Pann's Patio

Slowly getting back out to eat, so for my 2nd post Covid meal out, I opted for the patio at Pann's. Originally I was planning to go to Lunetta, but they were packed (a great sight to see), so instead I made a short drive down the packed 405 (seemed like everyone was on the road today just like any pre Covid 19 Sunday) to join a friend for brunch.

The owners live across the street from me, so it was a chance to not only support a neighbor, but also enjoy some company in a very airy, well spaced out patio. It was also a time to indulge in some fried goodies, and of course that included a side of bacon:)

Their cole slaw and potato salad would fit right in at any Sunday picnic

and their tuna melt with a great pickled jalapeno pepper and pickle is the kind you would make at home if you had the time and ingredients to do it properly.

I came for the fried chicken wings and since it had been so long since I've had non curbside pick up orders, I got some onion rings too; a reminder that some freshly fried fragile foods are best when eaten as soon as possible. Of course I had to get some spinach too just to be a little healthy ;) 

I finished everything except the biscuit and one wing drumstick, so it was handy to have the plastic serving containers double as take out trays. Hmmm that reminds me I still have that biscuit and wing in the fridge....

 

First Meal at Restaurant since Covid 19 @ Kagura

Now that I am fully vaccinated (2 weeks after my second Moderna shot), I finally ventured out for my first meal since February of 2020 at Kagura in El Segundo. I felt a bit like an invalid who had been bedridden for over a year, being a bit wobbly as I tentatively took my first steps back into familiar territory. 

I found the Covid 19 protocols are in place with hand sanitizer, face masks, and separated dining areas. I was willing to order to go if there was any problem, but I was relieved to find everything was strictly health conscious. I chose Kagura as my first post vaccination restaurant because of their very private separate booth areas and the security that provided even pre Covid 19. Some thing are different now with drink menus posted and separate mini single servings of soy sauce and hot sauce rather than multi use larger tableside ceramics or glass containers.

The service was lovely as usual with the same servers they had preCovid, all wearing the same kind and professional demeanor with excellent service. From serving tea, salad and miso soup to delivering the main gozen lunches of sushi and miso black cod. It was wonderful to go out to eat with a fellow food lover who had also been housebound the past year; it felt as if we were released from prison on the same day to enjoy life as we had known it before our confinement :)

 

2 Grilled Salads & 2 Great Sandwiches To Go

It's been over 1 year since I've been out to eat, but curbside take out from my favorite places has given me a much needed break from constantly cooking:) Assembling great salads is as time consuming as preparing a mise en place for Chinese stir fry; the preparation takes 5 times longer than the actual assembly. 

Two of my favorite salads are the grilled chopped salad for $17 from Lunetta and the grilled mushroom salad for $15 from Metro Cafe. Both use quality fresh vegetables and each dressing perfectly compliments the mix, from the vinaigrette for the chopped salad to the balsamic for the mushroom salad.

Clark Street Bakery was already sold out of all their marvelous sourdough by the time I got there, so I opted for the roasted turkey pesto with aged provolone, arugula, and avocado for $15

and their Italian tuna with mozzarella, heirloom tomato, arugula, and pickled jalapenos for $13.

Taking a needed break to from cooking was well worth the change of pace. It also gave me a taste for an eventual return to dining out as Covid 19 cases drop with vaccinations rising in California. I'm salivating at the thought of seeing my servers again in all my favorite dining spots.

 

Colossus Bread 2021

My first post about this small bakery in San Pedro was written right before the world changed, and I'm happy to report that some good things are still around to keep us going until we are able to share bread with others as we did before March of 2020.

It was a pleasure to find that good sourdough has survived the pandemic, and they have pivoted to make it easier to place and prepay before you arrive at their window, so you can just pick up your goodies when you arrive. They also have a few items on display if you are lucky enough to get there early. They practice social distancing, have hand sanitizer, use tongs to gather the pastries, and wear face masks.

I got a chocolate chip cookie for the first time here and it was so good I think next time I will pick up a few as a reward for the trek down to San Pedro :)

Ela Greek Curbside

Ela Greek Eats is one of the places I have not patronized since the pandemic hit, so I made it a point to get some curbside food and check in on how they were doing. I was relieved to find they are busy with several people waiting, picking up, or ordering at 1pm during a weekday. Everyone behind the counter wore masks, but depending on the clientele, some were not spaced and some were.

