Lucky Devil's

On a rainy Good Friday my friends and I checked out the recently opened Lucky Devil's on Hollywood Blvd. Owned by former Diet Coke model, Lucky Vanous, Lucky Devil's is a chic diner with several micro brews on tap, grilled sandwiches, their signature Kobe burger, and (the now obligatory) cupcakes.

We were the only ones in the place. Maybe it was the rain, maybe the holiday, but at 9:30 on a Friday night I expected more of a crowd. The decor had a sleek mid century modern feel, a nice open kitchen with an immaculate pastry area. A few LCD TV's showing footage of surfing and snowboarding. Our server was attentive and courteous, hovered a bit too much, but we were the only ones there!

I ordered the grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and I was very pleased. Nice and crisp, as were the fries. My friend ordered the $16.95 Kobe beef burger and was underwhelmed. The burger extended far beyond the bun, and was cooked medium, not med-rare as he ordered. There was no char on the patty, as if the grill was not yet hot enough. It was topped with blue cheese and bacon. We can thank Father's Office for this gourmet burger trend - blue cheese and bacon burgers are all over town now. F.O. is still the best.

I wish I was hungry enough to try some of the desserts. The pastry case held beautiful cupcakes!



an aperitif
check out the pastry kitchen to the left
where is everybody?
Grilled ham and cheese
Oversized and overpriced Kobe burger

I (heart) NY Part 4, Hank Azaria

Actually, the title should read: I (heart) Hank Azaria!

Hank and David Hyde Pierce starred in Spamalot and were gracious enough to sign autographs and pose for photos after the show. Hank didn't disappoint, he was friendly and even better looking in person!

I (heart) NY Part 3, Prune Restaurant

The best meal of my trip to New York City was dinner at Prune in the East Village. A very tiny, charming space with tile floors and bistro chairs, we squeezed into our table and started off with an order of shrimp toast off the bar menu for $7. Yes, just like at Chin Chin. Among other bar menu items were deviled eggs, radishes with sweet butter, and sardines with triscuits and mustard.

Next we shared the BEST SWEETBREADS IN THE WORLD!! Lightly breaded and fried to perfection, topped with bacon, capers and a mustard burre blanc sauce. The crispy breading and the creamy, meaty sweetbread was absolute textural heaven!

We finished with dessert (I know, it doesn't sound like enough food, but bear in mind we stopped at Mario Batali's Lupa on the way for cocktails, foccacia and a fennel custard, so we started at Prune half-full!) a wonderfully not-to-sweet- pistachio pudding cake with pomegranates. It was Basically an undercooked cake, cooked on top and creamy on the bottom.

And for the big finish, a hunk of dark chocolate with the check!
Pistachio Pudding Cake
Sweetbreads
Shrimp Toast