#59 - Jar

Jar had so many similarities to A.O.C. going into it, I imagined they would be just the same. (they are not!) Jar also opened in 2002, is very close in proximity to A.O.C., and is another that's been on my radar/list ever since I first moved to LA.

Other than that and their pretty extensive veggie side dishes, they don't have much in common.

Jar is a bit more "fine dining" than A.O.C. as the latter actually felt more casual (despite most people there being dressed up quite well.) Jar has the white table clothes, wood galore (actually an incredibly beautiful space!) The food was red meat heavy as far as main dishes go. We also weren't impressed with their DineLA menu, so much so that neither of us ordered from it.

I went with a salad, fried clams, and purple yams (after asking the waitress her choice between creamed spinach and purple yams) Danny ordered the Coq au Vin. He was in heaven from bite one. I enjoyed my food, but was a little wishful that the salmon had been available so I could have ordered that instead.

Salad with marcona almonds, dates, manchego, and arugula.

Butter lettuce salad with breakfast radishes.

Coq au Vin - whole chicken portion, on bone. cooked in red wine.

The purple yams with creme fraiche and chives - which were too sweet. A bit weird all around...

Fried Clams! Don't think I've ever had these outside of a Long John Silver's. They were good though! Especially dipped in the house made cocktail and garlic tartar sauces.

#65 - A.O.C.

The first restaurant I'll be writing about that opened well before I moved to LA (opened in 2002) and that's been on my radar/list since I moved into town (2009) but I didn't make it here until starting this JGold 101 challenge. So thanks, Jonathan!

I really enjoyed A.O.C. For many reasons, but one in particular was that it lacked pretension. Our server Alex started off by asking if we wanted sparkling water or "LA's finest" I really liked that he made the regular free water sound fancy and normal. Throughout the entire meal he was great about coming at just the right moment, not ever interrupting us, and being overall delightful and funny.

The inside to (covered) outside transition is really beautiful, with tables of two sitting in the open doors. Fireplace burning next to running old-style fountain, vines growing on the walls. Good vibes abound.

Oh, and the food is fantastic!  All sharing style. We did one DineLA menu which was four courses and added on a few other dishes. I would come back here for sure. Loved everything!

Three cheese plate. I let our server choose the cheeses. Top is a goat cheese which was very sweet and delicious. Middle cheese was a VERY stank sheep's milk cheese, but it grows on you and pairs really well with the dried apricot. The bottom cheese was a triple cream brie, super buttery.

Chicory focaccia. Was tasty, the only problem being that the chicory should be cut up into smaller bites so this dish would be easier to eat.

Black (squid ink) rice with squid. Much tastier than I imagined. I'm generally not a huge paella fan nor do I usually like squid ink. BUT this dish was made perfectly - not too salty - and the squid wasn't fishy. I barely noticed any flavor from the aioli though.

Seabees with beets. So many different kinds of beets, this dish was beautifully plated. The seabass had some of the best crisp to the skin and flakiness from the flesh that I have ever experienced. Fantastic flavor and probably my favorite dish of the night. I sort of wish we'd each ordered one since it was a very small fillet and we shared it.

The cauliflower was sauteed and quite oily - but I loved it!

Ahh, dessert. It was a toss-up between the chocolate torte and the butterscotch pot de creme. I now wish we'd had both (possible if each of us would have ordered from the DineLA menu instead of only one of us. But, we are trying for low sugar intake this year, so just one dessert is fine. The cake was super dense and a bit too much once I had finished off the coffee cream, hazelnut praline, and caramel. But those bites which had all of the elements were beyond pleasurable!

#9 - Mozzaplex

I probably haven't been to Osteria Mozza since 2012. I think what originally brought me was something I saw on Food Network, which I used to watch religiously when I had cable. Now, not so much.

Anyway, it was delicious and I actually think about the food and ambiance of Mozza quite a lot. Not sure why I haven't made it back in so long, but I'm probably due a visit.

Not to miss:

Anything from the mozzarella bar

Ricotta & Egg Raviolo

Pappardelle

Bambolini

Also, I swear when I went before, they also served pizza in the Osteria Mozza? But maybe I've also been to Pizzeria Mozza on separate occasions. I can't remember what I got, but trust me when I say you can't go wrong.

#55 - Sotto

I'll admit, the first I had heard of Sotto was when I began sorting through everything on Jonathan Gold's 101 List. It's a cute little underground space on Pico, near Beverly. I really enjoyed the space and I was happy to kick off DineLA week with a delicious and thoughtful dinner here.

