Popbar - Anaheim

440 S. Anaheim Blvd

Anaheim, CA 92805
Hours 11:00 AM-11:00 PM

The most popular place in the Packing House, Popbar offers gelato popsicles that you can customize for about $5. They have a nice variety of flavors including sorbets. Many people complain that Popbar is overhyped, but I think it really depends on the flavor combinations  you get. 

Green Tea Gelato w/ White Chocolate & Waffle Cone Bits (4/5): If you ask for a green tea kit kat, this is what they'll give you. It's pretty similar in taste and I would recommend it to those who love green tea.

Gianduia Gelato Fully Dipped in Milk Chocolate, Covered in Waffle Cone Bits w/ White Chocolate Drizzle (5/5): If you're a chocolate lover like me, definitely get this. Gianduia is a half chocolate half hazelnut flavor, and this popbar tasted like a Ferrero Rocher chocolate! 

I would give Popbar a 4/5 because it's a unique and tasty idea. It is kinda pricey to pay $5 and some change for a popsicle, but you can put as many toppings as you want. Also, if you check-in on Yelp they offer a 10% discount. There is always a line and I would say if it's out the door you'll probably be waiting about 20-30 minutes. 

Old Vine Cafe - Costa Mesa

2937 Bristol Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Hours 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

          5:00 PM to 12:00 AM

Old Vine Cafe is located at The Camp next to South Coast Plaza. It's one of my favorite places to go for brunch because of the food and ambience. Everything I've had so far has been pretty good and the service is always friendly. 

Quatro Formaggi Panini (4/5): My go to when I come here! This panini is filled with the perfect blend of cheeses and veggies served with a creamy tomato dipping sauce. I'm a carnivore but I love this so much. Comes with a pickle and their freshly made potato chips. 

Blueberry French Toast (3/5): This was good, but overly sweet to me. I probably wouldn't order this again. 

Open Face (3.5/5): Picture above, it is one of their most popular items. A largeg biscuit covered with a rich creamy sauce and a side of potatoes. I liked it for the first few bites, but it got way too heavy for me to finish. 

Berry Crepe (4/5): This is a great breakfast or dessert crepe to get if you're craving something sweet! Nice and light. 

Old Vine Cafe gets a 4/5 in my opinion. It's a cute restaurant with great food and friendly employees. You can expect a 30min+ wait on the weekends and they don't take reservations so I would recommend going early or at an off time. Entrees range from $12-17. 

Cream Pan - Tustin

602 El Camino Real

Tustin, CA 92780

Hours 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM daily

Located in Old Town Tustin, Cream Pan is a hidden gem that's quickly becoming more and more noticed due to their famous strawberry croissants. I worked here for about three years and got to try all of their amazing pastries and food items. Pretty much everything here is delicious, but there are a few items I think are the best. 

Strawberry Banana Croissant (4/5): It's a croissant bar topped with nutella, custard, strawberries, and bananas. Simple but very tasty. The custard they use is the best because it's not overly sweet. 

Azuki Cream (4/5): If you're a fan of red bean definitely get this. It's a puff pastry filled with sweet red bean and whipped cream. 

Curry Pan (4/5): A popular snack in Japan, basically a donut filled with beef curry stew. Pop it in the microwave for 10  seconds and it's perfection. 

Katsu Curry (4.5/5): Their only hot dish, I really love the curry here because it's spicy with a hint of sweetness and the sauce is thin. 

Cheese Boule (4/5): If you're able to get this when it comes out fresh, it is amazing. A nice french bread ball filled with gruyere cheese. 

I guarantee you won't be disappointed coming here. There are so many more items that I love, but then this post would get way too long! Cream Pan has high quality products that are budget friendly. Pastries and breads are usually in the $2-3 range while food items such as sandwiches and sushi are $4-9. If you're planning to go on a weekend I would suggest going before 9 AM as it gets very busy. This place is a 5/5 for me. 

Kitchen Story - San Francisco

3499 16th Street

San Francisco, CA 94114

Hours 8:00 AM-3:00 PM

          5:30 PM-10:00PM 

This blog is for food in SoCal, but I visited San Francisco last weekend and just had to share this amazing brunch spot! Kitchen Story is a popular Asian Fusion spot known for their unique and delicious brunch items. 

Belly Rancheros (5/5): They use kurobuta pork belly in this dish, along with pico de gallo and spicy guacamole, and it was bursting with flavor. If you love Mexican food then I would get this. At first I was skeptical about ordering this because it didn't sound that great, but I was blown away by how good it was. 

Ribeye Omurice (4/5): Similar to the Japanese style omurice, it is rice mixed in with pieces of ribeye and glaze sauce topped with an egg. It was pretty good and came with tasty potatoes which also had sweet potato pieces as well. 

Mascarpone Stuffed Deep Fried French Toast (5/5): This is a must try! I am a huge fan of mascarpone and this was just amazing. 

Millionaire Bacon (4/5): This is their specialty bacon drenched in maple syrup which was yummy, but not sure if I would get it again as it was $8 for two pieces. 

There's always a wait for this place which shows how popular it is, the wait around 1:00 on a saturday was about 20-25 minutes which isn't too bad. The entrees range from $12-18. I would recommend ordering different dishes and sharing them as you won't just wanna try one thing. This place gets a 5/5 from me. 

