SUNDAY SUPPER

Sunday Supper at Lucques:

fennel and endive salad with green olives, parsley and meyer lemon cream – absolutely lovely, fresh as it can be (the endives were super crunchy), a wonderful fruity, slightly tangy dressing, amazing green olives

grilled market fish with cauliflower rice and hot saffron-ginger-tomato sauce – perfectly grilled pink snapper, crisp on the outside, very moist in the inside (congratulations), rice and cauliflower is a surprisingly good combination, and the saffron-ginger-tomato sauce was a exciting dance of flavors in the palate.

olive oil cake with candied tangerines, crème fraîche and pistachios – I liked the candies tangerines and the lovely crème fraîche, but wasn't too crazy about the olive oil cake. not because it wasn't well made, but personally I don't like cake for dessert. it would have been a perfect match for an afternoon tea.

clearly at Lucques they deeply care about food and their love for outstanding products is enchanting. too bad the staff was utterly disimpassioned. nothing really to complain about. it just wasn't fun to be around our waitress pulling a face all evening.

A LOVELY LUNCH AT TAVERN, BRENTWOOD

The other day I had a meeting in the Pacific Palisades that ended around lunch time, and of course, due to that perfect timing, I couldn't resist stopping at a good restaurant. I ended up at Suzanne Goin's Tavern in Brentwood. I love those little lunch adventures with nobody else but myself. It makes me feel like 007 on a very secret mission. I was thrilled to find a nice spot at the bar. Isn't there anything more casual-chic than lunch at the bar of an elegant place like the Tavern? Wonderfully, I hit it off right away with Juan, the charming bar tender, who knew exactly how much to entertain me and when to give me space. The bread he served me was one of the best I had in the whole entire universe of L.A. - airy, light, mildly aromatic and with a super crunchy crust. Juan told me that Tavern makes its own bread on a daily basis in-house. Fabulous! I chose a Farro Tabouleh Salad with roasted beets and carrots and crumbled feta cheese. The citrus vinaigrette dressing complemented the nutty flavors of the farro nicely, and the root veggies were beautifully roasted. Too bad, they had an icy feeling, as if they just had come out of the fridge. Unfortunately, that's a huge flavor killer. While my stomach was already satisfied, I had to treat myself with one of the delicious sounding desserts. After contemplating various options, I finally decided to go for the Pistaccio Macaron with Rose Ice Cream and Raspberries. Let me say it right away, they messed up the macaron. What did those pastry guys use to make it? A powder mix? Artificial flavor? C'mon, you can do better than that. And the lovely sounding Rose Ice Cream  - a bit on the tame side. The soft rose could use a complementary ingredient to elevate it to something a bit more exciting. But maybe I am just not the rose type.