LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 4

LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 4
A fancy brunch or should I say lunch since they didn't serve brunch on a Tuesday was saved for our last day in Los Angeles at Bottega Louie.

We ordered from the small plate section and got the portobello fries, ceviche, and harvest risotto. The fries and ceviche were each $13. The risotto is $9.

This was my first time trying out the Portobello fries and my first thoughts were: this is much healthier than regular french fries. The aioli sauce, I assume, that served alongside the portobello fries adds a nice touch to the overall taste factor. This is a must try appetizer if you ever venture in to this Italian restaurant.

Portobello Fries

Next up was the ceviche, there were bits of seafood served with a tangy sauce. I'm always a fan of ceviche.

Ceviche

The risotto was a bit bland for me but after taking a couple more bites and adjusting to the delicate taste, the risotto is actually flavorful. This is a light touch to the meal, similar to a salad. The presentation, itself, deserves an applause.

Harvest Risotto

The clam linguini had Manilla clams and cockles. It was seasoned with white wine, shallots, garlic, red chili pepper, fleur de sel, lemon and extra olive oil. It was a delightful entree.

Clam Linguini

We decided on our pizza choice: the Napoli. Its got white mushrooms, olives, and red onions topped with mozzarella, Grana parmesan, tomoto sauce, and oregano. The pizza was definitely baked in a brick oven by the uneven burnt bottom.

Although this pizza was a joy to be served, I'm not accustomed to one of the ingredients that was added, either one of the cheese or the olives, leaving a bitter ending.

Napoli Pizza

Dessert is just around the corner --- actually not even, it's just a few steps away. Bottega Louie is known for their exquisite desserts.

Many gift-sets to buy

Mmm dessert

More dessert

All the choices!

We bought some more macarons back home. Yes, more macarons to add to my collection.

I had macarons from Bottega before, which is why I wanted to buy again. Unfortunately, the macarons I purchased this time were hard in texture and almost seem like they were leftover macarons that didn't sellout.I guess you have to buy them at the right time.

Left to Right: Earl Grey, Pistachio, Grand Cru, Espresso, Vanilla

Since we still have plenty of time to spare, we drove up to the Griffith Observatory to look at some day stars. They even had a grand view of the sign Hollywood. And of course, to enjoy some science.

In front of the observatory

What is everyone looking at?

The Foucault Pendulum displaying earth's rotation

Stars & Galaxy

A piece of the moon

Albert Einstein

Periodic Table with real elements

Tesla Coils

After the tesla coils, we decided to take a pit-stop at Porto's bakery to grab some snacks before we head for our departure flight.

Porto's Bakery

So much pastries

I'm generally not a big fan for pastries but this place has blown my mind. If you are ever near a Porto's, I highly recommend buying a pastry. I also normally don't like cheese and even hesitated to buy one of their infamous cheese rolls, turned out to be worth the surprise.

I also grab one of their chicken croquette, potato ball, and meat pie. They were all really good. I can now understand why people are obsessed with this place.

My Porto's Bakery Purchase

Cheese Roll

Meat pie, chicken croquette, and potato ball

LA has been a heck of an adventure for me. I'll be back to try more!

Highlights of Day 4:

• Bottega Louie
• Griffith Observatory
• Porto's Bakery

Check out:
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 1
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 2
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 3

Happy Pi Day!

The 27th annual Pi Day was held at the Exploratorium today. The celebration of the 3.14159… and also Einstein's Birthday. Not to mention that admission was absolutely free, sponsor by Uniqlo. Big shout-out for the entry-free event, volunteers even served lemonades for everyone that was waiting in line for admission.

Exploratorium

Waiting in line to get in

Giant Fog Machine

The schedule of events was packed from 1:00pm to 2:30pm, filled with activities and procession of Pi, ending the day off with pie serving and pizza tossing.

It took about an hour wait in long before I got my admission-free ticket. After that, I had a great time nerding out and exploring all the educational activities that the Exploratorium had to offer. A wonderful place for people of all ages.

