FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

@GrubRestaurant LA

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Over the years, more and more of my friends have headed West, which makes for both a fun and busy LA vacation.  I was too jet lagged for Baily‘s 90s themed birthday party on Saturday (huge bummer!), but was thrilled to find out that we’d be able to meet for an extended, chat-filled lunch before hopping on the redeye flight to Tampa.

We took the advice of a friend and checked out Grub.  As soon as we walked in, we could tell it was a place you could sit and chat for hours.  The server immediately brought over a lovely little basket filled with pretzels, veggies, and dip, which was both good and bad.  Good because it was so darn cute and satisfied that raging hunger that inevitably hits me the second I step inside a restaurant.  Bad because it fulfilled the raging hunger and allowed Baily and I to do a crazy amount of catching up before even beginning to browse the menu.  Regardless, our waiter was patient with us and I was thankful for that.

Everything on the menu appealed to me in some fashion, but the bold red letters stating “Voted Best Tuna Melt in LA!” lured me in.  The tuna melt was as good as mine and Baily went with the crab cake salad.  The tuna melt had a real tuna patty (no canned stuff here) and tasted like a super hearty, extra comforting grilled cheese sandwich.  The pesto added that touch of herby-ness that I’m always a fan of.  And it was large enough to take home leftovers that were equally as good two-ish hours later.

So, yum food and welcoming atmosphere were totally A+ in my book.  But what ended up being my favorite part of the Grub experience was how social the restaurant was before and after our visit.  We tweeted up a storm and they were genuinely interested in our visit and what we thought of our meals.  It was so smart on their part, so twenty twelve.  I dug it.

Til next time Grub folks!

Lobster Fest

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Hello from Los Angeles!  More specifically, hello from Lobster Fest 2012!  Ariel, Matt, and I decided to venture out from the usual routine and head to The Port and get our feast on.

We stood in carnie lines, smothered our hands with lobster guts, drank icy cold drafts, and soaked in the sunshine.  LA is hotter than Austin right now, if you can believe it, but The Port was breezier than the mainland which made for a solid outdoor day.

Apparently there was a separate line to have someone crack your lobster.  But I took things into my own hands, literally, and made use of my Florida-girl-crab-leg-crackin’ skills.  Skills that were impressive enough for the old couple next to us to reference the Seinfeld “man hands” episode.  Pretty funny stuff…

Hope you all had an equally as lovely Sunday!!

Post-Weekend Recovery

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After a weekend full of splurging in every arena possible, I was in dire need of Runyon and some healthy eats.

Nathan and I hiked the canyon in the foggiest (smoggiest?) weather ever and then headed to M Cafe for the healthy eats.

I started with a juice made of lemon, wheat grass, ginger, and another ingredient that escapes my mind.  I really enjoyed the tartness of the lemon and the ridiculous amounts of nutrients I knew I was getting with the wheat grass.

Then I moved on to the wild salmon and asparagus sandwich on multi-grain toast with a side of kale with spicy peanut dressing.  I loved how thin the toast was and how they added asparagus to a sammy.  It was a perfect, post-hike meal.

And look at that!  My sandwich and I even smiled at each other before I took my first bite.

I’ll be in downtown LA til Friday if you have any metro accessible restaurant suggestions!

Can’t Sleep In

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I felt like a complete clone of my mom this morning – waking up before the rest of the household, hitting the pavement and trekking towards whatever early activity XYZ city has to offer.  Ariel was still beat from my East Coast early rising yesterday, so I let her sleep in while I headed down the street to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market.

Fresh watermelon juice?  Yes, please.

I also couldn’t resist the giant portobello mushrooms at The Fungi Stand.  I bought two to toss on the grill tomorrow, which set me back and unexpected $8.50.  The shroom purchase cramped my spending style for the morning,  but it’ll be soooo worth it tomorrow!

I couldn’t get over how large and colorful the produce selection was.  If I had brought more cash and didn’t have to walk an uphill mile and a half home, I would have done some serious damage.

And then I tasted one of the best combos EVER…

A sundried tomato with whipped garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice.  Yum!  I’m probably going to recreate this spread for my 4th of July portobello sammy.

Now off to get ready for Sarah’s wedding!!  Weeee!