Driving Lessons Day 1

Today I went on my first driving lesson and it went surprisingly well. Afterwords I treated myself to lunch at Corner Bakery while I did my Con Law reading.  I had the tomato mozzarella sandwich with balsamic (of course, my favorite). Did you know you can substitute carrots for the chips with no additional charge? Excellent.

I love that the sandwich had arugula on it. So yummy.

Father’s Office

Last Tuesday was a sad, rainy, dreary day in So Cal. After Con, Prop, and Civ Pro the gang and I decided we needed to go out to eat to lift our moods. We decided to go to Father’s Office.

escaping from Westwood

Father’s Office is a restaurant in Santa Monica that I have heard buzz about since I landed in LA 6 months ago. Allegedly the burgers are better than In & Out and the sweet potato fries are out of this world. Not too far from UCLA, it is located on Montana in the small commercial area teaming with adorable shops and a William Sonoma (a personal favorite).

my beer, which I forgot the name of

The restaurant is basically a bar with tables, no waiters and waitresses. You place your order at the bar and take a number and sit. While this description might sound a little trashy the interior was nicely decorated. Small, but not a hole in the wall. The bar is small though. We were there on a Tuesday at 7 when it was raining and we had to wait about 5 mins for a table. I can hardly imagine what it is like at peek time. You would have to be a shark to snag a table.

There was an extensive beer menu with many imports and microbrews. The bartenders were really knowledgeable about the beers and the flavor pairings. I had a Belgium beer, which I can’t remember the name of, but I can tell you it was light and had notes of citrus.

The menu is pretty small, probably because everyone is ordering the burger. Three of us had the burger and Eric had the beef kabob thing. The burger itself was $12, which I don’t think is too bad for a big gourmet burger. I will say that it was an extra $2.50 for fries and $6.50 for sweet potato fries which was disappointing. I ended up getting regular fries because I didn’t want to pony up the extra $4 for sweet potato fries. The fries came with this amazing aioli sauce which was so much better than ketchup.

looks good... but I want a burger!

Now for the burger. It was possibly the best burger I have ever eaten. It is a good size dried aged beef with caramelized onion, applewood bacon compote, gruyere, matag blue cheese and arugula. Normally i do not like burgers. In fact, I rarely eat them. Generally I only eat in and out but I can tell you, this was HANDS DOWN the best burger I have ever had. The toppings compliment the beef so well it is unbelievable. I can never argue with two types of cheese. The arugula was perfectly warmed as were the onions. The toppings balance so well, you don’t notice one as dominant. This burger was like a perfect harmony and melody. Absolutely going back to Father’s Office.

fin

Father's Office

Last Tuesday was a sad, rainy, dreary day in So Cal. After Con, Prop, and Civ Pro the gang and I decided we needed to go out to eat to lift our moods. We decided to go to Father’s Office.

escaping from Westwood

Father’s Office is a restaurant in Santa Monica that I have heard buzz about since I landed in LA 6 months ago. Allegedly the burgers are better than In & Out and the sweet potato fries are out of this world. Not too far from UCLA, it is located on Montana in the small commercial area teaming with adorable shops and a William Sonoma (a personal favorite).

my beer, which I forgot the name of

The restaurant is basically a bar with tables, no waiters and waitresses. You place your order at the bar and take a number and sit. While this description might sound a little trashy the interior was nicely decorated. Small, but not a hole in the wall. The bar is small though. We were there on a Tuesday at 7 when it was raining and we had to wait about 5 mins for a table. I can hardly imagine what it is like at peek time. You would have to be a shark to snag a table.

There was an extensive beer menu with many imports and microbrews. The bartenders were really knowledgeable about the beers and the flavor pairings. I had a Belgium beer, which I can’t remember the name of, but I can tell you it was light and had notes of citrus.

The menu is pretty small, probably because everyone is ordering the burger. Three of us had the burger and Eric had the beef kabob thing. The burger itself was $12, which I don’t think is too bad for a big gourmet burger. I will say that it was an extra $2.50 for fries and $6.50 for sweet potato fries which was disappointing. I ended up getting regular fries because I didn’t want to pony up the extra $4 for sweet potato fries. The fries came with this amazing aioli sauce which was so much better than ketchup.

looks good... but I want a burger!

Now for the burger. It was possibly the best burger I have ever eaten. It is a good size dried aged beef with caramelized onion, applewood bacon compote, gruyere, matag blue cheese and arugula. Normally i do not like burgers. In fact, I rarely eat them. Generally I only eat in and out but I can tell you, this was HANDS DOWN the best burger I have ever had. The toppings compliment the beef so well it is unbelievable. I can never argue with two types of cheese. The arugula was perfectly warmed as were the onions. The toppings balance so well, you don’t notice one as dominant. This burger was like a perfect harmony and melody. Absolutely going back to Father’s Office.

fin

Saturday means…

Latte from Espresso Profeta in Westwood

Starting the day with a latte from Espresso Profeta! Not only is it the prettiest latte in Westwood but also the best in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I love Starbucks and Coffee Bean. I can hang out in the arm chairs at “It’s a grind”. However Saturday AM isn’t Saturday AM without an Espresso Profeta latte. The frothiness of the foam mixed with high quality espresso is heavenly. Also, the staff here knows coffee. Seriously, they know coffee. Don’t argue with them or ask for a large size, you will get stared at like a freak if you expect a jumbo 20 oz beverage like you would get at Starbucks. The drink might not be as large but it is far, far better.

Espresso Profeta
1129 Glendon Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Get off your pity pot and go to Yogurtland!

With the second week of second semester drawing to a close, I think all of us 1L’s are a bit on edge. Whose bright idea was it to have grades, summer job stress, new classes, and new memos all happen in the same two weeks!? It was Satan, wasn’t it?

Needless to say my stress was only compounded when I realized I’d missed the deadline on an ungraded research assignment by one hour and there was the potential to dock points from my next graded memo. It sent me over the edge for a short time. But finally I got off the pity pot and went to the place where dreams come true: Yogurtland!!

the promise land

Yogurtland is this amazing yogurt shop in So Cal. Unlike Pinkberry and Red Mango there are flavors beyond “tart”. Also, the yogurt is self serve style so you can load up on as many flavors and toppings as you want! Finally the price is determined by weight. So, in a nut shell, one can load up on millions of yummy flavors (literally filling the cup to the top) and only pay $4.38. That is less than the price of a small at Pinkberry with toppings.

one of my favorite flavors!

Instant Mood Boost!

chocolate, coconut, and pistachio

I always try to get pistachio, chocolate, and coconut flavored yogurt. Then I load up the toppings. There is one side that is mostly fruit and other healthy toppings and the other side has everything delicious like chocolate chips, moochi, cookie dough bits, and syrups. Unlike a health conscious trip to Pinkberry or Red Mango, the temptation towards the “bad” toppings at Yogurtland is more than I can handle. I get always get moochi, dark chocolate chips, yogurt chips, grapes and chocolate syrup.

colorful healthy toppings

dessert first!

So bad its good and it got me off the pity pot!

Finally, note the nice new pictures. Higher quality than the previous ones which were taken on my iphone. Thanks you, Cannon Power Shot!