Thursday, April 17, 2008

Pookies - Thai in Westlake Village

Good Thai food in Westlake Village? It does it exist. I went to Pookies for the first time tonight with a friend. I had heard about this place and read a few reviews, so I was looking forward to the experience.

Pookies is located in a business complex, an unusual place for a restaurant. But they have been there for several years. The location is actually pretty nice. There is a nice pond and outside tables. With all of the businesses closed in the evening, it was quite serene.
I ordered a Thai Iced Tea and my friend had a Singha. For dinner we had the Monsoon Spicy Noodles, which in most Thai restaurants would be Pad Kee Mao, with chicken, Jade Curry and "Hot Stuff" aka Larb Gai. The names of all the dishes were a bit disappointing. I say stick with the traditional names. All the dishes were good, but I especially liked the Jade Curry, which was a green coconut curry with chicken and vegetables. None of the dishes were as spicy as I had hoped, but the condiments helped. I also thought the portions were a bit small.


Overall Pookies is a good Thai food restaurant in the Westlake Village area. I definitely plan on going again.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Friday, April 11, 2008

Mastro's Leftovers - Stuffed Again!


I had quite a bit of the prime rib leftover from the other night, at least 2/3. So, I decided to make a steak sandwich for lunch. I bought a hoagie roll from the local deli and dug out the center. As I sliced the prime rib, I toasted the roll. I made a garlic aioli with horseradish and brought some mixed greens from home.

I placed the sliced prime rib on the roll and back into the toaster oven. After a few mintutes, I removed the roll from the oven and added the aioli and greens. The greens wilted nicely from the heat of the sandwich. This thing was pretty big, it was a footlong roll and there was about 16oz of meat. I ate the whole thing...

I'm as full as I was the night of the meal, but it was so good. I need to run it off tonight, otherwise I may die in my sleep.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Restaurant etiquette 101

Article on Restaurant Etiquette from Real Simple magazine

Mastro's - Thousand Oaks

Had dinner at Mastro's for the first time. I was prepared for a Ruth's Chris type atmosphere, but I was wrong. The decor and ambiance was much different, a lot more fine dining, then steakhouse. Unfortunately, it's so dark, you can't appreciate everything.

We were seated in the Napa Room, which is located next to the M Bar. The room was empty except for one group, we arrived pretty early, around 6pm. There is a nice wine list and cocktail menu. I ordered a glass of Castellina Chianti and we started with oysters in the half shell and "steak sashimi". The half dozen oysters included Blue Points and Chefs Creek. The Blue Points were definitely to my taste, especially with the Atomic Horseradish. The "steak sashimi" was a seared beef tenderloin thinly sliced over wasabi mash potatoes. While it wasn't quite sashimi(I was hoping for completely raw), it was delicious. The wasabi mash was forgettable.

For our entree's, I had the 33oz Bone-in Prime Rib(med rare) and Pawan had the 22oz Bone-in Ribeye(med rare). Both steaks were cooked perfectly and nicely seasoned. My prime rib, had a bit too much fat for my liking. We also ordered the Gorgonzola Mac and Cheese and Sweet Potato Fries. The side dishes were awesome. The portions were large and neither of us could finish everything. But our server talked us into dessert anyway.

His description of the Warm Butter Cake made it sound like the most decadent and delicious dessert ever created. It was good, but by no means was it as good as he'd described. It was served with ice cream, whipped cream and sliced fruits.

As traditional with many high end steakhouses, everything is offered a la cart. Which means the price can be pretty high and at Mastro's they are. But the service, food and ambiance make it worth while for special occasions.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Seoul Food - Elyse Sewell and Korean Food

Cool video video by Elyse Sewell visiting Korea and enjoying the food scene.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Sushi Raku - Agoura

My first visit to Sushi Raku last night. I guess this place has been open for a couple of years. I've been seeing ads in the local mailers, so I decided to check it out.

As I entered I noticed the flat screen tv's. They were not as obtrusive as one might think. I was seated at the sushi bar in front Sushi Chef Peter. The bar seats approximately 15 people. There are several booths as well. The decor was nice, kind of contemporary Japanese.

A couple of the specials were Live Scallop and Live Mirugai. Here is a list of nigiri I had: Japanese Scallop, Japanese Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Hamachi Toro, Ono, and Unagi. I also had an order of the Green Mussels. All of the fish was fresh, the Spanish Mackerel was a bit more fish then I've had before. The Ono and Japanese Mackerel were really good. The serving sizes were pretty big, almost too big, but who's complaining.

Sushi Raku might be my new local spot. Sushi Agoura has dropped a bit lately in my book. Next time I go, I'll take pictures.