The SLY Foodie

Latest Adventures

Pieology

Comments (2) | Sunday, May 25, 2014

There has been some hype surrounding the Pieology chain, and my only regret is not jumping on that bandwagon sooner. I've always been somewhat picky when it comes to pizza, especially when it concerns the crust. Deep dish pizza has always been near and dear to my heart, so much so that I actually scoff at thin crust pizzas. Well, a little.

So you can imagine my reluctance when we went to Pieology a few months ago (yes, I said months). However, having control over what goes on my pizza with the endless possibilities of topping combinations won me over. This is what I came up with for my first time, and please allow me to toot my own horn, because it was GOOD. (toot, toot!)

This pie had herb butter sauce, garlic, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. It was a fantastic blending of flavors. Trust me.

Pieology - various locations
3908 Grand Avenue, Suite A, Chino

Julienne - San Marino

Comments (0) |

First and foremost, Happy New Year! I realize it's been quite sometime since the last post, so please forgive me for my lack of diligence in maintaining this blog.

This is a throwback post to last Christmas, when my work peeps had our little Christmas get together at Julienne in the quaint, picturesque town of San Marino. It's a charming little place, with ample space for al fresco dining, as well as a private rooms for more intimate celebrations.

The only picture I was able to snag was of my food. It is their Signature Baked Crème Brulée French Toast, served with a fresh strawberry sauce and crème anglaise. It was ooey, gooey sweet, a tiny bit on the soggy side, and definitely needed the tartness of the strawberries to cut through all the richness. Overall a satisfying breakfast treat, but I think next time, I will be more apt to check out the savory side of the menu.

Julienne - Fine Foods and Celebrations

2651 Mission Street, San Marino

California Noodle and Grill

Comments (0) | Saturday, October 12, 2013

A sudden hunger attack prompted a Vietnamese food craving tonight, so Boogs came to my rescue. He went to California Noodle and Grill, located in the Chino Spectrum shopping plaza.

All I really wanted was a pork banh mi sandwich, but he upped the ante by also bringing me cha gio, Vietnamese fried egg rolls.

The banh mi was delicious, stuffed with charbroiled, marinated pork and filled with julienned carrots and cucumbers. It was enough to satisfy any hunger for sure, and for $3.95 a sandwich, it was definitely worth every penny. The egg rolls were still crispy when they got home, and were quite savory when dipped in the sweet sauce that accompanied them.

Overall, a satisfying late dinner/early midnight snack.

President Thai

Comments (0) | Monday, September 23, 2013

We wanted to satisfy a Thai food craving, so it was off to something new, something adventurous (really, something new). So it was off to President Thai, located in the Diamond Plaza of bustling Rowland Heights.

Pad Seew: flat rice noodles served with chicken, egg and veggies.

Beef Satay: Boogs' staple Thai food order. Marinated beef skewers served with peanut sauce.

Panang Chicken Curry: Tender chicken stewed and simmered in a Thai curry sauce (for lack of a better description). Not bad, but I've had better.

Tom Kha Kai: My favorite Thai soup, it contains chicken, shrimp, straw mushrooms, lemongrass, kaffir lime, and coconut milk. Probably my favorite part of the meal.

Our little food adventure was somewhat of a disappointment, given we weren't totally impressed with the food at President Thai. Would I recommend it? Meh.

Carmela Ice Cream

Comments (0) |

Last Christmas, we visited Carmela Ice Cream in Pasadena. It is an artisan creamery that specializes in making seasonal ice creams, using fresh and seasonal ingredients, as well as organic dairy products. The result is an elevated ice cream experience because fresh and seasonal really does taste better.

Menu board that includes their signature flavors such as Salted Caramel, as well as seasonal flavors like Cardamom and the Cranberry Orange Thyme Sorbet.

In case you ever wondered what a half-eaten bowl of ice cream looks like at night, while standing under some drizzling rain. This was a scoop of Salted Caramel and the Candied Pecan ice creams. Both were outstanding, although I prefer the Salted Caramel. It isn't their signature flavor for nothing.

Carmela Ice Cream Artisan Creamery

2495 E Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104

Seoul Sausage

Comments (0) |

A friend and fellow foodie was kind enough to take us to Seoul Sausage, located in West LA (and if you know me, I hardly venture into that part of town). I'm always down for good food; seeing it on TV makes me crave it more. The Seoul Sausage boys were the rightful winners of Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race" (Season 3), and so I was doubly excited to go check out the food.

