All posts filed under: Los Angeles

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 …

ABBOT KINNEY FESTIVAL- VENICE BEACH, CA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

On Sunday, September 25, 2011 from 10am-6pm, it was the 27th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival in Venice, CA. There were thousands of people, tons of food, drinks, jewelry and clothing tents, a couple rides, etc. It was quite a festival. I love festivals because its street food heaven for me lol. Some of my favorite food trucks were there, such as the Grilled Cheese Truck, Lobsta Truck, etc, and along Abbot Kinney all the boutiques, restaurants, bars and wine stores were open as well, so the whole street was pretty poppin. FOOD ABBOTS PIZZA COMPANY The line was out the door at this place. Hole in the wall pizzeria, totally reminded me of a place in NYC. NY style pizza, and so good. They had amazing unique pizzas as well, and all slices came with a side of sauce. That’s my shit! TOMATO, BASIL MARGARITA CLASSIC PEPPERONI Our slices came w/ a spicy chipotle sauce. AMAZEBALLS. Great NY style pizza in LA. Loved it. STREET MEAT LOL GUACAMOLE AND CHIPS TENT, SO GOOD! MORE …

KOI- LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Dinner & Drinks at KOI w/ friends. Our servers jumped into the picture too 🙂 Can’t go wrong w/ dinner and drinks with friends at LA hotspot, Koi. This upscale, chic & trendy, asian-influenced restaurant has a beautiful atmosphere and great Japanese cuisine. I went with a group of friends and we all ordered small dishes, and lots of champagne lol. Koi is great for a romantic date night, dinner with friends, business meetings or any special occasion. KOI CRISPY RICE Spicy tuna on crispy rice w/ sliced jalapeno on top. One of my favorite dishes to order at sushi. You can’t get this dish wrong! Amazing. FRESH OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL If you like oysters, these were great. Not too big, (the big ones freak me out), they were smaller and with hot sauce and lemon they are very fresh and good quality oysters. SALMON CARPACCIO W/ BLACK TRUFFLES, CITRUS SAUCE Loved this dish! I love anything with black truffle, and I’ve never had salmon carpaccio before so this was something different for me. …

DINELA RESTAURANT WEEK 2011

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I’m reminding all of you that DineLA Restaurant week is about to arrive! October 2-7 & 9-14, 2011. You get great deals on all the best restaurants around Los Angeles. All three course meals for lunch and dinner. To check out the extensive list of participating restaurants, menu’s and to make reservations, the link is posted below. I know I will be hitting up a bunch and blogging about it! Hope you do too! Bon Appetit!!! DineLA Restaurant Week http://discoverlosangeles.com/restaurantweekv2/index.html

SOL Y LUNA, TARZANA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Now, this Mexican restaurant is what I like to call a GEM. This charming, cozy, Mariachi-themed restaurant is known for its outstanding Mexican food. This has got to be my favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Los Angeles. If you read reviews on this place, almost every review says it’s the best mexican food in the San Fernando Valley! Sol Y Luna is PACKED at all times. There is always a wait with people lining out the door and the bar seating is usually crammed to the max. They do not take reservations, so expect to wait, unless you don’t mind sitting at the bar, bar/lounge or outside patio, which is first come first serve. I would say this place is comparable to the famous Mexican hotspot Casa Vega in Studio City, also on Ventura Blvd, but I think Sol Y Luna is even better! Literally everything on the menu is amazing. You can’t go wrong with anything here. But, there are some specialities they are known for, and of course I must add my Ms. Foodie recommendations …

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 …

KOGI TEST KITCHEN- ALIBI ROOM, CULVER CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I’m sure most of my readers and followers from LA know about the famous Kogi BBQ truck. The Alibi Room in Culver City is the Kogi Truck taste kitchen, where Chef Roy Choi’s famous Kogi specialities are featured on the menu. The Alibi Room is a micro-brew and wine bar with a menu offering fushion food from Kogi’s Kitchen (a mix of Korean BBQ & Mexican). They also has specialty & unique cocktails. The place is a casual lounge- it’s tiny but has a cool & laid back vibe. The food is great, the cocktails are unique, and it’s a great place to chill with friends. The drinks are great, and there are two items on the menu that I highly recommend. Read below to find out what I think is the best “item” I’ve ever had! Left: Shiso Margarita- shiso leaf infused tequila, fresh lime juice, cointreau, agave nectar, sesame salt rim Right: Mojito Kogi Three Taco Combo- Corn tortilla, slaw, cilantro, onions, salsa roja, w/ choice of short rib, bbq chicken, spicy pork or tofu I got …

PARADISE COVE BEACH CAFE, MALIBU

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I’m dedicating this post to my favorite and best clam chowder ever. I give the award for best clam chowder to Paradise Cove Beach Cafe in Malibu. Paradise Cove is a secret hideaway beach in Malibu with a beach bar, cafe/restaurant, and take-out counter. Paradise Cove Beach Cafe has a huge menu of food and specialty beach cocktails right on the sands of a private beach with wooden lounge chairs, cabanas and day beds. During the summer, Paradise Cove is always busy and a popular place to go for beach lounging and dining. I love this place. Whether you go for breakfast or brunch and to spend a day on the beach, for lunch, or an early dinner watching the sunset, Paradise Cove is exclusive, charming and beautiful. Paradise Cove Beach Cafe has a huge menu offering great seafood and American specialties. Everything is good, but what is especially amazing is their award winning Clam Chowder. This is my favorite clam chowder I’ve ever had. It’s perfect. What I love about it, is there are …