Little Delhi @ Eddy St, San Francisco

What we LOVE about SF:  the public transit, Union Square, the Bay, and the FOOD!!!  And not just the nice, high end fancy pants places, the places that are humble, down to earth and delicious.  SF has a plethora of awesomely divvy joints that on the outside, might seem somewhat unsavory, but deliver quality dishes that offer no pretentiousness...

Staying close to Union Square, we pass by this one restaurant all the time without giving it much serious thought.  BUt seeing that we were dying for ethnic food, our little iPhones gave us some suggestions, and told us to stop by LIttle Delhi.

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Fluff Ice @ 346 W Huntington Dr, Los Angeles

With Summer in full swing, the outside temperature in Vegas can become unbearable, and most of our time outside is trying to decide where to duck and cool off inside...  And most of those places involve something very very cold...  

A saving grace for us is that we can hop on over to LA, where the weather is more temperate.  Luckily, we heard word of a new Shaved Ice store that really had our interests: Fluff Ice.  It's new concept, where flavors are integrated into the ice, and then shaved in a method that makes the ice creamy and soft. With regular shaved ice, the ice has a tendency to clump up into ice boulders, or the syrup melts the ice away into a soup... Their original location is in Monterey Park, we decide to go to their new outpost in Monrovia, which was along the way.. 

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Great Bao @ W. Tropicana, Las Vegas

Great Bao was closing their brick & motor location; which up til now I wasn't too keen on going due to its odd location inside a Salon...(I mean, how does that actually work? Food and Hair products just sound so wrong).

But seeing that they were closing (due to lease issues)  it was our last chance to support them. (they still have their food truck where you can have their most heavenly Baos).  We thought it would be cool as ice to take a stroll over to their soon-to-be defunct operation inside the 'house of hair'...













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Animal Restaurant @ N. Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles

Veal Tongue + Pastrami Spices

Too excited for words, we got a table at Animal Restaurant, home of Bacon Chocolate and just before the Foie Gras ban in California, no less.  It was at the top of our list, as well as Son of a Gun, their sister restaurant that focuses on Seafood as its theme.

Right along Fairfax Ave, aptly adjacent to Canter's Delicatessen, Animal features Meats and Poultry by chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo who have become established recognizable names in the culinary industry.

The facade has no signs or any indication of restaurant's nomenclature, one has to guess or remember the building number, (oh boy, this is gonna be fun fun fun!) I can smell the architectural discomfort I'm about to experience...is there a stretching rack prepared upon arrival, or do I get a seat......


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Serious Biscuit @ Westlake Avenue, Seattle

Biscuit + Homemade Ham + Egg + Beecher's Cheddar + Apple Mustard

Apparently, we saved the best for last...before parting ways with Seattle, we destined ourselves to drop in on another Tom Douglas F&B outfit: Serious Biscuit in Westlake.  Now a note, this venue can be a little confusing; it's actually Serious Pie, denoting a Pizza Shop (also very popular) but from the morning to afternoon, it's transformed into a breakfast/brunch joint where Biscuits & Gravy are definitely the 'Get' item.

Now, Rick has a thing for Biscuits & Gravy, his Grandparents on the farm made them all the time growing up; now he's 'Chasing the Dragon' always ordering them and completely unsatisfied cuz it don't live up to the ones he's had.... until now


I remember on my cross country trip, I stopped in Wyoming, had Chicken Fried Steak with Biscuits & Gravy for Breakfast (so friggin heavy) by the time I got out to the parking lot, I threw up all that cream, grease and oil....lovely....

So we got one attempting to reenact memories of his childhood to fruitless avail, while the other's just trying not to toss his cookies.  It seemed that this culinary sojourn had doom written all over it right from inception....but happily, we were wrong (cue Bon Iver, mist rolling over the mountains)

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Random Photo: New York Sunset

Searsucker @ Gaslamp District, San Diego

Shrimps "Spicy" and Bacon Grits

Our first time in San Diego, we were staying in Coronado and decided to walk around in the Downtown Gaslamp District.  I was keenly interested in this one Thai restaurant down the street, when we walked past this popular place that drew my attention; I loved the interior and the vibe of the place (it's not exactly the best measure of a good restaurant, but the attention to detail and the crowd does give some indication of its popularity and trend) and so we veered off the path and walked in...

