JoeAnn's Corner

Beard Papas - Japanese chain with random locations throughout the US, primarily California, Hawaii, Washington and some tri-state area stores.

Here in LA - there is one off of Sawtelle & Olympic in West LA. There is a validated garage to park in. The one at Hollywood and Highland = nasty. Don't go there. West LA = awesome clean and nice!

Creme puffs - really tasty creme puffs. They get filled up with custard when you order and the best part is there is an array of different custards. I usually go with the traditional vanilla but green tea is a close second favorite. They also have chocolate and other flavors depending on the day.

We usually buy a 6 pack of creme puffs and down it in one day. They really don't keep more then a day so only order what you can eat in that day! Oh and don't chock on the powdered sugar they sprinkle on top as you stuff your face :-). I am of course not speaking from personal experience :-p

2002 Manor Road
Austin, TX
I think many of you know my Texas roots! I was born and raised in good ole East Texas and yes I still have the twang when I go back especially to my hometown! This is the kinda food that really is the heart and soul of Texas to me. Good ole southern soul food! It definitely adds a little bit of fat to the hips but hey its worth it right :-).

Above you will see my stand by, the chicken fried chicken. So many from Cali ask if this is fried chicken and as you can see the answer is no! It is actually chicken that has been tenderized, breaded and then fried! Top it off with some white gravy and good ole fried okra! Delicious! For the record, I can eat about 1/2 of that and there are always leftovers!

Below is the Aus-Tex wings. These are super spicy with a bbq flavor. Great starter!


Their BBQ sausage here is really good! And I do mean really good. Lots of seasonings to the point where you do not need any sauce at all! Note the amazing sweet potatoes on the side! They are sweet gooey oodles of goodness! The green beans are flavored with bacon too!


Last but certainly not least - the game changer, the winner, the sweet stuff of people's dreams - drumroll please! The blackberry cobbler - a seasonal speciality that will melt in your mouth and make you want to cry when you can't get it! Okay so maybe I am talking it up a tad - suffice to say if you go and see it on the menu, get it!

For those who happen to be driving up the coastline or are in the Central Coast - this is a gem of a find in Morro Bay. The hubby's company is headquartered up in San Luis Opispo (SLO) so occasionally we make the drive up the coast. This was a recommendation from one of the hubby's co-worker who knows his food! Morro Bay is a tiny little town about 20 minutes north of SLO.

The restaurant is in downtown Morro Bay and owned by a husband wife team. Shawn (the chef) was cooking at a Ritz Carlton in Laguna Beach before deciding to move up to Morro Bay. The restaurant itself seats maybe about 40 folks and is very warm and inviting! I have never seen anyone but Shawn making our food so I think he is pretty much there when they are open.

Here is the basic information:
912 Main St

Morro Bay, CA 93442

(805) 772-1059
The restaurant also has a pretty decent list of wines and are supportive of the local wineries in the area. We typically do their wine flights as it is a great way to try different local wines at a great price!

Below you will find Shawn's take on bruschetta with the balsamic vinegar drizzled on top of the tomatoes and crisp bread! The photo does this dish no justice! Seriously :-)



Another standout appetizer was the seared tuna! As you can see the tuna is perfectly seared and resting on some cabbage with a soy sauce based sauce! Shawn's on Main stands out not only for their perfectly executed food but also the sauces that Shawn makes from scratch! Cabbage is nothing special but this cabbage is due to the sauce!

Now onto the Pièce de résistance - yes I know I love my desert but this this - I dream of this English chocolate toffee cake. There have many many times I have thought of driving the three hours to Morro Bay just for this - there are no words just heaven on a plate.


FYI we have driven out of our way just to get a meal at this amazing little gem in Morro Bay - you should too! :-)

Here is the link to their website where you can find out where they are!

I know for sure there are locations in Dallas, Houston & Austin though! There are also two airport locations - one in the Houston airport and one in Dallas so if you have a long layover :-)

Above is my favorite and I mean favorite appetizer - fried alligator! Don't be apprehensive - this is like fried chicken but way more moist!

And yes I know this is a chain but good chains are cool by me (meaning tasty)!

Right here is the winner that I get a lot - not quite everytime though! It is the crawfish plate with 1/2 crawfish and 1/2 crawfish etoufee. Now for those of you who are not from the south, I can honestly say these lil guys are so tasty with tons of flavor! They are related on the lobster and live in freshwater! Really the most important thing is that they are tasty tasty tasty whether fried or in an etoufee!

At Pappadeax, you can expect pretty good Cajun food! I will put a disclaimer and say that I am not from Louisiana but next door Texas does have quite a bit of Cajun cuisine!

When we moved to Redondo Beach last year, we went out to eat to avoid the moving boxes and found this local gem. This was right around the corner, from our new place (at the time).

We walked in the owner came over mentioned he had never seen us there before. We told him we just moved into the area, next thing you know he came back over with a $10 gift card and welcomed us to the neighborhood! We felt so welcomed and to top it off the food was top notch. Having lived in WLA for a while, it was quite the treat to be treated as an individual at a family owned restaurant!

Turquoise

We were meeting a friend and wanted a 1/2 point between West LA and Redondo Beach and through yelp, which I take with a grain of salt, we decided to come to the Oceanview Cafe in Manhattan Beach. Naturally as with any beach town, parking is mostly metered through downtown MB does have some parking lots - http://www.ci.manhattan-beach.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=703 -

Above you will see delicious and I mean delicious hash browns. They were the perfect amount of crispy and a bit mealy on the inside! This would be the biggest reason I came back!

229 13th St
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 545-6770

The view is quite nice - you can see a slice of Manhattan Beach as the restaurant is towards the top of a hill! Everything else was pretty decent - the bacon was nice and thick but not too fatty!

I would come back as it is a great little place with a fabulous view and decent brunch!

So if you are visiting the LA area and want to swing by Malibu, this is the place! First and foremost the drive up is very scenic in many places - not all though. You will be taking the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica all the way up and it is a little trafficy at times. However, Malibu Seafood is worth the drive for certain dishes! Above are the fish taquitos that I think are really great with some pico de gallo on the side!

Some logistics, there is parking on the side as well as the back on the building. There is a paid parking lot for some state park on the right too - it is $5. Some folks will actually park on the side of PCH and walk in but I don't recommend crossing PCH as it is busy and cars go pretty fast.

The actual store is more like a small hut with a seafood market on the inside. However, there are three seating areas all with beautiful views of the ocean. If it is cold, the top seating area is the best as they usually have it enclosed

Malibu Seafood
25653 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA(310) 456-3430

The first time I came here was with a good friend who knows good food. We went hiking for several hours in Malibu so needless to say we were starving by the end of the hike. My friend suggested the Ahi Tuna burger - well she more insisted that I must get it actually! This was a very well made burger - it is not something that you would travel across the world for but sometimes you might get a craving!


They also have a squid steak burger that is quite interesting. If you are into adventerous foods - that might be something you should go for.

We have not gotten a ton of the fried seafood but we did get fried clams once (see below) and they were really fresh and tasty! Overall a fun side adventure within the greater LA area!!!!