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For the Love of Chocolate
Dear Readers,
This Valentines Day, give the long love letters a breather and say it with some fantastically stylish chocolate.
The options out on the Los Angeles chocolate market are red (and pink and glittering) hot, and these sweet gifts of love are abundant and beyond fabulous.
After scoping out the scene, here are some local shops and varieties that strike me as incredibly hip, modern and totally gourmet.
Compartes Chocolatier in Brentwood has introduced their Compartes = Love Valentines collection. A few major features in this lovely group are the Frambois Bonny Doon Wine Trufflle, a rich chocolate with a classic raspberry dessert wine center, a lavendar infused homemade marshmallow covered in dark chocolate, and a passion fruit puree filled dark chocolate truffle. Also on the Valentines menu are chocolates in the shape of angels dusted with an array of glitters, including some rather passionate pinks, purples and golds. Lest we forget the classic confection of love, Compartes also has the dramatic long stemmed chocolate covered strawberries. www.compartes.com
There is nothing like biting into a heart shaped chocolate and Boule Beverly Hills makes it even better with a passion fruit white chocolate rendition. Boule, LA’s modern patisserie, “where style and (sweet) substance meet” will lure us further in love with a few new seasonally inspired, and consistently infallable, flavor combinations soon to hit the store. So far, the list includes Guava Pink Peppercorn, Rose Water Caramel and White Chocolate Honey Lavendar. www.boulela.com
Valerie Confections’ Valentines offerings are spectacular and, perhaps, even pioneering a new trend in “his and hers” chocolate. “Pour Elle Gift Box” contains both large rose petal white chocolate hearts, and smaller bittersweet chocolate hearts filled with rose petal passionfruit ganache and is packaged in a white box with a pink grosgrain bow, while “Pour Homme Gift Box” for men has darkened milk chocolate with almond toffee bits for its large hearts, and caramel filled bittersweet chocolates for its smaller ones. Pour Homme is tied up in a pink bow too, but sports the more earthy brown box. Both variations look absolutely delicious! (Pour Elle pictured below)www.valerieconfections.com
A Seated Coffee at Susina
Coffee to go, or for take away, is a daily savior for work and travel. On the weekends or on a date with a friend, however, there is nothing like coffee taken a bit more slowly, and sipped from a real porcelain cup.
A place where I continually enjoy this pleasure is Susina Bakery and Cafe, just west of La Brea on Beverly Blvd. The beans of choice, Lion Coffee, produce a hot, rich and balanced brew that is utterly satisfying both when savored as an individual serving, or upped to two; the blend here suits caffeine thresholds well in that sense.
Making this experience even more delightful - morning, noon or night - are Susina’s European cafe stylings. The decor is elegant and the gleaming bakery case is filled top to bottom and twenty feet wide with artfully and freshly made European pastries, unique small cookies, ornate cakes, along with non-dessert quiches, panini and salads. Susina’s bowl of freshly cut fruit is even pretty and way better than any other fruit cups I’ve bumped into along the way. Ultimately, a visit here is refreshing.
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Froma, Beaming with Gourmet Spirit
Amidst the waves of miscellany on Melrose Avenue, a welcome food and drink spot is aglow with epicurean and artisanal light. This little beacon is called Froma…on Melrose.
Warm and inviting to both the food connoisseur and someone just looking for something satisfying and delicious to eat, Froma is both a gourmet food retailer, specializing in artisanal food, charcuterie and cheese, and a to-go shop offering thoughtfully and expertly crafted breakfasts, panini and salads. There are many exciting options on this menu, such as the Mont Tam and Jam (Clearbrook Farms jam with Organic Cowgirl Creamery Mont Tam), a Pannetone French Toast with fresh fruit and 100% Maple Syru, the Salmone Marinato Salad (House Cured Organic Farmed Salmon, Fennel and Naval Oranges with Lemon Vinaigrette) and the Parmigianno Panini (Prosciutto di Parma, Tomatoes, Gorgonzola Dolce, Parmigianno). And, gratefully, there’s more where that came from.
