The Golden State.

Eric's birthday was a few weeks ago and we celebrated at one of his favorite eateries: The Golden State.

Located on Fairfax, between Melrose and Beverly, you could totally walk right past the place without ever knowing it exists. Much like my social life in high school.

The inside of the restaurant is small. There are maybe 10 tables in the whole place, and some of them are only two-seaters. 

We walked up to the counter and briefly looked over the menu. There aren't too many options, but I had looked online, so my chins were already quivering with excitement at the thought of a good burger. 

The guy working the counter was friendly and welcoming. He didn't rush us as I took my time deciding on a beer. I got the Victory Swing, btw. Great summer drink.

Eric and I both ordered The Burger. With a description like "Harris Ranch beef, Fiscalini Farms cheddar, glazed applewood smoked bacon, arugula, aioli, ketchup" it seemed like the perfect choice.

I'm just going to cut straight to the chase here:  This was the best burger I've ever had IN.MY.LIFE.

The meat was tender and juicy and flavorful. I didn't detect any spices in the ground beef, which meant it naturally tasted fucking delicious, which is totally crazy because I'm not a fan of "meat flavor" and guess what I totally loved it.

The bacon was thick and cooked perfectly. It wasn't soggy or charred.

The combination of the aioli and ketchup added just the right amount of savor and sauciness that it enhanced, not overpowered, the burger itself.

Also, I'm pretty sure the bun was a brioche. A freshly baked, almost-sweet, carby piece of brioche heaven.

The whole thing just tasted clean and naturally delicious. Not heavy or pumped full of flavorings.

Not much talking took place once our food was delivered.

If you're in the area, try to stop in. Let me know what you think. Seriously. Those burgers are the shiznit.

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Restaurant Review: Ktchn 105

A couple weekends ago, I met up with my friends Jimmy and Michael. These are the clowns I met while living abroad in London. They're both from the Southern California area and we usually meet up a few times a year to pig the fuck out.

Take note readers: These two are single and ready to mingle.

Anyway. Jimmy suggested a place that supposedly has the best brunch in LA, Ktchn 105.

This place is like one of those eye-magic-voodoo-stare-at-me-long-enough-and-you-see-an-image kind of places. It's on a small street that's almost more like an alley, in the middle of the Produce District, and has a gate where you need to be buzzed-in in order to enter the premises. There are no signs or blinking lights or golden arches. In fact, if you weren't specifically going to this restaurant, you wouldn't even know it existed.

View from the main gate.

We sat outside in the patio area. It was a nice day.

Apparently, Ktchn 105 has a rotating brunch menu that changes weekly. There are about eight entrees to choose from and they're all a bit on the fancy pants/ "organic" side. I went with the Harissa Scramble. Not knowing what harissa was, all the other ingredients sounded pretty inhaleable.

Harissa Scramble: Eggs, harissa, pumpkin seeds, and goat cheese. Topped with crispy shoestring onions and some green shit. Includes side of fried potatoes and a brioche bun with lemon butter and raspberry jam.

I was pleasantly surprised with my meal. The scramble was nice and soft, not overcooked. The goat cheese and pumpkin seeds turned out to be a DELICIOUS combination and are even making my mouth water as I type this. Potatoes always get a thumbs up in my book. Not to mention, when I first sat down I was feeling all weak and nauseous and fainty, so I wasn't really looking forward to trying something new and adventurous. As i started eating, I felt better in no time. Added bonus: Harissa Scramble has magic healing powers.

The check was presented with freshly made complimentary chocolate chip cookies. I actually don't like chocolate. But I managed to push through my distaste and ate my cookie in .2 seconds flat.

Meal + water + tip = $15

Word on the street is, the owner of Ktchn 105 actually lives at the restaurant. Apparently, this place was originally his loft-style apartment.

According to my sources, that wall of tubes serves as a separator between the main restaurant area and the space where the owner sleeps.

This whole story may be totally made up, and if so, you didn't hear it from me.

I give this restaurant 5 out of 5 chins.

In other nonsense...

Check out my latest post at Sprocket Ink where I recap the season finale of Game of Thrones.

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Post Rapture Recap.

I'm not really sure how this whole "rapture" thing works, but I know I'm still working a 9-5 and paying bills and bitching about how my jeans are too tight. So I'm assuming it never happened. Unless it actually did happen and I'm in an alternate universe that mimics life on earth, which is just crazytalk so I'm going to pretend I never even mentioned that. But I WILL assume that if I lost any readers over the weekend it was because their asses got raptured. Or ruptured.

Since everyone was all up in arms about the end of the world, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and plan for the end. And by "plan for the end", I really mean "pamper myself and eat a ton of shit".

Saturday morning Boyfriend and I splurged our faces off by going in for a massage. Now, before you say it, I know what you're thinking. Yes, I AM poor and NO I can't afford to live this lavish lifestyle. BUT. My massage was actually paid for by my good friend Kim- it was her gift to me for being in her wedding. And Boyfriend's massage was a birthday gift from me because his birthday was just last week. Anypoor. We went to The Massage Place, which neither of us had ever been to before. If you've never been and you've always wondered what's like, it's totally worth it. The massages are muuuuch more affordable than they would be at a spa. They're inexpensive because they don't splurge on any of that spa-like environment shit. Not in the slightest.

