Magnolia Cupcakes

Know this isn't on the list, but it really should be. Magnolia cupcakes for all!

Check out the video here:

21. maple bacon doughnut @ nickel diner

after being rejected TWICE bc we went during the twentyseconds they are closed between lunch + dinner, we finally made it to the five-cent diner just in the "nick" of time to snag their last maple bacon doughnut!

yummy sweet + salty combo. the two bites i had were fan-tabs. not sure i could eat a whole one by myself without feeling guilty tho.

23. red line metro barhop

first time on the LA metro, and honestly it was more pleasant than i thought it would be. i could totally imagine myself taking the metro to work, home, and stopping at the local watering hole along the way except:

1. i don't live along the metro line
2. i don't work along the metro line
3. i can't commit to a watering hole along the metro line

here are a few spots we hit up along the way. i know this isn't a legit on-and-off barhop, but i'm too LA to ride public transportation. sorries. :p

- rotating bona vista lounge @ the top of the westin
- bar 107: tricky! this place is hidden + really deserves its own post. :)
- the varnish: alas, it was not meant to be. will need to return another day.

34. carne asada burrito from tacos tumbras a tomas @ grand central market

what. the. shizzzzz. someone please tell me why it's taken me this long to stumble upon this amazing market.

loveloveloving this place. and altho i had already eaten possibly one of the.best.tacos. west of vine earlier that day, the mexican food at tumbras a tomas was totes mouthwatering and well worth the wait.

i chow'd down a pollo taco the size of my face, then ate nearly half the carne asada burrito. then proceeded to k.o. from food coma.
it was bomb-dot-com.

86. ringside @ lucha vavoom

i say lucha, you say vavoom!

fun, fun times. thank you midget mexican masked wrestlers and tranny burlesque dancers who know how to work a hula hoop.

you've really, truly, inspired me.
xoxo,
~a

16. bowling @ shatto 39 lanes

i'm not sure what the draw here is, except for $4 cocktails?
shatto 39 lanes is a family friendly institution in the heart of k-town which is kinda random seeing mexican families mingling with drunk high school kids. i mean asians.

personally, i prefer xtreme bowling @ amf mar vista.
adios, muthaf*a!

49. blood + sand cocktail @ tiki ti

tiki ti! what a gem of a joint off sunset in h(word)-friendly hollywood/silver lake. owned by a father + son duo, you can smoke inside this kitschy bar. how euro.

the best part about ordering the blood & sand cocktail is when they yell "toro! toro!" i think of otoro and it makes me smile.

i will be returning to get lei'd. thanks.

46. late night danger dog

dirt cheap bacon-wrapped hot dogs. what is not to love?
all you haterade drinkers: simmer down. no one's forcing this down your throat.

68. turkey dinner at clifton’s cafeteria, don’t forget the green jello

after the esotouric jaunt, we wandered around downtown for a maple bacon doughnut, only to find nickel diner closed!

happily, we found our way to clifton's cafeteria, or what i like to call the Downtown Ski Lodge. seriously, this shit was straight out of a '70s log cabin. i'm talking lincoln log style. rustle up a cowhide rug and call it a day because after you eat this tryptophan sludge you are going to want nothing more than some mulled cider and a long nap. word.

72. real black dahlia tour by esotouric

meh. so exhausted i couldn't fully enjoy the experience (+ i had forgotten to wiki the story before our adventure began) so feel free to get a taste of the day here.

tho the hotel where the tour began was quite fab + a fun spot for prom!

52. double chocolate croissant pudding with jack daniels sauce @ milk

haven't visited this place since it opened .. oh, yay years ago .. but decided to revisit with an old friend.

me: do you have a double chocolate croissant pudding with jack daniels sauce?
cashier: a what?
[i repeat myself]
cashier (to other worker): ey, we got a double .. chocolate (mumble mumble) with .. what sauce?
me: jack. daniels. sauce.
other worker: jack daniels sauce? .. no, i ain't never heard of that, but it sure sounds damn good.
me: .. tell me about it ..

so instead, i settled for their ultimate chocolate bread pudding a la mode.
done and done

22. mashti malone’s lavender ice cream

mashti's! who doesn't love this place?

unfort, they were totes sold out of their lavender ice cream. boo.

tho known for their rosewater flavoured treats, i ended up with a scoop of their herbal snow sorbet. yummzers!

ps. iced desserts when it's cold out is always a good idea. always.

17. kobe-style beef at park’s bbq

.. not quite sure why this spot was chosen over the many other fan-tab ktown bbq joints (hello, unlimited meat @ manna, anyone?), but headed here this weekend with a friend and while i thoroughly enjoyed it, i honestly thought the gal-bi style meat was seasoned better and, since they were thicker cuts, didn't burn as easily.

as an aside, i am in lovelovelove with the duk bo saam at shik do rak.

that shik's done right, yo.

65. quarter chicken with side of garlic sauce at zankou chicken

not gonna lie, i'm not quite sure why everyone loves this place.

imean, the food's decent (and the garlic sauce quite lovely) but .. seriously. seriously? this place? this place is on the list?

updating a few things

because let's be honest: we're in a tight spot right now

41. totoraku (as much as i love you and am still convinced i will see behind your paper'd facade one day) will be replaced by champagne + oysters at malibu seafood fresh fish market
as put by n, "especially if i have to go to silverlake for this thing you can go to the bu 1 day."

62. urasawa (i am totes still doing this, but for the sake of this list) will be replaced by bacon waffles + bacon ice cream at fig

66. goddess spa treatment @ olympic spa (naked much?) will be replaced by mini-massage + simple soak @ olympic spa

74. the bungalow will be replaced by tbd: either damn good burger @ chateau marmont, or umami burger

80. courtside @ lakers game will be replaced by box seats @ staples center

84. goodyear blimp (i'm still keeping my eyes open for an invite to this, bthedubs) will be replaced by a scavenger hunt around los angeles

37. greyhound proper @ hungry cat

n let me pick 1 spot on our list this weekend, and thought it would be useful to knock 2 birds w/one stone @ hungry cat. sadly, they stop serving hot food @ 11p. (who knew??)

will have to return to try the burger, but their cocktails were certainly decadent. i rarely emoticon over a drink, but i think this place deserves one.
:)
whoop! there it is

2. chili dog from pink's

having never done this sober, idk what it really tastes like. but i can tell you @ 2am after waiting for 45mins, this sh*t is bananas.

4. korean short ribs taco from kogi bbq taco truck

oh, kogi. similar to that dude you had a crush on that one time:

infatuated to the point of twitterstalking. willing to wait for hours for a taste. told all my friends how wonderful you were.

then i met someone new and we stopped seeing each other except for the occasional drink here + there.
thnx 4 th3 mmrs. <3

18. mulholland drive from 405 to 101

in my mind, david lynch propelled this street to stardom and having just watched it prior to spending the summer in LA, i immediately had to test it in my sister's convertible.

i think i could've been a race car driver in a past life. imean, minus all the accidents and stuff.

20. father's office burger

you can read my other blog if you really want to know what i think about the father's office BURGER, but i will say the rest of the food + beer @ the 'office are worth a happy hour hike.