Getting Out of My Food Comfort Zone

While my friend Jayme was in town, I decided to have us check out a bunch of new restaurants I have never been to. After a long day at the beach, nothing sounds better than a margarita on the rocks. On our way home, Jayme made a comment about a restaurant with an ironic name called Gilbert’s El Indio, but it was obviously a Mexican restaurant. From some Googling, the restaurant actually contained some of the best Yelp reviews on the Internet for nearby Mexican restaurants. Nestled on bustling Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, Gilbert’s stood out among commercial buildings. Once seated, you are immediately greeted with homemade chips and spicy salsa. This is one of my requirements for a good Mexican restaurant. While I understand not all places will shell out free chips, salsa, flour tortillas and a sopapilla like Oklahoma restaurants, free chips and salsa is a must. Next we ordered a pitcher of margaritas on the rocks. Departing from traditional margaritas, Gilbert’s margs contained a hint of orange that is always a welcome complement to the traditional lime. I selected the “Extra Super Mule” burrito. Yes, it was as gigantic as it sounds. Filled with shredded chicken, beans, avocado and lettuce topped with cheese, roasted jalapeños and a savory verde sauce. The burrito ended up being way to big for one meal, and I gladly took my extras home for leftovers. One thing to remember if you are planning on eating at Gilberts, bring cash because they don’t take debit or credit cards.

By the next morning, we had thankfully recovered from our Mexican food coma and were ready for brunch at Urth Café. There are a couple Urth Cafes around the Los Angeles area, but I wanted Jayme to get the true experience and took her to the most popular location on Melrose in West Hollywood. My dilemma for brunch is always the same, sweet or savory. As we rounded the counter, I finally settled on the bread pudding with bruléed bananas. When I ordered, I got an extra surprise choice between regular bread pudding or cinnamon raisin. I went with the cinnamon raisin to pair with my Spanish latte served Urth Italia or in other words strong and heavy. We snagged a prime table outside with just the right amount of shade and sun. Our lattes arrived first with an organic design crafted out of foam. Saying I am an avid coffee drinker is an understatement. I start almost every day with either a shot of espresso or a steaming cup of black coffee. Therefore when I say this is the best latte I have ever had, you know I am being serious. The latte highlighted the slightly sweet coffee rather than attempting to mask the coffee flavor under too sweet flavoring. When our dishes arrived, I was equally impressed. The caramel from the bananas dripped down into the moist bread pudding. With notes of cinnamon, the pudding tasted like home during the holidays. Jayme’s sausage and potato omelet was also delicious. Instead of the ingredients hiding inside the omelet, the heirloom potatoes, spicy chicken sausage and bell peppers were mixed directly into the eggs, more like a frittata. The sausage and potatoes contrasted textures but the flavors paired perfectly together. All in all the food was very good, but the coffee was absolutely outstanding!

Our brunch was able to sustain us until our dinner reservations at 7 pm. I was excited to try out Dominick’s in West Hollywood. With a sister location in trendy Los Feliz, Dominick’s is very popular among locals. Every Sunday, Dominick’s offers a “Sunday Supper.” For $15, you receive a 3-course meal. I was a little nervous about this week’s special, but I really wanted to take Jayme here. I’m glad the trout special didn’t scare me off. While I ended up ordering the special, Jayme settled on the gnocchi. We ordered a bottle of the house wine to kick off our dinner. I don’t normally order bottles of wine at restaurants because it is out of my price range, but Dominick’s sells a special wine called Dago for only $12. Seriously. Dago is an Italian tradition. Back in the day, wineries would give its excess vintage to many of the vineyard’s workers. It was aged in small batches so none are identical, but all equally robust with a semi-sweet finish. My first course was comprised of roasted, lemon asparagus on a bed of peppery arugula. Since this is a three-course meal for relatively inexpensive, I was expecting my entrée portion to be on the small size. I was delightfully surprised when my plate came out with two trout filets served almondine style. Slivered almonds encrusted the thin trout filets with a light cream sauce. My trout was paired with roasted potatoes in a spicy, cayenne rub. The citrus from the first course carried on into the trout and finished off in the dessert. Served up in a shiny silver dish, two scoops of Meyer lemon sorbet melted the second it hit my tongue. Not the least bit icy, the sorbet was smooth and tart. Jayme’s gnocchi was served in a traditional tomato-basil sauce, but what really made the dish stand out was the gnocchi. Mixed with soft ricotta cheese, the potato pasta was transformed into little pillows. Sharp pecorino cheese on top added the perfect contrast to the sweet sauce.

