Bye Bye Mrs. American Pie!

So you might be asking yourself (well, maybe not) why you haven't seen a post in soooo long.  I'm so sad to announce it, but due to unavoidable circumstances, my husband and I have moved back to Atlanta!  I have been busy packing and making arrangements to come back home, then last Tuesday, we left the shining lights of LA.  Luckily we missed that HUGE wind blast that hit.  I hope you are all ok!  Before I left I had several posts I had intended to write, but alas I will just have to write one last Eat Here, Not There post.  So here goes.

Eat Here:

Vicious Dogs NOHO

This place is amazing.  If you are in the mood for an inexpensive lunch/dinner and are in the NOHO area, this is a must try spot.  It's located on Lankershim near Pit Fire Pizza.  And the man behind the dog?  Willie.  This guy greets every single customer like you've known each other forever.  Extremely funny, excellent customer service.

Me, I have a good rule to go by.  If they can do the simple things well, then the rest of the menu is bound to be a knockout.  So I tried a very basic German brat on a steamed bun.  Heaven.  Perfect flavors in the brat, so well seasoned.  Just add a few dabs of mayo and catsup and you are good to go!  Truly tasty dog.  I would show a close up, but its kind of boring, so I'll spare you.  You can kind of see it in the below picture.

 But, like the sign says, the famous dog at this joint is the Sweet and Spicy Kielbasa.  I'm not a huge fan of sweet peppers, so I left this to the hubs to try.  I was assured it was amazing.  If you don't believe us, check out this picture:

Add to this meal a plate of garlic fries that are to die for, and you have on of the best quick lunches I've ever had!  But I give you fair warning.  If you do not wish to reek of garlic for the rest of the day, and possibly most of the night, steer clear!  These were potent!

There are so many different toppings and dog options, the possibilities are endless.  Give this one a shot, I know you will love it!

Tomo Sushi

This place is located near the AMC and mall area in Burbank.  Great sushi, super nice staff.  The walls are papered with dollar bills that people have drawn on.  Decent food.  We stopped by here out of the blue, so I didn't really get any pictures.  But good place all around.

Not There:


H. Salt Fish and Chips

If you have a hankering for some bland, greasy, tasteless fish, then this is your spot.  It's located on the corner of that crazy intersection that includes Vineland and Lankershim in NOHO.  Completely unimpressed both times I visited.  Same quality as Captain D's.  Skip it, much better seafood elsewhere.

________________________


I was actually fairly impressed with most places that I went to in California.  I wish I had made it to one of those mom and pop donut shops that were located on every corner, but it will leave something for me to try when we come back to visit.

I will really really miss LA.  But my food blogging is not over.  I'm starting again in Atlanta.  It will take me a little while to get up and running, but I expect to crank out a new post early next week.  Check out my new website at:

http://dasnewbiefoodie.blogspot.com

And follow me on twitter @thenewbiefoodie

I hope you have enjoyed this blog, and I look forward to you viewing my new one as well!

Until Then,

Guten Appetit!!

Absolutely Pho-bulous

Gourmet food, four wheels and the open road.  Reminds me of my first food truck experience.  On our honeymoon in Bora Bora, we had Don Poulet, this dinky little food truck that had a full rotisserie in the back.  Everyone in Bora Bora spoke french, and there were only a few words I could translate from menu board; chicken, baguette, fries.  A crusty french baguette, slathered with mayo and ketchup, stuffed with rotisserie chicken and french fries.  Heaven in a sandwich.  I miss Don Poulet!

One of my favorite parts of the food culture here in LA has definitely been the food trucks.  It's such a cool concept.  Ever since running into Crepen' Around at a local gas station, I have been checking out the food truck scene through Twitter.  Which is how I came across the guys of Los Saigon.  After checking out their menu, I knew I had to try their food.  Vietnamese has to be one of my favorite asian cuisines.  So when they challenged me to compare their Pho to my husbands, I was there!  Feeling kind of crazy on a Saturday night, I went on a Pho run at midnight.

This truck really makes its way around town, and we caught up with it in Burbank.  Ordering two cups of Pho and an order of egg rolls, we were excited to take it home and enjoy.  We ended up saving our Pho for lunch the next day, so I'll start with the egg rolls.

