Viewing entries in
brunch

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.

Comment

IDLE Hour - Pau & Johnny - Part 1

February 25, 2016

I've known Pauline and Johnny for quite some time. I would say 14 years or so. Johnny and I have stayed friends after High School and I really consider him as one of my best friends. I still kept in touch with Pau from time to time mostly through social media. It wasn't long before Pau and I geeked out over our love of food. And it was about time we rekindled our friendship after a decade of not seeing each other.

Pau arranged our meet at the IDLE HOUR in North Hollywood.

4824 N Vineland Ave - Los Angeles, CA 91601

As punctual as I am, I can't believe that I was the last one to arrive. Don't worry, that will be made up shortly with a few drinks. It was weird to see Pau again. But, it didn't feel different. And it almost feels like just yesterday that we were in High School all over again. There wasn't much awkwardness at all if any. And it literally took no time before the first round of drinks started.

Pau's first drink was a mimosa while Johnny dove into his bloody mary. I steered away and ordered a Ballast Point IPA. And, it wasn't long before we ended up doing rounds of IPA.

Besides the usual work and stuff, life really just went on. There wasn't much to catch up on since Johnny and I have kept in touch, I see the life of Pau through Instagram and Facebook and vice versa between them. So basically, we just talked about food and really digged into the roots of our favorite things to eat. One thing I love about these 2 are the love of food they have for all cultures. There isn't anything these 2 would not try. And you know what? It's hard to find true foodies that embraces all foods of the world.

We didn't order much to eat. Just beer. And more beer. Until we realized we really should order food before getting passed out drunk on the sidewalk. Pau wasn't too hungry. Johnny was contemplating over short ribs. And I had my eyes on the chilaquiles. We decided to go for the chilaquiles since something to share was satisfying enough from all the beer we had.

The chilaquiles were large enough to share between 3 of us. The sauce was flavorful with a slight kick of heat that creeps up after. Some queso crumbles topped with 2 perfectly sunny sides. Yes I will order this again.

After ordering another round of beer, I've became a total snapchat guru. Though, I don't remember how to use it now. I'm sure it will all come back to me once I have my hands on a beer.

This was probably around 2. Stay tuned for part 2.

Comment

GJELINA - Abbot Kinney

February 10, 2016

GJELINA is the first restaurant I've tried when visiting Abbot Kinney for the first time. On Abbot Kinney, there are a few blocks congested with little stores and restaurants to check out. I don't remember why we chose GJELINA that day, but I am happy we did.

GJELINA is one of those places where you might see a celebrity walk in. I've seen a few, but I'm pretty infatuated by their brunch menu to even care. I forget how good the food is here. Though I never had dinner, I can honestly say GJELINA is one of the best breakfast-brunch restaurants you can ask for. Not only is it pretty freaking delicious, but the items are priced fairly.

It was for John's Birthday that I decided to take him here to celebrate with a good brunch meal since we had to spend time with family that evening to celebrate Chinese New Years. There are a good variety of items to select from, but there are some dishes that are too hard to pass up.

I'm just going to dive right into this.

Duck Confit Potato Hash

*Potato hash, duck egg and grainy mustard*

Duck confit is very hard to find executed well. Most of the duck confit has I've had in my days were either too dry or not confit enough. And, the potatoes are so flavorful. Almost if they were based in the duck fat. There's nothing more to say I love you than a beautiful yolk with a nice tart grainy mustard to cut through the richness. Do I need to say more?

Moroccan Baked Eggs

Merguez, Chili, Tomato Sauce, cilantro & Spiced yogurt

I highly recommend this as well. A beautiful tomato sauce with chilies and lamb sausage cooked in, baked on top with 2 eggs. The spiced yogurt is everything you need to bring out the beautiful flavors of the merguez. The toast looked intimidating at first because it's fairly large, but just enough to finish this dish.

But wait, there's more.

Pizza Pomodoro

Nothing beats a good Neapolitan Pizza than from GJELINA. They do it well. The crust is insanely thin, crispy, nice cushion crust, and that beautiful yeasty tang we ALL love about a Neapolitan pizza.

Comes out piping hot with some fresh basil tore on top, a dash of oregano and some more condiments on the side for you to play with. Yes, I dipped the crust into my Moroccan eggs.

Is it Christmas already because everyone is say Hallelujah up in here.

Happy Birthday John.

Comment

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

January 27, 2016

I'm pretty sure all of you know by now that I love to drink. And if you didn't, know you know that I do. I also love tacos too, and fried chicken... and burgers.. and french fries and pasta and sushi. I know I get carried away.

It was my coworkers birthday, celebrated on a Friday night. I was staying back a bit at work to help out a colleague with some reports. Our anxiety was off the charts. But that's what booze is for. The first stop we headed to was Edward Mills in Old Town Pasadena. With $3 drinks and appetizers till 7, it doesn't get any better than that. Or, does it?

Thinking the party was almost over, I was hungry and ready to roam the streets for food. One coworker was ready to head over to King Taco which is genius after the drinks. I didn't know what I wanted. I just wanted something good.

I don't know how it happened, but we ended up here at 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria. My colleague mentioned an Instagram special where you order their pizza of the day. $5. No substitutions. But, you better check instagram first to know what the pizza of the day was. We were lucky and they were kind enough to let us slide. But next time we don't check, we just get bread sticks.

