Itās casual. Steaks all around. Cocktails (I got a red snapper -gin Bloody Mary). French onion soup. Combo Louie salad (crab & shrimp). I had a ribeye. The girls also got baked potatoes. Happy tummies. Happy hearts. @mussoandfrankgrill@carinaost #hollywoodeats #oldhollywood
Scenes from the recent American Whiskey class from @bennybourbon101 over @vandell.losangeles ā¦ we not only tasted and learned about @wildturkey but also got to hear the differences between many popular styles and brands. It was a very thorough class covering whiskey 101 to discussing more obscure styles. I canāt wait to put this education to use when picking potential partners for @bourbonwomencali events! #americanwhiskey #bourbon #ryewhiskey #americansinglemalt
There are two locations of Lao Xi dumplings and noodles but Iāve only gone to the one on Baldwin Ave in Arcadia. I generally want dumplings and noodles for lunch 75% of the time. @ardentspiritsla joined me and we got the tofu & celery salad, pork & shrimp dumplings, their signature wifeās special noodles (topped with shredded cucumber, ground meat sauce, tomato & egg as well as chunks of beef), catās ear noodles (added pork) and cauliflower which came with a nice spicy sauce. We were so addicted to the cauliflower! I need to go back several more times if I ever hope to try more of the menu but I tend to order the same things once I figure out what I like at a spot. Still I didnāt get the tendon and okra noodle soup I liked so much on a previous visit. I always have tendon and tripe on my mind too. (Note on music- yes itās basically just āeat eat eatā in mandarin) Yum factor 10/10! #sgveats #chinesefood
Hi pie fans! I attended @kcrwgoodfood annual pie fest for the first time and though this is quite the late recap, I wanted to showcase some of the cool pies I saw. For some reason I never saw @jashmine.corpuz winning pie but Iām sure it was delicious! I did buy lunch from @zindrew and @thepienburger - next year Iām bringing a picnic blanket! Also other notes- this was the first year it was held @theautry (yes the reason why I never went before was because it was on the westside). I did rideshare but it was still chaotic and I think you either have to arrive in the last couple of hours (and hopefully snag a bite from the entrants) or super early to find parking. There were a lot of food vendors and activities so that was fun. Walking the two tents of pies was fun- but if youāre claustrophobic or find crowds exhausting, this might not be the fest for you. Still, I recommend this very LA event! #piefest #thingstodoinla
People always ask me why I love the @kentuckyderby so much and itās because of my grandfather. He would take me to the track and I just loved seeing horses run. I also love a good theme, bourbon and dressing up (heh my lemon š dress & purse made me š¤). I have such a good time decorating hats too. Maybe one day Iāll actually make it to Churchill Downs but until then Iāll celebrate locally. And one of my fave parties is @redbirdla annual derby party. @nealfraser serves up a splendid spread and @tobinshea and crew (hi @anthcastro ) makes all the @woodfordreserve juleps and such (this year I was drinking @oldforester Kentucky Colonels). Thanks to my big hat crew @nadria@messyepicure@ms.madrea@hongkongphooey š for celebrating with me! Missed @snacksanddaqs@thejessimess@lizzyleduc@sun_spillpocket š„ Nice to see @carisunnie@2decksteven & meet @ron.rum.rhum š„ Big congrats to the best dressed /hat @whiskeyidrank and the lady with the deviled egg fascinator! š #kentuckyderby #derbyhats #derbyfashion
I finally checked out Big Maās Kitchen for dim sum a couple weeks ago. The dim sum wars have started heating up - whoās the most affordable while still tasty? Well, I can definitively say Big Maās while cheap, was just all right. The best dish was the shrimp rice rolls (cheung fun). I always judge a spot on their siu mai (pork & shrimp dumplings) and har gow (crystal shrimp dumplings) and these are pre-90s sized - normal for the rest of the world but tiny compared to other LA/SGV spots. Theyāre fine. Iām not sure why they were included in the last LA Times dim sum roundup. Actually all the food is quite edible. Itās just not amazing. So if youāre looking for a good deal, this is the place. Plus they have lunch specials (the eggplant and congee shown). However, service is lacking (even for a Chinese spot). They forgot the soup, rice and dessert for the lunch specials. We had to ask several times for little things like water, sauce, to-go boxesā¦ also be forewarned the dim sum selection is quite limited. They do have a fun promotion right now where you get to spin for a free dish (the steamed chicken shown). My fave SGV spots for dim sum are Happy Together, Tang Gong and Blooming VIP. Actually I really loved Lunasia as well but stopped going when they started using disposable plates while still charging premium pricing. I might give the new Pasadena location a try though since the food is still good (tried at the recent Masters of Taste). #chinesefood #cantonesefood #dimsum #sgveats
I always like going to @thunderboltla whenever a guest bar takeover happens. This time it was @wingleibar@mark__macau from Macau. Iāve never been so this is the perfect opportunity to check out bars from other countries.
We ordered the special char siu to go with all the drinks. Iām not usually a Cantonese bbq pork fan as I found the versions I ate growing up way too sweet. But this pork was succulent and not an awful bright red from artificial coloring- just a good bbq pork. Where have you been all my life?
We also got drummettes, shrimp toast with fennel and the biscuit. You couldnāt even tell it was gluten free- it was so very fluffy!
š„š„Peanut Pistol - Irish Whiskey, Peanut Butter, Kahlua, Orange Bitters
šDay Drinking - Tequila, Melon, Lemon, Orgeat, Foam
šCosmic Fizz - Strawberry Vodka, Cointreau, Cranberry, Bubbles
š„„š¦ŖCoconut & Oyster Saturn - Coconut Washed Gin, Lemon, Passionfruit, Orgeat, Falernum, GF Oyster Sauce
My fave drinks were the Peanut Pistol and Coconut & Oyster Saturn. Oyster sauce practically runs in my blood and it was amazing in a cocktail. Good on ya @leekumkeeglobal š¹
Until the next one!
#bartakeover #wingleibar #lacocktailcommunity
After the Chartreuse masterclass (see previous post), we found ourselves at @mikeandannes where I havenāt been in decades. I remember really liking it at the time and Iām glad itās survived as a local favorite. I got a tuna melt and @wskycvlt had a Cuban sandwich. The bread on both was excellent and they were simple but tasty. The ham in the Cuban was particularly good. This part of South Pasadena is so cute. Itās so picturesque and seemingly straight out of a movie. #southpasadenaeats #pasadenaeats #sgveats
Yāall Iām back from wine country where signal was horrible. Iām gonna do a big wine week of posts next week but wanted to speed run through some recent fun things I ate and drank. First up was the fab @chartreuse1605 masterclass I did with the bestest @yourfavoriteshedonist š chartreuse is one my fave liqueurs in the world and I am constantly learning new things about it! I had no idea the color was named after the liqueur š and guess what!!! Thereās a new aperitif from the monks! Itās Gentiane. So Iām already a big gentian fan (think gin, Suze, etc) and my head is already churning up cocktail ideas. Now Iām waiting for Chartreuse day 5/16 š #chartreuse #newnew #aperitif
