Ojon Full Detox Rub-Out Dry Cleansing Powder: This is the most absorbing dry shampoo that I’ve tried. It is almost too drying, actually; my hair was a bit stiff after using it. But it it effective. The smell isn’t that pleasant, but it isn’t unpleasant, either. My only real complaint is how it leaves a bit of a white residue despite touting its no-residue effect.

Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo: This product has the best lemony smell and is relatively good at disappearing in your hair. It’s also pretty absorbent, but not as absorbent as the Ojon.

Frederic Fekkai Au Naturel Dry Shampoo: This one is my least favorite. It’s good in that it’s fragrance-, paraben- and sulfate-free, but it’s just not that effective, and it left the most white residue out of these three that I tried.

Chefs Susan Feniger (left) and Mary Sue Milliken teach a cooking class at Border Grill in downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Rory Owen Delaney.

Have you been to a cooking class at Border Grill? If you haven’t, then you’re missing out on a truly fun and informative time. Remedy your situation by attending Salsa 101 taught by none of that than chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, the original Two Hot Tamales and two Top Chef Masters contestants.

While enjoying a multi-course lunch with signature cocktails, you’ll learn the essentials of creating salsas that you can incorporate into a variety of dishes, including soups, salads, barbecue and even dessert. You’ll learn lots of cooking tips from Milliken and Feniger, such as how the ends of cucumbers are bitter; how you should sharpen a knife at a 15 degree angle and always wipe it off immediately after cutting citrus; how you should cut fish against the grain just like beef; how onions have the most sugar of all vegetables, which means they will oxidize immediately if put in a food processor; and much more.

You’ll also get to take a recipe booklet home so you can recreate what you learned at home. Good food, good company, good take-aways — what more can you ask for?

Salsa 101 & Beyond with Mary Sue and Susan

Saturday, June 2, 2012
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Border Grill Downtown LA
445 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Call (213) 486-5171 for reservations.
$75 per person

Lobster "Mac and Cheese" at Ra Pour

When I think of restaurants in the Inland Empire, chains come to mind. But Ra Pour, a high-end restaurant and bar in Rancho Cucamonga’s Victoria Gardens retail complex, has changed the way I think about dining in the I.E. (there are still a lot of chain restaurants, though).

Ra Pour, the jewel in restaurateur Karim Webb’s crown, is helmed by Executive Chef Greg Stillman, a French Laundry and Patina Restaurant Group alumnus, so right off you know you’re getting a quality meal. However, the combination of a high-end eatery with a club-like after-hours feel, including live music that makes conversation tough, is a bit strange. But given the area’s other options, Ra Pour is probably one of your best bets.

I was recently invited to try out dinner and brunch here, and I was mostly pleasantly surprised. Drinks were fine, and food was better — even excellent at times. Dinner standouts included the Crispy Pork Belly, served with greengage plums, poached rhubarb and crushed marcona almonds, which was cooked perfectly and had a subtle sweetness. The Lobster “Mac and Cheese,” with butter-poached Maine lobster, mascarpone-enriched orzo and a parmesan crisp, is an elegant take on the traditional dish. Pizzas are good, and the tempura mushrooms are a nice twist on the usual fried appetizer.

Chicken and Waffles

As for brunch, the Chicken and Waffles with fried chicken tenders, a Tabasco reduction, maple syrup and candied jalapeno atop a malted waffle, is to die for. It’s a must, and you can get it at dinner, too, so get it. The Yogurt Parfait with blueberry compote, fresh mixed berries, yogurt and granola isn’t over-the-top sweet, which makes it a nice light breakfast option. The Duck Confit Hash with beets, potatoes, bacon, herbs and poached eggs topped with hollandaise sauce (the sauce wasn’t listed on the menu, by the way) was really heavy, so you might want to split that dish. There’s also live jazz music at brunch, if you like that kind of thing.

See more photos from Ra Pour:

Further reading:

Ra Pour: Elevating Rancho Cucamonga by Gourmet Pigs

Note: These meals were hosted.

