1MB Savvy Saveurs - Savings & Sweepstakes 8/25/11

Savings and sweepstakes uncovered this week - click here to follow me on Twitter for instant updates on the latest discoveries :)

Happy grazing!

FOODIE FINDS:

• LA Epicurean Festival $40 for $75 General Admission (or $50 for $100 VIP admission) to LA Epicurean Festival at the Sofitel hotel, August 28 deal from Groupon (ends today!)
• Petrossian $25 for $50 of food at Petrossian restaurant deal from OpenTable Spotlight (~1.5 days left to buy)
• Magnolia Hollywood $40 for $70 bottomless mimosa brunch for two deal from DailyCandy LA (ends 9/6)
• Bru's Wiffle in Santa Monica $20 for $35 Lunch or Dinner For Two  deal from popsugarla (~5 days left to buy)
• Whisper Lounge at The Grove Half Price Bottles of Wine on Tuesdays
• Los Angeles Times Food & Wine The Taste LA events 40% off tickets to events all over LA.  Deal at OpenTable Spotlight (OR use code "Family" when checking out from LA Times Event site to get 40% off)

SWEEPSTAKES:

• iDine LA  $100 American Express Reward Card to one lucky Twitter follower this week! (ends 8/26)
• Good Food Awards ok this one's really a contest, but you can enter your recipes for a chance at fame and glory AND to have your products sold throught Gilt Taste!  (ends 9/1)  $35 entry fee required. See website for full details.

********

To get more mileage for your money everyday - see Get More Bites Outta Your Budget. Check out my Sweepstakes Page "Win Your Next Bite" - for more foodie promotions!

Public Kitchen & Bar - Weekend Brunch With Bottomless Mimosas/Bellinis!

Bright and early Sunday morning (that is to say, noon for me) - "Designer" and I met up with fellow bloggers SinoSoul and FinerThingsLA to take advantage of the Travelzoo deal we'd all bought earlier in the month for brunch at Public Kitchen and Bar at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - $49 brunch for two (basically 3-course meal + side and bottomless drinks).  On the regular weekend brunch menu, that would cost $35 per person (extra for sides & dessert, and add $6 for bottomless mimosas/bellinis).

Regular readers know that The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel houses my favorite bar in LA - The Library Bar and master bartender Matt Biancaniello.  Every time I visit, I pretty much make a beeline for The Library Bar. It's only recently that I've begun to explore the rest of the beautiful, historic hotel - and with this Travelzoo deal I couldn't wait to eat at the Public Kitchen and Bar (helmed by Tim Goodell, best known for Aubergine) for the first time.   

We started of course, with a round of bellinis / mimosas, which hit the spot immediately (and our wonderful server diligently kept our glasses full throughout the meal).  While waiting for our food, we noshed on a small cast iron tray of bread, including cranberry scones, with fresh whipped butter.

For her appetizer, Designer chose Balik Salmon "Tartine" with grilled olive bread and

caper berries.  We loved this dish, and the use of fragrant fennel vs. the expected dill - though SinoSoul noticed that the other order of the same dish that came to the table contained frisee, while Designer's did not, so there was some inconsistency there.  Though, Designer's a bit of an uber-carnivore, so the veggies were not missed.

For my starter, I ordered the Summer Corn Soup with pork belly and curried lebneh, just because corn is in season, I love a good corn soup and can't resist the combination with pork belly.  This turned out to be possibly the best corn soup I've had this year - smooth and well balanced to let the fresh corn flavors shine through, punctuated by an unctuous piece of pork belly and curried lebneh (middle eastern yogurt cheese).  A really, really lovely soup that is creamy, yet light enough for a summer meal.

For her large plate selection, Designer chose Diver Scallops with  zucchini risotto / mint mascarpone. The scallops were nicely seared with a juicy, tender and sweet interior.  The risotto was also perfectly al dente, made just a touch creamy with the mascarpone tinged with the slightest hint of mint.

