Howlin' Ray's.

Being a huge follower of the Food Network, recently I've been seeing a lot of craze over Nashville style hot chicken and I started to wonder what it was. Is it like chicken buffalo sauce? How spicy is it? What makes it special to Tennessee? Apparently, it's a type of chicken different than any type of chicken I've ever had. It's a type of fried chicken that is marinated in a water based blend of spicy seasoning, floured, and fried. It is finally sauced with a paste that is spiced with cayenne pepper. It is usually served on bread as a sandwich, but can also be eaten on its own. And pickles are the perfect thing to combine the flavor of the chicken with. It has been served in Nashville for generations since the 1930s and has recently been gaining more popularity.

A lot of the notoriety of hot chicken came from a restaurant in Nashville called Hattie B's Hot Chicken, and seeing as though I'm not going there any time soon, I made it my mission to find a hot chicken spot in LA. Even KFC has introduced a hot chicken special, but I knew I could get more authentic than that.

That's when I found Howlin' Ray's in LA's Chinatown. Howlin' Ray's is owned and operated by a husband and wife team, Johnny and Amanda, who are passionate about getting the best blend of spices to make top tier hot chicken. When I went to the restaurant, Amanda was there taking customer orders and Johnny was in the kitchen leading a team of chefs to make the chicken. I really enjoyed that they were a part of my experience, it made it seem more personal and authentic.

Howlin' Ray's has 6 different types of sauces for the chicken, each at a different level of spiciness. I'm usually a person who can handle her spicy foods, but when I asked Amanda which sauce she would recommend to me, she said to go with the Medium sauce. I was worried it wouldn't be that spicy, but let me tell you guys, my mouth was on fire eating it! In a totally good way. I ordered the sandwich, which had the chicken, slaw, comeback sauce, and pickles. The comeback sauce was another great accompaniment to the chicken and I used it to dip my crinkle cut fries in too. It didn't hurt also that they kept giving me as many pickle chips as I wanted.

It was to die for! The chicken was perfectly crispy, the slaw gave it the perfect element of crunch, and the sauce and pickles just brought it all home. The portions are also really large. I feel really bad about this, but I couldn't finish my sandwich. Sometimes I sit and think about the parts I left and hate myself for not finishing it haha.

The line can get pretty long at Howlin' Ray's, even on a weekday, which is when I went. I waited in line for about 30 minutes, but I've heard this is actually a short time. So if you're going to give it a try, try to go before or after the lunch rush. It's totally worth any wait you have though!

All'acqua.

Have you ever gone to a Dodger game or a concert at the Greek Theater and came out starving and wondering where you can grab a bite? All'acqua is the perfect place! It's located in the up and coming Atwater Village on the Glendale Boulevard strip, and its Italian name, All'acqua translates to Atwater.

The menu offers Pan-Italian dishes including wood fired pizzas and house made pastas. I went with my girl friend and we love to order a few things from the menu and share them all. It's a great way to experience different things restaurants offer. All'acqua also has a large variety Californian and Italian wines that make this place also great for date nights.

We started off with grilled country bread, which was drizzled with garlic and olive oil. This bread is one of the best breads I've eaten at a restaurant! It isn't complimentary, but for $3, it's a good appetizer.

Next, we ordered the charred asparagus egg fried in bread crumbs and topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. This was by far my favorite item on the menu! The asparagus gives the dish a fresh taste and the cheese and bread crumbs give it a comfort food feel. I couldn't get enough of this.

I'm a huge pasta lover, in fact it's probably my favorite thing to eat, so I had to try one of the house made pasta dishes. We decided to try the spinach and mushroom pasta. The sauce on the pasta was really light, which was nice since we were eating so much. You can taste the freshness of the pasta, which was cooked perfectly al dente.

All the wood fired pizzas on the menu looked so delicious. My girl friend is a little picky with what she eats, so we had to compromise by ordering the prosciutto and arugula pizza. The pizza was fairly large and since we ordered so much food, I was only able to eat one slice. That one slice, however, was amazing. Somehow cooking pizza in a wood fired oven gives it a certain flavor that can't be beat.

We couldn't end the meal without dessert, of course, so we ordered the Bombolini. They were Italian donut holes covered in a Nutella sauce and paired with vanilla gelato. The gelato was super creamy and the juxtaposition of it with the warm donut holes was perefection. It's the most popular dessert on All'acqua's menu, so it's a must have!

