Solstice

In progress.

Malva

In progress.

The Kitchen @ MCASD

I am someone who loves trying new things all the time, which unfortunately makes it difficult for me to be a regular anywhere. If I’m spending my money eating out, I like to maximize on different places and different experiences. However, the Kitchen @ MCASD is one of those special restaurants that always has me coming back.

The Kitchen is absolutely beautiful and the interior design is clean, chic, airy, and bright. There is indoor, half indoor and half outdoor, as well as fully outdoor seating (so you have options!). However, no matter what seating arrangement you get assigned to, you are literally a few steps away from overlooking the ocean, as the restaurant is located right in the heart of Downtown La Jolla. I do highly recommend getting a reservation ahead of time and requesting indoor seating close to the window. It’s the best spot for sure and you are guaranteed great views from the comfort of your seat.

In addition to the gorgeous interior, the food, drinks, glassware, plateware, decorative vases - literally everything - are all SO cute. I am a major sucker for all things cute & well-curated and they have so many items I’d purchase in a heartbeat.

Upon first opening in Feb 2023, the Kitchen only opened Wednesdays through Sundays from 8:30 AM - 2 PM for breakfast and lunch. However, as of June 2024, they’ve now extended their services to dinner on the same days of the week from 4-8 PM (happy hour being from 3-5 PM!). Once I heard this news, I took myself on a date immediately, and was luckily able to stop by on the second official dinner night.

For dinner, I decided on the ‘chilled cucumber tahini soup + marinated shrimp + cucumber’, as well as the ‘steamed sea bass wrapped in swiss chard + freekah + olive relish + heirloom tomato + roasted tomato vinaigrette + torn herbs’. Holy moly, I was blown away, which was not a surprise, as I’d already been blown away by their lunch services prior. The cold soup was extremely refreshing, earthy, and I loved the cold touch. We need to normalize more cold soup options out here! The steamed bass was huge and it came fully wrapped in swiss chard, so it felt like a little gift I had to unravel myself. When I chose that dish, my server also agreed that it was her favorite thing on the menu, and I can see why. The fish was beyond fresh, juicy, and the freekah and tomato flavors were perfectly spiced, adding African and Mediterranean fragrances to the meal. I LOVED this dish and I could not stop eating it even though I was getting insanely full.

During my trip, I also luckily made happy hour by 3 minutes, and was able to get a $10 cocktail (they normally range from ~$13-$15 at list price). The cocktails here are pretty, often decorated with dainty flowers, and incorporate a lot of fruits, so it tastes healthier than usual cocktails. I also treated myself to a cold glass of white wine since I am in my fancy white wine era, and I would highly recommend the Sauvignon Blanc from France.

I had such a peaceful and much needed self-love moment here. Just imagine a girl sitting in the corner, sun setting, golden hour gradually approaching, white wine in hand, and softly looking out into the abyss with a “life is good” smug smile on her face. Well, what you just pictured was 100% me (and could be you too if you decide to go to this amazing little haven)!

Another huge reason I love this restaurant so much is because it’s attached to my favorite museum in all of San Diego, and that is the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD). This museum is stunning and ever since they reopened after the long renovation, I’ve decided to become a member, which is great because now I can go whenever I want and I can bring a +1 each visit :) The artists the MCASD chooses for residency are all so intriguing and I love taking my Fujifilm here to walk around and take pictures. Every nook and cranny of this museum is photogenic, and it’s so peaceful here too since you catch a glimpse of the ocean waves through windows right next to a lot of the art.

The Kitchen is also a part of the restaurant organization called the “Urban Kitchen Group”, which consists of other popular restaurants like CUCINA Urbana and ARTIFACT at Mingei (both of which I also really like). Whatever new establishment they create, I trust that the restaurant will be of high quality since they have a history of producing great places.

To me, the Kitchen @ MCASD and the Museum of Contemporary Art are what I envision heaven to look like. I’m so thankful that they exist and I’d love to eventually experience one of the Kitchen’s chef tasting menu events in the future.

Marrow

During my first trip ever to Michigan last October, I fell in love with Detroit. I think there’s so much charm to this place and one thing that I especially noticed is that people who rep Detroit REALLY love Detroit, and you can feel the strong passion throughout the city and beyond.

