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santa monica

Fork-In Aussie Pie Kitchen - Santa Monica

September 28, 2016

I've been to many tastings and restaurants in LA, but Fork-In Aussie Pie Kitchen really stood out. I grew up on Marie's Calendar chicken pot pie. Ate it religiously with loads of cracked black pepper and a dash of hot sauce or two. I love savory dishes more than sweet. Aussie Pie Kitchen carries a variety of savory pies with delicious sides to go with.

2510 Main St, Ste B, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Before committing to my toppings, I was able to sample their offerings.

I know it's early for Thanksgiving, but I don't mind it coming early. There's MINTY MUSHY PEAS that is a combination of Peas, Shallots, Butter, Fresh Mint (AMAZING). Roasted garlic mashed potatoes - Yukon Gold Potatoes, roasted garlic, butter, salt + pepper (Like silk). HAND MASHED SWEET POTATO - made with Garnett Yams, Half & Half, Butter, White Pepper Nutmeg, Spices. Their amazing Stuffing with Croissant, Sausage, Kale, Pecans, White Wine,Garlic and Pecans (Never had anything like it, BOMB). EDAMAME & SWEETCORN SUCCOTASH. Creamy thyme Gravy and mushroom gravy. 3 Cheese MAC.

If you've never had an aussie pie before, don't expect this to be your traditional hand pie. The aussie pie served here will be on a plate. They took the traditional pie and amplified it to bring more flavors in. Flavors that they know you will love. And it's a good thing, a really good thing.

At Aussie Pie Kitchen, you will find love in a pie that took them 3 days to create. That's right, 3. And when you get your hands on one of these hot buttery bad boys you will understand why this beast took that long to create. That first bite will be the moment you taste all the love and craft that was put into each individual pie.

Bourbon infused BBQ Pulled Pork with Mac n 3 cheeses and Truffle Oil

Topped with the mashed sweet potato and gravy. If it was raining, it would be perfect. But, this was very tasty. The BBQ pulled pork had so much flavor. Their mac n cheese contains some bleu cheese that added a nice tang and sharpness without overpowering the dish whatsoever.

Steak Cubes marinated in Red Wine, Braised in Mirepoix, Herbs & Spices. This was considered their tiger stack. Meaning 2 sides with thyme gravy to make this the ultimate goodbye summer dish. Roasted garlic mash, mushy peas, can't go wrong with any of that. The pie crust was ridiculously flaky, buttery, and every F this diet you can put your mind to. The post work out meal dream and the time of the month satisfaction. This will do it all.

A classic Nanna Mac's TWICE ROLLED LAMINGTONS. Super spongy, soft, and not too sweet. This is a must have and goes great with their flat white.

Croissant bread pudding? Why on earth has no one thought of that? Baked with pistachios & chocolate chip, drizzled with bourbon, caramel sauce & a dollop of whipped cream. Man, that bourbon drizzle did it for me. Nothing wrong with this sinful dessert at all.

If you haven't been here yet, I highly recommend you come.

2510 Main St, Ste B, Santa Monica, CA 90405

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True Food Kitchen - Santa Monica

August 4, 2016

Not going to lie or try to be swift about it. We came to Santa Monica to play Pokemon. The good thing about this game is how hungry you get from all that walking. There isn't really a time where we declined the chance to eat something. And that's when we stumbled upon True Food.

It was a hot day. Even by the beach, it was extremely humid. Humidity alone does it for me. I don't care if we are in the high's, but being drenched in your own sweat is not the same as a gorgeous pork roast based in it's own fat. It's just not a good look on me. I needed to find shelter, fast. And cool down before I start having weird body beach odors that I never knew I could achieve.

The restaurant was packed, but they were quick to accommodate. In hot weather like this, make sure you hydrate yourself with tons of water. I had a huge migraine from heat exhaustion and even popped a midol just for relief. But it also turned out that I was hungry. After ordering, it wasn't long before our food arrived.

Pizza is topped with mushrooms, asparagus, roasted garlic, and taleggio. A light pizza to coast through the day without feeling overly guilty. Vegetarian pizza does that to you. It just makes you forget about the carbs all because there's green stuff floating around. Still a delicious pie that I would order again.

My brother, David, was bummed they no longer carry their bison burger. John was also disappointed since David was raving about it. If you've been here for the bison burger, we found out that their supplier couldn't meet the demand. Makes sense. But this burger did not disappoint. The burger is piled with umami mushroom, caramelized onion, arugula, parmesan, mayonnaise, sandwiched between a flax seed bun. The burger had a delicious beefy flavor with a nice crust. The sauteed mushrooms really added that extra level of umami to the burger. And there's nothing I love more than a burger that has arugula wedged in between. This is a upside down burger to eat to make sure it doesn't break apart.

I'll be back to try more items and have a cocktail or so.

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Mondo Taco - Santa Monica

March 8, 2016

I have to say, Tacos has come a long, long way here in Los Angeles. I lived in Glassell Park most of my life. If you don't know where Glassell Park is, it's basically where gunshots are fired around 11pm or 2-4 in the morning, Ice Cream trucks at noon - 3pm - 5pm, Elote man around the same time, and tacos covering every proximity you can put your hands on. Back to the days when tacos were $1 a pop, and they just had that flavor you can only find on the streets. If you know what I am talking about, just close your eyes for a minute to relive it.

