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Peggy Sue’s 50′s Diner – Yermo, CA

June 12, 2013

Alice @ Nom Nom Cat Nom Adventures 50s diner, country fried steak, desert, las vegas, milkshakes, nostalgia, peggy sues, road trip, rootbeer float, yermo 5 Comments

I could not even begin to imagine how many cars cruise along the desert highway between Southern California and Las Vegas, see the “50′s Diner” billboards and signs, and continue on their way. We have been guilty of that ourselves on multiple occasions. But thanks to one fateful drive home from a weekend getaway (and a gnarly craving for milkshakes), we finally stopped in and I’m so glad we did.

Cute signs welcome us into the restaurant

The walls were completely covered with paraphernalia of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and The Beatles. Album covers, concert posters, autographed portraits, all neatly arranged in a nostalgic mosaic. The entire left side of the diner is actually a gift shop dedicated to 50′s memorabilia, an impressive collection indeed!

LA WineFest 2013 – Hollywood, CA

June 10, 2013

Alice @ Nom Nom Cat Nom Adventures champagne, cheese, food event, hollywood, la winefest, lobster roll, los angeles, truffle fries, wine tasting 2 Comments

We were super excited to find out that we had won Gourmet Pigs‘ giveaway of a pair of tickets to this past weekend’s LA WineFest at the historic Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. We love food events and this was an awesome opportunity; we otherwise would have had to dole out $60+ a head for admission, although with the wine and beer freely flowing and part of the proceeds going to benefit a good cause, we could see how it could still be very worth it.

Including a souvenir wine glass!

With an impressive exhibitors list of over 500 local and international wineries, breweries, spirit-makers, and food vendors, this 8th annual event drew visitors from all over LA to partake in the festivities while also supporting the 2013 official charity Food Forward. Now that’s a pretty good way to spend a weekend in LA, if you ask me!

Risotto ai Funghi (Mushroom Risotto)

June 5, 2013

Alice @ Nom Nom Cat Main Noms, Side Noms, Small Noms arborio rice, comfort food, cremini, italian, mushroom risotto, risotto, risotto ai funghi 4 Comments

Risotto ai Funghi, Italian for mushroom risotto, is traditionally made with porcini mushrooms. However, with porcini mushrooms hard to come by aside from the foragers at local farmer’s markets, I whipped up this risotto with good ol’ cremini (baby portabello) mushrooms and it’s still a comforting, hearty meal for a cold night. You really could use any mushrooms or blend of mushrooms of your choosing, although I would not recommend using only white button mushrooms – those little guys are a bit plain in flavor.

Risotto ai Funghi

Gottsui – Sawtelle, West Los Angeles

June 3, 2013

Alice @ Nom Nom Cat Nom Adventures comfort food, gottsui, japanese, little osaka, okonomiyaki, osaka, sawtelle, wasabi mayo, west los angeles 1 Comment

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is often translated as a Japanese “pancake” or “pizza” with a cabbage & batter base, assorted toppings that range from octopus legs (たこ, tako) to cheese (チーズ, chiizu) to bacon, and typically drizzled with the sweet and viscous Worcestershire-based okonomi sauce. And for such delicious comfort food, okonomiyaki is pretty hard to find in LA (though there is no shortage of sushi, ramen, and izakaya joints if you know where to look!). So when we found Gottsui in one of the busiest plazas on Sawtelle, we were super excited. It’s appropriate that this Kansai-based dish had found its LA home in Little Osaka.

Yosh – ready for okonomiyaki!

I was so thrilled that I went twice in one week, bringing along different friends each time. Without further ado…

Morton’s The Steakhouse – Beverly Hills, CA

May 30, 2013

Alice @ Nom Nom Cat Nom Adventures beef, beverly hills, family, mortons, sauteed mushrooms, souffle, steak, steakhouse, truffle fries 2 Comments

My dad loves steak, and my parents love to visit us here in LA and check out the awesome restaurant scene that Martin and I often take for granted. So it was with much excitement and enthusiasm that Martin and I decided to treat them to dinner at Morton’s The Steakhouse in Beverly Hills for my dad’s birthday last month.

Mmmm steak….

The service was stellar, the ambiance enchanting, the food phenomenal, and the company simply the best. (Sorry, no alliteration for that last one. How about fantastic familia? Now I’m just trying too hard…)

Salmon en Papillote

May 28, 2013

Alice @ Nom Nom Cat Main Noms baked fish, lemon, parchment, quick and easy, salmon, salmon en papillotte 1 Comment

En papillote… sounds awfully fancy, doesn’t it? French for “in parchment,” this dish is exactly as it sounds – salmon fillets baked in a parchment pouch. It looks impressive for its simplicity of preparation, and best of all, the parchment packaging makes cleanup a breeze (yes, I know I sound like a Reynold’s foil commercial).

Quick & easy baked salmon en papillote

I think salmon and lemon are a classic combination, so why fix what isn’t broken? I went extra simple (only 4 ingredients!) with fresh lemon, butter, and a lemon pepper blend, but you could easily spruce this up with some fresh or dried dill, fresh lemon zest, or even a splash of white wine for flavor and moisture.

Island Creek Oyster Bar – Boston, MA

May 23, 2013

Martin Nom Adventures boston, island creek, oyster bar, oysters, oysters on the half shell, wild belon 4 Comments

View from the bar.

We love raw oysters on the half shell. In LA, we typically have oysters from British Columbia, Washington state, even locally in Northern and Central California. We were especially excited to try some East Coast oysters and what better place to go than Island Creek Oyster Bar? During this quick stop we tried 6 varieties – 5 farm and 1 wild. This swanky oyster bar served its own Island Creek variety of oysters, farmed just south of Boston at Duxbury Bay along with several other New England varieties and other areas.

Can you spot the wild variety?

Starting from the right of the lemon: Island Creek (Duxbury, MA), Rocky Nook (Kingston, MA), Ichabod Flat (Plymouth, MA), Big Rock (E Dennis, MA), WellFleet (WellFleet, MA), Wild Belon (Harpswell, ME).

The Island Creek variety was definitely the creamiest and sweetest of the 6. As we went around the tray clockwise, each variety was more briny and became increasingly more complex than the last. The Wild Belon was a slap in the face, standing completely out from the rest with its powerful mineral notes throughout. Luckily we finished with the Wild Belon which blew out our taste buds for the next 15 minutes. It’s quite the experience but not for the faint of oyster.

The Raw Bar Menu

We enjoyed or brief hour or so at Island Creek Oyster Bar and could see ourselves frequenting this gem more often if we were Bostonians. If you’re dropping by Boston for a weekend or two, consider stopping by Island Creek Oyster Bar and try some of their local catches – you won’t be disappointed.

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Check out Island Creek Oyster Bar: www.islandcreekoysterbar.com

500 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215

See their Yelp reviews here!

nom nom cat

Peggy Sue’s 50′s Diner – Yermo, CA

LA WineFest 2013 – Hollywood, CA

Risotto ai Funghi (Mushroom Risotto)

Gottsui – Sawtelle, West Los Angeles

Morton’s The Steakhouse – Beverly Hills, CA

Salmon en Papillote

Island Creek Oyster Bar – Boston, MA

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