800 Degrees - Hollywood

I stumbled upon 800 degrees pizza for the first time in Pasadena after a few drinks for a friends birthday. Just a few months later, I was in Hollywood having a few burgers and drinks with friends when we stumbled by 800 degrees again. It was fate that led me back to devour more pizzas. And devouring was what we did. The space is pretty gorgeous, but made for a casual lunch or dinner. There were people strolling in just for their afternoon fix before headed for the gym, coming from the gym, or just before headed out for a busy day.

They are known for their authentic Neopolitan pizza which was originally created in Naples, Italy over 200 years ago. All pies are topped with fresh mozzarella and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. 800 Degrees also prides in using premium ingredients such as Italian grown tomatoes, locally made fresh mozzarella, and handcrafted crust made with flour from Molino Caputo in Naples Italy all complemented by different kinds of charcuterie and local vegetables. THIS specific location in Hollywood comes with a patio & FULL bar (Upstairs). They also have a new location that just recently opened in Playa Vista on November 19.

Truffle Cheese Bread

I loved this. They use Boschetto di tartufo which is a truffle cheese from Italy. It's extremely aromatic as you would normally find in truffles, but these are things that we love about it. There's also mozzarella for that extra gooeyness, garlic and Parmigiano Reggiano. I recommend this.

Doppio Pepperoni

A Classic margherita with smoky pepperoni and spicy soppressata with added bacon.

Filetti

A rustic look at this basil pesto with fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. If you love simplicity, this is it. But it doesn't come with boring. The ingredients are simple, but not short in flavor. Loved this too.

Greek Salad

A full family order of Greek salad. It has your typical ingredients you would find in a Greek salad such as green peppers, olives, feta, red onion and tomatoes. What I loved the most about this was their Italian vinaigrette. The olive oil made this taste so awesome.

Burrata & Beets

Creamy Burrata with roasted beets, balsamic, arugula and warm bread. I can grab this as my lunch and I would be extremely pleased. 

BLT

Bianca pizza with Bacon Jam, arugula and cherry tomatoes. Delicious.

Meatballs

Wood-Oven baked with tomato, organo and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Broccolini

This broccolini is something I'm going to have to recreate at home. Roasted in their wood oven with garlic, calabrian chiles and extra virgin olive oil. I added this on top of my pizzas.

Nutella Calzone

I know you've seen tons of videos on the internet with Nutella porn. This is it right here. A full sized calzone with hot oozing Nutella served with fresh berries. There are also berried inside this beast.

Their bar upstairs is not short of any fun from the pizza party downstairs. Either bring you pie up, come here after, or come here first before headed downstairs. 

Chandelier from bar view.

Open till 2am. I say why not eat pizza and drink.

1521 N. VINE STREET  |  HOLLYWOOD, CA 90028

Phone | 323 - 329 - 9656

11AM - 2 AM |  7 DAYS A WEEK

PARKING

Garage parking available at 1555 N. Vine.  First hour free with validation, $2 each 20 minutes, $12 maximum.  

Sushi Roku Pasadena 16th Anniversary

Happens only once a year for all of us. Birthday's are special. Especially at Sushi Roku, they go big by offering their dinner menu for 50% off (food only). I've been eating here for many years now, but only found out about this big shebang last year. Rounded up a small group and rushed towards the bar seating area since they were booked for the night.

Sake for the table. After this bottle, we did some sake samplers (recommended).

And here are the slew of foods we ordered to celebrate Wednesday 

and the 16th Anniversary of Sushi Roku. I swear I am here all the time it feels like home.

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Shishito peppers, nasu dengaku, and hanabi are always my go to for appetizers when I'm here. Oh! and fluke kumquat sashimi in a yuzu vinaigrette. The sushi you see are yellowtail, ankimo, salmon, toro and uni. Orders of salmon cut rolls are always welcomed. Some baked crab handrolls are always satisfying. And surprisingly, the chicken Karaage was very tasty with a bowl of hot rice! For dessert, we had their warm butter cake with vanilla ice cream and 3 unique mochis with flavors: pistachio, strawberry chocolate chip, and passion fruit.

