Restaurant Review #250: Howie's Grill & Bar, Simi Valley

Grilled Portobello Mushroom - $10.95

Howie's opened in January 2011 on the corner of Cochran and Madera, a location that's very convenient to the freeway if you happen to be at the far west end of Simi Valley just before you get to Moorpark. Howie's occupies a former Applebees, and the dining room hasn't changed much. The cuisine is also somewhat similar--what I'd call suburban American--but with just enough creativity to capture your interest. The beer selections are also slightly less boring than usual.

Meat is a major feature on the menu, but they also have a portobello mushroom cap, grilled and served with swiss cheese, caramelized onions, and a balsamic glaze, that was enormous (I only ate half) and delicious. As for the side of sweet potato fries, I'll take them over regular fries anyway, but these fries weren't really seasoned and didn't taste as good as any frozen grocery store sweet potato fries--not worth the deep-fried calories at all.

Skillet Mac ‘n’ Cheese - $6.95

We're very picky about mac and cheese because we have a homemade recipe that we're very fond of. Howie's kicked up mac ‘n’ cheese with 4 kinds of cheese, topped with a jalapeño bacon, panko, and parmesan crust sounded very promising and looked delicious, but didn't have as much flavor as you'd expect. I started to suspect that our cook was too careful with the salt.

Kobe Beef Sliders - $9.95

I know what Tony Bourdain says about kobe burgers duping the masses out of their hard-earned money for what are essentially ordinary burgers, but I love them anyway. Howie's3 mini kobe burgers topped with cheddar cheese and sweet caramelized onions were the highlight of the meal. Please don't tell me how many calories are in these things--you can see the fat glistening even on the buns.

BBQ Bacon Burger - $10.95

The bbq bacon burger is a basic burger with applewood smoked bacon, bbq sauce, and your choice of jack, swiss or cheddar cheese. It was as good as any restaurant burger and served horror-movie style with a giant knife plunged into the center.

Chocolate Fudge Cake - $6.45 plus $3.95 for ice cream

As if we weren't already so stuffed that we needed to be rolled out of the restaurant, we splurged on dessert. There was no way I was missing the chance to try a dessert that combines two of my favorite things--beer and ice cream. We paired the ice cream with a side of chocolate cake. The cake was pretty much what you'd expect it to be, but the Drunken Udder Guinness chocolate stout ice cream was a disappointment. I couldn't taste the stout at all. The ice cream is expensive, too--$3.95 for an a la mode scoop, and even more if you order it alone.  But with the exception of the ice cream, the prices are very reasonable, especially for the portions you get.

Nice view from a booth by the window

Howie's has a patio, but it's somewhat noisy since it's adjacent to a busy street and not far from the freeway. Still, it's nice to have the option to dine outdoors. We enjoyed our window booth with a nice view of the surrounding mountains and Simi Valley's immaculate landscaping.

For the most part, I liked my meal a lot. I haven't been back, but that has less to do with Howie's and more to do with my aversion to eating enormous, heavy meals.

Howie's Grill and Bar
109 West Cochran Street
Simi Valley, CA 93065
(805) 520-3000
Open daily 9am-11pm
Howie's website
Howie's menu

Restaurant Review #245: The Counter, Pasadena

Veggie burger

I've been hearing about The Counter for years. It was the favorite joint of a hamburger-obsessed colleague of mine, and everyone seems to rave about it. But I was really underwhelmed. There was nothing special about the flavor of the meat. I could have made a comparable, if not better, burger at home.


Beef burger

The concept behind The Counter is to build your own burger using a cute clipboard checklist. You can choose your own meat (beef, turkey, chicken, veggie), the size (1/3, 2/3, 1 lb), and your bun (regular, multigrain, English muffin, onion bun). The restaurant offers several dozen interesting toppings. Some of the more unusual options include horseradish cheddar, herb goat cheese spread, grilled pineapple, roasted green chiles, fried egg, apricot sauce, and peanut sauce. If all the options are too overwhelming, you can choose one of their predesigned signature burgers.

Maybe I didn't choose the right toppings, but for me, it was just an overpriced burger.


Parmesan fries

We also tried a side of parmesan fries. Ever since the truffle fries we had at Josie a few years ago, we've been searching for something else that measured up. The Counter's fries looked delicious but weren't very memorable.

We went to the Pasadena restaurant, but there are quite a few  locations, including Hermosa Beach, Miracle Mile, Sunset Blvd., Santa Monica, Studio City, and others.

