Viewing entries tagged
prawns

The Restaurant - The Getty Center

July 24, 2017

The Restaurant is located in the Restaurant/Cafe building (upstairs from the cafeteria). The Restaurant offers full service in an elegant setting with views of the Santa Monica Mountains. Menus do change seasonally and the restaurant is opened for dinner service during summer.

I've passed by The Restaurant many times, but never thought about dining here. They have a pretty prestigious menu that compliments the art pieces you can find at the museum. Everything we had was fantastic.

Pepper Tomato Gazpacho - Recommended to open your palate.

I think I had 3 slices of bread. Incredible with the soft butter served alongside.

Beet Hummus - Toasted Cumin, Cilantro Pistou with Pappadam Crisps. ADDICTING.

BBQ Flat Bread - Grilled Flatbread, smoky barbeque pulled pork, white cheddar, arugula and red onions.

Rucola con Pecorino arugula, crisp apple, applewood smoked salami shaved pecorino toscano, white balsamic

SUMMER FRUIT PANZANELLA  marinated mozzarella, wild rocket, torn croutons, pistachio honey balsamic. Seasonal Peaches and cherries were the summer fruits of the day. Delicious. — SUMMER FRUIT PANZANELLA marinated mozzarella, wild rocket, torn croutons, pistachio honey balsamic. Seasonal Peaches and cherries were the summer fruits of the day. Delicious.

Crudo scallop, garlic oil, capers, tomato coulis fresno pepper

Chefs take on Pozole. PORK LOIN - Hominy, ancho puree, papaya cabbage slaw, cilantro. One of my favorite dishes. — Chefs take on Pozole. PORK LOIN - Hominy, ancho puree, papaya cabbage slaw, cilantro. One of my favorite dishes.

PRIME FILET OF BEEF - potato pancake, spicy sweet glaze, crispy onion, pickled vegetables.

Prawns Pomodoro - locally milled wheat pasta, heirloom tomatoes garlic, basil

Dessert

Perfect restaurant to go for a special occasion or just to treat yourself to a nice meal before or after walking the Getty.

Hours

Lunch

Tuesday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.

Sunday 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Dinner

Friday 5:30–9:00 p.m.

Saturday 5:00–9:00 p.m.

Closed Mondays

Comment

Anchor Hitch - Mission Viejo

May 31, 2016

I know. Mission Viejo is more than just a drive for a LA native like me, but there isn't any opportunities I would miss to be able to try new things. When I think of Mission Viejo, I think of this location as a pit stop on my way to San Diego. And honestly, I don't really know what's in Mission Viejo. I was fortunate to taste a few items on the menu of Anchor Hitch during their soft opening. Coming from Santa Monica, the drive took literally 2 hours. And yes, it's far. If you are passing this way, I would recommend you stop by for their hot and cold seafood tower. I love raw seafood, but there's something extremely satisfying about cooked shellfish I would rather prefer. And if you are coming just for this, I would suggest renting a hotel nearby to crash. So lets eat up and drink up.

27741 Crown Valley Parkway, Mission Viejo, CA 92691

The cocktail that was recommended for the night was the Apple Martini.

Their version of Apple Martini was made with whiskey. This was quite delicious. If you think about Washington Apples, this was a much subtle version of the sweet cocktail we all love. The granny smith apples does give it a slight pucker. This will be a great cocktail for summer.

The hot seafood is composed of prawns, maine lobster, and king crab. The cold seafood consisted of oysters, clams, and a scallop carpaccio.

The maine lobsters were outrageous. I knew there was something good going on with the stuffed head. That char and crispy bread crumbs. The head fat was scooped out and mixed with some sweet potato hash.

The crabs and prawns were also deliciously charred where their shells became brittle. Squeeze on some grilled lemons for zip.

Scallop Carpaccio is served with creme fraiche, edible flowers, shiitake mushrooms and a yuzu vinaigrette. Light, sweet and refreshing.

Oysters and clams are just as you would expect from a fresh seafood raw bar. This tower is great to share for 2 or 3-4 if you want this as an appetizer.

I can never get enough of Uni Pasta. No matter where I go, if it's on the menu, it's pretty irresistible. Creamy with little crunchy rice balls for texture. Served up with an over easy egg and a heaping of nori. Delicious.

If you have the stomach, lookout for their Tomahawk rib eye steak. The one you see above is their charcoal grilled rib eye steak with tempura green beans. Served with Chimichurri and a soy based sauce. The steak was cooked medium rare with a beautiful sear. I prefer the tempura batter to be lighter, but still tasty overall.

For dessert, these blueberry donuts will definitely make you come back even if you don't want to. Hot and crispy with a soft fluffy inside, scoop this with the sweet butter cream made with blueberries (or was it raspberry?) doesn't matter it was DELICIOUS. I'm not a sweet(s) person, but these are freaking addicting.