I remember there was this one stall, serving up all kinds of cuts you can imagine on a comal bola grill. Every meat fat you can imagine, melted and cooked as one. You can't find that anymore nowadays. Or not as easy as it was just a few years ago.

But tacos has evolved into something more multicultural. That's the beauty of living in LA. We don't see each other differently because we are so exposed to the different cultures that we are surrounded with. It's really beautiful if you think about it. I remember when I went to visit some friends in Arizona, I literally stood out like a sore thumb being asian. Nothing wrong with that, but you just know when you are in a town where your existence is minimal. Tacos, right.

I was luckily invited to a taco tasting out in Santa Monica the past weekend. And boy, tacos are my thing. So are burgers. There's just some kind of pleasure I find eating food with my hands. Mondos Tacos provide a more contemporary take on tacos than what you would find at the corner of your local neighborhood in LA. Their tacos travel around the world meaning they do flavors like Italian to a further leap like Indian.

Mondo Taco - 2200 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90404

6 Tacos to try with one Watermelon Agua Fresca (delicious!).

Chips and Salsa with a side of Guacamole. A must! Good portion of avocados in the guac. It wasn't super loaded with tomatoes either. A perfect starter. I even whipped some of the guac onto my tacos. You know you want to do it too.

Angry Chicken

Southern Decadence

Fancy Fish

El Greco

Crazy Fish

Taj Mahal

Angry Chicken - $3.50 crispy chicken - hot sauce - blue cheese. Finger licking hot sauce that will make your eye wink. So be careful who you are sitting in front of. Don't want to be sending the wrong signal when you are just enjoying your taco. The blue cheese was tasty and added a nice musk to cut through the tartness of the sauce.

Southern Decadence - $3.75 fried chicken - bacon - BBQ sauce - ranch dressing - diced tomato. I loved this! Yummy BBQ sauce with fried chicken strips. I had the slighted memory of eating chicken nuggets from Wendy's. Not like there is anything wrong with that, because everything about that is utterly amazing.

Fancy Fish - $3.50 grilled fish - poblano - pico de gallo - cilantro crème. The name says it all. The fish was delicate and was complimented by the poblanos and creamy cilantro creme.

El Greco - $4.75 grilled lamb - tzatziki - diced tomato. If you love lamb, this will definitely deliver. The gaminess of the lamb really shoots through. The tzatsiki and tomatoes really help cutting through the strong flavors of the lamb. Great portions of lamb.

Taj Mahal - $4.75 coconut shrimp - curry sauce - diced red bell pepper. Surprisingly one of my favorites from the 6. The shrimp was very plump, cooked perfectly, and the creamy curry sauce pairs perfectly with the light flavors of the shrimp and the sweetness of the red peppers. I really want to order 2 of these next time I come, but there are just so much to try from.

Crazy Fish - $3.50 panko crusted fish - pico de gallo - 1000 Island. Another tasty taco. Loved everything about it. There's nothing I love more than a fried fish taco. This was also one of my favorites. Simple, and flavors were well executed. The fish was fried perfectly.

If you think the condiments are a bit loaded, you are WRONG *BUZZ* The portions of these tacos are larger than you think. The protein is packed, so the amount of sauce and toppings you see doesn't overwhelm the overall taco.

For dessert, we were able to try their Blueberry Panna Cotta. Don't think about it. Just order it. It's delicious and I've had many Panna Cottas. It's so decadent, I can't believe it's in a plastic container! For $3.50, it is definitely a steal. I would honestly drive the 23 miles to get this again. If you've never had Panna Cotta, just imagine a soft cheesecake. Mild, not as sharp. Creamy. Silky. Soft. Like a baby's butt.

Plan your next visit, there are plenty of things to do out here. We visited MUJI afterwards around the corner-corner.

Until Next time.

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Special Olympics - SOCAL - Pier Del Sol

October 13, 2015

I've been anticipating this years Pier Del Sol in Santa Monica after a wonderful time I had last year. Get ready, unbuckle your belts, because I'm sure you will gain 10 pounds just by looking at these photos.

Here's a little bio about Special Olympics from their website:

"The mission of Special Olympics Southern California is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
Our vision is to provide sports and training programs for any individual with intellectual disabilities who chooses to participate, thereby improving their lives and the lives of everyone they touch."

-Special Olympics

Being as big of a foodie as I am, I was super stoked to see all the participating restaurants that will be there. Providence for one, shucked way over 100 oysters to serve the crowd. This year, I was hoping they would do the same. Why? Because it was the best oysters I've ever had.

Unfortunately, I was so excited that I didn't catch the names of the oysters... all 3 times I stopped by! But the clams, were extraordinary. I've never had such clean tasting clams with the most memorable snappy texture. It just pops in your mouth. The sauces that they were serving were impeccable as well. You would think cocktail sauce, horseradish, and mignonette sauce is the most simple things to serve with oysters. Like duh, how can you mess that up? Well... A LOT of places do. And once you've tried their sauces, especially their mignonette, then you will understand the excited booty dance that I was doing.

