17th Annual Taste of Yountville

I completely lucked out that the 17th Annual Taste of Yountville happened on the same weekend as my friends’ wedding…but then again the groom is a big foodie and he knows his friends are all good eaters…The 17th Annual Taste of Yountville was mainly located on Washington Street (where Bouchon Bistro & Bakery are) and on Madison St.—right off Highway 29. There were 13 restaurants and more than 20 wineries hosting the event. Admission was free but in order to sample the food/wine you need tickets. 1 ticket = $1. Each vendor for the most part did not exceed three tickets. It cost an additional $5 for wine tasting –you keep the wine glass. Since it was three hours before the wedding, I figured it would be wise to pass on the wine…

I started off with Hurley’s Restaurant’s rabbit potpie with Portobello mushrooms, carrots, turnips and potatoes. Yes, you heard that correctly, rabbit. My friends know that I won’t eat Bugs Bunny, but when you’re away, you are already out of your comfort zone, making you try something new? This does not mean that I will eat Bambi when I’m in Canada; I’ve already tried deer and it’s too gamey for me.

Since I’ve never had rabbit and the portion was tiny, I dared myself because there’s nothing more annoying when you hear people unwilling to try a new thing. Life is short. The rabbit surprisingly tasted like chicken. I was trying to tell myself that I was eating chicken until I got to the bottom where there was a nice fatty rabbit skin. Will have to check out Hurley’s $18.00 2-course lunch prefix next time around.

Bistro Jeanty’s Roasted Pork with Butternut Squash Puree was my next dish. It was delicious and my favorite! I will definitely make sure I dine at Bistro Jeantry the next time I’m up. Must make note to my companions that Happy Hours are from 3:30-6:30, Monday – Thurs and you get $1 oysters.

Mustard’s Grill’s potato chips with homemade sour cream dip were the next item. At first I didn’t want to waste my tickets on potato chips but then time was running out and I had to return to the hotel to change for the wedding. A colleague of mine had gone up to Napa last year and raved about Mustard’s Grills’ Portobello sandwich. In fact she said that sandwich was the best sandwich of 2009 and she’s engaged to chef and a meat eater. Hell, I figured why not try their potato chips? I ate rabbit.

OMG, I’ve never had potato chips like Mustard’s Grill, and what really sealed the deal was their homemade sour cream dip. The chips are slightly thicker than regular chips. It was just amazing. Actually the more I think about it, their potato chips beats Bistro Jeanty’s Roasted Pork

After sampling Bouchon Bistro, Cantinetta Piero was our last restaurant before returning to the hotel. Cantinetta Piero is located at the Hotel Luca and one of the new restaurants in Yountville. Cantinetta Piero’s Majale (braised pork cheek with Toscanelli Bean Salad) was okay. It was tender and not too terribly chewy.

The Gianduja Budino with Caramel and Meldon Salt was way too sweet. I don’t think it’s Cantinetta Piero’s fault. I think in general Budinos are too sweet for my taste buds. I only liked the rice chocolate balls in the dessert.

Can you believe that I only spent $12 at the Annual Taste of Yountville!? Not a bad deal when you’re in the land of the Michelin starred restaurants. I will definitely plan to come up for future annual tasting and try the wines!


Hurley's Restaurant & Bar
Address: 6518 Washington St, Yountville, CA 94599
Phone#: (707) 944-2345

Bistro Jeanty
Address: 6510 Washington St, Yountville, CA 94599
Phone#: (707) 944-0103

Mustards Grill
Address: 7399 St Helena Hwy, Yountville, CA 94558
Phone#: (707) 944-2424

Cantinetta Piero @ Hotel Luca
Address: 6774 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599
Phone#:(707) 299-5015
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ORTOLAN

I am befuddled.

Came here for the Yelp's tapas event, and my first impression of Ortolan was, "WOW the main dining room is gorgeous." I don't mind the foo foo-ness. The greenhouse bar area is cool. On one side you have rows of herbs that Chef Christophe Eme uses -talk about freshness. My 2nd impression was, "WOW there's no one here but us."

Despite it being completely dead early on, we couldn't make the bartender smile. He left his personality at home. I've never met such an unhappy bartender. Oh, he seemed to cheer up a bit when his friends showed up. Well, I cheered myself up with a chocolate martini.


It's better than the pear martini, but the Edison's chocolate martini kicks Ortolans's by far.

We started off with 2 Amuse bouche:
Vegetarian spring roll:

and cheese-it puffs (???): The spring roll was alright. I called the 2nd amuse bouche the "Cheez-It" puffs because they literally tasted like those crackers.

Burrrata and chorizo:

I had thought it was impossible to make a bad dish with burrata but Ortolan proved me wrong. It tasted like a thousand island dressing...

Braised short ribs:

My friend wanted to get the short ribs entrée, but why pay $41 when you can sample it for $14, and thank goodness, it was salty, not as salty as the Foundry's though. A few Yelpers thought the ribs weren't salty though, so go figure.

Quiche with truffle:

I'll admit it; I normally don't eat quiche. As my friend said, it's hard to mess up a quiche.

