JoeAnn's Corner

I know this is quite the drive but if you have a car or happen to be in the San Gabriel Valley - this is totally worth the drive. While Din Ta Fung is an an Asian based chain - there are only 2 locations in North America - right next to each other in Arcadia!

I know there are other dumpling places - but this place consistently delivers in regards to intact dumplings. While Mei Long's flavors taste better - their dumplings are always broken - which defeats the purpose of soupy dumplings. The wait at DTF can be quite atrocious but I find coming at 10:30am-11am means less of a wait. We can once the day after Christmas - around 6pm and the wait was 2 hours. Timing is critical here if you don't want to wait but there are benches and ledges to sit on if you have to.

To start we always grab an appetizer - yes that is what is called on the menu. This is just a tasty combination of tofu, bean sprouts, and some other veggies! Plus it will hold you over from the long wait till when the dumplings come.

The most popular are the juicy pork dumplings, which I personally love. However, my personal favorite has to be the fish dumplings. They literally have pieces of fish fillets in the dumplings along with the broth.



There are sides of soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and hot sauce. Everyone has a personal combo - mine is heavier on the soy sauce. You can then dunk and slather the dumpling - I am just a dunker but this photo is from the hubby. In case you are wondering - you use your chopsticks as well as your soup spoon to scoop this nom nom dumpling into your mouth.


In addition, I really like their pork fried rice which is very simple as well as their rice cakes, which are seriously the bomb. Enjoy the photos and if you have other dumplings suggestions - please let me know!

Heaven, yes, heaven, 1/2 of those dishes were simply WOW and the rest were spectacular. First a shout out to Starry Kitchen, our very good friends from Texas who have simply had a spectacular year breaking into the Los Angeles food scene. They were able to get the reservation and invite us and even bought the wine :-).

Where to start except with the concept - Ludo Levebvre, one of the of top chefs of the world, believes in amazing food at an affordable price. He does this through going into pre-established restaurants to serve dinner, when they are not usually open. Ludo describes this as guerilla style pop up restaurants called a "bistronomy". We went when LudoBites was at Gram & Pappas in the downtown fashion district.

We went through the entire menu, 3 bottles of wine & an epic dining experience. Since we went through so many dishes - I will only highlight standouts according to my culinary taste buds!

The photo at the top is of the brie with a little bit of honeycomb - simply spectacular. The flavor combination is amazing - that little bit of honeycomb simply puts this dish over the top in regards to flavor combination.

Burgundy Escargot with a garlic flan - yes savory full of flavor and amazing - I wish I had words to this justice.


Foie Gras Black Croque Monsieur - wow amazingness wrapped between bread but to call it is a sandwich is a crime against foodality.



Squid Carbonara - enough said right. Wow this dish was incredibly creative. Utilizing extremely tender squid as the "pasta" for this incredible dish. It was topped off with an egg as well pieces of bacon.



The chocolate souffle - nothing to say about this except that every bite was
literally heaven. Soft, fluffy, chocolatey (yes I know it is not a word). Even though this was the last dish on the table, I managed to finish every bite.



This is us at the end, happy and full with the amazing chef Ludo on his birthday and his beautiful wife along with the Kitchen Ninja, her hubby as well as myself and my partner in crime!

No not The Grove. I usually head to the Brentwood Farmer's Market as it is close and has some damn good food. We have been trying to eat many different types of food there. They have Thai BBQ, gyros, LA street dogs (bacon wrapped hot dogs) and the list could go on.

Today the highlight are the oh so tasty pupusas. The ones pictured above are made from chicken and cheese.

In case you don't know, a pupusa is a traditional Salvodorian dish made of a heavy tortilla and filled with a mix of meat and cheese. The ones we get from the market also come with cabbage slaw as well as some salsa on the side. Delicioso!

Now as all know - BBQ can be quite controversial. Being born and raised in Texas, I am all about the beef bbq with very little sauce. I have to say for pork BBQ, Memphis was all levels of amazing - just very different from Texas BBQ. As far as I am concerned good BBQ does not need sauce - however, a little bit of sauce is okay especially if it is the Saltlick sauce. If you happen to be in Texas specifically the Austin / San Antonio area - drive out to to the original in Driftwood as the other locations do the meat no justice.

