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Allez cuisine!

That’s kind of how I pictured the special appearance of Ludovic Lefebvre at The Foundry on Melrose’s Bluesy Tuesday Southern food night last week — a battle of Iron Chefs duking it out over gourmet fried chicken, Ludo v. The Foundry’s Eric Greenspan, who was in fact a contestant on Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef. What we diners got was more of a delicious pairing of two very different styles of fried chicken that complemented each other rather than threw down against each other. Though both Ludo and Greenspan brought it, as they say…in the parlance of our times.

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Unfiltered Dassai 50 sake. Available only in the United States.

I love finding great hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and Sushi Central at the corner Palms Boulevard and Overland Avenue is just that: an under-the-radar sushi joint that serves good quality fish in a no-nonsense environment.

When I was invited by a sake sommelier Yuji Matsumoto to a sushi and sake pairing at a Palms sushi restaurant, I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially because I’m not normally a big fan of sake. But what we diners got was an epic meal with seven dishes and four sakes — a delicious and enlightening experience that has made me now like and appreciate sake.

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I don’t make it down to the South Bay very often, so whenever I’m invited to a dinner in the area, I try to get over the “it’s so far” feeling that inevitably creeps up and go. This time the dinner was at Cafe Pierre in Manhattan Beach, a contemporary French eatery on Manhattan Beach Boulevard. This was a meal full of firsts for me, and I discovered I liked things I never thought I would like.

We were served a bunch of potted meats to start. This is when I tried head cheese, trotters, rillete and beef tartare for the first time, and none were as scary as I thought they would be. I actually surprised myself by really liking the hand-cut beef tartare, which came with judion beans on the side. I also had escargot and bone marrow as starters, too, both for the first time as well. While neither were as that scary, I didn’t enjoy them as much as the beef tartare, which had a fresh taste to it, contrary to what I had imagined raw beef tasting like.

I think this is head cheese, but it could have been trotters or rillete

Beef tartare

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This is the first post from ShopEatSleep contributor Eros David, a long-time friend and like-minded blogger. You can follow his work at Clement & Co. and on his Tumblr.

From Eileen T. on Yelp

Healthy, organic Japanese food. Buzzwords may draw a crowd to Fukada in Irvine, but the delicious taste keeps them coming back. Because it’s in the same plaza as a 24 Hour Fitness, it’s not uncommon to see the same people frequenting both locations. Tucked away in a small plaza on the outskirts of town across the street from the Verizon Amphitheater, Fukada is not really the type of place you just come across randomly; you’ll most likely have to be introduced. There is also a “2 Go” location in north Irvine, not far from the UCI campus, with a slightly different menu.

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This past weekend will go down in L.A. food history as The Weekend That Was The Clusterf*ck Known As The L.A. Street Food Fest. Don’t get me wrong — I thought it was a great idea, and I enjoyed myself while I was there. But as is the case with so many first-time events, there were problems, though I guess things could have been worse.

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I’ve heard the accolades for Mark Gold’s latest, Eva Restaurant, time and again. But with so much hype, I was skeptical — Was it actually good? There was no time like Dine L.A.’s Restaurant Week to find out, so a couple of weeks ago a group of fellow food lovers and I went for dinner. And yes, it was actually that good, even for a prix fixe meal.

My fellow diners — Lindsay of LAist, Esther of e*starLA, Caroline of Caroline on Crack, H.C. of L.A. and O.C. Foodventures, and Natalie of The Liquid Muse — managed to order one of everything on the Dine L.A. menu, so none of us missed out. I had the carrot soup with candied ginger to start, and it was a great way to begin a meal. Creamy with a hint of spiciness really hit the spot. The chestnut agnolotti, or little ravioli, were buttery, and the hamachi dish was light and fresh. All winners.

Carrot soup

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Steam Salon: On Saturday, Feb. 13, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., get a mini steam treatment, a blow dry or style, a manicure and a chair massage for $100 (normally $125). While you’re doing that, enjoy red velvet cupcakes and cinnamon cocktails (you can get them virgin, but why would you?).

And don’t forget the L.A. Street Food Festival!

Do-Lover: This special Valentine’s Day version of the summer party series the Do-Over will take place Sunday, Feb. 14, from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Crane’s Hollywood Tavern, just like usual. Also like usual, it’s free to get in, though you do have to be at least 21 years old and RSVP here. Since Monday is a holiday (for most of us), expect a long line.

Stinker’s Truck Stop: The ultimate in ironic Silver Lake bars is shutting its doors and giving away everything it hasn’t already auctioned off. This Monday, Feb. 15, at 9:00 p.m. enjoy $2 Colt 45 tall boys while snatching up left over bar memorabilia — because you know you need that stuffed skunk wearing a trucker cap. (FYI: 1933 Group, which owns the bar, isn’t letting go of the space. A new concept will takes its place in a few weeks, per co-owner Dimitri Komarov.)

UPDATE: Komarov says the new concept taking over the old Stinkers space will be a whiskey bourbon bar tentatively called Old Crow projected to open sometime in mid March.

