Thank goodness I found this place. I LVOE YOU YELP! Something about this place is just so good. First, of all. Before you guys even decide to come here, which will happen, not that I am over hyping this place, but I'm pretty sure most of you guys probably had the food truck before. It's been a while since I last had the food truck, so I'm not quite sure if they have the same food. Back to the subject... Right when you find the restaurant, you realize that it's on a busy street. And for that matter, you gotta find that street parking aka dat meter parking. :( I hate that so much. Entering into the restaurant, its a small place. Maybe around 2 actual tables and bar tables on the rest of the eating area. There are two tables outside, but I prefer inside due to the random heat/cold recently. On the menu, there are all sorts of foods. There are different types of proteins and then you choose whether you want tacos, burritos, or rice bowl versions of those dishes. A lot of those different proteins have attacked different cultures from an Asian to American to Mexican to whatever. Pretty nice. Me being a rice lover, I chose the rice bowl of course. Also, if you have a preference of rice, there are white and brown rice. Other than those, there are more dishes available. I know there are salad options, but I don't quite remember, myself but who cares! I'm not tryna be healthy. There are also appetizers and sides. They have both TRUFFLE FRIES and GARLIC FRIES!!!!! I know, fantastic. Also, they have 3 of their special drinks: MANGO something, guava something and LYCHEE LEMONADE! On top of all of those, there are combo options. As for the foods that we ordered on our visit, this was it. Truffle Fries $5: Okay, I miss truffle fries. It was an excellent crunch with a nice softness inside. The flavor of the truffle oils and Parmesan cheese was delicious. It was a good amount of both that did not over power the actual potato taste. Lychee Lemonade $3: This was a new thing I've never tried and a must try. A well deserved purchase. It was a quite freshing drink of lemonade and lychee combined. It had the classic lemonade flavor with a lychee flavor twist. I don't know how they did it, unless they juiced a bunch of lychee and added it, but it was quite amazing! Komodo 2.0 (Rice bowl with Brown Rice) $10: This was bomb. It was a top sirloin steak with a jalapeno aioli and corn salad. The flavor had a slight spice with a citrusy taste. It was good without the rice and honestly, with chips it probably would be fantastic. Almost like a dip! Hahaha. Java (Rice bowl with White Rice) $10: It was a shredded pork with a nice salad. I felt like a pulled pork with Indonesian flavors. Overall, I would definitely come back to this place and try the other flavors. It is fantastic. In the words of the restaurant, it is definitely DANGEROUSLY GOOD FOOD! :)
1 Comment
Before you start reading this, I just want to let you all know that it was so disappointing. If you still want to continue on and read it more into detail, continue reading on, but if not, just read the next blog. Lol. Well, me and my girlfriend were pretty excited to get Taco Bell for once, and might as well try the New* Loaded Grillers since it just came out. So we picked up 2 of each (Loaded Potato, Chipotle Ranch Chicken, Beefy Nacho, and Special[Chili Cheese Fries]). Yes I know...a lot of food. Hahaha. If you want to see how it is inside, look at the slideshow below all this jiberjaber. First to be tried was the Chipotle Ranch Chicken. To be honest, it just tasted like cheese to me at first. I was so confused on what the flavor was, I felt like this burrito was just cheese and none of the flavors that was given. I was a bit ticked off, but then, once I narrowed down the flavors, I realized it actually did taste like Chipotle peppers and Ranch. It was okay. A lot of tortilla, barely chicken. Secondly, was the Special: Chili Cheese Fries. At first, i just had a bite of potato, so I thought, "OH! It's the loaded potato." But the weird part was you could barely taste the chili and once that taste filled my tongue, I was like, "I guess it's a wanna be chili cheese fry." The third "Loaded Griller" that entered my mouth was the Beefy Nacho. Okay, This one, I actually figured out. I just had to be obvious because narrowing down the flavors helped. It tasted like what it was advertised, except for one thing...I WANTED CRUNCHY RED TORTILLA STRIPS! I was so upset when it was just soft and limp. WACK. It tasted like fake ground beef. Haha. And lastly, it was surprisingly, it was kinda delicious. It was the Loaded Potato aka a wanna baked potato. At first you taste the potato, which was expected and then a bit of bacon bit action tags along, making it a better ride. I honestly don't know how it tastes like a bootleg baked potato, but it really does. So, if I had to choose between them all, I would say, the last one. Honestly, I just wanted to try it for the hell of it and it was slightly below okay. Note* This isn't suppose to bash Taco Bell's food, but it was just not up to how they advertise it. You know this place is good, if your girlfriend takes a picture of the drinks. Hahaha. But seriously though, Tierra Mia Coffee in Lynwood, CA is the place to be. There are multiple shops around the area, but we chose to go to the Lynwood location because it was closer to us.
Tierra Mia Coffee is an artisan coffee shop with a Latin American flair. It's been around for a while now, providing their customers with the best coffee and still the same tasting quality for many years. Their known for their flavors like Mocha Mexicano to that Horchata Frappe. In the Lynwood location, there is a small amount of parking, but I parked in the residential area. It will make it easier for you, unless you want to do the drive-thru and wait in the long ass line. Sike! But seriously, it's a long line. Right when you go inside, there's another line. Haha, but theirs a good amount of seating/tables inside and out, depending what ya feeling. For our choices in drinks below, we got the Mexicano Chocolate Frappe and the Horchata Frappe. The Mexicano Chocolate Frappe tasted just like Mexican Hot Chocolate with a Coffee Kick. It was so good. The Horchata Frappe threw me off so much, but it was quite tasty. It tasted just like a frozen Horchata with more cinnamon. If you don't know how Mexican Hot Chocolate or Horchata taste like, I suggest trying it first and then this after so you can realize the difference, but if ya lazy, try it anyways. It's sooo good! Other than drinks, they also have baked goods. The one's that stood out for me was the Horchata cupcake and the Tres Leches cupcake. I didn't get to try, but it looked bomb! Definitely a must try next time. I would suggest looking up which location is closer to you because since there's multiple locations, don't just drive to the Lynwood one. Either way, your drinks will always be that good. Phil's BBQ. What a different style of bbq. It's not Texas, it's not Memphis, it's San Diego style! My friends first told me about this a couple of years ago, and ever since I first tried it, I never gave a review/blog on it, so this is the perfect time. This place is big, and yet still gets a long line outside of the door that it eventually curves outside and ends up being near the store next to it. It's just that good! It looks like a more BBQish style (if there is a such thing) with wood tables, wood decorations, Americana kinda feeling. The workers are quite nice and helpful if you have any questions about the food, but as for me, I knew what I wanted before I even got to the restaurant. Right when we got there around 11:30am (Opened up at 11:00am), there was already a line outside the door. When I asked one of the workers, she was telling me that the line was already long before they even opened! Truly a masterpiece! As you go through the line, you happen to see the menu above so that you can prepare yourself prior to the order. The menu and pricing is below: I would say their specialty here is the ribs. I always make sure I get the baby back ribs. For this time, I also tried the "El Toro" which has thinly sliced grilled Tri-Tip in it and hella dredged in their house bbq sauce. Also, you can't forget about those Colossal Onion Rings. They are quite the treat. The food is below: One word, BOMB. These were quite a surprise in your mouth. If I had to describe the taste of their sauce, it would be more tangy sweet sauce. It was really something. The tri-tip was thinly sliced and yet, quite juicy. The sauce was absorbed into the bread and made the sandwich soo messy that I used up a ton of napkins. Hahaha. The ribs were amazing! They would easily fall off the bone, and had that smoke ring that was desired. I even prefer the chard taste of the bbq, which gave it a smokey taste. Yummers! The onion rings, the one thing I was craving for a long time was good. Kinda of greasy, but good. If I was right, I think they are more on the sweet side than other onion rings, and they weren't bread crumbs for the batter. They were more flour, if anything. I would definitely recommend this place, but I personally, wouldn't eat here all the time because I wouldn't want to ruin the taste of it for me. It is definitely a place worth coming to multiple times a year, or if I could have that for parties....ohhh mannnn. Come on out to Phil's BBQ where you will definitely leave full and happy!
Torihei is located in Torrance, CA along Carson Street if you are not familiar with it. This is a Japanese restaurant, and if you are unfamiliar with Japanese street food, you are in for a treat. I feel like this place has been here ever since I was little, but I don't know actually how long this place has been around. I just could of sworn seeing the words TORIHEI in the plaza with Koji BBQ and Mitsuwa. Haha. This restaurant specializes in all sorts of Japanese foods, from Chicken Gizzards to Ramen, but their main thing is Yakitori Robata dining. As for our first experience, me and my friend walked in, not realizing that this place is pretty small. Not so cramped, but just smaller than usual. It was kind of hard to get the workers attention to get a table, but it was just so busy when we went, that it was kind of understandable. Once we got a seat at the bar, there was a cup with these sheets of paper that was"technically" the menu and you would write the quantity of each item you wanted. They have a wide array of Japanese foods available so there has to be something you will like. The foods that we ordered are in the slideshow below. They were all pretty delicious, but it was just a different experience for us, especially the Chicken Skin in Ponzu. I don't think it was cooked, but quite delicious. I think all the yakitori would of been good that I will probably try it next time. It will definitely be a different experience if you want to try something new, especially if you want those cheap foods. We got to try all these different foods and more for around $30. I would say that's quite a deal!
