The Sundry Tomatoes

DATE: Summer 2015 LOCATION: Jeannine’s Bakery 15 E. Figueroa St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101 As we said goodbye San Diego and moved on from LA (and Santa Monica), we said hello to Santa Barbara. After being in those fun-filled, active and hopping SOCAL cities, Santa Barbara was a more leisurely paced and quiet town. So quiet and tame, that this seemed to be a bit of a sleeper on our trip. But looking back, Santa Barbara held a lot of good moments, photos and memorable foodventures. Fun tip: the Santa Barbara County Courthouse is a beautiful Spanish Colonial revival building, with lovely architecture and gardens, this place would make for a great wedding. Which there was one going on as we were exploring the grounds! But anyways, this is a food blog so onto the food! Strolling around downtown Santa Barbara was glorious, with its Spanish Colonial influenced buildings and street after street full of places to shop and eat. We decided to stop at a cute corner with al fres...

DATE: Summer 2015 LOCATION: Katsuya 11777 San Vicente Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90049 Unfortunately, I cannot remember exactly what I ate at Katsuya , a place named to have the Best Sushi in LA . But it's no wonder why Katsuya has been given this title. With a  master chef serving up Japanese dishes in a  modern, artful and trendy spot, makes it a sought after hot spot with a long wait if you do not have reservations. Although I may not be able to tell you exactly what I ate here, I can at least show you every tasty morsel I managed to capture from the omakase menu. This chef's tasting menu was totally nosh-worthy and surprisingly filling. That is not to say I didn't wish I had another bite of some of the delicious tastes put in front of me! Whether you are a sushi lover or a basic sushi noob, Katsuya is definitely well worth it and  great for date night.   Bottom Line: Be bold and go for the omakase. The chef's tasting menu really does give you a taste...

DATE: Summer 2015 LOCATION: Blue Plate Oysterette 1355 Ocean Ave Santa Monica, CA 90401 During our time in LA, we spent a lot of our time in Santa Monica. There’s just something about the boardwalk & beach life that I love. Life can be crazy and chaotic, so whenever I can retreat to the fun, simplistic pleasures of life, I will gladly indulge in it. Somewhere during our days at the Santa Monica Pier, biking to Venice Beach and soaking in the beach life, we made our way to Blue Plate Oysterette . Not too far from Santa Monica pier on Ocean Ave, this place was a casual but classier change from the wings and funnel cakes we had been gorging on. The place definitely speaks to me, since it's all about fresh seafood with a New England vibe. It wouldn’t be right to go to a restaurant named Blue Plate Oysterette and not get ourselves a plate of oysters. We did another East Coast vs. West Coast comparison. On the East Coast side, we had our all-time favorite Blue Po...

DATE: Summer 2015 LOCATION: Pink's Hot Dogs 09 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA Hello again, foodie followers! I have to apologize for the severe lack of food blogging, it’s been quite a busy year. It’s been a year since my West Coast adventure back in August 2015, and I still have many more food ventures to share from it… Not to mention my fellow Sundry Tomato, Esther , will be taking part of this blog to the south, with a focus on Austin, Texas! But fear not my NYC foodies, I will eventually return this to our NYC home base once the West Coast Eats edition is complete :) Or I’ll try to sprinkle a few in here & there. (Oooh sprinkles) So on a sunny LA day, we decided to stop for an in-between meals “snack” at Pink’s Hot Dogs , a Hollywood Legend Since 1939. Pink’s is a very casual but iconic spot where you walk and line up outside, and once your food is ready, grab your tray and head to the back and pick any table. We stood on line for about a half-hour roughl...

