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Kelly and I decided to get a nice meal in Burbank, which isn’t always an easy task, as Burbank seems to have more fast food than it does good food, but right near her house are 2 places that are both expensive and good, both Morton’s and right next door to it French 75. You have to park valet, for $5.50 (youch), but the place is really amazing. It looks straight out of Moulon Rouge. The bar is amazing, and the whole place is dark with red velvet and old French posters around the place. Our waiter was a bit strange, but the food was pretty great, and the people next to us got a chocolate soufflé which we quickly ordered, so we could get it after the meal. Wow.

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Amazingly we went back not a month later. I signed up for their mailing list and got a $25 gift certificate, so we went back. I had the same, but Kelly didn’t.

We both started with appetizers. I got the Oysters on a half shell, which were only OK. A little too fishy. The sauce was tasty, but it needed a lot of it, because of the slightly fishing taste. Kelly got the French Onion Soup, which was tasty, but a bit on the sweet side.

And for dinner. I have to say, it was not what I though I would get. I though tI would get steak, but something else on the menu drew my attention. Lately I have been looking for a good juicy hamburger, and have not been able to find one of late. Well I decided on their Bistro Burger and it was fantastic. It was an 8 oz Ground Angus sirloin on a toasted brioche bun with a french secret sauce, and I got it without cheese or bacon. It came with some amazing thin pommes frites (or you can get potato chips or a green salad) and it is a huge order of fries, and comes with a large tub of ketchup, some lettuce and an onion. This was medium rare, juicy and fantastic. I will have this again!!!!

And I had it again and was equally impressed. That is a damn good burger all the way around.

Kelly had the sliders, also with Pommes Frites. She got French Sliders, which are 3 small burgers, with ground sirloin, roquefort sauce and fried onion beignets, and another big thing of ketchup. She really seemed to enjoy this, and am sure she too will have this again.

And the lovely desert, oh the desert. Damn was it was good. It was the hot Callebaut Chocolate Souffle, which they pour chocolate on, and then break the middle and put some nice cool Cointreau Cream in it, and then pour the rest of the chocolate, and oh my god is it to die for! Damn this is good! The other items sound good, but I don’t know how you could ever get past this! Wow!

Of course we had the soufle again, and it is amazing. Just an evil evil desert!

This place place was great, and I would certainly go back again.

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On our second visit Kelly had the Seared Scallops with Corn Mushrooms and Bacon Saute with a brown sugar vinaigrette. I can’t speak for the corn and rice, as I skipped it because of the bacon, but the scallops were huge and perfect, they just melted in your mouth. Fantastic.

Kelly also had a butternut squash soup with shrimp, which literally has little shrimp in almost every bite, and was also quite good.

The wine list is extensive, but pretty pricey, so we got wine in carafe’s which are 1 and a half glasses of wine for $15-30. The first time we have a Rosé that was OK, but the second time we had an Australian Penfolds “Thomas Hyland” Shiraz which was delicious. Not an expensive wine, but tasty, better than Yellowtail.

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I am sure we will return and bring more people! Not hungry cat good, but a cool looking place and pretty damn tasty.

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I have wanted to go to Thomas Keller’s the French Laundry since I saw Anthony Bordaine go there on his old Food Network show, A COOK’S TOUR, and started learning that this was the number one restaurant in the US, and when I went to NAPA, I ended up going to the number 3 restaurant the BISTRO JEANTY instead and loved it. And then again it was Anthony Bordaine who showed me about Bouchon Las Vegas, but this time on his travel channel show, NO RESERVATIONS. And on the plane ride to Vegas to go to NAB this year I was reading Anthony Bordain’s book THE NASTY BITS, which had the article that he was writing about Bouchon when he did the show, and I knew my girlfriend and I had to go. We called at 3 in the afternoon (they are not open for lunch) and got reservations for 9:30 PM. And I recommend you get there early and ask for directions, because the restaurant is quite well hidden away in the new tower, but it is quite nice inside.

