Firebird Chicken

I've had my first ever Nashville style Hot Chicken and boy do I have a death wish. There are 3 levels of heat to their chicken:

Wildfire - EXTRA HOT
Bonfire - HOT
Fire Extinguisher - NO HEAT

I went all in and ordered the Wildfire. I ate 4 tums afterward and was still feeling it. BUt boy was it tasty. Amazingly crunchy and did not sog up against the drench. It was vibrant and a scary devils red waiting to be devoured. And devoured I did. Ate this quick with trails of sweat dripping down my neck. This is one of those addictive sandwiches that will get spicier as you eat into it.

View fullsize

View fullsize

This is the fire extinguisher plate. No heat on these. Just crunchy goodness with a creamy bbq like dipping sauce.

Sandwiches come prepared with chicken, coleslaw, and pickles.

 Plates come prepared with 2 chicken strips, 2 dinner rolls, coleslaw, and 1 side of your choice

Sides:
Coleslaw
Macaroni & Cheese
Cold Potato Salad
Dinner Roll

Here's how you order: email or text your order at 562-546-3516 / firebirdchickenlb@gmail.com

Stay tuned as they are working to get into a Farmers Market in Los Angeles!

Napa Valley Grille - Tasting Menu - Westwood

I've been to Napa Valley Grille twice already as well as talking about them here before. Coming here for my third time, I wasn't too sure with what to expect besides possibly trying out the rest of the menu items I've yet to lay my fork on. Without much notice, I made a reservation for the following day.

Upon arrival, we were informed that Chef Clinton had prepared a few special dishes for us to try. Without hesitation, I resigned the menu as I decided to let the chef prepare the whole meal for us.

|The first course| Melon Bowl |

View fullsize

Honey Kiss | French Baby | Ogen | Mint

When I first saw this.. I was caught off guard. My literal thoughts were wtf, where am I? This was definitely not something I am used to seeing at NVG. 

View fullsize

The dish looked simple. A bowl of melons. But as you ate into this, you begin to realize how brilliant this course was. This melon bowl was the best starting course I've had all year. The flavors were bright, refreshing, and the citrus gazpacho hidden under these balls of wonder really opened up my palate for the next course.

|Second Course| Avocado Ravioli |

View fullsize

Steelhead Gravlax | Cucumber | Tarragon

Yes. Avocado Ravioli. Inside the avocado is more of that house Steelhead Gravlax. Served with thinly sliced pickled cucumbers to help cut through the richness of the avocado and Steelhead. The choice of fresh herbs that was playfully placed made each bite fresh and vibrant.

|Third Course| Scallops |

View fullsize

Sweet Corn | Heart of Palm| Lava Fennel Salt | Ginger Citrus

At this point. I can't help but constantly look over my shoulders to see when the next creations arrive. I haven't had scallops in a long time. One of the reasons (if not the only) is people always mess it up. Either they are overcooked or sadly cooked with no sear marks. These were in no comparison to sad scallops. Beautifully seared served on top of a sweet corn puree/sauce, heart of palm with lava fennel salt on top, and a ginger citrus gastrique.

|Fourth Course| "Surf and Turf" |

Smoked King Crab | Bernaise | Wagyu | Armagnac Sauce | Crispy Rice

View fullsize

An amazing pairing with A5 wagyu beef with an Armagnac Sauce and a perfectly, but lightly smoked King Crab with a Bernaise sauce sitting in a claw. Beef was marbled and tender. Crab was definitely acting like a King with the crispy rice wrapped around like a crown. After this meal, I still had a lingering smoked sensation on my palate. Was pretty wonderful actually.

| Fifth Course | Dessert |

View fullsize

Basil Oil Cake | Creme Friache| Fruit | Strawberry Sorbet

How perfect is this. A basil cake with a strawberry sorbet to bring lighter flavors after a smokey entree. The basil olive cake eaten with the sorbet and all the components on the dish screams summertime. We enjoyed this with coffee. So delightful.

I spoke with Chef Clinton about his concepts and ideas. Playing with fresh local ingredients, he is able to create special tasting menus for any occasion. Napa Valley Grilled is open to preparing special menus such as the one I've experienced the past weekend. I would recommend for you to start thinking about your next food adventure with a group of friends. Call ahead and arrange a special menu, or go in a bigger group to share the fun.\

1100 Glendon Ave #100, Los Angeles, CA 90024 :: (310) 824-3322

The Factory Kitchen - DTLA

If you think you know DTLA, there's still a lot of little nooks and cranny for you to go through. Seems like every time you find a new restaurant, you end up discovering 5 more. It just never stops. The Factory Kitchen is one of those restaurants you kind of have to be in the know to hear about it. Luckily, this place was passed along through word of mouth, and I was fortunate to try out a few of their signature cocktails paired with a few of their tasty bites.

A few cocktails

All the cocktails had were delicious and friendly to drink. There wasn't one that I wasn't able to consume. Nothing was overly sweet and can always be adjusted if you are sensitive. Love the spicy Mezcaline.

