journeys east @ tulalip casino

tulalip, wa

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derek's parents made reservations at journeys east for christmas dinner last year. an unusual choice, to be sure. food was delicious - a mix of different asian cuisines - derek's parents always know how to find good food. service had the right amount of christmas cheer. a nice spot for a fun family gathering. we even got to place a few bets at the roulette table on the way out.

brick + mortar

santa monica, ca

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a cool restaurant on main street in santa monica - more successful as a bar/nightclub in the late evenings than as a restaurant. although the chicken and waffles were pretty to look at, the chicken was overcooked and the waffles were bland and tasteless. derek, however, likes the atmosphere at brunch - loud music, fun & boisterous crowd. but the food is definitely lacking. for fried chicken and waffles in santa monica, go to bru's wiffle. for a pint on a saturday night? brick + mortar is a great option.

plaza inn @ disneyland

anaheim, ca

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visiting disneyland for derek's birthday - he elected not to wear the birthday pin, for fear that everyone saying "happy birthday" to him in an overly cheerful voice would get annoying. but he did elect to get fried chicken. we shared a plate (so as to save room for more disney snacks) - green beans were decent, the mashed potatoes were ridiculously buttery and delicious, and derek was very happy with the fried chicken - surprisingly moist and tender.

naples ristorante

anaheim, ca

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surprisingly good italian food in downtown disney, just outside of disneyland and california adventure. derek gets the chicken parm, i get the eggplant parm. thinly sliced eggplant, lightly breaded, topped with a very good red sauce and served with spaghetti cooked perfectly al dente. i recommend reservations if you want to dine here during dinner hours - it's a nice break from the craziness of the parks. or you can wait in line at the takeout option next door for an excellent neapolitan pizza, fresh from the oven.

aussie pie kitchen

santa monica, ca

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meat pies! ever since jenny and i went to pie minister in oxford, england, i've been trying to find a similar spot stateside. these meat pies are australian, but i can't tell the difference. it's hard to go wrong with meat wrapped in pastry. my favorite is the classic aussie - ground beef marinated in red wine, braised in mirepoix, herbs & spices. placed on top of mashed potatoes and covered with gravy. these pies are also great to take home - reheat in the oven until the buttery crust gets brown and flaky. so good.

ludobird @ staples center

los angeles, ca

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sports arenas have gotten fancy with their concessions. i was just excited to see jeremy lin play for the lakers at the staples center. (i was possibly the only person in the stands hoping that kobe would get out of the way so i could snap a photo of jeremy). i wasn't expecting to also be wowed by the food. wandering around the various concession stands, i noticed ludobird. could it possibly be related to celebrity chef ludo? i had no idea if his food was any good - i only knew him from anthony bourdain's show. turns out his fried chicken is damn good. seriously. crispy, herbal, juicy fried chicken will help you ignore how poorly the lakers are playing.

lawry's

beverly hills, ca

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girl's night out with cindy c, g, and L. L has a special "in" at lawry's because she got married there! brilliant. we had a great wisecracking waitress who had a lot of fun with us girls. smart wine recommendation, reasonably priced. dinner started with lawry's famous original spinning bowl salad. is it really necessary to start with salad? does the bowl really need to spin? who knows, but it's amazing. gives you a nice base in your stomach for the roasted prime rib. the meat is served off of a push cart - like meaty dim sum. for me, the redder the slice, the better. side of creamed corn. mashed potatoes. and yorkshire pudding which is like a deflated creamy popover. eat until it starts to hurt a little. waddle home. success!

morinoya

los angeles, ca

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i had no idea that this japanese restaurant was hidden away on the 2nd floor of the olympic collection at the corner of sawtelle and olympic until m directed me there for dinner after work. their specialty is inaniwa udon - i'm not quite sure what it's made of, but it looks like thinly sliced udon. the broth was flavorful and warm. it's a lot lighter than the ramen that you get elsewhere on sawtelle. but my favorite part of the meal was the warm plum wine drink that m ordered - extremely comforting after a long day.

r+d kitchen

santa monica, ca

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hillstone restaurants are generally reliable for good american food and excellent wine lists. r+d kitchen is no exception. on a lazy afternoon strolling along montana avenue, i sat by myself at the counter of r+d kitchen. lovely glass of crisp chardonnay. nice fresh chicken salad. solid.

b sweet

los angeles, ca

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this is my latest dessert addiction. bread pudding in all different flavors. pictured is my absolute favorite flavor - the bread pudding made from chocolate chip banana bread topped with gooey caramel. lightly sweet banana flavor pairs perfectly with rich bittersweet chocolate and super sweet caramel. derek's favorite flavor is glazed donut. yes, you read that correctly, they make bread pudding out of DONUTS. genius. derek gets it with a scoop of ice cream on top. it's such an intense dessert that i can usually only finish half in one sitting. but it freezes nicely and after a minute in the microwave, it tastes just as moist and amazing as a fresh serving.

bao dim sum house

los angeles, ca

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cindy was visiting and we really wanted to get dim sum but didn't have time to drive out to the san gabriel valley. so we ended up at bao dim sum house in the beverly grove area. dim sum is decent, but with a lot of fancy touches that you wouldn't get at a normal dim sum joint. for example, the fried luo bo gao is gently served on a nice plate garnished with chopped scallions rather than getting a quick squeeze of hoisin sauce before being thrown on your table. everything was okay, but i'd much rather have a more authentic dim sum experience in the SGV.