At a point, after drinking so much boba, you want to try something new. After doing some research, I found a hidden gem in Wilmington, CA, and this place was called, "Hojas Tea House and Cafe." If you're trying something new, but still feeling the coffee or tea crave, you should come here. It is a new kind of drink.
When you're driving down the road, you might pass it because it's in a small plaza off to the corner of the street so pay attention to your driving. It's a small tea/coffee shop that has everyone here line up for their delicious drinks. The line actually almost passed out the door, so you know there's something good here. They have a wide selection of teas and coffees here, so there are plenty to try. I've heard many recommendations of green tea and the house chai, but I wanted to try something new, so I asked the workers on some recommendations. Jade got the Green Tea Coconut Infusion, and I tried the White Tea Blend. We got them both iced, but you always have the option to have it hot if you're not feeling it. The White Tea Blend was pretty tasty. It had a clean black tea taste to it with a more floral scent. I think it would be better if I tried it hot, but that's always for next time. The Great Tea Coconut Infusion was just like green tea with some coconut milk in it. I think in Jade's drink, they added a bit more coconut milk because you could barely taste the green tea, but other than that, I thought it was good. The drinks are shown below. I think next time I go, I wanted to try something else. I saw that if you had your drink there, the hot teas would come with the actual tea leaves or fruit in your drinks with a filter on top that prevents you from drinking in all the leaves and whatnot. I think that's pretty awesome. They even have pastries, cakes, or sandwiches there too, but personally, I would just go for the drinks. It looks like a great place to hang out with friends and catch up, or even do some studying in here. So I would recommend this place, definitely for something new to try. Welcome to Fil-Am 2. If you can't figure it out by the title, it's a Filipino American restaurant, but I would so consider it just a Filipino restaurant. Unless, it's because a lot of cultures outside of Filipinos come here, then yes. Yes, it is a Filipino American restaurant. How did we discover this place?? What a great question! Well, it started off with us finally arriving in the bay and wondering where we wanted to eat. So...we just checked a street not too far from our stay and walked around. Without a thought, we just pointed at this place and walked in. This is one of the greatest decisions that was made all weekend. When we arrived, it looked like a normal Filipino restaurant, or at least the vibe reminded me of what you would find in Carson. Haha. They just all seem so similar, where you walk up to the counter, say how many items you want, and just point and point and point. The staff were really nice and welcoming, which was a plus for us, outsiders. We didn't really know what to get, so we got the usual. Well, sad to say, I forgot which ones we got the first day..and yes, I said first day. Continuing... we also got the bbq. Too be honest, this is the best Filipino bbq on the stick I ever had and that says a lot. The pieces were big! The picture in the slideshow below doesn't serve justice to how big they are. Also, they were quite flavor with the smokey sweet slightly salty deliciousness that we call Filipino bbq, and can't forget it's quite juicy. Because of the first day, we had to come back the next morning because if they have good food during lunch, they have to have great breakfast there. Day 2: So we went back to Fil-Am 2 for breakfast at 8, but later found out that they actually opened up at 9. Generously as they are, they let us in earlier because they knew we were from LA and it was raining outside. Since it was quite, the parents got to chat it up with them while they were preparing the food, and what was served in the morning is shown in the slideshow below. There was pork longanisa, chicken tocino (my favorite), fried eggs, caldereta, beefsteak, and something I forgot. Lol. Also, (not shown in pictures) were the smoked bangus and the regular bangus. If you guys don't know what that is, it's a marinated milkfish in vinegar and garlic deliciousness. They were all good, and I'm still in love with that chicken tocino. When I got my food, I, of course got the chicken tocino and the beefsteak (shown in the pictures below). She was so nice and gave me extra food. She hella packed it, haha. She knew I was going to post my review on food on Yelp and whatnot, but it's all good. It was well deserved.
