American Beauty Venice

I went to American Beauty Venice to celebrate friendship and the holidays, kicking off a wonderful end of 2022 and beginning of 2023. Life is a beautiful circle of old and new and American Beauty was a perfect place to incorporate both with old friends and a new place. 

We shared many plates, some of which were eaten before I got a chance to take a picture :) The wood grilled flatbread for $12 with labneh and smoked honey was devoured before I could even pull my phone out of my purse! It was a sesame topped hit, with everyone at the table.

Heritage Pork Baby back ribs for $34 with sweet and spicy glaze, pickled daikon and kohlrabi. The ribs were very tender, and the slaw was a nice vinegary compliment to the generous serving of rich pork. It was good enough to take the leftovers home, but I would have preferred a bit more spice or seasoning to the pork.

American Beauty is known as a steakhouse, so we ordered one grass fed NY strip for $ 65 medium (table consensus) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so perfectly seasoned, that no one touched the side sauce.

As a non meat dish, I chose the grilled Orata (a type of sea bream) for $34 with ajo bianco, grape and leek. It was very nicely done, with crispy skin and tender flesh. Anyone with allergies should note that it is served with hazelnuts.

I did not get a chance to taste the lamb chops since the meat lovers at the table pounced on them as soon as they arrived, but I heard they were delicious!

I also chose the broccolini for $13 which were so good that we nearly ordered another serving.

The onion stuffed hash brown for $15 with sour cream was a perfectly done huge patty that we managed to divide without using knives ;)

I loved the oyster and shiitake mushrooms with cippolini onions for $18 and could have easily eaten this as my main dish.

We ordered the burnt cheesecake for $12 (which was eaten before I got a picture) along with the apple pie for dessert and the table devoured both, so if you have a sweet tooth, save some room for dessert!

Matu Steak

When friends who love to eat wanted to share a new favorite steak house, my only response was to ask, "When?". Matu serves only fantastic Wagyu grass fed meat, is less than 5 minutes from my place, offers easy valet parking, and online reservations, this may now also be my favorite steak house!

I started with a dirty Grey Goose Martini because it's my go to cocktail when Élit isn't available. Others at the table enjoyed nice glasses of Flowers Pinot Noir from Sonoma, and we ended up ordering a bottle after we finished our cocktails.

We all chose the 5 course Matu menu for $82 per person, and it was worth every dollar! The 24 hour bone broth starter was the perfect teaser to the quality of the food to come, with a rich deep nourishing flavor you can only get with high quality ingredients and the patience it takes to produce this deeply satisfying broth.

The tartare with Japanese accent was fabulous, so much so that the non raw meat eaters at the table ate a few bites before sharing their plates with us raw meat lovers.

The 3 oz center cut filet with 47 salad was a nice introduction to what the restaurant calls their medium rare. I loved that it was what would be called rare elsewhere. Even those at the table who usually prefer their meat pink and medium, ate every bite and proclaimed it to the only place where they liked a rarer temperature. 

The 8 hour braised beef cheek was so tender, no knives were needed. The celeriac purée was a nice accompaniment. I ended up exchanging some of my beef cheek for the tartare, because I knew the ribeye was coming!

Broccolini with garlic and red pepper flakes came with the dinner, and if I wasn't so full I could have eaten another order of these!

My foodies friends insisted on getting a side of fries (fried in beef tallow), so sinfully delicious that it was good to have so many people sharing the plate.

The star of the night was the ribeye with the cap cut separately. All we could say was OMG after taking a bite. I was too much for me to finish, but the leftovers made for a decadent snack the next day!

The atmosphere was very upscale but comfortable, with kids and casually dressed diners all equally enjoying their meals. We made friends with the table sitting next to us and traded names of other places to eat; after all if we all loved Matu, chances are we would all enjoy the places shared from all over the world, including a vegan place in Rome and a steak place overlooking the Bosporus. 

The pleasure of spending time with friends while eating great food and meeting new friends is the best kind of evening!

Harris Ranch

I have lost count of how many times I have driven from LA to SF or SF to LA on Interstate 5, but this was the first time I have ever stopped at Harris Ranch. I only heard about it the week before I left because I was talking to a pescatarian friend about my drive saying that I needed to stop en route to give my body a break from the drive. She said when she used to eat meat, she always stopped at Harris Ranch, and so I made it my midway pitstop both on my way to SF and on my way back to LA, so these photos and food are from both trips (no I did not eat all these things in one trip!).

It seems that everyone I know knows about this place and has eaten here except me! I am so glad I refueled here! Everything from the fake animal heads to the gas fireplace is like a Disneyland Western stage set!

Their portions are huge, which I learned as I ordered the "small caesar" salad.

Their asparagus appetizer could be a meal in and of itself, but I didn't enjoy the breading so I ate these as my vegetable.

Their calamari appetizer could have been a meal in and of itself as well...

The main attraction though was their steak, and their signature steak is the whiskey salt and brown sugar rubbed Prime Ribeye for $54 with all the sides you see. This was a half of the 14 oz steak! Most tables had doggie bags! The meat was very tasty and the rub was a nice balance of salt and sugar. Rare was more of a medium rare, but a good sear made up for that!

Getting back on the road meant an espresso was in order and I'm happy to report that theirs had a very nice crema and flavor.

L'Aller Retour

I always research the latest reviews for places to eat, even when I know several and have options suggested by locals. Even though they have been around since 2010, I would probably not have found L'Aller Retour without some online research because it has a tiny entrance on a small street near the Carreau du Temple. It was definitely worth the search because it was one of my favorite meals during the last trip. 

