Lunch time!

Its lunch time here in L.A. and I have no idea what to eat today....

Celebration lunch!!

Ok so I decided to have myself a little celebration lunch by myself after work today so I went to a Brazilian restaurant that my awesome Brazilian co worker recommended me.
It is located in downtown Los Angeles on 9th and Spring and it is called woodspoon. yes... its one word... Woodspoon. My friend recommended the sangria, the coxinha (croquette), and the chicken pot pie. First to arrive to my table was a carafe filled with ice water infused with a cinnamon stick... it was really nice!!

Next to arrive was my sangria... I chose white sangria since i was going to have chicken as my main dish and boy was that sangria the BEST sangria i've ever had!!!

A 10 minute wait, I received my coxinha; 4 teardrop shaped chicken croquettes fried to crispy golden perfection!! on the side was a ramekin with a dipping sauce that was super creamy and very tasty with a hint of spiciness. I took my for and knife and slowly cut through the crispy exterior, the surprisingly creamy dough of the dumpling itself, and finally through the moist and perfectly seasoned chicken interior. SO GOOD.

After I was done, my plate was removed after about 7 minutes and as i stared into the kitchen to watch the magic happen, I see that a beautiful exotic looking woman keeps staring back at me from the kitchen and tells her cooks something and smiles. the cooks keep looking back at me and they all seem nervous including the beautiful woman who looks like she might be the chef or something.

about 13 minutes later, the lovely woman comes over to my table and presents to me my pot pie. "wow it looks wonderful" I said, "thank you" she replied.
"Are you the owner?" I asked. "Yes I am" she proudly replied.
"your restaurant is super cute and so far what i have drank and eaten is AMAZING!!!!!!!!"
"oh thank you thank you" she said to me with a huge smile on her face and her hand on her heart.
"I was recommended to come here by my co worker... her name is Lily"
"oh LILY?" she exclaimed "the brazilian girl?"
Yes her!
"yes she's my friend" she said proudly
Yes Lily is a great cook and she has wonderful recommendations I am happy I came here. I was going to bring my boyfriend with me to eat here with me but he's in miami and I couldnt wait. I will bring him when he comes back. such a beautiful cute little restaurant.
"oh thank you thank you" she said, enjoy
 Thank you so much.

so I wasted no time and started cutting through my chicken pot pie... I tell you this pot pie was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo AMAZING!!!!!! it tasted very fresh, very "homemade" the dough on the top was super good. flakey and soft at the same time and tasted buttery. it was just a super well made pot pie. the chicken was good. it was creamy, it was flavorful and worth the $15! that's right! 15 bucks for a chicken pot pie that can fit on the palm of your hand but it was worth every penny!! combined with my sangria i had me a ball!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I called the waiter over and asked how long the restaurant has been opened. He said about 6 years. I said sorry i kept staring at all of you guys in the kitchen. I cook for a living and when I go to a restaurant its a natural reflection of mine to just look at their kitchen and watch everything being made and how the kitchen works. so I do apologize if i made you guys uncomfortable. it seemed like you guys were all looking back at me too."
"The waiter laughed kindly and said " oh no, actually she wanted to make sure everything was ok and wanted to bring out your pot pie herself so he could ask you if everything was fine but she knows you are a chef and she knows its natural for somebody that cooks to keep looking at the kitchen when they eat at a restaurant"
ok great just making sure she doesnt think i am strange.
oh no you are ok.
so the waiter goes in the kitchen and he brings out 3 coconut macaroons. "this is from Natalia" OH WOW!!!!!!  thank you sooo much I LOVE COCONUT!! tell her i said thank you. yes i will.
so my check arrives, I pay and say my thank yous and I leave. very happy even though I did not like the feeling of spending 45 dollars on lunch but it was soo good then i realized i must eat at very nice places because my lunch and dinners are always in the 45 plus range. I think i've reprogrammed myself throughout my culinary career to eat the finer things in life ha ha ha ha I went to Mcdonalds the other day and I had chicken nuggets for the first time in almost 10 years... I had a breakfast sandwich from Mc Donalds as well and I tell you the food is bland, the texture is horrible... when you work at fine restaurants you eat quality food all the time.

anyway so my lunch was WONDERFUL!!

beautiful twins!!!!!!!!!!!

check out these adorable twins imitating their parents when they fight!!!

Made dessert for the Princess!!

While I was away, I also changed restaurants and I worked for a very good company but i am NOT going to say which one because the company was good but their egos were flying so high it was amazing. Serious jerks. Anyway, so one night we get a reservation for a week later and it turns out that the princes of Thailand was going to eat at my restaurant and she wanted her guests to have nice chairs but she wanted hers to look better than everybody else's... SERIOUSLY???? yes!! she really did request that her seat look better than her guests seats. Anyway she and her guests had a 4 course dinner roasted chicken was one of them a little appetizer of fried risotto balls and fried mini meatballs with garlic aioli, then they had pan seared scallops and some other stuff on the plate but i forgot... then it came time for dessert and that's where I come in!!! :) I served her and her guests the Italian tiramisu cake with chocolate sauce, and some bombolini which are basically donut holes or Italian donuts. with a condensed milk glaze and a few drops of blood orange sauce. the princes also wanted strawberries on her dessert plate so I added some strawberries and then she asked for more for her guests so I added more for her guests on a separate plate. of course I made their strawberries look pretty too. but anyway now I get to say that I made dessert for the princess of Thailand!!! How many people get to say that??? eh?