The order comes with eight pieces of egg roll, two dipping sauces, and a side of pickled veggies.  How on earth do you know if its a good egg roll?  Well, first off, if you like it, its good!  Who cares what others say!  Second way to tell?  If you bite into it without any sauces or extras on it, and you like it, you know its a great egg roll.  I don't use this word all the time, but these were total food-gasm.  The wrapper is light and cripsy, great texture.  The filling is savory and complex.  And when you do add the sides it really enhances the flavors.  My favorite was their creamy chili sauce.  It really added a great kick to the rolls.  This is a must order item if you check these guys out.

So for those of you who might not be familiar with the term, Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup usually served with paper thin slices of beef or chicken.  Usually also comes with a plate of basil, limes, bean spouts, jalapeños, duck sauce and sriracha sauce that you add if you would like.  I'm a chili head so I love to add a little sriracha an jalapeño, but you can't miss the basil (tear it up into little pieces before adding) and lime juice.

 
You can't tell from the picture, but this is the bowl that I usually serve side dishes in at the dinner table.  This is not your normal soup bowl.  It is a HUGE portion.  So how do you know if its great Pho?  The broth is the glory of Pho.  It adds most of the flavor, and helps cook the meat so that it's tender.  This was one of the best broths that I had had to date.  It really takes time and technique to make a good Pho broth, and Los Saigon has nailed it.  I would LOVE to know how they make it, but I'll leave it to the masters.  It's just so complex that its hard to pull out individual spices and meats used to flavor it, but it's completely yum.  I love the different textures of this soup.  You get a great crunch from the jalapeño and bean sprouts.  The noodles are nice and soft and the meat is perfectly cooked by the hot broth.  I accidentally added a little too much sriracha sauce and my lips were tingling well after I was done, but I finished my bowl.  So did the hubs.

If you have never had Vietnamese food before, you must try this!  Pho is a great way to try this cuisine, because its not an intimidating dish.  Lots of great flavors and amazing customer service.  I see great things for the guys of Los Saigon.  Check out their truck when you get a chance.  I know you wont be disappointed.  I can't wait to eat there again!

Cheapo Taco or National Historic Site?

So far I have really enjoyed Studio City.  I still get star struck when I see a celeb at my favorite coffee shop or nail salon.  So when I found out a possible national historic site was right down the road from me, I knew I had to try it out!  So one day driving home, we decided to swing by for supper.

I have to say, its a cute place.  And from what I've read it is exactly the same as it was when it was built.  The parking lot is small and crowded.  I'm sure there have been a million fender benders here in the name of gringo tacos.  After reviewing the...brief menu, I decided on the hard taco and a bowl of chili with cheese.

I started to stir the chili before I took pictures, so you can't actually see the gargantuan amount of cheese that actually comes with the dish.  But if you take all that cheddar that you can see on the taco, and add it to the chili, you get the idea.  The hot sauce that came with the meal was actually really good, and I ended up adding some to the chili to give it a little more kick.  Overall, the food was ok.  It reminded me of a mix between Old El Paso and Taco Bell, which is exactly what it is supposed to be.  I might come back if I'm ever craving tacos and don't want to cook, but could easily make this at home.  If you are itching to go, take cash.  They don't accept anything but.  Kind of disappointed after all of the hype behind this place, but decent "Gringo tacos".  What are your thoughts?  Cheapo food, or best tacos ever.  I would love your comments.

Until Next Time,

Guten Appetit!

What's in a name? Tasty Burgers of Course!

It used to be that I didn't think of myself as a foodie.  I didn't have any type of education in food preparation, I haven't eaten at any of the finest restaurants, and I definitely need some kind of basic recipe to cook most things.  But as I delve further into this blog of mine, I think it has more to do with the passion that you have for good food.  The passion that makes you want to try new restaurants, cook crazy foods just to try them, and sample the best that your city has to offer.  There are several things that invoke my passions:  the non-profit I volunteer with, the customer experience, and food!  I was told recently that I haven't been so excited about something I was doing as I have been about this blog.  I.Love.It!  Getting to tell you all about the cool places I find and gush on and on about their food, it is really exciting to me.  So I think it is safe to say, that now I really feel like a true foodie.  And now I can't wait to tell you about Miru 8691.

After seeing them on the show Crave, I knew I had to check this place out.  So one day a few weeks ago, my husband and I decided to go for lunch.  We were so excited to try the Kal Bi, but unfortunately they were all sold out by the time we arrived.  Apparently EVERYONE watched the show, because this was the burger they featured.  After that slight disappointment I settled on the trio of sliders.  What better way to really see what they were all about than to order multiple tastes?  Now I'm not exactly sure which three I actually got, because it changes from day to day, and I completely forgot to ask.  But after reading the descriptions on their online menu, I'm pretty sure the three were the O.G., C.L.T. and the Guacamole burgers.