Pastry Chef Rebecca West's pastries

Brunch is normally a weekend occurrence, but sometimes it’s nice to have breakfast foods at lunchtime during the week. You can do that at Luca on Sunset in West Hollywood, where brunch is served until 3 p.m. daily.

Chef Luca Giorgetti, who grew up in a Tuscan farmhouse, offers a slew of healthy breakfast items (no butter and little salt), including omelets, scrambles, breakfast and croissant sandwiches, pancakes, French toast, smoothies, juices and many other dishes. And Pastry Chef Rebecca West makes some amazing pastries (these, of course, contain “just enough” butter), including the flaky croissants used in Giorgetti’s sandwiches.

Spinach croissant sandwich

The spinach croissant sandwich is tasty, with its scrambled eggs, spinach, fontina cheese and bell pepper sauce. I prefer it to the breakfast sandwiches with omelet-style eggs, which I find to be too much. Giorgetti said he treats eggs like pasta and thinks about how to incorporate flavor that way, and he hits the mark with the 3 Mushrooms omelet, which is filled and topped with a combination of porcini, shitake and cremini mushrooms.

3 Mushrooms omelet

The chicken hash is another good option. Made with tomato sauce and topped with organic eggs and basil pesto, the chicken is a healthier twist on traditional hash.

Chicken Hash

Let’s go back to the pastries. The almond croissant and chocolate brioche are excellent, and the blueberry muffin is deliciously packed full of fruit. On the savory side, the sweet potato biscuit with speck is ultimately satisfying. All the pastries are so well made that you should be happy with any one of them (or two, or three).

Blueberry muffin

Sweet potato speck biscuit

Further reading:

Perfect Croissants and More for Brunch at Luca on Sunset by Gourmet Pigs

The Best Pastries in West Hollywood by estarLA

Note: This meal was hosted.

Spindle Tree at Villains Tavern

If you’re looking for something a little different when it comes to cocktails, look no further than the new menu at Villains Tavern in downtown’s Arts District.

There are four fruit- and herb-based drinks on The Garden section of the menu and four flavored vinegar-based drinks on The Shrubbery section. (Read more about shrub syrups for cocktails.) My favorite Garden drink is the Spindle Tree made with Russell’s Reserve rye, Becherovka herbal liqueur, honey, mint and Bergamont bitters. The Lilium, with Plymouth gin, lemongrass, lime, grapefruit, ginger and bitters, is another good choice. As far as the shrub drinks go, I liked the Oleander with its balanced combination of Leblon cachaça, blackberry shrub, muddled lime and lavender bitters, I’m a sucker for anything with lavender.

And if you’re looking for something fun, Villains put its popular snow cone on the menu: the Permafrost is a snow cone with your choice of liquor and fruit. With the weather warming up, this sounds like the perfect summer treat.

Note: This tasting was hosted.

Room at the Aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga

Find yourself in the Rancho Cucamonga/Ontario area? You could do worse than to stay at the Aloft, a less-expensive division of the W hotel brand. While the Aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga isn’t the fanciest of places, it is comfortable and pretty hip, especially for Cucamonga, land of the chain restaurant.

I recently stayed at this particular Aloft, and while I had a fine stay, I wasn’t wowed by the experience. The room was pretty basic, though it was nice enough with a flat-screen TV, work desk with plug-ins for an iPod or laptop to connect to the TV, and Kohler faucet and sink. There were Bliss bath and body products, a hair dryer, complimentary bottled water and free WiFi, but no mini bar (just sayin’). Also, I didn’t really like the pillows, which were flat by the time I woke up.

Cute bedside clock

What you see when you first walk in, opposite the sink

Sink, separate from the toilet and shower

Aloft hotels are pet-friendly, which I appreciate as a pet owner, but the drawback is hearing someone’s dog barking late at night. There is also a wide range of fast-prep foods and snacks available 24 hours a day in the lobby, but the prices are a bit high (you pay for the convenience, of course).

