Eat Your Heart Out

My my my, how fast a semester whizzes by! I only have a week left of school and I’m not quite ready to leave yet. Too many great memories were made this year, too many wonderful people were met, and too much good food was eaten! Like that transition? Now I’m not about to go all sappy and post about my life (it’s real tempting, trust me), ‘cause this is a food blog after all, but I might do a personal entry on my new WordPress if you want to check it out (I have my portfolio, films, and more on that website if you want know more about me and what I do—yes, I’m a multifaceted person with other interests other than food, though food is pretty darn awesome).

Now back to FOOD! So I’ve had the privilege to eat great food this semester despite running around like a chicken with its head cut off (hrm… a bit too morbid of a visual? I think not! Seriously, film school can drive you crazy). Driving from LA to San Diego (Hometown! WHOO!), and vice versa, I’ve gotten the pleasure to stop by Irvine where my bestie, Miss Michelle, goes to UCI. Luckily, Irvine is a wonderful city with lots of yummy Asian food. We went to Classroom 302 (there’s one in Rowland Heights too), which is an awesome Taiwanese comfort food restaurant. All I have to say is, it’s the BOMB. Their food makes me all warm inside and proud to be Taiwanese. So good.

Continuing with Asian food, I went to Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot with the fam a few weeks ago and it was delicious. I’ve been there a couple of times already, but it never gets old. I was told that their soup is boiled with bones for hours and hours to create that flavorful broth. Plus, they toss in all these different herbs and spices. It’s a great place to go when the weather is cold, but don’t go alone or in a small group! Hot pot is a family style kind of dining (the best kind of dining, I think).

And Nickel Diner… AGAIN! Man, Nickel Diner has to be one of my favorite places now. The service is impeccable (I think my water was filled like 5 times that night… I take a gulp and there’s the waiter waiting to fill my cup!) and the food is nom-worthy. I’ve been there twice since my visit with Miss Kathryn (once with my lovely sister and another time with the fabulous Miss Melissa) and both times I got their beef stew with mushrooms. It’s so good and the mashed potatoes are so creamy. They also have carrots and parsnips on the side that creates this interesting texture and sweetness to the whole dish. And of course their dessert was top notch. That s’mores cake… the waiter brought a blow torch to our table and lit the marshmallow top like roasting a marshmallow on the campfire. Points for presentation! 

Speaking of repeating places to eat. I headed back to Bossa Nova for a third time. The food was delicious as usual, but I can’t say anything stood out to me this time around. Just enjoy the pictures and drool. DROOL.

And lastly, Sage. Now I went to Sage because my friend was doing a food magazine project and she needed to photograph vegan food. The avocado bruschetta was amazing, but I have to say I wasn’t impressed with the entrees. I had the mushroom steak and it was so sour! And the mashed potatoes weren’t anything special. Plain really (but I suppose that helped with balancing out the intensely sour mushrooms). Irene’s dish looked amazing, but it was kind of sour too. She actually didn’t end up finishing the dish because it had pine nuts in it and she’s allergic to nuts. Whoops! All I have to say is that I’m glad I’m not vegan. I love meat and butter in my mashed potatoes. Mmmm… 

With that being said, I’m heading out to eat Brazilian BBQ tonight at Samba Brazilian Steakhouse. Peace out.