It was a packed house, but there were bar seats available at the counter by the kitchen; we love sitting and watching the Chefs in action so it was

a no brainer...and in front of the dessert section no less, (killer front row seats to the food show just adds to the experience!)

So that night was just such a perfect dining experience, that when we had the opportunity to come back to San Diego, we knew the first place to go was back to Searsucker..

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Hidden Tasting Bar and Social Lounge @ Grand Westin, Vancouver

We had arrived to Vancouver from Seattle, and after a long wait at the Border Patrol, we were a little tired.  Since we were staying at the Westin Grand in the Downtown area, we thought it'd be best to have a little something at the Hotel Dining venue, which is The Hidden Tasting Bar and Social Lounge.  Now normally, I'm not a big fan of Hotel food in general and for the most part it can be either pretty subpar food, or some celebrity chef attached to the place that makes it unnecessarily pretentious and underwhelming.....

So to my amazement, I found the Westin to be a very modern hotel, the amenities were contemporary and the design pretty sleek!  This was going to be a good trip and upon entering the restaurant, my hopes were high!





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Blue Bottle Coffee @ 30 Rock, NYC

As we're supposedly Coffee Aficionados, it was our mission to find some of the best Coffee that NYC had to offer....unfortunately, in my brilliance,

I booked our trip to The Big Apple during the hottest, steamiest time of the year, thus curtailing our adventures to twenty minute spurts of outdoor misery immediately followed by running into air-conditioned interiors, wet and melted like a soppy puddle on the floor.....

So while staying in Midtown, the closest java stop worth mentioning was Blue Bottle Coffee, located in the lower level of Rockefeller Center amongst the other food court like venues.  It's off the beaten path, which gives it's exclusive vibe, but a little different than the other BBC's we've encountered....

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Pie Face Bakery Cafe @ Broadway, NYC

So along the mega strip of 42nd Street, we found an awesome corner Bakery/Pie store aptly named, 'Pie Face'. Amongst all the cheesy chain restaurants that you wouldn't be caught dead in, this place was a breath of fresh air!

It's a tiny Bakery, with no seating but a small bar counter top but the window, but most of the space is used for Display cases and ovens, but it's got an awesomely cheery front entrance, cute graphics and something that no one else has, savory pies to go.

Pie Face is a 24 hour operation Bakery and originates from Bondi Beach, Australia where the savory meat pies are so popular.  we're big fans of this place and can see it do really well in New York; it's portable, it's hot and it tastes really really good!




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Beard Papa's Sweets Cafe @ Broadway, NYC

This is where it all began for me - my long awaited reunion with a first love...

Bearded Papa's Cream Puff: Dulce de Leche

It was here on Broadway and 76th street, right where I was born and raised that my one and only true, sweet dessert embarked upon our shores and landed into my mouth... It was this chubby nugget of french confectionary ever present in my childhood memories in Japan, and now it was here right in my back yard.

And now being back in New York, it was on my list of places to go back and show Rick; we've actually been going to Breaded Papa's in San Francisco and LA, but NYC was the best....

Now, for those of you that haven't tried Beard Papa's yet, it should be on your list of must go to places, it is simply too good to pass up!  The Cream Puff here is actually unique: most places will display their's with the cream already inside which, has a tendency to soak the puff shell.  Here, they actually fill the Cream Puff to order, so you will never have a problem with a soggy Puff.  As well, you have a variety of Cream filling and Puff shells-with a continuous rotation of Daily specials.

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Kamdesh Afgan Kabab House @ 14th St. Oakland

I don't know about you, but I fell in love with Afgani cuisine the moment my lips touched the wonderful spiced dishes with an unforgettable subtle sweetness. my first experience was in Baltimore at the Helmand; a relatively small, quant restaurant that served some of the most amazing dishes ever eaten.  It's there that I found my fondness for the cuisine that I describe as soft; food that comforts you, with no intention to assault your senses. 

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