I used the fitness area, which was small but clean. There were complimentary ear buds to use, but the machines didn’t offer music or TV (and I forgot my iPod), so I wasn’t sure what the point was. Oh, well.

All in all, the Aloft is a good choice for a stay in Cucamonga, especially if you need a place close to the Ontario airport. The service is friendly, which is always welcome and can make or break an experience.

Note: This stay was hosted.

B-Wing Salad at Veggie Grill. Photo by Brian Goodman.

Growing vegan restaurant chain Veggie Grill continues to surprise me. The first time I ate there, I was skeptical of its food because I’m not a big fan of faux meats, but Veggie Grill’s menu manages to please crunchy granola vegans without alienating meat eaters. Now the restaurant has added tasty new items to its menu, including hearty dinner plates and a crab cake sandwich — yes, seafood!

The crab cake sandwich is a revelation. Made from soy and wheat products, the “crab” tastes real, even in terms of texture. Topped with tangy tartar sauce, pickles, tomato, lettuce and red onion, the sandwich is uniquely satisfying among vegan menu items.

Crab cake sandwich

Other new dishes that I enjoyed on a recent visit include the B-Wing Salad (pictured above) with buffalo “wings” over lettuce, avocado, celery, roasted corn salsa and ranch dressing; the VG Rollers with blackened “chickin’,” cabbage, Santa Fe spread and tomato salsa rolled in grilled flour tortillas, and served with salsa and chili on the side; and for dessert, the Chocolate Pudding Parfait with chocolate sauce, crushed cookies, walnuts and VG crema (which is made from soy milk).

VG Rollers

Chocolate pudding parfait

I was not as won over by the new “homestyle” plates. While I applaud the effort to create more hearty dinner-friendly dishes, these just didn’t do it for me. The Crispy Chickin’ Plate with a fried chickin’ steak over cauliflower mashed potatoes topped with porcini mushroom gravy and steamed kale on the side was fine, but it was a little too heavy and could have used more mushroom flavor. The Urban Plate, a gluten-free option, with blackened tempeh, caramelized onion and a portobello mushroom cap with steamed kale and tomato and avocado salad on the side was also fine, but it’s not something I would ever order for myself. My dining companion liked it a lot, though, so to each his/her own. The Blackened Chickin’ Plate with papaya salsa, steamed kale and quinoa pilaf was my least favorite. Also, what’s with the plethora of sesame seeds on the steamed kale? I love kale, but you just end up with a mouthful of sesame seeds.

The other new sandwich option, the Buffalo Bomber, features crispy chickin’ tossed with spicy Buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, tomato and red onion. While I liked the buffalo chickin’ salad, I thought the sandwich version had too much buffalo sauce. But if you like buffalo sauce, then this could be the sandwich for you.

All in all, I’m pleased with Veggie Grill’s new menu items. Though I’m still in love with its Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ (as a wrap, not a sandwich), I would definitely branch out and order a crab cake sandwich. It tastes so close to the real thing!

All photos by Brian Goodman.

Note: This meal was hosted.

Tunapica at Asia de Cuba

The Mondrian hotel in West Hollywood is known for its sleekness, especially its ultra-stylish Skybar. What else would you expect from Sunset Boulevard? And its Asia de Cuba, a Philippe Starck-designed Latin-Asian fusion restaurant, is no exception. But this sleek eatery isn’t just all style; there’s substance behind that pretty face.

Asia de Cuba has always been a destination restaurant, but with a new cocktail menu and a revamped dinner menu by Chef Troy N. Thompson, there’s even more reason to visit.

The menu offers a bevy of shareable plates, including a host of ceviches such as wild salmon with salted avocado ice cream, spicy coconut milk, bird’s eye pepper and black lava salt, as well as shrimp and snapper with watermelon confit, Vietnamese red chili, garlic, jalapeño and shaved coconut. The Tunapica, a tuna tartare dish served picadillo style on stacked wonton crisps with Spanish olives, black currants, almonds, coconut and a soy-lime vinaigrette, is a nice twist on the usual tuna tartare and shares well. Other standouts include the pan-seared jumbo sea scallops, which come with plantains and habañero corn crema (I personally like the plantains and scallops better separately); the calamari salad with crispy squid, chayote, hearts of palm, banana, cashews, chicory, radicchio and sesame orange dressing; and the braised oxtail and kimchi steamed dumplings with spiced calabaza threads and mango ponzu.

