Posted September 25th, 2008 by Meg
I recently read on the LAist that Tutto Tutti on Melrose is the best frozen yogurt in Los Angeles. Those are some brave words! Naturally, I had to check this place out. All their yogurt is organic and from the pyramids of Horizon Organic Nonfat Yogurt tubs (which you can kind of see in the picture) I am guessing that is the yogurt they use. They do not have a website up yet, but here is what I gathered from just being there.
They have six flavors:
1. Virgin - Plain Organic Yogurt
2. Double Wonder - Sea Salt and Caramel mixed in with Plain Organic Yogurt
3. Seven - 7 Healthy Whole Grains Blended with Plain Organic Yogurt
4. Super Bee - Ginseng, honey infused in with Plain Organic Yogurt
5. Freckle Snow White - Black Sesame Seeds and Plain Organic Yogurt
6. White Velvet - Vanilla Organic Yogurt
Along with their unique flavors they also have different toppings: Balsamic Raspberry Reduction, Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce, Balsamic Berries, Banana Nut Berry, Candied Walnuts, and probably a few more that I don’t not remember. No kiddie cups here, one size fits all. The yogurt starts at $4.50. If you add 1 “layer” (topping) you add 1.00 to your total. If you add 2 “layers”, you add 1.50 to your total. If you add 3 “layers” you add 2.00 dollars to your total. Yes, they take credit cards! But, you can’t tip on the receipt, if you’re into that sort of thing.
I sampled and enjoyed all flavors, but one really stood out for me. Call me boring, but I ordered the White Velvet with Balsamic Raspberry Reduction and Banana Nut Berry (more of just Bananas and nuts). The White Velvet is creamy and thick. Out of all the yogurt places I have tasted, this is on the more custard side of textures (which I love). The vanilla is sweet and subtle, but stands out (especially in comparison to the other flavors made with plain yogurt). I greatly enjoyed the balsamic raspberry reduction and thought it worked well with both the bananas and the yogurt. I hope to go back again. It is organic, delicious, and they have a parking lot! Don’t be fooled though, there are approximately 8 parking spots with 10 minute only signs AND the lot is shared with a California Chicken Cafe. So it might be one of those just go at night when street parking is free places. They also have organic coffee, but I forgot to look at that menu because I was so excited about frozen yogurt. In the end, I cannot say that it is the best frozen yogurt in Los Angeles, but I can say it certainly does rank high in my book. It’s worth checking out.
Tutto Tutti
6803 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Get Directions(323) 939-9424
Posted September 12th, 2008 by Meg
The Hungry Cat is a cute / hip seafood restaurant in Hollywood (Sunset and Vine, behind the Borders Bookstore). My roommate and I went in the mid-afternoon to have a peaceful lunch outside. The service was smooth and the staff friendly. The main purpose was to try their cocktails more than anything else. And that we certainly did, trying 5 out of the 8 cocktails offered. On their drink menu, the Thirsty Cat Menu, they offer both “Classic Cats” and “Seasonal Cats.” I have added * next to our cocktails that were Seasonal Cats.
We Drank
*The Hot Tamale - Reposado tequila (rested tequila; 2 months to 1 year in large vats or oak barrels), lime & orange with fresno chili simple syrup
*The Slice - Boomsma gin, watermelon, basil & fig vinegar
Cucumber Martini - Hendrick’s gin, cucumber juice & fresh lime
Greyhound Proper - Plymouth gin, fresh grapefruit juice & candied grapefruit
* H. C. Sazerec - Sazerec rye whiskey, dash of H.B. Pastis, Peychaud Bitters & lemon
I enjoyed all the cocktails. My favorite was probably The Greyhound Proper, The Hot Tamale, or The Slice. The Cucumber Martini started off weird, but as the ice melted the drink became exponentially tastier. The H.C. Sazarec was also good, but I am a new whiskey drinker, so I let my roommate drink most of it. The main point is that you can’t go wrong ordering a cocktail from their menu, especially from their “Seasonal Cats” section.
We Ate
1/2 lb peel n’ eat shrimp - we paid a few dollars less for them because we peeled them ourselves; interactive eating!
Oysters - From Rhode Island and New Zealand.
Marinated Mussels
The Pug burger - with bacon, avocado and blue cheese
My favorite was the shrimp, but the mussels and oysters were also exquisite. I preferred the Rhode Island oysters over the N
ew Zealand, but they were both yummy. Since I am new to shellfish, I enjoyed the fact that we were able to order them in whatever quantities we pleased. We initially ordered two of each type of oysters and two mussels, but loved the mussels so much that we ordered more for the table. The Pug burger was good, but too well done (we asked for medium rare, but there was nothing pink about it). It was also a vertical nightmare to eat, requiring burger surgery (burgerioplasty) on the burger in order to get a decent bite.
The owners, David Lentz and Suzanne Goin, know what they are doing; they also own these other hip Los Angeles restaurants: AOC, Luques, and Campanille. Suzanne is opening up a new restaurant in Brentwood, which I am crossing my fingers to be just as amazing as the other restaurants. 
In the end, the seafood and cocktails were delicious and I can’t wait until we go back.
