Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

09 Mar 2017

Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant – Arcadia

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The Astronomer and I went on a double date to the Santa Anita Mall. And no, our parents didn’t drop us off. ?

We met up with Will and Louise for dinner at Meizhou Dongpo, the second U.S. outlet of a Beijing-based Sichuan restaurant. Without our little gals in tow, we were able to fully take in the polite service, fancy atmosphere, and numbing peppercorns.

Even though the restaurant isn’t know for its dan dan mian ($3.60), I couldn’t resist ordering a bowl anyway because they are my favorite Sichuan specialty. The version here was perfectly slurp-able, but nothing extraordinary.

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Potpourri

06 Mar 2017

Airbnb Guidebooks: 10 Vietnamese Dishes You Should Be Eating (and Where to Find Them)

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Airbnb recently launched Guidebooks both online and in its app that “highlight unique perspectives of tastemakers and experts of various topics throughout a city.” I was initially tapped to curate a list of my 10 favorite phở restaurants in Los Angeles, but decided to pitch something a little different: “10 Vietnamese Dishes Other than Phở that You Should Be Eating.” Phở is phantastic, but there’s much to explore when it comes to Vietnamese cuisine. See: porridge, mi quang, spring rolls, roasted catfish… I think you get the gist.

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Restaurant Review

02 Mar 2017

Chef’s Tasting Menu at Providence – Los Angeles

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I was spoiled to pieces on my 35th birthday. In addition to heaps of noodles with colleagues and a made-from-scratch blood orange upside-down cake baked by The Astronomer, I was treated to dinner at the nicest place in town: Providence.

The last time The Astronomer and I dined here was back in 2010 for an eight-course dessert tasting. And before that, it was in 2009 for The Astronomer’s birthday. It felt really good to be back.

Dinner began with a glass of bubbles for me…

…and a Muay Thai cocktail ($12) for The Astronomer. Both were festive, setting the proper tone for the evening.

Providence offers three menus during dinner service—the Providence Tasting Menu ($120), Signature & Seasonal Menu ($185), and Chef’s Tasting Menu ($220). We decided to go for the Chef’s Tasting this evening because fancy dinners are a rare treat, so why not go for gold? Also, the promise of squid phở was too intriguing to resist.

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