Cuisine. Culture. Commentary.
The first thing I saw when I walked into Lyfe Kitchen was the freestanding wall of herbs. Nope. Too healthy. Words like “organic” and “sustainable” popped into mind. But I was with three other girls who were dying to try it, and it was too late to turn around and hit up the $.99 pizza…
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Back in the day, there were all sorts of cute coffee houses. This coffee culture was epitomized on “Friends” with Central Perk. People loved the idea of getting cozy in a spot that was true to their neighborhood, where they could sit for hours chatting or working on their laptops. But, ironically, just as “Friends”…
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Gemma is one of those restaurants everyone suggests for dinner when friends are in town. They have great pizzas and pastas for sharing so it’s good for groups. The atmosphere, like the Bowery Hotel it’s attached to, is old-world beautiful and [as my brother put it] feels like you’re in a Wes Anderson movie. Despite its…
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My Mom and Allison didn’t arrive in the neighborhood from the airport until about 10 PM so we decided to stick nearby when getting a bite to eat. For no particular reason, Albert has never wanted to try Sticky’s Finger Joint, despite all the amazing pics I’ve seen on FoodBaby’s instagram, so I took the…
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I was so upset when the 7A, the 24 hour East Village diner, closed. I spent many a late night there and thought the area was losing a gem. But then it re-opened as Miss Lily’s 7A, the eastside location of the popular Jamaican spot and my frown turned upside down. Because I snacked a…
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I have no idea what’s actually in arroz con pollo, the traditional Spanish/Puerto Rican dish. I know there’s arroz (aka: rice) and pollo (chicken for us English speakers). Beyond that, it’s pretty much a guessing game, which is why I have zero idea whether or not my version of this meal is authentic. I’m guessing…
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The one LA trend I did not want to give into was the health craze. Everything there is organic, free range, GMO free, pilates. B.S., I say. But after a workout on Sunday morning I needed to stop somewhere before passing out and Kreation was the closest place I could walk into. It was pretty…
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One of my main missions in LA was to eat as many fish tacos as possible. It’s one of those quintessential SoCal dishes that has not been perfected on the same scale on the East Coast. On our first day in Santa Monica, Albert and I sought out the local treat and went no further…
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I wanted most of my trip to LA to be about discovery. I didn’t want to plan too much out because I had the hopes of just stumbling across local favorites. There was, however, one place I had heard about for so long that I was dying to go. Gjelina was listed as a favorite on…
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Since our Saturday and Sunday evenings were already scheduled with wedding events, Friday night was all about hanging out with Greg and Susan – it’s so rare that I’m in Cali (rare = never) that we needed to take advantage. They were spending the weekend moving from their Marina del Rey home into a new…
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Peaches to Apples 