The Hungry Cat
1535 Vine St
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Get Directions(323) 462-2155
Posted August 27th, 2008 by Meg
My boyfriend and I recently went out to the much talked about Kitchen 24, a cute little restaurant in Hollywood. It gets it’s name from the fact that it is conveniently open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The menu covers everything: breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and booze. I had heard about them through a friend dining there for breakfast. They said it was wonderful, and when I looked at the menu, their breakfast certainly sounded appetizing. However, you will see below that I did not order the breakfast, but opted for a salad. I know, a little boring, but I’m on a journey to find the best salad in Los Angeles.
I was excited to order one of their many crazy cocktails. I was a little disappointed that vodka took over the majority of the recipes (was really in the mood for gin). However, this does not mean I was disappointed with my decision of a Verde Verda: muddle strawberries shaken with Basil & Veev served refreshingly on the rocks with a splash of soda.
For those of you that don’t know, Veev is the first açaí spirit. Açaí (pronounced like “a-sigh-ee”) is a fruit that grows atop a certain variety of palm tree in the rainforest (the same tree that produces hearts of palm). This little berry is a powerhouse of antioxidants (yes, even better than pomegranates), making it a great fruit to eat. Veev is a pretty green company and for every bottle that you buy, they donate a dollar to the Brazilian rainforest, directly benefiting the farming communities that harvest the berries. Their organization is carbon neutral organization, partnering with the company ClimateClean to offset their carbon emissions. They are also the only distillery in America that is powered by renewable wind energy. Kudos to you, Veev! The recipe that Kitchen 24 used to make mine was crisp and clean in taste. It was only slightly sweet, definitely not as sweet as I expected it to be with the spirits and the fruit.
For dinner, I ordered the Salmon BLT Salad: grilled salmon, tomatoes, mixed greens, applewood bacon and potatoes, with a bacon buttermilk vinaigrette. I am new to eating salmon on salads, and usually prefer to have it alone and separate. I never would think to place bacon and potatoes on it either, but it worked so well that I might have to try it at home. I think the dressing made it go from just a good salad to a great salad. I also ordered some sweet potato fries for the table for comparative purposes. The fries at Kitchen 24 were
good, but only came with ketchup. I do not think that sweet potato fries and ketchup pair well, but I am sure someone out there does. I strongly believe that F.O. and The Counter have the best sweet potato fries. They seal the deal of being best by including some type of sour cream spicy dipping sauce specifically for their fries.
Overall, the food is good and probably tastes even better at 2am after a night of drinking. It is in a perfect location to pick up the hungry drinkers too, being just down the block from Citizen Smith, Beauty Parlor, and many other bars. It is very small, so I assume that it can become quite cozy after last call, but probably well worth the wait.
Note: I have just started my journey for the best salad in Los Angeles. Until I have tried a good number of salads, I cannot decide as to yet which salad ranks supreme in my book.
Kitchen 24
1608 N Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Get Directions(323) 465-2424
Posted August 8th, 2008 by Meg
While running on errands with my roommate today in Hollywood, we decided to stop for lunch at the Farmer’s Market. We chose Monsieur Marcel to eat at because my roommate said that the food was tasty, relatively inexpensive in comparison to most French restaurants in Los Angeles, and other positive reasons that I can’t remember now. Monsieur Marcel’s is a french bistro, wine, and cheese bar found in the corner of the Farmer’s Market near the Sur La Table. Next door to the bistro is the Monsieur Marcel gourmet store, which is a fun little place to shop for a variety of gourmet foods.
I ordered the French Burger: lean ground beef, sautéed mushrooms and onions, and gruyere de come. Not the healthiest of choices, but it sounded wonderful. And it was, but I would not say that it was the best in Los Angeles (F.O. #1). The mushrooms were definitely the most dominant part of the taste, but combined well with the gruyere and beef. It was more dry than I normally enjoy, so I ended up trying different combinations with mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup. The frites were thinly sliced and were accompanied by an aesthetically pleasing trifecta display of condiments. We were promptly seated and waited on relatively well. My only complaint was that my water glass was ignored.
My roommate had the Croque Madame, which is not actually on the menu, but is just the Croque Monsieur (grilled ham, swiss cheese, and mornay sauce) with a fried egg on top. Apparently, the name change comes from the egg making the sandwich look like it is wearing an old fashioned women’s hat. How adorable! Mornay sauce is a Béchamel sauce, a white sauce, with shredded or grated cheese added (such as gruyere and parmesan). I am not a good judge of any type of food that involves ham because it was only until recently that I started to enjoy ham. When I was a child, I always said it tasted “too hammy” in a whiny tone. I did try the sandwich though and found it to have a pleasant ham and grilled cheese taste. I don’t know if I could eat a whole Croque Madame sandwich on my own anytime soon, but I did enjoy the taste enough that I could have had a second bite.
I would definitely eat there again, maybe even visit the one in Santa Monica (although it is located at one of my least favorite places, the Promenade). I would probably prefer eating there at night with a larger group of people so we could open some bottles of wine and get some cheese plates on the table, but I would still be willing to open some bottles and share some cheese with a friend at lunchtime.
Monsieur Marcel - Pain Vin et Fromage
6333 W Third St
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (323) 939-7792
I recently read on the LAist that Tutto Tutti on Melrose is the best frozen yogurt in Los Angeles. Those are some brave words! Naturally, I had to check this place out. All their yogurt is organic and from the pyramids of Horizon Organic Nonfat Yogurt tubs (which you can kind of see in the picture) I am guessing that is the yogurt they use. They do not have a website up yet, but here is what I gathered from just being there.
