Tag: restaurants

The Olde Ship is jolly good!

It’s often been said that English food is bland, tasteless, and boring. As we found out on our honeymoon, however, it’s simply not true. Actually, English cuisine just tastes so familiar to the mainstream American palate. Meat, potatoes, overcooked vegetables, fries (ok, “chips” in English parlance), lots of gravy! In any case, we were feeling nostalgic for England. Why? Who knows? Maybe it’s the fact that we just got two Christmas cards from our distant relatives in Exeter and Devon. Or maybe it’s just because our honeymoon in England two years back was such a proper jolly good time and the memories of the trip randomly came back into our heads. Well, no matter, because we needed no excuse to have a proper English meal.

It’s often been said that English food is bland, tasteless, and boring.  As we found out on our honeymoon, however, it’s simply not true.  Actually, English cuisine just tastes so familiar to the mainstream American palate.  Meat, potatoes, overcooked vegetables, fries (ok, “chips” in English parlance), lots of gravy!  In any case, we were feeling nostalgic for England.  Why?  Who knows?  Maybe it’s the fact that we just got two Christmas cards from our distant relatives in Exeter and Devon.  Or maybe it’s just because our honeymoon in England two years back was such a proper jolly good time and the memories of the trip randomly came back into our heads.  Well, no matter, because we needed no excuse to have a proper English meal.

The Olde Ship in Fullerton is the real deal, or at least as real as it’s going to get Stateside.  It’s staffed by real subjects of the Queen and really does look and feel like the countless pubs we visited while during our honeymoon.  For being in California, where we’re pretty accustomed to themed but obviously fake facades on many buildings, this one looks and feels like England, both inside and out.

Was it good?  Is the Queen Mother’s favorite color baby blue?  Of course!  Ed had steak and kidney pie with a Newcastle, and as you can see here, Ed enjoyed it VERY much.  So full of meat and gravy goodness.

Here’s Ed admiring the dish he’s about to eat:

The excitement is building…

And a closeup:

That’s some grubbing!

And what about Carrie?  There was no way she could say “no” to fish and chips!  That was definitely our favorite pub food while we were in England.  So, here’s Carrie smiling with excitement:

And the closeup.  Mmmmmmm….

It’s good!!

We wish we had pics, but there was a pirate party going on in the bar.  No kidding.  There were about 30 adults all dressed as pirates.  And we’re not talking cheap and cheesy costumes; many of these people went all out!  They were singing Christmas songs with lyrics adapted to the pirate lifestyle.  It was surreal, and we never did find out what the occasion for the pirate party was.  Or, maybe they’re actually pirates and this was a normal, usual night out for them.

In any case, we highly recommend a visit.  It’s super fun, and the food is undeniably authentic!

Out with a bang!


So we had to finish off our fab adventures in Buenos Aires with a proper culinary sendoff. So what better way than to finish it off at El Bistro, the in-house restaurant at the renowned Faena Hotel + Universe?

What’s Faena? Well, Alex Faena is sort of the Donald Trump of Argentina, but with considerably more taste, style, and flair. The Faena Hotel’s interior was designed by none other than Philippe Starck, one of our favorite designers. On many of our vacations, we’ve sought out his hotels – we’ve been to the Clift in San Francisco, the Delano in Miami, and now Faena in Argentina! Ironically, one that we haven’t visited is the Mondrian, which is right in our backyard in L.A.

Anyways, this was one stylin’ and upper crust meal. We’ve seen chefs prepare “foam” on Top Chef & the Food Network all the time, but this was the first time we got to actually try not 1, but 3! – during this meal (in between courses). And, as you can see above, the space is striking. It’s ornate, but nearly ALL in white with red accents peppered throughout. And the food and wine? Exquisite. Here’s a sampling of the amazing setting in which we dined:

Oh, as a little bonus, after dinner we walked outside the hotel and saw a monument to Juan Manuel Fangio, one of history’s greatest racing drivers and of course an Argentine. His heyday was in the 1950s when he drove Formula 1 for Mercedes-Benz. Here’s Ed posing next to the statue.

We leave first thing in the morning, returning back home. Buenos Aires is a most captivating and gorgeous city, one that will remain with us for a long time. Adios, Buenos Aires!

Tiempo para la parilla!

Argentina is known for many things, not least of which is its beef. And there’s nowhere better to eat your Argentinian beef than at a parilla, or grill, as we English speakers call it.

Luckily for us, our hotel is only a few blocks away from one of the best parillas in town, La Dorita. This unpretentious grill is muy autentico, with a bewildering array of available cuts of beef all grilled up to perfection. It attracts people from all walks of life – we saw families, stylish hipsters, seniors, businesspeople…anyone and everybody.

Here’s Ed with his bife de chorizo, not to be confused with Mexican sausage, but rather the Argentinian term for sirloin. Now THAT’S a hunk of meat!

And here’s Carrie with her half portion of bife de lomo, or what we call tenderloin. Can you believe that’s a half portion?!?

But one of our favorite things at La Dorita wasn’t even the food, as delicious as it was. It was this steaklover’s take on The Last Supper. It was hanging on the wall next to us. Oh yes.

Why break bread when you can chow bife and drink malbec with 12 of your closest pals?

Dining in Style – Casa Cruz, Palermo Hollywood

Tonight we had the privilege of dining in one of Argentina’s finest restaurants – Casa Cruz – in one of the coolest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, Palermo Hollywood. It was close enough to walk to, and we had a great time just exploring the neighborhood a little bit. We were highly anticipating this meal, as it was mentioned in EVERY travel book and blog we read about Buenos Aires. It definitely delivered! Thank goodness for the exchange rate, it was incredible what all we ordered and how reasonably priced the experience was for the best of the best!

We wish we had better pictures, but Casa Cruz is just one of those places that just can’t be captured on camera. We walked through giant 16 ft. brass doors upon entering, and lounged on gorgeous silver sofas with cocktails in hand while we waited for our table.


This is a shot we stole from the web of their monstrous wine wall – this photo only shows a fraction of it! The Argentinans are SERIOUS about their wine – and it’s true – Argentinian wine is incredible! We stuck with the local varieties – Carrie chose a Torrontés, a very bold and fruity white, and Ed had a Malbec, Argentina’s signature red. We decided to put ourselves out there and try an unusual and exotic dish – so Carrie chose the rabbit & Ed chose the grilled octopus. Our waiter was impressed, he said we chose the two best items on the menu! The dining experience was one of the best we’d ever had – amazing service, beautiful food, and tons of variety.

Again, we regret not taking many pics, but here we are enjoying the evening!

It’s pouring rain tonight, so we are relaxing and trying to knock out our jet lag by getting in an early bedtime. Buenas Noches!

Mmmm…mmm…Canter’s.

It’s been way too long since we’ve been to Canter’s Deli on Fairfax, but when Carrie’s mom requested lunch there for a post-Mother’s Day celebration, we were all over it. Happy belated Mother’s Day, Mom!



Fun Canter’s facts:

  • Over 4,900 lbs of Pastrami are sold per month.
  • There are 1,500 gallons of Chicken Soup made per week.
  • 4,000 Knishes are baked per week.
  • Seating capacity is 465 people.
  • Canter’s Delicatessen is 14,000 sq ft, making it one of the largest delicatessens in the country.


An homage to Canters, one of our favorite time warps: