It wasn’t exactly the plan to gain a hundred pounds during our staycation, so we spent the morning of day 3 hiking along the PV cliffs. Though we probably would have needed to hike for several days to burn off all the calories ingested, it was a beautiful way to spend the morning. Thoroughly enjoyable hiking by ourselves. We kept commenting on how we thought the kids would do if they were with us. The older two probably would have hung in there, though we suspected a headache for Mikey. Phil would be lugging Lauren on his shoulders and I’d have Jonah hanging off me. Not nearly as enjoyable and some parts would have been downright dangerous. We concluded that a family hike is still a few years away for us still.
And speaking of ingesting calories…
We had special plans for dinner that evening.
Unfortunately, those special plans did not include reservations made months in advance. So we went early, before the restaurant even opened, in hopes of getting seated at the bar. Lo and behold, we got there early enough to be first in line! I’m looking pretty happy about being first in line. Or maybe it was the new Kate Spade bag purchased the day before that was causing the smile-fest. Either way, lots to smile about.
The bad news is we didn’t get seated at the bar. But only because the good news totally obliterated the bad- we instead got seated at a table in the outside patio area!
And look who joined us for fancy grownup meal number three?
This restaurant was Jami’s pick. James was looking pretty happy about it.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! Ready to throw down another gajillion calories.
We got there early enough even to catch the staff’s pre-service pump-themselves-up-huddle. Pretty cool to see. Also the pristine kitchen from which our many dishes were to emerge.
Carefully selecting our evening meal.
I got started off with this pretty little refresher. I forget what it was called, but it was very, very nice. (seriously NOT a drinker in my real life, haha.)
The meal began with this. Chicken Liver Crostino. chives. marjoram. aged balsamic. sea salt. And it was one of the highlights of the evening. Delicious. And I’m not even a big fan of chicken liver!
Roasted Marrow Bone. spinach gnocchetti. crispy breadcrumbs. aged balsamic. This one was a little disappointing as the bone we got was really thick and the marrow didn’t really slide out like our server said it would. Phil had to dig it out and there wasn’t much of it. But the spinach gnocchetti? I could eat that for days.
Cavatelli alla Norcina. ricotta dumplings. housemade pork sausage. black truffles. grana padano.
Tomahawk pork chop. We wavered on getting this one since we’d already ordered so much food, but this was another winner. So so good.
I think this was served with the pork? Maybe? Either way, we liked it too.
Happy faces and stomachs after all that wonderful food and even better company.
Then dessert time! “Coffee & Donuts.” spiced chestnut zeppole. whipped cream. coffee ice cream. This one was ehhhh. We wanted to love the donuts but we didn’t.
Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta. mara des bois strawberries. honey whole wheat butter cookies. Another ehhhh. The panna cotta was kinda runny.
Butterscotch Coconut Tart. fresh coconut sorbetto. santa rosa plums. We awkwardly met the pastry chef thanks to a work connection from Phil. But she was very nice and sent this out for us. It was awesomeness personified. I still have dreams about that butterscotch coconut tart. Wow.
Lovely meal with lovely friends. Topped off with a lovely view of downtown LA on the drive home.
2 Comments
James
that liver was so good and set the bar so high i think everything else was good to meh…it’s amazing how much a great waiter can affect a meal.
great times michelle and phil, and great photography as usual!
michelletsai
That liver was craziness. We should’ve ordered another one just for Jami since that’s what she was looking forward to the most!