RoobiFood

Ca’ Del Sole has long been one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants. Located in a little Mediterranean-style building with washed ‘mustard’ colored stucco walls and pots of geraniums on the outside walls, this is an Italian restaurant with a Tuscan flare. The main dining rooms are chic and inviting with displayed Italian pottery, beautiful framed landscapes and comfortable booths with crisp linen. The separate bar/cocktail lounge is a cozy place to meet friends for a drink and hang out long past ‘dinner time’ while snacking on such delights as ahi tuna tartare or fried calamari, shrimp, zucchini, vegetable tortelli or beef carpaccio with shaved parmesan and capers or maybe just sipping a perfect vodka martini or sharing a bottle of Barolo.

I love the food here. A few favorites are the mezzelune pumpkin ravioli, with butter, sage and parmesan cheese. It’s a dish I actually crave. The pasticcio chicken lasagna, béchamel, light tomato sauce with mushroom and cheese crust is a dish about which poets could write sonnets. And for those summer nights when you want something light there’s the Milanese breaded chicken breast with baby arugula (my favorite ‘green’) onions and tomatoes.

But I’m writing about this favorite restaurant not because of its lovely inviting décor or my usual favorite dishes. I’m here to tell you about it’s recently redecorated walled-in garden patio with it’s pretty potted plants and large trees brimming with clusters of little white lights bunched together to look like twinkling grapes dripping from the branches. Along the garden wall the tables have been encased in romantic cabanas with a rich salmon-colored fabric outlining the tent and white sheers draped and knotted for a dramatic accent. In the cocktail area of the patio, the wall has new elegant pillowed chaises which give new meaning to the definition of cocktail ‘lounge.’

Recently my husband and I were there for lunch. While sitting in a garden cabana which blocked the sun yet allowed the gentle breeze to filter through, we were transported to a charming villa patio in Tuscany. I had one of the piadina grigliata, a thin crust bread topped with prosciutto di parma, burrata (a king among cheeses) and arugula (I love that arugula!). Delizioso! Other piadina grigliata (a sort of pizza) toppings are cured salmon with goat cheese and watercress; seared ahi tuna, caramelized onion, black olives, capers and curly endive; and roasted wild mushrooms with arugula. My husband had the scaloppini pollo, a sauteed chicken scaloppini with fresh tomatoes, basil, watercress and Belgian endive. I love this chicken dish so much that my husband learned to make it for me so I could have it at home whenever I want.

So, if you’re in the neighborhood and want some truly good Italian food AND charming ambience, I highly recommend Ca’ Del Sole.

4100 Cahuenga Blvd.
Toluca Lake CA 91602
818-985-4669
www.cadelsole.com

“My Dinners With Richard & Other Musings”
www.myspace.com/othermusings

Ever summer, while our daughter is out of school, there are a few things that as a family we always try to do. Go on a camping expedition and head to the Santa Cruz California boardwalk.

This year camping never happened and with the summer flying by we thought we better plan our annual trek to the boardwalk soon. As we don’t live to far away it’s totally feasible to drive there and back. It’s a long day but you work with what you got.

The day is nice and sunny. The sun is hot but there’s a nice breeze that blows to help cool everything down. As we walk through the boardwalk entrance it seems all so familiar. I’ve taken these steps many times and know the area well.

Amongst all the usual rides, games, and entertainment the traditional
midway/boardwalk food is everywhere. No matter where you are, you can see the familiar boardwalk feast. The pink of the cotton candy and the bright red of the candy apples brings a smile to my face. The smells bring back great memories to when I was a kid and how my request for a bag of cotton candy was always granted.

We walk on and the smell of grease fills the air. We are at the part of the boardwalk that has the most food booths and is always very populated. The traditional “dog on a stick” or corn dog to the rest of us, hut is here and there is always a line up! Before you even see that fried to perfection dome on a stick you can smell the crispy batter and the scent of the mustard. But then something different fills my nose, a fresher scent that cuts through the grease. A refreshing smell of lemons from the lemonade stand perfumes the air. Definitely thirst quenching on a hot day.

