Ortolan is a cute little French restaurant that can easily become one of my favorite restaurants in LA. It's probably in the top 4. I went to Ortolan for the second time about a week ago. I was just as impressed by it as I was the first time.  (Excuse the bad photo quality. I used my shitty phone cam)

There are different dining areas, but each time we requested to sit in main dining area in one of the taller, more secluded booths. The main dining area is probably one of the more romantic and elegant looking seating areas with it's pretty chandeliers, and antique mirrors.
View from my seat... a booth identical to mine.

This is what I had...(copied pasted from website  with my pics/commentary added)
MENU PLAISIR
(Available until 9:30pm)
Chef Christophe Emé
Executive Chef / Owner
Muses-
two different soups in those test tub the orange one was a nice
slightly sweet and creamy carrot. The green and orange I think was a
tomato and basil combo. I liked the carrot one better. There was also a
yummy spread for the bread, but it has nuts in it so my date couldn't
enjoy it.

Foie Gras
Seared / Fig / Almond Parfait
<of course I love good foie gras and this was great. I love foie gras with figs. The mushrooms and ravioli went really well with it. This dish was one of my faves.
Salmon
Marinated / Yuzu / Lemongrass
<This is a nice refreshing chilled dish. It's citrus salmon in a light and creamy lemongrass sorbet.
Egg
Whipped Cream / Caviar

I love the way this dish was presented-so fancy and cute. haha. This is a creamy scrambled egg with caviar. It's sort of sweet and salty. I liked it.

Lobster
Spaghetti / Sea Urchin Sauce

This has really great flavor. Everything about this dish was perfect. Mmm

Scallop
Mandarin Soup / Spring Vegetable / Fiddlehead

I wish I had more of this. The scallop was in a nice citrus soup. It was refreshing and delicious.
~
Sea Bass
Parmesan Crust / Quail Egg / Swiss Chard
< the fish was nice and crisp on top. The gnocchi was the perfect flavor and texture. I liked everything about this dish.

Duck
Fennel / Rosemary Panisse / Peach
<This duck was so good. The glaze was nice and crisp. The duck was perfectly tender and flavorful.

Cheese Selection

The cheeses were great. I had a selection of 3. I think my favorite was the roquefort. I had it with apricots jam and pistachio.

Pre-Dessert
<basil sorbet as a palate cleanser. It was okay. It sort of tasted like green tea ice cream.
Pana Cotta
Peach "Caviar"
< I thought this was really cute and clever. It's a peach dessert, but it looked just like caviar served in a caviar tin. It was actually pretty good too. Last time I had this it was a cherry flavor and it was red. The peach is actually better.
~
Lime
Coconut emulsion / Fresh Red Berries / Vanilla Ice Cream
<This was good. I liked the creamy coconut part with the berries.

$135 per person

I got it with the wine pairings, which I highly suggest, if you like wine and you're indecisive like me. =P

Me a bit tipsy in the bathroom. The mirror says something in French. Probably something fancy. =P

This restaurant is great. The service is very friendly, fast, and attentive. I think all the main servers had French accents which I guess adds a bit of charm and character. The chef even took the time to come out and greet us, which is always nice. The ambiance is elegant, quiet, and romantic- perfect for a special date. They played some cute contemporary French music, which I really enjoyed. Every time I went to Ortolan, it always seemed a bit empty, which I liked because I hate rowdy restaurants. The food is of course outstanding when it comes to flavor and presentation. I would definitely go back again. I'm thinking I'd like to go there monthly. =)

I love eating great food, so I go to nice restaurants all the time. I usually try to take pics and write about my dining experiences because I've noticed that I just can't trust the Zagat, Tripadvisor.com, or most other online food reviews. I think it's because different people look for different things when it comes to dining. I was a bit irritated when I read that Nobu Malibu and Melisse were the top LA restaurants in the most recent Zagat, when they really aren't all that great. I've reviewed them in the past. I really want to give Melisse another try, and maybe I will some day, but I know that Nobu Malibu just isn't good enough to ever return to.

When I go to a restaurant, I look for these things in this order starting with the most important- 1. Food flavor, presentation, and freshness. 2. Service 3. An extensive/creative cocktail/wine menu 4. Restaurant Ambiance/Decor. 5. I also expect most fine dining restaurants to have flexible menus to accommodate my picky date's requests. A well balanced tasting menu option is also a huge plus because I absolutely love not having to think about what to order sometimes. It's a nice way to sample the chef's bests, and I like the idea of trusting an expert to satisfy my appetite. 5. Price doesn't affect the way a judge a restaurant the way that I've seen in other reviews because I know that you do have to pay a bit more for the ambiance and location of some places. Most of the time a nice place gets bashed because a person is automatically turned off by the prices of a place. I know that most reviews will have no value to me, if they knock the price of a restaurant right off the bat. I'm not saying that it's alright to waste money on food, if you don't think it's worth it. I've been to enough great restaurants to know what's exceptional and what's not. There are plenty of joints that just aren't up to par with what I would label as fine dining. I just don't go into a restaurant thinking that "it's too expensive" and that "it better be worth the price", like I've noticed in the attitudes of many reviewers.

