Friday, January 18, 2013

eveleigh


los angeles, ca

website

the next morning, cindy c took us to brunch at eveleigh. beautiful outdoor patio with a nice large overhead fan to keep diners cool in the summer. menu includes comfort food breakfast favorites but with a unique twist (my eggs benedict came with soft scrambled eggs and hot smoked ocean trout). add a lengthy and varied list of refreshing brunch cocktails (i had the bitter admiral - gin, Campari, grapefruit juice, poured over ice with a lemon twist). an ideal combination for a relaxing and enjoyable weekend brunch. did i mention the truffled fries? perfection.

ink


los angeles, ca

website

i'm not a big top chef fan. first, it's too combative and stressful. second, i prefer not to watch people make food that i can't eat. but i do like eating at restaurants of successful top chef contestants. cindy c made reservations at top chef winner michael voltaggio's new restaurant on melrose in los angeles. the interior was very similar to thomas keller's ad hoc in napa valley: giant chalkboard menu hanging over the bar, loud music, casually dressed waitstaff, and courier font for everything. except - the food at ink is much more inventive and interesting. yeah, i said it.

good thing anthony joined us - gave us the freedom to select more dishes from the small-plates menu. we ended up ordering about a dozen plates, including three desserts. the highlights: oysters (pictured) simply dressed with a refreshing mignonette ice, brussel sprouts served with crispy pig's ears and lardo (best "vegetable" dish ever), egg yolk gnocchi - somehow voltaggio created fluffy pillows of pasta with a creamy yolky center, and finally, a deconstructed apple pie with burnt wood ice cream - tasted like an apple pie baked over a campfire but looked like ice cream with little gelees. amazing. remarkable. molecular gastronomy in a gastropub - wonderfully strange and delicious.