Here is what was brought to the table , (unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the food).
To start with:
Corn al forno with herb butter (pefectly charred and full of flavor)
Broccolini with chiles & vinegar (not too spicy but with a lot of roasted garlic too, vinegar nice touch)
Shrimp, chiles, melon & mint (very similar to a ceviche)
Insalata mista (very light dressing and one of those simple yet perfect dishes)
Bruschette of chicken livers, capers, parsley & guanciale (better than jewish grandma’s)
Mozza caprese (they roast cherry tomatoes on the vine, the cheese is so fresh and their pesto sauce is perfect, the three together, there are not words)
Then we moved onto the pizzas
As Nancy Silverton is also owner of the well known La Brea Bakery so we expected the pizza dough to be top notch and it was. Cooked just crispy enough without being too well done.
Here are the pizzas the three of us had:
Bianca with fontina, mozzarella, sottocenere & sage (the combination of the dough, cheeses and roasted sage was a tasty without being too overpowering)
Fennel sausage, panna, red onion & scallions (they make the sausage in-house)
Pizza alla benno: Speck, pineapple, jalapeño, mozzarella & tomato (found out that this was the pizza that Nancy Silverton used to make for her kids and they loved it)
Nancy was nice enough to come to the table and speak to us. We really enjoyed meeting and speaking with her, nice person and very talented chef.
We finally moved onto the dessert:
Peach & raspberry copetta with raspberry yogurt gelato & sbrisolona (great!)
Butterscotch budino, Maldon sea salt & rosemary pine nut cookies (the budino was warm, moist and pudding like but was awesome)
Also we got a few flavors of homemade sorbet.
If you have never heard of Nancy Silverton, her background and experience are vast and impressive. She has won numerous awards including:
2006 LA Times, The West 100: The most influential people in Southern California
2005 WCR Golden Bowl Award, recognizes excellence in baking and pastry arts
2004 International Star Diamond Award for Outstanding Hospitality
2003 RCA Pioneer Award
2003 James Beard, nominated for Outstanding Service
2002 James Beard, nominated for Outstanding Service
2001 James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Award, Campanile
1999 Bon Appetite Best of Food & Entertaining, “Food Artisan”
1999 Nation’s Restaurant News “50 New Taste Makers”
1997 IACP Julia Childs Cookbook Awards Nominee
1997 James Beard, Nominee, Best Cookbook of the Year, Baking
1997 DiRoNA, Distinguished Restaurant of North America
1996 Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Award
1995 Chocolatier Magazine, One of the 10 Best Pastry Chefs of the Year
1995 Southern California Restaurant Writers, Restaurant of the Year & Restaurateur of the Year
1994 Los Angeles Culinary Master of the Year, The 1994 Fine Spirit Wine & Food Tasting Exhibition
1990 James Beard “Who’s Who in American Cooking”
1990 James Beard Best Pastry Chef of the Year
1990 Food & Wine Magazine, Best New Chefs
You can read her entire bio here
We got the check, split it three ways, thanked everyone and got in the car to head to The Hollywood Bowl.
One of the great things about The Hollywood Bowl is that you can bring in your own food and wine. If you do not bring a basket or bag with you , there is a high end food store called the Market Cafe run by the Patina Restaurant Group.
Here is the Market Cafe description from the Patina Group Hollywood Bowl site:
Market Café is a gourmet marketplace where you can fill your picnic basket or add a few finishing touches. Artisanal cheeses, cured meats, pâtés, hot and cold entrées, gourmet sandwiches, salads and snacks are just a few highlights. Top off your meal with a wide selection of wine, champagne and refreshments along with desserts and sweets.
As we had just finished a big dinner we bought a nice bottle of red wine.
Once we had the wine, we headed out to our seats.
When we sat down I asked what the area was in front of us with the director’s chairs and tables. I found out that is what is called Box Service. Here is Patina’s description:
Enjoy full-service in the comfort of your box seats. Savor picnics to share, a new à la carte menu of appetizers, entrées and desserts, and three-course dinners. Pre-order or order from your seats on your smart phone or with your server.
The show started exactly at 8 PM and ended at 10:40 PM (The Hollywood Bowl has a HARD 11 PM curfew). The Dirty Dozen Brass Band went on first followed by The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and then finally The Neville Brothers. The women sitting to my left had met the Neville’s at the airport in Denver and were so happy to hear they were playing in LA (where the ladies were headed) that the Neville’s rewarding their lucky two fans 2 tickets to the show.
Great show, had a blast. By the time we left the parking lot we were starving and that’s when we plotted out the post show eats. The decision was easy, Fatburger. The great things about Fatburger is that everything is made fresh, the way you want it and to order. Even better was the fact that you can call and order ahead. We wound up splitting an 8oz Fatburger and an order of onion rings which I have to say were a million times better than In-N-Out’s fries.
The burger was delicious and at Fatburger you have your choice of toppings
and sizes
If you feel up to it you can even take the Fatburger XXX Challenge which is available at any Fatburger location and involves patrons attempting to eat the 24 ounce XXXL Burger in one sitting. There’s no time limit. you just keep eating until you’re done, or can’t eat anymore. But if you finish you get your picture on the wall of fame.
After Fatburger the day was done.
This was just one out of seven amazing food days in Los Angeles. Still to come: The LA Food Trucks, The Griddle Cafe, Santa Monica Farmer’s Market, LA Farmer’s Market, Animal and more.