Until next time, I hope I inspired you to get out of your food routine and try something new!

High School Reunion in Los Angeles

New York set on WB back lot

Last week one of my best friends from high school, Jayme, flew out to Los Angeles to visit me. I greeted her at the airport with a red velvet cupcake from Sprinkles. I could recap all the touristy things we did, but I have already done that post. Despite the traditional LA highlights, I actually got to do a lot of things that were new to me as well as Jayme. The day after her arrival, we headed up to the Warner Brothers lot to have lunch with another one of our friends from high school. While I normally leave shortly after lunch, our friend was gracious enough to give us a short tour of the studio. It amazes me that the Gilmore Girl set is still pretty much in tact. On a chance encounter, we were able to get the hook up to a private tour to the best parts of the lot. To pass the time before our tour, we checked out the WB Museum. Inside costumes from some of WB’s most iconic movies and TV shows were on display. When you first walk through the door, the newest Batman costumes were front and center. Other highlights included the Inception costumes, Matrix leather suits, 300 armor and uniforms from Gossip Girl. In the back of the museum, five Oscars were on display. The museum reserved the best costumes for the second floor, which was completely devoted to Harry Potter. From costumes to props, there was a piece from every film in the series. Comparing the sizes of the costumes, you could actually see how the actors grew with their characters. The sorting hat also made an appearance and sorted you into one of the four Hogwarts houses. You basically couldn’t leave the floor without being sorted. Thankfully, the hat said I was loyal and sorted me into Gryffindor! 

After leaving the museum, we headed over to Central Perk the WB gift store/coffee shop, which obviously shares the name with Friends’ famous coffee shop. This was the perfect precursors to our actually tour of the old Friends’ set. Sitting on the orange couch, I half expected Rachel to take my coffee order or to hear Phoebe performing “Smelly Cat.” Our Friends’ tour segwayed into a short walk through WB’s prop shop. I found it interesting that the different studios all rent different props from each other. From the prop warehouse, we headed over to the building called “transport.” I wasn’t sure what to expect from this stop, but it exceeded my expectations. Not only was the iconic Batman Mobile there but also the new Batman Tumbler and Batpod. The Duke’s of Hazzard orange Dodge Charge, General Lee, was also present, along with the Scooby Doo van, The Mystery Machine. My favorite car was the blue flying car from Harry Potter, which look like it had just rolled out of the Forbidden Forest. Avoiding the traffic nightmare of the east 101, we drove down through West Hollywood and back to my apartment.

The next day, we packed my car with beach gear and picnic necessities for a trip to Hermosa Beach, which is about 30 minutes south of Santa Monica. The beach was packed due to a beach volleyball tournament. It was a nice change from the lazy feel of Santa Monica. After hours in the sun, we drove back toward my apartment. After a quick clean up, we decided to check out Gilbert’s El Indio in Santa Monica. The name might suggest Indian food, but it was in fact Mexican. After filling up on authentic Mexican fare, Jayme and I decided to go out in Brentwood. Now Brentwood isn’t the most hopping place, but it does have two semi-wild bar. We settled on Qs a sort of upscale, billiard’s lounge.