I'll be posting some of my thoughts about the restaurants that I've been going to. Mainly because I've been going to so many that I tend to forget some of my favorite dishes at certain places.

I posted a few months back that I sorta kicked my windshield in when I was pissed off one night. I didn't really kick it, but I put pressure on it with my foot while I was pummeling someone. I thought windshields were supposed to be hard to break. I still haven't found the time to fix it, but it really bothers me because the sun bounces off the cracks and the glare gets me right in the eyes. Here's I pic of it from my iPhone. It makes me so angry.

< you can see the slight glare. it gets much worse. it's so annoying.

<blinded by the glare.

 I finally uploaded a bunch of iPhone photos, so I guess I'll be posting about some new restaurants and what have you. I've been taking time to rest because I think I'm getting a little sick, so I'll be in bed with my laptop more often if I'm not playing Dr. Mario or Lumines. I stopped playing WoW for the longest time and someone else has been playing my character. I feel like I don't even know Dingbatt anymore. She looks so different.

The past few nights have been so damned crazy. I won't even get into it.

am I just discovering this now?

They pulled me in with the costumes and kept me coming back for the fancy footwork.

I'm not sure what I should dress up as. I never have time to be very creative. I did buy this sailor costume from trashy lingerie when I was ordering bikini tops for the comic con.

It's way too big at the waist for me, but I do like how you can unzip it all the way down past the belly button, so I can show off some major cleavage if I want. I could always have it taken in at the waist, but I'm not sure if I like it much for Halloween though. This year, I'll be in San Francisco for Halloween because we'll be at the APE, so it might be too cold. I'm not even sure where we are going, but  it's my sister's favorite holiday, so I'm sure it'll be something interesting and crazy.

I also just got a Dr. Girlfriend wig in the mail today, but that's for another project that I've been working on. Maybe I can be Dr. the Monarch's wife, but that means I'd have to go all the way to the stripper store district (Hollywood blvd) and have some pervy jackass make me a costume...too much work. Trashy has lots of hot costumes, but I know I'd have to get them custom fitted, which would mean I'm too late to place the order now.

Being short with a tiny waist and big boobage can be a curse at times. Oh well, I just have to get used to them. I'm not sure how big they are now. I'm afraid to get them measured. I don't want them to tell me some ridiculous letter/ number combo. I used to be a 30c but I always squeezed them into 34b bras and an occasional 32c which was a slightly better fit but hard to find up until this year. I'm guessing I might be a 30d. That sounds so terrible.  I tried on a 34c and it so did not fit right the straps were lose but my boobs were suffocating. I think I'll wait before I buy a bunch of new bras. They say it takes up to 6 months for all swelling to go down.  They look/feel good though. I sometimes forget I have them now, until I get a massage. It's really hard to lay comfortably on my belly now. Mmmkay....I'll stop rambling.

I just found some of the pics I took from my room during my last trip to Hawaii. I still want to finish writing about that trip, but for now I'll just post these.
  <I was inebriated when I shot these, so I didn't realized that there was a huge smudge on the lens. This was such a great trip. I'll probably go back in the winter to escape the cold. 

I was craving sweets big time today, so I decided to go to whole foods to see if I could find some healthy snacks. I bought the regular fresh fruit, chocolate covered goji berries, greek yogurt, blueberry cranberry oat bran muffins, and comfort bars. I also noticed this Chuao brand chocolate in spicy maya. It's a gourmet dark chocolate bar with pasilla chile and cayenne pepper. It's not really a healthy snack, but I decided to grab a bar anyhow because I love mexican hot chocolate with chile. Omg, it's really good. It reminds me of the Mexican chocolate drink I get from Ojai Valley's fine dining restaurant. It's rich, not too sweet with just the right amount of spice.
< The ingredients are  60%cacao, cacao butter, sugar, soy lecithin, vanilla, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. mmm mmm bitch!

I also went to target so I could find some kind of shelving for all my damn perfumes. I'm sort of a fragrance whore, I noticed that most of my perfumes were getting lost around my house, so I finally decided to do something about it.

