Fraiche Happy Hour - Take 2

Several months ago I discovered the all night happy hour at Fraiche in Santa Monica. Sunday - Thursday from 5pm - close, Fraiche offers food and drinks at a more affordable price -- perfect for those of us that get off work late. I brought some friends visiting from Germany and we sampled a few more items off the menu. Here are some must-try items for under $10!

TRUFFLE BURGER, $8

Burger with onion fondue, boschetto, and truffle oil on a brioche bun. By far the best item on the menu, and far superior to Father's Office!

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Weekend Getaways: Brophy Bros

Perched atop the Santa Barbara harbor, Brophy Bros is one of the classic seafood restaurants that the coastal city has to offer. Whether you choose to slurp back oyster shooters at the bar, take a date on the balcony, or settle into one of the large tables in the raucous dining area, the restaurant is a must-see when you visit the area. 

While I was a student at UCSB, I took my parents here, stopped by with friends for an indulgent meal, and even had my first date with Quinn overlooking the wharf. Brophy Bros has won every Best Seafood Restaurant and Best Clam Chowder in Santa Barbara from the Santa Barbara Independent and News Press for the past 22 years -- no small feat. I decided to venture back for the clam chowder alone.

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The Taste - Picnic in the Hills

Last Monday I was lucky enough to attend one of LA Times and the Food Network's events at "The Taste". The series of food demonstrations and tastings took place in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and downtown LA all weekend and were hosted by celebrity chefs such as Giada De Laurentiis ("Everyday Italian", "Next Food Network Star"), Susan Feniger (Border Grill, "Top Chef Masters"), and Duff Goldman (Charm City Cakes, "Ace of Cakes"). Themes included "Burgers and Beer", "Street Eats", "Desserts After Dark", and "Picnic in the Hills". 

Sheltered by massive tents to combat the late August heat, the "Picnic in the Hills" VIP pass included fresh lemonade in basil or strawberry (Target), endless wine tasting from California vineyards, and little bites from the best and brightest of LA's culinary scene. From Santa Monica's M Street Kitchen to on-the-go food truck B Sweet, every plate I sampled was artfully assembled and exquisite. 

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Date Night: Twin Dragon

 Crispy Egg Rolls

Since 1962, Twin Dragon has offered quality Chinese food prepared fresh by chefs trained in China, Hong Kong and Taiwann. Nestled on W. Pico Blvd in the heart of West Los Angeles, the family-run business prides itself on its innovative, healthy cuisine. Quinn and his family have been going there for years, and we've stopped by on several occasions to feast! Each entree runs around $7-9, but can feed 2 people to the point of immobility, as well as provide a hefty sum of leftovers. This spot is great for a family event or quiet night out.

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Food Trucks LA: Dogtown Dogs

Though the food truck race in Los Angeles has been picking up steam for a while, I have yet to venture out and try any. Somehow I never get it together in time to check out First Fridays, an event in the Venice district of Abbot Kinney, where merchants feature artists, music, drink specials and a wide variety of food trucks. (I will make it there someday.) Where food trucks were once known as "roach coaches", a cheap array of Mexican fare on wheels, the fad has exploded in the LA foodie scene. Partly due to our current economic decline, the mobile restaurants feature hip, gourmet street food. 

 

Kogi Korean BBQ was the front-runner in the food truck craze, an army of five Korean-Mexican fusion trucks that feature options of spicy pork tacos or kimchi quesadillas. After winning several awards and the hearts and minds of Angelinos, Kogi's success spawned hundreds of on-the-go eateries, from The Grilled Cheese Truck (note to self: try the cheesy mac & rib melt as soon as humanly possible), the Border Grill truck, an addition to the renowned Santa Monica Spanish restaurant at the 3rd Street Promenade, and my first venture into the world of food trucks, Dogtown Dogs.

 

 

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Healthy Eats: M Street Kitchen

Since I moved into my own apartment a few months ago, my mom and I try to see a movie or have dinner once a week to play catch up. It's been fun to explore Santa Monica for new restaurants to try, especially with so many Californian cuisine options. Westside locals are hot for anything organic, vegan or diet friendly, and M Street Kitchen is no exception.

At the edge of the oh-so-hip Main Street just minutes from my apartment, M Street Kitchen has heated outdoor seating and a cozy, layered indoor area. Our sinewy, dread-locked waiter had to have been a model and paid the utmost attention to us despite the place being packed. I had a glass of the riesling (my standby) and my mom found a jazzed-up version of her favorite drink, "Shakin' Lemonade": ketel one, lemonade, and rosemary served in a jar (how very LA).

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Sushi Kiyono Date

 

Before a holiday weekend filled with long-lost San Francisco friends, the Fairfax flea market and 70's roller disco, Quinn took me out to a mellow sushi date at Beverly Hills' Sushi Kiyono. Smack dab in the middle of Beverly Drive, the restaurant serves sashimi, nigiri, and Los Angeles themed sushi with names like the Show Me The Money or The Godfather.

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Healthy Eats: Arugula & Goat Cheese Pasta Salad

I've said it once, I'll say it again: there is something  so wonderful about cooking with friends. Opening a bottle (or 2, or 3) of wine, brainstorming dishes together, deliberating over spices, rubs and marinades... it can't be beat. This past weekend Quinn and I got together with two of his good friends from high school to grill high quality tri tip and chicken breasts purchased at the Los Angeles Original Farmer's Market.

