Sarabeth's - Japan

Sarabeth's first opened their doors in 1981 in New York. It makes perfect sense that they are now in Japan if you understand how the restaurant culture is now. There are 5 locations now: Tokyo, Lumine Shinjuku, Nagoya, Shinagawa, and Osaka. People love cafes in Japan. There are so many French and German inspired ones more so now than I remembered 5 years ago when I visited Tokyo. Maybe 10 years ago, we can agree that Japanese food is better in Japan. Even though I'm sure in some cases, that is still true, we can certainly agree to those that have explored Southern California enough to confidently say our Japanese cuisines (sushi, izakaya, yakiniku, etc) is comparable. 

This time around, I wanted to check out more cafes and unique spots. Honestly, it's inspiring to be at these restaurants than to hit up all the sushi joints. That's not what Tokyo is about. You will soon realize that your journey begins once you start exploring without the restriction of places you should be eating at. To me, that defeats the purpose of finding little gems that gets outshined by word of mouth publicity. I'm not about that. 

And even though Sarabeth's is a chain, my experience was by accident. This restaurant was stumbled upon as we were headed to Tokyo Station. This experience however, is still my first.

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We were probably the 3rd group to arrive at around 10. By 11, the cafe was pretty much 75% full. 

Cappuccino 

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Lemon pancakes. Slightly dense, but the lemon flavor was nice. It's one of my favorite flavored pancakes so I wanted to see how this was done.

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Classic eggs benedict. I would say this is one of the best if not the best, eggs benedict I've ever had. Simple, but the execution is always important. The hollandaise sauce was rich and lusciously wrapped over the shall I say, perfectly poached egg. They used British muffins instead of English which changed my whole view on making these. So much better as the egg yolk seeps in. Yeah try and picture that. The ham is slightly charred to bring out a slight smokiness from the ham. 

1-8-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo TEKKO BUILDING. 2,3F

Water Grill - DTLA Brunch

Just in, Water Grill (Click for location) spotted in Downtown Los Angeles is not serving brunch. Located on 544 S. Grand Ave, you will find popular brunch items such as Poached Salmon Rillettes (love), to Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (amazing), and Crab Benedict (jumbo lump blue crab yo).

Aside from a tasty menu, they are also serving delicious brunch cocktails worth getting your day spinning. Their popular jaw dropping WG Bloody Mary dressed with an old bay salt rim, chilled blackened shrimp, and thick cut bacon will make you order another just for more bacon. Another popular cocktail is their Ramos Gin Fizz with gin, fresh citrus, egg white, orange blossom, milk/ shaken with vigor and charged with soda. The First Class Flight is a bottle of bele casel extra dry prosecco with carafes of oj, grapefruit & daily agua fresca.

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Cappuccino

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Water Grill DTLA 544 S Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA 90071

Paper or Plastik Cafe - Mid City

Paper or Plastik Cafe was founded in 2010 by a family of artists: husband-and-wife design team Anya & Yasha Michelson alongside daughter, Marina, a filmmaker and actor. Their mission is to sustain their customers not only with quality food and drink, but also with culture and community all under one roof.

After a good workout from the gym, I was so ready to eat! I've mentioned this before, but I love finding places that offers a good brunch selection away from the typical. After browsing the menu, I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to try.

First things first. Caffeine.

Left to right: Cappuccino, Maple Latte, and Canelé. The maple latte was definitely a nice touch and I highly recommend it if you love sweet flavored lattes. I also loved the Canelé. In addition to their made-in-house menu, they also work with excellent local bakeries, including Cake Monkey, Clark Street Bread, CocoBakes, and Bread Lounge.

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Avocado & Prosciutto Toast poached egg, aleppo pepper & micro greens

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Moroccan Fried Chicken Sandwich - buttermilk, cilantro & jalapeno battered chicken, tangy slaw, harissa aioli on ciabatta

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Polentina & Root Vegetable Bowl - red flint polenta and tomato-chile broth, poached egg, roasted broccolini, pecorino

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Shakshuka & Griddled Polenta - red flint polenta, labneh, za’atar, sunny side eggs

I will definitely be back. 

7AM - 10PM 5772 W PICO BLVD LOS ANGELES, CA 90019

Drink Houz - Los Angeles

Cappuccino 

 Drink Houz is a new wellness cafe in the Westlake neighborhood of LA on the ground floor of HoM on Temple. Drink offerings include nutrient dense juices and smoothies, and a signature coffee and tea program created by Jeremy Gurney, featuring JGursey products. The flavorful menu of mostly vegan and vegetarian offerings is created by, Chef Amy Nesbit, with salads, sandwiches, bowls, and daily specials all made from the finest all natural ingredients. The bakery program is by Rockenwagner Bakery.

I was pleasantly surprised with everything I had. I'm definitely not the type to go Vegan, but I wouldn't mind eating this a few times a week.

3231 W Temple St Los Angeles, CA 90026

Shot Houz- Wellness - Lemon, Ginger, Cayenne. The burn lasted a bit as it went down.

Chop Houz (VG) - Chopped Baby Romaine & Kale, Heirloom Tomatoes, Chickpeas, Red Onion, Fresh Herbs, Cucumbers, Avocado, Honeyed Walnuts, Topped with Premium Aged Cheddar Served with Chive-Honey-Dijon Dressing. Refreshing and delicious. The Aged Cheddar added a nice nutiness to this salad.

Zen - Kale, Cucumber, Toasted Sunflower Seeds, Avocado, Sprouts, Pickled Red Onions, Roma Tomatoes, Roasted Pears, Vegan Potato Roll (Got sourdough instead). You may not believe me, but this is probably one of the best sandwiches I've had. Simple does not do justice to how balanced the flavors were. No dressing was needed as the roasted pears added an extremely sweet round flavor complimented by the tartness of the pickled red onion. The toasted sunflower seeds added the perfect texture you would want in this sandwich. I would order this again, hands down.

Delicious baked goods by Rockenwagner Bakery

When you are in the area, had a great workout and want something clean, delicious and nourishing for your body, check out Drink Houz.

3231 W Temple St Los Angeles, CA 90026

208 Rodeo - Beverly Hills

Rodeo Drive is definitely a tourist trap. But, as much as it is, there are plenty of great restaurants around there that I am willing to drive out for. 208 Rodeo definitely caught me off guard. I was very pleased with what I had tried. Typical brunch items are normally what you would expect from one to another. What I had here was not only delicious but convinced me that I would come back for brunch if I ever was in the area.

208 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills CA 90210

Double Cappuccino. 

Flatiron Steak, roasted potatoes, eggs, and toast. The flatiron was cooked perfectly, extremely tender, ridiculously juicy.

proof of perfection.

CRAB CAKE BENEDICT - Loaded Crab Cake, grilled tomato, poached eggs, English muffin, and topped with a lemon hollandaise sauce. What I couldn't get over was the lemon hollandaise. Such a slight citrus touch, but made the dish very bright.

Proof, of perfectly poached egg.

208 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills CA 90210