Food in LA 2.0

I've realized that many of the places that I thought I posted about, I haven't. So, as a result, here's a HUGE post about places we've eaten at in the past six months or so. Some have been frequent repeats Fat Sal's, Blockhead's Shavery and some were one-offs. But it's definitely an exploration! We've been to a bunch of other places, but no photos were taken. Memorable recent places include The Park's Finest- Filipino/American fusion BBQ; Connie and Ted's Seafood- a taste of New England in LA! They had great chowder (or chowda as they say); 800 Degrees & Pitfire- individual gourmet pizza places (there's another one close to us that is double the price of 800 Degrees and Pitfire, and not as great to me).

Lobos Truck- I was not impressed. Cameron likes their sides.

Steel City Truck- Cameron was a fan. Coleslaw on a sammy? No thanks.

Corn Truck- Can't go wrong with spicy/cheesy corn on the cob!

Fluff Ice Truck/Store- Cute, but I like Blockheads better. Cameron attests that the truck is better than the storefront.

Blockhead's Shavery- I may be addicted. Cameron thinks so. They have a larger storefront in East LA- I cannot express the joy this discovery gave me.

Public School 310- Everything in this bar/restaurant is school themed! Tres cute!

TLT Food- Strangely addicting. They were one of the winners for Food Truck Wars or something and got this store front. It is very bright green, but then again TLT stands for "The Lime Truck."

Cafe Bene- A very cute cafe in KTown. I definitely enjoyed the coffee better than the waffles :[

Umami Burger- More hype than Cameron and I thought it deserved.

Fat Sal's- DELICIOUS GOODNESS. I have not veered from the "Fat Buffalo" since I got it… To give you an idea, this "Fat" sandwich is a hoagie stuffed with chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, french fries, cheddar cheese and topped with buffalo sauce and bleu cheese dressing. There are days when I can finish it, and days where Cameron has a late night snack. We agree this is the best one on the menu (C has tried a significantly higher amount of sandwiches on the menu than I…at two).

Hot Dog on a Stick- Gotta have a CA classic

The Beignet Truck- A dream realized!  Still need to try these at the source in ole New Orleans.

Kogi- A LA Institution

Bruxie Waffles- This made me miss Dame's Chicken and Waffles in NC.

Rice Balls of Fury- Not as good as I was hoping.

It's Pho- So tasty! And so close to home

Native Foods

Before I delve too deeply into this post about a recent restaurant try with a friend from my program, I want to show you this photo first:

This salad looks pretty delicious, right? It's the Southwest Chipotle Chop salad from Native Foods in Westwood. The salad is essentially romaine, native chicken (I'll get to this in a second), corn, black beans, roasted red peppers, and a variety of tasty dressings.  Would you ever guess this is a 100% vegan salad?

This restaurant makes "meat" out of their vegan products; the Native Chicken is a mix of soy, wheat, and, I think, pea proteins.  I'm not one to shy away from vegan foods or trying new things for that matter, so I was more than happy to try Native Foods when my friend asked to go.  I've had vegan "meats" before, so I will say this before continuing: if I'm expecting a vegan "meat," no problem--if someone tells me I'm having a chicken salad but fails to tell me that it's vegan, I'll know something's wrong. That being said, I was extremely impressed with the salad and the Native Chicken. I think it was the texture that made you think that it was actually chicken. It doesn't have a chicken taste (or so far as I could tell- there was a lot of BBQ sauce), but while I knew I wasn't actually eating chicken, my brain could have been fooled. In general, the salad was super delicious, and there were many things on the menu that I was interested in, but wanted to try something that was more "safe" in case I wasn't a fan of the vegan "meats." I wouldn't mind going back there again, especially if I'm in the mood for something quite healthy with lots of veggies (that afternoon for lunch I had pizza, pasta, and lots of dessert...typical college food, ha!)

My friend joked that this place was "So, LA." because of the huge emphasis on healthy foods, which, to some extent, I think is true, but it was tasty!

P.S. That's a blueberry hibiscus tea and my friend had french lavender lemonade. So fancy!

The University of California at Los Angeles

At least once a week, I remind myself how incredibly lucky I am to be at UCLA (and Los Angeles for that matter) and how grateful I am for the opportunity I was provided all those months ago. For those of you who don't know how I made my decision to come to UCLA, it really starts with the Janss Steps. I came to UCLA desperately hoping that I would hate it. Seriously. The whole plane ride over, I wanted to hate it. I finished NC State's recruitment weekend and felt pretty positive about the school and the program. While secretly I wanted to go to UCLA and live in California, a big part of me had concerns mostly about the out of state price tag. But, I at least wanted to see how I felt about the program in person, and how I felt about the campus. When Cameron dropped me off on campus for the Preview Day, and I walked past the Janss Steps, I knew I was sold, and that the program would have to be terrible for me not to come to UCLA.

