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Bowl Kitchen - Santa Monica

July 16, 2017

An LA inspired approach on Vietnamese cuisine. The chef boils the bones for 7-8 hours before roasting the bones in the oven to create more depth of flavor. The owner was also inspired by LA street tacos so you'll also find salsa verde and pickled habanero as condiments besides Sriracha.

Starting the meal with some egg rolls (Shrimp & Pork).

Beef Mi - Grilled beef, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, pickled daikon, carrots and red onion. My favorite bite. I topped this off with some pickled habanero for that summer heat.

Spicy Pork Bowl Bop - Griled spicy pork with grilled mixed veggies

2127 Lincoln Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90405

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Jane Q - Los Angeles

July 4, 2017

Jane Q is expected to launch their opening sometime between the end of July and August. The restaurant will be located on the corner of Argyle and Yucca streets. There will be bar seats near the open kitchen. The food we had that evening was a preview of a few items that will be in store on the menu. Tons of fun flavors. I'm excited to see the full menu once the restaurant opens its doors.

Below are some delictables I was able to try.

Amazing veggie tower with 2 dipping sauces.

Brick oven pizzas in the making.

Their all-day menu is focused on seasonal local produce, sustainably-sourced fish & meat, and pizza, all prepared in a rotating hearth oven. They will also have beers, wines, and cocktails, all on tap.

Jane Q serves modern Los Angeles cuisine with produce purchased directly from the Hollywood Farmers Market which is only a couple of blocks away. You can find locally-roasted coffee, house-baked pastries, made-to-order breakfast specialties plus fresh-pressed juices and smoothies in the morning.

Stay tuned for updates.

1800 Argyle Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

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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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Santouka & Gyutan Tsukasa - Costa Mesa

June 4, 2017

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

- is my favorite ramen shop here in Los Angeles, hands down. When I went to Japan a few years ago, it amazed me how delicious the ramen was. People rave about sushi in Japan which I don't disagree but, I can honestly say you can find compromisable sushi here as well. Going back to ramen in Japan, I was blown away with the layers of flavors within the broth. A lot of soup bases here are imported or have fat delivered to recreate the umami-ness you would expect in a tonkotsu broth that have been bathing for 12+ hours. A lot of times, you would just find the soup to be heavy and fatty. Say goodnight after breakfast. At Santouka, the broth is clean, rich and deep in depths of flavor.

Shio Ramen (salt ramen) is my favorite. This is their white tonkotsu soup with melt-in-your-mouth charsiu pork.00

You can create combos with your ramen. I'm not sure why, yet, but I will do research later to why the sets are so ginormous and loaded with carbs. Literally. In Japan and Japanese restaurants here, you can get chirashi with a side of udon. Oyakodon with a side of udon. Why?! I don't mind. I love it actually but, just curious.

665 Paularino Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Mitsuwa Marketplace Costa Mesa Store

21515 Western Ave., Torrance, CA 90501 Mitsuwa Marketplace Torrance Store

3760 S.Centinela Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90066 Mitsuwa Marketplace Santa Monica Store

More locations >>HERE<<

Gyutan Tsukasa

665 Paularino Ave Mitsuwa Marketplace Costa Mesa, CA 92626

I've talked about this place before. So nothing much about this besides they are amazing. Delicious beef tongue grilled over binchotan served with wasabie, pickled veggies, miso nanban and a heaping of steamed rice.

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Bistro Papillote - Costa Mesa

June 4, 2017

French being my favorite food, there's not much options where I live. I enjoy going to Costa Mesa from time to time and have been discovering little boutique shops here and there. We came across Bistro Papillote in The OC Mix. It was Memorial Day and the place I wanted to try was closed so this was the next runner up.

Their breakfast lunch menu is really straight forward. At Bistro Papillote, you will find escargot, pate, quiches, crepes, croque madame and monsieurs, and sandwiches.

Black forest ham with gruyere sandwiched between a soft bread baked till crispy around the edges. A Croque Monsieur is just the same concoction without the egg.