Gjelina... Never a disappointment!

http://www.gjelina.com/
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
(310) 450-1429

So in all the years I've lived here, and all the restaurants I've been to Gjelina is still one of my favs!!
Not saying that I don't have so many others that I love, but this place just NEVER let's me down!
I've been for brunch and dinner and EVERYTHING is ALWAYS amazing!
If you have never been I highly recommend you trying it! 
It's a bit on the pricey side, so maybe save it for a special occasion!! 
The pics below are for one of the times my girlfriends and I had brunch.

Blood Orange Mimosa (how can brunch be complete without mimosas!!)

Kumamoto and Shigoku Oysters (these are some of my favorite oysters!  Small and flavorful!)

Housemade Chorizo, Tomato, Cream, Fennel, Chili & Basil (I mean this place has some of the most amazing pizzas!!  I don't think you could go wrong with any choice!!)

I tried to look for this on the menu, but could no longer find it.  It was a sort of creamed corn kind of dish with goat cheese and cilantro.  Like everything else it was AMAZING!

Moroccan Baked Eggs, Merguez, Chili, Tomato Sauce, Cilantro & Spiced Yogurt (do I need to even say anything else?)

Yogurt Panna Cotta & Citrus (I mean you always have to save room for dessert right??  Well I do, and panna cotta is one I literally can't pass up!!!)

Too bad I don't have pics of dinner… But like I said you really can't go wrong!  This is one of my top 10 restaurants for sure!!!

XO Drea

Portland... A little piece of foodie heaven.

So lately I've been traveling up to Portland a lot to visit my family, and while I'm there I love trying out new restaurants and also going back to some of my favorites.

Portland has some really fantastic places to eat, and with my friends and family also loving food, their recommendations are always the BEST!

While on my last trip I decided to create this blog...  So I had to go back to brunch to one of my favorite places my sis Jordan took me to...
If you happen to be up there this is a must try... I've never had dinner, only brunch.  Maybe dinner will be next on my list...

Tasty and Sons

Radicchio with parmesan reggiano vinaigrette

Erin's Sweet Biscuits with blueberry compote & whipped cream (Pretty much the best thing that I've ever had in my life!!!)

Potatoes Bravas with over easy eggs & aioli (the flavors in this dish are beyond words!)

Steak n Eggs with cornmeal pancake & jalapeño butter (yum yum yum!!!)

Fried Egg n Cheddar Biscuit with cured bacon (meh… I wasn't super thrilled with them item)

Chocolate Potato Doughnut with creme anglaise (when I saw this I wasn't too sure about the potato part, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised!!)

Portland I'll see you soon along with all your amazing food!!!

Barcelona, Spain... Tapas! Tapas! Tapas!

So before I got to Spain, I thought I knew what tapas was...  Boy was I wrong!
I quickly realized I had never in my life had real tapas!
First of all, part of the experience of eating tapas is eating dinner close to midnight.  People in Barcelona don't start eating until around that time...  And I'm talking all people, young, old, you name it and they are out eating and everything is packed!!  People also love love love drinking which is definitely part of the experience.

Our first night was quite the debacle... My girlfriend, Jennie took the wrong bag at the airport so Barb and I took to the streets looking for food while Jennie went to the airport to try and locate her luggage.
We stumbled upon this restaurant waited for our seats and hoped and prayed that Jennie would make it back so we could experience our first dinner together.  She made it back, thank God and the eating commenced!!

Cerveseria Catalana

La Boqueria is a large public market where they sell everything from fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats, cheeses, candies... You name it and they have it in regards to stuff to eat.
This was my most favorite place to go and I wish we ate here more often.

Pinotxo

Barcentral

El Quim De La Boqueria

It's crazy being in different Countries seeing how they display their meats...
We saw skinned goat heads (eyes still in), rabbits with fur and without (hanging and dripping with blood) and cured meats still attached to the limbs that they would shave off and feed to you.

We were located in such a great area in the cutest boutique hotel.  Hotel Sixtytwo on Passieg de Gracia and right down the street was Tapas 24 and so many other great places to eat.  Tapas 24 was great! You walk downstairs to a pretty small restaurant that's bursting at the seams from the people crowded inside.

Tapas 24

All I know is I've fallen in love with tapas and I've fallen in love with Barcelona!  I can't wait one day to go back cause I know the Spanish tapas I've had will never compare to anything we have in the States.