Lucile's Creole Cafe

After a long night watching the best pound for pound Filipino boxer win his 7th title, we were looking forward to a hearty breakfast. Our Coloradan friend took us to Lucile's Creole Cafe. I know, creole in Denver? Crazy, right?

If you ever try this place make sure to get there early. The wait can be pretty long. Apparently, this place has a huge following.

Once we finally sat down, I noticed a couple things on the table. I'm not sure if they make their own stuff, but it looked like it. They have their own ketchup, hot sauce, and jams. I also noticed that each table had two flavors of jam, and the two flavors varied from table to table.

But, this had to be a first for us. Beignets as a starter? Doesn't get any better than this. Don't let the picture fool you. They were pretty huge.

The homemade jams on the table made these even better.

For brunch, I went with the Pain Perdu.

I guess New Orleans style french toast means baguette french toast. Watch out for the Louisiana sausage. It is incredibly spicy. I mean, it was like they added chili powder over the already spicy sausage.

I also ordered a side of grits. My eyes were bigger than my stomach.

The grits are incredibly buttery. I think a whole stick of butter was melted in them. I personally enjoyed it, but if you're not a fan of excessive butter, you might want to steer clear of this one.

The meals also came with these fluffy biscuits. From what we could tell, this really draws in the crowds.

I washed it all down with their Mocha au lait. This is their signature hot chocolate that is made with Belgian chocolate, and a shot of espresso.

Here's a shot of one of the egg dishes called Farmer's Eggs. It has Potatoes, onions, peppers, cheddar cheese, sausage and three eggs all scrambled together. To be honest, it looks gnarly, but it tastes great. It is also incredibly hearty.


Lucile's Creole Cafe
275 South Logan St.
Denver, CO 80209
(303) 282-6258
www.luciles.com



I'm from LA Trick

Ted's Montana Grill

Cruising around Larimer Square in Downtown Denver, there was something I noticed about the restaurants. They all closed up shop from 2:00pm till 5:00pm. Me being the Angelino that I am, I thought only Japanese restaurants did this. Luckily, we found this joint called Ted's Montana Grill. I know, I know... I'm in Denver... Why would I go to a "Montana" grill? When you find yourself aimlessly wandering the streets of a town you are unfamiliar with, and have a growling stomach... anything will do.

As we waited for a table, our friend (a Coloradan who was stuck at work) gave us a call to see what we were up to. I told her that we were inside this fine establishment we fell upon. She promptly replied "ewww". Not to be deterred, we headed to our table.

Apparently, this is a chain restaurant. But, this chain hasn't reached California, so it was all new to us.

The wife ordered the Bison chili.

We thought it was great, especially in the cold Colorado winter. It is chock full of ground bison, onions, beans, cheese, and jalepenos. To be honest, the bison is just as good as beef. If no one would have told me, I would have assumed it was beef.

I went for the George's Cadillac Bison Burger.

The waitress recommends going a little more rare than you are accustomed to with beef. So, I went medium rare. The reason being, that bison is much leaner than beef. It can get tough if you over cook it.

This burger was great. The bison was very juicy and flavorful. It tasted just like beef. The bonus is that it is considered "healthier" than beef. But, the bacon I had in there probably cancelled out the healthiness of the burger.

I'm not sure what our Coloradan friend was smoking. We had a great lunch. The meals were hearty and not too pricey. It's kind of like eating at a TGIF's at home.

Ted's Montana Grill
1401 Larimer Square
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 893-0654
www.tedsmontanagrill.com



I'm from LA Trick

Clemente Seafood

Here's a place that my brother in law found a while back. For years it was a cash only place. But, I'm glad to say they now take debit cards. This place is hidden in a little strip mall in Santa Ana.

They have the bottled Coca Colas. You know, the ones with coke that is made with real cane sugar... refreshing.

If there's anything you MUST have, its their grilled fish tacos. They are so tasty, yet so simple. You get a flour tortilla with grilled halibut, red cabbage, and Mexican cream (which is basically Crème fraîche). Just be careful, they do get drippy.

As a bonus, I ordered a baby clam tostada. It is a load of baby clams mixed with diced onions, cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce, and the Mexican cream. It sits on a crispy tortilla.

The wife had the 7 seas soup. It comes with diced onions, a lime wedge, and corn tortillas on the side. This particular soup comes with all 7 types of seafood the restaurant carries (halibut, shrimp, baby clams, octopus, crab (imitation... ugh, what can you do?), and what they call abalone type shellfish). The soup looks spicy, but it's far from it. It is actually more like a vegetable soup with all the seafood, and mildly seasoned with mexican spices.

This is basically our Lenten Fridays spot, but the pregnant wife craves what she craves.


Clemente Seafood Restaurant
124 W Macarthur Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92707
(714) 556-2815




I'm from LA Trick

Kitchen 24

About a week before the biggest fight of 2009, Nike decided to throw on a question and answer session with the Pride of the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao. It was held at the Montalban Theater in Hollywood.

After the event, the wife & I decided to roam the local area for a place to eat. Behind the theater (about 2 streets back) we found a place called Kitchen Twenty Four.

It is a modernized 24 hour diner.

As you can see, this ain't your run of the mill Denny's.

We started with the Smac & Cheese. I wanted the bacon, but the bosslady wanted something "healthier". "Fine," I said. "We'll have the Black Forest Ham".

Let me tell you, this mac & cheese was pretty incredible. I was a bit concerned with there being peas in this dish. In the end, they worked well in there. It made me think it was at least a little bit healthy. But, the smokiness of the ham is what really made this one a winner. Could you imagine what this could have been like with bacon? Chicks & their health conscienceness!

I didn't let the main squeeze stop me when it came to the entree. I was famished, and a salad wouldn't cut it. Enter the Chicken Fried Pork Chop.

It was exactly as described... a Pork Chop cooked like fried chicken. The batter was rather light, so it didn't consume the chop. The apples on the chop were great. Most places I've been, they do some applesauce type shenanigans. I dig the sweet and savory vibe. Accompanying the chop (it could have used an extra chop) were asparagus and mashed potatoes. The asparagus was your typical grilled asparagus. But, the mashed potatoes were interesting. They were really really dense. You know when you dig in to a typical serving of mashed taters, they can be fluffy? Not these. They were solid. It was almost like eating a skinned baked potato. It just made this dish all the more filling.

The wife went with a Grilled Veggie Sandwich on a French Roll. I can't tell you much about this one. To be honest, I didn't touch it. But, she did tell me that the cheese (slice of mozzarella, I think) wasn't melted. Apparently, the menu called for melted cheese.

This is definitely one of those joints you can hit up after a long night of partying on the Sunset Strip.

Kitchen Twenty Four
1608 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 465-2424
www.kitchen24.info



I'm From LA Trick