All posts filed under: American

BIG GAY ICE CREAM, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Making this post short and SWEET 😉 Big Gay Ice Cream is super famous in New York City. They have a truck and a shop in the city, and the ice cream is amazeballs. Their ice cream concoctions and presentations are unique and they have interesting names such as the Salty Pimp, the Mermaid, Cococone, Mexican Affo’Gay’To, the Gobbler, etc lol. They really know how to make ice cream fun! Their toppings are what make this ice cream different…they offer sea salt, cayenne pepper, wasabi pea dust and weird shit like that lol. Not really my “steez” but still interesting. TOne of their more famous cones, the “SALTY PIMP, is a vanilla ice cream cone chocolate dipped with dulce de leche and sea salt. I ordered a more simpler version of that. See below! THE BEA ARTHUR Vanilla Ice Cream, Dulce De Leche & Crushed Nilla Wafers Ok, So I’m not the biggest sweet/dessert person, but this was incredible! It was so good. The ice cream was so creamy and they squirted dulce de …

PETER LUGER STEAKHOUSE- BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Voted #1 Steakhouse in New York for 28 years straight, Peter Luger’s has been on the top of my food bucket list since forever ago lol. Anyone that has ever been to Peter Luger’s has said it’s the best steak they’ve ever had hands down, and no other steakhouse in the country compares. Peter Luger Steakhouse was established in 1887 in Brooklyn NY, so it’s definitely a New York landmark in my opinion. It has been said that Peter Luger’s gets their first pick of the beef that is imported into New York over any other steakhouse, so their cuts are the best. Everything there is simple steakhouse food, and all of it is unbelievable. This was definitely one of the best meals of my lifetime. It was such an amazing foodie experience for me… BREAD TO START WITH THEIR FAMOUS PETER LUGER SAUCE Assortment of fresh bread with butter, dipped in their signature Peter Luger sauce, so good! JUMBO SHRIMP COCKTAIL SLICED TOMATOES & ONIONS WITH LUGER’S OWN SAUCE This is my new favorite …

THE HONOR BAR, BEVERLY HILLS

Published by Nicole Isaacs

The Honor Bar, owned by the Hillstone Group (owners of Houstons, Bandera, etc.) is a trendy/upscale bar with amazing food. Located on South Beverly Drive, The Honor Bar is attached to the famous South Beverly Grill. While offering some of the same food as South Beverly Grill, The Honor Bar’s menu is a little more casual and has more comfort food. Everything we ordered was so amazing! HAND-CUT FRENCH FRIES W/ TWO DIPPING SAUCES These fries were so good! They had a spicy mayo sauce that was so amazing too. The fries were crispy and had so much flavor. Perfect fries to me… KALE SALAD W/ PEANUT VINAGRETTE Emerald kale, fresh herbs, & roasted peanut vinagrette Never in a million years would I think to order this, but it was SO good. Healthy and had so much flavor. These kind of dishes make eating healthy so easy. I loved the peanut vinagrette! I highly recommend! HIRAMASA ROLL Spicy Tuna & Avocado topped with Hiramasa Sashimi, caviar Light, fresh and delicious. It had a spicy kick to it too …

LUNA PARK, LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

E! GIRLS Luna Park with my E! co-workers! Luna park is literally a block away from the E! building where I work, so my work girlfriends went there to grab a bite to eat. I’ve heard about the place for awhile and have seen it on the DineLA list, so wanted to check out how the food was. It’s great to go for drinks, lunch, dinner or even for a weekend brunch! The ambiance is trendy/hipster/casual. GRILLED CHEESE & TOMATO SOUP! MAC N CHEESE WITH BROCCOLI The mac n cheese was okay. But I’m tough to please with mac n’ cheese, it’s hard to find really amazing ones. MARINATED HAWAIIAN TUNA POKE WITH WONTON CHIPS Love tuna poke…this one was so flavorful and fresh, but the portion was very small. WARM GOAT CHEESE FONDUE WITH GRILLED BREAD & APPLES This is so …

