Agra and Mayura Indian

My search for a favorite Indian food place has finally yielded two contenders:) Agra Indian Kitchen and Mayura Indian Restaurant. I like to compare the same dishes to compare, just like a wine tasting of the same varietal. I ordered from both for delivery of the same distance through GrubHub. 

The mixed tandoori grill from Agra includes chicken, chicken tikka, lamb tikka and sheek kabob for $16.95. A very generous portion that was easily enough for 2 or even three people. The flavors were good and the tandoori chicken was tender, albeit a bit dry.

The dal turka for $11.50 was delightful, redolent of the aromas and flavors which evoke an exotic destination half a world away from L.A. The order came with rice but I ordered garlic naan for $3.50 that was still warm and fragrant when it arrived.

Mayura is on Jonathan Gold's list of favorite places, so it's got quite a following after receiving the beloved Los Angeles writer's blessing. The bright green chutney was a mix of mint, coriander, ginger and garlic that was a refreshing accompaniment to both the mixed tandoori grill for $16.95 and the vegetable samosas for $3.95.

I ordered a side of raita for $2.50 of onions, cucumbers and carrots in yogurt, just as as insurance in case any of the other condiments were too spicy (they weren't).

The dal masala for $10.95 came with basmati rice and was delicious on the garlic naan for $2.95 as a savory spread.

The mixed tandoor grill consisted of tandoor chicken with bone in, boneless tikka, and lamb kabobs over a bed of sliced raw onions. Everything was moist, flavorful, and enough to easily feed two or three!

I only reheated HALF of the order for dinner for two and we could barely finish our food! That is the vegetable samosa in the upper left corner fo the picture (mostly potato), which was in and of itself enough to be a small meal for a light appetite!

I am so very happy to have found two places that serve very good Indian food, but that both DELIVER so that I don't have to fight late afternoon traffic in Los Angeles to eat well!

Mendocino Farms & Le Pain Quotidien

I am always concerned about quality ingredients and flavor, so whether it is animal or vegetable based, my omnivore eating leads me to places that serve my taste buds and can accommodate my vegetarian friends. The Impossible Burger™ is available in many places, but my favorite place to get one is Mendocino Farms. One bite of the Impossible Burger Queen for $12.45 will convince many beef lovers to opt for this alternative burger at least once in awhile, or whenever it is offered. 

Mendocino Farms is known for their sandwiches, and their tuna "almost" melt for $10.55 is thankfully mayonnaise free (vegan aioli is used), and the tuna they use is sustainable pole & line caught. The buckwheat bread is a hearty holder for the greens, cheddar, pickles, onions, and tomatoes. I could only eat half at a sitting, so I got it to go and reheated the other half in a toaster oven. 

Their salad niçoise for $12.95 including tuna is a bit pricey, but they do use high quality ingredients and every component, from the purple Peruvian potatoes to the sustainable line and pole caught yellowfin tuna, combines to create a good version of this classic salad.

Le Pain Quotidien is one of my go to places all over the world for everything from their viennoiseries to their salads and soups. I stopped in one day before a show to eat much better food than was offered at the venue. The daily special of turkey club with a caesar salad was my friend's choice; a good introduction to their quality ingredients in a comfortable familiar form for about $14.

I chose the warm quinoa bowl also for around $14, that was so filling and light that I felt completely satiated but not overly saturated after eating the entire bowl. I did not like the dressing served with it so our server brought me a classic vinaigrette that was a perfectly tart counterpoint to the hearty grains.

There are multiple locations of both Mendocino Farms & Le Pain Quotidien throughout the Los Angeles area, and they both offer online ordering, so you've got an easy way to eat your greens and grains!

Proof Bakery

In a previous post I had mentioned that Proof Bakery is the home of my favorite croissants in Los Angeles. I was willing to wake up at the ungodly hour of 9 AM on Saturday morning to make the 25 mile trek to Atwater Village for their ethereal layers of perfection. I badly needed two cappuccinos upon arrival which they thoughtfully served in to go cups :)

It is IMPERATIVE that you get there by 10 AM if you want to ensure that you get a croissant. As a reward for the loss of my beauty sleep, I got FOUR! 

Wanting something a bit more substantial, I got a ham and gruyère croissant to eat there as I waited for the caffeine to get into my system; I would have been a danger on the road if I had neither coffee nor food in my system for the drive home.

I love the flakey buttery layers of all their viennoiseries and the ham and Gruyère was no exception.