They have several locations, but the one we went to was basically a counter with a receptionist and five separate massage rooms. The room I had was furnished with a heated massage bed with sheets and a blanket, a little shelf-bookcase thing where you can put your clothes and purse, and a boombox playing meditation music. My massuese was a hippy from New Jersey who was shoeless and used coconut oil that left me smelling like empanadas. I wanted to eat my own arm off by the time I was done, it seriously did smell like someone was baking pies. She was very sweet and chilled out when I squeeked "umm... a little easier please...?" My massage lasted exactly one hour from the time she started. It was very relaxing and I could tell when I met up with Boyfriend in the lobby that he was very relaxed as well because he looked like he was crazy drunk.

After our massages, we headed out for a picnic at Malibu Winery. I'd been here once before for my friend Danielle's graduation. I knew it was a BEAUTIFUL location and very popular. And if it's good enough for the rich hipsters of Calabasas and Malibu, well, it's good enough for me.

No children allowed at this rapture party.


They have two of those adobe huts where they offer wine tastings. The one we got consisted of Sparkling wine, Chardonnay, Rose, Merlot, and a specialty wine they created for The Tour of California bike race. Now, I'm NO wine connoisseur. In fact I usually think wine tastes like heartburn. But I decided if I'm about to be raptured, this is probably a good time to check off "drink wine" from my bucket list.


Everyone was out doing pre-rapture celebrations.


With our food from Blue Table, and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, lunch was PERFECT. I had the Caprese panini and Boyfriend had the Italian sandwich. Both delicious, but I think I'll get the Italian next time. We also got chips and a sausage and asparagus side dish. All totally worth it.


Yours truly and Boyfriend. I had to throw this one in.


Coincidentally, I ran into my friend Kristen, whom I haven't seen in years. I say coincidentally because she is the BEST at pimping out my blog. Just the day before this picnic, her Facebook status was a statement about how everyone should "Like" my blog before the rapture comes.


My view once I realized I'd had enough to drink and was ready for a nap.

Boyfriend and I headed back home for a much needed wine-coma.

That night, we met up with my BFF, along with Boyfriend's brother and one of his friends for birthday-week drinks. With this being the rapture and everything, I decided to go out with a bang.

Strongbow, potato skins, and steak salad. Salad because I'm on a diet, you see.

So, that was my rapture weekend. Did you do anything end-of-the-worldy?

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El Compadre Restaurant.

Friday night, Boyfriend and I met up with my friend Danielle at one of her favorite Mexican hotspots: El Compadre. It didn't take much convincing on her part- I was sold at "mexican food" and then we sealed the deal at "flaming margarita".

Location: From the 101, exit Highland, go west on Sunset. El Compadre is located directly across from the giant Guitar Center store (which is why we accidentally drove right past it as we were busy staring at the giant Guitar Center store). Street parking. We lucked out and found a broken meter just around the corner on Sierra Bonita.



Decor: Lights are loooow and it will feel like you're walking into a cave. Give your eyeballs a good five minutes to adjust. The front door spits you right into the middle of the restaurant, so be prepared for all eyes to be on you when you make your grand entrance. According to Google images, celebs like Kendra Wilkinson, Amy Adams, and Blink-182 have all been photographed here. Unfortunately, the only people of interest I saw were the mariachis, and of course our waiter when he delivered my meal. The decor is lots of dark wood, big wrought iron chandeliers, and tiled faux roofs over the booth seating areas. It feels a little like you're on a Mexican pirate ship.

I pulled this picture from the internets. It's really not this bright in there.

Cocktails: We all started out the night with their signature drink, The Flaming Margarita ($9). The drinks are served up with a floating piece of orange peel that has some kind of flammable liquid in it, which they light on fire. There were several fruity flavors to choose from- I went with the mango. It was the shit and I would recommend it to anyone who likes mango. A word to the wise: Don't mess with the orange peel until that shit burns out. Danielle said she one made the mistake of tipping over her orange peel one time, which resulted in her drink tasting like lighter fluid.


I know. These pictures are shit. But it was verrrry dark in there and this is what you get when you combine candlelight and an iPhone.

Food: Since it was Good Friday, my menu options were limited (for all the non Catholics out there- no meat on the Fridays leading up to Easter). Since I was starving and nearly ate my own arm off on the drive to the restaurant, I went with a standard safe pick: Cheese Enchiladas. I don't remember what the price was because I was already a flaming margarita and a Negra Modelo deep, but I'm sure it was pretty inexpensive.

This picture does not do it justice. Trust me, it was really tasty.

The enchilada plate came with two CHEESY enchiladas, a generous serving of rice and beans, and a side of shredded lettuce (the way a true Mexican would eat it). I ended up ordering a small side of guacamole and sour cream (I think $.50/.75 each) because I like to maximize my fat intake at all times. I was very happy with my meal because it was delicious, not very spicy, and despite the tons of cheese, it never got rubbery or overwhelming. In fact, it was so good, I ended up eating every last scrap on my plate. Not an exagerration. Based on food, this place gets 4 out of 5 chins.

I was so happy with my food (and the complimentary chips and salsa) that I would definitely go back. And I would also recommend this place to anyone looking for a fun and relaxed atmosphere that doesn't charge an arm and a leg. Boyfriend and made it out on $37 and that included two meals and five drinks. Not bad for a Friday night in Hollywood.

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