Sometimes, when I become extremely disillusioned by the general pollution/smog/dust/shit that I live in and start to fight the urge to t-bone every fucking car taking an unprotected left turn, I feel like the Universe is telling me that living in LA is not very good for my health (especially when I start to eerily objectify pedestrians in my car on a point-based system that usually has some macabre and violent format to it). Dire times like these usually make for a quick exit to another city, but it also helps if you have friends in high places. My friend Will graciously invited me for an all-expense paid weekend at the Oceana Santa Barbara, and me being asian and loving all things free, I threw myself at the opportunity to gtfo out of my zip code and into beach town bliss.

BESAME EL CULO

I've been long blessed here in Los Angeles by all the glories of amazing Mexican food that makes me want to jump for joy like a little mexican jumping bean. However, despite the prevalence of this genre in the LA food scene, you can still make me do anything for carne asada, and I will punch babies for sopes or tortas. I'm probably addicted to El Taurino. I used to eat King Taco for lunch, every day. I might turn lesbian for Juanita's lengua tacos. Hehe.

Anywho, I decided to take my addiction a step further and have a small get together at home with a little help from my friends. We had grilled carne asada, lime-cilantro-red onion-garlic-marinated grilled chicken over a bed of roasted bell peppers, and a DIY station for your choice of sope, torta, or burrito. Oh and we had helotes. "Gimme somma dat corn!" ... (psssst Nacho Libre)

WELCOME BACK TO LIFE BREAD

Hello. I've been dead for the past few months, but with good reason. Kinda. I'm resurrecting myself in the form of this calorie-laden piece of pumpkin bread covered in a questionable-looking sour cream glaze. Bukkake. Huh? Who said that? 

SKILLET DINER // CAPITOL HILL, WA

Stopped by this diner-on-culinary-steroids with a friend during the holidays in a little cozy nook of Seattle's most flamboyant district--Capitol Hill. The food was comforting, coaxing you with familiar flavors and scents that waned of memories past. But what made this lil homeskillet stand out was all the random bits of surprises thrown into the mix, like the combo of fresh kale and fried chicken, or the orange zest and sage in the gravy for the sausage and biscuits.

Two words to describe Skillet Diner: Inspired simplicity. I dig it.

{ s k i l l e t  d i n e r }
1400 e. union
seattle, wa 98122

xxx,

kandice

ANIMAL // MID-CITY, LA

I've been sitting here for the past hour, trying to regurgitate some fancy-gold leaf-saffron-carrageenan-gel-topped words to express the gastronomical orgasm that was Animal, but to no avail. In a really lengthy sentence, Animal was the execution of pure culinary gumption--it fused the elements of comfort food with an inventive flair, taking each dish to an unpretentious yet exorbitant level of taste and texture.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Animal

435 N. Fairfax Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 782-9225

{ Hamachi Tostada, herbs, fish sauce vinaigrette, peanuts }

{ Barbeque pork belly sandwiches, slaw }

{ Marrow bone, chimichurri, caramelized onions }

xxx,

kandice

MY FASHION SHRINE OF TAYLOR TOMASI-HILL

I'm just a tad obsessed with this woman. Just a tad. 

Okay, I admit it's borderline-lesbo, but how can you not meander across those lines when she looks this amazing? She's saying au revoir to Marie Claire as the Style & Accessories Director (Kyle Anderson has some huge yet sexy ass shoes to fill) to be the artistic director for the retail site Moda Operandi; how Marie Claire managed to royally fuck up and have this fiery beauty leave her post in all her street-style glory is beyond me, but I'm so excited to see what's to come from this Sartorial Goddess. 

xxx,

kandice


p.s. I am the newest addition to HYPEBEAST. Woo. Thanks John! 
Hopefully I'll be able to confabulate some legit posts without embarrassing myself. 
Highly unlikely, but check it out.

SUNNIN // WESTWOOD, LA

I came to Sunnin about a year ago under the recommendation of the my Yelp superstar friend Jenny, and it has since then become a steady favorite of mine. I've become a regular at this restaurant, and only order the Shish Tawook and falafel every. single. time. Maybe it's the crack in the garlic sauce, or maybe it's the crack in the Lebanese salad, or maybe it's the crack in the fresh, warm balls of falafel, or maybe it's the crack in the tahini sauce, or maybe it's the crack in the chicken, or maybe it's the crack in the rice... but all I know is that there is some kind of unnatural drugas narcotraficantes in that food, because you will literally have physical cravings for it. I took my totally aweshum friend Dicko (that's his sick tat) to this restaurant, and had to deal with his withdrawal texts later on throughout the day. And randomly throughout that week. Sometimes, I even hear him whisper Sunnin to me in my dreams. 

Serio my peoples, the sooner that Sunnin is in your belly, the closer you are to culinary sanctification. 

Sunnin Lebanese Cafe

1776 Westwood Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90024

xxx,

kandice

p.s. I'm almost done with the flu. Praise the Lard for Dayquil.

p.p.s. Kids, don't mix Dayquil with Nyquil. Ever.