(I've only reviewed the dishes I actually tasted here, but you can see pictures of other orders at the table including the massive Public Burger and Fromage Blanc Omelette with asparagus and morel cream on my Facebook page)

Being a complete eggs benedict addict, I really had no choice but to go with the Duck Confit Hash Benedict with grilled rustic bread.  The poached eggs oozed liquid sunshine, but though I liked the gamey-ness of the duck confit hash, it was a bit on the dry side, as was the crusty bread.  Another order of the same dish that came to the table was inexplicably opposite in textures - the eggs were overcooked while the hash and bread were nice and moist.  Another inconsistency with quality which could be concerning - but hopefully it was an 'off' day perhaps for some members of the kitchen, and that this would not be a regular occurence. 

We also get to choose one side each with our meal, and single ladies, Designer and I, both chose "Today's Sausage".  Neither of us go to church, and joked that this brunch was our Sunday service - and the sausages really gave us our religious experience of the day.  These were housemade links that not only had the perfect intensity of flavor - but more importantly were not at all greasy.  We would almost say they tasted - 'healthy' - except that healthy in our book usually translates to "not tasty" - and that is definitely not the case here.  They were just sausages that were flavorful but not drowning in grease - simply perfect!

For dessert, the deal offered 1 plate to share for each 'couple' - so we received one of each of the desserts on the menu.  First up was the Warm Berliners with cinnamon & nutmeg.  These were essentially fresh made doughnuts with some sort of cream sauce.  The doughnuts were pillowy and nice, but the sauce we found a bit bland, and its (lack of) flavor and texture didn't add anything to the dish.

Next up was Sour Cherry Pie with sour cream and cherry ice cream.  This tasted market fresh and was nicely presented in a cast iron pot. However, we wanted a bit more tartness from the cherries to come through - as it was, the pie was not a standout piece.

Saving the best for last: the Salted Caramel & Chocolate Puddings with butterscotch cookie were tasty - and if I had any stomach capacity at all left at that point I would have devoured the glasses whole.  The puddings were light and creamy, with the lovely sea salt cutting through the caramel pudding nicely.

Though the desserts were not all spectacular, overall I thought the meal and the service (and the company!) were all fantastic - and would definitely come back even without a group buy deal.  At $35 per person for appetizer, large plate or benedict and drink - and just $6 extra for the bottomless bellinis / mimosas, it's a good deal for fine dining fare.  And gotta love that they offer a selection of "Morning Cocktails" ($12 each). 

On top of it all, you get to brunch in a lovely space at a Hollywood landmark! Walk off your meal afterwards by exploring the grounds - check out the pool, where they host Monday Movie Mashups (free screenings of mashed-up movies of choice for the week), go to the lower level to see the hidden bookcase entrance to Beacher's Madhouse (a 'theater' that is essentially a bar featuring the unusual including midgets), and catch a member of staff if you can to hear about the legendary ghost stories including famed and longtime guest Marilyn Monroe. 

[Update 10/18/11: Deal alert: Cirque du Soleil IRIS ticket holders, bring your ticket stubs to get discounts on dinner at Public Kitchen + Bar: Pre-theater you'll get a prix fixe menu of appetizer + entree + cocktail for $35, or 10% off your meal. Post-theater you'll get 10% off your meal.  Thanks to Wagstaff PR for the tip!]
On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 5.5 bites
Presentation - 6 bites
Originality - 5.5 bites
Ambience - 6 stars
Service - 6 stars
Overall experience - 6 bites
Price - $$ (2 bite marks)
Probability of return visit - 100%

[To find more deals like the one used here, check out my Get More Bites Outta Your Budget page, and follow me on Twitter for up to the minute finds!]

______________________________________________________________

Public Kitchen & Bar
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
7000 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone: 323.466.7000

Parking: Valet with validation $6 for first 3 hours, $2 for every additional half hour. (Or park across the street at Hollywood & Highland - $2 first 2 hours w/ validation from any purchase at stores in the complex, $1 for each additional 15 mins.)

Website: thompsonhotels.com
Look for reservations: Opentable.com
______________________________________________________________________

LudoBites 007: License to Thrill / The Living Daylights

LudoBites - you could call it extreme cooking, with unpredictable locations and kitchen conditions, thrown into the crucible of not a lot of time - yet churning out consistently inventive culinary creations. Time magazine's "chef of the future". New twins.  And now Ludo Bites America on Sundance Channel, a fun format of culinary road trip / cross country adventure + drama of world class chef meets small town kitchens + inside look into husband and wife as business partners and how that works.  Is there anything that Ludo and Krissy Lefebvre can't do?