Classic escargots for 6 Euros were perfect in every way, and I even got a friend to try one for the first time because of the buttery garlic aroma that perfumed the table upon their arrival :)

My friend appreciated the quality of the meat in the burger for 14E50 as well as the crisp fries, saying it was very good in spite of it not being well done (for an American-it was well done by French standards, which means it was pink in the middle instead of red).

I had come specifically for the knife cut Charolais steak tartare for 14E that was the best one I ate during this trip. The large salad was very much appreciated to help balance out the meat, with a very nice vinaigrette dressing.

Ending lunch with an espresso was a perfect way to cap off lunch at a newly found favorite.

Musso & Frank's Hollywood Legend

Very few places are still in business after one decade, much less NINE, but Musso & Frank's is one of the rare legends that lives on, weathering wars and trends with equal aplomb. Once you step inside, you may suddenly feel more sophisticated or worldly, but it is the old school service which has elevated your attitude. The red jackets and formal greetings are anachronisms which remind us that decorum should never die.

My friend has been coming here for decades, with "the old guys" who inhabit the booths like godfathers. The fact that I was deemed worthy to enter this sacred space with an old timer flattered me. The food was was like a time machine; it brought me back to the 60's and like an episode of "Mad Men", I enjoyed every minute.

My friend started off with the house salad with blue cheese dressing. You may opt for additions to your salad, but like a true old man, my friend had only the greens.

I chose the sand dabs ($23), which I never see on menus anymore. They were perfect, just as Julia Child swooned over in her first trip to France, I swooned over these delicate filets done "comme il faut" (as it should be) with capers, butter and lemon. If anyone you know does not like fish, make them taste this and convert them!

Since this is old world style dining, every entree is served separately, so I ordered braised spinach ($8) with my fish and the side was as lovely and perfectly done as my main course.

Most people who come here order the steak ($33) and they cook it exactly as ordered, meaning, rare is bloody and well is brown. Of course the old timer ordered rare, and of course it was done as ordered. Nearly every table ordered steak, so if you can't decide what to get, I suggest you go with the odds and order the steak.

The steak fries ($5) were wonderfully crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

As a child, I always like jello ($3.50), but I haven't seen it on a menu since I was a child, so I had to order it here. Served with fruit, I felt as if I was 5 years old and finished every bite!

I was not the only one to finish my dessert, my friend ordered the sundae ($6.25) and ate every spoonful!

On another night I came and had the special duck a l'orange with a friend who ordered the lobster thermidor. Both dishes were so rich and decadent that the pictures came out fuzzy; I guess even cameras get thrown off balance when transported to another era!

Dine LA Capital Grille

It's one of my favorite times of the year; Dine LA's Restaurant Week started and I had to get fellow food lovers out to enjoy some meals out for the two week "holiday". I always go to Capital Grille every time I go to Las Vegas, but since they opened in Los Angeles, I thought it was time to introduce this restaurant to my friends who live here. My meat loving friend Mika was in dire need of a replacement for her former favorite steakhouse Pacific Dining Car because the last meals we ate there had been woefully overcooked and just not up to par.

Dine LA's Dinner at Capital Grille is $34 and allows a choice of Caesar salad or Field Greens, or Clam Chowder for an appetizer, then an entree choice of 10 oz Filet Mignon or their famous bone in Kona crusted dry aged Sirloin with shallot butter, or Seared Citrus Glazed King Salmon, with a choice of mashed potatoes or spinach, and a dessert choice of flour less chocolate espresso cake, ice cream, or Creme Brulee for dessert. Many restaurants participate, and I appreciate it when they give you or tell you about the Dine LA menu when you are seated, but unfortunately this was not the case here. Not only did I have to ask for the menu, but I had to ask for more than one menu (we were a party of THREE). They apparently did not print up enough and were allotting only ONE menu PER TABLE! Our waiter Arby allowed us two once we promised we would give them back (?!?!?!?); for this caliber of restaurant this made them look very cheap and unorganized. Arby redeemed himself by making up sweet wine spritzers for Mika and Alia which they loved.

The Caesar salad was a nice version, featuring thinly sliced parmesan and some fresh croutons that Alia loved. There wasn't enough garlic or anchovy in the dressing for me, but it was tasty enough to finish and most American diners would be very happy to have this less intense version.

Mika had the field greens and liked the vinaigrette even though she found there was too much dressing when she got to the bottom pieces of greens.

Alia chose the salmon and asked for it to be cooked through; it is refreshing to have a restaurant ask how you prefer your fish cooked instead of assuming everyone wants their fish well done. She loved the citrus glaze said it was one of the best salmon preparations (and she would know, being a salmon aficionado).

Both Mika & I had the bone in Kona crusted dry aged Sirloin with shallot butter, although I ordered mine rare and she ordered hers medium rare. We were both relieved to find they cooked our steaks EXACTLY as we had ordered, hers pink and warm, and mine red and cold on the inside. The meat was juicy, had a nice sear, and tender for the cut. It really did not need the shallot butter, but it is a nice rich addition for those who want to be decadent.

Alia chose the chocolate ice cream for dessert and it was surprisingly dark (in a good way).

Both Mika & I chose the flourless chocolate espresso cake, a dense, sweet, rich finish for a fabulous meal, served with fresh raspberries and whipped cream.

A meal in Los Angeles is always fun, but when combined with discounted menus and friends, it is a priceless experience.