Shoot First Eat Later

Dinner at Osteria Mozza

After a wonderful seven week vacation that began in late June and ended in August 2010 it was time to say goodbye and get back to reality. With all my luggage in the car, my cousin Sidney and his wife Mary brought me to Osteria Mozza for my last meal before going to the airport.

Osteria Mozza is owned by Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich. With names likes that behind this restaurant I had very high expectations.

We went there at 5:30 pm that’s why the place wasn’t full. By the time we left there wasn’t a seat available even at the bar.

Chef Nancy Silverton was busy behind the bar.

My super cutie nephews, Kevin and Ryan

We were off to a good start. The free amuse bouche of crostini topped with ricotta, olive tapenade and basil chiffonade was simple yet delicious.

Why did their bread have to be so good? It was hard to stop eating them.

Ryan loved the bread too specially with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. How many did you eat Ryan?

Mary brought this Torciano Bartolomeo which she discovered in Italy.

The specialty of Osteria Mozza was burata or an Italian cheese made from fresh mozzarella cheese and cream. The burata was very soft, creamy and bland that’s why it’s usually served with strong flavored ingredients.

asparagus burata $16

The burata with bacon, marinated escarole & carmelized shallots was our favorite. The burata took in the flavors from the bacon, oil and herbs.

burata bacon $15

One of the most written about dish of Osteria Mozza was the raviolo.

ricotta & egg raviolo

When you cut into the raviolo runny egg yolk spill out from the nest of creamy ricotta filling. Too rich and splendid for words.

My favorite pasta dish was the agnolotti pasta filled with a exquisite meat filling and simply sauteed in butter and sage leaves.

agnolotti burro e salvia $19

Sidney’s favorite was the cold squid ink pasta with Dungeness crab, sea urchin and jalapeno. It was really unique and an acquired taste. I think I would have enjoyed it more it was warm.

squid ink chitarra freddi $19

The gnocchi with tender and flavorful duck ragu and tagliatelle with ox tail ragu (no picture) were yummy too but more ordinary. Everything we ordered was from the primi or first course menu. We never made it to the main courses.

gnocchi duck ragu $19

You can’t take the Asian out of us. This was what our table looked like. We just passed around the plates of pasta so the everyone could try everything.

Even though we skipped the secondi menu we could never ignore the dolci or dessert menu. Of the three desserts we ordered the best was the little rosemary olive oil cakes bursting with flavor. The olive oil gelato & rosemary brittle complemented the cakes wonderfully.

rosemary olive oil cakes $11

The cake was really deep, dark and intense. That small slice was more than enough to take cake of my chocolate fix.

cioccolato $12

The honey baked peach was firm and succulent. It was served with poached blueberries, bourbon ice cream and hazelnut cake.

honey baked peach

They also had a more affordable set menu at the bar.

I couldn’t ask for a better farewell dinner. Thanks to Sid, Mary and all my cousins and friends from the west to the east coast who wined and dined me to the hilt. As the former governor of California once said, “I will be back!”

Osteria Mozza’s menu
pasta tasting menu, antipasti & mozarella bar,
primi, secondi & contorni, dolci, formagi & vin dolci

Osteria Mozza
6602 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, Ca 90038
telephone: (323) 297-0100

Breakfast at Eggs ‘N’ Things

It was a Saturday in August and my last day in the USA. We started the day right by going out for a huge breakfast.

I was all packed up and ready to spend my last day eating and relaxing. Since the airlines limited luggage allowance to two pieces at 50 lbs each for international flights and just one piece for US domestic flights I had to be creative. I left Manila with just one ultra light Samsonite hard case luggage.

I left Virginia with two luggages. See that big red bag filled to the max? That’s a Samsonite Tote-A-Ton Duffle Bag which I bought in the outlet on sale for $20. It folds to a small pouch and weighed a pound. I stuffed it with 49 lbs of precious cargo and it survived the trip to Manila without a scratch or rip. It was the best buy ever! I plan to take it with me on all my trips. It definitely looked better than a brown box.

Sidney and his family’s favorite place for good breakfast was Egg ‘N’ Things. Just look at boys’ smiles when they found out where we were going.

