If you ever want a taste of Hawaii, head over to Venice Beach at Ocean Front and 19th Ave. There’s a small building with a row of three tiny little store-front windows. The one in the middle has a wall menu full of various tastes from the Aloha state. This is Poke Poke, a great place to take a beach break and enjoy a gnarly bowl of poke.
If you’re not familiar with poke, it’s basically ahi tuna marinated in shoyu and sesame oil. They have a spicy tuna variation, and even a vegetarian bowl which has kale, avocado, carrots, macadamia nuts, and onions. You can also build your own poke bowl if you want to get fancy with it. Since it was my first time there, I tried the original and added avocado. My taste buds were doing all kinds of hula dances! The tuna was super fresh and had great texture, and the marinade gave it so much more flavor! I could honestly sit at the beach and eat this all day long. That actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea…
For your sweet tooth, there are acai bowls with granola, coconut, banana, and honey. I’ll have to try that next time!
Mahalo!
If you’re a pizza fiend like me, you’ve got try try Masa in Echo Park.
They are an Italian restaurant that specializes in Chicago style deep-dish pizzas. They use local, organic produce, and their dough is baked fresh daily too! They even have vegetarian and vegan deep dish options! I mean, can you say “winning”?
I came here with some friends from work after we heard about how good this place was. It’s definitely worth a go. Just make sure you bring a friend or two. A regular size could feed about four people. A large can feed a small army!
We couldn’t leave without having a sweet finish. Especially when we found out that they have a croissant bread pudding. And not just any croissants. They use chocolate, almond, AND butter croissants! Just like their pizzas, one serving if the bread pudding was enough for the four of us. Although we were kinda full from pizza. I’m sure I could tackle one on my own if I hadn’t eaten before. And yes, I would sit and eat the entire thing. It was sooooo good!
It had been literally years since I’d been to the Oxnard Strawberry Festival. I remember going with my mom, sisters, and my mom’s friend and her kids every year. Going back was nostalgic, but it was also a whole new experience! This time it was with a couple coworkers. I ate way more than I ever remember eating, and I walked away with jewelry instead of fairy wings or a princess wand.
A big yellow school bus served as our shuttle to the entrance
Strawberry pizza
It’s not a festival without elote!
Funnel cake was amazing
Build your own strawberry shortcake
Face painting
Incredible paintings and crafters
Probably my favorite strawberry dish, strawberry nachos
Lunch doesn’t always have to make sense…
You know when you come across something that just blows your mind away? When it comes to food there are endless possibilities for combinations. Sometimes you find one that makes you wonder how something so genius came to be. After a movie with my work family we journeyed to Oto Oto where we had…
It’s an oyster topped with uni (sea urchin)! I realize that it sounds way too simple to cause such a fuss, but believe me when I say that the flavor that this sea wonder packs is like a touch of God on your tongue. Okay, I exaggerate a tad, but it’s really delicious!
After a full meal of various Japanese treats we tried an interesting dessert.
Edamame ice cream. It was surprisingly subtle in taste. Reminded me of pistachio ice cream.
Trying new foods kind if gives me a rush or a high. I’m always excited to do or try something I never have before. If you come across something that intrigues you, even if it sounds a little weird, try it! You never know if you don’t try…
Eat. Go. Learn. Live. 