Foodie Archives - Page 4 of 4

New to Toluca Lake: The Continental

March 6, 2015 By AJ Leave a Comment

You would not know coming into the warm, elegant setting at The Continental in Toluca Lake that when the building opened in 1958, it was, in fact, an IHOP.

It has been many things since, but yes, it started as the International House of Pancakes. (And let’s all be thankful because I have a long, storied relationship with IHOP myself and if I never enter one again it will be too soon. But I digress. Stories for another time and after certain family members are dead.)

Onto the cocktails, though. OMIGOD. My favorite was the Christopher Oaxacan, a cocktail that is both fun to say (even though I can’t actually say it) and even more fun to drink. In addition to pineapple juice, lime juice and agave nectar, it has mezcal in it; which I recently learned the hard way is not Tequila.

Beer and wine have a presence on the menu but my money’s remains on all of the amazing cocktails. When someone puts that much effort into a craft cocktail offering, you almost have to honor their art. They even got me to try a Bourbon cocktail – something I never do. Bourbon sets my nose-hairs on fire. (You’re welcome for that imagery.)

May I recommend the patio for enjoying some cocktails? It was my favorite part of the renovated interior.

The new menu includes decadent, complex flavors in choices such as Thai Seafood Bouillabaisse, a stew of fresh shrimp, scallops, calamari and vegetables, cooked in a creamy coconut, lemongrass and kaffir lime broth. I had a tiny bite — it was not nearly enough. However my favorite amuse-bouche was the slider version of their Continental Burger, served with prime Angus beef, crispy pancetta, tempura-fried dill pickles and white cheddar cheese. I’m a giant sucker for white cheddar.

As a whole the menu is quite diverse and even changes things up for lunch. Some of the dishes manage to be both French and Thai inspired. They even manage Jewish-Vietnamese somehow as they feature their slow-roasted brisket in a Vietnamese Style Banh Mi. You’ll find salmon, chicken, vegetarian options, salads, sandwiches. I’ve said it before — the worst part about writing these posts is that they make me hungry and that’s never been more true than now.

You know, I could eat Brussels Sprouts every day. True story.

When the awesome staffers were not hugging me hello or introducing themselves, I stepped aside to admire the centerpiece of Continental’s décor, a new, five-panel/35-foot wide mural depicting Toluca Lake that wraps around the walls throughout the front rooms.

It’s a nice tribute to the history of the establishment and if you look closely at it, you will spot a tiny flag with a Mo’s logo — Mo’s was the most recent and rather cherished tenant of the space. The owner remains the same, though — so I am able to make peace with the transition.

Also because it is delicious. 😉

More:

Official website
All of the socials – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Street parking available,, which I would recommend first. The valet lot in the back is tiny.

P.S. (Congrats to them on landing on Eater LA’s “Hottest New Restaurants” list.)

A Love Affair: Tipple & Brine in Sherman Oaks

February 25, 2015 By AJ Leave a Comment

Does everyone know what “Brine” is? I had to look it up but I also asked a couple people and apparently y’all are smarter than I am. In any case, for the people on Team AJ, Brine is salt. Delicious, delicious salt.

Tipple is also super delicious. Because….

So we’re basically talking about a restaurant themed with LIQUOR and SALT. I like both of these things so I felt fairly confident going in that I’d enjoy Tipple & Brine, located in Sherman Oaks on a strip of Ventura Blvd. that has essentially become a hotbed of amazing, new restaurants.

Photo co. of Acuna-Hansen

Tipple & Brine manages to be rustic, trendy, casual and elegant all at the same time. Bonus points for friendly, knowledgeable staff. I was impressed that they don’t rely on their assigned stations as a crutch. If a server is walking by and sees you need more water, they get it. If another server sees you’re making the “come help me” face (you know that face!) they come right over. It really creates a nice vibe in the restaurant and I felt really welcome and comfortable.

