Photography | fabliss

49th Parallel Coffee | Vancouver, BC

i finally got around to sifting through all of our vancouver pictures! our first stop after we got off the train was 49th parallel coffee on main street with chelsey (who we haven’t seen since our trip to italy in 2011)! this is her favorite coffee / doughnut shop in vancouver and highly recommended it since we love both of these things.

coffee / lattes are $3-4 (CAD). they also have doughnuts that are made fresh every day by lucky’s. we went with ice coffees with almond milk and a few random doughnuts (one of which was a bacon apple fritter…it was intense).

everything we got was good. it definitely hit the spot since we were looking for a quick snack before dinner.

ambience: we love the ambience! is industrial chic a real thing? because this is how i would describe this place. if this were in los angeles, i would coin it sceney/hipster. great outdoor seating. i would definitely snag one of those seat if the weather is awesome.
service: high efficiency here.
parking: we had to drive around for a minute but didn’t really have issues.
overall: good coffee that goes great with the doughnuts. kyle loved the bacon apple fritter. in his words “it was the best bacon doughnut i have ever had.” i would definitely point out that he probably has only had a handful of bacon doughnuts…but this is apparently the best. i liked the soft, sugar doughnut. yum. if we weren’t trying to see everything in vancouver, i would have loved to stick around here for hours.

thanks chelsey for showing around your city!!

49th Parallel Coffee
2902 Main Street
Vancouver, BC V5T 0C1
Canada
Neighborhood: Mount Pleasant

By fabliss | February 23rd, 2014 | Canada, Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Food, Photography, Travel | 0 Comments

King’s Mongolian Bar-B-Q | Reseda, CA

king’s mongolian bbq…

hole in the wall.
teal booths with pink table clothes.
fluorescent lighting.
family owned.
cheap and always hits the spot. (and by hits the spot i mean mandatory nap time after your meal)

kyle and his family have been coming here since he was 10 years old… all thanks to those good ol’ entertainment books that had a coupon for this place. (remember those?) lunch time differs from dinner time. prices are cheaper at lunch but the meat isnt available in the buffet line.

i always get combination b ($7.95), one bowl of monogolian bbq, a sesame pocket, and a wonton. kyle opts for the all you can eat option. for $9.95, all you can eat noodles and meat, a sesame pocket, an egg roll, and soup. to be honest, he maxes out at one bowl.

so at lunch time, you tell the lovely waitress what kind of meat you want. i went for the beef and pork. yeah, they don’t skimp out on the meat here.

since i only get one bowl, i pile mine prettttty high. it’s called skills. for sauce, i go for the spicy combination: 5 of sauce A (spicy), 2 spoons of sauce C (ginger), 2 spoons of chili and half a spoon of oil. i like to also top mine off with curry powder. …ta da!

i like to add sweet and sour sauce to my noodles…in addition to sriracha! yum!

parking: parking lot never too full. never any issues.
service: two amazingly nice and friendly ladies own this place… have owned this place. they are awesome!
ambience: nothing fancy or modern… just think hole in the wall.
overall: we love coming here for lunch when we are in the area. don’t let the exterior / interior of this place fool you. sometimes it’s the hole in the walls that blow you away. food is yummy, cheap, fast, and customizable. tip: don’t skimp out on the sauces. remember that it is diluted with all the veggies you choose and by the water they spray on your noodles while cooking it.

King’s Mongolian Bar-B-Q
19652 Vanowen St
Reseda, CA 91335

By fabliss | February 18th, 2014 | Food, Photography, Restaurants | 0 Comments

Firehouse Restaurant | Tarzana, CA

for those of us who live/lived in the valley, firehouse is sort of a gem…just sayin’. so, i’ll keep this short and sweet. small restaurant that sits on victory blvd. nothing fancy. just great gyros!

food: we go here when we need a gyro fix. tzatziki is delicious (i can drink this stuff)! also, portions are a good size and meat is always moist and full of flavor. note that we have only ordered the gyros here so cannot speak for the rest of the menu.
parking: there is a small lot next to the restaurant. we never have issues.
service: owner/staff are super friendly. fast service.
ambience: there’s a lot going on with regards to decor. murals, sculptures, etc in a relatively small spot.
overall: this place rocks and is definitely one of the favorites in the valley.

