Pascucci - Santa Barbara, California

Address: 729 State Street, Santa Barbara, California, USA 93101

Items Ordered:

• Marsala Risotto - Italian arborio rice, smoked chicken, broccoli, portobello mushrooms, marsala & cream
• Tre Formaggio - Italian sausage, fontina cheese, smoked mozzarella, & parmesan, penne
• Garlic Bread

I've come here to eat and have eaten take out from here so many times. It's on the top of my list when I came to Santa Barbara in the past to visit my cousins that were at UCSB, and now just when I want to take a day trip to the city! I can easily say its my favorite Italian restaurant - I especially love these dishes, coupled with the delicious warm garlic bread. The dishes look small, but they are so filling. A wonderful blend of cheeses, sauces and meat. Located on the lively State Street, it's just a short stroll away from the beach and all the shopping options. Yum!

--v

Cupcakes Couture of Manhattan Beach - Manhattan Beach, California

Address: 916 Manhattan Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Items Ordered:

• Fleur de Caramel and Strawberry Shortcake cupcakes
• Petite cupcakes (1 each)

What girl doesn't love cupcakes? What about designer cupcakes that also look and taste delectable? Even better! I only heard about Cupcakes Couture through a friend with a Groupon, but once inside I went a little picture crazy because the store and the cupcakes were so adorable. The Fleur de Caramel was my favorite because of the hint of saltiness along with caramel in the icing. The strawberry shortcake icing tasted like strawberry cheesecake and the filling inside was like vanilla pudding, but got a little too overwhelmingly sweet after the first bite. The devil's food cake in the Fleur de Caramel was moist and easy to finish. I didn't get to try any of the petite cupcakes that we bought, but my first impression is that CCoMB makes better cupcakes than Sprinkles.

--y

Ketchup - Los Angeles, California

Address: 8590 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Items Ordered:

• Appetizers: meatballs, mac & cheese, truffle fries with ketchup sampler
• Entrees: BBQ baby back ribs, scallops, sea bass, and pork chop

Ketchup is a cool concept restaurant with an amazing view of Sunset and hot waiters ;). The decor was cute, but too much red starts hurting my Bruin eyes after awhile. I was extremely excited to try the truffle fries with ketchup sampler, which included chipotle and BBQ to name a few. The fries along with the mac&cheese and scallops were the best parts of this meal. The scallops were abundant and well-seasoned, and even the accompanying vegetables were delicious. The mac&cheese was just my type--extremely cheesy! However, the meat dishes were nothing out of the ordinary, and I can't remember much about them. I would likely return to Ketchup but only on 50% off Sundays when the food is more reasonably priced.

--y

Empanada's Place - West Los Angeles, California

Address: 3811 Sawtelle Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Items Ordered:

• Beef selected fresh lean ground beef potatoes, hard boiled eggs, olives & spices
• Spicy Beef ground beef with peas, carrots and potatoes a touch of northern argentina
• Chicken fresh california grown chicken with peas, carrots, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and herb spices the super chicken pie!

I was rooting for Argentina in the World Cup after USA was out - too bad for today's unfortunate results! About 2 years ago, I spent some time in Argentina, and I must say that of all Argentinian cuisine, I loved empanadas the most. I wanted to eat them everyday! Stepping into this small place brought back memories of my travels and of any empanadas I've tried around here, this one most closely resembles the ones I had in Argentina. I got 3 empanadas and each one had the perfect mix of ingredients such as ground beef, chicken, eggs, potatoes, peas, and the crust was a delicious level of crispiness and flakiness. There are meat options and vegetable options, so there's sure to be one that you'll want to try! I think I want to get some more of these today... Yum! Definitely the BEST empanadas I've tried in the states!

--v

Urth Caffe - Beverly Hills, California

Address: 267 S Beverly Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90209

Items Ordered:

• Egg white omelette
  
• Curry chicken salad
• Oatmeal with fresh fruit and granola
• Tiramisu
• Cafe lattes

It is true that this particular Urth Caffe location in Beverly Hills is crowded, but for good reason. Sitting out in the sun, people watching, and enjoying delicious food and drinks really does a body good. Everything that I have tried here from breakfast to the salads and sandwiches is fresh tasting and prepared with care. The portions are definitely filling--even if it's only greens. Urth Caffe makes me want to become a vegetarian, get a hybrid car, and run 26 miles in recycled shoes. It is really that fresh tasting. One of my favorites is the tiramisu, which is a hugely generous portion of sugar, caffeine and mascarpone cheese. It has just the right balance of sweet and bitterness from the cocoa and reminds me of really fancy pudding. If that doesn't give you enough of a sugar rush, try the cute coffee drinks, which are actually quite tasty too. I have been to this location several times and have yet to see a celebrity I recognize so I guess there will be many more visits in the future, lucky me ;).

