3.24.2007

Do-it-Yourself Pinkberry



Since I really like Pinkberry but I don't like paying $5 for it, I decided to concoct my own. If you have an ice cream maker, try this recipe and see if it satisfies your cravings, too.

2 cups nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup half and half

Blend ingredients together with a hand mixer. Put into ice cream maker. Serve with your favorite toppings.

The taste is similar, but the texture is a bit icier. Also, it tastes best right out of the ice cream maker. Once you freeze it, it gets fairly hard and requires some defrost time before it's soft enough to eat again.


3.12.2007

Restaurant Review #183: Cravings, West Hollywood


Grilled calamari salad

Unlike Lucques, Nobu, and Melisse, Cravings is not a restaurant name that gets thrown around in the press and amongst foodies. You may have never heard of this restaurant, especially if you don't live in West Hollywood. But don't let a lack of buzz deter you from checking it out, because you'll be very pleasantly surprised by the food, atmosphere, and service. You'll also be pleasantly surprised by the ample free parking behind the restaurant.

I was invited to Cravings specifically to try their selection of meze, which will be served during the restaurant's new happy hour. If you aren't familiar with meze, think tapas -- lots of small plates to be eaten before a meal (or even as a meal).


Outdoor patio

Cravings' atmosphere offers something for more than one type of diner. The sidewalk seating on Sunset caters to the hip, see-and-be-seen crowd, including what appear to be Entourage-style groups meeting with agents, while the back patio, almost removed from the chaos of the street, recreates a tranquil European cafe. Most of the tables are well-spaced, and pole heaters warm the cool night air. Ibrahim Oztok is the chef of this family-run business that has been serving Italo-Mediterranean food for over 25 years.


Imam bayildi

This slow roasted eggplant dish with onions and tomatoes in olive oil was delicate, creamy, and avoided being too oily (eggplant acts like a sponge, so my compliments to the chef for getting it right).

One of my favorite meze was the grilled calamari salad, which answered my questions about whether I could enjoy calamari that wasn't fried. I could. If you've been turned off by a previous experience with the bad, chewy, flavorless stuff, try this richly flavored salad with tender cuts of calamari.


Watermelon and feta

The incredibly simple, very traditional combination of pungent, salty, creamy feta balanced with delicate, sweet, crunchy watermelon and enhanced by sips of a murky, white, licorice-flavored Greek liqueur called ouzo pleased both the eye and the palate. It was also a refreshing break from the heavier dishes.


Cacik

Cacik, or yogurt blended with cucumber and garlic, is similar to tzatziki. Cravings' version is extra thick and creamy with a garlic kick.


Pan-fried Aegean-style kofte

Meatballs, schmeatballs? Not so at Cravings, where the meatballs have a surprisingly complex flavor thanks to marinara, onions, peppers, and eastern Mediterranean spices. These are nothing like the Italian version you've probably tasted a million times.


Couscous Marocain aux amandes, Moroccan-spiced lamb chops, eggplant peperonata

While I was there, I also got to check out the entrees and desserts. The lamb dish you see here was one of the manager's recommendations, so I checked it out even though I am not really a fan of lamb or couscous. I was thrilled from the first bite of couscous. A far cry from the flavorless, sawdust-quality couscous that most places serve, this couscous was moist and had a great taste and texture thanks to the crunchy almonds and plump raisins it was mixed with. I was less excited about the lamb chops, which were dry and under-seasoned.


Ancho chili crusted sea scallops with saffron sauce; fennel, red onion, and mushroom ragu

I will admit that it was difficult for me to objectively evaluate the entrees because I was already full by that point in the meal (small stomach be damned!), but the scallop dish didn't live up to the high standards set by the fantastic meze and delightful couscous. The scallops were one of the day's specials, but I thought they were just okay. I couldn't taste the ancho chili flavor at all, and the scallops were a bit chewy and contained the occasional bit of unwanted crunch (a common problem with scallops). If Il Moro, Orris, and myriad sushi joints can get their scallops right, I expect other restaurants to be able to do so as well.


