Babycakes Hillcrest

Cupcakes galore! Sweetcakes and all! This little Hillcrest spot has been in corne of my eye everytime I stop by the rite aid. Finally got a chance to stop by for a little sampling.



It has a very nice little outdoor searing area that unfortunately faces 5th but cute nonetheless.

Cupcakes are the perfect portion control for all the dessertaholics out there..



What to select, blood orange cupcake? Chocoholic?







The chocoholic with a chai latte was in order. Lush and moist chocolate with a marbled flake:


Cute little spot with good cupcakes...

News flash: a full bar was opening Friday night to complement the desserts... Do we are chocolate martini's being offerred?


- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)

Operacaffe downtown sd

After hearing so much about this place, tonight was the night an event brought me to place.

Inner decor is very red and dark brown, with a huge baroquesque mirror and tables so close to each other you can basically grab your neighbors wine bottle by mistake :)

The bread that was delivered was unremarkable:


It was your basic Baguette from Ralphs... Would have preferred a freshly made sourdough baguette.. Even a days old thrown into the oven would have been better.

The olive oil served on the table was ok, but a little too fresh of virgin olive oil... If we are to eat calories, we want flavor, and with so many good olive oils out there, not to mention that this is an Italian place, was still craving the rich grassy blend:


For some odd reason, the calamari sounded like a tryout:


Lightly breaded and a pretty good tomatoe sauce, these weren't half bad.

The de mare salad, with 2 clams and 2 mussels and 1 shrimp was basically what you see is what you get:


The osso bucchini, veal medallions in a mushroom baste served with a dollop of saffron risotto came out with a fragrant Rosemary stem:



The veal was pretty good, tender and tasty, a little fatty but the marrow inside the bones was delicious... Scooped up onto a crispy baguette would have been yum.

The atmosphere has a good cozy vibe to it, being a block from the civic center could see an after opera cake happening. Don't forget that Horton plaza validates for 3 free hr parking!

And sadly the curtain came down on the operacafe...
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Voyou- Hillcrest

A new addition to the 5th ave restaurants, voyou is a small wine bar that serves small plates and vino.

Set in a candle lit interior, white cushion cubes amongst a dark backdrop, a seductive candle warmth takes over as the sun sets. Tiki torches on the balcony facing 5th offers a small seclusion from the outside:



With some chill beats in the background and a little Pinot, the beef skewers were calling:



Nice greens with a light olive oil, beef skewers with onions, peppers and grilled to a nice char..

Bastille day is offering $2 mimosas all day long.. With its chic euro feel, cozy atmosphere and gracious host, this little corner may have potential..we'll see if Hillcrest can handle the eurogentrification of the area..

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Arugula ooh la la

So what do you do with 2 pounds of fresh arugula that needs to be consumed or forever perish in the back corner of the fridge?

A little experiment started with some garlic and kalamata olive oil, Himalayan rock salt and a little chicken stock. As the arugula shriveled, the calling for trying a creamed version was calling. A little butter and some flower, a bit of avocado oil and citrus to balance the flavors and the mighty 2 pounder wilted harmoniously into a very tasty surprise.:


Firecracker chicken, sauteed with rich Tuscan olive oil, fire peppers and green onions, balsamic glazed for a semi sweet tang to the fire, went remarkably well with the punchy creamed arugula.


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Sharky-- charbroiled mex

If you're driving down the 5 and start to hit the Tustin/Irvine area and all you see is fast food stops and chains, the district has an interesting alternative for relatively healthy Mexicanish food.

With "naked" items on the menu, those highlighted as low calorie, low fat, sharky's claims to use only organic ingredients, grass fed beef, antibiotic and hormone free chicken and the best fish cuts available.

On this road trip, the chicken salad was deserving a try:


Shredded charbroiled chicken with greens, tomatoes, mandarin oranges topped with a combination of tomatillo salsa and pico de gallo for dressing, made for a pretty good salad.

The chicken Fajitas with rice and pinto beans, guac and crema, was flavorful and filled with grilled veggies:


Not so bad for a random spot in Tustin.

The salsa bar had frequent visits:



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Dusty's bistro- silverlake

Tucked into the streets of silverlake, across the street from the 7 mares, mariscos y ceviche and anything mexicatessen, is dusty's bistro.



Wide assortment of tasty bites, from skillet mussels, to tartare to chorizo con huevos, this eclectic flappers era chalendier decorated space has a bit for everyone... Especially for breakfast.

Torn between the huevos rancheros, chilaquiles and eggs benies, the huevos rancheros came highly recommended.


Two eggs, on top of skillet fired tortillas were accompanied with black beans and oozing with white and cheddar cheese. A little chalula sauce and breakfast happiness.

The home fries, most likely twice cooked, fried and baked potatoes were burnt to that crispy perfection on the outside with warm sogginess inside:



The quiche, bacon Gouda and asparagus came with a side of fruit:


Warm and cozy interior, non pretentious atmosphere has dusty's as one of the hoods local eats.





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Zeke's smokin smokehouse

Lip smackin BBQ feasts are what await you at Zeke's, located on Santa Monica blvd in west Hollywood. Brisket, chicken, pulled pork with either mesquite BBQ, smokin chipotle BBQ, or honey Dijon BBQ.... The flavors are fantastic.