--y

Wood Spoon - Los Angeles, California

Address: 107 W 9th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Items Ordered:

• Mix Plate - Coxinha (Brazil’s most popular street food (made with chicken)), Potato Croquette, Portuguese Croquette (potato salted Cod), Pastel Portuguese (dumpling stuffed with shrimp, coconut sauce) & Kibe (bulgur wheat, mint & ground beef)
• Brazilian Chicken Pot Pie – hearts of palm, olives & roasted corn

If you try to google this address, I think it's a little off. We walked up and down the street a little before we finally found this small place, serving Brazilian cuisine. I was starting to think it didn't exist - I'm sure glad that it does! It was a really cozy (pillows on the seat!) little restaurant on a street in the heart of downtown LA. We started off with an appetizer plate of fried goodness - my favorite was the Pastel Portuguese. Next up was the Pot Pie that I had read about so many times in the reviews! This was certainly not your Budget-brand Pot Pie, or even close to the "frozen gourmet" Marie Callender Pot Pies. What am I even thinking trying to compare it to frozen meals! This was the real thing - tender chicken with corn, simmering under a just-perfect crispy crust. It was rather large so I took home leftovers - what a delicious lunch the next day!


--v

KyoChon Chicken - Los Angeles, California & Seoul, Korea

Address: 3833 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020

Items Ordered:

• Garlic soy sauce chicken
  
• Spicy hot chicken
  
• Pickled radishes

The smaller chicken pictures are of KyoChon Chicken in Los Angeles, and the larger pictures are from Seoul, Korea. Even with an abundance of Korean food and fried chicken locales in South Korea, I still managed to eat at KyoChon Chicken at least 8 times in 6 weeks. That is because KyoChon is the BEST Korean style fried chicken I've ever tasted. The breading is crispy and the garlic soy seasoning is the perfect balance of sweet and salty. The meat inside is extremely flavorful as well. Caution to the non-spice eaters, the spicy hot chicken is really hot! Luckily the locations in L.A. do taste pretty similar as the chain in Korea. So bring a group of friends and get to eating; you won't regret it!

--y

Gloria's Cafe - Culver City, California

Address: 10227 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034

Items Ordered:

• Pork & Cheese Pupusas (2)
• Cheese & Herb Pupusas (2) with a side of rice
• Enchiladas - Carnitas (1) and Steak (1)
• Chips & Salsa

Gloria's Cafe is one of our favorite restaurants. Immediately after sitting down and perusing the menu we were brought a bowl of warm chips and spicy salsa - these are ADDICTING and can fill you up even before your entrée comes out. No wonder we're always so full when we leave here. A mixture of Mexican and Salvadoran cuisine, the food was as good as any other time we've gone there. There was a bit of a mix-up with our order, but it was quickly fixed, and we were given our correct pupusas. Those, along with the enchiladas made for an excellent meal of Salvadoran and Mexican cuisine. On a side note, did you know that this place was recently featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

--v & y

Ike's Place - San Francisco, California

Address: 3506 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94114

Items Ordered:

• Spiffy Tiffy: chicken breast, pesto, avocado, mushrooms, pepper jack & provolone
  
• We're JUST Friends: chicken breast, orange glaze, avocado, & pepper jack
  

Maybe it was our own fault. Our hopes were too high? We ordered the wrong sandwiches? We waited too long to eat them? Whatever the reason, Ike's Place was kind of a disappointment. While the sandwiches were huge, they were extremely greasy. After about 4 bites of half the Spiffy Tiffy, I just could not go on. The pesto was extremely oily, soaked through the paper and bag, and I can definitely make less oily, more tasty pesto at home. The We're JUST Friends tasted much like the Spiffy Tiffy except with a hint of sweetness. Would I consider going back? Maybe on a nice sunny SF day when the line at Ike's is not too long--but we all know how rare those days are.

--y

The Salt Lick - Driftwood, Texas

Address: 18300 FM 1826, Driftwood, TX 78619

Items Ordered:

• Family style BBQ: unlimited sausage, brisket and pork ribs complete with bread, pickles/onions, potato salad, coleslaw, and beans

After a fun-filled day at Lake Travis, our group decided to drive to the boonies of Driftwood, TX to try this famous BBQ joint. After waiting in line for 1 hour and 40 mins, Victoria and I decided this had better be the best BBQ we've ever tasted. Almost everyone ordered the family style all you can eat meal, and we popped open beers from our cooler in anticipation of the BBQ feast. The spread that arrived looked amazing and the pork ribs took the prize. Fall off the bone tender and tasty, it was definitely worth the wait. Honorable mention goes to the sausage and sides as well. However, the brisket was lacking in that it was a little tough and needed BBQ sauce for improvement. Overall, we asked for 6 plates of meat for approximately 10 hungry people and left stuffed with BBQ and happy about it.

--v & y