Foodie Favorite: The Crispy Hash Brown Chilaquiles at Trois Familia

Trois Familia, the casual Mexican-French café in Silverlake, is the latest foodie genius invention of the very creative Chef Ludo Lefebrvre.  Who else would know that what a bean and cheese burrito really needed is some garlic brown butter, or that a cornichon is just the right garnish on a beef tartare tostada?  The hash brown chilaquiles is a perfect stack of breakfast - it layers a square of hash browns, a sunny side up egg, and cotija cheese, and you must add avocado, then smothers it all in a vinegary salsa macho.  It'll wake up your taste buds at brunch, and it works well with pretty much every other inspired menu item.  We also really love their logo.

Trois Familia is open daily from 9am-2pm

Foodie Favorite: The Roasted Little Farm Potatoes at SHED

Healdsburg's SHED has a number of amazing, locally sourced, and farm fresh items on their menu, but one of our favorites is the Roasted Little Farm Potatoes, served on a board with tomato sauce, garlic aioli, and herbs.  The dish's presentation is stunning, and it's a great California cuisine play on the traditional Spanish patatas bravas.  The tomato sauce has a bit of spice, and pairs perfctly with the tangy, garlicky aoili and fresh mixed herbs.  This is one of the rare restaurant dishes that's worth the drive to eat again, but also something we could attempt as home cooks.  We look forward to eating it, one way or another, many times in the future.

More information about SHED here.

Foodie Favorite: The Bucatini Cacio e Pepe at Jon & Vinny's

We are big fans of LA's Animal and Son of a Gun, so we don't know why it took us so long to get to their sister restaurant, Italian spot Jon & Vinny's, but we are officially in love.  From the meatballs, to the pizza, to the polenta dishes, to the wine list, Jon & Vinny's has so many delicious items on their menu.  However, the seemingly simple Bucatini Cacio e Pepe is a major standout.  Made of homemade noodles and topped with some incredible Pecorino Romano cheese, this pasta is one we will be dreaming of until our next visit.

Jon & Vinny's, Los Angeles, CA

Foodie Favorite - Crab & Shrimp Sliders at The Dorian

The Dorian recently opened on Chestnut Street in San Francisco's Marina, in the palatial old Circa space.  We had high hopes for the new restaurant, and while they were still ironing out some kinks, the food didn't disappoint.  We enjoyed several small plates, but one of our favorite dishes was the Crab & Shrimp sliders.  The shellfish is formed into little cakes and fried, then served with an aioli and local watercress on brioche buns.  These little sliders will definitely have us coming back.

Foodie Favorite: The Roasted Chicken & Warm Bread Salad at Zuni Café

Zuni Café is a San Francisco classic, serving wonderful Californian fare since 1979. One of the restaurant's most celebrated dishes is the incredible whole brick oven roasted chicken, served over a warm bread salad and greens, and dressed with currants, pine nuts, and scallions.  We love trying their seasonal starters, but always want this as our main at dinnertime - you can never go wrong with the delicious dish on a cool autumn night.

Make a reservation at Zuni Café here, or learn to make the chicken at home.

Foodie Favorite: The Pasta at Farina

San Francisco's Farina is an airy, light filled space in a prime part of the Mission - just around the corner from Tartine, and a couple of blocks from Dolores Park.  It's an elegant restaurant for the neighborhood, but still has a very local charm - NorCal meets Northern Italy.  We love their wine list and they have great starters, but we keep going back for their pastas.  The menu changes regularly, but it's always a good day when their incredible Mandilli di seta al pesto Ligure di mandorle is available.  The Mandilli is a handmade handkerchief pasta, covered in a generous green coating of basil and almond pesto - one of us is not a fan of pinenuts, used in most pesto we see in the U.S., and was completely won over by this dish.  We would also highly recommend Farina's Pasta ripiena alla norma.  Another handmade pasta, this dish is similar to a ravioli, filled with a delicious eggplant mousse, covered in a tomato-basil sauce, and topped with shaved ricotta salata.

Mandilli di seta al pesto Ligure di mandorle

Pasta ripiena alla norma

You can learn more about the restaurant here.

