Foodie Friday: A Weekend in Portland

The fiance and I took a little weekend getaway to Portland and because I couldn’t really take some time off of work, we were really only there for about a day and half. So we flew in late Friday night and left early Sunday afternoon. With such little time there, we tried our best to maximize our eating experience by coming up with a strategy for our meals! We agreed to choose a dish that both of us want and then getting a smaller dish of some sort with it. That way, we don’t get too stuffed, get to try what we want, and be ready to eat more shortly after!

Check out what we had!

SCREEN DOOR

We went here for brunch through recommendations from our friends. They serve a cajun inspired brunch menu that is drool worthy! We got the shrimp and grits and their bacon praline waffle. Although we kept seeing everyone order the chicken and waffles, we didn’t feel the need to have it there and really just wanted to get the shrimp and grits. I stand by our decision because we were the perfect level of fullness and both dishes were absolutely tasty! I highly recommend coming here but be prepared to wait if you come on the weekend. It was just the two of us and we waited about 45 minutes to get seated.

 

LARDO

We discovered this spot from the Food Network and have been wanting to try it ever since! After hearing constant ravings about porchetta from our friend and finding out that Lardo has an amazing porchetta sandwich, we knew that we had to come here. They specialize in pork and meaty sandwiches. Porchetta is almost like a thick slice of pork belly so it’s mouthwatering juicy goodness. We got a side of crispy pig ears to go with it and loved every bite of our food. We need to come back and try some of their other sandwiches!

 

PINE STATE

This was also a huge recommendation from our friends. We came here for breakfast before we had to catch a flight back to LA, so we made sure to arrive early in case there was a long wait. Plus, I also wanted to get a little dessert after so we really needed to try to fit everything in before we left. πŸ˜›

We got there bright and early and maybe waited about 10 minutes to order. Once we ordered, we grabbed a number and sat at the counter where we could see them make the dishes and where all the magic happens. Once again, we went with our fail proof strategy by ordering a biscuit to share and a side dish of some sort. We got the biscuit that included fried chicken, honey mustard, pickles, with a side of sausage gravy. And our second dish was their corn dog. I know, corn dog? I have a weakness for corn dogs so anytime I see it on a menu, I have to get it!

Both was really really good. Especially for breakfast. It also didn’t feel incredibly heavy so we had plenty of room for dessert! Stop by here if you’re like me and LOVE biscuits and gravy. You can’t go wrong!

 

PIP’S ORIGINAL DOUGHNUTS

Pip’s was our last stop for the weekend. I knew we had to get donuts, but since Voodoo moved down to LA and Blue Star wasn’t very convenient for us to get to, we decided on Pip’s. Well, it was mostly the chai tea flight that won me over. I’ve never seen this anywhere and because I am a huge chai lover, this was a must! For the two us, we ordered half of dozen, which was 1 of every flavor they offered. The donuts are small/ mini sized and are almost like cake donuts. Slightly crispy outside and soft inside. Love that they are made to order!

The chai flight, oh the chai flight. I fell in love with the lavender flavor and it was so fun to be able to try out all the other flavors too. The fiance liked the coconut milk one! So much better than an alcoholic flight! πŸ™‚

 

Foodie Friday

LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN

I always love coming here for brunch and wanted to dedicate an entire Foodie Friday post to this place! They have so many healthy options for when I want to have a lighter and nutritious meal, except when I decide to add on sweets and pastries. I dare you to try to NOT get any of their pastries!

My sister and I went to have brunch together and my eyes went straight to these little pancakes! They are super cute and bite sized but smothered in syrup, powdered sugar, and finished with a dollop of whipped butter. Good thing we shared it! We each also got our own dishes so I also got my veggies in! πŸ™‚

Foodie Friday

HART AND HUNTER

We went here for brunch for a little pick me up after everything that’s been going on and it really did cheer me up. The restaurant is located in the Palihotel on Melrose and is such a great little spot to visit. The hotel is super trendy and very cool so I do recommend stopping by. The waitress came by to take our order and after asking her what dishes she recommends, she just said that everything there is really good. You can’t really go wrong with anything, and boy was she right! All of our food was amazing and you HAVE to get the biscuits! Run over there now!

 

Foodie Friday: Sydney, AUS

The second half of our trip was spent with my family in Sydney, AUS. We ate past our stomachs’ capacity while we were here. My family spared no expense to make sure that we were full at every single moment we were there which I would have to say, they succeeded. I was never hungry and we ate tons and tons of food. My fiancΓ© gained about 10 pounds by the end of our trip. FiancΓ©, still weird saying that! πŸ™‚

Here’s ALMOST everything we ate during our time here! Enjoy!

Cured meat platter at Meat District Co.
Bone marrow at Meat District Co.
Party Platter at Meat District Co. Includes pork ribs, beef ribs, burger, salad, fries, steak, and sauces.

