Dinner at Michael Voltaggio's "Ink" in Los Angeles

Pardon the Punctuation...For my two year anniversary I decided to attempt to make a last minute reservation to Ink restaurant on Melrose.  Michael Voltaggio of "Top Chef" fame, has brought Michelin star quality and service to Los Angeles without the usual Michelin star highbrow. After making a reservation online at OpenTable I called ahead to see if anything earlier had opened up. Diana the hostess answered the phone like a breathe of sunshine and let us know that we were going to have her favorite table for our dinner. Upon arriving, Diana treated us like family. This let us know we were in for a special night. Any special dinner calls for a special bottle of wine. A bottle of 2001 Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard Cabernet was at peak and perfect for the night.  Our waiter Ben continued bringing the great servicer after we were seated. He recommended we do three plates each since we did the À la carte choices for the menu. If you go, two plates a piece is plenty...we were stuffed after our six plates...no bueno. We ate a lot so I'm going to break this down in a list in the order we received the din din.

La Quercia Berkshire Ham

1. La Quercia Bershire Ham with Manchego biscuit and Marcona almond butter: The biscuit was perfectly flaky with a slight hint of manchego in it. If the La Quercia Berkshire Ham was referred to in a rap song it would be called,"Off the chain." You must order this if you go. 
2. Beef Tartare  with hearts of palm, sea bean chimichurri, horseradish, and rye: I still can't get over how the chef pulled all of the flavor out of the horseradish while getting rid of the heat. Exquisite is the only way to describe the rest of the ingredients. 
3. Brussels Sprouts with pig ears, lardo, and apple: When the dish arrived it looked they brought me Medusa's head on a plate. It was like a scene from "Clash of the Titans." The sprouts were crunchy, bitter and perfectly seasoned. The lardo was a mouth watering compliment to the pig ears and just melted in your mouth.
4. Grilled Octopus with house made ink shells, young fennel, and pimenton:  There are only two places on this side of the Atlantic that I have had perfectly grilled octopus and this one of them. I could have just ordered two orders of this and called it a night. Just the perfect tenderness in the texture and char flavor in the octopus. The octopus ink pasta shells were to die for and could be sold as a dish on their own. You must order this if you go.



Brussels Sprouts



Beef Tartare

5. Pork Belly with charcoal oil, bbq flavor, and corn: As far as I'm concerned, pork belly is the new "black" and I'm never going to get tired of it. They could have served this without a knife You must order this if you go.
6. Wagyu Beef with carrots, tendon, and horseradish tofu: Tender, flavorful, and crunchy is the best way to describe this dish. We were stuffed by the time we got it and I couldn't get myself to stop eating it. The tendon was fried and tasted like a classic pork rind. Overall a very good dish.
7. Apple with caramel, walnut, and burnt wood ice cream: This was art on a plate. Never would I have thought that a craving for burnt wood ice cream would be in my future. They literally burn wood to a crisp and infuse it's flavor with the ice cream. If I was ever on "Death Row" this would be part of my final meal. They freeze the ice cream with liquid nitrogen and you have to crack open the ice cream shell to get to the apple. One of the top five desserts I've ever had. You must order this if you go.

"Ink" is a home run of a restaurant that will leave you smiling and begging for more. Chef was kind enough to sign the menu for me and complete the perfect anniversary dinner. I have a feeling this won't be the last time they see my face at their establishment.

Octopus with ink shells

Pork Belly

Wagyu Beef

Apple with burnt ice cream

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The Hollywood Cooking Class Groupon

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Pardon the Punctuation....My christmas gift from my brother and sister in law was a Groupon for The Hollywood Cooking Class.  Before I get to the good stuff I must get to the bad. Whoever is running the booking of this class might not be the sharpest tool in the shed. I called several times with no return phone call and when they did return one of my calls it was two weeks later. Not the best way to run a successful business. Once we finally booked a time they rescheduled my class not once but twice...ridiculous. Once we got to the class my impression changed completely. My wife and I were greeted by Vanessa who was great and served us some drinks while we waited for the rest of the class to arrive.  Of course several guests were thirty minutes late and since they live in a bubble where the world revolves around them, they didn't even acknowledge their tardiness and apologize to the eight other people that showed up on time. At least we were finally able to start. Aja was the chef teaching the class and she was great.  The dishes were simple yet elegant and Aja was great and answering any question we had. First we rolled our own chocolate truffles and had a few options to flavor them. This was a blast since I've always been intimidated to make my own truffles. It was so easy to do that I can't wait to make my own. I wish Aja would have done a demo on how to make the ganache so we can see that part of the process but it's understandable why it was pre-made for us since it takes a couple of hours to cool for rolling. Next we made a basic mixed green salad and were educated on how to make a true vinagrette. All of it was educational and delicious. The appetizer course was vegetable spring rolls which is something I had never made on my own and enjoyed the whole process from choosing which vegetables to put in rolls to mixing my dipping sauce. Our main course was a Swai fillet cooked over vegetables en Papillote style which basically means it was wrapped in parchment paper like an empanada and baked in the oven. This was something that I would have never taken the time to cook before but after trying it in the class it's going to be one of my "Go To" choices for making a healthy fish dish. Happily I can say that the "Hollywood Cooking Class" did not leave a bad taste in my mouth. Chef Aja was great and did a great job of making this fun, educational, and entertaining. I have to admit that we had a better time in the class than we expected to have. I'm looking forward to attending another version of the class in the future and I recommend it for couples and solo guests alike.

