All posts filed under: Los Angeles

THE LOCAL PEASANT, SHERMAN OAKS

Published by Nicole Isaacs

The Local Peasant is a gastrobub in Sherman Oaks with great food and drinks. There is no sign from the outside, so it’s easy to miss from the street. They have a great selection of unique beers and cocktails, as well as interesting and delicious finger foods. MAC N’ CHEESE W/ BACON & BLACK TRUFFLE OIL Pretty good Mac N’ Cheese! Love the truffle flavor, and it was perfectly thick and creamy. BLUE CHEESE FRIED OLIVES OMG so amazing! This was one of my faves of the night. It came with a chipotle sauce and it literally melted in your mouth. Don’t really love blue cheese because of the strong flavor, but these weren’t strong. They were perfection. Obsesseddd! CRISPY PORK BELLY W/ PICKLED WATERMELON RIND AND SWEET & SPICY TAMARIND SAUCE My other favorite dish of the night. I can’t even describe how much flavor this had. It tasted like the most flavorful, crispy, yet tender piece of bacon I’ve ever had. Pork belly is my new favorite thing lol. Never had a more …

CRUSTACEAN, BEVERLY HILLS

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Crustacean is one of my favorites restaurants in LA. It is also known as the “Home of An’s Famous Garlic Noodles”. This 5-star restaurant was created by the An family, a Vietnamese family who immigrated to the US from Vietnam. All of Hollywood’s hottest celebs have dined at Crustacean- from Oprah, to Shaquille O’Neal, the walls are filled with press and celebrity pictures taken with the An family inside the restaurant. Crustacean has a “secret kitchen” where chefs that are very close to the An family for many years are only allowed in. The An family until this day will not reveal the secret recipe of their infamous garlic noodles as well as other famous Crustacean dishes. This is what drew me to this restaurant in the first place…I had to see what the big deal was about these noodles. Crustacean is upscale and also very pricey, but well worth it! With a big aquarium on the wall with exotic, tropical fish right when you walk in, and a serpentine aqaurium pathway to lead you into the main dining …

SAN PEDRO FISH MARKET- SAN PEDRO, CA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Located on the harbor in San Pedro, is a long boardwalk of fresh seafood and fair food. Candied apples, kettle corn, funnel cakes among freshly caught grilled fish, oyster and ceviche bars, crab and lobster tanks, and heaps of grilled and fried shrimp served with huge loafs of garlic bread. Oh, and how can I forget, fully stacked bars with frozen daquiris, margaritas and a Mexican staple, Micheladas. There are several seafood shacks to choose from. Take your pick, or try a bunch of different places and enjoy! High quality, freshly caught seafood for cheap. You can’t beat that. Such a fun thing to do on a weekend with friends. Take a look!   CAUGHT MY OWN LIVE CRAB!  COOKING HEAPS OF GRILLED SHRIMP AND VEGETABLES  LIVE MARIACHI BAND PERFORMING AT TABLES  MICHELADA- SPICY HOT SAUCE BEER!  BAR-B-QUE CHICKEN & FRESH GRILLED TORTILLAS OYSTER BAR- THEY ARE CRACKING THEM OPEN! LONG GRILL OF FRESH FISH  SHRIMP PLATE W/ FRESH GARLIC BREAD  SHRIMP PLATE, CORN, GARLIC BREAD  OCTOPUS CEVICHE- FRESH AVOCADO, LEMON, HOT SAUCE  OYSTERS THE VIEW FROM OUR …

THE PENTHOUSE AT THE HUNTLEY HOTEL-SANTA MONICA, CA

Published by Nicole Isaacs

Sippin’ my watermelon mojito! Cheers!      For DineLA week, my friends and I chose the Penthouse in the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. I heard it was a beautiful restaurant and had been wanting to dine there for awhile. The restaurant itself is gorgeous. With a 360 view of glass windows, you get a spectacular view of the city of Santa Monica and the ocean. All the tables against the windows are white cabanas with chandeliers, and in the middle of the restaurant is a big bar and a DJ booth- the whole scene is very chic and trendy.       Three of us ordered from the DineLA dinner menu, three courses for $34, and one ordered from the regular menu. We ordered a couple bottles of wine and some cocktails. Overall, it was a really great dinner- everything was good. APPETIZERS BOTTLE OF PINOT NOIR & BREAD/BUTTER VEGETABLE PUREE SOUP I LOVED this. Great flavor. ROCK SHRIMP Fanny’s Old Bay & Creamy Grits I usually order creamy rock shrimp tempura, so this was …