Pine State Biscuits

While most of my posts are about my food experiences in Los Angeles I've had plenty of foodie adventures in other places. Portland Oregon is one of my favorite food cities and any chance I get to visit I take. Pine State Biscuits started out of a house on the Northeast side of town. My first experience at Pine State came early in the morning and after a very long bus ride. My local connection and best friend Sean picked me up and brought me to Pine State. He told me since it was my first visit I had to order the Reggie . What's the Reggie you ask? This might be the most frequently asked question in Portland. Cut a fresh baked biscuit down the middle, top with a fried chicken breast some bacon and smother with cheddar cheese and gravy. Make it a deluxe with an egg on top.

New Places to eat in LA

A few new places have opened around Los Angeles. One of them is a hot dog joint blocks from underrated Papaya King which closed early this year, let's hope Dog E Style can fare better. From the LA Weekly article below this sounds like a place I hit in North Vegas my last trip through. Check this place out and tell me how it is, I'm sure I'll be trying out myself sooner than later.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2013/11/dog_e_style_hollywood.php

A build your own dog at Dog E Style now open in Hollywood

Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I love Tex Mex, especially from Bar Ama in downtown. It looks as though East Hollywood will be getting some Tex Mex in December. Briana Valdez's HomeState looks like the real deal, none of this retooling of the classics, these are the classics, straight from Austin. Check out the article from the LA Weekly and I'll see you there. 

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2013/11/brianna_valdez_homestate_deep.php

Check out these breakfast tacos.

More Pics from Instagram

Here are some random photos from my Instagram, Parkereaglerock is my handle.

These are some late night chicken waffles I got from Uncle Andre's BBQ. The chicken was really good, juicy in the middle with a great shake & bake style crust that reminds me of grandma's. The waffle on the other hand arrived cold. My other problem with this place was, it took 30 minutes for my meal to be ready and there was no one else there.

 This is from Tomo Sushi in Burbank. I really only like to eat rolls when it comes to sushi, was never a fan of the raw stuff. This place is a nice little place that has been in Burbank forever.

 This giant slab of prime rib still connected to those giant beef ribs is from Samba, a Brazilian BBQ place at the Universal City Walk. The food was amazing, there must be 20 different cuts of meat. Worth a try for sure.

 My favorite Mulitas!!! From Gus's Lunchbox!!

 A cup of Handsome coffee, black as always.

 Strawberry Rhubarb pie and a cup of Stumptown at Republic of Pie in North Hollywood. This is a super cute little place, worth checking out for sure.

Where is the Worse Restaurant in America?

I came across this article on the Daily Meal website. The 100 worst restaurants in the country! The closest to me is number 2 Sun Taco in the Hollywood & Highland mall. I'm actually going to see a movie in that facility tonight, maybe I'll pop my head in and see what all the fuss is about. Great article check it out.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/are-these-america-s-worst-restaurants-slideshow

One of the worst dining experiences I have ever had was at the Capri in Eagle Rock. I won't get into my experiences at the Capri but I suggest you watch the episode of Kitchen Nightmares below, this should explain everything! I promise you won't be disappointed, except by the food if you happen to eat there.

Random Food Pics

I went through my Instagram and here are a bunch of random food photos.

This was Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at some bar inside SFO

 This was the prime rib breakfast at the Windbreak in Wasilla Alaska.

 Cafe Dolce, a cute place in Little Tokyo serving Stumptown

 Wine and an Italian sandwich at some random airport

One of those smokey flavored drinks popular at bars now days, think this was La Cavita in Highland Park, not sure if Highland Park was cool yet when this photo was taken.

 Mystery burger at Chego paired with mystery boba in Chinatown

 My favorite, the Intelligentsia flagship store at the Junction.

 This chorizo and queso is pretty amazing, it's from Guelaguetza

 Mulitas and sope from Gus's Lunchbox

 Nutella cookie from Burbank's finest Quenelle

 Something with fried pickles at Tin Horn Flats

 Best breakfast in Valdez Alaska at Old Town Burger

I'm in love with Coava coffee

I've finally found some good coffee in Burbank! The place is Coffee Commissary and the coffee is Coava's Kilenso from Ethiopa. Coava is based out of Portland and the Kilenso is the best consistant cup of coffee I have ever drank. Love it and hope you can pick some up. I just got a 8.8 oz bag tonight for use with my Hario V60.

How great do their mugs look! The also use La Marzocco's La Strada, the ferrari of of espresso machines.

Quenelle Ice Cream & pastry is now open in Burbank

Being a foodie in Burbank is like being a race car driver who's car is on E. Things are starting to change though; first was the opening this summer of Cafecito Organico(locals still don't know what to do with this non Starbucks coffee shop) and now we have former Lukshon pastry chef John Park opening Quenelle. The ice cream flavors are amazing and the pastries are all top notch.

I don't own these photos

LA Weekly Pancake Breakfast Part 3!!! Yeah it was that great

I've always been a big proponent of the LA Weekly; I believe Jonathan Gold's tenure at the paper made me a better foodie with the knowledge he passed on. Even though Mr. Gold is gone I still love supporting the food events they have and am always surprised about how well they turn out. The Pancake breakfast this year was no exception. The highlights for me were the savory pancakes at Gottsui, blueberry pancakes at BLD, the cronut at semi sweet bakery and prime rib quesadilla Chego's own Roy Choi was serving up. On the coffee front Kris Fulton from LAMILL was pouring amazing single origins thru the Hario V60. The crew from Handsome Coffee was there also with espresso, americanos and ice coffee, hope you didn't ask for sugar when you stopped thru. Pastries were plentiful with Village Bakery and Monica from Nickle Diner. Met so many great people at this event, can't wait for the next one.

Wicked Clam Pop Up 2

Amazing sea food was served today in front of the Colorado Wine Company. 2 hours into the event all the Lobsta rolls were gone. The fish & chips and chowder both had a great flavor with out being too fishy. What a culinary success for Dave Evan's and his crew! Hopefully Dave will make this pop up a regular event. If you see him say, "hey I want the Wicked Clam every Sunday, well at least until it starts raining on a regular basis".

More from Alaska

My friend Seth and I BBQ'd these pork ribs before finishing them in the oven. In Alaska everything goes with Crown Royal, it's the state drink. The ribs were a little charred but they still tasted amazing!

Great LA Weekly article on the best outdoor patios in the city

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2013/06/outdoor_dining_los_angeles.php
  No. 3 on the list is my favorite special occasion restaurant in Los Angeles. Located in the heart of Silver Lake is Cliff's Edge a phenomenal restaurant serving fresh Italian & Mediterranean cuisine. This is the place to go for a 1 year anniversary.

Check out their great minimalist web site below
http://www.cliffsedgecafe.com/