Huevos Polenta at Playa Rivera

When I first heard that Chef John Rivera Sedlar was opening Playa Rivera restaurant in the old Grace space on Beverly Boulevard, I jumped for joy. I love Sedlar’s food (and Julian Cox’s cocktails) at Rivera downtown, so having one of his eateries closer in proximity to where I live is really a treat.

Elegant, hearty and delicious, Playa Rivera’s brunch is a great choice for a casual-but-elevated meal. I had the pleasure of having brunch here with Fiona of Gourmet Pigs, Lindsay of LAist and Esther of estarLA, and we had a well-rounded meal complete with cocktails and a chat with Sedlar himself, who happened to walk in just as we were leaving.

We started with a pitcher (OK, we had two) of The Grail, a sangria made with apple brandy, malbec, pressed lady apple, Don’s mix, cane cola and apple espuma (thanks, Fiona, for the description). This was unlike any sangria I’ve had, as it was more flavorful and rich.

The Grail sangria

To whet our appetites, we ordered some Blue Corn Muffins served with almond-flavored butter. These were absolutely gorgeous and tasted just as good. They had just the right amount of sweetness and were perfectly moist, which is nice because sometimes corn bread gets dry.

Blue Corn Muffins

Inside of the Blue Corn Muffins

For my main dish, I ordered the Huevos Polenta (above), a spicy, smoky dish that I would order again. The polenta is covered in a pool of red chili sauce and topped with lardon (bacon!), veggies, a 63º poached egg and cotija cheese. I love different textures in my food, and this dish definitely had that. It was a home run.

Fiona ordered the pulled pork tamal topped with sunny side-up eggs. I love tamales, and this one didn’t disappoint, especially not with those pretty eggs on top! You’ll also notice that this was served on a plate with a scene from A Clockwork Orange on it; Sedlar’s Reflexiones presentation program features everything from art to political commentary to purposefully complement or contrast with select dishes.

Pulled-pork tamal

Lindsay chose the Duck Hash with 63º poached eggs, fingerling potatoes and peppers. This was also a hearty, tasty choice.

Duck Hash

I was less impressed with the Croque Señor, which is made with chorizo. This might be better as a señora with one of those sunny side-up eggs on top.

Croque Senor

Don’t neglect to order dessert because the ice cream sundae made with goat’s milk ice cream, hazelnuts and cocoa nibs served with hot chocolate sauce and a blue cornmeal chocolate chip cookie was amazing. At Lindsay’s suggestion, we broke up the cookie and threw it in our mason jar of goodness, then topped it off with the chocolate sauce. Once again, all the different textures made me really happy. Bravo!

Ice Cream Sundae

Inside of the cornmeal cookie

Perhaps the best part of this meal was the value. We were served beautiful food in well-sized portions with nothing priced more than $15. This is an amazing deal, and one I highly recommend.

I cannot stress how important service is to me. Good service should be easy, but apparently far too many restaurants find this hard to come by. Service can make or break a diner’s whole experience, so when I encounter really great service (or really bad service), I make a mental note. In Grace’s case, the note is a pleasant one.

From the get-go, Grace exhibited nothing but exemplary service.  When I called to make the reservation, I asked if there was a way to substitute the main course on the Blackboard Eats prix fixe menu for something else. You see, the main course was supposed to be lamb, and I don’t like lamb. Honestly, I didn’t think the restaurant would accommodate me, that they would say that this special deal was what it was, and that would be that. But the person who took my call said she would ask the chef, who wasn’t available at the time, so she said she would call me back once she had a chance to ask him. And she 1) actually called me back the next day and 2) said I could have the salmon or grilled tempeh dishes from the regular menu instead. So of course I made a reservation for me and Esther of e*starLA, who had agreed to try out Grace — and Blackboard Eats — with me.

The special Blackboard Eats prix fixe meal was $38 for three courses, which is a great deal when entrees normally range from $25 to $34.

The meal started off with a roasted kabocha squash soup topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and pomegranate. This might be my new comfort-food soup. It tasted more like beef stock than squash, a trait I appreciated because it added another dimension to the soup. I also liked the contrast between the creaminess of the soup and the crunchiness of the toasted pumpkin seeds, as well as the sweet and tangy pop of the pomegranate seeds.

Roasted kabocha soup

Next up were our mains. Esther stuck with the original grilled Sonoma lamb with byaldi confit and charred tomato nage, while I went with the sauteed wild king salmon with forbidden black rice, pecans, cranberries and a watercress emulsion. Esther said the lamb had a great un-gamey flavor, which I can confirm having tasted the smallest of bites. The meat also had a nice peppery crust.

Grilled Sonoma lamb

And I loved the salmon, which was cooked to perfection, including having an impeccably crispy skin that took the dish to a whole other level. I was weary of the cranberries, thinking they would be of the dried, sweetened variety, but they were fresh, cooked berries. Their tanginess complemented the rest of the dish, and the forbidden black rice was a nice, interesting touch, too.

Sauteed wild king salmon

For dessert we had a seared market pear and a buttermilk ice cream sandwich with blood orange syrup and oat praline. This wasn’t my favorite dessert, as I found the buttermilk ice cream too rich. However, the cookies were light and flaky, which was a nice departure from the usual thick cookie used for ice cream sandwiches. And the pear was salted on top, another dimension of flavor.

