Casanova

5th St & Mission St.
Carmel, CA 93921

Ashley: My family went to Carmel-by-the-sea a few weeks back for 4th of July. Since we got there around lunch time, we randomly chose a place to eat. I'm so happy we came across this little gem! We had brought our dog, Sandy, and were looking for a restaurant that was pet-friendly (which most of the restaurants are). The girl standing out in front of the restaurant asked us if we had reservations, which we didn't. Thankfully, though, there was one table for four right outside on the patio that was free, and we were seated there. Sandy was able to get a nice little treat and water bowl for herself while we proceeded to enjoy our lunch.

Their menu had a nice selection, which can be found here: Lunch Menu

After we had ordered, they brought out some crispy breadsticks for us to enjoy. It was a nice change from the usual bread and butter that you get at most Italian/French restaurants. The breadsticks came with a meat sauce for dipping, and we were able to get 2 refills without a problem.

We skipped out on ordering any appetizers, and I suppose that was a good thing because the main entree was quite a large serving size--or at least, larger than what I would have expected from a French/Italian restaurant. I ordered the Linguini con Scampi ($17), and with the presentation of the dish alone, I was already impressed.

This dish was delicious! They give you a nice amount of seafood, and the sauce was made just right! I was afraid that it might have been overly cheesy, but nope! The shrimp was probably my favorite part. They were huge! And juicy and flavorful. All in all, a very impressive dish, and I would definitely come back for more.

After we had finished the main course, we were offered a dessert menu. I thought the desserts were way overpriced, but we decided to try a couple, anyway. We chose the homemade Tiramisu, as well as the ice cream assortment.

The Tiramisu was presented so nicely! And it was made to perfection. It was creamy but not soggy, and the coffee flavor was just right. The vanilla ice cream scoop on the side added a nice touch. I loved this dessert!

This was their ice cream dessert. It came with three scoops, all of which were different flavors, as well as a nice serving of fruit. The vanilla and chocolate were my favorite, and the other one was alright. But because I'm not accustomed to tasting wine in my ice cream, I only took a small bite. Both of my parents thought it was good, though! I'm not sure if the ice cream was homemade, but it was delicious nonetheless. The effort that this restaurant puts into arranging and presenting their food really adds a nice touch. If any of you are ever in the area, I would highly recommend giving this restaurant a try. Yelp says that prices are rather expensive, but from what we had from the lunch menu, I'd say it was reasonable for the amount/quality of food that you're getting...with the exception of the dessert, which I thought was rather overpriced. The workers their were so friendly and attentive. The whole experience was lovely. I definitely want to go back again!

Happy eating!

-STASH

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A Year Ago in France: Ep. 1

Ashley: I went to France last summer with my family, and my only regret is not starting this blog earlier! I have so many beautiful gorgeous pictures of food, but I have no idea what the restaurants were called or what the dishes were anymore. But I thought it would still be interesting to do a throwback kind of post. This particular restaurant was at a farmhouse! I'm pretty sure it was family run, and most people who ate there were actually French. My dad had found the restaurant from reading Rick Steves' travel book. And I'm so happy he did, because the food here was not only *gorgeous*, but tasted amazing as well. Looking back on all of the food pictures I took during our vacation in France, this was one of the few restaurants that I actually distinctly remember. Just not the name, unfortunately :(

Anyway! This post will be more pictures than text, since my memory of the taste of the actual food is quite vague now. This restaurant had two dining rooms, a main one, and one off to the side in another building. My family and I were seated in the side dining room, which I thought was nice because it was a lot quieter. The interior decor looked like this:

 The table was set so nicely. And yes, France was I swear the only trip where I consistently resorted to using Instagram. I just thought it brought out the rustic setting of the whole place! Here is a close-up of the plate set up and a part of their drinks menu:

Ahhh the colors all went so well together! Since I don't remember much about the menu, I'll proceed to the food! I do remember this being a two course meal, where in addition to the main entree each of us could either select an appetizer or a dessert. I think my whole family picked appetizers.

Yes, this was an appetizer! This restaurant overall had better portion sizes than those typical of most French restaurants. I remember this dish very well. The French are known for their foie gras dish. And of course, being a tourist, it was one of those things on our list to try. It's made out of the liver of duck, and I'm pretty sure it's banned from the US. It's really buttery and creamy. Unfortunately, I really really did not like this dish. I know it's a delicacy and all, but something about the taste mixed with the slimy texture of the whole thing just clashed for me. I wasn't able to finish more than a couple bites. The chefs in French restaurants often personally come to your table during your meal to ask if you liked the dish. So to avoid offending them, my parents ate the rest of my foie gras too, even though they had already finished their own relatively big pieces.

