Vegetables

Warranwood, Victoria, November 8, 2012—

VEGETABLES FROM THE GARDEN tonight. Well, not all from our garden, my brother's garden I mean, but some. But the artichokes were, and they were delicious, big globe chokes, steamed and eaten with mayonnaise. Then we had a mixed sauté: Savoy cabbage and leeks from the market, peas from the garden. Simple and tasty.

Sauvignon blanc, "Upside Down," Marlborough (New Zealand), 2012: grassy, fresh, crisp

Flathead en papillote

Warranwood, Victoria; November 7, 2012—

FISH TONIGHT: a variety new to me, "flathead," a dry firm white fish something like a perch, I think. Mel cooked it en papillote, dotting it with butter, garnishing with scallions and a bit of ginger, moistening it with sake, and wrapping it in parchment to bake in the oven. Delicious.

On the side, rice cooked with spices and currants; coriander and sour cream; mangos. Also delicious.

Sauvignon blanc, Yellowtail, 2010

Mixed grill

Warranwood, Victoria; November 6, 2012—

MY BROTHER IS A GENEROUS man, and his dinner welcoming us to an Australian visit was copious. Twelve or fourteen of us were at table, as his daughters and their families are close. Plenty of sausage, chops, and steaks were on the grill over a wood fire; various of the women had prepared salads, many from greens picked on premise. Dessert: A fine apricot upside-down cake. Good bread, good meat, good god, let's eat, was the prevailing mood, and the result the best dinner you can have.

Shiraz, One Road (Australia), 2010

Lunch al fresco

La Crescenta, November 4, 2012—

LUNCH AT THE HOME of a couple of friends today, a friendship going back thirty years to early days at Chez Panisse. They've long since moved to southern California, but we forgive them since they're still in the business — on the supply side, farming and baking. We had a plate of sliced cheese and salumi, a delicious tossed salad, and a beet salad I actually liked — even though in principle I loathe the chthonic beet. These were roasted, peeled, sliced, and marinated in a delicious vinaigrette along with a few carrots treated similarly, and a fair amount of torn mint leaves were involved as well. Delicious.

Quincy, Laporte "Les Niorles," 2010: true to type, crisp, refreshing

Tapas, sort of

North Hollywood, November 3, 2012—

A LIGHT MIDDAY SUPPER today, since we have two plays to take in before bedtime. The lady in the box office recommended this place, calling it a tapas place. Not quite, but I see what she means.

My green salad was huge and tasty: chopped frisée and arugula, cotija and Mahon, pasilla and pepitas, and plenty of salt. Afterward, their version of a grilled ham and cheese: Mahon again — I do like that cheese — with ham, of course, and pickled jalapeños, on a toasted baguette, with beet and yam chips on the side. Crème catalan for dessert.

Sangria, then a Lustau oloroso

• Bow and Truss, 11122 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; 818-985-8787

Salad and soup

Pasadena, November 2, 2012—

WE RATHER LIKED this place last time we came, and it's just re-opened after a three-month renovation, so we thought it would be fun to check it out again. The menu's changed: a few "small plates" have been added, and a new wood-fired oven makes pizzette and Alsatian tarts possible.

I started with a revisionist Caesar salad (a term I find myself typing increasingly often), the romaine chopped, the anchovies white boquerones, and including artichoke hearts — good, but no Caesar, not in my book. And then this curious "Wedding Soup" which seemed somehow Polish to me: a nicely executed velouté with generous chunks of white sausage, bits of red pepper and tomato, black kale, and an egg whisked in — something new to me, and very pleasant. Dessert: a truly revisionist Tarte Tatin, baked in an individual cocotte, with vanilla ice cream and salt-caramel sauce.

Verdejo, Medino del Campo, Valiadolid (Spain), 2010; Sangiovese, Mazzoni "Rosso," Tuscany, 2009

• Bisro 45, 45 South Mentor Avenue, Pasadena; (626) 795-2478

An old favorite

Los Angeles, November 1, 2012—

NO PHOTO TONIGHT: it was just too dark, and I can't bring myself to use a flash in a restaurant — it's bad enough to be taking pictures. And it's too bad, too, because the dinner was fairly photogenic, though it tasted even better than it looked.

This was the first and remains, I think, the flagship restaurant of Suzanne Goin, whose credits include three of my favorite restaurants: Al Forno in Providence, the now lamented Campanile which we helped close last night here in Los Angeles, and Chez Panisse. Lucques has been joined by two other Goin rests, AOC — which I like though it is small plates, a format I find not entirely to my taste — and Tavern, which we haven't yet visited.

I started tonight with a revisionist Caesar salad: lettuces with anchovy dressing, torn croutons, parmesan and sieved egg. And then on to the kind of main course I really love: braised beef short ribs with swiss chard, roasted cippolini and horseradish cream — not English, not French, not really Italian though leaning in that direction except, perhaps, for the horseradish. In any case, a fine substantial dish.

The chocolate tart with mascarpone and pistachios was very pretty to see and full of flavor but the pastry tasted a bit of the refrigerator, I thought; a small flaw in an otherwise first-rate dinner. Oh well.

An interesting list here, though not given to inexpensive bottles. We had a delicious dry Vouvray, Pierre et Catherine Breton "La Dilettante," 2009; and then with my beef I had a glass of good sound Syrah.

• Lucques, 8474 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, California; 323-655-6277