Pie Hole and the Griffith Observatory

As I've mentioned before, I have a legitimate Los Angeles bucket list on my phone. I add to it every time I see something that I want to do before I leave California after college... while that is in two years' time, I still try and take advantage of the fact that I currently live in one of the most vibrant cities in America.

One such entry on my bucket list was a place called The Pie Hole, a restaurant in the Arts District of Downtown LA that serves, you guessed it, all sorts of pie. My boyfriend and I drove there on a Saturday night in the early evening, ordered dessert for dinner (even though Pie Hole has savory pies), and found a table outside where the breeze (and drinks) found us.

In the spirit of adventure, I ordered a house-made Arnold Palmer, which is half tea and half lemonade. I was never a huge Arnold Palmer fan in my youth, but it sounded really refreshing... and it was! The drink wasn't too bitter nor too sweet, and had a really nice balance between the tea and lemonade. My only gripe was that it was gone to soon!

B ordered an espresso. He is an avid coffee drinker and savors his espressos, and he really enjoyed this one. Pie Hole takes great pride in their coffee, even selling their own roast in the store, and this pride is apparently deserved. B thought that this espresso was somehow lighter than other espressos that he's consumed, but in a nice way. I didn't try it, but he felt that it was just a very solid and delicious espresso.

Fun fact: one major reason that I wanted to go to Pie Hole was because my boyfriend had never had pie before. Yes. Never had pie. It was a big deal. So, being adults, we ordered pie for dinner... because we can! He went with the classic American double-crust pie a la mode. While I don't think he quite knew what to expect, he really enjoyed it! The apples were spiced wonderfully with cinnamon, and had softened while cooking yet maintained a substantial mouthfeel and bite. The top crust absolutely deserved an honorable mention--while it may be hard to tell from the angle of the photo, you can sort of see the caramelization on top. It seemed to be burnt/caramelized sugar, like the crust of crème brulée!

I went with the cherry almond pie, which also had a double crust. The filling was thick, but I couldn't really taste much almond. I think the crust may have been made with almond flour, which is the only explanation I can really think of. The crust in this pie was also delicious--it was covered in sugar, so how could it not be? The ice cream (just plain vanilla bean) really added a lot to the pie, though. While the pie by itself was good, the addition of the ice cream gave it more depth and made the tartness of the filling a little less pronounced.

From our table, we watched everyone at Wurstküche line up around the block to wait for their gourmet bratwursts. It's yet another delicious restaurant in the Arts District that I highly recommend! Next time I go, I'll make sure to bring my camera along.

Now, after Pie Hole, we tried to head up to the Griffith Observatory. We couldn't figure out why it took us almost a half hour to get to the top of the hill... and then we looked at the calendar and realized that the Observatory was holding a summer solstice celebration. D'oh! Having lost our spirit of adventure, we turned around and went back home...

However, all was not lost! A week later, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, checked the calendar, and ventured back up to the Observatory. We nabbed a parking spot in the main lot, and had about forty-five minutes before the park closed to wander around.

The Griffith Observatory and the views of LA were even more beautiful and breathtaking than I had imagined--I'll let the above pictures do the talking. B let me drag him around and stop at random places to just look, and it was really wonderful.

The inside of the Observatory also hosts some cool displays and exhibits; I only wish we had more time to explore! I'm hoping to return and thoroughly soak up all of the information inside the building, as well as seeing the show at the planetarium.

This room compared and contrasted the various planets in our solar system, explaining everything from size to temperature to gravitational force! Also of note--I fell up those stairs in the bottom/bottom left of that picture. With one hand on my camera and the other holding my boyfriend's hand, it was a bit of a scary moment, but I cradled my camera and let my shin take the force of the impact. My priorities are definitely in a weird place.

After a few laughably bad selfie attempts in front of the Observatory, B and I called it a night and headed to the car to drive back home.

With all this free time in the summer, I've been loving exploring LA. Do you have any suggestions for cool things to do? Let me know in the comments below! And, as always, you can find me on Instagram at @__katherinew

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Los Angeles Institutions

I'm not even kidding when I say that I have a Los Angeles bucket list. It ranges from restaurants to museums to just plain places I want to see. Naturally, whenever I have the opportunity, I try to cross something off. Last Wednesday, my boy and I went on a date and crossed a few things off the list!