Gazpacho at Cafe Sydney
Shrimp at Cafe Sydney
Clams and Shrimp at Cafe Sydney

Dessert Platter at Cafe Sydney
Sausage Sandwiches
Pastries at Brewtown Newtown
Salmon Benedict on Brioche Buns
Cronuts at Brewtown Newtown
Giant platter of seafood

Foodie Friday: Things We Ate in New Zealand

We ate tons of food on our trip and I didn’t fail to take pictures of almost everything! All in all, I would say the most popular things to eat that we saw were meat pies, green lipped mussels, and fish and chips! Those were definitely on almost every menu we saw. I really enjoyed the seafood there. Everything was so fresh and great quality. Check out all of our yummy eats below!

Battered fish, a fish cake, and a side spinach salad.

Gelato
Hazelnut gelato from Island Gelato Company
Our dinner from Oyster Inn
Smoked eel with bread
Roasted potatoes with parmesan and chives
Raw Oysters
Yogurt and granola and an oyster omelette
Brunch at Cafe 88
Toast with cottage cheese, hummus, pesto, spinach, tomato, avocado, and a poached egg. Side of mushrooms.
Fish cakes with smoked salmon, tomato, avocado, and hollandaise.
Smoked salmon platter with blinis
Our entire lunch at Federal
Poutine
Fennel salad
Reuben sandwich
Bone Marrow at Depot
Pork hock with an apple slaw and a side of asparagus
Amazing pork hock
Panna cotta

Foodie Friday

DELUCA’S ITALIAN DELI in Glendale, CA

The boyfriend and I were shopping around the Americana on Brand one afternoon and I really needed sustenance for all of the walking around, so we stumbled on this Italian deli smackdab in the middle of the shopping area and decided to give it a try! We each got a sandwich- he got a porchetta panini and I got a baguette with mortadella and fresh mozzarella. Add on a side of soup and a bottle of Pellegrino and our meal is complete! I really really liked my sandwich and thought it really hit the spot. Definitely gave me the energy I needed to continue walking and head onto the next activity!

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WINSOME in Echo Park, Los Angeles

I’ve been here for brunch before and loved it so when my friend said he wanted to go here for a birthday lunch, I was more than happy to join! I grabbed myself a small coffee and we ordered several dishes to share. The food is so colorful, fresh, and super yummy that I can’t really describe everything, so I’m just going to keep it short and sweet and just tell you guys that you need to go try it for yourself!

They have great drinks both non-alcoholic and alcoholic. Since I don’t drink alcohol, I’ve had the horchata and coffee, both of which were delicious! I also recommend their potato chips and salmon rosti.

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AMAZEBOWLS at Smorgasburg LA

This was my second time at Smorgasburg in DTLA and I think I may have eaten more this time around. I went with the family and everyone got different things to share. It was like Thanksgiving, street food style. A cornucopia of delicious items! Didn’t really get to take a picture of everything we ate except this beautifully made Acai bowl from Amazebowls. It was really refreshing and I love that they put it in a coconut and added little edible flowers on it.

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Foodie Friday

CINESPIA in Los Angeles, CA

This was my first time attending Cinespia and I loved it! I usually like outdoor movies anyway but watching it at a cemetery really adds something to it! Cinespia is an outdoor movie event that happens every weekend during the Summer at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The first time I heard about this was from the movie, ‘Valentine’s Day’ but my coworker goes several times each Summer so she’s an expert on it! Another coworker and I attended with her and her friends to watch ’16 Candles’ last Saturday evening and we got the scoop on exactly what to do! She said to bring low beach chairs (you are not allowed to bring camping chairs), some food and wine, and blankets- also arrive early because you’ll have to wait in line to enter the cemetery.

When we were able to enter, we walked through the cemetery and made our way to the mausoleum where they project the movie against a huge wall and we sit on a large grass area. They also set up a themed set where you can take professional pictures in and they post it up on their website. I really enjoyed sitting outside (in a cemetery) and watching a fun movie. It’s very LA. πŸ™‚

Below is our spread for the evening! My coworker has a small collapsable table that she always brings and we had cure meats, cheeses, pesto, bread, donuts, wine, grapes, and tons of more food! Definitely an impressive spread, right?!

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CBS SEAFOOD AND DIMSUM at Chinatown, Los Angeles

I went with my parents on Sunday morning to grab some dimsum. I am always up for dumplings and tea, so this was perfect for Sunday brunch! We usually come here and order tons of steamed foods with tea. This was only the first few things we got before I scarfed down on all the food and they were not picture worthy anymore.

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GARDEN CAFE in Alhambra, Los Angeles

Sometimes, I really just want something hearty and cheesy. I know this may sound weird, but I usually crave this dish that is a baked sole fillet in mushroom cream sauce and cheese. People usually don’t combine fish with cheese but this is to die for! It’s one of my favorite things. It’s pretty heavy, but you can always have it the next day. It’s still just as good! Garden Cafe is a typical Asian cafe with a variety of Chinese and Taiwanese foods. It’s one of those spots that you can come late at night for some good hearty and greasy food.

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Foodie Friday: Chi Spacca

CHI SPACCA in Los Angeles, CA

I took the boyfriend to Chi Spacca for his birthday since it’s a spot we have been dying to go to. It is on the pricey side so I wanted to save up for it, but boy was it worth it! This has got to be one of my favorite restaurants now and we’re already planning to come back sometime in the near future! Check out my thoughts on each plate below!

