Gwen

Conrad gets back later today, gone to Chicago for conference since this past Saturday.  Ugh, what a drive to the airport that was, what with ramps onto the 110 closed off and with no warning as we approached.  Sigh.

Anyway, Conrad made it to Chicago no problem, and Van and I decided to get out of Pasadena for a date night out.  Gwen was his suggestion, and it was a good suggestion, indeed.

I'd seen Chef Curtis Stone appear as a judge or guest on Top Chef a couple of times, and I know that he is respected, but I didn't know much else.  I had assumed that because he was Australian, his restaurants were all there.  Apparently not, though.  Gwen is parked in Hollywood and is a Michelin one-star, I believe.  Based on the terrific service (the food was good, I promise), I can see why.  Van and I both commented on how much we appreciate the service there.  It really makes a difference in a dining experience.

So then, Saturday afternoon we got a little dressed up

(I always feel like I should, but then I see how other people dress for dining out nicely and I wonder why I bother) and drove over.  What a handsome space it is there. 

Love the Art Deco touches.  We waited a short bit and then were seated.  Again, a nice space.  Maybe too loud for Conrad, but a nice space.Cocktails to start, a Mai Tai for Van and a Vesper for me. 

We settled in for a nice meal.

We could have greatly indulged.  The wine list was terrific, and there were many smaller plates that looked appealing as well as some mighty fine meats.  We kept it relatively light and simple, though.  There was a trip of amuses-bouches: 

a consomme with shitake mushroom, a gougere, and a little beef tartare in a shiso leaf

(I ate Van's).  We also shared the English peas appetizer which, as the server promised, was more about the morels that were filled with shrimp. 

That foam/sauce was so good, and we really needed more of the hot, crusty bread to mop it all up.

Gwen prides itself on butchery and sells cuts of meats for cooking at home.  Given that, we knew we had to have a steak.  We opted for a 14 ounce New York strip.  What was interesting was, they didn't ask us how we wanted it cooked.  Van likes his steaks a little less rare than I do, but he didn't have a problem with it.  The steak came out sliced for us with a little roasted onion on the side. 

We also had the duck fat potatoes,

and there was a jus to spoon over the meat.  It was entirely satisfying.  Everything was salted just right, too, which I greatly appreciated.  We didn't rush over the dining, just enjoyed each bite.

We told the server we were saving room for dessert, and we didn't lie.  All of them sounded tempting, and in the end we chose the apple mille-feuille with miso-caramel. 

A good mix of sweet, tangy, and salty/savoury.  Yum!

Gwen is not an inexpensive meal although you don't have to break the bank to go there.  It's also not near us, so it won't be a regular place to go back to.  But I can happily see returning for another date night or to take visitors there.  Heck, I'd love to meet a friend like, say, Denny at the bar and have a cocktail and bite.  I'm glad Van suggested it.  We had a lovely date night all in all. 

the lead-up to Christmas

I'm writing this after dinner on Boxing Day, leftovers from Christmas (of course!).  It's a nice, easy evening, which aligns with the past couple of days.  Rain aside (and we do need rain, but less at one time and more often), it's been just the most delightful Christmas in some time.  No entertaining, little cooking.  A really good time of it.

Christmas Eve eve, the 23rd, Conrad and I took ourselves to Maestro for the last time this year.  We're heading out of town Sunday, and we have leftovers still to eat, so yes, our last time.  We sat at the bar, as usual, and had drinks to start.  I've been loving the Fall Sour that they've had as a seasonal cocktail lately, so I had that. 

Conrad went with a Last Word. 

I love that he loves those so much.  We shared plantain chips with guacamole

and then the lamb shank, which was a huge portion, wow!

It was an early dinner, and we had the rest of the evening to enjoy, so we came home and put on some Christmas music and read.  I enjoyed a chocolate martini as well. 

The night wound down, we headed to bed, eager for Christmas Eve.

And then it was Christmas Eve.  And it was raining. 

