Munchin Monday | WhyDid.com

Why Did You Eat That: Just Another Restaurant

By Kirsten|July 26th, 2010|Los Angeles, Why Did You Eat That?|

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Before heading down to Temecula for our early Saturday morning adventure (more to come on that), we stopped at The Grove to pick up some essentials (read: Kiehl’s). Seeing as I haven’t been to a “mall” in quite some time, I had forgotten the type of people who frequent malls on a Friday nights. That being said, we opted not to dine in The Grove and headed to a place suggested by a friend called Jar.

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When we walked in, I hadn’t been sure what to expect being as I’m not from Los Angeles and I really never know what the hell to expect here. I was pleasantly surprised to see a warm and sexy room that had a Boogie Nights (sans mass amounts of drugs and girls on rollerskates). I felt a little underdressed because I’d just planned on being in a car for two hours and had just thrown on a jersey maxi dress and flip flops. The room was large and surprisingly empty for a Friday night.

We were seated at a nice table along the wall and our waiter came over promptly with the cocktail menu and a smile. It seemed possible that he would break into song and dance at any moment, but thankfully I appreciate overzealousness. We started off with the crab deviled eggs which were absolutely unbelievable. You had me at deviled eggs, but adding the crab really took them over the top. There were a lot of them for just two people, but since they were so delish, we had no trouble polishing them off.

slide_02 For our main, we shared a porterhouse steak with roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes as sides. The meat was sliced for us upon serving and was cooked to our specification. The meat was juicy and delish and they offered several different sauces, but they really weren’t even necessary. The asparagus was fine, but unremarkable. The mashed potatoes were creamy and pure, not overly seasoned. There was more than enough food for two (which is good news for Smitty who was stashed in his bag below the table).

Despite being totally stuffed, we couldn’t resist the brownie and ice cream for dessert. Luckily, it was the perfect size after gorging yourself on steak. It was just enough to get a taste of chocolate without combusting onto our singing waiter.

I would certainly go back again for a good, quiet dinner with friends or date with a cute boy. (This is not a “scene” if that’s what you are looking for). So trade in your sequin mini for your elastic waist pants and head over to Jar for your next special occasion.

Jar

8225 Beverly Boulevard

323-655-6566

Screen shot 2010-10-12 at 2.01.23 PM Splendid Cotton Racerback Maxi Dress, $125

Screen shot 2010-10-12 at 2.37.18 PM Kensie Drape Front Cardigan, $68

AntikBatik-Tipi-Black_325 Antik Batik Tipi Sandal, $210

Screen shot 2010-10-12 at 2.21.45 PM Kate Spade Metallic Macdougal Alley Thomas Crossbody, $185

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did You Eat That: Not Just Another Meatball

By Kirsten|July 19th, 2010|Los Angeles, Why Did You Eat That?|

C_LA2-2_1 While in Los Angeles, I have been lucky enough to dine as some of best places the city has to offer. Last Thursday night, we went to Cecconi’s in West Hollywood. My girlfriends had been telling me this was one of their favorite places to eat in LA and upon arrival, I could see why. We passed through the terrace into the bar and main dining area. The room was aesthetically pleasing both with the decor as well as the clientele. I shouldn’t have been surprised seeing as Cecconi’s comes to you from the same folks as Soho House.

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We started with the goat cheese and summer truffle pizza and when I tell you it’s to die for, you’re lucky I’m here to type this. This was no dainty pizza either. It could have easily fed four, but we went ahead and left room for our entrees. By far one of the most delicious white pizzas I have ever had.

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For entrees, we ordered tuna tartare, which they bring to the table so that you can instruct them as to how you’d like it prepared. Also ordered was the halibut with lemon and chili rainbow chard. It isn’t often that a side is even better than the main, but this was one of those instances. I could have eaten an entire bowl of that chard. The crab ravioli with saffron sauce did not disappoint either. I love any type of ravioli, but this one was especially good. The pasta was homemade and the crab was so moist that there was not even need for sauce.

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We didn’t stick around for dessert, but I hear that the wood oven baked pear gratin with cinnamon ice cream is worth saving room for.

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I can certainly say that this will be somewhere I return. Perhaps I will throw a little dinner party in the private Butterfly room. It’s not a cheap night out, but would certainly impress a date and is worth the splurge if you are looking an incredibly delicious meal.

Cecconi’s West Hollywood

8764 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90069

310-432-2000

So what does one wear when dining in one of the prettiest places in LA? How about this:

NIGH-WD66_V4 Nightcap Clothing Victorian Dress, $303

Screen shot 2010-10-12 at 1.33.36 PM Nicholas Kirkwood Burma Slingbacks, $740

Screen shot 2010-10-12 at 1.38.32 PM Rebecca Minkoff Clutch, $345

xx,

WhyDid

Why Don’t You Eat Me: Down Under Eats

By Kirsten|May 24th, 2010|Guest Blogger, Why Don't You Eat Me?|

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I’m heading to Australia this fabulous Munchin’ Monday and I figured I’d leave you with a list of the best Aussie places in Manhattan so you can get a little taste of the land down under for yourselves. I won’t be blogging for a month while I’m there, so take that time to catch up on all the fabulous places I’ve reviewed and get yourselves ready for more once I return.