We started the night with Pink's Hot Dogs. B loves hot dogs, so our recent outings have focused on these super glamorous and romantic foods. (Can you feel the sarcasm?) We went out to Wurstküche a few weeks ago, and we were kind of curious to know how these two famous LA sausage joints stacked up against each other.

It's a pretty cool place--Pink's just a little stand off La Brea, where six or seven workers are bustling around the grills and fryers. It's the original building from 1932, and it's such an authentic-feeling place. These hot dogs have such a reputation that, even at 8:15 on a Wednesday night, the line was pretty long! While we waited, we watched the assembly line and deliberated about what to order.

After we ordered, we rounded the corner and paid. It was a quick transaction and we were handed our meal on a tray. We headed outside to grab a table, and tucked in!

In true LA fashion, even a hot dog stand offers a vegetarian-/vegan-friendly option, which makes my culinary exploration a lot more fun! I ate the Baja Veggie Dog, which was a pretty standard veggie dog topped with guacamole, tomatoes, and onions. While the dog was a little rubbery, it was very passable in conjunction with the squishy bun, flavorful guac, and chunky veggies. It wasn't exactly the most graceful meal, but certainly tasty!

B ordered the Chili Cheese Dog, without mustard or onions. In his words, the first bite has a great "crunch", and a very solid taste. The chili, while quite a fine mix, was allegedly on-point both flavor-wise and texture-wise, and complemented the taste of the dog. Finally, the cheese, while nothing more than a simple slice of the good ol' processed stuff, was apparently subtle and added just the right amount of creaminess to the overall experience. B really enjoyed it! He said that it was just a very good, classic hot dog.

Finally, the fries. Mmm, the fries. They were a little greasy, perfectly crunchy, and so well seasoned. While I am known for never meeting a potato I didn't like, I could have eaten these fries all day. After we ordered, we noticed that you could actually order your dog with fries ON TOP. Whoah, game changer! While we obviously weren't in the know for that, I'm certainly intrigued about future possibilities...

With lots of outdoor seating, I can just imagine Pink's jam-packed on a summer Saturday. While we may have gone on a less-busy night, there were still lots of families and youths (ha) enjoying their meal. In regards to how Pink's compares to Wurstküche, B and I agreed that it's like comparing apples and oranges. They are very different experiences, in that Wurstküche definitely has a hip vibe and focuses on gourmet and exotic sausages as well as an extensive beer selection. Pink's is really where you can get a classic dog--no rabbit and rattlesnake dogs here, just a good old-fashioned frank!

After we finished our very classy and dignified hot dog dinner, we hopped back in the car and kept on truckin' over to the Bigg Chill. Now, I've seen this in about a million Instagrams, and I've heard about their legendary frozen yogurt. While it may be a little too close to rival territory, it's rumored to be worth the invasion.

Located in a small strip mall, this small cash-only store also carries an assortment of convenience-store foods, as well as their famous froyo. They have a small selection of flavors, but also offer items like pie, muffins, and other fun things like that!

In true Katherine fashion, I ordered the chocolate with jimmies and Reese's. I debated a few other flavors, including the roasted almond, graham cracker, and cafe latte, but who can resist a classic chocolate? Not me! The consistency was a lot like soft serve ice cream--it was super creamy and delicious. We both got the small size, which are 6 ounces, but it felt like a decadent treat.

B got the simple peanut butter flavor without any toppings--hence the slightly smaller cup! I stole a bite and really enjoyed my sample. It was a bit lighter in texture than my chocolate (do you see the air bubbles?) but it was really excellent in both flavor and consistency. The nuttiness wasn't too overwhelming, and it was a very balanced bite.

Even though we visited late on a Wednesday night, the Bigg Chill was so busy! We somehow made it right before the crowd, but as we left, our table was immediately snagged by other customers. I stopped for a quick picture and Instagram, and we headed back to school, with a greater understanding and appreciation for these classic LA eateries.

I've actually done a fair bit of foodie exploration lately of Los Angeles with B, but I thought I'd be considerate and spare him the camera-wielding, photo-op-focused Katherine for a little while. However, prepare yourselves! He's a great sport and actually looks forward to reading this post, so fingers crossed the camera will emerge some more as we continue to cross some things off of my LA bucket list!