Kelly and I got there a few minutes early, and got a table outside in the courtyard next to a fountain. It was a bit overly windy, but quite warm, and an amazing setting. The place is gorgeous. And when you sit down, the menu is a piece of paper wrapped around your napkin, so you can keep it. The wait staff was very good and helpful, and the food was honestly some of the best I have ever had. And the price was quite reasonable. With 1000Ml of wine, and an order of Oysters the dinner for the 2 of us was just under $150 with tip. Quite reasonable for food of this quality. If you are ever in or near vegas, YOU MUST GO TO THIS RESTAURANT NO MATTER WHAT! IT IS AMAZING!!!! Now I have to try THE FRENCH LAUNDRY!!!!

A photo of me outside the restaurant (damn I am looking fat!).

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I grew up on Marthas Vineyard and as a kid did not like Oysters or Muscles, because they have become my absolute favorite food, so of course i opened with the half dozen Oysters for $15. The plate consisted of 3 kinds of oysters, and had a vinegar sauce and a cocktail sauce, as well as lemon. 2 of the 3 kinds were decent, but the 3rd was sublime. Wow, so damn good. I wish I knew which ones they were.

For dinner it was a hard choice. We had seen Anthony Bordain eat Poulet Roti, which is Roasted Chicken, but it had bacon, so that was a no go, and he also had the steak Frites, for which he lamented because he always claimed his restaurant Les Halles in New York had the best fries, but he had been wrong. So Kelly went for the Steak Frites, which is a pan seared prime flatiron served with maitre d’hotel butter and fries. And I went for the Moules au Safran at a la Loutarde, which is maine bouchot mussels in white wine, mustard & safron served with french fries.

First for the fries. They were fantastic, and need no ketchup or sauce. Some of the best I have ever had, though I would need to try the ones at the Bistro Jeanty again to see if they were the best, because those were pretty damn good fries.

Kelly’s steak was divine, with an amazing dressing, and it just melted in your mouth.

And the muscles, oh the muscles. They were huge muscles, and unlike most big muscles, not the least bit chewy. They were the texture of roasted garlic that just melted on your tongue. Oh my god were they amazing!

Me with the Muscles and fries. Damn they look good, I want them again!

We were too stuffed for dessert, but ended up trying the Mousse au Chocolat Noir, a dark chocolate mouse, that was quite tasty, and they also gave us a selection of cookies.

The service was quite good, with the waiter helping us out on wine, which I enjoyed, though it did not go too well with fatty foods, so you had to cleans your palette to drink it, but it was still quite good, and came in a carafe already decanted.

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This place was beyond amazing! Keller really is one of the best chef’s I have ever had the pleasure of eating his food, and I hope to do so again!

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I have been reading about this little French Restaurant for some time in Los Angeles Magazine, and decided I finally had to give it a try. It is strangely located in a strip mall in between a Starbucks and a Dry Cleaners with an Albertsons and a Bank of America, and is only about a block from my girlfriend’s house, so where better to go for her birthday celebration? Well, maybe The Hungry Cat just spoiled us, but honestly this place seemed only mediocre. Not bad, but not amazing in any way shape or form.

The interior of the place is quite nice, which you would never know from the outside, with a counter with some bar stools, and nice little tables in one room. The wait staff was not typically french, since my water was constantly filled, though we sure waited a while for them to tell us about desserts, and to get our check.

For started we got a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, this was a KANU 2005 from South Africa, and it was alright. Fruity with a hint of apricot, and quite dry, but with a bite that I usually don’t get in Sauvignon Blanc, and that was not to my liking.

They have some excellent bread to start off with and I decided to try the Ahi Tuna and Nicoise salad, with 2 large pieces or raw ahi, on 2 large croutons, on some green beens and vegetables, and a sort of Olive tapenade. It was alright, though nothing mind blowing.