These restaurants are all about the marinated olives. I'm not complaining! These were marinated in lemon and I think parsley. Very tasty.

House smoked trout spread with grilled bread and house made pickled onion and baby carrots. This was delicious but I felt too much for an appetizer. Danny and I halted this and the carrots below and we were both stuffed by the time the main course came.

The roasted carrots might have been my favorite dish of the evening. They were perfectly roasted so as to be sweet and caramelized on the outside without being mushy inside. They were topped with a light sauce made of super thinly sliced red chili, walnut, and thyme. Totally delicious.

The rigatoni with mushroom and chestnut ragu. So tasty! Nothing more needs to be said.

The Branzino! One of the most delicious and definitely the most interesting branzino I've ever had. The skin was so light and crispy while the flesh was juicy and flaky. It was served over a flavorful bed of fregola sarda (kinda like Israeli couscous), fennel, raisins, pinenuts, and saffron.

Finally, a light dessert to end the meal. This was not exactly what I expected by a "cake" BUT I really enjoyed it. Parsnip, date, and hazelnut cake with Meyer lemon glaze.

#11 - Rustic Canyon

For a restaurant basically just down the street from me, it took me long enough to make it here. It's actually quite a small place, with easy to obtain open bar seating, even on a Friday night at prime time. But luckily I made a reservation. Same day too... so despite this being one of those kinda annoying places that requires everyone in your party to be present before they will seat you, it worked out in my favor with some help from the very kind hostess.

Now on to the food!

I will say while delicious, it's a bit expensive for what it is. It's all meant to be eaten family style, but at a minimum $17 for one small dish, this is a bit unattainable for most budgets. So you likely won't be stuffed unless you drop a pretty penny. But I don't personally have a problem with that!

Some really tasty, herbaceous olives and that delicious Milo & Olive Bread to start

Rapini Malfatti. Did not know what this was until looking it up after my friend ordered it. Turns out it is a dumpling-esque ricotta pasta that was said to have been created in Napa, though there is some dispute. It was really tasty. Looked kinda like a tortellini.

Grist & Toll Polenta. I thought it was a bit too rosemary-forward, but otherwise I enjoyed the texture and other flavors going on.

The black cod.

100% the best thing on the menu, hands down. (at least of the items I tried...And the item I had been eyeing on the menu days leading up to my reservation!) Toasted squash seed spaetzle with delicata squash, brown butter, and sage. I am now dying to learn how to make spaetzle and try my best to recreate this. It was superb. All of my guests thought so and I think they should have waited to try this dish until they had finished off their own, so as not to be disappointed.

#17 - Bestia

When I first heard of Bestia back in 2012, I knew I had to get a reservation for Danny's birthday because he loves Italian food and I had been depriving him of it, as I hadn't yet discovered good Italian food. It took a lot to secure the reservation, but I got it. We were both pleasantly surprised at our first meal and went there countless times after. It's currently been a year or two since we've been back, as we no longer live in the neighborhood, but I'm sure we will return soon!

Food items not to miss:

Genevieve's Little Gems salad
Farro Salad
Burrata Salad
Any of the pizzas
Casarecce al Pomodoro
Agnolotti all'Agnello - Danny eats this every time and thinks it is the best thing in the world
Whole Branzino
Chocolate Budino Tart - I get this without fail every time

#4 - Lukshon, #8 - Cassia

LUKSHON
I ate at Lukshon as a meal with my former employer. We ordered family style passed dishes and I thought everything was good, but nothing was spectacular. I think I had one cocktail and then switched to wine. I do recall them having a nice wine list as well as beer, which is what most of my colleagues were drinking.

Looking at their dinner menu, I believe I had some of the following:

Tea Leaf Salad - good, to be expected of a tea leaf salad. I'd previously had the famous one from Burma Superstar in San Francisco, and I would say that one left more to be remembered than the one at Lukshon.
Cold Sesame Noodles - good, basic, vegetarian dish
Heirloom Black Rice with fried egg - pretty good, this is what I ended up eating the most of as no one else was eating it and they all had plenty of meat-filled options to dine on
Chinese Eggplant - really good. Honestly, probably my favorite only because Chinese style eggplant is about the only Chinese food that I enjoy eating.

It's a good outdoor seating environment and the interior is pretty unique. I probably won't return because the menu is just not really for me, since I'm not so into Chinese food and it seems heavily Chinese influenced.

CASSIA
I used to live right next to Spice Table before it shut down and it was one of my favorite intimate date spots to eat with Danny. So I was incredibly excited to hear about Cassia opening. We've gone there at least three times and I'm always happy with my decision during and after the meal.