Also, follow me on Instagram @kat_herine_w to see more of my Los Angeles explorations, and the other awesome foods I make and eat!

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Umami Burger

Recently, J, N, and I had a little girls' night out. We dressed up, hopped in an Uber, and traveled downtown to the fabled Umami Burger, famous for their culinary exploration of the fifth taste--umami! It's one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. According to Wikipedia, umami is a word borrowed from Japanese, which can be translated "pleasant savory taste".

We were seated immediately at a cute little table, and made ourselves at home. It's so nice to get away from school, even if it's only for a few hours. Umami Burger is certainly a cool place to sneak away--think lots of exposed wood, cool bar, friendly waiters, very Los Angeles.

As we pored over the menu, our awesome waiter served our drinks and delivered their umami ketchup. Curious, we all sampled straight from the spoon to see what was so different about this ketchup from normal Heinz. I would say it was more like a marinara sauce in taste, rather than ketchup. It was tasty, but I wouldn't have exactly defined it as "ketchup"... I suppose there's not a better word. We enjoyed it so much with our meals that our waiter had to bring over extra!

Up first came J's sweet potato fries. Slightly sweet and wonderfully crunchy, we all noshed on these quite contentedly. Oftentimes, sweet potato fries can get a little soggy after cooking, but these maintained a great crunch throughout the short time it took us to devour the lot. After our meal, we agreed that these were the best fries out of the three we tried.

Next, N's fries came out. She told the waiter to "make 'em manly"--aka smothered in beer cheddar, bacon, and onion strings. I didn't eat these because of the bacon, but N and J both agreed that they were sinfully good. I do have to say, it's pretty hard to go wrong with cheese, onions, and potatoes.

Finally, my fries! I got the classic Umami thin fries, which were crisp but still very potato-y. Is that how anyone else quantifies their fries, by their potato-ness? I am definitely not the only one. Anyways... these were just plain good fries. Well executed, and a great accompaniment to my meal.

J and I both ordered the same entree, the lentil sloppy joe. It was a heck of a lot of food, and we both cleaned our plates. Even when I ate meat, I was not a fan of the sloppy joe... but this has totally changed my opinion. The lentil, mushroom, and tomato mix was topped with umami-ed crema, cheddar cheese, onion strings, and jalapenos. The bun was great as well--nicely toasted, great flavor, all that jazz. Each bite was a really great combination of all of the "five flavors", and I personally think that the jalapeno added the perfect amount of bite.

J loved hers as well. She said that the sloppy joe's main strength was its consistency. Many vegetarian options lack a general density, "when it doesn't really feel like you're eating anything", according to her, and this meal was extremely hearty. J also praised the tomato flavor of the lentil mixture.

N ordered the straight-up truffle burger. While it came out looking less than impressive, it apparently tasted quite nice. There was truffled cheese, garlic aioli, and truffle cheese on this baby, but N thought it could have done with more truffle flavor. She still ate it all very happily, and it was apparently a very perfectly cooked burger. She also praised the bun... she particularly wanted that classic "U" stamped on top!

After we demolished our entrees and our fries, we settled the bill and decided to stroll up Broadway a ways to digest. We popped into Urban Outfitters to do a spot of shopping, then, with slightly lighter wallets, carried along down the street until we came to Bottega Louie. Known for their awesome desserts, we grabbed a few, ordered coffee, and headed back home to enjoy our spoils.

J bought this monster macaron, which was the usual almond flavored with vanilla cream, raspberry jam, and fresh raspberries. She praised it heavily for being light yet very flavorful.

N ate two regular-sized macarons--salted caramel on the left, and raspberry on the right. She said that the salted caramel tasted a bit burnt, which was a huge bummer, but the raspberry was apparently incredibly delicious. Luckily, she ate the salted caramel first, and saved the best for last!

To finish it all off, I ate a little mini hazelnut chocolate thing. I have no idea exactly what it was, but it was like a very dense, fudgy-frosting thing inside a chocolate shell. It was extremely rich, but incredibly good. My pastry was really small, probably about two inches in diameter, but I savored each tiny bite.