For Sunday brunch, we went to Urth Café on Melrose in West Hollywood. Any fans of Entourage? Yes, this is the restaurant they are always at. We managed to beat the rush and snag a prime table outside. Brunch was absolutely delicious, and I will definitely be back. Since we were already in the Hollywood area, we decided to follow some instructions I found on Google to a look point for the Hollywood Sign. It’s hard to get a good picture with the Hollywood Sign from the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. To snap a better picture, we weaved our way up Beachwood Drive into Griffon Park. After awhile of driving at a near straight-up incline, we finally reached the location. We followed the instructions to go to the right of a gate and follow a small trail. Not far into our walk, we encountered a “No Trespasser” sign, so we decided to follow these other girls who were going to the lookout as well. After a minute, we realized we were not going in the right direction. The other girls decided to climb up this small trail. If they could do it, we could do it too- right? Wow. We completely misjudged the fact the trail was actually almost completely vertical. In our sandals, we literally rock climbed up the trail, but our efforts definitely paid off once we reached the top. Only a small valley away set the Hollywood Sign. We capture a bunch of great pictures that made it completely worth the trip. Once we wound our way down the canyon, we hit up Rodeo Drive and Century City for some serious shopping. Completely shopped out, we drove to Dominick’s in West Hollywood. I had read about the restaurant’s Sunday supper and was sold on the idea of a $15 3-course meal. Dinner was terrific paired with a robust, red wine for only $12! We turned in for an early night, because the next day was set to be a long one.

When I asked Jayme what she wanted to do during her visit, she only had one request. Go on the Price Is Right. Since I had been a contestant on Let’s Make a Deal, I couldn’t be a contestant on the show, but I was more than happy to go because The Price Is Right is such an iconic game show. One of my favorite parts of staying home sick when I was younger was watching Bob Barker and all the crazy contestants. We waited in line for hours and not just a couple hours, in total we waited almost eight hours! We made friends with a man who was home on leave from the Navy and his pregnant wife. I pretty much knew Jayme’s chances of being selected dropped even lower when this duo was in our processing group. I mean seriously, how could the show not pick a member of our military who has a little one on the way?! Finally, we were escorted into the set. I was surprised by how small it actually is, since it looks fairly large on TV. After three contestants were asked to “Come On Down,” our line friend’s name was called! On his first try, he guessed the closest price to the selected item and got to play one of the games. Unfortunately he didn’t win, but I think the game was completely rigged- haha. Next someone near us was called, and we high-fived her on her way to Contestant’s Row. Before we knew it the show was over, and we were being shuffled out of the set. On our way back to our car, I had one of my most random LA experiences. Walking across a packed parking lot, a woman commented that I had a nice smile. I politely said thank you, we were back on our way. Then she piped up if she could talk to me real quick. She explained that her and her friend worked at a casting agency in Beverly Hills and was currently looking for “real” people with nice smiles for a toothpaste commercial. I agreed to fill out the form, and they shot me in a quick interview. Who knows, I might just be staring in a toothpaste commercial. Haha. I am really up for anything to make some extra money. The day ended with an early dinner at hotspot BLD and Pinkberry for dessert. Very early the next morning, Jayme departed back to the Midwest.   

LA Fine Fare

From your comments, my last few posts have taken on a more food theme. As promised, I have “reviewed” more restaurants. I put review in quotes because I realize I am not a food critic. Almost every restaurant I have tried in Los Angeles, I loved. This could be due to my extreme pre-Googling skills before I make a restaurant selection. While my parents were in town a month ago, I was able to sample a little of LA’s finer fare.

Nestled in the hotel my parents were staying at in Santa Monica lies a not so hidden gem, FIG. Before their visit, I had considered trying FIG out during DineLA. I never found the time and was excited when they suggested it. After a long day of doing touristy things around LA, we went back to their hotel for an early dinner. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a pleasant surprise. As mentioned in my previous blog post, a sign notified us that everything was half-priced if we ordered before six. Since I was with my parents, half-priced is interpreted into try more things. I was thankful for my previous research on FIG as a quickly scanned the menu. We only had seven minutes to order, and I didn’t want to miss out on any of their best dishes. I ordered the stuffed honey dates and domestic cheese flight for the table, and the hand-harvested scallops for my entrée. The dates arrived first. A French blue cheese made up the middle of the dates topped with small-slivered almonds and a honey drizzle. While these are easily eaten in one bite, I took the time to carefully cut mine into three. The blue cheese added the needed savory element to keep the dates from being a sweet disaster. Next came the cheese flight, which was paired with fresh honeycomb, apple slices, raspberry preserves and assorted homemade breads. The cheeses ranged from a mild Brie to a strong blue cheese. Not everyone was a fan of the flight, but I enjoyed each cheese. In order not to become too full before our main course, my mom and I split the fennel and mandarin salad. The fennel added a hint of licorice balancing the sweet from the clementines. It was a refreshing course before my scallop entrée. My large diver-scallops were paired with roasted cauliflower, pinenuts, golden raisins and segments of tangerines. The dish was a masterpiece of complementary flavors. We finished the meal with two desserts, a Nutella and chocolate tart and a Melrose apple tatin. The chocolate tart was topped with candied hazelnuts and a marshmallow crème. It reminded me of an upscale s’more. The decadent chocolate paired perfectly with a hint of hazelnuts and the surprising, silky texture of the marshmallow crème. While this was rich, the apple tatin tasted like home. One of my favorite desserts from my childhood is apple pie. This tatin took apple pie to the next level. A drizzle of caramel and a scoop of sea salt ice cream paired perfectly with the cinnamon apples in the tart.  