Some of my favorite dishes from Cassia:

Kaya Toast - you CANNOT leave this restaurant without partaking. I was ecstatic to discover that they were continuing to serve this popular and unique dish. The first place I'd ever had it before was at Spice Table and I could definitely eat multiple servings of it.

Cucumber & Mizuna Salad - I remember it being a really yummy salad and quite large

Black Cod - HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend. I clearly didn't read the description throughly, so when it came as a soup looking dish, I had questions. Then I dug it and O.M.G.... It was fantastic. The black cod melts in your mouth. The anchovy broth had enough salt to help the dish balance out without being overpoweringly fishy. It's really an outstanding dish.

*apologies for no photos, apparently I was not taking many photos of my food during this period...or I have lost them, either way, my Photos map is not showing me anything from either of these locations, despite my many visits to Cassia.

#47 - SQIRL

Before ever stepping foot inside the small, Silver Lake adjacent cafe, I already knew everything about it. I could almost taste the dishes, basically had the menu memorized, and should have already attempted some of the recipes on my own, since I own Jessica Koslow's book. But alas, I'm sad to say that it took me until the first week of 2018 to have my first bite of SQIRL's toast.

After my visit around 9 am on Saturday, January 6th, I began wishing I too was an East Sider, living close enough that SQIRL could be "my place" that I could be friends with Jessica and all the other cooks in the kitchen. I imagine myself strolling in there multiple times a week, sometimes just for a drink (and ok, probably a biscuit with jam), waving to the busboy; the girl working behind the counter cheerfully greeting me by name - but never assuming she knows what I want, because I never get the same order twice.

But that's not my life. Yet. This year is about getting as far through Jonathan Gold's 101 list, so it's unlikely I'll return to SQIRL as often as I dream. But enough about my silly dreams, here's what I ate.

For my drink, I would normally go for the house coffee, but I felt compelled to ask the guy taking my order what he recommended to drink. He said his go-to is the almond cappuccino. "A cappuccino?!" I thought to myself before immediately agreeing with him that I would take one. Of course they make their own almond milk. And of course this cute little drink was delicious. The top was more foamy than I'd before encountered in an almond milk latte. Danny went with the coffee which they fill into a small cup and little glass carafe. It's cute and the coffee is solid. Definitely worth an order, and also goes perfect with the famed Ricotta Toast, below.

I'm glad we decided not to order a third dish. This toast is a beast! Yes, it's big, but it's also rich. The light creaminess of the ricotta is equally balanced by the sweetness and acidity in the Blackberry Meyer Lemon jam and the Brioche toast is perfectly buttered and toasted so as to add the salt that's required to balance it all out while maintaining the perfect level of sweetness you might expect from a brioche. Jessica Koslow really shows off her knowledge of Salt, Fat, Acid, & Heat. (Shout out to the book by Samin Rosnat that I'm currently reading!)

Ah, the Sorrel Rice Bowl with avocado. I loved everything about this. It was incredibly complex, with ingredients ranging from the Sorrel (where the heck can you find that stuff anyway?!) to the lacto-fermented hot sauce (what does that mean?!) The egg was poached to perfection, I am at a loss for words to further describe how this dish makes me feel. I need this in my life at least once a week. SQIRL, until we meet again.

#32 - Otium

My mom has always said I was born under a lucky star. Sometimes it feels true. Like the fact that I win a lot of contests. This time, I got a call from KCRW that I had won a pair of tickets to Yayoi Kusama's "Infinity Mirrors" at the Broad and $75 toward dinner. Well, our dinner at Otium was a little bit more than that, but it ended up much less expensive than it would have been otherwise!

one mezcal and one yuzu drink, please!

Snapper crudo was tiny, but packed in a ton of complex flavor

Squash AND mole? Sign me up.

I'm still reeling at the amount of flavor & texture in this seemingly simple cauliflower dish

Seared scallops and fennel

#7 - Trois Mec

This is the meal that started me on this journey of trying to make it through Jonathan Gold's 101 List, thus it will be the first post in this series.

If you don't know who Chef Ludo Lefevbre is, read his wikipedia. Or better yet, go back and watch him on Top Chef. He's a riot. He's also become somewhat of an LA institution. With multiple restaurants under his tutelage and more on the way, he's spearheaded the Los Angeles Modern Fine Dining Movement.
I hadn't been to any of his locations until I came across his 2 Chef's in Conversation Series. I was smitten over the reviews of Chef Enrique Olverez so I knew I had to get tickets to that. When the time came, I wasn't fast enough, but luckily they had just released notice that Chef Martha Ortiz was going to be doing a night, and I was able to score tickets to that.

