Van's Restaurant - Garden Grove, California

Address: 14122 Brookhurst Street, Garden Grove, CA

• Banh Xeo (Vietnamese crepe with pork and shrimp)
• Banh Khot
• Nem Nuong Cuon (Spring rolls)
• Bun Bo Hue (Noodle soup)

Yes, I am Vietnamese and yes, Vietnamese food is my favorite cuisine. Living in West LA, the options are scarce and leave much to be desired, so trips to OC are always exciting for my taste buds. Van's is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. It is always a treat having their deliciously crispy banh xeo and banh khot. I always order these same two dishes. They are really greasy, but it's so good in the moment that it's worth the "ugh, I don't feel so good" afterwards! Oh, and the other dishes were decent too (obviously I'm playing favorites).

--v

LudoBites 5.0 at Gram & Papa's - Los Angeles, California

Address: 227 E 9th St, Los Angeles, CA 90015 (variable)

Items Ordered:

• Vadouvan Naan Bread with Salted Coconut Butter
  
• Poached Egg, Potato Mousseline, Chorizo Condiment
  
• Confit Pork Belly, Raw Choucroute Thai Style, Mustard Ice Cream
  
• Steamed Duck Lemon Verbena, Crispy Skin Puree, White Peach, Radish & Balsamic
• Campfire Smoked S'mores, Guacamole Sorbet
• Caramel Souffle, Blanco Grapefruit, Fleur de Sel Ice Cream
  

Everything was delicious. Now you don't even have to continue reading except if you're interested in my descriptions.

The Naan Bread was even tastier than naan I've had at some of my favorite Indian restaurants, although the texture was more like pita bread than flaky naan. The salted coconut butter was delicious, and I wish I could buy a whole jar of that to keep at home. Our next dish was the poached egg, potato mousseline, which tasted like really creamy mashed potatoes with smoky chorizo flavor. 2 thumbs up! The confit pork belly was fatty and delicious, but I was not a huge fan of the raw vegetables or mustard ice cream. I can't eat ice cream that's not sweet--think garlic ice cream (bleh). My favorite dish of the night had to be the steamed duck. I can't even describe it, but the combination of balsamic, duck, and white peach really worked, and I think I ate more than my fair share of this dish.

I was super excited about the desserts, but the entrees edged out the desserts IMO. The s'mores were a cute concept, but difficult to eat, and again with the guacamole ice cream made this dessert my least favorite plate of the night (albeit still okay). The caramel souffle with Fleur de Sel ice cream was fantastic, but towards the end got a little too sweet.

Overall, Chef Ludo is an amazing chef and also quite nice as he took pictures with us (2 girls, 6 dishes?!) after the meal and didn't seem to mind too much that I kept taking pictures of him preparing dishes :D. The atmosphere was lively, all the servers were great at explaining the dishes and refilling glasses. I'm ready to make reservations for LudoBites 6.0 already!!!

--y

Sunnin Lebanese Cafe - Westwood, California

Address: 1776 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Items Ordered:

• Spicy Potatoes (Diced potatoes sauteed with garlic, cilantro and lemon juice)
• Chicken Kefta Kebab (Finely ground chicken seasoned with a blend of herbs and spices, grilled on a skewer served with rice, hommos, Lebanese salad and pita bread)

Yum yum yum! Started off the meal with the deliciously flavorful spicy potatoes! Then, I moved onto the chicken kefta kebab, my favorite dish there (although I must admit I haven't tried too many other dishes). Instead of the hommos, I opted to get the garlic sauce, a great choice every time. The plates are huge and I definitely had leftovers (good ones!) the next day. All around, great tasting Lebanese dishes!

--v

Crumbs Bakeshop - Beverly Hills, California

Address: 9465 S Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

• Strawberry, red velvet, mint chocolate chip, vanilla coconut cupcakes

Located about 1-2 blocks away from Sprinkles in Beverly Hills, Crumbs Bakeshop wasn't even on my radar, but the cupcakes looked too enticing, and I had to buy a few to go (after visiting Sprinkles already!) It might've been b/c I waited until the next day to eat one, but the red velvet cupcake I had was kind of dry, and much too dense. I've learned my lesson: huge cupcakes does not equal great taste. Overall, if I could rank the well-known cupcake locales in L.A., it would be Cupcakes Couture > Sprinkles > Crumbs Bakeshop.

--y

Clementine - West Los Angeles, California

Address: 1751 Ensley Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Items Ordered:

• Pimento cheese and turkey sandwich with side salad
• Chocolate chip cookie

There were so many rave reviews on Yelp that my roommate and I were really excited to try Clementine. Parking really was difficult on a Sunday afternoon, and unfortunately we were lazy butts and didn't make it in time for brunch :( . They have a really good deal of half salad, any salad, and dessert or drink on the menu. The pimento cheese was a little too salty, but the side salad was fresh and healthy tasting. Chocolate chip cookies are probably my favorite, and I read multiple reviews where people swore this was the best they've ever had! The verdict? It was soft and gooey, but unfortunately too oily. I would try Clementine again, and this time order a different sandwich and dessert to see if they can live up to the hype.

--y

Ambala Dhaba - Westwood, California

Address: 1781 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90024

Items Ordered:

• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Garlic Naan
• Chili Garlic Naan

We came into Ambala Dhaba for a late lunch so it was pretty empty. We proceeded to order the Chicken Tikka Masala, 2 types of naan and white rice. Everything went together well and we were satisfied with our choices. The naan was definitely the highlight - so much flavor!

--v