Just Sweet Love

Good Eats: Plancha Tacos

I am a huge creature of habit. Once I find something I like, I can ride the wave over and over until the end of time. Like my favorite obsessive haunts back home, Plancha Tacos has easily become a new creature of habit. 

 

  Owner Pete White of Poquito Mas fame is the brainchild of this wonderful operation. The Tex-Mex fare is incredibly fresh with an amazing staff. Since trying Plancha, I've been back three times in the same week (!). 

True story: for a good couple months, my office would order in Poquito Mas every single Friday - Poquito Mas Fridays! Needless to say, everyone got sick and tired of it. I, on the other hand, could have continued on with Poquito Mas Fridays until forever :) 

Pull the trigger

In preparation for The Walking Dead marathon, my friend Mr. Officer wanted to take me shooting. You know, in the event should a devastation ever occur. Kill or be killed. 

So Mr. Officer tells me we'll be shooting zombie targets as opposed the boring bullseye. That got me really nervous. I'm such a big zombie fan and to think, if I couldn't shoot them properly in the head... well, that's damaging! I'd be devastated. I've been shooting before, and I'm not very good. I mean, not even anywhere near the target at all good. 

 

We get to the gun range and I'm secretly sweating bullets (pun!). What if I can't shoot anything?! No one will ever want to be on my team if I play Resident Evil again! If a zombie devastation really does occur, I'm a goner! I was a wreck. Then I met my target. Glassy-eyed, torn shirt, disheveled hair, looking worse for the wear - my kind of girl. 

  I affectionately named her Victoria. But not so bad, eh?! Out of ten rounds, seven were in her face :) The remaining three? I have no idea where they went; they were no where on the target. Oops. 

My Weekend in Photos

     

* The strongest/best iced coffee ever! 

* The best view at Noodle World

* Zombie target practice

* Kevin Lor inside a makeshift coffin that will double as my closet

* A nighttime stroll in J-town

* Spending time with my seester

Escuela Taqueria

I first heard about Escuela through Daily Candy's witty post earlier this summer and being a fan of Steve Arroyo (Cobras & Matadors and Potato Chips), I knew it'd be on my hit list. 

It's such a cute, hipster spot with a breezy vibe. The menu is small but packs a mean punch! The food is incredible here. INCREDIBLE. My favorite is their pork belly tacos with pickled onions. Steph had the chicken tamales - yummy goodness. 

But the best part is their decor. It's so quirky, I love it. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving. From me, to you. 

xo, Jenny

My Weekend in Photos

       

* Project Muirfield going full speed ahead. My studio floors are done. Woot woot!  

* I took Steph to her first pole show. It was amazing! 

* Columbus helping me with laundry

* Rain in Rosemead

* A princess party for a two-year-old

* A rice crispy turkey done just right

* Working late on a Sunday night

Good Eats: Mendocino Farms

To launch my Good Food Neighborhoods tour, Janet and Danny took me to Mendocino Farms to start things off right. It did not disappoint :)

The restaurant is light and airy with a huge open kitchen where you can watch the chefs prepare your sandwich in front of you. We ordered the Kurobata Pork Belly Banh Mi and Italian Deli. It's a perfect spot for a Sunday brunch on a warm, sunny morning. Dee-lish!

  

Artist Adoration: David Garcia

My jaw dropped when I saw these intricate and beautiful pieces from my contortion teacher, David Garcia. Aren't they stunning?

Using materials like Japanese bronze seed beads and Swarovski glass pearls, each piece is handmade by David alone. While these pictures are lovely, you must see them in person. I could not take my eyes off them! Today, David is having a jewelry sale on Etsy - please support him and our handmade nation! It's so important to support our local artists and praise them on the time, thought, and effort that went into each original work of art. xo

In addition to being an amazing jewelry maker, David is also an Aerial Contortionist. It's fascinating and so inspiring to watch his 6'2 frame do crazy handstands and perfect splits. Look at what I was able to do with his help! 

The wrath of my cat

Every night when I come home, Columbus and I have this little ritual. I pick him up from the sofa and we hang out and "chitchat" about all kinds of things. After two minutes of snuggling and purring, he loses interest and gets fidgety. 

I find it both amusing and heartwrenching the lengths he'll go to get out of my grasp. He puts his paws on my face so I can't get any more closer to him. If I don't relent, he becomes vocal until I have to. My chatterbox. My little demon child. Seven months old. xo

Good Food Neighborhoods

I consider myself a foodie. I love trying new restaurants. I appreciate the aspects of fine dining - the exquisite decor, the minute details, the quality ingredients, dressing up :) On the same token, I am down with the hole in the walls, food carts and ghetto dog stands. Like my Yelp, I am all. about. food.  

A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a colleague about the book EAT: Los Angeles 2012 and he mentioned I should eat at every one of the restaurants and blog about it. Well, while I don't think I can handle eating at 1,300 restaurants, there's a chapter I do want to try - Good Food Neighborhoods! It's a section of the book that profiles 12 different neighborhoods in Los Angeles with "a strong sense of place and a vibrant food community. Once you explore them all, you'll be a true Angeleno." 

Having lived in Los Angeles all my life, I think I want to try this. To my superb coworker, Daniel Miller, this food tour is dedicated to you. I hope you and your wifey will join me in one of the restaurants.

Wish me luck! 

[3rd Street]

Bob's Coffee & Doughnuts

Huntington Meats

Littlejohn's Candies

Loteria Grill

Marconda's Meats

Monsieur Marcel Gourmet Market

AOC

Burger Kitchen

Joan's on Third

The Little Door

Little Next Door

Plancha, A Taco Joint

Son of a Gun

Tasca

 

[Abbot Kinney, Venice]

Abbot's Habit

Abbot's Pizza

The Brig

Gjelina

Clencrest Bar-B-Que

Hal's Bar and Grill

Joe's Restaurant

Lilly's

Market Gourmet

N'Ice Cream

Primitivo Wine Bistro

Wabi-Sabi

 

[Boyle Heights]

Eastside Luv Wine Bar

El Mercado de Los Angeles

El Rinconcito Del Mar Restaurant

El Tepeyac Café

Guisados

La Mascota Bakery

La Parrilla Restaurant

La Serenata De Garibaldi

Los Cinco Puntos Mexican Foods

Tamales Liliana

Teresita's Restaurant

 

[Culver City]

Akasha

BottleRock

Father's Office

Ford's Filling Station

Fraiche

Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken

La Dijonaise

L'Epicerie

Le Saint Amour

Let's Be Frank Dogs

Rush Street

Sublime Food Lounge

Surfas

Tender Greens

 

[Koreatown]

Koreatown Galleria

Koreatown Plaza

BCD Tofu House

Chosun Galbee

Dong Il Jang

Feng Mao 2

Hodori

Honey Pig

Myung Dong Kyoja

Road to Seoul

Wien Konditorei und Café

Young Susan

 

[Little India]

Ambala Dhaba

Ambala Sweets

Farm Fresh

Little India Grill

Pioneer Sweets & Snacks

Saffron Spot

Shan

Surati Farsan Mart

Tirupathi Bhimas

Udupi Palace

Woodlands

 

[Little Tokyo]

Daikokuya

Far Bar

Haru Ulala

Lazy Ox Canteen

Little Tokyo Galleria

Mikawaya

Mitsuru Café

Nijiya Market

Novel Café 

Orochon Ramen

Spitz

Suehiro Café

Sushi Gen

Sushi Go 55

Thousand Cranes

Wurstkuche

 

[San Gabriel Valley]

101 Noodle Express

China Islamic Restaurant

Chung King

Dong Ting Spring

Duck House

Elite Restaurant

Gourmet Vegetarian

King Hua

Little Sheep

Mama Lu's Dumpling House

Newport Seafood

Ocean Star

Seafood Village

 

[Sawtelle]

2117 Restaurant

Bar Hayama

Beard Papa

Blue Marlin

Furaibo

Hide Sushi

Kiriko Sushi

Manpuku

Maizu 212

Mousse Fantasy

Nijiya Market

Orris

Robata Ya

Yakitori-Ya

 

[Silver Lake]

Alegria on Sunset

Berlin Currywurst

Café Stella

Café Tropical

Cheese Store on Silverlake

Dusty's Bistro

El Siete Mares

Food + Lab

Forage LA

Intelligentista

LA Mill

Lark Café Shop

Malo

Millie's

Pazzo Gelato

Pho Café

Silverlake Wine

 

[South Pasadena]

Bistro de la Gare

Briganti

Buster's Ice Cream & Coffee Shop

Fair Oaks Pharmacy

Firefly Bistro

Great Harvest Bread Co.

Heirloom Bakery & Café

Kaldi

Mike & Annie's

Mission Wine

Mix n' Munch

My Sweet Cupcake

Nicole's Gourmet Foods

Nicole's Maison et Objet

Radhika

Shiro

South Pas Farmers' Market

 

[Ventura Boulevard, Studio City]

Artisan Cheese Gallery

Asanebo

Big Sugar Bakeshop

Daichan

Flask Fine Wines

Kiwami

Loteria Grill Studio City

Mantee

Ramen Jinya

Raphael

Studio City Farmer's Market

Sushi Nozawa

Sushi Katsu-Ya