This past weekend, Angie and Doris so graciously invited us to their pad for a fabulous dinner party made by the two of them. I was wowed by their creativity and gourmet menu along with their tablescape. It was a night of good food, wine, and great conversation. All the food was so perfectly and deliciously created by Angie and Doris..like being at a fancy restaurant. David and Julia supplied a yummy red velvet cake from Vanilla Bakeshop which topped off the night. Thank you to our hostesses Angie and Doris!

Our Hostesses: Doris (chef extraordinaire) and Angie (best dang Sous chef and delegator of tasks)

Group Shot before dinner

The Ladies...with our legs crossed to the right

The beautiful tablescape...I arranged the flowers

Appetizer #1: Grilled Shrimp with Creamy bacon dip

Appetizer #2: Dip with Naan and Pita Chips

Appetizer #3: Bacon wrapped Dates

1st Course: Farmer's Market Lettuce with Heirloom Tomatoes and homemade Gorgonzola dressing

Main Course: Sugar snap peas, asparagus, scalloped potatoes gratin, and Filet Mignon

Vanilla Bake Red Velvet Cake

A Perfect Ending to a Perfect Dinner Party!

Southeast Japanese School and Center Annual Obon Festival

I had the chance to take Kirk to the annual Obon Festival at my old Japanese School Center. It's a smaller Obon but that have all the necessities....plate lunch, dango, and bon-odori (dancing). This year, we met up with my mom and dad to eat some dinner then had a chance to watch some dancing. We ran into my friend Gary and his family. His little girl Ashley was dressed up in a yukata (summer kimono) and looked absolutely adorable! She had fun dancing next to her grandma while holding a little fan.

Italian Subs at Frumentos

Kirk and I went to go visit his mom in Montebello, so Kirk suggested we try Frumentos's Italian Deli. It's a family owned shop that sells a bunch of sandwiches, pastas, meats, and salads. I had the "taste of Italy" a sandwich with prosciutto, capocolla provolone, lettuce, and italian dressing. My bread was on the harder side, which I guess that is what it is supposed to taste like. The meats were delicious. This place reminded me of Guliano's near my house or Cortina's in Anaheim. It kind of represents delis on the eastside!Someone once told me that he likes going to places that cops frequent...well there were two cop cars outside when we went.

Frumentos
214 W. Beverly Blvd
Montebello, CA 90640

Tokyo Style BBQ at Seikoen

Kirk, Shin, and I went to try Seikoen Restaurant in Torrance (Sepulveda and Western). It is a small do it yourself Japanese bbq place located within a small shopping center that it hard to see from the street. It literally is a hole in the wall place. They have about 8-10 tables so it is necessary to make reservations or you may get turned away. We were able to make a 7 pm sat dinner reservation at 630...and when we got there it wasn't too busy. But I have heard that if they are all booked up, they will tell you to leave. And cooking your own food takes awhile so the turnover is not as fast. The meats were very fresh, seasoned well, and tender. I had suffered from food poisoning the night before but I just couldn't resist trying at least a few pieces of the mouthwatering meats. Shin and Kirk went to town on some tongue, kalbi, prime short rib, vegetables, intestine, and raw beef. I ordered some "rei-men" which is cold noodles. They serve buckwheat noodles in a somewhat spicy cold broth along with some kimchi, pork, pear, and boiled egg. It is quite refreshing and I really liked the flavor at this place. Korean restaurants often serve this dish, but I think I like the Japanese version of it better. I normally don't choose to eat tongue, but it was quite tender and flavored with salt. Seikoen definitely knows how to marinate and flavor the meat. The only downfall of this place is the extreme smokiness...probably not ideal for first dates, children, or people with respiratory issues. I had to keep waving my face because I hate smoke. And you must take a shower immediately or else dogs will be attracted to your scent.

Shin...love when he orders in Japanese for us

Bean Sprout Appetizer (similar to the Korean ban chan one)

Raw Beef Sashimi with raw egg (the guys said it was good, I refrained due to my previous night's food poisoning fiasco)

Beef Tongue with Salt

Cooked beef tongue....very soft and tasty (some people think tongue is weird, but it really tastes good when it is high quality meat)

Kalbi and Intestine (the intestine is chewy the kalbi just melts in your mouth...mmmm)

My Favorite Rei-men...cold buckwheat noodles

Mixed Vegetable plate and prime rib

Bistro Beaux...My New Go-to Place

Bread Gratin with Special Cheese Sauce....pillows of bread doused with creamy, buttery, cheese (it's not too cheesy though, but very rich)

Squid Ink pasta....it will make your whole mouth (and other stuff) black, but highly worth it for the taste!

Butter Sauteed Eryngi (Giant Oyster) Mushroom....buttery, yet sweet taste to a meaty mushroom. Happy hour is from 6-7pm and this was a cheaper menu item

Marinated celery...Kirk's favorite...very refreshing and unique

So lately I have been in love with this restaurant in Torrance called Bistro Beaux (Bose). It is a small little place with a stocked full bar (woohoo) and the most interesting dishes. They serve a lot of Japanese food as well as Italian food....or Japanese style Italian dishes. My favorites are the marinated celery, squid ink pasta, carbonara pasta, bread gratin with special cheese sauce, rice croquette, and Eryngi mushroom. Every dish has such a wonderful taste and it is fun to share dishes here. It's also a great place to have a drink and some yummy snacks. It is a very Japanese place....so much so that I think my friend and I were the only non-Japanese speaking people in the joint. Although, I did understand the guy when he told me that only the bar seating was open and that the seats at the end of the bar had more room. I think this is a total gem in Torrance!

