Viewing entries tagged
yellowtail

Georgie - Beverly Hills

September 9, 2017

I had the pleasure of dining at Georgie located in what I like to call restaurant row of Beverly Hills. Tucked away in Montage Beverly Hills you will find Georgie, a modern American cuisine showcasing quality ingredients treated with Michelin technique-driven preparations by Executive Chef Wilfrid Hocquet. Extremely humble and passionate about cooking, he brings his many years of experience from working in Michelin Restaurants in France to Le Louis XV out in Monaco.

G eorgie
225 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Without much time put in (ok maybe a little), we ordered a few rounds of appetizers to start.

The fennel added such a nice touch without being too herbaceous. I loved the crackling of coarse salt which complimented the butter. These are made to order and something I would recommend.

House Pâté cut up into squares so it's easy to share. Topped with Peach Compote, Pickles, Jus Vinaigrette. There's all kinds of meat mixture in this. I believe there is chicken, duck, foie gras, and a few more. Good stuff.

Served with Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Calamansi. I can almost never say no to Hamachi Crudo. It's always a refreshing appetizer that feels guilt free. Gorgeous plating again.

Meaty Dungeness Crab served with Cucumber, Preserved Lemon Aioli, Tomato Jelly. Another extremely refreshing appetizer. And if you've never had tomato jelly, you are missing out. This dish is what summer is all about.

Burrate is slowly surfacing a lot of restaurants these days. Georgie showcases the burrata with Stone Fruit, Market Tomatoes, Apple Cider Vinaigrette. The fruits were a mixture of goodies. All in season. Loved how all the appetizers ties in together.

This was the special of the night. Handmade Cavatelli pasta with braised oxtail. The oxtail was so tender. The Cavatelli pasta was delicious with the slightest chew you love from fresh pasta. I would be on a lookout for specials if you come.

A fish you would rarely find in any restaurants. I believe it's a European Sea Bass. Delicate and holds up to a lot of flavors. Served with Artichokes, Zucchini, Saffron Sauce. The silky skin on the fish is captivating.

Perfectly cooked rack of lamb. Little to no gaminess which is what I prefer. Served with ground lamb stuffed in eggplant, chickpea crisps, and savory jus. It's hard to find lamb cooked like this. I feel like in America, we love things with tons of char. I know that's how I like my meat at least. This had a slight golden brown all around the lamb. It didn't take over the flavor of the meat. This was really good. I would order this again.

Chicken is not something I would order. EVER. I can't put together what can make chicken breast different from one to another. I love making it at home, don't get me wrong. But at a restaurant especially one as fancy as this, I would never. But, our host, the ever so sweet Cassandra, highly recommends we tried it. Chicken Breast, served with Confit Carrots, Blackened Potatoes, Tarragon Aioli. BEST bite of the night. Or, hands down probably the best dish of the night. The chicken breast was sous vide so the protein of the meat has broken down to something I've never experienced before in a chicken breast. It almost had a texture of a medium cooked tenderloin. Not stringy at all, easy to cut with a butter knife. Those blackened potatoes were also on a different level. I can never eat potatoes the same way anymore. I can't... with this dish. Must order.

Almost there guys.

Man. Desserts never hit me this hard. I'm not a big sweets girl. All my friends know that. Even my attitude shows. But this was flipping good. We think that might be a pistachio gelato. Salted Almond Butter Gelato, Almond Dacquoise, Malted Milk Crumble. If I died that day, I would be happy. But I didn't. And another dessert was served.

This should be the last thing you eat. If you want something rich, order an espresso or hot coffee. Fresh Mint Chip Gelato & Sweet Cream. I slapped my forehead in disbelief how delicious that mint chip gelato was. With the sweet strawberries and little meringue... there's no other way to end the night.

But it ends. I will be back soon. They seem to have a pretty tasty looking breakfast menu as well I am dying to try.

Thank you Georgie for having me.

Au Revoir

Georgie
225 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

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West Coast Fish - Costa Mesa

May 8, 2017

There's been a lot of gourmet food brought down to the fast food hype and I am definitely digging it. After seeing the menu and a few photos from local eaters, I wonder what can be so great with grilled fish, "simple" sides/appetizers. From the items I've tried, the first bite was all it took.

