DAILY GRILL

I went to Daily Grill with my cousins in Studio City.  We went around 6:00-6:30 on a Saturday and the place was packed!  The hostess was a little frazzled.  She gave me a children's menu.  I was offended.  We started off the meal with a shrimp cocktail and some bread.  The bread was really good and fresh and the shrimp were anything but.  They were giant!!  My two toddler cousins ordered the chicken pot pies off the children's menu.  I thought it was kind of a weird thing to have on the children's menu.  I never ate that as a child, but they really liked it.  I had a bite.  It was really creamy and had a lot of flavor, but I thought that the button mushrooms had NO PLACE being there and of course ate around it. EW!  I ordered the oven roasted garlic chicken.  It was a half roasted chicken marinated in garlic honey jus and it was really good, but the portion was HUGE.  I was able to pick my two sides.  I got steamed spinach which was bland and broccoli which was even blander.  It was more than enough food for me. There are multiple locations across the US.  The restaurant has a really varied menu which is good for picky eaters and large parties.

ttp://www.dailygrill.com

OVERLAND CAFE

OVERLAND CAFE

www.overlandcafe.com

I went to overland cafe for a nice Satuday Brunch with my friend.  I ordered the Norwegian Smoked Salmon platter off the cafe specialties menu aka THE ULTIMATE JEWISH BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS.  The platter was around $11 and I got so much food!!  It was a very hungry hypoglacemic girls dream.  The platter came with sliced tomatoes, toasted bagel, cream cheese, red onion and scrambled eggs with smoked lox mixed it.  It was delicious!  I love bagel and lox and the eggs are always a great addition and a nice way to add protein to keep you fuller longer.  I'm not crazy abou the area though is there was nothing particularly special about this platter.  You can get it anywhere that has a decent breakfast/brunch menu to be perfectly honest.  However, if you are in the area and are hungry it is worth checking out.  The place was pretty crowded.  One thing I will say is that I was VERY disapointed that they didn't have wheat bagels.  Only onion and plain.  Wheat toast just would not have been the same so I got an onion one.  The cakes in the counter looked amazing.  I rarely order a slice and this day was no exception.  They looked awesome though so if you have a party to go to and are asked to bring dessert you may want to stop by and pick up the carrot cake.  Unless it decievingly looks great and is really dry on the inside.  Isn't that always soooo disappointing?  Has anyone gotten it?

SADDLE RANCH

SADDLE RANCH

I went to Saddle Ranch late on a Saturday night with a few friends.  Saddle Ranch in not your typical western bar, for starters it's in Los Angeles!  It was really fun and the food looked great, so I will have to go back and eat.  They have an extensive menu (brunch, lunch, dinner and COTTON CANDY!!).  Some nights they have line dancing, live music, and can be rented out for parties.  I went on a typical night with nothing going on.  The place is decorated in a western theme and is really cute.  It's not a cheesy theme restaurant.  Saddle Ranch even has a mechanical bull that you can ride (after you sign an insurance waiver of course) and of course I rode it and no you will not see pictures posted anywhere thank you!!  It's a fun place to go and I will definetly be going back to eat.  The brunch menu looks out of this world.

http://www.srrestaurants.com/

GODDESS SALAD

To make my

GODDESS SALAD

you will need:

1 cup of spinach

1 cup of finely chopped romaine lettuce

1 packet of white albacore tuna

1 half diced vine tomato

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablepoons of seeds of change brand seven grain mix

GODDESS dressing like Annie's or any generic brand

**goddess dressing is a tahini dressing (a bit sour) with lemon, herbs and spices)**

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy a quick and healthy lunch!!