Let me start off with....wow.  The presentation when it arrives at your table is not something you would expect to find when ordering a burger.  Each bun was decorated with a sprig of rosemary, and the spicy ketchup that came with my fries was in a very interesting shortened spoon.  Very aesthetically pleasing, but how would it taste?  All three were simply amazing.  The beef was so juicy and extremely well flavored.  I wonder if I could get Chef Miru to tell me how he puts together his beef...hmm.  All of the toppings worked so well together, and really added something to the burger, instead of just being there to be there.  The O.G. was my absolute favorite.  I could seriously eat one every day, but I won't, that's probably bad for your heart and waistline.  I wish I had taken a picture to share with you!  Being a small town girl, I'm still getting used to the price tag that comes with meals around here, but after tasting the burger I understood.  The premium ingredients, paired with the artistic style that the burger was presented, I got it.  You can truly see the passion behind the food that Chef Miru prepares his food.

Since Beverly Hills is a little far from where I am, it would take a little planning before I would come back.  But if you live in the area I highly recommend that you head over to Miru 8691 and check out their great burgers.  If you aren't in the mood for burgers, they also have a pretty large sushi menu as well as other traditional Japanese dishes, but I didn't try any of these so I cannot rave about them.  The burgers were worth the drive though.

Until Next Time,

Guten Appetit!!

This is why I love California...WINE COUNTRY!

So as you might remember it was my birthday a few weeks ago.  In honor of the day, we drove down to Temecula for a little wine tasting.  Since I'm so new to this area, I did a fair bit of research online before deciding which two wineries we shouldn't miss.  I knew I wanted to sip some champagne, so we chose Thornton Winery.  For the second place, I was actually drawn to it since it had the best website layout.  Little did I know how completely opposite these tasting rooms were.

Ponte Winery - "If you like it, its good wine"

Our first stop was Ponte Winery.  Like I mentioned above, their website was the selling point for me.  If they cared enough to make a great website, I thought they might care enough to make a great glass of wine.  And boy was I right!  Wine tasting is $12 during the week, and $20 on the weekend.  But you get to keep your tasting glass if you want.  So not only did I get to sample six great wines, but I now have a set of Ponte wine glasses as well.

The people behind the counter were extremely friendly and knowledgable about the wines in their collection.  I also enjoyed that they were so engaging and passionate about their product.  You could almost say they bragged about their barrels.  I also enjoyed that they gave you a sheet with a brief description of each wine they had available so that you could write down your thoughts as you did your tasting.  I fell in love.  Not only with this winery, but I think I found my Pinot Grigio for life.  I'm not even kidding.  I haven't enjoyed white wines for a long time, but this one was heaven in a bottle.  Just dry enough and full of flavor.  Of course I had to purchase a bottle, and fully intend on ordering a few bottles(maybe a case?) online.  My husband, who is more of a liquor fan, found a great port that he really enjoyed.  Final verdict?  Well worth the drive to see.  Well worth the price.  Will be back hopefully!

Thornton Winery


After such a great experience at Ponte, we ventured over to Thornton.  I'm a sucker for a great Mimosa, so I wanted to be sure to check out a winery that had Champagne.  This tasting room handled things very differently.  The tasting room is set up on a small hill with a great view.  You check out their menu of wine flights, comprising of 4 wines a piece.  There are a ton of choices.  Once you decide on your flight, they bring it out to you, putting them on a "place mat" with more information about each wine.  For us there was really no interaction except for ordering our flight.  One great thing was that you could share the flight, and didn't have to pay for each person with you.  I think that I would have enjoyed it more if there had been more face time with the people who knew the champagne, but thats me.  I really enjoy the interaction.    I did end up purchasing a very tasty Blanc de Noirs.  I think the next time I go down we will try a different champagne winery, but all in all a pleasant experience.

So far I'm really impressed with Temecula wine country.  I really want to go back soon and try a few more places.  Only an hour and a half from LA down I-15, a very beautiful drive almost the whole way.  And it is a great escape when you just need to get out of Los Angeles.  Make your plans to check out the area when you need a day away.  Enjoy!

Until Next Time

Prost!