Good bye!

This blog will soon be decommissioned. I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want to say as a blogger, and I realized that I want to say more about me. So I'm moving all of my old content and writing new posts here:

paintingonawall.blogspot.com

I would love it if you would follow me there!

Love, Irene

Things to Do Before I leave LA

I have approximately 81 days left in Los Angeles. I don't think I can add much more to this list because it will be impossible to achieve. 

Things to Eat:
- Eat a bacon-wrapped hot dog from a street cart
- Palm Springs date shake (June)
- Eat a chili burger at Tommy's
- Animal
- Beacon
- Bludso’s Brisket
- Cole’s French Dip
- The Coop (April)
- Craft
- Fraiche
- Gloria's Salvadoran (April)
- Jitlada
- Lawry’s Prime Rib
- Let’s Be Frank’s Hot Dog
- Ludo’s Fried Chicken (April)
- Mo Chica (April)
- Nickel Diner
- Patisserie at The Bazaar
- Spago
- The Gorbals
- The Golden State
- Umami


Things to Do:
- Watch a Derby Dolls match
- Get a naked scrub down at a Korean spa
- Watts Tower
- Self-Realization Fellowship
- Van Nuys Japanese Garden
- Mt Wilson
- San Antonio Winery
- Monastery of the Angels
- Charmlee Wilderness Park
- Griffith Park Hike
- Heritage Square

NomNoms: Resto (New York City)

I get a day off for Cesar Chavez Day, so Matt and I planned a short trip to New York for the weekend. We didn't have any luck with the two restaurants that I wanted to try. When the original restaurants had entirely too long of a wait, we wandered some back streets, looking on Yelp for possibilities. We wound up stumbling upon Resto in Murray Hill, and I am glad that we did.

Resto is an adorable, homey Belgian restaurant. It was very quaint and unpretentious for a New York restaurant and was just comfortable. I ordered the chicken and waffles. The citrus chili syrup was kind of a strange addition and I wasn't particularly fond of it. But the gravy, chicken and bacon waffle were amazing. 

Chicken 'n Waffles

(bacon waffle, peppercorn gravy, citrus chili syrup)

Matt ordered the traditional Belgian dish of steamed mussels and fries, but with a twist. Resto has three different kinds of broth you can choose from, so he picked the Thai-inspired one. It was absolutely delicious. The frites were also great. Big and fat, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They also come with a ton of options for dipping sauces, and he picked an Indian-inspired cumin, yogurt one. Yum! I do wish I had ordered this dish now!

Moules & Frites
(green curry, lemongrass, coconut milk, kaffir lime broth)

Resto
111 East 29th Street
New York, NY 10016

NomNoms: The Golden State Cafe (Los Angeles)

Seems to me that there is no limit to the number of amazing burgers to be found in Los Angeles. The Counter. Father's Office. 25 degrees. Umami Burger. I heard another amazing burger could be found at The Golden State. Then I heard that a beer float could also be found there and I had to try it despite the fact that it scared me to death.

The burger looked tiny to me when it was set before me, but it was extremely filling. The bun and arugula were perhaps my favorite elements of the burger. I was still on my 40 days without fried foods, so I ordered the Persian cucumber salad. I was very happy that I did because it gave a fresh contrast to the heavy burger, rather than the normal heaviness upon heaviness that the combination of burger and fries normally presents.

Burger with Harris Ranch beef, Fiscalini Farms cheddar, 

glazed applewood smoked bacon, arugula, housemade aioli and ketchup

And now for the beer float. Made from Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and Scoops brown bread ice cream. I could only eat half of it. The stout was extremely bitter and hoppy. However, it was a fine experiment. Next time, I would prefer the root beer float. 

Beer float with Scoops brown bread ice cream

The Golden State Cafe
426 N. Fairfax Ave. 
Los Angeles, CA 90036

NomNoms: The Vegan Joint (Los Angeles)

On Matt's last excursion to Los Angeles, he fell ill and couldn't eat much of anything. Therefore, for breakfast, he only wanted to have a fruit smoothie. The only places I know of that serve fruit smoothies besides Jamba Juice and Robeks are vegan restaurants, so we decided to try out The Vegan Joint. The food was very delicious and I think the fruit smoothie wasn't bad either. Don't order the thai iced ice with boba, however. It was terrible. The boba was rubbery and undercooked. 

Dumplings had a strange texture but I guess that is what happens with fake meat. The mushroom soup tasted just like tom kha and the Chinese soup had a refreshing, light broth. I am looking forward to eating here again despite the fact that I dislike vegans very much.   

Grilled Dumplings

Fruit Smoothie

Mushroom soup with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, mushroom

Chinese soup with glass noodles, shitake, broccoli,tofu, napa cabbage

The Vegan Joint

10438 National Blvd. 

Los Angeles, CA 90034