Breakfast for breakfast, lunch, or dinner is always a treat. Primarily because my sweet tooth jumps out for all things pancakes and french toast - with berries, of course. Lately, I’ve had the pleasure of indulging in french toast from Marmalade Cafe. Their french toast is quite spectacular - the way sugar is dusted over the toast, then berries added on top shows tender love and care. And while french toast is always on the menu, grilled shrimp with chimichurri sauce isn’t. 

Fortunately for mom and I, a trip to The Grove resulted in afternoon lunch at Marmalade Cafe, where the wonderful shrimp dish first made our acquaintance. I am a lover of seafood, crustaceans especially - particularly lobster and shrimp. So this selection was natural. It was perfectly paired with a light cucumber and onion salad. I recommend it, you won’t be disappointed. And if you are like me, order the french toast anyway. Dessert never hurts.

This dish reminded me of my old apartment, whose front and back porches both hosted grilling evenings a plenty. I’m looking forward to these again. No porch available, per se, but there’s definitely room out back for grilling festivities. Let the grilling begin… eventually.

The precipice that led to the stars aligning perfectly last night at Pizzeria Mozza: a blind date. So, with sisters, boyfriends, and friends in tow, off we went to introduce the single, bilingual, and free-to-mingle sister to the unknown. As always, I was overjoyed to be dining at Pizzeria, and looking forward to my sister’s first time experience at the fine establishment. But also, I was told by my sister’s boyfriend (who is a Pizzeria staff member) that Chef Matt Molina might make a cameo appearance at our table. Not wanting to waste any time deliberating what we would order, I arrived with a mental list of all the items I wanted to try this time around. Still very much knowing that Chef Matt might surprise us any minute. Fifteen minutes into our dinner, JoseLuis goes to the restroom, only to return with news that, as Alicia Keys would say, set me on fire.

In a soft, not wanting to be embarrassed, tone of voice, JoseLuis leaned in to me and mentioned that he believed the gentleman sitting on the next table, directly next to JoseLuis, was Chef Marco Pierre White. Unfortunately, JoseLuis asked me not to look over at him; and unfortunately, that is exactly what I did – to his dismay. I just about lost it – actually, I did. But not in a bad way. More like something you’d see in an I Love Lucy episode, that in the end turns out to be comic relief, and memorable (of course not everyone shared this feeling). I was an anxious, nervous mess – but a happy, tipsy one at that. I kept drinking champagne and wine to boost my (already heightened) confidence to the limit and interrupt Chef Marco’s dinner. Fortunately for him, he walked out for a break. And thanks to the bullying encouragement I received from my sisters, I was right behind him. I sat next to him and tapped him on the shoulder asking if he was Chef Marco Pierre White. He kindly replied, in an English accent, yes. I lost it AGAIN! Fireworks were going on inside because I knew it was him. I told him that I was a huge fan of his and it was a pleasure meeting him. Chef Marco asked me my name, I told him, and he thanked me.

I managed to somehow peel myself off the bench and make it back to my seat. I was elated. Can’t begin to describe the adrenaline rush. It was hard not to continue to look over at him. JoseLuis asked that I leave the poor man alone. I swear I didn’t hear JoseLuis say this to me. At this point, I was in my own world. The vortex was just too strong to stay away from. I was sucked in. Our food arrived and I was brought back to reality, sort of. Let me just say, the bone marrow was so good – my sister and I practically sucked on the bone with no care in the world. Growing up, mom always made Caldo de Res – and I always asked for extra bone marrow. Seasoned with lemon, salt, a sprinkling of fresh cilantro, and had with corn tortillas - it is the finest luxury one could have. I followed that with veal tongue – holy all things considered – did this appetizer deliver. Loved the way it was paired with mushrooms. These two dishes did it for me. I’ll have both all to myself next time – don’t want to share.

Giddy as I was, I forgot all about Chef Matt… until he arrived at our table! I wanted to jump out of my chair and run around the joint, while pulling my hair out. This was just waay too much for one night. I’d like to think of myself as someone who isn’t star struck. Clearly, I’m off kilter. Chef Matt was super cool, inviting, and welcoming. He chatted with us for a while, then excused himself to walk over to Osteria, next door. As he was walking towards Osteria, passing by the hostess’ area (situated perfectly behind our table), guess who stopped to ask Chef Matt if he knew us? None other than restaurateur and winemaker, MasterChef’s Joe Bastianich!!!! TRIFECTA! Santa Anita, here I come. This kind of luck comes only in spurts.

My single, bilingual, and free-to-mingle sister embarrassed me. She started screaming ‘oh my god’ (which I’m sure made Joe very happy) with her arms flailing towards him, with a final I love you! But if you can’t beat them, join them; the rest of us sisters followed in her footsteps and bolted out of our seats and towards Bastianich. He was really kind, collective, and at ease with us practically bulldozing him. We asked to take a picture with him and Chef Matt, and both happily obliged – patiently too, because our cameraman (JoseLuis) was having difficulty taking the picture. Bastianich asked if we were enjoying our meal, and approvingly we said YES!

