Late Summer Menu is here!

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Oh Clementine, how I love thee. I had several “housekeeping” tasks to take care of today. I was super productive this morning finishing my tasks so I treated myself. It’s been so long since I’ve been to Clementine, the whole menu changed!

One thing stayed the same though, Moroccan Mint Tea.

mmmmm. Delish!

I asked the server what her favorite was of, oh about 5 dishes. She recommended the BLT, which is called the “Best BLT”.

Let me tell you. It is called “best” for a reason. This was the best BLT that I have EVER had. Bar none.

Let’s break it down:

The bread was delicious and had mayo on it. Actual mayo. Normally I don’t have mayo, so maybe I thought it was the best because I haven’t had mayo for so long. This was what was going though my mind while eating.
The bacon. Crispy but not too crispy. The flavor was amazing. You know when bacon is too crispy and it tastes oddly burned? I hate that but this bacon was savory and the oil was flavorful.
Lettuce was crisp and cool. Excellent contrast to the bacon.
The tomato was better than normal tomato. I can’t really put my finger on what it was but it was amazing. The tomato was marinaded a little bit. It was fantastic.

And that was it. The perfect BLT. I think everyone should run out right now and try it.

A little bit of this…

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

That’s right! It’s pickles on a whole new level. Yep, if Snooki could try it I figured that I could as well. For the record, Snooki was right. They are crunchy and sour at the same time. Not bad at all!

Where did I sample this culinary delicacy? Hamburger Mary’s at Drag Queen Bingo! If you are in LA you must go to drag queen bingo. I already like bingo. My mom and I work the bingo circuit in Marco Island. Yep, because I’m that cool. Drag Queen Bingo is Bingo on a whole new level. With call backs, throwing failed cards at winners, and dirty jokes galore it was super fun. It was a very nice night. Thanks to Danielle for organizing!

And now a little bit of that…

Okra freshness.

I love eating bright colors!

Tonight I went on about a 2.5 mile easy run and then came home and made a light dinner of Trader Joe’s multi grain pilaf and yellow peppers, broccoli, and okra.

mmm mmm gooood! Tomorrow is my first day of vacay! Woo Hoo! School starts in a week and a half and can’t wait to chill out! Later!

Umami Burger

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Yesterday night Kelly and I went to Umami burger for dinner. We both have heard rave reviews of Umami. Some even say that it is the best burger in LA. We all know that I have strong feelings about Father’s Office, so I knew I had to check out Umami! How could I not weigh in on the great debate?

Kelly and I went to the Santa Monica location which is located in Fred Segal and has a parking lot. The importance of a parking lot cannot be under emphasized. Looking for parking is never fun, especially in Santa Monica. The interior of the restaurant is small, but was not over crowded and it had cute, kitschy things on the wall including taxidermy.

We started with beer. What is better than beer and burgers? I would argue nothing.We both had a Belgium Blonde.

So delicious!

Kelly and I both are big believers in sharing. Like we did at Taste, we both decided to order our own burgers and share them. Umami has a wide selection of burgers to choose from. Our server suggested that on our first trip we should have their signature Umami Burger.

Money shot:

Whoops a bit blurry. I have to say that this was pretty good. I am not a huge mushroom fan but I didn’t mind them in this burger. I loved the meat. Again, I am not typically a big fan of ground beef but the quality of the meat was fantastic.

We also tried a bit more “avant gard” burger, the “triple pork burger” which features a patty made of pork, chorizo and bacon with manchego cheese and a pimenton aioli.

So good! A little bit spicier. It reminded me of a pulled pork sandwich.

And now of the sides… Kelly and I knew that we wanted sweet potato fries and at the last min our server convinced us to also try the cheesy tots!

The sweet potato fries were just OK. They had a cinn sugar topping on them which was different and unexpected. It was not bad, but it was… different. Probably not my favorite sweet potato fry but pretty damn good.

And how can you not like a cheesy tot?

So good! The cheese was not overwhelming and the fried outside was better than say, ore ida. I would absolutely order it again. And, going back, I would probably only order one side. The sides are good and the portion isn’t huge but I would have been happy with just one side.

There were also toppings for the fries and tots:

Mustard

homemade ketchup.