I was blown away by how amazingly delicious everything was. With a mouthful, oh my god was the only thing I kept blurping out.

Salmon over brown rice with veggies. (broccolini, pickled shishito and fresno chilis.) Salmon, cooked to perfection. Also, they cure the salmon in house making the skin extra crispy when grilling. Will order this again... will be hard to want someth… — Salmon over brown rice with veggies. (broccolini, pickled shishito and fresno chilis.) Salmon, cooked to perfection. Also, they cure the salmon in house making the skin extra crispy when grilling. Will order this again... will be hard to want something else after having this.

“West Coast Fish desires to simplify what it means to have good seafood. Utilizing organic non-GMO herbs, original sauces and wild fish, our produce is hand-picked fresh from farmer’s markets as well as The CAMP’s community garden.”

You'll be surprised with the level of expertise at West Coast Fish when preparing the food. Some inspirations they've adapted to is Japanese techniques. Cooking with binchotan charcoals for example, gives a nice smokey aroma that doesn't overpower the food. Why I love yakitori so much.

Quite possibly one of the best cauliflower dishes I've had. I can't express enough how good this was. Oh, I know, Oh My God.

It's easy to mess up brussel sprouts. But, not here. Deliciously crispy. Extremely addicting and difficult to share. The same with the cauliflower. That's 2 veggie dishes I just raved about. Says a lot.

The shrimp tacos were ON POINT. Giant and Extremely plump (please, no that's what she said jokes. Even though I just pointed that out...) No skimping here. And what's AMAZING was how well that tortilla held up. As a food blogger, you can imagine the extra minutes I take to capture a photo. But, with that said, it was one tortilla (standard street tacos has 2) that held up the beast. So fresh. Each bite was just decadence.

I WILL BE BACK.

2981 BRISTOL ST. #B5 COSTA MESA, CA 92626

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Hama Sushi - Little Tokyo

September 1, 2016

Yes they got engaged! They've been dating for over a decade and it's heart warming to know they are moving towards starting a new path together. That's all. I'm not saying anything else nice about my brother so that's all he gets! Oh and I guess one more nice thing was that he paid for this dinner /___\

347 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

I've only been to Hama sushi once and was pretty impressed. I think... the best way for me to describe what their sushi tastes like to me, in one word, is traditional. I'm sure there's a lot of techniques to sushi than just fish and rice. I could spend over $100 on an Omakase, and the sushi will be great, but the flavors are somewhat different at a traditional Japanese sushi bar. I can't really describe the taste and feeling, but I can tell you I get that hear. And it's a really good thing.

First and foremost, there's none of that teriyaki stuff. Not that it's bad, but again we are at a sushi bar so don't be asking for a bowl of white rice. Secondly, there's signs that says no pictures. And of course, rude to use cell phones. Well I took pictures. But got approval. AND I made sure to limit to 3 photos per dish. Plus, the chef was super dope, but I will let you find out who yourself.

We had a good variety from yellowtail, to ika with shiso, to toro, salmon belly, natto handroll and all the other good bites. I think good sushi rice is not too sweet, but seasoned so slightly to enhance the flavors.

When I used to work in an Izakaya, Ankimo in ponzu is one of the items I ate with hot white rice. The flavors are mild, but I wouldn't tell someone it doesn't taste like anything. It's nothing like Foie Gras so don't believe anything people tell you when they say it does. This is one of my all time comfort foods in Japanese cuisine. It's hard to mess up Monkfish liver, but no worries here because it is excellent.

To me, this is what Engawa is supposed to look like. Engawa is the Halibut's fin, the meat of the fin of course. Normally served like the way you see it, raw with green onions, chili daikon and a dab of citrus soy. Sometimes, it is seared and then dressed with a dab or so of citrus soy. Delicious and something I highly recommend ordering if available.

Salmon. The first raw fish I ate when I was young. After that, it's always been my favorite. I love how sweet it tastes. But when I got older, I've learned the existence of salmon belly. And pretty much gravitated towards it when available on the menu. Here, you an see little slits to cut the fat. People think fat is great on a piece of fish or steak. It's somewhat true, but you want the fat to be marbled. This technique helps relieve the chewiness that the fat can create. Amazing.

