Last week I posted a query regarding this place. You can read the recs I received here –

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/340730

I’m going to adopt Poet Kitty’s style for this review (thanks, PK – you rock!)

Very chic, cosy and large bar area. Warm vibe. French reproduction – stamped tin ceiling, little (faux) paintings, period light fixtures and other decorative touches everywhere. Comfy, deep red leather booths in large wing of restaurant. But they spelled a few French terms incorrectly on their menu! Hmmmnnn…

Cocktails: They have several champagne cocktails (made with a cheap local bubbly). Most of us girls went for the champagne with pomegranate juice, which was very nice. $14 or $18, from memory. I thought I might have to drive (my sweetheart drank two “very good” Sapphire martinis throughout his meal) so I opted for the fanciest champagne they had by the glass – Tattinger – $24. It was fine, but pricey, non? Four of us had two or so cocktails with their meal, three of us had one cocktail and shared a bottle of Iron Horse Pinot Noir ($54), which I liked.

Bread: Excellent – fluffy and freshly made, more Italian style than French, methought. Came with this delicious spread – mayonnaise, garlic, a touch of black olive tapenade and possibly balsamic vinegar. Everyone loved this. It was an optimistic start to the meal.

Appetizers: Mine was the crab cake. Medium in size and very meaty. Good flavour. My guy had the prosciutto-wrapped scallops with white corn ragout, sage brown butter. This dish was easily the best thing I tasted all night. Two fat, perfectly cooked and scrumptious scallops but swimming in a pond of butter/oil that floated next to the corn relish. I found that a little off-putting. Someone had the caesar salad, which was massive. I tasted the lobster beignet (a special) – decent morsels of lobster encased in a lot of batter, which was crispy on the outside but soggy inside. Nicely presented in a cone of paper inside a tall, metal parfait ‘glass’, atop shoestring fries.

Sides: There were loads of delicious-looking sides on the menu. The only one I tried was the creamed corn, which was sweet and yummy. The steamed asparagus hollandaise looked nice.

Entrees: Mine was a big disappointment. I just can’t go past duck in a French restaurant, but this “duck two ways” ($24) was really ordinary confit leg and pink, chewy sliced breast on a smattering of cherry sauce. The halved artichoke was undercooked. Potato gratin was unremarkable. I ended up taking most of my main meal home. Duck salad for lunch!!

My guy also ordered the duck and cleaned his plate, though.

I really wish I’d taken a ’hound’s rec and gone for the short ribs a la Bourguignonne with red wine sauce and horseradish cream… But then again, would it have been better than at Lucques?

Dessert: We all shared two desserts; the berry cobbler which was okay and not too syrupy, though there were nuts in the crumble (ugh!) The chocolate, hazelnut and banana crepes were fantastic, featuring a crunchy toffee element that was there ’till the last bite. I should know – I snagged it!
Damage for 7 diners, $608.00, before tip.

THE BAD – One girl’s dish came out wrong AND cold. She’d ordered the chicken crepes and got the vegetarian. To their credit, her meal was replaced within 10 minutes and was hot.

Also, we asked if they could put $200 on every couple’s bill and $100 on the single girl’s bill. They said they could do this, but hers (same girl as the wrong meal!) came back with $120 total, which didn’t seem fair. I told her to send her bill back, but she just ate the extra cost. I certainly wouldn’t have.

RESTAURANT REPORT CARD - French 75 Bistro, Visit 1

Ambiance A
Service A (but the place wasn’t crowded)
Food (Taste) B-
Food (Presentation) B
Wine/Drinks B
Value C
Vibe/Energy/Scene B-

Overall Experience B-

Final word – Decent menu, many choices. We had a very nice time with our friends, but I probably wouldn’t go back. Too many better places in LA to knock my socks off and leave a similar hole in my wallet.

French 75 Bistro

3400 W Olive Avenue,
Burbank, CA 91505

right next to Arnie Mortons

(818) 955-5100

www.French75Bistro.com

BTW – There are four other locations – Newport Beach, Irvine, Century City and Laguna Beach.

Warning: be prepared for high-decibel sounds. Here’s Pam’s review on Shin Sen Gumi’s high-decibel ramen shop. Restaurants have funny policies when it comes to greeting. At TGIF, they make the employees wear stupid flair like buttons and pins. At Chuck E. Cheese, you’re greeted by a giant rodent wearing a stupid vest and ugly hat. Clothes only magicians like Siegfried and Roy could pull off. But here at Shin Sen Gumi, you’re greeted by employees screaming at the top of their lungs, wearing traditional Japanese uniforms. Anything you say, order, question comes back to you at about 300 decibels - 5 times louder than the normal conversation level. I had to drink as fast as I could to get a buzz and only then was I able to tolerate the noise level.