Ever since the team pretty much invented the pop-up concept in LA, they've been steadily attracting legions of fans ready to pounce on the first hint of a reservation. So when LudoBites 007 was first announced, to be held at Gram & Papa's August 3-September 10, food lovers across the city scrambled to get their OpenTable accounts ready to trigger one-click reservation requests, in hopeful and eager anticipation of the figurative 'opening bell' of availability. The lucky ones snagged reservations - but many met with disappointment when, in just 1 minute, all dates and times were fully booked. Such is the draw and the power of LudoBites.

Though that is the fairest way to offer out the limited number of reservations, it still leaves those of us - myself included - who didn't get one, all the more crushed to read about yet another amazing menu via other people's blog posts.

And this time all my favorite ingredients were on the menu. 

I was despairing of needing to move to some small town like Mobile, that may be on the itinerary for LudoBites America 2.0, in order to ever have a chance to taste his food - when a fellow blogger reminded me that - hello - I could just try to catch cancellations when they are announced.  But where was I to find 3-5 other people ready to drive like a bat out of hell, to downtown LA, on a moment's notice?  I considered hanging outside the place, like KevinEats did, to try to catch a table - but again I didn't know anyone else passionate enough about food to wait around, in the backyard of Skid Row, for the possibility of getting a table.  Plus, I work in the Valley, and office hours are 9-6, so there's no way to get downtown in time to snag a walk-in at 6.  And everyone is going to be vying for walk-ins on weekends.

So, I begrudgingly came to terms with the fact that I was going to miss out on LudoBites.  Again.  Until last night. 

On my way back from D23 in Anaheim, I realized that downtown was sorta on my way back home - and since I left the event a bit early - I was in the downtown area by about 5:15.  I was by myself, but screw it - if I waited around for people to do things I wanted to do, I'd never get anything done.  And this was on my way home.  However, I had spied on Twitter that walk-in seating was 'al fresco' on Skid Row - so, being the way I am, I Googled time of sunset: 7:35pm.  Plenty of time to eat and get outta there before The Living Daylights are gone literally and figuratively, if I got the 6pm seating. So, I crossed my fingers and reset my Waze app with a new destination:  Gram & Papas.

I was relieved when I arrived, that it was just a block from the California Market Center in the fashion district (though I had a bit of a scare last year post Unique/Artisanal LA, after dark and I couldn't find the lot where I parked - but this time there was a spot right around the corner, on Santee) and there was a meter that was free after 6pm.  So I plugged in a few quarters and went on my way.  In front of the place were two couples already waiting - one with a reservation, one without.  There were only two tables for walk-ins - so I was ecstatic when I realized I had a good chance of getting the other one!  And when Krissy herself came to the door to greet everyone, and said that I could have the other table - that totally made my week (it'd been a rough one)!

So, I kicked off the meal with a Lavender Ginger Lemonade ($4) - no cocktails are on menu due to lack of liquor license (lots of people were going BYOB) - but this was the perfect drink for me after the long week - lavender for destressing, citrus for refreshment, and ginger to contribute a subtle kick to wake up the tastebuds.

I wanted to order everything on the menu - but with limited stomach capacity, decided on the ones that either contained my favorite ingredients, or had unusual combinations of ingredients that you probably would not see on anyone else's menu. I went with a few small plates, the better to sample more dishes.

The first one out was Salt Cod Panna Cotta, Whipped Fingerling Potato, Smoked Tapioca ($12) - this was an interesting double re-intepretation of the classic fish+some kind of cream sauce+side of carbs/veg dish, and entree vs. dessert.  Panna cotta is usually served as a dessert, but here Ludo infuses it with savory flavors normally used in a main dish.  Salt cod instead of something like vanilla or caramel, topped by whipped potato instead of cream.  And smoked tapioca balls to evoke caviar, swimming in a shallow lake of olive oil.  I absolutely loved the concept and taste of this dish - each bite a surprise, because you see the shape and presentation of a dessert, but then in sneaks delicious savory flavors in smooth olive oil, accented by fleur de sel crystals (?).  The consistency of the panna cotta though was somewhere between creme brulee and a hearty goat cheese (though not quite as crumbly).  I ended up ignoring the croutons on the side after tasting a few - I wanted them to be a bit more crispy vs. hardcore crunchy.

