Eataly - Century City

Went to Eataly and picked up dry aged T-bone steak, then got a regular one at Bristol Farms (at 1/2 price of the aged one).
Cooked side by side aiming to recreate Bistecca Fiorentina.
Both came out quite good, but I much preferred texture and flavor of the regular steak vs dry aged.
However, whole dover sole from the fish department cooked that I grilled last week was stupendous!
Wondering around the cheese section I noticed there were 2 options for burrata, one local and one imported from Italy. Picked the one from Italy and it was very good.

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Bristol Farms Tip: Last year they had tub burrata, identical to the tub you get a Gioa without the trip and a steal compared to the price of those tiny balls you get elsewhere.

–Dommy!

they still have Gioa burrata at Bristol Farms which is ok but it is not nearly as delicate as Di Stefano’s and definitely far cry from the fresh imported Italian burrata.

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I love Di Stefano’s burrata as well. Anywhere cheaper to get it other than Gelson’s?

@beam, I saw that Dover Sole at the fish counter and it looked amazing. Did you cook it on an outdoor or indoor grill?

I wanted to pan fry it with butter/pepper/lemon/parsley, sort of the style they do in Europe, but the fish was larger than my cast iron pan, so I put cast iron grill pan on top of the gas grill and cooked it with the same ingredients but on outdoor grill.

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Which Bristol Farms? The one in Santa Monica hasn’t carried it in > 1 yr, I think. :frowning:

Bristol Farms in West Hollywood on Doheny/Beverly nearly always has it. I have also seen it in the one in SM.
Whole Foods on Wilshire in Santa Monica carries Di Stefano Burrata in little soft bags, which is even better.

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check Lou out

I found it at the one in Westchester, BUT, it was labeled as Bristol Farms brand.

–Dommy!

How did you know it was Gioia? The reason I ask is b/c the Santa Monica Bristol Farms has its own branded burrata, so perhaps it’s also Gioia (I’ve suspected for awhile that it might be)… :slight_smile:


Lunch today from La Rosticceria: tri-tip (Friday special) with green bean salad and broccoli rabe.

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I’ve been here a few times, and I’m kind of done. Other than the awkward setup, about 80% of the people that work there seem unhappy, or are surly. It’s understaffed, so I understand, but the negative vibe really bothers me. Also, I can’t stand all the entitled people wandering around . I’ll take happy hipsters any day over this crowd.

There are plenty of places to buy cheese and wine, meat and fish in L.A. Plus, we have an internet. :slight_smile:

Pizza.

Prosciutto for my melon.

Pastries for my friend.


I ate one, but it’s okay, I’ll fix it so she can’t tell. :wink:

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I (respectfully) disagree regarding “other places to buy…”
The meat counter (not the butcher shop, I mean the cold cut shop) blows away all other salami/coppa/culatello /prosciutto offerings (that I am aware of) in town. I don’t know cheeses nearly as well but it seems pretty comprehensive (though prob not as good as some of our cheese stores).
The fish flown in from Europe on Fridays is huge in our house - Red mullet/Barbounia is divine. I don’t think they have that stuff at SaMo seafood or the other high end fish mongers.
I cannot speak to the wine.

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Lol, you are so right. I know I’ll end up back there for prosciutto, Parmesan, and maybe some fish now and then.

But I find it so annoying every time I’m there! And I always swear never again. :upside_down_face:

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The wine selection is actually pretty good. Yes, Wine House and K&L carry similar wines, often for less money. And you can definitely source the vast majority of the wines they carry on the internet if you are willing to put up with shipping. But to have all that stuff–many producers from all the major wine growing regions in Italy–under one roof, is pretty great. The wine staff is helpful too.

Though, my perception of the breadth of wine offerings is probably somewhat colored by my frequent visits to the Chicago Eataly. My recollection is that Chicago’s wine selection is noticeably better than LA’s. I always make a point to stop by their wine section when in town, as I’ve found a few gems and packed them in my luggage for the flight back.

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Speaking of cheese/cured meat counters anybody ever been here, Cheesemongers of Sherman Oaks? (N side of Ventura 1/4 block west of Van Nuys)

Yes. Unfortunately, i don’t know a ton about cheese, and my trip there was a few yrs ago. I found the people working there to be super sweet and knowledgable, and I was very happy w/ what I selected. Location is kind of a PITA.

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Thanks!

So it may be worth stopping in.

I also know nothing about cheese. I’ve walked on the other side of the street probably 100 times and never noticed this place before until last week (I probably should make an ophthalmology appointment )

Oh, it’s been there for years. I think since at least the CH days? I am/was on their mailing list. They used to do cheese classes (but I live on the westside, so the scheduling wasn’t going to work).

One of the owners was very happy to chat cheese. =) And I learned that mold is good, but bacteria is not (which is why some cheeses have the white coating… It’s penicillin [?] to ward off bacterial growth).

I didn’t think the sandwiches they did/do have were amazing (totally serviceable, though), but the cheeses were certainly to my liking. And I think MiDiCi is close by. Skip the nearby ramen place; it was pretty bad.

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