The Counter

140 Shoppers Lane
Pasadena, CA 91101-2618
626.440.1008

Hours: Mon-Thu,Sun 11am-10pm; Fri-Sat 11am-11pm
The Counter website

The Counter menu

Restaurant Review #233: Firehouse Cafe, Simi Valley

California Fireman omelet with hash browns - $7.75

Sitting in Firehouse Cafe, you'll feel like you've been transported out of Southern California and into a friendly Midwestern city--say, St. Louis. There's zero pretense at this affordable, no-frills breakfast and lunch joint. The flooring is charcoal gray industrial carpet, the chairs are standard-issue black metal with padded vinyl seats, and the white walls are somewhat haphazardly adorned with photos and firefighting memorabilia and gear. Red accents throughout, including diner stools at the counter, contribute to the firehouse theme. The space is just one big, rectangular open room, so there's no sense of intimacy at any of the tables, but at least the tables are spaced well apart. The restaurant was busy late on a Sunday morning and we felt lucky to get the only open table.


Huevos rancheros - $6.95

The coffee doesn't break with the restaurant's no-frills vibe--it's of the coffee-pot-on-a-burner variety, so if you're into the gourmet stuff, be warned. But it does come with free refills. The breakfast menu offers everything you'd expect at and is served all day (which, most days, means all morning and early afternoon). I love omelets, but can only make a mediocre one myself, so that's what I almost always order at breakfast joints. Firehouse Cafe's version met my expectations--fluffy, cheesy (swiss), and stuffed with bacon and veggies (mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, avocado). Our food arrived in a reasonable time frame and the portions were so generous that we had ample leftovers. (Not that leftover omelets are terribly appetizing, but I hate wasting food.) The lunch menu offers more than 30 sandwiches, 16 firefighting-themed burgers, and several salads, plus standard appetizers like mozzarella sticks and potato skins. They also serve dinner on Fridays.

The service is supposed to be friendly here, but our waitress seemed like she'd much rather be somewhere else. This wouldn't prevent me from giving the restaurant a second try, though, given my positive experience with the atmosphere, food, and price tag. 

Firehouse Cafe

1244 Sycamore Dr
Simi Valley, CA 93065
805.527.9598
Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sat-Sun 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Fri 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Firehouse Cafe Menu

Restaurant Review #232: Saddle Peak Lodge, Calabasas

Cream of mushroom amuse bouche

Saddle Peak Lodge, named after the rock formation it sits under, has been around for more than 100 years in various incarnations, including a general store and a summer resort. Tucked away in the hills of Calabasas, sort of on the way to Malibu via Las Virgenes, you'd never know the restaurant was there if you weren't following a set of directions to it. That makes it all the more amazing that the place has been around for so long. We didn't have any trouble finding it with the directions (although we did get lost on the way out since it was pitch black and I was too busy thinking about my meal to think about which way I should be turning).

Saddle Peak Lodge is almost cave-like in the evening, cozy and dark with stone, timber, and lots of prize game heads lending weight to the restaurant's name. A seat by the window next to the patio gave us a glimpse of the scenic mountain surroundings. It's the kind of patio you'd love to host a special event on (if you could afford it--and if you can, the restaurant has several private rooms and special menus available for events).

We were invited to try the restaurant to experience a new event they are offering: every Wednesday from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saddle Peak Lodge is hosting Jazz in the Canyon with the Gonzalo Bergara quartet. Since we were invited, our meal was on the house, and our experience probably does not completely reflect what the average diner might expect. It was apparent that the head chef, chef de cuisine, and general manager knew who we were, since they each came to our table and introduced themselves. Our waiter, however, clearly thought we were just regular guests.

Saddle Peak Lodge serves French-influenced American food using seasonal ingredients. The executive chef, Adam Horton, has a more impressive resume at 27 years old than most chefs will have in their entire careers. He attended the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, externed at Saddle Peak, then went to Europe, where he cooked at classical French restaurants with two and three Michelin stars, including Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London. On returning to the United States, he worked at Melisse before heading back to Saddle Peak as sous chef. Horton has been named a top five rising chef by Gayot, and the restaurant’s numerous accolades include a listing in the 2009 Michelin guide, one star in the 2008 Michelin guide, a AAA Four-Diamond award, a Zagat Award of Distinction, and numerous best-restaurant awards. The chef de cuisine, Chris Kufek, also has impressive credentials, but for the opposite reason--he's self-taught. He's also only 25. General Manager Joshua Buckner has twenty-one years of restaurant experience and is also a musician.

We were seated very close to the band, which had me a bit concerned about the noise level, but it didn't turn out to be a problem. The music seems like it's meant to be part of the background--which is good since this is a restaurant, not a bar or club. 

Our meal began with a mushroom soup amuse. It was tasty, but not extraordinary in any way. I found it a bit awkward to sip from the cup because of its thickness; I wished I had a small spoon to eat it with.

Pretzel bread and pumpernickel rolls

Fresh bread arrived right away—a pumpernickel roll and a pretzel bread roll. I was pleased by the interesting choice of flavors and their dense, soft, moist texture. If I have any complaint about the bread—and this is hardly a complaint—it’s that the delivery of every course was so perfectly timed that I had scarcely any time to turn my full attention to the bread.

Salt and butter

The rolls came with butter and a high-end moist sea salt that tasted like it had a hint of anise. I tend to laugh when I see super-expensive salts at the grocery store, since you can buy a huge container of salt for 60 cents that basically accomplishes the same thing, yet when I encounter a really good salt in a restaurant, the memory sticks with me (Lucques comes to mind, for example). Now I will have to finagle some $15 salt out of someone as a gift.

