#la brunch

[nohoartsdistrict]

(via “The Sexiest Brunch in Los Angeles” - L.A. Foodie - NoHoArtsDistrict.com)

[lyndzitrang]

Exploring a new neighborhood means exploring new places to eat!

terrine [tuh-reen]

noun

a casserole dish made of pottery.

a paté or similar dish of chopped meat, game, fish, or vegetablesbaked in such a dish and served cold.

This unique and out of placed restaurant for even Los Angeles, Terrine, opened in December 2014.  Breeding remnants and curators of Faith & Flower, A.O.C., Ray’s & Stark Bar (to name a few), this family-friendly restaurant telepaths you to vibes of Portlandia-cool Oregon with an incredible outdoor patio and lot of beautiful natural light.  I can definitely see myself throwing a lavish baby shower brunch for any of my soon-to-be mommy friends.

I made reservations via OpenTable online for their brunch served only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  Arriving on time for my reservation at 10:30am, to my surprise, there were plenty of open seating available.  Perhaps was it because it was fairly new?  Or was it perhaps the city and streets were a ghost town a day prior to the LA Marathon.  For whatever the reason, it was nice to know that I had a reserved seat.

First look at the menu, the prices are decent and affordable with plates ranging from $9 – $20.

January 2015 Menu. Unfortunately I forgot to snap their current menu.

From the menu, I ordered:

Huevos Resaca: tortilla crisps, pinto, ranchera sauce, house made chorizo, cotua cheese and cilantro. -$15 Flavorful, but a little too salty for my tastes.  Eat it “quick” or the tortilla crisps will get soggy, unless you like that.

Veal Eggs Benedict: food review noobie… forgot to write down the description of this dish and of course it’s my favorite dish from this visit. -$18

Delicious and the hollandaise was one of my most favorites I’ve had in awhile.  

Terrine de Foie Gras: sweet and sour prunes, baguette, fleur de sel. -$20 Yummy pate styled Foie Gras.  More delicious than the Bestia version.  I love the smoke flavors encrusted in this easy to spread delicacy.  The sweet, ooey, gooey prunes were the highlights of this dish.  

The food was amazing and the portions generous for the generous price points in this Beverly Grove district of LA.  The service was outstanding, they were quick and attentive.  My water was constantly refilled and devoured plates were consistently cleared and replaced with clean, new ones.

Obsessed over these multi-sized marble tiled walls.  I love how the gold shelf brackets anchor and highlight the thick glass shelf.

As I continue to explore the city, I grow to love it more and more everyday.  It doesn’t feel like home just yet.  Home is in Orange County with the fragrant aromas of my Mom’s cooking.  Home is in Texas with the bigger and better everything.  Sometimes, I miss having that yard for my pup to play and a vegetable garden blooming with tomatoes, basil and dill.  I hope to recreate some of these feelings at my studio space… a few DIYs would do just the trick!

General Information:

Terrine

8265 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048

[phone]

BRUNCH HOURS:

FRIDAY 11:30AM TO 2:30PM SATURDAY – SUNDAY 10AM TO 3PM

DINNER HOURS:

SUNDAY-THURSDAY 5:30PM TO 11PM FRIDAY-SATURDAY 5:30PM TO 2AM

Brunch | Terrine Exploring a new neighborhood means exploring new places to eat! terrine  noun a casserole dish made of pottery.

[maamcakes-blog]

IN THE MIX: Pancake review with special guest, Writer & Director James Gunn

Last weekend I was incredibly fortunate to have Writer/Director James Gunn join me as a guest reviewer for Ma'amCakes!

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, followed by a brief stop in New York City to earn his MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, James moved to Los Angeles fourteen years ago to pursue writing and directing. Since his long trek across country, James has both written and directed major screenplays including Slither, and Rainn Wilson/Ellen Page comedy Super, and has written horror/sci-fi flick Dawn of the Dead, comedy Scooby Doo, and many others. 

For his Ma'amCakes debut, James picked Studio City hot spot Hugo's, located on Riverside Drive. Yes, I know what you're thinking: I've already done a review at Hugo's! Well True Ma'amCakes Followers, to switch it up a bit, I decided to get the wackiest pancakes on the menu! Can you guess which ones?

Uh, maybe a better question is... where the hell are the pancakes? "Do you know where the pancakes are on this menu," said James, "I seriously can't find them!" Well James, the only reason I knew where the pancakes were located is because I had the same issue five months ago. I'm so flattered Hugo's took my suggestion of separating the pancake options from the eggs, instead of burying them on the bottom of page three.

Anyway!