Salmon appetizer dish:

Some slices were meh and some were alright.

Chocolate soufflé:

Hallelujah! It's a better-than-sex chocolate. I think it costs $12..? Totally worth it. Loved the dark chocolate gelato too.

For the bathroom lovers:

I need this mirror in my bathroom..


Chef Christophe Eme was great. He seemed to really care about his food and customers--went around asking everyone how was our food....er...I took a big gulp and said, "Everything went well..." I know, I'm a liar.

There was a bit of a circus act when we closed out our bill. I advised the waiter that we wanted to split the bill with our plastics. I had a feeling that he thought my Asian friend was this other Asian (who had her cc at the bar), and yes, I was right, he charged the complete meal on my cc. All Asians look alike. After the waiter voided the cc transaction, he came back with our receipts. I realized that he had accidentally charged us for the scallop appetizer. He was quite insistent that we had ordered the item, but I shut him up when I told him that I'm allergic to scallop. He went back again and voided the cc transactions. I'm thinking third time is the charm...right? Nope. I'll admit it was partially my fault; I guess I completely blocked the braised short ribs out of my mind; yes, that dish is forgettable. At this point, I got tired of our waiter voiding out the cc transactions, so we made up the difference in tip. What's the lesson here? If you have a short term memory, use a pen and pad when taking orders.

If I do come back, I won't order from their tapas menu but try their John Dory or the Turbot, and of course the chocolate soufflé.

Thanks Dawson for organizing this event!

Address: 8338 W 3rd St Los Angeles, CA 90048
Phone#: (323) 653-3300
Rating: 2 out of 5

COMME CA

I love, love the interior of Comme Ca! After all, we are in Los Angeles, where everyone is vain and checking themselves out... I figured if they put into that much details with the interior, they would put more attention into the their food and service, and boy...was I disappointed.
After being seated for 15 minutes, I hollered the waiter down to take our order (we didn't get an LA Dine menu, but that's ok, cuz I knew what exactly what my colleague and I were going to eat).

It took about another 15 minutes for our appetizers to arrive, the Roasted Beet Salad and the Soup DeJour, Cauliflower.
The soup was bland; it needed black pepper.
The Roasted Beet Salad was excellent.

Our entrees the Mushroom Risotto and Scottish Salmon were a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! The Salmon was incredibly salty!
We were sitting next to (2) fellas who had Comme Ca's burgers and complained that their meals were salty too! What's wrong with the chef's taste buds? The Mushroom Risotto was very rich and more like a Parmesan Risotto with a few mushrooms tossed in there.The saving grace was their desserts -well they weren't actually Comme Ca's desserts but Boule's desserts (same owner though...so I guess it's the same...) the Brioche Chocolate Pudding and the Profiteroles with Pistachio and Vanilla Ice Creams. The hippo has died and gone to heaven!
The Brioche Chocolate was definitely better than sex and the Profiteroles were Yummalicious!
Our waiter was nice, but service was rough. I couldn't believe that they only had (2) waiters and (2) bussers for the entire front restaurant (don't know if there's a back area...) and the restaurant was packed due to LA Dine Week!! Oh, it gets loud there -"cafeteria" loudness.

Come here for desserts and drinks only.

Address: 8479 Melrose Ave West Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone#: (323) 782-1104
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Photo credit: Kalea D. (top photo only)

FIGARO BISTROT

Figaro Bistrot is a cute little bistro but the service is always slow...the most recent trip was about a week and half ago.

We sat there a while until a server took our order. He wasn't our waiter as our real waiter was....I don't know where...and neither did the server. I ordered the Prosciutto Panini and was very disppointed that they were out of fries. How the hell can you be out of fries?! Our real server brought out our food and failed to realize that I had no napkin or fork to eat my salad...so I swiped it off another table. Alas, when asking for the bill, our real server did another disappering act. Another server took our credit card. It's a shame how bad service can ruin a restaurant.

I give the Prosciutto Panini a 4-STAR and the service a 1-STAR.

Address: 1802 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone#: (323) 662-1587
Rating: 2.3 out of 5

MELISSE

Wow...where do I begin with my review...well, I guess I'll start with how I was able to dine here with my measly salary. When one gets the opportunity to dine for free, one needs to pick Melisse, and that's what I did!

When we (Shaz, B & I) arrived, the maitre de was on the phone, but he immediately set the phone aside to take care of us -- I like this place...oh, and you're not allowed to talk on your cell phone, I'm really liking this place. Our hostess pointed out a little ottoman next to our chair where we can rest our purses. How cute!

I was hoping that we could have 2 tasting menus because I didn't mentioned my boss that I was going to bring B...(sigh), no, everyone had to order a tasting menus or none at all. Obvious you get more for your bucks if you order the tasting menu as opposed to ala carte, and believe me at Melisse you have to get all you can for your $$$$ or someone's else $$$$$.

