All posts filed under: American

PIZZA LOUNGE, LAGUNA BEACH

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I went on an incredible quick little getaway this Christmas to Laguna Beach. 75 degrees, sunny and crystal clear, it was a beautiful Christmas Eve day on the beach. A friend of mine recommended I go to this amazing pizza place in downtown Laguna on the main road (South Coast Highway) which lies right along the ocean. It’s called the Pizza Lounge. She specifically told me to try this “special peach pizza” that is not on the menu- you have to ask for it. So she being a Laguna veteran, I took her word for it. TOOK A WALK ON THE BOARDWALK IN DOWNTOWN LAGUNA ON CHRISTMAS EVE DAY BEFORE HEADING TO THE PIZZA LOUNGE FOR LUNCH- GOTTA LOVE SO-CAL! Right upon arrival, we were quickly greeted by the friendly owner of the Pizza Lounge, who asked to take our order. You can order by the slice out of the options of pizzas already made on the trays shown in the glass window below, or you can custom order different size pizzas or choose from their specialty pizzas on the …

THE LOCAL PEASANT, SHERMAN OAKS

Published by Nicole Isaacs

The Local Peasant is a gastrobub in Sherman Oaks with great food and drinks. There is no sign from the outside, so it’s easy to miss from the street. They have a great selection of unique beers and cocktails, as well as interesting and delicious finger foods. MAC N’ CHEESE W/ BACON & BLACK TRUFFLE OIL Pretty good Mac N’ Cheese! Love the truffle flavor, and it was perfectly thick and creamy. BLUE CHEESE FRIED OLIVES OMG so amazing! This was one of my faves of the night. It came with a chipotle sauce and it literally melted in your mouth. Don’t really love blue cheese because of the strong flavor, but these weren’t strong. They were perfection. Obsesseddd! CRISPY PORK BELLY W/ PICKLED WATERMELON RIND AND SWEET & SPICY TAMARIND SAUCE My other favorite dish of the night. I can’t even describe how much flavor this had. It tasted like the most flavorful, crispy, yet tender piece of bacon I’ve ever had. Pork belly is my new favorite thing lol. Never had a more …

CAFETERIA, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Casual but trendy, this 24-hour, open 7 days a week restaurant is the perfect choice for a casual breakfast, lunch or dinner. Hearty and great food for a reasonable price, as well as being open 24/7, this place is a safe and easy choice for any time of the day. I went for dinner with friends on a Friday night, and it was packed- you couldn’t find a place to stand to wait for a table. Luckily four pretty girls didn’t have to wait long, and we got seated in less than 5 minutes lol. Warm, cheese biscuits to brought to the table with our waters. Yum! CAFETERIA MAC & CHEESE- MAC ATTACK TASTINGS ~Cheddar & Fontina~Truffle Oil~Smoked Gouda & Bacon~ Delicious Mac N’ Cheese. Each sampler was so flavorful- perfectly cheesy and creamy. I loved the different flavors of each one. They were all amazing. I loved the truffle one and the gouda and bacon. They were all made perfectly. Highly recommended! TOMATO BASIL SOUP– w/ Mini Fontina Grilled Cheese It kind of …

SARABETH’S- NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

My girls and I with our Peach Bellini’s! A Sarabeth’s favorite brunch cocktail. Brunch at Sarabeth’s never looked so good lol. My ladies and I made the atmosphere even that much more cute 🙂 We went to Sarabeth’s across Central Park for brunch and it was the cutest brunch place. There were a couple baby & bridal showers going on (which is the perfect place for that). Sarabeth’s is very charming and the menu and decor reminded me of a bakery shop or a bridal shower invitation lol. It had that “pastel color charm”. Sarabeth’s is a very popular breakfast, brunch & lunch spot in New York City- the place was very busy on a Saturday afternoon. There are a couple of Sarabeth’s around the city, so look online to see a location near you. GUACAMOLE W/ HOUSE MADE CHIPS This was very good. The chips were made from scratch in the kitchen. They were crispy & salty. The perfect chips with fresh guacamole. ALMOND CRUSTED FRENCH TOAST W/ FRESH STRAWBERRIES I liked this french …