If you haven't already guessed, in honor of my obsession with summer and all-things tropical, I went with the Roasted Pineapple-Coconut Pancakes, while James went with the All-American breakfast of Buttermilk Pancakes and a glass of milk:

I figured since I was dining with such an artistic Director, I'd get the most artistic Ma'amCakes on the menu. After a few bites, I realized that the reason these pancakes were so good is because they contained the proper amount of ALL their ingredients. After using the Dewey Decimal System to find the ingredients on the menu, I re-read "topped with sliced bananas, toasted slivered almonds, and coconut." I found it interesting that the roasted pineapple was cooked inside the pancakes, while the remaining ingredients were on top. I myself am shocked to say this, but guess what Hugo's? I wouldn't change a thing about the placement of these ingredients! The only suggestion I have about these Ma'amCakes is they should be fluffier - I personally would rather be more overwhelmed with pancake, than with fruit. 

While James' Buttermilk Pancakes (with a glass of milk) was very traditional, the side of raisins? Not so much. In fact, looking back now, it actually looks like there are bugs on his plate. "These pancakes are really good," said James, "but yeah, I could do without the raisins." Well apparently the pancakes were really good, because when I looked down fifteen minutes later, they were gone! "I can't believe I ate the entire plate. That's probably the most I've ever eaten in one sitting!" While the raisins were the only thing left behind, I do give Hugo's props for trying to make a somewhat boring dish, interesting. 

Overall, it was another successful Ma'amCakes review at Hugo's. As far as the Roasted Pineapple-Coconut Pancakes: the fruit was fresh, the coconut did its job of bringing me back to a day on the beach, and the pancakes took me home. When asking which pancakes he'd try next time, James replied with "the pumpkin pancakes!" Good choice! In fact, I might have the same. 

Thank you so much James, for being a part of Saturday morning brunch with Ma'amCakes! Be sure to check out James' newest project, video game Lollipop Chainsaw now in stores. 

[maamcakes-blog]

Ma'amCakes is officially a DOT COM! Get ready for a total re-vamp. Monetization, here we go!

[maamcakes-blog]

Celebrate America's 236th birthday with creative #Ma'amCakes! Happy 4th of July!

[maamcakes-blog]

IN THE MIX: Pancake review with special guest BreakfastForDinner

After getting to taste their delicious Speculoos Pancakes, BreakfastForDinner boys Michael and Raul joined me last weekend as guest reviewers for Ma'amCakes! 

Michael and Raul's YouTube channel, BreakfastForDinner, has almost 200,000 video views, and the videos typically show the boys in quite a scandalous position: in front of the stove, cooking! I was fortunate enough to have the boys cook me an amazing pancake dinner a couple weekends ago. Check it out:

BreakfastForDinner has videos featuring the boys cooking anything from pies to bacon pancake smoothies, so what better than to have them as guest reviewers!

For our Ma'amCakes review, we decided to go to Michael's favorite pancake spot in LA, Figaro Bistro, located on Vermont St. in Los Feliz, CA.

Upon entering the restaurant, considering Michael's exact words were "I hope you're ready for this, girl," my expectations for these pancakes were, needless to say, pretty high. 

As a group we made it fairly easy for the chef, as we ended up ordering three orders of the Pancakes!

I must say, these pancakes were actually quite tasty and shockingly, I've never had pancakes like this before: first of all, I've never seen pancakes cut like mom's grilled cheese special she puts in your lunch bag. I do give Figaro props for creating a unique arrangement of a typically boring dish! Second, the pancakes tasted a bit too much like muffins, instead of ma'amcakes. Fortunately for Figaro, I love muffins! And it's definitely nice to have an option for pancake-tasting muffins.

"Put some of that apple compote on," yelled Michael. These were awesomely unique pancakes, and the apple compote - which I normally don't like - sealed the deal. (I probably liked the compote with these pancakes because they tasted like muffins!).

As Michael was chewing, he spat out "I love the contrast between the fluffiness and the crunchiness." "Agreed," said Raul, "and the consistency is amazing." I also agreed with Michael as he sated "It's like you're biting in to a fancy, expensive pastry!"

Upon completing our meal, Michael and Raul asked if the chef could explain how exactly the pancakes were made - especially about the fluffy/crunchy contrast - but unfortunately, we were told that's "a secret recipe." Shocking.

Overall, the Pancakes at Figaro were very tasty and unique. If you're looking for pancakes that taste more like muffins than yes, these are the best plain pancakes in LA! While I did enjoy these pancakes, Raul and Michael: I enjoyed your Speculoos Pancakes way more.

Thanks BreakfastForDinner, for being a part of Sunday brunch with Ma'amCakes!

[maamcakes-blog]

Check Ma'amCakes' video debut out on BreakfastForDinner! Be sure to follow their awesome YouTube channel for more amazing (and original) recipes!

[maamcakes-blog]

Thanks for the support, LA Food Blog!