Showing posts with label san fernando valley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label san fernando valley. Show all posts

Monday, June 1, 2020

Black-owned Food Businesses in the San Fernando Valley

This is the time to show our support for the black community in our country, and to fight for racial justice. There are many ways we can do so, including putting our dollars in support of black-owned businesses. Bucketlisters has a useful list of other ways be an ally and fight for racial justice including organizations to donate to, petitions to sign, etc and you can check out that list here.

As a food blogger living in the San Fernando Valley, I decided to put together a working list of black-owned restaurants in the valley. For restaurants beyond (but also including some in) the SFV, Kat Hong (editorial assistant of The Infatuation in L.A.) put together a great list here.

Jaliz
Ugandan food at Jaliz Cuisine


Thursday, April 2, 2020

Gasolina Cafe Serves Spanish-inflected Brunch in Woodland Hills

One of the local spots close to my place in Woodland Hills is Gasolina Cafe. It's a cute Spanish influenced cafe serving breakfast and lunch (and ever once in a while, a paella party). It's a nice neighborhood brunch place with good coffee - and they're still open for takeout and delivery during the safer-at-home order period. Plus, you can also "order" a meal to be donated to one of the local hospital emergency room staff.
Gasolina
Back to the brunch! One of my favorite savory items there was the Patatas bravas (home fries, chorizo, serrano ham, aioli, brava sauce, sunny side up egg, $15)
Gasolina Cafe
This brunch take of patatas bravas is great, with crispy home fries and plenty of chorizo and ham!

Monday, March 30, 2020

Where to Order Takeout and Delivery in San Fernando Valley

There are a lot of resources out there listing what restaurants are open for takeout and delivery in L.A., but I've noticed the San Fernando Valley listings tend to be lacking. Since that's where I live now, I figured I'd compile a list myself! Of course, this is just a starter list. Feel free to let me know your favorites to be added!

For those of you who live in the SFV, here are the restaurants I've found to be doing takeout and/or delivery, organized by neighborhood:

Monday, March 16, 2020

LA Restaurants that Offer Gift Cards

We all need to do all we can to support local restaurants during this shutdown due to COVID-19 outbreak to make sure they can reopen when this is all over, so I'm compiling a list of LA-area restaurants (SFV and SGV included) that offer gift cards you can purchase directly on their website. I personally think we should buy gift cards from these restaurants, but in the meantime order takeout from the even-smaller restaurants that don't even have the resources to offer gift cards.

Eventually I will order this alphabetically and complete the links to the restaurants, but in the meantime I will just list them. Have other restaurants to add? Let me know!

LOS ANGELES
71 Above
All Day Baby
Angler
AOC
APL
Baco Mercat
Bavel
Bestia
Border Grill
Broken Spanish
Charcoal
Citrin / Melisse

Craft LA (need to email them to purchase: guestrelations@craftedhospitality.com )
DAMA
EMC Seafood
Factor's Famous Deli
Faith and Flower
Forma Restaurant 
Guisados
Here’s Looking At You
Il Cielo
Jitlada
Joy on York
Kali
KazuNori
Langer's Deli (OK, you have to call them because they are old school)
Little Fatty 
Little Sister
Lukshon
Osteria Mamma
Otium
Paper or Plastik Cafe
Papilles Bistro
Patina Group: There is a lot in this group! Check the link for a list.
Perch
Pine & Crane
Shibumi
The Tasting Kitchen
Tavern
Tsubaki (can also be redeemed for Ototo)
Woon Kitchen
Scratch Bar & Kitchen
SOUTH BAY
Simms Restaurants: Fishing with Dynamite, MB Post, Arthur J, Tin Roof Bistro, Simmzy’s

PASADENA
Alexander’s Steakhouse
The Arbour (call to purchase: (626) 396-4925)
Union

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Mister O's Should Be on Your Studio City Rotation

Since moving to Woodland Hills, I get excited when I get to check out restaurants in the San Fernando Valley. A few months ago I went to try out Mister O's, a sort-of-new place in Studio City (it opened in August 2018).

Chef Mario Alberto is doing some good things in the kitchen here. I started with some beautifully plated Yellowtail crudo with fried yucca, pretty lady melon, Anaheim chile oil, apricot, hemp seed ($18)
Mister O’s

The cocktails from Rafael Barba are also worth trying. The San Fernando Valley still doesn't have that many good cocktail bars but Mister O's is a strong contender. I'm not normally a big vodka cocktail drinker, but I thoroughly enjoyed Silly Rabbit (Reyka vodka, yellow chartreuse, carrot, ginger, orgeat, lemon, bitters, $15)
Mister Os

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Where to Drink Outdoors in West San Fernando Valley: Malibu Wines & Beer Garden (West Hills, CA)

After recently moving to Woodland Hills, I started checking out the places near my new neighborhood, including the Malibu Wines & Beer Garden in West Hills. The wine and beer garden is the sister tasting room of Malibu Wines and it's set in an old Spanish estate. It's a beautiful spot to drink outdoors.
Malibu wine beer garden
They serve Malibu wines (Semler and Saddlerock) as a tasting or by the glass, as well as selling them by the bottles. On top of the wines, they also offer a solid selection of local craft beers including from Five Threads Brewing (Westlake Village), Craftsman Brewing (Pasadena), Modern Times (San Diego) and more.