This is their Bianca with red onions, spinach and smoked provolone. A definite wowsers.

What I love about Neapolitan Pizzas is how thin they are. It also has a nice chew with a beautiful unique tang/sourness from the yeast. And honestly, the simpler the better. I feel like with Neapolitan pizza, it's all about the dough, the fresh sauce, cheese and just a few ingredients. Drink with a glass of wine or a nice cold brew is something I can envision myself doing on a casual afternoon.

For $5, it's definitely worth it. Seats were plentiful. I left my cellphone, and was definitely thankful no one took it... yet at least.

Find them on Instagram @800degreespizza to figure out what the next pizza of the day is. You might find me there.

Comment

Comoncy - Studio City - Best Breakfast of 2015

November 15, 2015

I got an invitation to visit the new Comoncy Cafe out in Studio City. They have a total of 3 locations: Beverly Hills, Studio City, and Scottsdale Arizona. I was recommended to check the new location since it's larger with more creative innovations on the menu to check out. I would rather head out to Studio City anyways, since LA traffic is never forgivable.

I've never been to Comoncy before, but after seeing their menu, it's something I would check out for a good breakfast. Breakfast is hard to find. Considering how large and populated with restaurants LA county is, it's hard to find that ONE, that can do it all. What I mean by that is, I hate how some cafes serve crappy espresso. Or great coffee, but terrible eggs and bacon. There's never that one place, that I can knock out all birds with one stone. Well Comoncy, I think they've done it.

Best Breakfast of 2015

The spread was pretty simple. And, there are some things that I just can't say no to. John was supportive on pigging out by having another dish to accompany this meal. And, cappuccino is always necessary. Always. At a place like this, it would be a waste to not have espresso. Trust me, it's good.

First thing first. Cappuccino.

Being super stoked about the design, I used one pack of raw cane sugar. Don't be a snob to tell me you drink it straight without sugar. Good for you. But a pack of sugar can really help the notes of the espresso pop. Kind of like putting ice with your whiskey, does that make sense? The espresso was extremely good and better than I expected! Loved how this was something they highly recommended. So good, that we bought some to take home.

A must. I love ordering huevos rancheros, and couldn't keep my eyes off from the menu about it. It's a huge breakfast staple for me, and I assumed it will be good at Comoncy if they had the audacity to put it on their menu! THEY DID NOT FAIL! John was SO sneaky about this too. He took a few big bites, and I had to ask how it tastes before he tells me it's amazing. What a jerk! Like, does he really think I wasn't going to notice half of it missing?! Comoncy rendition of huevors rancheros were : organic eggs over easy, crispy blue corn tortilla, avocado, black beans, and ranchero sauce. Everything was perfect about this dish. I loved the black beans and the contrast it brought to the crispy blue corn tortilla. It wasn't too thick or pasty, but extremely smooth and creamy. The soft over easy eggs with the ranchero, the avocado, and everything all in a bite, made my eyes rolled back. I mean literally I think I went blind for a second. It was like, the huevos rancheros god descended from above and blessed this plate. Super flavorful, but not heavy like the others I've had. I can't say no to this. This is a must when I come back, and something that I recommend to you. Dash some hot sauce, and tell me if you blacked out too.

Their steak sandwich was composed of : Brioche bun, prime sirloin steak, red cabbage slaw, lemon vinaigrette,organic Roma tomato, avocado, and horseradish aioli. Ok, The prime sirloin definitely gives you a run for the money. It was very tender and very flavorful. I had absolutely no trouble at all take perfect bites from this, It may look tiny, but it's loaded with steak and I love how they don't skimp. The brioche bun was fantastic. Flaky and not too eggy like some other ones I've had. I actually love how I could taste the butter in the bun. The lemon vinaigrette is not subtle as well, in the best way I can say it. Everything just married perfectly. Even the tomatoes were freaking delicious. This was one of their many lunch items that they carry. I must come back to devour more.

Baguette, Greek Yogurt, berries and organic maple syrup. I've never had yogurt with french toast, and thought this was another success. Fruits and yogurt with sweet maple syrup. What could possibly sound wrong with that? It was also my first time having french toast with baguette, which I didn't mind. Sometimes, brioche could be too heavy. Literally egg on egg. This was very light, but something I would share. The basil really made this dish pop. It was a little touch, but really made this bright and fresh.

At the end of our meal, I've concluded that this was the best breakfast I've had all year, and seems to stay that way for the rest of 2015. I can't wait to come back, and have more dishes. Though the huevos rancheros is going to be hard to pass up.

With that said, I hope you will find a way to make it out for a taste. Their breakfast is ON POINT along with their espressos. Which, I also highly recommend you getting. The brand is Equator and the beans are "Tigerwalk".

I'm hoping more Comoncy cafes will open more locations, as for now, I and we will have to make our trips. Let me know what you think.

STUDIO CITY : 12265 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604 (323) 391-2096

BEVERLY HILLS : 413 N. Bedford Dr.Beverly Hills, CA 90210 (424) 285-8874

SCOTTSDALE: 7301 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 361-1339

Happy eatings!

Daisy

Comment

Wine & Dine

The Fat Dog - Pau & Johnny - Part 2

IDLE Hour - Pau & Johnny - Part 1

GJELINA - Abbot Kinney

800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria

Comoncy - Studio City - Best Breakfast of 2015