BOTTLE POP AT BOTTLE ROCK

I went to Bottle Rock in Culver City with my friend for happy hour.  We enjoyed a reduced price cheese plate, caprese salad and a glass of the malbec and Cline red zinfindel off their happy hour menu.  We were served a selection of 3 cheese (chef's selection) with some bread.  It was really good.  I particularly enjoyed the brie.  The blue cheese we were given ( I am not sure of its variety) was a little dry but had a nice flavor.  The salad was amazing.  The mozzerella melted in your mouth.  My friend did not like this.  She said it was too soft.  She is probably used to less fresh and fine mozzeralla, but everyones taste buds are different. I would like to go back and try more substantial dishes next time!

www.bottlerock.net

MARRAKECH MORROCAN

MARRAKECH- LAS VEGAS

I went to Marrakech Morrocan restaurant in Las Vegas Nevada a couple of weeks ago with a group of 7.  It is located just off the strip in a shopping center on 3900 Paradise Road.  The alcohol is pretty cheap relative to other restaurants I've been to in the area, there is live belly dancing and a delicious 6 course family style meal.  They also provide substitutes for no extra charge if you are a vegetarian which is really nice!  It was a great meal and a really fun atmosphere.  We ate with our hands for most of the meal which was kind of weird at first.  They started off the meal by asking us to wash our hands tableside with this rose water stuff.  It smelled really fragrant and good.

For the first course we had shrimp scampi in lemon, wine and garlic sauce.  Our veggie friend had the same dish with mushrooms (EW).  It was really good.  They served it with "traditional Morrocan bread" which was just like the Traditional Jewish Challah bread.  

Our next course was a delicious lentil soup with rice, lemon and spices which we drank right of our of the bowl!!

After our soups, we enjoyed a hummus course that was accompanied by beets, olives, carrots, cucumbers...etc.  It was soooo good.  First of all I have never enjoyed beets so much, but the hummus was REALLY great as well.  I wish more places served a plate just like this.  I'm tired of the traditional pita and hummus pairing.

The next course we had was the beef kabob which was marinated in 7 Morrocan spices and it was poking out of a pineapple with a birthday candle one it.  It was cooked and seasond perfectly, but I don't understand why it came with a birthday candle in it.  My friends and I all thought that was soooo odd.  Oh well.  It was really tasty. 

The main course was a cous cous platter with cornish game hen in a raisin and vegetable sauce.  The hen was tender and juicy and the vegetable melted in your mouth.  It was just the right amount of sweet and it was really delicious.  I enjoyed this course a lot too!!  We were given forks for this course.  

The dessert was served with Morrocan mint sweet tea.  It was fabulous.  I loved it.  The dessert was just ok.  I was hoping for something a little more refreshing and light.  The dessert was a phyllo pastry dough stuffed with nuts, fruit and sugar.  It was topped with more powdered sugar than should ever be legal and cinnamon.  It was okay.  It would have been nice to get some fresh fruit with some home made whipped cream on the side or topped with honey and nuts.  The sugar was so over powering that it made me totally dehyrated. 

I really couldn't pick a favorite course but you can probably tell which one I liked the least.  I would definetly go back and I think it's a great place if you are going with a large party.  You shouldn't being a picky eater here because there will not be very many alterntives for them to choose from.  Below is the website for more information.  There is another location in Los Angeles and apparently a few across the US.  They must be owned by different families because they are not advertised on the Las Vegas location's website.

http://www.marrakechvegas.com

A VERY HAPPY HOUR AT RA SUSHI- FASHION SHOW MALL

A VERY HAPPY HOUR AT RA SUSHI- FASHION SHOW MALL

Last night I went to Ra Sushi at 6:30 for happy hour (which ends at 7).  They have a menu of speciality cocktails, sake, beer, appetizers and rolls that are all half off.  I ordered two cocktails so that I could get the special deal, one over rocks and a martini (I drank the one with ice that would melt first and then had the martini second, pretty good plan if you ask me).  I had a geisha punch with was vodka, soda, giner and grenedine.  The drinks were refreshing, but not strong.  By my second drink was the pamatini which was a mixture of  ketel citron, pama liquer, and grapefruit juice.  I added and extra shot and it was perfect!!!  haha.  For dinner I ordered a spicy tuna roll and a Las Vegas Roll.  The Las Vegas roll is one of their most popular rolls.  It is a deep fried tuna avocado roll with cream cheese topped with spicy crab mix and a taro root chip.  One of my friends ordered the Spinach Gyoza.  They were pan fried dumplings and really good and served with a garlic ponzu dipping sauce.  The meal was very inexpensive considering how much food and alcohol we ordered.  I was very impressed and would def go back for another happy hour.

Check out my last RA SUSHI Post for even more information

http://chefstaceybeth.blogspot.com/2008/12/tonight-i-ate-at-121.html