I’m not dead.
Posted October 14th, 2009 by MegI’ll be back someday. I promise!
Dol Ho
Posted August 8th, 2009 by Meg
Although completely unplanned, my first morning meal in San Francisco was in China Town at my friend’s favorite Dim Sum restaurant, Dol Ho. Unfortunately, I don’t know Dim Sum well. But, I do know that I did enjoy this Dim Sum.
Having spent a good hour traveling, I was ravenously hungry. So I didn’t really write down the names of everything we had at our table. I know we had a lot of shrimp dishes though. My table did agree that the vegetable dumpling was the best.
Below on this dish is a fried shrimp ball (left) and some sort of eggplant shrimp cheese delightfulness. I love eggplant, period. So to add two other great ingredients: cheese and shrimp. It’s a trifecta of perfect.
Dol Ho
808 Pacific Ave
(at Stockton St)
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 392-2828
Masa of Echo Park
Posted March 14th, 2009 by MegFinally, after months of wanting to go, my boyfriend and I went to Masa of Echo Park. Masa is notorious for their Chicago deep dish pizza, a style of pizza that I have become more interested in over time. It was the perfect time: free metered parking Sunday. We arrived around 3pm, missing the lunch rush, but beating the dinner crowd.
As I alluded to in the first paragraph, the place was not very crowded. I had always heard that it was best to call ahead and order the deep dish pizza because it takes approximately 40 minutes to bake, but I figured it would not be a big deal on our lazy Sunday adventure. We sat down and immediately ordered the Pepperoni Deep Dish. And to eat while we waited, I ordered the wild green salad and the Masa Honey Blonde Ale Beer.
I loved the beer, specially made for Masa by the Firestone Brewery, and thought it worked well with the salad. I was very tempted to order another pint to go with my pizza, but knew that having two beers was probably not the best idea in the afternoon. The salad was big and healthy and came with a big “puff ball” of bread which was good and tided us over until the pizza came.
The pizza seemed larger than life in comparison to the thin crust I am used to. And I loved it. Even though 1 slice was more than filling, I was able to eat my way through two. We took the leftover pizza home and ate it for the rest of the week. In the end, the service was friendly and the food was delicious. Win, win. I would love to go back again sometime, but next time I will call ahead to order my pizza.
Masa of Echo Park
1800 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 989-1558
Valentine’s Eve
Posted February 22nd, 2009 by MegMy boyfriend and I have both become experienced in how to properly handle celebrating Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles. It’s very simple: don’t go out on Valentine’s Day. On our first V-Day in 2007, we naively went to Fogo de Chao. Big mistake. Parking on La Cienega that night was impossible. It took us 30 minutes to valet our car. And even though it took forever to valet, we were lucky because after they took our car the valet stopped accepting cars! Inside, it was a madhouse. Even though we had reservations, she told us the wait was going to be 45-60 minutes. So we waited with the many other patiently waiting couples around the hostess stand because the bar was jam packed too. When we were seated, the brazilian churrascaria (steakhouse) was lovely. But, getting our car from valet after our dinner took just as long as it did in the beginning making the night at least 3 hours of waiting and standing around. We learned our lesson.
In 2008, my boyfriend and I went to Mr. Chow on the eve of Valentine’s Day. I enjoyed the food at Mr. Chow, especially the shark fin soup, but the service was frightful, impersonal, and rushed for us. My boyfriend hated the whole experience. As in, I will probably never be able to convince him to set foot in there again.
For 2009, we decided to celebrate on the Eve again. I really really really wanted to go to the Wilshire. I have never been there, but have heard great reviews. My boyfriend at first agreed to it, but looked over the menu and told me no, not this year. I was heartbroken, but understanding that the economy sucks right now and he doesn’t enjoy food as much as I do. So, all week prior we discussed where to go. His contribution was an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica, but after he said the words “next to the liquor store,” I quickly vetoed it.
I then came to the conclusion that if I can’t eat where I want in Santa Monica, then I don’t want to eat in Santa Monica at all. Next step was finding a place that my boyfriend would enjoy to eat at, which if you’re trying to find anything classier than Koo Koo Roo, is a hard task! In the end I chose Luna Park. I had been there a few times prior in college, which is quickly becoming a long time ago. I don’t remember what I ordered in the past, but I knew I liked it and that my boyfriend would like both the prices and the ambiance.
He picked me up from work and we drove to the restaurant arriving an hour early, but finding the best parking right in front of the restaurant. We walked into the moderataly crowded bar area near the hostest stand. We lucked out though! They could seat us immediately, even in the last minute request for a booth with curtains. We sat down and quickly found out that it was still Restaurant Week in LA! Score. 3 delicious courses for 26 dollars. I was unable to take that great of pictures, but here is what I ordered:
Warm Goat Cheese Fondue with Grilled Bread and Sliced Apples - The melted cheese seemed a little too thin and glue like to me in appearance. It was still good, but not my favorite.
Grilled Salmon with Jalapeno Grits Braised Greens and Whole Grain Mustard - I loved this entree because I love mustard and I love salmon. Grits is not something I order often, but I found it to be a perfect pairing with the salmon.
Make Your Own S’mores - Molten Marshmallow, Bittersweet Chocolate, and House Made Graham Cookies - This interactive desert was a big hit. Meaning both my boyfriend and I enjoyed it. Although, I was very messy and got chocolate all over myself, my clothes, and the table. The house made graham cracker cookies were amazing and had a subtle ginger spice taste to them.
Let’s not forget my favorite part of a meal, the liquor!
You’re a Pepper - Little Bottle of Dr. Dublin’s Dr Pepper, Absolut Vanilla and Monin Organic Vanilla Syrup - I love Dr. Pepper and to be able to mix your own drink is so much fun. Of course I dumped all the vodka in and then went from there. This drink was completed with a giraffe stirrer.
Luna Park
672 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 934-2110
Mike’s Holiday Mopishrout
Posted November 21st, 2008 by MegSince Thanksgiving is coming up, I have heard a lot of talk about Turducken - a dish made by stuffing a turkey with a duck that has been stuffed with chicken. However, a friend from work gave me a copy of his recipe for the ultimate holiday dish: Mopishrout. I can’t wait to make it in my kitchen!
Ingredients:
(1) moose, medium
(1) pig
(1) sheep (sheared)
(1) rabbit, large
(1) trout
(1) shrimp (in season)
Take moose, rub with butter.
Insert pig into moose.
Insert sheep into pig.
Insert rabbit into sheep.
Insert trout into rabbit.
Insert shrimp into trout (be sure to remove shrimp tail)
Add pinch of garlic, and Cajun spice, if desired.
Salt to taste.
Cook at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Serve with corn and mashed potatoes.
Serves 6
Happy Holidays