M street kitchen - Venice

M Street kitchen serves contemporary American breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's located in Venice, CA and it's quite close to the beach. My friend and I visited on a Friday and it was moderately busy.

I am quite pleased with this restaurant. We tried the orange chocolate chip pancakes and the eggs Benedict. Both were amazingly delicious!! The best pan cakes I've ever had. Far better than those large floppy "fluffy" pancakes from diners like LeRoy's. Seriously, this is what they mean by fluffy! The eggs Benedict were also great! I think they are famous for their English muffins. So, a delicious eggs Benedict is expected. I love runny eggs, check. I love pan fried ham, check. I also love hollandaise sauce, check. Three checks are good enough for me!

This place is the real deal because they make macchiato the way it should be. Marked espresso. Thumbs up, again.

Definitely want to return but it's quite a drive from where I live.

Why Thirsty

Why thirsty? I'm hungry but I go to Why thirsty. You say what? Why thirsty is a taiwanese restaurant that serves mainly boba drinks and rice and noodle dishes. Funny name, I have to admit. I was actually put off trying the place for its name. However, I sucked it up because I was hungry and there was a wait at Garden Cafe (in arcadia!?)

Yelp Why thirsty for details and you will not regret it.
Best taiwanese "train" style pork chop - juicy, flavorful, and loaded with lots of garlic!
Popcorn chicken that actually contains a large portion of chicken and not batter? Sign me up!
Rice dishes come with plenty of veggies (bok choy and corn).
Noodles - I prefer their lo mein - the dry kind with original sauce - tastes much like taiwan street style if you know what I mean.
I'm really there for the food. I can go there a couple of times a week and feel satisfied.

Their drinks? Assam Milk tea is what I get if I get a drink. Boba is actually meh - a little too soft. But, I like the fact that they use actual fresh milk (floats on top of tea and you mix).

Two thumbs up! (this is rare for me)

Kaisen Kaiten Sushi - Costa Mesa

I love salmon, marugo (tuna), and ono (white tuna) sashimi. I have to say salmon and ono are neck to neck. Salmon is just so rich in taste but ono practically melts in my mouth. I know, I know, toro beats them all but definitely not in my price range yet. Back to the melting sensation that goes on in my mouth as a pop a piece of ono, ah, rich, soft, fatty, fishy(in a good way) - mouth orgasm. My taste buds are practically partying with fireworks. There's really no words to describe the sensation I feel.

If you want to give your mouth a super orgy with sushi, then you have got to try Kaisen in Costa Mesa. Kaisen is a small train sushi restaurant and are always packed, so be prepared to wait for your seats! The best thing is that you seat/table has a number and you can fill out what sushi/sashimi/rolls you want and place it into a little container on the conveyor belt for the sushi chef to pick up. Voila, in a few minutes, your fresh order arrives on a round stand labeled with your number. So, no stealing your neighbors sushi!

The portions are generous and the prices even better. A salmon sushi/sashimi order is $1.75 and ono or marugo is $2.25. Each dish comes with two big pieces. Everyday there are different kinds of sushi/ handrolls (HR) specials. So, I went on thursday and had the lobster HR for $1.75 when it's usually like $2.75 or $3.25. It's a fantastic deal if you ask me.


The other day, I visited The Sakura in San Gabriel - also a train sushi and was extremely disappointed. Not only were they overpriced, the pieces were small and average in taste. No dancing taste buds there. Just to put it out there if anyone has been wanting to try the Sakura.

The Habit Burger Grill

The Habit has actually been around for around 40 years, and I had my first taste yesterday. I think the one in Pasadena opened some time last year and I've been meaning to give it a try. I'm not sure if I've ever stated my love for burgers before, so yes, I'm a huge burger fan! 100% juicy beef patty with cheese (american or swiss), lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, and sometimes mushrooms makes the perfect burger!
I prefer restaurant style over fast food. Grilled on a barbie at home is also great.

So, this Habit place... straight to the point, I'll give it a 7 out of 10. It's very high on the scale.
The original - Charburger is sized like the In-N-Out burgers. Habit patty is nicely grilled but no juice runs down my hands. The charburger comes with grilled diced onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and optional american cheese. Mayo is also used. It's a good size for the ladies.
The fries - medium size - a little thicker than McDonalds but thinner than Carl's Jr. Quite crispy.
Also tried the onion rings - wonderful batter but couldn't really taste the onion?
I'm grading this place based on the combo #1. It falls in the In-N-Out range.

Just to give you an idea,  my favorites are the Cheesecake Factory, Le Burger Brasserie (Las Vegas). The Hat comes very close at 8/10. 

I have to mention, my bf got the Pastrami Sandwich - average amount of pastrami with swiss cheese, mayo, mustard, and something else (didn't really pay attention). It was OK, but not something I'd order there.

The Habit... it's going to take more than 21 days to make this place a habit.