Garbage Truck - Trash Wrap - Food Truck

New thing today, tried a Trash Wrap from The Garbage Truck - food truck. So it's called a Garbage Truck which is a little unsettling, and they offer a "trash wrap" which is a wrap with tons of stuff inside. Sounds horrible, right?

I was a little nervous at the Yelp reviews, because some people got physically ill, and there were a lot of bad reviews. People either hated it or loved it. 

I loved it :)

I went in craving junk, but I also predicted it might taste horrible. I was prepared for whatever came my way. In the end, it was bizarre magic magic stuff. 

They ran out of the Italian Sausage which I had my heart set on ordering. Instead I got a Hot Dog Wrap. Inside the monster it's basically TGT meat heat sauce (really good level of spice/heat), hot dog, french fries, macaroni salad, ketchup and mustard all wrapped in a tortilla. Holy smokes it was magic! I expected a greasy disgusting mess, but it ended up being pretty clean to eat. Surprisingly as well it wasn't very greasy at all. It was just a mad man tasty mix of stuff. I took a bunch of photos of the burrito to show you all.

The massive thing. I ate it in one sitting. Very bad for the healthy food lifestyle, but worth it once in awhile.

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First bite of the burrito. You see the hot dog, french fries, ketchup, mustard and TGT meat sauce.

Another bite further into the burrito. You can see the macaroni salad, french fries and such.

I was thoroughly surprised I enjoyed this food and wasn't physically sick afterwards. I will rave about this and recommend it for people who like my kind of food. I'm a chili-cheese fries kind of girl. It will be hard resisting this truck in the future. As there is no low calorie option, will just have to eat it sparingly, or share it with someone :) 

New favorite!

Cove Bar Lunch - California Adventure

New thing today, sat at the Cove Bar at California Adventure and had lunch! It was delicious and scenic and I loved it. Did I mention they serve alcohol which is fabulous! So family took me out as a birthday gift and we decided to get drinks and food share them all. I really wanted a seat by the lake and so was lucky enough to get a wonderful view! It was a lovely lovely birthday lunch and a first for every menu item and a first to actually go to this restaurant, but it won't be a last.

I got the special Strawberry Iced Tea (alcoholic) pictured in front, and my sister got the Strawberry Pina Colada (non-alcoholic) pictured in back. The Pina Colada was so much tastier and yummier than my drink. It was sweet and flavorful. My Iced Tea was "eh", good enough, and it gave me a wonderful buzz to enjoy the food and scenery. The Pina Colada though was much tastier.

We decided to try 3 menu items as well. The wings were #1 fantastic! We will be getting these again sometime soon hopefully.

We also got sliders. #2 and these were super tasty and I loved the fried onion shreds that came with the sandwich. Good enough to snack on.

#3 and least flavorful were the lobster nachos, which ironically was the reason we went to the Cove Bar because my sister mentioned them and they sounded intriguing. Overall they were bland and I wasn't super impressed with it, but it filled us up which was nice.

Oh and another first, which I'm pretty proud of. I wasn't obsessed with the food or having something "super delicious". My focus for lunch wasn't on the food, but on the ambiance, scenery, drinks and overall experience of eating outside by the Disney California Adventure lake. I suppose it's good because of the whole Weight Watchers - taking focus away from food mentality. I was really proud of myself and I was more concerned about having a good time with the family and drinking in the scenery and overall experience, rather than just what went down my gullet. A cool first, and I may be posting more about the overall experience of a restaurant or an outing, rather than focusing on just the food or flavor of a dish. I'm learning to appreciate other things.

Here is to new firsts and new experiences! 

Muffuletta Lettucewich at Which Wich

New thing today, tried the Muffuletta lettucewich at Which Wich. I think this place may be my new favorite sandwich shop due to the lettuce wraps. After the delicious Cordon Bleu we went back and husband mentioned they had a Muffuletta - done! I was excited to try it but also scared as it could turn out pretty gross. Instead it was very very yummy. I had just the Muffuletta stuff (Genoa salami & ham topped with olive salad) in the lettuce and it was delish! Good stuff - go try!

