Dirt Dog - Los Angeles

One of the things my dad always made when I was growing up was boiled hot dogs. He would literally boil a whole pack of weiners and leave it in the fridge so we would have something to snack on. It wasn't until I was in the 7th grade when I was at Drill Team practice by the park where dirty dogs were sold. Dirty dogs are just hot dogs wrapped with bacon. Sometimes with grilled peppers. But I like mine straight up with a slab of mayonnaise. 

2528 S. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90007

Dirt Dog does dirty dogs right. All dogs are wrapped with bacon. I've tried a few and can say these are the best I've had when it comes to a sit down restaurant.

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Here we have the elote fries, elote dog (secret menu), their house dog with grilled onions and peppers, patty melt, and their elote corn on a cob.

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Elote Dog

Mexican crema, cotija cheese, chili powder, cilantro. Their links have a nice snap. Ok, there's no good way to review hot dogs without tons of sexual innuendo. So before you say anything, "that's what she said" has already been said by me. 

SO, yes. Their hot dogs were beefy and delicious. Buns are shipped daily from a local baker. I recommend their brioche buns.

House Dog

Their classic house dog comes with a simple bacon thousand island, roasted onions and peppers. Simple, but flavorful and delicious.

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Patty Melt

This was my favorite. Who doesn't want their bacon hot dog topped with french fries, melted cheddar, bacon bits, and a chipotle mayo? This was a flavor bomb. It was just everything that I would want on a hot dog.

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Horchata Ice cream with Churros and fried oreos. After all that food you would think I'll stop. This did it for me. If the dogs didn't put me to sleep, this sure did and I don't regret it. I LOVE fried oreos. The batter did not disappoint. 

I'll definitely be back soon. 

2528 S. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90007

Weho Bistro - West Hollywood

Weho Bistro is a low key French-inspired restaurant located on the corner of La Cienega and Holloway drive. With a large variety of selections on their menu, I am delighted to share a few items from our dinner. Our dinner was accompanied by great friends, Frances, Hugh, Rob, and mi amor John.

1040 N La Cienega Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069

High Valley Vineyard 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon - Excellent red. Full bodied with a smooth finish. 

Bread, herb olive oil & balsamic, and olive tapenade.

We planned ordered family style. A few items from their shareables were avocado and burrata toast, escargot, Cheese and pate board, mushroom soup and french onion soup.

Filet Mignon with Peppercorn Mushroom sauce

Angus filet, wrapped in bacon, seared till golden and medium rare, topped with crispy onions, served with a side of potatoes dauphinoise and tomato provencal . The mushroom sauce was killer in this dish. Each bite of the filet gets a glorious dip with a slather of mushrooms. 

Magret De Canard

Duck breast with a cognac and honey sauce. The duck was cooked beautifully. Crispy skin which soaked up the decadent cognac sauce. Also served with potato dauphinoise and their tomato provencal. 

Shrimp Provencal

Six sauteed JUMBO tiger shrimp drenched in a garlic, basil, shallot, and tomato sauce served with a basmati and wild rice medley and sauteed garlic green beans. Anything drench in the sauce described above is an absolutely hands down "GIVE IT TO ME" dish. I can't help but eat the tails as well.

Dessert crepes, tartetatin, ice cream sandwich and banana creme brulee to end our dinner extravaganza.

Parking is available shared with CVS. That's right, free parking in West Hollywood. So surreal. 

The Factory Kitchen - DTLA

If you think you know DTLA, there's still a lot of little nooks and cranny for you to go through. Seems like every time you find a new restaurant, you end up discovering 5 more. It just never stops. The Factory Kitchen is one of those restaurants you kind of have to be in the know to hear about it. Luckily, this place was passed along through word of mouth, and I was fortunate to try out a few of their signature cocktails paired with a few of their tasty bites.

A few cocktails

All the cocktails had were delicious and friendly to drink. There wasn't one that I wasn't able to consume. Nothing was overly sweet and can always be adjusted if you are sensitive. Love the spicy Mezcaline.

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prosciutto

This thing right here was pretty freaking awesome. Besides the parma prosciutto being amazing and aged for 24 months, it's served on top of a lightly fried sage dough with stracciatella cheese on top. The stracciatella cheese would remind me of a consistency like Burrata cheese, but like shreds, hence the name. Amazing quality to make this one of my favorites on the menu.

