bachi burger

los angeles, ca

website

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

website

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

website

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

website

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

website

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

website

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.

kitchena

nice, france

link to yelp

after spending the day shopping in nice, our feet (and wallets) were tired. there were rows and rows of small tables on the sidewalk outside kitchena, just calling our name. we didn't see any staff, so we sat down on some empty chairs (well - "collapsed onto the chairs with our bags" might be more accurate). a waitress walked by and winked at us, which i assumed meant we were okay. eventually she took our orders - i went with a café créme, which was served with a crunchy speculoos biscuit. a great spot to sip some coffee, rest our feet, and people watch.