Gastronomer's Guide to The Galaxy

Blue Ginger

2011-10-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly adjusting to Wellesley. It's a gorgeous campus and the classes/professors are amazing. Lucky, very lucky indeed. My school also happens to be situated five minutes away from a well-known restaurant, Blue Ginger, owned by Ming Tsai! It was a pricy meal, but after eating a month of cafeteria food and ramen, I had to treat myself.

On a crisp, autumn afternoon, a friend and I walked over in our classy attire after class and enjoyed a break from Hogwarts. I ordered the Sake-Miso marinated Butterfish and she had the Panko Herb Crusted Chicken Breast (keep in mind, each dish is worth $$$$$$, so we didn't order much). My butterfish was tender and creamy (as butterfish should be), but there is really no wrong way to cook butterfish. I loved the soba noodles and the wasabi roe, sadly that dish was not enough for me come back.

What would entice me to return is their delicious dessert. It had a warm apricot tart, almond biscotti, and a creamy vanilla bean ice cream (may be inaccurate, as the dessert menu changes with the season. I don't remember what the specific contents were. All I remember is I wanted more). It was not an amazing meal; nonetheless, I was pleased my dinner. After a few more weeks of cafeteria food, I will be back to try their other dishes. Not giving up on you, Blue Ginger.

La Grande Orange Café

2011-10-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

This was my last hurrah until I departed for Boston. I've dined here a couple of times, and each time, it's a blast. The atmosphere is very Pasadena; casual cool, earthy. The food is the same as well. Their dishes are simple, but are packed with flavor. They cook with the best ingredients, fresh and mostly organic (including, Coca Cola with pure sugar cane and Vegan Strawberry gelato; that's the way to go folks). We began our meals with guacamole and chips and deviled eggs. Both were delicious, but those deviled eggs were downright sinful. Bacon sprinkles!! We had to order two; so good.

Guacamole and Chips

Deviled eggs all here.

Deviled eggs all gone.

Grilled Ahi Tuna Tacos.

Most of us ordered taco platters to share; we had the ahi tuna, ribeye steak, short rib. The Short Rib and Ahi Tuna were obvious favorites. The dinner was delicious and everyone enjoyed the feast. I'm certain it's delicious, but I have yet to try their famous red velvet cake, which everyone raves about. It's difficult to stuff down a slice of cake after devouring so much protein in one sitting every time! I love it here and you should too, though it's not a place you should go out of your way just to try their tacos and cakes. It's good food, but you'll find similar dishes at other restaurants.

Famous short ribs

Cheeky's

2011-10-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

For the summer, my buddies and I drove to Palm Springs! We swam in lukewarm water, perused shops in the 110 degree weather, partied inside our villa with 2 beds and 10 people! I'm sure the others would agree we had many unforgettable moments.

For most meals, we took turns cooking. But one blazing hot afternoon, we headed into town and Jackie found a cute restaurant, Cheeky's! Even though our butts and thighs were sweating and all we breathed in was hot, dry desert air (a result of not being able to get a seat inside), we enjoyed an amazing meal. The workers were fun and easygoing, making our dining experience more comfortable. Most importantly, everything is organic!

The plating of their dishes were simple. My favorite.

They also featured cute menus.

We didn't order too much; it was too hot to be hungry, but everything looked so appetizing. The pesto fries were flavorful, but how can you go wrong with pesto + fries.

Water. water. It was so hot. We drank a lot of water.

Everyone was over the moon about their meals, and if we ever come back to Palm Springs, you'll find us at Cheeky's!

Urth Caffé

2011-10-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Playing catch up now.

A few months ago, we headed to Urth Caffé after a long day of chopping down invasive species of trees in the Ballona Wetlands. A very fitting choice (organic, 100% chemical free, vertical integration, fair trade, they even have biodegradable cups!).

After a hard day's work, we picked out some hearty meals, instead of the usual Spanish latte and cookie. Irene ordered a grilled chicken pesto sandwich and I ordered an omelette with portobello mushrooms and cheese, lots of cheese. Needless to say, we were back to full energy.

