GOOD TASTES.MINT BAKING CHIPS: If you love the flavor of mint in baked goods or desserts, Andes Creme de Menthe crème de menthe n. A sweet green or white liqueur flavored with mint. [French : crème, cream + de, of + menthe, mint.] Noun 1. Thins, a favorite chocolate after-dinner mint, are now available as baking chips. The Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips, packaged in 10-ounce bags (about 2 cups), are handy and ready to use in cookies, brownies, cheesecakes, cakes, candies, fudge, ice cream, toppings, sauces, hot chocolate and more. These new chips are easy to use and no doubt will fill a niche. (We used to buy mint-flavored chocolatechips, seasonally, for baking and candy-making, but they are no longer available). Suggested retail is $2.49 a bag. Look for them in supermarkets in a green package. - Natalie Haughton CELEBRATE OCTOBERFEST The Boston Beer Co., brewer of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, is gearing up for Oktoberfest festivities fes·tiv·i·ty n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties 1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival. 2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration. 3. with its seasonal fall brew, Samuel Adams OctoberFest. Brewed with a blend of four special malts balanced with Noble Hops, the lager is good served alongside spicy autumn foods including sausages, pasta and pizza. Look for it through the end of October in retail stores and bars (while supplies last). Suggested retail of the deep-reddish-amber lager is $6.99 to $7.99 per six-pack and $12.99 to $13.99 per 12-pack. - N.H. PATINA RELOCATING: Joachim Splichal's Patina, flagship restaurant of the Patina Group, will move from its current location on Melrose Avenue Melrose Avenue is a well-known Los Angeles street that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Hoover Street in Silver Lake. Melrose runs north of Beverly Boulevard and south of Santa Monica Boulevard. to the new Walt Disney Concert Hall This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. downtown later this month, scheduled to open Oct. 28. The Melrose location will operate through the end of October, at which time the space will be transformed into Patina Prive, a private party event and entertaining venue. The elegant new Patina space at the concert hall, which will accommodate 100 guests, has been designed by Santa Monica-based architect Hagy Belzberg, who redesigned the Melrose space a few years back. The new location will include a private dining room for 20 as well as a private chef's table A chef's table is a table located in the kitchen of a restaurant, reserved for VIPs and special guests. Patrons are served a tasting menu prepared and served by the head chef. Restaurants usually require a minimum party (e.g., six guests) and charge a flat fee (e.g., $75 per plate). (for up to eight guests) with a special tasting menu Usually found in restaurants, a tasting menu offers small portions of several dishes as a single meal. Some restaurants and chefs specialize in tasting menus, while in other cases, it is a special or a menu option. . The new restaurant will be open for lunch, dinner and late suppers daily, with special pre-performance prix fixe prix fixe n. pl. prix fixes 1. A complete meal of several courses, sometimes with choices permitted, offered by a restaurant at a fixed price. 2. A fixed price charged for such a meal. 3. menus for concert and theater attendees. Splichal and his wife, Christine, opened Patina in August 1989. The chef will also operate the less-expensive cafe at the new concert hall. - N.H. DINING OUT Reata reata [Span.] lasso. Grill, co-owned by Al Micallef and Mike Evans - the third restaurant in the Reata Restaurants group (based in Texas) - recently opened in the Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade in Woodland Hills (above Corner Bakery). The restaurant name may sound familiar - a Reata restaurant in the Rodeo Collection in Beverly Hills was shuttered in 2001. But Micallef is trying again, this time in a more modest space, a third the size of the Beverly Hills location. The attractive new location, celebrating the California Mission style of movie-set designer Carla Curry, seats 200 diners, with a couple of private rooms for parties and an outdoor patio. The menu blends Western or cowboy-style fare with Asian spices and flair. Thai chef Ped Phommavong combines flavors and spices with Western roots such as chiles, tequila, pico de gallo Pico de gallo (Spanish for "rooster's beak") is the term generally referring to a fresh condiment made from chopped tomato, onion, and chiles (typically serranos or jalapeños). and steaks with Asian ingredients that include ginger, wasabi, sesame, peanut sauce, fresh fish, etc. Some of the dishes work better than others. At a recent tasting, Cowboy Sushi With Sesame BBQ BBQ barbecue Sauce ($9.95) got mixed reviews, as did the Pan-Seared Pepper Crusted Tenderloin with Port Wine Sauce ($29.95) (the meat was tender and delicious, but the sauce was too sweet). But there are plenty of other options. Starters at lunch and dinner range from $3.95 for a cup of soup to $9.95 (Smoked Quail, Ceviche ce·vi·che or se·vi·che n. Raw fish marinated in lime or lemon juice with olive oil and spices and served as an appetizer. [American Spanish, from Spanish cebiche, fish stew, from Cocktail). Salads at lunch are priced from $5.95 (Reata's Wedge Salad With Pico Vinaigrette and Crumbled Bleu Cheese) to $12.95 (Argentine Steak Salad With Arugula arugula or rocket Yellowish-flowered European herbaceous plant (Eruca vesicaria sativa), of the mustard family, cultivated for its foliage, which is used especially in salads. and Sesame BBQ Dressing). Other lunch items go from $6.95 (burger or BLT sandwich) to $13.95 (tenderloin sandwich). At dinner, salads start at $5.95 (an excellent field greens creation with fresh goat cheese, pecans and sherry wine vinaigrette; or Caesar salad with Asiago cheese; or a wedge salad) and top out at $14.95 (steak salad). Sides are $3.95 to $5.95, and main courses range from $14.95 to $29.95. All desserts - which include bread pudding with bourbon cream, dessert tacos with caramelized bananas and chocolate gravy and banana pudding - are $6.95. Reata Grill (the mall is at 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills) is open daily for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (bar until 11 p.m.) Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (bar until midnight). Call (818) 347-2090 for reservations. - N.H. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Andes Creme de Menthe Thins) (2) no caption (Samuel Adams October Fest beer) |
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