5 months ago
‘Tis the season to drink special edition Red Bull. The Silver was my savior during finals and thankfully tasted like yummy lime juice. Other flavors are blueberry (Blue) and cranberry (Red).
6 months ago
Sometimes you need non-KBBQ Korean food, like bibimbap and broiled squid. Sometimes you need good company along with a 5+ pound pizza to contend with an onset of PMS. And, you always need good caffeine to start each and every day.
8 months ago
I discovered a French macaron shop/bakery in an unlikely place—a plaza on Western and Rosewood Avenues—and wanted to document it for 2 reasons:
- the welcoming staff member who made me feel welcomed the minute I walked through the door
- the variety of macarons available
Now for my disclaimer: I am by no means a macaron connoisseur. I actually haven’t had any macarons, except for the ones my cousin who lives in Paris gave my family once almost 4 years ago. I am, however, always of curious appetite. So when the selections offered wasabi macarons, I bought, bit and I was won over.
It was also surprisingly awesome when the friendly face behind the glass displays offered me a sample of my choice (I chose passion fruit) and left me instantly delighted. I walked back to work after purchasing 3 more macarons—salted caramel, chocolate banana and wasabi—and scarfed them all before returning to the office. Apparently I came back with a mood adjustment. I was delightful and not cranky. I attributed it to the sugar, but I give a silent nod to the kind person behind the glass who was especially kind for no reason.
For all the aforementioned, I know I will be a repeat offender at 12cm. This may be an over hype and maybe your experience may not be as sun bursting. But give the varieties a chance. Give it 4 pieces and I’m sure you’ll find one will quell your urgings to pursue the other bigger boutique-like macaron shops and support this one, less about the hype and frills and more about a good vibe and product.
8 months ago
There is a breakfast quiche and healthy dinners to be made!
8 months ago
I wanted to partake on the excellent sashimi lunch special at Sushi Gen, but my 30-minute lunch didn’t have the patience of a 20-minute wait for a table. So I ate at the sushi bar and even though it cost me 3 times as much of what would’ve been my sashimi lunch special, Sushi Gen is always on point in making my spirits bright.
9 months ago
I’ve been meaning to post but always forget to. But I just needed to put this out into the universe that this grilling cheese, be it regular or jalepeño (mine is jalepeño, fyi), is my latest newfound treasure and it is an amazing quick snack or appetizer. Slice slivers of it like you would on a cheese plate, lightly pan fry them with barely a hint of olive oil and wala!
11 months ago
Kanom Krok (Coconut Pudding)
I just came back from an early dinner in Hollywood/Thai Town only to stop at Bhan Kanom Thai before going home where I discovered these wonderful bites of dessert perfection: Kanom Krok. Think slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Think sweet because it’s made of coconut and find a slighty salty finish working as the perfect counterbalance. Think “I don’t know, they seem weird,” but trust you’ll only be pleasantly surprised at giving this dessert a chance. I know I did.
1 year ago
I need relief from cleaning out my email box. It has reached an alarming 82% capacity in its 7-year existence and I’m an hour or so in with many more to go.
Soooooo…..
I wistfully return to today’s lunch, when things were pleasant and refreshing. Behold the glorious shellfish in its oyster and mussel form! Why not wash it down with a rum cocktail at noon? All of this was brought to me by the fine people at The Hungry Cat in Hollywood. Today was their 7-year anniversary and they graciously celebrated with $1 raw oysters on all their varieties—James River from Virginia, Malpeque from Prince Edward Island and Calm Coves from Washington—and cocktail specials all day long. It was an all day happy hour so to speak. And, lucky for me, I got the chance during my lunchtime commute to stop by.
I wish I could say I frequent The Hungry Cat all the time. I don’t. But only because I avoid that whole Sunset and Vine situation and I am a sucker for their Pug Burger and I really need to wean off how many burgers I eat in my lifetime. Plus, their top shelf cocktails could easily help to to neglect my college monetary situation. In other words, yada, yada, yada. But being here today reminded me what I’ve been missing out on: amazing, fresh seafood/shellfish. You can enjoy light and raw to something more rich, like the steamed mussels in a Pernod and saffron based broth. It came complete with kale greens, thin slices of fingerling potatoes and fennel to slice. Two grilled pieces of sliced bread sat on top with a dollop of what I think was an aioli of sorts. But I could’ve done without it and saturated my bread in the broth alone. It was a big notch up on what, to me, is comfort food.
Anyway, The Hungry Cat is a great place to go. Not just to have good food, but to have great service (no matter what Yelp has to say). Any good and busy establishment will take time. As does good food. So, if getting a server or refilling your drink takes an extra minute, don’t fret. It’s not because they’re unattentive. They’re actually doing their best being attentive to every single person, so when they get to you, trust they they’ll do with care.
1 year ago
Ribbon «
No amount of stomach sickness seems to get me to not think about food. Perhaps that’s the real sickness. Or maybe this is the sickest: a ribbon that contours to any shape you want for baking! Yeah, real sick.
1 year ago
It’s been a while. But I finally decided to start eating again. And to ease my transition into eating, I’ve chosen the route of…SHELLFISH.
Weekend errands to the Westside leave me feeling a little starved and very much entitled to treat myself to something awesome. Since I don’t know Santa Monica too well, I accidentally stumbled into Santa Monica Seafood last Presidents Day. (And by accident, I really mean I had to pee before getting back on the road to head home and Santa Monica Seafood was convenient and open, unlike Huckleberry, where I was actually headed towards.) Once I got through the dense crowd of people, I got stunned by the vast assortment and quality of fish, shellfish and their accoutrements. There was a dining area in the corner also overwhelmed by a waiting line but, lucky for me, there was a 8 to 10 seat bar that had a few spare stools. And then a 1/2 dozen oysters and a glass of chardonnay welcomed me.
This past weekend, I took advantage of another Westside errand to pitstop at Gladstones in Malibu. Hungrier than usual (and thanks to a Blackboard Eats 30% discount), I feasted on a plate of steamed little neck clams and had a go at 1/2 dozen raw oysters. Though the oysters weren’t as good as the previous week’s excursion to Santa Monica Seafood, the clams were dynamite and that garlic lemon broth sauce to dip my crostini into was my favorite part.
There’s an amazing guy named David, who works the bar at Gladstones in Malibu. But don’t give him props just for his attentiveness and awesome disposition, but also for the chalkboard art he does for the restaurant along with other SBE restaurants, such as Cleo.
Can’t wait to deal with traffic on route to the Westside again. More shellfish will definitely be in store.