Homemade chili sauce: garlic, vinegar, chile and a secret ingredient gives this light Tabasco type of sauce a powerful little kick:



The Asian BBQ pulled pork salad was a great hearty choice: luscious pulled pork an tons of it. Intermixed with greens, sliced Shitake and tomatoes... With a little tang and a splash of smokin sauce.. Delicious...




Finger lickin spare ribs were being eyed from the corner...

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CPK - Pasadena

Haven't been to a CPK place in years brought a pleasant surprise on this occasion.

Multi grain whole wheat crust ad thin crusts are now an option! Plus the assortment of salads and sandwiches is fantastic for a quick lunch.

The roasted veggie salad with vinaigrette dressing has a bountiful of veggies:



Eggplant, squash and corn... Yum.

The thin crusted Parmesan and roasted artichoke pizza with chicken was great. Only thing, would change the chicken cubes to be strips of roasted chicken:




All tucked away in the inner courtyard facing Pasadena city hall...






Sun, pizza and greens and a little vino... Good times
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Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)

Terrace sushi- Pasadena

Korean owned sushi place on Colorado blvd had two big games broadcasting the Spanish vs the Paraguay game...




Fire tuna roll with crunchy tempura role disappeared faster than the foot action on the screen!




Unagi and avocado role was sweetly covered in eel sauce.


The chicken yaki was prepared with thick yaki noodles:


Good little bites..

- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)

Zankou chicken- Pasadena

It's not glamorous nor a great environment for a quiet sit down dinner. But it does offer some fantastic tasting, moist chicken, kebabs and a variety of middle eastern treats.

Zankou chicken was almost reminiscent of the halal chicken stands in Beirut ... Grungy locale with meat on sticks, flames ablazing and locking in the juices and flavors while the noisy busy streets, crowds of people and all kinds of dogs and flies blocked your way.

But its good solid food:


Middle eastern fast food kinda of a place, the whole chicken is fantastic:


The hummous, tahini rich and creamy, goes phenomenally well with the garlic paste..



The moutabal dip: a garlic and eggplant dip with lemon juice is delicious:


All finished with a berry soy ice cream, fresh currents and frozen strawberries:



Let's not forget the turkish coffee and figs



- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)

Red door- mission hills

Red door, cafe blue, Wellington.... Whichever place you go to of this restaurant group, the food is always great.

A country inn and brick atmosphere, red door has a cozy atmosphere and good dishes to serve you.

The chorizo and cilantro flatbread with cotija cheese was fantastic. Spicy and pungent meet delicately graced with aromatic herbs and crispy and crunchy bread:



It just invited the atmosphere: dark, seductive, candle lit awash wine glasses... Yay:



The flash grilled romaine salad with baby chunks of blue cheese, sliced pears and brown sugar coated pecans was amazing:


Mmmm.. Get your grub on

Now, the piece of resistánce, with an extra ánce, was the lamb shank.... Braise whole on the bone, meat so tender and succulent that you have bow shame just grabbing the bone by the hand and gnawing the good out of it! Ok, we have gone to etiquette school, but still,, delicious to think about being all Attila the Hun style:


With French baby greens and petite carrots to complement, the Burgundy braising was divine.

Here's our bone afterwards:


And that's a live action shot of the forks in action.

With a spicy malbec and subdued barbera, the fanciful flavors of feasting sang away

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Fire me up

Outdoor grilling action in the lovely blackhorse area in la jolla had us feasting with a surf and turf combo:

Teriyaki braised shrimp, dill flavored swordfish and sirloin strips:


Endive and avocado salad with walnuts and a citrusy olive oil dressing.

Homemade ice cream with wild strawberries topped it :



With 4th of July around the corner, grilling cookoffs await.

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Osteria romantica - la jolla

La jolla shores has the scenic beach, cozy alcoves and streets lined with outdoor eating.

The Italian charm is defiantly being played at osteria.

The bread and tomatoe sauce that is complimentary was a disappointment: canned tomatoes with fresh basil and dry bread with no olive oil is not a good way to start an Italian restaurant:


The carpaccio rustico, with shaved Parmesan and arrugola was good:


The chicken finocchio, olives celery and garlic was tasty:



But the highlight of the place was the half off bottles of Sicilian wine:


Be careful for the squaking seagull things high in the palm trees.

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Zanzibar - PB

Cafe Zanzibar, with locations in PB, downtown and the loft at UCSD has great salads and sandwiches to offer.

The PB locale is pretty much your walk up an sit down place, with eclectic pop art on the walls, tattooed servers and an open and chill atmosphere.




The Asian chicken salad with sliced cabbage and tangy dressing was quite nice...


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Mo's- Hillcrest

Hamburger mary's turned Mo's is your spot for well drinks, flamboyant Sundays and every now and then raunchy drag shows.

But during a weekday, burgers and salads are an option. Divalicious to some, the meaty burgers come with there hosts of finger thick fries:


The tortilla soup with chicken is an interesting play on the classic tortilla soup, tomato and cilantro based broth, chicken strips and tortilla strips with boiled potatoes and avocado chunks makes for a hearty meal:



The outdoor patio area supports smoking which is not a plus, however great cheap basics.

- Posted using mobile cam.. Eating and blogging on the go, excuse spelling mistakes :)