Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Chicks with Knives Hatchi Dinner at Breadbar 8/26/10

There are a bunch of underground supper clubs popping up in Los Angeles. One of the more popular ones is Chicks with Knives. Once a month they put on a fun dinner with "SOLE" food and entertainment. It sounds like a great evening out, but I have yet to attend one of these dinners so I was thrilled to learn that the Chicks would be the guest chefs at the August Hatchi event at Breadbar. The Hatchi event takes place on the last Thursday of every month when a guest chef (or chefs) takes over the restaurant and presents eight small plates for eight dollars each. "Hatchi" means eight in Japanese. Anyway, last Thursday I headed out to Breadbar with Andy of The Wind Attack. I wasn't that hungry because I was still trying to digest my meal from the previous evening at Animal (more on that later), but I had looked over the menu and was pleased that everything seemed light enough for me to enjoy without slipping further into a food coma.

IMG_2687

This Breadbar location is in the middle of a mall which I usually get lost at, but we managed to find the restaurant without too much trouble. The Chicks called this evening "Love & Kisses & BBQ" and featured all kinds of picnic worthy item. One of the first things I noticed when we saw the menu was that despite the advertisement for all dishes including drinks being $8, the drinks were in fact $12. It wouldn't have been a huge deal if we had known before, but I thought it was a bit much, especially considering how tiny they were. I made to savor every drop of my cucumber gimlet.

Cucumber Gimlet

We were instructed that we had to order four things per person. This normally wouldn't  be an issue for me, but again, I was still a bit full from the previous night's dinner.  I wasn't prepared for how small the plates would be so the restriction wasn't a big deal. First up was the tomato salad. The simple plating really let the tomato flavor shine. It was crisp and refreshing and the melon under the green tomato was a welcome surprise.

Tomato Salad

Charred lettuce soup with anchovy and crouton was an interesting take on a Ceaser salad. This wasn't my favorite dish of the evening, but I appreciated the play on a classic.

Charred Lettuce Soup

The pulled pork slider was definitely one of the favorites of the evening. The ingredients went together perfectly and I loved that it wasn't all too sweet. The celery salt on the peaches was a nice surprise. I just wish the sliders had been bigger!!

Pulled Pork Slider

Sous vide rib-eye. This was my first time having anything cooked sous vide. The meat was of great quality and really flavorful. It sounds strange, but you could really taste the meaty flavor. The charred peppers were a nice accompaniment. 

Sous Vide Ribeye

The doughnuts. Oh the doughnuts. I secretly wanted to order another helping of these, but I decided to show some restraint. They came filled with a vanilla flecked cream that was full of sweet corn. On the side was a blueberry sorbet, blueberry gelee and more sweet corn. The doughnut was so great. I wish it had been a bit warmer, but Andy made a good point that the cream filling would have  melted all over the place if that had been the case.

Doughnuts

Overall, I really enjoyed my first Chicks with Knives experience and they have a ton of fun events coming up so I'm really excited to see them again. To find out more about the Chicks, visit their website.

Hatchi Series at Breadbar Century City takes place on the last Thursday of every month:

Breadbar Century City (Inside the mall)
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 277-3770
http://www.breadbar.net/

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14 comments:

Rachael said...

How sweet of you to post this! Love it. And what pretty pictures! Thank you! We really hope you'll come to a dinner, soon. The portions are much larger and it costs less...LOL!!!!! :-)

(And as a disclaimer...us Chicks had nothing to do with the drinks or 4 plate minimum...but the mint in your gimlet was from my garden. lol.)

XOXO

vanillasugarblog said...

lettuce soup eh? hmm. don't know. sounds interesting. i am so with you on the donut. that pastry cream sounds heavenly.

Esi said...

Rachael, thanks!! I'm so excited to go to a dinner soon. We figured you guys had nothing to do with the drink costs or the minimum. We called it the "Breadbar tax". The mint from your garden is perfection!!

Dawn, I still want another doughnut!!

Olga @ MangoTomato said...

ooh! I might have to steal "chick w/knife" logo b/c I teach knife skills classes!

the food does look rather small, and you know what a fan I am of anchovies, but what a great great experience!

Maria said...

Looks like a fun night out! Great food photos!

Anonymous said...

Ooo those look like pimientos de padron!

Delish!

Becca

marla {family fresh cooking} said...

Esi, this looks like such a fun evening. The bites you were served look so creative & tasty! I need to have a dining adventure like this :) xo

Pam said...

Love this! It all looks delicious! Sounds like it was a fun time even if the drinks were a little pricey!

Joanne said...

Oh how fun! I would not have had any restraint with that donut. I may have ordered three.

Diana said...

I've been dying to go to one of the Chicks dinners. Maybe we should go together sometime. I like the sound of much larger portions. ;)

Banana Wonder said...

Interesting stuff! I'm so curious about that charred lettuce soup, and wow, those doughnuts looks divine. I went to a CWK dinner in Echo Park, where I first met Andy. Good stuff, but they didn't let me blog/photo/tweet :(

Erica said...

I love the name of the event "Love & Kisses & BBQ"- adorable. I'm a big fan of little plates because I just like being able to try a bit of everything. The sliders look fantastic. $12 for a drink?? goodness!!

Juliana said...

Wow, will have to pay a visit to this place...the food look awesome, love the presentation...thanks!

LetMeEatCake Eat With Me! said...

can't believe i missed this dinner! looks so good would have loved to be there!