Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Crumbled Blue Cheese with Cranberries (Trader Joe's)

As I reached to grab my usual salad accompaniment (crumbled goat cheese), my eye wandered over to a little blue container. Trader Joe's Danish-style crumbled blue cheese with cranberries? Um, yes, please. I was planning to buy some dried cranberries as well for my salads, but at $2.49, this killed two birds with one stone.





So for this week, I've been making a baby lettuce salad topped with the blue cheese and some of the leftover salami I had from a party this weekend and my favorite salad dressing. The cheese is nice and strong and there are just enough cranberries to add that extra something to the salad. Makes for an inexpensive and easy lunch!


Monday, September 28, 2009

DineLA Restaurant Week

I am a big participant in DineLA's Restaurant Week. It has given me the opportunity to try many restaurants that are normally only "special occasion" places (re: out of my price range). Next month, fall restaurant week will be held October 4-9 and October 11-16 at over 200 participating restaurants. With three-course meals at three different price levels, there is something for every budget. Lunch ranges from $16-$28 and dinner from $26-$44.  

How do you choose which restaurant to go to? First, see if the restaurant you've been dying to try is on the list and then, look up its menu to see if it sounds appealing.

More details at: http://discoverlosangeles.com/play/dining/restaurantweek/participating_restaurants.html

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Festival Fun: Port of Los Angeles Lobster Fest

[Insert food here] and tack on the word "festival" and I am there! The Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival and Music Weekend took place between September 18-20, 2009 at Ports O' Call Village in San Pedro, California. We attended on Sunday, which has historically been the busiest day. $7 with a $2 off coupon downloaded from their website is a small price to pay for a day of celebrating this famed crustacean!




 Free samples from Laughing Cow and Coke Zero

 
Eclectic entertainment such as Arturo Nakame's one man band

 
Saturday also happened to be International Talk-like-a-Pirate Day so there were plenty of pirates representing among us landlubbers. 
 
For $31, we enjoyed two Maine lobsters with drawn butter, cole slaw, potatoes, and a biscuit.

After lunch we headed over to the music stage to see what was going on. We had just missed a rock band that we could barely hear from where we were sitting. Next on the line-up for our musical enjoyment was a Mini Michael Jackson and Tiny Tina Turner!! I certainly wasn't expecting to hear Smooth Criminal and Proud Mary!

 


Think you missed your chance to savory some shellfish? Lucky for you, the Redondo Beach Lobster Festival will be held this weekend (September 25-27, 2009) at Seaside Lagoon, 200 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach, CA - 90277. For more information, go to http://www.lobsterfestival.com/

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

NomNoms: Cafe Verona (Los Angeles dining)

When it comes to breakfast foods, I always find myself in the predicament of choosing something savory or something sweet. Cafe Verona definitely satisfies my desire for salt. I also love it's outdoor patio on a sunny Sunday morning. They also have a nice outside/inside patio under a canopy with lots of greenery and a little fountain. Cafe Verona has all of my must-haves: serene ambiance, a hidden gem, and wonderful food. The frittatas are like no other frittata I've had. I usually find them to be ugly and eggy messes but here they are like little breakfast pizzas and what can I say about the polenta. Polenta is such an easy dish to ruin but, here, it's light and creamy! Their coffee is not very good though. Even the waiter thinks so.

Frittata Verona - turkey sausage, eggplant, red pepper, zucchini,
and mozzarella with a side of sweet potato mash

Polenta con Uova - polenta with roasted tomato and two eggs

Cafe Verona
201 S. La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036