Dog Haus - Pasadena

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Thanks to Groupon. I had free $5 credit, and I got $10 of the food for $5 deal a while ago. That means $10 of free food! I ended up paying $1.90 but hey, I got all the food for under $2? Great!

I ordered corn dog, slider and hot dogs. Yes, that's all for me. I ate all. Everything was delicious and the workers were friendly. I like their $1.50 sliders and slingers. It's perfect for someone like me, who doesn't wanna eat too much or just wanna try little bit of everything.















menu














Look all those food! As always, I got everything with no cheese and easy mayo.













Burger slider $1.50
Angus beef, caramelized onions, mayo













Corn dog slinger $1.50
To me, it look like burned. It was very black. But I ate it anyway. I still liked it.













Hot dog slinger $1.50
All-beef mini dog, caramelized onions, mayo













Sooo Cali $5.95 + $0.50 (veggie dog)
Arugula, sliced tomatoes, crispy onions,spicy basil aioli avocado













I got my hot dog with veggie dog. It was difficult to eat. I believe they use Hawaiian Rolls for all their dogs, so of course, the bread was delicious. The hot dog was good, but I don't think I'm getting it again. To me, it didn't match well with avocado and veggie dog and the sauce.














Rating : 4 / 5
Service: 4 / 5
Repeat: Yes

Dog Haus
105 N Hill Ave
Pasadena, CA 91106

(626) 577-4287

Mon-Sun 11 am - 10 pm

http://doghausdogs.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/dog-haus-pasadena 

Posted in: Pasadena

Pookie's Thai

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           A small place amidst offices, by a pond with ducks swimming in the sun, kitchen busy to keep up with its loyal customers, and Mrs.Pookie flashing a smile at all her guests taking orders and serving the most delicious thai food in Westlake Village. That’s the Pookie’s Thai. The place was started 7 years ago and today its our favorite here in LA. The first thing you notice here is the way its hidden amongst offices at The Water Court. Next, the welcoming nature of the place makes you return every week!

Pond at Water court in front of the restaurant

                Our favorite appetizer is ‘Kra Thong Thong’. Wonton cups filled with chicken, peas and carrots served with a hot n sweet sauce. It’s a great way to start your journey into the enticing flavors of Thailand.

Kra Thong Thong

Another popular appetizer is the Wow! Westlake Roll. It looks like salad wrapped in rolls. Tofu, cucumber, basil, cilantro, carrots wrapped in rice sheets and served with a special sauce. It’s a lovely combination that is so refreshing to the palate. The flavor of the basil simply pops out amongst the veggies dipped in the sauce.

WOW! Westlake Rolls

                To accompany your meal try thai iced tea. A pink drink with a hint of tea.

Thai Iced Tea

                On weekdays you can have lunch specials with duck, beef, chicken, everything. But otherwise, here are a few that we relish. Spicy monsoon noodles are my choice for a nice hot and sweet delight. Made of flat noodles, basil, bell peppers, mushroom and beef, chicken or pork it was a splash of flavor for us in this monsoon weather.

Spicy Monsoon Noodles

            Hi, Yo! Silver is a milder choice made of fried silver noodles, shrimp, chicken, sprouts, tomato and egg.

Hi, Yo! Silver

                Now for the fun part. You must be knowing about the famous red and green curries of thai cuisine. Well here, its definitely the best. They are served with white or brown rice, and you cannot stop eating it. We got a special treat when we ordered the green curry last time. Its called jade curry here, and as you might know the curry is made of coconut milk. But what if it is served to you in a coconut itself with fresh coconut floating in the gravy!! Yumm.. I have had nothing so exotic and yummy!

Ruby Curry(red curry)

Jade Curry(green curry)

                Now coming to the rice, my choice is Prapan’s rice. The rice is full of spice, meat, bell peppers, onions and loads of flavor. Try it with one of the curries, it is heavenly!!

Prapan's Rice

                So the next time you go to this place, don’t be scared of trying anything, I guarantee everything is going to be superb!! Enjoy yourself!!

Ducks in the pond

Useful Links:http://www.pookiethai.com/home.html

Maria's Italian Kitchen

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                Established in 1975 by Maria Alfano, this Italian Kitchen is a blessing to LA. The owners were actually from Hoboken, NJ, but then fell in love with CA on a visit, and opened Maria’s Italian Kitchen. It is now open in 10 different locations in and around LA, serving fresh pasta, breads, pizza, salad, and much more! Here are a few of their lip smacking dishes.            Like most Italian places Maria’s serve complimentary garlic bread. But these are not like any other you might have tasted. Drizzled with oregano and garlic and eaten with olive oil, the bread gives you an intro to what you are about to savor.