One Colorado 33 Miller Alley Pasadena, CA 91103

Big Catch Seafood - Downtown Alhambra

Do you guys remember how Downtown Alhambra used to be like? It was nothing. Besides the Edwards Renaissance or Johnny Rockets, and ok from time to time Diner on Main, there was pretty much nothing to go there for. In a huge leap of a decade, it's evolved into this whole beast of, perhaps, gentrification. 

There are so many new restaurants on Main street it's become the new location to hang out and mingle. Big Catch just opened their doors the past week and boy does this change up the scene. Downtown Alhambra now has an innovative restaurant that doesn't just serve great food, but also provides an amazing ambience for date nights, hang out with friends, celebratory dinners, and just a great destination to wow your families in town.

Below are a few, but not limited, of the different dishes I got to try.

Fried Oysters

Truffle Salmon Roll 

Dirty Fried Rice

Truffle Sliders

New England Clam Chowder

Crap Dip

Oysters : Around 7 oysters to pick from.

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Hokkaido Scallop

Uni Pasta

Tomahawk Rib Chop - USDA Prime.

Hickory Smoked Salmon

Vanilla Creme Brulee

2 S Garfield Ave Ste 100 Alhambra, CA 91801

**Recommend to make reservations.

DeLuscious Cookies - Hollywood

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If you are thinking about a street treat to give your friends, family, and colleagues, think no further. I am so happy to have gotten to try some baked goodies from DeLuscious cookies. Their cookies are baked to order, but they do carry their classic flavors for walk-ins. I enjoyed everything you see here. I made a festive center piece for my sweets for guests to enjoy as they brew their coffee. I simply found a fall wreath (or any holiday wreath you have) and simply placed a glass stand to hold my cookies. The goods were delivered warm and most importantly, on time. 

Everything you see were delicious. I especially love the red velvet brownie that I cut up so more fingers can snatch them up. The oatmeal raisin cookie was also a rave along with Cinnamon Brulee and chocolate decadence. It's hard for me to bake during the holidays and that is mainly because I am a savory person. Baking is not my forte, but DeLuscious Cookies made it easy to have a great party without me having to worry about buying eggs, sugar, butter, chocolate, etc. The cookies and baked sweets were all unique and fresh. 

It literally feels like it's Christmas already. Do yourself a favor and order some for your loved ones. You won't regret it.

Their shop is located: 829 North Highland in Los Angeles, CA 90038

Website to shop: http://www.delusciouscookies.com/

The Counter - Seasonal Burger

Gobble Gobble! It's that time of year again when we can all get excited for Thanksgiving foods. Now, I'm not a fan of turkey. You won't find me ordering a turkey sandwich, ever. But, I did try the seasonal burger at The Counter last week called "The Giving Bird".

To start, I had their deviled eggs.

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You can't go wrong with this as an appetizer. I like to enjoy these, and the whole meal, with a glass of Allagash from their draft selection. 

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The Giving Bird
100% natural turkey topped with pomegranate molasses glaze, fried sweet potato strings, crispy kale, cranberry relish, whole wheat bun, and a housemade pomegranate bbq sauce.

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I've had turkey burgers before and most of them were gamy. I don't do well with gamy meats. I can handle it to a certain extent, but it's never my first go to choice if I see it on the menu. However, this turkey from The Counter was actually not gamy at all. I was able to eat this and enjoyed every single bite. I loved the toppings. The pomegranate molasses glaze with cranberry relish really made this fit for November. The crispy kale and fried street potato strings were a nice touch. Surprisingly, their wheat bun was also tasty. It was toasted perfectly and didn't feel too dry or bland like some other wheat buns I've had.

They are located everywhere. Find your Counter Burger here.