The Skinny Critic

fresheast: a great spot for a flavorful, healthy, affordable meal with Indian flair

Welcome to the neighborhood Fresh East…won’t you stay awhile?

Fresh East is a great new healthy, organic, sustainable concept that has graced us with its presence in West Hollywood.  Known for their spicy garlic noodles, they offer a wide assortment of vegan, vegetarian, meat and seafood dishes, all created with the environment and health of it's patrons in mind. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual but the ingredients are those you'd typically find in a fine dining establishment.

The 5 spice organic salmon served with brown rice is my favorite dish so far, as the sauce that it’s served with it is superb! It’s sweet and tangy.  I liked it so much that I asked for an extra side of the sauce and poured it over the garlic noodles! Awesome. Do it.

They have a great juice that is made fresh with beets, cucumber, apples, orange, spinach and kale. It's bright purple, a little sweet and so good for you. 

The Palak paneer is spinach with fenugreek leaves, paneer cheese, yogurt and served with a side of red lentil dal that is wonderfully flavorful and should be sold on its own.

fresheast is so passionate about the environment that they will give 10% off to customers who arrive by bike or electric vehicle.  You can also get 10% off if you bring in your own container.  The containers they use are all biodegradable and many made from recycled products.

I can't wait to try their California Lamb with green onion and red bell pepper and I also want to try the pan fried curry noodles with seasoned vegetables.

This is another great, healthy, flavorful, affordable spot to get consciously prepared food that won't stretch the waistline.  They also serve beer, wine and sake and they deliver!

fresheast 8951 Santa Monica Blvd. (310) 859-9989

Dinner at Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley

Dinner at Auberge du Soleil is truly a 5-star experience. Everything from the service and the food to the view is meant to take your breath away and I must say they succeeded. From the moment you arrive it's almost that you are in a private dining room.  The terrace is a must on a beautiful day but it was actually a rainy evening the night we were there and they sat us next to the fireplace over looking the valley of Napa.

They start off the evening with a champagne service--choose from an assortment of bubbly's and settle in, as you'll be here a while.

An amuse bouche came out from the chef and already we were delighted. A creamed leek soup accompanied a toast with a local goat cheese and homemade jam.  It was approachable and delicious.

We decided on doing the 4 course menu. In looking over the courses it was really tough to choose as many of the choices sounded incredible. The waiter steered us towards the fish selections as he said the fish they were able to source was superb. I took his advice and  I started with the poached lobster with cara cara and curry.  Unfortunately there was little to no curry flavor in my lobster, but the lobster was perfectly tender. I also tried the hirmasa crudo with cucumber, cilantro and a lime vinaigrette. The presentation of this dish was beautiful and the fish very fresh however I would have like a little more flavor from the garnishes. 

For our next course I had a very hard time deciding between the red snapper with chorizo, manilla and white bean jus and the squid ink risotto with proscuitto, wild shrimp and gremolata.  I ended up with the snapper, which was an excellent piece of fish. I wish it had come with more sauce as the sauce really helped to elevate the fish to something unique. I also tasted the ahi tuna with glazed pork belly and shiitake mushrooms and a nori sauce. The fish was incredibly fresh and reminded me of the ahi you can get in Hawaii --the color is so bright red it's almost purple!

For our entrees, I ordered the Moroccan spiced local lamb with artichoke, potato gnocchi and green garlic jus. This dish was PERFECT. The meat melted in my mouth and the accopaning sauce was a little sweet but salty.

The local sucking pig with orange glaze was nice and tender as well, but I was very much focused on my lamb.

 

 

Desserts were excellent albeit small.  I often find that desserts are too small at these formal restaurants. The crisp filo wrapped chocolate dumplings were little pieces of heaven and oozed onto your tongue.  The sticky Thai rice pudding was light and refreshing and had a beautiful modern presentation.

After dessert a port cart is rolled over and you are offered incredible cocoa covered almonds and truffles.  It's the perfect end to a lovely meal.