The Hills Are Alive...With Deliciousness

Greetings, Readers!

How are you faring now that the election season is finally over?

Did you have a sandwich to celebrate the fact that it will be at least a week without political ads before the next election season begins?

This past weekend, wear of the draining political ads on TV, I made my way out to Agoura Hills to visit a place I had only recently heard about: Ladyface Ale Companie.

Besides the sandwiches, the other draw to Ladyface for me was their in-house beer menu. Starting with a pumpkin pie spice flavored bock and moving to the Belgian tripel, I was thoroughly convinced that their beer was equally well crafted and delicious (especially the tripel).

My sandwich decision was not as easy to decide on. I had looked at their menu a few times the entire week before I had even gone, and was still undecided as to which sandwich I would pick. Finally though I had settled on the croque-monsieur, mainly because of my intrigue with the sandwich ever since watching Gordon Ramsay make one on the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares. 

Between the lightly grilled pieces of bread of this croque-monsieur rests two thick slices of Niman Ranch ham, Gruyere cheese and bechamel sauce. The Gruyere cheese was thoroughly melted proving a slightly smoky, slightly salty flavor. The two slices of ham provided a slightly sweet flavor to the mix as well as having its definitive ham flavor.

For a person who is not a huge fan of this particular pork product, this ham was delicious and some of the best I've ever had, outside of Porto's cubano.

The grilled bread was lightly buttered, lightly toasted, and highly delicious, keeping the sandwich together until the end.

Overall, my experience at Ladyface was highly positive and delicious. Their beer paired with their delicious food offerings (also tried the mac and cheese and house pretzel: both top notch!) make for an excellent meal away from the city on a Sunday afternoon.

Definitely worth a trip to Agoura Hills.

Until next week, Readers...


Croque-Monsieur
**** 1/2 Stars
Ladyface Ale Companie
29281 Agoura Road
Agoura HIlls, CA 91301
http://www.ladyfaceale.com/menu.html

A Burger Paradise

Greetings, Readers!

The temperatures have finally started to drop in Los Angeles, and it's actually beginning to feel quite a bit like fall here.

Granted, "fall" in Los Angeles really just means that it won't be 90 degrees every day now.

Craving a delicious burger recently, I was surprised to find in my sandwich research that a Studio City branch of Stout Burgers and Beers had opened a short walk from my apartment.

Sitting down in the restaurant and perusing the menu with New Belgium's Peach Porch Lounger (a delicious peach flavored saison), I knew I had picked a great spot to dine with a friend. The menu is short and sweet, but this did not make choosing a burger any easier. It was even more difficult to decide on what to order when we were informed of the special: a burger with truffle aioli.

I decided to go with the Stout Burger though (maybe it was because it had bacon), which came out in a delicious medium rare (it's the standard by the way make sure to ask for it to be cooked longer if this isn't your thing).

The Stout Burger, a delicious beef patty topped with blue cheese, Gruyere, rosemary bacon, caramelized onions, horseradish cream and roasted tomatoes, is an excellent combination of elements for a burger.

According to Stout's website, the burger meat is ground daily, in house.

According to this website, the beef is delicious.

The blue cheese, along with the Gruyere, adds a smooth dry flavor with a mild tanginess that complements the savory meat. The cheeses, especially the blue cheese, were also a bit more muted than usual, but this wasn't a bad thing.

The rosemary bacon was delicious. Not only was it crisp (adding a different texture to the sandwich) but it also added a smoky flavor which was an excellent contrast to the savory meat flavor and smooth cheeses. Add to this the slightly sweet caramelized onions and roasted tomatoes, along with the garlic flavor from the aioli and you have a delicious, savory burger.

Add to the delicious food the fact that we had excellent service, and that the low light atmosphere is relaxing and enjoyable, and you have an excellent experience out for burgers.

You know, for all the praise of Umami Burger here in Los Angeles, I have to step out of the typical LA thought here and say that Stout Burgers and Beers is leaps and bounds better than Umami. It is a hands down, knockout decision for Stout Burgers and Beers.

There, I said it. I don't think I'm the only one in the entire city who thinks this, but let's start this conversation for those that have tried both: Stout is better than Umami.

Argue for or against in the comments below.

Until next week, Readers...


The Stout Burger
*****
Stout Burgers & Beer
11262 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
http://www.stoutburgersandbeers.com