 

 

barramundi, lady peas, watercress, prosciutto, basil jus

The fish was overly salty. Even though I tend to enjoy my fish with the skin on, this was definitely way too salty. While the prosciutto flavor was nowhere to be found, I did enjoy the basil jus.

slow cooked veal breast, carottes, rissolees, arugula

By this point, I was so full that I only sampled this dish. The sweetness of the carrots were lovely and I liked how the spiciness broke up the fattiness of the veal.

 

mini tropezienne, Santa Barbara pistachios, chocolate cracker

I wasn't a big fan of this dessert because there was just too much bread. The pistachio filling was really delicious leaving me wanting more.

The service was good at first, but throughout the course of the meal it became spotty. I didn't think that they were overly crowded because it is such a small space. There seemed to have been a lack of communication between servers and busboys and the kitchen. All in all, everyone was friendly and the company was great!

"Endless Summer Dinner" @ Sona Restaurant

Yay! This is my first post... Congrats to me - haha! I've had a blog account for quite some time now so that I can look at my friends' blogs and actually save my favorite food blogs, but I never thought to ever write my own. But, hey, I guess inspiration can come out of left field, right? I write reviews on yelp and upload my food photos on various websites, so why not document my own mini food adventures through this blog? Since this is my first post, please cut me some slack on remembering each component on every dish as well as its description. Practice makes perfect. ;)

So, to start off with my first post, I'm revisiting my most recent culinary experience at Sona. Sona has been on my list for quite some time now and when I saw that Chef David Meyers was having an "Endless Summer Dinner" with two wonderful guest chefs, Chef Noriyuki Sugie and Chef Luke Mangan, I knew I had to be there. Since both chefs are internationally acclaimed, I knew I was in for a treat. This ocean-inspired 5 course dinner was being served for one night only by these three powerhouse chefs.

My dining companion and I were seated in the private dining area, which was darker than the main dining room - that's probably why I only saw couples in there. Because it was so dim I was forced to use flash so, please forgive me for my really bright pictures.

We started off with an amuse bouche, which I can't remember everything that was in there, but definitely had some kind of tomato sorbet.

Amuse Bouche: Tomato ??

It was light and quite delicious, a very nice way to start the meal.

 Next, the bread came with the salted butter. We were given mini baguette and a red wine roll. The red wine roll was quite sweet, reminded me of the sweetness you would get from raisins. I only finished the red wine roll since the mini baguette was too hard for me to eat... (I just got my braces tightened!)

Course 1: Sashimi of Tasmanian Salmon, barrel aged feta from Greece, soy, ginger and shallot dressing
This was the first course and also my favorite. Everything worked well together. The dressing worked well with the salmon and I absolutely loved how the feta and baby arugula complimented the dish and added another dimension to it. I would have eaten this dish all night.

Course 2: Etuve Maine Lobster, sorrel mochi, shiso clam jus
The lobster was nicely cooked and the shiso clam jus went really well with it. The mochi was a nice touch, but didn't really seem necessary.

Course 3: Alaskan Halibut, Chino Farm corn, braised pork belly
This dish was probably the weakest dish for me. The halibut was overcooked and a bit tough. However, the pork belly was so tender it just melted in my mouth. The sweetness of the corn went well with the fattiness of the pork.

Course 4: Hawaiian Moon Fish, crispy sweetbread, collard greens
The moon fish was perfectly cooked, but the sweetbreads tasted burnt. I usually love sweetbreads, but I did
not want to finish these.

Course 5: Aerated Cheesecake, sous vide cherry, kumquat, birch bark ice cream
I personally love cheese, so the strong "cheese" flavor I got from the "cheesecake" was interesting but was most welcoming. My dining companion, however, did not enjoy this dish so much.

Minigardises

I wish I could remember what they all were, but I know it included caramel, cherry and ginger.

The service was wonderful as one would expect. It was a nice touch that Chef David Meyers and Chef Luke Mangan went around to each table introducing themselves. They sure do know how to work the room, especially Chef Luke Mangan. The dining room was lively and it seemed like a very full night. I haven't been to Sona on a regular night, so I'll definitely need to revist and experience Chef David Meyers' own tasting menu.