Therefore, I was more than thrilled to return back recently, and since Mink was my favorite restaurant during my initial visit, I had to now try their sister restaurant, Marrow.

Marrow is a butcher shop and restaurant, and for the restaurant portion, they offer a la carte menu, as well as a five course chef’s tasting dinner for $90/person. There is also a wine pairing option, which is an additional $45/person. While in town, I was with my friend Christine who is a huge proponent of “go big or go home”, so we both opted for the five course dinner without hesitation.

To start off, we ordered cocktails and although I forgot the name of both, they were delish! I ordered a very unique twist on a martini where they used pickled onions, instead of olives, to garnish and add flavor to the cocktail. I could see how this drink would be an acquired taste for many (as Christine did not enjoy it), but I really liked it, especially since I love onions like no other.

Next up - the dishes! We went with the five course tasting menu, but also decided to add the roasted marrow since Christine had gotten that before, loved it, and is apparently a crowd favorite. Although it was good, in retrospect, I think that the five course meal was more than enough food, and the addition of the marrow honestly sent us into a slight food coma.

The chef’s selection of dishes were beautiful, unique, colorful, and tasted fresh and organic. You get a really farm-to-table feel with every dish and from reading an article, it looks like they get a lot of their ingredients from local farms in the Great Lakes region, so it all makes sense!

My favorite dishes were the Croqueta, the Shiitake Carpaccio, and the Head on Prawn Squid Ink Pasta. I loved the caramelized onions on the Croqueta and how crispy it was. It was a simple, yet powerful initiation to the multiple courses. Also, for a long time, I was not a big fan of mushrooms, but they’ve finally been growing on me. I thought the Shiitake plate was really flavorful, elegant, and light. I’ve never had mushrooms prepared like that, so I really enjoyed it! Additionally, in the past, some squid ink pastas have been very heavy and overwhelming in flavor, but this one was just the right amount, and not too overpowering with a lot of butter and sauces. That one was my favorite in terms of presentation and the colors were visually stunning.

To end the meal, we received the house made ice cream pear dessert, which was also really good. It was so cute because while we sat at the bar, there was another girl duo and a separate girl having a nice solo night sitting next to us, and we all had decided on the five course dinner. At the end, we ended up chatting and we all enthusiastically agreed that the dinner was totally worth it. One of the girls even stated that it was so cool that we got to have this random culinary sisterhood moment together as strangers. Seriously, these are the types of moments I live for, and I loved every second of that encounter and the overall experience!

Mink and Marrow are two places in Detroit that I highly recommend visiting. Executive Chef, Sarah Welch, is a magician and her establishments kind of remind me of those in San Diego’s Trust Restaurant Group (which I love).

Can’t wait to be back and I said it once, but I’ll say it again - I love you, Detroit!

Jaguar Paw

Just like City Heights, Barrio Logan is another one of my top neighborhoods in San Diego. It has so much character and I never get tired of strolling around the area.

Recently, some of my friends from San Francisco came to visit, so of course I had to bring them to Barrio Logan, and as we were walking, we stumbled upon this cute sign that immediately intrigued us. I am big on color and cool fonts, especially dark contrasting tones, so this ‘Jaguar Paw’ sign really checked all that off for me.

Upon entering, to our surprise, we learned that the restaurant was in its pop-up trial to gather initial insight on how to run the restaurant. They wanted to maintain a lowkey vibe and did not want to publicize it on social media, so that they could sort out the kinks slowly, as people organically come and go. When I heard this, this actually made me gain a lot of respect for their concept since I’ve seen many restaurants just immediately jump into it, which often causes a lot of gaps in service. I can tell this place really cares about wanting to deliver a quality experience from A-Z!

The Jaguar Paw team’s goal is to create a fresh seafood restaurant paired with a listening bar. They plan to have local DJ’s coming in to spin and based off their playlist when we visited, I foresee them doing a great job with their DJ selection. Their entire playlist was already on point and was heavily focused on soul music. Think music along the lines of Thee Sacred Souls, Bobby Oroza, Thee Sinseers, The Altons, & etc. The spot is super cute too, decorated with green and pink hues, and after talking to the server, we found out that a lot of the decorations in there were DIY (e.g., the spraypainted styrofoam part of the wall, which we were very impressed with). They even provide you adorable little wet towels on a pretty ceramic dish, so that you can clean off your hands prior to your meal.

