I LOVE sushi Dan. If you’ve never been you MUST go. It’s located on Ventura at the beginning of Sushi row. It’s so great. Don’t go to the one in West Hollywood, it really sucks, or at least it did when I went one day AND they had a “B” on their window…yuck! You don’t want a “B” when you eat sushi…actually you never do.

Anyways, back to the GOOOOOD stuff!!

The food at sush dan is always fresh, refreshing and consistently great. I’ve never been disappointed there. I took my friend Kate while she was in town visiting from Northern California and she fell in too! We at there at 10:30 on Monday night and by 2 p.m. Tuesday we were back again. Two days in a row, two happy experiences. They always have fresh specials of the day and their regular menu consists of creative rolls and plenty of things for those who don’t like sushi, or who don’t know it yet!
In case you care this is what we had:

Miso, edamame, Veggie and Shrimp Tempura, Salmon Nigiri, Baked Salmon Roll, Crazy Danny Roll, and California Hand Rolls with Soy Paper and Blue Crab…deliciouso! You must try.

Baked Salmon Roll

side note…parking sucks and the ambiance is not romantic and a little loud so don’t go for a date, but good with friends or family

So it was Saturday night and my boyfriend was off to hang with his buddies, so I called up some girls and we were off on our own adventure. We didn’t want to go far and they wanted somewhere they could find some “manly men”, so we headed off to our realitively new Sports Bar in North Hollywood.

We walked in and were initially disappointing as we looked around and saw that the place was mostly empty and most of the tables in the bar said “reserved for UFC fight at 7 p.m.” but it was only 5 so we had a seat at one of the tables anyways because we were only having a drink and then heading out.

The waitress came around and all I wanted was a mojito, I know it’s a unusual requst in a sports bar but you can’t get what you want if you don’t ask. It was my lucky day because our waitress said she was craving them so much she had just had her friend bring her some mint and she was willing to share. Good news! The drinks came around and I ordered the same thing I usually get, the Black and Blue wrap, sub the blue cheese for goat cheese and no Mayo, with tator tots.

The drinks kept coming and so did more of our friends. By the time 7:20 came we asked the waitress if our still empty table was free if those who had reserved it would lose their reservation, she replied, “It’s the LAPD, so we always hold it till we close”. Of course! The one table we pick is the LAPD.

The Sherrifs finally arrived and we offered to buy them their first round on us, so between that and the chance to have 5 lovely ladies accompany them they were game. The drinks went round and round (s) and so did more and more food: nachos, sampler platters, buffalo wings….yummy delicious bar food that you don’t count calories when you eat.

We looked around and the place was packed and flowing out the doors. The energy was good and so were we with staying till the end of the fights. After losing $20 on the fights and having a great time I was ready to go, and glad I wasn’t driving! I was happily surprised that my magically made mojitos were only $6 each..quite a deal if you ask me!

I would definitely recommend this place if you want to watch a game or grab a beer and some wings. My only advice is to call at least a day in advance and reserve a table, it’s free and it’s so much better to watch the games sitting down. The other great thing about this place is there is plenty of parking at the parking garage next to Howe’s grocery store.

One of LAPD's Finest in Ginny's hat

Made friends w/Security too!

So not that long ago Parrish (my bf) decided to make me homemade lobster bisque. It’s HIS favorite, but he wanted it so bad he said he would make some just for me. We came across a great recipe and whipped he wipped it up while I sat back and drank a glass of wine..what more could you want? Just a little side not we used two Lobster tails to make this recipe we also used the bullion cubes instead of making our own stock, it came out great.

Recipe for Low Fat Lobster Bisque

Low Fat Lobster Bisque

2 stocks celery cut into thirds
1 carrot cut into thirds
1 onion cut into fourths
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh parsley
teaspoon salt
6 peppercorns
1 live lobster (approximately 1 1/2 lb.)

Bisque

2 cups reserved liquid from lobster stock
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 to 3 teaspoons either lobster soup base or fish bouillon amount depending on strength of lobster stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups fat free half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
dash cayenne pepper

1. Fill a 4 to 6-quart stockpot with enough water to cover lobster. Add celery, carrot, onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Bring to boil, add lobster, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

2. Remove lobster from stock and set aside to cool. When cool, remove lobster meat from claws and tail, coarsely chop meat and set aside. Discard body and shells.

3. While lobster is cooling, increase heat to high and allow stock to reduce to half or less. Strain stock into bowl, reserving 2 cups. Discard vegetables.

4. Lightly spray at 2 to 4 -quart saucepan or stockpot with cooking spray and heat on medium high for 2 minutes. Add chopped onion, garlic and shallots. Reduce heat to medium and sauté vegetables until onion becomes translucent. Mix flour a tablespoon at a time into vegetables, adding small amounts of reserved lobster stock to keep mixture from becoming too dry and/or difficult to mix.

5. Whisk remaining cup reserved lobster stock into flour vegetable mixture. Whisk in sherry, tomato paste, and cook over medium heat whisking constantly until thickened.

