All posts filed under: United States

THE GOLDEN STATE, MID-CITY LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Located on Fairfax Avenue in Mid-City Los Angeles, is a gastropub called The Golden State. It’s a small joint known for their burgers and ecclectic milkshakes and floats. Burgers are “IN” now- all over LA there are new burger joints popping up, each place competiting for the title of “Best Burger in LA”. The Golden State was recommended to me by someone who reads my blog- she noticed I blog about a lot of burgers, and told me that I must try this place. She said it was better than Father’s Office! That got my attention so I definitely had to make my way to The Golden State to try one of their burgers ASAP. The Golden State interior- small and casual spot The menu mainly offers burgers and fries, salads and sandwiches, but they are also known for their drinks- most famously, their beer floats. The Golden State makes their own gelato and all the flavors are super unique. A couple of flavors are chocolate rasberry, peach champagne, spicy chocolate, salted caramel, lavender goat cheese, …

IL TRAMEZZINO ITALIAN CAFE

Published by Nicole Isaacs

One of my FAVORITE sandwiches ever is at Il Tramezzino. There are a couple locations around Los Angeles- one in Tarzana, Studio City, & Beverly Hills. I go to the one in Tarzana, because that is closest to where I live. Located on Ventura Blvd., Il Tramezzino is a very popular lunch spot. This Italian Cafe has amazing sandwiches, salads, fresh fish and pizzas. Everything on the menu is delicious, but they are known for their grilled sandwiches, and there is one in particular that made this place famous. For those of you who read my blog, you probably know that sandwiches and burgers are my favorite food. Their Grilled Breast of Chicken Sandwich (first sandwich featured on the menu), is up as one of the tops of my list for favorite sandwiches. This sandwich is actually grilled “panini style” with sun dried tomato, avocado, provolone cheese & a basil garlic sauce. The basil garlic sauce is like a pesto mayo- which is one of my favorite condiments ever. This sandwich is amazing with Cholula …

BERRI’S CAFE, LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

TWO WORDS: LOBSTER PIZZA. I’ve managed to land my drunk ass at Berri’s Cafe two times in one week. Both at 3am. That’s how you know I had a good week, lol. Berri’s Pizza Cafe on 3rd street is a club after the club. Not really, but this Italian pizza cafe bumps loud house music and is packed all hours of the night, especially with people that just left the club wanting to get their grub on. Specializing in pizza, I go to Berri’s for one reason…for their famous LOBSTER PIZZA. If you don’t like seafood, that’s a damn shame, and even though Berri’s menu is big and has something for everyone, I am blogging especially for the lobster pizza, so sorry lol- don’t mean to discriminate against you non-seafood lovers. Even though it wasn’t a smart move, my friends and I ordered champagne with 24K gold flakes lol. It was actually amazing, but probably not the best move at 3:30am. Next, the pizza. Berri’s Cafe is known for making great pizza. So many different and unique …

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Southern Hospitality, a Memphis BBQ joint in New York City, brings Southern Comfort food to the Big Apple. Creator of the restaurant, Justin Timberlake along with his friends Eytan Sugarman & Trace Ayala opened up this celebrity hotspot in two locations in NYC- one in Hell’s Kitchen and the other on the Upper East Side. Southern Hospitality serves real Southern dishes such as pulled pork sandwiches, baby back ribs, Southern fried catfish, catfish lollipops, chicken and waffles, fried pickles, grits, crawfish & cheddar hush puppes, mac n’ cheese, and so much more. Located in Hell’s Kitchen, I walked into Southern Hospitality on a Sunday night and it was poppin’. The place was packed. While waiting for the rest of our party to show up, General Manager Bryan Zabinski brought my sister and I to the bar to try Southern Hospitality’s house specialty cocktail. Made with Justin Timberlake’s tequila “901”, this drink was so delicious. Similar to a Mojito but made with tequila, it was also made with crushed/muddled berries. Sweet but still crisp and refreshing. Loved it! When the rest …

SUSHI ROKU HAPPY HOUR & WINETASTING AT MALIBU WINES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

After a beautiful day winetasting at Malibu Wines, I went to Santa Monica for happy hour at Sushi Roku. Located on Ocean Ave. with views of the ocean, and just a couple steps away from Third Street Promenade, Sushi Roku is a popular sushi restaurant with a good happy hour. I heard about Sushi Roku Happy Hour from being featured on a news special on TV. Supposedly one of the best happy hours in Los Angeles, so I wanted to try it out. I love happy hour- it’s perfect for an after work early dinner when you don’t want to eat so late, and of course everything is half off which makes it even better! I went to the Sushi Roku in Santa Monica (they also have one in West Hollywood and other locations). The Happy Hour is from 5pm-6:30pm Monday-Friday & 4:30pm-6:30pm on Sundays. COCKTAILS: Roku’s Fusion Martini- $5. Skyy Vodka, Honeydew Cantaloupe, & Watermelon with Pineapple & Cranberry Juice combined. So sweet and delicious! It tasted like a watermelon Jolly Rancher! lol. Our bartender was super …