The tourist-filled Pier 39 was just around the corner. This is also a must-visit if you're ever around the Embarcadero side of San Francisco. There's a lot of small shops, restaurants, and yes...sea lions that makes the experience worth it.

Fisherman's Wharf

Pier 39

The famous original sourdough bakery, Boudin, is also something tourists enjoy. I had one of their clam chowder on sour dough bread. If you ask me, I had better clam chowder but their sour dough bread was delicious.

Clam Chowder Strip

Boudin Bakery

Clam Chowder Bowl

Mobile Food Trucks Unite

Today was a nice sunny day for eating lunch out in the sun.

Off the Grid in Alameda is open every Saturday from 11am to 3pm.

If you don't know what Off the Grid is, it's basically an organized gathering of various food vendors (mobile trucks) in one location. Many trucks are self-sufficient that doesn't rely on public utilities, which is why they travel from location-to-location bringing their uniqueness and delicious foods from many different places. This is also a great way to try out different types of food, wide-ranges from Peruvian to Vietnamese, many which are experimental fusion that came out right. If you were ever wondering where you can find a particular truck, many vendors have adapt to social medias to notify us of their whereabouts.

Today's street vendors at Off the Grid were: The Chairman, Cupkates, Koja Kitchen, Sanguchon, An the Go, Bacon Bacon, Sajj, The Waffle Roost, Smothered Fries

I got myself a bacon fried chicken at the Bacon Bacon truck. I mean, who can say no to bacon. The burger contained a giant panko encrusted chicken breast, bacon, spicy slaw and bacon mayo sauce.

It was quite delicious and I had a shock looking at the giant crispy chicken breast when I opened my food box. I do have to suggest a thinner slice of bread for the bun and some more of that bacon mayo sauce. Chicken breast is the dry part of the chicken and if you're like me, I like my meat dark. 

Bacon Fried Chicken

I also bought a side of Kamikaze fries from the Koja Kitchen truck. They are my absolute go-to fries. These are not your average french fries, these are the Kamikaze fries and they are made of criss-cut fries. I know it may not be the best types of fries, but the criss-cut is drizzled in red hot sauce and Japanese mayo topped with minced Korean BBQ beef, kimchi, sauteed onions, and some green onions.

It's a shame that I didn't take a picture. I highly recommend trying this, especially if you're a potato lover like me.

Can't get enough. More Off the Grid.

First Time: Oyster Shucking

Tomales Bay Oyster farm is one of the more popular oyster farms in California. They serve fresh farmed oysters, clams, mussels from Tomales Bay.

The morning started out fairly early for me. I thought it would be a good idea to arrive early since this place tends to get packed by early noon. I guess our timing was a bit off. Notice how deserted the place looks upon our arrival, that's how early it was.The benefits of our head-start meant our first pick at the picnic tables.

Our friendly greeter

Looks like I reserved the whole place to myself

Upon arrival, you may park in the free parking lot or outside of the area on the curb. There is also free valet parking for later in the day when it gets more crowded. Greeters will ask you to pay for the entrance fee for $5 per person. Two vehicles allowed per group and usually staffs only permits one table to be used by the group. 

After settling in our nice picnic table, we went off to the counter to purchase our oysters. My group went for the medium-size fresh oysters, a bag of 50 for $60. We decided to also give a try to the 2 pounds of clams and 1 pound of small raw oysters.

Our Menu of the Day

More oysters!

Medium-sized oysters

Time to grill the oysters/clams

While our delicious oysters were grilling, I rented a pair of oyster knife for my first oyster shucking experience. If you're like us, we didn't come prepared at all but everything can be bought at the oyster farm from lime to shucking gloves to Tabasco. The only missing ingredient they were missing is the Siracha sauce which I love with my oysters.  

My first time oyster shucking

My lovely oyster

Juicy!

Some hot dogs and clams

Throw your shells in the black bin for recycle

After eating all the oysters that I can fit in my stomach, I went by the shorelines for a stroll. I highly recommend coming by once to try out their delicious oysters and clams.