One More Bite Blog

Stella Barra Hollywood: Just Right, Mostly

2013-05-21T23:48:00.001-07:00

Too cheesy. Too dense. Too acidic. Words that describe my usual reaction to pizza of ages past (and maybe myself, in general, but that's a whole different post...). Pizza has come a long way, especially in LA. I fell for Chef Jeff Mahin's, with its incredible crust made with specially formulated dough allowed to rise to perfection (in individual jars!) at Stella Rossa (name now changed to

Superba Snack Bar: Brunching Beyond Abbott Kinney, Venice

2013-05-12T02:30:00.002-07:00

Venice, CA can seem like a tale of three cities to a non-resident: the grungy, need-a-shower-desperately-after, only-ondemand-by-outoftown-visitors side pretty much all along the boardwalk; the post-college, now-in-possession-of-disposable-income-yet-still-very-indie-spirited-locavore side on boutique-filled artsy Abbott Kinney; the semi-suburban-but-heck-no-we-are-not-cookiecutter-Santa-Monica

Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air: Escapist Afternoon Tea

2013-05-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

I love ads. Creative ones that also manage to serve their purpose. I have always been in awe of copywriters as commercial artists: how they are able to so concisely convey and burn into your memory, what they want you to know of the essence of a brand/product in 30 seconds or less, and often with one deceptively simple but oh so skillfully crafted tagline. And one of my favorites is from

Sycamore Kitchen: Hatfield Pastries Half Price Starting 4:30pm Daily!

2013-05-05T01:28:00.001-07:00

Hatfield's, the restaurant, has been on my To Do list for forever, yet somehow I still haven't made it there. But just down the street, in a far more casual, laid back "urban bakery-eatery" by the same power-couple-chefs Quinn and Karen Hatfield, I could pop in for a quick, affordable bite. The space is industrial-rustic, which does give it a 'colder' vibe even in the perpetual SoCal sun on the

1MB Travels: Miami / Orlando: Tuyo & Norman's by Chef Van Aken

2013-04-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Miami, I read that Chef Norman Van Aken - described by Charlie Trotter as "...the Walt Whitman of American cuisine" - is not only known for celebrating Latin, Caribbean, Asian, African and America flavors, he is the only Floridian to have been inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Beverage and Food in America. And he had a restaurant that was somewhat on my

Manhattan Beach Post: Brunching by the Beach

2013-04-14T00:13:00.001-07:00

The lure of Chef David LeFevre's by now infamous Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits at MB Post was near irresistible - but the 'long' drive from the SFV (when I had to do a Valley to West LA commute 5 days a week already) curbed my foodie cravings...until a few weeks ago, when my brunch lovin' friend Curses reminded me just how long this has been on our To Do list. So we made the trek down - and

Science and Food: UCLA

2013-04-02T00:19:00.002-07:00

Food memories are the strongest of any that I've had in my life. Diving both elbows in to 'help' my grandmother wrap wontons at the dining table; the beautifully fizzy HK style fruit punch during weekend brunches with my grandfather at the Foreign Correspondents' Club; waking up at some insanely early time to spend hours in line to try the freshest fish I've ever had in my life with my brother

RivaBella: Reflection of Beauty on Sunset

2013-03-18T01:27:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I love indoor/outdoor spaces? Maybe because often, I love the idea of dining al fresco more than the actual experience. Restaurants that bring all that is lovely about being outside, into a more refined and controlled environment gives you the best of both worlds. So I was excited to be invited to check out the recently opened RivaBella in West Hollywood, featuring an

Noodle Boy / Delicious Food Corner: When You're Sick and Weary...

2013-03-10T01:35:00.003-08:00

Many, many moons ago, my family spent a few years in Canada. I remember the visual beauty of seasons: fluffy mops of maple trees burning brilliant against crisp blue skies; waking to our yard and street blanketed in pristine, glistening white - as if inside a snow globe that settled overnight. I remember tunneling through snowbanks shovelled off to the sides of our driveway, with my brother,

Sushi Roku: Sweet Sixteen Specials

2013-03-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

I'd always wondered about Sushi Roku, the sushi chain belonging to the same restaurant group as BOA Steakhouse, but somehow never found my way there. So it was nice to see an invite in my inbox recently, to a Sweet Sixteen celebration at the original location - preview of a special menu marking the 16th anniversary of Sushi Roku Hollywood's opening. At this location only, starting tomorrow

1MB Travels: New Orleans: Commander's Palace

2013-02-18T01:39:00.000-08:00

Funny thing, how perception of the passing of time is relative - mere seconds can feel like a lifetime to an Olympic diver, especially as they wait with bated breath to see the results that are the culmination of years of their lives spent training; years can feel like mere moments to a parent of a grown child they will see as their baby forever (so I hear :P). But on a more everyday and

dineLA Winter 2013: El Caserio: Ecuadorian Italian in Silverlake

2013-02-03T18:19:00.001-08:00

I have a confession to make. When dineLA first launched Restaurant Week, I was super excited on two fronts: getting deals to dine at top spots around the city that may not be normally affordable to me, and being able to check out new places with reduced monetary risk (thanks to the prix fixe menus!). But over years with this event I've subconsciously veered my focus more towards the deal aspect

Hide Sushi: A Gem of a Sushi Lunch Special

2013-02-03T14:28:00.003-08:00

Hide Sushi is a not-so-hidden neighborhood gem for locals in the know. It took me a year of working in the area to make it here and I'm kicking myself for losing all that time that I could have been having awesome affordable sushi for lunch! An old school, cozy little place without any obvious signage outside, the best way to locate the restaurant is to head just across Sawtelle from the modern