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I’ll make sure to have a meat pie for you while I’m gone! I’m also dying to try Kangaroo (I only got to pet one last time), so wait to hear all about that once I return! Or you can always beat me to it and go and eat at one of the places mentioned below.

I have a feeling most of you have never thought about how many Aussie places there are in NYC. Well, there are quite a few. From low end to high end, restaurants and bars, of course NYC has a little taste of everything- including Oz.

Public
Eight Mile Creek
Tuck Shop (my fave meat pie in the city)
Van Diemens
The Australian
The Sunburnt Cow
Bondi Road

G’day Mates!

See you when I return!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouEatMe

Why Don’t You Eat Me: Cheeseburger in Paradise

By Kirsten|May 17th, 2010|Guest Blogger, Why Don't You Eat Me?|

Seeing as May is National Hamburger Month, I figured that it would be in everyone’s best interest for me to do a post on NYC’s best burgers. Now, of course, everyone has their opinion as to what makes a good burger, but these are my picks for the best low-end (typical all-American) and high-end (fancy schmancy) burgers here in NYC as well as some of my other favorite burgers.

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” Kinda Burger:

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Shake Shack: I call this the ‘take me out to the ball-game kinda burger’ because the Mets literally put a Shake Shack in Shea Stadium. This is your classic juicy burger that that you’ll never ever tire of. We’ve all waited in their line at Madison Square Park and we’ve all been happy to do so because it’s worth it. Danny Meyer definitely knows what he’s doing when it comes to food and he pretty much outsmarted every other restaurateur with his brilliant equation of good, simple burgers in a casual atmosphere. This is the simple burger we all grew up with and will always hit the spot.

shakeshack

“Black Tie” kinda burger:

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Minetta Tavern: While we all crave the all-American burger, we also crave a taste of excellence and that is exactly what Keith McNally has done with Minetta Tavern’s Black Label Burger. The Black Label Burger is a selection of prime dry-aged beef cuts topped with caramelized onions. Forget adding anything else to this burger because it doesn’t need it. The burger speaks for itself and it speaks my language. Good luck getting a reservation though. My recommendation is to get there as soon as they open and grab a seat at the bar.

black label burger

Other notable NYC burgers:

Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien
Corner Bistro
5 Napkin Burger
DBGB Kitchen and Bar
The Blind Pig

There you have it! Now I’m left craving a burger and you’re left with a list of the best burgers in Manhattan!

WhyDon’tYouEatMe gives both Shake Shack and Minetta Tavern 4 out of 5 mouths for being tender, juicy, and succulent in their own fabulous ways.

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See you next Munchin’ Monday!!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouEatMe

Why Don’t You Eat Me: I Fon-due

By Kirsten|May 4th, 2010|Guest Blogger, Why Don't You Eat Me?|

Mix cheese and chocolate and I’m sold. Toss them into a fondue pot and I’m double sold. Who can resist dipping multiple scrumptious items into even more scrumptious melted sauces? Not me. So, when Taureau opened up on 7^th street between 1^st and A (one of my favorite block as far as food goes) I couldn’t wait to try it out!

After feasting on BBQ and Mexican all weekend in my hometown of Memphis, I decided to head on over. We had reservations for 7:30 and got there at 7 after stopping by to pick up a bottle of wine first (they’re BYOB!). No one else was in the restaurant, but then again it was a Monday at 7 in the East Village.

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Obviously I’d already scoped out the menu and knew exactly what I wanted. I ordered a cheese fondue called Devil’s Wiff. The very helpful waitress explained that Chef Didier came up with this name himself (even though Wiff isn’t necessarily a word and doesn’t exactly have a meaning). Well, when you come up with something that tasty, you can call it whatever you want. The Devil’s Wiff is a blend of pepper jack cheese and wine. I picked this one for the “spice” factor. The fondue comes standard with a side of greens and croutons for dipping and they leave the rest up to you. I chose cauliflower, red apple, hot chorizo, and marshmallow cut slab bacon. Oh yes, I did indeed just say marshmallow cut slab bacon. Phenomenal.

They also have meat fondue that you cook yourself in different choices of oil, but I decided to save that for another time and leave room for their milk chocolate fondue called the petite au lait (for 1-2 people). It’s served with fresh fruits (bananas, strawberries, and pineapples) as well as dried figs, dried apricots, and baby marshmallows. This is the kind of dessert where all conversation ceases until every last bit is consumed. It was so good that we may or may not have started dipping our spoons in for the remainder of chocolate once our fruit was depleted.

During our meal, Chef Didier walked in with his motorcycle jacket and helmet in hand and stopped to greet us. I told him how much I enjoyed dinner and he told me that it’s all about simple, good food. Exactly what I’d been looking for and exactly what I got!

I give Taureau 4 out of 5 mouths for being fun, different, yet straight forward.

4 mouths