Yukon potato blini, smoked salmon, creme fraiche and caviar

As a second amuse, we tried a mini potato pancake topped with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and caviar. The smoked salmon did not taste different than any other smoked salmon I’ve had, but I could have eaten a whole plate of the blini (the mini pancakes), which were denser and more moist than breakfast pancakes and had a hint of sweetness. Basically, take everything that’s wrong with an ordinary pancake—it’s too dry, it has no flavor, it’s sometimes bordering on greasy—and this blini corrects it. Too bad I couldn’t get it to last longer than four tiny bites. I think they should serve full-sized blini for brunch!

Fijian albacore sashimi with ramp vinaigrette, avocado and pea greens

The appetizer was a Fijian (from Fiji) albacore sashimi. Albacore is probably my favorite raw fish, but this dish didn’t do anything for me. The pea tendrils seemed overdressed and I guess I am just accustomed to eating my raw fish with fewer accompaniments.

Wild mushroom agnolotti with roasted mushrooms, parmesan, herbs, ricotta salata, and truffle butter

For me, the best and most memorable dish of the night was the wild mushroom agnolotti (agnolotti is basically ravioli, in case you were wondering). The pasta was obviously homemade, and it was perfectly cooked. The aroma of truffle butter wafted up from the plate—how can you not like any dish that has truffle butter? The serving didn’t look very big, but it was so rich that it must have taken me 30 minutes to savor every bite (granted, I have won awards for my ability to eat slowly). This dish actually reminded me of some fantastic pasta I had at Melisse (and that was before I even knew the chef had worked there).

Diver scallops with peas, pea tendrils and uni veloute

I’m not sure I can fully comment on the scallop dish since my friend ordered it and I only had one bite, but it didn’t wow me--except for the black garlic that came on the side. Black garlic is regular garlic that has been slowly fermented in heat- and humidity-controlled conditions for three weeks. I’d never heard of it, seen it, or tasted it before. It has a unique, rich, slightly sweet flavor that has been compared to molasses.

New Zealand elk tenderloin with sweet potato and celery root purée, currants, bacon, wilted arugula and sauce chasseur (hunter's sauce)

Saddle Peak Lodge has several game meats on the menu—elk, buffalo, and ostrich. Because game meats are lean and have a high iron content compared to the meats most Americans usually eat, they are challenging to cook. Horton uses the sous vide technique to cook the meat uniformly medium rare.

The elk tenderloin is a house specialty. I didn't think it was "gamey" at all; rather, it reminded me of filet mignon. It was perfectly cooked and so tender I could cut it with the side of my fork (no exaggeration). This dish normally costs $54, so to be able to enjoy it as part of an $85 tasting menu seemed like a real bargain, and the portion was so large that I couldn't even finish it. The sweet potato and celery root puree was delicious but I found myself wanting to separate it from the currant sauce so I could fully appreciate it on its own. The currant sauce acted as a sort of steak sauce (but much better than A1!).

Deconstructed lemon merengue pie: toasted meringue ice cream, lemon curd, liquid sable and graham cracker

The deconstructed lemon meringue pie was hit and miss for me. The cake pieces seemed ordinary, but the “pie crust” was incredible. It had that addictive quality that I find in Persian halva and Spanish turron. And despite the way it looked on the plate, standing up, it wasn't crunchy, but soft. The meringue ice cream seemed to be a feat of molecular gastronomy. It was very cold in places and had such a delicate texture that regular meringue would seem heavy by comparison.

Our waiter obviously didn’t know that we were special guests—and I think that was a good thing, because we got to see what the regular service is like. Our waiter was friendly and endearing, and all of the many servers who delivered and took away our plates, refilled our water and served our bread, were, well, perfect. It’s easy to feel uncomfortable in an expensive restaurant when you normally eat at Chili’s and hole-in-the-wall Thai places, but no one was even remotely pretentious or condescending toward us the entire night. I felt totally comfortable. And the comfy chairs, while not ideal for leaning over the table and eating, certainly encourage you to lean back, relax, enjoy some good wine, and take your time. They’re very conducive to a leisurely evening of good conversation and live music.

Considering that this was a four-course tasting menu with an extremely reasonable price tag of $85, I was surprised that the portions were so generous. For $40 extra (per person), we could have had wine pairings, too, which I also thought was reasonable. (Unfortunately, I did not indulge in those as I was driving.)

Saddle Peak Lodge's description of itself as "rustic yet refined" is perfect and applies to both the food and the ambiance. The restaurant does have a dress code (how often do you see that?), but they basically just don't want you to show up in beach attire. Parking is valet only and has a $4 service charge (and they returned my car very promptly at the end of the night). Total, the tasting menu for two people with sparkling water came to about $100 a person, including tax but not including gratuity (thankfully, since the restaurant invited us, we only had to pay gratuity and parking). Not including the amuses, if we had ordered each dish from the regular menu instead of getting the tasting menu, we would have paid nearly $140 each. Perhaps the portion sizes were pared down for the tasting menu, but it didn't seem like it.