BACKSTAGE, CULVER CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

It has been quoted that this may be the “Best dive bar in the world”. It has also been said that it is the best dive bar in Los Angeles. I absolutely love this place. I am not really the “dive bar” kinda gal, but if they have amazing AND cheap food, I will be there in a heartbeat lol. This bar is literally the definition of a “dive bar”- it’s a hole-in-the wall bar in the heart of Culver City- it is always busy, drinks are cheap and they have great food. They have happy hour too, so you can get certain things on the menu for half off. They have a great band that performs at 9:30pm every Wednesday night, and they have karaoke on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It is definitely a fun and lively bar, and it gets crazy late at night. Highly recommend checking it out if you are around the area! MAC N CHEESE Known for their Mac n’ cheese, I recommend you try this at least once. …

THE SPOTTED PIG, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

The Spotted Pig, co-owned by Jay Z, Bono & Mario Batali, is a restaurant hotspot in the heart of Meatpacking district in New York City. With waits that can be long as two to three hours for a table and a very unique menu, I assumed my experience there was going to be very positive. And if Jay- Z co-owns it, then DUH!, it has to be amazing right?! lol. The place is definitely super eclectic with “quirky” decor, and has a very cozy feeling, but the food was not out of this world by any means. The Spotted Pig is famous for their burger which I’ve heard so much about, but I actually did not like it. Read my reviews on what we ordered below: THE SPOTTED PIG DECOR DEVILED EGGS Not a huge deviled eggs fan myself, but these were the best I’ve ever had. Great flavor, and the filling was fluffy and light. I recommend this. CHICKEN LIVER TOAST I liked this too! Very rich flavor, and the liver was super creamy …

P.J. CLARKE’S, LAS VEGAS

Published by Nicole Isaacs

In Vegas, I stumbled across P.J. Clarke’s in the Ceasers Palace Hotel. Hungover and craving good substance and a burger, I decided to stop there. I’ve actually read about P.J. Clarke’s online. It’s a classic bar/restaurant established in 1884, and has original locations in New York City and along the Hudson River, but has also opened in Washington DC, Vegas and Brazil. This place is an old-time classic restaurant known for good pub food and especially famous for it’s burger, so I tried it. “THE CADILLAC” Smoked Country Bacon & American Cheese I really enjoyed the burger. I don’t know if I was just desperately hungry and anything could have tasted good in my state lol, but it was pretty good to me. Definitely not anywhere near the best, but it was solid- I had no complaints. I ordered the “Cadillac Burger” for $13.75, which is their special and most popular burger. It comes with American cheese and bacon. It’s a simple burger, nothing special on it besides bacon, but the meat was cooked perfectly. …

QUALITY, LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Quality is on 3rd Street in Los Angeles. Located right down the street from TOAST on 3rd, and a lot of other LA brunch “hotspots”, Quality is more low-key and a guarantee quick wait, if any. The food is comparable to places such as Toast (which I’ve blogged about), but it’s less of a scene, and a much less of a wait for a table. It’s a hole in the wall, but I enjoyed the food. If you want to skip the hassle going to a packed brunch/breakfast on the weekends with a wait in LA, Quality is a good option. AVOCADO BENEDICT- ADDED BACON Buttermilk biscuits topped with avocado, poached eggs with hollandaise sauce Shared this with one of my girlfriends and it was delicious. I loved how it wasn’t on an english muffin, but a fresh baked biscuit. It added a buttery flavor which I loved, and a more flakey/crispy texture, and obviously adding bacon makes everything better 🙂 They’re known for their biscuits, so I recommend getting a dish there that serves one. CHALLAH …

FIG & OLIVE, LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Fig & Olive was my DineLA pick for this season! I get so excited when DineLA comes- it’s a great excuse to dine out at a restaurant you’ve always wanted to go to, for a more reasonable deal and price. (If you don’t know what DineLA is, look at my previous post for info). I’ve been wanting to go to Fig & Olive, especially because President Barack Obama dined there when he was in LA, so if it was worthy for him, I thought it was worth going to lol. Their DineLA fixed dinner menu costs $44. We had a 8:45pm reservation on a Thursday night, and the place was jam packed. The atmosphere is amazing there. It’s trendy & chic and had a great vibe. The food was good too. Not exceptional by any means, but good. MY DINING VIEW FROM OUR TABLE UPSTAIRS APPETIZERS BREAD W/ THREE FLAVORS OF HOUSE-MADE OLIVE OIL THREE CROSTINI COMBO MANCHEGO, FIG, MARCONA ALMOND MUSHROOM, TRUFFLE ARTICHOKE, PARMESAN SHRIMP, AVOCADO, CILANTRO, TOMATO This was my …