Casa Blanca

The main reason I wanted to visit this place is its got the same name as an area of my hometown. It wasn’t the nicest part of Riverside, but I had a couple friends that lived there and I figured I had to try this restaurant that shared a name with that community. I roped my roommate Tree into it when we found some favorable reviews on yelp and off we went.

I made my choice of a wet burrito however because a different piece of hometown nostalgia, the wet carne asada burrito from Templo Del Sol. ultimately the burrito was underwhelming, with both me and my roommate voicing our dissapointment at its medicority. The red sauce is so red but has so little flavor, it was an overall bummer to the whole experience. It seems I never put a Templo Del Sol post up however so I’ll haveto dig around and try to find some pictures. If not, theres always an excuse to go take more.

15922 Gale Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745-1603

(626) 330-9549‎

Miyako

This is not the first sushi restaurant I’ve eaten at named Miyako, this isn’t even the 2nd. Surprisingly however they all 3 are of a similar quality and price, although this one lacks the yellow tail cheek I favored at the last Miyako I would frequent. Santa Monica is full of sushi bars however and if not for the fact that this one was in walking distance I’d most likely choose another.

This baked salmon roll was exactly what I needed on a day that I wasn’t too hungry. I could really go for high quality sushi at lunch, but this doesn’t do too bad a job of sating the craving, even if it’s a bit of a compromise. Their eel with rice bento will probably be my next lunch, it’ll hopefully hit the spot.

Miyako Restaurant
2829 Ocean Park Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 396-5588

Saigon Dish

I’ve heard about the legendary Phoriday for the past year from Johnny, and how much I needed to go to Saigon Dish. I had no idea my boss would end up being the creator of Phoriday but I seized the perfect chance to partake in Phoriday. Several other people from work came, including a guy from Michigan who was apparently way down with Grand Rapids Vietnamese connection.

The place had a great vibe from the get go, and it was the cleanest pho place I’d ever been to with the nicest owner to boot. The entire experience was extremely pleasant despite us being in a rush to finish during our lunch break.

Will, was nice enough to get a round of eggrolls for the table, and I almost forgot to take a picture. Thank god he came through at the last minute and reminded me to take a photo of the last eggroll. It was delicious, definitely the best eggroll I’ve ever picked up from a pho restaurant.

Will got the number 7, that one with every part of the cow in it. The one everyone orders by its number on the menu instead of the name, and here that number is 7. I never get the number 7, its not that I dislike anything in it, but I’d rather just get a ton of strips of meat. I think most of my friends order this exclusively.

Nick my new buddy who grew up in Michigan surprised the heck out of me by going with sea food. Most of the time I’m imprssed when someone from out of state makes the big leap to eat seafood, but he got it in pho proving once again that I need to judge the rest of america less harshly.

It’s always a toss up or me between Pho Tai and Pho Bo Vien, but Johnny had praised the epicness of their meatballs so I had to give them a shot. It was delicious, and I felt like I couldn’t get enough. I’m truly sold on Saigon Dish, and now Fridays provide even more to look forward to.

15725 Hawthorne Boulevard
Suite 108
Lawndale, CA 90260
(310) 676-8778

Nancy Conquers Lamb Again

There are three delicious things on this plate, and I was beyond glad to eat it all. I got so excited with this trio of flavor I couldn’t take the picture fast enough. I hadn’t had green beans since I was a kid, but they were always one of my favorite things at that weird elementary school I went to. I wanted to take them all for myself but I didn’t want to be a bad guest. Rarely is the first thing I finish on a plate the vegetables, but I ate them with high speed.

The macaroni and cheese was delicious, and made with the remainder of the panko from the fish taco’s I made so many months ago so it had a special place in my heart. Everyone teemed up to devour the large amount of macaroni and cheese, I had plenty and almost 2 weeks later still remember wanting more. Finally there was the delicious lamb, something I just never seem to enjoy from anyone but Nancy. It’s weird that I can love something so much, but only when a specific person makes it.

Baked Salmon Teriyaki

The cheapness of salmon never ceases to amaze me. Salmon is such a flavorful fish but an be had for so cheap at the store its one of my favorite things to eat on a budget. I’ve been spending alot of many lately so in an effort to curb that some I’ve been cooking a lot more at home. The problem with that is my preference for organic and other more expensive ingredients.

The bbq is usually a good choice when doing a meat at home until it runs out of propane and I’m too lazy to get it filled up. I know making dinner for me and my parents is probably more work than refilling the propane but I don’t enjoy going to the store as much as cooking.

A quick sweep of household stuff leads to a delicious sounding salmon, onions, and teriyaki combo. The plan after taking this picture was to put some butter on the top and throw it in the oven. I baked it around 350 if I remember correctly.

This deliciousness is what came out of the oven, and I have to say this Salmon turned out great. The first bite I took out of it was delicious, but what really impressed was that it kept tasting better the closer to the middle I got.

I Hope this doesn’t turn you off because I’ve been told this picture doesnt look apetizing. The scalloped potatoes came out of a box but were ok. I remember eating alot of scalloped potatoes when I was young, but I can’t remember. I’ll definitely make the salmon again, but I’m not sure if I’ll accompany it with scalloped potatoes.

new banner, yay!

cfrostspl made me a new banner, its way hot and I like it.

you should visit his blog at http://shift-lock.net/cfrofosho/nfblog/

His real name is Colin Frost, and that’s a pretty epic name to have. Thank you Colin!