For dinner I had wanted to get the garlic roasted chicken with fried, but I am getting too far, so I figured I could do without the fries, and instead went for the Beef Bourguignon with mushrooms, celery, horseradish mashed potato and braising jus. It was decent. The meat was as tender as could be, in small cubes, and they could be cut with a fork, and it was on the potatoes, so you kind of ate it all together, but because of this you completely lose the flavor of the potatoes, because the sauce for the beef was so overpowering.

Kelly ordered the Spanish Paella with mussels, rock shrimp, clams, country sausage and saffron broth, but again was not all that impressed. The seafood was good, but the meal was not amazing, just alright.

For dessert we had a chocolate cake with truffles and a little thing of vanilla ice cream, and again it was alright, not amazing. The cake was very moist, but it was nothing mindblowing.

***

An alright restaurant, and it was just over $100 for the 2 of us with a bottle of wine, but honestly I don’t think I will be returning.

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Located at the Farmer’s Market, so the parking can be a bit hectic, but you get 2 hours free with a meal, this is an excellent French Cheese, and Wine

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I have wanted to eat here for some time, though reviews seemed either great or horrible, but i was interested in trying some of the Fish since the chef Joachim Splichal was a chef at the French laundry. The food was decent, with good flavors, though a tad overcooked, but the mixed drinks were spectacular.

This place is pretty incredible. A small restaurant from the outside on Venture Blvd’s north side, it has reasonably priced valet parking. The inside is quite nice and elegant, with a dining room on one side, and a full sized bar on the other, along with some tables, near the window and along the bar. We sat on that side next to the window. Their are also seats out front on the sidewalk for when it is warmer. The service was excellent as was the food, this is highly recommended!

Actually can’t say how good the normal food here is, as we had the special Valentines Day meel, which was a 4 course French Meal with Dessert for $68 Per Person, and was fantastic.Here is the menu for that
night.
PatinaGroupPinotBistroValentinesMenu.pdf

She had the Celeriac Soup, which was incredible and almost tasted like New England Clam Chowder it was so rich, wow, while I hd the Asparagus, Shallots and Brioche which was quite excellent. For the second course we both had the Steamed black mussels, which were just mussels out of the shell in the tomato fondue, with a sauce to dip them in as you ate them, excellent and so fresh. For the main course we both had the red wine pached beef tenderloin, which while hard to cut literally melted in your mouth! It was so succulent it was divine!

For dessert we decided to try one of each, so she got the Chocolate with mango sauce, and mango pieces, which was incredibly rich and incredibly tasty!

I on the other other hand got the Passion Fruit Pana Cotta with Rasberries, which was also excellent and went quite well with the chocolate!

To accompany the meal we had an excellent Riesling, an Emrich Schónleber Nahe 2001 Monzinger Halenbery Riesling Spótlese which was fruity, slightly sweet and incredible. I will do a separate short review of it.

This was an incredible meal, if a little pricey, but well worth it. Wow, what an amazing Valentines Day dinner. Just incredible!!!

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I have always wanted to eat at one of the Patina Group, and was finally able to try one, though I got my girlfriend to the Uva bar instead of the upstairs more expensive Catal Restaurant (different menu) which probably would have been even better (sounded amazing) and will have to try it next time we go back.

This place has excellent food and very large portions. A great choice, and the only place to eat at Disneyland.

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Excellent food and excellent service. A great french menu, though it was a little hot out on the patio, but that wasn’t their fault. Sure it is a bit pricy, but certainly worth checking out.

Nan Lan had the Creme de Tomate en Croute soup, which was recomended, and she absolutely loved it, couldn’t have been better, though was so heavy she was ready to sleep afterwards, while I had an excellent Salade De Laitue, with butter lettuce and Mustard Vinaigrette ( a little plain, but very tasty). For dinner I had Entrecote Frites which is rib eye steak, French fried, and b

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