It was a fantastic, laid-back girls' night out, complete with delicious food and great company. While it's a bit of a splurge meal, we all loved being off campus and having a well-executed meal. Downtown LA is really going through a revival. There's all sorts of shops, cool restaurants, and things to do besides just offices. I go to CrossFit downtown, and have the firsthand chance to see the dozens of restaurants, clubs, and stores that look interesting. Whenever you have a chance, I recommend exploring Downtown a bit. It's changed a lot in the past ten years, and I think you'd be surprised to see some of the cool things it has to offer.

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A Saturday in Culver City

There is no Trader Joe's within walking distance of my apartment. None of my roommates or I have a car. I'm sure you can sense our deep, painful conundrum.

To remedy our problem, the four of us rented a ZipCar on Saturday and made a day of a grocery run. Why not, right? We left our apartment around noon, drove to downtown Culver City, parked, and then ate lunch at a restaurant N had found on Instagram.

Native Foods Café is located right across the street from parking structure that houses Trader Joe's, and it's an entirely vegan restaurant. Now, before you lose interest in this post, remember that I am the only vegetarian in our apartment. My omnivorous roommates suggested eating at Native Foods after perusing the online menu, which promised satisfying and delicious plant-based meals for a really reasonable price.

We all ordered at the inside counter, then filled up our cups and found a seat outside. It was the perfect 75˚ day, and we took full advantage of the weather.

I sampled the lavender lemonade, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. However, it was a little too strong for my liking, so I watered it down with some ice and water. It wasn't super lavender-y, but there was a nice little aftertaste.

J got the berry hibiscus iced tea, while D got the peach iced tea. Both noted that they weren't extremely flavored, but a nice refreshment nonetheless.

We all shared the butternut polenta bites. Native Foods describes the dish as "pesto baked polenta topped with roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions and toasted pumpkin seeds in balsamic over arugula." While was quite visually impressive, it was a bit boring. The polenta was a little dry, while the butternut squash mixture on top was too subtly flavored. I had half of one, and didn't really want to eat more of it.

I ordered the Sesame Kale Macro Bowl, which consisted of "grilled Native Tempeh atop steamed kale, brown rice, creamy ginger sesame sauce, and tangy sauerkraut. Garnished with gomasio, toasted sesame seeds and green onion and served with crunchy cucumber seaweed salad on the side." I really enjoyed it! It was extremely filling while still tasting fresh and clean. The kale was nicely softened, which was great. Also of note was their homemade tempeh. I loved the flavor and texture of it, since store-bought or mass-produced tempeh can often have a strange consistency.

I also ordered a side salad, which consisted of greens, shaved beets, carrots, and sprouts. The dressing was some sort of balsamic vinaigrette. It was surprisingly huge, and really a nice accompaniment to my kale bowl.

J shared some of my salad and ordered the Rockin' Moroccan Bowl for herself. Its description was "your choice of tofu or Native Chicken marinated in our homemade Moroccan sauce with grilled veggies and quinoa. Topped with currants and toasted almonds." J chose the tofu, and said that there was nice spice, certainly present but not too much. She liked the contrast with the sweetness from the raisins to the smokiness of the sauce. She would order it again!

N ordered one of the specials, the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. I was very curious to see if she liked it, considering there was a lot of seitan and cashew cheese. The verdict? She genuinely enjoyed it! However, she thought there was a bit too much food for a sandwich. She also thought that the seitan was not really used to its full potential either, since it was a little hidden behind the vegetables. The bread was apparently perfect, but she waxed poetical about the french fries! I tried one, and they really were awesome. N would order it again, but probably would try something else on the menu first.

D ate the Portobello Sausage Burger. A really hefty sandwich, it was "juicy grilled portobellos, our homemade Native Sausage Seitan, caramelized onions, salsa pomodoro, sweet roasted garlic, creamy pumpkin seed pesto and mayo." She immediately noticed the lovely pesto, and apparently with the right bite/forkful, she got a nice progression of flavor from the pesto to the mushroom. She found the top half of the bun with lettuce to be unnecessary, though. D also loved her fries!