For a flashback to the lunchroom of elementary school but with better food, check out Lemonade. I hit up the Venice location, but I’m excited one will be opening in the Brentwood Village soon. You first encounter rows of unique, bright salads made up of unique combinations such as butternut squash, sage and pistachios. Classics are also there such as potato, chicken and egg salad. There are almost 20 to choose from, which felt a little overwhelming. My four salads were each distinctly different. I chose the squash mentioned above, a creamy avocado and tomato salad, a chicken, grape and oregano combination and one more I can’t remember. After selecting my cold salads, I slide my tray down to the “stew  selection.” From turkey chili to curry chicken, each looked equally enticing. I opted to pass on this section in favor for a bowl of macaroni and cheese. I don’t know what person who can’t remember having mac’n’cheese for lunch when they were younger. After my tray was filled with savory items, I settled on sharing a variety of macaroons with my mom. Between the chocolate, pistachio and lemon, the lemon definitely stood out to me. My meal finished with the drink that inspired the restaurant’s name. I selected blueberry mint after reading rave reviews online, and it did not disappoint. The drink perfectly combined sweet and refreshing flavors for an unexpected treat. The food was good, but the lemonade is what I will be coming back for! 

A popular breakfast spot by locals, I decided to take my parents to Le Pain Quotidien. The restaurant has various locations around the LA area, but thankfully there was one close by in the Brentwood Village. After having some trouble finding the restaurant, we settled into the tucked away location. I was surprised with the décor. A quaint space filled with Santa Fe style, wooden furniture and art. This set the scene for the rustic food and coffee that followed. The menu mostly consisted of breads and pastries, but there were a few full breakfast dishes on the menu. I settled on a soft-boiled egg with a side of assorted breads. There was already a praline spread on the table along with two different jams, and I couldn’t resist trying them. After my dish arrived, I struggled to properly crack the egg because I had never had a soft-boiled egg before. Despite my distaste for deviled eggs, I discovered I in fact like soft-boiled eggs. The highlight of my breakfast was the assorted, organic breads. The praline spread called Burnette tasted like a sweet peanut butter. I am a big fan of peanut butter, but this blew me away. For me it was a chocolate-free version of Nutella, you could truly taste the flavor of the nuts. My favorite of the two jams was the apricot preserves. With strings of apricot, the jam wasn’t overly sweet but instead slightly tangy.

Hope I got your taste buds watering or intrigued you to try these restaurants. I already have another food post in the works after trying a bunch of new restaurants during my friend Jayme’s visit.

The New College Graduate

While in high school and throughout college, you are always told a college degree pretty much ensures you will have a job after you graduate. After the economy bottomed out in 2008, this statement simply wasn't true anymore. Not only was getting a job difficult, getting even your foot in on the ground level of your dream job was nearly impossible. Many people were forced to settle on taking jobs they were not necessarily passionate about. In the journalism school, professors preached the saying "If you love what your do, you could work for free." Now suddenly I felt like this ideal was being tossed to the wayside with the new economic climate. After feverishly applying for jobs my senior year with no results, I started to think of a new game plan. Ok I majored in public relations, but do I love this? Would I do it for free?

Sadly the answer was no. If I never had to write another press release in my life I would be extremely happy. As you can tell I wasn't ready to give up on my professors' preaching. I pulled out a piece of scratch paper and wrote down all my passions: fashions, cooking, movies and going to the beach. How could I mold all these things into a career? After a lot of rethinking, I settled on pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. It combines my creative streak and passion for movies, as an added bonus I live four miles from the beach!