I took pictures of everyone's food. I want to say this was my sister's appetizer? It was an assortment of cheeses wrapped with other stuff. It almost looks like sushi! No idea how it tasted since I don't think I tried it. But it sure looks pretty!

This dish I do remember! The red wine sauce made this dish amazing. The pork itself was ok, not too flavorful, and I remember it being a little bit tough to chew. But with that red wine sauce, I finished the whole thing without a problem! The quiche and garlic bread slice were also pretty good! It was the perfect serving size as well. My whole dinner experience left me feeling satisfied, not bloated.

The rest of the pictures are the dishes that the rest of my family ordered. I can't write much about them because I have no idea what the dish was. But I hope you guys enjoy the pictures nonetheless!

The end! Sort of a different post, but I figured that since I've traveled to so many places and I have all these beautiful pictures of food to share, I might as well! Even though I don't remember the details of the dishes. I have so many more meals from France to share. So if you're interested, definitely keep an eye out for this series!

Happy eating!

-STASH

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Class 302

Ashley: This is my absolute favorite place to go for shaved snow. It's a pretty small cramped store, but I think it gives off that authentic Taiwanese vibe. The prices are pretty cheap too! Especially for the huge amount of snow that you end up getting. I've tried both the green tea and vanilla shaved snow combos. I liked the vanilla a lot better. For some reason it just seemed to have more flavor. I've heard their mango one is pretty good too.

Anyways....brace yourself for this heavenly wonder:

Oh my gosh even right now as I'm typing this after I've had dinner I'm still close to salivating. It was so so delicious. I'm serious, you have not had true shaved snow until you try Class 302. They give you a generous scoop of red bean, and the mochi was really soft and chewy as well. I love how well the condensed milk complements the shaved snow. Every bite is just so yummy! Favorite shaved snow combo ever. The snow is actually creamy! It's not quite ice cream texture, but it's pretty close and you would never associate it with just being flavored ice.

Anyway, I would highly highly recommend giving this place a try. I wasn't a big fan of shaved snow until I tried this place. So I thank Stephen for convincing me to go :)

Happy eating!

-STASH

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Curry House CoCo Ichibanya

Ashley: Stephen and I went to try out this restaurant yesterday, since Stephen had gone there before and liked it! They have a bunch of locations across the world but they're mostly based in Asia. We both ordered the same thing (vegetable curry) since we both weren't particularly hungry at the time. I think it was only about $7 for a decently sized plate of curry and rice. So value-wise, it was great!

You're also able to customize the size of your rice/curry serving, as well as your preferred spice level. Stephen and I both went with the regular default options, although I would probably opt for a higher spice level if you want that extra kick of flavor.

The service was pretty fast. We got our food within 10 minutes after ordering. They give you a large plate with rice taking up half of the plate and the curry poured over the other half. I stirred mine up before diving in. The curry wasn't bad, but I didn't think it was anything special. Maybe it was because I got the vegetable curry, and it might also have been because I wasn't that hungry. The dish was filling and relatively tasty, but it was nothing that left my taste buds hungry for more. I will say that the potatoes in the curry were really good--soft and flavorful. But other than that, it was just alright.

So since we both ordered the same thing, this is going to be a pretty short review. If you're looking to try out Japanese curry, this is a great place to start! But it's nothing worth going out of your way for, in my opinion. But maybe I need to give this place a second chance. I saw a few tables around me that had all ordered their omelette dishes--which looked very unique! Definitely something I'm going to try if I go back!

Happy eating!

-STASH

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Men Oh Tokushima Ramen

A couple of days ago, while Ashley had gone to Yojie Japanese Fondue, my friends and I tried out a ramen place based in Little Tokyo called Men Oh Tokushima. What a coincidence that we both ended up going to a Japanese restaurant that night! Anyways here's how the ramen went.

We arrived at the ramen shop at about 7:20pm and were greeted to the sight of over a dozen people standing outside the door waiting to get in. *Cue sighs and groans.* However it definitely isn't nearly as bad as the wait of some of the more prominent ramen shops in the area such as Shinsengumi and Daikokuya. We ended up waiting about 30 minutes in order to get in, but the service staff was very nice and enthusiastic which made our wait a bit more bearable. We were seated comfortably at the bar and our waiter took our orders quickly. Thankfully, all of our food came out within about 10 minutes.

I ordered the Tokushima Ramen and it was very good. The broth was very rich and delicious while the noodles were chewy and robust. I am a firm believer that the quality of the broth and noodles are what makes or breaks a bowl of ramen, and in this case I came away satisfied. The chashu definitely also helped seal the deal as they were very flavorful and not overly salty. Personally, I still preferred the ramen found at Shinsengumi and Daikokuya, but if you don't want to deal with Daikokuya's wait or want a richer broth and chewier noodles than Shinsengumi, this place will be well worth your time. Ashley and I are both ramen freaks and obsessed with trying all the great ramen shops LA has to offer and I can't wait to bring her here next time!

