The Unvegan

Por Ti Funghi, Volare

June 15th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Hole in the wall?

While in San Diego with a couple of runners the night before the Rock and Roll Marathon, we needed some carbs. I wasn’t running, but I am never one to turn down a carbo-load. Knowing nothing of Italian food in San Diego and not really wanting to go to Olive Garden (no offense to the Garden, but we wanted to support something local), we turned to Urban Spoon. Yes, there’s an app for that. This directed us to Volare, a sort of whole in the wall in a sort of sketchy part of town. It looked perfect. Continue Reading»

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California, gnocchi, Italian, loma portal, pasta, restaurants, san diego, Travel, volare

Choosing an Adventure at Fritto Misto

May 17th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Pillows of love.

In Santa Monica, there is a little Italian restaurant called Fritto Misto. It’s way to small to handle the people that want to eat there and there are always people wanting to eat there. Why? First off, they only charge 2 bucks corkage fee if you bring your own wine. But more important than that is their actual food. Continue Reading»

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fritto misto, Italian, Los Angeles, pasta, restaurants, Santa Monica

A First Time for Olive Garden

May 4th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Mmm airy breadsticks.

Yes, you read that right: A First Time for Olive Garden. Somehow this Italian chain restaurant, which finds itself in every big or small city in the country, has evaded me for my whole life. But on Friday that all changed. I found myself at Olive Garden for the first time and I was eager to find out what all the fuss was about. It all started with bread sticks. Continue Reading»

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Chains, Cypress, Italian, olive garden, orange county, pasta, restaurants, Travel

A Quickie Dinner at Daily Grill

February 28th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

More like Multi-Daily Grill

On our way out of town via the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, we were in need of a convenient place for a bite to eat. Across the street from the airport, we found the Daily Grill, an mid-level restaurant chain for American food that can found throughout California and a little beyond. As we needed to catch a flight, there was little time to dilly dally and I quickly scanned the menu and found their Penne Pasta with Chicken. Continue Reading»

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American, Burbank, Chains, Chicken, Daily Grill, Los Angeles, pasta, restaurants

Avoiding Baked Goods at Corner Bakery

August 6th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Have spiral with my noodles.

For a quick lunch idea to please a few people, the girlfriend and I decided to pick up food from Corner Bakery. Although the place is pretty well-known for its sandwiches, I was in no mood for such food. Instead, I found that they had a little selection of pasta dishes that looked like a good lunch to me. Of these, the Pesto Cavatappi looked best to me. Continue Reading»

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Chains, Chicken, Corner Bakery, Italian, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, pasta, restaurants, Sandwiches

Surprised by Spumoni

April 26th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Meat and potatoes.

We headed over to Santa Monica to grab some pizza. Unfortunately, once we had parked and filled the meter, we realized that the pizza place we wanted no longer existed. Unwilling to let a few quarters go to waste, we decided to take a little walk and see if any other restaurant might be able to tickle our fancy. What we found was Spumoni. Though not a pizza place, at least it was Italian. Continue Reading»

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gnocchi, Italian, Los Angeles, meat, pasta, restaurants, Santa Monica

Reliable Italian at C & O Cucina

December 28th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The REAL reason to go to C & O

Not to be confused with C & O Trattoria, C & O Cucina is just down the street in Marina Del Rey. Although the location is completely different, the menu seems to be the same as the other C & O. One thing it is missing, though, is the fun outdoor atmosphere. Nonetheless, I had a restaurant.com gift certificate so I had to try it out. Continue Reading»

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C & O Cucina, Chicken, food, Italian, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, meat, pasta, ravioli, restaurants, trattoria

A Wine Cellar Dinner at Bottle Inn

September 14th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Little green lumps of happiness

For a restaurant called the Bottle Inn, you would expect them to have a great selection of wines. What you wouldn’t expect, however, is for their wine cellar to become a dining room. Nonetheless, if you have a big enough group, that is where they seat you. It’s almost like a tease to should you all the amazing wines you could be drinking, yet it’s still pretty damn cool. Although the wine was quite distracting, I was able to take my mind off of it long enough to read the menu.

Everything on the menu looked amazing and it took me a long time to decide, but in the end it had to be the Gnocchi al Pesto. While waiting, we drank some fine Napa wine and stared at the stack of Opus wine that was probably worth more than my life. Continue Reading»

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Bottle Inn, California, Cellar, food, gnocchi, hermosa beach, Italian, Los Angeles, opus, pasta, restaurants, Reviews, wine

C & O Trattoria

January 28th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

So much better with added meat.

Italian food is often a difficult food to spend a lot of money on. It is hard to justify dropping $15 on a meal when I can easily boil pasta, microwave some Classico sauce and sprinkle some parmesan on top. C & O Trattoria, however, is a place that exceeds anything I could provide in my own kitchen.

The ambience itself makes you feel like you really walked into a restaurant in Italy, with outdoor seating, a fountain and strings of lights. Even the walls are painted to make it feel like you are sitting out on the street rather than inside a restaurant. I took my seat and started looking at the menu when the waiter began bringing out my unlimited garlic knots. The waiter could hardly bring them out fast enough for me to eat them. Continue Reading»

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food, Italian, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, meat, pasta, restaurants, rigatoni

Rants and Raves

The Meat Myth

April 21st, 2010

Yummy myth.

We live in a world full of myth. Some of these myths are awesome, like Greek myths. But some myths just plain suck. Like myths about meat. They are rampant and they turn know-nothing vegans into high and mighty zealots. Well, it’s time to kiss those myths goodbye, because I have uncovered a handy little article that should quiet them down.

Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

The taste of skiing?

Colorado is definitely a beer state, and not just because Coors comes from the Rocky Mountain State. No, it is also home to New Belgium (of Fat Tire fame) and seemingly countless other micro and craft breweries. While in Breckenridge for a ski weekend, I decided I had to at least try one of these, and because it turned out to be the only one available at dinner, my choice happened to come from the creatively named Breckenridge Brewery. The brewery, by the way, is actually no longer in Breckenridge, having expanded and moved to Denver in 1992.

‘pasta’

Por Ti Funghi, Volare

Choosing an Adventure at Fritto Misto

A First Time for Olive Garden

A Quickie Dinner at Daily Grill

Avoiding Baked Goods at Corner Bakery

Surprised by Spumoni

Reliable Italian at C & O Cucina

A Wine Cellar Dinner at Bottle Inn

C & O Trattoria

Rants and Raves

The Meat Myth

Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

What is this?»

Unvegan Friends