Lazy Ox Canteen

As promised, I am trying to blog more often and I was lucky enough to go on a foodie adventure last night.!! I am sad to say that my foodie adventures are going to be decreasing in the upcoming months because I need to start saving dramatically due to the fact that I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL!!! Yiippppeee!!! I am very excited for the next chapter in my life! Unfortunately, my foodie adventures will be taking a hit BUT that just means I will be making more meals at home... hm....maybe I can write a couple of posts on how to jazz up ramen noodles... sounds like a good idea to me!

Anywho, to celebrate the news and to catch up, 2 of my favorite people took me out to Lazy Ox Canteen, a small gastropub located in Little Tokyo.  It had a fun and lively atmosphere and the only thing that was a little off putting for me was our waiter.  He would occasionally walk over to our table to check on us without saying a word. One time I even said hello to him as he awkwardly stood by our table.  BUT the food was sooooooo delicious and flavorful. I loved all the dishes we ordered and it was wayyy too hard to pick a favorite!  Food is served Tapas style which is great for sharing.  I will definitely come back to the Lazy Ox.

Lazy Ox Canteen  

flying dog schwarz beer and Prosecco 

the blushing bride to be!

iberico Ham with dense grilled bread... I LOVE CURED MEATS

blistered shishito peppers with mojama- not too spicy!!

yellow tail crudo with scallion, grapefruit and papaya salad- super super good!

anson mills polenta with creamed mushrooms and curry- so creamy and the texture was amazing! 

jerusalem artichoke with roasted apples and aged balsamic

our spread 

Nik's Martini Lounge

I've had this place on my list for months and this past weekend had the chance to go there with friends.  The game plan for the night: drink lots of martini's and experience the VodBox.  The VodBox at Nik's is literally a giant refrigerator filled with bottles and bottles of Vodka from all over the world.  Obviously, it was freezing in the VodBox so we put on parkas and hats before stepping in.  Out Vodkatour (I am pretty sure I misspelled that) Allyson was amazing! Very personable, extremely funny and lovely to have with us.  We sampled vodka that tasted like gummy bears, carmel and butterscotch and our favorite was the blood orange.  The entire experience was amazing. I highly recommend everyone to try this at least once in their life.  Food was top notch as well! Great filet mignon, amazing lamb, super tasty rib eye, and succulent duck.. O.M.G. oh, yeah.. their martini's... so good with a great balance of flavors.

Martini's

Hummus, Olives, Feta, Grilled Artichokes, Pita Bread

Nik's Famous Oysters

Duck

London Broil 

VodBox baby!

Mastro's Steakhouse

Wow it has been way too long since my last update! Epic fail on my part but so much has happened since my last post! I had many foodie adventures and I was extremely excited to share them with you all.  I made braised short ribs for the first time, made beef stroganoff with leftover short rib meat and ate at Bottega Louie.  But I was swamped with endless piles of paperwork from work! :(

Also, I got a Macbook!!! Very exciting!!! But I am sad to say that because of the change I have lost ALL my foodie adventure photos!!! :( So I am starting from scratch again.... no worries though! All is well :)

I was able to savage a few photos because they were still saved on my PC, so at least I have that.  So, for the past few months, I have been wanting treat my family out to a fancy steak dinner and at the time I was debating between Cut by Wolfgang Puck and Mastro's Steakhouse.  Both, I would say are excellent choices and needless to say.. I had a hard time deciding but I ultimately went with Mastro's.

I am glad we went to Mastro's.  My family had the opportunity to get dressed up and eat very well.  This was the first time in a long time my Mom went out to dinner with us.  My Mom is way old school, she doesn't believe in dining out often.  She would tell us, "Why go out for dinner when we can make dinner at home? It's going to be cheaper and you know our food will taste better." Most of the time... she was right.. Moms.. they always have the answers.  Enjoy the photos and I promise I will start blogging more often!!!

Seafood Platter of Tiger Shrimp and Oysters 

Steak Tartar with capers, shaved parmesan, cesar salad with a very strong anchovy flavor and toasted bread  

Wagyu Tomahawk Steak- hands down THE best steak of the night but it comes with a steep price tag, $98.00 but it can be shared!!! 

Close up of the Tomahawk

Rack of Lamb

Bone-in Rib Eye Steak- very good, even though my piece was a little chewy.  I loved the nice crust on the steak.  

Halibut Steak with lemon: very moist and tasty

Family Style Sides- Garlic Mushrooms, Creamed Corn, Asparagus, Sauteed Spinach and Lobster Mashed Potatoes. All worth a try.  

Bread Basket- loved the pretzel bread!

Since Mom came to dinner we wanted to celebrate the moment! Happy Non-Birthday Mom!

Mastro's Famous Butter Cake- Butter, Sugar, Ice Cream... need I say more?

Flourless Chocolate Cake- It tasted like fudge and was a bit too rich for me that night

Mastro's is a dimly lit restaurant, so GG showed me that the flash was way too bright! 

One person that enjoyed the bread basket more than anyone: GG.. yay for cracker like flatbread! 