bachi burger

los angeles, ca

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new burger spot on sawtelle in west LA. of course we're usually eating ramen when we're on sawtelle, but this time we decided to try a burger. bachi burger is one of those fancy burger places that put a lot of interesting toppings on the burger. i can't remember which toppings i got, but i do remember that the meat itself did not have a lot of flavor. not a fan - i'd much rather go to plan check down the street. or eat ramen. i know others love this place, but it's just not my cup of tea.

a cut above

santa monica, ca

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what comes to mind when you hear the phrase "hipster butcher shop"? whatever is in your mind's eye is probably a pretty accurate representation of a cut above. they sell beautiful meat - the kind that is marbled in all the right places and has a rich color that you know will taste good no matter what you do to it. but they also sell sandwiches - very popular sandwiches. pictured is the bbq pulled pork - slow roasted pork shoulder with secret sauce, pickled carrots, red onions, served on a brioche bun. i've tried nearly every sandwich on their chalkboard menu - grassfed roast beef, roasted turkey club, italian salumi, chicken salad ... all delicious. i've heard the salads are good here, but unless you're a vegetarian, i recommend a meaty sandwich or their beef chili.

yabu

los angeles, ca

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one of our go-to lunch spots, a quick drive from the office. solid and dependable japanese cuisine - great lunch specials. i usually get the chirashi with a side of hot udon, although pictured is their tempura lunch special. there are some days when the fish is spectacular - a fresh shipment must have just come in. on other days, the sushi is still very good. one tip that i learned from mohan - you can ask for your noodles to be topped with crunchy tempura flakes for free! why not.

sushi tsujita

los angeles, ca

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being a huge fan of their noodle shops - tsujita la and tsujita annex, i was very excited to try the new tsujita sushi restaurant. unfortunately, it didn't live up to my high expectations. some early dishes were very good - the starter pictured had amazing flavor - each ingredient was delicious. but the later sushi courses were underwhelming - while good, i think you could get sushi just as good for half the price down the street.

huckleberry

santa monica, ca

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extremely popular brunch spot in santa monica. there's always a line, quite literally out the door. so no surprise that the food is great. pictured is my fried egg sandwich with bacon, gruyère, arugula and aioli on country bread. a little messy when the yolk breaks, but so delicious with really fresh ingredients. and save room for dessert - the baked goods are out of this world. my favorite is the blueberry cornmeal cake. cindy raved about their caramel walnut bread pudding. there's also maple bacon biscuits ... one thing to remember - order your baked goods before you get to the register. otherwise you'll throw off the whole ordering system, delay the line even further, and annoy some impatient brunchers.

paul @ NCE

nice, france

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aeroport nice cote d'azur is a small airport full of people who are sad their vacations are ending and that they must leave paradise. although maybe i was projecting. anyway, one last chance for a pain au chocolat at the gate. we stopped by paul for an espresso and pastry. (espresso for derek, pastry for me - that pretty much sums up our trip). the pain au chocolat was a lovely treat for the flight home.

brasserie la rotonde

nice, france

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for our last night in europe, we intended to dine at the michelin-starred le chantecler at the hotel negresco. but miscommunication with our concierge (we asked for an outdoor table) resulted in our reservation being at the more casual outdoor restaurant instead. which is good, because the host at le chantecler looked horrified when we walked in asking about our reservation. (were we underdressed? did we look out of place? who knows, but the snobbiness was annoying). when we finally found la rotonde, we were seated at a small table in the back corner of the patio. a larger table closer to the street was "reserved" but remained unoccupied for the duration of our meal. sigh. but after the initial rude service, we eventually had a waiter bring us english menus and a more friendly demeanor. of course i had to start with the salade niçoise (translation: a nice-style salad). crunchy veggies, fresh tuna - it was quite good. but the highlight was the cote du boef with butter herb sauce. i ordered it rare and it actually arrived rare. a perfect steak.

debin ur begad

nice, france

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our favorite place to eat, shop, and explore in nice was vieille ville (old town). walking from the modern promenade du paillon into vieille ville was like walking from modern london into diagon alley - it felt like a different world. it was a maze of streets, narrow alleyways, and tiny storefronts. we happened upon a fun open-air market with vegetables, flowers, and various crafts. the restaurants surrounding the market were enticing, but being the stereotypical tourist that i am, i wanted to get a crepe. found ourselves at a breton creperie, but the highlight of the meal ended up being the socca. socca was advertised all over nice, but we had no idea what it was. i'm still not entirely sure other than it was an eggy, fluffy, delicious pancake-thing. yum.

phnom penh

nice, france

link to tripadvisor

this might be my favorite spot in nice (or i was just really happy to be eating asian food again). random fast food cambodian spot near the promenade du paillon. lots to choose from - all kinds of cambodian specialties are displayed in a glass case - different types of noodles, meats, rolls. we eventually decided on egg rolls wrapped in lettuce and vermicelli noodles mixed with egg and mushrooms. took them to-go and enjoyed them while sitting in the park, watching people walk through the misty fountains along the promenade. sunny day + crispy egg rolls = heaven.