Swai En Papillote

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Best Damn Latte in Los Angeles

Pardon the Punctuation.....Being the child of Cuban immigrants means I've been drinking lattes since I could wear a diaper. Urth Caffe in West Hollywood happens to have the best latte that I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. It's called the "Spanish Latte."The secret to their 'Spanish Latte" is a hint of sweetened condensed milk that they add to the drink somewhere in the process of preparing it. My guess is that the condensed milk is added to the regular milk before it is frothed so that a tiny hint of its taste is present with every sip. The only problem with this latte is that it is more addictive than crack and will slowly but surely empty your wallet. It's not cheap but worth every penny. Timing it out to once or twice a month has saved me. When you visit LA you have to hit up Urth Caffe for "Spanish Latte" and one of their home made desserts. It's the kind of stuff you'll wake in the morning dreaming about. For suggestions don't hesitate to ask me at TheYumYumFoodie@gmail.com

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Sotto Mare San Fransisco

Pardon the Punctuation......per my friend I went to Sotto Mare in the north beach area of San Francisco for some fresh seafood. They sat me at the counter which was a real treat because it gave me a front row seat to the kitchen. The best view in the house. First thing on my plate had to be a half dozen fresh west coast oysters which came on a bed of crushed ice with delicious cocktail sauce and horseradish. Next I wanted to get as much seafood bang for my buck so I went with the seafood linguini which was loaded with shell fish for a only $19. Worth every penny.  Everything was so fresh I could swear they have a guy in the back clubbing live fish before they cook it for you. The only thing they are missing is a dessert menu. Apparently the owner is a diabetic and can't control himself so no sugar on the menu. This was actually a blessing in disguise since it gave me plenty of time to walk down my food on the way back to the hotel.  This place is a San Francisco must.

Linguini

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Super Duper Burger is Super Duper Awesome!

Pardon the Punctuation....If in San Francisco and you want to go into a food coma, mosey on over to Super Duper Burgers for a mouth watering comfort food indulgence. I had the Super Burger with cheddar, bacon and some garlic fries on the side. Of course the Straus creamery chocolate shake to wash them down. All I spent was $15 and this was a steal considering the quality of the products they serve. All of their beef is organic from Niman Ranch and cooked to perfection. Their burger is one of the top ten I've had in my life and is going to be a San Francisco must every time I'm in town.

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Lunch at Bluestem Brasserie San Fransisco

Pardon the Punctuation.....upon checking into the hotel Palomar in the heart of San Francisco, my awesome concierge recommended Bluestem Brasserie and made a brunch reservation for me.  They sat me in the second floor patio which was perfect for taking in this amazing Sunday afternoon. Any place with a drink on the menu called "The Honey Badger" automatically gets a thumbs up from me. The chef sent over a complimentary plate of freshly baked scones and a house made charcuterie. Those this sounds disgusting, the blood and tongue sausage was my favorite thing on the charcuterie plate. The combination of sweet and salty on that plate made it the perfect starter for my main brunch dish the Porchetta sandwich. I'm always a sucker for  slow roasted pork shoulder on any menu.  This sandwich did not disappoint. The only bad thing about the meal was that I was so full I didn't have room for dessert. I will definitely be coming back here for more amazing food in my week long stay in San Fran. Bluestem Brasserie is TheYumYumFoodie approved.
P.S. They've got one of the best Bloody Mary's on the planet.

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Spring Mountain Vineyards a Napa must.

Pardon the Punctuation: Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of your more commercialized wineries sits a gem in the Spring Mountain district. Spring Mountain Vineyard takes the mom and pop feel to another level. Pulling into the driveway and seeing the 19th century Chateau, transports you to a scene from "The Great Gatsby." Owned by a Swiss gazillionaire, this winery cares about one thing...the quality and not the quantity. Patrick is the "Yoda" of this winery and he does an amazing job of making a guest feel right at home. I know that wine can be a little intimidating for a novice drinker but Patrick really knows how to bring the wine tasting experience to a place that can make anyone feel at home. I can't think of a better place in Napa to spend two hours of my time drinking wine. Elivette which is named after the winery owner's parents is the star of the winery. Silky elegance is the only way I can describe the taste. Once you take a sip and swirl it in your mouth, you would swear that Baryshnikov was doing "Swan Lake" on your palate. Spring Mountain Vineyard is the perfect example of ,"You get what you pay for" in life. Their wine is by no means cheap but it is worth every penny and at the end of the day they are just a small producer that takes wine making to a passionate level. When in Napa you must stop by. This is a reservation only kind of place but take the time to call one of the friendly people that work there and set up an appointment. They will ruin two buck chuck for the rest of your life and you will thank them for it.

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