That last couple of years we have not been focusing on restaurant reviews as much as we did in the beginning. Surprise, surprise, I have two for you today. This is for the Los Angeles Folks as both are in the LA area.
I'll get the first out of the way, since it was a disappointment. The new Cafe 50's on Ventura has all the potential for a family favorite. Diner style food in a kitschy atmosphere, friendly attentive waitstaff, reasonable prices, what's not to like? The food, mainly. Cafe 50's has never blown me away, but when they were on Van Nuys, I could always count on a fair bit of American fare, but the meal I had last week was really bland. I had the chili. I am not one for a super spicy chili, but this was ridiculous, it tasted like spices had never come near the pot. The meals my compatriots had were no more impressive.
I rarely give bad reviews, but in this case it is more of an intervention, I really like this place and want to see it thrive. Cafe 50's has been a long time Valley staple. The new location is so inviting and clean; it would be sad for its improved location to languish because of the quality of the food. Step it up chefs, you have the potential for a classic.
Cafe 50's
15045 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
The next review is for something much more pleasing to the palate. I had a terrific meal at The Curry House on Sawtelle in West LA. It has been years since I've gone to a Japanese curry house, but ever since the chicken curry on top of spaghetti, I have been craving a another trip. There is a rich complex flavor to everything tasted which also included the salad dressing and the Curry Pan, a fried dough wrapped around curried meat and veggies.
If you have never tried Japanese curry, it is much more mild than an Indian curry, so if you like it hot, order it one or two steps above what you would normally get. I highly recommend an excursion to one of the many locations of the Curry House. The Sawtelle location of Curry House can be found on the Family of Food Map, at the link below.
Curry House
2130 Sawtelle Blvd # 200
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 479-8477
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Good and The Bad
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Pastry Based Dinners
Early this week I made two pastry based dinners and let's just say they worked out. No leftovers. Couldn't even get a pic. One was a pastry wrapped shredded barbecue beef, the other dish was chicken pot pie in individual casseroles. Here's the great thing... they were both deceptively easy to make.
I made the pastry from a Kitchen Aid recipe and once that was done, the rest was easy as pie.
Here is the recipe for the Kitchenaid Pie Pastry:
Makes 2 crusts
2 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening, well chilled
2 TBSP butter or margarine, well chilled
5-6 TBSP cold water
Place flour and salt in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to the mixer. Turn to stir speed and mix about 15 seconds. Cut shortening and butter into pieces and add to flour mixture. Turn to stir speed and mix until shortening pieces are the size of small peas, 30-45 seconds.
Continuing on stir speed, add water 1 TBSP at a time, mixing until ingredients are moistened and dough begins to hold together. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into a smooth ball and flatten slightly. Put in a ziplock or wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
In the recipe, the dough was split for a double crust pie, but for me that meant two dinners.
The first night was ridiculous in it's simplicity, here is the recipe for pastry wrapped barbecued beef.
Preheat the oven to 450° F
Roll one of the flattened dough balls out between two sheets of waxed paper into something like a rectangle, and then pile the pre-made barbecue beef (I used Jack Daniel's Pulled Beef) in the middle and wrap the dough around the meat. Bake for about 30-35 minutes. That was it. I served it with homemade mashed potatoes.
The second night was a little more involved, but that was my choice. The nice thing about pot pie is that you add whatever you happen to have in the house, to the pot. This recipe was made up on the spot, so the ingredient sizes are estimates.
Here are the ingredients used:
4 fresh Baby Potatoes up into small bites, a handful of fresh Broccoli cut up, 1/2 can of peas and carrots, and 2 chicken breasts.
For the chicken take 2 chicken breasts cover them with onion powder, garlic salt, and pepper. Cook them through on the stove, then cut into bite sized pieces. Saute a bit more if not cooked through.
Preheat oven to 450° F
Put the potatoes in a bowl with at least 1/2 TBSP of butter. Cook the potatoes for a few minutes in the microwave to soften them. You can add other vegetables to this bowl if they need softening, too.
Mix all the vegetables together in a big bowl, add some salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the mix.
Add a can of Cream of Chicken Soup to the meat vegetable mix. Add about a cup of milk. Add some water if there is not enough liquid. If you don't mind the calories, add a bit more more butter. Mix it all up.
Split mixture into 4 individual casseroles. Something like this should work.
Mine look more like vegetables, like this
so go with what you have, exact shape and size is not important.
Split the vegetable, meat, sauce mix into each casserole.
Roll out the pastry dough between two sheets of waxed paper into an oval or rectangle shape. Take the top piece of waxed paper off and then cut the dough into fourths. Place each piece of rolled out dough on top of each casserole. Beat an egg if you have one and brush it on the pastry for shine.
Put the casseroles on a baking sheet and bake at 450° F for 30-35 minutes.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
LOVE IT SHOW - SEASON 2 EP #2
Culinary Cuties on Sharon Catherine Blanks "Love It List"
This looks very cool. Los Angeles based cooking classes for kids.
http://www.culinarycuties.com/
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A Gathering of Thanksgiving Posts
It is almost Turkey Day in America. Are you cooking yet? To help out, I've gathered some of our best Thanksgiving posts here.
Advice from Father of Food .
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A Little Extra Love
A little extra love for my little loves.
Almond Butter and Jelly sandwiches cut into Heart shapes with a cookie cutter.
Grapes quartered, and cut into a heart shape for sandwich accent.
Slice of Cheddar.
Peas with carrots cut into hearts.
Nothing expensive, nothing unusual, just something made with a little extra love.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The Fever is Spreading
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Today's Harvest
Monday, November 1, 2010
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Spread the seeds out on a cookie sheet. Try gently shaking the sheet to spread them evenly.