Shaz and B had the regular tasting menu ($105) and I had the vegetarian ($85 --trying to save some bucks). Here's a list of what we ate in order:

CHOICE OF BREAD
Shaz: olive bread (my favorite out of the 3)
bf : bacon bread (subtle taste of bacon on the finishing, oily)
Me: basil brioche (was expecting the basil to have a stronger taste)

FIRST COURSE
Shaz: foie gras with poached peach and huckleberry sorbet (didn't try the foie gras but the poached pear was yummy)
B : heirloom tomato salad, olives, basil, zebra tomato gazpacho, roncal pannini (had a strange clear gelatin thingy...nonetheless, the salad was delicious)
Me: tomatoes soup with raspberry sorbet (I didn't write it down, on-line menu is different. presentation is amazing, they pour the soup in front of you)

SECOND COURSE
Shaz: john dory "st. pierre," purple artichokes, scallion mousseline, shellfish sauce (didn't get to try that because I'm allergic to crustacean )
B: line caught wild king salmon, summer bean ragout, rich tomato broth (salmon on the raw side...liked the tomato broth)
Me: carnaroli risotto chanterelle mushrooms, macerated sweet cherry tomatoes, basil (yummy! my favorite dish, risotto has a nice buttery taste)

ANOTHER ROUND OF SELECTED BREAD

ENTRÉE

Shaz: liberty farms duck breast, glazed radish, wilted spinach, cherry sauce (not a duck fan but damn that duck was tasty!)
B : prime rib eye and short rib stuffed tomato, fourme d'ambert, potato boulangere, whole grain mustard chutney (potato was beautifully thinly sliced and stacked, rib eye - perfect)
Me: buratta cheese, tomato and mushroom tarte herb emulsion, summer ragout (Yum! Love buratta cheese and mushroom!)

SELECTION OF FINE CHEESES (waiter was really generous and gave us 3 goat cheeses, gouda, swiss (I think) and one of those weird gym locker soupy cheese in a container because it melts really fast -don't pick this one)

DESSERT

Shaz: chocolate, chocolate, chocolate (my favorite!!! came with some kind of a chocolate Popsicle, chocolate mousse, mocha mousse/ice cream, and I think another item...mocha was the best)
B & me: charentais melon parfait, lemongrass sorbet, tapioca and (it was good, but something was off...maybe it was the lemongrass???)

DRINKS

I had the Pinot Bianca ($19/glass). If you're a Pinot Grigio/Bianca drinker, don't order it (I don't know what it's called...but they only have (1) Pinot Bianca by the glass) because it's too sweet -tastes more like a Riesling.

The service was A+. I've never dined with the Queen or President, but I imagine my dining experience at Melisse is pretty darn close. For each course, you had the entire restaurant staff taking your dishes out (ok, not really, just half) and someone explaining what each dish was.

I love Melisse! Wonder what the boss will say when he sees the receipt...

Address: 1104 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: (310) 395-0881
Rating: 5 out of 5

CAFE DES ARTISTES

Cafe Des Artistes is a perfect date place. Music is not too loud with dim lighting. The tented outdoor patio is adorable and warm enough for people like me who's always cold. I decided to be adventerous and tried their specials--non dairy broccoli soup and tilapida. The soup was surprisingly creamy and tasty. The tilapida was perfectly salted. For dessert, I ordered the caramel brioche, which was good but looked more like a flan....Service was a 5.

Address: 1534 N McCadden Pl Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone#: (323) 469-7300
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

LITTLE NEXT DOOR

The food is excellent but the service can be better. I had brunch their last Sunday with some friends. As annoyed I was with two of my friends for showing up 30-45 minutes late because they had to make sure their make-up were perfect, the servers/host didn't help by asking me every 10 minutes if my friends were going to show up --they made me feel that my friend and I were hogging a 4 top table.

Ok, switching to their food & drinks, I ordered...Chai (OMG, so good --comes lightly sweetened) Fresh squeeze OJ (good, but definitely on the pricy side...$5.50) Frech Ham Eggs Benedict with Organic Mixed Greens (I'm so happy to have found another place that has good eggs benedict $12.00)

Now back to service, okay, we were tired and couldn't really add, but we knew that one of us overpaid. The server wasn't really helping us and personally, we think he wanted to keep the money. We asked for the cash back so we can figure out the amount, but he said he couldn't do it as he closed out our tab...I don't see why he couldn't give us the money back and let us figure it on our own..maybe he has adding problems too. Needless to say after 15 minutes arguing about the bill with the server, the bill was settled. AMEN.

A few days later I ordered a Nicoise salad to go --YUM again, but I requested no olives. Lo and behold, there were 15 small olives in my salad. (no deliveries, but takes pick up orders)

Address: 8142 W 3rd StLos Angeles, CA 90048
Phone#: (323) 951-1010
Rating: 4 out of 5

AOC

I was expecting the restaurant to have a better white wine selection since AOC is known to be a great wine bar/restaurant, but after the third wine test, I decided to stick to my first glass. The bartender was very nice and patient --no attitude. Hence the 4-star, not a 3.5 star. My friend and I ordered four dishes, and the only dish that wow'd me was the egg & proscuiotto sandwich--heaven.

Address: 8022 W 3rd StLos Angeles, CA 90048
Phone#: (323) 653-6359
Rating: 3 out of 5