Sonic America's Drive-In

I was first introduced to Sonic when I lived in Phoenix, AZ.  For the longest time Sonic wasn't available in Southern California, now I believe there is one in O.C. by Disneyland and one closer to Pasadena... Duarte to be exact.  Check it out when you get a chance!

This fastfood establishment is definitely one of my guilty pleasures... but when I am feeling a little adventurous, I eat at Sonic.  Order an extra large cherry limeade, tater tots and Texas toast chicken sandwich... if you want to eat like Joe.

God bless Sonic burger :)

Bay Cities Italian Deli

Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica is great for everything you need that's Italian and more! Beth and I always make sure to pick up a Godmother sandwich whenever we are in the area.



The Godmother is their signature sandwich that is very popular everywhere. The sandwich has been featured in Food Network's Best Food I've Ever Eaten - Sandwich Edition.

Watch out for the rush hour crowd at the market, which happens a lot, not just 5pm on weekdays :) This place is almost ALWAYS packed with hungry people. They do have the option to pre order your sandwich online pick up when you arrive or they will have pre made Godmothers on the counter.

If you have not try the Godmother do it now!

Also try the fresh made pasta and marinara sauce! its the bomb-diggity!

Mama Chang's Big Lunch

July has been a busy month for me... especially at work. This is the kind of month where I wish I can get some home cooking by Mama Chang, my mother.

Few weeks ago my mom cooked up a storm for my little brother Sean's return from college. Well, as the big brother and being a part of the family... Beth and I are of course invited to this fancy feast!

When we showed up Mama Chang was in the process of cooking her signature sticky rice... and it was delicious!





She also surprised us with my favorite, Drunken Chicken (cooked with a lot of rice wine, trust me)



We've got veggies, fish balls, tofu noodles, tofu and seaweed, fish, etc.



My dad prepared the beverages for us, including Taiwanese root beer and grass jelly.



NO! we don't eat dogs! Her name is Mickey and I love her.

Music Festival and Pizza

I figured I should post the images from Make Music Pasadena 2011 before I forget.

Check out this kid dancing in front of the dj booth. SICK!



Beth and I decided to walk to the festival from our house... Our first mission was to get something to eat when we get there :)... We walked around the festival and saw this little pizza stand. We picked up a slice of Margherita and a slice of the Mushroom Party! It was super yummy, especially the Mushroom Party!  Oh, we also scored a complimentary pizza card! #pizzabonus





Wife Approved



I took some photos of the festival by using this cool little app called TinyWorld, check them out.





It's a cool little app :) download it !

Astro Family Restaurant

Gosh, do I really have to write about this place? I mean, it wasn't a bad experience at all, but to me Astro Burger is just another American diner... just my opinion :)

That being said, the year Hilary Swank won the Oscar Awards, instead of going to the after party, she insisted on going to Astro Burger! (if you don't know who she is, she was in the Next Karate Kid 1994).

I went to their website and this is under their About section, pretty interesting stuff.

Two Restaurants, Two Names, Two Girls, Same Result!
Both Restaurants were named for the original owners’ daughters.

Jan’s Restaurant

Named for the original owner’s daughter which of course is Jan.

Astro Restaurant

Named for the present owner’s daughter which is Maria -Nick Name Astro.


The Result:

At both Restaurants we strive to make all our customers feel like home.

We provide excellent service in a clean and comfortable atmosphere.

We use nothing but the best products available.

We prepare all of our foods in our kitchens by our chefs and our daily specials are made with some recipes that are in our family and brought down from generation to generation.


Our Motto is:

“If it is not good enough to serve it to your mother,
do not serve it to our customers.”

We appreciate your business and we value your faith in us by patronizing our Restaurants.


We Thank You So Much!

Harry and his dedicated Staff


iphone / instagram / tinyworld (only one photo)

Hot Sauce Winners!

Last week and a half has been really busy for me... But not busy enough for me to forget to announce the winner of the Lila's Lemoyne Hot Sauce GIveaway :)



Here are the winners

CONGRATULATIONS!

Todd Kennedy  (New York City)

Joey Carmelo  (San Francisco, CA)

Britton Reid (Kentucky)

Email me (eatwithjoe@gmail.com) your mailing address and you will get the hot sauce in the mail shortly :)

Congratulations to the winners and Thanks everyone for submitting your awesome recipes! I will definitely dig into the recipes in the next few weeks, so make sure you check back for my recipe test results!

again, CONGRATULATIONS !!!

If you didn't win the giveaway, don't worry you can get your very own or Lila's Lemoyne St. Hot Sauce here!

Atlantic Time Square then Big Bear Adventure @ 3AM

This was a special night for the Changs... Another one of our spontaneous adventures!

10:00 PM

Atlantic Time Square - Monterey Park, CA.
This place is almost exactly like one of those big outdoor shopping plazas, without the typical chained establishments like PF Changs or Applebees. Instead it is a plaza of famous SGV restaurants... Chinese, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Vietnamese. Basically, if you are a big fan of Asian food and new furbished condos... this is your paradise!

Phoenix Food Boutique is a restaurant specialized in food and desserts from the southeast region of China. It is definitely worth a visit! Check out what we ordered:

House Special Pan Fried Egg Noodle with shredded duck, chicken and bean sprouts. I don't think anymore explanation is necessary for this dish... It was a very special serving of chow mein.



Braised Tofu with seafood



11:00 PM

After the delicious dinner at Phoenix Food Boutique, we decided to go on a night photo scouting adventure.

Route 66 was on Beth's mind and that became the first target destination of our adventure. The Wigwam "teepee" Motel to be exact. I mean, a motel that is shaped and designed like an Indian teepee tent... Badass.

When we arrived at the motel, we were freaked out a little bit and we changed our minds at the office window. Mainly because it reminded us of Heisenberg's neighborhood from Breaking Bad... creepy and it would probably be more fun if we had more people with us.

1:00 AM

We were disappointed... heading back home and about to call it a night...
I thought, Hell no! It's 4th of July weekend and I am not going to waste my precious holiday weekend at home. Maybe it just felt like the perfect timing, but I was determined that we should totally check out Big Bear Lake, early Monday morning.

3:00 AM

It was 3AM and there weren't any other options that are awake at that time. Todd at the front desk of Northwoods Resort gave us a great deal so we have a comfortable bed to sleep in. We were blessed with the 2nd largest suites in the resort... also badass.

comes with king size bed, small kitchen / bar, jacuzzi, living room and balcony.



Wake Up and Explore Big Bear Lake

we drove up to the lake to get some fresh air, I wish I had a grill...



When we were scouting for future cabins for rent, we drove by this patriotic house.



Lunch at the local pizza joint. Hits the spot



After lunch we drove back to Pasadena.
Back to reality.
It was a great getaway!
Happy 4th Everyone!