WhichWich - Cordon Bleu Lettuce Wich

New thing today, tried WhichWich. Saw a few locations and we were curious so gave it a shot. Brand new first and it was delicious! It's a custom sandwich shop with a ton of options. I think all the options makes it tough, but I've learned just doing a few choice ingredients together works better than a lot of favorite things all at once.

I had a Cordon Bleu lettuce wrap with light mayo and cucumbers. It was really yummy. Plus it was one of the liter items. I also love that they do the lettuce-wich so it's great for Weight Watchers. I like it and will be trying multiple sandwiches/lettuce-wiches there!

Here's a photo from Yelp that looked sort of like my lettuce-wich.

Umami Burger - Truffle Especial

New thing today, tried the Umami Burger Truffle Especial burger. We haven't been to Umami Burger in awhile - and it's one of the most fabulous tasting places ever. Anyway the original Truffle Burger was a game/life changer and I fell in love with it. Today I found out their menu had 2 additional types of truffle burgers - a Royal one with Braised Shortrib and a Especial one with a fried egg. I wasn't heartily convinced at the new truffle burgers, so before the waiter came I had decided to try just the original delicious truffle burger. 

Then the waiter came and I asked him about the other 2 truffle burgers, and he got all excited and highly recommended the Especial. So I tried it. It turned out blah. I wasn't really loving it. I think part of the reason was the fried egg was another flavor competing with the simplicity and directness of the original delicious truffle burger. It was just an added flavor I didn't want. Also the crispy texture and different taste of the parmesan crisp in the burger was whatever, along with the arugula. Just wasn't liking it. So even though I love fried eggs and truffle burgers, this did not go together well for me. It was still a good/ok burger, just not great and after my first bite I immediately regretted it and wished I had stuck with my gut and just got the original burger.

Oh well, sometimes listening to other recommendations turns out well. Sometimes listening to your gut is better. I think listening to my gut would have been better for this, but I got to try something new. You're welcome :) 

Baja Fresh - Tacos - Carnitas and Shrimp

New thing today, had Baja Fresh tacos for the first time ever, one carnitas and one shrimp. I was surprised how amazingly delicious they were. Super flavorful and way better than the burritos. Will be getting these again. Sorry no photos, but I'm sure you know where to find some. Carnitas were really amazing! Mmmmm.

The Kosher Palate - Marinated Grilled Veggie Malawach Wrap

New thing today, tried The Kosher Palate food truck - a Marinated Grilled Veggie Malawach Wrap. Never had it before and the idea of a Kosher truck wasn't super unappealing. BUT it looked like they had killer tator tots with a fried egg, corned beef and other goodies. I was good and got the Veggie wrap - it was delicious! It had some spice heat which was nice, but might be a bit much for the tame. I enjoyed it! I really liked the malawach bread and it was great. I will eat this again and it was awesome! Check out their stuff below.

My Veggie Wrap!

White Rabbit Tacos

New thing today, tried the White Rabbit truck tacos. We ate at their restaurant location awhile back, and I was disappointed with the sisig burrito. So when the truck came, I was hoping it was just one bad experience. I was right! The tacos were delicious! Much better! I had the sisig, adobo and beefsteak tacos and they were super super yummy. The cabbage mix on top went really well with the tacos and it just came together nicely. Loved it! Go Pinoy!

Kogi Truck Tacos

New thing today, tried the Kogi Truck. I wasn't really expecting much. These trucks have a ton of hype and I've noticed about half are good, and half are nothing but hype, average tasting but very expensive. There is a reason this is one of the original food truck staples and it has so many fans.

THE FOOD WAS AMAZING! They're just little tacos, but they were so yummy! How did they do that? The operation is very well run. The truck takes your order efficiently and gets the tacos out fairly quickly too.