Foodie Favorite: Dungeness Crab & Avocado Tostadas at West of Pecos

West of Pecos, in San Francisco's Mission District, feels almost aggressively Southwestern themed, but its food is far from gimmicky.  The dishes, especially the starters, are fresh, flavorful, and delicious, and we were very impressed by the seafood appetizers, namely the Dungeness Crab & Avocado Tostadas.  Served two to an order (you can order extra if your party is unevenly sized), these perfectly layered tostadas came on a bed of cabbage, which added a nice extra crunch to the toppings, with micro greens on top.  If you're looking for inventive Tex-Mex food in a city full of variations on Mexican cuisine, you don't need to look much further than this spot.

Find more details on their site.

Foodie Favorite: Gjusta

If you live in Los Angeles and work anywhere near Venice Beach, we recommend heading to Gjusta for lunch. From the same co-owners who run Gjelina (which we also love), it features breads baked on site, charcuterie, cheese, salads, pastries and fresh juices.

Everything is on display in really fantastic glass cases, grouped as little individual shops.

Grab a little of everything and head to the beach for a lunchtime picnic. We got a caprese sandwich, blondie, herbed goat cheese, salad and sparkling limeade. You can view their menu here, and preorder to save time.

Foodie Favorite: The Commissary at The Line Hotel

Located in Koreatown, The Commissary is our favorite of the three restaurants in The Line Hotel. Heading out towards the pool on the second floor, this eatery is housed in a greenhouse. The decor is very eclectic, with multiple varieties of plants, mismatched silverware, and many different styles of cloth napkins. There are a variety of seating options from the bar, to small tables that can accommodate four, to family style tables able to accommodate large groups.

The menu consists entirely of pictures of main seasonal ingredients, and the waiters explain what the dishes are for whichever item interests you. The drink menu has a variety of cocktails served in recycled containers, and also offers fresh juice (that you can spike).

The roasted carrots were our favorite. They had a rich, meaty flavor.

A light, tasty salad.

Followed by a giant tasty burger.

More information on their website here. 

For a reservation call 213.381.7411 or book through Open Table.

Five Los Angeles Restaurants on Our To-Eat List

A Feast from Night + Market Song

1. Night + Market Song - This Northern Thai spot in Silverlake expands upon the Night + Market restaurant already in West Hollywood, with more street food treats and delicious noodle dishes.  We can't get enough of their flavors.

The Foie Gras at Redbird

2. Redbird - Chef Neal Fraser's Redbird occupies a beautiful space in DTLA, and has an enticing cocktail menu to go with his new-American cuisine.  Fraser also brought in a Bottega Louie-veteran pastry chef, so desserts are sure to be magical as well.

Pok Pok Phat Thai's Storefront

3. Pok Pok Phat Thai - Portland chef Andy Ricker took his take on Thai and wings first to NYC, and now he's finally bringing his dishes to LA's Chinatown.  Unfortunately we will have to wait until after their Springtime expansion for the famed Pok Pok wings, but we will be trying his Phat Thai first.

A Cassell's Milkshake

4. Cassell's Hamburgers - This old school hamburger joint in Koreatown has a classic soda fountain menu and some delicious looking burgers.  Our only in-advance gripe is that they don't serve fries.

Union's Porchetta

5. Union - This Italian gem in Pasadena was recently featured on Bravo's Best New Restaurant, and we could not get over how amazing everything looked.  We are dying to try their porchetta, meatballs, and Sunday sauce.

All images via Instagram

Five San Francisco Restaurants on Our To-Eat List

Oysters at Sous Beurre

1. Sous Beurre - This French Bistro seems to be a sleeper hit.  Their menu is seasonal, but features a wide variety of the standards we know and love - everything from their SF-style take on the classic French bouillabaisse, to a rabbit rillette tartine, to duck confit. 

Liloliho's Roasted Octopus with curried raisins, castelvetrano, butterball potatoes, & cilantro

2. Liholiho Yacht Club - This Hawaiian eatery is in all of our favorite SF-foodie's Instagram feeds right now.  The menu is inventive, the space looks gorgeous, and we need to get a reservation ASAP.

Aatxe's mushrooms a la plancha with smoked yolk and nettles

3. Aatxe - This Basque-Californian restaurant is expected to open this month, and we are dying to see what delights are in store from Nor Cal native, Chef Ryan Pollnow, and the rest of the team from the Ne Timeas restaurant group.

Brunch at Schmidt's means waffles, eggs, and Schnitzel

4. Schmidt's - This German spot in the Mission has a menu full of delicious sounding treats - featuring pretzels, pickles, and schnitzel.  We can't wait to try pretty much everything, but are struggling to decide if we should go for brunch or dinner first.

