cole slaw Archives | A Travel Foodie's Journey

July 28, 2019 in Local Eats

Sensational Southern Sunday Supper at Hatchet Hall

I made a dinner reservation for a party of 6 the moment I caught wind that Hatchet Hall, one of the local Culver City eats, had a special fried chicken dinner. Somehow the entire original guest list, aside from my husband and myself, backed out of dinner but luckily I had asked two of our close friends to join as well. The four of us have had many amazing dining experiences together and consider each other as family so it was poignant that we spend our Sunday feast together for this specific event. To call it a spectacular, sensational Southern feast would be a severe understatement. It was probably one of the most amazing food experiences we have shared together in our history of dining all over Los Angeles.

My husband and I each ordered the fried chicken dinner as there was a minimum of 2 orders per table. The fried chicken plate came with piping hot fluffy dinner rolls, super creamy mashed potatoes with gooey gravy and braised greens which had a slightly bitter taste but also had a bit of a salty aftertaste from the bits of possibly bacon or ham which provided a nice contrast. Additionally, it came with a side of cole slaw lightly dressed, not overpowering or over saturating the finely chopped vegetables.

The star though, not surprisingly, was the plate of fried chicken which was perfectly fried and seasoned. The skin was super crispy and lightly seasoned. The meat of the chicken was piping hot and unbelievably tender. Unlike other fried chicken establishments, Hatchet Hall’s chicken was not oily or greasy. These are fighting words, but I am going to have to declare their chicken as the best fried chicken I have ever had and I have eaten quite a few in my lifetime.

Not to be outdone, we also ordered a few items outside of the Sunday through Wednesday 6-7 p.m. fried chicken special.

There was a side dish that looked interesting on the menu called spoonbread with wood roasted mushrooms, herbs including dill and Parmesan. We were enamored, enthralled and salivating over this dish, because of the incredibly unique flavor combinations. It was savory, herbaceous all combined in what seemed to be a very moist cornbread concoction.

In addition, we also ordered a side of the smoky and charred grilled blue lake beans with mushroom vinaigrette and fried shallots which were fine but sadly, paled in comparison to the spoonbread.

Last to arrive of our main entrees was the whole fried sea bass. We were told that we got the last sea bass of the night which was confusing since our reservation was at 6 p.m. and they had just opened. What arrived was a pescatarian’s dream. It was perfectly fried on the outside, with a crispy but not oily exterior, leaving the meat of the fish moist, flaky and easy to pry off the bones. The parsley, chili and lemon sauce added a layer of dimension to each bite.

We finished off our meal with a piping hot peach cobbler topped with ice cream as well as a slice of chocolate cheesecake. The cobbler was perfect, not too sweet, hot but not scolding with a slightly burnt and crispy bottom, cooled off with a scoop of vanilla, melting into the crevices of the cobbler. The cheesecake had an Oreo base with chocolate mousse, a creamy custardy layer and a light chocolate glaze on top. It was deliciously light and ended our experience on a decadent note.
Sunday dinner at Hatchet Hall should not be missed and is an experience that is without a doubt life altering. We felt fortunate to have experienced it together and encourage others to partake and to get there early as the fried chicken extravaganza only lasts an hour and also to order the fish while it’s available as it’s apparently in short supply but in great demand.

Thank you, Hatchet Hall, for giving us a 5 star family dining experience!

http://www.hatchethallla.com/fried-chicken-family-dinner

http://www.hatchethallla.com/menu

June 1, 2019 in Local Eats

Plan for Plan Check

After many repeat visits to the original Sawtelle location, we finally ventured outside of our comfort zone and made a reservation for the Santa Monica location. The determining factor was our ability to make an actual reservation. At some point in the past, I was able to make a reservation on Resy for the Sawtelle branch but that’s not true anymore so Open Table was able to facilitate a movable reservation to the beachside location.
Despite the address being on Ocean Drive which is parallel to Pacific Ocean, the restaurant is actually located on Broadway behind Sushi Roku. In any case, it was still beachside with an exposed restaurant to the ocean breeze. We opted for a deuce on the patio right by the sidewalk so that we could people watch.

Our server, Brayden seemed super nice and was as helpful as he could be. Our orders came out incredibly quick but there were a few hiccups. My vodka martini up no vermouth with a lemon twist had a strong vermouth aftertaste so I sent that back. Our water glasses weren’t refilled. I had to get up and pour myself a glass.

Our baby back ribs and cole slaw appetizer was quite tangy and savory. The ribs were doused in BBQ sauce. They were definitely very rich and we both realized that we needed to refrain from indulging if we wanted to eat our main courses.

My husband’s patty melt came out nicely. Everything was just as he ordered. However, my dish had some challenges. I ordered a salmon BLT with only lettuce, crispy bacon, salmon and mustard. The salmon, mustard and fries came out but no bacon. I kept trying to beckon our server who was at the bar but to no avail. I tried 4 times. I finally asked the hostess and though the strips came out quickly, they were not crispy.

Our server finally came back to check on us and I returned the unacceptable bacon. Round 2 brought 2 strips which also weren’t crispy but clearly had just come off the pan or griddle. *Note to all cooks: Stop frying your bacon. They are greasy, soggy and not crispy. No need to fry a bacon when you just need to crisp them up in the microwave. For each strip of bacon, get a layer of paper towels on the bottom and the top of a paper plate to cover. For example, 2 strips of bacon = 2 layers of paper towels on the bottom and 2 layers on the top, to soak up the grease and crisp them up. Microwave them 1 minute longer than the number of strips on the paper plate so 2 strips = 3 minutes in the microwave, maybe 3 1/2. I learned that from my Food teacher high school in 1993 so not new news.

But I digress. Aside from that, our dining experience was fast, efficient and overall the food was delicious. Since Sawtelle and Santa Monica are equidistant to us, we both love being by the water and we’re able to make online reservations for Santa Monica, it will likely become our regular relatively inexpensive treat for a nice relaxing evening out.

Plan Check & Bar

1401 Ocean Blvd., #104

Santa Monica, CA 90401

SANTA MONICA

April 21, 2019 in Local Eats

The Win-Dow at American Beauty

When I heard about a reasonably priced casual eats opening in Venice, I was hopeful that it would at least be decent in flavor and quality. We chose Easter Sunday to try it out. We initially headed to Astro Doughnuts but they were completely sold out of the PB&J doughnuts and had no fried chicken left so we ventured 7 minutes south to American Beauty.

We parked in the residential neighborhood and walked over to the corner lot. There are only plastic stools and benches for seating and makeshift tables. You order at the window and minutes later, they call your name.

In planning out my order a few weeks prior, I had decided to get a cheeseburger patty on top of the fried chicken patty to capture the best of both worlds. My husband ordered a double cheeseburger and we shared an order of the kale salad and fries.

The kale salad was quite delicious. It probably had a bit more dressing than I would have liked but it was light and the lemon vin was the perfect accompaniment to the crispy croutons and the pecorino cheese interspersed throughout.

My husband thoroughly enjoyed his burger. What made their burger patty unique is the onion mix added to the beef so it gives it an added dimension of flavor and depth.

My double patty, the double turf which I am coining the ggfoodie, was the perfect combination. I had the melted cheesy goodness layered on top of the onion meaty patty sitting atop a crispy breaded chicken breast with the house sauce sitting as a dip at the bottom of the double patty. That was a winning combination. I didn’t bother with the bun because I eat my carbs in fries.