Archive for the ‘food’ Category
I love Moroccan cuisine. Pastilla, or meat pies encased in puff pastry and covered with powdered sugar and cinnamon, savory lamb tajines, and hot mint tea don’t even begin to scratch the surface of this complex culinary culture. My food obsession led me all the way to Morocco where I followed my taste buds right into the Moroccan kitchen.
Zanzibar is an exotic enough destination in itself, but things just got even more interesting. Check out this restaurant on a rock in the Indian Ocean.
The St. Regis hotel in Beijing is home to a number of the city’s hottest dining spots and watering holes. Highlights range from Cantonese to Italian cuisine, and from a cigar lounge to a steakhouse with city views. Yet one standout among these is the Press Club Bar, a stylish find located just off the hotel’s opulent main lobby.
Outside the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood, a giant Polynesian Moai statue greets those seeking a little tropical bliss. Wedged between a brightly-lit bridal shop and a model store on a quiet strip of Victory Boulevard sits the oldest remaining tiki joint in Los Angeles, dating back to 1958.
The Birth of the Tiki Bar
The tiki bar itself was an L.A. concoction, pioneered with Don’s Beachcomber Cafe in the 1930’s, which quickly became popular with Hollywood celebrities. This ushered in an era of south seas chic that saw the spread of tiki establishments across the country, famous for their exotic cuisine, rum-based cocktails, and wonderful island atmosphere. Created to give late night revelers dreamy island vibes to swoon over, tiki bars served as houses of island kitsch filled with the rich iconography of far away destinations like Tahiti, Fiji, Easter Island, Hawaii, and The Cook Islands, to name a few.
Looking for a good breakfast joint with healthy ingredients that serves up both classic and unconventional treats? Then look no further than Jinky’s Cafe. With a relaxed California vibe and four locations across Los Angeles, Jinky’s has you covered for breakfast, lunch or dinner. If chili is your thing, Jinky’s has a whole section of the menu devoted to it. In fact, they’ve got a menu so long it’s dizzying.
I was hooked the minute I tasted the Pumpkin and Baked Apple Crepes, a pile of savory crepes buried beneath layers of cinnamon-spiced apples topped with whipped cream and creamy pumpkin marmalade. Better yet, go for the 2 + 2 + 2 add on and you’ll get two slices of bacon and two eggs any style alongside most breakfast items.
Jinky’s Cafe
Restaurant locations in Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Santa Monica, and Agoura Hills.
Article originally published at Examiner.com.
Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar is a must try restaurant in the Downtown Disney district serving unique Spanish cuisine, just steps from Disneyland in Anaheim.
Lovely and light Spanish cuisine is the specialty at Catal, a Downtown Disney establishment, just a short walk from the entrance of Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim. Spanning four unique dining areas, diners can choose between the upstairs windowed rotunda with warm yellow walls and panoramic views or the upscale fireplace room, decked out in rich earth tones with plenty of intimate lighting. There’s also an outdoor terrace overlooking all the action, as well as the Uva Bar downstairs.
In search of delicious baked goods and sandwiches with a Cuban twist? Then you’ve gotta head to Porto’s Bakery and Cafe in Burbank. This busy shop is always hopping, a result of its famous pastries, savory lunch specialities, and reasonable prices (most main dishes are in the $4-7 category).
Wow Factor: The Moroccan Riad
Instead of staying in a traditional hotel, experience a slice of Moroccan culture by staying in a riad, or small hotel converted from a traditional Moroccan home or palace centered around a courtyard or garden. Marrakech is bursting with stylish luxury riads, many of them European-owned. For a taste of something more authentic, check out Riad Kniza. This is one of the city’s most luxurious riads, which also happens to be Moroccan-owned. Dating from the 18th century and restored with traditional artisan-crafted materials, this 11-room gem is owned by a renowned Marrakech antiques dealer, who also doubles as a tour guide whose client roster includes former American presidents and celebs like Brad Pitt and Nicole Kidman.
It seems everywhere you go in Spain, you’re chasing Ernest Hemingway’s shadow. Plenty of restaurants and bars, in Madrid especially, lay claim to the fact that the ever-traveling writer once ate or drank there. But Botín has written proof to back up their claims: in the last scene of Hemingway’s famous novel “The Sun Also Rises,” the main character, Jake, dines at none other than Botín:
We lunched upstairs at Botin’s. It is one of the best restaurants in the world. We had roast young suckling pig and drank rioja alta. Brett did not eat much. She never ate much. I ate a very big meal and drank three bottles of rioja alta. —Ernest Hemingway
These fun cookies will make you smile. Just pick up a mustache cookie cutter and get baking!
[ via Eat Cake Be Merry ]