GG and my Mom

Drago Centro and Syrup

This year for my birthday, I didn't want to do anything too extravagant and over the top.  I had mixed feelings about this year... celebrating 26 years on this Earth after all... I know 26 isn't a high number, and I have so much to look forward to, but nonetheless.. I got some of the birthday blues.  So after a bit of convincing I decided to DO IT UP! At the end of this month, I will be having a co-celebration with my dear friend Chef ChaCha and our very good friends will be joining us.  On the day of my birthday, 2 of my friends, David and Cruz, wanted to take me out to Bottega Louie in DTLA.  I was extremely excited!!! I had never been to Bottega Louie and had been dying to go.  We got there about 9pm and there was an hour and a half wait.  I would have stayed and waited, but at that point I was going to pass out from starvation (not exactly the type of attention I wanted on my birthday).  So after some quick thinking and yelping, Cruz suggested Drago Centro, an upscale Italian restaurant. The service was friendly and prompt but the food... to die for.  I had THE BEST pasta experience I have EVER had.  It was one of those foodie moments that you think about days after you leave the restaurant.  Its been weeks now, I am still think fondly of my experience at Drago Centro.   Even though it's a pricey joint, it was worth every pretty penny.  In case you want to check it out: Drago Centro

l’insalata di farro: farro, chick peas, olives, pancetta, champagne vinaigrette.  This is NOT what I expected when I ordered this salad.  I was expecting a regular salad with mixed greens as one of the main components, but this was a great surprise and I enjoyed every tasty morsel!  I loved the crispy pancetta placed on top!   

il salmone: salmon, crispy polenta, asparagus, peas, salsif.  The salmon had a great sear and tasted great! I loved the crispy polenta that is wrapped up!

la bistecca: new york steak, rapini, pomme delphine, saltimbocca sauce.  A favorite at the table a well!

THE REASON I fell in love with Drago Centro.  gli spaghetto allo scoglio: made with hard durum spaghetti, seafood ragout, spicy tomato, herbs. THE BEST PASTA I HAVE EVER EATEN!! In house made pasta was amazing! The pasta had a great chew or bite to it, the sauce has amazing depth of flavor and seafood was cooked to perfection! Just blogging about it makes me want to go back! Yes, it was that damn good!

After dining at Drago Centro we ventured over to Syrup Desserts. It was a great way to end the night and the atmosphere was very relax and you could tell they wanted people to stick around.  This bi-level dessert shop had a variety of board games tucked on a shelf for patrons to enjoy.

A portrait of DTLA painted on the upper level of the shop, if you look closely, you can see the games on the right side

amazing friends that took me on foodie adventures for my birthday!

Strawberry Shortcake.... yummmmmmmers

What does a girl want for her birthday? How about a birthday crepe and we call it a day. :)

Chicken Pot Pie

For the past few months, I have been bombarded with paperwork from work.  It is a part of my job so I try not to complain about it, and hey, I have a job, so I am happy.  But nonetheless, I get overwhelmed and frustrated at times with all this crazy paperwork.  So my escape from it all is to cook my little heart out.  I am usually not super confident in my cooking and there are a few things here and there that I am actually pretty good at.  One of those things: Chicken Pot Pie.  One of my favorite meals that is eaten out of a bowl.  I do little things here an there to change up my recipe and spice things up, but the main components are pretty consistent.  I always have a mixture of white and dark meat from a chicken, onions, mushrooms, chicken stock, some heavy cream and puff pastry dough.  I also add a variety of spices depending on my mood and what I have on hand.  Since I was swamped with paperwork, I cut some corners and bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco and frozen puff pastry dough.  I was happy with the results and my only regret is that I did not get a picture of the filling.  (Once that pie was done, I dug into it as soon as it was safe enough to eat!)

I made 4 pot pies and these were the ones that puffed up perfectly! The 4th needed some more love in the oven, so I popped it in while taking this photo.  Pot Pie consisted of: white and dark meat chicken, sauteed onions, garlic, mushrooms, sweet corn, a bit of heavy cream, chicken stock and paprika that was cooked in a pot prior to baking in the oven.  After filling the ramekins, I topped them with puff pastry dough, brushed on an egg wash and chives, then sent them into the oven.  20 minutes later they were ready! :)

This pot pie didn't fully puff up and there was a break in the dough while baking.  But I found it so beautiful. Plus it was a little peek-a-boo moment for the pie saying to me, "Hey, check me out! I am beautiful inside."  I added some sliced up baked potatoes rubbed with paprika, garlic salt and Cajun spices served with chives and Greek yogurt.  

Lomo Saltado

Lomo Saltado... a staple in Peruvian cuisine, that also happens to be one of my friend David's favorite foods.  When my dear friend found out that I had never tried Lomo Saltado, he quickly picked me up and brought me to his favorite place, Los Balcones del Peru in Los Angeles.  The entire meal was incredibility flavorful and I was inspired to make Lomo Saltado at home! 

The purple drink that is made with maze (I can't remember the name of it) and Inca Cola , both really yummy!

Ceviche BP (left to right): Ceviche with thinly sliced red onions, yucca and yam, Calamari. Supper Supper Yummy!! 

The dish that inspired me to make my own: Lomo Saltado! The fries soaked up the juices from the steak and veggies.  So so good!

My version of Lomo Saltado.  I looked up a few recipes, took the general ingredients and played around with it.  It came out great and I was so happy! I used Rib Eye Steak (marinated in rice vinegar, soy sauce, oil, garlic and pepper), tomatoes, sliced red onions (also marinated in the same marinate as the steak) and baked potato fries.  I will be making this again!! :) 

Corkbar

It has been way too long since my last post! I have been swimming in paperwork for work and barely caught up! So the few moments I do have to myself.. I have decided, it is time to update!

A while back I went to Corkbar in Los Angeles with a few good friends.  It was amazing on so many levels and I will let the photos do all the talkin'!

Menu

one of the wines we ordered that night

Cheese Plate!! Yummy Yummy Cheesy Goodness..

Cured Meats Plate... no words can describe how amazing this was!

Root Beer Braised Short Ribs served on top of Cheesy Polenta.  The meat was so tender! One of my fav's for sure

Tri Tip Salad

Hanger Steak, medium rare served on top of buttery mashed potatoes

Banana Bread Pudding.. yum!

The damage.. NOTHING was left.. my belly was very happy :)