With my mom in town for Mother’s Day weekend, The Astronomer and I decided to let her in on some wedding planning fun. So far, the only items crossed off our lengthy to-do list were wooing a bride, snagging a groom, and bagging the perfect dress. With mom’s expert eye to help us, I was hoping we’d soon nail down a venue. First stop, Greystone Mansion. [Images and assessment after the jump.]
After thoroughly inspecting the impeccable Beverly Hills property, we drove to Hollywood for lunch. Not sure where to refuel, my mom suggested we hit up Tony C. for advice. Mothers do know best. At the recommendation of my personal concierge Tony, we headed to one of his favorite brunch spots, AMMO.
Our midday meal at AMMO came a week after Executive Chef Julia Wolfson’s departure from the kitchen. Wolfson most notably earned two-and-a-half stars from the L.A. Times during her tenure. Food and service tends to suffer during chef shake-ups, but with owner Amy Sweeney at the helm, we were confident that we’d be fed and treated well.
My mom ordered a Pizza Margherita ($15), which arrived fresh from AMMO’s wood-burning oven. The golden crust was beautifully blistered, while the mozzarella cheese melted into gooey pools. With a pizza this simple, each ingredient must be up to snuff or else the entire pie is doomed (See: Gjelina). AMMO’s commitment to using only the very best ingredients from local sources was apparent in every satisfying bite.
I ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich ($13) with Gruyère, Niman Ranch ham, and caramelized shallots on country white bread. A simply dressed Romaine and shredded red cabbage salad was served on the side. Similar to the pizza Margherita, the success of the panini was the result of stellar ingredients assembled thoughtfully.
The Astronomer’s French toast with caramelized apples, maple syrup, and crème fraîche ($11) was a winner as well. Whereas restaurant-style French toasts are usually desserts in disguise, AMMO’s creation exhibited restraint. The caramelized apples retained their snap and tartness, while the cinnamon bioche had some bite and complexity. Overall, a really delicious and interesting interpretation of French toast.
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AMMO
1155 N. Highland Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: 323-871-2666
For two weeks in April, I ate and drank like a Manhattan investment banker before the economy collapsed. My series of decadent weeknight fetes began with the blowout blogger dinner at STK courtesy of The One Group, which was then followed by the ten-course affair at One Sunset a few evenings later. In between STK and One Sunset, Tony C. coordinated epic feasts at Jitlada and Aladin Sweets and Market.
Housed in the former loading dock of the 1925 National Biscuit Co. building, Church & State specializes in French bistro fare. Walter Manzke, renowned for his stellar French-California cuisine at Bastide, Patina, and L’Auberge Carmel, heads Church & State’s kitchen with gusto.
Fooddigger‘s founders, Will, Walter, and Eddie, gave Chef Manzke and sommelier Josh Goldman carte blanche over the menu this evening. The result was a spectacular tasting of Church & State’s greatest hits, along with a few thoughtful innovations. Our meal was fit for kings, and I was impressed from start to finish.
Our first bite of the evening were freshly baked gougères (left), which brought back fond memories of The French Laundry. Whereas Thomas Keller’s signature gougères were one-bite-wonders, these ones required at least three to polish off. The gougères’ larger size did not effect their characteristic lightness.
After his untimely departure from Bastide, Chef Manzke contemplated his next move while staging at some of the world’s finest restaurants, including The French Laundry and El Bulli. The gougères are a nod to the time he spent in Yountville.
Accompanying the gougères were crusty baguettes with butter (right) presented on cutting boards.
The next delights to arrive were the Beignets de Brandade de Morue (left)—bacaloa (dried salt cod) mixed with pureed potatoes and deep-fried until golden. This dish’s flavor was mellower than I expected, especially considering the ratio of bacaloa to potatoes. The beignets were accompanied by a subtle saffron aioli.
The Kumamoto oysters (right) that arrived next were presented on crushed ice with lemon wedges and a red wine mignonette. I ate mine straight up to fully take in the oyster’s briny goodness. The deliciousness of this course was in its quality and simplicity.
Chef Manzke created a special “Bistro Sushi” (left) for our group. Traditional sushi rice was replaced with a fingerling potato salad, which was topped with a slab of smoked herring, and a single caper and carrot dice. The smoked fish was the dominant flavor in this artful and well-seasoned dish.
The Gambas à la Niçoise (right), Santa Barbara Spot prawns with lemon and olive oil, showcased California’s amazingly fresh seafood. The fresh-from-the-coast prawns needed very little adornment to shine.
The charcuterie course filled my heart with joy. The selection of artisanal and house-made meats included saucisson sec (cured sausage), pâté, jambon persillé (pig’s feet and Kurobuta ham with parsley), lamb with espelette pepper, and rabbit galantine with pistachios.
