zen + 'zza + zoo

memorial day weekend!!
fiesta @ laura's family's house of leisure in escondido
and getaway in san diego

an entire roast pig!! peaceful, no?!
look at that skin ..amazing

mochi or bammy
i can never tell who is who

read it

omg this oyster was the size of rach's foot
in fact, it is being held like a delicate glass slipper

chopped that pork up!!

mini tofus w/ ginger, scallions and nori

very refreshing

our first attempt at white wine "sangria"
looks a mess but was not bad if i don't say so myself

rach + bammy/mochi
i really can't tell them apart

homemade bbq pulled pork ..so good

goodnight piggy!!

lunch at azafran in oceanside
delicious cherry soda

house sangria
too sweet and rummy for me but still tasty

chicken empanadas
came out crazy hot and delicious!
skin was a bit chimichanga-thick but still good

arroz con pollo with black beans
chicken was very lean and well-cooked but kind of bland
rice was tender and tasty but i HATE
when frozen peas & carrots are dumped into anything

pressed cuban smoked ham sandwich
with gooey cheese and mustard
would def get this again

reclining meerkat @ san diego wild animal park
hilarious how they sit like that so casually

poor cheetah was pacing back and forth on its TINY grass island

lion chillin' on a range rover
hahhahah

amazing!

spot the baby tiger?

this guy has no eye
his wifey is sitting on a nest of down feathers

dinner @ chianti in gaslamp distrcit
sea bass with risotto and spinach

grouper w/ mussels and clams
this place gets a big fat SUCKS!!!
food took over 40 minutes to get to our table,
was overpriced and tasted painfully bland
..the jackie chan / jennifer love hewitt movie
The Tuxedo was on tv above the bar
which was A LOT more interesting than
the taste of our food when we finally got it
DO NOT EAT AT CHIANTI

passionfruit ricotta torte from extraordinary desserts
went to their little italy / downtown location
photo is lame but WOW this was AMAZING

here we have steve scarfing since we had no forks
steve previously did not enjoy desserts
seriously, was so good!!!

we scored a room at the estancia in la jolla
and had the apple alscienne for breakfast with coffee on the lawn
probably the best apple pie i've ever had

meatball, italian sausage and ricotta @ pizzeria luigi
a tiny hole-in-the-wall
w/ fresh pizza and really good service

so good

agama @ the SD zoo
they turn all brown at night but in the day BAM!!

oh hello

this little attention whore was laying like this right up at the glass

love this one
steve took most of these animal photos

this guy sits like an old chinese man

folded hands, asian squat

papaya feast

eating the meat off a GIANT bone
probably human

almost as cute as otters holding hands

ok so on the way to the panda exhibit
there is a mural of pandas painted by children
i now present to you the most bizarre of these pandas..

panda #1
stoned + munchies + paranoid

panda #2
yacking? hungover?
???

panda #3
ok wtf excuse me??
what child painted this??
and who allowed this to remain on the wall??

ok back to the cute
polar bear, obv

with a bud :)

we also went to extraordinary desserts' other location in balboa park
where we tried the blood orange ricotta torte w/ rasberries
will def be back

They named Welch's Grape Juice after him, because he squeezes the sweetest juice out of his workers' mind grapes.

veggie wrap @ bristol farms in manhattan beach
a little pricey for lunch
but never sheisty w/ ingredients or quality

giant shells pasta salad

spicy mini octopus

REALLY good ahi poke

red velvet mini dessert @ p.f. chang's in el segundo
too sweet to be GOOD good but not bad
honestly HATED p.f. chang's
don't get why people love this place AT ALL
but am interested in these banana spring rolls they have
..will be back

gamja tang ..sooooo tasty
delicious korean potato stew
pork just fell off the bone

more soon dae! + tripe
yummy but did not beat western soon dae
where i have eaten i think 5 times in the last 3 weeks
very proud!!

a pill splitter - amazing
i had never seen such a contraption in my life

yogurt island in torrance
vanilla and chocolate with blackberries,
brownies, carob chips, almonds, cocoa crispies
..don't really know what i was going for there

combos of pistacio, vanilla, taro, etc.
place is kind of ridiculous..
their largest self-serve size is literally a BUCKET
way to encourage overconsumption/wastefulness

honey pig in ktown
yessss one of my favorite kbbq places ever

upon arriving at your table
rather than a cold, empty grill
you are greeted with happily heating heaps
of kimchee and bean sprouts

brisket!! tender and thicker than many other places

pork belly: stage 1
room temp - fats solid

pork belly: stage 2
runny fat sizzling

pork belly: stage 3
eat it

prob the best part of honey pig
..this amazing post-meat rice
w/ the grill's remaining burnt bean sprounts
+ sesame leaves and spiciness
soooo good

gaam in ktown
didn't eat here bc we were stuffed from honey pig
just had some hite beer, yogurt soju and cold green tea
yogurt soju + cute + loungey = y/y
nacho cheese + loudest music + shitty parking = n/n