Pastries!!!

Last night I had a dinner with my friends Michelle, Julie, and Heidi. We had everything. Ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, lots of wine, brussel sprouts (which I actually ate a tiny bit of), and pastries. Heidi brought a box of pastries! There was red velvet cupcake, tres leches, mango cheesecake something or other, chocolate cupcake, and some other stuff that I was too full to touch. I even made a banana cream cheesecake that is sitting in my fridge untouched. The red velvet cupcake was freaking amazing! Its my new addiction and I like it. The best part about the icing was that it was fluffy. It wasn’t that thick and cake icing like that’s hard to eat. I just wish I could remember where she got it from. Yeah. Be real nice if I could remember.

Tomato Pie On Melrose

Last week me and Cam got out of the movies (where I didn’t get my normal staple of Milk Duds, popcorn, and soda) we were hungry. Yes, we had eaten at Toast prior to going to the movies but for some reason both of us were craving something. We didn’t know exactly what we wanted. She wanted something salty. I kept dirty jokes to myself. I wanted something and didn’t know what. We ended up going to this place called Tomato Pie across the street from the hell hole known as my former high school. Damn, this place was good! We got a slice of barbecue chicken pizza and it actually tasted like one. Yeah, I know that sounds weird. But most places that makes barbecue chicken pizza really mean “Hey, this is 90% tomato sauce and some barbecue sauce mixed in. Sorry…” Its on Melrose near Fairfax and you should go there if you want. Good prices, cool staff, fun music, and its tiny as hell.

All About Stuffin'

Another holiday season another season for me to make my stuffing! I learned this recipe years ago and have learned to mess around with it since then trying different breads to see how it goes. Last year I made it for two people and didn’t get a damned bite so I made it twice this year and stuffed my damn self. The ingredients are mushrooms, celery, onions, mushroom soup, egg, milk, butter, three breads (don’t matter which ones as long as one is marbled rye), and the most important ingredient…sage. I love this stuff and my friends did as well when we all ate it last week.

In & Out Y'all

If you don’t like In & Out you can go straight to hell. That’s how I feel about this place. I don’t go often but when I do I appreciate their good food and the fact that they don’t mess with their menu. You wont find a chicken sandwich here. You wont get a nice fish and chip dinner. Just burgers and fries and a shake if you feel like it. That’s it. I usually go to the one up on Sunset there are only two things to expect there at any time of the day: Long lines or fucking long lines. Its worth the wait though. They actually make the food right then and there and its hot when you get it. Eat the fries fast though. Those damn things get cold fast! My friend doesn't have this place in Texas and always makes sure to get it when she's here. Payback for us not having a damned Chic-Filet.

Island's Burger

Last week I went to Island’s in Malibu. I hadn’t been to this place since the 90’s and the last time I went I didn’t enjoy it all that much. So when my friend Sophia said that we were heading their to hang out with her friend I was like “Aw, man…” We got there and I ended up ordering the Malibu Burger (naturally) which had cheese and bacon. Damn, it was good! They have really upped their burger game since the last time I went. They also have unlimited fries which taste great. The wait staff was good and filled up my drink three times which is my minimum. Everyone that has ever eaten with me knows that. If you haven’t tried it I suggest you do. They’re all over the place.

Dorito's Tacos At Midnight

Have you tried these? No? Then you are dead to me. These are Taco’s At Midnight flavored Dorito’s and they are awesome. Camille made a taco salad that she mixed with these and they were so damned good! Do they taste like tacos at midnight? I don’t know. I don’t eat tacos at midnight. I eat vagina or cereal. Mostly cereal. Lots of cereal. Very little vagina. But it has happened. So yeah. Taco’s At Midnight are delicious!