Ricotta cheesecake

For dessert, Cravings offers a standard dessert tray selection of creme brulee, pound cake, cheesecake, tiramisu, and a couple of other options. They also serve dessert wines and coffee. At the manager's recommendation, I had a stellar muscat that I nursed for a good thirty minutes.

The first dessert I tried was the cheesecake. Thanks to my favorite TV chef Giada de Laurentiis, I recently learned that Italian cheesecake is generally made with ricotta cheese rather than cream cheese. If you find cheesecake made with cream cheese to be much too rich and heavy, give ricotta cheesecake a try -- it is generally lighter and not excessively sweet. Cravings' version is no exception.


Tiramisu

Cravings' version of the classic Italian dessert, tiramisu, is more cake-like and less rum-soaked than most versions I've tried. It should be noted that the restaurant's dessert portions are quite generous. In fact, all of the dishes, including the meze, are well-portioned.


Patio at night, great for a casual yet romantic date

Given the quality of the service and food, the prices, which range from $12.50 for pasta to $32.00 for filet mignon, seem like a bargain. The menu offers a wide enough variety that everyone from picky eaters to gourmands will be able to find a dish to enjoy.

Overall, my experience with the service at Cravings perfectly matched the restaurant's description of itself, which you can read in the About section of their website. Manager Emrah Ehrgenc himself served our food, described each dish, recommended accompanying drinks, and showed the kind of fantastic hospitality that every special guest hopes for but does not always receive. If the website is true to its word, they extend the same hospitality to all of their customers. Also, if you're looking for a place to hold a special event, I would highly recommend Cravings based on my special guest experience. Their private room can accommodate up to 30 people.


Cravings
8653 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310-652-6103
Cravings Website
Map

Hours
Monday-Friday 11am-12am
Saturday-Sunday 9am-12am

Lunch
Monday-Friday 11am-5pm
Saturday-Sunday 9am-5pm

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Cravings on Urbanspoon

3.03.2007

Restaurant Review #182: Big Sugar Bakeshop, Studio City



Big Sugar Bakeshop is a tiny new bakery on crazy-busy Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. It's so small you'll miss it if you're driving by at more than five miles per hour, but unless it's two in the morning, you probably won't be going much faster. The bakery has no parking, so you'll need to fight the masses for a meter on Ventura or a free spot on a nearby side street.


Chocolate cupcake

I stopped by the place hoping to satisfy a cake craving and pick up a gift for a co-worker. I sort of accomplished my mission. The display case offered no more than 20 items, far fewer than I expected from viewing their website (their menu is longer than what you see on display--I should have asked about that). They had three cupcakes, so I got one of each. I wasn't terribly impressed by them and didn't think they were worth $3 apiece. They were lightweight (I guess for $3 I wanted a dense cupcake) and the cake part was dry. The icing was superb, however--light, fluffy, and not too sweet. I had to whip up my own batch of buttercream frosting afterwards to finish off a craving induced by the vanilla cupcake. (Yes, my eating habits completely revolve around my cravings.) There aren't any tables, so don't expect to dine in. They have ribbon if you need your item to look gifty, but their packaging doesn't even begin to compare to Boule's (though their pricing does). The cupcake boxes have nifty cupcake holders to keep your cupcakes from sliding into each other on the drive home.


Vanilla cupcake

The gift selection was adequate, but could use more options. Right now, you can purchase well-designed cards for about $4.50 each, flavored gourmet honeys, obscenely priced tins of hot chocoloate (yours for only $22.50!), Kschocolate bars for $4.50, butterscotch sauce for ice cream, designer cloth napkins, mugs, luxurious hand lotions, and various other items.

If you're a cupcake aficionado, be sure to check out the newly launched Cupcake Finder LA.

Big Sugar Bakeshop
12182 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
818.508.5855
Tue-Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun 11am - 5pm
Closed Mon.
Website


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