I recently spent a day in Los Angeles prior to visiting the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! Even though LA is just a short 50-minute plane ride from where I live, I don’t go visit enough. But the last couple of years I have been compiling a list of “must-eats” and you should see the size of that list! Anyway, in my short 24 hour stay there, my cousin (who is also a fellow food lover) and I tackled the list and picked out 3 restaurants to dine at for lunch, dinner, and brunch. Here are some pictures and highlights!
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Superba Snack Bar
533 Rose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90291
(310) 399-6400
Pepino Fresco [collin vermouth, bonal, lemon juice, cucumber, ginger, splash of wine]
Delicious mid-day cocktail, not too heavy.
Buttermilk biscuits [with housemade apricot jam]
Buttery and flakey, very good jam too.
Crispy French Toast [brioche, strawberry, chantilly, butter syrup]
This was like eating fried custard, nice crunch on the outside and soft and velvety on the inside. That butter syrup was great, we were convinced there was bacon fat in the syrup because it had a slightly savory and smokey taste to it, went well with the sweet french toast.
Roasted Peaches [housemade granola, yogurt, honey, vincotto]
Loved their housemade granola. And any time there’s something with roasted or grilled peaches on the menu, I’m game!
Pork belly sandwich [slaw, brioche bun]
This was a tad on the sweet side but the pork belly was perfectly roasted.
Mascarpone cheesecake [strawberry, Sicilian pistachio, creme fraiche]
Smooth and melt-in-your-mouth yumminess. The pistachio crunch was especially delicious.
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Angelini Osteria
7313 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 297-0070
A small but top notch Italian restaurant that I’ve been wanting to try forever. Definitely make reservation as the place is packed all the time. Authentic Italian food, quick and friendly service. We had an absolutely spectacular dinner here.
Complimentary bread basket. It’s all about that rosemary flat bread. Couldn’t get enough of it.
Complimentary appetizers [lentils and soup]
I must find out how to make this dish. The lentils were cooked and tossed in some kind of vinegar, it was served cold like a salad, a great antipasto to start!
Fegatini Chicken Liver with Green Beans and Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. I love offal meats like heart, cheek, marrow, tongue…etc. and I especially love liver. This dish is pretty much what I envision when I cook with chicken liver (besides making chicken liver pate). Each pieces were seared perfectly, and the sweet balsamic took away the gaminess slightly.
Warm octopus salad
Perfectly cooked octopus, nice charring which added a great smoky flavor. The tomatoes and lettuce were so fresh.
Bombolotti all’ Amatriciana with Guanciale, San Marzano Tomatoes and Hot Peppers. This was slightly heavier than I expected but it was so good! The sauce was rich with just the right spiciness. The pasta was cooked to the perfect al dente feel.
Lasagna Verde “Omaggio Nonna Elvira” with Beef and Veal Ragu’.
Wow, this was a really cool dish. The fried spinach on top was fun to eat too! The ragu mixture reminded me of the bolognese lasagna I had in Siena. I loved that the sauce wasn’t runny and there wasn’t an overwhelming glob of cheese.
My cousin captioned this photo as “food-shamed” while I dubbed it “tiramisu-anonymous”. We really ate way too much delicious food that day!
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Faith and Flower
705 W 9th St, Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 239-0642
Garden Cup [pimms, basil, citrus]. Can you tell I love the herb + citrusy combo ?
Hamachi Ceviche [ginger beer, potato chips]
1/2 dozen oysters [pink peppercorn mignonette]
Deviled jidori eggs [korean chili, kimchi]
I know trendy deviled eggs are in, and usually they are just okay, but these were really great. I loved the idea of adding the chili with the yolk and top with kimchi. I’m going to be recreating this in the future.
braised bacon [brown sugar, champagne glaze]
This was like eating bacon candy. It’ wasn’t salty like bacon, the whole piece of meat tasted more like braised pork belly (versus cured bacon). So tender, savory and sweet. Can I wake up to this everyday?
fennel and citrus salad [spiced pistachios, Idiazabal cheese]
Fennel and citrus really are a great pairing. The crunchy pistachios added great texture.
brioche bread pudding
Yummy! Decadent, rich, buttery, gooey…loved this dessert! I think the toppings were a mixture of pine nuts and puffed rice, great crunch!
24 hour was too short. Until next time, Los Angeles!