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Happy Hour

Wood Ranch - Burbank

June 12, 2016

I attended a media event for Wood Ranch the past week at their newest location in Burbank. If you are familiar with this area, it is where the old Elephant Bar used to be. Shocking to see that they closed, but having Wood Ranch in the area made more sense. The location will officially open for dinner at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 13 and for lunch on Wednesday, June 22. So get ready to mark your calendars.

110 N. 1st Street Burbank CA 91502

Here are a glimpse of the food items we had that evening:

You have your fresh guacamole, salsa and chips. Killer wings (both buffalo and fiery). Their famous shredded onions which you can literally put on everything. There's absolutely no way your hands will be clean after this round.

We had a few salads to try. From their sides, a mountain of original peanut coleslaw. Their Tuscan Kale Salad composed of watermelon radishes, chives, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, golden raisins, toasted pumpkin seeds, shaved Parmesan, and tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Natalie's Salad - mixed greens, candied pecans, avocado, Gorgonzola crumbles, cucumber, balsamic vinaigrette. And their BBQ chopped salad with your choice of chicken or tri tip - Mixed greens, corn, black beans, Tillamook® Monterey jack, tortilla strips, tomato, carrots, scallions, cilantro, ranch, and Original BBQ sauce. Which one would you get? I liked the chopped salad because I'm a meat salad type of girl.

St. Louis Ribs are sweet & spicy, dry-rubbed & smoked. Served with a side of Original or chipotle-cherry BBQ sauce. I loved these ribs the most. I'm a huge fan of dry rubs and these were definitely fall off the bone tender.

These were center cut and hand trimmed, served with the original BBQ sauce. Sweet and tangy. These were also fall off the bone. You can see it by the shreds.

Wood Ranch Tri Tip and Fire Roasted Chicken.

They had some premium sides like grilled asparagus. Also signature sides like sweet potato mash, and Mac & Cheese.

At the Burbank location, there are a few exclusive items you'll find here, and only here.

The Ultimate BBQ Sandwich. A stack of Carolina Pulled Pork w. Carolina Slaw, Double RRanch® Brisket topped with Tillamook Swiss®, wood-grilled premium kielbasa (spicy smoky sausage), charred jalapeño, Famous Shredded Onions on a freshly baked brioche bun. Choose any barbecue sauce on the side. Good luck taking a bite of this. I had no problem... but a warning in case your jaw gets stuck.

Premium, juicy chicken thigh, brined overnight in buttermilk and spices, then coated with their specially-seasoned mix.Fried to order and topped with their Peanut-Cilantro Slaw on a freshly baked brioche bun. A large sandwich. Crispy and delicious. Good luck headed towards the gym after.

Bar Area Special during Happy hour, Momday-Friday 3-6pm. These are their Smoked Pulled Pork Nachos. For $6, this is definitely a steal. Carolina Pulled Pork, Tillamook Monterey jack® and cheddar cheeses, black beans, chopped jalapeño, salsa, house-made guacamole and sour cream.

Save room for dessert:

Graham Cracker crust cheesecake with raspberry sauce and their Oreo Cookie crunch - Vanilla bean ice cream rolled by hand in ground.

Make sure you check them out!

110 N. 1st Street Burbank CA 91502

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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.

Brunch

Naan

2 Eggs Breakfast

Farmhouse Skillet Scramble

Mushroom Omelette

Pork Hash

Kings Signature Breakfast Burrito

Mains

Classic Double Cheese Burger

Highland Park Pulled Pork

Mussels in Beer Chorizzo

Fries with Cheese whiz and spicy verde

Wings

Macaroni and Cheese

Banana Creme Pie

Tres Leches

Bacon Dessert

Roasted Veal Marrow

And of course, you can't forget the cocktails.

Check them out for Brunch whenever you are looking for a local spot. Nice to not have to dive into Los Angeles.

20 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105

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Biergarten - Korea Town - Los Angeles

March 22, 2016

Korea Town has really come a long way. Really? No, not really. They've been the same and true to keeping it real. There's still an authentic feel to this neighborhood with fantastic Korean restaurants. If you think of Little Tokyo, true fans will tell you Torrance is the place to be at for amazing Japanese food. And if you are thinking about Chinatown in Los Angeles, the people that really know will tell you Alhambra/Monterey Park/SGV is the place to be.

206 N Western Ave.,Los Angeles, CA 90004

Biergarten is a Korean Gastropub located on Western Avenue. I've never heard of a Korean Gastropub before, but I know Korean food and I know Gastropub. Put the 2 together, and you get I-AM-NOT-LEAVING-THIS-PLACE.

Um yeah, this was pretty much the 1st thing I did when I got here.