During our trip, we were able to try a few cocktails and seafood dishes. The cocktails are incredibly well made here and I LOVED the tiny crane origami that they incorporate into some of the cocktails. So cute and fun! They mostly serve craft soju cocktails, natural wines and local craft beer here, and the options are great.

As for the seafood dishes, these had amazing flavor and the presentation was so well thought out. Everything here is made fresh, including the chips that you use to scoop your ceviche. The chef came to speak with us too and mentioned how he’s in the process of doing a lot of R&D work. From there, he ended up bringing out some things for us to try for free, such as his homemade vegetable chips, as well as a matcha dessert topped with toasted sesame seeds.

Just wow - we were so grateful and impressed with his spontaneous vision in creating these on the spot for us. Although Jaguar Paw is still in its early days, I truly hope that this restaurant flourishes, as their team is extremely creative and clearly very skilled in the culinary department.

I plan to be back and Jaguar Paw has simply skyrocketed my already immense love for Barrio Logan!

Hoai Hue

City Heights is definitely one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Diego. It’s famously known for its ‘Little Saigon’ strip that’s filled with a bunch of authentic Vietnamese restaurants, and one of the best ones is easily ‘Hoai Hue’.

My mom was born in Hue, Vietnam, and growing up, my family and I were blessed to always have food from her region. In general, Vietnamese food tastes delicious and fresh, but I would say that food from Hue beats everywhere else for me. Food from there is light, often steamed in banana leaves, and since Hue is located more in the countryside, there’s just something more fresh tasting about everything, especially the herbs that you eat with their most popular and meaty soup dish, Bun Bo Hue.

For a long time, I’ve heard from the majority of people that ‘Mien Trung’ in Kearny Mesa had the best Bun Bo Hue. Yes, it’s good there, but I honestly think that Hoai Hue’s Bun Bo Hue is significantly better in flavor and includes so much more in the bowl. The pork meatballs they use are amazing too and are my favorite part of the soup bowl. Hoai Hue also accepts credit card, while Mien Trung accepts cash only.

In addition to the Bun Bo Hue being so hearty, filling, and downright delicious at Hoai Hue, they have a bunch of other Hue classics on the menu as well, such as Banh Bot Loc, Banh Nam, and Banh Beo (Chen). The Banh Beo Chen is seriously my favorite! If I’m being completely honest, I can probably eat 100 of those in one sitting. They are beyond addicting. The Cafe Sua Da (Vietnamese Iced Coffee) is amazing too - not too sweet, but still very strong as intended.

The service here is wonderful too and everyone is really warm. I love seeing how servers interact with other tables, and there is a lovely woman who works here who is kind to literally everyone she interacts with. It makes me happy to witness those kinds of interactions. I love this spot a lot and everyone I’ve brought here has loved it too.

Consider me a forever regular!

Kyoto Gift & Food

Nestled in a cozy little plaza in National City, Kyoto Gift & Food is an initially unassuming spot that ends up really wowing you.

I am super into anything and everything Japanese, so I was really excited to read about this spot in San Diego Magazine’s ‘South Bay’ edition, which highlighted this as one of Chef Phil Esteban’s favorite restaurants. That’s saying a lot and I definitely trust Phil’s taste!

Initially entering Kyoto Gift & Food, you are welcomed with a variety of Japanese snacks and trinkets. It’s on the smaller side, feels like a home, and at first, I was thinking to myself, “Sushi, where art thou?” since it was not immediately apparent that sushi was sold here. However, lo and behold, the sushi restaurant is actually hidden in the back of the establishment, so be patient and keep your eyes peeled! When you get there, you’ll be greeted by owner, Wilmer Braulio, as well as his colleagues, prepping some of the freshest sushi you’ll ever eat.

So funny story - as I was reading the San Diego Magazine, I had noticed Wilmer and how much he resembled one of my coworkers, Wilson Braulio. They literally look like clones of each other and their names are just too similar to not question any potential relation. Long story short, I found out they are indeed brothers, so of course I had yet another great reason to go and support Wilson’s brother, Wilmer!

