Crab Corner - Southwest

I have been interested in trying Crab Corner for ages now, but finally got a chance last night to dine there with a friend.

The restaurant hasn't changed much since it was Three Tomatoes and a Mozzarella. Interior is pretty similar, but still nice. They had a band performing which was a nice touch. They weren't overly loud or distracting which we were concerned about at first.

I had really intended on ordering crab, but got derailed and instead ordered the two item combo with fried shrimp and oysters. I should have stuck to my first inclination. Although my food was ok, the fresh seafood options looked so much yummier and I stared enviously at other diner's meals. I tried a bite of my friend's crab cakes and they were delicious. I'd come back for those as well as during their happy hour for some blue crab or oysters.

Service was a little slow and we had to remind our server for refills and to bring our check, but for the most part I enjoyed our meal here and look forward to trying them again soon.

Cornish Pasty Company

I came to Cornish Pasty Company with a friend who's mom is from England and is always looking for good British food in town to lure her mom here for a visit, so it wasn't too hard to convince her to try this place with me this week.

We arrived around 530 and the place wasn't packed but there were already a number of diners seated. The restaurant is much larger than expected and I enjoyed the ambiance quite a bit. It's on the darker side and makes you feel like you're the only people in the place.

We were seated quickly and perused the menu. Their pasty selection is extensive so it took us quite a bit of time to decide what we wanted to order. In the interim, we settled on some cider that was offered during happy hour. Our waitress was nice but service was a bit slow during our entire meal. She was apologetic about it so we weren't too perturbed. I decided on the lamb vindaloo pasty, since I was in the mood for something spicy. Our meals were slow to arrive, but worth the wait. At first we weren't sure about the portion size. They are deceptively large, when we first thought they were on the smaller side. I enjoyed my pasty quite a bit and it had the spicy kick I had been hoping for. My friend enjoyed hers quite a bit as well. I have tried pasties a few times in the past but I have to say this was probably my favorite so far. We each were only able to finish half of our meal, but took the rest to go with us. I couldn't resist ordering dessert as well, I ended up with the Shirley Temple's Pudding since I absolutely adore sticky toffee pudding and my friend got the strawberry pavlova. Both were good, with my pudding edging hers out by a nose in the flavor department.

We had a fabulous meal and my fella even raved about how good my leftovers were, so we will likely be back soon to give them another go. Just be sure you aren't in too much of a rush when you dine here since our whole meal took over two hours from start to finish.

DK's Donuts

After the whole cronut craze took off, I kind of made a promise to myself not to join in on the hype and actually made a concerted effort to avoid the latest food fad.

While in Santa Monica for the weekend I happened upon DK's Donuts and noticed all the positive reviews and accolades and decided to give them a try. With a line out the door around 9:30 pm on a Saturday, I had high expectations.

I noticed many varieties of cronuts in the display case and I just couldn't resist. After all this time, I gave in and tried the infamous pastry. We ordered a plain sugar and cinnamon, boston creme and a strawberry cream to go, as well as six donut holes that came free with our Yelp check-in.

We couldn't resist digging in as soon as we reached our car with our goodies. Crunchy on the outside, yet moist and perfectly chewy on the inside, I was in love.

What a perfectly magical way to pop my cronut cherry. I'm so glad I waited for the right one to make it a special and memorial moment.

Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market & Patio Cafe

Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market & Patio Cafe has four star food with a five star view. We were in the area and we noticed this place as we were driving by. The line was around the building, so I was intrigued.

Although there isn't a lot of parking, there is plenty of street parking, so we were able to find a place to park relatively close. We stood and line and it moved more quickly than I expected. It was so hard to choose what to get, there were so many menu items that caught our eye. We ordered and were given a little beeper to let us know when our meal was ready. There is tons of seating all the way up the hill on both sides of the restaurant. Every seat has a perfect view.

My fella and I decided to share the fish & chips and the grilled shrimp. We were a little concerned when ordering about the portion sizes, but they were very generous for the price. The fish and shrimp were both super plump and tasty. Fresh is the name of the game here, so I was extremely impressed. The fried fish wasn't overly battered and still had a very light and fresh flavor.

This is a great spot if you're in the area and need a quick bite while you're having a great day at the beach. Casual, fresh and tasty. Nothing better than that.

KoMex Fusion

I have to admit, I wasn't thrilled with my first encounter with the original Komex location. So I wasn't as excited as most when they opened up a new location closer to me. I have always wanted to give them another chance so when I saw their discounted tacos available during their three-year anniversary celebration, I took it as a sign that it was time to give them another try.

We ordered some tacos and a large fried rice to share. Since tacos were only $1 we got two each and figured we would have plenty of rice to take home as leftovers. Boy were we right about that. Our food arrived and the rice was enormous, so were the tacos. For just $15 and change we got enough food for lunch and dinner along with drinks and chips with salsa and guacamole.