View fullsize

prosciutto

This thing right here was pretty freaking awesome. Besides the parma prosciutto being amazing and aged for 24 months, it's served on top of a lightly fried sage dough with stracciatella cheese on top. The stracciatella cheese would remind me of a consistency like Burrata cheese, but like shreds, hence the name. Amazing quality to make this one of my favorites on the menu.

They also have a few selections of amazing Focaccina Calda Di Recco Al Formaggio. Thin dough with crescenza cheese that brings a lovely salty and briny finish. Loved all the renditions from san marzano tomatoes, capers, anchovies, oregano to foraged mushrooms, zucchini blossoms, ligurian olive oil and parsley. Crispy to eat. Makes you feel great without the guilt.

For dessert, we shared an order of bigne.

Definitely worth a shot to come by if you are looking for a destination in DTLA. Seating's were forgivable, but can be packed so get ready to wait if you don't have reservations. This just might be the birthday destination for me. Just might.

The Backhouse - Koreatown

I love Los Angeles. It's a blessing to live in such a multicultural community. We literally have culture right here in our own turf. There's nothing that you can't find to eat. We have Vietnamese food, Oaxacan food, all kinds of Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Cuban, French, Italian, etc.

Yakitori is something that is widely eaten in Japan and something that I preferred to have when I was there a few years ago. But grilling meats on a stick isn't just a Japanese thing though they did perfect some of the best versions I've had. You will find more yakitori houses located in Torrance. But since we are so diverse, there are more and more locations now serving up cuisines locally so you won't need to venture off too far.

The Backhouse serves items you would find at your typical Izakaya. From yakitori, to sushi, and to many fried nibbles, to lavish ramen noodles to soak up the alcohol you spent drinking all evening. But that's really how you do it anyways.

3500 W. 6th St.Suite 301, Los Angeles, CA 90020

Here are the few, many items that we had.

View fullsize

Corn Tempura

Our appetizers were a seared Salmon and Albacore Carpaccio. The Albacore Carpaccio wastopped with crispy garlic, onions, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic ponzu. The Salmon Truffle Carpaccio was topped with truffle shaving, japanese pickle, ponzu sauce, and white truffle oil. What's not to love about truffles right?

The corn tempura, however, was so amazingly delicious. The dipping sauce, which I believe was some sweet garlic miso, was velvety and oh so perfect with the crunchy tempura. Great beer food.

View fullsize

A few yakitori samples here to show. Shiitake, cheese tsukune, beef tongue, and rib eye. Everything tasted delicious and memorable. The special beef tongue was very tasty.

View fullsize

Other items we had were negima and grilled jumbo sweet shrimp. The negima was made with chicken breast instead of dark meat.

View fullsize

View fullsize

The sushi sampler we received was a very fancy one featuring some of their best fishes they had to offer for that evening. I can't complain about any of this. They had special uni creations such as their scallop and uni combination topped with caviar.This needed to be devoured in one bite. No exceptions.

View fullsize

Other Uni creations were Uni with Red Snapper wrapped with shiso. I'm in love with shiso. I can eat almost anything that involves shiso leaves. It's so aromatic and fragrant. There's just isn't anything that reminds me of it or can come close to what this taste like. Again, topped with caviar that automatically creates a one bite experience.

View fullsize

Delicious lamb chops grilled and served with a sweet miso butter sauce. Just give me a big bowl of rice and I will be a very happy happy girl. Cooked medium, just the way I like my lamb to be. I find it more gamey tasting when it's closer to rare.

Dessert was a giant crepe filled with vanilla and bananas, topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, brûléed bananas, fresh fruits, and mochi ice cream.

The drive wasn't that bad on a Friday night coming from Pasadena. I recommend an early arrival to grab a table. Seats do fill up fairly quickly with EMC Seafood downstairs.

Eat, drink, eat some more and drink some more.

3500 W. 6th St.Suite 301

Los Angeles, CA 90020

Perry's - Dusit D2 Hotel Constance in Pasadena

Was delighted to be invited to a social event by Citymenu and Damon Eats from Instagram.

Perry's is a fusion of Cal Asian flavors with seasonal ingredients sourced at local farmer's markets in a contemporary dining experience. Located in Pasadena, you will find Hotel Constance tucked away on the corners of Colorado and South Mentor Ave.

A little information on the restaurant:

“Celebrated Restaurateur of the Eatery on Allen, Bacchus’ Kitchen and Claud & Co. Catering, Claud Beltran is lending his epicurean experience and culinary team to Perry’s where he creates a fusion of Cal Asian flavors with seasonal ingredients sourced at local farmer’s markets in a contemporary dining experience. Alfresco dining is available in the historic courtyard.”

— dusit.com

There were a few things to try. Everything we had were bright and refreshing. From octopus carpaccio to a matcha doughnut. They also serve breakfast at 6:30AM and closes at 10pm on weekdays and 11pm on Friday & Saturdays.

928 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA, USA 91106

Street parking is available, but valet is offered upon arrival.