RED PEARL KITCHEN (HOLLYWOOD)

There was something in those drinks, but it wasn’t alcohol.

We had barely taken our first sip so we were slightly surprised when the antique Chinese Armoire door opened and a woman stepped out of it and into the dimly lit room.

**blink, blink**

“Good evening and welcome to Red Pearl.” The apparition said.

The feminine spirit was not, as it turned out, a ghost, hologram or unexpected alcohol flashback, but rather Michaela, the friendly general manager of Red Pearl Kitchen. The cabinet she stepped out of turned out to be a door leading from the wine cellar, which lined a wall of the comfortable lounge area we had settled into. Michaela stayed with us for more than a moment, and happily answered the barrage of questions we fired off to her about the restaurant. She stated that this Hollywood location had been open for six months, the original location is located in Huntington Beach, another location was opened in San Diego, and that the owners, Tim and Liza Goodell, also own our beloved 25 Degrees at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. She recommended the tasting menu for our group of seven and ensured us the chef would consider our requests. Yes, we are an inquisitive bunch. She left us (but this time as a flesh and blood mortal walking through the same door as we did) to enjoy our drinks in the comfortably seductive lounge, which was filled with multiple lacquered Chinese daybeds, a large plasma TV screen and a lonely unused pool table.

The staff at RPK all seem to take lead from Michaela’s social and attentive nature. The evening was layered with attentive, personable servers who boomeranged platters of steaming hot food to and from our table. We took advice from Michaela and ordered the tasting menu. We were offered either five or eight of the chef’s choices that night and we decided that five would suffice.

About that time I had finished my Red Pearl drink , which consisted of Pomegranate Vodka, champagne and copious amounts of fruit juice. Priced at $14, the drink should have possessed some alcohol. I strongly suspected its contents were little more than an Ocean Spray juice box, with an orchid blossom bobbing on the surface. It could safely be served to a 1st grader.

**Insert pouty look here**

I turned to the server and shouted a different cocktail order this time and crossed my fingers. The shouting was necessary as the deafening cacophony blaring from the speakers shattered the serene atmosphere of the otherwise romantic blood-hued dining room, decorated with fire cracker lamps, kimono chandelier, and lacquer finishes. Conversation at our table was limited to those in the immediate seating vicinity, and even that was with difficulty.

The dining room was host to a wide assortment of patrons that evening. There seemed to be a friendly group congregating at the bar (quite likely an AA meeting as their bar would have been a safe haven for them), local residents and groups of hipsters fueling up before hitting the town. Close to us, a two-top hosted a distinguished gentleman, easily pushing retirement, and a young, hot guy, easily pushing himself for the evening. Mr. Hottie leaned in close and laughed every so often to show just how enthralled he was with his date. I wonder what he ordered to drink?

The chef’s selections were brought to our table in unselfishly abundant fashion and can be described as being, at the very least, completely decent. One of our motley crew was a vegetarian and was presented with her own servings of vegetarian dishes with each course. A spicy garlic eggplant (I could have devoured the entire bowl), Chili Yams (sedate), Asian greens, mushrooms, asparagus and long beans were presented to her. When the spicy tuna sashimi on tempura eggplant arrived, I was simultaneously presented with steamed shrimp dumplings to compensate for my strict "no sashimi past my lips" rule.

Our "five choice" tasting menu stretched out into easily ten offerings, with the addition of the vegetarian dishes and my shrimp dumplings. Chicken ginger potstickers and BBQ steamed buns were followed by some delicious wok-roasted edamame that was nearly seared, thus elevating the Asian staple into something much more coveted! These were followed by green curry chicken satay (run of the mill), five-spice chicken wings (dynamite!), prawns, spring rolls, drunken beef, chicken fried rice, and garlic cashew chicken (with an APB out on the cashews). Platters of desserts were brought out offering a steamed banana cake, which tasted vaguely carrot cake-like, chocolate souffle, and some very lovely chai tea ice cream, which actually tasted like pumpkin.

Meanwhile, back in my cocktail glass...NOTHING! It was little more than Diet Coke with an $11 price tag this time. Our dining companions had given up on getting a decent drink and instead opted for beers, also priced at an unswallowable $11 each.

I sat back in my chair and waited for the inevitable showdown that would occur when the check arrived. We had clearly ordered the five course tasting menu. The tidal wave of food that washed over our table was obviously an error on the part of our server as it easily surpassed our expectations. The five course tasting menu was priced at $45 per person and I was anxious to see the charges on the bill.