On my previous visit, I had tried nachos and a burrito and didn't love the flavor combinations. This time I was much more impressed with the tacos and fried rice, probably because they were simpler and cleaner flavors.

I'll definitely be back now that they're in my neck of the woods.

Weiss Deli

I finally ventured to Weiss for lunch with my friend. I have heard talk of this place for ages, so was excited to try what they had to offer. Since everyone seems to always rave about their chicken noodle soup, so I knew I had to give that a chance. I decided on the half sandwich and soup, to maximize the amount of things I could try. I'm not typically a big fan of deli meat, but still went with the corned beef.

The soup came out quickly and was enormous. Lots of meaty pieces of chicken and a huge matzo ball in the center. The matzo ball was perfection, I'm usually easy to please with these. The soup was a little under-seasoned for my taste, so I had to add some salt and pepper. I rarely ever have to add salt to anything, so this was very, very rare for me. The soup was very filling and by the time my sandwich came out I was stuffed. I ate about half my half sandwich, which was enormous as well and packaged the rest to go with me. My friend ordered the pastrami burger with fries. It was huge and looked really good and meaty. The patrons at the next table were impressed as well and kept asking him about his order and if it tasted as good as it looked, to which he answered "yes." My sandwich was good and I enjoyed it for the mots part. The bread was a little dry, but adding mustard really enhanced the flavor. I would be curious about their clubs or a reuben next time as those looked tasty, as well as their breakfast items.

Service was friendly, but they were short with us and we felt a bit rushed. After our second drink refill, the server left the pitcher on our table without a word, making us feel like we were bothering him a bit. Our other server was efficient, but not very chatty and didn't make much effort beyond what was expected.

For the most part, we had a decent meal and I'd be curious to check them out again and try some more items from their very extensive menu.

Pasta Fresh

I have to say I am impressed with Pasta Fresh.

We arrived around 1pm on a Saturday and they weren't busy at all. You walk in and order at the counter. Since I had a Groupon, I opted for the family pasta meal, which included any pasta of your choice with choice of sauce, two toppings and cheese. We opted for the ravioli with broccoli, tomato and ricotta with marinara sauce. The meal also included house salad and garlic knots.

Our salad came out first and it was amazing. This was the highlight of the meal. It was really nicely plated and at first we couldn't tell what the ingredients were as an apple ribbon was wrapped around the arugula. The dressing was very light and incredibly flavorful, all the flavors worked very well together and the portion was incredibly generous. I have never been so impressed with a basic house salad before. The garlic knots arrived very soon after our salad and they paired nicely. Warm and fresh, these were delightful. The ravioli arrived last and was really nice. Not as cheesy as I'm used to in a ravioli, but I liked that they were stuffed with so much fresh spinach.

Their menu is quite extensive and there were quite a number of other menu items that caught my eye for my next visit. Looking forward to trying more of their food soon.

Juan's Flaming Fajitas

I asked my mom what she wanted for lunch and she mentioned Mexican. I have had my eye on Juan's Flaming Fajitas for a while so it was the perfect opportunity to try a new restaurant.

We arrived around noon and the place wasn't busy at all. We were seated in the bar area and given the full menu as well as their lunch specials after our drink orders were taken. The lunch specials were all very reasonably priced and they all include a soft drink or iced tea. I decided on the steak fajitas with corn tortillas and my mom chose the chicken mulitas. Both came out quickly and of course the fajitas were flaming as promised. The first attempt didn't work out, so the server had to go back get some more oil to stoke the fire, literally. Second times a charm and they were certainly flaming. The fajitas were good. I don't typically order fajitas, but these were solid. I wish they were a little less well done, but all the flavors were right and the portion was generous. I enjoyed the entire meal.

The best part about Juan's is the fabulous service. Our server was so friendly and attentive and the rest of the staff checked in with us regularly, made sure our drinks were always full and that we had everything we needed to make our meal the best it could be.

85* Bakery - West Covina

I can't resist a good pastry and was pleasantly surprised to notice this location right at the Citrus exit of the 10 in West Covina. I was actually on my way to lunch with my family when I saw it and just couldn't resist stopping in to get a little something sweet for my family to enjoy after lunch (and a few savories for me).

When we first arrived it was on the busy side but calmed down quickly and we were able to gather our goodies in peace. They brought out fresh pastries from the oven regularly and I definitely ended up with more than I had intended on initially. We tried a little bit of everything and I am happy to report that everything was really great. Fresh, moist and delicious. I can never resist egg tarts and they are plentiful here. I like that were are all individually wrapped making it easier to distribute and make sure they stay fresh for snaking later in the day.

This location is dangerous as I'm in the area pretty regularly when I visit. If only they could bring one to Vegas for me to really make me happy.