Valerie Confections Pour Elle box

Valerie Confections: This L.A. chocolatier has themed boxes for Valentine’s Day, with intense flavors in both. The Pour Elle 11-piece box comes with white chocolate and rose petal hearts, and dark chocolate and passion fruit ganache hearts. The Pour Homme boxes come with semi-sweet chocolate hearts made with toffee pieces and fleur de sel, and dark chocolate hearts filled with liquid caramel. I actually prefer the Pour Homme sweets — the liquid caramels are to die for — though the passion fruit ganache is really nice, too. (Full disclosure: Valerie Confections’ owners are my neighbors, and I received these chocolates as a gift.) Check out the Web site for more options, including a Pour Homme gift set with single malt scotch truffles!

Wanda Gale Design: This Falling Heart necklace ($69) made from either gold or silver and semi-precious stones (shown below in gold and citrine) is a cute and fashionable way to say “I love you” — or “I like you a lot.” Whatever. Or buy it for yourself because you love yourself!

Wanda Gale Falling Heart necklace

Charmed Circle: For the guys, there are these Nut and Bolt cuff links ($165 for silver) that are super cool and chic. There are also cool gifts for gals on here, too, including really unique and playful charms. The envelope, bird in a cage, and chandelier charms are ingenious.

Charmed Circle Nut and Bolt cuff links

Drago Centro charcuterie plate. From Dig Lounge.

Whether you plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day or not — or just haven’t made up your mind yet — here are some special meals that will be happening around Los Angeles.

To Celebrate

Drago Centro: From Feb. 12 to 14, Drago Centro is offering a four-course dinner for $55, with wine pairings for an additional $35. (Limited à la carte menu items will be available, too.) Here are the menu choices:

First course — beef carpaccio, hearts of palm and candied almonds, or antipasto plate

Second course — butternut squash ravioli with lemon brown butter, or shrimp and scallop agnolotti with cioppino foam

Third course — roasted lamb with artichoke hearts, brown butter pomme purée and rapini, or Dover sole, baby vegetable ragoût and lemon beurre blanc

Fourth course — strawberry semifreddo with basil and white chocolate, or chocolate cake, candied Marcona almonds and raspberries

Also, on Feb. 14 the restaurant will be hosting a masquerade carnival with live music, and guests are encouraged to dress up, too.

Cecconi’s: The West Hollywood eatery is offering its full à la carte menu, a tasting menu for $85, and an optional wine pairing for an additional $45. The tasting menu includes wild mushroom cappuccino; dungeness crab, ahi tuna and avocado; winter black truffle and ricotta ravioli; chateaubriand for two, winter root vegetables and a peppercorn sauce; and a layered chocolate cake, kirsh cherries and whipped cream.

Pourtal: The Santa Monica wine bar is offering two-for-one glasses of bubbly on Feb. 14 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Choose from the featured selection of Marquis de Perlade Blanc de Blanc or a Kir Royale. Cupid will be there to pass out secret Valentines to guests who purchase bubbly or a tasting card; they will receive a free pour ranging from on Pourtal’s Enomatic machines.

Cube: Head over to Cube Marketplace’s cafe on Feb. 13 for a fondue party. Ok, not really, but you can get the fondue special and make it your own party! For $35, you can get prosecco, cheese fondue, roasted farmers market vegetables and fresh fruit, house-baked bread, Meyer lemon coeur a la crème, farmers market berries, citrus cookies — and house-made dark chocolate truffles and confections to take home.

Not To Celebrate

Charlie’s Malibu: On Feb. 13, Charlie’s will host “Bitter, Party of 1” for singles (or as its press release says, “couples welcome, but we may mock them”) with tunes from DJ Kid Wycked from 9:00 p.m. to close. And on both Feb. 13 and 14, the restaurant will offer a four-course chef’s tasting menu for $75, with a $20 wine pairing, along with the regular à la carte and lounge menus. The tasting menu includes dishes such as poached pear with herbed goat cheese and candied walnuts, filet mignon, and lobster tail. You don’t have to eat with a Valentine, you know.

Rush Street: On Feb. 13, the Culver City bar and restaurant will host a Meet Your Valentine party with specialty cocktails and artisanal chocolates. There will be no prix fixe menu. On Feb. 14, diners can enjoy half-off featured wine and champagne all day long.

Akasha: Take home a box of 12 mini cupcakes for $20 from the Culver City restaurant’s bakery to serve at your anti-Vday party — or eat them yourself, I don’t judge. Flavors include chocolate and vanilla cakes with different frosting and icing. The chocolate with Gianduja (that’s a chocolate/hazelnut combo) filling, chocolate glaze and fleur de sel sounds awesome!

I was a little weary about accepting an invitation to a hosted dinner at Kabuki, the small West Coast Japanese restaurant chain, because, you know, it’s a chain. But I said to myself, “Self, don’t be so critical. Have an open mind.” Since I had been to a Kabuki only once years ago, I decided to give it a chance. And I was pleasantly surprised by some of the dishes, and not surprised by others.

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