Here’s what we had:

A. Cabbage With Vinegar/Sesame Oil - We started off with rabbit food, “on-the-house”. For a few minutes, I was eating this dry cabbage, thinking… the fuck am i eating? I then looked over at the next table and saw that people were adding a mixture of vinegar/sesame oil over the rabbit food. A-ha, ok, tastes better. But again I thought… the fuck am i eating? $Free.99

B. Chikuwa Cheese - I call these Ameri-pan snacks. These are deep-fried cylindrical fishcakes stuffed with monterey jack and cheddar cheese. Gross? No way. With a squeeze of lemon, these are quite tasty. Pretty soon, there will be deep-fried tater tots stuffed with cod roe. $4

C. Suigyoza - Literal translation, boiled dumplings, or as in Chinese, sway-gao (sway-jiao). These were overcooked and very boring. Save your $3 and try something else. $2.75

D. Arabiki Sausage - A friend text messaged me to try this while I was there. Tasty, but quite similar to Jimmy Dean. Or as the Japanese would say, Jimi Dee-nu! $4

E. Agedashi Tofu - This is basically fried tofu served with a warm soy sauce/sake mixture and is topped with fresh daikon, seaweed and green onions. Tasty. $3.75

F. Braised Pork Belly - Another one of my favorites. The pork belly is braised in a soy sauce/sake/ginger/sake broth. Super moist and tender, served with fresh mustard. I prefer Musha’s over this. $6

G. Orion Beer - This is my first time trying this beer. A fellow reader suggested that I try it after spotting it over at Sushi Karen in Culver City. Not bad at all, but I still prefer Sapporo. $5

H. Cold Sake - This was the cheapest one on the menu. I really can’t taste the difference between sake so it really doesn’t matter if I’m drinking the Charles Shaw of sake. It got me buzzed and did its job. $6

Now for the Main Event:

G. Chicken Wings - A favorite of any yakitori-enthusiast. These were nicely coated with SSG’s house sauce and sesame seeds. $5.75

H. Chicken Karage - Always available at any izakaya-style restaurant. These were a little bit dry inside, but the batter was nice and slim on the oil. $5

I. Chicken Hearts - I heart these. These were the best hearts I’ve ever tasted - even better than the ones I had in Japan. SSG really knows how to make a good yakitori sauce. These were cooked a little bit rare and oozed out a little blood every time I bit into one. Yum. I had about 5 skewers. $1.75

J. Chicken Thigh and Negi - This was by far my favorite of the night. Moists pieces of chicken thigh were tightly packed with Japanese leeks (negi). Again, the same sauce was applied to it, making me order about 4 of these. $1.95

K. Chicken Skin - Oooh, another one of my favorites. I love that the Japanese spare no parts. Skin from the thigh and breast are neatly skewered like an accordion and are grilled till they are crispy. Chicken skin for President! $1.75

L. Chicken Butt - These are moister than the chicken thigh. It didn’t come with any house sauce, so I simply dipped it into the finished plates. I can do without this one. $2.50

M. Chicken Wing - These looked like Chicken lollipops. I didn’t get to try this but my friends seemed to be smiling with content. Or maybe they were just drunk. $2 each.

N. Chicken Gizzards - These are like cornnut snacks. I can eat a popcorn-sized bucket of these. These came out dryer than what I’m used to and a bit salty. I didn’t care much for these.

We all had a great time. We happened to know a group of people there that gladly offered us and Ayumu some sake bombs. All of a sudden, we didn’t mind the high-decibel chatter and drunkenness. I think we ate enough chicken parts combined to construct our own chicken. It wouldn’t look too good though. Yakitori is definitely a different culinary experience. If you’re sick of fake japanese food like teriyaki beef and ninja rolls, give the chicken a chance. And don’t forget to bring the ear-plugs. Talk to Ayumu and offer him a drink - he’s cool.

Thanks for reading.

Shin Sen Gumi Yakitori
18617 S. Western
Gardena, CA 90248
(310) 715-1588

Chowhound’s Los Angeles Area Message Board: Re(1): Spitz in Eagle Rock - open yet?

I replied with a link to SoCalorie’s interview with Spitz’s founders. Shortly after that, my post was deleted. I wasn’t sneaky about it, I post there under my first name, I only link to la.foodblogging if it adds something to the conversation. I really thought that the interview would be interesting to people reading the thread.