Trader Joe's Chicken Breasts and Garlic Fries

So I got some chicken breasts and garlic fries from Trader Joe’s. Oh, its good! Julia N. made me the chicken breasts with seasoning and it was so damned good. The fries are regular fries but after they are done you put them in a container and pour the garlic packet on them. The packet is huge and you’d never need all of it. Maybe like 15% of the pack unless you don’t plan on kissing anyone for a few days. Between the chicken and the fries the total is about $10 and will make about five meals. You cant beat that deal!

Sushi Mac

About a month ago I went with Camille to this sushi place called Sushi Mac. Its over on Beverly and La Cienega and it was good. Cheap and good. She had been there plenty of times but this was my fourth sushi experience ever. I really liked it and got the same stuff as when I went with Julia C.

The dishes were like $3 each. The place is kinda small and you all sit in a circle and close to strangers. Tired of places trying to make people sit all close to each other. Not your friends but people you don’t even know.

Yes, that is Camille’s hand once again in the picture eating her professional sushi.

Nachos & Tequitos

Once again at the Grove here in Los Angeles me and Julia N. went to this place that I went to with Laura a while back called Loteria. At least I think that’s what its called. It was so good. Julia had never had tequitos before and really liked them. They had really good chicken (not that shredded chicken bullshit) and real guacamole.

We also ordered a plate of nachos with chicken. This plate was massive and we didn’t think we would be able to finish it. We did. We cleaned that damn plate and it was good literally till the last bite.

Cupcakes At The Grove

Last week me and Julia N. got some awesome ass cupcakes from The Grove. They have a ton of shops that have all kinds of stuff as I’ve mentioned before. These were kinda small but super good. Little pricey but whatever. When you want a damn cupcake you want a damn cupcake. We got vanilla, Oreo, red velvet, and peanut butter cup. Tasty!

Domino's Pizza

A few weeks ago I ordered some pizza from Domino’s. It was good. Hey have changed the taste of this and Pizza Hut so many times over the years that if I ate some from the early 90’s I probably wouldn’t even recognize it. I got the regular ass pepperoni and black olives. I don’t like messing around with my pizza too much. Keep it simple. Don’t use pineapples. Ever.

The chicken nuggets which they refer to as Chicken Kickers. They were good but nothing to like call your friends and scream over. Good but not great. It was close to $17 for this meal which lasted a few meals so its an okay deal for the price. Just stick with DiGiorno.

La Bodega

Tonight me and Camille went to La Bodega over on Larchmont. Neither of us had ever been before but like Julia C. she had a Groupon coupon and we used it! The place was good and small and it being a nice cool Los Angeles evening we decided to sit outside. The menu was rather pricing (“It wasn’t that high online” Camille said) but since we had a coupon we ended up paying less than $10.

I got a chicken ravioli with mushroom and a Sprite while Camille got the eggplant ravioli I believe with tea. The portions were perfect so there was no need for a doggie bag. Funny though, if we had paid full price I think this would’ve bothered me.

The bread was very so-so and the oil and basil we were served tasted like regular ass gravy with oil. Yeah. I don’t know how that works either. The service was great and fast and if you have some extra change in your pocket you should check it out.

Home Cooked Meal

Every time I have been over Julia C.’s place her mom makes something that A. I have ever had. B. Tastes amazing. And C. has vegetables. Everyone knows that I’m not a huge fan of veggies but if you make them well I can and will eat them. Her mom made this delicious ground turkey dish with squash and peppers with rice and tortilla shells. It was super tasty and new to me. Also whenever we sit down and have dinner there is groovy conversations going on.

We talked about how many restaurants seem to have no pride in what they serve and many chefs do not taste what they are preparing and serving paying customers. We also discussed how certain cultures are now preparing food better than the places they got their food from (ex. Koreans making Mexican food better than Mexican restaurants). Good food and good conversations are two things I love more than anything. I am very much looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Frosty Cupcakes

Me and Julia C. went to this place that isn’t that far from me on Santa Monica & Highland called Frosty Cupcakes. Wow. Seriously, wow. I had never heard of this place before. it’s a very small spot that is bright powder blue and they have marvelous cupcakes.

