today i had more crazy ludobites.

oh, ludobites. they're doing another temporary pop-up, this time at gram & papa's in downtown. we managed to snag reservations again (yay!) and went tonight for some yummy delights.

here's what we had (with pictures!)

raw scallops with almond puree, pickled grapes, cauliflower ice cream:

potato mousseline over egg and lobster:

foie gras croque monsieur with squid ink toast and lemon turnip chutney:

poached jidori chicken with crispy skin & hazelnuts, leek salad, black truffle & bacon royale:

steak au poivre with shallots, white asparagus, bone marrow polenta:

dark chocolate souffle with black pepper ice cream and hot chocolate creme:

chef ludo's food is mind-blowing as always. i think the steak au poivre was my favorite (i'm a sucker for shallots, and polenta - but holy cow, bone marrow polenta!??!)

 

more pictures can be found here.

today i sold a photograph!

i was contacted by sunset magazine today, and they asked to buy a photo of mine that i took at one of last summer's silverlake wine tastings at barnsdall art park! they must be doing an article for the upcoming summer.. can't wait til issue hits the stands and i can see something i did in print!

today i bought cute dodgers gear!

victoria's secret's PINK line is now selling mlb gear for some teams now, including the dodgers! i went to the store today and bought a t-shirt, a pair of shorts and a hoodie. awesomeness!

not that i don't love traditional baseball paraphernalia, but it's nice to have some stuff that's a little more flattering. 

today i ate at church & state.

we finally had our long-awaited dinner at church & state in downtown. it's inside the old biscuit company building. the food was stunningly good. we started off with a sanguine martini (vodka, aperol, muddled blood orange, and sparkling something-or-other), followed by a nice bottle of cabernet franc. what we ordered was pork-heavy, as i haven't had pork since i started eating meat last week, and i needed to become reacquainted that old friend. everything was amazing amazing amazing. i was foodgasming left and right.

start
escargots with garlic and parsley butter, puff pastry
pork rillettes with prune confiture
fried pig ear (off menu!) with aioli
frisee salad with soft poached egg, warm bacon vinaigrette

main
pork filet mignon with braised sauerkraut, brussel sprouts
duck confit, pork belly and sausage over white beans

end
lemon mousse sprinkled with citrus ice

more pictures can be found here.

today i got a pasta machine!

even though he really shouldn't have, dan got me quite a few goodies for my birthday. including an imperia pasta machine! in red! also, ad hoc's fried chicken kit from williams-sonoma (i need to learn to cut up a whole chicken first), a 16gb sd card, and red velvet cupcakes from sprinkles!

today i ate at the hungry cat.

my birthday isn't until tuesday, but my parents are leaving the country tomorrow for some vacay time, so we did my birthday dinner tonight at suzanne goin's the hungry cat in hollywood. last year for my birthday, we went to her other restaurant lucques. both are really good! but i really like the hungry cat as it is primarily seafood, and everything tasted really great. even my parents didn't have anything to complain about!

we had:

appetizers
_a dozen oysters
_a dozen littleneck clams
_razor clam ceviche with fresno chili, cilantro, white soy and chili paste
_abalone with kelp puree, daikon radish and shiitake mushrooms

main
_pan roasted striped bass with root vegetable hash, black trumpet mushrooms, red wine butter
_diver scallops and pork cheeks with grits, peas, walnuts, mustard jus
_pan roasted halibut with fava bean puree, morels, fingerling potatoes, asparagus, olive relish

dessert
_chocolate bread and butter pudding
_meyer lemon curd parfait

it really was a great, great dinner. and now the only suzanne goin restaurant i haven't eat at is AOC - i guess i know where i'm going for my birthday dinner next year!

today i brunched on the venice boardwalk.

there's a great little place i found called figtree's cafe. the brunch is tasty, the mimosas are delightful, and the people and puppy watching is about as good as it gets. definitely a place to go back to.

today i did some italian grocery shopping.

turns out bay cities in santa monica is one of the few markets that sells tipo 00 flour. who knew! i didn't even realize it was an italian market, as i'd only been there for their delicous deli. i bought some semolina and tipo 00 flour. as well as traditional polenta - i want to try my hand at that too.

today i learned to make pasta from scratch!

per my current obsession with learning to make all kinds of dough-based products (starting with pasta and noodles), i skipped out of work an hour early to take a pasta-making class! we learned to make and roll the dough, and then four ways of filling it. it all came out quite tasty. and it was a lot easier than i though it would be. i want to do some experimenting with different ratios of tipo 00 flour and semolina flour, as well as using water vs. eggs vs. egg yolks. then maybe i'll move onto chinese hand drawn noodles.. or japanese ramen.

also, after two and half months of not eating meat, i've started meating meat again as of today.

today i saw a great iphone dock!

it turns your iphone into a desk phone!! first time i wish i had an iphone. but if they make something like this for the palm pre i'm so on that.