It arrived.

I peered in closer to see the total...

We were charged $45 per person, plus bar tab and gratuity!

Overall, the food at Red Pearl Kitchen was "good", with occasional dalliances towards "totally delicious". In reviewing the online menu, I see that the "chef's selections" we were offered were very safe and lacking in adventure. There are more daring menu items such as strawberry-cinnamon ribs, duck-banana lettuce wraps, and more exotic curries, which we would have liked to sample. The bartender seems under strict orders to make drinks pretty, but completely incapable of elevating blood alcohol levels beyond a .00o001 percentage. Nobody has ever been booked for a DUI after leaving Red Pearl Kitchen.

The amiable staff and surprisingly abundant food, which was enjoyed by everyone in our group, made for a very nice evening. They delivered a more than satisfactory meal to the vegetarian in our group and even worked around my tuna fears. We were not necessarily unhappy with any single dish we were served. I would happily return to Red Pearl and order from the menu to delve into their more imaginative offerings. If you can locate a table away from the din of the music, Red Pearl would make a romantic and fun dining choice.

Say hi to Michaela. She's cool.

Oh yeah, stick to beer or wine.

Red Pearl Kitchen Los Angeles

is located on the Northwest corner

of Melrose Avenue and North Citrus Avenue

One block west of Highland Avenue at

6703 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles California 90038

323.525.1415

ATTACK OF THE KILLER LEMON

It came from Silverlake.


Our friends told us innocently enough that they had a gift for us. They said, "It's really weird, so we thought you'd like it."

Don't let its innocent, sunny citrus exterior fool you. If it had the chance, it would devour you and your entire family!

I HAVEN'T DIED

Or developed Alzheimer's and forgotten I have a blog. Or even lost interest and opted to let it quietly slide away into the vast burgeoning landfill of dying cyber discards. No, it's nothing like that, it's just life elbowing into the time and energy it takes to create these entries.

I find that I have tons of blogging material when life is smooth and I have ample physical and mental energy to get into my kitchen and PLAY. Lately my focus has been diluted with the rising waters of a busy life. There are some personal changes brewing, a European vacation approaching (Yay for us!) and I've been hauling my sorry butt into the gym after work instead of the kitchen. I don't want to post just for the sake of posting (okay, this one doesn't count) but I hope to soon regroup and reorganize myself to the point where I can present Ed (and subsequently, you) with a dinner plate that occasionally holds something new.

I will at least offer this quick restaurant observation. A buddy of ours had a birthday this weekend and we set up a dinner for him with a group of friends. Our friend is a vegetarian so we chose to celebrate at Real Food Daily in West Hollywood. RFD was my very first experience eating at a vegan restaurant (insert girly scream here).

No meat.

No cheese.

No dairy of any kind.

No refined sugars.

No white flour.

No saturated fat or cholesterol.

AAAaaaacckkkkkk!!!!!!!!


What's a boy to do? What's a boy to order? Especially a guy who shuns tofu or pseudo-meats. I like knowing that the meal I'm about to enjoy once roamed a field, scratched in the dirt of a pen, or swam around in the abundant Deep Blue. I scanned the online menu before leaving home looking for something safe, comfortable and kind of "normal." I made a mental note of the stir-fry vegetables over brown rice.

The actual experience at RFD was far from what I imagined. I opened the front door expecting to be hit in the face with an odor wafting from the kitchen that mimicked the smell of a freshly mown lawn that had been watered with flax seed oil. Instead, the dining room held dozens of happy people devouring plates of food that smelled...I'm surprised to say...delicious! There were tons of people lined up, eager to get a table in this very popular restaurant.

I quickly discarded my ill-conceived idea of ordering stir-fry over brown rice. We instead ordered some nachos made with cashew cheddar cheese and tofu sour cream (who knew!). I had a Salisbury Seitan dinner with mashed potatoes, golden gravy, and a salad. Ed ordered fettuccini with Tempeh "meat" balls.

