Burgers At Plan Check

A couple of nights ago me and some co-workers went to this place over on Sawtelle called Plan Check. BS had said it was great and boy he did not lie! I had been over in this area once before with Cam when we got the moving spaghetti, Blue Marlin. I got the Chef’s Favorite which had a cheese…uh…plate, bacon, sauce, and fries that were fried in beef fat. I didn’t get it with an egg on it because I’m not a fan of unscrambled eggs. This was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. Top three for sure. The fries were amazing and everything was served on baby skillets. Don’t go here if you’re in a rush.

The service is not the fastest in the world but they are plenty nice. Parking is a whore depending on when you go because this area is heavily populated. I’ll be going here again very soon. I doubt I'll remember the name of it though because its really not catchy. The prices are slightly high but worth it for the big ass burger and amount of fries. You could split the fries between two people and be okay. The seating is all around the windows, outside, and a small island indoors for a large group. There is a large selection of things to try and crazy mixed drinks I will attempt to have at some point.

Panini Cafe on 3rd & Crescent Heights

The other day before I headed off to work I asked Cam if she’d be up for grabbing something to eat. I was thinking of going to Toast, but the last time we tried it was super packed and we ended up going to At Bangkok. She mentioned that Panini Café on 3rd and Crescent Heights had opened. She had been to the downtown location before and said it was good. She has the good taste so we headed there. I got the #6 which was a chicken sandwich, chicken soup, and an Arnold Palmer. The sandwich was amazing. The bell peppers were perfectly grilled and so damned good. The chicken soup was real chicken soup and not some canned nonsense.

Cam got a salad, this rice with carrots that was good, and chicken kabobs. Both of us enjoyed the hell out of our meals. The staff there was really nice and the food came in minutes. I was shocked when I saw a waiter with plates and it was our meals. The way its set up is really open and people aren’t on top of each other. There’s also outside seating available. The only problem you may have is parking since 3rd street is not made for people to park easily on. Between both our meals it was less than $25 which is a great deal. If you get a chance to go here you really should. I cant wait to head back here and get some more meals.

Kettle Corn Leveled Up

A couple of weeks ago Cam made some kettle corn for some of her salsa hooligans. Yes, that is the name I have given them. She made the sugar kind which is always good and then made one that had seasonings on them. Not sure which kinds because I don’t pay attention when I am eating things I like. I know it had pepper and was slightly spicy. Damn, it was good! When I came home I was all set to make some of my own. Sugar? Check. Oil? Check. Popcorn? Nope! How in the hell did I run out of popcorn? I guess I made more than I thought the last time I was all about kettle corn. I’ll make some this weekend and let you all know how it turned out.

Lemon Pepper Chicken & Garlic Fries

I told myself that starting this year I was gonna start cooking at home more often. I like to make simple yet good meals that don’t require a lot of preparation or ingredients. If you live near a Trader Joe’s there’s no reason for you not to make your own meals. If you have $20 you have dinner for a week. I bought the bag of chicken breasts for $6.99. I season it with lemon pepper that cost $1.99 and a little garlic salt that you can buy anywhere for cheap. I put it in the oven for forty minutes, turning and seasoning it once. Afterwards I slice it to make it look pretty. I’ve been working on Hell’s Kitchen for too long…

The garlic fries cost around four bucks. You are supposed to season and bake these but that takes way too long and I tend to wait until I am very hungry and incredibly impatient. There’s a pack of garlic sauce that comes in the bag. I suggest you thaw it in a cup of warm water while you cook. I ended up frying the fries which cuts the cooking time but a fourth of the time. I put it in a large plastic container and shook it like it owed me money. In less than an hour I had a delicious dinner that makes about four meals for around ten dollars.

Pinche's Tacos Again

In between seeing Amour and Rust And Bone me and Cam went to Pinche’s on Sunset. Its right near the Sundance Theater and she had never been there. I had been there once before and it was really good. I’ve talked before about how hard it is to get good Mexican food where I live which makes no sense to me. I rarely get to suggest a food place to Cam that 1. We can both eat at and 2. One I think she’ll like. So I was happy as hell that she really liked her dishes. I got the chips and salsa to start. I love these kind of chips since they are super crunchy.

At Bangkok

A couple of weeks ago Cam and I went to King & I again. They have changed their name but its in the same spot. I don’t know what its called now. I should probably check. Okay. Its called At Bangkok. I first went here years ago with Cam and we’ve gone once in a while ever since. They’ve changed the way the place has looked and some of the dishes. I got this lemon sauce and chicken dish while she got a soup and papaya salad that was really good. I also got the cream cheese wontons but they were a bit too sweet. It tasted like they were made me strawberry cream cheese. A bit too sweet when combined with the sauce. Next time I go here I’ll try a new dish in my small attempts at expanding my horizons. Its located on La Cienega just past Wilshire.

Mendocino Farms Firsties

Last week I went to Mendocino Farms with South Paw who had never been there before. I love this place for the fact that their food is good, they have dozens of choices, and the staff there is cool. South Paw pointed out that no one would even know what I ate since I had flattened it and taken a bite out of it. I got the blue cow something or other. Its chicken and spicy and great.