This is something you won’t find in Manila or Asia for that matter, a restaurant that opened til 2 pm only. It seems like such a waste of rent if you don’t maximize the hours of a restaurant. Even for a breakfast place.

my cousins from the west coast, brothers Sid and Ken

I wasn’t happy with the weak coffee.

Who ordered this solitary pancake? Why didn’t I get to try it?

Blueberry Pancakes

Heck, it was my last breakfast in the USA and I’ll order what I want to. And I wanted cube steak coated in flour and deep fried just like fried chicken. And yes I wanted it smothered with cream gravy and throw in a biscuit with more gravy please.

Wow-o-wow I made the right decision. The beef was super tender and well seasoned. Even with all the gravy the beef was still crunchy. And it tasted just like fried chicken only better.

In the end all that bravado failed me. I didn’t eat the potatoes, ate only one egg, swept off most of the gravy. I did finish all of the yummy chicken fried steak.

Chicken Fried Steak ‘n’ Eggs

That’s a biscuit??? They should see this and learn what a biscuit should look and taste like.

biscuit n’ gravy

Both of my cousins had the same taste. They ordered the corned beef hash.

Corned Beef Hash ‘n’ Eggs

Diane, Ken’s wife ordered an omelette filled avocado, cheese, sour cream ‘n’ salsa.

California Omelette

My nephew Kevin said he can finish this giant burrito made with shredded Beef, potatoes, scrambled eggs, cheese, sour cream ‘n’ salsa.

Breakfast Burrito

Young Ryan followed in his older brother’s footsteps and wiped out his plate too.

1 Slice French Toast, 2 Strips of Bacon ‘n’ 1 Egg

These boys were so well behaved. They sat quietly and finished ALL the food on their plates. Burp!

Eggs ‘N’ Things
27560 Newhall Ranch Rd.
Valencia, CA 91355
telephone: (661) 702-8664

Dinner at Orris

Last August I was in Los Angeles for only 2 nights and my cousin and his family arrived on my second day there. We had to make up for lost time.

We had to leave my two adorable nephews behind and went to dinner 30 minutes away. As my cousin Sidney told me years ago, “everything in L.A. is 30 minutes away.”

Mary, Sid’s wife, brought me to one of her favorite restaurants, Orris. Orris was an Asian fusion restaurant that specialized in small plates, Asian tapas if you can call it that.

It was a small restaurant that was filled to the max. Even with reservations we had to wait for 45 minutes in chilly nighttime L.A. weather. Mary assured me it was worth the wait and my shivering.

blurry Mary and Sidney

Mary ordered a LOT of small dishes for the three of us to share. The portions may be small but by the end of the meal we were groaning and loosening our belts.

The seafood ceviche was very fresh and bursting with flavor. The octopus was very tender.

ceviche $8

I don’t really eat raw fish but the snapper carpaccio was amazing. The fresh fish was topped with a shallot, ponzu, olive oil dressing. Toasted almonds gave the delicate fish a nice crunchy contrast.

snapper carpaccio $10.50

I don’t like cooked lettuce. I never eat it in Chinese restaurants. I like all my lettuce to be raw so I was quite hesitant to try the grilled romaine.

I don’t know how to describe this wonderful dish. How can plain charred romaine leaves taste like seared steak? The romaine lettuce had a slight natural sweetness and sharp saltiness from the shaved Parmesan. I could taste olive oil and some citrus in the dressing.

grilled hearts of romaine with Parmesan dressing $10

It was a really fantastic and complex dish made from simple ingredients. Even after eating all the succeeding dishes my mind and taste buds couldn’t stop reminiscing on how good the grilled romaine was.

The halibut tempura with tomato tarragon sauce was another winner. The aggressive flavor of the tomato sauce was a perfect complement to a mild fish like halibut.

halibut tempura $10.50

The free range fried chicken was so soft and tender. The sauce was a sweet and spicy yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) sauce that tasted like barbecue sauce. I couldn’t taste the yuzu much. The sauce didn’t taste that salty but after a while my lips hurt a bit.

fried chicken Japonaise $7

I literally closed my eyes with the first bite of cod. It melted in my mouth. The fish was simply and mildly spiced but the basil mashed potatoes were out of this world.

basil marinated black cod $11

We saw Chef Shiro sitting at the bar and taking his evening meal. As soon as he finished we sequestered him for a photo op with us.