The only thing to avoid is the boba. It's below par. Tastes like the shitty "bubble tea" they sell here in Wellesley. I recommend Half & Half or Tasty-to-Go for all your boba cravings. Fortunately, what they lack in the boba department, the tea and coffee selection is amazing. Try anything and everything, and you will leave satiated. I ordered the iced green tea, which was so refreshing, after picking up trash and digging up roots.

Magnolia Bakery

2011-10-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

I'm back and living it up in Wellesley, Massachusetts! "It ain't a girl's school without men, it's a women's college without boys". "If you're dating a Wellesley girl, raise your hand, if you aren't, raise your standards". I can go all day.

So over Fall Break, I visited a few friends in New York. We ventured all over, eating our way through New York City over the couple of days (Alice's Teacup, Amorino's, Shake Shack, Rice to Riches, which I highly recommend).

Sunday night, we stopped by Magnolia Bakery before heading to the UCB Theater to watch Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, and others perform. The line was long, as expected, but the workers were super friendly. We squeezed inside and I ordered a simple red velvet cupcake and the magic cookie bar. The magic cookie bar is reminiscent of Girl Scout samoas, but definitely more scrumptious. If you need a quick fix of anything coconut and chocolate, it'll get the job done. The cupcake was nothing exceptional, probably because Julia dropped it on the subway ground. The cake itself was fine, not as moist as I liked it, but edible. Even so, the frosting was delicious, smooth, creamy, and fluffy. Not too sweet either. Unfortunately, most of the frosting flopped onto the grime-covered grounds of the New York subway.

But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Canelé

2011-03-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

Spent the night at Canelé, a quaint french bistro, with the sisters. You can count on a fun-filled night when you're with Crystal and Chelsea, but the food at Canelé made the night that much more enjoyable.

The dim-lighting and rustic furnishings make for a cozy ambience and a great way to unwind after a tedious day. Adding to the intimacy, they have an open kitchen and a friendly staff. We were left to our own devices to open our bottle of water and after many attempts, the waiter finally came to the rescue. We all laughed it off and it was a lovely way to start our dinner.

We started with a special spaghetti that was tossed together with pancetta, parmesan, and pistachios! It was orgasmic to say the least. Easily my favorite dish of the whole night.

For the entreés, we got their duck confit and boeuf bourguignon. The duck was seasoned with roasted apples and almonds; I highly recommend it. The boeuf bourguignon was lackluster, but it gets the job done; maybe my expectations were too high after the spaghetti. Nevertheless, we ended on a good note with a flourless chocolate cake topped with ice cream.

When you leave, they also offer a complimentary canelé! All in all a wonderful dining experience.

Definitely coming back for brunch!

Spitz

2011-02-13T23:42:00.000-08:00

Our first food outing! We chose to start small and go to Spitz in Little Tokyo. It's a nice little mediterranean restaurant. We both agreed that the atmosphere there was really easygoing- it's a nice place to unwind and have dinner. The service there is pretty casual, as you seat yourself and walk up to the counter to order.

Tiff's iphone most definitely did not do these street carte fries any justice...

We got sweet potato fries and street carte fries to share, then we each got our own classic doner wrap. Those street carte fries were heaven... you'll have to try it to understand. The sweet potato fries also came with alioli that complimented them nicely, and the classic wraps were what you would expect from any typical gyro (our expectations were amazing). Anyways, it was a successful first food venture and we had fun walking around Little Tokyo. The highlight of our night was probably watching strangers volunteering to do karaoke. Seeing strangers out of their comfort zone or lack of comfort zone is undoubtedly the best. (Though I would probably act exactly like them if I were up there, so I should probably stop talking...)

Tiffany and Chelsea

Introductions

2011-01-25T01:03:00.000-08:00

Hello, Blogspot!! So to start off, our names are Tiffany and Chelsea. Just two friends in our senior year of high school that decided one day we wanted to expand our love for food by exploring different restaurants and eateries out there in the LA area. We're trying to make the best out of our senior year, and we hope to continue this project of ours even after we are handed our diplomas. Tiffany will be studying in Boston for college so hopefully we will be seeing some of Boston's bests, whereas Chelsea will continue to explore LA. We're hoping to gain some of the best memories from this and enlighten others on these places we come across!