So where do I stand in the Umami vs. Father’s Office debate? Well, they are entirely different animals. Father’s office is a great bar with awesome food. They have a better selection of wine and craft beers. You get a ton of food and I love the burger. On the other hand, Umami is more restaurant like. It is less expensive (in the aggregate- but a $10 burger isn’t “cheap”) and we didn’t have an issue getting a table, which is almost always an issue at FO. I do have to say that the sweet potato fries at FO are better than Umami. Umami has more veggie options.

So, in my humble opinion, they are about equal. Different moods, different venues. What do you all think?

Happy Day

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Over here at Left Coast Contessa I rarely update on the political. Those that know me know that I’m not shy about my liberal leanings (hello, “Left Coast”!) But as a law student and Californian I wanted to just take a moment and talk about the striking down of prop 8.

I was very happy to see that Prop 8 was declared unconstitutional. Granted, there will still be a long fight in the courts and there is much disagreement over which approach is the right one (ie: Supreme Court vs. ballot props).

However, I will say that I was proud of the message that was sent today from the court: Proposition 8 “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”

I also was a HUGE fan of the court talking about applying strict scrutiny to equal protection claims based on sexual orientation. The court essentially said that there is no reason to classify people based on sexual orientation.

So, while there is still a long battle ahead, lets enjoy the moment and celebrate!

The opinion can be read here

Piece of Cake

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

One year in California? I think that means I should have a treat.

There was only one place to go…

I celebrated last night because I have dinner out planned for tonight. On the way home from yoga I stopped at Susie Cakes and got a slice of cake which I enjoyed with an adult beverage.

I love prosecco.

And then, there was cake.

Susie Cakes’ marble cake was everything that I wanted it to be and more. Moist cake, perfect frosting. I do have to admit that it took me about an hour to eat. I am not sure if it is a reflection on the cake or the reduced size of my stomach. And yes, of course I licked the plate. It was just that good! One year in LA never tasted so sweet.

My One Year California-versry!

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

One year ago today I drugged up Izzy Cat, packed up several suitcases, enjoyed a final luxe breakfast at the Eliot Hotel Boston and moved to Los Angeles! I cannot believe that it has been a year since I moved to LA. Time has flown by and I have done some much in the past year including…

Losing 18 lbs
Got a perma tan
Starting running
Learned to drive
Got a car
Finished 1L
Said goodbye to people and hello to others
Launched Left Coast Contessa

Sometimes I still cannot believe that this is my life! Going to UCLA has been like a fairy tale for me and I feel so lucky that I have had the opportunity to go on this insane journey. Here are some pictures for the past year…

my going away dinner (aka, weight loss before)

new apartment

Hey Section 3/4!

It’s been an awesome year! Here’s to the next one!

Fish Tacos: the remix

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

I was able to come home for lunch because its the last week of work and I have very little to do. I have a lot of errands to run in advance of school starting in about 2 weeks that I want to check off my to do list. Can you believe school starts so soon? Time is flying by!

For lunch I took leftover taco ingredients and made a salad:

In the mix: lettuce, yellow pepper, red onion, cucumber, goat cheese, peach salsa, pita chips, and tilapia.

I cannot lie. I have a love for peach salsa with goat cheese. Best combo ever! Off to run more errands and hit a yoga class per my plan!

Fish Tacos

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Katherine Swanson

Today I was craving guac and fish so I decided to make fish tacos for dinner. I started with the guac which is very simple.

I used avocado

I also added S&P, garlic powder, tomato, onion, and lime

and then you mix!

Yum! I love fresh and chunky guac. This was perfectly salty because of the sea salt that I added. I enjoyed it with a guiltless pita chip.

Then I got around to the fish. I used about 3/4 lbs of tilapia (3 servings), dried it and cut it into pieces

S&P and broil for about 7 mins, flipping half way through

While the fish was cooking I heated up the corn tortillas

And prepped my toppings which included peach salsa, the guac, and goat cheese

Prepped tacos:

Finally the fish was finished cooking.

Final product:

Yum! I hate to toot my own horn, but this was DELICIOUS! I love fish tacos as demonstrated here, and this was good. I actually liked broiled as opposed to fried. Its just fresher. The guac was the perfect mix of salt and lime. The peach salsa added a sweetness to the mix and the goat cheese cooled it off. When have I ever not loved goat cheese?