Wurstküche - Los Angeles

 800 East 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Hours 11:00 AM to 1:30 AM daily

I wanted to try something new in L.A. that people rated highly, so I headed to Wurstküche to see what the hype was all about. There were many types of sausages to choose from including exotic animal meat such as rattlesnake, but I ordered the bratwurst sausage with sauerkraut since I prefer my hot dogs to be on the simple side. 

Bratwurst w/ Sauerkraut (4/5): I really enjoyed my hot dog, the sausage was delicious and served piping hot.

Truffle Oil Fries w/ Chipotle Aioli (5/5): I would definitely recommend adding the truffle oil to your fries because they were amazing. If you like a little kick to your sauce I would get the chipotle aioli dipping sauce as I loved it with my fries.

Wurstküche gets a 4/5 for taste, quality, and ambiance.Two hot dogs, a small order of truffle fries, and a soda cost around $30.00, a little on the pricey side but it is L.A. I came on a Saturday around 1:30 and there was no wait, however by the time I finished eating there was a long line out the door so I would suggest coming here before 2:00 PM on the weekends.

Kettlebar - Anaheim

440 S. Anaheim Blvd, 1st Fl
Anaheim, CA 92805
Hours 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM

Located on the first floor of the Packing House, Kettlebar is a nice little restaurant tucked away in the corner next to Crepe Coop. I've been wanting to try it for awhile because I always see it packed on the weekends. I ordered the Calamari and the Kettlebar Pan Roast and was not disappointed. 

Calamari (3.5/5): I thought it was unique that they used squid ink as part of the calamari sauce. The calamari was fried perfectly and the sauce had a hint of sweetness. $10

Kettlebar Pan Roast (4/5): It was my first time having pan roast and this was delicious! This pan roast came with snow crab, shrimp, lobster, and chicken. It is basically like a creamy garlic-y tomato stew with rice. I would recommend going with mild spicy because I thought that was spicy already and I usually like my food medium spicy. You can always ask them to make it hotter if it's not enough. I thought $23 was a little pricey, but they did also have a chicken and sausage version for $16. 

Overall I would give Kettlebar a 4/5. Everything I had was cooked perfectly and tasted great. Week nights seem to be a better time to go since weekends will most likely have a wait from what I've seen.

The Pie Hole - Los Angeles

The Pie Hole

714 Traction Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90013

Hours 7:00/8:00 AM - 11:00 PM

Located in downtown LA, The Pie Hole is known for their unique pie flavors and drinks. It's a small store with seating area for about 20-25 people. I decided to go with the Earl Grey Tea pie and an Iced Horchatta Latte after looking through Yelp reviews and seeing people rave about them. 

Ear Grey Tea Pie (5/5): I would definitely recommend trying this as it was delicious. It's not overly sweet and the tea flavor is subtle for those hesistant on eating a tea-flavored pie. 

Mexican Chocolate Pie (3.5/5): If you like chocolate then I would go with this one, it also seems to be a customer favorite. You might want to share this though because it's a pretty rich and dense pie. 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie (3/5): This one was good but nothing amazing, I would recommend it for people who like cheesecake. 

Iced Horchata Latte (2/5): This was overhyped for me. I was imagining it to be delicious since I love horchata, but it was just an average latte with a slight spice flavor. 

Overall I would give this place a 3.5/5 because of their Earl Grey Tea pie. The pies were yummy, but at $6-7 for a small slice they are pricey so I would say it's a good place to try once. 

Crepe Coop - Anaheim

Crepe Coop
440 S. Anaheim Blvd Suite 105
Anaheim, CA 92805
Hours 11:30 AM-10:30 PM

Since crepes are one of my favorite desserts, I decided to start this blog with Crepe Coop. Located inside the popular new hangout in Anaheim called the Packing House, it's one of the few places in Orange County where you can get a great crepe. They always have different flavors of gelato and you can create your own crepe or choose one of their signature/seasonal crepes. The average cost for a crepe here is about $9.00, but it's pretty big so I would say it's worth it. I like how they shape it into a cone so it's easy to eat. I would recommend asking for a fork, knife, and plate as it starts getting messier to eat when you get towards the bottom.

The OG (4/5): Pictured above, is one of their most popular signature crepes, containing vanilla bean gelato, strawberries, bananas, almonds, whip cream, and nutella. This one was delicious, I would definitely recommend it if it's your first time.

Ape Crepe (3.5/5): Another popular signature crepe, this one comes with banana gelato, speculoos spread, peanut brittle, bananas, and whip cream. Good, but not as tasty as the others I've tried.

Fruity Pebbles (4.5/5): So far this one has been my favorite. It has vanilla bean gelato, fruity pebbles, mangoes, strawberries, sweetened milk spread, and whipped cream. It's on the sweet side, but delicious if you like fruity pebbles.

I've tried creating my own one time but it didn't turn out that great, so I would stick with their signatures. This place can get really busy on the weekends, the most I've waited for a crepe was 20 minutes, but usually there's no wait Monday-Thursday nights. If there is a wait, it's not bad at all since there's a lot to explore inside the Packing House. Crepe Coop gets a 4/5 for their amazing crepes and great location.