Garlic bread

Cheese fries

              As appetizer we tried their formaggio fritti. We weren’t familiar with what to expect but once we tried it, I am sure its something we will always have! Formaggio is a chewy kind of cheese, which is fried with bread crumbs to make it a fritti. The portion had just two rectangular pieces served with fresh marinara sauce and arugula leaves. Oh! What do I tell you about the sauce!! It was the best I ever tasted. You can taste the freshness, the juiciness and the sweetness of the tomatoes and when combined with the frittas, the combo is heaven! We also had cheese fries. These potato fries were drizzled with cheese and had just the flavor to tell you they were different. Frankly, I wouldnt say they are great. They were well done, tasted good but not extraordinary.

Formaggio Fritti

                For the main course, we tried three different varieties just to get the taste of the place. And oh! I forgot to mention, we had a guest this time. You will hear about her in the next few posts too, ‘cause we are having a holiday together. That is why we could try 3 entrees instead of just 2.                One of them was vegetarian lasagna. This lasagna had spinach, portabella mushrooms, grilled zucchini, smoked mozzarella and sautéed broccoli. And of course their fresh marinara too! It was such a mouthful, and so yummy, I am waiting to try it myself some day. It was a large portion though, so unless you are very hungry, you might end up with a doggy bag.

Vegetarian Lasagna

                The other entrée was the Spicy shrimp and Roasted corn Risotto. For those who do not know, Risotto is simply rice cooked in broth of meat/ vegetable till it gets a creamy consistency and served with any kind of meat. The kind we tasted was accompanied by shrimp, corn, and red chilli flakes, sun-dried tomatoes and cream. It’s a treat for those who love seafood and its distinct flavor cause this dish is loaded with it!

Spicy Shrimp and roasted corn Risotto

                The third was ravioli a la marinara. The description on the menu reads “Delicious paper thin pasta pillows of Ricotta stuffed pasta. Light and delicious” And yes, it was just that. Inspite of being just the basic Italian combination, it tasted so special on my palate when the ricotto just melted in my mouth blending with the marinara. Hmmmm… I need to have it right now! And since it was just the right portion, you can enjoy it all you want, just until you can. It wont get too much into you.

Ravioli a la Marinara

                So maria’s Italian Kitchen is my best choice for fresh marinara, and cheese. I bet you will not leave unhappy after eating at this place! Enjoy yourselves….  

Useful links:http://www.mariasitaliankitchen.com/

BJ's Restaurant

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     BJ's is a restaurant that is famous for its beer and food along with a friendly atmosphere to be with friends or family. Here are a few of our favourites @ this amazing place.

    We absolutely love their Santa Fe rolls.Filled with chicken, beans, cheese, and peppers, served with their Santa fe sauce and avocado cream sauce, it feels awesome. You just cant stop eating them and licking the sauce! While the rolls are our staple appetizer, the last time we were there we tried their Best beginners appetizer combo. Oh yes! It was definititely the best for beginners. They have their Santa fe rolls, Avocado egg rolls, Spinach and artichoke dip with nachos, and mozzerella sticks with marinara all in one plate. You get a taste of all their wonderful spices in the kitchen and they suit everyone's taste on the table too! I am a fan of their dips. The spinach and artichoke dip was great!

Mediterranean Deep Dish Pizza

 Something you cannot miss eating at BJs are their deep dish pizzas. Try any of them. They are all excellent A crunchy crust and hot chewy cheeze, yummmm... We loved the Southwestern and the Mediterranean. Here is the Mediterranean.

A slice of deep satisfaction!

Pizooki Trio

      Now for the desserts. Their exclusive Pizooki is well worth its popularity. Hot freshly baked cookies with ice cream. You can either have one bigg Pizooki all by youself if you have some space left in your tummy after the delicious pizza, or you can share the Pizooki Trio with your choice of cookies cookie n cream, Chocolate macadamia nut, Chocolate chunk, Peanut butter or oatmeal raisin walnut.






Useful Links:

http://www.bjsbrewhouse.com/

Filippi's flips you over!

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    Famished after a day long stroll in the San diego zoo, we were hunting for some good italian food in Little Italy. We picked Filippi's Pizza Grotto. We are fanatics of italian food, so we were ready to dine in this famous italian deli cum restaurant. We were there on monday evening at 8:30pm, and we had to wait 25min to be seated! So you can imagine how popular it must be! They have other locations all around San diego, and stretching upto Napa too!

