March 7, 2013
Nom Adventures blue stove, dineLA, jambalaya, nordstrom, nutella, restaurant week, santa monica, third street promenade Leave a comment
For dineLA Winter 2013 (I know, I’m playing catch-up with my entries), C and I decided to check out Blue Stove for lunch. Blue Stove offered a two-course lunch with a tasting pour for only $15/person. Situated among the clothing racks inside the Nordstrom at Santa Monica Place, the restaurant had a quaint wine bar sort of theme going on. We were seated immediately and received prompt, friendly service from our server.
Blue Stove
February 18, 2013
Nom Adventures dineLA, la farm, lantana, restaurant week, santa monica, stefans, tasting menu 2 Comments
Oh, DineLA – some of our favorite weeks of the year. Every year, the winter dineLA falls around early February, just in time for Martin’s birthday! This year, after much scrutiny of the posted offerings from the MANY participating restaurants, he selected Stefan’s at LA Farm, recently renamed to Stefan’s at Lantana (for its location at the Lantana campus in Santa Monica). His main reasoning? We’ve always wanted to check out this restaurant owned by Top Chef contestant Stefan Richter. His secondary reason? DineLA dinner here is rated $$$ ($45/person) for a 6 course tasting menu (SIX!), definitely one of the better deals available!
One of the 6 courses is dessert! (As the years pass, dessert on a dineLA menu seems to have become a scarcer and scarcer commodity…)
When given options, we generally try to order different things so we can effectively sample the entire menu. We were able to do that for all but 2 courses — that crudo and pumpkin soup just called out to both of us and neither was willing to back down! (On the flip side, our friends Helen & Edmund made it easy on our waiter — one of each, all the way through~)
Without further ado….
July 21, 2012
Nom Adventures braised short rib, dineLA, prix fixe, restaurant week, restaurants, santa monica, sticky toffee pudding, wilshire restaurant 4 Comments
This year, DineLA Restaurant Week moved up from fall to the very first summer DineLA, weekends inclusive! While I’m a little bummed that there won’t be a DineLA during my birthday in October anymore, I still love checking out new restaurants at discounted rates any time of the year. Cassandra and I took this opportunity to try Wilshire Restaurant, not one mile away from the office. The food was fantastic, the price (rated $$$ – $25/person) was great, the service was friendly, and the ambiance was relaxing (albeit a little too leisurely for weekday lunch break).
The outdoor patio
May 16, 2012
Nom Adventures brendan collins, foie battle, foie gras, josiah citrin, melisse, michelin star restaurant, santa monica 3 Comments
The other night (on Monday, May 14th) renowned chefs from Northern and Southern California united to celebrate foie gras through fundraising dinners held simultaneously at four different venues in Los Angeles for CHEFS – Coalition for Healthy and Ethical Farming Standards in an effort to overturn the ban on foie gras soon to take effect in California. We decided to splurge and come out to the one at Melisse, and the menu and experience were absolutely incredible.
With a celebrity lineup featuring Brendan Collins of Waterloo & City (easily our favorite local gastropub!), Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani of Terra and Ame, Raphael Lunetta of JiRaffe, Justin Wangler of Kendall Jackson, Josiah Citrin and Ken Takayama of Melisse (of course), and Mark Dommen of One Market, we knew we were in for a treat! From start to finish, it was a beautifully orchestrated dinner that truly does this decadent ingredient justice.
Don’t touch my foie! Alice picked up a t-shirt to commemorate the event.
Martin
Alice @ Nom Nom Cat