DATE: July 2016 LOCATION:  Taco Flats BURNET ROAD ATX Hey Everyone! I've finally moved down to Austin  permanently  and basically I'm a New Yorker pretending to be an  Austinite !  I live down the road from a place called Taco Flats that the boy and I have been eyeing for a while. For some reason I just wasn't all that excited about the menu because I thought Torchy's was it for me. But he kept insisting and so I finally gave in and we stopped by for brunch. And I don't want to say he was right, but he certainly wasn't WRONG.  So here's what I had: Black & Green  grilled jack cheese, refried black beans, scrambled eggs, guacamole, grilled onion  and   Mister Popeye  spinach, fried egg, pico de gallo, avocado  At first glance the black and green looks a little bit like diaper contents, but I assure you, what this really is, is a Mexican grilled cheese!  That little bi...

DATE: Summer 2015 LOCATION: Don Bravo 5504 La Jolla Blvd La Jolla ,  CA   92037 Give a (wo)man a fish taco, she'll or he'll eat for a day in La Jolla.   Hands down, the #1 food staple I was most looking forward to eating in SoCal were tacos. Especially (fried) fish tacos. On our last day in San Diego, we spent a beautiful, sunny day at La Jolla Cove. As we left this beautiful blue slice of paradise, we needed to grab something to eat before we hit the road for our next stop on our West Coast road trip. A little research showed us that Don Bravo was voted to have one of the best fish tacos in San Diego. Don Bravo is a small, shack-like restaurant with a few tables on the inside, and a bar stand outside with a distant water view. Surprised how extensive their menu really was, it was almost overwhelming deciding on what to get; from their tacos, enchiladas, burritos, tostadas, tortas, and more! Sticking with simplicity, I ordered 3 fried fish tacos and ...

On our 2nd night in Vegas, we went to  Mesa Grill . This is Bobby Flay's restaurant and I'd been wanting to go here for many years so I was mucho excited! I got put on the spot when I got to the bar and ordered a Vodka and Soda, instead of the obvious choice: A Margarita. But I quickly corrected the mistake when I got to the table and ordered a White Peach Margarita. YUMO! It tasted like a sweet peach tea. It was refreshing and delicious and pink! Here is what we ordered:  CAULIFLOWER GRATIN  + Roasted Poblano - This tasted like macaroni and cheese with a kick to it. It was very creamy, and the cauliflower took on a soft pasta like consistency. It was rich and very flavorful.  MANGO + SPICE CRUSTED TUNA STEAK   Green Peppercorn - Green Chile Sauce + Toasted Pine Nut Couscous - I apologize but I do not remember at all how this tasted, but I ate all of it so I'm sure it was good. Actually what I do remember is that the consistency of the couscous w...

Hello Everybody,  It's been a little while, I know, I know. I've had a lot on my plate . I got a new nephew, I sold my shoe-box apartment, and in a month I'm heading to ATX, y'all! But before the big move I took a little ladies' trip to Las Vegas!! Aside from all the eye-candy and dancing, there was plenty of delicious opportunities for me to stuff my face.  Admittedly, this was a trip of firsts for me. There are at least two things I ate that I'd never tried before, and luckily I truly enjoyed both of them. It was Vegas, after all, so my memory might be a little foggy on some of these details and I recognize these are not my best photos. Cheers! First stop was  Searsucker at Caesars Palace . We ordered a few items for the table and then we all shared everything. This is a very fun way to eat, as you can taste a little bit of everything. This works particularly well for someone like me who always wants about six different things off every menu and even if I...

DATE: Summer 2015 LOCATION: OB Noodle House 2218 Cable St San Diego, California 92107 Vietnamese Pho is not on the top of my favorite Asian go-to food or noodle soups. Personally, I haven't had a really good, amazing pho in all my life in NYC. But friends had told me that pho is really good in California, and after stalking BuzzFeed lists, I was psyched to give it a try. By the recommendation of a friend and a feature on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, we decided to go to OB Noodle House . I could already tell this dive looking bar was going to be good, based on not just the amount of people also waiting for a table, but the look and fragrance of the bowls of noodles that wafted past us. While we patiently stood waiting for our table, I scrolled through Yelp and read a number of reviews mentioning how the wings were a must. Needless to say, I was glad to have an excuse to order even more food besides the pho. Well, if people say you have to get the wings, then HAVE...