SERAFINA, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Serafina Restaurant Group was created by Vittorio Assaf & Fabio Granato in 1995 when the two opened up Serafina Fabulous Pizza. Following the success of the first location, they have opened up Serafina Fabulous Grill, Serafina Osteria, Serafina Broadway & Serafina at the Time Hotel, all in New York City. Serafina Restaurant Group also founded Geisha in New York, and Geisha House in Los Angeles, and other restaurants around the world. Serafina is a New York City hotspot. All locations are always buzzing with people wining and dining. A lot of celebrities dine at Serafina such as Lady Gaga, Cameron Diaz & A-Rod, Kim Kardashian & many more. It is also NBA player Sasha Vujacic’s favorite restaurant. I went to Serafina Fabulous Grill on 29 East 61st Street between Park & Madison. It is so charming and cozy- when you walk in right away it feels like you’ve been transported to Italy and you are far away from the hustle and bustle, tall concrete skyscrapers and crowded streets of New York. Serafina Fabulous Grill is a three room restaurant with …

MANUEL’S ORIGINAL EL TEPEYAC CAFE, LOS ANGELES

Published by Nicole Isaacs

HOLY GUACAMOLE. GET READY FOR THIS! You may have heard about Manuel’s Original El Tepeyac Cafe from Travel Channel’s MAN VS. FOOD. It is home of the famous FIVE POUND BURRITO- “Manuel’s Special”. Authentic Mexican food at it’s best. Burritos the size of your face……take it back—burritos the size of a BIG, FAT newborn baby. Mayor Villaragoza who was raised in the Boyle Heights area, made El Tepeyac Cafe his last stop on his campaign tour for his reelection which was televised locally. This tiny Mexican hole-in-wall has gotten recognized in many press outlets, and is now a famously known Mexican spot in LA. At El Tepeyac Cafe in Boyle Heights/Downtown LA, you get the real Mexican food experience. I don’t want to say it’s in the “ghetto”, but let’s just say it’s not in one of the nicest of areas in LA. Always busy with a line, you can either eat in the tiny restaurant, or for faster service you can order on the side of the restaurant from the window and sit at the …

ARTSY DAY IN DOWNTOWN LA! SPITZ RESTAURANT, GEFFEN MOCA MUSEUM, & ANGEL CITY BREWERY & ART EXHIBIT

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I had a great day in Downtown LA recently. Went to the Geffen MOCA Museum, which is an “urban street art” exhibit, then went to lunch at Spitz, and went to Angel City Brewery for some freshly brewed beer. The Geffen MOCA Museum was cool. All urban street art. It’s something cool to see if you are ever in the Downtown LA area and you are into art. It gives you a lot of history about how “tagging” became a popular form of art in big cities, and hundreds of pieces of art from famous street artists. Me in front of the Geffen MOCA in a window lol After the MOCA, stopped by Spitz for some Doner Kebab sandwiches. I’ve heard about Spitz so when I walked by it, I wanted to give it a try. It has been written up in several LA Magazine’s and voted “LA’s Best Sandwich” by Los Angeles Magazine. Spitz is a Doner Kebab spot in the heart of Little Tokyo. I used to live in Berlin, Germany and …

LOMBARDI’S PIZZA, NEW YORK CITY

Published by Nicole Isaacs

I’ve done a couple posts about pizza in NYC already. I was on the search for the BEST pizza in the city, so had to try all the famous spots. Lombardi’s is special because it was the FIRST PIZZERIA ever to open in America in 1905. To this day, Lombardi’s is still known for being “one of the best Pizzerias in America”, and also according to many magazines & newspaper articles, the best pizza in New York City. I went to Lombardi’s and was so excited to try authentic New York Style Pizza. This place is legendary in New York City. I had the BEST pizza I ever had in my life in Brooklyn (at Di Fara’s, check out my blog post about it), so I was curious to see how Lombardi’s was going to match up. I went around lunchtime, and the place was packed. There was a line out the door, but thankfully service was fast and efficient so I didn’t have to wait long. Lombardi’s is located on Spring Street in SoHo, next to all …