Chowhound post deletion has been frequent enough that last week the moderators had to make a post defending their deletion policy. You can browse the site related message board to see the many instances of deletions.

I can sympathize that moderating a very open (as in, no registration required) message board would be a challenge. Chowhound does seem to lean a bit heavy on the delete button though.

It will be interesting to see how the site evolves, they are getting a redesign and new software. In fact, they are soliciting design suggestions from Chowhound users.

• Ramen in SoCal
• Providence
• Where was the last meal in LA you were truly excited by?
• NY Chowhound Visiting LA
• Lenten Fridays
• Westside Persian

Mother-in-law is in town, so this week we took her to the fancy Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills for afternoon tea.

Wonderful ambiance – nice opportunity to dress sharp – reasonably good service. I have a few tiny quibbles, but nothing major.

Well, take the booking process. Phoned the day before for a Wednesday seating. (NB – you’d have to book well in advance for the weekend, natch.) Was told party of five could be accommodated at 5.30pm. Bit too close to dinner time for my comfort. Seeing as I had only just left a message for the other couple, I then asked if they could accommodate three persons for 3pm and received a snarky comment about me “dis-inviting two of the guests.� Well, it was short notice and I wasn’t even sure if they’d be able to join us. Turns out she managed to seat five of us at 2.30pm. When we (all) got there, the place was barely half-full.

Lovely live harp performance throughout the afternoon.

Three of us ordered the Royal Tea ($28 pp with a glass of house champagne), the other couple ordered the Imperial Tea which, in addition to the contents of the Royal Tea, has a mini cube of caviar cake and fancier champagne ($42 pp). I’m sure their champers was fantastic, but ours was just great.

For the Royal Tea you get strawberries and cream accompanied by champagne, then your choice of tea plus sandwiches, pastries and scones.

Now, can someone illuminate me? I know my way around place settings, but I was mystified by the fact that we were not given any silverware for the strawberries course. We were, however, provided with a small salad fork plus a knife and fork. We all proceeded to eat our sweet, slivered strawberries with the first, small fork. Does that seem right?

Next came our tea and a three-tiered, silver serving tray with scones (one plain, one currant, served with Devonshire cream and preserves), three tiny pastries and finger sandwiches (four types each). Sandwiches are charred vegetables on wheat bread with pesto spread; curried chicken on sweet raisin bread; their own exceptional smoked salmon on dark bread with boursin spread; and cucumber, watercress, pimento and dill. Pastries were a tiny profiterole with butterscotch custard, a cube of tiramisu and a little tartlet.

The teas they have are excellent. I opted for the Earl Grey and drank three cups, even though I am really a coffee drinker. But some of the exotic ones on offer are Caramel Pear also Tahitian Vanilla, as well as Oolong and top-drawer Green Teas.

Now here’s the hot tip. The others opted for double sandwiches instead of the pastries and we (except for M-I-L) followed suit. That proved to be a very good choice as you got more bang for your buck and your sweet-tooth was amply compensated for by the strawberries and the marvellous scones.

Funny incident – one of our foodie companions (whose favourite eight letters in the world are “foie gras�, BTW) accidently dropped a blob of jam in my tea strainer. When the server went to refill my tea cup (I had to ask her each time, which was tiresome) she went to use it anyway so I was compelled to point out the giant foreign substance therein. She then used someone else’s tea strainer, which was fine by me. Two scones and three sandwiches came home with us.

Delicious, filling and highly recommended.

Validated valet parking is $5.00

The Peninsula Beverly Hills – The Belvedere Restaurant
9882 South Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA
Tel: (1-310) 551 2888
Fax: (1-310) 788 2319
Toll Free: (1-800) 462 7899 (USA and Canada only)
E-mail: pbh@peninsula.com

Menu

I saw this post earlier on the Chowhound LA board and wanted to pass it along although it won’t be happening for a few weeks. In fact, I suspect some folks involved with the event planted links on the board, but I just watched The Sweet Smell of Success again, so I’m tasting cookies full of arsenic. (But really. “Sunshine Girl” and “wumanchild?” Is “Patchouli Pixie” going to post the Gayot link next? At least use this.)

More importantly, a whole host of restaurants are scheduled to particpate in next month’s Dine Out LA wherein lunches ($20) and/or dinners ($35) are fixed price and a portion of the proceeds go to a social cause. There is some amount of whinging that not as many restaurants are participating this year, but to me it looks like a good selection of eateries. But then, I’ve never played Dine Out LA before, so what do I know?