All in all, this was probably one of the best meals I've ever had, even if it wasn't one of my favorite meals I've ever had. The latter has nothing to do with the quality of the restaurant, the food, or the chef--it's purely a matter of my personal taste. I will probably always be someone who gets more excited about a bowl of spicy noodles than a gorgeous piece of meat. But I would really like to go back for the agnolotti, for brunch, and for any occasion that would allow me to sit on the patio during daylight hours. If you like really good food that is different without requiring you to be too adventurous or eat anything "weird," and if you want upscale food at a reasonable price in a comfortable atmosphere, Saddle Peak Lodge is a great choice.

Saddle Peak Lodge
419 Cold Canyon Road
Calabasas, CA 90265
818.222.3888
Saddle Peak Lodge website
Saddle Peak Lodge menu
Dinner Hours:
Wednesday through Thursday
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Friday 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Saturday 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Sunday 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Brunch:
Sunday 10:30 am to 2:00 pm

Restaurant Review #229: Lazy Dog Cafe, Thousand Oaks

Black and bleu pizza - $11.95

For a group evening out in Ventura County, I attempted to steer everyone toward my favorite German/Italian restaurant, Two Guys from Italy, but was mysteriously overruled in favor of the Lazy Dog Cafe, a local suburban chain restaurant that I'm sure receives a lot of its business from its proximity to the Thousand Oaks Muvico theater (other locations are in in Westminster, Orange, Irvine, Torrance, and Temecula). Good luck getting a table on Saturday night at 7:00 unless you want to hold onto a plastic buzzer for the next hour. There are few things I hate more than waiting for a table at a generic restaurant. I kind of wanted to stay home. Okay, I really wanted to stay home.

Now put all my grumping aside, because this place actually has a lot going for it. The hamburgers are unbelievable, and they'll actually cook them medium rare. For what is largely a pizza and burger place, you might be surprised to learn that they also serve braised lamb shank and cast-iron baked trout with a citrus-walnut brown butter sauce. They also serve pasta, soup, salad, Chinese food (I'm skeptical), sandwiches, and an unusual array of starters--you can get everything from hummus to sauteed eggplant to chicken wings. There's really something for everyone (they also have a kid's menu--you can guess what's on it).

Lazy Dog Cafe also wins points from me for its actual beer menu with 16 draft beers, including 5 of their own (which can be ordered as a tasting sampler totaling 3o ounces), Rogue Hazlenut Brown, Firestone Double Barrel Ale, and a rotating selection of seasonal beers. Your inner sorority girl will be happy to know that they also serve a plethora of cocktails and martinis; those who have (or pretend to have) more refined sensibilities will appreciate the long and reasonably priced wine list.


Cheeseburger -$8.95

I ordered the black and bleu pizza, a thin-crusted, hubcap-sized pie topped with cajun chicken, hickory-smoked bacon, mozzarella, carmelized onions, blue cheese, diced tomatoes, and green onions. I know I enjoyed it at the time, but I should have eaten it all in one sitting because the leftovers were a soggy mess that marred my opinion of the dish. I also tried the pepperoni pizza, which is totally worth the heart attack you will definitely have if you eat that much pepperoni in one sitting. (For someone who adores pizza, I really should venture outside of the Red Baron box more often.)

Another dish I got to sample since we dined in a large group was the fish and chips. It was exactly what you'd expect it to be--thick hunks of cod, beer-battered and deep fried until golden, crispy, and dripping with grease and generously salted. If you ate the whole platter, you'd be good to go for at least a day, calorie-wise. It was delicious and paired wonderfully with my beer, but I couldn't have eaten a whole meal of it--it's just too one-note for me. But fish-and-chips lovers should be pleased.

The name of the restaurant is terribly misleading, though. Knowing nothing about the place beforehand, I assumed it was some sort of dog-friendly sidewalk cafe (but Toto, we're not in Venice anymore). In actuality, it is like an enormous Chili's, minus the southwestern tiles (for those of you well-versed in suburban restaurants, it's actually more like BJ's). And it's not the easiest place to hold a conversation, especially if you're with a large group--I could have laid down in the middle of our table for eight and there still would have been enough room for all the plates and drinks. So sit next to, not across from, the person you most like.

Two of us were out the door for only $40, and that included two entrees (with leftover pizza), a beer, some cranberry juice, and it's possible that someone may have talked me into taking a chocolate cake shot even though I am morally opposed to paying $6 for two ounces of alcohol. Maybe I was trying to prove that I can still drink like a 23-year-old.