I got the falafel bowl with tzatziki and quinoa and salad, that ended up being my favorite of all the items I ordered! The salad was fresh and the falafel were light and crisp.

The spanakopita was very good, with flakey filo and a spinach and feta filling.

The chicken exohiko was drier than the last time I ate it here, with less mushrooms, carrots, and celery, and more chicken, slivered nuts and pesto. The chicken itself was moist, but I preferred the creamier version they served pre pandemic.

The moussaka was redolent with nutmeg and spices, a comfort food if ever there was one, topped with bechamel and potatoes, filled with eggplant and zucchini. This was easily enough for 2 servings.

Bludso's Curbside

It's nice to have choices when it comes to cravings, especially when the choices are good ones. I live near Maple Block, but sometimes I crave Moo's Craft, and  it's been awhile since I've had Bludso's, so I tried their curbside pick up since they don't deliver to my area.

Great Covid 19 protocol; simply park in one of the designated spots in front, call with your name, and they will bring your order out with masks and delivery to the trunk of my car. Since I was not going to make the drive for only one meal, I got a full rack of pork ribs for $33, a pint of collard greens for $10, and 2 pieces of cornbread for $5.

Everything was as delicious as the delivery and in house meals I've eaten previously, with the added bonus of having great food in the fridge for several meals! Definitely worth the drive, and definitely get more food than you can eat so that you can enjoy the flavors again the next day :)

Vegetarian Simpang Curbside

Simpang Asia serves Indonesian food at 2 locations with the warm hospitality of Southeast Asia. I've written about them before, in this post from 2019 when I first dined in at their Palms location, and this post in 2020 when I ordered delivery.

This time I ordered curbside pick up and got a vegetarian feast of tahu tempeh goreng for $7.95 with garlic tofu and tempeh.

My favorite salted fish fried rice for $12.50

vegetarian kwetiaw goreng for $10.95

and delicious garlic string beans $9.50

The hearty combination was enough for 2 meals, but I only ate one at a time :)

Moo's Craft BBQ Curbside

My enjoyment and appreciation of Moo's Craft BBQ Curbside reminded me that when you love what you do, you should share it with others. I am very grateful they share their expertise and passion with people outside their family. BBQ is one of those skills I do not possess. I can grill, but I do not have the passion, nor patience, for the perfection I have tasted. 

I was a regular at Smorgasburg pre Covid 19, so when they began offering orders for curbside pick up in DTLA, I was relieved to learn that not only had they pivoted to survive the pandemic, but that I could (selfishly) get some of my favorite BBQ. The process is easy as long as you can plan your pick up at least a week before you want to eat. It's a very efficient system where you prepay, set a pick up time and literally drive in front of the pick up site. Just tell the person at the front your name and the company you are getting your food from, and they will bring it to your trunk.

I saw on their social media that they had beef ribs, so I preordered one, with some brisket, ribs, and coleslaw. As usual, their pickled red onions and pickles came with the order and I made a feast out of the platter for several meals! Don't hesitate to order "too much" food because you will find that "just one more bite" can turn into two or three and leftovers can be wishful thinking when you are really hungry :)    

Lure Fish

After finding out that I needed to drive my car more to pass my smog inspection, I looked at my Instagram feed to see what places I wanted to try that were more than 30 miles away...Lure Fish Bar has several locations, and Ventura was far enough away but also not so far that my hips and knees would scream from the road trip. Since I had no idea when I would actually arrive, I waited until I was parked in front of the restaurant before calling in the curbside pick up order. They were very nice when I said I was already parked, but I think they forgot about me once the order was done because I saw several tables get served after I was parked and when I called back, they immediately brought the food out to me. Everything was still warm, but it had definitely been sitting there for awhile.

The miso maple bass skewers for $15 were so sweet that they did not need any  extra sauce. I had to take bites of the grapefruit and arugula in between bites of fish to cut the sweetness. The fish was not overcooked and fresh, so as long as you like your fish sweet, you would enjoy this appetizer.

