Rhubarb Gin & Tonic

Many people have preconceptions about what a lady likes to drink. Often times more than not, people associate "girly drinks" with well, girls. I guess I'm kind of an anomoly. I actually quite love beer and prefer them ten times over mixed drinks. When I do hit that "hard stuff" I prefer gin, especially in the form of gin & tonics!

There's something so refreshing about the herbal notes in gin mixed with some fizzy tonic water, and of course with a good dose of fresh lime. After perusing through the Foodgawker and Tastespotting archives for rhubarb recipes, I was quite taken by the idea of rhubarb gin & tonics. It's the combination of my favorite drink with my new favorite Summertime ingredient!

The rhubarb syrup is simple enough, and actually, so is the cocktail - no muddling, shaking, or stirring required! Of course the color is just stunning, but the taste is just as well. You get a bit of tartness from the rhubarb that is incredibly delicious! And as it would seem, I guess I like girly drinks after all :)

Rhubarb Syrup

Yields: about 1 cup

Original recipe here.

4 cups chopped rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Combine everything in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently until the fruit is soft and the liquid has thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to remove excess liquid. Pour into a bottle and refrigerate until ready to use. 

Rhubarb Gin & Tonic

Yields: 1 cocktail

2 oz. gin

5 oz. tonic water

2 tbsn. rhubarb syrup

Combine everything over ice, enjoy!

Daikokuya {Los Angeles, CA}

Finally! I've now tried "the best ramen" of Los Angeles. I wanted to compare the "best ramen" of Los Angeles to the other major cities: San Francisco and New York, but it turn out, they're not really comparable. 


New York and San Francisco had completely different views on ramen. Ippudo of NY was a more modern take where as Katana-Ya of SF was a mix between modern and traditional. Daikokuya though, Daikokuya was traditional all the way. 

To start we had those beautiful things above. They are nubs of spicy tuna, wrapped in shiso leaf, then enrobed in a tempura batter and fried to perfection. Served with coarse salt, they were the most pleasing little packets of goodness that I've had in a while!

Daikokuya serves the most traditional ramen. They only offer one type, because well, they've perfected it and don't need to add any finicky toppings or add-ins. The broth is incredibly rich, almost buttery! The soup is filled with tender pieces of pork, a whole egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and green onions and its the perfect mix. 

The bowl is so big you can fit your face in it - and then some! The best thing about Daikokuya is that it's cheap! Compared to the $15 bowls from SF and NY, Daikokuya serves up a larger bowl at only $10. It's a steal and a delicious one at that!

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Levain Bakery {New York, NY}

I know... I just exploded with an influx of New York foodie posts, but I just wanted to get them out of the way! The 'Eating Out' NY page is now officially updated :)

AH Levain Bakery, I love you. More honestly, I LOVE your chocolate chip walnut cookies! I've heard much, much, much goodness about Levain Bakery and their famous cookies and my visit to New York would have been utterly incomplete without it.

I mean how good can a cookie be? I make cookies all the time, and though I do love my cookies, they will never come even close to how good these cookies are. First, they are ginormous - almost the size of a large scone and they weigh about half a pound! They come to you warm, and when you break it apart, it's still gooey and melty inside - unbelievable. Basically these cookies are the best I've ever had, and no, I am not exaggerating!

COOKIE PORN!

Ahhhh, gooey ooey deliciousness.

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Wafels & Dinges {New York, NY}

It's amazing to me how on my trip to New York, I was able to eat so many "Bests." I had the best pizza ever, the best bread ever, the best milkshake ever, the best sandwich ever and now: the best waffle ever!

Hurrah to bests! We tried the liege waffle with the famous Spekuloos spread and boy were we in shock. My sister, who doesn't even like gingerbread/ spiced things enjoyed the spekuloos spread immensely - and even bought two bottles to bring home!


The waffle was a bit crispy, a bit chewy, and wholly perfect. The spekuloos spread was the icing on the cake: creamy, spiced, decadent and delicious.

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53rd & 5th Halal Cart {New York, NY}

When talking about food in New York, certain things always come up: Katz Deli, Gray's Papaya, Pastis, etc. Another one of these things is the 53rd and 6th Halal Cart. Halal carts are all over the city, and when you pass them by they always have an alluring scent. When you walk past the one at 53rd and 6th, the same alluring scent is paired with an extremely long line of avid fans. 

For some reason, the one at this specific location has blown all others out of the water! And it's only at a specific time too! After waiting in a long line, which surprisingly went by fast, we finally got our hands on the chicken and gyro combination plates.

For $6.00 a pop, these things were HUGE and extremely filling. With perfectly cooked rice, super moist meat and fresh pita, these things were delightful and delicious. They also offer BBQ sauce or a ranch-ish white sauce if you want some extra zip. Although it was delicious, I'm curious as to what makes this one so much better than all those other halal carts you see in the city...

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People's Pops {New York, NY}

Ah! New York in the Fall is supposed to be chilly, slightly rainy and a twirl of yellow, orange and red leaves! But in the midst of October, New York weather begs to differ and gave me a warm, sunny day to shop the Brooklyn Flea Market. 