Firehouse Restaurant
18450 Victory Blvd
Tarzana, CA 91335
Neighborhood: Tarzana

By fabliss | February 6th, 2014 | Food, Photography, Restaurants | 0 Comments

Hy Mart Sandwiches | North Hollywood, CA

if you ask me, hy mart has some sexy sandwiches. how lucky are we that this is in our neighborhood?!

this place is pretty low profile… but do not underestimate the very simple menu and simple decor.

we always go for ben’s pastrami (aka pastrami ben’s way). get ready for pastrami, provolone, jalapenos, basil, and ben’s sauce (which they claim is spicy but i did not find this spicy at all). ben (the owner we assume) knows his sandwiches. sauce is a winner but the bread is an even bigger winner. crunchy and doesnt fall apart while you eat it. #winning

a weird side note: i do wish that i tasted more basil but it is still great, every time.

food: we love getting sandwiches here! we always want to branch out but we always just order the same thing.
parking: small, shared lot. we haven’t had any problems when we come here for lunch.
ambience: casual. not too many seats available but we have never had a problem finding a place to sit since people are usually in and out of here.
service: owner is super friendly! this is the type of place where you order, pay and wait for someone to bring your food out to you. sandwiches come out pretty quickly!
overall: if you are looking for a quick, delicious lunch spot, head to hy mart! sandwiches are bomb. bread is perfectly crunchy and the sauce (not too spicy) will leave you happy!

Hy Mart Sandwiches
4795 Vineland Ave
North Hollywood, CA 91602
Neighborhood: North Hollywood

By fabliss | February 6th, 2014 | Food, Photography, Restaurants | 0 Comments

Cha Cha Cha | Los Angeles, CA

firstly, don’t confuse this place with cha cha chicken. our friend goldman had been trying to get us to go the cha cha cha but we were hesitant because we weren’t crazy about our cha cha chicken (another popular caribbean restaurant in la) experience. this place blows cha cha chicken out the water. fo sho.

secondly, don’t judge this place by the outside (it looks like a shack). that would just be a mistake. so here is what we ordered:

ceviche guadalupe w/ dirty chips
guava and goat cheese quesadilla
jerk pork
plantano frito served with creme fraiche
paella andaluz
jerk chicken pizza
calamari frita

ceviche was delicious! dirty chips are pretty much crunchy, seasoned tortilla chips. uh-maze balls. don’t worry, the dirty chips aren’t too salty with the ceviche. you should definitely order this.

the goat cheese guava quesadilla is a popular one. people who love goat cheese, love this. we aren’t huge on the goat cheese scene. but goldman told me he that the goat cheese was subtle… i still thought it tasted goaty. it just wasn’t for me but still loved by many.

jerk pork was good. fried plantains with creme fraiche? even better! this was one of my favorites! great pairing. mmm.

paella andaluz definitely did not let us down. it was pretty freaking tasty. rice wasn’t over cooked. packed with flavor. would definitely order this again.

onto the jerk chicken. this was a winner. i repeat. winner. we ended up order another one of these because we couldn’t get enough of this! crust was great. chicken was moist and the jerk sauce was ridiculously good with a nice kick. this definitely stood out as our favorite dish.

calamari was good. all things fried with a creamy sauce are good.

ambience: decor is playful eclectic and casual. bright colors, random christmas lights and even more random plastic table cloths. before i walked it, i thought this place would be very dark. good thing there were skylights, which added a fresher feeling. you can definitely come here with a relative big group. just call ahead for a res.
parking: horrendous. the lot is small and its valet. we decided to do street parking, which is a pain to find. after a solid 15 minutes, we found a spot that was pretty far away.
service: friendly. no complaints.
overall: this place is a winner. great food! standout dishes were the jerk chicken pizza, the paella, and the ceviche! we will be coming back…with a crowd so that we can order more.

thanks for the introduction, goldman.

Cha Cha Cha
656 N Virgil Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Neighborhood: East Hollywood
Category: Caribbean