We were all bursting at the seams with enthusiasm and adrenaline unknown to us before – at least the sisters. But before the evening ended, Chef Marco Pierre White gave me a wonderful compliment, as he made his way out again for a break. Chef Marco said I was a lovely lady. He also asked if we were enjoying our meal. You already know the answer to that. The night was magical; intoxicating. Until we meet again…

I’m not big on Valentine’s Day, but I sure love the color red. And this warm quinoa salad with halloumi and pomegranate definitely brings out my passionate and insatiable appetite, for everything. So gals, and gents, prepare a meal for your loved one any day of the week and have them eating out of the palm of your hand, in more ways than one. 

Thanks to Sous Style and their translation, I am able to make this tantalizing dish and warm all of JoseLuis’ insides. 

Enjoy!

Photo credit: Suvi Sur Le Vif

Slowly but surely our new diggs are coming together. Taking longer than I’d like, but then again that is me. Don’t like to rush into anything, nor do I want to commit to something unless absolutely certain. You wouldn’t buy just any ole pair of shoes just because you needed a black pair, would you? 

My eye wanders. Constantly. I love to walk in to something and it take my breath away, or leaving me with lingering thoughts for days, weeks, months. This means that an achievement of sorts has been reached. I have coveted, ached, and desired an object so much that being rational goes out the window. 

But I’ve been there, done that. I still covet, ache, and desire many things. And while I take a mental note of all those things, I am reminded that I already have plenty of things - IN STORAGE!!! And that I need to put those things to good use!

Out with the new, in with the old - isn’t that what shabby chic is anyway? Oh the art of wanting. It just never ends.

What can I say, Pizzeria Mozza did not miss a beat. Tuesday was a difficult day for me at my 9-to-5. The only thing that kept me sane was knowing that I had a wonderful evening to look forward to. Never having been, only having read and told of Pizzeria’s delicious dishes, I anticipated only the best given my wonderful experience at Osteria Mozza and the numerous mentions of the threesome behind Mozza. But names aren’t the end all be all for me. Sometimes I find that people jump on bandwagons because of a name, regardless of whether or not the product/service is at all good. This wasn’t the case at all.

The interior is warm, inviting. Immediately enveloped and whisked away to our table, the aromas that permeated throughout the room were hypnotizing. Often watching plates pass by, I secretly began to plan my meal of attack. I arrived with quite the appetite and thirst for good wine. We started off with wonderful champagne – wish I could give you the name, except for the fact that it was a recommendation, like the wine that I kept drinking throughout the night, and all that mattered at that moment was taste, not name. Sorry! But any and all recommendations will be great, as that was my experience all night, as well as my party’s. And boy does Pizzeria Mozza know their wine, and have a great selection to choose from. And the staff come with jokes – a great sense of humor and personality that only enhanced our evening. Great group of folks, really.

On to the antipasti. Four of us went hog wild and ordered up a storm. But rather than go through every single item, I’ll leave you with a few that left quite the impression: fried squash blossoms with ricotta, Brussels sprouts with prosciutto bread crumbs, and arancine all Bolognese. Each left a wanting, that still lingers to this day. And I can’t say enough about the delicious carne platter, festive with all the likes of prosciutto, sopressata, and salame. We continued our insatiable desires by ordering chicken livers, pane bianco with olio nuovo, and burrata crostone from the bruschette selection. I’m not going to lie. We had a couple of mouth watering, fresh mozzarella infused pizzas. Buttery, soft, charred to the touch. I couldn’t end there, needed to try the Tuesday duck leg with lentils special, while belting out the tune to Ducktales, woo hoo…. Ddddanger lurks behind you… I was stopped by my entourage before I got the chance to belt out The Facts of Life.

Kept on drinking the Mozza juice, and belting out the tunes. To my surprise, I was quite loud – not obnoxious – fun, if you will. Kept saying Gracias as each dish arrived. I was super happy, and definitely letting loose – I needed this. But the fun didn’t end there. From the dolci selection we had: meyer lemon gelato pie, butterscotch budino, affogato with almond biscotti, and the pistachio gelati. This was just way too good. This was living. Life was damn good. My troubles went away, love was in the air, and I slept like a baby. TUMS anyone?

Pizzeria Mozza, 641 North Highland Avenue, LA CA 90036, 323.297.0101

Photo credit: GQ

In celebration of my one-of-many sister’s birthday, family and friends gathered to break bread at Farfalla’s on Saturday night – pleasantly situated on Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz. Good thing we dined here because I’ve been in need of a pasta fix for quite some time. Farfalla is extremely welcoming; both staff and patrons alike were pretty cool and hip. Seated in a round table we all came with stories to tell (childhood ones are always the best), laughs to belt out, and sing praise to the birthday girl; and all we did.

Each of us ordered dishes that were perfectly paired with veal sauce, cheese, or vegetables. Farfalla has a great selection of dishes whose ingredients are local and fresh. I must admit, I was extremely hesitant to indulge in fetuccine with veal sauce because of my mixed feelings of veal in general. But I loved my dish. It was fetuccine done right in so many ways: perfectly cooked, just the right amount of sauce, and a sprinkle of peas. Had leftovers that I was looking forward to having the next morning, topped with an egg over easy. That was only a dream because JoseLuis decided to wake up in the middle of the night and eat what was left. That’s ok though, because it gives me an excuse to drive across town and have a bowl of my new favorite pasta dish: fetuccine alla bolognese.

Trattoria Farfalla, 1978 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027, (323) 661-7365