Ostra (Boston)

One of Boston's top restaurant groups is the Columbus Hospitality Group, which runs a number of high end restaurants in town helmed by Executive Chef Jamie Mammano. Their latest is Ostra, a seafood-oriented Mediterranean restaurant in Back Bay.

Considering the restaurant's name, I obviously had to order some oysters. The fun part about moving to Boston is trying all the East Coast oysters we rarely get in LA. I've tried and loved Cotuit in LA, but this was my first time having Duxbury oysters.

There was a special appetizer of hamachi beautifully wrapped in avocado

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Panini Lunch at CiBOTECA (Santa Monica)

I'm always looking for places near Toyota Santa Monica to kill time whenever I take my car in (since that Toyota location has no wi-fi). During my last service, I walked over to Broadway to the new-ish CiBOTECA, a cafe and marketplace that serves paninis, cold deli items, and desserts.

I tried two different paninis, starting from the Cotoletta (Veal Milanese, dijon mustard, shaved parmesan, mizuna, $9)

Crispy veal cutlet between crunchy toasted seed bread!

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Tee's on the Green: A Hidden Gem in Tujunga

by guest blogger Brian Lee @iam_robot

Some of LA’s tastiest burgers come from the most random, tiny, oblivious places strewn all around town from South Bay to San Gabriel Valley to East LA to North Hollywood. For me, I always have higher appreciation of food served from push carts on street corners or alleyway storefronts rather than bright vibrant storefronts marred by eccentric tourists on Hollywood Blvd.

First off, I just wanted to say how excited I am to find this hidden gem, Tee's on the Green, in Tujunga.

I gave full credit to owner Tiffany Casper - not only for inviting me but also for flexing her muscles to craft the perfect burger that made haute burger joints seem amateur by comparison. I mean, if you’re like me and spend lots of time around the 210 Foothill Freeway/ La Tuna Canyon Park either for hiking or just to pass the highway, you’d understand my untethered delight in finding this place. 

During my visit here, I had the chance to devour their Hot Mama Burger with a side of zucchini fries/ onion rings.

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