Red Medicine, Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills

Had an amazing dinner at Red Medicine last night.    Chef/Partner Jordan Kahn,

Managing Partner Noah Ellis, and Partner Adam Fleischman have created what is described as a late night Vietnamese restaurant - which is not a great description.  This is their manifesto from their website:

Very cool space, concrete floors, great bar, lots of windows, hip and noisy.  Good music, particularly a remix of  'Age of Reason' by John Farnham.  Great for homesick Aussies! or not.

With a window into the busy kitchen

and cutlery on the table

But a Vietnamese restaurant as we know it, it is NOT.  The food is really really clever and unusual with clean, pure flavours.  I love going to a restaurant and being surprised with great food that I just could not cook myself.   It was suggested we order 2 - 3 dishes each as they were small and designed to be shared, however the Large Format dishes should be counted as 4, leaving too limited a tasting choice for us even though there were three of us, although we were tempted by the Wagyu Brisket braised for 36 hours.  The kitchen would deliver the dishes in their order - which was fine with us.

We had:
CHICKEN DUMPLINGS (caramelized sugar, pork fat, lemongrass, confitures)

Not what we were expecting.  They came with fresh lime to squeeze over, mint leaves, sweet soy and a spicy sriracha chilli sauce, finely sliced pickles, delicately fried red onion - all of which you wrap in a lettuce leaf.    This is when we realised we were in for something different.
CRISPY SPRING ROLLS (dungeness crab, lime, pea pods, fines herbes, chili).  Fabulous.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS (caramelized shallots, fish sauce, vermouth).  Hidden under really light crisps.  I'm gonna have to try to copy these.

MAITAKE MUSHROOM (cauliflower, snake beans, bacon x.o., walnut).  Mushroom puree was poured into the middle when served and the cauliflower couldn't have been sliced any thinner.

 SWEET CORN (kelley’s egg, turmeric crepe, black malt, shiitake).  So amazing.

JIDORI CHICKEN (slow-cooked in caramel, cinnamon, mustard lettuce, coriander, crispy onion roots).  Tender and caramelised to perfection.

DUCK (caramelized endive, banana, toasted grains, brown butter, chinese five spice).  The duck was tender and the blue cheese crumble just melted into nothing.  The banana sauce was just as it said - but better than banana!

WAGYU BEEF (creme fraiche, garlic chive, cashews, lovage, charred cucumber).  The beef was perfectly cooked and the cucumber was extraordinary and tasted of a sweet lime sauce.

All mouthwateringly good, but the standouts were the Sweet Corn, the Brussels Sprouts and the Jidori Chicken.

All so impressive, we had to try their desserts.

COCONUT BAVAROIS (coffee, condensed milk, thai basil, peanut croquant, chicory).  You could really taste peanut butter!  The Thai basil 'drops' were fabulous.

MUSCAT GRAPE (almond, white chocolate, zucchini, elderflower, violet ).  So refreshing and clever with clear balls of elderflower hidden amongst the grapes.

Applause for Jordan Kahn.

Not cheap, but extraordinary food, great vibe, terrific service.   Not quite sure why I can't give it 10/10, more to do with the space than the food - just a little 'cold'.

9.5/10

Wedding, Dinner at Bar Marmont, Poolside Sunday then Dinner Garden Restaurant Chateau Marmont

Wow!  What a weekend.  Checked into the Chateau Marmont on Saturday afternoon ready for my daughter's wedding in our three bedroom bungalow at 6.00 pm.  The hotel is apparently modeled after an infamous royal residence in France's Loire Valley.  Perfect venue.  We have stayed here before, even ended up in the Presidential Suite for a night.  Our bungalow was right beside the pool and had a huge indoor/outdoor room for the ceremony.

And a lovely lounge room with an open fire place, complete with Flame Logs, adjoining it.

 After the ceremony we headed through the gardens to the Bar Marmont, and the private dining room.

Really beautiful room.  The Chef Carolynn Spence is excellent.  Food for sixteen is not easy, but it was very good with two choices - chicken or steak, and two lovely desserts.

After dinner we adjourned back to our bungalow and lit the open fire.

Breakfast the next morning was in the garden restaurant.  I had to have the Huevos Rancheos which I have had before, and were great for the 'hangover'.  They are different to any others I have had, the egg served on an Enchilada with a bowl of spicy hot Green Sauce, another bowl of Black Beans and a small bowl of Sour Cream. 

Then it was off to the heated pool for the day - and again the food was delicious and the service fantastic.  I had a Steak Sandwich with Caramalised Onions and tiny thin Fries.  The steak was actually chunks of ground beef on  soft brioche like bread, and served with home made picked vegetables on the side and waaayyy too much cheese on the top.  Lucky I didn't sink and drown!

Then dinner at the Garden Restaurant.  Such a pretty setting, and a very pretty Taylor Lautner at the table beside us! 

We sat right under the hallway above, but it was set with two long tables, and beautifully lit.  Couldn't resist the Lamb Shepherds Pie.  Served in an individual round pie dish, the mash was just what I felt like, especially combined with the delicious gravy with huge chunks of tender lamb.  Perfect.  Apparently the steak was great too, as were the burgers.  The Fried Chicken was a standout - crispy on the outside, and tender as on the inside.