Still hungry, and seeing the fresh out of the oven onion tart being put into the case, I had to get a slice of the tender crusted cheesy tart that was a savory testament to why you should eat pie for breakfast!

I must admit that I have not always made it there early enough to get croissants, but this veggie galette was a marvelous substitute with a fabulous carrot and potato filling on a superbly crumbly crust. I also picked up their lemon poppyseed scone but demolished it before taking a picture because sometimes hunger supersedes snapshots!

Boston Lobster Birthday Dinner

Ever since my friend Georgia introduced me to Boston Lobster, we have made it a tradition to go for her birthday :) This year we included one other friend, so of course we ate more than we usually do! The house special lobster comes in three sizes and we always get the small (4-5 lb) which was plenty for the three of us to share.

As a vegetable, we ordered the small pea shoots with garlic, which was on the happy hour menu for only $6.

 A small side of clams with black bean sauce was also on the happy hour menu.

After devouring all of the dishes, we still had room for the fried sole, a perfectly crispy flash fried tender fish, and nearly demolished it aside from a few bites.

The total came to about $50 per person including wine, tax, and tip, so it was a bargain for a feast with friends!

Happy Hour at the Six

I love places that offer Happy Hour Specials everyday, especially ones that last 3 hours everyday! Happy Hour at The Six is from 3-6pm everyday, and their selections range from hearty to healthy with your choice of drinks ranging from $5-8 for both drinks and bites.

The roasted beets come in two colors, served on arugula with fennel, goat cheese, and hazelnuts in a balsamic vinaigrette. This salad is big enough to share or as a full meal for anyone who loves beets.

The garden salad repeats some of the same ingredients like the goat cheese and fennel, but then adds roasted pine nuts, carrots, radishes, and comes with a Dijon vinaigrette.

Their buffalo cauliflower is surprisingly spicy, with a thick fried coating that made the vegetable appetizer a very hearty choice. You will definitely be needing the ranch dressing to cool down your mouth if you are not a hot spice veteran. 

My favorite happy hour bites are the turkey sloppy Joe sliders which come with a fried pickle and are served on mini brioche buns. The portobello mushroom and bell pepper mixed in with the ground turkey add a nice lightness to the sloppy Joe, yet it is definitely comfort food that will satiate a hunger without weighing you down.

Always nice to have an option when traffic at the intersection of the 405 and 10 Freeways becomes a parking lot in the afternoon; better to be sitting at The Six than sitting in your car for 3 hours!

Yabu Revisited

Favorites from the past sometimes morph into sad shadows of formerly vibrant flavors, but other times they not only retain their vibrancy, but they improve on it! Yabu has been a steadfast outpost for homemade soba for decades, and when I lived around the corner, it was an easy choice for quality Japanese food.

I've become addicted to good pickles, so to clear my palate, this plate of napa pickles with home made nukazuke was the first order for $8.

One of my favorite sushi is the aji or horse mackerel and their version for $8 continues to be an excellent rendition.

The only slightly disappointing dish was the asparagus with butter and soy for $8. This was my favorite asparagus dish in Los Angeles and I frequently ordered 2 because I could not get enough of it. Sadly four of the bites were too woody to eat, and the recipe has changed enough to have lost me as a fan. It's still a decent vegetable side dish, but nothing to rave about anymore :(

The fried calamari for $8.50 was tender and lightly battered; theirs is a good version of the ubiquitous appetizer.

The Albacore tuna tataki for $15.50 was spectacular! Lightly seared, served with an assortment of seaweed, grated ginger, scallions, spicy radish, and garnished with fried garlic, it converted a non albacore eater into a fan :)

Sometimes you can come (close to) home again and find old friends and favorites are still as heart warming as your memories of them.

Three Great BBQs in LA

There are some great BBQ spots in Los Angeles, and one of them is Moo's Craft. They are so well known for their BBQ that the lines at Sunday's weekly Smorgasburg are usually over 30 minutes long. The Sunday I went, TWO of my chef friends also went and we all feasted on their glorious beef rib and fatty brisket. The bark and smoke were masterfully done and the meat was perfectly tender and moist. They are now my favorite beef rib place in Los Angeles!

A few stands down is Ugly Drum, the best pastrami I've eaten on the West Coast (as an ex-NYer that is the ultimate statement! The uglies (ends) and their sandwiches on Bub & Grandma's bread with perfect mustard and giant pickles, makes for a nostalgic trip back to NYC without the hassle of planes, time changes, and weather :)

For pork ribs, my favorite is at Bludso's, where even their Bloody Mary comes with a hot link and pickles!