Wilmer is seriously such a cool, funny, real, and genuine guy, as well as the other guys behind the sushi bar. He’s been making sushi for 10+ years and has trained with highly experienced sushi chefs in the past. With his sushi wisdom and knowledge, he ended up opening this hole in the wall sushi joint, leaning more towards the traditional side of sushi.

The sushi here is delicious and affordable. We got a few salmon sushi options, as well as an unagi handroll, and we were in heaven. There is limited seating in here (bar style), which feels really intimate, and we were able to have great conversations with the team.

During our visit, we also got to meet a sweet family who happened to be regulars at the shop. They openly expressed how great the Kyoto Gift & Food team is, and that you’ll never meet any guys cooler than them. Well, after my visit, I must agree! They were already so great, but what sent the whole experience over the edge was the fact that Wilmer kindly gave us a torched salmon belly each. You can tell that sushi is his love language, and we felt very loved being gifted that perfectly torched and delectable offering.

Our experience here was so fun and memorable. I love little spots like this and as a fun side note, Wilmer also has his own YouTube channel where he streams every Wednesday, in which he invites guests into the restaurant, and asks them to pick random ingredients for him to incorporate into a creative meal. Really cool concept and hoping to partake in the future!

Kyoto Gift & Food, you are truly a gem :)

Fort Oak

Trust has been my #1 favorite restaurant in San Diego ever since it first opened in 2016. The quality of the food is amazing and I love their wood-fired approach on everything. Ever since my first time there, it’s been my go-to restaurant recommendation to anyone and everyone, and nothing has topped it for me.

Therefore, when I learned that Trust is actually part of a San Diego hospitality collective called the ‘TRUST Restaurant Group’, I was beyond excited to visit other establishments of the same caliber.

The ‘TRUST Restaurant Group’ was formed by Chef Brad Wise, who is quite the industry wizard, as he was previously the executive chef at JRDN before he decided to create his own empire. Now, I’ve never created my own restaurant, let alone a few, so being deemed one of San Diego’s most talented chefs with multiple successful restaurants must be a crazy feat on its own.

Yesterday, my family and I got to experience Fort Oak for the first time together. We celebrated my cousin’s birthday, who just recently moved from Austin, TX, and even as a new San Diego transplant, Fort Oak was one of the main spots that immediately caught her eye.

Upon walking into the restaurant, the architecture is stunning. I found it really cool that the bar area is situated under a cute little brightly lit dome titled the ‘Gilmore’ in bright red lettering, and that the restaurant portion is separated in an attachment building, but still very close in vicinity. It provides a great separation if you just want to grab a drink, or if you’re waiting for your table to be ready. I’m also a huge fan of Jonathan Segal’s architectural work, so this mid-century decorated eatery being right next to his ‘Fort’ apartment project just really captures my attention (and low key makes me want to break my lease, so I can sign one there).

Since my boyfriend and I came early, we ended up getting a cocktail at the bar, and the bartender kindly recommended the Durango and the Rebel. She let us know that the Durango is the current bar favorite, so I opted for that one, and I’m so glad I did! I’m not a mezcal girl, but it was smooth, and the froth was really light too. I would highly recommend this one :) For the Rebel, a banana leaf is garnished within the entire interior of the glass, which is a super unique and creative approach. Although the cocktails are more on the pricey side (averaging ~$16-18/drink), you can clearly tell that these bartenders are highly experienced, and that the quality justifies the cost.

When our entire group arrived, we were promptly seated at a circular table that seated a party of 8, and it felt really intimate. Our server, Jeff, was wonderful, professional, knowledgeable, personable, humorous, thorough, and patient. He presented different dining options, which were the kitchen’s choice of 3 dishes for ~$70-80/person, as well as going the a la carte route. We opted to go a la carte and he took the time to detail his top recommended dishes to us, which was highly appreciated.

From Jeff’s starter recommendations, we ended up choosing the Scallop Aguachile, Ahi Tartare, Chicken Liver Mousse, Hearth Roasted Carrots, Charred Pea Salad, and the Charred Caulilini. If you have a large group like us, I recommend getting 2 starter dishes each, so that you have a sufficient amount of food for everyone. Just like Trust, the vegetable dishes at Fort Oak are incredibly well done. You can tell that the vegetables they use are seasonal and organic, and as my boyfriend always says, “you know a restaurant is good if their vegetables are amazing”. It’s seriously true though and this really makes a restaurant stand out!