While I was away

While I was gone, some interesting things happened... you know me... something interesting is always happening with me ha ha  ha ha ha!!

 

i was working dinner service at night and I had to slice 

cured meats... our meat slicer had the handle broken so i had to use 

it anyway... well of course what had to happen, happened...

I sliced a piece of my finger off and had to go to the hospital and make it 

stop bleeding. that was no fun so I took a picture of my finger to show you guys 

when i get back on the blog and I am back on the blog so here is the picture.

Anybody up for some Salsa??

Wentworth Miller's STOKER

As Promised and I know I might be late on this and you all probably have seen this already but the promotional picture for Wentworth Miller's Movie that should be in theaters this summer... well in the U.S. at least is pretty awesome!! What do you think? Wentworth Miller of Prison Break is a CO PRODUCER. I cant wait to see this!!!

This next bit of information is from wikipedia check it out!

Wentworth Miller wrote the screenplay for Stoker, as well as a prequel, Uncle Charlie.^[6] He used the pseudonym Ted Foulke for submitting his work, later explaining "I just wanted the scripts to sink or swim on their own."^[7] Miller's script was voted to the 2010 "Black List" of the 10 best unproduced screenplays making the rounds in Hollywood.^[8] Miller described it as a "horror film, a family drama and a psychological thriller."^[6] Although influenced by Bram Stoker's Dracula,^[9] Miller clarified thatStoker was "not about vampires. It was never meant to be about vampires but it is a horror story. A stoker is one who stokes, which also ties in nicely with the narrative."^[6] Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt also influenced the film. Miller said: "The jumping-off point is actually Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. So, that's where we begin, and then we take it in a very, very different direction."^[6]

The film marks director Park Chan-wook's English-language debut. In January 2011, it was reported that Mia Wasikowska was in negotiations to play the teenager,^[10] and in February, Nicole Kidmanalso entered negotiations to join the cast.^[11] In June, it was reported that Matthew Goode was in talks to play the uncle,^[12] after Colin Firth, who was attached earlier, had to drop out.^[13] Jacki Weaver, Lucas Till, Alden Ehrenreich, and Dermot Mulroney joined the cast in July and August 2011.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Filming took 40 days.^[18] beginning in Nashville, Tennessee, in September 2011.^[19] Portions were also filmed in nearby Murfreesboro on September 22, as well as in Sewanee, home of the University of the South.^[4][19] Principal photography wrapped on October 23.

Composer Philip Glass was originally hired to compose the film's score but was replaced by Clint Mansell.^[20]

LES NOCES DU FIGARO!!!!!!!!

                                                   

Picture above is one of the bartenders at Les Noces Du Figaro creating a little art on one of the drinks he made.

Picture above is the artwork that the bartender at Les Noces Du Figaro (Downtown Los Angeles) created

Hi everybody!!!!!!!! Ok so today i want to tell you about a super cute and classy restaurant out here in Los Angeles.... downtown L.A. The restaurant is called Les Noces Du Figaro and its such a beautiful restaurant.. super classy the food is GREAT and the service is SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!! especially if your server is Karim. He is an amazing French server with sassy written all over him. So Les Noces Du Figaro in downtown Los Angeles features a huge display case with lots of wonderful very French pastries. Macaroon to die for, pretty tarts, eclair, and so much more...  just so beautiful!! The food is very very good they offer escargo, steak tartar, super good salads, and get this.... they have a FULL BAR!!! yes not only wine and beer or champagne but a FULL BAR with all kinds of hard liquor. They offer such a beautiful Saturday and Sunday Brunch. You can sit on the patio and have bottomless mimosas while you "people watch" :) really is such a great place and just by walking by and looking in, you would think it is an expensive place by how it looks but really it is completely affordable!!!!!!!!!!! OH and the best part is their HAPPY HOUR!!! no other restaurant i've eaten at has a happy hour like this one.... they have happy hour on weekends from 8pm to 2am!!!!!!!!!! isnt that AMAZING?? no other restaurant I know of does that. it is too wonderful!! seriously if you are ever out here in Downtown L.A. you MUST stop by Les Noces Du Figaro and have yourself a lovely French brunch, lunch or dinner. I recommend this place 100%. here is the link to their facebook...definitely check it out... its amazing!! 

https://www.facebook.com/LesNocesDuFigaro/photos_stream 

More pictures of the food and pastries here:

http://vegasandfood.blogspot.com/2013/01/les-noces-du-figaro-downtown.html

HI everybody!!!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh it feels GREAT to be back on the blog with you all. Sorry for not checking in... I had a little issue w/ someone that ruined my laptop and finally that person bought me a new one so now I am back and ready to blog...


I have A LOT to blog about however that is going to have to wait until tomorrow after I get off of work because i have to get to sleep right now and be ready for work tomorrow morning.

I saw the new ad for STOKER as we all know is CO PRODUCED by Wentworth Miller!!!!!!!!! YES!! LOL i will share the picture tomorrow. for now, have a great night or day wherever part of the world you are joining me from. see you soon and thanks for visiting the blog!! big hugs from Los Angeles!!