Viva Madrid | Claremont, CA
After a long short day of skiing, my friend Adam and I decided to meet up with one of his friends on the way home to LA, so we stopped in Claremont. Down town Claremont is very nice, clean, and quaint, but just down this hallway, before the bathrooms, and next to the confessional, there is a set of doors that leads you into a small and very intimate space. She was right when she said that this place was a local hangout and not too many “outsiders” knew about it. I tend not to disagree with her on this one.
When you walk into this one room space, all you notice is tables, tables, tables; pushed into every corner of the restaurant with just enough room for one person to walk through or get in and out of your seat without hitting the person behind you. I tend to like places like this, where they can concentrate on each customer without being overloaded. Needless to say, when we were hungry, our server was right there.
Coming from an Italian family with many italian friends, I have never been a fan of sangria, but I have learned to get into it since I have moved out here, and I would highly recommend their red sangria.
Overall, this place had many tasty things on the menu, such as the bacon wrapped dates.
Bacon wrapped dates
Cmon, we all know everything is better wrapped in bacon!
Their muscles…
Muscles
the chicken empanadas…
Chicken Empenada
And even shrimp in a tasty aioli..
Shrimp Aioli
But I do want to mention a couple of dishes that I could have done without and one that was slightly surprising.
Squid in its own ink:
I have had squid before in many different ways, fried, bbq’d, etc, but whenI saw this on the menu, I had to try it. Its like cooking a steak in milk, kinda seems a little, hmmm.. i have to remember the word my friend used for it, but anyway. This was more of a mental block for my dinner companions, they just couldn’t wrap their heads around the concept. If you didn’t know any better, by first look, its in this fairly thin black liquid, which in all honesty didnt look very appetizing, but for this show, I had to try at least once. And it was nothing like it looked. Although the squid doesn’t really soak up a lot of flavor, the sauce brings a garlic and onion flavor. The ink was surprisingly neutral flavor.
Squid in its own ink
Peach Bread:
I can’t remember exactly what this is called, but you would know it if you read it on the menu. I can always appreciate a new dish, but this was not impressive. I love peaches, and I love blue cheese, but they should really never come together. Our server said some people liked it and some didn’t. Here is my impression: At first bite, the peach is very well done, not too sweet, not too tart, and very tender, but then there is a slight aftertaste that is a little off about it. I won’t use my exact phrase to describe it, but these things should not go together. And while my friends were trying to figure out the flavor, as soon as I mentioned it, they agreed. Needless to say, no bueno.
Peach Bread
Strawberries on a 4 cheese bed:
This was a dessert selection, and wasn’t on any menu, but it sounded like something we had to try. Again, stop with pairing these fruits and cheeses please! Very well marinated strawberries in a little strawberry reduction over these boats of cheese, looked pretty, but again, I don’t know what people think sometimes. They worked well separately, but eating the whole thing was not a good idea. The cheese tasted like something I could have got out of a can. I was not impressed with this dish. Although… get a order of creme brûlée and have that with the strawberries.. that worked out very well!
Strawberries on 4 cheese fondue
All in all, I would go back to this place. Its not a quiet place by any stretch of the imagination, but I will warn you that the clientele has a keen sense to go silent as soon as you are in the middle of a juicy story or punchline. As happened to me a couple times. Great place for something quick to start your night.
Price:
We had 6 main tapas dishes, a liter of sangria, which easily gave three of us 2 full glasses, 2 desserts, and a couple cups of coffee, the total bill came out to about $75. I would highly recommend this type of place as a starter and could probably get out for around $20-$25 for 2 with a generous selection of meals. Not a bad way to start the night!
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Terroni | Los Angeles
Before I went on a 2 week cleanse, I wanted get a little dressed up and have a nice meal. So a friend of min suggested a little place in Los Angeles called Terroni, just east of the Grove on Beverly Blvd. This is one of those places that you could miss if you were not paying attention. As you walk in, you notice the tight quarters of all of the two tops and larger tables along with the open kitchen and wine bar. You would think that this would be a louder place than it is. But the conversation that I had with my friend was was really easy. But I did notice that the couple next to us stopped many times to listen to what we had to say. The menu is a little confusing, all of the dishes are in italian and can be overwhelming, but there are explanations of each dish under the names. The wine list is rather limited in wine types, but the variety rather impressive from vintage to vineyard and region.
