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Breakfast Brunch

Flavor Garden - Alhambra CA

October 23, 2016

If you are familiar with dumpling and noodle houses, you should be prepared to come with a few people. An order of dumplings is normally 8-10 and fairly sizeable per dish. My brother recommended this place to us and thought we should go together. I don't mind because he knows what kind of food/dishes I like and will order accordingly to what's good.

Cash Only. 1269 E Valley Blvd Alhambra, CA 91801

Tender pork stomach in a spicy Sichuan numbing oil. This is something I love to order at a place like this. Extremely tender. Goes great with beer. I also love ordering pig ears as well, but it's always a treat with stomach is served. I know this may sound weird to some people, but this is the kind of food I grew up eating.

Seasame sauce noodles with some ground pork and preserved veggies.

So good and so much in an order.

These are stuffed with delicious ingredients, but what we love the most about dumplings is when they have leeks. Made myself a side of vinegar and spicy oil mixture to dip this in.

They serve awesome meat pies made with the stuffing of your choice. These are stuffed with pork and leeks. The sizes of these meat pies are large than they appear. There were 4 of us and we had to grab a few to go boxes.

Cash Only.

1269 E Valley Blvd Alhambra, CA 91801

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Casa Chocolate - Mid-City Los Angeles

September 13, 2016

I know a lot of people that hate LA because of traffic. People who live on the west side would take an our or more just to get to work that's a few miles away. And on the weekends, you are lucky if there isn't any traffic. All native LA residents know what it's like to drive out to Santa Monica, West Hollywood (oh god), Beverly Hills, Culver City, and so on. So when I am actually out towards that area, it gives me an incentive to find a local restaurant to eat.

I had to run some errands one Sunday morning and found a small cafe tucked in a small plaza. It's called Casa Chocolate.

5450 W Pico Blvd, Ste 501 Los Angeles, CA 90019

I instantly fell in love with their displays. It's simple yet catchy. From the photos of the doors, to the self serving water with lemon and orange slices, to the ketchup, and the array of classic hot sauce and sweeteners.

They have a huge menu with tons of variety. Prices are also very decent especially for the location. I stuck with their traditional house favorites.

Ordered 2 cappuccinos. One for John and one for, well, me. Espresso from Groundworks.

Amazing take on the classic dish - 2 farm eggs cooked to your liking, I had mine over easy. Black pinto beans cooked perfectly and not overly starched, everything served over a corn tostada, topped with ranchero sauce, green tomatillo salsa, avocado salsa, sour cream and queso fresca. So flavorful and so delicious. Loved the char onion and serrano on the side. A must order.

Ranchero steak omelette. FULL of flavor. The beef was perfectly marinaded, extremely tender, and smokey from the char. Cooked with onions, peppers, and mushrooms, folded inside the egg with monterey jack, ranchero salsa and queso fresco. John ordered this, but I am going to make sure I get dibs on this next time. Served with a side of fruit, ranchero sauce and green tomatillo.

Enjoy when you are in the area or passing.

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Claudine - Encino

June 15, 2016

A little bio on Claudine,

"Claudine Artisan Kitchen & Bakeshop is the collaborative effort of Chef Anthony Jacquet and Pastry Chef Lea Newton, whose combined skills and culinary passions have led to the opening of a globally-influenced neighborhood café and bakeshop in the San Fernando Valley. Named after Jacquet’s late sister, the driving force behind his decision to become a chef, Claudine Artisan Kitchen & Bakeshop is a full service restaurant, bakeshop, coffee bar, and grab n’ go deli. Serving only the highest quality food made with local and sustainable ingredients, Claudine Artisan Kitchen & Bakeshop features an assortment of breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes.Highlighting the bounty of local and seasonal produce in California, the restaurant’s menu draws inspiration from the many cultures and people who have shaped the city."

16350 Ventura Blvd., Suite F, Encino, CA 91436

Located on Ventura Blvd in Encino is where you will find Claudine. From the outside, it blends it with the neighborhood Chipotle which sits in the same center. But walking inside, the expectations are blown away by how adorable this place is. Open kitchen with tons of baked goods ready for you to hover over. Everything is made fresh daily, so if you see low inventory, that's a good sign.

Claudine also serves wine and beer which is always a plus. I started with a Stone IPA. They also carried a few specialty cocktails like sangrias and micheladas.