SAN PEDRO FISH MARKET- SAN PEDRO, CA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Located on the harbor in San Pedro, is a long boardwalk of fresh seafood and fair food. Candied apples, kettle corn, funnel cakes among freshly caught grilled fish, oyster and ceviche bars, crab and lobster tanks, and heaps of grilled and fried shrimp served with huge loafs of garlic bread. Oh, and how can I forget, fully stacked bars with frozen daquiris, margaritas and a Mexican staple, Micheladas. There are several seafood shacks to choose from. Take your pick, or try a bunch of different places and enjoy! High quality, freshly caught seafood for cheap. You can’t beat that. Such a fun thing to do on a weekend with friends. Take a look! CAUGHT MY OWN LIVE CRAB! COOKING HEAPS OF GRILLED SHRIMP AND VEGETABLES LIVE MARIACHI BAND PERFORMING AT TABLES MICHELADA- SPICY HOT SAUCE BEER! BAR-B-QUE CHICKEN & FRESH GRILLED TORTILLAS OYSTER BAR- THEY ARE CRACKING THEM OPEN! LONG GRILL OF FRESH FISH SHRIMP PLATE W/ FRESH GARLIC BREAD SHRIMP PLATE, CORN, GARLIC BREAD OCTOPUS CEVICHE- FRESH AVOCADO, LEMON, HOT SAUCE OYSTERS THE VIEW FROM OUR …

THE PENTHOUSE AT THE HUNTLEY HOTEL-SANTA MONICA, CA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Sippin’ my watermelon mojito! Cheers! For DineLA week, my friends and I chose the Penthouse in the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. I heard it was a beautiful restaurant and had been wanting to dine there for awhile. The restaurant itself is gorgeous. With a 360 view of glass windows, you get a spectacular view of the city of Santa Monica and the ocean. All the tables against the windows are white cabanas with chandeliers, and in the middle of the restaurant is a big bar and a DJ booth- the whole scene is very chic and trendy. Three of us ordered from the DineLA dinner menu, three courses for $34, and one ordered from the regular menu. We ordered a couple bottles of wine and some cocktails. Overall, it was a really great dinner- everything was good. APPETIZERS BOTTLE OF PINOT NOIR & BREAD/BUTTER VEGETABLE PUREE SOUP I LOVED this. Great flavor. ROCK SHRIMP Fanny’s Old Bay & Creamy Grits I usually order creamy rock shrimp tempura, so this was …

HASH HOUSE A GO GO- SAN DIEGO, CA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Hash House A Go Go is a famous restaurant landmark in San Diego. Specializing in breakfast and brunch, Hash House has won several awards for “Best Breakfast in San Diego”, and it won the “Best Breakfast of 2011” in the San Diego Union Tribune. You can easily see how great this place is by the huge line always outside of the place. Everytime I was in San Diego and used to call to see how long the wait was, there was always at least an hour to two hour wait. I have been to San Diego many times, and because there is always a long wait at Hash House, I usually ate brunch at The Broken Yolk, which is another fabulous breakfast/brunch spot in SD. But this time, my girlfriends and I got VIP treatment and got to skip the line and walk right in, thanks to our amazing concierge at the US Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego, and it didn’t hurt that he said I was a food blogger which was the truth obviously …

BOA STEAKHOUSE, LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

For my birthday, I went to BOA Steakhouse in Santa Monica with my family. There is also one in West Hollywood and Vegas too. BOA is a hotspot in Los Angeles- you constantly see celebrities dining at BOA in West Hollywood almost every night. It’s upscale-chic & trendy and the food is great. I chose to go to the one in Santa Monica because it’s right across the street from the ocean, and it’s less of a Hollywood scene. We sat outside on the patio during sunset and it was a beautiful warm summer night. It was perfect. I love a great steakhouse- I’m a huge Mastro’s Steakhouse fan, but I did hear a lot about BOA so I decided to try it out. *My birthday dinner* APPETIZERS TABLE-SIDE CLASSIC CEASER SALAD We ordered three of these off the menu to split for the five of us which was a perfect serving. This was the best ceaser salad I think I’ve ever had. A guy made the dressing from scratch right next to our table. He asked …

LUXBAR, CHICAGO

Published by Nicole Isaacs

The meal I had at Luxbar was one of my top best meals I had in Chicago. The burger I ordered is in top 3 best burgers I ever had in my life, which says a lot because burgers are my favorite food. The menu at Luxbar has everything from breakfast/brunch dishes to lunch food- it has it all and everything is delicious. Luxbar is in a really cute and charming area in downtown Chicago right next to a bunch of bars, restaurants and shopping. A couple people who live in Chicago recommended this place to me, so I definitely had to try a place that was suggested by locals. I went on my last day in Chicago, my last meal before going to the airport, and I’m so glad I went! The weather was perfect so I chose to sit outside so I can people watch and look out on the cute area and streets around the restaurant. We ordered one of my favorite alcoholic drinks for brunch, St. Germain with champagne and a splash of …