January 27, 2012

dineLA lunch at Cafe Pinot & The Mystery of Chicken Oysters

Posted by the minty under dessert, dtla lunch, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews, tasting menu | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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fried chicken oysters

It’s that time of year again. As part of my whirlwind tour of dineLA restaurants around town, I landed at Cafe Pinot for lunch.

What are chicken oysters, you might ask? Apparently it’s a nub of meat near chicken thighs. When I saw Cafe Pinot was offering fried chicken oysters as part of their dineLA menu, I was intrigued but didn’t know exactly what it was. The word “oysters” made me think of some other kinds of oysters. But happily it wasn’t those er, delicate parts.

There’s something about fried chicken that’s always good but eating the fried chicken oysters made the adventurous foodie in me very happy.

lobster bisque

tuna tonnato

The other choices are the lobster bisque and tuna tonnato for the first course. The lobster bisque was a work of art. It was almost too pretty to disrupt the Jackson Pollack-looking surface.

And the tuna was very fresh. I liked the capers and aioli it was served with.

flat iron steak

The steak looked so prominent and was quite perfect for the business lunch crowd at Cafe Pinot. It was jazzed up with candied Moroccan olives and a vadouvan goat cheese mousse. It was perfectly cooked at medium rare.

Japanese Hokkaido scallops

I chose the Japanese Hokkaido scallops. And like classic Japanese block prints, this was a work of art. The thinly shaved mushrooms, the sprinkle of spice, the garlic veloute worked wonderfully with the delicate scallops.

The other choice is the carrot braised pork. We were told it is a shredded pork with lentils and a ginger emulsion.

creme fraiche panna cotta

red currant brioche bread pudding

For dessert, I nabbed the red currant brioche bread pudding. The pudding was very light and flaky and came with vanilla whipped creme fraiche. I liked that it came with salted caramel as well. I also had a taste of the creme fraiche panna cotta. Loved the thinly sliced crab apples on top.

The other dessert choice is ricotta fritters which sounded awesome with a tangerine sauce. The ricotta is even house made.

I was trying to decide which was the best seat at Cafe Pinot. The patio overlooks the Central Library and you see all walks of life. There is another outdoors patio that is more intimate off to the side. It’s almost like a balcony and seemed really romantic and secluded.

Cafe Pinot hasn’t announced their new executive chef yet but if you go for dineLA or any other time, you just might see a certain quirky mustachioed chef. He comes from a fine dining background and it really shows in the artistry of the plating and elegance of the food.

Cafe Pinot

700 West 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 239-6500

** previous Cafe Pinot meal

 

June 13, 2011

City of Angels Wine Fest Recap

Posted by the minty under food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews, wine tasting | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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On Memorial Day, I went to the City of Angels Wine Fest presented by the Rotary Club of Los Angeles to benefit Volunteers of America and their commitment to helping the homeless transition to jobs.

Grilling at Nick & Stef's booth

Nick & Stef's beef

Chef Megan Logan pictured above grilling shrimp. Nick & Stef’s also gave out BBQ beef crostini.

Nick & Stef's shrimp

I was really kind of bummed to get only 4 tickets for food. It made deciding what to get very difficult. The shrimp was easily my favorite bite of the day.

meatballs from Zucca

Zucca was on hand with salad and meatballs. I opted to use one ticket on the meatballs.

Cafe Pinot

Cafe Pinot smoked trout

And then I used a ticket for the smoked trout from Cafe Pinot. I wish I had another ticket to try the panna cotta.

fried herring from Kendalls

Fortunately, I did have a guest and we ended up splitting our tickets to maximize our fooding. I really enjoyed these fried herrings from Kendalls. Mm, snacky fishies! I usually just go for a post-show drink at Kendalls after seeing something at the Music Center but now I’ll consider them for food as well.

Tina Tacos

I happen to go to the Music Center fairly frequently and invariably it’s a quick meal at the little cafe. But now I’m going to seriously consider Tina Tacos from now on. The short ribs tacos were very good. And I liked the look of the ceviche.

ceviche from Tina Tacos

short ribs tacos from Tina Tacos

Very juicy tacos!

entertainment at the Wine Fest

Besides all the wine (there was UNLIMITED wine!), we enjoyed some musical acts. This band from San Francisco was fun.

