‘desert cities’


Piero’s Acqua Pazza

February 27th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
That steak's got balls...of mashed potatoes.

That steak's got balls...of mashed potatoes.

It seems that the only three things to do in The Desert are swim, golf and eat.  This is by no means a bad thing, as there is no shortage of good restaurants.

With my father and two grandparents, I went to Piero’s Acqua Pazza, an Italian-ish restaurant.  I say “-ish” because they offer much more than traditional Italian food.  The night I was there, they had a three-course special, which included a starter, main course and dessert.  The price was unbeatable because it included the filet mignon, which actually cost more on the regular menu without the other courses.  A true meat-loving family, we all wanted the filet.  After making that choice, I checked out the starters, which to my behest, only included vegetable dishes.  I scoffed at this and decided it was still worth the three-course meal.

There was still one last hoop to jump through, the filet came with a side of mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley.  Continue Reading»


Going Global at Plan Check

Fries of the world.

A couple of weeks ago, The Backyard Bite invited me to The Burger Culture Clash, sponsored by Stussy (which apparently still exists) and Plan Check. Plan Check, by the way, is a sort of new (since February) restaurant in West LA with Chef Ernesto Uchimura of Umami Burger fame. As my love of burgers, especially those of the umami variety, I jumped at the opportunity.

Although I arrived alone, I was not the only lone eater. Just next to where I was seated, I met e*star LA and we decided to share a meal called loneliness, because it’s better than eating alone. We made quick friends over our respective blogs and Midwestern roots, then got to work at dissecting the special menu, which Plan Check will be featuring for the next month if anything tickles your fancy.

Continue Reading»