My memory of that city is the Muslim quarter, the aroma of meats on sticks, and the dense, smoke filled streets from grilling streetside. The air was literally filled with smokey goodness, it was amazingly awesome. Xi’an Famous Foods is nothing like the real sights and smells of Xian’s Muslim quarter, but, some of the flavors brought me back, especially the spicy, cumin lamb. It was like having my meat on a stick so many years ago. NYC continues for the next week… follow us on instagr.am.

The wide, bright, green Spring Street bike lane is always a plus too.

Big Sur Bakery is our favorite spot for eats. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, you can’t go wrong. The menu changes depending on the time, but, all of the dishes are made from honest, simple, local, fresh foods. Two of the owners are transplants from our very own Los Angeles having worked at Campanile, Joes in Venice, and La Brea Bakery among others. They make their own breads there and it’s delicious. I actually picked up their cookbook… can’t wait to start making their recipes. Here is a quick brunch we had there… yuuuumm!

Angie instagramming… Jen, modeling her pizza.

These guys were so cute… and huge! Great Danes, just chillin’ in the back of this truck while their owners ate at the bakery. Good dogs!

Most of these photos by our partner in crime, Miki Amano

In-N-Out, need we say more?

Fancy layered cake at Bottega Louie. At $25 a pop, it’s not an everyday dessert, but it’s worth a try.

There is nothing like a bowl of hot ramen. Luckily, a new branch of Shin Sen Gumi opened up in Little Tokyo of Los Angeles for those of us that don’t want to wait in line for a bowl of ramen at Daikokuya, famous for its thick pork broth.

We had the some of the best chicken wings on our visit to Portland last year at the famed Pokpok. Angie decided to recreate it at home after finding this recipe in Food & Wine and it was awesome!

Homemade mussels in butter and fennel. Oh ya.

Park’s BBQ. We think it’s the best Korean BBQ LA has to offer.

Ten Zaru Soba at Sobaya. We always eat there at least once whenever we’re in New York.

Simple, honest food at Outerlands in San Francisco. Believe the hype. It’s good. We’d recommend going there early on a weekday morning to avoid the 1hr + wait.

Famous import from Taiwan known for their xiaolongbao aka pork soup dumplings because of the soup that flows out when you bite into the dumplings. Enough said! Their only branch in the U.S. was the one in Arcadia, a suburb of Los Angeles but now there is a new branch in Seattle.

Turtle Tower, specializing in Northern Vietnamese Pho. Perfect for the cold foggy days in SF.

LA taco trucks forever!

Starry Kitchen is the now the legit LA restaurant that once started out as an underground kitchen out of the apartment of owners Thi and Nguyen Tran. Hmmmmm, sounds very familiar. You’d have to be in the know to find out when Thi and Nguyen would do their underground dinners… but, now, countless hours of sweat equity, a love for food, and a voracious fan base that spread their dream word of mouth, Thi and Nguyen opened up their first restaurant back in 2009. Two years later, Starry Kitchen is now a well established restaurant, but, still full of surprises.

Nguyen and Thi rotate the menu weekly which is what keeps things interesting. You never really know what is on the menu until you arrive. They are always trying out new recipes and this keeps things interesting, experimental, and fun. One thing for sure is that it’s always delicious.

As a matter of fact, tomorrow, their special pho will be on the menu. This is something that is rarely on the menu. From talking to Nguyen, this is a broth that’s been brewing for hours and hours and hours… I forget, I think he mentioned a full day. I forget exactly, but, when you go, just look for the very energetic and awesome guy in the front… ask Nguyen anything, he is not shy and he’ll let you know exactly what’s up (he’s known to be so stoked on his customers and excited about the food that, well, he kicks holes in the wall). It’s true, Starry Kitchen is far from a hole in the wall, but, yes, there is a hole in the wall.

It is a shop originally inspired by owner Michael Buch’s month-long vacation in Tuscany. Gelato and Tuscany… sounds perfect. Pazzo Gelato prides itself in fresh, organic ingredients picked weekly at farmer’s markets by Michael Buch himself. They use ingredients like fresh market berries, imported Italian coffee beans, and organic dairy in their offerings. Yum.

We shot inside and outside for the Fall Collection of tees. Here’s Michael telling us a bit more about Pazzo Gelato:

Hi, Mike. What’s Pazzo Gelato in three words?
Fresh, local, intense, unique.

We opened our Silver Lake shop over 5 years ago with the goal of sourcing out the best ingredients to create the greatest gelato. We continue this in our Echo Park shop but are also now serving panini sandwiches and other light bites plus more baked good (croissants, scones, bagels,etc).

This is your neighborhood “Starbucks” alternative. A place where you can hop on your computer and hang out, meet up with a friend, bring your kids, whatever…you’ll always be welcome in to hang out.

Awesome. What inspired you to open the Echo Park location?
We opened the Echo Park branch because it’s a cool space (the gelateria’s on the ground floor of Echo Park’s tallest building on Sunset), pretty turn key.

Why did you choose Echo Park?
There was a need for a neighborhood hang out right on Sunset Blvd and I really like Echo Park. Lots of old Los Angeles history, diverse community, sense of community among neighbors and lots of cool projects happening…

Kelly wearing a Bears on Bike tee in front of Pazzo Gelato.

What your favorite thing about the neighborhood?
The people, support from local businesses and the lake of course! I love the view of the lake from Park looking south and the lake with the Downtown skyline behind.

A must visit next time your in the neighborhood, PazzoGelato.net.