Chef Shiro w/ Mary and me

The lamb was simply grilled. No fancy spices just delicious au jus. The star was the thick and tender perfectly cooked lamb.

Australian lamb chops $17.50

The mushrooms were just sautéed but earthy and yummy. It was the perfect accompaniment to the lamb.

seasonal mushrooms $8

The crab legs seemed to have been boiled in lots of salty water. I was expecting sweet succulent crab but instead got salty and not too tender crab. The dressing was also non distinct and ordinary. This was the only disappointing dish for me.

Alaskan king crab leg $14.50

The apple tarte tatin was not the usual kind drenched in syrup. It was light and super crisp. It was wonderful with the vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

apple tarte tatin $7.50

The flourless Valhrona cake was light and airy not dense like the usual flourless chocolate cake. That’s probably why it needed a big glob of chocolate whipped cream. The coffee gelato was the best!

flourless chocolate cake $7.50

The bill actually wasn’t too bad considering how much wine, food and desserts we consumed. Plus savvy shopper Mary had a 30% discount coupon. If you’re in L.A. you have to do yourself a favor and eat at Orris. Do not, I repeat, do NOT forget to order the grilled heart of romaine.

We closed down the restaurant!

Orris Restaurant
2006 Sawtelle Boulevard
Los Angeles, Ca 90025
telephone: (310) 268-2212

Oishi Wafu & Strip Fries

I love Oishi’s products. I’ve featured their gourmet picks potato chips and Sponge, Plunge and Pillows.

I’m not connected in anyway to Oishi except that my cousin Kevin works there. He always gives me the heads up on their new products so I can order and sell it in my store, Small Office Solutions.

Last week Kevin sent me samples of Wafu and Strip Fries and since I loved them both I wanted to share them with all of you.

Wafu is sold in boxes with 20 sticks inside.

Wafu cheese

The best way to describe Wafu is think of a thick, crunchy sweet barquillos with a thin layer of not so salty cheese inside. These sticks are curiously addicting. The sweet and salty flavor really satisfies my cravings. The biggest problem is stopping. I can easily eat ~~2, 3, 4,~~ 5 sticks in one sitting. And that’s bad!

The other flavor of Wafu is leche flan. It’s ok but I like the cheese better. The leche flan is just sweet but not too sweet.

If you like Piknik shoestring potatoes you will love Strip Fries even more. These fries taste more “potatoe-y” and the flavors are mild.

Strip Fries come in sea salt, mesquite barbecue and sour cream & onion flavors. All are good but my favorite is the sour cream. It comes in 120g cans and 60g pouches.

I saw them in Unimart this afternoon. It’s located in the same aisle as Dirty potato chips and Red Rock potato chips.

Strip Fries in can P65.50 and in pouch P25.50

Dinner at Red Lobster

When I went Los Angeles last August for the last leg of my US trip I stayed with my cousin Sidney in Valencia which was about 30 minutes from L.A.

Unfortunately when I arrived his family was still on vacation in Napa. Good thing I had yaya Lorna for company. We went to the nearby Red Lobster for dinner. The first and last time I ate there was more than ten years ago.

I couldn’t believe it when Lorna said they’ve never eaten at Red Lobster before considering it was so near their house. The place was full when we arrived at 7 pm. We had to wait for about 15 minutes for a table.

lobster appetizers

daily dinner menu

The main reason I wanted to eat at Red Lobster was my memory of their awesome biscuits. I wanted to see if it was as good as I remembered. The warm cheddar bay biscuits were given free before your entree arrives.

My first bite of the cheesey, buttery, garlicky soft yet flaky warm biscuits was even better than I remembered. They were really one of the best biscuits ever. I don’t know why they give it away for free when I would happily pay for it. Lorna and I easily finished the first basket of biscuits. We asked for more and took those home. I wanted to eat more but I was getting full already.

cheddar bay biscuits

Lorna and I split a bowl of lobster bisque. It was very creamy and flavorful but way too salty. We had to return it.

lobster bisque cup $5.25 bowl $6.75

I love nachos. I love lobster. When I saw lobster nachos on the menu I immediately ordered it. Whoever thought of this combination is a genius. It was fabulous! I didn’t miss greasy beef at all. Not that this was healthier with all that cheese and sour cream.

lobster nachos $9.99
Tortilla chips topped with langostino lobster meat, creamy Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, fresh pico de gallo, jalapeño peppers and sour cream.