Lazy Dog Cafe
172 West Hillcrest Drive
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
805.449.5206
Lazy Dog Cafe Website
Lazy Dog Cafe Menu
Hours:
Sun 10am - 11pm
Mon - Thur 11am - 11pm
Fri - Sat 11am - midnight

Restaurant Review #206: Boneyard Bistro, Sherman Oaks

Ribs

I decided to pay a visit to Boneyard Bistro for two reasons: their extensive beer list and the promise of sweet potato fries. Located on busy Ventura Boulevard amidst dozens of other restaurants, Boneyard Bistro is a bit hard to spot. We had no trouble parking on the street, but we may have benefited from the cold weather keeping people home. Still, the hostess acted like we should have made a reservation (which I always find annoying), but we somehow got what I considered to be the best table in the house--a corner booth next to the window.

The food is rather pricey for what it is (largely barbecue) and where it's located (things are supposed to be cheaper in the Valley, right?), so I ordered two appetizers for my meal instead of an entree. But first, they brought us mini cornbread muffins and crusty, flavorful bread accompanied by butter served at just the right temperature for spreading. I also ordered a hefeweizen beer. The beer list, divided by style, was quite extensive, but they didn't have the first two beers I asked for, which made me wonder how much of their overall list they actually had on hand. I ended up with the Avery White Rascal for $10 (a six pack of this beer is only $9.49 at BevMo!). With most bottles of respectable beer priced at $8 and up, I didn't really feel like ordering more than one. That's a lot of money for a twelve-ounce bottle of beer. On Mondays, however, beer is half-price. Monday is also fried chicken night, and several other nights have special themes as well. They serve brunch on Sundays.


Pulled pork dumplings

The first appetizer I tried, pulled pork dumplings in a barbecue beurre blanc sauce, was fairly disappointing. The sauce was a lot more strongly flavored than I anticipated based on the description--I guess I was focused on the beurre blanc part of the description, not the barbecue. There was so much sauce that it overwhelmed the filling, and the dumplings, which were more like ravioli, were difficult to cut into bite-sized pieces. The coleslaw, however, was excellent--not too mayonaissey and nice and crunchy.


Sweet potato fries

Fortunately, the sweet potato fries lived up to my expectations. Not only were they wonderfully crispy, which is difficult to do at home, the portion was huge, allowing me to enjoy some as leftovers. I combined my sweet potato fries with some aioli that came with a friend's dish, and it really complemented the fries perfectly. I think that aioli should be served with every plate of fries.


The Classic

Boneyard Bistro serves a selection of burgers with a range of toppings such as applewood bacon, sauteed onions, and sauteed chantrelle mushrooms. All of their burgers are made of Snake River Farms American Kobe-style Wagyu beef, which is leaps and bounds above other hamburger meat. This stuff practically melts in your mouth and is totally worth the seemingly ridiculous $20 price tag. In my experience, other places that charge $20 for a burger don't even come close. Also, I've looked into ordering this beef directly from Snake River Farms, and it really ain't cheap. I think that gorging myself on a $32 double burger would probably be a better idea than ordering the stuff raw--then I don't have to risk screwing it up with my lack of meat-cooking skills. Meditrina Cafe in Venice serves a similar burger, but Boneyard's is significantly better.


Dining room

While we were dining, Chef Aaron Robins visited every table. He didn't strike me as terribly personable, but he has a behind-the-scenes kind of job after all, and I still appreciated the effort he went to to make sure all his customers were enjoying their meals. The dining room is small, with a few private booths, generously sized dark wood tables, exposed brick walls, and framed mirrors. A large flat-screen TV near the kitchen detracts a bit from the otherwise warm atmosphere. Overall, the restaurant and staff had a very friendly, down-to-earth vibe, but I felt a little jilted when our server dropped the check on our table without ever asking if we wanted dessert. I thought that perhaps they didn't offer dessert, but the website says that I missed out on chocolate whiskey flourless cake, dulce de leche bon bons, and tawny ports.

Overall, I really liked this restaurant and I plan to return for more sweet potato fries, my very own burger, and with any luck, some dessert. I think I'll pass on the beer, though, and stop at BevMo on the way home instead.

Boneyard Bistro

13539 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
818.906.7427
Boneyard Bistro Website

Restaurant Review #203: Eric's, Thousand Oaks

Chocolate bread pudding with bourbon caramel sauce

I will freely admit that I don't have very high expectations of restaurants once I leave a major city. Despite the way that some food critics portray the Los Angeles dining scene as a joke compared to those of New York City or San Francisco, I'd say Los Angeles has enough great restaurants to thoroughly spoil anyone, including me. So when I was taken to Eric's by a friend of the chef to enjoy the restaurant's special eighth anniversary menu, I had my suburban restaurant radar on. The warning signals in my mind started flashing even more when I saw that the restaurant was attached to the Palm Garden Hotel, since I haven't really had any good hotel food experiences in my lifetime, even at $500 a night places. Thankfully, the food far exceeded my expectations, and at prices that would make any Westsider thoroughly jealous.


