Best Gourmet Fast Food Burgers

Scarfing down a big juicy burger may not be so cute, but heck! A good burger makes me and my tummy feel good!

Recently, I visited my boyfriend’s work in Cypress during his lunch break. He took me to this burger place called Paul’s Place. We went in, and there was a sign that said “We’re a gourmet fast food place.”

Gourmet?

As I sat in the cozy burger joint eating a fabulous hot pastrami sandwich, I had a revelation. I want to go on a burger adventure. (Why was I thinking about more food while I was eating food?)

I’ve already had my share of cheap burgers from McDonald’s to Carl’s Jr.
Check!

I’ve had slightly fancier burgers like Steve’s Burgers and restaurant burgers like Red Robin.
Check!

I’ve also had expensive Kobe burgers and even made my own trendy burger at The Counter.
Check!

Well then. Now, I will create a new genre in between Wendy’s and Denny’s burgers.. and I will name it.. Gourmet Fast Food Burgers! (Oh oh! In-and-Out totally belongs in this genre!)

Perfect. Now, after some extensive research and burger munching, here are my top three:

1. Five Guys Burger (restaurant pictured in beginning of post)
Indulge in your dream burger! It’s kind of exciting when there are 16 different sauces and toppings to choose from, and they are all free. The fries are a little salty, but you can get them regular or cajun (we tried the cajun). It’s so big one order easily feeds two.

20700 Avalon Blvd
Carson, CA, 90746
11:00am-10:00pm Daily
www.fiveguys.com

2. The Habit Burger
Onion rings are to die for.. (and I dont even like onions!) It’s perfectly seasoned and super crunchy ($1.95). Their Charburger ($2.95) tastes fresh and juicy, the fries are thick cut and yummy! I liked how they have peppers like jalapeno to crunch on, and they have malt vinegar for the fries.

3829 West Torrance Boulevard
Torrance, CA(310) 316-4048‎
Mon-Sat: 10:30am-9:00pm
Sun: 11:00am-8:00pm
www.habitburger.com

3. McCormicks and Schmicks Burger
I know, this is probably considered a restaurant burger, but I included it in this category because during happy hour, this plate of cheeseburger and fries is only $2.95! This juicy burger (one bite and you’ll know what I mean!) was the highlight of my day. The really hot wings ($3.95) were quite spicy and the zucchini fries ($1.95) were piping hot and delicious!

2101 Rosecrans Ave.
El Segundo, CA 90245
Prices only available during Happy Hour!
Mon-Thurs: 3:30pm 6:30pm & 9:00pm-11:00pm
Fri: 3:30pm-6:30pm & 9:30pm-11:00pm
www.mccormickandschmicks.com

Ahhhh.. With a tummy so happy, who cares if it’s pouring rain outside and your car just ran out of battery and won’t start… (btw, this really happened the day I was burger tasting)

p.s. All these burger places have other locations besides the ones I’ve listed, so peek at their website to find out if there is one near your area!

Lomo Arigato – Gourmet Peruvian Food Truck

There are not a lot of cuisines where condiments have more fans than the main dish. When most people think of Peruvian food, I wouldn’t be surprised if the first thing that comes to their mind is the mmm.. green sauce. Don’t get me wrong, Peruvian food is absolutely fabulous! But this secret blend makes me sigh, I’m so in love..

(Snap!!)

So the reason why I’m ranting and raving about Peruvian food is because our friend, Eric Nakata has been working on a project called Lomo Arigato, a mobile food truck full of delicious Japanese-inspired Peruvian food, including my long time favorite – the Lomo Saltado. With thin strips of beef, onions, french fries and tomatoes all pan-fried and tossed in red wine vinegar and soy sauce, this steamy dish is sure to make your tummy smile with happiness. AND! Let’s not forget that it includes the (drum roll) Aji sauce, a.k.a. the green sauce. He’s currently working on two kinds, so I’m excited to try them both.

This food truck will be running all throughout Los Angeles and the South Bay (our home town!) and is scheduled to start operating in mid-August.

Tune into www.lomoarigato.com to see where Lomo Arigato will be making its first appearance. They are also busily updating their facebook and twitter so that fans like me can figure out where the heck they are.

Don’t we all enjoy a little chase when we’re in love?

Also, Lomo Arigato was featured in Good Day LA so check it out here!

Keep your eyes peeled for this logo!!

i <3 lomo arigato

Jin Patisserie

Before I landed my current job as a flight attendant, I had the cutest job ever.  I forgot how spoiled I was until I recently looked at their website. I used to be the assistant for Kristy Choo, a chocolatier and owner of Jin Patisserie. I had access to all the chocolates, cakes and cookies in every flavor you could ever dream of.

My absolute, hands-down favorite is the sea salt caramel chocolate. I could not get enough of gooey caramel mixed with just the right amount of sea salt and dusted with bitter-sweet chocolate. The cakes are like art, all adorned with pieces of chocolate, fruit and edible flowers. Words cannot describe how wonderful these sweet treats are.

Hidden away in the city of Venice, this super cute garden café is located on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. If you don’t have your peepers wide open, you may just miss this place. But even if you don’t live in Venice Beach, you can order them online (no cakes, however).

I’m surprised I didn’t gain weight while I did this job. Well, maybe I did, but I sure didn’t notice because I was so darn happy there. While regular jobs get regular brewed coffee in the morning, I got freshly ground Italian coffee, steamed milk and a brown sugar cane stick. Then, I’d prance around looking for chocolate shavings and little pieces of butter cake. That’s how spoiled I was.

I will never take anything for granted. EVER!

Jin Patisserie
1202 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice, CA 90291
310.399.8801
Tues–Sun 10:30am to 7:00pm
Mondays closed
www.jinpatisserie.com

Outdoor sitting area…enjoy afternoon tea!

Cute Izakaya in LA

At LIVINGcute, we like to share cute, cool things. So why not share yummy food at a place called “Musha”!

Cindy talks about our mini get togethers called GNO a.k.a. Girls Night Out. It’s so much fun to round up the bunch for a night to gossip and laugh at our (sometimes) extremely stupid jokes. Add a pitcher of beer to that equation, and the stupid jokes become even funnier.

Quite a few of our GNO’s have been held at a cute restaurant called Musha in Torrance, CA. Musha is an izakaya, a Japanese version of the tapas bar. There you order various plates of food to share and its super fun because everyone can try a little bit of everything! We probably don’t even need a menu because we almost always order the same things – M.F.C a.k.a. Musha’s fried chicken, crispy chicken served with ponzu (soy sauce with a hint of citrus) and grated daikon radish; Ebi Mayo Mayo, deep fried shrimp with a creamy mayonnaise sauce (pictured above); the house salad; and the cheese risotto. Don’t get scared by the hunk of cheese that the cheese risotto comes in. (You’ll know what I mean when you order it!)

So if you ever see a group of four tipsy girls being a teeny bit too loud, giggling away and not acting their age at all…come over and say HI!

It’s probably us..

Tip: this restaurant gets packed real quick! So get there early!

Musha
1725 West Carson Street
Torrance, CA 90501
310.787.7344

Mon-Sat 6:00pm-11:30pm
Sun 6:00pm-10:30pm