   Waiting in line, and observing the deli around me, I counted more than 20 kinds of EVOO(Extra virgin Olive Oil), Wines from all over the world, including their own home brew France ca Chile Flippis. And cheese?? Dont ask me! I couldnt count them....Displayed in the counter, hanging on the counter, there was cheese everywhere! Of course, no italian store can not have pasta! There was loads and loads of pasta everywhere... It was a delight to see almost everything italian in the store.
    
Once you pass the deli and enter the restaurant you know they have been around for  a long long time. The place was full! Tables all over, waiters running all over, 'bottles' hanging from the ceiling everywhere! I later got to know they were bottles of Bell'agio Chianti dry red wine, ordered and autographed by their customers. This place was screaming, 'You are here for SOME experience'!! 



    




We ordered some fresh garlic bread, and then binged into this cheezy, pizza surprise. It was the Vegetarian Special, with loads of cheese smothered all over, mushrooms, onions, tomato and black olives. Ingredients are not so appealing I know!( there was no chicken on the menu) But the pizza was certainly a mouthful. 





     After the pizza, we were ready for more. So we tried their Eggplant Parmigiana in the a la carte (smaller portion) with some lasagna. Yummm... it was perfecto! The pictures may not completely tell you how it tasted, but... neither can I! But if you are any where close to Little Italy in San Diego, do make sure you check out this place. The ambiance itself will bowl you over!

Useful Links:
http://www.realcheesepizza.com/

Frittata di Aragoste Funghi, Finochio e Formaggio Piave Vecchio

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A truly gourmet Italian frittata!
     Lobster mushrooms are in season!  In fact, quite a few fresh gourmet mushrooms are in season right now.  I will be posting some nice recipes for fall season mushroom as soon as possible.  As you can guess, I am backlogged with many recipes and restaurant reviews to write.     A few days ago, bluefoot mushrooms were available.  They sell very quickly at $39 per pound, because they are a very rare mushroom.  Bluefoot mushrooms also sell quick, because they contain trace amounts of psilocybin and psilocin.  Bluefoots are a mild hallucinogen, if they are consumed in small quantities.  I sauteed a handful of bluefoots for an American bison steak and after dinner I was feeling rather good!  I sure did some creative writing that night!       Lobster mushrooms are in better supply.  Both bluefoot mushrooms and lobster mushrooms are native to the American northwest forests.  When the fogs of autumn cover the forest, it becomes mushroom gathering paradise!      Lobster mushrooms are not a hallucinogen.  Lobster mushrooms are not even mushrooms, so to speak.  Lobster mushrooms at one time were a mushroom.  This sounds like a riddle, but it is hard to explain what a lobster mushroom is in layman's terms.       Lobster mushrooms are a parasitic ascomycete that grows only on two varieties of mushrooms.  The true name for the parasitic lobster mushroom colony is Hypomyces lactifluorum.  The orange red color of a lobster mushroom comes from the parasitic "fungus" that takes over the host mushroom.  Underneath the red outer coating is a dense white colored mycelia like fungus that causes metamorphosis of the host mushroom.       The two mushrooms that the Lobster parasitic ascomycete colonizes on are the Russula brevipes (Edible Short Stemmed White Russula Mushroom) and the Lactarius piperatus (Semi Edible Peppery Milk-Cap Mushroom).  Peppery Milk Caps are commonly dried and used as a spice or seasoning, but they are rarely eaten as is, because they have a very strong flavor.  Short Stemmed White Russula have a more palatable flavor.       After the lobster parasitic ascomycete engulfs and takes over the host mushroom, the flavor and texture of the host mushroom changes dramatically.  