Jars of foie gras and pork rillettes (left) arrived alongside the charcuterie platter. The foie gras terrine, which was topped with a Port wine gelée, was smooth, creamy, and totally squeal-worthy—cold foie gras preparations are a favorite of mine. The rillettes de porc with prune confiture and Armagnac had a rustic texture and satisfying meatiness.
Toasted brioche, pickled vegetables, and whole grain mustard (right) were on hand to balance the blunt decadence of this course.
To counter the previous course’s richness, Chef Manzke sent out another special creation—Asperge à la Tashiro, named after Fooddigger‘s founder Marshall. The thick and tender stalks of Hog Farm asparagus were paired with Maine lobster in a simple buttery sauce and topped with arugula.
Alsatian-style tarts are another one of Church & State’s specialties. Chef Manzke sent out the flammenküche (left), a large rectangular tart topped with sweet caramelized onions, cubes of bacon, and Gruyère cheese. It was fan-bloody-tastic.
The Escargots de Bourgogne (right) wowed us all. Each adorable porcelain vessel contained snails baked in garlic and parsley butter capped off with a piece of puff pastry.
I was looking forward to tasting Church & State’s famed moelle de boeuf (roasted bone marrow) all evening. The huge bones were served with stacks of crouton bread and a salad of radish and parsley. As I slathered my bread with marrow, and sprinkled it with radish and parsley, Chef Manzke swung by my end of the table to talk. The Chef and I chatted a good long while about our travels in Asia and his stint in Spain, and before I knew it, one of the waiters had swooped in to clear my plate. Moelle de Boeuf—fail.
The final course of the evening was steak frites. Even though the steak was perfectly pink in the center, the tough texture required a bit of a chew. The accompanying frites au lard were very well prepared.
For dessert, we shared an assortment of seasonal sweets, including crème brûlée, cherry tart, apricot tart, berry cobbler, and a pot de crème au chocolat. The warm cobbler with vanilla ice cream was especially delightful.
Church & State’s sommelier Josh Goldman paired the following wines with our luxurious supper.
Floc de Gascogne — Gascogny
2007 Hugues Beaulieu — Coteaux de Languedoc [Picpoul Blanc]
2007 Domaine des Persenades, Côtes de Gascogne [Ugni Blanc, Colombard]
2007 Jean Maupertuis La Guillanume — Auvergne [Gamay]
2007 Domaine Cros de Romet — Carianne [Grenache, Syrah]
2006 Domaine Etxegaraya — Irouleguy [Tannat]
Julien Fremon Cidre Brut Par Nature
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Lastly, a very special thank you to Fooddigger‘s Will, Marshall, and Eddie for inviting me to this ridiculously amazing dinner. This meal goes down as one of the greatest dining experiences I’ve had in Los Angeles since my arrival last October.
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Church & State 1850 Industrial Street Los Angeles, CA 90021 Phone: 213-405-1434
The overwhelming popularity of cupcakes has spawned many cutesy dessert rivals, namely whoopie pies, cookie sandwiches, and mini-bundt cakes. Even though cupcakes clearly rule my sugar high roost, I am always up for sampling wannabes vying for their market share.
Nothing Bundt Cakes is a Las Vegas-based chain of bakeries specializing in, you guessed it, bundt cakes. All of their creations are made with the finest ingredients, including fresh eggs, real butter, and cream cheese. Whereas traditional bundt cake batters tend to be dense, these throughly modern bundts are springy with a tender crumb.
My Bay Area-dwelling cousins, Megan and Madison, have been singing Nothing Bundt Cakes’ praises ever since their first forkful of red velvet at the Los Gatos outlet over a year ago. With the closest location to my home some 45-miles away in Thousand Oaks, the opportunity to taste my cousins’ favorite tubular cake didn’t present itself until this Memorial Day weekend.
To celebrate my aunt Kim’s 50th birthday, an order was placed for a two-tiered bundt cake. The first tier was Chocolate Chocolate Chip, while the second one was Red Velvet. Both were iced with cream cheese frosting.
Aesthetically speaking, bundt cakes cannot hold a candle to cupcakes—short and squat cannot compete with dainty and adorable. However, taste-wise, Nothing Bundt Cakes give cupcake powerhouses like Sprinkles and Magnolia a run for their money.
With bits of chocolate chips in the batter, the Red Velvet bundt was seriously moist and had a pleasant sweetness. The piping of cream cheese icing along the cake’s ridges was generous without spurring an unpleasant sugar rush. The Chocolate Chocolate Chip wasn’t as successful as the Red Velvet because the tangy frosting clashed with the bittersweet cake. A simple vanilla buttercream would have worked wonders.