On the weekends, they also have food vendors, like Two Doughs Pizza Co. 
Malibu wine beer garden

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Los Balcones and Chef Ricardo Zarate Pairs Up to Serve Mestizo Cuisine in Studio City

Los Balcones has been dishing up traditional Peruvian food for a few years now in LA, but the Studio City location (which took over the old Girasol space) has partnered up with Chef Ricardo Zarate to revamp the whole menu along with chef Polit Castillo. The result is mestizo cuisine, referring to the multicultural influence both in Peru and on the menu, in particular the mix of Peruvian and Spanish cultures.

You won't find the traditional Peruvian food that you see at the other Los Balcones locations here. Beyond lomo saltado and ceviche, they want to show more of what modern cooking in Peru is like. We started with the Salmon tiradito, beet tiger's milk, roasted baby beets, orange miso, beet powder ($16)
DSC00079
Is this not the most beautiful tiradito you've ever seen? It was overall a great tiradito, although the beet slightly overpowers the salmon flavor.

Los Balcones also have some good cocktails, like this Margarita Sofia (tequila, passion fruit, lime, huacatay)
Los Balcones
Ceviche frito, striped bass, rocoto leche de tigre, roasted sweet potato, cancha corn chulpe ($16)
Los Balcones
This was my first time having ceviche frito (fried ceviche). It's apparently a fairly recent trend in Peruvian cooking where the seafood is marinated in leche de tigre (a la ceviche) and then fried. Adding this to the menu is a nod to the evolution of Peruvian cuisine.

Friday, March 1, 2019

Global Menu at Filipino-Owned Mambo International Kitchen (Northridge, CA)

I recently tried a new spot in Northridge, Mambo International Kitchen. It's a casual spot owned by a Filipino family. In fact, the owner (and the ones who developed all the recipes), is the son of former Filipino president, Ramon Magsaysay. He had a jingle for his presidential campaign that had the line "Mambo, Mambo Magsaysay". It stuck as a nickname for the grandson, Raymond Magsaysay, when he was growing up and that's where the restaurant's name came from.
Mambo Resto
Mambo has build-your-own rice bowls, Chipotle-style, but there are signature rice bowls, tacos, and more you can order.

Being a Filipino-owned restaurant, there are of course Filipino dishes like tapsilog. It's typically a breakfast dish of beef tapa, garlic rice, and fried egg.
Mambo Resto

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Famed San Fernando Valley hangout Sportsmen’s Lodge gets a major facelift

by guest blogger @iam_robot

2014-05-14
17.55.27Sportsmen’s Lodge, once known as San Fernando Valley’s fixture for fine dining and celebrity scene, is banking on high-priced makeovers to boost more visitors and to compete with newer, much more contemporary venues opening up blocks away.

The hotel – located strategically on Ventura Blvd and Coldwater Canyon Avenue - opened 52 years ago and was a popular hangout spot for movie writers, stars, producers – Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Humphrey Bogart are frequent guests.  Rumor has it, these celebrities were very fond of the trout-fishing lake. They were given rods and bait to catch their fish and make dinner, courtesy of the lodge’s restaurant. However, in 1971, fishing activity at the lodge was shut down by the Department of Public Health due to the San Fernando earthquake.
2014-05-14
18.05.07

Saturday, September 7, 2013

San Fernando Valley Reviews


**** SAN FERNANDO VALLEY ****


BLVD Bar (Studio City)
Bow and Truss (North Hollywood)
Casa Vega (Sherman Oaks)
Firenze Osteria (Toluca Lake)
Idle Hour (North Hollywood)
Mac-O-Licious (Valley Village)
Mariscos El Teto's (Sun Valley)
Ombra Ristorante (Studio City)
Pedalers Fork (Calabasas)
PizzaRev (Studio City)
Public School 818 (Sherman Oaks)
Saddle Peak Lodge (Calabasas) *
Sushi | Bar (Encino)
Sushi Katsu-ya (Encino)
The Tasting Room and Lobby Lounge at Four Seasons Hotel (Westlake Village)
Tipple and Brine (Sherman Oaks)
Tee's on the Green (Tujunga)
Vitello's (Studio City)

Gourmet Pigs   © 2008. Template Recipes by Emporium Digital

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