Even lovelier, Froma serves as a wine shop too, hosting wine tastings twice per month. If you are lucky, the wine tastings will allow you to indulge in such treats as the decadently gooey Brie and crispy, perfectly oily house-made crostinis (pictured here).
All in all, with its beautiful and tempting selections of food delicacies and wines available, it is plain to see that the co-owners of Froma on Melrose– one a sommelier and one an executive chef of a fine dining restaurant – definitely know and love their food. This is the type of place a foodie might call home
Fruit Snacks Around Town
As loveable the idea of fruit snacks shaped like sharks or Tiny Toons is, finding a fruity chewy treat with either a more sophisticated taste, or an undeniably natural fruit flavor, is pretty good too. Two recent favorites that fit this bill are Leonidas’ Pates de Fruit and Ha’s Apple Farm’s Fruit Rolls.
Leonidas’ is known for its chocolates, but for a fruit concentrated and straight sugar rush, their Pates de Fruit (also known as fruit jellies) are the way to go. The Pates are sweet like candy but use natural fruit pectins, which is always a plus. Shaped like miniature fruits (see pic!), they are almost too cute to eat!
Ha’s Apple Farm has a presence at many of the Farmers Markets around town and offers plenty of fresh Fuji apples, jams, butters, vinegars and dehydrated/dried fruits. For a healthful, totally natural, and no-sugars added sweet bite, try the Fruit Rolls. With bright and rich flavors, these always delicious/sometimes sticky rolls stand out as one of the best fruit “leather”/stretched fruit out there The variety offered – including Fuji with Bartlett Pear, Strawberry with Fuji, Jalapeno Fuji with Bartlett Pear, Peach with Fuji, and Ginger Fuji with Bartlett Pear – will keep you coming back for a new bag each week.
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Good Lunching in “the ‘dena”
Discovered: A lunch time eatery that rates high in the categories of quality, freshness, variety and overall deliciousness.
The Place: Porta Via Italian Foods in Pasadena
The Atmosphere: Sunny and fresh deli/cafe with seats indoors and outdoors on its charming back patio. There is a parking lot too!
Extra-Exciting Details:
The very veg’ friendly trio of Antipasti is a great value – and you can pick from a dozen freshly made, gourmet sides – at $7.79.
A plentiful amount of Italian classics (eggplant parmigiana, lasagna) for making at home offers a supremely tasty convenience.
House-baked biscotti and cannoli…and a humongously decadent cake-like brownie. Need more be said?!
Let The Good Times Roll…With Beignets
With Mardi Gras right around the corner, now is the perfect time to indulge in one of New Orleans’ best bites – the beignet. Coated in confectioners sugar and piping hot, these fried doughnuts, may have their roots in France and exist predominantly in New Orleans, Louisiana, but have no fear; a little LA can be found in L.A. at these choice locations.
For a few beignets on the go, along with a festive, bustling “French Quarter” feel, swing through 3rd and Fairfax’s Original Farmers Market to reach The Gumbo Pot. A fun place with the right price, this is a great option to reward yourself with a mouthful of sweet, soft and chewy beignets.
Beignets are excellent as a stand along snack as well as a wonderful end to a meal, and The Hungry Cat of Hollywood seconds this notion. Try their Vanilla Beignets with Blackberry Compote.
On that same note of taking a traditionally casual item to new heights, Hatfield’s Restaurant on Beverly Blvd version will WOW your taste buds. Check this out: Sugar and Spice Dusted Beignets, with Venezuelan Chocolate Fondu and Vanilla Malted Milkshake Shot.
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March is underway and, therefore, bursts of spring fever are making it more and more difficult to resist ice cream and any of its frozen family members, like frozen yogurt, milk shakes, and….milkies? Milkies, cute-as-a-button-sized chocolate coated ice cream bon bons, are just one of the spectacular tasting ice cream confections at Milk, a Wonka-esque fantasy ice cream parlor/bakery shop come true.