Hache LA were serving a nice refreshing non-alcoholic cocktail. Fresh strawberries with basil lemonade. Such a delightful cooler to ease of the terrible hot-humid weather that was hitting the pier. I was DRENCHED in sweat every time I stepped into the sun.

Bar Pintxo served one of the best breakfast Paella I've had. I haven't had much either, but the saffron was so aromatic and distinct. There was a bit of socarrat in every bite which drove me bonkers! So delicious! With the creamy soft poached egg was to d-i-e for.

Speaking of delicious poached eggs, it seems like everyone was getting their egg game right.

Getting serious now.

Fishing with Dynamite served one of the best shrimp and grits I've ever had! John just came back from New Orleans a few months ago, and said this topped what he's had there. By the way, I'm not trying to sound obsessed... but the poached egg was STELLAR. The whites literally mushed off... like soft super soft custard.. glued to the ooey gooey yolk... there was nothing more heavenly.

Take a break and grab some fresh s'mores from Spago! My brothers girlfriend, Angela, is the Sous pastry chef that created this with her team for this lovely event. Though this was specially made for this event, I just want to say that their raspberry marshmallow was the best mother f'ing marsh s'mores muusshh I've had! It totally reminded me of the holidays, and y'all know how crazy I am about the holidays right now! BEAST! Think of raspberry covered chocolates. H-ea-v-e-n.

Via Alloro served a duck beat salad and a delicious creamy mushroom truffle soup. Their mushroom soup is something that I was looking forward to this year as well. Though the soup was cold... the mushrooms had a delicious aroma throughout. The truffles, however, did nothing for the soup. I was a bit underwhelmed this year. The duck beat salad was simple, refreshing, and balanced if you eat the dish together. The duck was slightly salty.

This was AMAZING. Hamasaku did this sweet tofu wasanbon that was out of this world! I should've had more of this. It was their version of panna cotta, and I definitely enjoyed this a lot more. It was really thoughtful and well executed. Something so simple done right, gochisousama!

LA Prime did not disappoint with this New York cut steak. A beauty served with watercress, perfect mash and meat gravy. Is that sexy or what? I had 2 plates. (restaurant is located in Westin Bonaventure Hotel).

Mistral was here last year and here again this year serving the same dish. I'm NOT complaining. This was their red wine braised short ribs, doused with a horseradish cream, on a garlic crouton. This was slayed! The horseradish cream was the perfect compliment to cut the richness of the beef. Need I say more? Just one bite folks!

Ok we are almost there. Are you getting hungry yet?

Comforting pesto penne from Terroni! I love, and pretty much am, obsessed with pasta at the moment. I loved the velvet olive oil that you can taste in the whole dish. So silky in the best way ever! I'm definitely going to pop my head in this restaurant in the near future!

Daily Grill was serving up some blackened Ahi tuna. I was a bit skeptical by the simplicity of this dish. But the flavors? PACKED! This was SO delicious, and had gems hidden! There were artichokes, DELICIOUS artichokes. I think this dish was the underdog from the event. Who knew a simple salad like this could be so freaking decadent! I have to visit the Daily Grill AS WELL.

The Tripel created a simple refreshing ceviche served over taro chips. Great dish for this humidity. I never thought of using taro chips for ceviche... genius. Is it lower calories? A girl can only dream....

Really? Angelini Osteria served prosciutto with persimmons. WHY. DOES. IT. TASTE. SO. GOOD. TOGETHER?! Persimmons is seasonal. So how am I going to eat this again? Why do this to me? WHY must you?! I hate simple dishes. Everyone tries to always overdo simple things that stands on it's own. Cantaloupe has nothing on this persimmon. Bravo!

Honary Chef goes to Alain Giraud, chef and owner of Maison Giraud. Serving up some pretty looking food that day. Their salad nicoise was simple and fresh. Again, another refreshing dish to cleanse this heat. And scoot over to grab a mini pain au chocolat, one of my favorite classic french pastries. Where's the coffee?!

Uhhh... yeah you gotta make your sundae from Dandy Don's. Don't forget your nuts and maraschino cherry.

Strand House made this pretty awesome creation. What you see is a blueberry crumb cake, creme fraiche whip you see there, blueberry compote, and a cardamom injector. How fun is that?

Uhhh... yeah this happened to. PINKS was serving up their whole links. No minis. No saving grace. You take the calories, and you run. You can feel bad later, but at this moment, I devour and I will slay.

It's now Tuesday, and I've been working out insanely from eating as much as I did. The hot humid weather didn't make me feel all that attractive either... but now, I feel a lot better. I am super stoked to come back again next year.

Now you tell me. $150 to help charity and to get all this food, is it worth it to you?

gochisousama,

Daiisies

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Wine & Dine

Fork-In Aussie Pie Kitchen - Santa Monica

True Food Kitchen - Santa Monica

Mondo Taco - Santa Monica

Special Olympics - SOCAL - Pier Del Sol