Viewing entries tagged
brunch

Commerson

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Commerson

Lately, breakfast/brunch consists of something fast and effortless. Most of my weekends are spent at the gym in the mornings followed by breakfast with my dad on Saturdays and somewhere for lunch Sundays. We normally eat the same things: Vietnamese or Chinese Hong Kong Cafe in Alhambra. I haven't ventured much because it's been hard to find a place that serves delicious breakfast food. To find one that has good food AND good coffee is a plus for me.

Commerson - 788 South La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Service was fantastic as expected. Our coffee cups were filled often which is always a plus. Their coffee is good in case you're a skeptic of "diner" style coffee, this is not that.

Pork Belly Hash - two sunny side up eggs, tomato marmalade, piquillo peppers, cherry tomatoes, fennel, toast. This is filled with chunks of pork belly perfect to fight through any hangover. Their commitment to sunnyside eggs is pretty much the most perfect I've seen.

Forest Mushroom Omelette - bun shimiji, shiitake, maitake, raclette cheese, caramelized onions, and a side of mixed greens. Ok. Probably the best mushroom omelette I've ever had. The sweetness of the caramelized onions pairs so well with the raclette cheese. Of course the delicious mushrooms cooked with the onions brought a nice level of umami-ness to this that I did not crave meat.

Brioche French Toast - toasted macadamia nuts, rum butter, coconut chantilly cream. I am not a sweet breakfast kinda girl. But damn did this sweep me faster than the extra food in the kitchen email from work. There's just something so decadent about this. It's quite hard to explain. The texture element on this was on point. The brioche is crispy all around with a softness when you cut into this. Homemade brioche yo!

Housemade Sopes with Mole Hollandaise - poached eggs, red onions, cotija cheese, chorizo, fresno chilis, corn, cilantro. No words can express how great fresh tortillas are let alone fresh sopes. This combination is bonkers. The soft poach egg man. I've never had a sopes made like this before and now I'm changed forever.

Smoked Salmon Benedict (you can also get neuske's canadian bacon) - house made english muffins, poached eggs, béarnaise, fried capers, dill, mixed greens. Their home made muffins remind me of the british muffins. So fluffy and holds all that bearnaise sauce and runny poached eggs. Not a lot of people do this, but when I see fried capers I know they are doing it right.

Housemade Granola - Served with honey, berries, straus organic greek yogurt (or milk). Simple, but goes really well with the granola and a slight drizzle of honey. A pretty hefty bowl perfect for a morning fuel if you don't want something too large.

This is their Gin & Tonic on Tap - House made tonic, juniper berries, citrus peels, rose blossoms, and soda water. This isn't a part of their current brunch special, but if you are interested, I highly recommend their bottomless bellinis & mimosas for $35. This also includes one food item from the menu per person. There's a 2 hour seating limit for tables with bottomless bellinis and the $35 offer excludes the ribeye cap steak and eggs from the menu (what did you expect?).

I must come back for dinner. Can't wait for you guys to try it out. And if you get to dinner before me, please let me know what you think!

Ciao

 

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Napa Valley Grille Brunch

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Napa Valley Grille Brunch

Napa Valley Grille is one of the enjoyable spots I like to visit when I'm in Westwood. Including that day, I think I've ate here in total of 4 times. This time we've attempted to dine during brunch. They have a spacious patio to get some of that Vitamin D. 

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Coffee Cake. They bake their own bread to serve before your meal. This changes pretty often depending on what they decide to make. Dinner also changes as well. I love freshly baked bread and pastries so this is always a treat.

1/2 salmon caesar salad. They served the salad in another 1/2 since it was shared between 2. Super thoughtful. This was also very delicious. Simple, but salmon was cooked perfectly.

Shrimp & Stone-Cut Grits served with an over-easy egg, and fennel-frisée salad. Love the touch of shaved fennel. This isn't your New Orleans style shrimp and grits. The broth was definitely lighter and not filled with a pull of grease and sausage. Very flavorful nonetheless

. Crab Cake Benedict with roasted potatoes, hollandaise, and fresh herbs. 

Charcuterie - prosciutto, duck salumi, soppressata, housemade brandied chicken liver pâté, seasonal jam, and charred rustic bread. My favorite is their brandied chicken liver pâté. 

Prosciutto loving with charred bread.

This restaurant is extremely spacious. They also have intimate rooms for private dining for groups or business meetings. I recommend Napa Valley Grille if you've never been here.