Onion Tart, Bottarga ($10) was next - beautifully presented at generous size on a chopping block.  Loved the well-balanced interplay of caramelized onion with creamy cheese with the distinct taste of bottarga (one of my favorite ingredients), punctuated by fragrant sprinkles of thyme.  All on a light, almost paper thin crust.  Truly lovely piece that I'd order again if I could ever get another seat at a LudoBites 007 table.

Next up: Egg, Sea Urchin, Caviar, Champagne Beurre Blanc ($18) I couldn't leave without trying this one as sea urchin triggers a Pavlovian response in me. Add egg, caviar, champagne and butter to the mix and you can get me to do practically anything.  Just reading the name, made me think this could possibly be the most perfect dish ever made.  Loved the playfulness of layering egg upon (fish) egg, upon...ok sea urchin doesn't count, those are actually gonads. But it was pretty much like surf & turf: egg edition.  And then making that connection from caviar to champagne, but in beurre blanc.  The dish was pretty amazing - the egg was wet-scrambled into small pieces, light and rolls over the tongue, flavored with the unique taste of uni (though this could have been more pronounced), taken over the top in a great way with the luxurious champagne beurre blanc 'sauce', plus the generous briny dollop of caviar.  Garlic (?) flowers added a light and beautiful extra touch of seasoning.  This is another one I could eat 10 of, if I can get back in again.

Foie Gras, "French Dim Sum" Crispy Kimchi, Sake-Black Truffle Cream ($28) - loved this dish of course - not only because it featured truffle AND foie (I die) - but because it's such an almost feverish fusion re-imagining of a classic Italian dish.  And it's aptly named, as with its asian-inspired flavors the pieces were more akin to dumplings than ravioli. The yin/yang of smooth, earthy, buttery foie with the 'brash', bold, crunch of kimchi worked unexpectedly well together.  I would have liked a little less of the oils from the kimchi, but overall a truly great dish.  And the light, foamy and intoxicatingly fragrant sake and black truffle cream was the perfect counterbalancer to tie everything on the plate together.

And of course, I had to save room for dessert.  The Lavender Tropezienne Tart, Aloe Vera, Lychee ($10) was a gorgeous (and giant) dessert that was like Christmas to me.  Like some beautiful forest scene, the morning after snowfall, pure and untouched.  And then the surprise of juicy summer fruits (strawberries and lychee) hidden inside.  I don't really have words to describe this beyond that.  Except maybe to note that it was so huge, it was almost a meal in itself - I took it home and had it for breakfast and it was just as good.

All in all, an inspired and amazing meal, one of the best I've had this year.  To those who may be weary of all the hype, and crowds, and possibly having the living daylights scared out of you by having to be downtown etc. etc. - get up and go try it for  yourself, now, and you'll see the reason for all the hype.  If you go early enough, before they even open for the night - based on last night it seems like you'll have a good shot of getting a table, and you'll be out of there before dark.  Is it worth all the trouble?  YES.  Go.  Now.

(They are still completely sold out.  But you can follow Krissy on Twitter for latest table opening alerts, or stand by outside the place before opening like I did...good luck!)
 
On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 6 bites
Presentation - 6 bites
Originality - 6.5 bites
Ambience - 6 stars
Service - 6 stars
Overall experience - 6 bites
Price - $$$ (3 bite marks mains)
Probability of return visit - 100% (if I can even get in!)

______________________________________________________________________

LudoBites 007 at Gram & Papa's
227 East 9th St, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Ph: 213.624.7272
 
Parking: Free on most streets after 6pm; $3 flat rate after 4pm in lot on Santee between 8th and 9th

Website: ludolefebvre.com/ludobites/0-0-7
_____________________________________________________________________