Please The Palate |

Alma

I had been hearing the reviews about Alma and finally scheduled a date with some friends. After all of the accolades (Best New Restaurant of the Year by Bon Appetit magazine and Ari Traymor being named one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs of 2013), I was very excited about this meal. Alma offers two tasting menus each night - a 5-course tasting menu for $65/person and a larger one (9 courses) for $110/person (+$55/person for wine pairings). We decided to splurge and go for the big tasting menu, and we were ready to see what was on the menu using ingredients grown in their own Flower Avenue garden, as well as local farms that they work with. Our meal started with little "snacks" - ocean trout, roe and parsnip, mini english muffin with uni, burrata, fennel and roe and tofu and yuzu fritters. The ocean trout was a perfect balance of flavors and textures and the bellini with uni left us wanting more.

29 April, 2014

Maude: Superb Seasonal Tasting Menu

Curtis Stone opened up his tiny little restaurant Maude in Beverly Hills at the end of January. I called to make a reservation as soon as I heard that it was opening and the first reservation I could get was a 9pm in March so I grabbed it and waited in anticipation for the date to arrive.

Maude is a fairly small restaurant that has approximately 25 seats. The kitchen is open and no matter where you sit, you can watch the cooks at work. In a way, it feels like you are going to a friend's house for a dinner party as the space is intimate and charming, like an intimate chef’s table experience.

25 April, 2014

Kitchen 1540 at L`Auberge Del Mar

While heading down to La Jolla for a weekend getaway, I was looking for somewhere new to go out to dinner. I didn't want your typical chain restaurant and subsequently came across Kitchen 1540, located at L`Auberge Del Mar. Knowing very little about it, we were intrigued and made our reservation. And, what a good find it was!

The dinning room is contemporary, casual fine dining with an open kitchen and white vaulted ceilings.

But, what sealed the deal in knowing we were in a place that appreciates food was when we saw the servers uniform t-shirts. Also, what made these t-shirts stand out were the fun sayings on the back, such as "My favorite animal is steak" - Fran Lebowitz

17 April, 2014