angelini osteria.

lunch at an old favorite.

an early bday celebration for b, at his favorite italian in LA.

the bread basket, and antipasto on the house. i love their thin, crispy flatbread, with tons of olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. we devoured the basket within minutes.

b ordered proscuitto with cantaloupe. the melon smelled sOo good that i wanted to take a bite.. but i forced myself not to… if i had an allergic reaction then the rest of the meal would have been ruined… but seriously.. fragrant.

the tricolore salad. light and simple.

short rib ravioli, with sage and butter.

spaghetti chitarra alla norcina with fresh truffles and sausage. the fresh, chewy pasta was the highlight of the dish for me, and a great texture to go with the waxy truffle.

as always.. angelinis never fails. yuM.

xx

la esperanza

la esperanza, in torrance.

i was craving pupusas, an el salvadorian dish, so i looked up the closest restaurant nearby, and gave it a go. when i arrived at the jumbled strip mall i wasn’t sure what to expect, it looked like it might be a hole in the wall.. but once i stepped through their heavy wooden doors, i could tell that they took pride in their restaurant, and it showed through their interiors and decor.

their pupusas were larger in size than i expected, at other pupuserias i’ve visited, they are about 2/3 of the size. the stuffed corn tortilla comes in a variety of fillings, my favorites being pork + cheese, and chorizo.. so that’s what i stuck with. and i was very happy with what i got.

great texture, fragrant hot corn tortilla. nice light sear.

sweet plantains, with sour crema. here they have a side order that comes with beans.

before i loaded up the pupusas with curtido, a fermented cabbage slaw.. i like to think of it as a latin kimchee..

then pour on some of the traditional watery salsa.  i like to top it off with a bit of the crema.

ta da! .. sO good. but the serving was so large, i couldn’t finish.. i could only eat about 1 1/2.. plus the plantains of course. after i took this last picture, i got too busy eating that i forgot to snap one of the filling.. the cheesy pork was my favorite, being lighter in flavor. the chorizo was good as well, but the heavy chorizo flavor overpowered the corn and the curtido, which i really enjoy.

to compare cuisines.. its similar in format to the japanese okonomiyaki, another one of my favorite dishes.

la esperanza was very reasonably priced, and their service was friendly and attentive. i’ll definitely visit again.. next time ill try to remember to get a pic of the filling.

xx

http://laesperanzarestaurants.com/

viks chaat & market.

this was my second visit to viks chaat market in the east bay.. there isn’t really anywhere else you can get indian “street food” like this. i LOVE everything here, the spices and flavors are such a refreshing change from my usual palette.

cholle bhature. this is before the bread fell, its light and somewhat crispy.. to eat, break off pieces, and eat with the pickles and cholle sauce.

mixed vegetable pakoras.

keema (lamb) samosas- i couldn’t eat this because i’m allergic, but b said it was really good.

i mean.. it LOOKS sO good, right? yuM.

pani puri. my fave! partly because its so cute.

to eat, you crack open the top, and its a hollow shell, fill with tamarind chutney sauce, garbanzo beans, potato, spiced water.. etc. and eat in one bite.

lOve.

xx

http://www.vikschaatcorner.com/