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Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 4: Jamie's Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cupcakes and Quinn's Key Lime & Mint Cream Pies

There is something inherently cruel about serving desserts at the climax of a potluck. Stuffed to the brim with tuna tar tar, burgundy beef stew, rigatoni carbonara, creamy gnocchi and sweet potato fries, we were left with the painfully wonderful task of finding room in our stomachs for such scintillating desserts as Jamie and Quinn's.

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Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 2: Burgundy Beef Stew & Salmon Diane with Creamy Polenta

Next up on our potluck menu was Sam's Burgundy Beef Stew. It took some of the most prep work, with Sam chopping up onions, potatoes, carrots, and zesting oranges. He browned pounds of hearty stew meat and let an entire bottle of burgundy wine cook for an hour before adding the vegetables. The orange zest and a pinch of sugar were added "to balance out the acid in the wine", and the entire stew simmered for several hours before consumption. Topped with a horseradish sour cream, the result was a rich and tangy stew that I slurped down with glee!

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A Hearty Saturday Breakfast

After weeks of gloomy weather on the weekends and tauntingly summery work weeks, LA finally got its shit together this weekend. It was 85 degrees in beach-breezy Santa Monica, and I embarked on a relaxing weekend full of movies, retail therapy, endless sunshine and of course, food.

Saturday morning Quinn and I woke up early to peruse the Virginia Park farmer's market a few blocks from my apartment. We sampled fresh strawberries to pick the boldest and sweetest, picked up blood oranges and just-baked chocolate chip muffins, then headed out to breakfast at John O'Groat's.

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Fraiche Happy Hour

Blog Note: Due to my recent relocation to a studio apartment in Santa Monica (!!!) and the expenses that follow, Culinary Therapy will be entering a period of finance-management. Don't fret dear readers, now that I'm mostly settled into my new digs my infrequent posts will be a thing of the past. This just means that I'll be sampling more happy hours and adding more recipe posts to the mix. 

Last week, my friend Jamie and I had a happy hour date at a restaurant I've been meaning to try, Fraiche in Santa Monica.  As I perused my new "happy hour finder" app, I discovered that not only is the hip foodie locale only a few blocks from my work, but they have a happy hour Monday-Thursday 5:00pm - 10:30pm, Friday-Saturday 5-6:30pm. As we settled in for some epic girl-time, we ordered a glass of their red and white house wines ($6) and took a glance at the menu.

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Kate Mantilini, Industry Staple

In the few short weeks I’ve been working the “biz”, my stepfather’s restaurant has popped up in conversation several times. The actors I work with often ask me about myself and my background. Inevitably we pass through my public school teacher mother, lawyer father, and reach the point where I admit, “Well, my stepfather’s a chef." "Where?"  "Kate Mantilini!”

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Benihana Birthday

This is my little brother. Universally lauded as the coolest kid ever, Louis turned 11 on February 21st. Such a milestone was celebrated at one of his favorite restaurants,  a title earned by their pyrotechnics and food-as-entertainment schtick -- the one and only, Benihana. Last year, I had not yet fully come to appreciate Japanese cuisine as I do now (more sushi please), so I was looking forward to trying something brand new.

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My Everest: Butternut Squash Lasagna

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been scouring Jonathan Gold's list of the 99 best restaurants in Los Angeles (2010). This led me to a transcendent culinary experience that I now talk incessantly about to anyone who will listen, along with a failed attempt at recreation: butternut squash lasagna. 

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Thank you, Mr. Gold

In the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara, the Literature department offers (and demands, really) a class once a week to hear esteemed and published writers speak. Novelists, spoken word, poets, professors, and even alumni read their pieces to some 50 undergrad students for an hour, and indulge in a Q&A afterward. Though there were days where, at 4pm, all I wanted to do was get home to my apartment after hours of lit analysis, and I tuned the speakers out, there is one in particular who changed my perspective. That reader was infamous food critic for the LA Weekly, Jonathan Gold.

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Oh My Macaroons!

On a cloudy morning in Los Angeles, one of my favorite ways to wake up is to go out for breakfast. Quinn and I popped over to La Provence, a bakery and breakfast café in Beverly Hills. We’ve had omelets there before, some of the best I’ve had to date, so when my goat cheese, artichoke and Portobello mushroom came sans cheese, I was a bit surprised. Quinn’s feta, tomato and basil was a fresh take on a classic, and their roasted potatoes topped with wild mushrooms and sautéed onions are always superb.

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How The Mighty Lobster Falls

As a preschooler, I was the little girl who was off talking to myself during recess, whispered to Christmas trees and cried when we couldn’t take the wilted, lonesome ones home with us a-la Charlie Brown, and befriended animals. One night at a local seafood joint with my mom, I encountered a lone crustacean in the tank next to our booth, only to discover that he was to be plucked from his prison to be boiled alive and served with butter. Combine that lovely, somewhat traumatic story with the extra cash it takes to order a lobster dinner and you might understand why I’ve never cracked one open myself! That is, until Thursday.

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