I can say it with confidence: This weekend I went to the most amazing grocery store in America.

Pasadena’s Whole Foods was apparently behind Chicago’s Lincoln Park outpost (and my former home-away-from-home) and I am surprised to hear myself say it but… the LP version is kind of dinky compared to California’s finest!

The place has couches scattered about in case you want to sit down and r-e-l-a-x while you shop. It’s a two-story establishment, which allows for a very roomy experience. For those lucky dogs who have traversed the produce section in Chicago, it looks great, but it’s not so easy to make those tight turns around the tomatoes with your big green cart in tow, is it?

Pasadena’s store is roomy to the max, has a meat counter prettier than a rack of J.Crew cashmere (weird, but true) and the prepared foods MARKET (it’s like its own restaurant and it.is.unreal) will set you free with made to order chinese food, sushi, tacos, panini, gelato, etc. etc. etc.

Yes, this is a giant endorsement for Whole Foods, but well deserved. Stop by.

465 South Arroyo Parkway

Pasadena / California

It’s five o’ clock somewhere comes to mind at this seaside Mexican joint in Cardiff by the Sea, California, just north of Solana Beach off the South Coast Highway. (“Roadside” also comes to mind as it really is not much more than a highway turnoff.) But oh, what a pleasant surprise. We visited on Friday at 2 pm and braved the 25 minute wait in the tiny bar area, but in looking around at the fellow diners (not a face to be found without shades and sandals; even in April) and realizing that almost every one was trying a margarita from Las Olas’s all day (until 6 pm) happy hour menu (which runs $3.50-4.00), it began to make sense.

The porch seating is fantastic with a lagoon view and the entire place is a stone’s throw from the ocean. The porch seating is definitely worth waiting for.

Oh, and the food. This is the exact kind of American-Mexican food that Southern California does best. Lots of salsa, cheese and avocado with chile rellenos, carne asada and carnitas options to fill your burrito, tacos or enchiladas.

Definitely set aside a few hours of a sleepy afternoon here. Also: order a side of serrano peppers to spice things up. It’s not the spiciest Mexican food, but a few hot peppers will change that…

Sidenote: Last time Riley was there, he saw Orlando Bloom. Must be a good sign?

Las Olas / 2655 South Coast Highway 101 / Cardiff by-the-Sea

First food stop in Del Mar, California: The Brigantine. There are fish tacos everywhere here, but this one is somehow set apart from the rest. The fish tacos come in several varieties: mahi mahi, fried white fish, sword fish or fried shrimp. While the crunchy, fried house version is delicious, today I opted for the mahi mahi—flaky, grilled mahi with spiced mayo and Brigantine slaw.

One of the pluses of this place, which has several San Diego-area locations, is the fact that the tacos come on a single corn tortilla that actually stays in one piece all throughout the eating process. Even the second taco, even when splashed with a healthy amount of lime juice. Still stays together. It’s a lot more than I can say for most corn tortillas…

The other plus of the Del Mar location: The view. Go for porch seats and overlook a sunny lagoon that abuts the Coaster train tracks and Del Mar Race Track. It is picturesque, pleasant, and if you come for lunch, you might end up staying through cocktail hour.

The Brigantine

3263 Camino Del Mar / Del Mar / San Diego / California

Finally organizing New York photos and foodie notes. Saturday night, I had the utmost pleasure of eating pizza, pasta and other Italian staples at Franny’s in Brooklyn. It’s a fairly unassuming place; casual, with a bustling bar and dim lighting. But there is nothing dim about the food here: Napoli-style pizza with doughy bubbly crust and some of the most well-prepared pasta I have had in a long time.

The menu here is not elaborate, but everything is perfectly prepared. White and red pizza options offer many vegetarian possibilities as well as a few meat-zas, but whether you prefer your pizza with meatballs, clams or plain old buffalo mozzarella, everything here hit the spot. (Thanks, Sara, for the recommendation!)

We enjoyed one of the three pasta dishes Franny’s offers: spaghetti cacio e pepe. The spaghetti, al dente perfection and the cacio (light Italian cheese) and pepe (ground black pepper) so simple but so tasty. Italian food is not meant to be complicated and this place gets it right.

Go before the crowds set in around 8.

Franny’s
295 Flatbush / Brooklyn / New York

Just touched down in New York for a foodie weekend in the big city. First stop: The James Hotel and its pretty wooden “Treehouse Bar” patio/porch with Sara, my NYC foodie inspiration. We had a pleasant lunch by David Burke featuring ahi tuna tacos, cheese platter, salmon sticks (little bundles of salmon shaped around an extremely thin bread stick; think: lollipop) and something I have had several times in New York and never in Chicao: ricotta spread.

The James version comes in a little jar and is fixed with roasted tomatoes, giving it a savory taste. Another version, at Caffe Falai (two NYC locations; ricotta can be found at Lower East Side cafe/bakery installment) is served with figs and honey and is also delicious on toast, or just spooned in big bites.

Does anyone know of a place in Chicago that serves this? It must be out there. Hoping I can find one soon.

Now off to explore Brooklyn. Destination: Brooklyn bagels.

Places:

The James Hotel / 27 Grand Street / SoHo / New York

A couple of weeks back I packed up and went to San Francisco for three days. With friends Morgan and Courtney from Washington D.C. and Riley with me from Chicago, we traversed the SF food scene, hit some great restaurants, bars and snack spots. Thankfully, San Francisco is really, really big, and we were able to walk it all off (almost).

Among many food spots that I thoroughly enjoyed, Humphrey Slocombe is one dessert or snack spot not to be missed, should you find yourself in the Bay Area:

Humphrey Slocombe

(2790 Harrison St., The Mission)

This ice cream mecca (I can’t stress enough, it is indeed, a mecca) kind of resembles Cafe Momofuku in New York in the sense that it offers a signature breakfast-esque ice cream flavor that tends to please the masses. HS’s Special Breakfast (bourbon ice cream flecked with corn flakes) reminds me of Momofuku’s Cereal Milk flavor, but only ever so slightly, and more in the creative sense than the actual flavor sense. (Also, Momo’s is soft serve, Humphrey’s is certainly not.)

Chocolate with smoky sea salt was another favorite, as was Jesus Juice (red wine and Coca Cola). I first read about this Mission-area ice cream shop on The Edible Selby, which, if you enjoy looking at pictures of food all day like I do, may be worth a visit in and of itself (The Selby is also really cool for just about anybody interested in culture and amazingly vivid photography of interesting people in their everyday places). Plus, they really do this place more justice than my non-pro-photography.