Chicken Tocino = a sweet, salty chicken Beefsteak = a salty lemony beef After out breakfast, we bought some bbq to bring back to So-Cal because it was too good that we had to share it with the rest of the family. For people new to the area of SF and want to try really good Filipino American food, I would definitely recommend coming here. I know, forsure that I will be back. Thank you Fil-Am 2 family for such a tasty treat! Man, Salt & Cleaver...who would of thought that you are a gourmet hot dog restaurant, but you are! This restaurant is actually quite lovely inside with a more dim look and feel. In the center is the bar and all around are seating with tables if you want to have a more intimate time with your party. Since we didn't make a reservation, and just wanted to eat, we went for the bar seating. The menu has a range of different foods, more bar/gastropub kind of foods are there. They have more simpler foods like their S&C fries but they even "different" foods like their shrimp & crab based sausage. You even have the option of creating your own sausage sandwich. I got a premade one called DUCK! DUCK! PIG! sausage. The picture is below (btw, sorry for the flash, but there was no other way to take the photo in that dark place) : Duck & bacon sausage, crispy duck confit, bacon-aze, orange ‘marmalade’ in their House Bun. By the way, it's pretty delicious. Personally, I felt that the Bacon portion of the sausage kind of overpowered the Duck part because I couldn't taste it. The duck confit though....sooo tasty. It was a nice texture contrast and something simple with those greens on the sausage made it seem "healthy." Hah.
Their S&C fries were pretty good. They are twice fried that is served with their S&C sauce(which I can't even figure out still... :( but yeah.) They are nicely seasoned in salt & pepper, which is how it should be. Overall, I enjoyed my experience here. Def would eat more sausages! Stone Brewery, in my opinion, one of my most favorite brewers in California is located down south in the lovely San Diego. Once you pull up, you realize that it looks beautiful there. "Landscape Architecture," right Kathy? Haha. Not going to lie though, it really is nice. You walk down this stone flooring with plants growing over on the side of the walls. Right when you reach the end, there are these giant doors with a giant "stone" in the middle. Haha. You get to choose either straight where there is the gift shop, as well as the beer purchases, taste testers, etc, or go towards the right and have a nice dine.
If you take the right, you can even walk past the dining area and walk into the Beer Gardens, where you can enjoy your beer and see some wonderful nature-like funzies! For our adventure, we got to go on the tour of the facility. **If you want to go to an early time for the tour, I suggest come on in earlier because we got there at 1 and ended up getting the 4pm tour.** (Sorry but I will not spoil the awesomenesss of the beer tour, so I suggest going yourselves.) The tour is $1 without tasting, but why would you do that?! Go for the $3 tour with tasting, so much worth it. After you get the 30 min tour, you get to taste 4 of the beers that got them where they are: (in the order of the pictures) Levitation, Smoked Porter, IPA, and Arrogant Bastard. If you are not into Hoppy Beers, well your just in luck because all of these beers have so much Hopps. >:) Realistically though, it is an acquired taste but as you move up from Levitation to Arrogant Bastard, you will like the beer more and more, and it will be easier to manage. Next time, I will definitely come back because I smelt that food, and that cheez smelled dericious! Welcome to Lappert's! This very deliciously, sexy ice cream place is located out in Poway, CA, also within the San Diego County. If you have no idea where it is in the plaza, you will see this round sign hanging from the ceiling. This ice cream place is pretty awesome. Apparently, they don't always have the same flavor on the daily. When we went, there were 32 flavors that were available, not including the famous Dole Whip of Disneyland. Lappert's Ice Cream currently have 119 different flavors around the world, so there must be a flavor for you, for anyone, and for everyone. Being new to the place, I had to sample one of the flavors that most stood out there, and for me, that was the Guava Cheesecake. I already like Guava and Cheesecake separately, so why not together? Before you know it...my mouth starts to water....drools fall down to the ground...and I crave more! But i didn't ;p I kept sampling more flavors, but I don't recall the names. (Sorry guys!) At the end of the decision-making process, I had to choose one ice cream/whip. The fact that I added whip, you should already have an idea of what that was... the picture below shows it all. BOOOM! That Dole Whip. It literally reminds me and tastes just like the one at D-Land. It was so good. For you San Diegans who can't reach all the way out to Disneyland (or just super lazy, like myself), to satisfy the craving for ice cream/whip, definitely come to Lappert's Ice Cream, where you will enjoy the cream in yo' mouth.
|
Food Porn.Restaurants, Shops, Pictures. Archives
February 2016
Categories
All
|