LOS ANGELESIve made a promise to eat a bowl of oatmeal every morning, along with a piece of fruit or fruit juice. However, when the opportunity comes to enjoy a nice meal, I forgo routine and have a little fun.
Im back here in LA, which means another couple of trips to Frascati for their yummy tuna tartare, and a fish called branzino (European sea bass), pan fried and prepared with a caper butter sauce over a bed of spinach. Of course it was delicious!
Heavenly
I introduced my Aunt Marilynn to that creamy heavenly delight called panna cotta. She had never tasted it before, so it was my pleasure to order it for her. On the latter Frascati visit, I tried their Caprino salad, which was a feast for my sensesbaby arugula, baby endive, candied walnuts, sultanas (kind of like raisins, but lighter in color) and goat cheese.
After my required few days to get over jet lag time in LA, I headed off to Reno for a concert at the Silver Legacy Resort and Casino. Reno is far quieter than Las Vegas, which suited me fine. After checking in, we headed for dinner at Flemings, a little seafood place that served really good crab cakes and crab and corn chowder. Since it was pretty late, I didnt want to stuff myself before going to bed, and I was fading pretty early.
The next morning was pretty normal, with my bowl of oatmeal with raisins and fresh orange juice, then a chef's salad for lunch after some time in the hotel gym. Before the show, I had a bowl of soup (I cant eat too much before going onstage), and after work I snacked a little bit with my cousins (who all came over from Stockton and San Jose) before bedtime.
The next morning, two of my friends from the Bay Area, James and Cay Lim, treated me to breakfast at the Stonehouse Caf. James, who works in the hotel industry, did a little research to find the best breakfast in Reno; the locals pointed him to Stonehouse, a 15-minute drive from Silver Legacy. On the way, we listened to the studio recordings of American Idol Season 8 finalists, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. I have to say Kris voice on record is truly wonderful. Ill always be biased towards Adam because of his musical theater background, but I cant deny that this years champ truly deserves the title.
At Stonehouse we were seated at an outdoors table, which was perfect on this Memorial Day. The sun was shining; the temperature, nice and cool. Some of the patrons brought their dogs and bicycles, and a lot of the wait staff sported shorts and shades.
After perusing the menu, the three of us decided on variations on Eggs Benedict and a stack of banana pancakes to share. We also ordered coffee, which came in generously sized, thick ceramic cups. Delicious! I asked for an extra shot of espresso in my latte, and there was no bitter aftertaste.
Big breakfast
The service wasnt bad at this caf. Although the pancakes took a little more effort, our orders arrived pretty quickly and came with either veggie hash (black beans, corn, chopped peppers and onions sauted in butter) or hash brown potatoes and a small muffin. This was definitely breakfast and lunch on this beautiful day. The Lims brought me back to my hotel, and then I packed up and headed to the airport to catch my flight back to LA.
Oh, by the way, the concert went really well. I had a great band backing me up, and the audience was fantastic.
The week ahead promises more food tripping with people I love. Stay tuned, there will be more culinary adventures ahead.
