Last night, I had a great dinner with a dear friend at this restaurant in The Grove of Los Angeles. I avoid Los Angeles because of the traffic and luckily I had a willing chaffeur! I am a sucker when it comes to snow. The Grove of Los Angeles during the month of December creates fake snowfall every night at 7 PM and 8 PM to accentuate their holiday decorations. We had a great seat on the second floor balcony that gave us a direct view of the snowfall! If it was not for the snow, I would not have made the long journey to Los Angeles!
The dinner was an indulgence! I normally eat healthy but... it felt good to 'cheat' last night. French fries with housemade aioli! The ketchup option was so American-like. I was being a French snob. *grin* I love dining with friends who are willing to share. Whoever said, "Love is sharing" was wise. Sharing a meal makes dining even more enjoyable. We split the fries, salad, entree and dessert.
The mixed green salad was disappointing. The menu promised "mixed greens with red and yellow tomatoes with vinaigrette." We were served mixed greens with red tomatoes only. I figured they wanted to get into the Christmas spirit (red/ green). I asked our cute and enthusiastic waiter what happened to the yellow tomatoes. He reported that they ran out. Hmm. When I dine out, I love colorful salads. Duotone salads are not appealing to the eye nor the palate. I would have added yellow bell pepper to make up for the loss of yellow tomatoes along with a handful of different vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, crumbled cheese.... the list can go on and on.
The filet mignon came with a tray of four salt options: sea salt (I personally prefer kosher sea salt), smoked salt, French Atlantic Coast sea salt (tasted just like I swallowed ocean water- ugh) and fleur de sel. We sampled all four salts and agreed that the smoked salt was the winner.
The filet mignon cooked medium with the smoked salt topping= wow. Our side dish was the mac and cheese. The smoked salt made a great topping to this one. To make the meal whole, the Cabernet Sauvignon wine was a tasty touch. We had a charming sommelier who allowed me to have three samples of red wine that would complement the filet mignon. Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Normally I love Shiraz but last night, I was surprised the Cabernet Sauvignon was the winner. He smiled and winked at me, "I knew you would pick that one." I wanted to know how he knew but he preferred to remain mysterious. That's okay... a little mystery is good.
There are some restaurants that serve great food but not-so-great desserts. Morels falls into this category. I dined there twice before and tried their two other desserts and I was not wowed. Last night, we had the strawberry-rhubarb cobbler with creme friache. I was disappointed to see that it was really a crumble instead of a cobbler. The crumble has more sugar than I would have wished for. I talked with the waiter and told him that the menu should say "Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble". He humorously thanked me for improving his level of service so that he can warn his customers that it's really a crumble not a cobbler. Nevertheless, I left feeling good knowing I could make a great strawberry-rhubarb cobbler.
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