The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Raspberry Lavender Wine Cooler and Grapefruit Ginger Wine Cooler
Corn coins with Fennel, Herbs, Pecorino
Beets with Pears and Pecorino
Polenta with Romesco
Burrata with Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Crostini
Margherita with House Mozzarella, Roasted Tomato, Basil, Olive Oil – Half Artichoke Hearts
Casanova with Prosciutto, Dates, Ricotta, Arugula, Pecorino
Bombolini with Chocolate Dip
From the team behind Postino featuring crusts crafted by local bread legend MJ Coe Federal Pizza seemed like a great choice for lunch after visiting the Desert Botanical Gardens and with the new restaurant clearly fresh on the minds of locals I was not surprised by the proposed thirty minute wait on our arrival; what I was surprised by, however, was how poorly the restaurant flowed after we were finally seated nearly an hour later on the outdoor patio – even taking into account ‘growing pains’ the service needed work, our waiter John forgetting about us (and part of our order) leaving us with empty water glasses more than once while sitting in the sun and a nearly forty minute gap between appetizers and pizzas.
Subpar service aside, once the food began to arrive at Federal we were met with a somewhat mixed bag as the appetizers, including the oft raved ‘corn coins’ and a bright, bold, and balanced salad of various beets proved far superior to the pies – particularly the doughy, limp, and undercooked Margherita. Faring better, both in terms of ingredients and texture, I will admit that the Casanova was a good pizza with great chew and top quality ingredients, but for two pizzas on the exact same day to be so wildly inconsistent certainly gives me pause when considering a recommendation of Federal Pizza, let alone a return visit…not in a city where far better pizza can be found in abundance.
A nice space for drinks, appetizers, and even desserts perhaps I’ll give Federal Pizza a second chance at some point, but with Pizzeria Bianco, ‘Pomo, The Parlor, and La Grande Orange all turning out a superior product there is no chance I’d wait in line to do so.