Bruschetta and olives

Most of our group took advantage of the $30, four-course anniversary menu. At many restaurants, including Eric's, an entree alone can cost $30, so this pricing was quite a steal. I wondered if the portions would be miniscule or if they would only be offering inexpensive dishes like pasta, but they weren't. Corkage was free, and plenty of fresh-baked kalamata olive bread was included, too.

The first course was twin bruschetta crostini with an Italian olive tapenade and a balsamic tomato pomodoro and a small wine glass of green and reddish-brown olives. The tangy bite of fresh garlic and the juiciness of tomatoes that hadn't been ruined by refrigeration paired nicely with the lightly grilled triangles of chewy bread, and the olive tapenade was surprisingly flavorful--bad olive tapenade often tastes like the can its olives came from.


Enclosed patio

We sat on the enclosed patio next to the gas fireplace, which we definitely needed on the chilly January night. The view outside the windows was nothing but lush greenery, but the atmosphere was cheapened a bit by the plastic chairs. Perhaps this part of the restaurant is often used for more casual purposes.


Eggplant and portabello tower

After the bruschetta, there were several choices for each course. I had been craving breaded eggplant, but couldn't find any on my last visit to Trader Joe's, so I knew I had to try the eggplant and portabello tower. Also, the other choices were soup and salad, so I wanted to choose the most unique option. Despite sitting in a red bell pepper sauce, the breaded eggplant retained its crispiness. The eggplant was perfectly cooked, neither too spongy nor too runny, and the dish was beautifully presented. The asparagus retained its smooth skin, crispness, and bright green color, like properly cooked asparagus should. When Chef Robin Nishizaki came out to talk to us about the meal, he said that he created the dish as a twist on the classic eggplant parmesan.


Filet Mignon

For my entree, I chose the filet mignon over the grilled salmon, seared scallops, prime rib fettucini, oso bucco, and seared ahi. It was a tough choice--I could have eaten almost any of them, but I opted for the filet because it was such a great deal. I ordered the filet medium rare, which I realized after taking the first bite was more pink than I could handle (believe it or not, this was the first steak I had ever personally ordered at a restaurant). Though not as tender as some (admittedly more expensive) steaks I've sampled, the table agreed that the meat was excellent. The garlic mashed potatoes had a wonderfully smooth consistency, but they were too buttery for my taste. The sauteed broccoli, baby carrots, and asparagus were all very good, though it would have been nice to have a different vegetable after the asparagus that came with my eggplant. Normally I might not have noticed this minor flaw in the meal, but I had recently finished reading a book by a waitress who used to work at Thomas Keller's Per Se, so my perfectionistic side was probably in overdrive.


Cheesecake churros

Since we knew the chef, we got a bonus dessert of his own creation: cheesecake churros. I can't imagine a more sinful dessert than deep-fried cheesecake topped with caramel, chocolate, and whipped cream, and it was delicious. My only complaint was that I couldn't eat as many of them as I might have liked because I was already incredibly full from the rest of my meal!


Creme Brulee

For dessert, I chose the creme brulee. The generous portion had a delicious carmelized crust. The addition of fresh strawberries and blueberries, both in the custard and on top of it, were an interesting twist, but I think I'm a traditionalist when it comes to this dish.

This extra-fantastic anniversary deal was only temporary, but the regular menu prices are quite reasonable: small plates are $6-$13, and large plates are $20-$34. $34 will get you a generous portion of lobster. While Eric's is not a destination restaurant, I think that anyone living in the area or staying at the hotel would be pleased by the food, the service, and the prices.

Eric's Restaurant and Bar
495 N Ventu Park Rd
Newbury Park, CA 91320
805.716.4100
Eric's Website
Eric's Map

Restaurant Review #197: Gladstone's of Malibu

Indoor dining room

I only went to Gladstone's because I dragged my family out to Malibu to visit Cholada Thai and it was closed (they're closed on Mondays--I forgot). There aren't a ton of dining options in the area, so we forced my mom to deal with her bird phobia so we could all deal with our raging hunger. I can't accurately say that I regret the choice, since we didn't really have any other options on our very tight schedule, but I will say that the experience was far from ideal.


You can't argue with the view

If you're afraid of seagulls or want to eat all of your meal yourself, definitely don't sit outside. These birds have no qualms about coming right up to your table and stealing your food, as we observed. You won't lose much of the beachside experience by sitting inside if you can get a table by the window. The windows open and have screens, allowing you to enjoy the view and the breeze without the annoyance of the birds. It's also pretty chilly, even on a sunny, late summer afternoon, so bring a jacket.



Valet parking is required and costs $3. If you're going to the beach anyway, paying half the beach parking rate at a beach lot is a nice perk, but if you're just going to the (already overpriced) restaurant, the parking charge (with the accompanying expectation that you tip the valet) is just annoying.


Down Home Lobster Roll

My mom ordered the Down Home Lobster Roll. Even if I could eat shellfish, I wouldn't touch this mayonnaise sandwich with a ten foot pole. I don't think the delicate (and expensive) flavor of lobster was meant to be smothered with cheap glop like this. The potato chips were soggy.