Ok, so confession I didn't take this photo and the credit goes to Wikipedia. I could never get a great shot of the Janss Steps and I felt like this once does some justice to what they look like in person.

So, the program itself turned out to be, I felt, a better fit for me. It's a one year program (most comparable programs are two years) and many of the people in the program were older and had a variety of experiences that gave this program a different vibe. Unfortunately in March, I didn't have the opportunity to get a tour of campus, though Cameron and I did walk around for an hour or so before we came back to NC (ironically Cameron took more pictures than I did then. I think I knew that I was going to come and had plenty of time for photos).

Thus, this post is dedicated to the school and my experiences thus far. I will say that I'm super excited to be here, and I think that is best expressed by the amount of stuff I've bought/accumulated and the events I've jumped at going to, especially when you compare it my prior college campus. Exhibit A: I have bought 6 UCLA shirts/gear in two months; at AppState, the same amount took about 6 years (and I'm not counting the stuff I got through my sorority or being an RA). Exhibit B: I have been to THREE football games; I went to maybe five at ASU.

A cool fact about UCLA I learned (maybe it's not true, but I like to think it is) is that UCLA has the highest student body population, but has the smallest acreage of any of the UC campuses (419 acres if I'm correct). My favorite part of campus is the main campus, especially the older buildings. The Janss Steps lead up to the four original buildings: Royce Hall, Powell Library, the Humanities Building, and Haines Hall. The architecture on campus is amazing. They really don't make buildings like this anymore. The details are breathtaking and I enjoy just looking at the buildings. Don't get me wrong, some of the more recent buildings are boring/ugly, but the majority of the buildings I see on a daily basis are lovely.

Similar view of the Janss Steps

The Humanities Building

Royce Hall

Atrium in Powell Library

Powell Library

Powell Library

I've been meaning to try and explore more of North campus (South is primarily STEM and medical buildings, which aren't attractive looking and are closer to Westwood Village). North campus houses more of the humanities buildings and a newly renovated research library. It's hard to find a study spot on main campus, especially when the Grad Study Lounge in Moore is full, so maybe I'll get lucky there!

Kerckhoff Hall- this used to be the old Student Union

 

 

 

Awesome detailing on Kerckhoff

Patio on Kerckhoff

Moore Hall

Detailing inside Moore Hall

Moore Hall

I've also been on "the Hill" a few times. The Hill is where UCLA has all it's undergraduate residence halls. Now, when I say it's on a hill, I mean that with all sincerity-- I did go to a school in the mountains. These residence halls are nothing like what I've experienced before- most are high risers and look more like apartments or hotels. The most impressive thing about them are their dining halls (separate post to come). Apparently, UCLA has won several awards for their dining hall food. I'm not sure if I really believe that or how true it is, but it's still pretty nice food, and definitely puts all other dining halls I've eaten at to shame, ASU or otherwise. I've eaten on the Hill several times when people who live there offer to swipe us in to the dining halls on their meal plans.

Residence Halls

At other campus restaurants- these are separate from the dining halls in that meal plans don't work and you have to use "real" money to eat there-- the food is pretty nice too. There's one place called Fusion, which is located in the "bomb shelter" in the Court of the Sciences, which I like to eat at a lot. First, the bomb shelter is actually a rennovated bomb shelter turned student center. There are a few eateries and a small store for students to get snacks or emergency supplies. Fusion mixes burritos, tacos, and sandwiches with other ethnic foods. They rotate between Korean, Argentine, Indian, Vietnamese, and Mediterrean throughout the week- I've had one of each and it's super tasty, and not to mention pretty affordable if you don't want to spend too much on campus. 

I am, unfortunately, a fan of the white chocolate mochas at the on campus coffeehouses. And Kerckhoff Coffeehouse is right next to Moore... I was trying to give up my coffee addiction. That may have to wait now until I graduate. Ok, so I didn't mean for this huge tangent about food. 

I've realized one of the cons of a larger school is the bigger student body. It's sometimes hard to find a space to study on campus. And when I say that, I mean a place to sit comfortably for an extended period of time. I think I'm lucky that I can really study anywhere regardless of noise or distraction, but sometimes it's just hard to find a seat. I tried one Friday afternoon to sit in the super pretty Powell/College library and there wasn't a free seat. We joke in class that UCLA is full of overachieving undergrads... I guess that's true if they're all in the library on a Friday and it was only the second week of class.

In the past weeks, I've been able to explore a little more areas of campus, but not by much. Hopefully, I'll get to really see parts of campus I haven't yet by June!