We loved every starter, but I would say that I loved the Chicken Liver Mousse and the Hearth Roasted carrots the most. The hush puppies that came with the Chicken Liver Mousse were SO freaking good, tasted like sweet corn bread, and the mousse was so silky and flavorful. The carrots were also highly praised by our server, and I can see why, as they’re roasted really nicely and have a nice charred flavor.

For main entrees, we decided to share in pairs, and my partner and I chose the Hearth Grilled Branzino and the Heritage Pork Chop. My goodness - they were both so good, but there is a clear winner here, and it was the Pork Chop. The Pork Chop comes with black garlic sauce, coal roasted shishito peppers and potatoes, ginger, garlic chips, and herbs, and the black garlic sauce was semi-sweet and salty, so it paired really nicely with the juicy pork. The Branzino was paired with peperonata, salsa verde, fried herbs, and grilled lemon, and was basically boneless. Nonetheless, both dishes were beautifully plated and both were delicious.

Towards the end, since we were already feasting like there was no tomorrow, we said screw it, and ended up treating ourselves to a nice variety of their dessert menu as well. We got the Lemon Meringue Pie, the Berry Crisp, and the Cookies N’ Cream Beignets. Holy moly, I’m not a huge desserts person, but everything was superb. Their pastry chef is an artist and has mastered the curation of decadent treats, and our entire group agreed with this sentiment. My favorites were both the Lemon Meringue Pie and the Berry Crisp. The Berry Crisp felt like an enhanced Pizookie by.. I would say about 5,000 levels?

Also, since it was my cousin’s birthday, they brought out their house made peanut butter ice cream with a little candle in it, which was adorable and was the cherry on top to a perfect family celebration. It was also the best peanut butter ice cream we’ve ever had.

As indicated earlier, this restaurant collective also has an ice cream parlor called ‘Wild Child’, which happens to be a ~1-2 min walk from Fort Oak. I would love to try this place if the ice cream is even remotely similar in quality to the peanut butter ice cream.

Throughout the night, I kept hearing positive remarks about Fort Oak within our group, like “wow this place is seriously so good” and “dang, they really know what they’re doing”. In my opinion, one of the best feelings ever is being excited to try out a new place and just being absolutely wowed by the experience, but ESPECIALLY with the people that you love most. There is a powerful aura that comes from that kind of experience, which I always cherish.

We all loved Fort Oak so much, and sorry to say Trust, but I think we may have found a competing restaurant that ties with your greatness. So.. good thing you both got the same DNA coming from the same solid foundation ;)

This definitely won’t be our last time here, and thank you to the ‘TRUST Restaurant Group’ for giving us even more to look forward to together, as we continue to venture though the entire restaurant portfolio.

Also, as an FYI, for the dinner reservation, we had a party of 8, and with that, you will need to put down an $80 deposit fee to ensure your spot. However, the $80 will be deducted from your final cost at the end of the dinner, so be aware of that!

The Manchester

As I’m sitting here sipping on my double espresso during my last morning at the Manchester, I just can’t help but feel really cozy, and at home.

I’ve stayed at this boutique hotel in Lexington for the past two nights, and it was exactly what I needed after a long week of field travel and living in a Hilton hotel for the first half of the week (no offense, Hilton!).

Anywho, upon initially entering the Manchester, you’re welcomed with the scent of teak and sandalwood. Everything about this hotel smells good, both in the lobby and in your room. It’s evident that they put effort into ensuring that the scents match the ambiance of the hotel. The shampoos, conditioners, hand soaps, and body lotions are also all from Le Labo in New York, so you know it’s of high quality.

The establishment is filled primarily with dark and woody tones, but they’re perfectly married with random pops of color from things like situated books, cute furniture, and sporadic, but meticulously placed art pieces. I seriously love the interior design and whoever chose the color palette(s) did a wonderful job. Dark wood, navy blue, and olive green might seriously be my new favorite color combination now!

During my stay here, I was incredibly impressed with the quality of the food and the cocktails at their fine dining restaurant, Granddam. I was able to try the Morning Lox Salad, the Cedar Plank Salmon and Avocado Salad, the Granddam Smashburger, and the Ube Ice Cream Granola Dessert, and everything was on point. I especially loved the Morning Lox Salad and who knew a salad would be such a perfect and refreshing start to the day? I could literally live on this salad and the poached egg and semi-sweet flavors really balanced out the slight saltiness of the lox extremely well.

