american – lifeofacitygal

DineLA 2020 – Winter Edition

DineLA happens at least twice a year in Los Angeles; once in the summer and again in the “winter”. A nice selection of restaurants from all neighborhoods have a prix fixe lunch and/or dinner menu selection ranging from $15-25 for lunch and $29-99 for dinner. Dinners are usually 3 to 5 course meals so definitely worth the price. I normally try to make it to at least one of the restaurants during this time. Luckily, this year I was able to try two places.

I created a list of all the restaurants that peaked my interest to try for both lunch and dinner. For lunch, I decided to try Nick + Stef’s Steakhouse. This hidden gem is tucked away in Downtown Los Angeles. Upon arriving, I immediately thought this place would be a good recommendation for the summertime. There’s a bit of construction going on around the vicinity but the outside dining area gives a nice, unobstructed view of downtown and a cute little garden area nearby. There was a good selection for the lunch menu. For the appetizer, I went with the caesar salad. For my main entree, I tried the oak grilled salmon atop marinated kale with a nice chimichurri sauce and my husband went with the short rib (my initial choice but I didn’t want to get the same thing). Neither meal disappointed although I will say the short rib was the better option to me. It is a heavier meal for lunch so maybe it caters to a late lunch goer like myself. The flavors were great and overall I’m glad I was able to make it over to this place.

Oak Grilled Salmon

Braised Short Rib

For dinner, I tried Fin located in Culver City. It’s an Asian-fusion inspired restaurant that offered a good variety for its dinner entrees. $29 got me salmon sashimi, baked crab rolls and an 8oz ribeye with mashed potatoes. Definitely not bad for the price. I loved the smoked soy ribeye. The marinade went perfectly with the steak and it was cooked quite well. My husband decided to be fancy and ordered the filet mignon (not on the prix fixe) but it was good nonetheless. I fell in love with the plum reduction sauce used a base for his dish. Overall, the ambiance was very nice and the food was very good but I must admit the service was kind of slow. Maybe there were more diners out trying the DineLA options during the time I visited. I will definitely be back to try it out again, especially since there’s a speakeasy located in the back called ‘The Alley’. Looking forward to the DineLA summer edition 🙂 . If you’re in the LA area during the next one, I would definitely recommend trying one of the many restaurant options that cater to every type of cuisine you can think of.

A touch of Italy

It was my dear friend’s last day with me at our job and we decided to do a celebratory lunch for her new opportunity and success within her future endeavors. Midtown can cause quite a headache sometimes when looking for different lunch options. On this particular day, we decided to take a stroll down 6^th ave and see in fact what we could find. Our lucky winner would be this cute little restaurant, L’Amico, located inside the Eventi Hotel. The menu is a mix of both American and Italian and offers a number of great dishes.

The ambiance was so cute! I could not stop talking about. The table setting, rustic-chic décor and overall atmosphere had us sold already. We could care less about the food at this point but luckily it matched how we felt about this place thus far. I went with the scallops over a rosemary-apple puree along with sunchokes and capers. The blend of flavors that this dish brought was absolutely amazing! OMG!!! The scallops were seared perfectly and the puree added such a nice touch of flavor! Definitely a great choice for lunch. My friend went with the salmon avocado dish which included a charred kale dressed with lemon oil. Such a fresh dish for fall and also an excellent choice. Equally as delicious as mine although I think my entrée would have to be my favorite out of the two.

L’Amico did not disappoint to say the least. In fact, we now wish we’d discovered this place sometime ago. I believe the menu is seasonal so hopefully you are able to catch this place in time to try the tasty dishes we had. If not, I’m sure the winter menu would be just as delicious. Definitely give them a try when in Midtown New York.

Day trip in AC

This past weekend, I decided to do a day trip to Atlantic City. Round trip tickets are just $40 on the bus from Penn Station so why not? After doing a bit of shopping, of course you have to make your way to the infamous Atlantic City boardwalk. There are casinos, plentiful food options and a mini amusement park to name a few things for leisure activities. In terms of food, Hard Rock cafe was the go to for the day trip. I decided to go with the hickory barbecue bacon cheeseburger and to my delight, was able to add a fried egg. I also went with the purple haze for my cocktail, which is a pretty bomb choice. There are many places to choose from if you ever visit the boardwalk in Atlantic City but you cannot go wrong with a burger from Hard Rock!

A trip to Marlow’s

For any trips to Atlanta, I try to make sure I visit some of my favorite restaurants. Sometimes fancy, other times, bars or simply fast food work just fine. This trip I decided to make a stop by Marlow’s Tavern. It gives you a nice American pub scene with a full bar of course and good choices for both lunch and dinner. The shrimp and crab nacho plate never disappoints. The rock shrimp and crab covered with melted pepper jack cheese, topped with a bit of spice from the jalapenos, are a match made in heaven. It’s a perfect starter for the table or can be ordered as a meal if you want a lighter dinner. I also went with the infamous fish tacos. If you cannot tell by now, I love tacos. All kinds from all places! The blackened tilapia, fresh avocado and smoked chili cream really caught my eye on the menu for this dish and boy was it a good choice. Give them a try if you’re in the Atlanta area. They have quite a few locations you can check out.