Jeni's

It was weekly television date night last night, and for part of it we once again got out of the house.  Dinner in our bellies, and before we watched what turned out to be a really not good movie, Van and I hopped in his car and headed over to the Highland Park neighbourhood of LA to a storefront location for Jeni's ice cream.  It's a cool, funky neighbourhood, sort of hipster, some great old buildings along and just off Figueroa.

I like ice cream, believe me.  It's a nice treat.  It's also not something I seek out a lot.  For one thing, my teeth can be a little sensitive to the cold.  For another, I find so many flavours a little boring, to be honest.  The cold dulls the intensity of flavours, and that doesn't help.  Van, however, LOVES ice cream (and, you know, Conrad really likes it a lot as well), and I was happy to tag along.  Besides which, I've enjoyed some of the Jeni's flavours found in the grocery store.  They're a little different without being too out there, and I appreciate that.

A cup for me, a cone for Van. 

He ended up with a super dark brownie batter ice cream and a honey vanilla.  I didn't mind the chocolate one - I usually don't care for dark chocolate ice cream (and I find chocolate flakes or chips to be a distraction from a good ice cream, by and large).  I went with two seasonal flavours:  the watermelon taffy and the strawberry pretzel pie. 

Not what I might normally get - I like caramels and similar flavours, especially if there is a little salt in it.  But the watermelon was like an intense sweet and sour candy, and the strawberry pretzel pie was reminiscent of a cheesecake.  Not a bad combo.

After we finished our treats, Van picked up four pints of assorted flavours, and it was home to Olive.  Nice little excursion on a warm summer night, though! 

third weekend in June

Weekend wrap-up time, my friends.  You've already had the Friday holiday report.  Now for the weekend proper.  Here we go!

Where did we start Saturday?  I mean, after the walk, that is (and a shorter walk than usual - it was on Saturday morning that we really noticed the smell of smoke from the warehouse fire in Los Angeles).  Amara Cafe, of course!  I wasn't very hungry thanks to the lamb dinner the night before, so I stuck with an empanada

and a decaf latte and that was entirely enough.

But gosh, we got a lot done on Saturday:  the walk, groceries, four loads of laundry, two open houses (we are kind of sort of not really looking at condos), more travel planning, running the dishwasher, a stop for ice cream at Afters,

dinner and some television, a nap.  It's nice to feel accomplished, and we did.

Yesterday was lower key.  Not because we were tired or anything, no.  The air quality was still not great, and we wanted a bit of a lazy morning, so we stayed in and had coffee and ate lightly.  I did some sorting of things in my drawers and Conrad did some paperwork at his computer.  I also made some dinners for him so that when I'm at Van's tonight, he won't go hungry!  All in all, low key.  Shall I confess that I was listening to Christmas music to take an afternoon nap?  Hardly a surprise to anyone who knows me, I think.

We did, however, venture out yesterday evening.  Van came by, and the three of us went over to Union for an early dinner reservation. 

I can't recall the last time we ate there.  I have enjoyed it in the past, but I was also a little startled to see that their menu hasn't changed much.  I know, I know:  the Maestro menu hasn't changed substantively in years, and we still go and enjoy that.  I will say that the carrots were nice

and that the olive oil cake was good (and quite a portion!)

and that the bread was crusty. 

The meatballs were fine if a little solid and might have included a little more sauce. 

The spaghetti was also fine, but I remember it being plated more tidily and just having a little something better about it that I can't quite put my finger on.  The restaurant has expanded as well, opening up a back dining area that a friend had told us she rather didn't like.  I agree.  The front has a cool Italian bistro feel, the back is like being in a side room at a brewpub restaurant.  A disconnect between the spaces.  I did like that it was a little quieter and more spacious, though.

After that we wandered to the movies.  27 fricking minutes of commercials and previews later, the show started.  Stop! That! Train!  It was light and amusing.  A fun diversion.  Nice to see various drag queens and other familiar faces.

We got home, and that was that.  Van headed back to Olive, Conrad and I headed to bed.  A three-day weekend had finished, and it wasn't half bad, I have to say! 

Kingfisher/Artifact

Let's focus on two great meals from this past week's short jaunt down to San Diego.  Wednesday night at Kingfisher, Thursday night at ARTIFACT at Mingei, very different cuisines, very enjoyable experiences.  I love when meals out are so terrific that I can happily write blog entries to spotlight them.  That's the case here, so let's dive in!

I've been to Kingfisher

a few times now.  We knew of it through a Maestro connection.  Van (same spelling, different pronunciation from our Van) was a much-beloved bartender at Maestro for years, but he eventually left and is now part of the team at Kingfisher. 

We duly asked for seating at the bar so that we could chat with him when possible.  And you know that he took very good care of us.  The cocktails were the star of the show, but I'll say that the food was terrific as it has been before.  The Restaurant Week menu was a great price, so we opted for that and left with full bellies.  A run down of what we ate and drank, then...

• The Saigon Moped, a refreshing, light, not-too-sweet cocktail to start with.
  
  
  
• Kampachi crudo and beef tartare to start with.  I enjoyed both, especially the tartare which came with fresh herbs and lettuce and rice crisps to make rolls or tostada-like bites.
  
  
  
• The Water Buffalo.  The weirdest drink I've had in, oh forever.  Very umami, and I find that I am responding to more savoury flavours in cocktails these days.  It was made in part with clarified Phở reduction.  I don't even know how they would have come up with that.  I liked it, for the record, but I couldn't stop trying to figure it out, and so more than liking it, I was excited and intrigued by it.
  
  
  
• Congee with wild mushrooms and delicata squash.  I love porridges, and congee is no exception.  And yes, I willingly ate mushrooms because I could trust this restaurant that they were good mushrooms.
  