Piatto a Stutare
We started with the Piatto a Stutare (Prosciutto San Daniele, burrata, grilled fresh artichokes, mint & extra-virgin olive oil). Now Im almost addicted to prosciutto, so this was an amazing starter. The meat is sliced very thin and had a buttery finishing note. The burrata and artichoke gave it an added freshness that worked well on the tongue and gave it a lighter taste.
Santo Stefano
Since our dinner was rather late, I wanted to have a lighter dish as a main, so we shared this Santo Stefano pizza (Tomato, buffalo milk mozzarella, fresh arugola & prosciutto di Parma). What can I say, this hit the spot. Nothing on the pizza contracted or overpowered each other. The prosciutto di Parma has a distinctly different taste than the San Daniele and paired well with dollops of buffalo mozzarella and light tomato sauce. This is one of those pizzas that is satisfying but has no guilt. Now if I could only get it more often! All in all, Terroni is a great casual to dressy place, with prices in the high teens per dish or daily specials in the upper twenties, our dinner was about $75 for 2, which included 2 glasses of wine, the plates you see here, and coffee afterward. These dishes were more than enough for a quick nosh, but if you are looking for a couple appetizers and 2 main dishes with drinks, be prepared to spend another $50. Not an every day hitter, but a great place for a nice dinner on occassion.
I still need to figure out a ratings system. I would give it 4 out of 5 for now …
Noir Food & Wine: Pasadena, CA
I know, its been a while since I’ve actually posted something, and I will have to remedy that. I have taken the lazy route and just too the intagr.am pictures. I will have to get back into my foodie ways and go out toe some great places soon! I am a little rusty, so please forgive the review. I need to get back into form!
Anyway, let me tell you about this place I went to last night with a neighbor of mine called Noir Food & Wine. After only 8 months, I am still a newbie to the LA area, so most of the things that I have found are on pretty main streets, but this one is tucked quietly off on a side street with a fairly unassuming entrance, right next to a, from what I have heard, pretty popular comedy club called Ice House.
Simple and elegant come to mind when you walk into this place. A couple small rooms with 2 bars and small intimate tables with just enough room for one person to walk without running into someone. Traffic stops when food comes out. Anyway, so we sit down, and my friend used to call this place home so she schools me on the ins and outs of the restaurant. The owner is originally from Louisiana, so all of the dishes are relatively simple with a Louisiana flare, (and a really nice guy, he came out to talk with us during dessert.)
This is a small plate restaurant, everything is served tapas style. We started off with a couple of wine flights. I had a Malbec flight of three wines, (at this point, I honestly forgot to take pictures of the menu, but there I was), paired with a cheese plate with some slices meats, nuts, honey, and a preserve. Im a sucker for wine and cheese, so this was a perfect start to the meal to get me into the mood.
While we were waiting for a main course, we ordered Crab Fritters. This was a perfect light intermediary dish; lightly battered and fried, served with a couple of dipping sauces, a light tartar and a dijon style mustard. My main course was the Hanger Steak, medium rare of course! The steak was cooked to perfection served a in wine reduction with veggies. Ever bite was savory and perfectly tender.
Hanger Steak @ Noir Food & Wine, Pasadena, CA
As if this was not enough, after the main dinner, we went to the front bar for dessert. Now I will say, this was definitely the right call. You sit in again, simple elegance with white upholstered high chairs looking at the wine selection. I had a nice port wine with their Chocolate Terrine. Talk about heaven on a plate. Its a thick chocolate custard served with a raspberry reduction and fresh berries. That was worth the whole meal!
Chocolate Terrine @ Noir Food & Wine, Pasadena, CA
All said and done, this place is simple, elegant, and classy. A little on the pricy side. Dinner for 2 with wine and dessert was about $250. But this is definitely a great experience that is something that can be saved for a special occasion and would highly recommend it.
http://www.noirfoodandwine.com/
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