Viewing entries tagged
flat iron

Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop - Costa Mesa

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Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop - Costa Mesa

I love being in Costa Mesa even though I haven't really figured out all the go to spots. Spending your day somewhere else you are not familiar with can be challenging. It really depends on what to eat in the area. That's always the biggest question. I got the opportunity to taste some food from Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop. They do have a few locations, but why not pick one that I am more comfortable with and getting the opportunity to explore at the same time.

3321 Hyland Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Chopshop is located outside the OC Mix. I've never been to this side of Costa Mesa. Just being here was exciting enough. They have a pretty wide selection of items to pick from. Luckily, they had a Sunday Brunch menu that we were able to pick from. Huevos Rancheros. Almost immediately I knew that's what I wanted. But. John also wanted it. We can't both order the same things. That just doesn't happen. I let him have it. I am always the nice one, remember that. I ordered their flat iron steak with 2 gourmet sides: Roasted Yams & Red Onion, Pomegranate Quinoa.

Steak was delicious. Perfectly medium rare. The seasonings were simple. Roasted yams with red onions, can't complain. The Quinoa, however, were cranberries and not pomegranate which was a bummer. But I did enjoy the sweetness of the cranberries. It actually complimented the yams really well. Lucky you. Lucky me.

Sunday Brunch : Huevos Rancheros

I don't know how to say this... but this tasted like the Mexican Taco from Taco Bell. BUT, in the BEST way possible. And come on, who doesn't love the Mexican Taco from TB? The Huevos Rancheros is consisted of over easy eggs, refried black beans, chipotle sauce, pico de gallo, avocado & crisp corn tortilla strips. Ridiculously crispy, the sauce is also extremely flavorful, egg, cheese, guac! I would highly recommend this. Also, this is not as heavy as it looks. It was very light, but extremely satisfying.

After your done, make a stop at the OC mix to check out some shops.

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Spear Steak and Seafood - DTLA

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Spear Steak and Seafood - DTLA

You know, when I think about breakfast, I think about things that I grew up eating. I wasn't that kid that got cereal or oatmeal for breakfast. In fact, we didn't eat breakfast during the weekdays at all. Even now, my breakfast is a cup of black coffee and whatever is left of my opened bag of cookies. Being a hardcore carnivore eater growing up, I find solace when I see steak on the menu. I would say 99% of the time, I would order steak if it's on the menu. And that 1% is only when I feel pressured to get something new.

Spear Steak and Seafood House in DTLA not only serves the obvious steaks, but they also do Sunday Brunch. They have 2 items on the menu that I normally gravitate towards: Steak & Eggs and Crab Benedict. During Sunday Brunch, Spear's also have $10 bottomless mimosas. With $7 parking validation, that's pretty awesome. Although I don't recommend anyone driving under the influence of bottomless mimosas.

800 W 6th St, Ste 100

Los Angeles, CA 90017

First, we coffee.

Attentive staff that keeps your cup filled. I don't know how many cups I had, but I was wired for sure.

Crab Benedict

I love Eggs Benedict. The only reason why I don't order it is pretty obvious. Butter. But, when lumps of crab meat is involved, there really isn't any reason to say now. And boy, was this delicious.

The binding of the crab was extremely simple. A slight crunch of the crust with a nice flaky bite from the crab. For $16 and the amount of crab you get, this was definitely worth it and a must order. Served with crispy fingerling potatoes. Go ahead, dip your potatoes in that ooey gooey Hollandaise sauce.

Steak & Eggs

So I've been really into flat iron steaks. And if you haven't really tried a flat iron, I highly recommend you doing so. It's extremely delicious. It's much leaner than your Rib Eye or New York, but it has an incredible beef flavor. I would say... it feels like a Filet meets a New York. Served with fresh hash, sunny side eggs, ketchup & salsa verde.

Always medium rare. The steak was cooked perfectly as you can see. The salsa verde had a surprisingly spicy kick to it. I don't find salsa verde sauces to be really spicy, so this definitely caught me off guard when I dunked my first piece.

I will be back soon to taste their sushi menu. They have specialty cut rolls that I would love to try. This is a nice spot to hang out for brunch, or to follow dinner with tons of drinks. Because really, REALLY, who just has ONE drink?

 

 

 

 

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The Perch - Happy Birthday best friend forever-ever.