Someone said the tofu was tasty, so I tried it with the short rib and spicy pork tacos as well. Holy crap these were good. Tofu might have been my favorite surprise as it was super super tasty and probably a lot healthier too. Short rib and spicy pork were excellent as well. The cabbage salsa on top is amazing and it was just really great quality food.

I am a fan :)

Brat Haus Santa Barbara

New thing today, tried the Brat Haus in Santa Barbara. It's on State Street and who doesn't love Brats? Well this place caught our eye and we decided to try it out. I got the Hoffman Brat with cooked sauerkraut and caramelized onions, husband got the Beer Brat with sweet peppers. We shared the fries. 

The fries were thick cut, fat and undercooked. Not my favorite and I wouldn't get them again.

My Brat was pretty good. It tasted better with just the sauerkraut, although the caramelized onions were delish as well, I took those out and had them on the side, and I liked the Brat with just the sauerkraut.

Husband's Brat was very good as well!

Overall not a bad place, but not a great on either. I think a beer would have made these Brats much tastier so maybe next time I'll try it with a cold brew. I liked my husband's Beer Brat better than my Hoffman Brat. Not the tastiest place we've been in Santa Barbara, but passes as alright in my book. They do have Belgium Waffles, so it's probably worth another pass and trying some different menu items. 

The Grilled Cheese Truck - Three Cheese Melt

New thing today, had a Three Cheese Melt from The Grilled Cheese Truck. Wow it was magical! There was so much hype behind The Grilled Cheese Truck, that I was actually doubting that the sandwiches would be good. I was wrong and it held up beautifully!

I had the Three Cheese Melt as it looked like the least indulgent and had one of my favorite cheeses - Bleu! It was made with Gruyere, Aged White Cheddar, and Bleu Cheese. I had it on white bread and got no sides, as still trying to keep it relatively healthy. It was AMAZING! I would gladly get this again and I would gladly try other sandwiches.

This was awesome, delicious and a must-try for the future :)  Happy Friday folks.

Costco Vietnamese Spring Rolls

New thing today, tried the Costco Vietnamese Spring Rolls. They're ready made and I was wondering Costco snacking on samples and looking for an easy lunch. Since the food at the fast food area isn't so health friendly, I was delighted to find these available. They've got shrimp, greens, rice noodles/wrapper, and shredded carrots inside. Very yummy, comes with peanut and sweet & spicy sauce. Filling too! Descent and good, and I will be getting these again!

Gordon Ramsay's The London West Hollywood - Lunch

New thing today, went to Gordon Ramsay's The London West Hollywood for lunch on Saturday. Took the family out for Christmas and their lunch menu looked interesting. Sounds like it's seasonal, so they may or may not have the same items when you go, but here's what I thought. 

Overall the hotel is SWANKY! Very posh, very modern, sophisticated, elegant and cool. It wasn't busy for lunch, but we did have a celebrity siting, someone from the TV show LOST was there :) So it was really neat. That might be a first, seeing THAT celebrity at the restaurant.

Anyway, the ambiance was great, service was a little lack luster - I assume from the holidays or we didn't look important enough to wait on appropriately. I asked for a window seat and they said they were booked up with reservations for tables by the window (even though I made reservations in advance, and the entire time the restaurant was mostly empty). Anyway all through our lunch, we saw maybe 3 tables empty by the windows where we could have been seated, but we didn't get to, so that was poor on their part.

Brocoli Soup - with cheddar croutons. Winner winner! This was an amazing soup! Flavorful! A little salty at the end, but the croutons were amazing. They softened up over time and it was a very good soup - everyone enjoyed it. 

Steak Tartare and French Fries. I've always wanted to try steak tartare and this was a first! It had good flavor and the texture of the french fries (more like potato strings) was a good mix for the dish. I thought it was a lot of tartare though for the appetizer, but it was good. I expected the dish to taste a lot more like cooked steak or ribeye, but instead had the texture and flavor more of sashimi. 