Shrimp and snapper ceviche

The new cocktail menu also includes drinks made for sharing, including those for two and punches for the whole table. The guava punch, though on the sweet side, is a good choice with white rum, dark rum, Crème de Peche, fresh lime and guava juice. Watch out for the made-for-two Cuban Missile, a potent concoction of brown rum, aged rum, white rum, honey rum, Cherry Heering, Angostura bitters, orange juice and lemon juice.

If you’re looking for a dependable drink, go with a classic mojito, which is well-balanced here with lots of lime and little syrup. If you’re looking to be a bit more adventurous, try the Hemingway Thyme with aged rum, fresh lime, maraschino, cane syrup, grapefruit twist and thyme foam, or the Chili Passion Caipirinha with cachaça spirits, muddled lime, raw sugar, passion fruit purée and a of dash Sriracha.

Trio of mojitos

Chili Passion Caipirinha

See more photos:

Note: This meal was hosted.

Maple Leaf Rag at AMMO

AMMO, that cute restaurant that has occupied a spot on a quiet strip of Highland Avenue for 16 years, is known for its seasonal items. Now it’s offering a new mixology program and bar menu designed by mixologist Jason Robey (formerly of Michael’s in Santa Monica and New Heights in Washington, D.C.) and Chef B.J. Munoz, respectively. Don’t miss the Maple Leaf Rag cocktail made with Black Maple Hill bourbon, lemon juice, maple syrup, bitters and burnt rosemary. The combination of bourbon and citrus is one of my favorites, and the addition of rosemary gives it an herby, savory kick. As for the food, try the grilled cheese sandwich with Emmental cheese and caramelized shallots on country white bread for a satisfying bite.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich at AMMO

Note: This meal was hosted.

Chef Ben Bailly shows off his lamb cheeks. Photo by John Ales.

Is third time the charm for Ben Bailly? Bailly recently joined Cliff’s Edge as executive chef, where he was brought on to revamp the menu after stints at Petrossian and Fraiche Culver City. Cliff’s Edge is Bailly’s third restaurant since arriving in Los Angeles, and his food complements the Sliver Lake location nicely. The menu is elevated but not stuffy, which seems to speak well to the discerning hipster neighborhood.

During a recent visit to Cliff’s Edge, I enjoyed both the cocktails and the food. I really liked the Bitter Pill (Zaya 12 year rum, Fernet Branca, brown sugar, fresh lime juice, egg whites, orange oils), which had great depth of flavor. The Gold Rush (Buffalo Trace bourbon, honey syrup, fresh lemon juice, orange oils) and Question Mark (Bols Genever gin, lavender simple syrup, fresh grapefruit and lemon juice, Peychauds bitters, flamed grapefruit oils) were also winners, mostly because I love the bourbon-citrus combo as well as lavender in general.

As for the food, the Whipped Ricotta with lavender (again!), honey and olive oil is a must to start. It’s fluffy, creamy and fragrant. The Crispy Polenta served with mushrooms, egg, and Pecorino Romano cheese, as well as the Seared Scallops with lebne yogurt cheese, cauliflower, Vadouvan spice and salsa verde, are solid savory options.

The Skate Wing served with sunchokes, brown butter, pine nuts, lemon and capers was hands-down my favorite main dish. It was reminiscent of a fish and sunchoke dish that Bailly served at Fraiche that I also enjoyed. The Lamb Cheeks with celery root purée, rapini and hazelnut gremolata is another good choice.

The Chocolate Torta is what you should order for dessert. At once light, smooth and decadent, this cake is one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve had in a while. I don’t normally order the chocolate cake at restaurants, but I would definitely do it here.

Note: This meal was hosted.