N/Naka: eat/give/hope Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Benefit Dinner

2013-01-30T23:56:00.001-08:00

As something that is a necessity for survival, food and consumption in its basest form is primal instinct. At the other extreme are chefs who perhaps over-intellectualize in attempt to elevate the culinary arts. Somewhere around the pivot point, in perfect balance - is N/Naka. Chef Niki Nakayama takes the Japanese tradition of kaiseki (seasonal small exquisite dishes in perfect balance) and

dineLA Winter 2013: Caulfield's at the Thompson Hotel Beverly Hills

2013-01-27T17:39:00.001-08:00

For my first dineLA meal of the year, I knew I had to try Caulfield's, the newly overhauled restaurant in the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills - aside from new interiors by HD Buttercup to new leadership in the kitchen by Chef Stephen Kalt who has previously served in Daniel Boulud's kitchen at famed NYC icon Le Cirque - the menu just looked like fun, and a good deal at just $25 for 3-courses,

Neveux Artisan Creamery & Espresso Bar: Where You Need to Go for Great Ice Cream Mid-City

2013-01-27T01:02:00.001-08:00

I haven't really shopped on this stretch of Melrose since college. Nowadays, though the budget hasn't much improved since then - I'm more likely to be closer to the less...edgy...side, not at all shopping for designer-wear - but for farm fresh eats or amazing food by artisanal producers like bacon bread pudding by Creme Caramel LA at the Melrose Farmers Market. But there is a hidden gem for

ROC Kitchen: Taste of SGV in WLA

2013-01-21T01:19:00.002-08:00

Let's address the proverbial elephant in the room, right now: ROC is not Din Tai Fong. But it's damn good XLB of a quality that is hard to beat, for Westsiders unable or unwilling to trek to the SGV (before you get all up in arms, yes, there are in fact people whose offices are on the Westside who cannot take 3 hour excursions in the middle of the work day to eat in the SGV - it is not always a

The Hart and the Hunter: Bountiful Brunch at the Palihotel

2013-01-20T19:50:00.001-08:00

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing was the name of the pop-up in Venice, now closed (not to be confused with the recently opened permanent restaurant of the same name), whose chefs birthed The Hart and the Hunter. Both restaurants' names seem to have their origin in Aesop's fables. I have not had the opportunity to get the scoop from chefs Kris Tominaga and Brian Dunsmoor on how these intriguing fables

dineLA Winter 2013: Kickin' Off This Monday! 1MB Picks

2013-01-20T00:02:00.002-08:00

Overspent during the holidays? Need time to recover and catch up on your bills? Missing the reckless abandon with which you indulged in shameless culinary decadence while on vacation? Welcome to the club. While I'm trying to stay in as much as possible to prevent myself from spending money I don't have...the food lover in me is itching to get back out there to do what I love best: live to eat,

Porchetta Truck: Best Thing to Happen to Ciabatta

2013-01-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

I wish I never tried the porchetta sandwich by chef Evan Funke. Now I can't stop thinking about that little sandwich - and craving it like that perfect stranger that you've only met once, but had such an intense 'moment' with (which may or may not have been completely arbitrary) and who you wish you would have held onto because you're more sure than anything you've ever been sure about in your

Sun Ha Jang: DUCK Season 365 on the KBBQ

2013-01-06T14:58:00.001-08:00

As a massive fan of every part and preparation of duck - it was exciting to read TheJGold's review of a place that served it BBQ'd, Korean style. With the abundance of korean barbecue spots in Ktown, grilling up not only your standard issue protein (beef) but squid, tongue & innards, this surprisingly may be one of the few to serve duck meat... I knew the minute I saw this unrepentantly evil

Starry Kitchen Nights at Tiara Cafe: Singaporean Chili Crab in DTLA

2013-01-05T23:01:00.000-08:00

One of my most memorable meals of 2012 was at a restaurant that wasn't really a restaurant (I know you've lost count by now of the number of times this year you've read that on any given LA food blog). I had long read of the underground kitchen turned legit operation serving interesting pan-Asian fare (with a side of bold, quirky, costume-loving personality via owner Nguyen) - and had been mad

SushiStop: Best Kind of Affordable Prix Fixe Sushi in WLA

2013-01-01T04:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Fresh back in LA from an amazing trip with the fam, I have so many places and stories to share that I don't even know where to start!! So I'll begin the year with a practical post: more of a reminder to myself - a place I will need to frequent as what's left of my bank account recovers from our 2 week vacation. SushiStop is a place that serves every food item on the menu for

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano!

2012-12-25T06:38:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Malaga, Spain!! This year I have so much to be thankful for - and though I am still far from my destination, I have very much enjoyed the journey. One of my best and wisest friends always says "everything happens for a reason", and I used to rail against that line of thinking, because often times it's not the path I wanted nor did it have any logic that I could see or

Nongla Cafe: Soul Soothing Vietnamese on Sawtelle

2012-12-09T18:21:00.003-08:00

One of my favorite things about getting to work in West LA this year are the fantastic lunch options - having just come from Burbank, I was in absolute heaven. Especially to be so near to Sawtelle Blvd, which has continued to expand its diversified Asian offerings beyond Japanese. A Vietnamese place that has become a favorite for me is Nongla Cafe - I know I can always rely on them for good,