Lorna we did a good job!

The next time I go to the US I’m definitely going to Red Lobster again to binge on the yummy biscuits.

Red Lobster
27524 The Old Road
Valencia, CA 91355
telephone: (661) 257-8900

Lunch at 26 Beach

Just by looking at this burger you can probably guess that I was in Los Angeles. After spending more than 6 weeks in the USA last June to August my trip was about to end in L.A.

If you’ve been following my blog I started out my trip in San Francisco and ate my way through Virginia, DC and New York. The shocking thing was I didn’t gain a single pound. I may even have lost weight. The secret was more shopping and less eating!

My cousin Kenneth picked me up from the airport and we went straight to 26 Beach to meet another cousin Polly.

26 Beach in Venice is Polly’s most favorite restaurant. She said she has eaten almost everything in the menu. I really liked the shabby chic look of the restaurant.

26 Beach’s lunch menu

Most of the restaurants I’ve eaten at in the USA usually had a short one page menu. 26 beach had a very extensive menu asides from the single page pictured above. They had Craftsman burgers, brunch, sandwiches, salads, entrees, pizzas and many, many more. I couldn’t decide what to order.

I finally chose The Full Monty, a sandwich made with French toast stuffed with black forest ham, swiss cheese & blackberry jam served w/ maple syrup on the side. It was a sweet, salty, breakfast sandwich and dessert all in one. It was just the right size for me. I liked it! Very satisfying.

The Full Monty $13

I really didn’t want to eat any more burgers but I was really curious about their award winning California Roll Burger so I asked Kenneth if he would like to order it.

Only in California will you find a burger made with Angus beef, snow crab salad, avocado, pickled ginger, baby mix lettuce, tomato, nori & shoyu-wasabi-aoli. It was ginormous!

I tried a small piece and my taste buds got so confused. I could barely taste the beef. It wasn’t my type of burger but Ken really liked it. I still can’t believe he finished the whole thing. I’ll stick to a plain burger, thank you.

Chef Katsu’s original California roll burger $19

Polly wanted me to try “The Royals – Eggs over brown rice Hawaiian style” so she ordered the chicken curry royal.

Eggs scrambled w/ chicken, snow peas, bean sprouts, and topped with coconut curry sauce & served over brown rice sounded like a healthy and boring combination but it was really, really good. I specially LOVED the curry sauce. I wanted to eat the sauce on it’s own. Really tasty and potent stuff. It made the boring brown rice and egg dish come to life.

Chicken Curry Royal $13

Polly’s friend had the breakfast sandwich with grilled bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, & avocado. She requested the fried eggs on the side. Good decision otherwise it would have been one messy sandwich to eat.

Breakfast Sandwich $12

fried eggs

This was Polly’s daughter, Lucy then. The cutie recently celebrated her 1st birthday in Manila.

These are just 2 of my L.A. cousins. More coming up!

Kenneth, Polly with Lucy and me

26 Beach
3100 Washington Blvd. Venice, Ca
telephone: (310) 823-7526
website

Dinner at Vapiano

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

For my last meal in Virginia I chose to eat at Vapiano. Sharon and I already ate there a week before but I didn’t have my camera with me. I liked it so much that we went back with La and her kids so I could shoot and eat again.

Vapiano originated from Germany and is in several countries around the world. They are opening more branches in the USA.

Vapiano’s concept is fresh casual Italian food. Everything is made to order in front of you. Another innovation is their use of the ‘chip card’ which is given to you when you enter.

bar and dessert section

In the middle of the dining area is a mini garden which housed pots of all the herbs they use in their food.

fresh herbs

The long counter is divided into several areas – pasta, salad, panini, pizza & antipasti.

Proceed to the counter of your choice. Grab a tray, utensils, glass and napkins.

At the pasta bar choose your pasta.

Choose what kind of sauce you want.