The menu focuses on fresh, sustainable seafood – including an oyster bar – and hand crafted, classic cocktails. We began our evening with cocktails (we were just trying to honor the name of the restaurant, you guys). I had the “Strawberry Fields” which is Beefeater Gin, St. Germaine, Strawberry Purée, Lemon, Basil and Soda. It was sweet and refreshing and I’m glad I got over the hesitation I had about basil being in my cocktail. My partner in crime for the evening ordered the “Honey Badger” which is Dickel Rye Whisky, Honey, Lemon, Orange Bitters, Cucumber and Jalapeño. It had a nice tangy kick to it and some fire on the back end.

While the cocktail offering is pretty stellar, the food is out of this world…

Photos co. of Acuna-Hansen

They feature a few entrées on the menu but the real spotlight belongs to their “smalls and shares” and we decided to start with salmon tartare. It was creamy and flavorful with a great texture thank in part to the brioche they sprinkle over it. Also, make sure you include on of their toasts in your starters. We went with the bacon toast because, well, BACON. Also? Burrata. You can’t really go wrong with that, right? And they certainly don’t. It was mouth-watering-good. My only complaint is that it’s a small portion and I had to share it!

I’m super into Brussels sprouts so I had to order a side of those. The sweet chili vinegar and miso aioli drizzled over them are a perfect combination when you take a bite. We moved onto Mussels and fries next, which was completely delicious and ends up with a nice treat at the end — you get to drench the fries in the ale and creme fraiche.

There are only two desserts so – what the hell – we just got both. The carrot cake seems pretty standard with cream cheese icing and pecans until you realize there’s Bourbon Caramel Sauce on it. I mean, I could eat that with a spoon. But speaking of spoons, my favorite of the two desserts was actually a chocolate cremeux with homemade whipped cream and chocolate covered pretzels. It’s served in a little jar and is quite a treat, I assure you.

The entire experience was really a treat, in fact. Thank you so much, Tipple & Brine, for having me and my guest. I cannot wait to return.

More:

Official website
T&B is located at 14633 Ventura Blvd. They have a valet parking station in a driveway just west of the restaurant. On a weeknight, you’ll probably be able to find street parking.
You will find all their socials on the website but I especially enjoy their Instagram.
Very cool – they also have a “speakeasy” upstairs, Tunnel Bar. You enter through a discreet door in the back. (Thursday – Saturday, 7 PM – 2 AM only)

TeaPop LA Comes to NoHo

February 22, 2015 By AJ Leave a Comment

TeaPop LA has joined the ever-evolving NoHo Arts District in an attempt to redefine what we all think of as traditional tea time. It’s a welcome addition to the neighborhood, which is rife with small theaters, bars, restaurants, second-hand stores and other kitschy businesses but still has room for plenty more.

While most of the NoHo commerce seems to be swarming around Lankershim and Magnolia Boulevard, TeaPop went into a storefront on Vineland, which borders a colossal residential neighborhood part of North Hollywood. I don’t think it will feel too lonely there for long. There’s a lot of real estate along that road. For now, it’s sort of isolated on a corner but just to ensure you don’t miss it, the front is all giant windows and the exterior side-wall is covered in bright, brilliant graffiti art.

Inside, it’s pretty bare-bones. The space doubles as an art gallery and is available to rent as a venue for a multitude of purposes, so it’s really just whatever they’re featuring at the time on the walls and some really basic benches, chairs and tables sort of randomly strewn about. But that’s all secondary to a really spacious and rather unique back patio that should prove pretty popular on nice days.

The cafe serves fresh-brewed imported and organic tea in a very simple presentation. Nothing is expensive.

Of course, the best part is that, thankfully, it’s walking distance to where I live and the tea is delicious. I’ll walk over there for an iced almonilla milk tea anytime. The first time I went, the nice girl working the counter recommended it to me and it was a shrewd business move. She earned them a loyal customer at first sip!

P.S. (No Almonilla? Ok, fine… I’ll “settle” for the salted caramel black tea….)

Worth the Drive – Brunch at Michael’s Pizzeria in Long Beach

February 17, 2015 By AJ Leave a Comment

Brunch at Michael’s Pizzeria? Well… When someone mentions the word “brunch” my mind typically drifts to thoughts of bottomless mimosas, a blood mary bar, eggs benedict or hash browns. I wouldn’t necessarily gravitate toward pizza or lasagna and I certainly wouldn’t normally consider a drive from my home in The Valley down to Long Beach.