Chicken Shnitzel. Disappointed! Very oily and a bit dry inside. Also I like mustard but there was a lot of mustard with every bite as it was plated on the mustard mix, and it was just too much. I probably should have sent it back, but ugh, I hated this and no one else at the table seemed to like it either. 

Miso Marinated Black Cod with bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. This was amazing! The fish was cooked perfectly and the rest of the dish was so good. This was the best entree at the table!

Ramen Noodles with Pork Belly, Egg & Swiss Chard. This was good. It was a soup you had to mix the egg into. Overall quite tasty and if you're in the mood for ramen noodles is descent. I thought it was a little bland, but it was still pretty good. 

Black Angus Burger. This was just alright. A burger, perhaps above average, but not amazing either?

English Sticky Toffee Pudding - Game Changer! This was by far the best dish we had. It was insanely good. I'm not even a dessert fan and I was in love with this dish. Would gladly go back just for coffee and this.

So in the end, the food had a range from amazing (pudding, cod and soup) to disappointing (chicken shnitzel & burger), but I did get to try a new dish - steak tartare which was good. Service was below par, and if I'm paying this much money for the restaurant, I'd hope it would be better. I've had better burgers and service at other restaurants for a lot less money. There was a celebrity siting so that was sorta of neat, and the ambiance was very very cool. I would go back and try other things, the other people I went with, don't know if they liked it that much to ever go back. The service was a definite *ugh to the whole thing. Oh well. 

Dominos - Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake

New thing today, tried the chocolate Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake from Dominos. Crazy right? We never go for that type of stuff but we were in the mood and the photo looked interesting. Surprisingly it was quite tasty. I really did enjoy it. Maybe at another time it would be too sweet, but we were in the mood for chocolate and it tasted really really good. I'd order it again. Slightly crunchy and chocolate cakey on outside, with chocolate goo on the inside, sprinkled with powdered sugar. Yum! Probably terrible for the diet but oh well. You have to splurge once in awhile.

Sushi AI - Lunch - Sushi Combo B

New thing today, tried Sushi AI's sushi combo B for lunch. It has sushi, california roll and miso soup. Overall a good combo and heartwarming in this cold weather. Yum!

Moe's Deli Food Truck - Naked Big Moe Brisket

New thing today, tried Moe's Deli Food Truck. Our work hosted the truck, and we got to try a limited menu. I got the Char-Siu brisket but "Naked" where they put it in a rice wrapper and vegetables, and Chinese aioli on the side. It was quite tasty, but the brisket was sweet which was a little odd. I only ate half, and thought it was just ok. The other half I ate later, but when I microwaved it, it was much tastier. I think I prefer warm vegetables and rolls, rather than cold wrap type foods.

New thing, good and I would try it again.

Sauerkraut with Hot Dog at Costco

New thing today, had sauerkraut with my hot dog from Costco. I didn't even know you could do that, until today. Saw a sign up by the onions saying, if you want sauerkraut please go to window. So I did, and got some. It was ok sauerkraut, but just awesome to know I can get it and add it to the dog. Also relatively healthy too which is awesome. Yeay kraut! My dog had mustard, onions and new thing today, sauerkraut :)

A&W Restaurant - New Dim Sum items

New thing today, tried new Dim Sum items from A&W Restaurant in Northridge. I wrote a previous post of my first time there. It's a place I'll be going back to often, so I will post about any new items I try.

New thing tried, these shrimp patties on top of a green bell pepper (top of photo). They're shrimp dumpling insides on top of a bell pepper shell, with a sauce. Pretty good and low in carbs :) 

Another new thing was the vegetable and shrimp dumpling, that basically looks like a green dumpling (bottom of photo). It was very tasty. Tasted like broccoli and some shrimp dumpling. Very good and I would get it again.