6. Reduce heat to low and whisk half-and-half pepper, paprika and cayenne into bisque. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add lobster and continue to cook another 2 minutes until lobster is heated through. Adjust seasonings if necessary and serve.

7. Yield: 6 1/2 cup servings at approximately 246 calories; 1.2 grams total fat; 0.2 gram saturated fat; 108 milligrams cholesterol; 23.7 grams carbohydrate; 0.9 ram dietary fiber; 25.4 grams protein; 857 milligrams sodium.

COOKS NOTE: Quick Lobster Bisque: Omit lobster stock for 1 1/2 tablespoons lobster soup base or 1 1/2 cubes fish bouillon. Substitute lobster stock for 2 cups water and a frozen cooked lobster tail, can be substituted for live lobster.

Last night I hit the town, well as much as you get in the Valley. I joined a couple of friends at Laurel Tavern around 8 p.m. When I got there the place was full, and there was an upbeat energy being filled around the room. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a total dude bar, they pride themselves on their beer selcetion and semi-gourmet burgers. When I say “semi” I mean the meat is great tasting and fresh but to make it a little more “gourmet” they chose the minimalist route and give you burgers that are about 4 in. in diameter and give you a shot of ketchup or mustard and fancy mixed greens on top.

Regardless, tonight my two single gals were looking to practice their flirting skills and this was a great choice for it. The room was outweighed by men all shapes and sizes, most very cool and down to earth looking with a shot of style. This is not the place you’ll find your super cool producers polluting the room with their sleezy attitudes.

They ordered up a basket of fries, the grilled artichoke, and some kind of chicken kabob. Even though I’m on a diet I couldn’t resist having a handful of their fries, the seasoning on them is sooo addicting. The artichokes were a hit and the kabobs get a B-. Both my girls ordered up some vodaka and I ordered the CabFranc, which was suprisingly delightful.

I would definitely recommend this place to men and women depending on your attitude. It’s not too loud to talk to people and not to quiet to get bored. Definitely not a date place, but a cool place to chill with friends.

The only cons are it gets pretty busy and it can be hard to find a place to sit. Get there early and you won’t have a problem.

So I’ve been sitting here this afternoon eating away at my 10 calories of delightfulness wondering what the heck I was eating anyways. I’ve made plenty of jigglers in my day and I know you add water but what is in the powdery stuff anyways? I did a little research and learned gelatin you eat in Jell-O comes from the collagen in cow or pig bones, hooves, and connective tissues. To make gelatin, manufacturers grind up these various parts and pre-treat them with either a strong acid or a strong base to break down cellular structures and release proteins like collagen. After pre-treatment, the resulting mixture is boiled. During this process, the large collagen protein ends up being partially broken down, and the resulting product is called gelatin. The gelatin is easily extracted because it forms a layer on the surface of the boiling mixture.

To make things even

worse, I just found

out it’s also in some of my other favorite things like chewing gum, gummy bears, cream cheese…oh and my aaaabbbbbsolute favorite -canned ham! ..ok yuck on the last one, no desire to eat spam here!

My name is Laina Rose. I was born in Kansas, but consider myself a native Texan. Growing up in the beef capital of the world I was shocked to find that I love, love, love me some sushi. In fact, I love all kinds of foods and cuisines. I love cooking, eating, and unfortunately I have to learn to love working out too! It’s so important to me to have food done right and most of the time be realatively healthy.

Entertaining in L.A. is great because I have a really ecletic group of friend out here; vegan, vegetarian, meat-atarian (as I like to call them) and just plain ole’ picky eaters. I really think the best way to bond with people, other than seeing eachother naked….you thought it too!, is to enjoy an amazing meal together wether it be fine dining or that awesome hamburger joint off Vineland.

This blog is dedicated to giving you up-to-date information on places to go and not go in L.A and recipies you can make at home yourself. It’s all about Beverly Hills quality mixed with Hermosa Beach fun and enjoying it like your enjoying in the backyard in Toluca Lake.
I’d love to review any places out there y’all are contimplating or interested in and open to posting new recipies you think other people will enjoy. I will try my best to balance the food with all types of foods no matter what you do, or most importantly, don’t eat.

Thanks for checkin it out!
Best, Laina Rose a.k.a Sookie

Soooo good, trust me you will like it. Plus, it’s low cal and you still get to eat carbs and……it’s probably 20 grams of protein, not bad!

Take some great tasting bread (We like Milton’s Multi Grain, it has a great flavorful taste and it’s so soft and fresh tasting it melts into your mouth) and layer it with :

• low fat cream cheese
• tomato slices
• cucumber slices
• romain lettuce, use this kind because it is crispy and add great texture
• micro greens (or sprouts are great too, especially sunflower sprouts)
• and a dash of good seasoning (or a little shaky shakes of salt and peppaaa)

and….walll Aaaaaahhh, tasty, delicious and nutricous!