This hotel has everything you could want - really didn't want to leave.  But not cheap!

10/10

Dinner at Dan Tana's

Visited the well known Hollywood restaurant Dan Tana's on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood last night.  It celebrated its 47th anniversary in October this year - amazing.

It is the smallest restaurant with the largest menus (literally) and soooo busy and buzzing it was almost claustrophic!  We were amazed we were able to book a table of 10 on a busy Friday night, and when we got there, the table was sitting there waiting for us even though people were two deep all around the bar and every other table was occupied!  But we were very squashed!  One of the Tuxedoed Waiters (bottom left in the photo above) was a real character originally from Croatia who has obviously been at the restaurant for a long time.

You really can't expect a great meal when you with a large number of people, and so agreed to their suggestion (was it a choice? - it was so noisy) we share dishes - Chopped Salad to start, Penne Arrabiata, Lasagna, Cannelloni, Chicken Parmigiana - and way too much red wine.  All good but like eating at a buffet.   I would imagine the bill was quite hefty!

And we all bought Flashing 'Grills' while we were waiting for cars/taxis outside! 

6/10 for the experience

Another Lunch - Cafe 101

This very hip diner is within walking distance of our daughter's house and comes highly recommended.  It's on the corner of Franklin and Gower (under the Hollywood sign) attached to an old now revamped Best Western motel originally opened in the late 1930's.  The publicity blurb says:

The look of the 101 Coffee Shop was carefully designed by Warner Ebbink after extensive research of coffee shops of the 1960’s and ‘70’s. From the stone wall behind the retro brown leather booths to the counter that extends through most of the space, the hipster residents of Hollywood are transported to a funky diner straight out of the late 1960’s.  The menu at 101 Coffee Shop features retro diner fare with a Southern California twist. Acclaimed Chef Brandon Boudet combines the best of the Hollywood Farmer’s Market with hearty yet simple classics.

So we went for the classics.   Chopped Cobb Salad (Blackened Chicken, Tomato, Avocado, Blue Cheese, Bacon and Lettuce, chopped and Tossed with a Ranch Dressing), Macaroni and Cheese and a side of French Fries - with a few crispy Sweet Potato Fries mixed through.

The Cobb Salad was fabulous, the blackened chicken just that, but still tender and juicy.  The Macaroni and Cheese was literally the best I have ever had - light (yes, light) and really tasty.  The Fries too were the best yet - fresh and real, unlike a lot of others we have been served that taste like reheated potato.

Value for money and for cleanliness, service and courtesy - 9/10

7/10

Lunch at RockSugar

Went shopping at Westfield Century City, and saw this amazing looking restaurant called RockSugar.

Created by restauranteur David Overton and Singapore raised New York trained Chef Mohan Ismail, the food is described as Pan Asian - Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India.  Just my kind of restaurant - there was no way we were walking past - and it was lunchtime.

The decor, from the entrance to inside the restaurant, was fabulously over the top.

On arrival we were offered a hot towel, and a bowl of crackers and a spicy salsa dip.  Clever.

 We ordered Potstickers, of course, (Chicken, Shiitake Mushrooms, Green Onions and Citrus-Soy Sauce) and the Popcorn Shrimp.  Both really delicious.  The shrimp came with the 'Chef's' Plum Sauce which the waiter poured over the top.  We were a bit worried as plum sauce is very sweet - but it was lovely.

Then we ordered Ginger Fried Rice (Chinese Sausage, Leeks, Egg, Sesame and Crispy Garlic) which came with an egg on top which the waiter broke up for us.  I thought it was delicious, but the others thought it was way too gingery.  That made the difference for me. 

We also ordered the Basil, Cashew, Chicken - which was delicious,  and very spicy.

We also ordered the Thai Noodles with Vegetables, which was also spicy, but delicious.

All in all a lovely lunch.  Should give extra points, because the overly polite waiter kept calling me 'Miss'!

7.5/10

Lunch at E Baldi

We just have to visit this restaurant every time we visit LA.  This was our third lunch at this Canon Drive, Beverley Hills restaurant (Chef Edoardo Baldi),

although we have also eaten at G Baldi (Giorgio Baldi) in Santa Monica Canyon - but that's another story.

I have always ordered the same dishes.  To start the amazing
                  Sweet Corn Agnolotti, Mascarpone, Truffle Butter $19. 
So delicate, the creamy corn really hot inside the little pockets of agnolotti, the mouthwatering sauce with the small tastes of Truffle.  This is one dish that really makes it hard not to lick the plate!

Then the unforgetable salad -  
                   Spelt, Langostine, Cannellini, Celery, Cherry Tomatoes & Lemon $19
Beautiful clean flavours, and the contrast of the warm Langostine with the cold vegetables is really different.

My companions both ordered the Lasagna Verde with Besciamella and Meat Ragu $18
and pronounced it the best ever!

Although a rather small restaurant, it is always full of well known Hollywood personalities.  The service is extremely friendly and efficient.  The list of specials reeled off by our waiter was impressive - almost as large as the printed menu!  Recommend a visit.

9/10