March was one insane month. My apartment was a revolving door of people. All of the roommates had guests along with all the peeps that came to visit me. Hence, I was slightly distracted from spending some one on one time with Karissa Marie Explains It All. Anyways, two of my best friends from home, good ol' Dublin, OH, made an appearance in La La Land. What I love about having people come visit so late in my semester is that it gives a me a solid excuse to do all those touristy things in SoCal and spend a ridiculous amount of money. Kati and Lauren spent a week with me living the dream (no work, no commitments, and days full of sunshine) and I wish they never had to get back to gloomy O-H-I-O. That was for the buckeye fans out there.
I introduced them to the California curses. Otherwise known as cupcakes and frozen yogurt. Now these two things aren't the biggest trend on the east coast and the mid west, so ever since arriving to sunny Cali I've come to LOVE a cup of fro-yo from Yogurtland and a good quality sugar high resulting from a trip to Crumbs or Sprinkles (better known to my roommates and I as Crummies and Sprinks). Now, someone riddle me this. California is the land of the insanely rich, tan, skinny, and beautiful- how do these people maintain their waistline when they stuff their faces with giant Oreo cupcakes, chocolate dipped cookies, and tubs of fro-yo topped with every type of fruit, candy, nut, and cereal concoction known to man? The only answer I can think of is that they spend hours hiking Runyon Canyon and Griffith Park. Which I have also done much to the horror of my granny knees.
One of my favorite things about my friends being here is that we all happen to be major foodies. So while we tried to stick to some sort of budget eating and making food at the apt, this failed when we referred to a spreadsheet that held all the restaurant names that needed to be visited. Granted, since my bffs made this list, the visits were mainly to devour the most delish dish off the dessert menu. Two of my favorite places: Fraiche and Luna Park. Both were highlighted on the Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and held true to their word.
At Fraiche, we were the luckiest people in the world. We arrived just before the
lunch service ended and announced that we were there for dessert. The maitre d was one of the nicest men I have ever come in contact with. (Note: I might be biased because he gave us one of their other desserts for free.) The subject of our afternoon: The Chocolate Hazelnut Purse. If there was some sort of chocolate and hazelnut heaven, I reached it that day. The three of us might just be Nutella's biggest supporters, so place a pastry filled with warm, molten "nutella" in front of us with a side of chocolate glace and you've got fans for life. Torta D
ella Nonna- the pleasant surprise- was also utterly amazing. It wasn't too sweet and the side of caramel ice cream was absolutely delicious. It was composed of a marscapone cheese in the middle of a pine nut shortbread with fuji apples. Their latte's were also amazing....I could use one right now.
lunch service ended and announced that we were there for dessert. The maitre d was one of the nicest men I have ever come in contact with. (Note: I might be biased because he gave us one of their other desserts for free.) The subject of our afternoon: The Chocolate Hazelnut Purse. If there was some sort of chocolate and hazelnut heaven, I reached it that day. The three of us might just be Nutella's biggest supporters, so place a pastry filled with warm, molten "nutella" in front of us with a side of chocolate glace and you've got fans for life. Torta D
ella Nonna- the pleasant surprise- was also utterly amazing. It wasn't too sweet and the side of caramel ice cream was absolutely delicious. It was composed of a marscapone cheese in the middle of a pine nut shortbread with fuji apples. Their latte's were also amazing....I could use one right now.Luna Park is located right next to my apartment complex and their lunch menu is the perfect size with something that promises to appease you, no matter what mood you're in. I ordered the Turkey Bu
rger with a side salad and a delicious lemon aioli. The burger was not dry at all and was topped with a delicious Gruyere cheese. Kati and Lauren both ordered the Cheezlit and Tomato soup. Essentially a humongous grilled cheese with a generous blend of cheeses. The tomato soup was also quite good. But the piece de resistance of this meal was the make your own s'mores we had for dessert. Luna Park makes their own graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate sauce. They bring everything out for you and you build your own dessert. BEST s'mores of my life!
rger with a side salad and a delicious lemon aioli. The burger was not dry at all and was topped with a delicious Gruyere cheese. Kati and Lauren both ordered the Cheezlit and Tomato soup. Essentially a humongous grilled cheese with a generous blend of cheeses. The tomato soup was also quite good. But the piece de resistance of this meal was the make your own s'mores we had for dessert. Luna Park makes their own graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate sauce. They bring everything out for you and you build your own dessert. BEST s'mores of my life! When I finally leave L.A., I am going to be quite sad to leave all of these amazing places behind. The May 1st date is coming up way way to fast.