Cocktail-wise, I tried the Big Red Bear No. 2, the Woo-Tan Clan, the Quarter Pole, and the Ode to Elmer. The Big Red Bear No. 2 one was EASILY my favorite, as it comes out smoking from a glass jar, and as you take each sip, you get these nice and smoky tones. It also has beets in it, which is awesome. It was my very first bourbon cocktail ever in bourbon country, and it surely did not disappoint.

Additionally, the ceramics used to plate all the food, as well as the glassware that the drinks were concocted in, were all beautiful and well-curated too. I’m always a big sucker for the vessel that holds the sustenance and to me at least, it makes the food and drinks taste exponentially better. I also noticed that the mugs in your room are from CB2 too, so I see you, Manchester!

Something that I also noticed was the music that played throughout the venue. The music selection was astounding and consisted of a mixture of neosoul, soul, R&B, indie, and alternative rock. I even shazammed the song that greets you on the TV upon entering your room. By the way, the song is called, “You don’t want me” by Wesley Bright & the Honeytones, if you were curious. Overall, the music choices gave me Durand Jones and the Indications vibes mixed with Erykah Badu. On Friday night, they even had a live pianist accompanied with a singer, and the duo was so amazing, I felt obligated to give them each my lucky $2 bills, which was the only cash I had. They deserved it though.

In addition to the main lobby bar, the Manchester also has a rooftop bar called the ‘Lost Palm’, but I honestly didn’t love it as much. It’s more pink, bohemian, girly, and the drinks are more tropical / rum-based. I’m more of a musky kinda gal, so I prefer the more dimly lit bar with a menu of drinks that really sock you in the gut and make you feel tough.

Regardless, I do think it’s great that they created two totally different spaces, so that there’s something for everyone.

Gosh, I just really loved this hotel and all the thought that was put into it. It truly captured bourbon country in a beautiful and classy way, and there were horse antiques elegantly sprinkled throughout the Manchester, which also made me really feel like I was in the heart of Kentucky.

If in Lexington, I can’t emphasize it enough – you must stay here. This will now forever be my home whenever I’m in town, and I can’t wait to be back!

Love Handle

Honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect when coming to Indiana, but after visiting, I would say that there’s definitely a certain charm to it.

However, based on my observations while traveling throughout Indiana, I did notice that people from Indiana LOVE to hate on Indiana.

Not sure if it’s a quirky and humble ‘Indiana thing’, but I swear, I received at least two “you made a mistake coming here” comments from random people. Every single one of those encounters were humorous though, which kinda actually adds to the charm!

Indiana is a lot different than San Diego. There are basically no large bodies of water there, and it’s no exaggeration that there are corn fields upon corn fields as you drive throughout the state. Also, I don’t know if it’s because I’m just a bad driver or if the streets and turns are different.. but it felt like Indiana had normal left turns AND diagonal left turns, which was very misleading.

Long story short, I nearly almost died 2 times while highly underestimating Indiana’s infrastructure. I also ran over a plant waterer, but it’s all good cause shoot, I’m still alive and still had fun!

‘Til next time Indiana, and I’ll be practicing my driving skills in the meantime.

Anyway, this might be the longest, most discombobulated introduction ever, but I just wanted to mention that Indiana’s Massachusetts Ave (aka Mass Ave) is cute and is now my favorite part of town.

Out of my 4 days there, I definitely gravitated there most nights and most mornings. The area is filled with local mom and pop shops, and this is where I happened to find ‘Love Handle’ aka one of my top spots in Indy!

Love Handle is soulful, colorful, and has so much character and personality. Seriously, if you love color, taking photos, consuming a hefty meal, and you happen to be in Indianapolis, this place is perfect for you.

During my visit, the cashier was very genuine, silly, and adorable, which is always a plus. The place is fun, clean, and very creative and whimsical with all sorts of vintage looking decorations - from clown memorabilia, to VHS tapes, to random paintings that look to be created by local artists.