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Spacca Culatello: This was so melt-in-your-mouth delicious! From the burrata to the cure meat, it was such a great first dish! They bring the burrata in from Italy every week so it’s super fresh and cure the meat in house (I believe, I saw a bunch of cuts hanging behind the kitchen).
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Focaccia di Recco: If you love a good ol’ bread basket, you’ll fall in love with this dish. It blows all of the other bread dishes out of the water! It is almost like a pizza but super flaky and has cheese INSIDE! It’s cheesy, salty, greasy, and just perfect. It’s a must-have!
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Spacca Caesar: With all of the carbs and meats, we needed to add on a vegetable dish of some sort, so the Caesar salad was our choice. The dressy is super creamy and I love that they use sliced pieces of cauliflower in the salad. It gives us such a great flavor and crunch! The boyfriend said that if people made salads like these more often, he’d actually be happy with eating salad for a meal!
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Beef & Bone Marrow Pie and Tomahawk Porkchop: These two plates were enough to feed at least 6 people but we got it for just the two of us. Our waiter warned us but these were the two we had already set our minds on before coming here and we were just fine with having leftovers for dinner the next day! The beef and bone marrow pie was so scrumptious. I love pot pies and the braised beef and gravy inside were so hearty, making this such an ideal comfort dish. The Tomahawk was GIGANTIC and had the perfect about of fattiness so it would really appeal to a true meat lover!

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We did not have any room for dessert but I had no problem with that. I was completely stuffed and wished I had more room to finish our amazing meal! They also had a 50oz steak that the boyfriend nearly ordered but I talked him out of it because it’s absolutely insane for just the two of us to eat a 50oz steak! I normally barely finish an 8oz so after doing the math, there’s no way that steak was possible. It only means we’ll have to come back with a larger party and eat MORE! πŸ™‚

Foodie Friday (Sort of)

DINETTE in Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA

Came here because I kept seeing pictures of it on Instagram so when there are waffles and avocado toasts involved, I have to be there! Dinette is just a small window with outdoor covered seating, so it’s really cute and simple. I love their little disposable utensils, trays, and paper straws. It adds so much character to their brand. Unfortunately, they ran out of avocado toast when we got there which makes sense it’s one of their more popular items, so I just got their waffle and the boyfriend got their salmon toast. The waffle was AMAZING! It was fluffy, had a little bit of saltiness to it, and of course, just the right amount of sweetness. I love that it came with a perfectly poached egg and bacon. All of the food groups that you need in one dish right?! πŸ™‚

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BIRDIES in Downtown, Los Angeles, CA

I had been dying to visit Birdies to eat their beautiful donuts and try out their donut chicken sandwich. I was way too full to have their chicken sandwich but I did grab 4 of the donuts. We got the triple chocolate, lemon thyme pistachio, strawberry shortcake, and cinnamon toast crunch. They looked way to pretty to eat but that didn’t really stop me. They were really good and moist with just the right amount of chewiness! Must try more!!

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By Chloe in Silverlake, Los Angeles, CA

Heard of this great Vegan spot in Silverlake that just opened and wanted to give it a try! Sometimes, I try to eat better even on the weekends, so little spots like these make it a a lot easier for me. I had their avocado toast, matcha green tea, and some sweet potato fries (air fried). Everything was so delicious and you barely noticed that it was Vegan! It’s one of my new favorite spots and I know I’ll be frequenting this place! πŸ™‚

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Foodie Friday

Belle’s Bagels in Highland Park, Los Angeles

I heard from my coworker that there was a bagel window that recently opened out of a billiards bar so I knew I had to try it soon! I went on a Saturday morning with my sister to grab a couple of bagels before we started our day. It was just as my coworker described it, a bagel window! They have a variety of bagels, bagel sandwiches, shmears, etc. I chose the everything bagel with scallion schmear and my sister got one of their sandwiches. They also provide bagels with lox so I’ll definitely try that next time!

The bagel was freshly made so the center was doughy and chewy which is something I really liked about it. I wished that it was toasted a little more but it may have something to do with having to drive it back home to eat. Will be coming back!

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Smorgasburg in Downtown, Los Angeles

I’ve been hearing and seeing posts about Smorgasburg NONSTOP for the past few weeks so I really wanted to check it out! I was so glad that my friend made plans to go because I had been dying to go anways! πŸ™‚

It’s a little flea market/food festival that happens every Sunday morning in the LA produce market courtyard. I thought it was such a cool place to hold it and going early helps with beating the crowd. I did a walk-around with my friend so that we can scan all of the vendors before deciding on what we really wanted to eat. Needless to say, we ended up eating a majority of the foods there anyways. We had the pork belly paratha tacos, Strawberry rose aqua fresca, hainan chicken, mozarella sticks, lobster nachos, acai bowl, and probably more but I can’t remember what.

If you’re free on Sunday mornings and STARVING, check it out!

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