Truffles and trails : February 2015

Who doesn't like to be by the seaside and if you are a water sign, the allure of water, the immensity of the ocean, is an enigma, is a call one can rarely resist.

Needless, to say when you are in LA and love the water as much as I do, a must-do is a visit to the Santa Monica pier and the adjacent beach. There are several beaches along the pacific coast like the Marina Del Rey, Playa del Rey, Venice boardwalk and Santa Monica beach. Further down south there are plenty more and if you went northwest you would hit Malibu, one of the popular rich and famous haunt.

We decided to spend a leisurely afternoon at Santa Monica. Water was very cold, as expected in January. So going in was ruled out. But walking the coastline seemed pretty doable. We walked along the water, barefoot on the sand , enjoying the natural exfoliation pedicure...:)

Sudhi, without telling me was mapping our walk through an app on his phone. After we had walked, what seemed like quite a distance, we turned around to realize that the pier was almost invisible. Sudhi switched on his phone and said we had walked 2.6 miles from where we started. WOW!!! It was so enjoyable, that we didn't even feel it.

As it was almost 1pm, we were starting to feel hungry and decided to walk back. Another 2.6 miles to the pier. The walk back was faster as we picked up the pace as hunger pangs were setting in.

The pier is a fun place for kids, with an amusement park with several fun rides, games and fun food. I personally prefer pier 39 in San Francisco a whole lot more than this pier.

We walked around soaking in the sights, sounds and colors of the place. There were many freelance music performers, who had set up in different corners of the pier and was belting out one melody after another. There were artists waiting to paint your portrait for a price, artificial tattoo artists enticing kids and teenagers alike.

Food options too were many. There was a seafood and a Mexican restaurant but we. Hose to go for the more casual boardwalk food of fries, corn dogs and waffles with fruits and ice cream, all washed down with fresh fruit juice.

There are plenty of clean washrooms and changing rooms, rental umbrellas for the beach and a spacious parking spot, which charges $8 for the day.

It's a must visit for families with kids or even couples. Nice, relaxing and enjoyable day by the Pacific. I am guessing, summer will see the beach really packed. Some pics from Santa Monica pier below..

We recently moved to Milwaukee USA when the husband got a promotion and took up a new role. Having lived in Mumbai for the last 7 years, one really gets used to not having a winter. Milwaukee, on the contrary experiences an extremely long and bitter winter with temperatures often dipping to 20 Celsius below 0.Given that, our first choice for a quick getaway was to some place sunny and warm.

We headed off to the west to Los Angeles. A really long flight with a stopover in Minneapolis later, we finally arrived at LAX. Our second trip to Southern California, but after 13 years.

Since we had done the usual touristy stuff last time, decided to take it easy on this. So immediately ruled out the theme parks and stuck to a relaxed driving around city and to focusing on exploring more of the culinary delight LA has to offer. It's an extremely cosmopolitan city and has a varied range of cuisines on offer.

We rented a car from National and booked a hotel in Beverly Hills, the Crowne plaza for its locational advantage and proximity to Rodeo Drive and all the excellent restaurants and cafés in the neighborhood.

Day 1:

We decided to have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel buffet. Having filled our tummy well, we drove out to visit the famous Hollywood sign. To get there early in in the morning meant less crowd and great morning picture opportunities. We drove up to the vista point from where the view of the valley is gorgeous and the sign is spectacular. We got a sunny and clear day so the Hollywood sign almost looked touchable. Below are some pics from the fabulous morning.

Dinner at Spago Beverly Hills..

Owned by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, this restaurant is a Hollywood favorite. And also ours...:) We first ate here in 2002 when, such an expensive meal was a big deal for our wallet. We had celebrated our second anniversary with an extravagant dinner treat at Spago. So here we were, 13 years later for our 15th..:) Providence huh?

Anyways, we reached Spago in Beverly Hills, just a couple of blocks from the famous Rodeo drive. Perfect ambience, mellow lighting and seated were the rich and famous of Hollywood.

The maître de seated us and offered us an amuse Bouche of mushroom cappuccino. Delicate and
flavorful, set the mood for the rest of the evening. We had some nice cocktails made with lemongrass, jalapeño and cilantro with tequila and lemonade. Very refreshing it was.

We then went ahead to look at the extensive menu, very creative combinations and innovative ideas on a plate as can be expected from someone of the calibre of Mr. Puck.

Me the seafood lover just had to have the lobster bisque which was topped with black truffles and a scallop. Perfect balance and mildly flavored with exquisite saffron. Hubby decided to skip on the first coarse and save his appetite for the main.

We also had a basket of interesting breads along with garlic herb butter to have with the soup.

For main course, hubby ordered for a roast chicken with a porcini jus topped with shaved black
truffle slices and garlic mashed potato and a side of cauliflower sautéed with pine nuts . I chose to go with my favorite New York strip steak which I had cooked to medium doneness. The nicely sliced beef was topped with a sweet and savory balsamic reduction and roasted root veggies on the side.

At this point, the biggest highlight of the evening happened and left me so very happy and excited. The man himself walked out of the kitchen to main dining area and greeted each of the guests walking up to everyones table. Now, I have been a huge fan of Wolfgang Puck for the last fifteen years and he has been the biggest inspiration for my interest in gourmet cooking and world cuisine. It was one of the happiest moment of my life to have met and spoken to the great culinary genius.

After the sweet encounter, we ended the evening on a sweet note by sharing a yummy dessert...dark chocolate mousse with grapefruit gelato and citrus jelly. It was the perfect tangy, sweet ending to a wonderful evening. We drove back feeling completely satiated and happy..:) and yes, this time the
check was not as hard on the wallet...:)

Some pics from the fabulous dinner at Spago and one with Chef Puck.