THE New Year's Party

Every year Cam has a tradition of having a lunch/dinner at her place on New Year’s Day. I look forward to it months in advance. Its not some crazy drunken party nor is it something where everyone eats and sits around staring at people. Each year there are different people and familiar faces. I get to meet new friends of hers and friends of her friends. People arrive at different times and we talk about so many topics and personal experiences and its just too damned fun.

Food At The End Of 2012

In the past couple of weeks I have been spending time watching movies, hanging out with folks, and enjoying the holidays. Yeah, there’s been more but if you wanna read/hear all that nonsense check out my other blogs. I’ve eaten at a few places and tried some new things and they have been building so I’ve decided to just cram the into a blog about the last places I ate at in 2012.

First up is this chip exhibit I went to with Cam. She writes about beer and potato chips and someone mentioned this to her so we went. It was at this place called 8 Bit in Echo Park. Or Silverlake. I seriously mix the two up.

They had chips from all over the world so me and Cam decided to buy fifteen bags of them. Sounds like a lot but damn it we’re dedicated! By the time we got there, days after the exhibit started, so many crazy ass flavors were already gone.

Zico Coconut Water Fail

I'm not a huge drinker of coconut water. Most times it tastes like nothing to me or has so much pulp that it feels like I'm drinking sea monkeys. So today before work instead of my usual Gatorade I decided to give this Zico coconut water a try. I'd seen it plenty of times and they seem to have a loyal fan base. I got to work and cracked the bottle open and took a whiff. It smelled weird but it wasn't like I was hoping for something like “Ooh, this is gonna be scrumptious!” Its friggin' coconut water. I took a swig and wanted to spit it out immediately. It tasted like melted butter. Now, butter is great. It makes most things taste better, but by itself its gross. Like cinnamon. I tried to force myself to finish the bottle but it just wasn't happening. And at almost two bucks a bottle it should at least be palatable. I'll continue hunting for coconut water that doesn't taste like it should be spread on toast. 

Energy Drinks

After some recent deaths and even “spontaneous abortions” people have been coming down hard on energy drinks, particularly 5 Hour Energy. I for one am here to say that not only do I like the stuff, I’ll continue to support them. I first tried it last year when I was damn near close to passing out while transcribing. A chick that worked with me said that they worked so I headed down to the store and got one. It tasted like ass but in less than half an hour I felt well rested. Not all jittery like most energy drinks but like I actually slept well the night before.

There are plenty of energy drinks on the market. The most popular one is Red Bull. Even the name says “Things are about to get crazy!” If you want to annoy all your friends or co-workers knock back a few of these. If you want to look like an ass have it sugar free. By the way, sugar free? Red Bull? Just take a nap, granny. I’ve had this drink with vodka before which is like putting an axe at the end of a handgun. It seems like it would be cool until you actually try using it. And whatever you do don’t pour it into a glass. It looks like diseased urine.

Buddha Belly Is Amazing

Last weekend me and Cam went to Buddha's Belly again. This place is just fantastic. Located near The Grove it is pretty easy to miss. I've mentioned before that I had passed it dozens of times and never noticed it. The way its set up is nice, the staff is awesome, and the food is great. We usually start off with chicken potstickers and we continued this trend. I almost forgot to take a picture since we dived into them as soon as they arrived.

In my attempt to continue trying new things at places I've been to a few times I thought that we should try the crab thingies. I forget what the name of these were but they were good. You have to be careful here since everything is big so you can get full easily.

More Numero Uno

About two weeks ago me and Cam went to Numero Uno. I forget how good this place is and each time we've been its been nice. I have been trying different things there so while Cam got her single pizza I tried the lemon chicken linguine. I expected chicken, like, cut up in the pasta but it was next to it. I also didn't expect it to taste so lemony! This is not a complaint. It tasted amazing but I thought maybe a lemon squeezed over it or maybe some juice on it. Nope. This was cooked in lemon or something and was so damned good. We also got those sweet dough balls as well. I took the rest of it home with me and as always it tasted just as if not better the next day.

Grown Man Meal

A few weeks ago I promised myself a home made meal. I don't make them as much as I used to and that is silly. Plus working on a show where all I do is watch food being made is a huge tease for my stomach so I told myself “We're having a big ass steak this weekend!” So while shopping at Target for new shoes I also bought some pants and almost forgot that they have, like, actual food at Target. So I picked up a huge steak for $8 and a couple of potatoes for mashing. Later that night I made a delicious steak and potatoes dinner that made me eleven kinds of happy. I think I will make this a weekly weekend thing. Have crap that lasts all week during the work week and a good meal at home on weekends. Hell, why not? I'm a grown ass man.

Arclight Burgers

I went to see Argo with Cam a couple of weeks ago and we were both having the hunger. We could either see it at The Grove and fight with tourists for parking and deal with loud ass kids or we could see it at The Arclight with beautiful seats and no kids. So we went to the Arclight. We had about thirty five minutes before the movie and decided to eat there. Its cool because you write what time your movie starts and they make it faster I guess. She got a veggie burger and I got a regular one with fries. It was damned good! I was hankering for a burger since I have been living off pizza for weeks now. If you’re ever in the area get some food there. Less than $25 for a full meal and drinks for two folks. Or you can go to that creepy ass Jack In The Box that has carpet across the street.