All I know is gleaned from the sites, and they indicate that participating restaurants make up special menus, involving three-course prix fixe meals during two work weeks in mid-August. Diners receive a complimentary bottle of S.Pellegrino or Acqua Panna with the meal. S.Pellegrino then donates $1 for every Dine Out meal to Share Our Strength.

Some restaurants may offer lunch only, dinner only, or both. Reservations can be booked through OpenTable. See OpenTable’s Dine Out LA page for participating restaurants. There’s also a printable version of participating restaurants on the official site. See all you dolphin-lovin’ tree-huggers there!

What: Dine Out LA
Timeframe: Mon. Aug. 15 – Fri. Aug. 19 and Mon. Aug. 22 – Fri. Aug. 26, 2005 (excludes Sat. and Sun.)
Prices: $20.00 lunches, $35.00 dinners; prices are per person and do not include beverage, tax or gratuity
Restaurants: OpenTable’s Dine Out LA page

My circle of friends have their opinions about rib joints and I’d be curious to hear from the readership and contributers here at LA.foodblogging.

One friend lives in the Valley and is a fan of :

Dr. Hoggly Woggly’s Tyler Texas BBQ
8136 Sepulveda Blvd (near Roscoe)
Van Nuys, CA 91402-4305
Phone: (818) 902-9046

This person over at Chowhound seems to agree while this person does not.

Since I don’t live in the Valley and only make it out there occasionally, I haven’t tried it yet.

Another friend swears by Mr. Cecil’s.

Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs
12244 Pico Blvd (Amherst Avenue)
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 442-1550

The Chowhounders seem to disagree.

I haven’t yet tried it myself to form an opinion but my friend is rather a foodie so I’d take it as a good sign.

I’ve driven past The Pig a number of times and have tried it once so far and found it okay. Readers can, of course, decide for themselves.

The Pig
612 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036 View Map
(323) 935-1116
Cross Street: Clinton Street

More disagreement among the Chowhounds.

My current favorite is Zeke’s Smokehouse.

My search of Chowhound shows reports only from 2002.

I can only say, I like it and I have a friends who do as well. My favorite item is the Kansas City style spare ribs.

Montrose Location
2209 Honolulu Avenue
Montrose, CA 91020
T: 818.957.7045

W. Hollywood Location
7100 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90046
T: 323.850.9353

As far as making ribs myself, as an apartment dweller, I use an oven to bake them. I give them over to a few hours or overnight marinade consisting of store bought BBQ sauce (I’m sure totally offending purists!) mixed with Kern’s mango nectar or orange juice. I bake them in the oven at 350 until they look ready.

Thanks in advance for any other recipes, I’m sure our readers who are planning a July 4 BBQ would welcome ideas!

Check it out, and you’ll find the names of 21 Vietnamese steamed cakes, treats and snacks, with pronunciations, descriptions and photos. I want to miniaturize Alice’s banh glossary, send it to my color printer, laminate it, and stuff it into my wallet, hot off the Epson. I’m pretty sure that pocketing ‘Alice’s Guide to Banh’ will help make excursions to Little Saigon that much more tasty.

[Via ChowNews General Topics]

Photo: noodlepie (banh xeo)

1. Page through the Don’t Eat That! flickr pool.
2. Make a big batch of Arnold Palmers with Mariage Freres black Marco Polo tea and those ripe meyer lemons hanging on my neighbor’s tree.
3. Stare longingly at Sibby’s cupcake gallery wishing Leda’s Bakeshop had the same.
4. Lurk on Giant Robot’s new myspace page waiting for them to post “some online coupons that will give (me) in-store deals,” as promised in the last email blast. Here’s hoping they offer breaks on meals at gr/eats and on Kinder Eggs and vegan marshmallows. I need incentives.
5. Knock back a few Greyhound Propers (candied grapefruit!) and Luke’s Lemonades followed with a Pride of Baltimore crab cake with mustard aioli at The Hungry Cat.
6. Make a pot of Trader Joe’s new Equatorial Blend Coffee and the recipe for Easy Strawberry Swedish Pancakes.
7. Order up the bacon-wrapped and chesse-stuffed shrimp and pay to be serenaded by the mariachi players lurking around La Parilla on Sunset.
8. Squelch my aversion and finally watch the pilot of FOX’s “Hell’s Kitchen.”
9. Poke around on the Chowhound Los Angeles board. No, come to think of it, I’ll probably find time to do that, or at least read my latest edition of ChowNews.
10. Sorry, no time for a tenth item, must go eat.