We settled our bill, then walked across the street to Trader Joe's. Let me just say that we all bought groceries without thinking of how they would fit into our rather small fridge/freezer... after we paid, we came to our first obstacle: we squeezed ourselves and our individual carts into one elevator (astounding one random Amnesty International dude). Then, we somehow organized a total of ten (!) bags in the trunk of a small car.

Unwilling to return home just yet, we drove a little further down Culver Boulevard and found Ugo, a cute little restaurant, where we could enjoy a coffee.

As we walked through the restaurant to the outside tables, we noticed the huge gelato bar with dozens of flavors. D chose to order the Mixed Berry flavor, and it was really, really delicious. We all sampled it, and enjoyed the creaminess of the base with the texture and gentle tartness of the berries. She also ordered mint tea, as seen below!

J ordered mint tea as well. I thought the presentation was particularly nice, with the glass and the lemon. Apparently the tea itself was nice and refreshing too, so that's a bonus!

N enjoyed an iced caramel latte. Again, we all noted the cool glass and the swirling layers of the drink.

And I drank a coffee! After years of priding myself on drinking black coffee, I've started to add cream and sugar when I drink it hot... Judge me, it tastes delicious.

We also enjoyed mixed berries with brown sugar and orange juice. It was something I think I may emulate at home sometime soon. It was like a more sophisticated riff on a fruit salad, while still managing to be extremely simple and delicious. The orange juice really was great as well. It was a wonderfully light and delicious way to end our little trip to Culver City!

After we settled our bill, we piled back in the car and headed home. Then the next challenge began: fitting our food into the fridge...

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Katsuya

This past Thursday, my friend N's mother was in LA and took N, me, and our friend J out to dinner in LA Live.

J and N had tickets to the Kings/Sharks game, so we had to eat a quick, early dinner. We decided on Katsuya, the famous Los Angeles restaurant.

Now, I'd never been before, but I've heard great things. To be frank... I wasn't that impressed with the food, even though the ambiance was stellar. However, minor disclaimer, sushi restaurants are rarely exciting for vegetarians. There's only so many avocado and cucumber rolls I can eat before I've eaten them all!

We started off with edamame (predictably good), and before we were even finished, our various rolls and dishes started coming.

First up, my vegetable bento box. Three little sample-size dishes inside: a fairly average vegetable roll, followed by mushroom and avocado in a really delicious sauce (didn't catch the name of it, whoops), and then vegetable tempura waaay over on that far end. All in all, quite tasty, but nothing extremely special, and left me a little hungry.

This is one of Katsuya's specialties--the Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna. The restaurant calls this one of their specialty dishes and their "most flavorful", but my dinner companions were not incredibly impressed. While they did find it good, they didn't find the dish as awe-inspiring as the menu made it out to be.

Next up for my friends was the Spider roll; soft shell crab, ponzu, cucumber, and avocado. Again, a pretty typical sushi dish that was executed solidly. While all of the pieces were eaten, I don't think it was anything to write home about. The next roll however...

This was the one that was unanimously everyone's favorite... the Rock Shrimp Tempua roll. The base is tuna roll, topped with a few pieces of spicy tempura shrimp. These went really, really fast. According to my companions, their complete uniqueness added to the level of enjoyment. Really though, how often do you see a dish like this?

As you can see, I couldn't get a picture of the Wagyu Ribeye before N and her mother started tucking in. Cooked medium-rare and served sizzling on a plate with mushrooms, everyone said it was delicious. Apparently it was prepared and executed extremely well, and tasted wonderful.

I swear I just got a picture during a lucky people-free moment!

All in all, Katsuya's decent food was really improved by the ambiance and location. LA Live was bustling and exciting, as it normally is, and sitting outside and people-watching made the dinner even more fun.

Of course, the TV playing the Bruins game certainly improved it for me! Our fellow diners were extremely friendly and we struck up conversation with a few of them about their dishes. Of course, all of them had ordered and were raving about the Rock Shrimp Tempura roll.

Once we paid the bill, we snagged a quick picture in the wooden chair at the entrance, and we were off. N and J had nosebleed seats to the game, and I was back to school for an evening of Graham Norton and Arrested Development.

On a separate note, I'm back home in Massachusetts for the summer now! Expect lots of recipe posts now that I've got a full-size kitchen and my mother's well-stocked pantry.

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