All posts filed under: American

BOILING CRAB, LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

This meal was so damn good lol. If you like crab, this is the spot! Located on Wilshire Blvd in Koreatown, the Boiling Crab is always packed and you will most likely experience long wait times, but it was definitely worth it! Menu is simple- basic seafood (crab, shrimp, clams, oysters, etc.) with delicious sides and your choice of sauces and marinades. It gets messy so don’t dress up! Take a look at the mess I made LOL…. CAJUN SPICED FRIES Loved these fries! These are my favorite type of fries. We got sides of ranch and it was heaven for me. Perfectly spiced. Destroyed this basket in 2 minutes tops! 1 POUND SHRIMP W/ “THE WHOLE SHA BANG”! The “Whole Sha Bang” is the type of sauce we picked to marinade our seafood in. It consists of Rajun Cajun, Lemon Pepper, & Garlic Butter and you can choose how spicy you want it. The sauce was honestly one of the best sauces ever! It was so flavorful and the spices worked perfectly together. I …

BEAUTY & ESSEX, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Hidden behind the doors of a pawn shop, lies the trendy yet elegant restaurant Beauty & Essex. Run the by same team as Stanton Social, Beauty & Essex has a more chic ambiance with gorgeous decor and the food is anything but ordinary. I went with a couple girlfriends and it was the perfect night out. Good looking people, amazing food, and a great ambiance. It’s also the perfect place to have drinks before having a night out on the town! Most dishes are tapa/shared plates style. We ordered a bunch of dishes and shared everything….See below! PAWN SHOP IN FRONT OF BEAUTY & ESSEX! BEET TARTARE FLAT BREAD COMPED FROM THE HOUSE AS A STARTER TUNA POKE WONTON TACOS Micro cilantro, radish, wasabi kewpie Fresh, light and flavorful. Loved the wonton crunch with the fresh poke. The creamy sauce pulled it all together for the perfect bite. LOBSTER TACOS Beer battered maine lobster, red cabbage slaw, poblano crema Loved these. Everything is small enough to be the perfect bite and leaving you to want …

GJELINA, VENICE

Published by Nicole Isaacs

A night out at Gjelina in Venice! Located on the charming and trendy Abbot Kinney Blvd, Gjelina is a definite hotspot in the Venice area. With wait times that can easily get up to two hours, this restaurant is always busy and quite a scene. It’s not unusual to spot some of your favorite celebs dining here either. Gjelina has a casual, rustic vibe to it; the food is American with a Mediterrean flare and the menu varies daily based on what is the most fresh and locally available. Take a look below to see what was ordered! YELLOWTAIL CARPACCIO Green olive, cherry tomato, caper & chili This was light and fresh! You can taste the quality in the yellowtail. Melted in your mouth. Great flavors as well….perfect starter dish to get your appetite going. BRAISED SWEET CORN Cilantro, chili, feta & lime I actually really liked this. It was an interesting mix with the feta. A little jarring at first but it worked. The corn was sweet, and the feta gave it a salty kick …

2nd AVE DELI, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I went to the famous Kosher 2nd Ave deli in NYC recently, and went to town! We went all out on ordering lol. There is an abundance of great deli’s in the N.Y.C, but this one is one of the best! Katz’s Deli is also known as the “best” deli in NY, but I must admit although I didn’t like that they didn’t serve anything w/ dairy at 2nd Ave, I liked the pastrami better than the famous Katz’s! See below what was ordered 🙂 FRENCH FRIES! Crispy and freshly cut! Perfect amount of saltiness! PICKLES & PICKLED TOMATO!!!!! I love getting pickles! So crunchy and delish! CRISPY ONION RINGS Sooooo gooood! SPINACH KNISH! Lots of spinach up in here lol! The dough part was crispy, flaky and delicious. A classic Jewish food originating from Eastern Europe! Must try at any deli. You can get different fillings as well instead of spinach such as potato, meat, cheese etc. MATZAH BALL SOUP! Also a must order at a Jewish deli. Soup is good for the …

ESS-A-BAGEL, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Travel channel host Anthony Bourdain said that Ess-A-Bagel was his favorite New York bagel. I asked so many people what the best bagel in NYC was, and some recommendations were Ess-A-Bagel, Murray’s Bagels, H&H Bagels, etc. H&H I heard was the best but it recently got shut down and bankrupt unfortunately, so I decided to try Ess-A-Bagel…see my review below! This place finally made me like lox. I ordered a sesame bagel with cream cheese and lox, kept it simple. The lox was like salmon carpaccio; sliced very thin, and it melted in your mouth. The bagel was very doughey, but I liked it that way. They don’t toast at Ess-A-Bagel, which some people only like toasted bagels, but I think if it’s a fresh bagel you don’t need it toasted. I enjoyed it a lot, but I felt like I had a brick in my stomach when I was done lol. Those bagels are huge! This place is definitely a good bagel joint in NYC. The best? Still don’t know…I am determined to hit all the best bagel spots …