<I decided to get these cube shelves which fit perfectly on my dresser between the wall and mirror. <Yeah I got the Harujuku Lovers new fragrances mainly because I thought they were so cute. The fragrance doesn't last very long, but they are nice casual smells. I didn't get baby or lil angel. Baby smells too much like baby powder, which makes me nauseous. I actually might get Lil Angel they just ran out of it at the Macys that I went to. I actually picked up the last Love and G. Love smells like a sweet candied rose. G smells like sweet coconut and lime with a hint of musk. Music smells like pear and vanilla.

<I also got the solid perfume set as a gift for someone.

less than 20grams a day

Jack Daniel's (and most other hard liquors)=0grams of carbs

      <Goofing off during a self-portrait shoot.

So I decided to edit this post and add more about each individual shoot and concept....

So these are self-portraits shot with my trusty remote. Each set has 2 photos that sort of tell a story or teach a lesson.

Originally, each of these sets were supposed to have 3 photos. First was supposed to be a photo of getting caught in the act. Second shot would be punishment. Third shot would be the result of the punishment. The basic idea is pretty self-explanatory.  The reason why my 3 photo idea was clipped was pretty much a timing issue. These ideas were pretty much stewing in my brain for a while, yet never worked on despite the fact that I knew eventually I was gallery. I'm the worlds worst procrastinator. One week before my book party, I final realized, "oh shit, I haven't even started on my gallery project. I had 7 days to get all of these shot, printed and framed. So I had to cut the first image for each "story". I also had 2 other "stories" that I didn't even get the chance to add. I think I might work on them if we have another gallery, but I'm actually in the process of starting a whole nother idear. Whew. Maybe I can just make a set of prequels to go with these stories somewhere along the line.

Spankings....My initial idea for this piece was supposed to be the kid getting caught looking at dirty magazines. I had fun at the Pleasure Chest picking funny magazines with ridiculous covers. Big booty mag was one, I think one Hustler....
 <Anyhow, the second set was supposed to have the Adult figure spanking
the child with one of the rolled up magazines. I actually have lots of
shots with and without the magazine in case I ever get around to the
prequel. This shot was probably one of the easier of the bunch. I
basically just photoshopped the remote out of the picture. The only
annoying part was getting the male model to remember to flex his hand
so it didn't just look like he was waving at the door. Yeesh. Oh yeah
and my boobs were getting smashed pretty bad.

<This is of course the adult with a taste for spankings. Those are actually all of my own personal butt whooping mechanisms. =P They don't usually hang in my closet like that. That's actually a rack I use to hang some of my many bras. The bruises...haha.

Kids shouldn't smoke
<Okay. This is hands down the hardest shoot I have ever executed. The expression on my face was no exaggeration. I was in pain. Choking. The cigarettes were actually lit. I tried really hard breathing slowly through my nose, but the smoke was coming in through my mouth and nostrils it was nauseating! Plus, I wanted to look like a kid, so I shot from a high angle. I had to check the composition and everything to make sure the shots were okay by walking over a bunch of wires and climbing a step ladder with the lit cigs  still in my mouth.....omg. On top of all of that, the hand model kept laughing. So I was trying not to laugh, but it was hard not to because I felt fuckin ridiculous. haha. The middle eventually started burning really fast compared to the rest of the pack and it start a gnarly flare up. I'm lucky I didn't catch fire. I threw the pack in the bathroom sink and worked with what I had. If you look real hard, you can see the remote in this photo. I purposely left it in the clutter. I don't know why.
< Ahh...definitely not half as hard as the kid cigarette shoot. This was actually taken right after Ranila's bday party. I was so drunk here. haha. I was pressed for time. I basically made the cigarette holder with a cockring, a piece of bamboo, and some black floral tape. Yeah, I pretty much slapped it all together, but I think it turned out great. I love that dress. I bought it earlier that day at Guess. =)

Violence/Bondage
This next set was basically supposed to be 2 different stories, but I just
condensed them. I won't get into what the stories were supposed to be
because I don't feel like it. haha.
< The first photo was supposed to be of a kid being violent and disruptive in class, hence the rules in red. I've always wanted a shoot in a dunce cap, but in a hot bikini or something, but it wouldn't have fit this story. The dunce cap I made was a bit small and it kept falling off. The rope...I can't believe it was a stupid small piece of bondage hemp rope from Pleasure Chest that was $34. I didn't notice the price till I got home, but what a rip off.