***note...the above dishes came to a total of about $28 pre-tax/tip...it is pretty reasonable

Tree Planting Ceremony

My super green thumbed Dad wanted to come over for a tree planting ceremony. I guess in Japan they do this quite often. It just includes you actually digging part of the soil and adding soil once the tree is in the ground. I had mentioned to my Dad that I wanted to plant some food in my backyard, now that I have a pretty large one. And "poof" he appeared with some trees! I need to start being careful about what I say around him...."Ipad...."poof" an Ipad appears. JK! I fed him lunch and gave him a home depot giftcard (although he may mostly likely spend that on my house anyways). So he came over with a nice Haas Avocado tree and a Meyer Lemon tree to put in the backyard. I think it will be at least a year or two before any fruit actually grows. It's ok, I'm patient...my dad joked and said he hoped I would still be here once the tree actually starting bearing fruit. And I said, if I ever leave, I'm digging that sucker out and taking it with me! Thank you to my dad for all your generosity, thoughtfulness, and hard work...all traits that I aspire to have to be just like you.

Surprise Weekend in San Diego

Kirk was so sneaky and sweet to surprise me with a wonderful weekend in San Diego. He told me we were going for a drive to the outlets. So after some brunch, we hopped in his convertible and started for the coast. When we got to the outlet, Kirk kept saying he wanted to get some nice clothes. He bought some nice pants and shirts from the gap outlet. Then he kept saying he wanted me to get a nice dress. He insisted on going to BCBG and picking out a dress for me to try on. I found one I liked and he bought it for me. We walked back to the car and he said we needed to start on our way if we were to make our reservations. I was honestly thinking we were just going to shop and then go home. Kirk had this whole little trip planned. We ended up driving to La Jolla where he made reservations at the Hilton. He had packed my stuff (remembering pretty much everything, even my hair iron) and even packed some nice shoes. He needed to buy me a dress because we were going to have dinner at one of my favorite fancy restaurants in San Diego, called Donovans Steakhouse. We quickly got dressed and headed out to the restaurant. It is my favorite steakhouse with excellent steaks (all only USDA prime quality, apparently the top 3% of meat in the country), great service, and the best bread. Kirk remembered me saying how much I loved this place, so he made reservations. We enjoyed a lovely meal together and honestly a relaxing and special weekend. Kirk, you are the best boyfriend ever! You are truly thoughtful, caring, and always looking to treat me like a queen. Thank you Kirk!
After the awesome weekend in SD, we spent the fourth with his family. Luckily fireworks are legal in Montebello, so we bought a small box of fireworks and lit them in the backyard.

Kirk lighting one of the fireworks we bought from the store....its sooooo big!

Kirk's dad says its not the size that matters :)

I Love Torrance!!!

After living in Torrance for about 6 months, I realize that I am starting to really love this area. It has the weather of the westside with that cool, breezy wind from the coast. I open my front door or kitchen window and a gust of cool fresh ocean breeze fills my house. I hear the rustling of the maple tree leaves in the front and the smell of my fresh flowers and herbs...it is quite relaxing. Unlike the westside there is a plethora of free street parking, direct access to a garage, a backyard, three Targets within a mile, and just about every single store I need in a close radius. Of course, I miss the "hipster" trendy Westside with the restaurants and non-chainy feel. It was a foodies dreamland. Alas, I have recently realized I can no longer live that foodie life due to the costs of being a homeowner. Luckily, Kirk is ever so generous and always treating me to some delicious dinners. Ok...I totally digressed from what I originally wanted to say. I have experienced some great dining in the southbay for a deal. First place is Bistro Beaux (21605 S Western Ave, Torrance, CA 90501). This place is a quaint little restaurant with a full bar! Yes people....lots of choices of alcohol to enjoy a nice after work drink. There is a huge menu of bar food that is a mix between Italian and Japanese cuisine.

The ooey, gooey, yummy, creamy cheesy bread (their signature dish)

Ribeye steak

Carbonara Pasta....my fave!

Seared Albacore tuna salad

Marinated Cucumber...Kirk's fave

Prosciutto wrapped around Melon

The second yummy place to eat is the Torrance Farmer's Market on saturdays at the park on Crenshaw and Plaza Del Amo. I did a previous blog on this farmer's market, but will just put in a quick advertisement again. Kirk and I shared an awesome sausage breakfast burrito. We also bought some tasty gaviota strawberries. Although they are quite expensive ($15 per 3 pack), they are so worth it. Very sweet and a lot less acidity than the normal strawberry. If you love strawberries, you should try these...they are very different than your average strawberry.

e
wThe last new place I've tried is Addi's Tandoor (www.addistandoor.com 800 West Torrance Boulevard, Redondo Beach, CA 90277-3591). I love Indian cuisine so this place definitely impressed me. I think it was the best, most chewy Naan, I've ever had. This place is highly rated by Zagats and by Yelp. There were lots of Indian people eating there as well, which makes me think it is authentic.