Category: Travel

The LOOP: Handcrafted Churros

1,375 Comments

We made a recent stop on the way home from Disneyland to The Loop: Handcrafted Churros,  named after the shape of the handcrafted churros they offer, which is located in Orange County’s Little Saigon community. In a fun little twist on the classic Mexican treat, the Loop offers churros dipped, glazed, or chilled, meaning they come with an ice cream sundae.

The LOOP: Handcrafted Churros - Westminster, CA

The LOOP: Handcrafted Churros – Westminster, CA

They are so insta-famous to me that I refused to head back to San Diego without getting my hands on some churros. We arrived expecting a crazy line considering it was a Saturday afternoon, but we got lucky and only had a couple people ahead of us. Although, after we ordered it was another story. Continue reading →

Jean Philippe Patisserie

1,741 Comments

My husband and I were really terrible about taking a kid free vacation until two years ago. My best friend planned a couples vacation for us at Aria Resort & Casino. Since then we have made sure we get to Aria at least twice a year along with my BFF and her husband. Every trip involves multiple stops at Jean Philippe Patisserie, which is conveniently located in the casino of Aria.

Jean Philippe offers  gelato, crepes, macarons, fine chocolates, coffee, tea & espresso drinks, pastries, paninis and many other decadent treats. It didn’t occur to me until I started working on this post that we order anything and everything Nutella at Jean Philippe. Just wait, you’ll see.

Most mornings on our Vegas vacation we will start our day by sharing a Nutella crepe topped with strawberries and raspberries. They do not hold back on the Nutella and I don’t hate them for that. We prefer getting the fruit on top, but typically they make the crepes with the fruit inside. Jean Philippe isn’t all about chocolate and sweets, they also have a wide array of savory crepes.

Nutella Crepe

Nutella Crepe

Continue reading →

Weekend in LA – Part 4

1,405 Comments

Ice cream was a definite theme to our weekend in LA and there was an abundance of options to choose from.  We were in Mid-City and stopped in at Sweet Rose Creamery.  Sweet Rose Creamery offers a wide range of classic ice cream flavors as well as seasonal flavors.

Menu at Sweet Rose Creamery in Mid-City

Menu at Sweet Rose Creamery

You could get your ice cream in a cup, cone, or if you were feeling wild, they offer an affogato.  Affogato is an espresso shot poured over a scoop of ice cream.  Sweet Rose Creamy also serves Caffe Luxxe coffee and a selection of tea from The Art of Tea. Continue reading →

Weekend in LA – Part 3

2,920 Comments

On the second day of our weekend in LA we woke up bright and early to head for Grand Central Market in downtown LA, a downtown landmark since 1917.  There were quite a few spots I was very interested in stopping at and thankfully Grand Central Market definitely has a wide range of cuisines and cultures, which excited me.  First on my stops was G&B Coffee, since it was close to triple digits that weekend, the only thing on my mind was a cold brew coffee.  The people serving up the coffee were not pretentious at all, which I always appreciate from a coffee shop.  They had a steady flow of regulars, another good sign.  My cold brew was really rich and bold and was perfection with a splash of half & half as well as their big block ice cubes.

But first, coffee!

But first, coffee!

Continue reading →

Weekend in LA – Part 2

1,590 Comments

It just so happened the weekend in October that we went to LA was miserably hot.  I’m talking 100 degrees, but that is SoCal in Fall.  Our “Sweater Weather” does not typically hit until Winter.  The sweltering heat only made us more anxious to eat all of the ice cream we could in our 36 hour getaway.

When I learned there was a Salt & Straw scoop shop in Larchmont Village, which is right in the middle of LA, I was as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning (yes, I am that dramatic especially about ice cream).  Don’t think I had not considered taking a vacation in Portland, Oregon mainly for Salt & Straw, Blue Star Donuts and Voodoo Donuts, it is nice to know some of these spots are moving West.

Salt & Straw in Larchmont Village

Larchmont Village is nestled in a residential area with a quaint and lovely tree-lined street.  It had a small town feel to it, that you would not have realized you were in the middle of LA.  On Sunday, there was a Farmers Market, which I would have loved to walk through, but we were on our way home. Continue reading →