We had a few dishes to sample, all delicious. They make their own house cured lox on toast. The salmon was not overly salty served on top of some preserved Lemon Cream Cheese, Pickled Shallots, Cucumber and Capers. Their Briana's Short Rib Grilled Cheese is also a must order. Stuffed with Stout Braised Onions, Roasted Mushrooms, ‘Merican Cheese, Black Vinegar Teriyaki, and russet wedges. Get your napkins ready.

They also make their own naan pizzas. We've tried 2 and fell in love instantly. Cianna's Naan-Zza: pesto, buratta, bacon, mushrooms and asparagus. Serrano Ham and Olive Naan-Zza: fresno chile, buratta cheese and oregano. The Lea's Lightened Quiche was a winner all around. Custard made with spinach, basil, and only one egg with salad greens (SO GOOD).

If you are not sure what to do about your life, order the Malted Milk Pancakes. Cinnamon-Blueberry compote, salted honey butter, Warm Maple Syrup and Bacon. Sandwich this baby together and eat it with pride. Lot's of it.

16350 Ventura Blvd., Suite F, Encino, CA 91436

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Maximiliano - Highland Park

June 13, 2016

Maximiliano is another restaurant concept by Andre Guerrero. Many of you LA natives are familiar with one of his famous restaurants in Eagle Rock called The Oinkster. With their famous pulled pork sandwich to their highly talked about Belgian french fries with garlic aioli that changed the world. Honestly, their french fries here are killer. It was my first time and many others of having a twice fried potato. It's pretty genius, but Oinkster's really made it their own.

Maximiliano is a different concept than Oinkster's. Practically being the only Italian restaurant in Highland Park, Maximiliano has a full menu that carries a wide range of Italian favorites.

5930 York Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90042

To get started right away, I ordered a raspberry bellini with a cup of Intelligentsia coffee.

It was raining a little bit on this day, so a little Prosecco definitely helped with the gloomy weather.

I am happy I get to share with you a wide variety of the items on their menu.

This was one of my favorites on the menu. The crust was thin and crispy, the smoked salmon was nice and salty, but balanced with the creamy subtle flavors of the Burrata. I would order this again.

Better eat this fast or the potatoes will starch up once cold. Delicious fennel sausage with the over easy eggs to really put a dent in your gut. There's nothing wrong about this. Just douse each slice with more chili flakes to get the full experience.

Hand-Made Linguini, nice and al dente with bacon confit, pecorino and a poached egg waiting like a hot water balloon waiting for you to slice for the ultimate yolk porn. You should've seen it run in all its glory. Pass the chili flakes. Butt fires will be worth it.

Delicious melt in your mouth pulled pork. Sweet, savory, and luxurious with the ooey gooey egg. This is definitely a good breakfast item to order if you are a meat lover like me. So perfect with a sunny side up egg. Break the egg into the short ribs before enjoying.

Another house made pasta. What you see is squid ink linguini served with clams, calamari, scallops, spanish chorizo, mussels, shrimp, jalapeno roasted red pepper served up in a pomodoro sauce. They are not shy of seafood.

Tender fall off the bone Moroccan braised lamb shank. This was served on some curried couscous. Very delicious and slightly gamey without it tasting viciously grassy. With the leftovers, you can always make dumplings with the meat, turn it into a ragu, or even just straight up wrap it in some tortillas. Definitely worth ordering when you come.

One of the best pancakes I've ever put in my mouth. Once it comes out straight from the kitchen, the aroma from the lemon curd will make you salivate almost immediately. The pancake had a nice crispy crust, hot, melting the lightly dusted powder sugar before dousing a large scoop of curd goodness. We had to share, but in reality, I would want this all to myself.

Make your reservations if you have not. Go in a group so you may try more things.

Also, here's a snip of their drink menu (Beer & Wine)

Maximiliano is also Craftsman Brewing Company’s Official Tasting Room! Join them every Monday & Tuesday for their awesome Beer Flight Nights where you can try Five 5oz pours of North East LA’s finest Craft Beers for just $12. I'll definitely be here for that.

5930 York Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90042

Click here to visit Maximiliano.

Cheers!

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Kings Row Gastropub- Pasadena

May 22, 2016

I've been to Kings Row a few times since they've opened doors a few years ago. I've celebrated friends birthday here, graduations, and their famous piggy roast that you can find every 3rd Thursday of the month. It's a great space to hang out and they do offer food to accommodate the savvy eaters.

Besides having food to serve with your drinks, I kind of forgot that breakfast/brunch was something they did here at KRG. Below you will find the slew of most of their brunch menu with a few additions to their main.