Only a few chefs do this and I wished more did. This version of tamago is just eggs that is mixed with ingredients like sugar, dashi, mirin, blah blah. This was the last item we had and we treated it like a dessert due to it's sweetness.

Make sure to come earlier. If you plan on having dinner at 7, come at 6. The restaurant is really small with only 2 tables or so if you want to sit intimately away from the crowd. The rest of the seating (about 15) is all sushi bar.

347 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

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Katsuya - Glendale

August 23, 2016

John's mom took us here for a quick birthday lunch. We were at the Americana to take her shopping and she decided to might as well take me to a belated birthday meal. I've only been to Katsuya for Happy Hour which was pretty fun. All Happy Hours should be fun. If it's not fun, the truth is probably you aren't a fun person. Just saying...

For $19, you can order their sushi lunch

Sushi top to bottom: tuna, yellowtail, salmon, albacore, shrimp, scallop, and unagi

You get 7 pieces of sushi, a spicy tuna handroll, and a freaking 10 piece California cut roll. Everything was pretty good and definitely worth the $19 lunch deal.

You just have to make sure to eat the handroll first, or the Nori will start to moisten and turns chewy.

We also ordered a Spider Roll to share:

I didn't mention that we all ordered our own sushi lunch special. It was more than enough. We had trouble to finish our spider roll and California rolls. There's normally no wait to be seated which was also a reason for us to check it out. Outdoor seating is preferred though I haven't sat inside before.

Enjoy.

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Poke Salad Bar - Pasadena

September 6, 2015

"Summer is over" says the last 3 day weekend before all hell breaks loose for the rest of the year. I'm trying not to think about work, or the amount of money that's going to be spent now till next February.

The weekend, so far, has been absolutely beautiful. The weather was nice, sunny, and not too unbearable even though there were some heat in Pasadena. John and I went to the flea market today at Pasadena City College. It's only on the first Sunday of every month. There's no entrance fees, just find street parking, grab a Starbucks and head on over. The market is inside their parking structure and outside their lot. It's really a fun treat if you want to kill some time, be outdoors, getting some exercise, or just looking for unique items to decorate your homes with. Most of the little vendors are cash only, but once in a while you will find some stands that takes credit cards.

After spending about 45 minutes to an hour browsing through the aisles, we were hungry and ready to grab a snack.

By the way, breakfast consisted the usual bacon and eggs.

Since we were in Pasadena, we decided to head into Old Town. After little thought, we wanted to try this little joint called Poke Salad Bar.

What's great about PSB is the toppings that they offer, for free. I know this may sound weird, but I love imitation crab meat. I don't know why. Don't judge me either. There's just something comforting about how sweet it is... and growing up eating California rolls thinking it was sushi really made me appreciate them differently.

I ordered salmon and yellowtail with all the fixes minus the pineapple. I also added a yuzu vinaigrette which flavors were not present. John doubled down on the salmon with additional spicy tuna, but he did not go loco with the fix ins like I did.

The flavors were satisfying. I was also happy with the portions considering it being larger than Flour and Tea on Lake (which I'll never go again). I parked at the Fair Oaks structure since it's 90 minutes free. A quick lunch and a visit to Crate and Barrel did not run my time over 90 minutes.

I highly recommend this place if you are hungry, want something tasty, affordable, satisfying, and wouldn't feel too ripped off. The total for 2 after taxes came out to $21-ish.

Try it and let me know what you think. They also have other options like shrimp, tuna, and scallops. Rice can be substituted with salad and you can also make a burrito!

Now that the sun is going down, and dinner will be soon... it's time to get drunk. OH! And John found $5 on the floor which he made me pick up. I feel terrible, but at the same time, finders keepers losers weepers.

Happy 3 days! Cheers.

Daiisies

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Wine & Dine

Georgie - Beverly Hills

West Coast Fish - Costa Mesa

Hama Sushi - Little Tokyo

Katsuya - Glendale

Poke Salad Bar - Pasadena