We got six of them half priced because Julia is signed up with something called Groupon. Different businesses have super amazing discounts and place their stuff there and you sign up and reap the rewards! We got half a dozen cupcakes. If I remember correctly there were two red velvet, one lemon, one royal chocolate, one mint chocolate, and the one I absolutely had to get.

Chocolate toffee. Damn, it was good. Sweet but not pain inducing sweet like some places are. The place is kinda pricey but like I said, Julia had coupons. Me, Julia, and her mom after eating a fantastic dinner (that I will write about shortly) sat there and just discussed how great these cupcakes were. I’ll definitely be going back there again in a few weeks.

Gyu-Kaku

Gyu-Kaku is a place on La Cienega that I have passed a billion times and never went to. Tonight Heidi took me and some of her lady friends and we ate some awesome ass food. Okay. Seriously. This past month I have been eating some of the best and new food I have ever had in my life.



They had the nerve to ask if we wanted an appetizer knowing good and damn well how much food we were getting. There was enough food for six people and every one of us left full and happy.



I will try and remember all the stuff we had. I know there were multiple types of beef, this great chicken that was already seasoned, some pork, two kinds of rice, and I know I am leaving stuff out. Oh, there was two giant salads.



This place is really good. The table we were seated at had the little grill right in front of us on the table and little tongs that we used to grill the food ourselves. It smelled so good and didn’t take long for the food too be ready. As soon as it was done someone grabbed a piece. I would definitely love to go back here and have a good time with friends. Make reservations though unless you wanna get kicked out for a larger group that has reservations. Great wait staff and very fast service. Check it out for sure.

Choolate Rice Milk?!

Dairy free. Gluten free. Vegan. Kosher. Rice milk. Lactose free. Soy Free. Fat free. Whole grain. Calcium enriched. Vitamin fortified. Trans fat free. Unsweetened.



There is nothing about any of the words above that would be used to describe anything I eat. Julia gave this to me and promised me that it would be some of the best chocolate milk I have ever had. I’ll be damned if she wasn’t telling the truth. This was good…meaning is good because I’m still drinking some right now. I looked at the ingredients and was like “What the hell is this made of? Air and hope?” But its good and made by a company called Good Karma. If I like it chances are you will

Trader Joe's Chicken Fried Rice

I have made this chicken fried rice from Trader Joe’s about three times from one bag. It could have been four but I am a greedy bastard which you’d probably guess from the fact that I have a food blog. This bag was less than $4 and makes about four meals. That’ a dollar a meal! Awesome. It takes a couple minutes to make and tastes good. Actually the rice tastes better than most food places. Try it.

Chicken & Chayote

For dinner yesterday Julia C.’s mom made a really good chicken salad. There was also this flatbread that I had never had before as well as this vegetable called chayote. Sounds like coyote.



I had never had this strange vegetable let alone even heard of it. It looked like a pear and felt like a pear on my tongue but to me it had no flavor. Julia put a little lime on it but still it tasted like lime and nothing. So bizarre. I have been over Julia’s twice and each time I have some new food and loved it.

All About The Bread

Yesterday Julia C. and I went to this place over here on Melrose near La Brea called All About The Bread. I had never heard of this place even though its really not that far from my house. We head there in this blazing ass heat and grabbed some delicious ass sandwiches. I got the special of the day, a honey lime something or other chicken sandwich.



Oh, it was good! It was so good! Julia got a different sandwich that she said was a bit salty perhaps because of the pickles but I had some and still liked it. The prices were not ridiculous and the bread had a cheese baked into it that made it just so good. I got a Orangina and Sprite to drink. Those sandwiches were 85% crippling. We could barely move our asses afterwards. I say if you can give this place a try. It is really good.

Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

This past Sunday I went to a farmer’s market with Ms. L. It was pretty damned groovy. I have only been to these type of places a few times and each time I feel totally lost. I don’t know anything about fruits and vegetables. Every time I see vegetables that I have never seen before an actual question mark floats over my head.



Ms. L. was pretty good with getting me to try some fruits. I even had a, what did she call it, damn I forget. It was some kind of cucumber. It was supposed to be sweeter than regular ones but my tongue was like “Damn you, Dante!” I tried this delicious peach and got a couple of them. Ms. L. gave me a plum and some apples and I have eaten all of them. I have an avocado that I am eyeballing and trying to figure out what to do with.



I also got this ham and cheese crepe. It was okay. Nothing to write home about. Ms. L. got this way better breakfast thing that had Hillshire Farm sausage. I love me some Hillshire Farm sausage and had to keep from eating her food up! If it had more cheese maybe it would’ve been better.

Simpler Times Beer

Before we headed to the Greene’s for awesome ass food we stopped by Trader Joe’s. I know I have been writing about this place a lot lately but damn it that place is great. We were looking for some wine to bring and saw this cheap ass beer called Simpler Times. Now I am not a huge fan of beer. It usually tastes like horse pee and does nothing but make me horny. This beer was actually very good and didn’t give you that weird aftertaste. And who can beat an actual good beer that costs only $2.99? Come on. I even made a theme song for Simpler Times.

Wine & Chicken

Saturday afternoon and evening was spent with The Greene’s and my best friend Camille. Mr. Greene was making some chicken on his grill and some corn on the cob that he used rub on. It was amazing. As soon as we arrived the wine started flowing and it was good. I loved hanging out with the Greene’s and Camille. We spent hours talking about everything. Fun times and one of the few times in my life where I feel like an “adult.”



You know what I mean? It wasn't one of those things where a bunch of people get together and get wasted (which is fine every once in a while) but just some grown ass people hanging out and enjoying good food and adult beverages.

Trader Joe's Mandarin Chicken

I made some Mandarin orange chicken that I bought from Trader Joe’s. This was way more delicious than half the mandarin chicken I have had at restaurants. Actually it was better than half of them. Very fast and easy to make. The part that took the longest was the long white rice I made with it.

Most problems I have with any food like this that comes with a sauce and chicken is that one of two things happen. 1. There’s a lot of chicken and a couple spoonfuls of sauce or 2. there’s an assload of sauce and a couple pieces of hungry ass looking chicken. Like the leftover pieces that you know is nothing but chicken knuckles. This was a huge exception. It had more chicken than I could just sit and eat alone and two (that’s right, two!) packs of sauce that tasted amazing and would be good as its own dipping sauce with something else. And it costs less than $5 and will last for about four meals (that’s bachelor speak for four people). I highly recommended this and will be buying it again!

Trader Joe's Pizza

I got some pizza from Trader Joe’s today along with a bunch of other healthy ass stuff. I got this pizza and it was awesome. It was a chicken barbecue thing with Gouda and some other cheese and red onions. I ate half for lunch and just writing about it makes me wanna eat the other half right now. Which I think I’ll do. Yay, Trader Joe’s! And it cost less than $4 thank you very much.

Maki & Sushi

Tuesday I went to hang out with Julia C. at this place called Maki & Sushi. For those of you that don’t know I am not a fan of sushi. I had tried it before at this place called Todai at the Beverly Center in the 90’s. The next time I had it was at Wokano over in Santa Monica. I didn’t like it. The problem I have is when I eat sushi it doesn’t taste like how it looks so my brain takes forever to process this new information.

When we got to Maki & Sushi I got the lunch special. It comes with two types of sushi, tea, a small salad (which I had a bite of), an oyster, and soup. It was awesome! I ordered the spicy crab sushi and the shrimp tempura sushi. I loved each one of them. I was shocked at how full I got from this stuff. Julia also gave me one of her, I believe salmon, sushi. It was very big and very raw. She wanted to trick me into not knowing it was raw. Nice try, Julia!

