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ad hoc restaurant – for temporary relief from hunger – Yountville, CA

It’s not even April and I’ve already had the most amazing dining experience for the year. Seriously, I don’t see how the rest of the year can compare to my recent surprise brunch at Thomas Keller’s newest dining diggs in Yountville – ad hoc. Not only was it my very first experience in the Napa Valley, but it was my first stop! This place is super casual and such a friendly easy-going staff. The set menu changes daily and no matter what your food preferences and expectations are – you will be blown away with each bite. My brunch was the following – raspberry sangria, Raspberry Walnut Milkshake (see pic below), Lemon Polenta Muffin, Toad in a Hole with poached eggs, buttered crispy toasts, wild mushroom, spinach, and local smoked ham, and for dessert – pineapple crepe with ricotta. Our waitress Katie was the best ever, she was so nice [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Mar 23

2010

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Featured, Restaurant Reviews

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M Cafe – West Hollywood, CA

What’s left when there’s no refined sugars, eggs, dairy, red meat or poultry? As bizarre as this probably sounds to most diners, there’s still a long list of other ingredients and intensely flavorful dishes to eat without these overused 5. I really think that we are so used to automatically reaching for these items without thinking about it and forget all the other great things to eat that are better and more delicious. Break the rut, open your eyes and expand your taste buds to a more interesting and diverse world of eating. The easiest and very motivating way to start is by heading over to M Cafe, the contemporary macrobiotic cuisine cafe with a global menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and more. Their kitchen uses wholesome, ecological ingredients like heirloom-varietal whole grains, organically grown beans, fresh fish and locally-grown fruits and vegetables. See below for menu items and [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Feb 25

2010

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Featured, Reviews

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Buttermilk Food Truck – Los Angeles, CA

Calling all fellow breakfast food lovers, those of you that consider french toast anytime of the day or night. Thanks to Gigi Pasqual and Buttermilk Boy Klippy, Buttermilk Truck brings us our favorite breakfast dishes all day and late night long. Some of my favorite items off their menu include Hawaiian Bread Cinnamon French Toast Sticks served with butter and syrup, Southwest Veggie Omelet with cornbread, Buttermilk Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches with applewood smoked bacon and rosemary hash browns, Fried Chicken with Housemade Cinnamon Waffles. See below for more menu items and deets. Find them participating in the Food Trucks for Haiti, Saturday Jan.23, 12-3pm, at TLofts – 11500 Tennessee Ave at Butler Ave, West LA with 20 other fellow foody trucks. Event runs from 11am-4pm. Portions of the proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross International Response Fund in relief efforts for the Haitian people. More from Buttermilk: The [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Jan 22

2010

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Featured, Restaurant Reviews

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Market Restaurant at the Cooper Building – Downtown Los Angeles

There’s a new breakfast/lunch spot in Downtown L.A. where you can get the best molasses cookies around along with other fresh and hot items. Bret Thompson of MILK in Hollywood partnered up with Pablo Ramirez and opened up Market Restaurant at the Cooper Building in the Fashion District. The catering menu is impressive as well as a promising 30 minute delivery service. Other than their molasses cookies, some of my favorite dishes to try are the Feta-terranean Salad with romaine hearts, cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese, black olives, pita chips, garbanzo beans and lemon vinaigrette, the Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding with fresh fruit and granola, and Turkey Burger with cheddar cheese, vine ripened tomato, green leaf lettuce, pickles and secret sauce. See below for more menu items. Here is more info from Market Restaurant: Chef/Partner Bret Thompson (co-founder of MILK in Hollywood) and Partner Pablo Ramirez opened Market Restaurant at the [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Jan 20

2010

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Featured, Restaurant Reviews

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Restaurant Review: August – Manhattan, NY

This is my favorite place for brunch in Manhattan. August is a charming little hidden spot tucked in Greenwich Village with a surprising sunlit private garden patio in the back. Their menu turns out seasonal European fare from their wood-fired oven. I never miss brunch here when I’m in town. It’s the perfect place to share brunch with a few close friends. I can’t help but to always order their challah french toast with huckleberry coulis (pic below). It’s the perfect french toast filled with buttery cinnamon sweetness. Every bite is so moist that there’s no need for any maple syrup – maybe just a little dab of huckleberry coulis here and there. They also have the cutest perfectly cooked egg dishes served in the mini cocotte straight out of the wood-fired oven (Roman in top pic). This is not the place for low/non-fat milk or splenda. You’re only going [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Aug 31

