Deciding Where to Go on Dreaded V-day?

What's up with this overly commercialized, pressure-generating, meaningless "Valentine's Day" anyway right? Why should I do anything to celebrate it?
Yeah, I was gonna skip it too. Just stay home. Avoid the crowd. Save that $100 for a REAL meal another day.

But, man, then the menus for this "special" day start pouring in. And I do so love chocolate ...

In particular, I'm drooling over the thought of a multi-course chocolate dinner at Compartes Chocolatier for $30pp. The dinner will be on their newly renovated patio. Their dinner menu is being kept "under wraps" but we do know that the desserts will include homemade heart shaped chocolate molten cake with a gooey ganache center, an exotic fruit, cheese and spice plate, chocolate kaffir lime panna cotta with thai chile sauce, exotic gelatos in flavors like lemongrass, lavender and, homemade mexican "haute" cocoa shots, signature truffles, and more ...Mmmmmm. Mine!

Jin Patisserie, besides offering their annual beautiful beautiful gifts (one year I got a gorgeous hollowed out chocolate heart), also have a special Valentine's Day Cake made with white chocolate mousse, fragrant rose petals and juicy, poached pears decorated with delicate chocolate hearts. They're also doing a special Vday weekend menu. Reservations: (310)399-8801

For those of you wanting to indulge more, Providence is selling their handmade chocolates for $28/dozen (flavors include Coffee Urfa, Banana-Ginger, Orange Caramel Rosemary, Baharat, and Coconut-Green Tea). They're also offering a 6-course menu/with wine pairing for $140/$195. Reservations: (323)460-4170.

DineLA 09: Filet Mignon at Wolfgang's Steakhouse, So-so.

$34 for a 3-course meal that includes filet mignon. Sounds pretty good, right? That's what I thought and so I went to try Wolfgang's Steakhouse for the DineLA week - it was the cheapest of the steakhouses (no, Ruth's Chris is not even in the running) and seems to have pretty good reviews. I dragged Rumdood and Pepsimonster here with me.

I started with the lobster bisque.
The bisque was a tad too salty - maybe they had been heating the whole pot up all day/night long? I did find two bite-size pieces of lobster in it (ooh yay).

All three of us ended up getting the filet mignon (sounds like the most worthwhile!)
As always, I ask for my steak medium-rare. Here, the middle part was indeed medium-rare, but the outer sides were rather overcooked so I didn't start enjoying it until I get to the middle part. This steak was not as flavorful as we've had elsewhere. Good, not great.

The portion for the sides are generous. Among the three of us we got all of the available offerings: creamed spinach, german potatoes, and mashed potatoes.
Oh, and not only were the portions generous, they messed up and brought us extra servings of creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. But no, we didn't eat them (we didn't even finish the first serving). Spinach anyone?

For dessert, I tried the Apple Strudel
I thought this was okay - the pastry was rather soggy and it was served room temperature. They should've kept it crispier and warmer and this would've been much better.

Overall we were underwhelmed. The food was good enough as to not ruin the great company and we finished dinner just fine - but it definitely could've been better.
I guess we have to fork over more $$ for better next time? Like the $130 wagyu beef rib eye at Cut like Pepsimonster wants :)

Wolfgang's Steakhouse By Wolfgang Zwiener
445 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 385-0640
http://wolfgangssteakhouse.com/

dineLA 09: Lunch at Ocean and Vine

The truffled cheese sandwich on the menu lured us to lunch at Ocean and Vine. As it turns out, Ocean and Vine isn't open for lunch on weekends but we were able to get the dineLA menu at the lounge inside the same hotel (Loews), Papillon. Papillon boasts a nice ocean view, especially if you're strong enough to brave the cold and sit outside (we weren't!).

On to the food. We all got the same appetizer (seems to be most worthwhile compared to salads): Laughing Bird Shrimp Tempura - Wasabi Aioli, Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce
It came with three separate dipping sauces(cocktail, "sweet chili" - think fish sauce with chili, and wasabi aioli), which makes it more fun!

The shrimps were not that big, but were nicely crisp and light. It wasn't too greasy or too bready. Portions were also quite generous.

I got the Entree Option #1: Grilled Truffle Cheese Sandwich - With a cup of Heirloom Tomato Soup
The tomato soup was surprisingly very good!

The truffled cheese sandwich was pretty pungent with truffles, but my sandwich was not grilled enough :/
The cheese has not really melted and so the sandwich tasted rather dry. It was better when I dip it into the soup - but then that loses some of the truffle essence. My friend's sandwich seems to have been better prepared and she really enjoyed it.

Entree Option #2: Baja "Macaroni and Cheese" - Shrimp, Lump Crab, Baja Sea Scallops, Cavatapi Pasta
This wasn't cheesy enough for my taste - or for what I imagine to be "mac n cheese". It was a decent 'seafood pasta' although nothing outstanding.

The third option was a salmon dish, which this other girl ordered. Apparently it was overcooked though.

To end the meal, I got Dessert Option #1: Valrhona Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Good chocolate cake, rich and dense. Nothing outstanding, but definitely very enjoyable.

Dessert Option #2: Cinnamon Funnel Cake - Berries, Strawberry Ice Cream
This funnel cake tasted more like a crispy doughnut, but nonetheless we did enjoy it. It was somewhat dense, but eating it with the ice cream helps a lot.

Lunch cost us $22 per person. The food was nothing outstanding, but good and solid, and the portions were generous - so if you're looking for a dineLA lunch place, this may be an option to consider.

Ocean and Vine
1700 Ocean Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.458.6700
oceanandvine.com