Showing posts with label gift certificate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift certificate. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Dami Sushi and Izakaya (Buena Park, CA) and $100 Gift Certificate Giveaway!

by guest blogger @bstunoda
PS. Be sure to scroll to the end for a giveaway!

At an Izakaya restaurant, drinking is primary and eating is secondary. People go to izakaya restaurants to socialize much in the same manner that the Spanish drink wine and eat tapas. Like the current trend in dining, small plates dominate the menu and the plates are meant to be shared.
DSCF1997
Dami Sushi and Izakaya is located in the brand new Village Circle on Beach Blvd in Buena Park. After entering the restaurant, I found it to be beautifully decorated in modern Asian design. A high open ceiling, beautiful lattice wall coverings and effective lighting gave diners a comfortable experience.
DSCF1852 DSCF1863
Whole grain salad
DSCF1891
The dish wasn’t calling my name, but I tried it anyway. It consisted of endive, black rice, Indian millet, lentil, kidney beans, fresh mozzarella in a soy vinaigrette. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the ingredients worked together. I think the soy vinaigrette brought all of the disparate flavors and textures together quite nicely. I’d choose this salad over most green salads as the kidney beans and lentils gave it quite a bit of substance.

Jawanmushi was next up and it turned out to be a version of chawanmushi (steamed Japanese egg custard).
  IMG_4394

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Hironoya (Gardena, CA)

I got an email from Utopia, a South Bay-based Japanese-focused gift certificate store offering discounted certificates for South Bay and Japanese local businesses like Gaja (the okonomiyaki place), Robataya on Sawtelle, and Izakaya Bincho. They asked if I wanted to try using one of their certificates to visit a restaurant, and I do love Japanese food so why not! I was tempted to go back to Bincho but I figured I should use it to visit a restaurant I've never been to before so I opted for Hironoya in Gardena.

Hironoya sits in Tozai Plaza and seems to be visited by mostly Japanese. When I was there there was a reunion for some university in Japan and they proceeded to sing their alma mater song. Hironoya serves sashimi, sushi rolls, tempura, udon and various other dishes, but no nigiri sushi.

IMG_5205
They did have some fresh fish, though so I tried their blue fin tuna toro sashimi ($18 for 4 pieces). Not as fatty as some other toro I've had but definitely fresh.
IMG_5204

Also tried sea bream sashimi ($9) and a salmon roll, which were both pretty good. I haven't had sushi rolls in a while but enjoyed this one.
IMG_5214
IMG_5208
You can get almost everything tempura'd here it seems, from broccoli and eggplant ($1.95, 2pcs each) to sea urchin ($12.95) and oyster ($4.95, 2pcs)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Giveaway: $50 Gift Certificate!

I've hosted a couple of giveaways from CSN Stores before and now they've asked me to host yet another one!

They are giving away a $50 gift certificate to be used at any of their online stores which sell everything from kitchen tables to cutlery to toys.

Even though the gift certificate wont cover shipping, a majority of their items are eligible for free shipping. The previous contest winner got crepe pans and other things and I've gotten a new blender (broke my old one while bartending) and shoe racks before, all with free shipping.

Here's how to enter:
1. Leave your email address in the comments below.
2. Get an extra entry when you "like" my Facebook page.

You have 1 week to enter. The contest will end at midnight Tuesday, September 14.
Good luck!

Friday, July 2, 2010

Giveaway: $50 Gift Certificate to Roy's!

Roy's Restaurant recently launched a promotion for the LA (and surrounding areas) locations called the L.A. Ohana Tour. Here's how it works:

You visit a participating Roy's restaurant and get an Ohana Tour card. Bring this on your second visit and you will receive a free Chocolate Souffle (w/ purchase of entree) !
Come to another participating Roy's again, and you will receive a $20 gift card (w/ purchase of entree) and also be entered into a sweepstake to win a trip to Hawaii.

To make it even easier on you to make that first visit, they are giving away a $50 gift certificate to any participating Roy's location! They include Anaheim, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Pasadena, and Woodland Hills.

To enter, just leave a comment below with your contact information.

*Get an extra entry by sharing about this giveaway on twitter (tweet: "Enter to win $50 Gift Certificate to Roy's from @gourmetpigs ~ http://bit.ly/bXj1G2")
or facebook. Leave another comment letting me know you've done so, so I can keep track.

You have until midnight of Friday, July 9. Good luck!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Bid and Eat for Haiti is Back!

Thank you for all who supported the first Bid and Eat for Haiti!