The restaurant is located inside The Union.

27741 Crown Valley Parkway, Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Comment

Little Beast - Eagle Rock

February 9, 2016

Little Beast

1496 Colorado Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90041

I've heard about Little Beast for quite some time now and having had lived in Eagle Rock for over 10 years, it definitely feels like home every time I am back in the area. Little Beast was highly recommended by friends all over. This just felt like the right place to celebrate John's birthday. He didn't want a big party or dinner so I promised him I wouldn't throw him a surprise birthday party like I had the past few years (whooops).

Little Beast is located on the corners of Colorado and Loleta Avenue. There is valet parking as well as street parking on Colorado if you are lucky. We arrived 10 minutes before our reservation, but there wasn't any trouble at all to seat us. We were seated outside in their patio which was lovely. There is a canopy outside to shield you from the rain if any, and heat lamps to keep you warm if chilly. Glancing through the menu, I already knew I wanted the Crudo and the Octopus from their small plates.

First things first, drinks.

Beer for my brother and I, and Stumptown coffee for John (french press).

It wasn't long at all before our small plates came flying out from the kitchen.

California Sea Bass Crudo

The crudo is composed of blood orange, cucumber, radish, yuzu vinaigrette, crispy wonton in between and topped with a frisée poof. This was definitely a palate opener. It was pretty hands down that this was the best rendition of this dish we had. As simple as it sounds, I think the most important part of a crudo is having an extremely balanced acid ratio which was beautifully balanced by the yuzu and the slight spiciness of the fresno chiles. I'm sure we can order 2 of these next time.

Indian Butter Octopus

To be honest, we didn't expect the octopus to come out like this. The "Don't judge a book by its cover" is playing hard on this one. That first bite I took, I felt my eyes roll back. The spices were beautiful and complimented the octopus so well. The fingerling potatoes seemed roasted or fried before it was tossed into the sauce, the flavors were harmonious. The brussell sprouts were also drizzled lightly with a simple vinaigrette which cut through the slight richness of this dish.

Charcuterie

Charcuterie is always a fun item to order. The meats were beautifully laid out on a wood board with delicious pickled condiments like caperberries (one of my favorites, great on carpaccio) and cornichons. We also received a plate of bread to go with out meats and I can't believe how much of it we actually ate.

Hickory Smoked Spicy Pork Meatballs

Ok. So you might not believe it, but I think these are the best tasting meatballs that I've ever, EVER put in my mouth. Let me tell you that the sauce on it's own is dynamite. I've never had smoke executed so perfectly like they did with these meatballs. I could have this in a jar. Buy it frozen. If I lived across the street I would be here for this a few times a week and THAT WOULD BE DANGEROUS. I think this was the best thing we had that night. And the reason why I say that is because it's a meatball. How can one meatball taste so different from another? I think, that if you can make one item that is extremely universal to our tastebuds, and then slug a curve ball like "WTF that was not what I was expecting!" it deserves to be the best thing of the night. They were moist, smokey, spicy little balls and I guarantee you will love it.

Mains

Roasted Mushroom Rissoto

The mushrooms used were king oyster, maitake, and porcini. The risotto also included thyme, black truffle, and parmesan. The flavors were creamy with a sharp roasted mushroom funk you would expect in any mushroom risotto dish. Black truffles always leave a nice touch to any dish no matter what it is. It's totally necessary.

Braised Short Ribs

The polenta was nice and creamy that balances the saltiness of the sauce that was used to braise the short ribs. The short ribs were also a good portion considering all the items we've had so far. It was definitely fork tender with nothing much for you to do but to spoon the meat around the polenta into your mouth. The veggies were carrots, turnips and asparagus.

Caledonia Prawns

The Caledonia Prawns were served over fried wild rice with porkbelly, edamame, carrots, cilantro and a honey soy vinaigrette. This was from their special items menu. The flavors were definitely different from what we had all night. John and David weren't too fond of the wild rice, but I loved the texture. Also, the honey soy vinaigrette was money. I can totally see this sauce glazed over a roasted pork belly. UGH!

I HiGHly recommend Little Beast whether you are from the area or visiting. Little Beast definitely made a bold statement to the neighborhood that you don't need to travel an hour through traffic to have fantastic food. They definitely know what they are doing, you just better make your reservations to find out.

1496 Colorado BoulevardEagle Rock, CA90041 (323)-341-5899

Instagram: @littlebeastrestaurant

Twitter: @LittleBeastEats

Comment

Wine & Dine

The Restaurant - The Getty Center

Anchor Hitch - Mission Viejo

Little Beast - Eagle Rock

Little Beast

Mains