And yet one wonderful morning spent at Michael’s Pizzeria has changed everything.

EVERYTHING at Michael’s is made fresh, on site. Even the Mozzarella. They serve Napoli-style pizza. Wood-fired. In fact, everything is prepared in their wood-fire oven (I didn’t even get to the wood-fired frittatas!) and it shows in the remarkable flavors.

I ate some more “traditional” breakfast foods.

Cast-iron cinnamon rolls with a rosemary maple drizzle. Think is sounds weird because of the rosemary? So did I. Don’t worry, you’ll be licking your fingers. They do have kind of an…. earthy taste to them but they’re unique and delicious. By contrast, the french brioche toast is sweet as sweet can be and in addition to strawberry and nutella on top (well not on mine — I am allergic to nutella), it has the BEST whipped cream I have really EVER tasted. Which, yes, they make on site. I dream about it at night.

It wasn’t until after my meal, when I was chatting with my dad over the phone about how the restaurant was, and I dropped the name of the chain, that my dad excitedly told me Michael’s Pizzeria had been named the top pizzeria in the country by Zagat. (Yes, my dad knew that off the top of his head — he’s a knowledgeable foodie!) I guess that didn’t really surprise me. They served me two pizzas to try and they both BLEW MY MIND.

The first, a basic Margherita. But there was nothing basic about this pizza. The second, the Carbonara with provolone, house-made mozzarella, pancetta, asparagus, and two eggs.

I mean…. LOOK AT THE CRUST. Can we just take a moment for this?

It should be noted that a day, two days and three days later, a little reheated, that pizza was still G.D. AMAZING.

I had a really unique lasagna as well. I am normally not a lasagna person but I found this to be perfect for my taste because it wasn’t swimming in sauce, it wasn’t overrun with one ingredient above another, and the pasta layers were sort of crispy on the edges. During lunch it comes with a side salad with a wonderful, light dressing. I also enjoyed two scoops of housemade sorbet – strawberry basil (surprisingly good!) and salted caramel. The perfect way to end this egregious feast.

Please note, you guys, the Manager was not only a nice guy but her was above-and-beyond generous. He and his lovely staff brought me a lot of food. You’ve probably noticed that while reading this post. So I just want to clarify that NO, I did not eat ALL OF IT. I took bites and pieces and brought the rest home. And like I said about the pizza – days later, warmed up, it was still just as delicious.

More:

Michael’s Pizzeria website
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Pro tip – The Long Beach location I went to is on a Promenade so don’t solely rely on Google Maps to find it. You’ll get lost on all the one-way streets in Long Beach pretty easily. Keep an eye out for signs like this and park close to them:

P.S. If the weather’s nice, sit outside. Especially at brunch time when they have live music. I particularly enjoyed watching all of the people walking their dogs. 🙂

The Venice Whaler – A Fabulous Beach Side Brunch

February 15, 2015 By AJ Leave a Comment

After re-launching this summer with a new owner, chef, bar manager and new menus, the historic Venice Whaler did us all a tremendous favor by adding a weekend brunch menu to their arsenal.

It’s a smart move for them. There are tons of places lining Pacific Coast Highway where one can enjoy a beach-view brunch but down in Santa Monica and Venice, it is actually more challenging to find a spot with views like those you get when you’re enjoying a Crab Shell Bloody Mary. Brunch is all about indulgence and decadence so ideally, we should all be staring out at a perfect blue ocean during it, right?

Oh yes, that Bloody Mary is THE BOMB. Of all the things I am allergic to, thank goodness I am not allergic to shellfish. I loved it. I’m not gonna lie – I had two (thankfully, Alyssa drove). I may or may not have also tried the sparkling sorbet cocktail and the watermelon mojito (hint: I totally did but don’t worry, just sips)!

That sparkling sorbet cocktail…. OMG. Alyssa really liked the watermelon mojito. I am not a watermelon fan but even I had to admit it was refreshing.

But enough of that because I haven’t even mentioned the food yet, which is a crime against humanity at this level. The menu is wonderfully varied and every bite we had was delicious. It was hard to decide what to get, mind you. The breakfast burrito was tempting. And we could have had Whaler Burger (with a fried egg!) or the fish tacos (seemed like a god beachy choice) but in the end, we ended up with these three plates on the table. (And a side of bacon. Because bacon. DUH.)

Eggs benedict is my favorite brunch dish all all time in the history of the world and I appreciate a good spin on the old classic. Here, it’s served on slices of Brioche and in lieu of Canadian Bacon, you’ll get sausage patties. It’s really yummy. It’s a fantastic savory twist. Also wonderfully savory? The chicken and waffles. And may I just recommend the side of bacon for this dish alone, because it’s a wonderful compliment to the syrup and fried chicken.

The favorite for me, though (while we liked them all, Alyssa, I believe, picked the Benedict as her #1), was the CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST. I could eat that every day. EVERY. DAY. But I won’t. Because that would be unhealthy. Like, more unhealthy than I already am. And even I have my limits.

So any flaws? Not really. I will say if you’re looking for a traditional, indulgent brunch setting, you might be a little caught off guard here. It’s not a space with traditional tables and chairs. It’s very communal, more like a bar, and you’re sitting on stools (which, to their absolute credit, are nice, big ones and even I was super comfy on them with my big booty). But there’s also live music – a DJ – and some TVs, and the staff is super friendly and attentive, so it almost ends up feeling like a brunch party, which I enjoyed! It made for a really nice change!

AND!!! Fun fact – the new chef? None other than Nick Liberato from one of my favorite guilty pleasure shows, “Bar Rescue” (see him in action)! I was so excited! Thankfully, the Venice Whaler will never need rescuing. They’re in terrific shape.

More:

Best bet for parking: The beach parking lot the street dead-ends into. The steep $9 is worth the convenience.
The Venice Whaler’s official website
All of the socials! Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

P.S. Since you are paying $9 for parking, why not make the most of it and spend some additional time on the beach? Go for a walk on the pier. It’s right there!

State Social House – A Versatile WeHo Brunch Destination

February 15, 2015 By AJ Leave a Comment

Truth be told, the burger I enjoyed for dinner one evening at State Social House was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. It included a sunny up egg, bacon, smoked gouda and dijon aioli. I also gotta throw my endorsement on their brussel sprouts — to die for with WHITE WINE and BACON.

You heard me, I said BACON.

So all that said, I was pretty excited to return for Brunch. Brunch is my favorite meal, like, ever.

And speaking of bacon…

The UNLIMITED Bloody Mary Bar is $15 and worth every penny (although, you may wanna take advantage of Uber to make it worth your while). You grab a glass of vodka over ice from the bar (generous pours – god bless them) and onto the fixins! The server walked me through it first time but I felt pretty confident for round two. There are so many choices and I felt obligated to try a couple combinations of drink trimmings for the good of the blog. I mean, if I’m going to report back to you in earnest, I couldn’t just rely on one attempt for a fair assessment….

Fear not, though, if this is not your thing. The bottomless mimosas also do not suck. Lookit! They just drop it off at your table. Hello, new friend….

Don’t worry, mom. The mimosa was for my +1. I’m boozy but I’m not that boozy….

Also, I should probably assure everyone that we totally ordered food, too. Of course we did. With menu items like “New York Bacon Breakfast Sandwich” and “Nebraska Steak and Eggs” among the choices, the “worst” art of my day was deciding which thing to get.

I “settled” on Smoked Salmon Benedict and we also shared a “side” of the “Golden Grahams” Encrusted French Toast.

You guys. Golden. Grahams. Everything was delicious — all of it. This alt version of eggs benedict was just fine by me, and while I’m generally not a “side of potatoes” gal at brunchtime — I like traditional hash browns the best — the side here was flavorful and savory, plus I loved the red and yellow peppers.

I wish I’d also taken a picture of the setting. The space is huge and is perfect for big groups. Where we sat was ideal; in front of a large window overlooking the strip. Hello awesome people watching! And the day we went was a beautiful one, so the windows were open, giving the space an even bigger feel with a nice breeze. There is actually a patio out front as well — I would totally recommend that for quality people watching and the perfect setting on a glorious Hollywood morning.

More:

Located at 8782 W. Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Valet parking is accessible off Sunset Blvd. or Palm Ave. for $7