Mercado

This post is long overdue. I work in Pasadena and we've all been anticipating Mercado to open. Amazing art work like bullet skulls as you walk in from the commons. By them being here, it's definitely brought a lot of life to lake avenue. I'm not even kidding when I say I've been here multiple times within a week. I can honestly say the food is that good.

Here are some food from my first visit (Full menu here for Pasadena):

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Mexican Coke - Cane sugar for the win.

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Guacamole - hass avocado, serranos, cilantro, red onions, Yxta salsa brava, spicy pepitas, and fresh chips. There dip duo is also highly recommended. It's basically guac and their choriqueso - melted cotija, parmesan, oaxaca cheese, white wine, house chorizo, poblanos, and mushrooms.

Enchiladas de pollo en mole oaxaqueno - pulled Mary’s free-range chicken, oaxacan mole, queso fresco, crema fresca, red onions, sesame seeds, mexican rice, and chile piquín black beans. The mole wasn't too sweet, velvety and luxurious. Probably one of the best Oaxacan moles I've had.

ELOTE - grilled sweet corn, caramelized onions, chile piquín butter, topped with queso cotija.

Tostaditas de ceviche - citrus-marinated white fish and shrimp, mango, corn, cherry tomatoes, serranos, fresno chilies, avocado, chile de árbol aioli. This is probably the best ceviche I've had in a while. Fresh, citrusy with a good balance of sweet and heat from the mango, corn, fresnos and chile de arbol aioli. This is a must order if you're here.

COLIFLOR AL PASTOR - roasted cauliflower, chile morita marinade, pineapple, cilantro. A great side dish if you're doing low carb and want tons of delicious flavors. GM Justin loves to eat this with tortillas. Man was he right.

Camarones al ajillo - mexican sweet shrimp, chile de árbol garlic butter, market vegetables. You will never find a dish that's executed like they do it here. I've had this many times and didn't know how it should taste until I had it here. The flavor is to die for. Another highly recommended dish.

Spicy Cucumber Margarita with Mezcal. Mez always gets me.

FLAN. 

Other items I recommend not shown:

Carnitas. Anything carnitas but I love their tacos. From their happy hour menu, order their jicama shrimp tacos. 

Cucumber salad with skirt steak (trust me it's delicious).

Tamales - I ordered their special tamale of the day. It was carnitas, but I know it changes from time to time.

tres leches - YES

Heard the fried chicken torta is a must. Stay tuned for that!

140 S. Lake Avenue #101, Pasadena, California 91101 626.345.5778 www.cocinasycalaveras.com

Le Pain Quotidien

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Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread) is a Belgium cafe serving baked good as well as their known tartines. I came to this restaurant for the first time when I worked a block away. I was immediately hooked on their cappuccinos. During that time, Starbucks was the only coffee shop that I really knew of. But after having a hot cup from Le Pain Quotidien, it opened up my palate to explore different espressos out there. Besides their coffee beans, I also very much enjoy their food. It's simple, but tasty. It's also not heavy like the American traditional breakfast items.

Here are a few breakfast items that we enjoyed during a lovely Sunday brunch.

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Rustic Tuna Tartine

Sliced bread with a slather of hummus topped with tuna, white beans, diced tomatoes and basil pesto. Refreshing with the brightness of the lemon juice. This is a guiltless pleasure, like most of their dishes.

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Chicken Chorizo Omelette

A nice and fluffly omelette filled with chicken chorizo and cheddar cheese. I like the like greens to lighten up the dish.

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Prosciutto Ricotta and Fig

It sounds so simple, but everything married beautifully. There's no greater breakfast than having prosciutto. I've been obsessed and have been saying yes to everything prosciutto. The dried figs add a nice texture to the soft bread and prosciutto. I also love the arugula. Arugula pairs extremely well with sweet and savory dishes like this. This tartine was ringing as a top hit at our table.

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Quiche Lorraine

This wasn't the best quiche I've ever had, but it was still tasty. Served with mixed greens and sliced watermelon radish.

Total for everything was a little over $70 for 4 without tip (only 2 cappuccinos ordered). A little steep, but compensated for good food and good times.

Find a store near YOU:

http://www.lepainquotidien.com/finder/locations/

Fogata Mexicana

I've drove by this place a few times within a week. And every time I would check the reviews, it would remind me that they have a $1 fish taco deal every Wednesday. I was feeling a bit under last week and decided to stay home to rest (conveniently on a Wednesday). Being pretty hungry and wanted to stay local, I remembered this place, finally.

2123 San Gabriel Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Pulling in, I had high hopes that this was going to be one of those "hole in the wall" gems that people rave about. Honestly, I am sick of people raving about how great a joint is because it's small, cheap, family owned, friendly service, in a ghetto neighborhood where you shouldn't be bringing your Chanel, the best secret find. Yeah, I'm sure you can tell where I'm going with this place.

When pulling into the small cramped parking lot shared with the donut shop, you kind of think to yourself "Ooo, donuts sound amazing right now" but then you remembered, "Oh that's right! $1 fish tacos!", and you think you are winning because this was going to be a gem in the neighborhood where nobody knows about.

Once we stepped in, all you can smell was oil and bad insulation. You know, when you are frying up some chicken or potatoes at home and you realize the oil is too hot creating a whole mushroom cloud of smoke that you are fighting to open all the windows and doors to air out your house? That's what we walked into. And there was definitely no chance of escaping from it. It made me skeptical. Doubt my judgements. Maybe the donut route was the better choice. But I am a sucker. Just give me that smile and you can just take my money.

Just take my money.

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Fish Tacos

The batter for the fish tasted like it was soaked in oil for a long time. Oh, by the way, it took a while for these tacos to come out. Yes, it looks beautiful and delicious, which it kind of is if you like the flavor of burnt oil, but the flavors could've elevated if the oil that was used didn't taste old, cooked at the right temp (one of my fishes were burnt on the bottom), and added some more flavors and seasoning to the fish and salsa.

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Eggs and Chorizo

Was overcooked and the chorizo had no flavor. This was a safe dish to order, but I've had dirt cheap chorizo eggs that tasted a lot better (even the samples they make at Costco are tasty!).

Maybe it's just a bad day? There was only one chef and one guy running the whole place. He was very kind and hard working. I would come back just to show support for their dedication to serve the community.

Next time I go back, I'll try their meat tacos, their fish tacos again, and this giant taco called Old California. Just imagine a giant taco that's deep fried.

There are also a lot of other joints in Montebello/Whittier/East LA has a TON of $1 fish taco Wednesdays that are AMAZING. I'll venture off on that soon, just for you.

Daiisies