Also, New York gave me People's Pops to appease the warmth of the day! Hurrah! I chose to try the Apricot-Salted Caramel which was delicious. Filled to the brim with chunks of fresh apricot and had the most unbelievably fresh flavor. Definitely a great, great popsicle. 

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Caracas Arepas Bar {New York, NY}

After a long trip of good eats, we had to end our night with something really good, despite the fact that we already had an amazing dinner! Glutinous much? I think very much so, but I decided to live a little. We found out about Caracas Arepas Bar by watching Bobby Flay's Throwdown. I love that show, merely for the fact that they always find the best of something, and in this case: arepas. 

Since we were already pretty stuffed, my friends and I just decided to get one arepa and share. Arepas are a Venezuelan bread made of corn and are hearty and toothsome. For my first experience with the bread, I'm sure it couldn't have gone any smoother. We got the 'La del Gato' with guayanés cheese, fried sweet plantain and avocado slices and it was AMAZING! The cheese was the best part because I've never had that kind before. The texture of the cheese was delicious, and of course how could you go wrong with plantains and avocado?! The arepa itself was the tiniest bit chewy and had a nice crispiness to it.


The wait here is pretty long but as explained by the sign in the restaurant, all the arepas are handmade, so just be patient! It really is worth it. We also tried the fresh passionfruit juice which was really, really delicious. Fresh, tangy and perfectly sweet. 


The arepas are pretty pricey, ranging from 6 - 8 for just one, but though they look small, they are stuffed to the brim making them more filling then you'd expect them to be.

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Momofuku Milk Bar {New York, NY}

Momofuku was one of those places I had to visit just because of all the hype I had heard about it. The bakery items sounded so interesting! After making the crack pie at home and enjoying it thoroughly, I was sure everything else at the bakery would be awesome.

1. Blueberries & Cream Cookies: these had a lovely texture, perfectly soft and chewy. The flavor was good as well, very delicate and not overwhelmingly sweet.

2. Cornflake-chocolate chip-marshamallow cookies: these were heartier and though chewy, were filled with bits of crispiness all throughout which was delightful.

3. Compost cookie: interesting, to say the least. Filled with pretzels and coffee grounds and lots more!

Overall, though I was happy for the innovative cookie ideas, I didn't love these cookies. The flavors were just alright, and nothing I would purchase again, especially when I could grab Levain Bakery cookies instead!

Perilla {New York, NY}

I'm a die hard Top Chef fan. Really though, I love the show. Ever since the first season and watching Harold Dieterle win, I couldn't wait to try his restaurant in New York.

Although the restaurant is most known for their 'Spicy Duck Meatballs' served during dinner, we opted to try their brunch - for the sake of keeping on our budget. Perilla, like most restaurants in New York, was small - something I'm not used to since all the restaurants in California are ginormous spaces. It was a bit too darkly lit for my taste but had a nice overall mood.

The dishes we tried were:


1. Creamy Parmesan Polenta with basted egg, artichokes, pomodoro sauce
2. Spicy Duck Burger with jack cheese, avocado and spiced fries
3. Crispy Oyster Po'Boy with celery seed coleslaw, pickled okra and spiced fries


The polenta dish was probably the least enjoyed by all. It was creamy and had nice texture but was quite bland but maybe that's because I love in your face flavors.

The duck burger was by far the most enjoyed! It was juicy and had this deep, rich flavor that I've never had before - probably because I've never had a duck burger haha. But it really was perfect.


The oyster po'boy sounded the most interesting and my favorite part of the sandwich was the pickled okra, which added a nice tang to the crispy oyster pieces. The pickle inside though, which is house cured, was a bit TOO tart for my taste, which is pretty shocking since I love tart things.


Overall, I our meal was just average. The atmosphere was nothing spectacular, service was good and food was just good, when I expected it to be spectacular. But maybe that's the problem, I had set my expectations too high.

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Stand {New York, NY}

After dinner at Num Pang, despite being grossly full, we needed to end our night with something sweet. And what better than the famous Stand4 toasted marshmallow milkshake?! It was literally right across the street so we had to get it - I mean, it was staring us in the face!

We heard about Stand4's famous milkshake through The Best Thing I Ever Ate, which you know, of course, is one of my favorite shows. After watching Michael Psilakis drink two in one sitting, I was sold. 

All in all, this is THE best milkshake I've ever had in my entire life. To me, a perfect milkshake is the combination of great texture and great flavor. This milkshake isn't too thick where you can't suck it up the straw but is thick enough to feel rich and creamy - which is due to their use of premium gelato rather than ice cream. 

Also, toasted marshmallow? Umm, yeah, best flavor ever!! It was sooo delicious. But what I loved even more about this shake was that it was perfectly balanced, not overly sweet so you didn't feel sick after drinking it. We also tried the apple pie shake, which was delicious as well, but the toasted marshmallow will always have the #1 spot in my heart. 

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