Next time you are looking for a night out at a local trendy spot, check out All'acqua in Atwater Village and make a night of it by visiting one of the many surrounding bars after your dinner! 

Odys + Penelope.

 I try to have a girls' night with my best friend, Natalie, every month or so, and she's the perfect date, because she always wants to try out new places and sample and share a few things off the menu, which is exactly what I like to do! Last week, she and I ventured to the restaurant Odys + Penelope on La Brea for a night out.

Odys + Penelope is a churrasco (grilled meat) style restaurant, known for their wood fired smoker and open grill in the heart of the restaurant. Most of their menu items are focused around smoked ingredients and are fired in the wood oven. The restaurant is run by Quinn and Karen Hatfield, who are also behind The Sycamore Kitchen. The design inside is very minimal, but it somehow gives it a certain charm. I especially liked that they had a long wall shelf of firewood, ready to be put into the wood fire oven.

We got to the restaurant a little earlier than our reservation, so we started out by having a couple of drinks by the bar. I'm really into mixed whiskey or bourbon drinks, so I ordered this drink that was comprised of bourbon, blackberries, bitters, and amaro. I think the drinks are seasonal so my drink may not always be on the menu, but judging by the taste I had of my friend's drink, you won't go wrong ordering any of them.

So we began ordering a few starters. First, was the fried wild mushrooms with Persian garlic sauce. To be honest, I anticipated these being more crispy than they were. They were still really tasty, but a bit soggy. I absolutely could not get enough of the Persian garlic sauce. Coming from a Persian-Armenian background and knowing a lot about Persian food, I have no idea what makes this sauce Persian, but who cares? It was delicious! The dried, candied lemon garnishes were also actually really tasty.

My girl and I can never say no to fries, so we ordered some of those too. They were seasoned with za'atar, a Mediterranean spice that's really tangy and lemony. We both like dipping our fries in ranch, but the yogurt aioli that was paired with the fries was a really great compliment to them.

I think my favorite appetizer we had was the warm cheese puffs served with a smoked tomato romesco sauce. Oh my God! They were a fluffy, cheesy pastry that was made even better by dipping it into the sauce. I strongly recommend these as a starter. We actually considered ordering another serving of them :X

For our main dish, we shared the slow grilled tri-tip with charred broccoli and O+P béarnaise sauce. The meat was so tender and the béarnaise was the perfect add on to it. I also could not stop eating the broccoli. Natalie had to stop me, because little did I know, the best part of the meal was coming up.

What can I say about this chocolate rye pie? I'll start by saying Karen Hatfield, who is a renowned pastry chef, is behind it so you know it's going to be good. Second, this dessert was named on the list of top 10 desserts in LA by EaterLA. Finally, my honest opinion...it was definitely one of the best desserts I've had! It was super chocolatey and warm, so it was a great contrast to the cold malted ice cream on its side. The peanut crumble on top was also like icing on the cake of this amazing dessert.

Republique.

I love everything about France, especially the cuisine. So when I heard about Republique and its French inspired bakery and architecture I knew I had to see it for myself. I came here for lunch with my brother and was immediately mesmerized by the rows and rows of pastries next to the cashier.

After ordering our lunch (and a bunch of pastries), we sat at our table, which was lit by the sun beams coming in from the skylight windows from above. It was a bit of a cold day, but the natural lighting made it feel like we were sitting outside.

The design and decor of the restaurant also was reminiscent of Paris and some of its Gothic architecture.

I'm a sucker for glass door refrigerators. I love seeing the products available at restaurants!

When our food was brought to us, I couldn't wait to start eating. I know it was lunch time, but Croque Madame's are one of my favorite French treats and I couldn't resist. Meanwhile, my brother ordered a burger that had dry aged beef. The drinks vary each day based on seasonal items available. We ordered a delicious grapefruit lemonade. The Croque Madame, by the way, was spot on!!

I was loving this wine tower where the bottles were used serve us water.

I have this thing with floors and their beauty. I was loving this green, white, and black tile!

We took our yummy pastries home to enjoy. My favorites were the glazed and chocolate donut like bombolinis. Pictured are also a chocolate bundt cake, banana Nutella croissant, and a coffee cake.

