Last Saturday we had dinner at The Stinking Rose over in La Cienega. The restaurant’s claim to fame is its prominent use of garlic in all its dishes. It was evidently so in every part of our meal – from appetizers, our main course and even dessert. The ambience of the place was somewhat elegant –in a dimly-lit-lounge-meets-a-Roman -amphitheater kind of way. The décor was old world Italy with muted lighting and stone and marble décor, velvet drapes and cozy booths. We started dinner off with warm garlic rolls and the bagna calda (the restaurant’s signature appetizer, “spreadable” roasted garlic cloves, in olive oil with a slight trace of anchovy).
Since I was having dinner with 4 guys (Jojo, Jules and my good friends Jeff and Ray), our meal was a carnivore’s dream. We shared large servings of the Forty Garlic Clove Roasted Chicken, the Garlic Encrusted Full Rack of Ribs, and Garlic Roasted Prime Rib – a 20 ounce piece known as “The Slab”. Each dish came with creamy garlic mashed potatoes (which were really good – my favorite part of the meal actually). And our only attempt at a healthy respite to this rich meal was the sautéed spinach which was more of a garnish rather than a side. For dessert, we shared garlic infused ice cream with caramel sauce. It was actually quite good and yes, you could savor the mild garlic aftertaste with every bite.
It was an interesting dinner to say the least and really nice catching up with Jeff and congratulating Ray – he and his wife (Janice) just had a baby. Too bad she couldn’t join us for dinner though.
(Jojo, me, Ray, Jeff and Jules at The Stinking Rose - after this meal, we all needed after-dinner-mints!)Also on Saturday, we finally got TFC (The Filipino Channel) on cable. My hubby finally gave in and agreed to get access to 5 tv channels from back home. We have ABS-CBC (Channel 2), GMA-7, one channel that shows Tagalog movies, and two others that I don’t recognize. I spent Sunday afternoon watching “The Buzz” and “Showbiz Central” (entertainment news programs similar to E News, Access Hollywood, and The Insider). It was strangely comforting to watch these shows and to see familiar showbiz faces (although there are so many new faces and names I hardly recognize at all).
I remember when I was back home in Manila, Sunday afternoons were spent with my sisters watching “Showbiz Lingo” before we would head over to my grandparents’ place for dinner. My mom, dad and brothers would be napping while Atsi Jen, sometimes Joy, and I would avidly watch and react to all the entertainment gossip. This time, while I was watching these shows, I sort of felt like I was back home, in my parents’ room, on a Sunday afternoon, with my sisters.
(A snapshot of "The Buzz" on our tv set!)
8 comments:
Am sure it is the garlic that gave the restaurant a stinking name. But it sure is nice to try new restaurants every so often. Gossip shows are such a fad here that at times, Judy and I also enjoy watching them. Now we can more or less discuss similar rumors.
Hope I can go to that "Stinking Rose" restaurant some day!
Jo,
did we eat in stinking rose back in 2001? :)
so happy you have filipino channels :) what can you say abt ruffa n anabelle's face off? :)
is jeff staying with you and jojo? :)
ps...i love the new look of your blog :)
Wow...they serve garlic in every food?:) Very interesting! Maybe we can try that again we I visit on December!:) Glad you guys all had fun!
I'm glad you now have the a few Filipino channels...makes you updated on the news and showbiz issues!:) Oh yeah, Kris Aquino was the host of The Buzz but they replaced her like a 2 months ago for Ruffa. Thought I'd let you know.haha:) Enjoy watching!:) Thank jojo for that!:)
gosh, my grammar was terrible on the comment i just sent! haha:)
I was speed typing and I clicked the publish your comment accidentally...so when I had the time to read it, it was already published..haha That's the time I noticed, I had about 3 errors! haha
Les, I was glued to my seat during the Ruffa-Anabelle interview. Can't believe they were doing their mother-daughter sumbatan on air. Si Ruffa looked embarrassed to be there but si Anabelle tuloy-tuloy pa rin! And what about the whole Camilla Pratts issue? I think the bigger question is "what's the big deal!?".
And yes, we did eat at The Stinking Rose back in 2001. Over 6 years ago! I was telling sina Jeff na that's the last time Jojo and I were there.
Les, I didn't get to hear from Adrian. I was looking forward to it pa naman.
Hey Joybee, sure we can go visit The Stinking Rose when you are here. The place and food are ok - nothing great - but I guess the idea of garlic in everything is pretty cool too :)
stinking rose sounds so good! say "garlic" and stan and i are there in a flash! about the buzz and sunday gossip talk shows---i hardly watch now because the kids are home! :(
Jen, sige when you and Stan come visit we'll take you guys to the Stinking Rose. I actually really like garlic too ... but maybe not in my ice cream =)
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