 All the sides are as fresh and well made as their BBQ

Definitely over order on the pork ribs, get some tips, and take some home with extra BBQ sauce (I mix the hot and the regular)!

After this meat spree, I'm ready for some raw kale...

Doma Kitchen

Recommendations by people who share my tastes led me to Doma Kitchen. If you like or would like to try Eastern European foods, Doma is a wonderful place to begin your journey. It's also just a great place for anyone who appreciates fresh, well prepared food. The wine list impressed me with the geographical scope they included, and when I saw a Greek wine I had not drunk since I was  in Greece, I had to order it! If you would like to sample more of their wines and just a few bites, they have a happy hour menu from 3-6pm Tuesday-Friday offering 2 for 1 on all beers and wines!

I came for dinner with a friend, and we tried to sample as many items as possible with just the two of us. Their very crisp falafels for $11.95 were huge and the garlic dip was very potent. This could easily have been a meal for one big appetite, as it was we each ate one to save some room for the rest of the meal.

Their Quinoa salad for $13.95 was fabulous for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone who loves a good mix of avocado, dried cranberries, cherry tomatoes, Quinoa, spring greens, almonds, and red onions. I was not a fan of the dressing (too much oil in the ratio), so I was glad it came on the side. 

My friend is a pickle fiend, eating them with everything, so we ordered the pickled vegetables for $8.95. It was the first time we had ever tasted pickled cherry tomatoes so it took some getting used to the taste when you usually expect an unpickled tomato taste! 

The highlight of the evening was the panko crusted and herb butter filled chicken Kiev for $24.95, on a bed of pearl couscous and vegetables. This was so delicious that we savored every bite even though we were completely stuffed by they time it arrived at our table! The vegetables were lightly cooked, the chicken was moist with the butter streaming out once we cut into it, and the panko crust was fried to crisp perfection. 

They have art on the walls, music on some nights, and friendly servers who have regulars, so if you are looking for a respite from the loud, bland chains, come to this neighborhood spot hidden in a shopping center next to a supermarket (where Aunt Kizzy's used to be). 

Breakfast and Brunch at Pikoh

Chan Dara was my go to place, walking distance from where I used to live. When I came back to the US, I was saddened to see the restaurant was gone and replaced by new construction, even though changes can sometimes bring great new experiences. 

Pikoh has opened and already become my new favorite spot in West Los Angeles for coffee, breakfast, brunch, and lunch. I will be trying their dinner menu soon and will keep you posted as I eat my way through their new all day menu.

Depending on your barista, you may get your coffee with some beautiful art! They serve some of the best coffee in the area, and drinking it from well made ceramic cups makes it an even more enjoyable experience. My coffee partner usually adds sugar, but drank the latte here with no sweetner because it was so smooth and satisfying.

They offer table service in the evening and during brunch on the week-ends, otherwise you order at the counter and take a number. They have some new additions to their brunch menu, as well as old standards like fried jidori chicken and waffle for $16. The chicken was fabulous, crunchy, moist, and perfect, but sadly the waffle was a bit too thick and underdone. 

Their version of croque monsieur used high quality ingredients, but has since been replaced by some new items.

For those who want to standard Californian breakfast fare, they offer a breakfast burrito for only $8 that you can add bacon or chorizo to for a few dollars more. 

The beef bangers and mash for $16 is a sure fire winner for anyone who loves meat and potatoes in an elevated form. I don't usually like mashed potatoes, but the kizame mashed potatoes made me a fan.

For a sweet brunch option, their French toast for $15 comes with an algarrobina cream sauce (carob based) and bruléed bananas. This was a bit too sweet for brunch for me, but it would have been a great dessert item.

My favorite choice for brunch is their eggs shakshuka for $14 which comes with four prawns, two eggs, wonderful toasted ciabatta, and a spicy tomato bonito stew that had me using a spoon to scoop up every bite. I could eat this every day!

For those who want more lunch than breakfast, the pork tonkatsu curry for $18 is a solid choice, with enough to fill any hunger. I found the curry sauce a bit too sweet for my taste, but the depth of flavors was fantastic, and the quality of the ingredients was outstanding.

I love this new addition to West LA with the light airy greenhouse decor. Thoughtful touches like foot rests at the booth and bar stools are a small indication of the attention to detail that go hand in hand with the quality ingredients and the deft execution of culinary skills from the kitchen. 

One of the owners, Robert, came over to introduce himself after having seen repeated visits within a few days, a personal touch that all good neighborhood places should emulate: recognize your regulars:)