JoeAnn's Corner

Hey all,

As many of you know, grad school is currently kicking me in the butt. However, in moving we have transitioned from eating out a lot to cooking a lot. I also know many of you still live on-campus but for those who have a kitchen - this will be a great place for easy cooking! Therefore while the blog will still review restaurants within the greater Los Angeles area as well as wherever we travel, I'll also be featuring recipes that cook everyday as well.

I am also committed to blogging more regularly, at least once a week so look out! If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments section!

JoeAnn

934 Hermosa Avenue
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254-4122
(310) 374-3747

Since moving down to the Southbay, we have been looking for a replacement to our local Westwood favorite, Sprazzo's. Utilizing yelp one night while I was having an Italian craving, we decided to check this place out. My other half and a friend (visiting from SF) & I chose this place based on the prospect of homemade pastas. I mean really not many places offer this so it was the top choice!

FYI - they do have parking in the garage in the driveway right past the restaurant and plenty of metered spots as well.

First the crusty fresh hot bread. Really I think some of the best breads I have had - just warm and fresh. You can either dip in olive oil or slather in butter - which for me is dependent on whether I have been running :-). After the bread, we decided on our entrees. We read quite a bit about the homemade pastas so with three of us we ordered the bolognese, lasagna, and gnocci. The pastas were incredible and the gnocci second only to Osteria Mozza. If you are craving lasagna, this is the place where it taste homemade and yet so much better! The hubby's bolognese was also comforting with just enough meat in the sauce, we are from Texas!


We have been back a few times going for many of the specials they have. They have some pretty fabulous deserts including a chocolate pyramid - I only remember heaven plus berries in the taste! Above was a strawberry creme brulee that was yummo - I think they make their own whipped creme!

All in all, this is our fave new Italian in the southbay!

Our loving friends from Starry Kitchen got another reservation at LudoBites 6.0 and of course Chef Ludo once again wowed. I have so much respect for him as a chef, he is innovative and inspired. He utilizes different techniques and with different flavors that truly is the mark of a chef who is on the leading edge of his field and the creativity that distinguishes him from other chefs.

An example being his mackarel - he used a blow torch on this fish, which created a different texture and flavor for the fish. Different and innovative.

Standouts from this round include the Kim Chi Steak (featured above), the phenomenal fois gras, and for me suprisingly the veal ravioli.

While the fois gras as a tad bit gamey (I am not a huge fan of game flavor) the combination of the flavors was exceptional as well as the execution of the dish.

The veal ravioli was like comfort food. The ravioli was in a broth and the veal was suburb. Sort of like an Italian version of Wonton soup - simple and let so comforting in addition to amazing flavors! The execution of every dish was simply phenomenal.



The panna cotta was simply heaven in your mouth. Best desert ever! The panna cotta was very well prepared, the caviar on top was unbelievable. The combination of the two, sweet and salty wow. No words.




Again in love with Ludo! Since he is going on the road - I hope others will have a chance to experience his amazing cooking!

We finally broke out of the Honey Pig rut - nothing wrong with that :-). We did try to new places that were charcoal based - Soo Won & Parks.

Ummmmm ummmmm tasty - review coming this weekend!!!

So after much hype and fanfare from friends, we branched out to try Park's BBQ.

It is in a shopping center with valet for $2 - totally worth it in K-town. So Park's is charcoal based, which I have to say adds a lot of flavor to the meat. I am pretty positive I am a charcoal convert at this point in my Korean BBQ eating career :-).

Restaurant Information:
955 S Vermont Ave # D
Los Angeles, CA 90006-1647

So I am a bit particular with how I eat my BBQ. I like the oil based sauce with salt and pepper which they did not have as well as the rice papers (they were out).

However, the meat quality was excellent - very very good - as in the best I have had. We got the Waygu, seasoned kalbi, pork belly.

My personal favorite was the pork belly. We also threw some kim chi on the grill as well, which was pretty tasty. They also have a really good steamed egg dish. However, since our Korean friend ordered, we were not able to get the recommended meats - it seems the unseasoned meats are their specialty.

Their sides were pretty decent - I love the pickled cucumber. Of course our friends had some Hite - I am not a beer drinker, plus more room for the meat :-).


We are definately coming back to try more meat! Will keep y'all updated!

LudoBites 6.0 tonight so more to come later especially after I am free of the school bond December 10th.

So we went to NYC for the first time last December during the holiday season. It was an incredible trip and truly the only city that rivals LA in terms of food in my opinion. We had a list of over 50 NYC places to eat from friends and family. We'll be going back again soon as we love visiting!

Above - my dreams and what I crave while here in Los Angeles. Seriously - the pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli is just unbelievably tender and moist and literally melts in your mouth. The most amazing pastrami ever. And of course going in December when it is nice and cold, we got some Matzo ball soup. With all the walking you do in NYC - you can eat whatever you want! And that is exactly what we did!

Information:
205 East Houston Street (corner of Ludlow St)
New York City, 10002

The one meal that both the hubby and I still talk about and miss like crazy would be the pizza though. We met up with some friends on 1st street at Luzzo's.

Information:
211-213 First Ave.
New York, NY 10003

The pizza crust was so thin, the toppings so fresh and amazing, and they had an amazing sauce! It was like olive oil with hot peppers that you drizzled onto the pizza - omg so tasty and amazing!

We were fans of Chicago from the hubby working there for about 4 months - no more. It is NY pizza all the way now!

Below was a prosciuitto pizza with some arugula on top - wowza. The crust was super super super thin and the ingredients all came together in your mouth!

Sigh - maybe we'll plan a trip back this summer! There were so many food adventures there, I could write for a while. Let's just wait till the next NYC post!

So I know many of my readers are from Cali so I will put this disclaimer that Tex-Mex is totally different then Cali-Mex and different then authentic Mexican. It is totally unique in my opinion.

We flew into Houston around lunchtime and texted a good friend asking about the best Tex-Mex in town as we are not from there. She mentioned two restaurants and we picked Lupe Tortilla based on location as we were staying by the Galleria.

We pull up and immediately the partner was like whoa - I know this place, I can't believe I forgot about it. The place has very cheesy cute decorations like sombrero lights but still is so cute.

First and foremost we had to start with the margaritas because anyone who has had a Texas margarita knows those are the best! I had 1/2 of a cup and could not even finish it sadly - yes light weight! Phenomenal especially with salt and on the rocks.

The homemade salsa here was too die for and oddly but in a good way, they also had pinto beans with just a little bit of pork in it. It might not sound awesome but let me assure you, dipping chips into these amazing beans were surreal. Sooooo super tasty! Of course, after we demolished the first batch of chips, I had to stop or ruin my appetite.




Fajitas - holy moly seriously omg. Yes the beef and shrimp were sizzling, because the were cooked on the platter - not just placed on it after it was already cooked, which is what so many places outside of Texas do.

The sizzle alone makes you salivate. The homemade salsa, the freshly made tortillas that come out warm, the guacamole - especially the warm tortillas. There is something to be said about fresh warm tortillas that were just made.



All in all - it was a productive eating trip to Texas based on this meal alone!