Sorry for the poor pics...I really tried to take good pictures of the food, but was overcome by hunger, thus rushing the process. Yeah, that's it.

Galbi Poutine: French fries topped with braised short ribs, cheese, pickled onion and avocado lime crema. Super good, but eat this while it's hot. Colder temps will affect your enjoyment.

Da KFC: Korean Fried Chicken served glazed with a sweet and spicy sauce, with pickled daikon radish and a gianormous piece of cornbread. Loved the cornbread, but not a fan of the glaze. I bet the fried chicken served dry would be outstanding.

Rice Balls: One is the Flaming Ball, a cheesy, kimchi fried rice ball served with what's called DMZ (an aioli made with sriracha, garlic, kimchi and jalapeno). The other is a Lil Osaka Ball, whose name pays homage to the community. It is a Japanese curry rice ball that contains beef and potatoes, and served with a ginger and sriracha mayo. Final verdict: Must.Consume.More.Than.One.Of.Each. Yes, they're that good - and this probably isn't the time to share.

Galbi/Beef Sausage: Korean BBQ beef sausage served on a toasted roll and served with garlic jalapeno aioli and kimchi relish. So unique. So good.

Spicy Pork Sausage: Korean BBQ pork sausage served with apple cabbage cole slaw. Equally good.

Simply said, you must try Seoul Sausage at least once. I plan on going back, as soon as I can get over the agony of driving to the Westside. It is definitely worth the hassle of LA traffic.

Seoul Sausage

11313 Mississippi Avenue

Los Angeles, California

Gyu-Kaku

Comments (0) |

For my birthday, we decided to go to Gyu-Kaku in Rancho Cucamonga. Having never tried it, the novelty of cooking your own Japanese style BBQ appealed to me. Overall, it was a good choice, albeit slightly overpriced. So my advice is to only go when their Happy Hour menu is in effect. I promise, you (and your wallet) will be better for it.

We ordered the Happy Hour course for 2 people ($39.95), which includes:

Gyu-Kaku salad (fancier name for their version of House Salad)
Miso soup for two
California Roll
Fried Calamari
Sukiyaki Bibimbap
Bistro Hangar Steak Miso
New York Steak Miso
Kalbi Chuck Garlic
Chicken Tenders
Toro Beef Tare
Yaki Shabu Miso
Spinach Garlic

Fried Calamari - average, run of the mill fried squid.

We also ordered some Fried Tofu, which was tasty, but nothing extraordinary.

California Roll - also tasty, but nothing to write home about.

Chicken Karaage - quite good; enjoyed by both adults and children.

Garlic shrimp and spinach with garlic up in our grill.

Assorted meats waiting to be cooked, then devoured.

Gyu-Kaku, Rancho Cucamonga
7893 Monet Ave.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

BLT Steak

Comments (0) | Saturday, April 14, 2012

For our anniversary last year, we both wanted to indulge in our appreciation for cows. Ok, not so much cows, but steak. Having been to Ruth's Chris, Lawry's and the like, we decided to try BLT Steak out in West Hollywood. It's located in the Le Dome space on the ever-so-busy Sunset Boulevard, so allow yourself plenty of time to get there before your reservation time. We got there super early, so we took advantage of their happy hour specials.

SoCal Sangria: I don't know what's in this, but I will say two things about it: one, it has club soda or sparkling water in it, because it was fizzy. Two, it's the best sangria I've ever had.

Cast Iron Black Mussels: Black mussels with chorizo, roasted tomato and served with bruschetta. I was not a fan of mussels...until I tried these. Now, I consider myself a mussel snob of sorts.

Short Rib Grilled Cheese: another item on the happy hour menu, this delectable treat was cheesy, crunchy and beefy all in one bite.

So now we 're shown to our seats, and before we even have time to digest the mussels and the grilled cheese sammy, we have to unbuckle our belts to make room for the rest of the feast:

Chicken pate served with bread. I am not into liver, so I only tasted it enough to report that it tastes like, well, liver.

BLT Popovers: Served hot and fresh. The popovers alone are worth the trip. Crunchy on the outside, flaky and buttery on the inside. They also give out the recipe, though I doubt that I can replicate that piece of perfection.