I am not the only one rethinking the automatic transition to 9-5 right out of college. For many it is not a choice, but all my friends have embraced the idea of the new life of a college graduate. My best friend Juliana was pretty much set on law school after graduation. Spring semester something changed. After a variety of options presented themselves to her, she ended up moving to upstate New York on slightly a whim. Now if you know Juliana, she is a meticulous thinker. She is one of the smartest people I know, and I was a little shocked by her spontaneity. After a couple of months, she moved down into the city. I am not going to sugar coat things and say it was all peachy, but she really proved her perseverance. She rethought going to law school and possibly getting her masters in something else. Last month she was admitted to Columbia for International Educational Development. I am so proud and happy for her. While life didn't go exactly as she planned, something better than she could have ever imagined happened.

Another friend who didn't conform to the 9-5 is Ciara. Ciara is one of my bravest friends in my opinion. She decided to go abroad for a year. Traveling from town to town in Australia, Ciara was armed with little more than a backpack. Even days before her big move, she didn't have a concrete plan. Her plan was to go with the flow and travel for the first couple months, and then find a more permanent jobs later. While adults didn't understand this, I thought she was brilliant. I wish I had half the courage of Ciara. So far it seems her time Down Under has worked out fairly well. You can follow her adventures on her blog The Adventures of a 20-Nothing Backpacker.

Other popular options included going directly into a graduate program, moving home and even settling on temp jobs. I feel this extra year has given me a better idea what I want in my life. I love all the possibilities that have opened up in my life. I could have stayed in Kansas City and continued searching for a public relations job, but I decided to take the time to truly pursue my passions. While it isn't an option for everyone to take some time off, I recommend it for anyone who isn't 100% on board with their major. If you are even having the slightest doubt, do you really want to get stuck in a career unable to get out? Five years down the road, you could be sitting at your cubical hating your life but then you are in too deep.

Cupcakes Galore

My cupcake addiction set in right before the cupcake craze fully swept across America. At first I always asked my mom to make cupcakes or to send some my way when I went off to college. I was still a little shaky in the kitchen and didn’t want to mess my favorite treat up. Everything changed two Christmas’s ago, when my parents bought me the Martha Stewart Cupcake cookbook. This continues to be one of the presents I use the most. To say I love this cookbook is an understatement. Not only does Martha (yes, we are on a first named basis) provide at least a hundred cupcake ideas, the book also contains decorating tips and presentations. For me the best part of the cookbook is the basic cupcake recipes. From these recipes, I have been able to mix in my own creativity for truly unique cupcakes. My first original creation was lavender-lime cupcakes. Starting with Martha’s Lemon Meringue cupcake, I substituted lime for lemon and added chopped dried lavender. I didn’t read the recipe completely until I was already mixing up my dry ingredients- rookie mistake. The second instruction called for the use of an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar together. Not wanting to give up before I had even started, I figured I could do this step by hand. After more than 20 minutes of whisking and two sore arms, I finally achieve the light, fluffy consistency described. The next day I invested in a hand mixer to save my arms from any future mixing.

I baked my next cupcake batch for my friend’s birthday. Since she had semi-recently studied abroad in Ireland, I settled on a Guinness cupcake with a brown sugar cream cheese frosting. The chocolate cupcake had the perfect hint of the dark stout to complement rather than overpower the chocolate.

As the weather cooled this fall I was craving my mom’s gingerbread. For a twist on the classic, I baked up gingerbread cupcakes topped with a lemon whipped cream cheese frosting. The fluffy, tart frosting paired perfectly with the spice of the cupcake. 

As I flipped through my cookbook for the millionth time, I started thinking up ideas for a new cupcake. I debated between making a healthy carrot cupcake and a coconut cupcake. I eventually settled on the coconut, but I didn’t feel the cupcake by itself was special enough. After reading through a couple more recipes, I remembered one that contained flambéed pineapples on top. I started with Martha’s coconut cupcake. 