We have a rain gauge on our roof, and it recorded almost 5 inches of rain on December 24 alone.  Official records are sure to be less, but we still had a month of rain in one day, more or less.  Conrad and I made our way - with umbrellas! - to Amara to enjoy breakfast sitting inside,

then came home to toss our clothes in the dryer and relax before heading out on errands.  We got things done on Wednesday:  picking up food, wrapping a few gifts, setting the table for Christmas. 

An accomplished day, not an overwhelming one.  We even made time to swing down by the Rose Bowl to see how much water was running in the channel through the arroyo. 

The answer:  clearly more than usual!

By the end of the afternoon, we were organized and packing up the car and heading to Van's for the evening an overnight.  We had presents to put under his tree

(and one to open early

so that we could use them for the cocktails).  Pre-dinner drinks,

and then a BC wine with dinner (2023 Joie Noble Blend). 

Van made us lobster tails and baked potatoes and peas,

and we dined very well, indeed.  Bellies full, we unwound after dinner (and Olive found her way over to her favoured Plan C). 

There was dessert, but even better, there were Grasshopper cocktails to sip after dinner.

We went to bed by 11, awaiting Santa.  No, not really, but the nostalgia of that is fun!  Just the same, though, we'd had a lovely couple of days in the lead-up to Christmas, and more enjoyable time was to come. 

home cooking again

After so many days away, it can genuinely feel like I've not been in my kitchen cooking a thing for years on years.  I'm such a drama queen, I know.

Monday, after work, I came home and got my apron on.  Chicken pieces went into a bag with some herbs and garlic and red wine.  After a suitable period, I took them out, dusted them with flour, browned them, and put them into a casserole.  The red wine and herbs became the basis for a sauce that included tomatoes, olives, more garlic, and anchovies.  Into the oven with it all, covered, and an hour and a half later we had some chicken cacciatore!  While that was oven-braising, I made some polenta.  That turned out nicely.  A little broccoli on the side for a bit of green, and that was Monday dinner.  And tonight's leftovers!

Yesterday I was over at Van's.  I had left Conrad with a re-heatable meal of pork tenderloin, roasted carrots, and cabbage wedges roasted with prosciutto, so he was taken care of.  Van and I had a television night planned - the season debut of Bachelor in Paradise.  Yes, I watch that.  Anyway, I stopped at the store en route to Van's and grabbed us a couple of little filets.  I cooked them up in a skillet and topped them each with some lightly charred tomato, red onion, and mint relish.  All of this I set atop a mound of mashed potatoes and some wilted Tuscan kale.  Not a bad little midweek meal!

Christmas Eve 2024

Our first full day with Marie was a good one, and not just because I sent her out to enjoy some time outside of the condo, having lunch and hanging out with Van.  No, it was just a nice day all in all.

Marie's been having some back pain, so we didn't do our usual walk (and I am still battling a low grade cold and sleeping in a whole lot).  We did make it down to Amara for breakfast, though, which was nice.  We picked up the pan de jamon for the next day as well.  Not long after we got back, we headed back out to Delight to pick up the Bûche de Noël for Christmas dinner.  I confess, I couldn't resist the special Christmas raspberry-filled croissant.

Those errands done, I set to work in the kitchen and Marie went out to enjoy her day.  I got some cooking done, Conrad and I popped out to see about one or two other things, then I got to organizing the stockings. 

By end of afternoon, the condo was fully ready for the next day, and we headed over to Van's, full of Christmas cheer

and ready to give Olive some loving.

I love when other people do the cooking.  Oh, sure, I made cocktails and did prep work for the dinner, but Van did the real cooking.

 

A simple meal - three items on the plate.  But three good ones.  Lobster tails!  Loaded baked potatoes!  And green beans for a hint of veg. 

We enjoyed cocktails before dinner, wine with dinner, and Marie and I indulged in some limoncello afterward.