JIM’S STEAKS, PHILLY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

IN LINE TO GET SOME CHEESESTEAKS! Another famous Philly Cheesesteak spot in Philly is Jim’s Steaks. Open since 1939, this Philly chesesteak landmark is just as popular as Pat’s & Geno’s among Philly locals and tourists. My friends and I loved the cheesesteaks here. This was everyone’s favorite cheesesteak spot, but I think Jim’s and Pat’s were a close tie for me. We went on a Sunday afternoon, and there was a huge line around the corner. See our fun experience below 🙂 LOOK AT THE LINE! LOCATED ON SOUTH STREET NOTICE THE BUCKET OF CHEEZ WIZ TO THE LEFT…MY SHIT! LOL GRILLED ONIONS, CHEEZ WIZ, AMERICAN CHEESE CHEEZ WIZ, AMERICAN, MUSHROOMS CHEEZ WIZ, AMERICAN, GRILLED ONIONS, PEPPERCINI’S Jim’s makes a damn good cheesesteak. Similar to Pat’s, the meat is also shredded which I prefer over the long thin strips of steak like Geno’s. The bottom of the sandwiches were soaked with cheez wiz, and throughout the meat you had the melted white American cheese. The bread was soft and fluffty, but toasted a little on …

PAT’S VS. GENOS, PHILLY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Two words: Philly. Cheesesteak. I traveled to Philly recently for a music festival, and being a food blogger I of course had to go to two of the most famous Philly Cheesesteaks spots in the city. Although there are a couple of famous cheesesteak places, when people talk about cheesesteak in Philly, you mostly hear about the Pat’s vs. Geno’s rivalry. Located on the corner of 9th st. & Passyunk Avenue in South Philly, the two cheesesteak rivalies face off 24 hours a day right across the street from each other. Naturally I had to get to the bottom of it and see which one I thought was better, and like many other tourists, I had Pat’s & Geno’s back to back at the same damn time lol. Both places use grilled rib-eye steak, grilled onions, a fresh Italian loaf, and three main cheeses to choose from. See below which won in my book 😉 PAT’S KING OF STEAKS Established in 1930. Two important steps when ordering at Pat’s, straight from their menu: Step 1 Specify if you want your steak …

PRIME 112, MIAMI BEACH

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I celebrated my birthday dinner at Prime 112 in Miami. I love a good steakhouse, and the amount of hype I heard about this place, I was expecting to have the best steak of my life. I’ve been to Peter Lugers, Mastros, Ruth’s Chris, and so many of the “best” steakhouses out there, but more than one person swore to me that Prime 112 is the best steak in the country and better than all my favorites, example: Mastros. This is definitely not true. I went during a hurricane on a Friday night, so all the reservations were backed up, the place was jam packed, and the kitchen was slammed and also backed up as well. With that being said, I’m not making excuses for them, but I kind of am, because I wasn’t impressed with the food. Not everything was bad, but read below to see my reviews. CUP OF BACON Literally a glass of bacon for an appetizer. Heart attack in a glass but pretty amazing nonetheless lol. BREAD BASKET W/ BUTTER Different variety …

SHAKE SHACK, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

A perfect day to me in NYC during the summer is laying out at the Gansevoort hotel rooftop pool and going to Shake Shack at Madison Square Park for an early dinner with my girlfriends lol. Shake Shack is like LA’s In ‘N Out burger lol. In ‘N’ Out is probably the most famous “cheap” burger on the west coast, and Shake Shack is also a fast food burger chain in New York City that everyone loves. Shake Shack has more options than In’ N’ Out as far as burgers/toppings, fries and milkshakes, but the menu is fairly simple too. There is always a long line for Shake Shack so be prepared to wait! SINGLE SHACK BURGER W/ BACON, THE SMOKE SHACK, & CHEESE FRIES The burgers were great. I do like In ‘N’ Out better though.West Coast baby! Jk lol. But I would totally go back to Shake Shack for a cheap, good tasting burger. It was juicy, cheesy and had great flavor. The cheese fries were yummy and the custard we ordered …