Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

10 Jul 2013

Tar & Roses Suppers: Wood-Fired Goat – Los Angeles (Santa Monica)

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The gift of goat is one that keeps on giving—just ask The Astronomer. In celebration of his 29th birthday this past June, I planned a wood-fired goat supper at Chef Andrew Kirschner‘s Tar & Roses in Santa Monica.

I’d previously dined here when the restaurant first opened and had a splendid time grazing over small plates. I was excited to be back, with three scientists in tow, to partake in this festive family-style dinner.

Since we were celebrating something pretty special, our table shared a bottle of the Cascina Ca’ Rossa ($56), an Italian red made of Nebbiolo grapes. We thought it appropriate since the restaurant is named after the tasting notes characteristic of wines made from these grapes.

Supper, which was priced at $44 per person, began with a very delicious charred gem lettuce salad with crispy pancetta, dried dates, and pungent blue cheese. There were smiles all around with this starter.

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Restaurant Review

08 Jul 2013

Wang Xing Ji – San Gabriel

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Big Ass Dumpling—that was the email subject line that our friend Mike fittingly employed to coordinate our outing to San Gabriel’s Wang Xing Ji.

Famous for its enormous dumplings, Wang Xing Ji is “the first American branch of a popular dumpling house in Wuxi,” according to Jonathan Gold in his review of the restaurant. “Actually, Wang Xing Ji is the dumpling house in Wuxi, almost a century old, the one restaurant every guidebook seems to mention.”

What’s most interesting about Wuxi-style cuisine is its intrinsic sweetness. According to Wikipedia, “the [region’s] common cooking method is characterized by the addition of sugar and soy sauce to many savory dishes, often in the form of hongshao (literally ‘red braised’). This often results in a fragrant, caramelized flavor. In addition, Wuxi cuisine often has sweeter versions of dishes found in its neighboring regions.”

On Wang Xing Ji’s menu, the rare unsweetened dishes are denoted with a star. The sweet, signature dishes are given a thumbs up icon. We stuck to the “recommendation” offerings this evening.

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Restaurant Review

03 Jul 2013

Weekend Brunch at M.B. Post – Los Angeles (Manhattan Beach)

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A leisurely brunch followed by rollerblading on the beach is one of my favorite weekend activities, one that I don’t get to do nearly enough because the boardwalk’s so darn far from home. When it happens though, I am happy as a clam (quite possibly even happier!).

The Astronomer and I hoofed it to Manhattan Beach for our most recent brunching and blading session. Before lacing up our wheels, we sat down for Chef David Lefevere’s post-bangin’ (wink, wink) brunch at M.B. Post.

I’ve been meaning to brunch here for at least a year now, so it was imperative that I make up for lost time by ordering every single dish that caught my eye. Everything on the menu was served family-style and arrived as soon as the kitchen finished firing.

The first dish on the scene was the “Belly Button Bagel” ($10) schmeared with dill cream cheese and layered with house-cured trout lox, capers, and red onions. While the bagel didn’t do much for me eaten straight up, the entire package was so damn good.

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