So one thing you should know about my and my time in LA, and everywhere I go is that I plan my day around my yelp bookmarks. I look at food blogs ALL day long. Well actually I look at blogs all day long, facebook has become nearly 0% social for me and has now a newsfeed for blogs on health and wellness, beauty tips, entertainment news, cooking and recipes, DIY ideas, decorating, new restaurants, "best" restaurants, and so much more. It just so happens that I have had jobs with some serious down time, I hope that not to be the case in the future, I'd rather be more fulfilled in the work I do than be in the know of Eater LA's top new restaurants or best of lists, but I digress, so...
Food and Yelp! I have about 2900 bookmarks on yelp, mostly in foodie cities like LA, NYC, Chi-town, SF. (If I ate out 3 meals a day everyday for the next 2.6 years, I could cross all 2900 bookmarks off my list.) My yelp bookmark adventure started when I discovered the feature of the app as I was unemployed and my mom was watching an episode of "The best thing I ever ate" on the food network (or cooking channel). I've grown up watching the Food Network, my mom is a bomb ass cook, I mean amazing, I wish I could hire a cookbook writer to follow her around July-February and just document everything she cooks, because that will capture the summer, fall and winter times and I can get the best of all worlds: bbq, soups, tamales, menudo, baked goods, everything! So as I kid I watched the food network thinking you had to really know what you were doing to even attempt those kinds of dish, and I knew my mom could do it because she knows what's what, but I was still so fascinated that at the end of an episode you witnessed this marvelous dish of what looked to be a heavenly food creation. I first became a fan of Yan from Yan Can Cook, then Emeril Lagasse, his phrases became running jokes within my family, then the Iron Chefs, these guys where no joke, at first it started with all Japanese chefs who held the skill and master of cooking to such a serious art and respect, and then the Americanized one which introduced American master chefs, which definitely introduced an element of casualness of competition and prestige to the show, kind of disappointing to think about Americans watering down such a craft that was so highly revered in Japan, but knowing what I know about America, I get it. So my first "celebrities" who I marveled over where chefs, I had no desire to read gossip magazines, all I wanted to read with the Food Network magazine, Cooks Illustrated, Better Homes and Garden and Martha Stewart Living,and I was 11! The Food Network took up the majority of my free time, especially Saturday mornings as I crawled into bed with mom, and was know meeting Ina, Bobby, Mario, and Giada, then Hell's Kitchen started and Gordon Ramsey was introduced in the mix. So as a preteen my mind is being formed to the ideas that good food is something you work for and work at, quality is important, skills can be learned, and patience is key. (I don't have a lot of patience. My tummy is in knots as I type this now as I wait to hear back from a potential job offer from UCLA Anderson.) Now I'm not a highly skilled cook, I cook about twice a week, sometimes I like what I cook, other times I have to convince myself to eat it and not eat out, but I do enjoy cooking given I have the time to shop, prep, cook, and clean without rushing, and ample space and equipment is available. But now I live in LA and there are SO many restaurants I want to try. I have a real dilemma because although it is more cost efficient to each at home there are amazing restaurants all around me! Living in the West-side of LA many of the restaurants can be expensive ($$$ and $$$$) and I struggle because thankfully in LA you can get incredibly affordable and amazing food at $ (i.e. Grand Central Market) and $$, so I try to keep my foodie adventures to $$, because my wallet just can't handle Hinoki & the Bird at this present life stage. As I create my blog, I hope to figure out a way to publish my Yelp bookmarks, then as my readers travel and dine at the restaurants on my list I can know if they are worth the trip. :) The majority of my bookmarks come from blog lists of award winning chefs, mixologist, historical places (i.e. Clifton's, The Pantry, Phillipes, or innovators, many are recommended by notable chefs, culinary experts, food writers, or bloggers. I do my best to contribute to Yelp with posting reviews, and I hope to get better at it in this next year. I would like to contribute to the feature that I carefully model my time and driving direction around. And I will share as many checked bookmarks as I visit and enjoy them! One last thing to know about me, I rarely, RARELY revisit restaurants and cafes in LA. With 2900 bookmarks I need to use my time wisely and venture to new exciting restaurants, so as much as I love Fix Coffee, Bar Nine, Alcove Cafe, Larchmont Bungalow, Joan's, Intelli, Republique, Bottega Louie, Urth Cafe, The Pie Hole, Milk, Alfred's, Milk Jar, Paper or Plastik, and Coffee Commissary, I have only been to these places 1 or 2 times max, with the exception of Urth and Intelligentsia. It can be discouraging going to new restaurants all the time, because you really never know what's in store such as parking, or the location or if the food is really all its reviewed to be, and if you or your friends/family will be disappointed, but honestly I've been more wowed than disappointed. A few yelp rules I live by, I don't eat a places with less than 3.5 stars, in my opinion its almost always a disappointment, when I'm searching for a place to eat in an area I don't know well and have no current bookmarks, I search for $, $$, open now, and filter by most reviews and try for the ones with 200-250 or more reviews. I've definitely found some gems in unexpected areas that way. Utilizing Yelp definitely contributes to my enjoyment of this city so I continue to intentionally use it and check bookmarks off my list.
Good night blog!
-Stann