While it baked, I whipped up a tangy, cream cheese frosting. Now for the flambéing… After more than a couple incidents where I have burned myself cooking, my roommate was a littler nervous for me to set the fruit on fire. Flambéing is when you simmer fruit in alcohol and then set it on fire in order to burn off the effects of alcohol so only the taste remains. I used a little white rum to give my pineapple a tropical flare. Thankfully the flambéing went off without a hook, but I will say the flame was intense. 

After the cupcakes cooled, I cut a small hole in the middle a spooned in the pineapple sauce. I topped the cupcake with the frosting and sprinkled on shredded coconut. The end result- a piña colada cupcake! Biting into this cupcake, you taste the sweetness of the shredded coconut on top then the tang of the frosting. Next comes the moist cupcake with a nice hint of coconut, finished with an orange scented bite of pineapple. I’m immediately transported back to my senior spring break, where piña coladas were considered a breakfast drink on the beach.

Classic Food Favorites in Los Angeles

If you plan to visit me in Los Angeles, I can guarantee at least one of these places will be among our culinary stops. Sometimes I am a creature of habit. I find a place I like and go to in a lot, but when I moved to LA I had a whole new world to explore. Los Angeles is a food Mecca. Anything you are craving can be yours. Friends introduced me to a couple of these places, but I used to power of Google to discover the rest.

Halloween decor from Sprinkles

My number one favorite place to eat in Los Angeles is Sprinkles. Okay so this isn’t really an eatery, but it is my number one guilty pleasure. If you know anything about me, you know I am a slight cupcake fanatic. There is something about a small cake that makes you feel less guilty about eating dessert. On my one trip home to Oklahoma, I carried on a dozen Sprinkles cupcakes for my family. I couldn’t wait to share my favorite treat with my mom, who will tell you what she thinks about a cake. When even my mom was won over by Sprinkles, I knew I had found a real gem. My favorites are usually its seasonal/holiday specials. Every few weeks, Sprinkles features a special combination of cake and frosting that is only available for a limited time. The most recent was a homage to St. Patty’s Day- a dark chocolate cupcake adorned with Baileys Irish Crème frosting. I could list around another 10 favorites, but I will narrow it down to the company’s most popular- the Red Velvet. If you remotely like chocolate or sweets, you will love this cupcake. It is the right about of sweet with a hint of cocoa powder and the tang of the cream cheese frosting. After perusing the shops down Rodeo Drive, Sprinkles is the perfect sweet indulgence. 

Veggie burger with provolone cheese, tomato & corn relish

After you have satisfied your sweet tooth with some cupcakes, why not head over to The Counter. This restaurant specializes in create your own burger. Even if you are not a vegetarian, you should try the veggie burger. It is literally the best veggie burger I have ever had, and it is also vegan. What truly makes The Counter unique is its customized burger concept. After selecting your patty type, you are faced with the daunting task of selecting your own cheese, toppings and sauce. While the menu directs you to select the cheese first, I like to start at the sauce and go from there. When selecting your sauce, the main choice you need to make is if you are going for a sweet or savory burger. After choosing your sauce, you are faced with narrowing down toppings to only four out of around 30 unless you want to pay a little more. As we come back full circle, you can finally select your cheese as the topper to your burger creation. The perfect pairing to your burger creation is a creamy, classic shake.

Red Velvet pancake

If you aren’t too full from the previous day, The Griddle is the perfect place to start your day. I have been to The Griddle four times, and I have tried something new each time. It is best known for its pancakes the size of a medium pizza. The flavors vary from classics such as chocolate chip and blueberry to the more unusual raspberry lemon curd and red velvet topped with a swirl of cream cheese icing. There is also French toast and waffles in the sweet category, but you are not out of luck if you are craving a more savory breakfast. From five different types of eggs benedict to any number of omelets, the standouts for me are the huevos rancheros. I love huevos rancheros, and it can be done a thousand different ways. The Griddle pairs its dish with chicken tequila sausage for a surprising side. The Griddle will leave you with leftovers for at least the next morning if not a couple more.

These three LA restaurants are classics of the area. Look forward to another post featuring some of my more unusual finds around Los Angeles. Hope this excites anyone who is planning to visit me, or gives ideas to other locals.