New thing was also some fried calimari (below). Crispy, oily and for me just ok. Not great. It has a really nice crisp to it, and good flavoring with the salt and pepper. It just felt like a lot more batter than calimari, and it has the texture of 7-11 store pork rinds :) Not bad, but not the greatest calimari in my book. With the Weight Watchers, I'm being a lot more picky about my fried foods. 

Ok that was it. I'm excited to try more new food items there!

Battle Scallop

New thing today, comparing scallops.

Contender #1 - Deep Fried Scallops from Thousand Oaks Fish & Chips. They were surprisingly good. I thought it might turn our rubbery or tough, but it was soft, firm and scallopy. The scallop is the white ball with the bite taken out of it at the top of the photo. The bottom yellow ball with the bite is the hush puppy which I've had before. Never had deep fried scallops, and these were really good. I might almost like them more than the Fish there. The scallop was cooked well and juicy. Careful when you bite as sometimes it squirts or you get hot drip down your chin. Overall though, tasty! I would get that again.

Contender #2 - Home Cooked Scallops, flash frozen package from Costco (I love Costco). The home cook in me didn't do so great at cooking these. I used very little oil to be healthier, and the scallops stuck to the bottom of the pan. So I used more oil, and cooked them a short 5 minutes to avoid over cooking. These turned out super yum, soft and buttery almost. I think I may have undercooked them though, as they were too soft and raw, but they sure were tasty! Next time I will use more oil in the pan and cook them for... 8 minutes or so? Plus they're super low on Weight Watchers points, 2 pts every 3 ozs!

The Winner? I would have to say #2, home cooked scallops. There is so much more potential with these. They were super tasty undercooked. They were cheaper than the deep fried ones, quick to cook and defrost and healthier too. 

Although kudos to Thousand Oaks Fish & Chips. This place is EXCELLENT and I will be going back and getting the deep fried scallops, on the craving days :) 

That was fun! I'll have to do more comparison battle blog posts :) 

A&W Seafood - Dim Sum in Northridge

New thing today, ate at A&W Seafood in Northridge for Dim Sum! Ever since our favorite place Empress Pavilion in Chinatown closed, we were on the hunt for a new Dim Sum place. We drove by this place once and decided to look inside. It looked delicious, authentic and packed on the weekend. So we decided to try to go early on Saturday around 9:30 or 10:00 am to brunch and beat the crowd. 

It was really really good. Their shumai and har gow are excellent! In addition they had a scallop and shrimp dumpling that were tasty but my favorite was the shumai. I also love rice noodle rolls and theirs are delicious. Their spare ribs were really good too! Of course we had to have the Seasame Seed Balls for dessert. Another new thing I tried that was delicious was the sweetened tofu pudding with syrup and ginger, which was a lighter version of a Filipino dish called Taho which I love. Also had some walnut shrimp which was oily and just OK for my taste. There was also a turnip cake that was undercooked and mushy and not so tasty. I would have also preferred more vegetable type dishes, but overall though a really tasty meal at a very reasonable price, $50 for 4 of us. 

If you've never been, I recommend having Dim Sum with lots of friends so you can try lots of different small dishes, and don't be shy! Ask questions and ask what is wandering around on the carts. They will gladly explain what the dishes are if they speak descent English. 

Since I was on my Weight Watchers, I picked out steamed or not fried items. Also as long as you watch the portions and quantities, Dim Sum actually can be fairly healthy and filling. 

The only thing I would change is probably go later in the day. Dim Sum items are available based on when the kitchen has them prepared, so sometimes the better stuff is later in the day, along with the crowds. I would definitely want to try other dishes and see what they have to order, and on the Dim Sum carts. I will go back, try new dishes and blog about them here. 

Great photos of A&W Seafood in Northridge HERE from Yelp. Also mine from below. I always forget to take photos before we eat. Oh well, it was really good :) 

Top - Shumai. Bottom Har Gow.

Top - Rice Roll with Shrimp. Bottom Scallop & Shrimp Dumpling.

Tofu Pudding with syrup and ginger.

Spare Ribs.