June 13, 2014 Lunch, Rio Chama Brewery and Dinner, Jennifer James 101

June 13, 2014 Lunch, Rio Chama Brewery and Dinner, Jennifer James 101

I took salad fixings to a corporate meeting of one of my clients in the morning but discovered when I arrived that they were ordering food from Rio Chama Brewery, so in the spirit of the occasion I ordered Fish and Chips.  When lunch arrived my box contained three large battered and deep fried sticks of fresh cod and a pile of skin on cut fried potatoes.  I loved it because it was a pleasant change from my usual salad for lunch.  I left the salad with Ioanna for her and Rick to enjoy and she was gracious enough to allow me to bag and take the assortment of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and fresh cherries she had picked from her cherry tree in her yard.  After the meeting I went to Sprouts and bought a swordfish filet, some asparagus, and fresh ripe tomatoes.

When I got home from the meeting around 3:00 I made myself a dessert with the fresh berries on a cognac and Grand Marnier soaked shortcake shell topped with a dollop of fresh heavy cream and a spritz of canned whipped cream.

Later Melissa offered to take us out to dinner and Suzette and Melissa decided on Jennifer James 101.  

Usually I would be excited to go but tonight was game five of the Stanley Cup Finals and I knew since the series was returning to L.A. that there was a very good chance that L.A. Kings would take the series tonight because L.A. has proven to be the faster, stronger and more opportunistic team, so I wanted to be glued to the T.V.

We decided on an 8:15 reservation, so after the second period we left for the restaurant.  Suzette knew how much I wanted to see the game so she found an app on the I phone that fed a live feed of the game.  I had the joy of enjoying dinner with the girls and watching the game on Suzette’s I Phone at the same time, so I could be conversational, eat delicious food and watch the progress of the game.  

I like the concept that Jennifer James has adopted for her new restaurant. Clean fresh food prepared with great care.  The portions are not large but the food tastes great and is often interesting and well executed.  

When we were seated the waiter brought us a small ramekin filled with thin slices of house made bread and butter pickles that were deliciously sweet and sour.

We ordered several appetizers, fried garbanzo bean sticks, lamb meat balls, the garbanzo fried sticks were a little odd and I did not find them particularly interesting, but the lamb balls served with shredded fresh arugula and pine nut slaw with a really delicious tzatziki sauce.   I liked the sauce so much that I asked for a piece of bread after the appetizers were served and when we were each served a thick slice of warm bread with butter, I dipped pieces of bread into the tzatziki and enjoyed the warm bread with the olive oil, yogurt and mint sauce.  There was no fattiness in the Dunhill meatballs and with the fresh shredded arugula reinforced my overall impression that the food that Jennifer James 101 cooks is clean and fresh without a lot of starches and carbohydrates, which is saying a lot in the current world of dining that is dominated by U.S. Foods and Sysco generated entrees.  

Suzette ordered the halibut served with sautéed fennel, but they had sold out of it so, she ordered the pork tenderloin with radish and pork jowls in an orange chili vinaigrette.  Suzette must have been disappointed and she did not recall her dish being memorable, but when I tried the pork tender, it was perfectly cooked and delicious, grey on the outside and pink in the middle.  I especially liked combining bits of the crispy sauteed pork jowls with the succulent tender pork tender.  

Melissa ordered the JJ101 Cheese Burger served on a toasted English muffin with house made chipotle ketchup and fries.

With promises of sharing their entrees, I ordered an appetizer of quinoa and chopped vegetable salad with feta, golden raisins and olives.  I liked the cool blanched quinoa and vegetables.  The salad although only about four inches across and 1 ½ inches high proved to be very filling.  I also liked the South America meets Mediterranean concept. 

Initially we had trouble finding a wine until I noticed on the single glass menu “Elk Cove” Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley for $42.00 for a bottle (I paid $17.30 for this bottle in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, so the wines are marked up a bit over 2 times).  Melissa had never had it so we ordered it and she liked it a lot.  I think Elk Cove is the best Pinot Gris made in the U.S.  

Melissa shared a piece of her hamburger with me and it was remarkably good.  The meat was soft and cooked to medium rare.  I had had so many French fries for lunch that I did not try any of hers.

 I liked the meal a lot and would go back, but the most interesting thing was the hamburger place next door.  I will go there soon also.  What I had hoped for happened.  L.A. tied the game at 2-2 and sent the game into overtime, so we passed on dessert and went home to watch L.A. win the Stanley Cup in the second overtime.

Bon Appétit