The calamari for $14 would have been fabulous if it had been hot. A very generous portion, with fried peppers, and a nice roasted tomato sauce. Well seasoned, with lots of tentacles (my favorite), I would definitely order this if dining in the restaurant.

The spicy avocado wild shrimp salad for $15 with added grilled wild gulf shrimp for $6 traveled well all the way back to Los Angeles. With romaine, quinoa, red cabbage, grilled corn, tomatoes, queso fresco and a cilantro vinaigrette, this hearty salad would be a great choice for take away any day.

The Seafood Louie for $18 with added grilled wild gulf shrimp for $6 more, was my favorite, with Dungeness crab, pacific white shrimp, avocado, asparagus, 7 minute egg, and tomato, this salad hit all the right notes, textures, and flavors. There was so much seafood that I added more lettuce to make it more of a salad instead of a seafood plate!

Definitely a nice drive out of town and a good stop on the way to Santa Barbara or points further north if you are in the mood for some fresh seafood.

Chifa

Just as they always recommend on airplanes that you place the oxygen mask on yourself before placing it on your child or loved one, I recommend always getting (and eating) food for yourself when you are getting food for someone else :) I was making a personal delivery from Chifa for a friend recovering from surgery, so I ordered something for myself! They offer curbside delivery and two dedicated parking spaces in front for picking up orders.

Since the pandemic, I have not eaten any beef heart, so when I saw Anticucho with a serrano cilantro sauce for $11 on their menu, it was the first thing I ordered. The heart was tender, perfectly grilled and the sauce was just spicy enough to perk it up without lighting my mouth on fire.

I also got a side of their vegetables for $12 and was happy to find an unusual combination that went nicely

with the garlic rice

that came with the Si Yao aged soy poached free range chicken for $25. The order came with 1/2 a chicken, so there was plenty for leftovers if you couldn't finish it all at once ;)

My hearty plate was filled with only half of each item, a marvelous reward for making a delivery across town!

Bakerfield Road Trip

I learned that I needed to drive 300 miles at under 3000 rpm to get my catalytic converter to pass my smog test, so after driving to Long Beach and Camarillo, I took a road trip to Bakersfield to make sure I drove more than 300 miles! 

Of course any road trip must include a food stop or two. New Vintage Grill was in the same small complex as Bakers Outpost, so since it was lunch time, it was also time to have a take out car lunch. Even though they offered both indoor and outdoor dining, there were too many maskless people for me to feel comfortable eating anything other than take out. I was not even comfortable in their take out waiting area inside because of the many patrons either wearing masks covering only their mouths or no masks at all!

Their Greek salad had fresh ingredients and a hearty portion of chicken for $13.59. I found the chicken a bit dry, the sliced pepperoncini a bit strange, and the olives a bit overwhelming, but overall it was a good version made for American palates.

I ordered the avocado caprese salad for $14.59 to take home and it had a sweet balsamic glaze and dressing that were surprisingly good with the fresh basil chiffonade accented salad.

Since Bakers Outpost had just opened and I was tired of baking bread, it was the main reason for my destination pick. This is their sandwich sourdough loaf for $10 which was not as sour as is my preference, but the quality of grains and ingenuity of baking a sandwich sourdough loaf won me over.

The more classic version of sourdough with multiple grains was more traditional and hearty for 410. Again not as sour as my preference, but a great quality loaf for $10.

My favorite item was the coconut cookie that was made with so much care that you could taste the love that they put into this fantastic warm hug of a dessert. I would drive the 110 miles again just to get another cookie!

Moulin

Ever since the pandemic, I have not ventured beyond Los Angeles County, so since I still needed more freeway miles for my car to pass smog inspection, it was time to visit Moulin in Newport Beach. It was easy to find despite the construction detour for the Google maps exit (it's just as easy to take Jamboree to Bristol). The large parking lot and spacious shop and patio made it inviting for those of us who follow social distancing and mask protocols to feel secure. 

By 1pm on a weekday, the cases were already low on some of the most popular items, but there were enough choices to make the trip worthwhile.

They had a few baguettes left, so that alone was worth the drive :)

I got a few croissants for the next morning

a Madeleine for the drive back

a chocolate eclair and 

the fantastic apple tart was my favorite pastry!