(click to enlarge)

The pots of herbs are right in front of the chef for easy picking.

Tell the chef your order and put your chip card in front of the scanner and it will encode your order. Whatever you order in the restaurant including drinks and dessert will be charged to your chip card. When you’re done eating just bring the chip card to the cashier and settle your bill. Fast and easy!

This just shows you how versatile a wok is. It really is the best cooking vessel for any kind of cuisine.

fresh pasta choices

ingredients & sauces

I really liked this way of ordering and interacting with the chef. I was even able to customize my pasta. I asked the chef if he can add some cream to the tomato sauce of my sausage pasta and he did!

The first time I went to Vapiano I had the Granchi de Fiume or crayfish, lobster sauce and fresh vegetables. I loved it so much I told La to order it.

The lobster sauce was creamy without being too heavy and the crayfish was very fresh and plentiful. The serving was quite big too. We all managed to finish only half of our pastas.

granchi de fiume $11.95

This time I tried the Italian sausage, roasted vegetables with tomato sauce. With my request of the addition of cream sauce it became a pink sauce. Delicious! The pasta was perfectly al dente and the fresh herbs really made a difference in taste.

sausage e verdure $10.95

Sha had the carbonara again. So not adventurous this cousin of mine! It was really good and fattening though.

fettucine carbonara $10.95

The kids loved their pizza and spaghetti.

children’s menu- cheese pizza

children’s menu- butter and cheese spaghetti

Bread came with the pasta. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar were readily available on the table. We just asked the chef for a dish of Parmesan cheese to add to our oil and vinegar for a perfect dip for the bread.

Their desserts were served in tiny shot glasses. So cute and yummy!

rich & creamy chocolate torte $4.95

whipped semi-sweet chocolate & cream

I wouldn’t be surprised if someone from Manila is already negotiating for a franchise. This concept will surely be a big hit in the Philippines. Good, fast, fresh Italian food at a friendly price.

Vapiano
21100 Dulles Town Circle
Dulles,VA 20166
telephone: (703) 574-4740

a branch is opening in Reston Town Center soon. Woohoo!

Lunch at Founding Farmers

After visiting Newseum I walked to the restaurant my cousin Sharon chose for us to have lunch at.

Sharon told me I could take the bus or the Metro but I decided to walk the 14 blocks from 6th St. to 20th St. It didn’t look that far from Google maps which said I would get there in 35-38 minutes. I took much longer than that with detours to Macy’s, Banana Republic and a few other stores. I did get some to take pictures in front of the White House so the walk was worth it.

Google map from Newseum to Founding Fathers

Founding Farmers served American food with emphasis on using locally sourced produce and meats when available.

I liked the clouds in the ceiling.

The best thing I had for lunch was the superb skillet cornbread with honey butter and sea salt. It was so unlike the typical dry and coarse cornbread. This was smooth, moist, tender with lots of corn kernels. It tasted like corn pound cake. I literally closed my eyes when I ate it. Heavenly!

Skillet Corn Bread $5

There were so many things on the menu that I wanted to order but in the end I chose the fried chicken. It was mostly the mac n cheese and the waffles that enticed me. I was also hoping the fried chicken would be as good as the one I had at Central Michel Richard.

Unfortunately the chicken breast was dry and overcooked. The kale was good, the mac n cheese just satisfactory. The waffles were the best part of the meal. They were light and crisp. It was the only thing I finished. The rest went into a doggy bag.

Southern Pan-Fried Chicken $16

Lemonade

Sha said this was the only place she orders tomato soup. It’s her favorite and she never fails to order it every time she goes to Founding Farmers.

Roasted Tomato Soup $6

I guess the prime rib sandwich was to her liking since she finished it all.

Prime Rib Dip Sandwich $15

My other cousin La also loved both her soup and pasta dish.

chicken lemon soup $6

Roasted Butternut Squash-Marscarpone Ravioli $15

We weren’t planning to order dessert but our server raved over the red velvet cake which she claimed was even better than the one at Georgetown Cupcake.

The cake was good but not better than Georgetown Cupcake’s red velvet cupcake. But the cream cheese frosting was the best we’ve ever eaten. It had a very distinct cream cheese flavor and not too much confectioner’s sugar. The vanilla bean ice cream was superb too.