They also have a few selections of amazing Focaccina Calda Di Recco Al Formaggio. Thin dough with crescenza cheese that brings a lovely salty and briny finish. Loved all the renditions from san marzano tomatoes, capers, anchovies, oregano to foraged mushrooms, zucchini blossoms, ligurian olive oil and parsley. Crispy to eat. Makes you feel great without the guilt.

For dessert, we shared an order of bigne.

Definitely worth a shot to come by if you are looking for a destination in DTLA. Seating's were forgivable, but can be packed so get ready to wait if you don't have reservations. This just might be the birthday destination for me. Just might.

Spread Mediterranean Kitchen - DTLA

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Spread is a new restaurant opened in DTLA that serves a fresh idea on Mediterranean food. A group of foodies and I got to sample some of their menu items along with a few cocktails to highlight the concept of this restaurant. Parking was pretty forgiving if you come early enough to get lucky with meters. There are also local lots you can pay for a flat rate that averages $8.

Spread offers lunch that's no more than $11, but also serves dinner that is both casual and sophisticated at the same time. Cocktails you will find at Spread would be no more than $9. They want to make grabbing lunch a necessity and not so much of a burden. It takes them hours to prep the food before it takes just a few minutes to fulfill after your order. But what you have purchased is quality. They want to make the ease of grabbing lunch a less burdensome part of your day, but also a great place to hang out for happy hour and dinners.

Here are just a few items you will find available. As you can see, they have casual items such as a Harissa beef braised wrapped in a freshly made flatbread to a more sophisticated Falafel Hash that I like to it a Falafel "Crab Cake". They have bright dishes such as a watermelon feta salad with a yogurt mint dressing to a Za'atar fried chicken that won't make you fall asleep.

Dinner is proposed to smaller dishes which makes snacking and drinking at the same time that much more fun. Come with a few friends and try a few dishes with cocktails, wine, and beer. Yes, you should have it all.

334 S MAIN STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90013

Top Round Roast Beef - Los Angeles

1000 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90019

On the corner of La Brea and Olympic, you will find Top Round.

I've seen this place when I used to work in BH. The restaurant really has an old fashion feel to it. Kind of like a hipper Johnny Rockets with a spazzle of Big Boy. I dig it.

I, like many of you, grew up eating roast beef sandwiches from Philippe the Original French Dipped Sandwiches in Chinatown. Top Round carries the delicious roast beef sandwiches, and others, with a twist.

Pulling up to the shack, you will find plenty of parking spaces. Not sure how packed it gets during the busy lunch hour, but it was fairly empty in the morning. We were recommended to try their breakfast sandwiches aside from their regular roast beef sandwiches.

As you wait for your sandwiches, you should get your sauces ready. I also like how they have spicy mustard and horseradish as condiments.

Tots with liquid gold. Words can't describe how guilty and awfully delicious these things were. I would come here just for this. Top Rounds has got it right so far with the hangover cure. Crunch tots and thick ooey gooey cheese sauce.

The classic with bacon

This English muffin breakfast sandwich has everything that you crave at McDonalds, but better. And real. You get your bacon, your fried egg, and their awesome Wizz sauce that is better than anything you can imagine. No need for napkins. There will be plenty of finger lickin'.

Served with a sesame bun, this little breakfast BLT is more comforting that it sounds. I'm not sure what made this so special, but it was pretty freaking tasty. Maybe it's just a golden rule to have bacon, eggs and avocados in everything. But for some strange reason, I really enjoyed the tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise. The flavors brought me back to when I was a child and road tripping through Mexico. Don't ask. The price was a little steep at over $8.

Steak and Eggs? How about more wizz sauce. GOLD I tell you! So this was the first bite of the roast beef. Absolutely bangers. Extremely tender 10 hours roast beef that will definitely catch you off guard. I didn't know what to expect. But this, some spicy mustard and a dash of horseradish? Just skip your plans for the rest of the day because you would want to stay right here.

Dagwood beef is the ultimate hangover cure. Roast beef, fried egg, fried tots, and provolone cheese inside an onion bun. Just add wizz sauce for an extra $1. WHY THE HECK NOT. Trust me it's some good sh*t. It's downright dirty and I love it. This is your ultimate cheat food. And they nail the fried stuff out of town.

Recommend this place STAT. Must order their roast beef, tator tots, and wizz sauce on everything.

1000 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90019