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Featured, Restaurant Reviews

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Restaurant Review: Le Pain Quotidien – Los Angeles and New York

The best communal table dining around both East and West Coast is at the belgium Le Pain Quotidien. It’s even made from reclaimed wood. Their bakery and patisserie items are made fresh every day and always by hand with organic stone-ground flour. They have daily and weekly pastry specials such as the cinnamon apple muffin (top pic), cherry apple canele (pic below) and regulars like butter and chocolate croissants (pic below) and baguettes. My favorite part is their long list of desserts and tartines, open-faced sandwiches, finally a place that serves sandwiches the way I always end up eating it. They have a full coffee bar and serve breakfast/luch/dinner. I’ve been to several different locations in Los Angeles and a few in NY, it’s always very cute and casual. The kind of place you can just show up at and grab a table. I’ve even ordered their pumpkin pies to [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Aug 17

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Featured, Restaurant Reviews

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Grocery Bag: Lifeway Kefir – Lowfat Blueberry

It’s insanely hot in New York these days. I think I had to take a shower at least 3 times in one day. I can only think of cold and refreshing drinks when it comes to sustenance. Aside from that, how about a healthier version of cold treats – something along the lines of a smoothie, but better. Here I have one of my new staple buys – Lifeway Kefir Lowfat Blueberry. Sometimes I’ll get the plain when I want to mix it up with some fruit and honey. But when I don’t have even a second to add any fruit, I’ll grab the Blueberry to get that sweet berryness. If you haven’t heard about Kefir, basically it’s a smoothie-like creamy yogurt but with so much more of the good stuff. Kefir has 10 exclusive live and active probiotic cultures with all the goodness of calcium, protein and fiber. It’s [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Aug 17

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Featured, Grocery Bag

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Restaurant Review: Balthazar Restaurant – Soho, NY

Sunday is for having brunch with friends. That means Balthazar, one of the all-time best spots in New York for brunch. The place is packed all the time and the food is consistently superb in all the years this place has been open. Their traditional french bistro fare turns up perfectly in every dish. Their tiny bakery next door is just as well renowned and included in their brunch menu. This is why brunch here is one of the experiences I think everyone should have in their lifetime. Needless to say, their Le Panier basket of fresh daily pastries and bread was one of the first things I ordered (bottom pic). There were slices of brown bread that I thought was just brown bread, and was floored when I realized it was actually sliced chocolate bread – pure chocolate! The service here is always professional and friendly – they are [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Aug 16

2009

COMMENTS: 0

CATEGORY: Featured, Restaurant Reviews

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Recipe: Blueberry Raspberry Yogurt and Kefir Parfait with Honey

Here is something I’ve really been enjoying lately. This Blueberry Raspberry Yogurt and Kefir Parfait with Honey is like having dessert for breakfast without any of the downside. Not that I’d frown upon anyone who embraces dessert first thing in their day, in fact Bravo for embracing life. I however, need to be able to fully utilize every tiny bit of brain cell function possible during the weekday – especially first thing in the morning. That mean’s 3 things, coffee, coffee, and more coffee before breakfast. Raspberries and blueberries are in season and are perfectly ripe right now in the markets. I wanted to enjoy these berries where I’d still embrace their ripe freshness of the season. What better way than to have spoonfuls of creamy tart yogurt and kefir with plump blueberries, raspberries, and drizzles of gooey sweet honey as my morning breakfast treat. It makes my day so [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Jun 22

2009

COMMENTS: 2

CATEGORY: Featured, What's For Breakfast

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Restaurant Review: Square One Dining – Los Angeles

I can barely make it in time to my favorite new brunch place, Square One Dining, before it closes – at 3pm. I don’t mind, because there’s no better way to start the first waking minutes of your day than surrounded by glorious breakfast and lunch dishes. Everyone else seems to have the same idea as the entire place is so laid back and simply happy with each other. I think it’s probably because they’re all in that post-feeding bliss. The only formality is waiting for a table, which is hardly 10 minutes, probably because most people don’t eat brunch at 2:30pm. This is when I feel lucky to be 2 hours behind everyone else’s eating schedule, unfortunately I rarely find anyone else to join me since they’ve either just finished eating or about to eat in another 2 hours. So I had all seating options available and since the [...]

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AUTHOR: Gilda

POSTED ON:

Mar 8

2009

COMMENTS: 1

CATEGORY: Featured, Restaurant Reviews

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