Truly, it’s exceptionally hard to decide where to expend your calories at this hip spot located on the Beverly Boulevard foodie strip. Start debating the items in advance. They include….ice creams sandwiched between a vanilla or chocolate macaroon top and bottom; The Blondie Sundae (white chocolate blondie with vanilla ice cream, butterscotch and pecan praline); Triple Chocolate Shake (rich chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce and chocolate chips); Strawberry Shortcake Shake (vanilla ice cream, malted milk, strawberry sorbet, buttery crunchie cookie crumbles). And then there are multiple gourmet and traditional ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurts. It’s all so good!
Generally speaking, decent – let alone delicious – food is very hard to find near the Hollywood and Vine/Hollywood and Highland blocks. Loteria Grill, however, totally has defied the odds. Their menu of authentic Mexican flavors and meals, modeled after their original menu from the 3rd and Fairfax Original Farmers market stand, is superb tasting and beautifully presented. You can choose either crispy tortas, a sope, tacos, or burrito and select which of the vegetarian, chicken, pork and beef combinations you would like to accompany. This system equals out to….more than enough reasons to keep coming back.
In addition, Loteria offers beautiful tasting and looking entrees and specials as well as a bevy of bevies. An assortment of freshly, individually made margaritas, red and white sangrias, tons of tequilas, etc as well as plenty of tempting agua frescas.
After dining at Loteria Grill’s fancier outpost at Hollywood and Cherokee a few times, it is evident that the food, drink and atmosphere is well worth a visit.
Sausage in the City
Currently, the sausage scene is super hot in Los Angeles. Hip places for sausages and the like — Duck and Bacon with Jalapeno, Vegetarian Kielbasa, all-beef, grass-fed dogs — have been appearing in more and more places.
Take, for instance, the Let’s Be Frank truck, which not too long ago was an organic, grass-fed beef hot dog “destination” treat, vending out of one location only in Culver City. Now this tasty truck parks at different stylish locales, participates in wine tastings and has a Twitter following. (Twitter.com/letsbefrank) In addition, one of the newest spots for modern, local, “fast-casual” fair, The Golden State, offers Let’s Be Frank’s, along with its en vogue food location on Fairfax.
Another sign of the sausage-loving times is the new Wurstkuche Restaurant, a “purveyor of exotic sausages,” which has recently entered the downtown LA eating scene. This menu consists of six Classics like Bratwurst, Hot Italian and vegetarian-friendly “sausages” made with soy, ten Gourmets such as a Mango Jalapeno Chicken Turkey combo, and five “exotics” including rabbit and rattlesnake (!!!) blends. These choices, plus bundles of Belgian beers and artisanal, soda refreshment equal super chic city eats.
Feeling at Home in The Golden State
Looking for a new place to grab a casual, yet quality locally produced, bite and a nice CA glass of beer or wine? And, maybe a bowl or two of the always awesome Scoops ice cream?? Well, The Golden State Cafe, located at Fairfax (across the street from Canter’s) should do the trick. It’s a comfey, stylish nook on Fairfax offering simply tasty sandwiches like The Burger or the BLTA and sausage sandwiches (all sorts from Let’s Be Frank and Huntington Meats) along with fresh and delicious sides like Cabbage Jalapeno Slaw, a nice Potato Salad with chives, shallots and mustard, a refreshing and crisp Persian Cucumber Salad….and of course fries, both sweet potato and regular with a housemade hazelnut romesco. Order your meal - along with a pint of beer or tumbler of wine from California producers or a root beer float – at the counter and be on your way to a delicious, easy going meal. The nice staff with the cute gold foil t-shirts, the freestyle music and the tv will make you want to take a load off, stay and relax for a little while! http://thegoldenstatecafe.com/index.html
