Last weekend I took four days to head to the West Coast to visit with friends and explore a city that many of my NYC friends have relocated to (don’t worry mom, I’m still an east coaster). LA has a solid food scene and we spent most meals out exploring. Here’s a rundown of all of the deliciousness (plus the celebs we saw along the way, because what’s a trip to LA without some celeb sightings?).
There were many tempting dishes on this brunch menu. Since it was the beginning of the trip I was still trying to eat healthy (my oh my that went downhill fast). I ordered the hangtown fry (soft scrambled eggs, mushrooms, onions, bacon, potatoes, chilis, crispy oyster) with a side of hot coffee and freshly made almond and hazelnut milk. A lot of LA places served fresh nut milk which gets LA major bonus points.
We brunched at Farmshop with friends and it did not dissapoint. The menu isn’t your typical eggs and panackes sort of deal, but don’t let that scare you away. We started with and the Crown Maple Sticky Bun (was this necessary? definitely not. but also totally worth it) and the Fried Weiser Farm Potatoes. I had the Shirred Eggs (blooms dale spinach, lamb merguez, medjool dates, yogurt & chermoula). I loved the salty sweet combo of this dish. While dining we saw some dude from Magic Mike, Adam Rodriguez (haven’t seen the movie, whoops).
This is a very hipster spot with an extensive, yet confusing and overwhelming menu. You order up front then have to fight for what few seats are available in the back. I recommend one person ordering and one person staking out your spot. I had the Spring Veg Breakfast (kale, fresno chili, red onion, fried eggs, toast) and coffee. My friend had the Bialy Egg and said it was the best breakfast sandwich ever. Mine was very good but if I went back I’d opt for the Bialy Egg sandy. While dining, we again saw that same dude from Magic Mike. Clearly he was stalking us.
I want to say this place is a go-to in LA, but what do I know. Well, I do know I had been before and I’d go again. This is a casual place to drop by for lunch. There are various salads, all that were quite good. This place is known as a celeb hot spot, while at lunch we saw Rebel Wilson.
I’m told this is the hot new pizza place in town, and since Jessica Alba was sitting right next to us, I’ll agree! This place was so good. I rarely indulge in pizza and pasta but sometimes you just gotta. This was one of those times. Favorites from our order: marinated baby artichoke, the gem lettuce salad (#1 fave), the Jersey Marinara pizza (cheese-free goodness) and the cacio e pepe pasta.
Jessica Alba took this picture after we left, sigh, we could have been famous.
Misc Treats Along the Way
Sweet Rose Creamery: Ice cream, need I say more? Ok I will, I had the dairy free horchata with coconut granola on top. Yum.
Blue Bottle Coffee: Overpriced (& tasty) coffee that I’d only order while on vacation.
Blue Collar: One of those trendy places where you tell the bartender you like vodka and cucumber and they bring you back some wild combination that you’ll def love. We stopped by here for a pre-dinner drink, the happy hour is great with select cocktails for $7
Sockerbit: Scandinavian candy, free of transfats and GMOs, all colors from nature. This place is a really pretty candy shop. Actually there is one in NYC too but I had never been. May take a trip downtown soon for another taste. Oh and it’s not cheap, but who cares, I’ll pay whatever for a really good bulk gummy situation.
Pressed Freeze: I had been talking about going to this place for weeks. There are Pressed Juicery’s all over LA but only select locations have the freeze. The nearest one was 35 minutes away and you best believe I made my friend drive there with me. It was worth it! I tried almost every flavor…
And decided on greens + vanilla, topped with shredded coconut, strawberries and sea salt (love me some salty sweet). If there was one closer to where we were staying, I would have gone every day. Seriously asking, what does it take to open a franchise in NYC? I’m willing to do this for my New Yorkers!
As you can probably guess, I’m in major need of a detox now, but hey, all my vacation eats were totally worth it!