The rest of the evening before bed was devoted to a bit of television, watching the documentary on the making and legacy of Wham's Last Christmas. 

I caught a cute video of the three of them singing and clapping along to the song, but I shall keep that to myself rather than post it here.  Olive did not see any doggies on screen to park at, so she stayed mellow the rest of the evening.

To bed with us.  Christmas was almost upon us, and it would be a good day, too!

dinner and a show

I told you that there would be more to come this week, and here we are!  A report out on a nice evening.  Ready?  Let's go!

A while back I saw an ad pop up on my Instagram feed for a production of La Cage aux Folles at the Pasadena Playhouse.  Now, I should explain:  I'm not much for live theatre.  Never gotten into it.  Oh, we saw Ron earlier this year.  And I have been to the Playhouse before.  Twice.  Twice only in a dozen years, and the first time was a musical production of Sleepless in Seattle that was pretty terrible.  I did enjoy seeing Fun Home a handful of years ago at the Ahmanson, but we're still at fewer than one time a year going to see a play or musical.  It's just the way we're wired, perhaps.

Anyway, I suggested to Conrad and Van that we go to the play for a change of pace, and the response was ambivalent at best.  So I set it aside and didn't think about it again.  And then Van and I went to Bar Chelou one night last month, and that visit coincided with the opening of La Cage, and boy, was it a big hoopla.  Actual celebrities there.  A big, gay crowd.  That set me to thinking maybe we should reconsider, and the guys were amenable.  I bought us tickets.

A show at the playhouse meant a dinner opportunity for the three of us at the restaurant that shares the complex:  Bar Chelou.  Conrad had not been there before, so it was a great opportunity to bring him there.  Van booked us early seats at the bar,

and we were able to have a leisurely meal.  Cocktails to start

- a Gibson for me that I vacillated between enjoying and finding too sweet. 

And then on to an array of food that we all shared:

• Crispy potatoes - so soft inside, they were like fried gnocchi
  
  
  
• Breakfast radishes with fromage blanc - these came with some toasted bread and made a nice, light bite
  
  
  
• Carrots - a dish they have become known for, a little peanut-y, the best carrot salad I have had because it goes savoury rather than embrace the sweet
  
  
  
• Sprouting cauliflower - served with a sauce that I still want atop a nice steak
  
  
  
• Pork chop with cabbage - simple and good, but perhaps my least favourite of the night, which sounds critical but isn't meant to be
  
  
  

Conrad was still a bit hungry, and we agreed, so we ordered a bit more

• Burrata toast with ham - the pickled peppers were piquant, he says, alliteratively
  
  
  
• Duck leg with couscous - so glad we tried this, and one I want to have again
  
  
  

And, of course, we had to have dessert!  We shared the caramelized banana bar and enjoyed it a great deal.

From there it was across the courtyard to the theatre

and our seats. 

No, no photos of the performance, of course not.  Not allowed.  And that's fine!  It's good to enjoy something.  We did enjoy it, for sure.  It's funny, I've been reading the reviews of La Cage aux Folles this morning, and they are decidedly mixed.  The LA Times gave it a generally good review, including praise for Cheyenne Jackson, one of the leads.  Another online publication said that Jackson (who is 49) is too young to play a papa and too beefcake-y.  Jeff Kahoon, who played the other lead, comes in for some praise but more criticism for not nailing the roll and the singing as previous actors have.  The young couple whose engagement sets off the conflict are praised for their performances.  And the drag queen troupe gets mixed reviews.

Not our experience.  We loved Jackson and Kahoon, we thought that the young couple were the weak spot in the production, and we delighted in the drag queens.  But I will concede a point a read, that the production is more fun than emotionally relatable.  And that's fine!  Conrad asked me this morning how much tickets were ($44 each), and we agreed that we very much got a lot for that.  A show we all enjoyed, one we left the theatre feeling great about.

A Wednesday night dinner and show, not our usual midweek night.  And a long night, too!  Totally worth it.