Soju... it's my kryptonite... or just one of them that I am willing to accept. These were flavored from peach, to grape, to lemon, to pomegranate. How does it taste? Easy. Which makes them ridiculously dangerous. I'm not going to like, I had to wake up at 5AM the next day to drop off John at LAX and it was not a good morning.

Before you drop your jaw, let me tell you what these are. Tempura fries, kalbi, melted white cheddar with beer ass gravy... oh and some green onions because we all need some color to make ourselves feel better. Using a fork is only necessary because you want to make sure you can grab a huge portion for yourself before passing it down. But, who the hell made the take one pass it down rule anyway? And why is sharing caring? Trust me, there are a lot of things you don't want to share with me.

Ok this was pretty much amazing. A 7.5 oz of chuck meat with roasted cherry tomatoes, onion marmalade and arugula. It sounds incredibly simple, but it was bursting with flavor. The meat had a beautiful crust to it. The brioche also stood up to the challenge as it kept composed through my many chomps. And you know I can put on a mean chomp. Delicious, I highly recommend ordering their burgers (kind of want one right now).

To me, fried rice is comfort food. Not because I am Chinese, okay, but because I love eating foods with a giant spoon. Especially when I am at home watching TV. I am the worst comfort eater. I will go all out. The worst looking PJ's you can think of, hair tied back, and hot sauce everything. This brings me back to that, but when there is kimchi involved, all bets are off. And a fried egg with a runny yolk? WHY SHARE THIS? We all know there is one yolk. And there is no way I am going to "share" that with you. #justsayin395829058092

These were really delicious. Like, extremely tasty. The daikon reminds me of the chinese daikon cake. These are spicy and packed with flavor as it is made with pickled daikon and gochujang aioli. I'm still thinking about this now, no lies. Highly recommended.

More soju game going here. They are delicious and dangerously easy to drink. So with any precautions to drinking, you've been warned.

But don't be scared. Because we are all in this together. So always cheers to a bottoms up and chase with a poutine. Because that's what real foodies do. HAH.

These chickens are LOADED. You can definitely taste the alcohol marinade in this chicken. These were free range chickens. The meat is much more tender and juicy. Their pickled jalapeno was banging. Be careful, I rubbed my face a few times like an idiot. My face was burning from different parts since I kept forgetting. Hand washing doesn't help after the damage is done. I loved the heat though. I'm just weird like that.

I for some reason left with a new nickname, Daisy the tank. Don't ask. Maybe you will find out if we are ever to dine... and drink together.

Happy Eating

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The Fat Dog - Pau & Johnny - Part 2

March 1, 2016

To continue from Part 1 where Pau, Johnny and I were hanging out at the Idle Hour, we decided to make our way to The Fat Dog.

11050 Magnolia Blvd - North Hollywood, CA 91601

After having a liquid brunch, we were literally turning into Zombies with no sense of direction. I mean, Pau literally lunged to the streets without looking and stopped traffic with her super powers as we trickled behind her. She was on a mission. A mission for Swedish meatballs.

I love it. I went to tinkle and came out with food already on the way. Since we were just snacking, they do have some fun nibbles that are worth to try. Let's start with the sliders shall we.

Any beer loving fiend would love cheeseburgers of all sizes. These little decadent-pinky-worth buns with bacon, meat, cheese and guacamole can keep you fixated with your eyes crossed for a good minute.

Comes with fries. But, I would order more for other reasons I will share with you in a bit. But deng, I just love finger foods so much. I don't count calories, but I do think about the amount of food I consume at the end of the day. So little bites like these (x's 54674861231) makes me extremely happy because that means I can try more food. And who, who, does not want to try more food? For goodness sake. Look how delightful Johnny looks in the back enjoying a bite of a mysterious item. I swear it wasn't candid at all.

I really... really.. enjoyed these wings a lot. I'm not sure if it was from all the beer I drank, but these were zippy. It felt almost as if the wings were marinated in buffalo sauce or rub, and then deep fried. I really don't know how they did it, but it reminds me of dry rubbed ribs. Served with celery and carrots, with their house bleu cheese dipping sauce. Thumbs up. I am ready to come back for this one.

If you love IKEA Swedish Meatballs, you will love the ones at the Fat Dog. Served in a heapfull, there are plenty of reasons to share. There's nothing fancy with this dish as there is nothing fancy at the ones you would find at IKEA. But, these are comforting as F#$k as they should be. This is where the extra fries would play along. Or, just order the fries with this gravy and lingonberry sauce to top off. Money.

I will be back really soon because there were still a lot of items I would like to try. Love you Pau & Johnny dearly.

