University Village Food Court/USC

The hidden gem of food courts in Los Angeles is not in mall, but in a dilapidated property near USC called the University Village. It may not look like much, but food is great, diverse and very inexpensive.  My favorites from my college days at USC are Sandwich Island, Taste of India, The Health Nut, Mongolian BBQ and the Mexican place that looks like Chanos, might be the same owner.  The place is not known to people outside of USC, so if you are downtown go check it out and cozy up next to some USC grad students. 

University Village
3375 S Hoover St
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Taste of India – Sag paneer, channa masala, basmati rice, and naan

Taste of India

Sandwich Island

Mongolian BBQ

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Michael Phelps/Corn Flakes

Michael Phelps passed on the Wheaties(been there, done that) box cover for the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cover which will hit stores in Mid-September!

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Beverly Hills Hotel/The Cabana Club Cafe

The Cabana Club Cafe
9641 Sunset Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 276-2251
http://www.thebeverlyhillshotel.com/restaurants_bars/cabana_club.html

 

Inside the Beverly Hills Hotel you will find one of the best atmosphere’s and and more importantly salads in the city of Los Angeles.  This past weekend the weather was perfect, the pool was crowded, and all my scenester friends were staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel to celebrate a birthday and enjoying a great poolside lunch.  I would definitely recommend the Cabana Club Cafe for a weekend brunch location, because it makes you feel like you are out of Los Angeles, actually almost like Hawaii. 

 

McCarthy Salad with no meat and w/ blue cheese dressing(finely chopped lettuce, never seen anything like that)

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Michael Phelps Diet

I am sure you have been hearing about what Michael Phelps eats every day in his 12,000 calorie diet, read this article to get all the details, insane!!!

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/08/13/the-michael-phelps-diet-dont-try-it-at-home/

Chicago!

Last week I had to go to Chicago for a trade show for Five Four and as I usually dread going there because of the weather, I was fortunate that the weather was perfect so I got to go out see the city and eat at some amazing places.

Carmine’s

1043 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Tel: 312-988-7676
Fax: 312-988-7957
http://www.rosebudrestaurants.com/

The restaurant is located in downtown Chicago near the Rock & Roll McDonalds (need to see it, to understand), although it appears to be a more touristy type of restaurant the food is excellent and has a unique twist to Chicago Italian food.  If the weather is nice, sit outside and watch the thousands of people that flood the area on the weekends.

 
Bruschetta

Caprese Salad (surprisingly really good tomatoes)

Rigatoni Alla Vodka (great creamy sauce)

 

PotBelly

As far as chain sandwich restaurants go, Potbelly is the clear winner.  The sandwiches are not only fresh but have a wide variety of gourmet cheese and types of sandwiches, including a killer breakfast.  I got a chance to eat at Potbelly at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and there seems to be hundreds of locations throughout the Mid-West and Texas, so make sure you try this next time you are in the Midwest, instead of SUBWAY.  I definitely like Potbelly more than Jimmy Johns, which is probably their competition. 

Breakfast sandwich on French Bread w/ eggs, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, and onions

 

Lou Malnati’s

Chicago deep dished style pizza is the only thing that compares to New York thin sliced pizza, so naturally I was looking for the best place to indulge in authentic Chicago pizza.  Anytime you travel to Chicago or New York, all of the locals tell you that the best pizza is at…..having hearing 20 different places over the course of two days, I decided to take the safe route and eat at Lou Malnati’s a 30 store pizza operation that gets the job done.  Even though a lot of local people gave me grief about eating at a tourist eatery, the food was very good and it was the only place we had to wait in line to eat, so ignore the locals and give it a try. 

Cheese bread with marinara sauce

Breaded fried mozzarella served with ranch dressing

Deep dish cheese pizza

 

LuxBar

18 E. Bellevue
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312-642-3400
http://www.luxbar.com

Definitely the coolest/sexiest place I ate in Chicago was for lunch at the LuxBar, which is located in the heart of the best shopping in downtown Chicago.  The outdoor seating and great weather felt like Los Angeles.  They are known for their burgers, so I had a vegetarian burger, which was definitely not a generic patty, it was flavored with spices and vegetables and the best burger I have had in a very long time.  Next time you are shopping at Barney’s and are famished check out LuxBar. 

Hummus served with bread and seasonal vegetables

 
Vegetarian burger served with fries

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In-N-Out

Click here to find out a location near you!

The best cure for a hangover is greasy food, and the best greasy food is In-N-Out! Vegetarians don’t realize the great grilled cheese with onions and fries that In-N-Out can satisfy you with.  The key to order grilled cheese and fries is to order them animal style, which is adding a mix of thousand island, cheese, and chopped grilled onions.  Animal style is the greatest addition to food in Los Angeles, so don’t sleep on it.

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Blondie’s Pizza

Blondie’s Pizza
63 Powell St
(between Cable Car Turnaround & Ellis St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 982-6168

I was in San Francisco a couple days ago and I was thinking that the Bay Area could not have good pizza, but Blondies has the most unique tasting pizza I have ever tasted.  The pizza is served piping hot with a light fluffy crust that melts in your mouth while you eat.  I also like how the operation is set up, because they can serve a lot of people quickly, because you are bound to go back for seconds. 

 

Del Taco

During my college years at USC, I probably ate Del Taco 5 times a week if not more.  These days I only get to Del Taco if I am really drunk and hungry around 3 AM and I am craving Del Taco’s breakfast burrito’s.  At $.49 it has got to be the greatest single item for the price in Los Angeles, if you want to add french fries inside them it may cost you a $.25 extra but it is well worth it.  The most interesting thing I have found at my recent Del Taco trip is the introduction of this amazing new hot sauce called Del Inferno, which is spicier than Del Scorcho.

Del Taco Breakfast Burrito, Eggs, Cheese, Hot Sauce, (250 Calories)

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Aroma Bakery Cafe

Aroma Bakery Cafe
7373 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046-3412
(323) 850-8120
Menu

I have been waiting for months for Aroma Bakery Cafe to open on Sunset, it is a huge Israeli style restaurant on Sunset between Fairfax and La Brea.  The scene feels like a summer night in Tel-Aviv with a lot of energy and people eating there till all hours of the night.  I don’t even think the restaurant has a closing time, because I have seen people there past 2 AM.  The menu is huge and has a massive variety for vegetarians, and every dish I have tried is extremely good.  Aroma is the type of restaurant you can eat 3 times a week and not get sick of.  This is definitely going to be one of my favorite places for a while!

 

 
Hummus & Onions with Fresh Pita

Vegetable Maza Ball Soup

Fruit Salad

Avocado Rolls with Teryaki and Spicy Sauce

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

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