Nuff Nang

Feb 28, 2009

Gimme Some More Juice, Baby!

One of my guilty pleasures when I'm either at home or with Jon is having my daily squeeze of fresh juice in the am. The Breville juicer, that both Jon and my parents own, gets the job done. Mess-less and no hassle.Today, Jon and I tried a new concoction.

*Romaine*Celery*Apple*Lemon*Banana*

Verdict: Gimme some more juice, baby!

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JAR

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I went out to dinner with our good friend Kelsey and her mom. Place of choice: Jar. We didn't know what to expect as none of us had been before; the closest thing I came to was peeping the online menu @ http://www.thejar.com/. When I think of the word jar, the image that comes to mind is a jar full of chocolate chip cookies... Not at Jar. Curious about the name behind the restaurant, I asked our server "Why Jar?" and she replied, "It stands for Just-Another-Restaurant." How clever and how aptly so for LA.

Bordered by cushioned seats, the rich wood and shades of brown gave an overall warm setting to the space. Jar is mostly American cuisine with a bit of Asian touches thrown in. They are known for their pot roasts, so it's safe to say comfort food - with market fresh sides - is their forte. We pretty much skipped on the appetizers and ordered our own steaks with a bunch of sides for the table. I read that the garlic and parsley fries here have won awards, but I feel like I've tasted a similar sort before at other restaurants. I think I only have pictures of the fries, Japanese purple yams, and water spinach but we also ordered the special side of the day: beet greens. We tried 3 desserts: chocolate pudding, butterscotch pudding and a chocolate tart. I was a bit disappointed thinking that "pudding" was going to be a molten lava-like cake, but I was wrong as it turned out to be the more traditional gelatin pudding. Nontheless, the pudding cup looked clean/new after we dug into it. We asked our server to heat up the tart, which was genius in making that hot&cold combo of the ice-cream and the warm chocolate. Take a look at "just another restaurant's" food..

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Feb 27, 2009

Birthday Luncheon @ MADISON

Good 'ol Southern comfort food took over the table at Teresa's birthday luncheon @ Madison earlier this afternoon. That's right, I'm in Manila folks! The Herrera clan was all present at lunch along with myself, Roxy from NY and a few of Ter's good friends in the Phils. Madison is situated on the ground floor of Green Belt 5 in Makati. Plates and plates of food kept on coming to the loud table in the back room... Teresa is buddy buddy with the chef at Madison (he's dope! and about to open a Mexican joint pretty soon, fietsa anyone?) so together they came up with a menu that covered the dirrty South pretty well from creole oysters to Mississippi mudpie! There was a blown-up B&W photo of New York City - I'm guessing Madison Ave? - hung up on one of the walls, so I'm assuming the restaurant was named after that... Yet the cuisine is from the South? Hm I dunno, I could have missed something...

Nevertheless, I'm going to post the birthday menu up so you can refer to that and match the food fotos accordingly. I'm told that the corn-flake crusted Southern fried chicken isn't normally on the menu, just to warn all y'all that might be looking for it when you get there. They are known for their mudpies, and I can definitely see why. The chocolate brownie textured filling is enough in itself let alone the chocolate shavings, whipped cream and pie crust. Mmm, cut me another piece please!

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PLATE, MALIBU

It's always great when a new restaurant opens in Malibu... My "foodie friends" and I are all over it, waiting for the "opening soon" signs to vanish and ready for the spot to open its doors. Along PCH, in the PC Greens area, is Plate. Fairly new, the concept of the place is earthy California cuisine that boasts all organic produce and ingredients. Here, pesticides, additives, fertilizers and hormones are left at the door. Plate (http://wwww.platemalibu.com/) serves BL&D; I've only tried lunch and dinner so far. All the dishes on the organic menu is prepared in a fresh and simple manner reminding diners that you don't have to sacrifice taste while eating healthy and light. The soft wood tones of the citrus-clad restaurant gives off a very energizing and refreshing vibe; the ocean view across PCH probably helps out a little too ;)

I ate here for dinner a few nights ago with my brother in celebration of "Pre-Spring Break." We'll both be in two different countries this next week, so it was a good sibling bonding session to talk about our plans for Hong Kong and Manila. This was Chris' first time to try Plate, so I was kind of excited I got to show him something new in our college 'hood. We shared ahi-tuna spring rolls to start, which came with citrus soy dressing and mango salsa. The chunks of tuna in the rolls are very generous, so I'm glad we shared. I didn't know what I felt like for dinner, so I went with something safe: 4 Formaggi Pizza [mozzarella, gorgonzola, gruyere, fontina] I sprinkled on the slices some chili flakes - I've been permanently influenced by Jon in the chili flakes/hot sauce department - for an extra zing. Chris opted for the the blackened chicken pasta, which I tried and thought was very delicious. I don't like my pasta too creamy or heavy and this combination of whole wheat linguine, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, peas in a light cream sauce did it for me. Good choice, Chris! Now this isn't a place to save room for dessert per se BUT if you are into carrot cake, it never hurts to taste one more variation. I actually didn't order it with Chris, but I have tried it before for lunch. The round layers of the moist cake are separated by a sweet cream-cheese frosting; what a divine way to eat your carrots for the day. Below are the pics... (I'm gonna squeeze in my lunch meal too from a few weeks back)

*DINNER*

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*LUNCH*

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Feb 24, 2009

DineLA: The Hall @ PALIHOUSE

DineLA was a few weeks ago - but I believe you can help yourself to seconds as some participating restaurants have extended their DineLA menus - and so was my roommates birthday. Why not couple a great get together with special friends with the annual DineLA experience? We didn't know why not, so Alex planned a great dinner at The Hall, located inside the Palihouse hotel. Described by some as an "urban lodge" the Palihouse (http://www.palihouse.com/holloway) is a WeHo boutique hotel with a Frenchy feel to it. We ate at The Hall, the hotel's courtyard brasserie that kind of entails a lobby lounge, indoor dining and an outdoor courtyard.

The $34 price fixe menu made ordering simple, giving us time to relax and celebrate a wonderful friend. Our three course meal, wine not included, was just the beginning to an eventful evening.

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Organic Salmon Tartar - cucumber, cauliflower, meyer lemon

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Arctic Char - grilled eggplant, fragrant spices, steamed rice

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Pineapple Vacherin - yogurt, cream, meringue

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Chocolate Tart - creme fraiche

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