Whole Lamb Dinner at Tender Greens

Tender Greens Hollywood held the first of their monthly roast and beer gardens on their patio this past Sunday.  This monthly series in which a whole animal is roasted and at which unlimited pours of craft beer will be available will be held on the third Sunday of each month.  Fortunately for me, Sunday's animal was lamb, perhaps my favorite meat.  In addition Chef Eric Hulme roasted a salt baked whole sea bass.

Plate of joy

For $35 all inclusive this is a great value as a full array of sides are provided in addition to the main attraction and the beverage.  The next whole animal roast will be a pig roast on May 15th.  Limited reservations remain - to book email heidi@tendergreens.com  At about 6:30 pm, the animal is brought out of the roasting box and displayed for all to admire (and photograph).  Then the lamb was given time to rest and an array of sides were brought out.  At the appointed hour Chef Hulme began carving the lamb and the hungry diners began lining up.

Whole lamb ready to be carved

The sides were bountiful and excellent.  They included: Braised swiss chard with smoked mushrooms, Green Lentil, torpedo onion and shelling beans, Jumbo asparagus with mimosa sauce, Baby carrots, snap peas, english peas, pea tendrils, Olive oil poached fingerling potatoes with crispy green garlic and Raw artichoke and baby frisee salad.  My favorite of the sides were the carrots with peas and the lentil dish.  The peas were so fresh and sweet and the lentils had a ton of flavor.

Excellent side dishes

The lamb and fish were served with two sauces: a Meyer lemon tzatziki and a Rosemary & Sage gremolata that was bright green like a pesto.  For the sauces and the sides, diners helped themselves from the heaving buffet table; the meat and fish were carved by the chefs.  As any side dish ran low, more was brought out, so there was never a danger of going hungry or missing out on anything.  The sides were so good that even if I didn't eat meat, the fish, the sides and the beer were more than enough to feel full, satisfied and that I had gotten a fair value.  Because I love lamb, I found this to be a screaming bargain.

The salt crusted fish and the cooker

Around eight o'clock dessert was served: Strawberry bars and Mini Passion fruit tarts.  Soon after the diners strolled out into the night, dispersing onto Sunset Blvd.  Something about cooking a whole animal lent a communal air to the experience, as many diners ended up in conversation with folks they did not arrive with.  The crowd was mellow foodies, although I have never seen so many pictures being taken of food by a non-blogger crowd.  The whole lamb was dramatic and deserved to be recorded for posterity.

Hulme removing the lamb from the cooker

The beer was provided by Tustin Brewery which brought both a light ale and their Red Hill Red.  The beer was flowing freely and was refreshing.  Each month's event will feature a different local craft brewery.

I highly recommend this experience.  My one caveat is to show up by 6:30, so you can be there when the animal is removed from the heat.  As the meal is communal, there is only one serving time.

Tender Greens Hollywood: 6290 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood. Phone: (323) 382-0380. Website: www.tendergreensfood.com

Grilled Cheese Month is Here: Ready, Set, Eat!

There are only three days left until the annual celebration of melted cheese known as the Grilled Cheese Invitational (GCI), at which one sandwich will be crowned the champion, and all others will be merely delicious accompaniments to tomato soup.   In preparation, six local restaurants are each offering their take on specialty grilled cheese featuring GCI sponsor Tillamook Cheese. These sandwiches are only available until Saturday, so that gives you four days to eat them all.

In addition, Tender Greens West Hollywood is celebrating Grilled Cheese Month with a different sandwich each day this week.  Their chef, Eric Hulme will be competing in Saturday's GCI. Through Friday, April 22nd at the West Hollywood restaurant only, these special grilled cheese sandwiches will be $10.50 (served with a simple salad) and will be posted on twitter daily.  That makes seven sandwiches for you to eat this week to get your Grilled Cheese merit badge.

Lastly, Clementine will be celebrating Grilled Cheese Month all month long with different sandwiches available each week.  The full menu is here.  This is Clementine's 10th Annual celebration of the sacred sandwich.

