food – Page 7

Saturdays at the 4th Street Market

February 25, 2015February 24, 2015Leave a comment

Ever since visiting the Anaheim Packing House, I am obsessed with open dining complexes! When I heard about the new 4th Street Market in Santa Ana, I couldn’t wait to go! When I heard there was a Portola Coffee Lab there, I knew I had to go there, NOW!

Obviously, my first stop was Portola Coffee Lab. I ordered the Gaspar which is their version of a cortado. There is a reason that Portola has been chosen as Roaster of the Year. From the sourcing, to roasting, to brewing, everything is done with craft and care. Their goal is to serve only the utmost quality brewed beverages to their customers, and that they do! Click here to learn more: http://www.portolacoffeelab.com/index.html

It’s okay. You’re allowed to drool. This was the second reason I needed to rush here! Long story short, Wagyu Chuck is 1 of several food stands in the market from Jason Quinn, the culinary genius behind Playground and Dough Exchange. After seeing the ‘Double’ on Instagram, I knew that I had to give it a try. It was like In-N-Out’s Double Double on steroids. The meat was of the utmost quality and the over-the-top cheese and sauce were absolutely FANTASTIC! I have craved this burger every second of every day since taking my last bite.

INSIDER TIP: I will be going back for the $14 burger, which takes up a mysterious blank space on the menu. Rumor has it, it is THE Playground burger.

This fried chicken was easily the biggest surprise for me. This fried chicken could not have gotten more perfectly crisp on the outside and more perfectly moist on the inside. YUM YUM YUM! The first taste that hits the tongue is definitely cinnamon sweetness, but it’s immediately cut by the perfect combination of Southwestern spices. The coleslaw was perfectly sweet and acidic and a great accompaniment to the chicken.

Click here to learn more: http://4thstreetmarket.com/pfc/

This market has transformed Downtown Santa Ana and has given people a whole new reason to explore the burgeoning area. There are still several vendors that I need to try and I can’t wait to go back!

Click here to learn more about the 4th Street Market: http://4thstreetmarket.com/

Grand Central Market Favorites – Pt. II

February 7, 2015February 7, 2015Leave a comment

I already did a post on Grand Central Market awhile ago, but there is so much changing and too many vendors to try that I wanted to highlight more of my favorites!

I have been eyeing DTLA Cheese on my last couple of trips, but was always too full by the time I made my way back to them. I finally tried one of their signature dishes, and I’m so glad I did! The Burrata Toast comes with a large serving of the creamy cheese, two small pieces of toasted bread, arugula, and the most amazing sun-roasted tomatoes I have ever tasted! This dish is great to share with friends, but I highly recommend springing for some extra bread.

Next stop, Belcampo Meat Co. for some meaty goodness! The varietal menu makes it a difficult choice, but luckily, I had some help. My boyfriend highly recommended the Lamb Belly sandwich, so I had to give it a try. The pulled lamb belly comes with harissa aioli, arugula, and cilantro. I’m kind of picky when it comes to lamb because once you’ve had a perfectly cooked lamb dish, all of the rest pale in comparison even if they are good. This lamb sandwich is right up there with the best of them! On weekends, keep in mind, they have a brunch AND lunch menu that they change over quite late in the day, so know what you want and go at the right time.

Now on to the Piece de resistance. Wexler’s Deli literally changed my entire world view on Pastrami and Corned Beef! It’s not that I didn’t like it before, there was just nothing that ever blew me away. Until now. These sandwiches are melt-in-your-mouth amazing! The line is always long, but the service goes by quickly and it is definitely worth the wait!

I recommend visiting the market on a weekend for lunch. This way, everything is open and it’s great for people-watching. For more information, visit http://www.grandcentralmarket.com/.

LA Magazine’s Best New Restaurants of 2014

January 25, 2015Leave a comment

Last week, I was lucky enough to attend Los Angeles Magazine’s Best New Restaurants party at LOT 613 in the Arts District. Last year’s celebration was full of delicious bites, wine and cocktails, a beautiful venue, and a fun crowd, so I was definitely looking forward to this year’s event!

The venue was a lot more spread out in terms of food booths. There were a couple in the main room, a few more in the loft area, and the last couple outside along with the bar, coffee station, and etching table for your complimentary wine glasses from Infiniti.

As for the food, I truly loved the choices that the chefs made this year! Keep reading for the full list:

MB Post served a pork and shrimp dumpling. Due to my shrimp allergy, I was unable to indulge, but my boyfriend quite liked it! Their restaurant is definitely one of my favorites in the South Bay.

Mercado was serving cheese enchiladas and shrimp tacos. I’m allergic to shrimp, so I was unable to try the taco, but it was well received by the crowd. It was pastor marinated served with Oaxaca cheese, onions, cilantro, and chile de arbol salsa.The cheese enchilada was simple, but saucy.

Smoke.Oil.Salt served creative Spanish skewers with olives, Iberico pig and Atlantic cod. As a whole, the skewer was on the salty side, but very rich in flavor. The restaurant is known for their Paella Sundays, which is a must-try! For a full breakdown, see my post from last year: http://eatdrinklovejenna.com/2014/05/20/paella-sunday-at-smoke-oil-salt/.

I remember reading about Union last year, but the accolades seems a lot quieter than some of the other restaurants on the list. I have no idea why; their dish was one of my favorites. It was a burnt semolina capunti with duck sausage and fennel. It was awesome! I promised the chef I would be visiting ASAP because I wanted to try more of his creations!

Bestia served a crispy ciccioli with mustard creme fraiche, fennel, and a candied summer eggplant. It was a crispy, bite-sized burst of flavor. This was different from any other dish I have tried of theirs, so I was glad to experience more variety. I am too in love with their pasta dishes to try anything else when I visit.

My dad has been wanting to try Alimento for quite some time, so I was happy I was able to sample their dish and report back to him. They served a chicken liver crostini. The portion was perfect and the spread was creamy and rich.

Faith and Flower served a delicious lamb pierogi. It was small in size, but packed with flavor. I only wish there was more food to try. This establishment landed on countless ‘best new restaurants’ this year and I can see why.

Pine and Crane impressed me with their servings. I’m not a huge green tea fan, but their passion fruit infused jasmine green tea was so refreshing! I’m not a huge peanuts fan, but their spicy peanuts were so flavorful!

Scopa Italian Roots was serving yummy ricotta bread bites and festive dessert bites! Unfortunately, I was unable to try their pasta, which seemed to be one of the crowd favorites of the night. I hope to be able to dine with them in the future to experience the hype!

Night + Market Song served their Crispy Rice Salad. When I saw that they were serving a salad, I wasn’t excited. After tasting it, I felt quite silly for thinking that it would be underwhelming. It was delish! It also happens to be a choice on their DineLA menu, so I’m excited to be able to try it again tonight!

Last, but certainly not least, Republique served two dishes: a smoked eel fritter and their famous warm brioche bomboloni with hazelnut gelato. The eel fritter was my favorite bite of the night, besides the bomboloni! Republique definitely won my heart, and I already have a reservation for the first Saturday in February for an early Valentine’s Day dinner.

For the full list of this year’s winners, visit http://www.lamag.com/thebestnewrestaurants/best-new-restaurants-2014/.