Seared pear and buttermilk ice cream sandwich

Not only was the food great, but the atmosphere was enjoyable, too — elegant but not stuffy. And our server, Angela, was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. She recommended the salmon and even asked me how I wanted it cooked: a little pink in the middle, or all the way through. I said I wanted it cooked all the way through (I like my fish either raw or cooked and not somewhere in the middle, i.e., I don’t like seared fish), which I immediately regretted, thinking it would come out overcooked. But it was perfect, and I was happy. The rest of the waitstaff was friendly and prompt with clearing our plates without being intrusive. The restaurant even split our bill by person.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, and since we had no problems redeeming our Blackboard Eats deal, I would definitely do it again — all of it.

Produce from Crows Pass Farm

I spent yesterday afternoon on the CBS lot in Studio City, eating and drinking my way through more than 30 of Los Angeles’ chefs’ food at the 23rd annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles event, which benefited the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. OK, I didn’t taste everything — I’m not a black hole of food — but I did taste a lot of good stuff.

BLVD 16‘s Simon Dolinky made butternut squash dumplings with mustard greens, pomegranate and brown butter. I like the food at BLVD 16 at the Hotel Palomar, so it’s no wonder that I enjoyed this dish, too. Topped with bacon bits, the crunchiness contrasted well with the doughy dumplings, and the greens were flavorful without being overpowering.

Akasha‘s short rib on pretzel bread with a side of cole slaw and pickle. The pretzel bread (I love pretzel bread!) soaked up the short rib’s tasty juices, making it all even better. The slaw had a spicy kick to it, and wasn’t creamy, which I prefer.

Bonadea, a Los Angeles-based company that makes bottled aguas frescas. I tried the jamaica flavor, which has nothing to do with the island country and everything to do with hibiscus. Its flavor was light, and a little sweet and a little tart. There was also a tamarind flavor, which I initially passed on because I don’t like tamarind, but after tasting a sip, I found it more peachy than tamarindy. Yeah, that’s not a word.

Neal Fraser of Grace and BLD fame made braised veal short rib with polenta that tasted just like a Chinese dish my mom makes. That’s because the polenta was cooked with chestnuts — yum!

Bottega Louie‘s panini with brie, blood orange and watercress, and a salad with roasted grape tomatoes, burata and pesto were light and refreshing, which was welcome since a lot of what was being offered at the event was heavy as this is technically fall.

Celestino Drago’s duck sandwich and butternut squash soup were also good, though I liked the sandwich more than the soup, which I didn’t find all that impressive.

Ford’s Filling Station‘s Ben Ford made a persimmon salad with goat cheese, candied pecans and a sherry vinaigrette. Beautiful and tasty. I’m obsessed with persimmons, and I wanted to ask Ford for a plate of just fruit, but that probably wouldn’t have gone over well.

Chef Ben Ford mixing up some salad

Yes, the Bazaar of the SLS Hotel was there, and yes, it served some pretty and fun stuff, including the liquid nitrogen-frozen caipirinha. It was really, really strong, but eating it with that sage on top was pretty amazing.

Keven Alan Lee’s East served up a scallop on the half shell with lemongrass sambal, wasabi creme fraiche, shiso dust and micro cilantro, as well as Hawaiian walu fish with miso mustard cream, micro wasabi, chive essence and smoked chardonnay sea salt. Many people liked this, especially the scallop, and I did too, but probably not as much as everyone else.

Scallops on the half shell

Hawaiian walu

Michael Fiorelli of Mar’Sel at Terranea Resort made braised wagyu beef cheek and creamed chard tortellini with ricotta and tiny autumn vegetables. The tortellini I could take or leave, but the beef was wonderfully tender, and the mini veggies were so cute — perfectly cooked, too.

And now for something completely different…I give you Sushi Popper! Is it sushi? Is it a push-up? Is it a sushi push-up? It is! I tried the seared albacore with smoked banana and a mild habanero sauce. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t good.

Esther of e*starLA popping a Sushi Popper

All in all, this was a really enjoyable event, despite the hot sun. I do have a gripe, though: The event’s theme was “Go Green, Go Organic,” yet there were all kinds of green violations. Sure, everyone used eco-friendly plates and utensils, but what’s with the bottled water? And the plastic cups? And the unnecessary packaging of the Sushi Poppers? Something to think about for next year…

Doughnuts at Grace Restaurant. From petitgateau (Flickr).

In addition to Krispy Kreme handing out free doughnuts (one per person), Grace Restaurant is serving a doughnut and wine tasting menu on Friday, June 5. That’s three courses of doughy goodness, folks. You’ll start with a salted caramel doughnut with bourbon-pecan ice cream and strawberries. Then comes a pistachio doughnut with chocolate buttermilk marble ice cream and dried cherries. And finally, buttermilk brown butter glazed doughnuts with warm rum-spiced milk. And if you want to turn it up a notch, you can get your doughtnuts paired with wines from Piedmont, Portugal and Bordeaux. Doughnuts only, $18. Wine pairings are another $15. From UrbanDaddy.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to partake because I’ll be in Napa for my best friend’s bachelorette party this weekend. And of course I’ll be blogging about all the food and wine!