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hangover cure

Dirt Dog - Los Angeles

June 29, 2017

One of the things my dad always made when I was growing up was boiled hot dogs. He would literally boil a whole pack of weiners and leave it in the fridge so we would have something to snack on. It wasn't until I was in the 7th grade when I was at Drill Team practice by the park where dirty dogs were sold. Dirty dogs are just hot dogs wrapped with bacon. Sometimes with grilled peppers. But I like mine straight up with a slab of mayonnaise.

2528 S. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90007

Dirt Dog does dirty dogs right. All dogs are wrapped with bacon. I've tried a few and can say these are the best I've had when it comes to a sit down restaurant.

Here we have the elote fries, elote dog (secret menu), their house dog with grilled onions and peppers, patty melt, and their elote corn on a cob.

Mexican crema, cotija cheese, chili powder, cilantro. Their links have a nice snap. Ok, there's no good way to review hot dogs without tons of sexual innuendo. So before you say anything, "that's what she said" has already been said by me.

SO, yes. Their hot dogs were beefy and delicious. Buns are shipped daily from a local baker. I recommend their brioche buns.

Their classic house dog comes with a simple bacon thousand island, roasted onions and peppers. Simple, but flavorful and delicious.

This was my favorite. Who doesn't want their bacon hot dog topped with french fries, melted cheddar, bacon bits, and a chipotle mayo? This was a flavor bomb. It was just everything that I would want on a hot dog.

Horchata Ice cream with Churros and fried oreos. After all that food you would think I'll stop. This did it for me. If the dogs didn't put me to sleep, this sure did and I don't regret it. I LOVE fried oreos. The batter did not disappoint.

I'll definitely be back soon.

2528 S. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90007

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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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Tacos Ensenada - East Los Angeles

August 15, 2016

A lot of people won't even know where East LA is. To some people, this area may be extremely foreign. And it's true. East LA is known to have crime from time to time so I'm not surprised people don't pick this as their destination. But there are also a lot of love. A lot of families. And a lot of hungry people wanting good food at an affordable price. East LA is heavily populated with Hispanics, but with that said, there are some great mom and pop joints out here that I consider some of my top go-tos. That's when I stumbled upon Tacos Ensenada. And if it wasn't for taking a trip on the Metro Gold Line, this place would probably still be incognito on my radar.

5161 E Pomona Blvd
East Los Angeles, CA 90022

Here were some amazing eats:

Poppy shrimp, citrus from the lime, sharpness of the onions, sweetness of the tomatoes, herbiness of the cilantro, creaminess of the avocado, and the toasty flavors of the tostada. For around $2, why even bother making this at home.

Fish tostada is my favorite ceviche to have. I love the texture of citrus cooked fish. It really infuses the flavor and tastes that much fresher cold with fresh chopped ingredients. Another must order.

Crunchy fresh fish tacos with shredded cabbage, pico, red sauce and crema. Finger licking good so you better chomp on these quick. Large lumps of seafood around $1.75 a pop, and well worth it.

Better than some street carne asada tacos. Meat was juicy, flavorful, and tons of umami in my mouth. I hope it's not lard... but a part of me loves that it might be.

Unlimited condiments. Be mindful, not wasteful.

Total for 1 bottle of coke, 4 fish tacos, 1 shrimp taco, 1 asada taco, and 2 tostadas... $20.ish dollars. Yeah you bet it was good. And guess what? They also accept credit cards, Double that what now.

5161 E Pomona BlvdEast Los Angeles, CA 90022

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Top Round Roast Beef - Los Angeles

April 1, 2016

1000 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90019

On the corner of La Brea and Olympic, you will find Top Round.

I've seen this place when I used to work in BH. The restaurant really has an old fashion feel to it. Kind of like a hipper Johnny Rockets with a spazzle of Big Boy. I dig it.

I, like many of you, grew up eating roast beef sandwiches from Philippe the Original French Dipped Sandwiches in Chinatown. Top Round carries the delicious roast beef sandwiches, and others, with a twist.

Pulling up to the shack, you will find plenty of parking spaces. Not sure how packed it gets during the busy lunch hour, but it was fairly empty in the morning. We were recommended to try their breakfast sandwiches aside from their regular roast beef sandwiches.

As you wait for your sandwiches, you should get your sauces ready. I also like how they have spicy mustard and horseradish as condiments.

Tots with liquid gold. Words can't describe how guilty and awfully delicious these things were. I would come here just for this. Top Rounds has got it right so far with the hangover cure. Crunch tots and thick ooey gooey cheese sauce.

This English muffin breakfast sandwich has everything that you crave at McDonalds, but better. And real. You get your bacon, your fried egg, and their awesome Wizz sauce that is better than anything you can imagine. No need for napkins. There will be plenty of finger lickin'.

Served with a sesame bun, this little breakfast BLT is more comforting that it sounds. I'm not sure what made this so special, but it was pretty freaking tasty. Maybe it's just a golden rule to have bacon, eggs and avocados in everything. But for some strange reason, I really enjoyed the tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise. The flavors brought me back to when I was a child and road tripping through Mexico. Don't ask. The price was a little steep at over $8.

Steak and Eggs? How about more wizz sauce. GOLD I tell you! So this was the first bite of the roast beef. Absolutely bangers. Extremely tender 10 hours roast beef that will definitely catch you off guard. I didn't know what to expect. But this, some spicy mustard and a dash of horseradish? Just skip your plans for the rest of the day because you would want to stay right here.

Dagwood beef is the ultimate hangover cure. Roast beef, fried egg, fried tots, and provolone cheese inside an onion bun. Just add wizz sauce for an extra $1. WHY THE HECK NOT. Trust me it's some good sh*t. It's downright dirty and I love it. This is your ultimate cheat food. And they nail the fried stuff out of town.

Recommend this place STAT. Must order their roast beef, tator tots, and wizz sauce on everything.

1000 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90019

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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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Wine & Dine

Dirt Dog - Los Angeles

Casa Chocolate - Mid-City Los Angeles

Tacos Ensenada - East Los Angeles

Top Round Roast Beef - Los Angeles

Biergarten - Korea Town - Los Angeles