A few weeks ago I was in LA for the day. It was one of those trips that was never meant to be. I had planned a day in LA with a group of women weeks ago. We were going to go to LACMA to see an art exhibit, check out the Farmers Market and The Grove, go to happy hour at Street, a great new restaurant in Hollywood, then drive home. The trip fell apart, literally. One person had a foot problem, another got sick, another tripped over a suitcase and cracked a tooth, another had to deal with a family issue. In short, we cancelled at the last minute. But I had already made additional plans for myself. I was going to stay overnight in LA with my mom, as my son Phil was coming to LA the following afternoon for a business meeting, and I would have a few hours to visit with him. My mom and I had planned to spend the evening making cheese triangle appetizers together, something we used to make many years ago and loved.
So, I decided to go to LA the following day, spend the morning making appetizers with my mom, go out for a nice lunch, then visit with Phil for a few hours. That's exactly what we did, and it was a wonderful day.
Cooking with friends or family is a great experience. There's no pressure and the conversation is interesting. I often found us talking about events from the past. It's a real bonding experience. I look at Phil, who is already cooking with his 2 1/2 year old, and know that the time they spend together in the kitchen will be quality time. Anyway, we made 80 little cheese triangles, froze them, and saved them for a special occasion. Of course we each sampled one. They were just as good as we remembered.
It was lunchtime and my mom had heard of a new restaurant in Brentwood called Lemonade, that had recently opened. I felt like a salad, so it was just what I wanted. Lemonade has 6 locations in Los Angeles, and they'll soon be in Pasadena and LAX. I hope San Diego is on their radar. It's a cafeteria style restaurant, with all the salads, meats, and hot dishes beautifully displayed. Don't go there expecting to get a lettuce salad with tomatoes and other veggies. All the salads are prepared salads, and you pick out a variety of items and make a big plate. I had 4 different salads for $8.50 and had so much left over that I ate it for dinner too. I had beets, pickled onion, and hazelnut vinaigrette, watermelon radish, ahi tuna, snap peas and black sesame, ginger (delicious), red quinoa with veggies was a special of the day, and a declicious noodle dish. My mom had the butternut squash, chicken, holiday grapes and oregano, seared ahi tuna (5 beautiful slices for $5.50), cauliflower, golden raisin, almonds, and curry. Altogether there are over a dozen of these prepared salads. Then, there's the sandwich section, the seafood and meat section, with beautiful poached salmon filet, ahi tuna, chicken breast and poach albacore tuna. As if these were not enough choices, there were several pots called braises. This included brisken, moroccan chicken, short ribs, lemongrass chicken, and chicken basque.
If you have room for dessert, order the carmel macaroon. It's big enough to share, and oh, so delicious. It's sweet and salty and hard to resist.
Phil says Lemonade is like the Whole Food prepared food section with flavor, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg. You can't spend more than $10 unless you go crazy with wine and dessert. All the etrees are moderately priced. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they expand quickly and open in San Diego. For now, I'll eat at Lemonade when I visit my family. Don't try anything without tasting it first. They will gladly give you samples of everything before you buy. This is a real winner. Check their website at www.lemonadela.com
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