Until next time. Eat & Drink responsibility.

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Momed Atwater Village

October 3, 2015

A good friend of mine, Mr.John Quintus (Hi!) recommended this really awesome restaurant in Atwater Village. Momed (click) has 2 locations, one in Beverly Hills and the other in Atwater Village. I am the hugest fan of that area. I've had my fair share of potato burritos from Tacos Villa Corona picking up a friend of mine every morning with a stench of Vodka. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

But as time moved on, our ideas of life, neighborhoods, the amount of money we have, has changed. Atwater Village has really transformed itself into an upcoming neighborhood.

Going back to the story, my friend knew my deepest obsessions with food and highly recommended this restaurant to me. It took me no time to make a short trip to the neighborhood. The restaurant is a big restaurant in a small little neighborhood, has a modern feel with a very open layout that feels warm, inviting, carefree, and then, time just stops.

3245 Casitas Ave, Ste 120

Los Angeles, CA 90039

You will find Momed snuck in between a few studios and Theatres, literally. Walking up the steps, getting seated, being handed with the menu, I already had my heart set on a dish. And we all know what that's like. There's no changing your mind even though you think to "think about it" and look through the menu, you always end up ordering what you wanted the first time around.

This is my first time having Shakshuka. Shakshuka is a tomato/ragu based with eggs poached in. This Shakshuka was cooked on top of some spinach, which was crusted from the hot cast iron where you will find crispy bits around the edges! I can die. I am in heaven. And the egg? Organic, poached into the sauce. With a dollop of tzatziki sauce. Do NOT forget to ask for their spicy sauce that they also make in house. Wow. That really elevated the dish. The Shakshuka was served with some pita that was also made in-house. I don't believe I've ever had pita that was freshly made, but it was really delicious. The texture of the bread when you rip it apart, you see the hot pockets air out with each tear. I am crying right now thinking I've devoured this beautiful masterpiece and just like that it's gone. Why couldn't the Chinese be the ones to discover this? *LOL*

I know. Really? Bacon and eggs? at a place like this? Well let me stop you there for a second. And that's just a nice way to put it. I'm going to give an example with Chinese people. Because I am Chinese and I can make fun of myself AND my people (sorry dad... and mom... grandma (eeeeeps!) brother? you don't give a sh*t). But if we can't make rice correctly, it's like, wtf is wrong with you? Take that mentality to every cuisine that you try. If you are one of those, I order fried rice, I only order Pad Thai, I only order Carne Asada, I only order Gyro, I only order sushi (but we know that sh*t is California rolls), that mother f*cker we all know, and if you are reading this you should be a foodie and if you are not you are now because you have been blessed. Like, no. But if you are one of the people that does that above, well, you kind of get it... actually. You stick with safe choices for a reason.. right? Because if you can get the basics done right, then you are legit. And feels safe to maybe order that... Roast Duck, or that... Tom yum, or that Suadero, or that engawa (Click engawa).

With that being said. Eggs and Bacon is something that every chef should be able to master. And it was pretty perfect here. The smoked bacon was DELICIOUS. John Wan shared it with me and he could normally eat like... 1.. but he was scarfing all of that DOWN. A good cheap bacon is great when it's super crispy and sometimes, thin. A good quality bacon tastes so much better when it's slightly thicker, a little chewy, BUT crispy on some ends. Why I like bacon that is a little chewy? Because you really taste the pork. You really taste the smoke. The love and everything you can think of that went into it.

And the potatoes were spot on. I really envisioned myself on this place. I really hope that when I do come back, consistency will still be key. A lot of places don't have that. But I feel it in this place.

OK. We had Starbucks before this, hence the lack of caffeine. Normally I would order a cappuccino, but instead I got their Iced Green tea, and John ordered the Wrecking Ball Coffee that is from the San Francisco Bay Area. The iced tea was good. It was light, refreshing, and imaginably sweet if you were to put sugar in mix.

The Wrecking Ball coffee was really good. I enjoyed how light it was. Not full bodied, but with a nice sharp roasty aftertaste. I would definitely have this again when I come back (breakfast or dinner).

By the way. They have happy hour. All I saw was $4 wine. BUT, I am down to come back. So, let me know if you are because I am ready, to try every single thing on their menu.

Give this place a shot when you have time. And if you like it, you can thank me by taking me with you.

Los Angeles. Trust me when I say you are difficult to find a really good place to have breakfast brunch.

Daiisies

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Wine & Dine

Wood Ranch - Burbank

Kings Row Gastropub- Pasadena

Brunch

Mains

Biergarten - Korea Town - Los Angeles

The Fat Dog - Pau & Johnny - Part 2

Momed Atwater Village