1100 Glendon Avenue, #100, Los Angeles, CA 90024

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320 Main - Seal Beach

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320 Main - Seal Beach

What I love about trying different restaurants is the different destinations it leads me to. 320 Main is located on Main street along with many small business shops to check out. It feels like the matured version of downtown Long Beach. Just a local friends and family gathering scene though I could be wrong during the evening Happy Hours.

We came to 320 Main during brunch, and it was such a pleasant surprise. 

Pimms Cup

Pimms Cup

What's a brunch without a cocktail? This simple mixture is nothing short on flavor. Pimm's with some lemon, ginger and cucumber. I had a cold, but this ironically made me feel etter. Must be the ginger.

Creole Shrimp & Grits

These were jumbo shrimps cooked perfectly. Extremely plump and flavorful. Cooked with andouille sausage with some good ole cheese grits.

Smoked pork chop

This dish was ridiculous. It's every pig lover's dream. A huge pork chop with seared crispy fat served with some potato hash, sunny side, and an apple fig jam with crunchy toast. This is what brunch is all about. Great to share, but I devoured this all by myself.

They also serve great food to pair with drinks like duck poutines.

 

320 Main Seal Beach CA, 90740 562-799-6246

 

 

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Le Pain Quotidien

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Le Pain Quotidien

Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread) is a Belgium cafe serving baked good as well as their known tartines. I came to this restaurant for the first time when I worked a block away. I was immediately hooked on their cappuccinos. During that time, Starbucks was the only coffee shop that I really knew of. But after having a hot cup from Le Pain Quotidien, it opened up my palate to explore different espressos out there. Besides their coffee beans, I also very much enjoy their food. It's simple, but tasty. It's also not heavy like the American traditional breakfast items.

Here are a few breakfast items that we enjoyed during a lovely Sunday brunch.

Rustic Tuna Tartine

Sliced bread with a slather of hummus topped with tuna, white beans, diced tomatoes and basil pesto. Refreshing with the brightness of the lemon juice. This is a guiltless pleasure, like most of their dishes.

Chicken Chorizo Omelette

A nice and fluffly omelette filled with chicken chorizo and cheddar cheese. I like the like greens to lighten up the dish.

Prosciutto Ricotta and Fig

It sounds so simple, but everything married beautifully. There's no greater breakfast than having prosciutto. I've been obsessed and have been saying yes to everything prosciutto. The dried figs add a nice texture to the soft bread and prosciutto. I also love the arugula. Arugula pairs extremely well with sweet and savory dishes like this. This tartine was ringing as a top hit at our table.

Quiche Lorraine

This wasn't the best quiche I've ever had, but it was still tasty. Served with mixed greens and sliced watermelon radish.

Total for everything was a little over $70 for 4 without tip (only 2 cappuccinos ordered). A little steep, but compensated for good food and good times.

Find a store near YOU:

http://www.lepainquotidien.com/finder/locations/

 

 

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Special Olympics - SOCAL - Pier Del Sol

I've been anticipating this years Pier Del Sol in Santa Monica after a wonderful time I had last year. Get ready, unbuckle your belts, because I'm sure you will gain 10 pounds just by looking at these photos.

Here's a little bio about Special Olympics from their website:

"The mission of Special Olympics Southern California is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

Our vision is to provide sports and training programs for any individual with intellectual disabilities who chooses to participate, thereby improving their lives and the lives of everyone they touch."

-Special Olympics

Being as big of a foodie as I am, I was super stoked to see all the participating restaurants that will be there. Providence for one, shucked way over 100 oysters to serve the crowd. This year, I was hoping they would do the same. Why? Because it was the best oysters I've ever had.

Best oysters I've ever had!

4 oysters were served

Unfortunately, I was so excited that I didn't catch the names of the oysters... all 3 times I stopped by! But the clams, were extraordinary. I've never had such clean tasting clams with the most memorable snappy texture. It just pops in your mouth. The sauces that they were serving were impeccable as well. You would think cocktail sauce, horseradish, and mignonette sauce is the most simple things to serve with oysters. Like duh, how can you mess that up? Well... A LOT of places do. And once you've tried their sauces, especially their mignonette, then you will understand the excited booty dance that I was doing.

Hache LA

Hache LA were serving a nice refreshing non-alcoholic cocktail. Fresh strawberries with basil lemonade. Such a delightful cooler to ease of the terrible hot-humid weather that was hitting the pier. I was DRENCHED in sweat every time I stepped into the sun.

Bar Pintxo

Bar Pintxo served one of the best breakfast Paella I've had. I haven't had much either, but the saffron was so aromatic and distinct. There was a bit of socarrat in every bite which drove me bonkers! So delicious! With the creamy soft poached egg was to d-i-e for.