I saw someone walking around with their own cheese and charcuterie. They had bought the wine-only ticket and that might not be a bad way to go next time. Or at least supplement the food tickets. Of course, you could go the baller route and buy the VIP ticket next year for unlimited food and wine (and party in the Foundation Room!).

City of Angels Wine Fest

 

** Full Disclosure: I was invited to this event.

 

January 6, 2011

DTLA: Cafe Pinot

Posted by the minty under dessert, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews, tasting menu, wine tasting | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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Recently I was invited to check out Cafe Pinot for dinner. I had been there once many years ago but didn’t care for my lunch. I am happy to report things have changed dramatically and due in part to Executive Chef Kevin Meehan. Chef Kevin said we could order off the menu or better yet, he would send some dishes out. What transpired was a 5-course tasting menu along with wine pairings. I had not expected to eat so much and silently cursed the happy hour nibbles I just had.

octopus carpaccio with ruby red grapefruit & salmon with roe, creme fraiche, dill

Chef Kevin hails from Long Island, NY where he worked at Mirabelle, a restaurant he described as the French Laundry of Long Island. He then thought about moving to Manhattan but took a vacation to L.A. That’s when he decided the good weather was the only excuse he needed to move. He packed his bags and worked at L’Orangerie where he met our favorite King of Pop-ups, Ludo. He also was at Bastide, Citrine, Paperfish and Patina before landing at Cafe Pinot in 2009.

Chef Kevin mentioned the Duo of the Sea, our appetizers were among the kitchen’s favorite dishes. You never know what fresh seafood they have on hand and it was a joy to discover the octopus was quite tender. The slightly bitter ruby red grapefruit went well with this dish. On the other hand, the salmon was more traditional with dill and creme fraiche. The addition of the roe was whimsical and a nod to the Cal side of this Cal-French restaurant.

 

wild mushroom risotto with shaved truffles

A few blogs have called this dish the “panty dropper.” It originated with a blogger who attended a Plate by Plate event where Chef Kevin served it. He would prefer you refer to this dish by its proper name but hey, panty dropper is memorable. To be honest, it wasn’t my favorite risotto but I can see where he was going with it. My dining companion described truffles as not just earthy but sexy. It’s sex on a plate. And sex sells plates.

crispy skin Loch Duart Scottish salmon with lentils, smoked bacon, pinot noir glaze

This dish was my favorite plating. It was like a Miro painting come to life. The salmon was perfectly done and I loved the unctuous green onion. You’ve never heard of an unctuous green onion? It was amazing with the salmon. I also enjoyed the parsnip puree and the little bit of bacon (hidden under the carrot and green onion).

Duo of Beef

The Duo of Beef  dish consisted of a slice of filet mignon on top of short ribs. It has to be one of Cafe Pinot’s best selling dishes. The short ribs were amazing and went well with the mashed potatoes. Filet mignon is not my favorite cut but it was very tender. A swipe through the pepper, chive oil or Bordelaise sauce enhanced the flavor.

muscato

This muscato was a nice pairing with our desserts. All the wine pairings were lighter wines, innocuous and let the food shine on its own.

beignets

chocolate mousse gateau with bitter chocolate paint

Chef Kevin is still working on his beignet recipes. These were lightly crispy on the outside and quite doughy.  I actually wouldn’t mind these but I’d call them doughnuts just to be on the safe side.

Chocolate fiends, take note. The other dessert was a chocolate mousse gateau with chocolate ice cream, a swipe of bitter chocolate and chocolate sprinkles to boot. Four times the chocolate! I liked the hazelnut nougatine for a bit of textural contrast.

Cafe Pinot may be best known for business lunches in Downtown Los Angeles, the reception spot after a wedding at the Central Library  and a spot to have dinner before a show at the Music Center but take a closer look. They have an interesting cocktail menu (where all the cocktails are amusingly named in French). Prices are normally $11 a cocktail but $8 on Thursdays. You may see me there again with a Happy Hour gal or two in town.

Can’t commit? Cafe Pinot will be participating in the next round of dineLA. The menu appears to be the same for both lunch and dinner so I’d go with lunch. Get the chocolate mousse gateau!

Cafe Pinot

700 West 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 239-6500

 

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