On Saturday, we celebrated my Best friend, Jocelynn's birthday. I've known this chick for about 13 years. Our memories are consisted of a lot of alcohol consumption, random crying nights (NO more of those thank God), random parties, Hot Cheetos, and Starbucks.

This year, we went to Downtown Los Angeles to a beautiful restaurant/lounge called Perch.

448 S Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

We had reservations at 5:30 PM, which worked out better for all of us. And I honestly really hate going out late. I don't mind staying out, but starting the night late is such a waste. Think about it: I want to see the sun, feel it, and see it say goodnight. If you've never thought about it that way, I hope you will start.

Before dinner, we took a few... or was it a lot, of Jameson. It's her birthday! and Who cares, we weren't driving (please drink responsibly). There's parking across the street for $10. Remember to put all your belongings out of site. And when crossing the street, always look left and right. AND! make sure drivers see you, and acknowledge you are crossing the street. Downtown LA can be a dangerous place at night with a lot of drunk and impatient drivers.

The Perch LA is pretty strict with reservations. If you want to dine here, make sure to give notice at least 2 weeks ahead of time just to make sure. If you have a party of 6+, definitely call a month in advance. When we showed up to our reservation, we were seated pretty quickly. The restaurant was also more than half empty. More reservations at 5:30 could've been accommodated. After we were seated, without much thought, we all pretty much ordered meat.

BOEUF BORDELAISE $29 ("braised short rib, roast garlic potato puree, beets, cippolini and pearl onions")

The short rib was braised for who knows how long till it was literally melt in your mouth, fork tender, fat rendered-good sh*t. If you come here, I highly recommend this. I also loved the beets and the bits of citrus to cut through the fat of the short ribs.

FILET MIGNON AU POIVRE $37
("parsnip + potato puree, asparagus, fines herbes, bordelaise, mushroom ragout")

The filet Mignon was cooked perfectly. Not much to say besides it being another classic French dish that they offer at Perch. The flavors are not as rich or heavy as it may seem. I do wish there was more of a punch of flavor since filet itself, or at least to me, has a mild beef flavor. A little FYI, I am NOT a filet Mignon gal. I love my fatty rib eyes and new york. The portions by the way, are decent and acceptable.

Steak Frites $26
("'flat iron, maitre d’ butter, bordelaise, truffle cheese fries")

Maitre D'butter is basically compound butter. It's butter set in room temperature where it becomes softened enough to mix with whatever concoction you want. Roll it back up into a log, fridge it, and then VOILA! The bordelaise is just a red wine base sauce. The "truffle" cheese fries, however, had zero truffles in it. Not even one trace. And I never send back truffle complaining there's not enough, because in reality, if you are not paying $100 for it, then you really aren't ordering it. This is just cheese fries. Unless they really did forget to add artificial truffle oil. Who knows. Don't care, the Jameson is kicking. The flat iron was cooked perfectly and tasted pretty good actually. My friend Mark even said it was as tender as the filet, figuratively speaking.

From the 3 meat dishes, I would definitely order the short ribs again. It was just executed very well and it's always something I love to order, especially if it takes hours till it becomes fork tender.

Hey, where's our waitress? I swear she left to go home or something because she never stopped by. Not having it.

So after dinner, we headed upstairs to the lounge.

Upstairs looking down at the restaurant.

There's no food served at the rooftop lounge, but there is a bar, and a pretty beautiful, bad ass view of Los Angeles. And notice how pretty everything looks when there's still light out? Hey, and you will never know who you can run into. We ran into an Ex Senator with his family and friends. Super friendly and kind. They also offered their seats when leaving so we can enjoy the rest our evening there. How sweet is that?

Mark and John


Jocelynn on the left, me on the right.

Jocelynn on the left, me on the right.

What I love about Jocelynn the MOST is how reliable she is. Yeah, you can say your friends are fun, do crazy things, love to go out, whatever. How often can you actually count on someone that's within your circle? And know that every single time you are in some kind of rut, they will be there? My ruts consisted of a lot of hunger issues.. but on the real note, she is the best and I can count on her to be by my side for the rest of my growing old years. And if you do have a friend like this, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. But mine is still better.

This night was unforgettable. Literally. I'm all kinds of messed up from it. But I'll never tell.

Cheers!

Daiisies

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