Shrimp sandwich

I couldn't try this one either, but my father was not impressed. It's worth mentioning that our server didn't give a hoot about my shellfish allergy when I was trying to order. The menu is laden with shellfish, so if you're really allergic (I'm only slightly allergic), please don't eat here.


Grilled cajun fish tacos

Cajun? You have to be kidding me. The fish in these tacos was overcooked and tasted like it hadn't been seasoned with so much as a pinch of salt. The tacos came with beans and rice--both cold, both flavorless. I wasn't hungry enough to bother sending them back, though, and they weren't good enough to take home as leftovers.


Seagull-friendly beachside dining

I like to give a restaurant the benefit of the doubt, but in this case I just don't have any reason to. Based on my lousy experience, I'd say that Gladstone's relies entirely on their beachside location and ocean views to draw diners and tourists. Such mediocrity makes it all the more annoying that the website and menu are so full of hype. There's nothing like eating with an ocean breeze caressing your face, but the food and service at Gladstone's really aren't worth the high prices. For the same money, you could get some gourmet cheese and snacks at Whole Foods and have a picnic on the beach in a location that isn't an obnoxious bird magnet. For even less money and if it isn't Monday, you can enjoy some of the best Thai food in the city just up the street. If you get taken to Gladstone's against your will, save your hard-earned money and get by on a beer and a baked potato--it's hard to screw those up.

Gladstone's of Malibu (also known as Gladstone's 4 Fish)
17300 Pacific Coast Highway
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Gladstone's Website
Gladstone's Menu

Restaurant Review #194: Cafe Bizou, Sherman Oaks

Sesame coated salmon with potato pancakes and mushrooms in a burgundy wine sauce

Despite having eaten at over 200 restaurants in Los Angeles, when my parents come to town, I have a hard time figuring out where to take them. My adventurous tastebuds don't appear to be genetic, so my knowledge of local Japanese restaurants is lost on them. Thankfully, Cafe Bizou turned out to be a place that satisfied both my parents' desire to eat food they were familiar with in a restaurant unique to LA and my desire to eat something flavorful and well-prepared.


Halibut with vegetable strudel and mashed potatoes in a tomato garlic sauce

We made a reservation for dinner on a Friday night and were glad we had, because plenty of people were waiting when we arrived. There isn't actually much of a place to wait though, especially when it's raining outside, which made the entrance pretty cramped. Within the restaurant, the tables are better spaced than in most of LA's eateries. That being said, we had a difficult time creating enough space for our plates, glasses, and bread basket at our table for four.

All entrees and pasta dishes have the option of adding a cup of soup of the day or a romaine salad for $1. I'm not sure if I think the extra dollar is gimmicky or a good way for folks who don't want either to save a bit of cash. For a dollar, though, the portions were generously sized.


Steak au Poivre: Sliced steak served with mashed potatoes and vegetables in a brandy cream sauce

The best entree of the evening was the salmon (lead photo). Coming from someone who doesn't really care for salmon, that's saying a lot. If I go back, I'll definitely order this dish. The other two entrees we tried were also solidly prepared, albeit less unique. The vegetable strudel that accompanied the halibut could have used more flavor in the form of cheese, butter, or even a little extra salt. The steak was perfectly cooked, and every dish was attractively presented.


Flourless chocolate cake

The dessert choices were pretty standard. Amusingly, my parents thought that flourless chocolate cake was for people with dietary restrictions, so I ordered it so they could see what they were missing out on. Moist and lightweight instead of dry and heavy, the flourless chocolate cake was superb. The tiramisu, which I normally think is a dessert menu cliche, was extra moist and had clearly earned its spot on the menu.


Tiramisu

The best part of our meal at Cafe Bizou was, well, everything. If you're a regular reader (or a regular diner, period) you know how difficult it is to find a restaurant where the food, the atmosphere, and the service are all done well. For an evening out where there's something for everyone on the menu and everything works and tastes as it should, Cafe Bizou is an excellent choice.


Cafe Bizou
14016 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
818-788-3536
Cafe Bizou Menu
Cafe Bizou Map

Hours:
Lunch M-F 11:30 - 2:30
Dinner daily 5:00 to close (oh, I hate when places say that!)
Brunch Sat, Sun 11:00-2:30

Prices:
Appetizers and Soups $3 - $9
Entrees $13 - $20
Martinis $7 Wines by the glass and the bottle, or BYOB and pay corkage

Restaurant Review #188: The Black Cat, Cambria, CA

Sauteed shrimp and beet gnocchi

The Black Cat, a self-described American bistro and wine bar, is one of Cambria's top-rated restaurants. "That's not saying much," you may be thinking, given that Cambria is such a small town with about twenty restaurants total. Even if it were subjected to the rigors of the LA dining scene, however, The Black Cat would fare quite well. This isn't quite as surprising once you learn that the restaurant's owner and manager, Deborah Scarborough, lived in LA before opening the restaurant in the summer of 2002.


