If You Leave, Don't Look Back - Blogger Prom 2009

When was the last time we had a fabulous night out, just the two of us? Now I'm not talking about the quickie coffee shop dinner with us scarfing down a tuna melt while Grandma patiently waits for us to get back home. I'm talking about heels and sequins and fishnets and an up-do. Yes, my friends, I'm talking about Blogger Prom.

Don't ask me why, but for some reason my mom had saved my prom dress from the 11th grade, and by some crazy miracle, it still fit. My better half initially wanted to go as his alter ego, a mulletted, bandana-wearing, trash-talkin', sleeveless denim shirt clad drunk dude last seen at Cal Arts grad night a few years back. I won the battle this time and he instead went for "Country Club Preppy."

Blogger Prom was held at the Andaz Hotel, more famously known as "Riot House" where bands like Led Zeppelin and The Who rode motorcycles down the halls, threw TVs out of the windows, and performed other forms of sexy mayhem.

Sometimes LA is just so beautiful. As we sipped our tequila cocktails from the rooftop at dusk, we gazed over LA transfixed by the endless sea of twinkling lights. The BP Committee arranged for some pretty substantial snacks, including caprese kabobs, charcuterie, beef & lemongrass skewers. We had rushed around town getting ready for BP, so we were starving.


Barrie Lynn, otherwise known as The Cheese Impresario, treated us to an incredible cheese plate. For dessert, we inhaled cheesecake pops and mini-cupcakes.

All in all, Blogger Prom was awesome. Not only did it give us a much-needed date night, but it was great to meet in person so many of my twitter and food blog buddies I've gotten to know over the past few years.

Sunday Dinner: Wurstkuche

Not sure what we were thinking, but after my brittle man's day at the Melrose Place Farmers' Market and Tater and my day in Santa Monica, we just wanted a no-cook night. So off we went to Wurstkuche. Tater's current bedtime is usually around 6:30pm, so if we have dinner out, we're with the early birders at 5pm or even earlier. Not tonight! We were living like gypsies, as my Mom says, leaving the house at 6:30pm.

Man, Wurstkuche gets crazy busy at night. The room was completely full when we got there, but luckily I spotted a lone table in a corner. The Wurstkuche guy kindly moved it over to a little space against the wall and thankfully the portable high chair fit on the table.
Ok, so by the time we got our food it was around 7:15, now way past Tater's bedtime and the poor little guy was on the edge. As always, we quickly ate our sausages while supplying him with cheerios, barley biscuits, napkins (he likes to rip them up into tiny pieces - yes, bussers hate us), his sippy cup, and little pieces of bun. Wurstkuche was quite loud, so Tater's brief outbursts were completely drowned out by the noise.
The sausages were awesome. We split the duck/bacon, sundried tomato/mozzarella and a small fries. After a string of so-so sausages (why did I even bother with the vegan dog??), I turned a corner and started ordering the right sausages, thanks to Twitter buds, Joshua Lurie (Food GPS) and Sam Kim (LAist). Thanks again, guys! We're huge fans of the near-perfect fries, which have to be some of the best in LA.
Tater was near delirious by the time we got home, falling asleep as soon as we finished Goodnight Moon.

Wurstkuche
800 E 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90013

A Quickie Lunch for Me and Tater: Porta Via Italian Foods

Tater & I were on our own today, so we decided that a lovely, yet quick lunch at Porta Via was in order. A little shrimp & calamari salad and arugula & beet salad for me, Tater got a jar of yucky organic chicken with pasta stars (Dad's been busy).

We sat outside on their shaded patio and had about as relaxing a lunch as it gets these days. For a dude who eats almost all daddy-prepared food, Tater didn't seem to mind the processed junk, happily devouring the whole jar.

My salads were just right for this scorcher of a day. The seafood salad was crisp and light, with just a hint of heat. The arugula salad was good, though a bit too sweet for my taste and maybe a little overdressed.

After a few minutes, Tater decided our leisurely lunch was over so I quickly devoured the rest of my salads, gulped down my Pellegrino and off we went to do errands in Old Town.

Porta Via Italian Foods
1 W California Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-793-9000

Sunday Picnic: Mozza2Go

Since Tater was feeling better after last week's tummy bug, we decided a picnic in Elysian Park would be a perfect way to celebrate his recovery. Plus, it was a stunning summer day and we were finished with the Hollywood Farmer's Market in the AM. After my first taste of Mozza2Go on Friday with a tuna panini my husband picked up, I was itching to check it out for myself.

Really, is there anything the Mozza team can't do? The Pizzeria is my official happy place, the Osteria is sublime, and the take-out operation rounds out this holy Los Angeles trinity.
Arriving just after noon, we opted for the simple tomato, evoo, and oregano pizza and the Italian Cobb. While we waited for our order, sweet Lucy cooed at Tater and didn't mind us feeding him his lunch. After a short wait, we left with our lunch and headed back to Echo Park.