The menu was also full of life, but I will say though - if you’re getting into the “fit life” and are vegetarian/vegan, this place might not be for you. The food is heavier and looks to be inspired by the South. It kind of reminded me of being in New Orleans and eating that comfort type of soul food.

Nonetheless, I would still highly recommend visiting this place, regardless of dietary preference. There are still various drink options and this restaurant is a great place to hang out at, as it is very spacious.

When I came, I got the ‘Cold Cannon’, which is a vegetarian wrap with taters, cabbage balls, hummus, & etc (and it was basically the only vegetarian thing on the menu). It was good, came with a ton of potato chips, and because it was my first day during my week-long sales trip in the midwest, I opted not to eat those, as I was trying to avoid zombie-mode at all costs.

‘Love Handle’ also has ‘Tinker Coffee’ products, such as the canned cold brew, which is absolutely delicious. Thanks for charging up my social battery during my first customer meeting here in Indiana, Tinker!

Overall, this place is lovely. It’s super fun and cute, and it honestly reminds me a lot of Portland.

If you’re in town, definitely come here! There’s also a vintage mortal combat joystick arcade game here too if you want to get your subzero and scorpion on :)

Änkôr

After visiting this spot, my boyfriend and I had a post-review discussion in the car and without hesitation, we both agreed that this is one of the best restaurants that we've ever been to. This was our last restaurant that we had the pleasure of visiting towards the end of our Banff National Park trip, and we definitely ended up saving the best for last.

I chose this restaurant as the spot to celebrate my boyfriend's 30th birthday because I wanted it to be special and it definitely delivered!

First off, the service at this spot is impeccable. They truly hire professional, genuine, skilled, and crafty people here who really care about food and the experience. It was very telling and we wanted to highlight that observation.

Secondly, the cocktails. During our trip, we were lucky to have Josh as our bartender and not only did he truly know the ins and outs of the liquor and the ingredients that he used, you can tell that he has really perfected the craft at creating a beautifully presented cocktail, and this was already noticed by the way he cuts an orange. The drinks here were basically like an art piece and had some of the most creative presentations I've ever seen. My ‘cantaloupe island’ even had an herb popsicle in it and the ‘after noon’ had mint sorbet incorporated into the presentation too, which was none like I've had before.

Food-wise, they start you with a complimentary palette cleanser, which was a mini donut topped with fennel and caviar. It was exquisite and enhanced the experience for sure. We then chose the foie gras, root salad, and mackerel as our smaller dishes and the duck and cod as our main course dishes. I swear to you.. each dish that we tried, we looked at each other in awe because we were baffled that something could taste that wonderful and look so aesthetically pleasing at the same time. Our favorite was the cod main course, which happened to be the newest menu item at the time. We also got the baked alaska for dessert since we wanted to complete the entire course, and that was beautifully presented and flavorful as well.

The main chef/owner, Danny Beaulieu, and his team absolutely killed everything on this menu, and we were even able to meet with the owner and to speak with him during our visit here. It was a truly lovely experience and we are big time rooting for the restaurant's success. We are really thankful that we were able to experience Ankor and appreciate the love, care, and effort put into this spot.

The Modern

The Modern is hands down one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. Everything was flawless from A-Z and it has honestly become one of the most special memories in my lifetime now.

My boyfriend and I came here to celebrate our 2-year anniversary during lunch time and we decided on the Prix Fixe ($150 per person) option, which comes with 4 courses. For the first course, they bless you with a dish called the "eggs on eggs on eggs", which is a nicely presented dish with a poached egg yolk with egg custard, caviar, and a perfectly toasted brioche garnished with pickled onion and dill. It was an AMAZING start to the meal and they give you additional brioche to ensure that you appropriately scoop as much of the dish as you can.

For the second and third course, we got the hiramasa with yuzu, radish, and frozen olive oil, and the scallop with celeriac ravioli, aged parmesan and spinach, as well as the grilled lobster, romaine lettuce and spicy chorizo and the venison glazed in cognac with turnips and black truffle. Everything was wonderful, but we especially loved the hiramasa and the venison dishes. The hiramasa and yuzu concoction is extremely refreshing and the venison is the best I've ever had / basically melted in your mouth. I would highly recommend picking these two together.

