tavern

los angeles, ca

website

"karendipity, is that a pool of butter in your picture?" why yes, yes it is. vanita and the family graciously invited me to brunch at the super classy tavern restaurant in brentwood. everyone else at the table ordered something healthy. i ordered the blueberry ricotta pancakes doused in butter. so good. almost as good as clinton st baking co, which is really saying something. while the food is great, the best part about tavern is the ambiance in the back room. beautiful luxurious furniture, bright sunlit room, and random trees bringing in just a hint of nature. this is what i imagine it would be like if you're the earl of grantham, you've just finished shooting pheasants, and the downton abbey staff has set up a dining tent for you and your hunting party in a clearing nearby.

jinky's cafe

santa monica, ca

website

my blog is exhibit #1 to explain why i joined a running club. exhibit #2 is cindy c, who joined the running club with me. we lasted about two months before we decided that running 11 miles on a saturday morning was just too much to ask. anyway, back when we used to run on saturday mornings, we would head over to jinky's cafe afterward for our reward - giant omelettes and crunchy tater tots. perfect to cancel out all of the calories we had just burned running. i think the post-run tater tots are the only thing i miss about the running club.

oumi sasaya

lomita, ca

link to yelp

whhhhy is it so far awaaaay. cindy c once drove me to oumi sasaya for their amazing curry udon. it's a tiny japanese restaurant that specializes in curry udon and there is always a wait for a seat. and they're only open for a few hours for lunch and a few hours for dinner. when they're out of noodles, they just close up. the curry udon is amazing. the noodles are made fresh every day and the broth is rich and spicy. they also serve it with fried mochi, which is one of the best things to ever go into soup. but lomita is so far away from where i live. i would have to get on the 405 and actually stay on the 405 for quite a while, which seems like a risk if they might not even have a seat or any noodles left when i get there. ugh.

top dog

berkeley, ca

website

i love hot dogs. it's one of my favorite foods. people have told me about how hot dogs are made and even shown me pictures of the manufacturing process in an attempt to convince me how bad hot dogs are for me. it doesn't work. anyway - every berkeley grad that i've met has raved about top dog. i had to go to berkeley for a work event and i convinced michelle to stop by top dog with me to find out what the fuss is all about. the verdict? i'm not sure. the hot dog itself was fine. there was way too much bread. eh. the verdict is eh.

carnevino

las vegas, nv

website

i wonder if jenny and i are the only people who go to vegas for the food and shopping. it's a nice option for me because most of the great nyc restaurateurs have opened up outposts in las vegas. as we walked along the strip, jenny (the native new yorker) was surprised to see the names of familiar restaurants - mesa grill, carmine's, tao, and the list goes on and on. of course, the restaurants are not completely authentic - the food is generally a small step below in quality compared to the nyc originals. but i was very happy to see a batali restaurant and the pasta was almost as good as the pasta you get at his nyc restaurants. batali's pasta is simply the best. i recommend carnevino to everyone who goes to vegas. don't get the steak, get the pasta!

burgr

las vegas, nv

website

the restaurant is called BurGR - get it? - GR for Gordon Ramsay. oh, so clever. anyway, it's a burger joint in the planet hollywood casino. their milkshakes are served with a british twist - each shake comes with pudding on top. for example, the strawberry shake comes with coconut pudding. apparently british people like pudding. the shake was fine. the burger was fine. if you're craving a gourmet burger while walking the strip, this place is as good as any. but i wouldn't make it a priority.

lotus of siam

las vegas, nv

website

lotus of siam is possibly the most famous thai restaurant in the united states. it's been featured many times on foodtv and other foodie shows as a chef favorite. it's not close to the strip and requires a car or cab if you're staying on the strip. but it's definitely worth it. saying that this is the best thai food i've ever had seems too limiting - in fact, this is one of the best meals that i've ever had. i can't remember exactly which dishes we ordered, only that we asked the waiter to guide us to the favorites. jenny, jenny's cousin, and i devoured the food so quickly that i only remembered to take a picture when the dessert showed up. i really can't wait to go back again. hopefully next time i take better notes and more pictures.

wicked spoon

las vegas, nv

website

love the name. love the food. jenny and i were kids in a candy store. except instead of candy there were all kinds of foodie treats, including piles of bones from which you could extract delicious bone marrow. unlimited! well, i'm sure at some point they would run out of cows. but otherwise unlimited amounts of bone marrow! of course, there was more than just roasted bone marrow (you can only eat so much before you can start to feel your arteries clog). my next favorite was the french toast, which i topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream. yum.

fatted calf

napa, ca

website

we decided it would be smart to have some food in our stomachs before we started wine tasting, so we picked up some sandwiches at the fatted calf in downtown napa before heading out to the wineries. fatted calf specializes in charcuterie but also has various cheeses, crackers, drinks, and other gourmet foodstuffs that are great to stock up on for later. the porchetta sandwich is my favorite. deliciously fatty pork nicely balanced with tangy stuff. not too heavy. the first winery we went to let us eat our sandwiches on a picnic bench outside. beautiful view overlooking the vineyards. nice glass of red wine. heaven.

casa mia

richland, wa

website

you'll note that i blog very few restaurants in richland, washington. although that is where i was born and raised, none of the restaurants can compare to my mom's cooking. but when we decide to give mom a break from the stove, we go to casa mia. this is my FAVORITE salad, although i'm not even sure it's fair to call it a salad. some crunchy iceberg lettuce topped with thousand island, pizza-style mozzarella cheese, and olives. lots and lots of olives. although there's lettuce under there somewhere, it's coated with three fatty items - dressing, cheese, and olives. so good. i also get the spaghetti here so that i'm not only eating fat+fat+fat+lettuce, but their pasta is just okay.