BUTTON MASH

Met up with some of my friends at this little spot in Echo Park and thought it was super cool! They have retro arcade games around the restaurant so you could play while you’re waiting for a table or just simply go and play! We got several plates to share between 5 of us. Each was very flavorful and exciting! They serve a menu of Asian fusion style dishes from burgers to wings to noodles. It’s a very refreshing and solid take on Asian food.

FOUND COFFEE

Decided to meet up with a friend for coffee on Sunday morning and decided to try out Found Coffee in Eagle Rock. Now, I always say ‘go have coffee’ with someone but I never seem to get coffee. I usually gravitate towards chai teas so of course, that’s what I chose. It was very light and pretty good, not my favorite but doable. I did like their pastries though and the decor! It’s a great place to sit and catch up with someone.

CURRY KING

This place can be hard to find and is located in a strange area of Atwater but I always pass by so thought I’d finally try it out! The boyfriend and I had dinner there one night and got a shrimp dish, garlic naan, samosas, and the mushroom curry dish. Everything was SO yummy! I was very surprised at how good it was considering that we were the only two in the restaurant at dinner time! I’ve read that people like their lunch buffet so maybe that’s when they’re the busiest. I’d love to come back!

KING HUA

DIMSUM is very close to my heart and I find every excuse possible to eat it any chance I get. I often come to this spot in Alhambra because they have plenty of options and serve this dish called ‘snow milk buns’ which is a very fluffy dessert pastry filled with light custard. It is absolutely delicious!

Last weekend, I met up with my friends in Arizona for a small weekend road trip adventure where we traveled from Phoenix to Sedona to Page. We all live in different states, so we agreed on Arizona for our little getaway and meeting point. It’s nice to be able to get together every so often and have a group trip, especially when we all live so far away from each other!

Since today is Friday, I wanted my Foodie Friday post to be of all the food we ate while we were on our trip. Let me tell you, it was definitely better than I expected. I often resort to fast food and junk when we go on road trips but there were some spots that were surprisingly delicious and somewhat healthy.

Check them out!

OUTLAW GRILL (Sedona, AZ)

We came to this little spot after our morning hike and we had worked up a good appetite. They had bbq, sandwiches, burgers, and various items. The boyfriend and I decided to share an order of pork shanks (shown below) and a grilled cajun chicken caesar salad. The pork shanks were the highlight of our lunch! They were both crispy and tender at the same time, and dipping it in their house bbq sauce was amazing!!! Meaty goodness!

BLACK COW CAFE  (Sedona, AZ)

After lunch, we searched for ice cream spots because several of us were craving it! We found this popular ice cream spot, almost like an old fashion soda fountain, called Black Cow Cafe. When you walk in, you can smell the freshly made waffle cones, and that’s when you know it’s good! I got the malted vanilla ice cream in the waffle bowl. It really hit the spot! Super creamy and delicious!

STATE 48 TAVERN (Page, AZ)

After a long day of driving, we decided to stop by this spot in Page and not expecting too much. I ordered the battered avocado tacos and roasted beet salad. We all also shared the kimchi fries. EVERYTHING was so good! Such a great fusion restaurant that satisfied our hunger!

TORTAS DE FUEGO (Sedona, AZ)

For our last night, we wanted to grab a quick dinner and found this little place. Instead of getting tortas, which is what their known for, we all got different things. I got the trio plate, which gave me a crunchy taco, enchilada, and flauta. What can I say, I love variety! It was pretty good but nothing beats tacos in LA!

BESTIA

This is my second time at Bestia and the first time for my sister and her boyfriend! I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to come here again especially when it takes months and months to get a reservation. I think we booked this 3 months ago and our dinner time was still at 8:45pm- still pretty late for dinner in my mind! But who cares?!! Gotta come here as much as I can!

It’s one of the must-try spots in LA and definitely has a huge waitlist. I already knew what dishes I wanted to have again and what I wanted to try this time. We got plenty of small plates during our last visit, so I knew I wanted to try one of their pizzas and meat dishes.

Our server recommended the crostini with egg and black truffles, which was such an amazing choice to start off with! The eggs were creamy and the flavor of the truffle shavings made the dish unbelievably delicious! I highly recommend this! The pizza we chose was the Burrata which was nice and light with amazingly yummy cheese!

Another highlight of our dinner was the Tomahawk pork, which was a 37 oz piece of pork. They ran out of the porterhouse, so the alternative was the Tomahawk which won my boyfriend over the minute our server told us about it! There was a scrumptious and crispy crust on the pork and the meat itself was so tender and moist with just the right amount of bite. It was pretty pricey but worth it.

I’d say our visit to Bestia was successful because my sister and her boyfriend left the restaurant wanting to book another reservation! I don’t mind though!

Canoe House

It was DineLA over the past week and we weren’t able to try anything too crazy but we stopped by and tried out a place called Canoe House in South Pasadena. It is a Hawaiian fusion type of restaurant. They have dishes like Loco Moco, Fish tacos, Poke, and Hawaiian fried rice. I was very impressed with their food and LOVE that you get a free order of garlic fries with a Yelp Check-In offer! So definitely take advantage of that and give this place a try!

Barbrix

The boyfriend and I finally got to try Barbrix, which is located in Silverlake. We’ve heard great things about this restaurant and after a few failed attempts to go there, we were successful in trying it out! They have such a cool and sophisticated atmosphere with indoor seating and an outdoor patio for mingling.

Their menu consisted of cheese plates, charcuterie, tapas, and entrees. The waitress suggested getting 4 plates between the 2 of us, which was great advice! We got the charcuterie plate called Hams around the world, a cheese plate to complement the hams, broccolini, and roasted chicken. Everything was delicious but I absolutely loved the chacuterie the most! 🙂

Fusion Burger

I could always count on Fusion Burger for yummy burgers (of course) and some cheesy tots! I really like their specialty burgers and that they offer happy hour!

Republique

I have only been here a couple of times and absolutely love it every single visit! There can be a bit of a wait but I think it’s always worth it! They have communal tables and amazing pastries in a display case at the counter for you to drool over!

Maximilianos

I love their pasta, pizzas, and sides. So I guess that’s pretty much everything they have. Everything is so flavorful and made with great quality ingredients. Never disappointed when I go!