Le Cordon Bleu Pasadena: Technique Restaurant

I can't believe I never published these!

Very very old photos, but don't they look good?

This is the lunch tasting menu from Le Cordon Bleu Pasadena. These are a year old, so I'm not sure how reflective they are of the current situation over there, but the last I checked, prices were reasonable, food was good, and reservations were impossible to get.

Since this is a student restaurant, I'm sure it has its ups and downs, but I think it's definitely worth a try.

Dessert first

Shrimp Risotto

Apple Cobbler (This was probably my parents' dessert. or I had two.)

Fish and scallop

Ramekin LA

You don't say no to desserts, especially ones that are made-to-order, delicious-but-not-too-sweet, and easy on the eyes.

I don't spend too much time in Los Feliz, but when I heard about the soft opening of ramekin, I had to go check it out (excuse the fuzzy drive-by shot).




Turned out everything was free at this soft opening. Free desserts? Now I'm extra glad I came. I wished I hadn't eaten dinner first though so I could have tried everything on the menu. I settled for the banana cream pie and the chocolate bread pudding (I heard the cookies are to die for too...)




The chocolate bread pudding. It consists of a layer of melty chocolate at the bottom and chunks of buttered and grilled bread cubes on top (kind of like croutons, but softer). Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Mmmm.

The banana cream pie. This one doesn't look as impressive as the chocolate bread pudding, but the flavors were still good. I had a little issue with the graham cracker crust being stuck to the ramekin, but I'm sure they'll fix that by opening day.

They also generously let us sample all their home made ice creams and sorbets. This is the guava sorbet. It was sweet and fruity, like eating the real thing, but better. Nothing artificial here.

There is no set opening day for ramekin yet, but soft opening should be going on from 7PM - 10PM daily (check their facebook page to be sure). Enjoy!


Ramekin
1726 N. Vermont Ave. (at Kingswell Ave.), Los Feliz
(310) 395-6416ramekinla.com

Parking: Street

Square One Dining

A few weeks ago I had brunch with my ex-roomies at Square One. I've been wanting to try this place for a while but never had the chance. We arrived a little before noon and was told there'd be a 45 minute wait. I think we ended up waiting a little more than that, but the good conversation made the time fly.

Eggs Benedict// poached eggs, house cured salmon & wilted frisee on a shredded potato pancake with hollandaise, shown here with a side of the house potato.

The house potato is BOMB. and I never use that word, bomb.

Omlette// garlic/lemon thyme chicken sausage, roasted tomato and gruyere, shown with side salad

I have to say I'm not as impressed with this dish. The salad dressing wasn't that great, and the omlette was nothing special. I saw my neighbors with fancy looking baked egg dishes in skillets though. Must get that next time...

French Toast//four slices of brioche french toast, with seasonal warm fruit topping and whipped cream

Yes I saved the best for last. The brioche french toast were flavorful and thoroughly battered (no naked bread parts!). The fruit toppings were an extra $3, but well worth it.

I also tried their house coffee which I didn't love. It tasted somewhat sour to me. My friend order a hot chocolate (off menu item!) and it was very rich and satisfying.

Square One Dining

4854 Fountain Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90029

(Near an enormous Scientology building...)

Parking//Street

Price//$20 per person after tax & tip

The Blue Cow Cafe

I have always been a fan of Mendocino Farms in Downtown LA. So, when I found out that the folks behind the legendary Bahn Mi Sandwiches are opening up a sit down, I couldn't wait to try it out.

The Blue Cow Cafe has a very hipster vibe complete with super friendly waitresses in plaid shirts. Their food did not disappoint either. I tried the French Dip with Carmelized onions and mushrooms, and I have to say, Best. French. Dip. Ever. It was like Drinking a French onion soup but with juicy, tender meat. So good.

I also tried their special of the day, the Steak Sandwich, and it was delicious as well, with toasty bread, perfectly pink steak slices, roasted red pepper, and a mini spicy kick to it. All sandwiches come with a side salad, which is simple yet refreshing.

I also tried the baked then fried potatoes. Wow, those things are deliciously crunchy. Plus, you can try to convince yourself they're healthy because they're baked....right??

Cupcakes are better when you get to pick your own flavors

Are there rules on how long blog titles should be? Because I think that title is definitely a bit lengthy for the internet. It’s true though, cupcakes are way better when you get to pick your own flavors. Case in point, I had lunch at the Century City Mall today and stopped by Vanilla Bake Shop afterwards.

I had seen it last week when I was there for lunch, but decided to be good and not eat cupcakes. That day, the store was pretty empty save for the employees. But of course, since it’s Valentine’s Day today, there was a longish line for cupcakes. And of course, where there is a line, you will find me. Plus, I figured since it's Valentine's Day, I deserve some pretty cupcakes. I think one of the joys of buying cupcakes is picking the flavors. From strawberry champagne to mom's birthday cake. The names alone make me a little giggly on the inside. I ended up with the red velvet, marshmallow graham, and meyer lemon raspberry cupcakes. If I didn't pick my own flavors, how would I know meyer lemon raspberry from generic vanilla-but-tart-with-heart-decoration?

The packaging was super cute, and so were the cupcakes (did I mention they were “cupcake babies?”). More importantly though, the cupcakes tasted a.m.a.z.i.n.g. The cupcake fad has came and went, and during that time, I’ve had my fair share of fancy cupcakes and have decided more or less to retire from the cupcake game. But man, these babies were delicious. The cake was super moist, and their flavors, on top of sounding delicious, were actually pretty damn delicious. Case in point, the marshmallow graham, which consists of graham cracker crust, chocolate, vanilla cake, all topped with flambéed marshmallow cream. SO GOOD. I think the best part is that none of the cupcakes are too sweet, which is dangerous, because I can totally see myself eating a dozen or more in one sitting (they’re bite sized!). I guess the other good thing is that they’re kind of pricey ($1.75 each), so that’ll stop me from gobbling down a dozen or more. Hopefully.

I think Vanilla Bake Shop is officially my favorite cupcake place (for now!) Sorry Sprinkles!

butternut squash soup yums

Lately I've been craving butternut squash soup. I think it was just the idea of it, as I've actually never really had it before. I image it to be sweet and creamy, something you'd get when you want something salty but don't want to stray too far from the land of sweets...

Anyway, I finally got around to making it today, and I'm happy so say that it was a success!

Perfect accompaniment to steak dinner with my mommy.

Happy Tuesday :)

you gotta start somewhere, right?

The plan was to fill this thing with random postings about all things beauty, food, and more. I never quite knew how to get started with the first post though. Somehow I felt like I needed an introduction, some sort of beginning.

and that turned into god knows how long of thinking. half a year??

Anyway, this is welcome, and I will kick start this blog with a NOTD featuring Essie - Baby Cakes. I got this half off at a local beauty store last week, and have been dying to try it. At the store, I was worried the color will be a close dupe of Lilacism, but it turned out to be a much softer, romantic violet color (vs Lilacism is a stark pastel purple that reminds me of easter eggs). Baby Cakes also has a subtle shimmer whereas lilacism is very much a creme. Like most Essies this did take 3 coats to achieve opacity, but the application was fairy easy so I will forgive the 3-coat ness.

and heres lilacism just for comparison:

okay by the pictures they look very very similar...but in the bottle you can see the difference, and of course I don't have the best lighting ever. I'll have to work on that, and maybe a comparison swatch some day. Until then!