Enough of the words. Take a look at the photos in order of this menu. Two dishes were made with vegetables to accommodate my pescetarian diet.

My taco was made with potatoes in place of pork.

That small piece of cabbage in the center? The single best bite of this whole meal!

My mole was made of celery root in lieu of duck. 

I'm Back - Jonathan Gold's 101 Challenge

If you've been with me since I started this blog in 2011 and are still here, thanks so much!
If you are new, you haven't really missed anything, and thanks so much for joining me now!

This seems new to me again. Upon deciding to bring the blog back to life for a new personal challenge, I began looking back on my (mostly) random posts from the past. The posts made me laugh, cringe, and wonder "am I really such a terrible writer?!"

Yes. Yes I think I am. But no worries, this new project will be meant to be more of a checklist and less verbose (I hope!)

Jonathan Gold's 101 list:

What is it?
Jonathan Gold is the Pulitzer Prize winning food critic for the LA Times. He gained publicity in the 80's when he ate at every restaurant along Pico Boulevard. You can read his story about it here. A documentary about him called "City of Gold" came out in 2016 - I highly recommend that you watch it. He is known for effecting some small, hole in the wall restaurants with his blessed, glowing reviews and each year, he releases his new 101 top restaurants in LA list.

Why am I doing it?
The past few years I've been bad about not getting out to more restaurants. I began to get into a routine and tend to frequent neighborhood spots instead of doing more exploring throughout the city. On December 9, 2017, I had the pleasure of eating at Chef Ludo's restaurant, Trois Mec, for the first time during a 2 Chef's Series with Chef Martha Ortiz. This came a few months after a life changing lunch at Chef Diego Guerrero's DSTAgE in Madrid. A 2 Michelin Star experience that completely knocked my socks off and literally brought me to tears a few times during the 12 course meal. After my Trois Mec experience this past December, I posted many photos to Instagram and one was "liked" by @trailofgold who I immediately looked into only to discover that he was working his way "to eat all of Jonathan Gold's 101 list." Genius. Also, he is not alone. Turns out there are many who do this, including Kaitlin Orr, otherwise known as @carnivorr who attempted (and probably has since completed) the 101 list in 101 days. My. How Ambitious!
Me? I just want to eat as much as I can make it to for the experience of eating amazing food, meeting phenomenal chefs, and spending good, quality time with my husband, Danny and occasionally, our friends who wish to join us on the journey.

Isn't it expensive?
Yes. Why? Would you like to give me some money to help me eat through this list? Go for it. I won't argue. I accept paypal and venmo.

What's the timeline? Rules? Plan?
There isn't one. I'm doing this completely for myself, for fun. This blog is just a way for me to keep track and for anyone who cares to follow along. I'll also be posting photos and stories on my Instagram @tarynbone so feel free to follow along there as well.

Finally, I should mention that when Jonathan's 2017 list came out, I counted it up and had already been to 14 of the restaurants on the list. And since planning this, I've eaten at a few more. So I will post about those in retrospect as I doubt I'll have time to get back to them in the coming year. So as of this post, 18 down, 83 to go.

Bon Appetite!

Summer Minimal Wardrobe 2016

Welcome to what has quickly (slowly?) become me just posting once a year!
To be frank, I've had a hell of a lot go on this past year.  I ran a marathon last year right before turning 30, which happened to be right before a major family emergency took me away from normal life for a good 6 months, which turned into me re-evaluating my life and deciding to start two businesses - Cookie Expert and Bone Carroll Studio and to quit my job at Johnston Marklee in order to pursue both of these without going crazy, though I am still consulting with them many hours a week.  So yeah...maybe I'll blog more some day...but for now I'm a bit busy.

I've kept up with these minimal wardrobes since my last post about beginning them...I just didn't post it (see previous paragraph)  Plus...maybe my winter wardrobe was not even close to the supposed perfect number of 37.  But it's hard in LA, our weather in the winter can require both shorts and pea coats, sandals and boots!

This summer I have a few new items I'm excited about and looking at it all together, I still have a lot of grey but I'm loving that I have these similar blue green and green colors going on.  My shoes are all very tan and I have a few graphical pieces to keep things light-hearted.  I have 47 items in total, I think this is pretty good considering I have 8 pairs of shoes!

Tops:

bottoms:

dresses:

outerwear:

shoes: