CONFESSIONS OF A FAT GIRL

Great Burgers and Your Pantages Problems Solved

If you live here in Los Angeles and have ever been to the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, you'll likely agree with me about one annoying, frustrating issue. 

There is nothing to eat over there. 

Oh sure, it's getting better. There's a Dunkin' Donuts now and there's definitely that bar a block down that serves good bar food and has only-ok service. But every time you go to The Pantages and want to grab a quick bite before the show, where do you end up? 

Thankfully, that problem is solved. Hollywood Burger has moved in across the street! And even if The Pantages isn't on your calendar, make a trip out. It's delicious! 

In addition to gourmet  burgers, other menu favorites include all-natural/hormone free chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, veggie burgers, classic and sweet potato fries, tater tots, salads, milkshakes, secret sauces made with perfectly blended herbs and spices and more. For me it was the VIP Burger all the way with Applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, red onion, tomato, lettuce and Hollywood Secret Sauce. YUM. Their burger is kind of down-and-dirty. It's not a fat patty or perfectly round. It is hand crafted, made fresh, and 100% delicious.

We also wanted to sample a non-burger so we got a bite of The BLVD sandwich: crispy fried chicken, spicy slaw, dill pickles & Chipotle-Honey Sauce. I must confess I loved this as much as, if not more than, the burger.

Of course, we weren't getting out of there without some fries and chili cheese tots. BECAUSE REASONS, y'all. Oh. Em. Gee.

And we could have stopped there, mind you. They had totally earned me as a repeat customer like three bites in. But the Manager hinted he makes a mean milkshake. He wasn't lying. 

And before you point a finger and argue with me "But AJ, I want to have a cocktail or five before I see a show!" Well then to you I say, "Shut it. Hollywood Burger serves beer and wine. ALL problems solved." A genius idea. It elevates the place to more than just fast food, TVs on the premises allow you catch the game, and everyone who works there is delightful. 

See? No excuses. Problems solved. You're welcome, everybody. Enjoy! 

More:

• Hollywood Burger is located at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard.
• Parking is available via several public cash lots in the area or the garage in their building which you can enter from around the corner. They are also very convenient to the Los Angeles Metro.
• The official website.
• Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

Welcome to Foodie Dreamland - Masters of Taste

Lets go to Foodie Heaven, y'all. The time has come. Masters of Taste is a new and exciting outdoor, luxury festival set to make its inaugural debut on Sunday, April 3^rd, 2016 from 3 to 7 PM on the field of the Historic Pasadena Rose Bowl.

Approximately 2,500 influential food and beverage enthusiasts are expected to attend this exciting festival -- will you be one of them? The event will include mouth-watering goodness from 40 Culinary Masters and restaurants, an array of delectable sweets, signature handcrafted cocktails and drink tastings from more than 25 providers including bartenders from top cocktail bars, wineries, local craft breweries, pressed juices and designer coffee.

And in case that's not enough, here are five MORE reasons to go....

 

Chef Brendan Collins (Birch)

 

Chef Yoya Takahashi (Hamasaku) 

 

Chef Evan Colter (Magnolia House) 

 

Chef Tia Baker (SOL Cocina)

 

Chef Kyle Schutte (Wood & Vine)

It's important to mention that the beneficiary of Masters of Taste will be Union Station Homeless Services, a nonprofit organization committed to helping homeless men, women and children rebuild their lives. 100% of the proceeds from this year’s event will directly support Union Station Homeless Services.

MORE:

• Masters of Taste will take place on Sunday, April 3 at the Pasadena Rose Bowl - 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena, 91103
• A VIP Power Hour will be held from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm and General Admission will be from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
• Tickets to this event are only available for guests 21+ and over.
• Guests are encouraged to utilize car services – taxi, Uber, Lyft, etc. – since this event does serve alcoholic beverages. However complimentary parking will also be available at the event.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

Click this button to add the event to your Google Calendar! 

A Giveaway Game: What's in AJ's Desk?

Get amped, guys, because National Strawberry Day is on the horizon. Time to break out the StemGem Strawberry Huller (yes, that's a real thing -- you may recall I made these)! 

I'm celebrating by revealing something to y'all. My clutch snack. At any time you can open my top filing cabinet drawer in the office and you will find a mish mash of pens, post-its, tape, emergency deodorant (trust me, it's handy to have), and a wide array of snacks to get me through the days. 

My favorite snack, which I keep at home in bulk as well, is Welch's Fruit Snacks. And I have a ritual. With the multi-flavor packs, I dump them out on my desk and eat them a flavor at a time, saving the strawberry gummies for last because they're the best. We all do this, right? Who else grew up in the 90s and saved the green M&Ms for last, too? These are the strange habits we adopt, right? 

The good news is, I can power through a couple bags at a time of these but they are fat free, gluten free, contain no preservatives and provide 100% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C and 25% of Vitamins A and E. The even BETTER news is that they come in 11 different varieties. Imagine my joy when I found out I could just buy strawberry?! No more saving the best for last. They are ALL THE BEST NOW.

A TRIUMPH IN SNACK CONSUMPTION! 

For more information, please visit their website. Please note I am about "this close" to buying them in bulk on Amazon and just having them sent straight to my office. I guess when reviewing free product on my blog and it costs me money I'm doing it wrong but I just love these. I mean, this isn't even something I'd normally post about, right? So let that be an indication that these are genuinely my favorite and I could not resist. 

AND ONE MORE THING! I want all of you to love them too! So Welch's told me they'd happily send a couple boxes to some of my readers. Enter below and come back daily to increase your odds. Have a happy National Strawberry Day! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sangers And Joe in Pasadena

So what's a "Sanger?" Well in Australia,it appears to be slang for sandwich, so I'm going with that. 

I don't frequent Pasadena enough, which is a shame because it's not a bad drive from my home and it's a rather charming city that hosts a wide array of restaurants. I am particularly fond of Old Town Pasadena, and not just because my favorite frozen yogurt shop is there. 

At the end of last year, I discovered a lovely cafe in Old Town called Sangers & Joe. They opened their doors in October, serving up coffee, tea, pastries and delectable breakfast and lunch plates from award-winning Chef Claudio Dell’Anno. In November they added a weekend brunch menu from Chef Rouha Sadighi (The Rooster Breakfast Food Truck, Cutthroat Kitchen winner) with tasty scrambles, benedicts and crepes alongside some of Chef Sadighi’s signature specialties.

Rounding out this new menu are five classic brunch dishes, including a classic eggs benedict and, keeping the “sandwich” in Sanger, the "Breakfast Sanger" -- an open-faced ciabatta bread delight topped with scrambled eggs, gouda and bacon. You cannot go wrong with the eggs benedict. I loved that the ham was sliced thin and it made the dish easier to cut into. Their hollandaise sauce is perfection. I enjoyed the Breakfast Sanger but I did feel like the bread could have been heavier -- it was a little too flaky for my liking.

But surprisingly, my favorite thing we shared was the avocado toast. Made quite simply with a squeeze of lime over it, it was unbelievably good. You can add a poached egg to it if you like to make it more breakfasty, but it was really delicious as is and when I go back, that's what I'm having.

And I'll probably have it with a Chai Tea Latte because it was equally good. They have a massive coffee and tea selection but this is always my go-to to test the "waters." It was lovely.

The place is really lovely, adjoined to a terrific, independent shop filled with unique vintage furniture items and home trinkets, perfectly positioned for you to take a stroll after you've eaten, with convenient street and public parking all around. 

 

A fun touch? A community library! I was tempted to borrow something but I've got a stack of books to read already.... I will definitely bring some to donate next time I go, though.

More:

• Check out their website!
• Parking is all over the place in Old Town - just make sure you read the signs.
• Their socials - follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Disclosure: I was treated to this brunch by the restaurant's lovely PR team. Y'all were still treated to my honest opinion, tho. 

Cooking With Love is For Real at Bella Julia

If you're any kind of foodie, you've probably heard how food cooked with love tastes better - yes?

On a side-street in Hollywood,  Chef Chaza Smith is cooking up a STORM of love and it radiates out of the food as much as it does out of her very being when she greets you or tells you a little about herself. She is positively charming and has a joyous spirit -- I was (obviously) really taken with her. In the kitchen at BELLA JULIA, she combines Italian and French influences to conjure up delicious, fresh and unique plates with seasonal ingredients that are sustainably grown and non-GMO.  

But enough about my new girl-crush. I guess I ought to tell you about the food, yes? 

My friend and I shared two dishes. My favorite was the Biscuit du Jour - a flakey biscuit, fried egg, cheddar, crispy bacon, arugula and roasted onion aioli. I only ordered it because the waiter said it was "wonderful savory heaven on a plate" and it turns out the man speaks the truth. It was so, so good - I immediately announced to no one in particular that I could eat it for every meal.

 

 

My other favorite (see what I did there?) was the Lemon Basil Pancake. We chose that because it just sounded so unusual! Served with scrambled eggs, Roma tomatoes, creamy rosemary butter and a perfect syrup (sweet, but not too sweet), it was definitely unusual but also shockingly good. While I may live with the regret of not trying the Brioche French Toast, I'm quite happy I took a chance on this menu item.

 

 

We also had a side of bacon. Because no brunch is complete without it. Rest assured it did not disappoint either.

 

 

While brunch is always my favorite meal, I do feel a little remorse because I so very much wanted to try more items off of Bella Julia's menu. But oh well! I guess I'll have to return soon! Luckily, Chef Chaza found a sweet way to treat me -- when she saw me eyeing a neighboring table's order of chicken wings,  she brought us a sample! Not your typical wings, by the way -- I don't know how she fries them but OMG. And crusted with parmesan, I tell you. DELICIOUS. Not your typical dessert but it was a perfect ending to the meal. 

As I began this post gushing with love for the Chef, let me just close by showing you this. The tattoo on her arm of a lemon, because it's symbol to her of freshness and flavor and, in essence, life. She smiled as she told me about it. And so I left the restaurant full... and smiling as well. 

More:

• The cafe is located at 6363 Yucca St. in Hollywood
• There is a ton of street parking available
• Bella Julia's website
• Follow them on social media - Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Everybody Run - Don't Walk - To Girasol For Brunch

Before I moved in the Fall of 2014, I lived just a few blocks away from 11334 Moorpark St., a restaurant space rather famous in our neighborhood for nothing lasting in it very long. Something would go in and we'd all start placing bets on how long the new dining establishment would last. And sure enough, it would be gone in a hurry -- onto the next. Rinse. Repeat. 

But I started to see Top Chef fan-favorite (and one of my Top Chef favorites!) CJ Jacobson around the neighborhood. I walked by him on the street once, I saw him in my local coffee shop... And I wondered if perhaps he was going to be next up in the seemingly doomed space and felt optimistic about it. Three years later, we still have Girasol in that no-longer-doomed space and I recently paid a visit to try their brunch menu! 

Interestingly, CJ grew up relatively indifferent to food but his rich life experiences eventually converged to create an intense dedication to cooking. His craft is best described as "rustic-refined" and revolves around a profound respect for the hyper-seasonal, local ingredients he brings into his kitchen at Girasol, which he conceptually collaborated on with Jorge Pultera, former manager at The Ivy, Koi and Red O. From the moment you walk into the restaurant, you know you're in for something special because CJ and Jorge took the ambiance seriously. Not sure what a "Girasol" is? Perhaps the etchings in the ceiling might give you a clue -- inspired by the petals of a sunflower. The entire space is really beautiful. 

In fact, everything about Girasol is really beautiful -- from the kind staff to the cocktails to the food. Everything is art there. Each day you can order from their craft cocktails or wine menu, or you can try whatever the bartender has customized for the day. We were treated to a minty, crisp, refreshing cocktail that I could perhaps relate to you by saying it's like a moscow mule but better. And I wanted to try something non-alcoholic as well so I landed on a prickly pear (which is cactus)"soda." It wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be but still very good and refreshing. And again - artful in presentation. It almost glowed.

When it was time to eat we were more than happy to begin with their homemade bread, herb butter and jams. Absolutely delicious and could very well be a meal in of itself if you allow it.... But don't. It's delicious but save room for your meal. Trust me. 

 

The unanimous staff recommendation seemed to mandate we also tried the Octopus Gazpacho starter. I've actually had octopus before -- it's quite good though I still can't bring myself to eat the really squigly tentacle pieces. They served it up with cucumber, avocado, some mixed greens and tomatillo. Again, I could have had this as a meal. Apparently the dish was inspired by a salad on their regular menu -- which I now need to return to try. 

Look how green and fresh it looks! It tastes that good, too.

Instead of each having our own main courses, we shared two. I think if we asked they would have brought us everything on the menu but I selected two stand-outs. The Bread Pudding French Toast was basically dessert. I've never had French toast like that. And I don't know what they do with the syrup but it's the best damned syrup I ever had, I tell you. The Maine Lobster Benedict just blew my mind, though. Once I took a bite of that I was making proclamations of love and lust and declaring Girasol my new favorite brunch spot in all the land. 

Here's the thing I quickly realized as well. Despite all that we ate, we didn't feel sick or stuffed. There wasn't any of that heaviness that usually comes with eating really rich food. Everything we ate certainly seemed rich and decadent but I only felt satisfied and happy at the conclusion of the meal. I think that comes with all the wonderful, fresh, organic ingredients Girasol prides themselves on. Clearly everything we dined on was of the absolute best quality. 

And I stand by my statement - it really is my new favorite brunch spot and I urge you all to try it. I hope it lasts years and years and years in that formerly-doomed building on Moorpark. When I drive or walk by there now, I certainly won't think of it as doomed anymore. Much more likely I'll have lobster benedict fantasies.  

More:

• Girasol's website
• Parking is on the street or with the $5 valet in the rear
• Dinner everyday  5pm – 11pm, Brunch on Sundays: 11am – 3pm
• On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
• Executive Chef CJ Jacobson on Twitter and Instagram

Johnnie's Pastrami - An Oldie But Very-Goodie

In all my years of life....

((dramatic pause))

I had no idea I loved pastrami. 

When I announced as much on social media, I took a bit of heat. I guess it's fair. I'm a nice Jewish girl who grew up eating in delis but I've just always stuck to club sandwiches and corned beef. 

Now, I have nothing to compare it to but I doubt anything will ever meet the standard set by Johnnie's Pastrami in Culver City. It's rather unassuming from the outside -- some might even say it's dated. Established in 1952, it has become a Southern California landmark. The jukeboxes on the counters and booths are all original. So are some of the waitresses. But that's really just a part of the charm. They have kept the building, decor and menu simple... and I think a little simple goes a long way to perfection. 

They have two quaint, lovely outdoor seating areas though I chose to sit inside and enjoy the endearing ambiance. Everyone is welcomed with a cup of delicious, crisp pickles. I ate most of them -- I think I allowed my friend a couple. 

The menu is, again, simple, but offers plenty of choice. But how do you go to Johnnie's Pastrami and not order PASTRAMI?! So there I was, trying it for the first time and just WOW, guys. Corned beef and pastrami are both cured in a sat water solution but corned beef is boiled while pastrami is smoked. And with this sandwich, I definitely got that salty smokiness. The meat was really tender and flavorful... I had a choice of sides and selected - what else - french fries. Those were also simple and perfect and I thought it was a nice   touch that they serve their ketchup topped with a dollop of deli mustard. 

I mean.... As the kids say, I can't with that sandwich. 

I always like to try a few things from a menu when I visit a new restaurant so we also ordered a side of onion rings, which were awesome and also came with the same ketchup/mustard combo. 

Fun fact - I took half my sandwich and some onion rings home with me and got to enjoy Johnnie's again for lunch the next day. It was still pretty damned good. 

Something else -- Johnnie's has amazing hours, opening at 10 AM daily, closing at 2:30 AM Sunday - Thursday and 3:30 AM on Friday and Saturday. Guess what? I think it's the perfect place to stop after a night out drinking. You know how that goes. The bar kicks you out and you need something really yummy in your belly? That late night snack to cap off a night out? If you're in the area, you have a new place to target. 

Part of me is thinking I should close with something like "I'll have to go back and try something else on the menu" but right now, I'm just thinking about how I waited 36 years to try pastrami. I'm such a dumbass. :)

More:

• Website
• Parking: They have a lot in the back and ample space! 
• On social media: #johnniespastramiLA and/or #johnniespastrami

How to Fail at The Daily Grill's "Simply 600"

Daily Grill has relaunched their "Simply 600" menu which is all about loads of flavor and, thankfully, not loads of calories. 

So on a recent weeknight evening, I went with some other influencers to give it a try. And while I will grant you that everything I had from the "Simply 600" menu was, in fact, loaded with flavor and absolutely delicious, I must also confess that I totally failed at the Simply 600. 

Here's how. 

I mean, we started off well - the hummus plate was FABULOUS. The veggies were fresh and delicious and the pita bread was perfection...

But we simply couldn't resist the spinach and artichoke dip, which was warm and cheesy and wonderful. The accompanying crustinis were that perfect texture of not overly cooked and too crunchy, but still toasty.

For my entree, I did stick to the "Simply 600" menu and opted for the blackened ahi tuna salad. Only caveat -- I added shrimp because I had a feeling the tuna might be spicy. Which it was. But by god, it was presented like art. 'Twas almost a shame to eat it....

Oh, but I did also get a side of amazing onion rings for the table. Because we needed a side dish. I have no other reason.

This "Simply 600" fail was not exclusive to me, by the way. Check out what Maya ordered. I salivated.

I did think what Chris ordered looked pretty drool-worthy as well, though, and it was on the "Simply 600" menu. Behold the lettuce cups:

Among our group we are a pretty diverse set of eaters. Carnivores, herbivores, vegans, healthy-eaters, cocktail connoisseurs and so on. And there was easily something (and more) for everyone to try! Whether you do the Simply 600 or not, Daily Grill is reliably varied in choices and delicious eats. It's also a great spot for groups and, I've found, a perfect business meal meet-up location.

Oh, and they also have amazing dessert. This was really the proverbial icing on the sundae (pun intended):

And if that isn't the most successful fail in history, then I don't know what is. 

Need more? Well have a look at the menus for yourself!

Simply 600 Dinner Menu

Simply 600 Lunch Menu

See you there? I promise we'll order a healthy salad... and some onion rings. 

Influencers harnessing their powers for good.