<The book I'm reading is called Revenge. This is some of my favorite restraint gear. haha. My left wrist is connected to my left ankle which is connected to the leg bar, which is connected to my right leg. haha. Reminds me of that song about bones... The neck bone's connected to the right wrist bone. Okay, That was retarded. Oh yeah the particular corset I'm wearing slims me down to 18 inches. Yeah it's sick, maybe unhealthy, but I'm a huge fan of corset training. When I wear one, I look so hot it's crazy. I love looking cartoonish with crazy proportions. Another funny thing...If you look really close, my leash has little penises on the handle . haha. Yes, it's from pleasure chest.

Cleaning the dirty mouth....
<The soap images! I don't know if the good Lord is punishing me for having a dirty truckers mouth, but by some terrible act of fate, I had to shoot the soap-in-the-mouth photos in 3 DIFFERENT SHOOTS!!!! The first shoot, I accidentally moved the auto focus area off by a lot, and I couldn't tell by checking through the viewfinder because, well I had god damned soap in my mouth, so they were pretty much unusable. I was upset, but I shot a second round. This time I made sure that everything was good. I had to head out for 3 hrs. When I got home to check the memory card, THE IMAGES WERE NOT THERE!!! I almost cried! Well, I actually did cry. hehe. Yeah, I'm a girl and it sometimes happens. So I cried and finally did the 3rd and final shoot...with irish spring in my mouth. The sides of my lips and mouth were raw and felt burnt for a day after that shoot. Yeesh. Thanks, God. I'll try to keep my dirty mouth in check for a while....maybe

<The easiest f all the sets. Actually this was the last photo I shot for the gallery, so I really didn't have much time to do anything fancy or crazy. I just wanted it done. The only sort of hard part was keeping myself from dropping the soap. The pump didn't work well, and I really wanted to show the soap coming out of it. Not nearly as tough as having a pack of lit cigarettes in your mouth. =P

Well, I wanted to write about my book party sooner, but I got pinkeye and I was pretty blind for a while. I had to got through lots of pics that I found on my girls' pages, since my dumb ass forgot my memory cards for my camera when I was at the party. =( I know I was super stressed about getting my gallery together and organizing my invites for the party (among other things), but I feel that the party was a great success. It was so worth it!

First, I really want to thank everyone who showed up. I know some of you drove all the way from San Diego,  Moreno Valley (big ups to the boonies...actually no, I hate most of you.=P ), and God knows where else. I just want to say that I truly appreciated seeing all you of there.  (even though I got drunk and ended up debating with some of you about stupid bullshit. haha. long story, but it was all in good fun ) We had a great turn out and I know lots of us had a blast. =) Here are some pics with commentary and what have you...

<Drunk posing in front of my gallery. Like my freddie cruger dress?
<Me, Laura, and S.A. the poet for her doll.
<My lovely Dolls holding up their pages. Yup, still drunk in this pic.
<Mika- my sexy Casimir doll. I don't know why I look like a ghost here.
<<3 these girls. Casimir, Sunshine, and Tiffany dolls.

We had the spoken word poets read their poems from my book and also writers of the other books read excerpts from their stories.

<These are just some of them. I had to find these on myspace. =P

<Couples enjoying the swing. hahaha

<Most of the dolls that showed up minus Vima and Laura who already left by the time I got my memory card.
<6th grade bestie showed up with her man. =) xoxo
<San Diego peeps.
    <More misc pics.
<The girls and I exchanging autographs. I felt like I was in grade school swapping yearbooks before summer vacation.    <aren't we adorable? haha
<Awww....
  <Broseph and his lady showing off some new tekmologeez. RESPECK.
  <My mom and dad were bartending. Aren't they the coolest? I was a bit nervous about them being there while some of my crazy work was on display and the with some of really risque poetry that the poets were reciting. I tend to forget how chill my parents are about such things.  My parents were so awesome they even called my drunk ass the next day to tell me how proud they are of my "creativity" and my art. That was nice. It's great that they support my artistic side. My dad is actually a great photographer. He's never owned a point and shoot camera. He does everything manually. I've been wanting to blog about him. He  used to shoot self-portraits like me when he was a young whipper snapper. =) I'll write about it one of  these days...
<Dad, sis, and mom. <3

As drunk as I got at the party, we ended up going to some secret restaurant that serves alcohol after hours. I ended up killing a bottle of sake on my own and pretty much blacked out.

I guess that's when I decided I absolutely had to...clean my chimney.... 

<Dirty Sanchez. hahaha
<The party after the after party. I tried to get him to close my fireplace, but I just ended up getting my guest dirty then challenged him to puzzle fighter till I fell asleep with the controller in my hand. I'm such a jackass. We go back though...7th grade. hahaha. Can't stop, won't stop. eheh eheh.

Guess that's all.