  
  
• Black cod.  Such a tasty sauce, and mustard greens!  Honestly, if they had sent it out without the cod and with the buttered rice it came with, I would have been perfectly content.
  
  
  
• The Sesame Soiree.  My dessert cocktail.  I've had this one (and the Saigon Moped) previously, and I was happy to have it again.
  
  
  
• Vanilla flan with a Vietnamese coffee syrup and black truffle ice cream.  I liked them, and the black truffle ice cream lived up to its name.  Very funky and weird, and we devoured it.  I'm glad Conrad liked it as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Then Van sent out a serving of bread pudding with roasted banana ice cream.  And that, too, was a delight, but boy, were we stuffed.  We couldn't refuse it, and it was tasty, but belly-clutching time after that.
  
  
  

We said our goodbyes shortly after that, happy to have been back to Kingfisher, and headed to our hotel.

Thursday night we headed up to Balboa Park to Mingei, one of the museums, and to its restaurant, ARTIFACT.  ARTIFACT is usually only open for lunches and afternoons, but it does Friday dinners, and it has hosted a special monthly dinner for four years now.  We learned that last bit when one of the chefs/co-owners dropped by the table to say hello and chat a moment.  I had been fishing around online for where we should have our other San Diego dinner, and I stumbled upon the availability of the special dinner.  And the theme?  Nordic!  In view of this being a Christmas present trip for my husband who is descended from Swedes through all of his grandparents, this was a no-brainer.  He was tickled when he learned about it, and we were looking forward to a lovely meal.

Friends, they did not disappoint.  The space was very spare,

but the dining area was totally occupied.  People kept coming in right up until 8:30, so clearly the dinners have a good reputation.  We chatted with both chefs, and the other staff were all very nice and appropriately attentive.  And we liked the food.  Oh, sure, we can absolutely quibble over how Nordic some things were, but we looked at it as an interesting interpretation using local products and from a kitchen that doesn't normally cook this way.  Fully authentic?  No.  True in spirit?  Yes.  Enjoyable?  For sure!  Course by course, then...

• Conrad opted for a martini from the simple bar, and it was quite fine.  I tried the Fjord and Field, and it was surprisingly tart.  Not overly so, but it used cranberry and meant it.  A good drink to begin.  We opted for wines by the glass after that although Conrad didn't care for the second glass, the merlot, all that much.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Danish smørrebrød, both rye and crispbread.  Toppings were cultured butter, boiled egg with cured cod roe, caramelized sunchoke and browned cream, and shrimp salad.  The butter was butter, the egg was a tasty egg salad, the shrimp were briny rather than sweet, and the sunchoke was eye-opening.  I asked Conrad what he thought of his first taste, and he had the same reaction:  it was like peanut butter.  And we mean that in a very good way.  Oh, everything was good, honestly - I actually really loved having a smear of butter then some of the egg.  But that sunchoke was such a terrific surprise.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Seaweed cured california halibut crudo with boiled potato, pickled mustard seed, celery root buttermilk sauce, and sorrel.  From a good start to an even better second.  Get a little of everything on your fork, and it was superb.  It was also a nicely generous portion.
  
  
  
• Smoked bison with leek top and kohlrabi puree, red currant demi, and red cabbage.  Again, get some of each on your fork, and it all made a lot of sense.  I also appreciated that it wasn't an overly generous portion as it was a little heavier and richer.  
  
  
  
• Cardamom vafflor (Scandinavian waffle) with rosehip sauce and an almond and honey mousse.  Waffles, like pancakes, are a tricky thing to serve because of they sit, they become less fluffy and delightful.  I sort of felt that happened with the waffle here.  The star of the plate was the rosehip sauce, though, and there was plenty to mop up.  I didn't love the dessert, but it was fine.
  
  
  

We kind of wish we went to San Diego more often so that we could take advantage of these dinners.  We really loved it.  A quick Uber back to the hotel after that, some reading, and Conrad was snoring away by 10:30.  Our two San Diego dinners were an utter success. 

second weekend in September

So, you already know that we spent last Friday evening with Van and Olive over at the condo, but how did the rest of the weekend, you wonder?  Well then, let me tell you....

Friday afternoon, after I was done work, Conrad and I drove over to Glendale to the Brand Library and Art Center, part of that city's public library system. 

A friend of mine from Chicago, Doug, had a piece in Brand 53: 53rd Annual National Juried Exhibition of Works on Paper, and I wanted to get over to see it before the show closed.  Handsome little piece,

and I liked the show overall.  There was a large work there for a mere $15,000 that I would not have minded seeing in my home, provided I won a lottery and had a new, big home with some blank walls!

Saturday morning I got out on a walk without Conrad.  Indeed, he rather slept in that morning, and it was far later than usual that I got him out to door and down to Amara for breakfast. 

We did stuff around the condo on Saturday, then made our way to Van and Olive

later on for dinner out on the deck, where Van had done some replanting of his pots. 

Last Words all around,

and cheers to us enjoying that together.

I got up yesterday morning, and I admit, I just did not want to go out walking all around town.  I took myself grocery shopping instead (and look!  TJ's has the salted maple ice cream back in stock for the autumn),

then came home to make Conrad and me pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  I did spend much of the day cooking some food for Conrad because I head out of town on Wednesday (and I'm at Van's tonight), and then he and I grabbed a nap before moseying over to Maestro for an overdue dinner there.  Cocktails (Last Word for him,

a mezcal negroni

and then a Jungle Bird for me),

queso fundido,

beet salad,

the chicken mole

- it was so good to be back.  What an odd year we've had, it feels, of trying to be regulars at our favourite places!

And then this morning, it was up and at 'em, on foot for a handful of miles in the fog (that did burn off by the time I was done)

before making myself pretty and getting the work week started.

That concludes the weekend report!