craft || bcbg

vittles


Because of Dan's occupational move, our 3rd Valentine's day together (the first two were in 2004 & 2005?) was spent in LA - a city I once had a horrible impression of but now really like. One of our earlier Valentine's dinners was at Boston Market. Reservation-less, we tried going to two restaurants but didn't want to wait 2 hours.

This year, Dan tried making reservations a week ahead but we were still faced with 10 PM seating times.
So instead, we chose to eat at Craft on the 13th at 8 PM.

Ironically, we ate a late lunch at Best Fish Taco in Ensenada (4 tacos each - too good!) and more Scoops (peach yuzu & salty chocolate this time) and ending up pushing our reservation back to 10 PM anyway. Doh.

After a nap & throwing a bunch of treats on the ground to distract Moosie so we can make our exit, we headed to Craft.
It was in a very surprisingly business-park and empty area..but then, it was already 10 PM.

Onto the food...

Since the menu was family-style, the waiter suggested that we order a starter, a main course, and a side dish for each person so that there's enough food to go around.

Amuse Bouche: this waiter that kept smacking his lips when he talked (very strange!) brought out pureed parsnip w/parsnip chips and parsley. I really liked it.

Libation: He ordered a Corpse Reviver (Bluecoat Gin, Lillet Blanc, Fresh Lemon & Absinthe) and I ordered a lavender dry soda

Starter One: Wagyu Beef Tongue with horseradish sauce.
This was my favorite of the night - I was hesitant because I've never had beef tongue but I was also curious. It came with a Yorkshire Pudding that was really delicious as well.

Starter Two: Pork Tortellini with Mejdool Dates.
I think our eyes gelled over seeing the mejdool dates.
We LOVED LOVED the chorizo stuffed mejdool dates at Avec.
It was good, but since it came with the beef tongue, it paled in comparison.

Side One: Assorted Mushrooms. 2nd best choice of the night.

Side Two: Roasted Pee Wee.
Maybe I wanted it because of the name but I also really love potatoes & fingerlings are delicious.

Main One: Pork (something) & Pork Belly. Not memorable & pricey. Meh.

Main Two: Loup De Mer. Roasted sea bass with rhubarb. I liked the crispy skin and the crispy rhubarb.

Dessert: I'm not one for sweets so not a lot on the menu appealed to me. That and my dress was getting tighter and tighter. Since they didn't want us to leave sweet-less, the waiter brought out a sampling of their desserts. It was ok.

Favor: Chinese restaurants give fortune cookies. Craft gives granola.

Overall, a very good dinner - especially since Dan was able to expense $100 of it



vesture

please excuse the wrinkles, I dug it out of my suitcase for this picture

For the dinner at Craft, I wore a favorite BCBG dress that I got Spring 2009.
I had worn it once before to Fogo de Chao (not wise as the dress is already a bit tight around the ribcage on an empty stomach).

I'm a big fan of white (hard to keep them white white though) and I really loved the neckline.

As always, I'm wearing a Tiffany's key necklace from Dan and paired the dress with some brown peeptoes.




neither vittles nor vesture



As for the actual Valentine's day, we went up to the Griffith Observatory via the trail with Moosie, ate brunch at Toast, watched a little of the All-Star Game, went to 85C Bakery & Cafe in Irvine, and ended up with Korean food to go from Beverly Soon Tofu. The best Valentine's day yet :)