Rib Eye (Bone in): Cooked to medium perfection, served with roasted bone marrow and roasted garlic. Even in the midst of a food coma, I can tell that the meat was cooked perfectly, although just slightly underseasoned. The bone marrow was so good, words can't describe it.

Hangar steak: cooked medium, and it was almost just as good as my ribeye.

Parmesan Gnocchi: served with tomato sauce and topped with a generous portion of Parmesan cheese. Pillowy potato dough swimming in a savory tomato pool.

Creamed Spinach: served with caramelized minced garlic. No steakhouse experience is complete without these leafy greens. Cooking it in cream just kicks it up a notch...or two.

Our sweet finish to an epic meal.

Avocado House, Chino

Comments (0) |

The Avocado House is can be considered a hidden gem in the city of Chino. Although it is located on one of the city's busiest streets, it is easy to pass right by it unnoticed. They are also not open for dinner; just breakfast and lunch.

However, the first time I went there was for dinner...Thanksgiving dinner, that is. It was outstanding; the only disappointment was the fact that I forgot my camera. Bad food blogger.

Boogs and I came here for lunch on a whim, and this time, I remembered to snap some photos of the food.

The Craving: beef tri-tip with cream cheese, grilled onions and peppers, and monterey jack cheese on sourdough bread, and served with a side of fresh fruit. This was Boogs's selection; it was delish. Who knew that cream cheese and beef could go together so well?

Thanksgiving: sliced turkey, cream cheese, lettuce and mayonnaise on cranberry walnut bread. Served with a side of fresh fruit, a ginger snap cookie and lemon bar. This sandwich is ah-mazing! It really does taste like Thanksgiving on a sandwich.

Bread Pudding: Served warm and topped with whipped cream. We both liked it, because there weren't any raisins, but it kind of felt anticlimactic.

Avocado House - 11618 Central Avenue, Chino

909.627.9733

Syrup Desserts, Downtown LA

Comments (0) | Sunday, January 8, 2012

I found out about Syrup Desserts from a Six Taste brochure promoting a food tour of Downtown's Financial District. The sweet grilled cheese sandwiches they offer were reasons enough for me to make a short bus trip down the street.

Lounge area upstairs where there are board games available to enjoy.

What you see when you walk in the store.

Italian soda - don't remember the flavor though.

Latte - it was good, but nothing to brag about.

Blackberry Muenster - an awesome grilled cheese sandwich that contains fresh blackberries, muenster cheese, walnuts, blackberry preserves and ham on texas toast and topped with powdered sugar. The sweetness from the sugar, creaminess of the cheese, savory ham and tartness from the berries was an explosion of flavor. A must try.

Syrup Signature Waffles - Liege waffle served with fresh strawberries, vanilla ice cream. strawberry glaze and whipped cream. What's not to like? The crispy waffle was the perfect vehicle for the berries and the ice cream.

Syrup Desserts, 601 S. Spring Street, Downtown Los Angeles

Urth Caffe, Downtown LA

Comments (0) |

Urth Caffe is a hip organic coffee company that specializes in its own brand of coffee and tea. They also happen to serve good, farm fresh food. They have four locations - Beverly Hills, Downtown, Santa Monica and West Hollywood. In fact, some episodes of HBO's Entourage show the Beverly Hills location.

On one of my first visits to Urth, this is what I got:

Sausage and Potato Omelette - three organic eggs with spicy chicken sausage, bell peppers, onions, heirloom potatoes and parsley. Served with a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and bread.

Caffe Latte Dolce - it's supposed to be sweet and mild, prepared in the Italian tradition. It was good, but I thought it was a little on the bitter side.

Brioche Bread Pudding - WITHOUT raisins. It will probably feel like a big lump in your gut because it's kinda heavy, but it is really good. Especially when it's fresh.

Urth Caffe, 451 South Hewitt Street, Downtown Los Angeles

Newport Tan Cang Seafood Restaurant, San Gabriel

Comments (0) |

Newport Tan Cang Seafood Restaurant is well known for their Newport Special Lobster. They currently have two locations, one in Rowland Heights, and the main location in San Gabriel. The restaurant is essentially a Chinese seafood restaurant that is heavily influence by Vietnamese, Cambodian and Thai cuisines. My tip of the day would be to go there early; it fills up quick. Oh yeah, and if ordering the lobster, bring money. A substantial amount of money.