I had a FABULOUS time at Cut after a small hiccup with a bitchy hostess
an excerpt:
"OH....MY... F********CKING GAAAWD!!!!!! Both appetizers were probably the best thing EVER!! I swear once it hit my tongue, my tastebuds were doing the happy dance while on steroids!!!!! The bone marrow was so soft, flavorful and was so good with the mushroom "marmalade". And the pork belly? So soft and succulent it just melted. It was told by the bread lady that it's cooked in duck fat for 3 days. SAY WHAT NOW???? Duck fat? 3 days? Fat cooked in fat (confit style), how can you go wrong with that????"
you can read the full review here:
http://www.yelp.com/user_details_review_search?userid=NBJVYt7sO-2WDg3bPwBT0Q&q=wagyu
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Fine Dining
Over the Years, both before and after attending culinary school (but mostly after), I've had the privilege to dine at some very nice restaurants throughout Southern California.
Places like the French Laundry, Guy Savoy, and Le Cirque, and Craft will always be among my list of restaurants to eat at in some point of my life, but until then I will have to stick to the ones LA has to offer. Now don't get me wrong, LA has A TON of higher end restaurants that have helped shape LA's reputation for fine cuisine, but New York still is the food Mecca of this country.
Of the restaurants that I've been to that have been higher end meals: Delmonico's (Las Vegas), BOA Steakhouse, Ruth's Chris, Roy's, Napa Rose, and... that's all I can think of so far.
In terms of LA restaurants that I want to try, there's Hatfields, Providence, Craft, Table 8, and many others.
I suppose this is all a warmup to my dinner this Saturday. I will be dining at Cut Steakhouse in Beverly Hills. I will be dining with my cousin and a couple friends. I am a huge carnivore and I love a very good steak and I will be looking forward to this meal. I try not to overhype or expect too much out of a restaurant because I've found that contributes to ruining your overall dining experience. I of course will be expecting a good dinner, but I will not set specific standards for the food or the service.
I'll post a picture... that's if I remember to take a picture.
Places like the French Laundry, Guy Savoy, and Le Cirque, and Craft will always be among my list of restaurants to eat at in some point of my life, but until then I will have to stick to the ones LA has to offer. Now don't get me wrong, LA has A TON of higher end restaurants that have helped shape LA's reputation for fine cuisine, but New York still is the food Mecca of this country.
Of the restaurants that I've been to that have been higher end meals: Delmonico's (Las Vegas), BOA Steakhouse, Ruth's Chris, Roy's, Napa Rose, and... that's all I can think of so far.
In terms of LA restaurants that I want to try, there's Hatfields, Providence, Craft, Table 8, and many others.
I suppose this is all a warmup to my dinner this Saturday. I will be dining at Cut Steakhouse in Beverly Hills. I will be dining with my cousin and a couple friends. I am a huge carnivore and I love a very good steak and I will be looking forward to this meal. I try not to overhype or expect too much out of a restaurant because I've found that contributes to ruining your overall dining experience. I of course will be expecting a good dinner, but I will not set specific standards for the food or the service.
I'll post a picture... that's if I remember to take a picture.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Website
I apologize to my maybe 3 readers that I haven't updated my site in awhile. Honestly, I sometimes forget about it.
Anyway, I just want to let you guys know that my website is still under construction. I know, I know, it's been taking a long time but please be patient. In the meantime, please visit my flickr site for some samples
www.flickr.com/photos/austios
And please check back often for the launching of my site!!
-A.
Anyway, I just want to let you guys know that my website is still under construction. I know, I know, it's been taking a long time but please be patient. In the meantime, please visit my flickr site for some samples
www.flickr.com/photos/austios
And please check back often for the launching of my site!!
-A.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Gluttony
This past Sunday I made it to the last day of the LA County Fair.
The fair, or any county fair for that matter, is synonymous with gluttony. What else is there to do besides check out the demonstration, the petting zoo, the pig races, and play the carnival games? Eat, eat, and eat. Did I forget eating?
The food at the fair is usually pretty good. There's no denying it. I have my favorites and I also have discovered new delicacies each of the past 4 years I've gone. Well, the first 3 years I went to the Orange County Fair, which is basically the same thing.
So this year, I went expecting myself to eat quite a bit. Funny thing was I wasn't even very hungry when we showed up Sunday afternoon, but I knew once we got inside, that wasn't going to stop me.
I started out with BBQ corn, which they dip in melted butter and offer various seasonings to sprinkle on as well as things like vinegar and lemon juice. I sprinkled a little bit of lemon garlic powder and pepper on mine. I then shared a turkey leg with my friend, which meant that she took maybe 6 bites and gave me the rest, which I didn't have a problem with because I tore that thing up. I got it down all the way to the bone and left very little meat on it.
We moved on and made our way to Chicken Charlie's, where the fried chicken smelled so good but I wasn't totally in the mood for it, so I just got a deep fried twinkle and an order of deep fried oreos. I've had both before, but they were so good. I'm a little sad I didn't see deep fried love me tenders anywhere. A love me tender is a peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich. It was Elvis' favorite snack and is probably what sent him packing for Heaven, haha. Don't quote me on that. But I had them last year at the OC Fair and it was REALLY good.
We made our way into the Lifehouse concert and we all shared a basket of kettle chips.
Not for one moment did I feel full. I probably could have had another turkey leg and still not be full.
The fair, or any county fair for that matter, is synonymous with gluttony. What else is there to do besides check out the demonstration, the petting zoo, the pig races, and play the carnival games? Eat, eat, and eat. Did I forget eating?
