I walked past this place and had to turn back around when I smelled the delicious food being cooked inside. Bio is a tiny shop a block away from Union Square with lunch offerings that not only taste good but are also interesting. Jalapeno agave strawberry juice, anyone?

Bio's pastry is hard to resist. Every time I go there, I want to try one of everything!

The agave strawberry juice is sweet, tart, refreshing, and so healthy.

drool

An open faced turkey sandwich with salad and agave strawberry juice for lunch.

Because no meal is complete without dessert. The house chocolate: cayenne pepper, lavender, turmeric, sundried tomato, berries, fleur de sel, and flax. And it's vegan :P

Leave your heart in San Francisco

Bio
75 O'Farrel St.
San Francisco, CA
http://www.biologiquesf.com/

Red Medicine is a Vietnamese restaurant that isn't a Vietnamese restaurant. It's not even Asian. The flavors are not what they look like on the plate. It's different. It's exciting. It's so good.

#87 crushed ice, mint, spice, chai.

PORK PATE, clove, rambutan

SANTA BARBARA UNI, cauliflower, chinese sausage

BRUSSEL SPROUTS, shallots, fish sauce

BIODYNAMIC LEEKS, yuzu, buttermilk. My favorite dish of this meal.

SWEET POTATOES, smoked tofu, tamarind

YOUNG TURNIPS, banana vinegar, creme fraiche

WILD ALASKAN HALIBUT, burnt onion, black roots

SWEETBREADS, spice bread, smoked bone marrow

SHAVED ICE OF REDWOOD STEMS, sour red currant berries and jelly, creme chiboust (no idea what that is) flavoured with jasmine flowers, crispy rice crackers, orange blossom bubbles, covered with roasted almond praline disk spray painted with white chocolate

Red Medicine
8400 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Several months ago, my champagne-loving aunts Thess and Vangie babysat Amelia. We ended up staying for dinner at their place and they served champagne. Of course. I mentioned that I don't have a definitive favorite because my palate does not have a good memory, there are long stretches in between my champagne swillings, and I've never drank more than one type of champagne at a time. We talked about a tasting to resolve the matter. Finally we did. You're invited.

I was thrilled when I read that potato chips and popcorn go well with traditional brut champagne. No cooking required.

L to R: brillat savarin with truffles, truffle mouse, lambchopper sheep gouda, mortadella.

There you go. Everyone brought a different bottle so we can sample a wide variety. L to R: Monthuys, Cuvee des Crayeres, Moet & Chandon, Gaston Chiquet, Perrier-Jouet, Benoit Lahaye.

A generous tasting portion is not so helpful when trying to remember. For dinner I prepared rigatoni with creamy mushroom sauce that went well with the evening's libation.

For dessert I served Draeger's sponge cake with berries and Suzie & Ellen's homemade strawberry jam.

This cake was so good and more bubbles.

The drinking became more of a pairing than a tasting. I still don't know which champagne I like best. Ah, well. We need a do over. Who's in?

To paraphrase Tom Waits, champagne is for real friends. À notre santé!

Located on Venice's hottest block, Superba Snack Bar offers up Southern California cuisine with focus on house made pastas, small plates, and vegetables.

There's a small patio outside for al fresco dining.

Blankets are provided for patio diners in case it gets chilly.

This cold cut plate was too good! L to R: porchetta di testa pastrami on rye with dill pickles; pâté de champagne, pickled mustard seed; smoked bacon & apricot mustardo; Julia’s chicken liver mousse pave, black pepper strawberry gelée

Vegetarian truffle special, spring greens and flowers, truffle oil, crostini

Black kale, jalapeño pickled raisins, pine nuts, pecorino & crouton

Roasted white peaches, coconut "burrata", black radishes, radicchio, basil

Cauliflower T-bone, avocado puree, pickled beets & castelvetranos

My favorite dish was the wakame spaghettini made with uni, Dungeness crab, miso butter & pickled jalapeños. Sublime.

Smoked bucatini carbonara, poached egg, pancetta, black pepper & parmesan

Sweet corn agnolotti, jalapeño butter, ancho, lime & sheep’s milk cheese

Half and Half The savory peach dessert on the left was not a favorite on our table. There was a lot left over, and leftover dessert is unheard of. On the other hand, the smore's like concoction on the right, well, let's just say nothing was left over.

Superba Snack Bar
533 Rose Ave.
Venice, CA 90291

Lunch at Hinoki & the Bird by Chef David Myers lives up to the hype. Every dish was a hit with our group.


 

Kale salad made with crispy and raw kale, curried almonds, pecorino, red wine vinaigrette Hanzo Fix made with yuzu juice, simple syrup, cucumber, orange juice, jalapeno

 

The chili crab toast with spicy cucumber and coriander was my favorite. I could eat a whole platter of this.

Beet salad special

Miso marinated skirt steak, shaved turnips, chili

Scottish salmon, rapini, radish sprouts

Monkfish, yellow curry noodle, eggplant, herbs

Raspberry macaron, rhubarb, yoghurt sorbet oh my!

Hinoki and the Bird
10 Century Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Providing a toddler with a variety of foods at every meal is easier with these Spuds plates. First, the plates are made out of reclaimed potatoes. It is manufactured with only organic raw materials, even the packaging. Reading all too often about scary toxins found in common products that we use on a daily basis, I feel better about using natural products for Amelia, especially the ones touching her food.

Additionally, there are 5 compartments that make me come up a balanced meal. I try to fill them with protein, grains, vegetables, fruits and, occasionally, sweets at every meal. Amelia doesn't eat everything. Sometimes she'll eat only the egg or corn, but I can say I tried.

breakfast: pecan raisin bread, avocado, egg, kiwi, mango

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snack: kale puffs, slice of lemon-filled cupcake, panda cookie, raisins, string cheese

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dinner: mango, tilapia, squid ink pasta, artichoke, tomato

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breakfast: apple, blueberry whole wheat waffles with almond butter and strawberry jam, egg, strawberries, tater tots

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lunch: strawberries, mangoes, vegetable roll, buttered corn, chocolate cookie because it's shark week

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