Andy Gavin's Blog, page 19
June 29, 2024
Wuming Hot Pot
Restaurant: Wuming Hot Pot
Location: 529 E Valley Blvd #168, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 656-6568
Date: August 20, 2023
Cuisine: Chinese Hot Pot
Rating: Just okay mid-end hot pot
_In our slow motion question to try all the decent hot pots in the SGV we end up at Wuming.
Nice updated decor. Details reveal a lot of SGV-style DM.
We ran into the manager from 1968.
Sauce and snack bar is decent, but missing the intriguing fermented stuff I like at the best bars.
My usual two sauces.
Brent bro...
June 27, 2024
Dong Ting Spring
Restaurant: Dong Ting Spring
Location: 520 N Ventu Park Rd Ste. 150, Newbury Park, CA 91320. (805) 262-0888
Date: August 12, 2023
Cuisine: Hunan
Rating: A great Hunan in Thousand Oaks? Wow!
_A friend of mine invited me to try this Thousand Oaks Chinese. He said it was authentic but I was skeptical.
It turns out he was right! I can only imagine what happens to a typical white 1000 oaks mall dweller when they wander in and see “Dong Ting Pig Stomach” on the menu.
2000ish strip mall interior....
June 25, 2024
Baar Baar
Restaurant: Baar Baar
Location: 705 W 9th St, Los Angeles, CA 90015. (213) 266-8989
Date: August 9, 2023
Cuisine: Modern Indian
Rating: Very tasty
_Erick and I haven’t seen each other in 2 months because we were both traveling (him longer than me). So when he got back we went out just the two of us to try this new downtown modern Indian located in the old Faith and Flower space.
Attractive modern space.
The menu.
Cauliflower 65. Carrot Pachadi, peanut theca, pickled kumquat, curry l...
June 23, 2024
Tony Lau Colette
Location: 975 N Michillinda Ave, Pasadena, CA 91107. (626) 510-6286
Date: October 29, 2023
Cuisine: Contemporary Chinese
Rating: Weird Tony Lau dinner
_There is a lot of buzz about Colette, which is part of the “next generation” of LA Chinese restaurants. They opened in a cafe-like space and are serving both Cantonese-esqe and dim sum. From their website:
Colette is a Cantonese-based creative Asian restaurant that welcomes people from all walks of life for all occ...
June 21, 2024
Roccos Redux
Restaurant: Dinner at the Borgese’s [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
Location: Santa Monica
Date: August 2, 2023
Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking
Rating: Awesome
_Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple. Tonight’s dinner was another Hedonist dinner featuring whole lamb.
Lovely night out on the patio.
The menu.
Bistecca chilling out.
Rocco in the kitchen.
The dead and dying shrimp sec...
June 18, 2024
Feel the Mistral
Restaurant: Mistral
Location: 13422 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. (818) 981-6650
Date: August 1, 2023
Cuisine: French
Rating: Old school, but good
_I haven’t been to Mistral in a long long time. It’s an old school Sherman Oaks French place, common in the 90s but now a nearly vanished breed.
Tonight was a hybrid of Hedonists and George who has been going here for decades.
We had this lovely patio table.
They turned the parking lot into patio during the pandemic.
Bread.
Gougères. ...
June 16, 2024
Colette at Night
Location: 975 N Michillinda Ave, Pasadena, CA 91107. (626) 510-6286
Date: July 30, October 29, 2023 and March 03, 2024
Cuisine: Contemporary Chinese
Rating: Pretty great for dinner if you order correctly
_There is a lot of buzz about Colette, which is part of the “next generation” of LA Chinese restaurants. They opened in a cafe-like space and are serving both Cantonese-esqe and dim sum. From their website:
Colette is a Cantonese-based creative Asian restaurant that ...
June 14, 2024
Mon Ami de Santa Monica
Restaurant: Mon Ami
Location: 1541 Ocean Ave Suite 150, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (424) 645-5550
Date: July 29, 2023
Cuisine: 2020s American? Some Levantine influences?
Rating: Tasty, nice courtyard
_I’ve eaten in this space as several restaurants — it appears to be cursed due to its hidden courtyard location.
From the website:
Mon Ami is the true Mediterranean experience, with an emphasis of a variety of culinary dishes and spices and inspired spirits with an enhanced flair attached to it from ...
June 12, 2024
Home on the Grange
Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
Location: 419 Cold Canyon Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302 (818) 222-3888
Date: July 27, 2023
Cuisine: Modern American
Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.
_Ever year, both in the summer and winter, we Hedonists return to Saddle Peak Lodge. It’s pretty much the perfect venue for both a winter or summer food and wine blast, with gorgeous lodge patio, game driven food, and awesome wine service. For those of you who don’t ...
June 10, 2024
Royce Return
Restaurant: The Royce Wood Fired Steakhouse [ 1, 2 ]
Location: 1401 S Oak Knoll Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106. (626) 585-6410
Date: July 25, 2023
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Rating: One of LA’s best
_For years some of the guys have been talking about how good the Pasadena steakhouse, The Royce is…
So I figured I’d give it a try — particularly given that we were doing (mostly) Grange night.
It’s located inside the Langham hotel in Pasadena — which is right by the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanica...