The Short Stemmed White Russula becomes a very nice seafood or shellfish flavor after the lobster parasitic ascomycete takes over.  The acrid strong tasting Peppery Milk-Cap becomes a nice spicy peppery flavor that is very delicious.  Therefore, there are two distinct flavors of lobster mushrooms!       It can be difficult to distinguish which of the two mushrooms was the host after the lobster parasitic colony has taken over the mushroom.  Basically, a shorter and wider looking stem section of a lobster mushroom may indicate a seafood flavor from the host Short Stemmed Russula.  A longer looking stem section of lobster mushroom may indicate a spicy pepper flavor from the host Peppery Milk-Cap.      Lobster mushrooms can be rather large.  One lobster mushroom can flavor a few recipes.  They do keep well, even after a few slices have been cut for a recipe.  Do not store any kind of mushroom in an air tight plastic bag.  Mushrooms are actually alive, and they do need to breath or bacteria and fungus may attach the mushroom.  An open plastic bag or paper sack is good for keeping wild mushroom in a refrigerator for a few days.     The lobster mushroom that I chose for this recipe had a gentle nice seafood kind of flavor, so florence fennel (anise bulb) was a good choice for a complimentary flavor.     Piave Vecchio comes from Veneto Italy.  It is a hard cows milk cheese that grates like parmigiano reggiano.  Piave Vecchio is usually aged for over 180 days.  Fruit and almond undertone flavors can be noticed.  Piave Vecchio has a nice semi sweet flavor and semi sharp flavor at the same time.  Piave Vecchio is one of the world's great cheeses!
     Frittata di Aragoste Funghi, Finochio e Formaggio Piave Vecchio:     Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat.     Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.     Add 6 thin slices of florence fennel (anise bulb).  Cut the slices vertically through the center of the bulb, to get a shape like those in the photographs above.     Season with sea salt and black pepper.     Saute the florence fennel slices on both sides, till golden highlights appear.     Set the sauteed florence fennel slices aside.       Heat a saute pan over medium heat.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.     Add 1 pat of unsalted butter.     Add 6 long thin slices of fresh lobster mushroom and a few small slices.     Saute till light brown highlights appear on the mushroom slices.     Season with sea salt and black pepper.     Set the sauteed lobster mushrooms aside.     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat.     Add 3 pats of unsalted butter.     Add 2 whisked eggs.     Use a rubber spatula to even the edges of the frittata.       When the bottom half of the frittata becomes cooked and firm, remove the pan from the heat.     Evenly space the sauteed florence fennel slices around on top of the uncooked eggs on the frittata.     Place the long sauteed slices of lobster mushroom between the fennel slices.     Place a tiny mound of the small lobster mushroom slices on the center of the frittata.     Sprinkle 1 small pinch of oregano over the frittata.     Sprinkle a few pinches of fine plain breadcrumbs over the frittata.     Sprinkle some finely grated Piave Vecchio cheese over the frittata.     Place the pan with the frittata in a 350 degree oven.     Bake till the eggs become fully cooked and till the cheese melts.  (Do not brown the cheese!)     Remove the pan from the oven and slide the frittata onto a plate.     Place a tiny sprig of the green top leaves of the florence fennel on each slice of fennel as a garnish.     Place a sprig of Italian parsley on the small mound of lobster mushrooms on the center of the frittata as a garnish.
     As the readers of this blog have heard many times, there is no such thing as a boring breakfast in my food blog!  This is a gourmet mushroom lover's frittata.  The flavors of each ingredient compliments each other in a delicate nice way.  Yum!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna  

