Yum, went to Lulas last night. Very interesting menu of Mexican dishes. Duck sopes, lobster taquitos, stuffed spicy jalapenos, crepe of camarones, calamari tostada, stuffed squash blossoms on the menu. My friends had the tamales and enchiladas de langosta, I had the roasted vegetable tostada, really tasty. It is hard to find delicious vegetables in a Mexican restaurant, but this place is a cut above.

It's on Main Street in Santa Monica. We sat outdoors in the back area enjoying the excellent food and sea breezes.

www.lulacocinamexicana.com

PS I had the Negra Modelo to drink and my friends raved about the margaritas at Lulas. Altho they did not like the Skinny Margarita.

They could improve on the guacamole, I like it made fresh at the table.

I am SO happy to see one of you long-time locals like Lula!! It has been near and dear to our family for so many years

One freezing 4th of July in the year just after DS moved out there to LA, the 3 of us wandered in and loved it. THEN when DS started dating DDIL, she was living nearby and she knew it too, so it was a favorite of both of them. THEN we had the rehearsal dinner for their wedding there and it was perfect! That outdoor area where you sat, SeaUrchin, was closed off for our private party that night and that was a high point of my memory.

Now that DH and I are moving out there in less than 2 months, we will be able to go there more often.

Wow you do have a Lula history! What fun to have a fav family spot like that. Glad you are moving here!

We were originally going to have fish & chips at Finn McCools but it was crammed with a teen party so we fled down the street to Lulas. I'm so glad we did. It has such a local feel to it.

I love walking around Main Street, I bought some RayBans next door.

I've had some meetings in Sherman Oaks these last few days
and decided to tell you where I lunched.

Casa Vega, still good Mexican food, service and atmosphere.
We had enchiladas with beans and rice, pretty basic lunch with some Modelo. On Ventura Blvd, it has been there forever and is interesting atmosphere, olde style. http://casavega.com/gallery/

Next door in a nondescript strip mall is the best bakery!
Portuguese food and bakery items. Very nice crepes. We
sat outside and enjoyed the sun. It seems like a busy
neighborhood eatery, cute and very attentive service.
Natas Pastries at the corner of Fulton and Ventura Blvd.

I'm def. going back when I am in the area again.

Oh by the way the cake I had from Natas was the best cake I have ever enjoyed. Very light and moist, delicious.

A young friend just posted this and I thought it was SO COOL! An LA dumpling flowchart.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2..._flowchart.php

To Sea Urchin--we have received recos for Casa Vega and stopped in one time on a previous stay in LA. We were starving and it was a Monday night……a one hour wait, so we had to pass on it, but we will go back.

For those who live in or visit Long Beach, we now have a Trinidadian restaurant, and it's very good!

Callaloo Kitcxhen moved in to the old Frenchy's Bistro space on Anaheim near Ximeno, about 9 months ago.

The owner is a friendly guy and will explain the options and history (ask about "bust up shut"). We had an escovitch fish and goat curry (much milder than the Jamaican version), sides of macaroni pie and pumpkin, sorrell (hibiscus) drink. There is a house-made mango/habanero salsa that comes in squeeze bottles that is ferociously delicious. Everything was excellent although the sorrel drink is very sweet as it should be! We plan on working it in to our regular rotations.

Apparently there is steel pan music Friday nights and special dishes on the weekend such as crab and dumpling soup. No liquor license.

Yelp has the menu and photos
http://www.yelp.com/biz/callaloo-car...ong-beach?nb=1

I am almost tempted to retract my good review for pie n' burger in Pasadena. I'll give them another chance but over the last few months I have dropped in a few times and been sort of disappointed. The food is the same but the ambiance gets stranger each time I visit. I am afraid a chair will collapse or one of the bar stools will topple. I don't know if anyone ever takes care of this place, it may be leaning towards seedy. I'll give it another try one of these days.

I have to admit, I've never quite understood the allure of Pie n' Burger. The last time I was there (and I emphasize last) the silverware was dirty, and it had already leaned toward seedy. On the plus side, our neighbor brought a couple of pies from there on Thanksgiving, and they were pretty good.

I do like their pies, I may just buy them to go, but I always wonder if the areas we see are iffy, what conditions are the areas we don't see. And considering you may have to wipe off your silverware before you eat and the counters aren't cleared and wiped, it is pretty expensive.

At least some other interesting restaurants are starting to come to Pasadena.

I love it when we hit a great restaurant...and we did over the weekend. This is in the same area as another of my favorites (Church & State).

The Factory Kitchen in the Arts District of Los Angeles certainly lived up to its advanced billing...and more. From the professional and very personable service to the incredible food, the four of us who dined here were all definitely "wowed." From beginning to end, each dish was delicious. Many of the dishes are meant to be shared, which we did, and the restaurant never missed a beat with any one of them. Their signature mandilli seta (pasta) was fabulous, as was every other dish, including a wonderful wild boar dish.

The desserts were terrific from the apple crostata to the cannoli to the unbelievable pacuigo (fior di latte, meringue, hazelnuts, chocolate sauce, amarena cherries, berries). I can still taste those cherries. There are so many other dishes we want to try here that I'm sure we'll be back very, very soon.

We shared six dishes, and then each had a dessert and coffee (or cappuccino a the case may be). Also shared two bottles of wine (I might have shared more than the others). With tip, the bill came to about $150 a couple. You can get out for much less if (1) you don't drink and (2) you don't eat as much. We were all in an experimental mood that night (and pretty hungry), so we kept the plates coming.

Heading to Alta Eats in the next week or so in Altadena.

Back to back great restaurants for us this month.

Alta Eats at 1860 North Allen is another winner. We went last night.

Shared dishes included:

a terrific Cauliflower with pine nuts and cumin.

Dates wrapped in bacon.

Roasted Brussel sprouts with Pancetta and piquillos.

The hamburger was outstanding as was my rack of lamb.

The four of us split two desserts that both had some Bourbon influences to them.

Oh, FREE CORKAGE!!!

Bill came to $69 a couple (including tip).

Oh where to next?

"tower on Nov 21, 11 at 7:46am
Marie Callendar's has bit the bullet

Maitai...are you saying they're out of business? There's one fairly close to me..I'll have to check it out."

I was in Whittier yesterday having lunch with a friend and there is a Marie Calendars on Whittier Blvd and another one east of that one on a street north of Whittier Blvd, but that could be seen from Whittier Blvd. I drove past both of them.

Happy Travels!

http://www.mauderestaurant.com/

While sitting here reading and posting on Fodors, I have the TV on in the background. It's on The Chew and I look up and see a chef in a beautiful vegetable garden and talking about how L.A. is the best place in the world to grow items. So, I actually stop reading and posting on Fodors long enough to watch the segment. Well, it's Chef Stone who has opened a new restaurant here in L.A. Has anyone tried it yet? I plan to now as it looks yummy.

Happy Travels!

Please let us know when you do, Guenamai! You are right, very intriguing and no indication (that I could see) of where it actually is located….

Maude
212 S Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Bea Arthur would have loved it.

It looks like there is a nine course meal for seventy-five dollars but I wonder if there is a regular menu too. (Maude's)

Thanks, Tom!

When I read the website, SeaUrchin, it did not appear that there was a "regular" menu. In fact, I am quite sure that there is not as the site says the place has a total capacity of 25 and you may not come w/o a reservation…..I think everyone eats the menu of the day.

Yeah, from what I understand, everyone eats the same thing, sort of like how Dar Magreb was. So, I'll have to call ahead to see what's on the day's menu as I might need to try to eat around 3 food allergies.

Happy Travels!