The food at the fair is usually pretty good. There's no denying it. I have my favorites and I also have discovered new delicacies each of the past 4 years I've gone. Well, the first 3 years I went to the Orange County Fair, which is basically the same thing.
So this year, I went expecting myself to eat quite a bit. Funny thing was I wasn't even very hungry when we showed up Sunday afternoon, but I knew once we got inside, that wasn't going to stop me.
I started out with BBQ corn, which they dip in melted butter and offer various seasonings to sprinkle on as well as things like vinegar and lemon juice. I sprinkled a little bit of lemon garlic powder and pepper on mine. I then shared a turkey leg with my friend, which meant that she took maybe 6 bites and gave me the rest, which I didn't have a problem with because I tore that thing up. I got it down all the way to the bone and left very little meat on it.
We moved on and made our way to Chicken Charlie's, where the fried chicken smelled so good but I wasn't totally in the mood for it, so I just got a deep fried twinkle and an order of deep fried oreos. I've had both before, but they were so good. I'm a little sad I didn't see deep fried love me tenders anywhere. A love me tender is a peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich. It was Elvis' favorite snack and is probably what sent him packing for Heaven, haha. Don't quote me on that. But I had them last year at the OC Fair and it was REALLY good.
We made our way into the Lifehouse concert and we all shared a basket of kettle chips.
Not for one moment did I feel full. I probably could have had another turkey leg and still not be full.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Wedding Cakes
As a pastry chef, one of my favorite thing about weddings is the cake. I have a major sweet tooth and I'm always looking forward to diving in to something sweet after my meal.
I've had several people ask me if I do wedding cakes, as I do private catering. To that I promptly reply "no", going on to say that it's too much trouble to make a wedding cake from home. There are a few, however with my set up, it's a little harder. Plus I don't have the patience to make elaborate wedding cakes.
With as many weddings as I've been to in the past 9 months (which is still only 5), but overall over the years, I've had the opportunity to sample many cakes from various bakeries. I also always find myself asking where the cake is from. I guess its just so I know where to refer people if they are in that area.
Back in April, at Jeremy & Serena's wedding, I actually don't remember the cake nor do I have a photo, as I didn't bring my camera with me into the banquet. However, as a wedding photographer, Serena gets to see a lot of cakes and like it when she posts some photos up on either her website, flickr, or facebook profile and it includes the cake. I remember wen she shot Darren & Tiffany's wedding, their cake was very simple yet elegant, almost an art deco kind of design, and Serena said they got it from Porto's Bakery in Glendale. I did not know Porto's did wedding cakes...
And then last week was Eddie & Tina's wedding. I don't think I asked where they got the cake, but it was good
I suppose this is all a setup for Torrance Bakery. 2 of the weddings I've been this year have been from there and it by far has been my favorte wedding cake that I can remember. The cake is very moist, flavorful, not overly sweet, and the frosting is not too sweet either. They are decorated very beautifully as well
The first is my brother's cake. They got married back in April in Redondo Beach, so I assume that bakery was referred to them because it was near by. I want to say it was a green tea cake with I don't remember what frosting. I just remember the cake being very moist and delicious.
The 2nd cake was at my cousin's wedding in July. They got married in Palos Verdes, so I also assume Torrance Bakery was one of the bakeries that was referred to them. They got a half white, half red velvet cake. 2 of the tiers were white, the other 2 were red velvet. I was lucky and got a piece of red velvet. Again, very moist, flavorful, and wasn't overly sweet. Their cake was decorated more simpler, but still looked very beautiful.
I have a feeling when I get married (whenever that is), I will be wanting to get our cake from here....
I've had several people ask me if I do wedding cakes, as I do private catering. To that I promptly reply "no", going on to say that it's too much trouble to make a wedding cake from home. There are a few, however with my set up, it's a little harder. Plus I don't have the patience to make elaborate wedding cakes.
With as many weddings as I've been to in the past 9 months (which is still only 5), but overall over the years, I've had the opportunity to sample many cakes from various bakeries. I also always find myself asking where the cake is from. I guess its just so I know where to refer people if they are in that area.
Back in April, at Jeremy & Serena's wedding, I actually don't remember the cake nor do I have a photo, as I didn't bring my camera with me into the banquet. However, as a wedding photographer, Serena gets to see a lot of cakes and like it when she posts some photos up on either her website, flickr, or facebook profile and it includes the cake. I remember wen she shot Darren & Tiffany's wedding, their cake was very simple yet elegant, almost an art deco kind of design, and Serena said they got it from Porto's Bakery in Glendale. I did not know Porto's did wedding cakes...
And then last week was Eddie & Tina's wedding. I don't think I asked where they got the cake, but it was good
I suppose this is all a setup for Torrance Bakery. 2 of the weddings I've been this year have been from there and it by far has been my favorte wedding cake that I can remember. The cake is very moist, flavorful, not overly sweet, and the frosting is not too sweet either. They are decorated very beautifully as well
The first is my brother's cake. They got married back in April in Redondo Beach, so I assume that bakery was referred to them because it was near by. I want to say it was a green tea cake with I don't remember what frosting. I just remember the cake being very moist and delicious.
The 2nd cake was at my cousin's wedding in July. They got married in Palos Verdes, so I also assume Torrance Bakery was one of the bakeries that was referred to them. They got a half white, half red velvet cake. 2 of the tiers were white, the other 2 were red velvet. I was lucky and got a piece of red velvet. Again, very moist, flavorful, and wasn't overly sweet. Their cake was decorated more simpler, but still looked very beautiful.
I have a feeling when I get married (whenever that is), I will be wanting to get our cake from here....
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