Black Hogg

Saturday was a beautiful way to start Spring Break. Ellie, Jacy and I grabbed iced americanos and hiked with the pups at Elysian before doing a short workout. Then I headed to Santa Monica to meet Christina and her lovely new bf, Brandon, for mimosas at Sonoma Wine Garden. SWG is beautiful and is on the top floor of the Samo mall. Brandon was able to get us a coveted spot outside and I tried the variety of delish mimosas: peach, apricot, elderflower, traditional and pomegranate. Yum. 

We then toddled down Third Street and did some shopping at Lush (where I got to see Ellie in action!) Christina and I then relaxed with some coffee and Brandon, who is an amazing musician, played us some music. 

Afterwards, I stopped home to cuddle with Sophs and then met V for a late dins at Black Hogg, which I have been wanting to try forever. I am so spoiled by dinner in LA. It's ridiculous. On the menu:


Popcorn Bacon with Maple Cream: Deep fried pork belly dipped in maple cream. UM. WHAT. I can't even talk about it. It was the best thing I have ever had in my life. It tasted like everything good about pancakes and bacon in a bite. I died so hard.

Carne Asada Fries: Meh. The carne asada was okay, but there was far too much lemon juice. A bit harsh on the tastebuds.

Brussel Sprouts Hash: We got two servings of these brussels with the delicious poached yolky egg and bacon vinaigrette. Perfectly cooked, beautifully flavored, so rich. Sometimes you think that veg is just veg, but dude, Black Hogg takes these brussels to a new level.

Roast Pork Belly, House-Made Corn Tortillas, Apple Slaw, Jalapeno Relish: I am just now realizing how much bacon, lardon, pork belly I had on Saturday. I'm actually okay with it. This was the most entree-ish thing we got and I can't imagine anything better. Beautiful contrast of flavors and textures. I'm drooling again, fml.

Chocolate Pot thing: Rich and dense and more dense and more rich and then chocolate and more chocolate. We couldn't actually finish it because it was so rich, but with the cab we were imbibing, it was such a lovely end to the meal.

Although the wait was bit long, the service was five-star. I need to go back for all the bacon dishes. Don't judge me. 

Cafe Stella

Cafe Stella
3932 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029

Yoooooo -

So my weekend was full of interviews and meek attempts at cleaning my room. So then I just escaped on Sunday to watch Downton with my family. In other news, I'm juicing this week, which I'm excited about and then throwing a V-Day party on Thursday night. Other big things: making over my dining room this weekend in time for my Dinners for 12 Strangers on Feb 24.

So back to Cafe Stella. Aline, Alene and Seda wanted to finally catch up and we chose Cafe Stella on Sunset on Saturday night. So glad I made a res - place was incredibly crowded. We valeted, since street parking was a mess. The restaurant is at Sunset Junction, which is an area I adore.

This place reminded me a little of Chez Janou in Paris, which already meant I loved it (minus the music choices which they need to improve.)

The food and drink:

1. Francesco Rinaldo red - the cheapest red on the menu - we are starving 20-somethings after all ($39/bottle). Slightly acidic, but worked well with the food.
2. Truffle fries - AMAZING. We inhaled these at an extreme rate. It was brutal.
3. Mussels - We were drinking the white wine butter sauce; perfectly cooked mussels.
4. Steak frites - We asked for it medium (generally I order it medium rare) - a bit tough and a bit bland. Not the best.
5. Kale Salad - lovely light vinaigrette 
6. Beet Salad - simple, fresh.
7. Pot au Chocolat - phenomenal - the best thing we had all night.
8. Creme Brulee - Also a beautifully prepared dessert.

The ambiance is lovely - lighting, decor, etc. The brick floors, wood paneling, general feel. I really enjoyed it. 

What I didn't enjoy: The service was poor. Our water glasses weren't refilled with any sort of purpose. We ordered bread, which never came. We also waited about 30-45 mins between each course. I understand the European style of eating and god knows I love it, but we drank a bottle of wine before our order was even taken. Perhaps a good way to encourage imbibing, but not good for hungry girls and gossiping.