From Hell’s Kitchen to Cook’s County

I flew down to Los Angeles this past weekend to be a diner on the TV show “Hell’s Kitchen.” Unfortunately, I can’t blog about it because I signed a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement. I can’t post photos because cameras weren’t allowed. I will however write and post plenty of photos about my favorite meal in Los Angeles this weekend. My BFF and I met up with two of my old friends for brunch at Cook’s County on Beverly Boulevard.

I was looking forward to eating here because I saw that they serve Intelligentsia Coffee, which I fondly discovered two years ago. Coffee goes well with pastries, so it was an easy decision for us to order the basket of pastries. Essentially it was a plate with four items: a raspberry muffin, a ginger scone that came with cream and lemon curd, a cheddar buttermilk biscuit, and a jelly donut with strawberry-rhubarb jam. I cut each pastry into fours so we could sample them all. They were all quite different, but all delicious. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but if I had to, I would say it was the tops.

The description of the breakfast items were appealing. The four of us ended up choosing different things and that worked well so we were able to taste each other’s food.

Plate #1: poached eggs, roasted summer squash, white beans & spinach

Plate #2: ham & cheddar scrambled eggs, warm cheddar buttermilk biscuit

Plate #3: braised grass fed beef hash, roasted potatoes & sunny-side up egg

Plate #4: baked pancake with blackberry compote & bourbon-barrel maple syrup

Side #1: Applewood smoked bacon

Side #2: organic gaviota strawberries

There was a lot of food on our table and everything I consumed was wonderful. I would definitely make a point of returning when I am in town. Cooks County is an awesome restaurant with amazing food. The company wasn’t half bad either.