Cal Mare

Before the holiday madness hit, I had the pleasure of eating at new Los Angeles restaurant, Cal Mare.  It is one of the first openings in the Beverly Center Mall, which is currently undergoing a massive renovation. It is a Michael Mina restaurant, headed by chef Adam Sobel. I fell in love with the place - round tables with overhead lamps, an open space bar, beautiful dome ceilings and a kitchen open to the dining room. The restaurant is cozy, charming and really sets the mood for the meal to come. Speaking of the food....each dish was truly excellent. The menu is of course centered around seafood in addition to a variety of pizza and pasta dishes. Most impressive was the unique chickpea "pancake" dish. Really more of a thin crepe laid over a bed of shrimp and greens with saffron aioli. I was tempted to order a second!

It is rare for a new restaurant to get their flavors so perfect this early on. That being said, the restaurant was lacking in efficiency. Dishes came out poorly timed, the appetizers coming fifteen minutes apart. We had also ordered Brussel Sprouts to be served with the Branzino. We wiped our plates clean of the fish and still did not have the Brussels. I hope that the kitchen can work on its timeliness and still keep the high quality of its dishes, to ensure the restaurant's success.

Open Concept Kitchen

Adorable Bar Area

California Squid stuffed with 'Nduja, Hazelnut

Spicy Shrimp and Chickpea Pancake with Saffron Aioli

(this was the definite favorite!)

Gluten Free Pasts with Octopus, Mussels and Calabrian Chile

Grilled Whole Branzino

Above Branzino, Filleted, served with Salsa Verde, Smoked Butter, and Livornese

Toro - Cabo San Lucas

The day after Thanksgiving, I flew down to Baja California for a relaxing few days. I have been visiting Cabo since I was a kid and it has a special place in my heart. Blue skies, fresh seafood, and endless margaritas and guacamole. If that doesn't sound like paradise to you, I'm not sure what is. This time around we tried a restaurant called Toro, right off the main highway between the two towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. The restaurant is the brainchild of Richard Sandoval, who has over 40 Latin American-inspired restaurants worldwide.

You walk into the restaurant via an impressive entryway of stairs. First thing I noticed in the dimly lit restaurant was the baskets of bread, chilis and various other goods along the wall behind the hostess. We chose to sit at the bar this evening and I was most impressed by the bar area. The bar is set a little lower in the ground which gives a nice view to the artwork of the bartenders. Floor to ceiling open shelving line the walls, with terra cotta pots filled with different succulents all the way to the ceiling. Yellow lighting tracking all the shelves, lending a great ambience to the room. There were several other seating areas as well as a beautiful patio near a whale fountain.

Everything from their unique drink menu to the variety of appetizers we tried were absolutely fantastic. They had a lot of small plate options, including ceviches, a raw bar and grilled entrees. Looking forward to my next trip to Mexico so I can try more of their wonderful dishes.

Baskets of breads and other goods

 

Beautiful shelving and lighting

Raw Seafood Bar

Watermelon, Hearts of Palm and Tomato Salad

Peruvian Fish Ceviche with Plantain Chips

Octopus Anticucho

Gluten Free Brownie