Why in the world do we not picnic more often? We live a stone's throw from Elysian Park, surely an underappreciated LA treasure, so really we have no excuse.
Tater loved sitting outside and was pretty content with the Pellegrino bottles and my wallet. We were about as relaxed as we get, of course always keeping an eye on Tater who constantly puts everything in his mouth.
Will you please look at this salad? Everything from the gooey gorgonzola dolce, the sweet tiny tomatoes, woodsy grilled chicken and smoky pancetta, buttery avocado, egg and little gem lettuce came together beautifully. We had never had Mozza's simple tomato pizza, but it hit the spot with a tangy and subtly spicy sauce and a sprinkling of oregano.
Even though we've been able to score last-minute tables at P. Mozza in the past, it's usually for that really late lunch or really early dinner. And let's face it, eating out with Tater is often not the most relaxing exercise anymore as he's all over the place and needs snacks/books/toys, etc.

With Mozza2Go, we can get our Mozza fix without having to think about an open table or Tater's mood. Thank you, Mozza team for bringing this perfect solution for hungry parents on the go.

Mozza2Go
6610 Melrose Ave.
323-297-1130

Mozza 2 Go - Menu

Had the tuna panini today. Amazing, of course. Hubby chatted with Nancy and my big chef crush, Matt Molina, executive chef of the two (or three?) Mozzas. So glad it's not closer as we'd be there every day.

Here's the menu (uploading blue for some reason) for your viewing pleasure. Very similar to the Pizzeria.

The Bonnie Brae Fresh OJ Cart

I work 4 miles from home, a trip usually taking around 15 minutes and I know that makes me one lucky Angeleno. Road work on Alvarado has made my route increasingly congested though, so I've started taking Bonnie Brae.

Oh, my love for Bonnie Brae has no bounds. Running parallel to Alvarado, it's a traffic-free secret route to Wilshire from Sunset. I usually pass moms strolling with babies, kids on their way to school, and folks waiting for the bus.

But this morning, just before I turned onto Wilshire, I spotted this shopping cart, loaded up with a portable fresh orange juice operation. It was quite lovely, each cup filled to the brim with bright orange oj, a sharp contrast to the grittiness of the neighborhood. I'm no juicing expert, but her juicer looked pretty impressive as well.

With no one behind me, I jumped out, and asked the older woman running the cart if I could take a picture. I think she thought I was going to bust her for her illegal juice bar, but I assured her that I just liked her cart.
I forgot to ask how much the juice was, but I can't imagine it was more than a buck or two. Next time, I'm buying some for the office.

Reservation for Two: Osteria Mozza

Really, what more is there to say about Osteria Mozza? This was our first time at the Osteria (I'm so ashamed!) and we fell madly in love. I'm not sure why, but we just didn't think we were going to like it as much as the Pizzeria. Oh were we wrong. There were times I thought my husband was going to fly away in ecstasy. Really!

Lucky us, my father and his girlfriend treated the two of us to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversry. Grandma babysat! It was less formal than I had imagined and the food was incredible. The one and only so-so dish was the burrata from Puglia. Surprising, but Gioia's was creamier and richer than what we had at OM, though the bread it came with, soaked in EVO was perfection.

Our waiter was predictably everything Batali's servers always are: real, knew the menu inside and out, really wanted us to LOVE our meal, and a perfect guide to figuring out the dishes we would love (no calf's brain raviolis for me!).

We split the Ribollita "Da Delfina" - amazing. Like a savory french toast/bread pudding. Bread soaked in minestrone that's been reduced, then pan-fried. Ok, that description so does not capture how good it was. After the aforementioned burrata, we moved onto pastas. The orrecchiette with sausage and swiss chard was wonderful but the fresh ricotta and egg raviolo with browned butter was a showstopper.

For our mains, I had the Grilled Beef Tagliata, rucola, and Parmigiano with aceto balsamico and M had the Grilled Quail wrapped in pancetta with sage and honey. Again, perfection.

The bombolini with mountain huckleberry compote and vanilla gelato put the whole meal over the top and we agreed that this was one of our best meals ever.

The icing on the cake was meeting Ms. Silverton herself. What an honor and yes, I did feel like such a dorky groupie. But it was a thrill nonetheless. I just wanted to take a picture of her from a distance, but a server mentioned that she'd be happy to take one with me so now I have a pic of the two of us! That poor woman must get approached constantly by food-obsessed groupies.

Anyhow, here are some highlights from our meal. Entrees and desserts were dark so I'm not including.
Osteria Mozza

6602 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 297-0100
www.mozza-la.com