Burma Love's Tea Leaf Salad

5. Burma Love - A dressed up version of the beloved Burma Superstar, Burma Love also features Myanmar cuisine in its Mission location.  We are going to be sampling the Tea Leaf and Rainbow Salads, along with all of the curries we can eat.

All photos via Instagram

Foodie Favorite: The Nice Guy

We recently grabbed dinner at The Nice Guy in West Hollywood. We were excited to check out the  bar, having heard good things, but expected it to be mostly a scene, with food as an afterthought. We were very pleasantly surprised when our food arrived. We ordered the roasted brussels sprouts with feta and breadcrumbs; figs, caramelized onions, gorgonzola, balsamic glaze and thyme topped pizza; housemade butternut squash ravioli with citrus brown butter and chorizo vinaigrette, and for dessert, a caramelized apple crostada with whipped creme fraiche and caramel. The ravioli was the favorite, but we would order everything again in a heartbeat. The cocktails were delicious as well. 

Reservations are required, and should be booked a few weeks in advance. We also recommend specifically requesting a booth when making the reservation, to ensure you get a good table.

To make a reservation call (310) 360-9500 or book through opentable.

Cocktails, brussels sprouts and apple crostada. YUM.

top image from the nice guy's Facebook, bottom images our own

Foodie Favorite: Best Lil' Porkhouse

It's tough to find good barbecue in Northern California. Best Lil' Porkhouse is the best we've found in Marin, with locations in San Rafael and Corte Madera, and now also in Alameda. Although these aren't the best photos, they do convey the messiness and yumminess of the food. The restaurant uses local and organic farmers to source all of their ingredients, so we don't feel too badly when we're digging into a variety of their entrees.

We love the pulled pork sandwich, and it comes with your choice of sides. The sweet potato tots are our favorite. We also highly recommend the Macho Pig Nacho - chips topped with cheese, beans, pulled pork and bacon. They are a meal in themselves, so plan to share them if you are also getting a sandwich.

You can visit their website here.

Foodie Favorite: Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery

A Small Salami Sandwich

When you think of the best foods in LA, Italian sandwiches aren't usually the first thing that come to mind.  But Bay Cities has cornered the market on them in Santa Monica, featuring their freshly baked bread, a variety of deli meats and cheeses, and the option of having a small or large sandwich, prepared with the works, either mild or spicy.  The Godmother, a sandwich which includes Genoa Salami, Mortadella Cappacola, Ham, Proscuitto, and Provolone Cheese is a classic, although we tend to go a little lighter with just salami or turkey with the works.  But no matter how hungry you are, unless you are sharing a sandwich (and why would you want to do that?), always order a small one.

A Large Turkey Sandiwch

Foodie Favorite: The Lamb Burger at Cafe Chez Marie

We love this French Moroccan bistro, its back patio is so quaint, you feel like you're in some tiny European village. As you are aware, we LOVE burgers. Love. So of course when we saw a lamb burger on the menu were were intrigued. Seasoned with Ras El Hanout and topped with aioli, harissa and lettuce on a brioche bun, we were not disappointed. Served with a side salad, we felt less guilty than if it were accompanied with pommes frites.

Their full menu is available on their site (Edith Piaf songs start playing when you visit the homepage, be forewarned...).

Foodie Favorite: George's at the Cove in La Jolla

 George's at the Cove came highly recommended to us by several people ahead of a recent visit to the La Jolla area in San Diego.  The restaurant's location is spectacular, with a terrace featuring incredible views of La Jolla Cove Beach, its resident sea lions, and the Pacific Ocean itself - although we did have to contend with some fog on the night we were there.  The drinks and food were excellent, with the seafood dishes being standouts.  We settled on a special sea bass dish, served on a bed of greens and mushrooms, and topped with leeks and an Asian-influenced black sesame dressing - we were far from disappointed.  You can read more about George's on their site.

Foodie Favorite: Central Market in Downtown LA

We love Central Market in Downtown LA, it's a great place to grab a meal or groceries. 

With so many different types of food, there's something to suit everyone.

Foodie Favorite: The Melt Food Truck at SoMa StEat Food Park

We love Off the Grid at Fort Mason in San Francisco, but that only occurs once a week, so we were excited to discover SoMa StrEat Food Park, which is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. The vendors change pretty frequently, but we were excited to see The Melt, which makes regular appearances in Marin as well.

In our book there is nothing better than cheese, except maybe bread, so of course we are huge grilled cheese fans. 

The classic version is the perfect comfort food.