I say break out of your box and try something you didn’t like before years ago. You may be as surprised as I was.

Lola's On Fairfax

Last night I went to this place called Lola’s on Fairfax and Santa Monica. it’s a martini bar. Or maybe its not. Either way they make good martinis. I went there with Heidi, Michelle, and two of Heidi’s friends. It was a cool ass spot. And deceptively large and loud. From the outside it looks small. They were playing a bunch of old school rap songs that we were laughing at. Good times.


Most places depending on where you go bring you things like tortilla chips and salsa, bread and oil or whatever. This place brings fancy chips and some vegetable things I didn’t even try and touch. The chips weren’t crunchy and that was strange but the more I ate the better they tasted. Michelle said they tasted like they were made in truffle oil. I’ll take her word for it.

I had a martini whose name I cant recall. It was very effective. And when I say effective I mean it got me drunk really fast. Like, really fast!

Oh, the macaroni! Heidi was raving about this stuff and she didn’t lie when she said it was the best macaroni ever! It was enough for two people so I had leftovers. This place is super pricey though and not somewhere I would go to often even though it tasted great. Very trendy type place but no one was an asshole and the waitress was nice. But watch out for the gratuity charge.

Purple Drank!

I love grape drink. Its good. Its pretty. It goes great with barbecue. This glass isn’t even Kool-Aid. Its like some cheap stuff I got at the 99 Cent Store. I don’t care. I like it. Sugar. Water. And of course…purple.

Tilapia Fish With Fries

Tilapia fish is good. I have made it a few times and it still makes me feel nervous. Tonight I decided to try frying this tilapia fish I have had and hoping that it turned out okay. It did! I used a small amount of garlic salt on the fish and the fries and a minuscule amount of cayenne pepper. I cant wait to make this again tomorrow. Now I’m staring at those salmon steaks and imagining what’s gonna happen next.

The Grove & Farmer's Market

I headed to The Grove and the Farmer’s Market today. The contrast between the places is crazy. They are so close together but so very different. The Grove is busy in the afternoon. Full of tourists, celebrities, and folks that hate watching where they walk. Its cool if you have a destination like the theater or The Cheesecake Factory.



The Farmer’s Market, while busy, isn’t as crammed with people. Just lots and lots of food. You can seriously find food from most countries and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Not that I’d know anything about that. Today I walked through the market more thoroughly than I ever have.



There was this barbecue sauce place that had soda flavored sauces. Seemed kinda scary but my cousin seemed intrigued.



The funny thing about most of the sauces is that they sound so damned threatening. “Kiss My Ass!” “Hog Ass.” “Slap Yo Mama!” Fuck You In The Ear!” Okay, the last one I made up but the rest were real. Check out the one below!



That’s real! Head to The Grove or Farmer’s Market and enjoy yourself. Its fun to play tourist sometimes. Minus the khaki shorts, flip flops, and tucked in t-shirt.

Oh, and my cousin bought a bag of kettle corn! This was butter toffee!

Back At Toast

I went to Toast with my cousin today. It was so awesome. It felt weird not seeing Camille sitting there across from me since every single time I have been it was with her. My cousin had never had it before and I couldn’t take her to The Counter again. Gotta try new things, you know?



This is a picture of her burger. I took one of mine but it turned out to be a video. Yeah. I’m special like that sometimes. I go a regular burger with a side of ranch dressing. Cousin got a burger with cheese (“I gotta have cheese on my Whopper!”) with bacon and “smashed” potatoes. Yes, smashed. She liked her meal and that was cool. I thought about going to Umami Burger but they have been getting some bad reviews lately. And the last time I went they didn’t even have any drinks. I shit you not. No drinks. Just water. Toast is a really cool place to eat as long as you don’t go on the weekend. I read a bunch of reviews and the ones that are bad are from two years ago and sound like bitter actors.