We received more donation from restaurants after the end of the first auction, so we’re holding a second run!

We raised $765 from the first auction, so let’s all help reach a goal of $1000, shall we?

It’s the same basic deal, just with different dates and auction items. The auction benefits two charities: CHF International and Operation USA. More details about these charities can be found on the Bid and Eat website.

This auction will start on Friday Feb 26, 2010 and runs until midnight of Tuesday Mar 2, 2010 , so you can only bid on items between those times!
To bid, go on an item's page and leave a comment with your bid amount.
Just go to http://bidandeat.wordpress.com to see the list of items.

Even though there are only a few sponsors this time around, they have donated plenty of items (14 total!), so do take a look and put in a bid!


Our newest sponsors:
Cemitas y Clayudas Pal Cabron
Elements Kitchen
Guelaguetza Restaurante
La Casita Mexicana
The Raymond



Tuesday, March 24, 2009

FIG in Santa Monica: Quiet Spot for Meal and Drinks

FIG, a restaurant focusing in seasonal and local ingredients, has as its namesake the 100-yr old fig tree that sits in front of the Fairmont Miramar hotel (where the restaurant is located).I heard from LA&OC Foodie that FIG is on the Restaurant.com list- where you can buy a $25 gift certificates for $10 ($35 min purchase), and oftentimes they will have a 80% off sale! That's $25 for $2 people!! I bought 3 ...


Psst! Now til 6/25/09 they're having a 80% off sale! Just enter code: DISH.

We came late, past 9:00 PM. The restaurant was pretty quiet overall (except for a table of 4 drinking ladies that were quite ... lively), and I liked the decor and ambiance.
The menu is divided into Snacks, Salads, Appetizers, and Entrees. At the bottom of the menu is a nice touch - a list of currently in-season ingredients, and also what will be in season soon.

The bread at FIG is served warm, each in its own paper bag, and accompanied with arugula butter.
Never had arugula butter before, it was quite a nice touch.

Our first orders were from the Snacks section: Tarte Flambee (fromage blanc, blue cheese, lardon) - $6
This was nothing special, more like a mini, less-cheesy pizza.

Roasted Tomato Soup (mascarpone, basil) - $9
Pretty good and hearty, with a nice smokey flavor from the roasted tomatoes. Actually, this reminds me of the tomato soup at Nordstrom's cafe - when it's done right!

Young Beets with Santa Barbara Pistachios - $8
Very good and light and refreshing, but the portion is pretty small.

I thought the portions from the Snacks section were pretty small and doesn't seem to be really worth the price - especially in comparison to the other dishes I had later from the Appetizers section.

Although the next dish I had was called the Mushroom Fricassee ($12), it seems that the focus of the dish was in fact the sweetbreads.
Do share this dish with another person. The mushroom fricassee itself is a bit heavy and add on top of that the pieces of fried sweetbreads and it would make it hard for one person to finish this dish by itself. The mushroom fricassee was delish, the sweetbreads were decent but were a bit on the tough and dry side. They were not the best quality sweetbread, but then again this whole dish was only $12...

Warm Quinoa Salad (chard, butternut squash, toasted almonds) - $13
Delicious, and healthy too! It wasn't so much like a salad rather than a rice bowl - except that the quinoa instead of rice gave it that extra firm texture and a nice flavor. The toasted almonds were also a great addition.

Braised Tongue (tomatillo, breakfast radish) - $11
This was one of the rare occasions I enjoyed tongue in the US. Most tongues I've had in this country were tough, but this one was tender, just like how my family prepares it! The tomatillo sauce is a little spicy, but even I can still eat it so it's not too bad :P I really enjoyed this dish.

Both the braised tongue and quinoa salad made for a great lunch the next day too!

After all this food, and especially the spicy tongue at the end, I wanted something light for dessert, so I just ordered the sorbet. You get 3 scoops, and I just asked for 2 blood oranges and 1 pomegranate.
A bit denser and heavier than your usual "sorbet" but good nonetheless!

The bar at FIG boasts fresh seasonal ingredients and it's currently a great and quiet place to just sit, have a drink, and talk. And of course, eat. I want the restaurant to do well, but hopefully it won't get too crowded!!

Also, with the way we ordered, the $25 certificate didn't put as big a dent as I had hoped. Skip the snacks, just go with appetizers/ entrees and you'll do much better!

Read the reviews from LA&OC Foodie and Carolineoncrack!

FIG Restaurant
101 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 319-3111
www.figsm.com

FIG Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Gourmet Pigs   © 2008. Template Recipes by Emporium Digital

TOP