So many foods to be found. The pretzel, funnel cake, hot dog,hamburger,french fries, onion rings, ice cream and sodas of all flavors to name a few. I look around and see everyone par-taking in some sort of eating. Is the food really that tasty or is just what’s here so they’re eating it?! Food does always taste better outside. right!?

Then I spot a newer booth that always makes me cringe “the deep fried twinkie.” I guess if you deep fry it the flavor is that much better. That’s what I’ve been told so I’ll have to trust you all that have tried it. Not for me.

There are also some non-traditional foods making their way into the boardwalk cuisine. What I could see through the crowds was a place that served Gyros. Those are usually yummy. I’m sure that there are many other places as well but it was so busy… but that’s the thing about fairs people just stand around and then they make great barriers to what’s behind them.

After an expensive not so good hamburger and soggy fries (that’s why I usually don’t eat carnival food) and a refreshing lemonade .we play a few games and go on few rides. It’s late evening by now and we know that the ride home is ahead so we opt to leave now.

We leave the park under the country’s oldest wooden roller coaster. I can still smell the sweetness of the cotton candy as well as the grease from all the food booths. The lights from the rides twinkle in the back ground and the noise from the music, rides and people is getting quieter. It’s been a nice day. I got to hang out with my favorite people, my husband and daughter.

Will we return next year?…Of course we will. It’s tradition!

While tooling around town today, my husband and I decided to try the new brasserie on Ventura Blvd. in our little Studio City, Calif. hamlet.

It’s name: Bokado Market-Brasserie (Bokado is Spanish for little tastes or something like that) –

Anyway, the restaurant is a Spanish influenced brasserie with an elegant, but simply designed room and a large outdoor patio with a canopy of umbrellas surrounded by a lovely array of potted plants. Inside there’s a long bar with its own tapas menu on a blackboard which includes a paella on Tues. and Thurs. Two long bar-height tables with tall chairs for a communal eating experience are set up end-to-end in the middle of the room, and regular restaurant tables line the front window overlooking the patio and blvd.

The lunch menu is diverse – My husband had the burrata panini, with handmade burrata cheese, serrano ham, tomato, basil, tons of garlic and market greens… My taste buds did a happy flamenco when I had a bite! The sandwich came with terrific skinny, string french fries and fresh, homemade ketchup.

I had their ‘classic’ Caesar salad with chicken, though I take issue with the ‘classic’ adjective since the salad had no anchovies which is a traditional ingredient and the original salad never had chicken, but I digress. This version of a ‘classic’ Caesar was pretty good, even though the tender, moist chicken was cold and when I touched the plate it was apparent it just came out of the refrigerator. I prefer my Caesar with those anchovies and the chicken hot off the grill. So, as good as it was, it still was a miss for me.

One of the side dishes for lunch or dinner on the menu is mac & cheese with manchego – a Spanish cheese that I can’t wait to try — hopefully after I lose 100 pounds.

Dinners include a variety of salads: from a Jess salad comprised of oxnard, strawberries, Asian pears, romaine, croutons and grilled chicken to an heirloom beet salad with triple cream cheese and market greens. Soups include onion soup gratinee with caramelized onions and manchego crustini (I really have to try that when it’s not 100 degrees outside)… then there are crab cakes, steamed mussels in pernod with saffron & fennel and a cheese tasting — all appetizers. Among the entrees is a selection of certified angus steaks (a petite filet, a NY strip, and a rib eye) with a choice of sauces from bearnaise to chimuchurri to maytag blue cheese. For fish lovers, there are scallops with a vegie relish, squash and charred calarmari (ok, my taste memory is dragging me out the door and back to the restaurant to try this dish), seared Alaskan halibut in a bed of white bean cassoulet with a jamon serrano (basically a Spanish prosciutto), a few other fish and chicken dishes, lamb and pork chops and sides of creamed spinach, potato gratinee, wild mushrooms, broccoli parmesan with bacon, market vegies and those hand cut fries among them.