The nachos arrived mounded high with toppings that were suspiciously "normal" looking. Their taste was surprisingly flavorful-- even tasty! They didn't possess the usual gobs of stringy cheese that aim to wrap around your chin but the taste was rich nonetheless. Seitan, I learned, is "also called 'wheat meat'. It's made by a process that removes the starch & bran from whole wheat flour. The result is a dough-like food with a high gluten content which has no saturated fat or cholesterol." This description didn't evoke any salivatory response, but I was again pleasantly surprised at the taste, which did own territory somewhere in the realm of the meat group. Its texture, however, takes some getting used to but I didn't have to summon up much bravery to devour a large portion. Ed's Tempeh "meat" balls were delicious! They were soft and surprisingly like ground meat in a light, fresh-tasting tomato sauce over vegetable fettuccini. I suspect that any vegetarian who shuns meat due to strong animal compassions would find this meat substitute a tad too convincing.

This meal will in no way awaken any latent desires to adopt a vegan diet. But would I return to RFD for another meal? Absolutely! If I was indeed vegan, I would be delighted to know that I had dining options such as Real Food Daily.

In the car on the way home, Ed turned and said to me, "You know it's rather ironic that a place that serves fake meatballs and fake salisbury steak is called Real Food Daily!"

Real Food Daily
414 N. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 289-9910

CHILEAN AVELLANAS

Holy crap!


I love these!

The taste is similar to hazelnuts but with a deeper, smoky flavor and an amazingly crisp crunch. Their texture is a tad warty looking; a bit like the bastard stepchild of a hazelnut. I bought them with the intention of creating something with them (on the fly), but somehow two bags later I just keep poppin' them into my mouth right out of the crinkly bag.

I think I'll attempt to make a coating for pork chops with these but I haven't yet hit on the right idea. Does anyone use these in a good recipe? Care to share?


In the meantime I'll be here popping them into my mouth like popcorn, waiting for the inspiration to strike!

marTEAnis

God bless Los Angeles.

No, really. Los Angeles is glorious even in spite of some of its misgivings. It's true that we do feel our share of big city shame. We shamefully hop in the car to cruise to the end of the driveway to retrieve our mail from the box. Some people can't be bothered to call the city refuse department to haul away their old furniture and simply deposit it in whatever open space they can find. Much of our proud architecture consits of chains of concrete mini-malls that parade from the Verdugo Mountains all the way to Malibu. Our roads are hazards to us all and pedestrians will never feel safe as long as Paris has access to her Bentley and Lindsey desires to go shopping on Robertson.

There are however, few such details so painful that can't be anesthetized simply by enjoying the sunshine while wearing cargo shorts and T-shirts in early March. It's Sunday morning and all of the doors in the house are open at 9 am, inviting a warm breeze inside. My wonderful man is outside watering the herb gardens that are thriving under the winding jasmine vines full of white perfumed blossoms and the shocking pink and fire red bougainvillea bracts that rope around the trellises. A lizard advances from his hiding place to take in some sunshine on his scaly back. A flock of green parrots is devouring the red blossoms on the neighbor's hillside tree and hummingbirds are swarming the feeder on the upper deck.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.













If I were on vacation (which, sadly, I am not) I'd invite "the gang" over and make a pitcher of marTEAnis. We'd sit outside and sip until the smog turned into a fiery technicolor sunset. If however, you are on vacation, or simply feel like you need one, I offer the following.




**The orchid in the glass grew in the filtered light on our back hill. Another reason to love L.A.


These marTEAnis are made with tea brewed from tropical red hibiscus flowers. The talented Matt of MattBites, wrote an informative piece last year about how to make Jamaica (brewed hibiscus tea). If you have access to blossoming hibiscus bushes you can harvest the flowers and make your own. If you are still walking on frozen earth or don't have access to hibiscus bushes, Red Zinger Tea can be purchased at most any grocery store and works beautifully for this.

For hibiscus tea:
4 cups water
3 Red Zinger teabags
2 TBS sugar

Per Drink:
3 oz prepared, sweetened hibiscus tea
2 oz vodka or gin
1/2 oz triple sec
cracked ice


Make Tea
Bring water to a boil and pour over teabags in a glass bowl. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Let cool and then remove and discard teabags.

For Each Drink
Combine tea, vodka or gin and triple sec in a shaker with cracked ice. Shake violently. Strain and pour into chilled cocktail glass. Repeat as needed to induce happiness and pleasure.

If you are feeling especially lazy, just increase the measurements by ten, pour into a pitcher and park yourself in a lounge chair with a buddy. Don't forget to bring some extra ice with you because you won't want to get up again when you are ready for it. Oh yeah, take the phone off the hook too.