Happy Eating!

- STASH

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Yojie Japanese Fondue

Ashley: This past weekend, I went out with the people from my research program, and after spending a day at the beach, Yojie was our long awaited stop for dinner. I found Yojie while skimming through the list of Dine LA restaurants in the $25 bracket. This was the best value for a Dine LA priced meal that I've had so far. And the food was delicious. Everyone in my group throughly enjoyed their dining experience--especially those who had never had Japanese fondue before.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the restaurant (besides the delicious smell of shabu shabu) was the restaurant decor and ambiance. Is it possible for a restaurant to be so perfectly classy and casual and the same time? Look at what they even did with the napkin! The dots on the napkin neatly align with the lettering on the chopsticks.

Small things like these do get noticed! Anyway, our whole table ordered the dine LA special. I ordered the Sumo (12 oz. of beef). I wanted to order the half salmon half beef plate, but for the value, Sumo was more worth it. The regular price for the Sumo entree alone (not including the appetizer or dessert) is $22. So for a 3 course Dine LA meal, the Sumo had already allowed me to get my money's worth. Customer service here was excellent! My friend had asked for a the salmon/beef combo entree, but they had made a mistake and given her only the beef instead (not the Sumo, a different kind). When she mentioned it to the waitress, the waitress brought out another salmon serving free of charge!

The appetizer came first. I had ordered the regular Miso soup, although they did have a spicy version on their menu. It came in a decently sized bowl but the soup itself was nothing special.

The main entree was the real highlight of the meal. It was quite a lot of food actually, especially with the 12 oz. of beef. All entrees come with a side serving of vegetables, which included a nice assortment of carrots, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, and noodles (I probably left out something), and a bowl of white rice. The sauces were delicious as well. One was soy sauce based and the other was peanut. After showering the sauces with additional toppings, they both went very well with the meat. The waitress was really nice and patiently showed everyone who didn't know how to eat fondue style all the details. And then....the feast began.

Just look at all that meat! Needless to say, I was stuffed by the end of the main course as I ate every last piece of beef. The beef itself was not that flavorful, but that might be because my soup base was just plain shabu shabu. Dipped in the sauce, however, and the beef was heavenly. Maybe a little bit tough--but overall, delicious! Anyway, I was so so full after the entree. So when they announced that dessert was about to be served, my stomach started to churn. I told myself that I would only take a sip of the ice cream float. Guess what happened...

So obviously there was no way I could resist that and I ended up finishing all of my dessert as well. It was so yummy. The strawberry soda went really well with the vanilla ice cream. My friend who ordered melon flavored soda said the same thing about his float. All in all, it was a great meal. Especially for Dine LA, I thought it was a great value. If you guys ever get a chance to try this place out, I would highly recommend doing so. You won't be disappointed. Great customer service, great food, great ambiance and decor, what more could you ask for!

Happy eating!

-STASH

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Hiking in Topanga State Park

Ashley: So this past Saturday, Stephen and I decided to take a hiking trip. I'd say this was our first "legit" one. I had been looking up trails and this one stood out. Not only did it have spectacular views, it was a decently long enough to take up a whole morning. This trail was about 7 miles roundtrip, and out of the hikes that I've been on, this was definitely a tougher climb. We took about 3.5 hours to finish, but that was including our many stops to take pictures, and a detour we took after making a wrong turn.

We started off at about 8 am at the trailhead at the intersection of Los Liones Drive and Sunset Blvd. I would advise you to use the bathroom before you start on the hike. There are none on the trail. And the bathrooms here are the cleanest I've seen at a hiking place! The first mile was a steady uphill climb, and the second mile was a little steeper. But past that, it kind of just alternates between going up and going down. The scenery along the trail is gorgeous, though! We even saw a rabbit and a fox! It was hard to believe we were still in LA. The air up there was so fresh and crisp--especially since we started early in the morning. We reached the overlook right as it started to warm up. Unfortunately, it was still a little foggy and we weren't able to see much of Pacific Palisades. Nonetheless, I still think it was a worthwhile hike. There was a good amount of shade, and if you go early in the morning, there's not that many people either.

The trail we took consisted of following Los Liones Drive up through the East Topanga Fire Road and then continuing on to reach the Parker Mesa overlook. If you get the chance, I would highly recommend trying out this hiking place! Here are some pictures we took along the way. But the camera was not able to do this place justice with all of the fog :( But you can get a general idea of what to expect. Remember to get there early, bring snacks/water along the way, and be prepared to be slightly sore the next day (especially if you don't hike a lot). But it's all worth it!

Sights along the trail

Parker Mesa Overlook

Parker Mesa Overlook

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