Chef Eric Hulme’s Quack Attack Grilled Cheese Sandwich

The six participating restaurants serving cheesy and delicious Tillamook melts this week are:

simplethings sandwich & pie shop
8310 W 3rd Street ô (323) 592-3390
www.simplethingsrestaurant.com

Chef Carrie Cusack has created a Pork Belly Grilled Cheese with Tillamook Monterey Jack Cheese, Pork Belly, Smoked Tomato, Caramelized Onions, Avocado ($9.50)

The Foundry on Melrose
7465 Melrose Avenue ô (323) 651-0915
www.thefoundryonmelrose.com

Grilled Cheese Invitational veteran Chef Eric Greenspan will offer the Johnny Apple Cheese AKA Johnny Pastrami with Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, Sourdough Bread, Apple Mustard Chutney, Green Apple, Smoked Pastrami ($8.00)

Dominick’s
8715 Beverly Blvd ô (310) 652-2335
www.dominicksrestaurant.com

Chef Brandon Boudet has created a sandwich featuring Tillamook Monterey Jack Grilled Cheese, Grilled Wild Ramp, Ciabatta Bread ($11.00)


The Oaks Gourmet
1915 North Bronson Avenue ô (323) 871-8894
www.theoaksgourmet.com

From another Grilled Cheese Invitational participant, Chef Luke Reyes will offer a sandwich with Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, Black Forest Bacon, Homemade Tomato Jam, Sourdough Bread ($9.95)


101 Coffee Shop
6145 Franklin Avenueô (323) 467-1175
www.the101coffeeshop.com

Chef Brandon Boudet has also created a Po Boy for Angelenos across town with Tillamook Medium Cheddar & Homemade Creole Hot Sausage Po Boy ($9.00)


crow bar & kitchen (Orange County)
2325 East Coast Highway ô (949) 675-0070
www.crowbarcdm.com

Grilled Cheese aficionado, Chef John Cuevas, will offer a melt with Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, Pickled Ramps, Smoked Bacon, Garlic Mayo, Fried Egg ($11.00)


Tender Greens West Hollywood is the only Tender Greens location with the grilled cheese specials this week.

Tender Greens West Hollywood
8759 Santa Monica Boulevard  (310) 358-1919

Clementine in Century City has a month of sandwiches:

Clementine:
1751 Ensley Avenue (310) 552-1080
http://clementineonline.com/

Eat My Blog Bakesale raises over $3,700

Diana of Diana takes a Bite with the variety of treats on offer.

This past Saturday Los Angeles area bloggers joined forces to throw an old-fashioned bake sale to benefit the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. Over $3,700 was raised to help feed the hungry in our community. This was the 3rd such event and participation was large, including Nastassia from the Manila Machine, Lindsay aka SquashBlossom (the Editor of LAist), Starry Kitchen, Diana from Diana Takes A Bite, Lesley Balla from Chow Balla and many others.

The event was held on the sidewalk in front of Tender Greens West Hollywood, which assisted in making the event run smoothly.  Over the course of the day dozens of bloggers stopped by Eat My Blog to support the event, whether by bringing treats or by buying some.  I lucked out and was able to purchase some Smoked Salt Toffee by SquashBlossom before they sold out.  Nguyen from Starry Kitchen (below) wore his signature Banana outfit, which added cheer on an overcast day.  As demand has been rising for food from local food pantries, the funds raised by Eat My Blog are needed more than ever.  If you were unable to attend or would like to learn more about the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank or would like to donate, please click here.

Fried chicken @ Tender Greens WeHo

On a recommendation from a friend, I recently ventured to the Tender Greens on Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood to try their fried chicken. The chicken is described as "Southern Fried Chicken" and is offered as the centerpiece of a "big salad" or as a hot plate.

I opted for the hot plate and got sides of corn on the cob and a simple arugula salad. The plate also comes with a crouton like piece of garlic bread. ($10.50). The corn had marks from the grill (a good sign) but wasn't as sweet as I would have liked, perhaps because it is still early in the season. The arugula salad was refreshing.

The chicken is boneless breast meat. It is served warm, not hot. If you get it in the salad, it is cut up. The chicken was fine but lacked a real depth of flavor.

Tender Greens does a lot of things well and is one of the best values in the city in casual dining; fried chicken is just not something that I'd recommend getting there. If you get the flat iron steak or the albacore tuna, you can't go wrong.

Tender Greens West Hollywood: 8759 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood. Phone: (323) 358-1919. Website: www.tendergreensfood.com