PENNE WITH LEMON, PROSCIUTTO AND VEGGIES (Even Ed ate them)

When I hear a new song that I love, I put it on endless rotation until I'm sick of it. I sing it in the shower, I play it in the car, and I hum it while having sex.

Okay, you got me. I don't hum while having sex.

I've been doing the same thing lately with pasta. I'm in a major pasta rotation rut. When I throw together a pasta dinner it usually consists of whole-wheat linguini, some grilled skinless chicken breast and either sun-dried tomatoes or basic spicy tomato sauce.

Okay, you got me. REALLY predictable and not so creative.

Our 85 degree weather today (sorry east-coasters) inspired me to think fresh and spring-like. It paid off with this totally scrumptious pasta dish. Excuse me now but I have to go sing some Gwen Stefani and help Ed with the dishes.

Okay, you got me. I don't help Ed with the dishes.



PENNE WITH LEMON, PROSCIUTTO AND VEGGIES

1 green onion, white and greens, chopped
1 TBS butter
1 cup white wine
2 cups low fat, low salt, chicken stock (best if home made)
Okay, you got me. I didn't make my own)
3 oz prosciutto, sliced into 1 inch strips
1 tsp corn starch
pinch cayenne
zest of one lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
generous handful of broccoli crowns (bite-sized)
generous handful of snow peas (julienned)
3 TBS fat-free sour cream
shredded parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Enough whole-wheat penne for two, boiled al dente and drained


Melt butter over low heat in small saucepan. Add chopped green onions and white wine. Cook over medium heat until wine is reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Add chicken stock and reduce by half again.

While stock is reducing, saute prosciutto in small non-stick skillet until crisp. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add broccoli and snow peas to skillet and cook and stir frequently over medium heat just until crisp tender. Remove and set aside.

When chicken stock mixture is reduced, add 1 tsp corn starch and wisk until well dissolved. Add lemon zest, lemon juice and cayenne and continue cooking about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Lower heat and stir in sour cream. Cook over low heat for one minute.

Add drained penne back to pot. Add broccoli, snow peas, prosciutto and sauce. Stir while cooking over medium heat just until hot throughout. Serve hot with a touch of parmesan (if desired) sprinkled over top.


I used this wine to prepare the dish and enjoyed a glass with dinner.

Okay, you got me. I had two.

Concannon, Stampmaker's White Wine. Viognier. 2004

I'm not immensily fond of white wines, but I found this wine to be exceptionally palatable. Not too sweet, earthy, rather grapefruity, and a lingering memory of its California oak barrel heritage. VERY drinkable. *hic*

SLOW-BRAISED PORK WITH GRAPES AND BALSAMIC

How I ADORE fruit and meat!

This is one of the rare occasions that I pretty much followed a recipe exactly without any creative culinary fiddling*. It's an amazing marriage of sweet and savory. The meat falls apart effortlessly, and if you carefully align your head at the right position relative to your fork, it'll be falling right into your mouth! I could have eaten the entire pot but fortunately I didn't and froze some of the leftovers. I defrosted a batch and it reheated without losing any of its succulent flavors.

I'll shut up and post this recipe exactly as I found it on Epicurious. It's Delicious!

*My only changes to the procedure was to chop the grapes before adding and increase the cooking time by about 20 to 30 minutes.


SLOW-BRAISED PORK WITH GRAPES AND BALSAMIC

1 3 1/4-pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed, cut into 3 equal pieces
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

8 large shallots, halved, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
3 cups seedless black grapes (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 large fresh sage sprigs
4 large fresh thyme sprigs
2 large fresh rosemary sprigs

Preheat oven to 325°F. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add pork to pot and cook until browned on all sides, about 13 minutes total. Transfer pork to plate; discard fat in pot.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same pot over medium heat. Add shallots and grapes ( I chose to chop them first); sauté until shallots are golden, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add sugar; sauté 30 seconds. Add vinegar; bring mixture to boil and cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add broth, all herb sprigs, and pork with juices from plate. Bring to boil. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Braise pork 1 hour. Using tongs, turn pork over and continue braising until meat is very tender, about 45 minutes longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to platter; tent with foil.

Remove herb sprigs from pot and skim fat from surface of cooking liquid. Boil cooking liquid over high heat until thickened, about 7 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over pork and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

I served this with mashed potatoes, but I think some rustic cornbread with some finely chopped rosemary and whole kernel corn would be great too.