Archive for August, 2011

La Cicala Gastro Bar – Singapore

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Cicala Gastro Bar

Cicala Gastro Bar
49 Club Street
069426 Singapore
65348812
Chef: Edwin Lau
Sommelier: Eduardo Ortega
Opening Hours: 18:00 – 22:30 Mon-Sat, Sun Closed

Highly-stylized decor at this Spanish Gastro Bar, which serves modern renditions of tapas, or choose from the à la Carte menu. Its an extreme, ultra modern cocktail bar, producing both inventive and classic cocktails, using the freshest available ingredients. Of course, an impressive wine cellar stocking wines from the world’s major wine producing regions, and a wine tasting table, which can be a fun diversion.

Bouchon Bakery, Beverly Hills – Los Angeles

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Bouchon Bakery 1Bouchon Bakery 2

Bouchon Bakery
235 N Canon Dr
(at the Montage)
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-271-9910
website

Bouchon Bakery is now officially open according to urbandaddy and located on the ground floor outside that big courtyard next to Canon Drive adjacent to Bouchon’s little bar under the restaurant itself. It will feature French baked goods as well as cookies and coffee cake. Drop in and give it a try!

The Australian Pub & BBQ – Bangkok

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Ribs 3

Gadafi Family’s Villas Stocked with the Finest Wines & Spirits – Libya

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

The rather inelegant-looking swimming pool of Aisha Gadafi, daughter of the Libyan leader

UPDATE: Muammar Gadafi was killed in his hometown of Sirte on 20 October 2011 allegedly caught in crossfire between rebels and Gadafi loyalists, as he lay wounded in the back of a pickup truck. There are other reports of how he was killed although, this is the latest and most logical of the stories.

Libyan rebel soldiers stormed through the Gadafi family’s houses in a walled enclave on the Mediterranean Sea West of Tripoli, they uncovered among a hoard of luxury goods, hundreds of bottles of expensive wine, cases of champagne, and boxes of rare cognac. Some of the villas still had crystal wine and champagne glasses left on the terrace, in their haste to leave before the arrival of rebel forces.

Chez Panisse’s Fortieth Anniversary – (Berkeley) San Francisco

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

chez-panisse40 Years of Chez Panisse, available now at booksellers

The Grand Opening ceremonies took place earlier where Governor Jerry Brown said a few words, on August 26th 2011, at the Berkeley Art Museum, and a dinner party was given afterwards for a small group of friends at Chez Panisse. Amazingly,  Jeremiah Tower was one of the guests at the table, which means they must have put past quarrels, about who was responsible for creating California Cuisine aside.

The San Francisco Chronicle has run a protracted article about 40 years of Chez Panisse, offering lots of information here.

Chesa Swiss Restaurant, Fresh Chantrelles Mushrooms from Europe – Bangkok

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

Chesaimage 2image2Menu

Chanterelles Cream Soup 210.-

Chanterelles Salad with Prawns 450.-
Sautéed with garlic, olive oil and served on organic lettuce

Chanterelles Mushroom Risotto 410.-

Veal and Mushroom Ravioli with Chanterelles 480.-
Served on a creamy white wine sauce

Grilled Veal Escalope with Chanterelles 530.-
With a creamy brown sauce and your choice of garnish

Pan-Fried John Dory Fillet with Chanterelles 550.-
Served with baby potatoes and vegetables

N.Z. Venison Fillet with Chanterelles Mushrooms 780.-
With Brussels sprouts, red cabbage and spätzli

Government tax and 10 % Service charge will be added

XIV Now Closed While SBE Comes Up With A New Concept – Los Angeles

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

XIVThe Philippe Starck designed XIV Restaurant Now Closed

Michael Mina & Sam Nazarian Iranian-American entrepreneur and CEO of  SBE closed the failing XIV on August 23, 2011. The concept with its strict rule that all guests at a given table had to order the same list of courses from its 35-item menu, be it three courses or 30. It did not catch on after opening at an inopportune time in the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008.  Look for a new concept coming from SBE, most likely with Michael Mina aboard, when they come up with something that will work in this space and location.

Donate Any Unused Stocks of Food From Hurricane Irene to The Needy – New York

Monday, August 29th, 2011

FBNYC_logo

small logo RDCCulinary Tidbits … Any extra food that you might have stocked in anticipation of Hurricane Irene being a “screamer” but fortunately, it fell a bit short of the mark, please donate any food items you may not be able to use to the needy and hungry here.

Providence Restaurant – Los Angeles

Monday, August 29th, 2011
By Sandy Driscoll

Providence 3-2The beautifully appointed dining room
Providence Restaurant
5955 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA  90038
Phone:  323.460.4170
Website:  http://www.providencela.com/
Hours:
Lunch:   Friday – 12 noon – 2:30 pm
Dinner:  Monday-Friday 6pm-10pm
Saturday – 5:30pm – 10pm
Sunday – 5:30pm – 9pm
Ever since Providence opened in 2005, it has received accolades as one of the top restaurants in the country from
everyone including Gourmet and Esquire magazines, the James Beard Foundation, Gayot, and Michelin (two stars).  Chef
Michael Cimarusti and co-owner Donato Poto (who is always there to greet you!) make dining here an unforgettable culinary experience.
Having eaten at Providence several times, to me, there is no finer restaurant in Los Angeles.  On all levels……food, service,
ambiance……it is superb.  It’s comfortably elegant, service is spot on, and the food (they specialize in fresh fish) is unsurpassed
in its category, similar to Le Bernardin in NYC.
They frequently have special tasting menus, and the chefs table, which is in a very private, quiet and lovely room all its own seats 4-6. It has an unfettered view of the gleaming kitchen and all of its beautiful orchestration.  For those of us who love to cook, and love to watch good cooks in action, there is no finer treat than to enjoy the chef’s multi-course tasting menu at this table.
My most recent meal, pictured below, was a Friday lunch.   Fortunately, they were featuring Australian Black Winter Truffles,
shaved over a choice of Risotto, Pasta alla Chitarra, Soft Scrambled Eggs or Raviolo alluovo.  After the delicious complimentary
Amuse assortment, I started with the Bigeye Tuna Tartare, stunning in its gorgeous presentation.   The truffle-topped and perfectly cooked risotto was memorably delicious (just looking at the photos makes me want to order it again!) and was one of those dishes where you hoped it would never end……just one more bite, please!
Confident that I will always have a perfect dining experience, I can’t wait to return!
Providence 2-3 Complimentary Amuse – Beautiful and delicious assortment of tastes (including frozen Mojito-Screwdriver Baja Shrimp cooked sous-vide with piquant chile, Carrot Soup with foam)
Providence 3-1
Bigeye Tuna Tartare, exquisitely plated!
Providence 4Presenting the Australian Black Winter Truffles
Providence 5
Risotto awaiting the truffles!
Providence 6
Shaving the Black Truffle over the Risotto
Providence 7
Providence 8Complimentary Dessert Bites

Soi 8 Pub & Restaurant, Sukhumvit Soi 8 – Bangkok

Sunday, August 28th, 2011

Soi 8