One room of the multi-room dining room

The Black Cat's cozy space is reminiscent of a home. Its multiple rooms are cheery and warm with yellow walls, white tablecloths, and wood floors. You'll want to make reservations, because the restaurant only seats 42 (though the wine bar has an additional 20 chairs). There's also an outdoor communal table, but it may be too chilly to enjoy dinner outside most of the year. The wine list features plenty of the local wines you would expect from a restaurant situated so close to Paso Robles, but there are also plenty of wines from every corner of the world.


Stuffed fried olives

I started my meal with a small plate of breaded fried olives stuffed with cheese and paired with a house-picked sherry. Normally, I'm a big fan of rich, creamy, full-bodied sherries with an endless nutty finish, but that wouldn't have been a good choice for a first course. The sherry that accompanied my olives was like a muted version of my favorite sherry - slightly sweet, still nutty, with a less protracted finish. It was a perfect match for the salty, tangy, warm olives.

The other small plate I tried was the sauteed shrimp and beet gnocchi (lead photo) with brandied lobster vanilla cream, toasted hazelnuts, and microgreens. The taste of the gnocchi is hard to describe — it was tangy and sweet, but also something else — substantial, for lack of a better word. Umami, perhaps? It’s a small but filling dish that tastes even better than it looks, and at $10, it's quite a good deal.

Next came the baby arugula and goat cheese salad with apples, shallots, crispy pancetta, toasted hazelnuts, walnut oil and aged sherry vinaigrette, and pomegranate molasses. Though the ingredient list sounds impressive, there really wasn't anything above and beyond about the flavor of the salad. It was tasty and well-executed, but nothing unique. Baby greens are the perfect date night lettuce because they're so easy to eat without making a mess (tell me I'm not the only one who can make a mess eating a salad).


Caramelized apple stuffed breast of pheasant
Pancetta, chestnut and celery root puree, haricot vert, thyme, calvados sauce

Normally I'm not carnivorous enough to jump into a dish as adventurous as stuffed pheasant (which I'd never had before), but I was in a curious mood. The pheasant reminded me of pork in that it didn't have a lot of flavor of its own and had to rely heavily on the pancetta (similar to bacon) for its flavor. The apple wasn't noticeable at all. The most interesting part of the dish was actually the chestnut and celery root puree, which had a surprising tang. It's not a dish I would order again, but I mostly enjoyed eating it simply because it was different.

I left my wine choice up to the restaurant again and was quite pleased. The Red Zepplin syrah, a central coast red, had a refreshingly unique flavor abundant with fruit, and I finished the whole glass, which I rarely do.


Natural prime beef filet
Boniata mash, housemade mole, mushrooms, fresh cilantro, chile lime butter, red cabbage lime mojo slaw, toasted almonds

The closest thing on the menu to a steak suffered from ingredient overkill. Mole is a sauce best left to the masters, not to bistros or Trader Joe's -- the real thing is just too complex to imitate well. The mushrooms were no more exciting than canned mushrooms, and the steak lost the spotlight amidst all the toppings. Boniata, a tropical American tuber similar to yucca, was an unusual but fitting alternative to the typical potato side. Overall, the dish had too many competing flavors, most of which would have shone even on their own. However, the filet was cooked perfectly and was very good quality meat. The presentation was very attractive, and the chile lime butter added a bit of a kick that made the dish much more interesting — its flavor was very subtle and didn’t dominate, but was definitely noticeable.


Chocolate souffle

I'm not even sure what the other dessert options were, because as soon as I heard "chocolate souffle" my dessert order was in. Souffles have to be ordered well in advance; fortunately, our waitress told us as we were ordering appetizers so we didn't have to wait. For me, this was the ideal chocolate dessert — neither too sweet nor too chocolatey. I wished I hadn't opted to share my dessert and found myself scraping the edges of the ramekin with my spoon, refusing to believe that the souffle was already gone.

Despite being away from the big city, you may have some difficulty finding parking here on crowded nights. There is a lot, but it's fairly small, so you may have to seek out street parking. Unlike in LA, however, you probably won't find yourself circling the block twenty times praying for a spot to open up.

Despite the food's imperfections and a long wait for the bill, I enjoyed my experience at The Black Cat. I had a prime back corner table that was quiet and not six inches away from our neighbors (unlike some tables -- Scarborough would have done well to leave that element of the Los Angeles dining scene far behind). Our waitress was friendly and unpretentious. The food, if not perfect, was at least interesting and thoughtfully conceived, and the wine pairings were excellent. Most bistros don't have many vegetarian options, partly due to short menus, but The Black Cat has a respectable selection of about eight items (including small plates). This place isn’t cheap, with entrees ranging from $15 to $32, but the quality of the food and service are worth the prices.

The Black Cat
1602 Main Street
Cambria, CA 93428
805.927.1600
Black Cat Website
Black Cat Menu

Tags:Bistro Cambria The Black Cat Deborah Scarborough