Red Velvet Cake $8

Founding Farmers
1924 Pennsylvania Ave, NW (IMF HQ2),
Washington DC 20006
telephone: 202.822.TRUE (8783)

Newseum

Last July 2010 I went to the USA for an extended vacation. After more than 4 weeks of shopping and eating in Virginia and DC it was time for a break. I went to Newseum, a museum dedicated to news and journalism.

The night before I did some research on their web site and found an excellent 2 hour highlights tour (download link) that showed me how to maximize my visit to Newseum.

I followed the guide and started at the concourse level. There were so many, many fascinating things to see in Newseum and these were just some of the ones that really caught my interest.

Actual sections of the Berlin wall were displayed.

8 sections of the original wall

back of the walls

3 story East German guard tower

I took the huge glass elevator to level 6 to get the best view of the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall.

world’s largest hydraulic elevator

U.S. Capitol

Pennsylvania Avenue Terrace

On this level front pages from newspapers around the world were displayed. For the Philippines there was the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Manila Standard Today.

front pages for Aug. 3, 2010

Next I walked down one level to the News History Gallery.

News History Gallery

Important headlines through the decades were archived and presented here. There were also short films throughout the museum.

There was a special Elvis exhibit when I was there.

The receipt of the wedding ring Elvis bought for Priscilla was on display as well as his American Express credit card.

The saddest exhibit was at Level 4 at the 911 gallery. Looking at all the pictures, newspaper headlines, films and remains brought tears to my eyes.

This was a piece of the antenna above the north tower of the World Trade Center.

The camera, lenses and press passes of a journalist who was killed was recovered.

Level 3 – World News

truck used by Time photographers

Back at the concourse level was the actual cabin of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

I finished Newseum in about 3 hours. After that I took a leisurely 14 block walk to meet my cousins for lunch. The blocks weren’t even in a straight path. I had to cross several long blocks. I didn’t mind though since the sights were very interesting. And yes I did some window shopping too.

I just kept walking along Pennsylvania Ave. and followed the Google map I saved on my phone. I was surprised to see a part closed to vehicles.

Still walking aimlessly when I came upon this.

Hmm it looked familiar.

It’s the White House! Silly me I didn’t even know I was going to pass the White House. It was a good bonus on my long walk since I’ve never had a photo opp there in all the times that I’ve been to DC.

It didn’t look as big as on TV.

Newseum
555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
telephone: 888/NEWSEUM (888/639-7386)

Palaganas Bakery and Carlo’s Pizza

After reading Lori’s entry on a bakeshop that sold raisin bread better than Baguio Country Club’s famous raisin bread we went looking for it.

We got a little lost following Lori’s instructions. So here’s how we got there. After exiting Camp John Hay’s Loakan gate turn left and after approximately 1.5 km you will see it on your right.

walang patawad!!

There were many kinds of bread but I followed what Lori said was good. I tried the long johns which were about 6″ of fried bread stuffed with cheese. I loved it so much. The bread wasn’t oily yet it was dense and chewy. It had a slight hint of sweetness with saltiness from the cheese. I brought back 6 pieces to Manila. I should have bought a dozen and kept it in the freezer. The long john costs P9 each.

Deb loved the pan de coco and she bought 20 pieces. It costs P6 each.

We arrived at 11:20 am and the raisin bread just came out of the kitchen was still warm. I had a loaf sliced so everyone could try it.

After receiving a hard and dry raisin bread from Baguio Country Club as a gift I was wary to buy it again. Palaganas Bakery’s raisin bread was soft, moist and filled with a generous quantity of large and plump raisins and lots of cinnamon. I really liked it. It was good even after 2 days in room temperature. It kept in the refrigerator for 5 more days and tasted even better when toasted.

Only Deb and I bought raisin bread. The others still preferred BCC’s raisin bread though. I wonder why.

raisin bread P95

Later that night we decided to stay home in our jammies and ordered pizza for dinner.

It was my first time to try Carlo’s Pizza and I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the super thin crust and the toppings were generous. Everyone’s favorite was the 4 cheese pizza with chunks of blue cheese.

quatro formaggi, regular P290