Basic Information:

18300 FM 1826
Driftwood, TX 78619

Restaurant: 512-858-4959

Driftwood Hours: Open every day 11am to 10pm

Saltlick ribs literally are to do die for. Tender, smoky, meat is literally falling off of the bone. No words can describe these - writing about it makes me want to salivate. Their brisket has been smoked for hours and is super tender and very moist. The sausage is truly exceptional. I am not sure what they use for the casing of the meat. As you can see despite being a BBQ purist - we love the sauce!

If you are an Ex of the University of Texas - the alumni group out here in SoCal does fly Saltlick out for an annual BBQ once a year - ping me and I can send you more information. Not as good as the original but good BBQ by the ocean is nothing to sneeze about!

First things - valet here is only $2.50 or you can street park - also there is no sign that says Honey Pig - there is simply a sign with a pig on it.

Starting, I want to openly acknowledge that I am not an expert. I can only guide you through the experiences that I have had as a foodie. I know there are raging debates on all you can eat versus not for Korean BBQ, different types of meat and the list could go on right!

However, my experiences with Honey Pig are epic in my mind for a number of reasons. First the pork belly - what else can I describe about this experience except tasting probably the best most epic bacon of your life. Second reason - kim chi fried rice on the grill.

Okay so some meat highlights of this place - obviously the pork belly - the regular is very tasty, no need to upgrade unless you want too.

This is my friend Korrin getting ready to go in for the kill!!



The marinated beef tongue is the bomb - this does cook very quickly though so be aware of that.

Sides include bean sprouts and kim chi that get thrown on the grill - below is a photo illustrating that including the steak.

While I normally don't like kim chi - I think I might slowly be picking it up. Hot kim chi is certainly different from regular colder kim chi so give it a shot - you never know!

Also for my K-town BBQ newbies - you can dip the meats into the different sauces, wrap it in the rice paper or lettuce and throw in some sprouts or kim chi and toss it down to the tummy :-).

I have heard many things about Parks BBQ and will let you know when that happens and how it goes!

Ramen on the westside = Santaouka broth heaven. Santouka is located in the Mitsuwa supermarket food court located at Venice & Centinela. While this is a Japenese chain, there is a reason why it is so popular. Heads up - Mitsuwa has wierd hours so I believe they close at 7pm and it is cash only.

My personal favorite is the spicy miso ramen. The salty ramen is also incredibly tasty. The broth here is simmered for hours on end. With the morsel of pork and seaweed, floating among the homemade ramen noodles, this is a perfect snack on a rainy or chilly day. I also highly recommend the egg for no other reason then it taste good!

Since today is a rainy Los Angeles day - high recommend for the rest of the week! This is usually what the bowl will look like when we are super hungry!

This post is dedicated to Starry Kitchen. Very good friends of ours turned a passion into a job. Last year they had an underground restaurant in their apartment and a year later they have this. A restaurant in the California Plaza in downtown LA - only open for lunch M-F serving spectacular home cooked Asian fusion foods.

So many foods - too little words. First the concepts, they have a rotating schedule of "proteins" that you can select, then you can pick your vessel, which can be a salad, banh mi (baguette style bread), a wrap, or a lunch plate with rice.

First the Hoisin Hamburger in a banh mi style - wow. The flavors of the meat being marinated with the hoisin combined with the slightly pickeled vegetables with the spicy mayo sauce equal food flavor explosion.
These are hands down my absolutely favorite from SK - Crab Cakes - made from imitation crab, lightly fried with amazing amazing flavors - these are a winner. I recently found out they have jalepenos in them which explains the spicy kick that they have. They can come as a side or as a protien, that is when you can get them!


I was a little nervous when Thi and Nguyen went from apartment style restaurant to the big leagues but wow what a transition! I have been going religiously every week minus one off week for over a month now. Keep in mind this is a drive from the UCLA campus to downtown LA in lunch traffic - yes that is the draw. Great home-cooked Asian fusion cannot be beat! Can't wait to head out Wednesday to see the options!