Crepes en Lima Glace and Poached Mission Figs with Arak Cinnamon Creme and Cotija

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Lime glace glazed crepes with poached mission figs, Arak anise liquor cinnamon creme and cotija cheese!  
     This crepe entree has a nice combination of spice, fruit, sour, sweet and salty flavors.  Flavor combinations like this are interesting, to say the least!  Fine cafes that have gourmet chefs are where you will most likely find creative cuisine like this.       In cafes, the focus is on flavor and the presentation naturally falls into place.  Cafe chefs usually are not attracted to being in the limelight.  The reason is because cafe chefs are far to busy to bask in fame.  Cafe kitchens usually have only 5 or 6 employees to cover two shifts.  A chef de cuisine, 2 sous chefs, 1 or 2 garde mange chefs and 2 plongeur (dishwashers).  The sous chefs have wide open room for creativity.  The chef approves or suggests the specials du jour.  The chef manages the operation and usually only prepares fine desserts or fine entree specials during the dinner hours.  The garde mange chef prepares desserts and cold items for the dinner hours early in the day and only acts as a garde manger line cook during the peak lunch hours.     I have worked in that cafe kitchen personnel structure many times as a day chef or sous chef.  The daytime hours are the busiest and I happen to be a very fast chef on a cooking line, so I almost always was assigned to cover the busy shift.  Being able to cover the duties of a cooking line while going solo is no easy task.  Many items have to be prepared ahead of time and only a limited amount of items can be cooked a la minute.  A balance of the two styles of line cooking varies with business projections.  On a peak day when there is a fashion show in the cafe, easy bake items are the key to keeping up with demand.  Baked items like pot au feu, quiche, croques and roasted seafood or meats made the busy day much easier to accomplish.       On slower easier pace days, more room for creativity came to place.  Special du jours that were much more complex were marketed in order to create more customer interest in the cafe, therefore the special du jour entrees attracted more business in the following days.  On a slower day, the entire special du jour board was a la minute cuisine and each item was very creative.  Sweet and savory crepes entrees were always good for the days when you wanted customers to perform liquid advertising by telling coworkers and friends about the great lunch they had at the cafe!     Crepes have been and always will be a popular cafe menu item.  Savory for lunch, sweet for dessert or brunch is the basic rules for offering crepes.  Sweet crepes with fruit and a savory item or sauce appeals all day long.  Sweet crepes with fruit and a salty item like feta cheese or cotija cheese create a tasting experience that customers like to try!       Fresh mission figs are in season and I happen to be a chef that likes to cook traditional seasonal food.  I also like to create surprises for the season.  At an American diner, during fresh tomato season, the most you can expect is a grilled cheese with tomato special du jour.  In a French cafe, you never know what the aggressive cafe chefs have up their sleeves!  You might say that this cafe style mission fig crepes special du jour recipe for today was an ace in my sleeve!
     Crepe Batter Recipe:      This recipe makes about 6 to 8 small 7" crepes!      Place 2 eggs into a mixing bowl.     Add 1/2 cup of milk.     Add 2 tablespoons of cream     Add 1 pinch of sea salt.     Add 1 small pinch of nutmeg.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.     Add 4 or 5 drops of lemon juice.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of melted unsalted butter.     Add a little bit of flour at a time, while whisking, till a very thin batter is formed.  The batter should barely coat the back of a spoon.  Crepe batter should be much thinner than pancake batter.         Crepes:      Heat a non-stick pan over medium/medium low heat.      Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the pan with melted unsalted butter.      Pour just enough crepe batter into the hot pan to form a crepe that is 1/16" to 3/32" thick.  (The crepe should be less than 1/8" thick!  About 1 to 2 ounces of batter is good, depending on the size of the pan.)     Tilt the pan, so the batter covers the pan with a very thin layer of batter.  Tilt the pan to get the batter to form a round shape and to cover any holes in the crepe.)     When the batter turns solid and is cooked firm, flip the crepe gently with a rubber spatula to color the other side with light golden colored highlights.      Slide the crepe from the pan onto a counter top to cool.      Repeat these steps to make as many crepes as you wish.  (You can multiply the recipe to make a whole stack.  Crepes do freeze very well.  For home, t is best to freeze 2 to 4 portions per package.)
     Poached Figs:     Cinnamon and white wine flavor the poaching liquid for this recipe!       Place 6 or 7 fresh mission figs in a small sauce pot.     Add just enough water to cover the mission figs.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.     Add 2 ounces of dry white wine.     Add 1 pinch of cinnamon.     Place the pot over medium heat.     Bring the liquid to a gentle boil.     Poach the figs, till the become plump and tender.  (About 8 minutes)     Drain the liquid off of the figs.     Let the figs cool to room temperature.     Trim the stems off of the figs.      Cut the figs in half from top to bottom.     Set the poached fig halves aside.
     Arak Cinnamon Creme:     Arak is an Arabic anise liquor that is popular everywhere from Turkey and Armenia to Morocco.  Gantous & Abouraad Arak is made in Lebanon and it is a very nice liquor.  Arak is usually 100 or 120 proof, so it is a strong liquor.  Arak is often used for flambe items in middle eastern quisine, but where strict religious rules apply, no fermented beverages of any kind are allowed.  Arak is a strong white grape liquor that is infused with high quality anise.     Place 1 1/2 ounces of Arak in a small sauce pot.     Add 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice.     Add 1 small pinch of cinnamon.     Add 1/2 cup of cream.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.     Place the sauce pot over medium/medium low heat.     Bring the sauce to a gentle boil.     Reduce the temperature to low heat.     Simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a thin cream sauce consistency.     Keep the sauce warm over very low heat. 
     Crepes en Lima Glace and Poached Mission Figs with Arak Cinnamon Creme and Cotija:     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.     Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.     Allow the sugar to melt and turn a yellow amber color.     Add 1 ounce of dry white wine.     Add 3 ounces of water.     Add 1 tablespoon of lime juice.     Sir the thin glace.     Reduce the temperature to low heat.     Simmer and reduce, till the glace becomes a very thin syrup consistency.     Add 4 small crepes.     Add the reserved poached figs.     Gently toss the ingredients together, so they become warm and lightly glazed.     Remove the pan from the heat.     Place the crepes on a plate.     Arrange the poached fig halves on top of the crepes.     Spoon the Arak Cinnamon Creme over the figs and crepes.     Sprinkle a little bit of crumbled cotija cheese over the crepes.     Sprinkle a few very thin sliced petite lime wedges over the crepes.
     Viola!  A very nice tasting mission fig crepe special du jour recipe for the season!  The combination of flavors in this crepe brunch entree will put a smile on anybody's face.  Yum!  ...  Shawna