There’s also a ‘deli’ counter with artisan cheeses and all kinds of breads/baguettes.

I really liked this place.

Bokado Market-Brasserie
12345 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
818-752-9222
laloggia@earthlink.net

“My Dinners With Richard & Other Musings”
www.myspace.com/othermusings

It’s been some time since I waxed poetic about The Village Idiot’s smoked cheddar burger, kvelled over its mussels steamed in ale or lauded its brussel sprouts with bacon, but I’m here to praise this gourmet pub again… not the fish & chips with its malt vinegar dipping sauce or its oak grilled bangers & mash (been there – done that – still yummy), but their duck eggs. Yup – duck eggs.

Recently The Idiot (its affectionate nickname) started serving brunch and, of course, I had to find out what gourmet delights I would find at a pub. I’m thinking fancy hash & eggs or a twist on steak & eggs, but that would be taking the easy way out. Food-wise that is. Instead, I found a menu filled with wonderful culinary concoctions. Everything from homemade breakfast bread to cherry-cashew granola… from whiskey cured ocean trout with toasted brioche, crème fraiche and pickled beets to fried duck eggs, chorizo, tomato, chiles & yellow corn grits… from tomato ricotta tart with poached eggs and herb salad to lemon ricotta pancakes with sliced bananas and honeycomb butter. Blimey!

The first thing my husband and I sampled was the large, wonderfully gooey sticky bun. I wanted to take a dozen home, but if did, I’d have gained a dozen pounds.

Then came my order of cinnamon orange French toast with bacon and maple syrup… thick slices of toast that were sweet, yet tangy, mixed with the smokey, salty flavors of bacon…. a taste combination made, if not in heaven, at least in Lindsay Kennedy’s heavenly kitchen.

My husband ordered the full English breakfast which included eggs (he had his scrambled) & beans on toast (again a nice thick slice of homemade bread), rasher & banger, roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. The rasher was not your ordinary ‘rasher’ of plain smoked bacon, but a ‘bacon’ made of thinly sliced pork loin. Of course, I had to taste everything and everything was divinely, deliciously English – gourmet style.

The Idiot’s brunch menu also has, among other items, a selection of English pies; sandwiches, including “Breaux & Sheftell” filet-o-fish, butter lettuce, house tartar sauce & slaw; my favorite burger; salads; stuffed bacon wrapped dates with a roasted pepper tomato sauce and those incredible steamed mussels.

To top things off, the rich ‘intelligentsia’ expresso, coffee and tea are served in adorable mugs that would go so well with my collection of Buffalo china…

So, if you’re looking for a place for brunch – I, once again, heartily recommend The Idiot. Why? A duck! Or at least duck eggs. You’d be an Idiot not to try it.

The Village Idiot

7383 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA

323-655-3331

“My Dinners With Richard & Other Musings”

www.myspace.com/othermusings

As I just returned from Monterey Bay Aquarium, here in Northern Ca., I wanted to give some insight into the seafood world.

There are many fish that are great to eat and sustainable. These fish are abundant and caught and farmed in ways that are good for our environment. Farmed striped bass, talapia (US farmed) to name a few.

There is also a list that we should avoid. As these fish for now, are farmed in ways that harm other marine life and/or the environment. These fish can also carry mercury in unsafe levels and/or other contaminants. Atlantic cod, monkfish and orange roughy to name a few.

As consumers we have a lot of power where and how we spend our money. I am awakening to more and more ideas where I need to take action now. A way to keep our planet and bodies more healthy and of course treat the animals around us with more respect. In this case, fish are giving their lives so that we can share a nice dinner with friends and/or family. I am for ever grateful to have choices in what I eat and with those choices I learn all that I can to make well informed wise decisions that in the long term really do effect us all.

To learn more about my brief overview go to www.seafoodwatch.org.

This site will give more info. on what to eat and watch out for so that you too can start making more informed choices.

Once we have the information we need to be more responsible.