The Raptor in Los Angeles...

I've been doing some traveling lately...

Just got back from NYC and went to LA to visit friends the week before and had a great time...

Which is cool, but more importantly, what did I EAT?

Friday night my good friend took me to Spago. Although I found the Service to be questionable for this type of fine dining restaurant, I thought The Food on the other hand was Great!

Wie Toll, Wolfgang! Vielen Dank', Es war sehr Lecker!

Und so ...

We arrived for our reservation and were seated in a side booth, which I thought was a great location overlooking the entire restaurant. The Decor was very kitschy in a 90's sort of way. After being seated, it took a good 10 minutes before our server brought us the Menus, which we had to ask for. Although our server was not snotty by any means, he was just not very available. Luckily, the bus staff redeemed him a little by their attentiveness.

Here's what we had:

We started with the Sweet Corn Bisque with Lobster & Chanterelle Mushrooms which was unbelievably good! My friend was still raving and salivating over it the next day. I had the Burratta wrapped in Organic Sauteed Pear with Prosciutto and Micro Greens and finished with a basil reduction. Delish! The Burratta was soft & creamy and it paired nicely with the sweetness of the Pear and the saltiness of the Prosciutto. Loved it!

For our Mains, M had the Pan-Roasted Chicken with Chanterelle Mushrooms, Goat Cheese, Yellow Finnish Potato Puree (i.e. Mashed Potatoes, yet more refined) and Natural Juice. The Chicken was wonderful, and perfectly prepared, juicy on the inside and crispy skin on the outside. It was a Great Dish... I think Chicken gets overlooked a lot of times in finer restaurants, but I highly recommend this one. I had the Pan-Roasted Liberty Duck Breast which was prepared with Maitake Mushrooms, Cipollini Onions, Braised Pancetta, a Sweet Corn Flan and Natural Juice with Marjoram. The Duck Breast was also prepared perfectly, medium rare on the inside and Crispy Skin on the out. One other thing that happened service-wise was that when they took away my 1st course, they took my silverware and never replaced it until we had already both received our Mains, and we had to flag down someone to replace them. Not cool...Although the Service was a bit disappointing, the Food was Fantastic. It was a cheesy, quintessential LA restaurant experience, that I would recommend to any LA first-timers like myself...

Other places that I got taken to were Urth Cafe and Martha's in Redondo Beach. I'm not gonna get into the details of these places, but I went for Brunch and did the Raptor Eggs Benedict Test at both places and unfortunately, they did not pass... But whatever, my point is that my Friends are saying that I was difficult to please.

Who?... Me?... Really? You don't say...

I suppose one could say that this is true. But honestly, isn't it a good thing?

At least when you Eat, or should I say 'Dine' with the Raptor, you know that I will have researched every Restaurant in the Vicinity and perused every Menu before deciding where I am going to eat.

And really, it is not just about Great Food but Great Service is important as well...

It really is about the Dining Experience if you ask me. And them's my Two Cents...

Now.. Where am I gonna Eat next?...

Cheesesteaks... Mmmm...

Being that I am from Philly, born & raised, I thought it only appropriate that I dig deep within my inner Philly-Pina and dedicate a Raptor Post to My Beloved Philly Cheesesteaks. Now mind you, I have been living in San Francisco for the past 10 years, so I plan to jump back & forth between Philly and SF regaling my tale of the Philly 'Steak.

Traditionally, as with most Philly people, I have been raised on Pat's the Original 'King of Steaks' located at 9th & Wharton where it crosses Passyunk in the heart of South Philly, the Italian neighborhood. Pat's was our 'go to' place growing up, because it was open 24seven and was the place to grab a Steak after Proms and such, before walking over to Penn's Landing.
I know, right? What a dreamy schoolgirl's fantasy, huh? But I'm tellin' you, that's how it was...

Pat's was also the place for when you had the drunken munchies after the clubs. Two or Three AM on many a night, I had found myself at Pat's waiting in a long line, on hot summer nights, and even through rain or freezing cold. We didn't care, as long as we got our 'Cheesesteak on... y'know what I'm sayin'?'

I went to St. Joe's and when I lived at the dorms we used get our Steaks from Larry's Steaks Home of the Belly Filler on 54th, which is a 2 foot long of Steak, buh-lieve it or not! Yours truly, the Raptor, actually ate two, yes you heard me, two of these bad boys in one sitting one night. Ah, how I long for those days when we were young and metabolisms were high...

In '95, I left Philly and going back to visit family & friends, we were introduced to Steve's Prince of Steaks in the NorthEast with two locations off the Boulevard. They slice their Ribeye thick and keep 'em whole rather than chopped up like most other places and their Roll is incredible!
Now Steve's is our favorite place for Steaks, whenever we go back. Only prob is that their not open 24hours, so we sometimes still end up at Pat's.

Let me digress and go into what makes a Cheesesteak authentic...
Well, let me tell you...
It's all 'bout the Meat & Cheese of course, but first off it's got a lot to do with the Bread. It's typically a French Roll, and best if it's fresh and a little chewy. More importantly, you can't have too much Bread. If the Roll were too 'Bready' then one would hafta resort to "tunnel-ing" one's Roll. The preferred Cheeses would be Whiz, American or Provolone and you can get it "wit" or "witout" Onions. When it comes down to it, once you've combined the above, it then becomes all about the "Cheesy Goodness." Once you've thrown one down, you know it was good one if you end up wearin' some of that "Cheesy Goodness" with a spot on your shirt or some drippage on your shoes. It's no joke...

So where does the Raptor go when she's fixin' for a Cheesesteak in SF?
Well in all my 10 years here in the Bay Area,

The Cheesesteak Shop on Divisadero is the only place so far that comes the closest to home.
And other Philly transplants that I know would agree. This place ships Amoroso Rolls from back East and even has Tasty Kakes and Whiz. I suggest that you order extra Meat, because that's how I like it, plus it makes for a better 'ratio' as mentioned. Hey, I'm the Raptor, whaddya expect?

One place that'e been brought to my attention is Jake's Steaks on Buchanan off Lombard. I have yet to try it, but it's on my list. Will report back once I do...
Also, Amato's in San Jose is toted as one of the best cheesesteaks this side of the Mississippi. I gots to go! Can you say 'Road Trip'?