Terrine.

If there's two things I love in this world it's brunch and anything French! Last week I visited this new restaurant in LA called Terrine with my girl friend, which was both of these things and it was so cute and yummy.

Terrine prides itself on cooking up French classics with a California twist. And the same goes for the delicious drinks that are made here. The atmosphere is warm and romantic, it's a really cute date spot. My favorite part of the restaurant was the beautiful dining garden, where we sat and dined among the trees. I really felt for a minute that I was eating brunch in Paris.

The beautiful dining garden. 

Bloody Mary made with heirloom tomatoes and a Mimosa with prosecco. 

My absolute favorite dish, Pain Perdu. Vanilla battered french toast with sea salt caramel frosting. 

Mushroom, truffle, and sage pizza with a fried egg on top. 

The beautiful floor tiles in the restaurant. 

Meat District Co.

The other night, my girl friend and I decided to extend our list of eating at the best burger spots in LA so we paid a visit to Meat District Co. in Pasadena to try out their burgers. Let me just say, the quality of the beef here is spectacular. It's really juicy and tender. In addition to the 10 types of different burgers, the menu is riddled with so many different meals like hot dogs and BBQ ribs. I didn't get a chance to try any of those, but the burgers and side dishes were amazing. I was impressed by everything from the menu to the food to the dessert.

How cute is this meat cleaver shaped menu?

A wall of wines...my heaven.

Our flights of white wine.

Transparent refrigerator filled with fresh meat. 

Southwestern Burger: 1/2 lb of beef with potato rosti, avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, and arugula.

Honorable mention burger: Truffle Burger 1/2 lb of beef with truffle Parmesan, arugula, roasted peppers, tomato, and truffle aoili. 

French fries.

Truffle mashed potatoes.

We had a milkshake for dessert including creme caramel pudding with a butterscotch shake mixed with Ferrero Rocher. To die for...make it a point for your next burger craving!

Plan Check.

I'm always on the hunt for the next great burger in LA and when I heard about Plan Check, I knew I had to try it immediately. There are three locations, I went to the Downtown LA location and it did not disappoint. And the $6 happy hour old fashions didn't hurt either!

We sat in a half indoor, half outdoor area and overlooked Downtown as we enjoyed our dinner.

Checked in on Yelp for free beer nuts. I don't know what herbs these are roasted with, but it was very tasty.

Plan Check is known for their "ketchup leather". It's a "slice" of ketchup if you will...it looks like a slice of cheese but it's a concentrated ketchup that melts in your mouth when you eat it. It was so amazing...

Yummy ketchup leathery goodness. 

The Korean BBQ burger was also really yummy, but my plan is to eat the Chef's Favorite burger, which has a sunny fried egg and bacon. 

New York, New York

After a long school year and grueling work project over the summer, I was in much need of a vacation so my boyfriend and I traveled to one of my favorite places, New York City! Even though I have been there countless times, there is always something new to explore and discover in the city. Of course there are also always some old places that never disappoint. Below are some of the highlights of my favorite places in New York. Not to say that there are still many, many places, restaurants, and bakeries I have yet to see in the city. Luckily, many of those places are soon coming to LA!

These are my favorite places in the city where we ate:

         Evergreen Diner
         Da Gennaro Italian
         Treat House rice krispie treats
         Rice To Riches tapioca pudding
         S'Mac macaroni and cheese
         Capital Grille
         Luke's Lobster lobster rolls
         Shake Shack burgers
         Magnolia Bakery
         Brooklyn Bagel Co.
         Thai Terminal

Bubble lounge in our hotel, Night Hotel.

Breathing wall at NBC Studios.

Times Square.

Brooklyn Bagel Co. Sesame Bagel with Sundried Tomato Cream Cheese.

The Highline.

The Beautiful Flora at the Highline.

Modern Art at MoMA.

Across the Corridor at MoMA.

Still Life #30 -Tom Wesselmann 1963.

My favorite speakeasy with an awesome secret entrance, PDT. Not sharing too much more information on this...shhh...

Absinthe at PDT.

Intrepid Sea, Air, &Space Museum. 

Ray's Pizza!

World Trade Center Memorial. 

FDNY.

Central Park from a Different Perspective.

Beekman's Beergarden.