Lastly, for the fourth/dessert course, we chose the chocolate tart with buckwheat and milk ice cream and the lemon frozen yogurt with black sesame. We were both in awe, but for me, I was especially in awe with the lemon frozen yogurt dessert dish. It was so aesthetically beautiful and I loved the crunchy texture that was added. It felt like a deconstructed lemon bar, but on steroids.

Since it was our anniversary, the chef kindly sent over an additional dessert that was influenced by the classic dole whip, which was a pleasant surprise and was absolutely delicious too (especially because there was a candle included. So cute!). Also, the classic cocktails are so well-made here! I highly recommend the espresso martini, the dirty martini, and the manhattan.

Overall, we loved this restaurant SO much, but what greatly stood out to us was the service and the kitchen. Our server, Ulysses, was easily one of the best servers we have ever been graced with. He is literally the epitome of a perfect server - personable, funny, charming, genuine, knowledgeable, thoughtful, and professional. During our trip, he surprised us with a kitchen tour where we got to meet the head chef, Tom Allen, as well as the kitchen staff, and I swear, I am still thinking about all the emotions I felt there.

My boyfriend and I had never been to a true Michelin star restaurant and we are always watching YouTube videos about how a successful NYC restaurant runs. Therefore, to be immersed into it, be given the chance to take photos, and to meet the head chef (who is SUCH a cool, talented, welcoming, and friendly guy too by the way) and hardworking team, I couldn't help but get teary eyed in there.

This is a very long review, but I wanted to tell our story as best as I could, so that you can vividly understand how phenomenal this restaurant is. I absolutely encourage everyone to visit this restaurant at least once because it is an experience of a lifetime!

Thank you so much again to Ulysses and the Modern for everything :)

Also, one last thing — this restaurant is attached to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in NYC, which is seriously amazing too. Definitely one of the best museums I’ve ever been to, and you could spend a whole day here if you wanted.

Mink

This is incredibly long overdue, but here I am, a negroni in hand in Lexington, KY, attempting to recollect my memories in Detroit last October.

The thing is.. it’s actually not all too hard to recollect the memories experienced at Mink. To be honest, out of all the places that I ended up at in Detroit, Mink was singlehandedly my favorite spot, and I knew that this was going to happen the minute I did my research and saw what it had to offer.

When we visited, we opted for the $85 tasting menu, which comprised of ~5-6 courses, initiating with the duo of oysters. It was delicious and we LOVE oysters so much, that it was imperative that we continue on with the dozen oyster add-on ($44). Totally worth it, but spoiler alert.. that may have contributed to us being extra beyond full at the end!

The selection of dishes meshed perfectly with each other. The menu was also seafood heavy, so if that’s not your thing, then this probably isn’t your place. BUT, if it is, don’t even think twice - you must get your butt over there!

One of the dishes we really loved was the fish and tofu plate, which had varying textures. In addition, the mashed potato toast with the miniature fries on top was like a flavor bomb in your mouth. Can you say carbs^3 in the best way possible?!

We also had some clams embellished with bread crumb and flavorful meats, as well as another filling fish dish, which was delectable. The one thing that I really want to emphasize though was the service and hospitality. We love you, Stephanie!

We had a reservation around 5:30 pm, and although they weren’t immediately ready, Stephanie made it a priority to ensure that we were happy, and did whatever she could to show that she cared and noticed us. Seriously, that goes an IMMENSELY long way to me, and I am super observant whenever this happens.

During our experience, she was kind, graceful, and thoughtful. We’ve never tried caviar in our lives, but she generously gave us some, as well as free white wine, which made us flabbergasted beyond belief. We could have received one free clam each and would have felt like kings and queens, but seriously - all that was way more than we thought we’d ever get for free!

Breathless and appreciative are the words that I would describe the way that we felt throughout the experience and when leaving the restaurant. I suffer through “thank-you-itis” and overexerted that phrase, but I really couldn’t help myself with Steph. She even gave us an extra dessert for free. At that point, I just wanted to dramatically cry in her arms, but I thankfully held it together.

The food, the service, the ambiance - just everything was perfect. I also love the rawness and the realness of the kitchen being completely open; tupperware and everything-galore. You can literally see everything happening with the preparation of your food. It was a really refreshing sight to see and a wonderful experience to feel.

I loved everything about this restaurant and it was just yet another factor that made me really love Detroit, MI.