Speaking of delicious poached eggs, it seems like everyone was getting their egg game right.

Getting serious now.

Fishing with Dynamite served one of the best shrimp and grits I've ever had! John just came back from New Orleans a few months ago, and said this topped what he's had there. By the way, I'm not trying to sound obsessed... but the poached egg was STELLAR. The whites literally mushed off... like soft super soft custard.. glued to the ooey gooey yolk... there was nothing more heavenly.

Take a break and grab some fresh s'mores from Spago! My brothers girlfriend, Angela, is the Sous pastry chef that created this with her team for this lovely event. Though this was specially made for this event, I just want to say that their raspberry marshmallow was the best mother f'ing marsh s'mores muusshh I've had! It totally reminded me of the holidays, and y'all know how crazy I am about the holidays right now! BEAST! Think of raspberry covered chocolates. H-ea-v-e-n.

Via Alloro served a duck beat salad and a delicious creamy mushroom truffle soup. Their mushroom soup is something that I was looking forward to this year as well. Though the soup was cold... the mushrooms had a delicious aroma throughout. The truffles, however, did nothing for the soup. I was a bit underwhelmed this year. The duck beat salad was simple, refreshing, and balanced if you eat the dish together. The duck was slightly salty.

Hamasaku

This was AMAZING. Hamasaku did this sweet tofu wasanbon that was out of this world! I should've had more of this. It was their version of panna cotta, and I definitely enjoyed this a lot more. It was really thoughtful and well executed. Something so simple done right, gochisousama!

LA Prime

LA Prime did not disappoint with this New York cut steak. A beauty served with watercress, perfect mash and meat gravy. Is that sexy or what? I had 2 plates. (restaurant is located in Westin Bonaventure Hotel).

Mistral

Mistral was here last year and here again this year serving the same dish. I'm NOT complaining. This was their red wine braised short ribs, doused with a horseradish cream, on a garlic crouton. This was slayed! The horseradish cream was the perfect compliment to cut the richness of the beef. Need I say more? Just one bite folks!

Ok we are almost there. Are you getting hungry yet?

Comforting pesto penne from Terroni! I love, and pretty much am, obsessed with pasta at the moment. I loved the velvet olive oil that you can taste in the whole dish. So silky in the best way ever! I'm definitely going to pop my head in this restaurant in the near future!

Daily Grill

Daily Grill was serving up some blackened Ahi tuna. I was a bit skeptical by the simplicity of this dish. But the flavors? PACKED! This was SO delicious, and had gems hidden! There were artichokes, DELICIOUS artichokes. I think this dish was the underdog from the event. Who knew a simple salad like this could be so freaking decadent! I have to visit the Daily Grill AS WELL.

The Tripel

The Tripel created a simple refreshing ceviche served over taro chips. Great dish for this humidity. I never thought of using taro chips for ceviche... genius. Is it lower calories? A girl can only dream....

 

 

Angelini Osteria

Really? Angelini Osteria served prosciutto with persimmons. WHY. DOES. IT. TASTE. SO. GOOD. TOGETHER?! Persimmons is seasonal. So how am I going to eat this again? Why do this to me? WHY must you?! I hate simple dishes. Everyone tries to always overdo simple things that stands on it's own. Cantaloupe has nothing on this persimmon. Bravo!

Honary Chef goes to Alain Giraud, chef and owner of Maison Giraud. Serving up some pretty looking food that day. Their salad nicoise was simple and fresh. Again, another refreshing dish to cleanse this heat. And scoot over to grab a mini pain au chocolat, one of my favorite classic french pastries. Where's the coffee?!

Dandy Dons

Uhhh... yeah you gotta make your sundae from Dandy Don's. Don't forget your nuts and maraschino cherry.

Strand House Manhattan Beach

Strand House made this pretty awesome creation. What you see is a blueberry crumb cake, creme fraiche whip you see there, blueberry compote, and a cardamom injector. How fun is that?

Pinks

Uhhh... yeah this happened to. PINKS was serving up their whole links. No minis. No saving grace. You take the calories, and you run. You can feel bad later, but at this moment, I devour and I will slay.

It's now Tuesday, and I've been working out insanely from eating as much as I did. The hot humid weather didn't make me feel all that attractive either... but now, I feel a lot better. I am super stoked to come back again next year.

Now you tell me. $150 to help charity and to get all this food, is it worth it to you?

gochisousama,

Daiisies

 

 

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